Trouble

It had been few months since Damian and Kayla arrived in Green Gate Farm. Most of the winter was over and snow had started to melt from roads. In those past few months, many things happened.

During first month, many new people arrived at the farm asking for shelter. Nathan let most of them in while sending away other people. Damian was a bit skeptical at first but later started trusting Nathan's decisions. He noticed that Nathan was a good judge of character and the way he was running his farm was up to him. 

A month ago, Damian started seeing Elizabeth after one day all of a sudden she kissed him out of nowhere and expressed her feelings. Although Damian was not sure of his own feelings yet, he wanted to give it a try. Kayla had also started giving Damian some personal space and would meet only for a shot period, mainly while eating. Damian started working out in his room as he had nothing else to do since they couldn't go out in the snow filled world. In this time, he developed his muscles and became bulkier. He would practice with his knife and would improve his quick draw and aiming speed with the gun. 

One major incident that happened was when Matt one day brought back a teenager from when he came back from patrolling. He said he found the boy in middle of the road with nothing on him. But by the looks of it, he seemed to have been beaten pretty bad by someone. He got lucky that he met Matt and his group before walkers. After he woke up, he revealed that his name was Allan and he was 17 years old. He said he was from Athens and was running away after the town was run by a large horde of walkers when he got captured by some men who beat him up and tortured him to ask if he was with a group. Kayla looked over his health and after he got back to normal, he started accompanying Matt around. As soon as they started going to patrol, he joined them. 

Everything was going alright when one evening, Matt and his group, who had gone to patrol around the area didn't return on their usual time. People started to worry as Nathan gathered a group of people to go with him. Damian was obviously with the group. As they started going out, they saw an unidentified car entering the farm. Damian and others pulled up their guns and aimed at the car. The car soon came to halt and a boy was pushed out from the back. It was Allan. 

"Allan, what happened to you", a man who was living with Allan stepped forward before a bald man with burn mark in his right face walked out aiming his gun at Allan. Soon, a person came out from other side and one from driver's seat as well. All of them had guns on them.

"Greetings. My name is Thomas. I have your people with me back at our camp. Now, they are safe and there's no need to worry. But if you don't do what we ask, they may not come back", the man named Thomas said.

"Who are you guys? What do you want?", Elizabeth said.

"As I said, we are staying at a camp near here. But we don't have much rations. We want half your food. Half your medicines too. And a doctor", Thomas said and looked towards Kayla who had a stethoscope on her neck. "You. I want you to go back with us", he said with a creepy smile".

"We don't have much on us", Nathan said as Thomas looked in his direction. "But how do we know you will return them back after we fulfill our part of the deal?", he asked.

"A man's word. It means something", Thomas said proudly.

"Your words have no weight. I want to talk to your leader", Nathan said.

"You are welcome to come back with us", Thomas said.

"No one's going anywhere", Damian said as he looked at Nathan asking if they should subdue them. Nathan shook his head and said, "Come here tomorrow with my people. I'll give half of our food and medicine". 

"What about a doctor?", Thomas asked.

"I can't force my people", Nathan replied.

Thomas thought for a bit before pushing Allan and said, "Tomorrow afternoon. Be ready, I'll kill everyone else otherwise". They sat back and drove away in the car after that. Kayla quickly approached Allen and examined his injuries.

"We should have taken them hostage and asked for a exchange. We'd have had higher ground. Now we don't even have any choice", Damian said looking at Nathan. 

"They have our people", he countered. 

"We should have subdued their people too. Sent a message with one of them. That we'll give them food and medicines along with their people in exchange of ours", Damian said.

"What's done is done. Libbi, go bring me the account of medicines and food we have", Nathan asked Libbi who looked at Damian and ran towards his father.

Damian looked at Allan and asked him, "Do you know their place. Where they are staying?", he asked Allan.

"No. They covered our eyes the whole way", Allan said.

"Shit", Damian cursed and looked at Kayla who was looking at him, "Don't worry, we're not getting separated again".

...

The next noon, several cars stopped outside the farm's gate followed by two trucks. And many people stepped out of the cars. Some had guns while others had machetes, rods and baseball bats. Then 4 people with gag came out of a truck. Matt and his group. A man with black jacket and brown hair came behind them with a pistol in his hand. By the looks, he was the leader. Nathan also stepped outside his farm's gate as he looked at Matt. Damian was carrying an assault rifle with him and was standing on the side of a truck inside the farm. 

"Nathan. Right?", the man started. "Nice to meet you. I'm Robert Cleveland. I lead these people. Don't get the wrong idea. We are not bad people. We just want half of what you guys have", he said.

"We have what you want. Release my people", Nathan said.

The man shook his head. "You complete your part of arrangement first", he said.

Nathan closed his eyes to control his temper and nodded and gestured to his people in the back. Few men brought the trolleys from inside each having bags of grains and medicines, Robert's man started transferring the bags in the trucks. 

After filling the truck, the man looked at Nathan and said, "How do we know this is half of what you had?".

"You will have to trust that it is", Nathan answered.

The man smiled and then nodded. "Oh yes. What about the doctor. I asked for a doctor as well", he said.

"I can't force them. They refused to go", Nathan said.

"Well, we'll get them later anyway", he said while smiling, looking suspicious.

Damian thought there is something else he is planning and looked around. Kayla and others were not there. He felt a Déjà vu but ignored it, focusing on the enemy in front. 

Nathan then said, "Now send my people".

"Yes, with pleasure", Robert said as he let them go. The four men were crossed the road and reached the farm.

Nathan and others near him quickly released Matt and others from their gag as the enemy sat back in their cars.

"Did they hurt you anywhere?", Nathan asked Matt.

"No, they didn't. But listen dad. Allan, he-", but before he could say more, they heard a cry from the back and saw a woman shouting from far end. 

"Fire. Someone put our storage on fire", she shouted as Nathan turned to look at the group which was leaving. Robert looked at his direction with a wicked smile as he drove away in his car. 

"Go. Let's go stop the fire", Nathan said as everyone ran towards the storehouse.

Everyone forgot about the enemy as they brought the fire under control. But when the fire was finally extinguished, the grain inside had all been burned. Their rations were gone. Then, from other direction, someone screamed. Damian and others ran towards the direction wondering who it was. "Oh my god... who did this?", a man shouted as he went inside the infirmary where doctors used to see patients.

Damian looked at a man shot just outside the room and a wave of worry passed his mind. 'Kayla', he thought as he ran inside pushing other people. 

There, he saw people, dead. Patients who had come for checkup, were shot dead by someone. Damian went further inside where Kayla used to sit. There, he saw her. Lying on the ground, motionless. Then she moved. Damian quickly ran towards her and turned her up and put her on his knee.

"Kayla...", he said, as Kayla looked at him. 

"Damian?", she said as tears started coming from her eyes. "Allan. He -ame an- fired at -eryone, all of -sudden", she said as her voice kept breaking.

"It's okay. You are okay. You are going to be okay", Damian said as he shouted outside, "Guys, help. She is still alive. Someone, help her. She's been shot". Some people came running inside. Luckily, the main doctor was not inside the infirmary. He asked them to put Kayla on the bed in a room and started to treat her. Damian stood there for a while before a scream came from outside, "Walkers...", someone screamed.

Damian who knew what happened, walked out with the gun in his hand and as he reached outside, he saw, a man getting bitten by the walker while others ran out of the infirmary. Damian shot the walker and then looked at the neck of the person who was bit, but before he could say anything, Damian shot his head without flinching. Then more of the dead started waking up but before they could properly stand, Damian shot each and everyone in their head. The situation calmed down inside. 

Just then, Nathan and Matt entered the infirmary.

"It was Allan. He was the mole. He took us to their base and got us captured", Matt said.

"They were going to do this from the start", Damian said.

"I told you yesterday. If we'd taken those bastards and interrogated them, we'd have gotten more information. Now, we have casualties among us, no food and scared people. And we don't know where those people are from", Damian said frustratingly and punched the wall in anger.

"We have food", Nathan said. "It was only a quarter of what we had left", he said.

"Kayla... is she...?", Matt asked.

"She was shot. The doctor's treating him", Damian said. He was very angry. Angry that they got played by them like this.

"That fucking Allan. I'd kill him", Matt said in anger.

No one said anything as silence shrouded entire infirmary.