Shannon leaned against the brick wall, the grit of it digging into his shoulder. He scanned the faces that passed him by, moving on to the archway and into the dining hall. Most of them avoided his eyes and he spat a glob of spit to the ground. I’ll not be fuckin’ shamed, he thought, leaning into the wall a little more. Instead, he stared back at the few that maintained eye contact, daring them to speak up.

Not a one did. They never did. They turned their eyes forward and moved on with their day. Nothing’s changed. Shannon kicked a rock at his feet and it skipped and echoed through the archway.

The people were subdued. Biding their time. Walking shadows, someone had told him once. Or some other poetic crap. The kind of people just existing. Nothing more. Shannon tried to remember their names but only a few bothered to trickle through to him. The few that mattered. The few that felt like they’d actually survived.

Each time the door opened he looked to the entryway, hoping to see a familiar face. The council that had started up at least an hour earlier should have ended ages ago. Helena had already stalked off, Eric biting at her heels. Not a god damn thing changed.

Across the quad, Monte and a few of his friends congealed by a tree stump. Laughing, shouting, being all kinds of loud. Shannon sighed a little, almost nostalgic. He’d had fun with those idiots for a while, playing like the world hadn’t fallen the fuck apart just beyond their stone walls. But he’d stopped grouping with them long before he’d left with Laurence.

Still can’t believe he’s dead. Shannon rubbed his chilled hands together and scratched the fresh stubble on his chin. He tried to remember the last thing he said to Laurence, but it all bled together. The gunshot, the highway, the dead. The details were still fuzzy, but he knew Tish hadn’t come back with him.

So dead or left to die. Shannon wasn’t sure what was worst. But he wanted to know, wanted to press her for every grimy detail. Laurence deserved that much at least.

“Hang all of ‘em, fuckin’ traitors!” Monte hollered, and Shannon could have sworn he heard Tish’s name muttered on the wind. He considered it. The council was deciding right now what they were going to do about Tish, Reid, and… Ashley. He couldn’t forget her name if he tried.

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They wouldn’t hang Tish, he decided, letting his mind settle on something he could be sure about. He’d seen what happened to those that broke the rules. It’d be a pack of food, warm clothes, and the fucking gate. Not much of a future for those given that “choice”.

“You look 'bout ready to jump out of your skin.” The voice caught Shannon off-guard. Finn stepped forward and shook his head. “Day dreamin’, son?”

“Not fuckin’ likely.” Shannon stood straighter and stepped out to meet him. The two hugged, Finn’s tight compact frame pulling Shannon in closer than anyone else had since he’d shown up.

“It’s goddamn good to see you.” Finn squeezed him once more before pushing back. His hands gripped the sides of Shannon’s face. “Fresh shave too. Makes you feel a little more man, don’t it?”

“It does, it does.” Shannon smiled. “It’s real good to see you too, man. There were some moments where I didn’t think I’d-”

“So I've heard,” Finn said.

Of course, he’s heard. Shannon’s smile faltered a little and Finn nodded knowingly. It wouldn’t have taken any time at all for Finn’s friends to whisper a word. His little net of flies and spiders sneaking information in from all corners of the settlement. Wasn’t much Finn didn’t know. And if he didn’t know, it wasn’t worth a damn.

“But, you’re alive. You’re back in this shit hole.”

“Like it never changed.”

Finn frowned. “Not exactly as it was.” The two started walking, where Shannon wasn’t sure, but Finn was the sort of man that you followed without knowing you were. In more ways than one. “More guns, you saw.”

“Yeah, there’s those.” The stiff memory of a shotgun barrel nearly shoved up his ass didn’t sit all that well with Shannon. But he’d never been on the wall before that. “But that shits in the past. I’m more interested in-”

“Tish an’ Reid. Yeah, yeah.” He guided Shannon across the lawn of the quad. “I have some bad news, son.”

Shannon stopped. Finn turned, gripped Shannon’s shoulders and put on the bravest face. Solemn. Stoic. Stone.

“No way.” Shannon shook his head. “No fuckin’ way! They can’t send them out-”

Finn’s lips cracked into a sadistic grin. “Goddamn mark, you are.”

Relief pounded through Shannon but left a bitter taste in his mouth. “You're a bastard.” He motioned to punch the older man in the shoulder but Finn was fast. He caught the gentle blow and deflected it with ease.

“A right fuckin' bastard.” Shannon mocked Finn's ever so slight Irish accent to try and still his nerves. It coaxed a warning waved finger from Finn.

“You’ve no one to blame but your fuckin’ self, skulking out here.” They continued walking in the shadow of Old Vic, their breaths sticking to the air. “Had you asked me, you'd have been invited to the damned meeting.”

Shannon could only laugh as their shoes left the gravel path and sunk into the crisp grass.

Fin smirked. “How about we go let the fools out of their cages.”