The Walking Dead:

Crimson Tears

Chapter 1:

Reality Bites

Rick heard his daughter stir in the crib beside his bed, causing him to wake. He continued to lay there with his eyes closed, not wanting to make a sound, wondering if she were going to stay asleep or wake. Since it just felt like he had just gone to bed, he hoped she would stay asleep. Even if it were for another hour or so. He wanted to sleep some more. His body was still sore from all the hard work and maintenance the prison needed.

From keeping the place clean and secure, to the cultivating of the mini garden, as well as the occasional supply run, the work never seemed to cease, even with the help he had. Not to mention there was the group moral that took a toll, even with Herschel's help. Everyone looked at him as a leader and Herschel as a mentor. He had the wisdom that seemed to be a major shortage of these days and even he looked up to him as well.

Yesterday, he spent the whole day outside with Herschel, as he planted tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers. On the last supply run, Glenn and Daryl happened to come across a large supply of seeds of all different types. Most of them were flowers, but there was a number of fruits and vegetables. He hoped after all this time, they were okay to grow. The only way to know, would be to plant them and see what happens.

While he dug holes in the dirt, Herschel told him about his childhood on the farm and what it was like prior to the end of the world. Rick told him about what his life was like before as well. Both had heard each other's life story a number of times already, but it felt nice to discuss what life was like before, even if it felt like a distant memory or dream that with each passing day seemed to slowly fade.

Judith stirred again and this time began to whimper. With a groan, Rick slid out of bed and slipped on his shirt. He approached her crib and peered inside with a warm fatherly look. Judith was curled up in her blanket and her pacifier was beside her at the edge of the crib. When she saw him, she quickly calmed and smiled. As tired as he was, he smiled back at her and bent down to pick her up. She cooed happily and snuggled against his shoulder as he reached for her pacifier and blanket.

He quietly made his way to the front of the prison, hoping that he wouldn't wake anyone up. It was precisely six-thirty in the morning and the sun had begun its slow ascent, creating strips of orange and red in the partially cloudy sky. It was definitely a pretty sight.

He grabbed a steel chair and set it on the grass lawn. He took a seat and sighed as he peered into the distance, watching the sun rise. Judith began to slowly fall asleep as she sucked on the pacifier and clutched both her dad's shirt and the blanket that was wrapped around her. He kissed her tenderly on the head then glanced behind him as he watched Daryl approach.

"Can't sleep?" Rick asked as Daryl took a seat beside him.

"Nah," Daryl shook his head. "Slept a few hours. Wide awake now." He looked at Judith bundled up in his grasp. "She still keeping you up?"

"Not always," Rick shrugged. "Some days she sleeps an extra hour or so. Today." He looked at him. "Well that is a different story."

Daryl chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah," He simply responded as he watched a couple of walkers in the far distance by the woods. They were heading past the prison and posed no threat. "You're a good father Rick."

Rick kissed her on the top of the head again. "Thanks," He smiled at him.

"My father was a complete asshole," Daryl said with a bitter laugh. He cracked his neck and then ran a hand through his greasy hair. "Didn't really give a shit about me and Merle. That's why we were who we were."

Rick gave him an understanding look. "But you aren't that person anymore." He told him calmly. "You have changed. In fact, I bet you would be a great dad."

Daryl shook his head and laughed again. "Me? A dad? Shit." He seemed to be amused by that idea. "I'd need to find a woman first."

Rick laughed with him. "Well that is the easy part." He glanced at Judith again. She was sleeping peacefully against him, far away in dreamland.

"What's it like?" Daryl asked seriously. "You know being a dad?"

Rick gave him a tender look. "It's amazing," He said happily. "When I look at Judith, there's this special bond. Such a deep connection, that I can't quite explain. When I am away from her, there's this emptiness and it can only be filled when I am with her again." He glanced at Judith briefly. "The only comparison was the connection you and Merle had." He looked at Daryl. "When I look at her I also see such pure innocence. She has no idea of the world around her and what it is like." He held off saying the word yet, but he knew that both he and Darryl were thinking it.

"Yeah," Daryl simply responded.

"Do you want to hold her?" He asked despite that she was sleeping.

Daryl was taken back. "You serious?" He asked with uncertainty. She looked so fragile to him.

Rick smiled at him. "Of course," He said as he carefully handed her to him.

Daryl hesitantly took Judith into his arms. She stirred, but didn't wake. He was careful to support her properly as to not wake her. She was much lighter than he thought. He knew that Rick was watching him, but he couldn't look away from her. He felt emotion that he wasn't used to well up inside him as his eyes brimmed with tears. Rick noticed this as well, but didn't say anything, liking the sight of his tough friend showing his softer side.

The Governor tightly held the machete in his grasp as he eyed the walker stumbling toward their encampment. The walker was extremely mangled with its right arm completely gone. It's left leg was covered in so many bite marks that the tendons and bones showed in a bloody mess. Its jaw was chewed up so badly, that it was nearly gone. Blood and black ooze dripped out from the wounds to its dirty clothes and on to the floor. It noticed him and quickened its pace as best as it could.

The Governor eyed Martinez who stood a few feet away, out of sight with a bat in his hand. He was prepared to attack the walker, when he stopped suddenly. The walker tripped over its own bad leg and weight and landed roughly on the ground, smashing its head on a tree in the process. Its head was crushed immediately, blood and black ooze splattered on the tree.

"Damn," Martinez laughed as he approached the unmoving walker. He pointed his bat at it. "That was unexpected."

The Governor had an amused look on his face as he approached. "Indeed," He said eyeing the walker. He sheathed his machete and grabbed the walker by the feet.

He pulled the walker away and toward a large ditch he had recently dug that was far from the encampment. He tossed it aimlessly inside with a number of other murdered eaters and then turned away from the ditch. He looked at Martinez who had his flask out and offered him a drink.

"Bit early isn't it?" He asked him.

Martinez shrugged. "We haven't slept yet," He said with a twinkle of excitement in his eyes.

The Governor frowned and took the flask from him. He took a swig and then handed it back to him. "That's true." He stifled a yawn.

They carefully walked the perimeter of the camp, keeping a close eye on any walkers. "What's on the schedule today?" Martinez asked as he pocketed the flask.

"Well I was thinking of strengthening our fence," He said slightly hiding his true intention.

After the failure of the last attack on the prison, he vowed that he would have his revenge at all cost. Other than a few people that lived with him in this current camp, he didn't really care what happened to the others in the process. All he wanted to was to take the prison from Rick and his group. He hated the smug look he had and wanted to personally kill him. But of course, he couldn't tell anyone his plans. He had to slowly manipulate them in thinking that Rick and his group were the enemy and were going to steal everything they had here. It would be the only way to get the prison.

From the moment he lost the last altercation, he hardly slept a full night, without replaying what happened in his dreams. Sometimes he was shot and killed by Rick. Taken hostage and tortured by him in other dreams. Or he was being chased by him from the prison and bitten by a walker in the process. In the end, all of his dreams did have Rick in them.

He knew that he was obsessed with Rick and in his mind it made sense. Before he met Rick, he had a secure camp full of families young and old. With the world around them going to hell, he managed to keep a small piece of what life used to be. But the moment he heard about the prison, he lost everything and Rick was the cause of that. Rick brought death and despair whenever he was around.

A walker approached him from behind a tree. He quickly cut its head off and then pushed its body aside. After the perimeter sweep, he and Martinez would remove all the walkers and place their bodies in the trench. He held the machete tightly and glanced at Martinez briefly.

"I was also thinking of going into town to get some supplies," He continued, "We are a bit short on medical supplies."

Martinez nodded in agreement. "Good," He said without a second thought "I'll join you."

The Governor looked at him. "If you want," He simply said.

It took them less than an hour to cover the entire perimeter of the camp and ended up killing nearly a dozen walkers in the process. The hard part was bringing them to the ditch, which took a while, but they did. By the time they had finished, the both of them had worked up quite a sweat. Martinez's shirt was covered in blood and dirt, while the Governor's was surprisingly clean of blood, but was full of dirt as well. When they returned to the camp, they were taken over by two eager survivors who wanted to lend a hand.

The Governor approached his trailer and told Martinez that he'd catch a few hours of sleep, before they'd leave for their supply run. Martinez agreed and wished him a good night's rest with a playful wink, before he turned and made his way to his trailer. He took a swig from his flask and then stepped into is trailer.

The Governor quietly entered his trailer and eyed Meghan sleeping on the bed like an angel. She was clutching her teddy bear tightly and had a small smile on her face, lost in her dreams far from the reality of the hell that surrounded them all. He approached her and pulled up the blanket to cover her. He watched her for a moment or two with a happy look on his face, before he turned away from her.

He made his way to the other bed as quietly as he could, which was at the far end of the trailer, where Lilly peacefully slept. He removed his boots, pants, and shirt and tossed them aside. He slid into bed beside her. She smiled and snuggled against him, enjoying the feel of him beside her again.

"Took you long enough," She softly said without opening her eyes.

"Well I am here," He said kissing her on the forehead and then lips.

"Good," She said kissing his neck and then snuggling against his shoulder.

From a safe distance, Dwight watched the Governor and Martinez walking around what looked like a small encampment through his binoculars. He was hiding behind a large tree, like a fly on the wall. He saw them expertly kill a number of walkers and then drag their unmoving bodies to an area opposite of where he was hiding. He couldn't tell where they were putting them, but he assumed that they were putting them in a pile or some hole of some sort.

He scanned the encampment and counted a dozen total different trailers, trucks, cars, and vans where he assumed people were living in. He obviously couldn't tell how many were there, but it really didn't matter. Not compared to where he came from.

"Dwight," Paula said to him through the radio.

Dwight continued to scan the camp as he reached for his radio. "Yes," He simply said. He watched the Governor step into his trailer and close the door behind him.

"What's your thought with this one?" She asked him. She was sitting on the hood of her car about a half a mile down the road with Michelle, waiting for him to return.

"Small," Dwight simply responded. "There are supplies there I guarantee it." He eyed a small garden and beside it a number of buckets that seemed to be filled with most likely rainwater. "But I really don't see it worthwhile with this one."

Paula glanced at Michelle who currently stabbed a walker in the head. She pushed the body away and then wiped the blood on its dirty clothing. Michelle lazily made her way back to the car and leaned against it, wishing that she could be asleep instead of out here this early in the morning. She knew that both Paula and Dwight felt the same.

"Is he there?" Paula asked referring to the Governor.

"Yes," Dwight simply responded.

"Good," Paula responded. "Come back to the car and let's go home. Neegan will definitely want to keep an eye on this group now regardless of what supplies they have."

Hope you enjoy my twist on TWD story! More to come soon!

Hershel