DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction. I do not own The Walking Dead.
Morales moved up to the front of the van and sat beside Rick.
"Almost there guys."
I gathered my things and got ready to jump out. I desperately wanted some food, a wash and a nap. The van pulled to a stop and Andrea was the first one to jump out of the vehicle. She reunited with Amy. Morales ran straight for his children. I bee-lined straight towards Scott. He was a lot like a second father to me and I was so grateful to be back in camp with him. His warm embrace reminded me I was safe once again.
"Jesus girl, you sure know how to scare me." He chuckled.
"Well we're all safe and home now. I even managed to snag you a new fishin' hat." I presented him with his gift from my rucksack and went about emptying out the rest of my loot. "We found a new guy too. He's a cop like Shane." On cue, Rick stepped out of the van.
"Hey helicopter boy. Come say hello." Everyone's attention turned to the van as Morales introduced Rick.
"Dad! Dad!" Carl took off running towards Rick while Lori and Shane stood there in shock. We'd all heard the story of the coma. Carl would often talk to me about losing his dad after he found out I had lost mine. The whole camp fell silent and watched their emotional reunion. Carl, Lori and Rick fell to the ground – hugging each other as though their lives depended on it. We all went about our own business while the three of them reunited.
Later on that evening, we all sat around to listen to Rick's story.
"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented…" Rick sat with Carl in his lap. The young boy still seemed to be in shock that his father was next to him after all these weeks. "Fear, confusion – all those things but…" He swallowed. Overcome with emotion. "Disoriented comes closest."
Dale added his words of wisdom as Rick gathered his thoughts. "Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short."
"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever." Rick was perfectly describing how we all felt in the first few days. As we established our new way of life, people walked around with their eyes glazed over. Everyone struggled to come to terms with how swiftly everything had changed. Carls small voice broke the silence as we all took a moment to consider Rick's words.
"Mom said you died."
"She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it son."
Lori looked up at Shane and shared a glance. It had long been suspected by everyone at camp that those two were screwing. Constantly wandering off together and returning with grass and leaves in their hair, clothes looking even more worn than they already did. Shane had been silent the whole time. In the few hours Rick had been with us, it was as though upon seeing his partner Shane resumed the role of deputy while Rick played the Sherriff.
Lori finally spoke up. "When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened."
Rick held her hand to reassure her, "Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." We all nodded. Anyone who was evacuated to Atlanta probably never stood a chance. "And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun."
"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane looked at the ground the whole time while speaking.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it," Rick followed up. The gratitude in his eyes didn't get missed by anyone. Nor did the shame in Lori's. Or the guilt in Shane's.
"There go those words falling short again. Paltry things." Dale concluded.
The awkward silence was broken with Ed throwing another log onto the fire. We all tried to avoid him as such as possible. Everyone saw the bruises Carol showed up with every few days - suspiciously hand shaped. Shane pulled the extra log out of the fire after exchanging a few words with Ed, Carol and Sophia.
"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." Dale raised a good point. The younger Dixon was off hunting but would be returning any day now.
"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me."
"I cuffed him. That makes it mine."
Glenn interrupted T and Rick. "Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy."
Glenn was right. Although daryl was by far the quieter of the two, we all just assumed that he shared his brother's thoughts.
"I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him." T-Dog seemed determined to own up to the fall.
"I could bring it up? We seem to have some sort of understanding." I thought it was a sensible suggestion, but Rick quickly dismissed it, saying that it shouldn't be down to me as I was just a by-stander.
"We could lie?" Amy suggested.
"Or," her sister continued, "tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed." She turned to face Lori. "Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."
"And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise - we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." Dale nodded along with what Scott said.
"I was scared and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it."
"We all were T." I added for support. "We all ran."
"I stopped long enough to chain that door." I looked at T as he continued to speak. "Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that. Not that chain, not that padlock. My point—Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."
A new wave of guilt hit me upon hearing this revelation. T-Dog stood up and walked to his tent without saying another word. I said my goodnights and walked back to my tent. I changed out of my jeans and boots into some cotton shorts, crawled into my sleeping bag and tried to forget T's confession as I fell asleep.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think.
-QwertyWords
