There's lots of important details in this one. Pay attention to them.
Chapter 7: The Pinnacle of Our Dream
Past
"This' how the game works," Daryl began, looking around to make sure everybody was watching, "We go out into the water as far as we can without drowning and we try to see who can hold their breath under for the longest time. Okay?"
There were nods of understanding. Rick and Glenn had done this many times before, but Michonne was new and she wanted to try it too. She wanted to be a part of it.
The four of them stood just by the water, the bottoms of their pants soaking wet. The pebbles were slightly uncomfortable, but they weren't painful. This was it. This time, it was for a real prize.
"Okay."
Just like that, there was a countdown and four small bodies dumped themselves down into the water about 8 yards away from where the pebbles were, holding tiny hands over their faces. Their important things were tossed just at the edge of the water-already getting wet. Just a short while later, Rick came up first, muttering profanities at the thought of losing 20 bucks just like that. Then Michonne came up, and the smile on her face was so wide it looked painful.
Rick laughed at her while her tiny shoulders shivered and she laughed with him too- it was the laugh he'd already begun to dream about while his bright blue orbs were tight shut under the twinkling stars. Both of them had wet hair stuck to their cold faces.
"I've never seen a person that happy to lose 20 bucks before, Thompson."
She said nothing back, but her bright eyes got all wide as she swam back to the edge of the lake to get her things together. Rick watched her swim the whole way back and then waited for his two friends to come up for oxygen. He already knew who would win.
Daryl and Glenn were still underneath, watching each other under the water to see who would give up and come up for air first. Glenn came up just a split second before Daryl, causing a loud 'woo!' to escape Daryl's shivering lips in victory. They were soaking wet and freezing cold, but Daryl didn't care because he had just won a good amount of money from it.
Michonne was already changing into dry clothes by the time the other kids swam back to the earth. Drips of icy water were splayed throughout their delicate eyelashes.
"Did Grimes come up before you?" Daryl asked her breathlessly while taking off and shaking out his wet top.
She just nodded, looking at the person kicking pebbles in defeat, unwilling to meet Daryl's prideful gaze.
"Yeah, she beat me," he said while still not looking their way.
"You still gotta pay up," Daryl said definitively, walking Rick's way to look him right into the eye. Cerulean to blue-grey. "Don't be a sore loser, sweetie" he whispered jokingly.
"I know. I will." Rick let out through chattering, slightly pissed teeth without looking up for too long to meet his best friend's pointedness.
Michonne watched the two of them in silent wonder. They weren't really upset-they were just pretending.
Glenn's teeth were chattering away while he wished he'd been smart enough to bring a change of dry clothes too. He sat just yards away from the others. "My parents are gonna kill me for this," he muttered under his breath as he examined his water-ruined new sneakers. His head rested on top of his knees.
The game-boy Glenn had just gotten for his birthday was water damaged too and wouldn't turn back on. They hadn't thought about the tide.
"You a mute or somethin', Thompson?" Daryl asked out of the blue with genuine wonder, his lips pressed tightly together. She turned to look at him with an odd, undeterminable look on her tiny face.
"Daryl!" Rick whispered harshly before pushing him back towards the water. He tumbled backwards for a split second in time before gaining his footing back just like that.
"Ow! What was that for? I'm just sayin'," Daryl whispered back, "She don't talk-least I've never heard a peep outta her."
Michonne's smiled wide at the two, oblivious to the fact that she could hear everything they were saying. "Yeah, I guess," she shrugged her tiny shoulders in a way that made Rick forget about being upset. Daryl's eyes just widened in surprise at the sound of her voice. He'd known her for weeks and he'd never heard her talk even one time.
"You could call me that if you want to."
The boys were shocked-all but Rick, who had gotten the privilege of hearing her voice almost every day since she came to King County. It was a pleasure to hear her low, twinkling octave.
They were tired and excited all in the same instant of time. The young life was one they would definitely have trouble letting go of-letting it stay in the past.
A silver watch told them the time and a compass, along with Daryl's premature tracking skills, told them which way to go. The water was left behind as they headed into the woods to reach their next destination. It was freezing out and dirty leaves stuck to the bottoms of their feet, but it was totally worth it.
Present
"I don't know what's up with him. He won't answer 'is phone, he hasn't been at work all week- I just don't know."
Rick, Daryl and Michonne sat together inside the King County police station. Daryl wore his angel winged jacket and Rick and Michonne wore sweatpants and hoodies. Things were still a bit tense between them since their outburst the previous week, but they'd let it go for the time being. It wasn't important.
Rick's dad listened intently, writing something down quickly with a pen onto the notepad in his lap. There was a pensive look on his face that they couldn't quite place.
They hadn't seen Glenn all week and they were starting to worry. When they went to his house and talked to his parents, they said they thought he was with them the whole time. The next best thing would be to ask Maggie, but she thought he had been with them too. Plan one and plan two were out. Glenn wasn't at work and he wasn't with the girl he'd been seeing for some time. It was time to be worried.
Rick's dad sighed out dramatically, running a hand down his tired face. This was obviously something he'd dealt with many times-usually with worried or paranoid parents. "You said it's been a week since you've seen 'im?"
They shared a couple quick glances before answering with, "Yeah."
"Why didn't any of you call the police before this?" Rick's dad asked, his eyebrows raised with oblivious intrigue.
It was Daryl who answered it. "We didn't think anything was up until we couldn't find 'im ourselves-you know?"
"Dad, I really think if he doesn't turn up by tonight we should start a search party-"
Just then, the person of interest walked through the glass police station doors, his baseball cap still just in place. The one thing that was different was the look in his wide eyes-they were tired and pretensive. His walk was nervous-unlike his usual one.
"What's up?"
They all watched him with their mouths wide open, their expressions quickly turning upset. The way he pretended to be normal and that everything was usual perturbed them.
"What's up?" Daryl mimicked, "We've been trying to text you for hours-days. We went to see your parents and everything. Where the hell've you been? Without the theatrics."
Glenn hesitated, which let everybody know that he was trying to formulate a true-sounding answer within his jumbled-up head. There was sweat along his pulses though it was a fairly cool day. It was a dead giveaway to the people who knew him too well. "Uh.. out."
Michonne spoke up next, standing up from one of the low, metal chairs to be directly in front of him. Her voice was tired and impatient. "Well," she began lowly, "Perhaps next time you could, I don't know, let someone know the next time you disappear for a whole week?"
Michonne was the one with the intelligent gaze-always. It was nerve-wracking at its least and terrifying at its best. If anybody would know something weird or out of the ordinary took place, it would be her.
Rick's dad shook his head in disappointment before getting up to head back to his private office. " 'xcuse me kids. I got real work to do," he muttered under his breath before shutting the metal door behind him in a way that was less than quiet. Paper shuffled up with the boost of wind.
"We're just happy you're okay," Rick breathed out. "We thought something bad happened, dude. You know your parents were flipping out? Where were you?"
The nervous look reappeared in his eyes as his friends watched him intently, waiting for the truth to come spilling out. What he planned on saying wasn't technically untrue.
"I just needed to get outta town for a while. Shit's just been tough, you know?"
"Yeah," Daryl answered, his tone telling exactly the way he felt about it. Glenn may as well have been invisible.
Daryl looked plain upset, while Rick and Michonne shared a disappointed look before smiling just a little, their lips upturning almost identically. They were happy he was okay, but that didn't mean they couldn't be pissed that he had done something that dumb while not telling the whole truth about it.
They would let it go for now, but they knew something was up instantly. Glenn wasn't the type of kid to just up and leave town for a week without even telling his parents. There was definitely something weird happening.
"Your parents are gonna kill you," Rick spoke declaratively to Glenn on the way out the glass doors. The expression on his hard face was entirely too serious. It was a warning. He pulled his jacket around himself tighter, zipping up the zipper to the very top until it nearly cut out his oxygen intake.
"Yeah. I know."
The previous week
"Glenn? You with me?" It was Shane Walsh-who had just splashed freezing cold water onto him in order to wake him up. His face was pale and his lips were nearly blue.
"What happened?" Glenn asked, his eyes wide and scared. The temperature seemed to drop by the second while his body continued to shake with unknown terror.
Shane bit his lip and sighed out. "You passed out a while after the kid was killed. We initiated you-then you were out. Just like that."
"Initiated me?" Glenn asked, still unsure about exactly what was going on or what took place.
Shane lifted his left palm to show the intricate pattern that had been etched in with a knife a while back. It was a poorly traced wolf. Glenn looked into his palm to see the same pattern traced permanently into his skin. It was just faint enough to go unnoticed to other people but just present enough to be the only thing Glenn would see when he looked down at his left palm.
"Don't touch it too much," Shane warned, "It only makes it worse. Trust me-I would know."
That was when Glenn felt the pain spreading quickly through his nerves. Inevitably, his head began to pound again. It was dizzy and uneasy everywhere he looked. The words 'trust me' bounced around in his head like an unknown idea.
He noticed the sun was up in the pale blue sky. It was just the two of them out by the water, just outside the woods. They were way outside of town.
"How long've I been out?" He asked, squinting to block the sun's unforgiving light. It didn't help much to calm the panic which continued to pump through his veins.
"'Bout 14 hours," Shane deadpanned, looking down at his watch to double check. A permanent frown rested just at his lips.
Glenn could feel another panic attack coming on, but he tried desperately to push it aside. At least for the time being.
He looked up to meet Shane Walsh's gaze, which surprisingly looked pitiful and sorry.
"Look kid," he sighed out tranquilly, "I didn't want you to be a part of this. I was just doin' what they told me to. You know that, don't you?"
Glenn just nodded curtly, but he could still feel another wave of upset feelings just under the surface of his poker face. What Shane said next surprised him profusely.
"I'm gonna do the best I can to protect you, Junior Rhee. You understand?" Shane said lowly while checking their surroundings quickly, "If any kid deserved to be a part of this, it definitely wasn't you. I'll do whatever I can-I don't want this thing to fuck you up the way it did to me, okay?"
This was a side to Shane Walsh Glenn hadn't seen before-he was left wondering if Walsh was nearly as bad a person as he pretended to be for the town's sake as a whole. But then Glenn remembered what Shane had mercilessly done to one of his best friends all that time ago-twice. Then he remembered what Shane used to do to him-the torment he put him through all the time.
He instantly shook the peculiar thought from his pounding skull. Walsh was a difficult person to understand-he was erratic and unpredictable on a good day. Him being nice one time shouldn't have meant anything. That's what Glenn told himself profusely in his thoughts.
Glenn nodded before poking his tongue out to wet his lips nervously, unsure but also positive Shane meant every word he spoke at the same time. "Okay."
"Alright," Shane said while slapping Glenn hard on the back playfully, pulling him up from where he leaned against one of the wet boulders. He instantly reverted back to his usual self after the little talk. "I'll walk you back to the path that leads to town. Tomorrow, we got a big gig to attend, kid."
The woods would never be the same place again-the place was tainted with uneraseable images. The protection it once offered dissipated just like that.
Present
"It's tonight. I heard from some of the people in the shop it'll be the biggest, best one yet," Daryl said before blowing smoke into the wind through his parted lips.
"Tickets?" Michonne inquired.
"Got 'em," he replied instantly, pulling four shiny silver tickets out of his jacket pocket as undeniable proof. Michonned nodded-impressed with Daryl's proactiveness.
They wore worn out jeans and tough exteriors. They hung around the outside of the movie theater today, leaning against the see-through window while bored out of their minds and looking for something to do while they waited for anything exciting to happen around town. Their parents kicked them out of the house, telling them to 'see the outside world' for once in their indulgent lives.
Daryl suggested the King County carnival-which came to town just once a year. It was a tradition for them to go together, ever since they were in junior high. A lot of things had changed over the past couple weeks, but their excitement for the colorful, extravagant carnival hadn't changed one bit. It was a sight to see-the whole town wanted to go.
Flyers were posted on nearly every window in town. It was something people liked to talk about.
"Yeah," Rick breathed out excitedly in response to Daryl's previous words, "Tara told me they'll have a ride just like the man of steel at darien lake. She swears over her own dead body they will."
"Did Tara also tell you about the elephant and the sky dancers?" Michonne asked. Her eyes were twinkling with humor. She of all people knew it wasn't nearly as big a deal as everybody liked to paint it to be, but they were still excited either way. It was one of the only fun parts about summer.
Rick's eyes twinkled back, letting her know he had caught onto her little play. "Yeah, yeah. She did. The other day when I was out at the pizza planet."
"Rosita told me a whole 'nother story, Grimes. Plus Jeff. Plus Sasha Williams. Tyreese Williams-It was just the other day, too," Michonne scoffed out knowingly before bringing yet another handful of kettle corn to her pursed lips. People talked.
Glenn watched them in amusement, finally smiling a little for the first time since his initiation. He'd hoped the carnival tonight would help him to forget about the whole thing for a little while. He had the 'day off' as the wolves called it-which meant he had 24 hours before his next outing.
"I guess we'll just have to find out who was telling the truth," he grinned widely. Glenn had earphones in and was popping bubbles with his gum, but at least he was with them and participating today.
Daryl bumped his shoulder, glad that he was back and able to once again. Glenn tried to push him back, but Daryl dodged it by just a couple inches.
"My bet's on Tara," Daryl piped up. "I known her a while, she isn't no bluff. Rosita's just a party ruiner-probably just upset she couldn't get a date to the fuckin' carnival."
"Oh please," Michonne interrupted, "Everybody and their brother knows Tara and Rosita have been making googly eyes and kissy faces at each other since they were 12 years old. I don't know what they're waiting for to tell you the truth."
Michonne could tell Daryl wanted to say something smart, but one dangerous look shut him up instantly. The look was replaced with a tiny smile afterwards. These boys were putty in her waiting hands.
"Boys suck," Rick spoke up with a dumb grin present on his plump lips. He pointedly looked towards Michonne as she blew out an unnecessary breath before whispering 'fuck you'. Though Rick was definitely tired today, she could tell he was pretending he wasn't. "I would know."
"Yeah," Michonne agreed instantly, "You would know."
Their usual game was just getting started when a distracting voice pulled them out of their thoughts.
"You kids seein' a movie or what?" the obnoxious box-office worker yelled out to them, "Because if not, you'll have to leave the premises-including the parking lot too."
The guy had to be two years older than them at most, so his patronization really peeved them. Besides Daryl discretely flipping the guy off , they began to walk away without another word. They wouldn't get into trouble today.
Michonne watched Rick warily while they walked away from the theater-leaving it behind in the dust of King County. His demeanor was noticeably off-putting. There were permanent bags under his ocean-like eyes. They popped out like a sore thumb. She couldn't tell if he was overdosing again or if he was just tired from the week's events. She pushed it to the way back of her thoughts for the time being. Tonight was going to be fun-It was going to be wonderful and exciting.
King County carnival. 8:20 PM-ish:
Bright, twinkling lights surrounded the place. It was pretty, but it was almost peculiarly just like a scene out of the silence of the lambs or big fish. It was impossibly vivid and wonderful. There could've quite literally been a wolf on every or any corner they turned-unknown to them-even to the young wolf who walked with them tonight.
They were high on more than just joy tonight. The universe didn't seem to be important for the time being. To the left was the overwhelmingly tall ferris wheel they got on every year. It was just as special the 8th time around.
Tara walked their way, a wide smile on her face as she waved to them. "What's up guys? I'm really glad you came tonight," she said after fist bumping with Daryl.
Tara wore a pin which said 'I was up with the steel' in white letters. Daryl turned around and winked at Michonne, who just rolled her eyes at him before pushing him slightly.
"You wanna join us?" Michonne asked knowingly. It looked like Tara wasn't with anyone tonight, and Michonne knew how shitty that could turn out.
"Yeah," she breathed out in relief, "Thanks."
The two of them weren't as close as Tara was with Rosita, but they'd known each other since they were kids and they'd always liked each other.
Rick and Glenn were already spending the majority of their bank accounts at the vending machine and snack stand. They had been there for nearly 20 minutes now while the others waited impatiently for them.
"Pigs," Michonne whispered. "You know that's the first thing they wanted to do here? It's a carnival and all they care about is the damn fried dough and pop," Michonne grinned widely. It was just pretend.
"As long as they bring me back a drink, I don't give a damn," Daryl piped up.
Rick and Glenn were finally rejoining the group, saying hi to Tara and then taking off towards their first destination together. It was all dark except for the twinkling white lights which illuminated the place. They stuck close together just in case.
"How's it goin' with Maggie?" Tara asked Glenn timidly.
Glenn had candy stuffed between his lips as he looked her way, quickly swallowing it down in embarrassment. "Uh, good. I think."
"That's good," Tara nodded, "She's one of the best people I know. You two are perfect for each other."
Glenn smiled at that, punching Tara lightly on the left shoulder, "Thank you."
Past 10:00 PM:
They rode the ferris wheel together and pinpointed exactly who was afraid of heights. Next was the elephant show and even the dancers-Tara was right about everything, including the man of steel duplicate. When they got off the ride, they were tired and exasperated, but happy they got to experience it twice. They drank twist-off top soda like they were in the 80s.
Rick watched Michonne with a tiny smile on his lips the whole time-her dimples were ever-present today. They were all trapped within their own individual conversations amongst themselves when they spotted Shane Walsh and his group of people by one of the lines, leaning up on the metal rails-the place they were headed straight for. Lori Peters was with them-her dark hair pinned up in a high ponytail. They made out publicly as if the whole town wasn't watching them while touching each other's thighs. They may as well have been doing it behind one of the dumpsters.
Glenn's breath started to pick up as he stopped walking instantly, dropping his drink and candy on the ground. He hadn't expected Shane Walsh to be there tonight-of all people. The others turned to look at him, wondering what was wrong all of the sudden. Then they noticed who he was looking at with wide, terror-stricken eyes.
Daryl put the pieces together just like that, though some were obviously still missing. It didn't mean he wouldn't act on impulse.
"It's got something to do with them, doesn't it? Why you've been acting weird?" he asked Glenn, his voice raising up an octave with each word he spoke. "They do somethin' to you? Somethin' we should know about?"
Daryl was getting worked up, and it quickly spread to Rick, Michonne and Tara, who were all oblivious to the truth but could tell something weird was up. The music which played from one of the merry-go-round's seemed to stop instantly. The whole world was focused on them.
Glenn could see it in each pair of eyes, from blue-grey to chestnut. They were ready to fight. To protect.
"Hey-Walsh!" Daryl yelled immediately after spotting Shane by one of the rails.
"Daryl," Glenn spit out, stepping directly in front of him immediately, "I told you. It's nothing, okay?"
"Please," Daryl dismissed, "You're lookin' over that way like you just saw a deer killed."
There was silence that followed. Shane was looking their way, a warning present in his eyes, directly towards Glenn's. Don't talk, it said. He pulled his jacket around himself impossibly tighter. Something was definitely about to go down. He just had an imputent, unshakable inkling.
They didn't know the whole thing, but they would protect him either way. It felt like the whole town was watching as Daryl got up in Shane's face, threatening him with illegible words. Rick tried to get between them, but as soon as he did, Shane started to push him and Rick didn't like that at all. Daryl didn't either.
"Don't you touch him!" Daryl yelled to Shane's twisted face, "I'm talkin' to you."
"It doesn't look like we're doin' a whole lotta talkin', Dixon," Shane spit back, already balling up his fists in preparation.
"Jesus!" Michonne yelled out from the side as the first punch was thrown. She couldn't tell who it was-it all happened too quickly.
A circle of people surrounded the fight, which was Rick and Daryl versus Shane and his groupies. It was people they knew. They were outnumbered, but it wasn't important. Glenn, Michonne and Tara watched helplessly, knowing trying to get between them wouldn't help. There was panic and adrenaline pulsing through each of their veins, just waiting to pop.
They played, dancing around each other before it really started to get serious. Daryl stepped back, breathless and out of energy as he watched what took place with wide, terrified eyes. His jacket was disheveled and his smokes were all over the place. He was done with the fight, but Rick had gotten Shane Walsh on the ground and was going all out. The pounding didn't let up, and soon enough, Shane couldn't even talk to tell Rick to let up. This was no play fight. This time it was packed with intention and deadliness.
"Rick, stop it!" he heard someone yelling and pulling on his shoulders desperately. He knew it was Michonne, but his pulsing mind couldn't register it in the heat of the moment. "You're killing him! Please!" she yelled out, tears streaming down her face.
People were screaming all around the place, but he might as well have been deaf. Glenn watched the whole thing. He was so terrified he couldn't speak. The cheering and screaming on either team died down and the crowd grew silent. People looked around in worry before dispersing back to other areas of the carnival or leaving altogether. There were no weapons pulled out-yet-but inevitably, people were scared to watch.
Eight people remained. Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Michonne, Tara, Shane, Lori and Jeremy-who Glenn had somehow just noticed. This dream was becoming far too real for him to take. There was vengeance in Jeremy's deep-set eyes and somehow, Glenn seemed to be the only one who saw him in the shadows by one of the trash cans. Lights still illuminated the place, but no one seemed to be able to see anything outside their peripherals.
Lori couldn't talk either as she watched her ex-boyfriend strike her boyfriend's face nearly to death-hands put over her face in disbelief and inaudible sobs escaping her parted lips. Tears dripped down everybody's stunned faces. The look in Rick's stormy eyes was inhuman-enraged and sparked up. Pure violence danced around his dilated pupils. The wonder was gone, just like that.
Neither Daryl or Michonne or Tara or anybody who tried could pry him off could do it as he relentlessly pounded into Shane Walsh's face-knocking out teeth and dark blood in all directions. There were years of pent up anger and pain behind each punch. This was about more than just him messing with Glenn.
Out of nowhere, something weird happened. His head started to get all dizzy and empty-right before he puked up the entire contents of his stomach right there onto the dirty ground.
The whole world was turning dark and the temperature dropped significantly. People turned into blurry shapes and soon enough, he couldn't see them at all. Police sirens sounded off in the background-someone had called the police. Out of nothing but purely thin oxygen, Rick promptly passed out.
Past
"You think he can hold on for long?" Shane inquired to his friends.
They held 12 year old Glenn just over the edge of the ferris wheel, his small body dangling and his legs kicking.
"I said I was sorry!" he yelled up to them, his fingers holding on tightly and tears streaming down his face. "I won't do it again-promise, please!"
"I don't know, Junior Rhee.. I'm not sure if I believe you." Shane's gaze was teasing and ignorant. A fall like that would kill Glenn if he let go.
"Don't panic. Don't panic," Glenn whispered to himself with his eyes tight shut. There were tremors going through his entire skeleton. His fingers wouldn't be able to hold onto the rail for much more time.
"Okay," one of Shane's friends sighed out of pity, "Let him up, Walsh. The kid's had enough."
They pulled him up and he instantly puked over the side. He held tightly onto the side of the car until they reached the bottom again. It was already starting to get dark when he trembled before his friends. They had seen the entire thing, watching and saying nothing so they wouldn't scare him into letting go.
Rick, Daryl and Michonne were pissed. They went off for two minutes and Shane Walsh was already trying to torture their younger friend.
"Walsh!" Daryl called as Shane hopped out of the car proudly.
He sneered to himself before turning. "What do you want, Darlina? If it's about your little friend, I just gave him what he deserved for tryin' to get it with my girl. If he would've just-"
A punch right to the jaw interrupted him, causing him to yell out in pain. Rick stood directly in front of him, his eyes wide and unforgiving.
"Don't touch my friends ever again," Rick whispered through his teeth menacingly. At 14 years old, he had already developed quite the temper-especially when it came to threats from outsiders.
In that instant, he felt as though he were within and without-watching himself protect his friends-watching himself become upset about it.
Shane's friends started to step up to defend him, but Daryl shot them one single look which halted them instantly. Michonne watched, not saying a word as her lips were tightly pressed together.
Shane was blown away. The usually joyful, ecstatic Rick Grimes had transformed right there before his own two eyes. The kid was different.
They were eccentric-enigmatic, ineffable. They were unique.
'Well I met an old man dyin' on a train, no more destination-no more pain. Well he said one thing before I graduate-never let your fear decide your fate. I say you kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry. no need to worry 'cause everybody will die. everyday we just go, go baby don't go. don't you worry we.. more than you know' kill your heroes, awolnation
There were lots of pop culture influences present in this chapter which I think were important-I don't know if any of you were able to point them out. I can't wait to share the next installment with people-probably some time within the next week. Thank you. What did you think?
