What? Two chapters in two days? It's a miracle! *I own nothing.
Chapter Eleven—Cause when it's over, all that matters is the love you gave away
The baby was born in what Rick guessed was early March. He came out healthy, and both he and Maggie were doing great. It was a load off all of their shoulders, as everyone in the group had been stressed about the outcome of the birth.
Some happiness finally came to the group.
Maggie named him Jude, which she said was her father's middle name. Rick hadn't given much thought to Hershel Greene, but he saw Maggie give Merle a smile when she told everyone the reason behind the name.
He realized he'd never asked who else was in the group with Daryl. He pulled Merle aside later to ask him about it.
"Was anyone else I know in the group with y'all, at the quarry?" Rick said. Merle nodded, his forehead creasing in thought.
"Sure. Carol, fer one," he replied. Rick felt shame course through his body that he hadn't even thought much of her since this whole thing happened. He was relieved she had Daryl to look out for her. There was no one better to have your back than him.
"Who else? Hershel Greene?"
Merle met his eyes. "Caught tha', did ya?"
Rick nodded. "You told her when you got here?"
Merle shrugged, and dropped his gaze. "She asked, is all. Jus' told her what I knew."
Rick smiled at him. "You gave her hope that she'll see her father again. That's no small thing."
Merle wouldn't meet his eyes as he continued. "That coach, too. T-Dog, or whatever. Stupid ass name if ya ask me."
Rick held in a laugh. That was a deflection if he's ever heard one.
"There was the school nurse, and a coupla other people I'd never met before. Daryl hadn't either, so I doubt you know 'em," Merle finished.
"Thanks, Merle. I appreciate it," Rick said. Merle scoffed and walked off while Rick held in a grin. That man was a marshmallow inside, he just knew it.
Rick hadn't heard anything more about the Governor or Woodbury since the incident a few months prior. He had decided to take the problems as they came, and so far the whole town had left them be. Rick figured he could extend the same courtesy.
It never left his mind, though, that it was possible the only reason they hadn't been attacked was because Merle had ditched the tail that night. The Governor could be looking for them, still.
He pushed it away from his mind for the moment. He and Glenn were going on a run for the baby, and he had to keep his head in the game. They had most everything they needed, but babies always needed something else, it seemed. Maggie had been having problems producing enough milk, and Jude's meals were being supplemented by formula.
It wasn't a surprise, really. They were all undernourished. Rick could see his rib bones when he cared enough to look.
They'd gotten enough for a week or so that first time they realized they needed formula, but they were almost out now. Rick and Glenn were gonna hunt some down. The damn stuff was hard to find.
"You drivin'?" Glenn asked as he walked to the car. He'd just kissed his wife and son goodbye, and he looked as if he wanted to turn right back around. He kept moving, though. Rick had to admire him for that.
"Sure," Rick replied, clapping Glenn on the shoulder. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Glenn and Maggie were some of the first friends he made when he moved to their town. They hadn't kept in touch, really, but Rick had always thought of them fondly. When he'd heard from his parents that they'd gotten hitched, he'd felt happy for them, but he'd felt no desire to seek them out.
Now here he was, telling Glenn what to do in order to survive in the apocalypse. The world was funny that way.
Rick drove down the path and waved to Tommy, who opened the gate for them, a rifle clutched in his hand.
They drove for two hours, stopping occasionally to check out stores along the way, but found nothing. Rick pulled into the fourth town they passed, and saw a big outlet mall, with a chain of stores connected together. He pulled into the overlarge parking lot, his eyes sweeping the storefronts for anything useful. It was still full of cars.
Walkers roamed everywhere, spread out and in groups. A few of them turned their heads at the sounds of the car, but Rick avoided them as best he could. He knew if they had to step out of the vehicle, they'd have plenty to deal with then.
"There!" Glenn said excitedly, his hand pointed to the right. Rick looked out the passenger window, and his eyes fell on a large sign, "Buy Buy Baby." The storefront had carriages, cribs, and, yes, bottles and formula.
Rick turned the car in an arch and drove to the store. He parked directly in front of it, and swept his eyes over the area. A lot of people must've died here, by the looks of it. With the parking lot still full, and the walkers crowding the walkways, it almost looked like a normal day at the mall.
Except all of the customers were dead.
Rick turned to Glenn, and he was met with a steely resolve. "I can go in alone, Rick. Give me ten minutes, then get the hell out."
Rick shook his head. "Nah. I got yer back. Not lettin' that baby loose his father, alright?"
Glenn nodded appreciatively. There was a pregnant pause in which both men gathered their courage, and then their doors were pushed open and they jumped out of the car.
Walkers came at them from all sides. Rick was pressed against the car, three of the dead on him, before he could even take a step away from it. He could hear Glenn fighting some of his own, but he couldn't turn around to look.
Rick gripped his knife in his hand and rammed it under the closest one's chin. It fell, but another one immediately took its place.
He would be too swarmed to get out of this soon.
"Guns!" he shouted, and he pulled his revolver out of its holster. It would draw more in, but they already had big targets on their backs. They just needed to clear a big enough path to get to the store, to safety.
He shot the three that were close enough to bite him in quick succession. Before more could take their places, Rick darted to the left, around the trunk of the car, and tried to get to Glenn.
The man had made it halfway to the store, but he was surrounded on all sides, no wall at his back, and he was swinging his machete into as many of the things as he could reach. He didn't have time to go for his gun, it looked like.
They were overwhelming him.
There were at least two dozen of them between Rick and Glenn, and Rick had more coming up behind him. His progress was slow going, and he only had so many bullets, but he started shooting, trying to get to the other man.
Rick felt a hand on his shoulder, and smelled the stench of a rotted body, and he swung around, backing up a step instinctively as he did so, and raised his gun. He shot the walker in the head, but a scream—a human scream—had him turning back around fast.
A walker was biting into Glenn's arm, ripping away the flesh. Blood spurted everywhere, and the walkers went into a frenzy, pushing at each other to get to him.
Horror swept through Rick, but he staunched it quickly. Glenn didn't have the luxury of time.
He had to get him the hell out of there.
Glenn kept swinging with his good arm, taking out the walkers nearest to him, including the one that bit him. Rick knew that the only thing on the man's mind was getting that formula for his baby, and that any hope of survival for himself was secondary to that. Rick couldn't let him down.
He shot them, one by one, until he ran out of bullets. Stepping over the bodies of the unmoving dead, he pulled out his knife again, and, together, they took out the remaining walkers that stood between them.
When Rick finally reached him, Glenn's strength waned, and his arm fell to his side. His eyes wide, he took a step towards the store, his gaze fixed over Rick's shoulder.
Rick turned to look, though he dreaded what he would see.
At least a hundred walkers were coming their way. His gunfire had drawn even more in than he'd anticipated, and the time it took for them to make it to the store took longer than he'd hoped.
"Run!" he shouted, and, grabbing Glenn's good arm, pulled him along behind him.
They made it to the store, and Rick tried to break it with the handle of his knife, his elbow, his booted foot. Nothing worked, and the dead were coming closer.
"Glenn, your gun!" he said urgently. He'd forgotten about it.
Apparently Glenn had, too. He turned surprised eyes to Rick before pulling the pistol out of the back of his jeans. He shot the door quickly, and the men jumped through the crumbling glass.
They could hear the crunch of glass under the walkers' feet as they followed them, but Rick and Glenn ran through the store without looking back.
The stock room door was directly ahead, and they burst through it at full speed, Rick in front.
"I'll hold the door shut, you find the formula!" Glenn said, and Rick nodded without arguing. He had a brief glance of the man grunting in pain as he set his body firmly against the door before he ran down the first aisle.
He found it quickly, and threw a dozen of them into his bag before running back to Glenn, who looked on the verge of passing out.
"C'mon, we gotta getcha outta here," Rick said quickly as he braced his shoulder against the door next to Glenn. They couldn't hold it much longer.
"Go, Rick," Glenn said tiredly. "I'll hold 'em off as long as I can. Go back to the car, and bring that to Maggie. Tell her I love her, okay?"
Rick's jaw set in determination. "You can tell her yourself. C'mon. There's a manger's office just around the corner, I spotted it earlier. We can lock ourselves in. On the count of three."
Glenn shook his head. "It's no use, Rick. I'm dead anyway."
"You're not dead 'til you stop breathin'!" Rick shouted. "You owe it to the people you love to try, dammit! Now, let's go!"
Glenn met his eyes, and his expression changed in that instant. It wasn't hope, exactly, but it was close enough for him to grit his teeth against the pain, and nod tersely.
"One, two, three!" Rick shouted, and he grabbed Glenn's arm as he ran to help the man keep up. Walkers burst through after them, and only their speed kept them from being grabbed immediately.
They turned left, and Rick pushed Glenn into the open office before running in after him. Glenn closed the door, and they pressed their bodies against it as Rick turned the deadbolt.
Glenn slid down the door slowly, unable to stand any longer due to the pain. He still had his hand wrapped around the machete, and an idea came to Rick. He kneeled down next to him, and met the man's eyes.
"Glenn," he started urgently. "I don't know if this'll work, but I wanna try somethin'. The infection comes from the bite, and then it spreads to your body, right? Well, what if we cut the infected part off?"
Glenn's eyes widened as his gaze followed Rick's down to his injured left arm. He looked back to Rick, and he swallowed once before setting his jaw. "Do it."
Rick nodded, and stood up to slide off his belt. He made a tourniquet out of it, tying it around Glenn's arm tightly, and then he held out his hand for the machete.
Glenn handed it to him with a grimace, and closed his eyes.
Rick took a deep breath, and raised his arm to swing, but was stopped when Glenn's eyes shot back open.
"Rick, if this doesn't work, I want you to tell Maggie… tell her that I'll always be with her, okay? And that it was quick, and painless. And, when he gets old enough, tell Jude that his father loved him, more than anything. Can you do that?" Glenn asked, tears coming to his eyes, his voice trembling.
Rick fought off his own tears at the man's suffering, and nodded. "I'm not gonna make your wife a widow, Glenn. This'll work," he replied. "But…if it doesn't. Yeah, of course I'll tell them."
Glenn nodded appreciatively, his eyes closing again as his face scrunched up in anticipation of the pain. A single tear ran down his cheek as Rick raised the machete again.
His arm swung down in an arch.
Daryl shot to his feet as quickly as his leg would allow, and limped out the door, grabbing his crossbow and shotgun on the way. The screaming sounded like it was coming from the front yard, and he took the stairs two at a time as he went for the front door.
His leg twinged with the effort of moving too fast, but he could barely feel it through the adrenaline.
Daryl pulled open the door, and his eyes met chaos. Geeks had come in hoards, and it was too dark to see all of them. They must've come through the trees, where the people on watch wouldn't have seen them in time.
Members of the groups kept it together, much more so than the last time they were overrun, and, in the back of his mind, Daryl was impressed.
Across the yard, Morgan, Duane, and Jenny all took them out one by one, their backs to each other, guns raised, as they slowly made their way towards their car.
Daryl raised his crossbow and stepped outside, and took out a geek that was coming up on T's back, who was taking the things out methodically, trying to get the rest of the group closer to the house. Hershel was beside him, calmly shooting the fuckers who came for them.
Next to Hershel was Carol, who stood over a cowering Sophia. The woman was obviously in shock over the sudden appearance of so many geeks, and wasn't handling it well. Daryl scoffed as he moved to get Carol and the others the fuck out of there.
Where they were standing, geeks were getting to them on all sides. They didn't have to ammo to hold off the fucker for long, so they needed to get to higher ground.
Just as the thought entered his mind, a shot rang out from above him, and Daryl looked up to see Ben on the roof, his rifle raised as he shot the geeks one by one. Janine was by his side, doing the same.
"Over here!" Daryl shouted, and T, Hershel, and Carol all looked up to see him, halfway between them and the house. "I'll cover you! We gotta get to the roof, then pull up the ladder!"
He dropped his crossbow so it rested on his back, and raised his shotgun. He disposed of the geeks between them quickly, and the others ran towards him, Carol gripping Sophia's wrist tightly. T and Hershel took up stances beside Daryl as Carol drug Sophia to the edge of the house, where the ladder was propped up against it.
Daryl heard the engine of a car starting, and he looked to his left to see the Jones' car moving towards them. Duane was driving, and Daryl's eyes widened at that. All this shit, and a twelve-year-old behind the wheel is what surprised him.
Morgan and Jenny shot geek after geek, but they seemed to be heading towards the side of the house, where Daryl couldn't see. A high-pitched scream let him know that the rest of the group was over there.
Danielle and Jamie. And the kid.
Daryl nodded to T and Hershel, and they quickly followed the progression of the car around the side of the house, taking out geeks as they moved. Sophia and Carol had already made it to the roof, and Carol was taking up aim where Daryl and the others were headed.
He turned the corner, and the scene before him made him run faster.
A geek had someone pinned to the ground, and he could see the blood on its hands as it tore at the person. He didn't even take the time to figure out who it was; he just tackled the fucking thing. It rolled with him, and he quickly scooted backwards and pulled out his knife before jumping forwards and stabbing its skull.
Sobbing reached his ears, and he turned to see who the thing had gotten, his heart in his throat.
It was Danielle. Her blonde hair was matted with blood, and she was struggling to breathe, but she could barely do it. Her stomach was in shreds, and Daryl knew there was nothing they could do.
Jamie ran towards them, her arm around Asher, but when she got close enough to see the damage, she quickly turned the boy around, and blocked his mother from his sight.
Daryl stood, and made his way over to the pair. "I got 'im," he said quietly, and Jamie's tear-stained face met his before she continued over to her sister.
Asher was crying hysterically beside him, possibly because he understood what was happening. Or maybe he was just fucking terrified, Daryl didn't know. He picked the kid up, keeping his face averted from his mom and aunt, and swept his eyes across the land.
Morgan and Jenny were taking out the geeks that were coming near them. There were more, but they were far enough away to give Jamie a moment with her sister.
Daryl knew they wouldn't stay here another night.
He heard the last, gurgling breaths of a dying person—Danielle—and then the sickening crunch of a blade slicing through a skull.
Despite his experience as a hunter, and a killer, Daryl winced at the thought of having to stab a sibling to keep them from rising again. To be honest, he wasn't sure he'd be able to do it.
"C'mon, we gotta go," Daryl called, and Jamie rose slowly to her feet. She, Daryl, T, and Hershel made their way over to the ladder, and they climbed up to the roof, Asher still clinging to Daryl's neck.
Duane stopped the car beside the ladder, and the Jones family stepped out and joined them quickly. Then Morgan and T pulled the ladder up, just in case one of the fuckers knocked it over or figured out how to climb.
There was a tense silence in the air as everyone regained their breath. It was broken by a small, trembling voice.
"Auntie J-Jamie? Where's M-Momma?" Asher asked. Jamie's eyes filled with tears, and she moved closer to take the boy from Daryl's arms, hugging him fiercely.
Daryl turned his eyes away, and focused on the night around them.
When daybreak came, everyone was still awake. They thought of taking shifts, but no one could sleep anyway.
Hershel was the first to speak.
"Does anyone have any idea where we should go?"
His question was met with a sad kind of silence. Not just for the home they'd lost, but also for the friend, and mother, and sister.
"Should we just walk?" Ben asked. "Try to find somewhere on foot?"
Morgan shook his head. "I think I should take a scouting trip in the car, try to find somewhere. A couple of us can go. We'll come back, and then we'll all go together, to whatever we find."
His words were met with nods, and T-Dog volunteered to go with him, followed by Ben. The three men stepped down the ladder after they placed it back on the ground, and ran to the car. There weren't nearly as many geeks, but they could never be too careful.
Asher came over and pressed his face into Daryl's chest, quickly dozing off on the man. He raised his head to see Jamie, who was seated across from him, and she gave him a sad, wistful smile.
"He's lost both of his parents, now," she said softly.
Daryl nodded, but didn't know what to say. He just wrapped an arm around the boy, and kept his eyes on the horizon.
Nearly a day passed before they heard the car again. Daryl quickly made his way to the edge of the roof, and was met with T waving for him to lower the ladder again. The three men quickly climbed back up, and Morgan's voice was filled with anxiety as he spoke.
"There isn't much, honestly. Only one promising thing we could find. It's a prison," he said, and stony faces stared back at him. Surprise filtered through the group, and Carol's brow furrowed as she spoke up.
"A prison? We're gonna hole up there? How do you know if it's empty?"
Morgan shook his head. "It's not. People live there, but they don't seem to be prisoners. There's women, for one. And one of them had a baby. I think we should go to them, ask if we can join them. It's the only option I can see now, other than being nomads, moving from place to place. Unsure if we'll be able to eat that day."
His eyes fell to his wife and son, and then to Asher, who was standing with Jamie.
Daryl nodded. "Let's do it. Drive us in groups, drop us just outside of their line of sight, then we'll go together. The more women and children they see, the better."
Morgan smiled at him. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Two hours later, Daryl and Morgan led the group towards the gate of the prison. As they made their way closer, he could hear shouts, people yelling at them or each other. They were scared.
He kept his crossbow slung across his back, and his shotgun aimed to the ground. No reason to alarm anyone.
Jamie and Asher were directly behind him, and Duane and Jenny were behind Morgan.
T-Dog, Hershel, and Carol brought up the rear, with Ben, Janine, and Sophia between them. They were prepared to fight, but hoping not to.
They made it to the gate, and Daryl was faced with two men, both gripping shotguns, their faces stony. Another man was walking towards them, his strides long, but Daryl's attention was brought back to the two in front of him when one of them spoke.
"What d'you want?" the man asked, not too harshly. He didn't sound exactly friendly, either, though.
"We need shelter. We can pull our own weight, but it's too dangerous out there for the kids, and some of the women. We wanna join you," Morgan said.
The men shot each other looks, before the sounds of footsteps reached their ears. They automatically moved to the side when the third person reached them. "John, Tommy. What do they want?"
"They wanna join us," one of them replied, and the third man's eyes scanned the group. His hair was long, his face pale, but Daryl was struck by his appearance. Something was off here…
The man's eyes swept over him, almost dismissively, before shooting back to him quickly. His eyes widened, and he took a step closer. "Daryl?" he said quietly.
Daryl's heart stopped in his chest as he recognized the voice, not toughened up or lowered for the benefit of intimidating strangers. "Carl?"
"Open the gate!" Carl yelled, and the men moved to do so without hesitation. As soon as it was open, Carl grabbed Daryl and pulled him into a hug. Daryl returned it gratefully.
"Fuck, man. It's so good to see you," Carl said, and pulled back, a grin spreading on his face. Then it faltered.
Daryl felt dread coursing up his spine. "What? Carl, where's Rick?"
He could hear murmuring behind him, but he didn't give a damn what the group was saying, he just had to find out where the fuck Rick was.
"He, uh—" Carl started, but another voice interrupted them.
"What's all this, shorty? Ya done left the gate open fer everyone to get in! What're we, a soup kitchen?" The man's words stopped short when his eyes fell on Daryl.
And then they were moving towards each other, and Daryl finally had his brother with him again, hugging him tightly.
"I knew you were alrigh'! I told that boy o' yers, I told 'im! I said no one could take down a Dixon!" Merle said, and Daryl grunted before pulling back. He turned back to Carl quickly.
"Where the fuck is he, Carl?" he said harshly, and the boy shook his head.
"We don't know. He went out for baby formula yesterday, and he never came back, he or Glenn. We were just gettin' a search party together when you showed up."
Daryl gritted his teeth against the pain of being so fucking close to Rick, but too late. He met Carl's stare and nodded tersely.
"No need. I'll go get him."
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