Chapter 25:
"We haven't seen anything around here at all today. I've checked with everyone and they all said the same thing"
Rick slowly nodded as he listened to Sasha, his eyes scanning across the horizon.
"...Still no sign of them"
His eyes slid over to the woman, "If they got there late then they said they would stay over. I'd rather they did that then try to make it back during the night"
She seemed to agree on his point, "That's true, but still. We still don't know what we're up against, or where these people are even coming from, I don't think anybody should be going out any time of day right now"
"We'll find out soon enough"
Sasha nodded, glancing back towards the town, "...Well at least you got an early night"
He raised a questioning brow at her, "Huh?"
"Last night, you got to bed early right? No late night strolls across the community…"
His cheeks threatened of flame, "I don't know-"
The woman chuckled evilly, "Your secret's safe with me"
"...It's not really a secret"
"Oh I know, I was just saying that to make you feel better", She snickered, looking over the wall with a wicked smile.
He shook his head as he tried to compose himself, "Of all the people-"
"It just had to be me"
He shifted his stance when he saw a vehicle driving towards the safe zone, but soon recognised it, "Jesus"
"Hope this is just a friendly visit", Sasha mumbled, turning to the ladder.
Rick hoped so too. He waited for Sasha to descend the ladder first before following, trying to keep his mind focused on something else, other than what Michonne has disclosed to him before she left the previous day.
"What's going on?", He queried, watching Jesus step put the vehicle alone.
"Hey", Jesus greeted, wearing a pensive expression, "I thought I'd come up here, see how things are going…"
Rick stared at him, waiting for him to continue.
"...We've lost people. Three to be exact", Jesus lowered his voice as he stepped closer to them, "Three days ago, they went out to get some wood nearby and it's like they just vanished. Maggie suggested I come up here and talk to you, see if any things happened"
Rick glanced over his shoulder, checking who was around before tipping his head at Jesus, signalling for him to walk with him, "Somebody said they say somethan' strange… someone dressed up as walker… wearing a walkers face"
The other man's eyebrows sprung up, "A walkers face?"
"Yeah. We saw a couple walkers missing their skin a few days before… so I'm guessing they made this disguise nearby"
"...Have you heard from the kingdom? Or the Sanctuary?"
"Nothing from Ezekiel, but Michonne and Daryl went up to the Sanctuary today. Left this morning with Carl", Rick explained almost regretfully, "Said they'll be back later"
Jesus nodded, "I can stick around to until their return then. Find out if Dwight's had any problems"
"How is Maggie doing? And Glenn?"
"They're fine. She's doing just fine"
"Good. I might want to get the others together, sit down and talk about this. We know this group are somewhere close but… we need to figure out where. And soon. Tobin said the person that came up to the gates was whispering somethan', but he didn't catch it-"
"I doubt it was anything good"
"Rick!"
Both men turned back to the gates when they heard Rosita call him. Rick watched the girl begin to open the gate again, and moments later another car appeared, one that he wasn't familiar with. Jesus and Rick started back towards the vehicle, and it was when Rick saw Dwight and three other Savior's, that he began to feel uneasy.
"What's going on?", He quizzed, stalking ahead of Jesus.
Dwight seemed to hesitate, "They had a problem. They came to us-"
"What problem?"
"...These people. Michonne told us about them, said they cut them off in the road", Dwight shifted his stance, "Shot at them-"
"Shot at them?", Rick repeated, his heart racing in his chest.
Dwight nodded hastily, "He's fine- he's stable. We took care of him. We're still taking care of him"
Rick didn't need to ask who, for the simple fact that Dwight chose to lead with that piece of information first, "Where?"
The red haired man's shoulders slumped, "In the face- his eye. It got his eye"
Rick narrowed his eyes at him for a moment, trying not to picture the gruesome scene, "His eye? He was shot in the…"
"Michonne and Daryl haven't left him. They've been at his side the whole night-"
Rick turned from the man as he boomed, "Open the gate!"
He headed straight for the nearest vehicle, closely followed by Jesus, "I'm coming with you"
Rick didn't care whether the man did or not. He didn't particularly care about anything other than getting to his son.
"I'm in the back", Sasha called, running to the back seat.
He climbed in the 4x4, barely waiting for the other two to get situated in their seats before he started the car.
Rick was sure his heart had migrated to his ears, as all he could hear was a dull thumping sound. His hands would have been trembling if he weren't holding onto the steering wheel so tightly. All he could do was pictures his son with a large, gaping wound on his face. He didn't want to, but he did. It was pointless to regret allowing the trip but he did that too. He regretted that decision more than anything in that moment. The combination of intense feelings only made him drive faster, more recklessly, desperate to see what had become of his son because of his poor choice in judgment.
Sasha and Jesus tried to speak to him, but there was no use, he had officially checked out, only to regain some sort of motor skill when he saw Carl. Until then, he truly, didn't care about anything.
"Look!", Sasha called, leaning through the front seats to point towards the windshield.
A small herd of walkers were crossing a field, there attentions drawn to the vehicles. Rick slammed his foot on the breaks, and climbed out the car as quickly as he had got in.
With his hatchet in hand, he stomped into the field, watching every corpse closely. He swung the weapon into the side of the first walkers head, as it's missing arm told him it was definitely not a person in disguise. Neither was the second, or the third. He grew livid, hacking away at heads, dark blood spraying across him with every impact.
With the last walker down, it became apparent to Rick that whoever he was looking for wasn't there, and his efforts were wasted. He cursed under his breath, raking his fingers through his messy locks as he matched back to the vehicle, where Sasha with her rifle raised and Jesus held his knife, ready to help if he needed it. Dwight and the other Savior's watched from outside their car too, having caught up with them after Rick sped away.
He continued on with his journey the same way it had started, driving dangerously fast until they reached the Sanctuary. It was a good thing the gates opened before he could reach them, as he would have certainly driven through the fence instead.
Questions swarmed his mind as he Dwight led him to the infirmary, trying to speak to him like Sasha and Jesus had done. Rick was too busy trying to figure out why it had been his son. He wanted to know the teen was in the firing line, when did it happen, whether he's been unconscious the whole time, or if he's woken up yet. He wanted to know why he wasn't sent for sooner, or why Michonne and Daryl didn't bring him right back to the safe zone. He knew he would get answers eventually, but he wasn't thinking rationally, and his was forcing himself to question every little detail.
"In here"
Dwight opened the heavy door and stepped aside for Rick to go in. He immediately recognised it as the room that Negan was treated in after Michonne cut off his arm, which only added to the nausea he already felt.
The windows had been covered with sheets of cardboard, darkening the room as it blocked the sun's rays. There was a makeshift curtain hung up that Rick walked around, and he nearly crumbled when he finally caught sight of his son, laying topless in bed with a large white bandage sat diagonally across his face. Michonne was sat on the chair beside the bed, holding one of his hands as she slept, face down in the crook of her arm.
Rick walked around the bed with glistening eyes, scanning over every square inch of the teens face. He took a seat on the edge, trying his best to compose himself, but it wasn't easy. He sensed some kind of movement behind him, but made no attempt to look back, or speak to her.
"He hasn't woken up yet…"
Her voice was barely a whisper, and Rick could see her out of his peripheral view as he peered down at Carl.
"...They came out of nowhere. We were making our way here and they were in the street, we didn't know what they were going to do…"
Rick clenched his jaw as he sniffed, taking Carl's warm hand in his quivering ones.
"Emily said it didn't go any further than his-"
"Can you leave, please", Rick rasped coldly, his brows knitting together in annoyance. He heard her huff, her chair scraping the floor as she pushed away from it.
It was only when he heard the door close that he briefed a sigh of relief. While he was beside himself with rage and upset, he didn't wish to lash out at her while he stumbled through his shock. He knew the chances of them encountering the unknown group on their travels were high when he allowed Carl to go along with them, and he accepted that he agreed to the trip as a whole, but a small part of him wished she and Daryl could have done more to protect his son. He imagined they did their best, but there best hadn't been good enough in this case.
Rick stayed by his son's side for some time, stuck between figuring out what to do next in that moment and in general. He couldn't sit around and play it safe any longer, something needed to be done, and quickly at that.
The door clicked open as Rick paced, and Daryl stepped in the room, his eyes landing on a still unconscious Carl. He closed the door behind him, taking his time to enter the room, "Anythan'?"
Rick just shook his head as he continued to move.
Daryl eyed him carefully, "You see anythan' when you were coming up here?"
"No", Rick choked out, "Nothing at all"
"...They came out of nowhere, but I saw who shot him though. Big guy… I didn't see anyone else with a gun… just knives-"
"Where?"
"Not even a mile away from that mall Michonne told us about"
Rick almost flinched when he heard her name, "I going back out there after he wakes up"
Daryl raised a curious eyebrow at him, "Near the mall?"
"I'm looking wherever I have to. They've killed plenty of people already, and it sounds like they don't have intention on slowing down soon, so there out there, I know it. We'll find them"
"...Yeah. Alright"
"Where's Dwight?"
"...He's out there", Daryl tilted his head towards the door, "Talking to Michonne and Jesus"
Rick should have known that she wouldn't have gone far, "We're gonna' need his help"
The other man nodded, "Got it"
Rick continued to pace until he was growing dizzy. All he could think about was making a plan of action, figuring out the best way to tear apart the people behind his son's injury. Everything he glanced at the boy he found himself growing angrier than before, so much that he didn't realise that Daryl had left the room and Michonne had reappeared, until he looked up and saw her stood by the bed watching him.
He didn't say anything, instead he just raked his hands through his hair as he moved around for a countless time, but she spoke, "I'm sorry, Rick"
He exhaled tiredly while trying not to look in her direction.
"...If I even knew… if I even saw some way to stop that from happening, even if that meant throwing myself in front of him, I would have. I wouldn't have had to think about it", She stressed quietly, "...I wouldn't want anyone to feel what I've felt before… least of all you"
He stopped when he realised she was talking about her own son, which led him to remember something else, "What did you go see Negan about?"
Her thin brows narrowed at him, "...I just spoke to him-"
"About what?", He cocked his heat to the side as he watched her closely.
"...I told him that I wasn't going down there anymore, and that I'd kill him if he tried to stop what I'm trying to do here. What everyone is trying to do here"
Rick sniffed as he looked elsewhere, "You had to tell him that?"
"I did", She nodded, giving him her notorious stoic look.
"Why'd you sneak off to see him then?"
"Because I was sure you would have stopped me. You expected me to server something on your terms and that's not fair-"
"Because your terms are better, right? That's how we've been doing thangs?"
She slowly inhaled, "I really don't want to argue with you about this. I still did what you wanted, and I still stand by the choice I made. I know that you're mad and upset right now but we are still on the same page and I still want the same things as you. None of that has changed"
"It doesn't feel like that right now", He sighed as he continued to look elsewhere, allowing her words slowly sink in.
"The whole point of this trip was to come here and warn Dwight about what was going on, and to get him on board with the rest of us, and I don't want us to lose sight of that. There is still a pretty big threat lurking in the distance and I don't want to go up against that without you at my side. I need you"
He had to look at her when he heard her voice break towards the end of her speech, and it quickly became apparent to him that she was holding back something, desperate to keep herself together. The sight only weakened him further. He ran both hands over his face as he tried to calm, "I get it"
"Do you?"
"I do", He insisted firmly, "I do… we want the same things. I know we do"
Her shoulders fell as she relaxed, finally feeling comfortable enough to move closer to him, "Thank you for listening to me"
He watched her reach up to cup his face, and he immediately felt some sort of relief when her palm rested on his cheek, "I'm just… so-"
"I know, and I'm so sorry, I tried to-"
"I know", He nodded, placing his hand over hers, "...I have to kill them all for this. Every last one of them"
She looked up at him with glistening eyes, "We will"
Rick took her in his arms, able to find some comfort in the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling. It dawned on him that he needed her too, in every sense of the word, but most importantly, right then with Carl, and it was when he looked past her at his son, that he noticed the boy looking at them from his one good eye. Rick chest almost caved, but he managed to tap Michonne before breaking away from her.
"Hey…", He nearly whispered, stalking over to the bed quickly, "You feeling alright, son?"
The teen gave a tiny nod of his head, making no attempt to speak. He looked tired more than anything, his eye barely able to stay open.
"I'm glad to see that", Rick took his hand in his as he beamed down at him, "Don't you worry about a thang, you just rest, alright? You're at the Sanctuary, they're gonna' take care of you... and I'm gonna' take care of the people that did this".