Hey, updating two updates at once. Be kindly advised.
XXXII.
Rick's hand inched at his hip at the next second after the man's declaration, Amanda noticed, a reflex on instinct, so quick, so covert, looking for the gun that wasn't there.
He'd taken off his duty belt while he was unzipping his jeans—leaving it a few steps beside them next to the heap of her clothes—her own gun and knives the same in the position. They both flickered their eyes toward them at the same time, too, and realized they couldn't have reached at them without making a move first.
Stupid… so stupid… God…hormones, lust and desire—and their feelings had made them so stupid! Getting caught like this!
She didn't even have a single piece of clothing over herself. She was stark naked…
I want you naked.
She wondered what Rick thought about that wish now… As if to answer her, his body tightened around her, trying to shelter her naked form from the men's view, his eyes turning to a stern cut gemstone.
He twisted his neck and looked at the men. Amanda didn't want to but followed his example. "We don't want any trouble," he rasped out, turning further toward the men as his body still held her most critical body parts covered.
Their intruders gave at him sick smiles, one of them even sneered—the skinny, greasy one with the crossbow, a crossbow that he was keeping in the air up, trained at Rick.
Amanda wanted to sigh deeply. Why…why they just wouldn't have turned around and walked away? Was it really that hard? If Rick or Daryl would've seen another couple in the woods, that was what they would've done. That was what good, decent people would've done—she remembered what she'd told Lizzie…her code… and contrary to all evidence, it wasn't that hard.
In fact, it was a hell of lot of easier than this! "Yeah—bet you ain't—" the sick pervert bastard intoned, as an anger started building in her.
The other one—muscled but not as much as Tyreese, a built closer to Daryl, had even more sickening expression over his face than his friend, and when the one with the crossbow, Len, had talked, Amanda had understood he'd been the one who had made that declaration.
And I claim this one.
Amanda didn't understand what the words truly meant, but understood to what the words had been directed, what had exactly been claimed a few seconds ago.
Her.
Rick's hand reached out to the pile of his clothes, but the one who had claimed her raised his gun higher in return, "Don't be smart, asshole."
"I'll just give her back her clothes—" Rick said, keeping his voice cool.
The sick bastard shook his head, "No. Up—" he ordered then, "Turn around."
The question was in her again…why…? They just had wanted to have a little bit downtime together for a little while. Amanda had really liked this—doing this with him—not only sex, either. No, this was something—different, too. Like him. Deeper. A deeper connection, like having sex without protection, trusting, opening. And she'd done it. She—she'd opened herself to him. It hadn't been easy. They…they'd almost fucked it, but at the end managed it.
They should've just lay in each other's arms now, enjoying each other's company for a bit—bantering silly to choose to how to do it… because they both wanted to do it again.
Perhaps she—she shouldn't have moaned that high. She—she'd tried to keep herself quiet, she really had—but dammit. She just couldn't have helped herself. Each time he drove in her, she felt like she was getting undone…and she had been—he…he'd undone her—
She stopped her thoughts. This…this wasn't a good time to think how she'd come undone under him. Nor how much she'd liked it.
She darted her eyes at him then again and saw his expression, cut off of stone now—his release completely gone, and she saw the grim lines etched across his eyes and lips deepen, and Amanda saw anger there, too a fury, a furious tempest in the depth of his eyes, and guilt.
Out of sudden she wanted to hug him and told him this wasn't his fault. She'd wanted this. It was her who had started this, it was her idea. She'd been also the one who were making all those loud moans. Rick was fairly less…verbal than her… Their eyes met as Rick turned back to look at her, and she gave him an encouraging nod.
There was nothing else they could do. They were going to roll with this. She wasn't going to behave like a blushing virgin, just because some men had caught them having sex, either.
But then the man ordered further, "Turn her around, too—on her stomach—" They both froze again, "Get behind her. C'mon—" the sick bastard urged, "You heard me. I said behind."
No… No… Fucking no!
FUCK IT! "We want to watch that, too—"
She closed her eyes as Rick shouted with fury, "NO!"
She shook her head, opening her eyes and saw the man walking toward them agitated, his gun raised higher… "I said—turn her around and get her behind!" he spat, shaking his gun at Rick who had turned his neck aside again to give the man a loathing look, "You fuck her now like I said or I kill ya and fuck her in your stead. You choose."
Then Amanda decided she had to do something before things went really ugly. Rick—Rick needed a distraction. She wandered her eyes around, assessing the situation quickly, and realized that she –all in her naked, just fucked properly glory–was the best distraction.
With an inward sigh and a crying wail outside, she pushed Rick off of her in a frenzied act and turned herself—and started screaming, "PLEASE!" She drew up on her knees and hands on the ground, "PLEASE—DON'T KILL HIM" Bowing her head, forcing herself to cry, she continued screaming, crying, begging… "I—I WILL do everything you ask—everything…"
All in honesty, she always thought if she couldn't have been a police officer, she would've ended up being an actress or a con artist. She possibly would've made a very good one, as well. She lifted her head up, fixing her tear eyes at the bastard, and saw him staring at her appalled caught up in the act.
Idiot.
She started crawling toward him, too, tears now sliding across her cheeks. She hoped Rick wasn't only staring at her like a moron at her back, because she could feel eyes on her back, but also drawing up a plan or something. She could take this stupid bastard, but he was going to have to deal with the other bastard with crossbow.
She made a move closer to the man—also closer her pile of clothes… "Please don't hurt him…please…please…" she begged further, sobbing, making sure she put an extra imploring quavering tone in her voice, making her lips tremble as she advanced further toward the bastard, still crawling on her hands and knees… "Please…I—I'll d-do a-anything—anything y-you a-ask…please…please…"
She clutched the man's leg, and drew herself up along its length, "Please—" With the corner of her eyes then, she finally caught Rick, too, as he stood up at his feet, his jeans already zipped up, and he'd also gotten closer the pile of her clothes… He would just leap and take his gun… It wasn't that far now.
Her other hand slid toward her clothes…toward her small hand knife where it stayed unsheathed under her pants.
She lifted her head up at the man, still clutching his leg, "Please—whatever you want…" she cried on, this time roughing her voice into a throaty moan— "However you want it—wherever you want to put it…" and she knew she got his attention now completely.
Her hand slid further over her pants as the man fixed at his eyes at her. Amanda kept her own eyes at the man, as well, "whatever way—front…back…" she roughed out, her fingers finally touching her knife, "Just…please…please, just don't hurt him…"
The man snorted in answer, looking at her with a vile, mocking smile… "Man, the things women do for love…"
Love? Was she doing this for love? The frivolous saying halted her hand for a tiniest of seconds before her hand grasped the hilt of her blade, her eyes still on the man.
Looking at her back, the bastard looked confused, sensing—seeing the abrupt change on her. Amanda didn't waste any time then. Dropping the act completely, she leaped up, sweeping him down with a quick, flipping kick at the ground as her other hand grabbed his hand that held the gun.
She raised his arm up in the air before his finger squeezed the trigger, and rolled them over the ground in two turns, throwing him over her shoulder before the man could fire the gun.
Rick lunged forward at the same moment, too, just like she'd expected as the other man with crossbow shot at him, but Rick expertly dodged from the bolt. Amanda slid over the man's body, holding the gun with one hand as with the other she drove her knife through his neck.
It'd happened so quick the sucker bastard still had that confused expression over his face as he began making gurgling noises as his blood started pouring out of his throat.
Grabbing the gun, she pulled back on her feet, pointing it at him as she caught the man with bow started turning around and running away from them. But it was too late for that now. Too late.
She turned toward the running man, and aimed the gun at him, but Rick, wailing his arm at her, stopped her. "No! No gunshots!" he shouted at her and started running after him, "I got him! Put your clothes on."
Bowing her head, she remembered then she was still naked. Her eyes flickered over her hand, now wet and slick with blood as she held the gun.
Her eyes turned down at the dying man on the ground then as she stood there above him, dropping her arm down at her side, realizing she'd just killed another sonofabitch who she didn't even know his name… Just another sonofabitch in the woods… One of the many. Rick had been right at that part. They weren't important, but Amanda—Amanda was getting…tired of this.
She sighed out, naked and tired… "Why?" and the question left her even before she knew it, "Why did you do this?" she asked the dying man.
Sometimes she really couldn't understand… Was it really that hard just turn around and leave? Just being…she didn't know… a decent human being?
In answer the man only gave out gurgling voices as he choked on his own blood.
Amanda shook her head, making a bitter sound as she just watched him as he died. It ended a few seconds later. She crouched then, took her knife out, blood sputtering at her face as she pulled it out, and stabbed him at his head.
Small mercies.
Heaving deeply, she turned to her clothes. She started putting on her clothes back, and just before she was clinching her holster again across her leg, Rick came back.
His feet faltered a second seeing her, and Amanda looked at him as well, and she felt weary… what she'd felt with him just a few minutes ago, how good it'd felt having him inside her as he filled her entirely, fully as they went over with the flow—yielded to the moment as she opened herself and he came willingly—as if…as if…god…she knew she sounded cheesy—but she'd felt it—as if…as if they…completed—something together.
And, like each good thing in their lives it ended like this… She swallowed through a tight lump in her throat. "Done?" she asked him if he'd killed just another sonofabitch in the woods, too
Rick simply nodded.
Her eyes turned at the dead man on the ground beside her feet, and she shook her head, looking at the corpse. "I—I don't understand—" she muttered low as Rick walked to her, "They would've just turned around and walked away. Like—like we tried to do first when we met at the woods." She turned to him, "That's what decent people would do."
Rick stood in front of her. "There're not many decent people left, Amanda—" he said in answer, "You know it."
She nodded. He took a step forward, and he put his hands over her waist tentatively as if it hadn't been him who had been fucking her brains out a couple of minutes ago. "What you did there—" he told her in a small voice, "I—I know you did it for me but don't do that again." His eyes bore through hers, "Don't risk your life like that for me again."
"Rick—"
"No!" he cut her off heatedly, "I don't want you to do it!" He closed his eyes for a second, shaking his head, and when he reopened them again, she saw a sheer determination inside them, "I—I protect you, keep you safe—"
She cut him off then, too, "Rick, we keep each other safe, we protect each other's back—" she told him, a part of her wanting to kiss him senseless, the other part just wanting to smack some sense into his head. They…they were together into this.
Together. The word echoed in her…. Together…
She gave him a small, tired smile, touching his cheek, brushing her fingers over his beard, and she liked it…she liked the fact she could make that gesture now. "You save me the next time, 'kay?" she whispered out, trying to keep her voice clear, free of her swelling emotions, "It's not like you won't get any other chance…"
He bowed his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, "It—it doesn't feel right," he muttered, "I—I should protect you—kids…"
"You're protecting me—" Amanda said in return, "You already did. You almost sacrificed yourself for us. You walked over a gun for me." She let out a deep sigh, "Rick—I—I don't know what happened—" She swallowed, forcing herself to go on, saying her name out, "What—what happened with Lori, but it wasn't your fault." She paused, swallowing again, "You should stop blaming yourself."
His eyes found hers again, "How?" he asked her, "How do you know?"
"Because I know you."
The look he gave her back stole her breath away for a second, and the urge to run away her eyes was again so strong in her but this time she didn't, she looked back at him. "Terminus—if it's what it's supposed to be, we—we sit down—get drunk first, and—and talk, okay?"
Because Amanda wasn't an idiot. She knew there were still much to that story, much more than just…guilt, as people who were supposedly in love didn't stop having sex with each other without a reason. The curious thought was there, too, nudging at her consciousness to slip in, but she kept it away. She—she couldn't deal with that now. All in honesty, she really wasn't sure if she could do it even then, but well, she—she wanted to try. For him.
She fucking hated dramas, but she could make an exception for him. He—he seemed to be her exception for many things anyways. "Um—just make sure first I'm properly drunk—" she mumbled out, letting out a sigh.
Rick smiled at her softly, and nodded, "Okay." He cleared his throat a second later, "We—we need to go back—" he stated then, "I don't know if they were a part of group or just two of them, but I don't want to risk it."
Her eyes flicked at the dead man again, "Yeah… They don't seem like just two lost guys in the woods, either," she remarked, "Possibly got friends, too."
"More reasons to get outta here—" he said back, turned and started walking away.
Amanda followed, then halted at her steps as a thought came to her before she resumed walking again. "Rick—do—do you think they're from Terminus?" she asked, "They—they really didn't seem like just two guys in the woods. They probably had a compound around here."
Rick shook his head, "I don't know—" he accepted, "Might be."
"Are we still going to stay at the cabin?" she asked then, "We've got more numbers now. We can…leave. I—I can keep Judith silent."
His eyes skipped at her, "How do you it?" he asked, "Judith—" he clarified, seeing her darting at him a look, "I've never seen her with anyone like that before—even with Carol."
She sighed out again, "Frankly, I—I don't know. We got babies around all the time in the homes. Used to take care of them a lot. They—they like me, I guess."
He nodded, "You're very good with kids."
Here her again, blushing… She bowed her head, and mumbled a thanks not knowing what else to say, "Uh—thanks…"
"But no—" Rick said then, "Better if we stay under a roof. If they find us, they find us," he stated simply, "We just deal with them."
She nodded in silence. She guessed that was the bottom the line too, but Rick sent her another side look, "You—uh—you just make sure you have some clothes now."
She couldn't help herself, a little laugh escaped from her. She turned to him, "I told you we should keep our clothes on—" she reminded him, "You wanted me naked."
Giving a sigh, he nodded, "Yeah…that part was definitely my fault."
"Hmm mm—" She hummed in agreement, but paused, "Uh—I shouldn't have moaned that loud, either, I guess," she mused out, sending at him a side look, too, "Sorry about that."
He stopped at his feet and pulled her roughly at his chest. "Don't tease me, officer," he rasped at her, "I'm still barely holding myself from ravishing you again."
She smiled—bowing her head, feeling—so inappropriately giddy for someone who just had killed a man— "Sorry…" she muttered, "Couldn't help myself."
"Uh huh—" he told her back, almost dryly too, and then did something she could've never—ever expected him to do.
He held her hand and started walking again.
Amanda felt—felt like she was in another world…a very bizarre one—where everything just had turned upside down. She looked at their tangled hands as they walked back toward the cabin, her stomach making flip flops—but she wasn't nervous, just felt odd. And it wasn't only because she'd just made another exception for him again, letting him hold her hand—
She shook her head, "This—this isn't…appropriate." Rick gave her a look, "Us. Like this…" she clarified, "We—we're walking hand-to-hand, teasing each other…" She shook her head again, "We just killed two men."
"Two sonofabitches," Rick corrected her, "Better dead for everyone else's sake." He jumped over a tree log, "Won't lose any sleep over it."
"Well—me neither—" she admitted with another low sigh. She'd never anyways, but still… She lifted her head up and checked the sun, and remembered, "Damn. We didn't set up any snare."
"Tomorrow morning—" Rick said in return, "We took others as well, and I show all of you." She nodded, realizing there would be no more sneaking away in the woods for them like today, and despite everything Amanda felt…a bit…disappointed.
Uh, she really would've liked to try those…positions. Rick—he'd proved himself a very good lover just she'd expected—even finding her spots in his first…trial. Amanda wasn't surprised, though. In fact, he'd been even better than what she would've expected, given how long it might've been for him—
Then again, the thought was there—trying to slip into her mind covertly, and she really didn't want to think about it now—how long it'd been really for him… or why… she didn't want to open that can of worms… So instead she tried to pick up a position. He...he'd asked her to choose after all.
She thought she really would've liked him get her laying on her stomach as he did all the hard work while Amanda just lay over there and enjoyed herself… and if he could just angle himself right, she knew he would've driven her crazy, batshit crazy in that position—especially if he placed her legs together, the frictions would've been maddening—but then again, she wouldn't have seen him all the time.
She'd liked seeing him as he fucked her… sometimes it'd been just too much, too intense, so she'd had to run away her eyes from his, from the intensity as he stared at her in that way as he had her completely. His looks always made her nervous even in normal daily life, but in sex it'd just become…unbearable. So, she'd just twisted her head and raised her chin upward, closing her eyes… giving herself to the moment but—but the feeling…the feeling was still exhilarating. Intoxicating.
There were other thoughts and voices trying to slip in her consciousness, coming at her without notice, but Amanda just steeled herself, shooing everything away, deciding to go with "behind" safely away from Rick Grime's intense stares. Then the cabin entered into their vision.
And Rick let her hand go.
Welcome back, reality, she snickered inside.
He stood there, looking at her as Amanda bowed her head, and said slowly, "It's okay—" she forced through a lump in her throat, "You can put it on back."
He nodded, but his hand stayed where it was, not taking out his ring from his jeans' pocket, "I'll talk with Carl as soon as possible," he said instead, "I don't want to do this like…this."
The words lifted something off her chest even though he'd already told her he was going to make sure Carl was okay with everything…with them. Amanda wanted that, too. She didn't want to make things harder, more difficult for the teenage boy. His life was already hard as it was.
"Neither I do," she returned, "I don't want to lie to him." She paused again then, and before she knew herself, another question left her mouth, too, "What're you going to tell him?"
And Rick gave her a long, long look—keen, measuring eyes searching through her, "I'll tell him the truth, Amanda," he answered, "I'm gonna tell him I feel…different for you."
She nodded, even though she didn't know to what she was exactly giving her okay. They always did this. Used sterile pronouns or vague adjectives to describe what they had.
It. This. Us. Different.
They'd both admitted they wanted to try it, but they'd never actually put a name on it. Were they together now? In a real relationship…? Or just making an exception for each other now?
She realized she still had no idea.
And she wasn't liking it. She honestly didn't even know how long she could take it, either.
Amanda had never been good with uncertainty. She didn't like unlabeled, undefined things in her life, and absolutely hated blurred lines. She hadn't wanted to think on them before, had ignored them all, but the lines had just become more blurred, and…and weren't they trying to make them clearer now?
She shook her head, almost at herself.
"No—" No. She… she couldn't do it like this, not anymore, "This's too vague for me, Rick. Most of the times, I feel lost with you. I've—I've made many exceptions for you," she told him truthfully, "But I need more clarity now." She braced herself, closing her eyes, "So please forgive the utter banality of the question—" She spoke the words in a one single breath, "but—" She reopened her eyes and looked at him in the eye, "What are we exactly now?"
Rick heaved out deeply, passing a hand over his face, "Honestly, Amanda, I thought that was what we're gonna try to find out—" he said slowly, almost tired, then paused, "By definition I'd say you're—uh—my girlfriend now but—" he halted, grimacing, "I just killed someone for you today and feel myself like shit because you had to kill the other one yourself…" He paused, giving her a look, "Girlfriend…it sounds too feeble for that."
"I…guess…" she muttered, and looked at him back again, "So…?"
He let out another breath, "Do you really need to find a name for us?"
She sighed, too, "I—I'm not well with dealing with unnamed things, Rick," she confessed, "And like I said I already made too many exceptions for you. Because I feel…different for you, too." She swallowed, admitting, "But I need defined lines to know where I stand."
"You stand beside me—" his answer came without hesitation, and he took a step closer and cupped her cheek with his left hand, his bare left hand.
"Amanda—" He called her name with that soft, softest timber reverberating in her insides, "Please, trust me. I know it's hard for you, but you have to trust me with this. Don't break our flow, don't force us, don't force yourself." He paused, gently caressing her skin, "You saw what happened today when we broke it."
She closed her eyes as he slowly continued stroking her cheek, and she knew she was just making another exception for him again… Even though a part of her wanted to press further—demand an answer, the other part was just ready to let it go… just crash herself against his chest. She wanted… she wanted... she wanted… she wanted him.
God!
She just wanted more of him. "Rick—" she breathed out, but rest of her words faltered at her lips.
He took a step closer, bringing his other hand up, too. He cupped her face between his hands, "I know my feelings. Give us time, baby—" She closed her eyes, hearing the word, reverberating in her insides, "We'll figure this out. Just trust me—" he whispered at her before his lips claimed hers again.
Just one kiss, and all thoughts, words, suspicions that had been clawing at her consciousness to slip in silenced, hushed down—and Amanda just let herself go and kissed him back.
It was so easy to do that…kiss him.
But less than ten seconds, it turned to something else. His hands started unzipping her pants again as Amanda started unbuckling his duty belt— "We shouldn't do this—" she muttered as his holster dropped down and she unzipped his jeans as he walked her back against the tree at her back. Hers were already done, her pants loosely pooling around her legs, and as he pulled aside her panties, Amanda knew this time she wasn't going to get naked fully. "We really shouldn't do this—" she muttered again as her back hit at the tree's trunk… God… This was insane. They were insane. Doing it again just after getting caught, ending up killing two people who were possibly much better dead…
And his eyes finding hers, Rick finally asked her again, "Do you want us to stop?"
The answer came to her with a such clarity, she felt no doubt in her, "No."
"Good—" he told her back then, hoisting her up against the tree, "Now—try to keep quiet."
She almost laughed, but it died on in her throat, turning into a loud moan that she stuffed pressing her lips over his shoulder as he slammed inside her with one long stroke.
Even in the awkward, shallow position it was too deep—too full… filling her entirely, and her eyes caught his again as he stared at her with that look again, starting moving through her, in and out, a rapid but definite rhythm, almost merciless, roughly slamming himself against her, holding her tightly… She closed her eyes, twisting her head up against the tree to run away from his eyes as her body gave in…
The act, though, made her moans free again as they started dropping out of her lips—then before she could raise her hand and pressed her palm against her mouth, he did it.
He raised his left hand and closed her mouth. Startled, she titled her eyes back and looked at him—then she was almost done.
A wild beast, eyes glinting sharply, he was the man again she'd seen peeked out whenever he lost his self-control, and his primal instincts took the control over him. This time she was the prey he wanted to devour, and devour her, he did.
Loosening his hand over her hip, his right hand crawled to find hers again, and he grabbed it, this time tighter. Linking his fingers through hers, he raised her arm with his and propped them against the tree completely.
He held her hand like that, above her head, his other hand stayed over her mouth as he fucked her in the awkward position rough and hard until he started shuddering. He pulled himself back—she knew at the last moment—and came again just over her entrance.
God—if they kept going on like this, she was going to end up in deep shit.
She was shaking on her legs too—not because of an orgasm. It was impossible for her to come in that position, but nevertheless, the exertion had been enough to melt her knees. She knew she was a sight too, just like Rick—properly fucked, disheveled clothes, his jeans loosely over his hips, hers still around her ankles over her boots, bruised skin with kisses and sucking and bites, his semen slipping over her inner thighs, tousled hair with tree texture pieces. It was oddly satisfying, though, too, and she liked him seeing like this, and she liked the fact that he'd made her look like this… They were going to have to put themselves into shape before they returned to the cabin but…
God, she feverishly hoped tonight they could get a good, uninterrupted sleep—
Sleep—
She wondered when they could sleep together just like she'd dreamed before—in his arms—just after he fucked her, spooning her against his chest like he'd done today or laying at his chest. She—she could do both this time. She wasn't picky. A tremor passed over her, and she realized how much she really wanted it, too… God, they really needed to come—uh—out of the closet with this.
Like now.
Dropping his arms off, Rick leaned on her further, letting his weight crushing on her against the tree as he bowed his head against her shoulder, "Sorry—" he mumbled, "Couldn't hold long."
She looked down at him, "It was fun—" she said, "Don't worry about it. We—" The rest of her words died as she lifted her head up.
And she stared… As if sensing her sudden stupor, Rick drew his head up, and looked at her as she just kept staring ahead.
No.
Fuck no!
Rick turned his head aside— "Carl?" and Amanda heard him whisper as she stared at the fourteen years old boy who looked at them with a stony expression over his face.
Then without a word, the boy turned on his heels, and started walking back to the cabin.
Quickly, Rick pulled off of her, buckling himself back up, Amanda saw his fingers tremble, bowing her head— He turned and hurriedly followed after the boy, "Carl—" he called out, "Carl! Wait!" he shouted— "CARL!"
The boy just kept walking.
# # #
When the sun set down, and gloom of the early evening fell, the twenty-four years old tall young woman stood at where the tracks met and looked at beyond.
Sanctuary for all…
They were finally here. Her hand grasped her husband hand, and he gave her reassuring squeeze. We made it, it said. We'll be good, it said. It wouldn't hurt you to keep a little bit of faith, it said. The tall woman wondered if her sister saw her message, if she knew where they were heeding, but she hushed down the little suspicious in her mind and gave back a squeeze back to her husband.
They were here. And if her sister hadn't been here, then the tall woman was just going to go out and find her. She was just going to follow the tracks.
A sniff from her behind, a loud one interrupted her thoughts, and a booming voice exclaimed, "Man—can you smell that?" their new…friends, the red-haired soldier laughed, making another sniff, "Motherfuckers—is this some old barbecue or did I die and go to the heaven?"
They walked inside the perimeters of the old train building structure as an old woman looked at them behind the barbecue they'd smelled as they approached—and smiled warmly, "Strangers—welcome to Terminus."
# # #
In the moonlight, the fourteen years old teenager was sitting down in already died little campfire, his arms tied across his chest protective against the chill of the night.
The fourteen years old teenager wasn't cold, though. He was far too angry to feel cold. A fire was burning inside him. He would see. He wasn't a child anymore, he would see. The teenager was going to show him.
Nevertheless, the teenager was far better without him. He didn't need him. He was going to see. He didn't need him to survive. He was going to find that compound even before them. He could do it.
He wasn't a child anymore. He was going to see.
The teenager was done with him. Done with his failures, with his fuck ups, with his…lies. He never did anything right. He didn't need him. He would go and keep fucking his new girlfriend like that for all he cared. He didn't care. The teenager even liked the female officer, she was cool, with Michonne she was the coolest woman he had ever known—plus, she was much better fun, too—but the teenager wasn't really in the market for a new Mommy. Judith might need that, but he didn't. He wasn't a child anymore.
He nodded at himself, pulling his jacket closer. He might stand and go to the tracks right now, too—would arrive to where the tracks meet after the dawn.
Before them.
He almost made a move to stand up and started looking for the tracks again, but stopped dead hearing the crunch of twigs… He pulled out his gun, aiming it at the trees—it must've been walkers. No one walked in the woods in night—and he was very silent… A lone walker.
The teenager would deal with it.
But he must be silent. Gunshots were dangerous. He tugged his gun back and pulled out his hunting knife and waited.
Waited, waited, waited…but nothing came.
His nerves… It must've been his nerves.
The teenager sat down again, shaking his head at himself.
He shouldn't be afraid.
He wasn't afraid.
Then he heard it again—this time louder and nearer… The teenager stood up again—his hand on his knife—and two men walked into the little clearing he'd found—and others followed.
"Oh! I'll be damned—" one of the men laughed, looking at him, "Look what we found, Joe—"
The teenager drew out his gun quickly.
His father would've been proud, but the fourteen years old boy didn't think of that.