Holding You

Chapter 4

Daryl nibbled at the skin on the side of his thumb. They had been driving for about fifteen minutes. But he was still concerned about what was going on back in Alexandria. RickyJo knew he was going on a run with Rick today. But she didn't come out to the gate and say goodbye to him. She always came out to kiss him goodbye. And while he would never admit it, he felt like her goodbye kiss was good luck. Not getting one gave him an unsettled feeling down in the pit of his stomach. And it bothered him. She gave Merle a goodbye kiss the day before. And he only left to go hunting outside the walls. Daryl was going much further than that today.

"You hear something?," Rick asked, turning the music down. Daryl cocked his head to the side, his hand already on his knife. There were thumping noises coming from behind the backseat of the car. His body went stiff with adrenaline as Rick quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road. They both pulled their weapons out as they circled around behind the car. But by the time they got there, Daryl could already hear high pitched giggles and shrieking coming from inside the trunk.

"What in hell?," Rick asked. Daryl shrugged. His first thought was that a few of the kids had climbed in the trunk and accidentally gotten themselves shut inside. Rick popped the trunk open, revealing that there were not children in the car. Instead there were two grown ass women hiding inside. RickyJo popped out first, untangling her wedding ring from Beth's hair. Beth grabbed her scalp and shrieked as a few long blonde strands were mercilessly ripped from her head in RickyJo's hurry to escape the small confined space. The taller woman tumbled out of the trunk without assistance. Rick reached inside and grabbed Beth under her arms, lifting her gently out onto the pavement.

"Oh hell no," Daryl announced, "Yer goin' back." RickyJo was giggling, her arms already wrapped around him as she kissed her way up the side of his neck. Beth gave Rick a sheepish grin. He did not look impressed with her sudden appearance.

"It'd be a waste of gas to take us all the way back now," Beth suggested. When that didn't appear to win Rick over she added, "...we can help."

Beth glanced behind her, noticing RickJo was employing a different negotiation tactic. And hers seemed to be much more effective. Daryl's hands were on her ass and his tongue was shoved halfway down her throat. He didn't look like he had one speck of interest in making her go home. Beth poked at the other woman and cleared her throat. Then cleared it again louder.

RickyJo detached her face from Daryl's. Then she turned to look at Rick. Not only was he the one that had control of the car keys. But from the look on his face, he also appeared to be much more likely than Daryl to insist on taking them back to Alexandria.

"Come on Rick," she urged, "..you know I'm a better shot than you are."

Beth cringed. She didn't think insulting Rick's shooting was helpful. But maybe she was wrong because he let out a frustrated sigh and threw his hands in the air.

"Fine," he sighed, "...let's just go."

Beth laughed at RickyJo, who was clapping her hands and jumping around in excitement. She and Daryl were quick to climb into the backseat together. Beth eased herself into the passenger seat, still nervous about the hard set of Rick's jaw. As Rick fired the engine of the car back up, Daryl pelted Beth in the head with a folded square of paper.

"If yer riding shotgun then yer in charge of the map," he informed her. Not waiting for a response, he turned and grabbed for RickyJo, picking up with the kissing where they left off when they were standing behind the open trunk.

"Gotta stop somewhere soon," RickyJo announced from the backseat, "I gotta pee." Daryl was quick to agree, announcing loudly that he also needed to take a piss. Beth bit her lip to keep from laughing. They had only been driving for a few miles. And Beth doubted anyone in the backseat was having a bladder issue. They just wanted Rick to stop so they could duck behind a bush and fuck.

"I ain't stopping fer that shit," Rick informed them both, "Y'all can wait until we get where we're going."

RickyJo let out a loud dissatisfied groan which was closely followed by Daryl's low timber laughter. Beth leaned over and rubbed her hand up the inside of Rick's thigh. He raised his eyebrow at her. She was still in trouble. But she could tell he was having a hard time holding in his own laughter. Finally he switched hands on the steering wheel and tossed his free arm around Beth's shoulders, pulling her close to him.

They got lucky at the first place on the map. There was a large truck inside, the entire back of it was filled with non-perishable food and supplies. Beth even found a case of toothpaste and toothbrushes inside. She didn't hesitate. Pulling one of the fresh new brushes out of its plastic sleeve she slathered it in toothpaste and stuffed it in her mouth. After rinsing her mouth out with bottled water, Beth repeated the process again, brushing her teeth until they finally felt squeaky clean.

Daryl and RickyJo headed to the back of the small garage to look for more supplies. Beth didn't figure they would return with any. Since all they looked interested in searching was on the insides of each other's clothes. Rick grabbed her by the hips, lifting her up inside the back of the truck. Her legs dangled down on either side of his hips. She wrapped them around his waist when he leaned in to kiss her.

Their kisses turned deep quickly. Beth's pregnancy had caused her a lot of morning sickness and stomach upset. Because of that, they had not been having sex as frequently as they were before. Beth missed the closeness the physical contact gave them. And she found she was more than eager for him when Rick started pulling at the zipper on her jeans.

They had sex when everyone was on the road together. But only at night and only in their sleeping bag. A quickie in the middle of the day with other people around was a new experience. Beth had a moment of self conscious nervousness. But she could hear RickyJo and Daryl rutting around in the back office of the place, neither of them even making an attempt to keep quiet. Beth doubted they gave a single shit what she and Rick were doing and even if they did, they were unlikely to hear them with the amount of noise they were making.

Beth braced her feet on the bumper, lifting her hips so she could slide her pants and underwear down. She only shoved them to her knees since she didn't want to take her boots off. Rick did the same, only tugging his pants down far enough to release his erection. He leaned into her as she laid back on the floor of the truck. The position felt awkward at first. Her legs were together and her knees were jammed up against her chest. She gasped when he pushed his length inside her. He moved hard and fast. With her legs together, there was more friction. And the angle of her hips made it so he was ramming against the special spot deep inside her that she never knew was there before they had sex for the first time. Beth's orgasm came on her in hard waves, her cries echoing off the insides of the small warehouse, drowning out the noise from the office. She felt the warm rush of fluid shortly after. Rick groaned and dug his hands into her hips as he found his own release. They lay still for a moment, letting their breathing return to normal. Then Beth hopped down and pulled her pants back up. Rick was buckling his belt when RickyJo and Daryl reappeared from the back of the building.

"We didn't find shit in that office," RickyJo announced, "y'all ready to go?"

It took a little awkward shuffling to get them all inside the small two seater cab of the truck. Rick was driving. Daryl was perched on a milk crate between the two seats. Beth was sitting half on RickyJo's lap in the passenger seat. Beth turned up the volume and the two women started singing along, bobbing their heads along with the music and laughing at each other.

"I'm gonna steal yer wife," RickyJo teased, wrapping her arms around Beth and hugging the smaller woman against her chest. Beth hugged her back, planting a sloppy kiss over the scar on her cheek. Rick laughed at their antics. The high walls of Alexandria kept them safe. But they also made him a little stir crazy. He hadn't stopped to wonder if Beth felt the same way. Both women seemed high on the little taste of freedom they were getting.

"Three people in the bed is already one too many," Daryl announced, bringing on another round of laughter.

Rick eased the truck into an abandoned gas station. Most gas stations and convenience stores were pretty picked over. But he figured they might be able to siphon a little gas from the underground tanks. Or they might get lucky and find some long expired snack foods inside the store. Aside from watching out from walkers, which they always did without even thinking about it, the small group wasn't paying much attention to their surroundings. They had no idea they were being watched.

Jesus didn't know it, but he stopped at the gas station for the same reasons as the small group that pulled up a few minutes later in a truck. He heard the vehicle approaching and had plenty of time to hide. From his vantage point Jesus watched and waited to see who was going to exit the truck. The passenger side was facing him, so he saw the two women inside get out. A tall woman with a lot of tattoos climbed down first, followed closely by a more petite girl that looked younger than the first. The tall one leaned forward with her arms stretched back, encouraging the smaller girl to jump on her back. The smaller girl climbed on, wrapping her arms around her friend. The taller girl immediately proceeded to piggyback the smaller one around the dirty parking lot, skipping and kicking at empty pop cans with her well worn cowboy boots. Both of them were laughing. The smaller girl's gun slipped from her holster and clattered to the ground. The tall girl was quick to stop and lower her to the ground so she could retrieve her weapon. By now, Jesus was certain these people were not affiliated with the Saviors. Which made them either fair game to approach for trading or to steal from. He wasn't sure which yet.

Two men exited the truck shortly after the women. Both of them were also well armed. One was wearing cowboy boots like the two women. The other was clad in a sleeveless shirt and leather vest. He went inside the store with the girls while the other man checked the underground gas tanks, hoping to find a little gas left. After sticking a long pole down into the tank, the man got a long hose and a few empty gas containers from the back of the truck. His three companions came back out from inside the store. The smaller blonde girl had a plastic shopping bag in her hands that looked like it was filled with whatever candy and soda pop was left inside the store. The taller girl had a tootsie pop in her mouth. She was clacking the sucker against her teeth. The man in the vest snatched the candy from her, sticking it in his own mouth for a taste before he handed it back to her. Then they kissed. Jesus figured now he knew which woman belonged to which man. He guessed the taller girl was with the one that was siphoning the gas. But it appeared he was wrong.

The kissing couple spotted a large metal vending machine tipped over in the parking lot. They started shoving and pushing at the edge it it, trying to tip the heavy metal machine over. The man was heavily muscled. But the woman was no slouch. Jesus could see the definition in her arms and calves when she put her strength into her attempt to flip the machine.

"Rick," the man hollered, "come 'ere."

Rick approached. He gave his companions a count off. On three they pushed together, successfully flipping the heavy machine on its side. All four of them gathered around to peek inside, sounding excited about what they found. The taller girl turned her back to the machine, bringing the heel of her cowboy boot down fast and hard. The glass door shattered. The girls crouched down, carefully retrieving the snack foods inside the machine. The men returned to the gas tank to finish getting what they could from it. Jesus knew if he was going to make a move he needed to make it soon. These people got what they could from the place. They weren't going to linger around much longer.

Jesus darted out from his hiding place. He gave the women a wide berth. Even nice people might shoot him if he made an aggressive move towards their women. He slammed into Rick, lifting the truck keys from his pocket. Then he backed up and put his hands in the air. Now that he was closer to the group, Jesus got a better look at them. Both women had noticeable scars on their faces. He hadn't been able to see that from where he was hiding. And the blonde girl was much younger than he assumed. Maybe not more than high school aged if high school was still a thing.

All four of them had their guns out and up immediately, pointing them at him. The men faced him head on. The young girl kept back, moving behind the men. The tall woman moved the other way, keeping him in her sights as she edged around behind him. She still had a lollipop in her mouth. Her tank top cut low enough to reveal a fair amount of cleavage and had a picture of a large cartoon rooster on the front with the words NICE COCK written under it.

"I was running from the dead," Jesus said. Rick asked him how many. But before he could answer the woman behind him spoke up.

"If you were running from the dead, you'd be out of breath," she announced, "...and yer not. You were hiding and watching us."

Jesus smiled at her. She was smarter than her shirt would lead a person to believe. He pulled down his mask and stuck his hand out towards her.

"I'm Paul Monroe," he told her, "But my friends used to call me Jesus. Take your pick."

"I'm RickyJo," she responded, hesitating a moment before she stepped forward with the intention of shaking his hand. Before they could make contact, the man in the vest slammed his hand hard against Jesus's chest, pushing him backwards. He positioned himself between RickyJo and the strange man she was about to let into her personal space.

"This 'ere's Daryl," she added with a smile.

"I'm Rick," the other man said. He ticked his head towards the girl behind him, "...my wife Beth." There was an awkward pause before Rick spoke again. "How many walkers have you killed?"

Jesus had made first contact with several other groups. All of them had some sort of litmus test they used to determine if they could trust new people. But asking him how many of the dead he had killed was a new one. And he had no idea how many he killed. As many as he had to. And not more than that.

"Naw," Daryl interrupted, shaking his head. He adjusted the gun in his hands, pointing it at Jesus's head instead of just in his general direction. Jesus made his decision at that moment.

"Gotta go," he said. Then he turned and ran, calling out behind him that they better leave before the dead came.

When he rounded the back of the building, Jesus already had his lighter out. He lit the firecrackers he had and tossed them into a metal can. He knew the men would run to the back of the building to investigate what sounded like gunshots. Then he could steal their truck. He smiled when he saw that only the little blonde girl was still standing in front of the store. She pointed her gun at him, but didn't look ready to shoot him as long as he didn't head in her direction. Jesus grabbed for the driver's side door of the truck, swinging it open. He intended to leap inside. But instead the business end of a cowboy boot flew into him. Jesus took a direct hit to the chest that sent him flying backwards onto the pavement. He landed hard on his back, the fall knocking the wind out of him. RickyJo climbed down from the truck, her gun trained on him. She was quickly joined by Beth, who now looked more ready to shoot him if he caused her or her friend any further trouble.

"Do you even have any bullets in those guns?," he asked. A walker was shuffling in from behind him, drawn by the noise from the fireworks. RickyJo raised her gun and shot the walker, dropping it instantly. Then she pointed her gun back at his head.

"You're gonna shoot me over a truck?," he asked. RickyJo brought her boot back and give him a swift kick in the ribs. She checked her force, not kicking the man hard enough to cause real damage, just hard enough so the fucker knew she was serious.

"I'm gonna shoot ya 'cause yer fuckin' around with us and pissing me off," she informed him. "Give me the keys now, I'm done playin' with yer dumbass."

Jesus moved slowly, pulling the truck keys out and tossing them up to her. She stuck them down her shirt, then put both hands back on her gun. By this time Daryl had rounded the store and was screaming for her. She was on the other side of the truck so he couldn't see her.

"RICKYJO! BETH!"

"Over here!," RickyJo called out. Daryl and Rick both rushed around the back end of the truck. "He lifted Rick's keys. He was gonna steal the truck and strand us here."

"You're dead," Daryl announced, pointing his finger at Jesus before he lifted his gun and pointed it at his head again.

"NO!," RickyJo hollered. Daryl gave her a questioning glance. "His clothes and hair are clean. His beard is trimmed. He's not underweight. He's got a camp somewhere. Probably close since there's no car here."

"So?," Daryl hissed. It was bad enough the guy was calling himself Jesus. But he also kept staring at RickyJo. Daryl didn't like it and he didn't like him.

"So tie him up," RickyJo said, "He's coming with us."