Chapter 5

My body hits the floor abruptly after being pushed unceremoniously by Glenn. I feel the air leave my body and I struggle to catch my breath. Pain travels through my chest and I wonder whether any of my ribs have been broken. I feel disorientated, my head still feeling tender after the thump that Merle gave me earlier on today.

'T-DOG! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PUT YOUR GUN DOWN'

'How do we know that we can trust this guy, man?'

I try to catch my breath, eager to help talk T-Dog down. He is standing behind me and I am struggling to see but I am guessing that the gun shot sound came from him and I am also guessing that he currently has his gun raised and pointed at Rick. I look up and I look at the guy I helped to nurse in the hospital. He also has his gun raised and pointed behind me at T-Dog. Glenn is half kneeling, with one hand on my back, trying to keep me down. I feel my breathing normalise and I start to push myself up from the floor by my hands.

'Stay Down, Jenni'

I push against Glenn, eager to get up from a lying down position. Slowly, I get myself into a kneeling position and eye everyone around me. T-Dog has his gun raised, sweat is beading at his forehead and he is looking frightened. Rick is remaining calm, there is no sign that he is stressed at all right now and I watch his gaze penetrates through the 'enemy' opposite him. Glenn is kneeled by me, both arms raised, as though he is trying to push each of the guys away from the other.

'Rick!'

He looks at me, his blue eyes assessing me. I feel a rush of admiration for this guy and I crave the authority that he could bring to our group. The way he is dressed, the way he stands, the way he looks; all of it speaks law enforcement and by golly, do we need someone in a position of power right about now.

'Do I know you?'

His words come out deep and clear, his eyes never leaving mine, but his gun still raised.

I gulp, wanting to explain myself accurately without coming across as a bit weird.

'No, you don't. But I know you…ish. I hid in the hospital for a good few months when all this shit first started and I found you in there, still hooked up to your monitors, still requiring drips to be changed. So, I did what I knew, I helped to nurse you for as long as I could. I had to leave you behind, I really didn't think I would see you standing here…'

I know I am rambling, but I want him to know that he can trust us, I want him to know that he can trust me.

'Do you know where my family are?'

His words come out a bit strained and I recognise the loss he feels from not knowing whether his family have survived this or not. I want to tell him something positive, but I don't have anything else to say. I drop my gaze and sigh deeply, before meeting his eyes again.

'I'm sorry, I don't know. Nobody else was in the hospital when we were there. By that time, most people had cleared out of the city or were…'

I leave the sentence hanging. I look at Glenn, I can't quite make out his expression, but he looks unsure about what is happening here. T-Dog still has his gun raised. We need to move on from this…not wanting to sound too much like an emotionless cow like Andrea but remaining in this stand-off is not going to get us anywhere.

'Lets all put our weapons, away shall we?'

'And have this guy blast our brains out? I don't think so!'

Glenn stands up, takes off his cap and strokes through his hair, obviously distressed. His stance is one of impatience and exhaustion. I wonder at how much sleep he has had since I first met him. He turns towards his friend and shakes his head slowly.

'T, lets lower the gun, shall we?'

T-Dog looks at Glenn and then back at Rick, still unsure how to proceed.

'Glenn, man, we don't know who this guy is!'

'I will put mine away first.'

We all look towards Rick, who has now lowered his shotgun and has placed it on the floor in front of him. Glenn and I look back at T-Dog and despite his trepidation, he also lowers his gun, placing it in his waistband. For a few moments, we all simply stand there not sure how we should proceed. My eyes sweep slowly towards Rick and I watch as he assesses each of us in turn before speaking.

'What are your names?'

Glenn looks back at Rick and closes the distance between them, putting his hand out in a gesture that says we are on the same team. Rick responds by putting his own hand out to shake Glenn's.

'My names Glenn, that's T-Dog and her names Jenni.'

'As she already told you,' his eyes meet mine and he points in my direction, 'my names Rick, Rick Grimes. I don't want any trouble, I am simply trying to find my family. I have been home, and they weren't there, but there were signs of rushed packing being done, so I am hoping that they have moved out of the city, so that's what I am trying to do too.'

Glenn looks back at us briefly, before responding.

'We are just a couple of people from a group who have formed in the city, we are looking at heading out of here too as soon as we can. You are welcome to join us, we could always do with extra hands to help move things forward.'

'GLENN, I'm not sure Merle would be happy with us bringing anyone else back with us.'

I watch as T-Dog speaks, thinking back to yesterday when I arrived and how unwelcoming he had been. I think again to this morning and remember the pressure his hand had made on my thigh. I shudder violently and breathe out deeply.

'Damn it, T, Merle doesn't have the groups best interests at heart. He only thinks about himself! We have been like sitting ducks for weeks now waiting for him to give us the instruction to leave and still we are kept waiting. Damn it, he tried to rape Jenni this morning!'

I feel the colour rise in my cheeks and I look instinctively at my feet. Why did he mention that? I clench my fists and my stomach churns, making me feel nauseous.

'Who is this Merle?'

Ricks attention is on me, his eyes have a sudden gentleness in them, and I watch him take a few steps closer towards me.

'Glenn says he is the leader of their group. I only really joined yesterday, but I get the impression that he wasn't keen for me to be there. People are restless, they want to move out of the city, but he won't allow it.'

I look back at Glenn, hoping that I summed it up correctly, and he nods at me indicating that I had.

'And this Merle, he attacked you today?'

Ricks is a few feet away from me and feel my heart begin to race just ever so slightly more than it should. Something about this guy makes me feel hope. There is an air about him that makes me feel safe, maybe it is the sheriff in him?

'Yes, he came onto me this morning, I just managed to fight him off. Not before he punched me in the head, though.'

I rub at the spot which I had forgotten about and feel the tell-tale pain, knowing that under my hair is a bruise.

Rick straightens, he is deciding, and I can see that he is weighing up his options. He could leave us to it, or he could come with us. I hope he decides to come with us, I feel like our group could do with someone like him around.

'Okay, I will come back with you. But I will not be told what to do, by this Merle guy. We round people up and then we head out! Anybody who doesn't want to go, gets left behind'

Glenn steps forward and taps Rick enthusiastically on the shoulder.

'Thanks Man, we really need someone like you to get us moving.'

I look around the darkened interior and make out still-stocked shelves.

'Let's get some supplies and then we can head back.'

I sound more confident than I feel. I have known Merle for less than 24 hours, but I know that Rick's presence won't go down too well. I just hope that we can avoid anyone getting hurt before we leave the city. Once out of the city, I can plan my route for home.