Chapter 55: Uncertainty
KPOV
~Almost a year ago~
Wandering in the woods outside the prison, we knew that we had to space out a little more, to see if we can catch as much meat as possible. Living off vegetables, canned food and other dry supplements wasn't enough. We needed meat too. I knew how to hunt, but it was Daryl who took charge out in the woods. "Ok," I began, clapping my hands together and rubbing them furiously to create a warm friction. "So this whole partner thing...how are we going to do it?" I asked, curious to figure out the plan and how this would all work out.
Daryl was alert, his arms flexed and his eyes darting around in slints. His blues were hardly visable as they tured dark, alert and his stance was prepared to shoot anything that moved. Crossbow in hands, his arms slouched over slightly as he watched out for any animal or walker that would come in our way. "What do you mean?" he asked in his rough, low voice as he peered over the corner of his eye at me.
Sighing deeply, I knew this was going to be a piece of work to try and explain to him what I had meant by it. "What I mean is...we've worked together before, but how are we going to do this when we're both capable of hunting alone?" I asked him. "What if we come across one another? I mean, as much as I like your crossbow, I don't really want an arrow in my head when I step onto a branch as I get closer to you," I tried to explain the point I was trying to put across.
Just as I had spoken, my foot gently stepped onto a branch, the twig snapped and crackled beneath my feet. Daryl gave me a look that was both questioning and surprised to hear the exact cue to aim his crossbow at me, which was my point exactly and thankfully, he hadn't tried to aim at me teasingly. "I dunno," he grumbled. "Whistle to me, or somethin'," he shrugged his shoulders as he gave me the suggestion.
Baffled by his suggestion, I knew I should have expected that. He was a man of nature, a tracker and spent most of his time in the woods surrounded by multiple things. The undead, squirrels, deers, rabbits and anything else that could be killed. "What?" I asked him, serious as I spoke and walked close beside him. "Like a wolf whistle or..."
Drifting with my question, I wasn't exactly sure what kind of whistle he wanted from me. There simply were too many versions of a whistle that could be used to communicate with the other. Noticing my drift, he quirked an eyebrow in my direction and the look in his eyes was questioning, almost mocking as I had come to think of it. "Just whistle," he tried to end the conversation.
Giggling, I couldn't help it, talking to him sometimes was a great feeling. He could make me laugh, a wide smile graced my features and I knew he was watching me. Hiding my gaze, I tried to stop myself from laughing and smiling so widely. It was him that affected me in this way. "Right, so like an animal," I teased him with a quiet laugh and a small smile on my lips. "Will you whistle back?"
Raising my head, I looked up at him and saw he was watching me now. His head turned to my direction and his blues fixated on me. A strange sensation ran down my spine, because it had felt like he had never seen something like me. Like I was some sort of...blessing. "If you want me to," he shrugged again and kept his gaze on the task at hand. To hunt and get food for those waiting for us back at the prison.
Deciding to tease him further, I knew we could keep this going and I just wanted to hear him laugh too. "Should we practice?" I asked him with a small nudge to his arm, using my elbow and giving him a suggestive look. Trying to hide a smile, he let a small puff of a laugh escape his nostrils before he mumbled for me to stop. His reaction to my playfullness made me laugh quietly and then return back to the task that was at hand. Hunting.
Present day...RPOV
Cuddling Judith to me, I watched as Carl would move pieces around from the barn and how Kat was trying to crush the acorns that Daryl had scavanged earlier, in hopes it would be enough for Judith to eat once broken into pieces. "Hey. Everyone..." we heard Maggie call to us as the barn door opened. "This is Aaron," she introduced us with a young, thin and strange looking guy. He looked nervous to meet us, which he should be. Everyone rose to their feet, pointing their guns and other weapons at his him, ready for anything to happen after all that we had been through. "We met him outside. He's by himself. We took his weapons and we took his gear," Maggie informed us of what they had done.
Everyone was alert, protecting each other from any more possible threats. Despite all that had happened to us, we stayed strong and always worked as a team. I was proud of all of them, holding my gun, I was ready for anything and Daryl had walked closer to the stranger called Aaron, patting him down to see if he didn't carry any other spare weapons. Tara had closed the barn door behind them and we were all on our feet. "Hi," Aaron said after Daryl gave me a nod, assuring me that there were no other weapons on him. Judith then began to cry. Nodding to Kat, it was a silent signal that she knew all too well, taking Judith from my arms, she began to silence her with gentle whispers and soft caresses. "It's nice to meet you," Aaron spoke politely to us.
Aaron had tried to take a step closer to me and the others, to which Sasha and a whole group of others went to stop him from coming any closer to us. Daryl had shuffled his feet, his eyes glued to Aaron darkly, but then softened his gaze as they met me and Kat, holding Judith. "You said he had a weapon?" I asked the girls before Maggie wandered over and handed me the gun he had. Checking the bullets in the revolver, I saw there was only a few, but not enough to take us all down. "There's something you need?" I questioned the stranger who had supposedly approached us.
"He has a camp, nearby," Sasha answered for him, starting off with a statement that only made more questions build inside my head. "He wants us to audition for membership," she spoke about it like it was something to earn part of a membership, I didn't trust anything that was being told to me.
Keeping his gun, I tucked it into the back of my pants. "I wish there was another word," Aaron spoke hesitantly as he kept his hands up in surrender and peace. "Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of a dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights," he tried to joke around with us, attempting to be humorous. "Um, and it's not a camp. It's a community," he defined it for us as he corrected Sasha. "I think you all would make valuable additions. But it's not my call. My job is to convince you all to follow me back home," he explained the situation to us as clearly but vaguely as possible. "I know. If I were you, I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into," he tried to empathise with us.
At that moment, I didn't know where this was all going, but if he really wanted us to be a part of his 'community', I wasn't sure he could convince me to take my family there and put them in danger once more. "Sasha, can you hand Rick my pack?" Aaron asked Sasha, to which she compied with his request. "Front pocket, there's an envelope," he directed me in where I could find the pictures. "There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community. That's why I brought those. I apologize in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last-" he began to drone on about things I took no interest in hearing anymore.
"Nobody gives a shit," Daryl spat, not caring if he hurt the guys feelings, he just wanted him to shut up, just like I did. Aaron looked over his shoulder at Daryl, a little stunned and hurt like a puppy who had got it's tail trapped in the door.
Daryl's gaze was glued to Aaron, dark and not as friendly as Aaron had been trying his hardest to be. "You're absolutely 100% right," Aaron agreed with Daryl almost instantly. "That's the first picture I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe," Aaron told me once he noticed me pulling the pictures out of the envelope and looking at the pictures that were all in black and white. "If you join us, you will be. Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot-high, 12-foot-wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing. Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so," he gave me a bunch of information that didn't interest me much, but the pictures weren't solid proof that it was safe there.
Taking in the images, I would flick through the pictures and noticed how he spoke with slight nervousness and hesitation. Standing up straight, I rose my eyes to meet Aarons and noticed how Daryl was taking in the scene carefully. "Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people," he continued on. "Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger," he tried to convince me that we were the people they needed, but for what, I wasn't positive he was speaking the truth. "The next picture, you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construc-" as Aaron spoke, I walked closer to him and punched him square in the face, knocking him out cold.
KPOV
As I was listening to how the guy spoke of a community, I kept Judith quiet and calm. Trying hard to listen in while keeping my sister relaxed, I knew this was something that could be positive, or turn out negative like I had believed it would. When dad knocked out Aaron, I wasn't surprised by dad's actions, dad did what he believed was right and slowly, I believed it was right too. "So we're clear, that look wasn't a 'let's attack that man' look," Michonne whispered as they spoke of what had just happened. "It was a 'he seems like an okay guy to me' look," she said as she tried to figure out what was running through my dads head when he punched Aaron.
Dad wasn't really bothered by what Michonne was saying, it was as though she was saying he was making the wrong call. We didn't know if this guy was telling the truth, if he truly was here to keep us safe and take us somewhere that wasn't filled with people trying to kill us or control us. "We got to secure him," dad tried to explain briefly to Michonne. "Dump his pack. Let's see what this guy really is," dad gave out orders and people began to follow them straight away.
"Rick," Michonne tried to protest that what we were doing and what he was saying was wrong. For once in my life, I was siding with no one and letting my dad do what he had to do. Be the leader and take charge of what had to be done. He was making the choices and he was going to make sure we were all safe.
Busying themselves, everyone was carrying out the orders my father was giving them, while I kept Judith calm and would cuddle her close to me. "Everybody else, we need eyes in every direction. They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are," dad gave them instructions to look out for any signs or strange movement. We needed to stay safe, this way we knew if we fought back or took flight.
Maggie looked a little annoyed by how we were treating the man and how we were all responding to this interaction. Maggie held Aaron so he wouldn't tip, while Daryl held Aaron down so that Carol could tie him up. Glenn and a few others were peering out of the cracks. "Me and Sasha, we didn't see him," Maggie told us. "If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've," she tried to state that Aaron was harmless and being a good guy.
After Terminus and Joe's group, I didn't think that anyone could be kind anymore or honest. Aaron could be trying to convince us to go with them, only to get ourselves kidnapped and possibly even killed. I didn't want to put Judith's life at risk anymore, not after all that had happened in the short time after the Governor's attack. "Anybody see anything?" dad asked everyone who was on lookout.
Glenn looked over his shoulder and glanced at me and my dad, along with the others that made eye contact with him. "Just a lot of places to hide," he informed us of what could be possible. If someone is out there...what do we do? We can't hide in here forever.
Carl had been the one to take Aaron's backpack and started digging through the contents. Seeing if there was anything that could be a threat to us and anything that could inform us what kind of people they were. So far, it was nothing entirely important or threatning, but as I looked over to Glenn and dad, I didn't notice something until later. "All right, keep looking," dad ordered the others before he wandered over to Carl. "What did you find?" he asked Carl, to which I wandered over to him and looked down at the contents alongside them.
In his hands, Carl held a gun I had only held once but seen many times before. It was only used to do a specific job and that alone, had my heart pounding within my chest. "Never seen a gun like that before," Carl said as he handed it to dad and dad then began to examine exactly what it was.
My eyes widened as I glanced between the gun and then to dad. "That's a flare gun," I pointed out, knowing exactly what it was used for only meant one thing. He would signal people out there to tell them where he was, which was a clear threat to us if it would ever be used. Dads eyes locked with mine, although it wasn't scared or worried, I knew he was planning something already and was slowly beginning to get angry.
MPOV
Witnessing the exchange given between Kat, Carl and Rick, I noticed how Rick's jaw clenched and Kat's eyes bulged out of its sockets. Something was gravely wrong and I didn't know what to think of it all, all I knew was the way we were treating this man wasn't right. Groaning back to consciousness, Aaron woke up and I had tried to wipe the sweat that was building on his forehead, to give him some comfort. Laughing, he blinked away the blurred vision as he looked up at Rick and the rest of us. "That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick," he commented on the punch he had recieved.
Everyone circled around him, but Carol and Daryl had moved away from him. Only myself and Maggie were there to comfort him and make sure he was well after the hit he had recieved. "Sit him up," Rick ordered coldly as he gestured to Aaron, who laid down on the floor and kept his gaze on the rest of us, as though looking for a friendly face.
Maggie stared at him, her eyes concerned for him and I knew she felt the same way I did. He was a good, honest man and I was convinced that there wasn't all bad people living in this world. There had to be good people, we were good people, not perfect, but good. "I think it's better if-" Maggie tried to protest for him.
Shaking his head, Aaron looked up at Maggie with a kind expression on his face. He could see she was concerned about him. "It's okay," he assured her he would be all right, groaning as he would move his jaw and try to ease the stinging pain from the punch Rick had given him.
"He's fine. Sit him up," Rick ordered again, to which myself and Maggie slowly rose him to sit up in front of us all. Surrounding him like he was the enemy, but I wasn't sure if I could agree with this view of him. Groaning as we put him into place, myself and Maggie stayed crouched beside him. Staying close to his level.
KPOV
As we sat him up, I watched the scene unfold and kept Judith close to me. Keeping her quiet, I knew something was wrong and I knew that I wanted to make sure everything was under control at the same time. I didn't want my dad to lose it, nor did I want to lose anyone else. "You're being cautious. I completely understand," Aaron spoke as he looked up at us.
Taking a slow and calm approach, I knew dad was trying to keep everything under control and I too wanted to know the information we were both eager to find out about. "How many of your people are out there?" dad asked him. "You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people," dad spoke as he showed Aaron the flare gun we had found in his backpack. "How many of them are there?" he asked again.
Sighing, Aaron didn't want to look at us for a moment. Keeping silent and still before he'd look back up at us. "Does it matter?" Aaron questioned us in turn. No, it doesn't.
"Yes. Yes, it does," dad answered incorrectly. This answer stunned me, as i knew that no matter what number Aaron said, we wouldn't believe him and only think the worst. He could be lying and we'd have to either take his word for it and be weary, or ignore the number and expect the worst. Either way, we wouldn't believe him.
For a brief moment, I saw Aaron look into my eyes, like he knew something I didn't or noticed something in the way I would look at him. He could see right through me and I could feel it. "I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there?" Aaron mumbled. "Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say...eight, 32, 444, zero..." he was testing us, giving us all these false numbers that could be true, or could be false. Either way, we had no idea what he was playing at, but I didn't like it. "No matter what I say, you're not going to trust me," he stated.
The way Aaron spoke, it was like he was at a loss, fighting a battle he wasn't sure he'd ever win. He wanted to take us in, yet he made us worry more as to what was the truth and if he was someone we could trust wouldn't put us all in danger. "Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face," dad stated his own fact, knowing full well that someone who smiled after being punched had something a little wrong with them. Normally, people would cuss and shout at being hit.
Meeting my gaze for only a moment, I felt my breath hitch for a second and relax. Judith in my arms was messing with the necklace I continued to wear, the one my father had bought me when I was only a young child. Her touch made me realize how desperately I needed to make sure she was always safe. Sister? More like my daughter. "How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?" Aaron questioned us, making us all look behind me, to the bottles filled with water that were placed on a small, makeshift table.
For a split second, Daryl looked over his shoulder at me and then past me, all of us looking to the bottles of water we had emptied then refilled with rain water. Shuffling closer to Aaron, Daryl looked at him directly from the side corners of his eyes. "How long you people been following us?" he questioned Aaron, who was still tied up and sat on the floor, like the hostage we had kept him.
Aaron looked around, surprised by how we were all worried and surprised by how much Aaron knew about us, we were all cautious and I felt myself hold Judith a little tighter towards me. "Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail. Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other," he stated what had been happening to this group recently. "You're survivors and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world," Aaron repeated what he had been trying to say to us earlier.
Silently, we all stood and would glance at one another, in hopes that we'd find out the answers we were all dying to know. Too many questions had filled my head, but I chose to leave my father to do the talking. "How many others are out there?" dad asked as he inched closer to Aaron.
Taking a sharp breath, Aaron kept his eyes glued to a fixated spot. "One," he answered, but when our eyes met, I felt something odd. Like he had been staring at me, hoping that I would somehow realise what was the truth. That he was in fact, telling the truth. "I knew you wouldn't believe me," Aaron hesistated once he noticed none of us were going to believe this. "If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real?" Aaron pleaded as he looked around before meeting dad's gaze. "What if I drove you to the community? All of you?" he suggested. "We leave now, we'll get there by lunch," he tried to convince us all to go.
Judith cooed a little, making me bounce her softly as I held her and kissed her forehead. I will protect Judith and Carl, no matter what. Dad, right now, he is fine. I know he can look out for me, Judith and Carl. I promise to protect all of them. "I'm not sure how the 16 of us are going to fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in-" dad spoke a little sarcastically, knowing that it would be difficult for all of us to squeeze into a small car.
Cutting dad off, it was like Aaron was in dire need of getting us to come with him. The way he spoke hurriedly, it made me wonder if he truly was being good or if he was lying to us, like all the rest of them. "We drove separately," Aaron informed us. "If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home," he tried to explain. "There's enough room for all of us," he assured us that it would be possible for all of us to jump into the cars they supposedly drove.
"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Carol questioned as she stood beside my dad. Something told me that she was hesitant too, that she wasn't sure if she could ever believe anything, especially not after what had happened with Beth and Bob.
Nodding, Aaron looked up to meet Carol's gaze, but the way Carol spoke coldly, it only showed how much this world affected her and how none of us trusted many people anymore. Everything turns to shit, so everyone goes down with it. "East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16," he agreed, giving us all the location. "We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it," he explained frantically.
Around about this time, there was always a knotting feeling in my stomach, but this time, it was like a small swirl building up inside my stomach. Warning me of anything that could possibly come out of this all, but I knew that dad could handle it. "Yeah, you've really thought this through," dad growled lowly, knowing that this could possibly be a set up and part of a plan to get us all hurt.
The next words that escaped Aaron's lips made me clutch Judith a little more tightly, caressing her head and resting my lips against her forehead as she clutched onto my clothes, arms and necklace. Her sweet little face was glancing over to Aaron as he sat there, tied up and staring at all of us individually but with wide, fear filled eyes. "Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here," Aaron told him. "You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit," he gave all these horrible ideas which made my stomach do unwelcoming flips. "You can trust me," Aaron assured us all.
MPOV
The moment Aaron mentioned trusting him, the whole room became silent and the atmosphere was tense. I knew something was going to happen, I knew that we were all trying hard not to believe what this man was trying to say. But to me, he was convincing enough. "I'll check out the cars," I offered my services without any hesitation. My body turned to face Rick as I smiled at him.
Rick gave me a look that made me realise he wasn't pleased with my offer of going out there and finding the cars, along with the possible friend that Aaron had said he was travelling with. "There aren't any cars," Rick growled as he kept his eyes glued on Aaron but peered his eyes up to give me a death type of glare. He was being firm, authoritive, a little bit like his old self, as I had first met him.
I knew he would deny me this option to go out and find a way to safety, to find proof that what Aaron was claiming was true. "There's only one way to find out," I stated, knowing that if we didn't at least look, we would be giving up the chance of getting all of us a better life.
"We don't need to find out," Rick snarled as he looked up at me, staring directly into my eyes as he tried to convince me that there was no need in finding the car that Aaron had described was a few miles back.
I could feel my heart jump at the thought and feeling of the chance of giving up a possibility of happiness, safety, security. Especially for those of us who needed to be behind safe walls again, as being out in this world changed us in different ways. Made us people who we weren't. "We do," I disagreed firmly. "You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not," I stated to him.
We were stood in silence, staring at one another as we weren't getting off our horses and staying firm. Eyes glued to one another, I wasn't going to back down from what I believed in. "Me neither," Maggie agreed with me.
Chewing on his options, I could see Rick was trying to digest what we were asking of him. To give us a chance to find out what was going on, to find out if this place was true, that what Aaron was saying was the truth. "Your way is dangerous, mine isn't," Rick shook his head as he spoke.
Knowing he was only trying to look out for us, to make sure we were all safe, it also made me realise that he needed to understand why I desperately needed to know the truth. "Passing up someplace where we can live? Where Judith can live?" I questioned him. "That's pretty dangerous," I stated. "We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do," I told him, tried to convince him that what I wanted to do was the right thing.
From the silence, a few others decided to speak and volunteer to join me. "Then I will, too," Glenn had spoke up to what I was saying, agreeing to it and deciding to join myself and Maggie. "I'll go," Glenn nodded to myself and Rick, who looked to his left at Glenn.
Rick then began to ask others to join myself, Maggie and Glenn. He had asked Rosita and Abraham to join us on the travel to find the cars that Aaron had been speaking of. Of course, the pair of soldiers agreed to joining us, as we then all began to prepare for whatever would be coming and our journey towards the cars Aaron had mentioned. "If there's trouble, you got enough firepower?" Rick asked Glenn as he wandered over to him.
"We got what we got," Glenn told him, to which Rick handed him another hand gun from his belt holster.
Everyone was rushing around, getting ready to leave and to get out or to roam around the area, as I knew Kat and Daryl would do. To make sure we were safe and prepared for whatever was to come. Daryl had picked Aaron up, dragged him to another spot and sat him back down on his ass. "The walkies are out of juice. If you're not back in 60 minutes, we'll come," Rick told us. "Which might be just what they want. If we're all in here, we're a target," Rick was speaking out of concern, worried for what could be planned for us and what could happen negatively.
Instantly, Daryl did what I thought he would do. "I've got the area covered," Daryl volunteered to go out there and wander around the barn, making sure that there wasn't anyone out there lurking, so that we were safe from any type of ambush, stopping it before it could happen.
"All right, groups of two," Rick ordered. "Find somewhere safe within eyeshot," I heard Rick say as I lead the way and everyone began to follow after me. All of us leaving to go in different areas, wandering in different directions, all of us going on different missions.
RPOV
As everyone left, I placed my hand on the small of Kat's back as she walked out, guiding her out there and then watched as Carl followed. Gently, I touched his shoulder and watched as my children and group wandered out into the world again. Closing the door, I watched out the crack of the door, keeping my eyes glued on my two kids. Not a moment later, Aaron began to speak to me. "When the world was still the world, I worked for an NGO," he began his speech. "Our mission was to deliver medicine and food to the Niger River Delta. Bad people pointed guns in my face every other week," he informed me of his past. "You're not bad people. You're not going to kill us," he tried to mix the truth with what we could be capable of. "And we are definitely not going to kill you," he tried to reassure me.
Knowing that what he said was mostly true, it didn't mean we weren't capable of doing what had to be done in order to protect ourselves. "Just because we're good people doesn't mean we won't kill you," I told him coldly. "If the five of them aren't back in an hour...I'll put a knife in the base of your skull," I informed him as I turned my head a little to look into the barn, attempting to show him that I was being serious when I spoke to him of my possible future actions.
CPOV
Myself, Carol, Kat, Gabriel and Daryl were walking around one half of the permiter. While Noah, Eugene, Tara and Sasha walked the other half together. This way, we covered enough ground and could make sure the area was safe from anyone who could be a threat to us. All during the walk, we had all been silent, my eyes glued to Kat and Daryl as they walked ahead of us, they walked side by side but stayed as silent as mice. "Kat, Daryl, how much further until we get back with the others?" I asked them. "I don't want to leave Judith alone with that man for too long," I mumbled mostly to myself as I looked over my shoulder to the barn.
Dad had stayed with Judith and the man we had held hostage. So far, the man seemed too happy and positive about his 'community' but after everything we had been through, we weren't sure that anything was as it had seemed anymore. I didn't want something to happen to dad and then Judith be captured or taken, I couldn't shake the fear that she was in danger. "Carl, she has your father there to protect her too," Carol smiled down at me as she walked beside me.
Gabriel was wandering behind Carol and myself, he kept his head bowed and when I looked back, he lifted his gaze and offered a faint smile. "I know, but I feel like I should be there too," I tried to tell Carol how I felt about the whole situation. "Both myself and Kat should be there with them," I pointed out, hopeful that Kat could hear me and would agree we needed to be there with out father and baby sister.
Kat turned her head a little, to peer at me from over her shoulder and from the corner of her eye. Ever since Beth's death, I had noticed she was dark and depressed. Not as depressed as Maggie, or as cold as Daryl had been as he would disconnect from us and put distance between himself and the group. Kat was just cold, as though all hope was lost, which was unlike Kat. "This was dad's orders, he knows what he's doing Carl," Kat had scolded me coldly in a tone that reminded me of mom.
Carol pursed her lips, her eyes darting between Kat and Daryl's backs. It was as though she too could sense their cold silence. What the hell is going on between them? Did they fight or something? Do they need to fix something? "Hey!" Carol called to Daryl and Kat. "Carl, myself and Gabriel are going to circle back, see if Sasha and the others found anything out here," Carol told them as she clutched her hunting rifle and slowed her pace a little so she could allow the pair ahead of us to keep walking.
Taking hold of my shoulder, Carol pulled me back and gently turned me to head back to where we had come from. To start our way back to the barn, which I was happy to do, as I would be back with Judith and dad, but I had to look back, only to see Kat and Daryl continue walking into the woods. "Why are we going back?" I asked Carol once the pair were out of ear shot.
Glancing down at me, she offered a pursed lipped smile and sad look in her eyes. "We're going back because I could sense that the pair really need to talk about all that has happened to them recently. They were too silent," she tried to explain her reasons in why she wanted us to head back. "But don't say anything to either of them," she spoke a little forcefully, her voice strong. "I'm trusting you not to Carl," Carol hoped I would keep a secret pact of silence.
Nodding, I looked to her and kept my eyes glued to her own. To prove that I was going to keep my word and not let her down. I also didn't want to ruin anything for both Daryl or Kat, especially if they were close to becoming a couple. "I won't say a word," I assured her I would treat this like a secret.
DPOV
After Carol, Gabriel and Carl had left, Kat and myself stayed close to one another and stayed silent again. Truthfully, it wasn't a comfortable silence, as I knew she was itching to say something to me, but I was only wanting to be alone. To do my job without anyone being put in danger close to me. My gaze would trail along the woods, stepping quietly and hoping that nothing was out here to hurt us. "All right, one of us has to talk first," Kat began to speak. "Is it going to have to be me?" she questioned me.
Not wanting to talk, I knew I couldn't simply ignore her and I wouldn't do that to her. I would probably do that to anyone else, but her, Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Michonne, Carl, Rick and especially her. They were the ones I was closest to. But Kat, I would never ignore her. "We don't have to talk," I grumbled lowly, not in the mood of discussing feelings and our problems.
As per usual, Kat wasn't going to let this slide. She needed to get things off her chest and she wanted to fill the silence with discussion. By all means, she could speak, but I wasn't going to answer to her questions. "We do," Kat nodded as she spoke. "You know we do," she tried to convince me that it was all necessary.
I wasn't going to argue with her, it wasn't like me and I didn't want to make her feel anymore shit than she probably already felt. We both weren't at the best moments in our lives, but I knew that she wasn't going to get much out of me in this conversation. "Go ahead. Talk," I encouraged her to talk to me, subtly hinting that I was going to listen but not reply to anything she would ask me.
"You can't keep things to yourself, all the time," Kat began the discussion as her eyebrows furrowed into a thin line, creases forming on her forehead as he crystal blues were fixated on my face. "Daryl, we've been there for each other time and time again," she reminded me of all the times we fought side by side and would look out for one another in general. "I don't mind listening to your problems, to help you," she tried to be there for me now. "But I can't help you if you don't talk to me about it."
Shaking her head, her eyes would dart along the side of my face, to what she could see of my face and I slowed down. Stopping, I lowered my crossbow and stood still on the spot. My eyes didn't look at her, but I saw how she stopped when I had. "Who said I needed help?" I asked her, curious to know who and what had led her to believe I needed her to help me.
Before she could answer, I continued to push on, to walk forward and deeper into the woods. In case others were watching us, my crossbow was raised and my body alert entirely. Nothing was going to hurt us, I wasn't going to allow it. "No one, but I can feel it, I can sense it Daryl," Kat spoke as she followed after me, trying to catch up to me as I walked ahead of her. "What happened back there with Beth, it wasn't your fault," she tried to convince me I didn't have a part to play in Beth's death.
My body tensed at the memory, I kept moving and felt my teeth gritting together. "Stop," I ordered her to not continue her speech any further than she had gone.
"What happened with Merle, it wasn't your fault either," Kat tried to stop me, her hand reached out and touched my elbow. Attempting to drag me back and make me look at her.
She didn't listen to my warning before, but I was going to give her another and hope she would stop with trying to make me feel like I wasn't responsible for any of the deaths that had happened because of me. "Kat," I warned her again, pulling my arm out of her hold and snarling a little as I spoke.
I could feel the anger inside me slowly begin to build, she wasn't listening to me and hearing her words, of attempt at comfort weren't helping. They only kept reminding me how much of a failure I was. "None of it was your fault, it happened because it happened. Beth and Merle had made a choice, that was what happened. It's not your fault Daryl, please don-" she tried to get me to stop and to listen to her. To accept that I hadn't been the reason both of those people died. My brother and a girl I cared for like a sister, a girl I had promised to look after because she was all I had left to protect. But I had failed too many times. And now they were gone.
Half way through her speech, I stopped and began to pant hard, feeling my heart hammering away in my chest. The memories flashing in my head, as the visions were clear behind my eyes. Just as Kat was about to finish her speech, I grabbed hold of her and forced her against a tree and heard her grunt from the impact. "I said, stop!" I yelled in her face. "You don't get it do you?" I cried as I felt my eyes start to sting from the treatening tears that began to build.
Nothing about this moment felt normal to me, I wasn't hurting her, I just held onto her arms and pressed myself against her firmly. Restricting her physically to get her to listen to me, to know how I felt and for her to know what was running through my mind, all while I was fighting against my heart that kept breaking with each passing moment. "How would you feel if I started telling you again how it wasn't your fault your mom died?" I asked her. "How would you feel if I told you that it wasn't your fault Andrea died?" I questioned her. "Truth is, Andrea's death was your fault and you know it," I spat, we both knew this was the truth and none of us could deny it any longer.
It was just like how I couldn't deny I was the reason Beth had died, just as I was the reason Merle died. If I hadn't forced the others to accept my brother, if I had kept walking with Merle, he wouldn't of died. If I hadn't left Beth's side, she wouldn't of been kidnapped by those people in the hospital. "You can't handle the fact that she died trying to save your ass, just like the rest of us are always trying to save you," I told Kat, knowing it was exactly the reason why Andrea had died. "One day, you're going to be the death of all of us," I stated what I was feeling in that moment.
"Your dad, Carl, Carol, Michonne, Judith and me," I listed off for her, all those who cared about her deeply and people who she cared about. She cared about me, but I wasn't sure if it was the same way I felt about her. Staring into her eyes, I could slowly see the anger, the sadness behind them and knew I was destroying her further. "You're going to be the death of all of us," I panted as I slowly realized how I was treating her, how I was hurting her verbally, in a way I never wanted to. "All because you can't keep yourself safe and because you always have to play the god damn hero!" I growled, feeling my anger bubble back up inside of me, I knew she didn't want to hear what I had to say, but she had been warned plenty of times.
Panting, I stared into her eyes and saw how the tears began to build in her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled, but she tried hard to bite back the emotions that were close to wrecking her. Pushing me away from her, she glared at me. "You're an asshole," she snarled at me, clearly unahppy with how I spoke to her. "Don't touch me, ever again," she spat. "How dare you..."
Kat had her back to me, angered with my words and how I treated her. I didn't want to hurt her this way, I didn't exactly hurt her physically as I noticed there weren't any marks, but we were just both tense from what we weren't voicing to each other. "I-Kat, I'm so sorry I didn't mean that," I instantly felt my heart sink, shatter and turn into powder. "I didn't mean any of that," I pleaded her for forgiveness. "Shit," I cussed as I rubbed my face, angered with myself for how I had burst and voiced everything hurtful to her. "You know that I don't mean it, don't you?" I said as I tried to walk over to her and get her to look at me.
Not touching her, I knew she would of killed me if I had. She needed space, especially after the pain I had created for her. I warned her, but I should of had a little more control with her. There is so much left unsaid...too much that needs to be said. "I know you didn't, but it still hurt," Kat wiped at her tears and sniffled, her back to me still, so I couldn't see her cry. "I forgive you."
Turning her head to look at me, we stood still and kept our eyes on one another. I wanted to comfort her, to apologize a million times over for all the pain I had given her. I hated myself more than anything in that moment. "You've been acting cold lately Kat," I pointed out, knowing we needed to get it all out in the open in that moment. "Like nothing good can come of life anymore," I had observed her closely, as i would, because I cared about her deeply and was always concerned about her.
It was a way to start a conversation and point it to another direction, away from the pain we had thrown to one another. "I wouldn't exactly call this a life anyway, it's more like we're just existing and surviving," Kat shrugged and hid her eyes from me, moving them to stare down at her feet. "This isn't living," she shook her head, reminding me much of Lori in that brief moment. "I've been cold because...it doesn't matter how much hope I have, how much effort I put in, people die and we have to try and move on," she spoke what was running in her mind.
Lifting her head, she looked into my eyes and stared blankly at me. "We have to keep surviving, to keep trying to find a shred of happiness and safety. But I feel like every time we come close to a good thing, it explodes in our face," she tried to explain how she felt about the whole ordeal. "I'm just tired of this world showing me just how terrible it can really be, when all I want is my family to be ok, for the people I call my family to be safe and happy," Kat spoke with sincerity in her voice. "All the good people keep dying," she sighed and shook her head.
Feeling my body tense, a part of me had believed it to be true too, but then I felt a defensive part in me disagree with her. She was a good person. Her dad, her brother, Glenn, Maggie, Carol and all the others were good people. They all were alive, they were all good people and I wasn't going to allow her to call herself a bad person. "That ain't true," I snarled and disagreed firmly. "I won't accept it. It ain't true," I shook my head and spoke in a serious tone before I began to walk away and continue with our job. Check the perimiter and make sure no one was going to harm us.
RPOV
Judith began crying loudly, whilst I was making her something to eat, I was grunting. Trying to shush her, I was crushing acorns and holding Judith in my arms. "You did see the jar of applesauce in my bag, right?" Aaron asked me. "This isn't a trick. This isn't about trying to make you like me," he tried to tell me. "It's self-preservation," he informed me of what he was doing. "Because if the roamers hear her and come this way, I know I'll be the first to go," he stated of what was most possible.
Trying to hush Judith, I kept holding onto her and lead her towards the table, opening the applesauce jar, I scooped some out with a spoon and deliberated taking a bite out of it. I'm not letting Judith eat something that could be poisoned. Offering it to him, I waited for him to take a bite out of it. "You think I'm trying to poison your baby daughter?" Aaron looked at me like I was crazy. I'd say I'm protective, but I don't know anymore. "I'm tied up and you've already expressed a willingness to stab me in the head. How would cruelly killing your daughter in front of you in any way help the situation?" he argued with me.
Feeling the pressure and tension of it all, I knew that with every cry, a walker could possibly hear it from a mile away. "Maybe she doesn't die. Maybe she gets sick," I fumbled for the right words to say. "Maybe you're the only one that can help her and I just lose," I tried to explain the rush that was running into my head, but I kept my eyes glued to him and kept the spoon in front of him.
There was a panic between the both of us because we knew we were in danger with the walkers that could be lurking behind the barn walls. "I am the only one who can help her because I have applesauce and we all win," he continued to try and convince me. It technically worked, which lead me to offer him the applesauce again. "I hate applesauce," Aaron said with a face of repulsion. "My mom used to make me eat foods I didn't like to make me more manly. Salmon patties, applesauce, and onions. She was a very confused woman who tried her damnedest. I just bring the jar to show that we have apple trees nearby," he tried everything to get me not to give it to him.
I truthfully didn't care for his story. I cared for my daughter's life and her health. If she didn't eat, she wouldn't stop crying and if she didn't stop crying, we would attract the walkers to us. "Like you said, you'll be the first to go," I agreed with him, which made him deliberate for only a moment before he ate the applesause and pulled a face of disgust.
Taking a little bite of the applesauce, I could taste the apple and I knew it was fine. Hoping that it was fine, I licked off any remains of what Aaron ate, leaving it clean for the next spoonful I would then give to Judith. Waiting for only a moment, I watched Judith to see if he wasn't poisoned. "The community is big enough. We can find a place for you to live where even when she cries, no one, nothing can hear it outside the walls," he tried to reassure me that where he lived was safe for Judith. Safe for all of us.
Cradling Judith, I wandered over to the applesauce jar and continued to wait for any reaction that Aaron could give me from the applesause he ate. "You got 43 minutes," I warned him of how much time he had left to live, if the group didn't return from their journey in searching for the car.
MPOV
We had found that there was no one there, there were cars and an RV filled with supplies. Taking the car and RV with us, we drove to the barn and parked them outside. The others all helped us bring the food back into the barn, to show it to Rick and to keep them for our own personal needs. "This, this is ours now," Rick said after examining the supplies we had now gained.
Aaron was sat there, listening and keeping his eyes glued to us as we all stayed at the far back of the barn. "There's more than enough," Aaron nodded, listening to what Rick had to say and accepted to hear what was being said about the food we had found in the RV.
Turning to look at us, Rick no longer had his front to Aaron and his back to us. He turned a little to look at both of us, his side facing both us and Aaron. "It's ours, whether or not we go to your camp," Rick stated coldly, not caring that we had basically stolen from Aaron and his group.
Judith was in her small bed, asleep and comfortable as she laid there. Peaceful, until she'd need something else again. Kat stood beside her brother, her eyes glued to little Carl as he spoke out to all of us, especially his father. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?" Carl threw these questions at him curiously as he looked to Rick.
Pleased to know that Carl was with me on this, I felt my heart beating quicker and I knew I had to make my stand. To say what needed to be said to convince everyone that this was the right move for us. "If he were lying or if he wanted to hurt us...but he isn't, and he doesn't," I stated to all of us. "We need this," I felt my voice tremble slightly. "So we're going, all of us," I spoke firmly, making a demand and order for the others to follow. "Somebody say something if they feel differently," I encouraged anyone to step up.
Daryl was sat near the back, with Abraham sat beside him, leaning in and listening to our conversation silently. I couldn't see a single one of them that didn't want to give this place a chance, other than Rick and possibly Kat. "I don't know, man," Daryl grumbled to Rick. "This barn smells like horse shit," he pointed out the obvious, which was his way of saying he was on my side.
Taking a moment, Rick looked between me, Daryl and the rest of us. But, his eyes finally landed on Carl, Judith and finally Kat. When he realised how much we needed this camp, he looked into my eyes and nodded. "Yeah. We're going," he agreed with me calmly. "So where are we going? Where's your camp?" Rick asked as he turned to face Aaron to ask him these questions.
For a passing second, I noticed how Aaron was stunned and how he fumbled for the right words to say back to Rick. "Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back," he stuttered as he looked around and Rick looked like he had enough of speaking to Aaron as he wandered back to the others. "I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet," he tried to make it seem like he still didn't trust us enough to take us there.
Walking past Rick, I wandered over to Aaron and stopped in front of him. I could only take so much of rejecting us the liberty of finding where he lives. We weren't going to hurt anyone, but only if they weren't going to attempt to hurt us in any way. "You're not driving," I told Aaron firmly. "So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how," I encouraged him to co-operate with us.
Rick was crouched down, map at the ready and his eyes peering between myself and Aaron. Hopeful to get some type of response from Aaron, telling us where to go from here to where he lived. "Go north on Route 16," he instructed Rick after he sighed.
"And then?" I tried to push him for more directions.
Glancing between myself and Rick, I could tell Aaron wasn't going to give us much more than Route 16. How we were going to get the information out of him, had me very slightly worried for Aaron. "I'll tell you when we get there," he stood firm, not allowing myself or Rick to push him into giving us more information on the topic.
After glancing down at the map, Rick found an alternate Route we could take towards the direction of where 16 was heading. "We'll take 23 north," Rick countered what Aaron had said, so that we wouldn't be surprised on the journey to wherever he was leading us. "You'll give us directions from there," Rick nodded to Aaron, as though attempting to secure him by giving him the right directions to where the destination would be.
The moment Aaron heard Rick's suggestion of a change in the Route to take, he looked as though he could of shit himself in that very moment. "That's...I don't know how else to say it..." Aaron stuttered for the words to say to us. "That's a bad idea," he tried to tell Rick. "We've cleared 16. It'll be faster," he attempted to convince Rick and the rest of us to choose the Route he had told us to go on.
Not being convinced by Aaron, it was as though what Aaron had said was a silent confirmation to Rick's thoughts. That the best choice we had, was to go in the Route Rick had chosen for us, as Aaron clearly got a little stressed and worried about the change in direction. "We'll take 23," Rick repeated. "We leave at sundown," Rick informed us all.
"We're doing this at night?" Sasha asked, a little concerned about the dangers that came with travelling at night. Hard to see, if something goes wrong, we could all get lost. It was all things we needed to consider.
Danger followed us wherever and whenever we chose to leave and to go to. I knew that. All of us knew that. But night time was always the biggest risk when it came to the walkers that roamed by. "Look, I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day," Rick tried to convince us that it was all for the best. "If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there," Rick explained why he felt the need to leave after sundown.
Somehow, this only made Aaron more stressed, worried and he began to get anxious about it all. He could hardly sit still as he spoke to us all. As he directly spoke to Rick. "No one is going to hurt you," Aaron tried to reassure us all. "You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger," he warned Rick, hoping to change his mind and make him do as Aaron wanted.
Of course, Rick wasn't going to listen to Aaron, as he was here to protect us and most of all, to protect his children. No matter the cost, I knew Rick would keep them safe, alive and would do what he had to in order to make sure they survived before he did. "Tell me where the camp is, we'll leave right now," Rick tried to push Aaron into giving us the information we needed, but Aaron simply stayed as silent as a mouse. "It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can," Rick suggested to us and Aaron.
RPOV
Heading out, I decided to give the cars a more thorough check, so that they were in good condition to travel in. I was also checking for any bugs, or things that could give away what exactly we were going to do, so that our secrets wouldn't be heard or figured out. "I'm thinking you, me, Kat and Glenn drive with that guy," I told Michonne as she made her way towards me and stopped beside me. "Carl and Judith are safer in there," I stated what I believed to be the best option for my children. I knew Kat would be too stubborn to leave me alone, so I thought it best to just do as she would wish. She had shown she was capable of looking after herself. "You okay?" I asked Michonne as I noticed she was being awfully quiet.
The way Michonne looked at me, I could tell there was a little bit of curiosity and distrust in what I had said previously. My intentions in that moment were unclear, as I could only hope what the guy was saying was true. "When you said that we were going, was that for real?" Michonne asked me. "Or are you just trying to get this guy to tell you where his camp is?" she questioned what my motives were in saying we were all to go to where the camp was.
"We're going," I made it as obviously clear to her that we were going. If it was a good place, then we'd stay, if not, we would steer away from it and kill those that we needed to. I had to keep the group safe, I had to keep my children safe after the shit we'd been through. It was something I had to be cautious about.
Standing up straight, I was trying to make Michonen see that what I was telling her was the truth. That we were going there and that was all that mattered. If it was what the guy said, we'd stay, if it wasn't, we'd leave. "Whatever it takes to get there. Just as long as we get there," Michonne spoke as though it would be a good thing for us, but I was still unsure.
What made me hesitant to go, was not only mine and the other's experiences, but a conversation I had once with Kat. How she spoke of both places, how both places seemed too eerie for her when she got there. "When you first came up on the walls outside Woodbury...what did you hear?" I asked her, already knowing the answer and only wanting her to see what I had seen since we had left Terminus.
Thinking through her answer, her experiences that she had shared with my daughter. It reminded me of how afraid my daughter was about trusting anywhere else. Much like myself, as she had experienced more shocking and horrific things than I had. "Nothing," Michonne thought back to that time.
When Kat had reached Terminus and Atlanta, to save Beth, she remembered how silent all the places were. Especially at night, they were like ghost towns Kat had told me. The thought of our conversation lingered in every choice I would make from now on. "And Terminus?" I asked Michonne, already knowing the answer to this question too.
"Nothing," Michonne repeated.
Slowly, the realization struck Michonne and she knew where I was going with it. "Sometime tonight, we'll be outside his camp's walls. And without seeing inside, I'm gonna have to decide whether to bring my family in," I was painting the picture out for Michonne, so she could see where I was coming from with this. "He asked me before what it would take for me to believe it was real. Truth is...I'm not sure if anything could convince me to go in there," I stated, especially after what had happened to us over a short amount of time. "But I'm gonna see. I'm gonna see," I was trying to keep positive, as I had to try. I had to, for my kids and their futures.
KPOV
Sat to one corner, I saw Carl and Judith were together, he was feeding her some of the applesause that Aaron had with him in his backpack. Getting ready, I was sharpening my knife, arrow heads and machete. Ready for later tonight, in case we needed to fight anything, from both the living and the undead. Cleaning my gun too, I would reload and fix anything else, keeping everything in tip-top shape. "Hey," Carol greeted me as she sat beside me and Daryl followed after her.
Peering up at them from under my lashes, I could sense they were going to talk to me about something serious. About something I had already made my mind up on. They want to try and convince me not to ride with my dad, when I told him I was ready to go out there and help him. "Hey," I greeted them in return. "Everything all right?" I asked them.
Daryl wasn't saying anything, he only sat a little away from me as Carol crouched down before me. Her eyes trying to be level to mine, while Daryl watched me in the slowly growing darkness. "Yeah, just..." Carol spoke quickly and awkwardly. "Concerned," she smiled kindly to me, as though she was trying to keep something from me but trying to be obvious about it.
"About what?" I asked her.
Shaking her head, her ice blue eyes stared at me and glanced down at the gun in my hands. "Not what. You," she told me. She was attempting to make it out to be that I was going to the main reason for all this worry. I knew it. It's about me going out there with my dad, Michonne, Glenn and Aaron.
Stopping my work on my gun, I looked up at them with a look of exhaustion. Truthfully, I was tired of people doubting my capabilities and my choices. I was still considered a young one of the group, but I wasn't a child. This moment, made me feel like I was a child. "Why are you concerned about me?" I asked as my eyes darted between Carol and Daryl.
Parting her lips, Carol's head turned to look at Daryl and it was as though she were waiting for him to say something, rather than to tell me herself what the pair had been secretly discussing outside the barn. "Are you sure you're ready to go out there, put yourself in danger? After what happened with the Governor, that car that hit you...are you sure you're fit enough to do this?" Carol asked me with sincere concern as her eyebrows would scrunch up together and her ice blues met mine.
Finally, Daryl decided to speak. It wasn't much, but I knew it was something he truly meant and wanted to voice to me. "You shouldn't go out there, anything can happen and you'll be putting your life on the line," he reminded me of the conversation we had back out in the woods. The one that had hurt me, but I had accepted because it was both the truth and an insight in Daryl's head. He blamed himself for people's deaths because he knew he had a part to play. "You could get the others in danger too, are you sure you're willing to risk that?" he questioned me and my motives in joining the group on this mission.
Keeping my gaze focusing on both Carol and Daryl equally, I knew they would need me to speak to both of them about this situation. "I'm capable of looking out for myself," I said to Carol. "I've done it before and I was in a worse state than this and still looked out for those who I cared about," I spoke to Daryl this time, remembering the time after the Governor stabbed me and when Joe's group had attacked us. "You said it, it's dangerous and I'm not going to leave my father unprotected," I agreed with Carol as I looked at her. "Guess it's just the hero in me," I shrugged, remembering something Daryl had said when we were out there and tilted my head to look at him directly as I spoke.
"Glenn and Michonne can keep him safe," Carol argued.
Daryl had mumbled something under his breath, but I wasn't sure what it was as I didn't catc onto it. "Who's going to keep Carl and Judith safe?" Daryl asked as he crossed his arms and looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a slight slint of his eyes close to shutting and glare at me at exactly the same time.
Knowing both of them had a point, I didn't want dad to end up alone when it was more dangerous for him. This way, Glenn and Michonne could work together while I worked with my father in keeping each other safe. "Glenn and Michonne will protect him with me, but I can't risk losing him again like I had before," I thought back to the day he had got shot under the supervision of Shane, who was a man I had trusted to look after my father and did a bad job at that. "As for Carl and Judith, I'm counting on you two to look out for them," I had hoped that they would look out for my siblings. "Promise me you'll look after them," I pleaded them to take care of them while I was with our father.
"We promise," Daryl grumbled and nodded as he agreed to look out for my siblings.
Carol's eyes darted to myself and then to Daryl. Nodding in agreement, she knew she had a job to do and that involved taking care of those that would be with her during the journey. "Just stay safe and stay smart," she encouraged me as she gently took my hand and squeezed it.
This small but kind gesture made me look to Carol with kind eyes. Smiling faintly, I nod and look to her directly. Ice blues colliding with my own pair of blue eyes. "Always," I agreed with her, knowng that I had to always stay safe and smart, because it was the only way to survive and keep others surviving.
MPOV
The drive was long, slow and tiring. Glenn was on the wheel, Rick was at shotgun, Kat was sat behind her father, I was sat behind Glenn and Aaron was wedged between myself and Kat. Rick decided to pry inside the glove compartment and pulled out a few licence plates. "Um, I'm trying to collect all 50 states. Put them all on a wall in my house," Aaron explained as he looked at what Rick had in his hands.
A small smile formed along Aaron's face as he looked at us. For the most part, I believed him and hoped he was telling us the truth. He seemed nice and smart, but sometimes, people weren't always what they seemed. "You have your own house?" I asked him, to which he indicated, along with encouraged me to glance inside his backpack and to look at the photographs inside of it. "Why don't you have any pictures of your people?" I asked him after seeing only pictures of the structure and the houses that were built there.
Flash of fear was what I could see in his eyes. Like he had just realized he screwed up. And big time. Kat's eyes widened at the sound of my question and she too had connected the dots. In that moment, I didn't feel at all safe. "Oh, I took a picture of the whole group, but I didn't get the exposure right. When I tried to develop it later, it just-" Aaron gave me excuse after excuse, to which I wasn't exactly buying.
Thoughts of secrets and the questions we would usually ask made me question our safety. Made me question if what Aaron had said was true, as I felt a small flip form inside my stomach at the thought that it was a trap. "Did you ask him the questions?" I quickly cut Aaron off and asked Rick as I glanced at him. Rick's answer didn't make me feel relieved at all, as he gave me a saddened 'No'. "How many walkers have you killed?" I asked Aaron, to which Aaron answered me in a way that he was confused. "How many?" I pushed him to answer the question.
Kat and Glenn gave each other a look, like they were a little unsettled with the thought that we could all be driving into a trap. What was worse, was Rick was letting my question sink in. He hadn't asked those important questions which could give us an insight on the people we encountered. "I don't know. A lot," Aaron answered at last, although, it was very vague for what I was hoping for.
Hearing his answer, I felt my muscles tense and saw Kat's face firm. Her ice blue eyes glued to the road ahead of us, as though she too was ready for anything that would come our way. But this wasn't something I wanted for her, nor for Carl and Judith. To constantly live in fear and to always be ready for whatever it was they were to face. "How many people?" I asked Aaron the second question.
Sat in silence, Aaron stared directly into my eyes and deliberated to tell me. "Two," he finally answered, once he had gathered his thoughts and possibly his courage.
"Why?" I finished with the third question. The last question was always the hardest answer to swallow, as we were to find out what kind of people they were. Just by their small, short stories.
Without hesitation, Aaron calmly answered me back. His eyes darted down for only a second before they returned to mine, as he answered the question. "Because they tried to kill me," he explained the reason behind his murders. Which seemed like the average answer to the question these days.
Rick leaned down, as though searching for something and when he lifted his hand to show us what he had. I felt my heart drop in an instant. It was something they could use to hear us, to hear what we spoke of and possibly even record it for later use. "You were listening to us?" Glenn asked Aaron in a panic, as though he couldn't believe that this lone man was capable of doing such a thing.
Shuffling forward, Aaron glanced between myself, Kat, Rick and Glenn but he was more focused on Rick. Seeing as he was supposed to be putting trust in him, while we were to be trusting him, it surprised all of us to see that he had been hearing everything we were saying. "I already said I was watching you. Yes, I was listening," Aaron spoke in a frantic tone. He was busted and ruining this more for him with each passing moment.
Frantic. Everyone was frantic in that moment, my heart was pounding fast within my chest and I could sense that something was happening. I could tell that Aaron was more worried for himself than any of us, he knew he had screwed up big time with us and now we hardly trusted him. "It means his people could have one, too. They could've heard our plan," Rick informed both myself, Kat and Glenn about his suspicions. Everything made sense like that, because how else would he have known so much about us without being close to us and hearing us. What worried us, was if his people knew our plans and were still going to trap us and possibly kill us. "This isn't safe!" Rick shouted over Aaron's protesting.
What happened next wasn't something I expected. Glenn cussed, drove right into a row of walkers and smashed into them. Running us off the road, away from the others and making them no longer follow behind us. Smashing, bumping and splattering was all I could hear. "They were right behind us. They would have hit us. Now they can get out," Glenn explained over the splattering of bodies against the car and windshield. As we drove into what felt like thousands of bodies colliding with the metal of the car, all I could hope for was that the others were ok and that we'd all get out safely. Swirving to a stop, Glenn, myself, Kat and Rick climbed out of the car. Checking to see if the others still followed behind us, which all of us could only hope they hadn't.
Panting, we climbed out of the car and glanced around for any signs that the others were following us. Rick was the first to check, his eyes darting around and I could sense fear as he stared ahead. Worried that his most vulnerable children were to get into the mix of multiple walkers heading our way. "I don't see them," Rick called over to the rest of us.
Climbing ontop of the car, Glenn glanced around for another perspective. Kat's bright blue eyes were dark, wide and darting everywhere but at Glenn, myself or her father. She was more worried than Rick was for her siblings and the others. "No, they're gone. They got away," Glenn assured us that they were no longer behind us, that they hadn't followed us into the herd of walkers.
Moving backwards, Rick made his way back to the car and Glenn slowly began to climb back down. Kat was better since what had happened, but she still had a faint limp in her walk and moments when she'd gently place her hand over her side wound. But she was recovering, and that was all any of us could ask for. "All right, we'll circle back and find them," Rick ordered as we made our way back into the car. "Let's go," he ordered.
Getting into the car, Aaron asked if I was alright, to which I replied with a basic 'Yeah' and listened as Rick and Glenn formed a new route back to the others. In hopes that we'd all get there safely. When Glenn began to start the engine, it didn't growl back to life. Instead, it stalled and I knew I had to do something. Climbing out, I told them I would try and figure out what was stopping us. Glenn had already wiped the windshield of all the guts, blood and gunk he had gathered on it. But the blood was still stuck on it, blurring Glenn's vision if he drove. What I found, were a bunch of arms and legs clogging up the hood and inside the radiator. Pulling them all out, I was shocked the moment I saw a bright light flash across the sky. The bright flash was familiar and I knew exactly what it was and who it could be.
KPOV
Aaron became restless, pleading begging and ordering that he had to leave. That it was over. Dad had questioned him, but got no response from Aaron as he shimmied towards the door Michonne had escaped from. When the flare lit up the sky, I glanced at dad and knew that there was only one explanation to it. Someone from Aaron's group had fired it. "Did you see that?" Michonne asked us in surprise as she came back to her seat, only to be knocked flat on her back as Aaron kicked the door opened and ran out towards the woods.
Rising to her feet, Michonne pulled out her sword and went running after Aaron. Following him, dad stopped Michonne, which made me and Glenn follow after them. I didn't want Michonne running into the woods after what had just happened to her. "Leave him! We need to find our people," dad ordered of Michonne, but she wasn't listening to anything until I called her name, causing her to stop in her tracks and look directly at me.
When we were all panicing about the car, I had watched as dad questioned Aaron. I noted how Aaron had transformed from a fearful man of the walkers, to frozen stiff and his face pale white from something I couldn't put my finger on. Before he kicked down the door, I had attempted to stop him from shuffling towards said door and had failed as he squirmed and pushed himself out of my grip. "They saw that flare. They'll think we shot it. This is how we find them," Michonne informed us of something we had to do in order to reunite with our people.
Dad pulled out his machete while I grabbed hold of my own, the three of us ran towards Michonne and into the woods. Glenn was close beside me, but as we mingled in the herd of walkers, we all began cutting them down in our own individual ways. "Where's Glenn?" dad had asked as we all glanced around and couldn't find a single trace of Glenn anywhere. "He's got to be somewhere around here," he spoke with confidence that Glenn would be fine alone, but I worried that my old friend wasn't safe and we needed to find him.
Calling out for Glenn, dad kept shooting, while I kept slicing with my machete and Michonne kept cutting through walkers with her sword. Keeping my eyes glued to any sign of Glenn, we all kept calling him and hoped he'd listen. Hoped that he'd find his way back to us in one, alive piece. Running out of bullets, we could hear my dad's gun clicking. We then tried to make it out with only the weapons we had left. Fighting off the herd that came directly towards us, we were amazed to hear more gunshots coming from behind us, killing off the ones that were making their way towards us. Turning around, I saw Aaron stood beside Glenn, both of them holding guns and instantly, Aaron raised his hands in surrender to us. "If you really want to tie me up again, that's fine, but hurry up," he encourage us to think fast.
From what I sensed, dad wasn't completely pleased with Aaron, but he wasn't pissed off with him either. As Aaron lowered his gun to the ground, dad leaned down and took it from him. "No time," dad decided quickly to leave Aaron to wander around hands free. "We're going that way," dad pointed towards where the flare came from. Walking to safety quickly, we found ourselves at a new, clear road. "Where are they?" dad asked Aaron once we looked around.
"I don't know," Aaron answered him quickly.
Tensed up, I could tell dad was just as tense as I had felt. If Carl wasn't well, or Judith, I would lose it. The pair had been growing up, both as my siblings, my friends and like they were my own children. I had to protect the ones I love, and neither my dad or myself could do that in that moment for my siblings. "If this is a trap to get us back where you want us, your people are going to die tonight," dad growled at Aaron after he had glanced to each of our faces in a way that made me wonder if I had really believed him or not. "The flare was towards the water tower," dad stated as we made our way to where he had directed us to. whistles
Once we had walked through more woods, roads and eventually streets, we found ourselves near a small alleyway. Near a small town, it had looked like. Once we saw the car, my heart was pounding at the thought of all those we held dear were in close distance. Whisling that familiar whistle myself and Daryl had used for when we were hunting, he whistled back to me and I knew that he was somewhere down the alley, keeping watch and our family safe. Hearing a knock on a door, that was when all our loved ones ran out to greet us. Maggie, Carol and Carl. Carl had ran to us and landed straight into dad's arms. "Dad! Kat!" he spoke our names with relief, hugging dad and then myself.
Placing a kiss atop his head, I held him tightly and shut my eyes. Thankful that my brother was safe and in my arms again. With me, where I knew he'd be safe because I wouldn't let anyone hurt him, ever again. "Carl," I whispered his name as I held him and felt pairs of eyes watching myself and my brother. Opening my eyes, I noticed Daryl was staring at us, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he watched this exchange happening between all of us. Mouthing a slow 'thank you' to Daryl, he gave me a nod and wandered back into the building with us.
"Are you and Judith okay?" dad had asked with a little worry still left in his body. Truthfully, I too worried for my little sister and I wanted nothing more than to have her in my arms again and to never let her go. Judith was more like my daughter, rather than my sister and I felt oddly comfortable in knowing that. It's what mom would of wanted of me.
Laughing a little, Carl let go of me a little and kept his arm wrapped around my waist, my own arm resting over his shoulders as I kept him close. Leading me into the building, I smiled at Carl and watched as dad moved to give Daryl a sign of thanks and greeting to him. "Yeah. Yeah, we're fine," Carl reassured us both that him and Judith were well.
Aaron was pacing around a little, looking frantic as his expression showed me that he was trying to find someone in our small reunion. "Eric? Eric?" Aaron called out a name that we hadn't known. It made me wonder who Eric was and why Aaron was frantic to find this 'Eric'. A faint voice called to Aaron, which sent him to quickly run in and slam the door shut. Myself and dad glanced at each other with the same expression of uncertainty. Curious to know who Eric was and what they were really trying to do with us.
RPOV
Once leaving Kat, Carl and the others to regroup themselves together, I wandered into the building and tried to check to see if there was anything that was in need of checking. To make sure we were all safe, I saw Judith was sound asleep and happy, which made me smile softly at her. The sound of voices made me get closer to them, which had then turned to the two men laughing happily. Instantly, I knew what they were, Aaron and Eric were a couple. "Hi. I'm Eric," Eric introduced himself to me once I was in their line of sight. Once I was in the light, they could both see I was intruding on their little moment.
Unsure what to say, I was dumbfounded. I had been completely blind to them, as I had thought over what I had said to Aaron before. How I had tried to convince everyone that he had been lying, when he had actually been telling us the truth about himself and how many others were out there with him. "Rick," I introduced myself in turn.
Whispering something to Eric, Aaron then got up and wandered out. Following after him, all the members of my group were stood around, talking about their experiences with the others that had joined the opposite cars. "Excuse me. Excuse me, everyone," Aaron began to get all of our attention. "Thank you. You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you," he began to thank us for what we did best, help people who were in need and deserved the help. "And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria," Aaron spoke proudly. "Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight. Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning," he had suggested we rest up and then leave in the morning.
Listening to Aaron's words, I had allowed it to sink in and I knew that this option was the best option. Despite my desire to know how the streets sounded outside once we were there at night, as that was always a big indicator that it was a good place, or a bad one. "That sounds fine," I agreed. "But if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there," I laid out my terms for him to follow.
Kat's eyes were on Aaron and then glanced at Carl and Judith. Judith was comfortably in her sister's arms, but as I glanced at Kat, Carl and Judith, I noticed how much Kat had grown. How she was no longer that teen I had been trying to protect all this time, she was a woman and a strong, smart and confident one. She resembled her mother a lot in that sense, as she held her siblings close, I saw Lori for a quick moment in Kat's protective hold on them. "You really think we got to do that?" Maggie asked as she took a step closer to me.
Thinking of Lori, of all those that surrounded me that I had to protect. Thinking of my failures and what I had to do to not do that mistake again, I stared at each face and knew I had to be firm. "It's the safe play," I explained to the others quickly. "We don't know you," I tried to reason with Aaron as to why he wasn't trusted yet, after all that had happened and had been said. Doubt still clouded my better judgement.
Aaron's face turned into one of anger and of a stubborn nature. "The only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me," he growled, threatening to make me have to kill him if I wanted them to be separated. Thinking of Lori and how I had missed her, how if she was alive in this moment, I would want to be with her and drop everything to be with her, if only for a second longer. I would of.
But this only lead me to think about my children, about the group, how I needed to protect everyone of them. Just as Aaron went to walk past me, I tensed up and glared at him. Daring him to make another move towards Eric, that he knew he'd be at a loss if he did. Stepping up, Glenn stopped Aaron from going any further. "Whoa," he said as Aaron froze on the spot. "Rick, he told us where the camp is. And he really was only travelling with one other person," Glenn began to speak to me, trying to convince me to trust this guy and to let them spend the night together. "They're both unarmed. One of them's got a broken ankle," he made me see the situation a little more clearly. "I want us to be safe, too. I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it does matter," he had spoken about what we had discussed back in the camp site of Noah's old home. How we spoke of Beth, Hershel and all the others we had lost along the way.
The thought of those we had loved and lost, made me untense and my heart drop. Good people that hadn't deserved to die, those we all loved and cared about. I knew we needed to find somewhere safe, to find a place where Judith could cry and not feel like we had to kill thousands of walkers that would surround us in that second. I knew that we needed change, to find somewhere we could live, not feel like we're always being hunted. "All right," I agreed with Glenn after glancing at everyone, my eyes landing finally on my children. A look of approval was in Kat and Carl's eyes, one that I could never refuse to them. I guess the majority win.
DPOV
Stood there, listening to Aaron's threats and how he had thanked all of us for helping Eric, it was sweet and it reminded me that sometimes, love was the most important thing to people. How he threatened Rick, saying that the only way he'd be away from the one he loves, was if we would shoot him there and then. None of us wanted that to happen, but listening to his words, I couldn't help but glance at Kat. There wasn't a single thing I wouldn't do for her. To see her smile, to hear her laugh, to keep her safe, to see her again. Anything. I would of done absolutely anything for her.
Earlier, myself and Carol had tried to convince her that she needed to stay with Carl, Judith and the rest of us. Instead, she chose to be with her father and the others, along with Aaron. I couldn't control her, nor did I want to. What I did want though, was her safe and well. For her to be happy. Sometimes, I found it difficult, in times like these, to keep her safe and to not make it seem like I was a love sick, controlling man, who truly cared for a woman more than he could ever believe, I knew I would never get a girl like Kat to fall in love with me, but I didn't care, this was because I knew she deserved better. She deserved a man who could protect her, keep her safe and make her genuinely happy. Not like myself, who would hurt her verbally and couldn't protect anyone, not even my family like she could.
Hearing Aaron, I stared at her, amazed just by how beautiful she looked and I was calmed just by her presence. Being around her, was like breathing for the first time, it was like nothing else mattered than to have her close enough to know she was safe, alive and surrounded by those we all cared about, people we could all trust. Yet, parts of me still worried for her, even if I was close to her or if she was putting herself at risk, I felt a desire to always protect her. Before myself and before anyone else. She always came first. She will always come first.
RPOV
We had been driving for a long while, but just as we were getting closer, the RV stopped and Glenn helped change the battery. Waiting for the RV to get moving again, I leaned against the car and noticed how Kat and Carl were caring for Judith. I noticed how Michonne was watching the four of us as she leaned against the car beside me. "The fight's over. You've got to let it go," she encouraged me softly. "I know it's hard. After it's kept you warm and fed...alive," she listed all the things that kept me in this state, how it kept us all alive and staying strong. It was difficult to not keep fighting, as it was the only thing we knew how to do since day one. "But the fight...it turns on you. You've got to let it go."
Each word Michonne said, it made me realise that she was right and reminded me of what Bob was telling me as he was slowly passing away. The memory of it made me feel saddened, my head bowed as I was lost in my thoughts. "That's what Bob was trying to tell me back at the church," I voiced what was going on in my mind. "What to risk. When it's safe. When to let someone in," I finished the sentence with a sigh. Why does it change depending on the circumstances? On the people? Everything just...doesn't make sense anymore. "The rules keep changing," I blurted out, knowing how crazy I may have sounded in that moment, but I knew Michonne would never judge me for that. She had always been the understanding type.
"They did for me," Michonne quirked, reminding me of how hostile she had been the moment we met her. How distant and far off she had been, but once she knew who we were and what type of people we were, she stayed. She opened herself up and became a member of our family, a valued member. The sound of an engine starting made everyone waiting cheer. At least they're happy. I smiled at the sight of our family all happy and together. We were a tough group and I could feel it deep within my bones, that this was what was 100% true.
Pondering at the ever growing risks, I knew that if there was trouble ahead, we couldn't go into the camp without a single weapon. I needed to do something to make sure we were safe, much like what happened when we were about to go into Terminus, we had hidden all our guns and stayed quiet about our weapons, in order to break out and use them when it was necessary. "Before we get going, I got to...I got to take a moment," I paused before I left to go do something alone. Hoping no one watched me, I had stopped by what seemed to be an abandoned home or shack, junk was everywhere and it seemed secure. Like there was no one around or watching me, so I did what I thought would be the best thing to keep us all safe.
Taking out my extra gun, I slid it into an empty blender cup and hid it back in place. Placing the cap ontop, to hide my gun and returned to the others. I saw Kat was playing with Judith while Carl held his younger sister. Michonne watched happily, but sat on the ledge of the entrance to the RV, waiting for me to return to them. Daryl was alone, watching Kat and he seemed to be deep in thought. Noticing Carol beside him, she got to her feet, spoke a few more words and wandered back to the RV. I knew they had discussed my daughter and I only hoped that Daryl would soon gain the courage to be with my Kat, as I knew she had deep feelings for him too.
Carol's POV
We were all stood around, waiting for the wheels to start rolling again. Instead of waiting around inside, I wandered over to Daryl after I had noticed he sat on an abandoned, broken down car and was staring at Kat shyly as he cleaned his bolts. Mumbling a 'Hey' to one another, I took a seat on the hood beside him, seeing how beautiful Kat was and how at peace she seemed to be with her sister in her arms, how Carl would watch his sisters with adoration in his eyes. You could see the small, happy family together and well. But Kat, she was radiant, even in a world as fucked up as this one. Her brown locks swayed in the wind softly, her bright blues staring down at Judith as Kat's plump pink lips would kiss the top of Judith's head.
Truthfully, we knew Kat was a young, fairly thin and a strong girl, but she was pretty and resembled much of her father, but with pieces of her mother in her too. What was much like her mother, was her touch, her nose, how it would wriggle when she cried and the rest of her features were much like her fathers. Blue eyes, faint tanned skin, curled brown locks and a slim but not as slim figure as her mother. Kat had curves, along with a fuller chest and rounder behind. Things that I knew interested men, but for Daryl, I knew he cared more for her hopeful mind, kind soul and tender heart. She was just as innocent as Beth was, but we knew Kat had done things in order to survive, but it still hadn't changed her entirely, she was still as innocent as she had always been. What she had done, didn't make her as dark as the rest of us had felt. She was slowly breaking, but if Alexandria was true, I knew Kat would recover the way she needed to, and quickly.
Sitting down beside him, I took a deep breath and saw how he tried to avoid looking at Kat as much as he could. "Look, I know you're not one to talk about these types of things but..." I began a little hesitant. "All you really need to do, is listen," I stated the only thing he needed to do in this conversation. "I see the way you look at her, how you show her compassion and tenderness," I pointed to Kat using my chin with a lift of my head. "You're good with her," I told him. "Many of us would agree that you two make a great match," I stated, but tried to not tease Daryl about it. "You and me...we don't show our emotions or talk about our feelings."
For myself and Daryl, we were both very similar and we had a connection that was unlike anything I had ever felt with anyone in my life. Daryl had been abused by his father, just as I had been abused by Ed. He respected me, believed in me when others didn't, cared for Sophia more than her father had in all the years she had been alive. Daryl was like a son to me, just like I was sure Daryl saw me as his mother figure. "Where are you going with this?" Daryl asked me as he wiped his bolts a little harder and spat on one.
Knowing he may just listen and try to not listen to my advice, I knew I had to at least try. "You need to tell her sooner or later how you feel," I began to try and get to the point. "You say what you mean and mean what you say, but when it comes to those parts of you, the parts that matter..." I drifted a little as I spoke, the last part, I had pointed to his chest and aimed it for his heart, thumping him there with the tip of my finger. "You find it difficult to voice what you should say," I noted exactly what he was like and spoke of it kindly. "This life...it's far too short. Shorter than it was before," I concluded how the world lived now. "You should tell her how you feel, not because we're telling you to and because you two really would make a lovely couple."
Daryl puffed like a horse, never looking at me and then glancing up shyly at Kat. As though he was afraid to get caught watching her by me, her or anyone else. Only problem was, the majority of us had noticed how the pair were together, noticed how they watched one another and we knew they cared deeply for each other. I was only trying to push Daryl to make the move and knew Kat would follow his lead, if he had the balls to tell her how he felt. "But because this life is short, you never know when or how the next person could go," I tried to not make it seem like Kat or him could die any minute. Anything was possible. I wanted to encourage him, not scare him or make him paranoid for both their safety. "You're really going to risk never seeing Kat again? To never be able to tell her how you feel about her? What if something happened to her? Hm?" I threw questions at him, hoping it would encourage him to tell her how he felt about her.
Sighing, I knew that I was coming to a close with my speech. I had hope he would say something to her, but I knew that at the end of the day, it was his choice to say something or keep it a secret. "We all have an expiration date. You just need to make sure that before that time, what you did, what you said and how you lived your life...it should always be worth those risks and chances," I tried to encourage him to take those risks, to take a chance and hope for the best. "You never know, she might like you back," I nudged him playfully, smiling at him when we made eye contact. "You'll never know, unless you tell her the truth. Don't leave it be, because then it may turn out to be far too late," I finished.
Getting up, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked over to Kat, who continued to play with Judith as Carl held her in his arms. The three of them smiling widely and laughing with one another. Smiling at the scene, it was a treasure of a moment for them, one I was pleased to admire from a distance. Glancing at Daryl, I saw him stop wiping down his bolts and just sat there, staring at Kat in awe. As though debating what to do as he would chew on the inside of his cheek. I hope you do what's right. Tell her you love her.
RPOV
Continuing with our drive to where Aaron said his camp was, I could hear the churping of birds, I could feel the warmth on my skin and I could see the big, metal walls covering what seemed to be a small town. I still felt tense, but as I stared ahead, listening for silence, I recieved none. What I could hear, was children shouting and laughing. I could hear people chatting to one another and I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Michonne sat beside me, smiling and watching me with a happy, relieved smile. "You ready?" she asked as her hand reached out and touched my gently, giving me a sensation that she knew it would be a good, safe place to be.
Feeling overwhelming happiness, I knew that whatever was to come, it would benefit us. If we had to overtake this place, then we would, but I wasn't going to let this chance slip through my fingers for my children. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw Carl's eyes light up, I saw Kat smiling at Judith, who was in her arms. I had hope, that this place would be good for my family, for everyone that was included in my family. "Yeah. Yeah," I nodded to Michonne as I turned off the car engine and climbed out. Everyone else climbed out of either the car or RV, all but Kat. Opening the door for Kat, I gently took Judith from her grasp. "Hey. Hey, sweetheart. Come here," I hushed a cooing Judith as I removed her from Kat's hold.
Looking up at me, I could tell Kat was grateful for my assitance, to allow her space and time to get out of the car, without the fear of falling out and hurting her sister. It was the same expression Lori used to make whenever we drove with the kids, how she would look at me with our children in her arms, in attempt to get out of the car. "Thanks," Kat whispered softly before she too, climbed out.
Making their way to the gate, I smiled and held Judith tightly in my arms. Kissing Kat's forehead as she left to follow after the others, I watched as Carol slowly made her way towards me. Heading in the same direction the rest of our group had made. "Even though you were wrong, you were still right," she told me, which convinced me that, despite being wrong, I still knew what I was doing and why I was doing it. I need to protect my people, at all costs and at all times.
Chuckling, the sound of Carol's words gave my spirit a small uprise. Knowing I had done good, that I kept those that I loved at low risk, I knew that I could feel proud of myself. Despite being wrong, I had good intentions for all of us. Judith babbled and looked around, as though she were in search of someone and once her eyes had met Kat's figure, I knew who Judith was looking for. "Should we go?" I asked Judith and smiled at her quick glance in my direction before she looked back at her sister. "Yeah," I agreed with her small indication that we were to follow wherever her siblings went. We're stronger now. Especially after all we've been through, together.
I know this has been long overdue, but I had been rather busy with life as it is. And I was trying to get this chapter up during the week before hand, but my internet was down and I had work demands to do. Hopefully, things will die down now and I'll be able to throw out more chapters for my stories, including my beloved, The Untold Grimes. An extra reason why I haven't uploaded another chapter, is because with the new season that came out recently, I'm still planning the path I want this story to go. Another example, is because of the cliff hanger last season, I have no idea where season 7 will go! I really hope it isn't Daryl, as it would take 2X the work to structure the story and where it will go from TV adaptation to this fanfic/the comic's plots that go alongside it all. Anywho, I hope everyone is well and if you'd give me 5 reviews for this chapter, I will attempt to post as quickly as possible this time.
Questions to answer in the reviews:
1) How have you all been, my lovelies?
2) What did you think of this chapter?
3) What do you predict will happen in the next chapter?
4) What was your top 3 moments in this chapter?
5) How do you feel about the pep-talk Carol gave Daryl?
Until the next chapter,
Much love!
HeroJustInTime90 xxx
