5—Welcome to Hilltop pt. 5
You don't own me,
Don't try to change me in any way,
You don't own me,
Don't tie me down 'cause I'd never stay...
~You Don't Own Me; by Grace feat. G-Eazy
Soon, the weeks started to roll by as the routine in the small community stayed the same. Guard the walls, keep track of supplies, keep the safety within the walls, ration the food equally between everyone, be in by the curfew—etc., etc., etc.
Alexandria needed the stability—it needed to relearn that even though its old way of living had a certain stability to it, they needed to adapt to the newer ways of life. For the most part, it was working.
So early one morning, everyone was getting ready for the day. The construction crew got up earlier than the others to finish building the wall around the neighborhood they finally managed to reach. Rick said that it'd probably be best to stop construction about halfway through the neighborhood, since the amount of metal and supplies they had wouldn't cover the whole thing. They didn't argue.
"Gonna go on another run later," Daryl said. He'd gotten up with Aibileen and walked with her to where the others were finishing the wall. Selena was watching over Francesca.
Aibileen nodded. "I got a list of stuff—if ya manage to find any—that I need," she said. "Would it be OK?"
Daryl nodded.
"Probably the most important thing on there would be deodorant and toothpaste," Aibileen said, crossing her arms over her chest. "But that's if ya manage to find any. I left it on the table in our room."
Giving Aibileen a kiss on the lips, the huntsman nodded.
"Are ya goin' by yourself?" she murmured.
"Goin' with Rick," he sighed. "He wants to start spreadin' out durin' the runs. Thought he saw a place that might have a few things."
Aibileen nodded, giving the huntsman one more kiss before they went their separate ways.
Rick and Daryl had been on the road for a while. Denise and Eugene had given them a list of things that they hope to at least find on the road. For Denise, it was the important stuff first then a few things for Tara and herself. Eugene was, as usual, cut and dry with the things he wanted.
For the most part during the drive, Rick and Daryl had small conversations, Rick played the radio and, much to the huntsman's dismay [though part of him did find it a little entertaining], sang along.
The one thing the huntsman was a little grateful for was that Rick had lightened significantly since the whole ordeal with the walkers. He briefly mentioned how Jesse and her sons had been killed during the Invasion, not before Jesse's eldest son shot Carl. Rick had mentioned that their deaths had impacted him and made him realize how recklessly he'd been acting and how he had been so close to not only losing his son, but losing his friends.
Rick still had moments where he'd get a little intense, but it wasn't anything to be concerned about. He was clear-minded, focusing on the more important things.
"Things going good for you?" Rick looked at Daryl, the corners of his mouth twitching unconsciously.
Daryl shrugged. He rarely—and that in itself is pushing it—spoke about his personal affairs with anyone, even Merle. Only when things were starting to raise his concerns did Daryl start going to others.
"Francesca's doing good?" Rick was smiling at that point. Knowing that Daryl had gone from the hardened redneck he met back at Atlanta to a protective father made him proud.
"Started talkin'," Daryl murmured, chewing on his bottom lip.
Rick nodded. "Judith's getting to that point, too," he sighed. "It's hard to believe they're growing up that fast."
Daryl nodded.
"Have you thought about how you're going to tell her?" Daryl looked at Rick confusedly. "Francesca? Are you or Aibileen gonna tell her about her parents?"
"Probably gonna have Aibileen do it," the huntsman grumbled. "She knew 'em."
Even though it was a subject that hung over Daryl's and Aibileen's heads, they never really spoke about it. As far as they were concerned, Francesca would always be their daughter. Daryl never met Francesca's real parents, everyone had been separated from the prison's downfall at that point. He didn't want to explain to his daughter that she wasn't really his daughter.
"She'll understand," Rick said. "You and Aibileen love her, and she'll always have you two when things get tough."
The huntsman nodded. Rick was right about that. Francesca would always have Aibileen and himself to go back to—they raised her! Even if the news of her being adopted—a word that Aibileen says she doesn't like using, but can't really find another word to describe the situation—angers her, she's got a family.
"How's Carl doin'?" Daryl asked, changing the subject.
Rick nodded. "He's getting better," he sighed. "His eye is still giving him some trouble. Denise said there was a really mild infection around the wound, nothing serious, but it scared the Hell out of me."
"Tough kid."
Rick nodded, but it didn't really ease up the worry that bubbled in his stomach. He and Michonne had been worried sick about Carl's condition.
When they came to a four way intersection, Rick was going to keep driving straight ahead, but decided to back up and turn right. Not even half a mile down, there was a building. After parking the car, Rick and Daryl got out and inspected the outside of the building—it looked like some little containment facility, with one big garage door on the side.
Rick inspected the other side of the building while Daryl dug through his backpack.
"Hey, wait up," he called, following Rick. "Covered?"
"Yeah," Rick said.
Going back to where the garage door was, Daryl took out a crowbar and managed to nearly shove the door open. Rick got out his gun and aimed it, quickly doing a look-around. There was a big supply truck inside and it seemed to be abandoned, just like the rest of the place.
"We're good," Rick sighed. He motioned to the back of the truck. "One more time?"
"Ain't locked." Daryl opened the back of the truck. There were boxes upon boxes of canned goods, blankets, and other supplies.
"Well how about that?" Rick chuckled.
The huntsman and Rick climbed in and started gathering anything that might fit into their car.
Author's Note:
Hey-yo, everybody! Sorry for the delay, but here's the chapter! The second half of season 6 has begun, after only five chapters of fillers. I'm going to be honest, compared to my other stories and how long it'd take me to get to the main storyline, this is probably the shortest amount of chapters to the main storyline compared to the others. But this is a sequel, so I don't want to keep you guys waiting forever.
Anywho, I own nothing in TWD. All I own are my characters and the coffee I drink.
I do believe that, at this point, it's where Rick and Daryl first meet Jesus.
So, just let me know what you guys think of this chapter, OK? I'm officially done with spring quarter so it's summertime for me. I might not update frequently—even though I don't to begin with, which I apologize for—since there's a possibility I might get an increased number of hours at my job. My boss said she would give more hours once summer starts. But, until my next update, let me know what you guys think of this chapter. If you think I need to work on my characters and how I portray the show's characters, let me know; if I'm being repetitive on certain subjects, I apologize; please help me when it comes time for Negan to be introduced [some of you left wonderful reviews on how I could write Negan when the sequel comes up, but I still don't think I can write him perfectly]; please help me when I need to write filler chapters that have Jesus in them [I feel like I'll get his character wrong, too]. Just, in general, please help.
Give ideas, give suggestions, they're important.
I digress.
But, before I wrap up this author's note, how many people heard about the death of Anton Yelchin? The guy who plays Chekov in the Star Trek movies? It was really sad and unexpected! He died on Father's Day, I guess, in some freak car accident. It's sad on how many actors, singers, etc., are dying this year.
Now I'm done.
Leave a kind and helpful review, please.
Thank you.
Susan Strong
