Chapter 19: Friends – Vincent POV

Watching his sister leave was still something he could not get used to, and Vincent was not sure what to do with himself for a minute. For so long they had been close; Sean and Sierra was his entire world and he only had Sierra left. Trix huffed beside him, feeling as disappointed as he did to be left on the side lines.

When Vincent was separated from his sister he almost went insane, it was all too much for him to lose his family and his home and to live the way that they had to. He had been close, close enough to pull the trigger that he had practically kissed death but something stopped him. Although he wasn't sure what it was, Vincent couldn't go through with it. People relied on him, they had put their lives in his hands so he couldn't waste his, besides, if Sierra ever found out she would kill him herself.

Vincent made a mental note to call her Jasmine, it was hard to change twenty five years of habit but her thought he was doing a good job so far. Walking towards the fence, Vincent looked at all the walkers thrashing and clinging to the fence; it was going to be another long day. All the bodies from yesterday had been dragged away a fair distance, the pile growing but eventually it would be burnt. By the looks of things it will be ready to go by the end of the day.
As he scooped up the crowbar, spinning it skilfully, he wondered why they all seemed drawn to the prison; there was plenty of empty land around, why couldn't they stumble their way there? It didn't matter at the end of the day and Vincent thanked the person who opened the gate for him, walking down between the fences and setting to work.

Trix growled and snapped a few times but eventually he calmed and laid down out of the way, watching Vincent carefully like a guardian and Vincent had to admit it was comforting having Trix around, grateful that Jasmine had taken care of him the way she had.
Blood splattered onto his gloves, bringing him back to the present time, wiping his forehead and glaring up at the sun; today was going to be a hot day. Behind him he could hear the people start to move around more for breakfast up next to the prison and he knew eventually someone else would come down here but he liked the time to himself. It was odd for him to admit but he enjoyed killing the walkers, there was some level of satisfaction to feeling the skulls cave in and see the blood and the milky eyes become dead once and for all, it seemed quite therapeutic for him. Maybe it was just a sadistic side to him, a way of taking out some of his anger on the things that had ruined his life but he knew it wasn't them; they had been human once, living and breathing and trying to survive but here they were, brainless beasts that would kill him without a second thought, and so here Vincent was, a human being killing without a second thought.

Pain stabbed into his side and Vincent groaned, his back still tender to movement and he felt anger bubble inside at the memory of the Governor stabbing him. He had known that was a bad place but it hadn't always been like that. Woodbury had been a sanctuary for many people but Vincent couldn't quite pin point when the Governor became crazy, when his grip on reality and what was right slipped. Power hungry, he had to have everyone completely obey him or they would be killed, any outsiders would be shot if they even doubted him but it hadn't always been like that and Vincent missed those days, when things actually seemed good. Of course now he was here, with a group of people that were better than anyone at Woodbury, he had his sister and a place to call his own, and this place was going to be amazing. Now all he needed to feel better was his sister driving back down that road and into the gates.

Unknowingly Vincent had stopped, gripping the fence as he stared down the road covered in the leaves from the numerous surrounding trees, and a walker lurched forward.
Teeth sank down onto his fingers and Vincent cried out, snatching his hand away from the fence but his glove remained in the walkers mouth, who tried to chew it as though successful before it fell to the ground. Vincent panted, checking his fingers but the glove had saved him from any bite and he sighed a heavy breath of relief. As he looked at his hands, Vincent was hesitant to look at his palms, turning them slowly around and looking at the scars that now shredded his hands, the pain was there still in his mind as though it had happened just the other day.

The group had dwindled down to something around ten, including Vincent. It had been rough, they had been on the run nonstop for weeks with little food and the car had died on their arrival to the school. It seemed a blessing, the cafeteria stocked with a small amount of tinned food but it looked like a fully stocked supermarket to starving people. The walkers were manageable for the four people capable, Vincent elected the leader and decision maker; so he decided to for them to stay at least for a little while. It had been good to sleep in a locked room, someone having already covered the windows in barbed wire for extra security and at least it was a roof to keep protected from the searing heat outside.
It had only been a month or two since the world ended and Vincent thought it would be a good idea to search the nearby town, maybe there would be some supplies in this one, maybe there were some cars abandoned still fully supplied. So he left, trusting his group to be quiet and safe.
Vincent had never felt like such a disappointment as he did that day.

They had been held up by a group of walkers, running back to the school just as the sunset was becoming dark, but the glow of the fire billowing from the school had made him feel cold. Later he found out that the two children they had in the group wanted to see if there was a pool at the school, too hot to sit around and do nothing and opened the doors to the gym only to open the gates of hell. Walkers flooded the play grounds and school yards, the screams of his group echoing along the ground, only matched by the crackling of the flames that were engulfing the building. Vincent leapt in without second thought, hacking at the walkers and never hating them more, reaching a window where his group was trapped. He could see the walkers pressing against the barrier they had at the door, but the barbed wire that had seemed like a blessing became a curse, trapping them. With no hesitation Vincent grabbed the wire, pulling it as hard as he could to make a gap safe enough for them to squeeze through, the metal tearing into his flesh and the blood making it slippery. Out of the six people in the room only one got out and Vincent watched as the flames licked at their clothes and the walkers bit at their limbs and necks, baring them to the ground in a vicious scene of blood and fire.
He had never felt so useless, Vincent refused to even speak as the smaller group now carried on, mourning their friends and loved ones and Vincent left with the scars to prove he was a failure.

"You ok?"
Vincent snapped his head up to the voice, Michonne watching him carefully from a distance and Vincent looked back at his hand and then to the glove on the other side of the fence by the walkers feet.
"Yeah,"
"Maybe you should head back up." She suggested and Vincent shook his head, spinning the crowbar around and giving Michonne a grin, a sharp look in return.
"You're lucky it only got your glove." She dropped a bucket in front of him, the water swishing off the sides and she gestured to it, "You've been out here for ages. Cool off before you faint."
"You've been watching me?" Vincent asked, realising just how warm it was now and watching her with a smirk as she toughened her stance, hands on her hips as she was about to spit out a denial but it didn't come and Vincent looked at the bucket.
"Thank you, Michonne, can I ask a question?"
She hesitated but nodded her head sharply and I looked over towards where Rick was hammering at the wooden boards, creating something that looked like a stall, a good size for the pig they had come across.
"Is Rick a good man?"

Vincent knew that Rick was a decent man, and now that the Governor was out of the picture, he seemed to be on the side lines with the council taking up authority but he hoped Michonne would realise what he was asking. Would he become like the Governor?
Michonne locked eyes with Vincent, and with unwavering confidence she answered.
"Yes."
Michonne turned away quickly, marching back up towards the prison Vincent nodded, looking back to where Rick was still working. He had a feeling that it didn't matter if there was a council or not, Rick was still the leader and the man people turned to, but if Jasmine could follow him, then he knew he could also.

Taking off his shirt, Vincent groaned as the suns heat hit his back, warming him up even more and he squatted by the bucket, splashing the water over his head and back, relishing the cool relief. The walkers still snarled at the fence beside him and Trix had partly followed Michonne up the small slope to the prison, trotting back to Vincent happily and gulping at the water Vincent offered up for him. Standing, he patted his mouth dry with his shirt and looked up to where Michonne stood. Her face was turned to him and when he locked eyes with her she flinched away as if guilty and Vincent chuckled to himself. He had never been one to flirt or need to be in a relationship, but there was something about Michonne that he felt himself pulled to.

He could understand why Michonne was the way she was; withdrawn and fiercely independent, this world and everything that has happened to everyone would be enough to give them stress and if you were on your own, God knows what sort of wires could snap. Jasmine had been the same but she had always been better on her own, but something must have happened to Michonne that was very traumatic. To be able to shut down emotion, having nothing else matter other than survival, Vincent just hoped that it would slowly ease. She was a strong woman and as he watched her mount the horse, he realised she was extremely capable of looking after herself as well as others, evident by how hard she worked at the prison. She belonged here, she had friends here and so did he; she trusted them and they trusted her but she had to find the balance between being the warrior she is and being the human that she is also.

Vincent realised he was staring when he realised she was staring at him. Quickly he glanced down at himself; he wasn't too badly out of shape and as she rode towards the gate, Vincent ran to open it, flicking water from his hair. Michonne was still watching him as he pulled the chain, the metal gates swinging open and he swore he saw a smile on her lips before it was dashed away when he stood up straight. Trix barked, warning them of walkers getting too close to the gate, some of them impaling themselves on the wooden spike or getting caught on the wire rolls amongst the grass and they both snapped back to reality. Without a word Michonne kicked her horse lightly, galloping off down the road and Vincent shut the gates securely again, watching as she rode away.
Leaning against the brick building by the gate, Vincent crossed his arms and stared off down the road, Trix sitting beside him.
Now he just had to wait for two people to return to him.