Another new chapter this month in honor of my ship Richonne becoming canon! *shrieks happily* -Lovely
-Where the Arrow Flies
-Paring(s): Rick Grimes/OC/Daryl Dixon
-Rating: M for gore, language, violence, and adult situations
-TV-based
Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead. The characters belong to their creator Robert Kirkman. I only own the OCs introduced.
Chapter three:
"More in town"
The sudden sunlight blinded momentarily the archer as she climbed out from the safety of the tank. She blinked quickly the whiteness and regain her sight just in time to see the only Unfriendly still there as told. It noticed her just as she did and started to reach over. Alexa reacted fast, stabbing the side of its' face with her knife before pushing the creature off.
While it fell back onto the street with a sicking sound, she climbed all the way out and hopping down off the tank; thankfully landing on both feet. Though not going unpunished, for the impact to her ankles made her hiss in pain. If she somehow made to the end of that day, she knew her body was gonna be dead weight before than with all the abrupt unintentional abuse.
It seemed Rick thought to do the same but didn't manage to do so with such finesse. Instead, he fell completely on his left side beside her hard, hurting himself more no doubt. She grimaced briefly, knowing of his injury there after feeling the bandage through his shirt when holding on earlier.
She hurriedly helped him up then. "Go ahead of me and clear our path. I've got the ones in back." Not waiting for a response, the young woman pivoted her body fluently while lifting her arms high and firing an arrow at a walker.
Grimes didn't think twice about her order. He shot three down in front of him and then rushed forward with a slight limp; only hoping Alexa followed. With the zombies' growling and other noises filling the air, he couldn't tell her movement alone. But then again, she never seemed to make a sound at all. The archer was a stealthy lethal hunter like the stalking leopard in the tall grass. The thought made him extremely glad to have her on his side.
Seven more shots rang out before he stumbled upon the gated entrance of the alley..and a startled young Asian guy in a red baseball cap. The officer almost shot him having been so intent on the goal.
"Whoa! Not dead!" the Asian cried in warning once seeing the gun suddenly in his face. He then urged him inside. "Come on, come on! Back here!"
They took off down the alleyway with a horde of zombies not far behind. Rick fired back another round at any deemed too close; spying the young woman was still with him upon doing so. The three managed to make it to and up the ladder of a fire escape just before being completely boxed in on both ends—the stranger first, Grimes in the middle, and Alexa bringing up the rear. They all but collapsed on top of each other once reaching the metal railed landing, gasping for equal breaths of oxygen.
"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood." their rescuer panted sarcastically, "You the new sheriff come riding in to clean up the town?" Rick gave him a funny look. First Cowboy, now Clint Eastwood. Would he just continue to get only Western themed nicknames?
"It wasn't my intention." he countered back.
"Yeah, whatever." the other guy deadpanned, "Yeehaw. You're still a dumbass."
"Rick. Thanks." the officer introduced himself finally, offering his hand to him.
He glanced at it for a moment before shaking hands. "Glenn. You're welcome." He nodded in thanks once again before placing the empty Beretta into Glenn's knapsack. His cap-covered head then nodded to the archer. "Badass got a name?" Grimes looked over at said person. She was leaning her elbows against the railing, pushing away her sweaty blond strands from her face. Feeling eyes on her, she sighed heavily and then muttered.
"Alexa."
Glenn's eyes widen hearing her name and voice. "Alexa? As in Alexandra Romanov?"
Hazel ones harden before facing him fully, replying in a steely tone. "How do—" Her question was cut short when the young man suddenly hugged her side. Her companion watched, shocked also, as she stiffen in the stranger's arms and tried very hard to remind herself not to stab him in the neck for the invasion of her personal space.
"Sorry, but how do you know her?" Rick asked him for her, curious. He pulled back and looked at her with pure happy relief.
"We went to the same college! I didn't know you personally though but did your brother, Mishka."
Blue eyes grew larger. "Mishka? The name she said before was her brother's?" At the mention of his name, the beagle popped his head out and looked around eagerly, only to find Glenn instead. Noticing how close he was to his owner, a deep warning growl erupted from his throat. The Asian boy jumped back at the sound, releasing the woman at last. She visibly relaxed before readjusting her jacket and saying harshly; her accent bitter but sardonic.
"What a small, small world after all."
"Alexa—" the young man said softly but stopped. He quickly glancing down at the zombies. "Oh no." The other two looked as well. The decaying bastards below were attempting to climb up the ladder now.
"Not so dumb as one thinks." the woman remarked grimly. The trio turned to the one behind them. It was long and lead all the way up to the roof of the building. The only downside being if it wasn't sturdy enough to hold all three of them, they'd go tumbling down into the frenzy beneath.
"The bright side—it'll be the fall that kills us." Glenn noted, stepping up to it. The duo gave him a sarcastic 'really?' expression. He just shrugged. "I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy."
They luckily made it to the roof safely without a hitch. Afterwards, Glenn walked ahead leading the way while Rick stayed close by him and Alexa covered their rear, trailing slightly behind. The officer didn't liked that but he couldn't tell her what to do. So he instead secretly kept an eye on her. As they passed from building to building, Grimes noticed several times the younger man helping them would glance over at the archer.
He looked like he wished to talk with her—apologize maybe for bring up her mostly likely deceased sibling. But with Rick's trained eye, he also saw the slight blush on his pale cheeks and the longing that flicker across in his dark eyes. Glenn had a crush.
"Oh man.." he thought once figuring it out, his protectiveness for the girl releasing. But too bad for oblivious Glenn. It was apparent from the distance the young woman put between them and her reaction upon meeting him that she wouldn't be very keen on having a relationship. Plus, there was their current fucked up situation and her lack of social skills the other man came to know quickly. Rick was mentally thankful for those facts; still deciding to watch the kid closely though in case he tried anything.
What were the goddamn odds she'd be rescued by a former friend of her brother? None, but fate seemed to enjoy messing with her lately. Yes, Alexa knew she should be happy seeing a somewhat familiar face. But she couldn't—no, wouldn't—allow herself. It was bad enough she was already becoming well acquainted with the Cowboy. It just continued to toss the motto she'd lived by for a month and a half carelessly to the wind. And she hated that.
A frustrated sigh escaped her then. She just wanted to turn on her heel and leave. The voice—Mishka—would agree if it hadn't gone silent suddenly. Rick didn't need her now that they came across Glenn. He could help him instead find his lost family..but the archer had made a promise. And even with all the craziness, the drop of former morals and rules, she stuck to hers much to her dislike sometimes.
As they walked on, Romanov felt eyes on her now and then, knowing instantly it was Glenn. He must wanted to talk with her—caught up with unnecessary chit-chat like 'how you been' or 'what you been up to since the world went to shit'. God, that was another thing she hated—idle played-through conversation starters. She wasn't a people person before and wasn't about to start now that the number of living was dwindling. So, the archer kept her gaze on her surroundings and Harley who she had let out of her bag at last, never landing on him once.
"You the one that barricaded the alley?" the officer asked after awhile of pure tense silence. He had noticed a city bus blocking the once open entry to the one below them.
"Somebody did—I guess when the city got overrun." Glenn informed while the three—four, if including the beagle pup, hopped over the ledge of the next building and rushed across. "Whoever did it was thinking not many geeks would get through." The young man then came to a stop in front of a hatch that likely lead inside.
"Back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for us?" Rick inquired at last, his itching curiosity getting the better of him.
"Call it foolish, naive hope that if I'm ever that far up Shit Creek," the Asian stated, dropping his pack before about to head down himself. "Somebody might do the same for me. Guess I'm an even bigger dumbass than you." Grimes didn't know how to response that. When Glenn disappeared inside, he turned to ever silent Romanov, gesturing for her to follow.
"You go on next. I'll take Harley for ya'." She just nodded, climbing inside. Before she disappeared too, he spoke again. "Think this kid is really worth following?"
Her darker eyes briefly met his lighter ones, replying simply. "He knew my brother."
"That's not much to go on."
"If you knew me, you wouldn't think twice about it." Alexa uttered softly to herself, if not sadly. His next words spilled out before he could stop them; soft and genuine sounding.
"I would..if you let me." Her stunned gaze snapped up, locking the two in a heated stare like back at the tank. As they did, it was plain to see that she wanted to take him up on his kind offer. Her mouth even began to slowly part to reply, causing Rick to wait on bated breath. But before a word could even be pronounced, the intense moment was broken at the sound of Glenn's voice.
"It's clear! So, hurry up, will ya'?!" The archer proceeded down as if she wasn't about to confess her mysterious back story. Alexa Romanov continued on as an enigma to him. Her companion sighed in disappointment and picked up the obedient dog before doing the same quietly. Once all together again, the trio hurried outside and down a flight of stairs. The newcomers had no idea where Glenn was actually taking them, only hoping he was as good as seemed.
The younger man suddenly produced a walkie talkie from his bag. "We're back. Got some guests plus four geeks in the alley."
When reaching to the bottom, two zombies appeared and noticed the three, moving towards them. Alexa started to retrieve an arrow from her back just as a door across the way banged open. Two men dressed in makeshift protective padding came running over with bats, bashing the creatures in their heads.
"Let's go!" Glenn told before they ran passed them to get to the still open door.
"Morales, let's go!" Alexa heard one of the covered men shout. They too hurried after the small group and slammed the door shut, securing it once again. Inside, what appeared to be a supplies room, all of them came to a stop, but didn't get a chance to rest long as a blonde haired woman abruptly grabbed Rick and shoved him angrily into a crate, pointing a loaded gun to his face.
"You son of a bitch." she threatened while Glenn stepped to the side in surprise and Rick's female companion moved watched; hazel eyes narrowing like that of a hawk's. Even Harley crouched then and looked ready to lunge if his owner commanded it. "We ought to kill you."
"Just chill out, Andrea. Back off." a Mexican man—Morales, figured the younger woman—told while removing his gear.
"Come on, ease up." said an African-American woman softly, standing next to her.
The blonde looked at her, incredulous. "Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole."
The Mexican came over then. "Andrea, I said back the hell off..or pull the trigger." She didn't listen, keeping the gun poised. Having enough, Romanov slid between the man and armed woman before snatching the weapon roughly out of her grasp. Everyone froze, thinking the fire arm would go off..only it didn't. Andrea glanced from her and Grimes before backing away, about to cry.
"We're dead..all of us..because of you." Andrea stated hauntingly to the newcomers.
"Enough with the dramatics." the archer told in an annoyed tone, walking closer towards her and handing back the gun. She then whispered mockingly. "And if you're going to have the balls to threaten someone, make sure the safety is off." The other woman's eyes widen in disbelief and stared down at the weapon, seeing that was indeed very true.
Alexa glanced back at Grimes. 'I've got you, Cowboy.' He nodded his thanks with a weary smile. He owed her yet again, almost losing track by now. Man, his pal Shane wouldn't let him hear the last of it if he knew. Like Rick would really care. He couldn't think or say enough how incredibly thankful he was for her ever-present assistance. The archer was a god-sent.
Rick then peered at the others, confused. "I don't understand."
"Look, we came into the city to scavenge supplies." Morales informed, about to grab his arm. That caused the beagle and his master to move closer warningly. He quickly saw and instead directed him out of the room. The rest followed. "You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral." They paused in the front of a clothing section to a department store.
"Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds." the other man—an urban African-American guy—who took out the alley zombies added.
"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea finished drearily. At the locked entrance doors, tons of walkers piled up there, banging against the glass and trying desperately to get in.
"Get the picture now?" They then scurried back in horror as one that held a broken piece of concrete banged on the glass, causing it to splinter into many webs of cracks. From the look of the cracks, they didn't have long until they came through and started on the second set of doors where the glass would be much easier to break.
"Oh god.." the blonde woman uttered. She looked at the officer briefly. "What the hell were you two doing out there anyway?"
"Trying to flag the helicopter." he answered.
"He was. I was just helping him into the city." deadpanned Alexa correctly with a roll of her blue grey eyes. Said person gave her a small exasperated expression at her unneeded honesty.
"Helicopter?" the male African-American repeated with doubt. "Man, that's crap. There ain't no damn helicopter."
"You were chasing a hallucination, imagining things. It happens." the African-American woman beside him reasoned.
"I saw it." Rick said defensively. He didn't like how they assumed he was perhaps crazy or seeing phantoms. He knew what he saw..also that it was a stupid idea to try and follow it especially after Alexa's warning. The man regretted that more than anything.
"Hey, T-Dog, try that CB." the Mexican man requested of the buff black man, "Can you contact the others?"
"Others?" wondered Grimes aloud, "The refugee center?"
"Yeah, the refugee center." the black woman agreed, adding sarcastically. "They've got biscuits waiting at the oven for us."
"Got no signal. Maybe the roof." T-Dog stated after messing with the walkie. Just then, gun fire was heard coming from above them along with muffled shouting.
"Oh no." groaned Andrea, "Was that Dixon?"
"What is that maniac doing?"
"Come on, let's go." The others hurried out of the store front room, leaving the newcomers no choice but to tag along.
The shots were still going off, getting louder the closer they got. This so-called Dixon must be crazy or just didn't give a shit about what happen to others.
"This is just great." Alexa complained while storming up the stairs with everyone. "More shit to deal with. Man, this making me really start to miss that smelly station wagon.."
"Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?!" Morales exclaimed upon scrambling out of the stairwell. Said person just laughed, continuing. From where the archer stood—with Glenn, Rick, and Harley—Dixon looked to be the typical redneck biker from the sleeveless leather vest, black tank top with dirty blue jeans, and biker boots finishing his ensemble. Personality-wise, she knew right away even without being told that he was a full-fledged asshole.
Dixon finally faced them, pointing his scoped hunting rifle carelessly in their direction. "Huh? Hey! You ought to be more polite to a man with a gun!" He spoke in southern accent like Grimes but far less refined; more of good ol' country boy one. They all watched him jump down and slowly approach the wary group. Well, expect Romanov of course. She just looked irritated, wishing to be anywhere but there dealing with some backwoods prick.
"Only common sense, haha."
"Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got, man!" T-Dog confronted angrily, meeting him halfway. "And you're bringing even more of them down on our ass! Man, just chill."
"Hey, bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day." Dixon remarked rudely, "Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day."
"That'll be the day?" repeated the black man, incredulous. "You got something you want to tell me?"
The Mexican tried to calm him down before the argument got out of hand. "Hey, T-Dog man, just leave it."
"No—"
"All right? It ain't worth it. Now, Merle, just relax, okay? We got enough trouble." Rick glanced at Glenn with a disbelieving look at what he was currently witnessing. The younger man silently gestured for him not to intervene just yet.
But Merle still pressed on, asking T-Dog. "You want to know the day?"
"Yeah."
"I'll tell you the day, Mr. Yo." he mocked, "It's the day I take orders from a nigger." That was all it took to at last get T-Dog fighting. He swung at the redneck but was unfortunately blocked with the riffle and struck in the face with the butt end.
The rest of his group tried to talk some reason into the belligerent man but Merle didn't listen as he dropped down his gun while T-Dog stumbled back up. He then punched him in the jaw, making the black man go down again. Grimes, having seen quite enough, rushed over to stop him only to be knocked to the ground too.
Oh, Alexa saw red after that.
She quickly shrugged off her bag and bow while giving a command in Russian to her pet. Pulling free her knife from inside her jacket, the archer then sped forward and jumped onto Merle's back after he delivered a swift kick to the still-fighting T-Dog's chest, catching the hick off guard and making him stumble. But she easily held on and pressed the sharp blade against his jugular expertly. He stiffen along with the others.
"If you move one muscle, I will slit your throat and feed your ass to the Unfriendlies below." Romanov all but growled menacingly.
"Alexa.." called Rick anxiously as he stood sporting a bloody nose. The sight caused her to press hard against her victim's throat.
Merle just laughed, not intimidated in the slightness. "My, I do love me some foreplay."
"Do you think this is a game? That I won't hesitate to kill a piece of shit like you?"
"I'll tell you what this is, sugar.." he smirked. Right then with the speed of a rattlesnake, he reached up and grabbed her wrist, twisting it painfully which caused the knife to nick but not kill him. She let out a slight shriek as he did so before being thrown roughly to the side; her back colliding with the concrete ledge. More pain coursed through her as the young woman's body slumped to the ground. It was so strong and sudden, she was close to passing out from it. And just before Alexa embraced the sweet black abyss, a smug sing-song voice spoke out.
'Told you so..sister.'
Glenn and the officer ran to the fallen woman's side. The beagle, already there, whined beside her, watching nervously. They carefully lifted her from her slouched position, discovering she was unconscious. Grimes quickly checked the back of her blonde head and saw not a hint of blood or a bump, thanking whoever was up there looking out for her when he couldn't.
He held her shoulders then. "Alexa? Open your eyes, please!" Rick begged of her in a frantic voice, almost to the point of tears.
Why did she keep risking her neck for him? This girl he knew not much about but owed so much already. Now, she could be seriously injured because of him and he couldn't deal with her blood on his hands. The man called desperately her name once more before receiving a small groan. Dazed blue-greys then drifted up at him, half-hooded but alive.
"Thank god." he quietly sighed in relief before his attention drew back to the still going-on commotion. Dixon now sat on top of T-Dog after punching him in the face over and over, stopping only once to elbow the Mexican went he tried to grab him. Gripping the black man's shirt, he pulled a handgun tucked in his waistband from behind his back and pointed it directly in his beaten face.
"No no no, please. Please." begged Andrea. Merle glanced at the ones standing around with terrified faces and then back at T-Dog. A wad of spit was hocked onto his shirt and rubbed in with a barbaric victory yell.
"Yeah! Alright!" Dixon stood. The members of his group hurried and dragged the poor man away from him. "We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge."
"I vote me. Anybody else? Huh? Democracy time, y'all." His arm raised high in the air then. "Show of hands, huh? All in favor?" No one did as said, causing him to press further. "Come on. Let's see 'em."
Morales was the first to give in much to Andrea's vocal disappointment. The black woman raised hers next, only giving the finger instead. Andrea eventually did the same even though she hated herself for doing so.
"Yeah, that means I'm the boss, right?" Merle inquired, satisfied. "Anybody else? Hmm? Anybody?"
"..Yeah." came Rick's voice from behind him. He looked just as the officer smacked him in the face with his own gun, making him fall hard. Putting a knee against his bruising cheek, Grimes handcuffed him to a roof pipe before lifting him up roughly.
"Who the hell are you, man?"
"Officer Friendly." the other man responded jeeringly, picking up his handgun and taking out the clip before he could try anything. "Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."
"Screw you, man." Dixon said, defiant as ever.
"I can see you make a habit of missing the point."
"Yeah? Well, screw you twice."
His handgun pressed firmly against his temple then. "Ought to be polite to a man with a gun." Rick said, using his earlier words on him. "Only common sense."
"You wouldn't." he was told, "You're a cop."
"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anybody gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that." Merle was patted down until a cocaine nose shooter was found in his shirt pocket. Which explained well his erratic behavior. Rick looked under his nose, spying the leftover residue, and flipped it. "Got some on your nose there."
"What you gonna do? Arrest me?" The cuffed redneck mocked before becoming serious when he saw Rick toss his drug off the roof. "Hey! Dude, what are you doing? Man, that's my stuff! Hey!" He was ignored. Grimes returned and knelt near Alexa, nursing his injured side a bit as he did. She was sitting up now with her pet whimpering in her lap, breathing a bit raggedly.
"You alright?" he asked low. She didn't met his gaze that time, not responding neither. Glenn, who was still crouched beside her, spoke for her instead.
"Not sure. I don't think anything's broken but she won't let me see.."
"Turn around." her companion ordered. Her eyes narrowed into a stubborn glare. "Stop being a hard-ass and let me see." A moment of silence passed before the young woman complied with a huff. Her jacket and tank top were lifted a tad—a bruise already appeared to be forming but Rick gently probed the area to check if any bones were poking out abnormally. Everything seemed fine thankfully.
"Nothing outta place." He stood and was going to walk away when Alexa finally spoke in a shy voice.
"Thanks..Rick." Blue eyes looked down at her in surprise. Her face was turned, still not wanting to look at him from most likely embarrassment now. A bright grin formed on his face— something he hadn't done too often since waking up. Plus, it was the first time since meeting he actually heard her say his name up close. And the way she said it with her accent sounded..very enjoyable.
"You're welcome, Alexandra." he told kindly. She finally peered at him, pretty hazel eyes wide. "Hopefully, there's no internally bleeding." The archer blinked before giving a small laugh in return; Rick as well. Glenn could only stare quietly, feeling like he just witnessed something monumental between the older man and younger woman.
Lovely's Honorable Mentions:
touky, blackmoresnight3, JayDanvers, JessieGirl105, ElliPawn, Ice and Fire dragon, TRUEBLOOD12, Purrigima, amegos, HardyxLover, suffocater, Dark-Hunter1992, Degrassilover. xoxo, aorangeinboston, zuzzzu
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