Undead - The Walking Dead Fanfiction

Chapter 7 - Mental War

Chapter 7 - Mental War

~Rick's Point of View~

The Governor wasn't the man you should pick a fight with. He was sick, he was twisted, and he was out to kill. We could've avoided that entire shoot-out had it not been for Eden. I was very willing to talk things out, negotiate, but the moment he found out we had his supposed "niece," the bullets began to fire. 

If she didn't help us, I didn't know what I would do. She hadn't proved herself to be dangerous, up until I found out she was assosiated with The Gorvernor. That was going to be a problem, and she could've lied to us very easily. I wasn't fooled by her, and I wasn't about to put my children in danger to keep some strange girl safe. I didn't care what her age was, she was better on her own.

I took Merle with me out to the watch tower, wanting to hear what he had to say about her. God knows he wasn't on good terms with me, but I knew he would say exactly what was on his mind. The man could be very persuasive, and I could use that to my advantage if he disliked her as much as I did.

"That girl, Eden, what do you think of her?" I asked, cutting right to the chase. I had my hands in my pockets and I was looking out over the field. I had to try and make this sound casual, not anxious. If he knew how desperate I was for him to hate her, he would just mess with my head. I wasn't up for games.

Merle leaned against the gate, gripping it with one hand and staring at me. "She's different. A bit mysterious, and none of us know her past." He stopped, grinning. "Why, Rick? You got your eye on her? It's been awhile since you've got any, and Lori's gone now..."

My head spun around so fast that I was surprised it didn't fly clear off my neck. "What did you just say to me?" I screamed, spit flying out of my mouth. He had some nerve to bring up my wife in such a way. And to imply that I was hitting on a minor? That was way out of line! 

His hands shot up in surrender, but his grin remained on his face. "You heard me, Rickie. But if you're too good for that, then fine. I'm sure Daryl's already got you beat in that department anyways. It doesn't seem like your good-cop charm's helping you here, my boy."

I had to resist the urge to punch him in the face. Too good for it? What was he talking about? I still had a wife, and I most certainly did not have my eye on her. Disgusting.

"I want her gone." I replied, trying to keep my cool. I just had to shut him up, the last thing I wanted to do was have him thinking I was attracted to her. The only thing that could come out of that was a big problem that I would have to deal with. "But I've got to wait until after she kills The Governor."

He started to laugh. That made me angry. I wasn't joking about anything I had just said, why did he always have to ruin everything?

"She's not going to do it! And do you really think he'd want to take Eden back after he shot her? He's something alright, but he's not dumb. He most know there was something going on."

I considered this. He was right, it would be suspicious if she went back to him after he shot her, and after she had been living alongside us for awhile. We would think of something, I was sure. Even if it took us awhile, there had to be someway to get her to be alone with him. 

*****

I saw her. It happened after Merle left me alone on watch, I saw her in a white dress, looking the same way she had when I had married her. She was beautiful, and I was beckoned to follow her. It didn't take much to get me to go along, I would do anything to see her for just a little while longer. God, I missed her so much.

"Lori!" I called, jogging away from the guard tower. She was headed toward the prison fence, and I knew I could catch up with her if I moved fast enough. I knew that she wasn't really there, but for some reason she was still visiting me through my head. Maybe it was her way of communicating to me, and I wasn't about to lose my chance to take hold of it.

Her dress was satin, and it looked very enticing. I chased her until I was close, and then slowed down to a walk. "Lori! Please stop! Please! I begged, sounding as desperate as I felt. I didn't care, I just wanted her to look at me, to see me. All I wanted to do was see her face.

She turned, and then I knew she had seen me. I dropped to my knees in front of her, tears filling up my eyes. "Oh God, Lori, I miss you so much. Carl misses you, we all do."

I was about to continue on when I saw somebody move out of the corner of my eye. Shane.

He walked toward us, looking very confused. Rage began to boil up inside of me. He's not really here. I told myself, but how could I believe that when he was right there. His eyes were as cold as ever, and he began to walk to Lori, looking at me like I was some deranged psychopath. No, he will not take you from me again!

I leapt at him screaming. "You're dead, Shane! Leave! You shouldn't be here!" My voice was so loud that it was deafening, and I was ready to kill Shane all over again. My best friend who had loved my wife, had also jeapordized my entire way of life. He wouldn't do it again, he wouldn't ruin my mind for me, too. I couldn't let that happen.

"Whoa! Rick, it's me!" Shane screamed, knocking me off of him.

I was still screaming, trying hard to get a grip of Shane again. This time I would kill him, and he would not come back. Not as a Walker, not as a dream. This would be the end of Shane.

I grabbed his arm and yanked him on the ground. I flipped myself on top of him and put my hands around his neck, tightening my grip until I saw Shane struggling. Satsifaction pulsed through my veins. Die Shane. And don't come back, not ever. Stay away from me, and stay away from mty family.

His struggling slowed down when something hit me upside the head. A sharp pain went through my skull, before I dropped to the ground.

*****

Hershel was sitting above me, his crutches in his lap. He looked concerned, but he also looked afraid. What had happened? Did The Governor come back?

"Rick, you're awake. We have to talk to you."

I looked around. Everybody was out here, standing far back and looking even more afraid than Hershel. Even Carl looked scared. "What happened?"

Hershel looked at the others and sighed before looking back at me. His mouth was set in a straight line, and I knew it couldn't be good news coming. Spit it out, Old Man. I just wanted to know what had happened to make everyone so damn frightened. Surely, I could deal with it right away. So why drag it out?

"You attacked Daryl, Rick." he said, with a grave look on his face. His eyes were sad, and he was talking to me like I was a child. I didn't remember attacking Daryl, and why would I want to? Daryl and I were friends, there couldn't have been a reason for me to do so, and why the hell didn't I remember it.

I was in shock from the news. Suddenly I was numb, and feeling very guilty. Why didn't I remember any of this?

"You called him Shane, and you called Eden, Lori. You aren't well, Rick. We understand you're under a lot of pressure, but maybe you need a bit of a rest."

Shane? Lori? No, that couldn't be right. Why would I have called them that? I knew I was seeing Lori, but I haven't seen Shane yet. Shane wasn't welcome in my mind, so I didn't think he would suddenly hop into it. 

"No. No!"

They were lying to me. I didn't attack anybody. It was all some joke. They had to be in on something, but I couldn't have attacked Daryl. And why had I been laying on the ground, out like a light? I wouldn't hurt him, and Eden was nothing like Lori. They were just scaring Carl.

"I'm sorry, Rick. But you need to pull yourself together."

No, they needed to stop lying. I didn't believe Hershel, and I didn't believe Daryl or Eden. It was her that had planned this, she was trying to take my place in the group! She was trying to be their leader, and to do that she was making up stories. She just happened to have Daryl under her little "spell." I would be sure to break it. That, or I would have to find some way to get rid of this girl. Eden could not be here anymore. She wasn't going to knock me down, and she wasn't going to make me sound crazy.

For the next few days, I was going to be the very best version of Rick that there ever was. I wasn't about to hand over my people to some niave teenage girl, and if I had to fight for them, then I would.