the weight of living; c.g.

[2.6]: applesauce

Morning came slow to the barn, light slowly filling the crevices in the wood. I propped myself up against the wall, Grace's head in my lap. I was braiding her hair absentmindedly when the barn door opened, revealing Maggie.

"Everyone. This is Aaron." She said hesitantly, pushing the door open wider to reveal a man, Sasha behind him. Hands flew to weapons and soon the man, Aaron, was faced with guns and knives. I pulled out my own gun, trying not to disturb Grace, who was still asleep.

"We met him outside. He's by himself. We took his weapons and we took his gear." Maggie explained, glancing at the hostility we were displaying. I was always wary of strangers, preferring to meet new people with a gun in my hand.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Aaron moved forward, a strange friendliness in the action. I kept my gun aimed at him, but lowered it a little. I didn't want to take chances, but if Maggie and Sasha trust him, I should give him a chance.

"There something you need?" Rick stared the other man down.

"He has a camp nearby. He wants us to audition for membership." Sasha spoke up. The mention of a camp caught my interest but Terminus reminded me of how untrustworthy people could be.

"I wish there was a better word. Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of a dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights." He smiled, but he was the only one who found humor in his words.

He began talking about how his job was to get us to follow him home, to convince us that his community was safe. He had pictures in his pack that he told Rick to look at, of the walls of his camp.

"Together, we are strong. With you joining us, we would be even stronger." He continued pitching his community even as Rick walked up to him, and without warning, knocked him out with a single punch across the face.

"We've got to secure him. Dump his pack. Let's see what this guy really is." Rick ordered, to which Aaron's bag was taken and opened, his belongings being examined.

"Everybody else, we need eyes in every direction. They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are." Rick continued, ignoring Maggie and Sasha's attempt to speak to him.

"Me and Sasha, we didn't see him. If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've." Maggie tried to get Rick's attention, pleading for Aaron's safety.

Ignoring her again, Rick continued to give orders, sending people out to watch for any of Aaron's group that may be surrounding us. The commotion woke Grace up, jolting her from my lap.

"Who's that?" Grace's eyes flew to the man in the middle of the room.

"His name's Aaron. He wants us to join his community." I explained as I brushed the stray pieces of hay and dirt off of my jacket.

"What if it's bad? Like Terminus?" She averted her eyes from Aaron to me, her brow furrowed. The wary look in her eyes now was not there when we first read that sign for Terminus.

"There's a chance it could be safe. You can't give up." I tried to restore the hope in her, even for a second. It was hypocritical of me to tell her to believe in Aaron's place, when I expected the worst in it.

Our attention was drawn back to the center of the room, where Aaron had awoken and was conversing with Rick. Eventually, Rick decided to let everyone go scout ahead for Aaron's accomplice, who was supposedly waiting somewhere out there.

After he was done announcing and everyone's attention was on getting ready to go, I approached Rick.

"What about Grace? I'd feel safer with her here." I folded my arms, staring him down.

"You two can stay here. Just keep your distance from him." He nodded, looking back at the tied up man.

"Alright." I agreed, satisfied with the result. Grace has been through a lot recently, I didn't want her to be out there if it wasn't necessary. Her safety came at the cost of me being useless to the group, but I couldn't care less about what they thought if it would keep Grace safe.

After they left, the barn seemed empty, only consisting of Judith, Rick, Grace, Aaron and I. There was nothing to do but sit in the musty room and stare at the wooden walls. I watched Rick hold Judith with one arm while he tried to grind acorns for food with the other.

"You did see the applesauce in my bag, right?" Aaron seemed to be watching the scene too. Rick ignored him, continuing to attempt making food for Judith.

"Do you need help?" I couldn't watch him struggle anymore, so I picked my way across the barn to kneel by Rick.

"Here." He stopped grinding the acorns for a minute and handed Judith to me. I cradled her in my arms, trying to soothe her crying.

Even with both hands free, Rick couldn't seem to make the acorn into an edible state. Judith was still crying, no doubt feeling the starvation and dehydration in her little body.

"This isn't a trick. This isn't about trying to make you like me. It's self-preservation. Because if the roamers hear her and come this way, I know I'll be the first to go." Aaron explained, casting a glance at the jar of applesauce behind Rick.

Rick and I exchanged a glance, silently contemplating the possible outcomes. I didn't trust Aaron, but Judith needed to eat. Rick sighed and turned, using a spoon to scoop out a small sampling of the sauce. He brought it to Aaron, expectantly waiting for him to try it first.

"You think I'm trying to poison your baby daughter? 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?" Aaron argued, eyeing the spoon of applesauce.

"Maybe she doesn't die. Maybe she gets sick. Maybe you're the only one that can help her and I just lose." Rick spoke, getting on eye level with Aaron. I watched the exchange with only a slight glance back at Grace, who was sitting up against the barn wall and observing.

"I am the only one who can help her because I have applesauce and we all win." Aaron retorted. His argument made sense but I knew if I was in Rick's position, I would be just as stubborn.

Aaron continued speaking, explaining that he hates applesauce and only brings it to show that there are apple trees near his community. I could tell he was trying his hardest to convince Rick, but it wasn't an easy task.

"Like I said, you'll be the first one to go." Rick pushed the spoon closer to Aaron's mouth. After a few seconds of staring at the applesauce, Aaron reluctantly ate it.

"We can find a place for you to live where even when she cries, no one, nothing can hear it outside the walls." Aaron concluded, hoping to persuade Rick.

Seemingly unconvinced, Rick stated, "You've got 43 minutes." He turned away with Judith after that, leaving Aaron looking a little desperate.

Head resting against the barn wall again, I held my sister's hand as we waited for everyone else to come back.

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(A/N)
So I kinda forgot I was writing this story...I'm SO SORRY for like the several months without updating. Hopefully the updates will be more regular now that the new season is on and I'm getting inspired :P