Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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Rick scavenged the car we had brought back, looking for something we might've missed when we were out there. Why is he so hard-headed? I know he wants to play it safe and protect us, but is he making the best decision? I approached him and leaned against the sedan, my arms crossing in front of my chest as he noticed me.

"I was thinking that you, me, and Glenn ride in this car with the guy." Rick sighed, "Carl, Selena, and Judith will be safer in the RV." I remained quiet and inhaled, wondering if he meant what he said earlier. Are we really going, or did he agree with me so we won't fight? "June? What's wrong, sweetheart?" I pushed off the car and looked down, suddenly unsure.

"Is this real?" I asked, "Are you really gonna try, or are you just trying to get this guy to tell you where his camp is?" Rick stood up, towering over me and closing the distance between us. His hands gripped my shoulders, and he lowered his head to look me in the eyes.

"I meant it. We're going," I nodded and looked down at my boots, hating how wishy-washy I was feeling. This is probably the closest to Lori I've ever felt before – unsure and indecisive.

"We just need to get there," I whispered. Rick squeezed my shoulders and frowned, surprising me with his next question.

"When we got to Terminus, what did you hear?" I frowned and thought about it. It was like no one was living there. I didn't hear a thing until we were actually behind their walls.

"Nothing," I answered.

"Sometime tonight, we'll be outside his camp's walls." Rick nodded, "Without seeing inside, I'm going to have to decide whether to bring my family in." I felt his hands squeeze my shoulders harder, almost hurting me, "He asked me before what it would take to convince me this was real. The truth is, I'm not sure if anything could convince me to go in there." Finally, Rick loosened his grip and grabbed my chin between his index finger and thumb, forcing me to make eye contact with him, "But I'm gonna see. I promise you that—I'm gonna see."

I leaned my head into his hand, "That's all I'm asking of you."

~*~

I sat in the backseat with Aaron while Rick sat in the front with Glenn driving. The RV tailed behind us closely as we zoomed down Route 23 in the dark. I leaned back against the seat, my eyes closing and tuning out any noises from the men around me. I felt exhausted even though I had managed to nap with Judith earlier. The sentence, "Put them all on the wall in my house," stuck out to me, piquing my interest.

"You have a house?" I questioned, my head snapping up and my eyes finding Aaron's. He hummed in response and smiled at me, nodding towards the envelope propped up against him.

"See for yourself," I reached for the envelope and opened it, studying the pictures of houses with solar panels lined on the roofs. I turned to Aaron with disbelief written all over my face as I thumbed through the photos. Black and white images of a community and more houses littered the glossy paper. It certainly got my hopes up, but I couldn't help but notice how there weren't any pictures of the people who resided in this community.

"Where's the pictures of your people?" I asked him as I continued flipping through the pictures.

"I took a group picture, but I didn't get the exposure right," Aaron explained, "When I tried to develop it later, it just—" Then it dawned on me, I don't think we asked him the questions. So I looked at the men in the front, cutting Aaron off.

"Did you ask him the questions?" Rick cocked his head in my direction and shook it, his deep voice vibrating as he uttered no. I returned my gaze to the man beside me, "How many walkers have you killed?"