Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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"Where's Glenn?!" I shouted as I fired another shot into a walker's skull. Gunshots in the distance gave away his position, giving me hope. A decayed hand gripped my outstretched arm, its teeth dangerously close to my flesh. I gritted my teeth and raised my knife, plunging it deep into its skull. My breath became shaky as I fired my last bullet into the herd. That was too close!

"He's gotta be somewhere near!" Rick screamed as he squeezed the trigger of his python. It clicked, signaling that he was out of bullets. I put my gun away, stuffing it into my holster, and gripped my knife tightly, stabbing the walkers that shambled too close. Rick fumbled for the flare gun he had taken earlier and fired it, lighting a walker's head on fire and providing a bit of light.

They were coming in every direction, but the group in front of us was much larger than anticipated. I felt my stomach drop as a walker stumbled ahead of the rest, its arms outstretched as I got close and stuck my blade in its eye socket. Rick grunted as he slashed a head off with his machete, blood splattering all over us. With my knife tightly gripped in my hand, I prepared to fight until my last breath, ready for the possibility of death. It's not how I would like to die, but if it's my time, it's my time. Gunfire rang behind us, and walkers started to drop, forcing me to turn and smile as Glenn and Aaron protected us.

"If you want to tie me up again, that's fine, but hurry up," Aaron said as he slid his gun over. Quickly retrieving the weapon, I shook my head. We don't have time to tie him up again.

"No time," Rick said, "We're going that way." I held the gun tightly as we started racing through the woods.

"We keep up this way," I said as I started to lead, "We'll hit route 16," The distance from where we started to the road was much shorter than I had anticipated. We were able to hit the pavement again within ten minutes. We stopped in the middle of the road, our eyes searching for the RV.

"Where are they?" Rick asked Aaron, his chest rising and falling quickly.

"I don't know," Aaron answered, his head darting in every direction as he looked around us.

"If this is a trap to get us back where you want us, your people are going to die tonight," Rick threatened, his voice menacingly low. Geez, even that scared me. I shook my head and started walking forward, recalling how the flare was close to the water tower.

"We keep walking," I said, "The flare was near the water tower. We might find them." I was too antsy to keep to a fast walk, so I jogged. It was good that we had something to eat and drink earlier, or I would be drained. Rick, Glenn, and Aaron ran behind me as we drew near the dark water tower. No walkers were in sight, and it was eerily quiet as we approached. I puckered my lips and whistled, hoping to hear the answering whistle. After a brief moment of silence, I whistled again, but this time another whistle rang out. They're here! A dark figure waved us over, prompting me to break out into a run. A smile broke across my face as I saw Daryl, my arms outstretched. He held his arms open and wrapped them around me as I collided with him. A door opening made me turn my head and let out a breath of relief as Carl and Selena ran out.

"Dad! June! " Carl exclaimed while Selena called us by our names. I tore away from Daryl and ran over to Rick, the two of us embracing the teenagers as they ran into our arms.

"Your sister okay?" I asked Carl as I pulled away from the group embrace. Carl nodded, his hat nearly falling off his head.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine," Carl answered, leading us into the building next to the water tank. Selena walked alongside me, her hand tightly gripping mine. I watched as Aaron called out for his friend 'Eric,' my eyebrows furrowing together. Rick stepped forward, ready to chase after him, but I held my free hand, stopping him. Whoever this Eric guy is, we should let Aaron make sure he's okay before we bombard them with our rudeness and questions. Rick shook his head and shrugged away from me, disregarding me completely. Oh, Rick. What am I going to do with you? Selena let go of my hand and motioned me to follow her, leading me to the front of the building where Judith soundly slept. Daryl stood by my side and started filling me in on everything that had happened since we separated.

"Damn, Little Red," Abraham chuckled from where he stood, "You look like shit," I turned to the big man and rolled my eyes, a smile spreading across my face.

"Like you look any better?" I teased. Abraham stepped forward and smirked, his larger figure towering over me.

"Pfft," Abraham sniggered, "Hell yeah!" I turned towards Rosita and laughed with her, happy to be reunited with my growing family.

"Pinche loco," I chuckled, my eyes returning to the large red-headed man. I clapped him once on his shoulder, "Keep dreaming, big man. Even at my worst, I'll still look ten times better than you," Abraham shoved me away and laughed, returning to his original spot. Aaron came from the back room and looked at each of us, his face full of emotion.

"Thank you," I watched as his eyes filled with tears and paid attention to how his voice got thick, "You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria." I smiled at the man and crossed my arms in front of my chest, "Now, I'm not sure about you, but I rather not do any more driving tonight. But, um, maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."

"That sounds fine," I answered, beating Rick before he could upkeep his macho demeanor. Rick walked forward and looked at Aaron, his face stoic.

"If we're staying the night, you're sleeping over there," Rick said as he pointed to the far corner of the building.

"Rick," I groaned, "Do you think we have to do that?"

"It's a safe play. We don't know you," I shook my head and looked up to the ceiling, slightly annoyed. I get it, but Aaron has proved that he's not a danger to us.

"The only way you're going to stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me," Aaron bravely said. My eyes widened as I connected the pieces—Eric is his boyfriend!! Aaron's got some game! Oh, I love that! I looked at Rick and nodded, hoping that he got the hint. If the roles were reversed and I was injured, he'd want to be by my side and vice versa.

"Rick," I started, approaching the man with a pleading smile. I grabbed his hand and ran my thumb over his knuckles, "He told us where the camp is, and he was telling the truth. He was traveling with one other person. They're both unarmed, and one of them has a broken ankle." Rick looked away from me, his eyes landing on everything but me. I tiptoed and grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to maintain eye contact with me, "I want us to be safe, too, but we can't keep this up. Aaron has proven himself to us, and we should put a little bit of trust in him. Please, mi amor, we can't let this slip away from us. We just can't." Rick grabbed my wrists, holding them in place as I continued to look into his eyes.

"Alright," He whispered, his eyes closing as he pressed his forehead to mine, "Alright,"

"That woman's a goddamn lion tamer," I heard Abraham mutter, making Rick and I smile.

~*~

I sat in a car we had found and sat next to Rick in the front seat while Carl, Selena, and Judith sat in the backseat. Rick and I laced our fingers together and enjoyed the silent ride, neither refusing to break the enjoyable silence. The RV had had some trouble earlier, and thankfully, Glenn remembered everything Dale had taught him about RVs and was able to get it up and running again while Rick disappeared off into the woods for a few minutes.

It's been a long time since I've thought about the ones we've lost. It seems like decades have passed instead of a few lousy years. It disturbs me how vividly I can remember their faces when I can't even remember how my father looked sometimes. I wish I could go back to the prison and grab the family picture I had—maybe one day I can, but for now, I have to settle on the fuzzy memories and smile back at them. Rick squeezed my hand and lifted it, pressing it to his lips and gingerly kissing it. I turned to him and smiled, eternally grateful to have him by my side.

"Woah," Carl awed from the back. I watched as we rolled up the giant walls, my mouth open the entire time. Aaron wasn't lying about the walls. We remained quiet, looking at what was in front of us. Could we make a living here? I shut my mouth and continued to stare at the walls, the sounds of children shouting and laughing reaching us. Rick turned to me, his blue eyes wide as the noises got louder and shrieking laughter came from behind the walls. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him, joy running through me.

"You ready, mi amor?"