One Last Chance --- A walking Dead Fan-Fiction

Chapter 9 ~~ Squeaky Clean?

A warm liquid now covered my face. I knew blood was oozing from the walkers now broken skull. I panted on the ground as I took in and processed what had just happened. I heard voices around me but they seemed distant. I knew they were next to me as I felt their body heat but still, they were miles away. Eventually, I felt a pair of hands grabbed mine and began to pull me to a standing position. I recognized Jacobs hands immediately and leaned into his chest.

"There have to be more. They'd of heard the scream." Jacob spoke surely as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I knew he wasn't talking to me but I wasn't sure who else was here.

"Well that explains why they all attacked when I shot my gun out in the city." Rick said with a laugh. I wanted to yell at him to shut up but Shane spoke first.

"Lets get everyone in the RV for the night and then have you, me, Rick and Dale on guard. That work?" I felt Jacob nod and assumed Rick agreed as well because I heard them walk off.

I'm not sure how long Jacob and I stood here but it felt like forever. Eventually he led me back to the fire where Andrea had left. He and I were alone now. I knew he would ask about what Andrea had said but I didn't want to talk about this.

"So what Andrea said, is that true?" There it was. No small talk into it, no sugar coating. Just a swift jab to the gut.

"No!" I defended. I couldn't lie.

"Kind of." This wasn't right either. There was only one thing left to say. The truth.

"Yes." I hung my head awkwardly as I awaited a response.

"Jayme, you're an idiot you know that?" My head snapped up.

"Excuse me? I'm an idiot? I'm the one that started this group. I'm the one that kept us alive. I'm the one that gave us weapons. I'm the one that got us this spot. And you have the nerve to call me an idiot?" His words weren't his, I knew this. He would never say this. But he just did. My defensive side kicked in automatically and anger coursed through my veins.

"Jayme I don't mean it like that." He began with a chuckle. "I mean you're an idiot for wanting to kill yourself. I know it wasn't really me on that roof but even if it was, it was a sign. You weren't suppose to die. It was to prove to you that you always have a reason to fight. And when you can't fight anymore, fight harder."

It took me a moment to process his words. Never in my life had a heard him talk such deep emotional words.

"You know Jacob, you seem like the idiot here, getting all mushy in a zombie apocalypse." I jabbed him in the arm and for the next hour we talked. about nothing and everything.

Evening rolled around and the whole group gathered around the fire pit to eat. We got lucky today and Glenn had some more cans and Dale and Allen caught four squirrels and a bird of some kind. I felt like a savage eating stuff like this but still less of a savage than those things were.

We mostly talked to Rick about his experiences.

"So you had no idea where we were and just jumped on a horse and galloped over here?" I laughed at the oddness of this sentence, what are the odds that he wouldn't get eaten first and found a horse?

"You could put it like that, yeah." He said putting an arm around his wife.

"Weird though that Lori and Carl were here, I mean there have to be other camps out there closer to where you were from." Glenn said scraping the last bean from his plate.

"Got lucky I guess." Rick replied with a shrug.

"Not luck, with me taking care of them, they'd be fine." Shane spoke in a fake macho-man voice. At this we all burst into laughter and for the first time in almost two months, I felt at home.