Broken Road »» Rick Grimes (TWD)

Chapter 19

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"Stop! Stop!" I screamed, watching as blood poured from my son's leg.

"No!" I cried, watching as his captor began to place cuts on all of his limbs.

"You know what's next, Jessica.." The man told me as he turned to face me, his evil eyes meeting mine.

I jolted up from the floor, gasping for air as I stood up. I placed a hand on my chest and quickly ran to the front door.

I scrambled out onto the porch and threw myself down on the steps, letting myself feel.

"Jess, you okay?"

I put my head in my hands and sobbed, my night terror replaying over and over in my head.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay." Rick stated, wrapping his arms around me.

"It's okay." He muttered, his arms tightening around me.

After a few seconds of losing my mind, I quickly regained my composure and pulled away from Rick's comforting embrace.

"What happened?" He asked, studying me.

"Night terror." I mumbled, wiping my face with my shirt.

"Get them a lot?" He inquired.

"Not like that." I answered.

"Maybe it's because of the stress from the new environment." He replied. I nodded my head and stared off at the ground.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

"No. I've burdened you enough tonight." I replied, shaking my head.

"You're not a burden." He stated.

"I'm sorry." I replied, standing up.

"Jess, don't. Don't close yourself off." He ordered.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"On a walk." I answered, walking down the porch steps.

"Can I come?" He inquired.

"If you want." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. I cleared my throat and began walking down the moonlit street.

"This is a really nice community." I stated, briefly turning my head to look at Rick as we slowly walked down the street.

"It is. I hope it's as nice as it seems, though." He replied, putting his hands in his pockets.

"So do I." I mumbled.

"I think it is." He replied.

"You already have a judgment only being here twelve hours?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look around. The kids are healthy, clean, happy. The elderly are healthy, clean, happy. There's a system. A system that works." He rambled.

"I feel like it's too good to be true." I replied.

"Since when have you become the negative one?" He inquired.

"I guess when you became the positive one." I joked.

"Yeah." He replied, chuckling.

"It's not that I'm trying to be negative. Just being cautious." I replied.

"I know." He replied.

"So, what took you so long getting to us?" He asked.

"I was on a journey of forgiveness, then got wrapped into a problem that I should've stayed out of." I answered.