The Rest of your Life

Chapter 18

Rory was woken up by Carl tapping her shoulder. They all climbed out of their cars and made their way towards Daryl's motorcycle, which was infront of the two cars.

"You out?" Daryl asked as Rick approached.

"Running on fumes."

"We can't stay here." Maggie observed, walking over to Rory, the girl leant on the older woman as she rubbed up and down her arms in an attempt to get herself warmer.

"We can't all fit in one car."

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning." Rick spoke.

"And spend the night here?" Carol trailed off.

"We should build a fire, the kids are getting cold." Lori fussed.

"If you go out looking for firewood, stay close." Daryl commented while throwing a spare jacket to Rory, the girl fumbling with the large article of clothing as she put it on. "Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?"

"Not enough."

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out." Maggie vocalised, holding Rory close, the girl hiding her hands in the sleeves of Daryl's jacket.

"Watch your mouth." Hershel scolded his daughter. "Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick."

"Alright, we'll set up a perimeter." The man begun. "In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on."

"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas." Maggie offered.

"No, we stay together." Rick responded. "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now." Glenn spoke softly.

"Look. I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found eachother." Rick stressed. "I wasn't sure... I really wasn't... but we did. We're together. We keep it that way." Everyone was quiet before Rick spoke up again. "We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."

"Rick, look around. Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something." Glenn reasoned.

"There's gotta be a place not where we hold up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together. Build a life for eachother." Rick argued. Rory looked to Carl who caught her eye. "I know it's out here. We just have to find it."

"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure. For how long?" Maggie spoke up. "Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that that was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again." Hershel promised.

"We'll make camp tonight." Rick proposed, calmer than before. "Over there, get on the road at the break of day."

Rory looked to where the man pointed, there was some sort of an abandoned structure. She wrinkled her nose as she looked at it.

"Does this feel right to you?" Carol asked Daryl, the man just ignored her.

"What if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's." Beth panicked, walking up to Rick.

"You know I found Randall, right?" Daryl looked to Rick. "He had turned, but he wasn't bit."

"How's that possible?"

"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori quizzed.

"Shane killed Randall." Daryl vocalised, Rory's head shot up. "Just like he always wanted to."

"And then the herd got him?" Lori pressed. Rory turned round in Maggies arms and buried her head into her chest. Maggie held the girl tighter. Everybody looked to Rick, waiting for him to speak.

"We're all infected." The silence was deafening.

"What?"

"At the CDC, Jenner told me." Rick revealed. "Whatever it is, we all carry it."

"And you never said anything?" Carol queried.

"Would it have made a difference?" Rick snapped.

"You knew this whole time?" Glenn accused.

"How could I have know for sure?" Rick defended. "You saw how crazy that—"

"That isn't your call." Glenn stressed. "Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone."

"Well, I thought best if people didn't know." Rick snarled. The tension was so thick, a knife wouldn't even make a dent.

•••

Rory looked up from her position on Lori when a rustle was heard from the trees. The group had a small fire in the middle of the walls and they were all sat round, Rory and Carl sitting against Lori, the two children clouded with sleep.

"What was that?" Beth was quick to ask.

"Could be anything." Daryl commented, standing up, along with some others. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."

"A walker?" Glenn offered. Lori held the two children closer as most others stood up.

"We need to leave." Carol panicked. "I mean, what are we waiting for?"

"Which way?" Glenn breathed out.

"It came from over there." Another voice chimed in. Rory couldn't be bothered to listen to the bickering, she just wanted her dad back, she wanted to curl up against his chest and go to sleep like she did when she was little.

"No one is going anywhere." Rick pressed, causing Rory to look up.

"Do something." Carol told the man.

"I am doing something!" Rick snarled. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake!" Rick spat.

"W—what?" Rory whimpered. She felt Lori hold her tighter. "You... killed my dad?" The girl didn't get an answer, only a cold look from Rick that she never wanted to see again.

She ducked her head as a ugly sob tore from her throat. Rory barely registered Carl crying next to her, or Lori holding her tighter, shedding a few tears herself.

"You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us." Rick listed. "He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me."

"He was my dad." Rory cried, most adults around her looking to the child in pity.

"My hands are clean." Rick continued as Lori rocked the sobbing children. "Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's another place for us, but maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe... maybe I'm fooling myself again." Rick ranted.

"Why don't you... why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get. No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight, if your staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."

Rory didn't care much for the man's words, he just admitted to killing her father, the only family she had left. Right now, she couldn't stand Rick. She despised the man who killed her father.

•••
I'm literally speed running with editing all my chapters.

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