Don't Let Me Go ~ A Carl Grimes Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Two

Because Rick gave the Glenn's group one hour to find the vehicles and get back, we aren't outside for long. They return after about forty-five minutes in an RV and a car. They shut off the engines and enter the barn, bundled to the chin with food. We all go inside and close the door behind us.

"This," Rick says to Aaron, pointing at the food. "All of this; it's ours now."

"Rick-" Michonne starts. He brushes her off. "Rick," she tries again. "We have to take this chance. We can't live like this."

"We're not risking it." Rick says as if it's settled. The objections quickly build up against him.

"Rick," I say. "I know you're doing what you think is best for us, but we can't keep moving around, living day to day. We're sleeping in a disgusting old barn." Rick looks at Daryl.

"Usually I'd be with you, but it smells like horse shit in here," Daryl says. Rick is silent for a while.

"Okay," he says finally. "We leave tonight. Eat. Get some rest if you can." Rick storms out of the barn with Michonne trailing after him.

I walk over to Carl. "What do you think about all this?" I ask him. Carl shrugs.

"I mean, I don't want a repeat of Terminus, but it would be nice to have a real bed to sleep in," Carl says.

"I get where your dad is coming from, because I would never do anything to put my family in danger, and everyone here is family." Carl nods to me.

"Yeah, but I think he's losing it. He has everyone counting on him and it's not fair. He didn't ask to be the leader." At that moment Rick and Michonne come back through the door. I take Carl's hand and drag him over to the cluster of food. I see a jar of pickles and realise how starving I actually am. I swipe up the pickles before anyone else has a chance. "You told me that you didn't like those," Carl says, his eyes scanning his options.

"Yeah, I didn't but tastes change," I shrug opening the jar. I begin to scoff them down, and I don't feel sick for once.

"Eww," Sammy squeals, swiping a can of spaghetti hoops. "You never liked gherkins!" She hands the can to Carl, batting her big eyelids. He sighs and opens the spaghetti hoops for her.

"Slow down there," Daryl says, gesturing at my almost-empty jar. "God knows you ain't in the best'a health. They ain't gon' taste so good comin' back up." I roll my eyes at him as he gives me a weak smile. I empty the jar and wipe my mouth.

"I'm going to go lie down," I say. "I feel fat and happy."

******

Michonne, Rick and Glenn drive in the car with Aaron, while the rest of us bundle into the RV. Eugene starts a card game with Tara, Noah and my mother, to pass the time. I sit with Judith as she plays with an empty soap bottle from the tiny bathroom and Sammy sits at my feet, drawing on a message board. The only light is coming from two small flickering lanterns, so our sights are limited. Judith starts to drift off in my arms, still clutching the mere piece of plastic she finds so amusing.

Suddenly, the RV swerves and I secure my grip on Judith as Abraham cusses. I see my mother roll her eyes after she catches one of the lanterns as it falls from the table. "They're everywhere!" Abraham yells.

"Sammy, hold her," I say and I pass Judith down. I lean up and look out of the RV windows. We are approaching the tail end of a herd, and we're already surrounded by a few dozen walkers.

"Kaitlin, check if we can back up," Daryl says, rising to his feet. I run to the back of the RV and kneel on the bed, peering out of the tiny window.

"There's a few, but we can make it through. Abraham, back it up twenty-five yards and make a U-turn."

"What about the rest of them?" Carol asks.

"They'll figure it out." Daryl answers.

I watch out of the back window for anywhere to stop and hide out, and then I see a bright red light shoot across the sky. "Guys!" I yell. "Guys! A flare. They probably shot it. Aaron had that orange flare gun, remember?"

"Yeah. Where is it?" Abraham asks.

"Past the water tower, back there. Come on," I say.

We start driving in that direction, and I move down to the front with Abraham and Rosita. About five minutes later, we're in a little town. I see another flare release from down an alley. "That way," I say, gesturing in the direction of the flare. Abraham, Maggie, Daryl and I get out of the RV to clear the alley. We see about two or three dozen walkers surrounding something, probably a car. "Help!" comes a yell from in that general direction.

We start taking the corpses out as quietly as possible, using our knives and Daryl's crossbow. Before long they're all dead. "Help!" the voice or a man calls, a lot weaker sounding than before. I look under the old rust bucket to see a small figure.

"Give me your hand," I say.

"I can't," he says. "My leg; it's stuck under the wheel." I look down and see that his ankle is being crushed by the weight of the car.

"Okay, hang on. It'll be okay, you'll be alright," I say and try to give him a reassuring nod. I stand up and turn to Abraham, Daryl and Maggie. "His leg is stuck and it'll take a few of us to get him out, but first, is there anywhere for everyone else to go?"

"There's a storage room there," Daryl says, waving his crossbow in the direction of a door. "It's clear; I checked."

"Okay. You go get the rest of the group and tell them to go in there, then ask Tara, Noah and Rosita to come help us," I say and I realize that I'm being bossy again. Daryl jogs back to the RV and I turn to Maggie and Abraham. "Abraham, you, Daryl, Rosita and Tara should lift the passenger side of the car. Lift, don't roll. Maggie, you and Noah have to be ready to pull him out by his shoulders when I say so. I'll get his injured leg out and hopefully he can control the other one himself..." I bend down and peer under the car again. "Your other leg; the one that isn't injured, can you move it?" I ask. He raises it from the ground.

"I think so," he says.

"Good. I guess you heard the plan?" I ask. He nods his head. "Okay. What's your name?" I ask. He hesitates.

"Eric," he answers.

"Hi Eric, I'm Kaitlyn. Are you with Aaron's group?"

"Yes."

"Okay. We're going to start getting you out now, and I'd appreciate it if you'd stay conscious because you're gonna have to help us out." I stand up and see that Daryl, Tara, Noah and Rosita have joined us. I get them up to speed with the plan and they get in to their positions. I take my (Carl's) shirt off, leaving me in my tank top. I slide it under Eric's leg as far as possible and signal to Daryl, Tara, Rosita and Abraham to lift the car and when they do, I slide the shirt down to Eric's heel and wrap the sleeves around the ankle. Maggie and Noah grip his shoulders. "One... Two... Three!" I say and we lift him out from under the car. Eric tries his hardest to suppress a scream.

"Do we have anything we can use as a stretcher?" I ask.

"There's an old door in there," Daryl says and he goes to get it from the storage room. When he returns, Daryl, Maggie and Rosita, gently move Eric onto it, while I hold his ankle still. We carry him inside that way.

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Hey guys! I'm linking a tribute video for The Walking Dead that I made to this chapter so enjoy! Love you guys! :)