𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍'𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆...the walking dead¹

𝐯. the big three.

Trepidation filled her lungs as she held her breath as she trudged down the stairs, wincing every time the aged wooden stairs creaked under her weight. The voice became more and more prominent as she furthered in her descent. She recognized the familiar voice of Sydney as she was talking to someone. But the gruff voice that answered her back left goosebumps to travel every inch of Frankie's skin. She knew it was the man that she was absolutely terrified to meet. The only good thing about she found upon hearing his voice, was hearing how calm it was, there was no malice, no fear of danger. Which meant maybe Sydney possibly charmed him or something of the sort.

As she reached the last step, the voice began to fizzle out, noticing her arrival. She could feel their eyes scanning for her figure even before she came into their eyesight. Coming out of the shadows, she instantly found Sydney's eyes, refusing to meet the unfamiliar blues of Carl's father. But it wasn't long until she noticed a new woman sitting adjacent to Sydney, someone who wasn't here before. She could also feel Charlie and Carl's looming gaze following her movements in the living room, but she ignored them for now, focusing on more pressing matters. While she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, the sound of wood scraping against the floor caught her attention. Snapping her eyes toward the sound, she watched the injured man stand up and make her way toward her.

"You must be Frankie," Rick started, slightly raising his hand as a greeting gesture, "Heard you helped out Carl yesterday, thanks for that,"

The girl in question froze at his words, not being able to get out a hint of a word, let alone even a sound. The man in front of her quickly dropped his hand, knowing she wasn't going to shake it. She opened her mouth and quickly closed it, she glanced toward Sydney, the girl's eyes pleading for some help. The woman straightened up in her chair, "I was just telling him about how you graciously offered to help them find their people,"

"Oh yeah, I did say that," Frankie said awkwardly as she glanced from Sydney and back to Rick. The man's eyes were directly on hers, examining her every move, just waiting for any sign of malice to seep onto her face. "If it's okay with you, I'd still like to,"

Her words and confidence behind them surprised him, but he just gestured to the dining table behind him. "Why don't you sit, let's talk,"

Frankie nodded, finding a spot right next to Sydney. The unfamiliar stranger sent the redhead a calculated gaze, but Frankie just sent her a nervous tight-lipped smile in response. Frankie knew the woman had to be a part of Rick's group. She didn't know when she arrived, but it's best that she gave her an introduction later.

"Listen Frankie, you can understand our hesitance toward this situation," Rick started, leaning back into his chair, putting a hand on his stomach, most likely trying to ease the throbbing pain due to his broken ribs. "We don't exactly take well to strangers,"

"I know, it's hard to trust people today. I get it. But Carl told me what happened, I'm sorry for what you've gone through, no one should have to feel loss the way you have. I just saw how much he's hurting, and it made me wanna help him. He's just a kid, he shouldn't have to go through that, and I thought he needed help finding the rest of your people, so I offered to help." Frankie explained, her eyes traveling between the unfamiliar women and Rick the entire time she spoke, trying to gauge their reactions as she spoke. She could tell she was getting to the woman, as she watched the glare on her face soften.

"Well, that's commendable, but it makes me think you have an angle," Rick concluded, sending her a small shrug.

To which Frankie rolled her eyes, she couldn't help the reaction, sick of people accusing her of having ulterior motives. "What's with you and your group assuming I'm doing it to get something out of it?"