the claimed child-the walking dead

chapter eleven//the gunshot

rick was locked up-put in a room and isolated, like a prisoner. the alexandrians were scared of him, but tilly knew that rick grimes was not what they should be afraid of-it was the world outside the walls, and their ignorance they should fear. acting as if they could contain and control the apocalypse-what a reckless, harmful idea. she heard the grownups talking, as she often did-she was no fool, and she knew how to tiptoe around and glean the information she wanted. it was an odd thing, for a child so young to hold contempt for the woman who ran the community, or at least, she thought she ran it. she looked at tilly with the same pity that most people did, gazing down at her as if she were a broken thing meant to be fixed, as if it were possible. tilly snorted to herself-people like deanna gave themself too much credit. if anyone in the world could fix tilly's cracks and ruins, it certainly wouldn't be deanna, or anyone who had the audacity to look and speak to her as if she were dumb. maybe there were some things she didn't understand, and maybe she was an odd girl, but stupid-no, she was not. bending her knees lower, she chanced a look at rick, bandages on his face, darkened, scabbing blood smeared on his nose. she inhaled quickly, wanting to fix his pain, his injuries. she hadn't trusted the man at first, but she knew know how he would protect his group, his family. it was the same with daryl, although it seemed like lately he was never around. but tilly didn't hold it against the gruff man-hunting for the group was a time consuming effort. besides, she knew he liked his solitude, his time spent alone in the woods was something tilly envied. how she wanted to climb the fence and leave for a few hours herself. she yelped, pulled from her thoughts, when she felt a hand clasp around her arm. one of the alexandriands was pulling her up from the floor, an angry look on his face. "hey. what are you doing in here, little girl? where are your parents?" he growled. tilly blanched, yanking back, a rough attempt to escape his grasp, but to no avail. she dropped all her dead weight to the floor, and though she didn't weigh much, it was enough to pull the man halfway to the ground. "you little-" he began, clenched teeth bared. "hey! let her go." glenn appeared, and abraham and michonne followed suit. tilly slumped weakly, her arm feeling like it was going to bruise from the tight grip still around it. she had been spotted, her cover blown. "i said let. her. go." glenn tensed, taking a step forward-and it was enough for the man to quickly release the child, and she hit the floor with a soft thump, scrambling back into a corner, pulling her arm close to her chest. now both arms were wounded-the other that hadn't been bruised was still in a wrap, and she dreaded the day she had to go back to get it taken off. oh, well-a bruise she could do with-it wasn't like she hadn't had plenty of them before. "don't touch her." michonne said quietly. the man was sweating profusely now, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of all the stern eyes on him. "w-why? i was just tryna keep her away from your crazy man you got in there." he defended. abraham scoffed. "rick? he ain't crazy. if anyone is crazy it's you people, thinking you know the way of things out there. you don't." his eyes were hard. "you know what? fine. fuck it. i was just trying to do my job. we'll see what deanna thinks about this-letting a child sneak around in grown up affairs." he sneered. "she's already seen more than you know about adulthood." glenn responded harshly, coming to stand in front of tilly. there was a couple of deep breaths, chests heaving up and down, before the man stormed from the room. 

//

after glenn and michonne made sure tilly got back to her home safely, michonne left promptly. off to continue her duties as deputy. glenn stayed a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something. tilly stared back blankly, hands hanging limp at her sides. "are you...okay?" he questioned slowly. tilly blinked in response, and he sighed, running a hand through his sweaty dark hair. "right. what did i expect you to say, your whole life story? look, kid. a simple nod or shake of the head will do. can you do that?" he stood, waiting for something, anything. but tillie had nothing to offer him. a deep sigh resounded in the asian mans chest. "okay. well, daryl should be back soon, okay? just...wait here, i guess." he scratched his neck awkwardly, the protective fierce man he was moments ago when protecting tilly now unsure in the face of a young girl. tilly's eyes followed him to the door, watching him go, waiting until she heard his shoes descend down the porch steps. 

//

daryl still wasn't back hours later. maggie had come knocking, bringing a dish of chicken thighs marinated in a sweet honey sauce carol had prepared that afternoon. tilly didn't care what it was, who made it or when it was cooked-all she cared was that it was warm, fresh meat, and it slid down her belly and ceased the incessant growling in her stomach. the girl licked her fingers clean, refusing to use a fork and knife to eat her meat like maggie, who sat across from her politely, holding utensils the proper way. ever since that day joe had touched her, ruined her to her core, she had become the epitome of wild, untamed. and although she was slowly becoming something human again, something that wore nice dresses for school and got her period, she still had the undying burning in her chest, like a fire ignited through her body. the heat was many things-anger, red hot angry rage that she held towards joe and his claimers, for treating her like a plaything. for destroying her innocence and her trust. the heat was also sadness, a heavy like thing that made her want to go to sleep forever. in the depths of this feeling, she missed her papa, the farm, the woods where she grew up. but she knew things had to change at some point in life, just like papa had always told her, and the brave heroes in the stories she used to read. it hurt, the changing. and she couldn't think of a single good thing that had come of the change that was the apocalypse. but she had to try and hold out hope for something. "honey?" maggie pulled the girl from her thoughts. "why don't you go and wash up, okay? i'll take your plate." the southern woman smiled, and tilly stood to head to the bathroom. "oh! before you go, i found this today, in one of the boxes of donations from the townsfolk. i don't know if you can read or write, and i'm thinkin you won't tell me...but if it's of any use to you, here." maggie handed her a small green journal. tilly grasped it, pulling the small bound bok close to her nose and sniffing the pages. she smiled to herself, a real smile, before turning and dashing up the stairs to hide it in her room. she chose her dresser, stuffing it under some of the clothes people had given her, a sparkly purple shirt here, a yellow tank top there. it was hers, and only hers. 

//

a gunshot woke her up from a deep sleep, and she bolted upright, forgetting where she was for a moment before the rainbow suncatcher that hung from her window caught her eye, the moon sending silver slivers of light dancing across the bedspread. she kicked the covers off of herself, tripping over the lace corner of the blanket and tumbling down onto the wooden floor with a hard whack. she pushed up onto her elbows, sliding under the bed, breathing hard and waiting. five minutes passed. ten minutes. twenty. tilly shook her head, blinking hard to keep her eyes open. her head felt fuzzy with sleep, and she grabbed her forearm, digging her nails into her skin to stay awake. her door creaked open, and maggie's voice echoed around the small room. "honey? you awake?" the womans shoes scuffed the floor, and tilly slowly crawled out from under the bed, pushing up from the floor. "it's okay. the gunshot-it was just rick. dr. pete...wasn't a nice guy, it turns out." maggie gulped, taking in the deep breathing the child was doing in front of her. "i know it was loud and scary, but i promise you're safe now." maggie reached to touch her shoulder, but paused, pulling back. "right. well, you get on back to bed now. i just knew i had to come tell you everything was okay. i don't like you being in here by yourself, all alone." maggie continued. tilly turned away, the shaking in her hands slowing as she crawled back into bed, pulling the covers over herself. maggie dipped her head, taking that as tilly's sign for goodnight.