Future Ghosts • TWD

49. The Killer in Me, the Killer in You.

With her backpack slung over her shoulders, Rosie followed Carl out of the cell block. As Carl passed by his father, Rick tried to reach out to him, but Carl just shrugged him off. He was angry, Rosie could tell, but she wasn't 100% sure why. She thought maybe it had to do with Michonne. Carl seemed to like Michonne. Rosie hadn't gotten to know her very well yet.

The two kids brought the bags out to the green Hyundai, where Beth packed the bags into the trunk. When Rosie was done carrying things, she went over to where Daryl was next to his motorcycle. He glanced at her and then reached to the sheath on his hip, unclipping it from his belt. He held it out to her, handle first. "Don't fire your gun unless ya have to," he said as Rosie took the knife from his hands and clipped it onto her own belt.

"What if he wins?" Rosie asked, referring to the Governor.

"He won't," Daryl said as he picked up his bolts off of the ground.

"He might," Rosie said.

"If he does, then ya get outta here. You protect that baby and ya stick together," Daryl told her. Rosie nodded and swallowed, not liking the idea. She had that anxious feeling in her stomach again, constantly nagging at her. Thinking about having to go on without Daryl, without Rick, without Maggie, without Glenn, without any of them, only made her feel worse. Daryl put his hand on her back and gently pushed her towards the car. "Go on. They're waitin' for ya," he said. So Rosie went on.

•

Rosie could hear the gunfire echoing from the prison, no matter how deep into the woods they went. She just hoped that it was the Governor's people falling, not her own. The gunfire went on for awhile, some large explosions here and there, but then it all stopped. And it went quiet for a long time, the only sound being the birds chirping and the leaves crunching beneath their feet.

Beth was carrying Judith, who was being quiet and peaceful, much to their luck. Rosie hoped that she wouldn't wake up and decide that she was hungry, because then she'd start crying for walkers, and maybe even people from Woodbury.

"This plan is stupid," Carl muttered from where he was walking by Rosie's side.

"Why?" Rosie asked, looking up at him.

"We should be back there helping them. The more people we have fighting, the more likely it is that we win," Carl elaborated. His eyebrows were furrowed and he had a dark, angry look in his eyes.

"They wanted us to protect Judith," Rosie told him, nodding towards Beth who was holding Judith behind them. Carl rolled his eyes.

"That's just what they tell us to make us feel better about leaving. They sent us out here to keep us safe, because they don't think we can take care of ourselves. They don't think we can fight," Carl said.

"That's not true. We can fight. They just don't want us to, 'cause we're kids," Rosie said, shoving her hands into the pockets of the hoodie that Glenn had lent her.

"That's bullshit," Carl grumbled. Rosie glanced over at him, not used to hearing him swear, but didn't argue any further. He was angry, so no matter what she said, he was gonna find a way to disagree with it. Even if she wanted to say something else, she wouldn't have had time to because as soon as they stepped around to the other side of the car, a boy came running in their direction, the leaves beneath his feet making it obvious where he was.

The boy skidded to a stop, holding his hands out as Carl pointed his gun at him. Rosie kept her gun pointed, too, but didn't intend on shooting. Daryl said not to shoot unless she had to. "Woah, woah, woah, woah," the boy said. He had a beanie on his head and a gun in his right hand. "Don't shoot."