Freedom, Love and Sacrifice - A walking dead sequel

Hi guys! So this is the sequel to Like Brother. This book will be roughly 25 chapters I think. It will be based on season 3. If ur unfamiliar with the story pls go read Like Brother which can be found on my profile page. Ok so with further ado, I give u Chapter 1 of Freedom, Love and Sacrifice!

"We must accept finite disappointment but never loose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King

Chapter 1

It had been eight months since the destruction of Hershel's farm. Forced from the shelter we had thought we would be living in forever, we had been like nomads, moving around temporary accommodations. Never able to stay in one place for long because of walkers. Just drifting through rural Georgia for months on end and living under Rick's strict dictatorship. Things had changed profoundly. Carl had become a vital protector of the group but I still held a grudge against him. No matter how much he had asked for my forgiveness in recent months I couldn't. Couldn't forgive him easily of the atrocity he had caused. Let an innocent man die out of childish foolishness. 

Daryl had become Rick's right hand man since Shane's death. He had forgiven me finally. But the cracks in our relationship were still there and we both knew that we would have to work hard to trust and get along with each other again.

"He's forgiven you, ya know? He didn't mean what he said." Caleb said as he stood behind me in the woods with his arms wrapped around my waist. His voice was muffled as his lips were pressed gently against my neck. But I could hear him well enough. I smiled warmly as I let my fingers rake through his short black hair that I had to admit needed washing. We all did. But living in fear of walkers didn't leave much time for washing. Showers were now a long distant memory.

"I know." I replied quietly and smiled serenely as his lips pressed against mine and we sank into a long and glorious kiss. That;s another thing that happened during the past eights months. Caleb had sucked up his manliness and finally confessed his love for me. And although I was fearful of loosing him too soon; I abandoned my fears and stubbornness and happily replied my affections for him that had really laid deep inside of me. My feelings for him had been there all along. I was just too stubborn and scared to admit them. But now that I had, we had grown to trust and support each other. Taking one day at a time.

Meanwhile, alongside all of this happiness came a threat and a fear: Lori. Through the months her pregnancy had advanced quickly and Hershel's frequent checkups had determined that she was just weeks away from giving birth. And that was a dangerous thing. Not only was there the risk of her dying in childbirth, she could die in pregnancy just by a walker catching her. And although the group had come to accept my immunity in time, Lori seemed to think that I could save her if the unthinkable happened. But in my heart I knew I couldn't. Maybe I could save her but there was nothing I could do to save her baby. And that saddened me no matter how many times Caleb assured me that it wouldn't happen. I agreed just to appease him but the worry and fear never left my mind.

Now we were standing in front of an empty abandoned house in the middle of the woods. The post winter wind whipped around us, casting a chill through our bodies. It had been a hard winter and despite Daryl, Caleb and I hunting, we had struggled to eat. Causing everyone to become thinner and thinner with each passing day. I hoped that things would get better.

Rick turned to us, a look of authority on his face and in his voice when he spoke. "Ok, Daryl, T-Dog, Carl, Caleb and myself will go in and search the place. Check it's safe for us. The rest of you stay here." He ordered firmly.

We nodded. With time, we had learned to do what Rick ordered us to whether we wanted to or not. But in spite of that, I still held my stubborn spirit. Caleb pulled me to my chest and planted a kiss on my forehead. I smiled and nuzzled against him. Then he released me.