The World You Knew is Gone (The Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight

''Who are you?'' The boy asked, raising his gun. He didn't even act like he knew how to shoot, but the girl sure did. Safety off and all. 

''Hey, put the gun down!'' Rick called from behind the brothers, showing them his badge. Letting them know he was a police officer at this point really didn't do anything, but at least they knew not to do anything stupid. He still had handcuffs, after all.

The two lowered their guns, cursing under their breaths. Great, they were caught now, and it seemed to be a decent sized group. ''We live here, so what are you doing?'' she asked.

''Question is, what are you doing?'' Rick asked, almost laughing at the sight of the dog. He must really be a badass to survive this long out here, whether they were protecting him or not. ''Look, there's no need to be so hostel. We need a place to stay, and we intend to stay whether you two like it or not.'' he replied, hoping he wouldn't have to raise his voice anymore.

''What are your names?'' Merle asked. He really didn't care, but at least they wouldn't be called them 'the boy and girl.'

''My name is Alaina, and that's Marcus,'' She replied a bit hastily, standing up. ''So, how many people are in your group?'' she asked, figuring they might as well start making friends. It looked like they would be living together for awhile whether she liked it or not, it was the officer's words.

''16. You two on your own?'' Rick asked, moving aside so that Shane was standing beside him in the doorway. Daryl and Merle had taken off to scope everything else out.

Alaina nodded, ''Yeah, we are. Got separated from our parents while we were at the beach, and ended up down here with our group. They're long gone, though,'' she said quietly, looking down at the Golden Retriever.

Rick nodded, ''Oh, alright. Well, I guess we'll see you later..'' he trailed off, shutting back the door to the apartment. It they had been living there apparently it was safe.

''Really think this is such a good idea? They have guns. Who knows what they could do. We don't know them. We're going to risk our lives for two kids?'' Shane's brow raised a bit in question.

''Not everyone is that way, Shane. What else do we do? Throw them to walkers?'' Rick asked, but he wasn't serious about it. ''Let's just give it a try, if they become a danger to us, we'll have to take care of them ourselves. I think they know better than to start something up against 16 people, but I may be wrong,'' he put his gun back into his holster and walked towards the rest of the group that were waiting.

That was a shock to find more survivors, much less two teenagers. He guessed they were a couple, but he didn't bother to ask. They had to get their things in and settle down. Daryl hadn't called out, so he guessed there wasn't any trouble at the moment. There were about 8 apartments in this building, so it would definitely be nice to have some privacy.   

''It's all clear,'' Daryl said as he walked up to everyone outside.

Shane nodded, ''Let's get our things and get inside, don't need a repeat of yesterday,'' he said, glancing up at the sky. It was about to rain, on top of the fact it was almost dark.

They grabbed their belongings and walked into different apartments. A few of them would have to share, but it wasn't too bad. Merle and Daryl crashed in one, next was the Morales family. Carol, Sophia, Ed, and Andrea shared the next despite Ed's protests. Shane had to whip it back into his head that they didn't get luxurious living quarters anymore. Lori, Rick, and Carl took another. Last but not least, Shane and Glenn took one, followed by Sarah and Dale. It was a odd coupling, but there was no need to waste apartments for just one person when there were two bedrooms.

''Wow, an actual bed,'' Lori chuckled, tossing her stuff into the corner before laying down. She had forgotten how nice it felt to lay in bed. Carl ran into the next room, which would be his for the time being.

''I know. Maybe we'll actually be able to start a life worth living here, but I'm not going to give my hopes up. An apocalypse can do that to you,'' Rick smirked and sat down beside her. This was really the first time that had a decent talk since he had gotten back. They had been too caught up in everything else to worry about it.

Lori smiled with a nod, taking off her necklace. ''I took this when you were put into the hospital, and they told me they didn't know if you would ever wake up. I thought you should have it back,'' she said, placing the wedding band in his hand. She knew he was sorry for everything even though he hadn't said so, and she was too.

''I wondered where it had gone. I guess I don't have to spill my heart out about before all this, because you already know how sorry I am. I don't know how we had ever let it get to that point, but it's alright now, besides the fact the world went insane,'' Rick forced a smirk onto his face and slipped it back onto his finger.

''I know you are. Let's get some sleep now, okay?'' Lori kissed him before kicking off her shoes and crawling into bed.

He nodded and did the same. He, too, had forgotten how great a bed actually felt. Heck, last time he was in a bed he had been in coma anyway. Both drifted to sleep soon afterwards, followed by Carl who was in his own room.

Glenn was keeping watch but didn't really feel he needed to, except for the fact Shane had told him to keep an eye on the teenagers. He was a bit wearily of sitting out in the pitch black hallway while eyeing a window on his own, but he'd have to suck it up until dawn came again. Hey, at least they had survived another day. It was never a given.