Floating (Sequel to Daring Dixon)

Chatper 8

Rosaline began running toward Glenn and Maggie as fast as she could, ignoring her broken arm. The only thought in her mind was getting to them. She wasn't even thinking about Casper, who still had them at the end of his gun. 

She nearly jumped on Maggie as she got to them, wrapping her in a hug that could probably crush a few ribs. 

"Rosaline?" Glenn asked. 

She broke away from Maggie and nodded. "Yeah, it's me," she replied, her voice thick with tears she didn't even know had been streaming down her face.

"We thought..." Glenn began, but she just nodded. 

"It's okay. For a while there I thought I was going to be. But everything is fine now. You two look great," Rosaline said. Maggie smiled.

That smile, however, was wiped from her face when the gun cocked nexted to Rosaline's head. 

"You want to explain to me how the hell you know these two?" Casper demanded.

"They're friends of mine," she said through gritted teeth. Rosaline didn't like a gun in that close proximity to me unless she was holding it.

Casper only sneered at her. "Friends? Honey if you had friends you wouldn't be at Woodbury now would you?" 

Rosaline narrowed her eyes but Martinez stepped in between them before either Rosaline or Casper could do anything. 

"Let's be civil about this, alright?" Martinez asked. "Rosaline obviously knows and cares deeply about these people. I suggest you put that gun down and keep a civil tone."

But Casper only sneered at Martinez and raised his gun higher. "That's not gonna happen. See, the Govenor asked me to take care of her. Push her into a pit of I had to. But I think a little execution for all of y'all to see will serve it's purpose just as well," he said, the hatred in his voice seeping out. Rosaline had no idea why on earth he hated her so much. She'd just shown up at Woodbury. She hand't talked to him before the run. He had no reason to dislike her. And yet, she had a strong feeling that somehow the Governor had gotten into his head and told him things that were neither true nor were anythign a sane person would accuse someone of.

"Answer me this; why would you kill an innocent person, even on orders? It's barbaric," Maggie said. Casper whipped around and smacked her across the face. She clutched it and Rosaline could see the tears escape. Her blood boiled. Nobody treated the people she cared about like that. 

She tried to lunge at him, but was held back by a quick Martinez, who had saw what she was going to do and had immediately moved to stop her. Letting her do so would have been signing her death certificate. He didn't want that.

Casper turned away from Maggie and Glenn and looked back at Rosaline, sneering at her. "What are you going to do to me? You're arm's broken you idiot."

"You've got five seconds to put that gun down," Martinez said, stepping in front of Rosaline. "Five... Four... Three..."

The gunshot sounded on three, and everyone ducked instinctively, as if that would help anything. It took a moment to even realize who the shot had come from. Their heads whipping around wildly, they realized, a little shockingly, that the only person holding a gun was Milton, who had gone unnoticed during the chaos. Another quick look told them that Casper, who had been perfectly healthy not ten seconds before, was lying on the ground, a gaping wound in his chest and blood pouring from it like a fountain. 

Milton quickly dropped the gun and took a step back, a look of horror on his face as he realized just what he'd done. Rosaline rushed around Martinez and over the body, quickly making her way over to Milton.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

Milton just took his head, not able to say anything.

Martinez stepped over Casper, giving it a little kick as he crossed it. "Stupid prick. Never did like you anyway," he mumbled under his breath.

"You three need to get out of here," Martinez told Rosaline. "If the Governor finds out what really happened... he won't stop until he finds you and feeds you to the roamers."

Rosaline nodded. "Take care of yourself," she told Martinez. He nodded and made his way over to the truck, grabbing a box and giving it to her. 

"Take this. Get out of here as fast as you can," he said. Rosaline nodded and Glenn grabbed the box from Martinez. 

"Good luck," Rosaline said to Martinez and Milton. "And if Andrea and Michone show up.... tell them to turn back."

Martinez nodded and gestured for her to leave. 

"We're parked around the corner. C'mon," Glenn said.

He and Maggie led Rosaline around the corner. They got into a newer Dodge pickup and bolted out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell.

"It's so good to see you,"Maggie said, turning around in her seat. 

"You too," Rosaline replied. "It seems like ages."

"Daryl will be happy to see you," Glenn said from the drivers seat. "He thought you were dead. He and Merle both."

"For a while I thought I would be," Rosaline replied. "I ended up at the bottom of the stairs with a broken arm and possibly a concussion. Andrea and Michonne found me-"

"Andrea is alive?" Glenn asked increduously. 

"I didn't believe it at first either but yeah, she's alive and well," Rosaliine responded.

"I'll be damned," Maggie said under her breath. "She is one tough chick."

Rosaline chuckled. "You're telling me."

"So who is that Martinez guy?"Glenn asked.

"He saved my ass from some walkers a few days ago. Took me to Woodbury and got me all healed up. Gave me some pills, a clean place to sleep and a hot meal. But the leader, the Governor, he's a real piece of work. I'm glad I'm out of there. Martinez was right. If he finds out that I'm still alive he'll hunt me down until he feeds me to a heard of walkers."

Maggie shook her head and sighed. "Hopefully Martinez and that Milton guy can keep a secret."

Rosaline nodded. "Martinez, yes. Milton, well, he might be a different story. He's Woodbury's resident scientist. He's very loyal to the Governor, but the fact that he shot Casper tells me that he might not be as loyal as I originally though. I just hope nothing happens to either of them. I'd feel terrible."

Maggie nodded. "So are we going back to the camground?" Rosaline asked.

"Why would we be going back there?" Maggie asked. It dawned on her then that they'd moved into the prison after Daryl and Merle had come back from the run without Rosaline. "Sorry, I forgot. No, we're living in a prison now."

"Is that safe?" Rosaline asked.

"Safest place we've been so far," Glenn replied. "Fences surrounding it, everyone has their own cell... It's nice to have our own place to sleep for once. A place to call our own."

Rosaline nodded. "I hear ya. That was the good thing about Woodbury. I had my own room and an actual bed."

"You'll have one now too. Although it's a prison bed but it's good all the same," Maggie said with a chuckle.

Rosaline laid her head back agianst the seat. "Do you mind if I take a quick nap?" she asked.

"Go for it," Maggie said, turning back around in her seat.

Rosaline shut her eyes and began to drift off. And as she did so, she became more and more excited. The sooner she was back, the sooner she would see everyone again. The sooner she would see Daryl again. 

I'm not going to make excuses for taking so long to update. But I am going to thank all of you who have stuck by me and continue to support me. Thank you. I am so sorry for going so long without updating. 

You are the greatest fans a writer could have.