Poison [Rick Grimes]

0.3

Either Gonzalez was the only one with common sense, or Rick was just an idiot. He fired very loud gunshots unnecessarily. That could have attracted both the dead and the living. The living were all unpredictable. That was also common sense.

Gonzalez eyed Rick warily. "Do you have any other weapon than a gun?"

Rick cleared his throat and shrugged. "No. Why?"

"You might want to invest in one."

"Well, I think my gun is pretty effective."

"You're so fucking stupid," Gonzalez snapped. "Listen, Officer Fucktard, because this is the last time I'm gonna repeat myself. The dead guys are attracted to noise. Firing one shot invites one hundred other corpses ready to tear you apart limb from limb. There is no cure. You get bit, and you're fucking dead. Not to mention the fact that there aren't any factories out there manufacturing those pretty little bullets anymore. We use a gun when we have no other choice. Do you understand?"

Rick nodded firmly. He eyed the bat that she had hanging out of her slightly opened backpack. "Is that what the bat is for?"

Gonzalez shrugged. "At first I grabbed it to remind me of my softball days. I guess it's come in handy most times."

Rick nodded and smiled. "You know baseball is the American pass time. I played football, though."

Gonzalez laughed and shook her head. "Fucking gringo. Of course you did. All white boys did. Either that or everyone played soccer when they were a kid."

The two laughed at the truthfulness. Gonzalez stretched her arms and chuckled. "Nah man. I joined softball partly to impress some boy, but mostly because all that running around gets your ass fat and I wasn't fast enough to join track."

Rick glanced at Gonzalez. Even when she was sitting down her curves were evident, and her yoga pants and softball shirt did nothing to hide it. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, uh, did it work?"

Gonzalez raised an amused eyebrows at him. "Impressing the boy or my ass getting fat?"

Rick immediately went red in the face. He spluttered and choked on his words, not knowing what to say.

Gonzalez smirked and checked her appearance in the side door mirror.

"It worked."

Rick didn't bother asking her to clarify. He already knew what she meant.

~~~

The car rolled to a stop. The duo had been driving for a couple of hours and were now out of gas. Rick peeked his head out of his window before stepping out of the car.

"I'm gonna see if I can get any gas," he said looking back at Gonzalez. He smiled at the pointed look he got from her. "I'll be quiet. I promise. Scouts honor."

Gonzalez rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You better."

Rick let out a small laugh. "Alright. I'll be right back babe."

As Rick walked away he mentally slapped himself. He had no idea why he said that. Perhaps it was a reflex. Either way, he felt like an idiot.

Gonzalez, on the other hand, didn't even care. She used terms of endearment with her friends, boys and girls alike, all the time; ranging from "love of my life" to "dumb cock sucking cunt." It's how her group of friends growing up showed affection. It was normal to her.

Gonzalez got out of the car impatiently. They couldn't stay too long. A herd might pass through. By the time she found Rick the body of a little girl limped towards him. She raised her bat, too the stance that she spent four years of highschool trying to perfect, and swung right at the walker's head. Rick jumped back in surprise as she continued to smash the dead girl's head in until it stopped moving.

Gonzalez snapped her head up at Rick with a sharp glare. "You were going to shoot it!"

Rick quickly hid the gun he had pulled out behind his back. "What? No, of course not."

"Yes, you were."

"No I wasn't."

"Rick, I can see the gun behind your back."

"There's no gas here."

"Stop trying to change the subject," Gonzalez said accusingly.

Rick gave her a sheepish smile. "We should walk further ahead and see what we find. Let's grab our stuff in case we can't make it back."

Gonzalez scoffed and stood up straight. Resting the bat on her shoulder, she glared at Rick's bright grin. The two were caught in a mildly intense staring contest with Rick smiling like a fool and Gonzalez shooting lasers at him with her eyes. She huffed at him and turned to go get her go-pack.

"If you even think about raising that gun again I'll beat your fucking face in."

Rick followed behind with a nervous chuckle. He didn't doubt that she would.

~~~

The two walked for no more than a mile when they found a house with two dead people inside. Luckily, these corpses didn't walk.

Gonzalez strolled over to Rick who stood before a horse with his hands resting on his hips. She smiled fondly at the sight. His wife was surely a lucky woman. She'd feel bad for anyone who ever lost a chance with Rick Grimes.

"Hey," she spoke softly so she wouldn't scare the horse off. "I can hot wire that truck."

Rick shook his head at her. "Nah. When's the last time you rode a horse?"

Gonzalez slipped her cap off of her head and frowned. She leaned against the small fence that kept the horse in place. "Never. And I don't plan on it either. They make too much noise with their hooves."

"Cars make noise too," Rick argued.

"The horses of the pony express could only run 25 miles a day. The fastest car I know of went about three hundred miles per hour. When it comes to outrunning dead people, I placed my bet on that truck."

"We can't just leave it here," he pleaded. "Horses can die of loneliness too."

Rick pouted at her stony expression. "Please. I'll be good, I promise. I won't even shoot my gun."

Gonzalez scoffed and turned away from him to hide her oncoming smile. "What am I, your mother? Grab the horse and let's go," she said adjusting her cap back over her ponytail.

Rick smiled brightly at her and walked towards the horse.

"Thanks, cupcake."