A Painful Place (Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 2: Nobody

“Alright, it’s time to regroup.” A slim man with curly brown hair stepped forward.
“Ah, that’s the guy who wanted to leave us, “ Tilly whispered to Lana. “Rick, was it?”
Lana sniffed and nodded at her friend. “Yeah, I think so.”
Rick continued, “Are we all here?” He turned his head, looking over the small group.
Tilly looked to her left and saw a young Korean man running his hands over the shoulders of a pretty brunette, scanning her for any injuries. “Yeah, seems like it, “ he answered.
Rick shot a quick glance at Tilly and Lana before turning to face an older woman with short, gray hair.
“Carol,” he said, eyes wide. “How did you find us? I thought-“
“I did, Rick, “ she interrupted. “I left, just like you told me to.” The gasps of the majority of the group were audible.
He made her leave? Kicked her out of the group?
Daryl took a step between Rick and Carol, “What’s she talking about, Rick? Told her to leave?”
Rick raised his hand to shush Daryl and he batted it away, stepping closer to the leader.
Carol put a hand on Daryl’s shoulder, pulling him back from Rick, and he turned to face her. “Daryl,” she said softly, “it’s alright.”
“Ain’t alright!” Daryl yelled, still looking at Rick.
“Look, brother, I was on my way to tell you when the Governor rolled to our gates.”
“Don’t matter, man, you sent her out there to die? What gives you the righ-“
“No, no, he had to, “ Carol lowered her head and glanced at the tall black man standing beside her.
“Anyone going to explain what the hell is going on, or are we just gonna stand around and glare at each other all afternoon?” Abraham spoke up.
Carol took a deep breath before turning to face the group. “I killed Karen and David.”
“What?” Daryl backed away from Rick and turned to face her, his voice full of disbelief.
“Tyreese…” Rick began, addressing the man beside Carol.
Tyreese held up his hand. “I know, Rick. She was the first person I ran into after I escaped the prison. It was just me, Judith, Lizzie and Mika. She saved the girls when I ran off to fight some walkers. She told me about it after…” he trailed off, rethinking what he was about to say. “She told me a few days later. Said she did it to keep the virus from spreading.”
“Didn’t work too well, now, did it?” Rick snapped.
“No, “ Tyreese answered. “No, it didn’t, but I understand. I’ll never agree with what she did, but I’ve forgiven her. She’s saved my life, and Judith’s. We’ve all had blood on our hands at one time or another. She made a call. It was the wrong one,” Tyreese took a deep breath, “but at least she tried.”
Tilly stared on as the rest of the group remained silent. Is this a group I really want to be around? Killing each other? What virus?
Rick rubbed his chin, taking in what Tyreese said. “I made a call, too. When we went on that run before the attack, I loaded a car with supplies and told her to leave. I don’t want a murderer around my children.”
“We’re all murderers, Dad,” a teenage boy in a large brown hat stepped forward, clutching a little girl to his chest. Rick’s son.
“I… Carl,” Rick stammered, trying to find the right words.
“No, Dad. Like Tyreese said, we’ve all done things, killed the living, to protect each other. It’s how we’ve survived this long.”
Tilly looked over at Lana, who was still completely out of it.
“He’s right, Rick,” a tall woman with a katana stepped next to the boy. “I’m not justifying what Carol did, but as much as she contributed to the group you owed it to her to at least bring it before the council before you sent her off to die.”
“But she didn’t die, “Rick retorted. “I knew she could survive on her own, and I did it as much to protect her from Ty as to protect us.” He pointed at Tyreese, “You nearly killed me when you found Karen’s body, I didn’t want to think about what you would do to Carol.”
No one in the group had anything to say to that.
“Did anyone else know?” Daryl asked.
There was a pause before the brunette spoke up. “I did,” she admitted.
“Maggie?” the man stopped rubbing her shoulders and stared at her.
“Glenn, it all just happened so fast. I opened the gate for Rick when he came back from that run. I asked where Carol was and he told me everything.” She looked at Carol, “I’m sorry, Carol, but I understood why he did it. You know we care about you, but it was the best for everyone.”
Carol nodded in understanding. How is she so calm about all of this?
“Alright, “ Glenn began, “so what happens next? Are you going to send her back out there on her own again?”
Rick looked at Tyreese, then back to Carol, “No. Carl was right when he said that we all do whatever is necessary to protect the group. You’re one of us. You brought Judith back to me. You stay. We can’t afford to lose anyone else.”
“What about us?” Tilly stood, gaining the full attention of the group. They had seemingly forgotten about the outsiders in the midst of the situation with Carol. “We’re not really ‘one of you,’ so what happens now?”
“Why don’t we start with names and go from there,” Daryl responded.
“Well, I’m Tilly and th-“
Daryl scoffed, “What kinda parents name their kid Tilly?”
“What kinda parents name their kid Daryl?” He tensed up a little at the mention of his parents. “My parents named me Matilda. They call… called me Tilly.” She cleared her throat and continued, “This is my best friend Lana. She just lost her brother back there, so I can’t imagine she’s up for chatting much right now.”
“Sorry about your brother,” Glenn offered. Lana just gave him a nod and went back to staring at her boots, tears still running down her cheeks.
“How many walkers have you killed?” Rick asked.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, how many walkers have you killed?”
“Well,” Matilda paused, “I lost count a couple of months after all of this shit went down. Hundreds, I’d imagine. Maybe more. Do any of you really keep track of that kind of thing?”
Rick ignored her question. “How many people have you killed?”
“Four,” she answered without hesitation.
“Why?” Daryl beat Rick to the final question.
She cast a glance at Lana, “Because nobody fucks with my best friend and gets to live.”