*WARNING: Please be advised that this chapter contains mature content and strong language.*
Chapter 19
Quinn's POV
We had found most of the group on the way back to the highway. The blue truck, Shane's car, and us so far. As we approached the highway, I saw three faces that I was definitely happy to see; Rick, Hershel, and Carl.
"Oh thank God!" Lori exclaimed as she gathered Rick and Carl in a hug.
Maggie, Beth, and Hershel reunited as well. I wrapped my arm around Daryl and leaned into him once we were off the bike.
"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked.
Daryl motioned to Glenn. "That guy's tail lights were zigzagging all over the road. Figured it had to be an Asian to drive like that."
Glenn smiled. "Good one."
"Where's the rest of us?" I asked.
Rick frowned. "We're the only ones who made it so far."
"Shane?" Lori asked.
Rick shook his head and looked down at the ground.
"Andrea?" Glenn asked.
"She saved me, then I lost her," Carol spoke up.
"We saw her go down," T-dog said quietly.
"Patricia?" Hershel asked.
"They got her, too," Beth answered, shakily. "Took her right from me. I was holdin' onto her, daddy. What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"
"He was in the RV, it got overrun," Rick notified.
This made Beth cry harder into her dad's chest.
"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asked.
"There were walkers everywhere," Lori informed.
"Did you see her?" Carol repeated.
"I'm gonna go back," I said, patting my jeans for my knife and gun.
"No," Rick said quickly.
"We can't just leave her," I protested.
"We don't even know if she's there," Lori said.
"She isn't there," Rick insisted. "She isn't."
I gave him a hard look. "How can you know that—"
"She's somewhere else or she's dead. There's no way to find her."
"So we're not even gonna look for her?" Glenn asked.
"We gotta keep movin'," Rick said. "There's gonna be walkers crawlin' all over here."
"I say head East," T-dog suggested.
"Stay off the main roads," Daryl added. He grabbed my arm and squeezed lightly.
I sighed. "He's right. The bigger the roads, the more walkers we find." I stomped over to one making his way towards us and sliced my knife through the skin on his forehead. I walked past the group without looking at any of them. "Can't believe you people are leavin' Andrea behind."
___
About an hour on the road and I heard a honk. I tapped Daryl's shoulder, telling him to stop.
"You out?" he asked as Rick approached us.
"Been runnin' on fumes," Rick replied.
"We can't stay here," Maggie protested.
"Well, we can't all fit in one car," Glenn notified.
"We'll make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick calmed.
"And spend the night here?" Carol asked.
"A night in the woods ain't never hurt nobody," I retorted, climbing off of the bike. "Plus we're all together."
"I'm freezing," Carl complained.
"We'll build a fire," I said, trying to keep him calm.
"Quinn and I will go out lookin' for firewood. Stay close," Daryl informed. "Only got so many arrows. How you doin' on ammo?"
"Not enough," Rick responded.
"Well we can't just sit here with our asses hangin' out," Maggie spat.
"Watch your mouth," Hershel warned. "Everybody stop panicking and listen to Rick."
"Alright," Rick started. "Let's set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find some gas and supplies. We'll keep pushing on."
"Glenn and I could make a run right now, try and scrounge up some gas," Maggie offered.
"No, we stay together," Rick insisted. "God forbid somethin' happens and people get stranded without a car."
"Rick, we're stranded now," Glenn pointed out.
"I know it looks bad," Rick confessed. "We've all been through hell or worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure, I really wasn't, but we did it. We're together, we keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."
"Rick, look around," Glenn said quietly. "There are walkers everywhere, they're migrating or something."
"There's gotta be a place," Rick persisted. "Not just where we hold up, but we fortify, hunker down. Where we pull ourselves together and build a life for each other. I know it's out there, we just have to find it."
I saw the determination in Rick's eyes.
"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe," Maggie started, "we can never be sure for how long. Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinkin' that was safe."
"We won't make that mistake again," Hershel said without hesitation.
"We'll make camp tonight," Rick prompted. "Over there. Get on the road at the break of day."
"Does this feel right to you?" Carol asked me.
"Yeah," Beth agreed. "What if walkers come through or another group like Randall's?"
"Whatever Rick says, goes," I answered. "I trust him."
"You know I found Randall, right?" Daryl asked. "He turned, but he wasn't bit."
"How's that possible?" Beth asked.
"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori asked.
"Shane killed Randall," Daryl informed.
"Just like he wanted to," I added. "Broke his neck."
"And then the herd got him?" Lori asked.
Rick was quiet and looked to the ground. Then it dawned on me. I put two and two together as to what happened to Shane.
"We're all infected," Rick said suddenly.
"What?" Daryl asked, breaking the silence.
"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it."
"And you never said anything?" Carol asked.
"Would it have made a difference?" Rick asked.
"You knew this whole time," Glenn accused.
"How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that mother—"
"That was not your call!" Lori shouted.
"When I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told for the good of everyone," Glenn said, his voice raising slightly.
"Well, I thought it best if people didn't know," Rick spat as he walked away.
___
We were sitting around a fire that Daryl and I had built after we found some fire wood.
"We're not safe with him," Carol sneered to Daryl. "To keep somethin' like that from us? Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down."
"Nah, Rick's done right by me," Daryl answered.
"You're his henchman and I'm a burden," she said. "You deserve better."
"What do you want?" I asked suddenly, louder than I planned to be.
"A man of honor," she answered quietly.
"Rick has honor," I retorted, now looking at the whole group. "When has he let anyone down?You all beg for his leadership and then treat him like shit when he makes a goddamn mistake. We're hungry, we're cold, and we're stranded. The last thing we need to do is turn on each other."
I felt a hand on my shoulder and Rick bent down beside me. He gave me a look, a look that I've seen hundreds of times.
"I still think we should take our chances," Maggie whispered.
"Don't be foolish," Hershel said quietly. "There's no food, no fuel, no ammo."
A branch snapped in the woods that were surrounding us.
"What was that?" Beth asked.
"Could be anythin'," Daryl answered. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."
"A walker," Glenn added.
"We need to leave," Carol said quickly. "I mean, what're we waiting for?"
"Which way?" Glenn asked.
Maggie pointed. "It came from over there."
"Back from where we came," Beth clarifed.
"Last thing we need is for everyone to be runnin' off in the dark," Rick said firmly. "We don't have the vehicles, no one's traveling on foot."
"Don't panic," Hershel calmed.
"I'm not sittin' here waitin' for another herd to blow through," Maggie refused.
"We need to move," Carol agreed.
Rick held his hand up in an attempt to keep everyone calm. "No one's goin' anywhere."
"Do something!" Carol shouted.
"I am doing something!" Rick snapped. "I'm keepin' this group together, alive! I've been doin' that all along, no matter what! I didn't ask for this! I killed my bestfriend for you people for Christ's sake. You saw what he was like," he started. "How he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, lead me out there to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice! He was my friend, but he came after me!"
Rick continued to scold the group, but at the smell of walkers, I snapped back to where we were.
"This isn't a democracy anymore," Rick spat.
Before Rick could continue, the all too familiar groans filled my ears and we were doing just as Rick said not to,
running off in the dark.