I stood back at the barn triumphantly smiling as Rick scanned the canned goods the RV had loaded. Aaron was telling the truth, and this was proof of it. Rick grabbed the nearest can and turned to look at Aaron, his eyes still full of reluctance to trust the man.
"This is ours now," Rick said, holding the can up. I huffed and rolled my eyes, my hands finding my hips. Why is he so difficult?!
"There's more than enough," Aaron replied.
"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp," Rick said, making it clear to our guest. I looked at Michonne and rolled my eyes again. We can't let this opportunity pass us by; we'd be idiots if we did!
"What do you mean?" Carl spoke for the first time, "Why wouldn't we go?"
"If he were lying or wanted to hurt us," Michonne added, looking around the group to clarify her point, "But he isn't, and he doesn't." Standing tall and united with her, I met her eyes.
"We need this. So we're going. All of us," I finished and looked at Rick, putting my foot down. The last time I checked, WE ran this group together. Us against the world; that's what we said. "Now's your chance to speak up if you have a different opinion."
"I don't know, man," Daryl muttered, his eyes on Rick, "This barn smells like horse shit," I bit my lip and repressed a smile. Rick looked at me and sighed.
"Yeah, we're going," Rick finally caved, but he didn't look too happy, "So where are we going? Where's your camp?" Aaron sat up as Rick spoke to him, his eyes full of worry.
"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back." I cocked an eyebrow at him, "I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it—I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet." I approached the man and kneeled in front of him. Just because I wanted to go to this community, it doesn't mean I'm willing to risk the lives of my family. We have to take some precautions.
"Not an option," I told him. This is the least I can do for Rick, right? "Wanna get home? You have to tell us how to get there." Rick kneeled and grabbed the map, stretching it out and pointing to our position. Aaron closed his eyes and turned to Rick, reopening them as he reluctantly spoke,
"Go north on Route 16."
"And then?" I asked, probing the man further.
"I'll tell you when we get there," I pursed my lips, slightly frustrated.
"We'll take 23 north," Rick spoke, his blue eyes landing on Aaron, "You'll give us directions from there."
"That's—I don't know how else to say it—that's a bad idea," Aaron shook his head, "We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."
"You heard the man. We take 23 north," I nodded, knowing there was no fighting Rick on this any longer. I've won this battle; it's best to let him win the next. I don't want to argue with him.
"We leave at sundown," Why are we doing this at night? I kept my mouth shut and looked at the ground. Let him have this.
"We're doing this at night?" Sasha asked, almost as if she had read my mind.
"Look, I know it's dangerous. " Rick started, his head snapping towards the group, "But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."
"No one is going to hurt you," Aaron interrupted, stressing his point. "You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger." Rick turned and crept closer to Aaron, staying on his level.
"Tell me where the camp is. We'll leave right now." Rick compromised, but Aaron was still keeping his mouth shut. "It's going to be a long night. Eat," Rick stood up and approached me, "Get some rest if you can." He pushed past me and exited the barn, leaving us alone in utter silence. He's not happy about this, I can tell. I shook my head and turned around, following him out.
Rick scavenged the car we had brought back, looking for something we might've missed when we were out there. Why is he so hard-headed? I know he wants to play it safe and protect us, but is he making the best decision? I approached him and leaned against the sedan, my arms crossing in front of my chest as he noticed me.
"I was thinking that you, me, and Glenn ride in this car with the guy." Rick sighed, "Carl, Selena, and Judith will be safer in the RV." I remained quiet and inhaled, wondering if he meant what he said earlier. Are we really going, or did he agree with me so we won't fight? "June? What's wrong, sweetheart?" I pushed off the car and looked down, suddenly unsure.
"Is this real?" I asked, "Are you really gonna try, or are you just trying to get this guy to tell you where his camp is?" Rick stood up, towering over me and closing the distance between us. His hands gripped my shoulders, and he lowered his head to look me in the eyes.
"I meant it. We're going," I nodded and looked down at my boots, hating how wishy-washy I was feeling. This is probably the closest to Lori I've ever felt before – unsure and indecisive.
"We just need to get there," I whispered. Rick squeezed my shoulders and frowned, surprising me with his next question.
"When we got to Terminus, what did you hear?" I frowned and thought about it. It was like no one was living there. I didn't hear a thing until we were actually behind their walls.
"Nothing," I answered.
"Sometime tonight, we'll be outside his camp's walls." Rick nodded, "Without seeing inside, I'm going to have to decide whether to bring my family in." I felt his hands squeeze my shoulders harder, almost hurting me, "He asked me before what it would take to convince me this was real. The truth is, I'm not sure if anything could convince me to go in there." Finally, Rick loosened his grip and grabbed my chin between his index finger and thumb, forcing me to make eye contact with him, "But I'm gonna see. I promise you that—I'm gonna see."
I leaned my head into his hand, "That's all I'm asking of you."
~*~
I sat in the backseat with Aaron while Rick sat in the front with Glenn driving. The RV tailed behind us closely as we zoomed down Route 23 in the dark. I leaned back against the seat, my eyes closing and tuning out any noises from the men around me. I felt exhausted even though I had managed to nap with Judith earlier. The sentence, "Put them all on the wall in my house," stuck out to me, piquing my interest.
"You have a house?" I questioned, my head snapping up and my eyes finding Aaron's. He hummed in response and smiled at me, nodding towards the envelope propped up against him.
"See for yourself," I reached for the envelope and opened it, studying the pictures of houses with solar panels lined on the roofs. I turned to Aaron with disbelief written all over my face as I thumbed through the photos. Black and white images of a community and more houses littered the glossy paper. It certainly got my hopes up, but I couldn't help but notice how there weren't any pictures of the people who resided in this community.
"Where's the pictures of your people?" I asked him as I continued flipping through the pictures.
"I took a group picture, but I didn't get the exposure right," Aaron explained, "When I tried to develop it later, it just—" Then it dawned on me, I don't think we asked him the questions. So I looked at the men in the front, cutting Aaron off.
"Did you ask him the questions?" Rick cocked his head in my direction and shook it, his deep voice vibrating as he uttered no. I returned my gaze to the man beside me, "How many walkers have you killed?"
"I'm sorry, what?" I licked my lips and leaned in a bit, enunciating my words this time.
"How many walkers have you killed?" Aaron shook his head, apparent confusion on his face as he thought.
"I don't know," I nodded, accepting that as an answer, "A lot."
"How many people?" Aaron stayed quiet, his face hardening at my question. That's the look of a man who feels guilty – we don't see that look often, not even with the kids.
"Two,"
"Why?"
"Because they tried to kill me," I nodded. That's a good reason to kill someone. Hell, I've killed for a lot less. That girl in the woods that tried to rob me—I could've let her go. I could've fired a warning shot or shot her in the leg, but instead, I shot her in the chest and left her to bleed out and turn. Rick turned and held a listening device in his hand; an eyebrow cocked at Aaron.
"You were listening to us?" Glenn asked with an accusatory tone in his voice.
"I already said I was watching you," Aaron groaned, "Yes, I was listening."
"It means his people could have one too," Rick snapped, "They could've heard our plan. This isn't safe!" As I was about to open my mouth, Glenn slammed on the brakes, and blood splattered across the windshield. I yelped as I flew forward, my heart beating wildly. The end of the world, and I die in a car crash? How stupid is that?
More and more bodies hit the car, making it impossible to see out of the windshield and the windows as blood splattered everywhere. Finally, after a minute or two more of Glenn's wild driving, we stopped, and Rick and Glenn quickly exited the vehicle.
"You okay?" I asked as I turned to look at Aaron, my hand on the car door. Aaron nodded once, not answering as I jumped out. Behind us was a massive horde of walkers, easily outnumbering us by at least fifty. The RV was nowhere to be seen. I just hope they must have turned around as we collided with the walkers. Hurriedly, I jumped back in the car and shut the door, hearing as Rick shouted directions to Glenn.
Glenn turned the key in the ignition, but the car sputtered and stalled, struggling to come alive. He cursed and continued turning the key, muttering small praises for it to turn on. I grabbed the handle on the door and pushed, quickly running to the car's front and inspecting the damage.
Guts, arms, legs, and gross, congealed blood lined the entire front, making me cringe as I started to pull the limbs from under the hood. The growls and moans behind me got closer with each passing second, and I rushed to free the hood of all the body parts. A light in the distance illuminated the night, forcing me to turn to watch as a single flare shot through the sky. I pulled the final leg from under the hood and ran up to the passenger door, my hand grabbing the handle. The door flew open, hitting me square in the abdomen and sending me flying toward the ground. I let a startled cry escape my lips as I hit the pavement, my elbows scraping against the hard ground. Aaron dashed out of the car, his hands still bound behind his back, and took off into the dark woods. I grabbed my knife and jumped up to my feet, ready to chase after him.
"June," Rick screamed, "Leave him," The flare! If we saw it, Abraham had to see it, and he'd drive towards it! It's our only hope of finding them. I have to go after Aaron.
"They saw that flare!" I screamed at him, "They'll think we shot it. This is how we find them!" I ran forward, keeping an eye on the bound man who ran a considerable distance in front of me. Boots harshly landing on the ground let me know that Rick and Glenn were close behind me. Walkers started to flood in every direction, overwhelming us and cutting us off from Aaron as he continued to race ahead. I grabbed my knife and gun, firing a few shots into the growing herd. Rick and I pressed our backs together, continuing our onslaught, but Glenn was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Glenn?!" I shouted as I fired another shot into a walker's skull. Gunshots in the distance gave away his position, giving me hope. A decayed hand gripped my outstretched arm, its teeth dangerously close to my flesh. I gritted my teeth and raised my knife, plunging it deep into its skull. My breath became shaky as I fired my last bullet into the herd. That was too close!
"He's gotta be somewhere near!" Rick screamed as he squeezed the trigger of his python. It clicked, signaling that he was out of bullets. I put my gun away, stuffing it into my holster, and gripped my knife tightly, stabbing the walkers that shambled too close. Rick fumbled for the flare gun he had taken earlier and fired it, lighting a walker's head on fire and providing a bit of light.
They were coming in every direction, but the group in front of us was much larger than anticipated. I felt my stomach drop as a walker stumbled ahead of the rest, its arms outstretched as I got close and stuck my blade in its eye socket. Rick grunted as he slashed a head off with his machete, blood splattering all over us. With my knife tightly gripped in my hand, I prepared to fight until my last breath, ready for the possibility of death. It's not how I would like to die, but if it's my time, it's my time. Gunfire rang behind us, and walkers started to drop, forcing me to turn and smile as Glenn and Aaron protected us.
"If you want to tie me up again, that's fine, but hurry up," Aaron said as he slid his gun over. Quickly retrieving the weapon, I shook my head. We don't have time to tie him up again.
"No time," Rick said, "We're going that way." I held the gun tightly as we started racing through the woods.
"We keep up this way," I said as I started to lead, "We'll hit route 16," The distance from where we started to the road was much shorter than I had anticipated. We were able to hit the pavement again within ten minutes. We stopped in the middle of the road, our eyes searching for the RV.
"Where are they?" Rick asked Aaron, his chest rising and falling quickly.
"I don't know," Aaron answered, his head darting in every direction as he looked around us.
"If this is a trap to get us back where you want us, your people are going to die tonight," Rick threatened, his voice menacingly low. Geez, even that scared me. I shook my head and started walking forward, recalling how the flare was close to the water tower.
"We keep walking," I said, "The flare was near the water tower. We might find them." I was too antsy to keep to a fast walk, so I jogged. It was good that we had something to eat and drink earlier, or I would be drained. Rick, Glenn, and Aaron ran behind me as we drew near the dark water tower. No walkers were in sight, and it was eerily quiet as we approached. I puckered my lips and whistled, hoping to hear the answering whistle. After a brief moment of silence, I whistled again, but this time another whistle rang out. They're here! A dark figure waved us over, prompting me to break out into a run. A smile broke across my face as I saw Daryl, my arms outstretched. He held his arms open and wrapped them around me as I collided with him. A door opening made me turn my head and let out a breath of relief as Carl and Selena ran out.
"Dad! June! " Carl exclaimed while Selena called us by our names. I tore away from Daryl and ran over to Rick, the two of us embracing the teenagers as they ran into our arms.
"Your sister okay?" I asked Carl as I pulled away from the group embrace. Carl nodded, his hat nearly falling off his head.
"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine," Carl answered, leading us into the building next to the water tank. Selena walked alongside me, her hand tightly gripping mine. I watched as Aaron called out for his friend 'Eric,' my eyebrows furrowing together. Rick stepped forward, ready to chase after him, but I held my free hand, stopping him. Whoever this Eric guy is, we should let Aaron make sure he's okay before we bombard them with our rudeness and questions. Rick shook his head and shrugged away from me, disregarding me completely. Oh, Rick. What am I going to do with you? Selena let go of my hand and motioned me to follow her, leading me to the front of the building where Judith soundly slept. Daryl stood by my side and started filling me in on everything that had happened since we separated.
"Damn, Little Red," Abraham chuckled from where he stood, "You look like shit," I turned to the big man and rolled my eyes, a smile spreading across my face.
"Like you look any better?" I teased. Abraham stepped forward and smirked, his larger figure towering over me.
"Pfft," Abraham sniggered, "Hell yeah!" I turned towards Rosita and laughed with her, happy to be reunited with my growing family.
"Pinche loco," I chuckled, my eyes returning to the large red-headed man. I clapped him once on his shoulder, "Keep dreaming, big man. Even at my worst, I'll still look ten times better than you," Abraham shoved me away and laughed, returning to his original spot. Aaron came from the back room and looked at each of us, his face full of emotion.
"Thank you," I watched as his eyes filled with tears and paid attention to how his voice got thick, "You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria." I smiled at the man and crossed my arms in front of my chest, "Now, I'm not sure about you, but I rather not do any more driving tonight. But, um, maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."
"That sounds fine," I answered, beating Rick before he could upkeep his macho demeanor. Rick walked forward and looked at Aaron, his face stoic.
"If we're staying the night, you're sleeping over there," Rick said as he pointed to the far corner of the building.
"Rick," I groaned, "Do you think we have to do that?"
"It's a safe play. We don't know you," I shook my head and looked up to the ceiling, slightly annoyed. I get it, but Aaron has proved that he's not a danger to us.
"The only way you're going to stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me," Aaron bravely said. My eyes widened as I connected the pieces—Eric is his boyfriend!! Aaron's got some game! Oh, I love that! I looked at Rick and nodded, hoping that he got the hint. If the roles were reversed and I was injured, he'd want to be by my side and vice versa.
"Rick," I started, approaching the man with a pleading smile. I grabbed his hand and ran my thumb over his knuckles, "He told us where the camp is, and he was telling the truth. He was traveling with one other person. They're both unarmed, and one of them has a broken ankle." Rick looked away from me, his eyes landing on everything but me. I tiptoed and grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to maintain eye contact with me, "I want us to be safe, too, but we can't keep this up. Aaron has proven himself to us, and we should put a little bit of trust in him. Please, mi amor, we can't let this slip away from us. We just can't." Rick grabbed my wrists, holding them in place as I continued to look into his eyes.
"Alright," He whispered, his eyes closing as he pressed his forehead to mine, "Alright,"
"That woman's a goddamn lion tamer," I heard Abraham mutter, making Rick and I smile.
~*~
I sat in a car we had found and sat next to Rick in the front seat while Carl, Selena, and Judith sat in the backseat. Rick and I laced our fingers together and enjoyed the silent ride, neither refusing to break the enjoyable silence. The RV had had some trouble earlier, and thankfully, Glenn remembered everything Dale had taught him about RVs and was able to get it up and running again while Rick disappeared off into the woods for a few minutes.
It's been a long time since I've thought about the ones we've lost. It seems like decades have passed instead of a few lousy years. It disturbs me how vividly I can remember their faces when I can't even remember how my father looked sometimes. I wish I could go back to the prison and grab the family picture I had—maybe one day I can, but for now, I have to settle on the fuzzy memories and smile back at them. Rick squeezed my hand and lifted it, pressing it to his lips and gingerly kissing it. I turned to him and smiled, eternally grateful to have him by my side.
"Woah," Carl awed from the back. I watched as we rolled up the giant walls, my mouth open the entire time. Aaron wasn't lying about the walls. We remained quiet, looking at what was in front of us. Could we make a living here? I shut my mouth and continued to stare at the walls, the sounds of children shouting and laughing reaching us. Rick turned to me, his blue eyes wide as the noises got louder and shrieking laughter came from behind the walls. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him, joy running through me.
"You ready, mi amor?"