"Isn't it ironic how we tell others to stay strong, yet we can't do it ourselves?"
***
We walked into a house, and I saw poor, beaten Rick. Something then came to my mind. The last time I saw him, he was looking for Rick and Judith, but now I only saw one of the two people.
"C-Carl. Where's Judy?" I quietly asked, afraid of his answer.
He just stayed silent and didn't move his gaze from the ground.
I placed a shaky hand over my mouth to cover the gasp I was anticipating to come out. Judith was so well protected and loved, and I didn't understand how someone would've let it happen.
He angrily stormed upstairs, leaving me to mourn. I cried for the loss of the innocent baby. She didn't deserve any of this, and now there was nothing we could do.
***
For the first time in a few days, I woke up well-rested. I could hear Carl talking from downstairs. He just walked in the house, and I was guessing he must've been on a run.
"I killed three walkers. They were at the door. They were gonna get in, but I lured them away. I killed them. I saved you! I didn't forget while you had us playing farmer. I still know how to survive."
I walked downstairs and put my hand on his shoulder.
"That's enough," I sternly told him. He shook my hand off and continued talking.
"Lucky for us. I don't need you anymore. I don't need you to protect me anymore."
"Carl. Drop it," I said, a little more firm. He turned and glared at me.
"You probably couldn't even protect me anyway. You couldn't even protect Judith! You couldn't protect Hershel, or Glenn, or Maggie, Michonne, Skylar, Daryl. Or mom."
I couldn't believe what he was saying. He was hurting, but this was no way to react. He shrugged my hand off his shoulder, and I took a step back, not quite sure how to respond.
"You just wanted to plant vegetables. You just wanted to hide. He knew where we were, and you didn't care!"
"Please!" I screamed at him, and he didn't even flinch.
"You just hid behind those fences and waited. They're all gone now. Because of you! They counted on you! You were their leader!" He sat down and sniffled.
"But now...you're nothing. I'd be fine if you died."
He stormed off as I sat down in defeat, and at that moment, I almost wish Carl hadn't saved me.
I stood up after calming myself down and wiped my tears. Rick was in horrible condition, and Carl was a mess, as was I.
The least I could do was try to help Rick. I got water from a pond and boiled it. When it cooled down, I undressed Rick leaving him in his boxers (not in a sexual way). I cleaned his body with some soap I found and got him new clothes. I found a first aid kit and started to work on Rick.
Flashback
"That one?" I questioned as I pointed to a roaming walker.
Hershel nodded, and that was my signal to attract the walker with noise.
"Hey, over here," I got the rotting corpse's attention.
Hershel had offered to teach me some basic medical treatments.
We needed a test subject, and a walker was the best thing. After dragging the walker inside, I noticed Hershel had his medical supplies laid out neatly.
"Alright, we're going to start with stitches and cleaning the wounds," he explained, and I nodded.
He showed me how to sew stitches, clean wounds, what antibiotics to use, how to diagnose some of the more obvious injuries, and how to remove foreign objects.
"Thanks, Hershel, this'll help me one day," I smiled at him.
"You're welcome, Skylar," he warmly smiled at me and patted my shoulder.
Real-time
I hadn't noticed that tears started to slip from my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away. Why did Hershel have to die? He was the kindest, gentlest man, and he was killed most horrifically.
Removing the thoughts from his head, I pulled the bullet out where the governor had shot Rick.
I cleaned the wound and stitched it. I tried to hydrate him as much as possible, and I gave him some pain reliever and let him rest.
Carl walked in, looking calmer. I sadly smiled to him, and he didn't acknowledge me as he walked upstairs.
***
I was asleep on the ground beside Rick, Carl beside me. I could hear Rick, but it didn't sound like him. I looked up and scooted closer to Carl.
I held my gun up, and Rick's hand twitched. This can't be happening.
Rick fell onto the floor and kept grunting. He's dead. Rick is dead. He died in his sleep, and now he turned.
Carl held his gun to Rick as we both shared quiet sobs. Rick held his hand out, and Carl loaded the gun. By now, we were both crying. Rick's hand went limp, and Carl dropped the gun.
"I can't, I was wrong," Carl cried and dropped his head back onto my shoulder.
"Carl."
Rick spoke...he's alive.
"Don't go outside. Stay safe," Rick kept talking.
Carl scooted closer and lifted Rick's head onto his lap, their foreheads meeting.
"I'm scared...I'm scared."
I woke up in Carl's arms that morning.
"Morning," I whispered to him. He faced me and smiled slightly.
"I'm so sorry I acted the way I did. I was just so angry at everything." I kissed him and smiled.
"It's okay."
"What's for breakfast?" Rick smiled sarcastically.
"Let's see," I giggled. I opened the cupboard and found only expired cereal.
"Frosted flakes or frosted flakes?" I asked Rick. He chuckled and replied.
"How about frosted flakes."
Carl walked downstairs and hugged me from behind as I poured cereal for us.
"Hey Dixon," he greeted.
"Hey Grimes," I replied, smiling.
We all sat down at the table, quietly chatting.
"I need to go on a run today," Carl stated.
"I'll come too," I said.
"Be careful," Rick warned.
We nodded as we left the table. I packed stuff in my bag, and we left.
"We can just go by each house," Carl suggested.
There was a nice house, not too far. I nodded towards it, and I banged on the door, listening for any walkers. It was clear. Carl jiggled the doorknob, and it wouldn't open. His determination entertained me, so I sat down on the porch and watched. He walked over to the grass and picked up a garden light. He tried prying it open, but it still didn't budge. I was trying not to laugh.
He stuck his tongue out, me copying his actions. He walked back to where I was sitting and ran right into the door, and I burst out laughing. He was now on the ground laughing too. I pulled a bobby pin out of my pocket and unlocked quickly, smirking at him.
"I win."
We walked into the house. Well, I limped, he walked. My ankle is still healing. We got just everyday supplies. I turned into the kitchen and saw Carl standing on a chair, trying to reach something. He picked up the pudding and jumped down. I laughed and grabbed two spoons.
We walked upstairs and sat on the roof while eating our pudding until we were full. I felt okay for the first time in a few days.
That night Carl and I slept upstairs, and Rick slept on the couch. We were all awake eating dry cereal for the 50th time; we were just making small talk as we finished our food.
Someone knocked on the door. We dropped our bowls and picked up our weapons. Rick looked out the peephole and laughed.
"What?" Carl asked in confusion.
"It's for you."
As the door opened, the anticipation built.
There stood the beautiful, strong Michonne. I ran into her arms, grasping her tightly.
I haven't given up hope yet; I'm not done with this fight. After catching up, Carl and Michonne decided to go on a run because we were so low on supplies. I wanted to stay back and keep an eye on Rick; he's still recovering.
"How long do you think you'll be?" Rick asked.
"Fill a couple bags, and I guess," Michonne replied.
"Follow her lead, you understand?" Rick said sternly while handing Carl a gun.
"We'll see you in a couple of hours," I said to them.
I hugged Michonne and kissed Carl on the cheek.
"Love you," I whispered. He replied to me with a small smile.
Rick and I walked back inside, closing the door behind us. He started to push the couch against it and winced in pain.
"I got it," I smiled slightly and gently patted his back.
He nodded and walked upstairs. I went to my room and laid down, drifting off to sleep. Shortly after, awoken by deep footsteps...
Thinking it was Carl, I walked to Rick's room to tell him his son was home. When I reached Rick's room, he looked like he had just woken up, and we met eyes at the same time.
That's also when we heard several men downstairs. That wasn't Carl or Michonne. Footsteps approached us, walking up the stairs.
I looked to Rick, not sure what to do. He motioned under the bed, and we both slid under quietly.
My heart pounded heavily, and I tried to keep my breathing slow.
If they caught us, God knows what would happen.
A man then entered the room, kicking times around and clearing it. Rick noticed how much a was shaking, so he placed a hand over mine, nodding his head slightly.
The man stopped at the foot of the bed, not moving for a moment. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut, waiting and expecting the worst.
He then jumped on the bed, weighing it down and slightly crushing my back. I bit my lip to keep my mouth shut. After waiting for what felt like forever, the man above us started snoring.
Rick and I were about to slide out from under the bed, but another man made his way towards this room. Oh, great.
"Yo. Comfy?" The man at the door woke the other man up.
"You waking me up to see if I'm comfortable?" Sleepy growled.
"I want to lie down," bigfoot (the man at the door) spat.
"Two other bedrooms up here to choose," sleepy argued.
"Them's kids' beds. I want this one," Bigfoot said.
"It's claimed."
"I didn't hear it. You gonna have to lay claim somewhere else," Bigfoot argued.
Then, the two men started fighting. I could only see their feet moving, and I was thankful. It didn't sound very good. Sleepy landed on the floor and was being choked.
He was at our eye level and was going to say something. I was praying that he'd die, or at least pass out before then. He was held in a chokehold until his eyes closed, and Bigfoot took his spot on the bed before saying, "My bed now, jackoff."
After another long period of time, Bigfoot had fallen asleep. Rick nodded at me, and we needed to move soon. We stealthily slid out from our hiding spot, making sure to avoid the boot-clad foot hanging over the bed. Rick helped me up, and we heard a new voice.
"Tony, Len. Get your asses down here!"
I followed Rick out into the hallway and saw the back of a gray-haired man as he bounced the tennis ball on the wall in front of him. Rick and I quickly moved into what looked to be a teenage boy's room.
The room had the bed separated from the rest of the room with two bookshelves, and that's where Rick and I hid. The man with the tennis ball started bouncing it on the wall between Rick and me.
I finally sighed in relief as he left the room, and Rick grabbed a trophy for a weapon. We ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind us.
A man sat on top of the toilet seat cover, and he noticed us. Rick took action by holding the trophy against his throat as the man struggled. I pulled a blue pair of scissors out of the way as the man finally fell to the ground, dead. I grabbed his machine gun and pointed it at the door, waiting to see if anyone heard.
After hearing nothing, Rick slid open the window, and we quietly navigated our way down to ground level. We stayed silent and hid down by the porch. I looked up and saw an older man eating a can of food. He was the man with the tennis ball. He spat over the edge and sat down on the railing.
Then in the corner of my eye, I saw Michonne and Carl walking towards the house. I pointed to them, and Rick took a shaky breath. Rick looked like he would make a move, but we heard snarling and a gunshot inside, causing the man to leave. We took this chance to get away, so Rick and I ran.
"Go, go!" Rick ordered the four of us as we all ran.
***
After walking for a while, Carl finally broke the silence.
He pulled a cam out of his bag and offered it to me.
"Crazy cheese?"
I shook my head, smiling a little.
We came across an old train cart and walked over to it.
After reading it, Michonne spoke up.
"What do you think?" She asked Rick.
He was silent for a moment.
"Let's go," he said while unwrapping his bandage.
"Sanctuary for all, community for all. Those who arrive survive,"
Terminus.