ƇӇƛƤƬЄƦ ƧЄƔЄƝ: "petal on the vine, too young to drink wine. just five years a bleeder, student and a teacher."
Rick grabs several packets of rubber gloves and beige raincoats down in the store. He takes the silver and blue pendant from the counter whilst he's still there and heads for the storage unit. Rick hands out gloves and raincoats to the group. They all tear the packaging, slipping into the gear hesitantly.
"If bad ideas were an olympic sport," Glenn says, making a face, "this would take the gold."
"He's right," Morales agrees, "we should just stop, think this though. We've still got some time left."
Rick raises an eyebrow. "Time?" He shakes his head and buttons up his own beige raincoat. "We don't got time. Walkers already got through one set of doors and they'll get through the second ones just as fast. Now c'mon," he says, motioning towards the back door of the building, "let's go."
Glenn moves out into the alley first, holding a bat between his hands and standing as guard. Rick and Merle follow after him, dragging a dead walker back into the storage unit. The affair is quick and simple, done in less than two minutes. Rick closes the door as soon as Glenn is back inside.
While the group stands around the dead walker in a circle, probably contemplating their decisions, Rick breaks the glass of a safety box on the wall. He pulls out a red fire axe and joins the others, feeling something like giddiness simmer in his stomach. He's got a heavy weapon in his hand and something to destroy. What more could he possibly want? Rick schools his expression, it's best if no one notices his excitement right now.
"We're not actually going to do this, are we?" Jacqui asks, fiddling with her rubber gloves. "I mean–"
Rick doesn't hear the rest of her sentence. He raises the axe and brings it down into the walker with one swift, powerful movement. He does it again and again, not hearing Andrea's whimpers nor Jacqui's terrified sobs. He does, however, hear Glenn's mutter off, "maybe he was an organ donor."
Soon, the walker is cut off into pieces, no longer looking human at all. His legs and arms are separated from his torso, head decapitated and kicked somewhere into a corner. Rick's raincoat is covered in dark blood and the lack of muscles in his arms is steadily tiring him out. Slightly out of breath, Rick holds the axe out to Merle. "Your turn," he says.
Merle meets his gaze and something like understanding flickers across his face, plain and simple, with a spark of fear. He takes the axe, "yer as cold as ice, friendly."
Rick's been called worse; freak of nature, ticking time bomb, monster… cold is pretty much a compliment in his books. He's not even fazed by it. "You missin' bein' cuffed to the roof?" He asks, tilting his head ever so slightly.
Merle shakes his head and gets to work, chopping up the walker's torso. Behind him, Glenn gags. "I think I'm gonna hurl."
"Later," Rick says, watching as guts and intestines float out of the walker's stomach, glistening with blood. Merle looks just as unfazed as Rick, or maybe he's just pretending, either way. "Everybody got gloves, right?" Rick asks.
Merle stops chopping up the walker and the group nods collectively.
"Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes," the alpha orders. The wolves and humans lower themselves to the remains of the walker and gather up blood, pieces of decayed flesh and organs. They smear the mix onto Rick, Glenn and Merle.
Glenn whimpers. At the sound, Rick's shoulders tense. Got to protect, he thinks, but from what? "Think about something else," he says, placing a gloved hand onto the omega's shoulder, "like puppies and kittens."
"Dead puppies and kittens," T-dog mutters.
Glenn does hurl now, turning to the side and retching loudly. Rick moves his hand to the young omega's back and soothingly rubs his hand up and down. "Better?" He asks, voice a gentle murmur.
The omega nods, leaning into his touch for support. "Sorry," he says, "got a weak stomach."
"You're evil," Andrea's angry now, grabbing Glenn by the arm and pulling him away from Rick, "what is wrong with you?"
Too many thangs, Rick wants to say. He's always been like this. Quick to annoy, easy to rile up and get into fights. He likes blood underneath his fingernails and the weight of a heavy weapon in his hand, likes the feel of prey dying because of him. Rick's grandmother had been the first to notice his abnormality, as she had called it, and demanded he be arranged into a marriage, afraid he'd be alone forever. She was nice, cared about him a lot more than his parents ever did. Rick finds himself missing her and her soft smile right now. He'd do anything just to smell her scent; chamomile tea with a hint of honey.
Merle presses the end of the fire axe against his thigh gently and Rick blinks, getting pulled out of his thoughts. Andrea looks terrified, pale and sweaty underneath Rick's gaze. He must have been glaring at her for some time now.
"He's just trying to protect us," Glenn says softly, placating Andrea. He sends Rick an apologetic glance.
The blonde beta swallows loudly. "I know," she says, "I was just…" Andrea trails off, "I didn't mean it like that."
Rick ignores her, lest he does something stupid, like kill her in a fit of annoyance. He said he'd take her back to her omega sister, didn't he? And he can't do that if she's dead. Rick takes the red axe from Merle and the two share a long look. When Merle breaks his stare and grabs a crowbar from Morales, Rick asks, "we ready?"
"Wait," Andrea says, gingerly placing her handgun into the front pocket of Glenn's jeans. "Just in case. Amy would be sad if you died out there."
"Thanks Andrea.''
"Mhhm."
"When we get back, be ready," Rick orders, looking around the group.
"Not if?" Morales asks.
"No," Rick shakes his head, voice stern, "not if. When."
He wastes no more time, leading Glenn and Merle out into the alleyway. It's warm and the air is humid, prepared for rain. Overhead, thunder rumbles. Rick's thoughts quickly turn to Ren. He wants him like he's never wanted anything else in the world. He's glad he also went back for the silver and blue pendant. It'll look even prettier hanging from Ren's collar.
"Ice melts," Glenn says suddenly, making both Rick and Merle glance at him, confused.
The omega clears his throat awkwardly. He turns shy and quietly speaks, "you said Rick's as cold as ice, but ice melts."
"Yer sayin' he's nice, china man?" Merle asks gruffly.
Glenn makes a face. "I'm Korean," he says.
The conversation dies out as the three males reach the end of the alley. There's a metro bus, keeping the alley closed off to the outside world and the three wolves climb underneath it and onto the street on the other side.
Just as Rick thought, the walkers don't even spare them a glance now that they smell exactly like them. Mimicking the movements of the dead, the three wolves shuffle down the street at an agonisingly slow pace. Somewhere down the first block, a walker sniffs at Glenn and starts growling. Rick's hackles rise and protectiveness surges from within him. His grip on the fire axe tightens and his knuckles turn pale with the grip. He's about to do something when Glenn growls back at the walker, low and soft.
The walker, now disinterested, ambles away.
Rick's grip on the axe loosens, turns more normal.
"It’s gonna work," Glenn whispers, "I can’t believe it."
"Shh," Rick hushes. He bumps his shoulder against Glenn's and looks him over. He's a bit sweaty, but otherwise fine. The protective feeling still stays though, gnawing at Rick's insides like a hungry beast. He bumps his other shoulder against Merle's and it eases, ever so slightly.
They're about half a block away from the construction site when a drop of rain splashes right across Rick's nose. He tenses, feeling every fibre in his being readying itself for a fight.
"The smell's washing off," Glenn gulps, "isn't it?"
"Nah," Merle says, trying to sound reassuring and failing miserably, "s'just yer imagination."
Just as he finishes his sentence, rain comes down onto them, warm and fast. Around them, walkers stop their shuffling and start sniffing the air, catching the scent of fresh meat.
"Well," Rick says, "maybe it is."
A walker beside him roars and attacks him. Rick doesn't even blink and splits his head open with the fire axe. Beside him, Merle takes down another walker, bashing her head in with the crowbar.
"Run!" Rick orders.
The three start sprinting down the road, hacking away at walkers that come a little too close for comfort. They reach the construction site surprisingly quickly. Rick throws the axe over the chain fence built around it and starts climbing over, the other two following his lead. With them on the other side, the walkers rush forward and pile upon the fence, growling and snapping their jaws viciously.
Discarding their gloves and raincoats, Rick and Merle guard the fence while Glenn runs a little further onto the site looking for keys. Rick looks around and notices the rain has stopped. The ozone in the air is heavy, but his omega is nowhere in sight. Something akin to fear starts crawling into his belly, cold and deadly. If his omega isn't here…
Something above him shrouds him in a shadow. Rick squints his eyes, but it's gone in an instant and whatever it was lands behind him with a loud thump. Merle and Rick turn towards the sound with raised guns and the sound of their hearts beating loudly in their ears.
It's not a walker. In fact, it's another wolf. The person has their hood on, covering their face. They're dressed in cargo pants and black converse. There's also a skateboard on the ground, making it obvious as to how they got into the site. Rick blinks, scenting the air. The ozone is stronger now, thicker. His teeth ache, wanting to bite. He hesitantly lowers his gun. Is this…
The wolf steps onto the tail end of his skateboard and it pops into the air. He grabs a hold of it, tucking it underneath his arm. "Sorry I'm late," the wolf says, taking his hood off. "Had to drop in overhead. Place is fucking crowded. Almost like times square down here, making me nostalgic and shit."
Rick can't believe his eyes.
His omega is beautiful. He's shorter than Rick, with pale, grey eyes and black hair that he has tucked behind his ears. There's a simple, black choker wrapped around his neck with a little box attached to the side. His cheeks are dusted with freckles and they turn pink underneath Rick's heated stare.
He's beautiful and so, so young. Rick doesn't dare walk up to him, let alone touch him. Not until he knows how old Ren is, not until his omega is of age.
He's pulled out of his thoughts when Ren suddenly demands, "where's my knife, asshat?''
Rick responds, "where's my shirt, omega?"
"It's a nice shirt," Ren says, turning his nose into the air.
Rick licks his lips and thinks, two can play this game. "It’s a nice knife."
"Yer dropped in overhead?" Merle asks, stopping the two from arguing further. His gun is still raised and he looks sceptical. "S'pretty high," he says, jerking his chin to the building right outside the construction site. It's old and low, only about two stories high. "No china man I know can do that.''
Ren makes a face. "I'm Russian," he says.
"Lower your gun," Rick growls, turning to the beta at his side. When Merle doesn't do as told, Rick places his hand atop the handgun and lowers it for him. "You point your gun at him ever again and I'll mur–"
"Rick!" Glenn calls, effectively cutting the alpha off. The omega comes back from the other side of the site and throws Rick a set of keys. Right, he blinks. We're in danger. I need to protect my pack.
With the walkers starting to climb over the chain fence, Rick doesn't even think, just grabs Ren by the wrist and pushes him into the back of a van. His hand burns from the skin to skin contact. Didn't he just tell himself he wouldn't touch the omega until he knew how old he was?
Merle follows after Ren, closing the double doors behind him. Glenn takes the passenger seat and Rick the driver's. He starts the ignition and just as he does so, a walker slams against the side of Glenn's window. "Go!" The omega yells, frantic. "Go!"
The alpha backs the van out, effectively getting rid of the walker beside Glenn's window. The tires screech loudly as Rick speeds the vehicle away. Once they're far away from the construction site, Rick looks over at Glenn. The omega is breathing heavily, slumped in his seat. His cap is slightly askew and Rick reaches over to fix it.
"Thanks," Glenn murmurs, slumping further into his seat. He looks exhausted.
Rick peers behind him into the van. He finds Merle laying on the floor, out of breath and fanning himself with his hand. "Forget about yer bein' cold or evil, or whatever," the beta licks his lips, "yer fuckin' crazy." He turns on his side with a laugh. "Crazy," he shakes his head, "crazy's got a jailbait omega. Didn't think yer had it in ya, friendly."
Opposite him, leaning against the side of the van, Ren curls his lips in distaste. "Don't fucking talk about me like I'm not in this dumb ass fuck van with you," he kicks Merle in the shoulder, "you piece of redneck trash."
Merle laughs again and pushes Ren's foot away, oddly gentle. "This is funny. Real fuckin' funny. Officer friendly's got a jailbait omega an' he's trash talkin' me. S'just comical."
"Stop callin' me jailbait," Ren hisses, losing his northern accent. His voice matches Merle's now. "You wanna die or some shit? Get punched in the face, huh?"
Merle instantly quiets, shocked. It's music to Rick's ears. Unfortunately, the silence in the van only lasts a few seconds. He should have known Glenn wasn't the type to keep his mouth shut.
"So how old are you?" Glenn asks, turning in his seat. He eyes Ren, curious. "No offence, but you look even younger than me."
"Old enough," Ren says, "just got a young face and good genes. S'not my fault my alpha's an' old man."
"Brat," Rick mutters underneath his breath. He's not old, thank you very much. And he's also not convinced by Ren's words. Old enough isn't a number. Rick needs a number. Particularly one that's above twenty-one, any lower and he'll just keep his distance all together.
He drives the van onto a deserted street. It's time for the second part of his plan.
2523 words//unedited.
i was originally not gonna update until the weekend, but i caught some dumb virus at work and now im on sick leave 😭 so here's this mess 🙃
i love, LOVE, parallels and i couldn't help myself with merle calling glenn and ren, "china man," only to he rebuffed with, "I'm korean," and, "I'm russian." 😭
listen, i know the scene of ren skating off the building and landing behind rick and merle doesn't make sense, but i can no longer go back and rewrite it :'(( i just CAN'T. I've already done it thrice and i am not willing to do it a fourth time 😭 so let's just pretend it's written well.
until next time, 🪁🪁🪁🪁