retreaters and angsty teens
MERLE TOOK MICHONNE. Daryl went after his brother. Michonne came back alone. Daryl came back hours later, tear tracks on his face as he muttered Merle was dead.
It was just the beginning.
Now, they knew the Governor was coming.
"Carl, I'm tired of arguing with you," Scarlett murmured as he tried again and again to be a part of the attack. "You and Soph are going to protect Jude, Hershel, and Beth outside the prison. This isn't kid shit."
"I'm not a damn kid!" Carl groaned out with anger. Scarlett winced.
"Watch your mouth," Scarlett pleaded as she watched him storm off. It was their first real fight in this new dynamic. She felt Rick come up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he rubbed them softly. "He hates me."
"Nah, he doesn't," Rick said with a small laugh. "It's called bein' a parent. You did good. I don' want him in here when the shit hits the fan."
"He hates me," she said again, turning to face him. She saw his beard was growing out, his curls flopping over his forehead. His blue eyes stared at her with a small smile.
"He doesn't," Rick promised, kissing her forehead, also taking the moment to take in the beauty that was Scarlett Greene. Her red hair was tied back, but there were flyaways that curled up against her face. "I love you."
"Love you," she said, hugging him tightly.
Hershel led Sophia, Judith, Beth, and Carl out into a car. Daryl , Glenn, and Tyreese were driving the other cars into a hiding spot. Once they were back, everyone got into their formation. They did not know how long until the Governor attacked, but they were willing to wait.
And wait they did. It was hours before anyone heard anything. Glenn muttered over the walkie that they were here, but anyone could have heard the way they drove through the fences again.
They heard the group go inside the prison, shooting randomly as they tried to scare them. Rick's group, nah, they were not scared at all. Scarlett was not scared. She held her rifle to her chest as she waited for Rick's signal, but she enjoyed hearing them so confused and worried for their safety. This is what happens when you fuck with the wrong folks.
Scarlett grinned at Rick once before they heard Daryl let the smoke grenade go. Screams were heard as everyone tried running away. The group shot at them as they tried shooting back, but the majority of them were retreating.
Rick signaled for them to follow them out, and they did. Walking outside, they laughed as they saw all of the Governor's men retreating in their big vehicles.
"We did it. We drove them out!" Scarlett cheered, hugging Maggie tightly as she came around out of the guard tower. "Did anyone see my Daddy?"
"No," Maggie answered. "He was not even near the Governor."
"I don't like that."
"We should go after them," Glenn pleaded. "We should finish it."
Maggie shook her head. "It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail it out of here?"
"They could regroup. We can't take the chance," Michonne told them with a nod of her head toward the group that just left. "He's not gonna stop."
"They're right," Rick said, sighing.
"We can't keep living like this," Scarlett agreed only thinking of the kids.
"So we take the fight back to Woodbury," Daryl commented.
"We barely made it back last time," Maggie tried to reason.
"I don't care," Rick snarled out, wanting to end it for good. "Let's check on the others."
Scarlett grinned as Judith babbled while her eyes scanned the area. Scarlett took her from Beth with a smile as Rick also came forward to gently caress her head. Carl walked up next, a hard look in his eye.
Scarlett bit her lip as she smiled tightly at him.
"Dad, I'm coming to Woodbury."
"Carl, no," Scarlett whispered as he turned his glare on her.
"You're not my mom! Just stop!" he yelled, watching her wince.
Scarlett sighed, nodding. Turning, she took Judith away from the ultimate fight that was to happen between Rick and Carl. Rick's eyes hardened as he stepped forward.
"You don't talk to her that way, Carl. She has done nothing but look after all of us since we've found her. No, she's not your Mom, but she's trying to be someone you can go to. She's trying to be a Momma to Judith because Judith is gon' need that. You're gon' need that. You need to apologize," he sneered. "And you're not going to Woodbury."
Carl glared back. "Dad, I did my job out there. Just like all of you. Took out one of the Governor's soldiers."
Hershel hobbled near them. "One of his soldiers? A kid running away? He stumbled across us."
"No, he drew on us," Carl said with anger.
"I'm sorry you had to do that," Rick whispered, placing a hand on Carl's shoulder.
"It's what I was there for," Carl said as he shook his dad off. "I'm going with you."
"You're going to apologize to Scarlett," Rick said with finality.
Hershel shook his head at Rick once Carl walked away. "That kid was scared. He was handing his gun over."
"He said he drew. Carl said it was in defense," Rick countered, not wanting to believe otherwise.
"I was there. He didn't have to shoot. He had every reason not to—"
"Maybe it looked like that to you, Hershel—"
"Rick!" Hershel cut him off. "I'm telling you he gunned that kid down."
Rick made Scarlett come with him to talk to Carl whether or not she wanted to. Carl kept his gaze stony as they entered the cell. His leg was bouncing while his fist were clenched. He was thinking of a lot at that moment, and seeing Rick and Scarlett both come inside of the cell made his nerves only grow.
"Hershel told me about the boy you shot," Rick started, sitting down next to him. Scarlett stayed by the door, arms crossed as she tried to keep her face stoic. She did not want him to hate her. She did not know what to do... parenting was new to her.
"He had a gun," was all Carl replied with.
Rick hummed as he took off Carl's hat, placing it on his own lap. "Was he handing it over?"
"He had just attacked us!" Carl growled out.
"Yeah. Yes, he had," Rick agreed before getting angrier. "Was he handing it over?"
Carl suddenly stood up and began to pace. "I couldn't take the chance. I didn't kill the walker that killed Dale. Look what happened."
"Carl," Scarlett whispered, unable to help herself, "that is not the same thing."
"You didn't kill Andrew and he came back and killed Mom. You were in a room with the Governor and you let him go. And then he killed Merle. I did what I had to do," Carl spoke, ignoring Scarlett. "Now go. So he doesn't kill any more of us."
Rick stood up, placed his hat back on Carl's head, and left, and he tried to get Scarlett to follow but the woman did not move. She stared at Carl with a weird expression in her eyes. Rick left them alone, standing outside in case he had to jump in.
"Go. Go fight them all. Kill 'em so they don't kill us," Carl said again, eyes finally meeting hers. There was so much anger. "I said GO!"
"Carl," she whispered, stepping forward. "You did what you did to protect the group. No one is mad at that. You just... you're still a boy."
Carl looked like he was about to cut her off.
"But I know now that you can't be a boy in this world. You need to be a man, and you're a damn good one. J-Just remember to think," she told him, crouching down to his level. She smiled softly, remembering when Carl was smaller. He was almost to the height where she did not have to crouch anymore. "I want you to stay here. Not because I don't think you can't do it, but because if it goes wrong... you're gonna be the man in charge. You hear that?"
Carl's anger faded away during her small speech as he sat on the bed again.
"M'sorry for shouting at you," he said suddenly. "I'll keep things in order here."
"I know you will, Carl," she said, hesitantly reaching a hand to place it on his leg to squeeze it once. "I think we—"
"I love you, Scar. Just like I did Mom," he said softly. "M'sorry." The echo behind his words were that he thought of her like a mother, and it warmed Scarlett's heart. She was smiling at his words, needing to hear them so badly.
Scarlett sighed, pulling him to her as they hugged. She held him tightly, knowing he had gone through so much more than a boy his age should have had to go through. She kissed the side of his head.
"I love you, too."