"Run it by me again"
"I saw the grenades. I tried to stop him. He was gonna run. But we made him stay. Couldn't get Aiden out of there without help... All he had to do was hold the door. But he panicked. Noah, I had him. I had his hand. I tried. I watched him die."
"Shit" I stood up and yelled
"What is it?" Rick asked me
"The guy lied Rick... He fed Deanna a load of horseshit, his story completely counteracts what Glenn just said. It's clear his plan is to try and get us kicked out of here"
"I almost left him out there. Could have told a story." Glenn said, looking at me and Rick but also getting a look from Rick "What, you think I should have?"
"They don't know what they're doing... Any of them." Rick shook his head, stating something his hasn't been very quiet about since we came in these walls
"We'll show them."
"I don't know if they can see it." Rick continued to shake his head "How things really are. I don't know if they can yet. They haven't caught up."
"We have to be here. We have to." Glenn said to be clear
"Yeah, we do." Rick nodded "But their rules, we don't answer to them."
"We are them, Rick." I said before he could say anything else "We are now"
"Noah, he believed in this place." Glenn added in a lower tone
"We gotta make this work... For many reasons" I added but in return Rick didn't say another word then stood up and walked away "And there he goes"
"Yeah"
"Makes you wonder if he's listening" I chuckled as I sat down, taking Ricks spot "Anyways... You okay?"
"No... Not really" Glenn shook his head as he stared at the ground
"Yeah bad question considering what happened" I nodded then took a deep breath "I should head home and get some sleep... You should also try. Something that I've learned about being in this new world so far is that you have to keep your energy up"
"Yeah your right" He nodded, looking up from the ground
"I'm not saying force down your feelings" I said, making sure he knew that "I...
"You just want me to get some sleep. I know" He held out his hand
"Goodnight Glenn" I shook his hand
"Goodnight Y/n" He let go then turned away, walking up to his door
"ALSO" I yelled "Talk to Maggie a little, she's worried"
"I will" He gave me a small wave as he stepped into his home
"Hey"
"Enid, hey" I said, surprised to see her out walking around at this time of night "What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep" She shrugged
"That reminds me. Which house do you stay in? Do you have a family member or...
"No" She shook her head, not saying any more than that
"Well maybe you're in luck" I chuckled "I'm a loner and I live in a big house... If— If you want to stay in my house you can, the doors have locks so if you feel weirded out by my... I don't know ness. You're welcome to stay whenever. I can also throw in a bedtime story if you want, I was once told my rambling helps knock people out"
"I'm a little old for bedtime stories" She let out a small chuckle
No matter how small it was, it was the first time I've heard her laugh.
"Fair point" I put my hands in the air "I won't mention them again"
"Thanks" she said a lot more serious this time
"Want me to walk you wherever you're going?" I asked, pointing down the direction she obviously heading before she saw me "Maybe if I tell you about myself while we walk it'll tire you out"
"Alright... Yeah, okay"
~~~
"Come in"
"Hey Y/n I just w...
"Shhhh" I waved one of my hands "Hi Rosita"
"Who's this?" She whispered with me while pointing at Enid, sleeping with her head resting on my thigh
"Just some kid" I quietly laughed "She's alone, closed off, upset and holding only god knows what in"
"And you want to help" Rosita nodded, telling me something that I didn't know I was doing. After she said it I knew it, I do want to help Enid... It's what I did ever since I bumped into her a few days ago.
"I guess so" I smiled, moving hair from Enid's face and tucking it behind her ear
"Then I'll...
"Oh no, I'm coming with you" I quickly said, pointing at the note I wrote a few minutes ago, telling Enid that I left and she was welcome to take whatever she needed out my kitchen... Which isn't much, just some leftover things
"I'll wait" Rosita walked out the living room to the front door
When she was gone I calmly lifted Enid's head, put it on a pillow and covered her with a blanket.
Having Dawn and our daughter years ago taught me a lot, mostly things like this. What not to do when you're trying to keep a kid or someone asleep. Dawn fell asleep on me a lot so I was in this type of situation more than usual.
"Rosita?"
"Here" She whispered, coming out of my kitchen "I was stopping by just to let you know that Tara is going fine, she's stable"
"That's good" I nodded, feeling some relief... I know Noah died on that run but I'm happy that Tara is doing okay. Both of them being gone would hit this group even harder "Anything else?"
"Oh yeah" She nodded stepping up to me "This" She gently kissed my check
"And what was that for?" I asked
"That stuff you made. I didn't eat it, Abraham did but I really liked the smell and appreciated the effort"
"Carol helped me" I shrugged, not taking full credit for making the food I left on her doorstep yesterday afternoon
"Regardless" She tapped my shoulder as she stepped past "That's all I wanted to say, you can go back to babysitting"
"I'm not babysitting" I rolled my eyes "I'm also leaving... I wanna check on Deanna, her son did just die"
"I seen her on my way over here... She was heading to where they put those gravestones"
"Thanks Rosita, I'll see you later" I waved to her as we left my home, both going in different directions
Despite Deanna's son being who he was, I still had to check on her... I don't know exactly what it's like to lose my kid but I can only assume it feels pretty damn bad.
The place that I ended up finding her at is where Rosita told me. It's a little graveyard behind a building, I have no idea who's buried here but I knew it was here because she mentioned it before
"Deanna" I said calmly so I didn't startle her "How are you holding up?"
"I'm not." She responded the exact way I expected
"Y...
"We have a problem with Pete." Rick said as he came from around the corner
Deanna then took a deep breath "I hoped it'd get better."
"You knew?" Rick said in THAT tone and also didn't get a response so he continued "It hasn't gotten better. It won't."
"Pete's a surgeon." She stated the only reason she could think of... The only reason why she hasn't done anything "He's saved lives. He might be saving Tara's life."
"He's beating his wife." Rick quickly shot back, looking between me and Deanna
"What?" I spoke up in shock. I think he knew how I'd react "We have to stop it."
"How?" Deanna looked up at me
"We separate them." Rick gave the idea he no doubt came out we here with "We tell him that's how it'll be from now on."
"What happens when he doesn't want to do that?"
"It's not his choice."
"So what happens?" Deanna asked again as she walked up to him
"I kill him." He shrugged. Saying such a thing without any type of reaction is how he is now, I can fully see that "We kill him."
"We don't kill people." Deanna stared back at him also feeling angry "This is civilization, Rick."
"Warning someone to stop or die, that is civilized nowadays." Rick started moving side to side a little, an indication that he is indeed pissed and feeling antsy "So what? So we just let him hit her? We let him kill her?"
"No, we exile him if it comes to that."
"We do that, we don't know when he comes back and what he does to them. Letting him go makes this place vulnerable. You really want to wait till someone in that tower has to take care of it? And that's if we're lucky."
"We are not..." Deanna yelled but quickly calmed down "We are not executing anyone. Don't ever suggest it again. That sort of thinking doesn't belong in here."
"People die now, Deanna. They do... There's times like this you can decide who and when. Or it can be decided for you."
"It already was." The two still staring at each other "I wouldn't kill you. I'd just send you away." Deanna said, staring at him for a few more seconds than walking away
"I trust you'll do what's right" I nodded to him as I walked away "Let me know if you need help... No man should be doing such a thing to his wife"
"No he shouldn't"
"I should check on Enid" I said to myself as I walked down the street
I wonder if she's up by now, and if she did wake up I wonder if she stayed or if she took me up on my offer and ate whatever from my kitchen... I wonder if
"Glenn" I called out to when I saw him
"Hi Y/n" He waved a little but keeping walking the other direction like a man on a mission
"What are you up to?" I said but he disappeared behind the van they used to go on that run not long ago... Deanna's sons' friend was just cleaning it "Shit" I jogged up to the van, starting to hear their conversation
"Those four people you lost on that run, that's on you. And Noah, that's on you, too. Those five lives, you have to carry that. People like you are supposed to be dead, but these walls went up just in time, so you're not... You don't go outside those walls anymore. Not by yourself, not with anyone else. And that's how you're gonna survive."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" He said back to Glenn
"Hey. Is there a problem?" I stepped around the door but was met with Glenn putting his hand on my chest, stopping me from coming closer
"I'm someone who knows who you are." Glenn continued talking to him "I know what you did. And it's not gonna happen again."
"I've been protecting this place, helping provide for it. You just got here." The guy said, raising his voice to intimidate him
"Don't forget what I said." Glenn stared him down, not phased at all
"Are you threatening me?" The guy said
Even I know he won't do anything... If he does it'll be running to Deanna to lie more
Glenn chuckled in his face "No. I'm saving you."
"Alright" I pushed Glenn a little and he walked in the direction I pushed him "What are you doing? I told you last night"
"And I had to let him know that I know what kind of person he is" he said back to me
"Fair but he could go running to Deanna and only ruin things even more. Plus guys like that can be unpredictable. I hope you think about it before doing something like that again" I tapped his shoulder a few times "I'm gonna walk around and try to be helpful"
"Good idea but you still constantly feel a need to be helpful" He nodded to me
"You could say that..."
~~~
"No no, there's no need for that"
"I insist"
"Ma'am"
"I insist" My neighbor doubled down, offering me some food that she made "It's mostly vegetables but we have plenty of those in the pantry so take it"
"Okay" I gave in, calmly taking the pan from her until there was a loud crashing noise
"What was that?" She asked, almost dropping everything to run off... I would to if I didn't feel I have some obligation here to see what it was
"I'll check it out and I will be back for this, I promise" I handed the pot back to her then jogged down the road. As I got closer I heard more and more commotion
That was until I seen Glenn and a few others running in the same direction. I was going to yell for him and ask what was going on but after taking a few more steps I seen a crowd gathered and Rick... Rolling around in the street fighting who I can only assume to be Pete, the man that was beating his wife
So then I went from urgently trying to figure out what was going on to not really caring and nearly walking away, letting Rick give the man what he deserved
The two of them struggled, Rick punched him a few times then Pete rolled over on top and started choking him, their faces all bloodied up probably from launching themselves out of the living room window of this house.
Petes wife tried to slip in and stop Pete but he countered by waving his arm back, hitting her across the face and knocking her to the ground. That pissed Rick off even more and he took the opportunity to punch Pete and roll over so he was the one on top, choking out Pete. Carl then yelled at his dad, telling him to get off and stop but Rick just pushed him away
Pete threw a punch but it didn't land because Rick quickly rolled off and behind him, yanking him into a tight chokehold
"Stop it" Deanna yelled as she tried to catch her breath from running all the way here "Stop it, right now"
"Touch them again and I'll kill you" Rick whispered in Pete's ear... Still refusing to let go
"DAMN IT RICK" Deanna yells even louder "I said stop"
Just as a few of the guys were about to step in and pull him off Rick let go of Pete "Or what?" He pulled a revolver from the back of his pants, stopping the few that were about to step in "You wanna kick me out?"
"Put that gun down Rick" Deanna said, holding her hands up, trying to defuse him
"You still don't get it" He yelled while waving the gun around, aiming at a few people "NONE OF YOU DO" He looked around "We know what needs to be done and we do it... We're the ones who live... You, you just sit and plan and hesitate. You pretend like you know BUT YOU DONT. You wish things weren't what they are. Well you wanna live? You want this place to stay standing? Your way of doing things is done. Things don't get better because you WANT them to. Starting right now, we have to live in the REAL world, we have to control who lives here"
"That's never been more clear to me then it is right now" Deanna said, showing some of that anger that she displayed to Rick earlier when he wanted to do something about Pete
Rick quickly turned to her "Me? You mean me? Your way is gonna destroy this place. It's gonna get people killed, it's already gotten people killed and I'm not gonna stand by and just let it happen, if you don't fight you die. IM NOT GONNA STAND BY AND...
Before he could utter a note word Michonne came by faster than anyone could react and hit him over the head, immediately knocking him unconscious
Instead of people cheering or something they all just started walking away, refusing to say a word about what they just witnessed
Since he was out cold the guys that were going to intervene picked up Rick and carried him into another building followed by Michonne
"I don't understand why he would do this" Glenn said, stopping next to me
"He was beating his wife" I faced him, his eyes quickly widening my words "Rick went to Deanna about it and she knew... She refused to do anything because the guy is a surgeon"
"Oh" was all he had to say and I totally understand why
"You're married. I was married... You know what that is like to love someone so much that your willing to spend the rest of your life with them. He was hurting the one that is supposed to be his other half, the mother of his kids. That isn't right in any world because I know she doesn't deserve that"
"So you agree with what Rick said?" He asked, just trying to see where my head is
"I'll have to process all of what he said" I chuckled "As for the beating he just put on that man... I one hundred percent agree with that"
"Same here" He tapped my back "Hey. Is that the little girl you were looking for earlier?"
"Where?" I looked around until a saw Enid standing next to Carl "It is her. She really just disappears and appears whenever"
"I know nothing about that" He gave me a small nod then walked away. Guess that means he'll leave me alone so I can talk to her
"Y/n" Enid called out as she walked up to me since I was still standing here "This belongs to you"
"Wh... Thank you" I said as I took the little sun pin from her
"I took it off of that book bag you had hanging up in your kitchen. It looked really familiar but after a few hours of looking at it I couldn't remember anything"
"But...
"Nothing" She cut off Carl
"Well then" I chuckled, looking at the pin a few times then held it out to her "Keep it... Make the memories that you may have been looking for when you took it"
"Thank you" She smiled but that quickly faded when she didn't know what to do with it next
"Here. Let me see it one more time" I took her from her then tugged at the strap on her book bag "Fine with it being here?"
"Yes" She nodded
"There you go" I put the pin on her book bag then took a few steps back "Take care of that thing"
"I will... Thanks" She nodded to me then gave me a small was as she walked away
That pin was Dawns... I remember the day I bought it for her, she also made a big deal out of her passing it down to our daughter. It made me somehow love her even more because even though we were already married and had a kid, it proved to me yet again that she looked forward to our future. A future that unfortunately didn't get to happen.
But enough about that... I should do what dream Dawn encouraged me to do and that's stop dwelling in the past. I guess that's why I was so willing to give the pin to Enid.
I'd say that's one step taken or at least another one...
Tons more to go.
~~~
"Deanna wanted you in here, calm things down."
"And I came here and see what the hell was going on" I said after allowing Michonne to talk "I understand the beating his ass completely but that whole monologue you said afterwards. You mentioned these people don't get it, so all of that... That just scared them" I said to him but didn't get a response while he sat there on the bed, looking at the wall "Well... Rosita patched you up, and stole majority of whatever candy I had left"
"Carl also came by for a while. I sent him home." Michonne spoke up again "Rick. What are you doing?" She didn't get a response either "We put Pete in another house. You could have told me what was happening."
"It moved fast. And then Noah." He shrugged, now facing Michonne "I couldn't tell you about the gun. Neither of you"
"No, you couldn't." Michonne said, angry about now and recent events
"Oh, you wanted this place... Both of you did" He nodded to me and Michonne
"We had to stop being out there." Michonne replied
"Well, we're here."
"Well, you just said you weren't." She nodded, ignoring Glenn and Carol coming through the door "Where'd you get the gun?"
"You took it, right? From the armory?" Carol said, cutting to the chase "That was stupid. Why did you do it?"
"Just in case." Rick nodded his head side to side, there was a little hesitation in his answer
"Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight. For anyone who wants to...
"To kick Rick out?" Abraham said as he stood in the doorway
"To try." Carol added
"We don't know that." Glenn yelled "Maggie's with Deanna right now. She's gonna find out what it is."
"Speaking of Deanna I have to go too" I took a few to the door
Carol took a deep breath "At the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took a gun just to be sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever you want them to. Just tell them a story that they want to hear. It's what I've been doing since I got here." She looked at everyone then to me
"Why?" Michonne curiously asked
"Because these people are children and children like stories." Carol raised her eyebrows
"And because it's actually part of the truth" I inserted then walked out of the building and down the road
I thought all of this was going to be easy. Deanna told me that I'd basically just have to be myself and use my experience but yesterday and this morning proved to me that all of this is gonna be way more than just talking my way through things
"Mags" I gently rested my hand on her back so I didn't startle her "Anything?"
"None yet" she said, looking at me for a second then back out the window
"That Gabriel?" I whispered as I looked out the window with her
"Mmhm" She nodded
"I should go push him in the pond he's standing next to"
"Don't joke" She turned her eyes away from the window, giving me a pissed stare
"Sorry" I backed away, knowing better than poking Maggie over and over while she's pissed
"Maggie, hey. She's out on the porch." Deanna husband, Reg led us out onto the porch
"What do you need to talk about, Maggie? Y/n?" Deanna said in an annoyed tone
"The meeting tonight." Maggie stared at Deanna, not going to back down just because Deanna's upset
"Maggie, if we could talk...
Deanna cut off her husband "I want to talk to everyone about what happened and what we need to do about it."
"If it includes sending Rick away, it's not gonna work." Maggie said sternly
"Tell me what that means." Deanna stared back at Maggie, obviously only asking because of what Gabriel said to her a few days ago
"You let Rick in. You let all of us in." Maggie made a great point. Another reason why I'm choosing to stay quiet "You talked to us. You decided. And now you want to put that decision on a group of very frightened people who might not have the whole story. That's not leadership."
"Tonight is just a forum." Reg said to help clarify
"And what does that mean?" I asked because what the hell
"It's just for people to say their piece." He extra clarified for me
"And I'll make the decision as I've done since the beginning." Deanna continued to stare at Maggie. It's obvious now that Gabriel's words are running through her head
She's thinking that everything Gabriel said to her is coming true. I heard Gabriel too and I see what she's seeing but his words are what she's thinking of, she isn't seeing that our group sticks together and we're protecting Rick who also knows what the hell is going on out there
"He was frustrated." Maggie said to Deanna about Rick "The things he's seen. The things he's lost. The things we have all lost."
"The things you've lost?" Deanna questioned her
"We've lost so much more." I added
"Rick took a gun and he pointed it at people."
"He didn't pull the trigger."
"That's a metric? That he didn't pull the trigger?"
"Yes." Maggie nodded
"Michonne stopped him, Deanna." Reg intervened as things were starting to heat up "Michonne did." He said again. She must've told him what Gabriel said
"I'm gonna do what I have to do, Maggie." She shook her head then turned away so the conversation was over
Maggie scoffed then quickly walked down the porch stairs
"Maggie." I yelled
"Maggie" Reg yelled running in front of me to Maggie "Maggie" He yelled again so she stopped "Look, Maggie. The cavemen, they were all nomads. And they all died. Then we evolved into this and we lived. Civilization starts when we stop running. When we live together. When we stop sending people away from the world and from each other. That's what I'm going to tell her. That's what I'm going to tell everyone. Okay?"
"Okay" I tapped his shoulder as I passed by following behind Maggie "Mags"
"Yeah" She went from a fast-paced walk to slowing down so I could catch up without running
"Hey you shouldn't be so upset. I know how all of this looks but we shouldn't rush to things"
"I think it's clear that what Gabriel said is still on her mind" she said, a lot calmer than she was a minute ago
"Remember that we may have more on our side then theirs"
"You haven't talked to enough people here to know that" She lightly chuckled then we locked eyes with Glenn down the road "I have an idea"
"Run it by him" I pointed at Glenn since she seemed eager
"I will"
We continued walking until we got closer to Glenn and I greeted him by slapping his back
"You met with her?" He asked both I and Maggie
"Yeah." I nodded, sitting down next to him
"So what is it?"
"It's what we thought." He nodded, stuffing her hands in her pockets "But I've got an idea. I'm gonna talk to people. I'll talk to everyone I can right up until the meeting. I'm gonna try to solve this." She nodded, confident in her idea but she didn't get much of a response from Glenn "What? What?" She sat down next to him
He reached over, resting his hand on her leg "I love you."
"I love you too" I quickly said, making the both of them laugh out loud for the first time in awhile
"We're gonna work it out. I know it." Maggie said to him, smiling as she stood back up "I'll see you there."
"Yeah." He nodded
"Alright come on" She waved to me "We've got some convincing to do"
"Let's get to it"
~~~
"Oh... Didn't know you had...
"Company?" Rosita finished with a smile spread across her face "It's not like you showed up at my house"
"Fair point" I waved my hand at her "You know why I came here"
"Your jar"
"My jar" I nodded while holding out my hand
"Looks like you already found something" Rosita licked her thumb then wiped it on my cheek "You've got something on you face"
"Oh yeah. Carol had...
Rosita sucked whatever she wiped off my face "Chocolate chips cookies. Didn't think having those again was possible"
"Carol found a way" I shrugged "She has a way of doing things"
"She's not the only one" She stared while she took a few quiet steps up to me
"Ehh... I'm only good at CERTAIN things" I quickly backed away, knocking over a pan that was on the table
"Whoops" She chuckled, looking over to Abraham and Eugene before she kneeled down to pick it up
"Things still rocky with them?" I whispered to her
"They aren't like you" Rosita whispered back as she stood up "Abraham has... Feelings, about what happened. Remember? He lied, you and Abraham were more pissed than anyone but when we met back up with Rick you were fine but Abraham wasn't"
"Yeah" I nodded while looking at Abraham and Eugene talking next to Tara "How's she doing?"
"Better" Rosita nodded, trying to stay confident that Tara will wake up and be perfectly fine
"I'll stop by to visit her soon" I smiled a little "Now I request my jar please"
"Right" She leaned over, picking up my jar and handing it to me
"Thank you and I will see you later because I have a meeting to attend"
"When it's over I trust you will come back and tell me if Ricks getting kicked out or something" She raised her eyebrows, giving me a serious stare
"He's not getting sent away... But I will let you know"
~~~
"So do you think what we did was enough?"
"I'm not sure"
"We're going to start." Deanna said suddenly
"Can we wait?" I asked because we're not ready enough to start
Maggie stepped forward "There's still people coming. Glenn, Rick."
"We're going to start." Deanna ignored her "It's already dark. We're going to talk about what happened. Not the fight. Not what precipitated it. We're dealing with that. We're going to talk about one of our constables, Rick Grimes. We're going to talk about how he had a pistol he stole from the armory, about how he pointed it at people. And we're going to talk about what he said. I was hoping he'd be here."
"She said he's coming." Michonne said in a tired tone... It's nighttime and I'm sure like the rest of us, she just wants to go to her house and sleep
"I'm sure he'll be here." Carol spoke up, continuing to play a role like she mentioned earlier "And I'm sure we can work this all out."
"I understand a lot of have things to say" Reg, Deanna's husband said, looking only at our group
"I'll go" Michonne stood up
"Let's keep what you're saying short. I'm sure no one wants to be out here all night"
"Okay well, long story short. After being out there and then not being how you were out there... it can drive you crazy. Rick just wants his family to live. He wants all of you to live. Who he is, is who you're gonna be... if you're lucky" Michonne stared at Deanna
"Rick Grimes saved my life over and over." Carol said as she stood up because no one else did immediately "There's terrifying people out there and he rescued me from them. People like me, people like us need people like him. I know what happened last night was scary... And I'm sure he's sorry for that. But maybe we should listen to what he was saying." She nodded then sat down just as Michonne did when she was done
"Not sugar coded... Simply put" Abraham said as he stood up "There is a vast ocean of shit you people don't know shit about. Rick knows every fine grain of said shit... and then some... That's all"
"I'm gonna keep it short... Like everyone else has" I stepped up "Rick is a fighter. He wasn't made a cop here for no reason. From the moment I met him he has constantly looked out for those that were in this group and now that we're here, a part of this community that means he'll look out for you. Like Carol said, earlier might've been a little scary but one the one hand what he did was to protect a woman and her family and on the other hand is what he said... He was holding the gun because he wanted to be heard, he wanted you all to listen to something you wouldn't have heard from anyone else. I'm not the smartest person by any means but I believe that's called tough love"
After I finished Maggie then stepped out from the crowd a little and took a deep breath "My father respected Rick Grimes. Rick is a father, too. He's a man with a good heart who feels the things he does, the things he has to do. And all of us who were together before this place, no matter when we found each other, we're family now. Rick started that. And you won't stop it. You can't. And you don't want to. This community, you people... that family... you want to be a part of it, too."
"Before we hear from anyone else, I-- I would like to share something in the spirit of transparency." Deanna started walking around the circle "Father Gabriel came to see me the day before yesterday and he said our new arrivals can't be trusted, that they were dangerous, that they would put themselves before this community and not one day later, Rick seemed to demonstrate all the things Father Gabriel said. I had hoped Gabriel would be here tonight."
"I don't see him here, Deanna." The woman that Rick was fighting to protect earlier spoke up "So you're just saying what someone said. Did you tape him?"
"He's not here." Maggie said
"Neither is Rick." Deanna quickly shot back, basically saying since we're dismissing Gabriel's words that the words said for Rick should also be dismissed
"Excuse me." Maggie shook her head then quickly walked away just as she did earlier
"Mag..." I stopped because she was already gone
I wanted to chase after her but I need to stay here, I need to make sure Rick still has supporters here because it seems Deanna has already made her decision
"Would anyone else like to speak?" Reg asked, thankfully lacking what Deanna seemed to have going through her head
"Me" One of the community members said as he stood up "I just want to keep my family safe. You know? And I don't even know what that means anymore, but if it means that we've got to get rid of--
"Rick?" I said, everyone stopping and looking at me until a woman gasped loudly because Rick came into the area carrying a walker then threw it on the ground right in the middle so all could see
"There wasn't a guard on the gate." He yelled, out of breath and his face covered in blood "It was open."
"I asked Gabriel to close it." Deanna's son defended himself because she was now staring at him
"Go." She yelled at him so he ran off
"I didn't bring it in. It got inside on its own." Rick walked around the body so he could look at everyone "They always will-- the dead and the living, because we're in here. And the ones out there... They'll hunt us. They'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us... But we'll kill them. We'll survive. I'll show you how... You know, I was thinking-- I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives? But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change. I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. You're not ready, but you have to be. Right now, you have to be. Luck runs out."
And just as he was starting to make a point and everyone was listening... Luck did run out "You're not one of us. You're not one of us" The man Rick put a beating on yelled as he walked up to us holding Michonne's sword
"Pete, you don't want to do this." Reg ran up, stopping him before he got to anyone
"Get the hell away from me, Reg." He yelled back
"Pete, just stop." Someone else yelled to him
"Get away from me."
"Reg. Reg."
"Not now." Carol whispered to Rick
"Get away. Get away" They continued to yell at each other for a few seconds more... Because that all came to an end when Pete went to push Reg off him, but instead of using his hands he had the sword raised... When he pushed Reg off him he also pulled the sword back with force, immediately slicing Regs neck
Deanna screamed along with everyone else "No, no! Oh, no, no"
None of us could've guessed this would happen. The most that I assumed would be that the guy gets knocked out again for walking up with a sword that also wasn't his
Abraham was the quickest and first to react, by immediately tackling Pete to the ground
"This is him This is him" He continued to yell as if Rick drew the sword
Deanna did yell for husband but after about a minute or so crying she realized there was nothing she could do. She was going to lose yet another member of her family in the same week
"Rick..." She said, he turning to look at her quickly "...do it."
And so he did... Without even a ounce of thought Rick whipped out a pistol he had and shot Pete in the head
"Rick?" A man that just showed up standing next to Daryl who also just showed up
"Abraham" Rick said to him
"Yeah" Abraham stood up and looked at Deanna
"You all should head home" I looked at each person and all but the people in our group were absolutely shocked
A few people agreed and left immediately while the other few people wanted to stay, mostly because they wanted to check on Deanna
"I'm out of here too" I nodded to Daryl as I passed by him
As of now I don't know what to do at all. Considering what just happened I don't think I will be going to sleep anytime soon and it has nothing to do with my inexperience in this new world. I'm not going to have nightmares about it by any means, I just know that I'll be losing some sleep tonight
"Hm" I hummed, stopping outside the clinic or whatever they call where we take the sick an injured
I should let Rosita know what's going on but I don't know if I want to burden her right now with this kind of news. She'll obviously find out in the morning but maybe I could spare her
I should still say something because I said I'll stop by afterwards
"Fine" I turned an walked up to the building then was greeted by the door already open and Maggie with Glenn on the inside "Rosita here?" I said as I walked in
"Here" Rosita put a hand up as she turned around "What's up?"
"Um...
"That" She nodded, probably reading the look on my face "Eugene finished catching me up right before you got in here"
"Oh okay" I chuckled as I felt some relief
"I hear you're the only person that hasn't visited me"
"Tara" I grinned as I walked up to her "You're feeling better?"
"Pretty much" She nodded
"Sorry I didn't visit but I was going to. Right Rosita?"
"They mentioned it earlier, yes" Rosita nodded, backing me up then turned back to Nicholas, the guy that I seen Glenn talking to the other day
"Also" I pointed at Glenn and Nicholas "You guys look like shit"
"That's what I said" Tara laughed with us
"Great minds think alike" I nudged her then took a deep breath "It seems like you guys plates are full and I'm tired, so peace" I clapped my hands together then waved as I went out the open door... Heading home
"Hey" Rosita yelled, making me stop "You walk fast"
"Got places to be" I joked
"Yeah" She nodded "Are you okay? I noticed you aren't super chatty"
"I'm fine" I chuckled "The day has been long but what really got me was seeing Rick shoot that guy like that. I know he deserved it and all but something about the way it just looked doesn't sit right with me... Or at least it just made me feel uneasy. I'm not new to seeing people shot but all of this new worldly stuff is...
"Different" Rosita finished
"Yeah"
"You'll eventually get used to it" She spoke out of experience "You're going home right? Do you want me to come by when I'm done here?"
"I'd like that" I walked up to her, holding my arms out then giving her a hug "Thanks Rosita"
"Yup" She smiled at me as she let go "I'll remember to knock first"
"You better" I waved a finger at her, the both of us walking backwards different directions
"Don't walk backwards into that pond" She pointed
"Good point" I nodded to her then turned around, facing the pond but also seeing something else "Carl?"
"Not quite" The voice yelled back
"Ah... Enid" I yelled but didn't get a response so I walked down the hill towards her "I see you stole by idea. I wanted to sit over here and stare at the water"
"I was here first" She either laughed or scoffed
"Jokes aside" I climbed up onto the dock, overlooking the water "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
"Nothing" She continued opening, lighting then closing a lighter over and over again
"Yeah me either" I sat down next to her, looking at both the night sky and the water "My mother-in-law used to have damn near the same area in her backyard. She had awesome views of both the sky and a pond. Me, my ex-wife, and our daughter used to pester her so many times during our few summers together as the three amigos. That was the nickname I had for our little family and Dawn absolutely loved it."
"Dawn" Enid said
"Oh yeah... My ex-wife's name" I laughed, taking in the scenery for a few more seconds "Alright Enid" I stood up "If it's anything I fully understand it's this, I'll give you your space but still... Let me know if you need anything"
"Okay" She responded, still messing around with the lighter
"Goodnight" I said, not expecting a response while I walked back up to the Main Street
And since I'm alone again I'm thinking about what happened earlier. The best I can do is try to think positively because one a bad man was taken care of today... He won't hurt anyone anymore and second...
Tomorrow is a new day.