A/N
hi!!! if you are reading this as someone who has been an active reader since i started this story i highly recommend you go back and re-read the prelude and the end of chapter three before continuing the story!
I changed the storyline and recast a TON of characters! happy reading :]
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❝ 𝖨 𝖶𝖮𝖭'𝖳 𝖠𝖭𝖭𝖮𝖴𝖭𝖢𝖤 𝖬𝖸 𝖲𝖧𝖤𝖤𝖱 𝖣𝖤𝖲𝖢𝖤𝖭𝖳,
𝖡𝖴𝖳 𝖧𝖮𝖫𝖸 𝖥𝖴𝖢𝖪 𝖳𝖧𝖤𝖱𝖤 𝖶𝖨𝖫𝖫 𝖡𝖤 𝖲𝖨𝖦𝖭𝖲. . ❞
Ross and Michonne managed to hobble to the prison before the sun set. There was walkers surrounding the gate, so Michonne fended them off while Ross tried to catch the attention of Rick and Daryl in the distance. By the time they had arrived, Michonne was in just as bad of shape as he was; her injured leg was weighing her down more than she was letting on.
"Rick! Daryl!" He screams, banging on the fence as he holds his wound. He could tell they noticed him immediately, and it gave him deja vu to when he first arrived. As soon as he knew they were on their way, he pulled out the knife he brought with him to help Michonne fend off walkers as best he could.
He had killed a couple before the gate was thrown open and Daryl firing a couple of bolts from his crossbow before Ross feels someone grab him, quickly recognizing the person as Rick. He was dragged inside the gates somewhat aggressively, but he somewhat recognized Michonne being left behind in the flurry of movement.
"Come on, Michonne!" He yells, reaching for the woman and grabbing Rick's shoulder to beg him to hold the gate for her. "Come on!"
She whips around to look at him, her face washing over with relief as she shuffles in just as the gate slaps closed.
The four stand silent for a few seconds, catching their breath as walkers gather around the gate. Ross hisses and feels his shirt, looking down to see that his wound hadn't bled through the shirt but was definitely wetting the bandage.
Rick approaches his nephew, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. Ross knew what he was looking for, as the man just lost his wife, and nodded in return. It was only him and Carl and the baby left.
"You're okay?" Rick asks as he scans him up and down.
Ross huffs a shaky breath, "Yeah, my cut opened and I need Hershel to look at it but I think I'll be fine. Glenn and Maggie were taken," He stops talking to look over at Michonne. "She saved my life and she knows everything I don't about, uh..."
"Merle." She cuts in and looks between the two men. The name makes them both reel back in something of shock and disgust. A man named Merle abducted two of your people to take to a town called Woodbury."
"Come— Come inside," Rick mutters, bringing an arm around Ross to help him up to the inside of the prison. Daryl follows behind Michonne wearily, his normal defensive scowl somehow intensified as they make their way into the cell block that their group occupied.
The inside of the prison felt different than it had when Ross had left. Maybe it was just the absence of the two closest friends he'd made so far, but something told him there was something else he'd missed. Everyone's eyes were shifty, hesitating around Rick like he was a loose grenade.
Ross quickly sat down at one of the tables as Beth approached him, her father hot on her tail. "What happened? Where's Glenn and Maggie?"
"They were abducted by a man named Merle," Rick informs the group, quickly directing Hershel to assist Ross as he eyes Michonne suspiciously. "Some of us know him from before we were at the farm. He's Daryl's brother."
That makes Ross' head shoot up, eyes wide as he looks at Daryl. He's tempted to comment on the lack of resemblance, but air on his wound makes him hiss and snaps him out of his minute thought. "I got lucky. I would've been food if it wasn't for Michonne." He defends her and catches his Uncle's eyes. "She's trustworthy."
Rick and Daryl take Michonne's weapons from her, fairly enough, and urge her to explain just how she knew where Merle was going. Ross looks over at Hershel as he unloads their scarce medical supplies and feels guilty for opening his wound.
The older man gives him a small smile. "Let me stitch this up again. It might hurt a bit, just bite your sleeve."
Ross knew that was coming, sighing as he turns away and bites down on the sleeve of his jacket as Hershel starts stitching. Luckily enough, that's when Michonne tells her story.
"I was with a friend of mine, a woman named Andrea when he showed up. Merle is who found us and took us back to Woodbury." She pauses and looks around at them, "They're nothing like you or me. They couldn't defend themselves if their walls went down. A man who calls himself the Governor runs the place."
"Do these people know he's sending his men to take hostages?" Rick rebuttals, his eyes the same shape of doubt.
Michonne shakes her head. "No. Like I said, they're oblivious. But I can help you get in and get your people back."
Rick nods, and looks over at his nephew. Ross prepares himself for a storm of questions, tense against the needle dipping in and out of his skin.
"Does that sound like what she's said to you?" He asks the teenager. Ross looks at Michonne, the exhausted woman subtly begging him to corroborate.
"Yeah. She saved my life, Rick. All I had was my knife and I was bleeding. Merle somehow didn't notice I was there. Plus," Ross stops, waving his hand at the bag he'd dropped on his way in. "There's no way I could have that gotten back without her."
Rick walks over to the bag and rips it open, pausing when he sees baby formula. Beth sees it as well, sending Ross a small smile. She was currently his biggest supporter.
Rick, Daryl, and Michonne begin talking about something else entirely, and Ross tunes back out in favor of talking to Carl.
"Hey, how's the baby?" He asks his little cousin.
Carl shrugs, looking back at where the crib was. "She's good. I'm glad you got the formula back."
"It's because of her. I was terrified, Michonne is a badass." Ross laughs softly and Carl smiles. Hershel does as well.
"I'll tell you, she seems like she knows what she's doing." The older man says as he closes the suture to his wound, wrapping something around it. Ross remembers Michonne's leg.
"Treat her, she has an injured leg. I can't tell if it's a stab or a gunshot, but it's pretty bad." Ross says to Hershel who looks over at the woman. The bottom of her pant leg was incredibly bloodied at this point.
The white-haired man walks away, and Ross stands up slowly to go get the other t-shirt he keeps in the bottom of his bag in his cellblock when he feels someone grab his arm— Beth. The girl smiles at him, and he can't help but smile back. "I'll help you."
"Thanks," He replies, letting her guide him to his cell even though he didn't need too much of the help she had to offer. With Maggie missing he figured someone should keep an eye on her sister anyways.
He sits down on the stiff bed, her sitting directly across, and digs through his bag to find the shirt. When he finally finds it, he holds it up to look at it and scoffs, shaking his head.
"What is it, Ross?" Beth asks, peeking her head around the shirt to look at him.
He flips it around, showing her the switch blade displayed on the shirt, with the 'Fall Out Boy' logo plastered next to it. "Quite ironic."
She laughs and shakes her head at his comment, crossing her arms as he takes off his shirt to change. He doesn't notice the blush dusting her cheeks until he's pushing his hair out of his face and doesn't pay it much mind. "Do you know what they're up to out there? I don't wanna go back out."
Leaning out of the cell a bit, Beth shakes her head as the adults plan something. "Not sure. They look like they're about to go leave, though. Rick, Daryl, the new girl and that really tall guy... I forget his name."
"Oscar?" Ross tilts his head in question. Beth nods in agreement before sitting back down.
" Rick is walking over." She whispers. It's times like this that Ross realizes they are still teenagers, with how quickly he tries to fix his posture.
Rick leans against the cell door and looks at Ross and Beth, before his eyes settle on Ross. "I need you and Carol to watch over everyone while we're out. But I want you to keep an especially close eye on Carl."
"Of course. Be safe, Rick. Something feels really off about this whole Woodbury thing." Ross scowls with his hands over his abdomen, remembering the image of Maggie being held against that man.
Daryl grunts as he slings his crossbow over his shoulder. "What does that mean?"
Ross looks to the side as Beth observes the conversation, and stands up to walk towards the two grown men. "I mean that Merle had her pinned to the ground with a knife to her neck," he says low. "He might be your brother but he's dangerous and he's going to hurt them, or he already has."
Daryl just looks at him before stalking off presumably to Carol. Ross is left with an obtuse look from Rick. "Thank you for making sure the formula got back."
Ross nods. "Be safe. If you don't come back I don't know what we'll do. Especially with the baby—"
"Judith," Rick cuts him off with a small smile. "Carl named her Judith."
Ross nods softly. "That's pretty."
"Ross, you know you're one of us. You're a Grimes. You've been a Grimes since you spent everyday under our roof while your father was off ignoring your mother. If I ever don't come back, you have to look after Carl and Judith. Okay?" Rick grasps his shoulder in a brief moment of family, something so brief and meaningful in these times. Ross only nods and avoids the man's eyes, not wanting to let him see the tears forming in his.
Rick bid him goodbye and caught up with the leaving group, as they set off for a mysterious community to save Maggie and Glenn.
—
They didn't know when the four would be back, but they didn't dare to step outside of the cell block. With the configuration of people left they weren't helpless, but they weren't at their strongest. Ross made sure he was close to Carl or Judith at all times, often watching Beth and Carol converse about the baby supplies.
Ross watched his cousin with intent curiosity. The younger boy was only thirteen and acted as if he was supposed to play a role akin to his father's. It made Ross' stomach roll, especially remembering what Carl had to do to his mother.
His cell was close enough to the baby that he could lay down for a bit, just wallowing in his thoughts. Although he was now with a group of people, his own family as well, he still felt the heavy loneliness he did when the roads of Georgia were all he had. The feeling wasn't nearly as pungent, but it definitely lingered and left a familiar sour taste in his mouth. Boredom takes over again and he shifts on the uncomfortable mattress, accidentally knocking his foot into his bag and letting it spill onto the end of the bed.
Random possessions of both use and of a time forgotten are laid in front of him; a pen from an old summer camp, a small black notebook, a blue water bottle, and a pile of bracelets and necklaces belonging to both his mother and best friend. He picks up a particular bracelet that catches an eye— bright blue cord braided around pink beads. Images of it clasped around his mother's wrist come back to him, this was her favorite bracelet. The one she gave him before he left her to rot. Silently he vows to himself to never take it off again.
Something else catches his eye, just barely sticking out of the bag. A dirty white cover with purple accents, black text, he recognizes the cover as soon as he turns it over. The collection of greek plays stares back at him, Alcestis and The Heracleidae now reimagined once again. It makes him smile as he recalls the plays fondly. They had been a comfort to him all throughout high school, and the first few weeks of the end. It had been a while since he revisited them, and he almost opens the book to see them once again. Key word, almost.
Beth appears at his cell door with the baby and smiles down at him. Her eyes scan over all of his possessions. "What's all this?"
"Just... stuff. What I have left of my life compressed into, jewelry." Ross holds up a handful of bracelets, smiling at the girl. She laughs softly.
"Why don't you give Judith one, then? Give her something of the Grime's name." Beth half-jokes, but Ross scans his eyes over the pile for a specific bracelet. There was one his mom had that was matching with Lori. He found it, holding up a yellow pull-tie bracelet with a half heart in the middle. He stands up, looking down at the baby and at Beth.
He slides it onto her small wrist, pulling it softly, just enough to keep it from sliding around too much. "My mom and Lori had matching ones. I don't know where Lori's half of the heart is, but Judith deserves a little piece of her mother."
It's silent between the two teenagers for a moment, Beth's soft eyes looking into his. She opens her mouth to respond but is cut off by a yell from Carol.
"Ross!" His name startles him, and he apologizes to Beth as he pushes past her to make his way to the common area, where the voices were coming from. He was met with his cousin, Carol, Hershel, and a group of people he'd never seen before.
"What..?" Ross trails off as his hand comes to his side, steadying on his knife. "How'd you get in?"
"Ross, it's okay. I helped them. They got in through a breach in the wall." Carl steps in. The older boy looks down at him, his face twisted in confusion.
"Carl, what?" He grabs his shoulders. "You just went off, pranced around? You can't go off alone!"
"Well, I did! And I helped them!" Carl pushes back. He storms away from Ross, going to sit opposite the new people. Carol had a gun in her hand in case of any emergency, but there was enough of them that they could be easily overpowered.
Ross approaches the people, eyeing them up and down. There were six of them standing before him, seemingly two families just trying to survive. There was an older man and his son, both of a fair-sunburnt complexion due to the heat outside. The somewhat peeling skin of theirs made him remember his own days under the southern heat. The other four seemed to be a group of siblings, or cousins. All with dark complexions, the oldest being tall and wearing a beanie, armed with a hammer. Next was a woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun, and she seemed to be guarding the youngest two. Behind her stood a girl, about his own height, with dreadlocks and a scar running along the side of her face. The other person was a boy who could only be a few years younger than him, with shorter hair and wearing only a white tank top. He held a small knife in his shaking hand.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. None of us are going to hurt you." Ross lifts his hand off his knife, putting more trust in these people than he'd ordinarily like. "You just— My cousin let you in, but it's not our decision to make. My uncle's in charge, but he's off saving some of our people right now. I'm gonna have to lock all of you away from our people until he's back." He pauses, turning around and motioning for Carol to walk forward with the keys. "It's just a precaution—"
"We understand," The tallest man speaks. "Thank you for letting us stay in here while we wait, at least. I'm Tyreese, this is my sister Sasha, and our cousins Zoe and Alfie. That's our friend Allen and his son Ben. The woman who died was his wife, Donna..." Tyreese trails off, nodding slightly at Ross.
The younger pauses before nodding in response. "I'm sorry for your loss. But we need to wait for my uncle to come back so we can sort this out."
The youngest boy spoke up meekly, his knife now back in it's holster. "Will he let us stay?" He asks. Ross knew he couldn't guarantee a yes.
"I don't know. He's, uh..." Ross feels Carol grab his shoulder, and he knows he should probably shut up. "Sorry, just. Take a seat." He finishes, spinning around to walk with Carol. The older woman looks at him with concern.
"Can you watch them?" He asks. "I wanna talk to Carl."
"Yes, I can. And good, please go talk to him." Carol smiles, gentle. "I think he needs it."
Ross nods as he walks away, smiling at Carol. He got extremely lucky with the people he'd met at the prison. A mental note is stored in the back of his mind to talk to Carol more as he approaches Carl.
"Listen, Carl, I understand how you feel," Ross starts but can't finish his sentence due to the boy cutting him off.
"No, you don't." Carl huffs. "You didn't have to kill Lori. You didn't have to kill anyone, you don't get it."
The words made Ross stop dead in his tracks. It felt as if his blood went cold in his veins. Carl didn't know what he had to do, what his life was in the months between the end and when he saw the Grimes again. The stupid, still-a-teenager side of his brain told him to just scream at Carl until the boy understood. But the side of him that knew they had to count on each other brought him to his senses.
"Carl, look. I had to kill my mom too." Carl's head shoots up when Ross finally says it. "It was kill her or let her be torn apart by the dead, so I did what I had to do. That's why I understand you, we both did what we had to do. So when you feel like you're alone, and you're the only person in the world who can help yourself, remember I am here. I will have your back when no one else does, because we're cousins!" Ross ends with a breath. He didn't realize how loud he got, or how the rest of the prison went quiet.
Carl only looks up at him with eyes that Ross can recognize as the boy he used to know. "Brothers." He mumbles softly.
"What?"
"We're brothers, Ross. That's what I think." Carl smiles and Ross can tell he's nervous to say it. The older boy would never admit that's what he's always thought, even years before, when Carl was seven and he was twelve.
"Yeah, Brothers. Now come here," He smiles wide and hugs Carl like he was never going to see him again, because in reality, he never knew when that day would come.
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WOW! okay p hefty chapter lol!!
pls enjoy n cmt/vote if u did :3