Rio sat opposite Carl at the dinner table, watching as the boy's smile grew when Michonne walked over. He started laughing as she put down her empty bowl and water.
She handed the two boys a bottle of water and raised an eyebrow. "Do you have something to say about my extremely comfortable and attractive shirt?" The woman asked, rolling up her sleeves and crossing her arms.
"No, no, no. It looks great." Carl shook his head.
"You're missing a button." Rio added, pointing to the hole in her shirt. Michonne let out a huff and tied her shirt up, hiding the gap. She pulled out a chair and sat at the head of the table in between them.
"I wish we had some soy milk." She complained, pouring herself some cereals.
"Seriously?" Carl replied.
"Yes, seriously. Have you ever tried it?"
"My best friend in third grade, he was allergic to dairy."
"Uh-huh."
"And everyday he would bring this soy stuff to lunch." The boy answered smugly. "I tried it."
"And?"
"I threw up!"
Rio burst out laughing as Michonne shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, yeah, right." She scoffed.
"All right, all right. I almost threw up. But I was like 'bleugh'—." The boy pretended to throw up, holding his stomach and poking out his tongue. "It was so gross." He laughed. "I mean, literally I would rather have powdered milk than to have to drink that stuff again."
"Must've been bad." Rio smiled.
"Yes! I would rather have Judith's formu—." He cut himself short, the grin falling from his face. He froze for a second before pushing his seat back and excusing himself.
"I'm gonna go finish my book. I have a couple chapters left."
Rio and Michonne sat at the table in silence, quietly eating their breakfasts. The boy kept shooting looks over at her, aware that the woman's eyes were on him.
"Do you think I should go after him?" He asked.
"I'm sure he'll be glad for the company."
"Okay." The boy nodded, setting down his spoon and getting up. He thanked Michonne and headed upstairs, making his way into the bedroom.
***
Michonne led Carl out of the house after calling for him to come downstairs. She was going out and invited him to come, the boy invited Rio too but he shook his head. They walked out of the door, stopping to turn to Rick as he spoke to them. "How long do you think you'll be?" The man asked.
"Fill a couple bags, shouldn't be too long."
"It's 08:15 now." Rio noted, looking down at the watch on Rick's wrist.
"We'll be back by noon." Michonne assured him with a warm smile.
"All right, you follow her lead. You understand?" Rick asked Carl. The boy nodded eagerly and his father gave him his gun, placing it in his hand. He looked down at Carl's face, noticing the traces of a frown on it. "Hey, everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just... hungry."
"All right, I'll see you in a couple hours." Rick said, patting his shoulder. Rio waved them off as they left, watching them walk away.
Rick let out a small sigh and turned to Rio. "Thanks for watching Carl while I was... out."
"It wasn't a problem." He replied. "Believe it or not but I actually like your son." The man smiled down at him and grabbed his shoulder.
"Oh, I believe that. Come on, let's go in." Rick led him inside, closing the door behind them and pushing the couch up against it once more.
Rio looked down at him once the man dropped onto the cushions. "You need to change your shirt." He pointed out.
Rick let out a laugh. "You think?"
"I think it's a little bit ripped." The boy replied, holding his hands close together to show how 'not ripped' Rick's shirt was.
He got up heading for the stairs, Rio followed him up but headed into the other bedroom instead. He looked around for something to do, there was a guitar in the corner but he couldn't play. He knelt before it anyway, unsure of how to hold the instrument properly and just strumming the strings. Rio left it quickly, still couldn't play.
There was a shelf upon the blue walls above the desk. There were trophies and boxes of games stacked upon it. The boy climbed upon the desk to reach it.
Wiping away the dust, he pulled down the first box: a puzzle, the picture on the front showing a rainforest. Rio jumped down from the desk and poured the pieces out onto the floor.
"What was that?" Rick asked, standing in the doorframe, he looked around the room.
"What was what?" Rio looked up at him oddly.
"I heard a bang."
"I just jumped off the desk, that's all."
"Why—." The man began. "Why were you on the desk in the first place?"
"I was grabbing this." Rio replied, pointing at his puzzle as if it was obvious.
Rick nodded along. "I thought you fell or something, I don't know, nevermind."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine."
"I'm fine." The man chuckled before leaving. "Trust me."
"Okay." He nodded, turning his focus back to the puzzle. "Wait Rick—." He stopped the man as he made his way into the hall.
"What is it?"
"Do... Do you think we'll find anyone else?" The boy asked nervously.
Rick nodded. "I'm sure."
"If we find the bus, Glenn will be on there. And Maggie and Beth too, hopefully." Rio pulled on his sleeves, almost holding his breath at the suggestion. He didn't know where anyone else would be, at least with the bus he had something to look out for.
"I'll bring it up with Michonne when she gets back."
"Thanks." He smiled, walking away quickly.
Rio had barely done any of the puzzle when he heard a loud shout, followed by another. He couldn't properly make out their voices or what they were saying but it wasn't Michonne, or Carl, he knew that much.
He hadn't even heard the door open, or the dragging of the couch. How long had they been down there?
Then there was a loud crash and a man's scream.
Rio made sure his shoes were tied and slung his crossbow over his shoulder before he ran over to Rick's room as quietly as he could. The man was lying down on the bed, a book dropped over his chest. Rio placed two hands on his shoulders and tried to shake him awake.
His eyes shot open again at the sound of the man's second scream. He got off the side of the bed silently, kneeling down to Rio's height.
"Get under the bed." He whispered.
"What? What's going on? Who's downstairs?"
Rick pointed underneath the bed as he spoke. "Get under there." He repeated. The man made gestures for the boy as he whispered. "One of them is coming up. Here."
Rio nodded along and crawled under the bed. The man threw him a blanket, miming throwing it over his head. The boy copied, throwing it over himself, it was thin so he could still make out some things through it if he really tried.
A few moments later Rick was beside him, pulling the blanket from Rio's eyes to make sure the boy knew he was there. He placed a shaky finger to his lips before pulling the blanket back down. Silent. He had to be silent.
Rio pulled the blanket from off of him. He couldn't stand to not see and hear. Rick tried to object but Rio just shook his head.
The man looked to the rest of the room, grabbing his water bottle and book so that it didn't seem like someone was there.
Footsteps drew closer in the hallway, walking past their room. The man headed into the one Rio had been in just before.
"I left my stuff out." He whispered to Rick, eyes growing wide.
"Hey!" The man called from the room over. "I think there's someone here."
"Why do you think that?" Someone else shouted up.
"Because there's a puzzle out on the floor and footprints on this desk. They look small, it's probably a kid." The man walked out of the room.
Rio watched as his feet wandered around before heading inside the room that they were in. He walked over to the bedside table and over to the wardrobe, kicking around clothes before stopping in front of the bed. Rick wrapped an arm over the boy as he held his breath, scared to make any sort of sound.
He could feel Rick's hand shaking on his shoulder.
The man walked to the side a bit before lying down on the bed, the mattress dipping and the springs making a harsh creaking noise.
There was more chatter coming from down stairs and the man above them kicked off his boots, they landed far enough away.
It took only minutes for him to fall asleep, Rick pointing out his snores. Rio nodded, listening out for them.
"We've gotta go, okay? Quick and quiet."
"Quick and quiet." The boy looked over to him, repeating his words. Rick began to get out, shuffling from under the bed. Their escape was cut short when another man approached, heading straight for the room.
"Yo." He shouted. The other man continued to snore. "Comfy?"
He let out a ragged breath before answering. "You waking me up to see if I'm comfortable?"
"I thought you were looking for that kid?"
"I did." He lied. "No sign of him."
"Sure." The other man answered. "I want to lie down."
"Two other bedrooms up here to choose."
"Them's kids' beds." He complained, voice rising. "I want this one."
"It's claimed."
"I didn't hear it. You're gonna have to lay claim somewhere else." He said, stepping closer. The man climbed from off the bed, standing next to the man.
They started fighting over the bed, punches landing on eachother. There was a loud groan and then one of the men was kicked to the floor. The second man got atop of him, grabbing him by his neck as he gargled, trying to pry his hands away. The second man punched the guy beneath him and his head fell to the side, facing the underneath of the bed.
He let out broken shouts, trying to warn the man attacking him. Rick placed a steady hand on Rio's arm, keeping him still.
The man on the floor reached for them through his fargallona, hand slapping the ground in desperate attempts. Rick stared him down as he yelled for the man to stop.
"Stop... len... stop." He choked out.
"Hell nah." Len replied.
The man's eyes fluttered shut as he lay down on the ground before them.
"My bed now, jackoff." Len chuckled. He dropped himself onto the bed and once more it let out a loud creak. The man let out an array of groans and sighs, tossing and turning upon the bed before his faint snoring could be heard. Rio wasn't sure how long they'd been under there anymore but Rick wasted no time getting up.
He got out, standing up slowly and Rio crawled from the other side. Rick instructed the boy to head for another room. A man called up again for people called Len and Tony and that's when Rick rushed them out. They snuck across the landing and into another boy's room. The one Rio had been playing in.
Something clattered to the ground as footsteps approached, the bounce of a ball following them in. He threw it at the window behind them, the ball bouncing back into his hand.
"Anyone found that supposed kid yet?" He called out, stopping the bouncing for a second.
"No sir." Someone yelled back. "Must've ran, if he was ever even here."
"Oh he was here. Can see the footprints with my own eyes." He chuckled.
The bouncing grew fainter as the man wandered away, Rick's shoulders relaxing only for a second. He made his way past Rio and to the window, trying to push it open. It was stuck. He tried the one next to it, none of them budging.
"Claim, claim, claim." A man yelled with joy.
"Shut the hell up, I'm trying to sleep." A voice that Rio could only guess was Len's replied.
"There's a woman shaking up in here."
"Say what?"
"Come on down."
"She hot?"
"Don't grab your pecker just yet. She ain't here."
Rick hurried over to the shelf, grabbing a trophy and positioning it in his hand defensively.
"What the hell are you hollering about?"
"Found her shirt. Must have washed it this morning."
"Oh you found a shirt? She probably ran off with her kid then."
Rick grabbed Rio's arm and led him through the room. He pushed his back to the wall before peeling around the door frame. Rick jumped back a second after catching sight of them before taking another look. Rio stayed back.
The men headed downstairs to calm the commotion and Rick hurried across the landing.
"Hide in the bathroom, by there." He told Rio, pointing to a small room at the end of the hall. He headed inside, standing between the wall and the door.
Rick snuck back into the room they'd just stayed in, about to pick up the gun one of the men had left behind when another pair of footsteps trailed up the stairs.
One of the men headed straight into the bathroom. Rio froze up but went unnoticed until the guy closed the door. He didn't know what to do, he couldn't get his crossbow out and loaded in time. The man stared at him, a smirk growing on his face.
Rio balled his left fist up and punched the guy in the nose, his head knocked against the wall and he stumbled around for a moment, blood running down his lip.
The boy couldn't move. He'd never been in a fight before, let alone with someone almost triple his size. The man recovered quickly and Rio's first instinct was to hit him again. So he did. He punched him again and the man fell straight into Rick as he hurried in.
Rick wrapped his arm around the man's neck, holding him there as he tried to fight him off. Rio just backed away crouching upon the toilet as he watched it all happen.
The man reached for a pair of scissors on the sink as he flailed around. Rio grabbed the crossbow off of his shoulder, pointing it threateningly at him. He wasn't going to use it. He just needed the man to know that he was losing the fight.
His face went a deep purple-red color as he started gurgling and choking, just like the other man had. Rick fell to the floor with the man in his arms and he slowly stopped moving. The man's arms fell to the floor and his face dropped.
Rick flipped him over and got up, long ragged breaths escaping him.
"Are you okay?" Rio asked.
The man mumbled something incoherent in return. He got up and grabbed the guy's gun off of his body. Rio put his crossbow away, turning to the window behind it and trying to push it open. It worked. He slung it open and told Rick, already halfway onto the roof by the time the man noticed.
He opened the door slightly, not to be too suspicious and pulled the man's jacket off of him. He pulled it on before following out the window after Rio.
Rio had slid down the roof tiles, stopping himself at the edge. He looked down at the floor and then back to the man behind him. "How are we gonna get down?" The boy asked Rick.
"We just have to... lower ourselves." He replied, taking a look at the distance between the roof and the floor. "Okay?"
"Okay." Rio nodded along.
"I'll catch you?" The man offered as he began to make his way off of the roof. Rio looked down, the jump was at least double the size of him.
"Uh, yeah please." He whispered, still nodding frantically. He just wanted to get out.
Rick hung from the roof before jumping down. He straightened himself up before holding his arms up. Rio crawled to the edge, shuffling around so his feet hung off the edge.
"Let go, I've got you." Rick reassured him. He took a last look at the window before he let go. Rick wrapped an arm around him as he fell, easing the drop.
The man crouched down and scanned the house once more. Rio crouched beside him, underneath the windowsill. He waved the boy over before hurrying down the porch stairs.
Rio followed him, hiding behind bushes and fences as they snuck through the garden. Rick led them to the front of the house, hiding in a corner between two walls and a bush when the door swung open.
The sound of a ball bouncing was back.
The man wandered around the porch, pushing the rocking chair and pulling petals of a dead plant. He leant over the railing, spitting onto the ground. The man took a sip of his drink and spat it out again. He let out a cheerful whistle as he drank.
Looking past the wall, Rio caught sight of Carl and Michonne heading back, three bags full in their hands. Rick noticed them too, growing tense. He held onto the decking, gun clutched in his other hand about to make himself known.
Rio looked between him, the man, and Carl and Michonne. They had to do something.
The man got up after shouting erupted in the house. "Son of a bitch." He muttered, dropping his drink and heading inside. Gunshots sounded through the house and Rio took it as his chance to run.
He pulled Rick up when he was sure the man was gone and the two ran straight over to Carl and Michonne who were unaware of anything that'd happened.
"Go, go!" The man yelled to them as they ran over.
Rio grabbed Carl's arm as they ran past, pulling him along. Rick kept turning back, gun at the ready and Michonne held a weary hand over her sword.
Rick shook her head at her. "No, we have to go. Now."
They continued running until the house was out of sight. They passed the last house in the estate and ended up back where they'd started. They came to the railroads that Rick, Carl and Rio had passed the day before.
"We should go down here." Rick said, still on edge.
"Do you know what's down there?" Michonne asked.
The man shook his head and hurried them all along. "Can't be as bad as what's down there."
"What is down there, Rick?"
"There was this group of men, must've been about eight, maybe even ten." He replied, he looked to Rio who just shrugged.
"I'm not sure. There was a lot more than us, is all I know." The boy answered, tugging at his crossbow strap. "They were violent too, killing each other over beds."
"Over beds?" Carl questioned.
"Uh huh." Rick confirmed.
They walked down the rails for a while, nobody saying anything. The cold was starting to pick up and Rio untied his hoodie from his waist, putting it on.
Carl dug through his bag, pulling out a can of something and holding it out to Michonne.
"Crazy cheese?" He offered. She smiled down at him before just shaking her head. The boy shoved it back in his bag as they reached an old train cart.
Rick walked up to it, the other three right behind him. Words were scrawled across it in red paint, a map with the path marked out on it was underneath.
"What do you think?" Michonne asked.
"Let's go." Rick answered, a faint trace of hope on his face. "Let's go."
Terminus: Sanctuary for all, community for all.
Those who arrive survive
***
woohoo one of my fav chapters, pls point out any mistakes I don't think I proofread this properly