As he lay his head down, Rio realized he now hadn't slept in two days. The boy stared up at the open sky, trying to see if he could make out any of the constellations. He only remembered one or two from the posters in his science class. Rio wasn't even sure where to look for them, he just kept looking. The boy was trying to distract himself from the fact that sleep wasn't about to come again, despite how exhausted he was.
He wished he could go to sleep like everyone else. Well not everyone, he knew some people were faking. Everytime he closed his eyes he saw something that made him want to open them back up. Whether it be Jesse or the governor or the claimers or now terminus. There was too much stuck in his head and it refused to leave.
Rio froze as he kept thinking and Daryl placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. He knew it was him. The man was sitting right beside him, looking down wearily as Rio lay on the floor. He wasn't mentioning how red his eyes were. Rio had asked him earlier and he'd just shrugged in response. The boy didn't pry.
"Are you on watch?" Rio asked, turning onto his side.
The man nodded in return. 'Me. Sasha. Rosita.' He spelt out.
"Are you going to sleep soon?"
'Probably. Lots of walking to do tomorrow. You?'
"I'll try."
He shuffled closer to the man and he just wrapped an arm over his shoulder.
"You don't have to wait up."
"I'm not. I just can't sleep."
"That's becoming a problem."
Rio just hummed back an acknowledgement, not facing him. The boy watched as the last of the fire was going out a few feet away.
"Why can't you sleep?" Daryl asked, the boy didn't hear him at first so he repeated it after he turned to face him.
"Why do you think so?"
"Nightmares?"
"I can't stay asleep long enough to get nightmares." The boy murmured. "Well, I guess they are nightmares. Very short ones. The second I close my eyes I just... I remember all the bad."
"Aren't you tired?"
Rio nodded and then fiddled with the sling tied around his neck. "But it's easier not to sleep. Nicer."
There was a moment where nobody said anything before Rio let out a shaky breath.
"And my arm hurts. I've been trying not to complain but—."
"You can complain. It's gonna hurt."
"And I can't get a cast for it. Is it just gonna be like it forever?"
"Surely not."
There was a beat.
"I mean I can manage."
"I know you can."
"I'm not useless because I can only use one arm." Rio curled up closer to the man as he complained.
"Everyone knows that after what you did." Daryl half scoffed. "Besides, no one ever thought you were useless, we just wanted you to be careful so you don't hurt yourself again."
"I didn't actually do it."
"I know," The man agreed. Another beat. "Are you ready to talk about it?"
"Don't think so. Don't... don't even want to think about it either." He frowned, leaning against the man's side in an attempt at sleep.
***
Rio was still lying against Daryl when Rick got up. Aside from everyone on watch he was first to wake. The boy watched as he scanned the group before taking a short walk, venturing into the woods. He came back seconds later, this time noticing the boy who was watching him. Rick gave him a smile and thumbs up before sitting down on a log opposite.
"How are you?"
Rio shrugged in return making a 'so-so' gesture with his free hand. "How are you?"
"Good. I'm good." Then the man let out a sigh. The boy braced himself for what he was about to say. "I'm sorry about Terminus. You were in danger and we couldn't do anything."
Rio began to shake his head.
"I gave you the knife and you decided to fight back which ended up with you watching them murder those men—."
"It's not your fault. We killed them. It's over."
"I hope so." Rick gave his hand a small squeeze.
The man left and one by one everyone began to wake. There wasn't much food to go around, only squirrels and other small animals Carol had caught.
Rio watched her cook it, not too keen to eat any meat right now. He poked at a chunk before giving it away, Daryl opening up a can for him.
They didn't spend much time eating. Rio noticed that everyone who'd been in the room wasn't eating the meat. Or not as happily as they usually would.
Rick hurried them away from the died down campfire soon after. They hit the road and then headed back into the woods after an hour or so where they followed a path.
Not far along the trail they encountered stray walkers, Rick took out the first, knocking it in the head with the handle of his handgun.
"I got it." Michonne announced, walking up to the next snarling creature. She reached out for her sword before remembering it wasn't there. She let out a bitter chuckle before grabbing the gun strapped to her back instead. She used the butt of her weapon to hit the creature in the face. It fell to the ground with a feeble squeal.
They all continued walking. They must've been traveling for the whole day as when the group drew to a stop the sun was setting.
Someone had set up another small campfire and everyone else had sat around it. Rio wasn't paying attention to who started it just that it was warming him up. Glenn sat beside him and began talking, the boy tried hard to listen but he just couldn't. Glenn noticed and then stopped.
Maggie walked over from where she was talking with Daryl and sat herself beside her husband. She gave Rio a wave before falling into conversation with Glenn.
He excused himself, wordlessly leaving the chatter and finding Daryl instead. He sat down with a yawn. Rio leant up against the tree, the man to his left. The two hadn't said much; they'd just been watching everyone else. Rio felt as if he were about to fall asleep. He hated walking. Carol came and sat with them, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as she crouched beside him.
"I don't want to talk about it." Was all she said, avoiding Daryl's gaze as he looked at her. "I can't. I just need to forget it."
She turned to face the man then and he just gave her a small shrug in return. "All right."
Rio's eyes were growing heavy when Daryl shot up, hand on his crossbow. Carol stood too, taking a step closer to one of the bushes.
"What is it?" Rio mumbled.
"Nothing." Daryl shook his head before sitting down again. He took one last look at the bushes. "It's nothing."
***
Rio woke up to Daryl shaking his shoulder. He gave a gesture to follow him so the boy did. He rubbed the sleep from his eye, trailing behind the man as he walked around, still on edge.
"Where are we going?" Rio yawned.
'I'm looking for tracks.'
"Of the people who you think are following us?" The boy took a guess. He was acting weird, even more than usual.
Daryl stumbled over his words. 'No, of animals.'
"Hm."
"You slept today." The man pointed out, giving Rio little to no time to answer before he shot at a squirrel. Daryl walked over grabbing the animal.
"Uh, yeah." The boy answered. "Yeah I slept. Don't think I could stay awake any longer if I tried."
"Stop trying."
"But—."
"No buts. If you get nightmares, so what? We all do."
"You do?"
"Sometimes." The man shrugged.
"Really?"
Daryl nodded his head. "Let's make a deal." Then he set his crossbow down. 'You have to sleep. If you have a bad dream or anything. You gotta come to me.'
Rio watched his hands. Taking in what he was saying. The boy nodded as a response, giving a more certain final nod when Daryl asked if he got it.
They continued to wander around the forest, taking as long as they needed. Rio realized they were probably up before anyone else.
Daryl caught four more squirrels, Rio doing his best to point them out seeing as he couldn't catch them himself.
Rio walked by the side of Daryl as they made their way back to the group, a string of squirrels over the man's neck.
As they approached Rick stopped in his tracks, pulling out his gun. The rest of the group copied and now there were about ten guns aimed at them.
"We surrender." Daryl joked, holding up his arms. The man looked down at Rio who just smiled back. They joined in with the group and the boy prepared himself for another day full of walking.
***
A scream cut through the silence, a man repeatedly yelling out for help. Carl turned straight to Rick.
"Dad, come on." He pleaded as the man's screams grew. "Come on! Come on."
Rick gave in and soon everyone was running over.
"Help! Help! Anybody help!" He continued to scream.
They ran through the clearing, Carl in the lead with his gun already unsheathed. Soon enough they reached the culprit of the yells. He was sitting high upon a rock, kicking at the four walkers grabbing for his feet.
Carl shot one immediately, causing the other three to turn around. Rick grabbed one by the throat and stabbed it through the forehead and Michonne hit the butt of her gun against the second's head. Carol took number three out from behind.
Another one emerged from the trees and Rio noticed it first. He tripped the Walker up, causing it to stumble into the rock. The boy held his knife in his right hand, stabbing the creature quickly and hoping that his aim was just as good as his left.
"What the hell are you doing?" Someone asked. Rio spun around quickly and came face to face with Rosita, the woman looking down at him with an unamused expression.
"Killing a Walker." He replied plainly.
"With a broken arm?"
"It's not broken."
"Move it then." She challanged.
"No?"
"We're clear!" Rick shouted. "Keep watch."
He looked up to the man on the rock who still sat trembling. He shuffled down cautiously after Rick beckoned for him to.
The man was shaky and unsteady on his feet. When Rick asked if he was okay he just held up a finger before throwing up near his feet.
"Gross." Rio mumbled before Carl elbowed him in the side. "What did you do that for?"
The man got back up, wiping down his suit. "Sorry." He said with a timid smile. He looked at all of them, taking in just how many people were there. "Yes. Thank you. I'm okay. I'm Gabriel."
"Do you have any weapons on you?"
Gabriel let out a chuckle, turning to see if anyone else found what Rick had said funny. They hadn't.
"Do I look like I would have any weapons?"
"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham shot back.
"I have no weapons of any kind." Gabriel announced. "The word of god is the only protection I need."
"Sure didn't look like it." Daryl said to him, voicing what they were all thinking.
The man let out a chuckle again. "I called for help. Help came." He looked around again, scanning the faces of them all.
"Do you... do you have any food?" Gabriel asked tentatively. "Whatever I have left, it just hit the ground."
Rio watched as Carl dug through his pockets, grabbing a handful of nuts from a bag and holding them out to the man. "We've got some pecans."
Gabriel smiled sincerely at the boy and thanked him before taking them. He went to take a bite but stopped when something else caught his eye.
"That's a beautiful child." He smiled, looking at Judith who let out small 'coos'.
Nobody said anything in response.
"Do you have a camp?"
"No." Rick replied immediately. "Do you?"
Gabriel nodded slowly. "I have a church."
"Hold your hands above your head."
The man complied, lifting his hands in the air as Rick began to pat him down.
"How many walkers have you killed?"
"Not any, actually." He replied with an odd sense of pride.
"Turn around." Rick groaned, pushing him.
"How many people have you killed?"
"None."
"Why?"
"Because the lord abhors violence." He replied, looking straight back at rick.
"What have you done?" The other man whispered.
Gabriel's face twitched into looks of fear and confusion.
"We've all done something."
"I'm a sinner." He replied. "I sin almost every day. But those sims, I confess them to God, not strangers."
Rick scoffed, turning his head away from the man.
"You said you had a church?" Michonne asked from where she leant upon the rock.
Gabriel turned to her and began nodding. "I... I can take you."
"Yes. Please." The woman replied.
They walked even more, but now with a new goal in mind.
"Hey." Rick began, catching up with Gabriel. "Hey, earlier were you watching us?"
"I keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"
"No. People are worse." Daryl interjected.
"Well I wasn't watching you." Gabriel answered. "I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I've gone before today." He finished, taking a look back to see if everyone was still following.
"Or maybe I'm lying." He shrugged. "Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels."
"He's weird." Rio whispered, thinking it was to himself.
Daryl agreed with him. "Yeah kid he is."
"Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired."
"Yeah, it does." Daryl said, staring at the man.
Gabriel started backing up nervously, stumbling into a tree branch that he swatted away too late.
The church was just up ahead. A nice white building on the larger side. The sign at the front that blew in the breeze read: St Sarah's Church. Everyone crowded into the garden as Gabriel made his way up the stairs.
"Hold up." Rick called after him. "Can we take a look around first? We just want to hold onto our squirrels."
He held out a hand to which Gabriel placed a key. Rick unlocked it, pushing the large wooden doors open with his shoulder and holding his gun steadily in his hands. Daryl walked in behind, crossbow in his hands. Rios was slung over his shoulder, although he couldn't use it he liked the familiar weight.
The rest of the group looked into the church, watching as everyone separated, inspecting different areas. They watched from the outside as Rick, Daryl, Carol, Glenn and Michonne searched the building.
Abraham and his group took a look around the back as Maggie, Sasha, Bob and Tyreese waited around the front with Judith and the boys.
The man came back around, talking to Gabriel. He seemed intimidated by Abraham. Who could blame him?
The talking died down as Rick came out of the church.
"I spent months here without stepping through the front door. If you found someone inside, well, it would've been surprising." Gabriel chuckled.
"Thanks for this." Carl said, stepping closer to the man. Rio followed.
"We found a short bus out back." Abraham told Rick as he and the others came out. "It don't run but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he doesn't want it. Looks like we found ourselves some transport."
Rick ran a gentle hand over Judith's head, not answering the man as he just looked at his kids.
"You understand what's at stake here, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"Now that we can take a breath—." Michonne
"We take a breath, we slow down."
"Isn't that the point of taking a breath?" Rio cut in.
"Listen here smartass—." Abraham began again. "Shit will inevitably go wrong if we take a break."
"We need supplies no matter what we do next." Michonne
"That's right." Rick agreed. "Water, food, ammunition."
"Short bus ain't going nowhere." Daryl said to Abraham as he headed into the church. "Bring you back some baked beans."
"How'd you survive here for so long?" Rick asked Gabriel once they got inside. "Where did your supplies come from?"
"Luck." Gabriel replied simply. "Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me."
"Come here Judith." Carl whispered, grabbing his sister out of Rick's arms and saving her from the conversation.
"The food lasted for a long time and then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place nearby."
The two men's voices drowned out as Rio walked away, sitting himself beside Carl and Judith on the pews. The baby was between them, making small noises up at Rio.
"I can't hold you." He whispered, using his good hand to tickle her. "No, I can't."
Tyreese then began talking and Judith reached an arm out to him. The man chuckled, turning away to continue his conversation with Rick.
Everyone split off, getting ready to leave. Tyreese finally gave in to Judith, picking her up from the pew with a smile. Rick came and knelt beside the two boys, voice in a hushed whisper.
"Listen, I don't trust this guy." He began.
"Why?" Carl questioned.
"Why do you trust him?"
"I don't." Rio admitted.
"Everybody can't be bad." The other boy reasoned, looking between the two.
"Everyone we've met recently has been." Rio mumbled to himself.
"Well..." Rick started again. "I don't trust this guy. And that's why I'm bringing him with me. He could have friends. So, I need you to stay alert and help Tyreese protect Judith, okay?"
"Okay."
"Now..." Rick sighed. "I need you to hear what I'm about to say."
"Okay."
"Both of you." Rick added when he noticed Rio wasn't paying attention, he stared off at the wall. Carl gave him a small nudge, signing that they had to listen.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
"Listen. You are not safe. No matter how many people are around or how clear the area looks, no matter what anyone says, no matter what you think. You are not safe. It only takes one second. One second. And it's over. Never let your guard down, ever. I want you to promise me."
"I promise."
Rick looked to Rio who just nodded.
"Okay." The man concluded, getting up and walking down the aisle.
"Dad." Carl stopped him. "You're right. I am strong. We both are. But we're strong enough that we can still help people. And we can handle ourselves if things go wrong. And we're strong enough that we don't have to be afraid and we don't have to hide."
"Well he's hiding something."
"I'll stay safe, dad."
"Yeah..." Rick gave his shoulder a squeeze before leaving again.
"I'm not strong enough." Rio whispered once Carl sat beside him again.
"Why would you say that?"
"I think I'll actually lose it if one more thing goes wrong." The boy half-joked.
***
"Where are you going?" Rio asked, turning quickly as he caught sight of Daryl beginning to leave the church.
'Getting water.' The man replied instantly, standing before the open door. 'Do you wanna come?'
"Yeah." He replied just as fast, nodding his head before climbing over the pews.
'You're going?' Carl asked, rising from his seat.
"Only for a bit." Rio reasoned.
"Okay." The boy replied, sitting back down with a small frown upon his face.
"Carol we're going." Daryl called.
The woman walked over to them, Abraham's milk cartons in her hand. Carol handed two of them to Daryl and kept the other two for herself.
"Can I have one?" Rio asked, holding out his free hand. The woman looked back at him, skeptical for just a moment. The expression washed away from her face just as soon as it'd appeared.
"Yes you can." She smiled back, handing him an empty carton.
"Thanks." He mumbled, giving her a small nod. He made his way to the two adults, walking between them
The river wasn't that far away. It was more of a stream. It was small but the running water was clean so what more could they want. Carol splashed some water over Rio as he filled the container, hading it to Daryl to tighten the lid.
Rio splashed her back, hurrying up before she could get him again. The woman had a smile creeping onto her face and mouthed. 'Got my eye on you' teasingly.
Daryl handed him back the filled milk carton as they began walking, they took a longer route back.
"Are you okay?"
"Gotta be." Carol replied
"You gotta be?"
The woman nodded before nudging Rio's shoulder. "Are you okay."
He gave her a short and almost unconvincing nod back. The fun at the stream had been short lived.
"That's why."
"We get to start over. All of us with each other. You saved us all by yourself."
"We got lucky. We should all be dead."
"Or you're just good." Rio added at the end. The woman just flashed him a smile as they walked further down the road.
A few meters ahead was an old car, abandoned on the side of the road.
"I'll check it." Carol announced.
"Alright."
As the woman made her way forward Rio and Daryl trailed behind.
"You're pretty quiet. Are you alright?"
"How many times are you gonna ask that?" The boy sighed.
"As many times as i have to."
Carol pulled open the car door, sitting in the driver's seat and twisting the key, trying to start the engine. It didn't work and the woman got up with a small huff.
"Hey." Daryl began, standing a few steps away as Carol opened up the boot. "We ain't dead. And whatever happened, happened. Let's start over."
Start over? What do they mean start over?
"I want to."
"Well, you can." Daryl insisted.
Carol had her arm up, holding the top of the car door. She didn't answer what he'd just said. "We should leave this here for backup in case things go south at the church."
"Do you think things will go south?" Rio asked quietly. Daryl shook his head at the boy and reassured him that it was just in case.
Carol closed the door and picked up the milk cartons.
"Want me to carry one of those?" Daryl asked, outstretching his arm. He offered up his hand, the milk carton falling onto the floor with a clunk. He just started down at it for a minute before Rio let out a small giggle.
"Mm. No." Carol decided as Daryl ran a hand down his face.
"You can have mine." Rio offered, holding the filled carton out. The man scoffed before taking it in his hand, not dropping it this time.
They walked back to the church in silence, yet it was more comfortable than before. Even if the adults were talking, Rio couldn't hear it. He didn't try to either. He was happy with the silence.
Rio approached the church before them both, Daryl watching as the boy jogged inside. Nearly everyone else was still gone, they must've been the first to get back.
He headed back outside, taking a look around the back of the church when he found Carl, standing before one of the walls with his hand on his hips.
"What is it?" Rio asked, accidently creeping up on him.
"You'll burn for this." Carl said, making the signs with his hands.
"Excuse me?"
"On the wall." The boy pointed out. "You'll burn for this." He said, emphasizing every word.
"Don't need to say it like that, I can read." Rio joked, taking a closer look.
"I'm yet to see you read a book on your own." Carl answered. Rio turned around, and let out a sarcastic laugh.
"You know, having you read them is nicer." The boy shrugged. "Or it was. Probably gonna have to start reading my own stuff again."
"Why?"
Rio tapped his ear with his free hand, pointing out the lack of hearing aids.
"But if I sit really close to you then you'll be fine." The other boy bumped his shoulder. Rio froze, even at the smallest bit of contact but then he reminded himself, it was just Carl.
Rio started laughing, a genuine laugh despite what just happened. He liked talking to Carl, especially now. He was the only one who wasn't going to ask him how he was or about what happened and that was because he didn't want to talk about it either.
He felt bad about that. Not talking to him. He'd gone through the same thing so why couldn't he talk about it?
Carl smiled back at him as his face dropped, trying to keep him from frowning. Why did he have to cheer him up after going through the same thing?
"Hey, look what I found on this wall." Leading them to the side of the church.
"How are you doing it?" Rio muttered.
"Doing what?"
"Being happy. After what happened. After terminus too. I don't get it."
"We found out Judith was alive. I guess that's helping."
"But so much..."
"The good outweighs the bad."
"Really?"
"I do pretend, only sometimes. It's nicer to act like I'm not sad."
He was about to answer when Rick made his way over to the pair. "Hey." He called. "Tyreese said you were out back. Come on in, we found food. A lot of it."
"Good." Carl answered.
"What is it?" Rick asked, following Carl's eyes. He landed on the marks carved into the walls.
"Those scratches. They're deep." He answered. "Like knives or something. Someone was trying to get in."
"We found something else." Rio added.
"I don't know what happened, but whatever it is, we can handle it." Carl smiled, showing Rick the markings. "It doesn't mean Gabriel's a bad guy for sure but it means something."
Rick tapped his thumb over the scrawl nervously before just pulling his hand away and gesturing for them to follow.
"Come on, let's get inside."
***
Later that night everyone had set up dinner. Tins and packets of sealed foods were opened out on the table, paper plates on the end. It was like a buffet.
Rio sat on a pew, Carl and Judith by his side. He just watched as everyone ate, thinking about what the other boy had said earlier. Pretend to be happy.
He smiled to himself and Carl noticed straight away, smiling back and asking, "What're you thinking about?"
"I'm not thinking of anything," Rio replied defensively. "Can't I smile now?"
"I guess this whole thing is pretty cool." Carl shrugged, poking a finger at Judith, pulling away quickly as she tried to grab it. "Do you want any food?" He asked.
"No need." Glenn answered, standing at the end of the pew. Rio looked up at him as he held two paper plates in his hands.
Carl got up, picking Judith out of her seat too. "I'm gonna go give Judith to my dad."
"Okay." Rio replied.
Glenn sat beside him, offering up the plate. "Do you want some food?"
"No thanks."
"Well I've made it so you have to eat it."
"You could've started by saying it wasn't a choice." Rio huffed, pulling the plate towards him. The room grew louder as everyone began talking, most having already eaten their food.
The boy poked at the plate, not too keen on eating what was offered. It was only when Glenn elbowed him softly that he ate something.
"Come on. You need energy." The man reasoned
The boy pulled a face. "I can't hear you."
Glenn held up a finger, signaling for the other boy to wait, before getting out of his seat.
Rio looked back down at his plate, eyes landing on a strip of meat. Multiple strips of meat.
Glenn sat back beside him soon enough, this time with a pen and blank sheets of color by numbers.
"What's this?" Rio asked, pointing to a piece of meat on his plate and showing it to the man. He didn't bother to ask what the color by numbers were for.
Glenn flipped the paper over, pulling off the cap of the pen with his teeth and scrawling something down on the back.
'Daryl's squirrel. I watched him cook it myself'
Glenn held it out to the boy, who took it in his own hand to read. The man picked up a chunk from his own plate, showing it to Rio before eating it, trying to reassure him that it was okay, that it really was a squirrel.
The boy looked down at his plate. "Here." Rio leant over, scraping the meat back onto Glenn's. "I can't eat it."
"Okay." The man replied. He got it, he really did.
"Did Daryl make you come and speak to me?"
Glenn held a hand out and Rio gave the sheet of paper back. The boy watched him write, noticing that he was speaking out every word he wrote. Rio just wished everyone would shut up for a minute so he could hear it.
'He might've made a suggestion but I was coming over anyway'
Rio pulled a face at the man's response and Glenn let out a huff before writing again.
'I noticed you hadn't eaten so I decided to fix you a plate'
"Thanks." Rio gave him a small smile, scooping up some of the canned food and taking a bite. He was aware Glenn was watching him.
"Are you gonna ask about it?" The boy said suddenly. If Daryl had asked Glenn to check up on him surely this was why.
'Ask about what?'
"My arm or what happened."
'Do you want me to?'
Rio just shrugged.
'Talking can help' Glenn offered, trying to persuade him. He grabbed another sheet of paper. 'And Daryl's worried'
Rio looked around again, to see who was close by. He let out a long sigh realizing that people were everywhere. He considered writing down his answer on the paper but he couldn't. After trying to write 'There' with his right hand he gave up, just sinking into his seat and speaking as quietly as he could manage.
"Can anyone hear me?" The boy asked. Glenn shook his head.
The boy turned to face Glenn now, studying the young man's face as he spoke. "There was this group of men that broke into the house we were staying at. They didn't notice us because we were upstairs. And we didn't notice them at first either, Rick had fallen asleep and I... yeah, I couldn't hear them. We got found out at the last minute and had to kill one of them to escape."
"And that man hurt you?" Glenn mouthed.
Rio shook his head. "I punched him."
"And that broke your arm?"
The boy sat there with his mouth hung slightly open. He was tempted to say yes, to just wrap up the story and not tell anyone the truth. That'd be nice. But no, he'd started now he had to get through it.
He was also somewhat offended that Glenn thought he couldn't throw a punch.
"No." Rio shook his head. "We ran away and were on the run for a little bit. This group found us again and were super mad we'd killed one of their guys. They attacked us."
He took a deep breath.
You've got it. You're alright. Glenn wrote.
"This man, he attacked me. He... uh, he tried to..." he couldn't get the words out, just nervously tugging on his sleeve. Glenn's face dropped instantly, mouth moving but no words coming out.
"I'm okay though. He didn't do it. I killed him. But when he was... trying to, He pushed me down and I fell and broke my arm. Or at least everyone thinks I have."
"Rio, I'm so..."
"It's okay. I'm okay." He sat up straighter, leaning his head against the man's shoulder.
"You can hug me. It's okay." Rio tried to joke, but it wasn't really. His frail laugh was seconds away from becoming a cry.
Glenn wrapped his arms around him instantly, pulling the boy as close as he could. Rio buried his face in the man's shirt, tears dropping onto his chest almost immediately.
There it was.
"Hey, shh, shh, shh." Glenn tried to calm him. "You're okay. Do you want me to go and get Daryl?"
Rio nodded and Glenn looked around, not wanting to leave the boy but trying to find Daryl, seeing if he could catch the older man's eye. He craned his neck and locked eyes with Maggie instead. The woman began to approach the two.
Abraham was soon up, making a toast. "I'd like to propose a toast."
Everyone's chatter stopped and Rio rubbed his reddening eyes, wiping away the tears quickly. He was lucky he was a quiet crier.
"I look around this room and I see survivors." The man announced, his voice filling the whole church. "Each and everyone of you has earned that title. To the survivors."
Abraham held up his glass, swiftly followed by everyone else cheering over each other. "To the survivors."
"You didn't get me a drink." Rio joked, looking to Glenn as he sniffled.
'I don't have one either.' The man scribbled quickly. 'Fist bump?'
"Sounds good.
Everyone clinked glasses and drank with a small round of applause.
"Is that all you wanna be?" Rio thought the man's toast was over. He was very wrong. "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat?"
Nobody answered.
"Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip."
He took a deep breath in. "Eugene, what's in DC?"
"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude."
"I swear he uses confusing words on purpose." Glenn remarked.
"I don't know man, I understood that one." Rio sniffled, wiping his nose with a small laugh.
"That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."
"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us." Abraham added at the end. "Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there who don't got nothing left to do except survive."
Judith let out a loud noise and Sasha giggled from beside Rick.
"What was that?" The man asked her. "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."
"Let's do it."
Another round of cheers and applause rang out through the church.
"Do you still need—."
"No, no. I'm fine now." Rio assured him.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"What's up?" Maggie asked, talking over Glenn. "Where is Daryl anyway?"
"Not sure. Probably taking a piss or something." Rio shrugged.
Glenn let out a laugh. "Okay, now it's time for you to socialize. Have you met anyone properly yet?"
Rio shook his head and Glenn led him forward, sitting down beside Eugene, Tara Abraham Maggie and Rosita.
"Come on." He smiled, starting up a long conversation.
***
6016 WORDS WTH
also got bored and drew a drawing it's at the top
i took forever on this chapter it was actually driving me insane