Seven's POV
Rick only stalks over to be on the other side of the group away from us, though I don't think he did it to be a dick, but just to get some breathing room. "Why'd ya'll stop here anyway?" Daryl mutters to Hershel.
"Rick's car is out of gas, otherwise I'm sure we'd have tried to go even further away from the farm" Hershel elaborates.
Maggie hears her father, "We can't stay here." She voices to Rick while holding a shotgun that'd typically be used to hunt animals.
"We can't all fit in one car" Glenn says, showing that we don't have many options.
"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning" Rick concludes, his face has blood smeared on the side of it and looking at Daryl, Rick isn't the only one to have it.
"Spend the night here?" Carol asks. Well we ain't have many options, unless you got some portable house up your sleeve.
"I'm freezing" Carl says, making Lori pull Carl into her side and rub is chest, in an attempt to warm him up.
"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori decides. Everyone is making their own decisions, who the hell is leading right now?
"We'll go out looking for firewood, stay close. Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?" Daryl asks looking towards Rick.
"Not enough." Rick says, continuing to pace back and forth.
I still lay down on my side atop of the hood, Daryl by my side. My head keeps having to turn back and forth with everyone speaking and panicking. Then again, everyone their leader hasn't said anything as of yet and they all typically look to him for decisions so I understand their back and forth-ness.
"We can't just sit here with out asses hanging out" Maggie says, having a point.
"Watch your mouth" Hershel quickly scolds Maggie, "Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick." Is Rick even going to say anything yet?
"All right, we'll set up a perimeter. In the morning we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on" Rick states.
"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas" Maggie says. Did you not just listen to what he said?
"No, we stay together. God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car" Rick spits, his anger rising.
"Rick, we're stranded now" Glenn says. It's not as bad as ya'll are making it out to be. We got each other, and we got the forest. People, and a food supply as well as some water around. This ain't too bad.
"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure — I really wasn't — but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place" Rick says, though throughout his speech he is unable to keep his eyes in one place while they are casted towards the ground. Besides him acting sketchy, what he said is right.
"Rick, look around. Okay? Theres walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something" Glenn says, as if he's trying to get to Rick and make him understand. Alright, pizza boy, you're telling me that every single house is unavailable because it has one or two walkers?
"There's gotta be a place, not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to find it" Rick says, his anger and patience with the group dwindling.
"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure. For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that was safe" Maggie says. I can feel my own patience running thin with the group and their constant negativity and complaints.
"We won't make that mistake again" Hershel says, surprising me slightly being that it came from him of all people.
"We'll make camp tonight over there," Rick says pointing towards some ruins in the distance, I have no clue what they used to be but it was hella old, "Get on the road at the break of day"
Some of the group disperses while others stay to talk amongst themselves about shit. Carol walks over with her arms crossed over herself in an attempt to keep warm, she looks to Daryl as if he has all of the answers, "Does this feel right to you?"
Myself wanting to get away from this situation, I stand up on the hood but Daryl is quick to shut that down "Lay your ass down." Yes, sir. I lay back down and narrow my eyes at him, him reciprocating my form of sass.
Daryl doesn't respond to Carol. "What if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's? Beth asks, but this seems to spark some remembrance in Daryl.
"You know I found Randall, right? He had turned, but he wasn't bit" Daryl says, turning Rick's face into only what I can describe as 'Oh shit.'
"How's that possible?" Beth asks. I know you're sixteen, but sweetheart, I've only been alive for a year and I know that one guy isn't going to have all the answers to your problems.
"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori asks, though Daryl and I already know part of the answer.
"Shane killed Randall. Just like he always wanted to" Daryl boldly says.
"And then the herd got him?" Lori asks incredulously. Nah, Rick would've said something.
Rick takes a gulp before saying it. "We're all infected." Everyone looks at him shocked though I don't understand. Why does it make a difference?
"What?" Daryl asks, and I feel myself begin to have my thoughts scrambled in confusion. Daryl is also surprised.
"At the C.D.C., Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it." Everyone stares at Rick in distrust, despite his explanation on this new info.
"And you never said anything?" Carol asks.
"Would it have made a difference?" Rick asks. Exactly. My point.
"You knew this whole time?" Glenn asks. Even though I think the information wouldn't have made a difference, I just don't understand why he kept it a secret.
"How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that mo-" Rick says but gets cut off by Glenn.
"That isn't your call. Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone." Glenn says. The entire group is all round up with anger and distrust being thrown around, mainly at Rick and it's really pissing me off but I can't leave this damn spot without Daryl.
"Well, I thought it best that people didn't know" Rick says before stalking off, needing to get a breather from the group. If it didn't make a difference, than why didn't you tell everyone?
—
Night quickly fell, and the group was left to discuss things amongst themselves.
Daryl sits next to me with his feet out while he pokes a long stick into the fire with one hand. I lay against him while his other arms drapes across me. Carol walks over and crouches down on the other side of Daryl "We're not safe with him — keeping something like that from us" She turns her head away, as if searching for something in the pitch black forest — something that she'd never be able to see coming but only hear "Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down. You wouldn't want that for Seven would you?" She says glancing down to me. What does she want? And why is she bringing me into this.
Daryl rubs my side with his thumb in a sort of way that is petting me, "No. Rick's done all right by me."
"You're his henchman. Seven's just a mangy mutt. And i'm a burden. You both deserve better." She says looking at the both of us. Ouch. I don't think Rick thinks of me that way, but I guess you do.
I move my head so it rests on Daryl's thigh, his hand moves with my head and he rests it atop my head. He strokes my head, making my ears go back every time his hand crosses them "What do you want?" Daryl asks, slightly aggravated with the woman. I simply stare at her, my eyes closing every time Daryl's hand initially touches my head.
"A man of honor" She says, staring him in the eyes. Wait, does that mean-
"Rick has honor" Daryl says, throwing the stick into the fire.
Maggie suggests to leave but Hershel shuts her down, claiming it'd be foolish. Right after this, leaves rustle nearby and twigs snap. I let out a low growl, and stand up. "What was that?" Beth asks.
Daryl stands up, "Stay." I lay back down again, my ears swiveling on high alert, "Could be anything. Could be a raccoon. Could be a opossum."
"A walker" Glenn says. I narrow my eyes at him. Always so negative.
Rick walks back towards the group from where he was taking watch, "We need to leave. I mean, what are we waiting for?" Carol rhetorically asks, panicked. Last I checked, we didn't have any gas. Unless you're suggesting we go and start walking towards the nearest gas station in tha' middle of the night.
"Which way?" Glenn asks, a shotgun already in hand.
"It came from over there." Maggie says, also holding a shotgun from beside her new boyfriend.
"Back from where we came" Beth says, standing behind Maggie who agrees with her.
"The last thing we need if for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot" Rick says. Daryl reaches down, his hand searching for my head to pet, a nervous habit he's grown to have with me around.
"Don't panic" Hershel warns.
"I'm not- I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now" Maggie says firmly. Great thinking, let's just navigate ourselves through the dark and dangerous night to avoid something that may never even happen.
"No one is going anywhere" Rick harshly says.
"Do something" Carol urges, but this only leads to Rick snapping.
"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for christ's sake!" Everyone just stares at him in fear and shock. Holy shit! He actually fuckin' did it! I didn't think he had the balls for that! "You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us."
"He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he cane after me." I look to Daryl, who seems to be watching Rick with not fear, nor shock, but uncertainty. Carl begins to cry and seek his mother for comfort who tries her best in doing so. "My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a better place for us, but maybe- maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe- maybe i'm just fooling myself again. Why don't you- why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get." Rick ain't holding back for this one, wow. The corners of my lips turn up into a smile. Good for him.
"No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight— you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."
———
And so the Ricktatorship begins, though season 2 ends.
Now, recently since I've been watching season 10, I love Negan. So I feel like I kinda accidentally made Seven's thoughts sound like Negan in a way. My bad lol.
Now my question is, if Seven were to get a, um, doggy girlfriend, how do you think she would act and what do you think she should look like?
I ask this because, I've thought it over quite a bit, and I'm just not sure on how she would act and I feel like how she'd act would effect what I think she should look like.