digging graves// rick grimes x OC//

Wildfire Part 1

Sitting in a field overlooking the city at dawn, Winona and Rick try to radio Morgan. Rick turns the walkie talkie on and begins to speak into it, "Morgan, I don't know if you're out there. I don't know if you can hear me. Maybe you're listening right now. I hope so. We found others— my family, if you can believe it." He pauses, he looks over to see Winona messing with the tall grass, he continues on, "My wife and son and Winona's fiancé, they're alive. I wanted you to know that. There's something else you need to know. Atlanta isn't what we thought. It's not what they promised. The city is— do not enter the city. It belongs to the dead now." He stops listening for a response, "We're camped a few miles Northwest, up by a big abandoned rock quarry. You can see it on a map. I hope you can find us. But be careful. Last night walkers came out of the woods. We lost people. Watch yourself, Morgan. Take care of your boy. We'll try you again tomorrow at dawn."
Winona pats Rick's back, "Don't beat yourself up. I'm sure they're okay."
"Thanks Graves. You're right, no good in overthinking. Oh also, I couldn't help but notice how you tensed when I told Morgan Shane was alive, are you guys not okay? I remember you said you had a fight and you told him things weren't gonna work out, but last night you two seemed okay."
"Yeah... about that. He keeps persisting to give him another chance, but I just can't mentally handle the wishy-washy behavior he gives me. Like one minute he acts lovey-dovey and the next he's cold and a jerk. He's completely changed and I can't deal with it anymore. I ended up staying in Glenn's tent last night because of it," Winona sighs, putting her face in her hands.
Rick sympathetically rubs her back, "Oh I see. That sounds draining, I'm sorry. I have noticed how much he's changed, it just sucks that he's even changed how he acts towards you. You know I'm here if you ever need anything, okay?"
"Thanks, Grimes. I really appreciate you." She stands up, brushing the dirt off her jeans, "We should head back, we don't wanna get called out for slacking off."
——
Walking back to the camp, Winona and Rick notice Andrea is still sitting next to Amy. They watch as Lori squats down next to her, "Andrea. I'm so sorry. She's gone. You got to let us take her." Winona goes over to help T-Dog, Glenn, and Daryl with some of the bodies. Andrea stays silent, Lori continues, "We all cared about her and I promise we'll be as gentle as we can." After a minute of silence from Andrea, Lori gets up and walks away.
Rick goes over to Dale, Lori, and Shane, "She still won't move?"
"She won't even talk to us," Lori responds, "She's been there all night. What do we do? Can't just leave Amy like that."
Shane speaks up, "We need to deal with it same as the others."
Rick nods, "I'll tell her how it is." Winona watches as the policeman goes over to the mourning blonde, "Andrea."
Just as Rick says her name, Andrea pulls out her gun and cocks it, aiming it at him, "I know how the safety works." Everyone stands up, defensive.
Rick freezes and slowly backs up, "All right. Okay. I'm sorry." He continues to apologize as he walks back to the others, Andrea not putting the gun away until he's by one of the fires. She turns back to Amy, looking numb as if all her emotions were drained out of her.
——
Winona follows Daryl as he walks over to Rick and the others. Daryl is pissed over the current problem the group is facing and begins voicing his concerns, "Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb."
Rick questions Daryl, "What do you suggest?"
Daryl gets closer to Rick, getting up in his face, "Take the shot." He points a finger gun to his head, "Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."
Winona steps forward, "Very impressive, Daryl, however we can't do that. We need to let Andrea be, so she can mourn for her sister, I'm sure she come around eventually."
Lori nods, "I agree with Nona, let her be for God's sakes." Shane raises his eyebrows silently asking Rick what his opinion is.
No one moves and Daryl scoffs, turning away, Winona following after him to continue helping. Daryl begins to speak to Jim, who seems pretty dazed, "Wake up, Jimbo. We've got some work to do."
Winona, concerned for Jim, starts to ask him questions, "Hey, Jimmy? Are you feeling alright?You look a little disoriented."
She reaches to touch his forehead to see if he has a fever but he grabs her hand, blocking her, "I'm fine, it's just hot out, probably heatstroke or something."
"Okay... make sure to drink water and take breaks then." She hesitantly left him to go over to Glenn.
Daryl sees Morales struggling to lift a body so he goes to help him, Morales expressing his gratitude. Glenn stops them, "Hey, woah, what are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there." He points to his left.
Daryl becomes frustrated, "What's the difference? They're all infected."
Glenn persists, voice cracking with the threat of tears, "Our people go in that row over there. We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there." Winona pats his back, she understood how upset he was.
Morales and Daryl comply and move the body past the RV. Daryl shouts to the group, "You reap what you sow."
Morales got upset, "You know what? Shut up, man."
"Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming." Daryl walks off, his anger boiling over.
Winona watches as Jim sluggishly walk over to Jacqui, who then looks at him, "Are you bleeding?"
"I just got some on me from the bodies," Jim defends.
"That blood is fresh. Were you bit? Do you need Winona to check you over?"
"No. No. I got scratched during the attack."
"You got bit."
"I'm fine."
Jacqui stands up, raising her voice, drawing the attention of the group, "Then show me."
Jim stands up and whispers to her, "Don't tell, please."
"A walker got him," she shouts, "A walker bit Jim."
Everyone stands up going over to the man, he was persisting he was okay. Daryl points to him, "Show it to us. Show it to us."
Jim arms himself with a shovel, Shane talking to him, "Easy, Jim."
"Grab him," Daryl commands.
"Jimmy, put it down," Winona pleads.
Everyone's voices began to overlap. T-Dog grabs Jim and disarms him. Daryl runs over and lifts his shirt up to reveal a bite wound on his torso. Jim starts to repeat, "I'm okay," over and over again. Everyone backs away from the infected man. He began to breathe heavily and Winona was getting concerned.
Jim sits at the outside the RV and Daryl starts planning what to do, "I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it."
Shane speaks up, irked, "Is that what you'd want if it were you?"
"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."
Dale starts to talk, "I hate to say it— I never thought I would— but maybe Daryl's right."
"I agree with Pops, Daryl has a point."
"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog. Come on Winona you can't be serious," Rick states, she facepalms.
"We're not suggesting—"
Rick cuts him off, "He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"
"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be," Daryl expresses.
"What if we can get him help? Winona and I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure."
"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane informs.
"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?"
"Man, that is a stretch right there."
Winona steps forward, "Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? Rick's right, this might be our best shot. Shelter, protection, rescue—"
Shane cuts her off, "Okay, Win, Rick, you guys want these things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they are at the army base. Fort Benning."
"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction," Lori articulates.
"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."
"The military were on the front lines of this thing. Even they got overrun. We've all seen that," Winona expresses.
Rick nods, "The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance."
Daryl looks at Jim briefly and then back to the group, "You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do." He turns around raising the pickaxe at Jim, "Someone needs to have the balls to take care of this damn problem!" Winona races over in front of Jim, blocking him from Daryl, "Out of my way, Winona. Unless you wanna end up dead, too."
Shane harshly grabs her away and takes her spot in front of Jim, she rubs the spot on her arm where he grabbed her, "Shit, that fucking hurt. What the hell is his problem?" Rolling her sleeve up she see that a bruise is already forming, "Goddamnit."
She walks to Glenn and sees Rick aim his gun at Daryl's head, "We don't kill the living."
Daryl scoffs, "That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."
"We may disagree on some things, not on this," Shane starts, "You put it down. Go on." Daryl shoves the pickaxe into the ground and stomps away.
Rick goes over to Jim, "Come with me."
"Where are you taking me?" Jim asks wearily.
"Somewhere safe."
——
Winona watches as Dale goes over to talk with Andrea, she decides to talk to Daryl. Walking over in front of the RV, she sees Daryl making sure the dead won't turn. "Hey, you doin' okay?" she asks.
"Just peachy," he mutters while hitting another body in the head, "We've got a dead girl about to turn and a bitten man waiting to turn, so I consider that pretty a-okay."
"I get your frustration, but Amy is out of our control, you saw how Andrea was gonna shoot Rick if he did anything. And Jim? He's still a conscious person, he knows he's gonna die soon, but we can't just kill him."
Daryl stops and looks at Winona, "But you said I had a point. So how can you agree with me but not do what I think we should?"
"I agreed with you because I think we should ask what Jim wants. We should at least give him the option." Daryl huffs and starts to go back to work. Winona sees a familiar body that's face is all bruised, "Is that Ed?"
"Seems like it. He looks like a geek already. What the hell happened to him?"
Hearing approaching footsteps, the two turn around to see Carol. She walks up to Daryl, crying, "I'll do it. He's my husband." The redneck hands her the pickaxe and he and Winona watch as she hits Ed's head in multiple times.
——
Winona questions how Ed got beaten up, she decides the best person to ask would be Dale. She finds him by a fire, "Hey Pops, you gotta sec?"
He looks at his watch, "Of course I do, what's up? Did you talk with Shane?"
She pauses, memories of the fight flooding her brain, "Yeah... it didn't go well. Long story short; he came up to me when I was packing for the trip into the city. He accused me of cheating, so I brought up the bruise on his collarbone. He was speechless and I gave back the ring and said we were done."
"Ironic how the guilty always seem to reveal their true selves. I'm glad you were able to end things and not stay in that toxic relationship. I now understand his recent behavior since then."
"How so?"
"He's been cranky, violent, and demanding."
"Violent? That wouldn't have anything to do with Ed's bruised face would it?"
"That's the reason his face is like that. From what I heard, Ed said something to the women, and slapped Carol, then Shane blew up. He wouldn't stop punching Ed— not saying that bastard didn't deserve it. Shane went overboard, not stopping, even with the pleas from Carol."
"Oh god," Winona covers her mouth, "When Daryl threatened Jim and I stood in front of him, Shane grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me away. It left a mark," rolling her sleeve to exposed the bruise, "It's not extremely noticeable, but it hurts like a son-of-a-bitch."
"I am so sorry, Winona. Avoid him as much as you can, I don't know how far he'll take it." Dale hugs her and Carol comes over and sits down next to them.
As she lounges— taking a break— by Dale and Carol, Winona hears strange groans and begins to panic, "Shit. Did Amy turn? Why isn't Andrea doing anything?" Looking towards the side of the RV, she sees a reanimated Amy, grabbing at Andrea. She watches as Rick and Shane start to walk over as well, they too, were getting concerned.
"I'm here now Amy," Andrea says to Amy, "I love you." Winona hears the gunshot and sees Amy fall back down.
——
Up on top of the hill, Rick and Shane were silently digging graves. Rick's the first to break the silence, "Say it."
Shane pauses and stops digging, looking at his best friend, "Okay. I'm thinking if you'd have stayed here, if you'd have looked after your own— instead you went off. You took half our manpower with you, including my fiancée. I'm thinking maybe our losses wouldn't have been so bad."
"If we hadn't gone off and brought those guns back when we did, I think our losses would have been a lot worse. Maybe the entire camp," Rick defends, "And about Winona, I know you two had a fight. I also know she said she was done with you. So you wanna tell me why?"
"We were constantly butting heads. She went ballistic and ended it, not even giving me a chance to fix things. So yeah... I'm just waiting for her to realize her mistake and run back to me."
"Are you confident about that? I mean she did seem really upset—not about the breakup but with you."
"Look, Rick, you wanna be all up in mine and Winona's relationship? You have no right, that's my business. You pay attention to yours and I will with mine, okay? End of story."
Right as Rick goes to reply, Daryl and Winona come up with a load of bodies in the truck. The two get out and Daryl starts to speak, "I still think it's a mistake not burning these bodies. It's what we said we'd do, right?" The rest of the group comes up now, Daryl still ranting away, "Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?"
Shane responds to him, "At first."
"The Chinaman gets all emotional—"
Winona interrupts him with a smack to the arm, "He's Korean, dumbass."
Daryl scoffs, "Whatever, same thing...he says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are."
Rick cuts him off, "There are no rules."
"Well, that's our problem," Lori butts in, "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need time to bury our dead. It's what people do." She turns and walks away.
——
Everyone gathers around watching Andrea struggle to put her sister's body in the grave, Winona and Dale go over to try and help. Andrea stops them with sobs repeating, "I can do it," multiple times. She accepts some help with Amy's legs as she lays the body gently into the hole. A majority of the group were crying over the sight in front of them, it was heart wrenching to watch such a tough person break down like that. Andrea gingerly lays Amy's head in the grave and Dale and Winona help to lift her out of the hole.
The group begins to walk down the hill, Winona was still moving the remaining bodies. She overhears Rick's conversation with Lori, "Burying other people is bad enough, but the thought of one of us—"
Lori shushes him, and Carl looks to his father, "Are we safe now, Dad? Now that we're together?"
"I won't leave again," Rick crouches down to his son's eye level, "I promise you that. Not for anything." Carl nods sniffling, Rick holds the boy's face, "Now give me a chance to discuss some things with your mom, okay?" Rick looks back to see Winona finishing up, "Why don't you head over and hang out with Winona? I'm sure she'd love to talk with you."
Carl nods and runs over to Winona, "Hey Nona! Is it okay if I hang out with you for a bit?"
"Of course, Bud, I could use a strong man to help me out down at camp. I'll race ya." She ruffles his hair and the two start to run down the hill, unbeknownst to her, Rick was unconsciously smiling at the sight.
Rick interlocks hands with Lori and they start to slowly walk down after, "Shane blames me for not being here," He stops and looks at his wife, "Do you?" She hesitates but doesn't answer, Rick continues, "We got guns now. We're stronger."
"And we have fewer people," Lori quietly states, "That makes us weaker. You want me to say I think you were right? I understand that." She pauses, searching for the words, "All I can say is that neither one of you is entirely wrong. It's the best I can do right now."
"What about the C.D.C.?"
"Rick—"
"We're at the ragged edge here. We need relief and we got a sick man who needs help. I don't know why people can't see that."
"Well, look at their faces. Look at mine. We're all terrified. If one of us suggested, based on a hunch, that we head toward that city, you'd have no part of it," Rick looks at her, she presses on, "Tell me something with certainty."
Rick looks around gathering his words, "I love you," Lori smiles at him, "That's all I got."
She shrugs her shoulders, "I love you too." The two embrace each other.
——
Carl is helping Winona with moving some debris, she wasn't about to subject a 12 year old to moving bodies. He speaks up, "Nona... Do you trust my Dad?"
She stops and wipes her hands off, "Of course I do, l trust him with my life. Why? What's going on in the head of my favorite Grimes?"
The boy giggles but then sadly shrugs, "I don't know, I guess I'm just scared. Can you tell me a story like you used to?"
Winona nods, "I'll tell one about your dad..." They sit down on log, "On our journey to find you and your mom, I had to put a bunch of trust in him, but he did the same with me. He trusted that I would take care of him and keep him out of stupid situations— which he gets in a lot—" Carl snorts, "And I trusted he would keep me safe. When we had ran out of gas, we stopped at an old farm house, there was no one inside, but there was a horse out in the pasture— untouched," She looks to the boy, "Let me tell you, I was pooping my pants, okay?" She chuckles and the boy does too, "I was so scared of falling off, but I had to trust your dad. In the end, we ended up in the city and we found Glenn and the others and made it back to you and your mom. If I hadn't trusted your dad, I don't think I would be here hanging out with the coolest kid I know." She ruffles his hair.
Carl laughs, "Is that why you call him 'Cowboy' sometimes?"
"Indeed, Carl." She says with a posh accent.
"Thanks, Nona. You're the best." He gives a big hug that she returns.
"Now I believe this is where we must part ways," Winona remarks, "I must tend to Sir Jim, and I believe Lady Sophia is looking for you."
"Bye-Bye, Lady Winona, until next time."
The two bow at each other and Winona goes into the RV and sees Carol trying to help Jim as much as she can. She steps forward, gaining their attention, "Let me help." She checks the bandage and cringes at the sight, "We should change this."
Carol begins to talk to Winona, "What can I do to help?"
"Can you grab new bandages and some soap and water? Thank you." Carol rummages though the RV and gets what was needed, handing them to Winona. She changes the wrap and sits back observing Jim.
Carol dabs his face with a wet washcloth. They hear the RV door open and Rick and Lori walk in, Carol turns to them, "His fever is worse."
Winona looks at the two, "Carol's right. It's not getting any better, neither is the bite."
Lori looks at Jim, "You need anything?"
His voice is gravely as he responds, "Uh... water. Could use more water."
"I'll get some. Nona can you help me? And Carol I think Dale was looking for you." Carol nods and gets up.
Winona is confused as to why Lori asked her, "Uh... sure." The two leave the RV and start the journey to get water. Winona speaks up, "So why'd you ask me? I mean you haven't exactly talked to me since I've gotten here."
"That's pretty much why I wanted you to help me. We should catch up. How are things with Shane?"
Winona freezes in place and snaps, "Cut the bullshit, Lori." She harshly whispers, "If you think I was that stupid to believe there was nothing going on between you and him, think again. He and I are done."
Lori covers her mouth, "I- Nona-" she stutters, "I'm so sorry. He told me you and Rick were dead."
Winona pinches the bridge of her nose, "You didn't think I'd find out about it? Even before the dead began to walk, you two were awfully close. I picked up on it at the hospital, all the inside jokes and looks you'd give each other. He cared for you more than he did me. I'm not stupid, Lori."
"I'm sorry, Nona, I really am. If it makes a difference, I only saw him as a friend at the hospital, it was after he told me you and Rick were dead, that I started seeing him as more. I know that probably doesn't make it any better but I really do miss you. I told Shane to stay away from me and Carl because he lied to us about you guys."
"It helps, but I don't think we can ever go back to how we used to be."
"As long as you don't hate me, that's okay with me. But can you tell me something?"
"Sure..."
"Does Rick know?"
"No. I never told him my suspicions or the real reason I ended things with Shane."
"Oh thank God."
Winona scoffs, "Let's just get that water."
——
Back at the RV, Rick sits down across from Jim. The bitten man shifts and begins to speak, "You save a grave for me?"
"Nobody wants that."
"It's not about what you want. That, uh— that sound you hear, that's God laughing while you make plans."
"What I want, Jim, if—if God allows, is to get you some help."
Jim goes into a coughing fit and Rick hands him the bucket in case he needs to throw up. He ends up spitting up blood, "Watch the mangroves. Their roots will gouge the whole boat. You know that, right? Amy is there swimming," he looks at Rick, "You'll watch the boat, right? You said you would."
Rick nods his head, "I'll watch the boat. Don't worry." He rubs his face.
——
Winona watches as Shane crouches down to Lori, rolling her eyes, "'Told him to stay away' yeah right."
She continues to clean up the camp, eavesdropping on the two, hearing Shane speak, "I need you to help talk some sense into Rick," Lori gets up and starts to walk away, he follows, "Look, this C.D.C. thing, Lori, it's a mistake." She looks at him with disbelief. He continues, "So you're backing him?
"What else would I do? He's my husband," Lori states.
"Look, it may be time for you to play the dutiful wife, but you can't tell me that fixing your marriage is worth putting people's lives at risk."
"At least I'm trying to fix my relationship. And I for one think folks around here can make up their minds without bringing my marriage into it. It's a habit you need to break."
"I guess I'll just add it to the list of habits that I'm breaking. Whether I like it or not."
In this moment Rick walks out from the RV, "What habits?"
"𝐎𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭... 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧? 𝐈𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭?" Winona wonders to herself.
"Just talking about my need for a plan, man," Shane quickly covers, Winona could tell Rick wasn't believing him. "So what is it? Are we leaving if not? Maybe y'all just want to stay here. We could hang some more tin cans."
"We can't stay here," Rick counters, "We both know that."
Lori speaks up, "I was just telling Shane I think we should trust your gut." No one speaks, they all look at each other, tense.
"Let's go do our sweep," Shane offers to Rick.
Winona doesn't trust him, she sees Dale follow behind them unnoticed, so she tags along. Going up to Dale, she leans over to whisper to him, "Pops, is it just me or is Shane being really suspicious right now?"
"I agree. We should watch them just in case." They begin to get closer to observe the two.
Shane starts to talk to Rick, "Tell you what, man, these people, man, they're not convinced. You know? You head to the C.D.C., you might be on your own." Shane turns around, walking backwards, "You gotta really consider whether you want to put Lori and Carl in that kind of spot."
"I got to do what's best for my family."
"Best for your family? What's that? Exposing them to all kinds of risks?"
"As opposed to what?" Rick counters, "Crossing 100 miles of hostile territory? If we looking for a lifeline, I say swim toward the closet ship, not further out to sea. Why can't you back me up?"
"Look, I want to. It's just... I don't see it."
"If it was your family, if it was Winona, you'd feel differently."
Shane stops, pissed off at Rick, "What did you say to me? I kept 'em safe, man. I looked after them like they were my own. That's what I did. And Winona? I had let my stubborn ass fiancée stay back and take care of your ass, but even she doesn't see that." Winona gasps, infuriated, and Dale shushes her trying to calm her down.
"I didn't mean it that way."
"Well, how'd you mean it? Go on, man. How'd you mean it?"
"You're misinterpreting me. You're just hearing it wrong."
"Yeah?"
"Look, you know— you know I can never repay that debt, okay?" Winona accidentally steps on a branch, causing the two men to be on guard. They separate to look for the source of the noise, she and Dale go to hide.
They watch as Shane turns away from where they were and aims his gun towards Rick. He has his gun aimed at Rick for way too long for Winona's comfort, so her and Dale step out and wait for Shane to notice them. Dale gives the man a disgusted glare, "Jesus."
"What the hell were you doing, Shane?!" Winona questions.
Shane begins to chuckle, plotting a lie, "I know. Gonna have to start wearing reflective vests out here." He looks at the two, them not believing the man, "Seriously." He looks at Rick, "Come on, man." Shane puts his hat on and looks at Dale, "Come on, man, let's go. Nothing out here."
Shane starts to head out of the woods and Dale follows, Winona waits for Rick. He notices her, "Graves? What are you doing out here?"
"Nothing much, Cowboy. Pops and I went on a stroll and came across Shane, they left so I stayed back to wait for you."
"Well that's nice. Thank you."
She pats his shoulder, "Hey, I know you're worried about the C.D.C. but just know, I'll be right behind ya. Mainly to keep you out of trouble, but also because I trust your idea more than Shane's."
"That helps a lot. I've been so stressed out about our next move, and no one seems to have common sense. I get that this is a major gamble, but I'd rather go and see, than not."
"I agree with you. I also don't trust the army base, they would be the first places overrun, ya know? Think about it. The military had orders to help civilians, we saw all the abandoned and destroyed military vehicles. I can only imagine a base."
"You're right. Maybe you should try convincing the others."
"I don't know, Grimes," she puts her head down, "I'm not much of leader like you. We should get going though, don't wanna make the others too worried." She begins to walk away from the man and back to camp, Rick starts to follow shortly after.
They all get back up to the camp and Shane starts to talk to the group, "I've been, uh— I've been thinking about Rick's plan." Winona sits next to Glenn and Daryl, Rick squats next to his family. "Now look, there are no— there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts." Lori looks up at Shane and he continues to speak, "I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning." Winona watches as Lori looks towards Rick, "Okay?"
——
That night, Winona goes to Glenn's tent, "knocking" on the flap, "Can I come in?"
"All your stuff's in here, so I don't see why not." She unzips the tent and steps in. "So you gonna tell me what the hell happened between you and Shane? Or am I to keep guessing?"
"Well these past few days have been busy," she says laughing, "but yes. I guess I'll tell you what happened. Let me just preface this and say it wasn't pretty." Glenn nods and she begins to explain, "I was in the tent getting my stuff ready for the trip back to Atlanta and Shane comes marching in like, 'We need to talk. Where do you think you're going. Blah blah blah,'" mocking the man. "I asked him what there was to talk about and that he couldn't control me. He said he couldn't lose me again, not after he 'just got me back' that was where all hell broke loose. I told him I wasn't about to let Morgan and his son come into a walker-infested city, he asked why I couldn't be selfish for once, so I spit back at him, asking about how he left me back at hospital. He said I was going into the city as payback."
Glenn rolls his eyes, "How was that payback? You were trying to help people."
"Yeah, exactly. He said that I knew Lori wouldn't leave if she knew Rick was alive, which was true for the most part, but I brought up the possibility he just wanted Rick and I out of the picture, to make a move on Lori. I was already in tears at this point of the argument. I started listing the evidence, how he was so quick to leave me, how he barely tried lifting Rick, the glances, the jokes, the tension. He then tried to accuse me of cheating, stating I came back wearing Rick's hoodie and that he and I were super close and that's we had our own inside jokes and nicknames."
"Funny, it's almost like Rick was the only other person you could talk to," Glenn sarcastically says.
"Exactly. Then he said that if it wasn't Rick than I was cheating on him with you. Saying that maybe I was the guilty one and it was that that made me accuse him."
Glenn laughs, "Me?? Oh god he was reaching for anything there."
"Mmhmm. So I told him I needed to find a new best friend since mine old one decided to sleep with my fiancé. I started getting pissed at him, telling him I did have proof, like the fact he would go into the woods and come out with Lori. Knowing he was gonna say it was all coincidences I asked him about the hickey that was on his collarbone the night I got here. He went silent. I ended the relationship and gave back the ring. I grabbed my stuff and as I went to leave, I turned back once more and said, 'just for the record, Rick doesn't know anything about you and Lori because I have some decency and won't ruin a marriage like you.' Not gonna lie, I felt pretty badass when I said that."
Glenn's mouth dropped, "Holy shit, Wi. As you should. Have you talked with Lori?"
"Yeah, she said that when they were at the hospital she only saw him as a friend and that it wasn't until he told her that we were dead, that she started to return the feelings."
"Well, hey, at least you cleared things up with her. And if you don't want to be friends with her again, I'm glad to be your new best friend," Glenn smiles.
"Thanks Glenn, I really appreciate you. We should probably get some sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow." Winona crawls into her sleeping bag and Glenn crawls into his. He turns the lantern off and they eventually fall into a peaceful sleep.
——
5861 words