Give Me Hope || {twd} ➳ book two of the hope series.

Chapter Six.

the only thing i remembered was a blur.
i had woken up to the sounds of muffled whispers, and feet shuffling.
i saw the group rushing to the caving in doors of the barn, and i had jumped up also.
i ran up to the doors, helping the group hold them back as walkers tried to push through.
i looked to my left and saw carl, and the two of us held eye contact for a moment.
it was like everything was in slow motion, and then it just stopped.
*******
my eyes fluttered open, and i squinted as a ray of light shown through the broken glass window, directing right into my eyes.
i sat up and leaned back against the wall, stretching out my legs.
i look up to see Sasha and maggie walk in, with a man behind them.
we all immediately stand up, holding our guns out in front of us.
"rick grimes?" i hear the man question, and i look to rick, who held a confused expression.
******
Rick had told us to clear out, while he talked to the man.
supposedly his name was Aaron.
i had found a lake a little while away from the barn, and there was a large tree, with a long branch that hung over the lake.
i took my knife and jabbed it into the side of the tree.
i made sure it was secure, then used it to push myself up.
i pulled my knife out of the trunk, then continued to climb the tree branches.
i got to the branch i wanted, and sat down, my legs hovering over the lake.
i took my knife out again, and began to carve into the bark.
"thought i'd find you here."
i turned around and saw kaia, and nearly fell backward.
she chuckled, and approached the tree trunk.
"how did you even get up there?" she asked, studying the branches.
"i used my knife."
"ah." she nodded, and shoved her knife into the bark, repeating the process i had done earlier.
she climbed up also, and sat down beside me.
"no carl?" she asked, swinging her legs over the branch.
"we broke up. well.. i broke up with him." i say, looking down.
"oh. why?" she asked, looking over at me.
i looked across the lake, seeing a few walkers on the other side of the water.
"i dont know."
she nods, looking across also.
"you think i could shoot them from here?" kaia asks, smirking as she held up her gun.
"no way." i chuckle, looking off in the distance.
"alright. lets try it."
her gun makes a quiet pop sound as she pulls the trigger, and the bullet passes through the silencer.
i see a walker drop to the ground in the distance, and my mouth flies open.
"yes!" she cheers, throwing her arms in the air.
we high five, and then nearly both fall over, off the very high tree branch.
i screech and we grab onto each other, trying not to topple over.
after we regain our balance we laugh, tucking away our weapons.
*******
after we climbed back down the tree, we walked back to the barn.
my group was standing off to the side, and i approached promise.
"whats going on?" i whispered to her.
"supposedly he has a place. some kind of 'sanctuary.' its called 'Alexandria.'" promise whispers back. "rick and aaron got into a heated argument about it earlier. we're waiting to hear more."
i step up to the doors, about to pull them open when someone speaks.
"joelle, dont."
i turn to see carl, shaking his head.
"shut the fuck up." i say, swinging the barn door opens.
"just come with us. we need people like you." aaron says, standing across from rick.
"are you really going to believe this bullshit, rick?" i ask, approaching the two of them.
aaron chuckles, and rick rolls his eyes.
"jo, go back outside." rick demands.
"no way. im considered the 'leader' of my group, so i should be a part of this conversation also." i cross my arms across my chest, not moving.
"you're just a child. you cant make decisions for the group." rick says, shaking his head.
"i've made good decisions so far. look how far we've come." i say, shaking my head.
********
after a long argument with rick and aaron, we decided we were going to go check it out, but only on ricks rules.
"joelle, you go with the other group. we'll go with aaron." rick states, starting to walk away.
"no way. im going with you guys." i argue back, running up to the car.
"no. thats enough arguing. you're going with the other group."
i raise my eyebrows, leaning up against the side of the car.
*********
nice try rick.
i sit in the middle seat in the back of the car, michonne, daryl, and glenn.
rick sat in the passengers seat, and aaron drove.
rick opened up the glove box, and sifted through the pile of license plates.
"what are these for?" rick asked, holding them up.
"i collect them." aaron replies, taking his eyes off the road for a second to look at the license plates.
"w-whats this?" rick asks, pulling out a contraption that had a cone at the end.
"Is that..." michonne says, leaning forward. "a microphone...?"
"it's not what you think." aaron replies, a look of terror on his face.
"not what we think?! you've been spying on us!" i yell, and them the car comes to a sudden stop.
i see a few walkers, but then he starts driving again.
i bite my lip, watching as we plow through the walkers.
i hear what sounds like a crack, and then the car stops again. this time, for good.
michonne hops out, examining the front of the car. it was full of walker guts.
we hop out of the car, and i look ahead, seeing about three dozen walkers.
i see a redish, orange flare go off in the distance.
thats when aaron runs.
"stop!" rick yells, and we all run off after them.
i pull out my gun and knife, and bolt in another direction.
i stab a few walkers, then dodge a few.
i see michonne appear at my side, and we run together, fending off walkers.
we run into another road, seeing rick, aaron, glenn, and daryl.
*******
aaron leads us down an alleyway, and we all trail behind.
"dad!" i see a figure run out of the darkness, and rick wraps his arms around carl.
"you alright?" rick asks, leaning on carl.
"im fine."
carl looks at me, and then i look away.
aaron runs into the small building, and i run into it after him.
so this is why he ran after the flare.
i see him kneeling down beside another man, who had his leg wrapped, and propped up on a chair.
they held hands tightly, and i smiled to myself, walking out.
*******
we decided to go this morning. take the RV, and the other car they had.
carl went in the car, so i went in the trailer this time.
as the RV came to a stop, rosita stood up, opening the door.
i trailed out after her, and i stared up at the large gates.
this was it.
Alexandria.
i approached the tall gates, hearing the sound of light chatter, and children laughing.
rain appeared by my side, and i smiled at her, and she nodded.
thats when the gates started to open.