ORDER (sequel to Trouble) [TWD]

sacrifice

"I feel like I've been asking this a lot. Are you okay?" Sakiko asks Carl.

"Honestly? No," he admits.

"I'm sorry," she sighs.

"I know that things are already hard- especially after Noah. I know this place is.. rough. But, dad.. He didn't help matters."

"He was sticking up for a woman who was being beat by her husband," Sakiko reminds, "It wasn't.. It wasn't careless or selfish."

"It was more than that," Carl denies, "You weren't there."

Sakiko couldn't argue there. She didn't see Rick have what everyone is considering a 'breakdown'. She was with Maggie- having their own breakdowns over one negative and one positive pregnancy tests.

She didn't see Rick and Pete begin arguing. She didn't see them burst through a window- a fucking window. She didn't see Rick pull a gun on Deanna and other members of Alexandria. She didn't see Rick shove Carl.

That was what she was doing now. Rick had shoved Carl during the fight- leading to Carl's hand getting scraped and injured as he fell onto the road. Sakiko was the only one Carl was letting see the injury and clean it now.

"They don't kill people here. I don't know if that's because of their morals or just.. They don't know how to go about it," Carl continues, "But, they do kick people out. They exile them."

"You think they'll exile your dad?"

"He pointed a gun at innocent people. He scared everyone. Deanna has to be thinking about it at least."

"He wouldn't go alone. We'd all walk with him, right?" 

"You don't have to do that," Carl shakes his head, "You, Ryan, Nanami, Maggie, Glenn, Rosita- all of you. You're making it in here. You don't have to leave because of him."

Sakiko thinks about what Maggie had said- how they're all family.

"Just.. When-"

"If," Sakiko corrects.

"If it goes that way," Carl rephrases, "Could you take Judith?"

"What?"

"I'll have to go with him."

"Carl," she tugs his hand, forcing his eyes to hers, "No one is going anywhere. Stop thinking like that."

Carl looks down to the wound on his hand, "But-"

"No," Sakiko states firmly, "Trust me, dude. This will work out. Just.. How about you skip tonight? I'll go in your place. You've got a lot going on in your head- I'll go for you."

"Could.." Carl exhales, "Could you skip, too? I kind of.. Don't want to be alone."

Sakiko pats his hand, "I'll send Ryan in our place."

Carl laughs and Sakiko picks up the wipes, returning to cleaning the wound.

--

"You all right back there?" Daryl asks.

Nanami grunts, rolling over in his position- an awkwardly bent angle from where he'd thrown himself into the backseat.

"Alive," Nanami replies, "'s good enough."

"What.. What kind of people would do that?" Aaron gasps out.

"Some sick fuck with too much time on his hands," Nanami decides, finally sitting upright, "Next time we see a giant truck that has food on the side of it- I'm just gonna assume it's a trap."

"Probably the smart thing," Daryl agrees.

"I think I can crawl through the back seat.. Find the emergency latch and go out the trunk-"