Fire With Fire // D. Dixon

chapter five

Chloe sat awake, watching as her little brother slept just beside of her father. 

She had decided it would be best if they kept watch while the other slept, just in case anybody in the area decided to come snooping. Luckily, nobody seemed to be in the area. It was just them. Whether or not that really was luck, was up for debate.

Chloe was startled when she heard groaning. It was soft, quiet. She nearly stopped breathing so she could hear it better. She needed to find out where it was coming from before it got closer to them.

Chloe's eyes scanned the streets, seeing nothing. Chloe looked in front of her, seeing Carl was awake and looking at their father.

"Carl?" Chloe whispered, watching as their father's body began to stir. The groaning grew louder by the second, as did the fear within Chloe's stomach. No, she thought, he's not dead.

Carl squirmed over towards Chloe and away from Rick, looking at his older sister. Chloe wasn't sure what she should do. Comfort Carl? Kill Rick? No, I can't do that, she thought. 

"Chloe, he's..." Carl cried, reaching for his pistol. Chloe grabbed the pistol from him, and moved closer to Rick. Chloe's hands were trembling visibly, her heart beating a million miles a minute. Could she really do this? Kill her own father?

"Carl?" Rick spoke in a pained whisper, "Chloe?"

"Dad!" Chloe shouted, dropping the gun to the floor and rushing to his side. Chloe cried tears of joy as she hugged her father for the first time since seeing he was alive.

"Keep him safe, don't go outside..." Rick's voice faded as he fell back to sleep once again. Chloe looked at Carl, who looked stunned. 

Chloe Grimes would do exactly what she was told.

-X-

"You shouldn't have risked it, going out there like that. It's dangerous." Rick spoke to both of his children, still struggling to sit up straight. He was clearly still in a great deal of pain, but at least he wasn't covered in blood. Chloe had carefully cleaned his wounds and gotten them wrapped, just like Hershel had taught her.

"I was leading the walkers away from the house," Carl spoke, "I was careful." 

"It's good that you found more food." Rick spoke, looking at Carl with a proud look on his face. He was grateful that his kids were here, alive and breathing.

"Actually, that was me," Chloe smiled, handing Rick a can of beans, "I guess people forget to check the basements."

The trio chuckled, thinking about how they would store canned goods in their basement. Lori enjoyed canning foods during the summer, putting their garden veggies to good use. Rick had sectioned off a whole chunk of the basement just for her to store the cans, oh how he missed those days...

"I know we'll never get things back to the way they used to be." Rick said, looking down at his half-eaten can of beans.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, glancing between him and Carl. She didn't understand what he meant.

"I only clung to that for you all. Now that Judith is gone..." Rick trailed off, looking anywhere but in their eyes. Chloe's heart skipped a beat just thinking about her little sister. She didn't want to believe it, but the truth was there. The ugly, yet undeniable truth.

"You're a man, Carl," Rick looked at his son and then to his daughter, "And Chloe, you are the strongest woman I know. You took care of yourself and your brother when I couldn't." Chloe reached her hands towards Rick's and held it there. The trio sat there like that for a while. Until a knock was heard on the front door.

Rick grabbed his gun and stood up to face the door, struggling as he did so. Chloe rushed to help hold him up as he investigated the noise, more specifically the person that had made the sound.

As he looked through the eye hole, he was quick to turn back to face the siblings. When Rick sat down with a chuckle and a grunt, Chloe was stunned.

"It's for you two."

-X-

It was Michonne. She had found the trio. Chloe didn't know how, but she did. Chloe was every bit relieved to see another member of her family, they had found her. Those times when she was alone were by far her scariest moments thus far, beating the quarry camp attack outside Atlanta, the barn full of walkers at the farm, and the farm getting overrun. All of that was bad, but at least she had someone with her. Someone to look out for her, protect her. 

With Michonne back, the group was able to scavenge more food, find more weapons and gather more supplies. As cute and quaint as this neighborhood was, it was not their forever home. No, this place was only a pit stop along the way. Along the way to wherever the hell they were going to end up.

When Chloe, Carl, and Michonne had returned from their venture to get more supplies, they were shocked to see a panicked Rick ushering them to run and get the hell out of there. None of them said a word, they just turned away and ran for it.

After a while, the group stumbled upon train tracks. Without any other ideas, they decided to follow it. Wherever it led to, at least they were together.

"I think we've got about a day's worth of water left. We're lucky it's cooled off a little bit but..." Rick turned around, sensing that nobody was behind him. He watched as Michonne and Carl were walking on the edges of the tracks, clearly competing to see who could keep walking the longest. Rick and Chloe exchanged happy glances as they watched the two having fun.

"I win!" Carl cheered, "Pay up." Carl smiled, watching as Michonne reached into her bag and pulled out two candy bars. The pair laughed about which one he'd choose, ultimately sharing it anyway. 

Chloe smiled, and held her Dad's hand. Rick looked at her, smiling down at their intertwined hands.

"You haven't held my hand like this since you were little." Rick said, reminiscing about their life before everything fell apart. How Lori and him would take Chloe and Carl to restaurants and bowling alleys and everything in between just because. They didn't need a reason, sometimes they just went out for the sake of going out.

"I know," Chloe smiled, "I guess I just feel like that little girl again. The one that really needs her Dad." Chloe felt herself losing control again, letting her emotions get the best of her. She fought hard to keep the tears in, but Rick noticed.

"Hey," Rick stopped, "I am always with you. I will always protect you, Chloe. Whether I am a healthy person, a walker, or dead...I will always look after you. That will never change." Rick pulled Chloe into a hug and kept her there. He wished he could just keep her in his arms forever, safe and away from anyone or anything that tried to hurt her.

"It's funny you say that." Chloe spoke, pulling away with a smile. 

"How so?"

"After the prison, I was alone," Chloe spoke, "But I heard you, Daryl, and Carol. In my head, I mean. Like you were all there, guiding me." Chloe thought about her brief time in the woods, how she remembered her trips with Daryl. Daryl had been the one to teach her how to hunt, build fires, track, and how to set traps. Oh how the Grimes girl missed him.

"Like I said before," Rick spoke with a fatherly smile, his hand still in hers, "I am always with you."