We'll be alright

#3

Neither of them said anything for a while as they were driving. It was wierd for Mackenzie, she recognised some of the streets they were driving through but they all felt different.

"Ma brother broke his arm at that park." Mackenzie whispered, breaking the silence. She pointed at a run down, damaged park. Rick followed where her finger was pointing, slowing the car as they passed it before speeding up again.

"You have a brother?" Rick asked "how old is he?"

"Had." Mackenzie corrected, quietly "He was 16, got bit by one of those motherfuckers."

She saw Rick nod awkwardly from the corner of her eye.

"Oh." He replied.

"Yeah, when he broke his arm he fell on my mama it wa' pretty funny." She told him, resting her legs on the dashboard and hugging her backpack.

Rick pushed her legs down "That's not safe, we could crash and you'll break your back."

Mackenzie huffed and settled on bringing her legs up infront of her, she put her backpack ontop and resting her chin on it. Rick sighed shaking his head a little but didnt say anything, she could feel the car slow down a little though.

"So your mum?" Rick asked "Where's she?"

"Also dead." Mackenzie whispered, talking about her was easier she didn't remember her as much "Got hit by a car before all this, my daddy said the driver was plastered. 'm not sure why having plasters on you means you can't drive though."

Rick sighed and rubbed his face, he did it to hide the smile cause by Mackenzies innocence. She didn't notice though, she was too busy adjusting her legs.

"Plastered doesn't mean having plasters on you it means being really drunk." He told her.

"Oh." Mackenzie replied quietly.

"Sorry for everyone..." Rick said.

"Dyin'?" She sighed "me too."

Unlike before, Mackenzie felt extremely awkward in the silence. She bit the inside of her cheek while she tried coming up with something to say.

"How olds your son?" Mackenzie asked, she brought her baseball cap down a little to hide the sun from her eyes.

"Carls 12 so a little older then you." Rick told her.

Mackenzie nodded, though she wasnt sure if he saw. They stayed like that for a while Rick driving and Mackenzie with her legs up and resting her chin ontop of her bag. Both in silence, but not uncomfortable.

After a while, Rick pulled over the car and got out, confused Mackenzie followed him. She wasn't completly sure where they were but she had deja-vu as they walked passed some trees, maybe mama took us here for a picnic when we were visiting cousins she thought to herself.

Mackenzie silently followed Rick through the woodland, he hadn't said anything about why they had stopped or what he was doing so she thought it was best not to ask him.

After a bit of walking, they had come across a motherfucker crawling on the floor. It didn't have either of its legs which grossed Mackenzie out. She made a quiet noise seeing it, Rick turned and put his finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. She nodded and stayed close to him moving further away from the motherfucker.

For some reason unknown to Mackenzie, Rick knelt down next to the motherfucker and watched it crawl closer to him. The motherfucker turned and faced both Mackenzie and Rick, Mackenzie stepped backwards, wanting to stay further away from it but near Rick, but Rick stayed there.

"I'm sorry this happened to you." He muttered to it.

"It's dead." Mackenzie whispered "Ain't gonna hear ya."

Rick didn't reply. Mackenzie saw him get his gun out so she rushed over to him, remembering her knife, and tapped him on the shoulder repeatedly, she didn't want more of them to show up. Rick turned to face her, he saw her offering her knife and took it. He sighed before hesitatingly stabbing the motherfucker in its head. Almost instantly, its head collapsed onto the floor and it stop growling.

With little difficulty, Rick pulled out the knife and wiped it onto the grass before handing it back to Mackenzie.

"Good call." He told her as she took the knife and put it away.

She shrugged and looked back at the dead motherfucker, wondering how it lost its legs. Both Rick and Mackenzie now stood watching it for a moment before Rick walked away, Mackenzie ran to catch up then walked beside him. Neither of them spoke about it.

Back in the car, Rick continuously used the radio trying to get anybodys attention. At first, Mackenzie had watched and hoped they would get a response but she had quickly lost that hope and stared out the window hugging her bag. Rick however, was persistant and didn't stop trying.

"Broadcasting on emergency channel." He repeated again like a broken record "We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond."

"Don't think anyones gonna respond." Mackenzie told him, her head resting on the window "Ya said it like a gazillion times, woulda said somet' by now."

"Doesn't hurt to keep trying." Rick shrugged, optimistically.

"I guess." She replied, unconvinced.

The radio crackled, Mackenzie wasn't sure what it meant but Rick kept talking.

"Hello. Hello. Can anyone hear my voice?" He asked.

Mackenzie turned and looked at him, making sure he hadn't lost he plot. People do that sometimes, she remembered her daddy saying, tend to bring a load of people down with them when they do.

Thinking about her dad made her eyes water, she left him there all alone. What kind of daughter is she? Was. Was she, she's not a daughter anymore. Her mama and daddy were dead.

Blinking quickly, she went back to looking out her window. She did not want Rick to see her cry, crying shows your weak and you can't show weakness.

"Anybody out there? Anybody hears me, please repsond." He continued, he didn't notice Mackenzie crying quietly beside him. "Hello, can you hear my voice?"

It was about then that Mackenzie had tuned him out, she was counting the trees they passed in an attempt to stop thinking about her dad, mum and brother.

Mackenzie noticed that Rick, yet again, pulled over.

"Why'd we stop?" She asked looking over at him, wiping her eyes.

He glanced at her before pulling his sun visor down and taking a photo out of it. Silently, he put it into his sherifs jacket and got out of the car.

"Lets go." he told her, he opened the back door and got his bag out.

Not wanting hin to leave without her, Mackenzie unbuckled and got out the car as quickly as possible, almost falling out of it, and put her backpack on.

She followed after him quickly, he was a lot like her dad in that sense, he never waited for her he just assumed she would catch up.

They soon came across a house, it looked fancy to Mackenzie. It was all white and had stairs leading to the front door with a porch to the left and a little storage shed to the right.

"Hello." Rick called out, Mackenzie doubted there would be anyone inside but chose not to voice this.

"Police officer out here." He called out again, dropping his bags to the floor.

"That don't mean much now." Mackenzie whispered, Rick looked down at her but didn't respond.

He started walking towards the door asking if he could borrow gas, Mackenzie initally decided to stay with the bags but after seeing Rick drop the fuel container she followed him. Maybe they weren't just getting gas, she thought.

Rick started knocking on the front door, Mackenzie ran over and sat on the bench that was on the porch. No house she had ever been to before had a porch, even though it wasn't her house she felt rich.

As he walked passed her, Rick shook his head a little while smiling. He peered through the window and Mackenzie noticed as he went pure white.

"What's up?" she asked, she placed her hand near her sheath.

Gripping onto the gate, Rick walked away from the window and to a picnic bench where sat down, almost folding himself in half. As much as Mackenzie wanted to know what he saw, she decided to follow him and sit on the picnic bench with him. However, she sat on the table area with her feet placed next to where Rick was sat.

He didn't seem to care, or notice, Mackenzie realized, he just kept spitting and rubbing his head.

"Lets go." Rick instructed after a moment, walking towards a van.

When Mackenzie caught up with him, she saw him tapping around the steering wheel and looking at the sun visor.

"What you looking for?" She asked him, when he slammed the sun visor back up.

"Keys." He sighed before closing the car door.

"Probably in the house" Mackenzie shrugged "Where most people keep keys.

Rick sighed in defeat, he looked over at the house before shaking his head. Mackenzie had no clue what he was thinking but he started walking away before he got distract by a horses neigh.

He turned and looked at the horse before looking down at Mackenzie.

"You know how to ride?" Rick asked her.

She looked at the horse then back at Rick.

"Nuh-uh." She shook her head quickly.

"Well, I guess you're learning today." He replied walking back to the gun bag.

Mackenzie stared at the horse, eyes narrowed, trying to speak to it telepathically. 'You kick us off, I'll cry. Motherfuckers will hear and will get you so don't kick us off.' She tried telling the horse. It neighed again so she assumed it understood the message and walked to Rick, who had swung the gun bag over his left shoulder and letting it hang on his right side.

Mackenzie wasn't sure where he found it, but Rick had found something that looked like a rope. He lead her to the gate and opened it.

"Stay out here, I'll tell you when to come in." He instruced her.

"Are we really riding a horse?" Mackenzie asked, she really wasn't sure about this.

"We've not got a whole load of options." Rick shrugged "We're gonna have to."

Mackenzie nodded and Rick gave her the gun bag. He opened the gate and walked in towards the horse.

"Easy. Easy now I'm not gonna hurt you." He reassured the horse. "Nothing like that."

It was strange to Mackenzie hearing him talk to a horse. It's a horse, not a human. Can they even understand you?

"More like a propsal." He continued.

Like a wedding propsal? Mackenzie thought. Why would he marry a horse? Maybe he was loosing the plot.

"Atlantas just down the roads a way. It's safe there." He promised the horse "Food, shelter, people. Other horses too, I bet."

"All ya gotta do do is run away from the motherfuckers that are out to kill everyone." Mackenzie said to herself, grateful Rick didn't hear.

Instead of listening to Rick talking to the horse, Mackenzie started picking some of the flowers and making them into daisy chains. While he was trying to catch the horse, she had made a long necklace and put it over her head. She looked up and saw he was still trying to persuade the horse so she decided to make another. Once she had finished, she stood up and walked closer to the gate again holding the necklace in her hand gently.

By that point, Rick had a saddle placed on the horse and was beckoning Mackenzie over to him.

"What were you doing?" He asked, stroking the horses mane.

Mackenzie pulled up her necklace carefully to show him before handing the second one she made.

"A flower necklace?" he questioned before putting it on careful not to break it.

"Got bored." Mackenzie shrugged, smiling a little that he actually wore it.

"Looks good." Rick nodded "Right lets get you on this horse."

Rick had secured the horse to a tree, so he and Mackenzie could get on it without it running away. At first, he got Mackenzie to try stand in the stirrup and swing her leg over the top however, she couldnt reach it. So he had to pick her up and sit her on it, much to her displeasure. Afterwards, Rick got on the horse and sat infront of Mackenzie, she had grabbed onto his shirt terrified she was going to fall off.

"Im gonna die." Mackenzie muttered "were gonna die Rick, were gonna die."

"Nobodys gonna die." Rick laughed "not yet at least.

"Not yet at least?" She questioned "what do you mean not yet?"

"It was a joke. Sorry." He shook his head as ge told the horse to start walking.

Almost instantly, the horse started racing down the farm. Rick kept repeating the words "woah, boys." And "easy now." trying to slow the horse back down. Mackenzie had squeezed her eyes shut, quietly whispering to her family. Begging them to get the horse to listen, begging them to let her and Rick be okay.

Once they got off of the farm, the horse slowed back down. Rick let out a sigh of relief, taking control of the situation. Mackenzie opened her eyes slowly, unsure whether the horse would begin speeding off again.

"You good back there." He asked Mackenzie.

"Mh-hm." She nodded quietly, minus the feeling that she was going to throw up she felt fine.

"Good. good." Rick replied "Plan is to ride the horse all the way to Atlanta. Might have to take cover if it gets kate though, depends how long it takes."

Mackenzie nodded, completely forgetting that he couldnt see. She had never ridden a horse before, she never wanted to ride one again.

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If you enjoyed this part let me know, i like knowing peoples thoughts <3

If you have any ideas that you wanna see in future parts also let me know and ill see if i can add them 🙃

🙃- such an underrated emoji

I haven't checked for spelling\grammer mistakes so if there are any im sorry.

I changed her age from 7 to 9, not a huge difference but the walking dead timeline is pretty confusing (i had changed her age like 4 or 5 times before i started uploading, its been fun.)

Words count-2411