Dead Man Walking || RICK GRIMES POV -SLOW UPDATES-

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Refer to Ch 22, 23, & 24

Rick's heart felt like it would beat out of his chest as he stared at the motionless body by his feet. Dave was behind the bar, away from their line of sight, but Tony's large body leaked blood, quickly forming a pool of the warm, sticky substance. Taking a cautionary step back, Rick locked eyes with June.

He could only assume he looked exactly the same as her. Her lips were parted, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she erratically breathed. Her eyes were wide, and her brow shot up as the severity of what they had just done set in. They had killed someone. Rick pursed his lips and approached June, his eyes glued onto Tony's lifeless body, ensuring that he didn't step into the ever-growing pool of blood.

He knew that it needed to be done. They were hostile, and who knew what they would've done after getting rid of the men? Tony had already made his intentions with June clear, and if he was willing to violate June, he and his buddies would be willing to violate the rest of the women they had at camp. There was no need to feel guilty over these two. They had it coming.

Or, at least, that's what Rick told himself. He knew that if he let himself believe any other thing, he'd start sinking into a rabbit hole of regret, and that's something they couldn't afford. Rick diverted his eyes to the window and was instantly blinded by headlights. This was enough to kickstart his heart, reminding him they were still in hot water.

"Car! Car!" Rick whispered and dropped to a low crouch, pressing himself against the nearest wall and hoping the newcomers would pass by. Much to Rick's chagrin, they didn't move on – they were looking for Dave and Tony. He sucked in a deep breath and listened. His eyes met June's again, and he watched as she motioned her head to the backdoor.

But what if they see us, and we lead them back to the farm? I can't risk Lori, Carl, and the baby. Rick shook his head and sucked in a deep breath, his hand finding June's, finding comfort in her warmth. The minutes were tense, and after Glenn dove to forcibly shut a door the new people tried to come through; Rick knew their cover was blown. He knew that either way, shit was about to hit the fan, so he opened his mouth and said the only thing that came to mind.

"They drew on us!" Rick shouted, "They gave us no choice! I'm sure we've all lost enough people, done things we wish we didn't have to, but it's like that now, you know that! So, let's just chalk this up to what it was – wrong place, wrong –" The window shattered above June, forcing her to shield herself and cover her head as the gunfire started. Rick quickly jumped to his feet and fired his weapon. Any worry he had in his mind left him as his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in.

Everything happened in what seemed like a blur. One minute, they were fighting to even escape the bar, and the next, June was straddling this kid, trying to keep him quiet. Rick let himself take in the entire situation, his eyes raking over June's position on top of the guy. They just killed a bunch of his friends, so why was he going to save this guy again? Oh, yeah. Cause I'm an idiot.

Rick ran forward and held the guy's hands down while June pushed the fabric of her flannel into the guy's mouth. He screamed for Hershel to carry on with the amputation, but the growls emitting behind him made him act. They had no time to waste for a proper amputation; they needed to get out immediately. Rick ran forward and grabbed the guy's leg, quickly pulling it from the gate and rushing with June to load him into their vehicle.

~*~

"Hey," June greeted. It had been four days since that night in town and since they saved Randell. Rick didn't even know if saved was the proper term for it since he, Shane, and June were scrambling to figure out what to do with him. Shane was livid at first. Hell, he was still livid, and the more angry he became over the situation, the more hostile he became. Sure, he wasn't physically attacking anyone, but he used the tone Rick had recognized as his perp tone. Every time they'd arrest someone Shane didn't particularly like, he had this aggressive tone. It was this tone of voice he used on everyone, particularly Rick. At this point, Rick wasn't sure what was stronger regarding his friend's emotions: his anger about the situation at hand or his distaste for Rick. But it was obvious what Shane wanted to do, and he has voiced it loudly for all to hear. Shane wants to put a bullet in Randall's head and be done with it.