Apocalypse Orphans

14

The next day, everyone sat around the common area, mostly around the table excpet Nick, and Daryl, who opted to sit on stairs, away from the group, Oscar included and there was a silent agreement that Daryl was in charge while Rick was away. Everyone was having breakfast in silent, everyone in mourning for the ones they lost. Out of the blue, Rick walked in and he had cleaned himeself up and was no longer covered in blood.

"Everybody okay?" He asked, looking around.

"Yeah, we are." Maggie answered.

"What about you?" Hershel asked as the man walked further into the room and stood behind Carl.

"I cleared out the boiler block." Was Ricks answer.

"How many were there?" Daryl questioned, looking up from his food.

"I don' know. About a dozen, two dozen? I have t=o get back. Just wanted to check on Carl." Rick said patting said boy on the back. Carl didn't say anything only looked down.

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies." Glenn stated, standing. "You don't have too."

"No, I do." Rick shot him down and stormed over to Daryl, "Everyone have a gun and knife?"

"Yeah, we're running low on ammo though." 

"Maggie and me were planning on doing a run  this afternoon. Planning on taking Jacob too if he's willing." Glenn said and Jacob nodded silently saying he would go. "We found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula."

"We cleared out the generator room. Axel's there trying to fix it. In case of emergancy. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well." Daryl added.

"Good, good." Rick muttered before walking out the door and Hershel made a futile attempt of calling after him. He had comepletly ignored the fact that he now had a baby and Nick desperatly wanted to wack Rick for it but ignored his urdge.

After everyone had finished eating, Jay went to grab the things needed to go for the run, so he dumped his backpack out on his bunk and made sure his handgun had bullets and that he had his knives.

"Becareful." Nick told him, making the older boy jump not realising Nick was there.

"I'll be fine Nick. We lived out there just the two of us before you got shot. I know what I'm doing." Jay rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Nick grumbled.

"Hey, I'll be carefull. I promise." Jay sighed as his brother turned around, and offered him his pink. Nick shook his head before interlocking his pinkie with Jacobs. "I gotta go, but we should be back by nightfall."

Jay left with Maggie and Glenn and Daryl came up to Nick. "I'm going to take Carl and Oscar down the lower levels, I want ya to go check on Axel, see where he is with fixing the generator, then I want ya to rest. I noticed ya limping when you came back with Glenn yesterday. Yer leg needs some more time to heal. No arguing."

"Yes sir." Nick sighed. He knew it was pointless to try to argue with Daryl and so he didn't bother, he was right, his leg did need more time, he was also quite tired and couldn't be bothered to pick a fight.

Daryl ruffled his hair and told Carl to get his knife and gun and to make sure he had a silencer. Nick grabbed his bow, arrows, knives and a flashlight and made his way into the gernerator room, without running into any trouble.

"How's it going in here Axel?" Nick asked as he opned the door, and saw the man trying putting a pannel back on.

"I think it's all good to go. Just got to but these screw back in." Axel grunted then looked at who had come in. "Say, you Thomas' kid right?"

"By blood yes, by what law used to be, no." Nick answered and was about to leave when Axel put all the tools back in a bag and followed the boy, and it took every ounce of strength to not punch the man.

"Did you know why he was in here? Did ya know he was in here? Did you two not get along with each other or somethin'? Why did ya just leave him with a knife in his skull,.?" Axel asked, during the walk back to the cell block.

"Beacuse he was a piece of shit and almost killed me when I was nine. That answer yer question?" Nick snapped as he stormed into the cell block, annoyed that the prisoner would shut up.

Nick stormed up to his spot on the perch and Hershel stopped Axel from following by sticking a crutch out to hos chest.

"I would't son. He doesn't like people asking about his past, or his family, and he gets hostile and won't hesitate to throw hands, infact it's a miracle he hasn't already hit you." Hershel said shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise."

Hershel nodded and hobbled off to check on the baby and Nick sat on his matress, sketching a squirrel in a tree. Nick didn't come back down, until Beth had started to make dinner and he decided to help with it.

Rick came in when it was almost ready and tentivly walked up to Hershel who was holding the baby. Rick slowly and carefully picked up the baby and started whispering to her while smiling. Rick, Carl, Hershel and Beth all went outside with the baby, and Nick stayed to finnish making the dinner.

Nick was in the cell block, when he heard gunshot and was about to go see why when Daryl came back from the lower levels only he wasn't alone. In his arms he held Carol, who everyone thought was dead, even though we had no body.

"Nick, grab water." Daryl ordered, going past the boy and into the cell.

Nick didn't hesitate and gabbed two bottles and entered the cell and gave Daryl one of the bottles, and placed one on the shelf, and Daryl gently pressed the bottle to Carols lips who slowly started to drink.