Safe haven | Rick Grimes

109. A CELEBRATION OF THE COMMUNITY

Chapter one hundred and nine

"A celebration of the community."

We have come so far and lost so much. It is hard to trust anyone when we know that anyone can be taken from us at any given moment.

But the people who die and the people who leave... they aren't completely lost to us forever. We have to believe that. We have to keep that faith.

Remembering the sound of their voices is exactly how we keep them alive in our hearts.

Judith was writing in her journal, the scratch of her pen the only sound after a long night of hiding. Morning light was finally filtering into their hiding spot when the heavy thud of approaching footsteps shattered the quiet. She quickly closed the notebook and stuffed it into her backpack.

The four siblings scrambled to their feet. Daryl raised his knife, his body tense and ready to strike whoever rounded the corner.

Instead, Uncle Daryl stepped into view. He froze the moment his eyes landed on Daryl. Seeing the boy completely covered in dried blood struck a painful chord, instantly reminding him of Rick Grimes.

"We're going home," Uncle Daryl told them, his voice tight.

"It's still broken," Judith argued, stepping forward. "And what about everybody else here? Shouldn't we stay and help them? Isn't that exactly what you, mom, and dad did at Alexandria and Hilltop?"

"That was different," Uncle Daryl told her, shaking his head.

"It wasn't," Judith shared, refusing to back down. "The only difference now is that you'd rather run away than stay and fight."

"God damn it, stop. Stop. Just stop," Uncle Daryl muttered, he rubbed his face in frustration. He pulled a clean rag from his pocket and stepped up to his nephew, holding it out to him. "You can't see what you look like right now."

Daryl took the cloth in silence, turning away to start scrubbing the dark, dried blood off his face and hands.

They headed straight back to the apartment, quickly changing out of their formal attire and reclaiming their weapons. Caroline slung her bow and quiver back over her shoulder, while Daryl stared down at Carl's old gun before securing it into his holster alongside his axe.

Once they were ready, the two walked over to Uncle Daryl, who was pulling on his leather vest. "Come on," he told them, wrapping a reassuring arm around their shoulders.

They walked into the main room and slid the double doors open, only to find Judith's chair empty. Rick was sitting there all by himself. Daryl's eyes went wide with panic. He spun on his heel and bolted out the front door, with Rick and Caroline sprinting right after him as Uncle Daryl followed close behind.

They split up to search the crowded streets. Daryl, Caroline, and Rick stayed together, navigating through the bustling Founders' Day celebration.

"Daryl, we're gonna find her," Caroline insisted, trying to calm his rising panic.

"How? Huh?" Daryl snapped, his voice sharp with dread. "For all we know, she has a gun pressed against her head by that same woman who was hunting us yesterday!"

"Hey, guys!" Mei's voice suddenly chirped.

She walked up to them with a bright smile, causing Daryl to instinctively reach for his holster. Caroline quickly pulled Rick behind her back to shield him.

"Whoa, easy," Mei shared, noticing their hostile posture. "The rioting stopped. Today is a celebration of our community."

"Hey, guys!"