Safe haven | Rick Grimes

112. THERE'S ALWAYS A COST

Chapter one hundred and twelve

"There's always a cost."

For the longest time, we were just fighting to survive, trying to get back what we had lost. This family—our family—we would do anything to protect each other.

Now, we are fighting for something else. Something much bigger. We are fighting for a new beginning. But a future like that always comes with a cost.

There is always a cost.

Judith sat on the steps of their broken home, her pen scratching against the paper as she wrote. Hearing the sound of heavy footsteps, she lifted her head. Rick and Caroline walked into the room, their weapons finally back in their possession where they belonged. Judith watched them for a quiet moment before lowering her gaze back to her journal, continuing to write.

I never got to know my first mom, Lori.

Our older brother, Carl, dreamed of a day when we would all live together in peace.

Our mom, Scarlett, would do absolutely anything to avoid losing us.

Our dad, Rick, was always searching for mercy.

And us?

We are the last of the Grimes family.

The very last thing our mom told us before she left was that the four of us are each other's greatest strength. After everything we've been through since she's been gone, we have never believed those words more.

She finished writing just as a new set of footsteps approached. Lifting her head, she watched Daryl walk into the room. Carl's old pistol was secured in his holster, and he held their family's iconic sheriff's hat in his hands before placing it firmly on his head.

The four siblings stepped out of the house together, walking down the gravel road toward the rest of the group. Carol and Uncle Daryl turned to face them as they approached.

"I'll be back soon, alright? Until then, look out for each other," Uncle Daryl told them, adjusting his vest.

"We're coming with you," Daryl countered immediately.

"No," his uncle replied flatly.

"But—" Judith started.

"I need you four to stay here where it's safe," Uncle Daryl cut her off.

"That's crap," Judith shared, looking around at the community. "This isn't the future Carl wanted. It's not what our mom and dad fought for—not yet. What we're doing out there can help everyone. Not just us, but maybe everybody everywhere. We want to be a part of that. We want to make what our family believed in real."

Carol listened quietly, a faint, proud smile touching her face as she looked at Uncle Daryl. "We've all been so focused on what's right in front of us for so long. She's thinking about what comes after. That's a good thing. Maybe we could all do a little more of that."

Daryl stepped forward, his expression matching the fierce determination of his parents. "That may be what Judith is thinking, but what I'm thinking is that, just like our mom and dad, I'm not gonna sit back here while you're all out there facing the danger."

Uncle Daryl stared at his nephew, recognizing the unbreakable Grimes spirit in all four of them. He let out a defeated sigh, but nodded. "Alright. But the four of you stay either right with me or next to someone else in the group at all times, okay?"

"Okay," they all agreed in unison.

With the deal made, Uncle Daryl turned and began leading the way down the road. Judith, Daryl, Caroline, Rick, and Carol fell into perfect formation right behind him, stepping forward into the future together.