The Third Dixon [The walking dead OC x OC]

Chapter eleven

Rick's final words settled over them as everyone prepared to move out. They would roll out at midnight, get inside before dawn, and take the advantage while they had it. It was a practical plan, one built on experience and the harsh reality that waiting for someone else to make the first move usually meant paying the price later.

Measi adjusted the strap of her rifle and looked back toward the dark road ahead. She knew how this worked. She had been doing this long enough to understand that hesitation could get people killed, and she knew Rick wasn't making this choice because he wanted blood. He was making it because there were people behind those walls in Alexandria who mattered to him, just like there were people here who mattered to her.

That was what made everything complicated.

She wasn't afraid of the fight. Fighting was the easy part. She knew how to move, how to aim, how to survive when things went wrong. What bothered her was how familiar it felt to stand there and decide someone else's fate before ever meeting them. She hated that part of herself that understood why it was necessary, because understanding meant she could no longer pretend the world was simple.

Nathan watched her for a moment before quietly stepping closer.

"You're thinking too hard again."

Measi glanced at him. "That's not a real problem."

"It is when you disappear into your own head."

She looked away toward the trees. "I just don't like how easy this is becoming."

Nathan followed her gaze, waiting for her to explain instead of filling the silence for her.

"I spent so much time trying not to become like the people who hurt others," she said eventually. "And now we're standing here making plans to go kill people we haven't even met."

The words sounded worse out loud.

Nathan didn't immediately argue. He knew her well enough to understand that she wasn't looking for someone to tell her she was wrong. She was trying to figure out where the line was, and whether she had crossed it without noticing.

"There's a difference," he said quietly.

Measi looked at him.

"Between hurting people because you can, and protecting people because you have to."

She didn't answer, but she didn't dismiss him either.

That was usually how Nathan knew he had gotten through.

He reached over and briefly touched her hand, his fingers settling against hers in that familiar way that never made her feel like something needed fixing.

"You're still you."

She gave him a tired look. "You're annoyingly confident about that."

"Someone has to be."

A small smile appeared despite herself, but it faded when Rick called everyone together again.

The moment was over.

The mission was coming.

Measi lifted her rifle, checking the weight of it in her hands before following the others back toward the vehicles. She knew what waited ahead. She knew there would be fear, violence, and choices that would stay with them long after the night ended.

But she also knew why she was going.

Not because she enjoyed it.

Not because she wanted to be the kind of person who solved everything with a weapon.