A Thief with a Machete

Chapter 36

We headed towards a small town a while aways down the road; the grownups in the front, us 'children', as Daryl put it, in the middle, and Daryl, Carol, Michonne, and Glenn in the back.

I walked with my backpack on and my machete in hand, ready to attack if needed. Carl was holding Judith and Christoper and Jailyn were talking. Ethan was on my left and Carl was on my right. Ethan said that he could help me with any side attacks if there were any, clearly underestimating what I could do.

"How many walkers have you two killed?" Ethan asked looking over to us. I locked my jaw and huffed.

"Uhm, I've killed around 30-40 I guess," Carl said as Judith cooed at him.

"What about you, April?" Ethan asked tapping my arm. My muscles locked and I sighed.

"I have no fucking clue," I said. "Maybe 30 by gun an' crossbow, more than 40 by machete."

"Seriously? You gotta be lying," he said. I looked at him and held up my machete so he could see the blood and dirt stains on it.

"I don't lie about shit," I gruffed pointing the end towards him. He leaned back and gulped hard. "Don't believe me go ask any fucking one else in this group, alright. I've survived on my own longer than you have in a pity ass group-"

"April," Daryl said grabbing my arm. "Don't start this now. Not while we're open."

"So she can start it later?" Ethan asked in shock.

"I ain't the boss of her, and I don't know too much about her, but by what I've seen," Daryl said pointing a finger at him, "she can take any single one of us out. So don't fucking doubt what she can do, or you might not make it to town."

"You guys are fucking crazy," Ethan sighed clenching his jaw and walking back to Carl.

"I'm sorry," Carl said. "Daryl is quite protective of April and well...she's just got some triggers. Don't wanna mess with them."

After about 20 more minutes of walking, the front of the group stopped by a railroad crossing sign. I walked up with Daryl and Carl to Rick.

"Why are we stopped?" Rick asked Berry who was huddled in a small group with Hank, Justine, Helen, and Ruby.

Berry stepped back and the others stood behind him.

"We're headed towards a sanctuary, one that we've built and that we're a part of. This is the halfway point. It's your choice to either come with us, or part ways. There's a very small amount of people, plenty of resources, great big walls to keep the dead out. It's completely up to you. It would be great if you could help us make it even better," Berry said.

"You're can't be serious," I said crossing my arms.

"April," Daryl said.

"Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place? What, were you just spying and lying to us to figure us out before you thought you could trust us?" I said stepping forward.

"April. Quit it," Daryl said looking down at me. He stepped in front of me and put an arm out so I wouldn't go around him.

"Don't!" I snapped at Daryl, swatting his arm away from me. "I'm sick of lies from people! I can't stand it! Everywhere I go, there's always someone who lies to me to trick me!"

"We're not tricking you sweetheart," Berry said in a calm tone putting his hand up. "We're just making sure it was safe to trust you guys."

"Same fricking thing, dude," I scoffed. "Take the deal, I don't care, but if its causes us trouble then I'm gone."

"You're just goin' to leave if something happens?" Michonne said.

"I made it kinda clear," I said rolling my eyes.

I was pissed. When I was younger, all it was was lies:
"I promise."
"We won't tell."
"I'll only be gone a few hours."
"I love you, April."

Even after everything happened, people always feel the need to lie because I'm younger than them and they think I don't understand. I'm nearly 16 but I have a mind of a 28 year old. My survival skills are greater than anyone else's my age, except for maybe Carl.

Rick raised his gun and Berry stayed calm, but I could see his muscles tensing and his jaw lock. I switched my eyes over to the rest behind him and Ruby had her hand hovering over the gun holster, her finger tips tapping a beat, as if counting how long until war between the two groups broke out.

I grabbed a gun from my belt and cocked it, aiming right for Berry.

"You show us the town and if it's true, we'll consider it. If it's not-" he looked at his people and nodded sharply- "it's not the walkers who will be getting you."

-~-~-~-~-

Surprisingly, he didn't lie. There were only about 20 other people in the so called 'town'. There were about 8  kids either our age or younger, the rest grown ups and elders.

It was a decent sized town: there was a Main Street that led to a big fountain in the middle of town, a smaller street across for an exit, multiple shops and houses, a nice 2 story library with lots and lots of books, and a small apartment building at the edge of town that overlooked a meadow.

Berry was the leader, at the time, and gave us the apartment building that also held a few other families on the bottom section.

I stayed in my room for the first few days we were there until Rick knocked on my door and told me the news.

He had taken the leadership roll, I was happy for him, but what he said next really confused me.

"I want you to teach a survival class to the other kids."

"What?" I asked him leaning against the doorway.

"April...you've seen this place. They're shielded from what's out there. It'll do you and them good," he said.

"Nope," I said popping the p and shutting the door.

He stuck his foot in the door and kicked it open.

"April," he said in a deeper, more serious tone. I knew he meant it.

I huffed and ran a hand through my messy hair.

"Ok," I gave in.

"Great," he said with a cocky smile. "Let's go."

"Wait, now?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the kids are waiting for you," he said walking down the hallway. "Grab your gear and meet me at the storehouse!"

I shook my head and swore under my breath.

"What the fuck have I gotten into?"

-~-~-~-~-~
Okay I've literally had this in my que(?) for months and I've been thinking and thinking about what I wanted to finish the story with so I finally got it and the book will hopefully be finished by summer 👍🏼