Fighting to Survive: The 3rd installment to Daring to Feel

Chapter 22: Death Stings

I walk into the house Rick is in the next morning with Abraham, Glenn and Carol, "where'd you get the gun?" Michonne asks him.

Carol responds first, "you took it, right? From the armory?" She says.

"That was stupid." I add on, knowing the facade, "why did you do it?" I ask.

He stares at us for a moment before coming up with a response, "just in case."

Glenn informs Rick and Michonne, "Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight. For anyone who wants to."

"To kick Rick out?" I ask him.

"To try." Carol adds.

Glenn disagrees, "we don't know that. Maggie's with Deanna right now. She's gonna find out what it is."

Carol comes up with a plan for him, "at the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took a gun just to be sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever you want them to. Just tell them a story that they want to hear. It's what I've been doing since I got here."

"Why?" Michonne asks.

Carol instantly responds, "because these people are children and children like stories."

"What happens after all the nice words and they still try to kick him out?" Abraham asks.

"They're guarding the armory now." I inform him.

"We still have knives," Carol says, "that's all we'll need against them."

Rick speaks out now, "well, tonight at the meeting, if it looks like it's going bad, I whistle. Carol grabs Deanna, I take Spencer, you grab Reg, Glenn, Sadie and Abraham cover us, watch the crowd."

Michonne raises her voice a bit, "we can talk to them."

"Yeah, we will." Rick agrees, "if we can't get through, we take the three of them and say we'll slit their throats."

"Like at Terminus?" I spit out disgusted at what I'm hearing. I wish Daryl was here to talk Rick out of this plan. If Michonne can't, he might be the only one who could.

"No, we just tell 'em." He returns, "they give us the armory and it's over."

Glenn inquires to him, "did you want this?"

"No. I hit my limit. I-- I screwed up. And here we are." Rick explains to his question, "now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna sleep some more." He turns his body away from us as he lies down and we all leave him be.

"Are we really going to go along with his plan?" I question them once we get back outside.

"what choice do we have? With or without us he'd do it." Michonne comments lowly.

We all know Rick wants what's best for the group, for his children, but that's not the way, and I tell them that, "we can't do that" I shake my head as we walk away, our paths splitting.

"Hopefully it won't come to it." Carol says back.

Hours later and I walk with Maggie to the meeting spot. The sun is setting and Maggie tells me how nervous she is, "Glenn should be here, I wonder where he went off too.." she looks towards the entrance of the community.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon" I encourage her.

She nods, rubbing her arms within the big jacket she's wearing, "you worried about Daryl?" She questions me.

I shrug, "of course. I try not too though, I know he can take care of himself."

She chuckles, "he sure can, but when you love someone it doesn't matter. In this world or the last, you worry."