Six Feet Under ➳ Rick Grimes

Abolished

Time skip to end of season 3.

I'm woken up by Judith tugging on my hair. She had slept in mine and ricks bed the night before. Our much larger population has just suffered an inside epidemic.

After we saved Maggie and Glenn, there was a vicious outbreak of some kind of disease. It was terrifying, and it wiped out lots of our people.

People we had taken in and rescued from the governors grip after he went on a rampage. Luckily many of our original group survived, but now Carol is gone.

She killed the two people who had the disease first, in hopes to stop it from spreading. It didn't work, and it angered Rick that she did that, so he kicked her out. I haven't looked at him the same since.

"Dad?" I hear Maggie shout outside my cell. I walk out and see her, Beth and Carl scattered around the block looking for Hershel. "What's going on?" I ask. "We can't find my dad!" Beth cries. "Michonne neither!" Carl exclaims.

I blink with panic and return to my cell to dress. "What was that? Who can't they find?" Rick asks, sitting up in the bed beside Judith. "Michonne and Herschel." I say and pull on a pair of black jeans, a white long sleeve and a black and dark green flannel.

I sit on the bed and continue to avoid eye contact with Rick. I'm livid about him sending Carol away, it was not fair. I hoist my fading, ripping boots onto my feed. "Janey when are you going to get over it?" He asks and my eyes snap to him.

"Get over it? You sent one of our own out into the world by herself." I hiss. "She killed two people, tyreese is devastated about Karen!" Rick says and I snap. "I don't care Rick! I don't give a flying fuck! Carol was here before tyreese and FAR before the two from Woodbury. She was our family. And you sent her away." I say and stand up.

I feel as though a few months ago I'd be furious about someone killing two innocent people but, I feel differently now. I think that family is far more important now, and carol is family. The other two weren't, sure they were important to someone, but not to me and not even to Rick.

I walk out of the cell and follow Carl into the eating area. Rick follows soon after me with Judith. "I just don't understand...Where the hell are they?" Glenn says as he walks inside with Daryl following him. "You still can't find them?" I ask and my heart sinks when I see worry in Daryl's eyes. "I'm worried." Beth says and I put my hand on her shoulder.

"We have to go out and find them." Maggie says. "Where did they go? Does anyone have any idea?" Carl asks. "They went to burn those damn bodies." I whisper and people look at me. "The bodies. From the infection, he went with Michonne to dispose of them." I say, remembering the conversation I had with Hershel the day before.

"They should be back by now, I hope they-" Beth begins, but is cut off by a loud crash. Our eyes all shoot to each other. I look up to the door and see Lizzie and Mika come into the common room with us. "Did you hear that?!" Lizzie cries.

We all walk to the door and go outside, the sun blinds me but as my eyes adjust, I see our gates broken and an army of military vehicles parked in the grass. "Rick." I whisper and he puts his arm out to keep me back. We walk slowly as a group to the edge of the chain link fence.

"Daddy!" Beth cries, breaking our silence. I look out at the people lined up, and see Michonne and Herschel sitting on their need. "Oh my god." I say and put my hand over my hand.

"We need this Prison, Rick. There's more of us." The governor yells from his truck. "Let them go!" Rick shouts back. "Come on, look at us! You can't win. You'll lose. And we know you have women and children...infants, even." The governor yells, now standing on his truck. "We will kill all of you to protect our own!" He screams.

Daryl taps me on the back and I look to my right and see him handing me a gun. Lizzie and Mika are handed my baby, making me nervous. But I see Tyrese follow them and help them put her in the carrying seat which relieves my anxiousness. My breathing is unsteady, and I can't think straight. All I hear is yelling.

"Please!" Rick yells and I'm snapped out of my ears ringing and vision blurring. His voice is purely pleading. I walk closer to him and he puts his arm out once again and I feel a stronger grip on my wrist.

I'm pulled back by Daryl and we peer through the fence, his body mostly protecting mine. I keep looking back at Judith and the kids who are tucked in a corner. Carl is standing right beside his father.

I look back at the scene and gasp. I see that the governor has Michonne's katana and it's against Hershel's neck. "No, no, no, no.." I hear Maggie panting.

"Please we can make it work! We can stay here together!" Rick yells, his voice cracking. "Come on Rick, you know that won't work." The governor shouts back.

I look at Maggie and Beth, their fingers in the chain link, tears in their eyes.

All of a sudden, they change. And Daryl's body nudges against mine. I watch Beth and Maggie's mouths open, and horror mask their faces, their screams are muffled by the blood rushing in my ears.

"Janey!" Daryl screams and I jump. I aim the machine gun through the fence and start to fire. I close my eyes and continue.

I stop for a moment and look up, bodies are falling all around and walkers are piling out of the trucks. In the midst of the mess, I see something peculiar.

It's Hershel, but just his body, slumped on the ground. And his head a foot away from it. I scream in terror and I see that the people around me are beginning to flea.

"JANEY! We have to go!" Daryl shouts and I scan for Carl who I can't see in the rush. Next I look for Rick who is sprinting across the field. "Rick!" I shriek his name.

I think fast and grab a suppressed handgun and turn around to where Lizzie, mika and Judith were but I no longer see them. "No!" I scream and start to run in the direction away from where Rick is.

There's so much chaos that I stop myself from moving. "think!" I tell myself. I turn around and scan and see my family running wild all over the place. Walkers are closing in on me at my front.

I feel a violent pierce in my leg and look down. I see a gunshot in the exact painful spot and screech. My eyes move up and between two walkers I see a man lowering a gun.

"Fuck you Bitch!" I scream and shoot the handgun. I am surprised and excited when I see him drop. I focus in on the walkers and turn around running.

Tears run down my face and I'm sprinting but also limping and my leg is in immense pain. My breathe begins to get heavier. I look around and see no one, everyone except the walkers following me has disappeared. I whimper to myself but continue to run as fast as I can. I get to the back of the building and quickly push open a large fence, closing the walkers in the prison behind me. 

I stop running once I get into the forest and finally turn around. I see smoke in the sky above the building and I hear faint screams. I lean forward and rest my hands on my knees and pant for air.

My throat feels raw and coarse but I have no water to settle the irritation. I cough and lean back against a tree. Tears well up in my eyes again when I let the reality of what just happened sink in. I realize my first step moving on, is to find my family.

I turn into the woods, looking up at the prison one last time, wondering and hoping everyone is okay.