I'm Not the Only One

Chapter Four: We Go

It was when Judith started crying that we all snapped back. Tyreese took Judith from Carl and walked inside with Sasha and Bob behind him. Rosita, Eugene and Abraham, walked off to another house. Glenn and Maggie. along with Carol and Daryl walked to a separate house. Rick went to go on perimeter check with Michonne, Tom, and Tara. So now it was just Carl and I. I still sat on the trunk so Carl hopped up too.

"Are you okay? I mean what you said got pretty intense back there... You don't have to tell me what happened in your past, but do you think it really changed you enough that you're not the person you were when this started?"

"Yeah," I tersely answered.

"I'm really sorry then."

"You wouldn't like the old me," I truthfully told him. "She was stupid and always made the wrong decisions. She was a coward at times. Then I grew up. Actually, wait. I'm wrong. There's still the old me that's stupid because I promised myself I wouldn't get attached to people and look at what I fucking did... I always screw things up. People drop around me like flies, Sheriff. I don't want to end up being the reason for someone's death again. I can't let any of you die. I can't let you die."

"I would like you no matter what, Jade." He smiled in my direction. "It's not a bad thing to get attached to people. When they die, yeah it sucks, but I think it keeps us human. If we all just lolled around killing walkers that wouldn't be a life. We need other people."

"I don't want you to get hurt when I die, Sheriff," I mumbled quietly, but he heard me.

"You can't leave. Please, please don't leave. Remember when Michonne talked to you in that little red house? She told you that you made me better. We had only known each other for a week so I didn't believe her, but now I see she was right. You do make me better. I need you... I'm not trying to guilt you into staying, but I want you to know how effected all of us would be if you packed up and left." He sounded worried and upset.

"I know. If I left you guys I'd be in a horrible place, I'd probably die. There's a part of me that doesn't want to leave anyway though. A part that would miss you guys so much that I'd have to come back. I can't stay and I can't leave."

"I won't let you leave," he pouted.

"Oh, really?" I laughed out, challengingly.

"Yeah." I slid off the trunk and smirked.

"You're just going to have to make me stay then."

Then I ran away as fast as I could. I made a bee line for a house that was a couple hundred feet away. I was there in about a minute and turned around to see Carl's progress and shit, I did not think he was that fast. He was closing in at ten feet away, so I opened the front door quickly and slammed it shut, locking it behind me. Still smiling and panting like crazy, I turned around to see five walkers heading my way from the back of the house. I reached for an arrow and no. No. No. No. I didn't grab the arrows I was counting - no, oh my God. Sheriff started knocking on the door jokingly. But I had six feet of space left and the lock wasn't budging and, "Fuck! Why isn't this working?!" I thought out loud.

"Jade?" Carl's voice changed quicker than water being poured into a glass.

One walker reached me but I pushed it back to the others creating a domino effect. I tried opening the door again, but it wouldn't work. I looked to my left and right to see all of the windows were boarded up. I didn't have enough time to - a walker grabbed my left ankle and pulled. I almost fell, but I quickly used my right to crush the walkers hand making the fingers fall off. I ran to the room to my right which I hoped was the kitchen (it was) and grabbed a few knives from the drawers. Butcher knives would be ideal, but I'll take what I can get.