Thank so much everyone who is still reading this. I am so sorry for the long wait. Just moved across the country with no home and it took me forever to get a place, especially with the COVID-19. Thank you all for the very long wait. I appreciate all of you.
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Everyone sits around the fire. T stands up on the wall, keeping watch. Rick walks around camp, checking the perimeter. Ash sits in her wheelchair, a ways from the fire so her blankets don't get caught in the flame. Nobody speaks to her, they just sit with their loved ones, holding onto them.
"We're not safe with him --" Carol whispers to Daryl, even though everyone can hear. "Keeping something like that from us. Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down."
"No. Rick's done all right by me." Daryl says, sharpening some arrows.
"You're his henchman and I'm a burden. You deserve better." Carol says.
Daryl stops and looks at her. "What do you want?"
"A man of honor."
"Rick has honor."
"I think we should take our chances." Maggie says to Glenn.
"Don't be foolish." Hershel says. "There's no food, no fuel, no ammo."
Leaves in the woods rustle and everyone becomes tense.
"What was that?" Beth asks worriedly.
"Could be anything." Daryl says as he and a few others stands up. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."
"Walker." Glenn says.
"We need to leave." Carol says urgently. "What are we waiting for?"
"Which way?" Glenn asks.
"It came from over there." Maggie says pointing in a direction.
"Back from where we came." Beth says.
"Yeah." Maggie agrees.
"Last thing we need is everyone running off in the dark." Rick says. "We don't have the vehicles. No one's travelling on foot."
A twig snaps in the woods behind Rick. "Don't panic." Hershel says calmly.
"I'm not -- I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now." Maggie says urgently.
"No one is going anywhere." Rick says.
"Do something." Carol says.
"I am doing something!" Rick exclaims quietly at her. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!"
Everyone stares at him in silent shock. Ash sits there, quietly, with her head down, eyes closed, seemingly sleeping. She silently gasps in shock. He's...Rick killed him...
"You saw what he was like. How he pushed me. How he compromised us. How he threatened us." Rick began again. "He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out there to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice! He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean."
Carl started crying into Lori, who held him comfortingly and spoke soothing words. But other than that, no one said a word. He looked around for support but no one would make eye contact.
"Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe -- maybe that's just another pipe dream. Maybe I fooled myself again. Why don't you -- why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get." No one moves. No one says anything. "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight; you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore."
Everyone is silent the rest of the night.
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7 MONTHS LATER
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All the men, except Hershel, and Maggie enter the small house in the middle of the woods. Beth, Carol, Lori, Hershel, and Ash stayed outside while they cleared it. As soon as they were done, Rick whistled and they came piling into the house.
Ash had made incredible improvement. She could wheel herself around in her wheelchair for a few minutes without getting tired. And she could also stand on her own. Of course, she wasn't able to walk yet, but at least she could hold herself up.
Her eyes didn't get better, however. All she saw was blobs and light. But her hearing and sense of smell was better than the rest of the groups. She could detect a herd a mile away. She let them know whenever Walkers were near. Their own personal Walker detector.
Lori's stomach only grew and it made it a lot harder to move around quickly. And it put a lot of stress on the rest of the group because food was hard to come by nowadays.
They all gathered in the living room. Daryl was plucking an owl when Carl came in with two cans of dog food and sat down. Everyone watched him as he began opening one of the cans with despair in their sunken eyes. Rick walked over to him, picked up the can, read the label, then threw it in the fire place, causing Ash to jump, wondering what was going on.
Still, no one said anything.
Ash turned her head towards the window she sat next to. It was the definite sound of growling. "Psst." She whispered as she motioned towards the window. She heard everyone get up and grab everything before she was quickly wheeled out of the house with everyone else.
They all loaded up the cars quickly as they sped off, away from the empty little house.
They stopped so they could reroute a couple hours later. T-Dog led some of them to get some water at the creek while Daryl and Rick went hunting. They came back, saying they found a place they could stay while Lori gave birth.
So they all went trekking to a prison. Of course, they had no idea what to do about Ash. So they left her with the cars, saying they'd come back for her when they cleared the courtyard. That was hours ago and it was already dark and she was beyond worried.
A few Walkers banged on the windows around her but they were the least of her problems. She had no idea where they were, if they were alright, and if they were ever coming back.
That caused her to spiral. She was blind, paralyzed, surrounded by the dead, and alone in the middle of an abandoned road. And it was all because she ate some home-grown tomatoes she found in an abandoned car.
Yes, thinking back on it, it wasn't a very smart idea. But that was before she met Rick and the rest of the group. When she was alone on that highway.
God, she missed them already.
Eventually, she managed to fall asleep.
YOU ARE READING
Into The Dark
Fanfiction[Currently Under Rewrite] She was lost. She was alone. She was scared. She was surrounded by the dead. Ashley Grant was thrown into the terrifying world of the dead walking the streets. All she wanted was to go to the grocery store but she ran into...
