We Found Love in a World Like This- Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) Fanfic

24.

It was the next day and I awoke to the sun shining into my eyes from one of the windows in the church. It was nice to have a base, well, at least for a little while. Carl was still asleep next to me. Everyone else was asleep as well. I seemed to be the only one awake. I grabbed my bow and tiptoed my way outside, being careful not to make a sound. I opened the door silently and did the same as I closed it. I spotted a walker from a distance. It noticed me and started to move towards me at a reasonable pace. I pulled my arrow back and shot it, making the perfect shot. I walked over to the walker and pulled my arrow out of its skull. There were no other walkers in sight, so I sat on the porch in front of the doors, keeping guard of the church.

Suddenly the door opened to reveal Daryl.

"Hey", I spoke softly.

"Hey", he replied. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. How are you? You don't seem okay", I asked with obvious concern.

He sighed and took a seat next to me.

"It's just Beth. She could be anywhere. She could be... dead", he mumbled. He was clearly trying to stay strong but inside this was killing him.

"Don't say that. She is alive", I said reassuringly. "I know I'm just a kid, but you gotta trust me on this one".

"Thank you, Jade. I'll be back soon. You keep watch, okay", he said before walking back inside the church.

Time had passed and I had journeyed to the food bank in town with Michonne, Rick, Sasha, Bob and Father Gabriel (who was very reluctant to go). We walked inside the food bank. There was a hole in the floor which lead to the basement.

"Oh, damn", I said as I pondered inside the whole.

The basement had flooded and contained half a dozen walkers, along with the canned goods.

"Jade, you stay up here and keep watch. We can't risk you drowning", Rick said, obviously joking about the drowning part... or was he?

The rest of the group went down into the filthy water. I peered down from time to time, until suddenly I heard a yell. Father Gabriel was trapped by a walker. I put down my bow and jumped into the water to help him out. The water was of a thick consistency and the ground was not to been seen. An arm gripped my left arm. I turned to see the mouth of a walker a few inches away from my flesh.

"Jade!" Rick yelled. I grabbed my knife out of my pocket and stabbed it in the back of the head.

Everyone was soon safe and we had made it out alive with quite a lot of food. We were now back at the church and Rick had called me over to talk to him.

"I told you to stay out of the water", Rick said sternly.

I looked nervously at my feet. Rick was never one to get angry at me.

"I-I'm sorry", I said anxiously. "I only wanted to help".

"You almost got bit. You are a valuable asset to our group and in order for it to remain that way, you have to stay safe", he replied harshly.

"I wasn't thinking, okay! I was trying to help and you obviously can't get that through that thick head of yours", I yelled. All heads turned in our directions.

Rick stared at me in disbelief. I never got angry. I soon realised what I had said.

"Rick, I apologise. That was completely uncalled for", I said with tears welling in my eyes. What was wrong with me? Why was I so emotional?

Rick sighed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I know you're sorry and that you wanted to assist us. You need some rest. Go and sit down for a while, maybe even take a nap", Rick said.