Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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I leaned over the railing, watching Beth, Lori, and Carl clean up what was left of the mess. We had spent all day cleaning the cells for the last three days. There was only a bit of trash left, but it wouldn't take more than an hour to clean up the rest of the main cell block. Then we can tackle the common area and be done for the day.

I watched as Lori struggled to pick up a torn-up book, one hand resting on her gigantic belly and the other extending to try to grab the book. Smiling down at the woman, I raced down the stairs and helped her, grabbing the book by the spine and shoving it in my trash bag. She smiled at me gratefully and rubbed her belly, a smile across her lips as she looked down lovingly. She reached forward, grabbed my hand, placed it on the peak of her stomach, and looked at me as the baby moved underneath my hand. A swift kick against my hand made my eyes widen, my heart swelling as I felt the tiny baby swim around in her womb.

"She's active," Lori murmured as she continued to look at me, her eyes filled with love and contentment. I smiled at her and pushed the hair from my face back.

"She?" I asked her, a soft chuckle escaping my lips, "How do you know it's a girl?" Lori let out a small sigh and continued to caress her stomach, a smile across her lips as she looked down.

"Just a feeling." She whispered as her gaze shifted behind me, her smile turning into a frown. I turned around and sighed, my eyes landing on Rick as he clipped his holster onto his hips. "That's your cue." It pained me that she knew he was looking for me specifically. Their marriage is in tatters, and I can't help but feel like I'm the cause. I shared one glance with Lori before walking over to her husband, wondering what he wanted.

"We're gonna clear out the yard, get the cars close to the exits in case we ever need to leave in a hurry. You coming or staying?" He asked me, his eyes landing on his estranged wife once more before looking down at me. I pursed my lips, feeling a sense of awkwardness rush through me as I continued to stand between the broken couple.

"What would you rather have me do?" I asked him, my voice lowering drastically as I looked up at him. He placed his hands on his hips and nodded as he devised a plan for me.

"It'd be quicker if you came out with us." Rick said, "The lot of us can work in pairs, and at least the courtyard will be clear by the end of today." I nodded at him, agreeing with his plan. The courtyard will be clear, and with all of us working, our immediate living area will be near perfect. I spotted Carl, his sheriff's hat covering his face as he tossed his blood-soaked rag to the side.

"Carl," I called out for him, smiling as he turned to look at me. Excitedly rising, he ran over and smiled brightly at me. "We're going to need you to take over for me here. I'm going to go help clear out the courtyard, so—"

"That means I'm in charge?" Carl asked me, cutting me off as he looked toward his dad—asking for confirmation.

"Yes," Rick answered, smiling as he looked down on his boy. Carl beamed up at the two of us, retreated to his original post—cleaning the walls—and looked around at the few who stayed inside to clean. I turned to Rick and nodded at him, ready to start my busy day in the sun. He led me out of the cellblock and held the squeaky door open for me as the sun nearly blinded me. I shielded my eyes from the harsh rays and groaned, regretting my decision to come out and help.

"What's the plan?" I asked as we slowly walked over to where T-Dog was using the truck to push the overturned prison bus out of the way.

"We're going to have the cars ready just in case we need to leave." Rick explained, "Two cars here on the east entrance and the rest by the west gate. Then we can start piling the bodies and burn them."

"Sounds easy, but knowing our luck, something's gonna go wrong," I muttered as we approached the rest of the group.

"Don't go jinxing it now." Rick chuckled as we both stopped by the bus. T-Dog slammed the truck's door shut and leaned against the front, awaiting instruction as Rick and I examined what Carol, T, and Daryl had done so far. "Let's get the other car in. We'll park them in the west entry of the yard." I nodded, noticing someone had already reversed the Hyundai into the gated entry.