Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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-Month 4-

The wind bit at me harshly, sending shivers down my spine as the bitter cold continued its assault. I stood by Carol, washing clothes, her jacket zipped up all the way, and her scarf wound tightly around her mouth. We chatted away as we washed, flinching every time the wind blew. Daryl approached me, his crossbow hanging off his shoulder. I placed my hands on my hips and squinted at him, my eyes watering against the wind. He smirked at me and flicked a piece of my loose hair out of my face, simultaneously flicking my cheek. I smiled at him and pushed him away, earning a half-smile from him. He was taking a few people out on a run today. They were going 50 miles out and scavenging the area. Anything within a 30-mile radius has already been picked clean.

"Cuidate," I said to him as I embraced him tightly. I couldn't help the bubble of worry that brewed in my stomach; it was always there when he went out. Daryl grunted in response, his arms wrapping around me.

"I always do," He answered, his voice rough. I've been teaching a few members Spanish, and it's clearly paying off. He pulled away, his left arm still hanging off my shoulders as he whistled over to Rick and Carl, who helped with the food, and waved his free hand at them. They returned his gesture of goodbye and watched as he embraced me again. My stomach calmed as I watched him walk further and further away. I could do nothing to stop my nervousness but busy myself, so that's what I did. We're going to start moving inside to stay out of the cold, but it's been slow going. Our setup is perfect for summer but horrible for winter, and no one wants to eat outside when it's cold.

Rick whistled over to me, motioning me over. Selena and Carl were with him, waiting as I slowly approached them. Selena has grown out of her shell and proved to be a sweet, loving girl. She spends most of her time around Rick, Carl, and me and occasionally helps Carol clean and cook. A beautiful friendship has sprouted between the two kids at my side. They hardly left one another's side, which was nice. I was worried that Carl was getting lonely without kids his age around—well, none that he was interested in.

I smiled at the two teenagers and wrapped my arms around their shoulders, pressing them to me. Selena giggled while Carl poked my side, forcing me to flinch as he tickled me – he recently learned that I'm ticklish, and that's all he's been doing lately. "Que tal?" I asked, earning a confused look from Rick. He's a recent addition to my Spanish class, so he hasn't picked up as much as Carl or Selena.

"What's up?" Carl translated for his dad, a smile across his face. I beamed at the boy, proud that he quickly picked up the language!

"Carl, Selena, I want you guys to ask people if they need help with anything. Today's laundry day, so Carol, Karen, and Marissa probably need help. June, remember the problem by the generator room I told you about the other day?" I furrowed my eyebrows, completely lost as to what Rick was talking about; he never mentioned anything about a problem by the generator room. Rick flashed me a look as my lips turned upwards.

"Yeah," I answered, going along with his lie, "We definitely need to take care of that!" Carl looked up at me and frowned, his brows scrunched.

"What problem?" Carl questioned, genuinely confused. Rick opened his mouth, but no words came out as he struggled to come up with an explanation. I squeezed Carl and gave him the faintest smile, our eyes connecting. It's official; he's taller than me, and I'm not happy about it!

"Tyreese told us that he thinks there's a breach by the generator room, found a couple of walkers." I came up with an excuse, "Your dad asked me to go with him to check it out in case there were any walkers. Tyreese said he took them all out, but we can never be too careful." Carl nodded and opened his mouth again with a worried look.

"Me and Selena should come with you guys," Carl answered, "What if you get overwhelmed?" I flashed an alarmed look to Rick before shaking my head.

"Yeah, June," Selena said, "I don't want anything to happen to you guys, so can we come? Be extra backup?"