Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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I let the others go before me and fingered my knife's handle secured in the waistband of my jeans. Quickly, I grabbed my knife and crouched, tucking it away in my boot. I shouldn't be smuggling in my knife, but something about this place makes me nervous – if it really is a sanctuary, it's too quiet. Without a second thought, I grabbed the fence and started to scale it, my fingers weaving through the holes. I jumped down and landed on the balls of my feet next to Daryl. I grabbed my gun and drew it, keeping it low as we ran. Daryl held open a door that led into one of the buildings and ushered us in. I turned to the right and aimed, making sure the coast was clear before creeping down the hallway. Inside, I could hear a woman but couldn't make out what she was saying. I paused at the nearest door and peered inside, my weapon tightly held.

"Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive." I looked at the blond older woman speaking into a microphone and slowly entered the room. There were several people in this place, and they all appeared to be doing laundry. Rick placed a hand on my shoulder, signaling me to stay back as he walked toward the blonde woman.

"Hello," He said, interrupting her broadcast. The woman stared at us wide-eyed and removed her headphones, her mouth agape. "Hello," Rick said louder for the people in the room. I looked at them and realized they were drawing more maps for this place.

"Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch." One of the guys said as he laid his paintbrush down. He's dressed in all beige except for his dirty blue shirt peeking out from underneath his jacket. His black hair was growing out, covering his forehead, and he was relatively skinny—not to mention tall. "You here to rob us?" He asked as he walked towards us.

"No," Rick said honestly, "We wanted to see you before you saw us," He started to move towards this guy with his gun lowered.

"Makes sense," The man said as he looked around at his people. He extended his arms and closed the distance between him and Rick, "Usually, we do this where the tracks meet," He cleared his throat and motioned at the building around us, "Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth. Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit." I shifted and looked at Daryl, sharing an uneasy look with him. Something about all this doesn't sit right with me. I don't know what it is, but this makes me nervous.

"We have," Rick answered, "Rick. That's Carl, June, Daryl, and Michonne," Gareth waved at us with a tight smile, making me even more anxious. I don't like this guy.

"You're nervous. I get it. We were all the same way." He looked at all of us and walked forward, his eyes landing on me, "We came here for sanctuary. That what you here for?" He turned back to Rick and smiled. Can this man sense how offputting he is?

"Yes," Rick answered, his eyes never breaking eye contact.

"Good. You found it. Hey, Alex," Gareth turned back and motioned for a shorter man with brown curly hair and a beard to step forward, "This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but the welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer," Why did he say that? Why did he have to emphasize that they have nothing to hide? Usually, when someone does that, they have something to hide. "Alex will take you, ask you a few questions. Uh, but first, we need to see everyone's weapons." I paused, knowing that this would happen. We did the same thing at the prison for security reasons, "If you could just lay them down in front of you." I looked at everyone in our small group and gave them the slightest nod before laying down my pistol. My knife suddenly became very apparent in my boot, and I could feel it with every movement I made. Gareth held his arms out, motioning for us to copy his actions. My heart soared, and I shared a look with Michonne. We both had the same expression, and neither of us lifted our arms, watching as Alex and Gareth patted down Rick, Daryl, and Carl.

"I hate to see the other guy," Alex said as he patted Daryl down. Rick turned toward the man and frowned.

"You would,"