|58|

5.7K 165 67
                                    

Three days of walking. Three days of wandering without a goal in mind. Abraham has worked hard these past three days, trying to sway me to his side. I don't know why he's trying so hard, though. With no real destination in mind, joining him, Rosita, and Eugene sounds like the best plan. However, I still think that Eugene is full of shit.

The sun was hanging low in the sky, and the Georgia heat was beginning to subside slightly. I turned to face our group and licked my dry lips, exhaustion starting to seep into my bones.

"We stop here for tonight," I croaked, surprised at how dry my voice sounded, "We start again at first light." I walked towards the embankment and sat down, grabbing the water bottle from my backpack.

Carl and Selena sat next to me, their faces full of fatigue and drowsiness. Judith was fussing in Carl's arms, and her chubby cheeks were flushed red. Swinging my backpack towards my chest, I fumbled through it and produced a clean bottle for the baby, pouring water into it. Carl took it from me and started to give his sister water, his vibrant blue eyes meeting my dull brown ones.

Reaching forward, I brushed his long hair out of his face and flicked the sheriff's hat off his head, earning an eye roll and a smirk from the teenager. Selena reached for his hat and placed it on her head, her cheeks flushing as Carl smiled at her. Deciding to leave the two teens alone, I stood up and walked away from them, slowly making my way deeper into the woods for any signs of wildlife. For the most part, Daryl has been in charge of the hunting since he has a silent weapon. We've been surviving off squirrels and, if we're lucky, rabbits. I'd be a happy camper if I never ate another squirrel or rabbit after this.

I grabbed my handgun, making sure the silencer was safely attached, and started walking deeper into the woods slowly with my eyes peeled and ears perked. I continued to wander about, hoping to come across some animal when a branch behind me broke. I jumped and turned around with my gun pointed, ready to fire. After a minute or two, the sound wasn't heard again, and no one came out and made themselves known, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. With each movement, I could feel someone's eyes following me, watching every breath I took and studying me. Am I paranoid? What is wrong with me? There can't possibly be someone following us.

We've been walking for three days and covered at least fifty miles. No way someone is after us! One of us would've seen something by now. Another branch snapped, causing me to jump and look toward the noise. My heart hammered in my chest as more branches snapped around me. I held my gun even more tightly and looked around wildly, fear beginning to creep into me. My finger hovered over the trigger.

"June?" I lowered my gun as I recognized the voice, my hand flying up to my chest in relief. Rick came out of the heavy trees with a smile on his face.

"Hi," I breathed as I tried to calm my racing heart, "You scared me," Rick cocked an eyebrow and frowned, obviously confused.

"How?" I frowned and looked off towards the woods, still feeling uneasy.

"You have a heavy foot," I briefly explained, "Started freaking me out." Rick approached me and shook his head, the frown still dominating his handsome face.

"We both know I don't have a heavy foot," Rick murmured. Dammit, he's right. So then, what was all that noise coming from the woods? An animal? A person? I looked back towards the woods with my eyes searching their darkness wildly. If that wasn't Rick... "You're just tired." I let out a shaky breath and looked at the tall man before me, my head nodding weakly. Maybe he's right. I am tired, so perhaps I'm hearing things. I closed the distance between Rick and myself and rested my head on his shoulder, letting my eyes flutter shut for a brief moment. Silence loomed between us, comforting me and my racing heart.

Dead Man Walking | Rick GrimesWhere stories live. Discover now