Forbidden Love- Rick Grimes Love story

8

We woke up early to pack up all of our things, and take our tents down. I placed my photo album into my backpack ensuring that it was safe. "You really gonna drag that everywhere we go?" I hear from behind me. Shane put his arms around my waist and kiss my neck and I pull away. "I have to. It has all of Joey's pictures ever since she was little." I tell him softly. He leaves me to finish packing. Once everyone is done packing we load up the cars. "Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane asks. "We're,uh...we're--we're not going." Morales says looking around to everyone at the camp. "We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people." Miranda, Morales's wife says. Shane shakes his head, "You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back." "We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family." Morales says giving Shane a look. "You sure?" Rick asks hoping to change his mind. Morales nods, "We talked about it. We're sure." Rick hands Morales a gun and Shane hands him ammo. "The box is half full." Shane tells Morales. "Thank you all...for everything." Miranda says looking around the camp at everyone. Everyone says their goodbyes to the family and I give Joey a small squeeze to comfort her. "Channel 40 if you change your minds. All right?" Rick tells Morales and he nods. Then Morales and his family leaves. "What makes you think our odds are any better?" Shane pauses and I roll my eyes, "Come on. Let's go. Let's move out." Joey, Shane, and I get into our car while Dale is driving his RV, and Jacqui takes care of Jim, who is in pain, and Glenn is next to Dale. Rick is driving a car with Lori by his side, Carl, Carol, and Sophia in the back seat, and then T-Dog's car with Andrea, and Daryl's truck with his motorcycle on it.

As were driving Joey pokes my shoulder from the back seat, "Momma, can we play some music? Ooh can we play the one with the pretty music." I nod, Joey had this favorite CD that plays piano music and before the world went to shit, she would play it every car ride. I pop the CD into the CD player and the piano music plays through. "It's just like old times." Shane smiles resting his hand on my thigh. I look at his hand, before looking out the window. Suddenly we hear a honk and Shane pulls the car over. Dale is messing under the hood of the RV, "I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van." Apparently Merle stole the van that we had gotten from the department store run, and Rick promised that he'd give the hose on the van to Dale when they came back with it. "Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asks Dale. Dale shakes his head, "That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape." "I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky." Shane points out. Jacqui gets out of the RV interrupting us, "Y'all, Jim... It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore." I look down to the ground, Jim is actually going to die. "Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back." Shane asks Rick and he nods. "Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up." T-Dog says. "Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back," Shane pauses before looking to me, "Keep Joey safe." I nod, "Always." Shane and T-Dog go to our car and drive up the road. Joey comes over to where I was sitting against the side of the RV, and rests her head on my shoulder. "Momma? Is Jim going to die?" She asks me. I nod, "Yes baby, Jim is very sick." "Am I gonna die?" She asks me quietly. I nod again, "We're all gonna die one day, baby. Daddy will die, I will die. You'll never be ready for it. I just hope that those days are far away from now." Joey looks down as I kiss her head.

Rick comes out of the RV explaining to everyone what Jim wants, "It's what he says he wants." "And he's lucid?" Carol asks. Rick nods, "He seems to be. I would say yes." "Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer." Dale says. "We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that." Shane says rubbing his chin. I look between him and Rick, "It's not your call, either one of you." Shane gives me a hateful look before following Rick into the RV. Rick and Shane carry Jim out of the RV and to a nearby tree. Jim looks up and laughs, "Hey, another damn tree." Shane looks down, "Hey, Jim... I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this." Jim softly shakes his head, "No. It's good. The breeze feels nice." "Okay." Shane says simply. "Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight." Jacqui tells Jim before kissing his cheek. Rick pulls out a gun and shows it to Jim, "Jim, do you want this?" Jim softly shakes his head again, "No. You'll need it. I'm okay. I'm okay." Dale comes up the hill to where Jim was, "Oh. Hey. Thanks for, uh, for fighting for us." Jim softly nods and then closes his eyes. We all say our goodbyes before getting back into our cars, and back on the road. When Shane and I get into the car he gives me a look, and grabs my wrist hardly pulling me in front of him, "What did I tell you?" I look back in the mirror to see Joey looking scared at her father's sudden change in mood. "Shane not in front of her." He shoves me away then turns on the car following the others.

We finally arrive to the CDC. We get out of our vehicles, and I look around the building. There was at least a hundred bodies if not more. "All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet.  Stay together." Shane says as everyone quickly, but carefully moves towards the building. We finally reach the building which is locked an shuttered. I held Joey close, then Shane pounds on the door. "There's nobody here." T-Dog yells to the two men. "Then why are these shutters down?" Rick points to them. I get his logic, because if they're down they are protecting something. "Walkers!" Daryl yells. I look over to see walkers coming our way. "Joey stay behind us." I tell her as I walk forward and shoot some of the walkers with Daryl. "You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl yelled at Rick. "He made a call." Shane tries to calm the situation. "It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl yelled back. Shane walks up to him pointing at him, "Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up!" He yells before turning towards Rick, "Rick, this is a dead end." "Where are we gonna go?" Carol says clutching Sophia closer. "Do you hear me? No blame." Shane says looking to Rick. "She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark." Lori says. Shane grabs Rick, "Fort Benning, Rick--still an option." I rolled my eyes at him, "On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles in the opposite direction." "125. I checked the map." Glenn corrects and I give him a look. Now is not the time. "Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now" Lori says clutching onto Carl. "We'll think of something." Rick says angrily. Shane looks to everyone, "Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please." I grab Joey as we all turn around headed back to the vehicles. "The camera--it moved." Rick states causing us to stop in our tracks to look at it. "You imagined it." I tell him. Rick shakes his head, "It moved. It moved." Shane walks over to Rick forcing him to look at him. "Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on." Rick slams his fist on the shutters. "Rick, there's nobody here!" I yell, but he ignores me. "I know you're in there. I know you can hear me." Rick yells desperately. The more Rick yells, the more walkers come.  Shane tries to drag him away, with the help of Lori. "Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane yells to us. I run forward to help Shane pull Rick away as Rick yells, "Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left. We have nowhere else to go." He breaks free from our grasp and pounds on the shutters again.  "If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!" Rick cries. Shane and I run forward pulling him back again as he yells, "Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" We finally pull him away as the door opens and a bright light shines, almost blinding us.