Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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"June," The voice sounded so far away, echoing within the blackness of my mind. My body felt like it was being jostled around, like how a rollercoaster would feel. The deep voice called out my name again, and a stinging pain was in my left cheek. I swam in the dark abyss, trying to get closer and closer to the voice. My arms felt like jelly, and my legs stung as I continued trying to paddle, my eyes squinting as a faint light appeared directly above me. My lungs started to burn, and panic overcame me as I frantically swam toward the light, desperate to fill my lungs with oxygen.

"June, come on!" A familiar feminine voice pleaded with me. The sound was clearer as I neared the light, but it felt like I was drowning in this dark sea. The faint rumbling underneath me shut off, making me panic more as the light grew dim.

"God damn it, Little Red," Another stinging on my right cheek became apparent, vibrating throughout my face. My arms gave out, and my legs cried in agony as I stopped paddling, exhaustion overwhelming me. I opened my mouth and let out a gargled scream, bubbles floating above me as the light went out.

"I'm so sorry," The feminine voice said again as my eyes closed.

A sharp pain enveloped my chin and woke me, my eyes snapping open and my body darting on its own accord. I hissed in pain and rubbed the sore spot, the pain in my head seemingly dulling as I focused on this new pain. Sasha looked at me with hard eyes, a brief look of regret before she pointed ahead. I squinted against the bright sun and looked at the group blocking our path. Eight men on motorcycles blocked the road, the leader the only one on his feet. I looked to my left, locking eyes with Daryl. What happened? How long was I out? The last thing I remember is returning the insulin cooler to those people. Did I blackout?

"Come on now!" The leader shouted at us. I rubbed my chin and nodded, agreeing to see what these guys wanted. Abraham opened his door to my right, holding it open for me. I nodded at him as I jumped out of the truck, my head throbbing fiercely. At least my ears weren't ringing anymore, but the bubbling in my stomach made me uneasy. Abraham slammed the door behind us, his large frame keeping a few paces behind me. I stopped slightly in front of my small group, my eyes studying the men before us. They looked clean, so that means they have a place somewhere. They also outnumber us.

"Now," The leader spoke, his eyes darting between the four of us, "Hand over your weapons," I straightened my back and stared the man down, refusing to be intimidated by him.

"Why should we?" I asked, my voice coming out dangerously low. The man scoffed at me, almost as if he was making fun of me for not understanding why they were doing this to us.

"Because they're not yours," He replied. I didn't like his tone. It was like he was speaking to a dumb kid.

"What?" Abraham asked, looking smart in his blue suit. Where did he get that from? I'm going to have to ask him later.

"See," The man said as he pointed a gloved finger at us, "Your weapons, your truck, the fuel in your truck, if you got mints in your glove compartment, if you got porn underneath the seats, change in the seats. Hell, the seats themselves, the floor mats, your maps, that little stash of emergency napkins you got there in the console, none of those things are yours anymore." What the fuck is this guy going on about? I winced slightly at the pulsing in my head and planted my feet firmly on the ground—God, I'm so tired of new people.

"Whose are they?" Daryl asked, his voice coming out so low that it sounded like a growl. The leader of this group took a step forward, glaring at the four of us.

"Your property now belongs to Negan." I looked at the man and cocked an eyebrow. Who the fuck is Negan? I'll be damned if I give this guy anything. I felt my hand twitch towards my holster, my fingers searching for the wooden handle of my knife and coming up empty. Where's my knife? "And if you can get your hands on a tanker, you're people our person wants to know." The man started walking towards us, his hand extended towards me, "So, let's get those sidearms, shall we?"