Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

|109|

The muddy riverbank squelched under my boots, my eyes searching for any old tracks or anything I might've missed. My heart still quivered in my chest, and my eyes were constantly brimming with tears.

The bridge was still in tatters, and let's face it, it'll probably never be rebuilt. It's been ten weeks since... Ten long, excruciating weeks. A week after it happened, I began casing parts of the river, hoping to find traces of Rick. We never recovered a body, and that sparks hope within me. No body means there's a chance he could still be out here. The river is long and leads to the ocean. I don't know how long it'll take me to scour it, but I have to do it.

The mud squelched beneath my boots, and I kneeled, examining it closely. He was hurt, yes, but we don't die. We just don't. The mud held several tracks, all of them correlating with walker tracks. If there are walker tracks, maybe I can decipher old tracks that might've come from Rick?

I shook my head, knowing that it was a long shot. It's been ten weeks; if Rick did get up and run away from walkers, he would've gone to one of the communities. But what if there's still a massive horde following him, and he's leading them as far away from us as he can before coming home?

Again, I shook my head and wiped the tears from my eyes. I know I'm reaching for whatever scenario that points toward Rick still alive, but I can't give up! Not when we need him... not when I need him. It's stupid of me to have this hope, but I can't help it. My logical and hopeful sides constantly battle one another, and it's taking its toll on my mental health. I balled my fist and pounded it against my chest, trying to beat the pain out of myself.

I stood tall and readjusted my knife and sword, my fingers tracing the initials carved into the handle of my knife gingerly. The smooth wood that usually comforted me failed to make me feel better, and I could feel my eyes threatening to water again. I always knew the blackness of death was following us around every corner, but I didn't expect it to claim Rick so quickly—not when things have been going so well for all of us. Selena had started feeling better, almost returning to her old self. Thad and Judith were safe and thriving. The communities were coming together and blossoming—well, the Sanctuary was struggling, but we were coming to its aid.

Rick exited my life like how he entered it—unexpectedly. I still remember the day I first met him, like it was yesterday rather than years ago. I still remember watching him reunite with Lori and Carl, with jealousy and sadness brewing in my chest. I remember how he tried to 'protect' me in Atlanta, even though I could easily take care of myself. The CDC, the farm, those months on the road, the prison, Terminus, and finally Alexandria, all of that we did together. We leaned on one another for support, even before we had anything romantic between us. Our relationship only solidified into something even stronger after we finally got together. We knew we could count on one another. We could bounce ideas off one another. We could tell one another when the other was being unreasonable. He was my rock, and now he's gone...

A soft growling behind me tore me out of my thoughts, forcing me to crash-land to the here and now. I closed my eyes and sighed, mentally preparing myself. I turned and reopened my eyes, observing the lone walker that shambled my way. It was heavily decayed, and the clothes that hung off it wasn't the beige shirt and black pants that I knew Rick wore last. Plus, it also didn't have the usual brown boots he had worn since the day I met him. I let out a breath of relief and approached the walker, my knife glistening as the sun hit it. Quickly getting rid of the walker, I let it drop to the ground with a thud and stepped around it.

The wind blew past me, carrying the faint smell of decay and the low rumblings of a horde of walkers. I held my knife tightly and grabbed my sword, prepping myself for the newcomers. The first of the walkers trickled in from all angles, and I quickly recognized that I would be overwhelmed in a matter of seconds. I braced myself and let out a slow exhale. I swung my sword around, my wrist moving around its axis, and started swinging at the walkers. Heads rolled, chopped in half, and bodies tumbled to the ground all around me. Still, despite being able to kill more than I expected, the horde was never-ending.