[Rough Draft] Keres : The Walking Dead

Burst

Rick's POV:
The couple asks if they passed our test and I tell them about the prison and the illness. Carol says that they can help us sweep the rest of the neighborhood and they agree.

Carol says that if they help we'll cover more ground and I huff and finally agree to it. I tell them to meet us back at this house in 2 hours.

Carol and I go to another house and look around.

"Did you think it was right? Letting those kids come back with us?" I ask about the two people we just met.

"I think it was the human thing to do." Carol says as she looks in a drawer.

"But did you think it was right?" I ask again.

"Look at us. Diving through drawers hoping that a couple of cough drops and some disinfectant might be the difference between dying and living a couple more hours. If they're strong enough to help us survive this, then yeah. I think you made the right call." She says.

"And if they're not?"

"Let's hope they are." She responds.

"Rick...I covered up Keres killing two people and you haven't said a word about it since the car." She says and I just look up at her.

"What do you want me to say?" I scoff.

"It's not about what you say. It's about facing reality. It always comes for us and over and over again and we face it so we can live."

"So we can live." I repeat.

"That's right. That's what it always comes down to. You can be a farmer, Rick. You can't just be a farmer. You were a good leader. Better than I probably gave you credit for."

"I never covered up the murder of two of our own." I state.

"Just one." She counters.

"He was gonna kill me. She had no choice." I reply.

"So were they. They were gonna kill all of us." She says and I clench my jaw.

"You don't know that." I retort.

"If you thought it would save Judith or Carl would you have told her to do it then, or would you have just gone back to your crops and hoped it's all be okay? You don't have to like what I did, Rick. I don't. You just accept it." She says.

"You took advantage of her." I growl and she looks at me confused.

"You told her to kill them." I say.

"She had a choice." She scoffs finally admitting that she did instruct Keres to kill the two.

"Come on! It's Keres! What did you think was gonna happen?!" I shout.

"Exactly what happened! If I had the strength to do it myself I would've!" She shouts back and I clench my jaw.

"But you didn't. And now Keres is completely confused as to why she can't remember it and why she would do it in the first place!" I say and Carol walks away.

We get back to the house from before and wait for a bit but the two don't come back. We head back to the car and start packing up and all I can think about is how I hope Keres doesn't have a black out episode.

I know she's probably with Daryl right now. Then my mind goes to how Keres felt about not remembering killing the two people from the prison.

"They might've lived. Karen and David, they might have lived, and now they're dead. That wasn't your decision to make. When Tyreese finds out...he'll kill you. He damn near killed me over protecting Keres once when he hit her." I say.