The Rest of your Life

Chapter 29

Maggie, Rory and Carl were crating a storm of noise at the fence, banging pots and pans to attract the walkers in the yard over to them, all the while, Michonne killed the others that got too close.

"Over here! Come on!" Carl yelled, the walkers walking towards the fence he was behind.

"Here! Here!" Maggie screamed, Rory doing the same, banging buckets to attract the dead away from the others in the yard.

Glenn and Daryl were placing down pallets containing barbed wire for if another attack happened, Rory thought it was a good idea. At least they had some defence.

•••

Rory walked back into the cafeteria, sitting next to Carol as she tended to the baby, her little sister. The girl watched as Merle stood on the perch.

"We got any whiskey?" Merle asked, Rory wrinkled her nose. "Hell, I'd even drink vodka."

"Go to hell, Merle." Carol mumbled, sitting next to Rory. "Are you with us?"

"Sure." Merle shrugged as he walked down the stairs.

"I'm not talking about occupying the same space." Carol said. "Are you with us?"

"I'm here for my brother." Merle spoke.

"Well, he's here for us." Rory spoke up, looking to Merle.

"It's not time to do shots." Carol added. "It's time to pick a damn side."

"You ain't like you was back in the camp." Merle laughed. "A little mouse running around, scared of her own shadow."

"It wasn't my shadow, it was my husbands." Carol breathed out.

"Well, you don't seem scared of nothing anymore." Merle observed.

"I'm not." Carol stated, packing a bag full of ammo and standing up, muttering for Rory to watch the baby for a few minutes. The girl pulled a face.

"Your a late bloomer." Merle called out to the woman.

"Maybe you are too." Carol said to the man, walking away. Merle watched as the baby began crying, Rory banged her head on the table, groaning but making no move to help.

"She's crying." Merle said.

"I know." Rory whined, watching as Merle approached her sister.

"You ain't gonna help?" He asked, looking to the curly haired girl.

"I hate her. Why would I help?"

"Hates a strong word, little lady." Merle mumbled

"She killed my mom." Rory spat. "I hate her." Merle then mumbled before picking up the baby. Rory just watching. She hadn't held her sister yet, much less looked in her direction. She vowed to avoid the thing that killed her mother and she had been doing a good job until now.

"Here." Merle offered, holding the baby out towards Rory.

"No." The girl denied, hunching in on herself as Merle placed the baby in her arms. "I don't even know how to hold her." Merle laughed before adjusting the girls arms before smiling softly.

"What's her name?"

"Judith... but Daryl calls her Ass-kicker." Rory muttered, getting a laugh out of Merle.

"That's my baby brother for you." The man chuckled before looking at the girls face. She looked in awe as she rocked the baby, her cries quieting. "She may have taken away your momma, but she's still your family. You should cherish that."

Carol then walked into the room, smiling at the sight of Ivory with her sister. She knew she would give into the baby at one point.

•••

Rory winced in pain as Hershel peeled off the gauze and tape from her head. The girl watched as the older man put the bloodied gauze onto a tray and then he tipped some disinfectant onto a cotton pad.

Rory looked the man in the eyes before screwing her eyes shut and tensing. Hershel begun dabbing the small wound on Rory's head, apologising for the girl's discomfort. Rory opened her eyes and let out a deep breath as Hershel made a noise.

"Looks like it's healing up pretty well." Hershel smiled softly at the girl infront of him. Rory puffed out her cheeks as Hershel began putting cream on the wound. "Make sure to keep applying the cream, and I won't have to tape it back up."

"Thank you." Rory smiled at Hershel, grateful for the man.

"You don't need to thank me." Hershel begun. "I'm just helping you out... it's probably going to leave a scar though." Hershel frowned in thought.

"Cool." Rory beamed. Hershel chuckled at the young girl.

•••

Rory and Carl sat next to eachother on the picnic bench, the rest of the group standing around Rick, just like the day prior. Glenn walked up behind Rory and rested his hands on her shoulders. They looked up as Rick spoke.

"When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal." Rory paused as Rick spoke. "He said... he said he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne." Carl looked to Rory, disappointment written on his face.

"And I was gonna do that... to keep us safe. But I changed my mind. But now Merle took Michonne to fulfill the deal and Daryl went to stop him and I don't know if it's too late." Rick rambled, breathing heavily. "I was wrong not to tell you. And I'm sorry." Carl held tightly onto his friends hand.

"What I said last year, that first night after the farm... it can't be like that. It can't. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are, it's not my call. It can't be. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good, because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here, not me. This is life and death. How you live, how you die... it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We vote. We can stay and we can fight. Or we can go."

•••
this chapter is trash

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