DOPAMINE ↬ Rick Grimes

┃nine┃

—- chapter nine !

"Let's go, Carl!"

My feet hit the ground, bucking beneath my weight. I flipped myself, rolling onto the grass to keep myself from breaking an ankle.

I stood, lifting my hands up for the kid that made his way out of the loft window. "I'll catch you, kid, let's go!"

Fear flashed upon his childish features, his soft blue eyes cowering slightly as one foot left the ledge. Before he could let himself think a minute more, he threw himself from the loft, landing right into my waiting arms.

"Alright, let's go!" Grabbing his wrist, I yanked him away from the barn, using the gun to shoot a corpse that was too close for comfort.

From the corner of my eye, I could see a flash of red and orange, and my head snapped towards the sight, my eyes wide with the size of the flames engulfing the barn. Windows shattered from the impact, the wooden doors swinging open to release a cry of burning hot fire.

Carl stared, his hopeful eyes landing on the loft window.

There was nothing.

Rotters from inside groaned and moaned, crawling their way out of the flaming barn. They were lit ablaze, the smell of burning flesh filling the fields with a sickening stench.

Even lit on fire, the corpses refused to surrender, and one my one, they filed out of the barn towards Carl and I.

I tugged on his wrist once more, eyes widened with horror. "Carl, we need to go!"

"But my dad!" He struggled, tears filling his eyes.

"Carl!" I yelled, pulling him harder. "Knock it off, you little brat! We need to go — now!"

He finally gave in, running beside me as we fled towards Hershel, who stood on the porch of his home. He shot at the no-brainers, screaming for two blonde women to get into one of the available cars and leave.

Carl and I finally reached them, and I shot a few more nearby zombies. "Hershel, we need to get the hell out of here!" I called towards the older man, and he met my eyes in a quick glance. He seemed completely unfazed by the weapon in my hand, his eyes gleaming with the determination to protect his home.

"You and the kid, get outta here. And take Beth and Patricia with you." He demanded, continuing to shoot.

"No, you're coming with us, Dad!" The younger of the blondes cried, moving to grab her fathers arm.

"I'm not leaving — this is my damn house and I'll go down protecting it."

"Hershel, we're all leaving. Come on," I tried to plead. From the moment I had arrived to this damn place, he was nothing but a kind man.

He was a kind man that deserved to live, for Christ's sake.

Before Hershel could argue, the older blonde let out a blood curdling scream. Snapping my eyes towards her, my blood went cold as a no-brainer began to bite through her exposed neck.

"No!" Beth screamed, sobbing as she clung onto the dying woman. "No!"

I shot the zombie, screaming for Beth to go as I pulled Carl and Hershel away from the porch. A car pulled up, the door swinging open. A woman screamed for Beth to jump in, and the young blonde did so, tears sticking to her face as she quickly jumped in. A rotter reached for her, and the group screaming for the driver to step on it.

"Wait!" I cried, trying to move Carl towards the car for them to take, but they didn't hear or see. The car was gone in less then a second, leaving Hershel, Carl, and I stranded in a group of rotters.

"Fuck!" I screamed, firing into the crowd of no-brainers. "Follow me!" I called to the pair, running through a clearing and away from the group.

"Oh my fucking god, oh my fucking god, oh my fucking god," I muttered under my breath, my throat tight.

Moving to shoot another zombie, the gun clicked, and my worst fears came true.

I was out of ammo.

"Fuck!" I screamed, shoving the gun into the waist band of my jeans.

I grabbed Carl, picking him up and holding him in my arms as we ran, Hershel following closely behind. "It's okay, we're gonna be okay," I whispered to Carl, his heart hammering into my chest. Though at this moment, I didn't know if I was saying this to calm him down, or calm myself down.

The herd of zombies were beginning to close in on us, greedy hands reaching out to try and grab bits and pieces of us for them to eat.

We were fucked, completely screwed.

I was going to die with a child and an old man.

Great

The sound of a horn filled my ears, a bright light filling my eyes with a blinding white.

My first thought was that I had died and possibly gone to Heaven, but then I remembered there's no chance in hell I'd end up in Heaven. But nonetheless, as my vision adjusted and revealed a truck slamming on its brakes right next to us, I could not stop thinking that maybe God had come to rescue us.

"Holy shit," I breathed, Carl wiggling to get out of my arms. "God is real."

"Get in the damn truck!" Gods voice boomed, and I cringed in confusion slightly.

Why was Gods voice so...attractive?

Despite the the confusion, I pushed Hershel and Carl into the back seat of the truck before slamming the door shut and climbing into the passenger seat as the truck took off, hitting a walker in the process.

I practically threw myself down into the leather seat, the car silent as I fought to catch my breath.

"You guys all good?" The rough voice finally asked, and I turned to get a look at the man driving. When I locked eyes with the cold blue, I choked slightly on my breath.

"Holy shit, you're alive!" I squealed, unable to contain my relief. "I wasn't ready to be a dad, thank the fucking lord!"

"I thought you died, Dad," the small voice of Carl stated from the backseat, and Rick smiled lightly.

"I'm right here— and we're gonna find the others," Rick replied, his voice low and gravely as we turned onto the main road of the farmhouse that once belonged to Hershel.

Hershel gazed out of the window, silent and expressionless, as he watched his home burn, the dead claiming the house that has given so much life.

Looking out, I stared in agony as the rotting corpses roamed the fields, flames engulfing the rough grass and wooden house.

The light began to fade as we drove further away, the flickers of red and orange dancing in the reflection of my eyes until finally, it was no more.