Changing To Adapt ➵ TWD

➵ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱɪxᴛʏ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ

Seven days in and things seem to be working out, much to Lucas's relief. Not everything, but most things. There was a level of respect the people of Woodbury had grown for Rick, who took them in despite being the same group that attacked the prison. 

In exchange for living space, they help out, killing the walkers at the fence and clearing the other cell blocks.

Being around people they couldn't trust yet made Daryl's living approach risky, so he bunked up in the cell beside Lucas's instead of his bird perch. A good vantage point, easy to escape from. 

Michonne is officially part of their inner circle, despite her entry into their group being so chaotic. Lucas trusts her. 

But when it comes to the new people, there's still a long way to go. They weren't keen to hand over their trust just for it to be broken days or weeks later.

Unfortunately, Lucas couldn't avoid the Woodbury people for long. He couldn't avoid Rachel for long. She sought him out.

"Rick said you could help me." A voice pipes up behind him, sounding nervous if the higher pitch was anything to go by.

Yanking his crowbar out of a walker's head and watching it slump against the fence, Lucas instinctively responds, still on weary terms with the Governor's people. "Depends what it is."

He looks over his shoulder and halts. An excuse tumbles past his lips, "Actually, I'm on duty, so try someone el-" 

"Lucas, don't." Rachel steps in his way when he tries to turn back around. "Please. Just let me talk."

Gone were the heels and button-up shirts. Rachel wears a plain t-shirt and comfortable jeans like the rest of them, something Lucas isn't yet used to seeing.

Her auburn hair isn't perfectly curled to hang over one shoulder anymore, but tied up and out of the way. She's dirty, and her eyes are sunken.

She looks like she hasn't slept in days.

Lucas presses his lips tightly together and hesitantly nods. Unlike Nicola, he knew this was Rachel under stress. He had seen this before.

She isn't lying about needing help, either, and leads him to the bridge between cell blocks. With her hands on her hips, she explains that one of the kids had thrown his hat up there. But instead of flying through the wire of the fence, it had gotten caught on a jagged bit of metal at the bottom.

"You can't reach it from the bridge?"

"Tried that. It's too far underneath."

Lucas sighs, running a hand through his damp hair, "You tried throwing something at it?"

"Yep."

He was slowly withering away with each awkward pause. Rachel hadn't mentioned Nicola yet, or Kaine. He kind of hopes she never does.

Twisting his lips, Lucas makes up his mind. He jogs over to the wall beside the bridge and starts his ascent, climbing the stack of wooden pallets and latching onto the ledge above it.

From there, Lucas hoists himself further up and inches to the left, curling his fingers through the wire and climbing across the bridge's protection. 

"I know you didn't do it."

Lucas almost falls, then and there, in a knee-jerk reaction. Panting, he calls out, "Can we not talk about this while I'm hangin' ten feet in the air?"

Rachel remains quiet.

"Tell me when I'm above it."

She responds a second later, "Just a little more to the left."

Shuffling closer, he stops when she tells him to, and then lowers his foot and drags it underneath the bridge in search.