rag doll | TWD

[25] infected

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[POV]

JJ's morning started with visiting Maggie in Glenn in the guard tower. 

She knocked, "you guys have exactly one minute to get dressed before I enter."

"You can come in, JJ." Maggie laughed. 

"Okay, you know that thing we talked about a while ago?"

Maggie nodded, knowing exactly what I was talking about.

Glenn looked confused, "What thing?"

"JJ's crush on Daryl. Keep up." Maggie told him. 

JJ nodded, "Yeah, Glenn...keep up."

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, so what happened?"

She waited to reveal it like the news was life-changing, "He brought me a Pop-Tart."

"A Pop-Tart?" Glenn judged, opposite reaction from Maggie. 

"Mhm, and get this," JJ continued, "it wasn't crumbled."

"Wow, you sure have high standards, JJ." Glenn sarcastically told her.

"JJ, you're ridiculous." Maggie told her friend, "Just tell him. You're worse than Beth was in the sixth grade. She had this crush on a guy for months all because he gave her his extra pencil in math class. So, Beth, got her first serious schoolgirl crush. But she never talked to the dude again."

"That's encouraging." JJ sarcastically commented. 

"Yeah, have to agree. Thought there was going to be a little more to the story." Glenn stated. "But I don't understand why you won't just talk to Daryl? What's the worst that'll happen, he goes 'Hm' and walks away?" He impersonated.

JJ groaned, "Because...I don't do crushes."

"JJ's scared." Maggie told her husband. 

"Am not." She defended, "The last crush I had was on Shane, and look how that turned out."

Glenn slapped his legs and awkwardly stood up, "Well, as much as I've enjoyed this conversation about JJ's nonexistent love life, I gotta get going on the perimeter check." 

"It's existent...just not out loud."

Maggie chuckled, "Wanna stand watch with me? I could use the company."

"Because your first pick just left?"

"I didn't say that."

"Not out loud." JJ jokingly scoffed. 

It wasn't long before JJ and Maggie shot up at the sounds of gunshots from one of the cellblocks. Michonne went to turn around to come back into the already shut gate, which Carl opened for her. 

She was quickly becoming overrun with walkers. "Shit. Hold on." JJ called to Carl, as she and Maggie booked it down the stairs. Michonne managed to injure herself when fighting off one of the walkers, so Michonne and JJ helped her back to the cellblock just to be stopped by Rick. 

"Hey, you might want to stay back."

Carl ran over, hugging his dad tightly, "Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't see you come out."

"It's okay. I'm here. I'm fine. But back away."

"I had to use one of the guns by the gate. I swear I didn't want to."

Michonne stepped in, "I was coming back; I fell. They came out and helped me."

"You all right?"

Michonne nodded. 

JJ looked past her brother, "what happened in there?"

Rick shook his head, "Patrick got sick last night. It's some kind of flu. It moves fast. We think he died and attacked the cell block." He looked to Carl, "Look, I know he was your friend and I'm sorry. He was a good kid. We lost a lot of good people." He saw the worry on Maggie's face, "Glenn and you dad are okay, but they were in there. You shouldn't get too close to anyone that might have been exposed, at least for a little while. Carl, all of you."

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[JJ]

After the chaos, we thought things would slow down, but they didn't. Within the hour that Maggie and I went back on watch, the walkers began pushing against the outer fence. "Oh, shit."

"I'll go get Rick and Daryl." Maggie told me as I ran down to the fence, beginning to take out as many walkers as I could. 

They ran in, doing the same. "The noise drew 'em out and now this part's starting to give." I told them. Tyreese, Sasha and Glenn soon joined us. They just kept coming. It wasn't til I looked down when I figured out why. "What the hell? Rick!"

"Is someone feeding these things?" Sasha questioned, looking over my shoulder. 

"Heads up!" Daryl drew our attention back to the main priority. "This part of the fence, now!" It was caving in, and we were all struggling to keep it up. "Everybody back!"

"If it keeps caving in like that, those walkers are coming over it." Sasha informed. 

Rick looked out to the farmlands. "Daryl, get the truck. I know what to do."

We continued to clear the walkers by the fence as Rick turned their attention very quickly by sacrificing and injuring the young pigs.  While the walkers were distracted, we reinforced the fencer with beams of wood.

Rick did what he had to do. It wasn't ideal...all his hard work- gone, but it worked. 

After everything settled down, I helped Rick take apart the gate where the pigs had been. 

Carl walked down too. 

"Not this time." Rick told him. 

Carl looked at the wood fence, "think the pigs made them sick?"

"Or we made the pigs sick." Rick countered, "I think we should all stay away from Judy a while. Just in case."

Carl and I agreed. 

"I don't like it, but-"

"We have to protect her." Carl had grown up a lot over these past few months. 

"Yes, we do." 

Carl sighed, "hey, dad? Carol's been teaching kids how to use weapons, how to kill. Their parents don't know and she doesn't want you to know. I think you should let her... I know you're gonna say it's not up to you, but it can be. Dad?" Is it wrong I didn't think it was necessarily a bad idea?

"Thank you for telling me." Rick set the can down. "I won't stop her. I won't say anything." 

I pulled the matches out from my back pocket, dropping one in the broken-down wood fence. As we watched the fire slowly spread, Rick bent down to his toolbox, handing Carl his gun back, and putting his holster on.

"A warning would've been nice." I commented on my brother taking his bloodied-shirt off and throwing it in the fire. "No one wants to see your Frosty the Snowman lookin'-ass strip."

As Rick glared jokingly, Carl broke out into laughter. 

"Thanks, JJ."

I shrugged, "Just saying. Little heads up next time? At least hand me some sunglasses."

"Real funny."

"He's as pale as that vampire from the movie you used to watch." Carl added. 

I laughed, quoting the movie, "this is the skin of a killer, Bella."

"Yeah, you two are in charge of cleaning all this up." He punished. 

As he walked back, I leaned to Carl, "we hurt his wittle vampire feelings."

"Heard that." Rick mumbled, causing Carl and I to laugh even more.