Deadland

Chapter 72- The Meeting

(TW!! Small mentions of abuse and drug usage!!)

"Rick stop!" I scream, desperately trying to get Rick to get the fuck off of Pete. 

It's been a day since Noah and Aiden died. Tara's being nursed back to health and my hand is wrapped up. Apparently, the bones all the way up to the middle of my forearm are totally shattered, but who's surprised? 

Rick randomly launched on Pete, tackling him to the ground and beginning to beat the ever-loving crap out of him. All I can see is Negan and Kato on top of Nick when they walked into the apartment and saw me with a gash on my head and Nick holding a bloody, broken beer bottle. 

"Rick!" I yell, wrapping my arms around his neck to try and pry him off after he shoves Carl off of him. 

Would you care if it was Nick? 

Yes, I'd want to do it myself.

"Rick-" Rick turns quickly and shoves me off, I slam my head onto the pavement and the wind gets knocked out of me. 

Alyssa and Carl quickly run to me and help me up, I feel the back of my head and when I pull my fingers away, I see a small amount of red liquid dripping down my fingers. 

"Asshole!" I mutter as my head throbs. I quickly turn to Carl, "Are you okay?" 

He nods, breathing heavily, "Are you?" 

I nod and stand in front of both of them, blocking them from anything that might possibly happen.

"Stop it!" Deanna yells, running to the fight. "Stop it, right now." 

 Rick whispers something to Pete and that just visibly pisses Deanna off more. "Damn it, Rick! I said stop!" 

Rick quickly gets up into a kneeling position and aims his gun at Tobin and Nicholas as they try to run to the rescue. "Or what?" Tobin and Nicholas immediately stop in their tracks.

Blood is seeping down his face, his hair is dripping from sweat and his hands are bloody and swollen. 

"Carl," I whisper, turning to both Carl and Alyssa. "Both of you, find Inej and go back to the house." 

"No-" Carl tries to protest. 

"Go before you see something you don't want to." I turn them by the shoulders to face the other way and practically shove them away. 

"You gonna kick me out?" Rick asks. 

"Put that gun down, Rick." Deanna says calmly. 

"You still don't get it." Rick pants loudly. 

My brain whirrs with the possibility of Rick being kicked out or even executed, what does that mean for the rest of us? 

Rick drops his hand to his side, "None of you do!" He yells, turning to look at the circle that's formed around the two enemies. 

"We know what needs to be done and we do it. We're the ones who live. You," He yells and points to Deanna and Reg. "You just sit and plan and hesitate. You pretend like you know when you don't." 

Rick looks absolutely insane right now, I have no doubt or wonder why anyone is afraid of him right now. 

Rick continues, "You wish things weren't what they are. Well, you wanna live? You want this place to stay standing? Your way of doin' things is done." He says to Deanna. "Things don't get better because you-you want them to. Starting right now, we have to live in the real world. We have to control who lives here." 

"That's never been more clear to me than it is right now." Deanna spits. 

Fuck.

"M-me? Me? You-" Rick laughs like Deanna is saying the most insane thing ever right now. "You mean-you mean me? Your way is gonna destroy this place. It's gonna get people killed." Rick's voice is full of ice and malice, it's like he's trying to stab Deanna with his words, and it's working.