Guardian Angel - Rick Grimes

Chapter 7 - Jim

Dawn came quicker than Riley wanted so she began to pack her tent away and shove her things into the back of the truck when she noticed Rick walking away from the camp.

She watched him leave with interest before turning back to what she was doing and decided to start cleaning her PPK, however after five minutes Rick still hadn't returned and curiosity got the better of her. Riley began to head in the direction Rick left in and saw him sat in the grass at the quarry looking at the view with his radio in his hand.

"You alright there sheriff?" Her voice startled then man and his head whipped around to face her, but the tension in his shoulders instantly dropped when he realised who it was.  

Riley sat down next to him and took in the view, it felt so peaceful sitting there, the only sound being the crickets in the field. Rick turned to look at the woman beside him feeling grateful for the fact that she wasn't questioning him about who he was talking to, and just observed her side profile.

Before she could notice that he was staring he decided to ask her a question that had been bothering him, "Do you think it's the right decision? Going to the CDC."

He watched her as she thought about his question, her eyes still taking in the scenery.
"I'm not sure, it'll be dangerous getting there. I mean, it's in Atlanta which is heaving with walkers. It could still be running, I have hope it is. But we won't know unless we try."

She then turned to face Rick to see how he would react to her words, only to find that he was already looking at her with an unknown emotion. He sighed at her words struggling to form his next question.
"But what if it doesn't work out?"

Riley gave him a small smile as she answered, "Then we'll find somewhere else, somewhere safe."
Her words reassured the man sitting next to her and they spent the next couple of minutes sat in a comfortable silence until Riley nudged his shoulder.
"Come on sheriff, we should head back."

Soon enough they were stood with the group as Riley spoke through the plan with an authoritative voice, "Those of you with CBs, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down to a minimum, alright? Now if you've got a problem but don't have a CB, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the RV and we'll regroup. Anyone got any questions?"

Morales shuffled on his feet before gaining he confidence to speak up, "We're uh, we're not going."

A wave of shock and sadness spread through the group and the children looked as though they were about to cry. No one wanted to split up but it was their decision.

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people." His wife spoke, providing the only explanation needed but it didn't mean that the rest still weren't worried.

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back." Shane informed, trying to get the family to change their minds but to no avail.

"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family." Morales smiled while turning to look at his wife and children.

"You sure?" Ricks voice was full of concern but he understood them completely, after all he risked his life to find his son.

After Morales promised that he was sure with his decision Riley and Rick moved towards the gun bag knowing that they couldn't leave the family defenceless. As Rick handed Morales the gun, Riley gave his wife the box of ammo and a quick hug goodbye.

"Thank you all, for everything." Morales spoke, his voice filled with emotion. It was then that everyone moved to say goodbye to the family that were a big part of the group, knowing that they would most likely never see them again.