Condemned. Sequel to 'Don't Look Back'

Chapter 8

Rayne's pov

"Hey, Rick." I said with a small smirk. Everyone stared at me in disbelief.

"Rayne." Daryl said and came up to hug me. I stood as straight as a board, not knowing how to react to this, because Daryl was never one to show affection, especially to me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and squeezed.

"Where's my mom?" I asked him as he pulled away.

"Back in the train car with the others." He said as more gunshots sounded.

"We need to move." Rick commanded and we all followed him. Kaylee was still hanging onto the back of my shirt for protection. We all broke into a sprint, and I felt my shirt rip in the back from Kaylee. Rick had an AK-47 and was shooting walkers as we ran, and we all approached a train car.

There, Glenn, Maggie and some others were there with weapons bared. They put them down as they jumped out of the car. I spun around and killed some walkers, my piece of wood breaking in the process. I threw down the other half and looked around for something else.

I saw a small pistol laying on the cement a few feet away and ran to get it. There were still five bullets in there. That'll have to be enough. I fell back in line with the others, Rick in the lead.

We head for the fence, killing and smashing walkers as we go. Walkers kept surrounding us, and I was running out of bullets.

I heard someone scream behind me, and I spun around just in time to see Gwen being bit by a walker. I shot the walker that was biting her, and took her by the shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Gwen." I said and shot her in the forehead. Dean and Kaylee were the only ones from Terminus still following me.

"Come on!" I yelled at them so they would keep moving. Someone threw a burlap sack over the fence so that the spikes wouldn't hurt us.

Dean was the last one over, and we all stood around, trying to catch our breath. I looked around and saw everyone here, plus a few more.

The attention shifted to us. I saw my mom and ran up and hugged her.

"I missed you so much." I said, eyes watering.

"I missed you too, Rayne." She said and I pulled away, looking up at her light brown eyes. I let go of her and looked around, and met those beautiful blue eyes I hadn't seen in forever.

His face was a mix of emotions, and I couldn't tell which emotion was dominant. We ran towards each other and hugged. He held me close to him and I rested my head on his shoulder. I smiled and pulled back, looking into his eyes, much like I did with my mom.

"I thought you were dead." He said and I nodded.

"So did I." A few tears ran down our faces, and Carl pulled my face close to his. This kiss was full of longing and passion. I locked my arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around my waist. We broke away from each other and just smiled, words not being able to express my feelings. I stood by him and looked around the group, and saw Dean. He looked sad, angry too. He glared at us, but said nothing. I knew I'd have to end it with him because I found Carl again, and Carl is the only one I need.

Carl's pov

I can't believe I found her, after months of accepting her supposed fate. But having her here with us now is all I could ask for. Even after all of these months, she still smells the same, if not better.

Everyone was reunited again, well, everyone except Tyreese...and Judith. Judith has been gone for months too, and even though nobody talks about it, we know she's gone.

Rayne and I separate and we look at our newly bonded group. There are two others from Terminus here, both my age. One was a tall boy and the other a short, skinny girl.

Once everyone is acquainted again, Carol tells us to follow her, so we do. We walked for roughly three miles, and there we saw Tyreese, and in his arms, Judith.

My dad and I take off in a sprint, my dad reaching her before me. Dad has her in his arms, and I stroke the thin hair on her head. Today was the best day that we could ask for. We found Rayne and Judith after months of nothing.

Later that night, after we had taken refuge in an old house, we were all sitting around the small fire from the fireplace. Rayne was beside me, head on my shoulder, Daryl and Lyla to the right of us, and my dad and Judith to our left. Everyone else was spread out on the old furniture.

"So, Rayne, what did you do?" My dad asked her and she sat up straight.

"Well, after the prison blew up, I didn't have any weapons, or food. I ran to the woods, cuts and bruises everywhere. I walked. And walked, and walked some more, finding little to nothing. I stayed in a halfway built housing complex for a couple of days, but that place had nothing to offer, so I moved on. I kept going. I camped out in tree tops the majority of the time, hiding from walkers. And after a month of repeating the cycle, I found a gas station. I found food, a pistol, and a backpack, but something about that place just wasn't right, so I only stayed one night." She took a break, and we all listened intently, the fire cracking in the background.

"I left the station and went into the woods again, and was jumped. He was a big man, probably six foot tall, and I outran him. I tried not to think about it, and I still try to block it out, but, it is what it is. And after that happened, I found the sign for Terminus, and went there, figuring I had nothing else to lose. I was hungry, dirty, weaponless, and pathetic. I went to Terminus and it was a totally different situation, everyone was peaceful, well, most of the time. I was given food, a place to sleep, I was given clothes. They actually had a school system going too. I hated the system, all they taught was I before e, and that crap, they rarely had self defense class." She looked over to the two new kids of the group.

"But there I found friends, Kaylee," She pointed to the skinny girl, " and Dean." She said and the boy waved.

"There were more too, like Gwen, but-" She stopped and took a big breath in.

"But just like Gwen, they didn't know how to protect themselves, and I had to shoot Gwen. And I blame her death, along with everyone else on Terminus. But now, we have a second chance." She ended and everyone stayed silent.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad we're all together again." Michonne said and she nodded.

One by one we all went to bed, Rayne staying up later than I, probably to help situate the others.

Rayne's pov

I stayed after Carl went to bed and approached Dean, who was staring into the fire. I sat next to him and sighed.

"Dean-"

"Don't. I already know what you're going to say, and I understand. You found him and now we're over." He said and I nodded.

"Yeah, but don't get me wrong, it's not because of you. We can still be friends, just like at Terminus. Nobody has to know what went on between us, even if it was only for a day." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds doable." He smiled and I hugged him.

"Thank you for not blowing this out of proportion." I said and walked upstairs to Carl.

All is well. All is settled. For now at least.