No Rest For the Wicked ~ A Walking Dead Fan Fiction

Chapter 57 - Rise and Fall

Chapter 57

Third Person~

Kate O'Reilly shrugged her jean overshirt on over her t-shirt, freeing her hair from under it before tying it up again in a high ponytail. Slinging her black rucksack over her shoulder she strode out of the cellblock and outside, squinting against the unobstructed sun. The rest of the group was milling around the courtyard with a sense of finality settled over them that kept a certain sobriety to the air. She tossed her backpack in the trunk of the Hyundai, giving Beth a small pat on the shoulder and an even smaller smile before heading off. Rounding the SUV she was almost barreled over by Carl, who was storming away from his father. She followed Rick over to an old black car they never used. The hood was propped; it had to run at least well enough to get out of sight.

"Elsie's pissed too." Kate leaned on the side of the car as he checked the oil. There was no denying Elsie had become a brilliant fighter but Kate still didn't want her participating, mainly because of the killing. Who would lose was yet to be determined but either way it wasn't something she felt a kid should be involved in in anyway.

"Yeah." Rick nodded, accepting the jug of oil she handed him, having noted it was low. He glanced over his shoulder at where his son was standing next to the girl that in all but the literal sense, was Kate's daughter. "Yeah, we knew they would be."

"I've never seen him this mad." Glenn joined the pair, having witnessed Carl's behaviour. "Even with Lori, he just... shut down."

Rick's jaw clenched as he topped the car up. He hated that Carl was mad at him, especially when these could be their final hours together but he wouldn't change his mind. There was no way his children were going to be anywhere near what was about to happen. "He's still a kid. It's easy to forget." Rick told him, handing the jug back to Kate and closing the hood before striding off. Kate capped the oil and put it in the backseat of the car.

"Elsie's not very happy either." Glenn observed. She'd asked him to talk with Kate last night, to convince the woman let her help but he'd said no. Since them she hadn't said a word to him, not even returning his 'Good morning,' just casting him sulky frowns. Kate had it the same way and sighed as she closed the car door.

"She's still a kid." She repeated Rick. "But she wants to grow up."

Glenn's eyes shifted past the pair of youth to the field beyond them, the one they'd helped clear of dozens of walkers, the one now filled with dozens more. The one they buried their dead in. The one Hershel almost died in. The one the Governor would soon be leading his army across to kill them all. The one that was Elsie's front yard. "It's a tough world to grow up in."

"She's a tough kid."

*

He was sitting on the pavement staring out at the yard and Daryl knew immediately it was Kate that had come up behind him, before she said anything.

"You know, Merle never did nothing like that his whole life." He muttered, his eyes shifting to the ground. She knelt so her knees were on either side of him, wrapping her arms around him loosely.

"He gave us a chance." She stated. She watched his hands over his shoulder, his fingers fiddling with nothing. "You I'm here for you, right?" His hand's stilled.

"Yeah, yeah you are, Goldielocks." He murmured affectionately, separating from her as he got to his feet. She stood too and he cupped her face in his hands, pressing his forehead to hers. "So for once can you do what I ask, don't die?" She smiled, leaning into him.

"Only if you do the same for me." She pressed her lips to his for one sweet, brief second before leaving him to his work.

*