Walker Killing, Man Stealing Teen

0.9

I follow Enid's gesture and begin trudging to the gate where Rick leans upon. Carl stands beside him and so does another black man.

When I get closer and Rick sees me coming, he sends the man away. The black man passes me with a small smile. He carries a simple yet threatening stick in his hand.

Above us in the tower is the Asian from yesterday and another brunette woman. They don't even look down at us and I find myself staring at them.

Rick chooses to ignore my interest and asks "Can you shoot a gun?"

I snap my head back to face him.
"No," I answer.

"Well what can you do?" Rick asks.

"I'm good with knives," I say.

"Okay, but say there's a heap of walkers coming at you, what can you do with knives?" He pesters.

"I get the hell out of there."

"It's impossible to kill heaps of them at a time with just knives," Carl cuts in. "What if you're being surrounded?"

"I don't get surrounded." I snap back.

"Well you might if you're working with us," Rick says.

I don't break eye contact with him and I don't answer.

"I don't trust you enough to have you come with us," Rick speaks. "I don't know if you actually are skilled either but, you're alive, which means you're good at something so what is it?"

"Maybe if I came with you, you'll find out."

Rick shares a look with Carl. He chuckles.

"I will shoot you in the head if you do anything I don't like, got it?" Rick says, pointing his gun at me as he speaks.

"I've got it."

"Fine, get in the truck."

Rick turns and yells up to the Asian and woman in the guard tower. Carl leads me over to an old rusty truck parked just outside the gate. It feels freeing yet dangerous passing through the gate. Like I have escaped but I am now suddenly unsafe. Which I am.

I expected Carl to sit in the front next to where his father will be but instead he slides into the back seat next to me, that's when I realise he doesn't trust me enough to sit behind him and his father.

His gun is loaded and ready and pointed at me. I smile at him.

"You think I'm going to kill you?" I ask.

"Maybe," he answers.

I lean foreward so that our noses are almost touching. I am surprised he doesn't automatically lean away.

"If I wanted to kill you," I whisper. "You wouldn't know until you were dead and no damn gun pointed in my direction would stop me."

I lean back and stare at him. He doesn't blink or flinch, he just keeps eye contact with me.

"I'd like to see you try," he says.

"But you won't," I answer. "I'm not stupid, I'm not going to ruin my chances of having protection, a roof over my head, food, water and god damn clothes. This place is the closest I've come to safe in a long time. So I wouldn't worry," I spit.

I break our eye contact and look out the opposite window to him. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him relax his gun.

He understands.