DEVILS ♛ C. G. 〖 #wattys2018 〗

T H R E E / S E V E N

i've been reinvigorated by this bullshit to write more of my own bullshit

SOTC: gold — EDEN
• i'm so done with singing words i don't believe in no more •

When the fog cleared, Rick could see a form standing there, on the other side of the gate. The sunken hue of her skin almost made him mistake the girl for a walker, the only interruption to this illusion being her hands, raised up like a criminal's.

In this cold weather, only in a plain white shirt and jeans, each stained with dirt and blood. Her jacket was tossed a few feet away from her, presumably to remove the possibility of any hidden weapons.

Her eyes caught on Rick. She took a nervous swallow of air.

"Where's your dad." Rick's harsh rasp cut through the space between them.

"Back at the Sanctuary. He'll be there for the next two days because he preparing for an attack on Alexandria. He thinks I'm doing some last-minute scouting around Gaithersburg for the day. I checked the logs to make sure nobody would be able to snitch—"

"I'm just trying to understand why the fuck you're here."

April closed her eyes, like a quick prayer. "Carl sent me."

Rick could swear that the air froze.

Wind dissolved, voiced ceased. All of the Alexandrians, those stationed as guards, gathering behind the gate as spectators, and Rick himself, all of them lost their pulses for a moment.

A bloom of rage surfaced in him. How could she use Carl to twist a reaction from him? And why would he ever... "I'm not falling for that shit."

"It's not shit." Her voice broke as she yelled over the wind. "I have a letter from him. It's in my jacket pocket."

Rick motioned for an Alexandrian to go retrieve her jacket. April watched as the woman approached her, heart slamming in her chest, motionless, teeth chattering.

"You still haven't explained why you're here."

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the endless fear drumming through her body. "I'm hoping to hell that you'll believe me."

"Probably not," Rick mused, retrieving the jacket from the woman. "You stole my son from me. I don't even know—"

"He's still alive," April blurted. She juggled the words in her head, trying to find an explanation that might convince him. Her skin felt like a sheet of ice, faulting as the moments ticked by. "I had been planning a rebellion for a while. He chose to join me. Then, when my best friend, Elle... her girlfriend was one of my dad's wives..." She swallowed. "I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think that Elle's girlfriend was pressured to give up information and that ended up unearthing our plans for a rebellion."

April breathed, expecting Rick to cut in, or to least say something. When nothing was said, she continued, "All I know is that Carl is in the Sanctuary prison right now. I've only seen it from the outside, when they go out every day to work with the walkers that form our security system. It... has horrible conditions."

Pause. "But what does this have to do with you being here?" Rick didn't seem to be convinced.

"I'm... planning another thing. It's going to be bigger. But I'm not making the same mistakes as I did last time. Someone with access to the prison cells was able to get a letter from Carl to me, which is now in the pocket of my jacket right there."

April took a long, steady breath. "I feel like... you might find it easier to believe me if you read that letter."

Rick studied her face through the red bars of Alexandria's gate. To be honest, he found her story to be slightly believable, despite himself. But the majority of his inclination was still to tear the girl to pieces. She was mini-Negan as far as he could be concerned.