𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 ➳ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

Chapter 5 ~ Hitchhiking Can Be Fun

Note: For those of you reading - sorry for the long wait on an update, I've been so busy with family issues and I had a cold and yeah, it's been rough. But I'm back now and ready to write! :)

Well, I definitely wasn't expecting for this to be how my weekend went - sitting beside Carl surrounded by crates of very strong-smelling fruit as well as bottles of alcohol. I also didn't expect for Jesus to jump up into the back of the cargo truck with us. My eyes went round as saucers as Carl greeted him with a nonchalant "hey". His blue eyes met ours and I gave him a sheepish wave. But apparently, this is not how Jesus had planned his day either because he plopped down beside us with a frustrated sigh.

"I did not plan on you two being here," he said, shaking his head as if we were two naughty children who'd disobeyed orders.

I shrugged, pulling my knees up to my chest so I could rest my chin on them.

"Well, at least today is going better than the last time I had a trip with you," I tossed over my shoulder to which I received a slightly disgruntled look.

The rest of the ride we rode in mostly silence with the occasional grumble from Jesus about how this was not how his day was "supposed to go". Rolling my eyes, I leaned into Carl's side and he instantly wrapped an arm around my waist.

"So what's the plan once we get there?" I asked him quietly, making sure Jesus couldn't hear us.

We were situated behind some boxes whilst Jesus just sat with his booted feet dangling off the tailgate of the truck.

Carl shrugged, "I'm going to distract while you get your daughter,"

I arched an eyebrow, "Distract how, Grimes?"

"Don't worry about that, Angel. You just focus on finding your baby. She's the number one priority here,"

I bit my lip, nodding instead of arguing with him on this. He was right. We needed to get her out of there. Just the idea of her being raised by Negan and his "wives" made my blood boil. She was my baby girl. She was a Dixon, like me and her grandfather before her.

She didn't deserve to grow up like that - no one did.

"Fine. But be careful, okay?" I said softly, my dark eyes meeting his light-blue orb.

He nodded, taking my hand in his gently - squeezing it, "You have my word."

All of a sudden, Jesus got up from where he sat and grabbed a bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup before squeezing the gooey liquid out onto the road. Carl and I stood up from our position against the wall, watching him.

"Making a trail," he explained when he caught our curious glances, "I think we're close,"

I made a face, knowing what was coming next. Jesus thought we were going back with him. Little did he know, neither of us were going anywhere with him. We couldn't just give up at this point - we'd made it this far. The truck kept moving down the road, dodging abandoned vehicles and debris. By now, there was a loud hum of walker moans beginning to fill the air - creating one big buzz.

"We should bail out, follow the rest of the way, see what we can see," Jesus continued.

"I, uh...how?" Carl stuttered out, fumbling for words.

I briefly grabbed his hand for reassurance but Jesus failed to take notice.

"It isn't usually the fall that gets us. It's trying to fight it. Run with it or roll with it. The truck's going slow enough," he explained, turning to us briefly before bringing his eyes back to the quickly fading road, "We'll be in the blind spot. We can race behind one of the other cars,"

"I-I-If If I mess up and we get caught-" I started to protest but Jesus cut me off.

"It'll be fine. We just got to go now," he reassured the both of us.

"Okay... Show me first." Carl piped up, determination in his blue eye.

Nodding to us once, Jesus poked his head out the clear flaps of the truck briefly before diving out. My eyes widened and Carl and I raced to the edge to see him roll for cover in the dirt before ultimately scrambling behind a car to hide. Seconds passed before his eyes returned to the truck and I could see him shake his head. A sigh escaped my mouth as the truck bumped along the dirt road. I turned to Carl then, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Phase 1 complete." I said sarcastically, shrugging.