WAKE UP / rick grimes⁰¹ ✔︎

chapter twelve.

Months later -

Rick nearly busted the knob off the door from kicking it. Daryl and Rick check the house for walkers while Carl scavenged for food. Rick put down the last remaining walker and whistled at the others, telling them it was safe to come inside.

Maggie and Beth came in with sleeping bags and supplies. Lori could barely make it through the door with her belly almost cut from the broken hinges. Carl brought two cans to the living room, opening one with a can opener he had pulled out from his bag.

Rick walked over and picked it up. Noticing it was dog food, he threw it against the fireplace, causing everyone in the group to jump. Walkers began surrounding them, and Alicia tapped on the window, indicating it was time for them to go.

Rick went first, then Lori headed straight for the car, the others not far behind. Alicia took out a walker before hopping on the back of Daryl's motorcycle. They all stopped the cars in the middle of the road. Rick immediately looked around for walkers while the others took out the map to find more options.

"Only thing to do is to double back at 27th and swing towards Greenville," Rick went on to explain, but T-dog had reminded him they already went through there, and they would be making a complete circle going back.

"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan, we'll push west. I haven't been through the area. We can't keep going house to house. We need to find someplace to hold up for a few weeks." Everyone in the group decided to take a break and gather water from the creeks, boiling it later. They headed for the cars, but Rick and Alicia decided to go hunting for food.

They come across a prison surrounded by walkers. Rick looks at it and the walkers around the prison. He decides to drive out there, cutting the wires around the prison fence with pliers. Glenn and Maggie kill the walkers heading towards them.

Everyone crosses through the fence and into the alleyway of the prison. Glenn and Daryl close the wall just as soon as everyone is out. Walkers approach them but stop by the fence. Daryl opens the door and reveals the alleyway cut short to a courtyard filled with walkers and then the prison.

"It's perfect. If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight." Rick spoke up, finally relieved they had somewhere to sleep other than their cars.

"You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there, pop them through the fence. Daryl, go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl, take this tower." Rick began shouting out orders left and right.

"Alicia, I need you as my backup just in case I don't make it to the gate. Are you up for it?" Alicia nodded, quickly following Rick to the gate. They began putting walkers down closer to the entrance while the others tried to keep them distracted long enough for Rick and Alicia to make it to the gate.

Daryl, Carol, Carl, and Hershel can gun down any walkers that approach Alicia and Rick, Carol nearly shoots Rick by mistake, but they can still make it through.

The walkers are drawn to them, but Alicia manages to shut the gate, and both she and Rick make their way to the tower, closing the door.

"Light it up!" Daryl gives everyone the cue to take out all the walkers in the prison field. Rick and Alicia begin shooting from on top of the prison tower, smiling and laughing with each other. Rick takes out the last walker, and they all meet up next to the yard.

The sun starts going down, and they all gather around for a fire. Alicia looks over at Lori, who is eyeing her bowl of food, and Alicia looks down at it and hands it over to her.

"You've barely eaten any-" Alicia tells her it's okay, and Lori ends up grabbing the bowl, nearly biting off her own fingers as she chows down on the leftover owl Daryl had caught for dinner. Alicia got up, dusting her pants off walking away from the fire.

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom real quick," She had lied to everyone. In reality, she was going to someplace quiet where no one could bother her. She wanted to be alone, just for a minute. She dug into her pocket, pulling out a plastic baggy containing small blue pills.

Her hands began to shake as she popped two of them into her mouth, only glancing down to realize she had four left. She quickly swallowed them and sighed in relief as she slid down against the fence.

She quickly pulled out her knife as footsteps began approaching her. She jolted up at the unknown figure but backed down once she realized it was Rick. Alicia slid the bag of pills back into her pocket, hiding them from Rick.

"Did you eat?" Rick sat down next to her passing his bowl of food to her, but she slowly pushed it towards him, rejecting it. "Have you been sleeping?"

Alicia pushed herself up from the ground, sighing in annoyance, "Is this an interrogation?" Rick told her he had been worried about her and wanted to make sure she was okay.

"I know about the pills," Rick never knew one sentence could make someone so incredibly nervous. He wanted to test her, but looking upon her face, he knew she was using.

"I don't know what they're for... But I know they aren't helping, and it might not happen soon, but eventually, you're gonna run out." Rick got up from the ground walking over to Alicia.

"I don't know what to do," Alicia turned back at Rick, and he pulled her in, grabbing her waist. He cuffed one of his hands against the back of her head. They let go of each other, Alicia's hair had stuck to the side of Rick's face, and he brushed back up against her ear, causing her to blush.

Alicia felt Rick's warm breath against her face as she leaned in for a kiss. Instead of kissing her, Rick rested his forehead against hers, touching noses. Alicia had grabbed Rick's hand and placed something inside of it.

"Alicia, I-" Rick took a deep breath, almost leaning in to kiss Alicia before she pulled herself away from him, making it back to camp. Rick could barely catch his breath when she left. He opened his palm and found her baggy of pills. He clenched his jaw, sighing before burning the bag with the drugs still inside.

Alicia had made it back to the campfire and set up her sleeping bag like everyone else. She laid down on the grass, turned away from everyone. She opened her hand to reveal she had taken two pills out of the bag before handing it over to Rick.