A Hard Lesson to Learn

Chapter 25

It took Rick and Kali a couple of hours to get to their destination. It's the farthest Kali had been from Alexandria in a long time. The building that Rick wanted to search was an old grocery store warehouse. The sign on the side of the building was barely still attached to the metal side. The sign was covered in green mold from the years of not having the proper care.

"So are we splitting up or doing this together," Kali asked after they exited the car.

"We'll clear the place together then we can split. Not too far, but enough to cover the place quickly."

Kali put her arms on the roof of the car looking at Rick. "Can I get a knife or something with a blade? Last time I did something like this Michonne it almost ended badly."

A short laugh escapes Rick before he could catch it. He walked towards the trunk of the car and opened it. Kali can see him from the side ruffling through the trunk's contents. He drops the bags that he's pulling out on the ground as he continues to search through the trunk. He grabs one last item before closing the trunk and reaching down to gather the bags.

"You expecting to hit the apocalyptic lottery here Grimes," Kali asked a teasing nature to her words.

"Always been to be prepared."

"Right. Speaking of prepared...I need to defend myself somehow. So, what ya got for me?"

"Here," he says handing her half the bags that were in his hands. One large backpack, a long duffle bag, and a smaller bag that would hold the loot if they found anything in the warehouse. Lastly, he hands her a small wooden handle that would be the weapon she requested.

A skeptical look washed over her face before she could stop it. "Are you serious," she asks looking from her hand to Rick and back again.

"Yeah," he replied slipping his backpack over his shoulder. A sly grin painted on his face.

"How am I supposed to kill a walker with this?"

"Like this," Rick says swinging his arm from about his head down. 

"It's a damn hammer, Rick. There has to be something else in the trunk. You have your gun, knife, and hatchet. Give me a blade," she tries to plead with him, but Rick is already walking towards the door on the side of the building closest to them.

Kali huffs and follows after him. Rick is waiting for her beside the door when she finally joins him so he can breach the warehouse. "It's nice of you to join me," he teases her causing Kali to roll her eyes.

"I hate you," she tells him shortly her agitation clear.

"Now it's not good to lie," he continued to play. To him, it was fun to rile her up and get Kali agitated.

When Kali didn't respond to his antics, Rick drew his blade from its sheath on his side. He pushed the door open and readied for a walker to come charging out at the pair. There was not a walker in sight, so Rick knocked on the metal door. The only sound was the echo of his knock throughout the warehouse.

He walks in front just in case with Kali following close behind. The place looked relatively untouched. The steels shelves reached from the ceiling to the concrete floor beneath their feet. The shelves are jammed packed with untouched packages and boxes. They make quick work of clearing the warehouse, thankful that there were no walkers inside the building.

They made quick work of clearing the place. They decided to start in the back and work their way to the front. Rick starts on the back isle collecting cans and other food items and stuffing them in his bag. Kali, on the other hand, makes her way into a nearby office. She can still see Rick through messed up blinds covering the windows. Kali riffles through the drawers just seeing what someone left behind. She tossed a stack of papers on the desk to clear her view.