train wreck | rick grimes

chapter twenty-two

DANIELLE WIPED HER WET CHEEKS AS MORE TEARS FELL. She huffed, falling against a tree in exhaustion. She said was so tired. So tired from running, so tired of people dying. She was tired. She didn't want to do this anymore.

The woman felt a hand on her shoulder and didn't even react, showing the person how much she was tired out. "Hey." The voice of Rick Grimes mad its way to her ears, making her turn to him with tear stained cheeks and he instantly went to her side, gripping her hand gently.

Danielle looked up to him again and it was just now she realized how actually close the two were. If she were to move slightly then their lips would brush against each other. Danielle liked that idea.

Rick leaned in completely, closing the space between them as she gripped his hand tighter. Their lips moved against each other slowly, never breaking apart.

There was a sudden noise coming from the bush across from them and instantly, the two got up from their spot and Rick pushed her behind him as he held his gun up.

The leaves moved to the side, revealing Daryl. The couple sighed in relief and then Rick looked around, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Where's Carol?" Danielle asked Daryl, reading Rick's mind.

"Come on out." Daryl said gruffly. A boy around Beth's age came out from the forest, a somber look on his face.

-

Rick's group drove to where Beth was, which was at the same hospital that Danielle was training at.

Danielle was honestly scared, she was scared that this group will somehow capture them and she'll go through the same thing with the governor. She was scared.

Rick seemed to notice her leg bouncing and he put his hand over it, her looking to him with wide eyes. He gave her a gentle smile and she inhaled, instantly calming down.

They approached the abandoned warehouse across the street from the hospital and Rick made a plan for everyone.

"Tyreese, Sasha, Daryl. You guys stay here while Elle and I go distract the officers." Rick told everyone, not even noticing that he made a nickname for Danielle as he was speaking.

They had took two people in hostage, Rick having an idea to trade these two for Beth and Carol.

Daryl looked between the two and noticed their weird behavior. He didn't question it though, he just kept it in mind that they had something going on.

Danielle smiled softly at Rick and he gave her a half-smile back as he walked in front of her.

As they walked along the wall, Rick had heard a car engine from a distance but Danielle didn't, making Rick hold his arm out in front of her chest, stopping all her movements.

She stopped in confusion and looked to him, then once she heard the car door shut, her face turned in realisation.

Rick took his arm off her and proceeded to jump into sight but she grabbed his arm gently, wondering what he was about to do.

He leaned over and whispered close to her face. "If anything goes wrong, you know what to do."

Danielle nodded at that and let him go, but not before he gave her hand a tight squeeze in reassurance.

It had passed around 5 minutes of them talking before Rick had looked to Danielle as he picked up his weapon and she walked out, her hands up.

"Follow us." The officers ordered, and tbe couple followed them into the hospital as Sasha, Tyreese and Daryl got down from the rooftop and followed them in.

Everyone was lined up against the wall, each group waiting for their people to be back to them. Rick had told the group to holster their weapons and everyone obeyed, Danielle having a bad feeling in her gut once she saw those people in police suits and how banged up Beth and Carol were since she last saw them.

"What about Lanson?" A woman with dark hair asked, who Danielle was guessing it was the leader of this place.

"He got caught by walkers." One of the people from the other group said.

"We saw it go down."

Danielle could tell on that woman's face that she didn't believe them one bit. "Sorry to hear that. He was one of the good guys." She spoke a little sceptical.

"One of yours for one of mine." She said after a moment of silence, Rick agreeing.

As he grabbed the guy, the woman grabbed Beth a little harshly, handing her over to Rick, who grabbed her face gently and smiled as he was glad to see her.

"Glad we could work things out."

Rick nodded and turned around a bit, still walking towards the exit. "Yeah.."

The woman hesitated for a moment before she inhaled sharply. "Now I just need Noah."

Danielle furrowed her eyebrows as the young boy looked back, slight fear in his eyes.

Rick stopped, turned around then walking towards her a little angrily. "That wasn't the deal."

"Noah is mine. Beth is leaving so now I need him back. My officers but their life on the line to find him, one of them died."

"He ain't stayin." Daryl said gruffly.

"You have no claim on him, he's mine." She repeated, a smug look on her face.

"The boy wants go home, so you have no claim on him." Rick argued back, and the officer was starting to lose her patience.

"Well then we don't have a deal."

"The deal is done!" Rick raised his voice a bit as Danielle just watch as the scene played out, her hand on her machete slightly, ready for anything.

"It's okay, It's okay." Noah assured, limping towards the woman.

"No." Rick stated angrily, done with this woman's antics.

Noah gave Rick back the gun he had given him and Beth shook her head. "Not okay..." She whispered, having a plan in her head.

Noah walked towards the woman with a glare on his face, not wanting to leave.

"Wait!" Beth cries out, embracing Noah tightly as a goodbye.

"I knew you'd be back " The woman said cockily and Beth looked at her with a murderous look in her eyes as she walked up to her, inhaling deeply.

"I get it now." She told her and suddenly, scissors were in the woman's shoulder and Beth fell to the floor with a bullet gone through her head and her body motionless.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Daryl pulled out his gun and shot the woman in the head.

Everyone pulled their guns out and pointed them at each other, Danielle standing there in silence and shock, not expecting everything to happen so fast.

"Hold your fire!" One of the officers from the woman's group yelled, holding her arms out to everyone.

Danielle didn't hear anything after that as her mind blocked everything out as she looked at Beth's dead body on the floor.

She didn't even know how long it passed until Rick grabbed her and pulled her outside, whispering to her that everything's gonna be fine and at this point, she didn't think it was.