#daphne ayala

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | chapter six

[rick grimes x original female character slowburn]

series masterlist

summary: rick confides in daphne, for reasons unknown to her. as she offers him counsel, daphne is also grappling with conflicting feelings of her own.

notes: if you're disappointed by this reaction, this is a friendly reminder that season 1 rick was mr moral high ground. but trust me when i say there WILL be a catalyst for rick's entire wrath and fury. this is just one step closer to that. do not fear, rick will be kicking shane's ass very soon :) also, the pacing is so bad in this, i might rewrite this whole chapter soon. but feel free to comment, i love talking to you all!

I froze. In fact, I think all three of us did and I realized with a jolt how out of my depth I was here. This had nothing to do with me and of course, here I was, in the smack dab middle of it.

Daryl scoffed one more time and then trudged into the woods, mumbling all sorts of things. I stared after him until he disappeared within the trees. His words dawned on me and my eyes slowly traveled over to Shane.

Sure, Rick's sudden appearance had served as a nice distraction from the big glaring problem I had waiting here for me if I got back alive, but reality had to be faced eventually. My inner conflict since last night had been tearing me from the inside-out, as I tried to figure out my feelings for Shane Walsh. After all, he has been generously kind to me in all the years I've known him, albeit flirty but in a respectful way. He didn't cross any lines I'd deemed uncrossable and I wouldn't deny that his concern and priority over my well-being filled me with sensation far beyond gratitude.

The kiss caught me off guard. But now this bucket of ice cold water had been dumped over my head. Just as I began to entertain the idea of harboring romantic feelings for him.

His words from last night echoed in the back of my mind.

"For what it's worth, it's always been you."

Something inexplicable gripped at my throat. But I stayed as silent as possible. Watching these two was like a ticking bomb, any second away from detonating.

Shane stared at Rick with a troubled expression, his foot twisting into the dirt uncomfortably.

I knew in an instant Daryl Dixon did not lie.

Did he know this was my usual spot to gather berries and other edible plants? With his tracking abilities, I wouldn't doubt it, despite not talking to the man much but...

Of all the miles that surrounded our camp, why stretch out the smug admission of a hidden truth, a treacherous affair, until this very spot, just steps away from where I was crouched in the bush, picking for blueberries?

I reprimanded myself at the thought. Why would Daryl Dixon care about my knowing of Shane's personal escapades?

"She..." Shane started quite hesitantly. "Lori... she thought you were dead, man."

"Did you?"

Shane scoffed as if the accusation baffled him. "You heard 'em. I... I tried, Rick. I saw you every chance I got. The day it all went down— I didn't have a damn clue what was going on. Screams from left to right, the military raining fire on anyone who was still breathing. Hell, I tried to get you out of there, man! But it couldn't be the two of us dead because you still had a wife and a child out there! And if I couldn't save you, I could damn well save them!" He was unexpectedly set off, angrier than he should've been. "And let me tell you somethin', I did it for you. I did it for my brother. L-Lori, we were comforting each other in the only way we knew how—"

"I thought you were gone."

His partner's face was crestfallen. His lips parted like the shock was threatening to sink him under, his eyes glazed over from the betrayal.

"After I woke up in that hospital bed, when I saw what the world had become. The first thing I thought about was Carl and Lori. And then you. Our unit. For a moment, I thought you were all dead—"

Rick choked up and Shane's face morphed into something reminiscent of guilt. I couldn't quite tell though. I'd like to think that after years, I knew this man. But now he was completely unreadable.

Running a hand over his face, down his glistening eyes, Rick squared his stance and stared his longest friend in the eye.

"Our marriage... fell apart a long time ago," he shook his head and clenched his jaw. "But that doesn't make this okay."

There was a long moment of tense silence and I didn't realize I was holding my breath until my chest began to burn. I tried to control the air releasing from my lungs.

"I appreciate what you did. Saving 'em. I owe you everythin' but—" Rick cut himself off, glaring at the grass between them. He seemed to be saying these words through his teeth, forcing himself to say them. His hand began to flex angrily and his feet kicked the dirt beneath them in warning.

I stared at them with a mix of emotions.

One was a man that had changed my life forever, taught me how to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where I should've died. He cared for me, never shied away from making it clear that I was his priority. And maybe I was too blinded by the attention to see that there was something going on between him and Lori. That she was also carelessly pushed to the side in the weeks we'd been forming a new life together. And to know that she'd been having sex with him all along, I could only hope that she didn't have actual feelings for him, because it would explain the strange looks I had been catching from her, and my guilt would only increase tenfold.

And on the other hand was her husband, a man I have been pining over since the moment I laid eyes on him in the precinct.

Rick Grimes had an instant hold over me, no matter how minuscule or undetectable it had gotten over the years, and no matter what, he had always truly been the most gorgeous man I've known inside and out.

What does that say about me? Lusting after my friend's husband and then fucking around with the feelings of her goddamn side piece.

I suddenly became nauseous.

"I get it, man. I'll go back to the camp," said Shane after a long stretch of silence. I kept my eyes on Rick, unable to look at Shane with the turmoil brewing inside me. A simmering anger was twisting my insides at the mere sound of his voice.

"Uh— yeah, yeah," Rick mumbled distractedly, not bothering to even look up, fists clenching and unclenching by his sides.

A pair of footsteps stomped away, crunching along the grass until the only thing that could be heard was the chirps of the nearby insects.

As soon as Shane disappeared within the trees, Rick spun around to send his fist flying into a tree, a muffled yell leaving his pressed lips. He was beyond angry, tears lining his lash line, face turning red. I stared with wide eyes, trying not to make a single sound.

I felt incredibly bad for him. I couldn't imagine fighting tooth and nail to make it back to your wife just to find that she had moved on to your best friend so quickly. That although their marriage had already been suffering, she had chosen to sleep with the man he trusted more than anyone else.

Something wet touched my hand. I uncurled my fist to find a handful of crushed blueberries.

"How long you been there?"

I jolted up in surprise, my curls tangled into the bush and the pouch of berries slipped out of my other hand.

"I was here first," I replied defensively, still hidden in the bush.

Rick didn't say anything, just peered past the leaves as if he couldn't quite spot me. But somehow he knew I was there, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"You were," he eventually said, slowly. "I saw you just before Daryl left."

Relief flooded through me. I slowly untangled myself from the branches, stepping out into the path with tinged cheeks. "I was picking berries. Found the patch a few weeks ago."

His cheeks were flushed, his hands shaking very slightly by his side.

"I can leave you alone," I said after some silence. "I'll go back to camp—"

"No." Rick said firmly, meeting my eye very briefly before glaring back down at the ground.

I halted my escape. "Oh, um, okay."

The awkwardness was threatening to eat me alive. I shifted on my feet, wondering where to look and what to do with my hands.

"Do you..." I eagerly looked up at Rick, glad one of us was talking. "Did you know?"

I studied him. Really, there should be no reason for him to be upset with me too, but I braced myself for his wrath anyway. He'd spared Shane because they were partners, but we were nothing. As much as it bothered me, Rick and I didn't owe each other an ounce of respect in this new world.

"No," I told him honestly. A surge of anger towards Shane rushed through me again. My cheeks felt hot.

"I keep wondering... if I have the right to even be upset. I wasn't a good husband to her, I know this, and you're the last person I should be telling this to but—"

The last person? Should I be offended or something? I decide now wasn't the best time to press for details. "It's fine. I know this can't be easy for you. To wake up to... this."

Rick scoffed a little, but not in a rude way. It was as if I'd said something outlandish and absurd.

"I woke up and the hardest part was done. Seeing the world change— changing with it— becoming the leader of a group you have no responsibilities or ties to. You, you did the hard part."

"Oh— did Shane—?"

"Shane didn't hafta tell me nothin'. Lori and I talked last night. She told me everything that happened since the day I got shot," explained Rick solemnly.

I cringed at the thought of them spending time alone last night. Not that it was crazy to imagine; they were still married.

"I guess I have a lot to be thanking you for," Rick looked up at me with an intense sincerity in his gaze. I tried not to squirm under the pressure of it. He continued. "You saved my family. That is something I will never be able to repay."

He stepped forward and laid a large hand on my shoulder. I could feel some heat rush to my ears. "You have my gratitude."

"Carl's a great kid. And Lori's my friend. I would do it a million times over," I told him truthfully.

He stared at me for a few moments, his hand still holding my shoulder as his eyes scanned every bit of my face. Sighing, he stepped away and brought himself to the ground carefully, sitting with his knees bent and leaning an elbow against them thoughtfully.

It was silent again, but it didn't feel as awkward as before so I sat next to him and began to wash the berries off with the bottle of water I'd brought with me from camp.

"What... what do I do?"

My head shot over to stare at him. "You're asking me."

I didn't state it as a question, more as a statement of shock, thinking about how ironic it was that the fate of a marriage I had once upon a time envied was now partly in my hands. The guilt was still there, painfully tugging at my heartstrings.

Rick shrugged and made a show of looking around at the empty trees around us.

"I can't really tell you what to do, Rick."

"What I really wanna do is break his jaw in. Watch him choke on his teeth."

I'm surprised at the restraint it took for him to not send his fist flying in the first place. I was fully prepared to watch Shane's ass get beat.

"He deserves it," I instigated slightly. I couldn't possibly be as angry as he was but I understood. Shane does deserve a good punch.

He sighed and shook his head at the ground.

"I don't know how to go on. How to look him in the face—" he scowled. "We were brothers. He was my best friend. He knew." Rick snapped.

"He knew...?"

"He was the one person I confided in. I told him about Lori and I. I told him when things started going south. I never thought in a million years I'd have to worry." He spat, shaking his head angrily.

I felt some of that bitterness surge in me as well. I felt completely and utterly deceived by the same goddamn person.

"We never do," I projected a bit. I couldn't help it, the anger was swelling in me as well. Just the thought of Shane's stupid face made me want to punch something. "They fill our heads with all these stupid promises and reassurances just to stab you right in the back anyway."

Am I being overdramatic? Most likely. Hell, I probably deserved this. I led Shane on for so long, I couldn't be mad that he moved on to someone else. I just couldn't understand why he'd said the things he did last night. The kiss.

I've never been more goddamn confused in my life.

It was quiet for a few minutes, my last comment brewing in the silence but I didn't think Rick would pay much mind to it. He had bigger problems of his own.

"Carl— he's so young..." he said idly as if it had just occurred to him.

Too young for a divorce was what he meant.

I couldn't disagree with that. There's no age that seeing your parents separate becomes easier to deal with. But he's not the same nine-year-old Rick had known before he got shot.

"Rick, the world isn't the same anymore. It doesn't excuse Lori's actions or Shane's, but all of that doesn't matter so much when you're trying to keep yourself from getting eaten by dead cannibals. I can't tell you what to do but in the grand scheme of things, I think Carl will learn to understand."

I didn't know whether this brought him any comfort because he seemed to have nothing else to say on the matter. Maybe I was too straightforward, after all Carl was his kid at the end of the day. Despite how much I'd grown to care for him...

"I've been thinking about the man we left behind."

I looked over at him in shock. It was the last thing I'd been expecting him to bring up. But as soon as I looked at his blue eyes, I could almost see the plans he was concocting.

He wanted to go after him.

"You can't be serious," I scoffed. I'd been pushing aside my own thoughts about Merle Dixon. Just one more thing to add to my consciousness. As much of a dickhead as he was, we'd left a human being for dead.

"It isn't right. Leaving him up there to die," insisted Rick.

"He would do the same to any of us," I argued. "You just escaped the city. Survived alone against all odds. You're willing risk that for a douchebag like Merle?"

I observed the incredulous look on his face with disdain. It's different for him. He was just introduced to this new fucked up reality. He still has hope that we can be the heroes of this story-- that we can afford to care about anyone but ourselves.

"This-- what we have here-- this is what we focus on. It's unfortunate but Merle dug his own grave. It isn't worth risking your life, Rick."

I hated the way he was looking at me but I steeled myself. He'd learn soon enough. Men like Merle weren't worth compromising your safety for. It was every man for himself in the old world, and even more so in the new one.

I shoved every silly feeling I've had for Rick to the side and gave him a stern look back. I willed myself not to care about the disgust on his face because soon enough, he'd understand.

He'd understand what we've done to keep his wife and son alive.

Rick opened his mouth and I braced myself, ready to hear something along the lines of me being a murderer and a split second thought ran through my head.

Shane would agree with me.

A blood curdling scream cut through the dense silence.

"MOM! DAD!"

I was up before I could even process it, tearing through the woods with Rick at my heels.

"CARL!" Rick and I yelled in unison. I gripped the pistol Shane had given me tight, not caring if my face was torn up by the stray branches I ran against, heart pounding in my chest as I willed my legs to move faster than they ever have.

"Here!" I tossed a knife back to Rick as I pushed ahead of him, beating him in speed by a milestone.

"MAMA! MOMMY!" A high-pitched voice screamed.

Finally, I stumbled upon where Sophia and Carl were huddled. Making a beeline towards the kids, despite the walker that stood yards away.

I grabbed them by the shoulders, looking them up and down frantically. Trying to find a bite, a scratch, anything.

A body came slamming into mine and I suddenly heard their screams, the rest of the group had been searching as well.

Lori grabbed her son frantically, snatching him from my grasp and patting his arms down in a panic. "Carl! Nothing bit you, nothing scratched you?"

"No, I'm fine," Carl shook his head.

Jacqui came running out of nowhere.

"Soph?" The small blonde girl shook her head frantically before sprinting in the direction of camp, no doubt searching for her mother.

"She wasn't bit. We're both okay." Carl reassured.

I gripped my pistol and set my sights on the walker. It was feasting on a deer, crouched over and ripping its neck to shreds. I grimaced, inching forward with Rick and Glenn at my side.

Shane made brief eye contact with me before the walker suddenly straightened up and whipped around.

Rick wasted no time, slashing its face with the knife I'd handed him. Shane used the end of his rifle and Glenn started beating the damn thing with a stick. Even Morales had a turn before Dale swung his axe and chopped its head off clean.

It was silent as we all stared at the mess of guts and blood in shock.

"That's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain," said Dale shakily.

"Well, they're running out of food in the city. That's what," replied Jim, another survivor who was normally a man of few words.

A branch snapped and we all raised our weapons, my safety turning off once more.

I curled my finger around the trigger as the steps got closer.

"Oh, Jesus," Dale sighed in relief as Daryl came stomping out from between the bushes. I lowered my gun and shook my head.

"Son of a bitch! That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this filthy—" Daryl kicked the headless walker angrily.

"—disease-bearing—"

Kick.

"—motherless—"

Another kick.

"—poxy bastard!"

"Calm down, son. That's not helping."

"What do you know about it, old man?" Daryl sneered at Dale, getting in his face. "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'on golden pond?' If it wasn't for you idiots running it off earlier, I would've taken it back to camp. Maybe I can cut around this chewed up part. Take some for the road."

"Wouldn't risk that," Shane sighed.

"That's a damn shame," Daryl said, giving Shane a nasty glare before raising his bow and shooting an arrow into the walker's reanimated head.

Huffing, he shoulder-checked Glenn as he passed by, ripping the arrow out with a squelch.

I couldn't blame him for being angry. As much of an asshole as Merle was, he was still Daryl's family.

Glenn rubbed his shoulder and rolled his eyes.

"Daryl!" Rick rushed after him, disappearing into the trees with my knife. I was briefly confused until I remembered where our last conversation left off.

"God help us all," I smacked a hand on my forehead and began to make my way back to camp. Slowly so I wouldn't catch up to Daryl and Rick.

"Hold up, Daph," Glenn caught up to me with a huff. "Were you ever going to tell me about Rick being the Rick?"

"What?"

Glenn glanced behind us. Likely looking for Shane.

"Rick Grimes? Like super hot hip-swaying coworker Grimes? I'm fucking offended, Daph."

"Do you want everyone to hear you?" I whispered harshly, scanning the woods to make sure Rick or Shane weren't lurking about.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"Sorry, it wasn't really at the forefront of my mind yesterday. I was more thinking about all the dead people trying to eat us."

"What are the freaking odds?" Glenn marveled. "Out of all people, he runs into us. You know, anybody else would've left him for dead."

"Yes, you're a goddamn hero, Glenn."

"Damn right I am. Saved your man from certain death."

My eyes widened comically and I whacked him in the side. "He's not my man. Don't say shit like that around Shane or Lori."

"Of course not. I'm not crazy. You see 'em around here?"

"I dunno. Shane has eyes and ears everywhere."

"True," Glenn nodded, staring at his feet as we walked. Suddenly, he stopped.

"What's up with you two? You've been weird since yesterday morning."

Fuck. I knew it wouldn't slip past him. Glenn knew me too well for this to just slide and the only reason I'd been keeping it from him was because of how selfish and ashamed I felt.

"Don't judge me, okay?"

His eyebrows pinched together in confusion. "Okay?"

I seized his sleeve and took us a little ways off the trail, closer to the blueberry patch. Speaking of which, I left all of the ones I'd collected in the dust. Goddamnit.

"Um— two nights ago, Shane and I... well, we kissed."

His jaw dropped slightly.

"He kissed me." I defended quickly, before Glenn could give me a judgmental look.

"Did you want it?" He asked carefully.

"Yes— well, no— I don't know."

Glenn narrowed his gaze, sending a glance in the direction of camp. His cheeks tinted red and he shifted uncomfortably.

"He didn't force himself onto me, if that's what you think." I said quickly, recognizing the signs of Glenn's impending anger.

His chest fell in relief.

"I just... I screwed up, Glenn. I led him on. I let him kiss me and I kissed him back. I didn't even know if I wanted it. And then Rick of all people shows up! The one person I was holding out hope for. I'm not a homewrecker but I am delusional."

Glenn stayed silent so I continued with a sigh.

"I should've given Shane a chance before the world went to shit. But I didn't and now everything is so much more complicated... he, um, he told me there's no one else."

"Damn."

I closed my eyes frustratingly. "I know."

"That's clearly a lie."

I gave him a side-eyed glare. "I know."

Glenn pursed his lips awkwardly and looked away.

"How long have you known?" I asked with a sigh. Wouldn't be surprised if I was the last one to find out.

"Not long. I stumbled upon them in the woods the other day. I can't get the image out of my head, I think I'm scarred for life." He grimaced. "I would've told you if I knew he was trying to make a move."

"It's fine," I began to walk back over to the path again. "You couldn't have known. It happened late at night and I was wallowing in self-pity yesterday."

I stomped on the fallen leaves, trying to release some of the pent-up frustration before getting back.

"It's just... I told him it'd take time but I was willing to give us a try. All this time I've felt guilty for even missing that part of my life when Lori was still grieving her husband. Just to find out her and Shane are having sex this whole time."

Glenn readjusted his cap. "Gotta wonder if this started now or before."

That's a good point.

I wasn't a good husband to her, Rick had said to me earlier.

I don't know anything about their lives from before. I only knew Rick at a professional level. And whatever Shane would tell me when he was trying to chat me up every other day at work.

I can't really judge Rick or Lori. She thought he was dead and Rick... well, I don't know what he meant by not being a good husband.

This was truly a mess I had no part in.

"I'm taking myself out of this equation. I have enough on my plate for me to worry about this love triangle."

"More like a rectangle."

I gave him a confused look.

"You like Rick. Rick likes Lori. Lori like Shane. Shane likes you and Lori?"

God, I love and hate his out-of-pocket comments sometimes. But Glenn keeps it real. I gotta respect that.

Rick likes Lori.

Well technically, Rick should love Lori and he probably does. She's the mother of his child and I can't pretend to know everything about their relationship, but if what Rick said earlier was true, there wasn't much of a relationship anymore.

"I could really use some vodka," I groaned, feeling a headache forming between my eyes.

"Same," Glenn said sadly as we approached camp.

Everyone had resumed to their usual activities. Lori and Carl were nowhere to be found but I assumed they were in their tent or the RV. Carol was folding clothes with little Sophia at her feet.

I did a double-take when I saw Rick and Shane speaking to the side. I could faintly hear their conversation.

"So that's it, huh? To hell with everybody else? What about Lori?"

"Don't talk to me about her. I'm not saying to hell with anybody. Especially not to my son." Rick said firmly, buttoning up his sheriff's uniform. He started walking past his former partner.

"Tell them that."

Rick whipped around, an unreadable expression on his face as he stared back at his friend.

"They know. You'd best leave me alone. It's in your best interest. This ain't got nothing to do with you."

I started walking over, feeling a fight begin to stir up. Shane didn't look like he was deterred by Rick's unapproachable attitude and there's no way Rick wasn't still upset about his best friend's actions.

"Well, look, I--I don't, okay, Rick? So could you just throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon?"

"Hey, choose your words more carefully," threatened Daryl, who was standing nearby.

"No, I did. Douchebag's what I meant."

"You have something in common then," said Rick jarringly. I was taken aback, not expecting that type of insult to fly out of Officer Grimes' mouth. He was always the passive one.

Glenn chortled next to me.

Shane took it unflinchingly. "Merle Dixon-- that guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst, man."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst. Me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being. I don't recall asking for your opinion either."

"So you and Daryl? That's your big plan?" Lori asked, more at ease than I would've expected given the tense circumstances.

I observed her easy posture, other than the frustration she was likely feeling over the fact that her husband was trying to go on a damn suicide mission. I watched as her eyes subtly traveled from Rick to Shane. Then I realized Shane must not have told her a damn thing.

Rick looked at her with hardened eyes. And then switched his gaze over to—

Glenn groaned. "Oh, come on."

There's no way in hell.

"You wanna drag someone else on this suicide mission?" I interjected exasperatedly. I gave Rick my nastiest glare, unable to believe his audacity.

"You're really okay with letting a man die?"

"It's like I said before. He'd do the same to any of us," I lowered my voice and stepped closer to Rick, eyeing Daryl's angry pacing over his shoulder. "He was going to get himself killed eventually. And he would've dragged us all down with him."

I'm not evil. I'm not. I just don't want to see Rick die.

Rick stared at me for a moment before setting his attention onto Glenn.

"You know the way," I scoffed as he ignored me completely. "You've been there before. In and out, no problem. You said so yourself."

Glenn took his cap off and started rubbing his head-- a nervous tick of his.

I've never felt so angry with anyone. Knowing he was asking this of Glenn. Asking him to risk his life once more when he already had just to save Rick's skin.

"It's not fair of me to ask. I know that." Rick glanced over to me apologetically. I guess he isn't deaf. "But I'd feel a lot better if you came along."

"That's just great." Shane scowled, stepping closer to me. "Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?"

"Four," said T-Dog from the edge of camp.

Daryl scoffed. "My day just gets better and better, don't it?"

"Be grateful anyone's willing to save that dick," I bristled.

"Yeah, you see anybody else stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?"

"Why you?" Daryl asked T-Dog.

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."

"That's four," said Dale exasperatedly.

"That's not just four. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on. You saw that walker. It was here, it was in camp."

Despite it all, Shane and I usually saw eye to eye on most things. We weren't afraid to make hard decisions to keep the camp safe. The first week or so when it was just the five of us, Shane and I would stay up late into the early hours of the morning. Talking about our limits— what we were willing to do to make sure our loved ones stayed alive. Even if prioritizing our safety meant leaving others behind.

It's why I still can't believe Ed Peletier is still a good-for-nothing member of our camp. After his and Shane's scuffle, I was certain Shane and I would find a way to get rid of him. Whereas douchebag volatile Merle contributed brawn and hunting game, Ed contributed nothing.

"They're moving out the city. They come here, they get to camp-- we need every able body we got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp." Shane emphasized.

"You went through hell to find us," added Lori. "You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?"

"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl pleaded.

"Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth even one of your lives! Tell me. Make me understand." Lori said angrily, standing up.

Rick sighed and crouched in front of Carl, making a point to speak mostly to him. "I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. If they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."

"What's stopping you?" Lori asked from the side.

"The walkie-talkie. I dropped it in the tank I hid in," Rick looked back at Glenn and I. "He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."

"I feel for them. I really do but I can't listen to this shit any longer," I hissed quietly at Glenn before stomping away towards our tent.

Footsteps crunched behind me and I knew he was following me. I slipped off my shoes and threw myself onto my sleeping bag, irritated beyond belief. The second Rick mentioned the walkie he'd left behind, it reminded me of what I had left behind too— the medicine. A shit ton of it. Stuff that we'd need eventually and the vitamins the kids were so desperately lacking.

Goddamnit. Carl was one of my weakest spots. I'd grown to care for him immensely, more than I expected. His now-hallowed cheeks stabbed at my heart.

I watched as Glenn gathered his gun I'd given him from the bag I retrieved for Rick yesterday and the CB.

"You're going."

"He'll die if I don't. He's gonna go with or without me," Glenn sighed.

I stood up and pocketed my pistol. "Then I'm going too."

"What? Weren't you against this whole plan? Number one Merle hater?"

I shoved my shoes back onto my feet. "That's before you decided you were going to put your life on the line too. And I still hate that fucker. I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for you."

"You don't have to," Glenn grabbed my arm, halting my exit. "You should stay here."

I shot him an incredulous look. "While you go out there and risk your life?" I lowered my voice so that no one else could eavesdrop. "None of these people mean as much to me as you do. I know this is what you do but if there's any way I can help, I need to be there. Besides, I'm going back for the medicine. We're running low."

With that, I freed my arm and left our tent, beelining for the truck where Daryl was loading his bow and arrows into. I got into the passenger's seat, ignoring Shane as he threw yet another fit at the sight of me. Slamming the door shut, I groaned and closed my eyes, throwing my head back as I wondered why we were all willingly putting ourselves in danger once more.

"Yer comin' too?"

I opened an eye and peeked at Daryl through the side mirror. He was crouched behind my seat, busy with his arrows.

"Clearly."

His lip curled and he shook his head.

I couldn't give less of a fuck if he was mad. He could get over it.

The driver's seat opened and Glenn got in, readjusting his cap and giving me a glance. "Thanks," he whispered.

My anger dissipated a little and I gave him a tiny smile, knowing both of us felt a lot better going into the lion's den together. That smile quickly fell when a foot appeared between us, slamming into the wheel twice.

"Come on!" Daryl hollered, honking the horn obnoxiously.

"Don't do that. There might be other walkers close by, you idiot," I seethed.

He ignored me. "Let's go!"

taglist: @lovelyygirl8 @aleemendoza2425-blog

let me know if you'd like to be added/removed from the taglist!

series masterlist!

[lakka-arts]

ravenous doodles from a stream i held

[eliaswoodt]

The Name List

Organized from A-Z (yes I will add more names whenever I find more I like, probably in reblogs)

I currently have 1035 names (and that’s only including the first names. I have a list of last names, too.)

Angel, Atticus, Atlas, Apollo, Ares, Athena, Achilles, Artemis, Adonis, Avery, Aubrey, Aubry, Aceline, Ashlynn, Aislinn, Anjanette, Arthur, Archer, Addison, Arrietty, Amity, Autumn, Alastor, Alastair, Alasdair, Alistair, Alison, Arren, Arin, Astra, Aoife, Adalyn, Adeleine, Astoria, Agnes, Angus, Abigail, Ann, Anne, Ambrose, Adeline, Avarsel, Agatha, Ari, Azariah, Aniyah, Armani, Anastasia, Annabelle, Adah, Adelaide, Avis, Amelia, August, Axel, Adelina, Amir, Amin, Ayala, Arne, Averett, Adil, Astro, Ava, Anti, Ailun, Akemi, Asahi, Akari, Asako, Atsuko, Azumi, Aka, Aren, Akko

Blossom, Bambi, Babs, Bo, Bella, Blair, Bea, Bonnabel, Badeea, Betty, Bailey, Boris, Bee, Bugs, Blaise, Benjamin, Bog, Buford, Beatrice, Bryce, Bryan, Bazil, Brutus, Bellamy, Brigitte, Bailee, Bailey, Bao, Belladona, Belladonna, Bell, Bill, Bishop, Bones, Boneothy, Benno, Behemoth, Barry, Bellynn, Bowie, Bunki

Clover, Canyon, Cleo, Cameron, Celestial, Celestino, Ciro, Camilo, Cain, Charlotte, Clara, Corey, Cin, Charlie, Cassidy, Chiara, Callista, Cisco, Cynthia, Casper Clinton, Celestina, Clement, Christopher, Cornelius, Clifford, Claudius, Carey, Carrie, Coatl, Cyrus, Cyril, Cecil, Caisus, Castiel, Calla, Cosmos, Cherry, Cheryl, Crowley, Crow, Cassius, Cliodna, Clíodhna, Cliona, Conan, Cordelia, Calypso, Cas, Cillian, Chiyo, Chiaki, Chihiro, Calcifer

Danny, Darlene, Dex, Dot, Diana, Daphne, Demeter, Daedalus, Daeddel, Darphel, Dawn, Derrick, Derek, Dravan, Dravid, Drae, Dallas, Dimas, Dominic, Damien, Drew, Delilah, Dakota, Darian, Darius, Darwin, Devan, Darla, Dagmar, Daelyn, Dale, Dae, Dacey, Desmond, Dabria, Daniel, Daniela, Danialla, David, Davis, Donnel, Dennis, Demitrius, Delaney, Daiki, Daiyu

Everest, Emery, Ember, Elliott, Elliot, Earlana, Eliseo, Ezequiel, Emie, Evan, Eloise, Eric, Emmet, Elizabeth, Eugene, Ethan, Eret, Ester, Elias, Eos, Ellis, Edwin, Ebony, Elijah, Eliza, Enzo, Elissa, Edward, Eddalyn, Esther, Eda, Edalyn, Edalynn, Edison, Eddison, Estervan, Emma, Eden, Erfan, Eun-hae, Erytheia, Egan, Errol, Eiichi, Eiji, Eriko, Etsu, Etsuko, Eiichiro, Ezume

Flint, Finn, Fae, Fred, Fritz, Fang, Frankie, Frank, Fermin, Freddie, Freddy, Finley, Freya, Fai, Felix, Freda, Faolan, Frey, Feylynn, Faelynn, Failynn, Felipa, Febby, Febbie, Febie, Feby, Flynn, Fuji, Feiyu, Fukiko, Fumitaka, Fumito, Fuyuko

Griffin, Garnet, Gothi, Gertrude, Gabe, Grant, Giovanni, George, Gage, Gregory, Gabriel, Gabrielle, Guy, Gilbert, Guadalupe, Gerry, Grey, Gray, Gia, Grace, Gracian, Gracis, Gracie, Gretel, Gideon, Griffilow, Ghost, Ghazaleh, Gavin, Gryphon, Griffith, Goliath, Grayson, Greyson

Harmony, Hannah, Harlei, Harlie, Haritha, Haris, Harry, Harlan, Harvey, Hadrian, Harley, Hari, Harlow, Howl, Hank, Harper, Herbert, Humphrey, Hestia, Helios, Hephaestus, Hollis, Hunter, Hero, Henry, Helda, Hajar, Hasta, Hadis, Howard, Howie, Hannan, Haoyu, Hisako, Hachi, Hiroto, Hoshiko, Honoka, Hiroshi, Hiro, Haitao, Hamako, Haruhi, Harue, Hayate, Hide, Hideyo, Hidetaka, Hisaye, Hisayo, Heiji, Higari

Ivy, Ivey, Ivo, Ida, Iris, Ilyssa, Illy, Irene, Iren, Isaiah, Ira, Idelle, Ivan, Illaoi, Isabel, Isabell, Isabelle, Isobell, Isabella, Ismelda, Io, Ismael, Isolt, Icarus, izuru, Isamu, Itona, Ichiro, Ichiko, Ichigo, Isoko, Ishiko, Isaye, Inari, Ikuko, Itsuki, Itsuko, Inosuke

Juniper, Jupiter, Jinx, Jamie, Javier, Josiah, Joan, Jake, Julia, Jamil, Jamila, Jesse, Jessie, Jess, Jasper, Janus, Jordan, Joshua, Julian, Juilliard, Julius, Juliana, Jeremiah, Jace, June, Junebug, Jazzy, Jackson, Jackie, Jackalynn, Jodie, Johnnie, Jan, Jaime, Jason, Jorge, Justin, Justice, John, Jay, Janelle, James, Jennifer, Jillion, Jill, Jana, Jonah, Jaycee, Jaxen, Junpei, Jona, Jun, Jin

Kenneth, Kat, Kas, Kris, Keith, Kingston, Kaeton, Kingsley, Kent, Katherine, Kyle, Knox, Kristen, Kristin, Kristeen, Kylie, Kaylee, Kamila, Kehlani, Kendall, Kerry, Kry, Kenny, Kath, Kathleen, Krow, Kix, Kedrick, Kennon, Klaus, Killian, Korallia, Krank, Kaz, Kaede, Kirara, Katsuhiko, Keisuke, Kanako, Kenji, Kaemon, Kamin, Katsu, Kaki, Kazane, Kazuyuki, Kazushige, Kenta, Kei, Kimi, Kin, Kohako, Koichi, Kota, Koji, Koharu, Kosuke, Kuma, Kumi, Kuniko, Kuniyuki, Kideko, Kazuko

Lullaby, Lotte, Lapin, Lorelei, Loralai, Lorelai, Luna, Lily, Lucy, Lee, Liana, Lola, Lethe, Lance, Laurence, Luther, Luca, Lennon, Logan, Lennox, Ilias, Liu, Lui, Luis, Lefu, Liam, Lyall, Lowell, Luella, Leona, Leonie, Leon, Lev, Lincoln, Lin, Link, Laverna, Lazarus, Lewis, Louis, Louise, Levi, Leslie, Lesley, Leilana

Marley, Marlai, Mei, May, Mae, Marceline, Marshall, Marshalee, Millie, Mallorie, Marcela, Melanie, Maddison, Mary, Mirabel, Marsh, Murphy, Montgomery, Mildred, Memphis, Molly, Maverick, Maurice, Muiris, Morgen, Max, Moses, Marion, Merrill, Monroe, Melanthios, Maxwell, Matias, Melissa, Maëlle, Marlene, Meredith, Maybelle, Margaret, Maeve, Moss, Mara, Maria, Myrtle, Mona, Mark, Markus, Michael, Micheal, Michelle, Mahsa, Minoo, Mehdi, Mohammad, Matin, Morpheus, Marlowe, Monica, Marilia, Magnus, Malachi, Malachy, Maggie, Makoto, Megumi, Mio, Maemo, Maemi, Masa, Masaaki, Masashi, Michi, Midori, Michinori, Momo, Motoko

Natasha, Noelle, Noni, Neville, Nixon, Neda, Natalio, Ned, Nausicaä, Noxis, Nova, Nathen, Newt, Noah, Nash, Nox, Nathara, Nathaira, Nathair, Nyoka, Nagisa, Nathan, Nate, Nik, Nick, Naohiro, Naoko, Nara, Natsu, Naoya, Nishi, Nobuko, Nori

Olindo, Ollie, Oliver, Ophelia, Odysseus, Orion, Osono, Oxen, Onyx, Otto, Ottoline, Otitile, Ottavia, Octavio, Olivia-Marie, Oakley, Omar, Olivia, Oscar, Octavian, Octavia, Oz, Octavius, Otta, Oisin, Orson, Orlos, Osiris, Owen, Odalis, Odell, Ozuru

Penelope, Patton, Paddy, Percy, Paulie, Page, Pazu, Phoebe, Phebe, Prairie, Porter, Parlay, Pally, Piper, Parker, Payton, Phil, Paul, Philip, Pyre, Piers, Phylis, Patricia, Payne, Payneton, Pip

Quinn, Quincy, Quil, Quinley, Quinstin, Quinlan, Quillen, Quavon, Quaylon, Quensley, Qing, Qrow, Quilla, Quianna, Quita, Qiao, Quinella, Queenie, Qaylah, Qailah, Qitarah, Quenby, Qadira, Qudsiyah, Quan, Qian, Quinby, Quella

Roseline, Raul, Rahul, Rafael, Roque, Rogelio, Remmy, Rei, Rey, Ray, Robin, Ro, Reika, Rowen, Rowan, Rose, Rosie, Ralsei, Riley, Remus, Rosalyn, Rosalin, Rosaline, Renata, Ron, Rat, Ratt, Reef, Roxy, River, Reed, Rufus, Robbie, Renee, Rivia, Ross, Rex, Ruth, Rosemary, Rosabe, Rosabee, Rosabell, Rosabelle, Rosabel, Rai, Rain, Rosella, Rosalie, Rhody, Robert, Raelinn, Rebane, Ren, Rollin, Ralph, Roxanne, Rox, Roderick, Reginald, Reggie, Rio, Ryu, Ryo, Ryoji, Rinmaru

Sage, Sam, Syd, Selkie, Storig, Sal, Sirius, Summer, Susie, Scott, Sunni, Sosuke, Sophie, Satsuki, Sheeta, San, Sulley, Sully, Savannah, Sappho, Selene, Shaw, Sean, Seán, Shaun, Sawyer, Sabrina, Sebastian, Shane, Stan, Socks, Snom, Stolas, Spencer, Sammie, Stevie, Samus, Sarff, Sullivan, Seth, Susiebell, Susiebelle, Sadreddin, Shellaine, Sverre, Saoirse, Sylvania, Sanae, Silas, Sumi, Shiori, Shinzu, Sile

Toby, Tobias, Teddy, Ted, Tomas, Thomas, Tomothy, Tyche, Taiga, Tundra, Tracy, Timothy, Troy, Tatum, Tommie, Tommy, Theia, Tae, Trix, Trixy, Thanathos, Tod, Todd, Toddy, Tora, Torie, Theodore, Theo, Theophania, Talos, Thanatos, Teddy, Tomohito, Tazu, Tanjirou, Touya

Ulysses, Urijah, Uriyah, Urina, Ukiah, Ulnar, Ursula, Ulric

Virgil, Vanessa, Vito, Venacio, Vylad, Veronica, Valentina, Violet, Velma, Venus, Verna, Veld, Victoria, Victorie, Vinyl, Vincent, Vasuki, Vex, Valor, Valentine, Valerie, Valeria, Valerius, Vitoria, Vic, Victor, Vik, Vikktor, Viktor, Vick, Vicky, Vicke, Vickie, Vidya

Wynn, Willow, Warren, Wilbur, Wylie, Will, Walle, Whisp, Wade, Wendell, Wendy, Willard, Wes, Wallace, Wilber, Wyatt, Wybie, Wynnie, Wennie, Winnie, Wynnston, Wynston, Wynsten, Wiles

Xenophon, Xuan, Xio, Xori, Xanthos, Xander, Xavier

Yen, Yukio, Yae, Yoko, Yume, Yaeko, Yui, Yuzuki

Zane, Zana, Zion, Zachary, Zach, Zachariah, Zander, Ziana, Zoe, Zula, Zenix, Zenith, Zaharia, Zaria, Zack, Zakaeia, Zara, Zakaria, Zev, Zaira, Zanata

[ruvviks]

DAPHNE AYALA // FREDDY REYNOLDS MORRIGAN AYALA // RAFIQ HUSSAIN STEVIE CARTIER // TEDDY NOVAK YANCEY FERREIRA // YUKIKO HAYASHI

main cast for my original story about a fucked up scary diner :^) | [x]

[maelynobejero]

"Exploring CDO's Hidden Gems"

On a cloudy afternoon in Cagayan de Oro, during the lively Higalaay Festival week, our team decided to explore small businesses to gain insights and inspiration. we visited five local businesses, each with its own unique journey, which deeply influenced my understanding of entrepreneurship.

Avocalicious is a local business in Cagayan de Oro, specializing in avocado-based desserts, particularly their signature AvocaMango ice cream. Launched in 2022 by Jimmy Inshong, the shop emphasizes the use of real fruits to create healthy and delicious treats, catering especially to health-conscious customers, including mothers and the elderly. The shop has gained popularity for its unique offerings and is frequently featured at local events like the Higalaay Food Fair and various bazaars, where they showcase their delicious ice creams and shakes. Avocalicious is committed to authenticity and quality, making it a beloved spot for those seeking a delightful and nutritious dessert experience. Their engaging social media presence highlights customer appreciation and community support, further strengthen their reputation as a must-visit destination for avocado lovers like me. From an online store that Rica Patricia started when the pandemic hit the country in 2020, Healthy Basket CDO has grown to a fully-fledged business recognized today with permanent mall locations at Ayala Centrio, SM CDO Downtown, and Limketkai Mall. Selling fresh and good quality strawberries sourced from Baguio, the business covers the needs for strawberries of retail customers and those by local establishments such as bakeries and cafes effectively. From being a virtual delivery store on Facebook and Tiktok to a pop-up booth to setting up mall kiosks, this case underlines the need to understand and move along with the target market. In addition, the shop's engaging social media facility seals its position as an efficient supplier and also ensures that comprehensive means enhance customer satisfaction and business development.

Horikohi Café is a coffee shop owned by Jennifer and Benedict Ty, originally established in Laguindingan. The café has successfully expanded its reach with a pop-up booth at SM Downtown, strategically caters young adults and students. Its success comes from its welcoming atmosphere and a menu tailored to the tastes of young customers. The owners are currently planning to launch additional pop-up booths to further enhance their presence and accessibility soon. Its commitment to creating a community-focused environment is shown in its ongoing efforts to engage with customers and adapt to their customer’s preferences. Twin Drops Water Refilling Station, owned by Daphne Belle Maape, was established in 2022. The business initially faced challenges related to water supply and uncooperative staffing but has since persevered to provide a diverse range of water options to the community. Daphne, the owner, decides to keep the business running smoothly, hires new staffs and considers her employees as family members. She created a friendly atmosphere in the workplace. The business continues to flourish today as proof that, in any obstacle within its operational capacity, persistence and innovative problem-solving techniques are the keys. Twin Drops Company is an example of being dedicated to providing quality service and catering to the needs of the community to ensure success even in the most competitive market. Shek Coffee Shop is owned by Jeffrey Cabañeros and opened on May 14, 2024, along Tiano-Del Pilar Street, Cagayan de Oro. It is a building with two businesses owned by the CEO and his wife comes from a travel agency meeting room and a coffee shop in one, serving a number of students and workers who would want to stay out of their comfortable getaway. Because of the homey atmosphere and very diverse menu, the shop instantly became a favorite, especially its price and its menu items called Dragon Fruit Matcha and Frappe Series. It all started with 2 employees who worked their best to grow the shop. Its success, despite its small size and crowding at times, underlines the need to create a friendly space and be responsive to customer preferences. Besides, it offers delivery via Grab or Maxim for more convenience, showing how growth could be furthered by adapting to customer needs and continuing to keep the flow of business running.

[rsnews555]

Lupita cai em desgraça e é ridicularizada no meio da rua em Família É Tudo: 'Idiota'

Muito inocente, Lupita (Daphne Bozaski) nem desconfiará de que está caindo numa trapaça terrível de Elisa (Thaila Ayala) em Família É Tudo

[curreres]

                     a 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪-𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦 for 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐪.

MUSE COUNT: 16

aiko chiyoda — 26 years old, visitor — biography

luxanna lawson — 31 years old, resident — biography

unity bae — 20 years old, visitor — biography

zoja kingston — 24 years old, visitor — biography

oakley müller — 24 years old, visitor — biography

violet mcvries — 32 years old, visitor — biography

nabi moon — 25 years old, resident — biography

prasong "bunny" khunanikahpa — 29 years old, visitor — biography

carmen ayala — 28 years old, visitor — biography

irelia beirne — 40 years old, visitor — biography

clarity bae — 30 years old, visitor — biography

billie roxas — 23 years old, visitor — biography

michelle "mikey" holiday — 26 years old, visitor — biography

kameron thompson — 29 years old, resident — biography

lousine derian — 41 years old, visitor — biography

daphne lee-sinclair — 28 years old, visitor — biography

[vntagetee-a]

❝ WHEN  YOU  ARE  𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐  THEY  ASSUME  YOU  KNOW   NOTHING ❞

 indie,  semi-private,  highly  selective,  twenty-one+,  multimuse  rp  ft.  canon  &  original  characters  from  movies,  tv,  &  other  mixed  media.  triggering  content  such  as  nsfw,  blood,  gore,  ect.  written  by  skye  (25+).  currently  using  the  new  x-kit  text  editor  !!

doc  /  starter calls  /  opens  /  meme tag  /  wishlist  /  wanted opposites  /  mobile muses ( under the cut )

* Primary ** Secondary *** Test

DC

* Vicki Vale

** Rachel Dawes

** Selina Kyle

* Gia Tedesco ( OC )

** Naomi Cohen ( OC )

Disney

* Ella Tremaine / Cinderella

Don’t Worry Darling

** Alice Chambers

Enola Holmes

** Enola Holmes

Fandomless OC’s

* Hannah Parker ( 35, dog day care+serial killer, fc; aubrey plaza )

*** Paige Ingram ( 30, hair stylist, fc; lily reinhart )

*** Willow Donovan ( 22, student+barista, fc; madelyn cline )

Game of Thrones

** Talisa Maegyr Stark

* Gwendolyn Stark ( OC ) bio wip

Gone Girl

** Amy Dunne

House of the Dragon

* Rhaenyra Targaryen

* Baela Targaryen

Interview with a Vampire

* Claudia

Kin

** Amanda Kinsella

Marvel

* Yasmin Ayala ( OC )

The Musketeers

* Constance Bonacieux

** Ninon de Larroque

* Queen Anne of Austria

* Mary Turner ( OC )

Promising Young Woman

** Cassie Thomas

Reacher

* Isabel Reacher ( OC )

Robin Hood

* Lady Marian

Stranger Things

** Melanie Woods ( OC )

The White Lotus

** Daphne Sullivan

Titanic

** Rose DeWitt-Bukater

TMNT

* April O’Neil

X

** Maxine Minx

[dimensional-fatty]

muse list

muse page

Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley weight: 450 (Daphne) 390 (Velma) age group: young adult

pyrrha nikos Weight: 320 age group: young adult

Gylnda Good witch Weight: 450 age group: adult

Frankie Foster Weight: 360 age group: young adult

Scarlett weight: 250 age group: adult

Baroness weight: 360 Age group: adult

Jaye Weight: 300 age group: adult

Lucifur weight: 560 age group: adult

Beelzubub weight: 600 age group: adult

April O'neil weight: 400 age group: adult

Irma: weight: 400 age group: adult

Mrs.Mayberry weight: 450 age group: adult

Millie weight: 280 age group: adult

Niffty weight: 290 age group: young adult

Katie Killjoy weight: 450 age group: adult

Charlie Magne weight: 360 Age group: young adult

Vagatha aka Vaggie weight: 450 Age group: young adult

Kitty Katswell WEoght: 340 age group: adult

Callie Briggs weight: 350 age group: adult

Carola Weight: 100 Age group: adult

Jackeline weight: 120 age group: adult

Johanna Weight: 700 Age group: adult

Lucious weight: 800 age group: adulr

Hina weight: 600 age group: adult

Aoi Weight: 900 age group: adult

Yoko Littner age: young adult weight: 350

chariot aka Ursula Weight: 450 age group: adult

Angella weight: 510 age group: adult

shadow Weaver weight: 500 age group: adult

Castaspella weight: 420 Age group: adult

mermista weight: 400 Age group: adult

Frosta weight: 340 age group: young adult

Perfuma weight: 450 age group: adult

Adora weight: 450 Age group: adult

She-Ra Weight:650 age group: adultFelicia

weight: 420 age group: adult

Morrigan Aensland weight: 530 age group: adult

Kasumi weight: 350 age group: adult

Tina Armstrong weight: 340 age group: adult

Elphelt Valetine weight: 450 age group: adult

Jack-o Valetine weight: 430 Age group: adult

Yukari Takeba weight: 300 age group: young adult

Fuuka Yamagishi Weight: 470 age group: young adult

Mitsuru Kirijo weight: 450 age group: adult

Naoto Shirogane weight: 340 age group: young adult

Chie Satonaka weight: 340 age group: young adult

Rise Kujikawa weight: 360 Age group: young adult

Haru Okumura weight: 460 Age group; young adult

Ann Takamaki weight: 360 Age group: young adult

Makoto Niijima weight: 300 age group: young adult

Futaba Sakura weight: 380 age group: young adult

Ramona Flower weight: 320 Age group: adult

Kim Pine weight: 300 age group: adult

Cass weight: 420 age group: adult

Eda the owl lady weight: 450 age group: adult

Willow Park weight: 230 age group: young adult

Luz Noceda weight: 240 Age group: young adult

Lilith Clawthorne weight 510 age group: adult

Magica De Spell weight: 500 Age group: adult

Gadgets weight: 300 age group: young adult

Judy Hopps weight: 340 age group: young adult

Ningguang weight: 450 age group: adult

Jean weight: 420 age group: young adult

Rhea weight: 460 age group: adult

Flayn weight: 290 age group: yound adult

Lysithea weight: 340 age group: young adult

Byleth weight: 340 Age group: young adult

ingrid weight: 340 age group: young adult

bernadetta weight: 320 age group: young adult

Mercedes weight: 450 Age group: adult

Marianne weight: 360 age group: adult Robin (left) Corrin (right) weight: 410, 340 age group: adult

Hinoka (left) Camilia (right) weight: 340 and 430 age group: adult

Sumia weight: 310 age group: adult

Tharja weight: 430 age group: adult

Black Widow weight:450 age group: adult

spider Gwen weight: 310 age group: young adult

Captain Marvel. weight: 460 age group: adult

Jennifer Susan Walters weight: 910 age group: adult

Doreen Green aka squirrel girl weight: 360 age group: young adult

Ava Ayala aka white tiger weight: 340 Age group: young adult

Jixn weight: 400 age group: adult

Starfire weight: 510 age group: young adult

Diana Prince weight:490 age group: adult

Harley Quinn weight: 490 age: adultCatwoman weight: 450 age group: adult

Batgirl Weight: 420 age group: young adult

tyr'ahnee weight: 600 Age: adult age

Erza Scarlet weight 410 age group: young adult

Risley Law weight: 400 age group: adult

Lucy Heartfilia weight: 300 age gruop: young  adult

Jeanne The Glutton knight weight: 360 age group: young adult

android 21 weight:620 age group: adult

Chi-chi and Bulma weight: 420 (chi-chi) 450 (Bulma) age group: adult (both)

Videl:

weight: 560 age group: young adult

Maria Blanc Weight: 320 age group: young adult

Vivian Meko weight: 410 age group: adult

Anna Syle (oc) weight: 400 age group: adult

Victoria Fina (oc) weight: 340 age group" young adult

Alice Zoe (oc) weight:360 age group: young adult

Cynthia: weight:380 age group: Adult

wicke: weight: 400 age group: adult

Aurea Juniper weight:490 age group: adult

Bianca weogjt:450 age group: young adult

Professor Bellis weight: 450 age group: adult

lusamine weight: 350 age group: adult

Elesa weight:320 age group: adult

melony weight: 450 age group: adult

Sonia the gardevoir (oc) weight: 340 Age group: young adult

Morgana the Hatteren (oc) weight: 200 (without hair) 360 (with hair) age group: young adult

Donna the Lopunny (oc) weight: 290 age group: young adult

Queen Flora the lilligant Weight: 280 age group: adult

Locua weight: 410 age group: adult

Elma: weight:310 age group: adult

tohru: weight: 300 Age group: adult

medusa gorgon: weight: 510 age group: adult

Shaula Gorgon weight: 290 age group: young adult

Blair: weight: 290 age group: young adult

Eruka weight: 360 age group: young adult

Tsubaki weight:300 age group: young adult

sakura: weight: 290 age group: adult

hinata: weight :320 age group: adult

Juila (ok weight :320 age group: young adult

ahri: weight: 340 age group: adult

Sona: weight 340 age group: adult

soraka weight: 350 age group: adult

Celestial: weight: 500 age group: adult

Luna weight:450 age group: adult

Trixi weight: 360 age group: adult

fluttershy: weight:390 age group: young adult

twilight: weight: 430 age group: young adult

Rarity weight: 500 age group: young adult

Derpy Hooves weight: 450 age group: adult

toriel weight: 400 age group :adult

muffet weight: 320 age group: young adult

witchmon weight: 480 age group: adult

Ophanimon weight: 340 pound age group: adult

Lilithmon weight: 400 age group: adult

lillymon weight: 310 age group: young adult

Ranamon weight: 360 age group; young adult

Kazemon weight: 320 age group: young adult

BanchoLiliymon weight: 290 age group: adult

asuka langley weight: 310 age group: young adult

Misato Katsuragi weight: 360 age group: adult

Ritsuko Akagi weight:510 age group: adult

Sora Takenouchi weight: 410 age group: young adult

Mimi Tachikawa weight: 420 age group: young adult

Nemuri Kayama weight: 340 Age: adult

tsuyu asui weight: 340 age group: young adult

Ochaco Uraraka weight:310 age group: young adult

Momo Yaoyorozu weight: 450 age group: young adult

Mei Hatsume weight: 350 age group: young adult

Julie Yamamoto weight: 300 age group: young adult

Gwen Ten weight: 450 age group: young adult

Charm Caster weight: 490 age group: adult

Princess Peach (left) Princess Daisy (right) weight: 360, 400 age group :adult (both(

Rosalina weight: 490 age group: adult

zelda weight: 340 age group: young adult

impa and Purah weight: 320 and 340 Age group: young adult

Midna (imp and true) weight: 290 (imp) 400 (true) age group: adult samus aran weight: 450 age group: young adult

Symmetra weight: 340 Age: adult

mercy’ weight:420 age group: adult

mei weight: 450 age group: young adult

Ty lee weight: 30 age group: young adult

Mai weight: 320 age group: young adult

Toph weight: 420 age group: young adult

Katara weight: 450 Age group: adult

stocking weight: 420 age group: adult

stocking weight:440 Age group: adult

Kneesock: Weight: 430 age group: adult

scanty weight:450 age group: adult

shield knight: weight:320 age: adult

bayonetta weight: 500 age group: adult

Hina Moho weight: 340 Age group: adult

Nico Robin weight: 450 Age group: adult

Nami erightL420 age group: young adult

Tifa Lockheart weight: 420 Age group: young adult

Aerith Gainsborough weightL 430 age group: Young Adult

Usagi Tsukino weight: 340 age group: young adult

ami mizuno weight:320 age group: young adult

Rei Hino weoght:350 Age group: young adult

Setsuna Meiou weight: 430 age group: adult

Makoto Kino weight: 500 age group: young adult

Sally Acorn weight: 300 age group: young adult

Amy Rose weight: 290 age group: young adult

rouge the bat weight:340 age group: adult

FireStar weight: 56,000 Age group: adult

MoonRace: weoght: 39,000 age group: yound adult

Arcee weight: 45,000 age group: adult

Glowstrike weight 52,000 age: young adult

elita-1 weight: 60.000 Age group: adult

Slipstream weight: 50,000 age group: adult

Strongarm weight: 34,000 age group: young adult

blackarachnia weight: 120,000 age group: adult

Nya weight: 300 age group: young adult

Pixal weight: 10,000 age group: young adult

isabelle weight: 370 age group: young adult

ankha weight: 390 age group: young adult

krystal weight: 540 age group: adult

Neptune weight: 470 age group: adult

Noire weight: 480 age group: adult

Blanc weight: 490 age group: adult

Vert weight: 600 age group: adult

Yukari Yakumo weight" 620 age group: adult

Patchouli Knowledge weight: 450 age group: young adult

Reimu Hakurei weight: 320 Age group: young adult

[memoriaenaecr-blog]

2do festival ENAECR organizado por los estudiantes de la institución, año 2008

En las fotografias: Daphne Goncalves, José Gabriel Centeno en “27 vagones de algodón”  de Tenesse Williams, dirigida por Carlos Del Castillo.

Yemicar Prada, Julio Arana en .....

Yulizay Rada, Osleyda Perez, Yulizay y Juan Pablo García La Perra por Leopoldo Ayala Michelena dirigida por Giovanni García

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | chapter seven

[rick grimes x original female character slowburn]

series masterlist

summary: the plan goes wrong. daphne and glenn find themselves in a precarious situation, but at least they have each other, right?

notes: double update. i couldn't help myself. i love this chapter so much for some reason. it just flows together so nicely to me. scratched my brain the right way.

also if you’d like to read a little bit of rick’s pov in the last chapter (6), be sure to check this out.

Glenn's POV

The plan was simple. It wasn't my walkie-talkie lying abandoned in the middle of the intersection, but I was the fastest out of the group.

If we wanted any chance at succeeding, it would have to be me.

And things were going as smoothly as possible, up until I turned into the alley I planned to meet Daryl in, finding a group of strangers instead.

"Who are you?" One of the men snapped immediately.

"Uh—um—" I had no idea what to say, wondering how to stall until Daryl got here. If shit hit the fan, the odds of me winning against three of them weren't high at all.

"He asked you a question, pendejo," said another one.

"He's got a gun," one of them observed quietly, nudging the burliest dude in interest.

Yeah and I'm about to use it on you fuckers if you try anything.

The fence behind me rattled dangerously and I twisted instinctively. The walkers had caught up, pushing against the gate in a chorus of groans.

The next movements happened too fast.

The back of my shirt was seized aggressively and I was thrown into the brick wall, my gun grabbed from my pocket and pointed against my temple.

One of the other guys grabbed my radio and showed it to the other curiously.

"Where did you get the gun, huh?" The guy who held me against the wall by the collar asked.

What the fuck do I say? What do I say? I panicked, a nervous sweat breaking out on my hairline. Where's Daryl?

"Where did you get the goddamn gun? There's gotta be more wherever they came from!" He clicked the safety off.

"Uh, I found it. On—on the road. There was just one." I lied horribly.

"He's lying," the guy with the radio sneered.

"Are you alone? Are there others?"

I thought of Daphne and how she had no clue how badly shit just hit the fan. "It's just me." I said quickly.

"I don't believe you, puto. Tell the truth before I blow your goddamn brains out!"

The fence creaked dangerously. I side-glanced, hoping it wouldn't collapse.

"I am," I winced at the harshness of the barrel.

"Glenn?"

Fuck. We all looked at the CB in the dude's hand, my heart dropping to my feet.

"Glenn, can you hear me?"

"Alone, huh?" He pressed his gun even harder and grabbed the radio from his friend. "Who the fuck is this?"

"Glenn, I'm at the store. We missed some things. Are you guys finished?"

Daph, for the love of God, shut the fuck up. Please.

"The store? Y'all found a place that hasn't been ransacked?"

I stayed silent.

"Listen to me, boy. I want you to answer her. No funny business. You understand me?" He curled his finger around the trigger.

"Okay," I gasped, watching as he brought the radio close to my mouth. He pressed the button.

"Daphne?" The first sign I hoped would give her a hint thatsomething was not right. I usually called her Daph. "Daphne, uh, we-we found Hector. Um, but I think he's with Shane."

We didn't even know a Hector. Before the fall or now. But these guys didn't know that.

"What?" She responded.

I made tense eye contact with the gunman.

"The signal must be cutting out. He's with S—Shane."

"Um, okay... can you meet me here? I think there's a good amount of things we can take back."

"Ask her where she's at," the buzzcut demanded.

"You're on the corner of Penn and Seventh, right?" I prayed to any force above that she wasn't a complete idiot.

"No, on the corner of Peachtree and Third. What the fuck is going on?"

I cringed instantly. She is an idiot.

The three men all stared at me blankly.

"I'm geologically challenged?" I winced, hoping he wouldn't shoot.

Keeping the gun pressed to my head, they began to drag me to the opposite end of the alleyway where there was a running car.

"HEY!"

Daryl came running down the alley all of a sudden, crossbow at the ready as he tried to figure out which guy to shoot at.

"Let's go!" The burly dude yelled, slamming the back door open.

Daryl got tackled by one of the smaller guys, a tussle breaking out on the concrete.

Quickly, I was thrown into the car before Daryl could break free. I watched as they willingly left the kid behind, shifting into drive.

"Let's check out this store."

Daphne's POV

I'm scared shitless.

I wasn't afraid to admit it. At least not out loud. I had no idea why I thought this would be the best option, and had less of an understanding why Glenn agreed with me.

At least Rick had the sense to disagree with the plan. Looking back, I should've just listened to him instead of being petty.

Still, I forced myself to hustle, crossing the empty streets of Atlanta with my heart in my throat.

I was alone. At first, it wasn't my preference but I didn't want to drag anyone on my side mission to retrieve our supplies we'd put aside yesterday. I knew exactly where to go and Glenn was the only one who could safely take the rest of the group back to Merle's rooftop.

I almost dropped to my knees in relief once I safely made it into the mini market tucked at the bottom of a large corporate building.

There was bound to be a few dead stragglers. They did invade this building yesterday. Creeping silently, I held my knife up (Rick gave it back to me before I left) and counted my breaths.

At 3, I lunged out behind the first aisle, ready to stab into walker skull.

There was only three and thankfully, they'd been dead for a while now. Slowly limping with flesh barely clinging to the bone. I could see their skeletons staring back at me, wasted away and rotting. Suppressing this morning's breakfast, I made quick work of the first one, stabbing into its head swiftly before the second one set its sights on me.

Its long hair swung as it turned towards the noise, limping at me with a broken leg. I grunted as it tried to grab onto me, forcing me to back away into the aisle, cans of food rolling by my feet.

"Shit," I hissed, its nails scratching the air beside me. I swung my bloody knife into its temple and grabbed one of the cans, chucking it at the last walker.

It smashed into its forehead, a chunk of skin and brittle bone falling off and effectively knocking it to the ground. Quickly, I stomped on the head without thinking, the crunch giving away to brain matter as it died beneath my foot.

I gagged as I pulled my foot out, shaking the slimy stuff off my shoe. After waiting in silence for a minute, I finally moved again. There was no sound but the rushing wind between the skyscrapers.

Fortunately, our pile of stuff was untouched. Piles of diphenhydramine, ibuprofen, antibiotics, vitamins. Packs of non-perishable food items.

I grabbed my CB, simultaneously stuffing all the medicine into my pack. "Glenn? Glenn, can you hear me?"

I was met with staticky silence. Undeterred, I readjusted some knobs.

"Glenn, I'm at the store. We missed some things. Are you guys finished?"

Dread began to fill me the longer I waited for a response.

"Daphne? Daphne, uh, we-we found Hector. Um, but I think he's with Shane."

I let out a sigh of relief before realizing what the fuck he just said.

"What?" I answered, wondering if he was on drugs.

"The—the signal must be cutting out. He's with S-Shane." Glenn's voice sounded distorted, shaky. Why did he sound so nervous?

Something definitely wasn't right. Unless I'm losing my marbles, Shane definitely threw a hissy fit and stayed at camp and we don't know a single person named Hector.

"Um, okay..." I tried to think of what to say. Were we being listened to? "Can you meet me here? I think there's a good amount of things we can take back."

It took a little longer for Glenn to respond this time. I clutched the walkie in confusion.

"You're on the corner of Penn and Seventh, right?"

"No, on the corner of Peachtree and Third. What the fuck is going on?" In hindsight I probably should have went along with what he was saying, but I got fed up and I'm clearly an idiot.

Silence.

"Glenn?"

I looked at the CB, banging it against my thigh but still there was nothing but static. I rolled my eyes, knowing Glenn can handle his own if nothing else. He'd meet me here.

I went back to the aisle where I'd left the corpses, stepping over the mess of guts and brains. I did two rounds, making a nice pile of Chef Boyardee next to the rest of our supplies.

My arms were aching as I looked down at all the stuff proudly.

"Hands up."

I jolted in surprise, feeling the cold barrel of a gun at the base of my neck.

I did as I instructed, heart pounding against my chest. I didn't know what was worse— finding another walker in here or this.

"Turn around slowly. I wanna see those hands."

I tried not to make any sudden movements, not wanting to die at 23.

Standing before me was a man with buzzed hair, tanned skin and a scowl etched on his lips. He stared at me behind his pistol, just as another man came through the broken windows on the other side of the store.

"She gave herself away," the other one snickered, stepping over the walkers and heading toward the pile behind me.

A horrible thought crossed my mind and I was paralyzed in fear of what they'd do to me.

"You play nice and I won't have to pull this trigger, preciosa."

We waited in tense silence as the other guy stuffed all the canned food in a large sack.

"Other guy had a gun. Check her too."

Other guy? They must have Glenn, Rick or T-Dog.

I made the connections in my head as he patted me down for any weapons, taking my trusty knife that was covered in walker blood.

Glenn sounded nervous, not at all his usual self minutes ago. These assholes must've taken him and tracked me through the CB. Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

"Alright, lights out, princess."

Alarmed, I looked up at the gunman before he swung the gun against my temple hard enough to knock me out.

My head was throbbing as I regained consciousness.

"What the fuck just happened?" I groaned, rubbing my temple and trying to adjust my sensitive eyes to the brightness of wherever I found myself.

"Hey, welcome back to the world of the living."

I pushed myself up into a seated position, giving myself whiplash as I spun to look at Glenn.

He was on the ground next to me, looking as roughed up as I felt.

"What happened?" I demanded, bringing him into a quick embrace. At least he was alive. "Where are we?"

We were in a room with four white walls, empty aside from an empty medical cart and a window that was barred up. The floor was surprisingly clean.

"We ran into some guys. They took my gun. I guess their plan is to lure the others so they can steal the rest of them."

"Fuck," I threw my head down into my hands. "I practically baited them over the walkie, huh? Guns and supplies."

"Yeah," sighed Glenn. He looked utterly defeated, staring at the wall with pure regret.

The door suddenly swung open and in came the same guy that knocked me out. Two other guys came in after him.

My muscles tensed.

"Your little friends are here," he sneered at us before turning to one of the dudes. "Hermano, get them tied up."

I knew better than to try to fight back. I'm pretty sure I'm concussed.

Hastily, they put sacks over our heads and tied cloth over our mouths, the world becoming distorted and incredibly itchy on the eyelids. They tied around our hands, hoisting us up and dragging us out.

I tried to gather as much information as I could, listening for any unusual sounds but the men who were dragging us were too damn loud. Talking about a kid named Miguel and 'some hillbilly.'

Daryl.

I didn't know whether to feel relieved or even more terrified that they were here. God knows how many of them were in this group. How many were loaded with weapons.

A door slammed open ahead of us and suddenly the piercing Atlanta sun beamed onto our bodies, wind whipping my air around. The hand around my arm tightened, halting our walk.

"Oye!" I heard from... below?

I was dragged a few paces before the bag was roughly snatched off my head, a few strands of my hair along with it.

The sun beat mercilessly into my eyes but it wasn't the first thing I noticed.

It was the three story fall that awaited me half a step away.

I gasped against the gag, feeling the man behind me push me forward threateningly. My eyes scanned the scene below.

Daryl and Rick stood in the courtyard, weapons raised, across from a large group of armed men. I found Rick's gaze first, his eyes wide in fear. His grip on the pistol slipped the tiniest bit before his eyes hardened in anger and his lips twisted into a scowl.

He turned back toward who I assumed was the guy behind this entire operation.

"I see two options. You come back with Miguel and the rest of your arsenal. Everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood."

The leader looked up and I followed his gaze to find T-Dog on one of the rooftops, aiming a long-distance gun at his head.

Rick kept his gun up, his gaze once more flickering between Glenn and I before resting on me.

I wanted to shake my head and tell him to go back to camp. But my captor was holding the back of my head steady.

Our eyes remained locked for what felt like minutes before Daryl began to tug the back of his collar, slowly retreating from the courtyard.

His eyes stayed on mine until they reached the doorway and the doors were promptly shut.

"Alright, the theatrics are over," the guy who held my arm said with a sigh and loosened his grip significantly. I threw him a confused look over my shoulder as he walked me back toward the door, leading me down a staircase and taking us back to our empty room.

"I'm sorry for all the manhandling but we needed to make sure y'all weren't a threat."

Glenn and I both looked up with a startle, the leader of the group was standing in front of us looking genuinely apologetic.

"Nope," I said weakly. "Just mildly concussed."

"And you?" He looked at Glenn.

"Uh, mildly terrified."

The guy laughed and the hairs on my body stood up. It wasn't common to hear something like that nowadays.

"Look, my name is Guillermo, but everyone around here calls me G. We don't wanna hurt you guys."

"Didn't seem that way earlier," I said. "I got smacked in the temple."

"You know how it is. If you've stayed alive this long, you know you gotta protect your own."

I did understand. But I didn't believe we were in the clear here. This is the first group we've encountered since the world went to shit. Who knows what they've done to survive?

"Look, if your friends make the deal or not, you can stay here. You seem like decent people." He said with a shrug. "We need the muscle. You'll see what I mean soon enough."

I shared a glance with Glenn.

We in fact did see what he meant. My throat went dry as he led us out of the room, our hands finally untied. I stuck close to Glenn, keeping a hand wrapped around the bottom of his shirt.

This was a nursing home. Elderly people lived in each room, some in hospital beds, some playing board games with each other, others knitting.

"Are you kidding?" I asked without malice. "You had us thinking you were all some mafia."

"Appearances," Guillermo shrugged. "Hey, Judy. You doing alright?" He asked an older lady as we passed by. She waved at him with an adorable toothless smile.

"I'm hoping we can talk about those weapons you got."

We stopped at the end of the hallway, all three of us facing each other and I made brief eye contact with Glenn. Out of the both of us, I was the better liar.

"Look, what you've seen is what we've got. The guy in the cop uniform brought a small bag of weapons with him from his precinct. A few pistols, a revolver, and a rifle." It wasn't the complete truth but it wasn't a complete lie either. That was what we brought with us on this mission. Everything else was at the camp.

"That's it?" He looked unimpressed. "He didn't grab anything else?"

"It was just him. I guess that was all he could take on him."

"Where were you?"

"He joined us later on. He's from the outskirts of Georgia. He was looking for his family."

"Did he find 'em?"

"No," I lied, not fully trusting this random man. I made it a point to look disappointed, like I felt bad for Rick.

He looked disappointed as well, but likely not for the same reason. I felt a little bad for them. I could see that they weren't bad people, they'd stayed behind to care for the elderly. I could respect that.

"Y'all can make yourselves useful for now. We could use the extra help," he said.

"Uh, sure," Glenn glanced at me. I nodded at him in agreement. "What can we do?"

We ended up on housekeeping duty— checking in on the patients and making sure they weren't missing things like clean towels, soaps, blankets. Anything of that sort. I could tell we weren't being threatened anymore. In fact, the elderly seemed delighted to see us, even more so when they realized I also spoke Spanish like some of them.

My heart felt lighter than it had in weeks, my cheeks aching from how many smiles I'd handed out to all the grandmas and grandpas that greeted us warmly. No one was giving us strange or mean looks, there was not a weapon in sight.

Everything was going smoothly until one of the abuelitas came running down the hall, clutching our wrists and pulling us along with a panicked look.

"Can you help us? Mr Gilbert, he's having trouble breathing! Carlito can't find his asthma stuff!"

"We'll try, ma'am," said Glenn politely. She took us into a large room, people huddled around a hyperventilating man. We rushed over.

"I'm going to find Felipe! He—he knows where the medicine is!" She hobbled off quickly.

She returned in a few minutes, but it seemed like it had been seconds. I'd been distracted looking in every nook and cranny for an inhaler.

Felipe, the asshole that took all our chef boyardee, stood by Mr Gilbert, whipping out an inhaler and bringing it to the elderly man's lips.

Glenn and I gave each other a relieved look.

"What the hell is this?"

My head shot over to the back of the group, finding Rick standing there with a perplexed look. My eyebrows rose in confusion and surprise.

"An asthma attack," Glenn answered, barely sparing him a glance. "Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."

"I thought you were being eaten by dogs, man," exclaimed T-Dog angrily.

Rick scanned me from head to toe before turning toward Guillermo. I tuned out most of their conversation, walking over to T-Dog and placing a grateful hand on his shoulder.

I knew it couldn't have been easy getting in here. Despite these people being mostly passive, they were still heavily armed. I don't even know why they want any more guns.

I gave Daryl a nod and then walked over to Rick, staying close as he followed Guillermo to the same room they put us in before.

"What about the rest of your crew?" Rick asked.

"The vatos trickle in to check on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too, we need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart. The worse kind— plunderers. The kind that take by force."

"That's not who we are," said Rick firmly.

"How was I to know? My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage. Appearances."

"I guess the world changed," T-Dog mumbled.

"No, it's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. The vatos work on those cars. Talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathroom by themselves so that's just a dream. Still, it keeps the crew busy. That's worth something. So we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut, except for one entrance. The vatos, they go out. Scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here— they all look to me now. I don't even know why."

"Because they can," Rick said, handing Guillermo a rifle and a pistol before turning around and unexpectedly grabbing me by the wrist. I startled, looking up at him in alarm. He didn't even spare me a glance, instead leading me out into the hallway where we encountered Felipe and the other guy that knocked me out.

Just the reminder made me glare at them, rubbing my temple with my free hand. My other hand was hyperaware of Rick's warm grip.

It was silent for a moment as we stared each other down. Then he reached back and the guy who knocked me out handed him my pack. Felipe offered it to me slowly and I took it. In it— the children multivitamins and about half of the medicine we'd scavenged.

None of the cans of food though.

"Fine, keep all the chef boyardees," I grumbled, instantly annoyed once again.

"Oye, yo no te crié así!" Felipe's grandmother cried, appearing all of a sudden to give him a solid whack in the side. "En mi hogar se..."

The man gave her a halfhearted glare, rubbing his ribs tenderly.

She raised her little wrinkly hand again.

"Se comparte," he said quickly with a sigh as he took the small plastic bag she was holding. I could see the fondness in his eyes as he looked back at his abuela.

"Thanks," Rick said, his grip on my wrist tightening ever so slightly as he leaned forward to grab a few cans. He shoved them into my bag.

"Alright, well this was cool but I'd rather we go now," I quietly told Rick, leaning up on my toes to get closer.

"Yeah, yeah," he finally looked at me now. His eyes dropped to our hands as if he hadn't realized he'd been holding on the whole time. Slowly, he dropped my arm, looking back up into my eyes. My breath hitched in my throat, cheeks burning slightly as I looked at his pale blue eyes. I'd never been this close to him other than the hug he'd given me yesterday.

"I'm glad you're okay," he told me as we let the rest of the group lead us out, falling to the back easily. There was this underlying need for privacy, as if our conversation was sort of intimate.

"Thanks for coming back for us," I told him with a serious look. "You could've just gone back to camp but you stayed."

Rick gave me an incredulous look. "Like I'd leave you."

We weren't anything to each other. We weren't even friends. Just former coworkers. But the way he said that made my heart flip in my chest.

Stupid emotions. Stupid, stupid crush. I felt like a giddy teenager.

Feeling a little brave, I placed a hand on his forearm. "Thank you," I looked him in the eyes, trying to convey just how grateful I was.

Maybe Guillermo would've let us go with or without Rick's interference but without any weapons or a vehicle, there was little chance we'd have made it back to camp alive.

I couldn't stay here and leave Shane, Lori or Carl behind. Even if Glenn was with me because I knew he felt the same. We'd all grown to care about each other, despite how many times I deny it. Glenn isn't the only important person in my life anymore.

We were all, like it or not, a family now.

"You don't have to thank me, ever." He grabbed a pistol tucked into the back of his belt loop and offered it to me smoothly.

I eyed it and then accepted with a small smile. "Tha—"

I cut myself off as Rick rose his eyebrows. His previous words repeated in my head.

"Sorry," I whispered, pocketing the gun with a wider smile and taking my hand off his arm.

Both smiling like blithering idiots, we rushed to catch up with the rest of the crew, heading back to reality.

"Hey, wait," I said loudly as we walked outside. "Where the fuck is Merle?"

taglist: @lovelyygirl8 @aleemendoza2425-blog @catlalice @ho3forchr1sevans

i wrote a little rick pov for chapter six if you'd like to check it out :)

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | prologue |

[rick grimes x ofc slow burn]

summary: in which rick learns what hell on earth truly is.

o, i, ii, iii...

There's a silence that carries over miles. He couldn't hear anything over the rushing blood in his ears. It's hot and blinding and he wonders if this is what death feels like when it was coming for you next.

The agony in his chest, twisting and twisting and twisting until he couldn't breathe...

Here in this spot, gravel digging into his sore knees, sweat dripping onto the bits of pavement he could see between the tears in his eyes, Rick Grimes imagines this must be hell on earth.

"What?" The voice of the devil laughs.

Rick wishes this invisible grip on his heart would kill him instantly.

"Was the joke that bad?"

Rick's mind is running on autopilot and he's sitting in the backseat hoping he would crash and burn.

"I'm gonna kill you," he hardly recognizes his own voice.

But it was the truest thing he'd ever said in his entire life.

The vague sight of a shadow crouches in front of him. His eyes look ahead but he wasn't truly seeing. "What? I didn't quite catch that," the shadow mocks. "You're gonna have to speak up."

The sight of her body collapsing onto the ground flashes before the gravel that Rick's eyes look upon. The sound of her demise still fresh in his ringing ears.

A white-hot fury boils in his gut and he finally drags his gaze up to the very incarnation of evil.

"Not today... not tomorrow..." It’ll be the only thing keeping him alive after this.

He wouldn't see her again until he fulfilled his promise.

"...But I'm gonna kill you."

Slowly. Painfully. Until there's nothing left of him but the stain of his blood and the crunch of his bones.

Negan Smith chuckles, blood shining on the surface of his murder weapon, swinging before Rick threateningly. And as Rick watches it move, he feels nothing.

"Jesus," he gives Rick a toothy smile. "This is quite unfortunate... for you. You know, I'm going to enjoy breaking you, Rick. It's a specialty of mine, you see. And I don't even gotta prove I got a bigger dick than yours at this point! I mean—look around."

The tip of his bat comes dangerously close to Rick's chin, daring to turn it towards the carnage it had left behind. Rick twists his head before the blood upon it could stain his skin.

And past the mess of brain matter and flesh, he could see the faint outline of her body, just at the feet of one of Negan's men.

"It's just a matter of whipping you into shape now," Negan whispers with an amused smile, crouching in front of Rick like a parent scolding their child. "You'll learn. They all do."

He said a few more things—things that flew into Rick's ear and out the other—bile creeping up his throat as he traces the outline of her body over and over again. He couldn't rip his eyes away even if he wanted to. But this could be the last time he sees Daphne Ayala.

"I'll be right back," he hears distantly. And then he feels himself being dragged away like it was all a horrible fever dream, moving farther and farther from her body and he can’t fight it anymore. All his strength is gone. "Maybe Rick will be with me."

Glass and rocks dig into his skin, wounding it roughly as his feet force him to move along with Negan. He clenches his jaw, not at the pain, but at the reminder that he's still alive in a world she is not.

"If not, well, we can just turn these people inside out, won't we?"

A broken sob finally breaks through the deafening silence. It was deep and agonizing, and the gravity of what had just happened comes crashing down onto Rick's shoulders, just as he was roughly shoved into the RV.

The last thing he saw was the tortured look on Glenn Rhee's face, as if the embodiment of every single one of his nightmares came true all at once.

"I mean..." Negan turns back and flashes a wide grin at the last eight who were kneeled on the bloody ground. Rick watches the tears drip down Glenn's face.

"...the ones that are left."

This was the day Rick Grimes died.

next chapter...

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | the walking dead

[ rick grimes x original female character! ]

there's only one rule in the new world… survive.

In which best friends Daphne Ayala and Glenn Rhee form a ring of survivors that would pave the way for the new world.

** This story will eventually have a Rick Grimes romance (SLOW BURN) but focuses on Daphne's story after the fall. It may deviate from the events of the tv show and at times won't follow a specific script or season. There will be switching POVs (Characters/1st/3rd Person).

chapters!

prologue —

in the present time, rick grimes experiences what hell on earth truly is.

chapter one ; partners —

unbeknownst to them, best friends glenn rhee and daphne ayala spend the last 48 hours of normalcy they’ll ever have before their lives are changed forever.

chapter two ; the evacuation —

the statewide evacuation is underway and it goes terribly wrong terribly fast. daphne and glenn undergo an impromptu rescue mission and soon their group of two becomes a group of 5.

chapter three ; the group —

it's been a month since the complete collapse of civilization. when daphne and glenn realize this is their new way of life, they begin to strategize the best ways of survival. along with the new members of the group, they fall into a steady routine, until a one-sided fight breaks out and everything is knocked out of order.

chapter four ; the idiot in the tank —

a supply run goes wrong and daphne finds herself reunited with an old acquaintance. old feelings unwillingly resurface but she forgets one big glaring problem back at camp.

chapter five ; maneater --

glenn and rick try out a new technique in order to survive and reunite with the rest of the group. back at camp, daphne and shane reach an understanding.

chapter six ; love rectangle —

rick confides in daphne for reasons unknown to her. as she offers him counsel, daphne is also grappling with conflicting feelings of her own.

chapter seven ; chef boyardee —

the plan goes wrong. daphne and glenn find themselves in a precarious situation but at least they have each other, right?

chapter eight ; the attack —

in a rush to deescalate what they presumed was merle's fury on camp, daphne and the crew arrive to something terrifyingly different.

extras;

rick’s pov (chapter six)

Important Character Info:

Daphne Ayala. She's a 23-year-old Latina woman who's working towards becoming a detective (hopefully for the FBI or some higher agency one day). As part of her training, she has to complete a few years of service in whatever local police department has an opening. You can see where this is going right? Her best friend is Glenn Rhee, with whom she shares an apartment with, and they're practically attached at the hip.

Rick Grimes has been aged down a bit though his actual age was never mentioned in the show. I imagine he's around 29, nearing 30 at the beginning of season 1. That would make Carl 9 years old (rather than 12 as he was in the show).

Hello AO3/Tumblr! I write under the pseudonym, Elle (She/Her)! I'm a Caribbean, South American brown writer who loves wayyy too many universes/fandoms lol. Current hyperfixation-- you guessed it: The Walking Dead. I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to comment anything that comes to mind while reading. I absolutely love reading what you all have to say (I have previously written for Wattpad and Tumblr).

ORIGINALLY TITLED THE TRAIL OF ANNIHILATION

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | chapter eight

[rick grimes x original fem character slowburn]

series masterlist! prev. chapter • next chapter

summary: in a rush to deescalate what they presumed was merle's fury on camp, daphne and the crew arrive to something terrifyingly different.

notes: my apologies for the overall slow pacing of the story. i promise it's gonna get exciting after we wrap up the first season. and also sorry for the rushing at the end there's not much i can change about the CDC without fucking up the whole storyline after so i'm just trying to get through it fast.

Screams echoed from the rock quarry and every step we took felt like two steps back.

Maybe it was our desperation to get there but it felt like the journey only got longer and longer. I gripped my knife tightly, pistol locked and loaded in my right hand. I led the group through the darkness, my speed being the fastest, but Rick was right on my heels.

"SHANE!" I yelled as soon as we made it over the big hill where we would've parked the truck. Had Merle not stolen it.

What I saw was the opposite of what I thought it was gonna be.

Instead of Merle taking vengeance on the camp, it was a herd of walkers. Biting into members of the group, tearing chunks of flesh clean off the bone as they screamed. Gunshots were flying from every angle.

I spotted Dale with his rifle firing rounds. I rushed over, dodging walkers as they reached out at any living thing.

"Dale! Where's Shane?!" I hollered, shooting off rounds of my own.

The camp was a complete mess, guts and blood all over our sacred place.

"He was with Lori and Carl last I saw 'em," he said over the blasts of his rifle. "By his tent."

I rushed out a 'thank you' before fighting my way to his side of camp, glancing around to make sure Glenn was okay. He stayed by Dale, shooting at every walker in radius.

A pair of hands suddenly grabbed onto my sleeves, roughly shaking me as a growl reached my ears. The smell of death penetrated my nostrils. Swinging my left hand back, my knife went straight into the walker's forehead. I looked back to make sure and then kicked the body away.

I marched forward, a gasp of relief leaving me as I finally spotted Shane. He had Lori and Carl behind him as he shot down countless walkers, a scowl etched on his face.

The scowl eased away as soon as his eyes found mine. His lips parted in shock. "DAPHNE!" He hollered, jerking his head.

I followed suit, sprinting over fallen walkers until I got to them.

"Morales!" Shane was yelling. "Work up here!"

"Get behind me! Come on!" Lori yelled at me, reaching her hand out so I could grip onto it. She hauled me over one of the dead walkers, bringing me next to her and Carl.

I immediately began shooting, wondering how the hell it had gone south so quick. We had the rest of the guns back in camp; there was enough weapons to defend the group against this attack. What the hell happened?

I had no time to think about it. All I could see in front of me were the walkers, stumbling with teeth bared, ready to bite into any one of us.

My arms began to ache the more I shot bullets but I couldn't let up. Beside me, Shane had his back against mine, covering all bases.

"Make your way to the winnebago!" Shane commanded. Carol came breaking through the dead, her daughter clutched against her side. Then Rick and the rest suddenly broke through to our side of camp, where the last of the walkers were attacking.

"CARL!" Rick hollered. "LORI!"

"DAD!" Carl broke free from his mother's grip, sprinting straight into Rick's arms, sobbing in terror.

I set my sights on the last walker standing, sending two bullets. One into its chest, the other into its head. I watched as two more bullets entered its forehead and looked beside me to see Shane lowering his own rifle.

As soon as everything died down, my arms dropped. And my legs suddenly felt weak. I stumbled despite my best efforts, my temples pounding. "Hey," Shane rushed over, grabbing my waist firmly. I tried to look at him but the world was spinning too fast.

"Goddamn concussion," I mumbled as I held back the urge to vomit. It seemed like the hours-long jog and the fight hit me like a truck.

"She got knocked in the temple earlier!" Glenn came running over, his face twisted in concern. I gave him a look, not willing to open my mouth in case I threw up everywhere.

Thankfully, he understood, grabbing my arms and pulling me away from Shane. Instantly, the bout of weakness took over and the world turned into pitch black darkness.

When I woke up, it had evidently been more than a few hours. It was daytime, the sun beating down on us harder than it had in a while.

I was covered in a thin layer of sweat, shielded by the security of mine and Glenn's tent. It was surprisingly spared from last night's attack. I pushed my body up as everything came rushing back to me, ready to run out of the tent.

"Hey—"

My hand found the knife that was still strapped to my side, swinging on impulse. I was frightened, traumatized from what I'd seen last night.

"Hey, you're okay!"

The voice registered in my head at once and I dropped the weapon like I'd gotten burnt. "I'm sorry," I gasped, trying to calm my racing heart.

"It's okay, Daph. It's okay." A hand grabbed my shoulder, giving me a gentle shake as our breathing filled the tent. I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down and listening to all the outside noises.

Nothing but soft murmurs and birds chirping.

I cleared my throat. "How many did we lose?"

Silence was my only response and I dared to open my eyes, meeting Shane's downcast gaze.

"It's hard to tell."

"You're lying," I said instantly. Shane would be the first to know. We were both assumed leaders of our group.

"Ten or so... Amy..."

My head turned in shock. "Andrea?"

Shane shook his head. "Unresponsive."

I figured. There was no one in this entire world she cared about more than her little sister. We sat in silence, remembering Amy and all the others that fell last night. Except Ed.

I spared Shane a glance in my peripheral, trying to see if he was looking too affected. One look at his face and I was reminded of what had transpired yesterday morning.

I clenched my jaw in irritation, wondering whether I should confront him about his shifty behaviors. It was probably the worst time for this but I needed to know why he was still pursuing me so intensely if he had a thing going with Lori this whole time.

I refused to be anyone's side piece.

"We don't burn them!" I suddenly heard someone yell. Glenn. I scrambled to my feet and stepped over Shane, concussion be damned.

Outside there was a complete and utter mess. Walkers and our people scattered in dried pools of blood, random clumps of guts on the ground. My stomach twisted uncomfortably but I marched on, determined to figure out what had made Glenn uncharacteristically lash out.

"You reap what you sow!" Daryl called back at Glenn, helping Morales drag one of our dead to a separate pile they'd created for them.

"You know what?" Morales snapped. "Shut up, man."

"Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" Daryl spat, storming away.

I walked over to Glenn and he seemed disappointed to see me up and about. "I told Shane to make sure you got enough rest."

"I did. Now I want to help."

Glenn rolled his eyes at Daryl's back. "Pretty sure Daryl and Morales got it covered for now. You shouldn't be doing heavy lifting."

"A walker got him," said Jacqui loudly. We all turned to find her backing away from Jim, who was sweating profusely. His shirt was saturated with blood. "A walker bit him!"

"I'm okay," Jim insisted weakly as he backed away from the forming circle. We caged him in, each wondering what the hell we were gonna do now. Of course Shane, Glenn and I had talked about this type of situation before. But this was Jim. A survivor like us.

"Show it to us," demanded Daryl, approaching dangerously with an axe.

Jim startled, grabbing the nearest weapon in defense.

Shane came marching from my tent. "Easy, Jim."

"Grab him!"

"Put it down, Jim!"

"Grab him!"

We all began to yell over each other, one side trying to diffuse the situation, the other (Daryl) demanding to grab him. T-Dog took initiative, seizing Jim's arms from the back so Daryl could pull up his shirt.

"Jesus," I said under my breath. The teeth marks were as clear as day, a clean bite near the middle of his abdomen.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," repeated Jim nervously. He was clearly in denial and I felt horrible for him. There was no way around this-- he'd die a gruesome death and become a walker if we didn't put him down.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," said Daryl as we stood around in an impromptu meeting. We'd directed Jim to sit away from the uninfected.

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it," Daryl sneered.

Dale shook his head. "I hate to say it-- I never thought I would-- but maybe Daryl's right."

I looked at him in surprise. Dale was the last person I would expect to agree with Dixon. Still, I stayed silent, trying to gather everyone's opinions before putting in my own.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick said.

"I'm not suggesting--"

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be."

I hate to admit it, but Daryl's got a point. I could see where Rick was coming from, but it was pretty damn clear to me that this world wasn't gonna get any better. It would only get worse from here and eventually, we'd have to get our hands dirty.

"I will admit, it feels inhumane to kill Jim but we aren't going to be able to keep him alive. That's a fact. Point, blank, period," I cut everyone off. "It simply isn't in our power. He's gonna die no matter what at the end of the day and keeping him around will guarantee that any number of us will too."

Daryl motioned to me gratefully, looking like he thought I was the only one with common sense.

"Well, what if we can get him help?" Rick turned to me first, focusing his full attention on me. I suddenly felt the heavy weight of leadership within seconds. Everyone looked to me and Rick.

"What?"

What the hell kind of help were we going to be able to get him?

"I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," interjected Shane.

"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick ignored Shane.

"Unlikely--" "Man, that is a stretch right there." Shane and I spoke at the same time. I gave him a side-eye, wondering how he had the nerve to even speak to Rick right now.

Rick seemed to have the same thoughts as me, giving Shane a hard glare before pointedly speaking to me again. "Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection, food."

I waited for him to finish. Shane seemed to be on the verge of exploding next to me so I held a subtle hand up in his direction.

"If there was any government at all, don't you think we would've heard or seen something?" I wanted to be optimistic but it had been too long without a sign.

"You know there's a chance, Daphne," Rick bent lower to meet my eyes full-on. "I know you do. And if there's a possibility that we can stop this from happening again, don't you think we should try?"

I hated the way he was looking at me, as if he knew the exact way to get me to agree. Half of it was the words he was saying, the other half was the way the sun was hitting his pale blue eyes just right.

My lips parted as I struggled to find an argument.

On another hand, I did owe it to everyone I'd welcomed to camp to try. I left yesterday and this happened. It wasn't entirely my fault- I couldn't stop a herd of walkers by myself if I tried- and Shane had stayed behind but like it or not, the both of us started this thing together. We set up camp, we found other survivors, we invited them in.

In a way, this was on me.

I looked between Rick and Shane, who were both staring at me expectingly. Rick with that naive hope in his eyes; Shane with utter and complete disapproval, waiting for me to take his side.

I was trapped. I spluttered slightly, trying to figure out who to fucking choose—

Shane's face dropped in disappointment and disbelief, turning to his former partner instead. "Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? We do, too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base, Fort Benning."

"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction," noted Lori.

"That is right, but it's away from the hot zone. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'll be safe there."

"We'd still have the same problem," I hissed quietly so Jim wouldn't hear. "Jim would still be sick and I know for a fact Fort Benning doesn't have the same medical capabilities as the CDC."

"You're agreeing with him?" Shane asked incredulously. He obviously didn't give a damn about airing out our drama in front of the whole group.

"Look, what you're saying makes perfect sense, Shane." I quickly tried to diffuse, grabbing onto his forearm without thinking it through. "But so does Rick. The CDC is the only chance this world has at beating this thing. What's happening to Jim and all these people, it's a disease. We'd be running in the opposite direction away from that."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that," Rick argued with a glare finally directed at Shane. His eyes traveled between his former partner, my hand on his forearm, and me. I realized with a jolt that I was still hanging onto him and let go as if I'd been burnt. Rick's look alone reminded me of all the goddamn lies Shane fed me.

"The military's first response was to try to kill us. Was it not?" I added, glancing at Lori so I could avoid Shane's stare. I know she remembered the day I saved them well, how the army pointed their guns at her and her son. "What do you think they're gonna do when we try to roll up there with an infected person?"

"The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick finished as soon as I did and gave me a grateful nod. I don't even know how we ended up teaming against Shane but I could tell he felt ganged up on.

"You go grab that aspirin you brought," Daryl said to me suddenly. "Do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" He hollered as he turned around and rushed toward Jim with the pickaxe aiming for his head.

"HEY!" I grabbed the shovel Jim had dropped and sprinted to stop Daryl. Rick pointed a gun at his head and clicked the safety off. Immediately, Daryl froze, weapon raised in the air. Jim heaved in terror, staring up at him like an animal prepped for slaughter.

"We don't kill the living." Rick said firmly. Shane wedged himself in front of Jim as Daryl slowly lowered the pickaxe and turned to eye Rick distastefully.

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," insisted Shane. I could see Rick breathing heavily from my spot next to him, gun still pointed. Daryl threw the pickaxe down and stormed away.

Rick grabbed Jim and began to lead him away from camp so I followed. Shane lingered behind, keeping a suspicious eye on Andrea who was still hovering over Amy's corpse.

I watched as Rick sat Jim down far away. He joined me after, standing by the cars.

We stared at each other in silence.

I was the first one to break it. "You okay?"

His lip curled in frustration, glaring at the sun. He rested his hands on his hips and looked at the ground.

I wanted to ask if he had confronted Lori, but it truly wasn't any of my business. And the answer was pretty obvious.

"Thanks ...for backing me up," Rick changed the subject.

"You're right. The CDC is our best option. If they're not operational, then at least we'll know."

"Yeah, while putting the rest of the group in danger."

What kind of hypocritical back and forth was this?

"We owe it to everyone to try. Especially Jim. Look, Shane's plan would've probably gotten us all killed. You didn't get to see it but when this whole thing started, the military pointed their guns at us first. The living. If the base is operational, there's no way we would've made it past the front gates alive." When did I start defending this plan? "Besides, if it all goes sideways, we'll have our getaway car and more than enough weapons to protect the kids."

Rick gave me a sideways smile, looking a lot less tense. "You're right. He just got me overthinking."

"Well, it's always good to run your ideas by others."

Rick stared at me for a long moment and I started to feel like a bug under a magnifying glass. "What?"

"Nothin', this just suits you."

I snorted. "What does? Putting Shane in his place?"

"Being a leader." He clarified.

"Yeah? Well, I didn't choose to be," I sighed, looking back at the state of our group. Half dead and the other half mingling about, no doubt discussing our two options.

Rick smiled tightly and clasped a hand over my shoulder as he walked past me, heading straight over to Carl. His little face lit up as he noticed his father, cheeks chewing on the multivitamin gummy Carol had handed out to each of the children.

I swallowed thickly. Whether the group agreed or not, we had no other option but the CDC or wandering from one place to the next. Fort Benning just couldn't happen.

Mostly everyone agreed that heading to Atlanta was the way to go. Only Morales and his family had opted out, taking one of the cars and a pistol and heading their separate way.

On the journey, we'd ended up dropping Jim off by the edge of the woods after hours of him pleading and begging.

It wasn't easy. In fact, it was one of the hardest things we'd ever had to do, but it was for the best. Jim knew he wouldn't survive the trip to Atlanta and he thankfully warned us of such. The last thing we needed was for him to die and reanimate on the road.

After, we weren't exactly sure whether we should've kept heading in the same direction but Lori brought up a good point. We were already more than half way there. It would be a waste of gas to turn around now.

We had to cling onto the little hope that ahead of us waited our salvation.

But of course, the world played us for fools.

We found the CDC in the same state as everything else. Deprecated and destroyed, crawling with flies and maggots. The dead scattered by the hundreds and thankfully at the very least, completely dead.

But when the reanimated ones did start showing up, probably from Shane and Rick having a rather loud go, I wasn't sure what would kill us first— the smell or the walkers.

"Shut up! Shut up, you're attracting more of them!" I pleaded as quietly as I could, grabbing a pistol from my belt and holding it anxiously.

Some of the others had began running back to the cars but Lori and I were incessantly pleading with the two men to just give up and run before it was too late.

I could understand Rick's desperation. His family was here, his wife and his boy were counting on him to keep them safe and he'd led them to a dead end. But if he didn't stop screaming at the broken surveillance camera, he would get us all killed.

"Rick, please!" I gripped his arm, trying to pull him away but Shane pushed me back, trying to tackle Rick angrily.

"If you don't let us in, you're killing us, you hear me?!" Rick continued. "YOU'RE KILLING US!"

Shane finally got a good grip on Rick's shirt and began to drag him away forcefully.

"YOU'RE KILLING US!" He kept repeating.

I backed away from the CDC with my heart in my throat, a sense of impending doom as I realized this was it.

Just as we finally turned around, as Rick yelled out in frustration once more, as the numerous walkers began to appear—

A miracle happened.

I could've fallen to my knees if it wasn't for Shane grabbing onto me in shock. Glenn ran to my side, snatching his red hat off and staring at the shutters as they opened and blinded us immediately.

Inside— our salvation.

I wasted no time, grabbing onto Carl and Lori and dragging us into the building with Glenn.

There was a chorus of voices as we all rushed in but my attention was stolen by the stranger who stood pointing a rifle at us. I found it hard to believe a doctor would be handling a gun within this fortress.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked loudly, causing everyone to fall silent.

The man stared at us in disbelief.

Feeling my heart plummet, I shared a weary glance with Glenn. This can't be good.

taglist:

@lovelyygirl8 @aleemendoza2425-blog @catlalice @ho3forchr1sevans

[rickmymanrick]

rick’s POV(ch 6 | one rule)

here's a little look at what's going through rick's mind after the lori/shane bombshell. this should give more background to rick and daphne's 'relationship' before the fall.

also take it easy. this was written very quickly without much revision. just a fun little dive into rick's thought process during this scene

"Oh, really? Does a brother fuck your wife?"

I didn't understand what Daryl had said at first. The shock kept me rooted in my spot as he scoffed and then stormed off into the trees.

Does a brother fuck your wife?

A rage crept in as Shane began to shuffle uncomfortably, mere feet away from me. He wasn't even trying to deny it.

"She... Lori... she thought you were dead, man."

I suddenly knew this wasn't just sex. The first thing he'd done was defend her honor rather than his own. Was he in love with her?

My jaw clicked as I clenched my teeth together angrily. The betrayal was almost enough to blind me in rage. Our marriage was on the rocks for almost a year before my coma, but we were still married. Someone I'd trusted with everything knew the mother of my children intimately.

"Did you?" I bit out. After all, he was the one who had last seen me at the hospital.

"You heard 'em. I—I tried, Rick! I saw you every chance I got—"

His words flew into one ear and out the other. I couldn't think of anything but how much I wanted to knock his teeth out.

"—we were comforting each other the only way we knew how—"

Holding onto my sanity was surprisingly difficult. I always had a feeling Lori had her affections directed elsewhere. All our arguments and fighting, the things she'd say in front of Carl— the thought of infidelity wasn't out of reach. I'd even come to accept the possibility of it, because outside of my house, I wasn't doing much better. Could I even be upset with her? I never cheated on my wife, but my attention had been fixed on another for quite some time.

"I thought you were gone." It was the only thing I could manage to say, if I wasn't going to send my fist flying into his face, at the very least I could try to express the hurt. He needed to know that this broke everything we had.

"After I woke up in that hospital bed, when I saw what the world had become. The first thing I thought about was Carl and Lori. And then you. Our unit. For a moment, I thought you were all dead—" The words got stuck in my throat as I recalled the horrible thoughts that plagued my mind when I woke. How I mourned my best friend.

I could barely stand to look at his face. My eyes stung and I forced myself to look him squarely. He did this to me. He did.

"Our marriage... fell apart a long time ago," I shook his head and clenched my jaw. "But that doesn't make this okay."

He knew this already. Hell, if I recalled correctly, it was the grand topic of our final conversation before the world went to shit.

Shane was normally so outspoken, always had a goddamn thing to say. A quip. A disagreement. Always something.

But now he was deadly silent, guilt must be brewing in him. Good.

I was only able to push the murderous thoughts out of my mind when I remembered that my son was only alive because of him and Daphne. It was the only thing sparing him. From what? I wasn't too sure.

"I appreciate what you did. Saving 'em. I owe you everythin' but—" I forced through my teeth, digging my nails into my palms.

In this moment, I realized I couldn't confront Lori. I couldn't destroy whatever semblance of family we had left. It's a miracle we were still alive and that we found each other. That I found my boy.

We're still out in the woods, unprotected and exposed. Tomorrow was not promised. And until it was, until I could guarantee my family would live to see more sunrises, I couldn't destroy what they had built here. Otherwise, we would not survive.

"I get it, man. I'll go back to camp."

"Uh— yeah, yeah," I said dismissively. My anger could only hold off for so long.

As soon as he stomped away, I allowed myself to glance at his retreating back, confirming what I suspected since yesterday afternoon. The look on his face— the shock of seeing me— it wasn't happy. Maybe, just maybe, part of him wanted me gone for good.

The thought sent my fist barreling into the nearest tree trunk, a frustrated yell tried to escape but I kept my lips firmly shut. I didn't need Shane coming back, if he cared at all that is.

Somewhere in the jumbled thoughts that were fighting to make some sense of anything in my mind, I remembered the one thing that had brought me any type of comfort when Lori and I would argue. Which was practically everyday.

"How long you been there?" I asked softly. I knew she would hear me. I'd seen her brown eyes through the bush as Daryl led us farther from camp.

The branches rustled a bit.

"I was here first," her voice was defensive. I couldn't blame her. Witnessing what she just witnessed.

I tried to spot her curls through the bush but she seemed to have camouflaged herself within the leaves.

"You were. I saw you just before Daryl left."

And out she finally came, her cheeks flushed and her hair in a bit of a disarray, but the sight of her brought back memories from the station. At work, she usually had her hair pulled back, two curls framing her face while she sipped a steaming hot coffee. She was always there before me so I would choose the long way to my assigned desk, which was in a completely different wing, just to catch a glimpse at her. The sight of her was a breath of fresh air after rough nights of arguing with Lori. Daphne had an aura to her that made just about everyone gravitate to her. Bitterly, I also remembered that Shane tainted most of my memories of Daphne Ayala.

Always lingering around her desk, conveniently posed right in front of her whenever I would walk in. It wasn't odd for her to be busy with another officer, most of the department had a crush on her as grown as we all were. But Shane's appearances always seemed deliberate.

"I was picking berries. Found the patch a few weeks ago," she explained, showing me her pouch of fruit.

How odd it was to see her outside the precinct. Her hair was down, curls reaching her lower back as she brushed them away from her eyes. Eyes that weren't framed by her usual eyeliner style.

She looked so jarringly beautiful in a world so terribly gruesome.

I hoped my anger would mask how unsettled I was that we were actually speaking, after years of observing her from afar. Did she know I was as hopelessly attracted to her as nearly everyone else in the KCPD?

"I can leave you alone."

I realized with a jolt I've spent so much time staring that I'd forgotten to speak.

"I'll go back to camp—"

"No." I said more assertively than I meant to. I didn't want her to slip away again. She was always a mystery I wanted to solve but I forced myself to stay away. Despite the problems at home, I was still married. And now? Well, it was all in shambles.

"Oh, um, okay."

"Do you..." What am I trying to say? My mind went blank. But I looked at Daphne's eyes obscured by her curls and her work updo came to mind. And then her shadow, Shane. "Did you know?"

"No," she said looking rather uncomfortable.

"I keep wondering... if I have the right to even be upset. I wasn't a good husband to her, I know this, and you're the last person I should be telling this to but—" I cut myself short, the words slipping past my lips before I could think them through. I practically gave myself away and it was wishful thinking to hope that it had flown over her head. Daphne was a detective for crying out loud.

"It's fine. I know this can't be easy for you. To wake up to... this."

I scoffed. It wasn't easy to see the world flipped upside down sure, but the most selfless person was standing right in front of me. The one who had saved my family's lives at the risk of her own. She was keeping them and the rest of the camp alive. People she didn't even know.

"I woke up and the hardest part was done. Seeing the world change— changing with it— becoming the leader of a group you had no responsibilities or ties to. You, you did the hard part."

She seemed taken aback. "Oh— did Shane—?"

"Shane didn't hafta tell me nothin'. Lori and I talked last night. She told me everything that happened since the day I got shot." Saying their names left a bad taste in my mouth. "I guess I have a lot to be thankin' you for. You saved my family. That is something I will never be able to repay."

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have my gratitude."

"Carl's a great kid. And Lori's my friend. I would do it a million times over."

She's a goddamn angel. I studied her face in awe, something I'd never been able to do in the years I admired her from afar. There was just something about her.

Her nose crinkled awkwardly as her brown eyes struggled to look into mine. Her lips turned up into a tiny smile. I had to remind myself that I'm married and step away respectfully before it got weird.

I brought myself to the ground, legs feeling weak from everything I'd endured in the past 48 hours. Daphne sat next to me.

"What... what do I do?" I asked her quietly.

She's a detective. She's light years smarter than I'd ever be.

"You're asking me," she said carefully.

I shrugged and looked at our surroundings obnoxiously.

"I can't really tell you what to do, Rick."

I rolled my eyes as I thought of Shane's guilty expression. "What I really want to do is break his jaw in. Watch him choke on his teeth."

"He deserves it," she agreed with an irritated tone.

Now that I thought of it, I hadn't seen Shane and Daphne interact once. A stark contrast to his relentless pursuing day in and day out at work. Maybe they had a falling out.

I sighed. "I don't know how to go on. How to look him in the face. We were brothers," I got angrier as I went on. "He was my best friend. He knew."

"He knew?"

"He was the one person I confided in. I told him about Lori and I. I told him when things started going south. I never thought in a million years I'd have to worry."

"We never do. They fill our heads with all these stupid promises and reassurances just to stab you right in the back anyway," she said.

I would've paid more mind to her comment but I was too wrapped up imagining how Lori and Shane would sneak off. How she'd leave Carl alone with people she barely knew.

Carl.

He's wrapped up in the middle of this. I'm sure he noticed all the fights between us. Lori never bothered to keep our discussions private. But even if I entertained the thought of just destroying whatever was left of our marriage, I couldn't do it now. Not while he needed his parents more than ever.

"Carl... he's so young," I expressed. I felt guilty that I was rambling so that's all I said. I wasn't sure why I was telling her so much— I'm not a particularly open person— but it's easy to talk to her. Natural even.

"Rick, the world isn't the same anymore. It doesn't excuse Lori's actions or Shane's, but all of that doesn't matter so much when you're trying to keep yourself from getting eaten by dead cannibals. I can't tell you what to do but in the grand scheme of things, I think Carl will learn to understand."

She's right, I thought. But things were too unstable, we were living life one day to the next... it had to wait until we weren't constantly looking over our shoulders.

I stared at the blueberries, willing myself to think of anything else.

"I've been thinking about the man we left behind," was the first thing I could think of. The guilt kept me up half the night.

Daphne looked over at me with a shocked expression. "You can't be serious."

Her reaction made me frown. "It isn't right. Leaving him up there to die."

"He would do the same to any of us. You just escaped the city. Survived alone against all odds. You're willing to risk that for a douchebag like Merle?"

I was confused, more shocked than anything. It didn't sit right with me— it was practically murder. She must know this. Douchebag or not, it would stain us forever if we left the man to cook in the sun.

"This— what we have here— this is what we focus on. It's unfortunate but Merle dug his own grave. It isn't worth risking your life, Rick."

No, I wouldn't accept that. And I didn't think she could live with that either. My face twisted uncomfortably as I tried to rationalize. She's right that it would be putting my life on the line, but it would kill not only me, but her, if I don't go. All those years of watching from a distance, I knew she had a big heart.

Her callousness and the iciness in her tone was so different from her usual behavior. I didn't like it, but I could see she was looking out for me—

"MOM! DAD!"

The words disappeared from the tip of my tongue. We both shot up with only one thought in mind— Carl.

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | chapter three |

[rick grimes x original female character slowburn]

summary: it's been a month since the complete collapse of civilization. when daphne and glenn realize this is their new way of life, they begin to strategize the best ways of survival. along with the new members of the group, they fall into a steady routine, until a one-sided fight breaks out and everything is knocked out of order.

notes: you'll hate me for this. sorry. also, daphne might seem a bit weak but we'll see her character grow and learn how to live in this new world as the book goes on. i gotta allow some room for growth.

A month later…

Daphne’s POV

The first two weeks were absolute hell.

It didn’t dawn on me just how accustomed we had all been to technology and conveniences until the first night. It was uncomfortable and terrifying, the heat creating a layer of sweat that made it hard to even breathe. Every noise made me jump and it took a while for me to get more than an hour of sleep most nights.

I felt even more horrible for Glenn who, for all the years I’d known him, slept like a log. But even he was struggling and it was mostly due to my constant tossing and turning.

On my worst nights, I usually liked to open the trunk of the Jeep and just sit, legs curled up against my chest and staring at the clear sky with my head on my arms. It’s amazing how many stars you could see now that there wasn’t much use for electricity. For those who had survived the initial outbreak, I assumed they were smart enough to figure out that light attracted the dead.

Glenn called them geeks, but we mostly agreed on walkers. Made them sound less goofy I guess.

During Glenn and Shane’s runs, they encountered some survivors and we’d slowly been adding to our group. Each person had something to offer thankfully — well, most of them at least — and though we were all complete strangers to each other, we were slowly but surely falling into a comfortable routine. This was life now; we had to accept it.

Glenn was out on a run now. The first time he had made his solo trip to the city, he had made the smart decision to do it while I was finally asleep (needless to say, it wiped out all my progress and now I woke up every half hour expecting him to be gone). But he survived and even more, he brought back things we didn’t think we’d ever see again.

Canned foods, appliances, blankets, mosquito spray. Too many things to even keep track of — thankfully, Lori was good at stock.

I would’ve gone with Glenn — I have a few times before — but he was more familiar with the city. Knew shortcuts and alleys I couldn’t even navigate in my wildest dreams. Unfortunately, I only slowed him down. So he mostly goes alone now, to my dissatisfaction.

”Grab me my beer. Hurry up!”

I clenched my jaw, picturing every single way I could knock Ed Peletier on his ass. I tried not to look up from my task, scrubbing my knife clean, to avoid an argument.

“The dead can move faster than that,” he snarled again. I saw his wife Carol rushing to bring him a lukewarm beer from my peripheral.

Him, Carol and their daughter Sophia were new additions to the group; Glenn found them maybe a week ago in the woods close to the interstate. 

It was clear from the day they were brought in they weren’t a happy family. There was tension; it almost felt as though one wrong move could inflict Ed’s rage on every single person in the camp. It wasn’t until the second day of their arrival that Shane had caught Ed being less than friendly towards his wife. It led to a nasty discussion, but Ed didn’t take it as far as I thought his peasized brain would. 

Even a vile man like him knew being with other people was the only chance at survival. It was unfortunate he used his time on this earth to be the shittiest man alive. 

I finally looked up when Carol crossed in front of me, a forced smile on her face, and her posture looked small. Despite not knowing her for long, my heart broke.

Carol approached her husband with the beer (the cooler and the alcohol being his only contributions towards this group in terms of supply searching) and stretched it out with a shaky hand.

Ed looked up with an easy smile. It was sinister. He didn’t thank her, instead brought his hand back and slapped her from the back as she walked away.

I automatically jumped up, disgusted and infuriated out of my mind. My feet were pulling me towards him before my brain could catch up.

”You fucking pig—!”

I had no idea how or when Shane had crossed the camp so quickly but his hand was wrapped around my arm firmly. He held me back, feet away from where Ed was now standing, sneering down at me with an amused glimmer in his eyes.

”Daphne—” gasped Carol, red in the face.

Shane’s hand held me back from acting on every murderous thought I’d had about him ever since he set foot on our terrain.

"You wanna know something, Ed," Shane spat the name like it was poison. "I don't see why you're here. It's thirteen against one. We can have you out on the street before you get the chance to pull your head outta your ass."

I noticed how Shane gave Merle Dixon, a survivor who had joined our camp with his brother Daryl weeks ago, a side-eye. 

"20 if you include the kids and jackass over there-"

Merle wasn't paying attention, too far away to hear the brewing conflict and probably too high to care. Just the sight of him made me angrier.

"Screw you and your little bitch too," grunted Ed, drinking his beer like it was a regular Tuesday night. I stiffened in anticipation, knowing Shane wouldn't let this one slide. Ed had said some pretty stupid shit since he's gotten here, but I could feel Shane's patience thin out each and every time. 

"You know what, man, I've been-" Shane chuckled strangely. He seemed to simmer down, smiling easily as he reached a hand out to Carol who stood nearby with another beer bottle on hand for when Ed finished his. I watched tensely as Carol reluctantly gave it to him. The confusion on her face was evident and I knew the pit in her stomach that must've formed if she thought Shane, our sort of guard dog, was actually about to make peace with her abuser. "I've been going about this wrong. You and I -- I guess we haven't been seeing eye to eye. It's tense, I get it, it's a new world now-"

Ed had been eyeing him distastefully, probably angered that he'd taken one of his beers, but as Shane kept talking, his guard began to come down, a pleased look in his eye as Shane fed him exactly what he wanted to hear. "To the new world," Ed said gruffly, clinking his bottle against Shane's.

A nauseous feeling arose as I watched the scene, but I liked to think I knew Shane fairly well and I wasn't an idiot. Anyone with eyes could see Shane had a little more than a soft spot for me. Was he actually going to let that comment slide? Because I sure as hell wasn't. My lip curled, ready to fire insult after insult at Ed but the words fell short as Shane moved unexpectedly. 

His bottle swung in the air faster than Ed's two brain cells could comprehend it, straight for the side of Ed's head, shattering loudly against the bone of his temple. A strangled noise left Ed, his big body stumbling to the side before falling with a loud thud. 

Carol had gasped, jumping back what seemed like a few feet but maybe I had just run forward as soon as the violence started, and little Sophia screamed, face red. Even with all the abuse, Ed was still the only father figure in her life, but it wasn't enough for me to stop Shane. 

Blood was seeping down the side of his face, gargled sounds leaving his mouth as he weakly tried to fight Shane off. I guess his large structure was the only thing giving him any strength at all- the force Shane had put into that bottle swing was enough to incapacitate anyone. It only got concerning when Shane didn't stop his assault even after Ed had fully given up, slumping unconscious on the floor. His fists kept crashing into Ed's face, red on the ground and on both of his hands and you could barely tell Ed's nose from his mouth. His entire face was swelling up rapidly and it was only when our lookout, Dale, came running along with the others that I snapped out of my stupor. 

One glance at Sophia was all I needed to rush forward and grab Shane's shoulders. 

"You're killing him!" yelled Dale, ramming the bottom of his rifle against the ground, face screwed up in a mixture of anger and disappointment. I gave two of the other survivors, the burliest of them, an exasperated look, struggling with Shane's relentless movement, unable to pull him off alone. 

The two came rushing forward, huffing as if it were the biggest inconvenience - and I supposed it was; no one was a fan of the abuser and in fact, if the sight of his mangled face wasn't so grotesque, I doubt anyone would be complaining. I wanted nothing more than to let Shane kill him, even though the thought made my stomach churn because I wasn't this murderous a month ago, but Sophia's cries were hard for me to ignore. Getting rid of Ed had to be done in secret, away from prying eyes and especially from Sophia's. As we pulled Shane off, I glanced over at Carol, out of breath and still shaking in fury, and she was not as shaken as her daughter was. In fact, I'd say that beneath that shocked expression, there was a glimmer of hope and satisfaction in her eyes. 

"Don't you let me hear you insult her again, you bastard!" Shane yelled as T-Dog and Morales, the two survivors, pulled him away by the arms. I stepped closer to Carol, debating whether I should even breathe in her direction.

”Ed,” gasped Carol quietly. “I—he—Soph-Sophia—”

”Carol, you’re going to be okay. You…” I glanced back at my tent. It was large enough for two more. If Glenn were here, he’d insist. “You two can stay with me.”

”He’s… he’s my husband, Daphne,” Carol said in a shaky voice, barely above a whisper. “I—I did this to him—”

”No, you listen to me. You didn’t do this. Shane did.” I glanced over to where Dale, T-Dog, and Morales were dragging Ed. Our little “med-bay station” under a small tarp with a stack of first aid kits. “And if he hadn’t, I would’ve.”

Carol didn’t say a word. She just clutched Sophia tighter. Even with her young ears latching onto my every word, I couldn’t find it in myself to take it back. I wanted her to know she had someone willing to fight for her and her mother. 

“He’s my husband.” Carol repeated a bit firmer this time. She looked more upset as she gazed at the med-tarp. I couldn’t tell if it was whatever care she had for the man or if it was because he was still breathing.

I knew my limits. All I could do was hope he wouldn’t lay another hand on them, because then I would have a murder to deal with.

Carol and Sophia walked away, probably to the med-tarp but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around. I was drenched in worry and sadness, for them. For their situation.

I felt the burning of a pair of eyes on me. I removed the hand shielding my eyes from the sun. Squinting against the brightness, I found Shane by the tree line, as far as he could get from Ed without abandoning the camp altogether. Other than the blood on his knuckles, he looked otherwise alright. No surprise though— Ed wasn’t able to lay a finger on him.

I walked over to him. He was still seething, his shoulders pulled back as if he were ready to send a punch flying. His lip was curled and he was now staring at the ground furiously.

”He needs to be sent away,” I said quietly. It was my turn to look at the ground, afraid to see the disgusted look on Shane’s face.

Murder was a line we hadn’t crossed yet. We don’t kill people — just the dead and any wildlife we need to consume… and that’s what it would be— exile was just as good as murder in the new world.

”I agree,” said Shane gruffly. “But- but what we’re building here. All of us—” he gestured at the group of twenty. “We need the numbers.”

”Ed doesn’t do a damn thing for the numbers—”

”Yeah, but Carol and Sophia do.” Shane sounded a bit disappointed as he said so. I couldn’t blame him— it would be much simpler if Ed wasn’t a manipulative bastard who had his family wrapped around his stubby finger. “That little girl is Carl’s best friend and Carol—”

”You don’t have to explain,” I sighed. “I get it.”

”I know you don’t like it. Hell, I don’t like it, but this isn’t forever, Daph. I promise—”

I didn’t mean to flinch away, but his hand reaching toward me, covered in fresh blood, with the nickname Glenn so often used for me— I was automatically moving away in discomfort. I made a promise to myself to toughen up. Like Glenn and Shane have.

A hurt look crossed Shane’s face. I quickly placed a hand on his arm, loosely clutching his elbow. The warmth of his skin grounded me.

“I’m sorry. I just…” I sighed. Shane’s eyes were glued on me intensely. “I want us to be safe. You, me, Lori, Carl, Glenn… every second he’s out there and I don’t hear his voice over this damn radio, I can’t breathe.”

His gaze followed my other hand, that wrapped around the walkie clipped to my belt, and it made me aware just how bad they were shaking. The tears welled up before I could help it. God, I wish I was stronger—

“Hey," Shane said in a demanding tone. I looked up through unshed tears. "He'll be okay. How many times has he not come back?"

I didn't answer, caught up in my thoughts about Glenn. Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to make Shane understand. He was my best friend, the only person other than my parents that I'd ever cared about more than myself. In a world where there was nothing left but survivors, I couldn't lose him. 

"You're right," I said eventually, getting a grip. Crying wouldn't do me any good. The sun was slowly setting and he would be back any second now. He had to. 

"Damn right. In fact, there he is," boasted Shane. I turned around so fast I should've gotten whiplash. How did I miss the sound of the van pulling up the trail? I gave the thought less than a second of attention before rushing over to the driver's door. I pulled it open before Glenn could. 

"Woah, Daph," gasped Glenn, barely making it out of the van. I tackled him into a tight hug, gripping his shirt tightly. It was familiar, the feeling of his body and the sound of his voice. Relief flooded me like an icy bucket of water. 

"You asshole," I pulled away and smacked his chest. "What took you so long?"

Half of our group already crowded around the trunk of the car, taking whatever Glenn brought back to where Lori was waiting with her little inventory list. It was only a few crates full of small things, maybe three or four. 

We sat down by our pile of logs, unlit but everyone stared at them as if they were ablaze. It was silent, disappointment and a feeling of loss reeking in the air. 

“Hopefully, I’ll find more on the next run,” sighed Glenn, eyes stuck on the ground. 

”I’m coming with you,” I said firmly.

Glenn’s mouth opened in automatic protest. 

“I’m serious, Glenn. I don’t know the roads like you do but I’m fast. Faster than I used to be. I’ve been hunting in the woods with Shane—” who was currently shaking his head furiously, pacing with a frustrated look. “— and we could get more for the camp if there were two of us.”

”Even more with three,” drawled Merle Dixon from behind us. His little brother was nowhere in sight.

I spun around to glare at him. “I’m sorry. I think I missed the part where I invited you.”

”Lighten up sweetcheeks. You’d be hotter if you kept that mouth of yours busy doing something else.”

”Fuck you,” I spat. Merle smiled as if I gave him a compliment.

”No. No, no, absolutely not,” Glenn protested. 

I nodded fiercely. “I agree. Merle won’t be coming.”

”Neither will you. I don’t think this is a good idea. We’ve got a good thing going here. I bring any more people and we could mess that up,” he said exasperatedly.

”No offense Glenn, but the lack of supplies here isn’t a good thing,” Andrea Harrison said from across the circle.

“He’s trying,” I snapped before Glenn could even defend himself.

”We know that,” said Andrea quickly. “We'd just like to help out more.”

”Who’s we?” Glenn asked, sounding more and more frustrated by the second.

“Andrea, Morales, Jacqui, and I were talking… it doesn’t have to be every run. But the numbers could be better for you. We’d cover each other and get more supplies in one run,” explained T-Dog. 

“You were in on this?” Glenn asked quietly, giving me an exasperated look. I shook my head. This was news to me. Sure, Andrea had mentioned something to me about “picking up some harder shifts” around camp the other day, but I hadn’t thought much of it. I figured she was just going to go fishing more often with her sister or something.

”Glenn, like it or not, I’m coming. As for the others… you know the risks,” I gave them each a pointed look. At the end of the day, the others didn’t matter to me like Glenn did. I would make sure the two of us got home alive if shit were to hit the fan. 

They all quickly nodded in agreement. Glenn stared at them for a moment and then let out a hefty sigh. “Fine.”

There was a silence that fell over the camp. Shane was still seething, holding his knuckles to his mouth and glaring daggers at me.

”So,” Merle began. Everyone turned toward him with a glare. “When do we leave?”

”You’re not coming,” I scoffed.

”Sorry, sweetheart, but you could use an extra set of hands. I’m getting a lil too comfortable in this five star hotel, I’m in need of a little fire under my ass—”

”You sure it’s not drugs you’re in need of?” I rolled my eyes.

”Now that you mention it, I am running low. All the more reason I’ll be joining your little crew for the time being,” Merle said snarkily.

”This is gonna be a disaster,” groaned T-Dog, stomping away from the gathering. We all took it as a cue to disband, knowing there was nothing any of us could say that would keep Merle Fucking Dixon from joining us into the city tomorrow.

Glenn and I shared a worried glance. 

"It'll be fine," I tried to sound reassuring but I think it had the opposite effect. Glenn's face dropped even more and he trudged over to our tent without another word. 

I waited a moment, listening to the sounds of the insects that seem to come alive at night, and I stared at the sun that was slowly slipping beneath the horizon. Everyone had gone to their tents or were now sitting close to the small fire Lori had started. Jacqui, a sweet woman I'd talked to once or twice within the two weeks she'd been here, and Andrea sat close together, her little sister at her side as usual and T-Dog joined the circle too. Even Morales was sitting close by, his family surrounding him but he seemed engaged in whatever conversation they had going on. I furrowed my eyebrows in frustration or confusion... maybe both. They were surely discussing tomorrow's supply run and I tried not to be angry with them. It was obvious they wanted to contribute more and while the thought was appreciated, I'm not sure a larger group would do us any favors in a city that's infested with the dead. 

I dragged my gaze away from them, but not before Lori's eyes met mine and she gave me a weak smile. Carl was sitting beside her silently, staring at the burning embers with disinterest. I weakly smiled back and followed after Glenn's footsteps, mentally preparing for another restless night. 

Later that night, I was up long after everyone had fallen asleep, with my legs pressed against my chest and my chin resting against my knees on the back of the black jeep we’d stolen when all of this started.

My anxiety kept me awake as usual. After tossing and turning for a full hour, I’d resorted to my usual activity, stargazing. I laid down, thankful the roof of the jeep happened to be stored away from Shane's last water run. I let out a quiet sigh, feeling the tense muscles in my back forcefully relax. It was a bit painful letting my guard down because my body was so used to being alert.

 A sudden branch snapping sent me sitting up again, hand flying to the blade I kept in the sheath on my belt. 

"It's me," Shane said as he stepped into view. I let go of the knife and pulled my knees up to my chest again. I had nothing to say, knowing exactly what Shane was dying to discuss. It was the only reason he'd be joining me at this hour instead of patrolling the edge of the woods. The group alternated night shifts, Shane volunteering to take most of them, but it was supposed to be T-Dog's night. It wasn't out of the norm for Shane to take his place but I knew T-Dog must've been patrolling if Shane was here now.

He sat next to me silently, staring at the ground and clicking his tongue. I kept my head forward, staring at the outline of the city stubbornly. 

“I don’t approve of this,” Shane finally said quietly.

”And I’m not asking for permission,” I responded with a bit of a bite. I knew Shane was just concerned for my well-being, but it didn’t ease the pent-up frustration from the last few days. Between Ed’s arrival and Merle’s stupid little jabs at anyone who wasn’t what he considered superior, I was beyond over trying to remain civil. Maybe Shane didn’t deserve it, but I was done trying to please everybody.

”Since the moment the others arrived, we’ve been bending over backwards trying to make sure they’re fed, safe. Sure, some of them have earned their keep but others? Shane, we’re risking our lives every damn day.”

I felt horrible even saying this. But I needed to think beyond our natural instinct to protect anyone who was still alive. At the end of the day, this was about us. What used to be just Glenn and I become a group of five and I’m willing to admit I’d do just about anything to make sure we survived.

“I’m not going for them. I’m going for us. I’m not going to sit here while Glenn is out there every other day. If I can help him find even one children multivitamin pack, it's more than enough for me to try."

“Carl will be fine,” Shane said sternly.

”Maybe. But he’s a boy. He’s growing and we need him to be strong if he wants to survive—”

”I won’t let anything happen to him or you,” Shane cut in, looking more determined than I’d ever seen him.

“I appreciate that, Shane. I really do,” I placed my hands over his and he stared down at our contact, entranced almost. “But I can take care of myself. Or at least, I’ve gotta learn how to... I’ll be fine tomorrow. Glenn will be with me.” 

Shane tilted his head, straining the muscles of his neck. "That's... that's what I'm worried about..."

I rounded on him suddenly, pulling my hands away as if his skin burned me. "Glenn has proven time and time again he's more than capable of keeping this camp safe. He knows how to avoid the walkers--" I didn’t know why I was repeating this. Wasn’t he the one reassuring me of Glenn’s skills earlier? 

"But has he killed any?" Shane hissed. "The world ain't ever gonna be the same again and it's either kill or get killed, Daphne. See, me? I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty and do what needs to get done. Would he? Let's say you tear your bullet wound open and one of the walkers got their hands on you--"

"Then, I would be dead anyway," I cut him off fiercely. "Where the hell is all this coming from? I can't keep playing it safe while you're both risking your lives everyday for the rest of us. I was able to handle myself pretty damn well on the field--"

"That was then. This is now. This ain't like the field, Daph. We're not tracking down petty criminals, wearing our little bulletproof vests with backup around the corner. If I can't stop you then I need to know you'll be safe. I can't go with you, I can't leave Lori and Carl--"

"I wouldn't ask you to," I shook my head, feeling my temper rise to the back of my neck, bubbling as if I wanted to open my mouth wide and breathe fire. I looked away from Shane and stared at the dark outline of the skyscrapers against the moonlight. "Lori and Carl need you here."

Though reluctant, he nodded in agreement. "I...I just want to make sure you're okay. If I-if I can't stop you, at least take this with you. Please." He held out his handgun, safety on, but I could tell it was loaded. I eyed it for a long moment, knowing it was one of the few weapons we had to protect the camp. 

"Take it," he pressed one more time. Hastily, I took the gun before he could retract it. If it came down to it, I'd be grateful Shane gave me something to defend myself with. God knows what we'll encounter tomorrow. Even if Glenn was pretty much desensitized to the dead, I sure as hell wasn't. 

"Thanks," I muttered, turning the pistol over in my grip. It was a semi-auto pistol and almost always in Shane's hands. It didn't go past me the sacrifice he was making for my safety. "Thank you, Shane," I said more clearly, finally meeting his gaze. 

He was staring at me intensely, a bit closer than I expected him to be. His eyes were filled with worry and something similar to...to longing? I thought his crush on me had died the second our lives at the precinct did. 

I debated whether I should get up and put some distance between us or let whatever was gonna happen, happen. The rush of the last few weeks, the turn our lives took, it didn't give me the time or luxury to even feel lonely. And even if I did, even just for a second, I would catch a glimpse of Lori Grimes and her boy wherever they were in the camp, and the guilt would squash any of that loneliness away... Was it selfish for me to want attention from a lover when a mother and her son had just lost their husband and father so recently? And besides, it wasn't like I was dating anyone before the world fell apart, it had been some hookups here and there, and my embarrassingly huge crush on my coworker I interacted with once.

Add in the fact that the subject of my embarrassing crush was the husband and father of who I now considered family... 

I didn't let myself think about it... until now. I should feel horrible for letting Shane lean in slowly, especially since I had no strong feelings for him, just mindless lust driven by my loneliness and the fact that he cared so deeply for me didn't help. 

He was probably a breath away from me now. I could feel the warm puffs of air leave his mouth, fanning against my lips gently. The only thing I could hear was this, the chirps of the night, and my relentless thoughts badgering at my conscious.

Did I have any feelings for Shane? His hand slipped over the fabric of my jeans, resting on my thigh lightly and my eyes followed the movement. He's always been so attentive... so adamant in keeping us safe... keeping me his priority. My head started to feel light and I allowed my eyes to shut... my head to tilt up the slightest bit...

Our noses brushed lightly and his mouth was on mine, a shuttering puff of air escaping his nostrils. He was nervous; I wasn't. In fact, I wasn't feeling anything. It was mindless, chasing the movement of his lips because it was familiar and nostalgic. It reminded me of before...

I'm not sure Shane would've ever pulled away, his other hand had even slipped under my jaw, tangling in the curls behind my ear with passion. But my brain finally caught up with my body and I felt too guilty for leading him on. It was obvious he had feelings for me and if I even wanted to pursue anything with him, I couldn't do it under a pretense. Under a guise.

"Shane," I mumbled against his lips, trying to pull away gently. He hummed back, pulling me closer and trying to slip his tongue into my mouth. I pushed against his chest firmly and it seemed to snap him out of his daze, his mouth pulling away from mine slowly. Like he wished he could be this close forever. An unpleasant feeling settled in my stomach.

"I'm.." I looked down at his heaving chest, my hand resting against it. I could feel his hair brushing against my ear as he tried to duck his head and meet my eye. "I shouldn't have let that happen," I whispered, afraid to shatter whatever we had here, for his sake. "I'm sorry-"

"You don't mean that," he rumbled against my hand. "Almost three goddamn years... you finally said yes."

"To dinner," I shook my head and looked up at him. He was still too damn close. I pulled my hand away. It sounded ridiculous, discussing things from before. A fucking cancelled date of all things.

Shane looked like he was at a loss for words. "You don't mean that," he repeated with a sudden guarded look. 

It dawned on me how serious he was. How did I not realize this sooner?

Shane didn't scare me, but his commitment did. Almost three goddamn years. You finally said yes. 

"I'm sorry." It was the only thing I could think to say. 

Shane stared at me as if I'd spoken a different language and I shifted uncomfortably, my cheeks stinging with shame. And without another word, he got up and walked around the jeep. I stood to watch him stomp over to T-Dog and they switched shifts. T-Dog looked surprised to see me but waved as he walked over to his tent tiredly. I forced a small smile, not that he could see it from this distance, and waved back weakly. I was suddenly quite glad I was leaving tomorrow and set off for my tent with a newfound eagerness to fall asleep and wake up to a new day. If I was lucky, we'd leave before Shane could wake up from his morning nap. 

I spared him one more glance, seeing his body turned toward me and the faint outline of his head shaking from side to side. 

Guilt stabbed at my stomach for the rest of the night. 

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