meanstreak
rick grimes 𝘹 fem!𝘰𝘤
© WANDARYEN ──── 2024

As we drove down the open road to bring the fight back to Woodbury, we noticed the few trucks pulled off towards the side and bodies scattered on the ground.

I immediately leaned forward, tapping Ricks shoulder from behind the drivers seat. "Rick, wait — stop the car. It's them."

As he put the car in park, I grabbed my rifle and jumped out the car with Michonne hot on my heels. I looked around the scene with my mouth dropped open in shock.

There was no sign of any walkers coming by and wiping them out. Empty bullets were spread out along the pavement and bodies rested right in the grass.

As I slowly made my way to one of the large trucks, a woman quickly pressed her hands against the window and I lifted my rifle in defense.

"Hey!" I shouted and Rick came running over immediately to stand in front of me.

"Get out the truck! Slowly!" He insisted, opening the door and we watched carefully as the woman slowly climbed out.

Rick grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down onto her knees, patting her down for any weapons. "What the hell happened here?" I asked as Rick finished what he was doing and allowed her to get back on her feet.

She let out a shaky breath, her fingers trembling as she kept them held high. "The Governor, he fired on everybody! It happened so fast. We were trying to make sense of what had happened at the prison and he—oh god."

I slowly looked over at Rick and noticed the shocked facial expression he was giving.

The Governor may have been a lot of things but we didn't expect him to kill his own people. Not when he expressed how much he cared about them a few days ago.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "what's your name?"

"Karen," she looked at me with worried eyes and I nodded my head. "We were just on our way back to Woodbury. We're trying to end this thing once and for all." Rick looked over at me as I spoke and Karen shook her head. "N-no, you can't kill them. They're innocent people there. They had nothing to do with this."

I shook my head and walked up to Karen carefully, putting my rifle over my shoulder as I did so. "We're not going for the people. We're going for the Governor. He's the one that started this."

Karen nodded her head in agreement and I led her back to our car, looking back at Rick as he watched me quietly. "Let's go. We need to get there sooner," I spoke before guiding Karen into the back seat where Michonne followed without hesitation.

By nightfall, the five of us made it to Woodbury with the woman named Karen. I spoke to her while we were on the road and she was probably one of the nicest people I've met.

She expressed how the governor made it seem like we were these horrible people — willing to kill us for no reason. When I told her the real story of what happened with the Governor, everything started to make sense for her easily. It was a shame she had to find out the hard way.

We kept the car far back so it wasn't in risk of getting shot up when we needed to escape. We held our guns in position for anyone willing to draw on us. There was no telling if the Governor ever made it back or not.

"Tyreese! Its me!" Karen called out, sticking her hands up in the air.

I slightly stuck my head out as Karen made her way up to the gate. I noticed the same two people that came by the prison just a few weeks ago.

I narrowed my eyes, pointing a finger the siblings standing on guard. "Hey — it's those people."

Rick reached over and carefully pushed my hand downwards. I spared him a quick glance — his own gaze focused on Karen and the others.

"Where's the Governor?" Tyreese slowly stood up from where he was kneeling on top of the pile of tires and cars used as a barrier.

"He fired on everyone. He killed them all." Karen sighed, moving out from behind the car and the rest of us followed. "Why are you with them?"

"They saved me."

There was a pause before Tyreese and Sasha lowered their guns. "We're coming out." He spoke out loud before the two got onto the ground and opened up the entrance.

Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and I put away our weapons then held up our hands as we walked towards the siblings. "What are you doing here?" Tyreese asked, his gun pointing at the ground but still in hand.

"We were coming to finish this until we saw what the Governor did." Rick spoke.

"He — he killed them?"

Rick slowly nodded, "yeah. Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall going for the prison. She never made it."

Tyreese looked over at his sister then back at Rick, slightly shrugging his shoulder. "She might be here." He spoke before nodding his head into the town then leading us carefully inside.

It was quiet. The entire town.

It was like everyone was in hiding but there was barely any guards walking around. Tyreese mentioned how the Governor returned with his men, leaving just a few residents to keep guard.

"This is where he had Glenn and Maggie." Rick spoke in a hushed tone with Tyreese following behind him.

"The Governor held people here?" Tyreese asked as we lead him into a small building.

Rick nodded, "he did more than hold them."

Everyone's weapons were pointed for defense as we entered the holding area, only to slowly lower them when we noticed the blood spilling out from under the door.

I swallowed hard — afraid of what I'll see behind the door.

We watched glanced at each other before Michonne opened the door and kicked it wide open. She glanced around until she looked towards her left and her eyes went wide.

I quickly moved forward when I saw Andrea sitting on the ground, covered in blood from her hands to her neck.

"I tried to stop them." Andrea spoke in a weak tone as Michonne knelled beside her for comfort.

She saw the state Andrea was in, bringing her hand up to touch her forehead, only to pull her hand back shortly after. "You're burning up."

Andrea moved the jacket from her left shoulder to reveal the bite market on her neck. My hand clasped over my mouth in shock as I stood by Rick until he knelled down in front of Andrea. "Judith, Carl, the rest of them.." Andrea slowly trailed off.

"Us. The rest of us." Rick corrected her in a soft tone.

"Are they alive?" She asked weakly.

"Yeah, they're alive." He nodded.

Andrea looked up at Michonne and smiled,  "It's good you found them." I looked at Michonne and noticed the tears in her eyes and her bottom lip shaking. "No one can make it alone now. I never could." Michonne softly soothed Andrea's hair in a calming matter.

"I just didn't want anyone to die." Andrea whispered.

I shook my head, placing a hand on Rick's shoulder. "We know you didnt. You tried your hardest Andrea — we'll never forget that."

Andrea looked up at me and we both smiled at one another, tears starting to form in my own eyes before Andrea's smile fell. Everyone in the room knew she wasnt going to make it, and it was just a matter of time before she turned.

"I can do it myself." She sighed.

"No." Michonne whispered.

"I have to. While I still can. Please?" She looked at Rick, her head leaning back against the wall as she gave him a faint smile. "I know how the safety works." Rick nodded, taking out his gun and placing it into Andrea's hand before standing up beside me.

My hand instantly reached for his — our fingers locking.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Michonne looked down at Andrea and gave her a light smile.

I slowly nodded my head and tugged on Ricks hand, pulling us out of the room as Daryl followed behind.

The six of us stood out into the hallway, our backs turned towards the room as everything grew silent. Ricks arm wrapped around my shoulder and I easily leaned myself into his chest as I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes.

I barely knew Andrea, but there was nobody else to blame but the governor. He spilt more blood than I have ever seen a man do. And none of them were for good reasons — only because he didnt get his way.

Slowly, I turned myself into his chest and wrapped my arms around his body. My eyes staring at the metal wall in front of me. When the gun shot sounded, my body flinched and it only made Rick hold me tighter. There was a short pause of silence until Michonne's small sobs could be heard coming from the room.

I dangled two squirrels by their tails in my hand while walking towards Rick. A large proud smile plastered on my face from my successful hunt that's to Daryl.

Granted — one squirrel was Daryl's doing and the other was mine out of pure luck. But he allowed me to take the win on both of them and it added the extra adrenaline in my system to feed the group. I was actually providing for them for once.

We were a few months into the long drought without the farm.

We stopped by a lake to freshen up, get water, and rest for the next few hours.

Rick tilted his head up and a smile lingered on his lips when his gaze met mine. "Whatcha got there?"

"Food!" I spoke with pure joy.

I plopped down beside him and dropped the squirrels onto the ground in front of us.

He laughed softly, "not only did you catch one — but two?"

I nodded quickly, my gaze searching for Daryl but he didn't return yet from his own hunt. "Yup, all by myself. Pretty impressive, right?" I nudged him with my elbow.

Rick nudged me back with a small shake of his head. "That's pretty damn good. Feel like doing this for all of our meals?"

"Maybe. I'm calling it beginner luck so don't get upset if i don't catch something next time."

"Alright, deal." He grinned wide. "Thank you for contributing — I just needed a moment. All this walking and — "

"Yeah, I know." I shrugged understandably. "You don't have to explain yourself, Rick. I get it. You also don't have to do absolutely everything." I turned my head to catch a peak of him.

His gaze immediately found mine with a smile still lingering peacefully on his lips. I smiled in return — even during our hardest times as a group, I still managed to find the silver lining that comes with it all.

He reached up and used two fingers to move a strand of hair out from my lashes.

Our stares held one another for a moment — warmth spreading through my chest.

When he finally looked away, focusing back on the water, I laid my head against his shoulder — allowing the comforting silence to engulf us both like a hug.

Sunrise came when the we returned to the prison with a school bus full of people that were left behind in Woodbury.

We made the decision to save the lives that never caused us harm. They deserved a second chance and freedom. Not to be controlled over a man named the governor.

The people that were left at the town were willing to hear our side of the story. It didn't take much convincing but we gave them an option to come with.

We didn't want them to feel like they were being put under control. And if anything, we wanted them to at least see the prison. To be able to give them a chance at survival with us before turning away.

When I finished moving my things back into my cell, I placed my rifle into the corner of the small room, taking my hand gun and knife from my body and resting them on the top bunk.

At the end of the day it felt good to remove those things from my body. At the end of the day, they had felt heavier than they did in the morning. It was like a sigh of relief to me. To be able to set down the burdens that were causing me to feel so drained some times.

With a sigh, I tugged the rubber band from my hair, letting it fall to my shoulders. When I heard footsteps closing in on my cell, my eyes looked over to the opening and saw Rick standing there with a small smile on his lips. I crossed my arms over my chest, nodding my head for him to enter.

As he did, I smiled up at him. "We did a good thing."

"Yeah," Rick sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "Things are going to change now, arent they?"

"In a good way," I quickly added.

Rick hands soon dropped from his waist as he shifted on his feet, making my eyebrows begin to furrow. "I need to tell you something." He spoke up. I pressed my lips into a firm line, a slight pull at my stomach as his eyes wandered everywhere else but me.

"What is it?" I asked nervously.

He brought his hand up and rubbed his face before pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Without making eye contact, he spoke. "Over the past few months i've been feeling— things. Certain ways I couldnt explain for awhile. Then Lori's death and — you were just there for me the entire time. Thats when I started really understanding it all."

The air in my throat was getting caught as I looked at the man before me. My heart was beginning to pound against my chest and I could've sworn that Rick could hear it. "Sienna I — " He paused, dropping his hand to glance at me. His blue eyes were big and filled with such much more hope. But I noticed that's how he always looked when he was looking at me. "I have feelings for you, deep feelings. They're there, and they've been there for awhile. It just — took me awhile to accept it."

My mouth slowly slipped open and my eyebrows raised with shock. I couldn't even gather the thoughts to process this. I feel my heart beating straight through my ears, like the entire thing was going to fall out of my chest.

But I had no way I've giving him a response. I felt like I was going to be sick from how nervous I was. I was sure that everyone in the prison could hear my heart beat by now. But it stopped when he spoke the words I thought I'd never hear.

"Sienna, I love you."

The air that was caught in my throat was pushed down as I swallowed hard, my hands at my sides started to become sweaty as I stared at him. I couldn't speak — let alone did I even know what to say.

The only thing I could do was quickly slip past him and walk out of the cell-block into the courtyard.

I walked away from the prison, away from everyone, away from Rick. But he was jogging after me at a quick speed. I could hear his heavy footsteps behind me until he grabbed my arm and our bodies spun around to where my back was facing the prison and my eyes settled on his.

His grip on my arm softened and slowly dropped, his hands remaining by his side as he looked at me questionably. "Why did you walk away?"

I opened my mouth slightly, only to closing it right after. I noticed that he was starting to feel on edge, his head slightly tilting while he was waiting for my next answer. "Do you love me?"

I slightly bit down on my inner cheek, my eyes shifting towards the ground as I thought hard.

The last man I thought I loved was Steven — but that wasn't love at all. It was just abuse and purely one sided. At this point I wasn't even sure what love meant anymore — relationship speaking.

I felt unconditional love for my family and friends. Rick is my friend but I'm now beginning to wonder if all the moments we shared throughout the following year were strictly just friends.

Friends would never look at each other the way Rick and I did.

I would be an idiot to deny the obvious lingering feelings I've felt for the man these past few months.

Even when he first showed up on the farm — when he found me broken down after Steven's little outbreak. There were so many times I needed someone and Rick was just there.

Like magic.

Like the kind of man that should be there for someone he deeply loves.

Rick and I always seemed at our best when we were together. And our decision makings always worked out when it was discussed between us. We were like partners in crime.

But Lori—, Lori.

"Sienna?" I swallowed nervously at the sound of my name falling off his lips so softly — as if it were his favorite word in the entire American vocabulary. "D-Do you love me?"

I slowly looked up at Rick, bringing back the saliva to my sudden dry mouth as my chest weighed heavily. I was remembering the things Lori told me before she died. The last things she said before I brought her baby into this world.

They were haunting me. Her death was still haunting me.

Steven's aura was suddenly standing beside me — criticizing me. As if he was here spiritually to make sure I wasn't fucking things up.

I couldn't take it. I couldn't take this feeling much longer because it felt as if I was drowning.

"No." I breathed out softly.

He looked at me, pain flashing through his eyes as he removed his glance from mine — not being able to look at me now.

He took a step back, his hand resting on his gun as he his head faltered before he moved past me, our shoulders barely touching.

I stood there alone as Rick went back into the prison. Silence filled the air immediately and I couldn't find it in myself to cry. My heart felt like it had been punched repeatedly, but I couldn't find an emotion to express the pain.

dylan