PART ONE

TW; blood, detailed killing scene

Wide-eyed, Elide looked at Rick when suddenly a loud horn sounded.

Actually, everything was going according to plan; the walkers were all perfectly guided away from Daryl, Sasha and Abraham, while Rick and his group, and Glenn and his group had their work perfectly under control.

Elide was part of Rick's group. But now that both groups were together again, everything was out of control.

Out of breath, they all stared at each other, watching as half the walkers began to break away from the herd and head towards Alexandria. Elide's heart stopped as she thought of all the people, but especially Carl and Judith. The sound was coming directly from that direction and she hoped they were all right.

After Elide and Carl had more or less argued, they didn't talk again until the day they left. Elide thought at first that maybe it would be better if they both got some distance, but by the minute it was getting worse not to talk to Carl and spend time with him. She missed him and sincerely wanted to apologise for her behaviour. It was wrong to snipe at him like that when he only wanted what was best for her.

What was wrong with her lately?

The group started running and before Elide could even realise what was happening, she was grabbed by Michonne to run along.

Eventually she was at the front with Rick and ran beside him out of breath until he stopped and said it was far enough for now.

Breathing heavily, Elide braced her hands on her thighs and looked at Rick. Her dark hair fell a little in her face as it came out of its ponytail. The sun burned on her skin and induced an uncomfortable sweat, causing all her clothes to cling tightly to her.

"Alright listen up, here's the new plan," Rick started, walking a little to the middle so he could eye everyone. "I go back, get the Rv, circle around the woods on redding."

Elide lifted her gaze and met Rick's directly. No way would she let him go there alone. He wanted Elide to come with him, so she stayed with him.

"I'll get in front in them before they get there." Rick braced his hands on his hips. His hair looked wet from sweat, and much curlier and darker than usual. "I can lead them away again."

One of the men wanted to go with Rick, he suggested. But Rick immediately denied it, as he always did when offered help.

"I'll handle it. Just get home, they might need you there," he said, now turning to the three others. "Michonne, Glenn, Elide." He nodded to them and ran ahead. All three of them walked after him until they had enough distance from the other people.

"If something's in front of you, you kill it. No hiding, no waiting," he told them sternly and in a lowered voice. He was completely serious and his tone allowed no argument, though the looks on Michonne's and Glenn's faces were uncertain.

"I'm going with you," Glenn said, looking at Rick seriously. "You can't do this on your own."

Rick shook his head and I bit my lip hard as I realised the words were running up my spine.

"I'll go with you," I finally said out loud, looking at Rick as my arms fell to my sides. Rick instantly shook his head. "No. You're going back with Glenn and Michonne."

"No. I'll go with you, Rick. Please. You wanted me to go with you, so I'll stay with you." I crossed my arms in front of my chest and ignored Glenn's eyes on me.

Rick sighed heavily and looked at me intensely, it looked like he knew he couldn't change my mind because he finally gave in. "Alright. Okay."

He turned back to the other two. "Make sure you get back."

Michonne was the first to nod and grab my arm again before walking back. Glenn came up to me and put both his hands on my shoulder to lean down a bit towards her; His worried look didn't escape me at all. "Take care of yourself, okay? You're so brave, Elide. Your parents would be proud of you," he breathed at the end, causing Elide's eyes to widen a little. She couldn't get a word out, so Glenn just smiled slightly again and then left as well.

Rick beside her watched her posture, which had visibly tightened, and allowed himself to wonder what had happened to her. But he had seen what Elide was like. And he knew she was at least as traumatised as Carl.

"Elide."

She looked to him.

"Let's go."

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Elide didn't know how long she'd had such good stamina, but at the latest she'd sprinted several hundred yards with Rick. Her lungs hurt incredibly badly and every breath felt like she was inhaling fire. Her eyes were also burning from the constant sweat running into them. But still she didn't stop and continued to follow Rick, who kept looking back to check if Elide was still there and if she was okay so far.

Rick came to a sudden stop after communicating with Tobin and Daryl on the walkie-talkie to bend over a dead walker and take out some ammunition there.

Elide came to a halt beside him, out of breath, trying to calm her pulse.

"Elide, watch out," Rick called, pointing his head at some of the biters. Elide gasped in fright as the first one lunged at her. She reached out her hands and pushed him away as she listened behind as Rick tried to kill two of the dead.

The knife was in Elide's hands in less than five seconds before she pushed it into the walker's skull and he fell lifeless to the floor. She didn't think much about what she was doing, but she quickly turned and threw her knife at the walker near Rick. She hit him and he instantly let go of Rick and fell to the ground. Rick breathed in and out loudly as he nodded his thanks to her and then looked at his reopened wound on his fist. The blood wouldn't stop pouring out.

Elide ran over to him, worried.

"We need to bandage that right away," Elide ordered and without wasting any more time, she cut off a piece of Carl's shirt with her knife. She had no idea why she was even still wearing it after they had argued and weren't even speaking, but Carl meant a lot to Elide. Maybe more than she wanted to admit.

The girl put her knife away and wrapped the severed piece of cloth around Rick's bleeding hand. "Thanks. We should get moving quickly now," Rick rushed, wasting no time in running. Elide didn't feel like running, but she had no choice, so she drew the knife on the biter and ran after Rick at a brisk pace.

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Rick and Elide drove the Rv for a bit after they got there, Rick stopped the car, at the point that was counted off. Elide next to Rick in the passenger seat, couldn't keep her feet still and looked out the window throughout. Fear and panic coursed through her veins. But she had to prove to Rick that she was worth coming along. That she was worth appreciating.

"Daryl?" Rick called into the walkie-talkie after Tobin and Glenn didn't answer him. Elide's eyes on him the whole time. It was an unsettling feeling that the other two weren't answering. She wondered if something had gone wrong. Even more so than usual, then?

"I'm here." Elide breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his voice.

"Won't be long now."

"They're almost here," Rick said, looking out the window. "We'll get them going your way again."

Elide got up from her seat and moved towards the window as she heard distant gunshots while Rick continued to talk to Daryl. The brunette had an uneasy feeling in her stomach as silence fell for a short time. She looked at the window that reflected their looks and could still easily see her puzzled forehead, which had healed slightly again. A scar would still remain.

The girl turned back to Rick, who closed his eyes. "We gotta sit with it, and hope they can handle it," he said to Daryl, looking at Elide, who nodded at him affirmatively as she understood it was about home.

"We keep going forward for them."

And they always would.

If they survived. For suddenly the door to the Rv was flung open and a man shot at Rick and Elide without hesitation. Rick was quick to act and brutally pulled Elide down with him, inadvertently eliciting a loud scream from her.

As soon as the gunfire stopped, Rick jumped up and lunged at the man, however, he didn't notice the larger other dark skinned man who came into the rv and immediately lunged at Elide. She had no chance against the much bigger and stronger opponent.

He pushed her against the edge of the table and squeezed her neck with both of his big hands. Not only did it hurt incredibly, but it also ensured that she could not take a single breath. Rick was still struggling with the man while Elide was already seeing her die. And she couldn't accept that.

Not when she hadn't made up with Carl yet, and not when she didn't know Glenn and the others were okay. She wasn't ready. She wanted to fight.

And so Elide lifted her knee, with what strength she had left, and rammed it firmly against the man's weak spot, who immediately let go of her and slumped to the ground, writhing. Elide took this chance and pulled the knife from her belt, only to stab it immediately into the man's neck.

The sensation she felt as the blade pierced the man's sensitive skin, hitting all the bones and muscles, never left her memory and burned deep into it. The blood, which was dark red and oozing incessantly from the man's vein, forced its way through the sleeve of her shirt and spread over the floor of the caravan. The man had tried to stop the bleeding out of reflex, but died immediately.

Rick, who had killed the other man in the meantime, stared at Elide in disbelief. He knew that Elide acted without hesitation, but the way she killed this man without batting an eyelid shocked him. For it reminded him exactly of himself. He was the same.

Carl had looked at him with a look in his eyes he didn't want to forget ever since the one night Rick had bitten out a man's pulsating vein. And he was afraid that one day people would look at Elide the same way. He knew Elide was changing a little more every day and he hoped she wouldn't lose herself.

All the while, Elide stared at the pool of blood that had formed in front of her and all the blood on her hands. But hadn't it always been there, even without colour?

Before Rick could say anything, he saw in the rearview mirror, the rest of the group. Without hesitation, Rick slowly picked up the rifle and gently pushed Elide behind him before firing through the walls of the Rv at the people. Elide didn't bat an eye or say anything else about the fact that these people were dying.

Without words, Rick and Elide ran to the dead men and threw them on the ground next to their group before quickly running back into the Rv. Rick sat down in the driver's seat and took a few deep breaths before trying to start the van. Elide became more nervous and looked out the window, paralysed, as her breath caught. It was like slow motion as the thousands of walkers from the forest slowly but surely arrived at the Rv. "Rick," she breathed softly and looked over at him, an anxious expression on her face that seconds ago was staring bleakly and blankly at the streets.

He too realised what was happening. What was going to happen.

The plan had failed.

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I hope you're not bored. elide is going to change a lot, just like carl, so I'm so excited to see how it turns out between them !