Daughter of a Dixon ✔️

22: The Ricktatorship

And I was right.

Not even an hour into riding along the road, we were forced to make a stop due to Hershel's car running out of gas. It was late in the night by then, and everyone was exhausted, not to mention at a loss. Hershel, Maggie, and Beth had lost their home, everything they'd ever known; I couldn't imagine what they must've been feeling.

I could see it written on their faces as we all sat by the fire we made, the shock, the sadness. They all three looked completely heartbroken, and I couldn't blame them.

There were no words spoken as we all sat circled around the fire, trying to get warmed up. Dad was seated close beside me on the ground, and we were both covering up with the horse blanket/poncho Beth gave us. When we got of the bike, we were both shivering, so the fire was a nice comfort for us.

"... Jenner, he told me something, at the CDC."

Rick's voice surprised us all, and we looked up to him. He had a conflicted expression on his face, and he sighed, his breath visible in the cold of night.

"... we're all infected. That's why, when you found Randall-.." he nodded towards Dad. "-he turned, but wasn't bit."

"What the hell do you mean?" Dad asked, shock in his voice.

"... Jenner told me, at the CDC. Whatever the virus is, we all carry it. And when we die, it doesn't matter if we're bit or not... we're gonna turn, all of us."

A silence went by, and I could sense the tension in the air. I was surprised at the statement Rick had made. I looked up at my dad, and saw he was looking down at me as well. He gave me a nod of reassurance before looking up to Carol as she began to speak.

"And you thought it was okay to keep that from us?" she asked, obviously upset.

"I thought it was better not to tell everyone yet, I made that call," Rick said.

"It wasn't your call to make!" Glenn exclaimed. "I told you about the walkers in the barn for our safety, I-..."

"That isn't remotely the same," Rick said, practically snarling.

Just then, a noise from the woods emitted, and everyone turned to look towards it.

"What was that?" Beth asked, shooting up into a standing position.

"Could be anythin'... a raccoon, squirrel, opossum..."

"A walker?" Glenn cut in, raising his gun.

"We need to leave, we can't stay here. It's too dangerous... it's better to take our chances out there than to sit here and wait for-..."

Carol was interrupted forcefully by Rick, and he was seething when he spoke.

"No one is going anywhere..."

"Do something!" Carol hissed at him.

"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive! I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake!" Rick whisper-yelled.

Since Dad and I already knew what had happened, we just sat quietly and listened to Rick's testimony. Everyone else, though, looked downright terrified, watching Rick with wide eyes.

"You all saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, threatened us. He staged the entire Randall thing, he wanted me to come out there, looking for him, just so he could put a bullet in my back. He left me no choice! He was my friend, but he came after me..."

I watched as Carl leaned onto Lori's shoulder, beginning to cry harshly. She hugged him and stroked his hair, trying to comfort him the best way she could. Rick's eyes flickered down to the sight, and I thought he was going to stop his rant, but to my dismay, he kept on going.

"My hands are clean... you know, maybe you people are better off without me; well, go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe that's another pipe dream, maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard! Go on, the door's wide open. If you can be better, let's see how far you get."

I looked around at everyone, and saw that they still looked scared out of their minds. Then, I looked over to Dad, and he was looking at Rick through slitted eyes. Like he was unsure of what was happening, but still had Rick's back in the situation.

"No takers? Fine, but let's get one thing straight... if you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."

Rick didn't speak again, and I realized he had finally come to the end of his outburst. No one spoke, they all just stared at him with wide eyes. Even Lori looked absolutely terrified of her husband, and Carl of his dad.

After a minute, Rick took one last look at all of us before walking away, into the woods, hopefully to calm down. Even after he was gone, no one spoke; I think they were all too shocked to. Although, I was okay.

Being a leader like Rick was, I couldn't even think of all the pressure he must've been under. He worked really hard to keep us all safe, and with the guilt of killing Shane, he had a lot on his plate. I couldn't imagine what he was going through.

But, still, I thought the whole, "this isn't a democracy" thing was a bit uncalled for. Was it really necessary to turn this group into a dictatorship?

Or, in his case, a Ricktatorship?

I smiled at my own pun, but bit my lip so it wouldn't show. By the looks on everyone's faces, I could tell that they didn't need comical relief right then; they needed a minute to soak in what had just happened.

After several long, silent minutes, I heard Dad sigh from beside me. "Go ahead and try to get some sleep, Sid," he said, standing up from the ground. "I'm gonna go check on him," he announced to the rest of the group.

He left me with the blanket and, since I was feeling pretty tired, I went ahead and lied down on the ground. Everyone else had resumed a sitting position, too, and were looking pretty exhausted themselves.

I didn't want to look at their frightened faces any longer, so I just turned onto my side and brought the blanket up to my chest. I let out a breath, trying to get comfortable on the ground. I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to sleep very well, and I didn't even know if I should sleep. We were out in the open, completely unprotected and susceptible to any sort of attack. I didn't know how long we were going to be like that, either; we had barely any food, barely any water, and absolutely no place to go; no place to call home.

But, surprisingly, despite all that, I still fell asleep within minutes.

Season Two is finished! Now onto Season Three, where things get a little more interesting! So, how are you guys liking the story so far? What's been your favorite moment of Season Two/One? Let me know in the comments!