Chapter 86
East of the ridge road, just off Highway 16, Aaron had to park his car nearby because of the storm. Rick was skeptical, but he knew everyone wanted hope, a safe haven.
And they need medicine, so even if it's a trap, they have to go through it to see the place.
Rick hesitated for a moment. "Abraham?" He turned to look at Abraham, who nodded.
Rick nodded and looked at the others. “Michonne,” he knew Michonne would definitely go and see for herself. “Glen,” Glenn was quick-witted and intelligent. “Rosita,” she was also quite skilled and worked well with Abraham. “Moore,” Moore had his own way of doing things.
“If you’re not back in an hour, we’ll come to pick you up. Be careful. Do you have enough ammunition?” Rick asked them.
“No problem,” Glenn said. “We’ll be back safe and sound.” The five of them went outside, and Rick then looked at Daryl. “We can’t all stay here. It’s too obvious.”
Daryl nodded. “I’ll take them out.” Daryl called to Sasha, Maggie, Carl, Dwayne, Sophia, Carol, Gabriel, Eugene, Noah, Beth, Tara, Andrea, and Amy as they walked out.
“You need to keep up with Daryl,” Rick said, looking at Hershel who was taking care of Lina.
“No, you can’t take care of her by yourself,” Herschel said, glancing meaningfully at Judith in his arms. She was probably hungry and kept crying.
Rick was really having a headache. They had no food, and Judith couldn't eat roasted meat or cicadas like they could; she was still a baby.
Aaron sat tied to the pillar, surprised by the caution Rick and his group displayed. He even felt a pang of regret, having wasted so much time here. "I have applesauce in my bag. You can give it to her. I'm doing this for my own safety; crying will attract walkers, and I look like I'll be the first to die," Aaron said, glancing at the fallen Lena. "Maybe she can have some too. Sugar might help in this situation." But why did she look so familiar?
Rick abandoned his plan to crush the nuts with the butt of his gun, found the applesauce Aaron had mentioned on the table, scooped out a spoonful, and went to Aaron's side. Aaron's face scrunched up. "I don't like applesauce. Why would I go to all that trouble to poison you? I could have just not mentioned it!"
He really regretted it!
At Rick's insistence, and driven by his survival instincts, Aaron reluctantly licked a mouthful of applesauce. Only then did Rick feel relieved and share the applesauce with Judith and Lena.
The room fell silent. Aaron and Hershel began to talk, while Rick simply listened, holding Judith in his arms. Aaron said that before the cataclysm, he worked for a non-governmental organization, tasked with delivering medicine and food to Niger and the Delta region. He had met many bad people, so he knew that Rick and his ilk were not.
Hershel enjoyed talking to him, and Rick knew from just a glance that he had begun to trust Aaron.
This annoyed Rick. After everything he had been through, he knew he shouldn't always be so hostile to the world, but they shouldn't give up their trust so easily either.
Lina opened her eyes groggily, not knowing who was talking incessantly. It was so noisy! Couldn't they just let her sleep in peace for a while?
But why does Lina's mouth taste so sweet and sour when she smacks her lips?
Rick looked at Lina, who sat up abruptly as if she had risen from the dead, just like in those Chinese zombie movies he had seen before.
Feeling like there might be something wrong with her sense of taste, Lina looked at Rick in confusion, only to find him feeding Judith something that looked like jam.
"What is that?" Lina asked.
"Apple sauce, want some more?" Rick looked down and wiped Judith's mouth. "How are you feeling now?"
Lina stood up, raised her right hand high in a thumbs-up gesture, and said, "You're in great shape!" But she felt weak and dizzy.
Lina walked towards the table. Under the watchful eyes of the three and a half people, she staggered to the table, slumped onto it, and fell asleep on the spot with a clatter.
It was so fast that Rick didn't even have time to react.
Hershel didn't even have time to chat with Aaron anymore; she quickly went to dress Lina, who had bumped her head and was sure it would swell up.
“We have a medical room and a doctor,” Aaron said, also frightened; she needed treatment.
Rick glanced anxiously towards the door. If there really was a car, they would go there. They could deal with Lena's condition later.
In less than an hour, Glenn and his men not only returned, but also brought back a lot of supplies, all of which they had taken from the vehicle.
Rick didn't stand on ceremony with Aaron. He left some for everyone to share, then grabbed Aaron and said, "Let's go."
"Aren't you going to let me go?" Aaron asked incredulously. Even after all this, he still didn't believe him.
“You gave directions, and your friend,” Rick said. “We didn’t see him.”
“He must be hiding,” Aaron said with some worry. “I will take you there. I trust you, but I can’t risk my friend’s life.”
“Tell us the way,” Rick said, pulling out a map.
Aaron was silent for a moment, then said, "Head north on Highway 16. I'll tell you the rest later."
“We’ll take Highway 23,” Rick said.
Aaron was stunned. "That's a terrible idea. We cleared Highway 16; it's a fast route there."
“Unless you tell us where the camp is, we’re leaving now,” Rick said.
"..." Aaron didn't speak, just as she said, he couldn't risk his other friends.
"Let's get ready, tonight's going to be long." Rick didn't insist, but went out to check the car.
Michonne chased after him. "You just said you'd leave now, was that a lie? Or were you just trying to trick him into revealing your location?"
“We’re going,” Rick said, standing up and leaning on the roof of the car to look at Michonne.
"You mean, as long as we can get there, no matter the cost, that's fine?" Michonne asked, her anger barely concealing her disappointment.
"What did you hear when you first came to the outer wall of Woodbury?" Rick asked, pacing forward.
“There’s nothing there,” Michonne said.
"What about the final stop?"
“There’s no sound either,” Michonne frowned.
“Sometime tonight, we’ll be at the wall of his camp. Without being able to see inside, I’ll have to decide whether to bring my family in. He asked me before how to believe what he’s saying, but nothing can convince me to go in there. But I’m going to see, I’m going to see,” Rick said.
“Lina needs treatment,” Michonne said after a moment of silence.
“I know, I know,” Rick stroked his beard. “We’ll get the others into the RV in a bit, and you, Glenn, and I will take that person and Lena in this one.” Rick patted the roof of the RV. “If we can’t get in, we’ll go in and let them stay outside for now.”
Michonne nodded. "I just wanted to say that you've become a little different, and I don't think that's a good thing."
Rick paused. “I have to, I have to do this, Michonne. All those people in that room, if I make even one wrong decision…” He took a deep breath. “At the terminal, Glenn was almost slit in front of me by those people. They were like a butcher… If it weren’t for Carol…” He lowered his head in silence.
“And Carl, he’s just a kid and he’s been through so much bad stuff, and prison… I’ve messed up so much, I know what you’re all thinking. Trust, of course I’d love to, but I can’t. I have to be skeptical all the time,” Rick said, hands on his hips, with a sigh. “You have my trust, that’s enough.”
Michonne patted Rick on the shoulder reassuringly, "We'll handle this."
“Yes,” Rick said, patting Michonne’s hand on his shoulder and forcing a smile.
When Lina opened her eyes again, she found herself on a new map. She glanced groggily at Aaron beside her, then at Michonne who was holding her. "I thought I really could teleport," she thought.
Michonne smiled helplessly. "How are you? Are you alright? Hershel said your temperature is still a bit high, and it might get even higher if this continues."
“Absolutely no problem!” Lina patted her chest with effort.
Glenn could hardly bear to look at him. "You should close your eyes and rest for a while."
"Why are you driving?" Lina glanced at Glenn and complained.
“You’re the least qualified to talk to me,” Glenn retorted. “There’s food and water on the ground. Eat something first.”
Lina shook her head. "I don't want to eat," but water would be fine.
Michonne took out a water bottle and handed it to Lina. Lina took two sips, and as soon as she handed the bottle back to Michonne, she fainted again, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
"...Is she really alright?" Aaron had witnessed her faint three times today, all without warning, she just fainted suddenly.
"..." They wanted to know even more!
Rick glanced at the license plates; there were many inside the car, from different states.
Aaron enthusiastically introduced him to his hobby: collecting license plates from different regions so he could hang them on the wall at home.
Michonne was somewhat shocked. "You own a house?"
“You can see for yourself,” he said, referring to the photograph.
Michonne looked through the photos, increasingly surprised. "Did you ask him those three questions?" Michonne asked Rick.
"No." I'm not in the mood.
"What's the problem?" Aaron asked, quite curious.
How many walkers have you killed?
"Sorry? What?" Aaron was a little confused.
"How much?" Michonne pressed.
Everyone on the bus, except for Lina who had fainted, was waiting for his answer.
Aaron was puzzled, but still answered Michonne, "I don't know, but there should be a lot."
“How many people did you kill?” Michonne asked.
“Two,” Aaron said after a long silence, his expression turning serious.
“Why?” Michonne asked.
“Because they tried to kill me,” Aaron said.
Just then, Rick pulled out a listening device, which made Rick anxious again.
"You were eavesdropping on us?" Glenn turned around and looked at Aaron in surprise.
If Lina were awake, she would definitely scold him for his reckless driving.
“His accomplices might also have listening devices. They may already know our plans. We’re in danger, Glenn!” Rick was saying when Glenn stepped on the gas and sped off.
The road was full of zombies, and vehicles were clanging and clattering. Glenn dared not stop; the RV was still behind, and they might crash into it. He had to clear a path for the RV.
Even though Michonne held onto Lina tightly, Lina was still quite shaken. She opened her eyes groggily, "I told you, you can't drive... right..."
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