chapter four !
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BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE

"i hate running." riley huffed. her steps started to slow down and she stopped. she placed her hands on her knees, bending a little. riley was breathing heavily while sweating a lot.

negan rolled his eyes at his daughter. "come on, riley." he waited for the girl, he wasn't sweating one bit.

riley looked up at him, "did you forget that i have asthma?"

her fathers face dropped and helped her stand up, fixing her posture. "shit, right. i forgot."

riley chuckled and shook her head a little. they walked instead of continuing their run. "it's always good to exercise, riles."

"are you calling me fat?" she gave him an offended look.

"uh, no."

"oh, because i was about to say.." she glanced at her father then at the ground.

"say what?" negan waited for his daughter to finish her sentence. riley just shrugged with a laugh escaping her lips.

"you know what i'm craving?" riley paused and stared at her father, "i'm craving some good cereal right now."

"we can go to the store real quick and buy a box." he suggested, turning his head for riley's answer.

riley nodded and stopped her stroll, facing her dad. "wanna race?"

negan nodded and they both lined up to start sprinting.

riley began counting down, "5...4...3...2—" she started running, getting a head start. negan followed behind her, yelling out, "cheater!"

riley cackled with laughter, same with her dad. the pair made it to the store, grabbing the cheerios box.

"my favorite." she smiled.

NOW

carl was talking with his dad, clearing the air between the both of them. riley was in the kitchen and let them have their private conversation.

she was still confused on when she woke up this morning, carl looked like he was crying all night. riley wanted to ask him about it but she didn't wanna bother him with questions.

the trio heard a knock on the door, riley sprinting into the living room with furrowed eyebrows, "who knocked?"

"we're gonna check right now." carl told her. he had his gun aimed at the door while rick went to check who it was in the peephole.

when the man saw who knocked, he sat down, chuckling. riley looked at rick confused, same with carl. "what?"

"it's for you." rick glanced up at his son.

when rick said that, carl made his way towards the door, looking at the peephole. riley saw how a smile snook on his face before opening the door quickly. a woman stood there with a sharp katana on her back. her clothes were ripped and her gorgeous dark brown skin was stained with blood.

the woman broke into a large smile when she saw carl standing there. he pulled her into the biggest hug while her and rick shared friendly glances. riley guessed that she was one of the members from ricks group.

she stepped into the house, seeing now the new figure. rick glanced between his friend and riley, "this is riley, she's the one that let us stay here and helped me with my injuries."

the female nodded and reached out her hand for riley to shake who did. "i'm michonne."

riley smiled at the lady, "nice to meet you, michonne."

the room was silent until riley broke it, "well, who wants cereal?"

"i do." carl said. riley motioned him to come into the kitchen and he nodded. she grabbed two bowls and poured a small amount of cereal in both of them. riley handed one to carl and took hers.

she sat back down at the table, carl sitting across from her. she was getting tired of eating the same meal everyday but it's not like she had another choice.

"what's your favorite cereal?" carl suddenly asked. he took a bite out of his cereal and waited for her answer.

"cheerios." she murmured. carl could see the sadness hidden in her voice. he decided not to push it and continued eating his food.

"yours?" riley inquired.

carl glanced up at her and gave her a light smile. "i don't know. i like the taste of all cereal's, especially the sweet ones."

riley chuckled a bit before hearing footsteps coming to the kitchen. it was michonne in a new white shirt. carl took a look at her appearance and laughed.

"do you have something to say about my extremely comfortable and attractive shirt?" michonne asked as she rolled up her sleeves.

"no, no, no, it looks great." carl complimented with giggles.

michonne grabbed a bowl and a spoon for herself and sat down next to carl. she poured the cereal into her bowl and huffed, "i wish we had some soy milk."

carl scrunched up his face. "seriously?"

"yes, seriously." she responded with slight wide eyes. "have you ever tried it?"

"my best friend in the third grade, he was allergic to dairy," carl began with his story. "and everyday he would bring this soy stuff to lunch. i tried it."

"and?"

"i threw up!"

"oh, yeah, right." michonne smiled at the boy.

"all right, all right, i almost threw up." carl corrected his words. "but i was like, ugh." he faked gagged.

michonne laughed at his actions while carl continued with his rants. "it was so gross."

riley smiled at the pair. they acted like how her and her dad did. she looked down at her cereal and pushed the bowl away from her.

"i mean, literally, i would rather have powdered milk than to have to drink that stuff again. i would rather have judith's formula—" the boy stopped his sentence before realizing what he was saying.

he got up abruptly from his seat. "i'm gonna go finish my book. i have a couple chapters left." carl whispered, leaving the room.

michonne looked at riley, "he lost his sister?" she asked her.

"um, yeah. it's been really hard for them." riley informed the woman.

"I'LL SEE you in a couple hours." rick told the two who was going on a supply run.

riley stood outside, beside the man as she watched michonne and carl leave. she decided to stay with rick since he still needs to rest.

couple of minutes later, riley flopped on her bed and grabbed a comic. she found herself always reading when she needed something to do.

rick was taking care of his bruises and cuts and changed shirts when he was at it.

the girl continued reading until she fell asleep from the little rest she's been getting these couple of days.

everything was quiet and calming until a male screamed, waking the girl up.

it wasn't rick's, she instantly thought. riley grabbed her knife from her waist band and stood up from the bed.

footsteps were coming upstairs making riley slightly panic. she looked around the room for a space to hide in but nothing.

the steps were getting closer and closer.

riley threw herself on the ground, scooting herself under the bed.

she held her breath as the man walked inside the room and looked around. riley gazed at his shoes and watched as he kicked something under the bed.

she squeezed her eyes shut and held the palm of her hand against her mouth. the man stood in his spot for a moment and then left the room. riley sighed in relief and began leaving her hiding spot.

"tony, len, get your asses down here!"

riley quickly left the room and went into another bedroom when more people started coming upstairs.

she bumped into a random body. her first instinct was turning around and swinging at the figure.

the person stopped her swing in mid force and held his index finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet.

"rick?" she whispered.

"try the window to the bathroom. be careful though."  rick told her. "i'll check the others."

she rushed out of the room and ran quietly to the bathroom. riley closed the door and turned around.

behind her, was a man sitting on an unopened toilet seat, his eyes were in shock. the stranger instantly got up from his seat, lunging at the girl.

her knife fell out of her hand when he threw riley forcefully against the sink. the man came at her again but before he can touch her, riley kicked him in the stomach with all her strength.

the male stumbled back against the opposite wall, riley having time to grab her knife. when she bent down to take the weapon, the man knee'd her in the stomach, her body slamming against the bottom cabinet.

the stranger grabbed riley by the throat and lifted her up to her legs, her back against the wall. the girl scanned the room for anything to help as she panicked.

she found a pair of scissors, laying on the sink and reached for it. she was losing breath so quickly that her face was turning red. riley grabbed ahold of the sharp object and sent it deeply to his neck.

blood drooled from his mouth as he released his hands. riley touched her neck lightly, gasping for air.

she stared at the man while blood poured out. riley kicked him backwards, his body landing in the bathtub with a thump.

she remembered what rick had told her before this incident and walked over to the window.

she lifted it up and heard someone opening the door. riley grabbed her knife from the ground and raised her hand for another attack.

it was rick.

she let out a breath as rick closed the door behind him, looking around the area and back at the young girl.

he rushed to the window. "you climb out first."

riley nodded and squeezed through the small opening. she stood on the tiled roof, waiting for rick to come out.

he followed her actions and went near the edge. "let me hop down first and then i'll help you down."

rick received a nod and began holding onto the drainage pipes for his fall. he hit the ground, making a loud thump. rick looked up at riley, motioning her to come down.

riley took a deep breath before grasping on the pipe. rick caught her before she can fall.

he let her go gently as her feet made contact with the wooden porch.

the pair quietly went down the porch steps and lowly crouching on the grass. when they stopped near the front porch, rick and riley were below it.

"we have to wait for carl and michonne." he whispered to her.

when the porch creaked due to footsteps on it, riley and rick were silent.

the man spat on the ground three times causing riley to scrunch her face in disgust.

the man whistled.

riley looked at the ground, thoughts filling her head. rick spotted two bodies approaching the house, it was carl and michonne.

rick and riley shared glances, getting ready to run. as soon as they were getting up from their spot, a walker growl echoed through the house.

the stranger got up from his spot, murmuring a curse word as he went back inside.

rick and riley ran from their hiding and sprinted towards carl and michonne.

"go! go!" rick quietly shouted at them. carl ran forward, glancing back at riley with an unreadable expression.

the group continued to run away from the house that was taken by the unfriendly men.

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AUTHORS NOTE:

this chapter was intense!!! but riley ate xx

next chapter... 😕

but anyways please vote for another chapter and DON'T BE A SILENT READER <3