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Solace

Chapter 86

The rain began that night. Drizzles on the windowpane gave way to a pelting of heavy droplets. Strong winds blew the rain in sheets, making for a restless sleep. Lindsey opened her eyes at the sound of Rick moving around their room. She heard the clink of his belt and the rustle of his shirt. She could just make out his plaid button-up through the dim first light.

"Are you going out?" she asked, sitting upright in shock. Rick sighed in the darkness and settled himself on the edge of the bed. "You are, aren't you? Rick, it sounds crazy out there – I can't imagine what it looks like out on the water."

"I'm just gonna meet the guys at the dock. We'll make a decision from there," he said as he brushed a wavy strand behind her shoulder.

"I still don't like it," she whispered, pulling him into a hug.

Rick dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder, and then one more to her pursed lips. "Don't worry about me. I'll be careful."

Lindsey looked into his shining eyes as worry gnawed at her insides. When she saw that he wasn't going to change his mind about this one, she clenched her jaw and lowered her gaze. "I guess I'll see you for dinner."

"You will. I promise." He kissed her once more. "I love you."

As if on cue, a gust of wind made their tiny bungalow creak. Lindsey blinked away the dampness in her eyes and said, "I love you, too."


When Lindsey got to school later that morning, the kids in her Advanced class were animated as they chatted about the weather, Carl included. She wished she could share their enthusiasm, but unfortunately, she was too worried about Rick. He hadn’t returned, therefore it was her understanding that he was out in the fishing boat at that very moment. At the thought, another tendril of anxiety turned her stomach and she forced it down.

“All right, settle! Take your seats--”

A commotion in the hallway drew her attention and she stuck her head out to investigate. Eugene, dressed in full bright yellow rain gear, was dismissing Elizabeth’s Intermediate math class.

“What’s going on?” she asked as he approached her. Moisture dripped from his hood, forming a puddle on the linoleum-tiled floor.

“I have been tracking wind speeds and levels of precipitation over the past twelve hours. From my calculations, we are directly in the path of a powerful tropical storm and are recommending that everyone take cover in the island’s bunker until it is over.”

Lindsey held up a slender hand. “Woah, first of all, the island has a bunker? And second, how can you tell it’s a tropical storm? What if it’s actually a hurricane or, I don’t know, just rain?”

Eugene cleared his throat and Lindsey realized that she’d asked too many questions.

“As you know, New Canaan was a military base. Naturally, they would be required to have a bunker in the event of an airborne attack. It is located beneath the clinic and can hold approximately two hundred people. To answer your second question, the wind speeds have steadily increased – quite drastically in the past hour in fact – thus the General ordered an evacuation. I would not classify this storm as a hurricane. The season officially ended last week; a storm of that intensity is highly unlikely.”

Lindsey smirked and gave Eugene a nod. “Thank you, for that…” She turned to her students, who were openly eavesdropping on her conversation. “Everyone, get your things together. If you could follow Dr. Porter in an orderly fashion, that would be much appreciated.”

Carl leapt up from his seat and swung his bag onto his back. He jogged over to Lindsey and sounded almost out of breath, but she knew it wasn’t from the brief physical action.

“What about my dad and Judy?” he hissed as fear highlighted his ice-blue eyes.

Lindsey lay a supportive hand on his shoulder, experiencing the same panic but not wanting to show it. “Stay with me. We’ll get Judy from daycare, and then meet everyone else in the bunker. I’m sure they’ve set up some kind of radio communication with the fishing boats. Who knows? Maybe your dad’s already there.”

She wasn’t going to hold her breath. The boy nodded anyway, apparently satisfied with her answer. They hurried down the ever-darkening corridor and arrived at the daycare. Lindsey shouldered Judith’s diaper bag as the caretaker handed her the infant. Judy was unusually cranky, but she chalked it up to the unpleasant weather. Carl agreed to lead the way, first stopping at the exit to help Lindsey wrap the girl in her over-sized rain coat.

When Judith was safe within the water-repellent confines, her tiny form burrowed into Lindsey’s bosom, Carl pushed open the door and they rushed out into the storm.


Shit.

That word was presently on repeat within Rick’s head, along with: stupid, why and dammit. The later three didn’t help much, but the first actually felt like it did. It wasn’t going to get them out of their current predicament, though. Monster waves – of what height, Rick couldn’t be sure – tossed the fishing boat around like a rubber ducky during one of Judith’s baths. His clothes were completely soaked and clung to him like a second skin. The tropical water had turned cold. Between that and the rain, Rick didn’t think he’d ever shivered this hard.

Another wave swept over the cramped boat deck, displacing buoys and other loose gear. Daryl was fighting to bring in their last net, the man just as drenched as him. He practically slid across the deck to get to the struggling hunter. Rick’s biceps felt ready to burst as he helped get their final catch on board. He’d just secured the net to the deck when the boat shifted violently. Rick fell into Daryl, slamming both men into the wheelhouse.

Rick moved enough to keep from crushing Daryl and yelled, “You all right?”

Crimson sprung from the other man’s brow, bleeding into the water on his face to create a pinkish liquid. “Fine! You?”

“I’m good! We need to get the hell outta this!”

“Yer tellin’ me!” Daryl shouted. He turned to their active captain, the former state trooper. “Ya get anyone on the radio yet?”

“No! That last wave must’ve fried it! It’s dead!”

Daryl let out a distinct growl. “Can we get this thing movin’?”

“I’m tryin’!” the man responded. He clutched the wheel and turned it as far as it would go. The boat swung around, due west, which was the direction back to the island. Rick and Daryl held onto whatever they could reach and looked again at the deck.

“Shit! Where’s Greg?” Daryl hollered as he blinked back ocean spray and blood from his dripping eyebrows.

Greg was the injured man Brian had covered for the previous week. His red coat had stood out all day but, now, was gone. Rick gripped a rope along the boat’s outer edge, slowly making his way to the stern. Turning his head three hundred and sixty degrees, he saw no sign of red, just miles and miles of gray.

With a forlorn grimace, he thought, the radio isn’t the only thing that’s dead.


Lindsey followed Carl to the clinic, keeping Judith nestled close the entire way. Rain came down harder now, their visibility drastically diminished. Leaves flew about the air and attached themselves to her slick coat. The wind was so powerful that it drove the woman and children right into the clinic. Brian was waiting just inside the entrance with a clipboard.

“Brian! Is Rick here yet?” she asked in desperation.

He shook his head with a frown. “We lost radio contact with their boat a few minutes ago. They were trying to come back in, but the storm was proving to be more of a challenge than they anticipated.”

Lindsey simply stared at the dark-haired man as she screamed on the inside. How could he just stand here like this, like she was just supposed to accept it? Oh, your husband is probably dead, but there’s nothing we can do. Hopefully we’ll find his body on the beach later instead of wondering about his fate for the rest of our miserable lives!

Feeling a rush of perseverance – or maybe stubbornness – Lindsey opened her coat and handed Judith to Carl. She placed the infant’s bag on his shoulder and re-buttoned the slippery fabric, pulling the hood over her head.

“Take care of your sister. I’ll be right back,” she said to the confused boy.

“What the hell are you doing, Lindsey?” Brian interjected, snatching her arm. “You can’t go out there!”

She pulled her arm out of his grasp. “Watch me.”


Outside, Lindsey jogged away from the clinic, the squishing noise beneath her feet scarcely audible over the whistling squalls of wind. Someone called out to her, but she moved faster. She heard her name again, recognized the voice and stopped. Michonne appeared next to the blonde, her neat dreads sticking out from under her own hood.

“Need some help?” the samurai asked, though, she was without her sword at the present time.

The moment was reminiscent of when they’d taken on the prison evacuation together, but Lindsey hoped this would go over better; she doubted it. “I would love some…thank you.” It was great to not have someone fight her on this.

“Let’s go, then,” Michonne replied with a look of determination.

They took the quickest trail that led to the dock. Fallen branches impeded their path, but all could either be climbed over or pushed away. They reached the water within minutes and Lindsey couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d never seen the ocean look like this – only in movies. Angry waves crashed into the rocky section of shoreline, spraying the two women with foam.

“Do you see them?” Lindsey called out. The roar of the ocean was positively deafening.

“No… Wait!

Michonne pointed to something on their right and Lindsey squinted to see what it was. The outline of a boat formed amongst the waves and she gasped.

“That’s gotta be them!”

She then watched helplessly as the boat drifted towards the dock. A wave picked it up and pitched it downward, crashing the hull straight into the wide plank. Wooden boards splintered and cracked on impact, dropping a section of dock directly into the violent water. Lindsey thought she could see human shapes jump for the part that was still remaining and she took off into a sprint.

“COME ON!” she yelled to Michonne, but the woman was already right behind her.

They were almost there when a wave hit close by, sending a surge of murky water up and over the bank. An unknown object slammed into Lindsey’s feet, knocking her off balance and into the water. She grabbed for anything within reach, but only got handfuls of seaweed and palm fronds. Saltwater rushed up her nose and burned the back of her throat. Finally, she felt rocky ground under her hands, the sharp edges cutting into her palms. At the same time, something heaved her upward. She choked and sputtered as her blurred gaze came to rest on Michonne, her savior.

“Lindsey, are you okay?” the woman asked, continuing to hold her upright.

“I’m fine.” She coughed violently and sagged against Michonne. “Really, I’m okay!”

“Can you walk?”

Lindsey found her footing and stepped back. “Yeah. We need to keep moving!”

The two women began their mission again, this time staying closer to the tree line. When they got to the wharf, which was beginning to completely break apart, they could see the guys coming toward them. Rick and Daryl were supporting their captain, who was limping badly.

“What are you doing out here?” Rick yelled at Lindsey. She assessed his face and saw anger, along with multiple bleeding cuts. Daryl’s face looked worse though with a deep gash on his brow.

“Brian said he lost contact with your boat. We came out here to find you!”

Rick looked unimpressed – a look she’d seen before, but never directed toward her, and a twinge of regret settled like a brick in her stomach. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and be thankful that he was alive, but the heat in his eyes made her stay put.

“Let’s get you guys to the clinic,” Michonne said, interrupting the tension-filled moment.


When the exam room door closed behind Dr. Stevens and they were alone at last, Lindsey glanced at Rick. He wasted no time getting off the table to start redressing into his dry change of clothes provided by the clinic – a heavy sweater and dark jeans.

“How could you be so selfish, Lindsey?” he raged as he buckled his belt.

Excuse me? You’re calling me selfish? What about your stupid plan to go fishing in a fucking hurricane?” Furious with his accusation, her filter was officially down.

Rick gave her a nasty smirk. “It wasn’t a hurricane. Don’t be so dramatic!”

Lindsey pushed a hand against Rick’s solid chest. “Dramatic? Don’t you dare say that to me! A man died, Rick. That just as easily could have been you!”

Rick didn’t back down. He kept his livid gaze level with hers. “And what about you? You left my children behind to go on a wild goose chase--”

She scoffed and gestured crazily. “Oh, is that what this is? Our marriage is a wild goose chase?”

“I may be your husband, Lindsey, but my children always come first. No exceptions.” His voice was low, dangerous.

“Rick…I had to know that you were okay. They were safe in the bunker--”

“But you weren’t. If we’d both died, who would take care of them? Those kids have already lost enough. They need a mother…”

Lindsey’s eyes flared. “Rick Grimes, do you have some kind of death wish? What about a father? Are you trying to leave me alone with these kids?”

“I’m trying to fucking provide for my family! DON’T YOU SEE THAT?” he roared.

Lindsey sobered at his outburst and said, “I’m sorry I let you down. I just couldn’t leave you out there.”

“You let me worry about me. Those children are just as much your responsibility now. Nothing changes that. Nothing.


And with those words lingering in the muggy air, Rick walked out, slamming the door after him. Lindsey gaped at the shut door as her heart throbbed in her chest. Backing up against the wall, she slid to the cold floor and broke down.

Notes

Comments

@Corall
Aw thank you so much!! :D

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
5/18/16

I just finished reading this story :) and its the most amazing story ever :D

Corall Corall
5/17/16

@Kandy
No worries. I actually used Paint, haha. I just figured out what size the banner needed to be (by trial and error) and then cut the image down until it fit.

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
4/13/16

@bluecrush611

Also, Another Annoying Question. Where did you make that Banner of Lauren And Andrew? I need to get a good Banner place thingy and i need advice xD

Mother Dick Mother Dick
4/12/16

@Walker Witch
Thank you so much for the kind words and for following along!

@eventualprocrastination
Thanks for all of your comments! I actually just published a book, so that's the direction I'm taking for now, but who knows. Maybe I'll post something here and there. :)

bluecrush611 bluecrush611
4/10/16