The Story of Rudy || The walking dead

20. The kingdom

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"..catch him!" Shouts, cursing, and objects falling sounded behind Rudy as he ran, saviors right behind him.

Rudy swung open a door and quickly shut it behind him, and he turned to see the room he was in,

"..shit.." he breathed out. He was in a room full of Negan's people. They were just watching him, confused.

Rudy ran down the stairs as the door opened, "Someone, stop him!"

Rudy ran through people, bumping into them and their stuff, accidentally dropping things, but that was the least of his worries.

A savior jumped in his way, and Rudy ducked under a table, crawling to the other side. His heart was hammering in his chest with adrenaline and fear.

"..through that door, go quickly." An elderly woman whispered to him, gesturing towards a door that was covered by clothing.

Rudy didn't need to be told twice. He ran towards the door, swinging it open and closed it behind him.

He was outside, and the sound of the growls and snarls of walkers made it to his ears.

There was a fence, and walkers were tied to the fence, and others were lurking around.

The door opened behind him, and Rudy's feet moved before his mind could catch.

"Rudy!"

Rudy gripped the fence tightly as he climbed up the fence, and his foot was caught. He looked down and saw Dwight.

"Sorry, but i can't let you leave." Dwight told him, and Rudy glared down at him.

"Fuck..you." Rudy kicked Dwight in the face with his other leg, and Dwight let out a shout, letting go of Rudy, and Rudy climbed over the fence, climbing down.

Walkers turned to face him as they heard him. They snarled and reached their arms out for him.

"Rudy!" Negan's shouted, and Rudy lifted his head, his eyes meeting Negan's.

He may have failed to kill him, but there was always another time, another opportunity, and Rudy wouldn't fail next time.

Rudy turned around and ran through the walkers, pushing them away from him or simply dodging them, running towards the woods.

"What are you all standing around for!? After him!" He heard Negan demand.

Walkers chased after him, and his lungs were already burning, but he couldn't stop.

He couldn't let himself get captured.

🦎

Breathing heavily, Rudy leaned against a brick wall. His legs were shaking with how tired he was, but he had lost the walkers and the saviors.

His heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest by how fast it was going. His chest was aching with every breath he took, and his lungs burned.

His throat was dry, and the heat wasn't helping at all.

The sound of footsteps snapped Rudy's attention to his left, and he lifted the gun he still had. His hands were shaking, and he couldn't get much of a grip with how sweaty his hands were.

A horse appeared from the corner, and for a second, Rudy lowered his guard until he saw the man on top of the horse.

There was another beside him, and they spotted Rudy stopping shortly.

Rudy passed the tip of tongue over his dry lips before speaking. "..are you with Negan?"

"No. We're with the kingdom." One of the men replied,

Kingdom? Rudy stared at the men confused. it must be another community.

"Why don't you lower the gun, kid?" The other suggested, eyeing the gun wearily.

"Is your community with Negan? Answer my question, and then I'll lower the gun." Rudy told them, his voice steady, but he was exhausted, and he would rather not run anymore.

The men shared a look, "No."

Rudy narrowed his eyes at them. "That was the lamest lie I've ever heard. Even your horse is judging you,"

"You wanna try that again?"

A snarl was heard from behind him, and Rudy couldn't turn fast enough, but an arrow flew past him, going through the walkers eye socket, instantly killing him.

"We're not with Negan, but we know about him." Rudy hesitantly lowered the gun.

"Okay..okay..thanks." Rudy's eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Dammit!"

🦎

Rudy groaned as something wet and slimy hit his face. He slowly opened his eyes, and he felt something warm breathing in his face, and he turned his head before letting out a scream.

He scrambled back, his eyes wide, "what the fuc...fudge!" He corrected himself once he noticed the man behind the tiger.

"Shiva seems to have taken a liking to you." The man spoke, a kind smile on his face.

"Was..she licking my face?" Rudy questioned, wiping his face, and the man chuckled.

"Yes. My name is Ezekiel, or as my people call me, King Ezekiel." The man introduced himself.

"Rudy, can I pet her?" Rudy questioned, gesturing to Shiva, who laid her head on his lap.

"I'll take that as a yes." Rudy muttered to himself, petting Shiva's head.

"..your majesty, I brought some water for the kid." A man walked over, and he smiled once he noticed Rudy was awake.

He held out the glass of water towards Rudy, "Hey, glad to see you're awake. I'm Jerry."

Rudy took the glass of water. "Thanks, I'm Rudy."

Jerry nodded, and Rudy drank some of the water.

"So, my men said, you were asking about Negan? How do you know Negan?" Ezekiel questioned,

Rudy cleared his throat ,"I tried to kill him."

"Dude, you serious?" Jerry questioned, chuckling

Rudy nodded ,"Yeah, I tried to shoot him, but a savior jumped in front of him, taking the bullet for him."

Jerry laughed ,"Dude, awesome..."Jerry stopped laughing when Ezekiel gave him a look.

"Not awesome." Jerry corrected himself, and Ezekiel looked at Rudy.

"Why did you try to kill him?" He asked, and Rudy hummed,

"Well, there's the fact that he bashed my friends head with a baseball bat , and he's an asshole, take your pick." Rudy replied

"I'd say that's a very valid reason." Jerry mumbled,

Ezekiel let out a small sigh but nonetheless smiled.

"How about you tell us more while you eat something, you must be hungry."

🦎

1025 words

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