Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Forever Rising Phoenix	By : ImagineLayla131 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 7147 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH THE WALKING DEAD FRANCHISE. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY FRANK DARABONT, AMC, ROBERT KIRKMAN AND TONY MOORE. NO MONEY/PROFIT IS BEING MADE OFF OF THIS FANFICTION!

Chapter List
- 46
- 47
- 48
Hello world and my wonderful readers! I am absolutely devastated by the loss of both Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall, two of the most legendary icons being taken from this world, it's so tragic. My mom and I adored Robin Williams, Aladdin was such a huge part of my childhood and he was one of her top four favorite comedians. Jimmy Fallon and Norm McDonald's tributes were both beautiful!
PLEASE READ BELOW!
Depression is not something to be taken lightly! All we need to do is show we care and that we aren't alone! I should know, suffering from depression. We need to spread the word to the world! Famous or not, WE ALL HAVE A VOICE!
This chapter was interesting to write, sorry if Lizzie seems out of character, I kind wanted to delve into why she became so demonic. Not going to lie, I feel kind of bad for Billy and Rick.
I have posted a compiled picture of all my original characters on Instagram, along with Delilah and Billy's rings, the former of which I designed, so now you can perfectly envision them! The links are on my profile. Let me know what you think in the reviews and follow me on Instagram! =)
To all my followers, favorites, and reviewers, thank you thank you thank you so much for giving my story a chance! It makes me soar! :)
Thanks again to DarylDixon'sgirl1985, Hey01g, Laura201112, SilverSun09, RebornRose1992, XoGabrielle, and Znon, you guys are the best! :) Check out Hey01g's two awesome Walking Dead stories, she's a shining star! :)
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH THE WALKING DEAD FRANCHISE. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY FRANK DARABONT AND AMC (TELEVISION SERIES), ROBERT KIRKMAN AND TONY MOORE (COMIC BOOK SERIES), RESPECTIVELY. I ONLY OWN MY OWN ORIGINAL IDEAS AND CHARACTERS.
WARNING! STRONG LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL REFERENCES
Chapter Forty Seven: Seeds in Pods
Delilah put her hand on his face and smiled lovingly at him. "You're so good to me, Rick. I appreciate your honesty. I don't know what I would do without you, Street Fighting Man."
Hearing Delilah say something so sweet left Rick's stomach in knots over what he was hiding about Billy, but could he risk telling her? "It's no problem, Tiny Dancer. I'm here for you."
She leaned in to kiss him, but he turned his head and she ended up kissing his cheek before he walked off to help the trio. Delilah watched him and felt saddened, he had never avoided a kiss from her before. She couldn't help but feel like there was something he was holding back on, and she had to find out what it was.
AN HOUR LATER
Rick pulled into the Jellbany parking lot, the unanimous decision was for him to drive. On the way back, he and Delilah had gotten to know a little bit more about their traveling companions.
Abraham was a sergeant in the army before being honorably discharged, opting to retire from the action and settle down for a normal life. He married a woman named Beth and they had two children together, a eighteen year old boy named Jesse and a sixteen year old girl named Erin, and to support the family he became a sports coach at the local high school in Austin. He even competed on American Ninja Warrior in 2009 and made it all the way to the second stage of the finals, the Double Salmon Ladder had been his downfall.
It brought Delilah back to when Billy, his brothers, his dad, and his brother in law Tommy competed the following year in Dallas. They had all made it past qualifying and into the city semi-finals. Vance and Robert were out first, with the former failing at the Devil Steps and the latter slipping on the Curtain Slider, while the rest of them made the finals in Las Vegas. Delilah remembered what a huge rush it had been to watch Billy and his brothers competing. The whole family was there with custom made shirts to support the Steverson name. The experience in itself was such an adrenaline rush, with the screaming crowds, Delilah and Kayla and Jennifer all holding onto each other in anticipation as the boys hit the toughest points of the course. She remembered actually crying when Billy hit that buzzer after completing the obstacle in record time, and jumping in his arms as soon as he came down and giving him a huge kiss. Unfortunately, the victory was short lived once they arrived at Mount Midoriyama. Michael missed one of the pegs and fell from the Arm Rings in Stage One and Tommy didn't time his jump properly of the Unstable Bridge in Stage Two, it was down to Billy and Kyle in Stage Three. After completing the near impossible Ultimate Cliffhanger and Hang Climb, Billy slipped from the Flying Bar, which was the last leg of the race, and Kyle ended up ultimately winning the competition. Billy had been a good sport, but Delilah knew he was disappointed. Sometimes, she blamed herself for his loss. He had wanted to get married the night before for good luck, but Delilah shot the idea down, saying she wanted a big wedding with all their family and friends instead of an elopement with Elvis Presley as their witness, and it had upset him. Maybe he had the right idea all along and she should have gone with it…
Before being in the convoy with Eugene and Rosita, Abe and his family were part of a different group that resided in a rundown supermarket. While he was on a raid, some members raped his wife and daughter, holding his son back and forcing him to watch, which resulted in Abraham killing them for revenge. What should have been an act of courage actually frightened his family, and they left in search of another group. By the time Abraham had finally caught up with them, it was too late. He found the corpses of Beth and Jesse, who had been devoured by walkers, while Erin had reanimated into a walker, and he had no choice but to put her down. Abraham apologized to Rick and Delilah for not coming clean earlier, but since Delilah had opened up more about her past, he felt comfortable to as well, which was met with understanding by both of them. It was very obvious that the guilt of his family's departure was weighing heavily on Abraham, he had been unable to save them in time, just like how Billy was unable to save Jennifer. Rick felt like he could relate to Abe pretty easily since he was also a widower, and had a feeling they would bond, they both already exhibited excellent leadership skills. Abe said Delilah reminded him of his daughter, because she was both sweet and stubborn at the same time. While she could tell he was hurting, she admired him for being so brave.
Rosita had been a gifted track star in South Central, California, but had to turn down a scholarship to Dartmouth in order to take care of her five younger brothers and sisters after her mother had ended up in prison for being part of an armed robbery and she never knew who her real father was. She got a job at a hair salon, where she met Joaquin, a gangster kingpin. They fell in love and had planned on getting married, but he was gunned down by a rival gang leader before he could give up his criminal lifestyle. Following Joaquin's death, Rosita packed up her siblings and took them to Texas so they could live a normal life with their Aunt Marisol and Uncle Julio, who lived right on the border of Texas and Mexico. Just as things were finally going well for the Espinosa children, the outbreak happened. One night, Marisol and Rosita had gotten into an argument regarding the severity of the situation, but in frustration, Rosita left and spent the night out drinking by herself. When she returned in the morning, she found that her aunt and uncle and siblings had left, leaving a note to follow them to the nearest refuge camp, which was at a Walmart. By the time she arrived, it had been burned to the ground, leaving her unsure whether her family had made it out alive or if she had lost them in the fire. Rosita was on her own and forced herself to be emotionally stable in order to survive. Rosita's story truly touched Delilah, making her think back on how things were before the outbreak. They had lived only an hour and a half away from each other in the same state and had two completely different lives. Even though Delilah did work really hard for so much and was grateful for whatever she received, compared to Rosita, she was a spoiled brat.
Back in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Eugene was a high school science teacher and spent lots of time in his basement lab, trying to create a more effective form of echinacea. In his free time, he was an organist for a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band entitled Lynn Red Skin Red. He was single with no children, and the underachiever of his family, considering his siblings both work for the government, with his twenty eight year old younger brother working for NASA and his older sister working for Congress, but he had opted for a quieter career and lifestyle. Their parents had gone on a cruise around the world right before the outbreak and never returned. Eugene had been unprepared for the severe reality brought on by the zombie apocalypse, firmly believing he lacked the essential survival skills, and became dependent on the few people in his life. He followed his band mates to Space Center Houston, but one day he realized he did have a great skill, his intelligence, it's what had made him a teacher.
He made the most of his highly developed general knowledge and was able to come in contact with his sister that worked in the government through the satcom phone, who requested his presence immediately to examine his studies of different types of walkers. With him now being the leader, his band mates followed him, which is how he met Abraham and Rosita. Sadly, his friends had been unable to escape when the convoy was overrun. Before that, Eugene had cut and styled his hair into a mullet to resemble Kenny Powers from East Bound & Down, hoping it would help him reach Kenny's level of confidence. He had actually blushed when Delilah told him that he was sweet and not arrogant, unlike Kenny.
"Out of all the places to be, this one hits the jackpot." Abraham said as they all looked around.
Delilah grinned. "If you think this is impressive, wait until you see the inside, especially the stockpile."
They all got out of the car and watched as some people made their way over, curious of the latest arrivals. Madison approached them first.
"Lila, you weren't kidding about these three! Talk about a motley crew!" Delilah had contacted Madison on the walkie shortly before they got back.
"Be nice, cowgirl. These three might be the answer to all our problems."
"Uh, about that. Let's just keep it between us until the phone gets fixed and we make the call, ok?" Eugene stammered.
Delilah nodded and smiled gently. "You've got it. Madison is my right hand, so she has to know, and I'll let you explain to Glenn when he fixes the phone, ok?"
"Ok."
Madison stopped in front of them. "I'm always nice. Sure is great to meet y'all. I'm Madison, the best rodeo clown queen in all of Mississippi." She smiled and shook hands with the trio.
"Rodeo queen, huh? I'd like to see you in action." Abraham said, to which they both smirked.
"I bet you would! My weapon of choice is the horns off the head of my first ox, and it sure is a ballroom blitz killing walkers with them! YEE-HAW!"
Everybody started laughing but Abraham stopped as soon as he saw Avery walking with Daryl and Tara behind her. For the past week, the two of them had been competing for her attention. Delilah noticed this first, and the smile on Avery's face as she walked up.
"Well, well, well. Whose this tall and buff drink of water?" She shot him a wink and stuck her hand out.
"Oh, this is-"
"Sgt. Abraham Ford, but you can call me Abe." He cut Delilah off and shook Avery's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sgt. That's a pretty sick tattoo you have."
Abe looked down at the army tattoo on his right arm, which was a chubby skull head with a platoon hat and Army insignia surrounding it. "Thanks, I got it when I was in the service, but it's nothing compared to your pieces of art."
"They oughta be something, I did them myself."
"She's a tattoo artist." Daryl spoke up.
"Yeah, like the best ever." Tara added.
"Yeah, so if you ever want a tattoo, you know where to find me."
Abraham raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I might just take you up on that offer."
"I hope you do, it'd be my pleasure."
Rick noticed how uncomfortable Daryl and Tara were becoming. "This is Daryl Dixon and Tara Chambler."
Delilah looked over at the trio. "Daryl's the one with the crossbow and Tara took out the remaining walkers at the prison with just the back of a rifle."
"S'up?" Daryl shook their hands and immediately eyed Rosita up and down. It looked like he had lost Avery to Abraham, but maybe this little Latina hottie would be a nice quick fix.
"Back of a rifle, huh? That's pretty sick. Nice work." Rosita shot Tara a friendly smile, making her blush. She had always been a closeted bi curious, but had never met anybody to her fancy. Her and Abraham had developed a little bit of a crush on one another, but decided not to pursue anything and focus on Washington and maintaining a strong friendship.
"Th-thanks. I'm Tara." Tara's cheeks flushed a deep red. This girl was not only gorgeous, but she was also in a super sexy outfit and seemed really sweet.
"I know, I'm Rosita. Nice to meet you, and this is Dr. Eugene Porter."
"H-hi." Tara's handshake with Rosita lingered a bit before moving to Eugene. Delilah leaned over to Rick.
"Wow, too bad this wasn't the real world. We would've been making a fortune with this unofficial matchmaking service."
He chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure we would." Delilah's smile had returned, and it was starting to feel like old times again.
Except that brief moment was short-lived when she saw Christine and Billy walking up separately.
"Where's Carl?" Rick asked Madison, hoping to distract everybody, but knowing it wouldn't last for long.
"He's inside with the babies and the lovebirds. Such a lovely sight to see." The "lovebirds" she was referring to were Beth and Dr. Scott, who had become inseparable this past week. Everybody was thrilled that they hit it off so well, but they weren't the only ones. Carol had made a connection with Mac also. Both of the women deserved some happiness after the tragedies and losses they had endured over the past almost two years.
"I knew they would be the moment they met. What about Gleggie?" Delilah asked.
"They're inside, want me to call them out?"
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'll go get them…" Her voice trailed off as she saw Billy and Christine approaching. Delilah turned back to the trio with a smirk. "Hope you're ready for the festival of fools to start." She chuckled. Rick was not liking the vibe at all.
"Hey, Delilah. Wow, you look really great today." Billy said. The bruises on his chin and forehead from where Delilah had attacked him were almost gone, but she saw that he had the beginnings of a black eye.
"Thanks. Who put you through the ringer?"
Daryl raised his hand briefly. "That'd be me." He looked over at Billy, who remained stoic. "Just a little roughhousing fun is all." Ever since Delilah agreed to let Billy and Christine stay at Jellbany, it seemed as if almost every guy there had assaulted him. According to them, it was purely "accidental". Being bumped into walls, tripped, knocked down to the ground, he was bruised all over. Billy had tried to be amicable, but he understood the resistance, they were fiercely loyal to Delilah, and he respected them for it. The only people that talked to him besides Scott and Avery were Tara and Rick, Glenn every once in a while, Bob, and Vince. Tara had become his best friend there, she was very compassionate and empathetic to how Christine betrayed him, but she also made it clear where her loyalty lied, which was to Delilah. He spent most of the time with Santino and Serena, who had adjusted really well, bonding with Rick's kids Carl and Judith. Being there was the best thing for the twins, because now they had the chance to interact with other children. The other person that talked to Billy was a little girl named Mika, who would either blush and hide or follow him around and asked him a thousand questions. He thought she was a cute little kid and made him think of his nieces.
"Oh." Delilah wasn't sure exactly how to feel. A part of her wanted to laugh and call him a doofus, while another part of her was concerned and wanted to ice his eye. "Well, you look like a mess. Get yourself cleaned up." At that moment, Christine walked up, with Delilah turning to her. "Jesus, Chrissy. You claim you love him so much, yet this is how you let him walk around?" It was probably wrong to have rubbed salt into the wounds by being so icy, but Delilah didn't care anymore. She was going to lambaste her sister every chance she got.
Christine shook her head. "I don't really have much say so in the matter, Delilah. He's his own person, he can do what he wants." She could feel the death glare that Billy was giving her. Christine may have been doing well on the new medication, but she was still untrustworthy. Both Billy and Delilah were secretly counting down how long it would take for her to slip up.
"Is this them, Little Bird?" Abraham asked. On the ride back, Delilah had established nicknames for the trio. Abraham was "Sgt. Big Red" Eugene was "Kenny Powers", and Rosita was "Mortal Kombat", while Abraham called Delilah "Little Bird" because of her Phoenix necklace.
Delilah nodded. "Yep. Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, I'd like you to meet the asshole and the bitch that ruined my life. Bill and Christine, respectively." She pointed at both of them as she said their names.
Eugene nodded his head politely while Rosita put her hand on her hip and stared them down. Abraham smirked as he approached Christine, who looked almost scared. "Don't worry yourself, she ain't that special. In fact, she looks like your typical washed up bar fly. I think you know I'm right, don't ya?" She looked around at the oddball trio, and felt immediately intimidated by Rosita and Abraham, knowing that her baby sister had even more people on her side. Typical good versus evil, and evil never wins. Although, Eugene seemed like the docile type that she could eat up for breakfast and spit out at her own convenience, it was something worth looking into.
"My thoughts exactly." Delilah snickered as she watched Christine bow her head. It seemed as if Rick was the only one who felt a shred of pity for her, but should he stop it?
Abraham then stepped in front of Billy, looking him up and down, towering over him by two inches. "So, this is the kid that almost made it to the top of Mount Midoriyama, huh?"
Billy was a bit intimidated by Abraham and had no idea what his next move would be, since Delilah had obviously filled the trio in on what happened. "Yeah, that's me. The name's Billy Steverson." He decided to take the mature approach and stuck his hand out. Even if he didn't like him, it was still in Billy's nature to be polite to strangers.
Abraham looked at his hand with a indifferent expression, which made all the hairs on the back of Billy's neck stand on end. He watched his lips curl up in a smirk and felt the impact of Abraham's solid punch to the solar plexus, which made Billy stumble and fall on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Everybody was surprised by the bold movement, but Delilah actually started laughing.
Christine gasped. "Billy! Oh, my gosh! Are you ok?!" She bent down, trying to help him up, but he pushed her away as he kept coughing.
"Get away from me, Christine." Billy was clearly annoyed, it was the second time today and he was starting to get pretty fed up, but he couldn't exactly fight back. He had to have a poker face and be on model behavior if he was ever going to get Delilah back.
"Nice to meet ya, too, punk. That's what you get for being a shithead." Abraham cracked his knuckles without even breaking a sweat.
Delilah kept laughing. "Hot damn! You just went from "Sergeant Big Red" to "Sergeant Bad Ass!" High five, dude!" She smirked as they slapped palms. Witnessing Delilah's praise of Abraham's action and the punch itself made Billy's eyes water just a little bit, he felt completely humiliated.
"No problem, kid. It's what he gets."
"Delilah, that's enough." Rick gently grabbed her arm and turned her around, watching her smile disappear. He may not have been Billy's biggest fan, but he couldn't let this go any further.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Seriously? That was hilarious! You getting soft on me, Daddy?" Delilah raised an eyebrow up at him. Where was this attitude coming from? This was not the Delilah he knew and loved. Perhaps Abraham had made the right assumption, because she was starting to feel less like his girlfriend and more like his daughter.
"That was uncalled for, he didn't do anything in the moment to deserve that."
Just hearing Rick's lecture left her unnerved, but he did have a point. Delilah was exhibiting poor behavior, no matter what the circumstances were, and it was unlike her. "Alright, fine. That was immature of me, I'll take care of it." She turned on the ball of her foot and stood at Billy's feet, hands on her hips, looking down on him. In all honesty, her heart broke a little by the defeated look on his face. One of the reasons why she had been so rattled this past week was because she knew some old feelings had resurfaced for him, and that scared her not fully knowing if they were real or her mind was playing tricks on her, which was another reason why she avoided him. Delilah stuck her hand out. "Come on." She knew he was hesitant by the puzzled look on his face. "It's ok, it's not a trick. That's a pretty hard blow you took. Take my hand, I'm not going to hurt you."
It'll probably be the only time you'll ever touch me again.
Billy placed his large hand in her tiny one, his eyes never leaving hers as she pulled him to his feet. Something as simple as a touch of her hand made him hopeful and happy. "Thanks." Everybody noticed the crestfallen look in his eyes, that also held something else… longing?
Every time I look at her, a part of me dies knowing what I did.
Delilah immediately pulled her hand away and her body language shifted under the intensity of his gaze and it made her want to look at the ground. "You're welcome. You ok?"
Why am I being so gentle with him after everything he's done? There's no way I still have feelings for him, it's all in my head.
He nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."
Rick was wrong, I deserved it. I deserve worse. Will there ever be a second chance with anything between us? Redemption, friendship, love?
The trio might have been new, but they could tell there was something going on between the two of them, and so could Rick.
I don't even know what to think anymore. Maybe I should just tell Delilah that Billy went looking for her, it's not going to sway how she's acting now.
They were interrupted by the voice of a little girl.
"Christine! I'm ready for you to braid my hair!"
Everybody looked over to see Lizzie by the front entrance of Leisure Zone, waving to Christine with a smile on her face. The whole scene made Delilah cringe. It was very creepy how the two of them became close in such a quick amount of time, especially since Lizzie already looked so much like Christine did at that age.
"I'm coming, sweetie!"
Christine turned back to the group and silently nodded, knowing where her presence wasn't wanted. "Bye, hope you enjoy your stay." She walked off before anybody could reply and was grateful for Lizzie calling out to her. It was crazy the connection these two had made, it seemed like this little girl was the only one who understood Christine. Lizzie constantly told Christine that she thought she was beautiful, Delilah was a slut and a bitch, and Billy was an idiot for breaking up with her. It was everything she needed to hear to get through the day, since Brandi and Caitlin were kind of two faced.
"What's going on?" Lizzie asked as Christine walked up.
"Nothing, just some new people that Delilah's turned against me already, and Billy is still mad at me."
The young girl frowned at the older woman's gloominess. "Who cares what they think? You and I know the truth, Christine. One day, Delilah will be gone, and you and Billy will be back together again. I promise." Lizzie smiled up. She thought that it was really cool how Christine took charge by leaving Delilah and taking Billy with her, that's what happens when you truly love somebody, you fight for them, and she wanted to help Christine get Billy back again. She was a total bad ass who got in trouble, just like Lizzie. Before the outbreak, Lizzie did well in school, was on the T-ball team, and played piano, living a pretty set routine, but she wanted to break the mold and rebel. It started off small, stealing the hamsters from the third grade classes and drowning them, cutting her sister's hair in her sleep, but when the outbreak happened, it gave her the liberation she had been dreaming of for years. Lizzie had been the one feeding the walkers at the prison, believing they were her friends and could help her kill something bigger and better. Who cares about the light when the darkness rules so good?
"No, they won't." Lizzie and Christine turned around and saw Mika standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and an angry look on her face.
Lizzie glared her down, annoyed. "What do you want, Mika?"
"Leave Delilah and Billy alone. I'm not going to let either one of you do anything to them. If you do, I'm going to tell Delilah your secret." Mika had been silent for too long at the hands of her sister, and she couldn't let her or Christine hurt Delilah, who had become more of a big sister to her than Lizzie.
"Oh, yeah? All by yourself, wittle baby?" Lizzie walked up to Mika and cornered her. Christine was starting to feel guilty, it must have been the medication.
"Lizzie, come on, let's go braid your hair."
"Hold on, Christine." Lizzie had a menacing smirk on her face as she watched Mika cower. "You don't tell me what to do, got it? Delilah needs to be taught a lesson, and Billy. If you get in my way, I'll be sure to be teaching you a lesson that you'll never forget."
- 46
- 47
- 48
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Forever Rising Phoenix