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prodiitorem:

          —Upon arriving at the prison, Parker had automatically
assumed Rick to be weak and helpless like the rest of the people
living within the barbed fences. Maybe it had been a delusion 
simply brought on by his fathers talk of this place but under
closer examination, the boy soon came to the conclusion that
the leader of this misfit group was stronger than he appeared.
Watching him gut those pigs and feed them to biters only to
come back and clean up loved ones bodies proved it to be true.

          “What can I do to help?” His tone was stubborn, refusing
to simply be sitting back with the other young survivors and wait
for things to get better. He wasn’t at all like them and it was easy
to see how uncomfortable he felt when around people even his
own age. If Parker had any sort of youth left in him, it had been
erased by the monstrous things he’s done to simply survive.

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        ♙ —Rick knew that he couldn’t go down without fighting, that
people relied on him and he needed to survive for them, to lead them.
If he could stay away from the infection, then he would, but it was 
unlikely he would be able to keep from it - he’d already been exposed.
Chances are he was already carrying it, and standing around Parker
was spreading it even more. He couldn’t risk being near him and Carl,
he needed them far away from it as possible. He would never be able
to forgive himself for dragging the three children he cared about with
him.

     ❝ Nothing, there’s nothing you can do, ❞ he uttered, knowing that if
he did let Parker do something, he would then be exposed to the 
infection too. An idea sparked inside of his mind, something for the
older child to do, something that would keep him away from the plague
but would help him out a lot - something he was unable to do at that
exact moment. ❝ Actually, no. You can find Carl and Judith, round up
those that aren’t infected and take them to the Warden’s office. Can you
do that for me? ❞

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