We had been running for what felt like the better part of our life. When the world ended, we took off, hoping to hit Atlanta before all the roads were closed off. That didn't end up happening. We ran and drove until we were going around in circles.
Then the herd found us. We lost 15 good men that night. We lost half our group, but we kept going. Then he…they found us. They called themselves the Saviors, but Negan, their horrible, angry leader, was a fierce man who carried a bat and would smash your head in without a second thought. We would have made it out alive in my husband wasn't so damn stubborn. No, Negan killed him. Right in front of our eyes.
So we ran. We ran and now we're lost and hungry and my daughter is sick and we're running out of sunlight. And that's how we got to where we are now.
"Mommy," Nikki's weak voice begged. We had been running for three days, ever since Negan stripped us of all we had and took my husband's life. We were left with rope, a pistol without any bullets, and my old hunting knife. "Mommy, I can't go no more," she whined.
"I know baby, but we have to be close now," I said softly. We had been following the worn path. I knew it had to lead to somewhere. There were snare traps set for rabbits and the footprints were fresh. I was hoping, praying really, that we were headed towards decent people. I just needed shelter until Nikki got better.
"Mommy, I feel really bad," she groaned. She threw up for the millionth time that hour. I wiped her mouth and handed her what little was left in the water bottle. I placed my hand to her forehead. She was burning up.
"Just a little farther, Nikki," I promised her. I picked her up again before securing her to my back with the rope. In the distance, I heard our pack of dogs barking. We had three ex-military dogs who have traveled with us from the very beginning. Perk of being married to a veteran. The dogs were trained to hunt and scout now, as their original use wasn't all that useful now that the world had ended. They were also amazing in a fight. They worked like a well-oiled machine and often cleared paths for us through herds. Negan would have taken them if they weren't so well trained. We had left them a few miles back when we were found. That night kept rushing back to me, no matter how hard I tried to push it from my memories.
"Mommy, you should hunt," Nikki said suddenly.
"Hungry?" I asked her.
"No, but you are," she said with a soft hug. She was almost four, but so much wiser than most. She was my world in a world so dark and terrible. The heat radiating off her body worried me. I was sure her fever was hitting a dangerous level, especially without enough water to keep her hydrated.
"Not till we find somewhere to hold up tonight," I said softly.
"But mommy, there's a bunny stuck in that trap. Just get it, we can wait a little," she pointed over to a trap a few feet to our right. She was very observant, despite as sick as she was.
"Touch the rabbit and you die," a grim voice growled from behind us. I turned slowly, sliding Nikki down my back in the process. Once I felt her feet hit the ground, I pulled her in front of me, my hands shielding her. I let out a low whistle, calling the dogs in.
"I won't take it," I said softly. "I ain't got nothin' to offer either, if you're lookin' to take anything."
"You alone?" the man asked, lowering the crossbow he was carrying just slightly.
"Just me, my daughter, and our three dogs. Watch out, one's right behind you," I said carefully. Our biggest dog, a male shepherd named Buck, growled softly, his head low. "Retreat," I told the dog. He and the other two walked around the man slowly, coming to my side.
"They yours?" he asked, motioning to the dogs.
"Yes. Well trained and good in a pinch. They're all I can offer, if you speak a lick of German that is," I nodded. "My daughter, she's sick, I'm just trying to find somewhere to hold up for a while. Keep away from the biters and the group we ran into a few miles from here."
"What group?" the man growled, his bow back to pointing at my head.
"Negan," Nikki said. She turned to look at the man. "He killed my daddy and told us we were dead if he saw us 'gain."
"They called themselves the Saviors," I said softly. I wanted to shake the memory from my mind. I never wanted to see them again, yet in the same, I wanted Negan dead.
"Shit," the man lowered his bow. "What's your name?"
"Kenzi, this here is Nikole – Nikki, and the dogs are Buck, Bullet and Colt," I said slowly, watching his expression. "I used to be a nurse if that helps any," I added. "We just need somewhere safe for a few nights."
"She bit?" he asked, motioning at my daughter.
"No. It's the flu or somethin', maybe just shock. I can't tell none without being able to really get her down for some rest," I said carefully. "That your group up the path?" I asked, motioning north.
"Yeah," he said. "C'mon. The sun's goin' down."
We followed him down the path. I carried Nikki while he led the way. The sun set before we could reach the wall, but we didn't have too much trouble. The path wasn't too rough and the dogs ran ahead to clear any biters away long before we got there. I felt Nikki's body tense every time she got sick. By the time we reached the fence, I was covered with puke and sweat.
"My leader, Rick, is gon' want to ask you a couple questions," he said. "I'm Daryl."
"Thank you Daryl," I said softly as we were let in the gate.
"Negan got to them a few nights back," he started to explain to the man on guard, but I cut him off.
"Paul? Paul Rovia?" I asked, my eyes widening. We had spent some time in a home together when we were kids.
"Makenzi Rivers?" he asked, his face softening.
"You know each other?" Daryl asked hesitantly.
"We spent a few good years together in a home in Virginia when we were kids," I said with a sad smile. "'Fore I aged out and had to fend on my own."
"Mommy, is that the boy who saved you?" Nikki asked softly. She knew the story. Her father and I often told it to sound out the biters. I felt her shiver in my arms. I was growing more and more concerned. The nurse in me urged me to find medicine for her. She was sick, really sick.
"Sure is, sunshine," I said softly. I laid my knife on the ground and pulled the rope from my back, gently setting Nikki on the ground.
"Go get Rick," Paul said gently to Daryl who was still looking wary. "I can't stay too much longer, I have to get back to the Hilltop."
Daryl ran off, probably to grab their leader, who I assumed wouldn't be too thrilled to see outsiders.
"My daughter's sick," I said softly. "Do you…do they have a doctor here?"
"Not here," Paul said with a sigh. "And Negan got ours a while back. How sick is she? The Kingdom has a doctor."
"Mommy," Nikki moaned. She swayed and would have fallen if I hadn't been there to catch her.
"Flu I think," I said carefully. "She wasn't bit, I promise."
"We have medicine at the Hilltop if you need them," he said. "But you might be safer here tonight, it's a hike."
"Ma-," Nikki's plea was cut short as her body tensed in my arms.
"No, no, no," I begged, my hands trying to keep her body still. I pulled her into my arms as she seized for what felt like a lifetime. Then she went still. My fingers searched for a pulse but there wasn't one.
"God damnit, no!" I growled, pushing her onto the ground and starting CPR. I fought as hard as I could to save her. I fought until I felt strong arms pull me away.
"No!" I begged. Her body twitched. Then I heard a sound that would haunt me for the rest of my life. The disgruntled growl that we all knew too well.
I pulled away from Paul's grip and grabbed my knife just as Nikki started to get up. I looked at my beautiful, innocent child. A child who didn't deserve any of what life threw at her. A child who was so full of life just days before. I pushed her back, watching as she stumbled towards me, her jaw gnashing, her arms reached out also as if she was going to give me a hug.
"Nikole, mommy loves you," I sobbed as I pulled her down, my weight enough to pin her. I plunged my knife into the base of her skull, shaking with sobs. "Mommy loves you, mommy loves you," I said over and over until my voice was hoarse, my chest aching with sadness.
"Not now Rick," Daryl's voice came over my sobs. "Let 'er grieve for a minute."
I pulled my now limp daughter into my arms, rocking her back and forth, cursing everyone and everything. Then, like a light switch being flicked on, I rose to my feet, my daughter still in my arms, looking their leader dead in the eye.
"Ask me anything you want, s'long as you let me bury her here," I said grimly.
The man, Rick, nodded and led the way, not daring to ask a single question. What a way to meet the group I would soon be fighting side by side with.
A/N: For one, I haven't written a TWD fan-fic in years. So I figured why not. Just something to pass the time. Second, this takes place right after the season 7 finale. So right before season 8. I promise, the dogs, Nikki's death, and Kenzi's relationship with Paul "Jesus" are all tied in. Note - This will Not follow canon with season 8. For the most part anyway! Feedback is always welcomed! I feel like this chapter is awful, but I wanted to get a feel for it so, why not?