Chapter Twenty Five

In the time it took everyone to turn their heads, the man had gotten up from the ground and begun to run. It was Daryl that noticed him scurrying off through the cluster of trees and in no time he had shot an arrow in the man's direction, hitting him in his right shoulder. He cowered for a moment, but still managed to escape. The last he saw of him was the horrific grin on his face as he glanced back one last time, blood pouring from the wound now on his shoulder.

"Rick - Rick, please. What do I do?" Maggie whimpered, as Tyreese pulled her limp and frail body back from Tara.

Rick checked for a pulse; it was distant but it was there. They couldn't lose anymore time otherwise they could lose her. He lifted her shirt and checked the wound on her side where the bat had hit. She'd taken the majority of the blow and it looked like she had several cracked ribs, those of which were probably keeping her from breathing properly.

"Is she - is she dead?" Maggie managed the words, although her throat felt like sandpaper and the lump that had settled there was making her want to be sick.

Tyreese held Maggie to his chest and covered her eyes as she began to sob again, there was no stopping the tears she had and the grief she felt. Suddenly, it hit her how much Tara meant to her. She'd thought about her constantly when she was locked up in that room waiting for death and now it was Tara on the other side of it, Tara was dying or dead and it only made her aware of how much love she held for her.

There was a connection between them far deeper than she could have ever realised. It had come out of nowhere slowly approaching as she tried to fend it off, tried to deny it, but then all of a sudden it hit her all at once. She'd lost so much. She had lost everything and everyone close to her; her family, her loves and now to lose Tara... she couldn't bare it. Tara had given her hope in a time where she had lost it all, she'd given her laughter and small delights of happiness when those were the last things she expected to feel. She was everything, and she was all she had. She couldn't lose her.

"Move out of the way," she firmly spoke and released herself from Tyreeses arms, shaking the tears off of her face as she did, "I'm not going to sit here and watch her die."

Everyone backed away slightly, even Rick gave her a little room, still crouched beside Tara, keeping a watchful eye on Maggie.

She didn't know what they were waiting for. First form of action would be CPR right? That's what Maggie said to herself as she searched her mind for all the tips she'd learnt along the way and on the farm with her Father.

She placed her hands gently onto Tara's face, one hand either side of her cheeks and leant over her. She gave her one last look as she tried to hold back her tears, then closed her eyes and touched her lips against Tara's.

Her lips were cold, like she was losing a lot of blood, like her soul was leaving her body. Those thoughts were rushing through Maggie's mind, but she tried desperately not to allow herself to let them consume her. Maggie breathed into her mouth until she felt her lungs rise a little and her hands pumped her chest. She did this over and over until Rick placed a hand on her arm to get her to stop.

"No. No, Rick. I'm not givin' up. You wouldn't. If this was Lori, or Carl. Would you give up?" The glance that Rick recieved from her, pushed him back into the same position he had been in for the past ten minutes. He'd wait because he knew she was right and there was nothing he could do.

She tried over and over, but nothing happened. She couldn't believe that this was it. She wouldn't let herself believe it. Everyone else had accepted it, but she couldn't. The only thing that stopped her was the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion she felt. Who knew how long she'd been trying for. Eventually, her arms gave out, the grief overtook her and her body crashed to the floor like the life had been taken out of her, too.

There was complete silence in the air, everyone was so reluctant to break it, to say anything to take away from what Maggie was feeling, because sometimes you just had to feel it. Death was something you had to feel, it was inevitable.

Maggie was lifeless, numb. She was in denial. Her eyes were fixated onto a tree in the distance as tears silently fell from her eyes. She wasn't even aware of what was going on around her anymore. All that time spent away from each other, all that time trying to get back to one another just to die now? It didn't make sense to her. And all she could think about was that it was her fault. She died trying to protect her, trying to save her from a madman with a desire to kill.

It's my fault.

It's my fault.

It's my fault.

She was whispering the words now, her face scrunched as the hollow sobs got stuck in her throat and suddenly she could feel the reality of it crushing her. Her hands now on the ground lifting her body up as she leant against it, trying to keep herself upright.

Then the silence broke. It wasn't Maggie's tears and it wasn't the sound of guns... or violence or death.

It was life; a gasping breath of life escaping heavy, wounded lungs.