Chapter Twenty Nine
Carol and Dani continued to fire into the rotting crowds of walkers for most of the day. They barely spoke to one another, instead keeping their attention on the problem at hand. Dani knew that Carol had a lot she didn't want to talk about. She didn't blame her. Although Dani revealed much about herself, it was nothing compared to what this noble woman had lost in her life. Carol had lost a child. How can one ever get over that?
One can't, Dani theorized. No one ever can.
The putrid crowd was starting to dwindle down, much to her own relief. But she worried about how much ammo was left. Would they have enough to destroy these things that ran them from their homes for so long and took everything and everyone they loved away from them? Rick was right when he wanted to stay and fight, for where would they go now to escape these things.
"Dani," Rick called from below. "Come down here. I need your help."
Carol nodded toward her, letting her know it was all right. Dani slung her rifle over her shoulder and hurried down the stairs to where Rick was. He was firing into the walkers himself from the side window, noticing that some of them were trying to claw their way through the glass pane. Carl was on the other side window, keeping his aim on those things. Enid was by his side, looking sadly at him.
Jessie and Sam were still in the kitchen, she believed. Still unable to handle what had happened.
"I'm going to get something to reinforce this picture window," Rick told her. "Make sure they don't get in." Dani nodded. He ran to the back of the house and she could hear him rummaging through the kitchen looking for whatever he needed. The walkers outside were still snarling and growling, but now the crowd was getting a bit smaller. Maybe they still had a chance.
Rick came back after a few minutes and shook his head. "I can't find anything," he told her. "And I can't take a chance of us walking through that mass together. Jessie is in no shape to do this and I'm afraid Judith will draw their attention."
"Maybe we could start stabbing them," Dani suggested. "Sharpen the ends of broomsticks poles and just start jabbing them in their heads."
Rick nodded. "Sounds good, but there's way too many of them. We're running low on ammo on our end. Where Daryl and Michonne are, they had plenty when I left them."
"My brother is on the turrets. Maybe he and Abraham are doing okay."
"Still, this is more than we ever had. And after this is over, I worry about what we may have left over. A wall indefensible and our people low on food and weapons."
Dani shook her head at him. "We'll pull through, Rick. I know we will. Hell, we made it this far, right?" Rick noticed her smiling hopefully at him. "We're survivors, Rick. No matter what. "
Rick nodded at her and smiled. "This is why you fit right in," he told her. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," she said. "Now, how about coming up with a plan to get us out of here?"
…
David sighed with relief at the herd getting smaller. He was at it all day, and now the sun was setting. Abraham kept his little army going, yelling out commands and instructing everyone on what to do. He wished he wasn't separated from his sister again, but he knew she would be all right. He wanted to do his part in keeping their sanctuary safe because they kept her safe. He was impressed on how these people were handling this problem. Instead of running away, they fight till the end.
He looked over at the townhouses and thought of Rosita, how she was doing. He wanted to ask her out on some sort of date the night before, but how does one date in the apocalypse now? Besides, he didn't want to come on too strong.
He decided that after this was over and done with, he will talk to Rosita. Who knows how much time either of them has left?
….
Daryl kept shooting but he still worried. He glanced over at the house Dani was in and felt despair. He hated being away from her and he hated how he agreed with Rick to be split up. What if something happened to her and he didn't know? After what had happened at the outpost, he constantly worried about what could happen to her. Dani was the best thing that happened to him, the only one person who truly brought him back from going under. If he had lost her today, he would just give up trying.
Dammit! Why did he have to listen to Rick this time?
"Daryl, come down stairs," Glenn called to him. "Rick's on the radio." He grunted and raced downstairs, hoping Rick had good news for him. He grabbed the walkie-talkie out of Glenn's hand and pressed the speaking button.
"Rick. Everything all right," he asked, trying not to show his fear in his voice.
"We fine. But we're getting low on ammunition. Dani and I are talking about walking over to you."
Daryl felt fear in his heart. This was way too risky right now. "From our end, it's still bad," Daryl told him. "It's too much of a risk to get here, even in camouflage."
"I know. But we can't stay where we are. It's getting too dangerous," Rick responded. "Carol killed Ron," he said grimly.
That rattled Daryl inside, but he still kept his nerve. "She say why," he asked Rick.
"Ron had a gun on my son," Rick replied. "Dani was there and saw everything. Tried to stop him herself. Carol had to. I don't blame her."
"If that's how it went down, I get it," Daryl told him. "And Jessie?"
"Not doing well at all," Rick said. "Another reason we need to get out of here."
"Can I talk to Dani," he asked him. "Just to say hi?"
There was silence for a moment. And then he heard her refreshing voice over the speaker. He tried to contain his relief, but he was so happy to hear her voice.
"Daryl. I'm all right. But we do need to leave before the walkers break through these windows," she told him. "Carol said she did this before. At Terminus. I can do this."
Daryl smiled. "Of course you can, sweetheart. You can do anything."
"I'm still scared shitless, but what choice do we have?"
"I'll be here when you get here," he told her. "Keep it slow and steady. You'll be fine."
"I promise," she spoke with a little fear in her tone. "I love you, Daryl."
Daryl smiled. "I love you too, baby. Just get here safe. I'll be waitin'."
He put down the walkie-talkie and sighed. Glenn patted his shoulder, understanding how he felt. He too had someone he loved out there and worried all the same.
He felt another hand on his shoulder and turned to face Morgan, looking at him with optimism. "Keep that hope alive in you," he told Daryl. "It will help both of you through."
Daryl nodded quietly. Despite how he felt about Morgan, at times he could still be a good man, especially in really bad situations. He saw Morgan grasp his lance tighter against his body.
…
Rosita and Maggie ran down the stairs to the basement for more ammo. They were getting low and the herd wasn't thinning out on their end since they tore Deanna to shreds. Maggie felt terrible about what had happened, for Deanna tried very hard in her own way to be a good leader. She didn't deserve what happened. None of them did.
Rosita ran to the laundry room where Deanna had kept her own stash of weapons and supplies. She opened the door and became repulsed by what she saw.
Sitting on the floor against the dryer was Spencer, drinking whiskey and humming some sort of song. They were in the middle of a huge walker invasion, and he gets drunk now!
"Spencer! What the fuck are you doing," she yelled at him. "This is no time for this shit!"
Spencer shrugged. "Mom's dead. Dad's dead. Aiden's dead. You and that bitch in the tower think you're too good for me, so fuck you!" He continued to gulp down his whiskey from the bottle.
Maggie peered over Rosita's shoulder and became sick to her stomach. "I see you for what you really are," she told him emphatically. "A coward. Deanna would be ashamed." She rushed passed him and grabbed some guns and ammo and handed some to Rosita. She turned to face Spencer one last time. "When this is over with, you'll have Rick to deal with," she told him.
He then glared at her. "You fucking bitch," he intoned. "You come to our place and fucking take over and bark orders and threaten me? We were safe before you assholes arrived. It's because of you my family's dead!"
"Keep telling yourself that," Maggie told him. "It doesn't help our situation. It certainly doesn't help the people you protected for so long."
"Eh, bit me," Spencer replied, slamming the laundry door with his foot. Maggie merely shrugged and ran up the stairs with Rosita. Before they loaded their weapons, Maggie looked at Rosita with worry.
"Rosita. Keep an eye on those stairs for him," she told her. "I have a feeling he'll fuck us over."
Rosita nodded. "I get it," she told her friend. "That asshole's planning something."
…..
Tara and Eugene were doing fine on their end. From their platform, they could see the walker herd thinning out. Tara smiled at the progress they were making.
And she smiled at her unlikeliest partner in the world. Despite having no military experience, Eugene proved to be a valuable asset and great friend. True he did lie about being a scientist with a cure. Who could blame him? In fact, it was his lie that led them all here in the first place.
And he made it up to all of them by proving his worth. Not just by making ammo and explosive weapons, but by stepping up and helping secure this place.
And his actions saved her life. If it wasn't for him, Aiden and that asshole Nicholas would have left her for dead. And then she would have become one of those things below them.
"We're getting low," he told her. "We may have to start stabbing those things from up here."
"How? We don't have anything."
Eugene shrugged at her and picked up a long piece of wood by the side of the wall. He started to sharpen the point of the wood with his hunting knife. After he saw it pointed edge was sharp enough, he positioned it over one walker and stabbed it forcefully into its skull, killing it. He stabbed another walker, and then another, impressing Tara.
"When in doubt, improvise," he told her assuringly. Tara smiled at him, admitting to herself that she was impressed with his antics.
Too bad he wasn't her type.
….
Rick assembled everyone in the house for a meeting. He informed them of their current situation on the ammo and how being in a house with too many windows was dangerous. "Those things could get in here any minute now," he warned. "We have to get out while we can." He then motioned to Carol. "Carol here has survived walking through a massive herd just like the one outside. She saved our lives that way."
Jessie still wasn't looking at either one of them, still clutching Sam to her breast. She couldn't bear to look at Carol or Carl, knowing full well what had happened. Sam pulled away from his mother and walked over to Carol, nodding towards her. Jessie looked on in despair, realizing that she was being passed over in favor of the bitch that killed her oldest child.
"If we move slowly and not make a sound, we can get through them," Carol explained. "We just have to keep quiet as we move against them."
Dani and Carl looked at each other in agreement, but still worriedly. This was something neither had done before. Enid, the calm quiet girl, spoke up.
"I survived that way by myself out there," she said. "It was how I managed to get here."
"I did this too in Atlanta a year ago," Rick said. "Glenn and I were there trying to get a car. It worked, except it started to rain. Water wipes the smell off."
"Well, let's hope it doesn't rain," Dani said confidently. "Let's get some linens and get to work." Then she stopped herself. "Judith. What are we going to do about her? What if she screams or cries?"
"Don't worry about that," Rick said. "I'll take care of her."
Carol cut open the walker that Rick had brought with him as the rest of the group draped themselves with the bed sheets from upstairs. Wearing garden gloves, Carol started to slather Dani's sheet with the guts, and Dani had to hold her breath from smelling that awful stench. God, it was so awful! It reeked worse than the actual living dead ones!
"Put some dark makeup on your face," Carol told her. "You'll look the part in no time."
"Thanks, Carol," Dani winced. Carol then turned to Carl, doing the same thing to him as Dani walked to the mirror with some dark brown eye shadow. As she smeared it on her face, Rick walked up to her.
"Dani, do you have a minute," he asked her, motioning her to the kitchen. Dani nodded and followed Rick to the kitchen, his face growing very concerned.
"Did what happen with Ron really happen," he asked her. "Was Ron about to drop the gun?"
Dani had no idea how to respond. She knew exactly what had happened, but Carol had every reason to do what she did. But she couldn't lie to Rick, after everything that had happened.
"It was very scary, Rick," she told him. Rick leaned over to her, staring right into her eyes. For the first time since she met him, she became very scared.
"Dani, if she killed him as he was lowering his weapon, I need to know. I know you and Carol are close. I admit that was on my part, to find out about you. You are a good person, Dani. Carol is one of my most trusted people too. But I need to tell you that this isn't the first time she had done something like this."
Dani looked at him puzzled. Just what was he saying to her?
"Did she tell you how I exiled her from our prison the day before the Governor attacked us," he asked her, alarming her. "I did it because she killed two of our people."
Dani's eyes widened. "Why would she do that?"
Rick looked down at the ground grimly. "There was a super virus going around the prison, killing our people. Carol killed two of them right before they could die. She killed them and set their bodies on fire. She said it was to prevent the flu from spreading, but I saw it differently." He paused for a moment. "I truly regret sending her away. Looking back, she was right." He then looked back at Dani. "If she believed that Ron was a threat to my family, I won't blame her. But I need to know. Was Ron about to drop his weapon?"
Dani looked up at him, almost glaring at him. "What if Ron decided to kill Carl later? What if he smothered your daughter to death or kill his younger brother? Would you want that on yourself, knowing you could have done something to prevent this?" She nodded at him. "Rick, we've all done things that haunt us. I did what I did to survive. So did Carol. So did Carl and Daryl. So did my brother. You yourself tore out a man's throat with your teeth to save your son." She paused for a moment. "Ron was out of control, threatening Carl and Enid. Who's to say he wouldn't try it again?"
Rick sighed and nodded. "That answers my question," he said. "Carol did what she had to do. So did you. Just remember, we will do anything to keep each other safe." He leaned into her again. "And I know you will do whatever it takes."
Dani nodded. "Of course, Rick."
"We'll keep it to ourselves about what happened. I'm sure Carl, Enid and Sam will too. Jessie, I don't know. Sometimes, I think it was a bad idea getting involved with her."
Dani didn't say anything, be she had to agree with him on this. Getting involved with a woman whose husband he killed was dumb.
"Let's worry about this some other time," Dani told him. "We have to get a move on if we want to get out of here."
They both rejoined the group in the foyer, getting themselves ready to venture out in the walker crowd. Dani held on to her rifle and her hunting knife, breathing hard, praying.
"I am so not ready," she whispered. Carol merely looked at her.
"We never are," she told her.
Rick draped the gut ridden sheet over himself and Judith, who was sucking on a pacifier. He then walked over to the front door and sighed. "All right. On three. One….Two…"He burst the front door open and everyone walked slowly out the door and into the crowd. Dani had never been so afraid in her life. She had never been this close to any of those things before except to kill them. And now one was staring at her with dead eyes, snarling at her. She quickly moaned and looked away, and the walker went by without touching her.
She saw Rick up ahead with Carl and Enid and Jessie were behind him. Sam was to her side, holding on to her, scared. Carol was next to Dani and they looked at each other. Despite how tough Carol seemed, Dani could tell she was scared as well. But if Carol survived this long by doing this, so can they. As long as they didn't lose their nerve, they'll be fine.
What kept her going was Daryl, knowing that soon she'll be reunited with him. Just thinking about him now made her feel more alive than ever.
And Michael. She would never forget him. She clutched her wedding bands and locket in her pocket as she lurked forward. He was her guardian angel now. He as well was keeping her going.
So was her father. And her mother. God how she missed them so much.
She looked over at her brother, who noticed her right away and nodded. In all this madness of the world, it was a miracle they found each other again. This time, they weren't going to lose each other. She meant it when she made that promise to him that they would do whatever it took to keep this place safe. And to guarantee that no one will ever cross them again.
Dani noticed Sam whimpering, clinging to his mother. This drew attention from the walkers. "Dammit," she whispered to Carol. "He has to be quiet."
"He's a scared little boy," she murmured to her. "His mother is too weak to raise him right in this world."
Dani looked at her stunned. That was a terrible thing she said. Carol coldly glanced at her. Then she continued on her way.
Just then, a walker grabbed Sam. Dani hurried her steps to save him, but it was too late. The walker had sunk its teeth into the boy's throat, killing him instantly. Jessie screamed and grabbed Carl. Rick tried to get Jessie to let go, but she wouldn't. A walker was approaching Carl, making him raise his knife. But he couldn't kill the thing because Jessie was still clutching him, screaming.
Rick looked over at Dani and Carol in worry. Dani nodded. It had to be done.
He took his knife and stabbed Jessie in the head, forcing her down to the ground and releasing Carl, saving his life. Closing her eyes in sorrow, Dani shook her head and sighed.
It had to be done, she told herself. Carol was right. Jessie was too weak. Carol was brutally honest about that. Too weak to defend herself against an evil husband and too weak to protect her children. Now the whole family is gone.
And Dani chastised herself for blaming Jessie. It wasn't her fault. Not by a long shot. She just didn't adjust as much as they did. The walls kept them like children here. And now, they are confronted by the harsh reality these people tried so hard to ignore. It's what led them to this, right in front of her. And it was breaking her heart.
Carol looked defensively at Dani, imploring her to keep moving. Dani did so, knowing full well that the world stop giving a damn about the weak. Poor Jessie. Poor Sam. Poor Ron.
They continued on, getting closer to Rick's house. She could see Daryl from the window, nodding at her. It made her more determined to get there as quickly as she could. Just a few more steps, she told herself. She would forget for a moment about what had just happened by having this beautiful mans arms around her. She would forget the horrors she had just witnessed just by being with him.
A walker approached her, snarling in her ear. She stopped and looked right at it. She moaned under her breath, pretending to be one of them. However the walker growled at her, reaching for her.
Dani felt the fear rise up in her body. She brought out her knife, pushing the thing back from her. At that moment, a shot rang out, and the walker's head exploded, and it dropped to the ground. She looked over and saw Nicholas shooting pointing his rifle at her from the roof of a house. He looked up and smiled at her. To her relief, she nodded. Maybe he was learning after all.
They reached the house and the front door swung open. Rick, Carl, Enid, Carol and Dani ran inside, ignoring the walkers as they tried to grab them. Once inside, every one of them let out a great sigh of relief. And then the sadness set in. It was apparent to everyone what had just happened.
"I'm so sorry, Rick," Glenn told him. "I know you had to do this."
Rick nodded. "I had no choice," he said. "She wouldn't let go of my son. I thought of him only."
Dani felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Daryl, who expressed relief and fear in his face. He pulled off her bed sheet and hugged her so tightly against him, feeling his hot breath against her ear.
"I missed you, girl," he cried into her shoulder. "I saw you out there, and I was so damned worried!"
"I'm all right, Daryl," she soothed him. "I just feel terrible about Jessie and Sam."
Daryl pulled back and shook his head. "Jessie wouldn't let go. I know Rick, and his family always comes first." He whimpered a little. "And you. If anything were to happen to you…."
"Daryl, don't think like that. I made it. We're together now." She kissed his lips gently.
Michonne then walked over to them, smiling. "I think it's safe to say we can start attacking them with blades now," she told them. "They are dwindling down."
Dani shook her head. "Maybe. But do we want to risk anymore people to do this?"
Michonne nodded. "Dani, we're getting low on the ammo we have. Although we're killing them from all corners of this community, it's not safe to use up all of our ammo. Morgan and I can start killing them out there. When they reach the windows, you can stab them in their heads. It's worth a shot."
"Michonne, give us a minute," Daryl told her. "She just got back."
Dani looked up at him and smiled. "Honey, I see her point. We have to end this." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "They'll be plenty of time for us later."
Daryl smiled and patted her back. "All right, then," he replied. "Let's get this over with.
…
Well into the night, they fought the walkers with their machetes and knives. It was exhausting, but they managed to thin the walkers out into smaller groups, taking them out one by one. Abraham gave to order to start stabbing them with their newly made spears from their platform and it was working quite well.
Dani continued to slash and stab at approaching walkers without giving up while Daryl was fighting by her side back to back. To their relief, the walkers began to dwindle down, leaving rotting corpses lying in their wake. Rick was ahead of them, shouting and cursing at these things, mumbling about what they took from them. He was mad as hell for what happened and what he was forced to do. But there was no time to dwell on the past now. There was never any time left at all anymore.
Carl and Enid stayed upstairs with Judith. Carl was holding her tightly against him, smiling at her.
"See, Judy? Daddy is beating the walkers out there." Judith started to laugh and clap her hands playfully. He then looked up at Enid, who smiled at him.
"Carl, what I said out there, about the world belonging to the dead now? I take it back," she told him. "It's not their world anymore."
He smiled at her and then became sad by what had happened with Ron. He felt guilty about what had happened.
Enid leaned over and kissed him softly on his lips and he shuddered. It was his first real kiss from a girl. Enid then leaned back and smiled at him.
"I knew there was something about you when I first met you," she told him. "You're definitely not a kid."
He smiled right back at her and took her hand. He wanted to kiss her again, but he was holding onto his baby sister. All he could do was look into her eyes and smile sweetly at her.
And she returned the smile as well.
…
It was dawn when the last walker was killed. Though they searched the streets, corners and alleyways for more walkers, everyone was confident that all of the walkers were dead for sure. Father Gabriel, who had held up in his church with his congregation, had surprised everyone by the many dead walkers by the garage doors. The people told Rick that Gabriel had valiantly fought them off the church, imploring for everyone to help, which they did.
"I was a coward before," he told Rick. "Not anymore."
For the rest of the day, they gathered the thousands of walkers into groups stacked on top of each other. They were going to load them onto trucks and burn them outside. Dani and Carol decided to get cleaned up after they piled on their 20th grouping of these things. As they walked together, Carol stopped her with a sad look on her face.
"You didn't ask me about my child, Dani," she told her. "I wondered why."
Dani shrugged and looked at her sadly. "I know what happened," she said. "And I didn't want to bring it up."
Carol slightly nodded. "My husband, Ed, beat me all the time. In front of our little girl at times too. It made me weak." She sighed and looked away for a moment. "That's what got my little girl killed. I was too weak to help her. To raise her right. I saw that in Jessie. Pete beating her, Sam always afraid, Ron thinking his father was right, I saw all of that. And now, they're gone." A single tear fell from her eyes. "If I had been then what I am now, Sophia would still be alive."
"Carol, you act as though all of this was on you. What Ed did, what happened. It's not your fault at all." Dani reached out to her friend, putting her hand on her shoulder. "What happened with Ron and Jessie is not on you."
Carol looked at her so sadly that it broke Dani's heart. "I wish I could believe it," she sobbed, the tears flowing down her face like a waterfall. "I wish for so many things, Dani."
Dani immediately embraced Carol as she cried into her shoulder. Dani started to tear up as well, both sobbing over what they had lost in this cruel horrible world. It made neither of them weak.
It reminded them everyday why they're still here on this earth. And why they continue to carry on, despite what the world has taken from them.
Sorry I've been away for a while! There has been tons of drama going on! Luckily, it's over. Anyways, I really hope you like my take on the story so far! Please review! Let me know what you think! Thank you BreenaBelle-xoxo, and Leah Pensotti for your ultra kind reviews! I'll post more chapters soon!
