Chapter Info
Title: Abandon All Hope
Number: 29/?
Warnings: Violence, explosion, blood, angst, language
Author's Note: I'm finding my love for this story again, so I thank you all for reading! Just to let you know, the Travis from this is NOT the one from Fear TWD. Sorry if that confused anyone! Reviews are love!
"Dad!"
The scream sounded out from behind them and Rick turned to watch Maggie jump from the truck and begin to run. Glenn caught her before he could, an arm around her shoulders and waist as his gun dropped to the ground. The look of horror on all their faces the same as they watched Hershel crumple to the ground, eyes wide and glassy in lifeless surprise. Beth let out a cry and pulled herself away from the man holding her and fell to the ground beside her father, letting out sobs as she pulled her father's head onto her lap. There was no way her survived that, Rick could tell, as the bullet had come out between his eyes expertly.
"No," Rick whispered.
"Where's the girl?" Travis demanded again.
"NO!" His hands trembled as he reached for the gun at his belt, yanking it out of the holder as he began to pace, holding back the tears that threatened to fall. Hershel was like a father to all of them, the man that gave them strength and hope, and pulled Rick's head out of the dark place it was heading into after what happened with Shane. Hershel was the light at the end of the apocalypse, and it was snuffed out so fast that it felt like whiplash. All hope was gone, and there was nothing Rick could do about it. And there he was, dead at their feet, bleeding out onto his daughter's dirty jeans as everybody else looked on in agony.
"Do you want that to happen to the girl?" Travis threatened, his smoking pistol turning to Beth's head, making the blonde duck close to Hershel's body and press her face against his shirt as if that could save her. Poor girl always went to her father for protection, and now that protection was gone.
"Rick, please," Maggie pleaded from behind him, hearing the tremble in the young woman's voice, a mixture of anger and sadness.
Rick fought for control over his voice, over the panic and desperation rising up inside him. This shouldn't have happened; it was all his fault. He should've just given in without a fight. He realized his thoughts before were all wrong. As a leader, the good of the many should outweigh the good of the few. He should've outweighed the pros and the cons, and given Amaleen to Travis like the man requested. But now Hershel was dead and they would be losing Amaleen as well. If he had just done what Travis said, Hershel would be alive, and Amaleen wouldn't be facing horrors at the hands of these men who were very likely to take out their frustration on her whether she was awake or not. He stared at him with agonized guilt before he silently turned to the truck and opened the back door.
Amaleen was still out and his heart clenched in his throat. She had no idea what was going on, and when she woke up, she wouldn't be sheltered and close with Daryl in their room. She would be under the mercy of monsters thanks to the people she loved and trusted. The ex-deputy didn't know which betrayal hurt worse: Hershel's death, or Amaleen's loss. Rick wondered where the others were, and wondered if they had been stopped as well on their way over. Of course they had the weapon Rick really wanted, but it was too late. It was all over Hershel was down. And Rick's guilt was eating too much of him to consider the possibilities, to be a good leader. Because the beam of his support system was gone and he was left with all the broken pieces.
Turning around with Amaleen now in his arms, he saw Maggie and Glenn had fallen to the ground, and T-Dog was helping Beth by closing Hershel's eyes and keeping himself around her to protect her. Rick was grateful for that. His footsteps took him back where he was sitting previously and stopped, watching the confusion fall over Travis's face as he took in the fact that Rick was holding an unconscious Amaleen.
"The fuck happened?" he demanded, as if Rick had run down his fence or something. Which made sense considering Travis only saw an object and not the beautiful, loving woman that Rick was holding. Rick fought to bite back a snide remark; nobody else of theirs was going to die that day.
"Got wet," Rick said, his voice quiet, but loud enough for Travis to hear. He glanced at Glenn and Maggie, the woman staring at her father still, and Glenn simply gave him a sad gaze before looking away. He knew the young man still didn't agree, but what other choice did they have? He started his trek again closer, arms tight around Amaleen's body as his arms shook and he silently begged forgiveness from both her and Hershel, for getting them both into this mess and not being stronger. The closer Rick got, the more he felt sick from their actions, the heavier his legs felt, and the more the confidence slipped away from him.
Rick was nearly to Travis when the first shot rang out. A man ten feet away from Rick, one of Travis's guys, fell to the ground with a splatter of blood. Rick's eyes went wide and he spun around to watch the truck that Lori drove with Daryl in the back drive into view. They should've been there before then, before Hershel was shot, so Rick wondered if they got into trouble, but it didn't matter. They were there and that's what counted. Rick looked down to T-Dog and Beth, nodding back for the truck, already running to take shelter.
"Get outta the way!" he said quickly, ducking and head back for the truck. T-Dog grabbed ahold of Beth's shoulders and yanked her off her father as she screamed, not wanting to let go of his body as she knew what would happen to it if she did. As the four tried to get out of the way, Travis and his men looked around in confusion as a couple others were popped off, still leaving about fifteen or twenty left for Daryl to take care of. Rick quickly ran around the back, T-Dog and Beth following, before Maggie and Glenn. He heard Travis yelling orders and Rick gave a nod to Daryl, who he saw was checking for any harm done to the woman still cradled in Rick's embrace.
Lori jumped out of the car along with Carl to check on her, both hiding as well while Daryl loaded...and pulled the trigger.
The explosion was loud, sending a small mushroom cloud of smoke up into the air. Rick winced as he couldn't cover his own ears, but Lori held Carl's and Carl held Amaleen's. They all huddled together behind the truck, letting everything settle before they dared to look back at where the group had once stood...and Hershel's body had laid. They knew that he wouldn't be whole, but there wouldn't have been enough time to get him as well.
Slowly the ringing in Rick's ears stopped and he gently handed Amaleen over to Lori and Carl, who both fussed over her and wiped away small smudges of dirt. Rick stood up, eyes wide as he looked in the scene before him. Every single man was decimated, including the body that was obviously Travis's a few feet in front of the rest. There was no doubt that Daryl wouldn't miss, that's why Rick had given the job of working the grenade launcher to him. Everybody was silent except for a couple sniffles from Beth and Maggie, as they all stared at the remains of the group.
And Hershel.
Rick swallowed, seeing the metal gleam of crutches and knowing they had to get to his body so they could give him a proper burial. It was his job now to be a leader, to hold back his own tears and fears and help the others get through the loss. Lori and Carl hadn't seen Hershel yet, but Maggie was whispering to Lori who gasped and Carl immediately hugged his mother around the neck as he began to cry.
"We, uh—" He paused and swallowed again as red-rimmed eyes turned to him and Daryl finally jumped off the truck to take Amaleen from Lori and Carl and into his arms, just to tell himself that she was okay. "—we need to get back to the docks. There's a lotta supplies here. We," He gestured between himself, Maggie, and Glenn, "saw it when we were in the basement. Boxes of foods, probably some weapons. But we won't stay long. Don't know if they have anymore people." Rick doubted it, but he wasn't willing to take the chance. He sighed softly, leaning against the truck. The group looked so small and he knew it was because they were down a member now, and a very important one at that. "Lori and Carl are going to take Amaleen back to the docks. Signal Carol like I showed you with the car horn and she'll come out and help you get her aboard." Lori nodded and gingerly took her back from Daryl to get her in the truck Rick leaned against. Carol had stayed behind to defend the boats if needed and signal the others of danger, but thankfully none had come. Rick could only pray that meant she was safe as well.
"Daryl and I are going to load supplies into the back of the truck he was in. T, I need you to go get the Hyndai from down the road so the rest of you can get back. But...first, before we go...we're all going to give Hershel a proper burial. Say our goodbyes and make sure we knew how much we loved him."
The nods were all solemn and slowly people began to spread out, getting to work in finding a shovel to bury their fallen friend and father.
Author's Note: Yes, the scene is based off the scene in the season 6 mid-season premiere, so sue me. ;)
