Footsteps of the Damned

Chapter 29 - The Last Goodbye


The forest seemed to go on forever as we made our way through the trees, hoping we were headed in the right direction. There had only been the two shots that we heard and other than that, it was silent.

"Do you think we're going the wrong way...?" I questioned quietly.

Glenn shook his head. "This is definitely the direction where the gunshots came from." He paused and signaled for me to stop moving. "Do you hear that?"

I followed his lead and strained my ears. At first I heard nothing, but the moment faint moans reached my ears, my eyes widened.

"Walkers..."

Taking Glenn's lead, we continued slowly, making sure to keep our eyes and ears strained on the faintest movement or sound.

As soon as I caught sight of a walker, I signaled to Glenn, who slowed down to my side.

"Think you can-" he stopped abruptly, his eyes widening. "Oh, shit..."

I followed his gaze, watching as three more walkers stepped into view, then another four.

I quickly grabbed his arm and lead him away from the group of walkers. Before we made it even ten feet, more walkers started appearing from within the trees.

"Shit, shit, shit..." I muttered as we weaved trough trees and walkers. "We won't be able to make it to the house..."

I quickly pulled out one of my kukris and impaled a walkers skull when it wondered too close.

"We could make a break for your van..." Glenn suggested.

I bit my lip for a moment and nodded. There weren't many options for us, so we made a b-line towards my vehicle. Rick had lined up the other vehicles along the side of the house in anticipation of an attack, so my van was the only one close enough to us.

Not even halfway there, the barn suddenly erupt in flames, catching most of the walker's attentions and turning them in our direction.

"Think that's Rick and Tyreese?" I asked as we readied ourselves for the approaching walkers.

"Could be," he called back.

We started fending off walkers as they charged at us. Their numbers were never ending though, and I knew we'd only last for so long.

The second I had my hands free, I dug into my pocket and pulled out my keys. "Glenn!"

As soon as he turned my way, I tossed them to him and nudged my head to the van as I took out another walker. "Get to the van, I'll cover your back."

He nodded quickly and started running full speed towards the vehicle. Most of them had caught onto his moment, putting their backs to me and making it easier for me to take them out. I shoot an arrow through the first walker's skull, then lashed out with my blades to take down the remaining in the vicinity. He fumbled to unlock the doors for a moment before sliding into the front seat and starting up the engine.

I was quick to hop into the passenger's side, pulling the door closed as Glenn drove the van forward.

"Circle around to the barn," I instructed as I loaded another arrow. "If they're in there, they'll need a hand."

I was too distracted to glance at him as he nodded. Now that I had a second to breath, the situation we were in was starting to sink in. There was no way we were going to be able to fight off this many walkers and if we could get out alive, we'd be lucky.

"Over here!"

I let my eyes roam over the area, spotting Rick standing on the ledge of the second floor, waving frantically to us. Once the van shifted towards him, I leaned out the window and took out a few walkers as we approached the barn. As we got closer though, my eyes widened as I saw Carl up on the ledge with him.

"Carl's there too," I told Glenn.

I heard him mutter a few colourful words before pulling the van up beside the ledge they were on. Before the van even came to a stop, I hopped out and started clearing out walkers in the area. If they kept piling up like this, we were all going to be stuck here.

"Riley, I can't sit here much longer!" Glenn shouted.

I grit my teeth at the amount of walkers surrounding my van, then looked up as Rick and Carl stepped onto the vehicle. There was no way we were going to be able to get back in with all those walkers around, so I had to find another way.

As I thought, I kept killing walkers, trying my best to keep the area clear. We needed a distraction.

"Riley!"

I heard a window shatter, my attention darting to the van as a walker stuck its head into the passengers side. Before I could even realize it, I dashed forward and dragged the corpse out of the window before cracking it's skull open.

"As soon as they're off the roof, drive away," I ordered.

I didn't wait for a response, just grabbed a spare arrow and ran the point along my palm. Once the sharpened point finished at my wrist, I pressed my hand along the side of the van, instantly catching the attention of the walkers in the area.

"Carl, come on!"

I reached up and helped the boy down, making sure to keep him out of reach of the walkers. As soon as Rick's feet hit the floor, Glenn drove the van forward, taking most of the walkers with him.

"Come on!"

Grabbing hold of Carl, Rick started leading us towards the house. Through all the commotion, I couldn't pick out any of the other survivors, just a few of the vehicles driving around with people shooting at the horde from the passenger's side.

Whether it was lucky or not, I caught the sound of Carol's scream and I darted my eyes around frantically to find her. I knew she couldn't defend herself if she was alone, so I needed to find her fast.

"Rick, get Carl to safety," I called as I slowed down. "I'll be there in a second."

Whether he wanted to or not, he didn't have time to argue, just continued towards the house with Carl.

Relief washed over me when I saw Carol unharmed and I quickly sprinted towards her, cutting off the walkers.

"Where's Sophia?" I asked over my shoulder.

I could barely hear her answer over all the commotion, but knowing that Sophia was safe with Lori made things a bit easier.

"There's too many of them," Carol cried.

I backed up slightly as I worked my blade through each walker that got close, putting Carol between myself and a fence.

"We're going to get out of this," I reassured. "Just stay calm."

As the minutes passed, I could feel my arms straining to lift the blades and my legs weren't fairing much better. If I was on my own, I'd be able to run through the mass of walkers, but I doubted Carol was as agile. If I could just find a gap in the horde we could both make a break for it, but it didn't look like we were going to be that lucky.

I wouldn't leave without Carol though, my conscious wouldn't allow it. If she was going to die here, so would I... And that seemed more and more likely as every second passed.

It wasn't until I heard a roar of a motorcycle did I think otherwise. As I slid my blade from a walker's skull, Daryl pulled up in front of us, shooting the next walkers in line to buy us some time.

"Get on!" he instructed impatiently.

My stomach dropped at his words, full well knowing we both couldn't ride on the back with him .

"Carol, get on behind him."

As soon as the words escaped my lips, Daryl's attention turned to me suddenly, his gaze holding the realization of my words. I didn't waste any time excusing the situation, just guided the scared woman forward onto the bike.

"Riley, you can-"

I cut him off with the shake on my head. "The three of us can't fit, you know that."

"I'm not leavin' you behind!"

His words were a reminder of what I was suggesting and I felt my breath quicken. I wasn't going to threaten all three of our lives by jumping onto the bike with them, that was selfish.

"Just go Daryl." My voice wasn't as confident as I had hoped and the pleading look in his eyes didn't help.

"I'm not-"

"Get the hell out of here!"

My words finally started to sink in, the pained expression in his eyes breaking my heart. Without a word, he reached out and put a hand behind my head to pull me closer.

"Daryl, you need to-"

"That night at the CDC, what did you say?"

My brow furrowed as my attention turned to the walker approaching as a bullet passed between its eyes.

"Riley, what did you say?"

I raked my mind of that night, trying to remember, but it could have been anything. There were walkers everywhere and he thought we had time for this?

"We want to continue-"

"No. What did you say to me."

My breath hitched in my throat as understanding hit me. Had he actually heard that?

"I... I love you..."

As soon as the words fell from my lips, he pulled me close and pressed his lips to mine. I fought back the tears as his lips moved against mine desperately. At that moment, I felt my resolve fading. I wanted nothing more than to jump on his bike and continue kissing him.

He pulled away slowly, giving me a chance to breath in his deep musky smell. Oh god, how I'd miss him.

It was silent for what felt like an eternity before he spoke. Not even the walkers moans could break through to my ears.

"I love you too, Riley."

My eyes widened at his words and I felt fresh tears threatening to escape.

"Live, please... For me," He pleaded.

I nodded, despite myself, and took a step back as he drove the bike past me. The moment our eyes lost contact, I broke into sobs. He said he loved me... Daryl Dixon, the man I'd never thought could muster those words said that he loved me and here I was, making my last stand.

I wanted so badly to live, to find my way back to him, to hear those words once more.

For him, I'd do anything, and I'll be damned if I wouldn't try my hardest to live.

"Wait for me, Daryl..."


Footnote:

And that my friends, is the meanest cliffhanger known to man... heh heh. There will be an author's note after this to explain my plans so make sure you read that :)