Arrows and Scars
So much love. I'm so glad because it's getting harder to stay devoted to one story for this many years. (My plot bunnies are bouncing everywhere for something new to write) That's why it means so much:NicoleR85,KEZZ 1,BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, Nightwing1493, Altiria-Aty, darkangel0212, Shiori Mayonaka no Yume , Guest (1), Lissa (Guest), MOONWOLF1234,Frances12, Guest (2),Nyxxie-Naiara, Guest (3), kawaiinagisa, Stargazer013, 1993, Awesomeness3013, riverofroses45, and AriaRakaskaAngel that you're staying with me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or The Walking Dead. And, unfortunately, I never will. I only own is my OC Jamie. And I always will.
Chapter Thirty Seven: You Keep Moving
Michonne arrived back at Alexandria with Heath and his other companion, who had been injured on their journey home. After taking him to the doctor's office to be looked at by Denise, the sword wielder went to look for Maggie, Beth, Rosita and Kagome to explain to them what happened with her and the others.
She told the women about how the truck in the quarry had fallen early and they instigated the plan right then and there, which made them all worry for their family and friends.
Michonne spoke, multiple citizens walked by to wheel the dead either to the graveyard for their friends to be buried, or to the outside of the wall for the Wolves bodies to be burned.
"The town was overrun," Michonne told the women, "Glenn split off with Nicolas...He had this idea that if he lit a fire, it would stop the Walkers from coming here...I tried to go instead. I wanted to...The fire never lit...We had to keep going...I'm sorry."
Beth looked over to her sister in concern, "Maggie."
The brunet forced herself to keep her face neutral, trying not to show her distress for her husband and father of her unborn child.
"He said if he got stuck, he'd find a way to send us a signal," Michonne concluded.
"A signal?" Maggie questioned her husband's phrasing.
"Knowing Glenn it'd be something we'd least expect," Kagome expressed before looking to Maggie, "He's coming home."
Before another word could be spoken, a familiar voice was heard screaming from inside the walls.
"Open the gate!" Rick yelled from outside the walls, "Open the gates now!"
The women ran as fast as they could and opened the gate.
Rick was running with a small Kilala on his shoulder and herd of Walkers behind them.
"My Kami," the priestess said in alarm, as Rick squeezed through the opening of the gate before all the women closed it as quick as they could and locked it in place.
Rick had tried to follow through with the plan of leading the herd away with the RV until, as luck would have it, the motor vehicle decided to stall right when the Walkers were on him. Rick managed to escape with Kilala, and tried to get them to follow the way he'd intend.
But there were far too many Walkers to keep distracted for long, especially when the horn from the Wolf invasion had been so loud and gathered even more attention from the undead.
Desperate to get away, Rick hopped on Kilala's back, and the feline ran as fast as she could back to Alexandria. The demon cat changed back to her smaller size once the community came into view, allowing Rick to keep the illusion that he ran the entire time from the herd.
Once Rick was safe inside, the Alexandria community had seen the herd of Walkers and began to look at the gate in terror.
The community worked fast to enforce the strength of the walls as a precaution while Kagome, Rosita, Maggie, and Beth told Rick all that happened in his absence with the invasion of the Wolves.
Once the ladies finished, Rick turned to the crowd, "You can hear'em," he told the community as they looked to the walls in fear as the sound of Walker's snarling and banging on the walls grew. "Most of you saw them. Half of them broke away from the herd...Still enough to surround us twenty feet deep."
The people of Alexandrian's looked at each other in concern.
"Look, I know you're scared," Rick continued, "You haven't seen anything like this. You haven't been through anything like this...But we're safe for now. The panel that the truck hit, which caused the horn to go off, seems intact. We had it reinforced just in case. Either way, the wall is gonna hold together...Can you?"
No one reacted to answer the question.
"The others are coming back," Rick assured.
"They're gonna be back," Rosita said in agreement, mainly for Maggie and Kagome's benefit.
Rick turned to Kagome and Maggie in assurance, "Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, they have vehicles. They're gonna lead them away, just like the others...And Glenn and Nicholas are gonna walk through the front gate after. They know what they're doing and we know what we need to do...We keep nice to a minimum. Pull our blinds at night. Even better, keep the lights out. We'll try to make this place quiet as a graveyard, see if they move on."
Sesshōmaru walked up next to Kagome, "I'll take out a few of them subtly throughout the night," he told her in Japanese.
The priestess nodded gratefully, happy that the demon lord was being cooperative about the situation. 'These people have been through enough without having to add demons into the mix.'
"This place is a graveyard," Francine stated after Rick had spoken.
Some of the people looked to the group leader with accusing eyes, knowing that his plan could have easily gone wrong brought this disaster upon them.
Aaron walked forward, "The quarry broke open and the Walkers were heading this way...All of them. The plan Rick put into place stopped that from happening...He got half of them away." He looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back up, "I was...Out there recruiting with Daryl. I wanted to get into a cannery and scavenge, and Daryl wanted to keep looking for people. We did what I wanted...and we wound up in a trap set by those people. And I lost my pack...They must've followed our tracks...Those people who attacked us, they found their way back here because of me."
Kagome walked over and placed her hand on Aaron's shoulder, "You didn't know...You couldn't' have known."
"They'll be more to talk about," Rick said to everyone.
"Deanna?" Tobin interrupted, noticing the woman leave. Deanna didn't bother responding. "Deanna?" he tried again, with the same result.
Beth and Maggie looked at each other, knowing that walk.
Deanna was giving up.
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After a few cooperative members of the community worked to enforce the strength of the walls, Kagome, Rosita, Maggie, and Beth had informed Rick all that happened in his absence with the invasion of the Wolves.
Meanwhile, Sophia was helping Olivia at in The Pantry, knowing that they'd be busier than usual today.
Full community panic tends to do that.
Well that, and the blonde didn't want to think about her friend who had left Alexandria, Enid.
According to Carl, Enid left shortly the encounter with the Wolves was over with.
Sophia understood why her brunet friend had left, since being enclosed in Alexandria would have driven anyone crazy after surviving outside the community walls for so long. 'But she could at least have stuck around to say goodbye,' she thought a little bitterly.
Carl and Souta wanted to go after Enid and bring her back, but Ron found about their plan and threatened to tell Rick and Kagome about their plan.
The blonde shook her head at the memory and tried to focus on the task at hand.
Due to the current situation, everything needed to be rationed since the odds of going out on runs the next couple of days were slim to none.
And the Alexandria citizens were not happy about the new arrangement.
"I can't even make two meals out of this," a woman complained about the amount of food in her basket.
Olivia tried to speak calmly as she to make a suggestion, "The soups and sauces can be stretched out with extra water."
"What difference does it make if we'll all be dead tomorrow?" another woman asked Olivia critically.
Sophia rolled her eyes at the adults' selfish behavior.
Didn't they understand how lucky they were to even have food?
There were times when her family didn't have anything to eat for almost an entire week.
'And they're complaining about not having more?' the young blonde thought in disappointment.
"We need to ration now," Olivia tried to explain their obvious predicament.
"I can't," a man named Bruce protested, "I can't spend whatever time I have left watching my family starve."
He moved past Olivia to get more food.
Another person followed his example.
"Wait," Olivia protested, trying to get them to stop.
"I'm sorry," the woman who complained before apologized, "I just don't see the point."
Deanna was walking by and witnessed what was happening. Olivia looked at the female leader for help, but instead she did and said nothing.
"Hey," Spencer walked up into The Pantry with a disappointed expression, "Put all that back. This food is for everyone."
"Why don't you go check to see if the gate is closed, Spencer," Bruce spoke in distaste of the man, "We have families to feed."
Suddenly, Sophia loudly threw down her clip board on a table in anger, "If you were so concerned about protecting your family then you should have gone out on runs to find a way to feed them!" The adults looked at the young teen startled by her outburst. "Or better yet, you should have been out there helping with that herd, which would've killed all of you, instead of you standing here bitching about how your family is not getting three meals a day! If I could go almost a week without food outside these walls, you can survive on one to two meals a day for a little while!"
The adult's mouths dropped at the little girl's declaration.
"Now all of you put the food back and go home to spend time with your families. And be grateful that they're still here with us when there are those who have none," Sophia firmly ordered them.
Some of the adults looked at one another, wondering if they should listen or still try to take what they wanted from the pantry.
"Sophia," Sesshōmaru spoke from the back of the crowd startling some of them. A hand was on the hilt of his sword, "Is there a problem?" he asked pulling the sword slowly out of his sheath.
With that threat, the citizens scattered with their previously given food and ran back to their homes in slight terror.
Olivia backed away into the inside of The Pantry at the sight of the demon lord.
Sophia just smiled, "Thank you, Sesshōmaru. It looked like they were about to riot."
"Panic causes humans to make foolish decisions," the demon lord stated as he sheathed his sword, "Foolish decisions that could costs lives...We can't have that now can we."
The blonde shook her head in agreement.
Deanna nodded from her place by The Pantry in approval. Spencer glared at the demon lord and little girl from taking his moment as a future leader away from him. That and not being able to sneak food away from The Pantry for himself and his mother.
He'd have to try again later.
After hearing what Sesshōmaru was trying to do, Olivia spoke up, "Th-thank you," she said with her voice shacking nervously.
The demon lord gave a single nod before placing a hand on Sophia's head, "Well done," he said with a hint of approval in his voice, before leaving The Pantry.
Sophia smiled with pride in her accomplishment while Olivia watched the demon lord walk away in wonder.
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"Alright," Sasha informed Daryl through the walkie.
The hunter's hopes began to spike, "That's twenty?"
"It will be," she assured him, "The 642 exit is a mile ahead. We gotta put distance between us and them before we hit the turnoff."
Daryl sighed in relief, knowing that they've accomplished what they set out to do.
Over half the threat was away from Alexandria and they could finally head back.
The hunter took off in his motorcycle with Sasha and Abraham's car following right behind him.
'I'm comin' back Baby Girl,' Daryl thought to himself before gunfire started going off around him, 'You and our boy hang on.'
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Later that afternoon, Souta and Beth were practicing their knife wielding skills under Shippo's instruction near the solar panels. Kagome was there too with Jamie sitting on the ground in front of her. She was sitting with her legs crossed, while holding one of her arrows in front of her. "What's this part called?" she asked him, pointing to the sharp end of the arrow.
Jamie tried to remember the correct term, "It's the head right?"
The priestess smiled, "The arrowhead. Good. And this one?" she pointed at the back of the arrow.
The half demon tried to think, "Uhhh...That's where the string goes."
"Yes," Kagome encouraged him, "And it's called the nnnn," she added, stressing the first letter of the word.
"The nock," Jaime finally remembered with the hint.
"Very good," the priestess said proudly. The half demon wolf asked her so many questions after the Wolves attack, regarding her fighting skills. Kagome told most of her story to him already, but leaving out most of the life threatening details. But after that, Jamie was inspired to learn how to fight too.
The priestess was a little wary at first, figuring that Jaime was too young, but Shippo told her that his demon blood makes him more durable then human children and this is actually when demon children start learning their demonic skills.
"Do I get to learn to use arrows like you, now?" Jamie asked in excitement.
Kagome shook her head, "Not yet, sweetie. There's many things you'll have to learn first before you can handle a weapon."
Jamie tilted his head curiously, "Like what?"
The priestess put down the arrow and placed it on the ground before grabbing his hands, "You're power as a half demon," she told him, making his eyes widen, "You're so much stronger than human children your age, and maybe even some of the adults here."
"Really?" the half demon said in amazement, not knowing he had that kind of strength. He was faster than some of the other kids, but he didn't really think that it was because of his demon wolf heritage.
Kagome nodded, "Mmm-hmm. So Shippo and I are going to help you learn about your demonic side and how you can get stronger."
Jamie was excited but a part of him was still nervous, "What if people don't like me? My Mama and Papa once said that some people might be scared of me."
The priestess nodded in understanding, "Some will, that's true...But there will be others who will look to you for protection and guidance too."
"Like people do with Uncle Rick?" the half demon asked.
"Yes," Kagome smiled at her father figure's new title, "Just like Uncle Rick."
Shippo walked over to the two when Beth and Souta were done practicing, "You ready to get started, Jamie?"
The half demon nodded repeatedly in anticipation.
"Oh no they don't," Beth suddenly growled as she stormed over to the wall by the graveyard, in an obvious rage.
One glance from Kagome and Shippo at the wall, and they could see why the blonde was so mad.
The citizens of Alexandria began writing the names of the people they've lost since The Wolves attack. This would have been a nice gesture if they didn't add Glenn's name to the list.
'What in the world are they doing?' Kagome thought in anger as she followed Beth's example and stormed over there.
Shippo shook his head in disagreement of the humans decision, "Uh oh. They're in trouble with Mama and Sister Beth."
Jamie nodded, having smelt their fury laminating off the females' bodies.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Beth yelled at the people writing Glenn's name.
"We," one of them hesitated to speak, "We thought we'd save time if we wrote his and the other's names."
Kagome arrived just in time to hear the person's explanation, and was furious, "How dare you!" she scolded them, "It hasn't even been a day yet and you just assumed that they're dead. You don't have the right to make that call."
"We were just," someone tried to explain their 'good' intentions.
"Go!" Beth snapped at them.
The citizens looked at one another, not sure of what to do.
"She said go!" Kagome snapped more harshly, finally getting the people to obey them.
Once they were gone, Beth grabbed a cloth and dipped it into the water to wipe off Glenn's name. There was no way she was going to leave it here for her sister to see. Kagome grabbed a cloth and began to help her wipe off the name too.
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As time had passed into the night, the priestess began to grow more worried about her husband and the rest of her family.
Rick had tried to make contact with them with the walkie countless times, and got no response. Sesshōmaru and Kilala scouted the area for any signs of their people and come up with nothing. But the demons could only go so far without causing suspicion of their absence from the Alexandrian citizens.
After dropping off Jamie with Eric, Kagome walked over the watch post where Maggie and Aaron stood watch for the night. The Walkers may have doubled as extra security of future invaders, but they still needed to look for any sign of attack or the others return.
'And they will come back,' the priestess told herself as she climbed the ladder up to the watch post.
"Hey," Aaron helped the priestess stand up straight when she got on top of the watch post.
"Anything?" Kagome asked, hoping to hear some good news.
Maggie shook her head no in disappointment.
There wasn't any sign of their husbands anywhere tonight.
The priestess walked over to her brunet sister and stood next to her. Maggie lowered her head to Kagome's shoulder in gloomy and worried. Kagome saw the way the farmer's daughter's hand drifted to her producing stomach, making her want to change the subject. "So, what were you guys talking about?" she asked them.
"Just reminding Maggie that Aaron could be a boy or girls name depending on the spelling," Aaron admitted smugly, knowing full well what the priestess doing.
Kagome smiled at the man in amusement, "Oh really?"
Their family had heard the news about their new addition to the family before the 'dry run', and were happy for Maggie and Glenn about becoming parents.
"We'll see," Maggie attempted to say just as pleased, but it was hard to do so given the circumstances.
The priestess grabbed Maggie's unoccupied hand, "They'll be home soon," she told her referring to their husbands, "Safe and sound like always."
The brunet remained silent but Kagome felt her give a small nod from her shoulder.
Aaron looked down at the two women, wishing he could go and look for their husbands. If there was a way around the Walkers on his own, he'd do it.
He owed their group, their family, so much for keeping Alexandria safe.
But if Aaron couldn't bring back Glenn and Daryl, maybe there was something else he could do to make the day end on a good note.
"Kagome," Aaron said, grabbing the priestess's attention, "Before Daryl gets back...I wanted you to know that it's alright with me and Eric."
Kagome raised a brow, "Alright for what?"
Aaron turned and smiled at her, "For you and Daryl to adopt Jamie."
Maggie pulled her head away from the priestess's shoulder, while both females' eyes widened in surprise.
Aaron and Eric talked in great length about their decision. Yes, they loved Jamie and cared for him since he arrived in Alexandria, but the half demon wolf didn't attach himself to them paternally. At least not like he did to Kagome and Daryl. The two men were okay with their decision because they knew it was what was best for Jaime and that it was what he wanted.
Kagome was speechless for a few moments, trying to comprehend what Aaron was giving her. "Bu-but," the priestess tried to find her voice, "We can't do that to you and Eric. You two have been."
"Yes. You can," Aaron interrupted her softly but firmly, that this was the right thing to do for Jamie. He needed someone who not only understood him, and could also help teach him to protect himself with all of his unique strength. "Kagome...Jamie's your son," he continued, making the priestess's heart almost skip a beat, "He's Daryl's son...I think he was always meant to be."
Kagome felt a tear fall down her face, as Maggie smiled fondly at the two.
The priestess didn't know what to say.
Aaron and Eric had given her a gift that Kagome didn't even know she had wanted.
The priestess took a step forward and hugged him, "Oh Aaron...Thank you so much...I promise we'll protect him and raise him well."
Aaron hugged her back, glad that he was able to do something good in such a helpless time, "I know you will."
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After a day and a half, Glenn finally managed to slide out from under the big garbage can that had kept him hidden from the herd of Walkers in an alleyway.
Nicolaus had snapped under the pressure of the situation when he and Glenn left Michonne's group to start a fire so they'd get away. After they were trapped on top of the trash can, Nicolaus opted out and shot himself in the head taking a living Glenn with him to the ground full of Walkers.
If Nicolaus's body hadn't fallen on top of him, Glenn wouldn't have been able to slide under the garbage can to avoid the Walkers. There he stayed until the herd had lost interest and wandered away.
The Korean was looking for whatever supplies Nicolaus still possessed, including water which he desperately needed.
"Heads up," a voice from above him called out while tossing him a water bottle.
Glenn looked up on the roof as the water bottle hit the ground.
"Shit," the female voice cursed from the roof when the water spilled out, "I said heads up."
Glenn identified the person in confusion, "Enid?"
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Daryl stood next to the three people who kept him hostage for the past night and day. A man named Dwight, his wife Sherry and her sister. They only took him hostage because they thought he belonged to their former group.
The hunter eventually escaped from them and took their belongings in retaliation.
But when the hunter found insulin medicine in the duffle bag he stole from them, he knew he had to go back to help those people.
Daryl didn't want someone else's life in his hands.
Not like that.
Those three were just trying to live, not wanting to go back to the group they had just ran away from. Daryl gave back there stuff and would have walked away, but knew it wasn't right to leave them.
When the hunter tried to find them again, Dwight and two women had been cornered by the group they were running from, Dwight kept mentioning how they earned the insulin that they had taken, and how they were done kneeling.
'What kind of group makes you kneel?' Daryl briefly wondered before he helped his former captors escape from being recaptured by their old group. They stayed hidden behind a dead tree next to a ditch, ready to defend themselves.
Luckily, they caught a lucky break when one of the men searching for them had got bit by a Walker and one of his friends chopped his arm off to keep the infection from spreading.
The leader of the search party told them to fall back due to their injured companion.
Dwight, looked at the hunter in obvious confusion once the men were gone. "We thought you were with them...We knock you over the head, tie you up, threaten to kill you...Why the hell did you come back?" he demanded to know the reason, since no one did something for nothing anymore.
'Because my wife would have wanted me to,' Daryl thought to himself before answering out loud. "Don't know...Maybe I'm stupid, too," he answered vaguely.
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Prayer Circle by the Solar Panels today at 1:00 p.m.
That's what the signs said as Father Gabriel started putting them around the community.
The priest thought that it would be nice to mourn the people who have passed and pray for those who were still out there who had yet to return.
Rick, Carl, and Ron went passed one of the signs where the oldest Grimes immediately tore the sign down in irritation.
This wasn't what the community needed right now. They needed to come up with a way to get the Walkers out of the way of the wall so Sesshōmaru take care of the problem.
"Rick," Kagome scolded as she walked over with Jamie clinging to her side.
Her father figure shook his head, "We don't have time for this."
The priestess glared at Rick, knowing better than that about his intentions. "This isn't about a prayer circle," she glanced over at Father Gabriel who gave small nod towards her and wandered around to put up more signs. "You're going to have to forgive him," she stated firmly.
"Not today I don't," he told her before passing by her. Today was the day that he'd help teach Ron how to shoot, and headed towards the shooting range they set up to help the Alexandrian citizens to learn how to use firearms.
Carl mouthed 'sorry' to his older sister, while Ron said nothing and followed Rick obediently.
Kagome sighed in disappointment at Rick's rude behavior.
"Mama," Jamie whimpered from his spot next to her.
The priestess looked at her new son and smiled lightly at him, "What is it, Jamie?"
"It's too loud," the half demon wolf pointed to outside the walls. The Walkers were growling loudly and their rotting smell wasn't so pleasant for the heightened sense child.
Kagome lifted Jamie into her arms, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wish could make them go away."
The little boy cuddled his face into his new mother's neck and inhaled her pleasant scent to cover the undead smell. "I miss Papa," Jamie admitted to her.
The priestess kissed the side of her son's head, knowing that he was referring to Daryl, "Me too, sweetheart," Kagome said soothingly as she prayed for the hundredth time for her angel to return, "Me too."
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This was the second time in two days that Daryl had a gun pointed to his head, and what felt like the hundredth time in his life.
Why did he always end up in this situation?
Oh that's right, because he was trying to be a good person and make his wife proud.
After Sherry's sister was killed by a Walker, Daryl offered Dwight and Sherry a place in Alexandria.
He figured people like them could use a fresh start.
But the married couple had different ideas.
"Give her the crossbow," Dwight ordered the hunter as he aimed his gun on him. He stood behind Daryl's motorcycle while his wife stood a few feet away.
Daryl shook his head at the two of them, "You gonna go back?...You gonna be safe?"
"Shut up," Dwight snapped at him. Of course the blonde knew that there would be consequences for what they'd done these past few days. It was worth the risk if it guaranteed his and his wife's safety.
"Ain't nowhere safe no more," the hunter reminded them.
Dwight lightly gestured with his gun, "Give her the crossbow," he told Daryl again.
"You gonna kneel?" the hunter asked, knowing he hit a sore spot by the look on Dwight and Sherry's faces. Especially after Dwight fired a warning shot above Daryl's head.
Only after that did the hunter reluctantly hand his crossbow over to Sherry, who placed it securely on her back. That's when Dwight handed the gun to her, so she could keep it on Daryl while he pulled up Daryl's motorcycle from the ground.
Sherry reached into her pocket and tossed a gauze and some disinfected to Daryl's feet, "Patch yourself up," she said in mild concern about the wounds he had. She kept the gun on the hunter as she climbed on the back of the motorcycle her husband already started. "We're sorry," she told him sincerely.
Daryl glared at her in irritation, "You're gonna be."
The hunter could only watch as the couple drove off on the motorcycle he'd built, along with his crossbow.
'Now what?' he asked himself looking around the woods. He had to get back to Abraham and Sasha before going to Alexandria.
But how?
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Rick glared at Morgan as he sat across the table from him. Michonne, Carol, and Kagome were there as well.
"Sesshōmaru told us that he came across five of the Wolves heading into the woods from Alexandria," Rick told the man, "Carol says she saw you with them during the attack."
"Did you let them go?" Carol asked Morgan.
The bo staff wielder nodded, "I did."
Michonne looked down at the table in disappointment, "Why?"
"I didn't want to have to kill five people I didn't have to kill," Morgan explained to them.
Kagome could understand his reasons, "But we got lucky. If the Wolves kept running they would have caught up to where Rick was and would have killed him."
"Only because Sesshōmaru stopped them," Carol reminded her, "And he's confined to the area now like we are."
Morgan raised a brow, "Is he now?"
The family members looked at each other, briefly wondering what Morgan knew about the demons of their group. He must have suspected something unusual by the tone in his voice, but had no idea on why.
"We're not discussing that," Carol stayed on the matter at hand, "The Wolves burned people alive."
"I know," Morgan nodded, before looking to his old friend. "Why didn't you kill me, Rick?" he asked him, "Back in King County." Rick didn't answer the question. "I pulled a knife on you. I stabbed you. So why didn't you kill me? Was it cause I saved you after the hospital?"
"Cause I knew who you were," Rick finally answered.
Morgan shook his head, "Back there I would have killed you as soon as looked at you...And I tried," he reminded his friend, "But you let me live."
Michonne looked over to Rick, remembering that day as well. It was one of the first outing they'd been on together. Rick wanted her close since they didn't fully trust her yet. Michonne had wanted to leave Morgan after what he'd done to them, but Rick had refused. At first the sword wielder thought Rick was being stupid, but now, she wished he'd make the same decision he did back then.
Showing compassion.
"You let me live, and I was there to help Aaron and Daryl," Morgan reminded him, "If I wasn't there...if they'd died."
"I'd be a widow," Kagome finished for Morgan before looking over to Rick. "We can't be angry at him for wanting to merciful...Isn't that what we're trying to hold on to?"
"It's not the same," Rick told his daughter figure, "You know that."
The priestess shook her head, "If I held a grudge for everyone that's ever tried to harm me or kill me, I would've never gotten all the friends and allies I have now."
No one commented on what Kagome confided to them.
"Our decisions are based on what we believe is right in that moment," the priestess continued, "If you are upset that Morgan chose to be humane, then I'm sorry to say that I'm not," she admitted before leaving the table abruptly.
The entire ordeal had the priestess emotionally drained on top of everything else. She went to her attic bedroom and laid down on the bed. Her fingers brushed over her bracelet as her mind started to drift into sleep. "Daryl," she whispered her husband's name before falling asleep.
A few hours later, Kagome woke up to someone shaking her shoulder. She was startled to see it was Morgan, who was standing there with a bo staff in hand. "Did you mean what you said down stairs?" he asked her straight out.
The priestess sat up tucking her hair behind her ears, "I do."
Morgan nodded, satisfied by her answer, "I've been told by a few people that you know a few things about first aid."
Kagome raised a brow by the statement, "Why? Are you hurt?"
"No," he answered her vaguely, "I'm not...But there's someone who is."
The priestess was still confused by why Morgan was coming to her.
If someone was hurt, they'd just go down to the clinic to get Denise's help.
Unless...
'Oh Kami why does it always have to be me?' she wondered in slight annoyance before speaking out loud. "The person who's hurt...Do they live in Alexandria?" the priestess asked the bo wielder sternly, wanting to confirm her suspicions.
Morgan shook his head no.
Kagome let out a frustrated sigh, "Well...If we're gonna do something stupid, like help out a deranged attacker, we're going to need more help."
"Denise is our next stop," Morgan assured her.
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"What in the world was he thinking?" Beth asked Maggie after she climbed onto the guard post.
Spencer had taken it upon himself to try and lead the Walkers away by climbing across rope to another building over the wall. Unfortunately, the rope had snapped while he was half way across the rope had snapped, forcing Rick, Morgan, Tara, and Maggie to save him.
"He was trying to help," the brunet told her sister.
The blonde rolled her eyes, "If it were that easy we would have had Shippo do it."
"I know," Maggie told her, understanding her point. "But we can't let ourselves rely on his strength or Sesshōmaru and Kilala's, you know that."
Beth nodded in understanding, "Just wish Sesshōmaru could kill the herd off faster."
"There are about one eighth less than last night," Maggie told her. "It's subtle enough so other people don't notice. He went further out to make sure the herd doesn't get any bigger."
That was something at least. But before Beth could comment on anything, something peculiar caught her eye.
Something in the sky.
"Oh my gosh," Beth said with a smile across her face, "Maggie look."
Maggie turned to what her sister was pointing to and couldn't believe her eyes.
It was balloons.
Green balloons flying into the sky, very close to Alexandria.
It was something no one expected.
It was so...
"Glenn," Maggie said her husband's name in relief.
Both women went to the ground ran off to tell Rick what they saw.
They both made it just in time to witness something no one saw coming.
The guard tower next to the wall crumbled down landing on the metal wall, causing it to collapse.
Only three metal panels fell from the wall.
But that was all the Walkers needed to get inside Alexandria.
"Everybody back!" Rick ordered everyone around him, as he began firing his gun at the oncoming herd, "Get in the houses! Now!"
Everyone scattered in multiple directions as the swarm of the undead invaded their home.
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"Beth!" Shippo yelled as he watched his mate climb the ladder of the guard post next to the gate, encouraging her sister to follow. The ladder lost its balance while Maggie was on the ladder, making her grab on to the guard post to save herself, as Walkers were trying to grab her from the ground.
Beth grabbed her sister's hand and helped pull her up on the wooden watch post. They may have been stuck where they were, but the Walkers couldn't get them. "We're fine!" the blonde called over to her mate, "Help them!" she pointed to the others who were fighting Walkers.
The fox demon cursed under his breath for being away from his mate as he left to help others get to safety.
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"Mama!" Jamie screamed in the streets as the dead were coming for him.
This was how his birth Mama and Papa were killed.
He didn't want to be next.
A gun fire startled the little half demon wolf, as a Walker fell to the ground in front of him.
His Aunt Carol saved his life.
Both Carol and Morgan ran over to Jamie.
"Come on," Morgan said as he lifted the little boy in his arms, "I'll take you to your Mama," he promised before all three of them ran to the brownstone development.
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Eugene was backed in a corner with a machete in hand. His whole body was shaking in terror as the Walkers surrounded him.
"Rick, you copy?" Daryl's voice came from the abounded walkie Talkie laying on the ground. "Anybody?" the hunter spoke again.
Eugene picked up the walkie and whimpered the only thing that could come to mind, "Help."
Suddenly, the Walkers around him fell to the ground after a bullet to the head, thanks to Rosita's aim.
"Eugene, move your ass!" Shippo yelled to the petrified human as he looked at the surrounding undead. The intelligent man followed the fox demon without question. Rosita helped Eugen run, while Tara and Sophia fired from behind them to prevent Walkers from grabbing them.
All five of them dove into the garage the children used as a school and quickly slammed it shut before the dead could get inside. They could only stare as the dead banged on the window of the metal garage door.
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Meanwhile, Rick was helping a wounded Deanna run from the upcoming herd.
"Rick!" Michonne called over as she ran to them, along with Gabriel, Carl, Souta, and Ron. Once she saw Deanna she knew there wasn't any other option now. "Kilala," she commanded her companion to transform.
The cat demon changed into her full form, startling both Deanna and Ron.
"The hell," Ron swore in confusion.
Instead of answering the obvious questions on their faces, Rick helped Deanna onto Kilala's back, allowing him and his group to move faster.
Unfortunately, they ended up surrounded by more Walkers.
That's when Jessie came out of her house and shot a path for them to get out. "Come on!" she told the group, "I have Judith in here with me!"
Rick let out a sigh of relief as they all ran into Jessie's house.
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Kagome could only watch as the Walkers flooded the streets of Alexandria from her spot in the brownstone development.
It looked like everyone made it safety, but may have been injured along the way.
The priestess felt so helpless being trapped inside the building knowing that she could have helped people get to safety sooner.
Kagome tried to use her powers to find everyone, but just like with the Wolves, her priestess abilities were weak.
Any other time she would have been worried about her abilities lacking like this, but there were other things she had to worry about.
And it wasn't the Walkers.
Earlier in the day, Morgan led her and Denise to the town house development that was still being built. It was the same building that Rick and Morgan were confined inside of, ironically enough.
And there, sitting on the floor mattress, was one of the Wolves, who was wounded by some kind of sharp object.
Kagome didn't hesitate to help the man with his wound. Denise was more hesitant but tried to get through on helping the injured mad man. They were about half way sewing his wound with stiches, since the wound had been disinfected, when they heard the commotion outside, making the priestess go investigate from the entryway of the townhouse that led to the street.
"I don't think he's coming back," The Wolf, Owen, commented to the women. Denise was in the corner, panicking over the whole situation. "Do you think he's coming back?" he asked Denise, who refused to answer. "We can talk right?" he continued to question.
"It'd be better if you were quiet, all things considered," the priestess told him as she walked back over to the injured Wolf. She immediately went back to work on stitching his wound, mainly to keep her hands and mind busy over the whole situation outside.
"There's injured people out there," Denise voiced her thoughts, "I have patients...I shouldn't be here."
Kagome glanced over to Denise, pausing in her work, "Yes...But he's one of your patients too," she gestured to Owen, "This is something you can do. Right here. Right now."
Denise hesitated but slowly made her way over to help Kagome finish what they'd started.
Owen, in his dazed state from being sewn up looked at the two women in astonishment. "Did Morgan tell you what this was?" he asked them.
The priestess nodded as her answer while Denise said, "He said he'd keep you here, until he was sure that you wouldn't kill again."
"If we're going to talk, how about we talk more about you," Kagome interrupted, referring to The Wolf. "How did you get hurt?" she asked him.
Owen sighed as he looked at the wound she'd finished stitching, "It's just an infection," he told her. "I was breaking into a car...I cut myself on a rusty bumper...Just like that. It's not unfair or just. Nothing is unfair anymore...It might not kill me, but it might. I've done my part...The world will take care of the rest...It won't change."
"Well," Kagome said as Denise finished tying the final stitch, "The wound's not going to kill you today."
"It won't change," Owen repeated the phrase.
Denise looked at The Wolf skeptically, "You weren't born this way...You changed."
A sudden noise coming down the stairs startled the three of them.
"Mama," Jamie ran towards Kagome.
The priestess stood up and hugged the half demon wolf, "Oh Jamie, thank Kami."
"Jamie?" Denise said in bewilderment, "How did you get here?"
"Mr. Morgan and Aunt Carol saved me," Jamie answered her as he calmed down by inhaling Kagome's scent.
The priestess let out a sigh in relief that her son was saved by Morgan and Carol, and that they made it here alright. She also couldn't help but tense on how Carol is going to react once she finds The Wolf here with them.
"Who's that Mama?" Jamie pointed to Owen.
Kagome turned to the wounded prisoner, "A man who thinks he's a Wolf."
Jamie raised a brow, "He doesn't smell like a wolf."
The priestess smiled while Owen and Denise seemed confused, "Well you would know."
The half demon wolf couldn't help but smile back at her.
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Souta paced back and forth in the living room of Jessie's house. He and Carl just finished placing the blankets over the windows so Walkers couldn't see inside. Kilala was with Judith in one of the rooms upstairs, watching over her. After playing with the demon cat for a few minutes, Judith eventually laid down to nap.
"They're gonna be fine," Carl told his blood brother, "Kagome, Sophia, all of them."
The youngest Higurashi gave a single nod, "I know...It just makes me nervous not knowing."
Carl nodded in understanding.
Suddenly, both boys saw Ron go passed them and into the houses garage.
Both Carl and Souta looked at each other, knowing that something wasn't right with their friend. They followed the older boy into the garage and found him leaning over some kind of table against the wall, away from facing them.
"Ron?" Carl walked inside with Souta behind him.
"You alright?" the young Asian asked as he shut the door behind them.
It took a few minutes for Ron to answer, "Enid's dead...We're all dead."
Souta let out a heavy breath, having to remind himself that Ron wasn't used to these type of seemingly helpless situations.
Carl was calmer about it, "Look, my dad's going to figure something out. He always does."
Ron turned to his two friends in anger, "That's bullshit," he said as he got into Carl's face, "Your dad is just going to get more people killed. 'Cause that's what he does. That's who he is...Your dad's a killer."
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Ron was still upset with Rick for killing his father. Especially when a tear suddenly fell down the older boy's face.
"So is yours," Carl countered.
Souta got between both of them, slowly pushing Ron away, "You need to calm down alright. We need a level head when we get out of here."
Ron allowed Souta to push him out of the way, only so he could walk passed both his friends and slowly walk to the door that led from the house to the garage. "I'm dead, guys. My mom is dead. My brother's dead," Ron said before he locked the door with the key and placed it in his back pocket. "Your dad's dead, Carl...You are too."
Both Carl and Souta's eyes widened when they saw the gun stuffed in the back of Ron's pants pocket, which they only got a glimpse of when he put the key in his back pocket.
Carl reacted first, showing Ron against the door by placing his lower arm over Ron's throat and using his other hand to try and force Ron to drop it.
Souta tried to get the gun out of Ron's hand, only to have the other boy shove all three of them into a metal shelf that was next to the door, making them all fall to the smooth concrete floor.
The gun slid to the other side of the room, but that didn't stop Ron. He grabbed a shovel that fell to the ground with them, and shoved Carl against the back door of the garage, breaking the door's windows, while chocking Carl with the shovel.
By this point, Rick and Jessie were trying to get into the garage. They could hear Rick uses his hatchet to break down the door.
Souta moved quickly as he grabbed the gun and pointed it at the back of Ron's head. Only then did the older boy finally stop. "Drop the shovel, now!" the young Higurashi ordered firmly.
It took a few seconds for Ron to finally drop his weapon.
But none of them could take a breath just yet.
Walkers heard the commotion from the boys fight, and enough of them crowded the backyard fence enough for it to tumble down. The small herd made their way to the back door of the garage where the weakened door stood.
"Oh shit," Souta swore in his native tongue as the swarm started coming in.
All three boys went to the door, just as Rick finished hacking his way through it.
"What happened?" Rick asked the boys as they tried to barricade the door with the couch.
"We were looking for tools and knocked over a shelf," Carl quickly lied.
Rick turned to the young Higurashi who looked like he wanted to say something different, but nodded with Carl's story. None of the adults noticed the gun that Souta now had in his back pocket.
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Rosita was sitting at the student table with her head in her hands. Tara and Shippo were by the metal garage door. The fox demon was using his bond with Beth, to help her stay calm in the situation. He knew that Maggie and Beth wouldn't be hurt by Walkers, but they didn't have any water or food in the post to survive if this thing didn't end soon.
Eugene was in the corner of the room, reading a world history book by lighter light.
"Most people got inside their houses. There's that," Tara voiced the good of what happened.
Shippo nodded, "They're smart enough to stay quiet and hidden. They have food inside their houses...They'll be safe."
Rosita let out a breath and turned to Shippo, "Isn't there anything you can do?"
The fox demon shook his head, "Not without putting you all danger in order to do something...Right now, all my instincts are telling me to do is get to my mate. The only reason I'm here with you, is because she asked me to."
"Love ya too, Red," Tara replied sarcastically.
"I know it's bad," Shippo admitted, "But like I said. It's instinct."
Rosita's gaze turned to the ground, "Is this it...Do you think this place is over?"
"No," Tara answered her, "I think we got to earn it. All of us. Whether it's waiting, knowing that everyone's safe, dealing with that or fighting them. A place like this has got to have a price, right? "
Rosita looked at the woman skeptically, "We haven't paid it already?"
"It doesn't matter anyway," Sophia interrupted, "You're both missing the bigger picture. Even if this place falls, it's not what matters...It's our family that make our home. Not where we're living."
Both women and Eugene absorbed the young teenager's words, knowing that she was right.
Rosita's eyes drifted to the back door that led to inside the apartment building, "Can't you break the lock to that?" she asked the fox demon.
Shippo nodded, "I could. But I don't know if busting a good lock is the best solution to our problem."
"You won't need to," Eugene spoke up and pulled out a paper clip from the history book, "Lock-picking is within my skill set."
The fox demon gave a kitsune smirk, "First lying, now a thieving skill," Shippo said in amusement, "You'd make a great fox demon, Eugen."
I know that this may be of an awkward place to stop, but this is going to balance out as we approach one of the most amazing villains we love to hate in The Walking Dead. Next time: Taking back Alexandria from the dead and a new discovery.
Till then my readers