Disclaimer: I don't own the original Characters of TWD They remain the sole property of their creators TWD Comic book and TWD on AMC. Any OC's mentioned below are my creation, and can be lent to AMC in time for filming season 5, all they have to do is drop me a line… you know with paperwork expressly giving me ownership of one Daryl Dixon… : 3
Notes: Huge thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed and favorite this story all along! You guys are amazing, you make writing a 455 page Fanfiction on Word seem less daunting and more a labor of love!
Chapter Sixty-Six
(Fin's POV)
I know that sound…
There's only one reason someone would turn that forklift on.
Luke and I both sprint to the edge of the floor. Stare down to the concrete floor below us.
The forklift is moving on the far side of the warehouse; pulling stacked pallets from around the rolling steel door of the warehouse.
The same steel door that separates us from about seventy five contained Walkers.
All the ones I pulled out of the inside of the warehouse when I first moved in almost two years ago…
"Ah Shit." Luke's bolting towards the ladder.
I'm right on his heels calling over my shoulder to Daryl. A serious wave of Deja vu hitting me…
"Daryl! Crossbow Now!"
Then I'm dropping down the ladder not waiting for their response…there's no time; not with Carl and Beth down there; and if they get into the main section of the warehouse there's nothing to stop them from taking down the fence on the bottom level; reaching the back hallway where Mika is still injured.
"Luke, If he gets that door open Can He Control Them?!" I hiss my question at Luke as we drop to the next floor, racing for the next ladder.
"No!" Luke glances at me, looks like he wants to ask something; but there isn't time.
"What the Hell's going on?!" Daryl's yell follows us down the ladder.
Everyone has noticed something is wrong; they just don't know what yet.
"Walkers!" I don't stop to wait for him too desperate to reach Chris in time, stop him from exposing us in front of the others. I'm right behind Luke on the next level, chasing him down the next ladder.
"If Chris pulls open that door..." We're racing out the open chain link gate on the bottom level.
"I Know!"
We're sprinting across the concrete floor of the warehouse.
"What are you Doing?!" Beth is screaming at Chris, she should be running.
Why isn't she running already?
Carl is watching us run towards them. They're both in the warehouse with Chris, standing there watching him pull the pallets from the door.
Chris brought them as witnesses and potential victims I realize in a flood of panic…
We can't risk dealing with the Walkers my way or get bit killing them in front of the others… and if we don't risk it Carl and Beth…the others, they could all die.
"Carl, Beth Run!" Luke yells.
She's standing there just about wringing her hands. Carl doesn't run, he's spent too much time with me. He climbs; straight up the closest shelving unit using the stacked boxes at its edge for steps.
Chris is jumping off the forklift running toward the door… if he opens that door and lets that many of them get inside at once they might just pull the shelving down trying to reach Carl, and everyone else.
"What the Hell is he Thinking?!" Luke is almost ahead of me, my bare feet a serious disadvantage at a dead run. I'm supposed to be eating breakfast with my family; with Daryl; not trying to stop Chris from killing us all…
"Beth Run!" She does finally sprinting past us. "Lock the gate!" I scream to her as she passes us. That will slow them at least; keep them from eating everyone in the group… until they can take some of them out and then Glenn's words come back to me, and Sasha's…
He took the guns…
Chris took all the groups weapons…
I don't have weapons on me right now…no bow…no knife…
Daryl won't have his Crossbow…
He's not trying to simply expose us;
he's trying to get them killed…
"CHRIS NO!"
Chris ignores us completely slams his fist into the steel surface without a doubt attracting the attention of every hungry dead body on the other side with the noise. Then he grabs the chain that operates the door. Slams his weight down on the chain pulley raising it up, as soon as he's got the steel door open enough for them to get in he climbs up onto the pallets next to the entrance, staying out of their reach…smart.
He's just turned them loose on us.
Luke and I both slam to a stop skidding and hopping so we don't fall on the smooth concrete floor.
Luke grabs me with one arm pushing me behind him; which is ridiculous when they're still 120 feet away. I shove his arm away from me only to have him grab me again a second later.
"Damnit Luke, Stop it." I slap his arm away again.
We need a plan…
They stumble forward, pouring through the now open doorway, funneled into the warehouse by the pallets stacked in front of either side of the door. With the center pallets removed it's now an effective Walker chute funneling them straight down the center of the warehouse; directing them towards the fence surrounding the bottom level, and everyone else above it.
And Chris could sit on top of the pallets out of reach and wait for his plan to unfold and the rest of us to get trapped or overwhelmed or dead all in perfect safety…
He stands on top of the pallet wall, drawing some of their attention screaming at me. "Guess what Finny?! You Don't Get What You Want IF I DON'T GET WHAT I WANT!"
I stare at him in total shock trying to wrap my head around this.
They're still moving towards us, maybe 70 feet away now.
We Need a Plan…NOW.
"Luke, I can stop them. All of them."
"What?" He's staring at me again eyes wide like I'm the one who's lost my mind not Chris.
"I can control them!"
Luke just continues to stare at me, breathing too fast… he shakes his head violently.
"No. If you do that Finny, you give up everything you've built here: they'll know what you are, He'll know…you'll lose it all…"
I stare back at him feeling lost and desperate. "And what's the alternative?!"
Let good people die? I can't, not again…
Luke hands me his only weapon; a three inch camping knife he's carried in his pocket since he was 11.
"I can't close that door, and contain Chris, and stop the Dead! If you can get that door shut we can kill the ones already inside; stop it while it's still manageable…"
Which it won't be for much longer…Not with the way Chris is yelling drawing them inside…
I realize Luke doesn't want to show them our secret either.
It doesn't matter to him if everyone knows the truth…. unless they shoot us; he's planning on leaving.
What does he care if these people hate him, fear him?
He doesn't.
He's trying to protect my life here.
My life with Daryl.
Even after he told me that it would eventually fail…
We both know that someday it will all fall apart…living with a secret is like this;
It's impossible to hide it forever, especially one as potent as this...
We stare at each other breathing too fast as they continue to move towards us while it washes over me.
Luke is still trying to protect me. But this time it's completely different. And just like with Daryl earlier it suddenly doesn't bother me anymore… it's a precious gift; letting me keep my secret, giving me a chance at happiness.
Even if he thinks the idea is crazy that I could live with normal people…
Even if he's not completely sold on the idea of me with Daryl…
He's trying to give me a chance…
I'd hug him, but there's no time.
I can hear Daryl and Rick running up the warehouse floor behind us; more feet coming behind them… though without their guns…
I don't even know if they have their knives…
and against so many…
I can't let them risk their lives like this.
Not when the only danger I'm in is being exposed; losing Him…
I can't be that selfish…
Especially knowing If I let them fight too I could lose him anyway;
One bite, it can happen in an instant…
That's all it takes for them to die.
That's all it takes for me to lose him forever…
I can't take that risk.
Chris is our problem; Luke's and Mine.
Chris is lashing out at me…trying to get them killed.
The Walkers should be my problem too.
Are. The Walkers Are my Problem.
Luke must see it shift behind my eyes, grabs both my arms while I stare up at him, his voice is a fierce whisper so no one else can possibly hear it.
"Can you make it believable? Can you do it without getting bit?"
Believable because they'll have to show interest in me; I'll have to draw them in…
And I can't get bit. Not because a bite would kill me; but it will end my life here just as quickly as a death sentence would…
It doesn't matter that I could stop them all now from where I stand.
I could do it without raising a single hand.
I could waltz between them,
and do cartwheels,
and maybe even lay on the floor and take a nap…
But not with everyone watching.
If they see me do that then I won't be able to stay with him:
No one wants to live with a Freak of Nature…
A Monster…
Not my Family; my own Mother…Phil…or Abby…or Thomas…
Even the Peacocks took one look at what I could do and ran away screaming…
I'm named after an Angel.
But it's a lie.
I'm a Monster cleverly hidden in plain sight;
desperate to hide just a little while longer.
"Finny? Can you do it?" Luke is still staring at me.
I flip the knife over in my hand. "Yes." I nod once to Luke in agreement and bolt straight for the entrance. Sprinting as fast as I can with my bare feet.
I have to do this.
It's the only way I can keep them safe;
From the Dead
From the Truth
It's the only way to keep myself Safe too…
I leap to the side of the first few bodies, easily dodging their outstretched hands, jumping up off the concrete; my feet hitting the solid wall of clear packing wrapped boxes still stacked on the heavy pallets. Then I leap again pushing off the vertical surface flipping and landing feet first on one of the Dead's shoulders.
I flip one more time and drop behind them before my initial impact can send the rotting unstable corpse collapsing to the ground.
My added weight and momentum snapping it's legs like twigs. He wouldn't be getting back up, even without the knife blade in my hand slamming into his skull; silencing his snarls of frustration splitting his eye cavity and stopping his furious attempts at trying to grab me.
Now I'm behind quite a few of them, I can't see anything but the sea of dead bodies shuffling through the open doorway passing me by as I stand perfectly still.
I don't know if Daryl and Rick and the others are safe; I can no longer see them; but they also can't see me.
And that gives me an advantage; a chance to work quickly without having to hide.
All around me all I can hear is snarling and farther away people shouting; not screaming like they're being eaten; Thank God….and gunfire…
Someone still has a gun. That will help even the odds; let them keep a safe distance, where they can't be bitten which is the best news I could hope for.
I step sideways around a Dead guy just as a bullet tears into his flesh sends him jerking backward as it hits his chest...not a head shot…
What the?!
I dive behind another one on instinct the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
"Hey Finny! Catch!"
I realize in that instant that Chris still has the gun.
And he's shooting not at the Walkers, but at ME.
I snarl in frustration, fear clawing at my chest.
At least he's not trying to shoot Daryl… Unless he already did…
No. I won't think like that.
And Where the Hell is Luke? Did he get shot?
I close my eyes for a second in silent prayer, open them and glance around the Walker I'm using for cover. Keeping my back pressed to its disgusting back while it stands perfectly still for me…
I can't see Luke or Chris over the dead bodies shuffling past me and the height of the pallets over my head in the back of this man-made box canyon… but I can hear Chris yelling something at me a second later that I can't make out...
I practically feel the bullets zinging past me in the air, striking dead flesh all around me…
Asshole
Then he stops shooting, someone yells… I wait another few seconds but the gunfire doesn't resume; I can only hope that Luke or someone took him down; disarmed him and is helping the others stop the Walkers.
I take a deep breath. Center myself and stop the rest of the Walkers behind the front mass rolling up the pallet lined aisle-way; including the ones still in the warehouse doorway.
These I can hold in place; and no one will see; I can use them like a living wall to stop the others from coming in….well…okay so living is a loose term…
It's not important right now…
The only thing that is important; is getting that damn door shut before someone gets killed.
I run to the heavy chain pulley that operates the warehouse door. Grab it with both hands and yank it down as hard as I can using all my weight dropping towards the floor. The door starts to roll with a loud protest; picks up speed with gravity and slams down enormously loud while knocking a few of the stopped Walkers to the concrete surface; pinning their bodies under its solid frame with a disgusting splat and splatter of blood across the floor.
Like bugs on a windscreen.
I slam the steel pin Chris left on the ground back through the bracket; lock it in place. We can deal with the trapped Walkers snapping and clawing at the floor after we deal with the ones already inside…
I can't see Daryl or the others still. I can only guess at how much danger they're in; if they even have weapons, and what they are…
I make quick work of stabbing and dropping the Walkers in the back row, then the next, moving onto the ones that are moving towards what I can only assume is the rest of the group.
I call out, reach out; force them to turn back to me, all of them… I have to keep them away from the others.
They turn as one giant mass; like a school of fish or a flock of birds. It's so sudden, and synchronized it even startles Me…and I did it.
My heart rate picks up with a sudden skin prickling rush of fear I haven't felt around them in a long time…
And then I'm too busy spinning; swinging my knife blade into an eye, and then an ear…twisting and ducking and diving to the side while my sore muscles protest and my lungs burn and I don't think; just move…
Jabbing out with my elbow smashing one in the chin driving it off me, leaping forward and slamming the blade into his skull against the floor before rolling over its chest, flipping to avoid one lurching towards me until I can turn…
And kick another back with my barefoot in their stomach, my heel sinks into the skin, rupturing its swollen rotten belly getting stuck for a second…
I jerk my leg back spin away and try not to slip with my blood soaked bare feet on entrails and putrid rot slicked concrete floor.
I have to kick two back again, placing my foot more carefully this time; on solid chest and pelvis bones so I don't end up slipping on endless piles of walker sick; or puking my own guts up…
If I stopped now I might puke anyway, as it is I just breath through my mouth; try not to think about what I smell; what I'm drenched in…
Crap…I gag.
My eyes watering kicking another one back, stabbing another eye…and another straight up through the chin…
I can handle them one at a time; if I can just keep on my feet… keep moving…
I twist jumping straight up, catching one by the back of the head my fingers slipping on loose rotten skin and hair but I keep my grip and keep twisting dragging it's skull forward off balance; and down as I fall back on one leg; yanking and bringing up my knee: smashing it's face against my leg just like I did with Kyle…only this skull is rotten and splits like an over-ripe putrid melon with the force of my blow and…
Someone barks a frantic warning right behind me.
I spin just as a Walker drops to the ground inches from my back its mouth still hanging wide open about to bite me...
I stare at it in shock as its skull slides off someone's knife blade.
I watch it crumpling to the floor in astonishment.
How did I miss that?
Then I look up to see who just rescued me...
It's Daryl
Of course it is…
Who else would run into a herd of Fucking Walkers trying to find me with just a knife?
I stare up at him in disbelief, eyes wide, breathing hard; both of us are covered in blood and worse…and I hope to God he hasn't been bit…doesn't look like it…
"Are you Crazy?!"
He snarls an outraged. "Yes!" in answer.
Then he grabs me. Spins us so his back is pressed to mine and we finish stabbing and smashing the last few dead stumbling towards us.
The last one goes down with his swing and then I'm running toward the sound of fighting on the other side of the pallets; dodging his hand as he's trying to grab my arm; yelling at me to stop while I'm already leaping over dead bodies, eyes darting around the corpses frantically for any of the clothing people were wearing at breakfast or faces I know…
I stop nearly fall on my ass slipping on wet concrete and blood slick bare feet.
Luke is beating Chris into the concrete floor.
I can feel Daryl standing behind me again. Hovering like a violent thunderstorm. He doesn't speak just watches Luke punch Chris over and over...
"Luke! Stop!" It's out before I've even processed the words.
His hand pauses mid-strike eyes never leaving Chris's bloody face.
"You don't want me to kill him?" He sounds like he's thinking about it…like he was going to do it already…
Chris is whimpering and blubbering like a child, hands pulled up trying to protect himself. I can barely recognize his face. I know it's him only by clothes and hair.
I should be furious. I should hate him. I should want to kill him myself.
But I don't.
"No."
Some things change you forever.
I don't want to see Luke become a monster right before my eyes.
Luke turns his head gaze locked on mine for a long moment before his fist opens releasing the ripped front of Chris's shirt. Chris falls back against the concrete with a heavy thud, rolls towards his side gasping for air, covering his face with his arms.
"Just get him out of my sight, Right Now. And take him with you when you leave."
They have a mission to fulfill; Luke said so earlier. For all I know he needs Chris's expertise to get it done.
As long as he's away from me and my family I don't care.
Family.
Just like that my whole world has shifted…
Luke is still staring at me jaw clenched. He nods his head once and drags Chris up from the floor, shoving him towards the exit, half dragging him by the back of his shirt.
"She just saved your life. But we've got a lot to talk about; this is far from over Church."
My stomach twists with knots watching as a childhood friendship dies;
But a life was spared.
"That's not a conversation I'd want to be a part of." Maggie now stands next to me, watching them leave.
"You okay?" She stares at me past blood splattered cheeks, eyes wide and alert for movement from the dead around us.
"Yeah." I'm surprisingly fine.
I don't have to follow Luke to know he'll wait to say goodbye.
I turn away from their retreating forms to see Rick is pulling Carl down from the shelf he climbed onto.
He climbed; just like those first days in the woods. I'm rubbing off on him.
And It probably saved his life. I'll have to teach him hand-to-hand combat so that next time he'll be prepared…Beth and Mika and Molly too… Carl sees me and grins racing towards me. Daryl reaches out a hand to stop him just before he runs full force slamming into me, his shoes slipping on the slick floor. Daryl barely manages to keep him on his feet by the back of his shirt.
"You okay Carl?"
"Yeah! The way you fought those Walkers; That was Fucking BadAss!" Kid's got the widest grin on the planet.
My heart jumps to my throat for a second wondering just HOW much of that he saw from his height on the shelves…he's not freaking out though…but would Carl freak out if he saw me do something crazy like that?
"Carl! Mouth! Come on, help me check these bodies." Rick is handing a small knife to his son clearly trying to get Carl away so that Daryl and I can talk…
Yikes.
Maggie, Glenn and Sasha move to help them while it looks like Tyreese is going to help Luke escort Chris back upstairs until they leave.
Daryl is standing in front of me again when I turn my head. His glare is searing, burns through my stomach wrenching my insides into a complex mess of knots and makes my face heat.
"Did you seriously just leap into a pack of Walkers with nothing but a knife?" The quiet voice is back…
"uh…" I bite my lip, stare at the small knife now covered in blood and other ick clenched in my hand trying to think of a way to explain why it wasn't really that bad…
"Barefoot?!"
I stare down at my black blood splattered feet with their red painted toe nails.
Oh Boy.
Forget the Walkers: Daryl's going to kill me.
"yes?" I squeak.
He stares at me for what's got to be the longest few heartbeats of my life. I can barely breathe waiting for him to start shouting and cursing and yelling again…
I flinch when he grabs me, jerks me flush against his chest instead… right in front of everyone else. I gasp, stare at him in total shock.
"Don't you ever do something like that again…Ever."
There's no arguing with that tone;
not that I want too…
"I won't. I promise."
"You'd better not or I swear to God—" He shakes his head, loosens his grip enough that he can lean back glaring down, hands still wrapped around my upper arms. I stare back at him, biting my lip wracked with guilt for a long time before his features soften.
"You're killing me."
Actually that's what I was trying to prevent…but I can't explain that.
How could I without losing him?
Even Luke knows that's not possible.
He lets me go slowly, ignoring the scattered looks we're getting from the rest of the group.
I don't think I could blush any harder if I tried…
"Let's go get you cleaned up." He doesn't drop my hand, leaves me no room to argue just drags me back towards the fence, leaving the others to start cleaning up the mess without us.
:: Walking Dead ::