DISCLAIMER: I do not own AMC's and Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" or any of its characters/places. There may be a few OCs at a later time and those will be mine. (NO MARY SUES).
WARNINGS: Rated T for language, violence, gore, and sexual situations.
They had left the prison with the goal of finding more food for the larger number of survivors they'd taken in from Woodbury. It was supposed to be nothing more than a few days on the road while they raided and ransacked for extra supplies. Rick almost aborted the mission when heavy rain moved into the area but when put to a group vote, the majority still wanted to go out in it.
The rain was unrelenting for a day and a night yet they pushed through it. They had reasonable luck until they decided to find a dry place to settle for the night. Unfortunately they never made it that far. Glenn hydroplaned in the truck he was driving and lost control. It crashed into a tree and although he, Maggie, Hershel, and Beth, were uninjured, the truck was destroyed. The convoy doubled back to pick them up and reload everything from the totaled vehicle into the remaining ones. In that time, a nearby herd of walkers heard the sound of the collision and were attracted to the area. The survivors fought them off the best they could but realized there were too many and were forced to retreat.
Rick took the first road out of there with the rest of the group following him. Road signs pointed towards a river and he prayed that the walkers might fall into the water rather than following them across the bridge. He didn't account for the possibility that the water had risen over the low bridge and they were now effectively sandwiched between the raging river and a herd of the undead.
The tires of Rick's truck skid as he stopped too quickly. Behind him, Daryl hardly had enough time to brake and ended up driving off road to avoid crashing into Rick. Everyone abandoned their vehicles and came together for a brief discussion on where to go next.
"We can try crossing it," said Carol.
"Don't know how deep it is," said Daryl. "No way to tell if there's even a bridge under all that water."
"Well our other option will be here in about a quarter mile," said Glenn as he looked behind him at the approaching herd.
"We can't fight them all," said Rick. "We'll use up too much ammo and it's getting dark. There's nothing worse than shooting a gun when you can't tell what you're shooting at."
"Don't wanna do that again," muttered Daryl. Rick heard him and his eyes flicked up to the side of Daryl's head that Andrea had once nearly taken off.
"Staying is not an option and I don't want to try driving through them. If we hit one too hard or get bogged down, there'd be no way to rescue those in the vehicle. We've got to try the river," Rick finally decided. "We've got four trucks and I'll take the lowest one and try driving across it first. If I can cross it in that, the rest of you should be able to too."
The other's thought Rick's logic was sound enough and Rick took over command of the smallest truck. Rick was accompanied by Judith and Carl and the three began to cross the flooded bridge. Tyreese, Sasha, Karen, and Noah were next in line. Glenn, Hershel, Maggie, and Beth waited behind Tyreese, with Daryl, Carol, and Michonne in the final truck.
Rick drove his car slowly down the very center of the road. He felt the river push against it and the engine spluttered but they made it. He drove farther up the road on the other side and looked back. Tyreese saw that Rick had made it safely across and followed in his wake.
"Our turn," Glenn announced and began to drive forward. He entered the water and immediately regretted the decision. Though he considered himself a good driver, he'd never taken his chances in water. In fact he wasn't the best swimmer and realized he probably should have brought that up at one point.
"Keep it steady," said Hershel from the backseat.
"Got it," whispered Glenn.
He absolutely hated how it felt like the water was the one in control of the truck. He took the bridge slower than Rick and Tyreese and soon heard a horn blare from behind him.
"There's walkers are on Daryl's truck—you need to drive faster so he can start," said Beth as she looked back. Glenn gave the truck a little more gas to get them some extra speed. They reached the halfway point when a log was carried onto the road and was hung up where they needed to be driving. Glenn was able to maneuver around when the front driver's side tire slipped into a hole that Rick and Tyreese had missed. The entire truck tilted sideways and the front was thrust far enough underwater that the engine stalled.
"Shit, shit, shit," cursed both Maggie and Glenn. Glenn turned the key over twice but the engine was dead.
"Stay calm," said Hershel. "Daryl will bring his truck over and we'll get into it."
Daryl was thinking along the same lines as Hershel and turned to drive next to them. From the bank, the adults got out of their cars to watch the others and go back in if they needed help.
Daryl drove as close to Glenn's truck as he could. "Michonne, Carol, ya stay here. I'm gonna put them in the back," he said. Daryl opened the door and looked down at the river rushing beneath him. How they were going to get a one legged man from one truck to the other was going to be a miracle. Daryl dropped into the thigh high water and was immediately swept off his feet. He hadn't anticipated its strength to be that much and he struggled to regain his footing. He fought his way over to Glenn's truck and grabbed hold of the first door he came to. It was on the downstream side and he was able to open it. Beth was sitting in the seat and looked at him.
"We gotta get y'all out of here," said Daryl. "Glenn, Maggie, it's gonna take the three of us to get Hershel across. The water is stronger than ya think. Beth, I'm gonna carry ya then come back here."
"Ok," nodded Beth. Daryl opened his arms and she eased herself into them. He held her above the water and moved away from the truck. After five sluggish steps, something knocked into his leg and he was thrown off balance. Beth screamed as Daryl was forced to drop her but he immediately grabbed onto her arm to keep her from floating away.
"Shit," he swore and pulled her into him. Maggie and Glenn reacted and both sprung out of their truck. Neither was prepared for the force of the flood either and Maggie was pinned by the water to the side of the truck. Glenn ignored his fear and trudged over to Daryl. He helped both Daryl and Beth stand and aided them to the other truck. They got Beth inside and paused to catch their breath. "Get Maggie," huffed Daryl and he pointed.
Maggie was trying to get away from the stalled car but couldn't peel herself from the passenger side door. Her feet were beginning to slip out from under her and she clung to the mirror to steady herself. Glenn threw himself back towards her and Daryl lunged after him. From the bank, Rick and Tyreese put their vehicles in reverse to go back into the water.
"You have to stay in here," Rick said to Carl. "That water is too strong for you and you'll get swept away."
"Got it," said Carl.
Rick stopped driving and looked over at his son and baby. He undid his seat belt and leaned over to kiss Judith on her forehead. "Hold onto this for me," he said and unbuckled his holster. He then handed it over to Carl. Carl looked at it questioningly for a moment, unsure of what to do with the gun. "Won't need it out there, just weigh me down too…I'll be back in a minute," was the last thing he said and jumped into the water. Rick was nearly knocked off his feet like Daryl had been and Tyreese joined him. They made their way over to the first truck where Glenn, Maggie, and Daryl were waiting for them.
"Damn this current is strong," grumbled Tyreese. "How are we going to do this?"
"Glenn and Tyreese, you two take Maggie: Daryl and I will help Hershel," said Rick. "We need to get out of here."
Tyreese and Glenn each took one of Maggie's arms and guided her forward. Daryl pried open Hershel's door and kept his back against it so the water wouldn't press it closed. "Keep a hand on the door as long as you can," offered Rick. Hershel swung his leg over the edge of the seat and both Rick and Daryl helped him down. They weren't going to bother with the crutches and the men grabbed hold of Hershel to steady him.
"This ain't gonna work," said Daryl quickly. He could already tell Hershel wasn't going to be able to go against the water. They tried to get Hershel back into the truck but his one foot slipped and he fell. Rick and Daryl were brought down with him and were washed several feet in less than a second.
There was a slight ripple in the water and Rick realized they were about to washed against the side of the bridge. After that, they'd be swept away completely. He seized Hershel and flung an arm out and connected with Daryl's hand as he reached for him. "Daryl! Hang on!" Rick shouted above the flood.
Daryl searched for something to grab onto and finally found the guardrail of the bridge before they were swept over it. He lopped his free arm around it and held tight, his head barely above the water.
Rick worked to get a better grip on Daryl who was acting as their anchor. He let go for just a second and came up with a fistful of Daryl's shirt. Daryl was then able to use both hands to take hold of the railing. Rick looked up and saw Glenn fighting with Maggie and trying to get her to stay in the truck. He heard her scream and knew she was trying to get to her father. She tore away from Glenn and threw herself blindly into the water. Glenn had no choice but to go after her. Karen and Sasha emerged from the other truck and stumbled forward with Tyreese. He knew they shouldn't be trying to help them: He, Daryl, and Hershel were a lost cause.
Tyreese reached Daryl first and braced himself against the rail and helped hold him. "Get Rick and Hershel," Daryl coughed, "not gonna last much longer."
Glenn, Maggie, Karen, and Sasha joined Tyreese with Glenn and Maggie reaching out to pull Rick and Hershel back in. They weren't making very much progress and Karen decided to take her belt off. She tightened it around her wrist and then leaned over the rail so she could toss the other end to Hershel. Hershel let go of Rick and grabbed the belt with both hands. Karen smiled briefly before she was yanked over the guardrail by the combined force of Hershel and the water. All those who were able to shouted and Rick let go of Daryl in one last attempt at saving Hershel and Karen. Maggie broke from Glenn and abandoning all rationale thought, dove after her father.
From the safety of the vehicles, Noah and Carl saw their parents get swept away and jumped in the water. They started a half swim towards the adults and were quickly brought by them. Glenn tried to catch Carl but was too late and he and Noah were washed away in the flood.
Freed from the weight of Rick and Hershel, Tyreese was able to pull Daryl back over and onto the bridge. Daryl coughed and rubbed his aching shoulders while taking a quick inventory of those that were left. He knew Rick and Hershel were gone but was unaware that Karen went with them. One look at Glenn told him Maggie was gone and he was also certain he saw at least one boy in the water too. Whether it was Carl or Noah he couldn't say.
"Get everyone out of this water and to higher ground if ya can…yer in charge now Glenn," Daryl said and then jumped back into the water.
"DARYL NO!" yelled Glenn, his hand grabbing air as he tried in vain to stop Daryl.
A/N: Sorry about the delayed update...action is getting started! Thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows so far :)
