Chaos reigns in Hilltop.
The roars of the Saviors' motor vehicles tear through the air even as gunshots and the sounds of battle rise to join them. The battle began only moments ago, and yet, the death toll is already climbing. Citizens putting their lives on the line to defend their home, lie dead on the ground, along with many of the bodies of their former oppressors. No side is spared losses. Those that are unfortunate enough to not be shot in their heads are quick to turn into ravenously hungry undead, who only serve to continue increasing the death toll further. In the midst of all of this, I am hunkering down behind the rubble of what was once a chicken coop, my back firmly against Carl's as he blasts the head of another Savior with his gun. Sword in one hand, gun in another, I contribute to the gunfight by shooting at walkers who stray too close to our sheltered position. With Carl down one eye, I have to be the lookout for us both.
"They're still coming in!" he shouts over his shoulder to me.
Chancing a glance towards the gates, I can indeed see the last vestiges of the Savior's forces pouring through the opening. Though I have to squint to see him, I can see Negan leading the charge, his damaged Lucile raised high above his head. Its almost unreal that this is happening. Though it was inevitable from the beginning, the sheer destruction is staggering. As I watch this unfold in front of me, I wonder if this is what Carl experienced years ago in the loss of the prison. It certainly wouldn't surprise me. Though Negan is the objective, the Savior's vehicles - cars, motorcycles, and trucks - are the more immediate threats.
"Anyway to shut down those cars?!" I shout across the distance to where Maggie and Glenn are taking cover behind some overturned dumpsters.
"We're trying!" Maggie shouts back, ducking around the corner of their makeshift barricade to unload another volley of gunfire.
Another wave of shrapnel and bullets sprays the wooden boards separating Carl and I from the majority of the fighting, forcing us both to duck behind and huddle together for safety. Dirt and smoke send us into a fit of coughs as the bullets continue raining around us, striking the dirt near our feet. Not far from us, where Ezekiel and Michonne are taking cover, two of the fighters from the Kingdom are caught in their chests by a volley of gunfire, sending them both to their deaths. Michonne's reaction is quick, stabbing both in the head to prevent their reanimation. No matter which way I slice it, we're pinned down. Nothing will ever change if we stay like this. On the other side of the gate, the sun is finally setting. With night falling and the battle not having reached its end, things are looking rather bleak. At night, visibility will be even lower, making walkers an even more dangerous threat on top of the already brutal Saviors.
Ducking fast underneath another spray of bullets, I roll over closer to where Maggie and Glenn are camped out, feeling the dust fly past me as the bullets uselessly pelt the ground.
"Tanner, wait!" Carl cries after me.
Raising my weapon despite his protest, I take a shot at one of the nearby Saviors, catching him just between the eye. My aim has improved over the years and the enemy drops like a bag of bricks. Carl is fast behind me and before I have time to look back and check on him, I feel his back again collide with mine, resuming our previous position of covering the other's blind spots.
"What the hell was that?!" he barks at me. "You could've been shot!"
"Sorry!" I grunt back at him. "Just trying to clear 'em out."
He replies with gunfire, blasting two nearby walkers to prevent them from reaching our position.
Even from this position, our chances aren't much better. From my viewpoint, it seems that the Saviors are pushing our forces closer to the manor with each advancement. Not far from our position, I can see Negan fighting against several of Hilltop's fighters. I have to get to him somehow. If he gets killed, the Saviors will be majorly demoralized. Not to mention killing him will avenge the lives of our friends who have perished due to his machinations. Thinking on my feet, I launch a volley of gunfire towards the thug leader, hoping to injure him at the very least. As it turns out, though, I completely miss and strike the ground near him. Nevertheless, Negan takes notice of the attack and turns back to face my direction.
His gaze is nothing short of murderous.
The Savior leader barks some commands at his nearby men and immediately begins to advance towards me. This is it. The confrontation with Negan that has been weeks in the making. If I can kill him now, I can bring this all to an end at last. I raise my gun to launch the killing shot and am stunned when the barrel clicks with emptiness.
Of course. It can never be that easy.
Negan reaches me easily, raising his bat above his head and swinging down with fierce brutality. I counter quickly, using my sword to absorb the blow and hold him off. Having been watching my back, Carl shrieks at the interruption and rolls left to avoid any harmful attack Negan might unleash once free from our weapon lock. I grit my teeth as I focus every last molecule of strength I have into holding Negan off, however, unsurprisingly, the man is physically stronger than I and manages to disarm me with a flick of his wrist; sending my sword clattering out of my reach. The monstrous mobster raises his bat, Lucile again, this time to bash my skull in, as I hopelessly scramble through the dust to reach my own weapon.
Then a shot comes.
This shot smashes the top of Negan's bat, sending wooden shards and barbed wire flying across the air. It is enough to bring the Saviors' leader to a grinding halt. Directly beside us, Carl had taken a desperate last shot but had missed Negan and struck his weapon instead. I wasn't complaining either way. He'd saved my ass from a particularly painful beating. Negan, however, is clearly enraged by this intrusion. The thug is so severely enraged that he's practically shaking with rage.
"Carl?!" Negan bellows. "You little one-eyed bastard!"
Heat rises in my chest, spreading through my veins and into my cheeks, pushing me closer to my sword: still laying inches away from me.
"You skull-faced little fuck!" Negan continues yelling as he takes a step closer towards Carl.
My fingers finally curl around the hilt of my weapon and I spring into action. Negan is too busy advancing at Carl and, in his anger, has forgotten to guard his behind against surprise attacks. Striking quickly, I kick out my leg and deliver a painful blow to the spot just behind Negan's knee. The mobster stumbles, but is quick to turn on me, lashing out furiously with a jab to the face. The first blow hits me like a ton of bricks, sending me backwards into the earth with a painful thud. Once again, I lose my grip on my weapon, dropping it backwards as Negan strikes me a second time; this time right in the gut. The blow is strong enough to knock the breath out of me, and I roll over uselessly, wheezing to regain it.
"Get over here boy!" I hear him roar at Carl, though my vision is still blurred with pain. "You're gonna pay for that fucking shit!"
My urge to protect briefly overcomes my pain:
"NO!" I shout, rolling over to lash out.
Negan is much quicker and stronger, however, delivering a swift kick to my head, which I barely manage to protect with my arms.
"Shut up!" he barks at me.
In this position, I can see Carl standing several feet away; shoulder's apart, stance open, but clearly angry. For a brief moment his eyes meet mine and I see his cheeks begin to take on a distinct crimson. With his gun empty, Carl has no choice but to go head-to-head with the bat wielding Negan unarmed. I know he stands little chance against the much larger, more heavily armed, and stronger man. Gunshots are still whizzing around us as the forces of Kingdom, Hilltop, and the remnants of Alexandria continue to trade blows with the Saviors; both sides oblivious to the tense struggle unfolding among the enemy leader and Carl and I. Suddenly, Negan reaches down, seizing me around the collar of my shirt, and drags me to my knees, much to Carl's protest.
"Hey-!"
"Shut up!" Negan spits venomously a second time. "Get on your motherfucking knees and plant your fucking face in the goddamn dirt or you can watch as I bash this asshole's skull in!"
Seeing me in peril halts Carl in his tracks, causing him to hesitate from lunging at Negan with all his might. In that moment I feel weak and pathetic. Allowing myself to be captured and used against him is possibly the worst outcome this confrontation could have possibly taken. Negan's grip is firm and harsh, choking the breath from me with each passing second. Carl slowly begins to surrender, knees quivering as he slowly lowers himself to the ground. I cannot allow him to do this! If he does, Negan will kill us both. He's only using me for a meat shield!
"Ca-arl! Don't!" I choke past Negan's hold on my collar.
"You know?" Negan speaks up, his voice still full of aggression. "I really fucking liked you both. Both of you had some massive fuckin' balls to do the things you did out there. Still do, I guess! Suppose I finally realized how motherfucking annoying that is! So, I made up my mind... Both of you have to be killed!"
Tch...
Figures as much.
"Now, get on your goddamn motherfucking knees." Negan finishes, hissing coldly at Carl.
Carl relents without hesitation this time. Though I can see the concern painted across his face, mixed with raw anger and rage, he collapses to his knees and surrenders himself completely. As pain throbs through my body, I can only watch on with regret and remorse as the one I love the most in this world resolves himself to his fate. How did it ever get to this point? A few weeks ago, the two of us were happily living in Alexandria, and our primary concern was supplies being brought back on the runs: a seemingly meaningless concern now, with all things considered. Now our home is gone, overrun with walkers, many of our friends our dead, including Carl's father, and from the looks of it, we're about to join them. Admit the chaos, Negan stuns me by suddenly tossing me backwards, hard enough into the ground to stun me. When I recover enough to see what he's up to, I'm horrified to see that he has Carl in a similar situation now, bat already raised over his head as a sadistic grin takes its place on his face.
"You stay right where you fucking are, if you know what's good for you." he demands of me. The pain in my chest and side is incredible, but even so I want to rush attack him and impale him on my sword. He's got Carl after all. "After the stunt you lot pulled at my sanctuary, I ought to kill every last motherfucking one of you. But your boyfriend here has done something unforgivable." Gesturing to Lucile, he continues. "You may think this thing is just a piece of fucking wood wrapped in barbed wire... certainly not something to be cherished. Well, you're motherfucking wrong. Lucile is a fucking lady. A moody lady at times, in fact, she's a downright bitch! But she's MY bitch! Saved my life more than I can motherfucking count. She's the only woman I've ever truly loved. If I could, I'd fuck her!
"Truth be told, killing you would bring me no satisfaction." Negan continued, his grin becoming more and more satanic, and he tightens his grip on Carl for emphasis. "I thought having Rick killed would demoralize your people, but it turns out I was aiming for the wrong people! You've defied me time and time again and gotten off scott motherfucking free every goddamn time. Well, not this time! I need to kill you to break your friends, but I want to break you first. So, I'm going to be breaking you by killing your fag friend here! And when you see the life leave his eyes, after he uses his last goddamn breath to cry out to you while you do nothing, then I'll kill you too."
No...
Kill me... Not him...
Carl...!
I desperately try to think of a solution, a reasoning, someway out of this. All the people he's taken from me, and now he's going to take Carl too! A glance behind me reveals my sword is lying too far away for me to reach. By the time I got to it and launched an attack, Carl would be dead and I wouldn't have gotten any closer to killing the son of a bitch that has him captive. Negan raises the remains of Lucile higher into the air, poised to strike and bring an end to my beloved Carl.
"Don't!" the sob finally escapes my lips. "Please don't kill him! I'm begging you!"
Wow.
Me of all people, reduced to begging.
But my pride is always second to Carl. Carl has to live. He just has to.
Unfortunately, all my pleading manages to do is galvanize Negan and encourage his nefarious actions. A cry escapes my lips as the bat arcs down to make the first in a series of killing blows... only for it to be interrupted by a roar. A deafening roar. A roar that is both primal and hungry in nature. A roar that sends chills to the very core of my being and even stops Negan in his tracks. Before the mobster is even able to turn around to see his attacker, I see her, descending like a rabid predator out shadows: Shiva. The Bengal tiger crashes into Negan, sinking her massive fangs into the Savior leader's forearm, forcing him to release an air shattering shriek from the very bowels of his being. The tiger knocks him backwards, accidentally releasing Negan from her deathly grip as she does, though she manages to send him tumbling across the hard earth; blood still spurting from his fresh wound. The impact also manages to free Carl, whom I immediately scramble to grab and scoop into my embrace.
"Gun them down!" I hear shouted over my shoulder.
Still clutching tightly to Carl, I throw my glance back in time to see Ezekiel arriving with Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne, the latter of which rushes to Carl and I's side to help us both to our feet.
"You two alright?" she asks softly, pulling the both of us up with her.
"I've been better." I reply, wincing with sudden pain.
"Fuck! Fuck! Motherfucking fuck!" Negan is cursing in the meantime. "Hasn't someone shot that thing yet?!"
"Your soldiers suck!" Ezekiel declares with a grin. "And from the looks of it... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"
Shiva answers with a rumbling growl, baring her blood-stained fangs at Negan. I suppose Ezekiel was right about what he said earlier. Shiva must really like me. This is the second time the Bengal tiger has showed up and prevented something absolutely awful from happening, only this time, she spared something much more precious than my life: Carl's life. Ezekiel has trained her well. An ordinary tiger would probably be attacking all of us at this point, or running from all the constant gunfire. Shiva, on the other hand, almost has human-like qualities. Its almost as though she understands friend and foe. Or perhaps she just doesn't like Negan. Either way, I can't complain. I'm just happy she was here.
"Good girl, Shiva...!" I mutter weakly back at the tiger.
As if having noticed their leader in peril, the surrounding Saviors suddenly rally to his side, rushing in from all sides. My eyes narrow menacingly when I see Dwight rush to Negan and help the bleeding leader of the Saviors to his feet. Our side does similarly, with nearby survivors such as Aaron and Eric arriving to aid us, weapons still raised and poised to gun the other side down. Its a true Old Western standoff as neither side moves to kill the other, both waiting for the other to make the first and likely fatal move.
"We need to get Tanner to the house." I hear Carl whisper to Michonne. "He's injured."
The dark skinned woman nods her response.
I can't help but be touched that, despite being nearly killed, Carl is still concerned about my well being. And I am in pain. I don't know about out of commission, but I can feel my body bruising after Negan's beating earlier.
"We'll cover you." Aaron declares as he and Eric step forward. "Go!"
Gunfire rips through the evening air once again.
Michonne and Carl are on either side of me as I do my best to limp-run towards the safety of the manor. Immediately, I see the problem with this plan. The Saviors are far more brutal fighters than our own home raised militia and, while grouped together, they can easily push back our forces. Before I know it, our own soldiers are on our heels retreating for the manor. Gunshots graze past us, striking the nearing wooden finish of the crumbling home. Michonne and Carl lead the charge, bursting into the front room even as more of our people, myself included, pour in behind them. Ezekiel and Heath, along with several of the fighters from Hilltop help barricade the entrance, and Carl is soon to join in.
"That'll never hold." I hiss to Michonne. "They'll bust it down!"
"It isn't meant to hold." she replies. "Now, let's get you someplace safe."
"No!" I protest. "I'm going to help kill this bastard. I can still fight."
It isn't like me to argue with Michonne.
Usually, I just do as she tells me, because she's a lot smarter and wiser than I am. Not this time though. That motherfucker was within seconds of killing Carl. He will die by my hand if its the last thing I do. The only kink in my plan is that I dropped my sword during the scuffle with Negan. Weaponless, I can't do anything about him. At least not yet. Another of Hilltop's men reaches the doorstep, prompting Carl to quickly open it and hurriedly rush him through the door.
"Hurry!" Carl snaps. "We gotta close this thing!"
"HA!" I hear Negan cackle from nearby. "You think a door's gonna stop us, kid?! We'll just tear it the fuck down!"
"We're goners if they come through!" I yelp back at Michonne.
She has to know that's the case. We're confined to this small space and all Negan's men have to do is burst in here and mow us all down like lambs for the slaughter. With night now firmly gripping the outside world, escaping outside is nearly as suicidal as staying pinned in here is. I should have trusted Michonne would've had a backup plan. She always has and yet, in the heat of the moment, I can only see the worst case scenario. Even Carl, who didn't know what she was up to, seems calm compared to me. I hear the footsteps pounding on the wood outside as the Saviors make their final approach. Any minute now, guns will be blazing inside as well, and Hilltop will have fallen just like Alexandria...
That's when the windows flood with light.
The sky outside should be pitch black, but instead, rays of artificial light filter in even as dozens of car horns begin to blare: overcoming even the noise generated by the Saviors. Everything clicks together for me in that moment. I remember Maggie's earlier suggestion: to send fighters with the evacuees in order to pincer attack Negan and his men from behind. These must be those reinforcements, explaining where Jesus has been in all of this mess. A heavy volley of gunfire reverberates off the walls as our reinforcements shower the Saviors in bullets, using the blinding lights of their vehicles' to guide their gunfire. The enemy has no choice but to scatter, cursing and lamenting as many are killed and even more are forced into the walker-laden shadows of the Hilltop. The gun shots continue for quite some time, gradually getting further away, as our guys seemingly chase the Saviors off.
####
It isn't until Jesus bursts through the front door, rather than Negan, that I let go a sigh of relief.
"Is everyone in here alright?" the burly, bearded man bellows, surveying the faces around him.
"Impeccable timing," I grunt with a sly grin. "As always, Jesus."
"We're gonna have to watch our asses tonight." Jesus continues, closing the door behind him. "They only retreated because that light and noise will bring the dead from miles around. We have to worry about walkers and Negan tonight."
"I have worse news." Sasha's voice suddenly breaks through from behind me. "The enemy must've contaminated their weapons before the fight. Some of them were covered in walker gore and blood. Anyone who got wounded with them is likely going to get sick and die. Its already started with a few of them."
Well, that's certainly terrifying news.
However, before I can allow myself to truly feel fear or sadness, I feel my shirt seized and pulled up, and am alarmed to find Carl yanking my shirt up off my skin to examine me over like some worried parent about their injured child.
"You weren't cut, were you?" he asks absently, a hint of concern touching his voice.
"Carl, I-"
"These bruises look pretty bad." he cuts me off, lost in his own observations. "You sure you aren't cut anywhere?"
He checks just about every inch of me (within reason, of course) right there in front of everyone, for all to see. I can't hide a chuckle as I place my palms on his solid chest and push him back a little to get his attention. I'm met with a curious, and not so amused expression as a result.
"I'm fine." I finally am able to tell him. "Negan beat the shit out of me, but Lucile didn't touch me."
He pauses for a moment, searching my expression for any validity to my claim. His hardened and skeptical expression melts into raw concern when he sees that I'm just fine and then he seizes me in a massive bear hug. I can feel how tense his muscles are as he hugs into me. Every joint and muscle in his body is rigid with stress and its all I can do just to hold onto him and give him some measure of comfort that I'm alright. He isn't losing me. Hell, I was just as worried about losing him earlier, and the sudden remembrance of that makes me cling to him even tighter. Carl's protective grasp is stronger than mine and for the first time in ages, he rocks me. Its a good feeling, his fingers threaded through my hair, holding me firmly against him. Even weaponless and with a yard full of walkers crawling around outside, I feel safe in his arms; like nothing could ever possibly bring me harm so long as he has me here with him.
"I was afraid I was going to lose you." I mutter softly in his ear, finally allowing myself a moment to relieve my own fears.
"...Me too." he replies as he strokes my hair comfortingly.
"How many have we lost?" Sasha is saying above our concerned whisperings.
"Ten?" Glenn replies after a sigh. "Maybe fifteen?"
"They lost a great number too." Ezekiel points out. "The next fight will certainly end it."
"We have to consider the walkers too." Maggie points out. "Like Jesus was saying, they'll be everywhere come morning. All that noise certainly has them coming already."
"Maybe," Michonne interjects. "But Negan and his men won't be far away. They'll be taking care of the outside walkers. We only have to worry about the ones already here."
"In the meantime," this time its Jesus. "We should use the downtime to rest. We can post a guard for the time being. Change the shifts every couple of hours so that everyone gets some rest. If the Saviors haven't made a move by dawn, we'll move on them and bring this war to an end."
The group disperses shortly thereafter. Rosita and Sasha are the first to volunteer to be on guard. Everyone else packs in to the crammed home for a very long, sleepless night of intermission in the war. Carl and I trundle up the stairs, finally, after we're both sure everything is squared away and find ourselves a room, which looks like it used to be an office, to sleep in. Its not at all comfortable, a far cry from our quaint little room in Alexandria, but we have a place to sleep and we have each other to sleep with, so neither of us offer a complaint. This time, its my turn to cradle him as the moon shines brightly through the window just over our heads, casting a luminescent glow throughout the room. In the quiet, I lovingly stroke Carl's long brown locks, sweeping them out of his eye and around his ear, careful not to harm his bandaged injury over his lost other eye.
"I wonder how Judith is doing." he eventually mutters softly.
I squeeze him comfortingly in response, "I'm sure Carol is taking good care of her." I soothe him. "She'll be excited to see you when this is all over."
Carl sighs loudly and presses even further back into me.
"It could all be over tomorrow." he continues airing his random thoughts absently.
"It will be over tomorrow." I say confidently. "Negan won't win. He can't."
"And then what?"
"And then..." I pause, taking in a deep breath. "We rebuild, just like we said we would. Its not gonna be like it was for you at the prison. We're going to win, rebuild our home, and stay there. No group of thugs will tell us otherwise." Another pause. "Now sleep, love. You'll need your strength for tomorrow. Let the worrying wait until then."
I know its futile telling Carl not to worry, but anything that might soothe his fears is worthy saying, so I do. And before I know it, he slips off into a deep slumber while still tightly wrapped in my arms: leaving me time to freely reflect on the day in the silence. One thing is for sure. It will end tomorrow. I will be certain of it. No longer will Negan threaten to hurt our families and friends, our communities which we've grown to love. No more will we live in fear all day every day while he walks all over us and takes our supplies. Rick Grimes sacrificed everything that he was to ensure that was the outcome of this conflict. Tara sacrificed her life to ensure that I was here to protect Carl through the end of all of this. Now that day has come. The day that their sacrifices finally gain meaning, rather than remaining senseless casualties of this feud.
Tomorrow, Negan...
I think as sleep takes hold of me.
Tomorrow... you die..!
A/N: This chapter took awhile to pump out! Main reason being I had a lot of ideas for how it should go down: mixing elements from a lot of the comic book battles with Negan, with my ideas for said battles, into an original Final Battle (Part 1) with the Saviors took quite some time to formulate, research, and write. Nevertheless, here it is. Thank you all for being patient! The first half of the final battle has been fought and the second half and conclusion of the war will be fought in the next one! After the war ends, I'll wrap up any remaining plot points, and bring this story to its conclusion. So, expect this story to be within the 25-30 chapter range, as there is still some more material to cover. As always, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Leave comments, reviews, and favorites!
On to the reviews!
Jordancadehall: Hello! They're still very much present! I think I mentioned a few of them in this chapter, but one of the limits to writing first person is that I can only describe who Tanner is around and what he sees and thinks, so Aaron and Heath and the others haven't been too present; hence their only occasional appearance. Even in this chapter, they didn't appear much, but they're still around! Thanks for your question!
thebomb com: Thank you! I try to remain as dedicated as possible with school and work in the mix! Glad it shows! :) Tips, huh? Well, the most important one is: Have a story to tell. One of the crux I used to fall into is knowing that I wanted to write about something, but didn't have a story to tell, and that leads to problems a few chapters in with story direction. Another major tip is: Know how your story ends. You can always change certain details if you need to later on to fit the direction your story is heading, but having at least a general understanding about how your characters end up, who all survives the story, etc, etc, goes a long way to helping you get passed writer's block when it comes up, because you know where you're going - you just have to figure out how to get there. Last tip? Have fun with it. Never write something just to write it, or just to make others happy. While I want you guys to enjoy this story a ton, and have fun reading it, as that is a big part of the writing experience, you also have to write it so that you get enjoyment out of it as well. I really love this story I'm telling and whether it got 1 review or 50 million, I was going to finish it. If you have that mindset, your story will reflect your enthusiasm and the readers really pick up on that. Good luck! :)
vmbaby: Glad you agree! I use a lot of music to inspire me while I'm writing these chapters, but it was good to have a reader take a particular interest in a song for Carl and Tanner. :) Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the chapter! I hope this one was just as enjoyable, if not more so :)
Thank you guys a lot for your feedback and questions!
See you guys with the next one!
Later!