Part 1: Fighting Back

She was starting to think the bad feeling in the bottom of her gut was wrong for once.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. But of course, her gut feeling was always right. It started out with one Walker. Then five. Sunny shooed River into a run as the numbers doubled, tripled.
She stopped. "Oh shit." Sunny sucked in a breath, starting to shoot at the walkers. There must have been at least thirty, possibly more. "River keep going! Go home River! Go home!" She ordered as the blue heeler kept running down the road, stopping for nothing as he pulled the stroller. Sunny's mind raced, switching to reality, and memories of the people she had come to love. She kept firing arrows, stabbing a few walking corpses that came to close. The numbers were thinning, but still in the double digits, as She kept reaching back for more arrows. Her heart sunk, and Sunny went cold when her fingers wrapped around the last arrow.
How could I have been so stupid?
She had spent so long trying to piece together her life and find the people she loved. Her family had been right in front of her the whole time. And those people were back in Alexandria. Blood related or not, loyalty had bound them to each other. Thinking back to her father's words about the longest mile, she knew the mile was over with.
My family had been in front of me the whole time. And I'm not ever going to see them again.
Sunny hung her head and let out a ragged breath, before furrowing her eyebrows. This, was for her family. Taking a hold of her last arrow, Sunny notched it, taking aim, and letting the arrow fly.

Swiftly she put her bow around her and took out her knives.
"C'mon, follow me bastards! C'mon!" She yelled before running past the tree with the arrow sticking out. Sunny knew they wouldn't go after her dog and baby Judith right away, but if she kept their attention, it'd be like the two were never there. As she ran, she grabbed as many arrows as she could from the walkers she killed.

It took a while, but she finally lost the walkers. Only, that had been several days ago. Sunny walked around the woods. The area was unfamiliar. It was going to be hard to get back to Alexandria. That was when she spotted the dead girl. A blond man with a burnt face lay unconscious next to her. There were tire tracks of some kind. Whatever vehicle they had, it was gone now. But the one thing that kept Sunny from moving quickly on, was the weapon that lay beside him. A crossbow. It looked like her brothers. So without hesitation she picked the weapon up and decided to get the hell out of there.
The next place she found herself in was a pharmacy. Her stomach still tried to get rid of any contents that was in her stomach, even though there was nothing. After the dry heaving episode, something out of the corner of Sunny's eye caught her attention. Quickly she opened the package and did the test. In her head she counted out the seconds, purposely waiting three minutes before looking at it. She had to know, but at the same time she wished she didn't.

It was Positive.

A large crowd of EastHaveners gathered around the town square. Several of the group of strangers along with Saviors were mixed into the crowed. There was a savior near the middle of the half circle with a gun in hand. It was the one name of Dwight. Braxton currently sat on the edge of the fountain. There was one, very specific person he was itching to meet. Dwight held on tightly to a kid, his gun to the girl's head.
"Just turn yourself in, and no one will get hurt. If none of you turn this 'Hope' in or they don't come in on their own, then we kill someone of our choosing every day." Dwight announced.

Rick and Carl stood by Bow close to the front of the crowd that stood at the steps of the courthouse. Glenn stood by Sasha nearby. Farther away from them stood Rosita, Abraham, Eugene and the group they had been with toward the back in front of the med center that was once a firehouse. Nate and John stood around the same area as Bow, but didn't know where he was. Last but not least, Daryl and Aaron were close to the front of the crowd that stood in front of the library. They were part of the group that happened to be the closest to Dwight and the girl.

Dwight kept repeating his message as Sunny stormed through the back of the crowd.
"Hold onto these." She shoved her bow, quiver, and jacket into Nate's had absentmindedly. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up. She buttoned up her plaid shirt and pulled up the handkerchief. Sunny didn't even notice who she had given her items to. She didn't even register that they tried to interject on her leaving.
No, her aggression and intensity gave a whole new air of danger to what she was about to do. Her copper brown hair still in a braid, but some strains had managed to get loose. She was fed up. That much was clear. Most of the crowd parted for her, drawing everyone else's attention. She put her hands on the back of her head, but didn't interlock her fingers.
"If ya wanted me all you needed to do was say please." She said loud enough for all to hear as she walked up to Dwight.
"It's about time you came." He growled.
"Let her go first." Sunny demanded as she stopped a ways away from Dwight.
The idiot was about to make another threat when a loud voice boomed out, "Dwight. Let the girl go." And Dwight did as Braxton told. So Sunny walked up to him.
As Dwight reached for her gun, his just so happened to shift away. And that was her chance.

Sunny swept Dwight's feet from under him. She took his gun and hers as she set her foot on top of his adam's apple. One gun pointed at the head of the idiot she stood on, and the other at Braxton. The air thickened with tension as the surprise melted from it.
"You wanted a damn chat. Well you're gonna get one. But on my terms." Sunny growled.
"Alright, maybe-" Dwight tried to spit out. Sunny put more weight on the foot over his throat.
"You don't get to talk."

The little boy who stood in front of Daryl shifted from foot to foot, trying to see the woman. Her voice was too familiar. Yet the name she went by wasn't.
"CJ, what's wrong?" Aaron asked quietly, his eyes didn't leave the woman pointing the guns.
Without answering, CJ made his way to the front of the crowed. Daryl tried to catch up with him but had difficulty. That was when a man pushed his way past people, almost knocking the boy over. That man's actions caused Daryl to pick up his pace. The Dixon was right behind the man and grabbing his shoulder when he threw a knife at Hope. Daryl had caused his aim to falter, so the knife hit the woman's left calf. The very leg that was slightly crushing Dwight's windpipe. She didn't even flinch. On a dime she turned one of her guns and shot the man in the shoulder. Daryl grabbed him and threw him away from CJ.
"What was that?" Aaron asked.
"I don't like people messin with kids." Daryl grumbled with his arms crossed.

Dwight tried to reach for the knife as Sunny pointed her other gun back at Braxton. She 'accidentally' happened to move her other foot between his legs. As Dwight groaned and she moved her foot once more, Sunny muttered a 'whoops'.
"Now that we are all acquainted with the fact I will shoot. The next Savior to step past that crowd, I pull the trigger on him. And the next bullet goes in between your eyes, Braxton." She paused. "Now, let's get down to business. Shall we?"
Once again Dwight tried to mutter something but received more pressure on his throat to shut him up.
"You think you could really get away with it? Killing me, I mean." Braxton was still sitting. He was all smug on his little thrown.
"Well. I have enough bullets left to take a few of them with me. I am a harder person to kill than you give me credit for." Sunny paused. "Hell, you could have a gun pointed to my head right now and I'd personally, give you permission to put a bullet in my skull. But I'm not the one with a gun pointed to their head now am I? It must really... suck to be you." Sunny shook her head.
"Now I think you're giving yourself too much credit." Braxton though he was calling her out.
"No. The worst thing you ever did was take my kids from me." A sick smile grew on Brax's face. "Now I have nothing to lose." The smile dropped.
"Who are you?" Braxton demanded. His voice boomed through the area.
"You can call me your worst nightmare. A monster. Whatever. But above that, I'm Hope." Sunny announced.

Nate shook his head at what he was about to do and handed John Sunny's things. He pushed himself to the front of the crowd.
He raised his hand. "I'm Hope!"
Dunkan followed suit. "I'm Hope too!"
Then a golden brown haired man from the back of the crowd, his familiar voice boomed, "I'm Hope."
Rich even stepped forward. "I'm Hope as well."
Rosita raised a hand with a nod to Sunny. "I'm Hope."
She looked at the redhead next to her as he did the same. "Me too."
And with that, it sparked the rest of the community to follow suit. Everyone saying they were Hope. When it all faded Sunny gave Braxton a look that told him he was defeated.

"To get to them you have to go through me. And it'll be good to remember, the people of EastHaven won't stand to be pushed around any longer. We. Will not. Go down without a fight."
The people went up and turned the Saviors' weapons against them. Two men came up to take care of Dwight, as several went up to Braxton.

The Alexandrians watched as Sunny walked up to Braxton without limping. The knife still in her calf. But like most of the other people, the soon turned away. But the four that stayed with Bow waited for the older man.

Sunny walked up to Braxton, pulling down her handkerchief. The now-prisoner's eyes widened.
"Aah... Aa.." He stuttered.
"Yeah, Braxton. You just lost." Braxton's eyes narrowed.
"So you were pregnant." A sick smile plastered on his face. "Good luck with protecting everyone from Him."
"Who?" Sunny demanded.
"Negan. Hell, we are all Negan. He's almost here by now. Wanted to come make a point to that prison group that you broke out. Oh, he's not gonna be happy with you." Braxton clicked his tongue. In a small but of rage, and just because she wanted to shut him up, Sunny punched Braxton hard in the jaw. She started to storm off, but stopped to pull the knife from her prosthetic. Bow caught up with her and she handed it to him.
"Hope?" Sunny took her things from John
"I just need time Bow." She waved him off and continued walking.

And time alone was what she did need. She had walked away from the town square. Sunny paused at Keira's watching a faint memory play in her eyes.
She watched as the kids played in the street with their friends. Ian ran up and joined the game while she and Kiera watched from the porch. When the kids got Sunny to join Nate walked up the porch steps to talk to and bother his sister.

Sunny couldn't help the smile. Nate and Kiera were always bad at not telling people they were siblings. Only nine months apart. She continued her walk toward down the streets.

She watched as the ghosts of children played. People sat on their porches and talked. The guards stood up upon their posts on the wall. Preston's dark blond hair shone in the afternoon sun. His green eyes alight. He walked beside her going to go for a walk outside the walls.

Sunny stopped in front of Ian's

The man who tried to hit on her one of her first days back up and walking. Who called her demon because she hated to be called Angel. Who backed off but stuck to a safe side of flirting when she told she was taken. Her twins looked up to him. And he was a good friend. That same pain in the ass offered to take the weight of her dead daughter from her arms so she didn't have to keep carrying her; that same night a mother had to put down her own daughter.

She could see him there, standing on the porch, just waiting for her to walk by. Or him and Tank walking down the street with their guns after just getting off duty. Tank slapping Ian playfully on the shoulder, or taking a heavy load for someone.

"Hey Ian." Her own voice rang through her mind. "Thank you."
"What for?" His confused voice followed.
"I don't know yet." She told, before walking into the courthouse.

It took Sunny up until now to figure it out. She thanked him for always walking beside her and finding ways to get her mind off of some things. She was thanking him, simply for just being there. It took for a bunch of asshole so to try and take their home, for him to die, for her to figure it out.
With a sigh Sunny moved to the side yard where the willow stood tall. Her long branches draped like a protective canopy over the place her daughter was set to rest. Sat down right beside the marker, was a little stuffed penguin.

She saw a little girl holding on to the stuffed toy as if it were bound to run off. Who wanted nothing in the world to meet her father.

Setting the toy down Sunny walked past the half caved in building of Bow's house. Some of the homes around having been burned.

A man with dark hair and glasses greeted his wife and kids as he returned home from a council meeting. Two other council members walked home together. One had short buzzed grey hair as he walked up to his wife and kid. The other's girlfriend greeted the second as the pair would eat supper with the family. The skies were dark, and Luke came up to protect her.

Sunny then walked to the park close to the farm. All the while in her mind, EastHaven continued on. The Saviors had left all kinds of marks to show they were here. The age worn playground had the looks as to have been used as a punching bag. Where once upon a time Sunny had taken her kids here.

The twins ran around begging her to push them both on the swings at the same time. They laughed as they spun on the merry go round and went down the slides. They were off in their own little world.

Sunny ran her hand on one of the rusty swing chains, hearing the twins' laughter echo in her mind. She sat down on the swing pulling her jacket a little closer. She had set her bow and quiver not too far away. Sunny pulled the picture from her breast pocket of her shirt and unfolded it. She looked down the row of swings. And smiled at what she saw.

CJ ran off from the swing, closely followed by his younger sister. Her eyes followed them. But her smile faded when something else showed up. A young boy with auburn colored hair followed a tall six five man. They went around the playground just like her kids were. Their ghosts faded and reappeared several times, the boy having grown more each time. Slowly only the boy showed up, who would wait a while for the man. The tall man eventually showed, but not as frequently.
Then it was just the boy. His auburn colored hair now longer and combed back. The man never showed. The boy waited, and waited. Even through the snow and the rain.
He sat in the same swing each time watching other families play happily. Especially and mother and her twins. That very mother sat in the swing, that Sunny sat in now.

Sunny stood up. The mother got up and walked over to the swing next to the boy. She went over to the swing next to it and sat down. Glancing at her playing children she sat down without a word. Sunny took in a breath. The mother let several silent moments pass.
"You know, you could always see what needs to be done in the council building. They normally could use more help at the courthouse." She spoke softly.
The boy shrugged. "I don't want to file papers or anything."
"Well, what about helping out on the third floor?"
"Really? They'd let me?"
"I know they would. You look to be the right age. Do you know who Bow is?"
"Yeah. Can I go see now?"
"Yes you can. And tell Bow," she stopped to think. The boy stopped running and looked back at her. His golden hazel eyes were alight with joy. "Tell him," she couldn't finish as she realized it.
"Hope said you could." The mother finished before the boy ran off.

All at once the echoing of children's laughter, and the ghosts of Sunny's mind faded. She was still holding the picture. Folding it up she tucked it back into her pocket. There was a soft nudged to her shoulder, causing Sunny to look up and see Beauty looking down at her. Patting his neck she rested her forehead against his for a second. She had been seeing ghosts again. Then, something made itself very clear in her mind. Abruptly standing Sunny dug the radio out of her quiver. Ian had slipped it in there. She turned it to the fifth station.
"Bow, do you copy?" There was a bit of static before an answer.
"Hope, what's wrong?" He answered.
"I need at least half of the remaining guard. If they want they can volunteer to help protect this community from this last wave of Saviors. I'm gonna need as much firepower as we can get. Get the people weapons, but make sure those who aren't fighting are near the back gate."
"Alright." He agreed.
"I need Braxton as well. I'll ride over to the garden area by the guard building. Over and out."
Hooking the radio to her belt she put the bow and quiver around her. She mounted her steed and they took off quickly. The only thing running through her mind, was that they were fighting back. But most of all, Negan was coming.

A/N
Yeah, I'm not even gonna call these chapters. I said I'd write the whole thing then brake it up, well... That didn't happen. If I have to I'll brake it into three parts, but it's most likely gonna stay two. On the last part there will be a bonus type ending to the chapter, I just might be a pain and put it after the authors note...
I hope you all enjoyed this book, series, and the first part of the ending!
I'm not gonna do the questions, but you can come up with some of your own for the series
overview/talking dead (ish) book

As always, please remember to vote and comment... And until the next part!