Chapter 170-A hero's goodbye
Rick's P.O.V
Rick put another body in the wagon as Carl walked up to him, looking to see his sweat drenched figure. "That's the last of our people." He tells his father, wiping his own head as the last hour was spent clearing the Hospital Courtyard of bodies.
"Carol?" Rick asks, his eyes full of concern as he looked around.
"Ezekiel has her wrapped up in a car." Carl says. "We already burned Alpha and Beta."
Rick paused, looking up "Was-"
"...Lydia already saw her body." Carl muttered.
"Fuck." Rick grimaced, wanting Lydia to be away for that when they burnt her mother's body, but it couldn't be help.
Carl then snorted "Kate took one of Beta's knives for Negan. He...uh, said he liked it and called dibs."
"Of course he did." Rick says with a smirk. He lays his hand on Carl's shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"I can't believe she's gone." Carl's eye welled up, Rick's heart breaking knowing the losses of not just her...Earl, his long time mentor...Siddiq, the man he saved and the one who delivered his son, weighing heavily on him.
"I know," Rick says as he heard a pair of feet and turned to see Lance walks up to them.
"We are ready to go Mr Grimes. So... will you lead us back to Alexandria?" Lance asks Rick pleasantly.
"We're not going to Alexandria. We're going to the Kingdom to bury Carol." Rick tells him sternly, something about the man still making his hackles rise. "After that, we'll deal with everything."
"Oh of course, my apologies. I noticed that Mr. Dixon is gone." Lance looked around the courtyard, eyes narrowed.
"He left with a few others, he went to Hilltop. We left our cars in the woods, to make sure nothing happened to them." Rick tells him.
"So who will be leading with you? Him?" Lance asks as he looks at Carl, his son staring back at him warily.
"No, Daryl's wife, Alicia." Rick tells him, but his face went stern again. "But like I said, we will talk when our people are buried."
"Oh I see. I understand." Lance says before he walks away, bowing his head at them.
All while Rick's gaze never left his back.
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl shot a walker through the head and walked up to the walker and roughly pulled the bolt out of the its head. "So you're done?" Alden asks him.
"Mmmhmm." Daryl grunted as he reloads his crossbow. "I told Rick I would be done after Alpha and Beta were dead. They're dead, I'm retired."
Alden nodded once as he looks at Magna, John, Madison, Javi, and a few people from Alexandria that had come. "I'm sorry about Carol."
He paused a moment, bone deep grief filling him, and just nodded as he goes up to his bike and puts his crossbow on the back of the bike.
"So where are we going to stay? Alexandria?" Alden asks him.
"I don't know." Daryl says as he turns and looks at him. "We'll figure it out, right now I can't stop thinking about the funeral, get these ready, I gotta grab something," Daryl says as he walks away from them and Alden sighs but nods as he goes over to John.
Negan's P.O.V
Negan shot his eyes open and looks around to see that he was in the back of what looked like a medical truck. "Where the fuck am I?" Negan asks, his voice hoarse.
"You're in a medical truck, you've been out for a couple of hours. You passed out during the fight." He looked to his left to see Kate telling him as he takes his hand.
He stared at her, then around, as he asked "We won? Not just Sasquatch but the Bitch are dead?"
Kate nodded reassuringly "Alpha and Beta are dead, Rick killed Alpha and Daryl killed Beta. Eugene brought a new group, this is their medical truck," Kate tells him. "We're on our way to the Kingdom."
"Hot damn, knew the Smarty Pants wouldn't- Wait why?" Kate stays silent, so he tried again. "Kate, why are we going to the Kingdom?"
"Carol's dead, we're having a funeral." She answered quietly.
Negan stays silent. "How's Zeke? Daryl?"
"Ezekiel's...busy trying to prepare for it. But...Daryl's a wreck, he's done being a leader. Alicia is taking over for him. I don't know where we're going to stay, but you're staying with these people until you're better." Kate tells Negan who nods grudgingly.
"Is there a doctor in here?" Negan says.
"Outside there," Kate says as she knocks a door that leads to the back of the truck. It opens and a slim man walks inside with a beaming smile.
"You're awake." He says. "How are you feeling?"
"A little better, a step above shit." Negan grumbled, causing Kate to pat his hand comfortingly.
"We got you on some pain medications, the good thing is there is no internal bleeding but some of your ribs were out of alignment along with the bones in your legs. That means you'll be a bed rest for a while and a lot of medication," He tells Negan who nods.
"Can I walk?" Negan asked, not wanting to lay in a bed all day.
"I wouldn't suggest it."
"Then he needs a wheelchair." Kate stated.
"What?" Negan looked at her bug eyed "Like an old fucking geezer? Shit."
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stood inside one of the Kingdom's buildings, as beside him on the ground was Carol's casket. "I haven't had a funeral like this in a long time. Now we just bury the bodies," Ezekiel said as he walked beside him, knowing death was part of life now.
"She deserves this." Daryl says and Ezekiel nodded in full agreement as he pulls Carol's knife out.
"You should have this." Ezekiel says as he holds the knife out to Daryl, who looked at it then to Ezekiel skeptical.
"Give it to Henry."
"He has her bow and gun, I have her ring, but this is yours," Ezekiel says and Daryl stared at the king then sighed as he takes the knife. "She loved you."
"She loved all of us." Daryl muttered and Ezekiel nods as Henry, Carl, Shane, and Rick walk in.
"Are we ready?" Rick asks the two men who nod. Daryl and Ezekiel stood at the front of the casket on both sides. Rick stood behind Daryl and behind Rick stood Carl. Behind Ezekiel stood Shane and behind him stood Henry. The six men pick up the casket and walk towards the door that opened and they walked out. The sun shined down on them as they walked through the Kingdom, people stood around them as they walked to the graveyard and set the casket down in the grave. Ezekiel wiped tears from his eyes as he grabbed the shovel and put dirt on top of the casket and slowly people started to take the shovel and put dirt in the grave. Maggie grabbed the shovel.
"Tell Glenn I love him." Maggie says as she puts the dirt of the grave. Shane grabs the shovel.
"Goodbye, Carol." Shane says as he puts dirt of the grave.
Beth takes the shovel next. "I hope you and Daddy are okay." Beth says before she then hands the shovel to Henry.
"Thank you, Mom." Henry bowed his head, tears again forming before he puts the dirt on the grave and slowly people kept taking the shovel. Carl takes the shovel.
"I hope you and Mom are sharing stories. Tell Sophia hi." Carl says as he wipes the tears from his eye and hands the shovel to his father.
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I love you, sister and I'm going to miss you." Rick says before he poured the dirt of the grave that was pretty much full. Ezekiel takes the shovel.
"Fly high my love." Ezekiel says before he hands it to Daryl who pours dirt on the grave as he wipes the tears from his eyes. Ezekiel looks at Gabriel who nods.
"Receive her into your arms of mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints and light. May her soul and the soul of all those departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen,"
"Amen." Is heard all around them as Ezekiel looks at Daryl.
"I have asked Daryl to speak for Carol." Ezekiel says as he nods to the man who nods as he walks in front of everybody.
Daryl takes a deep breath and wipes the tears away from his red eyes. "I've known Carol from the start. If I'm being honest, when I first met her, I thought she was weak. I've never been wrong in my whole life. Carol wasn't just strong; she was the stronger than all of us. She never gave up, no matter how bad it looked, it didn't matter what we were up against, she fought like hell. None of us would be here if it wasn't for her, I know I wouldn't be, I would have died at Terminus, Rick would have died at Terminus, all of this, the lives we have, the New world. We have it because of Carol. We all owe her a debt that can never be repaid. But we can make sure she didn't die for nothing. We will keep fighting, no matter the odds. We have to keep fight. That is how we make she didn't die for nothing," Daryl says as everyone bowed their heads...not seeing Daryl walk away.
The woods
Daryl walked through the woods and stopped. Daryl stopped in a field filled with flowers. The sun shined down on him as he threw his crossbow to the ground. "AHHHH!" Daryl shouts as he falls onto his back and cries.
Alicia's P.O.V
Alicia stood in front of Carol's grave. "She must have been an amazing woman." Alicia looks at Lance as he walked up to her, having watched it all from afar staring at the grave curiously
"She was."
"We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Lance Hornsby." Lance says as he holds his hand out to Alicia.
"Alicia Dixon." Alicia says as she shakes his hand, face souring at this in front of Carol's tomb.
"Rick told me that you'll be taking over for your husband. Again my deepest condolences, but we do have to push forward."
"I will." Alicia says. "But right now isn't the time to be talking about that."
"I am not here to talk with you about that." Lance smiled reassuringly. "Eugene told me about your home. That it was destroyed."
"It was." Alicia stared, a feeling welling in her gut.
"I will be offering this to everybody, but I would like you and your husband to talk to your group about coming to live at the Commonwealth. You would all be amazing additions! I was told Alexandria and Kingdom will be taking people in as well as your other communities, but the offer is more then extended for your family and people."
Staring at him, Alicia just nodded "Thank you Mr-"
"Lance." He cut this off kindly, to use his first name.
"Lance. Thank you Lance, I'll talk this over with my husband, see what he has to say and the rest of our people." With that, she gave him a polite nod and walked to find him.
Negan's P.O.V
Negan sat in his now wheelchair, looking out the window of his medical room below to the grave...not able to go due to the dirt but at least saw the affair. "You look right at home." Carl says as he walks into the room.
"Shut the fuck up. I hate this, I feel like a old man!" Negan complained. Carl opens his mouth. "You say one word and I will tear your tongue out."
Carl chuckles, Negan hearing the first laugh from him since the news broke of Carol's death. "You doing okay?"
"I should be asking you that." He asked back, Carl lost a few people himself "Earl, Siddiq, Carol."
"It's been a lot." Carl sighed, rubbing his face. "What did the doctor say about you?"
"He said I'll be on bed rest, for maybe a month or two depending on how the bones in my legs and ribs look. Just as long as I don't do anything stupid."
"So I should start digging your grave now?" Carl asks with a smirk.
"You're a pain in my ass." Negan grinned. "Push me, kid. I need some food and a fucking drink."
Carl started to push him saying "What, you want me to drink too?"
Negan shrugged "I know it's sad and tough kid, but we won. Focus on that."
Merle's P.O.V
Merle sat with his back against the wall as soon as the funeral was over, fists clenched at his side. "You okay?" Judith asks as she walks up to him and sits down.
"I'm worried about my Dad." Merle confessed sadly and Judith nods.
"He loved Grandma Carol, he's hurting right now but Uncle Daryl will be okay. He just needs some time." Judith tells him.
"I know he will." Merle teared up. "I'm going to miss her."
"I am too." Judith put her arm around him softly saying. "We're going to be okay."
"We will be."
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walks up to Carol's grave as the sun starts to set in the sky. He stands there, his eyes red as he stares at the grave of his best friend. He bends and lays something down on the dirt. He stands up and lays his hand on the cross. "I love you," he says his voice hoarse as he turns around and walks away. The sun shines on the grave showing the Cherokee rose he set down.
No one's P.O.V
At first there was en…..she saw white
Shadows were standing at the edge and began to appear….
A beautiful black haired woman in flannel smiling warmly.
A Korean man and a large black man stood waving, beckoning her over.
A towering African man, arms wrapped a smaller African woman, both encouragingly looking at her.
More and more appeared then above all else one of them shot forward running up arms wide….Hair red, face full of joy.
"Mommy!"
And Carol Peleiters eyes welled and walked forward
Thanks for reading. Next chapter the group will set up plans, Alicia talks with the group about moving into the Commonwealth. Maggie talks with Lance about rebuilding Hilltop. We are now entering the final arc out of Choices. As always suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.
