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[Day 148]
Bella looked at the map as she spread it out over the hood of the truck, while Daryl, Negan, and Jasper stood beside her. They had some of their other men roving to be sure that no walkers would sneak up on them. "We want a clean shot into Woodbury. We've managed to get closer to the town faster, but it's possible the herd is on the other side of the town, or…there is no town now." She said, looking at Negan. "What do you think?"
"Well, we can cut around on 76 and head in from the North side. See what we find that way. Martinez checked in yesterday. Woodbury was still standing yesterday, so we don't have a reason to believe that it's been overrun in this short time. We may have the perfect opportunity to slide in and out before a herd marches through." Negan said scratching the scruff on his face. "But it's up to you sweetheart. You're running this show."
Bella smiled a little. "You're the leader of the Saviors Negan."
"That's for diplomatic purposes," Negan said and nodded to the map. "What are you thinking?"
Bella looked back at the map. "I think that you're right. Let's go with that. We'll drop in from the North. Martinez is supposed to check in at nightfall, so we'll head North and wait for him to radio in and we'll talk about coming in from the North."
"Alrighty then. Let's get moving then." Negan said and then folded the map up.
Bella whistled, drawing their men back in. "Alright, let's pack it in boys. Heading North on 76. We have 3 hours before nightfall. Let's get a path started." She called out and everyone went to work, packing it in and getting the bigger trucks ready to push the vehicles out of the way so they could get a clear path.
When the radio crackled, Bella unhooked it from her belt and she waited for a beat, waiting for Martinez's voice.
"Negan." Martinez's voice came over the walkie.
"Yeah, Martinez. You have Bella. Go ahead." Bella said and listened.
"Seems like there is a large herd skirting in from the South. It's best if you come in from the North." Martinez relayed.
Bella smirked and looked at Negan and Jasper when they approached. Daryl was gathering food at the moment so they could eat tonight to keep their strength. "Well, that is our plan. We're clearing a way down 76. We should get to you in a couple of days. Do you think you have enough time?"
Martinez was quiet for a moment. "Maybe. The Governor is getting a bit antsy. He didn't like the message Negan sent. He's got some of the men riled up. He's not even paying attention to the herd getting too close. I'm trying to reinforce what I can, but…Bella, it's not looking good. Two days…. Woodbury will probably be gone."
Bella frowned and looked at Negan. "Alright, new plan. Do you have any way of loading your women and children up?"
"Couple buses, but I'm not going to be able to get them out of town without a fight. Can you move faster? I don't have enough firepower on my own. I'm pretty outnumbered." Martinez relayed.
"Damnit," Bella cursed and then motioned to Jasper to unfold the map so they could take a look at it. "Hold on Martinez." She said into the walkie-talkie and then looked at the map while Negan shone a light on the paper. "What about this? Cut straight up more Southwest. We can bypass some of this wreckage up here on 76 and cut across on 54. It is already clear, but we're edging closer to a herd. We can make it to Woodbury in an hour or two." she said, looking at Negan, her face serious.
Negan studied the map. "Hmm. It's risky. How big of a herd is there Martinez?" he asked as he took the walkie and talked into it.
"I'm not sure, pretty big. Maybe a couple hundred."
Negan shook his head. "That's a lot. We don't have the men for that. We have 26 people sweetheart. A herd that size can be hard to manage."
"What's the alternative?" Bella asked.
Jasper studied the map closely. "What about creating diversions? Pull the herd off of Woodbury. Set off some detonations south of the herd to funnel them back?"
Bella nodded. "That could work." She said. "I can wire some explosives. We have some stuff for it. I can drop back, set some off."
"No. Send Mars and Topher." Negan said. "They were bomb experts. Army." He said with a nod. "Alright, Martinez. We'll see you in a couple of hours. Be ready." He said.
"Rodger that," Martinez said and then it was silent.
Bella leaned up and looked at Negan. "Alright. Let's get moving."
Daryl arrived, empty-handed, shaking his head. "Wildlife is scarce through here and it's dark." He said. "Not a good sign."
"That isn't a good sign," Bella frowned. "That's a really bad sign."
Negan frowned. "Why? What's wrong with the wildlife?"
"No wildlife at all means they left the area quickly to get away from predators," Bella explained. "It's like a wildfire. The wildlife flees the area that is on fire. They do the same for other things. Floods and other natural disasters, including the walking dead."
Daryl nodded. "Yeah, so we need to move from this area and do it quickly." He said.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Negan said. "Load it up boys, let's head across over on 54." He said and everyone got into the vehicles, and started towards Woodbury, taking 54 SW.
[Day 149]
Bella looked through the binoculars towards the town of Woodbury. They decided to use the tall church building outside the main part of town as a camp so their men could rest. It was risky to go in at night with low visibility, considering the circumstances. Bella searched around the walls of Woodbury, the dead were pushing and scraping against the weak walls, and it was bad. The South entrance into the town was completely covered, but so was the entirety of the town. They had made it too late. The herd that moved in was far bigger than imagined and more than Martinez had told them. "Try Martinez again," Bella said as she continued to look through the binoculars.
Jasper clicked the side of the walkie. "Martinez." He said and waited. It was dead silence. "Nothing Bells. What's it looking like?"
"Looks like thousands of walkers Jazz," Bella muttered and then handed the binoculars off to Negan.
Negan took them and looked through them at the town. "The walls are still standing."
"For now," Daryl said as he leaned against the wall, his crossbow resting on his thigh as he kept one of his feet on the wall to prop himself up.
Bella ran a hand over her braided hair. "Okay. We have 26 people. Let's split into a few groups, and we'll set off bombs to draw attention away from the town. Or maybe, car alarms. Something with noise. We have to draw some of those walkers away. There are kids there that are probably freaked out." She said and started to pace a little.
Negan set a hand on her shoulder to stop her from pacing. "Sweetheart, we'll figure this out. Let's not rush it."
"Negan, there isn't a lot of time. Those walls could crumble at any moment. We are the Saviors. We…we can save them." Bella said, her blue eyes staring into his dark eyes.
Negan studied her, seeing the compassion for the strangers in the town. That was just one of the many reasons why he loved her. He nodded. "Okay. We'll split into groups. We'll use what we can to draw attention away from Woodbury. Topher and Mars and- "
"I'll go with Topher and Mars," Daryl said and pushed away from the wall. "I saw an old flatbed not far from here. We can set the alarm or horn off on that thing. Draw the herd from the East."
Negan nodded. "Good. Go ahead and get in position. You'll set off your truck first. Jasper, take James, Cooper, and Townsend with you and set something off in North. I'll take Henry and Keith with me. Bella, Take Goose, Monty, and Lane. Go to the South, and set off some alarms on some cars through that bend. Get the fuck out of there when you do. You'll set off last, give yourself plenty of time and room, to get back here. I'll have the others ready with the buses to drive into Woodbury take down the front gate and get the women and children loaded up. Should give us enough time to get out before the herd gets bored with the sounds."
Bella didn't like the plan. It was a bit unstable, but it was what they had for now. It's what they could do, and they had to do something before Woodbury took a fall. "Alright. Let's do this." She said and then Negan grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in to kiss her. Her eyes fluttered shut when he kissed her like he would never see her again, and that worried her.
"Be careful sweetheart," Negan warned before he slapped Jasper on the back and headed downstairs to get his men to go to his position.
Daryl pushed away from the wall. "Bella. You have to be careful. I don't like being split up like this."
Bella nodded. "I know. I don't like it either. Daryl…I love you." She blurted out.
Daryl swallowed, his heart throbbing in his chest, hearing her say those words. "I love you too." He murmured and he went to her and kissed her forehead, not trusting himself to kiss her truly right now. "Come back safe." He murmured and then left her there with Jasper.
Jasper had been silent. Watching the way Daryl and Negan cared for Bella. He had no right to even tell her what to do. He had lost his chance at her being his a long time ago, and he couldn't blame anyone but himself for it. "Bells…"
"You're not exempt," Bella said, her blue eyes settling on Jasper. "We're about to go pull a hell Mary to get those people out of that town. I told you it was a bad idea for you to come on this trip. You should have stayed in Alexandria."
"And let you have all the fun?" Jasper asked with a small smile. "Bells, I walked away from you a long time ago. I hurt you deeply and I ran away like a coward. Instead of fighting for you. Fighting for our love…I ran away. I'm not running away this time. I never stopped loving you and I will never stop." He said and shook his head. "This world has changed so much, and I want to say that I'm a better man…someone that is worthy of you, but the truth is…I will never be worthy Bella…"
"Don't…" Bella shook her head, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. "Jasper, I still love you. My heart aches….so much because I am trapped in a weird…love triangle that I don't know how I managed to get myself into. I'm afraid of losing all of you…and it's not fair to any of you. I'm not worthy of any of you…but I want to be." She blew out a breath." My heart still hurts from what happened to us. But…. since everything…and the dead…. it's been healing and a lot of that is thanks to Negan. He helped fix some things that were broken in me. He made me realize that it's okay to love and to have feelings. I just hate that I can't choose…I can't choose any of you because I risk hurting someone I love, and I just can't do that. But for now…I love you and you better fucking make it back to me."
Jasper sucked in a breath and walked to her in a couple of strides and kissed her fiercely, his hands coming up and framing her face as he did. "God…Bella, I love you so fucking much." He whispered, resting his forehead against hers. "You come back to me too." He said opened his bronze eyes and looked at her. "Please."
"I promise," Bella murmured and then kissed him again before the two walked downstairs to grab their parties and head out to set off the distractions needed to rescue the town of Woodbury.
Bella's feet pounded heavily against the pavement as she ran for her life. The alarms were blaring on the vehicles and the walking dead had cornered them fast. She hadn't anticipated the other herd moving in, drawing in towards Woodbury because for some reason the dead liked to herd together. The sounds of the car alarms were just attracting more and more. Goose and Monty were still keeping pace with her. Lane had gone down, a swarm of the dead overtaking him, and his dying screams were haunting, but the trio had to keep running if they wanted to survive. So many thoughts went through Bella's mind. She had heard Daryl's alarms going off, and then not long after, Negan's and then Jasper's. She was the last one to set off the alarms to draw out the herd, and she only hoped that they had an easier time setting off the car alarms than her group did. They were quickly getting boxed in, and it was becoming more and more apparent that it was possible she wouldn't make it out of this alive.
"Fuck." Bella cursed as they came to a dead end. Rows of cars were piled up on the road, creating a really bad roadblock. "Get on the cars." She said and Monty and Goose followed her up on the pile of cars that seemed to teeter a little as they climbed up on the scarred, twisted metal of the vehicles. On the other side of the roadblock were even more walkers, coming in towards the sound of the blaring sounds. They were fully surrounded by the dead now, a groaning sea that snarled and grasped towards them.
Goose's dark eyes were wide with fear as he looked down at the inevitable. "Bella, we're not making it out of here." He said, his voice raspy.
"Don't talk like that Goose. I'll figure it out. Just….give me a minute to think." Bella said as she searched around her, but there was nothing. There was nothing to save them and she didn't have any explosives on her that could even act as a distraction.
Monty shook his head, his olive skin was beaded with sweat and blood from fighting with the dead. "Goose is right." He said, his dark eyes meeting hers. "We can't get out of this. We're corned on all sides." He said and the car shifted under them and slid a little, causing Goose to topple backwards into the sea of the dead.
"Goose!" Bella called out, trying to stabilize the metal beneath her feet, but Goose's dying screams hit the air and she watched, in horror, as he was ripped apart savagely.
Monty cried, tears streaming down his face, his breathing irregular as he felt the panic set in. "Oh, God."
"Monty! Snap out of it. I need you to focus. We can't move…this car is going to go over if we move anymore."
"He's dead! Goose!" Monty sobbed a little.
"MONTY!" Bella shouted at him. "Stay with me."
"I can't…I can't do this. Oh god, it's over." Monty said, shifting his weight and the car wobbled more and he started to fall over, but Bella grabbed him, pulling him towards her.
Bella's heart was pounding hard in her chest, as she felt herself slide backward, but she leaned forward a little to balance the car better and keep Monty upright with her. "Monty, stop moving. Stop. Shut the fuck up right now." She commanded, but it was like talking to a brick wall. He wasn't hearing anything she was saying right now.
Monty shifted again and this time there was nothing Bella could do to keep them upright. Monty fell backwards and this time Bella went with him into the hungry herd of the dead.