✓ᴋɪʟʟᴇʀ'ꜱ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ¦¦ ₜₕₑ Wₐₗₖᵢₙg Dₑₐd

chapter twenty two.

EVERYONE WAS CONFUSED to see the carriage full of scared children coming back through the walls of Hilltop. Isla got off the motorcycle in annoyance, recognising Aaron in the distance, who was approaching quite quickly like everyone else.

"What happened?" Aaron questioned as a crowd started to appear. Isla stood beside Lydia, who was nervously clutching her stick. Daryl got off his bike too, walking up to everyone else, "She blocked all the roads. Means they're closin' in on us. If we had a window to get out, we just missed it."

Kelly appeared like she was starting to panic, "You said... you all said... we can't stay here." She replied, her voice starting to break as she rubbed her face.

One of her friends, Luke, seemed the same way as her, "We can... we can call Alexandria, right?" He suggested, but nobody seemed to give him an answer. Isla already guessed that it would be a useless thing to do, they were too far away. "-they'll get fresh fighters here, right? And it's not- not just gonna be us."

"Oceanside can't get here. Alexandria, either. Not in time." Dianne stated sadly, her head lowering as everyone started to realise they were on their own.

Luke looked like he was going to say something else, but Isla spoke over, "It's too risky to evacuate everyone anyways. Alpha'll surround us quicker than we can get everything together."

One of the men of Hilltop, Earl, looked like he wasn't going to lose hope, "Divvy up your arsenals. We got catapults on the walls. And a damn good militia." He nodded at Aaron and a few others, who returned the gesture. "This is what you've all been practicing for. Do whatever you need to get your heads on straight! This is gonna be the fight of our lives."

He was certainly correct on that point. After everything, Alpha and Beta weren't going to stop anytime soon.

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Isla was going to do everything she could in order to stop the horde from taking down Hilltop. She had seen so many people and places die out due to Alpha, her father, and the horde's actions when she was 'Delta'. She was happy that she wasn't that person anymore, but Alpha and her father still were. They always will be.

She was helping Luke, Kelly and Yumiko with some of the barriers. Large poles stuck into the ground with a numerous amount of wire or anything that was sharp to split up the horde. She had been at it for a while, and she was only planning to stop until it was necessary.

Daryl suddenly appeared behind her, as he was checking on how things were going around the place. "Hey, Isla. You've been at it for a while, you should probably rest." He faintly told her. Isla just sighed, brushing the hair out of her face and continuing her work. "Isla-"

"Do you think the Whisperers are resting right now?" Isla asked, not bothering to lift her head up. She blew the hair out of her cheek briefly before continuing, "Or Beta? Or, I don't know, Alpha, perhaps?"

Daryl was shunned for a moment, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Isla mentally groaned, her working arm flopping by her side as she huffed. "Sorry- I just..." She muttered, her line of sight gazing at the floor as she thought. "It's weird being on the other side, y'know."

"What's that suppose to mean?" He then asked.

"Before Lydia and I first found you guys...I was always following her. Alpha." Isla explained, picking at her tool in her hand, feeling like her voice was about to shake. "I could never go against her. I watched as she destroyed people and their homes, and I don't want to see it happen to this place too-" 

Daryl put his hand on her arm before noticing how she flinched a little bit. Isla realised he knew by the expression on his face, she wiped her eye for a second before chucking her tool on the ground. "You ain't like her, hell no, you ain't. None of this is your fault, alright?" Daryl told her quietly, "Hey." He spoke, noticing her silence.