Reflections - TWD

31. Fire with fire.

Isabella looked around the crate, and she felt physically sick when she realised nobody else was in there, Daryl wasn't here.

"No, no, no..." Isabella mumbled, reaching her hands up to the roots of her hair and tugging on them slightly.

Maggie kneeled down in front of her with that soft look that she always had in her eyes. "We're gonna get out of here. I promise. We're gonna find Daryl and everybody else."

Isabella took a deep breath and nodded, freaking out wouldn't do anything, so she just slid down against the wall of the crate and sat on the floor, focusing on breathing and trying not to worry. Daryl was smart, he was a survivalist. If everyone else made it, he did.

Glenn sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her. "When I got out...I put your tiger in my bag, they took it...I'm sorry."

Isabella let out a small laugh through her tears. "I don't think that matters anymore."

"I'll get you a new one. I know how much it means to you." Glenn told her reassuringly, clearly he felt guilty about losing it.

Isabella nodded. Eugene was in a complete panic, he couldn't stop talking or pacing no matter how many times Sasha or Rosita told him to shut up and calm down.

All of a sudden, there was gunshots being fired and more yelling and shouting. Abraham put a finger to his lips to tell them to all be quiet, which they all did and listened intently.

"Drop your weapons. Now!" Gareth's voice boomed.

Isabella pressed the side of her head up against the crate wall, hoping to get a better idea of what's going on.

"Now!" Gareth shouted more demandingly. Then he started shouting more orders, presumably after the weapons had been put down. "Ringleader, go to your left. The train car, go." And then there was a moment of silence. "You do what we say, the boy goes with you. Anything else, he died and you end up in there anyway."

A pause. "Now the archer."

Another pause. "Now the samurai."

"Stand at the door, ringleader, archer, samurai, in that order." Gareth called.

"My son!" A voice that Isabella knew all too well.

Rick Grimes.

"Go, kid." Gareth said a little more quietly. "Ringleader, open the door and go in."

"I'll go in with him." The voice replied.

"Don't make us kill him now." Gareth threatened.

The door opened and everyone stood up. Rick, then Daryl, then Michonne, then Carl.

Isabella stood up and Glenn walked into the light first. "Rick?"

"You're here." Rick replied and Isabella rushed forward, lunging into Daryl's arms.

"Daryl!" Isabella cried as he hugged her back.

"You're okay. You're okay." Daryl replied, reassuring himself more than anything.

"There our friends." Maggie said as the other four noticed Abraham, Tara, Eugene and Rosita. "They helped save us."

"Yeah. Now they're friends of ours." Daryl nodded.

"For however long that'll be." Abraham retorted, clearly not hopeful about the situation whatsoever.

"No." Rick shook his head. "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out."

"Find out what?" Abraham moved forward, his tone cautious.

"They're fucking with the wrong people."