Beyond Terminus (Book Two)

Chapter 16: Kamikaze

"Three bullets, that's all I've got," Carol says angrily as we head to a separate door in the parade. "We're in the middle of a city. He was stealing our weapons. Did you think I was gonna kill him? I was aiming for his leg. Could that have killed him? Maybe...I don't know. But he was stealing our weapons."

Daryl and I have remained silent this whole time, focusing on the job at hand.

"He's a damn kid," Daryl grumbles, working on unlocking our new entrance.

"Without weapons we could die. Beth could die." When she gets no reaction, she narrows her eyes. "Hope could die."

"We'll find more weapons," he snaps, his jaw clenched.

I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms.

"I don't want you to die," she says. "I don't want Beth to die. I don't want anybody at the church to die, but I can't stand around and watch it happen either. I can't."

I try to ignore the fact that she's talking about me like I'm not right here, and Daryl doesn't look up as he works at unlocking the door.

"That's why I left," she whispers. "I just had to be somewhere else."

"Well, you ain't somewhere else!" Daryl shouts. "You're right here. Tryin'."

"Look, you're not who you were and neither am I," she says, rolling her eyes. "I don't know if I believe in God anymore or heaven, but if I'm going to hell, I'm making damn sure I'm holding it off as long as I can."

"I believe that there is a God, I can and will say that, but I don't have any clue where you're going," I snap.

"What? And you're innocent?" Carol asks, crossing her arms.

"I'm not giving up on my faith just because things look bad!" I counter. "And no, I'm not innocent! No one on this whole damn planet is!"

Daryl kicks the door open, making us fall silent. He glances back at the two of us, grabbing his bag. Carol grabs hers, and the book on treating survivors of childhood abuse falls out. Daryl snatches it and hands it back to her, his expression pissed beyond relief.

As we head out of the building, Carol walks ahead. The bridge with the van isn't too far away. Daryl keeps his glare focused straight ahead, and I bite my lip.

"I...I'm sorry. I-" I shake my head. I have no idea where that sudden outburst came from. I just feel emotional today.

"It's fine. You're tired. We all are," Daryl says, grabbing my hand.

"I wish we could have some alone time. Relaxation time..." I murmur, rubbing the back of my neck.

"We will soon enough." He pauses and looks up. "Right over there, look."

The van sits on the bridge, right where we last saw it. Daryl runs to the front of our trio, opening the back. Nothing jumps out, and he nods approvingly.

"All right, let's get this done," he says.

"It's not stable," I warn.

"I'm lighter," Carol adds.

He glances between the two of us and hops in. It creaks, and I cringe. He swings his legs up into the back, moving to the driver's side. Carol follows, and I watch anxiously, begging the van to stay on the bridge.

Inside, I can see them pulling out maps and such, trying to figure out where it's from.

"There's more coming," I say, motioning to the herd of walkers accumulating near us. "We're gonna have to fight through."

"Yeah, I see 'em," Daryl calls.

"We have to go," Carol says, heading back out.

Daryl grabs a stretcher, looking at the name on the side.

"GMH, what's that? A hospital?" he asks.

"Grady Memorial Hospital," I say immediately. "Grady, the white crosses...it might be where they're holing up."

They jump out to meet me, only to see every exit blocked by massive amount of walkers. Carol starts shooting while Daryl and I stab madly.

"Daryl!" I call.

"Go, go, go, go!" he orders, ushering Carol and I into the back of the van.

He kicks a walker in the face and shuts the door. They start banging on the back, and I can feel the van rocking.

"Anything we can use?" I ask, trying to hide the terror in my voice.

"Nothin' but what we got," he replies.

He looks back at my scared expression, his eyes wide.

"A'ight, buckle up," he commands.

He climbs into the driver's side, and I nudge Carol into the passenger.

"Hope-" Daryl starts.

"No. I'll be back here."

"Hope, I-" she hesitates.

"Carol, you sit your ass down and buckle up. If there's any time to make all this hostility between us set right, it's now," I command, and she swallows and does as I say.

"You hold on," he says to me.

"I will."

He pulls me into a fierce kiss, full of terror and love. I break away, giving him a nod as I brace myself in the back. I grit my teeth, trying to ignore the hammering of my heart in my chest.

The car tips, and we plummet to the ground below.

Daryl's POV

As we land, the glass shatters and the airbag deploys. I look up groggily, glancing to Carol. She breathes heavily, but looks otherwise ok, save for a few scratches.

Walkers start hitting the top of the van like a messed up rainstorm, and I unbuckle myself.

"We're okay. We're okay," I whisper.

"God," Carol mutters.

"Hope?" I ask.

There's no answer, and I spin around, fear coursing through my heart. The back of the van is open, and Hope is gone.

"Hope!" I scream, leaping from the van and rushing around to the back. "HOPE!"

I see a form in the grass a little ways away, and I rush towards it. Sure enough, my girl is laying there, her eyes closed.

"Angel...damn it, don't be dead," I beg, lifting her torso off the ground. "Fuckin' hell."

I press my ear to her chest, breathing a quick sigh of relief as I hear her faint heartbeat. I check her body, my heart sinking. She's got a few gashes on her face, and glass sticks out of her legs in some places. I tear the few pieces out, and she makes a small noise of pain. On the bright side, nothing looks broken.

"Daryl!" Carol calls, her mouth falling open in shock. "Oh god."

"Get the stretcher," I demand, and she nods.

She gets it, and we set it up. I lift Hope onto it, pulling off her jacket to check her arms and chest. The leather jacket is torn up, but her arms and torso are unscathed.

Thank God for leather.

"I should've been in the back," Carol says. "This is all my fault."

"Don't say that! I'm the one who drove the van off the fuckin' bridge!" I say, trying to hide the tears. "Let's just get her to safety."

We slowly start rolling the stretcher away after I drape the tattered jacket over her like a blanket.

"Hold on angel. Hold on."