fallen angels → the walking dead ²

[ 024 ] burning pile.

"Everyone's okay," Odessa sighed in relief. "Everyone's okay."

"For now," Lori stepped in.

"For now," Odessa echoed. "You know after you and T, everything went to shit."

"We know, Des," she nodded. "We know about everything that's happened. The Governor, the attacks, Andrea, the flu."

Odessa looked down at her hands. "It gets harder everyday, Mom."

"I know." Lori sighed. "I won't say it's gonna get easier because it's not and you know that. But you're strong. All of you are and you can make it. All of you can make it. You, Carl, your dad, Daryl, Glenn, Beth, Hershel, Maggie, Carol. All of you."

"We're the strongest group of people I've ever met in my life." Odessa agreed. "We can make it."

When Odessa came to, Bob was in the cell with his back turned to her. She grunted as she stretched her body. Bob looked over at her. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Des."

"How long was I out?" She said groggily.

"About a day," Bob answered.

Her eyes widened and she shot up, "a day!?" She exclaimed loudly. "Is everyone okay?"

"Glenn made it. So did Sasha," Bob informed her. "Everyone made it."

Odessa felt her body take a huge breath of relief. "Thank God," she whispered. She laid on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She ran her hands through her hair.

"I've been keeping watch on your vitals and it all seems good." Bob said.

"Am I free to go?" She asked, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

Bob nodded. "But I want you to take it easy, Odessa. "Very easy. And I want you to come back every other hour for a check up."

"Sure thing," she said and a couple minutes later, Odessa was breathing in fresh air. The sun felt amazing on her still pale skin.

"Odessa!" A shout came from behind her. She whipped around and smiled.

"Carl!" She shouted back and the two siblings barreled into each other. Odessa laughed loudly as she and Carl swayed from side-to-side. From a distance, Rick watched his two oldest see each other after days of not being able to.

"Are you okay?" Both Grimes children asked at the same time. Then they laughed.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Carl said. "You?"

"As good as I can be after almost dying for like the fifth time." Odessa told him.

Carl scoffed. "It's not a competition."

"Even if it was, I'd be winning anyway." Odessa nudged his arm. "Let's count... walker bite in Atlanta."

"Shot in the head." Carl said next.

"Ran away from the farm and almost died in the woods." Odessa listed.

"Shane—"

Both went quiet after that. They stared at their feet for a moment before Odessa spoke up, "that was a long time. Let's go help Dad."

Unknown to the siblings, the watchful eye of Philip Blake stayed on them as they joined their father in the gardens.

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Theo stood in the woods with Michonne and Hershel as they burned the bodies of the walkers he, Carl, and Rick killed the night before.

Michonne and Theo both smiled at Hershel as he told the lamest joke they'd ever heard. He'd had a knack for those lately. Lame dad jokes that earned blank stares or teary laughter.

Theo grabbed a gas can, followed by Michonne and Hershel. The trio drenched the pile of walker corpses. Theo lit the torch Hershel held and the old man threw it in the pile. They all turned on their heels and started to walk away from the burning pile when a arm reached out and knocked Michonne unconscious.

Both Hershel and Theo reached for their guns with fast reflexes but when Theo looked up his eyes locked with his father's one eye.

With Philip Blake five feet in front of him, Theo did exactly what Odessa told him not to do.

He hesitated.

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word count: 1,091

okayyyyyyyyy that ending. yikes!!! i'm not ready for what's coming. it was so freaking hard to write the upcoming chapters.

other than the bad stuff that's coming odessa's okay!! still recovering but out of the danger zone. and she and carl reunited. god i love them SO MUCH. they're literally my favorite siblings ever.

okay but let's talk about that dream des had. how are we feeling about seeing lori again?? we've seen dale and shane in her dreams and hallucinations but never her mother.

but it would make more sense for lori to come to her in a dream and tell her she survived the illness than dale. lori may have been a shitty mother alive but at least she came to her daughter in a dream.

let me tell y'all this isn't even the last time daryl saves odessa. i can't even count how many times he's saved her already but ik it's a bunch. he continues to save her dumbass allllllll the way into season eleven.