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7 years. That seemed far too short to compare to everything that has happened.
2,555 days. Now that was much more suiting.
I could go back and explain each and every story. Each heartbreak, every smile, each tear. But what would be the point? It was all in the past, it was done and it left nothing but the empty shell of who I once was.
They all knew that I was gone, most probably assumed I'd be dead by now. But, they were so far off. I was closer then they knew. I was watching, always watching. I told myself to stay away, watch from a distance but never be noticed and never interfere. What would happen to them was no longer my business. I had made that decision a long time ago.
The beginning of the end came with one single quick boom. The beginning of the awkward silences, the endless searches, and the wedge between the group. Everything we had tried so hard to build, gone in only a matter of seconds. And, I left it all behind... sort of. Like I said, I watched. They rebuilt Alexandria and expanded Hilltop. They were thriving communities with windmills and water towers, blacksmiths and farmers, the works.
I watched them creep into a fog covered graveyard. Why they were there? Well, I couldn't tell you. And he was there. It had been so long but he looked almost the exact same, beautiful and dangerous all at once. He had left a few years after me. But, of course, he still had connections with them.
I reached for the ring hanging around my neck and twisted it between my fingers. Oh God, why couldn't time just stand still. I remember watching a movie once, this guy had a remote. He could pause, fast forward and rewind time. I never wanted anything more. Just one more kiss or smirk or argument.
But that was over. The world and life we had worked so hard to build was over.
And now they fought off the herd of walkers, just like old times. They were confident, this was nothing new to them. But the situation had gotten a little sticky, the herd was starting to close in.
They struggled to open the gate as Jesus held off the herd. He gracefully killed the walkers stumbling too close. But when the gate opened, he didn't run for the hills. He lingered and took down the rest. No doubt having adrenaline pumping through his veins. There were three that blocked his path. Two went down but the final one had ducked out of the way of his blade, spun behind him, and stabbed his chest.
Maybe it was the initial shock, or the knowledge that everything I've known had just changed in front of my very eyes, but I ran forward. Pulling my sword out, I cut through the walkers that were closing in and stopped in front of Jesus' lifeless body. They didn't react to my presence. And honestly, I was a little offended.
The walkers had pulled out knives and ran towards us. We fought back and within a matter of seconds, it was quiet.
"Addy?" Daryl sighed out heavily. His crossbow was raised, waiting for a threat. But his eyes were stuck on me. Dull blue eyes that I couldn't meet.
I ignored him and surveyed my surroundings. Two women I didn't know stood off to the side while Aaron leaned over Jesus' body sobbing. Daryl walked away from me and kneeled in front of the walker that stabbed Jesus. He pushed away a few hairs to find stitches along the side of the face. He pulls the stitches apart, removes the mask, and reveals a face. A normal, human who was living and breathing only a few minutes ago.
Daryl's head slowly turned to look at me but his eyes stopped at the ring hanging from my neck. I sigh, shove the necklace under my shirt, and turn away.
I stop behind Aaron before he glances up at me. He stands and pulls me into a hug. His way of saying hi, I'm glad you're alive under the worst circumstances.
"They're trapped," a whisper echoed through the graveyard. "Circle around." Daryl's dog started to bark, alerting us of what we already knew, we were not alone. "Don't let them slip by. Keep them together. You die now."
"Go," Michonne whispers to the two women, one of which bends down and takes the mask before disappearing through the gate. Almost immediately, more walkers... or people, appeared in our sights.
"I'll cover you," I tell the others as Daryl and Aaron carefully move Jesus' body. Once they were out of the gate, I followed and slammed it shut behind me. Then, we ran.
We stopped to catch our breath once we were sure that no one, or nothing, had followed. But as soon as we had, I knew staying was a bad decision. "Who the hell are you?" The unfamiliar woman with curly hair and tattoos asked. Something in her tone had hit me the wrong way.
"I could ask you the same thing." My voice was a notch louder then hers and I tilted my head to the side, blinking slowly. "Actually, I don't care." I glanced back at Michonne and slid my sword into its sheath. "This has been a pleasant reunion." I glanced from her familiar face to Eugene, then Aaron, and finally Daryl. Our eyes still never meeting. "But it really hasn't."
"No," Aaron said quickly. "I'm not going to let you leave again, not with those... whatever, out there."
"Ya know, you're starting to remind me a lot of someone," I chuckle. "He was never able to tell me what to do. Hell, he couldn't even help himself."
I start to walk away, back into the woods, back to watching from a distance. But that damn gravely, rough voice that constantly replayed in my head said one word, a word that yesterday, I would have killed to hear come from his mouth. "Addy." So, I stopped, took a deep breath, and rolled my eyes. Fuck him for still having this power over me.
"I'll go back to Hilltop, or Alexandria, or wherever it is y'all are calling home. But after he's buried, I'm gone," I snapped as I turned back around and walked by the others, walking straight towards a place I once called home.
We walked for miles, eventually coming across a saddled horse that someone must have left. They gently laid Jesus over the animals back and we trudged on. I led the way, desperate and done with being near them, him.
"Judith found them. Vouched for them," I overheard Michonne tell Daryl. "So do I."
"Alright," he replies.
"It's gonna mean a lot to them. Bringing him back, burying him."
"Sorry I couldn't do that for you," he says, so casually.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do it for all of us. Thank you for trying to find him. And... for after."
I scoff and pick up my pace. This. This is the exact reason I stay away. Too many memories. Fuck them both.
Dog started to bark, then we heard the growls. Glancing in between the trees we saw the small heard.
"The living kind or original recipe?" Eugene asks.
"Let's find out," Daryl says as I turn to face them. He was looking at Michonne, but I was never one to wait for an invitation.
The three of us got to a covered bridge where a few walkers limped through. He fired a bolt at one of their legs and the man fell to the ground screaming as the dead limped toward him. One ran at Michonne but she stabbed him through the chest. The remaining one stood with a small knife in its hand, quickly looking between us.
"Drop it," Daryl says. As it looks towards him, I kick it in the back of the knees and it falls to the ground. He walks foreword and slowly pulls the mask off. It was only a girl, a kid.
