Slowly the sound of the horde got closer. The walkers' growls and snarls getting louder with each passing second until you could finally see them.
It didn't take long for the horde to reach the makeshift blockade and the group of you all quickly rushed forward and started taking them out one by one while they were stuck behind the blockade.
You stabbed your sword through skull, after skull, after skull, Daryl swinging his Morningstar, bashing in their heads beside you.
You could hear everyone grunting as you all worked as a team, taking the walkers down one after the other. The more you killed, the more that kept coming, but you didn't give up.
"The fence isn't going to hold!" Someone further down the line shouted.
Yeah, he was probably right. But, while it was still holding, you were going to keep killing them while they were trapped. You swung your sword again, slicing the head off the next when suddenly you were all sprayed with something wet. What looked to be balls of liquid flew through the sky, drenching you all and stinging your eyes.
"It smells like a Christmas tree!" Jerry's voice shouted.
You blinked it away and continued stabbing the walkers, not giving the liquid much thought when suddenly fire arrows soared through the sky in your direction, hitting the fence and instantly lighting it up.
What the fuck?
Suddenly, someone started to scream, and you spun around to find the person completely on fire and you came to a very bad realisation of what the liquid was.
Oh, God.
"It's like gasoline!" You shouted, your eyes locking with Daryl's panicked ones.
They could literally just light you all on fire right now if more of those arrows came.
Fuck.
"Get back inside!" Daryl yelled, coming to the same conclusion.
Everyone instantly started sprinting back to Hilltop, just as the blockade gave way, the walkers spilling out behind you.
Just as you were about to reach the gate to Hilltop, arrows suddenly shot straight past you and before your very eyes, the walls of Hilltop went up in flames, trapping the group of you between fire and the dead.
Oh, this was not going to end well.
"Get through the gate before the flames take over!" Someone shouted and nobody needed to be told twice before you all sprinted through the open gate, narrowly missing the flames.
By the time you got inside the walls of Hilltop, everything was on fire.
The trailers. The barns. The sheds. Even Barrington House was burning.
The walkers followed you inside though, but there was no time to dwell over it as you continued fighting.
You lost track of how many you killed as you swung your sword. You kicked the nearest walker away from you about to cut its head off with your blade when you caught site of Judith out the corner of your eye, killing walkers with her katana.
Whoa, what the fuck?
You saw Ezekiel a few minutes ago rounding up the kids and getting them out of here. What the hell was she still doing here?
Without thinking, you sprinted over to her just as she stabbed a walker through the legs, but the walker screamed out in pain.
Oh, shit. Shit. It was a Whisperer.
"No, please, please don't." The Whisperer begged, falling to the ground as he looked up at Judith who stabbed her katana through his stomach causing the Whisperer to cry out in pain.
Before Judith could finish the job, you stepped in front of the girl. Her wide panicked eyes met yours and your heart shattered when you saw them swimming with unshed tears.
"I-I killed him. I killed him." She stuttered in shock.
"No. You just stabbed him, okay?" You insisted before you turned around and stabbed the blade of your sword through the Whisperers head, killing him instantly. "See that? I killed him."
Judith nodded ever so slightly, the tears in her eyes silently falling down her face, but you could tell that she was trying to be brave as she bit her lip in effort to stop it from trembling.
"Hey, hey, hey, listen to me, okay? His blood is not worth a single one of your tears."
Judith nodded again, but still seemed to be in a state of shock. She was just a kid damnit. She shouldn't even be here. Why didn't she go with Ezekiel?
"I can take her." Earl's voice suddenly said, and you turned around to find the older man rushing towards you.
"No, I want to fight." Judith protested, snapping out of her shock.
"I know, kiddo. But you need to keep the other kids and your brother safe. Can you do that for me?" You asked and she nodded. "Good girl, now go with Earl."
To your relief, she didn't try and argue. Earl grabbed her hand, and you watched him lead her to safety before you turned your attention back to the fight.
The walkers just kept coming through as you fought against them. You hadn't come across another Whisperer though, all the ones you crossed paths with were actual walkers as you stabbed your sword through their skulls killing them all.
You weren't sure how much time had passed as you kicked the next walker out the way and looked around Hilltop. The entire community was up in flames and smoke, and that's when you realised that you couldn't see the others.
They had abandoned Hilltop.
That was probably the smart idea. This community was beyond saving, not even a single piece of infrastructure was standing, all of it either collapsed or on flames and about to collapse.
Shit, you needed to get out of here too before the herd traps you inside this burning death trap. However, before you had a chance to run, something hard collided into your back.
The force of the hit sent you falling to the ground, and you didn't get a chance to brace yourself before you fell, landing on one of the corpses that you had killed earlier.
You couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped your lips, the hard landing jostling your injured ribs.
Black dots started to cloud your vision as you breathed through the pain and forced yourself onto your hands and knees.
You glanced around trying to figure out what had knocked you down before you saw the burning tree trunk on the ground beside you.
Wow.
You nearly died from a fucking tree.
Shaking your head, you grabbed your sword from the ground and got to your feet, only just managing to kill the closest walker before it could attack you.
You winced, your ribs now really hurting as you wrapped your free arm around them and staggered out of Hilltop, cutting and fighting your way through the sea of the dead.
The woods were full of scattered walkers that had broken free from the herd, but they were scarce, and it was easy enough to hide from them and wait for them to pass instead of trying to fight. Your ribs were hurting too much to fight right now.
You weren't sure when, but the sun had now risen in the sky above you. Bright light shining through the treetops as you limped through the woods, trying to find any of the others.
They had to be out here, right?
The others had to have survived and gotten out of Hilltop.
You figured they all would have back tracked to Alexandria or Oceanside maybe. So, heading in the direction of Alexandria would be the best idea.
Suddenly, leaves crunched from behind you, and you spun around with your sword raised when your eyes landed on Negan.
Oh, thank God.
A sigh of relief escaped your lips as you sheathed your sword over your back and took a step towards him before you noticed the Whisperer mask in his hand, and you froze.
Wait.
You didn't get a chance to really process it before Negan suddenly grabbed you, spinning your around and pulling your back into his chest, pinning your arms by your side uselessly.
"Let me go!" You shouted, thrashing in his grip which did nothing but make your ribs flare in pain.
"Stop." Negan ordered, as you hissed at the pain, but didn't stop fighting. "Just stop. You're hurting yourself."
"You're working for her, aren't you?"
"Sorry kid, this shit is done."
You knew there was no point trying to fight him. He was stronger than you and with your ribs, you were no match against him.
But you were an idiot and never knew when to quit.
No matter how much you tried to break free from his grasp, you couldn't, and he led you out into a clearing in the woods towards a small building.
Deep down, you knew what he was doing. Negan was going to deliver you to Alpha.
You should have never let him out that damn cell. Daryl was right, Negan wasn't a good guy. He had betrayed you. He had fucking betrayed you.
Before you knew it, Negan had you tied to a chair in the small building.
Once he was satisfied that the rope around you was secure and that you couldn't bust out, he left the building. Leaving you sitting inside the room, vulnerable and helpless.
You wanted to yell at him. To scream at him to come back and untie you, but you weren't stupid. You couldn't risk attracting walkers. If the dead somehow broke into this building, you were fucked.
So, instead, you just sat there, trying and failing to loosen the rope around you.
It didn't take long before you heard footsteps from outside, getting closer and closer.
Being a hunter had its benefits, and you knew there was more than one set of footsteps outside.
Negan had Alpha.
Fuck.
Yanking your arms and legs, you tried to break free of the rope, but all it was doing was cutting into your skin, drawing blood, but you kept trying.
There was no fucking way you were dying here. Not like this. Lydia and the others didn't die just so you could die like this. No fucking way.
Suddenly, the door in front of you swung open and you came face to face with your mother.
Your heart was beating out of your chest as you thrashed in the chair, not taking your eyes from her as she stared at you before that sickening familiar grin started to spread across her face.
"Well, well, well." She said, taking a step towards you, pulling out her knife from her belt.
"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with." You said, finally giving up with trying to break free.
This was it.
"Oh, I'm not going to kill you... not yet anyway. I want to hurt you first."
Yeah, you saw that coming.
Your entire life, all she had ever done was hurt you. Why would now be any different?
"Alpha?" Negan suddenly said from the doorway.
Your mother paused, staring at you for a moment before she turned back towards him and you watched in utter shock as Negan swung a knife, slicing your mothers throat.
A surprise yelp escaped your lips as you watched Negan gently lower your mother to the ground. Blood gushed out the cut across her throat as she gasped and gurgled, blood pouring from her mouth.
Sudden flashbacks of Alpha trying to cut your throat with wire all those years ago came flooding back. The scar across your neck suddenly burning as you thought back to that day.
You could hear Lydia screaming in your mind as Alpha slashed your throat.
Closing your eyes, you tried to shake the memory from your mind, but it wouldn't go away and subconsciously, you knew you were working yourself up into a panic attack.
Your breathing hitched as you struggled to get air into your lungs, your heartbeat thumping loudly in your ears as the walls around you started to close in
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Negan's voice said, but it sounded like you were underwater, his voice muffled and constricted.
"Whoa, hey."
Suddenly his hands were on your shoulders as your eyes snapped open to find Negan hovering in front of you, blocking your view from Alpha dead on the floor.
"I'm not... I'm not. Fuck." You gasped, unable to speak.
"Just breathe. Y/N, just breathe." Negan instructed, hastily cutting away at the rope around you.
Once your restraints were free, you sprung up from the chair and rushed out the building, not daring to look at your mother's lifeless body on the floor as you stepped past her.
You looked up at the sky, taking in a few shaky deep breaths as the sound of Lydia's screams slowly faded from your mind and the scar around your neck stopped burning.
Fuck.
You needed to get a hold of yourself. Having a panic attack was not going to help anyone.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was planning. I needed it to seem real to lure Alpha inside." Negan said from somewhere behind you.
You nodded, having put two and two together sometime during your freak out as you closed your eyes and took a deep breath.
"I wanted her to die, it was just how you killed her..." You trailed off before turning to face him, yanking the collar of your shirt down, exposing the thick scar around your neck.
Negan's eyes widened in shock as he stared at it.
That was the reason you always had it covered. People were nosy, it was human nature, you didn't blame them. But you hated all the questions you'd get and there was no way you'd ever tell them that your own mother had tried to kill you.
Only Daryl, Jesus and Ezekiel knew the truth.
Lydia used to... she was there when your mother had tried to do it. But nobody else knew and Negan definitely didn't either.
"Alpha... she did that to you?" He asked, putting the pieces together.
You nodded, not trusting your voice at the moment.
"Shit. I had no idea. If I'd have known... I wouldn't have cut her throat, not in front of you."
You appreciated that, but didn't say it out loud, instead simply nodding as you turned away from him, looking out at the woods.
You took a step away from the building surveying your surroundings, but now that you weren't in the middle of a freak out, you could feel the pain flaring through your ribs as you winced, resting your hand over them.
"You okay?" Negan asked, noticing your pain.
"I got beat to shit a few days ago, remember? Ribs don't magically heal if that's what you're wondering."
Negan sighed, walking over to you until he was standing by your side.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you earlier-"
"You didn't." You lied, not wanting him to feel guilty for it. "Now what do we do?"
"Now, I take your mothers head to Carol. Proof that I killed her, then she walks me through the gates of Alexandria to start a new chapter." He explained and you nodded. "You want to help me find Carol?"
"I probably shouldn't be around Carol. I might do what you just did." You said, nodding back to Alpha dead in the room.
"Things that bad between you two?"
You shrugged your shoulders, "I don't know. But I don't want to see her, not yet."
He nodded in understanding before the two of you went your separate ways.
You didn't hang around to watch him hack off your mother's head, instead you started to make your way back to Alexandria.
It was nightfall by the time you got back to the community. Half the walls around Alexandria were destroyed, but to your relief there were people standing guard everywhere, keeping an eye out.
"Y/N! Oh, thank God." Aaron's voice suddenly called out.
You stopped in the middle of the street, your hand resting over your ribs as you turned towards his voice.
Suddenly, Aaron was hugging you before you could even move as you stood there frozen in shock.
You and Aaron didn't hug... ever.
Things had gotten a little tense between the two of you lately. You weren't exactly sure where you stood with him, but clearly he didn't care about any of that now.
You winced as he hugged you a little too tightly and he quickly let go, his wide eyes going down to your arm around your ribs.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He quickly apologised, looking panicked.
"It's fine." You reassured, smiling softly at him. "Are the others here?"
He nodded, "a lot of them made it back."
"But?" You asked, knowing there was something he wasn't telling you.
"Daryl isn't here yet... and Ezekiel, Eugene and Yumiko have gone. It's a long story, but Eugene had been talking to someone over the radio and thinks her group might be able to help us."
You nodded, slowly taking in what he said.
Could you trust this other group? Maybe not. But frankly, you needed all the help you could get against the Whisperers.
"There's one other thing." He added, his expression dropping.
"What is it?" You asked, dread filling your stomach.
"Magna is back. She got separated from J-Jesus and Connie... she doesn't know if they made it out."
Tears started to fill Aarons eyes as he shook his head, looking away from you.
"Does she know if they're alive?" You asked, but he just shook his head.
Jesus had to be alive. And Connie. They were strong, they had to be.
Neither of you said anything for a moment as you stood in the street before Aaron sighed, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"You're hurt. You need to see a doctor." He said, changing the topic.
You shook your head, "nah. It's just my ribs, I'm fine."
He looked like he wanted to argue, but his daughter came running up to him before he got the chance and you gave him a small smile, greeting young Gracie before you walked down the street to yours and Daryl's place.
You collapsed on top of the mattress, Dog curling up by your feet. Your lack of sleep and exhaustion hitting you like a train and you fell asleep within minutes.
"Y/N. Hey, sweetheart, m'sorry, but ya need to wake up." Daryl's gentle voice said as you blinked your eyes open to find him sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hey." He smiled down at you.
"Thank God." You sighed, sitting up and wrapping your arms around him. "I thought..."
"I know. Me too." He whispered, hugging you tightly.
Your ribs were starting to hurt as you hugged him, but you didn't dare let go, wanting to savour the moment as long as possible.
"Negan told me what happened. Are you okay?"
You nodded as he pulled away, cupping the side of your face with his hand before he leant forward and captured your lips with his.
"M'sorry." He whispered against your lips as you kissed him back.
"I'm sorry too." You replied softly.
Things hadn't been great between you and Daryl. With everything happening, it had put a strain on your relationship, you both knew it. But, neither of you wanted to admit it.
"We're gatherin' everyone up. It ain't safe here."
"Good idea. Beta... he won't stop until he kills every one of us, especially after killing Alpha." You said, pulling away from him and Daryl nodded.
"We're taking cover in an abandoned hospital. C'mon."