EVERYONE WAS CONFUSED to see the carriage full of scared children coming back through the walls of Hilltop. Isla got off the motorcycle in annoyance, recognising Aaron in the distance, who was approaching quite quickly like everyone else.
"What happened?" Aaron questioned as a crowd started to appear. Isla stood beside Lydia, who was nervously clutching her stick. Daryl got off his bike too, walking up to everyone else, "She blocked all the roads. Means they're closin' in on us. If we had a window to get out, we just missed it."
Kelly appeared like she was starting to panic, "You said... you all said... we can't stay here." She replied, her voice starting to break as she rubbed her face.
One of her friends, Luke, seemed the same way as her, "We can... we can call Alexandria, right?" He suggested, but nobody seemed to give him an answer. Isla already guessed that it would be a useless thing to do, they were too far away. "-they'll get fresh fighters here, right? And it's not- not just gonna be us."
"Oceanside can't get here. Alexandria, either. Not in time." Dianne stated sadly, her head lowering as everyone started to realise they were on their own.
Luke looked like he was going to say something else, but Isla spoke over, "It's too risky to evacuate everyone anyways. Alpha'll surround us quicker than we can get everything together."
One of the men of Hilltop, Earl, looked like he wasn't going to lose hope, "Divvy up your arsenals. We got catapults on the walls. And a damn good militia." He nodded at Aaron and a few others, who returned the gesture. "This is what you've all been practicing for. Do whatever you need to get your heads on straight! This is gonna be the fight of our lives."
He was certainly correct on that point. After everything, Alpha and Beta weren't going to stop anytime soon.
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Isla was going to do everything she could in order to stop the horde from taking down Hilltop. She had seen so many people and places die out due to Alpha, her father, and the horde's actions when she was 'Delta'. She was happy that she wasn't that person anymore, but Alpha and her father still were. They always will be.
She was helping Luke, Kelly and Yumiko with some of the barriers. Large poles stuck into the ground with a numerous amount of wire or anything that was sharp to split up the horde. She had been at it for a while, and she was only planning to stop until it was necessary.
Daryl suddenly appeared behind her, as he was checking on how things were going around the place. "Hey, Isla. You've been at it for a while, you should probably rest." He faintly told her. Isla just sighed, brushing the hair out of her face and continuing her work. "Isla-"
"Do you think the Whisperers are resting right now?" Isla asked, not bothering to lift her head up. She blew the hair out of her cheek briefly before continuing, "Or Beta? Or, I don't know, Alpha, perhaps?"
Daryl was shunned for a moment, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Isla mentally groaned, her working arm flopping by her side as she huffed. "Sorry- I just..." She muttered, her line of sight gazing at the floor as she thought. "It's weird being on the other side, y'know."
"What's that suppose to mean?" He then asked.
"Before Lydia and I first found you guys...I was always following her. Alpha." Isla explained, picking at her tool in her hand, feeling like her voice was about to shake. "I could never go against her. I watched as she destroyed people and their homes, and I don't want to see it happen to this place too-"
Daryl put his hand on her arm before noticing how she flinched a little bit. Isla realised he knew by the expression on his face, she wiped her eye for a second before chucking her tool on the ground. "You ain't like her, hell no, you ain't. None of this is your fault, alright?" Daryl told her quietly, "Hey." He spoke, noticing her silence.
Isla nodded slowly after a second, finally lifting her gaze and looking up. She straightened her back and thought for a moment, "If I didn't try to attack you guys that day then none of this would be happening-"
Suddenly, she was brought into a hug. Isla felt the warmth she hadn't felt in a while and wrapped her arms around his torso whilst she tried to contain the tears glossing her eyes. She eventually contained her heaving chest after a few moments when they pulled back, putting her face in her hands for a second to compose herself.
"When you saved my life that day, I knew you weren't one of 'em." Daryl softly told her, keeping his hand on her shoulder, "Once this horde comes, we stick together, alright?" He suggested, and Isla nodded her head. "Take a break, they'll be comin' anytime s-"
A strange noise distracted Isla, the sounds of scuffling and squeaking. She looked down to see hundreds of rats escape the forest, running in all directions. As she looked around, she noticed the horror on Yumiko's face in which Isla mirrored. It only meant one thing.
"They're coming."
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It was pitch black outside - a great way to set the mood - and Isla stood behind those with shields, her machete clutched in her right hand, and a spear in her left. She could hear the groans of the walkers approaching them, even the obvious scuffling of human feet from the Whisperers. She didn't care how many were there, all she cared about was how many she was going to get rid of.
A few walkers were successfully killed after getting decapitated by the electric fence, which was being powered by a generator not that far away. Isla just prayed it wouldn't get damaged or found by Alpha and her people, otherwise it would be deemed useless. Although, the wire wouldn't hold for long, eventually it would be overpowered by walkers and it would collapse.
Maybe Isla spoke too soon though?
After a while, the fence broke. Sparks zapped off the wire repeatedly until it stopped and the walkers tried to force their ways through. Everyone around muttered for a few seconds before composing themselves, getting out their sturdy weapons created by the blacksmiths a few hours prior. They were going to fight, or die trying. There was no other way.
A few minutes before the walkers got closer, Isla pondered about what would be happening to her if they never attacked Daryl and Michonne on the bridge. It may have been a bad time to think about something like that, but it was all that could occupy her mind rather than thinking about how she could compose herself rather than others around her.
Those people who got put on spikes would be alive, their families and friends wouldn't be angry or upset every time they laid eyes upon Lydia and Isla. Henry would be alive...Isla wouldn't have had to be forced to try and kill him, or even watch. Siddiq would be alive, maybe Dante would've continued to be a useless nobody as a Whisperer.
Many people would be alive and kicking if it wasn't for these monsters. And Isla would rather die than relive her moments as that.
Isla stalked forwards alongside a few others after Aaron yelled out that the horde was splitting in two. She urged towards the piles of pointy wood and metal that the walkers got stuck in, before being the first to kill one of them. She didn't have to pretend that it felt good to kill them, because she just kept going.
One.
Two.
Three
Four.
Nobody knew how long they had been stabbing them in the head before they got splashed with strange liquid. They came hurling from the sky, no doubt from the Whisperers, in balls before they hit a target.
"It smells like a Christmas tree!" Jerry shouted over the groans before killing a few more walkers. In the sky came arrows of fire, and as soon as it hit someone who got covered in the liquid...they lit up. "It's like gasoline!"
Isla looked down at herself, watching the liquid drip down her sleeves and soak into her hair. She made eye contact with Lydia for a split second, noticing that both of them were drenched in it.
"Get ready to fall back!" Aaron announced, as he also realised the fence wasn't going to hold for much longer. After the fence had collapsed the Whisperers were one step closer to destroying Hilltop. "Retreat!" He suddenly shouted, as most of the fence was beginning to break.
Isla didn't want to stop. She couldn't. She kept going, killing, destroying the heads of the walkers. More arrows began to come falling from the sky, one landing by her foot, one landing in her place, which would've been her if it wasn't for Lydia pulling her out the way.
She coughed a bunch of times due to the horrific smoke from the burning fence, but it wasn't as bad as the sight in front of them. More arrows had come down whilst everyone ran, and then fired directly into the crevice of Hilltop. The tall walls were burning down, even trailers inside the walls were being surrounded by rings of fire, and the crops were long gone by now into the Earth.
Luckily, the grouped up army of people managed to squeeze through the gate before it also lit on fire. The catapults on top of the walls gave them as much cover as they could manage. After squeezing through the gate, Isla continued to help kill off the walkers. Others with shields were creating a barrier at the broken gate, some behind them with weapons killing the walkers that were getting jammed, and Isla began to help too.
There were so many explosions from the walls breaking, sooner or later everyone would be surrounded again. Isla looked in the distance to see a lack of people covering another broken wall, so she ran with a group of people to secure it. But, it the corner of her eye she saw a little girl with a sheriff hat, a sword in her hands as she was about to be cornered by a few Whisperers.
Isla knew she couldn't leave the girl alone, especially since she already knew her. She ran over to her, machete in hand and forced it through one of the Whisperers behind her. Judith looked up in shock, watching Isla's weapon swing into the head of a person with no hesitation, before it plunged through another.
"Judy- are you-" Isla breathed out, before the smaller girl rushed towards hers and wrapped her arms around her torso. Her chest was heaving rapidly, as if it would never stop. Besides, shouldn't she be with the other kids and Ezekiel at the rendezvous point? Isla bent down in front of the girl, "What are you doing out here? It's not safe!"
"I lost Ezekiel, there was too much smoke- I-" Judith stammered out, her sword in her shaking hands and the warm fire became hotter and hotter around them.
"Judith!" An older sounding voice echoed. They both turned their heads to the side and saw Earl jogging up to them. "Quick, we need to get you somewhere safe!" He told her in a rush, but gently at the same time. He put his arm around her shoulders and straightened her up before looking at Isla, whom he had never spoken to before.
At first she expected him to make a snarky comment, being an ex-whisperer and all, but he just nodded to the side at her, "We could use some protection." He briefly spoke, and Isla already agreed to it. "We can't get them to the rendezvous point, but I know somewhere we can stay at."
Isla still had a firm grip on her machete, but had lost her spear, "Lead the way, where are the other kids?" She quipped, as the three of them eventually saw some children in the distance, answering her question. They were huddled inside a nearby trailer, closer to the last few meters of walls that hadn't been burnt. Their heads were poking out the door, and most of them came out once they saw Isla and Earl.
"There's a secret entrance here we can escape out of," Earl softly said to the children, weakly lifting a trap door until Isla helped. He gave her a quick smile, which Isla appreciated in the little time they had, and guided the kids outside to safety.
Once the kids were outside the walls they trekked through the forest for a little while until a few walkers started to follow their trail. But, not a few...a lot. Most likely over twenty. Isla had roamed in crowds bigger than that, but hadn't killed that many on her own. Perhaps a quarter of them at best.
The kids started to get frightened, some making noises, which would most likely attract some more. Earl wasn't in any fit shape to kill the walkers, so Isla would have to act fast. She picked up on how Earl was occasionally holding himself as if he was injured, but she'd ask him later. She got her machete out and faced the walkers, hearing the sounds of Earl and the kids shuffling away. She knew where the shack was, she wouldn't get lost.
The first walker approached, growling and snarling, which only fueled Isla's strength more. The growls were getting on her nerves anyway, so she lifted her machete and swung. If only she had a long sword like Judith, then maybe she would get the job done quicker. But, she made do with what she had.
It went in a cycle, she kicked the knee of one walker to disarm it, stab it in the head and try to quickly step back to regain her composure and footing. Restart.
Her blade thrust into the rotting head of another walker, blood splattered all over her clothes. It didn't bother her though, since she was already stained from head to toe. There were some specks on her face, but nothing that would get her freaking out over. Once she started to taste the dripping blood on her mouth, she spat it out and ran back a bit to escape the growing crowd of walkers.
She had killed about nine walkers without a break until she began to get a little tired. Maybe a few more? Her wrist was screaming out in pain, endless swirling and slices didn't help at all. Her legs wanted to stop working completely, and her feet were ready to snap if she kicked a walker's leg for the tenth time. She killed another walker and her eyelids began to drop.
Ten.
One more. One more and she would run.
Eleven.
There were more coming in the distance, none of them were skins.
She ran. Faster than ever before. There was an insane amount of refusal to look back in the back of her mind. Don't. Don't. Don't do it. She just kept running. Her legs running on the last bit of adrenaline, which she didn't even have, manipulating herself into thinking she could make it. Because she could - and she did.
There was an abandoned house in the distance, some bars on the window where she swore she saw someone looking out of it until they disappeared. A brown door at the side that was shut, until Earl creeped it open a bit for Isla to run inside. It immediately shut afterwards, and Isla didn't even know where to go apart from the floor.
Her knees made an impact with the hard wood on the ground, her arms clenched around her stomach as she breathed in rapidly. Earl worriedly helped her up off the ground, leading her to the table and chairs in the middle of the other room. Isla was only concerned about there being no children in the building, but when she saw some curtains dangling down from a door frame, she knew they were in there.
"Are you hurt?" Earl asked her, pouring her some water in a small cup. Isla declined it at first, "I shouldn't- the kids need it."
Earl shook his head, placing the cup on the table, "You're a kid too." He pushed the cup towards her. She didn't want to, but she took the drink anyways, swallowing it in one go. "Are you hurt?" He repeated, not being able to distinguish her blood from the walkers.
Isla shook her head, leaving out how the stitches in her arm had opened up, "I'm good." She replied, then remembering she was meaning to ask him about his injury she noticed, "Is your arm okay?"
Earl stopped clutching his arm, as if he was fine. He mustered up a smile, but Isla could see straight through it. His whole face was paler than a ghost, and his eyes were bloodshot. Any minute now he would start sweating and getting a fever. "I'm okay. Do you mind checking up on the k-"
Isla interrupted him, "Earl, I know what it looks like. I've seen so many people go through it. So please, don't lie to me." Her voice was calm yet firm, she understood, in a way, what it was like, but of course she hadn't been through it.
The sick man gazed up at her before lowering his head. His bloody sleeve rolled up to show a deep bite mark. Isla sighed and looked away, but she placed her hand in his and lightly squeezed, "It'll be okay, I promise."
A small gasp made both of them turn their heads to the side and notice Judith, who was staring at the bite mark. "You lied to us." Yet Earl was surprisingly calm, "I did. But I did it to protect you." He admitted, but Judith shook her head and stepped forwards, "You can't do this." Her voice shook quietly.
"I don't have much of a choice." Earl replied, looking at the girl sympathetically
"I can stay here with you. So you're not alone when it happens." Judith suggested. Earl then gave a small smile to both girls, "Oh, honey, I'm not alone. I have Tammy and my son." He sighed at the mention of them both before continuing, "Alden will take good care of Adam. And you, Judith... you're so strong. You're so brave."
Judith started to cry silently, making Isla's heart break. A young girl her age shouldn't go through this, or even see it at all. "I need you both to keep those kids safe from me. Please." His voice began to break, he looked up at Isla finally, "Go there, and don't come near me again, okay? Take care of them, Isla."
The teenager firmly nodded her head in understanding. She wouldn't cry. She never cried. But, for some reason, the upcoming death of this man was strange to her and she didn't understand why.
"I don't-" Isla breathed heavily, "I can't-"
"Yes you can, honey." Earl interrupted once again, his confident tone starting to shake. "I may not know you that well," The older man leaned forwards an inch or so, his hand on top of Isla's, "but I know you'll do great things Isla."
Isla smiled slightly, looking at the table and back up again, "I will. I promise." She nodded before slowly going over to Judith, guiding the girl back into the room. Isla didn't look back. The girls didn't know how Earl was going to do it, but he would somehow. Luckily the other kids were asleep, so at least they wouldn't hear. "You should get some rest, Judy."
"I can't." She tried to sound brave, holding her head up high and clutching her sword in front of her. "Not right now." Isla had no idea how to comfort children, but Judith acted so mature Isla didn't even know whether to treat her like a child.
Although, Isla did admire the younger girl's bravery.
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A thump was heard and Isla jolted awake a while later. When her eyes opened she soon noticed how Judith wasn't in the room. She shot up and felt her way through the curtains and brushed them open. Earl was in the middle of the room, his body over the table, which had a thick nail sticking out of, and two wounds in his head.
Isla looked to the side and saw that Judith's sword was bloody, and she was crouched in the corner. She couldn't look up at Early anymore, and not even at Isla when she sat next to her. Judith just leaned onto the girl, allowing her to take her sword out of her hands and put it to the side.
They would've stayed like that for as long as they needed, but the crunching of leaves outside made them jolt again. Isla put her fingers up to her lips, telling her to be quiet, and she made her way over to the window. Thank god. It wasn't a walker.
"It's Daryl and Ezekiel!" Isla pointed out, and it didn't take long for the small news to reach the ears of the children in the other room. As they came hurling out the separate room, Isla did her best to get them to not see the dead body on the table as she stood in front of it. However, she saw how Judith still didn't want to move. Instead of leaving the poor girl, she sat down next to her again, putting her arm around her shoulders comfortingly.
Another figure came into the room, Daryl. He first saw the body on the table and he instantly realised what had gone off. He was mainly glad to see that both girls were okay, especially after losing Isla when he promised himself he'd try to protect her. In a way, Isla blamed herself for suddenly leaving. She was more concerned about killing walkers than her own safety back at Hilltop, but she'd come to that later.
For now, the three of them just sat down in silence for a while, until they were forced to move to a more safer place.