"Keep the faith. The most amazing things in life tend to happen right at the moment you're about to give up hope."
***
The wind furiously whipped through my hair as I lay my head on Daryl's back, watching the scenery go by. The green leaves and grass blurred into a big silhouette as we sped down the empty road.
The only thing filling the void was a few roaming walkers, broken down cars, and dead leaves littering the cracked pavement.
I could faintly hear Daryl's heartbeat, my ear pressed against his back and my arms around his torso.
I couldn't help but think about my family back in Alexandria. I was eager to see Carl and Michonne and tell them all about our experiences while we were gone. It had only been a short period, but so much had happened.
After a little while of driving, I could feel the engine slowing to a soft purr and started recognizing the scenery around us. The burnt houses were surrounding the community, the fortified walls keeping danger out, and an Alexandrian keeping watch over us.
I could hear several cars pull in behind us from the previous step of our plan. I was happy to know at least some of us got home safely.
The large gate was pulled open by none other than Carl Grimes, Michonne also standing by his side.
Daryl's bike wasn't even at a full stop by the time I was hopping off it, making a full sprint to Carl. His lips curved into a closed mouth smile, and his face lit up.
My heart pounded, and I jumped, wrapping my arms around his neck, his latching around my waist.
"I missed you," he mumbled into my hair, me repeating the same words back to him.
He set me down, and I turned to Michonne, smiling at her as well, pulling her into a tight hug.
"How did everything go?" She asked as she pulled away from me, and I stood next to Carl, slipping my hand into his.
I was about to answer, but Scott walked over with three notes in his hands, giving them to Carl and Michonne.
Maggie wrote the first one we read, the one community I hadn't yet heard from.
"We beat 'em, but things got complicated. Jesus took prisoners, brought them back home. We're holding them outside our gates for now, till we decide what to do. Until I decide," it finished off.
I looked between Carl and Michonne, and they had mixed emotions, as did I. Having the saviours in the Hilltop was dangerous, but it sounded like Maggie had it all under control. She was a natural-born leader.
Carol wrote the second one we read. I knew what had happened and why she had been the one to send it instead of king Ezekiel. He was mourning the loss of his fighters and his tiger.
"We took the outpost bit by bit. We thought we'd won. We were gathered up in the open when they ambushed us. It was over in seconds.
Ezekiel, Jerry, and me, we're the only ones who made it back," I finished reading. It was upsetting to hear this. The Hilltop has very few casualties, and the kingdom was suffering a huge loss.
The last one held the news of how Alexandria was holding up our end of the plan. We all silently read;
"The plan is working. We're doing this. We're winning. We had a hard fight. We lost people, brave people who gave their lives to make sure we won. By the time it was over, there weren't any Saviors left standing. All of it, it's scarier than I thought it'd be, but we're doing it.
"We have to. Sasha was first, and now the's been more. The sacrifices are real. We need to make it right for them. The rest of the plan's still a go. We're moving on to the next step. I'm headed there now. The Sanctuary's still surrounded. They're trapped, cut off from their supplies. Every hour that goes by, we're making them weaker.
"The lookouts are all around the compound. They open a door, we fire. But if they open a door, seems like they'd have bigger problems. We meet at Sanctuary in two days to end this, to win it all. It's not like we haven't fought before. We fought every step of the way to this place, to this moment. The path has led us here, to who we are, to each other, to now. And we're so close. This can be our last fight," was how the last letter finished.
Michonne silently folded the papers and slipped them into her pocket. I'm sure they both had so many questions, but we were all distracted by the bodies being prepared for a proper burial. The losses could have been worse, but that didn't make it any easier.
By this time, I was sure Rick had given the pictures to the other leaders, and everyone was on the same page. Even with some minor setbacks, the plan was still in pursuit.
Carl and I began to walk off towards our house, and I breathed in the familiar scent of home. Carl looked at me with a smile and started giving me quick kisses on the neck.
"Not now, Carl. I'm dirty, and we have a war to win!" I squealed as he gave me one last kiss on the cheek.
"Come down after you're ready. There's something I want to do."
***
I came downstairs with a clean t-shirt and jeans, feeling a lot better than when I had gotten home.
I could hear rustling from downstairs, and someone was stumbling around, along with music softly playing. Taking precautions, I pulled my gun from my newly attached holster.
Taking the safety off, I quietly scampered down the stairs, turning the corner and docking my gun. At the sound of that, someone turned around, and it was Carl. That hair was recognizable from anywhere.
Instead of wearing his usual flannel, he was shirtless and didn't have his hat on.
"Jesus, Carl. I almost shot you," I breathed, holstering my gun.
He looked up, finishing packing food and water into his backpack, giving me a quick smile.
"And why are you shirtless?" I asked with a laugh, walking over to him. He zipped up his bag, pulling another shirt as he was about to put it on.
"My other one was dirty," he replied, about to put on a clean one.
"Wait!" I yelled abruptly, putting my hands up.
"What? What's wrong?" He asked carefully.
I gave him a cheeky smirk, and he quickly caught on. Inching his face towards mine, he purposely teased the hell out of me.
I finally grew impatient, placing my hands on his cheeks and pulling him towards me.
Our lips melted together in a mess of passion and lust, giving me butterflies even after we had kissed so many times before.
It still gave me a fuzzy feeling, and my lips tingled as we pulled away, looking into each other's eyes.
"We should get going," he said with a smirk throwing his shirt on. I groaned in frustration and crossed my arms.
"Where?"
***
After leaving the walls and scavenging around, only coming up with a water bottle and sardines, we had found our way into the lush forest.
A walker was growling close by, Carl and I having grips on our guns. He had explained that he was searching for the man he had met a few days ago, Rick scaring him off.
Carl wanted to give him a chance, and I had thought about it. Finally, I decided that I didn't know much about the mystery man, but it was worth a shot.
Finally, locating the walker, we had both noticed it was stuck in a trap. Stakes surrounded a tree with a white plastic bag hanging from a branch.
I looked at Carl and was about to speak, but he motioned for me to be quiet and nodded his head toward the scene.
The man from the gas station was creeping up behind the clueless walker with a knife in hand. He took a step forward and quickly stabbed the walker in the base of its neck.
I looked to Carl for further directions, but he spoke up.
"Hey," Carl held his hands up in surrender, with the small bag of supplies gripped tightly in his hand. I followed suit, taking cautious steps toward the man.
"It was my dad. There were warning shots above your head. He wasn't shooting at you. I'm Carl. This is Skylar," Carl introduced, and I gave the man a small reassuring smile.
"Siddiq," The now named man spoke, his knife still tight in his hand.
"Food and water," I spoke up, pointing to the ziplock in Carl's hand.
"Why?" Siddiq finally asked.
"I guess you-- you were talking about something your mom said about helping people. And my mom told me that you got to do what's right. It's hard to know what that is sometimes, but sometimes it's not," Carl said solemnly as he tossed the food to Siddiq.
I dropped my hands to my side, taking Carl's in one of mine and giving him a reassuring squeeze. I hadn't thought about Lori in such a long time. Thinking about her felt like a dream I had had, rather than actual memory.
Carl looked down at me and nodded, and we watched Siddiq quickly down the water.
"Thanks," He breathlessly said from his position on the ground.
I could tell that Carl was ecstatic to find this man and give him some hope. I knew that he had felt helpless for the last few days while he was in Alexandria and most of us were out fighting. This was something for him.
"Glad I found you," Carl spoke up with a smile.
"You were looking for me?" Siddiq asked while standing up.
"Yeah, I -- I scavenged the sardines, other stuff.
Me, my dad, and Sky, we're in a community. We're gonna ask you a few questions. I need you to answer honestly, okay?" Carl told him, causing me to smile slightly.
I remember that so long ago, Carl and I had found each other in that cabin, and Rick asked me these very questions.
"Okay," Siddiq complied.
I wasn't going to lie; I was kind of excited to ask the questions.
"How many walkers have you killed? I know it's hard to keep track--" I began but was interrupted.
"237," he quickly answered, causing Carl and I to look at each other with a wary expression.
"Really?"
"Give or take a couple," Siddiq confirmed.
"How many people have you killed?" Carl asked.
"One."
"Why?" Carl and I asked in unison.
"The dead tried to kill him, but they didn't," Siddiq finished.
"You're making walker traps. Is that how you killed so many?" Carl asked.
"It's-- It's only part of it. My mom thought or hoped that killing them would free their souls. You know? Maybe-- Maybe she was right," Siddiq sighed.
"Doing that, doesn't that just make things harder for you while you're trying to survive?" Carl asked innocently.
"I don't know. But you gotta-- you gotta honour your parents, right?" Siddiq answered with a question.
"If I was honouring my dad, we wouldn't be talking right now," Carl laughed a little.
"And we definitely wouldn't bring you back to our community."
***
I walked beside Carl, Siddiq following close behind us. I didn't exactly know the way, but Carl seemed to.
I came to a sudden stop. Carl almost bumping into me. He followed my gaze to the dead deer being torn apart by hungry walkers.
I quickly hopped over the fallen tree, Carl and Siddiq close behind me.
We crouched behind a tree as I unsheathed my knife, the two boys following suit.
"Okay. For your mom," Carl breathed, glancing at Siddiq.
I kissed Carl on the temple, and we stood up, slowly walking towards the walkers.
The dead had quickly noticed us and stood up, hungrily reaching towards us. Siddiq promptly took out the first one, moving to another walker quickly.
I stomped towards the next one, kicking out its knee, causing it to fall. I quickly stabbed it in the head. Instead of hearing the silence of the ones dead on the ground, I heard several more from behind us. This isn't good.
Carl threw his walker to the ground, looking up and noticing Siddiq wrestling with his own.
"Just go! You don't have to do this!" Siddiq yelled over the growls.
I took down another walker, just in time to see Carl being pushed down by not one but two walkers.
"Carl!" I yelled in fear for his safety, making my way over to him.
I was interrupted by a walker pinning me to a tree; the only thing keeping me alive being my hand holding its throat.
This felt like the end for all three of us, but I was anxious about Carl's safety.
Siddiq quickly pulled the walker off of me, just in time for my ass to be saved and to see Carl shoot the two walkers that had previously been on top of him.
"You guys, okay?" I asked, pulling Carl up and rubbing his now bloodied back from the deer carcass.
"Yeah," they both replied.
"You could've left," Siddiq said to us. Carl stayed silent for a few long seconds.
"Carl," I nudged his shoulder, furrowing my brows. He was acting strangely.
"We're responsible for you now. That's how it works," Carl finally spoke up.
"I don't want to make any trouble. Your dad didn't want anything to do with me," Siddiq said breathlessly.
"He didn't, but sometimes kids have to find their own way to show their parents the way," Carl answered, taking off towards Alexandria.
I quickly caught up with him, walking by his side.
"You okay? You were quiet back there," I asked, looking at him.
"I'm fine."
Okay, chapter done. I found that Carl was acting weird at the end, which freaked me out, so I added that part in.
Thanks for reading!!
-Ellen Rose🦋