Multiple POV's in the final chapter and A stunning end to the book. Enjoy, Comment, Vote and Share!
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'There's going to be very painful moments in your life that will change your entire world in a matter of minutes. These moments will change YOU. Let them make you stronger, smarter and kinder. But don't you go and become someone that you're not. Cry. Scream if you have to. Then you straighten out that crown and keep it moving.' — Unknown
Destiny's POV:
"Watch Carl, it's gonna get ugly." I whispered to Vincent whilst I shoved through the people and without a second thought I killed the men that worked with the Governor as they came at me, after all they were trying to kill me so it was only right.
Gun shots went off, my Mother shot the gun she'd threatened the Governor's Walker with. People were struggling to get to safety and all I could think was that I had to save my people, they were going to get killed!
Then where would Rick be without Lori? Where would I be without My Mom, not that I spoke to her all that much, but I love her and If never want to se ever harmed.
I ducked and rolled to avoid getting attached then without looking shoved my swords into whoever was trying to attack me and continued on my way towards the Governor who was now Holding my Mom hostage while his men still held Beth but Lori had escaped thank god.
At least there was one less person to worry about saving— she was just reaching for Rick when she was shot in the back. "No! You bastards!" I screamed out as I threw a knife at the Governor and was only feet from the Vehicle when I saw my handsome man still holding the kid.
"Leave 'em alone! Let them go and I'll give you back yer Daughter." Daryl yelled from his position only feet away from me, now trying to get our people out of harms way before it got worse.
"Rick is tendin' ta Lori, but it looks bad Des, we need ya finish this up 'fore it gets worse and we lose any of our people." Daryl told me without breaking eye contact with The Governor who was holding a knife at my Mothers neck and Beth was being held at Gunpoint.
"This has gone on long enough, there doesn't need to be anymore lives lost, let my people go and you can leave with your daughter-" I was saying when he shot Beth not in the head but in the heart and they threw her body at us.
"You piece of shit! Rot in hell!?" I screamed as I pulled my bow off my back, aimed at the kid in Daryl's possession and shot the walker kid in the head, an eye for an eye and all that.
Daryl's POV:
Des quickly reloaded her bow and turned it on the Governor, she released the arrow but it was too late he slit Olivia's throat as it hit him right between his eyes, while he and Olivia both fell to the ground, one fighting for life and the other not a chance in hell of living.
Des screamed out in anguish as she ran to her fallen mother and slid on her knees to Olivia's side, holding her Mother in her lap and I ran to her side with my crossbow raised in case anyone had any ideas about trying to attack her while she was vulnerable-
One of the few remaining people that worked beside the Governor was running at her with blades in his hands when Des threw a knife and it lodged in his throat. I shot an arrow into the guys head just to be sure and stood beside my woman daring anyone else to make a move on her.
Des was holding a coat to Olivia's neck and sobbing, begging god to save her mother and to let her live. Not that it'd work, Olivia was barely livin' as it is and I'm sure Destiny knew it too, I just hope that Des can pull through her Mother's death.
"Don't you die on me Mother! Come on you're stronger than this-" Dest was sayin' when her mother laid a hand on Des's lower abdomen and smiled then her free hand dropped to the key around her neck.
"No, it can't be, I can't be pregnant Mom! You can't leave me, you never told me about this shit!" Destiny wailed as her Mom took her last breath and I stood there in confusion, weren't we just talking about her not dying?
Des dropped her head as her shoulders shook with silent sobs and I was rubbing her shoulder tryin' to comfort her.
"Des, they killed Faith. I shot the Governor he should've been dead, but he made it all the way here-" Carl was telling her his voice thick with tears as he knelt beside he Father and severely injured mother.
"Please Carl, just tell me... Where is she?" She asked him her voice strong despite the loss she's suffered and she should be mourning her family's deaths, not trying to be strong.
"In the back of that truck, I'm sorry I got there too late to stop any of it." He growled whilst shaking his head and Destiny shook her head at him as she stood to her feet.
"None of this is your fault Carl. None of it, You hear me? Death is inevitable in the normal world, not to mention how common it is in this world... I know you did everything in your power to help and I thank you for that, but you have to try to remember to be a teenager sometimes. Let me be the adult, I hear I'm pretty damn'd good at it and I promise that I'll NEVER allow anything or anyone to harm you, Jude or Soph." Destiny told him looking back at him with tears rolling down her face.
I pulled her into a hug, she kissed me and smiled then turned and headed to the back of the truck. If she really was pregnant than she shouldn't be stressed, seeing her sister and Mother dead is a lot of stress and that's not good for a fetus.
"No. Let me get yer Mom loaded in the back and we can head back once-" I was trying to say to her when Beth reanimated and was crawling towards Destiny while her Mother reanimated as well.
"I'm so sorry... I failed all of you." She sighed as she pushed me back, pulled out her knife and swiftly stabbed them in the heads ending their torment.
She sheathed her knife, but stood there staring at Beth and Olivia, the two people she tried her hardest to keep safe and once again I wrapped my arms around her waist, laying a hand over her lower abdomen, where hopefully our child rest safely inside her.
"Ya didn't fail 'em, they snuck out and were their own demise. This ain't on ya, ya can mourn them but don't take their stupidity on yer shoulders, right Des?" I stated and she just nodded her head whilst laying her hand over mine.
"I wasn't sure up until now... I'm pregnant Daryl and I don't have the damn'dest idea how any of this goes. My Mom sorts skipped out on that part of growing up and I only know whatever school told us, I'd say I could look it up on the internet but we don't have that sort of stuff anymore." She babbled as she held on tightly to me and leaned her head back on my shoulder.
"We'll figure it out, maybe one of these people is a good doc, whatever happens I'm here for ya and our baby." I told her my voice more gruff than before due to my throat getting tight from emotion.
"Thank you Daryl, that means more than anything in the entire fucked up world... Now time to be a leader again." She sighed whilst kissing me, removing herself from my embrace but holding my hand as she looked at the people who needed a leader.
"My name is Destiny Jameson and I'll be you're Co-Leader, but the real person to talk to with any problems would be Caesar, he is a man who can be trusted and is the pillar of a good person. We all are as long as we remember to listen to the rules and behave, none of us have to die." Destiny spoke loud and clear addressing all of the people of Woodbury.
"As for how this place used to be ran... well you'll find that the rules and everything are changed. There will be no more arena, no more people getting away with not contributing and everyone will learn how to fight. All of this if for your own safety and our piece of mind." She further explained to them, getting back into being a leader, obviously forcing herself to push her feelings down until she can deal with them without people around.
I needed ta fix her not havin' my last name, especially with her possibly bein' pregnant with my child. She more than deserves to have my name, she's put up with a lot of my shit and I'm sure once I ask Merle and Rick then they'll agree.
Call me 'old fashioned' but I still believed in askin' her sole guardian for Destiny's hand in marriage, which means I'd have to find the right time to ask Dylan if I could marry his sister. Of course it'd be a while from now, due to them having lost their Mother and Sister, but sooner or later Destiny will be my wife.
"-all that bein' said, Anymore remaining Governor's men will be interrogated and have a mental evaluation done on them to figure out whether they're safe to be around the people and after that, it will then be determined whether they will live or die."
"We will go back to our compound for a day to bury our dead. While you will bury or burn your dead however you see fit, but we will be back to restore order to Woodbury. Until then any questions or concerns please talk to Caesar." Destiny concluded with a curt nod to Caesar who then started his own speech, she swiftly strode towards the building where Rick, Lori and Carl had been taken.
The people had managed to get Lori into a medical room, but to be honest Lori living looked grim and I hoped Carl was prepared for her death. Our military friends Larry, Adam, Vincent, Robert and Caleb were following behind us at a distance, making sure that no one tried anything on us while Destiny was vulnerable.
"I won't allow Carl to kill his Mom if she turns, Rick can but if he can't then I will, if I can't then I beg you to put her out of her misery. I may not have gotten along with her all that well but she is Carl's and Jude's Mother." Destiny ordered as she spun around just outside the door of Lori's room and gripped my vest so tightly in her hands that her knuckles were white.
Her eyes looked like fractured Obsidian, they conveyed how deeply she was affected by everything that had gone on, she looked as though she was flayed to the bone and like she just wanted to scream, cry and rage until she didn't have a voice.
"Don't worry Princess, should the shit hit the fan than someone will kill Lori, we don't let our friends suffer. Now, go check on your kid and your guy friend, then we can head out and get your family buried." Adam spoke up patting Destiny's hand and nodding his head at both of us, while the other four nodded in agreement.
She let out a shaky breath, trying to prepare herself for another loss in the group, kissed me and walked into the room since Larry held the door open for us and I followed.
Destiny immediately fumbled for my hand and held tight when she saw that Lori was bleeding out in Ricks arms. She stumbled forward and fell to her knees in front of the family.
"Um-Umbrella... Project... You... savior. T-Take care... my family." Lori gasped out in between her groans of pain before she took her final breath. Carl was crying holding his mothers hand but immediately threw himself into Destiny's lap, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and cried.
"No!" Rick groaned his voice husky with tears as he crushed his wife to his chest and wept as he rocked back and forth.
I shifted uncomfortably back and forth on my feet, I hated seein' someone that upset, I couldn't do shit for him because if he loved Lori half as much as I love Des then I couldn't even begin to imagine how horrible it felt to hold her body and know there wouldn't be anymore stolen moments, no more anything... she was just dead and so was a part of him.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I tried to prevent this!" Destiny growled as she held onto to Carl but reached out for me, I knelt beside her, rubbed hers and Carl's back, unsure what else ta do or how to make this easier on all of 'me.
No one said anything else, all that could be heard was Rick and Carl crying. I hated to be the one to think it but why hasn't she turned yet and what was she babblin' 'bout 'fore she passed?
"Someone wrote down Lori's last words, Right?" I inquired hopin' I wasn't bein' to callous or anythin' but what she said must've had significance because she waited to say it until Des came into the room.
"I wrote it down, exactly how she said it and Vincent got a recording of it." Larry replied but cleared his throat also uncomfortable with everything.
"Look nobody else is going to say it but we should probably start heading back to the prison, we have five people to bury and this news is going to hit Hershel and Maggie really hard, as well as My Brother." Destiny sighed sounding wary as she stood up holding Carl in her arms as though he weighed nothing, while he clung to her like a baby Koala.
"Why hasn't she turned?" Rick asked as he too stood up with Lori in his arms and walked towards the door. Destiny Followed after him, but she was confused as to why she hasn't turned yet either.
"Some people don't turn immediately after they die... maybe in a couple of hours?" Des offered sounding unsure of her answer whilst all of us walked back into the hot Georgia sunlight.
"Did you load our people up and if so where's my Mom?" Destiny asked her voice shaking at the end, I was surprised she even wanted to see her Mother.
"Yes, they're all loaded in the back of the pickup truck the Governor has them in, your Mom is easily accessible." Vincent told her as she walked towards the truck and to the back of it.
She stood at the back of the truck staring at the corpse of her Mother and Sister. She looked ready to faint and cry at the same time, her face was deathly pale and I knew I needed to take Carl from her to give her time to come to grips with this.
"Here, give me Carl I'll take care of him for now Babe." I softly spoke to her with a hand on her back and she hesitantly handed him to me, I knew it wasn't because she was afraid I'd mistreat him but because he was likely the only thing keeping her from freaking out.
"He passed out from all the crying, my poor boy... I never wanted him to know this kind of pain." She sighed as she brushed some hair off his face, kissed his forehead and turned back to her Mother.
She grasped the key her mother wore as a necklace and yanked it off of Olivia's neck then swiftly turned away holding the key in her white knuckled hand and held her arms out for Carl.
I placed him back in her arms and she ran to the front of the pickup, Larry helped her in then shut the door and looked at me as she Sat in the passenger seat her back straight and holding Carl close.
I sighed, rubbed my neck motioned for everyone to move out, but was surprised when Rick Climbed into the back of the pickup and sat with his back against the cab, holding Lori as well as a knife.
"I'm not leaving her out here alone to reanimate, I'll be here to end it if and when it happens." Rick told me his voice stiff as he sat up straight much like Destiny but Silent tears rolled down his face and I just nodded at him before I climbed into the drivers seat while Larry, Adam, Vincent, Robert and Caleb climbed in back with Rick.
Minutes away from home, the ride had been full of heavy silence, silence of which I couldn't fill or make light of. I'd expected death, in any War be it Large or small theres always death, but like Des, I thought w head ensured that none of our people would end up dead, we were wrong and not a damn'd thing could be done to right our wrong.
"How do I tell them that I fucked up so badly? They'll never want me to be leader now that there's so much blood on my hands." Destiny asked as she just stared at the key and frowned.
What had she done, gone and read my mind? Or were we both thinking such dark thoughts? Not that it matters, after all this darkness there has to be a brighter, better day.
"You didn't fuck up, those four did. As for the blood, all of it is for their safety and if they don't like it then they can go fuck themselves." I growled at her shocked that she was trying to take this all onto her shoulders as though Beth, Faith, Olivia and Lori hasn't ducked up themselves by going outside the prison gates.
"As for how to deal with them... First we tell them, hear them out, deal with their emotions and then we can get the graves dug, while you figure out exactly what that key goes to and hopefully why yer Mother had that and what she was hidin'." I explained ta Des whilst rubbing her thigh and waitin' fer Michone ta open the gate.
Larry and Adam were driving the two vehicles we'd initially driven to the outskirts of Woodbury, so we had one more vehicle to our fleet.
"Yeah... I could live with everyone else hating me, except for you, Dylan, Merle, Rick, Carl, Sophia and Judith... I don't know what I'd do if any of you hated me." She sighed as she slipped the key into her jean pocket.
Not even a minute after her confession I pulled to a stop beside the school bus, quickly climbed out and helped Des out as she held Carl close to her as though afraid he'd disappear.
"I could NEVER hate you Des, yer my reason for Livin' and the reason I'm the man I am today. Just as Carl and everyone else could never hate you, we all love and need you too much to ever hate ya." I promised her and she smiled up at me as she looked over my shoulder at everyone who came rushing from the prison.
"My Job is far from over, I don't get a second to mourn my loved ones do I? The leader always has to be strong even when I feel as though I'm falling apart." She sighed as she steeled herself to deal with everyone.
"We won the battle, but the war still rages on and death is always too damn'd close... Hershel, Maggie, Dylan, Rick, Carl. Everyone, We've suffered four deaths today." She informed them, her bottom lip quivering with her effort not to cry while she held tightly onto Carl, one hand at the base of his head and the other holding onto his leg keeping him from slipping from her grasp, as though he kept her centered.
"No! Please not my Baby girl?!" Hershel cried out as he stumbled forward and fell to his knees while I helped Adam and Vincent unload the bodies.
"I don't know how, or why they ended up in the Governor's hands, but Carl, Faith, Beth, Olivia and Lori were used as pawns to try and stop us from killing The Governor. I tried with all my might, but there were just too many of them, we also hadn't anticipated that any of our people would be used as leverage against us. So, how did they manage to leave the prison undetected?" Destiny asked sounding disappointed and upset whilst looking out at our people.
"I'm sorry, I had to go shit, I was only gone for a few minutes and I hadn't let Glenn know. I didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to leave the prison." T-Dogg spoke up rubbing his head as Destiny managed to wipe the emotion from her face and look stoically at T-Dogg.
"Very well, but we'd all do well to keep in mind that they had WILLINGLY left the compound, left the safety and their loved ones." Destiny explained loud and clear so no one could claim they didn't hear her.
"Then what are you trying to say, get on with it!" Maggie screamed her emotions getting the better of her, while she stood beside her father and stared at the three bodies all laid out before them.
"What I'm trying to say is that None of this is solely T-Dogg's fault, the fault also lies on those four shoulders, keep that in mind before you go blaming anyone for someone else's carelessness. Now, I need a minute or two to myself while the graves are dug, please even I need to come to grips with the detrimental loss of my family." She sighed, finally losing the feelingless mask, as she bowed to our group and headed inside the prison.
"Of course Carl Lived! He's the son you'll never have! But what about my Sister!? She might've been nothing to you but she was a Daughter and a Sister, but you just let her die!" Maggie was screaming her anger and anguish getting the best of her.
I ran up to Destiny, took Carl from her and watched as she faced off with Maggie. Des walked right up to Maggie and stood Nose to nose with her.
"I have NEVER played favorites here Maggie, I grew up with you, Beth and your family. How the fuck do you think I feel right now, huh?" Des asked in a menacingly soft voice, which was worse then if she had yelled or screamed.
"I am the Leader and I failed in protecting the people I love. I couldn't change a damn'd thing, they died right in front of my eyes, now go ahead. Stand there and pretend that you know what it's like to be me, to make the tough decisions, to see what I have to see and still I'm trying to make this easier on you all, why?" Destiny scoffed, tears rolling down her face as anguish farmed her eyes.
"You pick on me because it's easy, it's the thing you all know to do to protect yourself. Attack the person delivering the message, but did any of you ever stop to think how badly the Leader is hurting? How much they hide their feelings so you can continue to be happy?" She rhetorically asked them while continuing to look directly at Maggie, but keeping herself from yelling.
"No, you all assume that I allowed these four to die and focused solely on Carl, but why wouldn't I? On how many occasions have I said that the children are our future? Yes, I'm completely devastated that My Mother, Sister, Beth a girl I grew up with and Lori, a Mother to the Boy that I practically claim as mine as well as Judith, the baby of my heart?" Des asked her voice thick with tears as she looked Maggie up and down.
"I don't have to assume that you put Carl's safety above even your own, I just know how foolish you can be when it comes to placing priorities on people. Maybe had you not focused on one person then you would've been able to save another life!" Maggie growled as she placed her hands on Destiny's shoulders and shoved Des as hard as she could away from her.
Des stumbled back a few steps but was caught by her brother Dylan. I'd have caught her had my hands not been full with Carl and I wasn't cut off by our Group crowding around both of them, watching the unfolding drama.
"Thanks Dyl— Look, I was going to say this at a different time, but Maggie is pushing the subject. So, you all want to know what happened right? Well, they had Carl at Gunpoint, as well Lori, Olivia and Beth. Apparently Faith had died earlier on at the hands of that sick, sadistic asshole. My Mother made the first move and it all went to hell from there." Des explained angrily to Maggie as she rubbed a hand over her abdomen and glanced at everyone else silently telling them to stop ridiculing her.
"I risked my life trying to save those three, Carl was smart enough to jump out of harms way as bullets, arrows and blades were going everywhere and I watched as my Mother got her throat slit. While Beth got shot in the heart and Lori was shot in the back on her way to Rick." Des continued her explanation, her shoulders shaking with her anger.
"I held my Mother while she was dying and she revealed to me something I hadn't even realized myself... I'm pregnant and Not that it matters to you guys but the Governor is Dead, we are all safe and I'm being emotionally ripped apart. Thanks for the warm welcome and for the understanding." Des scoffed as she walked into the prison and left us staring after her.
"Don't ever question my Sister's Motives again, You hear me Maggie? I don't care how long I've known you, or our history. She's all I got left, I'm protecting her and my Neice or Nephew with all I've got. Anyone who tries to hurt her in anyway will find themselves ten feet under." Dylan stepped forward pointing a finger at Maggie with a deep frown on his face.
"Enough! All y'all need ta quit blamin' and threatenin' people. It ain't gonna solve jack shit! Now, we gotta bury our dead and the rest we can fix after we've mourned." Merle and I spoke in unison as we stepped forward commanding their attention.
"T-Dogg, Larry, Vincent, Adam and Myself will be diggin' the graves while the rest of y'all git yer head's outta yer asses long 'nough ta see that Destiny just saved all our asses and we should be a lot more grateful than we were." Merle barked as he shooed everyone away and they went ta work gettin' the graves dug.
While Dylan stormed into the prison and I went to check on Rick. I wanted to check on my woman, but it seemed like right now would be a good time for her to reconnect with her only family member left alive.
Destiny's POV:
I stood just outside Mom's cell, a hand on my still flat abdomen and was trying to calm myself down. All this stress couldn't be good for the fetus... I mean for Daryl's and my Baby.
"I had a situation with a chick about a year before the world ended and she ended up losing the baby because of stress." Dylan softly spoke with a hand on my shoulder startling me from my thoughts.
"Oh? You're my older brother by one year and I'm just now hearing about this? Why?" I inquired with an eyebrow raised and a small smile as I glanced back at him.
"I saw you wince and rub you're abdomen when you were addressing the group, I don't want to see you or my future niece or nephew hurt. So we're going to take the load off you for a bit and allow me to take control until you're stress levels go down to a safer level. That all right?" Dylan asked as he motioned for me to go into Mom's cell.
"Just for a little bit, otherwise I'll lose my mind. So I'm looking for something that uses a key-" I was saying as I sat down on the end of her bed and hissed in pain when the bed didn't dip.
"There's something keeping the bed from being comfortable on the end, wanna check it out Big Brother of mine?" I inquired as I stood up and leaned against the wall while he got on his knees to check out why the end of Mom's bed was so firm.
"There's a safe down here, give me a second and I'll get it out from under here." He sighed while he yanked it out and it hit the wall, I moved closer to it with an eyebrow raised, how the hell did Dylan just yank a big heavy safe out from under the bed like it weighed nothing more than a suitcase?
I pulled out the key from my pocket, knelt in front of it and inserted the Key into the key hole. Much to my surprise it opened and there was two thick cream folders as well as four USB sticks and pictures.
We both grabbed a file, but left the pictures to look at later, On the front of the folder was a Red and White Hexagon and underneath it 'Umbrella Corp.'.
"Oh fuck me." I wheezed as I slid down to the floor and hesitantly opened the file. I was surprised to see Dylan's picture there, then his name, Date of Birth, 'Project: Nemesis' and facts about him. After the facts on him was a column labeled 'Abilities'.
"Des you're base DNA is from 'Project Alice' but it's spliced with 'Project Nemesis' and you have some kick ass abilities, but it says here that you're abilities don't kick in until there's a large amount of stress or adrenaline coarsing through your body." Dylan explained to me still reading through my file.
"Your base DNA is 'Project Nemesis' but is spliced with 'Project Alice'... Jesus Christ we've been tested on since we were in Olivia's womb! No wonder I always felt different and like I didn't belong! That doesn't explain why father hated me so much though." I babbled as I held out Dylan's file to him to trade so I could read up on myself.
"Yeah, she's been secretly testing on us since she knew that she was pregnant and that's why she was always observing us and writing it down... look at our abilities Des, were practically fucking invincible!" Dylan scoffed as he swapped files with me and I scanned through mine.
"Then what about my baby... will it be okay? Will it even live or-" I was asking questions that were best left in my head because they couldn't be answered, at least not right this minute.
"Don't stress over it, just relax as much as you can and when the time comes you'll face it, but not until then you hear me? I'll always be here for you no matter what, I know we don't talk that much and I've just been hanging out here for the longest time but I've been here for you and I've helped when I could." Dylan explained as he pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.
We pulled away from each other and went about reading our files trying to learn as much about ourselves as we could, because sooner or later we'd have to tell the group about this huge discovery.
"Ahem... sorry to interrupt but we've finished with the graves." Daryl cleared his throat as he looked between my brother and I with hope clear in his brilliant Georgia sky blue eyes.
"What? All ready, we just got here-" I was saying when I looked up at the window to see that it was nearing sunset now, we had been here for nearly three hours just reading through the files and we hadn't even scratched the surface.
"I'll lock these back up and we can go bury our Sister, Mom and friends." Dylan sighed as he took the folder from me and I stood up with Daryl's help.
Now that I'd actually stood up I could feel how tight my muscles were from sitting in the same position for so long, I hadn't meant to lose track of time like that.
"How's the baby, I saw ya ribbon' yer stomach anythin' wrong?" Daryl asked and it warmed my heart that he was paying so close attention to me and making sure that our baby was doing all right.
"Yeah, I had a slight pain but it wasn't anything too alarming I hope, I think it's all the stress. I'm going to let Dylan take over until the stress gets to a more manageable level, then I'll just lead from the safety of the prison." I explained to Dare as he lead me through the prison with Dylan a few feet behind us.
"I'm not trying to take the leadership away from you or Des, I just don't want to put the baby at risk either. So she'll be taking it easy until we can find a doctor to examine her and stuff." Dylan further explained as he patted my shoulder and I nodded my head in agreement while keeping a hand on my abdomen still in disbelief that I was even pregnant.
"Agreed." Daryl grunted as he held me close to his side and we stepped out into the muggy air of Georgia, to see everyone standing by the four freshly dug graves.
"We got Crosses ready for 'em, I didn't put their names on 'em cause it seemed like something a loved one should do." Daryl whispered to me as we neared the group and everyone made way for us.
"Lori hasn't woken up... it's been hours." Rick stated as Carl stood beside him holding Judith and My tummy fluttered with hope that I'd be holding Daryl's and my Baby soon to.
"She won't... Remember when I gave her a transfusion of my blood, because I'm a universal donor?" I rhetorically asked everyone and they looked at me so fast I was sure that they had whiplash.
"My Mother held a secret that I didn't find out until only a few hours ago and I've finally pieced together Lori's last words. Lori won't turn because My blood is special it cancels out the T-Virus, Lori actually gets to Rest In Peace." I admitted and everyone gasped as they looked at me in either shock, awe or disbelief.
"I'll answer all your questions in a couple of days, right now I'm still trying to process all this shit. Can we please just focus on getting our loved ones buried and let all of us process that we're going to be four people short." I sighed warily as I walked to where four rough made crosses were made and I pulled out my knife.
"I'm doing Faith's... I wasn't close enough to Mom to be have the right to write her name, I believe you were the closest to her even though you two didn't talk much it was clear You were her favorite." Dylan spoke up and I solemnly nodded my head in agreement whilst carving 'Olivia' into the cross.
When I was finished a few tears slipped free but I felt like during my time reading the files I'd all ready come to grips that they were dead and hopefully in a better place.
I stepped back and watched as each of the bodies were placed in their respective graves. I stood in front of Mom's holding the Cross, while Dylan stood next to me holding Faith's cross, Rick stood holding Lori's cross with Carl standing next to him holding Judith and Hershel holding Beth's Cross and Maggie standing next to him.
It was a heavy atmosphere, making the all ready thick evening air feel almost stifling and all that could be heard was various sounds of people mourning and the shovels dropping dirt onto our loved ones bodies.
Dylan and I interlinked our hands and stood there watching as our fates were sealed with us being the sole Jameson's. What did our Mom do, what danger did she introduce us to and when would her secret come to bite us in the ass?
We stuck the crosses in their graves once thy were filled, then Hershel said a prayer for Beth, Faith, Olivia and Lori to be accepted into Heaven and for them to find eternal peace then everyone headed inside with heavy hearts.
I waked back inside feeling tired, emotionally wracked our and aching everywhere, but also hungry. I was so damn'd hungry I would probably eat almost anything and then I'd wash up and head to bed with Daryl.
"Oh while you guys are still here, I need to step down for a bit until the stress gets to a more reasonable level because all this stress isn't good for the baby. So Dylan, Daryl and Merle will be in charge until I'm fit enough to lead again." I informed them as I sat down at a table and Merle placed a healthy portion of slightly over cooked squirrel in front of me.
"I'm not fit enough to lead so I agree with you on that, they'll make good stand in's until you can lead again though. Good choices." Rick spoke up as he nodded his head at me.
I waited for some argument from anyone but they all seemed pretty pleased with my choice or they didn't want to be the cause of my stress level to skyrocket or something, whatever the case I was glad they weren't arguing with me or picking a fight.
I knew what happened between Maggie and I wasn't a one time thing, deep down she truly believed that I could've prevented her Sisters death and maybe had I known about my abilities then Sure.
I mean there was a tiny sliver of a chance that I could've saved more lives had my 'Umbrella' abilities kicked in, but I wasn't going to torture myself over it because I certainly couldn't go back in time or anything like that.
Maggie was holding a deep seated resentment towards me for 'failing' to Keep her sister alive and I guess if I saw it from her perspective then I'd probably feel the same way.
All I knew was that things had gotten far more complicated than I ever thought they would and our lives were going to be changing in huge ways and our group would end up severed in two if Maggie continued with her emotionally powered jabs towards me.
Leon's POV:
I watched the prison from my vantage point hidden in the leaves of the trees, this woman had potential and she was also infected with the T-Virus but had bonded with it even better than Alice had.
Jesus, Umbrella really didn't know when to stop screwing with people, I mean this woman was pregnant and she couldn't be more than a month along. She's playing with fire, she might have to kill the baby once it's born or it might be stronger than even her or her brother.
I've read Destiny and Dylan's files after I took them from one of the Umbrella facilities right before it burned down and I have to say that once their powers aren't dormant anymore that they'll be damn near unstoppable.
I looked over at my partner Chris Redfield and he had a scowl on his face as he too watched with our special binoculars that could look through even the thick walls of the prison.
"We're going to have to confront them sometime Leon, I think we've given them enough time to wrap their heads around what their Mother did to them without their consent." Chris spoke to me through our comm-link and I nodded my head in agreement.
"We've been watching them for the past few months, I'm sure Rebecca, Alice and the rest of our crew is growing anxious. We'll confront them very soon." I sighed and watched as Destiny finished her meal and walked up to her cell.
"Well they seem to be fairly understanding with new people they run into, they avenged the National Gaurd and successfully killed the Governor with minimal loss." Chris stated proud of how far Destiny has come and how she took care of a threat to her group.
"I'm sure that after the initial shock of us being there to take some samples of blood, tissue and urine, that they'll probably welcome us with open arms and likely weapons pointed at us." Chris sarcastically sighed and I smirked.
He's right, we'll be questioned heavily before we get any of that from them and not to mention that Destiny will be wary because she's pregnant. We just have to stress to them that we're 'S.T.A.R.S.' and that we're against 'Umbrella Corp.' I'd never harm anyone unnecessarily, especially a woman with Child.
This was going to be tricky but hopefully we'd be able to do this without any violence or losing more days than we all ready have. Finding out exactly what their DNA held that prevented the people from turning was going to prove helpful in keeping the Zombie population contained or eradication of the Zombies and that was our foremost objective.
'Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive Characters are seared with scars.'
—Khalil Jibran
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Thank you to everyone who stayed with me, Thank you TheDrunkenChipmunk for the amazing cover and thank you to everyone that has traveled this hectic journey of these characters and their changes with me.
Thank you to everyone who bothered to read this book and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Let me know what you thought of all of it in the comments, Voting and Sharing with every Daryl Dixon or Walking Dead fans.
The next book coming soon!