CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
thank you.
The Sanctuary was a grim place.
It always has been.
But the many fires lit around brought the light and warmth they needed for the night.
Several of them stood around a map as Michonne pointed, "they next way station is here, right across the river that runs alongside old Route B."
"I thought the only crossing was back on along the route we were on," Magna stated.
"It is." Aaron said to her. "There's no way we'll make it, not under these conditions. Rick's bridge would've saved us." Aiden's fists clenched, "it could've cut half a day off our travel time." Aaron said.
"But we don't need a bridge. The creeks and ponds are frozen over. As long as we don't all go at once, we could probably just walk across." Carol stated. She pointed at the map. "There, through our old hunting grounds. It's a straight shot."
"A straight shot through Alpha's territory." Ezekiel spoke up.
"We didn't agree to those borders. Those borders are hers, not ours." Carol said to her husband.
"She's right." Aiden spoke for the first time since they got to the Sanctuary. "Alpha shoved them borders down our throats. Why not cough 'em back up and say "fuck you"? Aiden shrugged.
"That's a cold comfort if we trigger a war. We don't even know how to fight them yet." Ezekiel said to the two.
"It's only a couple miles-" Carol said.
"Hey, we can cross at night. They won't know that we're there." Michonne suggested.
"That's a good idea," Aiden mumbled.
"What if they already know?" Yumiko asked. "They could've been watching us in that field back there."
"It's all the more reason to move now."Daryl stepped up.
"We can do this," Aiden nodded.
"With the elderly? With the children? We can't take horses and wagon across the ice." Ezekiel said to the lot of them.
"Then we'll have to go by foot," Michonne said to the King. "Yes, it's risky but we're only carrying enough food to last us another day or two, and this storm could dump enough snow to make these roads impassable for weeks. It's either we make it to the next way station or we die." Michonne finished.
The group was silent before Carl grabbed one of the flashlights and walked off.
"I agree. We should try to make it to the way station." Aiden mumbled before walking off.
She settled in the spot she and Daryl set up before trying to get some rest.
"Stop! Stop!" Aiden heard her sons voice.
"Elliot?" She called out.
"Mama!" Beth screamed. Aiden whipped around in the all black room.
"Elliot! Beth!" She shouted.
"Aunt Aiden!" RJ's small terrified voice rattled through the room.
"Aunt Aid!" Judith yelled. "Help us!"
"Don't hurt them!" Aiden screamed. "Please!"
She gasped when she turned and saw four little heads on pikes. Elliot, Beth, RJ, and Judith.
"No! No!" Aiden screamed, her eyes full of tears. "I'm gonna kill you!"
"No." She heard a voice. She whipped around to see Alpha and Beta standing behind her. Blood on their hands from slaughtering the four innocent children. "You won't."
A gunshot rang m out and she looked down. Blood soaked through her stomach. She brought her hands up to her navy blue shirt and pressed her hands to her stomach. She looked up and saw Alpha's double barreled shotgun pointed at her.
"I don't die." Aiden whispered.
"Aiden! Aiden! Wake up!"
Aiden gasped and shot up. "Aiden! Calm down, it was just a dream!" Daryl said as he kneeled beside her. He grabbed her face between his hands, his eyes full of concern.
Everyone in the Sanctuary was getting ready to leave but stopped to stare at the scene.
A sweaty, panting Aiden grasped at her husbands arms and bowed her head. "It wasn't a dream, Dare. It was a nightmare."
»
Back at Alexandria the group trudged through the snow. Elliot and Judith heard the sound of a dark barking. "Dog!" Elliot cried and the two let go of the rope and ran off.
"No, Elliot!" Payton yelled. The man took off in search of the two.
"Judith! Elliot!" Beth's little voice called out.
"Jude!" Negan yelled. He followed shortly after Payton.
"Payton! Negan!" Siddiq yelled.
"No! Keeping going! Hold the rope!" Rosita yelled to the others.
"Judith!"
»
Aiden watched as Daryl fired an arrow into either a walker or Whisper. They moved up and saw three frozen in place.
"What the hell?" Aiden muttered. Michonne sliced their heads off into nothingness.
Aiden whispered for the others to follow them.
They walked until they can upon the river. "There's the river. We made it." Ezekiel said.
"I'm gonna check the ice." Daryl informed.
"I'm right behind you," Michonne said to him. The two walked down to the river.
"Yeah, I think we're good." Daryl said as he stepped down on the ice.
"We have to assume they have eyes on the borders. Make sure the others are ready to go," Ezekiel said.
"Done and done." Jerry and Xavier both walked off to the others.
"Hey, where's Lydia?" Daryl asked.
"I'm gonna go find her. You get everyone across. I'll be right back." Carol said to them.
"Alright, let's move." Ezekiel said as his wife walked off in search of the girl.
"Hey!" Michonne said and pointed. A walker unburied itself from under the white blanket.
Aiden looked down when she felt something brush her leg. She gasped when a walker gripped at her. She pulled her knife from its holster and stabbed it.
Ezekiel did the same with the one that reached for him. "Move!" Michonne yelled.
"Okay, okay. Everyone come on!" Aiden said as she guided everyone across the ice.
"Daryl, incoming." Magna said. They looked and saw walkers approaching them.
"Not too many at once." Aiden said.
"We gotta get across to the other side." Yumiko stated.
"'Come on. One at a time. Not too much weight on the ice." Aaron said.
"Stay alert!" Yumiko called.
"Hold up. Not too many at once. Not too many at once." Aaron called.
"Is it them?" Alden asked them.
"No. Not here Not in this." Aiden replied to him.
Eventually they all got across the ice and waited for the queen.
»
The two men searched for the two missing children. Negan hit the ground with a cry of pain. "Get up." Payton hauled the man to his feet. "You good?"
"Yeah." He grunted. The two men searched for them until the found them.
"Hey, hey." Payton said as he picked up a freezing Elliot. Elliot clung to him as Judith clung to Negan. The four plus Dog made their way to a building.
They sat the two children down.
"You okay?" Negan asked the two.
"I'm okay." Judith replied. Elliot simply mumbled, "it's cold." Payton shrugged off his jacket and placed it around his godson.
"I know why you're doing this. You're just trying to get a little extra Negan time, aren't ya?" Negan said to his. "Can I tell you something, kids? That dog- he better poop little golden nuggets. You know what I'm saying?
"Your leg looks like shit." Judith stated.
"Language, Miss Grimes." Negan said to her with a grin.
"Come on." Payton picked the boy up and the four made their way back to the others.
"I don't die." Payton looked down at his godson.
"What?" Payton asked him.
"I don't die, Payton." he whispered. Payton looked up and saw Negan's mouth open slightly at the young boys words.
That was Aiden's catchphrase.
"I guess Dixon's just don't die." Negan said.
»
The group made it back to the Hilltop. Aiden sat on the floor staring up at the paintings. It was Maggie's family. Shawn, her step mom, Beth, Hershel, Glenn. Her eyes strayed between Beth, Glenn, and Hershel. Their deaths were still so, so painful.
She had her own paintings in her home in Alexandria. There were four.
Shane, Lori, Rick, and Carl.
Her family.
"Hey, you okay?" She heard a voice. She jumped and snapped out of her day dream. She looked over and saw Vivian looking at her.
She nodded, "yeah, I'm fine." She mumbled. "Just thinking."
"About him?" She nodded towards Glenn picture.
Aiden nodded, "it still feels like I lost him yesterday. Same with everyone else."
"The pain of losing someone you love never leaves. It just fades over time." Vivian shrugged.
»
They walked through true gates of Alexandria. Aiden and Daryl heard two shouts.
"Mama!"
"Daddy!"
The Dixon children ran at their parents. The two picked up their kids and hugged them tightly.
"You okay?" She asked the two. They both nodded.
"Wha' happened?" Daryl asked his son as he examined his rosy red face.
"He's a dumbass." Beth said. Aiden looked at her in shock. Daryl only tried to hold back his laugh.
"Who taught you that?" She tried not to laugh.
"Negan called Payton a dumbass last night." Beth said. Aiden looked up and at Daryl.
"You met Negan?" She asked the two.
They both nodded, "he's an asshole." Elliot said.
Aiden nodded in agreement.
The four children started to play in the snow and it didn't take long for the others to join.
Aiden let out a shrill laugh when Daryl rubbed snow in her face. She shoved the man and a snow ball fight broke out between everyone.
It was full of laughs and happiness. Lydia joined them.
She was under the Dixon couples care now.
Beth squealed when her Uncle Aaron picked her up and spun in a circle. He set her back down and she face planted in the snow.
Everyone laughed at the young girl as she stood and threw snow at her uncle.
Aiden stepped back and and smiled at what she loved so much.
Her family.
People she would risk everything for.
She smiled as she watched her husband and life long best friend throw snow at each other like the were children. Carol, Michonne, Lydia, and Aaron throwing snow at the four kids who returned the favor.
She choked back a mix between a laugh and sob. She looked up at the blue sky.
"Thank you." She whispered.
She was talking to her family she lost. The ones who never got to make it this far.
She was thanking them for coaxing her back to the living.
Amy, Jim, Jacqui, Sophia, Dale, Shane, Lori, T-Dog, Andrea, even Merle, Hershel, Bob, Beth, Tyreese, Noah, Abraham, Sasha, Carl, Rick, Jesus, Enid, Tara, Macy, Henry.
"Thank you."
________________________________
word count: 1,763
episode: the storm
and that's the final edited chapter of the calamity series. i can't wait until the final book in aiden's story is able to be written and published for every single one of you readers. remember, aiden would love you all and would kill for you. thank you for sticking with me this long <3.
AND THAT IS A WRAP ON VALIANT!!!!
honestly it breaks my heart that i have to wait until season ten to finish this series. i absolutely love aiden walsh/dixon more than life itself. she's like my daughter. i cannot believe i started this series in october and have one more book and its all over.
i don't know why i'm so emotional over this book ending. it has the most loss in it after philophobia.
i cannot describe how much aiden dixon means to me. payton reed and xavier reed as well. i love them so so so much.
well guys. that's a wrap until next time.
aiden dixon will return in reckless.