Destination Life or Death

20.

As Daryl led the walkers down the road, we tied yellow balloons to the RVs as road markers. Rick, Michonne and I stood behind the RV shooting off a flare while Daryl approached. Once he passed we went and met up with Glenn and Heath's group. "It's working, you were right." Carter spoke to Rick. Rick nodded and then looked around to all of us, "Everyone, we need to finish this." he spoke quickly, "We have to keep moving and fan out down that thing front to back, like we said, cops at a parade." he said nodding. "Glenn, you two take back." pointing to the way he wanted him to go. "Got it," Glenn said quickly. "If they get sloppy, fire your weapons, pull them back on track." Rick spoke again. "I'll hit the front." Carter said quickly. "Okay, one after the other." Rick nodded. He started running while Glenn and his group ran the opposite way. Rick, Carter and I stayed together with Morgan and Michonne following behind. I heard a loud scream come from a few feet in front of me before looking over at a walker that had Carter pressed against a tree. I ran over and stabbed the walker in the head with my katana. Carter fell to the ground and kept screaming, "You gotta be quiet Carter!" I said, looking at him and then at the portion of the herd that was now heading straight to me. "Fuck!" I whispered to myself. "Carter, please! You gotta be quiet!!" I said, covering his mouth with my hand before hearing multiple gunshots from across the way leading the group back to the herd. I sighed and then looked at him and slowly uncovered his mouth. "I'm dead." he said over and over again quickly. I closed my eyes and hung my head. He had been bitten on the cheek and blood was everywhere, he was right, but I didn't want to say it. Rick came up and kneeled on the ground. "Go kid." he said, shooing me away. I looked at Carter and nodded before walking ahead with Michonne. "He was a good man." I said, shaking my head, "No one deserved what he just went through." I said sighing and then looking at the herd. "Let's get this over with." I said walking in front of her silently. As we were walking, a loud car horn started blaring from behind us. We turned around quickly and looked at eachother fearfully. "What the hell is happening? It's a horn or something?" I said running to the back of the group. "It's pulling the back half of the group." I saw a few slowly start trickling into the forest and then quickly the whole back half. "Whatever it is, is far," Michonne said looking at Rick and me. "It sounds like it's coming from...." she paused, "home!" we all said quickly. I looked at them and started running to Alexandria with a horde of walkers behind us.

We eventually met up with everyone and started running, fighting off walkers that had gotten too close. Daryl and Rick were arguing over the walkies about heading back and helping Alexandria, but we all knew that if they came, the whole herd would head to Alexandria. We just kept running. "It's coming from back home, it has to be." Heath said stopping, another man spoke quickly behind him. "He did this. He brought us all out here to die. He killed Carter!" I looked at him and cut him off. "Carter would've died a much more painful death, he was already dead-" the man cut me off. "Now, they're in trouble back there and we are gone. We're as good as dead!" he said frantically, he was scared and I could see it. "Calm down!" I said sternly. "What the hell are you talking about? We're done and it's because of him!" he said loudly. "Shut up!!" I said quietly. "Get moving or you're gonna be the reason we're dead!" I said angrily before running around him. Heath ran ahead of me before I quickly followed behind them. "Listen up, new plan." Rick said once the three of us got back. "I'll go back, get the RV and circle around the woods on Redding. I'll get in front before they get there, and I can lead them away again." Rick said, pausing and looking around. "I can go with you. The RVs about a mile back." a man spoke quickly. "I'll handle it, just get home, they might need you there." he spoke sternly. I walked up to Glenn, Rick and Michonne. "The thing is, is there not all gonna make it." Rick said quietly. "You try to save them, you try, but they can't keep up, you keep going. You have to, you make sure you get back." he paused and looked at me, "All three of you!" He spoke quietly with Glenn and Michonne, looked at me then back at them. We nodded before hearing a man scream from behind us. We ran up and saw a man being pinned on the ground by a walker. We all looked at each other as Michonne stabbed the walker and the man in the head. The horn faded to a stop a few moments later. "The horn stopped. Good!" Rick said quietly. Rick kneeled down and grabbed a few knives off the body. "Get back safe." he said, looking up at us and then walking away. As we walked, we came across a small group of walkers. "Don't shoot unless you have to," Glenn whispered to the group, giving me, Heath and Michonne a nod to move forward and fight the group. I slashed through a few walkers heads like butter, after the last had died, we looked at eachother, we had all gotten in a fight, even the others. A boy named Sergus shot a gun that hit Scott in the leg, we were all standing around before hearing a scream from David, who had just killed the walker that bit him right between the shoulder blades. "I know what it means." he said looking around at all of us who had stayed silent. "We gotta keep moving, right?" he asked, quickly looking around once more before walking away with the group following. As we were walking, I started talking to David. "How long have you been married?" I asked, trying not to sound awkward. "Three months," he said calmly, "She wasn't my wife before." he said, shaking his head. "How'd you meet her?" I asked, looking at him then my feet dragging on the pavement. "It was early on. Aaron found me. I was Alone, lost everything, everyone, myself," he paused "I wasn't crazy. I just gave up on being someone, an actual person, you know what I mean?" he asked looking at me then in front of him. I didn't answer, I just thought about how I woke up alone, in the end of the world, alone, and lost everyone. "I get it, yeah." I said, nodding. "We found Betsy on the way back to the community. She still saw me after I thought I was dead and gone. She was my first friend, then, she was more. She made me more, even better than how I used to be." he paused, "but if I could make it back, I'd want to say goodbye. Please tell her." he paused and took a deep breath. "Finding her in all this, that was everything." I looked at him and then to the ground. I started thinking of Carl. I was hoping him and Judith were okay. I was hoping I wouldn't show up and find my best friend turned into a walker. As we walked down the road of a small town, we came across a brown bucket hat, Nicholas picked it up and looked at us "Sergus?" I asked looking at the hat then him. Sergus had run away in the woods but I'd hoped he made it back. He nodded "He left us behind." another girl from the group spoke. We walked fast, and stayed together in hopes of maybe finding him but we came to a stop when we saw a large group of walkers hovering over his torn open body. When we turned around there were walkers on both sides of us, we were trapped. We went into a small pet store that had the windows boarded up. Me, Nicholas, Glenn, Heath and Michonne all gathered to talk about what to do. "If we can find a way to distract the herd coming in, then they won't make it back to the community." Glenn said in a whisper. "How?" Heath responded, "Burn one of the buildings. Hopefully more, they'll get drawn to it and they'll stop here." Glenn replied quickly, "It's gonna take some time," I whispered quietly. "I'll do it, you stay with them." Michonne said looking at Glenn. "It's my plan, it's on me." he said quickly to her. "You have a wife, Glenn," Michonne added sternly. Glenn took a deep breath, "Thats why I'm doing this." he paused, "You gotta get everybody back. You're the one who can. If I take too long, you just go." he said, not moving his gaze from Michonne. "I'm not leaving without you." Michonne replied sternly. "This is not the way this works. I will meet you there." he said cutting her off. "If I get stuck out here, I'll find some way to show you guys that I'm okay." he said looking at me and then back to Michonne. Nicholas and Glenn left quickly as the rest of us waited for them to come back. Heath didn't like me or Michonne and it was noticeable."What's your problem with us?' I asked, once it was just us two. "Just lookin out for my people," he said before walking down one of the isles. "And you think we aren't?" I asked, following him. He didn't speak right away. "Look, I heard what Rick said," he paused. "What part?" I asked standing in front of him. "How they wouldn't all make it, they meant us and not you guys. How you guys should leave us behind if we can't keep up." I interrupted him quickly, "Glenn is risking his life right now for everyone here and Michonne and I are still right here. So you need to pull whatever stick is up your ass, out and realize we are all on the same side here." I said quietly but angrily. "Things are gonna get worse, and then we'll see." I interrupted him again, "Yes, we'll see." I paused, "Rick said that, because sometimes there is no choice." "That is not how we do it." he interrupted. "Have you ever had to do it? No. You haven't been through it, not like me, not like Glenn, not like Daryl and especially not like Rick. We were out there, Rick was out there. We know, you clearly don't." I paused, I was angry and my tone was obvious. "If you don't learn quickly Heath, you will die. We will all die." I said harshly. "I've been doing runs from the start, Okay? I know what it's like." I shook my head and cut him off. "Have you killed people? Because they were coming for you, after they already got to your family, your friends. Have you done things that make you afraid to look at the person in the mirror? Have you ever had blood covering you from head to toe and you don't know if it's yours, walkers, or your friends?" I said sternly. My voice had raised but I tried to keep it quiet. He stayed quiet. "Then you don't know and you just proved my point," I said, looking at him up and down angrily and walking away to sit against the back wall.