A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S8Pt6 - The Sewers

It was nighttime in Alexandria, and I was walking around all the streets. There was a nice chill and the crickets were chirping loudly. I couldn't sleep, and I was also out here looking for somebody.
I was making my fifth lap around and finally saw him in the grass removing a manhole cover.
"Carl." I said.
He stopped what he was doing and looked at me.
"I've been looking for you." I said. "I haven't seen you at all today, what are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm helping someone." He said, and I noticed his breathing was a little heavy. "A traveler."
I just nodded and looked down at the manhole. "In the sewer." I said.
We then heard a metal clanging in the distance, and I figured it was coming from the front gate. We then heard feedback from a microphone and then a haunting voice echoes throughout Alexandria.
"You may be wondering why the hell your lookouts didn't sound the alarm. See, we are polite. I mean, I don't know when the next time they'll wake up from that kinda shot, but they should wake up."
It was Negan. He was still alive... and here.
"Let's just cut the cow shit— you lose!" His voice bellowed in the air. "It's over. So you're gonna line up in front of your little houses, and you're gonna work up some apologies, and then the person with the lamest one is gonna get killed. Then I kill Rick in front of everybody, and we move on."
I looked over at Carl, and he was already looking at me. I turned around and started ushering Carl back.
"You have three— count 'em, three minutes to open this gate, or we start bombing the shit out of you!"
"They got out." I said.
"Come on." Carl said and covered the man hole.
I nodded and saw the rest of the group running out of their houses. Negan's whistle filled the air and we were running out of time.
Carl started getting things together and I noticed he was telling us his plan. "You need to make it look like we're escaping out the back. Get to the woods, halfway to the quarry, and cut the lights. Get enough of a lead on them, hit them, and get away on foot. You know where we'll be. Just have to get the guns, get everyone else here, and we'll meet you there." He said.
"Two minutes people." Negan said. "Dig deep. I want these apologies to be memorable. Bonus points for creativity. Work up a poem, sing a song. I love that shit."
"Get going." Carl told a group and sent them to the infirmary to help others.
"We got guns, we can fight them." Tara said to Carl.
"We will, but not right now. Carl's right." I said.
"We can't just let them have this place." Michonne said.
"We can." Carl said. "All we need to do is survive the night... This is my plan, and you're gonna do it. We don't have time to argue. So let's go!"
"One minute!" Negan's voice yelled.
I ran next to Daryl with the group over to the trucks. He told me he hid the kids, and we have to do this now. I nodded and followed them to a convoy of trucks. Daryl led and I got in a truck in the middle. We started driving towards the back gate and busted through the wall where a group of Negan's people were waiting for us. We drove off into the woods and they followed. We all ditched our vehicles and met up on the tree line of the forest. We had myself, Daryl, Rosita, Tara, and Michonne, and we all waited for the convoy to show up. We heard the engines in the distance and Daryl threw out a smoke bomb. The cars approached closely and then stopped.
"Now." Daryl said.
We started firing at the cars and killed some Saviors instantly and fired at the rest. We saw the Saviors soon all end up dying and we stopped shooting.
"It's over." We heard a voice say from behind a car.
I was the first to run down and everyone followed. I ran over to the car and aimed my gun at the man. It was Dwight. He was bleeding and holding his arm where he got shot.
We surrounded him and he looked up at us. "I made sure you guys could get out the back. I drove the convoy right up to the roadblock. I knew what it was." Dwight said.
Daryl lowered his gun and just stared at Dwight.
"I can't go back." Dwight said. "One of 'em got away, she's gonna tell them."
"How'd they get out?" Daryl asked. "Was it what I did?"
Dwight shook his head. "Eugene... I can still help you. I know how they work. How Negan thinks. I want you to win. I want Negan to die." He pleaded. "And we can settle up after..."
Daryl was silent and then reached down at Dwight. He grabbed onto his vest, which Dwight stole from Daryl, and yanked it off of him. Dwight groaned in pain and held his arm, and Daryl walked away.
I stepped forwards and kicked his leg. "Get up." I said and pointed my rifle at him.
He nodded and slowly stood up, and Tara held him at gunpoint. I left him to deal with her, and followed Daryl back to Alexandria. We had to go back.

~~~~~~~~~~

Back at Alexandria, the place was up in flames. Whole building were on fire, and Negan's men were sending grenades over the fence. Smoke was everywhere and it was hard to see anything.
Daryl found the first manhole in the ground and took off the lid. He dropped a rock to determine how high the water was.
I was listening to the explosions and staring at a walker that was in the distance. My eyes were watering and Dwight looked at me.
"I'm sorry." He said. "I really am."
I looked over at him, and I knew he was. I could tell he wasn't lying. I just shook my head and wiped my tears. "Just get down there." I ordered.
He followed after Tara and Rosita, and I looked at Daryl. He nodded me in and followed in behind me. I then looked up and saw Michonne just standing there.
"Michonne." I whispered my loudest.
She looked down at me and tears streamed down her face.
"Michonne." I said again.
She just nodded and bent down, and began covering the man hole.
"Michonne!" I said.
It was too late. The light got shut out and Michonne ran off. I just sighed and looked behind me at the group, then Daryl.
"Where are they?" I asked, and I started panicking. I reached out to him and he grabbed my arms. "Where?"
"Hey, hey, hey." Daryl said. "Come on."
He led us down the sewer and further in we saw the rest of Alexandria. It was our most strong bodied people, but our numbers were diminished. I saw Carl sitting against the wall in the back with a stranger, and was going to walk over to him when I heard them. The babies started to cry and I looked around for them. I first saw Judith and she looked around the crowd for me.
"Mama?" She asked and her voice echoed.
"Shhh." I said quietly, but slowly ran over to her.
I got down on my knees and hugged her tight. I pet her head and took a deep breath, trying my best not to cry.
"Oh... god." I managed to say.
Daryl then came around the corner with both Lee and Georgia in his arms. I stood up with Judith in my arm and looked at all of us together.
Daryl leaned forwards and rested his forehead against mine and I closed my eyes, tears streamed down my cheeks. We then heard the manhole cover bang and we all looked at the entrance. I put down Judith and hid her behind my leg.
Luckily, it was only Michonne and Rick. He walked through and looked at all of us, especially Dwight, then at me with the kids.
"How'd you guys all get down here?" Rick asked.
"It was Carl." I said, and then turned around to look at him at the end of the tunnel.
Rick began walking forwards, and I followed him. Michonne stayed back with Judith and Daryl with the babies.
We got to Carl, and Rick first looked at the stranger, but I saw Carl did not look good. I knelt down next to him and touched his head. Rick then knelt down on the other side of him.
"I brought him here." Carl said about the stranger, but his voice was quiet. "That's how it happened."
"What— happened.." Rick asked, his voice shaky.
Carl slowly lifted up his shirt and peeled back a bandage, revealing a bite on his ribs. I gasped in shock and covered my mouth to stop me from crying.
Rick got closer to Carl but couldn't say a word. He looked around for help, but no one could help him... not anymore.