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

S8Pt10 - The Battle For Hilltop

The sun was setting and we knew the Saviors were going to show up at night. I had Daryl grab Georgia, and I held Lee with Judith walking next to me, and we took them inside. We walked upstairs into a nursery made for Maggie's baby, where there was already a crib, and some other women were there.
I sighed as I laid Lee down in the crib, and Daryl laid Georgia down next to him. Judith hugged my leg and I looked down at her.
"Judy, momma has to go for awhile. I need you to stay here and listen, and do not go anywhere, got it?" I said, my voice a little stern from my stress.
"You coming back?" She asked me with a quiet voice.
I knelt down in front of her and caressed her cheek, and then pulled her in for a hug.
"I always come back honey." I said and then kissed her cheek. "Oh, my sweet girl."
I caressed her cheek again and she hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my cheek against her head. I patted her back and rocked us back and forth, and then Daryl touched my shoulder.
"I gotta head out with the others, they'll be here soon. You gotta get ready." Daryl said.
I nodded and then sighed sadly as I let go of Judith. I stood up and walked over to the door, and turned around and waved goodbye. She waved back, and then one of the women grabbed a toy and started playing with her. Daryl left the room and I followed behind him, closing the door behind me and preparing for what was about to happen here.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was night now, and everyone was in position. I just finished double checking that my blade was secure to my prosthetic, and then looked out into the distance. I saw Maggie standing on the balcony of the house, tall and strong, waiting patiently. I was next to Jerry, Carol, and a group of other people at the guard platform at the gate. We then saw a convoy of vans and trucks approaching the Hilltop from the road to the left. They got caught at our spikes, popping several tires, and they got out.
Jerry waved his hand above his head, and Maggie took that as the signal to radio the Saviors and talk, to try and avoid this fight before it begins. A couple minutes passed with no change, and that's when gunfire came in from the right side.
I heard Daryl on his motorcycle ride in, and several cars followed behind him. Two people opened the gates to allow Daryl to drive in, and the Saviors followed in with a truck.
Daryl got past the checkpoint, and with the truck close behind, that's when someone drove the bus in front of them. The truck crashed and it was all silent.
"Now!" Maggie yelled.
Everyone of us got up and started firing at the truck, killing the Saviors. More ran in and gunfire began to go everywhere. Some Saviors shot arrows at us, hitting some, but we were matching their firepower.
I ran down the guard platform and came face to face with a Savior on the ground. He raised his gun at me, so then without hesitation, I swiped my arm out and slashed his throat. He dropped his gun and held him throat, and I just ran past him, taking his gun for me to use along the way.
I fired at more Saviors and stuck close to Carol and Morgan, but in the corner of my eye saw one of us getting attacked. I noticed Tobin got stabbed and the Savior was about the deliver the final blow, until I shot him in the head. I then ran over to Tobin and he was grunting in pain. I put pressure on his wound that was in his chest and his blood seeped through my fingers.
"I'm okay. Ugh, I'm good." He tried to say.
"No, you're not.." I said and stared at the blood covering my hand. "We gotta move you."
Just then somebody ran behind me, and I then saw Saddiq kneeling next to me.
"Go." Saddiq told me. "I'll stay with him."
I just looked at Saddiq, and couldn't help but think of Carl in that moment, and then I started nodding.
"Yeah." Saddiq said.
"Yeah, yeah." I then said and he was still looking me in the eyes, and I knew that Carl was right. "Thank you..."
Saddiq nodded and replaced my hand with his and stayed behind with Tobin. I then got up and began searching for Daryl, shooting any Saviors that were in my way. I was sneaking my way behind the building and heard movement in front of me, then I heard Negan's henchman Simon whispering to someone. The voice that whispered back was Dwight.
"Tara!" I heard Daryl voice yell out.
Around the corner, an arrow flew through the air, and I could only imagine who it just hit. I then raised my rifle and rounded the corner, only to run into Simon and Dwight.
Simon raised his hatchet, but then held it still when he saw me. "Huh." He said and started laughing, and Dwight was looking nervously between the two of us. "I'll be damned. You know, we've been looking for you lady... Negan needs his whore back." He said and grinned wickedly.
"Then why don't you go, hmm?" I retaliated, and Simon's grin faltered.
I then started firing my rifle, one bullet managing to pierce Simon's shoulder, but the rest was to scare them off. They automatically turned around and ran away, and I finished by popping off a few more rounds.
"Kell!" I heard Daryl call out.
I looked around and saw Michonne and Daryl waving to me from besides a truck, and that must've meant it was time for the next part of Maggie's plan. I ran over to them and we followed them to a barricade set up on the side of the main house, where a line of us were getting ready to ambush the rest of the Saviors. We started shooting at the headlights of the Saviors trucks, and I shot the last one, and now all the lights were out making it pitch dark. The gunfire halted at the darkness, and it was all silent from both sides.
I managed to see in the dark the group of Saviors slowly emerge from behind the bus, and that's when Maggie raised her hand for the signal. We watched and waited, all following Maggie's lead.
We saw the Saviors slowly split into groups, and then the whistling started. Maggie's jaw instantly clenched, but she held her hand still. The Saviors were splitting farther and inching closer, and it was almost the right time. The whistling continued, and it began bringing back my own anger, and Maggie was feeling it too. Then, Maggie dropped her hand. The vehicles in front of us turned on their high beams, blinding the Saviors, and we started a firing squad.
The Saviors covered their eyes first, then ducked and ran after the gunfire. They yelled and screamed, and bodies began to cover the ground, but we didn't let up. They didn't even fire back, they just ran back to their trucks. Little did they know, that we set up another ambush where they were blinded by headlights and shot at again. They ran back and spread out, making this easy for us. I left the firing squad and ran towards the noise of a truck starting up. Before I could reach it, I saw Rick, who was now back, and Maggie shooting at the last Savior's truck. It was speeding out of the Hilltop and far away from us.
"We chased them out. We did it." I told myself.
Maggie and Rick then walked back and everyone still standing met at the front steps of the building, and we waited for what to do next.
"They may have left, but the night is not finished. Go around, put down any Saviors that have turned or yet to have done. Bring the wounded inside. We'll deal with the bodies in the morning." Maggie ordered.
Everyone nodded and got to work. I walked towards the gate and was going to start there. I noticed Daryl a good distance away, but still in the same area, and we nodded at each other.
I was then walking past the body of a Savior when something grabbed my leg, and I panicked and pointed out my blade. I then looked down and saw the Savior was still alive, but he had several bullet wounds to the chest and was coughing up blood.
"Please." He mumbled. "Help me."
I stared at the man who had my blade just inches from his face, and he was desperately looking up at me. He grasped my leg again weakly and coughed.
"Please." He begged.
I was frozen in shock, and old memories flooded my head. Again, I couldn't help but think of Carl. I just closed my eyes and shook my leg out of his grasp, and stared down at him. Carl may not want this, but he'd still do what had to be done. He did that anyways, even when he died himself.
"This is out of pity." Was all I said.
I then unholstered my pistol and aimed it at his head. He held up his arms and covered his face and started crying, but I had to do this. It was better than having him turn and killing him then. Without a second thought, I pulled the trigger, and the Savior's arms dropped.
I stared at his face, and then looked up only to see Daryl had walked towards me, now only a few feet away. I didn't even notice that he was still around, and I felt my vision suddenly narrow.
"Kell." Daryl said, but his voice was distant.
I just stood there, with my pistol in my hand frozen in front of me. I saw Daryl step over the body, and he put his hands on my shoulders and walked me backwards.
"Kell... Kell, say something." Daryl said.
He gave me a slight shake, and I quickly snapped out of it. I blinked my eyes and looked up at him, and I could tell he was worried about me.
"Kell, you good?" He asked.
I just nodded and shrugged my shoulders, causing his hands to slip off of me. I then looked around, then up at the starry sky, but Daryl grabbed my face and pulled my head down to look at him.
"I know you're not good." Was all he said to me, but I still couldn't speak. "Talk."
"I'm—" I suddenly said, and then bit my tongue, and Daryl tilted his head at me. "Good..."
Without another word, I stepped away from Daryl's grasp. He stood there and stared at me in confusion, and I was just as confused. I couldn't make sense of what I was feeling, or what I was even doing. I needed to go back, get away from the mess we just caused. Without speaking anymore, I turned around and walked back towards the main building, leaving Daryl behind.