When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 105 - Don't do anything stupid, please

Dusk had claimed the town before they stepped foot into Alexandria. Family's were already asleep in their beds, parents had already tucked in their children and little light was on display. Louise found herself rather comforted by the unusual silence. Daryl walked beside her, his one hand on her lower back whilst the other held onto his bow, the hunter not bothering to pull it over his shoulders as they exited the car. The only people they could see on the streets were Michonne, Nicole and Carl, who stood having a rather hushed conversation over the sewer grate. The latter was half inside, dropping bags down into the murky darkness below. The hunters shared a confused glance before heading towards them.

"Is Rick back yet?" Lou asked.

Michonne tore away from the conversation long enough to reply. "He's still out at the landfill"

"What the hells taking him so-"

She was cut off by the sound of barbed wires against their metal gates. A lump caught in her throat and the once steady beat of her heart sped up, banging inside her chest as her anger rapidly increased. Louise closed her eyes as his voice rang out after the third slam of wood.

"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 they're gonna wake up from that kind of shock but they should wake up. So let's just cut throug the cow shit. You loose. It's over. So you're gonna line up in front of your little houses and you're gonna work up some apologies, and the person with the lamest one is gonna get killed. Then I kill Rick in front of everybody, and we move on. You have three...count 'em...three minutes to open this gate, or we start bombing the shit out of you!" Negan snarled through the mega phone. His voice echoed across their grounds, bouncing off every building, bin, lamppost...every brick.

Michonne took a shaky breath. "They got out..."

The Saviors haunting whistling rang out around them and every muscle in Lou's body stilled. It was like she was back in those woods...searching for a safe route for her ill friend...listening to the sounds of Lucille connecting with Glenn and Abraham's skulls...the sound of Maggie's screams...the sound of her own screams as they dragged Daryl away - as they dragged away the only man she'd ever loved and hauled him into the back of a dark van. And how Aaron held onto her as she wept...Aaron, her closest and best friend, who she currently had no form of communication with. The man who just lost the love of his life fighting for this community and who she hadn't been able to grieve with. Louise couldn't take the idea of loosing someone else and as the next bang of Lucille came, she felt just as terrified as that woman on her knees, begging Negan to kill herself instead of all those people.

"C'mon" Carl said quickly, beconning them to follow him. He took off in a jog towards the armour, the rest of the group behind him and began shoving every weapon he could find inside a duffel bag. "You need to make it look like we're escaping out back. Get out into the woods, halfway to the quarry, then 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 and get everyone else here, and we'll meet you out there"

"Two minutes people!" Negan's voice boomed again. "Dig deep. I want these apologies to be memorable. Bonus points for creativity. Work up a poem, sing a song. I love that shit"

"I'm gonna enjoy snapping that guys neck" Lou said through gritted teeth as she grabbed a second bag and followed Carl's lead. "Least that way I get to do it twice"

She smirked at Nicole who shook her head slowly, a hint of a smile on her lips. "You can be real scary sometimes..."

"Get goin', there's gonna be a lot of people in the infirmary. They're gonna need your help" Carl said to Tara and Rosita, who nodded and made their way towards the building.

Michonne sighed. "Carl, we can't just let them have this place"

"We can, all we need to do is survive tonight. This is my show, you said it. This is my plan and your gonna do it. Youre all gonna do it, so let's go"

"One minute!" Negan said again. "One minute"

Louise zipped up the large bag, slung it over her shoulder and straightened out, her eyes locked onto the teenager who stood in front of her. Cautiously, she nodded at him and mad her way to the door. "You sure about this?"

Carl nodded, his gaze drifting periodically to the young girl at her side, whose eyes were glassed over. "Yeah, I'll meet you guys later"

Before anybody else could speak, Nicole flung her arms around Carl's neck, her tears dropping onto his oversized plaid shirt. She whispered something so that only he could hear, kissed his cheek and backed away. Carl pressed his hand to his face as she walked off, a soft, calm smile on his lips.

Lou's eyebrows pulled together as she watched the teenagers and she couldn't help but think it was more than a usual goodbye. She opened her mouth to speak but was drawn away by Daryl shouting.

"Lou, let's go!"

Carl knew what she was thinking. He knew she was probably right, she was about most things but as he thought about his friend, the girl who had cried so damn hard a few hours ago as she held onto him, he knew he was doing the right thing. So, he nodded at Lou and walked towards the gates, listening as she yelled over his shoulder.

"Don't do anything stupid, Carl...please"

***

Louise took Nicole by the arm the second they were far enough away from their home and spun her so they were looking eye to eye. The rest of their group was far enough ahead so that they were in sight, but not close enough to hear the conversation that was about to happen between them.

The young girl was still crying. Tears stained her cheeks, leaving marks in the dirt that coated her skin and clothes - the dirt that Lou had only just noticed. On the bottom of her pale shirt, was a splash of red. It was bright enough to conclude that whatever struggle had happened was recent but dry that she knew it hadn't happened on her watch.

"What was that?" Lou asked calmly. Nicole didn't say anything. "Nic, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I-"

"Don't lie to me. That's blood on your shirt, what happened?"

The second Nicole tore her gaze from the ground below and looked up at her, she broke down. Her sobs caused her shoulders to shake and she dropped into Lou's arms, clinging onto her tightly.

"It's my fault" she cried. "We were helping a traveler, we were bringing him back and there were so many walkers...we tried to take them on, we thought we could but I fell and one came down on top of me-"

"Are you bit?" Lou cut her off, panic settling in. She tried to reach for the stain on her shirt but Nicole pulled away, shaking her head.

"Not me...Carl. Carl's the one who got bit" she swallowed the phlegm in her throat. "He saved me...it's all my fault"

Nicole's hands covered her face. A breath caught in Lou's throat.

"He-he's bit?"

The teenager nodded, her cries getting louder as she once again fell into Lou's arms. Lou hugged her tightly, one hand on the back of her head and one around her shoulders, holding her as closely as she could. She let the young girl grieve - she let her mourn the friend who wasn't yet dead, knowing that they'd likely never see him alive again, before she held her by her shoulders, wiped her face with her fingers and exhaled deeply.

"My sweet girl" she soothed. "I'm so sorry"

"It's my fault"

Lou shook her head. "No, baby, it's not...but we can't stay here much longer. I promise you, we'll say goodbye to Carl but for now, we need to run, okay?"

She placed a hand firmly on her back and ushered her in the direction their friends went in the hopes that they weren't already too far behind. The Saviors couldn't be far out and Louise had no intention of loosing anybody else.