Rori Rhee's at it again. Surviving the apocalypse, hoping to spend forever with Carl. But things don't always work out in her favor. Rick dies and she knows she has to be there for Carl, but god dammit, it hurt her too. The couple hits a rough patch...
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"Hey, you alright back there?" I heard Aaron call out to Jerry behind me, but I was too far up to hear Jerry respond. The path bent, and I had to angle my body upwards, using my arms to army crawl. I paused, sucking in a breath as the rocks pushed on my stomach. I saw Connie's feet ahead of me and paused for a moment, waiting for her to move. She stayed still for a moment as Jerry called out to us.
"Hey, guys!" I looked down as Aaron moved closer to me.
"What is it?" Aaron asked, looking below us so he could see Jerry. There was a faint whirring sound, and Jerry moved his light down below us. "What is it?"
"Just be quiet for a second," Jerry ordered as the sound occurred again. Then, the whirling was gone and replaced by the moaning of walkers. "Go, go, go!"
Connie moved quickly, shuffling usward as I rushed to follow her. Daryl pulled her out, the moaning becoming loud as the walkers got closer. Daryl reached down, grabbing my hand to pull me out. I moved to kneel beside Daryl as Aaron excited the cave, looking back at Jerry.
"Jerry, come on! You're almost there!" Aaron yelled down, Jerry's terrified face looking back up at us.
"Guys! I-I'm stuck," Jerry said, his body squished under a specific rock that jutted out. His voice shook as he talked, Daryl quickly leaning down into the cave.
"Take my hand!" Daryl ordered, stretching down as far as he could go.
"My feet! They got my feet! They're biting my feet!" Jerry yelled in a panic. He shuffled up forward, trying to get away from them, but he hardly moved.
"Take your gear off! Take it off," Aaron said, and Jerry quickly discarded the gear. Daryl grabbed the gear from Jerry, passing it off the Kelly. With the little extra room and a lot more struggle, Jerry was able to make it out, Daryl quickly tugging him the rest of the way. Jerry breathed heavily, shaking
"You good? It's okay, they didn't bite through," Kelly said, propping Jerry up against the rock.
"Hey, look," Magna said, standing up. She moved forward, Daryl quickly wrapping his arms around her to stop her from falling into a hole. Daryl lit a torch with a match, everyone crowding around the ledge. He dropped the burning torch, watching it fall hundreds of feet downward, burning the walkers.
Once Jerry had calmed down, we continued to move, eventually finding what looked to be a mine shaft. Daryl approached it cautiously, ducking around pieces of rock and wood. We got stuck towards the end of the tunnel, a pile-up of wood, rocks, and an old mine cart stacked tightly, stopping us from leaving.
"Why are we standing around looking at it? Magna asked, moving forward. Connie grabbed her shoulder, shaking her head.
"We got to be very careful," Kelly said as Connie began to sign words. "We take out the wrong piece, the whole thing is gonna collapse."
"Alright, let's find something to dig with," Daryl said, passing his lantern to Connie. With a grunt the boys, Magna, and I began to pull pieces out.
"Hey, check this out," Kelly called out, causing us to turn to face her. "Yo, somebody left this crate of dynamite."
"Yeah, okay, that's really cool," Jerry breathed out. "But maybe somebody left it there because it's obviously insanely dangerous. That thing's sweatier than I am. I need you to put it back very carefully." Slowly, Kelly carefully set it back down where she got it. Once it was in the crate, she pulled the tarp back over it.
Everyone was silent, the occasional chatter occurring as we moved the pieces. Time seemed to pass slowly, yet I knew we probably hadn't been gone long. Finally, after moving a ton of stuff, sunlight began to seep through. Daryl gave the piece of wood one last tug, it disconnecting from the ceiling. Dust blew in our faces, but I didn't care. I was happy to see the sun again.
"Come on, go," Daryl said to Kelly, and she quickly climbed up.
"Just a little more," Kelly instructed, peeking her head through the small hole.
"Where's Carol?" Daryl asked as Kelly climbed back down. He looked behind us, seeing she wasn't there. "Damn it." He took off back the way we came.
"Daryl!" I called out as Aaron continued to scrape at the hole, trying to make it larger. Daryl didn't respond, already out of hearing range. I shook my head, quickly placing my hand against the side oft eh cave as an explosion occurred, sending everything tumbling. Aaron and Jerry propped the log we used to climb up on their shoulders.
"Come on!" Aaron yelled and I let Kelly go first. Turning, I noticed Magna using sign language. I cursed as Magna and Connie ran in the opposite direction. I watched Connie rush over to Carol and Daryl, throwing Carol's other arm over her shoulder.
"Aaron, go," I ordered. He nodded, moving quickly to get out of the hole.
"We got freaks!" Kelly yelled from above as Aaron made it out, Jerry grunted in pain.
"I'll go first and pull her up," Daryl said as Connie leaned Carol on the side.
"Come on, guys!" Magna yelled as Daryl reached down.
"Give me your hand. I'll pull her up. Come on," Daryl said. Connie pushed Carol up from the bottom, who reached up just enough to grab onto Daryl.
"We got more skins," Magna said from behind me.
"I got you covered," I said, following her into the dark hallway. She used her flashlight to illuminate their faces. I pulled out my knife and quickly stabbed one.
"Get out of here!" Magna yelled as she dodged one.
"Behind you," I screamed to Magna. She turned but Connie was quicker, stabbing the one behind MAgna. "It's gonna collapse! We gotta move."
I dug my knife into a skin's head, pulling it out which splattered blood on my face. I pulled Connie towards the hole but she nodded for me to go first. Knowing we didn't have time to argue, I started to climb up.
"Rori!" Daryl yelled, seeing my head peek up from the hole. When it happened, I quickly covered my head as everything collapsed. The dynamite exploded, sending pain through my body as the rocks landed on me.
