You and Me (Daryl Dixon x Reader {Ricks Sister})

Chapter 66 - Believe

Eventually I made it back into the house we lived in. "Carl??" I called desperately.

He stepped out from the kitchen, the aroma of a casserole wafting through the house. "Yeah.. I'm ok." He nodded.

"Oh thank god." I sigh as I grab him and pull him close into a hug, a sob escaping me. "I'm so sorry.. I'm so so sorry.." I whispered as I held my nephew. "Judith- is she-"

"She's fine, aunt y/n, calm down." He replied softly as he hugged me back. "It's all ok." He then looked up at me. "The others.. They aren't back yet, are they?"

I shook my head. "Me and Morgan left early, that's why we got here when we did- thank god- but the others are still out there." I took a deep breath. "They're ok. They have to be."

He nodded. "They are. I know it."

I then moved away from my nephew, and into the living room, where my niece was laying on the couch taking a nap. I carefully scooped her up, and held the small child in my arms, gently rocking her and humming to her as I sat in the couch.

Honestly, after what I just went through, what I just did, what I just saw, it felt childish. Silly. But it wasn't. It was refreshing. It was exactly what I needed.

And I was exhausted. Tired of losing people. I layed down on the couch with Judith laying on top of me, and I fell asleep, my niece in my arms.

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When I woke up, I found Carl had taken Judith, and now he was asleep with her in his arms. Funny how she's become the comfort for everyone.

I left the house silently. And as I walked I saw Michonne talking to Tara and Maggie, explaining how Glenn ran off with Nicholas, how they were going to light a fire to distract the walkers.

The fire was never lit.

Glenn never gave a signal to indicate an issue.

Radio silence from them.

"OPEN THE GATE!!!"

My brother. I gasped as I heard his voice, which sounded panicked and frenzied. As he screamed for the gate.

Michonne and Maggie hoisted the gate open as I ran to the now opened gate with a few others.

Hundreds of rotting corpses followed my brother. A few surrounded him as he shoved one to the grounds tripping as he ran. I ran out into the mess, grabbed my brother, and dragged him inside of the gated walls of Alexandria. As soon as we were inside, Michonne and Maggie shut the gates. I looked Rick over.

"You ok?! Are you bit?!" I gasped as I looked all over his arms and tanned shirt for any indication of him being harmed. But he wasn't. He was ok. My brother is ok.

With a sigh of relief I hold him close.

Then the dread kicks in. Hundreds of walkers... Right outside of Alexandria. The walls could break down and we would have a serious problem on our hands...

---

I took Rick to see Carl and Judith, so he knew they were still ok, and I explained to him everything that happened.

He told me when he ran off everyone was ok to his understanding. Then he told me that he wanted to hold some sort of meeting/peptalk with the people of Alexandria. So, we parted ways, he went to check on his children while I went to go and round everyone up.

We all stood along the walls, listening to the distant groans and thumps of the dead outside. Everyone was scared. No one knew what to do.

"You can hear it." My brother called as he joined everyone by the walls. "Some of you saw it. They got back here half of 'em. Still enough to surround us 20 deep."

I grimaced at his words. We were stuck in here, and people I love are still stuck out there. Daryl is stuck out there.

"Look, I know your scared. You haven't seen anything like this. You haven't been through anything like this. But we're safe for now." Rick pointed over to where the truck impacted the wall. "The panel the truck hit seems intact. We reinforced it just in case. Either way, the Wall's gonna hold together." He told everyone. He then looked over the crowd. ".. Can you?"

Rick made eye contact with me, before he sighed. "The others... They're gonna be back." He promised everyone, but the words felt directed at me, Maggie, and Rosita the most.

"They're gonna be back." Rosita nodded.

"And they are going to be ok." I nodded in agreement with her, willing myself to believe it.

"Daryl, Abraham, Sasha... They have vehicles. They are gonna lead 'em away, just like the others." He nodded. I could tell he was forcing himself to believe the words spewing from his mouth, too. "And Glenn and Nicholas are gonna walk back through the front gate after. They know what they're doing. And we know what we need to do." My brother looked at everyone, then to me.

"Noise is kept to a minimum." I explained as I walked to stand next to my brother. "And at night we keep lights off. We stay silent."

"Shes right. We try to keep this place quiet as a graveyard, see if they move on." Rick nodded.

"Hope they move on." I added.

"This place is a graveyard" a woman said slowly.

Me and Rick looked at each other for a moment, looking for some way to get through to these people.

"The quarry broke open." Aaron said as he broke away from the semi-circle and moved to the middle. "And those walkers were heading this way. All of them. The plan that Rick put into place- stopped that from happening. He got half of them away." Aaron went silent for a moment, everyone had turned to look at Rick. Arron glanced at me and I gave him a nod, before he kept talking. "I was out there, recruiting with Daryl. I wanted to try to get into a cannery and scavenge, and Daryl wanted to keep looking for people." Aaron took a moment. "We did what I wanted... And we wound up in a trap, set by those people. And I lost my pack. They must've followed our tracks. Those people who attacked us... They found their way back here because of me."

"Aaron don't blame yourself for this." I said gently, taking a step to him. "You didn't know-"

"Don't try and cover my ass. Let me take responsibility." Aaron shook his head at me.

Deanna let out a sigh and started to step away. After everything that's happened to her in just the past week has completely changed her. Not that I blame her, but that poor woman is hurting.

Rick couldn't take his eyes from Aaron. "There'll be more to talk about."

I looked over and saw Deanna kept walking away from the group. "Deanna? Honey?" I called to her, but she didn't react. "Deanna?"

Rick sighed, shook his head, and he too walked away, and soon enough the group dispersed. I went up on the ledge on the gate so I could be on watch, but I made sure to stay low.

Hundreds of those maggot infested, flesh eating, disease ridden, rotting, walking corpses surrounded this place. It would be a miracle if I ever saw him again. If the walkers were drawn away.

They better get drawn away soon.. Because this place... It's feeling less and less like home.

I guess... I'll just have to close my eyes and believe everything will work itself out. Even if I'm wishing on a star or banking on this stupid pipe dream, it.. It needs to be true.

It has to be.

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(1308 words in book)

Sorry for that long ass break I've been exhausted recently I've been working on this chapter since last week Thursday and soooo yeah