EPISODE SEVENTEEN "i can still taste his blood" SEASON 8
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GREY KINGSTON
the brisk night air whips and bites at our faces, our skin flushed and goose-bumped as we find our way in the dark to the old pub bar north of hilltop. without any light, just the sliver of the moon above us cutting through the sparse areas between leafless trees, we take our time walking, not wanting to get turned around or exhaust ourselves.
ways away behind us, hilltop is being seized by commonwealth soldiers who finally found out about its existence after months of never bothering to check what sits up on the hill in the middle of grassy fields and dense woods. it's not the first time we've had to flee one of our communities from a threat breaching its walls. it sure as hell would be nice if it were the last.
dwight blows a two-toned, quick whistle as he comes up around me and rick, halting us. we follow his gaze ahead to where the old pub building stands at the end of the narrow street. our eyes focus on the huddle of figures already outside of the building we're creeping up on.
but the whistle is returned to us from that huddled group before we have time to pull any defenses out, and as they shift, their heads turning to us from down the road, we're able to make out their faces.
sasha. gabriel. allison. hannah. bob—someone rick hasn't met yet.
my breath hitches at the sight of them, faces i haven't seen since before i left to find rick, before they departed to north carolina to scavenge for food and anything else they found along the way.
rick's calloused hand grips mine the rest of the way to the old pub and to our people outside of it. my eyes find sasha in the crowd, in an embrace with carol, and her soft brown eyes meet mine—then rick's—and her lips part in a silent cry.
i smile, my tears warm against my wind-blown cheeks as she wastes no time coming over to us and pulling me into a hug.
"it's so good to see your face." i say.
she pulls back, her arms still on my shoulders when she looks at rick who stands beside me, roped up in a conversation with gabriel.
"you found him." she says, a stunned look in her eyes. "oh god. carl, he doesn't even know he's—where's judith?"
i realize then that they left to north carolina before alexandria was seized, before everyone fled to ohio, daryl and judith included—everyone but negan.
"she's with carl and daryl, we—we'll fill you in tonight." i pull together a smile, tears still streaming. "we're gonna fix things."
confusion flashes in her eyes, but before she can ask anything more, her attention is drawn to the hand rick just rested on her shoulder.
