𝖣𝖺𝗋𝗄𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝖪𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗌 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖬𝖾 | ᴅᴀʀʏʟ ᴅɪxᴏɴ ³

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ

«Our Friends, Our Family, Our Heroes»

GLOOM descended upon the communities as the survivors returned to The Kingdom. The once lively and joyous faces now bore the weight of sorrow, the kidnapped victims meeting a gruesome fate at the hands of Alpha.

Siddiq, the lone survivor, stood on the stage where music had played just hours ago, now facing a sombre crowd. "I was there," his voice echoed across the silenced gathering. "Taken with the others. And I saw..."

Chloe stood, tears streaming down her face, mirroring the pain etched on the faces of John, Merle, Carol, Ezekiel, and Lydia.

"I was supposed to die with them," Siddiq continued. "I was ready to."

The Whisperers' brutal message was clear, marking the border of their land with the severed heads of thirteen members of the Alexandria coalition.

"Alpha whispered in my ear, 'Tell them,'" Siddiq recounted. "Something hit me, and everything went black. When I woke up, I was alone."

The horror of the scene unfolded, and Chloe could sense the weight of it through the eyes of Carol, Merle, and Daryl who had to watch in horror the zombified heads mounted on pikes, representing the fallen members: the two Highwaymen, Ozzy and Alek; DJ, the reformed Savior allied with Michonne; three of Henry's friends, Addy, Rodney, and Frankie; Lucy, Tammy, Enid, Tara, and even Henry himself.

"What happened was evil," Siddiq declared, pushing through the lump in his throat. "It was evil. But I want to tell you a different story."

"Before the end, Ozzy, Alek, and DJ found us... they gave us an opening. And everyone fought back. They fought like hell."

Tears streamed down the faces of the crowd, and Chloe instinctively reached for John's hand, finding him standing beside her. The devastation was etched across his face, a reflection of the profound loss he felt for his girlfriend Frankie, whom he had desperately searched for the night before.

The vibrant and lively John was now a hollow shell consumed by grief.

"Their time was cut short, but ours keeps going," Siddiq continued. "So we have to keep going. For them and for all of us."

Merle, though equally devastated, veiled his emotions beneath a stoic facade, a stark contrast to John's visible grief, as Siddiq spoke. "We need to honour them and remember our friends, our family, as heroes. That's the story I want to tell you. That's the story I want us all to remember."

Merle and Lucy's love saga had become the town's favourite topic. Their connection was extraordinary, a flame that burned brightly. Lucy served as Merle's anchor, helping him heal after the heartbreak with Leah. Leah shattered him, and in the presence of Lucy, he found himself again.

But now, Merle was a changed man. He appeared distant, enveloped in a facade of emotions he struggled to keep at bay. He wore a fake smile, played the role of strength in front of John, who himself was grappling with his own turmoil.

The tragic incident had shattered them both, yet the wounds of loss lingered beneath the surface.

Five years prior, Merle's path crossed with Leah's. While he was collecting wood, a mysterious woman materialized from the shadows, armed and poised. With skilful precision, she dispatched the walkers that threatened to reach Merle.

"You need to stay away from my camp," she cautioned, finding refuge with Merle behind a tree. In that tense moment, she introduced herself, "Name's Leah."