RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

they come in waves

MORNING RUNS before the sun made its appearance was something Willow found a slight comfort in. It was the only time she could be alone with just herself and the quietness around Alexandria. Aside from the few people that took shifts on watch, everyone remained asleep and closed off in their homes, and no one bothered her. She'd do her laps up and down each street, taking short glances at the small window into the cell that held Negan. She found herself picking up her pace each time she passed it. She still gets the slightest knot in her stomach when she thinks about him being in there, but even more so when she has to see him outside of it. Lately, he's been let out a lot more than she felt comfortable with- tending the crops under weak supervision. Some boy that she hardly knew has volunteered numerous times to keep an eye on him while he worked, but Willow's noticed a few times where the boy had given him too much slack, and she's been tempted to yank him back in herself. But she never has. She's kept her distance as much as she could.

For the last time on her run, she ran past his barred up window and stopped at the front porch of her house, leaning on the railing a bit as she caught her breath. The sky was barely lit, but it was enough for her to see down to the gates and watch the latest crew wait to change shifts. There was the smallest thought in the back of her mind that told her to head back inside, but there was a much louder voice telling her to go. She's been running inside of these walls for weeks, and she's gotten sick of it. 

She redid her ponytail that had began to loosen, and grabbed her sword from the porch before she jogged down the street and to the gates. The crew began to climb down from their posts and switch, and for some reason she found herself sneaking out. There was no doubt they would question her if they had seen or heard her. From what she knows, their whole community has been told to keep an eye on her. In a way, it made her even more furious. Whatever ties they had on her were much more restraining than the ones on the real threat within their walls- Negan. But that was a fight for another day.

She shut the gates quietly and jogged down the road, dipping between cars until she figured whoever was on watch now couldn't see her. Her footsteps began to slow down, and she looked around at the trees on each side of her. Whichever path she took would lead her to one of the borders, and she felt like she was being called to them. The second her foot stepped off the road and into the grass, it was clear to her that she didn't come out there to run. There was another moment where she took the next step and she could feel an exhilaration overtake her. It would be so easy for her to keep going and find her way to Alpha. She had already gotten past the barrier. All she had to do now was run and keep running until she found her. 

As much as she wanted to, she began to take a few steps back onto the road. There was a place and time she would do it, and for some reason right then and there wasn't it. Something felt wrong.

She shivered against a small breeze that caught her face and hair, and she grimaced. There was a horrid smell that came with it, and also a silence. She listened to it, trying to find where the birds and crickets had went. They had stopped singing and chirping, and instead, she heard growls and moans in their place. Slowly looking back down the road as she was hit with another horrible breeze, she could just barely see the silhouettes of a small herd that stuck to the road coming towards their community. More began to trickle out of the tree lines on both sides of the road, and they merged in with the herd. A quick headcount told her there was at least 30 of them, but she couldn't be sure. The sun seemed much slower at coming up, and offered very little light.

She ran much quicker back to the gates, not bothering to sneak like she had originally. Her feet were so heavy on the pavement, the crew had already heard her before they even saw her. She was greeted with bows and arrows aimed at her.

"Willow?" Laura quickly lowered hers. "When did you-"

"There's a herd." She breathed out, slipping her way through the gates and meeting her at the bottom of her post. "30 or more coming this way."