𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟔 | 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.

𝐎𝐮𝐭 for a leisurely stroll, Beth walked between Carl and Jamie. The fresh air was much needed after the moment with Nate not too long beforehand. Even though she wanted nothing more than to curl up under the covers, she needed to be there for Jamie. So she pushed her unpleasant feelings aside, regardless of the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about the conversation. The little girl had been resorting back to her old ways after one of her heroes, her uncle, pulled a gun on everyone. She hadn't said much since, but when she did speak, eye contact was primarily nonexistent.

Holding hands, Beth tried to have a small conversation with her as they walked. Every so often, she'd hear a faint mumble. Carl tried as well, but he didn't seem to have better luck. Beth's eyes tried desperately not to look over and admire Nate the whole time he made his way through the dog run. But the battle she fought was lost, and she restarted every few minutes.

The door to the tower swung open as Danny stepped out. He greeted his friend, now making his way over to meet at the "You coming to take over watch, or did you come to keep me company since I'm bored as shit waiting to die?"

"The wait is worse than the actual death." Nate's brows pulled together, and he looked down across the yard to Rick. "He's not doing so well."

"He's been out there for a while now. I think he's been seeing her again." Danny looked from Rick to Nate, quickly noticing his mind in a haze. "Hey, what's going on? You're not looking so good yourself."

"I just needed some time alone."

"You went back to the tombs, didn't you?" He asked, dreadful thoughts racing a mile a minute.

Nate looked at his best friend as he gave a confirming sigh. "Just for a little bit."

"Nate, you know how I feel about it. Come on, man. At least tell me next time. I'd go with you."

His arms were crossed. The guilt he felt was difficult to overcome. "I know. I'm sorry. I just needed to take out some of this built-up anger that I have. The last thing I want is to take it out on any of us."

"Wow. I wouldn't really call Axel one of us." His comment was made dryly. He stole a glance at the prisoner from over where he spoke with Carol.

"He's not. I'm talking about Beth. We talked, and I ended up putting things between us on the back burner just a little while ago." All he did was shrug. Part of him wanted to turn around and see her, but he knew it would only make it worse.

Danny, however, didn't bother hiding the fact that he was looking over to her. He even caught Beth staring over at them from behind Nate.
"Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Who we are and who we need to be in order to survive—she can only handle one part of me. It's not fair to either of us."

Nate's explanation made sense to him, but it was hard to see his friend get screwed by the world. Granted, if they didn't experience any of this, Nate wouldn't even be with her. But still, it was hard to see him like this. "It's okay to be scared, you know?" He nodded in Beth's direction, sending Nate's gaze to follow. "Sometimes the best things in life are completely different from what we have or are used to."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do. But you know I'm right. My focus can't be torn if we're going to stand any chance of surviving. I can't have anything holding me back from being who I need to be. I've already got Jamie doing that." Nate faced forward after seeing Beth awkwardly put her head down.

A flicker of light caught his eye when it flashed from a far distance. Panic sunk in, and at the same time, his heart rate accelerated. "Get down!" Nate shouted; his throat wanted to bleed from the volume it reached, trying to warn those nearby.

He threw himself forward to collide with Danny, taking him to the ground just as a sonic boom made his breath hitch in his chest. They scrambled, pulling each other over to find cover. Danny threw his fist down against the concrete at the realization after making it behind the tower. "Shit!"

"Daddy!" Jamie's cracking voice came from directly across the way. "Jamie," Nate muttered.

"Dammit!" Danny shouted over the barrage of gunfire that came from outside the front gate. "They're spread out with assault rifles."

"And a sniper." Nate informed him as he pulled his own rifle from his back.

Danny already knew what he was saying. "I can make it." His confidence in his ability wasn't lost on Nate, as he quickly agreed. "As many as you can."
With a nod, Nate rushed for a deep breath before peeking around the corner to lay down return fire. Danny was able to rush himself back through the gate and to the tower door as Nate covered him.

"Carl, take them left!" Nate shouted, turning around to find cover for the moment. The three of them were only covered by the picnic tables.

"Danny, cover fire!" He called up to him. His friend released his sight from the scope to see Jamie, Carl, and Beth. Pulling the deeply planted hatred from his heart, he fought back. Carl quickly led the three of them to safety, now given the opportunity.

"Carol!" Nate tried to check for signs of life. "Carol!" The deadly sound of gunfire echoed through the dog run, his kill count rising from two tags made in the process.

Shortly after Danny had taken down his third man, their efforts came to a sudden halt. His eyes dropped to the ground immediately. Seeing Nate look back up to him in worry, he shook his head and leaned back against the tower in defeat.

It wasn't looking good when her voice broke the silence. "Beth! " Maggie ran out through the cell block exit with a few rifles from the cage. His eyes darted to see Beth now, almost to her sister, as they met out in the open. Nate's heart began to blacken as his rage took full control when he saw the rounds being sent towards his family.

Maggie was already on her way to him when a few shots barely missed her. She dove wherever she could fit. Danny, seeing this, sprung back into action. His gunfire began to rain down on the main convoy.

"Nate!" Maggie yelled. The loaded rifle was tossed in the air, causing him to catch it and join in the assault. She made her way over to him, now covered by his distraction. Once finding the position that worked best for them, Maggie kneeled down in front of him like they stood in Woodbury. "Carol, go now!" She hollered.

Shattering the glass from the driver's door, the bullet pierced a man's throat. Danny's goal was the Governor, but he settled for the man at his side. He couldn't line up the shot, having to jerk back to miss the incoming fire. Carol tossed Axel's corpse, which she had been using as a shield, and made it to Beth and the kids. She was given one of the two rifles and wasted no time aiming for someone she could see. The group shooters were now fighting back as a team.

Maggie tucked herself in between the wall and Nate when she needed a second behind cover. It felt like two or three assault rifles were being aimed at and fired at their location. Opening her eyes after a deep breath in preparation for another go at it, the deafening cry spilled from her mouth.

A bullet zipped through the air and took Nate down, forcing her to watch as it happened. Eyes widened in horror seeing his body fall from cover.
"Nathan!" Beth shrieked at the top of her lungs when she turned to find her sister. Carol had to stop firing in order to hold the erupted volcano that was Beth's downfall. "Daddy!" Jamie cried as she bolted from behind the wall. "Stop!" Carl yelled, fearlessly springing forward to chase after her. "Kids!"

Danny belted out a monstrous cry, seeing the two run out into the exposed center. His magazine was quickly depleting with loud pops being sent across the field. Carol released Beth to grab the rifle again. She had tears in her eyes when she helped cover the kids.

Carl managed to throw himself over Jamie before the rounds could penetrate her chest. Without the chance to recover from the fall, they got up. Clinging onto each other, they tried to run while dodging bullets.

Maggie was trying to pull Nate's unconscious body back behind the wall when Jamie's scream made her look up. Seeing the relentless display, her tears fell. "Nate, wake up." She cried. The difficult decision was made when a bloodcurdling scream from Jamie caught her attention. Carl threw her behind himself just as a bullet hit the ground right where she once stood. Her body trembled, grabbing the rifle from the ground. Maggie sobbed, leaving Nate on his own for the time being. Her finger stayed squeezing the trigger, even though her aim was obscured by the grief.

Behind her, Nate came around from his shock, gasping for air. His body was throbbing. Mostly his head since it bounced off the pavement when he fell. His mind was at a loss for what to think as he lay wide-eyed, staring up at the woman. Through blurred vision, his eyes grew wet when he saw her smile. Blinking away the tears, he mumbled. "I've been waiting for you."

Carl and Jamie were able to find their previous cover behind the set of picnic tables when they were covered. Just then, the sound of a faint car engine was heard amongst the group as they looked out to see what was going on. The engine roared as dirt spun from the spinning tires. With the distraction, Maggie quickly pulled Nate back behind the wall with the help of her adrenaline. Carl and Jamie took the time they had to run back over to Beth and Carol since they were the closest.

"He was shot. I should be over there." Beth hadn't taken her eyes from him. She cried helplessly as Carol tried to soothe her, despite the sick and dreadful feeling that filled her own heart.

Maggie sat hovering over his body. Wanting to apply pressure to the wound, her hands roamed up and down his body, trying to see through her tears. "Nate."

He muttered, "I've missed you."

"Nathan, where'd you get hit?" Lori asked. She held both sides of his head to make him focus on her question. A single teardrop fell to his cheek from her heartbreak. He closed his eyes when she wiped the droplet away, but when he opened his eyes, it was Maggie staring back down at him.

Reality was starting to sink back in when a loud crash followed by an engine rumbling broke him from the mental freeze. He lifted his head to view his body. Pressing firmly against where he felt the most pain, he spoke. "The vest caught it." His head fell back against the ground in relief.

Maggie's expression lifted, a brief, grateful smile appearing on her face. She brushed away her own sorrow, unable to take her eyes off of him. "Oh, thank god."

"Maggie Greene, I knew you loved me." He groaned, lifting himself up to sit up against the wall.

"Don't ever get shot again." Her stern order made him smile. "No promises." She handed him his rifle and helped him to his feet. He looked up to the back ledge of the tower and saw his friend already staring. Danny gave him a thankful nod before pressing his forehead to the railing. He closed his eyes and took a moment to calm his racing heart.

The heartache he felt looking over at the others was a little more emotional. Jamie was curled into her ball-like form, rocking back and forth with Carl, trying to catch his breath and comfort her at the same time. Beth's body language was just as wrecked by his close call as his daughters. She stood, holding her hands against her chest. The tears were thick with the mourning that she had felt when he first went down.

A van was in the middle of the yard, releasing a load of walkers, when he peeked out. The front gate was busted wide open, allowing all outside walkers to come in and join them. Gunfire erupted once again, bringing the two groups back from intermission as the war pressed on. The governor upped the danger level for his opponents, creating a satisfied grin on his face as the prison group struggled for their lives.

"Danny, east tower!" Nate's roar was heard, making the man's body fall backwards over the railing as the soldier tagged him in the forehead within seconds of hearing the callout. Afterwards, he went back to taking down the walkers that pushed too close to Hershel. The tall grass was all the cover he had when the attack began.

Half a mag of sprayed ammunition made the governor's gun sing. He wasted ammo just to prove he had it to spare before he climbed into his vehicle. Danny's shot fired, sending blood to splatter all over the windshield from the passenger side. As the enemy disappeared from sight, Nate and Maggie took off for the yard. Beth, with a rifle in hand, quickly chased after them, with Carol and the kids behind her.

They all began to clear the yard from the walkers that roamed wildly. Glenn, who was on his way back from checking the front of the prison, had just missed the whole fight.

Michonne rolled out from beneath the bus, where she took cover, just as Nate flew by. She thought about following him, but instead she decided to cut through to the yard with the objective of helping Hershel. She swung her sword out, slicing the heads of multiple walkers cleanly off their bodies.

Danny tried to cover them all as best he could with the little ammo he had left. When he caught sight of Nate outside the fence, he tried to save his rounds to cover him. But he was unable to do so as Hershel was up against most of the walkers from the truckload.

Rick was just on the other side of the fence when Nate's blood ran cold. His body's switch was flipped, and autopilot mode had taken over when he saw his brother surrounded by the dead. He started dodging the infected instead of sending them back to hell, where they belonged. Anything to get to his brother quicker. "Rick!" He gripped onto the metal corner post and swung himself around to the correct side of the fence.

He was blindsided by a couple of his own teeth rotting, skin sagging, and organ-feasting beasts. His weakened state made him unable to fend them all off as he normally would. He only managed to get one down before being sent backwards into the fence, then down to the dirt. He held the walker up by the shoulders, pushing his head back against the chain link to get away from the drool that nearly touched him.

An unfamiliar war cry came from the trees just as his walker fell from an arrow to the back of the head. The corpse fell down against him in time for the second walker to come chomp down. The dead bit the dead, much to his relief. The shield gave him enough time to then see the blade of Merle's prosthetic arm bust through the skull of the second walker. The man yanked the body backwards off him, then went after the third assailant. Confused but grateful for the callous man's actions, Nate quickly rose to his feet.

With Daryl now fighting along with Rick, Nate's movements were swift as he grabbed the knife from the ground and fell into perfect harmony with Merle. They actually made a good team together, as they worked effortlessly.

Glenn sped through the gate, sending bodies flying into the air as he barreled through them on his way to Hershel and Michonne. The tires screeched when coming to a stop. He emerged from the truck to join the sword-wielding woman in her attempt to rid the walkers near the two of them. Afterwards, he and Michonne were able to help Hershel up and into the safety of the truck's back seat. Once they were all in, he made a quick getaway while heading up to the gate.

"What about the others?!" Jamie asked. Glenn was coming around the truck to help Hershel get out when Carol answered for them. "The Grimes brothers teaming up with the Dixon's? They'll make it back."

"There's no other group of siblings I'd count on more." Maggie swallowed her hatred for Merle and faked confidence when seeing Jamie's frightful look.

"Come on!" Merle's taunting made the walkers head straight for him. Nate took his blade by the handle, pulled back his arm, and once positioned, the knife was thrown. Cutting through the air, it nailed the target in the side of its head just as Merle went to block its bite with his metal arm. Merle's previous experience in the army was the only reason Nate could think of that made them work as well together as they did.

Regardless of how he felt towards the man, the fact that he was here when they needed help the most made Nate realize that he owed Daryl more than he'd ever be able to express.



Thank you for the read.
Word count: 2702