Over my head, the guard tower explodes. Rick grabs my arm and we hunker down to avoid getting hit with the debris.
We hide behind the concrete wall of the guard tower. Alarms sound through the prison- the same ones from..
"Rick," I call. "You with me?"
Rick breathes in sharply.
"Rick," I plead. "Not now.. Please don't check out now. I need you."
A dark look takes over his eyes. I hadn't seen a look like that often. Sometimes when Rick was angry. Sometimes when Carl was angry- the same face he had when he killed Q.
"Shit," I whisper.
The alarms continue. I could see Rick remembering the day Lori died.
But.. he was gone. He was mentally worlds away.
"Now what?" Michonne asks.
"Push forward.. Those alarms didn't turn themselves on. Maybe Carl had an idea," I offer.
The fight continues into the prison yard. We make it to the courtyard and things slow down.
"Allen!" Maggie hisses. "There he is!"
I follow her gaze and see Allen trying to get a larger gun set up on a vehicle. He screams about it not working.
"Sorry son of a bitch," I mutter, hooking the scope of my gun between the fence wire.
I breathe out slowly, then hold my breath. I take the shot and Allen's dead body falls to the ground outside the back of the truck.
"Get the hell out of here!" Glenn screams, unloading a big round of gunfire down to the crowd.
They were inside. But, something chased them out. We shoot them away until the Woodbury people get into their two vehicles and drive away in a rush.
"They left," Michonne confirms. "Where's our people? Who set off those alarms?"
The run inside was as panicked as when we first arrived.
"Carl!" I scream throughout the empty prison. "Carl?"
"Daddy!" Maggie shouts. "Bethy?"
Footsteps echo, running our way. I pull my gun up, but quickly lower it when I see Carl.
"Holy shit!" I exclaim, running to him.
"They had a scouter outside waiting for you guys to leave," Carl says, hugging me tightly. "I grabbed everyone and we ran to the tombs.. I figured the alarms would scare them off a bit."
Beth walks out next, carrying Judith. She turns her back to me. Woojin was strapped there. I thank her a few times and take him out of the wrap, hugging him to my chest, an arm still around Carl's shoulders.
"How'd they know?" Hershel wonders.
"Allen betrayed us," I inform. "Gave them our plan ahead of time."
"What about the rest?" Maggie asks, wrapping her arm around Beth's shoulders. "They left.. can we trust that they won't come back?"
"No," Rick states. "We go after them."
"Can we?" I ask, looking at him carefully. "Are you back?"
"I'm here," he assures. "I'm here.. And we need to go after them."
"They retreated. Isn't that enough?" Beth wonders.
"They'll come back. They won't stop until we're dead. He won't stop," Michonne argues.
"But, they know the prison is off limits now," I point out. "If we're fast.. maybe we can catch 'em on the road back to Woodbury."
"We need to go now," Rick decides. "Get your things and let's go."
--
I hold Woojin close as I sit on one of the bleachers, waiting for the next trip.
"Hyejin," Hershel calls. "We should talk."
I shake my head, hiding my face in Woojin's shoulder.
"Hyejin.." Hershel sighs.
"I almost got you all killed," I state.
"It was a good plan. Allen.. he was a wild card that we weren't prepared for. That is not your fault."
I wipe my tears away. "I should've killed him. The second he was being a dick.. I should've just-"
"Isn't that why you stopped Rick?" he asks. "Because you wanted him to take a chance?"
"Maybe he was right," I offer.
"Sasha and Tyreese ended up good people," Hershel argues. "They warned you just in time."
"You. Beth. Judith. Carl. Woojin," I name. "My plan almost got you all killed."
"Allen's betrayal almost got us killed," Hershel rephrases.
I shake my head once more. "I'm not going to Woodbury."
"Why?"
"I need to stay here," I explain. "I need to stay here and.. keep things here safe. I'm not one that leads the charge."
"You are."
"No," I deny. "I'm the advisor. The council. Rick is the leader. Not me."
"You can't let this one thing detour you from all the plans you were making."
"I had plans. This leadership thing was thrown on me out of nowhere," I argue. "I didn't want this. I just.. I felt guilted into doing it."
"You could've said no."
"Everyone would've been disappointed. They were all so happy.. excited. 'Look at Hyejin coming back to herself', 'good thing we have Hyejin to hold things down'," I list off. "I wasn't ready for this. I'm.. I'm not ready."
"You will be," Hershel promises. "One day."
He rests his hand on my shoulder and I sniffle.
"Do you want to tell Rick yourself or do you want me to?" he offers.
"I just want to stay right here," I admit, hugging Woojin closer.
"I'll go tell him," Hershel assures.
When he crutches away, I nuzzle my face in Woojin's cheek. Woojin grips my shirt, then my necklace. I cry softly to myself, feeling ashamed and guilty for the mistake I made.
𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈--
its called the existential crisis after making decisions during a manic episode
(i have therapy next week I'm allowed to joke about this
its MY mental health i can joke about it because it belongs to ME)
YOU ARE READING
traded my life [TWD]
Fanfictionshe never planned on joining the hard life. she never planned on living with a cop. she never planned on her entire life falling apart. she did plan for the end of the world, though. she welcomed the end with open arms and a smile. .hyejin yoo.