Solitary: The Walking Dead

Chapter Seventy-five.

Sam?

"We're gonna need bed sheets, enough for everyone." Rick says, dropping a walker on the bedroom floor and Gabriel leaves to get them, "Bed sheets for what?" Jessie asks "We all go to the armory." Rick says "How?" "We're gonna gut these things. Cover ourselves with the insides. It'll mask our smell, make them think we're like them. I've done it before. We stay calm, we don't draw attention, we can move right through them." Rick explains.

Iris pulls out her knife and starts gutting one of the walkers. "They're in the house, they're making noise. More are coming." Michonne says, "Anyone who stays here is gonna die." Rick says "What about Deanna?" Gabriel asks, but no one says anything.

.......

They all cut a hole in the sheets and pull them over their heads, Iris reaches her hands into the walkers carcass and starts wiping it all over the sheet "mom?" sam questions, "You need to listen to me, okay? We aren't safe here anymore. Okay, we need to do this so that we can be safe out there. We need to look like the monsters." jessie explains to her son, "No, please, no." he begs "Yes, honey, we have to go, okay? We have to, Sam. Honey, just-- just pretend you're brave. Okay? Just make it all pretend. Okay, none of this is real and you're somebody who isn't afraid. Okay?" she asks her son and then starts covering him.

"We have to go." Michonne whispers, "We're ready. Ron?" Jessie asks "Yeah." the boy answers, "I'll get Judith." Rick says "Rick." Gabriel says, stopping the man "I'm not gonna give up out there. I will not turn back, no matter what happens." he explains "Yeah, I know." Rick says, walking to get Judith.

Iris looks to Carl, kissing him on the top of the head "be strong little sheriff" she whispers quietly. Rick brings Judith out and Carl puts her under the bed sheet he is wearing, they carefully walks down the stairs, slowly moving past the sofa, Iris eyes the walkers as she walks past them, one hand holding onto Gabriel and her other hand holding onto Michonne's.

They slowly make their way onto the porch and weave their way through the horde, the sun begins to set, the gold light dancing on their skin, they stop by the pond and Rick goes over a new plan "All right, new plan. Flares from a few guns aren't enough. Too many walkers, too spread out. We're not going to the armory. We need our vehicles back at the quarry. All of us drive. We'll need to round 'em up. We leave, we come back." Rick explains quietly.

"Okay. But Judith... to the quarry and back, I..." Jessie whispers, "I'll take her." Gabriel says, Iris looks at the man and then back at Rick "Keep her safe in my church until you all lead the walkers away." he adds "Can you do this?" Michonne asks "I'm supposed to. I have to. I will." Gabriel says Carl carefully hands Judith to the man, hiding her under the sheet.

"Take Sam." Jessie says "No." The boy argues "Yes, Sam, it'll be safer." "I'm not leaving you." "Sam–" "Mom, I'm not. I can keep going." "Sam–" "I can keep going. Please. Please. Let's just go." the boy says, "Okay." "I'm going to keep her safe." Gabriel says "Thank you." Rick replies and they watch him walk away with her. "He's gonna make it. Okay? I know it." Jessie says to Rick, "Sam." Rick says and he grabs onto the boy's hand, Iris grabs Ron's hand and Michonnes'  with her other, and they start moving again. The sun goes down and the sky goes dark with only the moon giving off little light.

Suddenly they stop when Sam lets go of his mothers hand, Iris stares at him confused, "Sam? Sam? Come on, come on. Sweetheart? Sam?" Jessie whispers trying to calm her son down, "You can do it. You can do it." Rick says, the boys family and Rick start pleading with him, trying to get him to keep going, "Sam... hey, you can do this. Sam, just look at Mom." Ron says, as they plead with him he begins to cry, his sobs getting the attention of the walkers.

Suddenly two walkers grab onto the boy and bite into him, Iris watches Jessie as she screams, watching her child getting ripped apart, "Jessie? Jessie. Jessie. Come with us. Come on. We have to go." Carl pleads, grabbing onto the woman's hand when walkers grab her, the woman's screams drawing more walkers over to them.

Rick starts hitting his axe against Jessie's hand as it grips onto Carl, the boy drops to the floor and Iris pulls out her knife, driving the blade into the walkers heads, he stands up and Iris turns when she hears a gun cock behind her, Ron points his gun at Rick "you" he says, before he shoots Rick, Michonne drives her blade into the boy from behind, as he dies he accidentally sets off a shot, "dad?" Carl says looking up, Iris watches as he drops to the floor, blood pouring from his eye.

Rick picks him up and Iris starts clearing a path to the infirmary, driving her blade into the walkers, her hands shaking and her breathing getting faster. Denise opens the door and Rick runs in, laying the boy down on the gurney, Iris drops her knife onto the floor and starts helping Denise with everything she knows, Aaron helps her take the dirty sheet off and she focuses on Carl's injuries.

She brushes Carl's hair out of his face "be strong" she whispers, kissing him on the forehead and walking out of the house after everyone else, everything around her goes slow as she turns in every direction, killing the walkers. She moves further into the horde, driving her knife into the walkers, she loses sight of the others too focused on taking her anger out. Suddenly the others turn up behind her, helping her move through.

Everyone backs up into each other the walkers gaining on them, Iris pulls out her gun and starts to shoot them until she runs out of bullets, out of nowhere the water supply goes up in flames, Iris watches as the walkers start making their way towards the flames, falling in, the group carry on pushing against the walkers, killing as many as they can. When they manage to get rid of all the walker Iris looks around, she freezes when her eyes catch his.

She drops her knife to the floor, time moving slow, she quickly runs to the man, watching as he runs to her. When they meet in the middle Iris throws her arms around him, Daryl wraps his arms around her hiding his face in her neck, as they grip onto each other tightly. Iris reluctantly pulls away from him "i need to go to Carl" she says as warm tears fall down her cheeks.