Solitary {2} : The Walking Dead

Chapter Thirty-four.

Get out!

"I think they went this way." Jerry says, Iris looks at the man "You see where they went?" Daryl asks "Not exactly, but I know a road sign when I see one." Jerry says, the group starts following the arrows.

"Hey, come on." Daryl says, Iris grips onto her axe tightly, looking around and covering the others as they look through one of the gaps. Iris turns and watches nervously as Daryl squeezes through the gap.

"This is it!" Daryl whispers, Iris takes a deep breath before carefully pushing herself through the gap, "you good Kelly?" Iris asks, look at her, when Kelly doesn't answer Iris grabs onto her hand, holding onto it as they keep moving.

Iris has to let go when the gap gets too tight, they start to army crawl through, "Alright, I'm out. Follow my voice. Come on. Follow my voice. Come on. That's it." Daryl calls out into the hole, Iris lets out a relieved sigh when she sees the man.

"I got you" he says, reaching out and helping her out, Iris lets out a sigh as she stands up, together Iris and Daryl help Magna and Kelly out, "I'm good." Kelly calls out as she lands on the floor.

"Carol? Carol!" Daryl says into the gap "I'm here." she shouts "You hurt?" he asks "I'm okay." "Can you see my light?" "Yes." "Just follow my light." Daryl says "I can't. I can't!" Carol cries "Yes, you can. Come on. We're gonna get through this together. Come on. Come on."

Iris takes Carol's lantern as Daryl helps the woman stand, she shines the light around, she turns back to the hole when she hears yelling, "Go! Go, go, go!" Jerry's shouts echo through the gap, "come on!" Iris shouts, holding onto her axe ready for what's on the other side.

She throws the lantern on the floor and grabs onto Connie, helping her out, "come on" she says to Aaron, grabbing him and trying to pull him out, "Jerry! Come on! You're almost there!" Aaron shouts.

"Guys! I'm- I'm stuck." Jerry panics, "i'm going in" Iris says, "no" Daryl says, he reaches into the hole "Here take my hand!" "Aah! My feet! My feet! They got my feet! They're biting my feet!" Jerry shouts.

"Take your gear off! Take it off!" Aaron says, Iris reaches in and grabs Jerry's gear from him before stepping back and letting Aaron and Daryl pull the man out, as they help Jerry stand Iris steps in and drives her axe into the walker's head.

She pulls the body out as another comes through, she looks back and watches Aaron smash the walker's head with his metal hand. "Hey. hey. Look!" Magna says, Iris looks up at the light shining through a small hole "Wait!" Daryl says, grabbing Magna before she falls to her death.

Iris stands next to them and watches Daryl drop a burning walker arm into the dark abyss, Iris peers over the edge, she looks back at Daryl as the walkers attack the fire.

The group start moving again, Daryl and Iris rip the wooden barricade, stepping through the gap with the others following, Iris looks over at Jerry as they stop for a moment, "hey, you good?" she asks.

"I'm good" he replies, still shaken up, "Why are we standing around looking at it?" Magna questions. "We got to be very careful. We take out the wrong piece, this whole thing is gonna collapse." Kelly explains.

"Alright, find something to dig with." Daryl says, Iris slides her axe into her belt and starts to carefully move the dirt and rocks "Hey, check this out. Yo. Somebody left this crate of dynamite." Kelly says, Iris stops and looks down at the red stick.

"Yeah, okay, that's really cool. But maybe somebody left it there because it's obviously insanely dangerous. That thing's sweatier than I am. I need you to put it back. Very carefully." Jerry says, Iris holds her breath as Kelly lays it back into the box.

Iris goes back to moving the ruble, blood and dirt cover her hands, she looks down at her ring, "you okay?" Daryl asks, looking over at her, "i don't want to lose this" she says, "here" he says, holding his hand out, Iris pulls the ring off of her finger and hands it to him. Daryl puts the ring in the pocket of his vest and they go back to working.

Daryl steps back, pulling Iris with him as dirt and rocks fall from above them, "Come on, go." he says, Iris helps Kelly up into the gap, "Just a little more!" Kelly shouts, Iris helps her down and they work on trying to widen the hole.

"Where's Carol?" Daryl asks, Iris looks around to find the woman not there "Damn it!" Daryl mumbles before walking off to find Carol, Iris lets out a defeated sigh as she goes back to trying to get out.

Suddenly everything starts to shake, Iris holds onto the wall and ruble falls on top of her, "Daryl!" she shouts, trying to see through the dust to find the man, she runs over to Aaron and Jerry, grabbing onto the large wooden beam and helping them hold it up.

"Come on! Hey! Move!" Aaron shouts, Iris boosts Kelly up through the hole, "Iris! Go!" Aaron shouts, "i can't leave Daryl! You go!" she shouts, Iris moves away as Aaron climbs through the hole, "Daryl" she sighs, seeing the man helping Carol.

Daryl goes through the hole first, when he's out Iris and Connie help Carol up, Iris looks around as everything shakes, "We've got more skins!" Magna shouts, Iris pulls out her axe and starts fighting the whisperers, the skin swings their knife at her, cutting through her leg.

The anger takes over Iris's body as she swings her axe at the whisperer, her blade slices through the skin's neck, "Jerry get out!" Iris screams, she runs back over to him, holding the wooden beam as he climbs out, "Magna! Get you and Connie out!" Iris shouts looking over at them.

Another explosion goes off, collapsing the cave and blocking off the hole, "No!" Daryl screams running back to the ruble, "No! No! No! No!" Kelly cries, Daryl fights his tears as he throws the rocks, fighting to get back to Iris.

"Daryl Daryl. It'll take us a week to clear this." Aaron says, "Then help me!" Daryl shouts, pain thick in his voice, he looks back at Kelly, watching her cry, "No. We can't! That blast is gonna call walkers and Whisperers from a hundred miles from here. We don't want our backs pressed against this mountain when they come. We can't save them if we're dead." Kelly cries.

"Come on." Aaron says, reaching out a hand and helping him down, Daryl looks at Carol, hatred and sadness covering his features, "Go ahead and say it to me." Carol cries, stopping him from walking away, "I deserve it. Just say it to me. You were right about everything. Just say it." Carol cries.

Daryl goes to walk away again but Carol stops him again "No, please. You loved her. And now she's gone because of me. Please, just say it! Please say it!" Carol screams, "Go home. Tell the others we found the horde." Daryl says walking away "Where you gonna be?" Aaron asks.

"They got out before us. There's gotta be another way in." Daryl says, as he walks away he reaches into his pocket, he drops to the floor, landing on his knees as he looks down at Iris's ring, tears fall down his cheeks as his body shakes.