Solitary {2} : The Walking Dead

Chapter Thirty-eight.

We gotta talk

The sound of a bike rumbles through the community, Iris looks up and watches Daryl ride his bike through the gate, his eyes catch hers and he stops the bike, climbing off and running over to Iris as Jerry helps her stand from the trailer steps. Daryl wraps his arms around her, holding her tight as quiet sobs escape his mouth, Iris holds onto him, "i love you" he mumbles, pulling her in tighter, Iris cries into the man's chest, "i love you" Iris cries.

Daryl reluctantly pulls away, holding onto Iris's face "i looked for you" he says, "i know" Iris says, leaning in and kissing the man, when she pulls away she looks at the girl standing behind him, "it's good to see you kid" she whispers, limping towards her and pulling the girl into a hug.

"I'm sorry i left" Lydia mumbles, holding onto Iris, "it's okay" Iris whispers, "Any sign of them?" Yumiko asks, Iris pulls away from Lydia and stands by Daryl again "We didn't get that far." Daryl says, "What do you mean? What happened?" Kelly asks.

"We gotta talk." Daryl says, grabbing onto Iris's hand. "D, I'm sorry. We gotta find our people, man." Luke says, "No. You can't go out there. My mother's coming."

..........

Iris opens the double doors, now in clean clothes, she limps through the crowd and stands next to Daryl, holding onto his hand, "Even if you took out half the herd in that cave, she's got thousands left. You can't stay here." Lydia explains "The skins could march straight to Alexandria for all we know." Earl says.

"Yeah, we're right in their way." Daryl adds "Maybe she goes around us." Earl says "She doesn't need to go around you. She'll just run through you." Lydia explains "I'm not running again." Jerry says, "Lydia's right. We can rebuild anywhere." Dianne says.

"Come on. We can't. How many scouting missions you been on, son? Hundreds? Have you ever seen a place like Hilltop?" Earl asks "No." Aaron replies, "We have a few dozen able-bodied fighters here. Maybe. You like those odds? 'Cause I don't." Yumiko says, "Neither do I. Now, we don't have to die here." Aaron says.

"We're going to have to fight, and if we die, we die fighting for a place that means something. Can you think of a better way to go?" Earl asks "Yeah. We go with my daughter's life intact. And Judith's and Ezra's and Adam's. You want me to keep going?" Aaron asks.

"Alright, let's get the kids out first. Everybody, pack up. We're going to Oceanside. Grab weapons, food... whatever you can. We'll regroup there." Daryl explains, walking out of the room with Iris.

"Come on" Iris says to RJ and Judith, "where are we going?" Judith asks "oceanside" Daryl answers, putting his vest on RJ, "we'll be there soon" Iris says, kissing Judith on the head before leading them out to the wagon.

"Daryl... I wanna fight." Judith says "I know you do. Don't argue." Daryl says "RJ, come on." Iris says, lifting the boy and sitting him in the wagon, "Come on." Daryl says, helping Judith up.

"Stay with them" Daryl says, looking at Iris, "i'm going with you" Iris says, "you just got back. You need to heal" Daryl says, "i'm fine. I'm not being away from you again" Iris argues. "Fine" Daryl sighs, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out her ring, gently sliding it onto her finger.

Iris goes to her bike "Iris" the redhead looks back to see Carol, she steps back when Carol tries to hug her, "dont" Iris mumbles, "Iris i'm sorry" Carol says. Aaron, Jerry, Daryl and Kelly watch the interaction, "dont" Iris snaps, "just dont talk to me" Iris says, climbing onto her bike and revving the engine before riding away with Daryl.

...........

Daryl and Iris slow their bikes in front of a fallen tree, Iris stays on her bike as Daryl looks around, she grips onto her knife as she looks up at the bodies hanging from the trees. "All the roads are gonna be like this now." Daryl says.

"We ain't getting through." Daryl says "It's Negan." Iris says, looking at Daryl, "He's with her now." Iris adds, turning and looking back at the others.

.........

"What happened?" Aaron questions, walking over to Daryl and Iris as they climb off their bikes, "She blocked all the roads. Means they're closing in on us." Daryl explains "If we had a window to get out, we just missed it." Iris says, "But we can't stay here. You said... you all said... we can't stay here." Kelly cries.

"We can... We can call Alexandria, right? Call Alexandria, and w... they'll get fresh fighters here, right? And... And... And it's not just gonna be us. It's not gonna be just us, right?" Luke panics "Oceanside can't get here. Alexandria, either. Not in time. Not after what happened. We're on our own." Dianne says.

"Divvy up your arsenals. We got catapults up on the walls. And a damn good militia. This is what you've all been practising for. Come on, now, people! Do whatever you need to get your heads on straight! This is gonna be the fight of our lives." Earl explains before walking away. Iris looks back at Carol standing watching them, she shakes her head before walking off with Daryl following her.

Iris walks over to Rosita, ignoring the pain in her body, "how's Coco?" she asks, "she's fine, i left her at Alexandria with Gabriel" Rosita explains "how are you?" Iris asks, "i'm fine... how are you doing?" Rosita questions, "i've been better".