Solitary {2} : The Walking Dead

Chapter Forty-four.

No way out.

"Hi." Daryl says, Iris looks at Carol before turning away, "Hey. Gabriel and Rosita just left with the first group. Did oceanside give an answer?" Carol asks, "Yes, and they'll take some. Luke's gathering up about a dozen of them. We can take the rest." Daryl explains, Iris turns back again as she hears footsteps approaching them.

"Hi." Iris greets Maggie, "Hey." "Maggie." Iris turns and watches two strangers approaching, "Who's that?" Carol asks "These are my people." Maggie says walking over to the men, "Is everybody okay?" Maggie asks "Hershel's fine. Don't worry." the man answers "Everyone else?" "Holding tight at the rendezvous."

"Let's bring them back. Come on. I want you to meet my friends." Magge says, leading the two towards the other three, "Iris, Carol, Daryl --elijah and cole. Hershel and I were living with their people until recently. We lost the village." Maggie explains

"And now we need to live with you" Cole says, "I thought I'd take them to hilltop." Maggie says, Iris looks over to Daryl "What is it?" Maggie asks, looking at their faces.

..........

Iris looks up at the mess that was once Hilltop "Maggie... Negan was with the whisperers. That night. I wanted you to hear it from me, because" Carol explains "It was you?" Maggie questions, looking at Carol with hurt and anger in her eyes.

"You let him out?" she asks "Alpha needed to die, And negan was our best chance. We were gonna lose everything. Negan's a reason we didn't." Carol says, Iris looks down at the bodies on the floor, "So, what now?" Cole asks.

"What? Everyone's just supposed to go to... What was it?" he questions "Alexandria." "Right. So, we all go to Alexandria and live next door to the guy who torched this place? Same guy who killed her husband -- Is that right?" Cole asks "We're still figurin' things out." Daryl says.

"Thanks for telling me. We need to get to hershel and the others." Maggie says, Iris looks over at Carol before walking away with Maggie, "what's going on with you and Carol?" Maggie asks Iris quietly, the redhead lets out a sigh, looking back at the woman before turning her attention back to Maggie.

"Is it to do with those injuries?" Maggie asks, looking at all the injuries covering Iris, her eyes stopping on her leg, Iris bites down on her lip, tasting the blood as she reopens the cut, Maggie holds onto Iris's hand, "tell me when you're ready" she says.

............

"Hey. The town marked the shelter at about 10 miles east." Cole says, walking next to Iris and Maggie, "Too far out of the way." Maggie says "We might not hit anything else before dark." Cole argues "Let's keep going." Maggie says.

Iris looks back at Daryl and Kelly following behind them, when Kelly looks over at Iris the woman quickly looks away, "it's not you kid" Daryl says, looking at Kelly, "she hates that she couldn't bring Connie home" he adds, looking up at his wife.

"About a half hour left, boss. If we're lucky." Cole says "We can go a little longer." Maggie says "No, we can't. It's getting dark. We shouldn't be out here." Cole says, Iris stops and looks around "Okay." Maggie sighs.

"Okay? Okay what? You mean stay here?" Kelly questions "We should go up in the woods, Find higher ground." Daryl says "I think we'll all sleep better In some shelter." Maggie says, Iris looks at the shipping containers, nervously biting her lip.

"Alright." "Okay. So, all we have to do Is clear this whole parking lot full of sickos And hole up for the night?" Kelly asks, "No sweat." Cole says, Iris pulls out her sword and follows the others, driving the blade into the walker's heads.

Iris stops when she hears Maggie shout in pain, looking around she finds the woman trying to fight the walkers and shut the shipping container door, "Maggie, you okay?" Cole asks "Just a cut, but I could use a little help!" Maggie shouts, Iris quickly runs over to her, gritting her teeth in pain as she pushes against the metal door.

Daryl drops his crossbow and runs over to them, standing next to Iris and pushing the door, Elijah helps the three of them and they manage to shut the box, smashing a walker's head as they do so. Iris steps back, holding onto her side and trying to catch her breath, "hey, you okay?" Daryl asks, turning to her and holding her in front of him.

"I'm fine" Iris sighs, looking up at the man, "let me see" he says, Iris looks down and slowly lifts her top, revealing the bruise on her side, "it's just a broken rib. Nothing serious" Iris says, looking back at Daryl's concerned eyes.

The group make their way to the empty shipping container, Iris stands at the entrance looking inside the dark box, "are you okay?" Maggie asks, looking at the woman, Iris's breathing quickens and her hands begin to shake, "i'm fine" Iris mumbles, turning and walking away from the container, she sits behind one of the other boxes, leaning her back against the metal.

She closes her eyes and lays her head back, trying to calm her breathing, "hey" Daryl mumbles, sitting down next to the redhead, Iris opens her eyes and looks over at him, "hey" Iris whispers, "you should go rest" Daryl says, Iris looks down at her hands sitting in her lap.

"I can't be in there" Iris admits, she slowly looks back at Daryl, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, Daryl's heart breaks as he looks at the broken woman, she looks away from him, looking up at the sky as the sun starts to set, "what happened?" Daryl questions.

Iris swallows the lump in her throat "after the collapse i woke up trapped in the dark" Iris says, her voice quiet and hurt, "i thought i was gonna die down there" she admits, her voice shaking, "my leg was bleeding heavily... I had no food. No way out. I couldn't hear Magna or Connie" Iris explains, she reaches her chest and pulls her dog tags from under her top.

"I put these on because if you found me i-i wanted you to know it was me" Iris says, tears slipping down her cheeks, "i was ready to give up. Just let go. Let the pain stop... i was ready to die" Iris cries, not daring to look at Daryl.

The man listens to her words, tears filling his eyes, "I thought I was never going to see you again... I just lay there on the ground. Bleeding, alone in the dark.... Scared. I closed my eyes and thought of you as I waited for it to end... but- I heard Rick" Iris admits.

"He told me to open my eyes, and then... then I heard Carl say 'you can't die mom' I tried to block it out, but then i heard her. Lori" Iris cries, a sad smile on her face, "she told me i had to find a way. I had to be there for Judith... I forced myself up and started fighting my way out" Iris continues.

"My body was weak. I was tired, hungry, and I was bleeding heavily. Every time I tried to get out my body would give out... I had to stop my bleeding so I started a fire. I heated up my knife and held it to my leg. The worst part of the whole thing was that i needed to put out the fire and everything went dark again"

Iris looks over to Daryl, hating that tears were falling from his eyes because of her, Daryl wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight into his body, "i'm sorry" she cries her voice muffled by his body, Daryl gently strokes her hair, hushing her as she cries into his chest.

The exhaustion of not sleeping in days catches up to Iris and she slowly falls asleep in Daryl's arms, he carefully picks her up and carries her to the storage container, laying her down and turning on his torch next to her head, he looks down at her before quietly walking out and going to talk to Maggie.