Here We'll Remain>>C.G

Part 28

Thea's PoV

      With a new found fire in my belly, I stood in between Abraham and Sasha the rest of the way. I now understood what Carl felt. I hoped we ran into another blockade of Saviors. I was going to end this. I needed to end this.

    Carl hung back with Rick to go over a few things. I couldn't be bothered with precautions at this point. I had a thirst for blood. The kind of thirst that won't be quenched until I see Negan's head on a spike.

    I had to grip tightly onto Abraham's seat as he made a sharp turn onto a gravel road that ran underneath a bridge. I growled in frustration at the sight of our new obstacle. It wasn't a wall of people like I hoped; but a wall of fallen trees. They weren't fallen, but piled up to form an impassable barrier.

    Abraham parked the RV, and we all piled out. Everyone, except for Carl and I, had their weapons drawn. We all walked towards the wood, but stopping short when we came across deep tire tracks that cut across the road and dug deep into the grass beside it. The tracks were large, bigger than any normal car or truck.

"These tracks...they would indicate they not only have people, but some big ass toys and capabilities," Eugene pointed out, voicing my thoughts.

"What it indicates is we are neck deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open," Abraham fired back, gazing at Rick. I shook my head at his metaphor, a faint smile on my lips. His word usage never ceases to amaze me. Rick glanced at him, then up at the wall, silently agreeing with the two men.

    Then, all of a sudden, the sound of chains rattling and the screams of a man echoed behind us. Me, being the closest, jumped. I whipped around, pulling my gun out in the process. What I saw brought memories back of when Carl and I went on our first run together. Except this time, this man didn't choose to be hung.

   The man was tossed over the bridge, the chain around his neck stopping him from hitting the ground. The man's face was bloodied up and he was missing teeth. His clothes torn and dirty. What stood out the most, was the big red 'X' that was painted onto his shirt.  I stepped back, my heart hammering in my chest. His cries of distress and the gagging noises that came from him were sickening.

"Don't," Abraham ordered. I couldn't peel my eyes away from the man flailing about in the air long enough to see who he was talking to.

"I can try and break the chain," Aaron said, his voice sounding shaky. "It won't work," Abraham told him. "I can try."

"It won't work," Rick stepped in. He walked into my line of vision, his gun now lowered. "And we need the bullets."

     I put my gun away, knowing there was no saving this man. Rick was right. We couldn't spare the bullets to try and rescue a man who was on his way to death's door anyways. I bit my lip as I watched his hands try to removed the chain from his neck, his choking noises decreasing. His flailing was becoming less erratic.

    A suppressed gasp of air came from next to me. I looked over and saw Carl fixated on the man. His lips were pressed together tightly, turning down into a slight frown. His eye was glassy. His whole face gave off the sign that he was about to cry. I wouldn't be able to bear the sight if he were to finally break down now. I had never seen him cry, and I wasn't about to witness it for the first time while in this situation. This was much harder for him than the hanging walker we encountered in the store all those months ago. I had never seen Carl look so weak and vulnerable...so helpless.

        I stepped closer to him and laced my fingers through his. I hold was light, yet secure. I wanted him to feel safe and comforted, I wanted him to know that I was here. I even used my other hand to to rub up and down his arm soothingly. He looked down at me, his lips trembling. I gave him a nod, trying to convey that everything was going to be okay without using words.

    There was one last choking sound, before everything was quiet. I didn't have to look to know that the man had finally died. Carl squeezed his eye shut, more sadness washing over us. I breathed out heavily. It felt like more weight had settled onto my chest.

"You're treating your people good, right? Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of their's?" A voice sounded from the other side of the wall. I turned and was taken aback by the tree logs on fire. The voice had to be from a Savior.

"You better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where your going," the Savior continued.

"Go, go," Rick told all of us, slowing backing away from the fire that was getting bigger. I could now feel the hot flames on my skin from where I was standing. I couldn't seem to move my feet though. Not with the knowledge that my enemy was standing just beyond that wall. I gritted my teeth in anger. The slight tug on my arm had me begrudgingly tearing my gaze away from the fire.

"C'mon, Thea. We got to go," he pleaded, his voice sounding rough. My features softened, and I relented, allowing him to pull me away towards the RV.

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"So, what's the play?" Abraham asked. We were currently parked in the middle of another road. We had driven away from the wall of fire as quickly as we could. Now, we needed to stop and figure out what we were going to do next.

"She needs a doctor," Rick said, coming out of Maggie's room. We were all gathered around in the area in the middle of the RV.

"There are two more routes north from here," Sasha told us, running her fingers along the lines of the map, showing us the two routes.

"They're probably waiting for us right now," Aaron pointed out. I nodded my head in agreement. Carl still had hold of my hand. I had managed to calm him down once we were away from the place where we watched a man get hanged.

"So, they're ahead of us, probably behind us. But they're not waiting on us, per se, they're waiting on this rust bucket. And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust bucket. And the sun sets soon," Eugene worked out, nodding solemnly at Abraham. He nodded back, but his blue eyes told a different story.

      I looked towards Rick, waiting for his verdict. His eyes were rimmed red and glassy. He glanced at all of us individually before nodding. My heart sank, realizing that this was our final plan and last hope.

    I placed my forehead against Carl's chest. I felt him kiss the top of my head and use his freehand to rub my back. Everyone was quiet. We were all thinking about how the next few hours were going to play out. This is how we spent our time waiting for night to fall. 

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A/N:

TWO MORE CHAPTERS GUYS!!!!

Negan's appearance will be split up in the next two chapters.

It's going to get real intense so buckle up your seat belts for a wild ride