My Damaged Protector

Chapter Forty-four ~ First Time Again

"I know this sounds insane; this is an insane world. We have to come for them before they come for us, it's that simple. This is where it all starts, tomorrow." Rick was stood on top of a truck speaking to most of the Alexandrian's. We were stood around a deep quarry that was filled with thousands of walkers it seemed. We had stumbled across this a month or so ago, deeming it the reason that we never saw as many walkers as we had in Atlanta. "Toby gets in the truck, opens the exit, and we're off." Rick pointed to the truck blocking the walkers from getting out. "He hops out, catches up with his team at red, staying on the west side of the road. Daryl gets on his bike..." Rick was cut off by metal groaning and the sound of rocks crumbling.

"You see that?" One of the women yelled and pointed behind Rick. We watched in shock as the stone under one of the other trucks that blocked in the walkers crumbled and collapsed.

"Oh my god." I mumbled and stepped slightly closer to Daryl's side. Merle was on my other side staring at the rocks as well as everyone else. The large truck fell off the ledge, leaving more than enough space for walkers to start filing out.

"It's open! We gotta do this now!" Rick jumped down form the truck bed he had been speaking from, setting the plan into action a day before we were planned to. Merle turned to chase after Rick while I ran behind Daryl, following him to the bike. Daryl and I stood beside the bike, waiting for Tobin to move the truck to the main entrance of the quarry and set us in motion. "Get ready!" Rick called.

"They're comin'!" Sasha and Abraham climbed into their car, preparing to start leading the herd of walkers away from Alexandria before we were to join them. A few flairs flew into the air behind us, alerting Tobin to move the truck out of the way.

It felt like complete chaos had started as Glenn yelled for his group to follow him and Daryl and I took out the few stray walkers. He dropped the bow into my hands and got on the bike, kicking it into gear and then pulling me on behind him.

That night we got back from the cannery, that was the beginning of a regime change in Alexandria. Deanna didn't know how to lead us after the death of her husband, and Rick was more than ready to take over.

Glenn and I did manage to have our talk the next day, both of us sitting at the pond in the middle of Alexandria and just talking about everything that had bothered us the day before. There was no coming back for Nicholas to our group. He wasn't prepared to be on a run at such a risky place. Glenn and Noah had been trapped inside a revolving door, Nicholas on the opposite side. He had panicked, pushing his side of the door open just enough for him to get out, yet opening Glenn and Noah's side to the walkers. Ultimately, Glenn was trapped between two panes of glass and watched Noah be torn apart before Eugene was able to get him out.

The radio on my belt crackles with static so I pulled it up towards Daryl's ear to hear. "You all have your assignments." Rick said calmly. "You know where to rendezvous." Daryl slowed to allow the walkers to catch up and keep them on the trail away from Alexandria. "Daryl and Skye leads them out. Sasha and Abraham join him at the bottom of the hill. Glenn, you hit us when you take care of the walkers at the tractor place. That's the one thing we gotta get ahead of." The tractor store was filled with walkers, and the sound of the herd we were driving away, they would end up banging on the windows and drawing away our line. "Everybody, keep your heads. Keep up."

Daryl spent the next day working on his bike. While I sat on the front porch steps watching him and holding Judith. Jasper had begged to go over to Ron's house with Carl, so I had let him.

"He ok with it?" Daryl asked as Rick walked out of the house.

Rick shrugged and sent Judith and I a warm smile. "It was pretty much his idea, he gets it."