Rise Up

Chapter 3

We were all quiet for a while after they'd gone. I was surprised at the fact that there was still tears shedding. I didn't know I contained so many. My dream did not prepare me for any of this. It was so much worse than I thought it was going to be. I still could not process it all. The sound of Maggie trying to get up, brought me to the present.

"Maggie..." I started.

She struggled to get up but she eventually did.

"Maggie. You need to sit down...Maggie," Rick said.

I stood up with her and Rick did the same.

"No," Maggie said fiercely.

"We need to get you to the Hilltop," Rick said.

"You need to go get ready," she said.

"For what?" Rick asked.

"To fight them," Maggie said.

"They have Daryl. They have an army. We would die. All of us," Rick said.

"Go home. Take everybody with you. I can get there by myself," Maggie said as her voice broke.

"You can barely stand up," Rick said.

"I need to go. You need to go to Alexandria. You were out...out here for me," she said.

"We still are," Rick retorted.

She then started to sob. I grabbed hold of her hand. She squeezed it once then let it go.

"I need you to go back. I can't have you all out here anymore. I need you to go back," she said.

"We aren't leaving you alone out here, Maggie," I said.

"We're not letting you go," Michonne said.

"You have to," she said.

"It's not gonna happen," Rick said.

"I'm gonna get you there. I'm not letting you go by yourself," I said.

"We're gonna get her there. We're gonna keep her safe. And we're not giving you a choice," Sasha stepped up and said.

"I'm taking him with me," she said.

She then made her way to Glenn's corpse and knelt down. She cried some more. I knelt down next to her. She rested her hands on him. I started to cry once again.

"I need to do this. Please," she said when Aaron and Carl made their way over.

"We need to help you," Aaron said.

Carl rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I got it. I got it," he said.

"No. No," she whispered.

"Pl...Please let us. He's our family...he's our family, too," Rick said.

She looked at all of us. She stood back up and hugged Carl. I stood up with her and rubbed her back. When they parted, she grabbed a hold of my hand. Rick, Carl, Aaron and Michonne gently lifted Glenn off the ground. Sasha, Rosita and Eugene carried Abraham away. Maggie continued to sob. I held onto her hand as if my life depended on it. She then turned and pulled me closer to her.

"I've got you," I whispered, my voice breaking.

She cried into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry...ab...About D..." she started.

"Shh. There's no time to worry about that now. We have to get you to the Hilltop. Come on," I said with a shaky breath.

We parted and then she looked at the two blood stains that remained on the graveled floor. She continued to sob. More tears streamed down my eyes as I held onto her.

"Come on," I managed to get out.

Everyone had gotten both Abraham and Glenn into the bed of the truck we had been left. I helped Maggie into the front.

"Don't...don't we have something to...to cover...them?" I asked.

"I'll get something," Carl said taking off to the RV afterwards.

"I...uh...I want you all to be careful...I," I trailed off.

Rick came up and hugged.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry," he whispered.

I hugged him tighter. I cleared my throat.

"Get home. Like Maggie said before, get ready," I said.

"Amelia, we're outnumbered..." Rick started.

"When has that ever stopped us before? I refuse to believe that this is how we're gonna live. This is not our life. We're gonna get Daryl back. I don't know how but I know we will. I'm gonna stay with Maggie for as long as she needs me. Rick, we are not stuck in this. We aren't. You'll figure this out. I know you. I love you. I love you so much," I said pulling him in again.

He embraced me tightly. Carl had come back with some bed sheets and placed them over Abraham and Glenn. Rick and I parted. I went up to Carl next.

"Be careful. Take care of your dad for me will you?" I said.

"I will. When will we see each other again?" he asked.

"I don't know, bud. You know I love you, right?" I said.

He nodded.

"Come here," I said.

I wrapped my arms around him.

"Be good," I whispered.

"I love you," he whispered back.

I kissed his cheek. Sasha had made her way to the driver's seat and turned the ignition. I looked back at the remaining members of my family.

"Get home safely. All of you," I said.

They each nodded. I wiped away my lingering tears and slid into the truck next to Maggie, closing the door behind me. Maggie grabbed hold of my hand. I looked out the window. Every single one of them was looking at us. I held up my hand waving goodbye. This was going to be the last time I would see any of them for a while.

"You ready?" Sasha asked.

I then turned to the road ahead of us.

"Let's get her there. For them," I said.

Sasha moved the truck forward and we were on our way to Hilltop. Maggie had dozed off halfway through our trip.

"What happened to her?" I asked Sasha.

"Enid told us that she was going through some pains. After she cut Maggie's hair, she said that she collapsed to the floor writhing in pain. We figured it had something to do with the baby so we were on our way to Hilltop...before..." she replied breaking off at the end.

"I should have been there," I said.

"You're here now, Amelia. And that's everything," Sasha said.

I looked over at her.

"And so are you," I said.

She nodded and continued to take us to our destination. Before we knew it, we'd made it to Hilltop. The gates opened and Jesus was the first to greet us. Maggie was still sleeping. I opened the door to the truck.

"What...what happened?" he asked once he reached me.

He noticed the look on my face. Pain was embedded in my eyes.

"We need to get Maggie to the doctor. Will you help us?" I said.

"Of course. I've got her," he said.

He went ahead and gently pulled her out of the truck and carried her inside. I went back into the truck with Sasha.

"I've never been here. Is there a place we can put the two of them?" she asked.

"Yeah. There's an open area near some trailers. I'll tell you where to park it," I said.

We ventured further into the community.