Rise Up

Chapter 36

She was halfway to the infirmary when I was out the door.

“Tara!” I called.

I jogged up to her.

“He just let him go...Why would he just let him live?” she asked.

She turned to look at me.

“I know you’re upset, Tara. You have every right to be. But you have to see the bigger picture,” I said.

“What bigger picture? He killed Denise,” she said.

“Tara I was there when it happened. I know,” I sternly said.

She stepped back. I sighed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound the way it did…I just…I know what that asshole did,” I said.

“So why wasn’t that enough to kill him?” she asked.

“We have to have a plan where we win, Tara. So that we could have a future. We can’t just be doing this for us. It’s not about us anymore. It’s about a future. I made the mistake of doing what I wanted. After she died, Daryl and I went off to try and find them...and then...we lost Glenn and Abraham,” I said.

“That wasn’t your fault,” she said.

“I know. But, had we thought about our decision rather than just taking off like we did, maybe things would have happened differently. And I think Daryl understood that. Which is why he didn’t go through with it,” I said.

Tara sighed and then nodded.

“Okay…okay yeah you're right. I'm sorry,” she said.

“You don't have to be. We all understand. We're all backing you up,” I said.

“Do you trust him?” she asked.

“Hell no. I don't give a shit if he's sorry or not. When all of this is done, so is he,” I said.

She half smirked.

“Thanks for having my back,” she said.

I went up and gave her a hug.

“I've always got your back, Tara,” I said.

We parted and I placed my hand on her shoulder. The door to the basement started to open. We turned and watched as Dwight and the rest started making their way out.

“Come on,” I said.

We both headed over and took a seat on the steps of Tara’s house. We watched as some words were exchanged between Dwight and the rest of the group. Rosita had gone and brought over the truck that they had come in and parked it by the gate. I watched as he made his way over to his truck. If this plan went south, I was gonna put an end to him. One way or another, he was gonna pay for everything he did. Dwight took off and the gates closed once again. Daryl then looked over at us.

“Don't be mad at him. He was just thinking of the bigger picture,” I said.

She nodded. I patted her knee and stood up. I made my way to Daryl.

“You good?” I asked him.

“Does she hate me?” he asked.

“Of course not. No one does,” I said pulling him in for a hug.

Rick came up to us.

“We're doing this tomorrow,” he said.

Daryl and I parted.

“Yeah. I know,” I said.

“Just so you guys know, we found another group. Made a deal with them. They'll be joining us tomorrow,” he said.

“They agreed to fight with us?” I asked.

“Yeah. They're these scavengers. We came across them while looking for Gabriel. They took him to their place because they wanted the supplies we had gotten for the Saviors. We struck the deal. They'll be here,” he said.

“Can you trust them?” Daryl asked.

“I think so,” Rick said.

“Alright. So long as we have as much manpower against those assholes, I'm good,” I said.

“Me too. We should take inventory of what we have,” Rick said.

“And load up the guns,” I said.

“Yeah. I was thinking of heading over there right now,” Daryl said.

“Well let's get going then,” I said.

The armory was full. For the first time in a long time. We had enough to take down all those 20 Saviors Dwight had said would be coming. We got to work. Loading and reloading. Making sure that they were fully functional. As the night drew on, we had loaded every single rifle and handgun that we had managed to gather from Oceanside.

“So, how's this gonna go, boss?” I asked Rick placing the last rifle away.

“We have the explosives. We'll set them up outside the entrance. As soon as they come, we'll blow ‘em up. Take out whoever else that managed to get away after. And then we do what Dwight said. Head over to Negan's place and take out the rest,” Rick said.

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

“I'm gonna go and tell everyone else. I'll see you two back at the house,” Rick said.

He came over and kissed my forehead. He left the armory. Daryl and I were quiet for a while.

“I keep thinking Olivia is gonna come over and ask if she could help in any way,” I said.

He pulled me towards him.

“We've gotta talk about what's gonna happen tomorrow,” he whispered.

I knew we did. I pulled away and looked at him.

“There's a good chance that we won't make it,” I said.

“Don't say things like that. I meant talking about where we're gonna set up,” he said.

“You knew this was coming, Daryl,” I said.

“I don't want to think about it,” he retorted.

“Babe...we have to. I don't like the thought of losing you. But you do understand that what we're doing tomorrow is not for us right? It's for everyone who's still here after. So that they can have a future. A future where there is no Negan and no Saviors,” I said placing my hand on his cheek.

He grabbed my hand and kissed it.

“I know. You're right. But that don't mean you're gonna go and sacrifice yourself,” he said intertwining our fingers.

“Same goes for you, Dixon,” I said.

“You're sticking with me no matter what,” he said.

“Yes sir,” I said wrapping my arms around him.

I pulled him closer and kissed him.

“I love you,” I whispered when we parted.

We pressed our foreheads together.

“I love you,” he said.

“So. What did Dwight mean when he said that you were here because of her? Who was he talking about?” I asked.

“Sherry. His wife. She was the one that helped me escape. She was one of the girls that was in the woods with him when they held me hostage,” he said.

“So, she helped you escape and she left too?” I asked.

“I think so. He said that she got away,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter how you got back to us. I’m just glad that you did,” I said kissing him.

“Now, come on. Let's head back to the house,” I said when we parted.

I held his hand tightly and led us back to the house.