Rise Up

Chapter 40

We got to the open area where we buried our dead. Jesus and I got to digging. We carefully placed Sasha's body into the grave. I let out a few more tears when we started to move the dirt into place. I stood up and stood next to Maggie.

"She did this for us," Maggie said.

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing," I said.

"Come on. Let's go and check on Rick and the others. I'll see if Gabriel will come and do a service for her," Maggie said.

"That's a good idea. Give me a minute though. I...I need to take a minute," I said.

She nodded then hugged me. She and Jesus left me alone. I sat down by the fresh mound and took in deep slow breathes.

"Thank you...you gave us a chance. I guess that was the whole reason you wanted to do this in the first place huh? You knew what you were fighting for. You knew what you had to do. I love you, Sasha. And I will miss you terribly. But, you're sacrifice will never be forgotten. I just wish this ended in a different way," I said.

I stood up, wiped the dirt from my pants and a few minutes later, some of our people started to show up. Gabriel was the first to be there.

"You alright?" he asked me.

I wiped my face.

"Yeah. You?" I retorted.

He nodded his head and rested a hand on my shoulder. He then went to stand in the middle of Sasha's grave. Carol was amongst the people of the Kingdom. I went up to her and held her tightly.

"I had to come and fight," she said when we parted.

"I'm glad you decided to. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. I will be. And I get why you and Daryl didn't say anything about what...what they had done," she said.

I sighed and nodded. She went to stand next to Maggie. Daryl came over seconds later and held my hand. We made our way to the others. We all stood around Sasha's grave and listened as Gabriel led us in prayer. More tears were shed. I then started to think back when we had just lost Beth and Tyreese. After the storm when Maggie, Sasha and I went and took a moment to look at the sunrise. We were supposed to make it. The three of us, together. But I guess in a sense we did. Sasha learned that after everything we went through, there was a purpose to it. It broke my heart that she had to pay the ultimate price, but I was so proud of her nonetheless. After the service, everyone split up and went back to checking on others. I stayed behind.

"You good?" Daryl asked me.

"Yeah. I mean right now, not really but...I will be. Can you give me some time?" I asked.

"Sure thing. I'm gonna go and unbolt the gate," he said.

"Be careful," I said.

"I will. I love you," he said.

"I love you more," I said.

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him. I held him tightly after we parted and pressed my forehead against his.

"I'll be back," he said.

I nodded and watched as he headed to the front gate. I looked at the mound once again. All the moments the two of us had shared together flashed before me. Like a greatest hits tape. I smiled at those memories. I sniffled and inhaled deeply.

"I love you, Sasha," I said once more.

I knelt down, kissed my fingers and placed them on the mound. I stood up and headed to the infirmary. As I walked up the street, I watched everyone from the different communities helping each other out. This is what life would look like once we took care of Negan and the rest of the Saviors. Peace was possible. Not the peace that we were forced into. But the peace that I knew we all wanted. And freedom was possible too. We just had to keep fighting a little bit longer. We were never going to kneel again. I held onto my necklace. My parents, my brother and every other person that I loved and lost, they'd be proud. I wiped a single tear that had escaped my ducts and continued to the infirmary. When I walked in, Rick looked cleaner. His wound had been bandaged and Michonne had been cleaned up. The bruises she had suffered, clearly visible. I made my way to the both of them.