Surviving All Out War (BOOK FIVE IN THE SURVIVING THE WALKING DEAD SERIES)

Seeing The Light

     Everything went dark, I felt nothing, heard nothing. I opened my eyes and was surrounded by a bright light, it felt... warm. "Michaela." I turned around and smiled as I ran into the person's open arms.

     "Dad." I whimpered.

     "It's alright, hon." Dale smiled. "You're okay."

     "I missed ya so much."

     "I missed you, too."

     "I'm so sorry about the way I treated ya at the Hilltop-"

     "I know. We all know." Dale motioned behind him, I instantly smiled. Patricia, Otis, Shane, Lori, T-Dog, Hershel, the Governor, Tara, Bob, Beth, Tyreese, Noah, Reg, Deanna, Jessie, Sam, Ron, Denise, Samantha, Abraham, Glenn, Spencer, Olivia, Martinez, Scott, Sasha Eric, and Shiva were all standing off in the distance, smiling back at me. "We all know that you didn't mean for any of this to happen, sweetheart. It's not your fault."

     "I'm so sorry."

     "There's nothing to be sorry for." Dale smiled. "Ain't that right, Merle?"

     "That's right." I slowly looked over my shoulder and looked up at Merle. "C'mon now, baby girl. How's about a hug for your ol' pal Merle?" I instantly released Dale and ran over to Merle, wrapping my arms around him.

     "I'm sorry, Merle." I sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

     "It's alright, baby girl. Ain't nothin' to be sorry for. Ya did what ya had to do to keep the others safe, ya just got a lil' mixed up along the way." I didn't respond. "Hey." Merle lifted my chin, making me look up at him. "I love you, ain't nothin' gonna change that. Okay?" I gently nodded and Merle pressed his lips to my forehead. "Ya ready?"

     "For what?"

     "To go home." I looked towards the others and nodded. Merle took my hand into his and walked me over to Dale who joined us as we walked towards the others, disappearing into the bright light.

     I wish that's what happened. I wish I would have seen that light, I wish I would have seen my dead loved ones, I wish this was it, but it's not. For when Rick pulled the trigger, there was no loud bang, there was no smell of gunpowder, there was no pain, no darkness, no silence. Nothing but a loud click.

     CLICK!

     I opened my eyes and looked up at Rick who had a faint smile on his face as he removed the gun from my forehead. "What?" I asked. "N-No... No, what are ya doin'?"

     "I'm not gonna kill ya." Rick informed.

     "Rick, please, I have nothin' to live for, all I am is someone who's gonna be more trouble than I'm worth."

     "How do ya not have anythin' to live for? You've got two babies on the way, you've got MJ and Elijah, you've got friends and family-"

     "I had friends and family-"

     "They're mad, yes, but in time, they will learn to trust you."

     "And you?" Rick didn't respond. "See? Ya don't trust me because ya can't trust me. If and when Negan gets out, he will come for me. If I know 'em, which I know 'em well, he most likely searched the entire Sanctuary for me, tryin' to crawl his way back. Before I left, I broke the bitch's jaw, beat the holy hell outta Negan, and used Simon's ball sack for battin' practice. If he isn't plannin' on crawlin' back, he's comin' for me and gonna put me in a cell until the kids are born, use me as a milk factory, and then kill me when he's done with me."