All Out War

Chapter 24

The images of our home up in flames played in my head over and over again. I couldn't stand it. The home that we all had fought so hard for, was destroyed. But we could rebuild. We would rebuild. I woke up with a start. Daryl was by my side and held my hand. I looked up at him.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's almost time to go," he said.

He stood up then extended his hand to me. I took it and stood up with him. Carl was next to me.

"Did you guys get some sleep?" I asked.

"A little," he said.

Judith was fast asleep. I rested my hand on her head and lightly kissed her. Rick came from the way we'd entered.

"Okay. Daylight just broke. I'm sure there's a route to the Hilltop that isn't west," he said.

"We'll find it," Daryl said.

"Alright. Take only what we have here. Keep your eyes peeled and just get to Hilltop safely. Tell Maggie what happened here. Be careful. Michonne and I will see you all once we're done here," he told us all.

Everyone then started to gather their things and head toward the only exit we had. Rick went to Dwight.

"If you cause anything to happen to my family, I'll make you regret it," he threatened.

All Dwight did was nod and made his way to the others.

"We'll keep an eye on him," Tara said.

She and Rosita followed him. Siddiq looked at all of us.

"I appreciate you guys giving me a chance. No one ever has since all this started. I will do my best to prove myself to you all," he said.

"I'm glad to have you on board," Carl said.

"We all are," I chimed in.

He smiled then headed over to the rest. Now it was just Michonne, Rick, Carl, Daryl, Judith and I.

"Be careful. All of you. If...if anything happened to either of you..." he took in some deep breaths.

Daryl went ahead and placed a hand on Rick's shoulder.

"I'm gonna get them there. We all are. We got this," he said.

Rick calmed down after Daryl spoke. I went up and hugged Michonne.

"You guys come back to us, you hear?" I said once we parted.

She nodded.

"We'll see each other again soon," she said.

Carl and Rick embraced.

"Watch out for your little sister," Rick said.

"I will. I love you, dad," Carl said.

"I love you, Carl. So much," he said pulling Carl in for another hug.

Michonne and Carl then shared a hug. Rick looked at me.

"Promise you won't overdo it," he said.

"I'll take it easy. That doesn't mean I won't fight if the opportunity shows itself," I said.

Rick stared me down but he knew me almost as much as Daryl did. There was no way I was gonna stand by and let others fight my battles for me.

"Just get there safely," he said giving up.

"We will," I said.

I pulled him in for a hug.

"Get there too. Both of you," I said when we parted.

"You guys better get going. The faster you get there, the safer you'll be," Rick said.

"See you later," I said.

Daryl took my hand and led me to our exit. I heard Rick, Michonne and Carl right behind us. We finally got to the entrance and Daryl went up first. He held out his hand to me and I took it. We were out. I knelt down and waited for Carl to hand me Judith. He went up the latter and handed her to me halfway. I held her tightly in my arms and looked at what remained of our home, one last time.

"Hey," Daryl whispered.

I looked at him.

"We gotta get moving," he said.

I nodded.

"Carl?" I asked.

"I'm right here," he said next to me.

I wrapped my arm around him and followed everyone into the woods. We had gotten to the edge of the trees. But before we disappeared completely, I hung back. Carl took notice pretty quickly.

"What are you doing?" he asked making me jump slightly.

"I just want to make sure your dad and Michonne make it home okay," I answered keeping a look out for them.

"They're gonna be fine, Amelia. But we have to keep moving," he said.

He grabbed hold of my hand and gently pulled me in the direction the others had gone. He was right. We had to keep moving. I had to trust that Rick and Michonne would make it back to Hilltop unscathed. I let Carl lead the way. Judith rested her head on my shoulder and I rested mine on hers.

"Keep 'em moving," I heard Daryl say.

"What's going on? Why'd you hang back?" he asked when he reached me.

"Just...was wanting to make sure Rick and Michonne made it inside," I said.

He looked at Judith then rubbed her back.

"They'll meet us at Hilltop. We gotta keep going," he said.

"That's what I told her," Carl said.

"Yeah he did," I retorted.

"Come on," Daryl said.

He waited for the both of us to be ahead and with the others before he got back to the front. Dwight was somewhere up front and I think that was one reason Daryl stayed ahead of us. He wanted to keep a close eye on him. Both he and Tara were where they could see him. If he tried anything, they'd kill him. So if he was smart, he wouldn't try a damn thing. The heat was intense, even in the early morning. But at least it wasn't as bad as Georgia heat. Judith stirred in my arms a couple of times. I felt her cheek and it was warm. She was sweating. I looked at her then felt around her body. I sighed in relief when I knew that she was just hot and nothing more.

"Carl," I called.

He looked at me.

"You have any water? Judith isn't a fan of this heat," I said.

"I've got some," Alice said pulling out a bottle from the bag she had.

"Thanks, Alice," I said.

I took the bottle then handed it to Judith. She untwisted the bottle and gave me the cap. She downed half of it then handed it back to me. By doing this simple act, she fascinated me more than anything else could. She was getting older and she was learning fast. Lori would have been proud. I really wished she was here so she could see just how much her kids had grown. The thought off losing either of them truly scared the crap out of me. I had to make sure that never happened. Whatever it took, I wouldn't let that happen.