A New Beginning

The Sacrifice

Derek, who has his arms wrapped around AJ and Tyler, struggles to keep moving but does so for their survival. He feels his leg getting weaker with every move. "There any place we can stop?" Derek asks. AJ looks around. "No. We have to keep moving. I'll get you back to the car and take you back home. You're gonna be fine." AJ replies. They keep moving while Derek limps. He falls and they stop. Derek sits on the ground, trying to catch his breath. "Take as long as you need." Tyler responds. Tyler takes watch as AJ lowers himself to talk to Derek. "I'm slowing you guys down, you have to leave me." Derek suggests. "I'm not leaving you." AJ responds. Derek hits the ground with the palm of his hand. "Dammit!" He aggressively whispers. "You're going back home, Derek, you are. I'll make sure of it." AJ replies. Derek nods and tries to get up but falls back down in the process. AJ wraps his arm around Derek and helps him up and they begin moving again. Tyler approaches them to assist and wraps Derek's arm around him for support. Derek nods and they keep moving.

Ten Minutes Later

Derek, AJ, and Tyler still keep pushing. "I can't keep going." Derek warns. AJ looks at his leg. "I'm losing blood, I feel dizzy, and my vision is getting blurry. You have to leave me now." Derek suggests. "No! You're going home!" AJ yells. Derek sighs. As they keep moving, Derek notices something moving in the distance. He tries to focus on it hard. He catches a good glimpse and his eyes widen. "God dammit." AJ says annoyed. There was a herd in front of them. "Where else can we go?" Derek questions. AJ looks to the left, right, and behind him. Walkers were everywhere and they were only getting closer. They don't recognize them, but they're slowly approaching them. Derek falls hard and this draws attention. "Shit." AJ says under his breath and tries to help Derek up. Derek can't move. He looks at AJ and stares in his eyes. "This is it for me." He begins. "The end of the road." AJ stares at him. "I'm not giving up! I'm not going to leave!" He yells. This only draws more attention as walkers begin approaching them. Tyler and AJ aim their guns and begin firing at the undead. They manage to kill some walkers but run out of bullets in the process. "Fuck!" AJ yells. He pulls out the cylinder and the empty bullets fall out. He begins digging in his pocket for more until he hears a gunshot and looks. Derek lays on the ground with a Glock. "Go!" He yells while firing at walkers. "We're good up front! Grab him and let's go!" Tyler yells. AJ runs over to Derek and begins picking him up until Derek refuses. He places his hands on AJ's shoulder. "You need to be someone they can look up to, someone they can trust." Derek begins. AJ looks forward and Derek looks behind them. The undead, moaning corpses get closer. "They're getting closer." Derek responds. He turns around and faces AJ. "I love you, buddy." Derek finishes. A walker approaches AJ and grabs him. "Not today, you son of a bitch!" Derek yells while grabbing the walker, making the undead creature plant his focus on the live man below. "We gotta go!" Tyler yells while grabbing AJ. He begins dragging AJ as he watches as the herd tears into Derek. Derek screams in pain as AJ begins to cry while being dragged. AJ turns around from the horrific sight and sprints ahead with Tyler.

One Hour Later

They made it back to Alexandria and AJ sits on his front porch with the picture of Jeremiah, Clementine, and his younger self in his hands. He hugs it tightly and begins rocking in the chair. "I really need you right now.." He says quietly to himself, trying not to cry. "Give me the strength." He brings the picture up to his face and places his face on it, hugging the picture while the tears fall off of his cheeks. "I'm scared." He whispers to the picture.

Ten Minutes Later

AJ looks at his watch and stares at the time. 6:25. He sets the picture down and gets out of the chair and heads to the gate. Tyler notices him from his peripheral as he was standing outside of a house. "AJ!" He yells. AJ ignores him and continues to walk. Tyler sprints towards AJ and stops him. "What do you think you're doing?" Tyler questions. "I'm going out to get Derek." AJ replies. "AJ, he's gone. There's nothing to get." AJ shoves Tyler's hand off of his chest. "Get out of the way." He says in a dark tone. Tyler nods and moves. AJ enters the truck and inserts the keys in the ignition and starts it up. Tyler opens the gate and AJ exits Alexandria.

Thirty Minutes Later

AJ makes it back to the area where Derek made his heroic last stand. He stops the truck and gets out, taking the crossbow out from the back. He notices a walker and inserts a bolt into the flight groove. He aims at the walkers head and squeezes the trigger. The bolt plunged itself into the target and the walker drops to the concrete below it. AJ notices the dried up blood of Derek on the road below and looks around for the body. It doesn't take long for AJ to find him. He roams ahead, moaning with AJ staring at his back. AJ whistles and the walker that was once Derek turns around. His stomach has been ripped open with his intestines dangling. He approaches AJ slowly and AJ stares at the walker. He begins crying. The walker gets closer as AJ shoves it. He draws his knife. "I'm sorry." He says and stabs the walkers neck, throwing himself on top of him as the walker hits the concrete below. AJ raises the knife and stabs the walker in the head six times and falls back crying. He stares up at the late afternoon sky, hoping Derek was with Jeremiah and Clementine. About five minutes pass by and AJ sits up. He stares at the knife that's inside the skull of the walker. He gets up and pulls the knife out and sheathes it. He wraps the crossbow strap over his shoulder and picks the corpse up, carrying it to the truck. He sets the corpse down and closes the back door. He approaches the walker with the bolt in its head and retrieves his bolt and approaches the truck. He enters inside and sets the crossbow in the passenger seat and begins driving back home.

Two Hours Later

AJ kneels over the graves of Jeremiah, Clementine, and Derek and stares at the crosses. Tyler appears from behind and pays his respects. "I'm sorry." He calls out. AJ continues to stare at the crosses. Tyler approaches behind him and places his hand on AJ's shoulder. "I'm going to kill every last one of them." AJ responds. Tyler removes his hand and AJ stands up, facing Tyler. "We're going to war." AJ finishes.