A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S3Pt20 - Blood, Bullets, and War

We went off road and hid the car in a thicket of trees along the edge of the forest. The prison was slightly visible in the distance, but we were well hidden. Hershel and Beth started disguising the car was branches and tarps, and Carl was keeping watch. Daryl pulled me aside and over to his bike.
"Please be careful out here Kelley." He said. "I can't lose you too." He whispered.
"I'm the one who's supposed to be worrying about you right now." I said, and I fixed his hair and straightened his vest. "We'll be fine. You need to focus on out there. You can't get distracted, because I'm the one who can't lose you. Okay?"
He nodded and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight.
"I love you." I said.
"Love you too, Kell." He said and kissed my forehead.
He turned around and got on his bike. He started the engine and looked back at me one more time.
"I'll see you soon." He said.
We nodded at each other and I saw his drive off. Now, all we had to do was wait and hope for the best.

~~~~~~~~~~

We have been waiting for about an hour when we heard engines revving and saw a convoy of trucks approach the prison. The traps worked on a couple cars, and the sped out in the yard. The gunshots echoed and didn't stop. The smell of gunpowder filled the air.
"I should be there." Carl said.
We didn't respond back to him and waited for the shooting to be over. What felt like forever, but was really a few minutes later, the shooting stopped. We heard a lot of shouting then saw the Governor's vehicles speed off.
"They did it." I said.
We waited in silence until we heard one of our cars from the prison honk a few times. We took that as a signal to come back, and started packing our stuff. Then we heard the sound of fast footsteps approaching the car. We instantly all held up our weapons and aimed them at the noise. A couple seconds later, a young boy carrying a rifle stopped in front of us. He looked scared and was out of breath.
"Drop the weapon son." Hershel said.
He nodded his head quickly. "Yeah-Yeah okay."
He slowly lowered his gun, trying not to seem threatening. He held out his gun and tried to give it to Carl, but Carl didn't like that.
Without hesitation, Carl shot the kid, and his body fell to the ground. We stared at Carl and didn't know what to say. I reached over and lowered Carl's gun, and he just looked at me. He then turned around and got in the car. Hershel looked at me worried and I just shook my head.
"Why'd Carl do that? He just murdered that kid." I thought.
I walked over to the boy's body, and noticed he wasn't even 18. He really was just a kid, exactly like Carl. I took his rifle out of his hands and closed his eyes.
"Sorry..." I whispered.
I turned around and got in the drivers seat of the car. I turned on the engine and drove us back to the prison.
Glenn opened the gate for us and we all got out of the car. I noticed that everyone was still here, no one was hurt, and I sighed with relief. Rick opened the car door and got Judith. Carl left the car and sat alone on a bench. Hershel walked over and hugged his daughters. I walked over to Daryl and hugged him, but he could tell there was something wrong.
"What happened?" Daryl asked.
I glanced over at Carl and sighed. I looked around, and whistled at Rick and nodded him over.
"Rick, you need to talk to your son." I said.
"Why? What happened?" Rick asked.
"Carl.. he straight up killed a kid. Shot him at point blank." I whispered.
"Well, I bet it was for good reason. He wouldn't-" Daryl said.
I shook my head. "The kid was handing over his gun." I said. "He was surrendering and Carl still shot him."
I looked at Rick who didn't like the news he just heard.
"He needs you right now, not some person acting like his mom." I said.
"Kelley-" Rick began saying.
"He needs his dad Rick." I repeated.
Rick nodded his head and he handed me Judith. I took her and watched him walk over to Carl. Daryl touched my back and I turned my focus to him. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath.
"I never thought that I'd be responsible for two kids that aren't even mine. Yet here I am." I sighed.
"You're doing the best you can. That's all you can do." Daryl said and leaned in close. "But you are a great mother, don't let anyone tell you different."
I smiled at him and he looked at me holding Judith. He kissed my forehead and then Rick called us all to gather around.
"So we did it. We drove them out." Rick said.
"We should go after them." Michonne suggested.
"We should finish it." Daryl agreed.
"It is finished." Maggie said. "Didn't you see them hightailing out of here?"
"They could regroup. Come back stronger." I said.
"Kelley's right. He's not gonna stop. We can't take the chance." Glenn said.
"I agree. We can't keep living like this." Carol said.
"We can't take the fight to Woodbury. We barely made it back last time." Maggie said.
"I don't care." Daryl said.
"Me neither. I'm going." I said.
"I'll go too." Michonne said.
"Let's not waste anytime then." Rick said. "Let's end this."
I kissed Judith and then gave her to Beth. I ran to the car and grabbed all my weapons. Rick and Michonne got in a car, and me and Daryl followed on his motorcycle.
We left the prison and were on the road to Woodbury. About halfway there, we came upon the Governor's trucks. Dead bodies were everywhere and the Governor was no where to be seen. Rick stopped the car and we all got out and pulled out our weapons.
"Stay on your guard." Rick said.
We walked around and saw some dead soldiers reanimate and start eating the other bodies. I was killing walkers and walked past a truck when a hand hit the window from the inside.
"Holy shit!" I said and took out my gun.
Everyone ran to my side and we saw a woman inside the truck looking at us. Daryl opened the door and dragged her out and I check the rest of the truck.
Rick held her at gunpoint and Michonne kept watch.
"What happened?" Rick asked.
"He drew on us. Killed us because we didn't want to fight anymore." She said.
She was breathing fast and was clearly threatened by us.
"Do you know one of our friends?" I asked. "Her name is Andrea."
She nodded her head. "Last I heard she hopped the wall a few days ago. That's all Tyreese told me."
I looked at Rick and could tell what he was thinking. I didn't fully trust this person who just tried to kill us at the prison, but she was our best lead. Rick frisked her for weapons, gave Daryl her pistol, and took her to the car. Rick came back and the plan didn't change.
"We're still going to Woodbury." Rick said. "If he's there, we'll finish it."
We nodded in agreement. Rick and Michonne got in the car, and Daryl got on his bike. I sat behind him and wrapped my arms around him. Rick started driving off, with us following, and were ready to end this fight at Woodbury, once and for all.