Chokepoint

Looking down from the guard post, the sight of this Alpha woman and her whispering freaks made my skin crawl. They stood like shadows - faces hidden behind masks of rotted skin, their movements barely human.

Daryl stood beside me, rigid with tension. His jaw clenched, eyes never leaving Alpha.

"We ain't lettin' 'em take the girl," he told me, low and certain.

I didn't hesitate. "I know." My hand brushed his. "We won't."

He nodded once, grim. Then turned to Glenn. "That girl told me what her mom does to her. We ain't sendin' her back to that."

Glenn's expression was torn. "What if she has Alden and Luke?"

Before Daryl could respond, Alpha's thick southern drawl rang out across the field again - eerily calm.

"Your people crossed into our land... There will be no conflict." Her dead eyes swept across us. "Your people killed our people... There will be no conflict."

A beat. Then her lips thinned.

"I'm done talkin'... Bring me my daughter... or there will be conflict."

Silence stretched. My chest felt tight, like the world was holding its breath.

"No one touches the girl," Daryl growled, and without another word, he turned and started climbing down from the post.

"Daryl," I said, already following. I could hear people whispering, Where's he going? What's he doing?

"Daryl, wait!"

Enid appeared, flushed and panicked. "Does she have Alden and Luke?"

"I don't know," I said honestly, remembering Enid and Alden were together now. My gut twisted for her.

"What does she want?" Enid asked.

I glanced over the edge. I didn't have time to answer - Daryl was heading for the gate.

"No, Daryl, stop... don't go out there," I called as I chased him, voice shaking.

"She ain't gettin' her," he snapped without looking back.

"Then what are you doing!?" I asked, exasperated and scared.

"She's done talkin'. I'm not."

He signaled the guards, and I knew that look - this wasn't a discussion.

"I'm coming with you."

"Nah. Ya ain't."

The quiet finality in his voice stopped me in my tracks. I knew there was no convincing him.

"Fuck!" I hissed, slamming my fist against the post as I turned back and climbed up again, heart pounding.

From my vantage point, I watched him approach Alpha - not getting too close, but all fire and defiance.

"Ya can't have her," he told her authoritatively, broad shoulders squared.

That's my man, I thought. My brave, stupid, badass man.

For a second, Alpha actually looked thrown, then a baby's cry cut through the tension.

One of the Whisperers was holding an infant in a sling.

"Ya brought a baby out here!?" Daryl barked, furious.

Alpha didn't blink. "We're animals. Animals live out here. Animals have babies... so we have babies out here." She tilted her head, eyes cold. "I'm proposing a trade."

She lifted her hand, and more Whisperers emerged - dragging Luke and Alden between them.

Shit and fuck.

"I wanted to kill them," she said casually. "But I want my daughter more... One of mine, two of yours. It's a good trade. That's why you're gonna take it. Now... bring me my daughter."

Daryl hesitated for a moment, then stormed back toward the gates, his anger radiating like heat. I clambered down and met him as he entered.

He couldn't risk her hurting Alden and Luke.

"We gotta hand back the girl," he muttered, jaw locked. "Fuck."

I put my hand on his chest, then gently cupped his face. His skin was warm, rough beneath my fingertips.

"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered. I saw the weight in his eyes. He hated this.

"She's gone!" someone yelled from by the cellar.

"The hell ya mean she's gone?" Daryl demanded, eyes wild.

Yumiko sprinted over. "Keys were still in the lock. Henry must've let her out."

Enid stepped forward, voice pleading. "Daryl. You know we have to do this."

He nodded, but I wasn't sure he believed it.

People scattered - searching Barrington House, the barns, every damn part of Hilltop.

Then a soft voice: "I know where Henry went."

A young girl with thick glasses looked up at me shyly.

Enid appeared again beside her. "I'll go with her. I knew Henry as a kid. He likes me. I'll bring them back."

I hesitated, then nodded. "Go."

I found Daryl again, still searching, his eyes frantic.

"Enid's gone to get them," I told him gently. "A girl knows where they are, she's taking her there."

He didn't speak, just nodded once, lips pressed tight. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close.

"You're doing what you have to," I murmured. "I know how shit it is."

He didn't reply but nuzzled into me for just a moment, before we climbed back to the top of the guard post together. As we did, a small herd appeared in the distance.

Alpha turned, cool as ice. "Lead them away," she told her people.

Then the baby in the sling cried again. The Whisperer mother panicked, unable to hush it.

Alpha turned to her, completely void of empathy. Just shrugged. The mother hesitated... then laid the baby down in the dirt and stepped away.

"No," I breathed, horrified.

Luke and Alden began shouting, struggling.

Alpha's voice was like frost. "To live with the dead means to live in silence. If the mother can't quiet the child... the dead will."

At that moment, I spotted Connie hiding in the cornfield outside the gates. Relief washed over me - followed by fear.

Please don't let them see her.

The walkers got closer.

Daryl bellowed, "Ya really gonna let 'em get the baby!?"

Alpha didn't flinch. "Natural selection."

I felt him planning, trying to figure out how to get to it first, but there was no way he'd make it in time - and that's even if the Whisperers didn't get to him first.

I watched as Connie moved, darting from cover, scooping the baby from the ground and disappearing into the corn again.

Thank God. I hope.

Movement sounded behind us. I turned to see Lydia, flanked by Enid and Henry. It broke my heart to think about what we were sending her back to.

Daryl descended immediately. I followed, despite his glance.

"You don't have to be the one," I whispered to him.

"I do," he said, but his voice cracked.

He escorted Lydia through the gate and toward Alpha. I stayed by his side. No way was I letting him do this alone. I knew what this was doing to him.

"Sorry, Mom," Lydia said softly as she stepped forwards. "Thanks for coming to get me."

Alpha slapped her across the face.

What a bitch.

Daryl moved to lunge - but I caught him. I grabbed his hand, holding it tight, anchoring him. "We can't," I said, eyes stinging. "You know we can't."

He nodded once, slowly, reluctantly. I felt him shaking.

The Whisperers began to move away, the herd following behind them like lemmings. I watched Daryl's torment as Lydia was led away. I knew he felt like he'd failed her. After a few moments, I squeezed his hand tighter and pulled him back with me toward the gates.

Once inside the walls again, Henry approached, eyes red.

"I get why we had to do it," he said to Daryl. "But it doesn't make it okay."

"Never said it did," Daryl mumbled.

"So what do we do?" Henry asked.

Daryl was quiet for a moment. "We live with it."

Henry shook his head. "How can you live with that?"

I stepped between them defensively. Daryl didn't need this right now - he felt awful enough. "Look... the world is just shit sometimes, kid. And you live with it. We have to. Sometimes that's all you can do."

Henry turned and walked off, just as Connie and the baby entered with Kelly and an older couple - Tammy and Earl I think. They must have snuck out of the hatch to bring her back in.

I slid my arms around Daryl's waist, pressing my forehead to his chest.

"Let's get back to our babies," I whispered.

"Yeah," he said hoarsely. "Need some little Dixon hugs."

~

Daryl's horse snorted beside mine, already growing restless as we finally prepared to leave Hilltop. Glenn and Maggie stood at the gates with Hershel, who we'd barely even been able to see during our visit.

Glenn pulled Daryl into an awkward hug. "Keep her safe," He said, his voice low but firm as he smiled at me.

"Always do," Daryl replied, but his hand found mine anyway, like he needed the touch to steady himself.

I stepped forward, hugging Maggie tight. "Give those little Dixons a kiss from me," she whispered into my ear. "And I want to see them soon."

"You will," I said, giving her a small smile. "Come to Alexandria for a visit - I'll speak to Michonne."

She smiled, but there was tension underneath. Maggie and Michonne hadn't seen eye-to-eye for a while now.

With a final nod, and me giving Hershel a long overdue squeeze, Daryl and I mounted up, turning our horses toward the tree-lined road ahead. Hilltop faded behind us, swallowed by an ominous fog. We knew the Whisperers were out here somewhere, but we needed to get back to our littles - we needed to be with them while we figured out how to handle this potential new threat.

After a while, Daryl broke the silence. "Can't wait to see 'em."

"Yeah," I smiled, my fingers brushing against his hand as we rode side by side. "Missed them. Missed Sawyer's crooked little grin when he's scheming something. Briar's squeezes."

"Need 'bout a hundred of 'em," Daryl said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Never thought I'd feel so weird bein' away from the little rascals."

"Me neither," I glanced sideways at him. "Wish we could've made more time to enjoy it just being us, though. Wasn't expecting to be in interrogation mode."

He sighed, deep and rough. "Yeah."

He didn't need to say it. I knew handing Lydia over was weighing on him.

I didn't have chance to respond. A low, eerie groan began echoing in the distance. Daryl slowed, raising his hand to hush me. A minute later, we both heard it - moaning growing closer. The kind that thickened the air and stiffened your spine - walkers - a lot of them.

"Herd," Daryl said, already turning his horse. "S'go."

We veered into the woods fast, trying to avoid it, but it was like they smelled us. A few walkers peeled off, stumbling through the brush, jaws snapping.

"Shit," I hissed. "Ground's too uneven for the horses."

Daryl cursed and yanked the reins. "We gotta let 'em go."

"Fuck."

He looked me dead in the eye. "Ain't got no choice."

I gritted my teeth and nodded. We both dismounted fast, slapping the horses' rumps to send them sprinting through the trees. The walkers we're distracted by them for a second - then caught our scent again.

"Gonna have to fight," I said, knife already drawn. "Or these'll draw the whole herd."

Daryl nodded and raised his crossbow, swift and deadly as he aimed at the first walker, sending a bolt through its skull. I slashed at one with my knife. Then another. But more were coming. We were going to have to run for it.

Blood and rot filled the air as we dodged branches and ducked swipes, barely making it through the rest of the stragglers. Breathless and exhausted, we finally slipped into thicker brush, where the herd couldn't follow so easily.

"Ya good?" he asked.

I nodded. "You?"

"Yeah."

We walked in silence, deeper into the trees, until we stumbled upon something - a rusted-out wooden bridge.

"The one Lydia talked about," I said, my heart pounding. "Their camp is near here."

Daryl looked at me, something dark flashing in his eyes before disappearing.

"You want to try get her out again, don't you?" I asked, nervous.

"Yeah," he said honestly. "But I can't. Not if it means they could come for Alexandria. Won't risk Briar and Sawyer. Not for anyone."

I nodded, grabbing his hand.

We turned to go - but then I saw it. Just beyond the trees, near a cluster of makeshift shelters and low-burning fires, was their camp... and a figure tied to a tree.

"Daryl," I breathed. "Look."

His eyes followed mine - and widened. "Henry."

There was no hesitation. He gripped my shoulders. "Ath, I gotta get him. Can't let Carol lose him. It'll kill her."

"You're not going alone-"

"Ya ain't comin' in there!" he snapped, panicked. "Please, just for once, listen to me."

I hesitated, torn to shreds inside, then nodded. "I'll cover you. I've got two rounds I've been saving."

"I'll make it quick." He kissed my forehead and slipped into the shadows.

I crouched in the underbrush, pistol ready, watching as the chaos from the trailing herd began to reach the outskirts of the camp. Whisperers started to panic, trying to steer the walkers away, but they were closing in too fast.

Daryl moved like a ghost, stalking and taking down a Whisperer silently. He pulled the mask from its head and slipped it on, blending in.

I spotted Henry, struggling against his bindings. Just as a walker reached him, Daryl stepped in, stabbing it through the head and slicing Henry's ropes in one smooth motion.

But then - Lydia. She was there too, crouched behind the same tree, eyes wide. Henry grabbed her wrist and pulled her up without a word.

They were running now, dodging through the chaos of undead and Whisperers. They disappeared into the trees and I ran to meet them, my lungs burning.

"Go! Go!" Daryl growled, shoving Henry and Lydia ahead of us.

We ran deeper into the woods until the noise faded behind us, only the sound of our ragged breaths filling the air.

Henry dropped to the ground, heaving. "Th-thank you."

Daryl leaned against a tree for a moment, catching his breath and ripping off the grotesque mask. "The hell were ya doin' there!?"

Henry didn't answer.

"Henry, get up," I hissed, knowing we weren't safe, that they'd be following us. "We need to keep moving."

~

The trees thinned just as the sky began to fade into gray. We broke out of the woods like hunted animals - mud-streaked, hearts pounding, the stench of rot still on our clothes. Ahead, the cracked road cut through a long-abandoned town. Empty storefronts. Rusted street signs. Not a soul in sight.

Daryl stood beside me, crossbow on his back, eyes scanning the skeletal skyline. "There," he muttered, pointing to a looming office building with shattered windows and peeling paint. "Walkers can't climb. Whisperers can. We use that."

"Chokepoint," I said, catching his meaning instantly. "We separate the living from the dead."

He gave a short nod. "Thin 'em out."

Lydia lingered behind us, her eyes glued to the concrete ahead like it held ghosts only she could see. "My mom'll send Beta," she whispered. "Her best."

Daryl barely hesitated. "Then we kill him first."

Inside the building, the air was stale and heavy. Dust floated like ash in the dying light. We made it to the top floor, barricaded the stairwell as best we could, and waited. Daryl had Lydia and Henry keep watch on a balcony while we readied our weapons.

When it was just the two of us, the silence felt heavier than anything.

"We need to talk about the girl," he said.

I leaned against the cracked drywall, arms folded. "Yeah."

"Can't take her to Alexandria," he muttered. "Not with the kids there. If Alpha finds out..." He trailed off, jaw tight.

"You're right," I said, watching the muscles in his face twitch with emotion. "But can we really just send her away? She's just a kid."

He looked at me then, really looked at me. "She ain't our kid, Ath. Briar 'n' Sawyer - they are. I gotta keep 'em safe."

My throat tightened. "So what? We just leave her to fend for herself?"

"I dunno what the hell we do."

I walked over and took his hand, knowing that for all he was saying, just abandoning Lydia wasn't in his nature "We'll figure it out. Together."

Before he could answer, Lydia's voice called from the balcony. "They're here."

We rushed out in time to see them. Walkers and Whisperers, marching together like some grotesque parade. In the middle of the chaos, towering over the others, was a monster of a man. I know automatically he must be Beta.

Daryl lifted his crossbow and fired. One Whisperer dropped. Chaos erupted.

Inside, the Whisperers moved fast. Too fast. They broke through the front, splitting from the herd as they tripped one of our traps - wire nets and overturned shelves crashing down. Screams - some human, some not - filled the building.

Daryl grabbed Lydia. "Closet. Now. Don't move."

He turned to me. "You too."

"Don't be stupid," I snapped. "I'm not hiding while you fight a giant."

When the Whisperers reached the top floor, Daryl, Henry and I were split apart in the madness. Pained groans echoed off the walls. I caught glimpses of blood, movement, shadows. I drove my knife into the neck of a Whisperer as another lunged from behind. I turned, elbowed him hard, and shoved him into the railing outside. He fell.

I kept going, breath ragged, heart thudding. Somewhere down the hall, I heard a scuffle louder than the rest - grunts, the clatter of metal.

Then I saw them.

Daryl, pressed against a workbench. Beta loomed over him, forcing his neck toward the teeth of a rusted table saw.

"Daryl!" I screamed.

Without thinking, I charged, burying my knife in Beta's back. He roared and swatted me away like I weighed nothing. I hit the wall hard, vision swimming. But Daryl had his opening - he slammed his elbow into Beta's throat and stabbed him in the chest.

"C'mon!" he shouted, grabbing my arm. He yanked open a trap door and we dropped into a dark maintenance crawlspace.

He pulled me close, breathing hard. "Didn't know where ya went."

I gripped the back of his neck, trembling. "He nearly got you."

Above us, we heard a heavy thud - Beta. Still alive. What the fuck?

"All I want," his voice growled, "is the girl."

Daryl cursed under his breath. "I gotta go back. Henry - if he finds him-"

I grabbed his arm. "Don't. Please. He'll kill you."

He met my eyes. "Can't let him hurt Carol's kid."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Then we do it together."

We climbed out, silent and swift. Beta moved down the hallway, stalking. Daryl didn't hesitate - he sprinted up behind him and slammed into his back. Beta staggered forward, arms flailing, and then fell down the open elevator shaft.

The silence was broken only by the distant clang of metal far below.

Daryl spat down. "Asshole."

He grabbed his knife where it had skidded across the floor, Beta obviously having ripped it out of himself. We hurried through the wrecked office until we found Henry slumped against a file cabinet, leg slashed deep. Lydia sat beside him, blood on her hands.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I couldn't stay hidden. They'd have killed him."

Daryl looked at me. "Alexandria's closest now."

I nodded. "I know. We've got to get him there, quick."

Lydia stood, arms wrapped tight around herself.

"Fuck," Daryl said. "We can't just leave her... I dunno what to do."

I looked at Lydia - still just a girl, scared, unwanted, used as a weapon by her own mother.

"No," I said. "We can't."

A/N: ❤️❤️❤️