Ghosts Don't Stay Buried

The sunlight creeping through the curtains was soft and warm, but not as warm as the man lying next to me.

Daryl stirred before I did, his arm slung low across my waist, thumb absently brushing skin he'd touched a thousand times over. I blinked slowly, stretching just a little before rolling toward him, our legs tangling like they were made to. His eyes were half-lidded, but alert, watching me the way he always did when the world felt quiet.

"Hey, you," I murmured, my voice hoarse with sleep.

His lips curved, faint but full of something deeper than just affection. "Hey."

I leaned in and kissed him gently. He tasted like warmth and last night and something better than the fleeting peace. The kiss deepened before either of us thought to stop it - his fingers sliding to my jaw, my thigh hooking over his hip, the way we'd always fit together finding its pulse yet again. Slow, tender, like we were trying to memorize this moment in case the world tried to take it from us again tomorrow.

As we sank into one another, he touched me like I was something rare and powerful. Not fragile, but precious. And I took my time with him too, my fingertips mapping familiar paths across his chest, the ridges of old scars, the places that made his breath catch.

Nothing about it was frenzied in the deliciously passionate way it had been last night. It was slow and grounding. Quiet, even in the soft gasps and sighs we shared. A rhythm built not from urgency, but from trust - like we were both reminding the other:

I'm here. We're safe. I've got you.

He whispered my name like a promise, told me how much he loved me, his voice raw and low against my throat. I pressed my lips to his shoulder, chest tight with gratitude I didn't quite have words for.

When we finally collapsed into each other again - slightly sweatier but once again satisfied - the room was quiet but alive with morning. Somewhere outside, birds chirped obliviously. But in here, it was just us - hearts still beating fast, limbs tangled, breath shared in silence. I curled into his chest and laid my palm flat against his ribs, counting the steady drum beneath.

It was Daryl who broke the stillness first.

"Should prob'ly think about evacuatin' Alexandria."

My eyes shot open, head tilting to look at him. "You think we should leave?"

I'd never known Daryl not stand his ground. But I could tell what he was thinking - he was worried about the kids being caught in the crossfire again.

He exhaled slow through his nose. "Hilltop didn't fall 'cause folks were weak. It fell 'cause the fight got too damn big."

I swallowed hard, pressing my lips to a scar on his shoulder. "You think they'll try the same thing here?"

"I think we gotta be ready, in case."

The thought chilled me. But I didn't argue. We both knew it was more than a possibility.

"Was it unfair of us?" I asked, switching lanes. "Letting the kids stay at Merle's last night?"

Daryl didn't answer right away. "Didn't want 'em to... Jus' didn't have it in me to see 'em sad. Not after everythin'."

I nodded, nuzzling into his chest. "I was glad to have the house to ourselves anyway," I teased, smirking. "All that screaming would've definitely woken them up."

That made him huff out a laugh. "Shit, prob'ly woke 'em up from next door anyway."

I grinned, tracing the curve of his ribs with my fingertips. "What d'you think their secret mission with Merle was about?"

He shrugged. "Prob'ly just didn't want Annie chewin' his ear off for gettin' himself trapped in that damn cave."

I chuckled, then was tempted to bring up Carol, but decided against it. Not now. Not when this peace was still clinging to the edges of our morning.

"Better get the council together," I sighed instead. "Start figuring out our next move."

"Yeah..." He said half-heartedly, and then he dragged me back into him, "in five minutes."

~

Eventually, we rolled out of bed, pulled on clothes, and headed next door to check on the kids. But as soon as we entered, a tiny voice shrieked.

"Can I tell them? Please!?"

Briar was bouncing on the balls of her feet, eyes sparkling like Christmas morning. Sawyer stood proudly beside her, while Annie sat on the couch with DJ in her lap and a smug little smile curling at her lips.

Annie nodded to Briar, who puffed out her chest and blurted-

"Uncle Merle and Aunt Annie are getting married!"

My mouth fell open. I turned to Daryl, who looked like someone had just told him his vest had been eaten by goblins.

Annie held up her hand, and sure enough, a delicate ring shimmered on her finger. Merle stood nearby, arms crossed, looking too proud for a man who once said love was "for suckers and soap operas."

"That was it!" Briar added, bouncing again. "Our secret mission!"

Merle grinned and chimed in, "Had to slice a finger off some skank in that horde to get that bad boy... Seein' as some assholes stole my weddin' rings..."

Daryl groaned, rubbing a hand down his face while I rolled my eyes, before we hugged them both in congratulations.

"Tell me what you guys had to do," I asked, crouching beside Briar and Sawyer, genuinely curious.

"Well," Briar began with the most serious expression a six-year-old could. "We made her honey cookies! And then me and Sawyer went into the yard to pick flowers-"

"They were dead ones," Sawyer whispered helpfully.

"But we found one alive one!" Briar corrected. "And then Uncle Merle said it was almost time for him to ask Aunt Annie, but his hands were all shakey so I said 'just do it already!'"

"And DJ burped really loud during," Sawyer added.

Annie chuckled, beaming. "...which really brought the mood together."

Merle muttered, "Kid knew I needed a damn drumroll..."

Part of me wondered if he needed the kids for backup because he didn't have the nerve to do it alone. Merle was a tough son of a bitch, but emotional displays had a tendency to makes the Dixon brothers itch...

But as I looked at Annie's glowing face and Merle's rare softness, and it made my heart warm in a way I hadn't expected this morning.

"You guys deserve this." I smiled

"Yeah," Daryl said, smiling right along with me. "Ya do."

And as the kids circled Merle and Annie with shrieks of excitement, and DJ chewed on a sock like it was celebratory cake, I let myself soak in it - this moment of light, before we had to dampen it with preparations for the storm that was inevitably coming.

~

The council had agreed with Daryl's suggestion to evacuate if the scouts sent word the Whisperers were heading our way. No arguments. No bravado. No stubborn stand-your-ground bullshit. Just quiet nods and swift organisation.

Honestly? I'd expected a little more pushback... But Daryl was someone people trusted. Respected. And when he said evacuation was the way to go, they knew it was only because there was no other choice.

And it was a damn good job we didn't waste time debating it - because barely a day later, the reports came in.

Walkers. Moving strange. Grouping up in unnatural patterns. Not shambling aimlessly, but herding. Like they had shepherds.

We knew what that meant.

A day later, those smaller herds had merged, pulled together by an invisible hand. A hand that wore a walker's face and whispered through the trees.

And the day after that - they'd joined what was left of the Whisperers' horde and were moving slowly in Alexandria's direction. It wasn't quite as large as the original horde that had been led to Hilltop... but it was still thousands strong. And it was coming for us.

So now, here we were - crammed into an abandoned hospital a few miles out that we'd dubbed The Tower. Alexandria and what was left of Hilltop, taking shelter behind rusted doors and flaking walls. The building was tall, solid, easy to barricade. But it still felt a little like a tomb waiting to be filled.

I pressed my forehead to the cool glass of a window on the top floor, trying not to let the knot in my stomach take over. Nearby, children played quietly under the strained smiles of their parents. Annie rocked DJ on her hip. Adam clung to Enid's leg while RJ tried to clout Judith with a stick he insisted was his "sword."

It still felt wrong. Running.

I wasn't wired for it. None of us were. Especially not Daryl. He'd fought every battle with his fists and his teeth if he had to - but he'd been the first to say we should get the hell out of dodge this time, and that told me everything I needed to know.

This wasn't about pride anymore. This was survival.

I turned away from the window, arms wrapped tight around my chest. The room was dim, the walls yellowed with age. Glenn sat on the edge of a dusty cot, sharpening a knife in slow, steady strokes.

"You doing okay?" he asked, peering up at me.

"Mmhmm," I murmured, rubbing my temples as I perched beside him.

"We're doing the right thing," he said kindly.

"I know... Just feels weird, not staying to fight."

"Yeah." He slid the whetstone back into his bag. "But look at Hilltop. Fighting didn't help."

I didn't know what to say. It was still so raw for him and Maggie.

"At least the kids aren't stuck in the middle of a war zone this time." He added.

My gaze followed his to the children, still running around like it was just any other day. He was right. They were the whole reason we were here, not risking them being stuck in the middle of it with no escape again.

"At least we have a plan." I said aloud, more to remind myself than anything else.

Glenn made a noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Crazy-ass plan."

"Worked before."

"Yeah... on a handful of walkers."

I smiled, tired. "But it worked."

He chuckled. "Guess so."

The plan had started off as a joke - me reminiscing about the time Daryl hotwired a car and blasted AC/DC to lure walkers away. I'd said it without thinking, something light-hearted to distract from the doom building in all of our chests.

But then it stuck. Grew. Evolved.

Now we were planning to use the speakers to draw the horde away into a trap. A literal, suicidal Pied Piper scheme.

It was desperate. But we were out of time for anything else. As long as we could get the goddamn wiring sorted in time.

Across the room, Carol sat stiffly with her arms crossed, talking low with Jerry. Lydia leaned against the wall near the staircase, arms folded, avoiding my gaze every time I passed her.

It hurt more than I expected.

She hadn't said a word to me since we left Hilltop. Not about Alpha. Not about what I'd done. Not about anything.

I got it. I really did. But it still stung.

She looked like she was breaking under the weight of all the things she couldn't say. I wished she'd just scream at me, hit me, get it out... but she wasn't ready, and it wasn't my place to push her.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "Maggie think this is going to work?" I asked Glenn.

He didn't answer for a long time.

Then, quietly, "She really hopes so."

That was the best we could do. Hope.

Hope that the plan worked. Hope that the Whisperers didn't somehow find us before we could get the music rigged. Hope that whatever happened next, we'd come out of it on the other side without losing more people.

If Alexandria fell... it'd suck. It'd hurt. But as long as we all had each other, as long as Daryl and the kids were safe, people didn't lose their families - we could find home somewhere else. Build it again. If we had to.

Daryl moving across the room caught my eye. We'd barely said two words to each other since we got here, not because we were fighting, but because words didn't mean much when the air was already thick with too much. Fear. Anticipation. Loss we hadn't yet felt but knew might be coming.

He was going to check the perimeter - again. Not far, not long. Just in case any Whisperers had strayed too close, risking our location. Logical. Necessary.

Didn't mean I liked it.

As he started toward the exit, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back, hard enough that he turned. His eyes met mine, as outwardly stoic as ever, but I knew him well enough to see what swam just below that - grit, grief, and that gnawing tension that never really left him anymore.

"I love you," I told him, fierce, like it was a command. Then I kissed him - really kissed him - before he even really had chance to register it.

"Be safe," I added against his mouth, my voice shaky even though I fought it.

He nodded, brushing my cheek with his rough thumb, "Only goin' outside."

"I know. But I'm not risking ever not telling you those things again."

He smirked, leaning in to kiss me again, "Good. I love ya. You be safe in here, try not to choke on the smell of cat piss."

I snorted. And then he was gone.

I busied myself with the kids, trying to shake the anxiety vibrating through my chest. Sawyer was seemingly oblivious, but Briar wasn't. That little girl had far too much understanding of this world for her age. Something that seemed like both a blessing and a curse at the same time.

"Is Daddy going far?" She asked nervously.

"Just to check outside the hospital sweetheart. He'll be back really soon."

The radio crackled to life not ten minutes later. I snatched it up fast enough to knock over a stack of supplies.

"Aaron?" I asked, already standing.

"Yeah," came his voice, tight, clipped. "They've reached Alexandria."

The world narrowed in around me.

"Are they inside?"

There was a pause, long enough to tell me the answer before he even said it.

"Yes."

I closed my eyes and forced down the scream rising in my throat.

"Keep us updated," I said, managing to sound steady despite the way my legs were shaking.

"I will."

I clipped the radio to my belt and gave Gabriel the signal he'd been dreading as much as I had.

They were in.

But there wasn't time to panic. Not with wires still needing to be connected to the makeshift sound system we'd pieced together - the one to draw the horde when the time was right.

I needed to make sure Daryl knew though. I pulled the radio back off my belt and hit the button. "Daryl?"

A few moments later. "M'here."

"Did you hear Aaron's call?"

"Yeah." He paused for a moment. "Ath... It'll be okay. Whatever happens back there... We'll be okay."

"Yeah." I sighed, "You almost done?"

"Yeah... Thirty minutes max."

"Okay. I love you."

I could actually hear his small smile. "Love ya, Ath."

The radio crackled again not two seconds later. "We love you too, guys."

I snorted. "Shut it, Alden. You big eavesdropper."

"You're the ones using the relay as a direct line to soppiness."

"Fair... Anything happening?"

"Not yet. We're in the tower, hopefully they don't come up here. Athena, how's Enid doing?"

I glanced over at Enid who was sitting beside Maggie, tickling Adam.

"She's fine."

"Okay, keep an eye on her for me, will ya?"

"Sure. Keep us posted."

I went to try help with the wiring, but quickly realised I was better off staying out of it. Luke and Eric looked like they were about to strangle each other with the wires, though assured me they were making good progress.

Instead, I sat back near the kids and just watched them a while, hoping Daryl was on his way back. At least thirty minutes passed. Maybe more. Time had a way of twisting in moments like this - stretching, looping, coiling tighter around your throat. Then the radio crackled again, its sudden buzz slicing through the heavy silence like a blade.

"Aaron to Tower."

I snatched it up before the last syllable hit the air.

"What's happening?"

"They've left Alexandria," Aaron replied, breathless relief threading through his voice, but it didn't settle me. Not fully. "About ten minutes ago. We're tailing them. You guys almost ready?"

I let out a slow breath, trying to steady the gallop of my pulse.

"Thank fuck," I muttered, pressing the button again. "Wiring's almost done. We won't need much longer."

"Copy that."

I clipped the radio to my belt and turned toward Luke and Eric. "They're moving. How close are we?"

"Twenty minutes," Luke said without looking up, his fingers flying over the tangled guts of wires like he was defusing a bomb.

That's when I noticed Carl across the room. Pale. Eyes wide and blank like he'd just seen someone die.

"She's gone," he said, panicked

My mind stumbled over the words. "Who?"

"Judith. I've looked everywhere."

"Shit. Okay, let's get a team-"

The tower doors creaked open behind me, and I turned just as a familiar silhouette stepped inside.

Daryl. And beside him-

"Judith!" Carl rushed forward, his fear snapping into raw fury. "Jesus! Where the hell did you go!? Were you outside!?"

"Hey," Daryl said, low and rough. The kind of calm that only came from knowing what chaos felt like up close. "Go easy. She wasn't far. Jus' needed some air."

"Air?" Carl blinked, incredulous.

Judith didn't answer. Her small frame hovered beside Daryl's like a ghost, hands tucked into the sleeves of her too-big sweater, head down. Her cheeks were red and blotchy, her lashes damp. She'd clearly been crying.

I moved without thinking and pulled her in, my arms wrapping around her tightly, protectively. She didn't speak, just leaned into me for a moment before pulling away. She slipped past us in silence, disappearing down the hallway.

Daryl exhaled beside me, low and weary. Then he pulled me into him.

"She okay?" I whispered against his shoulder.

He nodded once, slowly. "Yeah. Said somethin' weird though. 'Bout Michonne. Thinks she's gonna be gone a long time."

I leaned back, frowning up at him. "Did she say why?"

"Nope." He glanced toward where Judith had headed. "Clammed up after that."

"Poor kid..." I sighed. "Horde's on the move."

"I heard. We good to go?"

"Almost. We really could've used Eugene for this, but Luke and Eric've got it."

Daryl huffed. "Too busy on his date."

I narrowed my eyes. "They're heading to meet with a new community..."

Daryl smirked. "Definitely a girl involved there somewhere. Eugene was all googly-eyed before he left."

"Well that's awkward for Ezekiel and Yumiko..."

It took another hour before Luke and Eric were done with the wiring. Not that it mattered too much. Aaron had radioed to say the horde seemed to be moving in the direction of Oceanside now, but it would be a slow process and catching them up shouldn't be a problem.

"A'ight." Daryl said, "S'get this done."

We'd just started grabbing the equipment when Gabriel's voice cut through the air. "They're coming!"

"Huh?" I asked, confused, but one look at his face told me everything I needed to know.

"The fuck did they know where we were!?" Daryl growled as he moved to the window beside Gabriel, scowling.

Nobody knew. But it was irrelevant. They were here. And we were fucked.

"Why didn't Alden warn us!?" Enid cried, panicked. "Do you think they're okay?"

But I could barely hear her over my heart pounding in my ears.

This was supposed to be safe. That was the point. Leaving Alexandria, sheltering here - this wasn't supposed to happen.

But it was.

The full horde was upon us in no time. The tower shook with their presence, the low thunder of feet and flesh dragging over roots and stone. Their moans a sickening chorus.

Briar clung to my side. Sawyer hid his face against Daryl's leg. Judith stood frozen, pale and silent, holding RJ's hand with a grip like a vise. I could feel the air being sucked out of the room as panic set in. My own chest was tightening.

No.

I straightened, shoving the fear down.

"Alright," I said. My voice cracked, but I cleared it and tried again. "We stick to the plan."

There was a few raised eyebrows, but Daryl backed me up instantly. "She's right. We ain't got no other choice."

Luke stepped forward, wide-eyed but steady. "The wagon's still at the north break," he said. "It's behind the herd now. We've got to get the sound system to it, or none of this works."

I nodded. "Okay, four pairs. One carries the cargo, one protects. Who's in?"

A small selection of hands raised.

Then Lydia stepped forward. Eyes still avoiding mine, but her voice clear. "I'll go."

The first words she'd said to me. They hung awkward in the air, heavier than they should've been. I opened my mouth to answer, but Daryl beat me to it, sharp and final.

"Nah."

Lydia's face twisted like she'd been slapped. But Daryl didn't back down.

"Ain't a debate."

I touched his arm gently, showing him I agreed.

"Right..." I continued. "So, Me and Daryl. Merle and Luke. Maggie and Glenn. Carol and Jerry. We do this quiet, no heroics."

There was a tense shuffle of boots, then Daryl turned to me a beat later, voice low and just for my ears. "Ain't gotta be you out there."

"It does."

He looked at me, and I could tell there was frustration bubbling away inside. He didn't want me out there, but nor did I him - if we were doing this, we were doing it side by side.

"Stay," he tried again anyway, softer this time. "Stay with the kids."

"No." I shook my head. "Nobody watches your back like I do."

His jaw clenched, like he hated knowing I was right.

I reached up and touched the back of his neck. "We do this together... for them."

We tried not to make a big deal of saying goodbye to the kids. They were already frightened, eyes wide and glistening. We hugged them, told them we loved them, that we'd be back soon, and didn't linger.

I found Gabriel and caught his sleeve. "If it doesn't work-"

"It will."

"If it doesn't. Get them out. Please."

He nodded solemnly. "I will."

On the bottom floor, the air stank of rotting guts as we all smeared ourselves with them - neck, arms, clothes. My skin crawled as I wiped it down my chest. I hadn't done this for a while and I'd almost forgotten how absolutely fucking disgusting it was.

Daryl helped me do my back. I was just lifting a hand to my face when his fingers wrapped around my wrist.

"Wait."

He pulled me toward him and kissed me - rough and hungry, like he didn't know if we'd get another chance. I kissed him back with everything in me, grabbing the front of his shirt like I could hold him here forever.

"Be safe," he muttered against my mouth.

"You be safe, too. I love you."

"Love ya so much."

Merle opened the door, and the stench outside hit us like a slap. We squeezed through the entrance, one by one, into the crowd of death. The moaning was deafening. My heart beat so fast I thought it'd crack a rib.

We shuffled through the sea of rot and rage, faces slack, shoulders hunched, doing our best to look like them, to be them.

It worked. For a while.

But before long, I could hear the whizzing of arrows coming from the top of the hospital. Our archers. It meant at least one of the teams were in trouble, but we were powerless to help them. We'd been separated quickly and it was too dangerous to do anything but push through and pray they were okay.

Daryl and I were almost through, when - shit - one of the Whisperers noticed us. She lunged, blade out, snarling like a feral dog. I ducked, Daryl was faster. His knife buried deep in her gut, and when she screamed, it was the end of her. Walkers swarmed. She vanished beneath them.

I saw another approaching out of the corner of my eye. I turned, knife ready - and stopped as I saw her eyes through her mask.

Lydia.

I stared for a second, shocked, then together, the three of us pushed through to the treeline. The others were already there, breathing hard. Glenn had a graze on his arm. Maggie was checking his head.

Daryl rounded on Lydia, "Ya shouldn't be here!"

He looked ready to bite steel.

"I had to." Lydia said defiantly, peeling off her mother's mask, which she must have taken after the gas station.

I grabbed Daryl's arm. "She just wants to help."

Daryl grunted, but there wasn't time for anything more. We had to get to the wagon.

The wagon waited on the road ahead. We loaded the sound system in silence, everyone grim and focused as the sky started falling dark. Luke fiddled with dials and wires. Static hissed. Then music - a loud, distorted thrum that carried across the fields.

♪ Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games We got everything you want, honey, we know the names ♪

The closest walkers turned and started shambling towards us.

♪ We are the people that can find whatever you may need If you got the money, honey, we got your disease ♪

I watched as more of the wall of rotting bodies began to shuffle away from our children.

The plan was working.

♪ It's a jungle, welcome to the jungle Watch it bring it to your n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees, knees Oh ah, I wanna see you bleed ♪

We were about to begin the journey to the cliff edge we intended to lure the walkers to, when without warning, a roar ripped through the air from the direction of the hospital. It was deafening - a thunderous, gut-splitting BOOM that stopped every one of us in our tracks.

We all spun toward the noise, hearts in our mouths.

"No!" I screamed, my voice raw.

"Fuck," Daryl growled, already reaching for my hand.

Maggie's face had gone sheet-white. No one breathed.

"Shit's loaded," Daryl snapped, tone iron. "M'goin' back."

"I'm with you," I said without hesitation, already moving at his side.

Maggie caught my arm as I passed. Her chin was high, but I saw the war raging in her eyes. "Get Hershel out," she said firmly. "We'll keep leading them away."

I nodded fast. We didn't have time for arguments. Glancing to the others, I didn't need to speak. We were all thinking the same thing.

Get the kids out.

We couldn't all turn back - some had to stay with the wagon. They had to make sure this hell ended. But Daryl was never going to leave our kids' lives in someone else's hands after what we just heard. And neither was I.

We sprinted, pushing back against the flow of the horde less carefully than before due to our panic. Some had turned back, drawn by the sound of the explosion, but thankfully, many were still more interested in Axl Rose's anthem.

The world around the hospital had turned to smoke, the sky a haze of ash and soot as we reached the back corridors near the hospital's side entrance. The place was partially on fire. Some lower floor must've taken a hit from the explosion - the windows were blown out, glass glittering across the ground like ice.

The Whisperers must be using explosives to break through our barricades.

Inside, the smoke thickened with every step. The building groaned under its own weight, as if the explosion had shaken its bones loose. But we were running on instinct now - feet flying over scorched tile, the hallway spinning with shadows and alarms and smoke.

"Hold up!" Daryl growled, grabbing my arm. "Stairwells are barricaded but they'll be full of Whisperers by now.

"Shit! How do we get up!?"

"Can try fightin' our way-" He stopped, something clicking in his head. "Nah, better idea. C'mon."

Air vents. That was Daryl's plan.

I wasn't even sure you could really crawl around buildings in them - I'd half-assumed the whole idea was just dreamed up for Die Hard, but thankfully, I was wrong.

The air in the vent was thick. Stale. Dust and rust clung to every surface, and the metal beneath my palms burned like it had soaked in a hundred summers. It was barely wide enough for me, let alone Daryl.

My breath came fast and shallow, the panic riding high in my chest. Not just because we were crawling through a damn air duct like rats - but because we still had no idea what was happening to our kids upstairs.

I shoved harder, elbows and knees scraping along the steel, ignoring the sting.

Behind me, Daryl's voice rumbled low. "Go easy. Ain't meant to take our weight."

"Trying," I croaked. My throat was dry. My heart wasn't. It slammed hard against my ribs like it wanted out.

A sudden clang echoed as I shifted my weight. I froze, chest tightening. "Shit."

"Yur okay," Daryl muttered behind me. "Keep goin'."

The vent angled up ahead. I gritted my teeth and started to climb it, the incline turning every motion into a battle against gravity. My boots skidded, and I lost grip for a second, almost sliding back down into him. Daryl caught my ankle, steadying me.

"I've got ya," he said.

I scrambled up the slope like a wild animal. The vent creaked with every movement. At the top, a roadblock caught my eyes - a huge fan.

Of course.

I twisted, bracing my back against one side and feet on the other, crab-crawling forward until I reached the fan's base. The blades were big and brutal, but obviously still. Though they were still in our way.

Daryl wedged in beside me, panting slightly. "Get back," he muttered, reaching down for his knife.

"You can't stab a fan, baby."

He gave me a look that said 'watch me.'

He spun the knife, aiming the hilt rather than the blade and hammering at the metal with everything in him.

"C'mon," he growled to himself.

Thankfully, the fan splintered,and he shoved the warped metal aside with a few grunts, then ushered for me to go first.

The next section was even tighter. We had to crawl flat on our stomachs. Dust coated my lips. Cobwebs clung to my lashes. I didn't care. My whole mind was screaming.

Get to them. Get to them.

Then another slope. This one steeper. Rust had eaten through parts of the vent here, making the climb more dangerous. I kicked against the sides, slipping. "Fuck!"

But Daryl was already pushing up behind me, hands braced against my boots.

I planted my foot on his thigh and kicked upward, scrambling with everything I had. He followed fast, nimble for someone his size, muscles working like ropes under his skin.

We reached a cross-section where the shaft split in two. One path curved down. The other led up. We didn't even look at the lower one. Daryl tilted his chin. "S'this way."

We had to climb again. This time, he went first. Boosted himself up, grunting, arms straining as he hauled himself to the ledge. Then he crouched and held his arm out for me.

I grabbed it. He pulled, and I scrambled, feet kicking wildly until I made it. We landed in a heap, breathless.

Our foreheads bumped. I pressed mine to his for one desperate second. We didn't say anything. Didn't need to. We were in sync - mind, heart, terror.

We climbed through the last vent, shoulders bruised, blood on our knuckles. We reached a final grate above. I shoved it open and we burst onto the top floor just as a voice called out from the dark:

"Athena?!"

"Annie," I breathed, lungs seizing with relief as I saw that the top floor was almost empty already. She was just about to start lowering herself down an elevator shaft via a thick rope, DJ's cries echoing faintly up from below. "Are they safe!?"

"Already down." she panted. "Almost everyone is."

I felt like a bus had been lifted off my chest.

Daryl eyes swept the shaft. "How many left?"

"Only a few," she said, glancing to the shadows behind her. "People are still climbing down - we staggered the descent. Has Merle stayed with the Wagon?"

"Had to," Daryl grunted, but I could hear his relief. "Go."

That's when I saw Gabriel. He was manning the barricaded main stairwell entrance, knife in hand, sweat pouring down his face.

"You have to go," he yelled without turning. "They're breaching the last barricade."

"Ain't leavin' ya," Daryl barked.

"Somebody has to make sure they don't cut the rope before everyone's down!" Gabriel shot back. "This is the only way out!"

The shaft creaked - someone else had started their descent. The final person before us.

"Go!" Gabriel yelled.

My throat clenched.

Daryl turned to me, wild-eyed. "Go."

"No!"

"Ath..."

"Not without you."

He stared at me, torn wide open. "Can't just leave 'im."

"And I'm not leavin' you!" I shot back, voice shaking with desperation.

A deep groan echoed beyond the barricade. The door to the top floor buckled under pressure.

"Ath, c'mon-"

I drew my knife and stepped in front of him. "I said no." My voice was like stone. "We do this together."

There was no time left to argue. The doors crashed open.

They poured in - Whisperers in ragged skin-masks with gleaming blades. I didn't even feel my feet move - just saw steel flashing in my hands, heard pained grunts echoing off tile.

Gabriel took down two. Daryl's knife found the eye socket of another. I moved like fury, blade slicing flesh from mask, ducking and twisting through blood and limbs. But they were everywhere. For every one we felled, three more took their place.

Gabriel went down first - a whack to the head knocked him out cold. I yelled his name, but he didn't stir.

A Whisperer lunged. I turned just in time to catch its blade across my shoulder - the pain was hot, sharp, but I didn't stop. My knife sank into its ribs. Another crashed into me from behind, sending me sprawling.

I was pinned.

And now, so was Daryl.

I yelled, kicked, twisted, but the Whisperer above me raised their knife.

A whistle of metal - then a blur.

The head of the Whisperer rolled clean off and hit the floor with a sickening thud.

What the..?

The body slumped.

And there she stood - silhouetted by the moonlight pouring in through a shattered window.

Katana in hand. Braids wild around her face. Eyes burning like judgment day.

Michonne.

She stepped back, and then, one by one, she carved through the remaining Whisperers like death made flesh. Precise. Swift. Unstoppable.

I scrambled up, gasping, ready to get to Daryl-

But he was just lying there on the floor, staring. Frozen. Wide-eyed, a walker dead atop him.

"Daryl!" I yelled, moving toward him.

He didn't move. He didn't blink.

My gut turned.

"What is it?" I asked, voice hollow as I followed his gaze.

And then I saw him.

My knees buckled. The world tilted. Daryl's hand found mine, gripping it like he couldn't believe it either.

Stepping through the smoke with an axe over one shoulder, wearing a beat-up sheriff's jacket, smirking like he'd never left.

Rick. Fucking. Grimes.

.

.

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A/N: Eeeeek! Did that surprise you?

I've been planning this ever since the bridge explosion and loved writing it!

Hope you enjoyed! ❤️