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mydarllinglover · 1 year ago

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Alone || Mine

After the funeral, Carol had approached Natalia, when Daryl had been distracted with getting his things ready.

She had been preparing herself to settle the tension between herself and the woman, and to ask her to join them, but Natalia was already a step ahead of her, she had already chosen that she would be accompanying them to the herd, but when she was asked why, she refused to give a reason, just that she needed it to end, once and for all, and that meant any way how, she needed to do her part.

Daryl, who still refused to say a word to her, had all but dragged the woman onto the back of his bike, whilst Carol and Aaron rode two horses.

Once they got to their destination, "parking" their "vehicles", Connie, Kelly, Jerry and Magna had appeared from the foliage.

"Hi." Daryl greeted them.

"Hey, D." Jerry replied. "Nat!"

"Jerry" She grinned, jogging forward to hug the man. "How's Nabila, and the kids."

"Y'know, like normal, heard what happened to Rosita and Archie, they alright?"

"They're... they're all good, I have a lot to thank her for." She nodded, before moving on to greet Connie, as well as Kelly and Magna.

"Let's get to it. Screw these freaks." Magna sighed. "I say that in Siddiq's honour."

"That's the spirit." Natalia looked around the woods, seeing if she could spot anything.

"Thanks for helping." Daryl thanked Connie, patting her on the shoulder.

She pulled out a notebook, preparing to give a reply.

Natalia couldn't see what it said, but she couldn't deny that she craned her neck to see.

"You okay?" Aaron peered at her, as they walked.

"Fine." She smiled at him, pretending to not even notice the two conversing.

It was nightfall by the time they had reached the new border, and with a heavy sigh, they crossed it.

Daryl had been the last person, waiting after the others.

At some point, Carol had drew her bow, seeming to have spot something, though no one really took notice, except for Daryl, as per usual.

"Hey. Wait." He called to her, spotting the bear trap. "Coulda lost a foot." He commented, when she had saw it.

"They laid traps. Means we're getting closer. I saw something over there." Carol said.

"Will you stop this shit?" Daryl asked her. "Please. You want her dead so bad, you don't even care what happens to you."

"That's not true." She denied.

"You never came off that boat." He shook his head. "It's been like talking to a goddamn ghost."

"I'm doing the best I can."

"You didn't have ta drag my wife along with this, she didn't needa be out here."

"She wanted to come." Carol corrected. "I didn't make her."

"Yeah, only cause she thinks she owes you, she blames Henry's death on herself, bin beating herself up about it all morning, causea what happened to Siddiq, with Dante. I know you went and asked her, specifically when I wasn't around."

"She's useful, Daryl. You've been forgetting that, for a while. She's skilled and she knows her way in a fight, better than most of us."

"Not anymore, she's not meant for it out here, anymore, hasn't for a long time."

"You underestimate her, she's still capable."

"Well, the way you bin acting, I don wan' her getting hurt in the crossfire." He stated, before heading forward, to join the rest, temporarily stunting Carol.

The sun had risen high when they reached a clearing, the place Mary had said the horde was, and yet, it was an empty field.

"God damn it!" Daryl cursed, turning away as though it was an offensive sight.

"Wait." Aaron told him.

"For what?" He asked.

"This doesn't mean Mary lied to us, alright?" He tried to reason. "They were protecting this place. T-They put a trap in the road as a deterrent."

"Yeah, from some hunter a decade ago."

"No, that thing was rigged more recently than that, and you know it." Aaron pointed out.

"You wanna stand around and figure it out?" Daryl challenged.

"Look, the herd could have been here last week or yesterday."

"Or not at all." Natalia interjected.

"We!" He glanced at the woman. "Had an obligation to come check this out."

"Nah. Time to find Lydia. Let's go." He walked away, Natalia shook her head at Aaron in sympathy before also turning and leaving.

"She's our main priority." She reminded.

"You didn't have to snap at him like that, not in front of everybody." Natalia told Daryl, as they walked further ahead than the rest.

"What?" He grunted, trying to look for tracks.

"He was sure on this, and he had hope, its Aaron, you know what he's like, but you didn't have to shoot him down like that."

"I don' need a lecture, alright, we're looking for Lydia so we can get the hell back home." He finalised.

"Oh, how I wonder where our daughter gets her pessimistic attitude from." She sighed to herself.

They hadn't spoke again until they reached water.

"Lydia would have taken this river downstream." Daryl told the group. "Back to our side."

They followed, until they noticed that Carol wasn't,

"Hey, Carol. Let's go." Daryl called for her.

"You go on. I'll meet you." She told him, walking the other direction.

"Nope. We all stay together." He clarified, as though he was some chaperone on a school field trip.

She didn't back down though, so they changed course, following her.

Even when she darted through the tree's.

"Hey!" Daryl shouted, sprinting after the woman. "Carol!"

"It's Alpha, she's following her." Natalia shared, spotting the woman through the leaves as she also ran.

She had managed to pass Daryl, being faster than him, but he got the chance to catch up when she ran into walkers, taking them down, throwing them into the same hole they had passed all those months ago to find Henry and Evie.

"You alright?" He asked, when she had thrown the last one down.

"Still got it." She huffed. "Come on. Carol's still going after her." Natalia reminded, carrying on.

Daryl had waited back though, checking for more to come, as they ran, Natalia led the rest of the group into the same walkway she saw Carol going through, though she froze when she heard it, the large chorus of walker groans.

"I think we found the herd." She sighed, as the others also stopped staring down at what looked like a hundred walkers. "Well done, Carol.

"Guess they did move them." Aaron spoke lowly.

"Y'know, it's kinda reminding me of both of my pregnancy reveals." Natalia commented, raising her brows.

That's when a loud collision sounded, Daryl rolling along the ground just above them, stopping just before the edge.

"Speak of the devil..." She sighed, whilst Jerry and Aaron helped him up.

"Pregnant?" Daryl sputtered as he got to his feet.

"No, you idiot. I said, I was getting flashbacks to both reveals." She gestured to the horde.

"Yeah, we got a way bigger problem than memory lane." Magna looked around the cave, and so did the others, without the hundreds of walkers, the cave was a danger, alone, it was small, cramped, could possibly collapse at any moment and there looked to be no way out.

"Uh. Hey, guys?" Jerry called over the noise of the walkers, looking up, bringing attention to Alpha, who was stood on a high ledge, holding an torch of fire.

Carol stared at the woman with pure hatred, the realisation that she had been tricked got to her, then... she just screamed, loud, agonisingly and long, letting out all the rage she felt, and Alpha left her to it, exiting the cave.

"Give me a boost, I think I can reach it." Magna said, staring at the platform.

"Maybe Natalia can give it a go, she'll probably be lighter." Kelly suggested, sizing everyone up.

"Pipsqueak?" Magna, assessed the small woman. "Yeah, she won't reach a thing." She then gestured for the three men to help her up, and spot her.

"Ouch." Natalia muttered to herself, halting back, letting the others help up Magna, as she dealt with the walkers that were able to climb above the others, getting pushed towards them.

"Aah!" Magna screamed, losing her grip and falling to the ground.

"Damn. You okay?" Daryl asked, helping her up.

"I almost had it." She told him.

"Nah, it's too high, no one's getting up there." He said. "You risk breaking your neck."

"We could try hopping across." Natalia suggested

"What?" Aaron asked her.

"Look." She moved Daryl's hand, the one holding the flashlight, showing off the small platforms above the walkers. "Could use those to jump across." She signed as she spoke, her and Daryl had been learning it, as well as teaching the kids, they had decided to, after they met Connie.

"Nice." Daryl nodded, looking at her proudly.

"Wait. For real?" Kelly asked.

"Uhm, yeah, Unless you got a better idea." Natalia asked her. "I'll go first, follow my lead, but don't all bunch up, leave a spot in case I need to turn back."

"Wait, Nat, are you sure?" Aaron asked.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Just that... you know, you got kids."

"Yeah, so do you, and you, and you." She pointed to the men in group, who were all fathers. "Alright, ready?"

"Let's go." Daryl slightly squeezed her hip as she got ready to jump, flashing the light over her head.

"Follow after, If I want anyone watching my back, it's always gonna be you." She looked up at Daryl, speaking to him quietly.

"'M always gonna. Don't die." He murmured lowly.

"You either." Then she jumped, reaching the small rock, and the walkers instantly swarmed around her.

"She did it!" Jerry whooped at her success.

"Hey." She grinned. "Look at that, I'm so small, they can barely reach me." She looked right at Magna, who didn't seem at all impressed, but Connie was also smiling nudging her friend.

"Alright, baby, keep going." Daryl told her, moving the flashlight to show her next spot.

She moved up, letting Daryl take her previous space, as she jumped to the next, which was a bit more crowded, having to kick walkers away from her, as she moved around the rock, before running along a small pathway, stopping in a crook, catching her breath.

Natalia lightly threw her arms around Daryl when he sat beside her, kissing his cheek, as the others moved along, towards them.

"You alright?" He asked.

"We're still alive, is it weird that I'm kinda having fun?"

"Yes." He stared at her.

"I don't know, guess I kinda missed when my life was on the line, getting from point A to point B, that kinda stuff, I don't know." She shook her head looking around the cave. "Up there." She pointed, standing up and moving towards it, as Carol came flying towards them.

"Hey! Hey! Come on! Come on!" Aaron began shouting at Kelly, who had just jumped, but fell, hitting at walkers as she scrambled to her feet.

"Come on, I gotchu!" Daryl told Carol, as she prepared to join them.

Carol jumped, but had also skidded, falling and landing on her stomach, walkers reaching at her feet whilst Daryl pulled her up.

"Nice going, like a real knight in shining armour." Natalia commented at him completely not having her.

"Shut up." He scowled, when they were sure Carol was alright.

They then helped the rest over, making sure everyone was okay.

That was until one walker had clung onto Kelly's foot, but Jerry acted quick, using his large axe to chop it off.

"Hey, hand me that thing." Daryl told him, gesturing to the arm.

"Knock yourself out, dude." Jerry said as he passed it to him.

He had ended up turning it into a torch, using it to navigate as they made their way through the mine.

"Alright, I need you to stay here, alright, keep everyone together." Daryl told Natalia, passing her his severed arm torch.

"What, where you going?" She asked.

"Gonna go look around for a way out." He told her, as though that were obvious.

"Nuh uh, Connie, take this, I'm going with you." She handed the severed arm torch to Connie, following Daryl.

Should I even ask how we're doing on food?" Aaron asked Jerry.

"Not great."

"Food?" Kelly asked. "How long do you think we gonna be here?"

"Hey, no worries. Walkers got in here somehow. We'll get out." Jerry attempted to reassure her.

"I think we know exactly how they got here. Alpha put them here. These are theirs. We have to assume we're not alone." Aaron theorised.

Connie signed to Carol, asking if she was okay.

"I'm fine. Just a lil winded." She replied.

"She's claustrophobic." Daryl answered, as they made their way back over.

"Why didn't you think about that before you got us all trapped down here?" Magna asked.

"Hey." Aaron told her, not wanting to start anything. "It's not the time for this."

"Why not, seems like we got plenty of time for this." She shrugged. "What the hell were you thinking, huh? Running off like that by yourself?"

"Because she doesn't think, she see's and she does." Natalia said. "That's Carol, to hell with the actual important stuff that's going on."

"Hey! We ain't got time for this shit." Daryl told them. "We got in this mess together. We're gonna get out of it together. Now follow me, I think I found a way out."

They had found a large "room" to set up camp in, sorting themselves out, plotting.

"What did you mean, when you said that this place reminded you of when you found out you were pregnant." Kelly asked, filling the silence.

"Long story." Natalia answered, as she layed on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"It's either that, or we can go back to figuring out who's to blame for all of this." Magna said, her tone sounded awfully sarcastic, though.

"Fine, It was a whole bunch of us, all the leaders, basically, we took a trip to a museum in D.C and they have, had this uh, glass floor, so you could look down at all the exhibits, though, at this point, the only thing you could see was dozens of walkers, and as I was walking along it, it started to shatter, which did wonders for my self- esteem , as you can imagine, and as I fell through, like a swinging pinata, Siddiq decided to radio in and tell me that I was pregnant... with twins." She recounted that time, around seven years ago.

"Wow." Kelly raised her brows.

"Yep." Natalia had closed her eyes, her head leaning on her folded arms.

"And the other time?" Magna asked.

"Oh... I didn't actually find out then, he did." She pointed at her husband, who was sat by himself, in front of a fire he had built.

"The story of Archie? We never got to hear about this, either." Aaron, who was beside Jerry, shared.

"Yeah, I wanna hear this." The large man grinned.

"Too bad, I don't feel like sharing anymore." She decided.

"But..." Aaron began to complain.

"I don't wanna talk about it, because instead of being with my 1 year old baby, I'm stuck in a fucking cave."

"You chose to come." Carol remined.

"No one mentioned a cave." She replied. "Or that we were gonna be here... for hours, with nothing to do... just waiting... for a stroke of luck, or death... hopefully soon, I'm not picky."

"She's kidding." Aaron assured Kelly, who was looking terrified by each passing word. "Nat... Nat tends to get morbidly sarcastic when she's either bored or scared. Right now, that's both."

"Naming your son Archie, is a lil on the nose, isn't it?" Magna asked, looking at Daryl.

"I didn't name him, wasn't even there when he was born." He sniffed, examining his knife.

"What do you mean?" Jerry asked.

"Birthed and delivered him, myself, just like the twins. Not bad for a pipsqueak, huh?" She opened one eye, glancing at Magna, who rolled her own. "And I named him after two of my best friends, father and son, just combined the first letter of their names though, Archie Carl."

"Natalia, you are the most terrifying person I've ever met." Aaron complimented her.

"Thank you, Aaron, it means a lot to be taken seriously."

They had sat in more silence, until Magna stood up, walking towards Daryl, with a limp.

"Hey. Hey... can I, Can I get matches?" She asked him.

"You should try to take it easy for a minute." He told her.

"I can't." She breathed heavily. "I need to do something."

He caved, handing her the box.

"Thanks." Magna said, as she accepted them, then walked away, then Carol sat beside him.

Natalia moved to lay on her side, her back to them, so she didn't have to unwantedly over-hear their conversation, she needed to rest, for her own sanity, but she really, really didn't want to die in this cave,

It was quiet for quite a while, before Magna had shouted at them.

"Skins!" She cried, and everyone was up in the second, running towards her.

Magna was trying to fight one off as more emerged.

One, a stocky looking man, had lunged at Natalia, aiming to stab her, but she managed to duck, knocking him on his ass, before stabbing her knife into his skull, she turned around and the others were doing the same, killing without hesitation.

Daryl stood back from his, looking around, whilst another came running at him from behind, but Natalia was quicker, throwing an knife into their head.

"Let's go." Daryl decided, turning in the way they had come from, bending slightly to retrieve Natalia's knife, wiping it on his trousers, handing it back to her as though it were a relay race.

They had ran into another room/spot.

Connie began signing in frustration.

"If we don't follow each other in the dark, we're gonna get split up." Kelly translated.

"She's right. We stick together." Carol agreed.

"At least we know there's a way out now." Aaron said.

"Yeah, but where?" Magna asked.

"I think they went this way." Jerry suggested.

"You see where they went?" Daryl asked him.

"Not exactly, but... I know a road sign when I see one." He shone his flashlight on an arrow, that had been carved into the rock.

Daryl followed it, and the rest followed him.

"Hey, come on." He hollered, reaching something that had caused him suspicion.

Connie shone her light into the crack, but nothing seemed to be jumping out at them, just a path.

"I'll go through." Natalia suggested.

"Naw." Daryl shut her down, instantly.

"I can fit." She argued.

"So can I, I'm going first." instead of giving her space to make her piece, he squeezed through the rock.

Natalia huffed, folding her arms in frustration, leaning against the wall.

"He loves you." Connie signed, nudging her. "And he wants to protect you."

"I don't need protecting, I'm fine to look after myself." She signed back, though hers was a lot slower as she remembered which word meant what sign.

"He knows that, but he's scared, and the best way he can deal with that is by taking charge."

She shrugged not knowing what to say, but feeling slightly defeated.

"Are you guys doing okay?"

"You seem to know more about my husband, then I do, these days."

"This is it." Daryl called, from inside the tomb.

Natalia was the first to move, pushing off the rock to go after him, letting the others follow after her.

"Hey, Nat?" Jerry called, from the back. "I'm really jealous of you, right now."

"I would love to trade, Jerry, obviously, after we get out this cave." She replied, back. "We're almost there, anyway."

She had reached Daryl, who was stood, staring at another hole, except this one wasn't walk through-able, they would have to crawl through it.

"Mine." Natalia decided, getting ready to climb in.

"Nat, no-"

"Nuh uh, this has my name written all over it, you can join the queue." She told him.

"I don't want ya doing that."

"And you think I want you to? Look, I can easily get through that, you're gonna struggle, and so is everyone else, I don't wanna wait behind you lot, besides, if it's a dead end, it's gonna take me half the time to figure that out, then it is you, so I'm going first."

"She has a point." Magna said.

Natalia saw the confliction on his face, and as he was about to speak his mind, she kissed him, briefly, giving her enough time to startle him and sneak into the hole, crawling through.

"Hey, you alright, back there?" Aaron called to Jerry, as the rest were crawling through.

"Yeah, sure, I'm just a 6,2ft dude that had trouble fitting into airplane bathrooms. Why wouldn't I be okay?" He grunted.

"Fair enough." Aaron nodded.

"Hey, quit your whining, I can see the end." Natalia called, "It's like, a hairs away."

"Who's hair are we talking about, before the twins, or after?" Aaron called.

"Don't get her started." Daryl sighed.

"Aaron, you know I don't like to talk about that, okay? It's a real sensitive subject for me." She admitted. "Hey, I'm out! Baby, come on!"

"I'm comin'" He breathed, crawling forward.

"It's so spacious out here, oh wow, come on, keep coming, the oxygen here is great."

Daryl came struggling out, then Magna, Kelly was after.

"I'm good." She told them, as she fell to the floor, despite Daryl helping her out.

Carol's breathing had gotten out of control, by the sounds of it, she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack, if she wasn't already in one.

"Carol! Carol!" Daryl shouted down the hole, trying to spot her in the very dim light.

"I'm here." She said, weakly.

"Hey, Carol, there's nothing to be scared about, alright, you're so, so close, just a little further." Natalia told the woman. "You've almost made it, and this is like the least scariest thing you've ever done, this is nothing compared to the thing's you've accomplished."

She was still struggling.

"Carol, I get your pain, okay, I understand, I understand it more than anyone could, okay, you know my daughter, my first one, before Evie, damn, when I lost her, I thought my life was going to end, and it did, it did feel like that, but then it didn't and I- I got to greive and I got to live a life that I could imagine her being a part of everyday, but yet, the vengeance I feel, that's never left me, to this day, I still wish I could cause harm over what happened to her, so I get your need to hurt Alpha, believe me, I do, but you're not going to get that satisfaction if you die in here, because you refused to move, but when you get out, I promise you, nothing on this earth will stop me from helping you see her bleed, I swear that on my life, but I need you to get out of that damn crawlspace, so we can drop that bitch and be done with this, with her stupid rules, and her meetings, all of it, so I need you to get the hell out, Carol."

"I can't." She whimpered. "I can't!"

"You can!" Natalia snapped. "You can, y'know why we named our daughter after you? Because you are brave, and you are strong, and one hell of a fighter, nothing stops Carol Peletier from getting to where she needs to be, nothing, because you are not scared of anything, even crawling through this, don't make us have named our child after someone who couldn't crawl through a damn tunnel, at least go down fighting, so we have a story to tell."

They heard movement, Carol was crawling through.

She felt a pat on her back, looking to her side.

"Thanks." Daryl muttered.

"I didn't do it for you, she needed a reality check, it's a long time coming." She smiled, reaching for his hand to hold.

When Carol had reached them, Natalia took the flashlight from her hands so that Daryl could help her out.

"Go ahead." She told him, as he carried her out of the cave

"I got you, I got you." He grunted, dealing with her weight.

"You did it." Natalia whispered to the woman, smiling, before turning back to the hole. "Right, three of you guys left, you got it."

"Hey, love the support, Nat, I really do, it's a nice change for you... but, just be quiet for a second." Jerry instructed, as something started whizzing.

"What is it?" Aaron asked.

"Aaron, man, be quiet." Jerry told him, as the whizzing continued.

Then was the sound of angry walker growls.

"Go, go, go! Go!" Jerry shouted, as Connie and Aaron clambered forward.

"Go, go, go!" Aaron tapped Connie, pushing her forward, faster.

Connie soon emerged, Natalia stepping back so she could climb out.

"Jerry, come on!" Aaron called back, as he also clambered out.

"Come on! Come on!" Daryl encouraged.

"Jerry, come on! You're almost there!" Aaron bellowed, when Jerry got to the tight bit.

"Guys! I'm... I'm stuck." He told them.

"Here, take my hand." Daryl said, reaching to grab for him.

Jerry groaned as he stretched himself tall, reaching for the other man.

"My feet! My feet! They got my feet! They're biting my feet! My feet!"

"Take your gear off!" Aaron suggested. "Take it off!"

He did as told, passing it forward.

"Come on, come on, give me your hand!" Daryl continued, as Jerry kicked at the walkers.

Daryl and Aaron were able to get a hold of him, pulling him out.

Natalia stabbed the walker that followed.

"You good?" Kelly asked, as they checked him for bites. "It's okay. They didn't bite through. You're good. It's all right. It's okay."

They all looked ahead, there was a small light, from up top, shining down onto the dark rock.

"Hey. Hey!" Magna called, standing up. "Look"

"Wait!" Daryl grabbed her around the waist, as she almost plummeted to her death, a large, dark void was just below.

Daryl tore off the arm of Natalia's latest kill, lighting it on fire and dropping it down, illuminating the horde just below them.

They had found another area, that had been boarded up with slabs of wood, Daryl had been the one to break through it.

The group walked through, silently, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did, and they hadn't found anything, either.

"Why are we standing around, just looking at it?" Magna asked.

"We got to be very careful." Kelly translated for Connie. "We take out the wrong piece, this whole thing's gonna collapse."

They took this in mind, as they looked for their exist.

"Alright, find something to dig with." Daryl told everyone, as they heaved and hooed.

"Hey, Aaron, can you help me with this?" Jerry asked, as they worked together.

"Yeah, yeah." He nodded.

"Kelly, what's that?" Natalia asked the young woman, seeing the box she had just uncovered.

"Look for yourself." She grinned, holding up a stick of dynamite. "Guys, look what I found!"

"Kelly! Uhm, that's great, but, that is dynamite, and unless you want to blow up into a million pieces, drop it!, like it's a new born baby!" Natalia demanded.

"What's going on?" Carol asked.

"Nothing, uhm, it's nothing, she thought she found something, but she didn't, it was just a cool looking rock." Natalia lied through her teeth, blocking Carol's view.

"But-" Kelly intervened, having dropped off her new find.

"Zup"

"No, but I-"

"Zup." Natalia repeated.

"But-"

"Kelly, go help the others, now." Natalia told her, pushing the girl around Carol.

"Nat?"

"It's fine, I don't wanna bore you with a rock, we haven't got time for that." Natalia walked away, quickly.

"Want to take a break?" Aaron asked Magna, as they lifted things around.

"I can rest when... when we get home." She replied.

"You in a hurry?" He pried.

"I just don't wanna hang out here any longer than I have to. Do you?"

"No, but... you barely rested, haven't eaten anything. You never stop."

"I didn't leave things good with Yumiko." She breathed, heavily.

"I'm sorry." He squeezed her arm in condolence.

"Me, too."

Daryl had found something, yanking at it hard, until it broke, falling to the ground with a cloud of dust.

"You okay?" Natalia asked, as he backed away, covering his mouth.

"Yeah." He nodded, "Fine, now." He pointed at the window he just opened up to the outside. "Come on, go." He gestured for Kelly to peep out."

"Just a little more." She told them.

"Where's Carol?" Daryl asked, as the others gathered around the exit.

"I have an idea," Natalia grumbled, heading towards the now rifled through, box of dynamite. "For fuck sake." She sighed, heading back to where Carol would be.

When they had found her, she was hanging of the edge of the rock, right over the horde, struggling to get up.

Natalia had been the one to go to her, she didn't trust Daryl getting over the rocks.

"Carol, come on." She held her hand out for her. "Just grab my hand, okay? I'm right here."

Carol latched on, and together, they were able to get her up.

"You okay?" Natalia asked, as they still clung to each other?

"We can take out half her horde from here." Was Carols reply.

"And that's worth risking your life for?"

"She killed my boy." Carol broke down.

"I know, Carol, and I am so sorry that she did, but this? You just can't do this, you can't live your life suicidally, he would never want that, you can't let his death be in vain, cause then, then she would win, and you can not let her win, we need to make her pay, this? She can always get more walkers, and she'll just double it next time, no, you need to do what she did to him, to them, you need to take her head, and that's when it stops, that's when this ends, and you can't do that if you're down there. Come on."

Natalia went to move back, and she thought Carol would too, but then she reaching for the stick, dropping it, and they both watched in horror as it fell into the horde.

"Hey! Come on!" Daryl called to them to come back, as the walls around them shook.

"She- She's bleeding." Natalia wheeped, as they reached Daryl, blood was dripping down Carol's face, it was all she could see.

"So are you!" He told her, grabbing hold of her, just as Connie and Magna came, helping support the two.

"Come on! Come on! Hurry!" Magna rushed them towards where Jerry was holding the support beams, by himself.

"I can't!" He grunted, struggling with the weight.

Magna helped Natalia stand, whilst Daryl squeezed her arm.

"You keep her safe, you get her out of here, Imma help from up there." He told her, squeezing the woman's hand again, before darting to the top.

"Give me her hand, I'll pull her up!" Daryl shouted down, when he was ready.

"No, no she goes first, she's bleeding." Natalia urged.

"Nat, so are you!" Magna told her.

"She's bleeding, get her out of here!" She pushed, hitting Connie to get Carol to move.

Connie helped push Carol up, as more rubble fell down.

"We've got more skins!" Magna cried, letting Natalia stand on her own, so she could fight.

Jerry screamed in agony refusing to let go.

"Get outta here!" Magna cried.

"I- I gotta help" Natalia, who was going considerably pale, stuttered, looking for her knife.

"Nat, I love you, but you need to get the hell out of here, before I drop this on you" Jerry told her.

"Hey, come on!" Daryl shouted down.

"But they're-"

"Go!" Jerry screamed at her. "Daryl, your wife, she ain't looking so great, you're gonna have to help her!"

"Nat, baby, come on, just give me your hand!" Daryl told her desperately.

She caved, staggering up, and as soon as they caught sight, Aaron and Daryl yanked her up.

"She's bleeding, real bad." Aaron looked at Daryl nervously.

"Jerry, come on man!" Daryl ignored it, wiping at the blood coming from a large gash on Nat's hairline, dripping down her face.

"We gotta help them" She almost whispered, reaching down as, they tried to pull her away, whilst Jerry climbed up.

They had three seconds to run before the mine exploded, sending a large thick cloud of dust into the air.

The group coughed as they got their barings.

Daryl looked around him, but he couldn't see her, he could've sworn she tried to pull away, but he held on to her, he did, right, he pulled her back, so why wasn't she by his side?

"Nat? Nat! Natalia!" He called, running to the rubble, turning over the rocks. "Nat? Nat, baby, where are you?"

He threw the rocks, as more dust clouded his vision.

"Natalia!"

"No!" Kelly cried, realising that her sister hadn't emerged from the mine, neither had Magna, but he couldn't focus on that right now. "No! No! No!"

"Nat, baby, where are you, please." He begged, as he searched.

Aaron had helped him, then, he found her.

"Daryl..." He said, his voice shook. "Daryl... I- I found her."

He turned in a mili-second, almost running to the man, until he froze, staring at her body, her unmoving body.

"Daryl...." Aaron whispered, as he darted to her.

"Nat?" He threw the large plate of rock that was over her arm, now, it looked out of place, her wrist was bent, he could've sworn that was her bone sticking out.

Her eyes were closed, there was a slash across her cheek, her head injury looked more and more bloody, her skin, that he could see under the dust, was ghost pale.

Daryl held her, her head fell down as his arm supported her neck.

"Nat, baby..." His voice was weak, he layed his head on her chest, listening for a heartbeat. His own fluttered when he could hear it, weak and soft, but there, her pulse was near enough the same, but she was still alive. "Help me!" He shouted to Aaron. "Help me!"

"Daryl-"

"Help me! She's alive! She's-... she's alive, just, just help me, please!"

"This blast is gonna call walkers and Whisperers from a hundred miles from here!" Kelly yelled, staring at the wreckage, from where her sister was buried in. "We don't want our backs pressed against this mountain when they come. We can't save her if we're still here, and we can't save them if we're dead."

"She's- we're, help... help- we're gonna get help, and they're gonna, they'll" Daryl could barely make out his sentence, his eyes welled up as he held Natalia tightly, lifting her off the ground.

"Go ahead, say it to me." Carol

whimpered, clinging onto his arm, but he shoved her away. "I deserve it. Just say it to me. She's going to die because of me. You were right about everything. Just say it to me."

He struggled to get past her again, but she grabbed him once more.

"No, please." She wailed. "You care about her. You've loved her for so long. And now she's going to die because of me. Please, just say it! Please say it!"

He ignored her, turning back to Aaron and Jerry.

"Take her. Go home and get her help, you... you'll get her there. Evie, Rosita, they can help her." He walked towards Jerry, who met him half way. "You... you protect her, you keep her breathing till she can get help." He told him, not giving her up yet.

"I will, Daryl, I will." Jerry looked at him sincerely. "All of us will have to have been dead before anything could happen to her."

Daryl looked down once again, even like this, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever graced his eyes on.

His lip trembled as he took her in, leaning his forehead on hers.

"You stay alive" He whispered. "You stay alive for Evie, For Daisy and Bambi, for Archie, and for me. God damn it, you stay alive for me, Natalia Isabelle Dixon, you fucking stay alive... I love you." He kissed her forehead before letting the large man take her, gently, he made sure she was safe and comfortable, even if she was unconscious, before he turned away, passing Carol without acknowledgement, once more.

"Tell the others we found the horde." He told the group.

"Where you gonna be?" Aaron asked.

"They got out before us." His voice shook, as he fought back tears. "There's gotta be another way in." He needed to stay busy, there was nothing he could do for Natalia, and he'd lose the strength to not hurt Carol if he stayed around, he needed to stay busy, and away.

Jerry walked in the direction of home, holding onto Natalia tightly, muttering words to her every so often, to remind himself that he wasn't holding a dead body, no matter how it felt, Kelly walked in his shadow, whilst Aaron limped behind, focusing on getting home, focusing on getting one of his best friend's back so she could stay alive.

They left Carol.

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