Darkness clouded the once bright sky and by the looks of it, the biters weren't going away anytime soon. They continued to aimlessly mill about as we were still stuck high up on the platform.

"Maggie," I whined, tears flooding my eyes once again as I began to panic.

"We're fine, Aften," she hollered over the growls and snarls. "We're okay!" I turned away, biting down on my quivering lip. I heard a faint scream of what sounded like a woman, a gunshot not long after.

"What was that," I asked nervously, perking up a bit. I could see frantic movement off in the distance but I couldn't make out who or what it was.

"I don't know. Don't think about it," Maggie mumbled. I shook my head in disappointment, trying to shake the fear away. The watch stand slowly began to sway back and forth, the wood crunching. I gasped, my heart racing. We were gonna fall to our death, get torn apart by them all while we were still feeling. "It'll be okay, Aften! We're okay!" Maggie put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, trying her best to hold it together. She took me into her arms, hugging me. I felt tears drip down onto the top of my head. I never would've thought that I'd die like this. I stared blankly into the sea of biters, the feeling of my whole life flashing before my eyes; everything leading up to this moment played over and over in my head.

"Maggie! Aften," a small voice called out from behind us. I turned my focus towards it to see Enid crawling over to us. I felt myself begin to breathe faster, hope setting in.

"Glenn," Maggie suddenly shrieked at the top of her lungs, her voice raw. I quickly peered over the edge of the platform to see Glenn firing a gun at the oncoming biters.

"Go, Maggie! Go!" he demanded, frantically waving his hand towards Enid. Maggie stayed close to the edge, her legs hanging over it as she watched him.

"Aften, come with me," Enid ordered. I could barely take my eyes off Glenn and his stressful situation as I carefully crawled over to her. Glenn was pressed up against the wall, biters beginning to close in on him.

"Glenn," Maggie screamed again, pure fear shocking her as she watched him sink to the ground with nowhere else to go.

"Shit," I whispered, my eyes wide with tears. Guns blazed behind us, killing the biters around Glenn without hesitation. Sasha and Abraham stood above us with machine guns in their hands. I could feel my heart start to sink. If Daryl was with them, where was he?

"Aften," Enid called out to me again. I whipped my head around to look at her. She motioned for me to look over the edge where she was positioned. I did so, seeing a truck parked below. "Get in the truck," she informed me. Enid helped me climb down to safety, Abraham taking over so she could tend to Maggie. A small bit of relief washed over me as I was lifted into the truck, the feeling of impending doom leaving me. I turned my head to face the driver. Daryl sat there in the driver's seat, his eyes already fixed on me. A tear cascaded down my cheek as I threw my arms around him. He kissed my head, his arms squeezing the life out of me. My heart beat so fast I felt like it was gonna explode.

"I love you so much," he mumbled in my ear before kissing my head again. I could feel him shaking against me. I didn't even notice that Glenn had entered the truck, everyone piling in after him. Daryl pulled away and told me he had something to do. He kissed the tops of my hands before leaving me again. He climbed up on the roof after, smacking it to cue Glenn to start driving. We rode over to a lake which Daryl fired something into. The water ignited into flames. My jaw slightly dropped in surprise as I watched biters being drawn to it, many of them staggering right on in.

"We have to attack the walkers from behind." Glenn placed his hand on mine to get my attention. "You think you can do that," he asked me.

"Yeah," I said, taking the gun out of my pocket.

"Alright. Let's go." Glenn and I jumped out of the truck, shooting the excess biters staggering around the lake. Blood sprayed onto my clothes, soaking them so much they clung to my skin in certain places. Never in my life have I been covered in so much blood that wasn't mine.

△

Corpses littered the streets, the air thick with silence; everyone who made it through the fight was soaked in blood. No one outside the infirmary dared to say a word to anyone, devastated at the state of our home. I was inside the infirmary, holding Daryl's hand as a gunshot wound was stitched up on his back. He stared at me, enamored, leaning forward and kissing me on the cheek.

"You feeling okay," I asked him, running my thumb over the top of his hand.

"'S just a scratch," he assured me. I smiled, staring into his ocean eyes that I had missed so much.

"How's he holding up," Denise questioned a lady who walked out of an isolated room in the back. She shook her head sadly. Denise sighed with sorrow.

"Who," I wondered softly.

"Rick," Denise mumbled.

"What happened?"

"His son was shot in the fight," Denise whispered to me. I felt my stomach sink. "The bullet hit his eye, severely damaged it."

"C-can I see him?"

"It'd be best if—"

"I have to see him," I muttered in disbelief, letting go of Daryl's hand and starting to walk back to the isolated room.

"Aften," Daryl called after me, trying to get me to come back. I ignored him, entering the room to the warm glow of a lamp lighting up the seemingly dark space. Carl laid in bed, pale, his head wrapped with a bandage. Gauze covered his eye. Rick sat by his side, holding his hand. He glanced over at me, gut-wrenching sadness in his eyes. I stepped closer to the bed.

"C-could I have some time with him? Only a few minutes," I pleaded softly. Rick tensed, slowly standing up and staggering over to the corner of the room. He watched Carl closely, not wanting to take his eyes off of him in case anything happened. I stood next to Carl, my eyes flickering over his face. I sunk to my knees and rested my chin on my arm. "Hey," I began timidly. I sucked in a shaky breath. "It's me, Aften," I whispered. "We haven't talked a whole lot, but I'm sorry... I'm sorry for what I did to you. You've been through so much and... and I hope you can forgive me..." My voice trailed off. I felt weak kneeling here and apologizing to someone who truly hurt my feelings that day, but this was a time of distress; our community was changing.