"I might have to get her up to speed. You can't hear shit inside this thing." He banged Lucille against the coffin, his fingers on the edge ready to pry it open. "Sash, you're not gonna believe this crap!" Sasha barreled out, her teeth bared as she hissed at Negan. My eyes went wide as Negan fell off the platform with a turned Sasha on top of him. Carl began to shoot, everyone following his lead. I whipped around and shot a few of the people standing behind me, ducking down to dodge other flying bullets.

"Go," Daryl ordered me, waving me away. I briefly looked at him in sadness before following his order and sprinting down the road. A woman ran towards me with an axe raised above her head. I shot her and she collapsed. I quickly ducked behind a house to hide, hopefully wait everything out. I slightly stumbled back in surprise when my eyes met King Ezekiel's; him and his people were already gathered behind here. They were crouching down, hoping to stay incognito. Carol saw me and rose to her feet without hesitation. I shoved through the bodies in my way to get to her. She held me briefly in her arms before pulling me down next to her and rubbing my back comfortingly.

"You okay," she asked softly.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm fine." I turned my head to look at her and smile, but came face to face with the tiger. A low growl echoed from the back of its throat. My heart began to thud against my ribcage, my mouth going dry.

"Shiva," Ezekiel whispered in a scolding tone. "She's a good, strong woman and shall be treated with respect." He ran his hand over its head while looking down at me. "Put your hand out." My mouth fell open in surprise at the command.

"I- I can't --" I began to stutter in protest.

"It's okay," he assured, bowing his head to me. I glanced back at the tiger who stared back at me with interest, cold as stone. I swallowed hard before shakily lifting up my hand, flat out in front of me. Shiva made another low growl before closing her eyes and nuzzling her head into my hand, its soft fur a delicate and warm feeling. I nervously laughed while a smile spread across my lips. Shiva rested there, head butting my hand a few times to show her affection. "She can feel your energy, your soul," Ezekiel observed. "That's one of the many reasons why I love her," he grinned before calmly gazing out over the deadly chaotic scene before him. I could've sworn I saw a slight sparkle in Shiva's eyes. It might not even be possible, but I swore I saw it. It was reassuring to me, relaxing me to my very core. "Get ready. We run not long from now," Ezekiel instructed. Guns clicked behind me as the Kingdom residents suited up. I slowly drew my hand away from the tiger, turning away and pulling out my gun.

"We're gonna take this place back," Carol smirked next to me.

"I'm gonna kick Negan's ass," I smirked back, my heart beginning to beat faster at the thought of getting my revenge: payback for what he put Daryl and I through. Ezekiel began to mumble before turning back to Shiva.

"Shiva, go," he bellowed, the words sending her flying through the air. She pounced on one of the Saviors, latching onto his head with her killer teeth and refusing to let go. "Go!" The herd of us sprang to our feet and ran out into the war-plagued mess. "End these Saviors and their accomplices! Alexandria will not fall, not on this day," Ezekiel shouted with pride as he shot at the Saviors who tried to flee from the destruction. I shot a man in the head and his body instantaneously dropped to the pavement, his blood flowing onto the concrete. Another man shot at me, just barely grazing me. My face began to grow hot in fury, the sound of my pounding heart slowly taking over my hearing. I rapidly shot back at him. He ran. I shot at his feet, his ankles, anything, before perusing him on foot. He ducked behind a house and I relentlessly followed. I wasn't gonna let him get away. I rounded the corner at full speed, a piercing pain suddenly shocking my torso. I fired at him, killing him on the spot. My ears rang as the Savior slumped to the ground, a bloody heap at my feet. I glared at his mangled body, barely noticing the object in line with my vision: the handle of a knife. It stuck out of my stomach, a patch of red surrounding it and slowly growing by the second. I focused in on it in shock as I began to panic.

I muttered nonsense to myself almost inaudibly. I felt woozy, like the slow motion kicked in as the blood began to trickle its way down to the lower half of my body. I placed my hand on the handle, gripping it tightly. I grit my teeth as hard as I could and pulled the knife through my muscle. I shrieked in pain, a burning sensation punching me over and over and over. I squeezed my eyes shut, tears escaping and falling down my face. I yanked it out. Thick, red blood covered the once glittering silver blade; my blood tainted it. It began to steadily flow through my open wound, as it now had an open exit to escape through. I covered it with my shaking hands, pressing on it to try and stop the bleeding. I opened my mouth to scream out in pain, nothing escaping. I hadn't even realized the gunfire had stopped until now.

It was now silent in the minuscule town of Alexandria.

I glanced around in lazy confusion, staggering out from behind the house. Every step I took felt like I was being burned with a fire poker. I could see a small group of people huddled near the gate. Daryl stood atop a truck to peer over the edge. I stumbled onto the pavement, blood leaking through my fingers and painting my favorite green shirt a deep, muddy red. Daryl turned around to look at me. His movement caught everyone's attention, the group turning around to look at me as well. Daryl took a few steps forward in a defensive stance. I raised one of my hands up towards him. It was caked in blood.

"I-I'm okay," I called out to him. The piercing burning pain of my wound made it hard for me to keep my focus on getting to him. My vision suddenly blurred in and out. "I'm okay," I repeated. Everyone's faces were full of concern as I swayed back and forth, struggling to take another step forward. Daryl leaped off the back of the truck, sprinting over to me just as my legs gave out. He caught me as I went down, my vision black for only a few seconds. I groaned in pain as Daryl cradled me. My hand holding my wound fell from its position, smearing blood down my side. Red didn't fail to paint me. "H-he fucking got me," I choked out, my breathing shaky. Daryl glanced over my body in fear, his lip beginning to quiver.

"Someone help," he yelped. "Help!" His voice cracked as he held me, unsure of what to do. Daryl attempted to cover my wound, his touch sending pain through my stomach. I cried out in agony, tears wetting my cheeks. "Help!" Frantic footsteps pounded on the pavement in all different directions to find the others.

"H-he fucking s-stabbed me..." I muttered to myself, my vision swimming while I struggled to obtain a full breath.

"Aften, look at me," Daryl begged, his voice weak. "Look at me, please." My clouded green eyes flickered over to his blurry baby blues. "Keep your eyes on me," he pleaded, a tear slipping down his skin. People rushed over to us with a gurney, instructing for him to put me onto it. He began to stand up with me in his arms. I screamed, as the wound was too painful to even move. Daryl's knees buckled and he nearly dropped me into my own bloody mess that slathered the concrete. He tried again, others attempting to help him in worry. I screamed again, this time louder than before.

"Don't," I cried. "Don't!" Daryl peered down at me, his face going pale. My lip trembled as tears continued to cascade. My once racing heartbeat had now turned lethargic, struggling to do its job. A cold feeling plagued me, the tips of my toes being greeted by it firsthand. "It, it hurts."

"I know, baby, I know," Daryl frantically whispered back. I winced at the cold, weakly crying out in pain as it crept up my body like a snake.

"We have to get her to the infirmary immediately," someone said impatiently, shoving the gurney towards us again. "This is crucial!"

"Daryl," I whimpered, staring up at him in terror. My breathing was as choppy and shallow as can be.

"I'm gonna help you, I promise," Daryl weeped. "Get somethin' else, god dammit! Go fuckin' get somethin' else! I can't move her," he exploded. "Do an operation out here, I don't give a shit! Just fuckin' save her!" He turned back to look at me, his voice soft again as people ran back to the infirmary. "I'm here, I'm gonna help you." Daryl put his forehead against mine to comfort me. I could barely move, a few stray tears the only ones in motion. My body was becoming paralyzed with pain so much that it felt like I was floating, my mind disassociating. Daryl pulled away, looking helpless as the love of his life deteriorated in front of his very eyes.

"D-don't leave," I sputtered, my eyes locked on his. He shook his head.

"I'm not leavin'. I'm right here. You're gonna be okay. I'm not leavin'," he reassured me, stroking his thumb across my cheek to wipe away my tears. My body had become completely rigid, yet my head was comfortably cradled in Daryl's arm. "Keep lookin' at me, okay?" I wanted to nod to let him know I heard him, but I couldn't. My heart was fading out, beating even slower than a snail's pace. "I love you," he told me, my eyes then softening in comfort. Daryl leaned down, kissing my lips and pulling me in closer to his chest. I could hear the footsteps pounding against the pavement again from far away.

When Daryl pulled back, it began to happen: the edges of my vision became black while my eyes were still wide open, the dreaded color creeping over my eyes until I could see no more. My whole life slipped away right before him and out of the both of our fingertips. I could see or feel nothing. But I could hear Daryl begin to weep, heart wrenchingly painful guttural noises erupting from him when he realized. He let out an agonized sob while I laid completely limp in his trembling arms.

A then quiet, yet shrill, familiar female cry made itself known before being stifled by her hands. The wailing began to slowly fade into inaudible waves of noise, then it was gone. Everything I used to be and ever was had disappeared into the void: a place where the rest of my family were already permanent members of. That's one thing I now had in common with them: we were set up to travel into the dark abyss. But the thing that separates me from them is that I had gotten to know what real love was in the most ruthless of worlds.