( tw! described death scene )

━ CHAPTER NINE,
the fall of the prison.

THE FOUR YOUNG TEENAGERS ARE SITTING AT THE PICNIC TABLES. Drew and Apollo sat across from Carl and Beth, the four of them wrapped up in a card game. It was a game that Drew, Apollo, and Cass used to play in middle school; called War.

The four of them have a deck of cards in hand, split equally and all faced down. The pile in the middle though is faced up. They go counterclockwise and it's Carl's turn, he flips his own card over and into the pile.

Beth goes next, the three of them watching in anticipation. When the blonde flips over her card and reveals a Jack, everyone goes to smack their hands over the card.

Or better yet on each other.

"Aw, man!"

"Seriously?"

Small whines from the three as they realized Apollo was the first one to reach the Jack card. Meanwhile, Apollo had a big grin on his face, and he went to grab all the cards in the pile, shuffling them into his own.

The teenagers go to play another round, they don't even see the explosive go over their heads and land an explosion into the prison bricks. Beth screams at the sound causing Drew and Apollo to move to the other side of the picnic table, covering the young boy and the Greene girl with their own bodies.

No one knew where it came from and that's what mostly scared them.

Drew dares to look up first, searching around, and sees that past the field, behind the fences there were unknown men, women and a tank. He noticed that they all had weapons too.

He takes an inhale, standing up first and walking closer to the fence. Immediately not liking how this could possibly plan out. He feels the three of them walking up behind him, taking their own glance.

Suddenly, "Get back!" Rick's voice yelled out. Their heads whipped around, seeing the others running out of the cell blocks and over to them. Drew sees his dad and the boy jogs over to him, their bodies rush together, and share a hug.

Apollo stands closely behind while Beth and Carl jog over to their blood family too. Once Roman takes notice of the Maxwell boy, he pats his son's back and backs away to hug the other boy. Apollo might not have been his biological son but he was family.

Even before the Apocalypse, the Hastings family never doubted that.

Roman pulls away from Apollo, looking at both of the boys; Roman's eyes in a frantic state. "Where's your mom? Where's Cassandra?" To his surprise, both of them shrug, not knowing where either of them were.

Then, their attention was moved somewhere else when they heard an unknown yell voice coming from past the field, "Rick! Come down here. We need to talk."

Apollo and Drew share a glance before back at the man. Rick takes a deep breath, "It's not up to me!" He yelled to the Governor, "There's a council now! They run this place."

"Is Hershel on the council?"

They see one of the women move to one of the trucks with the backseat door open, and everyone watches as she takes Hershel out of the car. Drew looks over at Beth and Maggie before back at the man, "What about Michonne?" One of the men drags her out of the truck, "She on the council, too?"

"Or Delilah? You have to care about her, right?"

Roman's eyes snap up and he sees some random man take his wife out of the car, hands tied behind her back, and make her kneel in the grass right on the other side of Michonne. His blood was boiling at that moment. The people beside him could feel that.

"I don't make decisions anymore!" Rick yells out. Roman sees the woman and man stand on each side of the three in the grass, both carrying refiles.

"You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here, let's have that talk."

DELILAH HASTINGS WATCHES from her kneeled position. A random man stood beside her, the refile he held right at her eyeline and Michonne sat on the other side of her.

Despite being absolutely terrified and understanding everything about the Governor, she hoped Rick could solve this.

Even from where she was she could see Rick and the others by one of the fences, she couldn't help but notice Cassandra wasn't there. Her son, husband, and Apollo were but, not her daughter.

Delilah could only pray her daughter was safe. She also couldn't help but think, It was best she didn't see this. Delilah only wanted to be strong for her daughter. Her son too but Roman was always his role model. She wanted to be that for Cassandra. She hoped she was.

She sees Rick turning around and talking to his son before making his way to open the fence, but stopped by Roman himself.

Roman grabs Rick's shoulder, turning his attention to him, "Rick, let me come." He let out quietly. Rick shakes his head and Roman sighs, "Come on, man, you gotta let me come with you." He pleads. Rick looks at him, noticing the pleading eyes go down to his wife but he couldn't risk it, "No. Stay with your son, he needs you." Rick said.

Roman sighed, glancing at his son, "Don't let anything happen to her."

Rick nods, "It won't come to that."

Before Roman could say anything, Rick opened the fence and walked off, the gate closing behind him.

Delilah now watches Rick come down the field and just mere inches from the fence she was forced to look at.

She could only imagine what was going through his head right now.

"Let 'em go right now," Rick spoke to the Governor, "I'll stay down here. Talk as long as you want but you let 'em go. You got a tank. You don't need hostages."

"I do," Governor disagrees, "This is just to show you I'm serious. Not to blast a hole in our new home."

Delilah looked at Rick to visually see his reaction to Brian's plan, "You and your people, you have till sundown to get out of here or they die." Rick shook his head, "doesn't have to go down this way."

"I got more people, more firepower. We need this prison. There it is. It's not about the past. It's about right now." Brian said. "There are children here. Some of them are sick, they won't survive." Delilah's mind goes right to Salem. "I have a tank," Brian's voice raises as he speaks, "and I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about?"

Delilah glances at Michonne before looking past Rick and at her family watching. Daryl sneakily takes the cart full of guns and pulls out a few, he walks closer to Drew, Roman, and Apollo, "Hey," Daryl whispers. Apollo glimpses over and takes ahold of the gun, he takes one and holds one of the refiles out to Drew who takes it gladly.

Roman goes to take the rifle from Daryl, thinking about shooting the man from here but Daryl seems to read his mind, "You good?" Roman looked into Daryl's eyes, he hesitated but nodded, "Yeah, I'm good." Daryl hands him the gun and Roman takes it, looking through the sight to look closer at the commotion.

Delilah looked down to the grass beneath her, her hearing going quiet as the two spoke.

"I could shoot you all. You'd all shoot back. I know that. But we'll win and you'll be dead. All of you. Doesn't have to be like that... like I said, it's your choice."

Sound flows back into her hearing and hears a walker snarl, she looks to her right and sees at least three coming toward the prison. Must've been the blast. More will come, Delilah thought.

Then, from behind her, a gunshot fires and shoots down the walkers making her flinch at each bullet.

"Noise will only draw more of them over. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to get out of here."

It was quite silent between the group at the moment, and Delilah only hoped that this would be over soon. She just wanted to see her family. Not be here. "You got maybe about an hour of sunlight left. I suggest you start packing." She looked up at Rick, hoping he'd say something. Anything more than he's said in the last few minutes.

Rick breathed out; Governor speaking again. "The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here."

Rick opens his mouth to reply but fails. He takes a deep breath and speaks, "We can all— we can all live together. There's enough room for all of us," Just like Hershel said, "More than enough." Governor said back, "But I don't think my family would sleep well knowing that you are under the same roof."

Delilah couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"We'd live in different cell blocks. We'd never have to see each other till we're all ready." Rick said. Hershel looked back at the Governor, "It could work. You know it could."

"It could've, but it can't." Delilah shares eye contact with Michonne, "Not after Woodbury." She sees Michonne look away, "not after Andrea."

"Look, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other. But I don't think we have a choice."

"We don't. You do." God was he stubborn, Delilah thought. The Governor was not giving up. "We're not leaving. You try and force us, we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunshots will just bring more of them out. They'll take down the fences. Without the fences, this place is worthless." Rick explained, "Now, we can all live in the prison or none of us can."

The next thing Delilah hears is shuffling behind her, and footsteps coming closer to them. A subtle "We'll fix the damn fences," and the Governor went to the man behind Delilah and whispered, "Put it to her head." 

She didn't know what it meant until she felt a rifle barrel to the back of her head making her freeze. To the side of her, the Governor now held a sword to Hershel's neck.

She felt like she couldn't move a single muscle. She felt like she couldn't even breathe. She was so scared; terrified even. The most she allowed herself to do was have her eyes peek up to where her family watched. She sees the tears in the Greene daughter's eyes and fears for their father. The tightened grip Daryl gave to his gun. The fear and anger radiating from her son. The look of war on her husband's demeanor.

Then, the sudden change in Rick's plead.

"You," He pointed to the back, "you in the ponytails. Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?" He throws his hands in the air, almost desperate for someone to be on his side.

Instead, the guy from the tank yells, "We want what you got! Period. Time for you to leave, asshole!"

"Look, I fought him before," Rick points to the Governor, "And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates... you're one of us."

"We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive." Delilah feels tears well up in her eyes, trying to stay strong. "But we can still come back. We're not too far gone."

The Governor starts to pull the sword slowly away from Hershel's neck while Rick keeps talking, "We get to come back. I know... we all can change." Delilah flutters her eyes shut while beside her, Hershel's lips curve into a small smile— proud of the man in front of him.

The Governor looks beside him; staring at the guy who held the gun to Delilah's head. He sees her eyes closed, almost plainly waiting for her end. Then, his eyes flicker to the sword in his hands and how the sun beamed off of it. Lastly, his eyes go to in front of him where Rick stands on the other side of the fence.

"Liar."

Before anyone knew it, the Governor had swung his sword and launched it right into Hershel's neck; the next sound following other than the gasps of horror was a gunshot right through the side of Delilah's head.

Both bodies; side by side were sent to the ground. Blood had splattered over the green un-cut grass and onto their once-last worn clothes.

From up by the courtyard, gasps and wide eyes were mostly seen. Beth and Maggie had let out a screeched scream; absolutely numbed by the loss of their father in front of them. Shocked and wide eyes from Daryl and Carl. But it was different for the Hastings.

Roman Hastings would replay this day for the rest of his life. His eyes were glossy and red; darkening as he stared across the field at the murderer.

Even years after, he didn't know exactly what he was feeling that day. Anger. Sadness. Revengeful. Regretful. Maybe it was all.

Apollo Maxwell couldn't believe what he had just seen. It happened so fast. One moment, he was smiling and having fun with his friends, and the next; his second mom was shot and laid dead on the field. No chance of ever coming back.

Drew Hastings could feel his heart stop and then quicken. It was mostly fear in his heart and body. Even as life seemed to end with people coming back to life and turning into the walking dead, he never expected this. For the world to end and the last people remaining to fight each other.

"No!" Rick wailed, putting up his gun and being the first to shoot. Everyone followed, grabbing their guns and shooting at the Governor's people; them charging back.

Drew flinched, grabbed Apollo's forearm, and hid behind the first thing he saw. He didn't want to lose Apollo in this.

Drew sees his dad line the rifle and shoot at the people. "Dad!" Drew shouts. Roman doesn't hear him as they knock down the first fences now with the tank and Roman keeps shooting.

"Dad! Come on!" Drew yells. Apollo beside him clocks his gun, getting ready for when the tank makes it up past the field. "Dad!" Roman was so focused, hitting a few people who tried to ride alongside the tank. Drew groans, stands up, and runs over to his dad.

Noise seems to flood in Roman's ears. "Dad!" Roman eyes flash over to his son's and he sees so much fear in them. But when gunshots had only fired closer to the son and father, Roman follows Drew. All three of them take deep breaths, looking over their shoulders to see them making their way only closer to the second fence with the tank.

Roman takes a deep breath, facing the two boys. "Drew," the boy's eyes flicker to his dad's, "you need to go. You need to go find your sister. I don't know where she is but she can't be alone." A gunshot fires right above them, bouncing off what's blocking them from the others.

Roman sighs, "Go find your sister. She's your responsibility, Drew." Your responsibility, Drew repeated those words in his head. The boy nodded and went to stand up but his father grabbed his shirt, bringing him back down. "Take this." Roman hands him a handgun.

Drew looks at the gun before taking it into his hands, getting used to the weight. He clocks it and looks at his father.

Roman gives him a nod and the next thing, Drew is standing up and running to find his sister inside just as the tank brings down the second gate.

More people around them in the courtyard go down. Even some of their people.

Roman turns to Apollo, "Go to the buses. Wait there. Cass and Drew should meet you there, alright?" Apollo nods but yet, holds doubt. Roman senses that, "You won't be alone again."

"And keep the safety off," Roman adds. Apollo gets up and protects himself as he makes his way to the buses. Even when seeing Bob get shot in the shoulder near Maggie and Sasha, he kept going. He needed to.

Roman was last.

He watched to make sure Drew got inside the prison and that Apollo got passed the invaders, and shot anyone who tried to get them.

Once he knew they were safe, he let out a breath. He stared ahead, his mind flashing to the moment he saw the gun touch his wife's head after the silent command from the Governor and the moment he saw the bullet fly. His heart started to race, his face turned red, his eyes darkened. Roman stands up, clocks the rifle, and goes to shoot anyone in his path who blocks him.

Roman makes his way to the field, surrounded by Walkers now after all the loud sounds and he sees the Governor over Rick's almost unconscious body. The man keeps punching him, spilling more of Ricks's blood. Roman makes his way over, grass stomping under his footsteps.

He grabs the blunt end and smacks it over the Governor's head; sending him off of Rick and beside him in the grass. He glances at Rick's shocked face but that quickly passes when Roman walks away.

He sent Drew and Apollo away so that he could get to her.

He sees his wife's body in the distance. Still in the same spot, she was kneeled before.

Roman takes off the rifle strap around his shoulder and lets it fall to the ground. He walks over to her and kneels down beside her body. He can see the bullet wound and he feels his heart get pulled out at that moment.

He should've been there. He should've gone down with Rick and convinced them. He could've saved her. His wife. The one he fell in love with the moment he saw her in college. Who carried and gave him the family he always wanted. Beautiful twins who looked just like her.

His hand gently caresses the side of her face, "My love... my heart," Roman's voice was quiet and broken, "I'm so sorry."

( word count, 3122)

authors note.

... yeah. that hurt to write.
delilah is the sweetest and best mother idc 🙏 she deserves better (i planned this months ago).
also, roman is (was) the best husband idc.
i love this family sm 💔💔.