CHAPTER TEN
[ season six, episode eight, nine ]

ABI GAGGED EVEN MORE AS MICHONNE rubbed the finishing touches of the guts on the bedsheets. The woman had helped Carl, then moved onto help Abi with spreading the guts onto their bodies. Carl had a much more calm reaction to the organs and blood.

"Mom?" A worried voice called from the door as Abi's head shot up, Michonne stepping back as she had gotten the guts everywhere she could onto Abi. The blonde had her signature low ponytail as it drifted off to her right shoulder in hopes to not swing it around un-walker like.

Sam stood there, petrified of what he had just walked in on. His family and other people were smearing dead people's guts onto their bodies like it was an everyday activity. Jessie walked up to her son, Abi pulling her knife out of her waistband, tugging it into her sleeve slightly so she could pull it out whenever necessary. The gun from before still resting in her waistband, replacing the knife.

Soon the group were on the move, Rick had led them into the hallway, checking out the walkers as Sam still needed to get ready. "We're ready," Jessie spoke from the doorway, her and Sam beside Abi. "Ron?"

"Yeah," Ron answered as his eyes were fixated onto the ground. Rick walked to get Judith, Gabriel stopping him to tell the man something. Rick returned with his daughter, the young girl extremely confused as to why she was out here when she could be taking a nap. Abi always felt bad for Judith, of course the world was bad no matter what but the baby had to be raised as if this was the world. Jessie and Abi helped lift Carl's bedsheet, the plan being for Carl to hold Judith underneath so the baby wasn't caught by any of the dead.

Abi breathed in as they began their journey, Rick pushing the couch out of the way as Abi followed after Carl, moving through the door as her face was squeezed shut. Soon the group had made it to the front door, still in the abyss of walkers as Abi felt Carl's hand connect with hers, his other one holding Judith. Abi held out her hand for Jessie to grab, all of them moving in a line as Abi held her breath anytime one of the dead stepped closer in their direction.

Abi didn't know how to feel as they walked through, her blood covered hands connected with Jessie and Carl's, her jeans rubbing as she walked slowly but surely with the group. They seemed to be blending in well, the dead not noticing them as they came to a stop.

"Alright, new plan." Rick whispered to the group. "Flares from a few guns aren't enough. Too many walkers, too spread out. We're not going to the armoury. We need our vehicles back at the quarry. All of us drive. We'll need to round 'em up. We leave, we come back."

Abi nodded although she hadn't fully processed Rick's instructions, she just wanted to get out of there. "Okay," Jessie nodded. "But Judith, to the quarry and back, I-"

Abi bit her lip as she also thought the same thing, it wasn't safe for the baby. She was a fussy one and would eventually start making noise.

"I'll take her." Gabriel declared, Abi and Rick giving him an unsure look. Gabriel wasn't known for being the strong one. "Keep her safe in my church until you all lead the walkers away."

"Can you do this?" Michonne asked as she stood on guard a bit far from the group.

"I'm supposed to." Gabriel spoke confidently, Abi still having the unsure look. "I have to, I will. Carl walked forward, both of the boys pulling up their bedsheets as they transferred the baby. Judith fussed a little as Gabriel now held her, Carl's arms being free.

"Take Sam." Jessie spoke up, grabbing her son as he immediately declined the offer. "Yes, Sam, it'll be safer."

"I'm not leaving you," Sam continued to decline the option of safety, Abi getting more and more anxious as she was frightened of the walkers noticing they were still beside the bushes.

"Sam-"

"Mom, I'm not." Sam argued. "I can keep going. I can keep going. Please. Please. Let's just go."

Jessie gave in, giving up as Gabriel and Rick parted ways, the man walking slowly with the baby tucked under his sheet. Abi held out her hand, connecting it with Jessie's as Carl held her other one, both of them on different sides as they continued through the herd, two of their people now heading to safety.

✵~✵

NIGHT HAD COME FAST as the fake dead held hands in the dark roads do Alexandria. They needed to get to the quarry, Abi believed there was a future for this place. She knew Maggie believe it, Glenn believed it, Carl did. Beth would've. So she does.

They continued through, the walkers still not suspecting them even through the long hours as the sweat on Abi's face glistened. It had been so long since they had stopped as the starry sky glistened happily along the dreadful night. From when they gave Judith to Gabriel to now, they hadn't had a break.

Sam Anderson could feel his heart in his throat as every walker reminded him of what Carol had said. How he'd be next, he'd be one of them. The boy hadn't even taken notice of how his foot had stopped moving, how his hand wasn't holding Rick's anymore. Sam couldn't hear the voices around him, begging him to move.

"Sam?" Jessie looked at her son, Abi noticed his breaths getting quicker as his eyes were fixated on the walkers around them. "Come on, come on."

Sam's face contorted, tears started making their way through his eyes, his breaths turning into slight sobs as the reality of the situation came raining down on them. Rick joined Jessie in the motivating Sam job as Abi kept checking the dead around them, making sure they weren't being caught. This couldn't be happening, everyone thought this. Sam wouldn't believe he was stuck between the dead he had been hidden from for so long, the others couldn't believe that Sam had stopped, they couldn't believe that the walkers were now noticing as their heads turned in their direction.

"Sam, you can do it. Come on," Abi whispered as her hand stayed connected to Jessie's, her knife tucked into her sleeve and her gun in her jeans. She wanted to pull out the knife and stab the walkers that seemed to be noticing them, she didn't want to watch Sam to die. Abi hadn't believed they were ready but that didn't mean she didn't want them to be ready.

"Sam," everyone whispered, the boy shaking his head as his sobs got louder. He was frozen, Abi knew what it was like so she knew how to get him out of it. She had to know. She had to know.

The walkers that Abi had noticed earlier had gone out of her eyesight, now reaching Jessie's as they clawed on the blonde woman's son,. The blonde couldn't tear her eyes away as one walker bit his shoulder, the other biting onto Sam's forehead, his screams echoing as Jessie's sobs joined them. Abi couldn't help but feel the tears sting her eyes as the young boy was brought to the ground whilst his family watched. She promised. Why did she promise?

Jessie's screams brought more attention to the now only six, which Abi noticed as she now tried to motivate the distraught mother to move. "Jessie, please! We can't do this, we have to go!" Abi begged as Jessie wouldn't budge. Suddenly, a small group joined the woman as they took her down the same way her son fell. Abi watched in shock, Jessie's screams never leaving as she was dragged down. Abis heart wrenched when they stopped, it beating as if something was holding it, just as Jessie's hand was holding hers tight.

"Rick," Abi called as Jessie's body wouldn't let go of her hand, more and more walkers coming by as Abi couldn't budge at all.

"Dad," Carl whispered as Rick stilled for a moment before the man brought out his axe, slamming it down onto Jessie's wrist violently as Abi was thrown to the floor form the force, Carl as well as they both fell different ways, Abi unaware of the gun that had left her jeans in the time from standing to hurt on the ground.

She immediately picked herself up, her knife being the first thing she grabbed as Abi went to go back to Rick, her eyes immediately setting on the final Anderson holding a gun at the said Grimes. The boy had tears in his eyes as he held the gun Abi had only just realised had fallen, the girl finally letting one of the tears roll down her cheeks as she had just watched a friendly mother and son die, now the man she saw as a guardian having his life even more threatened than the rest of them.

"You." Ron spoke bitterly, his voice not the same as it was when he was greeting Carl and Abi for the first time, not even when he was arguing with the two about Enid. "You."

Abi had killed only one person. Before that, her father had said it was wrong and she agreed with him. She had never touched anyone from Woodbury, when her father had died Daryl didn't even bother hand her a gun. Over the months on the road, with all the people they passed, Abi didn't hurt anyone. But when Carl was in danger, she did. So now, she had to do the same for Rick.

Her face stiffened, the blood in her body boiling hot as she stared at one of the biggest threats her family at faced—what once was a nice teenage boy, now a teenage boy who pointed a gun at the man that was responsible for the death of his family. She understood, if Dawn were here, Abi would want to hold a gun to her head, she'd want to pull the trigger Daryl Dixon got to shoot. She'd want to pull it again, again and again until the only way anyone could figure out who she was, was by the name tag on her bloody chest.

But she couldn't, Abi couldn't save her sister. There was no redo, there was no recovery, Beth Greene was gone and her younger sister went with her, Abi was gone—now was the time to prove that.

She was in the perfect spot, the perfect spot for the cold blade of her knife to meet the flesh of Ron Anderson's neck. To cut deep into the bone, crunch it in and end the Anderson blood line. Fortunately, this left the boy in the wrong spot for killing Rick Grimes, his arms fell back as the knife went deeper, Abi's face scrunched as she held no mercy for the boy. The sound of squelching could be heard as she removed it, only to shove the knife into the same hole, blood spurting out more as it landed onto Abi's face.

Abi pulled her knife out once more, holding it unsteadily in her hand as Ron fell into the arms of passing walkers, one of the deceased creating a larger hole from the one Abi had already created. Michonne watched in shock as the kid she once knew stared, almost proud at the disgusting art she had created. They both turned together, expecting to find a living Rick Grimes, only to find something else.

Something else.

Something else was the boy Abi saw as a brother, who had shown her all the comics in world, stuck by her and protected her for the past few years, shot, directly in the eye. The hole went right through the side, taking off a part of his face as the dark blood trickled down, small splatters hitting the floor in the time everyone stared at the boy in shock.

"Dad?" Carl's voice didn't even tremble before he hit the ground, Abi standing in shock, everything she had just done finally falling into place as she began running with the others. Abi didn't care, too much had happened. She sprinted through the walkers, slamming her knife that was covered in Ron's blood into the walker's heads, making sure none of them was to get to the weaponless Rick and half dead Carl, Michonne doing the same as they made their way to the infirmary.

Abi prayed Denise would be there, after Pete died the woman stepped up as Alexandria's doctor, though she wasn't the bravest so Abi couldn't be so sure she lived. The door to the infirmary stood tall, walkers not to near it as the single gunshot Ron pulled drifted them closer to Abi and her family. Michonne had it easier with killing the walkers, her katana getting their faster—which the woman soon realised. She made sure she stood beside Abi, so no walkers could get to her as they kept moving.

The blonde girl couldn't help but think it was her fault, she had stabbed Ron. She had caused him to pull the trigger. Maybe if she waited, let the adults handle it Carl would be okay.

But all that mattered was the fact that they were now in the door, Carl being rushed to the gurney as Denise asked, "Is this a gunshot?"

"Handgun, close range." Michonne answered as Abi stood on the left side of Carl's bed, the tears that were once falling being held in as she took notice of how ready Denise seemed.

"Please save him," Rick begged as his face and whole body was in stress. Abi loved Carl like a brother, Michonne like a son, but entire do them were truly related to the almost dead teenager. Abi stayed silent as she watched Denise turn the light on. Michonne moved the blondes hair before she helped pull the bedsheet off of her, just having done the same with Rick. Abi kept her breathing steady as she backed away a little, she knew she'd be no help.

Abi held her knife which was now covered in more walker blood than Ron's blood. She had killed someone before, the W man back when they were attacking but that was it. There was no consequence to her actions that time, maybe it was Enid leaving, or Ron running away.

But now there was a definite consequence, she took the life of Ron Anderson's nod in return he took the life of Carl Grimes. And Abi Greene believed it was all her fault. There was no time to dwell on that as Rick was soon opening the door, Abi immediately turning to face him as she noticed the fact he held his axe again.

"Rick?" She called in confusion, his movements slow as he got ready to enter the town of the dead.

"What are you doing?" Michonne asked, the same confusion and worry in her tone as Rick ignored both of them, shutting the door behind himself.

"Rick! Rick!"

Abi moved herself closer to the bed, Michonne applying pressure to something as Denise was doing something else. Hershel never really had time to teach his youngest any of the medical stuff, Abi believed that was fit for Maggie—the singing for Beth.

"Rick's out there," Michonne spoke quickly as Denise kept instructing her to stay. "He needs my help!"

"Just one more suture," Denise explained as Abi watched the process, knowing she would have to step in at some point.

"But he's out there," Michonne continued.

"This is his son. Give me a second." Denise spoke confidently, it was surprising given the fact a few days ago she was too nervous to do something wrong.

"He's taking them all on, we have to go get him." Aaron spoke, Abi turning to him.

"What?" Spencer questioned incredulously. Abi gulped, these people still weren't ready, she knew that. They knew it too.

"We have to," Heath breathed heavily as Denise announced she was done. The group headed out to help Rick with the walkers, Abi feeling useless as she stood there frozen.

"Hey! Hey, come on." Denise said as she tapped her shoulder. Abi turned to her quickly, her breathing uneven as she trembled lightly. She couldn't tell herself she was safe because she wasn't safe. Carl was shot and it was her fault, Rick and the others were risking their lives outside as she had no clue where her older sister was. Glenn and Enid were gone. Abi needed to do something.

"What do you need?" Abi spoke fast as she stepped in the place Michonne stood before.

"I need you to keep the bleeding steady, I removed the bullet so the wound is more open," Denise instructed as she handed Abi a towel, the girl being gentle as she placed it onto the boy's eye.

"Are— are they gonna be okay?" Abi's voice shook as she spoke, her words being slightly muffled from the pure fear she was feeling.

"I don't know, all that matters right now, is him. Okay?" Abi nodded to Denise words, applying the pressure has the woman got everything else ready. Gunshots and screams could be heard from outside but what really caught Abi's attention was the bright flames glowing from outside the window.

"Holy shit," Abi breathed, not worrying about her swearing in the moment. All the walkers moved towards the bright fire, slowly being burned one by one as others were taken out by the Alexandria residents.

She was wrong, Alexandria was ready.

✵~✵

ABI HAD REUNITED WITH HER SISTER AND GLENN, once all the walkers had died she had made her way outside of check on everybody, Maggie's face lighting up with joy as the sisters joined in a hug, Glenn also getting a cuddly greeting from Abi. She explained to them what happened with Carl, not going into detail on the Anderson's as everyone now sat outside the infirmary.

Abi had gone inside a while ago, greeting Michonne and Judith as she walked into the room Carl laid. Rick sat beside the bed, holding his hand as the man turned his head when she entered.

"Denise says he'll live," Rick explained, tears brimming his eyes as the grown man had been crying all night. Abi sat on the other side of the boy, face still red from the stress and tears the night before had caused.. "He'll be okay."

"Yeah, I know." Abi nodded, staring at Carl's closed eye as he still laid unresponsive. "Physically, he'll be okay. A lot happened."

Rick nodded, knowing what she meant. No one would want to wake up after being shot by your friend to find out they didn't have an eye. And yet that curse had fallen upon Carl Grimes.

"It's not your fault," Rick spoke softly as he kept his eyes on Abi, her turning to him curiously. "I know you, you like to think it's because of you but it's not. You saved my life, Carl's going to be okay. Your decision wasn't amazing, but it was right in the moment, we're alive."

"I'm sorry, about Jessie and all, I know you two were close." Abi apologised, Rick nodding his head again. "Alexandria proved themselves, they can fight. This place is worth it. I know that's what they would've wanted me to see."

It wouldn't take a genius to understand who 'they' was to Abi. Rick knew the girl long enough to know who she was talking, her father, Hershel—a man who wanted peace. And her sister Beth—a girl, who if she was still there, could've made that peace.

It was hard to talk about the gone for Abi, so wanting them to reply when she said their names. But she had to, in this world, there was no way out.

✵~✵

author notes-
if you can't tell i don't know shit about medical stuff, i just read a few fanfics and what they said so yeah.

this is so rushed because i js wanted it over with, every chapter after this will be more focused on enid and abi.

Please don't be a silent reader, comments and votes give me more motivation !! <3

Anyways,
Byee </3