FINAL PART

The smell was disgusting. Just like this idea. But the group had no choice; no other way would lead them through the dozen walkers than this one.

Rick knelt on the floor and, together with Michonne, cut open two walkers while Gabriel gathered up all the sheets he could find.

Meanwhile, Carl and Elide sat outside in the hallway leaning against the wall, Judith sitting on Carl's lap looking wide-eyed at her older brother.

Elide had to smile at the sight and stroked little Judith's cheek, which was just as soft as Carl's.

Elide's lips were still tingling. She could think of nothing else but Carl; his blue eyes that resembled the clear sky, his brown hair that shone in the light or his freckles that could only be recognised by looking closely.

This boy had helped Elide on so many levels, indirectly or directly. He was there for her, always listened to her and never left her, even when she felt she deserved it.

This boy was far too perfect for Elide.

"Hey," Carl nudged Elide gently with his knee. "What are you thinking about?"

Elide exhaled audibly and sat up a little more so she was shoulder to shoulder next to Carl.

"About how good you treat me," Elide answered honestly, taking Judith's small hand in her comparatively larger one.

Carl gave her a sideways glance. "What do you mean?"

"You've always been good to me. I just realised it too late."

"Elide, I can tell what you're up to," Carl said, using her full name, something he did quite rarely. Elide stifled a grin and now turned to Carl as well, their faces incredibly close.

Immediately the teenagers' heartbeats quickened.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"It's okay. I understand your fear. But you are not alone, you are with me. With your family," he breathed, nodding as if he was secretly saying it to himself too.

"Thank you. For everything." Finally Elide had managed to say it and before Carl could say anything back, Rick called after them.

"Looks like it's our turn now," Carl remarked, his face contorting. This stuff stunk all the way down the hall, just the thought that this would now be on them in a moment was disgusting.

Gabriel took Judith off the boy's lap and tried to calm her down a bit, as she was starting to nag. Carl and Elide got up and ran into the room.

Carl went first. Rick made sure those intestines were really smeared all over the sheet. It was important that no spot was left out.

While Carl was being rubbed with blood and guts, Elide stared out the large window. Fear settled over Elide at the sight, like a great smothering blanket. It felt like the air was being taken from her. How were they going to get anyone alive out of here?

"Elide, come here," Rick said softly, seeing the frightened look on the girl's face. Carl took Elide by the wrist and pulled her towards Rick.

He put one of the cut sheets over her head so she could slip through. Then Rick started smearing all the blood on her too.

"You're just like Carl," he remarked softly so that it was only audible to her. Rick didn't look at her at that, but continued.

Elide drew her eyebrows together in confusion as she pushed strands of hair out of her clear face. "In what way?"

Rick tilted his head a little. "He's brave, but scared. He does things without thinking about it. He's temperamental," he continued, now stopping in his movements to look at Elide.

"I'm not brave," she said in a firm voice, looking out the window.

How could she be brave when she ran away scared then, without turning to her brother to help him?

"Tell that to the girl who killed a man even without batting an eyelid," he whispered, now standing up straight again. Elide turned her head jerkily in the direction of Rick, who was looking at her determinedly.

The girl didn't know what Rick was trying to say with all this. It just didn't make any sense.

"I don't see what your point is," she finally said irritably as she took a step back.

"Carl was naïve then. He's one of the bravest people I know now. Just as you are."

He let go of her completely and Elide turned before leaving the room and standing outside with Carl.

You are brave.

Just like Carl.

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It was time. Everyone was completely smeared with the innards except for Judith, but she would stay under Carl's sheet.

The plan was simple; walk together hand in hand to the ammunition depot, stay inconspicuous and finish off the walkers. It sounded simple, but it wasn't.

It was pure suicide, in Elide's eyes. But still, it was the only way.

Rick was now standing in front of the sofa they had placed in front of the stairs so the biters wouldn't come up. He turned and looked at his group; His family, whom he now had to protect with everything at his disposal.

"Elide," he whispered, reaching out his hand to her. Elide firmly placed her hand in Rick's, which she clasped paternally. She trusted him with her life.

Elide turned and, without thinking about it, reached for Carl's hand, then intertwined their fingers. Carl felt the butterflies in his stomach awaken, despite the situation.

Now that they were firmly hand in hand, Rick took the first step and moved the sofa a little to the side so that they could all fit through. He started walking, Elide and Carl close behind him.

If the teenagers were about to describe their emotions, the only thing that would come to mind was pure excitement. Elide wasn't afraid of running so close to walkers, but of this plan going wrong. Just as Carl was.

He held Elide's hand tightly; so tightly that her knuckles and his were already showing white, but Elide was fine with it. She could feel Carl's presence right there with her.

Rick walked ahead with slow steps and after about ten minutes led the group behind a larger bush, further away from the walkers.

Carl, meanwhile, had Judith in his arms, with her hidden under his sheet.

"All right, new plan," Rick began in a lowered voice so as not to attract attention from the walkers.

Elide stood next to Carl and kept watch as well; it was top priority that the group stayed covered.

"Flares from a few guns aren't enough. Too many walkers, to spread out. We're not going to the armory," the leader continued.

Elide looked over at Carl in the meantime. He seemed calm and not at all panicked, even though he was standing in the middle of a gigantic herd of walkers. It was unbelievable.

Carl noticed a piercing look on him and turned to Elide. "You okay?" He asked her quietly. His right hand briefly let go of Judith, but that wasn't a problem because she was light enough that he could still support her with his left arm alone.

His hand carefully found Elide's and immediately a good feeling came over her as he clasped her hand. She swallowed her fear and nodded. "As long as you're okay, so am I."

Carl's heart beat faster at her words, his ears flushed slightly, but his attention quickly returned to his dad and Judith.

Elide and Carl hadn't really caught part of the plan, their concentration was all on the many walkers alone.

It wasn't until Jessie said something too that the teens turned to Rick and the others. Elide's eyes were on the woman, who nodded her head confidently.

"Okay. But Judith, to the quarry and back...I-," she broke off her sentence herself and looked at Rick with a look that more or less said on its own that it wouldn't work with Judith. It would be far too risky.

Worry lines spread across the leader's face as his gaze trailed thoughtfully across the floor.

"I'll take her." Gabriel looked assured, and even after all he had done, he still seemed trustworthy, at least to Elide. "Keep her safe in church until you all lead the walkers away."

"Can you do this?" Michonne wanted to know, while her eyes twitched around just as Carl's and Elide's did, for safety's sake.

"I'm supposed to. I have to." Gabriel took a long breath. "I will."

Now that Rick was also completely convinced, Carl, handed Judith to Gabriel, passing her under their sheets.

Carl took a step back until he was standing so close to Elide that their bodies were touching. At first Elide thought it was an accident, after all, this situation was absolutely not for worrying about Carl. But when Carl carefully took Elide's hand in his, her heart leapt.

Neither did Carl look at Elide, nor did he let on how much he was just exploding from the inside. The closeness of Elide was all he needed right now to make it through this terrible situation.

Elide didn't try to react, instead she looked up at the sky and noticed that it was getting darker with time. Her concern grew, but she quickly returned her attention to what was happening in front of her.

"Take Sam," Jessie said to Gabriel, but Sam had very different plans. "No, Mom."

"Yes, Sam, it'll be a lot safer," she tried to convince him, but the child was as stubborn as his brother.

"No, I'm not leaving you," he repeated. "I can keep going. Please. Please, Mom."

Elide bit her lip hard as her stomach area began to feel queasy. She had a very bad feeling about this idea of keeping Sam. It wasn't that he annoyed her, she didn't even know him, but it had to be obvious to everyone that it would be quicker without children.

After another five minutes, Gabriel walked with Judith in the direction of his church. Carl watched him and his sister for a long time, a nervous feeling spreading through him, but as soon as Elide squeezed his hand, he woke up from his stupor and looked down at her. Her face was red and a few spots of blood adorned her neck, very likely from the dirty sheet. Her hair was down by now, her scrunchie had fallen off during the walk and so her dark long hair was lying all tangled on top of her head.

But no matter how horrible she might look to some, to Carl she was perfect.

"Come on," she whispered softly and pulled lightly on his hand. Carl turned to Ron and held out his hand. Elide watched the gesture, her eyes resting curiously on Ron. At first he seemed hesitant; Elide could tell he was debating with himself, but then he allowed it and reached for Carl's hand.

Elide and Jessie had joined hands in the meantime and started walking.

Neither of them knew yet how long they were running, their destination firmly in sight. They ran until the sun found its way home and the moon now shone in bright light over Alexandria.

That it was dark and they couldn't see much made it even harder and scarier than it already was. Elide, in the meantime, had moved even closer to Carl so that they were almost glued to each other. Carl didn't mind, he wanted it just as much; he could feel her whole body trembling and her hand clinging painfully tightly to his. God, she was so afraid of losing him.

At some point, no one knew why or how, Sam stopped. And at that moment Elide knew something bad was about to happen. The biters became more restless and Elide looked panic-stricken at Carl, who returned her gaze. Eyes wide, they stared at each other, Carl forming with his mouth that everything was okay, but then when Sam started crying, it was clear; It was going to happen.

Elide's worst nightmare was going to come true.

"Sam, come on, baby, just keep going," Jessie breathed, her voice shaking.

But Sam didn't hear because Sam was still a little boy.

And it was happening so fast. It happened so fast that Elide couldn't even comprehend what was happening.

Walkers turned to Sam and pounced on him. The girl couldn't look away. Her heart was pounding so fast she could feel it thumping painfully against her chest.

One walker after another bit into the boy's young flesh, making him scream like hell. Elide wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn't because Carl was pulling on her hand. But that wasn't the only problem, because suddenly Jessie started crying loudly.

More and more walkers ran towards her and fell on her, just as they had with Sam. But unlike her son, she didn't scream; Elide watched her just let herself fall, without a sound passing her lips. She wanted to die.

Elide was pulled down with her by the fact that Jessie was still holding her hand. In Carl's eyes it looked like it was happening in slow motion; Elide falling down and trying to tear herself away from Jessie. He couldn't react.

It was only when Rick ran past Carl and brutally separated Jessie's arm from Elide's with an axe that Carl awoke from his frozen position and rushed to the girl. He grabbed her arms and yanked her upwards, only to hug her tightly. It wasn't a hug, it was a clinging of two teenagers who only seconds ago feared she had lost herself.

Elide was breathing in panic, her hands clutching at Carl's shirt, when suddenly Ron pulled out a gun.

Elide's breath caught. She stopped breathing for seconds.

Ron's face was red, tear-stained, and he pointed his gun at Rick. The man who killed his father and who was now unintentionally taking away the last thing he had left.

Not knowing what to do, Rick raised his arm soothingly when, out of nowhere, a long blade pierced the teenager's heart. Elide recoiled in shock away from Carl and inadvertently took a step back as Ron fell lifeless to the ground and Michonne appeared behind him. Ron had dropped a shot out of reflex before meeting his end.

Elide looked at Rick, who was still standing in place, unharmed. At first, Elide wanted to exhale in relief. But then she turned to Carl, who kept his head down, his hat covering his face.

And then he lifted his head, his skin pale, as pale as a corpse.

"Dad?"

Blood. His right eye was shot through, all you could see were scraps of skin and bone. And then he fell to the ground, limp. Rick reacted as quickly as his shocked body would allow him. He ran to Carl and lifted him up; Michonne immediately understood the task and began to fight a path clear for Rick.

Elide remained standing in place. Was she standing? Or was she just sinking to her knees? She didn't know. She couldn't control her body, it no longer felt like it belonged to her. Her eyes grew heavy, her breathing labored. Just five minutes ago she had Carl in her arms, unharmed and now he was...was he dead?

The look on his face. Oh God, the look on his face. How he cried out for his dad with his last reflexes. How helpless he was on the ground.

"Elide!"

So that was it? She had lost Carl?

"Elide, come on! Carl needs you right now!"

Her head turned to the person. It was Michonne, clearing the way for Rick. She screamed like crazy. All to get Elide to stand up.

Elide stood up. Slowly, shakily, with blurred vision. And then she ran. God, she had never run so fast and so much as she did that day and that moment. She felt so sick she wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream, cry, shout.

And yet she pulled out her knife and began brutally stabbing any walker who was even the slightest bit near her. Until she arrived, completely out of breath and dizzy, at the house where Denise had just opened the door and was already waiting for Carl, completely prepared.

Everyone ran in, but not Elide.

She turned around, ignoring the shouts from Aaron and Michonne. She pulled out her second knife and brutally tore the sheet from her head. And then she ran into this huge horde of walkers. Was it adrenaline? Was it the fact that Carl might die in there and Elide could do absolutely nothing?

If she had a choice, she would have pushed Carl aside and taken that bullet for him. Because unlike her, he had a future. A future with his family.

Every stab into those walker skulls, every breath she took afterwards; It felt so unreal.

But her mind had switched off. She wanted revenge. On this fucking herd, on Ron, on this place, but most of all, on this apocalypse. It had taken her family. Her brother, her sister, her parents and now the boy who meant everything to her.

When someone suddenly pulled her back, she turned and was about to stab when she saw Rick in front of her. He didn't speak or give her any orders; He simply pushed her behind him and, like her before, killed one walker after another.

Perplexed, Elide blinked a few times. She was so paralysed that she didn't even notice how a walker tried to bite her shoulder. But Aaron beat him to it and stopped him before he could kill the young girl.

Elide looked at the dead walker and then up at Aaron. And then to all the other people who were running out one by one to kill the walkers. To support Rick.

Elide swallowed her thoughts and stood next to Rick. Next to the man who gave her a new home.

Eventually they were pushed further and further towards the walls. But before anything could happen, a gigantic fire appeared in the pond. All of Alexandria lit up; For a brief moment, Elide's face was illuminated, her pale face could be seen. Her glazed eyes.

The warmth enveloped the group, but Rick wasted no time in shouting to the group to move. And they did.

They fought. They killed every single one of those walkers.

Lunge, hit, kill, keep going.

They fought until the sun came up. They fought and killed until the last walker fell to the ground completely dead.

They fought until Elide stood trembling and completely done with herself at the door of the room where Carl lay. Where Rick was sitting next to his son, talking to him.

Elide leaned against the door and bit her lip. She bit it so hard that it bled. Her heart ached as she watched Rick wipe his face and a broken sob escape his lips.

And it happened. Something inside Elide broke.

Her whole body went on strike, tensing painfully. She was sweating and turned quickly, wanting to run out, to hide. Hide from her ugly, broken emotions.

But she didn't get far when a hand stopped her by the shoulder. Daryl, who had just been stitched up at the back, stood in front of the young girl, looking down at her.

"It's okay, El," he murmured softly, his voice broken from that day.

He watched her chin quiver, her breathing become uneven, her eyes glaze over, almost drowning. He sensed and knew exactly what she was doing. And he wouldn't leave her alone with it.

Daryl knew exactly how she felt.

He leaned down to her and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"It's okay to feel."

And she did.

She collapsed, her legs giving way. Daryl caught and sank to the floor with her as she clutched at him, crying for the very first time since her brother died.

Her tears flowed as she sobbed painfully and cried from her heart. Her whole body shook and she could not stop.

But how could she? After all these years of pain, suffering and being alone, she was able to let herself fall for the very first time, knowing that someone would catch her.

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gifs will all be changed soon, once the story is finished !

it was so painful to write