⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️

Before any of us could process it, Negan opened the casket door and Sasha came out... But she was now a Walker and belonged to the dead. I screamed out in pain as tears began to stream down my face and that's when I began to open fire.

I couldn't see much, if Walker-Sasha got Negan or not, but I was really hoping that she did. At the moment, I was just focusing on keeping Izzy behind me and shooting each and every Scavenger that I stumble upon. Izzy was shooting, too, from what I could see — and I was honestly very impressed.

"Rosita! Watch out!" I screamed at her right before she is shot in the shoulder. Tara immediately goes to her aid and escorts her away. "Be careful, you two! We'll cover you!"

Tara nodded and sped away with Rosita in tow while Izzy and I shot every outsider that even came close to them. They ran away to our left, taking shelter inside, while I wasn't about to go down that easily.

"Get down," I screamed at Izzy and snatched her down on the ground with me. We took shelter behind the car that was blocking the entrance way. I was reloading it and she took this time to do the same, too. "Make every shot count and don't you ever leave my sight!"

"We're in this together," she reassured me, having to yell over the chaos of bullets flying everywhere. "I know that."

"I love you, kiddo," I yelled at her after finally reloading my gun. "Let's do this. Go! Now!"

With that said, we both popped-up and began to come closer to the entrance, now standing beside Daryl. We began to shoot directly at the Saviors now that were still standing outside of our gates. I got close enough before I noticed Sasha all over Negan and, satisfied, I began to shoot the Saviors that were coming to his aid.

One Savior, that I remember being named Roy, removed Sasha off of Negan, but — to my surprise — she then proceeded to devour Roy's face. I was disgusted, but fairly happy that she could still take people down while she was dead.

That's when I saw Negan take ahold of Simon and they run and try to hide from the gunfire behind one of their trucks. I shot at them, but could never deliver an actual shot to get them. Arak started to shoot my way, so I grabbed Izzy's arm and hid behind the wall for now.

Up above our heads stood Rick and Jadis on the post and that's when I noticed that she shot him in the side and pushed him off the platform. I was about to go to his aid, but not before I noticed Daryl, Carl, and Scott all out and about. Carl and Scott were shooting from between the dump trucks while Daryl took cover behind the wall.

"We need to go," Izzy urged, panting and sweating from all the chaos. "We're gonna die."

I peered over at Carl, who was waving us over. "I'll cover you! Come on!"

"Let's go," I yelled to Izzy, who followed in my pace as we ran to take cover with Carl and Scott between the trucks. "Keep up!"

Just as we arrived, Scott took off and left it just us three there. "I'm running low on ammo," Carl yelled to me. "You got any?"

"Yeah," I answered and threw him a magazine-full. "There. Take it."

Suddenly, just as Carl reloaded, two Saviors swept up and pointed their guns at us. "You're going with us. Let's go."

"Fucking hell," I cursed and dropped my weapon as I demanded that Izzy and Carl do the same as well. They did, but we didn't like it, though.

The Saviors led all three of us to the overgrown field of grass next to one of the houses. Simon and Dwight were there, waiting on our arrival. They demanded that we kneel and we did, especially Carl and myself — who were kind of used to this by now. Izzy, however, was just shaking with fear and was already crying.

We look ahead and noticed Rick, who was holding his side that was bleeding from being shot by Jadis earlier, while she stood behind him at gunpoint, making him walk out way.

This time, however, I wasn't shaking or crying with fear for my life. I didn't care anymore. I was pissed and I was livid. I knew that Negan was about to walk up and kill me in front of God, Izzy, and everyone else... But I just did not care anymore. Let me have it.

I looked up at Dwight, who was currently holding Lucille for Negan, and he could see just how pissed that I was. He tried to look away, but I kept staring him down until he would look down at me again. I mouthed to him: "You're gonna pay."

Just as Rick was about to approach us, Negan popped up with his usual smirk across his face. "Hello again," Negan said to Rick before taking Lucille from Dwight.

Jadis led Rick to stand beside Carl, when she somewhat whispered in his ear: "Down, or again." So, he kneels or, well, she practically shoved him down to the ground.

Negan hovered over Rick and grunted out: "Well, shit, Rick. You just couldn't stick with us, huh? You had to go with these filthy garbage people? No offense."

Jadis glared back at Negan for his last comment. "Deal is for twelve, yes?"

"Ten," Negan countered, having to make this little arrangement with Jadis right here and right now. I don't know why, though. Bloody hell... "People are a resource."

"Twelve," Jadis calmly said, referring back to her original payment. Negan and her make an instance stare-down before Jadis falls short to his glory and agreed: "Ten."

Negan chuckled before looking down at us, mostly Rick, as he sighed. "Rick... This is just gonna make you sad. Broken. You're gonna wish you were dead." He slowly made his way towards me and Carl. "I like having fun. I do. But maybe you think that the guy that did what he did to your friends wasn't me, like that was some sort of a put-on. Like, I'm not the guy with the bat. I'm just the guy that makes your kid spaghetti."

Rick simply just bravely glared up at Negan and he touched his head. "Oh. Oh, shit. Maybe this is on me. Maybe this is all on me. I gotta make it right. I guess I gotta start all over again. I gotta tell you, Rick, if I had a kid, I'd want him to be just like your kid, which makes this so much harder."

"Don't you touch him!" I screamed, tears now welding up in my eyes. "Don't you do it, Negan, or I swear to God—"

"You swear to God... What, Tess?" Negan now was glaring down at me while Lucille sat uncomfortably close to my head. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you yet. That's why you had to be here for this." Negan kneeled down to my level, just like he did the night that Abraham and Glenn were killed. "You see, Tess... After I kill Carl, I'm going to kill your little girl over there, too. Don't worry. I know that she's yours — and, then... I'm going to kill you. I'm going to make sure that you see those two die before you go out as well. Fair?"

"Fuck you," I hissed back in his face, as fearless as I could say it. "You could kill everyone here and leave me alive, and I will still find a way to kill you before I die."

Negan chuckled under his breath and smirked. "No... You won't," he said before he stood back up and looked down at Carl. I grabbed Izzy's shaking hand as she continued to cry.

"You're not gonna win," Carl told Negan, the bravery was shining out of him.

"Carl," came Negan's warning tone, towering somewhat over him. "It is over. Why don't you point your one ball up the street there and take it all in?"

Carl did and he didn't like the sight. None of us did. They were tying up our people while the rest of the bodies laid in pools of dark blood. I couldn't watch because I was too disgusted by it.

Then, all of the sudden, a loud scream came out and we all looked down to where the horrific scream had just came from. A body was flying from Michonne's balcony post and onto the hard pavement below.

"Michonne!" I cried out and had to hold in the tears, gulping it down. Carl and Rick were on the verge of tears, shaking more than ever before.

To be honest... Now, I was. I was shaking because Negan was about to get what he wanted all along. He's about to kill Carl and Izzy, then myself. This is it. This is it...

Chuckling, Negan began to tease: "Ooh. Oh. Wow." He kneeled in front of Rick now, who was just shaking with sadness over Michonne. "You just lost somebody important to you right now. Like, just now. Jesus. This is timing." Rick now looked in Negan's eyes while his had tears in it from Michonne. "Well, Rick, you chose this. I truly don't know what more I could've done to warn you. And, this isn't a warning. This is punishment."

I was crying and looking at Carl. I mouthed to him: "I'm not... I'm not gonna let him do it to you. I'm not."

"I'm gonna kill Carl now. I'm gonna make it one nice, hard swing — try to do it in one because I like him. I just want you to put that in your brain and roll it around for a minute. I'm gonna kill Carl and that little girl, then Tess — since you seem to like her so much. And, then, Lucille here... She's gonna take your hands."

Fearlessly as he studied and watched Negan closely, Rick finally said: "You can do it right in front of me. You can take my hands. I told you already... I'm gonna kill you. All of you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow... But nothing is gonna change that. Nothing." Rick leaned up and somewhat whispered in Negan's ear: "You're all already dead."

Negan was now more pissed than ever before, not believing that — after all of this — Rick could still shove his balls down Negan's throat. Negan couldn't stand that, but I was okay with it — even if it would cost me my life. I'll come back as a ghost and watch when Rick finally kills Negan in cold blood.

Nevertheless, Negan managed to smile and chuckle his way out of this once more. "Damn," he breathed out back in Rick's face. "Wow, Rick. Okay."

Negan stood up in one quick motion and grunted, passing by Rick to get behind Carl with Lucille in hand. Negan gets over to Carl and took his hat off, tossing it over to the side. "You said I could do it..."

"NO!"

Just as I reached out to save him, Negan stopped when a roar comes out and there was Shiva, who took down one of the Saviors behind Negan. Everybody took off, including Negan as gunfire irrupt once more.

I watched as Dwight got away, but never did use his gun to kill anyone. I took that into consideration before I grabbed ahold of Izzy's arm and carried her along with me. "Let's go, baby girl! C'mon!"

She didn't hesitate in taking my hand as I dragged her away from the new chaotic scene. I grabbed one of the guns lying around and threw one to Izzy, which she caught, while I took up another one. Rick and Carl got theirs and we began to shoot once more.

While shooting, I took a moment to see King Ezekiel, Carol, Jerry, and Brie — and the rest of the Kingdom — all running in and shooting their guns. The Kingdom was here! Oh, thank You, God!

"End these Saviors and their accomplices!" King Ezekiel exclaimed, shooting his gun twice in two different directions. "Alexandria will not fall, not on this day!"

Izzy and I kept up with them, shooting at every Savior and Scavenger that even attempted to escape. Shiva was still mangling on that Savior when a Savior approached me from behind and was about to shoot me when he suddenly got shot down by somebody.

I looked and saw Maggie, who had just saved my life. "Fan out! Third group, now!"

"Close up! Now, we got your backs!" Daryl now came into the picture and began shooting as well. Rick, Carl, Izzy, and I didn't object before we continued to shoot our way out of this shit.

A group of Saviors were coming our way, but not before took them down one by one. We headed up to the front gate and that's when I ran into Morgan. We legitimately almost shot each other, thinking that we were each other's enemy. "Morgan! Thank God!" I couldn't believe that he had joined us, after all. What happened after I left?

"Tess, dunk!" Morgan demanded and I did, along with Izzy behind me. Morgan shot somebody that was attempting to shoot us from behind. "It's good to see you, too! Stay safe!"

"You, too," I called back as I motioned for Izzy to pass me. "Safe travels, my friend!"

"Safe travels to you, too, my friend," Morgan called back before he continued to shoot as we left him in the wind.

We continued to shoot our ways out of this until I saw Maggie and Enid in the distance, doing what we were doing, too. I decided to go meet-up with them real quick. "Maggie! Wait up!"

She looked directly at me while Enid covered her. "Thank you, by the way," I said to her before I had to shoot yet another passing Savior.

"For what?" she called back, shooting a Scavenger that was passing by us.

"You know what you did," I screamed back and shot twice at somebody. "You saved my life back there!"

She seemed hesitant about it, but she knew what she did for me. "I would've done that for anyone," she tried telling me, but I knew the truth. She had already forgiven me without actually telling me. I know that she did. "I couldn't let you die!"

"Why not?" I exclaimed, taking cover behind a tree while I reloaded as quick as I could. "You want me dead, anyways. You might as well had let him kill me."

"I couldn't do that," she repeated, turning to stare right at me. "Glenn wouldn't forgive me if I had let you die! So, you will not die today, Tess! Now, go! I'll cover you!"

With that said, I nodded at her and took off with Izzy in my tracks. I was on the verge of tears, thankful that Maggie saved me. The emotions were really getting to me now more than ever before.

I heard a shot go off behind me and saw Izzy had shot somebody at close-range, but she looked stunned, herself. "Hey, are you okay?!"

Slowly, she looked over to me and nodded. "I'm fine!"

With that said, we got up to the entrance to the car before I dragged Izzy down with me. "Reload if you have to! Hurry! We gotta finish this!"

Again, she slowly looked over at me and murmured: "I'm scared, Tess."

I shook my head, looked into her eyes, and asked: "What? Why? This is about to be over!"

"I'm just scared," she gulped and looked like she was about to cry. "Will you be okay?"

"Izzy, we'll be—"

"No, not we," she interrupted and shook her head. "You. Will you be okay?"

"I'm fine, baby girl," I told her and grabbed ahold of her left wrist. "Always."

With that said, she finally nodded and regrouped with herself. "Good."

That's when we popped up over the car and continued to shoot towards where I spotted Negan at outside. I had to finish this... Even if it costs me my life.

"Izzy, you stay here," I said to her and she stopped shooting to look at me.

"What? N-No! Tess, no!"

"I have to finish this, baby girl," I cried, shaking the tears away. "I'll be right back. You stay here."

"Tess, no—"

I crouched down and dragged her back down with me, looking deep into her hazel eyes. "I'll be right back, baby girl, because I have finish this! I love you, Izzy, and I'll be right back!"

She didn't want me to go, but I had to... For those we have lost along the way. I kissed her forehead and scurried away before she could stop me. I headed up to the wall and temporarily sheltered myself behind it before I could get a good angle on Negan from here.

Our joint communities had successfully push our adversaries back. Yet, the smoke-bombs suddenly surrounded us. I began to cough, as one had landed nearby me. "Son-of-a..."

"Tess?!" I heard somebody call out before seeing Brie through all the smoke. She came right up to me. "Oh, thank God! You're okay!"

"Hell yeah," I coughed out from the smoke. "I didn't think you'll come."

"I had to," she called back and shrugged. "I have to fight my ex-boyfriend, then so beat it. It's what is good for this world."

Um... "Ex-boyfriend?"

She cracked a smile and laughed out: "Yeah, Negan. Yeah..." I held my breath, but she winked and began to take off. "I gotta go! See yah!"

The Saviors and Scavengers began to escape with in the haze, scaling the walls and running out the gate on foot. I shot as many as I could, but I could barley see now. I didn't know who I was shooting, either, but if they're running out... They're rats.

I seen Rick in the distance, not far from me, and ran up to him. "They're falling back," Rick said to us surrounding him.

"Paul," I exclaimed before I took off and quickly hugged my brother. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, you?" he asked in return and I nodded.

"Eduardo, Bertie, between the houses! Cover the gate!" Maggie demanded of her two people while gunfire was off in the distance. "Let's go!" Maggie, Jesus, and Enid took off — leaving myself, Rick and Carl behind by the RV.

With his sword high, Ezekiel looked at us three and exclaimed: "Now, we finish this!"

We took off with him as I was now running beside Carol. "It's good to see you alive and well," I called out to her and she smiled back.

"It's good to see you! I'm glad that you're alive and well, too!"

We took off as the Saviors' trucks were now leaving and we shot at their trucks. We all ran to get to them, too. I ran up beside Gabriel, who was just going completely nuts with his rifle. I was proud.

On his way out, Negan gave out a defiant middle finger to all of us through his window. I wanted to kill him, but today was not the day, apparently. Right after Negan left, somebody from the outside came and closed the gate behind him.

We kept on shooting when Daryl yelled out: "Now!"

Aaron, Jerry, Bertie, and Morgan all got up there to the gate and opened it from the inside. "Pull!" Aaron demanded to the others behind him while they grunted.

I seen Daryl get on top of one of the trucks, but I prayed that no sniper was close by to get him from there. However, I ran up to the gate after passing by Izzy at the car and, when everybody else stopped shooting, I did, too. There were just a lot of smoke that was left.

The battle was over. It is a victory.

Panting, I slowly begin to turn around with my free right hand over my eyes to block the sun out for me to see. "We did it," I breathed out, yet still unsatisfied. Sasha was still dead, though. "They got the message."

I turned to Izzy with a smile and she smiled back, then that's when I seen blood staining her teeth. My smile faded away as Izzy's eyes rolled in the back of her head.

I quickly ran up to her just as she collapsed in my arms. I couldn't breathe and I couldn't function as I watched my little girl dying in my arms. I glanced down and seen where she had been shot at in the lower stomach, seeing how she had already lost so much blood as it is.

I start to cry really hard, not even really getting to see her below me. "I-Izzy... No... No, please..."

She kept her eyes open, looking up at me, when she struggled to say: "We won, didn't we? We won, Tess."

Through a viral of tears, I managed to nod and whisper back: "Yeah, we did. We won, baby girl, all thanks to you."

Still smiling, she reached up with right left blood-stained hand and touched my left cheek. I tried not to cry, but I couldn't help it. She was slipping away and I couldn't even help her. She took her last breath and her hand fail off to the side somewhere.

"Izzy?" I squeaked out her name, giving her a small shake. "Izzy, baby... Wake up. C'mon, sweetheart. Wake up. You're okay, I promise."

"Tess," I heard my brother breathe out my name from behind me. "Y-You need to step back 'cause she's gonna—"

"No," I nearly exclaimed back and shook my head. "She's fine. She's just sleeping. Leave her alone. She's about to wake up. She's fine."

"N-Now, Tess, your brother is right," Maggie was now saying, easing her way over to us. "You should step back before she turns. You know it's gonna happen."

"I can't," I cried, holding Izzy's body closer to mine. "She was like my daughter... I can't let her go."

"Tess, step back before she—"

And, just like that, I heard a moan and groan from down below. I laid Izzy flat on the ground as I remained kneeled next to her. Her eyes had changed as she was now a different person in a different state of mind of constant hunger.

"Izzy? Baby, it's me," I sniffled, stroking her hair with my right arm while I held her back with my left. "I'm here, kiddo. I'm here for you. I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you anymore. I promise. I swear to you, Izzy."

"Tess, back up!" Jesus exclaimed, holding his pistol up to shoot her.

Izzy tried snap at me with her blood-stained teeth, but I was holding her back. "You'll always be my daughter," I continued to talk to her, despite the fact that both Maggie and Jesus wanted me to step back. "I'll always love you, baby girl."

Tess, you don't have to feel guilty anymore, I remembered Morgan's words from the other day. You have conquered your fears and demons already. Don't fall back into that same old pattern. You are going to beat them. The demons that you let consume you on a daily basis... They can no longer hurt you, Tess. You know that.

Izzy was itching closer to me, attempting to bite right through my neck. "You're not gonna suffer anymore, baby girl," I muttered, taking ahold of my signature pistol and gripping it as hard as I could.

"Tess, move! Now!"

"I love you," I whispered right as I placed the pistol to her left temple and pulled the trigger. She fell back and was officially gone.

I just sat there with my mouth hung somewhat open. I was in disbelief and the shock hadn't officially hit me yet. Then, when I glanced down at the pool of dark blood surrounding her head, that's when I lost it.

I managed to stand up first with my shoulders hunched over. I heard footsteps and, then, somebody touched my shoulder. "Tess—"

I spun around and placed the pistol to my temple now. It was my brother, whom had approached me. He now was standing there in shock with his hands up. "T-Tess... Stop it. Put the gun down."

"What's the point?" I cried, letting the tears flow down my cheeks. "What's the point anymore? She's gone. My little girl is gone..."

"Tess, stop," Maggie said, now directly looking at her. "You don't wanna do this. You're just very sad right now, but you'll be okay. I promise."

"How would you know?" I countered, gritting my teeth. "Honestly, Maggie, I'm not you. I can't just use the bricks that people have thrown at me to make an isolated shell around me. I can't do that. I can't pretend anymore."

"Tess, just stop—"

"You have no idea how much that I blame myself for their deaths," I confessed and Maggie's face somewhat begin to fall in disbelief. "You have no idea how much I wanted to die after they did. Abraham and Glenn... But, you know what? I finally ate up all my guilt for that and I won't let it consume it anymore."

Maggie, without any other options, raised her gun up at me as well and barked out: "Put it down. Now."

"Or, what?" I practically laughed in her face and rolled my eyes. "You're gonna kill me? That's funny since I'm already trying to do that to myself right now."

She took a step forward and whispered: "Stop feeling guilty about everything that goes wrong, Tess."

I didn't want to hear another word, so I went to pull the trigger before I was suddenly being tackled to the ground. I began to scream, like my whole body was on fire, while Jesus held me down on the ground and threw the gun away.

"Why won't you let me die already?" I cried in a little ball on the hard concrete ground. "How many more people do I have to see die before I do?"

Jesus sat beside me and sobbed, but I didn't want to see him do that. He loved Izzy just as much as I did, but he was crying for her and me — for his twin sister just wanted to die now.

I felt somebody pick me up and hold me in their strong arms before I recognized that it was Daryl, who I held onto as much as he held me. I cried on his chest, shaking with each escaping sob, while she just held onto me for dear life.

Do you think Sasha did that herself?

I don't know how, but I know she did.

She gave us a chance. You did. You made the right decision to come.

The decision was made a long time ago, before any of us knew each other, when we were all strangers who would have just passed each other on the street before the world ended. And, now, we mean everything to each other.

You were in trouble. You were trapped. Glenn didn't know you, but he helped you. He put himself in danger for you. And, that started it all...

From Atlanta, to my daddy's farm, to the prison, to here... To this moment now, not as strangers — as family... Because Glenn chose to be there for you that day a long time ago. That was the decision that changed everything.

It started with both of you, and it just grew... To all of us to sacrifice for each other... To suffer and stand, to grieve, to give, to love, to live, to fight for each other.

Glenn made the decision, Rick.

I was just following his lead.

~ ~ ~

• That was... Fucking amazing and so sad, though, too. Man... I cried the WHOLE TIME, dude. Like, especially when Tess talked to Maggie and, then, when Izzy died. Man, this was hard to write. Trust me. Yet, the ending scene of Maggie talking about Glenn and all that... He was my baby. I will always love him. 😭 However, since S8 is not out on DVD yet, I have NO IDEA what I am gonna do bout writing the next couple of episodes. I really have no idea. I could make it up, but it would end up as being pure SHIT — which is SO ANNOYING 🙄 Pray that I can find a website that helps me when I actually have WiFi 😑 Nevertheless, I hope that you all enjoyed... ✨ All the love .xx •