➳ DOG started barking his head off about something he spotted just before us, which made me stop dead in my tracks. I snatched out my machete and got ready to fight once again.

"The living kind," Eugene started to ask, "or original recipe?"

Daryl grumbled out, "Let's find out." To his pet, he called out, "Good dog."

We made our way towards a small bridge, where a few bodies were moaning and groaning for hunger — or to kill us with their little knives up their sleeves. Daryl took a stance at the end of the bridge with his crossbow up, ready to fend them off, while Michonne, Magna, Yumiko, and I stood back for a moment.

It appeared Daryl was aiming at legs first to see if he could get a reaction out of them. The actual dead won't cry about it, but the people underneath the masks will. He shot one in the leg, and it didn't react. He just kept coming; then, he aimed and shot another one in the leg. This one fell to the ground and screamed out in agony. The actual Walkers, which surrounded him, started to quickly make a feast out of him.

Then, with that said, the rest of us moved in and started cleaning the bridge off. Michonne and I stood on one side while Daryl was helped by Magna and Yumiko on the other side.

The two Walkers started to turn away from them and probably were shocked to see us standing there. One of the Walkers suddenly slid out a knife and started coming at Michonne, who quickly ducked his attack on her by stabbing him right in the stomach with her katana sword.

I ran over to the other one to take care of it, but not before Daryl ran up and held his arm back to keep me from doing it. "Drop it!" he barked at the Walker with a knife in their hand.

I didn't care to listen to him now when I put my machete's tip right on their masked chin, ready to slice and dice their asses up. They fell down to their knees, dropping the knife in the process, with their arms up in surrender.

Michonne walked up, as I could feel her eyes on me, when she barked out, "On my demand."

I didn't even look at her while I stared down in the eyes of the killer at the end of my machete, nodding. "Of course. I'll be ready for it."

Daryl walked up behind me, debating rather or not to end their life now or later. It took a few moments for him to decide, but I knew that I wanted to kill them all one by one.

Daryl leaned forward and ripped the mask off of their face, before standing back behind me as we saw who was really behind the mask. It appeared to be just a little girl begging for her life, who looked to be around Mollie's age.

"Please...," she begged with tears and mercy in her eyes. "Please don't kill me. Please."

Daryl threw the mask the little girl had on to Michonne, who caught it and analyzed it in her hands. Clearly, disgust was written all over her face, and I couldn't blame her whatsoever.

I turned my attention back down to the little girl at the tip of my machete. "You were there when you helped kill my brother! Weren't you?!"

She frantically shook her head with fresh tears in her eyes and gulped down a huge knot of something. "Please, I wasn't!"

"How many?" Michonne barked out, clearly wanting to know right now who we're dealing with. I'm thinking they're a bunch of freaks straight from the circus.

"Please... You killed them all," the little girl tried telling us, looking at each of us at least once. She went from eye to eye. "It's just me now."

I leaned down further towards her and held the machete firmly in my hand, almost slicing through her neck now. "Bull. Shit."

Michonne leaned forward, too, and growled out, "I don't believe you."

"You and your people killed my brother," I yelled down at the frightened little girl with her hands still up in surrender. "Now, you're going to pay for it."

I swung my machete back and was ready to slice her neck open despite being around my oldest daughter's age. But, then, I heard, "...Mom?"

I held my breath and machete back from harming the little girl below me, glancing up to see Mollie standing at the end of the bridge by herself. She had confusion painted all over her face and was probably very scared, too.

"Who is that?" Mollie started asking questions, slowly taking a few steps forward. "What's going on?"

I shook my head and croaked out, "Nothing. Now, get back to Aaron. We'll be there in a second."

Walkers started to come closer, their moans and groans becoming louder by the second. Mollie was still standing there, fear in her eyes and written all over her face, in general.

"There ain't no time," Daryl growled under his breath, nudging my side. "We'll take her with us."

"What?!" I exclaimed just as Michonne turned her head to stare at him in question with me. I leaned forward and snapped at him, "This isn't your call."

Daryl just shook his head and barked back, "Doesn't matter." Then, he looked down at the whimpering girl and started to snatch her up. "Get up."

Daryl got her up to her feet, and Michonne was immediately there, shoving the hideous mask back in her face. "Hey! You try anything, you ain't have to pretend."

I shook my head, and feeling anger for both Daryl and the girl, I growled under my breath through gritted teeth. "You are extremely lucky because you won't be next time, little girl."

With that said, Daryl carried her away from me and Michonne, who didn't feel sympathy for the child like Daryl apparently did. She was definitely lucky to be alive because, next time, she won't escape so easily.

—

➳ AS soon as the gates opened to the Hilltop and we all walked inside — or, rather, rode inside, I struggled to walk inside, only wanting to be seen about my injury by Saddiq only.

I glanced up and saw Tara running towards me, pain and confusion written all over her face. "Tess? Tess!"

She ran right up to me and caught me right before I fell down to the ground as I screamed out in pain and agony. She held onto me and started to cry with me. "Oh, my gosh," she whispered in my hair, rubbing my back. "I am so sorry, Tess. I am so sorry."

She held onto me, trying her best to piece me back together again in her arms, before I heard a little voice croak out, "Aunt Tara?"

Tara and I opened our eyes, seeing Mollie stepping forward with her own fresh tears in her eyes. Tara held her other arm to her, and Mollie dived right into it, nestling her head into the crook of Tara's neck.

She held onto us, while others started to come around and see what was happening. My eyes peeped open when I could sense someone new walking up behind me, placing their hands on my back.

It was Tammy Rose, who had sorrow written all over her face — the same face which I gave her all these years ago when I had help explain to her how Ken was never coming back home.

I fell right into her arms from Tara's as she wrapped her arms around me in a very warm embrace. Another pair of arms made their way around myself and Tammy Rose, and I already knew who they belonged to. Her husband, Earl, who was like a father-figure to me while Tammy was the motherly figure in my life.

"It's alright," Tammy whispered in my hair to get through to my ear, rubbing my back. "It's going to be okay. We'll get through this. Together, baby girl."

Her words were similar to those which I had said to her years ago when Ken died on my watch. I told her that everything would be okay and we would get through it together.

"Tess," I heard Tara call out my name, and I looked up. She furrowed her head towards something, and this is when I saw Enid walking out of the mansion with Tara Rose holding her hand.

It quickly became apparent how Enid was trying to hold her back and take her back inside, but she fought Enid off and started to run towards us. About the time she got here, I had unattached myself from Tammy and Earl while Tara and Mollie were ready to be there for her, too.

"Mommy?" Tara Rose croaked out, almost too afraid to look into anyone's eyes but my own. "What's wrong?"

"Honey," I whispered out, taking a knee in front of her and taking her little hands with mine. Sometimes, I forgot just how similar she looked like me in appearance. Although my eyes were blue, hers looked more like Dwight's bright blue eyes than mine. "Baby, you... You need to listen to Mommy, okay?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

I didn't know how else to say than to... say it. Taking a deep breath and allowing the last of my tears to fall down my cheeks, I looked right into her beautiful blue eyes and squeezed her hands with mine to give them warmth in this very tough time.

"Baby...," I started to say, holding myself back before gulping and accepting it. "Uncle Paul isn't coming back home. Something happened out there and... He's gone, sweetheart. I'm so sorry."

Immediately, I knew she didn't understand as she started to look all around her for answers. When nobody spoke up, she started to frantically shake her head. "No, no, no," she cried out, starting to actually hyperventilated. "No... NO!"

"Tara Rose, honey—!"

I tried to reach out and grab her again when she started to slip her hands out of my grasp, but she clearly did not want to be touched. She was starting to panic, not knowing how to deal with her grief and the realization that her uncle was never going to hug her again.

"Tara Rose, baby, come here—" I started to say before I cut myself off, as she pulled herself completely away from me, and when I reached out to her again, she bolted and ran as far as she could away from everyone. "Tara Rose!"

I was about to take off after her when Tara placed her arm out. "I'll find her."

—

➳ I walked inside the mansion, and after Enid directed me in the direction in which Little T had run to, I walked upstairs right to Jesus's bedroom door. Enid said she ran up there and slammed the door behind her.

I entered the room and glanced around but didn't see her anywhere. "Little T? Honey, it's Aunt Tara. Are you okay?"

I didn't hear anything, but I entered, anyway, and closed the door quietly behind me. I practically tip-toed around and tried to think of the best approach of getting her out.

"T, baby, come out and talk to me," I tried saying to her wherever she was hiding. "It's okay. Everything is going to be alright. You just have to come out and talk to me, baby girl."

I still didn't hear anything, and when I kneeled down to the ground to peek under the bed, I didn't see anything. There was only one other place where she could be hiding than here, and this would be the closet.

I quietly and slowly started to make my way towards the closet, making sure she would feel safe here with me. "We need to talk, T. I know how you feel. We all feel that way, but I know it's worse for you... because you're so young, and he was your amazing uncle."

In one swift motion, I quickly yanked open the closet door and peeked inside, seeing a little body stuffed in the corner and trying to hide behind the hanging clothes. "Little T?"

I reached towards her and grabbed her arm, but she immediately started to jerk to get me to leave her alone. "No! No! Leave me alone! No!"

"Tara Rose," came my warning tone, as I had to practically snatch her out of the closet to get her out here with me. I grabbed her arms and held onto her so she couldn't get away so easily. "It's okay, honey. Talk to me."

"No! No! No!"

"Tara Rose, baby," I kept trying to talk to her while her face was still dry. She still hadn't cried yet because maybe she didn't understand or she didn't want to accept it whatsoever. Either way, in her little innocent mind, she wasn't mourning — which wasn't exactly good. "I'm sorry you lost him, honey, but we're gonna get through this together. Aunt Tara isn't ever going to leave you, baby girl."

"He's not gone," she yelled back, still trying to fight out of my grasp. "No! He's coming back!"

"Baby..."

"He's coming back," she kept saying, still fighting. "Right, Aunt Tara? He's coming back, right? Tell me he's coming back, Aunt Tara."

I couldn't, unfortunately, so I kept quiet as she stopped fighting and now looked directly down into my doubtful eyes. "Right, Aunt Tara?" she asked again, quieter than last time that she said it. Now, louder, "RIGHT?!"

I gulped, and closing my eyes for the moment, shook my head. "I am so sorry, sweetheart."

She started to shake, and this is when I opened my eyes to see how her facial expression started to change. She went from being in denial to utter disbelief to actual sadness.

"No! No! No!" She started to scream and snatched her hands out from my grasp, starting to hit her head and scream, becoming red in the face and tears pouring down her face. When I tried to regain her balled fists from hitting her head, she started to hit me, but I didn't mind as I finally wrapped her up in a ball and placed her right into my arms. "No! Leave me alone!"

I used the bed behind me to sit back on while we remained on the ground. I kept her small body wrapped up in my arms and shook her. She kept trying to fight me, but I didn't let her go, no matter how hard she tried.

She kept screaming and fighting, but she was crying, too, because she knew what the rest of us knew. Paul wasn't coming back home to love on her or to read her bedtime stories while she fell asleep in his arms. He did this every single time when Tara Rose and Mollie came to visit.

Eventually, Tara Rose accepted she wasn't going to get out of this, so she latched onto my shirt and truly held onto me, too. She started to cry into it, probably going to leave temporary stains to her permanent scars. "Oh, baby girl," I whispered in her hair while I tried to comfort her again. "I'm so sorry."

"You can't leave me, too, Aunt Tara," she cried, gripping my shirt with her right hand. "Please don't ever leave."

I shook my head and kissed her head. "I am never leaving you, baby girl. I promise you that." I needed to be here — to stay alive — for her. For her and for Tess, too, and even Mollie, too.

I had to be here for them and the storm which was starting right outside.