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Daryl

I got the others through the tunnels and out into the woods. I carried Little Ass Kicker, holding her tight against my chest. The little girl wound her small arms around my neck and cried quietly. I didn't think she fully understood what was happening, but she understood enough to be upset and to know her brother had just told her goodbye. My arms tightened ever so slightly as I thought of Merle.

Jo had been gone too long. I knew it was going to be hard on her to say goodbye to Carl, but this was too much time. Jo had seemed fragile even before she found out Carl was dying. I still didn't know what Negan did to her in The Sanctuary. I didn't know where her head was at and I honestly didn't know what this was going to do to her.

Urgency clawed at my throat. I had to find her.

I turned to Tobin who was standing just behind me. I motion towards him and he nodded. I handed Little Ass Kicker over. She whimpered but went willingly.

Then I looked back at Rosita. Her face was grim. "I'll keep an eye on everyone until you guys get back," she promised, like she understood exactly where my head was at.

Tara nodded. "Go get her," she agreed.

I jogged back through the trees the way we had come. If she was still in the tunnels with him I needed to get her out of there. She was strong, but I didn't think she would survive seeing Carl change. Or worse, if he changed and Rick wasn't able to put him down. Then it would fall to Jo.

I jogged faster.

I made it back to the manhole cover and had just squatted down to pull it off when I heard it. I froze. It was dark except for the fires over the fence. My head snapped around as I tried to find the source.

She was sitting in the shadows, her knees draw up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them like she was trying to hold herself together. The sound of her sobs made something in my chest ache. I swung my crossbow over my shoulder and headed towards her. Her face was pressed against her knees and she was crying so hard her entire body shook. I sat down beside her and she flinched. Jerking back like I was attacking.

I held myself very still and waited her out. She looked up at me her eyes full of tears. She sank her teeth into her lower lip and held her breath to try and stop herself from crying. Her whole body shook with the effort of holding back her sobs.

"Hey," I said in a low voice and I reached for her, drawing her into my chest.

She was trembling and it broke my heart. That she thought she had to hold back like this in front of me was almost painful.

"It's okay, just let it out," I whispered into her hair as I held her. She was always so strong for everybody else.

She choked over her next sob and collapsed into me. She gripped my vest in her fists and cried. I locked my arms around her and just held her. I had never seen Jo like this. She cried before but not like this. Never as though her entire world was ending. She cried so hard she hiccuped and struggled to catch her breath. I rubbed her back and pressed my lips against her hair, trying to soothe her. She tightened her grip on me and buried her wet face in my neck.

There was nothing I could do. I was completely powerless to help her. All I could do was sit in the flickering light of our burning home and hold her as she sobbed.

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Daryl

We had been on the move all night. I led the way and kept everyone under cover in the trees, but it wasn't easy to move two dozen people silently. Negan's men were everywhere looking for us. I was worried about Jo. I didn't know when she had last slept and she was moving like she was in a daze. I kept her close to me, needing to know I could get to her if something went down. The shocky look on her face made me doubt whether she would even fight back if we were attacked.

Rosita seemed to notice something was off too. At first she kept glancing from me to Jo. A sad look crossed her face and she finally settled in to walk silently behind Jo. I don't even know if Jo noticed.

It was dawn when we came to the first overpass. It was where I would be if I was trying to stop someone from reaching Hilltop. I held my hand up, motioning for them to stop. I ignored the sighs of relief I heard and crept closer. Overhead I could hear voices.

"Patrols we got an orange situation," a radio crackled.

Saviors.

I tightened my grip on my crossbow. I had a rifle slung over my shoulder too, but it would make too much noise. I crept closer so I could hear what they were saying.

"Doctor Carson and the priest. Might'a split overnight, maybe this morning. Jeremy's green sedan is MIA so they might be in that. Go for standard search and cover in our perimeter around Hilltop. Eyeballs open." 

So Gabriel had been caught and managed to escape. I glanced back over my shoulder. Jo was crouched behind me in the bushes. She was staring at the ground, a thoughtful expression on her face as she listened. She looked relieved to hear Gabriel had escaped. I was going to have to ask her about what happened at some point. But not today.

"Patrol Four copies," a man's voice replied and there was movement. A car above us started and Jo flinched. Her gaze caught mine and she looked away, shame burning in her eyes. I tightened my jaw. I hated that she felt like she had to hide her emotions from me.

"Come on, let's hurry up," a woman's voice said.

Four car doors slammed and it drove away. The escape would put more people in the field on high alert, but it would also keep them moving, which might let us slip through their perimeter. It was going to be a big 'if'. I glanced back at the group. There were a lot of people who weren't good in the woods here. People who hadn't spent much time outside the damn fence. I stepped out of cover slowly, keeping my eyes on the overpass overhead in case they left someone to watch their position. It didn't look like it. It looked clear.

I waved to the group, signaling to them it was okay for them to come out. Jo hesitated for a second before she crawled out from beneath the bushes. Rosita was right behind her and the group followed them. I motioned for Rosita to lead them across the clearing and into the deeper forest on the other side.

"Best to stay off the roads," I muttered in a low voice as she passed me. "We'll head into the woods, right here." I gestured across the dangerously open clearing for our people to hustle into the safety of the trees.

Rosita nodded and trotted ahead, encouraging the others to move faster.

"Come on," I called quietly ushering them past me. "Go, go."

Jo moved to follow, but I caught her arm, pulling her towards me. She tightened at the contact but she didn't pull away. I wasn't sending her on the lead to clear the path. I made eye contact with Tobin and jerked my chin towards Rosita. He nodded and jogged to catch up. He would be better backup for Rosita than Jo right now.

Dwight staggered along with the group, gripping his injured shoulder. I tensed as he passed us, my grip on Jo's arm unconsciously tightening as I tugged her closer. I wanted to kill the bastard for what he did to me and what he did to Denise. I didn't know what Negan would have planned for Jo, but if he had any part of it I was going to make it hurt.

Behind him Tara had her eyes on his back a hand resting on her gun. If I wasn't careful she was going to beat me to it and for now he was useful. Jo said he helped her escape. All that bought the bastard was time.

Once the last of our people were in the woods I turned to look down at Jo. She jerked against my hold on her arm and I released her on reflex. She turned silently to follow the others.

"Jo-" I started to say.

"Don't," her voice, instead of sounding angry like I expected, was a desperate whisper. "Please," she begged and her voice cracked. "I can't..." she hung her head, her shoulders slumping.

I licked my lips and tried to think of something to say, anything, that might make her feel better. But nothing came to mind. I wasn't good with words. Jo waited for a beat, waited for me to come up with something, but there wasn't anything I could think of that would make this better.

Finally, I sighed and nodded though she couldn't see it. "Let's move," I muttered and Jo set off ahead of me after the group.

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Jo

It was like I couldn't breathe. All night I was numb, nothing felt real following after Daryl and the others. It was like a dream I often had, or a nightmare. It was hard to tell anymore. But it reminded me of just after the prison, when we were all scattered and lost in the woods. Somehow we had managed to find one another then. That wouldn't happen this time.

Carl is gone.

I mouthed the words to myself, over and over as I followed the group.

Carl is gone.

Every time I said it something in my chest wound tighter and tighter. I didn't know what would happen when it broke. Maybe I would just shatter into a million pieces and that would be the end of it.

Carl was gone.

I don't know how long we had been moving through the woods. The dense trees made it difficult to tell what time of day it was. Daryl was behind me. I could feel him there like a silent shadow. There was a snarl ahead. Something in my head, something that didn't care about Negan or Carl or even Daryl,  sort of clicked into place. I turned, a hand dropping to my knife.

"I got it," Tara called easily. It didn't matter. I still pulled the knife.

Carl was gone.

Having a blade in my hand made me feel like I could catch a breath. Like I had been drowning and suddenly broke the surface. I pulled my arm back. I could think again. Maybe not about my family or our loss or our future, but I could think. My mind assessed and processed the threat as easily as it used to in the ring.

"I'll cover you," Dwight offered coming up behind her to help. In that moment Tara swung the walker around and shoved it straight into Dwight. 

"Tara!" Rosita yelled but she was on the other side of the group.

"Goddamnit," Daryl muttered behind me. He raised his crossbow but didn't have a clear shot as Dwight wrestled with the walker. He swore again.

The tension rising all around me should have somehow made it worse. Instead, I was able to exhale and settle. Everything in my head got very quiet even as the people around me panicked and called out.

Carl was gone.

I narrowed my eyes at the walker and focused. Dwight has helped me. He didn't deserve to die.

"What?" Tara asked innocently. "It got away from me. He can handle it," her back was to me, less than a foot to the left of where Dwight was struggling with the walker.

Dwight wrestled it to the ground, but he was struggling with his injured side. A bullet wound he had taken fighting for us.

Carl was gone.

The world had suffered a loss and it didn't even know it. It would never know it. No one else needed to die today.

As soon as Dwight had the walker on the ground he straightened and prepared to stomp it's skull with a boot.

"See," Tara said smirking as she watched Dwight struggle.

My pulse was pounding in my temples. It doesn't have to be this way. Carl's words to me echoed in my mind.

But Carl was gone. And this was the only way I knew how to be. I couldn't go back, none of us could.

I snapped off the knife. Tara flinched and jerked sideways as the blade flew less than six inches from her. That close, she could feel the air move. She swung around to face me, her eyes wide with shock and betrayal. I ignored her and kept my eyes on the trees, waiting for the next threat to come. She was acting like I had been aiming for her, or like there was a chance I would miss.

I knew without looking that the knife buried itself in the walker's skull. The walker slumped to the ground and Dwight jumped, whipping around to see where the knife had come from. He met my gaze and nodded his thanks.

"Hey," Daryl snarled angrily shoving his way between Dwight and I. He positioned himself in a way that his wide shoulders broke Dwight's line of sight. "Just keep them moving." He snapped, pointing angrily at Tara.

Tara flinched at his angry look and stomped away like a petulant child. Everyone else followed meekly, trying hard not to react to the obvious tension. I ignored it and watched while the others walked away.

"Jo," Daryl said my name. I jerked and looked up at him. His eyes were wary and I wondered how long he had been trying to get my attention. His eyes flickered to my hands and I realized in that moment I was holding two knives I didn't remember drawing.

I cocked my head and stared down at them trying to force myself to remember the decision to draw them. The first was one of my old ones that Dwight had returned and the second was the knife Daryl had given me. "Yeah, I'm coming," I said in a low voice.

Daryl nodded and watched me carefully. I moved to walk past him and stepped carefully out of his reach. I swallowed, feeling like I needed to say something so he would stop looking at me like I was broken. I was fine.

"Did you hear on the radio about Carson and Gabriel?" I asked quietly. I swallowed and tried to drag my eyes off the tree line, but it was difficult. Daryl was standing beside me, I was as safe as I could be in the woods.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, probably headed to the Hilltop, same as us."

I nodded, pressing my lips together as I wondered how Gabriel had managed to escape. It must have been Doctor Carson that got him out. I remembered Doctor Carson's kindness when I was in the cell. He had tried to help me even after I scared him. I hoped he made it.

Two more walkers snarled off in the woods. I snapped off knives before Daryl could even lift his crossbow. I paced over to them and ripped the knives out, sliding them away. I only had the three knives. I couldn't risk losing one.

"Hopefully better than us," I muttered thinking back to how bad Gabriel looked the last time I had seen him.

Daryl was watching me carefully. He worked his jaw and I could tell he wanted to say something or ask something, but he was holding himself back. He was trying to give me time because of what happened with Carl. He was treating me like I was made of glass.

"What?" I asked and my voice came out sharper than I had intended it to.

"Noth'in," he drawled. "Let's get moving."

"What!" I asked again moving towards him as my irritation rose. We didn't have time for this and I wasn't broken. I was fine.

People died. It was the only thing you could count on in this world. They died and the world spun on.

Daryl pressed his lips into a flat line and swung back around to face me. "You gonna protect him from all of us?" He challenged.

I took a step back frowning. "I wasn't protecting him from-"

"The hell you weren't, I'm not going to stand here and watch you endanger yourself for that douche bag," Daryl's voice came out in a low growl.

I pulled back from his anger and just shook my head. "I assure you I was in no danger," I snarled back and I stomped off after the group. I wasn't doing this with him, not now.

Daryl jogged to catch up to me. "Wait-" he started to say and though I could hear how sorry he was I rounded on him, my temper long gone.

"You wait Daryl Dixon," I snarled. I shoved my finger into his chest angrily as all the injustice and pain and rage of the last few days caught up with me. And true to form I let it out on the one person who really didn't deserve it.

"You and Tara may have decided to be judge, jury and executioner, but I will not apologize for not wanting to watch someone else die today!" I was yelling now and I couldn't seem to stop. I was panting around my words as my hands shook with the force of my fury. "I will not apologize for not being able to stand by and watch someone die. Someone who is not only injured, but someone who helped our group. Someone who helped me escape. Someone who helped me-"

Tears sprang into my eyes as I remembered the cell. I pinched my mouth shut and looked away. We weren't going to talk about this now, maybe not ever. I couldn't.

"Helped you, what?" Daryl snarled suspiciously.

I swallowed and looked away. "He helped me when I was there Daryl," I confessed in a low voice feeling somehow like I had betrayed him by accepting the help.

Daryl tightened his grip on his crossbow until his knuckles turned white.

I peered up at him through my lashes but his expression was impossible to read. "I know what he did to you," I told him. "And Denise. And I'm not saying he doesn't deserve a reckoning, but..." I hung my head in defeat, my shoulders slumping forward. "I can't watch anyone else die today," I confessed weakly.

Daryl's eyes were hard and his body tense. "What happened?" He snapped authoritatively.

I sucked in a sharp breath and looked up at him. I wasn't ready to talk about this yet. I had given him space and time after his escape, but he was affording me none of that.

"Daryl-" I started to say.

"I need to know Jo," he said simply. "I need to know what that bastard," he jerked his chin after Dwight. "Did to you. Or I'm going to assume it was the same that he did to me and imma kill him right now. I don't give a shit who's watching."

"Nothing happened."

His face flattened. "Don't lie to me," he warned and there was a dangerous glint in his eye. I was pushing him.

I sucked in a breath, my thoughts churning over fighting with Negan to escape the trailer, being put in the cell, Doctor Carson, Eugene, Negan tying me up, Dwight coming in to care for me and talk to me. The risk he took to help me escape. I didn't know where to begin. I didn't know what to tell him.

"Jo," Daryl's voice was a painful rasp and I could actually feel his temper fraying.

I looked up at him and his eyes were hard with his resolve. I opened my mouth but no words came out. I didn't know how to explain to him what had happened. I didn't know how to tell him what I had been through. I swallowed and looked down at the knives in my hands. As usual my hands and knuckles were covered in bruises and small cuts that I didn't remember getting.

Daryl had never pressed me before. In the past he had always waited for me to come to him. Daryl, for all his temper, was a hunter in his heart and had always been patient but persistent. His eyes were hardening now with impatience.

"The others-" I started to say, glancing over my shoulder in the direction the group was moving.

"They're fine," Daryl growled.

I shifted my grip on the knives. Daryl reached out and caught my arm. He stared down at me, his eyes burning.

I tightened despite knowing it was Daryl. Too much had happened in the last few days for me not to. I licked my lips. "I-" I started to say and I let out a shuddering breath. Tears were burning in my eyes and I frowned at the ground as I worked at closing myself off from the wayward emotions I couldn't seem to control.

Daryl exhaled and he slowly lowered his hand. "Did they put ya in a cell?" his voice was low and forcefully gentle. He was trying to keep a hold of his anger.

I nodded, but my throat felt too thick. I hated this. Hated to feel so out of control.

He knew that and still he selfishly pressed for answers. "Did he-" he started to ask and he stopped. "How-?" 

I exhaled and when I looked up at him there were tears in my eyes and my temper had snapped. I couldn't do this. I didn't want to do this. I didn't like being pushed.

Carl was gone.

"Rick left, I was trapped with Gabriel when Gabriel stopped to help..." I paused and frowned. I couldn't seem to remember his name. I opened my mouth but it was like the information was stored somewhere else.

Daryl frowned down at me, concern warring with his rising frustration.

"Gregory," I finally came up with the name, though it felt wrong. "Gregory left us. The herd came and we fought our way to the trailer. Negan was inside."

Daryl tightened, but he didn't say anything more.

I swallowed. "We fought together," I muttered and for some reason it felt like even more of a betrayal. "I tried-but I couldn't..." I shook my head, feeling like I should have somehow done more to kill to him. At the time it had felt like I didn't have a choice, now I wasn't so sure. If I had only been better, stronger, faster...

"I tried to make a run for the fence," I snapped defensively. "But Gabriel went down. Our only option was to fight our way to the factory. Negan had me taken to a cell."

Daryl's hands tightened into fists at his side. I could feel his anger building like a storm.

"I was injured. Carson took care of me."

"And what about Dwight?" Daryl asked in a tight voice.

I looked at the ground. "I attacked Eugene." I confessed. "He tried...he tried to get me to help them and he-" I shook my head. "I put a gun to his head and Negan threatened to shoot me. Negan took it, but he tied me up. He left me alone, in the dark, tied up..." I couldn't meet Daryl's eyes now. I didn't want him to see the weakness. He knew. Of course he knew. I wanted him to reach out, but instead of offering comfort my words only seemed to be winding him up tighter and tighter.

"Dwight came. He cut me loose, brought me food and he..." I shook my head. I wasn't sure exactly how to explain what exactly it was he did for me. "He talked to me." I finished weakly.

The look Daryl gave me made my breath catch in my throat. "He talked to you," his voice was tight with tension and some unnamed emotion I couldn't even begin to understand.  He turned and stomped off into the woods to follow the others.

I followed behind slowly not understanding what I had done. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks as I tried to figure out how he was suddenly the angry one. Guilt and shame and so many more, far uglier emotions surged through me. I trudged through the woods after Daryl and he never looked back.

When we caught up to the group Daryl stomped to the lead. His pace was relentless.

As dawn broke I looked at our people. They couldn't keep this up. "Hold on guys," I said in a low voice. If they were surprised, they were too tired to show it. I gestured for them to stop. This was as safe a section of forest as any.

Daryl however didn't seem to notice which was unlike him. Rosita met my gaze and sort of shrugged making it clear she didn't understand him any better than I did and that he was my problem.

I tightened my jaw and nodded. "Hey!" I called trotting after him. He was still angry, I could see that and I really didn't want I fight anymore. I was exhausted. "Daryl!" I ran a couple strides and grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around.

He looked over my head behind him and scowled. "Where are they?"

I opened my mouth to respond with equal venom but bit my lip. Seeing which one of us could be more mad wasn't going to help. "They needed rest. They're exhausted. They haven't slept."

Daryl scoffed but couldn't seem to look me in the eye. He turned back to watch the forest. He swiped at his mouth with his hand. "Alright fine," he finally relented when he seemed to realize I wasn't going to fight with him. "Ten minutes. Then we keep going." He nodded a few too many times and shifted his weight to step around me well out of my reach. "Imma go back, cover our tracks."

He couldn't seem to stop moving and I didn't know what to say to him. He wouldn't look at me.

"I'll come with you," I offered and he just seemed to tense more.

"I have a question," Tara snapped in a bratty voice as she stomped up to us.

I didn't bother to hide my sigh. I did not have the energy to deal with her too. I glanced back at the group to see Rosita and Dwight standing together. Rosita had a gun in hand but wasn't actively pointing it at him. She seemed to have taken it upon herself to watch both him and the group.

"Is there a reason why he's still breathing?" Tara snapped motioning back at Dwight.

Daryl looked over his shoulder and the look in his eyes made me think he had been asking himself the same question all morning. Instead of fessing up however, he shook his head. "The fight ain't over."

"It is for him," she growled. "I'm done waiting." She leveled her angry eyes on me as though this was my fault.

Daryl tightened his jaw angrily and shook his head. "Not now," he said and he glanced back towards me, indecision weighing in his eyes. "Not yet," he added then he stomped back off into the woods.

Rosita stepped up looking back and forth between me and Tara. "Daryl's right," she said soothingly. "Dwight could have an angle we don't know about."

"He could help," I added. "He wants to help us. We can't give that up yet," I said firmly.

Tara shook her head and set her jaw.

Rosita made an impatient noise in the back of her throat. "Tara," she said in exasperation. "Look, we just lost the kid-" she started to say and I visibly flinched.

Both of their eyes went to me and Rosita immediately looked apologetic.

Carl was gone.

It felt like I couldn't breathe all over again. "Can we just stop," I said working hard to keep my voice level. I swiped a hand over my mouth.

"Until we get to Hilltop," Rosita allowed. Trying to be the voice of reason.

My breathing was shallow again and I trotted off to followed Daryl before he could get too far ahead of me.

"Daryl stop," I called.

He paused, but once again he wouldn't look at me. His shoulders were tense and his hands tightened into fists.

"Daryl please, just..."

Daryl turned. Guilt clouded his eyes and he wouldn't hold my gaze.

I sighed. "Please," I finally said.

He stared at me and after a moment he crossed to me, jerking me against his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered into my hair.

"It's not your-" I started to say but he pressed his lips against mine before I could finished.

When he pulled back he pressed his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry," he whispered again and I knew without him having to say that this was the real reason behind his anger. Daryl took my safety very seriously, and he was blaming himself for what was done to me by Negan and The Saviors.

"We need to get back and take care of the others," I said. He nodded but held me for a moment longer. There was an ever so slight tremble to his hands, but I didn't mention it and when he stepped back away from me he looked more like himself.

"We ready to do this darl'in?" he asked.

I nodded and when he held out his hand I took it, lacing my fingers with his as he led us back through the woods.

When we got back Tara and Rosita were sitting about ten feet apart. Rosita had positioned herself so she was between Tara and Dwight. Dwight for his part was on the ground, his back against a tree with his eyes closed.

Daryl reached into his pack and pulled out a map. He set it down on a rock and Tara and Rosita walked over to us. Daryl glanced up at them and dragged his finger across the map. "If they're smart, they'll cover all these passes between here and Hilltop."

"We have to keep moving. We'll just have to risk it. There's too many of their patrol's out here looking for us and Carson and Gabriel. We're too many to hide. And most aren't that good in the woods."

I was the only one to notice Dwight struggle to his feet and approach us. "Maybe you don't have to," he volunteered, glancing nervously back and forth between Daryl and Tara looking as though he expected one of them to attack him at any minute.

He motioned towards the map, asking to come closer. I nodded, but his eyes were carefully on Daryl. Daryl stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest, but allowing Dwight room.

"Negan won't send his people down into this stretch of swamp," Dwight said pointing out a designated wetlands area on the map. He straightened, fighting back a grimace. "Not if he doesn't have to."

"Yeah?" Tara challenged, her hand resting aggressively on her gun. "How do you know that?"

Dwight tilted his head slightly and kept his voice low and non-threatening. "Negan wanted to map the best routes with cover from The Sanctuary to The Hilltop. He decided the swamp was too dangerous, he didn't think it was worth the risk."

Daryl looked at me. He was tapping his fingers impatiently. I nodded subtly and Daryl nodded in response. He turned to Dwight and jerked his head once. It was the closest thing to a thank you or acknowledgement Dwight was going to get from Daryl.

Daryl scooped up the map and tucked it away.

Tara stood up, outraged. "You aren't seriously going to listen to him!" she exclaimed, loud enough the others glanced towards us. "It's too dangerous for The Savior's so you're going to send us?" she asked in disbelief.

I was painfully aware of the civilians watching our exchange with exhausted, but still nervous expressions on their faces. They needed to be confident in our leadership in Rick's absence.

I stepped up towards Tara and her eyes dropped to look down at me. "Are you kidding me?" she challenged, puffing herself up.

"They have us boxed in," Rosita replied in a very calm voice. For someone who had a history of making things worse instead of better she seemed to understand how precarious Tara was making our position.

Tobin suddenly spoke up from the group. "Tara has a point, why should we trust him?"

I exhaled tightly and rolled my shoulders.

"He could turn on us like he turned on his own people," Scott added.

Dwight glanced over his shoulder at our people. "I didn't just turn on them. I killed them," he added.

I saw a few of the civilians tighten and pull back. I frowned. Frightening people wasn't really the best way to go about making friends.

Dwight looked back toward me and Daryl. "Daryl saw it. So did Jo. Rosita saw it," he turned back to Tara, his face sincere. "You saw it." He licked his lips and looked back at Scott and Tobin. "But one of them got away. So if they find me, Negan puts my head on a pike. I am not working for them. I am not going back to them. I helped Jo escape. I chose my side. This is it. I'm here to help you beat Negan. After that..." he pressed his lips into a grim line and shrugged. "Well, I know how it ends," he said and his eyes found Daryl's.

He knew Daryl was going to kill him and he was here anyway. Heck, he had probably known Daryl wanted him dead when I was inside and still he had helped me.

Daryl tapped the map against his leg thoughtfully. He glanced back at me and I nodded. I couldn't forgive Dwight for what he had done to Daryl or to Denise. But he had helped me. Not just escaping, but he helped me stay sane when I was locked in a cage. I couldn't forget that, no matter how convienent it would be.

Daryl looked at me reproachfully but finally relented. "Alright," he said to me and he shrugged. I had a brief moment where I wondered if I was making a mistake, encouraging Daryl to trust Dwight. 

Daryl looked back up at Dwight with hard eyes. "We try the swamps."

<><><><><>

Daryl

I was on the lead again. Jo was at the back with Rosita, keeping an eye on everyone while Dwight walked beside me. I didn't want this bastard any where near me, but walking by me was better than him hanging out near Jo. She was off. Her moods and reactions were all over the place and it was my fault. Negan got his hands on her and locked her up in another cell and it was my fault. She had to depend on Dwight because I wasn't able to protect her. I had made the mistake of trusting Rick to take care of her. I tightened my jaw. It wasn't a mistake I was going to make again. I couldn't risk it. I already didn't know how much damage had already been done.

Dwight and I walked in silence for at least an hour before I finally spoke up. "This works," I said swatting a low branch out of the way. "It don't change shit."

Dwight sighed and had to scramble to keep up with me. "Everything I did. I did for Sherry. That doesn't make it right. Or something that should be forgiven. But I did it for her," he glanced back and his eyes landed on Jo. Without meaning to I made a move towards him. It felt like he was threatening her. He glanced back at me, lifting his chin defiantly. "I know you can understand that." he said firmly.

I tightened my grip on my crossbow. I didn't even want him to look at her. He was right of course. There was nothing I wouldn't do for Jo. I did understand why he did it, but that didn't mean I was going to forgive him for what he did.

Dwight glanced towards me and then turned his eyes back to the woods ahead of us. "It's the truth, the only one I got left. Sherry was the one who let you out. Then she ran."

I felt a twinge at that. Sherry had been kind to me on more than one occasion. From what I had seen of her she was no Jo. She wouldn't survive on her own. "She's out here?" I asked.

"Somewhere," he said and his voice dropped. "I hope," he added, but he didn't sound like he believed it.

I felt bad, but honestly I didn't get it. She ran and he stayed behind. I would never understand his twisted logic. Once Sherry was gone Negan lost his leverage and Dwight coulda left. But he didn't. He chose to stay with The Saviors.

The terrain started to change, dropping off into depressions that would lead into lowlands. I held up a hand, motioning for the group to hold up. I headed down the hill alone. I made it about halfway down before I heard her quiet tread behind me. I kept my eyes on the swamp, worried if I turned around I might spook her again. I stopped, cocking a hip, as I looked over the swamp. It wasn't just a swamp, it was a bog, filled with twisted trees and roots.

"This is going to be a nightmare," Jo's voice was a hushed whisper behind me. I looked over my shoulder at her. Her green eyes were locked on the swamp below us. Instead of the confidence I was used to seeing in her eyes, she looked wary and exhausted. 

"We'll find a way," I told her trying to sound more confident than I felt. Negan was right to keep his people out of this place. I could see how hard it was for Jo to tear her eyes off the walkers half submerged in the swamp. Her eyes were bloodshot and her shoulders were still slumped. She was running on fumes. I wouldn't know if she was okay until she got some sleep and some food.

Jo's head snapped to the side a second before I heard the growl of a nearby walker. I lifted my crossbow and fired before she was able to snap a knife off. The walker slumped. I stalked over to it and jerked my bolt out of it's skull.

Jo had taken a step closer to me. She was surveying the swamp and her face was pinched and anxious but she was watching my back. She drew in a breath. "We can do this," she said confidently. "We just have to be careful."

I nodded and reloaded my crossbow before I walked back over to her. I stood close enough I could feel her heat. I wanted to reassure her again, but she was working hard to pretend like everything was okay. I wasn't going to ruin that for her. "We'll push through," I said thoughtfully. "Make a path for the others." 

Despite how tired she was I knew there was zero chance of me convincing her to stay with the others while I took care of the walkers in the swamp. 

Behind us Scott drew his knife. "Count me in," he offered shoving himself to his feet.

I looked back at Jo, I wasn't sure if she was in a place where having more people around was a good thing or a bad thing. When she didn't argue however I left it alone. 

"I'll go," Tobin agreed.

Dwight pushed off a tree, sighing. "If I could have the crossbow-" he started to offer.

"You can't" I growled. "You'll stay right there," I said pointing at him. 

Rosita stepped forward, drawing her knife. When Tara didn't follow her she stopped. "You coming?"

Tara shook her head, looking pleased with herself. "I'm going to hang back. Watch over the group."

"Come on," I drawled, stepping up next to Jo. "Let's get this done." 

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Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed the update!