"Rick, what are we going to do? We can't wait much longer!" I yelled across to the tired and worn leader, frustrated by his indecision.

Maggie clasped my hand. Her beautiful vibrant complexion had a sickly chalky hue to it. Her short cropped cut stuck to her face in damp tendrils.

I placed my hand on her forehead and almost immediately removed it, her skin scorching. I grabbed a bottle of water from my pack and tilted it to give my dear friend a few sips, praying that she would be able to keep it down. Her body doubled over as she held her slender fingers of her free hand protectively over her abdomen.

Her husband, Glenn, had been gone for days in search of Daryl after his kamikaze mission. We were both worried for our partners. We eagerly waited for any sign they were coming back to us. The gates opening, an engine roaring, any sign they were finally back.

There'd been nothing.

Although we would've loved to wait for their return, the time for waiting was coming to an end. Irreversible damage may have already been done and we couldn't leave it any longer.

Rick leaned against the sill of Maggie's Alexandrian home. His shoulders slouched, looking at me with pleading eyes as he stroked his unkempt beard. If anyone could convince her, it was me.

"Honey." I squeezed her hand to get Maggie's attention, speaking softly, "I know it's not the best time to leave Alexandria and you want to wait for Glenn to come back, but we need to go for the sake of your little one." I placed my hands over hers. "He can meet us there! You know our boys can get past those Savior assholes, no problem!"

Maggie grimaced but nodded. She knew it was the right thing to do, that Glenn would've wanted her to put their baby first.

I stared Rick down, urging him to make the call.

He finally nodded. "We've gotta go."

Those three words set everything in motion. Abraham pulled the RV up to the front Maggie's heritage-style residence. I laid a thin blanket over her to regulate her temperature while Rick and Abe carefully picked her up and walked to the vehicle. I was on their heels the whole way.

I had made a promise to Glenn that I would keep her safe.

I was gonna make good on that promise.

Sitting next to her, I placed my hand on her shoulder. Maggie tilted her head and her glassy hazel eyes focused on me.

"Rackel?" she groaned.

"Yes, Mags?" My fragile smile teetered. But, I took a large breath in, and soldiered on. She'd always been my rock and now was my time to return the favor.

Tears formed in her eyes. "I'm scared."

"Don't get all soft on me now, girly!" I swallowed razor blades. "Otherwise, I'll have to kick your butt!"

"We'll get through this Maggie." Rick chimed in over my shoulder.Rick knelt beside us, wiping the sweat sodden hair off her face.

Maggie looked at him sceptically. "How do... you know?" Her voice broke halfway through her question.

Rick responded without a moment's hesitation. "Because we're all together. We've all made it through much worse and we've always been together." He held out his hand to me and I took it. "That's how I know."

Maggie smiled for the first time in days.

"Bitch nuts!" Abraham yells, as we all lurched forward, the brakes whining. The ex-military tough guy looked back after he made the RV come to an abrupt halt. His icy blue peepers locked onto mine. That was the first time I saw any possible doubt in the man. And it made my stomach churn.

Without saying a word, Rick left the room. I strained my ears to decipher the hushed whispers, but came up empty. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Rick, what's going on?" I asked.

"Rackel, stay with her," he ordered as the rest of the group exited, disregarding my question.

Maggie's brows stitched together in confusion then she flicked her head towards the door, giving me silent permission to investigate.

I crept up to the front dash, putting all my weight on the balls of my feet. There were eight men armed with an array of firearms, three cars completely blocking our way. One man stood a considerable distance ahead, by his stance and confidence I assumed he was the leader, his hair almost reminded me of Doc Brown's from Back to the Future. The guy looped his thumbs under his leather belt, baring his teeth like a feral animal. Although I couldn't make out what he was saying, I knew he spelt bad news. For a moment I debated whether or not to tell her. But I knew if the roles were reversed I'd want to know no matter what.

"What's going on?" Maggie finally asked.

"There are eight men blocking the way, Mags. From the large amount of guns they have I think they're Saviors."

Maggie's face dropped, and I quickly made my way back to her and gripped her hands, reiterating what Rick had said. "We're all together."

She agreed and we fell silent.

The rest of our group returned to the vehicle with a mixture of looks varying from fear to complete and utter defiance. Rick looked at me then slightly shook his head, adding to the niggle that had begun flowering in my belly.

I pushed the worry down and tried to stay positive. Maggie needed hope and I was going to give it to her. "There must be a way through! They couldn't have possibly blocked every way to the Hilltop."

Turning around, we tried the highway. Another group of Saviors met us there, parked vehicles making yet another blockade. Our dwindling patience and gas supply were hopelessly in sync.

Rick looked at the gas gauge and cursed. "Turn around!"

"Where Rick? Where are we going to go?" I growled, this was our fourth u-turn in the past two hours, and we were further from our destination than we started out.

Rick pulled at his jacket, then slammed his hand on the dash. "There's gotta be a way! We've got to find a way through," he looks over to the ginger driver, and whispers, "right, Abraham?"

"I think we'd have better luck picking up a turd by its clean end." The driver gritted his teeth. "But I'll be sooner filleted into fucking fish fingers before I let this girl down."

Somehow, we seemed to get a small stretch before the next obstruction. It was close to sunset when we arrived at the walkers all linked with chain, blocking our path. They all seemed to move in tandem, letting out a chorus of growls and moans. These ones had been turned for a while, the last remnants of their humanity melting away with the Georgian sun. The sharp sound of their decaying gnashers sent a shiver down my spine. You think I'd be used to it by now.

I'm sure Rick would've asked us to turn back, but we were running out of options. The gas tank was running close to empty, so Rick summoned the group out once again to clear a path, through the shambling fence. I channeled all my focus onto Maggie as she became delirious; she muttered half finished phrases, her head rolling from side to side as she clung onto consciousness.

It wasn't long before the sharp clang of bullets hitting the steel of the RV spurred me into action. I leapt over Maggie and shielded her body with mine as the assault continued. I dared not move a muscle.

The door flung open, as I did a head count, praying that everyone made it. As all our members made it into the RV, I sighed. The engine roared to life and the firing ceased, relief warming my blood. Thankful that not a single life was lost during the attack.

I checked that Mags was okay, before peeling myself off her.

Rick looked out the window, face pensive. "They were shooting at our feet. They wanted us to go this way."

A tense silence fell over the space, the fact rang true, but no one had any idea what to do about it. So what if they wanted us to go this way? We weren't very spoiled for choice! Everybody's silence was so loud that it reverberated in my ears.

My friend could very well be dying, and we were all just sitting there, watching.

All sounds melded together. There was a cacophony of directionless arguments and disagreement. By hands shook as I raised my voice, cutting through it all. "What are we doing? She's going in and out!"

Rick gave me a strained look but I didn't falter. Our leader finally relented, nodding as he took a final moment to deliberate and instructed. "Drive out of sight and pull over."

We only progressed a short distance before pulling over to assess the map for the tenth time. I left Maggie to rest and joined the group, trying to figure out a way forward.

"How about this way?" I pointed to the highway.

Rick shook his head, tapping his fingers on the table. "Can't! They've blocked the exit. Plus we don't have enough fuel."

Every suggestion that was made, Rick quickly dismissed as we'd tried it before or our dwindling fuel supply would leave us cornered. Just as all seemed lost Eugene came through.

"Wait a minute!" the mulleted man tapped on the table, getting all of our attention as he shared his ingenious plan. "They're not looking for us as individuals per se. They're looking for the rust bucket. They don't know the inhabitants of said rust bucket from moment to moment..." In true Eugene fashion he left the idea to marinate, leaving us to figure out what he was talking about.

I had my first genuine smile of the day as I realised what he was implying. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

He angled his head, face lax.

"If you mean I intend to drive this vehicle as a diversion while the rest of you go to Hilltop on foot, then, yes." We shared a smile, his smugness for once an endearing feature.

I couldn't help but clap my hands in excitement. "Eugene, you're a genius!"

"I'm aware of that." His face became completely serious again, the gravity of what he had just volunteered for sinking in. I rubbed his arm in gratitude; I couldn't thank him enough for his selflessness.

Everyone filed out of the vehicle, taking Maggie with them. I stepped out and stood in front of Eugene holding him at arm's length. "This is truly a heroic act, we'll never forget it! You're my hero."

His eyes glistened and his bottom lip trembled. I couldn't help but give him a hug, so grateful for his sacrifice. He nodded curtly in response and entered the RV.

I clutched onto my satchel as I walked beside Maggie's stretcher, heading into the forest.