CHAPTER SIXTEEN,
liar.

The entire group had discovered Aiden's pregnancy. The only other people happier than Aiden and Daryl? Hershel, Maggie, Glenn, and Beth.

Hershel had already claimed the baby as his grandchild as he declared that Aiden was more of his daughter than anything else.

Aiden sat with Carl talking about it, "do you think it's gonna be a boy or a girl?"

"I don't care what genders it's going to be. As long as they come out healthy. If I'm even still alive." Aiden said.

Carl glared at her, "don't talk like that. None of us are gonna let you die."

"Me and Daryl already discussed names. If it's a girl he gets to name her, if it's a boy I get to name him." Aiden said.

Carl laughed, "you know Carl is great for a boy and Carla is great for a girl." Carl winked.

Aiden laughed at his words, "we'll see Carl. Maybe that can be their middle-" Aiden was cut off by an explosion and the prison shaking.

"What the hell?" The two shared a wide eyed look before rushing outside. Aiden stopped when she saw the little army outside the fence.

The Governor.

"Rick!" Aiden recognized his voice. The Governor had returned. "Come down here. We need to talk."

Aiden tapped Daryl, "hey, I'll be right back." Daryl nodded and kissed her. Aiden ran off towards cell block C and into her and Daryl's cell where she grabbed her and Daryl's bag from underneath the bed. She grabbed the two pictures and police badges off the desk and shoved them in her bag.

She grabbed her bag and left the cell block before returning outside to see everyone aiming guns at the man.

Aiden set her bag down and grabbed a gun before walking over to Daryl and Carl.

"They kidnapped Hershel and Michonne." Carl told her.

Aiden growled, "let me take the shot, Dare. I could hit him in his other eye."

"No. They'd kill Rick, Hershel, and Michonne." Daryl said. Aiden rolled her eyes and let her finger inch towards the trigger when the Governor jumped off the tank and grabbed Michonne's katana from a truck.

Aiden's entire body tensed up. Rick and the Governor talked for what felt like hours. It looked like Hershel said something to the man and he started to pull the katana away from Hershel's neck.

Aiden's eyes narrowed when she saw the Governor say something. Below them Rick heard his whisper, "liar."

Aiden felt her entire body jolt.

No.

Not Hershel.

Please God, not him.

The katana was brought down on Hershel's neck. Aiden's gasp cut through the still air. Blood soaked through Hershel's shirt.

Everything was silent for a couple seconds until Hershel's daughters screamed.

"Daddy!"

"No!" Two screamed sounded. One from down the hill and the other from beaten Carl and Daryl.

Then the gunfire started.

Aiden cried out as she fired her rifle at the army below her.

"Go! I'm right behind you!" Daryl yelled to Aiden.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" Aiden yelled back.

"You get yourself and our baby out of here! I'll find you!" Daryl shouted.

"I love you." Aiden said.

"I love you too." He replied. Aiden ran off and grabbed her bag. She gasped when a bullet hit the wall right beside her head. She quickly ducked and turned around.

A huge man was firing at her. Aiden counselor get a shot on him as he was rapidly firing at her. Then it stopped. She heard his body thump and looked up. It was the little girl she had saved. Ellie.

"Ellie!" She yelled. She ran towards the little girl, "go get on the bus." 

And then Ellie gasped and dropped to the ground.

Aiden let out a sharp gasp at the little girl. Her eyes flew from the dead girl to a woman. The woman roughly around her age with a evil look. Aiden let out a scream as she let bullets fly into the woman. Tears fell down her face before she turned a put a bullet in Ellie's head so she wouldn't come back.

The bus soon left and everyone was fleeing the prison. Aiden looked desperately around for her husband or anyone else.

She couldn't find anyone. 

Aiden took one look at the fallen prison and decided it was fine for her to go.

You can't look back now, Aiden. Just keep running.

Aiden heard a voice in her head. It wasn't her abuser but her brother. Keep going.

So she listened.

»

Aiden walked for hours, she was exhausted. Her legs hurt, her head was pounding, her eyes stung, and her heart was in pain.

She just lost someone she loved deeply. A man who has patched her up, sewed her wounds, held her hand when she needed to be comforted.

Hershel was a father to her and now he was gone too. Maggie and Beth lost their dad and nothing would ever be able to patch up those wounds.

Hershel was man who would gently smile at you when he saw you were upset, he would rub you back and tell you soft, comforting words. He was a good man. Too good for this new world.

Aiden didn't know if anyone made it out. She didn't see Daryl after he told her to go, she hadn't seen Carl or Rick. She didn't see Beth, Maggie, Glenn, Michonne, Sasha, or Tyreese. She didn't see if anyone had managed to get to Judith and get her out.

Night was falling and it was falling fast. Aiden needed a place to stay in for the night. So she looked.

She finally found a store, Angel's Lingerie.

"I mean if it works." Aiden shrugged and walked inside with her gun raised. She as expected numerous walkers or even people to come at her but there was nothing in the store.

She finally settled in the back where the fitting rooms were. She set her bag down and left the area.

She walked back into the main area of the store and looked around. She took the opportunity to grab some underwear and two bras.

She moved to the counter and looked under it. She saw a pistol underneath it, "always gotta be ready for creeps."

»

The sun rose and so did Aiden. The women woke up bright and early and stretched. She didn't get much sleep that night. Being woke from numerous nightmares. But two hours was good enough for her.

She grabbed her bag and immediately left the store. She walked down the road she knew as Highway 87.

She kept seeing signs for a place called Terminus. She automatically assumed her family would go there so that's where she was going.

She suddenly heard a hell of a lot of footsteps behind her and she heard the snarls. She whipped around and saw a giant amount of walkers behind her, "oh shit!"

The woman took off running, she followed the Terminus signs and found a small neighborhood on the side of the tracks. She lost the herd a couple minutes back but she could still hear the snarls gaining on her.

She ran for maybe two hours before she dropped to her knees on the railroad tracks, completely drenched in sweat and exhausted.

She was looking at her knees when three pairs of shoes stood in front of her. She looked up and her jaw dropped.

"Aiden?"

______________________________

word count: 1,242
episode: too far gone

and that's that!! i have three more chapters to edit and then we're done with this book already!!

hershel 😔. he was one of the best characters the walking dead has ever seen.

i'm sorry for the cliffhanger!

but the three new people are here! next chapter is a big ass shocker. y'all are in for it. we figure out who the mystery characters are.

but man this chapter absolutely broke my heart.

little ellie could've been such a great character. but i can't have this book too much like my other walking dead book. it's called fear and it's a glenn book. y'all should check it out.