Boom!

Poe reared up and whinnied. I held on for dear life so I would not fall backwards. The horse slammed down on his front hooves causing me to jolt forwards. I caressed Poe's neck.

"It's okay, boy," I told him. "We're okay."

When he calmed down, I turned him around to see a large tank with three vehicles lined up on either side outside of the fences. That's what made the explosion. They had shot a projectile at the prison.

But it wasn't necessarily a group effort that had done that. It was one man.

The Governor.

I could tell it was him by the way he stood on the tank with a hand on his pistol. He had an air of superiority about him. Cockiness. Not to mention the eyepatch that served as a reminder of what Michonne did to him. A reminder that drove him to our front door.

Surrounding the cars were at least a dozen people, maybe more, pointing guns. I couldn't do anything. I was out in the open. It'd be shooting fish in a barrel for them. Especially since I was on Poe. So, I waited as the rest of my group ran out to the fence from the buildings of the prison. They filed behind the guard tower for cover.

"Rick!" the Governor shouted. "Come down here. We need to talk."

My heart began beating faster with every second that passed. The Governor wasn't a man that really wanted to talk and work things out. That was all a facade. It seemed he was still playing that part for this new group he'd charmed.

"It's not up to me!" Rick yelled back, emerging from the shadows. "There's a council now. They run this place."

"Is Hershel on the council?" the Governor asked.

He nodded and woman led Hershel out from a pickup. His hands were tied behind his back.

A lump formed in my throat and my teeth clenched together. My fingers grazed my revolver.

"Not him," I whispered.

"What about Michonne?"

Michonne was led forward in the same state. Although I was happy she was still alive, my better instincts told me she wouldn't be for long. The Governor was Hell bent on killing her before. No matter what happened, he'd still want his revenge.

"I don't make decisions anymore!" Rick said.

Hershel and Michonne were shoved to their knees in front of the tank.

"You're making the decisions today, Rick," the Governor told him. "Come down here. Let's have that talk."

As Rick opened the gate, I was brought back to the first negotiation the men shared. I respected his decision not to take the tranquilizers I had gotten from the farmhouse months ago. He wanted peace. Plus, it was too dangerous a move to pull then. But seeing Hershel defenseless there, I wish I had insisted. I wish we would have taken the risk. Now, those pills sat in my bag when they belonged in the Governor's bloodstream.

Rick walked down the path to the man. He looked over to his right and saw me for the first time. His eyes opened slightly wider. With a nod he was trying to tell it was going to okay. That I'd be okay. I nodded back but I didn't believe him.

My grasp tightened around the grip of my gun and the reins.

I couldn't hear what the Governor and Rick were saying. I was too far back in the field. To my left, someone whistled. My eyes darted over to see Daryl motioning over to the horse pen. I gave him a thumbs up, showing him I understood.

With the distraction of the Governor shooting a couple walkers, I signaled for Poe to slowly move toward the cover.

Something Rick said made the Governor angry. He hopped down from the tank and held up Michonne's sword to Hershel's neck.

My breath hitched in my throat as my mouth fell open. Tears wanted to spill out, but I bit my lip and held them in. I had to be ready even though the man I considered a father was close to his end. I had to believe that Rick could convince the Governor to back down.

But, with one swift motion, the blade went through Hershel's neck and that belief shattered.

In my head, I screamed until my lungs gave out. But in reality, my body became void of air. The tips of my fingers went numb and my eyes would not blink. I was frozen in space and time. That blow signaled the end of everything we had built here. What I had built with all of these people I now thought of as family.

Everything sped up around me when Rick screamed, "No!"

He brought up his gun and shot at the Governor and his men.

Then, everyone was shooting.

A switch flipped in me. I pressed down my hat on my head and gripped Poe's reins so hard my knuckles turned white. I looked past my eyebrows as I took out my revolver from its holster. Then, I kicked the side of the horse and began riding toward the fight.

My first shot hit a man square in the chest and the other grazed a woman's head. They attempted to fire back but I zigzagged Poe through the field. He was fast. Too fast for people who weren't used to a speeding target.

Suddenly, the tank busted through the gates followed by all of the vehicles and walkers. I signaled for Poe to go even faster to get behind the pen again. Flame had already broken out during the commotion. He ran off somewhere, I didn't see where. When I got to cover, I fired at the people that ducked behind the tank. My gun didn't have a long enough range, so I was only able to get a man in the leg. When I tried shooting again, my revolver clicked.

"God dammit!" I yelled.

I quickly opened my bag with shaking hands and pulled out an ammo box. I flicked open the cylinder and stuffed more bullets in. A couple of them fell in the grass.

"Fuck."

Poe swayed back and forth at all of the loud noise. I was thankful he wasn't a very nervous horse.

When I got it fully loaded, I shoved the cylinder back in. Just then, another projectile hit the prison and a pickup sped toward me. I took a deep breath and pulled my trigger. The windshield shattered on the passenger side. The car still kept moving. I had no choice but to ride to the far end of the field. As I moved, I shot behind myself. One of my shots pierced the front tire. The pickup skidded to a stop, clouds of dust behind it.

Another explosion hit the prison.

I turned Poe around. From the dust, a man emerged. Before I could even react, bullets flew toward me from a machine gun. Poe let out a guttural scream. A sound I had never heard before. One that sent chills down my spine.

Then, we were falling. My right side hit the ground and my head bounced. I felt an immense weight on my leg. My vision blurred and I saw black spots floating around me. I took deep breaths and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I could see clearer, but not entirely. I tried to get up but I couldn't. The pressure that was keeping me down was Poe. He laid on top of my leg with bloody holes throughout his body.

"N-no," I stammered. "No!"

Tears welled in the corners of my eyes.

I heard footsteps approaching me. I knew I had to act fast. There was a reflection ahead of me so I grabbed at it through the grass. When I got my gun, I clicked off the safety, pushed myself up, and immediately pulled the trigger. The man who had previously shot at me now had a bullet right between the eyes.

I set my gun down beside me. The first thing I tried was pushing Poe off of me. But he was too heavy. Then, I contorted my body around and clawed at the dirt in front of me. The dirt that held the cosmos I had planted. I was lying in the graves of those who had gone before. Now this whole place was a graveyard.

I screamed as I dug my fingers in the soil. Inch by inch I pulled my way out from under the horse that had saved me. The horse that kept me going. The horse that brought me more joy in this new world than really anything else had.

Poe.

When I was free, I could tell my ankle wasn't right. I felt around it. It was swollen but not misshapen. That meant it was sprained. In a way, Poe saved me one last time by landing on me that way.

The flowers that surrounded me were covered in blood. They no longer made this place beautiful. I untied my bag from the saddle horn. I slung it on my back and stood up. I groaned as I put weight on my injury. When I gazed at my surrounding, I saw no one. Just walkers and dead bodies being consumed. The prison was in flames. Smoke billowed from the destruction.

The walkers noticed me and my dead friend on the ground. I rapidly picked up my gun and hat before limping out of my home and into the unknown.

Alone.

Alone again.

I took a walker down and went through the fences and in the forest.

I thought of Bob. We had a lot in common. Was he alone again too? Was he even alive? Did I carry the curse for us both now?

Was anyone alive?

I yelled into the woods causing the birds roosting in the branches to fly away in a flurry. I punched a tree until my knuckles bled. My outburst stopped suddenly and I brought my arms down to my side. Tears stained my cheeks. I straightened my hat then continued walking.

I continued walking until my ankle felt like it was going to give out. A cabin peeked out in the distance.

"Might as well," I muttered in a monotone voice.

My feet dragged forward.

Was I lucky to be alive? Or was this the reaper taunting me? He could have taken me, easily. But he didn't. He took Hershel and maybe everyone else.

I wanted to stop. Let death finally have me. But I didn't. I don't know why exactly. Something in me kept me going. Maybe it was hope or just plain stupidity. But I went in the cabin and stayed alive.

I'm alive.