The Replacement

Part Seventeen

Warning: mention of violence and death

**********

You silently stood to the side, watching Daryl and the rest of the team getting ready to head out into the horde when suddenly Negan walked in. "Oi..." Daryl stomps up towards him, "why you clean?"

"I ain't going..." Negan responds.

"You done this more than any of us" Daryl remarks.

"I am on the tiptop of every Skins kill list" Negan replies, "especially, fee-fi-fo-asshole. So, if the idea is to get through without drawing a shitload of attention... I am the last person these people want standing next to 'em."

"That's a bunch of bullshit" Daryl remarks, pissed at him. "You wanna be a part of this... you gotta put your ass on the line, just like everybody else."

Negan lets out sigh as Daryl walks away from him and that's when he notices you across the room, shaking your head at him in disappointment.

"It's time..." Gabriel speaks up, heading to the inner door leading out.

You watched as they all step out, Judith follows behind Daryl as he slowly closing the door behind him; the two of them silently staring at each other through the glass window. Daryl then places his hand against the glass; and she does the same. "Come on, sweetie..." you direct her away from it so that Gabriel can place the covering back over it.

*****

You stood along with the rest of the lookout team; your own arrow ready to fire as you waited for directions from Lydia. There was no way they were talking you out of at least helping in this way...

"There... in the centre" Lydia calls out, "brown plaid shirt." Gabriel gives the order and Dianne takes aim and fires.

"They're turning around..." you remarked in confusion, "why?"

Gabriel looks through his binoculars then, "I can't find any of them!"

Lydia's turns to one of realisation, "Beta knows they're in there..."

"What do we do?" Dianne looks to us for instructions then.

While you all were trying to figure out what to do next, there's suddenly a loud explosion sound, along with screaming. "That sounds like one of the boobytraps" you state, and everyone runs out to check it out.

When you reach the entrance door, Judith was standing in front of it, slowly backing away. "They're coming up" she states.

Everyone was rushing about in a feat to get the door barricade from the inside. "You all know what to do" Gabriel instructs, "Dianne, you get the first group. Children and wounded come second, if Rosita argues just come and find me." Everyone nods in agreement and head to do their assigned parts, while you and Gabriel leave to see to your parts of the plan as well, but not before you notice Negan entering into the room and walking over to Lydia.

Realizing that you forgot something, you head back and that's when you find Lydia standing alone; staring at something in her hand. "Lydia. What's that?"

"Nothing" she whispers, thrusting her arm behind her back to hide it.

"Let me see it..." you reach your hand out and she pulls a Whisperers mask out. "Where did you get that?" you frown in surprise at it.

"Negan gave it to me" she softly responds, "it was my mother's."

"He what?" you stare at her in surprise. "Where is he?" you look around the room frowning.

"He went out down the elevator shaft..." she replies.

"He what?!" you stare at her wide-eyed in shock.

"Negan went to help the others" Lydia answers and your eyes widen even more. "I'm going to see if they need my help somewhere" she then states but you halt her from leaving.

"Lydia, wait" you grab hold of her arm, "promise me that you won't go out there on your own."

"I won't, I promise..." she whispers in response, but you find it hard to believe her. Before you could push the topic further with her, someone enters to inform you that Gabriel was looking for you and you're forced to leave her alone.

*****

Gabriel, Rachel, Judith and you stood ready at the barricade as the horde tried to force their way in from the outside. "You better start..." Gabriel radios in to Daryl, "they're not up yet, but they will be."

"Alright, we're on it..." Daryl radios back in response, "

"My prayers are with you..." Gabriel radios back.

"Might need 'em..." Daryl responds back.

Suddenly something hits heavily into the door; causing a hole in it and that's when you notice the head of an axe as they attempted to break through. Gabriel and you rush out with Judith in hand then to get the evacuation rolling.

*****

Daryl had just radioed in that the wagon had been lost and the horde was making their back towards the hospital, and at that same time; they were also about to bridge through the final barricade as well.

"You all get to go..." Gabriel orders, backing up from the door, "now!" and you frown when you realize what he planned to do.

"You're not coming?" Judith walks up to him in concern.

"Someone needs to stop them from cutting the rope" Gabriel explains to her.

Realizing what that meant, Judith pauses deep in thought. "Does Rosita know?" she then asks him.

Gabriel then kneels down in front of her, "tell her; Eres mi media naranja..."

"Half orange...?" Judith frowns in confusion.

"She'll know..." Gabriel nods his head with a faint smile.

Walking up to them, you place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry..." you smile down at her, "I'm staying with him."

"What?" Judith looks up at you with shocked fear.

"No, you're not" Gabriel states, "you're going down that shaft with the rest of them."

"You really think I'm going to leave you here alone to fight them?" you arch your brows at him. "Judith" you nod to the shaft, "go."

Gabriel was still arguing with you over your decision to stay behind as the last person was descending down the shaft, when suddenly the Whisperers broke through the barricade. "Guess ya don't have a choice about the matter anymore..." you smirked at him as you clutched your hunting daggers in your hands, ready to fight.

The first one enters, and Gabriel shoots him and soon more rush in, another rushes for Gabriel, while one heads for you. While fighting your attacker, you heard Gabriel struggling and saw him trying to fight off two of them that now had him pinned down on the floor, while a third was stalking towards him.

You try to get to him, but the Whisperer blocks your every advance and because you're distracted with concern for Gabriel; you can't seem to get a clear shot at taking them out.

Suddenly a masked man comes rushing in and takes out all three, giving you an opening when the Whisperer you were fighting turns to see what was happening. You take the shot; driving your one dagger into their back and as they drop to their knees, you drive the second dagger directly into their head.

Wanting to go help Gabriel, yet suspicious at the new arrival; you silently stood in a fighting stance as you studied him with a narrowed gaze. Another Whisperer rushes in, heading for the masked man but they are immediately stopped by an arrow through the back. The Whisperer drops to the floor then, and that's when Maggie is revealed to be the one that had shot it.