𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙨 ♔ 𝙙.𝙙𝙞𝙭𝙤𝙣

35

DARKNESS CONSUMES THE two women as they sit quietly, Carol holding Aria tightly in her arms. She's tired and her stitches have busted open, blood dripping down her face. Aria hates life. It tears away the people she loves most from her grasps and it hurts her, more than ever. Life isn't fair and it's obvious now. It kills the best people and leaves the worst ones alive. All Aria can hope is that everyone she loves is free, flying around with angel wings, watching over her and the group.

The two women were two weak and emotionally drained to fight the group of walkers stumbling their way so they had to dart into a closet, sealing them away from the outside. Aria wants to fall asleep and sleep her problems away but she can't seem to close her eyes without seeing all the faces of the people she misses. Pressing her foot against the door, she pushes against it, something blocking it. Something suddenly slams against the door and she flinches back, Carol's grip slightly tightening on the female.

The door swings open and Aria looks up wide-eyed, Daryl staring down at the two. Crouching down, Daryl raises his hands, caressing the two's cheeks. Aria moves her head away from his hand, lowering her eyes to the ground. "She's weak. T—take her." Gently unwrapping herself from Carol's arms, she stares blankly at the ground, slowly raising to her feet. Silently walking behind Daryl, she plays with the knife's handle, her mind bundled with thoughts.

♚ ♛

Aria sits next to Carol, wiping the blood off of the older woman's face. Footsteps sounds behind her and she raises her head, pulling the rag away from Carol's face. Rick looks down at the two before smiling softly, Carol standing up first. The two embrace each other in a hug and Aria slowly stands to her feet, setting the rag down on the bedside table.

Rick wraps his arms around Aria, welcoming her back and she chuckles lightly, backing away. "Was I ever gone?" She asks, a small smile settling on her face. She walks forward, Hershel reaching down and wrapping an arm around her. "Leave it to you to go bust your stitches." Aria rolls her eyes, shaking her head. Something catches Aria's eyes and she furrows her eyebrows as Beth walks forward with a baby. Lori instantly comes to mind and Aria turns her head, tilting it to the side. Rick bites his lip, shaking his head slowly. "I'm sorry." She whispers, swallowing harshly.

Second person.

Standing next to the room where the random woman is held, Aria listens closely, her eyebrows furrowing as she listens to the men become more hostile. Walking into the cell, she clenches her jaw as she watches Rick set a hand on the woman's gunshot wound. "Don't you ever touch me again." The woman says, pointing her finger up at Rick. "You better start talking. You're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound." Daryl snarls, his crossbow aimed at the female. "Find 'em yourselves."

"Being assholes won't make her tell you nothing." She growls, fury in her voice. The men turn towards her and she sends them a nasty glare, hating the way they are trying to get information out of her. Walking forward, Aria sends the strange woman a small smile, her eyes gentle and soft. "Hi—i'm Aria." She greets, meeting the female's brown eyes. "I'm sorry, they're being huge dicks right now. They usually aren't like this. We're just—on high alert.."

"Well, you showed up here for a reason. You wouldn't of just came here with baby formula just to come here. What do you need to tell us?" Aria pushes the blonde bangs behind her ear, cocking her head to the side. The woman sighs lowly before lowering her eyes to the ground. "There's a town — Woodbury. About 75 survivors. It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor — pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type." Aria nods, taking in the information.

"He got muscle?" Daryl speaks up from behind Aria, his eyes narrowing hesitantly at the female. "Paramilitary wannabes. They have armed sentries on every wall." Biting her lip, Aria stuffs her hands in her pockets. "You know a way in?" Rick asks, his jaw clenched as he stares down at the stranger with his striking blue eyes. "The place is secure from walkers but we could slip our way through."

"How'd you know how to get here?" He continues on with the questions, his mind at war with his heart. "They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, that is was a straight shot." Aria shrugs her shoulders lightly, glancing back at the men. As they walk out, Aria motions towards Hershel. "This is Hershel. He'll help you with your wound." She utters, sending the woman a smile. "Your name?"

"Michonne." The woman replies, her eyes studying Aria carefully. "Nice to meet you, Michonne." Aria walks out of the small room, walking towards the group. She sits on the steps next to Carol, her eyes lowering down to the baby. She's confused at how this baby is going to get through this, it's amazing to be honest. "How do you know we can trust her?" Oscar asks, his voice wary.

Aria sighs, looking towards him. "We're not sure but she wasn't lying. She was looking us dead straight in the eye while telling us that and her hands weren't fiddling around. I believe her." She explains to them, her fingers messing with the hole in her pants as she looks around. "This is Maggie and Glenn. Why are we even debating this?" Beth speaks up, disbelief on her face. "We ain't. I'll go after them." Daryl concludes and Aria shakes her head, her eyes rolling.

"Well, this place sounds pretty secure. You cant go alone." Aria raises her hand, twiddling her fingers. "I can make a plan on the way, ask Michonne where to go." Carol shakes her head, looking down at Aria. "You haven't had any sleep and we haven't stitched that up yet." Aria frowns, raising her head to meet Carol's eyes. "I'm not even tired and it doesn't hurt." Lie.

The three musketeers standing in front of Rick and Daryl volunteer to go and Aria furrows her eyebrows. They've never really fought walkers before, how are they going to handle people? She can't be losing them too.