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LEAVES CRUNCH SOFTLY and the wind howls loudly in her ears as Aria runs through the woods, her lungs burning. She has to make it to the town before Eugene and the Saviors do. If she doesn't, this plan is going to turn to shit. A walker appears in her path and she hits it in the head with the butt of the sniper, causing the rotting corpse to fall to the foggy ground. If she doesn't watch it, a walker can easily appear out of no where and take a bite out of her skin.
Aria bursts through the trees and she darts into the town, her feet padding against the concrete below her. She didn't get to say goodbye to Maggie, she had to leave before Eugene and the others. She regrets it now, she also regrets leaving her book in the RV.
Trotting up the stairs of a store, Aria pulls her machete out and slices an approaching walker's head off before pushing open a door, her eyes catching sight of an open window. Perfect. She thinks to herself before moving towards the window and crouching down by it, her eyes looking out of the sniper scope.
After a few minutes of staring out into an empty street, Aria sighs lowly, sadness waving over her. Eugene should be here already. Now she's stuck wondering if he got attacked or maybe even killed. She hopes he didn't get killed, it'll be her fault if he did. The floorboards creak loudly behind her and Aria swings around, the sniper in her hand getting knocked down to the ground with a clang. As Aria reaches for the pistol attached to her leg, the two men shake their heads, small smirks fixated on their faces. "I wouldn't do that."
♚ ♛
Aria thrashes around in their hands, a grunt escaping her lips as she does so. She doesn't know where they're taking her but all she hopes is that the others made it to the Hilltop. She can feel her nose beginning to throb from the punch she had received from one of the men. She had tried fighting back but they weren't having it.
As they make it to the clearing, bright lights hit Aria's eyes and she squints, her head lowering to the ground as she struggles to see. "Well, well. Look what we have here." Her head raises as an unknown voice fills her ears and she's pushed down to the ground, the dirt now digging into her knees and palms. Pushing her upper body off the ground, her lips part slightly as she makes eye contact with her group. "No." She whispers, a person crouching down in front of her.
Her eyes meet a pair of hazel ones and the man sends her a cheeky smile, a dimple appearing on one of his cheeks. "Hi, darling — i'm Negan." Aria stares up at him, fear evident in her blue orbs. She wants to act strong, but she can't. All she feels right now is fear and sorrow. Her eyes dart over towards the wooden bat over his shoulder, but it's not just a regular bat. Barbwire is wrapped securely around the body of the bat, meaning for a dangerous weapon. "It's rude not to introduce yourself."
Aria continues to stay silent as she stuffs her hands in between her knees to keep them from shaking. "When I speak to you, I expect an answer." Aria bites her lip before raising her eyes, a shaky breath escaping her mouth.
"A — aria." She whispers, her voice shaky. With a click of a tongue, Negan stands up to his feet, eyeing the small and fragile female. She doesn't look strong, Negan is pretty surprised she survived this long.
Aria's blue eyes meet Daryl's and she can see the anger and sadness behind them. Looking away quickly, she bites down on her bottom lip, drawing blood.
♚ ♛
Silence dawns on the group as their tears soak through ground, their minds now cursed with what just happened. The bodies of two of their loved ones lay butchered on the ground, the sight unbearable to look at. Steam raises up from the bodies, coating the air with a horrible metallic smell.
Aria blows out a shaky breath, her eyes stinging from the tears built up in her eyes. She can feel Glenn's blood splattered over her face and it breaks her heart even more. This was something nobody should witness, this is going to haunt their group forever. She wants to throw up, she wants to scream. But she can't. She can't seem to comprehend anything right now. Her eyes stay glued to the ground as she stares down at the dirt painted with blood.
The thuds from the bat hitting their heads echo in her mind and a lone tear slides down her cheek as her heart breaks even more. She blames herself. She made the plans, she led them into this. She should've talked the group out of killing Negan's men, but would that have changed anything? She's not sure.
She can still hear Maggie's sobs in her ears as her mind flashes back to seconds before Negan decided to hit Glenn. Daryl snapped, he punched Negan. Aria knows Daryl's blaming himself right about now but she can't do anything and that hurts her.
"So.. back to it." Negan turns towards Aria and Glenn and for a second, Aria was sure he was going to slam his bat down on her. That wasn't the case. Glenn's blood splatters across her face as Negan's bat connects with the top of his head. A sob escapes Aria's mouth as her vision becomes blurred with tears.
"Stop — please." Her small voice pleads with Negan as she shakes her head, tears sliding down her red cheeks. "Maggie, I'll find you." A sting of sadness and sorrow flashes through Aria's heart as she falls back on her legs, her whole body trembling. Her family, she put them in danger, she made the plans that killed her family.
He made Glenn fall right in front of her, right in her line of sight. She saw it all and it haunts her memories now. All she wants to do is curl up into a ball and cry herself to sleep, but she can't.
Aria snaps back into reality, her eyes turning towards Rick as he looks over towards her in sorrow. With her eyebrows scrunched in confusion, her head snaps over towards Daryl as Dwight begins picking him up. "Wait — no, please. Stop." She whimpers, scrambling to get up, only for a man to pull her back down to the dusty ground.
"Daryl." She cries out, her head shaking violently. She watches helplessly as Dwight loads Daryl into the van, his blue eyes connecting with her for a brief moment. Her eyes lower down to his hand, which holds the keychain she gave him back at the prison and that gives her hope. Hope that he will return back to her and his baby.
And that's when she realizes;
It's time. It's time for her to plan for war and this plan, it's going to go the way she wants it to go, no exceptions.
A U T H O R hi. i'm not sure how i feel about this chapter but the beginning was actually inspired by another twd book i read, i just completely forgot what the book was called because it's been awhile. so if you remember reading a book with that similar scene, please tell me the title so i can give credit. thank you. (:
