Unbreakable

You know the feeling you get when you know something bad is going to happen, but you don’t know when or where? Emmy was experiencing that right now as she sat in the back of the RV that was on it’s way to The Hilltop to get her beloved best friend to the doctor. She was incredibly ill and there was indeed something wrong with Maggie’s unborn child. Emmy’s anxiety was peeking higher with every roadblock they came across, each one would have more men with armour and weapons of all sorts and it would only push Emmy and her group closer to their breaking point. Especially their leader, Rick Grimes.

For what felt the millionth time this late afternoon, the RV came to an abrupt stop. Emmy didn’t have to look out the window to know it was yet another roadblock, but she did mentally curse it anyway. Maggie was in and out of consciousness and the more they stopped at roadblocks, the more they were risking Maggie’s fate as well as the life of her unborn child. Emmy left Maggie alone briefly, before she exited the small room and made her way through the RV to talk with her long time best friend, and partner in crime, Rick.

Rick and Emmy had been friends since they could remember, and despite having known Emmy for so long, he never did meet her brother Aaron until after everything fell to shit. Her brother was always of an adventure or at college, Aaron was all about getting good grades and Emmy? Well...she was the opposite, but she still managed to just about scrape through.

Out of habit, Rick chucked an arm around his best friend and Emmy tilted her head sideways to rest it on his shoulder. Rick looked down at her and instantly he could tell she was feeling anxious, she always did when her loved ones were in even the slightest bit of danger.

“How is she?” He asks worriedly. His voice heavy with concern for Maggie.

“She’s burning up, Rick, we need to get her to the Hilltop ASAP.” Em sighs nervously.

“I know, I know, and we will.” Rick mentions, somewhat confidently but fear overtook it.

“We’ve hit another roadblock?” She questions, starting to quickly become enraged by having to keep stopping every 5 minutes.

“No, we’re just figuring out another route.” Rick says, pinching his forehead - something he did when he was at a loss as of what to do. Emmy sighed and he saw him clutching onto what was Michonne’s dreadlock, which he had pulled out of a walker’s skull at a roadblock before hand. Emmy’s hand trailed down to the jacket she wore, that’s much bigger than the size she is, but it gave her comfort and a small amount of safe haven. It was Daryl Dixon’s, she took from a walker that had somehow managed to get it’s undead hands on it.

“They’re going to be okay, we’ll get them back and we’ll get Maggie to the doctor. That’s a promise.” Rick tells her.

“Rick, you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep...” Emmy whispers.

"I’m not. Even if it’s the last thing I do." Rick states confidently as the two of them turn their attention to the table where Sasha and Eugene were discussing which alternative route to take. Abraham was listening intently from behind Sasha, putting an arm around her shoulder. Every so often he would smile down at her as she spoke of their next route and plan to get Maggie to The Hilltop, to safely.

Carl and Aaron, her big brother and favourite teenager, were standing at each of Maggie’s sides while Emmy talked with the rest of the group.

“There are two more routes we can take from here and they’re probably waiting for us right now.” Sasha states as she traced the two possible routes on the map with her finger.

“So, they’re most likely ahead of us, but they’re not waiting on us, per se, they’re waiting on this rust bucket.” Eugene gestured towards the outdated RV they’re all gathered around. “What they don’t know is the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust bucket and any decision we make needs to be made soon because we don’t have long until the sun sets.” Eugene looked to each member of his make-shift family members after he’d finished talking. As soon as he sealed his lips, all eyes fell on their leader; Rick sighed loudly and he pinched his forehead again.

The sun had well and truly set. The dark night’s cover took over the sky and the stars were shimmering as if nothing had changed down on earth in all these years that had passed since. The stars illuminating the sky make for a truly breathtaking sight. So beautiful that it almost, almost, makes up for how crap things are now.

Emmy currently stood outside with Carl leaning against the RV as Rick filled up the RV with the last of their gas supply; Abraham, Sasha and Aaron all stood around waiting for the next move as Eugene stood alone, off to the side from the others. Emmy looks down at Carl, watching him as he stares up at the sky blankly.

“You alright lil man?” Emmy asks Carl; her voice was filled with worry and concern for the young man she watched grow in this world and face things no young teenager should ever see in their life.

“Yeah, I just want to get Maggie to the Hilltop.” Carl says.

“Me too bud.” Em replies quietly, she messed up his hair, including the sheriff’s hat he always wore, before giving him knuckles; something they always did to say goodbye to each other.

Emmy watched as Rick spoke to Eugene. She gave them a minute or two before she made her way over to them, she took her place to stand besides Rick.

“I got something for you two.” He dug into his pocket. “It’s a recipe and it ain’t gazpacho; How to Build Bullets 101. Abraham can show you where, ya know, just in case.” Eugene hands Emmy a piece of paper; knowing that Emmy and Abraham would be the ones going on a supply run next week.

Normally Maggie and Emmy would go on a supply runs together, but since she fell pregnant, especially with Maggie being in her current state, it’s safe to say that she wasn’t going to be accompanying Emmy for quite some time.

“Thank you, Eugene. Run them over if you have too.” She whispered to him as she hugged him goodbye until the next time she saw him.

“Thank you...for all this.” Rick says to Eugene, his voice trailing off in the middle of his sentence as a result of his words failing him.

Emmy could see Abraham waiting off at the side to speak to Eugene and say farewell to his partner. Abraham sent Emmy a small smile before she grabbed Rick’s arm to drag him away to give Abraham and Eugene some privacy. Aaron made his way up to his younger sister with a smirk on his face. ‘Of all the time he could possibly pick to be joking, he choses now?’ Emmy thought to herself, making herself smirk.

“Is that a love note from Eugene I see?” Aaron jokes, looking at the piece of paper she refolded and passed it too Rick. “I always knew he has a little crush on you.”

“You have a unique sense of timing for jokes, big brother.” Emmy rolls her eyes at him.

“Something I do when I’m nervous as hell.” Aaron mentions. “You should know that better than anyone.”

“Yeah I know...we’re going to get her there, A.” Emmy addresses her brother using her own personal nickname for him, despite not believing it herself. Aaron and Emmy stood aside as they watched Maggie being pulled out on the makeshift bed from inside of the RV by the people that love her.

As soon as they had Maggie out, everyone took their positions without having to be asked. They didn’t have any more time to waste, so everyone stepped it up a gear to ensure they get done what they went there to do.

Carl went to walk up front with his father as Rick carried the front of Maggie’s makeshift bed from the RV. Sasha and Aaron were going to be taking the sides and Abraham was responsible for holding the end of the bed, all while Emmy walked behind them for protection.

As they took rushed steps towards their destination, Emmy heard the RV start up and she kept listening until she could no longer hear the humming of the engine in the background. With each step they took deeper into the ominous woods, Emmy’s grip tightened around the handle of her machete.

Right as everyone thought they were going to get Maggie to help she needed, the most haunting whistle echoed around them, seeming to come from all directions. The chilling sound sent shivers down all their spines as they picked up their pace and began running through the woods. Emmy quickly made her way up front, she knew what was happening and wanted to make sure she did everything in her power to protect the others.

Whoever or whatever it was is whistling that awful melody was leading them in the direction the whistling wanted them to go, not the direction they needed to be heading in.

As expected, the group came to an abrupt stopped as the blinding lights shined right in their direction, stunning them for a moment as they readjust. The whistling tune was growing louder and it started ringing in their ears; Rick, Emmy and their group were defeated and soaked in their own sweat from sheer fear and from the physical exercise of running through the woods.

Emmy stood, her eyes wide with fear and anxiety as she looked around her surroundings. They were dangerously outnumbered. All the men that stood around them stood their ground and clutched onto their weapons, Emmy even noticed one holding a chainsaw. A fucking chainsaw. She looked over at her best friend to find that Rick’s face as white as a sheet, sweaty and already had defeat written all over it.

“Good...this is good...welcome to the beginning of the end for you guys." The Saviour smiles wickedly at the group; both his face and his voice familiar to them. He was the man they ran into at the first road block. Emmy’s hand tightening around the handle of her machete.

“We’ll be taking all your weapons." He holds his gun up, aiming it Carl who stood frozen still in shock. “Now!” The cruel man pushes when nobody makes a move to hand over their weapons.

“We-we can t-talk about it. We have to get her to a doctor, please!” Rick attempts to reason with the man, but needless to say it was pointless. He would have had more luck shouting into the void than trying to reason with these people.

“We’re done talking and now it’s time to listen.” The Saviour mutters through gritted teeth, a wicked grin plastered across his face.

Emmy and her group dropped their weapons on the ground defeatedly. This isn’t an uphill they have a chance of winning.

“Okay...let’s get her on the ground and I want the rest of you on your knees.” The Saviour motions towards Maggie.

“Hold it, we’ve got it.” Abraham warns the men that made a move to help get Maggie on the ground.

“Alright, sure. Okay my friend, go ahead." The Saviour says and he waves his men away from a very sick Maggie, whose state is getting progressively worse with each passing second.

Emmy kneeled beside Maggie’s bed, which Rick and Abraham had gently placed on the ground. Emmy held out her hands for her to take, which she did very slowly as the pain was now more than overwhelming for Maggie.

Maggie leaning against Emmy as the two of them walked over to where they were ordered to kneel in the dirt, which took Emmy and Maggie a lot longer to do, for obvious reasons.

Abraham maintains keeping a protective arm on Maggie’ back the entire time, as Glenn wasn’t their to do so. Emmy and Abraham made sure they stuck by her side no matter what.

In order; a bruised and bloody faced Eugene was at the end of the line with Carl next to him, Emmy’s brother Aaron and Sasha. Following them was the man himself, Rick Grimes, who was currently refusing to get on his knees, much to the man’s disgust. Emmy was stationed beside him with Maggie right beside her, gripping her arm as if hanging on for dear life. Abraham took the position of kneeling next to Maggie.

"I’m really gonna need to see you on your knees.” The Saviour threatens Rick, a spiteful sting to his words.

It was at that moment that Rick knew he’d lost control. He was no longer in charge and he knew it. The king, the leader, had been defeated. It’s not like there was anything he could do about it either.

The very same moment also marked the second he regretted being so ignorant as to just how much control Negan had in this new and wicked world.

“Dwight!” The saviour shouts, that name ringing a bell in Emmy’s mind, triggering her to remember the chat she had with Daryl last night about the man who killed Denise; it was the same man that the Saviour had just called for.

Emmy and Daryl sat on the roof of the house they share with practically half of their group, the two of them sharing a cigarette. Daryl hadn’t said much to anyone since returning with Rosita, Abraham and a wounded Eugene. Returning without Denise had been like a punch to the gut, for everyone.

After burying Denise in Alexandria, he’d made his way to Emmy, to which he stood in her bedroom doorway looking like a complete wreck. It shocked Emmy to see him like this, so vulnerable. She’d not seen Daryl in this state for a long time and she knew the second she saw him that something awful must have happened.

“Who did it Daryl?” Emmy asked sadly as she craned her head backwards to look up at the stars glistening above them.

“Remember how I told about someone I met out there when I got separated from Sasha and Abraham? It was him, Em. Dwight killed Denise with my crossbow.” Daryl trailed off as Emmy continued to listen intently. “If I had just killed him back then--”

“Hey, hey, don’t you dare blame yourself for her death, Daryl. You could never have known that was going to happen when you first met him and those girls out there. This isn’t your fault, okay?” Emmy tried reasoning with him. All the while Daryl had been looking at her from the corner of his eye. Without saying a word he simply shrugged his shoulders sadly and took another drag from the cigarette.

“Don’t you shrug your shoulders at me.” Emmy playfully scolded him, placing her head on his shoulder as the two of them sat on the roof. Daryl lazily slung his arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah?” Dwight replies. Emmy’s eyes caught a glimpse of Daryl’s crossbow resting in his hands, making her glare at the blonde headed man. All she could see in that moment was red, nothing else.

“Chop... chop.” The saviour making a motion for him to speed his sorry ass up.

Emmy watched nervously as Dwight walked over to a black van with dark tinted windows, inhibiting her from being able to see inside. The doors opened to reveal a painful sight. As much as what she saw angered her all the more, she couldn’t do anything about it. Maggie struggled to look up from the ground, but when she eventually did, she caught the sight of Glenn falling out of the van as a result of being roughly pulled out by Dwight.

The sight of a bloody and injured Daryl struck up a nauseating feeling of worry inside Emmy. It wouldn’t be lying to say that she had some kind of feelings for him. Confused feelings, but feelings none the less.

Michonne was kneeled beside Abraham, Daryl was next with Rosita and Glenn coming after that. Glenn’s eyes fell upon his fragile wife.

“Maggie?” His voice faltered as he spoke her name.

Maggie reached for her husband desperately, despite the pain in her body, as Glenn tried just as desperately to crawl over to his wife. However, he was pushed to the ground and ordered to kneel along with all the others.

“Good, this is good. We’ve got a full house - I think it’s about time we meet the man." The Saviour walks backwards to the door of the RV, knocking a couple times before stepping aside to avoid being hit in the face as the door opens.

The door of the RV flung open less than a second later and the devil himself stepped out with his pride and joy over his face. In that very second his sadistic famous grin made an appearance on his face and the group kneeling in front of him knew that they had finally come to meet the deadly psychopath called Negan.