CHAPTER ONE
grand escapes.

Cannibals that weren't dead.

That was a new one.

The group in the train cart had been prepping weapons with whatever they could. Aiden sat twirling her knife in between her fingers. "Alright, got four of them pricks coming our way." Daryl said to the group.

"Y'all know what to do. Go for their eyes first. Then their throats." Rick informed the group.

Michonne, Carl, Eugene, and Aiden hung back so they wouldn't get hurt. "Put your backs to the walls on either side of the car now." A man called to the group.

Aiden scoffed. They heard footsteps on the roof and the group looked up. Suddenly light hit them as something was dropped.

Everyone looked down at the smoke grenade. "Move!" Abraham shouted. Daryl's body was over Aiden's in a heart beat. She felt her stomach drop when she felt him getting ripped away from her.

"No, no!" She could hear him trying to fight against them but he couldn't in the smoke.

"No, Daryl!" She tried to reach for him but couldn't find him in the chaos. She felt someone wrap their arms around her and pull her from the train cart.

Her heart was pounding and so was her head. She saw five different people get dragged from the train cart as well. Daryl, Rick, Glenn, Bob, and Nathaniel.

Daryl fought to get to her but one of the men punched him so hard it knocked him out. One kicked Rick in the face after Rick punched him.

"Stop it!" She screamed.

Aiden was hauled into what seemed to be a warehouse. One man pulled a chair out in front of a large metal tub and sat it down. The bald man holding Aiden forced her down to sit in it. He tied rope around her wrists, binding them behind the chair along with her feet.

The sick individuals forced her family onto their knees along the tub with four other men she didn't recognize. The first one, a blonde skinny guy seemed to recognize Rick.

A gasp ripped through her throat when the bald guy slammed the bat onto the back of the skinny guy's head. The other man then slit his throat.

She swallowed as she watched the blood travel down the metal tub and towards the drain. She felt sick to her stomach.

They had drug her out here to watch her husband, best friends, and close friends die.

Aiden's heart was in her throat when they stood closer to Glenn. "Stop! Please!" She begged. The men didn't even spare her a glance.

Then Gareth walked in, "hey, guys. What were your shot counts?" He asked the two men.

"Thirty-eight." One replied and Gareth wrote that down in his notebook he held. The two men moved to Glenn and this sparked something in Aiden.

"No! Stop, please! Let them go please!" Aiden yelled. She had tears in her eyes. Daryl looked up at her with eyes yelling at her to shut the hell up.

"Hey!" Gareth yelled when one almost brought the bat down in Glenn. "Your shot count?"

"Crap, man, I'm sorry. It was my first roundup." One said.

"After you're done here, go back to your point and count the shells. Kaylee won't be gathering them until tomorrow." Gareth said.

"Hey." A muffled voice came from Bob, "hey, let me talk to you."

"Five from A, four from D?" Gareth asked, "plus my beautiful little mama here." Gareth cupped Aiden's face. Daryl felt rage spike in his heart as he touched her.

"Don't touch her!" Daryl yelled through his gag.

"Hey, let me talk to you for a minute. Let me talk to you for a minute." Gareth stepped forward and took the gag from Bob's mouth.

"What?"

"Don't do this. We can fix this."

"No, you can't."

"You don't have to do this. We told you there's a way out of all this. You just have to take a chance. We have a man who knows how to stop it. He has a cure. We just have to get him to Washington. You don't have to do this, man. We can put the world back to how it was." Bob tried to reason.

"Can't go back, Bob." Gareth stated.

"We can! You don't have to do this!" Bob yelled through his gag. Gareth knelt down in front of Rick and took his gag out.

"We saw you go into the woods with a bag and come out without it. Had to kill my spotter back before we could go look for it. What was in it? You hid it, right? I'm case things went bad? Smart. Still, we'll find it. Too dangerous to out there right now." Gareth stood and walked behind Aiden. He pulled out his knife and pulled her head back by her hair and held it to her throat.

Gareth smirked when all five men tensed up at the scene before them. "What was in it? I'm curious. And it was a big bag."

Rick just stared at him. "You really gonna make me do this? To a pregnant woman?"

"Well, let me take you out there. I'll show you." Rick said.

"Not gonna happen. This might." He pulled Aiden's hair tighter and pressed the knife into her neck.

A small noise left her mouth as his knife drug deeper into her skin. She felt the scar from Dalton reopening, blood dripped down her neck and onto her shirt.

Daryl watched Gareth with such hard eyes, the other were sure he would drop dead then and there.

"There's guns in it. AK-47. .44 magnum. Automatic weapons. Night scope. There's a compound bow and two machetes. One with a army green handle and another with a red handle. That's what I'm gonna use to kill you." Rick growled. Aiden realized she didn't have her machete with her at all. She must've dropped it at the prison and Rick picked it up.

Gareth chuckled and pulled the knife away from Aiden's neck, allowing her to breathe again. He wiped the blood on Aiden's shirt. "Thanks. You have two hours to get them on the driers. I'm gonna go back to public face. Now is the time to get messy, but we need to dial it all in by sundown."

"Got it."

"Yes, sir."

Aiden jumped at the sound of gunshots. Gareth pulled out his walkie talkie, "hey. Chuck?"

The guy was about to swing his bat at Glenn before they were interrupted but more gunshots.

Then there was the explosion.

Aiden and the chair hit the ground, she grimaced at the pain in her side but she felt the ropes on her hands coming loose. "You stay here."

"Gareth, these guys aren't going anywhere." One said.

"Stay here until I know what's happening!" Gareth ran off.

"So we just sit here?"

"Got a job to do."

One of the guys were panicking while Aiden was focused on getting the ropes off of her wrists. Rick got free from his restraints before killing the two men.

Rick untied Daryl's first. Daryl shot up and ran over to Aiden, he quickly got the ropes off of her, "are you okay?"

"No. Let's go." She said. The two ran out with Rick, Glenn, Nathaniel, and Bob.

»

"They're cannibals dumbasses." Aiden said to the four men who clearly hadn't made it out. Nathaniel was the only one who knew.

Aiden ran behind the men as they approached the train cart. Rick opened it and everyone filed out. Payton and Carl made their way to Aiden and Macy made her way to Nathaniel.

"Come on!" Aiden yelled. The group pilled around the fence. Aiden and Carl were the first two over followed by Eugene and the rest.

The group followed Rick and Daryl where they had buried their bag.

"What the hell are we still around here for?" Abraham asked.

"Gun, some supplies. Go along the fences. Use the rifles." Rick said. "Take out the rest of 'em."

"What?"

"They don't get to live." Rick replied.

"Rick, we got out. It's over." Glenn said to him. Rick pulled out the green handled machete and handed it to Aiden who grinned.

"It's not over till they're all dead." Rick said to Glenn.

"The hell it isn't. That place is on fire. Full of walkers." Rosita said.

"I'm not dicking around with this crap. We just made it out." Abraham said.

"The fences are down. They'll run or die." Maggie spoke. Aiden gasped suddenly and dropped her machete.

Behind Rick stood Carol, the woman had Aiden's backpack and her M16, Daryl's crossbow and her own gun. Daryl turned around and ran to her. Daryl hugged her followed by Rick and Aiden.

Aiden wrapped her arms around the older woman after Daryl let her go. "You're alive." She laughed a happy sound. "I can't believe it."

Carol handed Aiden her bag and she opened it. Inside was everything. Her Bowie knife, her Beretta, her two pictures and her and Payton's badges.

"You have to come with me."

»

The group walked over the hill and saw Tyreese walked out of a small cabin. In his arms were baby Judith.

Rick, Carl, Sasha, and Aiden dropped everything and ran towards the two. Rick took Judith from Ty's arms and cradled her.

Aiden couldn't help the sob that left her throat as she stared at her niece. Aiden's hand rested on her small head as she cried. Rick moved to Tyreese and they had a moment of thanks.

Carl leaned into Aiden's side. Aiden wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

A couple minutes later, Aiden held Judith while Carl sat right beside her with his head on her shoulder, "I don't know if the fire is still burning." Rick said. Aiden looked up and saw the black smoke.

"It is." Carol replied.

"Yeah. We need to go." Rick said.

"Yeah, but where?" Daryl quizzed.

"Somewhere far from there." Rick replied.

The group walked thought the woods, with Daryl and Aiden side-by-side and Carl with Judith in front of them.

Aiden wouldn't allow the two out of her sight. She could just feel the presence of their mother. She had never felt such a sensation until the cold air brushed past her.

It felt like a hug. She looked to her side and could've sworn she saw Lori Grimes in a white dress. She did a double take and she was gone.

___________________________

word count: 1,749
episode: no sanctuary

and here it is!! the first edited chapter of philophobia. i'm super excited to edit this book.

CHAPTER ONE OF PHILOPHOBIA!

y'all have no clue how pumped i am for this book. with three of the best season in walking dead history and by far the most action packed. (besides nine).

prepare for sadness, and happiness, and anger. because i'm that type of author to screw over y'all's emotions