CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE,
survival of the fittest.

Aiden watched as Dwight got to his knees from where he had been on the floor. "Look at me." Rick growled. "Why?"

"Cause I want it stopped. I want Negan dead." Dwight replied.

"So why don't you kill him?" Rick asked.

"Can't just be me," Dwight said, "they're all Negan."

"That girl you murdered... she had a name." Tara stepped up, "her name was Denise, and she was a doctor. And she helped people."

"I wasn't aiming for her." Dwight said. Daryl lunged forward and grabbed the man. He shoved Dwight against the wall and held his knife inches from his face.

"Do it. Do it." Tara encouraged.

"You wanna end it this way... you go ahead. I'm sorry. I am. I know you want to." Dwight apologized.

"He could just be here to see if you were here." Rick said and Aiden looked at him. She hadn't even thought of that. If that was the case, the couple was screwed ten times over.

"We can't trust him."

"He owned me. But not anymore. What I did, I was doing it for someone else. She just got away." Dwight stated. His wife, Sherri. Daryl told Aiden about her. "So, now I'm here. So are you because of her."

"Do it!" Tara nearly yelled.

"There's another choice." Dwight said.

"Daryl. Daryl, you knew her." Tara was ready to watch this man die for what he did to Denise.

"Negan trusts me. We work together, we can stop him." Dwight said. "You know me then, and you know me now. You know I'm not lying. I'm not."

"Do it. Do it!" Tara yelled. Daryl dropped his arm but kept his hold on Dwight's neck.

"They have Sasha, if she's even alive." Rosita said. Aiden looked down at her hands.

"Why didn't you say something? He could be our only chance to get her back." Jesus said.

"Because I don't trust him. But I trust Daryl." Rosita stated.

"Negan's coming soon. Tomorrow. Three trucks probably. Twenty Saviors and him. I can slow them down, bring some trees down in the road, buy a little time for you guys to get ready. If you can take them out, that's where we start. You kill them, I radio back to the Sanctuary." Dwight said.

"The Sanctuary?" Rick quizzed him.

"Where Negan lives. That's what they call it. I can radio back to them and say everything's okay. You drive the trucks back, and I can lead you right inside, and, with the right plan, we can wipe out the rest. Check to see if your friend's still alive. Then, we get the workers on our side, build our numbers up, and go from outpost to outpost and end this." Dwight said to them all.

"Keep talking." Rick said.

»

The following day Aiden stood by Payton as the group prepared for the battle that would commence in just a few hours.

Aiden was ready.

She knew she could die.

But she was ready to watch Negan die.

Her Beretta was strapped to her thigh, her usual pocket knife was tucked away in her boot, and her Bowie knife and machete were holstered on her hip. Her M16 was slung over her shoulder.

Aiden smiled.

"Why're you smiling, psychopath?" Payton asked her. She looked at him.

"Cause I know we're gonna win." She replied, "come on, kid. It's time to get in our spots."

"I'm older than you!" He called.

"By two weeks." Aiden snorted.

Aiden made her way over to her spot on the the watch platforms with Macy and Carl. "You ready?"

Macy looked over at her, "no."

"Me either," Aiden furrowed her eyebrows. "You have won my trust, Macy. You're just too driven by hatred to see that."

"You're driven by hatred, as well." Macy replied.

"I have been for the past three years, Macy. Not a day goes by where I don't feel hatred." Aiden said. "Now, listen. Here they come."

Aiden locked eyes with Carl, the boy she watched grow up. A boy she's loved since they say she heard of Lori's pregnancy. Her nephew.

Daryl looked up at Aiden. He nodded, I love you.

Aiden smiled softly, I love you too.

The sound of Eugene's voice hit their ears, "all points are covered. Every contingency is already met. I come armed with two barrels of the truth. A test is upon you, and I'm giving out the cheat sheet." Aiden furrowed her eyebrows. Carl looked at her and saw her grip tightening on her gun. She looked at him and he shook his head at her.

"H-hello." Eugene stuttered, "I come salved with the hope that it is my dropped knowledge that you heed. Options are zero to none. Compliance and fealty are your only escape. Bottom- lining it- you maybe thrive, or you may die. I sincerely wish for the former for everyone's sake. The jig is up and in full effect. Will you comply, Rick?"

Rick stated the man down before stealing a glance at his son and Aiden. "Where's Negan?" He asked strongly.

"I'm Negan." Eugene stated. Aiden sucked in a breath. Aiden could feel the tension. Rick nodded to Rosita and she pushed the trigger. Aiden dropped to her knees.

Nothing happened.

She heard the garbage people stand and point their guns at the Alexandrias. Aiden felt the barrel of the gun near her head. She took a deep breath and glared at the metal in front of her. "Motherfucker." She hissed.

She heard the gate open. Rick stood and Aiden eyed him cautiously.

"You ever heard the one about the stupid little prick named Rick who thought he knew shit but didn't know shit and got everyone that he gave a shit about killed? It's about you. You're all gonna wanna out your guns down now." Aiden heard Negan's voice.

She closed her eyes. It was taking everything in her not to stand and kill the asshole. She'd die. She knew that of course.

"No one drops anything." Rick said. "We had a deal." He hissed to Jadis.

"Tamil came for the boat things. Followed ones who took. Made a better deal." She said. Aiden rolled her eyes.

They talked like fucking Yoda.

"You push me, and you push me, and you push me, Rick. You just tried to blow us up, right? I mean, I get me, my people. But Eugene? He's one of yours. And after what he did- he stepped up. You people... are animals." Everyone heard Aiden's laugh. Carl whipped his head and looked at her with a wide eye.

"Shut up." The woman growled and pressed the barrel of her gun against Aiden's head.

"Was that Aiden?" Negan asked. Rick just stared at him, "it most certainly was! You see, Rick. I like Aiden. I like her a lot. She'd be great on the other side of this wall. She'd be great solider for me. Hell, I might even ask her to be on of my wives!" Aiden grimaced, "universe gives you a sign, and you just shove your finger right up its ass. Dwight, Simon, chop-chop."

"So, you don't like Eugene anymore. You guys gotta like Sasha." Negan said as he jumped up on a truck with a coffin stand on it. "I do, too. Got her right here packaged to your convenience, alive and well." Aiden stood and Carl followed not long after her. Macy stood as well, followed by everyone else.

"Now, I brought her so I wouldn't have to kill all of you, and not killing all of you could get complicated. See, I know there's a lot of firepower left in there, Rick. So I'm gonna make this simple. I want all the guns you've manage to scrape up. Yep, I know about those, too. I want every lady grain of lemonade you got left. I want a person of your own choosing... for Lucille. Daryl, oh, I gotta get me my Daryl back! I see you."

"Like hell you will." Aiden growled.

Negan's eye filled with excitement at her comment. "And Aiden! Shit, I'll take her too! And I see that baby belly is gone. Where's the little one? I'll take him too."

Everyone could see Aiden visibly getting angrier by the second. "I'll bash your head in with your own fuckin' bat."

Negan smirked.

"That's a no-no, gorgeous. And the pool table and all the poo cues and chalk." Negan stated. "And I want it now or Sasha does, and then all of you. Probably." He said. "C'mon Rick. Just because I brought her in a casket doesn't mean she has to leave in it."

Aiden's heart started pounding. "You know what? You suck ass, Rick. You really do. I don't wanna have to kill her, but that's exactly what you're gonna make me do."

"Let me see her." Rick stepped up.

"Oh." Negan chuckled. "Alright just give me a second. I might have to get her up to speed. You can't hear shit inside this thing." He hit the side of the casket with Luccile, "Sash," Aiden grimaced. That was her nickname for Sasha. "You're not gonna believe this crap." He opened the casket.

Aiden gasped in shock when Sasha's reanimated body took Negan to the ground. She stared at the casket as the battle started. She didn't move. She only let out a gut wrenching yell. Carl grabbed her quickly.

Aiden blinked and she snapped out of it. She whipped her M16 up and started firing at the Saviors. She climbed down the ladder and shot at the Saviors.

Tears has gathered in her eyes.

One Savior.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

She didn't care how many she killed. She didn't care what this did to her conscious.

She just a lost someone.

Another piece of her gone.

Little by little Negan was ripping her life apart.

She felt a sudden pain. Her body hit the ground, her gun flying from her grip. She looked down and saw blood pooling at her hip.

"Son of bitch," she breathed out.

Fucking shot.

Again.

She didn't know anyone who got shot more than she did.

She cried out as a Savior grabbed her by her shirt and drug her to a clearing. There she saw Carl and Rick on their knees.

"No, no, no." She whispered. "You don't have to do this. Please, it can be. Negan, please! Kill me please. Not them, please not them."

Negan looked at her, "you'll get yours eventually, gorgeous. Don't worry. I want you to watch Carl here die."

Aiden stared at Negan with tears gathering in her eyes, "you already took Glenn, Abe, and Sasha from me." They watched in shock as Aiden pulled a gun out and aimed at her temple. "Do it and I'll blow my brains out!"

"Charlie!" Negan shouted just as Aiden pulled the trigger. The Savior, Charlie, knocked her gun from her hands and the bullet hit the wall.

"Aiden!" She heard Rick and Carl shout. Negan glowered at her. "Put her on her knees in front of Carl." The man pushed Aiden onto her knees in front of Carl. Her hip throbbed in pain.

"Rick, Aiden. This is just gonna make you sad. Broken. Make you wish you were dead." Negan made his way behind Carl. "I like having fun. I do. But maybe you think that the guy that did what he did to your friends wasn't me, that was some sort of put-on, like I'm not the guy with the bat- I'm just the guy that makes your kid spaghetti. Oh. Oh, shit. Maybe this is on me. Maybe this is all on me. I gotta make it right. I guess I gotta start all over again. I gotta tell ya, Rick, if I had a kid, I'd want him to be just like your kid, which makes this so much harder."

"You're not gonna win." Carl said.

"Carl. It is over. Why don't you point your one ball at Aiden and take it all in? It's the last time you'll ever see her." Negan said. Carl's eye looked at Aiden and her brown eyes stared at him.

Aiden heard a scream and turned her head. She knew where that scream had came from. Michonne was stationed there.

She let out a small, quiet gasp.

"Ohhh. Oh. Wow." Negan crouched in front of Rick, "you just lost somebody important to you right now- like, just now. Jesus. That is timing." Aiden watched as Rick glared at Negan. "Well, Rick, you chose this. I truly don't know what more I could've done to warn you. And this is as a warning. This is punishment. I'm gonna kill Carl now. Maybe Aiden, too. I'm gonna make it one nice, hard swing, try to do it one because I like him. I just want you to put that in your brain and let it roll around for a minute. I'm gonna kill Carl, and then Lucille here, she's gonna take your hands." Aiden gripped her hip as she felt blood trickling down her leg.

"You can do it right in front of me. You can take my hands. I told you already- I'm gonna kill you. All of you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow... but nothing is gonna change that- nothing. You're all already dead." Rick whispered to him.

Negan stood furiously after chuckling darkly and stating. "Damn. Wow, Rick. Okay."

Aiden watched in utter pain as he threw Carl's hat into her lap, "you said I could do it." Aiden gasped when she heard a roar.

She saw Shiva pounce on one of the Saviors. "Holy fuck!" She shouted. She stumbled up and grabbed her Beretta. She watched as the Kingdom ran into battle.

"End these Saviors and their accomplices! Alexandria will not fall! Not on this day!" King Ezekiel shouted.

Aiden smiled when she saw Daryl. The Hilltop and Kingdom were here.

"Hot damn." Aiden whispered to herself.

Her hip stung and knew there was an exit wound. She felt that sting as well.

She grabbed the barrel of her M16 that the Savior who shot her held. She yanked the gun towards her. Her head made contact with his nose, he cried out and stumbled backwards.

He didn't have to worry about the pain long before a bullet made home in his head.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

More Saviors dropped courtesy of Aiden Dixon.

Aiden Walsh.

A woman who knew horrors and tragedy but also a woman who knew love and gentleness.

Aiden Walsh.

Aiden Dixon.

Whatever you want to call her.

But know one thing.

She's every damn thing the apocalypse feared.

Then she felt another sting.

She let out a yell before her body hit the ground. Her gun slid away from her. She gasped for air. Blood pooled in her shirt, staining it with more red. Her left hand reached to the right side of her chest.

"Fuck," she grit out.

This was where she died.

On the battle field of her home. With a son waiting for her at the Hilltop and a husband who believed she was still firing at the Saviors.

Two fresh bullets wounds. One in her hip and the other in her chest. A still healing wound in her shoulder.

A single tear fell from her eye as she stared up at the light blue sky.

"Aiden!" She heard. Her vision was beginning to go blurry. "Aiden, oh, God, no."

She felt a body collapse next to her. "Daryl." She whispered. "Hey, baby."

"Don't do this to me. Not now." He begged her. Her body was half in his lap.

"Is she dead?" She heard Payton yell.

Daryl could only shake his head.

"I'm sorry." Aiden grasped at Daryl's arm, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Dare."

"No, dammit!" Payton yelled when Aiden shut her eyes. Approaching footsteps was heard. Enid, Maggie, Jesus, Nathaniel, Macy, and Xavier ran over to them.

"No!"

________________________________

word count: 2,671
episode: first day of the rest of your lives

and there it is!! the final edited chapter of philophobia!! i'm going to edit the cast and all that tonight for the valiant but actually started editing the chapters whenever i wake up.

holyyyyyyy shit. THIS WAS ONE HELL OF A CHAPTER. damn holy fuck.

that's it, y'all. that's the last chapter of philophobia.

i left y'all on a cliffhanger, a not so nice one at that. we don't know if aiden will live or not 🤷🏻‍♀️.

well, we lost sasha 💔. i loved her character so much.

but valiant will be published in a couple days. it takes place in season eight through nine and then we have to wait for reckless because season ten needs to be on netflix.

the group will return in valiant.