FIFTY. the fall of everything

DEATH was something that Adeline Grimes feared. The thought alone sent her barreling down a bottomless pit of fear, at least that's how it used to be. When the world fell and the dead rose, death became the norm for the woman turned widow. She became okay with the fact that one day would end up being her last, that there would be a last time doing the things that she loved. Talking to Rick, showing Carl how to clean a gun, holding her niece, being woken up by Theo, her daily walks with Glenn, and even taking the night watches with Daryl Dixon.

But, the last thing she had expected was for the possibility of today turning into the one where everything fell. Every norm, every daily thing. All gone in just a matter of minutes.

Waking up in the barren walls of her cell, the nurse immediately noticed the immense change of health in her veins. The urge to cough every second that disappeared, and the echoing sounds of sickness within the cell block had dispersed. She could feel the soreness of her throat from the tube that was forced into her mouth last night as she swallowed her spit, face scrunching up in discomfort as she shifted in the small bed. Feeling a slight ache of soreness in her muscles, Adeline furrowed her brows as she looked around the rather small room.

Spotting a familiar hunting knife on the metal desk in the corner, the woman automatically knew why she was feeling better. Daryl and the others had returned with the medicine. And the bright sun that poked through the grated window of the cell informed her that night had passed, and she had been unconscious the entire time. Glancing down at her arm, Adeline's eyes landed upon a needle that was stuck in the crease of her elbow ━ it was attached to an IV, which no doubt inserted medicine into her veins.

Tucking the tangled strands of brunette hair behind her ears, the nurse sat up from the bed and tiredly placed her legs over the side of the thin mattress. Looking down at her hands, the crimson red that covered them last night was gone - a metal bucket filled with red water sitting next to her bed with a bandana thrown over it. A small smile curled around her lips, knowing exactly who had cleaned off her hands for her while she was asleep. Adeline pulled the needle out of her arm with steady hands before her eyes caught sight of a torn piece of paper sitting next to her bed on a chair.

Taking the note in between her fingers, the nurse squinted her eyes slightly to realize that it was a page torn from the bible. A passage in the page had been highlighted, 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. The words read, a warmth of gratitude flowing through Adeline as she immediately knew that Hershel Greene was the one that had left the page for her to see. The elder had the tendency to say wise words at the right time, and he never failed to say what needed to be heard.

Clearing her throat, Adeline folded the page into a square before sliding it into the back pocket of her jeans. Moving her hand to the edge of the mattress, she held onto it for support before pushing up to her feet. The bones in her knees popped, the exhaustion in her features wavering into the air as a yawn escaped from her lips. She peeked out of the cell door and made sure that no one was in sight before rolling it shut and walking over to her bag that sat in the corner of the barren room. Bending down, an expression of discomfort flooded her features at the ache of pain in her muscles.

It was obvious she hadn't healed from the illness entirely, and she knew that she would have to deal with the side effects for another day until the medicine she received had fully kicked in. Wanting to get out of the bloodstained clothes that she had been wearing for the past two days, Adeline curled her fingers around the strap of her messenger bag before sitting it onto the metal surface of the desk. Lifting the flap open, her eyes immediately landed upon the items she had packed for her stay in cell block. Pulling out the folded up pair of black jeans and the loose white shirt, it took her several minutes to change out of her old clothes and into the new.

Reattaching the sheath of throwing knives around her thigh, Adeline took the hunting knife off of the desk that belonged to Daryl Dixon and slid it into her belt loop. Making sure to grab the folded up bible quote from her old jeans, she stuck it into the back pocket of her clean ones and slipped her sock covered feet into her combat boots. Letting out a muffled cough, the nurse loosely tied her hair into a ponytail before opening the door to the cell. The sound of her boots smacking against the grated platform echoed throughout the cell block, holding onto the railings to keep herself standing upright as she passed by Glenn's cell.

Peering in, a warm smile curled around her lips at the sight of him and Maggie sitting inside. "Hey," Adeline spoke, announcing her presence as she leaned against the cells entrance. The married couple looked up from where they sat, the widows eyes falling to the familiar set of rings worn around Maggie's finger. "You're awake." The southern girl smiled, standing up from her spot next to Glenn and rushing over to Adeline to engulf her in a hug full of gratitude.

"Scared me and my Daddy half to death last night." She informed, feeling the nurse wrap her arms around her back.

"That's a bad habit of mine," Adeline replied with a smile before pulling away from the woman. "Where is he, by the way? I want to thank him. And you." She inquired, watching as Maggie ran a hand through her hair and looked down at Glenn.

"He went with Michonne to help with some of the bodies. We lost a lot of our own last night." She informed, "There's no need for you to thank me. You saved Glenn's life, Adeline. Without you, he wouldn't be here." Maggie added, a grateful look held on her face. "I'm gonna go get some water, okay?" She informed, glancing to Glenn.

Both Adeline and Glenn nodded, the two of them watching as she slipped out of the cell and let them be alone. "Theo's okay, by the way. Daryl took her to get something to eat earlier." Glenn spoke up, his voice weak and shaky as the widow turned to look at him.

An expression of gratitude crawled over Adeline's features as she sat down in the seat next to the bed he laid in - "That's good. Are you feeling any better?" She questioned, letting the messenger bag fall to the concrete as she whisked away loose strands of hair.

"Alright. Thanks to you," Glenn informed with a grateful smile as he chuckled - "Maggie told me what you did. Thank you, Addy. I really do mean that." He spoke, grabbing her hand that laid in her lap before squeezing it assuringly.

"I couldn't just let my best friend die on me, could I? You scared me, though. I even let a few tears slip." Adeline smiled, cupping his hand with her bandaged palm as the sound of warm laughter flowed out of the cell.

The echoed sound of a loud explosion shook the entire prison, the moment of happiness whisking away in the blink of an eye as the smiles from their faces dropped. Adeline stood to the floor, her muscles aching in pain as she unholstered her pistol on her side.

Peering out of the cell door, she heard Glenn struggle to get to his feet as she looked out to the confused occupants of the cell block. "Stay here. I'm gonna go see what's going on, okay?" Adeline spoke, turning to face her best friend as he reached for his pistol.

"What? No way, Addy. You're still as sick as I am, let me come with you." Glenn started to object but was only greeted with the shake of her head. "No. You're sicker. So, you're staying here and you're helping everyone in this cell block while I go see what's wrong, okay?" She repeated, a look that no one would dare to argue with work on her face as defeat plastered Glenn's features.

Falling back to the mattress of his bed, Adeline nodded thankfully before exiting the cell and carefully making her way out.

The weakness that filtered through her figure failed to unnoticed as she weaved her way down the corridors and out of the prison. The bright light of the sun momentarily blinded her sore eyes, her free hand shooting up to cover her face as she held onto the brick wall for support.

Feeling a cough tear through her chest, Adeline took in a deep breath and allowed her eyes to adjust to the sun before looking around the courtyard. Familiar bodies stood at the gate, peering down into the field of crops as her attention trailed over to the guard tower that was engulfed by fiery flames.

Her stomach dropped with worry, grip on her pistol tightening as she approached the figures with careful eyes. Watching as Daryl handed out their supply of machine guns, she could feel the beat of her heart quicken anxiously.

"What's going on?" Adeline spoke up, voice timid as she grabbed the attention of the redneck who looked back at her with relieved eyes. "You're up." He spoke, grabbing a large gun out of the bin and walking over to her. "It's him. He's back." He informed, gesturing over to the field below.

Furrowing her brows in confusion, Adeline tucked her pistol back into its holster before taking the machine gun out of Daryl's hand. Stepping forward, the two of them pushed through the small group and looked down into the field of crops. Almost immediately, her stomach twisted in fear and worry at the sight before her. Rick stood in the field, his hand hovering about the hilt of his python while he talked to the person on the other side. The Governor.

The Governor stood atop a tank with a smug expression worn on his features, hand perched on his hip as he conversed with Rick. An array of vehicles and men stood around him, armed to the teeth and ready to fight at any given second.

The main thing that sent a ripple of worry swimming through Adeline's veins was the two figures kneeling on their knees in front of the tank. Hershel and Michonne sat with their hands tied behind their back, the note folded in the back of the widows jeans burning a hole in her.

"Oh my god," Adeline breathed, her grasp on the gun tightening as she stepped forward to look at her brothers figure. "Rick..." She mumbled, fear tearing through her weak body. "Does he want the prison?" She questioned, glancing to Daryl who stood beside of her with an expression mixed with frustration and guilt as he nodded in confirmation at her words.

"Daryl, this isn't your fault. The trail went cold - you know that." Adeline assured, feeling a slight tug on her arm which caused her to look away from him.

Theo stood next to her, a new outfit on her body and her blonde hair brushed behind her ears. She carried a rifle that was almost as big as her body, her hands curled around the wooden stock of the gun.

"I gave Rick your machete before he went down there, just incase." Theo informed, slipping into the empty space between Daryl and the widow as she nodded slowly and wrapped the little girl into a side hug. "Thank you," She whispered quietly.

Silence fell around the group, their attention surfacing down to the situation in front of them. Adeline glanced to her right, noticing the familiar figure of Beth who stood beside her with tear stained cheeks.

The sight alone made her heart wrench, sympathy tearing through her as she turned back to conversation that was happening between Rick and The Governor. "The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here." The one eyed man spoke.

Rick shifted on his feet, Adelines eyes trailing over to the missing piece of the Governors ear that she had torn out. Memories of the night flashed around in her mind, anger bubbling in her skin as she tightened the grip on the carbine rifle in her grasp. "We can all..." Rick's voice broke through the air, barely heard from the far distance but loud enough to scrape the words together.

A pause was heard, a second of reluctance wavering into the sky. "We can all live together. There's enough room for all of us." He spoke.

"More than enough." The Governor was quick to retort, placing each hand on his hips as he shifted from his spot on the tank. "But I don't think my family could sleep well knowing that you were under the same roof." He informed, his words causing the sound of a scoff to slip past Adelines lips.

"We'd live in different cell blocks. We'd never have to see each other till we're all ready." Rick added, placing his hand onto the hilt of his python.

Hershel looked back at the Governor from where he kneeled, "It could work." He spoke up, "You know it could." He finalized.

"It could've." The one eyed man retorted, "But it can't. Not after Woodbury. Not after Andrea." He reminded, his statement making Adeline rolled her eyes ━━ "Is he fucking kidding?" She mumbled, the words he spoke doing nothing but adding fuel to the fire of anger inside of her.

Rick shook his head from where he stood, "I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other."

"But I don't think we have a choice." He added, only for the Governor to shrug his shoulders nonchalantly - "We don't. You do." He spoke, his expression serious as Rick pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"We're not leaving. You try and force us, we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunshots will just bring more of them out. They'll take down the fences. Without the fences, this place is worthless. Now, we can all live in the prison or none of us can." The prudent sound of Ricks voice broke through the air.

At his words, the Governor grew visibly irritated before jumping off of the hood of the tank and unsheathing the familiar sword that belonged to Michonne. "We'll fix the damn fences," He cursed, walking up from behind Hershel and placing the sharp blade of the sword against the elders neck.

Adeline felt her heart jump, fear and anger soaring through her as Beth let out a choked sob from where she stood next to the widow. In an instant, Adeline curled one of her hands around the teens and squeezed assuringly as Maggie (who stood beside her sister) gripped the metal gate.

The panic was visible in Rick, shifting anxiously on his feet as his eyes scanned the army behind the Governor. "You." He spoke, pointing to one of them ━ "You in the ponytails." He stated, the girl become freaked out as she glanced to the Governor with a scared look in her eyes.

"Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?" Rick shouted, worry evident in his voice for the life of Hershel ━ a man he trusted and looked up to.

"What we want is what you got." The man that peered out from the hood of the tank spoke, "Period." He added ━ the flames of anger growing higher in Adelines stomach as she kept her hand curled around a crying Beth. "Time for you to leave, asshole." The man added, his voice raspy yet sharp with orders.

Rick shook his head, "I fought him before. And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here! Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates... you're one of us." He pleaded, a tone of desperation in his voice as he looked to the Governor. "We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worse kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. And I know, we all, can change." Rick finished, a fresh line of red rimming his waterline as his voice cracked with fear.

As he spoke, the Governor slowly lifted the sword away from Hershel's neck; a feeling of hope for their future together wavering through the air as a look of reluctance to what he was doing filtered through his face. A small smile wrapped around Hershel's lips, undeniably proud of the words that left Ricks mouth. For a moment of silence, a quick second of thought, the Governor's eye connected with Rick's. And for a second, just a second ━━ the survivors had hope. Until they didn't. Until the small word of, "Liar." cracked through the air and the sharp blade of the samurai sword swung down and slashed into the side of Hershel's neck. The hope that they felt had vanished.

Shock tore through the several bodies that stood outside of the prison, a mute ringing of disbelief blowing into the sky as the cracked scream of grief left Maggie Rhee's mouth. Beth shook with fear, silence consuming her whole at the sudden loss of her father. Adeline felt an anger tear through her, tears welling in her eyes as Rick let out a shout of "No!" before raising his python and firing a shot into the direction of the Governor. In the blink of an eye, chaos ensued around the survivors as gunshots rang out.

Raising the carbine rifle, Adeline uncurled her hand out of Beth's tight grasp and placed the barrel of her gun in between the lockets of the fence. Pressing her finger down onto the trigger, bullets tore out of the gun and into the Governor's army that stood outside of her home.

Blood sprayed against Hershel's shirt, his body falling to the grass below as an array of gunfire sprayed through the field. A bullet tore through the one eyed leaders shoulder, keeping the sword in his grasp as he whisked out of the line of fire.

Adeline provided as much coverage as she could for Michonne as she rolled out of sight, her locs smacking against her skin. Waiting until she was safely behind a vehicle, the widow moved her scope towards the men that were shooting at her brother who remained in the field of gunfire.

A warm feeling of tears trailed down her face, fear gushing through her as she kept her finger on the trigger of the gun. Stopping for a second; she turned to search for her brother only to see a bullet tear through his leg as he hid behind the flipped over prison bus.

"Rick!" She screamed, a choked sob leaving her lips as the harsh beating of her heart slammed against his chest. Before she could even attempt to fire more shots, the tank that the Governor once stood on tore through the fences and into the field where her brother hid.

"Oh god," Adeline breathed a breath of disbelief, the fall of her home happening right before her eyes as she pulled her rifle out of the fences and turned to the three figures next to her.

Maggie and Beth already begun to retreat as Daryl pulled his rifle out of the fence and looked over to Adeline, "We gotta move!" He shouted, his voice barely audible over the sound of continuous gunfire but somehow ━ she heard him.

Nodding in confirmation, the two of them pulled Theo and Carl (who had been standing next to Daryl) away from the fences that the tank begun to approach, their shoes scrapping against the concrete as they ran away.

The distant sound of a baby crying caused Adeline to look around, her eyes landing up Judith sitting in her car seat in the middle of the courtyard. Feeling her stomach drop, the widow turned to face Theo ━ "Listen to me! You take this," She shouted over the gunfire, pulling Shane's pistol out of her holster and tucking it into the back of the girls pants. Grabbing Carl's arm, she pulled the two of them together as Daryl covered them with his rifle.

"You two stay together, okay? You don't leave each other's sight, do you understand me?" Adeline ordered, her hands curled around both of their forearms as Theo nodded hesitatingly. Carl kept a strong face, his aunts stomach twisting with fear and worry as she sighed deeply. "I love you. The both of you. No matter what happens, no matter what you see... I want you to stay together. You stay together and find Rick." She pleaded, wrapping her arms around them and pulling them into a tight hug.

Turning away; she pressed a kiss to Carl's forehead underneath the sheriffs hat that he wore. Adeline released them from her grasp and hurriedly unclasped the necklace from around her neck. "You can give this back to me when we survive this." She spoke, placing the golden chain into her nephews palm. "Okay." Carl breathed, agreeing with hopeful eyes as she smiled softly. "Okay." Adeline repeated, grabbing her rifle and glancing to Daryl.

"We've all got jobs to do." She informed, repeating the words of Hershel as he nodded assuringly. "Stay safe," Daryl spoke, the hint of worry hidden in his features as a breathless chuckle left Adelines lips ━ "Always." She assured before turning on her feet and splitting up from the ones she loved.

Both fear and adrenaline pumped through her veins, breaking from the cover of the wooden sheets covering the fences and making a sprint to the area in which she last saw Judith. Her boots scrapped against the concrete, gunfire spraying in multiple directions as she passed by the familiar faces of her friends.

When bullets broke into the concrete below her, Adeline quickly pressed her back against one of the vehicles that had broken into the courtyard. Her eyes took notice to the large tank, the barrel firing heavy shots into the structure of the prison.

Feeling gunfire bury itself into the metal of the vehicle, she took a deep breath before peering out from behind and raising her rifle. Without looking, she pressed the trigger of the gun and watched as bullets left the barrel and sprayed against the other vehicles that shielded the enemy.

Taking the second without their rebuttals, she broke out from behind her cover and watched as a woman holding a rifle chased down Tyresse who jumped for cover amidst the small garden inside of the courtyard.

Fear coursed through her, hiding behind a concrete wall and looking down the scope of her rifle. Pressing the trigger, an empty clicking sound was heard - a scoff of anger breaking from her lips as she let the gun hang from her shoulder before quickly reaching for the spare pistol on her left thigh. Pulling it out of the holster, Adeline flicked the safety off and raised the gun. For a second, a feeling of reluctance was felt in her body, but she pushed it away before stepping out from behind the wall. Pulling the trigger, she watched as the woman's arms went limp - the gun she held falling to the concrete as her head jerked back.

Nausea twisted in her stomach at the sight, a look of disbelief worn on her features as the woman fell to the ground and a pool of blood surrounded her head. She was dead. Adeline felt shocked, the last bit of herself from the old world that she had desperately clung to vanishing in thin air. She killed her first person for a man that wanted her dead. Tyresse rose from the garden, a bewildered look on his face as he stood to his feet and turned his attention to Adeline who lowered the pistol she held in her hands.

Gratitude was exchanged with the bewilderedness, throwing the strap of his rifle over his shoulder as he rushed over to the woman. "Come on; we gotta get out of here." Tyresse informed, curling his hand around Adelines forearm and pulling her in the direction of the exit. "Wait, no, we have to get Judith." She insisted, staying glued to her spot as he nodded in agreement and motioned for her to lead them in the direction of the baby. And without a second glance to the destruction of their home, they ran.

__________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐ ┊ ⋆ ┊ . ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊⋆ ┊ ┊ ┊ ☪︎.         ✧. ┊  ⋆˚          ⋆ ★
AUTHORS NOTE.

😳😳😳😳

is tyresse who you expected?

ALSO,, would you guys be cool
if i wrote a chapter in the perspective
of theo and whoever she ended up with?

i feel like i didn't do this chapter justice
it's so intense and there's so much going on.
but i'm excited to write the upcoming ones!