Episode 3 "Grief"

Dex woke up in a bed in the middle of Wilmington, it looked different, it looked very developed and well put together as if it was being built up for years, he was confused to see it. Dex got out of bed and looked out the window, he looked around and saw Sarah helping people out with farming, Lamar and Jack were returning from a supply run, Mia was training people to fight, Dex saw the walls and said to himself quietly, "what the hell?" Dex turned around slowly and saw Mel standing just outside the room, "hey dude, sorry if I worried you by getting up so early, I had to do something for Hailey." Dex looked at her in a confused way and said calmly, "Hailey? As in…" Mel looked at him weird and said, "the person who also happens to be a close friend for about 11 years now? You okay?" Dex was really confused by all of this as he looked Mel in the eyes, he felt as if this were real, she was there, he almost broke down seeing Mel alive again, "I don't know I guess I had a bad dream or something…" Mel walked up to Dex and said, "again? Well hopefully it goes away because we got work to do today, I guess I'll see ya outside by the wall when you're dressed, love you" Dex looked at Mel and and replied to her comment as he turned around to see the community outside.

Dex quickly got dressed and gathered his things as he stepped outside the house and on to the dirt road, Wilmington tripled in size over the years, he never knew the place could be like this. Dex walked down the street to meet Mel by the front gate, Dex walked slowly as he took in the sights, he heard a familiar voice call to him from behind, he was startled by this, he hasn't heard the voice in a long time, he turned to see Ryker smiling with a rifle in his hand. "Hey man, you look like you have seen a ghost, one you hate too." Dex was confused as Ryker held the rifle out to him, "Mel told me to get this gun to you, I guess you two will need it since you're meeting all of us at the old police station where the treaty was signed." Dex was confused by the whole thing and took the rifle, Dex turned and continued walking, Ryker followed behind since they were all going to the same place, Dex glanced at him and said calmly, "who all is going again? I forgot, last night was a long night." Ryker laughed and said, "well you and Mel went in extra early so I assume it was a busy night, anyway it's us, Mel, Hailey, Sarah, Will, Jack, Lamar, James, Louis, Clara, Jax, Izzy, Dom, Mitch, Jenna, Jim, John, Luis, Josh, Mia, Rachel, Marcus, Riley, Pastor Knox, Dr. Green, Cal, Mike, Katie, hell even your parents will be there, everyone who had a key role in things will be there." Dex's face lightened up as he said, "my parents…"

Ryker noted his weirdness that day but shrugged it off as they reached the spot where Mel was sitting at, "come on slow pokes we got a ride ahead of us, better yet a meeting, a celebration." Mel got in the driver seat as they drove off, they were speeding down an empty, overgrown road. They were sitting there as the sound of Sarah playing True Faith on the guitar came through the radio. Dex didn't know how that was possible but he ignored it as he focused on the lack of walkers where there usually were many of them. They were on the road for a few minutes before arriving at the town, it was cleaned out, lights filled the streets, there were no walls and people lived there, it was beautiful. They just kept slowly driving down the road with a few cars on it, the rest of the road was horses.

They went down the street more as Dex took in the amazing sight until they arrived at the old police station, now fortified, not burnt. They got out as they all entered the building, the place was cleared out and there were lights on the ceiling with alcohol everywhere. Hailey walked up to Dex with a big smile and said, "welcome! So glad you could join us on this fine evening. Heard you and Mel had quite the night." Dex was so confused by all of this, he was happy to see her again, to see all the ones they lost alive again. He decided to just enjoy it because this meant they were alive in a way, he didn't wanna wake up from whatever he is in. Dex walked to a table and sat down, he took a drink and stare at a wall as Jenna and Jim walked by laughing and talking, Dex was happy to see everyone together. Mel sat down at the table with him and looked at him with a big smile, "enjoying the night?" Dex smiled and nodded as his parents sat down at the table, Dex looked at them with a big smile and said, "where were you guys all that time? I remember searching for years, I felt like I lost you guys." Sherry looked at Dex and said calmly, "we coulda said the same to you, never thought you would find us with the caravan." Mark looked at Mel and said, "anything new with Mike and Katie, haven't seen them in a minute." Mel looked at him and said while looking directly at her parents, "they've been the same old hunters that they have always been, nothing new."

Mel stood up and said, "that reminds me, I've gotta help them and Sarah put something up, I'll be back in a bit." Mel said her goodbyes to everyone as she walked past Jax who was walking with James debating over walker kills. Dex looked at his parents who were gone, it's like they vanished, "mom? Dad?" Dex looked around but couldn't find them, eventually he started to get a little headache at the table, everything got blurry. When everything cleared up blood covered the walls, tables and chairs were flipped it's like a war went on in there, he looked up to see a zombified Mel with a bullet to the head looking at Dex, she smiled at him and said, "you ready to join us?" Dex was confused as he turned and was shocked to see Will with bite marks everywhere and Sarah with a bullet to the head, Lamar was pale and was bleeding from his side as Jack stood there with a knife in his skull. Dex rubbed his eyes and couldn't find his parents anywhere, Ryker had a bullet to the head, Jenna and Jim were burnt, Hailey was pale and zombified, it's like everyone was the way they were when they died, he was confused by the ones who should have been still alive, they didn't speak, just the dead ones.

They tried to convince Dex to join them and to let go, he began to panic as he stormed out of the building, the town was overrun, Dex ran down the street and came across the corpses of him, Sarah, Lamar, and Jack, it looked like they failed the jump from building to building from their first supply run together, he was seeing scenarios where things went wrong. Dex ran down the street, pushed through the walkers, he pushed through the last bit and found himself back at Gate City where it was overrun but he saw all of his friends in the herd, he saw himself in it with his machete through his chest, Dex freaked out and fell to the ground as Amir held a gun to his head and fired, as it all went black he woke up in the Compound impaled, he couldn't move, there was constant pain, he was bleeding badly.

Dex eventually couldn't move anymore as the building blew up with him in it, he heard the screams of his friends outside as they were killed. Dex saw as the fire cleared he was on the ground at the Colony during the fire, he saw the group evacuate from the back as Mel stood there ready to sacrifice herself. Dex started to run down the street but it seemed like she was getting farther away as he ran, Dex looked as Mel screamed at the walkers as she took her own life there, he fell to his knees crying, he looked at the street below and looked up to see Monroe during the incident that took place right before he left, he saw fresh walkers roaming around with fire raging in small spots, he heard gunshots everywhere with screams filling the air. Dex didn't move, he was broken as he just stood there, as he fell to his knees, everything transitioned into LA during the fall as he smacked into the concrete, Dex heard the screams and horror as everything was getting blurry, he stood up and took his machete out and killed a couple walkers as he ran fast through the city. Dex passed up Salazar's Barber Shop, past the white truck, he kept going, he remembered the explosion that would occur as he backed away as the gas station exploded, Dex ran as jets flew overhead, he sprinted as he heard nothing but his fast heartbeat at that point in time.

Dex eventually made it to an alley way where everything faded away and he was staring deep into Mel's lifeless eyes as she looked at him. Mel just stood there as Dex pulled his gun out, he knew he couldn't pull the trigger before but he was not going to let emotion stop him. Dex looked at her as she sprinted full speed at him, he fired the gun into her chest as she fell, he caught her before she could hit the ground, Dex was crying after seeing what he did. Mel looked at him looking like she did before the injury, "thank you…" Dex let a tear fall on the almost lifeless corpse as he looked her in the eyes, "I'm sorry this happened to you, I never wanted this to happen, you were so smart, talented, beautiful, I mean there was nothing stopping you. You were my best friend, I wish I got to say goodbye when it happened but I couldn't", Dex looked up to see Hailey, Jenna, Jim, John, Josh, everyone who was close to him that died standing there looking happy and healthy as they looked to him, "you did all you could out there, not all of us get to say goodbye but in a weird way we just know that the ones we lost know we care." Dex looked at all of them and felt great sadness as he realized this was all in his head and was a weird way of him trying to relieve him of the grief he had. Dex looked down at Mel's body as she smiled and said, "don't stress it dude, I get to chill with everyone now, and soon you'll join us, just make sure it's lille decades in the future or I'll beat your ass." Dex laughed as tears fell, "yes ma'am" Mel smiled as she let go and they all fell into a dark and endless abyss, Dex looked up to see a light. He knew he could just sit there and remain with them or go, so many friends were there he almost wanted to just stay but he didn't, he knew he couldn't, he didn't want to give up there, he ran to the light and stopped before it and stared into it as he took a deep breath and walked through it.

The Caravan HQ:

Dex woke up slowly on the cruise ship where the Caravan called home, Riley was sitting by his side looking at him with a smile, "Hey Dex, remember me?" Dex was shocked to see her, he tried getting up to hug her but couldn't with the pain, "don't try it, your still in pain, you know you're lucky Lambert, our scout leader there stopped you from doing it, he pulled the gun last second but it still went into your head, missed your brain though but you'll have a headache that'll even hurt walkers for a while." Dex laid back and said calmly, "where are we? How long have I been out?" Riley took a deep breath and said, "we are on the cruise ship you probably heard about just outside of Boston, you probably heard Baltimore, Pittsburgh, many places, mainly because we use not true cuties to throw people off from finding us. But to answer the second question, you've been out for about 3 weeks now, you were hurt bad, but I guess it's no secret that there are more old friends here like Marcus, I guess you two knew each other recently, but some prisoners from the Compound too. Some people from all over like Lambert, he was originally with the King County Sheriff Department, Mandy was originally a drifter with her father and sister, they died, she was alone, and eventually found us with her badass, sacred red machete. We got others of course like Alex, from Flight 462, the one that went down around Texas and Mexico, it's a story she tells all the time, then Carlos who was with some bad people at the start, Mrs. Smith who you may remember from Wilmington… Speaking of Wilmington…"

Dex cut her off and said, "a lot happened since Wilmington fell, I guess I can tell you it all now if you'd like." Riley stood up and looked at him knowing he was hiding the pain he was in, "none of that really matters now anyway, I'm sure some are alive, some are dead, it's all in the past now, just come out and meet me just outside the room when you're ready." Dex noticed how she lost interest right away as if the past bothered her a lot, he rested his head against the pillow for a bit and sat up slowly, he took the blanket off and looked at the fresh clothes to his side, he grabbed them and noted how clean they smelled. Dex put the clothes on slowly and grabbed his bag, his weapons and supplies were all still there which confused him. He got it all together and stared into the mirror for a bit, Dex looked at himself and turned his head to look at the big metal door, he heard the sounds of seagulls and the ocean in the distance. Dex walked up to the door and took a deep breath, he slowly opened it.

Once Dex was outside he looked around and saw Riley standing over the edge looking at Boston which was in ruins. "Who is left alive? Who made it out of Wilmington…" Dex walked up to her slowly and leaned over the edge with her and took the sight in for a second, "Hailey died in the explosion, sure you knew that already… The group we left in the police station all died, Jenny and Jim made sure that when they did they didn't feel it or notice it… Sarah led the remnants of the militia, Jack, Lamar, Izzy, Dom, Mitch, Will, Kate for a while… So much happened after that but to put it short many of those who survived Wilmington are dead now, some just before I left to go here, it's really hard, I didn't expect everything to go so… to go so bad, we had it so well and it all went to shit fast." Riley looked at him and said, "this world… especially this new one sucks and there isn't anything we can do about it except either give up or move forward, we all lose people, some were close friends and now I have to live with the pain too… The grief never really goes away despite what people say and I won't try to convince you to move on because it won't work… I guess all we can do is face the reality of things and move forward, it's a new world and we need to be ready to deal with what's to come." Dex let a tear fall as he nodded his head, "fuck the new world…" Riley chuckled and looked at the nature growing on the buildings and cars on the street, "yeah… Come I gotta show you something."

Dex followed Riley as she walked across the cruise ship slowly, she turned and walked across a big wooden bridge that connects the land to the ship, Dex noted the nice smell in the air, the birds and seagulls around, the sound of waves crashing, it was nice. Dex didn't say a word as they continued to go through the gate at the end of the bridge. Riley looked around to check for walkers, Dex looked at her and asked what she was doing, "you hear that?" Dex listened around and was confused, "there aren't any walkers silly, there are very few in Boston, people either fled or died, or moved on post outbreak. The city is pretty much safe, you can roam around freely, it's been picked clean for the most part and we've been thinking about moving our people into the city, make it our home, the only walkers here are ones we didn't bother killing or ones that wandered in from the outside." Dex smiled at this and walked forward, Riley put her bag and weapons down in the safe next to the gate and prompted Dex to do the same thing. Dex hesitated but he trusted Riley so he did it.

They walked through the overgrown streets and looked around at the for the most part in tact buildings, Dex saw newspapers on the ground, and patriotic flags and posters around the city. Riley noticed there was something else bothering him, "your parents.... They are out right now, on a run, they were in DC not too long ago, the bodies you saw were from defectors a while back, took off with many supplies, killed some people, we had no choice…" Dex looked at her and said, "I saw many bodies out there, that one in particular seemed all too familiar." Riley knew that he knew she wasn't telling him everything, "truth is we haven't seen them in about 90 percent of your big nap. We haven't heard back from them, not since the Outcasts started to become more active…" Dex looked at her and said, "Outcasts?" Riley sighed and said, "people we had to turn away or those who willingly left for one reason or another, they have been planning something big for a while, I don't quite know what but they are going to do something and they have been kidnapping our own for a while."

Dex looked at her and said, "my journey is far from over then, I still have work to do, I can't allow them to die." Riley stopped him from walking on and saw the pain in his eyes, "you were more than willing to pull the trigger back there, you were more than willing to end it all over a damn corpse that may or may not have been one of them, so cut the shit, what's really bothering you, why are you so broken inside." Dex stopped and tried hard to fight the emotion, "the last night before I left Monroe, Sarah's home after the outbreak was hit from the inside by a sick person within the walls… He turned, he bit others and people died, my friends died… I lost so much then and it kills me to allow myself to go on, how I just left when the opportunity arose after it. I couldn't stay there, so much has happened, so much is on my mind, I don't even know what to do, it seems like all I can do is just let go and drift away." Riley looked at him and got teary for a second, "you think it hasn't been hard on all of us?! We all have been through so much shit and for what?! To just force ourselves to move on and say it's all okay when in reality it's not?!" Dex looked at her and before he could say a word she cut him off, "every god damn day I think about Wilmington, why I never went out looking for all of you, it kills me everyday, what happened in Wilmington is not your fault, you can't beat yourself up over it, what happened happened, and if you wanna pull the trigger then do it but we've all been through shit and all learn to cope with it, maybe you should too." Dex looked at her for a second as she looked at the sun above, "it's getting late, come find me on the ship when you're ready, you'll need to know what we're up against before we act." Dex nodded as he turned his head and walked the other way, they went their own ways from there.

Dex went and saw a building still standing, it had a big tower on it that he climbed up, there was a ladder that led to the top of it, he climbed for a bit with so much on his mind. Dex got to the top and sat down, Dex looked off into the distance as he zoned it all out, he heard the screams from Wilmington and the fire, a tear fell as he looked at the lonesome walker below, "I'm sorry I let this all happen, I'm sorry I couldn't stop it fast enough." Dex closed his eyes slowly and tried to think about one of his happiest memories with the group, he thought back to the night at Gate City before they all left for Seattle, Dex had a big smile as he could almost smell the campfire and hear the guitar.

PAST:

Dex, Sarah, Mel, Will, Lamar, Jack sat around the big campfire after Sarah finished playing the song, everyone else was around them mingling. Sarah looked at Dex and then the others with a big smile and said, "so this is it, it's all of us going… Do you ever think we'll see these people again? I mean some of them are close, some from Wilmington…" Dex didn't know how to respond so Jack did for him, "we will, this isn't goodbye to them, it's a 'see ya later' we are just going to a new place, then we are going to make contact." Will stared into the fire and said, "why leave, we can have it all here, build for the future." Dex finally broke his silence and said, "I feel like us moving on is us trying to get away from it all, get away from the grief, we finally got Ryker, you all finally killed him, now they are gone and we are finally free to grieve for those we lost along the way, if anyone wants to go back at any point along the journey you are more than welcome to, we just need to find ourselves in this world, and to find our purpose, it isn't here, it's up to us to find that purpose."

Jack smiled and said, "couldn't have said it better." Lamar took a drink and said out loud, "to all we lost along the way and the hope for a better future." Mel smiled at the fire and repeated what Lamar said as she became more open to the others. Sarah looked at Dex and said, "when do you think you'll resume that journey for your parents?" Dex looked at her with a smile and said, "I never stopped that journey, I have just been searching with you all, eventually I'll find Mia, her group and my parents if they are out there but you all I know are alive and I don't wanna lode you all too, I'm just taking you all for the ride."

Sarah nodded and took a deep breath as she stared into the fire longer.

PRESENT:

Dex looked into the distance and let a tear fall slowly as he saw red smoke coming from the cruise ship, confused he climbed down fast and jogged away. Dex was ignoring the lonesome walker following because he knew he would lose it. Dex eventually made it to the ship where he grabbed his bag with his weapons and he proceeded onto the bridge and quickly made his way back on the ship. Dex looked at the man standing there with a flare, "what's happening?" the man looked at Dex and said, "this is a call for anyone around to return, also Riley wants to see you over in the captain's chambers, follow the signs." Dex was confused and said, "who is in charge here?" the man looked at him and said, "we elect new leaders every year, you just got done talking to her." Dex was happy to hear Riley finally got the leadership role he knew she had in her as he walked into the ship and entered the main area. Walls have been taken down in the middle so it's one big area, people mingled, lights went from wall to wall and trade posts were all over, he was amazed by all of this as he looked for the signs. Dex looked up to see the sign and followed it down the hall. Dex kept walking a bit until a girl walked up to him, it was Mandy, he knew it from the red machete on her side.

:"you the new one?" Dex nodded and said, "you must be Mandy?" she nodded and said, "I know you got that meeting to go to but when you're done come to the bridge and meet me and Alex, gotta tell you something nobody else can know, now go before people see us talking, be there right after." Dex nodded and before he could speak she was walking the other way, he continued down the hall for a bit, all he thought about is what she said. He was confused by it all as he made it, upon entering he saw Marcus in there as well as Carlos, and Lambert, "have a seat." Dex sat down quickly and looked at them all as Riley put a map on the table with blood and markings on it. Dex sat down slowly as Carlos stared at him, Dex tried not to pay too much attention to him. Lambert looked at them all and said, "this is it people, we're finally going to strike, but we obviously need a plan first and that's what this meeting is here."

Riley looked at them all as she pointed at a spot on the map with the word "factory" on it. Riley looked at them slowly and said, "they are in the factory just south of here, on the outskirts of the city, they don't have much in terms of defenses, and that's the point, I don't think we should just run in blind though, we need someone on the inside, someone who can gather intel, someone they don't know yet." She looked at Dex and Carlos saw this and got mad, "the hell!? They don't know me and I know what I'm doing, he's just some drifter you barely knew years ago." Riley looked at Carlos and said, "he goes end of discussion." Carlos was mad as he turned to leave the room, he glanced at Dex and said something under his breath as he walked by, Riley apologized and said, "meet Lambert by the gate when you're ready, he'll brief you and set you on your way, don't take too long though, we're counting on you." Dex nodded and walked out, as he walked down the hall Carlos stopped him.

"I don't know what you're up to and I don't care, you do one dumb thing and I'll drop your ass fast." Dex was about to clap back before Alex stepped in, "Carlos! Piss off, you'll get your fun later, I need to talk to him." Carlos warned Dex one last time before storming away, "sorry about his ass, he gets shit done, and can be nice once you get past the asshole exterior." Dex looked at Alex and said, "past the exterior?" Alex looked at him and said, "it was a one time thing and if you mention it again I'll feed you to the freaks now lets go, Mandy is waiting on us." Dex followed Alex through the ship and up the stairs where they finally made it outside.

Dex saw Mandy and waved at her as he approached her slowly and looked at her, "I was gonna ask what they're planning but I was listening in, it's not safe to talk here, I know there are some people now on alert because this is a big deal here, we're coming with you. I'll talk to Lambert." Dex looked at her and nodded as the three walked over to the bridge, Carlos was watching and listening from behind a wall, he looked at them and said quietly, "the hell are you all up to." He got his stuff and was ready to trail behind them. The three eventually made it to Lambert who was confused, "Alex, Mandy?" Mandy looked at him and said, "we're coming with him, we know the area and they don't know us, plus I think I have an idea." Lambert nodded and hesitated to open the gate, "don't die or do antything stupid, I'm only allowing this because I owe you after last month." Mandy nodded and said, "you're a good man 'Officer Lambert'" he hated how she called him that but ignored it as he closed the gate behind them, Carlos climbed down the side of the ship and took a secret way to the shore, upon reaching it he dusted himself off and watched the trio walk away slowly, "we'll see who is more trustworthy here."

The trio walked down the street, Alex looked around and said quietly, "Carlos was listening in on our convo back there and I wouldn't be surprised if he is following so be on alert for him." Mandy looked around and said, "he'll follow us there and they will capture him, we can use him as leverage." Alex turned to Dex and said, "okay so to put it short, Riley has good intentions, she's a great person but Carlos and several other people have been making it seem like the Outcasts are all bad… Sure some are but those kidnappings… Most were them, it's… It's easier if we show you." Dex looked at them and said, "okay?" he followed them for a little while until they made it to an old store down the road, it was sealed off pretty well. Alex began plying the wood off slowly, it was loud but they were quick, Mandy was on lookout, eventually there was a hole big enough for them to go through.

Once they all got through they looked around, "place looks like every other place." Mandy looked at Dex and signaled him to follow, they walked for a while until they made it to a gated off part of the store where they quickly got through. Once through it was pitch black, Dex saw Alex hit her flash light a couple times and the first this he saw was blood covering walls and floors, bloody chairs and bed and tools with zombified corpses hanging. "What the hell!" Mandy looked at him and said calmly, "this is their torture slaughter house, we didn't learn of it until recently when someone who made it out told us on a run, they do crazy shit here." Dex looked around for his parents and was relieved to not see them, "why didn't you tell Riley?" Alex signaled for them to leave as she said, "because they would kill her, we don't know how many of them are in our ranks and we don't wanna risk getting any more killed." Dex saw someone's shadow just outside the door, he turned to them and whispered to them to grab a walker corpse, they didn't ask questions, they just did it. They grabbed one of the bodies from the room and held it to the hole in the door, Dex slowly put it's head out and before they knew it a foot kicked it in the head hard, Dex grabbed Carlos' foot and knocked him over.

The trio got out fast and held their weapons to him, "you'll never make it back, if I die they'll kill Riley and everyone who isn't supporting our cause." Mandy held her machete to his throat and said calmly, "we aren't gonna kill you, just use you as leverage you rapist piece of shit." Alex knocked him out as Dex picked him up and with the help of Alex they carried him down the street. They walked for several minutes before reaching the old factory, a man stood at the top of the watch tower with a rifle and full biker armor, "who are you and what are you doing?!?" Alex looked at him and said, "you know us asswipe now get Tom out here now!" The man looked at Dex and stared at him, "who is this?" Mandy yelled back, "Dex, the asshole who is out right now is Carlos, he's a prisoner." The gate opened almost right after as Mark, Dex's father walked out slowly. Dex dropped Carlos instantly and looked at him, Dex was shocked as he walked up to Mark, "I've been searching forever… I had hello from this guy Knox, claimed to have known us all, we met him in Seattle." Mark looked at him and sighed, "it's good to see you Aiden." Dex looked around and said in a concerned way, "where's mom?" Mark looked at him and dodged the question, "let's get inside before anyone sees us, we know they know about us and are coming, we don't need to be in the open." Dex noticed how he dodged the question as he followed them inside, they entered the factory to see people sitting around working, the place was a mess, they were barely hanging in there.

Dex looked at everyone and then at Mark and said, "everything alright?" Mark sighed and said, "I guess there isn't any more dodging the question." Dex looked at him as they continued to walk around, Alex looked at them and said, "we'll deal with rapey over here, you all go on." Mark paused for a bit as his eyes teared up, "your mother about 4 years ago was pregnant with your sister when things got bad, she uhm… well she got sick, she didn't have much longer, I didn't wanna believe it, I don't think Knox told you everything when he saw you, probably because it hurt him just as much and he didn't want to let that stop you on your journey… But he helped with the delivery, and your mother she… she looked at me and said, 'he is out there, I know it, don't lose her like we did Aiden, protect her, make us whole again, find him.' She begged me to go out and search for you and I did but um." Dex was tearing up a lot as they entered the main room where many of the people not working were at.

Mark stopped and so did Dex, "I searched for almost a year, all over, from Seattle to Nebraska, I eventually couldn't… It killed me to give up and to not go through with her wish, the only thing that kept me from giving up was her… She was in pain, she was grieving when she died, and I don't know… It seems like those emotions carried over and now… Now I've found you…" Dex let a tear fall and said, "did she make it? The baby." Mark nodded, "Kate's right over there." Dex turned his head slowly and saw her standing there playing with friends, Mark looked at him and said, "wanna meet her?" Dex slowly walked up as Mark called to her, she turned to see Dex and she stared for a bit, "you kinda look like mommy from those pictures." Dex chuckled a small bit and kneeled, "it's me…" before he could finish she looked at him and said, "Aiden… I saw the pictures… I knew you were alive." Dex smiled and hugged her, as he stood up he was overwhelmed with emotion, he had finally achieved his goal, Dex was happy to finally have all of this done, he wanted to just take them and go but he saw the struggle going on there and he knew he had to stay and help until the conflict was resolved. Mark stood there and stared at him, he felt as if he could finally give up, he was sick and dying but didn't know how to say it, he noticed hair falling off of his head as he looked at the two one last time before walking away slowly.

END