"You're elegance in a misunderstood form. Crystal quartz in a world of platinum. Oh, my dizzy boy, there's a fire in you that I use to warm my hands on chilly mornings." 

- Taylor Rhodes

"HERSHEL!" 

Glenn's desperate cry for help echoed throughout the whole cell block. His shoulder bobbing up and down as he performed CPR on Aliya's immobile body. "Come on!" he grunted, desperately encouraging Aliya to show any signs of life. Breathe, Aliya. He pumped for a whole minute, his heartbeat beating faster with each pump. 

Aliya was on her knees in an unfamiliar yet seemingly familiar surrounding. Camellia petals danced in the wind as the smell of smoke infiltrated her nose. She blinked rapidly as blurry shadows started appearing from the bushes. Her hands shot up to shield her eyes as grey lights brightened, pointing at her. 

"Welcome home." 

She could feel her breath get knocked out of her chest as Cecil's face appeared in front of her, a gentle smile on her face. Tears wet her cheeks as her throat constricted. Cecil looked....alive. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes bright. A longing sob escaped Aliya's mouth, "Mama..." she hoarsely whispered, longing for her own mother became more apparent. 

Her hand reached out for Cecil only to be blinded by another bright light. This time, she was back home. She looked around her old room, her bookcase was still full of worlds, full of adventures that she would pay to experience once more. A knock on the door made her stop in her tracks, her hand shakily reaching for the knob. 

"Mama!" 

Aliya cried out for her mom. I miss you. Her mom gave her a gentle and comforting smile as she opened her arms out for her. "Aliya ko." her mom endearingly called for her. She threw herself onto her mom, almost squeezing the life out of her. Her mom chuckled, "I missed you too, Aliya." Aliya closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of her mom. 

But then her mom's embrace started to become painful. She paused, her forehead creasing, "Mama? You're hurting me." she whispered lowly, trying to back away. Her mom continued to squeeze her painfully until black spots danced around her eyes. 

She woke up with a startle, her hand shooting up to her chest. A figure immediately ran towards her and put their arm around her to help her calm down, "Breathe, Aliya." he soothed, his hand running up and down her back. Her heart dropped and her eyes widened. She looked to her side and saw Arden's face. 

"Arden?" her voice cracked in pain as she reached out to touch his face. She could feel his warm cheeks. Arden leaned towards her palm and closed his eyes, a smile making its way into his lips. Aliya gasped in disbelief, "You're really here." she breathed out, tears streaming down her face. 

Arden messed her hair and chuckled. Her eyes wandered towards her surrounding and realised that she was back in the cabin. Her lips shook as she realised what was going on. She closed her eyes tightly. "This isn't real, isn't it?" she rasped. It took her a while to realise what was going on but now that she does, she felt hopeless. 

A knowing smile was on Arden's lips, "You've always been smart." he teased, chuckling. This made her chuckle lightly, glad that even in her imagination, Arden still had his attitude. This might be the only time she could tell Arden everything she wanted to tell him even if he would probably say whatever she wants him to, because he is a figment of her imagination. 

She sharply tilted her head to the side as a sharp ringing sounded in her ear. Arden looked at her worriedly but she dismissed him, knowing that there wasn't enough time. She held his arms, "I'm so sorry, Arden. I miss you so damn much." she cried. She has been seeing their ghosts everywhere, wherever she looked, they were there. But it felt good to finally be able to speak with them. 

Arden only listened to her, his face emotionless. Aliya was bothered by that but she chose to ignore it, wanting to pour her heart out to try to heal herself. "I love you so fuckin' much." 

She has been suffering the deaths of her family and friends, the destruction of Camellia. Glenn was wrong when he said she hasn't been mourning. Every night as she laid on her back, trying to chase sleep but never succeeding, she has been mourning. Every time she closes her eyes tightly whenever she's alone because the ghosts of her friends have been taunting her to join them, she has been suffering. 

She has been losing sleep, been losing herself to grief. She hasn't been living at all. 

Suddenly, Arden laughed. It wasn't a light chuckle but a maniacal and sarcastic laugh. He leered at her, "No you don't." he shook his head. Aliya blinked, taken a back by the change of Arden's presence and the atmosphere. Gone was the gentle and comforting smile on Arden's face. He looked hateful. 

"You don't love me." 

Arden stood up abruptly. "At least not anymore." he condemned. Arden threw a look of disgust her way, pure malice in his eyes. Aliya felt small. Like she was somehow guilty of existing. Her heart ached at the sight of Arden's pure hatred towards her. She shook her head weakly, struggling to speak up for herself. 

She shook her head adamantly, "That's not true." she bawled out but Arden only lunged at her. He wrapped his hands around her neck as he pushed her head back, his eyes glaring straight into hers. "Prove it." he challenged, his mouth dangerously close to hers. You have to prove it. 

Aliya felt lost, "How?" she pleaded. 

His emotion switched really fast, "Let go." he sneered as he gently let go of her neck, watching and anticipating what she was gonna do next. Let go? He wants her to let go of what? Of life? She wasn't ready to die yet, she hasn't lived at all. This wasn't Aliya's time. 

She found herself shaking her head in disagreement but this only angered him more. His face morphed into that of an unrecognisable rage. Fear slithered its way into her heart as she crawled away from him. Arden marched towards her as she looked around for anything to defend herself with. He was only an arm's reach away when darkness engulfed her once more. 

"Aliya!" 

She shot up with a sharp gasp of air, almost hitting Glenn's face. Her eyes were wide as she watched Glenn try to catch his. What just happened? Glenn looked at her with tears in his eyes and exhaustion on his face. A sob escaped her lips as she reached out for him. Glenn slowly pushed himself up and hugged Aliya tightly. 

He sniffled, "I thought you were gone, Aliya." he croaked out as he closed his eyes, absorbing her energy. I thought so too. She closed her eyes tightly and embraced him tight, "Thank you." she whispered spent. Words would never be enough to thank Glenn for saving her life. For doing everything he could so she could take another breath while he was struggling himself. 

Glenn allowed Aliya to embrace him for a while until she gradually fell asleep in exhaustion. He gently laid her back down on her back while he dragged himself towards the stairs. 

==+==

Daryl squinted his eyes as the harsh and unforgiving sun shined down on them. Walking with Michonne, a shiny rock caught Daryl's eyes. He immediately crouched down to fetch it, cleaning it with his fingers and saliva. She noticed this and looked at the rock, "Jasper?" she pointed at the rock. Daryl nodded and licked his finger, "Mhmm." he grunted, nodding. 

He would use it for Miss Richard's old man's maker, it'll come in handy. He picked up a clear quartz of some sort and inspected it. Michonne looked at it too, "What's that for?" she questioned expectedly. She would like this. Daryl smiled at her, "Aliya's been looking for these things every run." he chuckled. Whenever there's a swamp or any natural body of water in the forest, Aliya would be crouched down and inspecting every rock she sees. She would love this quartz. 

Michonne's smile grew into a wide grin. It was adorable how much he thinks of her. She jabbed him gently with her elbow, "Just seeing you is enough for her, ya know?" she teased, knowing that it was gonna result in some defensive reaction. But she was shocked when he only chuckled and looked away. Not even arguing or grunting in response. 

All he could think of is how her eyes will light up when she sees the rocks he got for her. She can be real happy like that. She should be happy like that. 

----

Glenn was sat up on the spandrel of the stairs when Hershel appeared, a bottle of water in his hands. He arched his neck upwards to drink and thanked Hershel for the help. Hershel sighed and watched his son-in-law pant. Glenn blinked rapidly, still in disbelief of what had just happened. 

"She just...stopped breathing." he rasped out, his eyes landing on Aliya's cell downstairs. Hershel followed his gaze and released an exhausted breath. "She's stable." he gave him a comforting fatherly smile. "For now." he added, tapping him on his shoulder. As long as she take her much needed sleep, and stayed hydrated, she's well on her way to the road of recovery. 

But that's just the best case scenario. 

There is no guarantee that any of them could survive this disease. It will be exceptionally hard for Aliya to, seeing as she hasn't been sleeping at all. Her immune system has gradually weakened and they could only hope she wouldn't let the disease overcome her. 

----

A plethora of disappointment engulfed Daryl as he looked at the bottle of whiskey in Bob's bag. And here he thought he have changed. He was still as selfish as he was before. "No meds? Just this? You should've kept walking that day." he sneered, anger and frustration in his voice. He inched and lifted his arm to throw when Bob protested, his hand shooting for the gun in his holster. 

Daryl's eyes darkened as he marched towards Bob, pressing his forehead into his, challenging him. He was enraged. He could've taken more medicine for all of the people back home and all he took was a damn bottle of alcohol. He snatched his gun from his holster, pushing him using his head. Just like how an angry bull would. 

All he could think of as Aliya waiting back at the prison, waiting expectedly for them to come back and help them. 

He only calmed down when Tyreese and Michonne repeatedly asked for him to let it go. To let Bob go. He took a deep breath before tightening his hold on Bob's crumpled shirt. "I will beat your ass to the ground. You hear me?" he snarled lowly. He pushed him away with a grunt, leaving hot trails of his anger behind. 

While awaiting their next step, Daryl sat in the car with his feet up on the dashboard. He was listening in on Michonne and Tyreese's conversation. They were gonna take the highway which would take them seven hours to get there. He was still reeling from what happened with Bob earlier so here he was, inspecting the clear quartz that he was gonna give Aliya. 

It wasn't only him who seemed to have arrived at a calm state as Michonne has confessed that the trail has gone cold. That she don't need to go out anymore. 

Guess the quartz was working. 

----

"I hereby declare we have Spaghetti Tuesdays every Wednesday." 

Aliya's brow shot up as she let out a light but tired chuckle. "You really are a dad, Hershel." she smiled before coughing into her elbow, groaning at the strain pain it gave. Glenn and Sasha only stared at Henry and gave no reaction to Hershel's joke whatsoever. Glenn watched Aliya's face for a while, worried that she might faint at any given moment. 

Her smile seemed painful as her lips trembled tremendously. Her eyes were cloudy and out of focus. Every breath she took was like a scratchy wheeze. But the woman beside her was slowly catching up to her in the leaderboard. Sasha looked the way she felt. In the brink of death. Glenn and Hershel left the two to their own devices while they took care of other businesses. 

Sasha meekly lifted up her head to look at Aliya who was sluggishly checking Henry's pulse. Sasha nodded at her, "How are you feeling?" she asked before falling into a fit of coughs. Aliya immediately crawled towards her and patted her back. Sasha held onto her as her body rocked due to the intensity of her coughs. Aliya immediately took over and squeezed the big valve mask. 

"Hanging on." she replied to her question gently. Her voice was almost gone as well. Seeing the state of Sasha, Aliya hugged her sideways, "You should too." she encouraged before shaking off an incoming dizzy spell. 

Can she-they all hang on until help comes? 

----

Aliya was checking in on another patient when she heard Glenn's muffled voice. She wiped away the stray hair off of Mrs. Dunn's face and gave her a warm smile, "I'll check up on you in a bit." she pushed herself up when black spots started dancing in her eyes again, blinding her. She felt her head start to fall backwards when a pair of hands helped her up. "Lie down, dear." She heard Mrs. Dunn's voice. 

She sat down, wide-eyes yet completely blind. She allowed herself a few minutes before flagging down Lizzy. "Check on Glenn, please." she requested as blots of cold sweat started dripping down her face. Lizzy's eyes went wide with worry before nodding and doing what she was told to do. 

"Hershel!" 

The panic in Lizzy's voice alarmed Aliya. She pushed herself up but her limbs gave up on her. A spluttering noise made her stop in her tracks and look at Mrs. Dunn. She was turning. Aliya immediately crawled out of the cell, shutting it close behind her. But what she saw made her want to crawl back in and lock the doors. 

They really were in the death row cell block. She looked around for some weapon or something she could hold onto when a gunshot made her stop in her tracks. A head of blonde suddenly fell in front of her. She locked eyes with Hershel who was on the ground as well. They both nodded at each other before a scream for help tore their gazes away from each other. Hershel immediately ran up the stairs and overthrew Henry's corpse over the railings. 

She wiped her mouth and winced as she saw angry red blood smeared on her palms. She jumped when Mrs. Dunn's corpse lunged at her from the cell, its stubby arms reaching out for her instinctively. Aliya couldn't just sit there so she crawled all the way to the gun she has spotted and laid it on the walkers surrounding them. 

Aliya was too focused on shooting the walkers that she hadn't realised that Maggie has made her way in. Maggie hadn't seen her either and walked straight towards Hershel and Glenn. When she was sure that she has gunned the last walker down, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she collapsed to the floor. She could only be thankful that she wasn't having any difficulty in breathing anymore. 

Two rough hands encircled her waist and pulled her up gently. "Hey." She opened her eyes weakly and looked up at Daryl. He had on a worried frown as he observed her face. She sighed in relief as she stared at him intently, trying to see if he was really here or just a cruel hallucination. "Are you real?" she lifted a shaky hand and reached out to his face. He hummed as he leaned on her hand, letting her touch him. 

Once his warm skin touched hers, she broke down in tears. He gently wiped away the tears from her cheeks before pulling her against his chest once more. "You're really here." she breathed out, her whole body finally being able to relax against his hold. She was sure that she was gonna die before they came back. Well, she got really close if it wasn't for Glenn. 

Speaking of Glenn, "Glenn save my life." she murmured against his chest. She felt the vibration of his voice in his chest before she heard him, "He did?" he brushed a stray hair from her face. Daryl looked up as a set of footsteps neared them and stiffened when he saw Bob. His frown soon turned to a grim line when he saw the medicine in his hands. He sighed before nodding at him, moving Aliya so that Bob could give her the medicine she desperately needed. 

Aliya woke up some time later with Daryl gently wiping the blood from her face. Her eyes fluttered at the dim light before reaching out to touch Daryl's hand. He paused before looking at her face, "How're you feelin'?" he asked as he dunked the cloth in warm clean water. She watched him squeeze out the excess water from the cloth before responding, "Better." she smiled. 

He smiled back, nodding. He was glad to see her get back her colour. She was so pale and full of dried blood that she would've been mistaken as a walker in the dark. "How's Glenn?" she asked, curious as to how Glenn was doing. He sounded bad earlier, his screams muffled by his own blood. Daryl nodded, "He's okay now, Maggie's with 'im." he responded, wiping her fingers down. 

Her heart warmed as she watched him delicately clean her fingers. She held onto his hand once more, craving his touch. "How are you?" she coaxed gently. Daryl looked at her through his lashes, "Better." he replied, echoing, before closing her fist. She curiously looked at him before looking at her hand. Her eyes widened as she opened her palm, "It's beautiful!" she gushed, shocked that he remembered. 

A tiny clear quartz.