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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE, chaos resumed.
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Nicole could hear her heartbeat banging in her ears, almost in tandem with the constant sound of gunshots bursting from Cell Block D. None of them wasted any time running out into the courtyard for a clear shot to D.
Nicole’s shaky breaths froze for a second when she saw Cheyanne beside Carol, Lizzy, and Mika. Arabella and Cheyanne were permanently attached to the hip - something was wrong. Ignoring Rick’s cries, Nicole darted over to her daughter, placing her hands quickly on her shoulders. “Chey, where’s Bella?”
Cheyanne’s eyes widened. “She’s still in D.” Nicole glanced over to the other two shaken girls, and everything just clicked in her mind. Before anyone could react, Nicole started running toward the Cell Block door. Voices were calling out to her as if she would actually listen. Nicole’s motherly instincts were in overdrive - she had to find Arabella. Nicole tore open the doors that lead into D-Block without any hesitation. She sprinted down the dark hallway and into D; she saw the array of chaos that consumed it. Screams, gunshots, and the snarls of the detested monsters were all that she could hear as she ripped away a man’s shotgun. He was wasting ammo trying to hit the walker in front of him. She quickly cocked it and landed buckshot right between the monster’s eyes.
Rick’s voice called out from behind her, and she tossed the shot to her friend as Nolan and Nadia ran into the room, guns blazing. Nicole overlooked the fact that both of their clothes were in disarray on their bodies. The blonde woman continued into the cell block, slamming her bat and knife into whatever walker she could find. She kept trying to usher people out of there while trying to find the little girl she’d swore to herself she’d protect.
Like God was listening, Arabella screamed loud enough to alert Nicole of her presence. Nicole dropped her bat as she frantically sprinted over to the young girl, who was crawling backward on the floor. Nicole could see her little knife embedded in the monster's chest - she tried to get it away from her. The older woman slammed her blade into the walker’s temple, kicking the side of its knees, so it fell off her knife. Nicole scrambled to grab Arabella, harshly holding her hand as she pushed Arabella toward Karen, who was trying to gather the kids in a cell to protect them. With Arabella safe, Nicole could focus on saving the other people.
She ran forward, stabbing a monster in the top of its head while it sunk its teeth into a man's arm. “Nadia!” Nicole cried out as Nadia rounded the corner. She nodded quickly before ushering the man into a cell to amputate his arm. Nicole could see Nolan as he stabbed a walker in the head, moving herself closer to her brother with her knife held high.
