Episode 1: Solvency
[INTRO SCENE- the two Wolves are seen fighting off a group of walkers nearby their makeshift camp]
"Derek, on your left," One of the two mysterious men with a W carved into their forehead called out to the member of his group as a walker approached from behind. With one swift backwards motion, the grungy, long-haired man dug his carving knife into the walker's neck, tackling it to the ground. The decaying shell of a reanimated corpse lifting it's hands up with hopes of landed one bite into Derek's warm flesh. Before giving the creature the satisfaction, the infamous Wolf plunged the knife down through the side of the walker's head, killing it. This was to preserve the skin on it's forehead in order to carve their signature, the W. As the second Wolf killed the last of the small herd that had threatened them on their way back to camp, Derek began marking the walkers.
"That was a close one," Derek's counterpart spoke, wiping his blade clean of old, brown walker blood.
"We head out in the morning," Derek immediately switched the subject, "Once we get a lead on exactly where this place is...We won't ever have any close calls again." Derek pulled out the photos again, studying every angle of them.
[Back in Alexandria, starting off where the finale ended]
The shot rang through all of Alexandria. Without much time to think of what had just happened, Rick's attention was switched to that of a familiar voice calling his name. Nothing could've prepared him for who was in front of him, beside Daryl and Aaron. It was Morgan. His first ever ally during the apocalypse, alive in the flesh after another run in long ago.
"Morgan...You're alive." Rick stated the obvious. He could tell the disapproving look upon his face. The timing couldn't have been worse. Just a few feet away lay a dead Pete Anderson, shot in the head by Rick himself. And in the other direction was Deanna, still clutching her tragically killed husband Reg.
"Morgan, this isn't what it looks like." Rick tried to assure him of the facade to the catastrophic scene he'd just entered. Even so, it was hard to argue with the disturbed faces of the Alexandrian's, who'd just witnessed a horrific event nonetheless.
Abraham had let go of Pete, now slumped against the ground in a permanently stiff state as the blood drained from his ruptured skull, and rejoined his group. Carol had moved over to Jessie to offer comfort to the now officially widowed, abused wife.
Jessie had gone completely blank in horror of the psychotic events that had just quickly erupted. She knew Pete had a violent streak, but murder...That just seemed so far off. She was staring straight ahead, unable to move her head towards what she knew would be her dead husband. Carol grabbed her by the shoulders as her knees began to go weak, and lowered her down to her chair. Immediately, Jessie reached her hands up and clutched her temples underneath her loose, blond hair. Her face scrunched up as confused tears broke to the surface. She couldn't help but feel an incredible guilt looking down at poor Deanna mourning her dead husband, killed at the hand of her own spouse.
"Morgan, he was a bad man….He killed our leader's husband. I had to do it. He was abusing his family." Rick gave the reason for his actions to his bewildered friends.
"What the hell happened around here?" Daryl asked the somewhat rhetorical question.
"Things are gonna change around here now. This was the final straw." Rick offered a simplistic answer.
"I think we got bigger problems than what's happening inside. Rick, we got something we needa talk about." Daryl informed, ready to discuss the discovery of an outer threat.
Just at that moment Rick saw Carol and Jessie stand up from their seats from the corner of his eye. He watched with his peripherals as Carol lead Jessie, shaken terribly. Right as they were about to pass Pete's body, Jessie looked down at him for a moment, and then shook her head and forced back tears, forcing herself to look away. And with that, they'd disappeared from the meeting.
Rick forced his attention back to Daryl, Morgan and Aaron. People had begun to funnel out of the meeting, from unease and emotional draining. Many of the Alexandrian's who had heard the noise now littered the streets, but did not enter the circle. One who did was Deanna's last living family member Spencer. He joined in in mourning his father's death. He wrapped his arms around his mother and his father, both now drenched in the spilled blood.
"What's going on, Daryl? What did you find out there?" Rick began his question.
"They call themselves the Wolves," Morgan cut in, blank faced and serious toned. "I regret it now, but I had a run in with two of them. W's carved on their heads and all. I won the fight, but I let the both of them live...Rick, I had no idea how insane these kids were. They had trucks filled with walkers. A booby trap of sorts. I saved your friends from it. These people, however large or powerful their group may be, they're sick people."
Rick sighed and stared at the ground, kicking up some dirt. Michonne and Abraham now joined in the circle. "And just when I thought things were looking up," Rick motioned to the whole group.
"These people are dangerous, but It ain't anything we can't handle." Daryl threw in his belief. "We've taken down much worse, with less than what we had."
"Are we sure these people even know where we are?" Rick wondered.
"They don't yet...But they're not going to stop until they do." Aaron answered. "We've found walkers littered outside of the walls with W's carved in their skulls, horrific tortured bodies. These Wolf characters, whoever they are, they're ferral. Animals. Sociopaths."
"Turn in for the night. There's nothing for us to do right now. Settle things in your own lives for tonight, and in the morning we regroup. We've got alot of problems that need solving right now." Rick responded.
"We came all this way...Just to fight another war," Michonne sighed sadly. "Shoulda known it'd be too good to be true."
"We don't know the extent of this yet. Get some rest people. Tomorrow is gonna be another long, hard day. Morgan, it's good to see you...alive, and better. We'll get you set up in a room for the night." Rick offered.
[Flash to Carol and Jessie, walking towards Jessie's house]
Carol stayed silent, she knew from her own experience that there wasn't anything she could say to Jessie at this moment. She simply led her through the dark street, placing a hand on her back to keep her upright. Jessie had folded her arms toward her chest and continued to stare at the ground with a scrunched up look of confliction.
Carol was then caught off guard from her thoughts by Carl's voice calling out to her from in front of their home. He was holding Judith, his silhouette nearly blending in with the darkness around them.
"Carol, what's happened?" Carl ran up to the two.
Carol was cautious, not wanting to say anything before Rick was back, but much to her surprise, Jessie was the one to speak up first.
"Rick killed Pete," She choked out.
"What?" Carl exclaimed with alarm.
"Pete...He killed Reg." Jessie then clarified, losing strength with each word. Suddenly her knees wobbled and she nearly toppled over, clutching Carol for support.
"Maybe we should bring her inside, I don't think she can walk much further." Carol suggested. Carl nodded his head in agreeance, still confused as to what occurred at the meeting.
Carol sat Jessie down on the couch of Rick and Carl's home. She looked zombified from distress. "Jessie, your boys...Are they alright at home alone?" Carol inquired, just to get Jessie to say something.
"Ye..Yeah. I sent Ron and Sam to stay the night at Ron's friend's house...I didn't want them to stay home alone while I was at the 're further down the block and probably didn't even hear the shot." Jessie answered motionlessly, her eyes wandering off into space.
Carl sat down next to Jessie on the couch, letting Judith rest on his knee. He looked past her at Carol and asked, "Carol, do you think you can go out and look for my dad?"
Carol got the message and exited to give Carl a minute alone with Jessie. Once Carl was gone and a moment of silence past Carl shifted Judith up and said, "You know...I can't seem to get Judith down. She never wants to sleep around me cause she likes to play, maybe you'd have better luck with it?"
Jessie turned her head and gave a puzzled look at Rick's son. She gazed down at Judith, happily sucking on her hand and then nodded her head wearily agreeing to take the baby. Carl handed Judith off carefully placing his sister in the grieving woman's arms. Jessie rocked Judith for a moment and then let her nestle into the crook of her arms. Carl ran his hand over Judith's head, smiling at the sight.
"You know you remind me of her…" Carl ambiguously spoke. Jessie looked up at him again in confusion as to what he meant.
"Judith I mean. She was named after my old teacher. You remind me of her. She was the nicest woman I ever knew, but she always seemed so sad about something. "
Jessie only offered a slight smirk of recognition to what Carl had looked a little closer at the light bruising on her cheekbone from where Pete had backhanded her.
"Judith never got to meet her mom. Our mom. The reason why my mom died was because my dad didn't take the opportunity to kill someone who posed a threat to our group; he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to this man. In the end, he set off all these alarms at our camp and it attracted a big herd of walkers. Our place was overrun, and Maggie and I tried to lead my mom out to safety but...She started to have really bad contractions. The stress had sent her into labor and we had to deliver Judith right there while we had time. My mom wanted her to live, because she knew she wasn't going to make it out alive. Maggie had to cut Judith out, and I watched my mom bleed out. I had to put her down afterwards. I couldn't let her turn….So I shot her in the head." Carl ended his story, and both he and Jessie connected eyes at the same moment. Carl could see the sympathy in Jessie's eyes, and he accepted that as words.
Carol watched Rick saunter towards the front porch through the dark. His face was still covered in bandages and a coating of walker blood. He was alone after all of the night's commotion.
"You got your friend back," Carol opened with a lighter subject.
"Morgan's a good ally. I'm glad he came when he did, we can use him in all of this." Rick kept his feelings out of the matter and stated the facts.
"What's tomorrow got in store for us?" Carol kept him from entering the house right away.
"I'd better smooth things out with Deanna. Get the burials finished, Reg and Pete's bodies are in an empty house right now. Find out what we need about these…Wolves."
"Have they found Glenn?" Carol asked.
"Not yet. I'm heading back out in a minute, I just needed to see Carl for a minute and wipe off the blood." Rick pointed at his face while beginning to walk towards the door.
"Wait...Rick…" Carol stopped him again. "Jessie's in there."
Rick stood still and completely silent for a moment, wondering what this meant. "Is she alright?"
"She's shaken...Probably just from the chaotic manner of this all. She'll get over him real soon though. He isn't worth the time feeling sorry about. Especially after he killed Reg like that." Carol informed graciously, staring into Rick's eyes.
"What am I supposed to say to her? I just killed her husband, her sons' father."
"You don't have to say anything...She'll come to you when she's ready. She needs our help, Rick. She's one of the stronger people of this group but she needs training. She doesn't know how to kill or survive like we do. These people are too sheltered. It's going to be their demise in the end. And if we have a threat coming at us, we need to move quick or else everyone...Including her and those boys...Will die." Carol made her point very clear.
"That's not how its gonna be. I won't let it. I'll fight for this place for my kids and for our family. We need stability. Judith needs...Stability. Get ready Carol, we're going back to the way things were." Rick walked to his front door.
"We never left it, Rick. We never left." Carol said before walking off.
Rick slowly opened the door and stepped inside of the dimly lit house. Carl and Jessie were still seated on the couch. Judith was dozing off peacefully in Jessie's arms. Carl stood up at that very moment and rushed to his dad for a hug, under his breath he muttered, "This means we're staying." and then retreated up the stairs without further word.
Jessie still looked very feeble. Rick stood uncomfortably in front of the door, shifting back a forth a he finally worked up the courage to confront the woman whose husband he'd just taken out, "I know...I'm probably the last person you wanna see right now, but I just gotta tell you that I had to do it. I couldn't let him live after that. After any of it. I've put down people that I loved, people that I cared about….So putting him down, that wasn't something that I even had to blink twice about."
"So what happens now Rick?" Jessie nearly snapped out of her sad, catatonic state in an instant. Her speech was angry as she continued, 'What am I supposed to tell my boys? Huh? That daddy sliced open someone's neck and then the big bad Rick shot him in the face as justification? And now he's going to be around even more to keep you safe?"
Rick knelt down beside her and said very quietly, "You tell them the truth. Tell them how things happened, let them feel whatever they feel, but don't let them forget what he'd done."
"He's their father, Rick. Am I supposed to tell them he's a monster? He wouldn't have done something like that. He wasn't a killer….He wasn't," Jessie began to cry.
"It's how things are, Jessie. I never thought I was a killer either. The situation causes us to change. And you...You have to change too. It's the only way to survive nowadays. You can't just hide behind these walls, you've gotta know how to live inside and outside of this place." Rick gently tried to persuade her.
"Is it true...About your wife?" Jessie asked cautiously.
"I didn't protect her. I let her out of my sight and then she was gone...And we'd been in a fight during it all. It still haunts me that I never apologized before she died. The last moment we shared was anger...I won't let that happen again. I won't let you go out of my sight, Jessie. I promise. It doesn't matter if things get better or worse...I'll keep us safe."
Jessie looked down at the ground to process it all. Judith began to wrestle around in her arms. Jessie cooed her back to sleep, stroking her hand on the side of Judith's warm face.
"She likes you," Rick smiled at his daughter as she slipped back into a comfortable slumber. "You're a good mom, Jessie."
Jessie's voice cracked as she violently responded with, "Would a good mother keep her children in that situation? Sam spent nights sleeping inside of a locked closet and Ron would spend so many nights at his friend's houses that it started to feel like he was someone else's kid."
"You were scared. You let him hurt you to keep him away from your boys though. You did that for them. You kept them safe. You put your own life at stake for your children. You are a good mother. I'd certainly be thankful to have you raise Judith." Rick persistently let her know what he thought as he knelt beside her holding onto Judith's small, motionless hand.
Jessie quickly shifted, handing Judith over to him while cradling her sleeping head during the transfer and said, "I've gotta go find my boys before they hear from someone else. I've got to be there for them."
Rick let her go. He knew it was best to let her have her space. She needed to be with her sons at this time, and him being there would just confuse things. No matter how badly he wanted to make things alright for her, he had bigger things to focus on. Glenn was still not back, so Rick put Judith in her crib and let Carl know that he was heading back out. First he went into the bathroom to wash the mixture of blood, sweat, and dirt from his face before it infected his cuts. Rick stood in front of the mirror and turned on the faucet. Just before he went to splash the cool water onto his dingy face, his vision caught his reflection. He looked awful. He looked scary. He looked like someone that Jessie should stay far away from. He furiously scrubbed it away. He scrubbed the psychotic mess he'd become out. He wanted to return to normal. But there was no normal anymore. He was changed. The road had changed him. Terminus had changed him. And Alexandria had really changed him. He couldn't go back to friendly sheriff Rick. That was too far gone. He was a brutal survivor of a constant internal and external war. And there wasn't any room left for democratic and forgiving Rick.
After drying off his face, Rick headed back out into the deep darkness. He caught up with Michonne and Abraham on the street.
"We got your friend tucked in, Rick," Abraham informed of his success in getting Morgan into a home for the night.
"I thought for sure he'd never agree to it." Michonne stated. "He's unrecognizable compared to that wreck we found hauled up in a building."
Michonne was cleaning off her katana, which had been taken by Pete and now held the blood of Deanna's husband.
"Son of a bitch had to use my blade…" She spoke subconsciously.
"Glenn?" Rick asked immediately.
Michonne shook her head no, "Walked in on a prayer circle between Sasha, Maggie and Father Gabriel. Didn't wanna disturb it."
"Where could he have gone?" Rick talked to himself aloud.
The three walked back over to the church where Maggie and the others were said to be located. Rick entered first, interrupting their moment. Rick figured it was a good enough time to inform them of what occurred.
"Pete showed up at the meeting. He had Michonne's knife and he wanted to kill me….Reg got in the way to stop Pete and then Pete accidentally slit his throat pushing him back. Deanna gave me the word, and I put him down. Daryl and Aaron showed up right after and they had my old friend Morgan with them."
"Geez…" Sasha said in alarm.
"Right now our biggest concern in Glenn though. We're gonna find him Maggie. Its still us before them." Rick continued.
"Deanna and Jessie, are they alright?" Maggie asked with concern.
"Deanna's gonna be shaken by this, she's weaker now. First her son then Reg. She's lost her leadership, and it's time for us to swoop in and take Alexandria once and for all. Before anything else tears this place down." Rick informed of his stance. "Jessie...She'll be alright. It's just the shock factor thats got her right now and she's worried about her boys."
"Lets solve this right now," Michonne stepped in. "We can't let any more time pass. Glenn's out there somewhere. And with this news about the Wolves, we should be more and more worried."
Carol had wandered around for a while, unable to set herself on the path back to her own home. After the nights events, it just didn't feel right. She couldn't end the night like this. During her walk, she notice a faint light in the dark. On the porch of a random house, she could see a figure stretched out in a comfortable position while smoking a cigarette.
"Daryl, is that you?" Carol inquired walking up closer.
"I'm down to my last ones," Daryl responded, pulling the lit cigarette from his mouth to speak, "Times like these, I needa smoke."
"What happened out there?" Carol stepped up onto the porch, nearing Daryl.
"Almost died out there. I would've if Morgan hadn't shown up to rescue us. Those people out there, they ain't messing." Daryl answered, rathered detached while continuing to take drags from his cigarette.
"We've seen our share of psychos." Carol reassured.
"They're crazy alright. Tying up and mutilating people, carving W's in their heads. I don't know if these people are a threat, if they're even a match compared to us. But I'm saying that they got me worried." Daryl confessed his fear. "I'm going out again tomorrow. I'm gonna find the son a bitch. Find clues as to where they might be. I ain't gonna let them get near us."
"Daryl, you don't have to go back out there. And risk your life, for what?" Carol pleaded.
"I gotta do something. I gotta put a stop to this. Too many people have died already. No more." Daryl got up from his perch and moved to exit. He placed a hand on Carol's shoulder as he walked past and then flicked his cigarette butt in the other direction.
Amongst the conversation in the church, a noise was heard. It was coming from the front gate. Screaming and pounding. Maggie was the first to react. She was the best at recognizing Glenn's voice, being closest to him. She immediately ran out of the makeshift church, soon being followed by the others.
"Someone help me with the gate," Maggie cried out once arriving at the closed door.
"Glenn, are you alright?" Rick called out.
"I'm...Fine. A little banged up." Glenn left out the details.
Once the door was opened, Maggie all but jumped in his arms. Glenn winced from the pain in his shoulder and struggled to hold up Nicholas.
"Glenn, what's wrong?" Maggie pulled away and asked with concern while sizing him up the best she could in the dark for injuries.
"I got a gunshot wound to the shoulder," He confessed, handing off the quiet and feeble Nicholas to be carried by Abraham.
"Was it the Wolves?" Michonne asked.
"What were you guys doing out there anyways?" Rick rerouted the interrogation.
"No one was out there ok. It's complicated, but you've gotta trust me on this. I've settled things." Glenn tried to start off his explanation, but the group easily caught onto the truth.
"What the hell did you do punk?" Abraham grabbed Nicholas by the front of his shirt and shook him back and forth, demanding an answer. Nicholas began crying, unable to answer.
"Abraham, what's done is done. Don't hurt him, he only acted how he did because everyone here is clueless." Glenn fiercely stated from the embrace of his beloved girlfriend.
Sasha, Gabriel, and Michonne all stood quietly not wanting to be a part of the conversation. It was Rick who talked next.
"That isn't entirely true. They're gonna see very soon. After what happened tonight….Everyone's gonna get smart about this place or else they're gonna lose it."
"What'd I miss now?" Glenn sarcastically asked.
"I'll tell you on the way back. It's a long story." Rick placed a hand on the back of Glenn's shoulder as the group began to move.
Morning came very soon after the commotion that consumed most of the night. Most of the group had not had the proper rest to feel refreshed, but it was time to start another busy and harsh day. The day started off with most of the members of the group paying a visit to Tara after Rosita informed of her awakening. Rick had even sent Carl and Judith over to blow some time while he worked on fixing the issues he'd caused.
Rick exited his home and walked out into the sunny street of the closed off town. Immediately a few eyes of passersby locked onto him. He shook the glares off and looked over towards Jessie's home. It looked undisturbed. Either she and the boys were still tucked away inside in mourning or had gone out early. Maybe she hadn't even stayed in the home. She could've taken refuge at Ron's friends home for the short hours left in the night.
Rick couldn't let that be his priority right now though. His first mission was Deanna. However uncomfortable the situation would be, it had to be approached soon. On his way over, Rick's eyes caught Daryl. He was out in the open, geared up as if he were ready to go on a run. Rick called out to him and received a very suspicious look.
"Daryl, are you heading out? I can't risk you going back out there."
"Listen. I've gotta do something. I can find out where they're coming from. Right now they could know where we are, we're behind in the game. I wanna do this, Rick. For the baby. For Carl. For everyone here." Daryl opened up.
"You think they know where we're at?" Rick asked.
"Morgan saved us, but Aaron...He lost whatever files he had with him at the time. Information about this place. Those people could've found it by now." Daryl informed.
"You can't go out there alone, Daryl. I don't care what they have on us. You don't always have to be the one to risk your life." Rick reasoned with his brave friend.
"I lost Beth. And Merle. And Sophia...I ain't losing anymore. And I don't want you to lose anymore. Right now what we have is good. I didn't wanna see it. But it's good. And I'll get used to this place, especially since I'm out there all the time."
"Take Aaron again. And...Maybe you can convince Morgan to go with you." Rick responded to Daryl's candor.
"He just got here, you want him to be put in danger like that….Before you've even gotten the chance to talk to him?" Daryl asked with confusion as to Rick's offer.
"He isn't in danger out there. just like you aren't. You three stick together while you're out there and you'll be safest. Plus, another new member of the city around here...That might not sit too well. We'll keep his presence quiet until things are sorted out." Rick gave his opinion of the best option.
"Yeah, you're right." Daryl agreed before turning away, "Time to go hunting,"
Rick continued his path to Deanna's home. He knocked on the door and was soon after greeted by Spencer. He gave an angry look at Rick and then asked, "Is this the best time for this Rick?"
"No, but we don't have any other time." Rick informed of the added urgency of the matter.
"You know because of you, my dad and my brother are dead," He pointed his finger at Rick, pointing the blame at him as well.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I was just trying to protect Jessie...Protect my people." Rick offered an explanation.
Before Spencer could throw out anymore anger, Deanna's voice sounded off from the shadows of the dark home. She sounded feeble as she spoke, "Let him in Spencer. I want to talk to him."
Spencer hesitantly opened the door up wider to let Rick in, staring him down the entire time. Rick walked toward Deanna; she had retreated back into the living room and was now staring out the window. As Rick entered, she shut the blinds and turned to face him. Spencer had headed back upstairs to give the two privacy.
"I should've listened to you, shouldn't I?" She smirked, "That's what I get for trying to be democratic, right?"
"It's hard to accept, but democracy is dead. It's kill or be killed now, Deanna. I learned that the hard way. You weren't ready to hear it, but I hope that now you are." Rick stayed distant for a moment, folding his arms.
"No, I'm not ready to hear it Rick...And that's because, I'm done. I'm done trying to be a leader. I can't lead these people anymore. I'm the wrong choice and that's been made clear to me now." Deanna sat down at this point from weakness. Her arms shook and she sniffled back tears. "I've lost too much to continue on this path. I can't be strong for them anymore, and right now that's what we need. That's what you can offer."
"What are you sayin?" Rick asked, nearly certain of what her answer would be.
"I'm saying I give up. It's your turn. You can take over in my place. Alexandria needs you. We're fighting a battle that only you and your people can win. We have strong people here too, but we aren't survivors. We haven't been through as much as you. We're oblivious to the things that you are so cautious to. And that's what got my family killed. I've got to protect the only son I have left, Rick. You've got to keep us safe."
"Deanna, please don't think that I wanted any of that to happen. I didn't want it to come to this. Losing Reg, killing Pete in that way. I wanted it to end better than that. I lost my mind a little bit. I was so shielded by all of my anger and I just snapped. I shouldn't have confronted Pete in that way, but I couldn't control myself. I was still dealing with my wife, and everything that happened on our way here." Rick apologized for the events that he'd been a part of.
"You cared about her in the way I should've. I thought that Pete was necessary around here. He was our only hopes of saving anyone who happened to get hurt...But the fact is he was the one hurting people. I owed it to Jessie to save her from that. She and her family were here early on you know...She was strong, but each day after the walls went up….I could see her getting weaker and weaker, more broken down. And it didn't make sense to me...Until it all clicked. And one day...I walked into Pete's office and he was in there with her. He was stitching up this long gash in her arm. It was bleeding terribly and Jessie just looked petrified, completely slate white. I could see them get very tense at my presence. When I asked what happened...Pete spoke for her. He said that she'd been working on one of her sculptures and a loose piece of metal caught on her arm. I waited for him to leave and then sat down next to Jessie. She was trembling. As soon as he'd gone she started bawling. I asked her the real truth and she nervously said he'd pushed her into her art piece and that's how the metal cut her. He'd been violent with her for a while since the walls had been finished. She was so scared...She begged me to keep her and the boys safe. I promised I'd figure something out...But that night Tobin had been out with the construction crew and a rod had fallen on his leg, broken it completely. He would've needed amputation if Pete hadn't been here with the knowledge to fix it. That was when I realized we needed him. And that I couldn't exile him. I hated myself for making the decision. Jessie came up to me the next day with optimism in her eyes, and I just walked away. I watched her pull away completely after that, she soon started to rebuild her face because she had no other choice. She hid it better. All of this happened because I failed her, not because you did Rick." Deanna bravely stated her entire story.
"You made a choice. I respect you for that. You hadn't had any experience with this. Don't dwindle on it. Especially now that it's all over." Rick tried to cheer her up. On the inside he wanted to say that now he knew why Jessie didn't trust him so easily, why she was weary about accepting help. She'd been failed once before after coming clean about the abuse. Deanna didn't speak up, she just looked down at the ground with a sad expression.
"We'll have a funeral ceremony in a few days for Reg and Pete. Give this some time to settle." Was all Rick said.
"You're going to have a ceremony for him?" Deanna asked with disgust referring to Pete.
"He was still a person. He still has people who need closure. It's what we have to do." Rick told her.
"Well it's not really my choice anymore anyways," Deanna reminded herself, "I'm just another citizen here."
"You don't have to be. You can still have say in this. You and Reg built this place, you deserve to be a bigger part of it. And you will be, I'll make sure to include you in everything." Rick pledged his allegiance to her rule.
"Thank you, Rick. I have a lot to think about."
"I'll leave now. I'll take care of all of this." Rick informed, letting himself.
[Maggie and Glenn are in Pete's office after Glenn's wound was fixed by Carol]
"You're lucky it was just the shoulder. I don't think I could've helped you if it had been more fatal." Carol informed, "Are you sure you wanna let that kid stick around?"
Maggie clung onto Glenn and agreed with Carol, "He's dangerous,"
"He's weak. He's learned his lesson now. He knows any of us would kill him in an instant if he tried something else. He was just scared."
"I could've lost you," Maggie cried, kissing his cheek.
"I'm here. I won't leave you alone Maggie." Glenn clutched her back pulling her into an embrace.
"Did Daryl really go back out?" Glenn asked.
"Yeah, there wasn't any stopping him." Carol admitted. "Its the only way he thinks he can help. Whoever the Wolves are. They're getting close. And they're not going to be lenient."
In the next room was Tara, awake and vibrant with life. The room was filed with friends Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, Sasha, Michonne, Carl and Judith and even Father Gabriel who was slowly coming back to his old self. The group was filled with laughter even in the wake of all the terror. Happy and delighted to be reunited with their friend. Glad that was still alive and alright. At that moment they didn't let anything else bother them. Nothing else was what mattered. Even Sasha let herself stay quite awhile before returning to her post as sniper.
[Daryl, Aaron, and Morgan are now outside of the walls on their way to the vehicles in attempt to locate any signs of the wolves]
"I know this a weird way for you to be introduced into the group and all. It's just a very weird time in Alexandria right now. I'm sure things will settle soon." Aaron spoke to Morgan who was very quiet in their expedition. "And sorry for making you come out here again so soon. We're short on people who can make runs."
"Rick's sorry too. He's at a bad point right now. He care's about you though. And he's glad you're here." Daryl added. Daryl sat down on his motorbike and Aaron and Morgan got in the car.
"To be honest, I wasn't ready to be in there anyways. Too real you know." Morgan confessed.
"I ain't used to it either," Daryl shared with Morgan. "Lets go catch ourselves a Wolf," Daryl hit the gas and the motorcycle roared.
[Daryl, Morgan, Aaron all arrive at a somewhat untouched string of stores far off from Alexandria. It is one similar to the one where they were almost killed so the hope is that this one too has been found by the Wolves. The gang stops their vehicles far off from the mall hidden in the woods because a horde of walkers was overrunning it.]
"This place might be booby trapped like the last." Daryl stopped his motorcycle and pointed at the abandoned strip mall. "Damn walkers. There's too many of them."
"Is this really gonna help us find these people? We're just going off of hunches and looking around. They could be anywhere." Morgan said with some frustration.
"Wait, hold on what the hell is that?" Daryl stopped everyone and pointed off into the distance. They were so far that it was hard to see, but everyone could make out the gist of it. The three watched in silence as three other alive figures popped up on the roof of the building.
"That one with the long hair is the sonofabitch that attacked me. Must be his friend with him. I shouldn't have let them go," Morgan whispered.
They looked conflicted, there was too many walkers for them to take on but they couldn't stay on the rooftop forever. That was when one of the guys pushed their third member off of the roof into the middle of the horde. The walkers ferociously attacked the person, all forming a circle around her. They were so distracted that none of the walkers noticed the other two humans jump down from the roof in order to escape.
"Shit, that's messed up," Daryl said under his breath, "We gotta get outta here before we're caught."
"Hell, who would've known we'd find them that easy." Aaron said.
"They're gone now. We can't risk following them," Morgan offered his opinion.
"Lets see where they're headed…" Daryl muttered.
"Is that safe?" Aaron asked with surprise and concern.
"From a far enough distance." Daryl concluded.
It had been a while of Daryl driving when he suddenly veered off to the side after noticing something. Aaron pulled over once again, by the time he exited the car Daryl had already found the source of his intrigue. The sight was stun-worth. Daryl had begun investigating.
"Shit," was Aaron's first reaction.
Two dead bodies were chained up to a tree, both had been walkers beforehand. They both had bullet holes through their skulls. One was a man, the other a teenaged boy. Above them, nailed into the bark of the tree was a photo of Rick and Carl that had been in Aaron's file. In blood the words "check the bodies" was written on the photo.
Daryl began investigating the two corpses further. Nothing obvious was shown on the walkers, so Daryl removed the shirt off of one. Carved into the dead walker boy's stomach were the words "Wolves not far". Daryl fiercely undressed the other, who was made out to look a bit like Rick. On it's stomach was the old phrase, "Little pig, little pig let me in".
"The big bad wolves," Daryl muttered. "Open up the trunk we're taking these to Rick to show him."
"You think they heard us out here?" Aaron asked.
"They set this up for us to find." Daryl confirmed, unchaining the bodies to load into the car. After doing so, Daryl ripped the photo off of the tree and shoved it into his pocket. "They knew we'd eventually wind up here to finish cleaning out the mall. They probably had bigger and better plans for inside of there. Guess they ain't tough enough to take on a dozen at once."
"Still, they're heading in a different direction. They're a few days away from getting near us. We can at least allow ourselves that," Aaron concluded.
[Alexandria, outside of Deanna's home]
Rick let out a nervous exhale of relief mixed with added fear. He was in charge now, yet he felt powerless. There was so much that needed to be done and so much going on that it seemed impossible to accomplish all that was necessary. His next step was going to Tara, where the rest of his group was.
Rick entered the room like a shadow, first being recognized by his son. Carl inquired of Rick's state which immediately sent the room into a quiet.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I just wanted to wish Tara good health. I'd heard the news but I had a fairly busy morning."
"We're all good here," Tara stated with a raspy voice. She smiled fondly at Rick. It was true, they would all be good here. Rick held their fate now.
'I've been appointed the leader…" Rick stated.
"What?" Carl asked.
"Deanna stepped down. She wants me in charge." Rick elaborated.
"That seems sudden," Abraham gave his honesty.
"She's too stricken by her loss. She knows now that our group has to be the leaders around here." Rick spoke, "And we've gotta step up now more than ever. We've got a new threat on our hands."
"A new threat?" Rosita asked.
"A group on the outside. They're gonna come after us. They may already know where we're at. Daryl's out surveying. We'll know soon enough how much time we have left before this becomes a major issue for us. We haven't any idea how many there are or if they're even armed, but we can assume the worst and prepare the best we can." Rick gave the information he had.
"We really can't catch a break," Carl complained.
"This isn't gonna stop us. We're gonna fight. I'm making it a point for all of our group to be armed at all times. In case we're caught off guard then we'll have a chance." Rick furthered his position. "Abraham and Michonne if you could help me out now we could at least get that far."
Michonne and Abraham both stood up ready to help with whatever they could. Rick recruited Carol's help as well since she knew the armory the best. It was easy enough to get in because no one had been at their posts on this odd morning. The four carried out enough guns to cover their group. That was all they could trust right now. On their way out was when the real action occurred. Rick had optimistically peered back at Jessie's home and was surprised to see her on the porch on her own. His thoughts were caught off by his name being called once again. This time with more severe urgency. It was Daryl, Morgan and Aaron. They had returned from their run, but the most shocking part was that In Morgan's and Daryl's arms were two bodies.
Daryl had neared enough to them and plopped the body down hard on the ground and then pointed at it while saying, "Read the message." This commotion had caused a fear people to come closer, one of which was Jessie. Rick read the stomach engraved with the words "Little pigs, little pigs let me in,"and then noticed the frightening resemblance of its appearance to his own. Morgan had arrived then and dropped the second, the teenage boy.
"Rick, what's going on?" Jessie pleaded from the side. The two's eyes connected for a short moment, Rick could see the fear behind her eyes but he said nothing. He turned to Daryl and asked nearly the same question instead.
"This was a message planted for us to find," Daryl pointed at the bodies and then fished the picture out of his pocket and handed it to Rick. "Sons of bitches are cold. Pushed one of their own off a rooftop to escape some walkers."
"You saw them?" Rick asked with shock, looking up from the devastating photo.
"They got away before we could see much," Aaron stated. "They're still far off from us though."
"I'm burning these things," Daryl responded, picking up one of the walkers. "These bitches ain't gonna win," Aaron helped Daryl with the other and they walked off to take care of it.
"Abraham, Carol and I will distribute the weapons." Michonne responded for Rick who was anxiously watching Jessie retreated back to her house after the worrisome conversation had dissipated. Before leaving she grabbed Rick's arm and whispered, "If you wanna talk to her, go do it now,"
Rick watched the trio walk away and then casually strolled over to the house once again. With one knock on the door, Jessie opened it and then nervously laughed, "Is this a habit of yours? Showing up on people's doorsteps?"
"I just came to check on you...Again," Rick sighed, hoping he wasn't coming on too strong. "Can I come in for a minute?"
Jessie let him in and closed the door behind.
"The boys here?" He asked.
"They're asleep. They haven't gotten much the past few days and we were up all night." Jessie answered.
"Listen jessie, I…" Rick began.
"Rick," Jessie tried to cut him off.
"No, just hear me out. I know this situation is tough and you deserve to hate me for what I've done. I waltzed into your life and tried to help you and instead I made things messy and you warned me that'd happen but I just couldn't let you go one more day in your position and…"
"Rick just stop...Talking," Jessie forced him to stop. Rick was expecting her to start an angry spiel or kick him out or tell him to stay away for a while but instead Jessie just folded her arms and looked down at the ground.
"I'm not angry...I'm relieved," She whispered into his ear. Rick felt all of the pressure dissipate.
"I won't lie to you. I don't feel any remorse for my actions… For ending it. I understand that he was your kids' father, but it doesn't make me feel bad because I know they'll be better off in the end. I only feel bad...because you had to watch it all unfold. You shouldn't have seen any of that. That kind of thing, it leaves scars. I know it does. I….I just know. I've been through it with someone."
Jessie finally looked up from the ground and there were tears in her eyes, "I'm scared Rick. What the hell is going on?"
"It's gonna be alright. I'm gonna stop this. Deanna...She gave me authority. My team, we can put this threat down before it even arises. We're going to have the funeral ceremony in a few days time. I know it's hard on you to have to wait to have closure, but Deanna isn't ready... In the mean time the focus is protecting ourselves from whatever harm lies outside these walls. You're going to have to be able to do that." Rick gave her his word.
"Rick I don't think I can stay here alone tonight….Can we stay at your house? The boys and I." Jessie begged.
"Of course," Rick answered. "I'm gonna be pretty occupied for most of the day...But Carl's gonna stay in with Judith again. You're welcome to head over whenever you feel comfortable. I can help you carry some stuff over?"
"No, go do what you have to. We'll be fine." Jessie collected herself. "I'll wait here until Ron and Sam wake up."
Rick began to leave, satisfied with this moment enough to return to his duties but Jessie called out his name once more.
"Yes?" Rick asked with care. The two shared a gaze for a moment. Rick could tell what Jessie was thinking but he let her say it once more anyways.
"Just...Thank you," Jessie restated. Rick nodded and then went out the front door.
Within the hour, Rick had arranged another town meeting. This one just to be a relay of information to the citizens of Alexandria. Rick stood before the crowd with his group on his side. He could see many dissenting faces, probably still bitter about the events that had occurred. This didn't bother them. He knew his team was their only hope of survival. In the crowd Rick spotted Tobin and his construction crew, some of the pantry ladies, many of the strongholds of the wayward town. The people were getting closer. Readier to change. As they should. Not present at the meeting were Jessie's family, Deanna's remaining two person quarrel and of course Carl and Judith who'd been sent back home for the day.
"I'll just start off this meeting by saying, I know how angry everyone must be and what I have to say next will probably create even more problems, but Deanna Monroe has stepped down as your leader and in place as promoted me. Many of you won't agree with this decision. I haven't made as smart of decisions as I'd hoped to in the short amount of days I've been here, but I assure you...This community cannot stand without our leadership. We may not have the dynamic that you citizens do. We haven't been in Alexandria all that long...But we have something that all of you lack. Experience. Experience with what the real world has become. We know how to survive in any situation, not just this lavish lifestyle that you all know so well." Rick turned towards members of his group. Michonne gave him a steady nod to keep going.
"You all need to prepare yourselves to hear this. We have even more problems threatening Alexandria. Our runners have gathered intel on a group of outsiders called the Wolves. They attacked our new resident Morgan, and they had a trap with tons of walkers that nearly got Daryl and Aaron killed. These people, whoever and wherever they may be, they aren't going to let a place like this go without a fight. We have reason to suspect they're coming after us. They want what we have. And they aren't as humane as we are. That means we've gotta get smart. We've gotta protect ourselves. You all have to learn how to fight, how to be more than just pantry workers and builders. Learning to use guns, weapons….That's what's next for you all. Our task is to increase our security, and downgrade on our power usage increase a battle drains our resources. I'd like to have more people on watch duty, day and night. We're gonna compress our community, and stick to more people in fewer homes to shorten our grid and have our people more united. The next few days will be dedicated to making these changes while we still can. I want to fight for all of you, but first you've got to fight for yourselves. No more being handed your safety and well-being. You've gotta earn it. You've gotta work for it. You've never had a true threat to your community and you're lucky for that because none of you could've survived. I'm sorry, but you're just ill prepared here. You've got a wall. Did you really think that would keep everyone out though? You all think I'm still a mad man though, raving just like I did a few days ago. You can call me mad all you want. I know what I'm talking about because I've survived through it. Except our camp had three every single one of them got torn down by the enemy. We've learned from our mistakes. It's your turn now," Rick finished off his speech.
"Rick, where does this leave us at?" A voice from the crowd called, "Do we come second now? You got control, you get to keep your people safe isn't that right?"
"We're here for everyone. No one here is more important than the next person. That's the honest truth. We know each other better, but we're not going to fight for just us. Everyone here counts. Everyone here matters." Rick assured.
"I stand with Rick," Tobin spoke on his behalf, "Deanna can't lead us into battle. Only they can. I've seen their skills. Abraham saved Francine when no one else could. They're the ones who keep us safe. We need them now more than ever. I was wrong when I said that they needed to go last night. What that man did changed my mind. He's the only person that can keep my family safe."
"Thank you for that, Tobin." Rick gave his gratitude.
"I want to show everyone the way...Tomorrow morning is when we start gun training. Anyone who wants to learn, is welcomed. It'll be lead by Carol, Abraham, Rosita and myself. We can start promptly at sunrise. If we do it inside the walls, the sound should be muted enough as to not signal anyone outside of the walls. And even so, Sasha is in the tower almost day and night scoping out anything suspicious. We've caught this issue early enough to be somewhat in control. You've all kept a good amount of weapons which was smart. Conserving those makes it easier for us to spare a few rounds to get everyone practiced and still have enough to back our community." Rick announced. "Michonne, Daryl and I will be handling everything else. We'll take care of the bodies and have a funeral for Reg and Pete day after tomorrow. We're going to do perimeter checks. Bulk up security in any way possible. Get all of our supplies passed out. Do everything we can to intensify Alexandria."
With that, Rick ended his announcement and stepped back to let everyone else talk. Once the meeting was adjourned, Rick headed back to his house for a moment to give Carl a new gun and notify him of the possibility of Jessie and her sons showing up sometime during the day. Next, Rick and others assisted in burning the walker remains and burying Pete and Reg's bodies in appropriated graves. By the time Rick had all of the days issues wrapped up, sun was beginning to set. Another day had passed by. The nights were getting chillier. Rick's breath even caught in the air as he stopped by Abraham, Morgan, Michonne, Daryl, Carol and Sasha who had all congregated in front of the gates. Sasha had taken a break from her long stay in the sniper tower before heading back up during the night.
"Good work today everyone," Rick complimented his crew, "I think we're going to be just fine. I want everyone here to rest up. We're going to need our strength again in the morning."Rick concluded.
The group began to filter out, but Rick pulled Morgan to the side. "I know we got off to a rocky start. Especially with you seeing me...Shooting Pete. I'm glad you're here now. I'm glad you're alive."
"I'm glad you're alive too. I'm better now...I know we had a brief encounter. I lost Duane….And then I lost myself a little bit." Morgan said with shame. "But you, you're good right? You've got your boy and your wife back?"
"That's where things got a little complicated...I found Lori and Carl. Lori and I had another child on the way too. Judith...But Lori, we lost her." Rick informed his friend.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," Morgan said with sympathy.
"You know, I think I'm alright now. I lost my mind too. But It's clear now. And we're gonna make this community everything we need. This place could be permanent for us. We're safer here, we have power and resources, safety, security and a chance at being normal again. I'm not gonna let anything stand in my way." Rick continued.
"Not even the Wolves?" Morgan asked sarcastically.
"Especially not them." Rick grinned, "Are you settling in alright?" He asked as the two began walking.
Morgan chuckled and then said, "This is gonna sound crazy but...It's too quiet at night. I'm used to the rustling and creaking and animals making noise at night, but in that house...Everything was just so still. Scarier than the sounds of the wild."
"We're not used to it. We aren't the kind of people who can go back to civilization so easily...But I'm ready to try. I'm ready for my family to be safe...To start over." Rick uttered his feelings.
"Starting over...Wouldn't that be nice?" Morgan sighed.
"It's not too late for you. You lost a lot. But someone here told me, we lost a lot but we got a lot back. And it's not enough, but it is something." Rick remembered the words that showed him he too could make it work in Alexandria.
"We've got each other," Morgan looked at Rick, "To think we'd ever end up back in the same place and the same time. We started off as two people on two separate paths and now look at us. We've probably got enough stories on our hands in our time apart to write a trilogy."
"And then some," Rick agreed. At this point in their conversation the two had arrived at Morgan's new place.
"I'd love to catch up more...Now is just a bad time. But you're a part of my team Morgan. You're welcome here as long as you want."
"You got a nice crew with you Rick. It's no wonder you're still alive to tell the tale. You've got a support system. Something I should've let myself have. maybe then Duane would've made it." Morgan announced.
"I made a lot of bad calls along the way. People died. Tragedies happened. Many times we thought we were done for. You survived just as well as any of us here. Get some rest Morgan. You'll see tomorrow what it's really like to be part of a group." Rick patted his friend on the shoulder and smiled.
"I'll try...Maybe if I leave the TV on i'll be able to sleep easier." Morgan joked.
[Outside Abraham and Rosita's house]
Abraham plopped down on the porch and exhaled loudly. He looked up at the sky. It was clear and speckled with far away stars. Moments after, he heard the front door open and Rosita's voice call out through the dark.
"Abraham?" She asked. Abraham gave no answer. Her footsteps clicked against the wood as she neared to him. Rosita sat down next to him and waited a moment in silence. Her hands were folded in her lap, and Abraham could feel her eyes on him.
"You're not mad at me, are you?" She asked, referring to her stunt with Eugene.
"No kiddo...Not mad at you," Abraham solemnly answered.
"Mad at life?" Rosita concluded.
"The place was supposed to be our haven. And now it's just another goddamn war zone. I thought for a minute our only probably was gonna be an abusive husband losing his shit and killing Deanna's husband. And you know what, that was a relief. Isn't that sad? I was relieved that something like that happened cos it wasn't anything that I needed to be worried about. I just want a moment's peace from this all. But life has destined us to never achieve that." Abraham ranted.
Rosita let him finish and then let her head rest upon his shoulder.
Rick felt relieved to finally be at his home again. It was dark inside. Everyone must've been in bed. First Rick checked in on Carl's room. Carl had let Ron sleep in his bed while he took the floor. Rick then went to check on Judith, she was sound asleep in her crib. After that, he creaked open the closed door of the room he presumed Jessie was in. He stood in the doorframe and peered in. She was asleep sitting up with Sam nestled into her arms. She must've just dozed off while comforting him Rick presumed from her position. He closed the door behind him and then retreated to his own room.