It was quiet for a long time. The tension was thick and heavy in the air. Anna narrowed her eyes at this 'Alpha'. She counted the people she'd brought with her; fifteen. There was no way that was all of them.
"Our community is more than capable of defending itself!" Tara called.
"I show you my face because we mean you no harm," Alpha responded. "I just want my daughter. I know you have her."
"You should turn around," Daryl said. "Leave now and no one gets hurt."
"Wrong answer," Alpha said, raising her hand, and a larger group of maybe twenty Skins came out from behind the crops.
"Let's not make any threats just yet," Anna said as Kelly came up on the platform, taking the binoculars and peering into the cornfield. "There's no way that's all of her people."
"They don't see her. Least not yet," Kelly said, seeming oblivious to the conversation.
Anna looked at her questioningly but didn't have the chance to ask for clarification when Daryl spoke.
"What her mom does to her—we ain't sendin' her back to that," Daryl said.
"No, we aren't," Anna agreed.
"Yeah, but what if she has Alden and Luke?" Tara asked. "Pissing her off can get them killed."
"Did you kill our friends?" Magna asked. "We found their horses."
"No," Alpha said. "Which one of you leads these people?"
"The hell does it matter?" Daryl snapped.
"Then I'll just address all of you," Alpha shrugged. "Your people crossed into our land. There will be no conflict. Your people killed our people. There will be no conflict. I'm done talkin'. Bring me my daughter, or there will be conflict."
"No one touches the girl," Daryl growled, stepping away from the fence and climbing off the platform.
"Daryl," Tara said as Anna followed after him. "Anna."
"Where are they going?" Yumiko asked.
"Hey, stop," Tara said.
"Does she have Alden and Luke?" Enid asked the second Anna's boots hit the ground.
"I don't know," Daryl said.
"What does she want?" Henry asked
Anna shook her head as she followed Daryl.
"No, we—we can't do that," Henry said, realizing what was happening.
"She ain't gettin' her," Daryl snapped.
"Then what are you doing?" Henry asked.
"She's done talkin'. I'm not," Daryl said before gesturing for the guards to open the main gate which led out to the outer gate Alpha was standing at. "Come on."
The guards opened them and he stepped through. Anna hesitated a moment before she turned to Henry, spotting the clothes in his hands.
"You should take those clothes to Lydia," Anna said before following Daryl out, catching up to him.
They walked side by side down the path, Anna bringing herself to her full height as they neared the outer gate. Alpha turned to the Skin beside her and said something, and he looked back to signal two other Skins who walked off. Anna narrowed her eyes as she and Daryl stopped at the gates. Alpha stepped closer, staring between them with her cold eyes.
"You can't have her," Daryl said, breaking the silence. "Now..., if it's a fight you're lookin' for, we got enough firepower to light you up. Right here and now."
Damn it, Anna thought, resisting the urge to scowl at him.
Alpha tilted her head. Anna quickly compared it to a Cobra analyzing its prey before striking. But then, a baby cooed. Her eyes darted towards the sound, and she spotted a female Skin with a makeshift sling around her, swaying as the cooing continued.
"You brought a baby out here?" Anna snapped, glaring at Alpha.
"We're animals," Alpha said simply, looking at Anna. "Animals live out here. Animals have babies. So, we have babies out here." She turned her attention back to Daryl. "Now, what were you sayin'? Lightin' us all up?"
Alpha had seemed to miss the point of Anna's question. It wasn't about having babies in general; it was about bringing one to this exchange. Though, she realized immediately, Alpha had brought the baby as protection, counting on their morals. It was smart, calculated, if a bit ruthless.
The Skins who had left earlier returned, leading two people with the walker masks awkwardly shoved over their heads, hands tied behind their backs, and knives to their throats.
"You seem to want conflict. I don't. So, I'm proposing a trade," Alpha turned to the Skins and nodded.
The Skins tore the masks off their prisoners, revealing Luke and Alden.
"I wanted to kill them," Alpha said, turning back to Anna and Daryl. "But I want my daughter more. One of mine, two of yours. It's a good trade, which is why you're gonna take it. Now," her voice lowered to a whisper, "bring me my daughter."
.
"There has to be another way," Anna said as she and Daryl walked back through the gates as the guards shut them. "We can't let her go back there. To that."
"I don't like it either, but we ain't got another choice," Daryl said. "We gotta take the deal."
"Daryl, Anna!" Enid called, running up to them. "What'd she say? Are they okay?"
"Yeah, they will be," Daryl said before looking back to Anna.
Anna sighed and nodded.
"We have to hand back the girl," she said, not bothering to cover up her unwillingness.
"Where's Henry?" Daryl asked as Emma approached.
"I don't know. Why?" Emma asked.
"He's gonna want to say goodbye," Daryl said.
"Daryl, Anna," Magna said, walking up to them. "Tara and Yumiko went to get Lydia."
"What?" Daryl snapped.
"She decided while you were out there, when she saw Luke and Alden," Magna explained.
"Hey," came Yumiko's voice as she and Tara ran from behind the house. "She's gone."
"How you mean she's gone?" Daryl growled.
"Her door was open; key was in the lock. You know we have to do this," Tara said, looking between Daryl and Anna.
"All right," Daryl huffed. "Split up. Find Henry, we find the girl."
Anna watched them scatter and shook her head. She'd known what she was doing when she sent Henry to give Lydia those clothes. But, as she started toward the cellar, she began to wonder if it was the right call—maybe she should have waited until she knew Luke and Alden were safe.
She went to the cellar doors, looking for tracks. She found them rather quickly, leading back around the house toward the secret tunnel Sasha had dug. Anna didn't doubt that Henry had already spirited Lydia away from Hilltop.
Anna paused and looked to her right, where she saw the familiar pile of rocks that marked Glenn's grave. She turned to face it fully and crouched, hugging her knees with one arm as she reached out and plucked a few blades of grass sticking out between the rocks.
"I know we don't have any other choice," she said, as if her friend was sitting in front of her.
She thought that, maybe, she could let Alpha take Lydia, sneak out of Hilltop and follow them, sneak into their camp, and steal Lydia away. She'd take her back to the cabin where she'd be hidden and safe. But any act against Alpha would lead to conflict. Their hands were tied.
.
Anna came around the house, finding everyone gathering in the front.
"Nothing in the house," Tara said as she jogged down the front steps. "Has anybody checked the barn?"
"I'll check," Magna assured, heading off.
"Dog!" Daryl called, holding one of Henry's shirts. "Come on. Right here, right here, smell." He held the shirt to Dog's nose before the dog barked and darted off. The group chased after him until he came to a stop at the back tunnel—as Anna had expected.
"Good boy, good boy," Daryl praised. "Shit," he huffed.
"Well," Emma sighed, pressing the tips of her fingers into her forehead.
"They snuck out?" Enid asked.
"Yeah. Go tell the others. I can track 'em," Daryl said.
"You don't have to," Addy said, appearing behind them. "I know where he probably took her."
"I'll go with you," Anna said, looking at Daryl.
"Nah, stay here in case the bitch wants to talk again," he said.
Loud banging and shouting came from the front, calling their attention.
"Go see what that is," he said.
"I can get Henry and Lydia," Enid said.
"No, it's my problem," Daryl said, shaking his head.
"And Alden's mine," Enid snapped. "Look, this is how we get him back. I-I've known Henry since he was a kid. He likes me. I can talk to him."
Daryl glanced at Anna, who simply shrugged.
"All right, go," he said, holding the lid of the tunnel open for Enid and Addy to climb through.
Once the two girls were through, he shut the door and he, Anna, and Emma started toward the front. Hilltoppers were banging against the sides of the wall, calling for something. Above their shouts, Anna could hear the cry of a baby.
They climbed up to the platform and saw a crowd of walkers—actual walkers—closing in around a bundle on the ground. The baby.
"What the fuck," Anna hissed, watching the woman who had been holding the child walk away.
Heart pounding, Anna reached for her gun. Then a figure darted from the corn. Connie aimed her slingshot and took down the nearest walker to the baby, kicking back another before she scooped up the infant and ran back into the corn.
"We have to help," Anna said, running to the ladder and climbing from the platform, racing for a side door closest to the corn.
She burst through the doors, hearing it banging against the wall behind her as she ran down the slope and toward the corn, pushing the stalks out of her way as she searched for Connie. She paused, turning every which way and seeing that Daryl, Emma, and Dean had joined her.
Movement, a rustle, and the sound of the dead led them on. Daryl rushed past Anna and took out the first walker he saw. Anna body-slammed another when her eyes landed on Connie, the baby sling around her.
"Come on," Anna said, reaching out to the woman.
Connie nodded, and the five of them rushed back the way they'd come. As they filed through the side door, Anna went to slam it shut, shooting a glare between the woman who had left her baby to be eaten and Alpha, her skin heating as Alpha merely shrugged.
.
Enid and Addy led Henry and Lydia to the gate, their expressions solemn. Henry immediately went to Anna.
"There has to be another way," he said.
"I wish there was," Anna sighed, turning to Lydia. "I'm sorry."
"You said that I would be okay. No matter what," Lydia said.
Anna said nothing, clenching her jaw as she watched Daryl walk Lydia down the path. Alpha and the two Skins holding Alden and Luke stepped through the outer gate and paused. Daryl pulled Lydia to a stop. Anna couldn't help but wonder if the trade was going to be successful as Alpha looked over her daughter until finally, she nodded.
Daryl let Lydia go forward and the Skins released Luke and Alden, the two men walking past Alpha. Daryl quickly cut them loose and Enid, Magna, Yumiko, and Kelly went to them, leading them back into Hilltop.
Anna watched as Lydia stopped in front of Alpha, who simply stared at her. After a tense moment, Alpha reeled back and slapped Lydia across the face before pulling her into a one-armed embrace.
Instinctively, Anna rushed forward, only for Daryl to hold his hand out to stop her, her hands curled into fists at her sides, shaking. Alpha smiled and pulled away from Lydia, turning and leading them back into the field. With the exchange completed, Alpha led her Skins off, disappearing with Lydia.
.
.
Daryl made his way to the barn, eyes on the ground as he went. The sky was dimming, and he had no intention of going inside. He couldn't bring himself to look at Anna after he let that girl go back to that woman.
He glanced up long enough to see Henry training beside the round pen, but didn't bother stopping to say hello, passing him by.
"I get why we had to do it," Henry said, and Daryl paused. "But it doesn't make it okay."
"I never said it did," Daryl said, turning to the teen.
"So, what do we do?" Henry asked.
"We live with it."
"Yeah. That's what Enid said," Henry said, shaking his head. "I saw the scars on your back. I think you know better than anyone what we just sent her back to. How can you live with that?"
"Look," Daryl snapped, stepping toward Henry, "the world is just shit sometimes. And you live with it. Sometimes that's all you can do."
"Yeah, but what about before?" Henry challenged. "At Alexandria? I know what you did to help when things went bad there."
"No. You don't," Daryl bit out. "Not really. I did what I had to do today. We all did."
And with that, Daryl continued to the barn.
.
.
Anna sat beside Emma on the front steps of the house, looking out over Hilltop as everyone headed to their homes, Earl and Tammy-Rose carrying the newest addition to the Hilltop colony—the baby Connie had saved. She leaned her elbows against her knees, clasping her hands together as she bowed and shook her head.
"Don't beat yourself up about Lydia," Emma said. "Alpha didn't leave us much of a choice. We did what we had to do."
"I know," Anna sighed. "Still sucks, though."
Looking up, Anna saw Daryl heading toward the barn, walking past Henry training by the round pen.
"I doubt either of them are taking it well," Anna said, nodding toward the two as they turned to speak to each other, too far for her to hear them.
"Yeah," Emma agreed.
Anna watched as Daryl said something, an irritated look on his face, before stalking off to the barn where he disappeared into the hayloft. She shook her head and smoothed her hair back, pressing her hands into her head.
"Are you going to talk to him?" Emma asked.
"Yeah," Anna said, though she didn't move.
"I'm almost surprised you're not going after her," Emma said.
"Almost?" Anna asked.
"You're not an idiot," Emma shrugged. "You know what would happen if you did."
"I do," Anna begrudgingly agreed. "I couldn't do it alone, at any rate."
"Right," Emma nodded.
Anna let out a huff and got to her feet, stretching out her limbs.
"I'm going to see if Daryl's all right," she said.
"All right," Emma said, standing. "If you need to talk any more, you know where to find me."
"Thanks, Em," Anna said, giving her friend a small smile before heading down the path to the barn, the sun setting beneath the horizon as she walked up into the hayloft.
"Hey," she said, spotting Daryl sitting on an overturned crate, staring at the floor.
She moved to stand in front of him, leaning against the wall as he clicked on a small lantern on the floor, sighing.
"You're thinking how you should have done more," Anna said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "But you know there was nothing you could do."
Daryl looked up at her a moment before bowing his head again, his hair falling in his face. After roughly nine years, he was easy to predict. It helped that she often thought along the same lines as him. She wished she had done more, too.
They were quiet for a long time; there was just nothing to say. After a few minutes, footsteps up the stairs called their attention. The two looked over to see Addy holding a folded piece of paper in her hands, nervously looking between them.
"Um…," she started.
"What?" Daryl snapped.
"I found this in… in Henry's room," Addy said quickly, handing over the piece of paper.
Anna took it, pushing aside the question of what Addy was doing in Henry's room, and unfolded the paper.
Couldn't live with it. Left to find Lydia.
"Shit," Anna groaned, handing the paper to Daryl.
Daryl jumped up, and they rushed from the hayloft.
"You wake up Tara, I'll get our gear," Anna said as they entered the house.
Daryl nodded and, as they made it to the top of the stairs, they split ways. Anna went to their room, shoving some supplies into a pack and grabbing her spear and Daryl's crossbow. She ran down the stairs, meeting Daryl and Tara on the front steps.
"Be safe out there," Tara said.
"Yeah, we will," Daryl said, accepting his crossbow from Anna.
They turned and started toward the front gates, Dog on their heels, when Connie rushed up to them. She scribbled something on her notepad and held it out to them.
Where are you going?
Anna held out the note from Henry for her to see. She flipped the page in her notepad and scribbled something else.
I'm going with you.
"No," Daryl said, starting off again only for Connie to step in his way and point at the notepad again.
"Why?" He asked.
Connie flipped another page, scribbled, and held up the notepad.
I can't live with it either.