Chapter 7-Regrouping
Daryl's Group
Daryl stood by himself as the others filled the truck up. He watched the road. Alicia walks over and stands by him. "What did you mean when you said. I reminded you of Shane on the farm?" Alicia asks Daryl, who looks at her.
"On the farm after Shane killed Otis. He degraded fast, and I think he enjoyed killing the walkers, and he lost who he was fast. Tried to kill Rick. He killed a kid named Randall, and then he tried to kill Rick again. All of that was because of a girl and revenge. He almost died because of that. I don't know what happened before you found us, and it ain't any of my business. But think before you act, Alicia. I didn't, and look at me now," Daryl says.
"Why do I feel like there is a lot more to you than what means the eye?" Alicia asks.
"Cause there is. I only show it to people I trust," Daryl says.
"Fair enough. So the people you are with right now. Do you trust them?" Alicia asks.
"I trust John and Morgan. Al and Shane are getting there, and I have no reason to trust you, Strand, Luciana, or Nick," Daryl says.
"We're ready," John says. Daryl nods as he starts to walk away.
"The people we've lost. The people who we love. They may be dead, but they aren't gone because they are still a part of you. As long as you are still alive, you're still you. Do better for them. Stay who you are for them," Daryl says before he walks to the truck. Alicia looks at him and follows him.
With Morgan, Nick, and Shane
Nick, Shane, and Morgan walk down the road. "They're gonna wonder what happened to us when they come back," Nick says.
"They'll hear what happened, and then they'll see it," Shane says. "They'll find us," They hear walkers and see them come out of a store.
"Morgan, stay back. Let us get it. Nick get her," Shane says as he pulls his knife out. Nick hits the female walker in the head, and Shane stabs the male in the head. Morgan walks to the store and taps his stick against it.
"We're clear now," Morgan says.
"You okay, man?" Nick says as he looks at the blood bandage.
"We can hold up in here," Morgan says.
"Hey, why'd you help me?" Nick asks Morgan. "'Cause I'd have let them rip me apart back there. I know why Shane did. Why did you?"
"I don't kill," Morgan says as he walks into the store.
Before
Nick and Madison shut the door to the car and step out. "You at the church, Maddie?" Shane asks on the radio.
"Just gettin' here," Madison says.
"I hope you do better than the last group," Shane says.
"We'll let you know. We're oh-for-eight so far," Madison says. They stop when they see the blue El Camino.
"Made that oh-for-nine," Nick says. They see all the canned food in the back. They walk up to it.
"Come on, let's keep lookin'," Madison says as she turns to leave. Nick waits a moment and turns to leave.
"Hey! Turnip man. Any luck out here?" Ennis asks.
"Are you following us?" Nick asks.
"Seems to me like we were here first. Ought to get yourself a faster car," Ennies says as he shuts the tailgate.
"You think this is funny?" Nick asks as Ennis pulls a jar out of the car.
"I'm not laughing," Ennis says as he takes a bite of what is in the jar.
"Nick, Maddie, you copy? How's it going? Do they have a soup kitchen?" They hear Shane say from another radio. Charlie walks out of the building with a radio. She stops and looks at them.
"Like my brother told you-she's got a knack for finding the good stuff. You know how much-condensed milk we found in there?" Ennis asks.
"You don't have to listen to him, Charlie," Nick says.
"She wants to," Ennis says.
"That true, Charlie?" Madison asks.
"You spent two weeks with her. I'm the one who found her. I'm the one who taught her how to make it out here," Ennis says. Nick moves towards him, but Madison grabs him.
"Nick, come on. Let's go," Madison says.
"Whatever," Nick says as they turn to leave.
"And unlike you, I keep my family fed," Ennis says. Nick pulls out his knife, goes up to Ennis, and presses him against the car and the knife against his neck.
"Go inside," Madison says to Charlie. "Stop. Stop. Stop!" Madison says as Nick cuts Ennis's throat a little. They turn and walk away. Charlie goes over to Ennis.
"Let's get out of here," Ennis says. Charlie looks at them and gets in the car, and leaves.
After
Morgan wraps his wound with a fresh bandage. "God," Morgan says.
"You want a hand with that?" Nick asks.
"I got it," Morgan says.
"You sure? It's the least I can do," Nick says.
"I helped too," Shane says.
"I let you date my mom," Nick says. Shane chuckles.
"I got it," Morgan says.
"Probably lay off the karate till it's healed," Nick says.
"And you oughta stop getting yourself into trouble. And it's not karate," Morgan says.
"What is it, then?" Shane asks.
"It's... it's just not karate," Morgan says.
"Well, it's gonna be getting dark soon. We should probably find you a car so you can be getting back," Nick says.
"You mean that El Camino?" Morgan asks. "Still looking for it, right?"
"Are you gonna try to talk me out of it?" Nick asks.
"No. But it is not gonna work out how you think," Morgan says.
"You don't know what he did to me," Nick says. "To us," Nick motions to Shane.
"It doesn't matter what he did to you. It's still not gonna work out how you think," Morgan says.
"Right because you don't kill. Yeah? But I bet you did," Nick says. Morgan chuckles as Nick walks closer. "Why'd you stop? Huh? Who did you lose?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Morgan says.
"Yes, you do. You lose people. Then you lose yourself. I saw the tape. I heard everything you said," Nick says.
"Nick," Shane says.
"You should just leave it," Morgan says.
"Why does it matter? Why not just tell me?" Nick asks.
"Oh, I'm not doing this," Morgan says as he stands up.
"Not doing what?" Nicka asks.
"This! Tellin' you my life! Tellin'-" Morgan stops and walks out of the building. "You want to hunt down whoever hurt you. It's your business," Morgan says before he leaves.
"Are you gonna help me?" Nick asks Shane.
"I'm gonna keep you alive. If that means killing the vultures, then yes. I'm going to help you," Shane says as he stands.
Daryl's P.O.V
They get to the van and see the walkers. Daryl jumps off and runs to the edge. "Morgan!" Daryl yells.
"Nick!" Luciana says as she starts to go down the hill.
"Wait," John says. "Look. They went this way," John says as he shows them an arrow.
"We're not leaving," Al says.
"We'll come back for the van, Al. When the batteries die down, and the passed just wander off," John says.
"No. No. I'm not leaving. Which means you don't find out where the flag came from. Least not from me," Al says
"Morgan's not gonna get far on that leg," Daryl says. "He might need us,"
"Fine. You go. I'm not leaving," Al says.
"It's just a van, Al!" John says.
"Yeah, well, I got some things in that. Go," Al says. "I'll be fine," John starts to walk away, and Daryl follows. "You're going with him?"
"I can't lose Morgan. Not him, I can't lose him, I can't lose another one. Find us when you are done," Daryl says as he follows John.
"You sure?" John asks Daryl, who nods.
"We'll do it," Alicia says. "We'll get the van up now,"
"A deal requires an act of faith. This is ours," Strand says.
"What about Nick and Shane?" Luciana asks.
"You go look for them with John and Daryl," Alicia says before she looks at Al. "You really think we'd try anything with three of our people out there?" Al nods to Luciana, who leaves.
"Your turn. We do this. You don't just tell us where you found the flag-you take us there. Then you help us find these people. We talk, you drive. All of it, all the way. Until the end," Strand says.
"You'll answer all of my questions. And you'll let me film you doing what you do," Al says. Strand looks at Alicia.
"Deal," Alicia says before she goes to the truck, followed by the other two. Al gives Alicia her barrel, and Alicia grabs the cable line and starts to go down the hill. "Hey! Hey!" Alicia shouts, attracting the walkers. She repeats it multiple times. She hits the first one and hits the second one right after. Al shoots from the road. Alicia kicks a walker into the crowd knocking a few down. She kills and pushes the walkers as Al kills the ones in front of her. Alicia climbs under the van and hooks the cable on. She crawls under and comes out by the driver's door, and climbs up. "Pull her up!" She shouts. Strand starts to pull the van up.
With Morgan
Morgan walks down the road and by gain mills. He hears a noise and sees Ennis come outside. They stare at each other. "Keepy walkin', old man," Ennis says. "There's nothing for you here," Morgan starts to walk.
"You need to leave," Morgan says. Ennis laughs.
"Oh, yeah? is that right?" Ennis asks as Nick and Shane see them.
"Get in your car and go," Morgan says.
"Or what?" Ennis asks as Morgan sees them.
"Go," Morgan says. Ennis sighs and looks at Morgan, and sees Nick and Shane.
"Holy shit! I didn't think I would see you two again," Ennis says. Nick runs at him, but Morgan steps in front of Nick.
"Walk away. I said walk away. Shane, help," Morgan says.
"You should listen to your friend. It's good to see you, Nick, Shane. But I, uh, gotta get these pimentos unloaded. Unless you wanna give me a hand?" Ennis says as Nick moves.
"Don't," Morgan says as Ennis goes inside.
"Are you gonna do what it takes to stop him or me? Huh?" Shane asks.
"You can. You did," Nick says. Morgan moves, and Nick walks to the door and goes inside. Shane follows.
"I thought you didn't want this," Morgan says to him.
"Me too," Shane says.
Before
Nick sat on the car while Madison stood beside him. "She saw me. She was standing right there. She saw everything," Nick says.
"You didn't do anything, Nick," Madison says.
"I would've if you hadn't stopped me, and she saw that," Nick says.
"You were trying to help-trying to get food for us," Madison says.
"You try to do the right thing. You end up doing worse. That's why I stayed inside so long. It's not because of what's out here. It's because of what being out here does to you. Being out here makes me feel more trapped than being in there. Like who I'll be is just closing in on me. Just suffocating me," Nick says as he gets in the truck.
With Daryl, Luciana, and John
Daryl and John walk in the front with Luciana behind him. "How long have you and Morgan known each other?" John asks Daryl, who looks at him.
"A few months. We didn't talk much after he saved us. We became closer friends when I moved into the Junkyard," Daryl says.
"Junkyard?" Luciana asks.
"It's the place we stayed to get away from everybody," Daryl says. "I wanted to get away from Negan and Maggie. Morgan didn't want to be the bad guy anymore," Daryl says.
"And you were with Shane when he was with Rick?" Luciana asks.
"Yeah, I was there before Rick. Never really talked to anybody. Merle and I mostly kept to ourselves," Daryl says. "First time I met Rick, I threw squirrels at him," John and Luciana chuckle.
"How did you leave? They were your family. It sounds like," John says. Daryl glances at him.
"I couldn't stare them in the eyes. In anger, sure I could, but I was mad. At night I would think about going to Alexandria and killing Negan. I lost who I was. I felt lost but in that Junkyard with just Morgan. It felt normal," Daryl tells them.
"Guys," John says as they see dead walkers.
After
Nick steps inside and swings his hammer at Ennis, who blocks it. Nick presses Ennis against the table. He swings the hammer at him, and Ennis moves. Shane sits back and lets Nick do it. Ennis smashes a glass on Nick's head. Nick backs up and holds his head. Ennis punches him, and Nick moves. Ennis tries to stab him. They knock down deer antlers. Nick pushes the knife away, stabs Ennis in the leg, and throws him down on the antlers. "Wait," Ennis says. Nick grabs him and pushes him down into the antlers. Ennis yells as he dies.
"Nick, he's dead," Shane says.
With Daryl, John, and Luciana
Daryl and John look at the dead walkers. "Well, it looks like they're winning. This is some stick-based trauma here," John says.
"Come on," Luciana says. John and Daryl stand up.
"You think he was worried you wouldn't be coming back?" John asks as they catch up. Luciana looks at him. "None of my business," John pulls out a piece of candy and holds it out to Luciana. "Sorry,"
Luciana grabs the candy. "Don't worry about it," Luciana says.
"I haven't been around people in a long time. I'm gonna talk to you two, so I don't start talking to myself again, all right?" John asks. "Why was he worried you wouldn't come back?"
"Because one time I didn't," Luciana says as they hear the van.
"When you left... was it 'cause you didn't love him?" John asks.
"I left... but I still loved him," Luciana says, and John nods.
"You two should write a romance novel," Daryl says as he goes to the van. John chuckles. Alicia opens the door. "Nice job," He says as he climbs in. Alicia gives him a nod as the other two get in.
With Nick
Morgan gets back and looks at Nick as he walks out, his hand covered in blood and his pants too. Shane looks at Morgan. "What do you want?" Nick asks as he walks in front of Morgan.
"So to answer your question, it was my wife, my son, and my friends. That's who I lost before I lost myself. I know where you are, Nick. You too, Shane. 'Cause I was there. I didn't know how to make it stop. I didn't know if I wanted it to stop. I just didn't think I could ever find my way out. Then I met someone. Man didn't have to help me, but he did. He...he gave me something, Nick. He told me...he showed me that all life is precious. And that helped. It-it still does," Morgan says.
"Okay, how, exactly?" Nick asks.
"Yeah," Morgan pulls the art of peace book out of his pocket. "This is part of it. You wanted to know what I was reading," Morgan says as he shows him.
"Too late," Nick says as he turns to leave. Morgan gets in front of him.
"Believe me...believe me, it's not. Here. We can talk about it. Talk about anything, Nick," Morgan says. Nick grabs the book. Morgan watches him as the van pulls in. Shane stood beside Nick. Morgan walks over to the van. The door opens, and Daryl walks out, followed by Luciana.
"You okay?" He asks Morgan as he walks up to him.
"Yeah," Morgan says as he sits down.
"Where is he?" Luciana asks.
"Around the side," Morgan says. Nick puts the book in his back pocket and grabs the flower, and looks at it.
Shane stood close to NIck. He knew Nick was in a moment and wanted to keep his distance. He looked up and saw her. He watches as Charlie raised her gun. Shane runs towards Nick and grabs him without thinking as the gunshot goes off, grazing Shane's shoulder as Nick and Shane go to the ground. Shane looks at Charlie, who looks at them for a moment before she runs. "Charlie!" Shane yells as the child runs. He looks at Nick, who was staring at him wide-eyed. "Are you okay?" Nick gives him a nod.
"Yeah," Nick says as he looks at the blood on Shane's shoulder. "You're hit,"
"I'm fine. I've had worse," Shane tells Nick as he helps Nick up. He hears footsteps as the others run over.
"Nick!" Alicia yells as she comes over, followed by Strand and Luciana. Daryl, Morgan, John, and Al not far behind.
"We're fine," Shane says. Alicia looks at Shane's shoulder as Luciana hugs Nick.
"What happened?" Strand asks.
"Charlie...Charlie tried to kill me," Nick says.
"Because of what you did to Ennis," Shane says. Daryl comes over and throws his bag off his shoulder.
"Sit down," He tells Shane, who sits.
"You okay?" He asks Nick, who gives a slow nod. "Who the hell is Charlie?" Daryl asks as he pulls medical supplies out of his bag.
"She was part of the group we're hunting. We killed one of them in there," Nick says.
"And she wanted revenge," Daryl says. She looks at Alicia. "Told you. If Shane wasn't here, he would be dead," Daryl tells him as he cleans Shane's wound.
"When did you learn how to do this?" Shane asks.
"I know enough to get by," He tells Shane. He looks at Nick. "There's some water in my bag," Nick nods as he starts to look in the bag. He pulls out Beth's knife. "Put that down," Daryl says. Nick puts the knife away and grabs the water. He motions the other three over. "We'll all take a minute and take a breath," Everybody nods as they slowly sit down. Luciana grips Nick's hand as Nick looks at Shane.
"Thank you," Nick says.
"I told you. I'm going to protect you, Nick. I'm going to make sure both of you live," Shane says to Alicia and Nick. Daryl puts a bandage on Shane's shoulder. He pulls out his handgun and holds it out to Alicia.
"You and I are going to make sure that kid isn't around," Daryl says to Alicia, who nods as they start to walk.
Thanks for reading. I know why Charlie killed Nick, but I don't really care. I felt like Nick could have had so much really good story in the last few seasons, and he couldn't because the actor left, which is okay. I'm going to tell my story for Nick. I know some people don't like him, but I do, and I'm excited for his story going forward. Right now, Daryl and Alicia are a little hostile to each other, and that will slowly change over the course of season four. A lot of that will be between the mid-season finale and the mid-season premiere and the second half of the season. That is also when Madison and Troy will be on the road. Also, if anybody has any story ideas or pairings, let me know, and I might do 'em. I think that is about it for this chapter. Already this early we have changed something big. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.