Chapter 3-A man of his word

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl was in Aaron's garage putting a rack on the side of his bike for Rosita's gun. He looks at Aaron as he walks in. "You really think you need that?"

"Won't hurt," Daryl says. "Be easier for her to use the gun if she has easy access to it," Daryl says as he finishes. "This should work."

"You going to help with the wall?" Aaron asks him.

"Yeah, I'm meeting Negan, Rosita, and Gavin by the gate. They are taking a truck with metal out there," Daryl says as he climbs on his bike. "See you out there."

Aaron nods as Daryl starts his bike and leaves the garage heading for the gate. He stops by the gate and motions Rosita over. "Nice rack," Rosita says as she lays her hand on the metal.

"Will that work for your A.R?" Daryl asks Rosita, who nods.

"Yeah. Should work fine," She tells him.

"You two ready to go?" Gavin asks as he walks up to the truck.

"Yeah," Daryl says as Rosita throws her leg over the back of the bike. They nod to Eugene, who pulls the gate open. Daryl and Rosita leave first, followed by Gavin and Negan.

Simon's P.O.V

Simon's truck stops outside of the gates of the Kingdom. He climbs out of the truck and smiles at the men aiming their guns at him. "What is your business?"

"I need to speak with Ezekiel. Just tell him Simon is here. He'll know to come out," Simon tells him. One of the men leave, and Simon motions Jared and Arat over. "When we get in there, grab the two blond boys. The ones Ezekiel cares so much about. That is how we control him," Simon says as the gates start to open. Ezekiel marches up to Simon and stops.

"I have a deal with Negan," He growls. "What are you doing here?"

"Negan's dead. I killed him, I'm in charge now, and your deal doesn't sit well with me. At least I waited until pick up day, huh?" Simon says with a grin. "So, are you going to let us in, or is this going to turn ugly?"

"What happened to Gavin? He did our pickups," Ezekiel says.

"He's dead," Simon tells him. "So what is it going to be, Ezekiel?"

"Let them in," Ezekiel says. Simon smiles as the saviors follow Ezekiel into the Kingdom. Jared and Arat walk ahead to find the boys.

"What is going on, your majesty?" Someone asks.

"Everything is going to be okay," Ezekiel says.

"No, it's not," Simon says as he sees Arat and Jared coming back with the two boys. "I want everybody on their knees. Now!"

Ezekiel looks at Jared and Arat. "Let them go."

"Negan was too soft on you. It's time for you to learn the same lesson Hilltop did," Simon says. "Now, if people do not start taking out their weapons and falling to their knees. The smaller boy is going to be the example."

"Do as he says," Ezekiel says as he removes his gun and throws it to the ground. The people of The Kingdom follow their leader as he goes on his knees. Simon walks up to a man who is standing.

"I don't think you got the message," Simon says with a smile.

The man spits on Simon's boot, and the grin on his face falls as he removes his knife and stabs the man in the neck. "No!" Ezekiel shouts as he tries to stand. A savior grabbed his shirt and pressed a gun into the back of his neck. Simon pulls his knife out and pushes the man to the ground as he chokes on his blood and dies.

"Your leader has been lying to you. Telling you, you're safe that you are all going to live happy lives. He's been giving the saviors supplies behind your back to make sure we don't kill you. Now the leader before me was okay with that but me, not so much. I need you to know me," Simon tells them as he walks past all of them. "Know that as long as you follow the roles. No one has to die. Now I must show you that I am a man of my word. That guy didn't listen, and he died, but that was more of an impulse. I reacted badly. Sorry about that," Simon says. "Make sure he doesn't turn and go dig him a grave," He tells two saviors who nod. "See, I can be a reasonable guy," Simon says as he stops in front of Jerry. "Now, Negan had Lucille, but I like a more direct approach," Simon withdraws his gun and shoots Jerry in the chest.

"Jerry!" Ezekiel cries out as Jerry gasps for air.

"I am a man who keeps my word. Don't forget that, or you'll end up like your friend," Simon growls before he shoots Jerry in the head. He bends down in front of Ezekiel. "You belong to me. You provide for me, right?" Simon asks Ezekiel.

"Yes," Ezekiel says. "Yes."

"Good," Simon says with a grin. He pats Ezekiel's shoulder. "Today has been a good day. I'll even give you another week. I killed two of your guys. Call it a sorry. We'll be back in a week, Ezekiel. Let's roll out," Simon says as he walks towards the truck, leaving the Kingdom's people in shock and scared as they stay on their knees, most of them looking at Jerry's body.

Dwight's P.O.V

Dwight watched as Simon climbed out of the truck. "How'd it go?" Dwight asks him as Simon walks up the steps.

"Great, Dwight. Only two people are dead, and Ezekiel knows where he stands. Scouts back yet?" Simon asks as Dwight follows him inside.

"Yeah," Dwight tells him.

"They find them?" Simon asks him.

"No," Dwight asks, and Simon stops. He turns around and stares at Dwight.

"Dwight, I think this goes without saying that as long as Negan, Paula, Laura, D.J, Alden, and Gavin are alive, we will never be safe from them coming back to take their revenge. So I suggest you either find them or find me more men!" Simon shouts. He takes a deep breath. "Please, we wouldn't want anything bad happening to Sherry and Tina," Simon says before he walks away from Dwight, leaving him alone in the hallway.

Paula's P.O.V

Paula hits a pole into the ground and looks at Carol as she brings her a cup of water. "Thanks," Paula says. "I don't think we've met. I'm Paula."

"Carol."

"So, what is your role?"

"I'm just a housewife trying to help," Carol says sweetly.

"Come on, sweetie. You aren't fooling me. I don't believe your group has kept you alive this long," Paula says, making Carol smile.

"It was the best way to get in their inner circle. No one suspects me," Carol tells her. "You're not as dumb as them, it seems."

"Nope. You should probably go pass out more water. Keep your role up."

"Good luck," Carol says before she walks away from her.

Negan's P.O.V

Negan and Gavin pick up a piece of metal. "So how did we go from looking for somewhere safe to helping them build a wall to stop a herd?" Negan asks him.

"We need to prove ourselves, or they'll send us back out, and Simon will find us, and we'll have no one to help protect us," Gavin says as he sets the metal down. "We help these people, we get them to trust us, and we try to avoid the saviors for as long as possible."

"Shouldn't we kill them?" Negan growls

"We will, but there aren't nearly enough people. Alden was right about this being a fresh start. Use it, and we'll figure out how to kill Simon," Gavin tells him.

"You think we should tell Rick and Deanna?" Negan asks him.

"No, they'll throw us out if we're lucky. They might just kill us. We stick to the plan," Gavin tells him.

"Then I am going to go help the big guy," Negan says as he walks over to Abraham. "You want some help?"

"Hold the wall," Abraham tells him. Negan nods as he grabs the wall and holds it in place. "What were you and your friend talking about?"

"Nothing important," Negan tells Abraham, who stops what he is doing and looks at Negan.

"Then let's talk about something important, like that gunshot wound. It's been there a few days at least, so it happened recently. Now I don't give a rat's ass about who gave it to you, but if that person is still after you or their friends are still after you, and that gets someone hurt or killed. If that happens, this herd and that group will be the least of your problems," Abraham tells Negan.

"Understood, chief," Negan says. "Now, can we build this thing?"

Abraham nods.

Tara's P.O.V

Tara walked up beside Maggie as she watched Glenn and Noah. "What happened at the warehouse?" Tara asks her. "How'd they get out?"

"They got trapped in a revolving door. Glenn and Noah were on one side and Nickolas on the other. Glenn tried to break the glass with a gun, but Nickloas freaked out and was trying to push it open, and he would have killed them, so Noah beat him to it. He rammed his shoulder into the door, and it knocked Nickloas back, and Noah managed to push their side open enough for the walkers to get Nickolas. They pushed their way out after," Maggie tells her.

"What did they tell Deanna?" Tara asks her.

"That Nickolas died trying to help Aiden," Maggie answers. "Nickolas would have gotten them killed. He could have gotten them both killed. I'm glad Noah did what he did. He did what he had to," Maggie says. "Do you think he should have tried something else?"

"No, he did what he had to so they could both make it out. He made the hard decision."

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl walked over to Rick, who was watching Deanna and Jessie. "You sure she should be out here?"

"Which one?" Rick asks.

"Deanna," Daryl tells him.

"She said she wanted to help," Rick tells him. "When Lori died, I needed a distraction. I killed walkers in the tombs. That was my distraction. This is Deanna's."

"Hopefully, she doesn't lose her mind as you did," Daryl says.

"Thanks, asshole," Rick says.

"Walkers," Morgan says as three walkers emerge from the woods.

"Morgan, wait," Rick says. "They need to learn. Use the ends of the shovels. Go for the head."

"Help us," Carter says.

"You have to be able to do this," Rick tells him as the walkers get close. Jessie swings her shovel down on down of one of the walker's head craving its head in. Deanna stabs another in the eye with a knife as the third one grabs Carter. Daryl raises his crossbow and shoots it through the head. Carter pushes the body down and glares at Rick. "Let's get back to work," Rick says. "Good job," He tells Jessie and Deanna. He looks at Daryl. "Yeah, she should be out here."

Thanks for reading. Killing Jerry hurt me, it really hurt me, but he just felt like the right person to kill for the Kingdom besides Ezekiel. I think maybe one more chapter before we get to the herd. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.