We clear out all the food from the RV they had parked. Spaghetti O's and other canned goods were stacked inside cabinets. When we get back to the barn, Daryl is relieved to see me. My eyes light up as well when I see him and his mouth forms a little smirk. We get inside, and Michonne tells Rick what happened. After unpacking our bags and putting the supplies out for all to see, Rick turns to Aaron "this, this is ours now."
"There's more than enough." Aaron simply responds.
"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp." Rick clears up what he meant.
Carl asks "what do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?"
Michonne adds to it "if he were lying or if he wanted to hurt us, but he isn't, and he doesn't. We need this. So we're going, all of us." Her tone is serious, her body tense with her descion. "Somebody say something if they feel differently."
"I don't know, man." Daryl is the first one to say something. My heart beats fast, worried he doesn't want to go. "This barn smells like horse shit." He says. His eyes meet Rick's and my heart rate slows back down.
"Yeah." Rick responds in a low huff "We're going." He turns back to the tied up hostage "so where are we going? Where's your camp?"
Aaron tries to sit up a bit "well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back." Rick shakes his head. Aaron continues "I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."
Michonne gets closer to him now "you're not driving. So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how."
Aaron thinks for only a moment, before giving his response "go north on Route 16."
"And then?" Michonne asks.
"I'll tell you when we get there." He tells her back. He's protecting the people he lives with, the people he may love. That's good, that's admirable.
"We'll take 23 north." Rick says looking down at a map "you'll give us directions from there."
"That's- I don't know how else to say it. That's a bad idea." Aaron disagree's. "We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."
Rick doesn't budge "we'll take 23. We leave at sundown."
"We're doing this at night?" I ask from behind, nervous at the suggestion.
Rick looks back to me "look, I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."
"No one is going to hurt you." Aaron tells him, tells us. "You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger."
Rick looks back to him. I can't see his eyes but I can tell he's holding back "tell me where the camp is, we'll leave right now." I wait for Aaron as he stares back at Rick. Not giving in he shakes his head just a hint and we all know route 23 is where we will be going. "It's going to be a long night." Rick tells us. "Eat. Get some rest if you can" and he walks out.
"I don't like the idea of going out at night" I tell Daryl after everyone moved around.
He shrugs "it'll be fine."
"We don't know that." I hush back "what if there are people out there waiting for us, driving down a road is pretty obvious if they're waiting for you" I say.
"I thought you wanted to go?" He raises his eyebrows.
I sigh "I do, just not in the middle of the night, at least in the day we can see what's coming for us."
"nothin' will come for ya" he squeezes my leg "I got yew" he adds on leaning down to kiss me on the forehead.
My stomach drops at his words and I push my head into his lips. He walks away, to where I was laying the night before and sits down, putting his back against a wall. I know I won't be able to sleep, so I find ways to stay busy before the night falls and we head out.
"Alright, Glenn you're with me, you'll drive. Michonne, Sadie, you sit in the back with Mr. friendly over there" Rick glares at Aaron whose standing outside the car door.
"me?" I ask with my eyebrows raised.
"there a problem with that?" He questions sternly.
"no, no. Just thought you'd want Maggie to go or Carol" I say back.
He shakes his head "you and Michonne" he clarifies for me again. I nod, not saying another word and holding my self from looking towards Daryl. "Everyone else, you're in the RV. Daryl" he nods for him and Daryl comes over.
"Stay a bit behind us, when we start to slow down, hold off and let us check it out. We will come back around if it's clear. You hear gun shots, you get everyone somewhere safe before comin' for us. We can meet back here if we get split up for too long" I eavesdrop what he tells him.
"Got it" Daryl tells him back.
"Okay, let's go" Rick says walking to the passenger side of the car. Daryl nods his head towards me, telling me to be careful and I nod back, telling him I will be. I get in the car, after Aaron slides into the middle and Glenn pulls away slowly.
We're on the road for a little bit and I can tell from behind him that Rick is getting anxious. He opens the glove compartment and I hear something ting together. Aaron leans forward just a little at what he has in his hands "um, I'm trying to collect all 50 states. Put them all on a wall in my house."
"You have your own house?" Michonne asks with a quick breath.
"Mm." Aaron looks to her "see for yourself." He nods to his pack where his pictures are.
Michonne hesitates so I take them out for her. I pass her a few and look at some myself. They are all black and white, the film gritty but it looks like a decent enough place.
I notice that there are no people in his photos, so I ask him "why don't you have any pictures of your people?"
"Oh, I took a picture of the whole group, but I didn't get the exposure right." He explains "when I tried to develop it later, it just..."
"Did you ask him the questions?" Michonne spits to Rick.
"No." Rick says back.
"How many walkers have you killed?" Michonne says quickly, her breathe picking up as mine does unsure what her panic is about.
"I'm sorry, what?" He asks her confused.
"How many?" I grit back urgently.
"I don't know. A lot." He looks to me then to her while saying it.
"How many people?" She asks next.
He breathes out, not wanting to answer "two" he does though.
"Why?" She asks.
"Because they tried to kill me" was his response. Fair enough if he's telling the truth.
"You were listening to us?" Glenn asks as Rick holds up a device.
"I already said I was watching you." Aaron tries to explain "yes, I was listening."
"It means his people could have one, too. They could've heard our plan. This isn't safe." He spits out, wanting to change things.
"Shit!" Glenn screams out.
Rick calls back to him "Glenn!"
Walkers pile onto our car, blood blocking the view from all sides. Rick yells back, while gripping the wheel "they were right behind us. They would have hit us. Now they can get out."
Glenn stops the car when it seems clear in front of us. The walkers snarl towards us. "I don't see them." I shout out trying to see over the dead coming at us.
Glenn stands on top of the car "No, they're gone. They got away." He informs the 2 of us.
"All right, we'll circle back and find them. Let's go." Rick yells down.
"They're okay?" Aaron asks heavily once I slide back in.
"yeah." I huff back thankfully.
"All right, we can take a left a couple of miles up 23. Jefferson Avenue. Jefferson Avenue." Rick screams looks down at the map.
Aaron panics "we got to get out of here."
Glenn goes to start the car but the engine sputters, refusing to come to life. "Come on. Come on." Glenn continues to try.
"We got to get out of here." Aaron continues to panic.
"Come on. Come on." I say from the back seat, starting to get more worried as well.
"Let me see what I can see." Michonne shouts out and hops out of the car.
"They're coming right for us." Aaron comments the obvious.
"Yeah, we know." I grumble to him.
Glenn keeps trying to start the car "come on, come on!"
"We need to leave now." Aaron keeps repeating.
"Hold on!" I tell them all, noticing something out the window.
"Shit." Aaron breathes lowly. His eyes wider then they have been.
"Who did that?" Rick turns and asks him as something lights up the sky like a firework.
"I need to leave. This is over." Aaron starts to slide out the same way Michonne did. "Let me out. I need to get outta here. It's over." He keeps moving.
"What's going on?" Rick demands to know.
"Let me out!" He says pushing his back against me and pushing the door. It swings open, a thump sound coming as it does and I can't tell if it is a walker or Michonne.
I slide out the door after Aaron and Michonne is getting up off the ground. "Sadie-Mae, leave him! We need to find our people." Rick calls to me as I go to run after him.
I turn to him quickly "they saw that flare. They'll think we shot it. This is how we find them!" Rick nods his head, understanding I'm right and I dart into the woods to try and find him so he can take us to wherever that flare was shot from.
