This Night

Chapter 256

Author's Note: Closer to Alexandria! Closer to Jewel meeting random hair cut lady, which Jewel is waiting anxiously for. But now on to our somewhat unscripted story. Review please.

Group POV:

Michonne and Mar surrounded Lexi at the barn door to help her keep Hope from getting wetter then she was as some of the group went in to check out the barn led by Rick who was holding a flashlight.

Summer took the rear of group and went to open a stall door only to be greeted by a very weak walker. She went over and bent over and stabbed it in the head and grabbed the gun beside her. "You should have opted out, you knew the end was coming and you just let it happen. You just waited til the end, and you didn't even have the courage to end it. All it would take is one bullet to the head rather become one of those things. What kind of person were you to just wait and let it happen."

"Maybe she didn't know that this would happen, maybe she didn't know that she would come back like this," Mar told her as she leaned against the stable door. "I know the last thing you want to hear that everything is going to be alright, not after all that happened lately, especially not with all the losses. But we can't give up. We've got people depending on us," she told her. "Not to mention, Summer Dixon is a lot stronger then to give up. She'll be the one holding up a middle finger if she's ever bit."

"Have you told Sasha that?" Summer asked as she stood up.

"I don't think Sasha is at that point of listening yet," Mar said as she kissed the top of Summer's forehead. "Come on."

Jewel opened the diaper bags. "Take Judith and Hope out of those wet clothes," she ordered as she took out clothes and diapers out of plastic bags. "I should have done this for the rest of us," she said as she kissed Rick.

"Those are the two important ones," Carol said.

"Rick, Jes is still out there. We can't leave her out there in this. She wouldn't leave any of us," Joey told him.

"She wouldn't want us to risk any of our lives either," Glenn told him.

"He's right. If anyone can survive this, it's Jes," Rick told him.

"What if she can't?" Joey asks. "What if she can't find shelter?"

"So you want to go out in this?" Daryl asked. "If you do, I'm going with you," he said.

"You aren't going out there alone, I'm with you," David told him.

"Count me in," Summer told him.

Joey shook his head. "I didn't ask any of you to come with me."

"You don't have to ask, we're family," Mitch told him.

"Fine, but first thing in the morning," Joey told them.

Rick put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "I'll go with you," he told him.

Jes and Phoebe's POV:

Phoebe opened the door to the RV, moving out of the way for Jes to go in. "Sure you want to check it out, make sure it's not a trap or anything." she said as she let the older woman in. She quickly followed her and closed the door. "I'm just going to go get towels, you can look around," she told her.

Jes looked at her. "If you're getting a gun, I'll kill you," she told her.

"Wouldn't even think about it," Phoebe told her. "You look like a granola bar person, there's a box in the cabinet. I'll even take the first bite, so you know I'm not trying to poison you," she told her as she held out the towel. "I know you don't believe me, that you have no reason to trust me, but we're not trying to hurt you or your group, we're trying to help. I'm Phoebe by the way, we didn't get a chance to do introductions," she told her.

Jes looked at her as she took the towel. "You were watching us. How long? How many of you?"

"Look, I'm not the one to go through the whole spiel, that's Aaron. But, you'd probably shoot him, I would have shot him if I had a bullet left in the gun," Phoebe answered.

Jes glanced at her as she opened up the cabinet. "I'm taking the pork and beans. I hate granola," she told her. "Asked you a question, two actually." she said as she opened up the can of pork and beans.

"You're persistent, I give you that. We were watching you for three days, there's three of us. We are recruiters from a community, a community with walls," Phoebe told her. "We've been watching you to judge what kind of people you were. Aaron wanted to wait til tomorrow to make contact, I insisted on bringing the water to you all. I had no intention on making contact, but I couldn't let you all go another day without water. Not with a newborn and another small child. I couldn't let that be on my conscious, Jes," she told her.

Jes looked at her. "I knew you were listening to us," she told her. "What is your game?"

"You don't have any reason to believe me, to trust me. I was out there for a year, when Aaron approached me, it was just me and my nephew. I was outside New Jersey when this all started, visiting my brother, his wife, Liam and two month old little boy. Things got bad real quick, we packed up the car, headed to New York. They said that there would be shelter's set up, that it would be safe. We didn't even make it there, the roads was a mess, gas ran low. We started walking, with some other people. No idea where to go, no idea how to kill these things. About six weeks after the whole thing started, we were surrounded, my brother, the baby and my sister in law as well as a whole lot of other people, were mauled. I barley got Liam into a car. I'll never forget the screams that he had….six years old, to see his family like that. I had no idea what to do, I was a first year college student, no training in weapons whatsoever, terrible at directions, and certainly not equipped to be an instant parent. But there I was, and I did what I had to do to survive. I ran into less than savory characters, I know you have too. I never thought I'd see that side of humanity, couldn't imagine it," she stated. "I would have killed to have found a group like yours. I can see all of you have lost people, giving up hope, but you know what I also see?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me," Jes responded.

"I see a group of people that would do anything for each other. Not many people would give up there water to make sure children and a mother of a newborn would have more. Not many people would literally stop to make sure everyone is together. They sure as hell wouldn't make sure the kids were grouped together in the middle. However you found each other, whatever made you all whatever you are to each other, that's something that we need back in our community. Most of them have been behind the walls this whole entire time thinking that this isn't going to come inside and disturb the whole Stepford Wives thing they got going on," Phoebe told her.

"That's a great selling point," Jes said as she finished the pork and beans. "

"There's nothing I can say to convince you, there's nothing that I can say to make you believe this is real. But how long do you think you all can stay on this road? How long do you think a newborn mother is going to survive out here with a new born baby? Water is harder to come by, and food is scarce. When she dies, how many of your group is just going to give up? Your leader? The man with the wild beard, do you think if he loses any of his children or his wife, that he'll be able to go on? From what I see, he'd give his last breath for her," she told the other woman. "How many people have you lost recently?"

Jes glared at her. "Why do you care?"

"Because I care," Phoebe answered honestly. "I know it's hard to understand that people still give a damn about other people now a days, but I do. I wouldn't be talking to you, trying to convince you that this is the best thing for your group. I wouldn't have brought you here out of the storm if I had ulterior motives."

Jes snorted. "You'd be surprised what kind of persona's people can put on when they want something," she told her.

Phoebe held out her hands. "You haven't tied me up, you haven't shot me, you haven't knocked me out, so that tells me that somewhere deep down you believe me. Or, that you don't think that I'm out to do anything to you or your group."

"Family," Jes told her.

Phoebe looked at her. "What?"

"It's not a group, it's family. Mostly," Jes told her as she stood up and put a gun to her head. "I won't hesitate to hurt you, or anyone else you have with you. Do you understand me?"

Phoebe took a breath and looked at her. "Crystal," she answered.

"Once this storm is over, we're going out there, to find them. I don't entirely trust you," Jes told her as she lowered the gun.

"I'd be worried if you did," Phoebe answered as she relaxed now that the gun was removed from her head.

"You're going to have to answer some tough questions from Rick and the others. They've been through a lot lately," Jes informed her.

"You mean you've all been through a lot lately. You lumped yourself in with them when you said you were family, but now you're separating yourself. It doesn't work that way Jes and I think you know that," Phoebe told her.

"I'm taking some of the food back to the group," was the only reply that Jes gave her.

TBC