Better Days

Chapter 309

Author's Note: It's getting a bit hazardous in Alexandria isn't it? Rick is still going to kill Pete, not Jewel. It's a major thing for Rick to do. Now let's go check up on our supply team. Review please.

Supply team POV:

Quinn shook her head as she walked up to Nicholas and quickly hit him in the back of the head with her hand.

"What the hell was that for?" Nicholas demanded to know.

"You're an idiot. You would have gotten all of us killed. Go out the front? Yeah and be faced by over two hundred of the dead," Quinn told him. "You're lucky that Glenn suggested to check the exits. And, I'm glad Aiden had sense enough to agree. You are more then welcome to go out the front, I'll even give you a push. Is this how Will and the others got killed Nicholas? Because you got scared?" she questioned as she stepped in front of him.

"Quinn, take a step back," Aiden instructed. "This isn't going to do any good. Let's get this done."

Quinn looked at him and stepped away.

Glenn looked at her and nodded as he walked to the building as he took lead. He slowly opened the door and banged on it. "Give it another second, it's a big place, there could be some inside."

Aiden looked at him. "So, let's say there are, let's move, be safe," he told him.

Glenn nodded. "Alright," he said as he walked in first, followed by the rest of the group. "Let's move," he told them. "Tara? You got it?" he whispered.

"I got this aisle," she answered whispering back.

Quinn turned slowly as she heard distant banging and moaning. "We've got company."

"They're stuck behind something," Glenn responded.

"How do you know?" Aiden asked.

"I don't, but they aren't here," Glenn answered. "Alright, let's go. Eyes up," he instructed as the group moved.

"The sounds are getting closer," Quinn responded as Glenn stopped in front of a cage with walkers' behind them. Glenn kept moving and the rest of them followed. She glanced at Aiden next to her who was obviously frightened.

"Slow and steady, Aiden. They are behind cages, they can't get to you. You shot that gun out of fear, the sound will bring more," she whispered to him.

"Clear," Glenn whispered.

"Clear," Tara responded.

"You know your stuff," Aiden told Glenn.

"We were out there for a long time," Tara responded.

"There could me more," Glenn informed them.

"More that aren't in cages," Quinn responded. "The quicker we get this done, the faster we'll be home and get power."

Aiden nodded. "Let's get to work," he instructed the group.

Tara turned her flashlight on Eugene. "You're up," she told Eugene.

"You want me to come with you?" Quinn questioned Tara.

"No, we'll be fine, you all won't be far away," she told her. "Appreciate the offer," she said. "Let's go Eugene."

Glenn looked at Quinn. "So how did you learn to be so calm out here?" he whispered as she walked next to him.

"I'm afraid, just like I am sure that you are. But, I want to get back to Gus, to the girls, to the family. I want to see Alexandria grow, and all of you make us stronger. I can't do that, if I'm not calm. As I've said, I spent some time out here in the beginning, I understand what gets people killed," she told him.

"We found them," Tara said as she ripped opened a box with her knife. "Here's another one," she exclaimed.

"Alright Eugene," Glenn told him from the other side of the aisle.

Quinn turned her head at the sound of a gunshot. "Where's Aiden and Nicholas?" she questioned.

Glenn moved closer so he could see. "It's got armor, let it come closer," he ordered Aiden.

"I got it," Aiden told them.

"You don't have it Aiden! Stop shooting!" Quinn yelled at him.

"I said I got this," Aiden repeated as he shot the walker in the leg. He continued to shoot as the walker tried to get up.

Glenn spotted the grenade on the walker's body. "Aiden, stop! Stop!" he yelled, right as an explosion knocked them down. Glenn was thrown backwards into Quinn. It took him a few seconds to gather his surroundings. "Quinn?"

Quinn sat slowly up. "I'm alright…I think," she responded.

"Oh God…Oh God….," Nicholas started moaning as Quinn and Glenn both saw Aiden's body.

"He's dead," Nicholas told them.

"Aiden!" Quinn exclaimed as she ran to him.

"Noah, Tara Eugene?" Glenn called out as Noah and Glenn both shone there flashlights in each others' eyes.

"You good?" Noah asked.

Glenn nodded. "Cage is open, they're getting out. We need to find….", he stopped as heard Eugene's voice.

"Over here," Eugene said.

Glenn and Noah both saw Tara lying in a pool of blood with an obvious head injury.

"Is she breathing?" Glenn questioned. "Eugene?"

"I…I can't tell from here," Eugene answered.

"Aiden is still alive!" Quinn called.

"They're getting closer," Nicholas exclaimed.

"Nicholas go help them!" Quinn ordered as she took Aiden's hand. "GO," she ordered again.

Quinn's POV:

Quinn looked at Aiden and took a breath. "Always getting into trouble, aren't you little brother? Been attracting trouble since the day you were born."

"Just to make your life miserable," Aiden said as he looked down at the stakes in his body.

"Hey, look at me, don't look there," Quinn told him. "You'll be alright, we'll get you out of here. Mom will kill me if you don't make it out of here. You're her favorite you know," she teased.

"I'm scared," Aiden admitted.

Quinn took a breath. "Squeeze my hand, look at me, stay with me. I can't risk doing this alone, got to wait for the others. You aren't going to die Aiden, you just aren't. For once in your life, you are going to listen to me," she told him.

"Gus is a good man….I've been to hard on him," Aiden told her as he struggled to breath.

"Hey you'll tell him yourself. I am not a priest, you are not dying, so there is no death bed confessions here," Quinn answered trying not to cry.

"No, listen….I know that I'm the younger brother…but being only about a year and half apart…it was hard. All my friends had a crush on you, I had to…punch a couple out because of what they were talking about. I thought you were to good….for a army grunt like Cam….you could have married some….someone…with power, someone who had enough money to keep taking care of you of the way you were used to," Aiden told her.

Quinn scoffed. "The worth of a dollar, it's declined since the dead decided to make us snacks. Glenn, Noah, I need help. Aiden is still alive!"

"I checked him…I thought…" Nicholas started to say.

"Well I'm having a conversation with him, I can't get him out alone!" Quinn yelled. "Like hell Nicholas came over here, he went the other way. He's nothing but a coward," she told Aiden.

Aiden squeezed her hand. "Tell mom," he started to say.

"No, you are NOT going down that road, do you here me Aiden Reginald Monroe? You're going to tell her the truth yourself," she told him as she looked back seeing Nicholas, Noah and Glenn coming toward them. "Nicholas, you didn't even check him. You ran! I've been here the whole entire time," Quinn said.

"Quinn, I need you to calm down. This isn't going to get Aiden out of here. I need you to be calm for him, alright?" Glenn asked. Quinn nodded at him. "Alright, it's gonna be alright," Glenn told Aiden. "Alright? Everything's gonna be ok. I need you to stay quiet, OK? Can you do that?"

Aiden nodded as Quinn squeezed his hand. "How's Tara?"

"Eugene's with her," Glenn told her.

Quinn nodded as she kissed the top of Aiden's forehead. "Do you remember when you were seven and I was almost 9? You dared me to jump off that big oak tree by dad's garden? You jumped, made it seem like it was no big deal, I jumped and broke an arm and to find out you had jammed up your knee. You remember that?" she asked, nodding at Glenn to pull out one of the stakes.

Aiden screamed in pain as Quinn and Glenn looked back at Noah.

"The flare it's burning out," Noah told them.

"Just a couple more alright Aiden? I need you to be strong just like that time you and I jumped. I got in trouble for that remember? And a lecture on how as the oldest, I was responsible? I'm to old to sit through another one of mom's lectures," Quinn told him as her voice started to break.

"We're not going make it," Nicholas told Glenn as his voice waived.

"Yes we are, but I need your help," Glenn told Nicholas. "Quinn and I can't do this alone."

Aiden grabbed Nicholas shoulder. "Nick…don't leave…leave me," he begged.

"Man up Nicholas or I'll shoot you in your gut and leave you to the biters. My brother needs you," Quinn hissed.

"OK, alright," Nicholas answered.

Glenn pulled another stake out of him as Aiden moaned in pain.

"Just one more baby brother, it's almost done," Quinn told him as she squeezed his hand.

Nicholas started to get scared again and leaned up to Aiden's ear. "You left them, we both did. That's who we are. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said as he backed away.

Quinn let go of Aiden's hand and both her and Glenn went to grab Nicholas. "You son of…"

"They're coming!" Noah said as Nicholas ran past him.

Quinn looked at Glenn as they both went over to Aiden. "We'll be alright, who needs Nicholas anyway?" she asked as tears came to her eyes.

"No, stop," Aiden told them. "Quinn you were right, this whole time. It was us, it wasn't them. We got scared, not them. They didn't panic, we did," he told them as he looked at Quinn. "Tell mom, make her understand. Tell her Glenn did everything he could to save me…" Aiden said.

"I'm not leaving you!" Quinn yelled.

"Glenn get her out of here! Leave me! Don't make Chloe lose another person who cares for her, don't make Bri an orphan!" Aiden yelled at her.

"They're here!" Noah yelled as he grabbed Glenn and Glenn grabbed her. They could here Aiden's crying out in agony.

"Quinn, I need you to focus alright? I need you to focus all that anger on getting home, all of us getting home. Alright?" Glenn asked as they ran. "Aiden wanted you to tell Deanna what happened. She won't believe us, you have to do it."

Quinn nodded as she shot a walker in the head. "I got it."

"Nicholas! Stop! You won't make it!" Glenn yelled.

"Let the bastard die," Quinn yelled as she shot rounds at another one.

"I'm out!" both Glenn and Quinn yelled at the same time.

"Come on," Noah yelled as he pushed Quinn ahead of them to the rotating doors.

Quinn saw Nicholas on the other side. "I'm going to kill you when we get out of here. You killed him, you selfish coward!" she yelled at him.

Noah looked at her. "Quinn, we need you calm. I know the anger you're feeling right now, but the only way we get out of this alive, is all of working together."

"Hey maybe we can shoot our way past them. You guys still have the guns," Nicholas told them.

"And you have the ammo!" Glenn and Quinn both yelled at the same time.

"Whose bright idea was that? Oh yours, well now that worked out well didn't it?" Quinn hissed.

"We've got to do something man, we're gonna die in here," Nicholas told them.

"I'm all for sacrificing you if it means the three of us get out of here alive," Quinn said as she stood between Noah and Glenn. "I always hated these doors."

"There's got to be another way, there has to be," Noah said as he looked around.

TBC