Better Days

Chapter 365

Author's Note: Let's get some walkers' into the picture, why don't we? I'm still working out a couple of OC's in the Sanctuary and Hilltop. A couple of our family members are going to be faced with being separated from our group for a couple months, both are going to have different experiences. I was going to kill Joey and have Summer get separated and taken to Hilltop, but then Sunday's episode happened. Am I the only one who still has Easy Street going through their head? Then David started talking to me, and gave me ideas. He's never really incorporated himself into team family, been a loner. If anyone has seen Brett Dalton on Agents of Shield, then you all know how good he is as playing a double agent. Perfect way to introduce Negan to us right? And he will be there with the Saviours. It explains how they were able to find them easily right? Yeah, I change things. And Joey gets to live, for now. No one is ever safe, if they were Glenn would still be alive. GRR. Review please.

Jewel, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Jes and Summer's POV:

Summer walked up with her bow slung over her arm to where Rick and other members of her family were standing. "We strategizing?" she asked.

"When aren't we?" Jes questioned her.

"Everything alright with David?" Rick asked her.

Jewel and Daryl looked at Summer before Jes spoke. "What's going on with David?" Jes questioned.

"He thinks we should leave the Alexandrian's to fight alone, come back after it's all done, take care of the walkers'," Summer answered.

"He's not the only one that thinks that way," Jes answered.

"Town would be destroyed, we'd lose the walls, not worth the risk," Daryl answered.

"Is he going to be a problem?" Rick asked.

"He's family, he'll do what's right," Summer answered.

"Is he though?" Glenn asked. "I mean besides Joey, he really doesn't hang out with any of us. Well, he hangs out with you because you're with Joey most of the time."

"Has he ever given anyone the expression he'd do anything against us?" Jewel questioned.

"No," they all answered.

"He was on his own a long time," Jes reminded them. "Hell, it took me a long time to feel comfortable around all of you, even let myself think about you all being family. How long was it until all of you accepted Merle? He beat Glenn in inches of his life, yet in the end he was still family."

Glenn rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the reminder."

"He's one of us dad," Summer assured him.

"Quinn's here with the Alexandrian's, we better get this started," Jes told them as she walked away.

Jewel nodded as she looked at the others. "No time like the present," she said as she turned and walked over to the group. "Is this everyone?" she asked Quinn.

"Gus stayed to help Joey with the weapons, it's the least we can do. This is all the people that will be out there tomorrow," Quinn answered. "What are you doing out here? You and Jes aren't going out tomorrow, are you?"

Jes checked her gun. "It's a walkthrough, it's always a good to have a few extra pair of eyes. I wouldn't feel right, Jewel wouldn't feel right, if we didn't go out there, know what you're doing each have different set of strengths, it's all we had on the road, it's what we depended on. Rick wants me inside tomorrow, I get why. If I was him, I wouldn't trust the bunch of you with his babies either, but he didn't say anything about today," she told them.

Carter looked at Jes. "That explains you, what about Jewel?"

""That's not really any of your business, is it?" Daryl said.

"I'm out here for the reason Jes said, to give another pair of eyes. Now, we've got a lot of ground to cover, so we need to get started. Please only ask questions if you don't understand something, and not just because you want to argue or disagree with every little thing, shall we?" Jewel asked as she glared at Carter.

"Let's go," Rick told them. "Let's start from the last area first," he told the group. He led the group to last point that they'd need to hit. It was an abandoned tractor building. "All right, this is the finish line. When we make it to green, we fall back. The ditches and ridges will keep them the rest of the way, twenty miles more. All that noise could distract them. we'll clear it on our way back tonight. We don't want any surprises tomorrow. I know this is insane but this is an insane world, we have to come for them before they come for us," Rick said.

"We do it as a team, they're can't be any of us against them attitude," Quinn told them.

Jewel looked at the group. "She's right. I know that we've all got off to on the wrong foot, that we all see things differently. That's because we've all had different experiences. We want to survive, we want you to survive," she assured them.

Rick nodded as he walked with the group. "Summer, you and your group is going to be up on the overpass," he said as he pointed upwards to the overpass. "Axel and David will be in the last car, waiting right past the turn off point. Get any stragglers, herd them back into line with the car."

"Got it," both Summer and Axel told him.

The group walks to the pit and stopped letting everyone take a look at what they were dealing with.

Axel whistled. "Abe, make sure none get separated from the group, will you?"

Abe laughed. "Do my best."

"This is where it all starts tomorrow. Tobin gets in the truck, opens the exit and we're off. He hops out, catches up with his team at red, staying on the west side of the road. Daryl gets on his bike," Rick started to explain.

Summer and Sasha both turned there attention to a noise. "Dad," Summer said as she nodded to the truck giving way.

"Yeah, do you see that?" Sasha asked.

"It's giving way," Jewel told them.

"It's open! We got to do this now, we're doing this now! Tobin's group, get moving, go! Summer, take your group up, get to the overpass," Rick told her.

"Joey's back in Alexandria, and we don't have time to get him," Summer pointed out.

"I'll go with her, I'll watch her back," David said. "Emily, Nikki come on, let's go."

"That leaves Axel alone, someone needs to go with him," Jewel said. "Jes," she said as she looked at Rick. "We can handle Alexandria, Rick," Jewel assured him.

"Go," Rick said as Jes nodded to Axel.

"Rick we're not ready!" Tobin exclaimed.

"Sasha! Abraham!" Rick yelled.

"Damn straight, we'll do it live," Abraham answered.

"You meet Daryl at Red. Let him take them through the gauntlet," Rick instructed.

"Yeah we meet at red," Sasha said as she got in the car.

"Good luck," Jewel told them.

"I'll hit the tractor place," Glenn said.

"OK who else?" Rick asked.

"I'll go with you," Quinn answered. "We made a pretty good team last time."

Glenn nodded as he turned to Heath. "We got to take them out or they'll distract the horde," he said.

"I'm here, let me help," Nicholas told Glenn.

"No," Glenn answered.

"After the last time I was out with you, I'm not sure that I like that idea," Quinn agreed.

"I'm here!" Nicholas yelled at Glenn.

"Do everything I say, everything Quinn says," Glenn told him.

"If I think you're going to get us killed, I'll knock you out and let the biters' get you," Quinn warned. "Glenn's in charge, understand?"

"Yeah, I understand. I'll do everything you say," Nicholas told Glenn.

"Rick this was supposed to be a dry run," Tobin pointed out.

Jewel looked at him. "If you want to go down and tell the walkers' they need to wait until we get through the plan, feel free. Otherwise you need to do what your assigned to do. This is how it is out here, you have to adjust. It's not black and white out here, you have a basic plan, but then you change with what's given to you. We still have the basic plan, but we're moving up the time table. We don't have a choice, the truck gave away. and they are getting through."

Rick nodded. "She's right, you want to go back, go back. We're finishing this. Tobin you hit it on my signal. They're heading for home, we don't have a choice. Daryl get ready, they're coming," he warned.

Jewel raised her gun with a silencer as Daryl raised his cross bow taking out walkers.

"Rick, I can do the truck if Tobin can't," Beth told him.

"What is it going to be Tobin? We don't have time to waist," Rick said.

"I've got it," Tobin answered as he jumped into the truck.

"Get ready to hit the flares. Now!" Rick said. "Tobin hit the truck!"

Jewel raised her flare gun and hit it.

Rick got on the walkie talkie. "You all have assignments, you know where to rendezvous. Daryl leads them out. Sasha and Abraham join him at the bottom of the hill. Glenn, you hit us when you take care of the walkers at the tractor place. That's the one thing we gotta get ahead of. Axel and Jes, make sure you get to the turn off place, Summer and her team need the backup," he said. "Everybody keep your heads, just keep up," he told them.

Author's Note: Littletonpace on face book made a video for this story called Lonly to Long. Please watch and review. I told her she could change and have Rick and family be there when Hope was born. The other way wasn't working in the video.