Better Days

Chapter 366

Author's Note: Well, last night's episode just was depressing. I know it's the walking dead, but that was just horrible in a new kind of way. Jewel and Jes (guess Jes is telling me she's staying alive) were giving me all kind of ideas. Jewel is going to be Rick's backbone, Negan is not destroying our Jick's. Nope, not happening. Anyway, afraid to say Negan isn't that far away right now (well he is but you know what I mean) in this story, neither is the Hilltop. I'm leaving the tiger for later, seriously not feeling the tiger! Review Please.

Alexandria:

Jewel took the walkie talkie from Rick and pressed the button. "Alexandria, come in."

"This is Rosita, go ahead," the other woman's voice came over the radio.

"The trucks gave way, we're doing this now. There's no stopping this," Jewel responded.

"What do you need us to do?" Rosita questioned.

"Get people up on the guard points. Jes is with Axel, David took Joey's spot. Use Joey, he's a good sniper shot too. Not as good as Jes, but we have to adapt," Jewel told her.

"Got it," Rosita answered.

"Get the Alexandrians that have no weapons training inside the houses, we can't risk there lives if this goes south," Jewel warned the other woman.

"Got it," Rosita stated.

"We're at red at the bottom of the hill," Sasha's voice said as she came through the radio.

"All right, here comes the parade," Daryl responded.

Jewel arched an eyebrow and pressed the button on the walkie talkie. "You and I need to talk about what a parade is, big brother, because well, this isn't my idea of one."

Rick shook his head as he took the walkie talkie. "Glenn you there yet?"

"Almost, we'll have it handled before they get here," Glenn responded.

"Copy that," Rick said. "Jes, how are you and Axel doing?"

"Getting into position, we don't want to be to close to the road that they run right into us. I mean I'm all for adventure, but that's a little to much even for me. We're going to set back a bit, still going to have a perfect viewing spot," Jes responded.

"Copy. Summer, you there yet?" Rick asked.

"Getting there, should have brought a car. We had to stop a couple times," Summer responded.

"Why?" Rick asked, knowing the answer.

Summer glanced over at her shoulder. "It's a long way, dad. Even David and I had trouble keeping pace," she responded.

"Alright," Rick responded. He looked at the metal gate and the RV and cars. "It'll hold."

"Well that's good, considering where we're standing," Michonne said standing in the middle of Rick and Morgan, Jewel being the outside by Rick.

Rick glanced at Jewel. "You should head back to Alexandria," he told her.

"I told you, I'm staying out here until we let the flares off, and that's what I'm going to do," Jewel told him as she squeezed his hand. "I'm alright, we'll be alright."

"Michonne?" Morgan questioned.

"Yeah?" Michonne answered.

"Back when you were in that place, where I lived, did you take one of my protein bars?" Morgan asked.

"No," Michonne quickly answered as she glanced at him.

"See, I could have sworn there was one more peanut butter left," Morgan said. "Jewel did you take it?"

Jewel looked past Rick and Michonne to look at Morgan. "This is what you want to talk about right now? A peanut butter protein bar? Seriously? No, I wasn't pregnant at the time and that's the only time I like peanut butter," she said as she glanced at Rick and rolled her eyes.

"That's how it is, isn't it? You always think there's one more peanut butter left," Michonne said.

"Check on Glenn, please," Jewel told Rick.

"Glenn you have to hurry. The noise could distract the herd off the road, talk to me," Rick said through the walkie talkie.

"We're here," Glenn responded.

"Good, let me know when you're done," Rick said.

Jewel moved closer to the metal walls. "They're coming," she said as she climbed on top of the RV. "Get ready with the flare guns," she instructed as she held hers up.

Rick pointed his up in the air and shot his with the other three doing the same. He watched as Jewel jumped off the RV and moved close to him on the wall. She placed her ear on the wall and listened to the walkers pass as she squeezed Rick's hand.

Glenn's group:

Nicholas stood in front of the doors. "Sounds like a lot," he said.

"We need it quiet," Glenn told them.

"So, what's the plan?" Heath asked.

Quinn looked at Glenn. "We're going to all have to be prepared," she said.

Glenn nodded. "We take them out a few at a time. Nicholas you're at the door. Quinn, Heath and I will stand back and take them out. You let one or two out and then you close it. You keep doing that, that's the trick, that's how we can control it," he told them.

"What if he can't close it?" Heath asked.

"I'll be able to," Nicholas told him.

"Are you sure, Nicholas? I can man the door," Quinn told him.

"I've got it," Nicholas assured her.

Glenn nodded. "Then we take them on."

"We take them on?" Heath repeated.

Quinn sighed. "Yes, Heath, we're going to take them on. This is what needs to happen. We don't have time for you to repeat everything back to him," she told him.

Glenn shot her a grateful look. "If we get into trouble, we go behind the building into the woods and we draw them away."

"Hey, you've been out on runs since he got here. He knows what he's doing, me and Aiden, we didn't," Nicholas told him.

"This was supposed to be a dress rehearsal," Heath told them.

"I'm supposed to be delivering pizzas man. Daryl is leading them this way and they're closing in. The noise is gonna pull the herd right off the road and then we have serious trouble. We have to do this," Glenn told him.

"Think about your mother and aunt back in Alexandria, Heath. We are keeping the walkers' away from them. We didn't plan to do this today, but it's better that we were out there then it happening without us there. Glenn needs us to do this. Alright?" Quinn asked him.

"All right," Heath said.

"Okay?" Glenn asked.

"Okay," Heath answered.

Nicholas and Quinn both said OK in unison as Glenn took his position "On three. Ready? One, two, three!" he said as Nicholas opened the door only to be met with a garage door. "Shit."

Quinn looked at the window then at Glenn. "We're going to have to shoot out the window."

"That's a real bad idea," Nicholas told her.

"You got any others? You Heath?" Quinn asked both of them. "No? Alright, then Glenn? What do you think?"

"It's the only idea," Glenn responded.

"I think there's something like a dozen in there," Nicholas told them.

"I'll take a dozen, a dozen is reasonable with four of us," Quinn told him.

"We stay back, we get on opposite ends, we draw them to each of us," Glenn told them.

"Three a piece?" Nicholas asked.

"No, this is just me and Heath. Quinn I need you to stand in the back in case any get past us," Glenn instructed her. He grabbed the walkie talkie and gave it to Nicholas. "You get back and you stay back. Things go south, you tell Rick and you draw them away. Just move back," Glenn told him.

"Nicholas, this is as important as any other job," Quinn assured him.

"You ready?" Glenn asked.

"No but since you're doing this thing anyway," Heath told him.

Quinn stood back ready to take any out that came her way as Glenn shot out the window and walkers started coming out at them. "Alright, they're still coming," Glenn said as him and Heath both had to start using there hands to fight. Nicholas and Quinn both jumped in to help. Glenn nodded his thanks to Nicholas and Quinn as one walker came out. He looked at Nicholas. "Get it," he said and nodded as he did. "Good, let's go," he told them as the four of them started running.

Summer's Group:

Summer climbed up the hill up to the overpass and looked down. "We're going to have to one of us standing at the top of that, the walkers' get through, they're going to go be able to make there way up the same way we did," she told them.

"I got it," Emily said.

Summer took out the walkie talkie. "In position," she said.

"Good, Glenn's on his way back, and they just passed the first barrier," Rick told her. "You shouldn't have to much to worry about if we can keep them on the right path."

"We've got it covered if a few want to try and escape," Summer reassured him.

"Be careful," Rick told her.

"You too," Summer said as she replaced the walkie on her belt. "Now, it's just a waiting game."

"So we just throw the smoke grenades if they get distracted?" Nikki asked.

"Out in the middle, the noise will keep them going," Summer instructed her.

"Don't use all of them at once either, this is going to take a while. I don't think I've ever seen so many in one spot before," David told them.

"I know I haven't," Summer said.

"Do you think this plan of Rick's will work?" Nikki asked.

"It has to or we're all done for," Summer responded. She glanced over her shoulder toward the woods.

"Summer? What's wrong?" David asked.

"Nothing," Summer said.

"You just stared into the woods. Do you here something?" David asked.

"No, I felt like someone was watching,but I'm sure it's nothing," Summer assured them.

Axel and Jes' POV:

Jes got out of the car and stood on the hood of the car and took out her binoculars. "I've got eyes on Summer and her group," she said as she jumped back in the car.

"This will work, right?" Axel questioned.

"If it doesn't, we'll do something else," Jes said.

"How many of us are going to die while we figure it out? I mean I trust Rick, but the size of that herd was more then I could fathom," Axel said.

"Well we've got no choice but to do this," Jes said. "You volunteered for it," she reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. I don't regret it either," Axel said.

Jes adjusted the binoculars. "I'm seeing movement out in the woods."

"Walkers?" Axel asked.

"To far away to tell," Jes said.

"You want to go check it out?" Axel asked.

"No, I've got a job to do here, and I plan to do it," Jes said. "I'll just have to keep an eye on it," she told him. "Sasha, how's the parade coming?" she asked through the walkie talkie.

"Slow and steady. We had some who wanted to stray, but Abraham took care of them," Sasha answered.

"He wasn't very smart about it, was he?" Jes questioned.

"Of course he wasn't, it's Abraham we're talking about," Sasha answered.

"Keep us posted," Jes answered.

"Will do," Sasha answered.

"They should start coming our way, shortly," Jes said.

Axel nodded. "Guess all we can do is sit and wait," he said.