Daryl stirred, opening his eyes to look up at the dusty ceiling of the warehouse. Jessie, who had taken final watch, walked up and passed him a granola bar and the canteen. He ate and drank, and the three gathered to go over the plan one last time.
"And we're sure this'll work?" Jessie asked.
"It'll work," Rosita assured.
"We need to be prepared if it doesn't," Jessie pointed out.
"It'll work," Rosita repeated.
Jessie shot her an exasperated look and she rolled her eyes, but Daryl caught the way Rosita's lips twitched up at the corners. Daryl glanced at Jessie and saw the same look. He shook his head.
"He's right. If it don't work, we gotta be ready to end it quick," Daryl insisted.
"We will," Rosita said, getting to her feet.
Sure of their plan, the three gathered their gear and headed to their positions. Rosita split off from them to sneak around the buildings. Once Daryl and Jessie made it to their place, they could see the one guard on the main door.
Daryl readied his crossbow as they watched and waited.
"So, Rosita?" Daryl asked, glancing at Jessie.
"What about her?" Jessie asked, not looking at him.
"I saw that look you had. Y'all been makin' eyes at each other all night," Daryl teased.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jessie scoffed.
"Whatever," Daryl shrugged. "Ain't none of my business."
"No business to be had," Jessie huffed.
Hours passed before there was any change, and it was only the guard being switched out. Daryl and Jessie stayed vigilant.
"You sure there's nothin' goin' on between you and Rosita?" Daryl asked.
"There's nothing between me and Rosita," Jessie said, clearly annoyed. "We've known each other for a long time. We're friends."
Daryl hummed, disbelieving.
"Even if there was something, Abraham died barely a month ago," Jessie huffed.
"They weren't together longer than that," Daryl pointed out.
"She was with Spencer," Jessie grumbled.
"Guess Spencer had a type," Daryl said. "That piss you off? First he went for your sister, then he took your girl?"
"Rosita is not my girl," Jessie mumbled.
Daryl opened his mouth to retort, but movement caught their attention and the conversation was cut short.
Finally, they watched as Eugene stepped out of the building behind another guard, a rifle bag slung over his shoulder. Daryl aimed and fired, his bolt embedding itself into the guard's forehead. Eugene, panicking, turned to run back inside, only for Rosita to appear from around the corner, dropping the other guard.
Jessie and Daryl approached, weapons raised and ready. Daryl grabbed his bolt as Jessie pressed his gun against Eugene's head and Rosita snatched the rifle from his shoulder. They rushed off without a word, forcing Eugene forward.
Anna and Emma started through the gates, rifles hanging from their shoulders as they made their way into the woods. Hilltop was low on rations, despite having less mouths to feed after the attack, and Anna had offered to go hunting. Emma insisted on joining, deciding now would be as good a time as any to learn.
The two walked for a little while, Anna keeping her eyes on the ground in search of a trail. She finally spotted what looked like rabbit droppings, and she paused and crouched close to the ground.
"Emma, take a look at this," she called, waving for Emma to join her.
"Poop?" Emma asked, kneeling beside her.
"Rabbit poop," Anna said.
"Uh huh," Emma said, wrinkling her nose.
"You can tell by looking at it that it's fresh," Anna said. "And also that they went West."
"How can you tell that?"
"See how it's slightly dragged in that direction?"
Emma nodded after a moment.
"We'll go that way, keep an eye out for tracks or any other traces," Anna said as she stood.
"Thanks for taking me out with you," Emma said, as they continued walking.
"I told you I'd teach you to hunt," Anna shrugged.
"I know, just… thanks," Emma said.
Things had been slowly patching back together since they'd spoken the day before. A sort of peaceful understanding settling between them. They were, however hesitantly, friends, and as Emma had said, those were hard to come by.
"Why didn't you bring your stick?" Emma asked.
"I left it with the blacksmith," Anna said, stepping over a tree.
"Earl? Why?"
"I had an idea," Anna smiled.
"I can't help but suspect that the reason I'm being taken alive is, despite… what completely warranted bad blood exists between us, you still harbor a vestigial nostalgia for our erstwhile camaraderie," Eugene rambled.
Clenching his jaw, Daryl pulled his hunting knife, shifting his crossbow to his other hand. If Eugene didn't shut up, Daryl would make him.
"And in light of that," Eugene went on, "I'm willing to just shut my grub flap and give you your space until you see such a time as you're ready to break the ice, one traveling companion—"
Daryl whirled around and shoved his knife in Eugene's trembling face.
"Shut your mouth before I cut your tongue out!" He snarled.
"All right!" Rosita said, pushing herself between them. "We got to keep going."
Jessie gently pulled Daryl back. He yanked himself out of Jessie's grip and tucked his knife back in its sheath as he stepped away.
"They have to be out looking for him by now," Jessie warned.
Daryl huffed, turning on his heel and continuing on.
"Thank you. I—"
"Shut up," Rosita and Jessie snapped.
"Let's go," Rosita sighed.
They walked in blissful silence for a few more minutes before Eugene found it necessary to speak again.
"When I told Negan I made the bullet, it was to save your life. I didn't think. I just acted on your behalf," Eugene went on, referring to Rosita. "And I fully expected the crack of the bat to be the last thing I heard, but that didn't happen. And then I thought they would torture me. But they didn't. They gave me a chance to live. And I tried to resist. I tried to rise above my biological imperative, but that is not who I am."
"I know who you are," Rosita sneered. "You're the reason they were able to escape the Sanctuary. Everything that's happened since then, everyone who's died. That's on you."
"Rick's the one who pushed us all to take the Saviors on," Eugene insisted. "He's the one who jumped headlong into this shit-storm with no waders—"
Before anyone could react, Jessie had Eugene shoved against the wall, his gun pressed under his chin with a look of pure loathing in his near-black eyes.
"You're selfish, and you're a coward, and you're a traitor. You tried to resist?" Jessie scoffed. "You turned your back on the only friends you ever had the second they offered you the chance. Killing you right now would actually make the world a better place."
He pulled his gun away and stepped back.
"But we're not gonna kill you, not because we give a flying fuck about you," he spat out, his lip curling in disgust. "We're gonna stick you in the darkest hole we can find, and the only time you'll see the light of day is when we need you to teach us how to do something. So, don't worry… you'll get what you want. You'll live. But we're going to force you to do something useful with your pathetic life. Now get moving and shut the hell up."
Jessie shoved Eugene back onto the road, and they continued walking.
"Aim for the head. It'll be the quickest way," Anna whispered, just enough for Emma to hear.
Emma nodded, keeping her rifle trained in front of her. Anna took a careful step back, waiting for Emma to pull the trigger. She flinched as the bullet exploded from the barrel. An instant later, the deer dropped to the ground.
"All right, let's go get your prize," Anna said, patting Emma on the shoulder as she walked past.
Anna adjusted the rabbits and squirrels hanging by strings from her shoulder and took her knife out to deal with the approaching walkers. She dispatched them easily and knelt beside the deer. Emma had gotten the creature clean in the head.
"Nice shot," Anna praised, pulling her hunting knife to begin dressing it. "First thing you want to do is field dress it. Remove all of the internal organs and as much of the windpipe as possible. Try not to get dirt or fur inside, and don't hurt yourself while doing it. Did you bring those plastic bags I told you to grab?"
"Right," Emma said, pulling off her pack and digging out the bags as she eyed Anna's work.
Anna looked up at Emma, noting the sad and disgusted tone to her voice as she took the plastic bags. She turned back to the deer, making sure not to contaminate the meat or cut herself as she scooped out the organs and set them inside the bags, handing them back to Emma who, while dry heaving, put them in her pack.
"Hey, I know it's hard, but it's necessary. We need to eat," Anna said. "It's okay to be sad about it. Just don't let it stop you from doing what you have to, to survive."
"Was it hard for you when you started?" Emma asked weakly.
"I hated it," Anna admitted. "I still don't like it."
"So, why do you do it? I mean, Daryl hunts just fine on his own," Emma pointed out.
"He can't be the only one doing it, though. I learned because I wanted to carry my weight. To contribute," Anna said, shaking her head. "And, who knows, maybe there's gonna be a time when I'm the only one who can do it."
Emma nodded, a grave look on her face.
"Let's get this back to Hilltop," Anna said, bending to grab the deer by its front feet.
Emma walked around and took its hind legs and they started back the way they'd come, with the promise of learning to skin and clean, at which Anna could see Emma's skin blanch, but neither said anything more.
"They must've heard us pull up," Jessie sighed as they watched the walkers lingering around their car shamble toward them.
"I got it," Daryl said. "Watch him."
"I'll help you," Jessie assured. "You got this?" He asked, glancing back at Rosita.
Rosita nodded and Daryl and Jessie started taking out the walkers.
"Shit!"
Daryl looked over to Rosita to see her running after Eugene, pausing to take out the walkers that came around the corner before continuing. Daryl and Jessie ran after her, finding her shooting at the fence with a gaping hole, puke dripping from her torso.
"Let's go," Jessie called, and they made their way through, running the only way Eugene could have gone.
They came upon a courtyard of ash, black footprints cutting through the piles and further on.
"He couldn't have got far. Come on," Daryl said, and they followed the trail.
"We can't let him get back to them," Rosita said. "If you see him, blow that pig's head off."
They ran for a block when Daryl paused, realizing something he hadn't taken into account in their rush to catch Eugene.
"Son of a bitch," Daryl growled.
"What?" Jessie asked.
"The ash trail—it cut off before the street," Daryl said, pointing back the way they'd come. "We ran right past him."
"Chingada," Rosita hissed before they turned and ran back to the ashen courtyard.
Once there, they saw that one pile in particular had been disturbed. He was already gone.
"Fuck!" Jessie snapped, slamming his open palm against the hood of the car.
"Be quiet," Rosita warned.
"We aren't gonna get another go at this," Jessie said. "The Saviors will get their bullets."
"It's gonna be all right, Jay," Rosita said, her voice calm. "We'll figure it out."
Jessie leaned against the car, his head bowed as he took deep breaths. Daryl had never seen him quite like this before today. Incensed would be the best way to describe it. Desperate was a close second.
"We need to start heading back," Daryl said. "They're expectin' us before the day is out."
Jessie sucked in a breath and pushed himself away from the car.
"All right," he said, calmer than he'd been before. "All right. Nothing we can do now. Let's just go."
Rosita nodded, patting him on the shoulder. Her hand lingered there for a moment before she pulled away and got in the backseat. Daryl and Jessie loaded up, and Daryl turned them towards Hilltop.
After getting back to Hilltop and through the gates unscathed, Anna and Emma received excited looks and some grateful shouts as they carried their catches around back and out of sight. There, Anna and Emma hung up the animals to drain on the rack Daryl had set up the last time they'd been here. All the while, Anna explained what they were doing and why.
"All right, grab one of those squirrels. I'm going to show you how to skin and clean it and then you'll do it," Anna said, pulling her knife.
Emma hesitated a moment, looking at the hanging animals before she took down the one at the end. She handed the squirrel over, and Anna took them to the wood table.
"Lay it flat on its belly," she said, talking as she worked. "Lift the tail and cut a horizontal line. And then break the tailbone. Don't tear the skin above that, though."
She set the knife on the table and pulled on the tailbone just enough to hear the pop of it breaking. Anna didn't miss the way Emma flinched.
"Are you okay to keep going?" Anna asked.
"Yep, mmhmm."
"Are you going to puke?"
She shook her head fiercely.
"Go on. I'll be fine."
"Okay," Anna said, unsure. "Take the knife and skin up the backbone on either side, loosen up the hide like so and then start pulling back on the skin—" Anna pulled back the skin by the tail, the tissue making a soft ripping sound. She used her knife to help it along.
"Oh God," Emma groaned, turning away and bending at the waist, her breakfast splashing onto the grass.
Anna paused in her work as Emma turned back, wiping at her face.
"You good?" Anna asked.
"I don't like hunting," Emma muttered, shaking her head.
"Go inside and clean up. I'll take care of it," Anna said.
"But—"
"Go," Anna insisted, shooing her off.
Emma pressed her lips together but nodded, walking quickly away and disappearing around the house. Anna went back to skinning the squirrel, a good-natured smile on her face.
A moment later, a throat cleared. She looked over her shoulder to see Daryl standing there, hands in his pockets.
"You're back," Anna said, dropping the squirrel and knife as she turned to face him. "Did it go all right?"
Daryl pressed his lips together, stepping over to the hanging animals.
"We had him, but he got away," Daryl explained, his back to her. "They've got the bullet factory."
Anna nodded stoically as Daryl joined her at the table with his own squirrel.
"It'll be all right," Anna sighed. "We'll figure it out."
Daryl said nothing as he began skinning the squirrel.
"What happened with you?" He asked after a moment.
"Carol found Henry and I went hunting with Emma," Anna said with a small smile.
"How'd that go?"
"I'm not so sure it's something she'll be doing again any time soon," Anna laughed quietly.
Daryl glanced down at the puke in the grass beside the table and shook his head.
"I think there's somethin' between Jessie and Rosita," Daryl said after a few minutes of silence.
Anna's hands stilled for a few seconds as she processed the information before setting to cleaning the squirrel meat.
"Okay," she said, accepting the development. "Can't say I'm necessarily shocked."
"Me neither," Daryl agreed.
"Anna! Daryl!" Emma called, rushing back around the corner. "Gregory's back," she said, out of breath. "He's got a message from Dwight."