The Militia walked through the field. It was a clear, beautiful day with a cool breeze nipping at their cheeks. Anna was down to her handgun now, her rifle left at the rally point. Anna walked beside Morgan, with Jesus on his other side.
"You want to keep these people safe, and you think you need to kill other people to do that," Jesus started. "That's not exactly safe for you, which ultimately may not be safe for the people you're trying to keep safe. It's a conundrum. Or it's not," he shrugged.
"You can stop people without killing them. That's what you taught me," Anna said.
"I mean, you almost stopped me," Jesus added. "We have a simple proposal. Something to try." He bumped Morgan's stick and held it in the air. "This end for the dead," he said, pointing at the sharpened end before pointing to the blunt end, "and this end for the living. And things will get better."
Jesus dropped Morgan's stick and picked up his pace to walk ahead. Anna stayed beside him.
"You showed me I had a choice, Morgan. Don't forget that you have one, too," she said in earnest before she fell back to walk beside Daryl.
As they continued on, the group slowly came to a pause, heads turning to the South. Anna gazed out over the horizon, and stared at the herd that moved across it, like a stain spreading across a beautiful piece of fabric. It was the biggest she'd ever seen.
"Holy damn," Jerry gaped. "You ever seen one that big?"
"No," Rick said. "Things are changin'... Let's go."
"How much further?" Daryl asked, glancing at Ezekiel.
"We grow closer," Ezekiel assured. "Yonder, over the ridge."
With that, Ezekiel left them to catch up with Rick.
"You okay?" Daryl asked her.
"I've been waiting for this for too long," Anna said with a frown. "But now the waiting is over, and I don't know how I feel."
"If Isaac is there, you're gonna kill him. Right?" Daryl asked uncertainly.
"If he's there… I'm going to deal with him," she said firmly.
Isaac stood at the top of the hill, watching through his binoculars as Annie and her friends made their way through the field.
"Not long now," Negan said calmly. "This will all be over soon."
"Yes," Isaac agreed, pulling the binoculars away from his face and looking at Negan. "It will."
Negan chuckled and sauntered off and soon Eugene approached, his plump face as expressionless as ever.
"Before we proceed, I wanted to offer my condolences for your loss," Eugene said. "As I understand it, you were rather close with Simon. I imagine turning on him was exceptionally hard for you. I hope you take solace in the fact that it was indeed the right thing to do. All things considered, he was your friend, so I am sorry." Eugene faced forward. "I know all too well what it's like to lose a friend."
"Not really that bothered," Isaac shrugged, looking to Eugene. "Simon was weak. The Saviors deserve someone better."
Eugene stared at him, and he could practically see the gears in his head turning, though his face betrayed nothing. Then he began to nod.
"I understand," he said simply, turning and walking away.
Isaac watched him for a moment, wondering what exactly Eugene understood. He was still pondering it when Negan returned.
"It's time," he said, holding out his walkie. "Let's get this show started, shall we?"
Isaac smirked, and Negan brought the walkie to his face.
"Well, damn, Rick."
- "Well, damn, Rick. Look at that. Pegged again. Pegged so very hard," - Negan said from what seemed like every direction.
The group froze, weapons raised and searching for a source.
- "I ambushed your ambush with an even bigger ambush." -
"How about you step out and face us?" Rick shouted back.
- "Oh, I am everywhere, Rick. Some more bullhorns, more walkies. Pick a direction to run. See how you do. Make it fun for all of us. Guess what else I did," - Negan laughed. - "I brought you some of your old friends. You remember your old buddy Eugene? Well, he is the person that made today possible. Same goes for Dwighty boy here." -
Anna glanced at Daryl, who was seething.
- "In case you were wondering, he didn't ream you on purpose. No, he is just a… a gutless nothin' that sucks at life, and now he gets to stand up here and watch you all die, and he's gonna live with that. Gabriel, well," - Negan hummed, and they could hear a gun clicking.
"He's alive?" Anna asked aloud.
- "He's got to go, too. We are cleaning house today, Rick," - Negan cheered. -" And then… there's you. It never had to be a fight. You just had to accept how things are. So… here we go. Congratulations, Rick. Three…." -
The walkie clicked off and from the top of the hill, Saviors appeared, guns aimed and ready to fire on them and end them all in one fell swoop. Anna clenched her jaw, her chest tight. She glanced at her brother on one side, then at Daryl on the other. She took a deep breath and focused back on the Saviors.
- "Two…." -
She was ready.
- "One." -
The guns went off and, in rapid, successive pops, exploded in the Saviors' faces. Cries of pain echoed across the field and Anna stared in momentary confusion.
"Now!" Rick shouted.
Anna didn't think—she started running. She paced herself up the hill, feeling that familiar switch flipping in her mind as she fired her 9mm into a Savior that came over the hill wielding a machete. Once she made it to the top, she looked around, firing into any Savior that came at her, when her eyes landed on him.
Isaac.
He stared wide eyed and confused when his eyes found her. For a split second, she thought he may attack. She was surprised when he turned and ran. She took off after him, picking up speed as they made their way down the hill and toward a small cluster of trees.
She fired at him, aiming low. She heard him cry out as one of her bullets hit his thigh, but he pushed on. Anna fired again, only for her 9mm to click empty. She tossed her hand gun to the side and pulled her stick as Isaac came to a stop. She faced the spearhead toward him, her chest heaving and her throat tight. She did her best to ignore it.
He chuckled, turning around to face her as he pulled his knife, all the while leaning on one foot. Her heart pounded in her head as she stared him down.
"Well, Annie, I guess it's just you and me," he said with a lopsided grin, something that she would have found charming if it were on anyone else. "So, how about we end this little dance of ours, huh?"
Isaac raised his hands in surrender. Anna frowned at him but made no move to lower her stick.
"You offered us a chance once. Offered it to the others when you took them from the satellite outpost. I can only assume you planned on offering it again before we escaped your mote of corpses," he said, leaning forward to drop his knife on the ground. "I know I can't beat you. You've got no reason to trust me—not after everything. But I've got to believe that offer was for me, too."
"What makes you say that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "I mean, after everything?"
"When Rick offered us surrender before, he didn't mention wanting me turned over in exchange," he explained.
Anna clenched her jaw, her hands trembling on the stick.
"You wouldn't take it then. Why should I believe you'd take it now?" She sneered.
"It's that or die, right?" He shrugged. "I'm smart enough to know when to call it. What I did under Negan was by his orders. I did it to survive. If you were in my position, would you have surrendered if there was still a chance at winning?"
"And everything else you've done? Before Negan? Outside of Negan? Was that just survival?" Anna spat.
"Yeah, I know. I'm a piece of shit," Isaac sighed and shook his head. "Maybe you should just kill me, but what would that make you? What about the things you've done? Did Trevor deserve to die, Annie?"
Anna ground her teeth, her grip on her stick tightening.
"You can't say either of us is perfect. Can you even say you're better than me?" He asked. "Why do you get to decide who's redeemable?"
Isaac swallowed, pressing his lips together as he surveyed Anna. Finally, he began to lower his hands.
"I think you've already decided what you're gonna do, Annie," he said. "If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it by now."
Anna stared at him for a long moment. She knew he was right, and she hated it. If she killed him here, now, she'd only sink deeper.
"You're right, Isaac," Anna said, loosening her hold on her stick, her fingers numb. "We don't get to decide who is redeemable. We have to choose our own redemption."
Much like she had with Marley, and like she was figuring out with Trevor.
"But if it means keeping you from hurting anyone else, I can and will kill you."
"If?"
"I'm giving you a chance to choose to be a better person," she said, lowering her stick to her side, her heart seeming to settle in her chest. Peace. "I sincerely hope you make the right decision. Whatever that is for you."
Anna turned away then and started back to the others. She could still feel the pain lingering in her bones, but it was different now. Some kind of reminder that she was alive. She was above water for the first time in a long time; she could finally breathe.
A twig snapped behind her and the leaves on the ground rustled as Isaac moved. Her body tensed and in one fluid motion, Anna turned, feeling the force of her stick running through Isaac's abdomen.
He stared at her, eyes wide and knife held aloft. He coughed, dropping his knife as blood sprayed from his lips. She guided him to the ground, pulling the spearhead from his stomach. He clutched her jacket, his body trembling as she knelt over him.
"Ann—Anna," he said. "N-no—"
She looked at him calmly, watching as the light faded from his eyes as the word redemption lingered on his lips.
Anna made her way up the hill, wiping the spearhead clean of Isaac's blood before replacing her stick on her back. The Saviors stood with their hands in the air in surrender. The Hilltoppers, Alexandrians, and Kingdomers gathered, looking to Rick. She saw Siddiq behind him, leaning over a body. She stopped beside Daryl.
"What happened, what we did…," Rick began. "What we lost… there's gotta be somethin' after." He gestured to the Saviors. "The ones who have 'em up, put your hands down. We're all gonna go home now. Negan's alive."
Something stirred in her a moment—something like anger as she saw the faces of Glenn, Abraham, Denise, Sasha, Spencer, and Olivia—but it drifted away.
"But his way of doing things is over. And anyone who can't live with that will pay the price, I promise you that. And any person here who would live in peace and fairness… who would find common ground… this world is yours, by right. We are life. That's death!" He said, pointing at the herd still meandering in the distance. "And it's comin' for us. Unless we stand together! So, go home. Then the work begins. The new world begins. All this… All this is just what was. There's gotta be somethin' after."
This wasn't about vengeance. It couldn't be. It had to be something more. For all of them.