The sky was dark as Anna approached the front gate, her satchel slung over her shoulder and her stick in hand. She stopped beside Jessie as Rick spoke quietly with Tobin. Jessie patted her on the shoulder, a light in his eyes as their ride pulled up.
Michonne—with Carl in the passenger seat—parked the green van at the gate before the two climbed out and joined the others. Anna wished Carl wasn't going, but she understood Rick was taking precaution against Carl doing something stupid again.
"You're bringing your stick?" Jessie asked.
"I'm good with it," Anna shrugged.
Jessie nodded.
"We're doing this," he said, his lips twitching up at the corners.
Anna could tell he'd been sitting on his need to fight, and she knew he'd done so for her. He had been waiting for her to be ready, and for her to stop hiding in her closet.
She set her jaw and nodded. They were doing this. Even if Rick changed his mind, they were doing this. Even if she had to face Isaac—especially if she faced Isaac—they were doing this. She could still feel the anger coursing through her. and she held onto that.
Rosita and Tara arrived then. and Rick turned to the group, hands on his hips.
"We'll be leaving for Hilltop soon," he began. "Tobin is gonna take charge here. We aren't goin' to tell anyone else what we're plannin'—we don't want to put them in any unnecessary danger. We all know what this is," he said, looking at each of them in turn. "So, let's go."
With that said, he patted Tobin on the shoulder and got behind the wheel of the van. Michonne climbed into the passenger seat as Carl and Tara loaded into the second row, Jessie making his way into the back seat.
Rosita walked past to join him when Anna reached out and stopped her.
"Hey," she said as Rosita faced her.
"What?" Rosita asked shortly.
Anna reached into her satchel and pulled out one of the three CDs she had made in the night.
"Don't," Rosita said. "I don't want it."
Anna furrowed her brow but slowly placed the CD back in her satchel.
"I just thought—"
"I know, and thank you, but I don't need it," Rosita insisted before turning on her heel and disappearing within the van.
Anna pressed her lips together, unsure of what to do with this. No one had ever rejected one of her CDs before. She joined the others, settling in between Jessie and the window in the very back.
Tara reached over and slid the side door shut as Rick turned the engine. Once she was back in her seat and Tobin opened the gate, he pulled forward and out of Alexandria, directing them toward Hilltop.
The trip to the Hilltop was uneventful and silent, everyone too engrossed in their own thoughts to speak much. Rick parked the van at the bottom of the hill, and the group filed out and started up. As they neared, she could see a person looking over the wall before they disappeared.
Anna could just make out a shout and a few minutes later the gates were pulled open. On the other side was Maggie, Sasha, and Enid.
Rick pulled Maggie into a hug, holding her for a moment before they pulled away.
"You're okay?" He asked.
"I'm okay," she assured. "The baby's okay—all of us."
Anna felt relief flood her.
"You were right," Rick said. "Right from the start. You told us to get ready to fight. I didn't listen, and I couldn't," he explained, shaking his head. "I can now."
Maggie smiled at him, and Anna turned her attention to Sasha.
"Hey," she greeted, hesitating a moment before she reached into her satchel.
Rosita had declined the CD. Would Sasha do the same? Anna decided she needed to at least give her the option of taking or leaving it, so she pulled the CD from her bag and held it out.
Sasha glanced between the disc and Anna, a small smile crossing her face as she quietly took the CD.
"Thank you," Sasha whispered, reaching out and squeezing Anna's arm. "Thank you."
Anna nodded, and the two turned to the rest of the group, quickly spotting Paul standing off to the side as Michonne held a man to her. The two pulled away as Sasha and Anna approached.
Her heart skipped a beat as her steps faltered and she stopped. He was clean, his hair no longer matted to his face and his sweat suit replaced by a dark gray button up and black jeans. He looked like himself again, except for the heavy bags under his eyes.
She wanted to run to him and wrap her arms around him—but she didn't move. She couldn't get that scene in the office out of her mind; the blank stare and the way he wouldn't look at her after.
But then his eyes were on her and he was walking toward her. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest and for a moment she forgot how to breathe until his arms were around her and his face was buried in her hair. Anna dropped her stick and coiled her arms around his waist, letting herself melt into him.
"I'm sorry," Daryl said, his voice strained and low so that only she could hear, and she knew he meant Glenn.
"It wasn't your fault," she said, tightening her hold on him.
When they finally pulled away Anna scooped up her stick and Daryl turned to Rick as he reached behind him. He held out Rick's Colt Python. Rick took the revolver from his hand and checked the barrel before tucking it into the holster.
Rick looked to Anna then, and she stood at her full height. They nodded to each other, an understanding passing between them. The fight ahead of them was going to be hard, but they would face it together. Her lips turned up into a smile as she looked around at everyone gathered, Rick, Daryl, Maggie, Sasha, Carl, Rosita, Enid, Jessie, Paul, and Emma. Rick's voice echoed in her head as they started toward the house.
"'Cause as long as it's all of us, we can do anything."
"No!" Gregory shouted as he paced behind the desk. "No way in hell. That was not the deal. You people swore you could take the Saviors out, and you failed. So, any arrangement we had is now done—null and void. We aren't trade partners, we aren't friends, and we never met." He hummed questioningly, leaning against the desk before he sat down. "We don't know each other. I owe you nothing. In fact, you owe me for taking in the refugees, at great personal risk," he insisted.
"Oh, you were very brave—staying in here while Maggie and Sasha saved this place," Paul snapped.
"Your courage was inspiring," Emma sneered.
"Hey, don't you two work for me?" Gregory huffed. "Aren't we friends?"
"Gregory, we already started this," Rick implored.
"You started it—"
"We did," Rick insisted. "And we're gonna win."
"These are killers," Gregory said.
"Is this how you want to live?" Rick asked. "Under their thumb, killing your people?"
"Sometimes we don't get to choose what our life looks like. Sometimes, Ricky, you have to count the blessings you have," Gregory said.
"How many people can we spare?" Maggie asked. "How many people here can fight?"
"'We'?" Gregory scoffed. "I don't even know how many people we have, Margaret."
"What kind of leader doesn't even know how many people he's leading?" Anna asked.
"Does it even matter? I mean—w-w-what are you gonna do? Start a platoon of sorghum farmers? 'Cause that's what we got," Gregory huffed. "They grow things. They're not gonna want to fight."
"You're wrong," Tara interjected. "When people have the chance to do the right thing, they usually step up. I mean, people just—"
"Let me stop you before you break into song, okay?" Gregory interrupted, clearing his throat. "And, by the way, who would train all this cannon fodder?"
"I will," Sasha declared.
"Give me a week," Rosita said.
"Won't be a problem," Anna agreed, narrowing her eyes at Gregory.
"Rhetorical," Gregory sang. "Okay? I don't want to know. I never want to hear another word about any of it, ever."
"Would we be better off without the Saviors, yes or no?" Rick asked, clearly irritated.
"Yeah, sure, okay," Gregory shrugged.
"So, what will you do to fix the problem?" Michonne asked.
"I didn't say we had a problem," Gregory corrected. "You did. And what happens outside of my purview is outside of my purview."
"What the hell, man?" Daryl growled. "You're either with us or you ain't. You're sittin' over there talkin' out of both sides of your mouth."
"I—I think I've made my position very clear," Gregory said, getting to his feet as he adjusted his sleeves. "And I want to thank all of you for not being here today and not having this meeting with me or—or being seen on your way out. In other words, go out the back."
He gestured for them to leave, and Rick nodded. The group filed out, Anna and Daryl at the back.
"Fuckin' prick," Anna grumbled, tightening her grip on her stick.
"Yeah, well, we don't need him anyway," Daryl assured as they passed Rick.
"Yeah, that's right," Rick agreed. "'Cause we have Maggie, Sasha, Jesus, and Emma here."
The front door creaked open and Enid rushed in.
"And Enid," Maggie added.
"Hey, um—" Enid said, looking around at them.
"What's wrong?" Sasha asked.
"Nothing. Just—" she chuckled. "Come outside."
They followed Enid outside to see a good chunk of the Hilltop citizens gathered in front of the house.
"What's going on?" Maggie asked from the front of the group.
"Hey," a woman said uneasily as she stepped forward. "So, if you don't remember, I'm Bertie. And I owe my life to you all, twice over. A bunch of us do. Enid says that you want Gregory to get us to fight the Saviors with you. Is that true?"
"Yes," Maggie said.
"Do you think we can win, that we really could beat them? Us?" Bertie asked.
"I do," Maggie nodded.
"Well, Enid says you could show us the way. I'm ready," Bertie declared.
Anna grinned as the others echoed their willingness to fight. Maggie continued talking with the Hilltoppers while the rest of them continued on.
"It's a start," Michonne sighed.
"We'll get more," Sasha assured.
"It still won't be enough," Anna said.
"No, it won't," Rosita agreed.
"Well, we find the right stuff, then maybe we don't need the numbers," Daryl suggested. "Blow 'em up, burn 'em to the ground."
"You said there weren't just soldiers with the Saviors," Tara said, "that there were workers there. People didn't have a choice."
"We gotta win," Daryl responded.
"We need more hands, another group," Rick reasoned. "Negan has outposts. The geography, the distance works against us. We gotta get back," he said as they neared the front gate. "If they come lookin' for Daryl, we need to be there."
"You don't have to get back," Paul announced.
They turned to face him and he produced a walkie-talkie.
"Not yet. It's one of theirs, long range," he explained. "We can listen in, keep track of them."
"So, if we're not going back, what are we doing, then?" Michonne asked.
"I think it's time you introduce them to Ezekiel," Emma said from beside Paul.
"King Ezekiel," Paul corrected.
"King?" Rick asked.