Connie glanced nervously out of the window, when Daryl came back running into the house.
"Pack your things, we gotta go!"
Connie looked at him in surprise, not believing what he just said.
"A big herd's coming."
Lydia came out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes and asked what was going on.
"We gotta leave. A herd's coming, it might overrun this place," Daryl told her.
Lydia was suddenly wide awake.
"It's … it's them," she stuttered. "It's her, she's coming for me."
Her face went pale. Daryl looked at her.
"We don't know that yet. Could be just a normal herd."
"It's them," Lydia said again and Connie felt sorry for her. She went to her and touched her shoulder.
They hastily started to pack some things and went outside.
Most people were outside already, they were getting the horses and wagons ready. Henry came running. He slept in another house and was confused about all the fuss. He hugged Lydia who was still disturbed about the news. Their group helped the others to load the supplies in the wagons and it took them a while. When they were ready to leave, Lydia was still standing in front of their house, not moving.
Connie went to her and signed that they had to go, but Lydia only shook her head. Daryl and Henry also came to her.
"Come on, let's go." Daryl wanted to shove her towards the gate, but she pulled away from him.
"I should stay," she said anxiously. "It's all my fault. I should stay. I only put you in danger."
Connie and Daryl exchanged a look. They knew Lydia was right about them being in danger, but she was clearly not the one to be blamed for it.
"Hey, we talked about it," Daryl started and Connie saw how he tried calm her down.
He put a hand on Lydia's shoulder.
"We're your family now. And if they try something, they'll have to deal with all of us."
Henry and Connie nodded and Lydia's eyes filled with tears.
"But that's why I don't want them to hurt you. What if they..." she couldn't finish the sentence her voice broke when she was crying.
"Don't cry, please. They won't hurt us," Henry said and hugged her.
"He's right, but we gotta leave now, okay?" Daryl said and Lydia nodded, still not fully convinced, but Henry took her hand and they left Oceanside.
They walked a long time in silence, Henry was still holding Lydia's hand. Connie looked at her and she could see that Lydia was still sad. Connie didn't know what to do. She wanted to comfort her, but she knew, no matter what she might told her, it wouldn't help. She hoped that the herd wasn't the Whisperers, but her feeling told her that Lydia was right.
When they finally stopped to take a break, Connie could see that most of the people were confused and scared. Cyndie and Rachel were discussing how to proceed, but they didn't know what to do either.
Daryl was desperately trying to figure something out too, Connie could tell from his looks.
"Maybe I've an idea," Daryl said after some time. "But you ain't gonna like it."
Cindy told him that any plan was good now.
"We could go to the Sanctuary. It has walls and a roof. Can think about how to proceed, when we're there."
Connie could see Cyndie was frowning when Daryl mentioned the Sanctuary and she remembered what Martha told her about the Saviors. They still weren't over the terrible things the Saviors did to them and the Sanctuary belonged to the Saviors once. But not having a real choice and with the children and old women tired already, they decided to go there.
Cyndie also decided that some of them should stay behind to watch the movement of the herd, so they could warn the others in time, if it was moving towards the Sanctuary.
When they reached the Sanctuary it was night already. They made themselves as comfortable as it was possible there and started discussing further plans.
"Maybe we should split up," Daryl suggested "We could send some people to Hilltop and some to Alexandria. The rest could stay here. With the supplies we have with us, they could hold on here for a while."
Cyndie agreed.
When most of the people were asleep, Daryl was still awake, sitting by a window. Connie was lying next to Lydia and Henry on a blanket on the floor, but couldn't sleep either, so she went to him. She sat next to him and he put an arm around her.
So what now? She wrote. You want to go with the others to Alexandria tomorrow?
Daryl looked at her and nodded with a faint smile, because she guessed his thoughts.
"Yeah, I thought about it. We could talk to Michonne and the others about the herd. Decide what to do."
They both looked towards Lydia, who was sleeping in Henry's arms or pretending that she was.
"Poor girl," Daryl said. "She doesn't deserve that shit, but sure as hell, she's going to blame herself for what's happening to Oceanside."
We took her in, it's on us too. On me actually.
Connie couldn't help but feeling guilty about putting them all in danger, when she wanted to take Lydia with them. But she still wouldn't have done it differently, if she had a second chance. The girl deserved a home and a family.
"We're all in it, she's our kid," Daryl said and Connie was touched by his words.
"I'm glad Oceanside doesn't blame her, though. They see her as one of them."
Daryl was right, the Oceansiders took Lydia in, despite knowing everything about the Whisperers. And they didn't blame her for the herd coming to Oceanside which might be controlled by them.
"And maybe it's nothing, just a big herd. We encountered a big herd like that back in the day, doesn't have to be them."
Connie looked at him and she could see in his eyes that he didn't believe that, just like she didn't.
Daryl was silent for a while.
"But if it's them, then that bitch broke her own rules. We didn't cross her borders, but she did."
If she controls that herd, she can do whatever she wants, Connie wrote.
"No, she can't. If she tries anything, we'll show her. I ain't gonna let anyone hurt you or the kids."
Connie smiled but had an uneasy feeling in her gut. She didn't want to have a war.
"It's gonna be alright," Daryl told her as if he had read her thoughts.
"No matter what, we'll be alright." He kissed her and pulled her closer. They sat like that for some time before they went to sleep.
On the next day they went to Alexandria. It was a sunny day and they were walking slowly, everyone was lost in thoughts. Connie was holding Daryl's warm hand and her heart was happy and anxious at once. There were two women from Oceanside with them. When they got close to Alexandria, one of the women stopped, looking through the trees.
"Hey, what's that?" She shouted back at them. Connie and Daryl came closer and also looked through the trees. It was a very strange sight. On a big meadow they saw a helicopter surrounded by several walkers. Daryl ran to it and Connie followed him quickly. They killed the walkers and inspected them, but it weren't Whisperers. When they made sure there wasn't anyone around, Daryl went into the helicopter, but soon he came out and said he didn't find anything. Connie could see the disappointed look on his face.
"It looks like it ain't here that long. No matter who came with it, could be in Alexandria."
Connie's heart was beating fast as they continued their way towards Alexandria. She didn't know what to expect. Who could have come with the helicopter? Maybe bad people? What should they do then? Daryl's steps became faster and faster when they came closer to Alexandria and Connie had to concentrate to keep up with him. They were almost running when they reached the gates of Alexandria.
When they went through the gates, Judith ran to them in excitement, she was looking at Daryl and was babbling so fast, Connie could hardly follow her lips movement. Connie looked at Daryl and she saw that his eyes widened and his face went pale. He was starring at someone in the distance. Connie followed his stare and saw a man with short hair and a beard. He was wearing a jacket above his shirt, a jeans and western boots. He was holding RJ's hand and when he saw them, he seemed to have turned in a pillar of salt just like Daryl. Both of them stood there like that for a couple of moments, just starring at each other. Then the man came closer and Connie could see a charming smile on his face.