Chapter 5: The Room Where It Happens

~Daryl~

Rick follows behind me in his Jeep as I take off after the Saviors from the chemical plant outpost, riding after them on my motorcycle. I see them up ahead, drawing my gun and firing at them. The Savior in the back of their Hummer drops the tailgate.

"Oh, fuck," I hiss under my breath, catching sight of the machine gun.

The Savior opens fire, and I have to swerve off to the side to avoid being hit. Rick continues on, flooring it. He serpentines to avoid being hit, and I get my bike back on the road, rushing to catch up. Rick catches sight of me in his rearview mirror, nodding.

He upshifts, pulling closer to the Hummer and drawing its fire. Rick only swerves out of the way after a bullet strikes the windshield, but I'm ready behind him. As soon as Rick is out of the line of fire, I pull the trigger, killing the Savior manning the machine gun.

Rick takes the lead in the chase again, the remaining Savior swerving back and forth to keep Rick from pulling up alongside him or ramming him. Rick manages to pull beside the Hummer, crossing from his Jeep to the passenger seat of the Hummer. A scream erupts from the Hummer, and then it swerves.

Rick pushes the Savior out, and he rolls off to the side of the road as the Hummer swerves to the other side, crashing into the guard rail. I rush to spot where Rick went over with the Hummer, climbing off. Down below, the Hummer is on its side, smoke billowing from its hood. I call, "Rick!"

"Hey," he says from below me. I look down to see him climbing up the hill, and reach down, offering my hand. I pull him the rest of the way up, Rick panting. We look down at the wrecked Hummer, Rick remarking, "Well, we got the guns."

"You look like shit," I return.

Rick pauses for a moment, not having a response to that. "Let's go see if this asshole's alive."

Rick turns, leading the way. He draws his revolver, aiming it down at the Savior as he questions, "Did you win?"

He turns onto his back, looking up at us as he writhes in pain. He was there at the chemical plant outpost, where Carol and Ezekiel were, along with their army of soldiers from the Kingdom. The Savior answers, "No one did."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I demand. He doesn't answer, and I lean down, aiming my gun at him. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Everyone's dead," he manages, choking on his blood.

"Bullshit."

"There's no one else?" Rick inquires. "You're the only one?"

"Me, the King," he answers. Ezekiel's still alive. "The ax man." Jerry. "And the short-haired psycho lady." Yup, that's Carol. "You did this. My people, your people… they're all gone."

The Kingdom's gone, I realize as I watch the Savior struggle for air. No one made it but Jerry, Ezekiel, and Carol.

I turn and walk away, letting the Savior behind me die slowly and painfully. I stand at the edge of the road, looking down at the Hummer. "Rick," I say, looking over my shoulder to see him with his knife in the Savior's head. "I'm goin' down. Comin'?"

"Right behind you," Rick says, getting to his feet and putting his knife away. "LEad the way."

I make my way down to the Hummer, trying to pull a box out of the back. It's stuck, so I turn to Rick as he arrives, telling him, "Hey, give me a hand with this."

Together, we manage to get it out, sitting it down on the ground. Rick kneels and opens it up, revealing explosives inside. I grab a bag, piling the dynamite inside. Rick watches me, and I explain, "We can use these now."

"What?" he questions.

"Well, think about it. There ain't no Kingdom no more."

"Yeah…"

"We know what we gotta go," I say, gesturing to the bag of explosives. "We blow open the Sanctuary, let the walkers flood in. They'll surrender. It'll be done. Hell, we could end this by sundown."

"They have workers in there, right?" Rick questions as he stands. "Families, too. Are there?"

"We'll hit the south side of the main building," I offer. "The workers live in the north side. They'll be up the stairs before the walkers even get in."

"What if they don't?" Rick counters. "There are people in there who aren't fighters. Doing this could change that. Make them pick up guns and stand by the Saviors. And if the Saviors don't surrender? Maybe everyone fights us. And we don't have the Kingdom anymore. We're not doing this."

"Nah," I say after a long moment of weighing my options. "You ain't doing this."

I turn and walk off, not wanting to deal with Rick's bullshit anymore. He follows after me, grabbing my shoulder. I turn, shaking him off, as he says, "There's a plan, and everyone's stickin' too it."

"Not everyone," I snap back. "There's a lot of our people that are dead, Rick. My baby sister lost her daddy, and you wanted her out here! Things change, man." I start to turn away, but I've still got shit to say. "Negan and that other group? This is on them. If people die, it's their fault. Not ours."

"Daryl, we can't do this."

"We got our own people to look after."

I turn on my heel, stalking off. Rick follows after me, repeating, "We can't do this."

He grabs at my shoulder again, and I've had enough. I spin, punching him. My right hook lands, and he hits the ground with a grunt. I stand over him, telling him, "This ain't your choice. And you don't fucking touch me."

I pick up the bag I dropped when I punched him, continuing on. The next thing I know, Rick's tackling me to the ground. We roll, and I come out on top, gripping his shirt with one hand. I throw a punch, but he moves at the last second and I slam my fist into the earth. He shoves me off of him with a yell, grabbing the bag and chucking it over to the Hummer. In the moment his back is turned to me, I'm on my feet again and I get him in a choke hold.

Rick struggles against me, so I drop to one knee, staying above him. I choke him out, Rick trying to pry my arm from his neck and grabbing at my hair when he can't. He suddenly freezes, frantic as he chokes, "Daryl!"

I turn my head just far enough to the see the fire starting, and it hits me that Rick just threw the dynamite where there's a fucking fire. I release him, rushing, "Get up!"

He grasps my hand when I offer it, and I pull him up and with me as I start to run all at once. The Hummer suddenly explodes, the blast throwing us. I push myself up first, turning and just sitting there, watching the Hummer burn, accompanied by the occasional explosion.

"Nice job, dumbfuck," I remark as Rick sits up. "That plan just got shot to hell."

Rick looks at the burning Jeep, then over at me. He says, "Choke hold's illegal, asshole."

"Mmhmm," I say, getting up. "Yes, it is." I start the climb up the hill to my bike, Rick still sitting below. He watches the fire, and looks up at me when I whistle to get his attention. "Have fun walking, jackass."

~Maggie~

The gate opens, and a car I recognize as Aaron's pulls inside. I walk down the steps of Barrington, meeting them as Aaron stops the car. Aaron climbs out first, followed by Clary. I wait a moment more, but Eric isn't with them. Then, I see their eyes, red from crying. I see the blood on their hands. He's dead, I realize. Clary brings me the notes from Rick and the Kingdom, and Aaron leans in the backseat, emerging with a baby girl. I take the letters, then wrap Clary in a hug. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

Clary doesn't respond. Instead, she goes back to Aaron's side, hiding her face in his shoulder. Aaron holds the baby in one arm, wrapping the other around Clary. He noses her hair, pressing his lips to her temple. He murmurs something that I can't hear, gently rubbing Clary's arm. He lifts his eyes from his daughter when he realizes that I'm still standing here, telling me, "Clary hasn't really let anyone, not even Daryl, close since…"

Aaron trails off, but he doesn't have to say it. I understand. "I'm sorry, Aaron," I tell him, creasing the paper in my hands. "I'm sorry. Is there anything you two need?"

"We just need some time," Aaron responds, glancing down at Clary. "Alone. Just the two of us."

"Here, I'll take the baby," I offer, extending my arms. Aaron allows me to take the baby, and I shift her, gently rocking her as I look down. "Hi, there. Who are you?"

"Gracie," Aaron says, then pauses for a moment, glancing down. "She was in the outpost. Rick… killed her father." He turns his full attention to Clary, holding her tightly. "Where…"

"Jesus isn't in his trailer," I tell him. "It's empty."

"Thank you," Aaron mouths. I shift Gracie in my arms as I watch what's left the Raleighs walk off, heading to Jesus's trailer to work through everything they lost. I catch up with Enid on my way to Barrington House, and together, we read the letters.

The Kingdom is gone, and Alexandria lost a few. But we're still coming out on top. Even after ambushes and car chases, we're still winning so far. The Hilltop, with our hostages, holds an advantage over the Saviors. "Enid," I say. "Let's go find Jesus."

"What about Gracie?" Enid questions.

"Will you take her to Bertie, then meet me by the gate?"

"Of course," Enid replies, taking Gracie. I follow her out, Enid heading to find Bertie while I walk to the gate. Enid rejoins me just as Gregory catches up, and I share a look of annoyance with Enid.

Kal opens the gate for us, and when we exit, I find Jesus passing out turnips and offering water to the Saviors. "Jesus," I call as I approach. "Jesus."

"Hi," he says, handing his canteen to a Savior.

"You're giving away our food," I observe.

"We had a bumper crop of turnips in the root cellar," Jesus explains. "We couldn't get rid of them. Saviors left them behind after they raided us."

"That cellar," I say, "is there for a reason. We might have plenty now, but that could change. We gotta look after our own."

"Paul," Gregory says, and I have to do everything not to turn and snap on him because he might take my side. "This farce has gone on long enough. Build the gallows already. You're handy, Margaret. Save the bullets and be done with it."

"Gregory," I warn.

"What? I'm just saying what everybody inside there is thinking."

"Go inside," I order. "Now."

"Come on, Gregory," Enid says, turning to walk with him.

Gregory turns to follow her, then pauses. "You know I'm right."

He walks back inside the Hilltop, escorted by Enid. I step away from the Saviors, Jesus following me. We turn our backs to them, and I scold, "You shouldn't have put us in this position."

"Are you seriously thinking about doing what Gregory said?" Jesus questions.

"Every option's on the table. They have to be."

"What are we fighting for, Maggie?"

"You know."

"Yeah, I thought I did," he returns. "That's why they're here."

"We have to end this and Negan."

"We will. But when we do, we have to make sure what's left is worth the cost of what we lost."

I start to turn to walk away, then look back at Jesus. "You should probably find Clary."

"She's here?" Jesus questions.

"Yeah. She's here."

"What happened?" Jesus questions, paling at the thoughts running through his head. "Who did she lose?"

I glance over at the Saviors, not wanting them to hear what we've lost. I look back to Jesus, telling him, "You need to go, Jesus. She's gonna need someone else there."

~Clary~

It's quiet without Eric.

Before, there was always some sort of sound. A record spinning on a turntable, laughter at one of Aaron's cheesy jokes. Eric would always make sure his fiddle was in tune, his music drifting through the house as I worked on my motorcycle in the garage. Or there'd be a pointless debate about cryptids; Eric used to joke that he would marry Mothman before he'd marry Aaron.

Now, it's just silence.

Tears prick my eyes, and I close them, listening. At the other end of the couch, I listen to Aaron's breathing. He's still here, I have to remind myself. He's still here.

I remember the conversation I had with Eric the day after I killed Aiden, one phrase sticking out above it all. "I don't want to see you die." I wipe my eyes, sniffling, as Eric's words the day we met the Scavengers come to mind. "I want us alive. All three of us."

"We should've gone," I say, the lump in my throat making it difficult to speak. "We should've gone. We should've gone!" I let out a sob, shaking. "We should've gone when he wanted to go! We should've just left! Why'd we go after Gabriel? Why did I agree to?! We should've gone! I should've listened! We should've left when we had the chance!"

Aaron suddenly hugs me, burying his face in the crook of my neck as he weeps. We're both sobbing as I cling to him, terrified of having to let go. "I want him back," Aaron sobs, clutching me tighter. "Please, please, please, Clary, stay back. Let Rick lead the charge from now on. I can't lose my little girl, too."

I weakly protest, "I ain't little."

Aaron lets out a halfhearted chuckle that mixes with another sob. He leans back on the couch, pulling me into his lap as I put my head on his chest. Sobs turn into sniffles and shaky breathing. "Did I ever tell you how we met?" Aaron questions after a long silence, interrupted by the occasional sniffle.

"You knew each other before, right? You were together in the Niger River Delta?"

"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Aaron asks, looking down at me. "The only time I think I mentioned it was to Rick in—"

"In the barn," I finish. "When we first met. I remember."

Aaron runs a gentle hand through my hair, and I immediately lean into his hand. "Don't stop," I mumble, letting out a soft sigh as he continues and closing my eyes. "Tell me more about Dad?"

"You got it," Aaron says. "We met through the NGO. The last time we were in the Delta was a little under a year before the turn. We were dating some before that, but it wasn't serious. Until this drug lord stuck a gun in my face, that is. God, I thought Eric was gonna kill him. Two weeks later, we were back in DC. Another week, he moved in with me."

"So you were together before the turn?" I ask.

Aaron nods. "Mmhmm. It was a little under a month before, I bought a ring. I made reservations at this really nice restaurant for November 2."

I let out a small laugh. "That's my birthday."

"Well, happy belated birthday. I wish you would've told me sooner." Aaron sighs, lifting my head as his chest rises. "I was gonna propose then, but you know what happened. I kept the ring with me the entire time. I, uh, I kinda forgot about it for a while. Put it on the back burner. Then when I almost lost him, after your group saved him, I decided it was about damn time. The night before Daryl and I left, I asked him. Said I always wanted to be a Raleigh."

"What'd he say?" I ask, opening my eyes to look up at him.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know," I admit, lifting my head from his chest. "I thought he'd say yes, but I've never seen him wearing a ring." I take Aaron's hand, running my finger over the spot that would've been covered by a wedding band. "You don't, either."

"We didn't want to lose them out there," Aaron tells me. I put my head back on Aaron's chest, and he goes back to stroking my hair. He kisses my forehead, murmuring, "I don't want to lose you out there."

"You won't," I whisper. "I'm done goin' out there. I can't, not anymore."

I lift my head from Aaron's chest as there's a knock on the door, Jesus poking his head in. "Hey," he says softly. "Maggie said you were here. Can I come in?"

Aaron waves him in, and we sit up as Jesus closes the door behind him. His eyes flick over the room, searching for Eric. A look of understanding and sadness flickers across his face when he realizes that he isn't here. "Oh, god," Jesus says softly, leaning against the wall. "I'm… I'm sorry."

His eyes are on me, watching for my reaction. Aaron glances from Jesus to me, then back to Jesus. "I'll give you two some space," Aaron says. "I'll find you later, sweetheart." He gets up, pausing as he passes Jesus. "Take care of her."

"You got it," Jesus promises, just like he did the last time Aaron left Jesus and I. We're both silent until Aaron leaves, and I don't meet his eyes. Jesus sits beside me, moving to wrap his arm around my shoulders. I cut him off before he can, whispering, "Don't."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, lowering his arm. Instead, he sits right beside me, not touching me.

"You're doin' an awful lot of apologizing," I tell him.

"We've all been doing an awful lot of that lately," Jesus replies. He rests his hand, palm up, on his knee, silently offering me his hand. I raise my hand, going to take his, then pause. I drop my hand, not looking at Jesus. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I just… I can't."

"It's alright," Jesus tells me, but there's something in his voice that tells me that it isn't.

"It's not just you," I try to tell him. "It's everyone. I'm trying, but I can't… I don't…"

"You just want to be with Aaron," Jesus says softly. "I understand."

"I'm sorry," I apologize yet again, then chuckle humorlessly. "How many times have we said 'I'm sorry,' Paul?"

"Far too many," he replies with a soft sigh. Jesus gets to his feet, offering me his hand. "I'll walk you to Aaron, wherever he got to."

I put my hand in Jesus's, and he pulls me to my feet. I suddenly wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest. Jesus hugs me tightly, not letting go even when I try to pull back. Five minutes probably pass before he even loosens his grasp, and Jesus frowns as I pull away from him. "I think I'm gonna head up to Barrington," I tell Jesus. "Look for Maggie."

"She was on her way back there," Jesus tells me. "You want me to walk you?"

"No, I'll be alright. You see Aaron around, tell him where I am, alright?" Jesus nods. "And Paul? Thank you."

"Anything for you, poppet," Jesus replies. "You need me, I'll be just outside the gate. Someone's gotta keep watch over the Saviors."

"Saviors?" I repeat.

"You didn't see them when you got here?"

"I had a lot on my mind," I reply sadly, glancing away as I blink back tears.

"Right, sorry," Jesus says. "Like I said, you need anything, don't hesitate."

He holds open the door for me, closing it behind us as we exit his trailer. We go our separate ways; Jesus returns to the Saviors, keeping watch over them, while I make my way into Barrington, finding Maggie in what was once Gregory's office.

"Hey," Maggie says softly, rising from her chair as she sees me enter. "How are you doing? You okay? You holding up?"

I shake my head, unable to speak. Maggie offers her arms, and I can't say no to her. I step up to her, and she wraps me in a tight hug, murmuring, "If you need anything, let me know, alright?"

"Can I stay in here for a bit?" I question. "Aaron'll know I'm here, and I don't really want to see anyone out there."

"Of course," Maggie replies, brushing my hair back. She presses a kiss to my forehead before releasing me. I lay down on the couch, catching sight of Gregory standing in the corner; but I choose to ignore him. He's not worth it, not right now. My fingers go to Jesus's bandana tied around my wrist, playing with the black fabric to distract myself.

Gregory clears his throat before he begins, "People who aren't leaders always think they know better, hmm?"

Maggie lifts her eyes from where she ran her fingers over Glenn's pocket watch, meeting mine for a second before she looks at Gregory. "Excuse me?"

"You know, they're always pointing the finger at the guy—or, yeah, sure, gal—who's sitting in the hot seat. Truth is, it's not so easy."

"I don't know," Maggie returns. "It was pretty easy for me not to sell out the Hilltop to Negan."

"Go ahead, judge me, Margaret," Gregory says, pushing himself out of his corner as he approaches Maggie's desk. "What I did was in the best interest of this community."

"How?"

"My approach didn't employ bullets. Connect the dots."

Maggie leans forward in her chair, resting her elbows against the desk. "You were scared. You tried to cut a deal to save your own hide."

"Not just my hide," Gregory tries to defend himself. "My motives were pure. I know, Maggie, we've had our differences; but I've sat in that chair. I can help. I'm an experienced leader, unlike Charlie over there, who seems to be making it up as she goes along. I'm already in the room."

"So I can keep an eye on you while I think," Maggie says, her eyes darting to where I remain on the catch, not responding to Gregory's jab at my leadership capabilities.

"'Keep an eye on me,'" Gregory scoffs. "You need someone to tell you it's okay to follow your gut. And guess what? I'm that guy. And our little hippy-dippy kung-fu fighting friend may try and make you feel bad about it. But at the end of the day, you're the shepherd. And you can't have wolves wandering around amidst the sheep. It's as simple as that."

I get up from the couch then, walking over to Gregory. I lean down, staring him down, as I hiss, "What have I told you about threatening my right hand man, Gregory?" I straighten, starting for the door. "I'll leave you to think about it, jackass."

As I leave Maggie's office behind, I hear Gregory say, "See what I mean about wolves?"

~Jesus~

We can all hear it, the pounding of the hammers, the sawing of wood. We can all hear the men working through the night, building whatever Maggie ordered them to build. I try to peer in through a crack in the wall, but I can't see anything due to the workers' stalls being in the way.

"What're they building?" Alden questions.

I know Maggie well enough to know that she won't listen to Gregory. I don't admit that to the Saviors, though, instead telling them, "Don't worry about it."

"Did you sign up for this?" Alden asks. "When you joined the group?"

I turn away from the wall, my back to the Saviors as I look out into the night. Somewhere in the distance, I can hear walkers growling.

"You know, I was by myself for a while," Alden continues, not shutting his mouth. "Until I found a safe place. A bunch of survivors, a bunch of tough guys. Eventually, one of 'em took over, and then another one took over. I wasn't really paying much attention 'cause I was getting fed. I'm good with my hands. They sent me over to the satellite place to put up a fence. Now, here we are. Now, my life depends on the lady in charge in there."

"You can stop now," I say, turning around to look at him. "Don't pretend that any of us are innocent."

"What do they call you, Jesus?" Alden questions. "Well, Jesus, I'm, uh, I'm no angel. I never said I was. Ain't no such thing."

It's midday when the hammering stops.

The gate swings open, the Saviors all leaning forward to see who it is. Enid emerges, announcing, "Maggie says to bring them in."

I get the Saviors to their feet, leading them into the Hilltop. Instead of a gallows, a pen has been built to hold the Saviors. We pass by Clary, the Saviors each taking a few seconds to look at her as they follow me to the pen Maggie has built. Murmurs go through the prisoners, whispers of "That's her" and "Alexandria's leader was a kid?" Then, Alden, who's figured out by now who she lost and why she has that title, says, "Her parents are dead. She really is the Orphan."

Clary lifts her chin, ignoring the Saviors, as Aaron rests his hand on her back. I look to Maggie, and she tells me, "Get them in."

I stop by the gate of the pen, calling, "Come on. Two at a time."

As the Saviors file in, Maggie announces, "Starting now, we'll keep the prisoners here. We'll feed 'em. We won't mistreat them. But we won't stand for anything less than total cooperation."

"Uh, Margaret," Gregory interrupts, "all due respect, uh, just straight-shooting here—we can't let people that we don't trust run around inside our walls."

"You're right, Gregory," Maggie agrees. "In fact, I couldn't stop thinking about what you told me yesterday. See, I grew up on a farm. I know all about sheep and wolves. Kal, Eduardo."

Without another word, Kal and Eduardo step forward, taking Gregory's arms. "What're you doing?" Gregory questions.

"Come on, Gregory," Kal says.

The two start to pull him down towards the pen, Gregory protesting, "What, are you serious? Eduardo! This can't—"

"Calm down," Eduardo orders. Gregory fights them, but Kal and Eduardo simply continue pulling him along towards the pen.

"No! I am not gonna go in there! Don't tell me to calm down!" Gregory exclaims. He manages to pull himself from their grasps, trying to get away from them. He makes a lunge for someone in the crowd, and by the time I realize he's going after Clary, I'm too late to stop it.