KEZZ 1: As always, thank you for reviewing.
Azuraskye21: Don't worry...It's something I've set up for a long time. They're only roughly 14/15 right now, so they're still in an awkward phase. That, and I at least want the kiss between Carl and Enid to happen before I do anything with Carl and Sophia...for reasons...I promise...
Two days had passed and Ania still hadn't woken up. Daryl's anger raged so bad that he and Merle were both sporting shiners from it. He had to do something, had to make it right when his wife was laying unconscious on a bed in the infirmary for no particular reason anyone could tell him, only best guesses and maybes and that just wasn't good enough. He'd buried his wife's best friend two days ago, begged and pleaded and cried for her to wake up the next day as a fever started to overtake her body. Today, though, he was done sitting around waiting. Merle be damned saying he needed to be there for her. Ania had everyone else, she'd understand why he left her to go pick up the trail. She'd know it was for her, to get back at them and make sure the bastards couldn't tell her parents where she was, to make damn good and well sure she was safe, that the baby was safe. Holding onto the key chain Denise had been playing with, he took a moment to contemplate whether or not he really wanted to leave Ania's side. Looking back at the infirmary, Daryl could see Sophia and Beth in there with her, fussing around Ania's still figure as Catty lay on her stomach, Bobby somewhere in the infirmary as well. If she did wake up, she'd have her family around her. She didn't need him to be right there.
With that in mind, he turned his bike on and revved the engine, bringing it to the gate before shutting it off and throwing the gate open as Rosita asked, "Where are you going?"
"Out," was all Daryl said.
"No shit," Abraham told him. "You got specifics?"
As he got back on the bike, ignoring Abraham's question, he could hear Merle hollering from down the street. Daryl didn't even look back as he left Alexandria, opening the throttle to get away as fast as he could before his brother gave chase. If Merle wanted to sit around with his singular thumb up his ass, let him. He was going to find the son of a bitch who'd shot Ania.
Merle reached the van at the same time as Glenn and Michonne, Abraham stopping in front of it and yelling, "Hey! Make room for my freckled ass!"
"No, you stay," Rosita said. "You cover my shift. I'll go."
"We need all the man power here!" Glenn tried to reason.
"I know where Daryl's going," she asked, earning her a sigh while she climbed in as Merle tried to climb in after her.
Michonne was the one who turned to him and said, "Not you, Merle. Ani's gonna need one of you here when she wakes up. We'll bring him back."
"That's my brother!"
"And she's your sister, isn't she?" Michonne asked. "She needs one of you here."
"You bring him back or else, Michy," Merle said before stalking off towards the infirmary. When he got to it, he started cussing up a storm as he entered the room Ani was in, causing Catty to hiss at him and Bobby to attempt to attack Merle's leg only to be knocked to the side a little harsher than necessary, which made him jump up on Ani's bed beside his sister in a more defensive position. "Dumbass Dixons, the lot of ya!" he yelled at her sleeping form. "First, you just had to go out, didn't ya? We tell you, stay inside the walls, stay safe, but no, not Ania Dixon, she's gotta go out and do her own thing! And look at ya! Shot and sleepin' like ya one of the dead dead! And now Daryl's gone off to God knows where while I'm stuck in here with your pain in the ass self instead of out there helpin' to search for my baby brother! So you better wake your dumbass up so we's can go get 'im before I slap your sorry ass silly!"
"Merle!" Beth yelled. "You can't talk to her that way! Not only is she unconscious, but she's our leader! How was she supposed to know what would happen?!"
"'Cause it's what always happens!" Merle roared. "Every time they go out, they find trouble! Or trouble finds them! We're Dixons, Bethy! We don't get the easy as pie, slice of the cake life you get! Hell, the three of us have been fighting for our lives since the day we were born! She and Daryl, they're gonna be each other's breakin' points like this! They're gonna get each other killed with this shit! If she'd've just stayed here in town instead a goin' and gettin' 'erself shot, he wouldn't have run off!"
"You know that's not true," Sophia said with a sigh. "She'd be right behind him on the bike. Denise was her best friend. She wouldn't have waited even one night. She and Daryl, they would've left as soon as they were done burying Denise. You know I'm right."
"Dammit, girls! All she had to do was stay put! To put that baby in her belly first! They both did! That's all they should be doin'! Both of 'em! All they had to do was stay fuckin' put!" Merle roared, his anger at both of their actions roaring to life as he looked at the young ladies in front of him.
"Merle," Beth said, leading him to a seat to sit beside Ani, Sophia handing him a twist bottle and some papers Ani had found. "Don't you think you're turnin' your worry and anxiety into anger?"
"The fuckin' you on about girly?"
"It's just something Ani said you had a tendency to do," she said with a shrug, watching as Merle deftly rolled a joint and took a hit, anger still rolling off him in waves. "When you're worried about them, you get angry, and you shout your feelings. It kinda sounds to me like that's what you're doin' now. You're worried about her because she hasn't woken up and we don't have a doctor. We don't know how the baby's doin' 'cause we don't have the equipment to check, though, I mean, she ain't bleedin' and we have her set up with an IV, so she's not gonna get dehydrated or malnourished yet. And Daryl's so angry at the guy who did this he's not thinkin' straight. And you're stuck between 'em as their brother. I think Daryl only left because he knew you'd stay."
"What if we took her to the Hilltop?" Sophia asked. "Don't they have a doctor there? He's the one who did the ultrasound thing that got that picture, right?"
"Yeah, why can't we do that?" Beth asked Merle. "I mean, you could drive the car with Phia, keep us safe and I can look after Ani. It'd be worth the trip."
"Did she teach you how to do that?" Merle asked them, looking between the two as his anger died to a more manageable level as he took several hits off the joint, surprised the kids in the room weren't bitching at him for it. "How to gang up on me when I'm pissed off and change how this shit's gonna go?"
"No, not exactly," Beth admitted. "But, I mean, you do pick up a few things here and there watchin' how she does things. I also used to babysit a lot, before everything, and here in Alexandria again. You're basically like a big kid," she told him with a smile, watching as his face went from surly to shocked to pissed until a small smirk broke out and he scoffed. "Do you think I could try that some time?" she asked, pointing to the almost finished joint in his hand.
"Hell nah! You're too good for this world to be devolvin' into the baser pleasures of life. Besides, Daryl told me 'bout how you got drunk and burned down a cabin. Don't need you gettin' high and jumpin' off a roof."
"We got Ani for that!" Sophia said with a laugh, causing all three in the room to chuckle.
"God, you three are gonna be the death of me. I'm gonna go talk to Rick, I'll be back in a few. Don't fuckin' go anywhere or say a damn thing 'bout the two a ya gettin' the upper hand on me, ya hear? I hear about it gettin' out and you'll have more'n a few angry words thrown your way."
"I can take you," Beth said confidently, knowing that she'd been able to take Aaron down a few times when they sparred together outside of Ani's lessons.
"I'm sure you could, girly, with all that special trainin' you've had. Hell, the three of you are prolly worth more'n all the men put together. Stay with her. I'll be back," he told them as he left the infirmary.
Walking back towards the gate, Francine came up to him and asked about Ani's condition, only to be told that there had yet to be a change. Merle did tell her that laying flat, you could definitely tell there was a baby in her belly, a sappy smile playing at his face. He'd gotten used to being around Judith and he would chase the youngsters in the square from time to time, playing the big, bad wolf to all the little piggies as they'd run and hide and laugh when he caught them. A lot of the kids had started calling him 'Uncle Merle,' a sentiment that would, hopefully, remain true in another nineteen or so weeks. Watching Abraham standing alone on the watch post with no one at the gate, he excused himself from Francine and jogged up.
"They ain't back yet?" he called up.
"Someone is, open the gate, would ya, Stumpy?"
"Sure thing, Freckles!"
Opening the gate to let the car through, he watched as Rick got out while he closed the gate behind the car, Rick stating, "Morgan's still out there looking."
"Looking for Daryl?" Merle asked.
"No, Carol. She took off. Says she can't be around us because she can't kill anymore."
"Dammit!" Merle said. "We need 'em both! Phia don't even know Carol's gone!"
"I know," Rick told him. "Is Michonne here?"
"She's still out there, too," Abraham told him. "You afraid to go back to it?" he asked, talking to both of them. "Let somebody close?"
"Yeah," Rick said, Merle nodding in agreement.
"Me too," Abraham told them. "But now, I think I'm that much more ready to tear the world a brand-new asshole." They all shared a chuckle before Abraham turned to Rick and told him, "Any second now."
"Which reminds me, me and the girls need a car," Merle told the two of them. "We're takin' Ani to the Hilltop. They've got an actual doctor and she needs the medicine they've got there."
"I think that'd be a good-"
"SOMEBODY HELP!" Enid's voice called out from down the road. "PLEASE SOMEBODY!"
~x~
Carl and Enid stormed into the armory while Sophia was in there helping to collect guns and ammo, both of them going with Ani and Maggie to the Hilltop. Something was wrong with Maggie, culminating in severe pains along her lower abdomen, barely being able to move, and a slight fever that was starting to get worse. Even with Sophia and Beth working together to make a tea that would help treat her symptoms, it was only minimally alleviating the symptoms and keeping the fever at bay. Between her condition and Ani's own fever and comatose state, they had decided to take the RV and a group of people to Hilltop so both women could be treated.
"Glenn's still not back," Enid told Carl as Sophia listened, rolling her eyes in the process. "I need to be there for Maggie!"
"I said no!" Carl told her, not wanting to have to choose between looking out for Sophia or Enid on the road so wanting Enid to stay home.
"Carl!"
"Look, you were wrong before," Carl said, turning to look at Enid and noticing Sophia's blatant turn so that her back was facing him as she kept collecting things they might need. "This place isn't too big to protect. And you need to stay back and help protect it."
"This place is ready!" Enid insisted. "Most of us have been trained, you know that!"
"You haven't been trained nearly enough," he responded. "Not like I have. Not like Sophia."
"If you were worried about an attack, you wouldn't be leaving," reasoned Enid.
"You know how far the Hilltop is?" he asked her incredulously. "You know what could happen? Those Saviors are out there. And you know what they did to Denise. What they tried to do with Maggie and Carol and Daryl, Rosita, Eugene. What they want to do Ani. Hell, look at the state she's in! They did that! That's not happening to you, alright? I'm not gonna let it."
"But you'll let it happen to Sophia?"
"Unlike you, I didn't ask for permission, and I don't need a boy to take care of me," Sophia said in a huff as she left the room.
Catching up to Rick as he left the infirmary, Sophia saw the RV waiting for them as she followed the older man, Abraham, Sasha, and Merle walking up from the side, Eugene and Beth trailing behind them. "Any change?" Sasha asked.
"She's gettin' worse," Rick told them. "And Ani's fever hasn't gone down either."
"Good call on the transport," Abraham told him, Sophia nodding her head in agreement.
"Well, I figured they'd be more comfortable," he responded.
"It also means you've got room for more," Abraham said. "They're out there, so I'm gonna be there with you. I took that girl under my wing, made her my sister for all intents and purposes. That means I'm gonna be there, protectin' her. We are," he corrected, looking down at Sasha.
"Package deal," she told him before heading into the RV.
"What she said," Eugene told him. "Actually, what they said. Ani has been nothing but familial towards me and I must say I feel the same way."
"Look," Rick said, stepping up to him. "It's a long trip and you're just gettin' back up on your-"
"It's a superficial graze," Eugene interrupted. "Proteins are bindin', plus we need to discuss ammunition production and manufacture, so let's roll."
Rick scoffed as Abraham came back out of the RV to grab some more gear, smacking Eugene's stomach and shoulder lightly as he passed, "I already tried. Give him an inch, he's takin' a mile."
"I'm only askin' for twenty three, give or take, dependin' on the route," Eugene reasoned, not realizing he was being as obtuse as Ani could be at times, Abraham's joke completely lost to him. "I know I can be of some help. Now's the time and here's the place. Don't shine me. I'll be your anchorman. Yes I damn will," he told Rick before climbing into the RV, heading straight to where Ani was laying and sitting there.
"I'm comin' too," Merle told him as Rick moved to check the spare batteries to the RV. "Now, I know ya need fighters here, but I can't stay here with both my siblings out there."
"Yeah, I didn't expect you to. You tell Francine?"
"She's got everythin' covered that she needs to. She'll keep it steady," he said, knowing Francine could take care of herself and help the rest of the town to do so too. "Bethy wants to come, but I told her she needs to stay back to help with the infirmary."
"Enid's stayin' back," Beth told him. "I've been trainin' with Ani. I know how to defend myself now, and I've gotten really good with a gun and a bow thanks to her and Daryl. I'm goin' and keepin' an eye on my sister. Glenn's not here to help her, so I need to."
"Alright," Rick sighed, knowing that Beth was just as stubborn, if not more so, than Ani and Maggie put together when she got an idea in her head.
"I'm coming too," Aaron said as he walked up. "We're ready to protect this place, and the Saviors know it. That's why they grabbed Eugene."
"Look, it's not up for discussion," Rick said, standing up and letting the cover fall.
"Then you're just gonna have to punch me in the face and tie me up again," Aaron told him seriously, thinking about how Maggie had given up her quest to find Glenn to keep him safe and all the time Ani had spent training him with Daryl. "'Cause that's what it's gonna take to stop me."
Rick motioned to the RV, letting Aaron pass and head onto it as Gabriel and Carl walked up from opposite ends. That's when Sophia decided to enter the RV, not wanting to really be around Carl after what had happened in the armory. She was worried that he might figure out that she had been talking about him with how she'd acted, and when he entered the RV and sat down next to her, her anxiety only got worse. Bobby was lying on Ani, keeping a close eye on everyone who came too close to her while Catty was in Sophia's lap.
"You've gotten good with her," Carl told her.
"They both recognize me as part of their clowder."
"Clowder? What's that?"
"Oh, Ani's favorite word for a group of cats outside of like, lions with their prides," Sophia told him, turning to look at him as Rick came in and started reassuring Maggie as Beth sat on the bed behind her.
"What else are they called?" he asked quietly.
"Pounces or clutters."
"Only you and Ani would know that."
"You do now, too."
"Yeah," Carl said, looking down at the cat in her lap. "You know, I didn't want to make it seem like I wouldn't protect you too. It's just, well, you don't need it. You're different from Enid. She doesn't know how to take care of herself, you do."
"It doesn't matter, Carl," Sophia said, turning her head away as her voice became hard, effectively ending the conversation as Carl stared at her in surprise, a sigh escaping his lips as he walked away.
Merle walked back to stand in the doorway, asking how both women were doing. Maggie's condition was just deteriorating the longer they waited while a sheen of sweat had broken out on Ani's forehead. He'd've been lying if he tried to say he wasn't worried about both women, let alone the babies they were carrying. Maggie wasn't very far along, and miscarriage was something he'd had the displeasure of knowing once or twice, though at the time he'd been too hopped up on shit to care. Merle was sincerely hoping with all his heart that they'd get to the Hilltop faster than expected, but of course, nothing in life came easy for his ilk.
"What the bitch?" Abraham's voice came from the front, prompting both Merle and Rick to make their way up.
"What?" Rick said as he leaned down to look, Merle standing behind him.
"Enemy close," came the reply as they saw eight heavily armed men, three vehicles, and a man laying prone on the ground. "We doin' this?"
"No," Rick said before heading out, Merle and Sophia both hot on his heels, the rest following suit, Rick being the only one to hold his hands up in surrender, the rest opting to simply not point their guns.
"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen," the man standing out in front of the other group called.
"We can make a deal," Rick called back. "Right here, right now."
"That's right," the man said. "We can. Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you. That's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen."
"Yeah, that deal is not gonna work for us," Rick said, lowering his hands and resting his gun in a manner where he could easily put it to use. "Fact is, I was about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinkin' I don't have to kill any of you. Any more of you."
One of the men pulled out spray paint and painted an X on the man lying on the ground, a moment of silence passing between the two groups as the tension built before the man said, "Sorry, my deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate."
"Me and my people are leavin'," Rick stated with a gesture of his hand, the majority of the people returning to the RV.
"Okay, friend," the man told him. "Plenty of ways to get to where you're goin.'"
Merle followed Abraham into the RV as Rick called back to the other group, "You wanna make today your last day on Earth?"
"No, but that is a good thing to bring up," the other leader said. "Think about it. What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true? Maybe you should be extra nice to the people in that RV, 'cause you never know," he said before snapping his fingers. "Just like that. Only one of your people are safe, and that's because she's actually one of ours, she just doesn't know it yet. So y'all be kind to each other. Like you said...like it was your last day on Earth."
Rick sneered at the man, seeing Abraham physically holding Merle back at the insinuation they all knew was meant for Ani before he quietly said, "You do the same."
Entering the RV, they all took up their respectful positions as Abraham brought the engine to life and slowly backed away from the blockade. It wasn't long before they had to stop to figure out the next best route to take. While most of the others had left the RV for some fresh air and to have more room to look at the map, Beth stayed in the back with the women while Sophia, Carl, and Aaron stood in the dining area of the RV.
"Why didn't you stay back and help guard the place?" Carl asked, meaning it for Sophia, but Aaron answering instead.
"I owe her," Aaron said. "Why did the two of you come?"
Carl contemplated the thought for a minute before saying, "I owe them."
"Ani's always been helpin' me. Ever since she met me. I owe her everything. I don't think I'd be alive today if it weren't for her," Sophia said. "Besides, I've got people I want to protect."
"You should have stayed in Alexandria," Carl told her defensively.
"I don't need your permission to help protect my family!" Sophia said before storming off to the back again.
"If there's one thing I know, it's the attitude someone takes when they're jealous," Aaron told him quietly.
"Jealous?" Carl asked confused. "Why would Sophia be jealous? She's basically my best friend."
"Ah, but is that all she wants to be?" Aaron asked, watching as Carl blushed and turned his head away.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I was young once. Eric and I weren't always, well, friendly. There was a time when we were at odds because I was dating someone and he liked me. We were friends, but when I started dating that guy, Eric became cold, distant. Kinda like I see Sophia doing to you."
"She doesn't like me. She likes someone else."
"Did she tell you that, or just that she likes someone?"
Carl became quiet as the others climbed back in the RV and Abraham took the wheel once again. Merle passed by and went over to Sophia, leaning down and checking Ani's forehead to see how bad her fever was. Carl watched as he and Sophia shared a look, Merle giving the girl a quiet reassurance that Ani would be fine, that the baby would be fine. Both the bobcats were on Ani's bed now as Beth sat on Maggie's. Carl didn't want to be a part of what was happening in the back of the RV, so moved to the front where Abraham and Sasha were sitting in the driver's and passenger seat. He heard their exchange, Abraham asking if Sasha wanted to have kids at some point, saying that that was living. When Sasha asked if Abraham could, he admitted that he wanted to, making Carl look back towards the back and at Sophia, thinking about Enid.
"Bitch nuts," were the words from Abraham that had him paying attention to what was happening out the window.
Over a dozen Saviors stood with five vehicles, each armed to the teeth as Rick and the others approached. "We making our stand?" Sasha asked him.
"Yeah," Carl said, wanting to get to the Hilltop as soon as possible. "We end it."
"No," Rick countered. "Not now. They've been waiting. They're ready. With one of us behind the wheel and one of us with the sick, that's seven on sixteen. While we could take them, it wouldn't be without casualties. We're gonna play it our way, how we want it. Right?" he turned and asked Carl, before looking at Merle who nodded his head in agreement.
"Right," Carl sighed as he watched Sophia head back to the back before looking back at the Saviors in front of them.
"Alright, go slow," Rick told Abraham as they started backing up, one of the Saviors firing into the air as they made a u-turn.
IT was some time later while Sophia was sitting in the back, her hand holding onto Ani's limp one when Merle came back to check on her. "You doin' okay, girly?"
"I'm sick of all this stoppin'. We gotta get her there!" Sophia said with a sniffle, the RV slowing once again.
"Wait here, I'll check it out," Merle told both her and Beth who had moved to see what was happening, Maggie barely conscious and pouring sweat now.
Leaving the RV along with Rick, Aaron, Eugene, Sasha, and Carl, Merle saw the walkers that were chained along the road, blocking their path. The chain was thick enough to do some damage to the RV and the way it was literally woven through the walkers' bodies, almost like one would thread stitching in clothing, although a lot more haphazard and a lot less precise. Merle was just as sick of stopping as everyone else on this little adventure, and Ani's fever was starting to get worse. He and Phia were afraid her wound had gotten infected, which was causing her comatose state as her body tried to fight off the infection, keep the pregnancy, and deal with whatever trauma watching Denise die in front of her had affected her.
"Putting together a red rover like that takes people," Eugene said as they walked up to the walkers. "A lot of them."
Some of the walkers were handcuffed together, some bound by wire, but they all had that long chain through them as Rick put his rifle on his back, "Come on, let's do this."
"Dad," Carl said, walking up to a walker as he saw a dreadlock hanging off of it. "That's Michonne's."
"Fuckin' hell!" Merle said, catching sight of a pair of bolts. "Them are Daryl's. The Saviors have 'em man!" he yelled, walking up and pushing Rick a second before gunfire rang out, forcing them all to run for the RV as Abraham came out firing.
Merle jumped into the driver's seat as Abraham and Sasha fired back, Rick breaking through the walker blockade by hacking the wrist of a walker from the rest of the body. Starting up the RV, he waited for them to finish their task and come running back to the RV before he floored it and went straight through the downed walker wall. He kept driving as Rick held onto Michonne's dreadlocks that he'd pulled from one of the walkers. The RV was starting to sound up a ruckus, though, and Merle was worried they'd have to stop again and start on foot, though, considering the current situation, he wasn't sure how bad an idea that was.
"What's that sound?" Abraham asked
"Undercarriage could have caught a bullet," Eugene answered, rubbing at the cuff on his wrist. "Or could be transmission. It could be nothing."
"They were firing at our feet," Rick informed them. "They blocked the road, but they weren't tryin' to stop us. They want us in this direction."
"Barton Road takes us north, but they gotta know we wanna go north," Sasha said.
"Meadows," Eugene suggested. "It takes us east a piece, but we can get back on track on Mayhew."
"We're down to a third of a tank," Sasha told Rick. "We can top off at the next stop, but no refills after that."
"Alright," Rick said.
"Maggie's burning up," Aaron said as he came out from the back.
"Rick!" Abraham called, the setting sun still shining through the trees as they came across even more Saviors, their numbers too great to count at a distance to be certain, all of them carrying artillery of some type.
"Fuck!" Merle said.
"Go back," Rick told Abraham.
"Where, Rick?" Merle asked. "Where the hell we gonna go, huh?"
Rick just looked at him, the fear evident on his face as he went to the back. Merle stood in the doorway as the man knelt next to Maggie, reassuring her that the Saviors were gone and they were going to get where they were going. That she and the baby would be okay. Maggie told him she believed in him, which made him silently scoff and look away, his eyes connecting with Merle's as the man stood watching them.
"They're both gonna be okay," Rick told him. "We'll make them be okay."
It was barely twenty minutes later when they were once again stopped in the middle of the road, Merle asking, "What now?"
As those who could leave the RV did so and walked up to the blockade of downed trees, Eugene had the grace to inform them, "These tracks...they indicate that they not only have people, but some big ass toys with capabilities."
"What it indicates," Abraham said, walking closer to the logs, "is that we are neck deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open." They all turned around as a yell was heard from behind them, a man freshly thrown from the overpass just behind the RV dangling from a chain as he was strangled, the same man who'd been laying on the ground during their first encounter with the Saviors. "Don't," he told Aaron.
"I can try and break the chain," the man said.
"It won't work," Merle told him.
"I can try!" Aaron insisted.
"It won't work," Abraham agreed.
"Chain's too thick," Rick told him as he walked a bit closer. "And we need the bullets."
They watched as the man hung to death, flailing until he hung limp. It wasn't until he was hanging limp that they even noticed the fire starting to burn through the logs. Merle realized that they were trapped like rats in a cage. There was no way they were getting out of whatever maze these people had created. It was a longer, more drawn out version of some military tactics, most often used in battle, much like the people at Terminus had used it. He recognized that this was the same thing, him and Abraham both if the look on the ginger's face had anything to say about it.
"You're treating your people good, right?" a disembodied Savior's voice rang out. "Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of theirs? You better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where you're goin'."
"Go," Rick told them. "Go!"
Once again they piled into the RV, driving until they were parked damn near in the middle of the woods, off the road and any real path. "So what's the play?" Abraham asked after parking and coming back to the living area of the mobile home.
"They need a doctor," Rick told them.
"There are two more routes north from here," Sasha told them.
"They're probably waiting for us right now," Aaron said.
"So, they're ahead of us," Eugene said. "Probably behind us. But they're not waitin' on us, persay, they're waiting on this rust bucket. And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust bucket. And the sun sets soon."
"That's the best play we got," Merle said. "Been thinkin' it for a while now. We can rig a couple stretchers together easily enough."
They all got to work, though as they worked around Ani, Sophia couldn't help but ask, "Should we send the twins away?"
"You know the command for them to follow at a distance?"
"Yeah, but I don't know if they'll listen to me."
"They've bonded to you now, give it a try," Merle told her. "Only thing you can do. They don't listen to me except for to attack."
Sophia gave the signal, sending the kittens bounding into the trees away from them as Eugene went into the RV and drove off. Abraham and Rick were carrying Maggie as Sasha and Aaron carried Ani, the other four from the RV keeping the two stretcher protected with they're knives. Even as they walked, Merle was apprehensive about the entire thing. Sophia was walking beside him, taking down a walker from the side as Carl took one from the front. He noticed the boy looking back at her while he was talking to his dad, the conviction in his voice when he promised he wouldn't let anybody die like Denise had evident and making Merle proud to have helped in keeping that boy safe. As Rick was about answer Carl, whistling broke out through the woods all around them.
Merle couldn't help but feel the panic rise in him as they made a run for it. Heading into the trees, they did their best to keep both stretchers steady until they ran into a clearing and lights erupted around them, blinding them momentarily as the whistling became almost unbearably loud due to the Saviors all whistling the same note at once. They were completely surrounded and outnumbered, their own RV sitting at the head of the group. Panic was evident on everyone's faces as they looked around, Carl immediately going to Sophia's side as the whistling died down. She couldn't help but step back towards him as she noticed a shaken and beaten Eugene kneeling in front of the RV, it's headlights shining on his frightened form.
"Good," the first Savior they'd encountered on the trip said as he stepped into the light. "You made it. Welcome to where you're goin'. We'll take your weapons. Now."
"We can talk about-" Rick tried to negotiate.
"We're done talkin'," the man cut him off. "Time to listen." As a group of Saviors descended upon their group, the man walked up to Carl and pulled the spare gun he had in his holster out, looking at it and asking, "That's yours, right?" Carl just stared at him as Sophia tensed, ready to take action if the man tried anything to him. "Yeah, it's yours." He flicked his hat as he stood up and said, "Okay. Let's get her down, get Titania out front here, and the rest of y'all on your knees. Lots to cover."
"Hold up," Abraham all but growled out. "We got it."
"Sure, sure," the leader said.
Aaron and Sasha moved in front of where the man was standing, Merle going with them and helping them set the stretcher down gently. Abraham and Rick helped Maggie to kneel on the ground, her form shaking as she struggled with it. While Abraham stayed on his knees next to Maggie, the other Saviors grabbed Eugene up, forcing him to become a target of attention as he was forced to his knees in a parallel line to the two. Rick was in shock when he saw him kneeling there, face bruised and bloodied.
"Gonna need you on your knees," the Savior told Rick, leaning in as if that made his point clearer. As Rick sank, so did the rest of the survivors, fear, shock, or anger on all their faces. "Dwight!"
"Yeah," the man said, coming out of the woodwork.
"Chop-chop."
~x~
Daryl had the bike hidden by the railroad tracks, making use of some fallen branches he'd found there. He'd been out for about an hour now, following what were likely the tracks of the men who'd fled after the barrage of bullets had ended and Ania and Eugene's injuries had taken precedence. He was still berating himself for letting her leave the walls, for agreeing to take her with him. He was blaming himself for not killing those people when he had a chance instead of helping them or better yet, left them to whatever hell they were bound for when he'd gotten away to begin with. And the fact that they knew Ania's parents meant that those bastards were with the Saviors. He was looking for the trail, circling out from where he'd known they'd run when he branches cracking. Taking quick aim, he fired even as he saw it was Rosita, his bolt landing in the tree right next to her face as a warning.
Rosita looked at the thing and then back at him, anger evident all over her face as she snatched the bolt out of the tree, "Watch the hell out, asshole."
"Yeah, I did," he said as he snatched it back and stormed away, growling out, "You shouldn't have come."
"You shouldn't have left!" Michonne told him. "Ani needs you!"
Daryl stopped and looked back at her before leaning on one foot and admitting, "When I split off from Sasha and Abraham, he was out there in them woods, in that burned-out with them girls, put a gun to my head! Tied me up!" he finished with a yell. "I even tried to help him," he said as he walked away.
"So you think it's your fault?" Glenn asked, making him stop in his tracks again.
"Yeah, I know it is," Daryl told him, squaring off with the younger man. "Denise dyin', Ania bein' laid up. That's on me. I'm gonna do what I should have done before."
"What, for her?" Glenn called out when Daryl walked away again. "Denise is gone, man. Ania's unconscious in bed. You're doing this for you."
"Man, I don't give a shit," Daryl admitted. "They threatened my wife. They know her damn parents! I'm takin' care of this. Makin' this right," he said as he walked away a third time.
"Daryl," Glenn said, walking in front of the man and cutting him off, "we need to get back there and figure this out from home. Our home. From beside Ani, your pregnant wife. We need you! And everyone back there needs us right now! Ani needs you! It's—it's gonna go wrong out here," he pleaded.
"We'll square it," Michonne told him. "I will. I promise you. Just come back."
Daryl looked between the two of them before shaking his head, unable to bring himself to go back just to watch Ani lay there and waste away, just to watch them lose their child, "I can't."
"Wait!" Glenn tried again. "Daryl!"
"Man, I can't!" he told him with a yell, his voice thick with the hurt and anger he was feeling inside before he stomped off into the woods.
He could hear Rosita following along behind him, her footsteps heavier than Ania's, but lighter than both Michonne's and Glenn's. Daryl couldn't help but compare the small woman following him with the small woman waiting for him to come back home. He wanted Ania to be out here with him, but because of his complacency, because he tried to do things the way he thought she would do them, she was laid up. He couldn't handle that knowledge. He couldn't handle the fact that his choice had gotten her best friend killed.
Denise had done a decent job looking after Ani and helping her have somewhere else to go that wasn't just with their group or Aaron and Eric. She'd double checked with him several times even if they were awkward exchanges, neither knowing what to say to the other. She always had some sort of nutritional food that she was bringing over, usually bringing breakfast to him and Ani right before they'd take off on a trip. Even Daryl had to admit that the woman had made some pretty decent oatmeal considering they only had a few things they could put into it. That was all over now, though, and that was on him.
"She won't blame you, you know," Rosita said as they walked through the trees.
"It don't matter."
Rosita just raised her eyebrow at him and continued following along. Daryl had never been much for conversation Merle, Aaron, or Ani, and even then, Ani was the one he spent the most time talking to. They kept circling the woods until Daryl stopped and pointed to a couple sets of tracks. They were all walking in tandem, but that wasn't the most worrying fact about them. The most worrying fact was that in places Glenn's tracks were obvious while in other's Michonne's were. Either they had been followed or captured, but that didn't matter as he and Rosita followed and broke off. He saw Glenn and Michonne before he saw anyone else, the two of them bound and gagged and sitting on a log. Raising his finger to his lips, he silently told them to remain silent only for Glenn to start trying to yell something at him.
As he raised his crossbow to take careful aim, he heard the click of the gun from behind him as Dwight's voice sounded out, "Hi, Daryl." He lowered his bow only for a gunshot to resound in the woods around them as Daryl's right shoulder exploded in pain. "You'll be alright. Payback, you see, for Titania gettin' hurt. Apparently, she's supposed to remain unharmed, but you? Boss-man has some big plans for you for what you did to her. Seems kinda strange to me, a man like you, leadin' a kid on until she runs away to be with you. That's kinda shitty, don't you think? Well, it don't matter much to me. We got some place for the four of you to be."
The world went black for a long time before he finally came to. Whistling was sounding from somewhere around them as his eyes tried to adjust from their blurry state. He was covered in blood and his shoulder hurt like a bitch, but he was alive. Looking around, he found he was with Glenn, Michonne, and Rosita in some sort of truck, but that was all he could tell. As the whistling got louder, he tried his best to get into a seated position, grunting and groaning the entire way. His anger towards himself roared to life, roiling over the fact that once again he'd put those he cared about in danger doing something stupid. This was all his fault and he knew it.
They could hear the muffled voices coming from outside the darkened vehicle, the only light coming from small holes in the canvas that covered the back of the vehicle. Daryl could barely handle the pain in his shoulder, wondering how the hell Ania had been able to before remembering that she was still passed out from that wound as far as he knew. It was only now that he realized he had been stupid leaving her side and silently let the tears fall in the dark, his body heavy and breathing slightly labored from the loss of blood. He heard Dwight's name being called before the back of the truck was open and Daryl was roughly grabbed out.
"Come on," Dwight told him, the blanket around Daryl's bloodied for doing nothing to help him as he shoved him. "You got people to meet."
He, Michonne, Rosita, and Glenn were all dragged from the back of the truck and roughly shoved onto the ground. Both Daryl and Glenn tried to break the hold of the men who had them when they saw their wives, Maggie breaking down while Daryl was practically tossed onto the ground next to his brother. He reached out touched Ania's face, looking to Merle as if to ask why she was there. Merle only shook his head indicating that this wasn't the time. One of the Saviors grabbed him by the back of his shirt and forcefully pulled him back, away from Ania, causing him to fight a little bit before a gun was held to his head. It was only then that he stopped fighting and stayed where he was.
"Alright," the head savior in charge told them. "We got a full boat! Let's meet the man!"
He went over to the RV and knocked on the door before walking off to the side, tossing Carl's gun at him as a man roughly Rick's age stepped out of the vehicle. If the leather jacket and red ascot didn't make him seem charming, the award winning smile he gave them all certainly added to it. Had he not been carrying a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, he might almost look like a friendly guy. It seemed as if his eyes cued into Ani's form lying on the gurney in front of them before moving to the line of people in front of him, zeroing on Daryl's bloodied form.
"Pissin' our pants yet?" he asked.