Thank you to everyone who waited patiently while I was taking some time off. So y'all know, the sort of haitus is over. Just needed a little time to get myself back on track. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy the following chapters!
"Well, look at you, Mr. Big Shot," Eugene heard Frankie say as she walked up behind him. "You were destined for this."
They'd only just gotten the machine shop up and functional, something that had taken all day even with the ten extra men that had come with him just to help clean the place out. The facility hadn't necessarily been poorly maintained, it just had a lot of dust and grime built up that needed a good elbow greasing. There were another ten men that would be staying at the shop with him, Frankie and one of the other wives of Negan coming to help them maintain their daily needs. If he was going to be able to make enough bullets and somehow pilfer some for the colonies, not just provide for Negan, he was going to have to be especially careful with all the people Negan had sent him with. If only he had some of Simon's people here, it would have been made that much easier.
"Nobody on the line without gloves and proper eye protection," he told her as he turned to look at her, taking notice of her little black dress and heeled feet and lack of goggles.
"I just thought I could help," she said after turning to look at the sign and rolling her eyes as she turned back around. "Maybe you could show me how to make one."
"I'm sure I could. But your job is to take my dinner order, relayin' it to Tanya via the long range," he told her with a nod. "Eggs will do nicely. Dancing with tomatoes."
"One tomato omelet—you got it," she said discouraged.
"No, no fold over. I'm talkin' a scramble. Several of them actually, for my crew."
"No damn tomatoes," one of his men piped up, looking back at them. "Peppers, lots of 'em. As many as you've got."
"You heard the man," Eugene said before moving to an as of yet unused area of the machine shop. "And I'd like said repast set up over here, in the Northwest corner, which I hereby designate as this workplace's official cafeteria, break room, and motivational presentational cubby. And my brow will soon be in need of wipin'," he said as he came back around to her, giving her a condescending tone and look.
She looked about ready to respond when the doors burst open and Negan came through laughing, everyone in the room falling to their knees in response, "Eugene! Lookie what I've brought for you."
Two men carted Gabriel into the room, setting him down at the table they were sorting casings at Eugene standing and looking from the preacher to Negan before saying, "I am agog. Why would you bring him here?"
"Well, you needed an extra set of hands to sort out those bullet casings, right? Apparently, his eyes don't work for shit, but he does have a set of hands. Simon suggested he get his hands dirty to earn his keep, and I must say, I agree whole-heartedly. After all, everyone contributes and he's used an awful lot of resources fightin' whatever nastiness ended up inside of 'im."
"We'll see if it helps. Simon does seem to have an eye for usefulness. I only have a few bullets as it is. Quality munitions, but the quantity is full-on scant. It's still gonna be a few more days, maybe a week, before we have any sort of supply to speak of."
Negan sucked on his teeth while grimacing and getting quiet as he began talking, "See, Eugene...that simply doesn't work for me."
"I think a more biblical approach for maximum fright may be in order," Eugene said uncomfortably. "We could rig several midevil style catapults, start luanching undead arms, legs, torsos over their defenses, maybe heads or, you know, a big pile of guts. Pure psych-ops. I mean, there's some really traumatic theatrics there."
He stood there staring at Negan as the man considered his words before he lifted his eyebrows and gave a little bow towards Eugene. "Thank you," he told him. "I do believe a rose just sprang out of that pile of shit. Let's roll. Big day tomorrow."
Eugene waited for him to leave before turning to Frankie and asking, "Are you gonna relay the dinner order, or do we need someone more suitable for the task?" As she rolled her eyes and walked away, he walked up to Gabriel and spoke lowly as he tossed a container of spare casings that needed plucking through. "Let it be clear, you are here to work. I will not allow anyone to fall behind or take up space if they are unable to complete their tasks. If Simon thinks your competent enough, I suppose you'll do the trick just nicely."
"We are all doing God's work," was all Gabriel said in reply, placing a rather well concealed piece of paper on the table in front of him that Eugene grabbed under the cover throwing a mask at the man.
"Whether or not we are, there's work that needs doin'. Put that on," he told him before heading over to the area he'd designated for the others to eat in and cautiously opened the paper, reading the plan Simon had written down. "Here we go," he sighed before crumpling it up and putting it in his pocket.
~x~
Merle was quick to get to Alexandria after Rick dropped in nearby. Originally, he'd meant to take Ani's ATV, but the Saviors had left a car out by where Daryl had broken through the back wall and made the others go after him. He'd decided that it would be better to drive it than her ATV, especially for Bobby. If he couldn't find Sophia, he wasn't about to let the little cat out of his sight to make sure at least it got back to Ani. So far, they'd been lucky not to run into any Saviors, but Merle wasn't holding his breath that that luck would hold out. There was no way the Saviors were going to make it that easy, but then again, he was heading the opposite direction of the Hilltop at the moment. There would be fewer Saviors in this direction than there would be if he was trying to get to the others. He hoped that Rick had made it back with Jadis and that he would let Ani and Daryl know what was going on. Once again, he started berating himself for allowing Carl and Sophia to take charge.
As he made his way down the road Jadis had told him she'd seen the Saviors take Sophia, the last thing he expected was to see a black pick up truck blocking off the road. Merle cautiously rolled up to the truck, only for a man to open the door and step out. Cursing under his breath, Merle threw the car into park and opened his own door, bringing his gun up and aiming it at the smiling man. Even Bobby had his hackles up, hissing and puffing himself up as big as he could as Simon began walking closer.
"I was wondering when someone was going to come this way," he said friendly enough. "Didn't expect it to be a one-hand wonder and a cute little kitty-cat."
"That's close enough!" Merle warned. "The girl. Where is she?"
"Sophia? She's safe. She's home, or she should be by now. Dropped her off early this morning within a couple miles of Hilltop."
"Why should I believe you, huh? You been tryin' to kill us all this time."
"True, I have been. Call it a guilty conscience," Simon said, his hands going to his hips as he looked down. "You know, I was all for killin' all of you for a while. But, makin' kids run for their lives, pregnant women fight, puttin' 'em under the stress of it all. I can't keep goin' like this. Hell, I don't want to keep this shit up."
"Yeah? Then how about you shoot yourself in the head? Save us all the trouble of havin' to kill you ourselves," Merle countered, not believing the man for one second.
"I could do that," Simon said while nodding his head in agreement. "Or...I could give you these," he said while moving around to the back of the pick up and dropping the tailgate, stepping back to let Merle take a look. "Seems like y'all could use 'em, and with my boy Eugene on my side, it's easy enough to pick up a few extras. Figured you could use the food, too. Can't be much left at the Hilltop with everyone headin' there."
Merle could hardly believe his eyes. A clear tote of bullets sat in the back of the truck, several more totes and baskets of food, one that looked to have medical supplies, some with clothes or blankets, he couldn't tell clearly. It was a decent haul of stuff they would desperately need at the Hilltop with the war still going on. He couldn't help but lower his gun for a moment as he took in the offering. On top of all that, Simon said that Sophia was already at the Hilltop, having gotten there this morning while he and Rick were probably at the garbage pit with Jadis. After getting over his shock quickly, he re-positioned his rifle and aimed it back at Simon, not wanting to fall for whatever trick this was.
"Why you doin' this really? Ain't out of the goodness of your heart," Merle accused. "What do you get out of it?"
"Negan out of power. This dumb cycle of killing people to get others to fall in line. It worked, 'til it didn't. Rick and Ani, they'll never kneel. They'll never learn Negan's way, and that might be for the best," Simon told him. "Hell, Ani's way of thinking, gettin' everyone together to work towards a future, rebuild somethin' like what we had. It's worth the risk, don't you think? Changing sides in a war Negan could never win. I like winning, and it just don't sit right with me makin' a kid be without their father just to prove a point. I might have my fair share of deaths on my hands, but, even I have my limits."
"You really think I'm gonna believe you?"
"Believe what you want," Simon said with a shake of his head, "but this is all for the Hilltop. Take it or leave it. None of it's been tampered with and most of the food is from the Hilltop to begin with. Got some clothes in there, too. Won't be able to bring any more out for a little while. Not until closer to when it's all goin' down."
"And when's that?"
"Well, you got a reprieve for the evening. I suggest you take this and get it to the Hilltop and get some rest. Come tomorrow, Negan's got somethin' real nasty planned out."
"Oh? Care to share with the class, or are we just playin' who's got bigger balls?"
"Unlike Negan, I don't really care to compare sizes. All I know is that he's got somethin' planned. Has us all gatherin' in the courtyard in the mornin'."
"So we could ambush you all in the mornin', is that what you're sayin'?"
"No, you don't got the ammo for that, not even with this. See, this here, this is to make sure you get through tomorrow. It's not for retaliation, it's for protection. You get through tomorrow, expect another shipment soon enough."
"Why you really helpin' us?" Merle said, finally dropping his gun completely, though not his guard.
"Had a sister that lost a lot. Fought hard as nails to keep what she had. Maggie's a fighter. Reminds me an awful lot of Deloris in a way, but she's lost enough, don't you think?" Simon asked. "Lost her man. Almost lost her kid. I don't want her losin' anymore."
"So you're helpin' us out of a guilty conscience and because Maggie reminds you of your sister? Ya either stupid or playin' a long game. And I ain't a fan of long games. You playin' with me, I'll kill ya. Ya do anythin' to hurt me or mine, ya dead. The first inklin' I get you pullin' one over on us, I'm gonna make sure you wished you never were born, you got me?" Merle threatened.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Simon said. "I'll trade you, the truck for the car."
"Toss the keys in the cab."
"Still in the ignition," Simon told him as he walked towards the car, allowing a wide berth between himself and Merle.
Merle backed up to the truck, not taking his eyes off the man he didn't quite trust. The thought of Sophia being safe, of being able to take munitions, food, medicine, and clothes to the Hilltop when almost everyone there had been run out of their homes without any of it, was too great to pass up. He waited for the man to drive off before he crouched down and started checking the break and fuel lines. Once he was sure the truck was going to work properly and not stall or blow up or the breaks giving out, he called for Bobby and got in himself. Tearing up the pavement, he wasted no time in gunning towards the Hilltop. It only took about twenty minutes to get there, only one other car passing during that time. He'd been prepared to have to fight until it stopped and Abraham got out as he pulled the truck to a stop.
"We were just on our way to search for your ass. Nice truck. Where'd you get it?" Abraham asked.
"Simon, if you'd believe it. Said Phia's back at Hilltop, that true?"
Both Abraham and Sasha burst into smiles, Abraham laughing away while Sasha answered, "She's there alright. And Ani won't leave her alone, let alone Carl."
"Why? What's goin' on there?" he asked confused.
"Well, let's just say the two are gonna be thicker than thieves from now on. I do think we'll be hearin' weddin' bells sometime in the future," Abraham chortled.
"What the hell'd I miss?"
"Carl kissed Sophia when he saw her."
"Oh, hell," Merle cursed before heading back to the truck, whipping around before he entered it to ask, "What's Ani doin' 'bout it all?"
"She's got them on guard duty inside the walls. No more recons, no more scouting, no more fighting," Sasha informed him. "Sophia going missing and what happened with the baby, who's fine, by the way, they're all fine. But it really affected Ani. They're both stuck on the sidelines, where Ani's gonna stay from now on too."
"'Bout damn time she made a right call," he commented, climbing in and scratching Bobby's head before starting the truck back up. "Let's go visit your momma."
~x~
Rick waited for the gate to open before walking through it with Jadis just before noon. Michonne ran up to him and kissed him, Carl bringing Judith with him to hug his father. The look of consternation of Rick's face as he looked over to the captured Saviors caused Ani to look over, seeing them doing nothing more than they had been. Rick's anger at everything that had happened, losing Alexandria just months after losing the prison, was justifiable, but she couldn't help but wonder if she would have to talk him down from something stupid, too. She'd already given Tara another earful at how she had been with Dwight, ensuring the woman knew exactly where she'd messed up and that she was letting her anger and rage fuel her decisions, which was the stupidest thing she could do right now. Tara needed to be clear headed to fully help in the war, and that meant she needed to let go of that anger for now. While Tara had reluctantly agreed, she also promised Ani that if she had the chance to kill Dwight when all was said and done, she'd take it.
Ani had also talked to Morgan, who was dealing with a full-blown PTSD crisis, a crisis she wasn't sure she would be able to help with if he kept fighting. It had taken a few hours and the help of Henry to talk the man into eating and taking a rest thanks in part to one of the Saviors taunting him. Ani was surprised when Gavin of all people told the man to shut up and then cold cocked him in the back of the head and knocked him out when he persisted. Even though Daryl hadn't liked it and had stood next to her with Sophia as if they were her bodyguards, Ani had been over to talk to some of the Saviors, too. The one that had gotten knocked out was responsible for Morgan's current state of being, Gavin was willing to quietly sit out the rest of the fight, and Alden, well, he seemed like he was just trying to survive. Talking to him and some of the others, they weren't Negan in any way, shape, or form, just people working for a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. A good many were literally construction workers and technicians, foremen who were responsible for upgrading the Sanctuary's outposts' infrastructures and security. Currently, she was sitting in the shade of the stalls near the blacksmith, listening and watching as Rick and Jadis explained themselves to Daryl as he stepped out.
"Where's Merle?" Daryl asked Rick. "Why's she here?"
"Jadis knew where Sophia was, so Merle wanted to bring her along."
"Sophia's here. What about her people?"
"All dead," Jadis responded. "The Saviors."
"Where'd Merle go?"
"Still looking for Sophia, which means one a us is gonna have ta go get 'im," Ani surmised. "Only way 'e'll come back is if 'e knows she's here."
"I'll go back out in a few," Rick told them.
"No, I'll go," Daryl said. "I'll find him quicker."
"No, you need to stay here. Stay with Ani and Sophia. I...I need to be out there right now," Rick said, handing Judith to Michonne and walking away.
"Ya know, 'e's prolly already on 'is way back 'ere. Sash and Abe went out 'bout an hour ago ta look for 'im and Rick, and anythin' else they could find," Ani told Daryl as he walked up to her and helped her stand.
"Yeah, I know. Still, what we did..."
"Stop," Ani told him, bringing her hand up to his face. "Ain' our fault they got out. Ain' what we did. Couldn' a been what we did. All we did was bust it open. They had ta eat through a lot a resources ta get out. Had ta have."
"Yeah, maybe. I'm gonna go talk to Rick. Stay 'round here 'til I get back."
"Yes, dad."
"Shut it. After last night, you're lucky I ain't got you locked in one of the damn rooms in that house!" Daryl growled out. "You're stayin' in these gates 'til I say otherwise."
"Don' take me sayin' I'll sit the rest out for granted, Daryl," Ani growled back. "I ain' sittin' out 'cause ya want me ta; I'm doin' it 'cause I don' wanna keep usin' that shite and I don' want our baby comin' early 'cause I'm havin' problems. So don' fuckin' push it."
"Whatever. Stay here, I'll be back."
Daryl walked off then, leaving Ania with Sophia and Carl. He was still angry about everything that had happened himself, and the guilt he was feeling over what happened at the Sanctuary, their little stunt, was starting to eat him alive. Even if Ania said it wasn't on them that the Saviors got out, he couldn't help but think it might have been. On top of that, being told by the doctor that he shared in the blame for Ania's panic attack, for the stress they'd put the baby under, had him feeling even more guilt on top of anger at himself for not doing better by her. He knew she wouldn't see it that way, knew she was blaming herself alone for it all, but if he'd of stayed to take care of her and let Merle or Sasha take his place, Ania wouldn't have been in such bad shape. The guilt he was feeling was stifling as he rounded the back of the house and looked at Rick sitting next to Glenn's grave.
Rick looked back at him and sighed before turning back to the grave even as Daryl slowly approached and began talking, "You know, I...I look around and I think about the people that are gone, and the people that are still here. It ain't right. And it ain't fair. Look, about...what I did at the Sanctuary, tryin' to end it real quick. I just wanted it done. I didn't want to give them another chance, not again. Not to get to Ania again, not after...And I didn't care who was there. I don't know if that makes it right or-"
"It does," Rick assured him. "I didn't want to risk killin' innocent people. I should've just been worryin' about our people, our home. To hell with anyone else. I should've listened to you and Ani when you suggested it. We'd," Rick sadly chuckled, "we'd still have our homes. It's the Governor all over again. I messed...I messed up."
"We'll keep fighting," Daryl promised. "Until you're ready."
"I'm ready," Rick immediately countered. "Maggie's got lookouts out there."
"Every half mile, yeah, I know."
"I'm goin'. When your brother gets back, send him out."
"I'll go with you."
"No, we're coverin' as much ground as possible. Makin' sure everythin' and everyone's prepared. We don't need you out there. Stay here with Ani and get ready. This fight ain't over."
~x~
"Welcome home, Dwighty-boy!" Negan told the man while offering him a pack of homemade brew before allowing himself into the room. "I gotta say, it is damn good having you back. See, things gotta get done. I need my top guys out front acin' that shit."
"Thanks," Dwight said after a moment of silence, Negan seeing the worry on his face and looking at him critically.
"Had yourself a close call, I hear."
"Got ambushed," he said before gesturing to his wounded arm. "Took this. The rest didn't walk away. Well, until...I got to the woods, kept goin'. You know, I headed toward Hilltop. Figured our people would be puttin' up a blockade sooner or later," he said with a bit of a chuckle.
"Good job," Negan replied. "But we pulled the blockade. Let the mice play a little, 'cause, you know...our people need to get their business in order. You'll see. So, why don't you just slug a beer, put on your best vest, and get your ass downstairs, 'cause like I said, we got work."
Negan stood in front of his army of Saviors with three fresh walkers strung up to the fence a short time later. Eugene was brilliant. In the light of not having enough ammunition to go after the Hilltop, using walker guts as scare tactics was the next best thing. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited for the day ahead of them. He'd given Rick's people the night, let them get one last meal in. Now he was finished giving them time. Besides, the more time he gave them to rest and recouperate, the more time he gave Ani and Rick the Prick to come up with some other means to get back at him. And Negan was so over being challenged by the two leaders.
"Y'all know how it works," he told his soldiers as he paced in front of them. "You get a bite, some kind of wound from one of these things, something from them gets in you, and you die. You join the club...which sucks. What if we could use that to our advantage?" After asking them that, he turned around and started banging on one of the walkers, getting it to bleed from the shoulder before he realized that there was a much more efficient way of attacking and started in on the gut. Soon enough, he had Lucille covered in the the blood and guts from the walker, asking the Saviors behind him, "Ah, you see how Lucille is gettin' to know our beautiful, cold friend here? That's it," he said before turning and showing his men. "Look...at...that. No more smashin' and bashin'. With this—well, this, it can just be a touch. Or a big, wet kiss. Either way, this gets you full membership," he told them, "and that's what we want. We want people to join the club. Hilltop is gonna learn to toe the line one way or another, dead or alive...or some kinda shit in between," he said, holding up Lucille and looking at her in delight. "Let's get to work!"
He watched for a few as his men got to work, taking notice of Dwight, who finally quit hiding in his room and came out to play with the rest of his men. Him and Laura both had never returned after the barricade had been broken, and when he'd sent someone to investigate, all they found was a bunch of dead Saviors eating a bunch of dead Saviors. Rick and Ani had managed to one up him even there, and damn if it didn't sting his pride that he'd lost so many to those two pains in his ass. All that would end soon enough, though, even sooner depending on how this all worked out. With a smile, he watched as his men got to work, tearing into walkers and getting their weapons all kinds of nasty for the Alexandrian assholes.
"Get 'em good!" he called out to his men. "It's alright if they spill out. I'm gonna gather up the jackpots for refreshers, and guts is guts. Push it in nice and deep. That's the stuff. Holy damn! This is gonna be all kinds of awesome," Negan said as he walked up to Simon, who was wearing a look of malcontent. "Once the Hilltop just feels the tip of what we are packin'," he laughed towards the man, "they are gonna drop to their knees lickety-split."
"Yes, sir," Simon said with a small laugh, watching as Negan walked away before continuing the nasty business of dirtying up his blade with walker blood.
Negan claimed it was all about scaring the people at Hilltop into submission, but how many would die from the nicks and cuts that they would inevitably be levying against them? Would the wounded include the kids? The pregnant women? What about his men, who the Hilltop was holding captive? Negan wanted to get the three colonies in line with the rest of the Saviors, but that wasn't going to happen with just a bit of walker guts and a kamikaze attack. He needed to let Dwight know they were on the same side sooner rather than later if he was going to be of any help to the people of the Hilltop. Luckily, the odds were in his favor as they started loading up weapons and artillery to take with them, buckets of walkers guts going into the back of his transportation truck. Negan walked back up to him as they were finishing that job and told him to get everyone ready to head out, letting him know he was taking his own car specifically so Lucille could ride in the passenger seat, soaking up as much blood and guts from the walkers the man could get her to.
"Alright, listen up!" Simon said, everyone stopping to listen as he gave out the instructions. "Today is about scaring these people. We're not goin' for head shots, just flesh wounds. Hit a few, leave 'em livin', let 'em turn. Don't kill 'em!" he informed them, hoping that the others would take his warning seriously before walking over to Dwight, who was mounting his motorcycle. "D, Negan's handling his own transport, so you can ride with me."
"Well, I was gonna scout ahead, see if anything's coming our way," Dwight confessed, even though in reality he'd wanted to get to the Hilltop to give them warning.
"Well, considerate thoughts, but we've got scouts out, you know, scouting. Far more expendable soldiers than you, which is not to say you're expendable...at all. Listen, you ride with me, we make sure you're up to speed on the plan, capiche?" Simon asked before embellishing a little. "It's what Negan wants so I don't know why we're still jawing. He says, we do, that's kind of the dynamic we got goin' on."
"Yeah, well," Dwight started before stopping and looking down at the bike, getting off to follow Simon.
"Well, what?" Simon asked as everyone loaded into their various vehicles, Dwight climbing in next to him. When Dwight remained steadfastly silent, Simon took his chance as they pulled out of the Sanctuary, "Let me guess, 'yeah, well, maybe that outta change.'"