Chapter 61: Changes
KPOV
~Months ago~
Cleaning my wounds, stitching me up and helping me get better, my dad had been doing his best to look after me after what the Governor had done to me. How he kidnapped me and tortured me for hours, for almost days, I hated myself for turning my back to him.
"You know, I found Morgan a few days ago," dad told me, dabbing at my face with a cloth.
Taking it as his responsibility, he was looking after me, because he was my dad and he felt it was his fault for letting me go in the first place. "Morgan? You mean the guy you met back home?" I asked him.
It was a funny feeling, calling that neighbourhood 'home'. This was our home now. A prison, was our home now. Since I had split up from them, I had realised that home, is where my heart was. Where my family was.
"Yeah," dad chuckled, his thumb rubbing at my cheek as he gazed into my eyes. "He changed...he too lost a child," he explained how his friend had changed.
Hearing this, it made me sad for Morgan. Duane was around the same age as Carl, dad had told us. "I'm sorry," I apologised, without knowing the boy for myself or the man that helped my father during the beginning of it all.
Tilting my head to look up at him, he smiled down at me and caressed my cheek. Regardless of the pain it gave my cuts, it was a welcoming pain because I knew there was a good intention behind it.
"Don't be," dad whispered.
Blinking up at him, I wondered why he didn't want me feeling sad for his friend and his boy. "It made me realise something," he revealed to me.
"What was it?" I wondered as too long of a break had been left of silence over us.
Letting out a soft, sad laugh, he lowered his eyes and that was when he took a seat, placing it in front of me. He lowered himself onto it slowly. "It made me realise how lucky I am for what I have," he told me.
"It made me remember how lost I felt without you. A worser feeling than when I lost your mother," he was finally coming back to me. Back to us and I could see it in his eyes.
Clutching my face in his hand, I placed my hand over his and leaned into his touch. "I'm so grateful to have you back. To have Carl. Judith," he listed as tears welled up in my eyes and I sniffed.
Carefully, he wiped my tears and as we stared into each other's blue optics, I smiled and kissed the inside of his palm. "I did everything I could to get back to you guys. I just knew you were out there. I had to stay positive..." I told him.
"Knowing we were alive, thinking it, was what kept you going," dad understood why I thought the way I had.
"It was the only way I could fight. The only way I could find my way back to you," I admitted that my strength came because of them.
He let out a soft laugh, taking my hands in his, I felt safe. Protected. Whenever he was around, I knew I could be strong and because of him, I was brave. "You always find a way...because you believe in us. And from now on, we'll believe in you. I believe in you," dad said with a softness in his voice.
"And we will never be apart again," he promised me.
"Never again," I agreed, giving his hands a squeeze as we gazed into each others eyes before he pulled me into a hug.
Present day...KPOV
Dragging Nicholas with us, I did my best to support him as Glenn and I brought him back home. "You alright?" I asked after hearing a little groan leave him.
Nicholas must have been weighing on him too. "Yeah," he assured me he was fine. "I'll talk to Maggie. Whoever you talk to, make sure its people you trust," he encouraged me that keeping what happened as secret as possible was the best option.
If others knew what Nicholas did and told Deanna, he could easily get exiled for trying to kill Glenn. "Got it," I accepted his terms, because what we discussed during our search for Nicholas, was that he could get into trouble if they told Deanna about it.
We were finally approaching the gates. As we hobbled along, we finally got to the fence and noticed no one open it up. "Open the gates!" I yelled to them. A walker approached my right, as I used my machete to slice its head in half.
"Kat?" Aaron's could distinguish my voice and little grunt as I swung my machete.
Being able to recognise who it was guarding the gates, I looked on to where I could see him stood at the viewpoint but it could easily be difficult for him to see me in the dark. "Aaron?" I had hopes it was him taking watch on the gate.
Screeching metal were grazing as the gates were opened, Eric was with Aaron, both of them were guarding the gates. "What happened?" Aaron was stunned to see us dragging a barely conscious Nicholas through the gates.
"We need to get to the infirmary, we're fine," Glenn assured them, as we continued to hurry past them. Aaron and Eric closed the fence while we left them behind.
Not looking back, we had a mission to bring them back. Glenn needed medical attention and so did Nicholas. Groaning as we shuffled through the doors, we were met with Rosita in the infirmary. "Glenn. Kat," Rosita rushed to our aid. "Glenn, what happened? Are you guys okay?" she asked us.
Guiding Nicholas to lean against something that wasn't us, we gradually let him go. "I'm okay," Glenn assured her that we were fine.
She tried to get a hold of us as she examined us. "We're okay," I repeated the same words Glenn did, involving him in my response.
We heard a voice we didn't expect to appease our ears. "You guys look like shit," Tara grumbled a little weakly.
Glenn was the first one to make his way over to her. "She's fine. She's fine. She's okay," Rosita tried to slow him down.
Footsteps were fast approaching, appearing at the door frame, was Maggie. Relieved to see that I had done as I promised. I brought back Glenn and Nicholas. "Tara?" Maggie's eyes fell on our friend.
Approaching Tara slowly, I was glad to see she was awake and with us again. "I'm okay. You just check on them," Tara encouraged Maggie to attend to her husband. "I'm okay," she breathed.
Rushing to his side, Maggie began checking him over, making sure he had no bites, no scratches. "What happened?" she asked him, worried for her husband.
Breathless from the journey we'd had, Glenn was trying to catch his breath. "We were out there. The walkers and-we're alright," he assured her. He didn't lie but he hadn't told her the whole truth either.
"Got winged by a ricochet," he explained when she found the bullet wound in his shoulder. Groaning from pain, he stopped her from worrying further. "It's alright."
Heavy footsteps sounded, slower, more relaxed and I only had assumed it was Eugene. "Holy shit," he said when he saw that Tara was in fact, alright.
She was awake and well. Trying to regain my breath still, I went to get something Rosita asked of me. "Thank God...nothing happened to your hair," Tara still would joke, even if she was exhausted from the recovery she just had.
Eugene stared at her, smiling and relieved to see she was okay. Chuckling nervously, she turned her head to look at us as I handed Rosita what she asked for. "Okay, Eugene's freaking me out. Somebody want to send Noah in here to protect me?" she asked for her friend to be there.
Hearing this, made my heart sink and eyes soften with sadness. She had no idea. She had only woken up and she was going to be waking up to bad news.
CPOV
Seeing Enid up on the small gazebo, I climbed up and noticed she had been playing with a lighter. She was all alone. Dad was finally home and Daryl had brought Morgan back with him.
Everything seemed to be changing, far too fast and with Enid, I could feel an emotion I didn't quite fully understand. I thought she was beautiful, smart, kind and she understood the world, like we did.
Being all alone, I wanted her to know she didn't have to be. As I climbed up and took a seat beside her, just to give her company, I expected her to tell me to go away. More so, when she stopped playing with the lighter and closed the lid on it.
Instead of telling me to leave her alone, her hand reached out for me and she rest her palm over the back of mine. Everything seemed peaceful as she began playing with the lighter again, I knew she welcomed my company.
Suddenly, I saw Aaron rushing to my house, in a hurry to find someone. Possibly Daryl, possibly my father and it made me wonder why he was in such a panic. Is it Kat? Was the first thought that came to my mind.
RPOV
Having Morgan show us everything he had with him, we needed to be sure he had no weapons that could hurt us. That he wasn't keeping anything from us. It was protocol and I knew Morgan. I knew he was a good man. A man we could trust.
Examining the things he had in his bag, all he had was his stick, a gun, a rabbits foot, some ammo, a book called 'the art of peace' and a map. The same map we had left behind near the church.
My hand reached out for the map, shocked he had found it and gone in search of me. "You were right. It wasn't over," he repeated the words I had said to him so long ago. A time that felt like years, when it had actually only been less than a year.
Morgan was different but he became the Morgan I knew. From long ago. "We should talk more tomorrow," I didn't have the patience to talk to him about everything now. I wanted to settle down for the night. Putting the map down, I took my time to think of my next words.
Daryl acted like nothing was wrong, like it was just a regular day for him as he sat there and ate cereal for a bed time snack. "Listen..." I was being gentle with him as I approached him slowly. "I don't take chances anymore," I said once I finally knew the words to say.
"And you shouldn't," he agreed with me.
As soon as I said those words, the door opened and closed as footfalls were heard from down the corridor. Catching his breath, it looked like Aaron had ran to get to our house when he had actually only just sped walked to find us.
"Aaron, what's wrong?" I asked, his eyes were wide, his face serious and something told me he found just who he was looking for.
Glancing between me and Daryl, he relaxed when he found us. "It's Kat," he told us.
KPOV
"Kat? Kat?!" I heard my father call for me as he ran into the infirmary.
Daryl trailed behind him as we all were cooped up in the same room now. "Hey," I whispered to my dad as he came to my side and took my face in his hands.
He was examining me, trying to make sure I was okay. "Aaron said..." he was confused as to what could possibly be wrong with me. When his eyes looked up and saw Glenn and Nicholas, he finally connected the dots.
"I brought them back, just as Deanna asked," I told him briefly what happened.
Blue optics hovered around the room and when they landed on Tara, his face froze. "Tara..." he was pleased to see she was awake.
"Actually, he looks like shit," Tara said, making us laugh.
Dad had blood covered all over his face, his hands and on his jacket. He looked like a mess. "Hey," Daryl greeted me as he approached slowly. When he had walked through the door, it was like he too was worried that something bad had happened to me.
"You alright?" Daryl asked me, concerned for me.
Nodding, I brushed a strand of hair away from my face and looked to dad who took Tara's hand. "Is anyone going to tell me where Noah is?" Tara was still waiting for someone to say something.
Approaching slowly to my dad's side, his head bowed and no one said a word. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I got my dad to look up at me. "I'll handle this," I assured him.
"You go home and clean yourself up. Like Tara said, you look like shit," I teased him, trying to wipe some of the blood of his cheek. It was permanently stuck there now and didn't plan on budging.
Nodding, he gently rest his hand on my back and leaned in to press a kiss to my temple. When he pulled away, he brushed past me and walked out the door. Moving to Eugene's side, he let me take the seat beside Tara as I slowly lowered myself down on it to get to her eye level.
Taking a deep breath, my head was lowered and when I raised my optics to meet with hers, she sat up higher. She was on edge for what I had to say. "You remember the run we went on?" I began.
"Yeah..." Tara luckily, still remembered what happened back there, before the explosion.
Everyone was looking at us sadly, at Tara sadly, who was going to be saddened deeply by the news I was about to break to her. "Well..." I was preparing her for the bad news. Hoping she wouldn't take it too bad.
We all lost Noah and Nicholas was the one to blame.
DPOV
Deciding to take time to fix up my bike, I had been working on it for a few minutes. Last night, had been long, since bringing Morgan back, we had to rush to the infirmary to see if Kat was alright.
Aaron had made myself and Rick worry that something had been wrong with her, when it was in fact, she was fine. It was Nicholas and Glenn who were hurt. Then, I had to witness Kat break the news to Tara, who had just woken up from her coma.
I hoped for a calm, easy morning. A morning that would have less drama than the day before. Seeing Rick come down the steps of the house, he looked clean and ready for the day. "So, is he okay with it?" I wondered how Morgan had took to sleeping in the cell.
"It was pretty much his idea. He gets it," Rick assured me that Morgan didn't fight Rick over this precaution.
After everything we had been through, Rick was taking the cautions the town needed now. Despite it, I knew Morgan was a good person. "It's got a bed and a bath, but it's still a cage, you know?" I felt for Morgan, treated like a prisoner in his new home.
Rick knew Morgan better than I did and he still left him in the slammer. "He gets it," Rick's tone of voice told me he didn't like it either. "He told me what happened out there with the trucks," Rick brought up the subject I was eager to talk to him about.
Getting to my feet, no longer hunched over my bike and fixing it, I walked closer to Rick. So that we were face to face. "He tell you about those guys he met?" I asked him, as we had walked back, Morgan had told us of a couple of guys that were going to kill him.
The men had the same mark the walkers and people turned walkers had. "The Ws," I pointed to my forehead, which was where we had found the marks before.
Shifting his weight on his feet, he looked me directly in the eyes. "Like that walker we saw, yeah," he remembered where we had first seen it.
"We need more watch points. And I'm gonna tell Deanna we don't need to go looking for people anymore," he started telling me his ideas of how we could make this place safer. All of which, I didn't agree with.
Looking away, I didn't like the thought of me and Aaron going out there, looking for the good people. It was the only thing that made me feel like I was a part of this place. That and Kat. "You feel different about it?" Rick asked me.
Noticing my hesitation, he knew when I didn't agree with something. It was why he was like a brother to me. "Yeah, I do," I couldn't lie to him.
Nodding, my eyes met with his and locked with his. "Well, people out there, they got to take care of themselves, just like us," he tried to make me see what he saw.
Right now, I couldn't see it that way. I wouldn't. There had to be good people out there. "I'm gonna get him out. Shouldn't leave him in there any longer than we have to," Rick was talking about Morgan. Leaving me alone, I went to finish working on my bike and tried to keep my mind off of things.
RPOV
Making my way over to Morgan's cell, I eventually came in to see he was stood in the middle of the room, with his stick in hand and practising his fighting stances with it. "Where'd you learn that?" I asked him.
He had noticed me come in. "A friend," he answered my question.
"Before or after?" I continued to interrogate him with his new skill. "I ask, you answer. It's common courtesy, right?" I used the same words he said to me back when we first met.
He had let out a soft chuckle, remembering the day we met, the same thing that I was remembering every time I looked at him. "It was after. After everything," he explained that it was after the walkers appeared, after the last time I had seen him.
Noticing that he was changed, he wasn't that crazed, heartbroken father that I had reunited with a little over a year ago. He was calm, calculated. "Look, I'm sorry for this, for having to do this," I apologised for what I had put him through.
Morgan didn't deserve this. "It's all right," he stopped me from apologising further. "The way I look at it, sometimes you're safer when there's no way out," he tried to give me an insight on his thoughts.
For a second, I actually believed him and understood what he meant. "Got to get to know each other again. For the first time...again," Morgan laughed as he spoke, he thought it amusing.
We both had changed so much since the last time we saw each other. It showed in just how we had reunited once more. Letting out a soft chuckle, I knew he was right. We both needed to get to know each other again. For the first time. Again.
KPOV
Waking up, I slowly blinked away my tiredness and when I woke up, I had seen Carl had been sat beside me. "Hey," his little voice spoke out to me.
Yawning, I rubbed at my tired eyes and sat up in bed. "Hey..." I wasn't sure why he was here but I could understand he must of heard about last night. "What you doing in my bed, buddy?" I asked him.
"I'm not in your bed. I'm on your bed," he corrected me, making me laugh. "I heard about what happened last night, so I came in to check if you were alright," he was just being protective. Concerned for me, like he always was.
Yawning once more, I realised just how tired I was. I was hoping for an easier day, one that wouldn't be too much of a hassle. "I'm fine, see?" I gestured to my body as I propped myself up on the bed a little to show him that I was still perfectly fine.
"I know," Carl was just looking out for me. Like the good brother he always was.
Footsteps came closer, as we looked to the door, dad had been rubbing at his gauzed hand. "Hey..." his voice was soft, rough and tired. "Mind if I talk to your sister?" dad asked Carl politely to leave the room after a few minutes of silence had passed.
"I'll go check on Judith..." Carl got up and accepted my dad's polite request to talk to me alone. Leaving us to talk in private, dad waited until Carl was in the other room before he walked over to the bed.
The silence was filled with thick tension. I already could sense he wanted to talk to me about yesterday. "I wanted to apologise for how I have been acting lately. You were right," he was accepting the blame.
"I've been reckless. My reasons might have been personal instead of it being with good intentions to help," he admitted to me and himself finally. "I want to do what's right," I could see his struggle.
Listening to him, I knew he was trying. "I want to do what's right for you, for Carl and Judith. You deserve it but..." I knew something important was coming. "What I do, what I want to teach these people, is to help keep you all safe. You got to understand that," he was defending his reasons.
These reasons, I could accept. I didn't like being so torn because of him. I didn't like how cold we had been to each other. Getting up, I crawled over to him and hugged him from behind. His hands went to hold my arms as I rest my head on his shoulder. "I forgive you," I accepted his apology.
"I'm sorry too," I felt bad for being so harsh on him.
Shaking his head, he rubbed my hand with his thumb, holding hands, he looked over his shoulder at me. "Don't be," he declined my apology.
"Sometimes, its time for a parent to listen to their children. You've grown up way too fast and I have to accept that you are capable of thinking for yourself. You're figuring things out, the same way I did when I was your age," he empathised with me.
Kissing his cheek, he had shut his eyes and really accepted my love. We were finally back on track again. No longer against each other, but a team. Being there, it was nice and as I slowly let him go, I crawled to sit beside him.
He let the quiet envelope us for a few minutes. "Are you going to tell me what happened last night?" he asked me.
Gulping, I lowered my head and stared at my lap. "What I tell you, it has to stay between us. I mean that dad," my eyes looked up to meet his as I held it firmly. "This is not our decision," I warned him.
"I'm trusting you to keep this between us," I wanted him to understand that because I trusted him, he needed to keep it a secret. Knowing him, he would try to get Nicholas exiled the first chance he got.
His eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. "You can trust me," he assured me that what I was about to tell him, was going to stay between us.
Holding his gaze, I wanted to be completely sure I could trust him. "Yesterday, Glenn and Nicholas talked things out. Glenn tried to make him see that Nicholas wasn't ready to be out there. Not after everything that happened, with the warehouse and before that," I began to explain it to him.
"Turns out, Nicholas took it as a threat, rather than advice. He lured Glenn out, beyond the walls and he was armed. He shot Glenn, was going to leave him for dead or kill him. Luckily, me, Deanna and Maggie all heard the gunshot," the way he looked at me, told me he was taking it all in.
Taking a deep breath, I licked a tooth and gulped. "When I got out there, I found Glenn had been in a struggle with Nicholas, walkers got in the middle and almost got Glenn. I saved him. We went in search of Nicholas," everything I said, had dad silent.
I didn't know if this was a good sign or not.
"We could of left him there. For a minute, I wanted Glenn to kill him, I wanted to kill him for what he did to us. Did to his own people," I was disgusted by him, by what he did. "Instead, after Glenn threw a few punches and said what he had to say, I warned him."
"Warned him that if he messed up again...I'd kill him with no hesitation," I felt more like my father in that very moment. I couldn't fight my darker side. Not when we were in danger.
Listening to me, he was finally listening to me, dad took my hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Baby girl, sometimes we get this way when it comes to those we want to protect. You're strong, stronger than me and stronger than anyone I know," his voice was soft.
Showing true concern like a father should. "You'll get through this," whatever darkness I had felt, my dad gave me the courage to fight it.
"I'll help you," he told me he would be there for me, if I thought I couldn't do this alone. "You don't want me to say anything because you know it could get him exiled. Why?" he had let the idea of everything that happened sit in on him.
"Because he wouldn't survive a minute out there," I explained. "And it's not our place dad. If Maggie wants to let Deanna know, that will be because she doesn't trust mine or Glenn's choice," I tried to let him see.
"Leaving people out there, to die. With no weapons, only food and water...that's a death sentence," I tried to give him insight on what it would of been like. Aaron had told me what he'd done. "We're not like that."
"That's not us," I was confident in my words. I had to be.
Nodding, dad was processing everything and respected my decision. "Thank you, for trusting me with the truth," dad thanked me, giving my hand a final squeeze before he got up and went to leave my room.
Before he could, I spoke up. "Are you going to tell me what happened last night? With Reg and Pete?" I asked him. "About all that blood that was on your face?" I wondered if he would reveal any of this to me.
"Walkers got in, Gabriel left the gates opened. I killed them, showed the people what they needed to see. Showed them what they should really be afraid of. Thought it would open their eyes," he began to explain what happened.
His eyes would meet mine, they would then glance to his hand as he rubbed at it and thought out his next words. "Pete came in, wielding Michonne's sword. Reg tried to stop him from getting any closer to me. During the struggle, he killed Reg," how he summarised everything, worried me.
He was straight to the point. "So I killed Pete," he ended it there.
Not moving from his spot, he took his time. It was like he was processing what he just said to me. "And the blood?" I asked him. Wondering where that came from.
"Walkers," he assured me none of it was Pete's. I didn't know if I should have felt relieved or concerned about the fact that this somehow made me feel more settled than nerved.
Staring at him, he had his body half facing me, his head glancing at me from the side. "No more secrets," I didn't want him keeping anything else from me. I wanted it to be like before.
A time when we both trusted each other. "No more secrets," he repeated. Opening his mouth, he went to say something but he stopped himself for a second.
"Rick?" we heard a soft voice call to him.
"Morgan," dad looked to the new face that appeared in my doorway. "This is my daughter, Kat. Kat, this is my friend, Morgan," he introduced us to one another.
"It's nice to meet you," Morgan smiled to me with a nod of his head.
Remembering all the stories dad told me of Morgan, I couldn't help but stare at him and take him in. This was the man my father admired and respected. The man that saved him. "The pleasure is all mine," I nodded back with a pursed lipped smile.
"I'm ready for that walk, whenever you are," Morgan spoke softly, kindly as he looked to my father.
He seemed way nicer than what dad had said about him, about the last time he saw him. "Sure, I'll meet you downstairs," dad accepted the invitation for the walk he had suggested earlier.
It was strange for them to be getting to know each other again, after so many changes they both went through. Nodding, Morgan smiled to me and gave me a final nod before he glanced at dad one last time. Turning around, he left us alone and went back down the stairs.
For a moment, dad stood there, silent as he rubbed at his hand nervously. "I love you, Kat," he reminded me of the unconditional love my father had for me.
Faintly, a smile grew on my visage as my optics slowly glanced up at him. "I love you too, dad," I said to him, which was all he needed to hear before he walked out of my room and joined Morgan downstairs.
RPOV
Making our way out, myself and Morgan were discussing how my kids were looking more like me since the last time he saw them. I reminded him that he never met Kat and he had yet to meet Judith too. Arguing that Kat, looked more like Lori to me these past few days. Morgan agreed but he still saw a lot of me in her, just by that brief encounter.
It was a nice thought but I knew Kat had a good mix of both of us, as did Carl. "Who put up the wall?" he asked me as he noticed the huge wall that protected us from the inside.
Having only been here for a little over a week, or so it was safe to assume, none of us could take credit for these walls. "They did. There was a man, Reg. He drew up plans, made it happen early on," I informed him of what I knew.
"A lot of people in here. They've been inside from the start. They had food, energy, not a whole lot of walkers. They just lived. They haven't had to survive," I explained what living here was like for them, how they had little to no experience of what it was truly like out there. What we knew. "They figured that out, brought us in. Still might be too late."
I didn't know if these people could make it, with how the world was out there, some of them felt too weak to me to handle themselves like we knew how. "Too late how?" Morgan questioned my choice of words.
Stopping, for a second, Morgan took a few steps towards the wall and halted the second he realised I had paused my march. "For them to come around. We'll see," I was trying to be hopeful, for Kat's sake and the people here too.
Going towards the path that lead around the walls, I wanted to show Morgan the town, the boarders that were keeping us safe. "You'll have to talk to Deanna. She's the woman in charge," I had told him but when I turned back, I saw him gazing at the wall. "She was married to Reg."
Hearing my last bit of information, he had picked up that the woman in charge had been married to the man who built the walls. "Was?" Morgan, how he looked at me, made me think that maybe he understood that Reg no longer was with us.
"Yeah," even I had felt great pain for this loss. Reg was a decent man, a smart man and from what Maggie told me, he was going to try and convince Deanna that they needed me.
Glancing over to the sound of men digging their shoves into the ground, I looked past Morgan and noticed Gabriel going to help Tobin when all we needed, was one man to bury Reg. Marching my way over to them, I saw Gabriel was digging another hole adjacent to Tobin's hole.
"What are you doing?" I inquired, already assuming what they were doing. Hating the thought of having a man as psychotic and abusive as Pete, being buried beside the good man that Reg was.
His murderer wasn't going to be buried with him. Not a chance in hell. "We're-I wanted to help," Gabriel stopped what he was doing and gave me an apologetic look.
For what he'd done, for what he'd said to Deanna, I wanted to hit him there and then. "We only need one," I snarled, understanding straight away what was going on.
"We have two men here," Tobin pointed to the bodies, stuttering his words as he panted from the hard work he was doing.
He looked like it made a reasonable explanation as to why two people were there. I didn't care for it. "We're not gonna bury killers inside these walls," I wasn't going to permit this to happen. Not after everything Pete did.
Licking his lips, his eyes shied away from me with what I now recognised as fear. "I understand how you feel. I do," he tried to sympathise with me. "But it's not your decision," he was going to be persistent about burying Pete next to Reg.
"Tobin," I heard Deanna's voice approaching with her body.
"Rick's right," she sided with me as she walked over to inspect the bodies, examining the holes. "Take it away. Go west. Down Branton Road a few miles. Just past the bridge. We don't go out that way. Let the trees have him," she was cold, like stone as she glanced at me first and then to the others.
This, was the final decision and Tobin would have to respect it. Looking over to Morgan, he stared at me, awaiting what my next move would be. Nodding once, he followed my lead and we bent down to lift the body and carry it towards a car.
DPOV
"Daryl, hey," Kat was a little startled to see that I was creeping around her house. My body leaning against her door frame. My eyes were watching her every move as she was putting things away, busying herself with tidying her shared room.
Herself and Michonne had been sharing one of the double beds since they got here and that meant both women had to maintain a fairly organised room. "Hey," I quickly responded to her greeting.
"You here to check in on me, or to spy on me?" she asked me, as she continued to put a few things away.
Clearing my throat softly, I lowered my eyes and chewed on the inside of my cheek. Remembering the thoughts that played in my head, of Kat, wanting me to return, it made me realise just how much I cared about her. Made me realise she really did care about me too.
When my eyes glanced up, I saw she had stopped putting things away and was now facing me. "I thought you might want to tell me what happened yesterday," it wasn't denying either but it wasn't my way of admitting anything either. I had my reason to be there.
Gulping hard, I saw her eyes fall to the ground before she crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess I can tell you..." she was mostly talking to herself. "What I'm going to tell you needs to stay between us..." when her eyes met mine, they were firm, serious and her facial features were hardened.
Nodding, I didn't say a word as I let her tell me what happened, with Glenn, with Nicholas. How she had saved Glenn from the walkers, how Nicholas had shot Glenn, tried to kill him or leave him to the walkers. She told me that she wanted to hurt Nicholas, for everything he did but she didn't. Neither did Glenn. Everything explained why Glenn was so injured, as was Nicholas and why Kat didn't have a single scratch on her.
"Does Rick know?" I asked her, digesting the words she'd said to me.
Nodding, she had shifted her weight on her feet, the same thing her dad would do. "I told him to not say anything. That this decision is out of our hands. If Maggie decides to tell, it will more than likely get Nicholas exiled," she informed me of the possibilities of what could happen in the next few hours, or days.
Knowing what they did, when it came to those that they exiled, I knew that by what Kat told me, Nicholas wouldn't survive out there. "He wouldn't stand a chance out there," I understood why she wanted it to be kept a secret.
Silence had filled the room and as Kat took a few slow steps towards me, I looked directly at her and tensed up against her door frame. "Are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?" she was probably wondering how I found Morgan.
"We were trailing this guy, a guy in a red poncho, for hours. Tracking him, eventually got to a dead end. The guy was smart, protected himself against mosquitoes," I began to tell her what happened. "At one point, we lost him. Found a warehouse instead. Filled with food trucks...when we went to open one, we found out it was a trap."
Knowing there was no way I could keep anything from Kat, not anymore, I didn't want there to be secrets between us. "We tried to escape but we got trapped in a car. Some guy left us a note inside it, warning us that bad people were coming. The walkers had a mark I'd already seen before, a 'W'," the more I told her, the more I couldn't stop telling her what happened.
"Ready to fight our way out, Morgan showed up, saved us out of nowhere," I ended it there. Letting her figure out the rest.
Hearing my story, it seemed to leave Kat deep in thought. "Sounds scary," she sympathised with me. "I'm just glad you're back and that you're safe," her eyes were kind as a small smile grew on those soft lips of hers.
Bowing my head, I wanted to talk to someone about what me and Rick had discussed. A topic that I felt comfortable talking to her about. "Rick says we should stop looking for people," I revealed to her.
Judging by how she was silent for a few seconds, she was probably trying to process it and figure out my stance on it by how I wasn't looking at her. "You feel differently about it...don't you?" she knew me better than I originally thought.
"Yeah, I do," I answered her as my eyes looked up to meet hers.
There was no judgement in her eyes but there was a warmth in them. "I understand that it was something that you were finally getting used to...but..." I knew she was about to defend her father. "My dad is just trying to protect us, especially after what you just went through," she was doing her best to let me see her father's side.
"S'more reason to go out there," if I could get people, good ones, to come back and save them from the 'W's, then it was a day well spent. It was something good I did for the community and for those that were struggling, the same way we were out there.
Carefully, she took a few steps closer and gently held onto my neck with both her hands. "I know," she was doing her best to look into my eyes. Gazing into them, it was like I was automatically drawn to them.
Pleased that I had succumbed to her hold, to her gentle stare, I couldn't look away. "Let's just let things settle down for a couple of days. We'll figure this out...together," she assured me we could get through this together.
Cautiously, her body leaned up as her lips began to gently brush against my own. Lips gently caressing one another as I gradually got lost in the kiss with her. My hand went to hold her waist, while the other stayed by my side.
Perhaps, I was finally getting used to the thought of being Kat's romantic partner. Or maybe I was just letting things be what they had to be. For now. There was no rush.
RPOV
Carrying Pete's body until the car, we shoved him in the boot and dumped him until he was properly inside, tucked in. "I shot him because he killed Reg. That was it," I explained my actions. "We didn't have a choice," I felt sure of this.
"You do have a cell," Morgan pointed out to me.
There were other options but I knew that Pete wouldn't rest until he killed Jessie or me. I wasn't going to let him kill me. It was going to be anyone else but me, I had to live. For my kids. "Not for killers," I disagreed with the option he had presented.
The more I thought about possibilities, the more I struggled to see if what I did lately was right or not. "I'm a killer, Rick. I am, and you are, too," he reminded me of what we were. I wasn't going to argue because at the end of the day, we both had killed people. Plenty of them too.
But I still remembered why I had killed them.
CPOV
"We'll figure this out...together," I had heard Kat's voice say from her room. Walking across the hall, Judith in my arms, I witnessed something I felt I shouldn't.
Kat had been gazing into Daryl's eyes, she had brought herself in close and kissed him. The way they looked at peace, how Kat looked happy as their lips locked, I was happy too. It had been a long time coming for them and now that they finally admitted their feelings, it was good to see her happy again.
Turning back, into Judith's room, I sat with her for a little while, until I finally heard Daryl's footsteps echo down the stairs. Getting up, I took Judith with me and bounced her a little as we approached Kat.
She had been smiling, her head bowed and eyes on the ground. It was a shy smile. Knuckles rapt against the door as I stood outside, wanting to check in on her.
"Is it my turn to look after Judith?" she asked me.
Glancing at Judith, I nod and walked closer to her, getting ready to hand over our baby sister to her. "Yeah," I answered her before she gently took Judith. Cooing to her, Judith seemed happy when she was with Kat.
Trying to grab for her nose, Kat would laugh and kiss her hand. "What's up, bud?" she asked me. She could sense something was on my mind.
"I might of seen something I shouldn't have," I told her. Cautious, she asked me what it was. "I saw you and Daryl...kissing," I revealed to her.
Silent as she was, Kat probably didn't know what to say to that. "Are you two together now?" I asked her.
Her eyes fell to the floor before she looked back at me. "I don't know," Kat was at the very least, being honest with me and I believed her. Daryl had always been a hard guy to read but I knew he cared about Kat.
More than he likely wanted to admit to her. "You looked happy..." I pointed out. "That's all that matters," for me, her happiness mattered more than facts or making things official.
I knew Kat, she wouldn't rush things and especially not Daryl. What would be, would be. "I like Daryl for you," I approved of her choice in a partner. "About time if I'm honest," I chuckled.
"Hey," Kat was scolding me playfully. "Come here," Kat offered he an arm so she could hug me close. Stepping into it, I hugged the two most important girls in my world right now. Enid was part of it too but I had a feeling she hadn't broke it off with Ron yet.
Why were our love lives always so complicated? Letting Kat go, I smiled and took a couple of steps back. "I better go," I said and Kat told me to be careful before I rushed out, in search of Enid.
RPOV
Driving for what felt like forever, as me and Morgan talked about things, about what happened to us after we'd went our separate ways again. Everything was peaceful, as we slowly stopped where Deanna had told me to leave the body.
Dragging Pete's body out from the trunk, I noticed two shovels had been placed beside where Pete was. He took the two shovels out with him, as I followed after him, I deliberated what we should and could do. "Morgan. Maybe we just leave him here," I called out to him.
Stopping him in his tracks with my words, he slowly turned to me. "That's not who you are. I know," he wasn't going to let me go against what I was like.
I used to care for people, in some ways, I still did but it was a struggle when it came to people like Pete. Chasing after Morgan as he turned around and carried on with his mission to bury Pete, I caught up with him.
"Hey," I called out to him, making him stop again. "You don't," I disagreed. I had changed so much, after everything I had gone through, what all of us went through, it hardened me. Made me pity people less.
He hadn't listened, instead he went to continue with what he had set out to do. The sound of distant snarling of walkers alerted me. "Morgan," I called out to him but he didn't stop. "Morgan. Stop," I tried to stop him from digging further as I went to his side. "Did you hear that?" I asked as the snarls became clearer.
Hearing a twig snap, we jumped on high alert. As soon as I saw Ron appear from behind the trees, he tumbled and was being chased by walkers. As he got up and ran, I raced my way over to him, tackling him before he could dive off the cliff and perish.
The walkers that chased after him either fell down to the pit with the others, or were making their way over to us. Shooting one, another was making its way over to me, until it got distracted.
Noticing what the distraction was, I saw it had been Morgan who fended it off from us. Knocking it down with the collective others. Scrambling to my feet, I glanced over to Ron who was panting, eyes wide with fear.
Offering him a hand up, he refused and stood up on his own. Myself and Morgan went to look at the huge pit with trucks stopping walkers from filing out. These walkers could easily get out and go straight to our home.
It explained why this group was so lucky so far.
Approaching us slowly, eventually, Ron went to stand beside Morgan, inspecting the same thing we were. "What are you doing out here, Ron?" I asked him, wanting answers from the boy who was far from home.
"I wanted to know where my dad was buried," he told me, his tone was sad and his eyes stared blankly down at the mass of walkers below us.
No matter how awful Pete was, he was still a father. Just like I am. Morgan took out his binoculars and began inspecting the ditch clearly. "This is how," I finally realised.
"How what?" Morgan wondered as it finally hit me.
This was how the group was still the way it was. They never knew what a walker herd was like, not the same way my group knew. "How the community's still here. They've had walkers at their walls, but a lot of them, maybe most of them, they wound up here," I explained.
Staring at the scene, walkers were filling the spaces, slipping through the gaps and wandering around aimlessly. Glancing to Morgan, I noticed Ron was no longer beside him. Glancing behind me, I saw him making his way back through the forest. "Ron. Ron," I called after the boy.
His back to me. "I'm going back," he grumbled out to me, watching where he stepped as he didn't look back.
Following after him, I chased him down, not wanting him to get away. "Hey," I called to him,
"I'm fine," he assured me but I wasn't convinced. Not at all. Not after what I had just seen, not with what I knew.
Grabbing onto his arm, I pulled him to a halt, to face me. "You shouldn't be out here," I growled defensively. He was still a kid, around the same age as Carl and he was acting like he could take care of himself.
Ron was no Carl. He didn't know how to handle himself like my son did. "I don't care what you think," he spat at me as he pulled his arm out of my grasp forcefully.
Retaliating, it just proved he had both read my mind and proved my point. He also made himself clear. He didn't want anything to do with me. "It's not what I think, it's what I know," as I had thought, he wasn't like my son.
He wasn't like either of my children, both of them capable and strong enough to survive out here. "You can't protect yourself. I'll show you how, but right now you have no idea what you're doing. And if you come out here, you're gonna die," I tried to get him to see, to understand.
Not knowing how to defend himself, it was what was going to kill him. "And it won't be quick and it won't ever be over 'cause you'll be one of them. That's what's gonna happen," I tried to frighten him, to see if he was finally getting the message I was putting across. "You're coming back with us now. Don't make it hard."
Perhaps I was being too hard on the boy but he needed to hear it. Leaving him behind, I walked around him and made my way through the forest. Looking at the body, then to the shovels. I had half a mind to leave Pete there, with no grave to rest in.
Then, I looked to Ron and thought about myself, about my death. About my children. Regardless what an asshole I could be, I had hoped they would bury me for the respect of my children. Picking up a shovel, I had reminded myself that Pete was a father.
Just like I am, just like Morgan was and I buried him, with the help of Morgan. When we were finished, we all got in the car and returned home. To Alexandria.
KPOV
Gathered around for the meeting, dad had told us that there had been a huge ditch where walkers were piling up in. That trucks were the only things from keeping the herd from escaping for now. Heath then began explaining how his group had stumbled across it but hadn't handled it then. He made assumptions of what could have possibly happened, how many were there back then.
"No one's been back since?" Maggie asked the same question I was thinking.
Glancing over to dad, he was gazing at the woman beside me, at Carol. The way they looked at each other, was like they had a secret plan. "DC, every town worth scavenging are all in the other direction. And I never really felt like having a picnic next to the camp that ate itself," Heath explained why he never went back.
The smart move, would of been to check to see how it was doing. To see if there had been more, because now, it was something we had to deal with. A mess, we now needed to clean up. "So all the while the walkers have been drawn by the sound and they're making more sound and they're drawing more in," Michonne summarised what must have happened.
This was a huge problem and by the sounds of that, I feared what would happen if we didn't handle it sooner, rather than later. "And here we are," sat at a meeting. I had spoken my thoughts because I dreaded to think what would happen if that herd came strolling to our gates.
These people, they weren't strong enough to handle it. Not on their own. Or with our help. By the sounds of it, it was too much for anyone to handle. Dad was nodding his head along with me, agreeing that this was something we needed to take seriously.
"Now what I'm proposing, I know it sounds risky, but walkers are already slipping through the exits. One of the trucks keeping the walkers in could go off the edge any day now. Maybe after one more hard rain," dad was explaining how important this was.
This, it was a threat. Bigger than any of them could imagine. "That exit sends them east. All of them. Right at us. This isn't about if it gives, it's when. It's gonna happen. That's why we have to do this soon," he was encouraging everyone to act and to act now.
Planning, preparing and executing the plan, was the only thing that was going to keep us alive. "This is-I don't even have another word for it. This is terrifying. All of it. But it doesn't sound like there's any other way," Carol was giving everyone the 'scared' lady treatment to get them to listen to what my father had to say.
We knew Carol, knew she was capable of saving us from a whole group of cannibals. Carol was capable of anything. "Maybe there is. I mean, couldn't we just build up the weak spots? I could draw up plans. I worked on the wall with Reg. Construction crew-we can try and make it safe," Carter tried to find another way.
"Even if we could, the sound of those walkers is drawing more and more every day. Building up the exits won't change that," dad argued, listening to the point Carter put across but brushed it off.
Deanna had her back to us, her eyes glued to the window. Everyone feared for her. She hadn't been the same since Reg died. She was still in mourning. "We're gonna do what Rick says, the plan he's laid out," Deanna stopped the argument from going in any more circles.
They were going to have to trust my father. "I told you all, we're gonna have Daryl leading them away," my dad and Daryl clearly had talked about this before talking to me.
Glancing at Daryl, I hardly heard what Sasha said as she offered to be with him. Daryl's eyes were on me. Seeing him sat by the window, he looked away from me when my eyes met with his. He couldn't bare to look at me.
"I could tell. Me, too. I'll take a car, ride next to him. Can't just be him. I'll keep 'em coming, Daryl keeps 'em from getting sloppy," Sasha had offered to go with Daryl.
The room was silent, as everyone was coming up with the plan, as everyone was trying to find a role for them to fit into. "I'll go with her. It's a long way to white-knuckle it solo," Abraham offered to partner up with Sasha during the drive with Daryl.
Dad seemed content with this pairing. "We'll have two teams. One on each side of the forest helping manage this thing. We're gonna have a few people on watch from now on. Rosita, Spencer, and Holly. So they're out. So who's in?" he was giving out new rules before asking for volunteers.
Looking around the room, no one else joined in. "Me," Michonne was quick to raise her hand.
Glancing at my friend, my father and my potential boyfriend, I knew I needed to offer my help to them. Without me, being there, I couldn't watch over and protect the ones I cared about most. "Me, too," I spoke up.
Dad's eyes met with mine, calm, he nodded and had faith I could handle myself. Daryl's eyes were glued on me, I could feel it but I didn't try to look at him. Softly people were whispering to each other, as were Maggie and Glenn talking to one another.
After he finished his conversation with his wife, Glenn looked to my dad. "I'm in," Glenn offered to help too.
A sharp breath was inhaled quickly in the far end of the room. "I'd like to help as well," Gabriel rose his hand to join us.
After what Maggie had told us, about what he'd said, none of us wanted or needed him there. He betrayed us and for that, he had a lot of work to do if he wanted our trust back. "No," dad rejected Gabriel straight away. "Who else? We need more," dad encouraged more people to help us.
Carter stepped forward a little and stared directly at my father. "There's got to be another play. We can't just control that many," he was doubting my dad's knowledge, my dad's faith in that we could do this if we did this right.
"I said it before, walkers herd up. They'll follow a path if something's drawing them. That's how we can get 'em all at once," dad repeated what he had said earlier to him.
On the other hand, I could see Carter doing his best to retaliate against my father. Almost the same way Ron had. Except, Carter was only doing this because he feared my father. "So, what? We're supposed to just take your word for it? We're all supposed to just fall in line behind you after..." his words were angry and as he struggled to form coherent sentences, dad tensed up.
"After what?" he snarled, questioning what Carter was insinuating.
Not cowering at my dad's assertiveness, instead, the two men were glaring at each other from across the room. "After you wave a gun around screaming, pointing it at people. After you shoot a man in the face. After you-" he listed all the things my dad had done.
"Enough!" Deanna yelled, making their pissing contest finally end.
Turning around, Deanna had glanced around the room, seeing how everyone backed off and returned to the important matter at hand. The task we needed to do, was to get the herd as far away from Alexandria as possible.
Heath and a few others agreed to tag along, to help us make this mission successful. "Now who else?" Deanna asked after silence lingered for far too long.
Glancing between Glenn and Nicholas, I had a feeling in my gut that this idiot would agree to come with us. That he'd be bold and be brave for this mission. Nicholas's eyes went from me to Glenn and realising he was actually considering it, I was thankful Glenn was the one to tell him to back down from this.
But he wouldn't listen. "I'll go," Nicholas raised his hand. "We have to do this," he said to me first when he noticed I was looking at him disappointingly. "I need to help," he then told Glenn, who also had a disapproving look on his face.
"You sure you can handle it?" dad asked, knowing what he knew, he wondered if Nicholas was prepared to go out there after what he'd done.
Dad's eyes went to me, then Glenn, then to Daryl, before landing on Nicholas. It was as though he wanted us all on the same page with this. "You need people," Nicholas was stating facts now.
No hesitation. I reminded myself. If he screwed up again, it would be on me this time. I wasn't going to let him make a mess of things again. "We'll make this work. We'll keep this place safe. Keep our families safe. We will," dad was trying to keep the hope alive, to keep everyone's spirits up.
If we started doubting ourselves now, then there was no hope for any of us. "The plan. Go through it again," Carter was being stern, wanting to hear the same plan dad had told us thoroughly just now, again.
"Man, he just said it," Daryl was getting just as irritated as I was over Carter's persistent need to make my dad feel pressured. Doing all he could to go against my father, even in the littlest of ways.
Carter ignored Daryl, staring first at the floor, then to my father. "Every part, again. The exact plan," Carter spoke more slowly, wanting every detail laid out for all of us.
RPOV
After those who had agreed to join had left, the ones of us that needed to make a stable plan surrounded a map. I picked out the area where the walkers were, then looked for where we would need to lead them, to keep them away from our home. "Marshall and Redding. We force them west here," I pointed to the map.
Deanna had been there to control the plan, to hear from all of us involved what the plan would be to execute this successfully. "How?" she asked me.
She was finally coming back, accepting me for what I knew and for what I could do for this community. Deanna finally trusted me and put all her faith in me. Or maybe, she just didn't care anymore. "We block it off so they can only go one way, west, away from the community," I explained.
Carter had been crouched down, eyes glued to the map. "Block it off with what?" he asked me in a soft, worried tone of voice.
My eyes would dart from him, to the map. "Cars. We'll use the RVs, some of the bigger trucks, park them end to end," I informed him of one way we could do this. There were many but this was the smartest way we had.
"We'll be drawing them away. They're gonna keep moving," Michonne was sure of it.
This was our best bet. "Yeah, but that many? Just bouncing off some sedans? And then when they start slipping through and the ones that walk away start distracting the rest and you stop drawing them away?" Carter still didn't have faith in me, or in the plan.
"Man's got a point," Heath spoke up.
Eugene's voice came out from beside Deanna. He was there to give us advice, seeing as he as very book smart. "We got plates. The big-ass metal ones from the construction site. We can use them to fortify the whip wall. It'd help disperse the force of impact and direct the walkers clean. Like a pool table. Eight ball, corner pocket," he had given us an idea.
Carter clearly hadn't appreciated Eugene's advice. "That's an army out there. And what happens when this doesn't hold?" he had been pointing to the map crazily. "And they push on through. The curve in this hillside is gonna send them right back east," he was directing us on where this herd would go.
As his fingers glided over the map, I felt my skin crawl at the realisation that all this planning, it had to be solid and it needed to be perfect. "Right back here," Carter had pointed to Alexandria. "You seriously want to risk that?" he asked each and every one of us as his eyes danced to us.
I couldn't risk that from happening. Not when my family were at stake. "No," I agreed with him for once. "So you need to help us to make it hold," I encouraged him to help us, rather than doubt us all the time.
"These walls, you built them. So you've already done the impossible," Morgan spoke up, telling him the truth.
He helped Reg, if there was anything he was capable of, it was of him making sure the little walls we did build, would guide the walkers where they needed to go. "Carter. Please," Deanna pleaded with him.
DPOV
Listening to Kat, I knew it was best to leave the topic be for a few days. Already, we had been building up the fortified walls to protect us, to lead the walkers away. Everyone that was able bodied was helping to build and shape the grounds for what we'd need to make this work.
Carrying dirt in the wheelbarrow, I glanced over to Kat, who was helping with digging. Her eyes had met mine briefly as I built up the courage to say what was on my mind to her father. He had plenty of time to rethink things.
I had to have hope he would listen. "Hey, what you said before about us needing to take care of ourselves?" I started off by reminding him of our discussion earlier this week. "Going out finding more people, that is taking care of ourselves. Your call, though," I gave him my honest opinion but knew he'd do as he pleased at the end of it.
Dumping the dirt, he would later use it to fill the bags. I made my return to Kat and Glenn, who were digging the holes pretty deep and filling it into the wheelbarrow with me.
RPOV
Approaching behind me, Carol had held out a drink for me to take. "Thanks," I was grateful for her kind gesture as I took the cup and took a large gulp of my drink.
"You know, I can come with all of you. You and Daryl have been teaching me how to shoot," she was offering to tag along, but I knew better than to bring her along to something like this. I needed her back at home.
Letting out a soft laugh, I knew Carol was more capable than she let on in front of anyone. "I think you got the hang of it," I teased her. "You should stay back, get a feel for how people feel now. We still got a long way to go with them."
Looking around the same way I was, everyone was busy with work but just as Carter was against me, I felt sure there were others out there like him still among us. "We'll get there," Carol reassured me that everything would be fine between myself and the community.
"She's in charge. But you're in charge now," Carol had said. These words sat with me for a while. Maybe she was right, maybe I was in charge now, influencing Deanna to make my calls known. Behind the scenes, we all knew I was the one in charge now.
MPOV
Walking over to Kat, I thought now was the best chance we had to go take a break. As there were many things playing on my mind whenever I looked over to her. I kept catching her glancing at either Daryl or her father. Then, I remembered something Carl talked to me about, asking if I knew.
"Kat, it's break," I called over to her, to which she jumped out of the hole and clapped Glenn's shoulder before she took my hand to give her a hand out of it.
She was panting, covered in sweat and trying to regain her breath. "Thanks," she thanked me for both helping her out of the hole and for getting her to go on her break. Panting, the sun really was hitting us hard today.
"No problem," I assured her it was nothing.
Silence had passed between us for a while as we went to get a cup of water, hydrating ourselves, we took a seat at the RV, propping our butts on either a chair or the RV stairs. "Carl talked to me," I couldn't hold it in any longer.
Her eyes went to stare at me, waiting to hear what I had to say about what Carl told me. She must of assumed it was about her and Daryl. "Said he caught you and Daryl kissing," I revealed to her.
Kat didn't say anything, instead she did the same thing her father did. She looked down, swallowed hard and clenched her jaw before squinting over at me. "You two together now?" I had my doubts that either parties had the courage to specify what they were.
"I don't know..." Kat shrugged. "I'm not going to rush things and I don't really think we are the same as we were before it happened the first time," she was struggling to keep eye contact with me as she'd find herself glancing to Daryl and then back to the floor.
Picking up on her words, she must of meant it hadn't been the first time they had kissed. "When was the first time?" I asked her, intrigued to find out how long these two had been locking lips without me knowing.
Kat was musing in her thoughts for a second, possibly trying to figure out how long it had been that her and Daryl finally been cosied up to one another. "Since the party," she had meant the party back in Alexandria when we first arrived. That had been a while back now.
It was a time when Noah was still alive. "And you didn't tell me?!" I was shocked that Kat was keeping secrets from me, her best friend. Kat laughed and slapped my thigh playfully, which had elicited a laugh out of me easily.
"Sorry," Kat apologised.
Glancing at Daryl, I thought back to the time I had met him, when I first met him and how we were now. "When I first met him, I didn't like him at all. Was another redneck, like his brother. Thought he'd be worse, being younger than Merle and all..." I began telling her my initial impression I had on him.
"Then..." I paused. "He grew on me. I saw who he was, behind all the dirt and the sweat," I said, making her giggle. "He's a good guy...and now that you two are together, he's more family to me than he was before," Kat was like a sister to me, like a daughter sometimes and I loved her more than she knew.
Getting up, I knew our break was over for now. Kat followed my lead and got to her feet too, wrapping her arms around me, I slid my hands to hold her back. Embracing her, I felt stronger when Kat was around. She was one quarter of my strength.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Michonne," she whispered into my shoulder, her head resting against mine.
Pursing my lips into a sad smile, I felt her words and knew she meant them. "I don't know what I'd do without you either, Kat," I admitted. Without her, Rick, Carl and Judith, I would be truly lost. For I found a family and made it part of my own.
RPOV
Everyone had been working hard, keeping their head down and doing their bit to help with aiding us in having the plan working for us. While I was doing my part too, I had noticed Deanna was mostly walking around, keeping people in check and checking in on everyone, seeing how they were all doing. It was like she was finally returning to being herself again.
Deciding it was time to talk to her, I gradually approached her and stopped in front of her. "I haven't had a chance to say it yet, but I'm sorry about Reg. He was smart and kind. He was a good man," I gave her my apologies on her husband. "It was the right call. We need this," I said once I saw her gazing at the scene around us.
"What else?" Deanna knew there was more to my conversation than just approving their work or giving her my condolences. "You need to tell me," she encouraged me to speak up, to spit it out.
Taking in a low, deep breath, I gazed at those I knew were weaker. Weaker than my group. "People need to be armed inside the walls. They need to be trained, everyone," I put my thoughts forward, my suggestion at this point, wouldn't go unnoticed. In the distance, I heard a twig snap.
Those that were closer to it, ignored it and continued their banging, setting the metal barricade up and not noticing the walker that was approaching. I gestured Deanna to look towards the trees, towards her group, who were weaker than mine.
Had anyone from my group heard it, they were up, armed and ready. Always alert. Her group, they needed work. Deanna went to step over, to give out instructions or to take a look. Regardless her intentions, I took her arm and stopped her from going any closer to them.
"Stop. Here they come," I warned her of what was lurking in the shadows and what was coming closer. "Carter, heads up," I called over to him as he carried a thin log to support the walls.
Gesturing to the walker, Daryl was already armed, ready for the walker and stepping slowly. Kat was there too, machete in hand in case the walker was approaching. "Hey," I called to them as I instructed the rest of my group to hang back. This included those like Michonne, Rosita, Abraham, Maggie, Glenn and many others.
They needed to learn to defend themselves. "Use your shovels. The guns will draw more," I advised them on what to do.
Instead, Carter and the other guy looked at me, wide eyed. "Help us," Carter cried before the walkers finally came onto them.
"You can do this. You need to, all of you," I yelled over the snarls of the walkers as one went to grab one of the guys in Carter's group of constructors. The guy had shoved the walker back, kicked it and the others stayed back, terrified. One held a gun but that was exactly what I told him not to do.
None of them had been listening to me but hopefully, once more of them got closer, they'd figure it out and start surviving. Living wasn't it anymore, they needed to learn how to survive. "Morgan, don't!" I yelled when Morgan finally stepped up and helped them.
It was too late, Morgan had helped, then Daryl, then Kat, then Michonne and the rest of us. Slowly, my group had cleared the walkers and spared the workers. All of it happened, without them even truly attempting to fight for their lives.
Once the last walker had been cleared, I looked over to Morgan, who appeared to be upset and disappointed. "You said you don't take chances anymore," he reminded me of my words I had told him the other day.
KPOV
Approaching past the RV, I had kept my head down, focused on the task at hand and trying hard not to think over what Michonne had said. Over what all my loved ones had been saying to me lately, about myself and Daryl.
"Hey Kat," I heard Maggie call over to me.
Her arms were crossed over her chest, as I turned to her, I gradually got closer. I was praying she wasn't going to ask me anything about myself and Daryl. Luckily, she hadn't. "I was hoping you could do me a favour," she was slow with her words, really trying to make sure she was saying the right ones.
Normally, Maggie was never this nervous. I felt something was wrong. "What's up?" I asked her.
A few steps closer to her, I gazed at her with a little bit of concern. "Glenn..." she started. "When all this happens...the plan; I want you there beside him," she told me. She was trusting me with looking out for him.
"Glenn can look out for himself," I didn't feel like I was needed when it came to Glenn going anywhere without Maggie.
Maggie took a step closer to me, her head ducked and eyes looked for mine. "I know that," she assured me, nodding her head. "I just don't trust his life in the hands of someone like Nicholas's yet. Not yet," she shook her head.
"I would go myself but he wants me to hang back, to keep an eye on Deanna," Maggie argued, wanting me to hear her plea.
I knew the truth behind Nicholas and Glenn. Something told me she came to me, because she thought I could at least judge Nicholas better than anyone else in the group. "I trust him with you, Kat," Maggie was building my confidence up in a strange way.
Understanding where she was coming from, I nod slowly and sighed. "What I would suggest, is getting Glenn to convince Nicholas to stay with you guys on the day. If that doesn't work, I can promise you I will keep him safe," I assured her that I would and could handle it however way it came.
Taking hold of her shoulder, I kept my eyes on hers, sincere as I said my next words to her. "I'll do whatever it takes to bring him back to you," I promised her. "I can keep him safe," I was determined and I wasn't going to permit anything to happen to her husband.
DPOV
Discussing some of the plans, we decided to go to the armoury, to check on what we'd need, how many flares we'd use to execute the plan and get everything prepared that we needed to. Opening the door, we found something completely unexpected.
We found Eugene cowering on the floor, with Carter over him, pointing a gun down at him. "What the hell is going on? What are you doing?" Rick asked, angered to see this stance of defiance.
"I'm taking this place back from you," Carter told Rick.
Morgan and myself glanced to Rick, waiting to see his next reaction. Wondering if he'd lose his shit like he supposedly had last time. He already killed one of theirs and for that, people now feared him, with good reason. "That's what you were talking about in here?" he questioned the others as he took a few more steps forward.
Glancing to the others, there were those such as Tobin, that I had remembered, Olivia and Spencer too. All of them had been huddled in there with him, devising a plan against Rick, against all of us. "That's what he was talking about," Tobin corrected them.
Not glancing to either men, Rick's eyes fell to the ground. "See, I would have-I would have set up some lookouts. That would have been the smart thing. You know, if I happened to-" he was starting to tell them, distracting them before he went for the gun.
Taking the gun, Rick disarmed Carter with a kick to the back of his legs. Carter let out a loud groan as he fell to the ground. Taking the safety off, Rick aimed the gun to the back of Carter's head. "You really think you're gonna take this community from us?" Rick growled. "From Glenn? From Michonne? From Daryl? From Kat? From me?" he listed off those of us that were working hard to help out.
There was an endless list to that. Shifting my weight around on my feet, I watched Rick, saw the crazy look he had in his eyes. When he got like this, I knew it was only because he was trying to teach them, to stay alive for his children.
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Rick asked, incredulous to think that Carter could or ever would be able to take Rick down.
Cowering, Carter feared Rick, knew what he was capable of and because of it, he quivered. "It was just me," Carter owned up, his voice barely above a whisper.
Rick was firm, the only thing that shifted, were his feet and his hand's position on the gun. Possibly from the sweat and adrenaline rush he must have been feeling. "What?" he wanted Carter to repeat himself, to make himself clear.
Quivering, Carter's eyes were on the ground and his voice wobbled. "It was-it was just me," he admitted a little louder than before. "Just-just kill me," he pleaded of Rick.
He had wanted Rick to spare the others and kill him for trying to go against him. There was a waiting silence, as Rick would glance up at me. My eyes were glued to Carter for the longest moment, before I became weary of what Rick would do next. "Rick," I called to him.
Trying to get him out of the dark, scary and crazy state he must of been in, it had worked. I offered him to give me the gun, that he didn't need to kill anyone here. "I'm good. I'm good," he assured the both of us as he put the safety back on and handed over the gun to me.
Taking it from him, I rest it beside my hip, my eyes glanced to Carter, who was wide eyed due to what Rick had just done. "You can try to work with us. You can try to survive," Rick suggested, offering them an alternative, rather than dying or waiting around for it. "Would you do that?"
Only time would tell if this group would finally realise they weren't safe the longer they stayed in their homes. They needed the experience too but they didn't need to do it alone, like Rick had encouraged back at the wall set up.
RPOV
Early in the evening, I had thought that perhaps, it was time to get Morgan out of the cage he'd been staying, all out of his own personal preference. Now that it was a decent evening, I took Judith out to look at the neighbours and to get some fresh air.
"It's nice out," Morgan told me as I saw him sat on our porch, cleaning his fighting stick with a cloth he carried around with him everywhere. This was a new Morgan I needed to get used to.
Glancing up I had seen the clear blue sky, the clouds calmly appearing in the skies. "Yeah," I agreed with him.
He didn't mind me one bit there with him, or Judith's soft little cooing. "Hope you don't mind. I wanted to enjoy the evening a little and I don't have a porch over there, so..." he explained his reasons as to why he was sat out on my porch.
I didn't mind Morgan, at all. I knew who he was and I knew he was a good man. Tossing him a key, he caught it and examined it. It was one of the many keys we had been given for our house, one I was now giving to Morgan.
"Get your stuff," I had to say only once to him. "You should stay with us over here," I encouraged him to move in here with us, to get more comfortable.
Morgan was a little stunned but kept his expression calm, collected. "You got room?" he wondered if there was enough space for him here.
Despite the huge amount of us that came to Alexandria, I was sure we could make some room for Morgan here. "We'll make it," I brushed it off, something that Morgan didn't need to worry about for now. "We don't need to do that anymore. I know you, Morgan. Even if this is the first time," I stated that him staying in a separate building, wasn't necessary. Not with him.
Noticing his eyes flicker to Judith, I had a feeling Morgan wanted to hold her. "You want to hold her?" I asked, knowing for a lot of people, it had been a very long time since they last held a baby.
Chuckling, I think Morgan was just amused I had caught him staring at Judith almost this whole time. "Okay," he agreed to it.
Handing Judith over to him slowly as he got to his feet and came up to me. "This is Morgan," I introduced her but Judith cooed as I spoke. "He's a friend of mine."
The way in which myself and Morgan exchanged glances, told me that he was pleased to be still considered as a friend. After all that time. "Hey. Hi. Okay. Let me have a look at you. Hey, hey. Hey, hey," he had said to Judith, before he sat himself down on the porch steps again.
There was a silence between us as we both sat down and gazed at the little bundle in his arms. "You with that man, Carter, in the armoury-that's you. You're still the same man I met in King County. The one that came back and told me it wasn't over. That was you. Same you that's right in front of me right now," Morgan was thoroughly convinced I hadn't changed.
Something made me doubt that he forgot the days he spent with me after my wife had passed. That I had changed, especially the day he finally reunited with me here, in Alexandria. "I wanted to kill him," I admitted to him.
Having Morgan look at me with such admiration, it made me feel strange, knowing he still saw the good in me. "So it would be easier. So I wouldn't have to worry about how he could screw up or what stupid thing he'd do next because that's who he is," I tried to give Morgan insight on my thoughts.
If anyone understood what I was going through right now, I was sure it was him. "Just somebody who shouldn't be alive now," I sighed. "I wanted to kill him. But all that hit me and...I realised I didn't have to do it. He doesn't get it. Somebody like that...they're gonna die no matter what," I stated, confident that this was the case, that this was bound to happen with someone like Carter. I didn't like saying these words but it was all I could think about.
KPOV
Deciding to be ready for tomorrow, I went to collect some ammo for my gun. When I got inside to the armoury, I was waltzing in like I owned the place, up until I noticed Jessie was stood there, counting the supplies we had, marking it all down on the sheet of paper.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were here," I apologised.
This was the first time we talked since Pete died, since everything happened between her and my father too. The air felt awkward and tense. "No. It's okay," she assured me I was no problem to her. "What are you looking for?" she asked me.
Hating being in the same room as her, I had a feeling we were going to discuss my father at some point. This woman was as transparent as plastic. "Need some ammo for tomorrow," I wanted to be sure, to be safe, in case something went wrong.
"Go right ahead," she gestured to the shelves with the pencil she had in hand.
Something told me she wouldn't know which one I was looking for, even if I had told her which I needed for my gun. "Thanks," I spoke stiffly as I side stepped past her and began scanning the shelves for what I needed.
Silence had came upon us but it was the kind of silence I knew was about to break at any moment. "You should trust your father more," Jessie spoke up about something that didn't involve her at all.
"My relationship with my father, has nothing to do with you," I was cold as I spoke to her, there was a distaste in my voice as I began looking for the clips but most were empty.
Beginning to sort some of them into a clip I'd need, I had found the box of bullets and started organising a few. "I know it isn't but I've seen how you've acted around him lately. Distant, cold and angry with him," she was only pointing out everything that I already knew.
Glancing to her, I wanted to tell her to mind her own business but I couldn't. The words just wouldn't come out. "I would know, because Ron has been doing the same thing to me since..." she couldn't finish her sentence.
Turning to face me, Jessie now put the clipboard and pencil down to one side. Her eyes were soft but sad as she looked at me. "I know you don't understand or like the relationship between me and your father but..." she started her little speech.
I wanted to cut her off, to tell her to shut up and to leave my father alone but I couldn't. At the end of the day, my father was going to do whatever the hell he wanted to. "If you had met a man, that puts you first, puts your family's safety first. A man who looks out for you and the ones you love most..." her eyes never left my face.
Mine were on her but my mind was elsewhere. "A man, who might not be perfect but he is good, strong and could give you a chance to feel like you matter. Wouldn't you try and hold onto someone so special like that?" she asked me.
My mind had lead me to think about someone, it was like she was describing Daryl perfectly. He was exactly all of that and I had no plan to let him go. Or to let him not realise just how much I cared for him. But who Jessie was talking about, brought me back to the here and now.
Getting my clips, I finally stored them in my small bag before I took a step to face Jessie. "Personally, I wouldn't let him go," I answered her question, which made her look relieved. "But it can't be him," I stopped her from saying anything after my answer.
"My dad, he killed your husband. Killed the father of your kids. No matter how much you two want to make this work, them, your kids, they won't forget that," I warned her. "I've got what I need," I informed her coolly before I walked off and took my things with me.
Leaving Jessie alone, to her thoughts and to the fact that regardless how good my father was, he was still a killer. He was the same man who killed an abusive husband, but a father no less. Her words though, gave me some clarity on Daryl.
RPOV
Leaving the house after Kat returned, I made my way to the armoury, needing to get some flares for tomorrow. I'd have to teach them how to use the flare gun and if anything went wrong, I needed enough to execute the plan.
Something inside me told me that tomorrow was going to be a rough day. Entering the supply room, I saw Jessie with her back to me, marking words down on a piece of paper and possibly keeping track of the weapons we had stored inside it.
Neither of us had spoken to each other since the day of Reg and Pete's deaths. I felt strange being stood there, awkwardly watching her. "Hey," I didn't want to alarm her. "I was just getting more flares for tomorrow. I know I haven't-I just-I just thought it might be best if I let things be for a while," I tried to explain my hesitancy around her.
"Ron told me what happened," Jessie spoke a little sternly, bringing it up right off the bat.
Knowing I'd have to talk to her about it, things might have not been easy to hear, coming from her child and all. Grabbing the flare box, I kind of stood there awkwardly. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. He shouldn't have been out there," I was stating the same words I had said to him.
Shaking her head, her mind was working quickly and took in every word I said. "No, he shouldn't have. You're right," she agreed with me, listening to every word I was saying to her. "But you can't talk to him like that, Rick. You can't touch him. Not you," she was only being protective of her children.
I understood this. More than she knew. "Ron needed to hear every word I said. That's why I grabbed him. I wasn't angry. I was just telling him the truth," I tried to justify my actions but perhaps it came off as excuses to her.
Placing the clipboard and pencil to one side, she was taking this conversation seriously. As a mother would and should. "If it's coming from you, he can't hear it. You got to understand that," she tried to get through to me.
Thinking of him running out there again, with no weapon, no skills to survive, I didn't think he would make it back in one piece. "He needs to know how to handle himself. I can teach him. I can teach you," I took a gun and showed it to her. "You need to know how," I was pleading for her to let me teach her.
She had tried to stop me from speaking but I couldn't shut up to listen to her. "Rick," she called my name out again. My eyes then went to the piece she had hidden underneath her shirt, on a holster she had on her belt.
Jessie had been armed this whole time. "When I found out we could have them, I asked Rosita to start showing me how. Okay?" she assured me she was getting lessons from someone who knew. "She's gonna teach me and I'm gonna teach Ron and I'm gonna teach Sam," this was her plan of showing her kids how to survive.
Making sure none of her children would be defenceless, it was a relief to hear she took it seriously. Others, feared fighting but Jessie was finally going to fight back now. The same way she should have been doing a long time ago. "I heard what you were saying to us at the meeting. And at my house before, you know. I am gonna fight, Rick," this was her way of telling me that she was listening.
Hearing that she was done being weak, defenceless. It was enough for me. Putting the gun back onto the table, I said my goodbyes and left.
KPOV
The next morning, it was going to be a dress rehearsal, where we would know where we'd need to be and how we were going to handle these walkers. Being well informed. I stayed close beside my father as he was in the middle, informing us all of the plan thoroughly, now that we were here. "Alright, this is the finish line. When we make it to green, we fall back. The ditches and ridges will keep them on the road," dad was sure of this.
He would spin around as he spoke, giving clear instructions to everyone around us. "We head home, but Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham take them the rest of the way, 20 miles more. Alright, let's go," he finished off before walking away.
Catching up to him, I had to jog a little before I was stood beside him. "Hey, dad?" I called to him, trying to get his attention.
It didn't take too long for him to look at me. His eyes were hard, focused on the plan and determined to follow through it. When he heard my voice, his eyes softened and his jaw no longer was clenching from the tension. "Yeah?" he responded.
Thinking of what I would say next, I knew there was something I needed to tell him but found no way to form the words out to him. "Maggie doesn't trust Nicholas yet," I told him. Knowing that she had requested me to be Glenn's guardian angel.
"Do you?" dad's head tilted a little as he glanced at me.
Having to think long and hard about my answer, it wasn't long for me to decide on if I did or didn't. "I'm trying to," was the only easy way to put it. It wasn't me saying I trusted Nicholas or that I didn't. "Would you?" I asked him.
Despite all that happened, I still looked up to my father. He was the smartest man I knew. He had the best judge of character out of all of us. "Not yet," dad had kept his pace up with mine, as we walked side by side.
My father was my hero, he was my strongest ally and my most loyal friend. A father was the first man a daughter would love, because he taught me everything I knew and made me as strong as I needed to be to face this world. "Don't trust him until he gives you a reason to," dad advised me.
Nodding, I took his words into account and they made sense to me. "Okay," I was going to listen to my father. I would wait until he proved himself trust worthy.
The rest of the walk there was quicker, as we'd hit certain spots and he'd allocate people to their certain points or where they'e need to be. Reaching a tractor store, we examined it and found out there had been walkers inside, making plenty of noise inside the shop.
"We're gonna take 'em right past here. All that noise could distract them. We'll clear it on our way back tonight. We don't want any surprises tomorrow," dad was giving us our first mission for the day.
As he lead the way, we all followed and I kept my eyes on a walker that had been stuck under a tractor. The shop looked sturdy but if there were too many in there, it would surely end up with broken glass. Following the others, I walked peacefully beside Daryl and we briefly spoke before reaching the starting point.
RPOV
Standing on higher ground, I needed them to see that there was a threat out there that we needed to take care of. There were other ways, smarter ways than trying to fight a whole herd of them. "I know this sounds insane, but this is an insane world," I started my speech.
Kat was among the group, staring up at me proudly. "We have to come for them before they come for us. It's that simple," I stated the facts they needed to hear. "This is where it all starts tomorrow," I informed them.
"Tobin gets in the truck, opens the exit and we're off. He hops out, catches up with his team at red staying on the west side of the road. Daryl gets on his bike-" I was giving out instructions on what the plan would be for tomorrow.
There was a slow rumbling in the distance. "You see that?" Sasha asked, as we all looked to the distance. Metal was groaning as I saw a heard pushing against the trucks that were stopping them from going directly towards Alexandria.
When the truck fell, I felt the adrenaline kick in. "It's open!" I yelled as walkers began making their way up to the path that lead back to our home. "We got to do this now!" I yelled as I got down from the truck. "We're doing this now! Tobin's group, get moving, go!" I began giving commands.
"No, Rick, we're not ready," Carter tried to stop what was already happening.
"Sasha! Abraham!" I shouted to those that had agreed to join Daryl on his journey to draw the walkers away from home.
Abraham was ready. Like he always was. "Damn straight, we'll do it live," he wasn't going to object to a mission to be completed.
The pressure was on. "You meet Daryl at red. Let him take them through the gauntlet," I gave them their instructions as they climbed into the car.
"Yeah, we meet at red," she repeated what I had said earlier, giving me clear sign she knew what she was doing.
There was no time to lose. "Go!" I barked.
KPOV
Everyone was panicking or everyone was getting into the mindset we needed to get this job done. "Rick, I'll hit the tractor place," Glenn yelled to my father.
"Okay, who else?" dad looked around at the huge group of us that had no allocated assignments.
Not wanting to let Glenn out of my sight, I had promised Maggie I'd look out for him. "I will," I yelled over the shouts and snarling of walkers.
Getting to Glenn's side, dad gave me a nod and had faith in me. "Alright," he was accepting my offer to go with him.
"We got to take them out or they'll distract the horde," Glenn had stopped Heath and glanced between me and Heath.
Pacing, Nicholas had followed us as we grouped up. "I'm here, let me help," he pleaded to join us in this mission.
"No," I wasn't going to let him fuck up again and he was better off far from us.
The look he had in his eyes was telling me that he wasn't going to give up. He wanted to help but if his heart wasn't there, I wasn't going to be pleased. "I'm here!" he yelled at me.
Breaking him away from me, Glenn got in between us. "Do everything I say," he ordered. This was his condition.
"I will," Nicholas assured us he was going to follow our leads. Our orders. If he didn't...I wouldn't hesitate.
RPOV
Giving out a few more orders, I saw Daryl was ready, keeping at bay and alert in case walkers got through. "Rick, this was supposed to be a dry run," Carter came up to me, angry with how things had turned out.
I had no control over the fact the truck finally gave in to the force of the herd. "Daryl, get ready," he should have been on his bike, as Sasha and Abraham were in the car, ready to go.
Daryl had been pacing, crossbow in hand. "They're coming!" he yelled as walkers were squeezing through the gap.
Glancing behind me, I saw a walker was trying to reach to me but there was still a gap he had to squeeze through. Seeing that Daryl wasn't leaving, Sasha drove off without him. "Rick, we haven't even gone through the whole plan," Carter was panicking over something we couldn't undo now.
"You want to go back, go back. We're finishing this," I wasn't going to let him stop me. It was too late. We had to do this thing now.
Turning away from Carter, I left to help out and give out instructions. "Tobin, you hit it on my signal," I gave out commands. "They're heading for home. We don't have a choice. Get ready to hit the flares," I explained.
Everyone was running, getting into position as we knew what we had to do. "Now!" I yelled, as flares were fired into the sky, to bring the walkers that were heading home back to the hole.
The one walker that had been squeezing, finally slipped past and made its way towards me. Having my back, Daryl shot at it. "Tobin, hit the truck!" I instructed to Tobin, who started the engine and drove the truck forward.
Walkers began filing out as I made a run for it. Daryl climbed onto his bike and began riding off with the herd of walkers that followed him. Tobin drove it up to a point where we could then use it to block the walkers from going astray.
It was time to execute a plan we'd been working on for days.
KPOV
We had been planning for days, working hard for endless hours to make sure this plan went off without a hitch. But when we had finally arrived, everything turned into a huge mess and all our plans were all a go.
Running as fast as we could, myself, Nicholas, Glenn and Heath were doing our best to get to the tractor place. Everyone else was going to their spots, to draw the herd to where they needed to go.
"You all have your assignments. You know where to rendezvous. Daryl leads them out. Sasha and Abraham join him at the bottom of the hill," I heard my dad say through the walkie talkie.
Soon enough, flares fired up into the sky as everyone were going to their positions to get the walkers to follow that direction. "Glenn, you hit us when you take care of the walkers at the tractor place. That's the one thing we gotta get ahead of," dad was trying to get us to hurry there quicker.
"Everybody keep your heads. Just keep up," he was trying to get everyone to focus.
Sprinting as best as I could, all my weapons on me, I knew it was a good bit to carry but I was used to it by now. "Come on, we're almost there," I encouraged my group as we weren't far from the tractor place now.
DPOV
Riding past endless trees, cars, everything that was going to lead us to where we needed to go. The parade behind me were persistent and they all followed like sheep behind me. Sasha on radio had spoken out to me. "We're at red at the bottom of the hill," she alerted me as we approached the red balloons.
"Alright, here comes the parade," I joked about the walkers that were trailing behind me, trying to keep them in formation as we got closer to the point where we needed to drive them away from going to Alexandria.
Thinking about Kat, how she broke off from her father, from Michonne to go with Glenn and Nicholas, had me a little concerned about her.
But I knew she was capable of handling herself, she had done so before. She was smart, strong and determined, like her father. She would make it. I was sure of it. I had to focus on the task at hand.
MPOV
Racing behind Rick, we finally reached our point, where we would be when the walkers came. "Glenn, you there yet?" Rick asked through the walkie talkie.
A crackling sound echoed into my ears for a moment. "Almost," Glenn responded. "We'll have it handled before they get here. And we'll meet you at yellow," Glenn assured us they had it covered.
"Copy that," Rick was letting them know he heard every word and understood. Kat was with Glenn, so I knew they would be fine. They were bound to look out for each other. "It'll hold," Rick panted as we came to a stop at our assigned spot.
Panting, I had stopped beside Rick and Morgan had stopped beside me. Leaving me in the middle. "Well, that's good. You know, considering where we're standing," I was trying to be optimistic, despite knowing that the herd were coming directly at us.
"Michonne," Morgan's voice called out to me.
Turning my head to look at him, I kept my eyes on the side of his face. "Yeah?" I responded to his call to me.
He wasn't looking at me. "Back when you were in that place..." he pointed behind him. "Where I lived..." he was taking his time to ask me or tell me something. "Did you take one of my protein bars?" he asked me as he finally turned his head to look at me.
I had remembered that day like it was yesterday. "No," I lied.
Fighting a grin, I looked away and remembered how Rick questioned why I was eating his food, when his mat did say 'welcome' and I took it as an open invitation. "See, I could have sworn there was one more peanut butter left," Morgan thought correctly.
Sighing, I remembered that day clearly because it was the first day both Carl and Rick finally began accepting me as a part of their group. "That's how it is, isn't it?" I mused in my thoughts. "You always think there's one more peanut butter left."
KPOV
Speeding our way as fast as we could, a few walkers here and there had got in our way. Myself and Glenn took them out, Heath took some out and Nicholas just stayed close to us. "Glenn, you have to hurry. The noise could distract the herd right off the road," I heard my father speak through the walkie talkie.
The pressure was on, we could all feel it and we had sight of the tractor place. We weren't far now. "Talk to me," my dad encouraged of Glenn to respond.
Reaching the tractor place, we tried to catch our breath and began looking for ways to handle the situation. "We're here," Glenn responded to my dad.
We could hear growling, from the walkers and they had been banging on the glass. The noise was loud. Using my foot, I stomped on the head of the walker that was stuck under the tractor. Glenn had gone to examine the building as I caught up to them.
"Sounds like a lot," Nicholas stated the obvious.
"We need it quiet," Glenn mumbled.
Now, wasn't the time to panic. "So what's the plan?" Heath asked.
Hearing the noises, the bangs, the snarls, there had to be at least over a dozen in there. "Take 'em out a few at a time," was the only thing I could suggest to them.
Nodding, Glenn agreed with my idea. Leading us around the corner, to find the entrance, when we got to the door, Glenn attempted to open it but it was locked up tight. "Nicholas, you're at the door," Glenn was already giving out commands.
Digging through his backpack, I began getting my weapons ready and kept an eye out for any stragglers around. "Alright," Glenn mumbled to himself. "You let two or three out and then you close it. You keep doing that. That's the trick. That's how we control it," he instructed Nicholas on what he had to do as he gave Nicholas the crowbar he had stored in his backpack.
"Heath-" Glenn was about to give out instructions to him but got interrupted.
I could see Heath was more on edge than what Nicholas was. "Wait, what if he can't close it?" Heath questioned, wanting to cover all possibilities, in case anything went south.
There was a determined look in Nicholas's eyes. "I'll be able to," he assured Heath he had it under control.
Myself though, I doubted Nicholas was going to hold out until the end. I was sure he would get spooked towards the end of it. "Then we take them on," was my answer in case Nicholas screwed up again.
"We take them on?" Heath was stunned by my response.
Pulling the attention away from me, Glenn spoke up and gave us a plan. "If we get into trouble, we go behind the building into the woods and we draw them away," he gave us instructions in case everything went south.
Heath didn't seem convinced by any of this as he shook his head and looked away nervously. "Hey, you've been out on runs since they got here. They know what they're doing. Me and Aiden, we didn't," Nicholas was defending us. Trusting us on what we knew.
Stunned by his words, I was glad we got the credit we finally deserved. "This was supposed to be a dress rehearsal," Heath complained as he took out his gun and got ready.
Raising my arms again, aiming my bow and arrow, I was ready for whatever was coming. "I'm supposed to be delivering pizzas, man," Glenn joked in a sympathising way.
Having to ruin the moment, my mind kept going back to Daryl, who was putting himself in harms way to make sure this plan went the way it was supposed to. Walkers were coming and if we didn't clear this area, we were going to be dinner.
A meal, waiting for the whole herd to come attack us. "Daryl's leading them this way and they're closing in," I said, bringing their attention back to what needed to be done. "That noise is gonna pull the herd right off the road and then we have serious trouble. We have to do this," I encouraged them to hurry because time was running out for us.
"Yeah, okay," Heath agreed, getting himself mentally prepared for what was about to come.
The boys had muttered a chorus of okay's to one another as Heath got himself into a stance, ready to fight them with just his knife. "Alright. On three. Ready? One...two...three!" Glenn asked Nicholas as he took the crowbar back from him and went to open the door.
As the door swung open, we had been expecting walkers to come out but instead, Glenn had been faced with a metal gate keeping us the walkers inside. "Shit!" Glenn cursed when he saw what we were now facing with.
Relaxing my arms, we knew that now, we needed to find another way. The clock was ticking and we had to do this fast.
DPOV
Riding through the cars they had lined up for us, the walkers were all wobbling behind me. Revving my bike to keep their attention on me, so far, the plan was working. As we were rounding the huge wall, that would guide the walkers away from home.
I could see the orange balloons high above my head, tied to the RV. Walkers were starting to wander to the forest but luckily, the second Rick fired off the flares with Morgan and Michonne, they were following behind once more. Back on track.
Gradually, they all turned with the curving walls. Some knocked each other into it, knocking them until they were no longer a part of the herd, after so many blows to the head. It was good to see them eliminate their own instead of us for a change.
Flares would go off, keeping the walkers moving in our direction and eventually, all the walkers that were still on their feet followed, Sasha, Abraham and myself. The walkers that stuck to the walls would eventually follow after, tagging behind.
KPOV
Trying to keep our calm, I had stayed close to Glenn, my hand on my arrow as it stayed on my back, secured in my quiver. "This is a bad idea," Heath said after myself and Glenn came up with a plan. The only way to get them out, was to shatter the glass windows.
Many might climb out at a time but if we kept our heads straight, we could keep it under control. "This is the only idea," I argued, hating how they still doubted ours and their capability to survive.
From what we could tell, there was at least a good group of walkers in there but it was nothing, compared to the thousands that were trailing behind Daryl. A huge group that could easily snap off from Daryl and towards us, if we weren't careful, or quick.
"I think there's something like a dozen in there," Nicholas was squinting while examining the amount of walkers in the building.
Glancing to everyone in the group, I knew that our plan was simple. "We stay back, we get on opposite ends, we draw them to each of us," I gave out instructions, as a team, me and Glenn were stronger together.
Shuffling a step closer, Nicholas had his eyes darting from me to Glenn. "Try and take down three each?" he asked us.
"No," Glenn answered him, rejecting him the chance to help us. "This is just me, Kat and Heath. You get back and you stay back," he was giving the first half of his instructions to Nicholas. "Things go south, you tell Rick and you draw them away. Just move back," Glenn had handed over the walkie talkie to Nicholas.
Trusting Nicholas to be the one to run back if anything happened, I had hope that if things did go south, he would do what Glenn asked. Instead of listening to Glenn, Nicholas was staying in the way, staying beside us. "Listen to Glenn, Nicholas," I warned him.
Telling him to move back again, Nicholas nodded his head timidly to both of us before he took a few steps back. Keeping his eyes on us, staying alert, he had the things we needed for when "You guys ready?" he asked myself and Heath.
"Yes," I answered with no hesitation.
Raising my bow and arrow, the boys were going to shoot out the windows and let them slowly file out slowly. If we blew out three windows, it would mean chaos. We needed to control it. "No. But since you're doing this thing anyway..." Heath wasn't prepared but he had to be.
"Alright," Glenn then raised his gun.
As the boys fired, I would shoot my arrows into the ones that got too close, too quickly. They were falling out, jumping down with every step they took closer to us. Glenn and Heath were firing shots but I stayed quiet with my bow. "They're still coming," Heath informed us when we saw far too many come out.
Assuming there had only been twelve of them roughly in there, was wrong. There were more than just twelve and we were running out of bullets. "Just stay calm, we got this," I tried to get Heath to keep his head on.
Hearing a gun click, I saw Glenn's gun was out of bullets. Picking out an arrow, I went to grab for it but came up with air instead. That was when I noticed a walker coming straight for me. He grabbed at my shoulders, but I was forcing him back.
Kicking him back, I took out my knife and stumbled slightly as I forced him to let me go. Using my knife, I jammed it through the top of its head and watched it collapse. By the time I went to help a struggling Glenn, it had been Nicholas who stepped up and killed the walker grabbing hold of Heath.
Luckily, Glenn had it under control as he changed the clip in seconds and saved Nicholas in the process. Panting, I went in search of my arrows, taking them out one by one as I restocked my quiver full of arrows. "Get it," Glenn ordered when there was one last walker.
This had been Glenn's way of letting Nicholas prove himself no longer to being afraid. Following Glenn's command, Nicholas killed the last walker and I had retrieved my last arrow. "Good," I praised the boys for their work. "Let's go," I ordered before we all began jogging back to our next meeting point.
RPOV
Gliding through the trees, I was making sure not to step on anything that would make noise, as soon as I approached closer to the next meeting point, following the herd, I saw Kat's figure swerving past trees. Whistling she stopped and looked over to me.
When our eyes met, her, Glenn and the others approached my small group as we all joined in the middle. Ready for the next part until we had the hand off to Daryl, Sasha and Abraham. "It's working. You were right," Carter finally gave me the praise and credit where it was due.
Offering my his hand, as a peace offering shake, I took it and knew we were finally square. Letting him go, I turned around and faced the others, awaiting for my next instruction. "Everyone, we need to finish this. We have to keep moving and fan out down that thing front to back. Like we said, cops at a parade," I was trying to help push them through this.
"Glenn, you take the back. You got the other walkie," I gave Glenn his task.
Everyone was either watching me or glancing to the walkers that were strolling on by, following the nice set up we had for them. "Got it," Glenn nodded once.
Making eye contact with Kat, she looked as worn out as I felt. Her eyes were on me and when our eyes met, her expression was somewhat determined. Catching her glancing to Glenn, something told me she was going to go with him. "If it gets sloppy, we fire our weapons, pull them back on track," I instructed them on what they would do in case anything happened.
"I'll hit the front," Carter said as we all began splitting up.
"Okay, one after the other," I instructed. Fanning out, I saw Kat wait for Glenn to step away first and then the others followed him. Sticking in the groups we had made, we all began speeding to where we were allocated.
Hearing what sounded like faint screams in the distance, I took my walkie talkie out and glanced to the walkers that were beginning to head towards us, away from the herd Daryl was leading. "Tobin, they're breaking off," I reported to one of the lines that I knew Tobin was on.
Heading towards the screams, I needed to get towards whatever was attracting the walkers and stop them from attracting more. "What do you want us to do?" Tobin asked me.
"Fire your guns and draw them back," this was the only option we had until I could get to the source of the screams.
Taking out my knife, I was keeping an eye out for any walkers that would appear out of nowhere, or anything that would try and harm me. Approaching the screams, I saw it was Carter, who had been bitten by a walker in the face. Screaming as he held onto the trees, trying to pull himself out of the walker's grasp.
Forcing Carter away from the walker with a forceful tug, I threw him to the ground. The walker tried to get me next, as its hand grasped onto me but my knife went quickly into its skull, rendering it motionless. Trying to calm Carter down, he was muttered incoherent words and clutched to his bitten cheek.
Trying to calm him down, walkers were approaching, breaking away from the group as Carter's cries got louder. Nothing was working, so when I had tried to silence him, my hand went to cover his mouth.
Gradually turning his face as I tried to shush him, I dove my knife into the back of his neck, puncturing his brain as I silenced him. Ending his suffering. Removing my knife, I saw how bloody my palm was of his bite that spewed out the boiling red liquid. When I glanced to my left, feeling a presence, I saw it had been Morgan.
The feeling in my stomach was like a rock that sank. He saw what I had said, was true. Carter inevitably died, just as I predicted. Shots were being fired on the other side of the forest. "It's working. The gunfire is bringing them back on the road," Tobin told me over the radio, as gunfire continued.
Placing my knife back in my holster, I took my walkie talkie off my belt and used it to communicate back. "You got them, Tobin," I told him when I noticed the walkers joining the herd again.
Glancing behind me again, I saw Michonne had gradually joined us. "Copy that. What was that screaming?" Tobin was curious to know what had broken the group out of the herd.
Bringing my walkie talkie back up to my face, I hated the answer I was about to give Tobin. "That was Carter. He got bit right in the face. I stopped him," I explained what had happened.
Getting up, I returned the walkie talkie to rest on my hip, on my belt as I went to have a minute by myself, looking over the walkers in the herd, seeing how they were all back on track. "We have a good hour until we have 'em to green when we hand them off to Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham," I said as I made my way back over to Michonne and Morgan.
"Why don't you head back, tell everyone what's happening?" I stepped a little closer to Morgan, indicating it should be him who goes back to Alexandria. "They should know."
Morgan looked a little shaken by what he'd witnessed, surprised even. "Okay, Rick, I just-" he went to say but I cut him off quickly.
I didn't need him giving me any kind of pep talk, or trying to convince me that I was still a good man. Or that I was wrong to know I was right. Carter was gone and there was nothing more to it. "Will you do that for me?" I asked of him again, a little more sternly. With a nod, he looked to the floor and that was confirmation enough for me.
"I'll take care of that one. Michonne, you take point," I instructed before I made my way back, leaving Michonne and Morgan alone. Killing the walker, I could hear Michonne and Morgan softly talk to each other before we all went to our specific assigned places.
KPOV
Sneaking through the woods, I was keeping my head down and focusing on the herd and where I stepped. Not wanting to draw any attention to myself or the group I was with. Getting up behind Glenn, I eventually got to his side. Exchanging brief 'hey's to one another, I wanted to talk to him, about how we both stood when it came to Nicholas.
"You trust him?" I asked Glenn, curious of what his answer would be.
"Yeah," he answered quickly, his tone quiet as to not attract walkers.
Eyeing Glenn from the side, I had kept my bow and arrow in hand, lowered but ready in case walkers approached or began joining in with the herd. "With your life?" I asked again.
Glenn let out the softest of sighs. "I'm trying to," he had said the same thing I did.
Glancing at Nicholas, he was walking ahead, keeping up with the herd with a gun in his hand. "I think we can trust him now. He saved us back in the tractor place," I pointed out to him. "He gave us reason to trust him," I repeated the same words dad had said to me earlier.
"Kat?" Glenn asked me, stopping beside me this time and making me stop with him. Humming a response, I kept my eyes on his. "Why have you been sticking close to me?" he questioned me but before I could answer, I saw his eyes flicker to Nicholas. "Is it because of Nicholas?" he assumed right.
Slipping my arrow in place, then followed my bow around my body. "Yes," I couldn't lie to him. "And...because Maggie asked me to," I told him the truth. Maggie had her reasons for asking me and I was sure Glenn wouldn't be mad with his own wife for wanting someone she trusted looking out for him.
A loud sigh was heard escaping Glenn. "Of course she did," he fought back a smile but I saw it appear as I walked past him to get ahead, with Nicholas.
The sound of a loud horn blaring in the distance made everyone stop, freezing as we look towards the sound of it. "What the hell is happening?" Heath asked as he approached myself and Glenn.
"It's a horn or something," Glenn answered Heath.
Glancing to the herd, they began moving away from the road we had lead them on and towards the noise of the horn. "It's pulling the back half off the road," I warned them as I watched the walkers move them move faster and in larger numbers.
Running in a direction, I heard Glenn mutter an "Oh, God," before he sprinted off. Following his lead, I knew there was trouble and I had a feeling it was going directly to the one place we didn't want it to go. Home.
RPOV
Hearing the loud blaring of the horn, it made me stop in my tracks and look for the direction I heard it coming from. Michonne was quick to come to my side, the same panic stricken look crossing her face as the same as mine. "Whatever that is, it's far. It sounds like it's coming from-" she went to say, as our eyes met, we both feared the worst.
"Home," I finished for her. The huge herd, was going straight home. Straight to Alexandria. Straight to Carl and Judith.
Author's Note: Surprise, surprise! It's another chapter. Less than a week?! I know. I got so into it, that I couldn't stop writing and I have so many plans. Not only that, I really hope you appreciate the way I'm writing lately and see this as an improvement since the early years. If you see the difference, the story was first published in 2014. 5 years now! So I hope I have changed my style of writing for the better.
Apologies for any mistakes, as you can tell, it being written over 4 days, means there might have been a few mess ups. Other than that, hope you enjoyed this and are excited for the start of spooky season, which means...the walking dead season!
I will politely ask for 5 replies but if I don't get them, it's cool but it might motivate me to write chapters faster. So, questions I want answered in this chapter are:
1) Who's relationship do you like most with Kat?
2) What did you think of the scene between Kat and Jessie?
3) What would you like to see in future chapters?
4) Can you predict what will be happening in the next few chapters?
5) Do you want more scenes between Kat and Morgan? Or who would you like Kat interacting more with?
Many thanks,
HeroJustInTime90
