Chapter 75: Following
RPOV
~Weeks ago~
Once days had passed, it turned to weeks and Carl was finally conscious. So much had happened, Kat and Daryl were now official in their way, Carl had an eye less, but he was still alive. People had died but we had been stronger because of it.
During all of this, I had given the notes Deanna had given me to each of the people who wanted it. Handing Kat this note, she had disappeared to her room to read it. During the hours I spent sat beside Carl's bed, I had glanced at the paper for my daughter.
The note she had, was only something brief but it held words that I knew were going to mean plenty to my daughter. Approaching her room slowly, she had her back to me, her body curled forward to stare at the note.
"I saw the note," I had made my presence known to my daughter. "Before I gave it to you," I informed her when she slowly turned to look at me. "Sorry, I was curious as to what she said," I apologised for prying into her business.
"What ever happened to privacy when it came to a girl's mail?" she asked me, her eyes peering at me from the corners of them.
Laughing to myself, I took a few steps deeper into her shared room with Daryl. Daryl was out, possibly helping with the clean up. "I think since we no longer have postmen, the laws of privacy doesn't count anymore," I teased her.
Taking a seat beside her, Kat was reading the note and had folded it up so I couldn't see it. "Very funny, dad," she teased back with a smile.
For a minute, I just stared at her, completely lost in my thoughts as I admired my daughter. "I'm proud of you," I would declare to her. "Of Carl. Of both of you," I made sure both my kids had felt the pride I had when I would look at them.
Carl was growing to be a smart and strong man. Kat, was just everything I ever hoped for in a daughter. "Your mom would be proud too," I added after a few moments of silence had enveloped us.
Mention of her mother, her eyes lowered and her head bowed. "I can only hope she would be," Kat spoke above a whisper.
"I know she is," I said a little more clearly, a little louder. "When she thought you were dead, she'd tell me how she pictured you. If you had lived," I went to tell her.
Memories flooded my head of the time I had thought she was dead. "Back then, I hated when she would bring you up. It only brought back pain," I explained why this topic was a little hard for me to bring up.
It wasn't just her who felt that pain. "Dad..." she spoke softly, her hand reaching for mine as she held it.
Sat side by side, I was proud Kat was here now. I felt blessed to have such a strong and fierce daughter. "But now, it brings me peace," I told her how it was different for me now. Meeting her gaze, her expression was soft, warm as she hung onto every word I said.
"She pictured you would be beautiful, smart, strong and capable leader. If you had been given the chance to be," I felt my lips twitch into a smile as I looked to the floor and squeezed her hand in mine.
Raising my eyes to meet Kat's lingering gaze, I nodded and swallowed softly. "But there was always one thing she forgot to mention in that list of hers," I admitted this to her.
Kat's eyes searched mine, curious as to what Lori could have forgot. "What was it?" Kat asked me.
PRESENT DAY...DPOV
Whistling. That was what woke me. As I slowly came back, I had felt pressure being pressed into my shoulder, a blanket around my shoulders and when I reached for the hand, I thought it had been Kat. That maybe she was comforting me from whatever nightmare I was waking up to.
Remembering the last thing I saw, was Dwight, pointing his gun down at me, I had remembered the shot he took into my shoulder. The hot flash of pain, the loss of consciousness. All of it. While I took my time to return to the moment, I breathed slowly.
My hand reached for the hand adding pressure to my shoulder. I saw looked for the face, to find it was Rosita applying the pressure to my shoulder. Darkness surrounded us as we were sat in what felt to be the back of a van.
Whistling, for hours, all we heard, was whistling and I was becoming impatient. Where the hell are we? All I can see is little holes of light coming through. Did Dwight take us? Is there no way out?
KPOV
Hearing the door open, I had just put Judith down for her afternoon nap. Moving towards the door, I half expected it to be Daryl or Michonne and half expected it to be my father with Carol. Instead, it was just my dad.
Not that I wasn't relieved he got back to us safely, but I had hoped Daryl had returned from the crazy act he just did. "Did you find her?" I asked dad as I pulled my shirt down, fixing myself after the long day I had.
Dad's steps into the house were slow but gradually he stopped in front of me. "No, but Morgan is out there looking for her," dad told me, as Carl began walking down the stairs to join us. "He'll bring her back. One way or another," dad was sure of this.
Nodding, I knew we needed to have faith he would. "He will," I agreed with him.
Suddenly, Enid burst through the door, bringing all of our attention to her. "Enid, what's going on?" Carl was the one to ask her. Enid's eyes were wide, full of fear and panic. Her breathing was as though she had been running a marathon.
Enid was trying to catch her breath. "It's Maggie, I think it's the baby," Enid panted out at us through her words.
My eyes were wide, if something was wrong and she ran here, it must of been something big. How my instincts kicked in, it was almost primal. "We need to get her to the Hilltop. Now," I ordered. "They are the only ones who have a Doctor that can help her," I stated what I knew.
At the Hilltop, there was Dr. Carson and Gregory had given Maggie free usage of this doctor at all times for Maggie. "I'll find us a car and some supplies," dad assigned his own task.
"I'll get the ammunition we need for the trip," Carl spoke up.
Everyone began gathering their things. "Tell the others," I ordered of my father. "Enid, go help Carl," I was handing out assignments. "I'll go to Maggie," I signed myself up to check in on her. As everyone rushed to do what they had to, I went straight to Maggie's, determined to help her however way I could.
CPOV
Doing as Kat wanted us to, we were getting ready to leave. Going straight to the armoury, I was gathering ammo, guns and anything else we needed for the journey we were going to take. In case we came across anything, we had to be ready.
Something in my gut told me the Saviors were close. "Glenn's still not back. I need to be there for Maggie," Enid argued as she followed after me. I had been telling her she wasn't going to be going with us.
"I said no," I argued to her.
Enid though, could be just as stubborn as Kat sometimes. "Carl," Enid tried to make me listen.
But I wasn't going to put her in danger. She didn't know how to handle this kind of danger. We did. Stuffing all I could find into my backpack, I looked over to her and stopped what I was doing. "Look, you were wrong before," I told her.
Remembering the conversation we had a while back, about this place and its walls. "This place isn't too big to protect. And you need to stay back and help protect it," I tried to encourage her that staying, was what was best for her.
I didn't want to seem controlling but I was protective of her. "This place is ready. Most of us have been trained, you know that," Enid argued as I carried on with stuffing things into my backpack.
Enid would follow me wherever I stepped. "If you were worried about an attack, you wouldn't be leaving," all of her arguments were valid.
Either way, she wouldn't understand. I owed Maggie. I owed Glenn. "You know how far the Hilltop is?" I questioned her. "You know what could happen?" I continued to bombard her with questions as I stopped again.
"Those Saviors are out there," the threat was real. "You know what they did to Denise, what they tried to do with Maggie, Kat and Carol, to Daryl, to Rosita, to Eugene," I listed all the people who had almost died because of the Saviors.
If I could do good by keeping her safe, I would. "That's not happening to you, alright? I'm not gonna let it," I told her, trying to let her know it was personal to me. Her safety meant a lot to me.
Turning my back to her, I went back to collecting what we'd need. Enid had wandered over to the armoury, checking out all our guns. Falling silent, I knew something was running through her mind.
Enid though, could see something else I was trying to hide from everyone else. She could see through me. Putting in a new clip, I made sure my gun was ready. The same gun that Kat and the others had taken from them.
I was going to use it on them. I was ready. "You want to run into them, right?" Enid had figured out the other half of why I needed to go.
These people kidnapped my sister. Almost killed her boyfriend. Almost killed her. Kidnapped my family. I had to get them back for it. For all of it.
"You hope they show up," she said but I couldn't argue with her. "Jesus, this is about getting Maggie to a doctor, not about..." her voice was shouting but it soon drifted off. "Screw you, I'm going," she went against what I wanted for her.
Just as she went to the door, I stopped in front of her. "Enid, stop," I blocked her from leaving the room. "Just wait," I pleaded with her.
"Get out of my way," she ordered me to move. "Carl!" she yelled at me when I didn't move.
Letting out a sigh, I glanced to the closet. "Just grab some pistols from the closet. But hurry," I encouraged her to help me so we could quickly leave together. "We've gotta go now," this was my deal with her.
The moment she stepped inside the closet to take some pistols with us, I shut the door and blocked the door from opening. "Carl! Damn it! Carl!" she yelled as the door handle wiggled but she couldn't get out.
Slamming her palm against the door, I could hear her frantic breathing telling me just how afraid she was. "Carl! What happens if you don't come back?" she asked me. "How am I supposed to live with that? What the hell am I supposed to do?" she questioned what to do if I didn't come back.
The only thing that came to my mind, was the words she'd wrote to me when she left. "Just survive somehow," I advised her of a way to move forward.
KPOV
Finally getting to Maggie's place, I saw her hiding under the table, clutching to her stomach and screaming from pain. Aaron had been in the far end of the room as he saw me come in. He gave me space so I could talk to Maggie.
"Maggie," I called to her. "Maggie, I need you to listen to me," I tried to get to her eye level as we were both on the floor.
Her eyes slowly met mine but would look away as she yelled from the agony she felt. "I know you're in pain," I wanted her to know I understood. "But you need to breathe, you need to control it," I encouraged her to focus on her breathing.
"Try to let it pass," my voice was soft, as I tried to soothe her.
Panting, she was gripping her stomach but she did try to calm her breathing. "Okay," Maggie was trying to get a hold of it.
When I saw she was more or less relaxed, I nodded to her. "Alright," I was content with her progress. "We're going to get you to a doctor, we're going to take you to the Hilltop," I informed her of the plan.
Hearing tires screech outside, I knew the vehicle my dad went to look for was now parked up outside. "Kat!" I heard his voice shout to me. "The RV's outside," he yelled out this information to me.
"Can you walk?" I asked Maggie as I turned my attention back to her.
Licking her lips, Maggie was breathing heavily but she nodded slowly. "I'll try," she answered. Wrapping her arm around my neck, I guided her up to her feet and got her up slowly. As soon as she was on her feet, we took a few good steps.
Suddenly, a sharp pain got Maggie good as she stumbled and leaned on me far too much. "Ah!" Maggie screamed as she almost fell but I held her up. Her legs wobbling from the intensity of her pain.
"Shit," I mumbled. "Abraham!" I screamed, thankful the door was open. Abraham ran into the room and found us struggling together. "Help me carry her out," I ordered.
Aaron quickly rushed to our side. "Aaron, take a stretcher in case she gets any worse," I instructed of him, now that he was finally paying attention. Abraham was strong, he could help me carry her.
Aaron was a great help but he'd babysat Maggie until I got there. "You got it," Aaron answered as he did as he was told.
Guiding her out of her house, Maggie took slow steps with us and would whimper from the pain. "You're going to be okay, Maggie," I reassured her that she'd be fine. "Come on," I encouraged all of us to leave. To help Maggie into the RV.
RPOV
Once Kat had guided Maggie into the RV I had decided we were taking, with the help of Abraham and Aaron, I had been gathering anything else we'd need. From medical supplies, changes of clothes and anything Maggie may need during her stay at the Hilltop.
Sasha approached me slowly with Abraham by her side. "Any change?" Sasha asked me.
"She's getting worse," I informed them, from what I had noticed and what Kat told me.
Abraham glanced to the RV briefly. "Good call on the transport," he praised me for my quick thinking.
Not only would it carry plenty, but she'd hopefully feel more relaxed laying down than sitting up. "Well, I figured she'd be more comfortable," was my excuse for taking it instead of a car.
Eugene had followed behind them as they met with me, once I laid the bags of supplies onto the floor by the steps. "It also means you got room for more," Abraham implied he was going with us. "They're out there, so I'm gonna be there with you. We are," Abraham glanced to Sasha.
"Package deal," Sasha agreed, smiling up at Abraham adoringly.
Letting out a sigh, there was no reason to argue with them as they climbed up, hoisting the bags to one side and placing their guns somewhere safe. "Uh, what she said," Eugene mumbled after Sasha.
Eugene was signing himself up for this trip too, which was something completely unexpected to me. "Look, it's a long trip, and you're just getting over-" I tried to remind him of the gunshot he'd suffered just yesterday.
What Eugene should be doing, was resting. "It's a superficial graze, proteins are binding, plus we need to discuss ammunition production and manufacture, so let's roll," was Eugene's excuses for him joining us.
Opening my mouth to argue with him, to convince him to stay, I looked to Abraham who was climbing out of the RV. "I already tried. Give him an inch, he's taking a mile," Abraham told me before he left to go collect more stuff.
Resting my hand back on my hip, I looked back to Eugene. "I'm only asking for 23, give or take, depending on the route," Eugene asked of me. "I know I can be of some help. Now's the time and here's the place. Don't shine me. I'll be your anchorman. Yes, I damn will."
Eugene was sometimes so fast at talking, it was hard to keep up. Not arguing with him, I left him to go join the others. As I went to check the vehicle and see if it was at a good standard to drive.
Slowly, Aaron approached me and stood close by me. "We're ready to protect this place and the Saviors know it. That's why they grabbed Eugene," Aaron approached me slowly as he glanced around our surroundings.
Checking the wheels, they looked to be doing fine. After hearing Aaron's speech, I stood up and went to deny him to come with us. "Look, it's not up for discussion," I stated.
We needed people here and Aaron was strong enough to defend this place. "Then you're just gonna have to punch me in the face and tie me up again," he reminded me of the first time we met. "'Cause that's what it's gonna take to stop me."
Unable to argue with him, I side glanced him, shook my head a little and mouthed the words 'go on' to him before he climbed up with the others.
CPOV
Stepping into the RV, I dumped the backpack onto the floor and pushed it under the table. Walking deeper, I had seen Kat was sat by Maggie's bed, holding her hand. "Sasha, could you get me some water?" Kat requested for some water.
"You got it," Sasha responded as she dug into a bag and took out a bottle.
When Kat took it, she softly thanked Sasha and turned her attention back to Maggie. Helping Maggie take a few sips from the bottle, Kat then guided Maggie to lay back down. "Hey, you're safe now," Kat whispered to Maggie. "We're going to find you some help. It's going to be okay..." as Kat soothed her, Kat's fingers would brush Maggie's short hair away from her eyes.
How Maggie stared at Kat, was with deep appreciation and admiration. "You act more like Lori every day," Maggie told Kat with a softness in her tone. "She'd be so proud of who you've become," I knew these were words Kat needed to hear from someone who wasn't me or dad.
Seeing Kat's head bow, I could picture the smile that would grow on her lips. "Thank you," Kat thanked her. "Hershel and Beth would be proud of you too," Kat returned the sentiment.
Letting out a soft sigh, Maggie's eyes shut and a sad smile grew on her lips. When her eyes met Kat's, a tear ran down Maggie's face. "I needed to hear that. Thank you, Kat," Maggie appreciated her words.
"I'm only speaking the truth," Kat responded to Maggie with a sad smile. "Rest, we'll be going soon," Kat gave Maggie's hand a small squeeze as she slowly got to her feet. Getting up, Kat slowly let Maggie go.
When Kat turned around and saw me behind her, she glanced further back and saw that the only one missing, was dad. "Where's dad?" Kat asked me.
"He's outside," I answered her. "Want me to go get him?" I asked, knowing I could get him to come in so we could set off.
Shaking her head, she gently put her hands on my shoulders as she passed by me. "I've got it," Kat was signing herself up to be the one to order our father back into the RV.
RPOV
Meeting with Gabriel who was approaching me slowly, everyone was inside and ready to leave. "We have 24-hour shifts set up on each of the watchtowers, each one of them fully supplied and ready. In the case that we're incurred upon, we have drivers assigned, evacuation and distraction, and the rendezvous we discussed," Gabriel listed all the things we went over.
His eyes were glued to mine. "In the event of any emergency, my first priority is Judith," he repeated to me the priority he had if everything went south in my absence. "I will not fail you," Gabriel assured me.
Gabriel's look stern as he stared at me. "Are you comfortable leaving me in charge of Alexandria's defence?" Gabriel asked me.
After everything, I trusted him. Chuckling, I took a moment to think of my answer. "Yes," I had been completely honest with him.
With a nod, I went to get into the RV and join with the others. "Hey, Rick," Spencer called out to me.
Stopping me in my tracks, I gave him a chance to speak. "If the Saviors do show up...I don't know, I'm thinking, if it's not too late, should we try and make some kind of deal?" he suggested.
His way of thinking was bound to get us killed. We can't provide for these people. And we've already killed so many of them. They would want revenge. "Tell them to wait for me. I got a deal for them," I told Spencer what to do before he would negotiate anything without me being there.
Suddenly, Kat was at the bottom step, looking out at what was going on. "We ready?" Kat asked me.
Looking to my daughter, I nod and stood by the door. "Yeah," I answered her before I opened she climbed up. "Let's go," I told those that were in the RV with me as I climbed inside.
KPOV
After discussing routes, we needed to take the quickest one to the Hilltop. Maggie had been resting and Aaron, myself and Carl would take turns checking up on her. When my dad went to her, I saw Aaron move away to give him the space beside her. "Hey," dad greeted her as he took his spot beside her.
As he knelt beside her, Maggie was quivering, catching a fever and looking paler by the minute. "Hey," Maggie responded to him.
Dad took her hand, my eyes were glued to them as I smiled down at them. "We're gonna get there. The doctor at the Hilltop, he's gonna make things better," dad was sure about this. Maggie looked scared, doubtful as she kept her eyes on my father. "Hey," he tried to get her attention.
Soothing her, he smoothed her hair away from her eyes and Maggie quickly turned her head back to look up at my father. "How do you know?" Maggie asked him.
I had said the same thing to her but now, she was getting doubtful of it all. Even if she wanted to believe in us, she slowly was letting her fear take over. "Everything we've done, we've done together," dad told her.
Feeling Carl come up behind me, I shifted to lean against the wall. My arm wrapping around his shoulders, as his went around my waist. "We got here together and we're still here," dad continued to talk to Maggie as we just listened.
"Things have happened, but it's always worked out for us 'cause it's always been all of us. That's how I know," dad gave Maggie a speech as she kept her gaze on him. "'Cause as long as it's all of us, we can do anything," dad sounded confident in his words.
Maggie smiled, it was sad and as the RV shook and rumbled, we kept moving. Just like we always kept moving together, as a group. We were strong and we were sure that together, we could face anything.
Glancing to Carl, he looked down at dad proudly. Brushing his hair, it was getting far too long now and yet, it suited him. Leaning in, I pressed a kiss to the side of my brother's temple. Dad's right. We can do anything.
RPOV
After discussing with Maggie briefly our goal, my faith in us that was very much influenced at the base of it, were my children and the group we had built from the bottom up. I knew that we could handle anything that came in our way.
Turning back a little, I had caught the rare sight of Kat and Carl sharing a moment together. One that I felt I had influenced. Smiling up at them, both of them gave myself and Maggie pursed lipped smiles.
"What the bitch?" Abraham's voice broke the moment.
Kat and Carl quickly turned to give me room as I strolled over to what happened, having already felt the RV coming to a halt, there must have been something stopping us. "What?" I asked having stepped past my children to get to the front with Abraham and Sasha.
No one said a word for a second. "Enemy close," Abraham announced as I crouched and tried to get a good look at everything. "We doing this?" Abraham asked me.
Looking around, it was only a few men, not that many, if we could take them down, which I knew we could, it seemed pointless and like a mess to try and waste time on. Maggie needed to get to the Hilltop as soon as we could reach it.
Having to waste time on killing these men, only to move their cars, as moving around would only result as uncomfortable for Maggie, I couldn't risk it. "No," I answered him.
As Abraham parked up, we grabbed our weapons and headed out. Leaving Maggie in the RV alone as we walked out, raising my hands as I took the lead, Kat was out behind me second, then Carl and then slowly we all filtered out of the RV.
"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen," one of the men said.
He had a man laid out on the ground, weak at his mercy as we faced each other off in numbers. "We can make a deal right here, right now," I suggested this was the best course of action for us for now, as it would keep us safe.
And avoid us from having to kill anymore of them. "That's right, we can," the main spokesman agreed with me. "Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you. That's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business," this was his offer. "All you have to do is listen."
Glancing to Kat, her eyes were hard on them, a look she wore as naturally as I did. "Yeah..." I had let it sit for a few seconds. "That deal's not gonna work for us," I rejected his offer.
"Fact is, I was about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you," this was my offer to them. "Any more of you," I emphasised that I had been the one to lead the attacks and won.
Suddenly, one of the Saviors took a few steps closer and took out a spray can. As he shook it, he stood over the guy he had laid out on the ground. Spraying the can on him, his leader began to speak up.
Glancing over to the others, they were all firm where they stood. None of them were threatened, especially not my kids. "Sorry, my deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate," the man told us.
Gesturing to those behind me, I threw up a sign to say we needed to turn around and head back. "Me and my people are leaving," I informed the guy as I slowly approached our vehicle.
Everyone had began turning back around and got into the RV as I had gestured for us to return to our RV. "Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going," the Savior tried to act friendly but there was a menacing way he spoke to me.
As the Savior waved us off, his back to us, Abraham had been the last one to get in, other than myself as he waited for me to reach the door. There was something in me, itching to say something to them.
"You want to make today your last day on Earth?" I asked them as I looked over to him.
The Savior had turned himself to look at me, his whole group stood on edge, like they were ready to shoot. And shoot to kill, was their aim. "No, but that is a good thing to bring up. Think about it," he commented.
The way he spoke made my skin want to crawl. "What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true?" he bombarded me with questions, questions that rolled in my mind.
A sick feeling rose in my stomach. "Maybe you should be extra nice to those people in that RV, 'cause you never know..." he said before snapping his fingers. "Just like that," he expressed how quick my friends, my family, could disappear.
"Be kind to each other," he advised me. "Like you said...like it was your last day on Earth," he used my own words against me.
As much as this should have offended me, I was calm and I had to have faith that we were strong enough to win these pricks. "You do the same," I encouraged him to follow his own advice before I climbed in and closed the door.
As I climbed in, I saw this guy begin to kick the guy they were holding hostage, a guy they held down and spray painted on. Rolling away from the scene, we all knew, Maggie was our priority.
CPOV
The sun was starting to go down, daylight was wasting and we had been on the road for what felt like hours, trying to get Maggie to the Hilltop. Peeking through the space between the blinds, I was gazing out of interest and general concern.
In the distance, was a walker lazily approaching us. "Why didn't you stay back and help guard the place?" I asked Aaron, who sometimes hadn't left Maggie's side throughout the trip. If it wasn't Aaron, it was Kat, if it wasn't Kat, it was me or dad.
"I owe her," Aaron gazed at a sleeping Maggie. Aaron's head slowly turned to me. "Why did you come?" he asked me just as curiously.
There were many reasons I needed to be here, like my father, my sister, my mother and all the things we'd gone through together. "I owe them," was my only response needed.
Glenn, Maggie, they are family and have done nothing but be there for all of us. Saved us, fought with us, fought for us and stayed with us. We're family. Nothing can change that.
KPOV
Glancing over the map, we had to stop to find an alternate route to get to Hilltop, rather than getting caught by the Saviors again. "Logrun Road's a straight shot," Eugene had decided to help us with finding an alternate way there.
"We want visibility," I wanted him to know that as long as we could see all threats, that would be our best option. We needed to know there were obstacles, before coming face to face with one.
Sasha was looking too, as Eugene would point to places. "There, you got it on Shelton. Golf course, country clubs, sloping terrain. No bum rush from the bogeyman," he mumbled on about something I didn't particularly understand.
As long as we had coverage, we were bound to be good. "We'd see them from a good piece. It is a longer trip by a third, but we'd get the scenic safety of clear-cut dingles and glens," Eugene assured us it was a decent plan.
"You're being serious, right?" Sasha had to ask, just as confused as I must have been.
Having us go through a golf field, seemed a little strange to me. "As coronary thrombosis," Eugene nodded, staring over at Sasha who sat across from him.
Stood by them, I had pressed my palms into the table, my eyes glued to the route and a hand gently brushed my back as I felt my father slip around me to get to the map. "You got a route?" he asked us, glancing at me during his brief stares at the map.
"Yeah," I told him with a weary tone in my voice. Something just didn't feel right, not in my gut and not in my mind.
The sound of a walker right outside our door could be heard. Coming out of the bathroom, Abraham brushed against us briefly as he moved to get back to his seat. "Let's go," dad told him before giving him the route we needed to take.
My stomach still felt strange. Like something wasn't right. At all.
RPOV
Sat with Kat, briefly going over something together, Carl and Aaron had stayed with Maggie. Eugene had been sat alone, going through some plans on his own. "Bitch nuts," Abraham came to a stop as we all made our way to the front of the RV.
"We making our stand?" Sasha asked me. We had all been inspecting the scene, it was one of at least a dozen men outside, with guns, waiting for us.
They had the same stance, the same angry appearance to them and cool guy vibe. Sometime told me, these were just another group of Saviors waiting for us to arrive. "Yeah, we end it," Carl said over my shoulder, out of the blue.
Thinking this through, I knew they had been waiting plenty time out there and had enough numbers to take us down. "No, not now," I disagreed with my son.
The fact he jumped to conclusions, compared to Kat, had me worried. Although, Kat too seemed to be geared up to kill too by the look she gave me when I denied Carl the decision to be made for us.
"They've been waiting. They're ready. With one of us behind the wheel, that's six on 16," I calculated and suggested why we shouldn't do this. "We're gonna play it our way, how we want it. Right?" I asked Carl, all while I stared into his eye.
Carl's eye stared into mine. A serious but softened look on his face. "Right," he agreed with me almost automatically.
Looking back to the guys on the road, they were ready, armed and dangerous. As were we but the numbers were twice of ours. "Alright, go slow," I encouraged Abraham to get us out of here as I tapped his shoulder.
As we drove out, we walked to the windows to watch them, A guy had fired shots into the sky, why? I wasn't entirely sure. All I knew, was they were trying to intimidate us and I was keeping my eye on them, even as we rolled out.
"Dad, I trust your judgement but..." Kat said softly once we were slowly pulling away from the guys and into safety. "This feels like a set up. They're going to be at every road and blocking us from going anywhere," Kat warned me.
How she looked at me as I turned to face her, was wide eyed, afraid and a certainty in her voice. "I can feel it," she had been eager for me to listen. "Next time, we should end it. Cut them down and clear a path," this was her suggestion.
I wanted to consider it but if what she predicted was true, the numbers would only multiply and we would be faced with more and more of them. Having them cut us off every time, was something I only hoped wouldn't happen.
But I was going to consider it if we were blocked off once more.
KPOV
Sitting opposite Eugene and next to me, was Carl, I had been checking each of my arrows, making sure they were still sharp and being maintained. So far, there were no splits and the arrows that were losing its piercing, had briefly been sharpened for the blows I would use on walkers or people alike.
Dad had crouched beside Sasha and Abraham at the front, keeping low in case they saw him. "How are we on gas?" dad asked them, curious to find out just how they were doing.
Abraham had glanced over at him, dad's crouched stance had me sure that he was keeping an eye out for any threats. "Half a tank. I pulled some more cans before we left," Abraham informed him as I gazed briefly at my brother.
He was watching me closely, like he was studying me in how I maintained my weapons. "Those weren't the same men who blocked the road the first time," Sasha commented.
"Same outfit, different soldiers," Abraham spoke the regular soldier talk. "They got numbers," was the point he was trying to make with his use of words.
When I glanced over at Carl, he was calm and very concentrated on my work, he even offered to help. I let him do one of my arrows and showed him how a little slower. "Yeah, we keep driving, we get her there," was dad's orders.
"We will," I heard Sasha say quickly in response.
Glancing up, I saw dad had been looking over to Abraham now, who turned his head to look over to my father in return. "If we have to shove each and every one of them up their own asses," Abraham agreed.
Suddenly, the brakes squeal and myself and the others shot up from our seats to inspect what was ahead. What we saw, was something far too strange for it to not be a kind of distraction or warning. It was a line of walkers, in chains, stood in the middle of the road.
"We can't go through it. Can't risk the RV," dad had gave his opinion on this. "You stay behind the wheel, just in case," dad gave his order to Abraham as we all got our weapons. "We'll clear it," was the last thing Abraham heard my father say as we all climbed out.
Inspect the barrier the Saviors must have made, it was pretty elaborate, planned out and perfected in a way that was almost disturbing. "Putting together a red rover like that takes people. A lot of them," Eugene commented.
This much, must have been true. Stepping out, I kept my bow and arrow up, ready to shoot anything that moved, walker or people. "Come on, let's do this," dad said as we got closer.
As they were all chained up, they were all in a perfect line and all had different to one another. "Dad," Carl called to dad as dad slung the gun over his torso to attack the walkers on the road. Tugging my bow across my body and slipping my arrow back in my quiver, I went to follow dad's lead.
"That's Michonne's," Aaron's voice said, his eyes glued to something that startled me. When I saw that two locks of Michonne's hair was stuck onto a walker, my heart dropped. She's got to be okay. She has to be.
"That's Daryl's," Sasha then spoke up and when my head whipped to where she looked at, my heart stopped for a second. When it had beat again, it was harder and louder than ever before.
There it was, two bolts from Daryl's crossbow was stuck in a walker. Stepping forward, I felt a hand reach out to drag me back. It had been dad's hand to try to stop me. "Kat," I heard both dad and Carl call out to me as I approached the walker.
As it snarled and growled at me, snapping its jaws for me, I took the bolts out and inspected them. It's his. It's really his. I recognised his bolts anywhere. Gripping it until my knuckles turned as white as paper, I felt my teeth clench tighter together as my heart began to pound.
With a sudden stab with each bolt into the walker's eye sockets, I pulled them back out and panted. "Dad if-" I went to say as I showed it him. At the same time, he had taken Michonne's hair to inspect it and went to kill the same walker that wore it.
Both of us shared the same rage, its just I had let my anger out faster and quieter than he had. Suddenly, gunshots were fired but they were aimed to our feet. Placing Daryl's bolts in my quiver, I took out my pistol, I aimed for anyone I saw around the sides, aiming their guns down at us.
Picking up his hatchet, dad looked over to us and stayed low. "Get back to the RV! Go!" he yelled at us as we all began to turn back slowly. Aaron, Eugene and Carl ran back. I didn't, Sasha didn't and neither did dad. I would shuffle back but aim for walkers at the same time and keep my ears open on where the Saviors shot at us.
From the second I saw the walkers, I knew it was staged. "Start it up!" I heard Abraham yell as we rushed over to the RV. Abraham had some-point during the fire fight, got out of the RV and joined us to shoot down the Saviors who were looking down at us from above their little hills.
As we all climbed in after helping dad, with walkers or the Saviors, I saw Eugene had taken the wheel and drove us out of there. Panting as I stared at the parting my dad and the rest of us had created, I glared ahead.
All I saw, was red. If anything happened to Daryl, or Michonne...or any of the others that went out after him. I'm not going to let anyone stop me. "I'm going to kill every last one of them," I growled out my thoughts as I glared at the distance ahead of me.
RPOV
As we drove, I couldn't stop staring at the lock of Michonne's hair in my hands. What I hadn't noticed either, was Kat had been staring at Daryl's bolts too. Both of us shared the exact same fear, the anger, the distress over our loved ones.
What I had noticed on the other hand, was the strange noise our RV made every few minutes. "What's that sound?" Sasha asked, breaking the silence and pulling my out slowly of my trance.
Eugene had been the one to make a smart guess. "Undercarriage could've caught a bullet. Or could be transmission," were the options Eugene was presenting us with. "It could be nothing," was the other options he gave us.
As likely and unlikely it was, I knew that these guys had been sabotaging us somehow. They knew we were heading somewhere. They possibly even knew we were working with the Hilltop. If they know all of that, what could they be doing to Michonne, Daryl and the others right now?
"They were firing at our feet," I stated, rubbing my thumb over Michonne's hair. The RV squealing strangely once again. "They blocked the road, but they weren't trying to stop us. They want us in this direction," I stated my guess.
Kat got up from her seat and grasped onto Daryl's bolt tightly. "That was also their way of telling us they have our people," Kat told us.
Glancing at the lock of hair again, I couldn't help but picture Michonne, tied up and wishing me to come save her. "They have Daryl and Michonne, maybe even Glenn and Rosita if they didn't escape," Kat tried to be hopeful, even in a situation like that.
Stepping closer to me, my eyes were automatically drawn to my daughter. "I've been telling you this from the start," she pointed out to me. "This feels like a set up for something and I don't like that," Kat gave us her honest opinion and emotions towards this.
"Barton Road takes us north, but they gotta know we wanna go north," Sasha commented as she glanced down at the map with Eugene.
After hearing this, Kat moved to go see how Maggie was doing. She was possibly tired of the lack of responses she'd been getting from me since our discovery of Michonne and Daryl being kidnapped.
Eugene had been glancing over the map rapidly. "Meadows. Could take us east a piece, but we can get back on track on Mayhew," was an option Eugene tried to give us when it came to route.
"We're down to a third of a tank. We could top off at the next stop, but no refills after that," Sasha stated as I stared down at the lock in my fingers again. She must be hoping we are going to save her. Or maybe Kat, seeing as they were close too.
Scoffing a little at my thought, I couldn't look away from the lock in my hands. Knowing Michonne, she's probably saving herself or hoping we don't find her, in case we get into trouble, too. "Alright," I agreed to all of this with a soft whisper.
Aaron suddenly jumped around us to reach me. "She's burning up," Aaron had been referring to Maggie, who was only getting worse.
Pressing my fingers into my forehead, I was trying to focus, trying to think of any way we could get Maggie where we needed to take her. Staring at the holes in the wall I had created, it gave me a bit of strength. I knew I had fought worse-er fights and still survived. I needed to be smart. It's all I had to be, for now.
Sounds of the tires screeching told us that Abraham was slowing. "Rick," Abraham called to me as the brakes squeal. The whole RV came to a halt and Kat quickly approached us as we all went to inspect the scene.
Reaching the front of the RV, Kat stood beside me, both of us ducking down as what we saw, was a bigger group, with more men than previously. All armed, with cars and lots of fighters. "These assholes keep multiplying," Kat growled beside me. "They're not screwing around," she stated.
Feeling my lips twitch, my eyes glued to them, careful to watch their every move. "Well, neither are we," I stated back to her. "Go back," I said, not wanting to risk any of our lives as we needed to find another way to the Hilltop.
"Where?" Abraham asked me the one question I had no idea how to answer.
KPOV
Once Abraham began backing out, away from the others, I went straight back to Maggie. Letting Aaron know I was there, he slowly got up and stepped away from us, stayed in the back as he watched us.
The moment I dropped to my knees and took her hand in mine, I felt a crushing guilt take over. My fingers brushed her hair back, even as it stuck to her sweating face. "Kat..." Maggie was pleased to see me as her eyes would open slightly to look at me.
"Are we close?" Maggie's voice was above a whisper.
Brushing my fingers through her hair, as of lately, I got so close to Maggie, more than ever before, now that she was having a baby. The same way she was there for my mother during her pregnancy, I owed it to her to be here for hers.
Not knowing what to say to her, I knew we were nowhere near close to the Hilltop but we were trying our best to get there. "Yeah, we're..." I broke off, trying to find the words to say to her. "We're getting there," I tried to soothe her.
Her skin was so pale, she looked so weak and tired, I feared for her. "Were there-" Maggie drifted off, her eyes shutting slightly as she tried to find her own words and strength. "I heard shots," she told me.
Licking my lips from my nervousness, I brushed her hair back and tucked them behind her ears to cool her face down. "Yeah, the Saviors, but they're gone," I told her honestly. "We're gonna get you there," I tried to keep the hope alive, I had to.
When I saw her eyes open slowly and stare into mine, her hand gently squeezed mine. "I know," she looked me dead in the eyes.
No hesitancy, no fear, no doubt. Maggie had faith in us getting there. "You're gonna be okay. The baby's gonna be okay," I had helped her this far with her baby and had promised to help her as long as she needed it.
Seeing her so weak on the bed, I felt like I was responsible for it. I should of protected her from that punch, from those falls. "This isn't it. This can't be it," I wasn't ready to die here, especially not with Maggie so close to having a life that would be so beautiful for us all to see.
"There's more. There's gonna be more," I was dead set in this. Convincing not only Maggie, but myself. "For both of us," I included myself into this. "There has to be," Maggie's eyes had been slowly shutting until I said this.
The RV softly squealed beneath us. "I believe in you, Kat," Maggie spoke above a whisper as her eyes held mine and her clutch tightened on my hand. Wrapping my other hand over hers, I held her tightly.
I had hope my strength would be passed on to her. Even with the fear of Michonne and Daryl in trouble, I had a duty to Maggie to get her to the Hilltop as soon as we could. "I believe in both of you," Maggie stunned me, her eyes went behind me.
Turning my head, I saw my dad staring down at us with a warmth in his eyes, on his features. There was a sadness in his eyes too, as he feared for Maggie as much as I did and her health. Her fever could kill her, if we didn't get her to a doctor soon enough.
Returning my gaze to Maggie, she returned her gaze to me. "The same way my daddy believed in both of you," she told us, which warmed my heart at the memory of Hershel and how he did think the world of my father more than of myself.
Maggie believes in me, the same way her father believed in mine. I hope I can do her proud. I have to.
RPOV
Stepping out to yet, another road block, Abraham was the one to get out of the RV last. All of us following my lead as I kept a careful eye on any movement. It could have easily been another trap.
What we came across, was a huge pile of logs stacked upon one another. "These tracks...they would indicate they not only have people, but some big-ass toys and capabilities," Eugene spoke what he believed this all meant as a sign to us.
"What it indicates is we are neck-deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open," Abraham commented before we heard a scream come from behind us. Spinning, we aimed our guns and saw a man dangling.
When I saw it was a guy, who was gasping and gagging for air, as the others hung him up for us to see, Aaron didn't lower his weapon like the rest of us. Instead, he went to shoot the guy down. "Don't," Abraham warned him.
"I can try and break the chain," Aaron panted as he struggled to get his shot lined up.
Even if he wanted to do that, it wouldn't of worked out the way he hoped it would. "It won't work, Aaron," Kat told him in my stead.
Aaron on the other hand, was willing to do the impossible. "I can try," he was trying to steady himself but the guy was already choking to death.
"She's right, it won't work," I agreed with my daughter as the man continued to choke. Gagging on his lack of breath, he was grasping at the chain around his neck, his whole body dangling.
Taking a few steps closer, the man was the same man that was on the road from the first time. The one they were possibly using as an example for us. "And we need the bullets," I reminded Aaron of what we were running low on.
Already, I was wondering where these guys would finally show up from. "Even if you shot him down, its a long drop. He wouldn't survive that," Kat warned Aaron of the height and impact of the fall onto solid ground.
If the man survived, he would of wished to have died from the amount of bones he would of broken in his body. It didn't take long for the guy to die but I could sense the emotions behind me. All of them, shocked, horrified or saddened for the man who lost his life because of these guys.
My son was watching him swing, dead and gone. My daughter was watching him lose the light in his eyes with the slow death he endured. Everyone saw the horrors these men were capable of doing.
A strange sound of a crackle behind us, along with the heat that came from it, made us all turn to see the logs they had put to block us, had lit up. All of us were staring at the burning logs.
"You're treating your people good, right?" the sudden raspy voice called out to us. It's that Savior from the first group. "Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of theirs?" he used the same words from before.
The man's voice echoed and from what I could tell, he was above us, on the bridge, with a lot more guys than before. "You better go. It's gonna get hot," he warned us about the fire we were all staring at. "You go get where you're going."
"Go, go," I ordered of them.
All of a sudden, we all began rushing back to our RV, needing to get out of there before the whole thing burned down. "Dad-" Carl called to me as he went to climb into the RV but stopped to look at me.
"Carl!" Kat had yelled for him, as she had already entered and was now waiting on him.
Carl's eyes were wide, angry and I didn't have time for this. "Get on," I ordered, wanting to keep them all safe as the engine started and we drove off. Please, God, help us get to the Hilltop safely.
CPOV
Since we got back to the RV, we drove off for a little while but stopped to figure out what we were going to do next. We were running out of options, running out of fuel and Maggie was running out of time. "So, what's the play?" Abraham asked as he took a seat at the table.
"She needs a doctor," was what Kat said as she approached us, trying to help but also inform us of Maggie's current state.
Maggie was in desperate need of a doctor, her condition was only getting worse. "There are two more routes north from here," Sasha informed us whilst glancing at the map and trying to pinpoint any more options we had.
The tension was rising. "They're probably waiting for us right now," Aaron said as dad exhaled.
Everyone was on edge. Every path we took, we were faced with more decisions, with more Saviors and different ways to block our paths. "So, they're ahead of us, probably behind us," Eugene spoke up.
"But they're not waiting on us, per se, they're waiting on this rust bucket," Eugene had a point the more he spoke. "And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust-bucket. And the sun sets soon," this was the only chance we had.
All we needed to do now, was figure out a way to prevent that and if we had to go in that route, we would need to decide who was the one to face the Saviors on their own. I'm not going to let it be Kat again.
RPOV
After not much debate, Eugene won the argument with simply saying it was his idea, so he would execute it himself. Once everything was gathered, we would decide to move out. When night fell, I refilled the tank with the gas we had left.
"That's the last of it," I told Eugene while I approached him with an empty fuel can. "If you see a car, try to siphon the gas. Other than that, you keep moving," I gave him instructions.
Eugene appeared to be calm with this plan. "I'll have them thinking we're playing their game. All phases of the turn, level after level, move after move, I'll keep them spun. I assure you, I will," he repeated the plan but in his own way.
He was set to allude the Saviors that they were winning their little game. "I got something for you. It's a recipe, and it ain't gazpacho," Eugene said, handing me a sheet of paper.
"How to Build Bullets 101. Abraham can show you where, just in case," he informed me of what the sheet consisted and where we'd find the place to make our own ammo.
Having noticed him doodling all of this in the RV, I was stunned to see him hand it to me like it was his last request. He thinks he's going to die and he might just once they catch him. "Thank you for this. For all of it. We're lucky you're here," I tried to praise Eugene for everything he'd done for us.
From saving us, to saving others like Tara, Eugene proved himself to be slowly quite capable. "I won't argue with that," Eugene agreed with me subtly.
Gently placing my hand on his shoulder, I eventually left him and Abraham to talk before I went inside to check we had everything we needed for our journey.
KPOV
Being the first one to go to Maggie once night fell, when it was dark enough, that we would slip right under the Savior's radars as we hid between the trees. If we kept quick and quiet, we'd get to the Hilltop in no time, or so I hoped.
Giving my instructions, I called for the stretcher to be brought over to us as I got to my knees in front of her. "We're going to get you to the Hilltop," I said softly to Maggie who was slowly losing consciousness and I held her hand in mine.
With a soft little grasp and grumble, I knew Maggie was welcoming of the hopeful message. "Everyone, be gentle," I encouraged those who decided to help me shift Maggie onto the stretcher.
From dad, Sasha and to Aaron, we all had decided to help move Maggie onto the stretcher. "On three?" Aaron suggested as he put his hands under Maggie.
Doing the same, I nod and felt Maggie wriggle over my arms. "Ready?" I asked around at those who were helping me with this task. "One," I began to count. "Two," I gave everyone a clear countdown. "Three," on this number, we all shifted her onto the stretcher.
Carl had been the one to push it under her so Maggie would be comfortable once we stood up with her being carried on it. "We got you," I reassured Maggie that we were going to keep her safe. "Let's go," I told them all.
Shuffling out of the RV, I had caught Abraham and Eugene talking to each other, sharing a moment with one another. "Thank you," Maggie stared up at Eugene, who had placed his hand on her shoulder gently.
As we all carried her into the woods, dad slowed down. "Abraham, swap with Kat," dad ordered, all whilst we left poor Eugene off on his mission to drive the RV to his destinations. The thought of leaving him behind was saddening to think of.
"We need you to fight them off, you and your brother," dad instructed us of what he wanted us to do. "Your our best shot right now and you can keep things quiet," was my father's excuse for wanting me to fight instead of carry Maggie.
Dad's eyes looked at mine seriously. "We need quiet," was his ultimate excuse for wanting me for this job.
Abraham was already there, waiting and ready to take Maggie from me and from Sasha too. "Okay," I accepted my father's attempts to get me to let Maggie go.
CPOV
Running towards a walker, I swung my machete down on it and saw another take a few steps closer to dad. Instantly, an arrow came flying out of the air and into its skull. Kat took out the arrow and stored it away back into her bow.
We were ready, fighting and getting Maggie there as soon as we could. Slowing my walk, I caught up with dad and Kat at his side. "I heard what you told her when we were leaving," I began the conversation with my father this way.
"We can do anything, 'cause we'll do anything we need to do. We have and we will," I agreed with the words my father said earlier. "What happened to Denise, I'm not gonna let anybody die like that again," I was determined to keep this promise.
I wasn't going to let anyone else get captured, not like Kat and Maggie had been either. "Son..." dad spoke up but my eye was on the road ahead.
Turning my head to look at dad, I wondered what he'd say. Kat had a sad smile on her lips but her eyes had glanced to the floor for a moment. "What?" I asked but suddenly, men whistling in the distance could be heard.
Slowly, we were getting surrounded. I saw how Kat had her bow up, ready to shoot but there were too many of them, whistling from all around us. There's too many of them.
There was no time for discussions. "Go! Go!" Kat ordered as we began sneaking through the woods the best we could. Running for a few steps, Kat stayed close beside me, but dad soon overtook us.
All the whistling, it didn't stop and as soon as we got to a small clearing, a set of bright lights flashed on and blinded me. "Ah!" I yelled as I tried to cover the light from my eye using my hand.
Panting, we were surrounded, whistles came from everywhere, all of them were whistling as too many surrounded us. It was a whole army. Bigger than ours and the Hilltop's combined. They approached from the shadows, waiting for us.
The RV was placed at the end, none of us knew what to do. No one could shoot, not even Kat, as we all paced and circled each other to protect one another. There's too many.
Eventually, the same guy appeared from before, stepping out from the shadows. Could this be Negan? As soon as my eyes landed on Eugene, who was on his knees and sobbing, I knew we were screwed.
Something bad is about to happen, I can feel it. "Good. You made it," the guy greeted us as he approached us slowly. "Welcome to where you're going," he welcomed us with false friendliness.
"We'll take your weapons. Now," the guy demanded while he pulled a gun on us and there was no way we could say no to him now.
Dad was panting, the gun was raised at me, proving that me or Kat, were dad's biggest weaknesses. "We can talk about-" dad went to plead with the guy but this guy had a look in his eyes. He doesn't care.
The guy wasn't having any of it. "We're done talking. Time to listen," the guy then began ordering them to take our weapons.
The moment one of the guys tugged on Kat's bow, she went to grasp it and only those of us that knew Kat, knew why. "Please, not my bow," she begged as she went to hold it. "It's-" she paused when she saw the guy approach her.
The same guy who had his gun pointed at me, went to confront my sister. "It's all I've got left of my mother..." she explained why she wanted that bow so.
Sincerity shook in her voice and I imagined the guy could hear it. "You see, that's not up to me," the guy responded back to her. "If you're good, maybe Negan will let you have it back," he thought about it after a few seconds of silence.
Gradually, the guy walked over to me, when one of the guys took my gun from me. The same one I had hid in the back of my pants. When they found it, they handed it to him to show him.
The guy inspected the gun with a sly smirk. "That's yours, right?" he asked me but I didn't answer him. Instead, I looked him directly in the eyes. "Yeah, it's yours," he said before flicking my cap with his finger.
I wanted to punch this guy. "Okay. Let's get her down and get you all on your knees," the guy announced to us. "Lots to cover," he made it seem like we were going to be having a great time talking business.
Already, I knew these guys were going to be awful to us. "Hold up. We got it," Abraham said as everyone went to help Maggie down.
"Sure, sure," the guy went along with it. Aaron, Abraham, Sasha and dad guided Maggie down onto the ground. Kat had been there to help bring Maggie to her feet but eventually, Maggie used dad and Abraham for support as they helped guide her to her knees.
RPOV
Being surrounded like this, these people had numbers, they were ruthless and would always try to scare us until they felt stronger than us. Unable to fight with such low numbers and with a more important task at hand, I had to submit.
I had to do as I was told, to avoid danger to my kids and to avoid danger to Maggie. While we carried Maggie, we got her to her knees and the others tugged Eugene over before forcing him to get onto his knees.
Turning, I found the same guy stood there, watching me. Standing tall, he stared at me directly in the eyes. "Gonna need you on your knees," he ordered once more. It took me a few minutes to process the situation.
I can't fight. I can't kill him. I can't kill all of them on my own. We couldn't kill all of these on our own and I can't risk Maggie, Kat or Carl like this. Looking to my children, Kat had planted herself between Sasha and Aaron. The line so far had gone Abraham, Maggie, myself, Sasha, Kat, Aaron, Carl and Eugene.
Getting to my knees slowly, I couldn't fight them and I couldn't risk losing anyone. Lowering myself, caused the others to follow my example as we all got to our knees for them. These bunch of assholes...they're sick in the head.
DPOV
It was so dark, so small in what felt like a metal box to us. Instead, it was a van we'd been shoved into with bullet holes that had a little bit of light seep into it. The light was far too bright to be daytime, or so I thought.
Feeling the pain in my arm, it still hurt but I was numbing to that pain. "Dwight!" I heard a voice yell.
"Yeah," I heard that prick's voice call back.
"Chop-chop," the voice from before said as footsteps approached the van.
Dwight's face was the first one we saw the second the doors were opened. The bright light was hard to adjust to straight away but eventually, we would. "Come on," he said to us. "You got people to meet," he teased as he dragged me out first.
Wrapped in a blanket to keep me warm, from the blood-loss, I couldn't fight, not with my arm and not with the numbers that tossed me onto the ground to kneel beside Abraham. Next was Michonne, then Rosita and then Glenn.
I could hear Glenn grunting as he fought against their tugging and forceful dragging. My eyes met with Kat's and my heart stopped for a second. Everyone I knew, was here. Maggie, Abraham, Eugene, Aaron, Carl, Rick, Sasha and most importantly, Kat.
When our eyes met, I noticed everything about her, she had been sweating, possibly from running, her eyes were hard but full of fear. Her hair was stuck to her face, her hair tie falling out, holding on to its last legs.
Seeing Kat like this, especially with no bow, was not something I was used to out here. These assholes took her bow. "Maggie?" I heard Glenn say. Shying my gaze, I focused my eyes on the ground and stayed still.
Dwight shoved Glenn onto the ground as he was crawling. "On your knees!" he ordered, the couple sad to see each other in this circumstance. What is going on?
A face I hadn't seen took the centre stage as we were all put to our knees now. "Alright!" the man guy yelled. "We got a full boat. Let's meet the man," he said strolling over to the RV and knocking on the door.
RPOV
Daryl, he looked to be injured and the others, looked to be terrified after the time they had spent under their captivity. Seeing them here, was half expected and half not. At least they're alive.
As soon as the knock on the door sounded, footsteps approached out of the RV and when the door swung open, my eyes were glued to the figure that came out. A man, in leather, with a baseball bat resting on his shoulder. A huge cocky grin was the thing he wore the most, or so I assumed.
I've met so many guys like these in my time as a cop. He's an egoistic asshole. "Pissing our pants yet?" he asked us playfully. "Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close. Yep. It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon," he joked.
"Which one of you pricks is the leader?" the leather clad guy had asked out to us as he pointed to us.
Not raising my voice, I didn't feel the need to talk to anyone. They guy didn't even close the door of our RV, instead, he left it open and strolled straight to us. "It's this one. He's the guy," the man said from earlier, the one who had been taunting us all day.
The man was close to me, his eyes landing on me with a soft sigh and took a few steps towards me. "Hi," he greeted me. "You're Rick, right?" he asked me. "I'm Negan," he introduced himself proudly.
"And I do not appreciate you killing my men," he informed me. "Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool," he made a huge list of things he didn't like into one sentence or two. "Not cool," he repeated.
"You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly," he was sure about this statement as he said it. "Yeah," he whispered whilst he thought to himself. "You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes," his confidence was sickening to hear.
The more he spoke, the more arrogant he appeared. "Yes, you are," he sounded pleased by this whilst he smiled.
"You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple," he was beginning to give me a speech. "So, even if you're stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it," he tried to mock me.
"You ready?" he gave me yet another rhetorical question. "Here goes. Pay attention," his baseball bat came down to get close to my face. Dodging it, I noticed it had barbed wire tied around it.
The look on my face, how I dodged it, looked to have amused him. "Give me your shit...or I will kill you," this was the agreement. One I was refusing, even now. "Today was career day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do," he was now moving away from me.
The more he spoke, he was so cocky, so confident and awfully charming. "You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now, I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly will," he laid down the law for us.
No longer was he talking to just me, but to all of us. "You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe. I get it," he tried to understand us, understand me.
"But the word is out. You are not safe. Not even close," he eyed me. "In fact, you are pegged, more pegged if you don't do what I want. And what I want is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later," this was the deal he kept giving us.
Every word he said, made me want to break his jaw more and more as words filtered out. "This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be," he warned us, his arms outstretched confidently.
"So, if someone knocks on your door..." Negan then chuckled. "...you let us in," this was what we would have to do. "We own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down," this was the only other option if we didn't welcome them in.
He had been waving his baseball bat in front of me, trying to intimidate me. Honestly, I felt more relief that it was me and not anyone else he tried waving that thing around in front of them. Especially not my kids.
"You understand? What, no answer?" Negan would ask me but I didn't wish to respond to him because all I could do, was want to retaliate against him. I've already made a deal with the Hilltop. I can't go against that word.
His hand had come up to his ear before he leaned back playfully. "You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished, now, did you?" Negan questioned us. "I don't want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go," he told the others around me.
Keeping my eyes down, I needed to focus. We needed a way out of this. "I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're dead, now, can you?" this was the excuse he was giving us. He was enjoying this power far more than he should.
It just emanated off of him that he was enjoying this act of weakness, act of submission to him. "I'm not growing a garden," Negan told us. "But you killed my people, a whole damn lot of them. More than I'm comfortable with," he was excusing himself for what he'd do next.
"And for that, for that you're gonna pay," he announced to us. "So, now...I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you," his voice was low. His tone was dark.
For a second, I was convinced he got off on this. "This-" he gestured to the baseball bat he had in his grasp after spinning it and doing stupid tricks with it. "This is Lucille, and she is awesome," he introduced me to his bat.
"All this, all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor," he declared to us like this was a blessing. Sarcastic piece of sh-...
CPOV
Walking around us, Negan had mostly been trying to intimidate my father, tried to bring him down from the strength he had within. Inspecting his line up, he'd inhaled sharply before he stopped in front of Abraham.
Abraham stood taller, staring up at Negan and showing him he wasn't going to bend easily. "Huh," Negan appeared amused as he stroked his facial hair. "Ugh, I gotta shave this shit," he was referring to his stubble.
Approaching me next, Negan stopped in front of me and pointed at me. "You got one of our guns," Negan stated a fact as I glared up at him. So far, I hated him. He was cocky, ignorant and too sarcastic that it was almost sickeningly charming.
Crouching down to my level, he looked me directly in the eye. "Whoa. Yeah," Negan seemed shocked to see what I turned out to look like. "You got a lot of our guns," he told me. "Shit, kid, lighten up," he encouraged from me as he looked me straight in the eye.
"At least cry a little," this was the last thing Negan said to me before he got to his feet and chuckled to himself. Asshole.
DPOV
Getting to his feet, he chuckled and fixed his clothes. "Ahem," Negan cleared his throat as he went down the line again. So far, he hadn't noticed Kat yet but he was still inspecting those he walked by.
Stopping in front of Maggie, she had a haircut since the last time I saw he this morning and she looked to be sick. "Jesus. You look shitty," Negan remarked while he stood before Maggie. "I should just put you out of your misery right now."
This caused Glenn to jump out of the line up, trying to stop Negan from touching Maggie as he raised his bat to hit her. Negan stopped, but Dwight had already pulled him back and onto the ground.
Maggie yelled, begging for Dwight to stop it. Aiming my crossbow directly at Glenn, he laid not a few meters away from Maggie. Shit. I hope this doesn't happen to me and Kat. "Nope. Nope, get him back in line," Negan ordered.
Once Glenn had been dragged back to his spot, he begged for Negan not to hurt her and Negan only laughed, a huge grin upon his face. "Alright, listen. Don't any of you do that again," Negan ordered of us.
"I will shut that shit down, no exceptions," he informed us but I didn't know if he had the balls to do that. "First one's free," he granted us. "It's an emotional moment, I get it," he pointed to Glenn, understanding the desperation he had to save his wife.
Glancing at Kat, she had been grasping onto her thighs, her eyes gazed back at me briefly. She tried to hold our gaze but I could tell she thought the same as me. He better not dare hurt her either. He better not hurt Kat.
As much as I didn't care what happened to me, I knew Kat cared what happened to me. But she had four main people to care about here. Rick, Carl, Michonne and me. She would put herself in danger if it meant protecting us.
KPOV
How Negan spoke, how he taunted us, threatened us, mocked us and had us with our hands completely tied, we couldn't fight. He was getting off from that. He enjoyed to see people tortured. "Sucks, don't it?" Negan asked us.
My dad was trembling, not knowing how to process it. Not knowing what to do in a situation like this. We can't fight him here. We're surrounded. We need to be smart and we can't mess up again.
What I was also trying to gear myself up for, was a death and I was thinking the worst. "The moment you realize you don't know shit," Negan spoke pointedly to my trembling father.
His eyes drifted past me, to Carl and lingered on him. Approaching him, with the bat pointing to my brother, it took everything in me not to get up, grab the bat and hit him with it. He better not hurt my brother.
"This is your kid, right?" he asked, laughing as he approached my brother. "This is definitely your kid," he glanced between my father and him. Our family, we looked alike, that much was obvious. From our hair colour, to our eyes, we were a Grimes, through and through.
Feeling my body shiver when I saw him get closer with the bat, how he smiled down at him, all I could imagine was him hurting my brother. "Leave him alone!" I yelled at him, my voice far stronger than it needed to be.
"What did I just say?!" Negan yelled at me. His bat pointing directly at my face, the closer he got, the lower he moved it away from me.
His footsteps were quick but fell short when he saw my face. My eyes glued to him. "Wait a god damn minute," his voice had softened.
"So this is your daughter. Kat, right?" Negan asked my father as he glanced between me, my dad and my brother. "A pretty one too," he complimented me. "She's like, a female, older, two eyed version of Carl here," he commented on my appearance.
His eyes would dart from me, my dad and my brother slowly. When they finally landed on me, he slowly crouched down to my level. "...I'm sorry I didn't notice you sooner, darlin'," he apologised.
Suddenly, Negan's gloved fingers reached for my face, his disgusting fingers tracing the sides of my face. Stroking me, to possibly get a reaction out of someone, I felt my lips twitch as I moved my face away from his touch.
"Maybe I should make her one of my wives," Negan mused as he inspected me and licked his bottom lip before biting it.
Just as disgusted as I was, so was my father. I was breathing heavily from my nose as I glared at him from the corner of my eye. "Just stop this!" dad yelled at Negan, pleading him to stop taunting him with me or my brother's lives at risk.
Negan, didn't like that one bit. "Hey!" Negan yelled over him. "Do not make me kill the little future serial killer or my future baby momma," Negan warned, using me and my brother as a threat.
Trembling, the thought of Carl dying, was not one I wanted to picture. Please don't do this. "Don't make it easy on me," he pleaded. "I gotta pick somebody," he made it seem like this was necessary.
"Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order," Negan joked while glancing at all of us. Whistling as he moved, he inspected all of us. "I simply cannot decide," he told us with a chuckle. "I got an idea," he informed us without telling us the said idea.
His chuckle was dark, as I saw him stare at my father. Don't kill my dad either. "Eenie...meenie...miney...mo...catch...a tiger...by...his toe. If...he hollers...let him go," Negan walked around, pointing the bat at each our faces as he moved around randomly.
"My mother...told me...to pick the very best one...and you...are...it," he announced, pointing it straight in front of someone I couldn't have believed he had chosen. The second the bat landed on him, I knew that was it.
There was going to be hell to pay and a lot of tears were going to roll down our faces as we were left defenceless. "Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start," Negan ordered of his men.
"You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry," Negan was being nice enough to allow us to do this. "Hell, you're all gonna be doing that..." Negan was sure of this as he then rose his bat to whack him in the head.
I couldn't look away, for fear that if I missed anything, they'd hurt someone else. And as I heard the thump, I felt my heart stop for the soul we had lost. No...
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. Or...semi liked it. I don't know. Anyway, seeing as this is the finale...please. Please. Please. Don't make me go Negan. Screw it. I'm going Negan. Give me 10 reviews or no more chapters until I am good and ready.
This is the season 6 finale, we're moving into season 7 territory now. ALL I ASK FOR IS 10 REVIEWS. OTHERWISE, NO MORE CHAPTERS WILL BE POSTED UNTIL THEY ARE RECEIVED. WHICH CAN BE AS SOON AS TOMORROW, AGAIN!
Questions you can answer in the 10 reviews:
1) What did you think of this chapter?
2) Favourite scene?
3) What did you think about the Kat and Maggie moments?
4) What did you think about Kat and Negan's first encounter? Everything you hoped for?
5) What do you want to see happen in season 7 of this story?
Until those 10 reviews are posted...
Much love,
HeroJustInTime90
