Spencer Monroe did not care he was escaping ASZ in the middle of the night, his rage carried him through the darkness with his flashlight, rifle, and knife. His mother, Deanna, had often chided him that that was his worst habit. That he would get upset and then act rashly. She warned him that this was even far more dangerous in the new world they found themselves in than in the old world where the worst he could suffer was possibly getting arrested and humiliating his mother. He heard the gurgling of a biter in the distance but didn't care as he maneuvered through the woods with only one thought.

My mother would never give in.

The thought of what Rick had said that night made him want to throw up all over the church where the meeting took place. Rick had said, in so many words, that they were going to be giving these Saviors half of their things. That Negan would be coming in a week's time to take it and that he, as their leader, didn't want to fight back against him. It was the far cry from the man who swaggered out of the same church a couple of days prior, confident that his plan would work in killing the Saviors before they got them. What bullshit.

He came to the spot, the letter D carved in the tree, and kneeled. Spencer laid his flashlight on the ground and sat in the grass, his mind running a hundred miles a minute. Everything his parents had worked for was going up in smoke and he felt impotent to do anything about it. Most of the community was in shock and dismay, but they didn't fight it. Tobin had told him that Rick knew best and if he thought that giving up the supplies would help save the community, he would back him. Tobin always was a dumbass.

Spencer grabbed his knife at the sound of crackling leaves behind him, ready for a fight with the undead, but then eased as he saw another flashlight in the distance. From the walk and the form of a sword in the darkness, he knew it was her. That it was Michonne coming to look for him again.

"Spencer? Spencer, you need to come back."

Spencer took in a deep breath, not wanting to hear her at this moment, not wanting to deal with what she had to say. She had stood up, next to Rick, to convince them it was the right plan. To just give Negan what he wanted. She had no right to come her after she disrespected her mother's memory.

"What I do is no concern of yours." Spencer barked. He glared up at her as she stood in front of him.

"I know you are upset."

"You know nothing about me. About my family. You don't belong here."

The warrior seemed exasperated and frustrated by his obstinance but he didn't care. Even Rosita stood beside Rick. Rosita who seemed like she was willing to fight for everything just simply...gave up. Gave in. The woman he had had feelings for...she gave in too.

"You have to come home. Being out here...doing whatever it is you are doing. Your mother wouldn't want this."

Spencer didn't know how he got to his feet but he did and he towered over Michonne. Her eyes held no fear, only this infuriating concern, a concern of family for family.

"There are a lot of things my mother wouldn't want. She damn sure wouldn't want a group of thugs and criminals taking over our safe haven! But what do you care about that, Michonne? Why don't you go check on that coward of a man you have and see how he wants to bend…"

The finger in his face and the widening of her eyes to deadly aim shut him up. Spencer gulped, not knowing how far he had taken her, and closed his mouth. She may have been smaller than him but he knew, for sure, that she could kill him dead without much effort on her part. And he knew that those brown eyes, hardened and sharpened to lethal purpose, was one of the last things her enemies saw before they perished from the earth.

"Rick is doing the best he can in this situation. You weren't there. You didn't see how many men Negan has. They were at least a hundred deep and armed to the teeth. You didn't see your best friend get murdered in front of you either. Don't say his name out of your mouth unless you know what you are talking about!"

She moved her finger and Spencer felt his anger become a hot coal in his chest. There has to be some way. Some way out of this.

"Maybe we could have negotiated. Maybe…"

Michonne eyes got sadder, more dimmed.

"There is no negotiation with the Saviors. It was always going to be this way."

"So we give up? You have children…" Spencer saw her flinch at this, "You want to take food out of their mouths to feed the Saviors? What happened to your fight?"

"Nothing happened to my fight. But there is a difference between being brave and being stupid and attacking the Saviors or Negan is stupid. He'd kill all of us."

"So we're slaves? We work for them now with no repayment and no end?"

Michonne took in a deep breath and looked away. Spencer backed away from her a couple of steps and then returned to his knees in front of his mother's grave, looking at the D illuminated by his flashlight.

"When we first came to this place it was horrible. We had to fight off biters what felt like day and night while they were erecting the walls. But my mother told us it was worth it. It was worth it to have our own place in the new world. That no matter how impossible it seemed that we would be the guardians of the peace. A beacon to the world."

Spencer eyes glistened with tears and he let his head down.

"I have nothing left of her now."

He felt Michonne hand on his shoulder and the quietness of the night air chill his bones.