A/N: The Whisperers in my story will be OOC from the Whisperers in the comic book. I put my own spin on them and their story line.

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"Go get Jesus" Carl ordered one of his men, but Jesus had heard the commotion and was already on his way over.

"What's happening?" he asked immediately, looking down at the figures that looked so much like walkers.

"Send out Omega now" a female voice demanded.

"We would be happy to return the boy, but we have a few questions first" Jesus yelled. "I will come down there and talk to you, and when we're done I will give the boy back".

"I will not discuss anything. Return the boy. He is ours." Alpha demanded.

"Why is he so bruised up?" Jesus asked "And how did you find him here?"

"You will return Omega now!" Alpha said, raising her voice.

"We won't. Not until you explain what happened to him, and where you came from" Jesus responded.

"I will not leave Omega here. The deaths of your people are on your hands if you don't return him".

"Wait" Carl whispered to Jesus. "Let's ask him if he wants to go back before we start a war".

Jesus nodded. "Go ask him". As Carl turned to return to his house, Jesus yelled down to the intruders "Wait a minute".

Alpha answered, "we will wait for Omega's return".

Carl quickly ran back to the house, knowing Michonne and Enid would be on full alert. He knocked on the door, rather than barging in because he didn't want to get shot, stabbed or both.

"It's me!" he yelled.

Enid swung the door open. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Omega's people have come back to get him" Carl said quietly to Enid and Michonne. "Omega!" he called.

The boy opened the door to the bedroom and stepped out.

"Omega. Your people are here to get you. Do you want to go with them?"

The boy's eyes widened and he looked scared again. He glanced over at Judy and Joy and then back to the adults. He then shook his head no. Carl got down on a knee in front of the boy. "Why don't you want to go back? What did they do to you?" Carl asked.

The boy shook his head no again and his eyes welled up with tears.

"It's ok" Carl said. "We won't let them get you, ok? You can stay with us"

Judy came over and wrapped her arms around Omega's shoulders, patting him on the back. "It's ok. You're one of us now." she said. He wrapped his arms around her and cried.

Carl turned back towards the women and whispered "The person in charge said they'd attack if we don't return him".

Michonne sighed, running her hand down her face. "How many people do they have?"

"I can't really tell, it looks like a few dozen, but there could be more. They look like walkers... I gotta get back to the gates, but be prepared for anything. Lock the doors."

The women both nodded their heads, and Enid reached over and kissed Carl gently. "Stay safe" she said.

Michonne rubbed Carl's back as he turned to go back outside.

Carl rushed back to the gates and to Rick and Jesus who were eyeing the masked people suspiciously. They turned when they noticed him.

"Omega doesn't want to go back with them. He's terrified of them. I'm not giving him back."

Rick slowly nodded, realizing that his son was serious and had already adopted Omega as part of his family. Jesus looked apprehensive, but he also could see that Carl had made up his mind.

"Ok" Jesus said. "But what do we tell them?" He nodded towards the visitors at the gate.

"Do you mind if I talk to them?" Carl asked. Jesus shook his head and Carl moved to the end of the wall.

"Omega has said he doesn't want to go back to you. He is safe here and we will keep him as long as he wants to stay. There is no reason for our people to fight. We are interested in learning about your people. If you come in here peacefully we can talk."

The woman who called herself Alpha took a step forward. "So you refuse to return Omega to his people." She said coolly.

"He doesn't want to go back! He is terrified of you and I want to know why." Carl said angrily. "What did you do to that kid?".

Ignoring Carl, Alpha said "your fate is your own doing" she then backed away and disappeared into the trees surrounding Hilltop, her people following her until there wasn't a person in sight.

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Carl, Jesus, Rick, Michonne, and Enid all sat in Carl's kitchen after putting the children back to bed.

"We need to find out more about these people" Jesus said. "They just appeared out of nowhere and they threatened us. It seems like they have enough people to be a real threat if they get in the gates."

"And what's with the walker faces?" Enid asked. "It's just creepy".

"It could be camouflage" Michonne said "the same thing we did by covering ourselves in walker blood. So they can walk among the walkers unnoticed."

"If they're taking the time to skin walkers and wear their faces it probably means they spend a lot of time with walkers. Or else what's the point?" Rick added.

Everyone was quiet as they thought.

"We need to find out more information from Omega. He's the only one that can tell us what to expect from them." Jesus said.

"Tomorrow. We'll find out tomorrow" Carl said. "In the meantime we need to be on high alert. Our entire defense team needs to be on call tonight."

Jesus nodded. "I'll see that it happens" he said as he got up to leave.

"I'll be at the gates in a minute" Carl said. Carl turned to his family after Jesus left. "I know you guys were gonna leave today, but it might be safer if you stay put. We don't know where those people went and you don't want to meet them out on the road."

Rick nodded and Michonne sighed.

"I need to be out there tonight with my team" Carl explained.

Rick looked slightly uncomfortable. "You... you want me to go with?" He asked awkwardly. Carl smiled a little, knowing his father felt strange not being out there helping, and for not being in charge.

"No dad we got this" Carl said "you guys should get some rest, it's late."

Rick nodded his head the way he did when he felt rejected, and his face involuntarily pouted. Michonne and Carl exchanged a knowing look. They knew Rick was a little hurt his son didn't need him.

"I'll be back in the morning hun" Carl said to Enid. She nodded and he hugged her before walking out into the night.

Michonne rubbed Rick's back after Carl left. "He'll be ok" she said to him reassuringly. She looked over at Enid who was rubbing her eyes. "Go ahead back to sleep Enid" Michonne ordered her. "I know you're on infirmary duty tomorrow. We'll probably be up for a while. We'll keep watch."

Enid smiled and nodded and slowly made her way back to her room.

Michonne waddled back to the couch and slowly lowered herself on to the cushion. Rick plopped down beside her. They didn't say anything, they just held hands and waited.

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A few hours after dawn, Carl made his way back home. As he opened the door he smelled coffee and something cooking on the stove. He saw Omega and his sisters were still sleeping in the living room as he crept past them into the kitchen. Rick, Michonne, and Enid were all awake and sitting at the kitchen table. They looked up as he walked in looking exhausted.

"All clear out there" Carl said, answering the question he knew they were thinking. He plopped into a chair, and Enid poured him a cup of coffee. "Thanks babe" he responded.

All of them suddenly heard movement coming from the living room. The kids were awake. Soon Joy sleepily made her way into the kitchen still rubbing her eyes. She made her way over to Rick and laid her head on his lap.

"Mornin' sleepy head" he said. She didn't answer but she climbed into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. She wasn't a morning person.

Judy entered next, with Omega not far behind, still wearing Enid's oversized shirt. "Mornin' daddy" Judy said, giving him a hug. "Mornin' mommy" she said, going over to Michonne. She then proceeded to give everyone at the table a hug. Then, to everyone's amazement, Omega went around and hugged everyone too.

Enid and Carl looked at each other in surprise before Enid wrapped her arms around Omega and returned the hug. When Omega made his way over to Carl, Carl hugged him and felt how skinny and frail the little boy was. It seemed Omega had accepted them overnight, and realized that they really weren't going to hurt him.

After the embrace, Carl looked down at the little boy who's large brown eyes were looking back into his. "Omega" he said, "we need to talk to you, about your people. Is that ok?"

Omega didn't answer, his eyes immediately went to the floor. "It's ok to tell us. We won't send you away, we won't hurt you. You're one of us." Carl said.

The little boy's eyes slowly made his way back up to Carl's. Slowly he nodded.

Michonne quickly motioned for Judy and Joy to go back into the living room, but Judy crossed her arms and refused to go. "I want to stay here with my friend" she said stubbornly.

"I know, but you can see him after we're finished talking. Go keep an eye on your sister" Michonne said, with a tone that let Judy know there was no arguing about this.

Judy huffed and then reluctantly returned to the living room with Joy.

Carl, who was still sitting in his chair, leaned down so that he was eye level with Omega. "Where do you live?" he asked gently.

The boy glanced over at Rick, Michonne, and Enid before whispering in a hoarse raspy voice "forest". Carl was shocked at the boy's voice, it sounded as though he was unused to using it. Like he had never spoken louder than a whisper before.

"What forest?" Carl asked, but he immediately knew that was a foolish question. He doubted the boy had any maps of his home, and even if he did, he doubted he'd be able to show them where his forest was.

"Would you know how to get to your forest from here?" Rick asked. Omega shook his head.

"Where's your parents?" Carl asked Omega, who was now fidgeting with Enid's shirt that he was wearing. Omega glanced up, looking confused. He slowly shook his head no. "No parents?" Carl asked. The boy continued to shake his head no.

"Who is Alpha?" Carl asked. The boy's eyes widened and fear crept across his face. "It's ok" Carl said, "It's ok, you can tell us".

"Alpha" the boy whispered "She is Alpha. I am Omega."

Everyone else at the table had to lean forward just to hear the boy speak. Carl thought he would say more, but that seemed to be as much of an explanation as he would give.

"Is Alpha the leader of your people?" Carl asked, trying to coax more information from the frightened boy.

He nodded again. "She is Alpha".

"Did Alpha hurt you?" Carl asked.

"All the uppers hurt the lowers" Omega said.

Carl looked to the others for help. He had no idea what the boy was talking about.

"Are the uppers the people in charge?" Enid asked, slowly making her way around the table towards Omega. "Is Alpha an upper?"

Omega nodded again. "Alpha is the upper"

"And you're a… lower?" Carl asked.

"I am the lower. I serve the Alpha."

Carl breathed out loudly. He was starting to understand the kind of society this boy came from. His name, Omega, seemed to mean he was on the bottom of the social ladder. And everyone over him could pick on him. He was basically Alpha's slave boy.

"You're not lower than anybody" Carl said to Omega passionately. "No one has the right to hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you. We won't." Carl said looking around. "What they did to you was wrong. Do you understand? We will never make you serve anyone."

The boy's eyes returned to the floor.

"Omega, we will protect you. But we need to know some things about your people so that we can keep you safe. Do they carry guns like we do?" Rick asked.

"No" Omega said "We have wood weapons. We have clubs, spears, knives."

"Why do you wear masks?" Enid asked.

Omega seemed to unconsciously move his hands to his face, rubbing where the mask would be.

"Masks make us free. The walking ones let us stay with them when we have masks. It lets us be wild".

His answer once again baffled those sitting at the table.

"Do you live with the… walking ones?" Michonne asked.

The boy nodded. "Alpha says it is what we were supposed to be. We are living because we are wild with the walking ones, not tame with the living ones. She says, living ones eventually die, but walking ones live forever. Our masks make us like the walking ones. My mommy made…" Omega suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as if he realized he was talking too much. Tears bubbled up to his eyes.

Carl put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's ok. What did your mommy make?"

"Mommy made my mask" he said, his whispered voice trembling. "She made it for me before… she challenged Alpha."

Carl's heart dropped. He could tell the walker skin mask the boy was wearing probably meant a lot to him, but they had discarded it while he was in the infirmary. From the boy's words and his trembling lip Carl could guess what happened to Omega's mother.

"Will Alpha try to hurt us?" Rick asked.

"Alpha will kill anyone who challenges her" Omega said sadly.

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A few hours after the kitchen table conversation, Enid was off to the infirmary to begin her shift, and Carl after taking a two hour nap was back on wall duty to the dismay of Rick and Michonne.

"You just got here" Michonne said, taking in Carl's red exhausted eyes.

"And I'll be back" he responded, imitating her response in the days when she'd go on week long trips to look for the Governor.

She rolled her eyes. "Carl…"

"I'm ok, I have a job to do" he said stubbornly.

Michonne looked at Rick as if saying tell him something.

"When you get back, just try to get some rest" Rick said, trying his best not to order Carl around. He knew very well that Carl was a grown man, but he couldn't help worrying about his son.

"I will dad" Carl said, leaving the house.

He made his way back to the gate where the shift had just changed and many people were heading home to sleep. He caught up with an exhausted looking Jesus who looked as tired as Carl felt.

"Headed home?" Carl asked. "Yea" Jesus said, gonna catch a few hours of sleep and then I'll meet you back out here. There's been no change and no sightings of Walker People".

"Walker People?" Carl asked, chuckling.

"Yea, Mario named them. It's catching on."

Carl chuckled and lifted a hand to say goodbye to Jesus, when a yell made him spin around back to the wall.

"Walkers!" someone yelled. "Real ones… a herd!"

Carl and Jesus both climbed up on the wall to see a massive herd of walkers headed their way. There were tens of them, maybe a hundred, maybe more. There were more walkers than they had seen in the past 3 years combined.

"Oh my God" Jesus said. "Wake everyone up and tell them we're on lock down" he yelled to some of the people on the gate.

Carl turned to one of his men. "Get everyone armed and all the children in the main house until further word" he commanded. The man ran off to do what he said.

Carl turned to Jesus. "It's them, the Walker People. Omega told me they live with walkers. They can walk among them. They're probably mixed in with the crowd."

Jesus' eyes got big. "Everyone get down, we don't know what we're getting int…"

Carl looked on in horror at the spear that stuck out of Jesus' chest.