Author's Note: This is the longest I've ever gone without an update. I have just been extremely busy lately and also unsure of which direction I wanted to take the story in. Thank you for being patient and taking the time to view and review my stories. It's greatly appreciated. And if you have some suggestions about where the story could go I'll read those too. Just know, in the next few chapters this story is about to get crazy!

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After the funeral, Michonne and Rick had come home immediately to put Joy, Judy, and Omega to bed as it was late. Enid and Carl stayed around to comfort people afterwards as expected, especially with Carl now being the leader of Hilltop.

Michonne mentioned she was feeling a bit sore, so as she took a hot shower, Rick tucked all three children into their sheets, and Judy excitedly reminded Rick that it was her turn to pick the story tonight. Rick was shocked that the children were unfazed by the violence and death that surrounded them. Today, despite everything that happened, was just another day in the reality that was their life.

"What story would you like to hear Judy?" Rick asked, clearing a piece of loose hair from her face.

"Tell me what Lori was like" she said.

Rick smiled. Carl had explained to Judy long ago that she and him had the same mother, Lori, and she had died when Judy was very little. They hadn't given Judy any of the more sobering details of Lori's death, that she had died giving birth to Judy, that Maggie had to cut Judy from her body, and that Carl had to shoot Lori in the head to prevent her from turning into a walker. Rick knew that Judy did deserve to know the full story at some point in her life, and wasn't looking forward to explaining it to her.

"You are a spitting image of her" Rick started. "She had dark brown hair just like you, she had brown eyes just like you, and she was very beautiful, just like you."

Judy nodded, staring into Rick's eyes. "Was she brave like mommy?" she asked.

Rick thought for a moment, truly considering Judy's question. "Yes. Yes, she was brave just like mommy" Rick replied. Rick thought back to Lori's decision to continue with her pregnancy, knowing that the future was unpredictable, and begging Maggie to give her a C-section with no anesthesia, knowing it would kill her, just to save her baby. Lori may not have been a fighter, but she was brave.

"She was brave in her own way, and she tried her hardest to protect Carl, and you."

"Did Lori have me too?" Joy asked, causing Rick to chuckle.

"No Joyjoy, you were in mommy's belly, just like this new baby is".

"Daddy, is Lori with Jesus now?" Judy asked. The question stunned him, and for a moment he didn't understand which Jesus she was speaking of, but he realized she meant Jesus the person.

"I don't know" he answered honestly, "but I hope so."

"My mommy is with them too" Omega offered softly, startling Rick who almost forgot he was there.

"I bet she is" Rick said, patting Omega's arm. "Ok, time to go to sleep now. Goodnight."

Rick turned off the light in the living room, and made his way to the bathroom where Michonne was, and he could hear the water running. He knocked once and then opened the door. She was in the shower, the warm water creating steam that fogged up the mirror.

He quickly undressed, resting his gun on the sink, next to her katana which she always had with her because of the young children in the house.

He moved the shower curtain and slowly entered the shower. She was standing under the spray, her waist length locs dripping water that continued in streams down her naked body. He could immediately tell she wasn't ok.

He turned her around and her eyes were closed. Despite the water from the shower he could see tears streaming down her face.

"Come here" he said, pushing her up against his chest, "let it out". She wrapped her arms around his waist and silently cried into his chest. He held her, not speaking a word. Rick knew that she was close to Jesus, more so than he was. She had respected how Jesus had taken Carl and Enid under his wing when they had first moved to Hilltop, and she felt indebted to him and Ezekiel for helping Rick save her when she was kidnapped by Negan.

After a few moments she spoke. "It's not just Jesus and the others we've lost today, it's just everything. We're never going to be safe. There will always be danger and I fear for this baby. I fear for Judy and Joy and Carl and Enid and their baby too. And Omega… Gregory won't rest until we give him back. And after what Gregory was saying at the meeting… I just have a bad feeling. This isn't over, and I feel like our family is in danger."

She sighed, but Rick knew she wasn't done.

"I told Enid that the risks of having a baby now was worth the benefits. I believed it when I said it to her, but… I dunno… I'm older now, older than I was when I had Joy, and the older you are the more risks. I could die."

"Michonne…" Rick started.

"No. Rick." She said, looking into his eyes. "I could. It's a possibility. I know that. That wouldn't stop me anyway. I don't know what point I'm trying to make. I just have a lot of things going through my head right now."

Rick reached down and placed both hands on Michonne's large belly. "I know you're scared. I know we're not safe. I know there are risks with you having this baby. I do know that. But all we can do is our best… Judy just asked me about Lori, she asked me if Lori was brave like you."

Michonne looked up at Rick, her eyes wide. "I told her yes, that Lori was brave like you. She did everything she could to bring Judy into this world. She died for Judy, and I know you have that same spirit. Our children will be ok because we both have that spirit."

Michonne rubbed her hands over her belly and nodded. Rick gently turned her around and reached for the soap, rubbing it on Michonne's back and legs which he knew she couldn't reach. When he went to massage her back she moaned.

"That feels so good. I've been sleeping on a couch for 3 days, I don't know how much more I can take. It's like a torture device."

Rick chuckled, "Imagine the floor"

"Imagine having a bowling ball strapped to your belly 24/7 that also is pressing on your lungs and bladder" Michonne threw back.

Rick knew when to shut up. "Yea, you win".

After the shower, Michonne and Rick waited in the kitchen for Enid and Carl to come home as the children slept in the living room. When Enid finally arrived without Carl, Rick was immediately on alert.

"Where's Carl?" he asked. Enid angrily flipped her hair from her face. "He went to Gregory's house for a meeting. I told him not to, but he wouldn't listen."

"Gregory's house?" Michonne said, shocked that Carl would even consider it. "A meeting about what?"

"Gregory wants to share power with Carl. I guess so they can be co-leaders or something like that. It's bullshit if you ask me." Enid said, plopping into a chair.

Rick agreed. "When did he go to this meeting?" Rick asked.

"Maybe 15 minutes ago?" Enid asked.

"If he's not back here in a half hour, I'm going to get him." Rick said.

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Carl could hear the crunching of leaves around his head. It was so loud, as if the crunching was coming from inside his head. The sound confused him. He shouldn't hear leaves in his bedroom. Without opening his eye, he moved his hands to reach over to touch Enid, and realized his hands were tied.

His eye snapped open, that realization shocking his brain as if someone had dumped cold water on him.

Gregory… poisoned me…

The area that he was in was fairly dark and full of shadows. It was hard for him to see, partly because of the dark and partly because the poison was still affecting his eye somewhat. He could tell he was outside, in the forest. He could smell mud and dirt, and fresh air, and fire. There was a fire nearby. He spotted it a few feet away, the orange flames looking like a blur to his eyes. He tried to locate the source of the crunching he'd heard and jumped almost out of his skin when a walker appeared in front of him.

He let out a yelp and tried to move backwards but realized his legs were tied too.

"Calm" a female voice whispered. "Be quiet".

Carl immediately realized it was a walker person, and he simultaneously noticed the other walker people that were in the forest around him. Dozens of them. The only way he knew they weren't real walkers was because many of them were huddled around the fire or sharpening weapons.

"How did I…" Carl began to ask, but a kick to his face quickly interrupted his sentence. "Be quiet!" the woman hissed.

She then turned to address someone Carl couldn't see. "You brought this man when I asked for the boy. You are a fool. Bring me Omega or all of you will die."

"I brought him here as a present, to cement the beginning of our business relationship. This man is in charge of Hilltop now. One of your spears killed the former leader. And also, your Omega is living in his house." With those words, Alpha's eyes snapped to Carl's.

"But this isn't all just for you, I need something in return". Carl's blood ran cold when he recognized the voice of Gregory. Carl blinked his eye trying to focus, but the darkness shrouded Gregory.

"I am not interested in a business relationship" the woman who Carl figured was Alpha whispered. "I want only Omega, and I will be on my way. What you get in return is your life. And if you speak any louder, the walking ones will come for you, and you will lose that as well."

Gregory stepped forward slightly so that he could whisper, and the firelight finally lit up his face. Carl could also see the silhouettes of the two people who had dragged him away after he fainted.

That lying piece of shit is trying to bargain with her using me. I'll cut his throat.

"Alpha, we both need something. You need that little runt back, and I need this kid dead. Now we can both get what we want. You stroll up to those gates, tell them if they don't return Omega you'll kill their leader, and of course they don't return Omega, and of course you kill him. My problem is solved, and in the eyes of my people, I'm blameless about his death. Then, I'll use the secret tunnel that I built to kindly return the brat, and you can be on your way. We're both happy." Gregory explained calmly.

So that's how he thinks he'll get into power?

Carl chuckled softly and both Gregory and Alpha turned to him. "You're pathetic" Carl said. "No way that's gonna work. You think no one will notice Omega just disappeared? You think you're getting out of this alive?" Carl said to Gregory. "Even if you kill me, if you go back in there my family will fucking kill you 10 times before you hit the ground. You're over Gregory".

Gregory smiled. "We'll see".

He turned back to Alpha. "Do we have a deal?"

Although Alpha's face was hidden behind a mask of walker skin, her body language dripped with disdain for Gregory.

"You are a coward for drugging this man, and a fool for searching for this camp. I have no respect for you and I'm tempted to kill you now." She paused and seemed thoughtful. "But if what you say will get Omega back, I will consider it. Send a messenger in the morning and I will give you my answer. But your messenger must find us. We don't stay in one camp long."

Gregory nodded and smiled. He then stuck out his hand to shake Alpha's but she coldly stared at it. Unfazed, he gave her a fake, used car salesman smile, turned, and walked away with Timothy and the other man trailing behind him.

Alpha immediately turned to another walker person. "Beta" she whispered, and nodded her head in the direction Gregory went. A woman much taller than Alpha, bowed quickly and moved off in the same direction as Gregory.

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Rick paced around the kitchen waiting for Carl to come home. It was almost 30 minutes later. Rick's pacing put Enid on edge.

"Screw this, I'm going" she said, standing up from her chair.

"Enid…" Rick started.

"I'm going!" she said again.

Rick nodded, he knew he couldn't stop her. "Let's go."

The two of them left the house and headed straight for Gregory's. When they got there, Rick pounded on the door. One of Gregory's followers opened the door.

"Where's Carl?" Enid asked impatiently. "Carl? Um… I don't…"

"Where's Gregory?" Rick asked.

"He… he stepped out a few…"

Rick, not listening anymore, barged into the house. The people inside stared at him. "Where's my son?" he asked.

Yana, who had opened the door earlier, said "He left a little while ago Rick. He's not here."

"Where did he go?" Enid asked.

"I would assume home" Yana said, looking genuinely confused.

Rick and Enid exchanged a glance.

"Where's Gregory?" Rick asked again.

"He just left a little while ago" another man said.

"To go where?" Rick asked, tilting his head in annoyance that he had to keep asking questions.

"Didn't say, but I don't think he'd be too happy with you being all up in his business." The man threw out.

"We're leaving" Enid said to the gathering, trying to diffuse Rick who put his hand on his gun, "but if we don't find my husband we'll be back here. Tell Gregory that."

She turned and walked out the door, Rick reluctantly leaving with her.

"If he went home we would've passed him on the way here" Enid said.

"Ok. I'll go to the wall, see if anyone's seen him. You go to the big house. We'll meet back home after."

Enid and Rick went their separate ways.

20 minutes later they both arrived back at the house without Carl. Michonne was as close to a panic as she'd ever been. "Where did he go? He couldn't've left the gates, we're surrounded by walkers and someone would've seen him. And Gregory is missing too?"

"That son of a bitch" Rick growled. "He did something to Carl. You two stay here, keep the doors locked. I'm going back to Gregory's house, I'll be back."

Before Enid could protest, Rick said "you have that baby to worry about Enid. Sit tight… please."

She reluctantly nodded and Rick left, ready to get the information he needed.

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Gregory and his crew smugly left Alpha's camp. He had followers everywhere, and one of them on Hilltop's defense team had given him an idea of where the Walker People could be setting up camp. He was skilled at using stolen medicine from the infirmary to use as poison, and he had done it before. He just couldn't believe that Carl had actually agreed to meet him and was stupid enough to drink the tea he'd offered.

After Carl was unconscious, Timothy and Maxwell had taken Carl to the basement of the big house, where Gregory had created a secret tunnel that led out of the walls long ago, in case he ever had to escape from Negan. He and the two men with him were the only ones who knew about it, the tunnel workers having "mysteriously" come down with an illness that killed them. They had brought Carl out there to see if Alpha would work with them. Gregory was confident she would, and if she didn't, well… at least Carl was gone.

They walked for a few miles until they reached the back yard of a small house, where the tunnel entrance led to. The hole was covered with a junk car and hidden behind wild shrubbery. Anyone who didn't know it was there would probably walk by. The three men cautiously checked their surroundings to make sure no one was watching. They then laid on their stomachs and pulled themselves underneath the junk car, lowering themselves into the hole that lay beneath.

When the last man had disappeared under the car, Beta smiled to herself from the tree she'd been hiding in.

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As Carl sat on the ground under a tree, he rubbed the rope binding his hands against the rough tree bark hoping he could fray the rope. To his dismay it seemed very steady. As discreetly as he could, he searched the dirt around himself for something sharp to cut the rope with. Alpha suddenly appeared behind him, watching him struggle with the bindings.

"So you are the Alpha of your town now. Hmmph… I don't understand why they would follow you." She said skeptically.

She slowly made her way to the front of Carl. "A young boy, barely growing a mustache. Why are you Alpha?" she asked.

"You don't wanna find out" Carl hissed, sitting up as straight as he could with his bindings.

Alpha's eyes bore into his through her skin mask. "You have been injured. A battle wound perhaps?" she asked, nodding at Carl's eye patch. He glared at her and it only made her more curious.

"No matter. Return Omega to me and I won't kill you or your people." She said.

"He's not going back to you. You abused him. You don't deserve him."

"You know nothing about him" Alpha responded. "He is being made strong. He will not be weak like the rest of you. Hiding behind walls, eating dinner at tables. He was born wild. He will stay wild. And he will return to his people" she said, crouching down in front of Carl.

Carl stared back, not saying anything.

Alpha took out a long, extremely sharp knife from her scabbard and brandished it in Carl's face. His eyes involuntarily followed the knife as it crossed his face, and then went back to her eyes.

"I want nothing from you or your people but Omega. The man that brought you here, he is a coward. I have met many cowardly men, and I recognize them immediately. I don't want to align myself with him, but I will to get what I want". She pressed the knife under Carl's neck, pressing against his throat. They stared at each other for a few seconds, when Alpha suddenly plunged the knife into Carl's shoulder.

Carl let out a surprised roar at the sudden pain, but he quickly composed himself, huffing to breathe through the agony. He willed his eyes to stare at her again.

You won't break me. I won't do what you want. Fuck you.

She seemed slightly surprised that he didn't have more of a reaction to getting stabbed. She took her knife and slowly slid it across his cheek, drawing blood. He jerked his head away from her angrily, and she chuckled. She wiped her knife off on Carl's shirt and leaned in closer to his face. He noticed she smelled like she hadn't washed in months, maybe years. He was nauseated.

"If you do not return Omega, you will not survive" she said.

"If you and your people don't leave now, you won't survive" Carl said through his pain.

Alpha smiled. She sat in front of Carl and folded her legs under her like she was getting ready to tell a story. Carl couldn't shake the bizarreness of this moment. He still got the feeling that he was talking to a walker.

"I said that I have met many cowardly men, and I can recognize them immediately. I can see that you are not one of them. We are not around strange men often, we stay far from them. They bring only trouble and weakness…"

Carl's head was spinning. Does this mean all the walker people are women?

Alpha seemed to read his mind. "The lowers are men who travel with us, they are not our equals. They stay because they need protection, they help us herd the walking ones… and they suit our needs."

Carl tried not to hide his surprise, but his eye must have given it away.

"You find this strange? That we keep the lowers to pleasure us?" Alpha asked "Is this not what is being done to women in most places nowadays? They are kept as trophies or possessions through intimidation or coercion, by weak men."

Carl was going to protest that what she was saying wasn't true, but he thought back to Negan and his many wives, forcing women to sleep with him in order to protect the ones they loved. Negan had even temporarily made Michonne his wife, and would have sealed the deal if he and Rick didn't show up when they did. But people like Negan, and even the Governor, they weren't the majority. They couldn't be.

"It's not like that in our town. We don't use anyone. Everyone contributes and is treated equally. We are allied with other towns," Carl added, trying to warn Alpha that they had backup, "that have the same philosophy. It isn't right to use anyone."

Alpha was thoughtful for a moment. "The old ways, of living in towns, in houses. Those ways are dead. The only way to survive is to be what we are. Animals. A pack. A tribe. The Alpha, and those that follow."

Carl tried to move himself to a better position as his stabbed shoulder was throbbing relentlessly. He grunted as a sharp pain went through his arm.

"You are surrounded, if you try anything you will be killed and we will release another group of the walking ones on your town" Alpha said, and before Carl could respond she went behind him and cut his arms free. He immediately pressed his hand against his bleeding shoulder.

"Thank you" he said as Alpha stood over him.

There was silence for a little, and then Carl asked "Why do you care about Omega so much? He told me he was the lower. I'm guessing that's the lowest ranking person here. So if he was so low, why do you care if he stays with us? Some of your people got killed, and you're using up your walkers trying to get him back. Why not just let him go?"

"He is my blood" Alpha admitted. "He is mine."

"Yours?" Carl asked, intrigued. "He's your son?"

Alpha's eyes bore into Carl's and for a moment he thought she might attack him again.

"He is not my son… In the beginning, I was with my sister. We survived together, for months, alone. We came across a group who welcomed us, fed us, we let our guard down like fools. When we trusted them, they raped us, a gang of them. They held us prisoner for weeks and had us whenever they wanted."

Alpha paused, and Carl could see tears welling up in her eyes. When she saw that he noticed, her eyes suddenly changed and he could see a harshness there.

"They thought we were weak. That we would give up, but we bided our time. We waited until they untied us again, and we slaughtered them all, with our bare hands. With our teeth and fingernails, and our skill and wit. We picked them off one by one and destroyed them. And we never trusted men again. We stole their weapons, and as we traveled, we liberated women from other camps. Women who were being raped and used by men, and they joined us. We taught them not to be weak, to be wild and savage. We used the walking ones as protection from men who would harm us. We found that when we looked and smelled like them they would think we were them. My sister was the one who made the first mask."

Carl was fascinated by the story, but as he listened his eyes scanned his surroundings, looking for a way to get out of this situation alive.

"My sister discovered she was pregnant with the child of one of our rapists. We would have killed it while it was inside of her, but we had no means to do so. She had been my Beta, my second in command, but with the pregnancy she had become weak. Unable to hunt. She became the first lower. She stayed back and served the strong. When it was time for her to give birth she was left on her own in the woods to deliver by herself. If she survived she was strong. If she did not, she was weak."

"You left your sister to have a baby out in the woods?" Carl asked in disbelief.

"She survived. As did the infant. She came back to us, and proved her standing as Beta. But the child was a liability. The crying attracted the walking ones. She would often have to find an abandoned house to sleep in away from the rest of us."

Carl could see emotion in Alpha's eyes, through her mask of skin. He could tell that this story was hard for her to tell, and he wondered why she was opening up to him, of all people.

"When the child was older, my sister became angry with the way I led the group. She believed I was too brutal in my beliefs, and she feared for her son's future with us. She wanted us to be like your town. She wanted us to live in houses and pretend that we aren't animals. The boy had made her weak. Soft. She challenged me."

"And you killed her… Omega's mother. Your sister." Carl finished.

"I am Alpha, I can be challenged at any time. If I don't win, I don't deserve my place."

"So you made your own nephew your slave and beat him, and now you want him back?" Carl spat, the pain from his wound making him angry.

"Yes. I was preparing him for this world, and what he must do. He is the lowest of the lowers. A child, with little contribution to our tribe. But one day… one day he won't be a child, and he can take his true place, he can do what his mother could not…"

Suddenly, Carl put everything together and he understood why Alpha wanted Omega back so much. She was preparing him to be leader of the Walker People. She wanted to make him strong enough so that he would one day challenge her and win. She wanted him to take her place.

Alpha could tell Carl understood what she meant. "He was born wild, he has never known the comforts of the old life. He is pure, and can lead the people in a new direction. Maybe a better direction than I could. As Alpha, I will keep and fight for my position as long as I can, but I would be honored if Omega one day takes it from me. He ran away after being harshly disciplined by one of the uppers, Epsilon, and I had Beta follow him. That was when you found him."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Carl asked her.

"I can tell you have Omega's best interest at heart, but let me be clear. I will do anything to get him back. I will kill every man, woman, and child inside of your town to find him. If you have their best interests in mind, you will return him."

And with that, Alpha stood and walked away, giving Carl time to think. As she made her way over to the fire, Beta suddenly appeared out of the woods. She bowed in front of Alpha until Alpha touched her head, telling her it was ok to speak.

"Alpha, I know where the entrance to the tunnel is. I know how to get into the town."