Chapter 7-Getting home

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl and Rosita slowly and quietly walked through the woods away from the bike. "Who do you think they were?" Rosita asks.

"Don't matter," Daryl answers. "We need to stay away from them, wait a little bit and find Sasha and Abraham, radio Rick and find out where he is," Daryl tells her. "Let's take a break."

Rosita nods as she sits down by a tree and looks at Daryl's shoulder. "You're bleeding," She tells him.

"I'm fine," Daryl tells her as he sets his crossbow down and looks at her. "Thanks for coming. Glad I got someone with me I can trust."

"I'll always have your back, Dixon," Rosita tells him. "Just like I know you have mine."

Daryl nods as he grabs a bottle of water out of his back and takes a drink. He holds it out to Rosita, who takes it.

Glenn's P.O.V

Glenn and Noah were in the dumpster for about two hours. Glenn pushed the top off and looked around to see all the walkers were gone. He climbed out and looked around. Noah climbs out and looks at him. "Now what?" Noah asks.

"Heads up," They hear above them as a bottle of water hits the ground. They look up at Enid as she stares at them.

"Enid?" Noah says as he stares at the girl. Enid doesn't say anything as she moves out of their eyesight. Noah grabs the bottle, and they head into a building after the girl.

Negan's P.O.V

Negan picked up the body of one of the men and threw them in a pile as Michonne walked up to him. "You wanna do the integration now?" Negan asks her with a smirk.

"No, Rick and Daryl aren't back," Michonne says. "But I want to know without them around. So start talking."

"After I lost my wife, I kind of lost it. Beat a biker to death with this bat, and eventually, Laura, Franklin, and I came across the Sanctuary and killed the leader there. We lost Franklin in the process, and the place was a piece of shit, so I started going after communities. There was one called Hilltop. I lined them all up and beat a 16-year-old boy to death," Negan says as he looks at Michonne, who stares at him in shock. "I'm not a good man, Michonne. I know that what I did to those communities makes me a monster. But being a monster is how I survived, and I am trying to make up for that now," Negan tells her.

"Glenn told Laura and Alden that you wouldn't get kicked out, and she's right you won't. Because if what I've heard about the saviors is correct. We might need that monster," Michonne says before she walks away from him.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick looks at the herd and smiles as he sees that they are still following him. He grabs his radio. "Daryl? Abraham, does anybody copy?" Rick sighs when he hears nobody say anything back. He knew he was getting close to a good place to drop off the walkers. "If anybody is there, come back," Rick says as he sets the radio down.

Glenn's P.O.V

Glenn and Noah find Enid as she tries to leave a restaurant. "Enid, stop!" Glenn says, making the teenager stop and turn to look at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Alexandria isn't going to survive. You know it, and I know it. Those people don't know what they are doing," Enid says.

"They can learn," Noah says. "Enid, there are no places like that anymore. They are gone. Alexandria is special, and it can be saved. We need people like you who have seen the outside world. You know how to make it out here. We need people. You can't survive without them anymore. Come back with us. Let us show you that this place is worth it," Noah says. Enid stares at the two men and shakes her head.

"Good luck," She says as she turns around to leave. Glenn grabs her arm, and she withdraws her gun and aims it at him. Glenn raises his hands as Noah sets his hand on his gun. "Don't touch me," She growls.

"I understand you being hesitant, Enid. You've probably been through some shit. You have trust issues. But Noah's right. We need people like you. I need Alexandria to be safe, for my family, for me, Maggie, and our child," Glenn says, making Noah look at him in shock and Enid lower her gun. "Please, come back with us."

Enid stares for a moment before she slowly nods and holsters the gun. "Thank you, now let's get home," Noah says as they leave.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl and Rosita were about an hour away from the bike, sitting by a tree. "How'd you meet them?" Rosita asks as she looks at Daryl. "Rick and the others?"

"Rick wasn't with us at the start, but his wife and Carl were there, and his partner, Shane. Merle and I found them just after Atlanta was bombed. Been with them ever since," Daryl says as he stands up. "Let's get back to the bike. I think we've waited long enough."

Rosita nods as she follows him toward the bike.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick turned the R.V down a side road and sped up, leaving the walkers behind with a grin on his face as he started to drive towards Alexandria.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl stopped his bike outside of a building in a nearby town and looked at Abraham and Sasha as they came outside. "You okay?" Abraham asks them.

"Yeah, we're fine," Rosita says as she gets off the bike and hugs him, and Abraham hesitantly hugs her. Daryl stared at the two for a moment before he looked at Sasha.

"We found a truck. Our car was shot to hell," Sasha says. "Who were those assholes?"

"I have no idea. We avoided them and came to find you," Daryl tells her as Abraham goes to the truck and grabs an RPG out of bed. "Nice," Daryl says. "Let's get going," Daryl says as he goes to the bike with Rosita. They nod as they climb into their car.

Glenn's P.O.V

The gate of Alexandria opens, and Glenn, Noah, and Enid walk inside as Maggie and Tara run up to them and hug them. Maggie hugs Glenn, and Tara hugs, Noah. "You okay?" Glenn asks Maggie, who nods. "Rick? Daryl?"

"Aren't back yet. Come on, let's go get you cleaned up. We need to talk about Negan's group."

Glenn nods as they hear a car, and the door opens. They look at the R.V as it stops, and Rick comes out. "We did it," Rick says with a grin as Deanna comes down from watch.

"Come with me," Deanna says to Rick, who nods as she follows.

Deanna's P.O.V

Deanna, Rick, Michonne, and Negan stood in front of Deanna's house. Negan had just finished telling them the same story he told Michonne. "The saviors, can we beat them?" Rick asks.

"Not by yourself, boss," Negan says. "I thought we were waiting for Daryl."

"I'll tell him everything, and then we'll make a decision," Rick says. "You've been a great help to Alexandria, Negan. You and your people. From my understanding, a truck would have hit the wall if not for Paula and D.J., And more people would be dead if not for you guys too."

"So?"

"So I want your word," Rick says after a moment. "I don't care about what you did, who you hurt. God knows I've done the same, maybe worse. I want to know everything you've done. You'll tell Deanna and me, and you'll tell me about these other communities and the saviors. But first, I want your word. You will fight with Alexandria, no matter what comes our way."

"You have my word, Rick," Negan says. "I'm done with the saviors."

"Good, Michonne, give us a little bit. Let us know when Daryl gets back," Rick says. Michonne nods as she leaves. "Grab the camera," Rick tells Deanna, who nods as he sits down and stares at Negan.

Abraham's P.O.V

Daryl stops the bike in front of a group of men on bikes. Behind him, Abraham stops the truck. "Why don't you come on out and join us on the road?" The leader says. Daryl and Rosita climb off the bike, and Abraham and Sasha climb out of the truck. "That's great, going good right from the start," He says as they stand in front of Daryl's bike. "Now, step two, hand over your weapons."

"Why should we?" Daryl asks him.

"Well, they're not yours," The leader says.

"Whose are they?" Sasha asks.

The man takes a step forward. "Your property now belongs to Simon," He says. "Now, if you can get your hands on the good vehicles. Your people are someone our person wants to know. So let's get those sidearms, shall we," He says as he walks towards Daryl. "Right now," Daryl pulls out his handgun and hands it to him. "Thank you," He then walks to Rosita, who gives him her gun. "Thank you," He walks over to Sasha, who does the same. "Thank you," He finally stops at Abraham, who stares at him. "If you have to eat shit, best not to nibble, bite, chew, swallow, repeat, goes quicker," Abraham hands him his sidearm. "Thank you," He says as he walks back towards his bike.

"Who are you, people?" Rosita asks.

"I get the curiosity, but we have questions ourselves. We'll be the ones asking them while we drive you back to wherever it is you call home. Take a gander at where you hang your hats. First though, your shit. What have you got for us?"

"You just took it," Daryl says.

"Come on, I mean, can we not? There's more. There's always more. T, take my man to the back of the truck and work your way up," He says as T takes Daryl to the back with the others watching. "Bite, chew, swallow, repeat."

"Who's Simon?" Abraham asks.

"Ding, dong hells bells," The leader says as he raises a gun at Abraham. "You see, usually we introduce ourselves by just popping one of you right off the bat, but you seem like reasonable people. I mean, you're sporting dress blues, for christ's sake. Like I said, we're gonna drive back to where you were. I mean, do you know how awkward it is carpooling with someone whose friend or friends you just killed? But I told you not to ask questions, and then what does this ginger do? So that's that. I don't want you to get the wrong impression of me," He says as he cocks the gun.

"Wait," Sasha says before Rosita can speak. "Wait, wait, you don't have to do this," She says as he raises a gun at her.

"Shut up," Abraham says.

"I am talking to the man," Sasha says.

"No, you're not," He says as he stares at them. He lowers the guns after a moment. "I'm not gonna kill you," He says, making Sasha and Rosita sigh. "Wait, wait, you know what, yes I am," Before he can raise the guns, he and the rest of his men are blown up, sending Abraham, Sasha, and Rosita onto their backs. They look at Daryl as he comes around the truck with the RPG. They get up and look at them.

"Son of a bitch is tougher than he looks," Daryl says as he looks at T, who is now dead.

"Did he cut you?" Rosita asks.

"A little," He answers. "What a bunch of assholes."

Rosita lays a rag on his cut. "Let's get you fixed up at home," She says.

"Yes, Ma'am," Daryl says as he puts the RPG back and walks towards his bike with Rosita.

"Nibble on that," Abraham says before he goes to the truck. They start their cars and leave, heading back to Alexandria.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, everybody is back in Alexandria. Daryl learns more about Negan's past and their group and a decision is made as Daryl tells them about their encounter with the saviors. Rick and Daryl find some olds friends. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.