Chapter 22-Attacking the Sanctuary

No one's P.O.V

Rick, Carol, and Ezekiel stood on top of a truck staring at their people. "Our worlds have grown a lot bigger in the last few days," Rick says as he looks around. "We've found each other. Some of us were enemies before now, some of us friends," He says as he looks at T-dog and Merle. "Some of us have been together since the start. We're together now. This bigger world is ours by right. We've all come together because of that simple truth. That it's ours by right. Any person who would live in peace and fairness, who would find common ground, it's their right, too," Rick says.

The bridge

Glenn, Daryl, Tara, and Paula stood on the bridge. "Down," Daryl says as they see the herd.

The truck

Rick looks around once again. "But those who would take and kill to carve out their world, we end them. We don't celebrate it. We don't enjoy it either. There's only one person who has to die," Rick says as he looks at Negan. "And he'll kill him," Rick says as he points at Negan, who nods. "Then we'll keep making the world bigger together."

The Sanctuary

Arat stared at the walkers by the fence, and then she saw movement. She turned around and walked inside as the two guards on the roof were shot.

The truck

Ezekiel steps forward. "Together, Bound Forever! To quote the Bard, "For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother," He says as he nods to Rick and lays his hand on Carol's shoulder. "And she, my sister."

Carol steps forward. "We've practiced. We've been through it over and over again. We all know the plan doesn't end this morning. That we may have to live in uncertainty for days, maybe more. That we have to keep our faith in each other. If we can hold on to that with everything we have, the future is ours. The world is ours."

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl, Glenn, Tara, and Paula ran to the other side of the bridge and looked at the trip wire they had set up. They see a walker, and Daryl shoots it in the head as they hear the cars. "Down," Daryl says as they bend down, and the saviors drive into the tripwires, killing them. "Okay, I'll get the herd there."

"We'll meet you at the satellite outpost," Glenn says, and Daryl nods as he goes towards his bike.

Negan's P.O.V

The cars stop in front of the Sanctuary. Rick looks at everybody and nods. They aim their guns at the windows and fire. They hear screams and stop after a couple of seconds. "What the hell was that?" Noah asks as the doors open, and Simon walks out, followed by Arat, Jared, Regina, Jed, Gary, and Justin.

"You just killed some good workers, Rick," Simon says. "I needed a way to make sure your bullets didn't hit my people, and chaining the workers to the windows seems to have done that."

"Simon, Arat, Jared, Regina, Jed, Gary, and Justin," Rick says as he points to each of them. "You all have a choice right now. You surrender, give up Simon, and you all get to live."

"That is a mighty generous offer, Rick. It sounds like my people have a choice, but what happens to me?" Simon asks.

"You know what happens to you," Negan says, making Simon look at him.

"I feel like my deal was pretty good too, Rick. You give me Negan and half of your shit, and we are good to go," Simon says. "But I'm going to offer an even better one. You give me, Negan, and all of those traitors, and I'll only take twenty-five percent of your shit."

"No deal," Rick says.

"Fine, plan B," Simon says as he nods to Jared, who pushes Gregory outside.

"Must have left when we came to Alexandria," Carol says to Jesus, who nods.

"What do you have to say to Rick, and the piss patrol, Gregory?" Simon asks.

"The Hilltop stands with Simon and the Saviors. Any resident of the Hilltop who takes up arms or who supports this ultimatum against the Sanctuary or any of the Saviors, for that matter. They will no longer be welcome in the colony."

"And?" Simon asks.

"Their families will be thrown out and will be left to fend for themselves."

"And?"

"Go home, or you won't have a home to go back to."

"Do what you have to do," Carol says.

"All I have at Hilltop is some books," Jesus says.

"You heard the man. Go home," Simon growls.

"The Hilltop stands-" Gregory starts.

"The Hilltop stands with Carol!" Jesus shouts.

Simon looks at Gregory. "I tried," Simon pulls out his gun and shoots Gregory in the head, and then pushes his body to the ground. "That is two of your people I have killed!" Simon shouts.

"Time to make up your minds," Rick says, and nobody says anything. "Are you gonna make me count? Alright, I'm counting. Ten...Nine...Eight," Rick fires at them, making them go inside as the rest of them start to fire. "Now!" Rick shouts, and Merle climbs into the R.V. and drives it into the fence. He jumps out and runs back to the group as the R.V. explodes and the fence is taken down.

"Time to move out, Rick!" Negan says to Rick, who nods as they hear the walkers. They climb into their cars and drive away as the walkers arrive at the Sanctuary and start to press themselves up against the building.

Rick's P.O.V

Everybody stood in the clearing once again. "You all know your assignments," Rick says. "Go to the outposts, take them out, find the guns," Rick says as they start to move. Rick looks at Daryl as he walks up to him.

"Glenn, Tara, and Paula are on their way there," Daryl says as he looks at Rosita. "We'll get rid of the Outpost."

"Carl ran into someone," Rick says. "Carl, Ron, and I. I shot my gun above his head, but Carl thinks I should have helped him."

"That's what we do, man," Daryl says. "See you after."

Rick nods as Daryl walks away.

Carl's P.O.V

Carl packs a bag and looks at Ron as he walks into the house. "What are you doing, Carl?" Ron asks.

"Going after the man we saw," Carl says as he puts the bag on. "You coming?"

Ron looks at him and smiles. "Of course," Ron says as they walk out of the house. They climb over the wall and start to walk through the woods. "Enid is going to be pissed when she sees that we are gone."

"She's busy with Maggie and Carson," Carl says.

"Hilltop could need, Carson."

"Carol thought it was better if he was here with Maggie," Carl says as they continue to walk.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl, Eugene, Rosita, Jesus, Abraham, Sasha, and Noah walk up behind Glenn, Tara, and Paula, who are standing with members from both the Kingdom and Hilltop. "Everything going well?" Glenn asks Daryl, who nods.

"Sasha, you'll take the two guards out on my signal, give me a minute," Daryl says as he motions for Glenn to follow him. Daryl leads Glenn away from the others. "Are you sure you're ready for this? You've never had to kill anybody, Glenn."

"They have to die, Daryl. If they don't, Maggie and our child will never be safe," Glenn says. "Trust me."

"I do," Daryl says as they walk up the fence. Daryl nods to Sasha, who raises her gun and shoots the two guards through the head.

"Alright, let's get in there and kill these assholes," Abraham says as they cut the fence.

Simon's P.O.V

Simon, Arat, Jared, Regina, Jed, Gary, and Justin sat around a table. "What the hell do we do?" Arat asks.

"We still have people out there who will get us out," Simon says. "They don't know what outposts are being used."

"You saw him out there, right?" Arat asks. "Dwight was there. That means Spencer wasn't lying. That means they know where our outposts are because he knew."

"What do you suggest we do, Arat?" Simon growls. "You seem to have all of the answers! How do we get out of this!?"

"I don't know," Arat answers.

"Then keep your mouth shut," Simon says with a smile. "Now, how much ammo do we have?"

"Enough, but we don't have enough to beat them if we use it to kill this herd," Jared says.

"What are our other options?" Gary asks.

"We could distract them," Simon says, making them all look at him. "We could lock all of the workers up at the back of the building and let the herd in."

"We'd lose the Sanctuary," Arat says.

"We might be alive."

"We need somewhere to stay," Justin says. "If we don't have that, their hunter, Daryl, could just track us and kill us."

"DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS?!" Simon shouts in anger, and none of them say anything. "Get the fuck out," They quickly leave.

Negan's P.O.V

Negan sat beside Rick in the car as they drove towards the outpost. "Once we hear the gunshots, we go in," Rick says.

"I know the plan, Rick," Negan says. "We go in, kill the rest of the assholes in there and find the guns."

"Hopefully, Aaron can keep them distracted long enough for us. Once we find the guns, we go out and kill the rest of them, and then we move on back to Alexandria and wait for them to surrender."

"You think they will?" Negan asks.

"They don't have a choice," Rick says. "They either surrender or die."

"Simon would rather die," Negan says as they see the outpost.

Daryl's P.O.V

The group moved into the outpost slowly until they reached the doors where the saviors slept. They slowly split up into groups of three. Daryl stood with Neil and Greg. Daryl looks at the other people and nods. They kick the doors open and fire as some of the saviors fire back.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, the war will continue. Daryl will continue to try and clear the outposts, and Negan and Rick will work together to find the guns. Simon tries to find a way out of the Sanctuary. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.