Chapter 24-Great loss
Ezekiel's P.O.V
Ezekiel pushed the bodies off of him and let out a gasp of air as he pulled himself away from the bodies. He grabbed his cane off the ground and pulled himself up. He looks at the bodies of his people and lets out a scream. He looks around and sees his people starting to rise once again as walkers. He slowly walks away, but he trips on an arm and falls to the ground. Daniel's walker comes towards him but is shot in the back of the head. "My king," Alvaro says as he helps him up. "We have to get out of here," Alvaro says.
"You need to leave me," Ezekiel says. "I will only slow you down."
"I will not leave you, my king," Alvaro says as they hear a grunt behind them. They turn around and look at a savior who had his gun raised, but a sword was through his chest. The sword was pulled out, and the body fell to the ground. "T-dog," Alvaro says as the man walks up to them and grabs Ezekiel's other side.
"How are you doing, Zeke?" T-dog asks.
"Not great," Ezekiel says as they get to the gate and hear gunshots.
"It's locked," Alvaro says.
"I can see that," T-dog says. "Keep the walkers off me," He says as he pulls the shotgun off his back and shoots the padlock. The padlock crumbles to the ground. T-dog pulls the chains out and throws the gate open. He grabs the chain as Alvaro helps Ezekiel through the gate. T-dog shuts it again and puts the chains through it. "That won't hold them long," T-dog says to the two men, who nod as T-dog helps Ezekiel as they move towards the gunshots and sees Carol shooting at Carol. T-dog withdraws his gun and shoots two of the saviors in the chest, making them look at him. Carol rises and hits two more as T-dog shoots the tire of the truck as it roars out of the lot. They watch it as it drives away and then spins out of control, flipping onto its side.
"We need that truck. It has the guns," Carol says. T-dog nods as he grabs two rifles off the ground and hands them to Alvaro and Ezekiel.
"Keep us covered," T-dog says. "Keep him alive," He tells Alvaro, who nods as Carol and T-dog go out of the gates.
T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog shoots two walkers through the head with his handgun as they hear another truck. They look at the truck as it stops, and Rick, Negan, and Morales climb out of the truck and start to kill the walkers. Negan runs up to T-dog.
"Come on, we'll get the guns," Negan tells him. T-dog nods as he follows the former leader, both of them killing the walkers as they get to the truck. T-dog shoots the driver through the head as he starts to climb through the window and helps Negan grabs the gun and move it away from the truck. They grab the ammo and a bag and set them down by the box as Rick and Morales kill the last walker. They walk up to them.
"Morales," T-dog says. "You were with them."
"I was just like Merle," Morales says.
"You're on the right side now," T-dog says as Carol and Alvaro help Ezekiel over to them.
"I'm sorry, Ezekiel," Rick says as he looks at his dead men.
"They died for a worthy cause," Ezekiel says. "We got what we came for," Ezekiel says as he sees Shiva coming towards them, and he smiles.
"If you want, you and your people can come to Alexandria until this is over," Rick offers. "We can help protect them."
"We will take you up on that offer, Rick Grimes," Ezekiel says.
"We'll take one of the trucks in there back to the Kingdom," T-dog tells Rick, who nods as he helps Ezekiel walk away.
"I'll head back to Hilltop and update them. We're winning this. We took down the outposts," Carol says.
"We'll head to Alexandria," Rick says as Carol pats Morales on the shoulder and walks towards a car and the other three grab the bag, the ammo, and the gun and take them toward the truck.
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl and Rosita walk down the road. "You sure they went this way?" Rosita asks him.
"Their tracks came onto the road. I know the gas station that Rick was talking about. It ain't far from here," Daryl says.
"You worried about him?" Rosita asks.
"Of course I am," Daryl says. "I've known that kid longer than anybody else in this group besides Merle. I met Carl and T-dog on the same day."
"Where was Rick?" Rosita asks.
"In the hospital," Daryl answers as they see the gas station. They walk up to it slowly and towards the woods behind it. "Yeah, they went in here."
Carl's P.O.V
Carl and Ron watch the stranger as he kills a walker. "Hey," Carl says, making the man look at them. "Woah, we're not here to hurt you. You remember us from the gas station?" He nods. "I'm Carl, this is Ron," He says as he throws the man and bag with a bottle of water and a granola bar in it. The man opens the bag and starts to drink the walker. "We have a community not far from here. Would you like to come back with us?"
"Yes," He says. "I'm Siddiq."
"How many walkers have you killed?"
"237, give or take one or two," Siddiq says.
"How many people have you killed?" Carl asks.
"One."
"Why?"
"I had to."
"Come on," Carl says as they start to walk through the woods. They stop when they see a small group of walkers eating a deer.
"My Mom believed killing them released their soul," Siddiq says. Carl looked at him.
"My Mom told me to do the hard things, not the easy things. That's why I saved you. My Dad thought it was a bad idea, but I wanted to honor my Mom. So let's honor yours," Carl says as he pulls his knife out. He looks at Ron, who nods as he pulls his knife out, and they walk up to the walkers. Carl stabs one in the head as they hear more coming toward them. Ron stabs another one as one grabs Siddiq, and another grabs Carl. Carl holds onto the walker as it pushes him back. He trips over the deer and holds the walker as another comes up to him. He knocks that one off him and holds the other one as the one beside him moves toward his side. An arrow goes through the side of the walker's head beside him as the one Siddiq is holding gets shot. Ron kills his walker and runs up to Carl, killing the walkers he is holding as Rosita shoots the last one, and Daryl and Rosita run up to them.
"Carl," Daryl says as he runs up to the young man and helps him up. "You okay? You bit?"
"No, I'm fine," Carl says as Daryl moves his jacket aside and lifts his shirt up to check for bites. He sighs when he finds none.
"You're a fucking idiot," Daryl says as he pulls his arrow out of the walker's head. "He could have got you."
"I'm okay," Carl says. "He didn't. How'd you know we were out here?"
"Deanna sent us out after we got back, Enid told her," Daryl says. "What the hell were you thinking? Both of you?"
"We had to try. This is Siddiq," Carl says as he points at the man. Daryl looks at him.
"I'm Daryl. This is Rosita," He says as he points at his girlfriend. "You ask him the questions?" He asks the boy, who nods. "What'd you do before this?"
"I was a doctor," Siddiq says.
"Well, maybe you're not as stupid as I thought," Daryl says to Carl, who chuckles. "Come on, let's get back," He says as they start to walk through the woods.
Simon's P.O.V
Simon, Gary, Arat, Regina, Jed, Justin, and Jared sat in the meeting room once again. "People are getting desperate, boss," Gary says.
"We have to kill the walkers out there," Jed says.
"We'll lose all of our ammo," Arat says.
"We can get more," Jared says.
"From where?" Simon growls. "Rick and his piss patrol have it all."
"What about the women from Hallowbrant, they had guns and ammo, and they just disappeared. We could go there, after, wait for one of them to visit their families grave and then find out where they are," Jared offers, and Simon smiles.
"That is a plan," Simon says with a grin. "Jared, I am naming you my right-hand man," Jared smiles. "We still have those grenades?"
"Yes," Gary answers.
"Good," Simon says. "Blow the doors up. Let the walkers in, and after, we'll kill the workers, tie them up inside and leave a message for Rick and piss patrol. They'll enjoy the last few days they have, and then we'll kill them when we get that ammo."
"You got it, boss. Let's get to work!" Jared says with a grin as they leave the room.
Ezekiel's P.O.V
The truck pulls into the Kingdom and stops. Ezekiel climbs out as his people start to gather around. "Our families, our friends, they died on the battlefield, but I will tell you, their deaths were not in vain. The guns that the saviors would have used to free Simon. We have them now. They are in Alexandria. If I could, I would throw myself into the ground to bring our people back, but I can not. Today was a great victory and a great loss. We will mourn our dead, but we are not safe here anymore. We don't have the fighters right now. Rick Grimes of Alexandria has offered us a home there for the time being, and I have accepted, so please, pack your bags. We will leave in one hour," Ezekiel says more he walks away with his cane, and Shiva follows, and T-dog watches after him as the members of the Kingdom stare at their king.
"You heard, man, let's get to work," T-dog says, and they nod as they start to head to their homes.
Thanks for reading. Of course, I wasn't going to kill Carl. Also, for anybody wondering about the truck with the music from the shows. Because the saviors have fewer people in my mind, nobody was there to set it up, and all of them were guarding the outposts and Sanctuary. Next chapter, Rick arrives back in Alexandria, as do Carl, Daryl, Ron, Siddiq, and Rosita. Simon puts his plan into action. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.