Red River Blue
Chapter 72
Before they left for the meet with Alpha, Rick managed to get through to all the other communities on the radio. Riverbend was too far away for anyone from there to be able to get to the meet in time. But he pretty much already knew that when he called. Georgie didn't want to get involved unless they were officially calling in the mutual protection treaty. No surprise there. The northern border Alpha chose for the meet was closest to the Kingdom. So Ezekiel was planning to attend. Glenn and whoever he was bringing from Hilltop were likely already on their way. Oceanside's stance on attending was unknown. River guessed that Rachel wanted to come, but Morgan didn't think it was a good idea because he was worried about what she might do. River hoped they would at least send someone in her place. The whole point of this was to show the whisperers that they were going up against the entire coalition. Not just Alexandria. Even crazy walker people might think twice about starting a war with six groups at once.
River swung down off her horse, relieved to get a moment to stretch her legs and back. She could ride. They all could. But unlike some of her other group members, it wasn't really something she enjoyed. She preferred taking the wagon, especially for long distances like this. River took a sip of water from her canteen as she fished around in her bag for a few granola bars. Rick and Daryl each took one. But Carol waved her off, popping another large white pill into her mouth instead.
River turned, catching Rick's eye and giving him a questioning look. She knew he left Harley to help Aiden keep watch over things at home because he was worried that she might start trouble at the meet. But River was growing concerned that they might have brought the real trouble starter with them. Carol's behavior had been off since she got back. And whatever crap she was tossing down her throat wasn't helping. They were all running on less sleep than usual. But River was pretty sure that Carol had been up for the last two days straight. Combined with the fact that she still hadn't properly grieved or processed Sam's death, River was growing increasingly concerned about her friend's current state of mind.
"Do me a favor and eat somethin'," River said, pushing the granola bar at Carol for the second time. "Yer gonna make yerself sick, tossin' them pills back on an empty stomach."
Carol picked up on the thinly veiled threat in River's words. If she didn't eat, the next objection was going to be to the pills she was taking to keep herself awake. Somewhere deep down, Carol knew that River only had her best interests at heart. But at the moment, it was hard to see past the anger welling up inside her. Carol snatched the granola bar from River's hand, giving the woman a very insincere smile as she took a bite. River smiled back. But her expression was soft and sad.
"Hey Rick," River said, skirting back around her horse. "Can I ride double with you fer a bit? I'm tired as fuck."
Rick smiled, wrapping his arm around River's slim shoulders as she collapsed dramatically into his chest. Normally Rick wouldn't be comfortable having so much physical contact with a woman other than his girlfriend. But he tightened his arms around River and laughed at her contented sigh. River was just being River. She had no concept of personal space. And since they were basically family, Rick had long since grown used to the hugs and snuggles that came with being someone she loved and cared about.
Rick moved a few of the bags over to River's horse, hoping that would relieve some of the weight from his horse. River didn't weigh much. But carrying two people was still more weight on the animal than one. When that was finished, Rick swung himself up into the saddle and moved his legs forward so River could use the stirrups to climb up behind him. She flipped her ball cap backwards and did exactly what Rick knew she was about to do, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek between his shoulder blades.
"Shoulda put her in yer lap," Daryl chuckled. "She's gonna pass out and fall right off that damn horse."
"I am not," River grumbled, not bothering to lift or turn her head. "Mind yer own business."
Despite her assurances to Daryl that she was not going to fall, Rick felt River tighten her grip around his middle. And before they got even a mile further down the road, he had to nudge her to keep her body from slumping in the saddle.
Despite the road being free of walkers, they made it to the Kingdom with little time to spare. The first person they saw was Mika. And she scrambled down from the guard platform and launched herself at Carol. The two women locked their arms around each other and for the first time in a while there was a flicker of emotion in Carol's eyes.
"MOM!," Mika squealed. "I've been so worried! Are you back now? For good?"
"I'm back," Carol said, moving back slightly so she could feast her eyes on the young woman she'd been picturing in her mind while she was drifting aimlessly over the ocean waves.
Being married had not stopped Mika's habit of wriggling into clothes that were at least a size too small for her. On this occasion she was wearing a pair of skin tight black leggings that had sheer panels on the sides. The hoodie she was wearing to keep her arms warm was cropped, revealing her bare stomach and a tiny strip of the tight pink sports bra she had on underneath it. Her long blonde hair was shiny and her skin was glowing despite how fair she got during the winter months. There was something different about her. And if her clothes hadn't been so tight it might have taken Carol longer to determine what the change was.
"You're pregnant," Carol exclaimed, her eyes focused on the tiny bump between Mika's hips. Mika's face lit with excitement as she nodded her head.
"We were gonna try ta wait a while," she said with a beaming smile. "...but there wasn't much else ta do once it got all cold and snowy outside."
River giggled at her niece's explanation of how she got herself in a family way while Carol gave the girl another fierce hug. Since he was hovering impatiently nearby, Carol moved back and let Daryl sweep their daughter up into his arms. Mika wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.
"M'sorry fer everythin'," he said, lifting Mika's feet up off the ground and burying his face into the sunshine of her hair. The guilt he felt over driving his daughter away had been eating at him all winter. And it only got worse when Carol arrived home and he had to face up to what he had done.
"I hate to break this up," Michonne said, resting her hand on Carol's shoulder and giving it a welcoming squeeze. "But Ezekiel and Henry already left for the meet. About ten minutes ago. Right after Glenn and Dwight got here from Hilltop. If you want to catch them, you better leave now."Daryl nodded, giving Mika one more rough kiss on the cheek before he left her with a promise that they would talk when he got back.
They adjusted their weapons, leaving everything else with the horses except for a few lightly packed bags. If the meeting went poorly, they wanted to be able to escape in a hurry. The light was slowly fading in the sky as they made their way through the woods. They were moving as fast as their tired bodies and caution would allow. But they still didn't manage to catch up to the rest of the group until they were climbing the hill towards the pike marked border.
"Glenn," River chirped, running the last few steps and wrapping her arms around him. "Where's Maggie?," she asked. "Is everythin' okay?" Glenn nodded.
"She's fine. She just thought one of us should stay with the kids," he explained. River nodded. After what happened last summer, everyone had been holding their babies a little tighter. And River guessed that maybe Maggie wasn't as eager as Glenn was to make nice with the woman that put her little sister's head on a pike.
River looked around at the rest of their group. Considering the late notice of the meet and the possible danger to those attending, they had a pretty good turnout. Glenn had Dwight and one of his guards, a former highwayman, with him. Ezekiel was shouldered up between Henry and Jerry. And despite his reservations, Morgan and Rachel were present. Besides Alexandria, Oceanside had been hit the hardest by the attack. They not only lost a loved one, but their leader as well. River was glad that Morgan put his wandering ways behind him and decided to help them put the pieces back together.
"We oughta get the kids together soon," River told Glenn. "It'd be nice ta do it while the weather's still clear." Before Glenn could answer, River heard the sound of Rick clearing his throat. From the volume, she could tell he was obviously trying to get her attention.
River turned, jumping slightly when she saw the whole ass group of walker looking soldiers that were suddenly lined up on the other side of the pikes.
"Holy shit," River yipped. "Y'all are sneaky as fuck!" She glanced up and down the line of them, her eyes widening when she spotted the giant man standing a few steps back towards the middle of the group. "Goddamn! Who the hell is that big ass motherfucker?"
River was quite sure that the Alpha's masked soldiers were supposed to be acting as intimidating as possible. But that didn't stop one man in particular from snorting out a muffled laugh from behind his mask. River approached the boundary line, sticking her hand across it towards him.
"I'm River."
She watched as the man nervously shifted his weight around, obviously trying to decide what to do about her outstretched hand. No one told him he wasn't supposed to shake hands with these people. But it still didn't seem like something he was supposed to be doing. His desire to touch the attractive woman in front of him quickly won out over his fear of possible reprisal for such an action. And the man took a few steps forward, grasping River's hand in his.
"River," she repeated. "What's your name?" The man stuttered and stammered a bit. But before he was able to spit out an answer, the giant man took a step in their direction.
"We don't have names!," he barked at the man. "Get back in line!"
River gasped as she jerked her hand away and scurried back over to stand next to Rick. He looked like he wasn't sure if he was amused or horrified by her display. Daryl, on the other hand, was firmly in the horrified category.
"What the hell is wrong with you?," he whispered. They weren't here to make friends. Not with these freaks.
A murmured hush swept over the crowd as the woman known only by her title walked forward, approaching the boundary line. River saw the woman outside Hilltop once. But that was from a distance. This was her first up close and personal look at the real life boogeyman. Alpha. She was shorter than River expected. And stocky for a girl, which River found curious since the rest of her people looked like skin and bones. Even the big man's clothes were hanging loose from his body.
When Alpha removed her mask to reveal her dirt streaked face, River expected to see some of a physical resemblance to Lydia. But there didn't appear to be any. Or at least none that could see behind the layer of dirt. And River wondered what she'd been wondering for a while. Was Alpha even really Lydia's mother? Or was that just another weird story the woman made up? It was hard for her to believe that any real mother would abuse their child in the way Lydia had been abused. She'd not only been beaten and starved, but sexually assaulted as well.
"You crossed into my land," Alpha said, her eyes skating up and down the enemy line.
"That fire would have taken out one of our communities. And destroyed your land as well if we didn't put it out," Ezekiel said. River was glad he was the one that spoke up. He was better than the rest of them at controlling the tone of his voice. They didn't want to start trouble. Not yet anyway.
"Fire is natural. And we have no quarrel with nature," Alpha said.
River wrinkled up her nose. Not only was the sound of Alpha's voice like nails on a chalkboard, the woman was also talking some serious bullshit. The Whisperers might choose to live like animals. But they still had to eat. Which meant hunting. Keeping the forest intact benefitted them just as much as everyone else.
"The fire was caused by a Russian satellite that fell outta orbit and crashed," River countered. You didn't get much more unnatural than that.
"We crossed one time," Ezekiel quickly added, trying to keep the conversation from turning ugly. "Just to put out the fire. Surely you can understand that wasn't done to disrespect you."
"You crossed three times," Alpha corrected. "During the fire, you walked my land." She lifted her hand, pointing at River. "You and the man with the metal arm walked my land. Down at the river bridge." River shivered, hating the feeling that she and Merle were being watched without them knowing it. "...And during the winter snowstorm, you walked my land."
How the fuck could she know that, River thought. Alpha might have had someone down at the river that saw her and Merle arguing on the bridge. But there was no way anyone could have seen them during that snowstorm. They couldn't even see each other. The only way Alpha could know about that was if someone told her. River glanced to her side, making enough eye contact with Rick that she knew he was thinking the same thing she was. They had a leak. Someone was passing information to Alpha. That's the only way she could have known about the events that happened over the winter. The whisperers weren't even around then. They went south for the winter. Lydia said they did that every year. They had to. Because they refused to build any sort of shelter or housing.
"Yer people crossed into our land too," River said. "We found a whole campsite tore up on our side of the river. The bodies were skinned."
"Do you have any proof of these accusations?," Alpha asked. She was putting on a good front. But River could tell she didn't like being accused of not being able to control her people.
"Her word is as good as yours," Rick said. His words were followed by several nods and murmurs from their side of the dividing line.
"You walked my land," Alpha repeated, obviously choosing to ignore River's accusation for the moment. "But given the circumstances, I see no need for violence." A few people breathed silent sighs of relief. But they were too quick to assume that there was to be no retribution. "As punishment, the river that runs along the edge of the forest is your new southern border. We'll be marking the new northern border."
It took people a moment to picture that area that was being mentioned. Some knew the area better than others. And they were the first to realize the implications of the land that was being taken from them. Alexandria would have no place to hunt. And unlike the Kingdom and Hilltop, they relied on their hunting to feed them. They would starve without access to that land. Or be forced to travel days away into the territories that belonged to the rest of the coalition to have somewhere to hunt.
"She's cutting off our hunting grounds," Carol said. Raising her voice even more, she added, "We're not going to put up with this shit!" Rachel was quick to chime in, adding that if Alpha wanted a fight, she was going to get one.
"I remember you," Alpha said, her eyes focused on Carol. "Your boy screamed your name when we took his head."
River watched in horror as Carol pulled her gun from the holster at her waist, aiming it at the other group's leader. The giant behind Alpha darted in, tucking the woman behind him. And just like that, everyone was pulling their guns. Daryl brought his hand down on top of Carol's arm, shooting her gun off into the ground instead of at the opposing group.
"Hey!" Ezekiel hollered, stepping forward between the two groups and stretching his arms out. "That's enough. It won't help anyone if we die here." He turned to Alpha, his tone lowered and pleading. "You know what she lost," he said.
What Ezekiel implied was obvious. Alpha knew what Carol lost because Alpha lost her child as well. And from what little information they gleaned from their hostage before he died, River knew Alpha wasn't eager to have her people find out the truth about what happened to her daughter.
"I forgive you," Alpha cooed, smiling at Carol. "Mother to mother."
By this time, Daryl was physically holding Carol back. Since River was focused on them, she didn't see the large group of walkers and those dressed as them approaching until Rick tugged at her arm and cursed under his breath. It was impossible to tell the living apart from the dead to know how many were coming at them. All River could tell was that it was way too many. She started backing up. And she noticed the rest of their group was already doing the same. Alpha's group moved forward, lifting the pikes from the ground and advancing across the clearing towards them.
"What are we gonna do?," River whispered, her nails digging in where she grabbed Rick's arm. He glanced over her head, looking at Daryl to confirm his thoughts.
"We're gonna run."
River nodded. She kept as close as she could to Rick and Daryl as they fled into the woods. While the whisperers must have eventually stopped pursuing them once they reached the spot Alpha designated as the new border, the dead kept coming. Which meant they were fighting them off as they stumbled through the woods in the dark. River wasn't surprised when someone fell and hurt themselves. But she was surprised that it was Carol, who usually had the quickest reflexes out of all of them. And when she fell, she didn't get back up.
"Carol!," Daryl cried out in near hysteria, leaning down and rubbing his hands over his wife to feel for an injury. River dropped down next to him, placing her fingers against Carol's throat. Her pulse was strong. And she was breathing. River groped in her pocket, pulling out a lighter and flicking the wheel to allow them just enough light to see Carol's face.
"She's okay," River said, looking around as best she could. There was a little trickle of blood by Carol's temple. But no other injuries. "She musta just knocked her head on somethin' when she fell."
Daryl nodded, gathering Carol up carefully into his arms as River stuffed her lighter back into her pocket. River put her fingers to her mouth and whistled for help. Rick was back at their sides in a moment with Glenn and Morgan pushing in behind him.
"She's okay," River quickly explained, "...but Daryl's gotta carry her, so he can't fight off the dead." Before Rick even spoke, he and the others were spreading out, forming a loose circle around Daryl so he wouldn't have to worry about the walkers getting too close.
"Don't worry man," Glenn assured him. "We got your back."