Chapter 20-Enemies Afar

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie walked through Prescott. "Nice place isn't it?" Tripp asks as he walks up to her.

"Yeah," Maggie says. "How long have you been here?"

"Since the start," Tripp says. "It took us a couple of months to build the wall but we got it done and more and more people started to show up. How long have you been in your home?"

"A couple of months," Maggie answers. "We came from Georgia, for the first three months I was on my Daddy's farm and after that it was a prison."

"A prison? It was secure?" Tripp asks.

"Not at first," Maggie answers. "We lost two of our own there. Lori and T-dog, but we made it secure and then we lost it to a group. The same group that killed my Dad," Maggie says.

"I'm sorry," Tripp says. "Well hopefully Francine and your leaders are able to set up a deal so we can make sure we don't lose our home again," Tripp tells her and Maggie nods as they continue to walk.

Shane's P.O.V

Shane walked out of his house and looked at Carl as he sat on the porch with Judith. Shane sits down beside the teenager. "May I?" Shane asks as he looks at Judith. Carl nods as he hands Judith to Shane.

"Hi, sweetie," Shane says. "Are you okay?"

"Just been thinking a lot," Carl says. "About this place, the prison, the farm, the quarry."

"What about them?" Shane asks.

"They always make us feel safe and just as they start to feel like home. We lose them. I still think about that night at the quarry. It was such a nice night. All of us sitting around the campfire, eating, talking, laughing and then the walkers came and they killed Amy and they got Jim. We had to go to CDC and then the farm and we lost Sophia, Dale, Jimmy, Patricia."

"Then the prison," Shane says. "Lori and T-dog."

"I was so mean to her," Carl says. "The last few months she was alive, I was an asshole and all she was trying to do was protect me."

"That's what parents do Carl, they protect their kids," Shane says. "Your Mom loved you more than anything in the world. It didn't matter what was happening, all she wanted to do was keep you safe."

"I've made a lot of mistakes, Shane," Carl says.

"You're talking about the kid you killed in the woods?" Shane asks Carl who looked at him.

"I know, Beth told me. We've all done things, Carl. Things we will regret for the rest of our lives. I know I regret killing Otis. I didn't have to but I did, I did it because I was scared. You're a kid, Carl. You shouldn't be worrying that every day is your last day. You shouldn't be blaming yourself for what happened to Dale or having to kill someone. But that is the world we live in, I can't say you've made the best decisions, but we've all made bad decisions. The only thing we can do now is make up for those decisions and hope that when we die, we're at peace."

"Do you think you'll be at peace?" Carl asks Shane who shakes his head.

"Probably not, I also don't want to die but who does. In this world, everyday could be our last day, so we have to enjoy them. One day we will die, hopefully that is no for a long time though."

Carl nods. "We should enjoy today."

"What do you have in mind?"

"We're close to a river, we could fish," Carl says.

"Alright. Let's do it," Shane says as he stands up. "Come on."

Clarke's P.O.V

Clarke and Rick walked through the woods. "We've got two rabbits. Ain't too bad," Rick says.

"I would have liked that deer, those damn walkers," Clarke says. "How long were you married?"

"13 years," Rick says. "We got married while she was pregnant with Carl. We probably would have broken up if it wasn't for Carl. We had a rocky marriage, even before all of this," Rick says. "How about you, how long were you with your fiancée."

"Three years," Clarke says. "We were supposed to get married a month before all of this. We were on a highway, a bunch of cars, and we saw walkers ahead of us and we ran into the woods, it was dark, a walker got Dillon, and bit into his side, Oliver killed it with a tree branch. It was the start and we didn't know what the bite did. The next day, he was struggling to move, he made it to the next night, he was coughing up blood, sweaty and in pain and he fell asleep. I took Octavia's knife and stabbed it into his head. When the others woke up the next morning, he was already in the ground. I was broken after that. I barely spoke, killing the walkers didn't matter anymore, a part of me wanted to die but I pushed through and one day it just hurt a little less."

"You probably handled it better than me," Rick says. "Lori and I were in a bad place, I was an asshole. When Maggie and Carl walked out of the cellblock, holding Judith. I knew and I just couldn't handle it. So I went into the cellblock and I killed every walker, Glenn came to get me and I attacked him. When we went to Woodbury to get Maggie and Glenn. I saw Shane and when we got back I met Tyreese and Sasha. I saw Lori, I was in a bad place for a while."

"Yeah I definitely handled it better," Clarke says making Rick chuckle. "I had a crush on Shane for a little while."

"Of course you did," Rick says. "Of course, you did."

"Don't worry, it didn't last long," Clarke says. "It was clear early on that he was getting feelings for Octavia."

Rick stops as he sees a deer in the trap. "Looks like you get your wish."

"Good, you get to carry it."

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl and Francine walk into the armory. "I need the radio, Phil," Francine tells Phil who nods as he leaves. Daryl sits down. "Do you know what channel they are on?"

"Yeah," Daryl says as he changes the channel. "Eden, this is Daryl, do you copy?" Daryl asks.

"This is Eugene, I copy," Eugene says.

"Rick there?"

"Checking the traps with Clarke," Eugene says.

"What about Shane?"

"Fishing with Carl," Eugene answers.

"Abraham?" Daryl asks.

"He's here," Eugene says.

"Go get him," Daryl tells Eugene who leaves and a couple of minutes later he hears Abraham.

"What's up, Dixon?" Abraham asks.

"We're in a community, Prescott. We're trying to set up a trade agreement so I wanted to talk to Rick."

"Well he won't be back for a few hours, so what can I do?" Abraham asks.

"They're going to send someone there to talk with you guys. Set up the trade agreement."

"I'm going to send Tripp and Conrad," Francine tells Daryl who nods.

"She's going to send Tripp and Conrad. When they get there, let them in and set up the agreement. I'll send a map with them."

"Got it, I'll pass the message onto the council," Abraham says. "Stay safe out there."

"We will," Daryl says as he turns the radio off and looks at Francine. "You know any other communities?"

"None that you want to work with. I will give you some advice. There is a community, I don't know much about it, a man came through and told us about it. It's called the Sanctuary, it's run by a man, a warlord is leading them. From what I know, he's dangerous, his people are dangerous, he takes over communities, kills one of them with a bat. I don't want where it is, I know it's south. If you get close, I would go the other way."

"You got a name for this warlord?"

"Negan."

Rick's P.O.V

Rick walks into Eden and looks at Abraham. "What's up?" Rick asks.

"Daryl radioed us," Abraham says. "He's at a place called Prescott. They are going to be sending some people here to talk with us and set up a trade agreement," Abraham says. "Conrad and Tripp are their names."

"Alright, I'll let everybody know to keep an eye for them," Rick says and Abraham nods as he walks away.

"Looks like Daryl is doing good out there," Clarke says and Rick nods.

"Hopefully it will work out, we could always use more allies," Rick says. Clarke nods as they two continue to walk down the street.

Shane's P.O.V

3 months after the farm

Shane sat on the porch watching the sun as it set. He looks at the door as it opens and Octavia walks out. "How's your shoulder?"

"It's alright, Clarke stitched it up," Shane tells her. "How's Blake?"

"She'll be okay," Octavia says. "We're going to have to figure out how to deal with these assholes."

"They have more people than we do, and guns, we barely have any ammo," Shane tells her. "I don't know where we can get anymore so right now, we just have to hope that they don't find us," Shane tells her.

"I might know somewhere," Octavia says. "If they do find this place, it won't matter, we can't hold them off. It isn't safe anyways and I need Blake to be safe, the snow is going to start to pick up and I don't want to be trapped her when it does."

"What do you have in mind?" Shane asks her.

"The only place I can think of. I'm going home."

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl put his stuff on his bike as the others loaded up the supplies. "Thanks for the supplies," Daryl says to Francine as she walked up to him.

"Let's call it a start," Francine says. "I wasn't kidding about what I said, yesterday, Daryl. The man I told you about, stay away from him and stay away from Richmond, it's just as bad."

"We will," Daryl says as he holds his hand out to her. "Good luck."

"You too," Francine says as she takes his hand. Daryl climbs on the bike and Beth climbs on behind him as they leave Prescott.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter will take place a few days later, Shane and Octavia go home in the past, Daryl runs into more people who have a story and Tripp and Conrad arrive at Eden. As always suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.