Fear the Dead, Fight the Living
"Hey," I said to Maggie climbing up to the top of the post, "Why don't you take a break. You've been up here all day"
"Thanks, but I'm fine." She says and I chuckle
"Yeah I figured you would say that" I tell her and hand her a granola bar, "I figured you would be hungry" She took it and smiled at me
"Congratulations by the way" She said and I looked at her confused, "Aaron told me"
"Damn it Eric" I laughed and she chuckled, "Thank you."
"It's a good thing, you both worked hard for it. Now you have a miracle happening." She paused and I looked forward, "Who knows, maybe our kids could have the same birthday." She said and I pulled her into a hug
"Oh my god!" I laughed and she hugged me back then suddenly stopped and I looked at her then turned my head following her gaze. We both see green balloons float up from a short distance away, "Come on" I tell her and we climb down and run over to where Rick is
"That's Glenn. That's Glenn" Maggie panted and Rick gave a small nod then suddenly we hear wood creaking and look up at the guard tower as it begins to tip over
"Maggie!" I grab her hand and pull her away just as it crashed on top of the wall
"Everyone, get back! Get into your houses, go!" Rick yells at everyone and started shooting the walkers that came in
"Maggie come on!" I yell to her and we began to run but she fell and I saw a walker go towards her, I was about to shoot it when one came up to me and I stabbed it hearing her fire her gun, "Get up there now! Go!" I tell her and she started to climb up
"Phoebe come on!" She says as I started shooting again
"Just go!" I yelled and she climbed up while I started to run
"Help me!" I hear someone cry and I look to see Kayden up a tree as walkers start to surround him, I stabbed one and shot 3 more then reached for him
"Come on!" He grabbed my hand and I shot another one, I looked around as we ran with me holding his hand and saw the infirmary was closer to us so we ran to it just as the door opened, I moved him inside then shut the door behind me catching my breath then moved over to Kayden, "Are you okay? Did any bite you?" I asked checking him over
"No, I saw them coming and climbed."
"That was very brave" I told him and he hugged me
"Thank you"
"Anytime buddy" I said to him as we hear the walkers outside
Daryl POV...
As I drove Sasha, Abraham and myself back home I kept thinking about Phoebe, I knew something was wrong I could feel it in my gut, I was taken out of my thoughts when I see something in the road up ahead, "Daryl." Sasha nudged me.
I nodded. "Yeah, I see." We caught sight of a group of guys who were stopped in the middle of the road on some motorbikes.
"What in the holy shit." Abraham shifted in his seat.
I had no choice but to come to a stop as we neared them, seeing as they had guns and were clearly the kind of guys who wouldn't be afraid to use them.
The guy standing at the front of the group spoke. "Why don't you come on out, join us in the road?" when we didn't move, he shrugged. "You know, if you wanna resist, try something... I mean, it's a choice, I guess. But we will end your asses. Split you right in two, straight through to the sinuses. So come on." Having no real choice, I turned to engine off then all three of us got out without a word, watching the men who were watching us as we moved to stand in front of the truck. The leader nodded. "Yeah, that's great. It's going well right out of the gate. Now, step two. Hand over your weapons."
"Why should we?" I asked him wanting to kill all of them
"Well, they're not yours." the leader shrugged.
"What?" Abraham asked.
The leader stepped forward. "See, your weapons, your truck, the fuel in your truck, if you got mints in your glove compartment, if you got porn underneath the seat, change in the seats, hell, the seats themselves, the floor mats, your maps, the little stash of emergency napkins you got there in the console... None of those things are yours anymore."
Sasha spoke up. "Whose are they?"
The leader looked to her. "Your property now belongs to Negan." he looked to each of us. "Now if you can get your hands on a tanker, you're people our person wants to know. So let's get those sidearms, shall we?" he walked up to me. "Right now." pulling it out from the back of my pants I handed my gun over. "Thank you." he smiled before moving on to Sasha. She handed hers over and he thanked her as well before stepping up to Abraham.
Abraham didn't move. He just looked down at the man in front of him. It was clear, he wasn't handing anything over.
The leader sighed. "If you have to east shit, best not to nibble. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. It goes quicker." he nodded, waiting. Sure enough, Abraham handed him his gun. With that, the guy moved back to his bike.
"Who are you people?" Sasha asked, wanting answers as much as Abraham and myself.
"I get the curiosity, but we have questions ourselves." the leader started. "And 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." he smiled. "First, though, your shit. What have you got for us?"
"Yeah, you just took it." I tried for a lie.
But he wasn't buying it. "Come on, I mean, can we not? Okay? There's more. There is always more." he sighed and turned to one of his men. "T." he gestured to me as the guy stood. "Take my man to the back of the truck. Start inside the back bumper, work your way to the front." he ordered as he sat on his bike.
T stepped up to me, shoving me towards the back of the truck. I didn't bother struggling, instead I let him take me to the back.
Once we were around the back and out of sight from the others, I moved quickly. The guy had stepped in front of me to look inside the bunker, putting his back to me. Once I was sure he was as distracted as possible, I jumped forward getting him in a headlock and brought him to his knees, I squeezed as hard as I could, blocking his air way.
He struggled, and I felt something dig into my back. But I wasn't giving in. After the crap I'd gone through nothing was going to keep me from getting home. Slowly and eventually they began to get weaker before he was nothing, dead.
Reaching into the back of the bunker I pulled out an RPG- which Abraham had found in the town while they'd been waiting for me. Setting it up I didn't waste a second before getting into place, I lifted it up and aimed then shot it blowing the pricks up. Nodding, I lowered the weapon, moving around to Sasha and Abraham as they got to their feet. "Son of a bitch was tougher than he looked." I told them before we moved to the back of the truck where I'd left the guy I'd killed.
Sasha shook her head. "Did he cut you?"
"A little." I shrugged. "What a bunch of assholes."
Sasha pressed a rag to my cut, laughing lightly. "Let's get you fixed up at home."
"Yes, ma`am." I nodded, getting into the truck.
Phoebe POV...
Hours go by and I started to pace back and forth, "Seems to be our meeting place huh?" Aaron asked me and I gave a light chuckle then suddenly the door opened and I see Heath letting Denise in.
"Are you ok?" Spencer asked her
"I'm fine. How are my patients?"
"They're doing well. We moved them upstairs just in case." Heath told her and I looked out the window .
"Oh, my God." I whispered and they looked out the same window, I see Rick and Michonne running through the walkers and Rick was carrying Carl.
"It's the kid. Is he bit?" Heath asked
"Nope." Denise says and walked away
"What?" Aaron asked and we followed
"I need bandages. Top shelf, next to the sink. Two IVs from the fridge and all the clean towels you can find. Aaron, grab the gurney." Denise told him and I moved to the door opening it as Rick came through first, "This is a gunshot?" Denise asked
"Handgun. Close range." Michonne answered and I moved over to Rick taking off the blood covered sheet he was wearing
"Please save him. Please."
"That's gonna draw them here." Spencer says as Denise turned on a light
"I need light. Michonne, towel. Hold it here." She told her and I looked at Carl fighting back tears, "Okay, we need to keep pressure on the wound. I'll go in and sew up any lacerations. Just like that, right here. Now, Spencer, I need that pan." She told him, "That one on the tray. Good. I'm going to clean and close this. Michonne, keep following me with the towel." She says to her then I see Rick open the door holding his axe
"What- what are you doing?" Michonne asked him but he walked out
"Rick! Rick!" I yelled after him but the door closed
"Rick's out there." Michonne tells Denise
"Hold on."
"He needs my help." She persisted
"Just one more suture."
"But he's out there." Michonne says
"This is his son. Give me a second."
"He's taking them all on. We have to go get him." Aaron told us
"What?" Spencer asked
"We have to. This is it." Heath says
"Okay, got it." Denise told Michonne who kissed Carl's head then grabbed her sword and ran out.
I went over to Carl and kissed his head as well, "Hang in there buddy. Make sure Kayden stays upstairs" I told Denise then pulled out my knife and followed Michonne killing walkers followed by the others.
"Knock away. Drive them down" Rick told us and I see Olivia and Eric come out of the armory and follow our lead
"We can beat 'em, we can beat 'em" I told everyone and more people came out
"Drive 'em back. That's it. We can do this together!" Rick says and more and more people came out then I see my mom make her way over, she grabbed my arm and we stayed by each other while we all moved down the street killing walkers. Just then we see the pond on fire and the walkers move towards it but some remained and we all kept killing them. I look over and see Maggie, Sasha, Glenn and Abraham make their way towards us then I see Daryl, as much as I wanted to run over to him I stayed by my mom and continued.
I stood next to Daryl while Denise stitched up the cut on his shoulder holding his hand, I glanced over at Michonne as she held Judith standing by the back room Carl was in while we waited for him to wake up and Kayden was sitting with Tara. I looked over and smiled at Daryl then Denise was done, I helped him get his shirt and vest back on then he pulled me into a hug kissing my temple then my cheek then finally my lips, "I love you"
"I love you too. I was so worried" I tell him and he put his hands on my face
"Are you okay? The baby?" He asked and I nodded
"We're both okay" I tell him and he kissed me again
"You plan on letting me go?" Daryl asked me as I snuggled up to him. It had been a month since everything that happened and I didn't want him to leave my side again
"Mmm nope, remember how I suggested tying you up? I'm considering it again"
He flipped us so that he was hovering above me, "You don't make it easy to leave, my little temptress" He says and I kissed him then pulled away biting his bottom lip
"That's the plan" I tell him and rolled us so I was on top then straddled his lap. I leaned down and kissed him moving his hands up above his head then took him by surprise as I tied his hands. He looked at me with shock and lust filled eyes, I smirked then had my way with him
Daryl POV...
After me and Phoebe finally got dressed and ready she headed over to Eric's, I watched her walk away and she glanced back at me smiling then kept going, I sure did get lucky finding her. I gathered up my stuff then headed over to find Denise, "Hey." I called to her
"Yes?"
"This thing at the bottom right here. You're talking about the drink, right?" I asked her pointing to the list she gave me
"I am, but..."
"It's not medical." I brought up
"No, I drew a line between the important stuff and that. I just figured, if you saw it." She tells me
"All right."
"Anything remotely medical is a priority. And food, maybe even food before medicine, and gas or batteries or books for the kids or clothes is just- if you see it, if it just happens to, you know, be right there." She says
"You like it, right?" I asked her
"No, I don't drink pop." She tells me and I look at her confused
"What the hell's pop?"
"Oh, I'm originally from Ohio." She points out
"Why you want it?"
"Tara was talking about it in her sleep, I think. Either she likes it or she doesn't, but if she likes it, it'd be a really nice surprise. I'm not good with that kind of stuff, and she and Heath are going on that two-week run. I just thought it'd be a nice going-away present. Just, uh, don't go out of your way. And if it gives you any trouble..." She starts to say but I cut her off
"I won't."
"Okay, good, 'cause it's not important. I should've said so instead of just drawing a line." She mentioned
"Got it."
"Today's the day." Rick tells me as we drive down the road
"Uh-huh." I mumbled
"We're gonna find food, maybe some people. The law of averages has gotta catch up." Rick said
"I don't know. We ain't seen nobody for weeks. Maybe we ain't gonna find nobody. Maybe that's a good thing." I tell him then I see him reach for a CD
"Don't. Don't. Please don't." I begged but he put it in anyways then started snapping his fingers to the music
Give me the downbeat, maestro.
I want to lay it on the line
'Cause everything I do, I wanna do it in double time
When I take a ride..
"Draws 'em away from home!" He tells me over the music
Hear me? Action-packed
Well, if your music's gonna move me
Well, I just gotta feel the beat...
"Hey, hold up. It's best to be safe. You cover it?" I asked him as we stand in front of a shed that said Sorghum on the door, I lifted it up and Rick moved to check it
"Yeah. Yeah, we're good. One more time?" He asked indicating to the cube van and I reached for the lock
"It ain't locked." I point out and open it revealing a bed full of supplies
"Well, how about that? The law of averages. Let's get this thing going, grab our gear, come back for the car later. Take another way back. See what we can see."
"Think it'll start?" I asked him shutting the door
"Yeah, I do. Sorghum."
As we drove down another road we came across a gas station and stopped, we got out and I went to the doors checking them then saw a tipped over vending machine, "Yo, give me a hand with this. Ahem. Let's flip it over." I tell him and we start to lift but have no success
"I don't think we got it."
"I got an idea." I tell him and grab a chain hooking it to both the machine and the truck then whistle for Rick to pull forward, the machine lifts up and I stop him
"It's soda and candy. Why the trouble?" Rick asked walking back over as I reach in grabbing some stuff
"It wasn't any trouble." I tell him and suddenly someone bumps into him
"Hi."
"Back up! Now!" I warn the man holding my gun up at him and Rick does as well
"Keep 'em up!"
"Whoa, easy, guys. I was just running from the dead." He tells us
"How many?" I asked
"10, maybe more. I'm not risking it. Once it gets to double digits, I start running."
"Where?" I asked him
"About a half a mile back. They're headed this way. You probably have about 11 minutes."
"Okay, thanks for letting us know." Rick says lowering his gun
"Yeah. There's more of them than us, right? Gotta stick together. Right?" He asked looking at me and I hesitated but lowered my gun, "You have a camp?" He asked us
"No."
"Do you?" Rick asked him
"No. Sorry for running into you. I'm gonna go now. If this is the next world, I hope it's good to you guys." He said and started to walk away
"I'm Rick. This is Daryl." Rick tells him and the guy stops and looks at us, "What's your name?"
"Paul Rovia." He said lowering the cloth covering his face, "But my friends used to call me Jesus. Your pick."
"You said you didn't have a camp. You on your own?" Rick asked
"Yeah. But, still, best not to try anything."
"Best not to make threats you can't keep, either." I tell him
"Exactly." He starts to run away
"How many walkers-" Rick started to ask but I stopped him
"No, not this guy."
"How many walkers have you killed?" Rick asked anyways but the guy kept going
"Sorry, gotta run. You should, too. Think you've got about seven minutes." He said and continued running
"What the hell was that?" I asked Rick
"He was clean. His beard, it was trimmed. There's more going on there."
"He didn't have a gun, either." I point out
"We could track him, watch him for a while, get to know more. See if he's really alone. Maybe bring him back."
"Nah, guy calls himself Jesus." I tell him and we hear a popping sound from behind us so we move around the building with our guns raised only to find fireworks that went off
"Firecrackers." Rick said
"He swiped your keys, didn't he?" I asked and he feels his pockets
"Oh, shit!" We ran back around the building and saw the guy in the truck start to drive away
"Sorry!"
"Shit." Rick says as we watch it drive away
We run as fast as we can after the truck hoping to catch up, we stop for a moment and I reach into the vending machine that fell off the chain and grab out the soda I found for Denise.
"This was a special request from the doctor." I tell him taking a drink then handing it to Rick
"Hey, whatever she wants. She saved Carl's life. We didn't know her, and she turned out to be all right. If there's still people out here, and they're still people, we should bring 'em in."
"What, like this guy?" I asked him taking another drink
"No, fuck this guy."
"We still got a trail." I tell him
"Let's go." and we start running again
As we continue running I see tire marks and I point to them, I motion for Rick to crouch down and we look up the hill seeing the guy and the truck, he must have been changing the tire or something, we move through the woods to get around him without being seen. As he shuts the back Rick tackles him wrapping his arms around the guy.
"Hold still and maybe we won't hurt you."
"Sure thing." I hear grunting and saw the guy come out from behind the truck, I went to punch him but he ducked then pushed me against the truck and Rick knocks him to the ground and we point our guns at him.
"This is done." Rick said and we hear growling
"Do you even have any ammo?" The guy asked and we pointed our guns up both shooting the walker, "Okay. You gonna shoot me over a truck?"
"There's a lot of food on that truck. The keys, now." Rick warns him
"I think you know I'm not a bad guy."
"Yeah? What do you know about us? Give me the keys. This is the last time I'm asking." Rick said and cocked his gun.
"You're gonna leave me here like this?" The guy asked as Rick finished tying his hands and legs, "You're really gonna do that?"
"Eh, the knots aren't that tight. You should be able to get free... after we're long gone."
"Maybe we should talk now." The guy says and I hold a can of soda that exploded in my bag
"Nah. Here." I tell him tossing the can at him, "In case you get thirsty." We get in the truck and Rick starts it, I put my feet on the dash and stick my middle finger up out the window, "So long ya prick!" I yelled and Rick drives away
"Still worked out. Today still is the day." Rick tells me as we eat a candy bar and I turn the music up
"Hey, look at that." Rick points out the window
"Yeah, a barn." Suddenly there was a loud thump and I turn the radio down, "You hear that?" The thumping continues, "I think that son of a bitch is on the roof."
"Hold on." Rick says hits the brakes hard and the guy falls off the roof, gets up, looks at us then runs, Rick accelerates and I grab the handle opening the door
"Mother-"
"Daryl! Daryl!" Rick calls after me as I chase him on foot
"We came to a conclusion, asshole! I got him!" I tell Rick as I see the walkers that were tied to the trucks break free, the guy runs to the truck opening the door getting in but I grab him and we struggle, "Come here, you little shit!" Suddenly I hear a gun cock and I look at him
"Duck." He tells me and I did then he fired the gun killing a walker that was coming up behind me
"Thanks." I tell him and punched his face, "That's my gun!" I said grabbing it then grabbing him, "Come here!" I start to pull him out of the truck as it rolls backwards and we fall to the ground, the door hits him in the head knocking him out and the truck goes into the water, Damn it
"You all right?" Rick asked me coming over
"Yeah. Law of averages. That's bullshit, man. Let's go check them cars, get the hell out of here." I tell him and start to walk
"What about the guy?"
"What about him?" I asked
"Well, he helped you."
"Maybe." I tell him
"He ever pull a weapon on you?" He asked me
"Fine. Let's put him up a tree." I said and grabbed the guys arms dragging him
Rick was driving the car and I was in the back with the guy, just then Rick jerked the car and the guys head landed on my shoulder, I shrugged him off and gave Rick a glare
"He took a pretty hard hit. Denise needs to look him over." Rick tells me
"Yeah."
"You wouldn't have gone through with it. You wouldn't have left him." He points out
"I would've, right up in a tree. I would've."
"No. I know. Almost as soon as we got to Alexandria, you got it. You saw- you... and Michonne, Glenn, you all tried to tell me. So shut up." He says and jerks the car again causing the guys head to once again land on me, I shoved him off and glared at Rick again, "'Cause I'm finally listening."
Phoebe POV...
Later that night I finished cleaning up the kitchen and living room after the kids left when suddenly I feel someone cover my eyes from behind, "Guess who?"
"Umm...Spencer?" I asked and got turned around
"Think you're funny?" He asked pressing up against me and I wrapped my arms around his neck
"Sorry, lots of attractive men around here while my husband is away" I jokingly said and he lifted me up setting me on the kitchen table moving himself between my legs.
"Mmm well I better be the only man you look at like that."
I smiled and kissed him, "Always" He kissed me and it started to grow more passionate, "I would be more then willing to continue this if we weren't displayed where everyone can see." I tell him indicating to the windows
"As you wish Mrs. Dixon" He told me grabbing my hand and pulled me upstairs.
"So tell me about this guy you met" I say to him as we lay in bed
"I don't know much about him, except he said his name is Jesus"
"Seriously?" I asked and he nodded, "Well ok then, and he's in the room we held Morgan?"
"Yep, under guard"
"Hmm" I mumble and he looked at me
"What?"
"Just strange how these random things keep happening, just when it gets back to being somewhat normal around here boom, random event" I tell him and he turned to face me
"I know, but after everything that's happened I will always be with you, okay?"
"Then can I ask a favor?" I asked him and he nodded his head, "Can I start going with you guys? I'm feeling kind of left out and it can just be simple runs, not one's where it's a week or so long"
"I don't know, what if something happens?"
"I'll have you with me, you always save me" I said and I saw the internal fight he was having.
"Alright, but only simple ones and no matter what you always stay by me" He says and I nodded my head then kissed him, suddenly we hear the door open and Glenn called for Daryl, we both got up and got dressed grabbing our guns and followed him and Maggie next door to Rick's house. When we walk in Daryl moved up the stairs followed by Glenn then me and Maggie, we see a man sitting at the top of the stairs who I assumed was this Jesus guy and we pointed our guns at him.
"You said we should talk, so let's talk" Rick told him and I saw him putting on a shirt
"So, how'd you get out?" Rick asked Jesus as he sat at the table
"One guard can't cover two exits or third floor windows. Knots untie and locks get picked. Entropy comes from order, right?" He asked Rick
"Right."
"I checked out your arsenal. I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. You're well-equipped, but your provisions are low. Very low for the amount of people you have. 54?" He asked
"More than that." Maggie answered
"Well, I appreciate the cookie. My compliments to the chef."
"Yeah, she ain't here." Daryl told him
"Look, we got off to a bad start. But we're on the same side- the living side. You and Rick had every reason to leave me out there, but you didn't. I'm from a place that's a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things, and both of you looked like trouble. I was wrong. You're good people. And this is a good place. I think our communities may be in a position to help each other." He informed us
"Do you have food?" Glenn asked him
"We've started to raise livestock. We scavenge, we grow. Everything from tomatoes to sorghum."
"Tell us why we should believe you." Rick says to him
"I'll show you. If we take a car, I can take you back home in a day, and you can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer."
"Wait, you're looking for more settlements. You mean you're already trading with other groups?" Maggie asked him
"Your world's about to get a whole lot bigger."
"Here." Denise says to me handing me something, "Homemade oat cake. Complex carbohydrates, omega-3s."
"Nah, I'm good. We're gonna make a pit stop. I'll pick up something then." Daryl says to her finishing up the RV
"Like rabies?"
"Is this 'cause I tried to get you that stuff?" Daryl asked her
"Yeah. And you remind me of someone I used to know." She says and he grabbed it from her
"Well...I hope it tastes better than it looks. 'Cause it looks like shit." He said to her putting it in his pocket
"Shit's still better than roadkill. Okay, maybe- just eat it." She tells him and handed me one, "It's good for the baby" She informed me and I nodded
"You sure you wanna come?" Daryl asked me
"I can't let you have fun by yourself" I smiled and he looked at me, "I'm sure, okay?"
"Can't I be worried?" He asked and I kissed his cheek
"Of course you can, but I have you by me, it'll be ok" I told him and he pulled me into a kiss
"Let's chew up some asphalt!" I hear Abraham yell and we loaded into the RV and drove off.
Daryl POV...
We sat in the RV and both Phoebe and Maggie fell asleep, Denise told me Phoebe would be tired a lot along with nauseous and a bunch of other things, that's why I worried about her. She was strong but right now she can't push herself, Maggie either, and after those people attacked Alexandria and Phoebe fought off two of them I got even more worried because she told me one slammed her back into the wall as she jumped on them but Denise said everything looked okay. Still though, that's our baby, we worked hard for us to start this family, I would make sure it happened no matter what.
"Hey. Can I ask you both a question?" Abraham says to me and Glenn
"Sure." Glenn replied and I nodded
"When you were, uh, pouring the Bisquick, were you trying to make pancakes?" Abraham asked and I just looked at him, the hell?
"Uh... yes?" Glenn asked with question, "Oh, okay, um... it's something that we talked about, yeah." Glenn told him and I got it
"Yeah. Why?" I asked him
"No, I just... Well, given the precarious state of affairs on any given Sunday, I am damn near floored that the both of you or anyone else would have the cojones to make a call like that."
"I mean, well...we're trying to build something, me and her. All of us." Glenn says to him
"Me and her planned on it back at the prison" I told him
"For the record, I see rain coming, I'm wearing galoshes. I double up." Abraham says and then the RV slowed down
"Yo, Rick. What's going on?" I asked him looking out the window
"We got a crash ahead. Looks like it just happened."
"It's one of ours." Jesus said exiting the RV, Phoebe woke up and looked at me confused
"What's going on?" She asked
"Accident up ahead" I told her and she looked out the window then we all got out and went over to the car
"If this is a trick, it won't end well for you." Rick tells him pointing his gun at the guy
"My people are in trouble. They don't- we don't have a lot of fighters. I know how it looks, but I'll play it out. Can I borrow a gun?" He asked
"No." I tell him and look at the ground, "We got tracks right here."
Rick bangs on the door of the building we followed the tracks to, "They gotta be in there." Jesus points out
"We moving in or what?" Abraham asked
"How do we know this ain't firecrackers in a trash can?" I asked him walking around to the door
"You don't."
"We'll get your people. You're staying here with one of us. That's the deal." Rick tells him
"Will you stay?" Glenn asked Maggie
"Yeah. Y'all go. Just be careful."
"Stay too" I told Phoebe and she nodded aiming her gun at Jesus
"Yeah. We're gonna be careful." Rick says as he handcuffs the guy
"Just hurry."
"You hear me whistle, shoot him." Rick tells Phoebe
"I will."
Phoebe POV...
"Name's Harlan, by the way." He says to Maggie, Glenn and me
"Maggie. That's my husband, Glenn, and that's Phoebe." Maggie introduced and I smiled at him
"We're bringing back medication, so you may have saved more people than just us back there, Glenn."
"You're a doctor?" Glenn asked him
"Yeah, that's right."
"You have any prenatal vitamins in there?" Glenn asked him and he looked at Maggie
"For you?"
"Mm-hmm. Her too" Maggie says and I nodded my head
"Well, uh, I was an obstetrician before, and I most definitely owe you. So, I'd say you three just hit the jackpot." Harlan told us and I smiled then walked out of the back and sat next to Daryl who wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
"Damn it." Rick says revving the motor, "A storm must've passed through. We're stuck."
"No worries. We're here." Jesus tells us and gets out, "That's us. That's the Hilltop." He says and we see a tall wooded fence and walk towards it
"Stop right there." A man yells from the top and we raise our guns but Jesus steps in front of us wit his hands raised
"Whoa!"
"You gonna make us?" Daryl asked the man holding a spear
"Jesus, what the hell is this?"
"Open the gates, Cal. Freddie's hurt." Jesus tells him and looks at us, "Look, sorry about these guys. They get antsy standing up there all day doing nothing."
"They give up the weapons. Then we'll open the gates."
"Why don't you come down here and get 'em?" Daryl asked
"Gentlemen, look, we vouch for these people, all right? They saved us out there." Harlan tells them
"Lower the spears." Jesus ordered
"Look, I'm not taking any chances. Tell your guy Gregory to come out here." Rick says to Jesus
"No. Don't you see what just happened? I'm letting you keep your guns. Look, we ran out of ammo months ago. I like you people. I trust you. Trust us." He says and faces the gate, "Open the gates, Cal." He tells them and they open up and we walk in.
"There was a materials yard for a power company nearby. That's how we put up the walls. A lot of people came from a FEMA camp. Trailers came with them." Jesus informed us
"How did people find out about this place?" Michonne asked him
"That's called Barrington House. The family that owned it gave it to the state in the '30s. The state turned it into a living history museum. Every elementary school for 50 miles used to come here for field trips. The place was running a long time before the modern world built up around it. I think people came here because they figured it'd keep running after the modern world broke down. Those windows up there let us see for miles in every direction. It's perfect for security. Come on. I'll show you inside." Jesus says to us and we head into the house.
"Good gracious, Ignatius." Abraham said in wonder as we walk in
"Most of the rooms have been converted to living spaces. Even the ones that weren't bedrooms."
"People live here and the trailers?" Rick asked
"We plan to build. There's babies being born."
"Jesus. You're back. With guests." A man said walking into the entry way
"Everyone, this is Gregory. He keeps the trains running on time around here." Jesus introduced
"I'm the boss."
"Well, I'm Rick. We have a community-"
"Why don't y'all go get cleaned up, hmm?" Gregory tells him cutting him off
"We're fine."
"Jesus will show you where you can get washed up. Then come back down here when you're ready. It's hard to keep this place clean." Gregory tells him
"Yeah. Sure."
"Follow me." Jesus tells us
"We want to generate trade. Gregory does. But ammo isn't something we urgently need." Jesus says to us after Maggie met with Gregory, it didn't go well.
"Well, how's that?" Rick asked
"The walls hold. We just brought in more medicine. Gregory wants the best deal possible."
"Yeah, well, we want things, too." Daryl tells him as he paced
"We need food. We came all this way, we're gonna get it."
"I will talk to him and we will work this out. Circumstances change. We're doing well now, and you will next. I will make him understand that. Can you give me a few days?" Jesus asked them
"We can." Michonne replied
"Yeah." Rick said in agreement, then we heard yelling outside and a guy came in
"What's wrong?" Gregory asked him coming out of his study
"They're back." He answered and we walked outside
"Nathan, what happened to everybody else? Where's Tim and Marsha?" Gregory asked him as we walked towards him
"They're dead."
"Negan?" Gregory asked
"Yeah"
"We had a deal." Gregory tells them
"He said it wasn't enough. Was the drop light?" The one guy asked
"No."
"They still have Craig." The girl told him
"They said they'd keep him alive, return him to us, if I deliver a message to you." Nathan tells Gregory walking up to him
"So, tell me."
"I'm sorry." Nathan said and stabbed Gregory. Me, Maggie and Jesus rush over to him as Rick and Michonne pulled Nathan back, "Get off of me! I had to!" He yelled pushing Michonne then went for Rick who brought him to the ground and started punching him, the other guy tried to pull him off but Abraham pushed him away and Rick attacked him again while the other guy started chocking Abraham, then Daryl went over grabbing his arm and broke his hand, Nathan rolls Rick over and Glenn rushes over, I went to stand up to help but Jesus held me back.
"Stay back! Anybody who tries to stop me is killing my brother!" Nathan shouted at us
"Drop it." Michonne warned him with her hand on her sword then suddenly Rick stabs Nathan in the neck, I close my eyes and look down the when I opened them I saw Rick stand up and look around
"What?" He asked
"Nathan! You killed him." The guy shouted
"He tried to kill Gregory, then me." Rick told him and the girl went over and punched him in the face then Michonne knocked her down
"Don't."
"Drop it now!" The guard tells Rick pointing his spear at him and Jesus moves past me rushing over to them
"I don't think I will."
"Everyone, this is over! It's over. Nathan was our friend, but let's not pretend he was anything more than a coward who attacked us. He did this. And these people stopped him." Jesus tells them
"What can I do?" Rick asked him
"Put the gun away. You've done enough. You need to know that things aren't as simple as they might seem. Just give me some time." Jesus tells him and walks back over to us as Harlan came over to Gregory.
"Dr. Carson was able to patch Gregory up. He's in pain, but he'll live." Jesus tells us walking into the room we were in
"So, what happens now?" Michonne asked him
"Things like that don't usually happen here, but, uh, it's settled."
"We heard the name Negan. A while back, Daryl and Abraham had a run-in with his men." Rick tells him, "Who is he?"
"Negan's the head of a group of people he calls the Saviors. As soon as the walls were built, the Saviors showed up. They met with Gregory on behalf of their boss. They made a lot of demands, even more threats. And he killed one of us- Rory. He was 16 years old. They beat him to death right in front of us. Said we needed to understand, right off the bat. Gregory's not exactly good at confrontation. He's not the leader I would've chosen, but he helped make this place what it is, and the people like him."
"He made the deal." Maggie points out
"Half of everything. Our supplies, our crops, our livestock, it goes to the Saviors." Jesus told us
"And what do you get in return?" Glenn asked
"They don't attack this place. They don't kill us." He replied
"Why not just kill them?" Daryl asked
"Most of the people here don't even know how to fight, even if we had ammo." Jesus answered
"Well, how many people does Negan have?" Rick asked him
"We don't know. We've seen groups as big as 20."
"Now, hold up. So, they show up, they kill a kid, and you give them half of everything? These dicks just got a good story. The bogeyman, he ain't shit." Daryl points out
"Well, how do you know?" Jesus asked
"A month ago, we took his guys out PDQ. Left them in pieces and puddles." Abraham said
"You know, we'll do it. If we go get your man back, kill Negan, take out his boys, will you hook us up? We want food, medicine, and one of them cows." Daryl adds and I shake my head, only him
"Confrontation's never been something we've had trouble with." Rick mentions and it was true
"I'll take it to Gregory." Jesus says and leaves, Rick, Michonne, and Glenn left after.
"Ready?" Harlan asked me and Daryl as I laid on the bed in the medical trailer so he could take an ultra sound of the baby. Our machine back home stopped working and Denise could only tell so much without it. I nodded my head as Daryl held my hand while Harlan put the wand on my stomach moving it around then we hear it, our baby's heartbeat, I smiled looking at the screen then at Daryl who kissed my head, "Everything looks great."
"Can you tell what it is yet?" I asked him
"Sadly not yet, you have to be at least 5 months along for me to know for sure." He said and I nodded my head then he printed us out a picture. I took it and we walked out of the trailer heading to the RV driving off. Maggie and Glenn had gotten an ultra sound too, me and Maggie looked at each others photos then passed them around. Once I got mine back I laid my head on Daryl's shoulder still looking at it. It really was a miracle.