Fear the Dead, Fight the Living
It's been a few days since the compound, I was sitting on the steps of our porch watching Daryl fix up his bike when my mom walked over, "Didn't even notice. Got your bike back."
"Yeah. You got another one of those?" He asked her indicating to her cigarette and she handed him one from her pack and he lights it
"Those people you met, the ones in the burnt forest, they took it from you?" She asked him
"Yeah."
"You saved them, right? Sorry. It's who you are. We're still stuck with that." She tells him
"No, we ain't. I should've killed them." He told her and I put my head down then got up and walked away.
"After I got out of DC, I just drove. I remember seeing it right when I realized I had no idea where I was going. Edison's Apothecary and Boutique. It's just this little gift shop in a strip mall, but if it's really an apothecary, they had drugs." Denise tells Daryl after I walked back over to the house
"How do you know they still got 'em?" He asked her
"It isn't that far. I just wanna check. And you and Rosita aren't out scavenging or pulling shifts."
"We'll go." He says indicating to Rosita as I leaned against the railing, after what happened Daryl was never gonna let me do anything like that again.
"I wanted to check. I just wanted to help." Denise says
"How much time you spend out there?" Daryl asked her
"None."
"Forget it." He said
"I can ID the meds. I know how to use a machete now. I've seen roamers up close. I'm ready."
"You good with this?" Daryl asked Rosita
"No."
"I'll go alone, if I have to." Denise told them
"You'll die alone." Daryl pointed out
"I'm asking you to make sure I don't."
"I'm not babysitting her by myself." Rosita says
"Let me guess, you're not letting me go" I mentioned to Daryl as he finished getting ready
"No"
"Daryl..." I started to say but he walked over to me
"Look what happened last time. I said you could go then you, Maggie and your mom get taken. You ended up killing someone, and I had no idea what was gonna happen to you or our baby"
"That was different, you guys were going after bad people. This is a simple pharmacy run." I told him
"It ain't happening" He told me then went back over to his bag
"So what if something happens to you? Hmm? I'm just suppose to sit here and not know if you're dead or alive like I did last time?" I asked him
"That's not the same"
"How is it not the same? Anytime we step out of those walls there is a chance we could get attacked by walkers, those Saviors, or something else. This way if I go with I don't have to worry if I'm raise our child by myself" I told him and he huffed then looked at me
"No matter what you stay by me, no wondering off, no nothing. Got it?" He asked and I nodded my head as he pulled me to him, "Why do you have to be stubborn?"
"Because I married you" I said and he scoffed then kissed me. He deepened it and I moaned but pulled away, "Okay, as much as I want to continue we need to go" I tell him and he gave me another quick kiss and we left
Me, Denise, and Daryl sat in the truck while Rosita sat in the back I was next to Daryl as he drove and the gear kept grinding while Daryl shifted, "It- the..." Denise started to say
"What?" Daryl asked her
"Forget it."
"No, what?" He asked again
"I think maybe you're disengaging it too soon. I've been driving stick since I was 15, usually beat-up trucks like this. I mean, before- you know, before I left home. My brother taught me, so I just know." She tells him and he still did it, I saw Denise shake her head then I looked forward
"Daryl." I told him seeing a tree down in the road so he stopped the truck
"Stay here." He told me and Denise, I nodded as him and Rosita walked over to it. I see Rosita kill a walker that was in the tree as Daryl looked around. Then Denise's door opened
"Come on, it's clear" Rosita tells us and Denise got out as I opened the driver door and got out as well then Daryl walked over grabbing the bags out and I took mine from him
"What'd you find?" Denise asked Rosita
"Bottles of booze. Any takers?"
"No, thanks." Denise says to her
"For later. I'm not bringing these to the pantry."
"I'm good. They were kind of my parents' thing. Which is why they aren't mine." Denise told her
"That truck ain't gonna make it past this tree. Come on, let's walk." Daryl told us and I followed him
"Hold up. Looks like a straight shot if we follow the tracks." Denise pointed out
"No. No tracks. We'll take the road." He says, I knew why he didn't want to take the tracks
"That's twice as far." Rosita pointed out
"Go whichever way you like. I ain't taking no tracks." Daryl says and I walked with him
"About time." Rosita says to me, Denise and Daryl as we come up on the other set of tracks she was sitting on and we moved on.
"You doing okay?" Daryl asked me
"Same answer it was 10 minutes ago, I'm fine"
"Hey," He says to me as he grabbed my hand, "I'm allowed to be worried alright?"
"I know, but I'm okay. I will tell you if I'm not"
We get up to the building and Daryl knocked on the door, "All right, me and her are gonna do this. You're gonna stay back, got it?" He says to me and Denise who nodded. He handed me his rifle then reached into his bag pulling out a crowbar prying open the door and I handed him the gun back then we walk in, the smell was overpowering and I put the back of my hand over my mouth as Daryl rubbed my back then I hear Denise gag, "We gonna find out what you had for breakfast?" Daryl asked her
"Oatmeal. Just so you know." Denise says and I nodded my head to Daryl telling him I was okay and we moved forward
"Hey." Rosita called to us and we see a window for the pharmacy then Daryl moves over to open it
"You want me to hold your bags, or...?" Denise asked them as Daryl gets the window open, "If you set 'em on the counter, I can tell you which."
"No, we're gonna take it all." Daryl told her climbing in
"Are you sure? Because-"
"No, it's fine." Rosita says following him and we hear a thudding noise coming from another room
"It's just one, it sounds like it's stuck" I point out and they continue what they were doing as I stood by the window and I didn't even see Denise move towards the door until she rushed out shutting it then ran into a shelf knocking glass bowls down
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked waking over to her
"Nothing." She says and walked out
"Hey. You did good finding this place." Daryl told her as we walked out seeing her sitting ion the sidewalk, it looked like she was crying
"Tried to tell you you weren't ready. We both did." Rosita told her
"I know."
"So was he older or younger?" I asked Denise as we made our way back to the truck
"Older. By six minutes. My parents came up with the Dennis/Denise thing on one of their benders. Hilarious, right?" She asked and I smiled, "Nothing scared him. He was brave. He was angry, too. It's kind of a dangerous combination."
"Sounds like we had the same brother." Daryl told her and I looked at him grabbing his hand and he started to walk towards the tracks
"Hey." Rosita called to him
"This way's faster, right?" He asked and looked at me, I smiled then we continued our way down the tracks until we come up on some cars
"There's a cooler in there!" Denise called and I see her standing by a car, "Might be something we can use inside."
"We got what we came for." I told her
"Nah, ain't worth the trouble, come on." Daryl agreed as we started to move again but then we hear her give a small scream and I quickly ran over to her with Daryl and Rosita following me
"No, don't!" She yells to me as I get to her with my knife out and she struggled then killed the walker then looked at us then stood up. After a moments she faced us then threw up, I turned away and Daryl put his hand on my shoulder, "Oh, man. I threw up on my glasses." She says and opened up the cooler, "Hot damn."
"What the hell was that? You could've died right there, you know that?" I told her
"Yeah, I do."
"Are you hearing me?" I asked
"Who gives a shit? You could've died killing those Saviors, all three of you, but you didn't. You wanna live, you take chances. That's how it works. That's what I did."
"For a couple of damn sodas?" Daryl asked her
"Nope. Just this one." She told him holding up one walking past us
"Are you seriously that stupid?" Rosita asked her as we followed her
"Are you? I mean it. Are you? Do you have any clue what that was to me, what this whole thing is to me? See, I have training in this shit. I'm not making it up as I go along, like with the stitches and the surgery and the...I asked you to come with me because you're brave like my brother and sometimes you actually make me feel safe." She says to Daryl, "And I wanted you here because you're alone. Probably for the first time in your life. And because you're stronger than you think you are, which gives me hope that maybe I can be, too." She tells Rosita, "And I know you came with because you would rather be with him in the face of danger then back at home alone worrying about him" She told me and I looked at Daryl, "I could've gone with Tara. I could've told her I loved her, but I didn't because I was afraid. That's what's stupid. Not coming out here, not facing my shit. And it makes me sick that you guys aren't even trying because you're strong and you're smart and you're all really good people, and if you don't wake..." She started to say but then suddenly an arrow goes through her eye, "up...and face your..." She stopped saying as she fell to the ground with Daryl catching her and we see a few people come out of the trees. Both me and Rosita raised our guns followed by Daryl as I see a blond guy with a half burned face holding Daryl's crossbow stand there holding Eugene.
"You drop 'em now!" He warned and I hesitated then put mine down, "Well, hell. You got something to say to me? You gonna clear the air? Step up on that high horse?" He asked Daryl who's anger I could feel from next to me, "No. You don't talk much." He nodded to some of the guys who came over and searched us taking my knife and my bag and I glanced at the crossbow, "Still getting the hang of her. Kicks like a bitch, but-"
"I should've done it." Daryl cut him off
"Oh, what's that? Seriously, I didn't catch what you said."
"I should've killed you." Daryl told him
"Yeah, you probably should've. So, here we are. Kind of begs the question, right? Who brought this on who? I mean, I get that you'll just have to take my word for this, but... she wasn't even the one I was aiming for." The guy says and I clentch my fist, "Like I said, kicks like a bitch. It's nothing personal. Look, this isn't how we like to start new business arrangements, but, well, you pricks kind of set the tone, didn't you?"
"What do you want?" Rosita asked him
"I'm sorry, darlin', I didn't catch your name. I'm D, or Dwight. You can call me either. So? What's your name?"
"Rosita. What do you want?" She asked again
"Well, Rosita... it's not what I want. It's what you, Daryl, and..what's your name?" He asked me
"Don't talk to her" Daryl said defensively and Dwight smiled
"Now don't be rude, what's your name?" Dwight asked me again ignoring Daryl
"Phoebe"
"Hmm Phoebe, like I was say you three are going to let us into your little complex. It looks like it's just beautiful in there. And then you're going to let us take whatever and whoever we want..." He says looking at me and Rosita, "or we blow Eugene's brains out. And then yours. And then his. I hope it doesn't come to that, really. Nobody else has to die. We just try and start with one. You know...maximum impact to get our point across. So what's it gonna be?" Dwight asked, "You tell me."
"You wanna kill someone, you start with our companion hiding over there behind the oil barrels." Eugene tells him and I glanced over seeing Abraham hiding, "He's a first-class a-hole and he deserves it so much more than us three."
"Go check it out." Dwight told them and a few of the guys walked over to where Abraham was and I see Eugene look at us then suddenly he moved and bit down on Dwight's well...yeah then Abraham started shooting people from behind the trees. I snatched my knife from one of the guys then stabbed him in the head grabbing my gun
"Phoebe take cover now!" Daryl yelled to me and Rosita pulled me behind a car then we started shooting at them then Daryl ducked behind another car as I see walkers come out of the woods, I shoot one that was getting close to Abraham then shot another one of the men.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Dwight yells at them and they start to back off then I see Dwight raise his gun and shoot at Daryl who ducked and I aimed at him but missed shooting the tree next to him and he looked at me then ran with the rest of them.
Daryl climbs over the car running over and grabbing his crossbow, he was about to follow but I stopped him, "Daryl stop!" I said and he did then looked at Denise moving over to her as me and Rosita moved to Eugene then Abraham came over and the 3 of them lifted Eugene up carrying him away and I followed.
We stood in the infirmary after we got back and Rosita patched Eugene up with my help, Daryl stood by the window and I walked over to him as he looked out it, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" He asked me still looking out it
"About Denise, about coming with. You were right I can't...I keep putting you through this, that arrow could have hit me and I just..." I was cut off when he pulled me into a hug
"I just want the both of you safe. I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm trying to be a husband and a soon to be father. I can't lose you Pheebs" He says and I look at him
"I can't lose you either, and I know you, you're gonna hunt him down but Daryl, please don't, for me" I told him and he was about to say something when Abraham walked in
"Rick's coming. How is he?" He asked moving to Rosita who was standing by Eugene
"Bullet just grazed him, but it's a good thing we got him back when we did. Antibiotics we picked up could save him from an infection. Could save his life. That's what Denise did." She tells him and Eugene started to cough, "You here?" She asked him
"Present."
"Good." Abraham says and Rosita walked away
"I was not trying to kill you. I was looking for a moment." Eugene says to Abraham
"You found it."
"Do you apologize for questioning my skills?" He asked Abraham
"I apologize for questioning your skills. You know how to bite a dick, Eugene. I mean that with the utmost of respect. Welcome to stage two." Abraham tells him and I gave a light chuckle
"Don't need to welcome me. I've been here a while." He says to him
Me, Daryl and my mom were finishing burying Denise when Daryl stopped and opened up a small bottle of alcohol drinking it then continued, I looked at him then my mom who gave me a small smile and I finished helping him.
Then we headed home and I headed to the bathroom to shower, to my surprise Daryl followed me in there and I ran my fingers through his hair as he stood under the water. I put my hand on his face and he pulled me to him wrapping his arms around me and buried his head in my shoulder, I hear him sniffle and I kiss his shoulder.
Carol POV...
I couldn't do it anymore, I won't, as much as it hurts me I have to do this, for them, for her. I quietly walked into their house and made my way up the stairs reaching their bedroom, I slowly opened the door and saw they were asleep with Daryl holding her. I walked in and placed the paper on the night stand next to Phoebe then leaned down and kissed her head then left.
Daryl POV...
I woke up not getting much sleep and I looked over at Phoebe, I couldn't fight it, I have to do this, I should have done this in the first place. I slowly got out of bed trying not to wake her because if I did she would look at me with her beautiful eyes and I wouldn't have a choice but to stay for her. I got dressed then bent down kissing her on the head then moved and kissed her stomach that had our baby inside it, "I'll be back" I whispered to the spot I just kissed and I left.
Phoebe POV...
When I woke up the next day I turned in the bed stretching my arm out for Daryl but I sat up when I saw he wasn't there. I went to get out of the bed but stopped when I saw a piece of paper on my nightstand with my mom's hand writing on it. I sat on the edge of the bed and read it.
My sweet girl,
I want you to know that what I am about to tell you is my decision and my decision alone. I have been trying so hard since I reunited with you after the prison to hold on to everything I was before, but I can't. I can't be here without having to kill for you, or you having to kill for me. When those people took us and you stopped that guy from hurting me I was more worried for you and your baby then I was for me. I love you Phoebe, more then anything and I know you will want to come after me but don't, please. I'll be okay, this is the only way I can fight who I've become. Take care of yourself, your baby and Daryl, he's gonna need you now and you are gonna need him. I love you, I love my unborn grandchild. Be safe my sweet girl.
I looked at the letter in shock then got up, got dressed and ran out of the house. I make it down the street and see Tobin walking with Rick as they headed to the gate, "Rick!" I yelled and they stopped, "My mom...she's..."
"We know." Rick told me putting his hand on my shoulder as I caught my breath
"How did you.." I started to ask then Rick showed me a letter she wrote Tobin, "We have to.."
"No. Not you, you stay here. We got this" Rick told me
"But..."
"Rick, I took over at 12:00, I was on till 6:00. I never saw anything." Sasha tells him cutting me off
"Front's been quiet since the others left." Abraham says
"What? Who?" I asked him
"Daryl." He said and my heart dropped, Damn it Daryl, "He went ICBM after the Saviors from yesterday. Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, they all went to shut that shit down."
"Where's the other car?" Tobin asked walking to the gate, "We added two more cars yesterday. One of them's missing, the one we put right between those houses."
"You can barely see between the houses from up top, especially at night." Abraham pointed out
"The note, can I see it?" Morgan asked Rick and he handed it to him
"You never saw any headlights, taillights? She's smart enough to cover her tracks." I asked them
"She must've left during the shift change." Sasha says and Morgan walked away
"Where are you going?" Rick asked him
"I'm gonna go find her."
"Wait.' Rick tells him and looked at me, "Tell Carl I'll be back soon. No one else leaves. Everyone else stays ready for a fight."
"Rick..."
"No, I know what you're gonna ask and I can't let you go after either one of them. I'll find her okay?" He says and I fought back tears
"What about Daryl?" I asked him
"The others will find him and bring him home. Don't worry" He tells me putting his hand on my shoulder, ignoring the pain in my heart I nodded my head then walked away
Daryl POV...
I walked through the woods trying to follow the trail I picked up when I hear rustling behind me, I turned around and shot my crossbow at the tree next to Rosita and I see Glenn and Michonne with her
"Watch the hell out, asshole." She tells me taking the arrow out of the tree and I walk over grabbing it from her
"I did. You shouldn't have come."
"You shouldn't have left." Michonne told me
"When I split off from Sasha and Abraham, he was out there in the woods, in that burned-out forest with them girls, put a gun to my head, tied me up. I even tried to help him." I said walking away but Glenn stopped me
"So, you think it's your fault?"
"Yeah, I know it is. I'm gonna go do what I should've done before." I told him and walked away again
"What, for her?" He asked speaking about Denise, "She's gone, man. You're doing this for you."
"Man, I don't give a shit."
"Daryl..." He says and caught up standing in front of me, "We need to get back there and figure this out from home. Our home. Where your wife is," He says and I look at him, "We need you, and everyone back there needs us right now. Phoebe needs you. It's- it's gonna go wrong out here." He begged
"We'll square it. I will. I promise you. Just come back." Michonne adds
"I can't." I said and moved past Glenn
"Daryl."
"Man, I can't!" I said and continued walking. I know he's right, I didn't want to do this to Phoebe, I didn't, but I can't stop, not until it's done.
Phoebe POV...
I was sitting with Maggie in the kitchen fiddling with my ring when she grabs my hand, I look at her giving a sad smile then there's a knock on the door and she gets up and walks over to the door letting Enid in, "Scott said you were looking for me? What's up?"
"I need some more help." Maggie tells her handing her a pair of scissors
After about 20 or so minutes of Enid snipping away at Maggie's hair I handed Maggie a mirror and she looked at herself
"I like it. But why?" Enid asked her
"Hmm. I have to keep going. And I don't want anything getting in my way." Maggie tells her then grunts and leans forward a bit, I sat upright and looked at her
"Man, did I go too short? I-I only used to cut my dad's." Enid tells her
"No, it's not that." Maggie tells her and leans forward more
"Maggie?" I asked getting up and she screamed falling to the floor, I grabbed her so she wouldn't hurt herself, "Maggie. Maggie!" I held my arms around her as she screamed and whimpered, "Enid go get Abraham, Aaron, or someone now!" I tell her and she runs out, "It's ok I got you, I got you." I whispered to Maggie as she held her stomach
Maggie laid on the bed in the back of the RV, we left just a little bit ago to bring her to the Hilltop to their doctor, after Aaron left Rick walked in and I walked out giving them privacy.
Rick walked out and told me Maggie wanted me to go back in, I walked in and sat down next to her, "You ok?"
"I'm holding on"
"I wanna let you know that I'll do anything to protect you and your baby, but you both are gonna be fine and I will get to spoil the living hell out of this kid." She smiles and I feel the RV stop, "I'll be right back" I stood up and walked over to Rick and see people in the road.
"What?" Rick asked Abraham
"Enemy close. We doing this?"
"No." Rick tells him and Abraham puts the RV in park and Rick gets out and I follow him
"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen." One of the guys says
"We can make a deal right here, right now." Rick says to them
"That's right, we can. Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you. That's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen."
"Yeah... that deal's not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you. Any more of you." Rick says and one guy shakes a can of spray paint and paints it on the dead body in front of them
"Sorry, my deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate."
Rick motions for us to get back in the RV, I stay by the door as the others go in waiting for Rick, "Me and my people are leaving."
"Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going."
"You want to make today your last day on Earth?" Rick asked him stopping by the door
"No, but that is a good thing to bring up. Think about it. What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true? Maybe you should be extra nice to those people in that RV, 'cause you never know. Just like that. Be kind to each other. Like you said... like it was your last day on Earth."
"You do the same" Rick tells him and we get in
"Logrun Road's a straight shot." I tell them looking at the map with Eugene and Sasha
"We want visibility."
"There, you got it on Shelton. Golf course, country clubs, sloping terrain. No bum rush from the bogeyman. We'd see them from a good piece. It is a longer trip by a third, but we'd get the scenic safety of clear-cut dingles and glens." Eugene tells her
"You're being serious, right?" Sasha asked him
"As coronary thrombosis."
"You got a route?" Rick asked her walking over
"Yeah."
"Let's go" He says and I look out the window at the walker hitting the side of the RV, I have to get Maggie there, no matter what
"Bitch nuts." I hear Abraham say and I get up to look out the window and Rick joins
"We making our stand?" Sasha asked him
"Yeah, we end it." Carl tells her
"No, not now. They've been waiting. They're ready. With one of us behind the wheel, that's five on 16. We're gonna play it our way, how we want it. Right?" He asked Carl
"Right."
"All right, go slow." He tells Abraham who puts the RV in reverse
"How are we on gas?" Rick asked
"Half a tank. I pulled some more cans before we left."
"Those weren't the same men who blocked the road the first time." I point out
"Same outfit, different soldiers. They got numbers." Abraham tells Rick
"Yeah, we keep driving, we get her there."
"We will." Sasha says
"If we have to shove each and every one of them up their own asses." Abraham adds and the RV slows down as he stops it as we see a line of walkers standing in the road
"We can't go through it. Can't risk the RV. You stay behind the wheel, just in case. We'll clear it." Rick tells him and he gets out followed by the rest of us with our guns raised
"Putting together a red rover like that takes people. A lot of them." Eugene tells us
"Come on, let's do this." Rick said grabbing his knife
"Dad. That's Michonne's." Carl tells him and I see a piece of Michonne's hair on a walker and I look over at another one and my heart stops
"That's Daryl's." I said seeing two of his bolts in it, then there's gunfire aiming at our feet
"Get back to the RV! Go!" Rick orders us as Abraham pulls me with him and the others start firing at the trees, I see Rick cut a walkers arm giving us our passage then we get in and drive away
"She's burning up." I tell Rick walking out of the room Maggie was in and I hear the RV squeal
"Rick." Abraham says and I look forward seeing more people in the road
"Son of a bitch" I whisper under my breath
"Go back." Rick tells him
"Where?"
We walk up to another block in the road, only this time it was trees
"These tracks...they would indicate they not only have people, but some big-ass toys and capabilities." Eugene points out
"What it indicates is we are neck-deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open." Abraham says and suddenly there's a scream and we see a man dangling from the bridge, "Don't." He tells Aaron who's pointing his gun at the man
"I can try and break the chain."
"It won't work." Abraham says to him
"It won't work." I add, "And we need the bullets." I said and the guy dies, just then the trees behind us start on fire.
"You're treating your people good, right? Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of theirs? You better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where you're going." We hear a savior tells us and I point my gun up but Rick moves it down
"Go, go" He says and I feel someone pull me back into the RV and we leave
"So, what's the play?" Abraham asked after we got away and stopped then Rick came out
"She needs a doctor."
"There are two more routes north from here." I tell them looking at the map
"They're probably waiting for us right now." Aaron tells me
"So, they're ahead of us, probably behind us. But they're not waiting on us, per se, they're waiting on this rust bucket. And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust-bucket. And the sun sets soon." Eugene says and I look at him
I finished getting Maggie set up on the stretcher we were gonna carry her on, "Don't worry Maggie, I'll get you both there." I tell her and she slowly nods her head and we carry her out then make for the woods
"Aaron, Phoebe, please. Just let me walk it." Maggie tells us as me and her walk next to her
"Relax. Just a few more miles."
"There's no way in hell I'm letting you off this thing until we get there" I tell her and she looks at me as I put my hand on her shoulder
"I heard what you told her when we were leaving. We can do anything, 'cause we'll do anything we need to do. We have and we will. What happened to Denise, I'm not gonna let anybody die like that again." I hear Carl tell Rick
"Son..." Rick started to say but he stopped when we heard whistling
"What?" I asked him
"Go! Go!" Rick tells us and we start moving faster as the whistling continues
We keep going but stop when a light shines at us and we are surrounded by Saviors, "Good. You made it. Welcome to where you're going. We'll take your weapons. Now." The one Savior tells us and I aim my gun at him standing next to Maggie and I see Eugene on his knees
"We can talk about-" Rick starts to say
"We're done talking. Time to listen." The savior tells him and a few come over taking our guns from us, "That's yours, right?" He asked Carl indicating to his gun, "Yeah, it's yours. Okay. Let's get her down and get you all on your knees." He tells us and two men walk over but I step in front of them, "Lots to cover."
"We got it." I tell them and they grin at me
"Sure, sure." The savior said, me and Aaron help Maggie off the stretcher and I hold onto her so she doesn't fall then help her to the ground
"I got you" I whisper to her kneeling next to her
"Dwight!" The savior yells
"Yeah."
"Chop-chop." He says and the guy goes over to a van
"Come on. You got people to meet." He says and I see a couple guys bring out Daryl, I feel my heart twist in pain seeing that he had a blanket on him and I saw blood, he looked at me and I fought back tears, then I see Michonne, Rosita and Glenn follow him
"Maggie?" Glenn asked
"On your knees!" Dwight tells him grabbing him forcing him to kneel, I kept my eyes on Daryl who looked horrible
"All right! We got a full boat. Let's meet the man." The savior says and knocks on the door of the RV, shortly after a man comes out, leather jacket, red scarf and a barbed wire bat.
"Pissing our pants yet? Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close. Yep. It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon. Which one of you pricks is the leader?" The man asked
"It's this one. He's the guy." The Savior tells him and the man walks over to Rick
"Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly. Yeah. You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes. Yes, you are. You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if you're stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready? Here goes. Pay attention. Give me your shit...or I will kill you. Today was career day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now, I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly will. You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out. You are not safe. Not even close. In fact, you are pegged, more pegged if you don't do what I want. And what I want is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be. So, if someone knocks on your door...you let us in. We own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down. You understand?" He asked Rick, "What, no answer? You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished, now, did you? I don't want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go. I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're dead, now, can you? I'm not growing a garden. But you killed my people, a whole damn lot of them. More than I'm comfortable with. And for that, for that you're gonna pay. So, now... I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you." He says and I look at Daryl then at the ground, "This- this is Lucille, and she is awesome. All this, all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor." Negan inhales sharply in front of Abraham and rubs his chin, "Huh. Ugh, I gotta shave this shit. You got one of our guns. Whoa. Yeah. You got a lot of our guns." He stops in front of Carl, "Shit, kid, lighten up. At least cry a little." He walks away stropping in front of Maggie, "Jesus. You look shitty. I should just put you out of your misery right now." He said and I was about to move but Glenn does it instead.
"No! No!" He yells but gets pulled back and a couple saviors beat him
"Stop it! God-!" Maggie pleaded and I put my hand on her shoulder
"Nope. Nope, get him back in line." Negan tells them, "All right, listen. Don't any of you do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free. It's an emotional moment, I get it. Sucks, don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit. This is your kid, right?" Negan asked Rick, "This is definitely your kid."
"Just stop this!" Rick pleaded
"Hey! Do not make me kill the little future serial killer. Don't make it easy on me. I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order." He says and whistles, "I simply cannot decide. I got an idea." He says and moves over to Rick and points his bat at him, "Eenie..." To Maggie, "meenie..." Abraham, "miney..." Michonne "mo..." Rosita "catch..." Daryl, no, please "a tiger..." me "by...his toe." Sasha "If..." Aaron "he hollers..." Eugene "let him go. My mother..." Carl "told me..." me again "to pick the very best one..." Rick "and you... are..." He lands on his choice "it. Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell, you're all gonna be doing that." He says and swings his bat on their head, "Ho! Ho! Look at that. Taking it like a champ!" He says and hits them again, over and over as I kneel there watching it happen and I look at Daryl failing to fight the tears that fell out of my eyes.
"Suck...my...nuts." Abraham struggles to say after Negan hit the first time and then hits him again
"Did you hear that? He said, "Suck my nuts." Phew." after a few more blows he holds up his bat, "Oh, my goodness! Look at this! You guys, look at my dirty girl! Sweetheart... Lay your eyes on this." He tells Rosita, "Oh, damn. Were you - Were you together? That sucks. But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all this. Red - and hell, he was, is, and will ever be red. He just took one or six or seven for the team! So take...a damn look." He tells her then I see Daryl jump up and punch him in the face
"Daryl!" I shouted at him as a couple saviors take him down and tears roll down my face
"No! Oh, no. That? Oh, my! That... is a no-no. The whole thing - not one bit of that shit flies here."
"Do you want me to do it?" Dwight asked him pointing Daryl's crossbow at him, "Right here."
"No. No, you don't kill them...not until you try a little." Negan tells him and they move Daryl back to his spot and I look at him, "And anyway... that's not how it works. Now, I already told you people - first one's free, then - what'd I say? I said I would shut that sh1t down! No exceptions. Now, I don't know what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with... but I'm a man of my word. First impressions are important. I need you to know me. So... back to it." He says and brings the bat down on Glenn, No, I thought to myself as I watched my best friend, Maggie's husband, get killed and my heart shattered even more, "Buddy, you still there?" He asked Glenn who was trying to speak, "I just don't know. It seems like you're trying to speak, but you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard, your eyeball just popped out, and it is gross as shit!"
"Maggie, I'll find you." Glenn gurgles out and I put my hand on hers as she sobbed while Negan started hitting him again and again
"Oh. Oh, hell. I can see this is hard on you guys, I am sorry. I truly am. But I did say it. No exceptions!" He said and beat Glenn some more, tears rolled down my face and my heart was breaking listening to Maggie, "Lucille is thirsty. She is a vampire bat." He says and I squeeze Maggie's hand, "What? Was the joke that bad?"
"I'm gonna kill you." I hear Rick tell him
"What? I didn't quite catch that. You're gonna have to speak up."
"Not today...not tomorrow...but I'm gonna kill you." Rick says again
"Jesus. Simon...what did he have, a knife?" Negan asked
"Uh, he had a hatchet."
"A hatchet?" Negan asked him
"He had an ax."
"Simon's my right-hand man. Having one of those is important. I mean, what do you have left without them? A whole lot of work. Do you have one? Maybe one of these fine people still breathing? Oh. Or did I..." He indicated to Abraham and Glenn, "Sure. Yeah. Give me his ax." He says and the guy brings it over, Negan looks at Rick then grabs him dragging him to the RV, "I'll be right back. Maybe Rick will be with me. And if not, well, we can just turn these people inside out, won't we? I mean... the ones that are left." He says and gets in, after the Engine sputters it started and they drove off
After finally returning Negan pushes Rick out of the RV, "Here we are. Let me ask you something, Rick -do you even know what that little trip was about?" Negan asked him but he stayed quiet, "Speak when you're spoken to. That trip was about the way that you looked at me. I wanted to change that. I wanted you to understand. But you're still looking at me the same damn way... like I shit in your scrambled eggs, and that's not gonna work. So...do I give you another chance?"
"Yeah, yes, yes" Rick answered
"Okay. All right. And here it is -the grand-prize game. What you do next will decide whether your crap day becomes everyone's last crap day or just another crap day. Get some guns to the back of their heads." He tells the Saviors and a few move behind us pointing guns at our heads, "Good. Now... level with their noses, so if you have to fire...it'll be a real mess. Kid..." He says to Carl, "Right here. Kid...now." He tells him and Carl moves over to him, "You a southpaw?"
"Am I a what?" Carl asked him
"You a lefty?" Negan asked
"No."
"Good." He tells him taking off his belt and tying it on Carl's arm, "That hurt?"
"No."
"Should. It's supposed to. All right. Get down on the ground, kid, next to Daddy. Spread them wings. Simon... you got a pen?"
"Yeah." He says and throwing the pen to Negan
"Sorry, kid. This is gonna be as cold as a warlock's ball sack, just like he was hanging his ball sack above you and dragging it right across the forearm. There you go. Gives you a little leverage."
"Please. Please. Please don't. Please don't." Rick pleaded to him
"Me? I ain't doing shIt. Ahh. Rick, I want you to take your ax... cut your son's left arm off, right on that line. Now, I know-I know. You're gonna have to process that for a second. That makes sense. Still, though, I'm gonna need you to do it, or all these people are gonna die. Then Carl dies, then the people back home die...and then you, eventually. I'm gonna keep you breathing for a few years, just so you can stew on it."
"You - You don't have to do this. We understand. We understand." Michonne begged him
"You understand. Yeah. I'm not sure that Rick does. I'm gonna need a clean cut right there on that line. Now, I know this is a screwed-up thing to ask, but it's gonna have to be like a salami slice - nothing messy, clean, 45 degrees - give us something to fold over. We got a great doctor. The kid'll be fine. Probably. Rick... this needs to happen now - chop, chop - or I will crush the little fella's skull myself."
"It can - It can - It can be me. It can be me. W-W- Y-You can do it to me. I c- I can go with - with you." Rick pleads
"No. This is the only way. Rick... pick up the ax. Not making a decision is a big decision. You really want to see all these people die? You will. You will see every ugly thing. Oh, my God. Are you gonna make me count? Okay, Rick. You win. I am counting. 3!"
"Please." Rick started crying, "Please. It can be me. Please!"
"2!"
"Please, don't do-" Rick pleads more and I squeeze Maggie's hand trying to hold myself back
"This is it."
"Aaah!" Rick yelled
"1."
"Dad... just do it. Just do it." Carl tells him and Rick crys some more then brings his arm up but Negan stopped him
"Rick. You answer to me. You provide for me. You belong to me. Right? Speak when you're spoken to! You answer to me. You provide for me."
"Provide for you." Rick repeats what he said
"You belong to me, right?!" Negan asked him
"Right. Right."
"That... is the look I wanted to see. We did it... all of us, together... even the dead guys on the ground. Hell, they get the spirit award, for sure." Negan said and sighed, "Today was a productive damn day! Now, I hope, for all your sake... that you get it now... that you understand how things work. Things have changed. Whatever you had going for you... that is over now. Ah. Dwight...load him up." He indicates to Daryl and I see Dwight grab him, I was about to move to rush over to him but Sasha and Maggie held me back
"No" I whispered locking eyes with my husband before they shut the door, "No" I cried and Maggie squeezed my hand.
"He's got guts -not a little bitch like someone I know. I like him. He's mine now. But you still want to try something? "Not today, not tomorrow." "Not today, not tomorrow"? I will cut pieces off of... Hell's his name?" Negan asked Simon
"Daryl."
"Wow. That actually sounds right. I will cut pieces off of Daryl and put them on your doorstep-or, better yet, I will bring him to you and have you do it for me. Ahh! Welcome to a brand-new beginning, you sorry shits! I'm gonna leave you a truck. Keep it. Use it to cart all the crap you're gonna find me. We'll be back for our first offering in one week. Until then... ta-ta." He tells us and they drive away, I get up and start to run after them but I feel someone grab me and I see it was Rick, I fall to the ground crying as he hugged me.
"Maggie" I hear Rick say and he moved away from me over to her as she stands, "Maggie, Maggie you need to sit down"
"No."
"We need to get you to the Hilltop." I tell her and she shakes her head
"You need to go get ready." She tells Rick
"For what?"
"To fight them." She says and moves away from me
"They have Daryl. They have an army. We would die - all of us."
"Go home. Take everybody with you. I can get there by myself." She says with her voice breaking
"You can barely stand up." I tell her
"I need to go. You need to go to Alexandria." She says breathing heavily, "You were out-out here for me."
"We still are." Rick says
"I can make it now. I need you to go back. I can't have you out here. I can't have you all out here anymore. I need you to go back."
"Maggie...I'm not letting you go alone, okay?" Rick said to her
"You have to."
"It's not gonna happen." I tell her and Sasha walks up to us
"I'll take her. I'm gonna get her there. I'm gonna keep her safe." Sasha says to us and looked at Maggie, "I'm not giving you a choice."
"I'm taking him with me." She indicated to Glenn, her voice breaks and she bends down trying to lift him but Rick puts his hand on her shoulder, "I need to do this. Please"
"We need to help you." Aaron tells her
"I got it. I got it." Carl says putting his hands on her shoulders
"Pl- Pl- Please let us. He- He's our family, t- He's our family, too." Rick says and Maggie moves going into Carl's arms
"You're okay." He reassured her as Rick, Aaron and Carl grab him
"All right. On three. 1, 2..." They lift him up and bring him to the truck, I pull Maggie to me and she cries into my shoulder
"I'm so sorry Maggie." I tell her and she tightened her arms around me while I feel my heart breaking, not only because we lost two of our best friends, our family, but because my husband was now taken by these assholes. I don't know what's gonna happen to him but all I know is right now I can't even breath.