Chapter 3-Making Plans
Shane's P.O.V
Shane sat on Rick's porch with Judith in his arms. He smiles at the toddler as he looks at the handprints on the porch. Shane looks at Rick as he walks out of the house with two cups of coffee. He hands one to Shane and sits down. "This reminds me of the days when Carl was young," Rick tells Shane.
"You mean when Lori was alive. The dead weren't walking, and we hadn't tried to kill each other," Shane says to Rick, who nods. "Were you trying to kill me?"
"I knew that didn't kill you. I thought the walkers had gotten you or that he died from blood loss. I always wanted to go back and bury you, but I never had the time," Rick tells Shane, who nods.
"After everything, I never stopped, and I didn't see anybody for months. I ended up in Mexico and met Madison, Alicia, and Travis as they were leaving to find Nick," Shane says.
"Who's Travis?" Rick asks.
"He was Madison's Husband. He died not long after we met. We got caught by the army. Troy was one of those people. But as the base got overrun, we got away in cars. We ended up in a ranch that got taken over by the Natives in the area. Madison and I got close, and after the damn blew up. Well, we got closer, and I took care of Alicia and Nick when we lost her for a little while. We got together in the first few weeks of the stadium," Shane tells Rick, who nods. Rick smiles at Judith.
"I think we need to talk about her," Rick says.
"No, we don't. You are her father, Rick, and Michonne is her mother. You raised her. I'm not looking to take her away from you or Michonne or Carl. I just want to be a part of her life. I want to have some say in the big parts of her life. She'll stay in Alexandria with you," Shane tells Rick, who nods.
"Lori would be proud of the man you've become," Rick says.
"She would be proud of you and Carl, too," Shane tells him. Rick nods as the two drink their coffee and look at Judith.
Al's P.O.V
Al steps out of the shower in Maggie's bathroom. She looks at the door as Maggie knocks. "There are some clothes for you on my bed. Come to my office when you are done," Maggie tells Al.
"Thanks," Al says. Al walks outside the room after she hears the door and Maggie's door closes. Al walks to the bed and gets dressed. She grabs her holster off the couch and puts her gun in it. Al grabs her camera and walks out of the room. She walks downstairs and into Maggie's office. Maggie sat in a chair looking at a piece of paper. "What is that?" Maggie looks up at her.
"It has everything we are taking to Alexandria today," Maggie says. Al nods as she sits down. "How did it feel to take a shower?"
"Good," Al tells them as there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Maggie says. Enid opens the door and walks in.
"We're ready to leave," Enid tells her. Maggie nods as she stands up. "Who is in charge while we're gone?"
"Kal," Maggie says. "Nothing should happen. He knows to lock Gregory up if he becomes a problem. Alden, Siddiq, and Tara will be driving the second truck, and we'll take the first one," Maggie tells Enid, who nods. Maggie stands up and looks at Al. "Shall we?" Maggie asks Al, who nods as she follows Maggie out.
Dwight's P.O.V
Dwight walks through the streets of Alexandria. He looks at one of the houses and sees one of the residents staring at him. Dwight looks away from the woman. "You shouldn't have come back here," She says to him. Dwight looks at her. "You're men killed my brother,"
"I tried to stop it," Dwight says to her.
"You should be in that cell with him," She says to him before she walks inside. Dwight sighs as he walks away.
"You okay?" Rosita asks him as he walks past her. Dwight looks at her.
"One of the survivors here told me about their brother," Dwight says.
"Susie," Rosita says. "Her brother was killed in the first shootout,"
"I tried so hard to save as many people as possible," Dwight says.
"Look, I don't like you, Dwight. Hell, most people here don't like you, but you did save people. A lot more people would have died if you didn't slow the saviors down. And the information about the outposts saved people. You had to have known that some people wouldn't like that you are back," Rosita says.
"I did. But I still hate it," Dwight says.
"Dwight, I may not like you, but I do respect you. You could have stayed out there, never trying to make things right. But you didn't you came back here because you wanted to make what you did right. Not many people would do that. I don't even know if I would," Rosita says to him. "Try to ignore everybody and worry about what you need to do to forgive yourself," Rosita says to Dwight.
"Thanks, Rosita," Dwight says. Rosita nods as Dwight walks away.
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl puts his vest on and ties his boots. He grabs his crossbow and walks out of the bathroom. He looks at Alicia as she walks out of the room she was sharing with Charlie. Her hair was still damp from her shower. "This is the first time I have ever seen a clear Daryl Dixon," Alicia says.
"Don't get used to it," Daryl says. He walks downstairs and walks outside where John was cleaning his guns. Daryl sits down by him. John looks at Daryl and smiles.
"This is a nice place you got here," John says.
"It ain't bad," Daryl says to him. "Better than my old living situation,"
"It's better than sleeping in a truck," John tells him. They both look at the door as June opens the door and walks out.
"Daryl, Daniel, and Aaron are looking for you," June tells Daryl, who nods as he stands up. He walks into the house and over to Daniel and Aaron, who were sitting at the table talking.
"What's up?" Daryl asks them.
"So they told me about your plan to move to those campgrounds we found," Aaron says. "I remembered that there were a few holes in the wall around it,"
"Yeah, those weren't made by walkers," Daryl says.
"No, they weren't. I'm surprised the walls didn't go down," Aaron says. "But those parts need to be reinforced, and it might do you good to reinforce the whole thing," Aaron says.
"Yeah. You remember how many cabins there are there?" Daryl asks.
"At least two dozen," Aaron says. "You could tear some of those down for wood or modify them for other uses. It's a pretty open area once you get out of the woods. You could expand if you need to," Aaron says.
"We'll figure it out. What did you need?" Daryl asks.
"Right. So while you were gone, I went out on a few runs with Rosita. We came across a warehouse. It was where a lot of construction supplies were kept. Wood, metal, fences, tools," Aaron says.
"What's the catch?" Alicia asks from where she stood.
"It's overrun," Aaron says. "A couple dozen walkers, but if you could get in there. You could use the supplies in there to make the campground safer,"
"How many do you think we're talking about? An exact number," Cole says.
"70 to a hundred," Aaron says.
"Yeah, he's right. That is risky," Shane says.
"How big is the warehouse?" Daryl asks.
"Big," Aaron says.
"What's around it?" Daryl asks.
"A few trucks. The doors are chained shut. We found a delivery list in the trucks. It seems like the place was locked up at the start," Aaron says.
"Okay," Daryl looks at John. "Aaron, how far is it?"
"An hour," Aaron says.
"Okay, Aaron, take Troy, Daniel, Strand, and Cole and go check this place out. Don't try to get inside. Just check it out," Daryl says. "Also, see if those trucks can be driven,"
"I don't know if we should be doing it today," Aaron says.
"It's only for a few hours," Troy says.
"I'll let Rick know what you are doing," Daryl looks at Dwight as he walks inside. "Where have you been?"
"Taking a walk," Dwight tells him.
"Okay," Aaron says.
"We'll take Al's van," Daniel says as he stands up.
"I'll go talk with Rick. Be safe," Daryl says before he leaves.
John's P.O.V
John watched Nick and Morgan train. Aaron walks outside and looks at him. "Hey, John," Aaron says to him. John looks at Aaron. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what is it?" John asks.
"So, I'm taking care of a baby named Gracie, and I'm going on the run. I would ask someone else, but they are making sure nothing goes wrong today. Would you be okay with watching her while I'm gone?" Aaron asks John.
"Um, sure," John tells him.
"You sound a little hesitant," Aaron says.
"I'll do it," John tells Aaron. Aaron nods.
"Okay, I'll bring her over and give her to June," Aaron says. John nods as Aaron walks inside.
Maggie's P.O.V
Maggie watches as the gates to Alexandria opens. She drives the trick in and drives it down the street. She stops the car beside the church. Maggie climbs out of the car as Rick walks over to them. "You guys are the first ones here beside Carol," Rick says.
"Good," Maggie says. "Is Shane really here?"
"Yeah," Rick says. "He's with Carl if you and Enid want to go see him. He's in my house," Rick tells her. Maggie nods as she looks at Al.
"I'll see you later," Maggie says to Al.
"See you," Al says with a smile before she walks away. Maggie walks with Enid over to Rick's house. They walk up to the door and could hear Shane and Carl talking. They open the door. Maggie walks in and sees Carl and Shane sitting on the couch. Shane turns and looks at them.
"Maggie," Shane says as he stands up. "You look good, a lot different than the girl I remember on the farm,"
"You still look like the same man," Maggie says to Shane.
"Yeah," Shane says. "I'm sorry about Glenn, Beth, Hershel. They were good people. Some of the best,"
"You know how they died?" Maggie asks.
"Beth was shot in the head. The Governor killed Hershel. Negan killed Glenn," Shane says. "I know you see the same man that accused your father. That tried to kill Rick, the man who killed Otis. But I'm not him, and you don't have to believe me. I just hope that you let me prove that to you. To Rick, Carol, and Carl,"
"You've proved it to Daryl?" Maggie asks.
"Yeah, I'm still with him," Shane says. He looks at Enid. "I assume you're Enid. Carl's girlfriend," Enid smiles at him.
"Hi," Enid says to him. "I can come back later and let you two keep talking,"
"No need. I should go make sure Madison is okay," Shane says. "Be safe, buddy," Shane smiles at Enid as he walks outside. Maggie follows him.
"Madison's your girlfriend," Maggie says.
"Yeah," Shane says. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I thought I lost her, and Daryl almost died because I didn't try to stop Alicia, Nick, Strand, and Luciana from killing the Vultures,"
"I'll see you around," Maggie says before she walks away.
Morgan's P.O.V
Morgan looks at Carol as she walks outside. "Hey, Nick. That's enough for today," Morgan tells Nick, who nods as he walks away. Morgan walks over to Carol and sits down by her.
Carol looks at him.
"It's good to see you like this. You seem better," Carol says.
"I am better. Leaving with Daryl was a good decision," Morgan says.
"You both seem to be doing better," Carol says.
"Yeah, we both needed it," Morgan says. "I think Daryl seeing Shane alive and meeting John helped him. You know, when Daryl got shot, I thought I was about to lose another person I cared about. We had gotten close since Daryl moved into the Junkyard. He's my best friend. I need him to be alive. It makes everything we are doing easier," Morgan tells Carol.
"You picked the right person. Daryl Dixon is not an easy man to kill. He has been shot plenty of times. Daryl's a survivor, and so are you," Carol says. "But if Alicia shoots another one of my friends, I'm shooting her," Morgan smiles and nods.
"She won't," Morgan tells Carol. Morgan and Carol sit in silence, both of them enjoying each other's company.
Thanks for reading. The next chapter will focus on more of the characters and the other communities as well as the run. As I said, these first few chapters would be a little slow. Once the group reaches the campground, the story will start to pick up and focus on a few characters a chapter. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.