Chapter 16-Clearing the Warehouse

Alden's P.O.V

Alden walks outside of Daryl's house with Luciana, Cole, and Strand behind him. They walk over to Daniel, Aaron, and Jesus. "Are we ready?" Alden asks them.

"The people in Hilltop and Oceanside will meet us there," Daniel says. "Alden, we could use some more help, and nobody has heard from Gabriel. Would you and Luciana be okay with heading to Sanctuary while we make sure everything is okay,"

"Yeah, we can do that," Alden says while looking at Luciana, who nods.

"Good, we will meet you at the warehouse," Strand says before the five of them get in a truck. Alden and Luciana climb into another truck and head for the Sanctuary.

Troy's P.O.V

Troy stops his truck outside a cabin in the woods with a sigh. He grabs a bag on the passenger seat and gets out of the truck. He walks into the cabin. He shuts the door and looks at Gabriel, who was lying on a bed tied up. Gabriel looks at him. "Are you going to untie me?" Gabriel asks.

"Are you going to run to, Rick?" Troy asks.

"You never gave me a reason for all of this, Troy. What the hell is going on?" Gabriel asks. "You came here yesterday left food and then left me here,"

"I didn't want to talk until I had a better plan," Troy says. "And I do, but I need you to trust me," Troy says as he sits down.

"Why am I here?" Gabriel asks him.

"Jed wanted you gone. He wanted you dead, but I brought you here, and he believes you are dead. He has something to do with the true saviors, so I'm gaining his trust. We were supposed to talk yesterday, and we never did," Troy says.

"What are you going to tell, Rick?" Gabriel asks.

"You're sick or on a run," Troy says. "I'm trying to save lives,"

"What is your plan?" Gabriel asks Troy.

"I'll gain Jed's trust and have him take me to their base and then bring Rick and hopefully Daryl when he gets back," Troy tells him. "I know people who can help. I need you to stay here,"

"Fine. I will stay here for a few days," Gabriel says. Troy nods as he cuts the ropes. Troy walks to the door and leaves as Gabriel starts to eat.

Al's P.O.V

Al was finishing with the van when Charlie climbed in. Al looks at the girl. "Hey, Charlie," Al says. "What do you need?"

"I want to come," Charlie tells her. Al stops and turns her head to look at Charlie.

"Charlie," Al says.

"I need to help. I don't want to sit inside Hilltop and do nothing. I can pull the lever or shoot from the van. I need to help, Al," Charlie says to Al. "Please," Al looks at Charlie and nods.

"Fine, but you do everything I say," Al says to Charlie, who nods. "Go get your things," Charlie smiles as she leaves the van. Al finishes putting the ammo in the guns and leaves the van. Al walks into the house and to Maggie's office, where she was talking with Rick, who had arrived an hour before.

"Is the van ready?" Rick asks.

"Yeah, she is ready," Al says as she sits down. "Charlie is coming as well. She is staying in the van," They both nod as Beatrice comes into the room.

"Rick, can we get your help loading up the rest of the guns?" Beatrice asks Rick, who nods as he stands up and follows her. Maggie looks at Al.

"Are you ready for this?" Maggie asks.

"Yeah, hopefully, we can get a start on the campgrounds before Daryl returns," Al says to Maggie, who nods.

"Would you ever consider staying in Hilltop?" Maggie asks Al.

"I haven't thought about it. When Daryl asked me to stay here, I just figured it would until he got back," Al says. Maggie nods. "You're staying, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Maggie says.

"Good," Al says. "It will make this easier knowing you and the little man are okay," Maggie smiles at Al as she stands up. "We should get moving," Maggie stands up and walks over to Al. She wraps her arms around the woman who hugs her back.

"Please be safe," Maggie says.

"I will," Al says. She lets Maggie go and leaves the building. She walks out to the van and sees Tara and Charlie in the van. She climbs inside the van and starts it. She follows the small convoy out of Hilltop.

Alden's P.O.V

Alden stops his truck inside Sanctuary. Alden and Luciana climb out of the truck and look at Troy as he walks up to them. "Where is Gabriel?" Alden asks.

"Sleeping. He's been sick," Troy tells him. "I'm in charge right now. What's up?"

"Where is Laura?" Alden asks Troy.

"Follow me," Troy says as he leads Alden and Luciana into the Sanctuary. They walk over to Laura, who was talking with some other saviors.

"Can we talk?" Alden asks Laura, who nods as she follows them. They stop away from the others. Laura looks at them.

"What's up?" Laura says.

"We need your strongest people," Alden says.

"For what?" Laura asks.

"We are clearing a warehouse for supplies for Daryl's new camp. There is a herd in the warehouse, and we have a plan, but we need help to hold barriers and keep the walkers in a path we made," Luciana says.

"I'll get everybody we can spare," Laura says. They nod as Laura walks away. They go outside to wait by their cars.

Daniel's P.O.V

Daniel stood in front of the gate that led to the path they made. Alden had arrived with the saviors, Troy, and Laura about an hour before. "Everybody has been split to one side of the warehouse. Aaron will open the door on this side, and Cole will open the door on the other. Anne will shut the door on this side if too many come out at once, and Bertie will do it on the other side. There will be someone on each R.V and will kill the walkers if they need to. We will have sharpshooters on those trucks. Aaron, Jesus, Alden, and I will be over here dealing with killing the walkers. Rick, Troy, Luciana, and Strand will be killing the walkers on the other side. Beatrice, Carol, Ezekiel, and Jerry will be moving walkers over here, so they are not in our way. Tara, Kathy, Dianne, and Scott will be moving the walkers on the other side. If something goes wrong and an R.V or a barricade is knocked down. We will move back and go to those trucks and grab the guns and shoot them. We will then move. Charlie and Al will be on Al's van and shoot from there. We will move and let Al use her van's guns to kill the walkers. That is the last resort," Daniel says. "Does everybody understand the plan?" Daniel asks. Everybody nods. "Okay, let's get to work," Everybody starts to move.

Nobody's P.O.V

Aaron stood by the door on one side as Cole stood on the other side. Both were ready to open the door. Aaron looks at Anne, who nods, and Cole nods to Bertie, who also nods. "We're ready, Daniel," Aaron says on the radio. Daniel nods as he grabs his radio.

"Cole, Aaron, open the door," Daniel says. Cole and Aaron pull their doors open. Anne and Beatrice grab them from the other side and holds the door. Aaron and Cole run down their separate paths and get to the gate, which Daniel and Rick open and let them out. On both sides, the barricades are held as the herd starts to go down the path hitting the barricades and . Daniel stabs the first walker in the head, and it falls to the ground. On both sides, they start to kill the walkers and move them out of the way. Anne tries to shut the door as more walkers continue to come out. A walker grabs her arm and is about to bite it when Al shoots it in the head from her truck.

"Anne, get back!" Al yells to Anne, who backs up. "Daniel, those doors aren't being shut!" Daniel nods as he stabs another walker. On the other side, Bertie backs away from the door as the walkers start to move on both sides. Rick stabs a walker, and Scott grabs it and moves the walker back. As the walkers are killed they slowly start to become less and less. Daniel stabs the last walker and stops when no more walkers come.

"We did it," Jesus says as he looks at the bodies.

"Yeah, we did," Daniel says as the others come over to them. "Aaron, Jesus, Rick, and Alden will follow me into the warehouse, and we'll make sure there are no more walkers. They all nod as they head into the warehouse. Daniel shines a flashlight in the warehouse and looks around. They shine the flashlight and look at all the wood, panels, and other supplies.

"This was worth it," Alden says. "You guys should be able to make the campgrounds as safe as Hilltop and Alexandria. Maybe even safer,"

"Yeah," Daniel says as they check the rest of the warehouse. They walk outside and nod to the others. "Thank you guys for your help. When Daryl and Morgan return, you will get what you are owed,"

"It's been a long day. Go home and get some sleep," Aaron says. Everybody nods as they start to head back to their cars. Daniel looks at Aaron, Strand, Cole, Al, Jesus, Rick, Alden, and Luciana.

"Tomorrow, we will start to load these things onto the trailers. Ezekiel and Carol will still be in Alexandria to help us," Daniel says. "Let's go home and get some sleep," They all nod as they head to their cars to their homes.

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie walks outside when Al's van comes into Hilltop. Al gets out of the van. Maggie walks up to her and hugs her. "How did it go?" Maggie asks.

"The warehouse is clear. We'll start loading supplies into trucks and trailers tomorrow and start on the campgrounds," Maggie nods as Charlie walks into Barrington house with Tara. "Come on. "You should have a drink as a celebration,"

"Okay," Al says as they walk to Maggie's office. Maggie shuts the door and grabs a bottle of whiskey. She pours Al a glass and sets it down by Al. Al grabs the glass and takes a drink. Al looks at Maggie, who was deep in thought. "Are you okay?" Maggie looks at Al.

"I don't want you to leave," Maggie tells Al.

"I never said I would leave," Al says. "But I will help them because they are my family," Al sets her glass down and walks over to Maggie. "I don't need to leave. I'm close enough to the campgrounds to help them," Maggie smiles at Al. Al stares at Maggie, who leans in and slowly kisses her. Al pulls back and looks at Maggie.

"I should get some sleep," Al says. Maggie nods. Al quickly kisses Maggie. "We'll talk. You should take some time to think," Maggie nods as Al heads up to her room and goes to sleep. Maggie lets a smile grace her face as she sits in the chair.

Thanks for reading. The next chapter will focus on the group at the warehouse and starting the campground, and Troy starts to learn more about the True saviors. I have wanted Maggie and Al to have their first kiss for a few chapters and this chapter felt right to do it. Also, sometimes there will be uploads on different days because I am back in school, but I will upload as quickly as possible. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.