Chapter 17-The Work Begins
Troy's P.O.V
Troy wakes up to someone knocking on the door to his room. He groans as he stands up and walks over to the door. He looks at Jed, who was standing on the other side of the door. "Is there a reason you are waking me up?" Troy asks.
"You got rid of Gabriel. My turn to hold up my end of the deal," Jed says.
"Okay, what do I need to do?" Troy asks.
"Get your things," Jed tells Troy, who nods. Troy gets his gun and his knife. He puts some more clothes on and walks out of the room. He looks at Jed.
"Where are we going?" Troy asks Jed, who motions for Troy to follow him. Troy follows Jed through the Sanctuary. They walk past the rest of the saviors and to the back of the factory. Jed opens a door and leads Troy down to the basement. They stop when Jed stops by a chair. Jed motions for Troy to sit down. Troy sits across from Jed, who stares at him. "Can we make this quick? I have to head to the warehouse," Jed smirks.
"You got rid of Gabriel, Troy. Now it's time for you to answer a very important question," Jed says.
"What is that?" Troy asks him.
"Are you with us?" Jed asks. "You might have to kill your friends,"
"I want that freedom you were talking about. What do I need to do?" Troy asks him.
"Nothing yet," Jed says. "Continue as you are. I will tell you when I need you," Troy slowly nods as he leaves the room heading upstairs. "Why did we come down here?"
"You never know who is listening," Jed says to Troy, who nods as he goes upstairs. Troy walks outside and sees Laura waiting by the truck.
"What are you doing out here?" Troy asks as he goes down to the truck.
"I'm coming with you," Laura says. "They will need help at the warehouse," Troy nods as he climbs into the truck. Laura climbs into the passenger seat. They leave the Sanctuary, heading for the warehouse.
Maggie's P.O.V
Maggie looks at the door to her office as Tara walks in. "Hey," Tara says. "I'm about to head to the warehouse with some of the people from Oceanside who stayed to help,"
"I'm coming," Maggie says. "Before you decide to convince me otherwise. I can still help in some way, Tara,"
"Okay," Tara says.
"Hey, Tara," Maggie says. Tara looks at Maggie. "Can we talk for a moment?"
"Sure," Tara says as she sits down. "What's up?"
"Al and I kissed last night," Maggie says to Tara.
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Tara asks Maggie, who nods. "Look, I get it. You're worried because of what happened to Glenn, but you deserve to be happy. Maggie and Al is a badass,"
"Yeah, she is," Maggie says. "Come on, we should get going," Tara nods as she follows Maggie outside and over to Al's van where Al and Charlie were talking.
"Are you coming?" Al asks Maggie.
"Yeah, is that okay?" Maggie asks Al, who nods. Al gets in the driver's side as Maggie gets in the passenger side door. They leave Hilltop heading for the warehouse.
Alden's P.O.V
Alden and Luciana were driving down the road towards the campgrounds. They had gone with Daniel, Jesus, and Aaron to the warehouse early in the morning. They had loaded some wood into Alden's truck and gave him some tools so they can start working on patching up the holes in the walls. Alden looks at Luciana. "Nick should hopefully be back in a few days,"
"Yeah. Hopefully, they all come back alive," Luciana says as she looks at Alden.
"You still plan on helping me with the True saviors when Nick comes back?" Alden asks Luciana.
"Of course," Luciana says as they get to the campgrounds. They get out of the truck and open the bed of the truck. Alden grabs the tools and takes them to the first hole in the wall. Alden goes over to Luciana and helps her grab the wood. They take the wood to the first hole and start to patch it.
Aaron's P.O.V
Aaron and Jesus were moving metal panels to the trailer connected to one of the trucks. They set down the metal panel as Al's van pulls in front of them. Al, Maggie, Tara, and Charlie get out of Al's van and walk over to them. "Alden and Luciana have gone to the campground and started. When we are done with this, Al, you can take this truck to the campgrounds," Jesus tells Al, who nods. They all go into the warehouse and look at Daniel and Rick, who were pulling down the metal panels and wood and stacking them.
"Do you guys have a goal before Daryl and Morgan get back?" Rick asks them.
"Get all the holes patched. We'll reinforce it all when they are back," Daniel says as Troy and Laura start to carry more wood outside. Aaron and Jesus walk away from the others and grab more metal panels. They pick it up and start to go outside.
"So what is your plan after all of this, and we deal with the true Saviors?" Jesus asks Aaron.
"I want to raise Gracie and give her a life a child should have," Aaron tells Jesus, who nods. They take the metal panels out to the trailer and set them down as Carol, Jerry, and Ezikiel pull in with a truck and another trailer.
"Hey, guys," Jesus says as they get out of the truck.
"What do you want in this trailer?" Jerry asks.
"Ask Daniel," Aaron tells them. They nod as they go into the warehouse. Aaron and Jesus walk back inside.
Eugene's P.O.V
Eugene walks through the streets of Alexandria, heading to his house. Eugene walks into the house and towards his kitchen. He stops when he sees a piece of paper on the table. Eugene grabs the paper and reads it. You won't get the same mercy from Rick that you got for betraying him. Your days are numbered, Eugene. Eugene stares at the note before he shoves it into his pocket and leaves the house. He walks to Negan's cell and goes down the stairs. He looks at Negan, who looks back at him.
"Eugene. How are you, my friend?" Negan asks with a grin. "What do I owe the pleasure?" Eugene pulls the note out and throws it on the cell floor. Negan stands up and walks over to the note. He grabs the note and reads it. "You think I have something to do with this?"
"Yes, I do. I am part of the reason you are in here," Eugene says.
"As much as I would like to see someone cut that pretty head off of your shoulders. I didn't do shit," Negan says. "I don't know who these True Saviors are," Negan throws the note back to Eugene and sits down.
"But you might know where they are," Eugene says.
"Even if I did, why would I tell you bunch of assholes? You locked me in a cell, and now I shit in a bucket. So why don't you go to hell," Negan says to him. Eugene leaves the cell leaving Negan to lay his head back.
Troy's P.O.V
Troy walks over to Strand and Cole, who look at him. "Can I talk to him for a moment?" Troy asks Cole, who nods as he walks away.
"What do you want?" Strand asks.
"I need your help," Troy says to Strand. "Follow me," Strand follows Troy to the other side of the warehouse, away from the others.
"What do you want? I am busy," Strand says as he stops him.
"Gabriel isn't sick," Troy says.
"Then where is he?" Strand asks.
"Hiding in a cabin," Troy says. "Jed has something to do with the True Saviors, and I am gaining his trust,"
"And how does that involve me?" Strand asks.
"You are a snake, Strand," Troy says. "If they will trust anybody else in the group, they'll trust you,"
"You want me to help you get the trust of the True Saviors?" Strand asks Troy, who nods. "And this plan will work?"
"Do you have a better one?" Troy asks Strand.
"What do you need me to do?" Strand asks.
"Nothing yet. But I will tell Jed that I have an inside man in Alexandria," Troy says. Strand nods as they walk back to the others.
Al's P.O.V
Al walks to the truck after getting the keys from Jesus. "Al," Maggie says as she comes up to her. Al turns around and looks at Maggie. "You want some company?"
"Sure," Al says. Maggie climbs into the passenger seat. Al starts the truck and starts to head to the campgrounds with the metal panels and wood in the bed and trailer. Al looks at Maggie as they go down the stairs. "Should we talk while we have the time?" Maggie nods as she looks at the road. "I think it's pretty clear that I like you, but I would also understand if you didn't want to risk going through the same pain you went through with Glenn again,"
"I can't let Glenn's death be a deciding factor in my life. He's dead, and I can't change that. But I can continue living life until this world takes me too," Maggie says as she looks at Al. "Negan's behind bars and will never get out of that cell. I don't have to worry about him anymore. He'll die, and he will one day be forgotten. Glenn will never be forgotten. He has a legacy. Negan doesn't," Maggie grabs Al's hand, which was resting on the middle console. Al looks at her for a moment before she looks back at the road. They both stay silent as they head for the campgrounds.
Alden's P.O.V
Alden swings his machete, cutting off a walker's head, making the body fall to the ground and the head roll. Alden goes over to the head and stabs it. He looks at Luciana as she stabs a walker under the jaw through the head. "We'll have to burn these," Alden tells Luciana, who nods. Luciana and Alden drag the two bodies onto a pile of about six walkers. "We should check out the lake while we wait for more supplies. Make sure there aren't any walkers,"
"We'll do that when Daryl gets back. Let's finish patching these holes," Luciana says. Alden nods as he follows her over to another hole. Alden grabs a hammer and nails and goes over to the piece of wood that Luciana was holding up. Alden starts to hammer the nails into the wood as Luciana holds it. Alden finished nailing the wood when they heard a truck. They walk towards the campgrounds' front and see Al and Maggie getting out of the truck.
"Hey, guys," Maggie says. "We got wood and metal panels," Al says.
"Can you two unload it?" Alden asks Luciana and Al, who nods. "Maggie, can I talk to you?" Maggie nods as she walks with Alden.
"Is everything okay?" Maggie asks Alden, who nods.
"Yeah," Alden says. "I planned on returning to Hilltop after Daryl got back and Alexandria had their fighters back, but I think I'm going to stay here for a while,"
"If you think you owe anything to Hilltop, you don't. But you'll always have a home there," Maggie tells Alden, who nods. "Who's going to watch the supplies tonight?"
"Luciana and I," Alden says. "We will sleep in the trucks," Maggie nods as they walk back to the other two.
Night. Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl sat on the R.V. They were three hours from Hilltop but decided to stop for the night. He looks at the ladder as Beth climbs up the ladder and walks over to him. "Hey," Beth says as she sits down.
"Hey," Daryl says. "We'll be at Hilltop tomorrow,"
"You know, after I woke up, I knew there was a good chance I would never see any of you again," Beth says to him. "For some people, that's true,"
"You would have liked Abraham," Daryl tells her. "He was a good guy, he was funny, and knew how to knock a head in when he needed to,"
"I bet I would have," Beth says. "The last thing I would have expected was to see you leading a group,"
"Me too," Daryl says.
"It suits you, and everybody down there trusts you with their life," Beth says.
"When Alicia shot me, and I thought I was about to die, I felt at peace," Daryl says to her. "I wasn't scared. I was more worried about the people I would be leaving,"
"Well, do me a favor and don't die. I don't want to lose my best friend," Beth says to Daryl.
"I ain't going anywhere," Daryl says. Beth nods as they watch the road ahead of them.
"What about Alicia?" Beth asks.
"What about Alicia?" Daryl asks.
"You two seem close," Beth says. "Is there more than what meets the eye?"
"No," Daryl says. "We slept together the night we got to the prison and decided it would be better if we stayed friends,"
"It's not easy to find someone nowadays, Daryl. Believe me, I know. I've had two boyfriends, and they are both dead," Beth says.
"That girl deserves better than me," Daryl says.
"There is no one better than you, Daryl. You'd die for anybody here in a heartbeat, and they know it," Beth says.
"Go get some sleep," Daryl tells her. Beth nods as she stands up and leaves. Daryl sits there watching the road.
Thanks for reading. So in case, you couldn't figure it out. Next chapter Daryl and the group arrive at Hilltop. The Greene and the Chambler sisters are brought back together, and the group is caught up on what has happened. Also, I don't think I have said this yet, but Alden and Luciana will be a pairing. I got multiple messages reminding me Maggie was pregnant and she shouldn't be drinking. I have gone back and fixed that so thank you to everybody who has messaged me. It was chapter 12 and the last chapter. And thanks for being nice about it. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.