Chapter 34-Negan's out

Carl's P.O.V

Carl slowly gets out of bed to make sure he doesn't wake Enid up. He grabs his bag and hat and goes to the trailer door. He goes outside into the early morning air. He walks towards a car. "Where are you going?" Al asks from behind him, making Carl freeze.

"Campgrounds," Carl answers as he slowly turns around.

"I can give you a ride," Al says friendly as she walks over to him.

"You can't ask what I'm going for or know," Carl informs her.

"Okay," Al says as she goes to her van. She climbs in, and Carl climbs into the passenger seat. Al leaves Hilltop.

Morgan's P.O.V

Morgan and Nick were doing their morning training. Nick stops and looks at Morgan. "So, what's going on with Rosita?" Nick questions.

"She is trying to get past the war and what Negan did to Abraham. I have experience with losing someone I love. She asked me to help, and I agreed," Morgan explains.

"Does she know about Negan going on the run?" Nick asks. "Strand told me."

"No, she does not. I will tell her after this," Morgan answers.

"Maybe do it now. They'll be leaving when Carl gets here," Nick says. Morgan nods, agreeing with Nick. He walks away from the man. Morgan walks into his cabin and sees Rosita sitting at the table with Eugene's map.

"So I may have found a place that has some boats. If we could get one, we could fish on the lake," Rosita says to Morgan as she looks at him. She frowns when she sees the look on his face. "What happened?"

"Negan is going on a run today," Morgan tells her. Rosita quickly stands up. Morgan could tell how pissed she was as she walked towards the door in anger. Morgan grabs her before she can open it. "Hey, calm down," Morgan says quietly.

"No, Morgan, what the fuck?! He shouldn't be leaving. He is going to kill someone and run!" Rosita shouts.

"I get your concerns, Rosita. I do. I have the same concerns, but--" Morgan is interrupted as Rosita tries to open the door again. He pushes her back. "But he will be surrounded by people, and if he tries anything, they will deal with him," Morgan continues.

"This is bullshit! It's only been a few months since he killed them!" Rosita exclaims. "Why does he get to be here, but Glenn and Abraham don't?" Rosita asks quietly as she looks at the ground. Morgan sets his stick down. "Why does he get to be here. But Spencer, Olivia, Eric, Francine, and everybody else don't get to be here?" Rosita asks. Morgan wraps his arms around Rosita, hugging her. She slowly returns the hug.

Al's P.O.V

Al drives down the road. Carl hasn't said anything, and neither has Al. "How are things with Maggie?" Carl asks, making Al look at him. "I saw you guys after we got back."

"I think by now, it's not really a secret. I think Daryl knows too," Al comments.

"Is this serious, or is it just a fling?" Carl questions Al.

"Why do you want to know?" Al asks.

"Maggie's been through a lot, and so have I. When my Mom died, she was there for me, and when Beth and Glenn died, I was there for her. She means a lot to me. I care about her. She's like my older sister. I don't want to see her hurt," Carl tells Al.

"It's serious. I think I love her," Al says to Carl, who nods with a smile.

"If you hurt her, nobody will ever find your body," Carl says.

"I'll help you dig my grave," Al says to Carl teasingly, who smiles. They get to the driveway of the campgrounds.

"I can walk from here," Carl says.

"You sure?" Al asks.

"The less you know, the better. I don't want you to have to lie to Maggie," Carl tells her. Al nods as Carl climbs out of the van and starts to walk. She starts to head back to Hilltop.

Negan's P.O.V

Negan walks outside his cabin. He had a bag on his back and a crowbar in his hands. He walks to the truck as the gate opens, and Carl walks in. "There you are, kid," Negan says.

"Traded out Lucille for a crowbar, I see," Carl comments.

"Well, they won't give her back to me, so I figured this is the next best thing," Negan says with a grin. "I can still cave in a walker's head with this."

"Yeah, you can," Carl says as Shane, Strand, Madison, and Cole walked over to them.

"Madison, Carl, Negan, and I will take the truck. Strand, Cole follow us in the truck with the trailer," Shane explains. They all nod as they climb in their cars and leave

Rick's P.O.V

Rick walks up to the porch of Clementine's house and knocks on the door. Clementine opens the door. "Hello?" Her eyes widened as she recognized this was the communities leader "OH! Uh Mr Grimes uh-"

"Can I come in?" Rick asks gently. Clementine nods as Rick walks in. He walks into the living room and sits down. Clementine sits down beside him. "AJ asleep?" She nods. "I got three questions I would like to ask. I will ask Kenny when I see him."

"Okay," Clementine says.

"How many walkers have you killed?" Rick asks.

"I don't know. A lot," Clementine says.

"How many people have you killed?" Rick asks. He could see her body tense.

"One," Clementine says.

"Why?" Rick asks.

"Because I couldn't let him turn," Clementine says. Her voice slightly broke.

"Was he your Dad?" Rick asks softly.

"No," Clementine says. "His name was Lee. He's the only reason I am here today. Lee saved me at the start, he taught me how to survive, and he died saving me. He got bit, and I couldn't let him turn," Clementine says. A few tears came down her face.

"I'm sorry," Rick says, his heartbreaking and a reminder how young this girl still was. "You and I have something in common," Rick says.

"What's that?" Clementine asks.

"We're both alive because of a stranger," Rick tells her. "His name was Glenn. He saved me at the start too. Got me out of a situation. Helped me find my wife, my son Carl. Everybody I consider family. I couldn't save Glenn when the time came," Rick tells her.

Clementine stared a bit then looked down "It...hurts...doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does," Rick says, reaching out and wrapping an arm around her, the father in him walking to comfort her.

Carl's P.O.V

Carl steps out of the truck and looks around the town they are in. "What are we here for?" Negan asks.

"Madison and I are going to go find some cribs and other baby stuff," Shane says.

"Why?" Strand asks.

"Maggie is going to have her baby soon. We should help her out," Madison explains. Strand nods.

"The rest of you look through these shops. Take anything useful," Shane says as he walks away with Madison.

"Will you two be okay?" Cole asks Negan and Carl, who nod.

The two men walk away.

Seeing them leave, Shane points at Negan warning, not being stupid "I'm putting my own ass on the line for you to be out here. Don't disappoint. Carl, if he tries anything you up for shooting him?"

"Yes." Carl nodded, without blinking.

Shane looked at Negan, expecting a smart remark or quip, but he actually looked proud. Seeing Shane's baffled look, Negan shrugged cheekily "What? I would."

Staring for another moment, Shane rolled his eyes and waved the two off and followed the Men.

Carl goes up to a shop and taps the window. He puts his back against the window.

"You would think they would put me with someone who could handle me, just in case I thought about becoming rogue," Negan says.

"They know you won't hurt me," Carl points out.

"Yeah, that's a good point," Negan says with a grin as two walkers hit the window. "May I?"

"Be my guest," Carl says. Negan smiles as he goes to the door and pulls it open. The two walkers come out. Negan swings the crossbow to the side, hitting one in the face and killing it as it slams against the walker. He stabs the second one through the head with the end of the crowbar. Carl walks past Negan and starts to look around. He looks through the shelves grabbing what is left. "When was the last time you went on a run?" Carl asks Negan, who looks at him. "You're people just took from other communities for supplies. You didn't have to go on runs."

"I went on a few after I met Laura, but the saviors continued to grow, and they did it for me. You're right. We did just take, and we never did go on runs," Negan answers. "Guess I have to get used to them again, huh?"

"Yeah, you do," Carl says. "Did you just let anybody into the saviors?"

"No, I asked questions. I always asked one question, though. What was the worse thing you've done? Depending on the answer, I let them in," Negan explains.

"The worse the answer, the better chance you had, I'm guessing," Carl says.

"No, one time, some asshoes told me he raped two girls. I beat his head in with Lucille," Negan says. "What is the worst thing you have ever done, Carl?"

"I let a walker live," Carl says.

"That's it? Come on, kid," Negan says.

"That walker that I didn't kill found our camp and killed someone I cared about. A very good man," Carl says. "His name was Dale."

"Well, shit, kid. When was this?" Negan asks.

"At the start. On Hershel's farm," Carl tells him.

"You were young. You shouldn't have had to worry about that," Negan says. "You shouldn't have had to do the things you've had to."

"Well, I have. So have you. Let's just move on," Carl says with irritation as he zips his bag up and leaves. Negan frowns as he follows the younger man.

Al's P.O.V

Al drives her van back into Hilltop and looks at Maggie as she comes down the stairs. "Where have you been?" Maggie asks her as Al gets out.

"I was dropping Carl off at the campgrounds," Al tells Maggie, who nods. She looks at Earl.

"You know about this?" She asks Earl.

"Yeah, he told me about it yesterday," Earl says as he stops. Maggie nods as she heads back inside. Al follows her in.

"He tell you what he was going for?" Maggie questions.

"He wanted to check on Negan," Al says. Maggie nods as she goes into her office.

Then she stopped as her mind caught up to what was said.

And turned To Al, her eyes cold as Ice, causing Al's eyes to widened, realizing what she let slip "Uh wait, Maggie I mean-"

"He's WHAT?"

Rick's P.O.V

After Rick left Clementine's house, he was walking back towards his house when he saw Reilly. "Rick, I was asked to come here," Reilly says to him.

"Yeah, I need you to do something for me," Rick says.

"What is it?" Reilly asks.

"I need you to lead the saviors. In the bar, you proved to me you wanted peace. Dwight and Laura are busy, and you are my next best option," Rick explains to Reilly, who nods, a bit guarded.

"Something wrong?" Rick asked, tilting his head.

"...Arat might not like that. She's leading it for right now."

Rick said firmly "Well tell her it's not up for discussion. The Negan loyalists have all been wiped out with Jed and the others. So if she wants to get supplies, warn her that she has to play ball."

"I won't let you down," Reilly says, standing up straight.

"I know. Go talk to Gabriel. He'll get you a radio so you can contact us in case you need help," Rick tells Reilly, who nods as he walks away.

Thanks for reading. To quickly explain Reilly. Because Carl never died, I think that Rick wouldn't have killed the saviors in the bar, all besides Jared, who Morgan still killed because of what he did. And as you can tell, or if you've been noticing last few chapters, there appears to be a growing rift between the Hilltop leader and her foster daughter's boyfriend. This will be a key point later down the road. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.