Chapter 48-Leading

One week later

Negan's P.O.V

Negan let out a groan, stretching his arms as he climbs off the cot he was sleeping in. Negan had moved to the camp the day after it was finished. "You awake?" Shane asks from outside the tent.

"No." Negan mumbles as he grabs his Mace and leather jacket. He walks outside the tent and looks at Shane, who holds a cup of coffee out to him. Negan grabs it with a nod and follows Shane. "When are you going to see Madison again?"

"She's coming today with Rick to help," Shane says after he takes a drink. "Morgan and Eugene are already down by the bridge with some of the Saviors. They're showing them the plans."

"Then I guess I should go join them," Negan says as he finishes his cup and holds it out to Shane, who grabs it.

"Play nice," Shane says. Negan smirks as he goes down to where the bridge is being built.

Daryl's P.O.V

An arrow goes into the heart of a deer. The deer's legs buck before it falls to the ground, dead. "You should call it," Beth says from behind him.

Daryl scoffs as he grabs his arrow out of the deer. "You didn't call it," Daryl says.

"Seems like Maggie and Alicia have gotten closer," Beth starts to ask as she walks over to him.

"Better Alicia than Cyndie," Daryl says. "I'm okay with it. Maggie and Alicia work well together. It gave us the chance to do this."

"She seems any better to you?" Beth questions Daryl with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yeah, Cyndie is also at the bridge camp now. She can't put shit in Maggie's head." Daryl says as he throws the crossbow around his back and picks the deer up.

"Come on. Let's head back. We got rabbits and a deer. Who knows. Maybe they will still be asleep," Beth says as they begin to walk back.

Cyndie's P.O.V

Cyndie sat on a log sharpening her knife. She looked at Beatrice as she walked up to her, fire in her eyes. "We've been here for almost a week, why aren't we-"

Standing up, she hissed at her friend "Hey keep your damn voice down. They're everywhere."

Beatrice gritted her teeth but nodded.

Looking around to see they were along with a few in the distance, Cyndie lowered her voice "You want to kill them with Amanda's patrol groups walking around? Be my guest. I want them to die and I want us to still be alive after." Cyndie says to her. "They are too tense right now, and they are expecting an attack. We need to wait for them to relax and then make our move."

Beatrice nods as she turns around. "Negan's off-limits," Cyndie says, causing Beatrice to look at her again, eyes wide.

"What?"

"He's not our kill. He's Maggie's," Cyndie explains to Beatrice, who nods as she walks away.

Negan's P.O.V

Negan arrives at the bridge and sees Morgan staring Justin down. A walker was dead behind Justin, clearly the sign of a struggle taking place. "Is there a problem?" Negan asks as he walks up to them.

"We need guns," Justin growls.

"I've been with Daryl for a year now, and he hasn't given me a gun. You aren't getting one. Thank Jed for that or thank his grave," Negan says. Justin turns and looks at Negan.

"You're supposed to be helping us," Justin growls.

"Did I not make it clear that I want nothing to do with the saviors? You aren't my problem anymore. If you want to become my problem, keep talking," Negan growls in a low tone. "Now go put your diaper on and shut the fuck up."

Justin doesn't say anything as he walks past Negan, brushing past him. "Prick," Negan says as he looks at Morgan.

"So, what's the plan?"

Alicia's P.O.V

Alicia lays on her bed, eyes closed... Ofelia and Merle sleeping in their crip. Maggie was laying at the bottom of the bed with Hershel. "What were your plans before all of this?" Maggie asks. Alicia lifts her head and looks at Maggie.

"Go to college. Meet a nice guy, have kids, and live life," Alicia answers. "I did two of those and am working on doing the third."

They both look at the door as it opens, and Daryl walks in. "Have fun?" Maggie asks.

"We got a deer and some rabbits. So yeah," Daryl says as he sets his crossbow down. He walks over to the other side of the bed and kisses Alicia.

"I'm still in here," Maggie mumbles.

Daryl chuckles as he looks at her. "Rick leave?"

"Yeah, about an hour after you did," Maggie answers as she stands up. "Al, Kenny, Alden, and Luciana went to the warehouse to get some metal and wood, and then they are heading to the camp to deliver it."

"Go get something to eat. I'll watch 'em," Daryl offers Alicia, who nods as she follows Maggie out of the room.

John's P.O.V

John walks up to a Savior who was arguing with a man from the Kingdom, one of the civilians named Mark who had his fist raised ready to clock the Savior "Hey!" John exclaims. Both men stop and look at him. "That's enough. There ain't no need for any of this," John says.

"The Saviors killed my brother," Mark says, turning at John with a murderous look.

"Did this man kill your brother?" John questions as he lays his hand on his gun.

"No, I didn't! I was at the Sanctuary when they killed the Kingdom's men." The Savior says, arms raised in peace.

"There you go. Now go and get back to work. This bridge ain't going to itself," John orders. The two men go separate ways, Mark shooting them both a dark look before walking off.

"How many fights is that?" Rosita asks from behind John, the two having been on patrol.

"Four, none have gotten physical. This is new for us all, the first time I heard that everyone's working together since the War's end. We just gotta give it time." John says as he turns and looks at her.

"None of them have gotten physical because the patrols stop them before they can." Rosita argues.

"Then the patrol's was a good idea," John says as he walks past her. "The groups are never going to get along at this rate and we aren't going to get anything done if they continue to argue, "John says in irritation.

"Then how do we stop it?" Rosita asks John. "You have to have some kind of idea?"

"I might." John says as he walks away from Rosita, asking over his shoulder "I got to talk to Rick about something."

Rick's P.O.V

Rick sat on the hill, watching as the bridge was being built. He looks at John as he stops beside him. "How many today?" Rick questions John, already having a feeling from the look on John's face.

"Four." John answers. "Rick, we've been here for five days, and we haven't gotten a lot done, this is because we are breaking up fights every day instead of working."

"How do you purpose we fix that?" Rick asks.

"Every group has one problem or another. The Kingdom is low on fighters because of the Saviors. The Saviors killed people from Oceanside, and the Saviors are scared and tense. They're surrounded by people who want to kill them with nothing but a knife," John explains.

"We are not arming the saviors," Rick growls, standing up "We do that, how do we know another 'True Savior' scenario might happen with another bitch like Jed?"

Holding his hands up, John responds to calm the worried Alexandrian leader down "Not all of them. But if we give a few of them guns, It may help ease tensions."

"It might also make things worse with the Kingdom and Oceanside," Rick argues.

"Maybe the Saviors and Kingdom could help each other. Some saviors want a new start like Laura, Dwight, and Negan got, but some want to stay together. The ones who want out. We sent them to move to the Kingdom, and that will fix their manpower problem."

"And Oceanside?"

"We aren't fixing that. They'll only be happy if every savior is dead." John says flatly. Rick nods with a tired sigh, agreeing with him.

"Let me talk to Ezekiel. You'll know your answer by tonight." Rick says. John nods as he walks away.

Looking back at the Bridge, Rick grimaced...knowing that Cyndie had always long been furious about his decision to make peace as well as...

Maggie.

Rick sighed, rubbing his head

He didn't want to fight her on this, vowing to talk to her as soon as he could...first, he had to ensure a riot didn't break out or an open brawl...

This had to work...for Carl, Judith, Hershel, Clementine, AJ...all the children who would grow up in this world...

It HAD to.

Reilly's P.O.V

Reilly was sitting in his tent with a piece of paper in his hands. He was doing inventory. He looks at the flap as it comes open. Arat dragged Luke in by his shirt and threw him down. "What did he do?" Reilly asks. Arat pulls out Reilly's gun and sets it down in front of him, causing him to stand up furious. "How did you get this?"

"Don't hide your gun under your pillow," Luke says as he tries to stand, but Arat forced him back down. Reilly holsters his gun.

"What were you going to do with it?" Reilly asks.

"I was going to kill that bitch who turned his back on us." Luke snarled

"You would break the treaty," Reilly says. "You would get us all killed. Use your damn head, Luke."

"We'll be dead before all this is over anyway. The women from Oceanside might kill us, or the people from the Kingdom might kill us, or hell any other community. He killed us when he made a deal with them." Luke growls before he leaves the tent. Reilly sighs as he sits back down.

"We'll figure something out," Arat says as she bends down to look him in the eyes.

"I know. Have they been harassing you?" Reilly asks.

"Nope, they know better," Arat says with a grin before she leaves.

John's P.O.V

John sat around the huge fire where everybody else was eating. He looks at Rosita as she comes over with a bag and sets it down, gaining the camp's attention, a few looking over curious as it was right near the fire and center. "What's in the bag?" Cyndie asks as John pulls out a handgun. He holds it out to Arat, who looks at him surprised.

"Take it." John tells Arat, who grabs the gun, staring between it and John in surprise.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cyndie growls as she stands up.

"There have been too many fights," John says as he stands as well. "We aren't getting shit done because you people can't stop fighting like children. I know you all got a past. Everybody has a past, but this bridge needs to get done, and I'm one of the ones who need to make sure it does." John says. "The Saviors are scared that one of you will kill them. We are giving a select few of them guns. If you misuse this gun, you will not get a second chance."

John looks at Mark again, looking now worried at John's firm look even taking a step back in caution. "I know that the Saviors took someone from you that you can never get back. They took away the people who protected you. They can't bring them back, but they can help fix it."

"How?" Mark asks. John looks at Ezekiel, who nods.

"How many Saviors want to leave the Sanctuary and move to the Kingdom?" John asks loud enough for everybody to hear. About fifteen people hold their hands up. "I know it's not as many as before, but it's a start, and they deserve a second chance. Let them make up for what they did," John says to the man, who slowly nods. John looks at everybody. "This fighting shit is done. Suppose you can't handle each other, leave. We got work to do. I'm here to make sure things get done. Not babysit." John says. Everybody slowly nods as the cowboy sits back down.

Watching all this Ezekiel, Carol and Rick watched...

Rick looked at them both "I like him."

Carol chuckled and teased "A cowboy cop turned to a leader...who does that remind you of Rick?"

Thanks for reading. I had a lot of fun with John in this chapter. This is the first chapter he truly became a leader, and you will see a lot of that in the upcoming chapters. I'm sorry about not uploading on Tuesday. I had problems pop up on the weekend that I had to deal with, and I couldn't get to my computer. Anyways as always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.