Chapter 132-Demons
Daryl's P.O.V
The group stared at the heads in silence, many not sure what could be said and in shock. Several minutes had passed before Daryl pulled his knife out. He walked up to Tammy's head. "Daryl," Carl says. His voice was soft and rough, but Daryl heard him as the young man approached him, a tear in his one eye but remaining firm. "I'll do it. We'll put them in our bags. Give their families something to bury," Daryl nods as Carl stabs Tammy-Rose in the head. The group slowly remove their knives from their holsters. Daryl stabs D.J. in the head and down the line one by one they stabbed the heads, many needing a moment before doing it. They slowly remove the heads and put them in their bags. Then Daryl looked behind them one last time in the trees and then they crossed the border, heading back to the Kingdom
Rosita's P.O.V
Rosita stabs a walker in the head as she leads Kate through the woods, Kate panting holding her stomach "Oh god, no no please."
Turning, Rosita pleaded "Kate listen we're almost at the road. Just a little longer."
She stops when she hears footsteps, raising her knife towards the sound. But she relented as she saw it was several of the Highway men coming down from the tree line and looks at Ozzy as he comes through the trees behind them.
"Rosita?" Ozzy asked, having met briefly before they left for the patrol. "What are you doing out here? And what the heck is a pregnant woman doing with you?"
"They have our people." Kate gasped.
"Shit! Come on. I'll get you to safety and radio Daryl. He's out there looking for them/" Ozzy says as he leads them through the woods. They get to the group of Highway men on guard on the road as Ozzy pulls out his radio.
"Daryl, come in." Ozzy radioed.
"I'm here," Daryl says after a moment. "We found them. They're dead."
Kate covers her mouth as Rosita sits against a tree and wipes the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," Ozzy says. "But we found Rosita and Kate. They took them as well."
"Are they alive?" Daryl asks.
"A little worse for wear but they're both fine, meet us near the wagons."
"We'll be there as soon as possible. We got another survivor too."
Rostia's head shot up as Ozzy looked at her curious then back "Who?"
"One of Arat and Reilly's people Brandon. He was the one who led us to them."
"Give me the radio," Rosita tells him. Ozzy nods as he hands the radio to her. "Daryl, listen to me! Stay away from him! He helped them. He's with the Whisperers."
Negan's P.O.V
The entire group looked at Brandon, who took a few steps backward his eyes wide in panic as he started to run back to the now border. Shane charged up to him and tackles him to the ground. Shane punches the boy in the face again and again with a murderous expression before Rick and Daryl pull him off, and Morgan presses his stick against the boy's neck. "Don't move!" Morgan shouts.
"We don't kill him, not yet." Daryl growls then walked behind Morgan "Is it true?"
"I did it for you." Brandon growls. "I was trying to free you." He tells Negan.
Negan just stared at this, many looking at him not having anything to say. Wondering if the man was still in shock, giving Brandon an empty look.
"Alpha killed her." Brandon pleaded with the others "I didn't know Laura and Kate would be out here! I'll talk-"
"Tie him up and gag him." Rick growled. "We're taking him back. Once we get back, we'll head to Alexandria. We need to go somewhere Alpha doesn't know a lot about."
"Got it." Morgan says as he pulls Brandon up.
"Wait for us by the wagon," Daryl tells Ozzy.
"Understood."
Daryl looked at Negan again, his eyes still dead and staring at Brandon.
Negan's P.O.V
Negan runs up to Kate and hugs her, just letting out a shuddering breath. She cries into his shoulder as Morgan hugs Rosita. After a moment, Rosita looks at Daryl. "How?"
"She cut their heads off, put them on spikes, made it a border. We won't cross it." Daryl closed his eyes in resignation.
Rosita stared "Wait what? Won't cross it?!"
Rick stood in front of Rosita "We'll explain when we're safe, we need to tell everyone."
"Reilly, I'm so sorry," Kate says as she looks at the man. "But you have to know. We'd be with them if not for Arat and D.J. They saved us, and they died heroes."
Rielly nods his eyes bright red but trying to remain strong. "Let's get home."
No one's P.O.V
The Kingdom
The gates to the Kingdom opened, and the group walked in, many running up as in front was Earl who shouted. "Our people are missing! Something happened!"
"We know." Daryl says softly.
"What do you mean you know?" Alicia asks. Daryl looks at Rick, who nods.
"Tammy-Rose, Gage, D.J, Georgie, Lilly, Arat, Dorie, Laura, Nick, and Jesus. They're dead, all of them." Daryl answered, each name sinking his stomach more and more .
Everybody was silent as they stared at the group many in horror and a few crying. "No, no not my boy." Madison says as Alicia hugs her mother. "Alpha took their heads and put them on spikes. It's a border. We won't cross it."
"What do you mean we won't cross it!?" Aaron screamed as Kenneth hugs his father, who holds him. John hugs his wife with their son between the two.
"We saw the herd, the one Lydia told us about." Rick says. "Tens of thousands of walkers. If we cross that border, she'll send them after us, and we'll all die." Beth hugs her wife as she cries and pulls Clementine and A.J. into the hug. Maggie walks up to Aaron and hugs him.
"He wouldn't want us to die." Maggie says as Aaron lets her go and hugs his daughter.
"Why is Brandon tied up?" Ezekiel asks.
"He was the rat. He helped Alpha capture them." Rick says. "He'll die for it. I'm going back to Alexandria. I need the leaders and whoever else."
Alicia's P.O.V
Alicia watched Shane as he held Madison. She looked at Daryl as he walked up to her. "I'm so sorry."
Alicia hugs him, and Daryl kisses her head. "I wanna kill her, but I won't risk you, Merle, Charlie, or Ofelia."
"We're going to Alexandria. Our entire group is. I think most of the people here are, they want to know the plan. They want to see that Asshole die."
"He will. I promise you that. Brandon will die," Daryl says. "I love you more than you'll ever know."
"I love you too."
Rosita's P.O.V
Rosita stood on the platform staring at everybody as the fair had been called to a close and all the members were waiting intently as Rosita started "Alpha had us all, she had taken the scouting group and Kate, and she took me when I saw her with Kate. We were all on our knees, and we knew we wouldn't make it. I thought it was the end. I know what Alpha wanted. She wanted to spread fear and make us scare her, and maybe that is the case, but I want to tell you a different story about our friends and family. Arat and D.J. showed up, and they gave us a chance, and while I got Kate, I saw it." She raised her hand and yelled. "Our family they were fighting together, they weren't connected by Blood, but they were family, and they fought like that. They gave us a chance to get out, they fought for the future, for what we have built right down to their last breath, and now we have to fight for them, for the future that they wanted. We can't fight each other, we're the New World, and someday we will show Alpha what that means, but we have to listen to Daryl and Rick. We have to bide our time. We have to fight as they did. We have to fight as a family."
Madison's P.O.V
Madison sat on the couch and looked at Shane who had his head in his hands, trying his best not to cry. "Let it go," Madison says, making her husband look at her. "That man, that you'll be hiding, it's time to let him out."
"Madison-"
Madison angrily said "Don't Madison me, our son, my baby is Dead!"
Shane says. "I'm going to kill Alpha, I will. We Will. But we know that Rick and Daryl wouldn't lie."
"We'll bide our time then, as Rosita said, but when the time comes. Let the man go, Shane. That is who we'll need if we want to win this fight."
"I know." He just said quietly, knowing it...
And Hating it.
Carl's P.O.V
The sun was starting to set in the sky as Carl sat in his house in Alexandria. Tears were in his eyes as he looked across the street at his father's house, remembering when he first met Jesus. The man joking about his 'Mom and Dad' having sex as the door opened and Enid walked in. Carl looked up at his wife. "Baby," Enid says softly.
"I failed them," Carl says.
"You didn't, awful things happen," Enid says as she takes his hands.
"I'm supposed to protect them." Carl says. "You knew Jesus, he was one of the best men I knew. He didn't deserve to die like that."
"None of them did." Enid says. "But it wasn't your fault. Everything you're thinking about right now, Daryl and Rick are thinking the same thing. You know that."
Carl was about to speak when they heard shouting. He quickly ran outside of his house with Enid looking towards the gate as well.
No One's P.O.V
Outside of the gates to Alexandria
Rick paced back and forth as he rubbed his head and held a hand up to the gathered crowd. Many leaders there...no, not just leaders, family. Loved ones.
"OK, please-"
John shouted, enraged, "Rick, why are we talking about this?! We need to strike!"
"We can't!" Daryl stood side by side with Rick. "You didn't see it, John. We did! That horde? It's far bigger than anything we've seen! She doesn't have a horde. She has a literal army!"
Aaron tightened his jaw. "We can't just let her get away with this."
Shane even accused, "If it was Charlie or Carl's heads on those pikes, you'd be leading us to war!"
"Maybe." Shane paused a moment, looking at Rick, confused. "That's why I need you all to be stronger than us! The borders are set, and winter is coming soon. We can't fight her in the snow. That hinders us. Once the weather clears, we'll start forming strategies."
Eugene stepped forward to the amassed crowd. "They are right, my compatriots. We need to be rational-"
"Fuck being rational!" John roared, "That bitch needs to die! And what about that little shit!?"
John pointed hatefully at the bound and tied Brandon, who was resting against the wall outside, gagged as well when he kept screaming.
Maggie gave the traitor a hate-filled look, then back, "He'll die, but first, we need to know how much he told Alpha."
Tara turned to her. "But why are we still talking about this?! Let's gather every bullet we have-"
"And we'll die!" Ezekiel, his face grief filled but strong, cut through, "If Rick and Daryl are both correct, I trust their judgment."
Michonne then said, "Everyone, please, let's gather in the meeting hall and talk-"
"Fuck talking. Let's Silence those Whisperer Freaks!" Tara cut this all off as the voices kept at it, almost split down the middle, angrily yelling, barking, and accusing.
Throughout it all, no one noticed Negan just sitting on a car, silent as can be. Gently, Kate held his arm "Negan...Negan, please, say something."
He was silent a moment more, then just looked at Kate. Then he stood and walked over to the bag that Brandon was found with...
Seeing the movement, Carl called in, "Negan? What are you doing?"
At this, a few arguments stopped as they saw him rooting around for something.
Daniel narrowed his eyes. "What is he-" His voice trailed off as they saw him holding it...it was a barbed wire bat.
This got all their attention, rooted in place as before they could react, Negan calmly walked to the bound prisoner, tied up and wide-eyed...frantically pawing at his ropes pressing against the gate as he screamed through the gag trying to plead. "No. No no no, Negan Negan stop!" Alicia screamed as she pushed past her husband.
But it was too late as he stood over the prisoner.
Raised the Bat.
Negan brought it down. The crack of Brandon's head caused everybody to stop speaking. Maggie flinched as she stepped back in horror. Daryl, Rick, Michonne, Carl, Eugene, Aaron and Rosita think back to one of the worst nights of their lives as Negan slams the bat down again. . Brandon's head was craved in, as he stopped staring blankly down and he slowly looked at the man. "I...," Blood comes out of his mouth. "Am...Negan."
With a scream of fury, Negan brings the bat down again, and Brandon's eyes pop out of his head, falling to the ground. Negan lets out a shout of pain, anger, and inhumanity as he continues to bring the bat down over a dozen times and drops the blood-soaked bat to the ground. Brandon's head was nothing but mush.
He stared down for a long moment...then shakily heard "N-Negan?"
Blinking back he looked behind him and saw them all looking at him shocked, horrified, and a few stepping back.
Then Morgan slowly came up, hands up...saying "Negan...Negan, it's me. You know me."
For a long moment, Negan just stared...then looked at his blood-drenched hands...then the bat as if awakening from some trance and just ran inside the Gates.
Thanks for reading. The fear groups react to seeing what Negan did. Maggie thinks about the night Glenn died, and Morgan and Shane help their friends as the leaders talk about what has happened. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.