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Salvation

Summary:

Negan is betrayed by his right-hand man Simon. After escaping the Sanctuary with a few trusted allies he runs into Daryl and Aaron. Negan must learn to trust and follow others while Simon kills and plans. Negan must find the man that he once was if he hopes to live with these people. He and others must learn to let go of the past and look toward the future and look for Salvation.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1-Betrayal

Chapter Text

Chapter 1-Betrayal
Negan's P.O.V
Negan Smith walked down the stairs of the Sanctuary and looked at all the men on their knees. He stopped in front of his right-hand man Simon. Negan was a tall, muscular man with black hair and a greying beard. He wore a leather jacket with his baseball bat, Lucille. Simon was a tall man. He had an athletic build and black hair, and a black mustache. His hair was greying and blading, and he had dark brown eyes. "You disobeyed an order, Simon. You killed an entire camp of men. You killed children. We have rules here, Simon, and you broke 'em. We are meant to save people. Tomorrow I'll get rid of my problems, throw Simon in a cell, and make sure the others are locked up. Today is their last day on Earth," Negan says with a grin before he walks away.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon sat in his cell and looked at the door as it opened. He looked at Dwight. "Hi, Dwight. How's your day?"

"What do you want? If Negan catches me talking to you, he'll kill me," Dwight tells him.

"Right, I imagine your wife isn't happy about her sister marrying Negan. I have a way for you to get out of that," Simon says as he stands up. "I have men, Simon. People who don't think Negan is able to lead, and there are a lot of them. We will attack tomorrow during the execution. Negan has called all the outposts. Perfect time for it. You help us. I swear your wife and Tina will be free from Negan forever. You'll be my right-hand man. We'll take power, and we'll keep them under our control. We'll live like kings."

"Negan dies tomorrow?" Dwight asks.

"And everybody loyal to him," Simon tells him. "Are you in?"

"I'm in," Dwight says before he shuts the door. Simon sits down with a big grin on his face.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan walked into the main room the next day. Every savior from every outpost was there watching. "I don't want this. These are our people, but they killed people we were trying to save. I can't have that. We can't have people being killed. We need those people to survive," Negan walks in front of Simon. "I am not a monster, Simon. Any final words?"

"The saviors will die under you. I won't let that happen," Simon says.

"You'll be dead in a minute," Negan says as he raises Lucille, and then a bullet when through Negan's shoulder. Negan dropped Lucille and fell to the ground as the Santuarcy turned into chaos. Gunshots when off all around the area. Negan looks at Laura as she comes up to him. She shoots a savior as Simon runs away with the others. She grabs Negan. "What the fuck?!"

"We have to go. Now!" Laura shouts as she grabs Lucille and leads Negan out of the room. Laura gets them out of the main room and sets Negan against the wall. "This was planned. We can't stay here."

"I'll kill that son of a bitch and restore order," Negan growls.

"Negan, they killed so many of us already. They had the drop on us. We don't have enough men. If you stay here, you will die," Laura growls. Laura raises her gun as she hears running. Alden and Paula turn a corner with their guns raised.

"Woah, on your side," Alden tells them. "We have to leave."

"Three of us are expected to get out of here?" Negan asks through the pain in his shoulder.

"Gavin and D.J. are getting what supplies they can and meeting us not far from here in a clearing," Alden tells him. "We just gotta fight our way out."

"Easier said than done," Negan says. "Give me your gun," Alden pulls out his handgun and holds it out to Negan, who grabs it. "I will kill that bastard someday, I promise," Negan says as they start to walk. Laura and Negan follow Alden and Paula. They stop when they see Arat at the entrance with four guards.

"End of the road," A savior says.

"Wait," Arat says. "Move," Arat growls. "You have sixty seconds to get out before we follow."

They quickly leave and get outside. Laura and Paula pull the door open, and they leave the Sanctuary as they enter the wood. They could still hear the shots from the Sanctuary. They walked for about thirty minutes until they reached a small clearing where they saw Gavin and DJ with two bags. "We couldn't get much," Gavin says as he pulls a bandage out of the bag. "Enough food for two days. Enough ammo for a day and a few medical supplies. Let's get you patched up," Gavin says as Negan pulls his jacket off and his shirt. Gavin has him sit with his back against a tree.

"What do we do?" DJ asks. "We can't go back there."

"We leave. We get as far away from here as possible. Simon will send men after us when he realizes Negan's alive."

"No offense to you, but I don't even know who you are," Negan says.

"I was at one of your outposts," Alden says. "You're better than Simon. I don't really like either of you, but at least I'm alive."

"Until Simon finds us," Negan says as Gavin pulls the bullet out, making Negan hiss in pain. They patch Negan up and start to walk away from the Sanctuary.

Simon's P.O.V
It was dark when the shooting ended. Simon stepped over a body and looked at Jared. "You find him yet?" Simon asks Jared, who shakes his head.

"No, but there are a lot of bodies around here. A least a couple hundred, and we have to make sure they don't turn," Jared says. "This will take all night."

"Send a few men out just in case. If he's out there, I want him dead. Make sure they don't shoot him through the head. I want him on that fence so they know who is in charge," Simon says. "Now go," Simon orders Jared, who walks away.

Simon walks over to a body and slams his boot down on the body's head until he crushes it. He takes a deep breath after and smiles. "I should plan a trip to see Gregory," Simon says with a smile as he walks away.

Negan's P.O.V
Two days later
Negan sat inside of a small cabin in the woods. His shoulder was in a lot of pain, and he had been in and out of conciseness. He looks at Gavin as he walks up to him. "You suck at being a doctor," Negan says weakly.

"Yeah, I'm not the best at it," Gavin says. Gavin was about to speak again when they heard a gunshot outside. Gavin goes outside, and Negan pulls himself up. He uses Lucille to help him walk. He pulls the door open and sees two men dead on the ground.

"Saviors?" Negan asks weakly. Paula shakes her head as she bends down.

"They're not saviors. They have w carved into their head," Paula says.

"Is everyone okay?" They turn their heads and raise their gun at another man who holds his hands up.

"I don't mean you any harm. I heard the shots," The man says. "I'm Morgan."

"You alone?" Laura asks.

"I am," Morgan says. "Your friend. There doesn't look too good."

"Did the sweat and pale skin give it away?" Negan asks Morgan, who pulls his bag off of his back. Morgan pulls supplies out of his bag and looks at them.

"May I?" Morgan asks them.

"Slowly," Laura tells him. Morgan nods as he slowly walks up to Negan, who sits on the steps. Negan pulls his shirt and jacket off, and Morgan pulls the bandage off.

"I'll clean it and give you some painkillers that should help," Morgan says. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Negan says.

"How'd this happen?" Morgan asks.

"My people betrayed us," Negan tells him. Morgan nods.

"I have another question. Have you come across a man named Rick Grimes?" Morgan asks.

"No, you're the first person we have run into," Negan tells Morgan, who nods. Morgan finishes cleaning and patching Negan's wound and then hands him a bottle of painkillers.

"If you would like, you can travel with me and help me find my friend," Morgan says.

"Give us a minute to talk," Gavin says to Morgan, walking towards his bag.

"We should go with him," Alden says. "We're just waiting for Simon to find and kill us. But this guy sounds like he is looking for a friend who might have a group. We could have a fresh start, and if Simon does show his face, we'll fight again. We'll have an advantage. If we can find a group, we could eventually get Hilltop and Kingdom on our side."

"We can't just let Simon get away with what he did," Negan growls. "We have to go back and kill him."

"That's suicide, Negan," Alden protests.

"We'll get Hilltop and Kingdom on our side, like you said," Negan tells him.

"No, Gregory would give us up to save his own skin, and Ezekiel may help us, or someone would slit our throats in our sleep," Laura tells him.

"Negan, this is the hand we've been dealt," Alden says. "We will kill Simon. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but I promise you someday we will kill that bastard," Alden says firmly.

Laura looks at Negan. "I know you don't like relying on other people, but we don't have much of a choice, and Alden's right," Laura tells him. Negan sighs but nods.

"We'll come with you," Negan tells him. Morgan nods as he puts his bag back on.

Morgan nods. They get their things and start to follow the man through the woods. "Who is Rick Grimes?" Paula asks.

"Rick is an old friend, a man I saved at the start. I know he's alive. I'm just trying to find him. He's the only friend I got left," Morgan says. They walk in silence until they exit the woods and see a building with trucks and walkers surrounding a car. "Someone's in there."

"Yeah, let's go," Negan tells him.

"No, you are with me, and that means you are going to help me. We're going save them," Negan says.

"I'll help," Alden says. Morgan looked at Paula, DJ, and Laura, who slowly nodded.

"You stay with him. He is in no condition to fight," Morgan says to Gavin.

Morgan's P.O.V
Morgan, Laura, Alden, DJ, and Paula walk up to the fence. "Kill the walkers around the driver seat," Morgan tells them as he pulls the gate open. "No guns," He says as he walks in. Morgan stabs his stick through the first walker as the others kill walkers around the car. The driver and passenger side doors come open. Two men step out and start to kill walkers as they go back to the fence. Paula shuts the gate, and the walkers try to get to them.

"Thank you. I'm Aaron, and this is Daryl. We're part of a community, and we were out there looking for people to bring back with us," Aaron says.

"No thanks for me at least, maybe my friends will go with you. Actually, I'm a little lost," Morgan says as he pulls his map out. He holds it out to Daryl. "You know where I am?"

Daryl grabs the map and opens it. After a moment, he looks at Morgan. "Why are you looking for Rick?" Daryl asks as he slides his hand down to his knife.

"You know Rick?" Morgan asks Daryl, who nods. "I'm a friend. I'm Morgan."

"Morgan Jones?" Daryl asks Morgan, who nods. "I'll take you to Rick, but first, all of you have gotta answer a few questions."

"Like what?" Paula asks.

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

"Too many to count," All six of them say.

"How many people have you killed?"

"Three," Alden answers.

"Seven," Laura answers.

"I don't know," Paula answers.

"Four," DJ answers.

"I don't know," Gavin answers.

"Too many to count," Negan says.

"Why?" Daryl asks.

"So I could live," Alden says.

"To protect my Dad and Negan," Laura says.

"Because it's what I had to do," Paula answers.

"They gave me no choice," DJ says.

"I was ordered too," Gavin says

"To show people I meant what I said," Negan tells him. Daryl looks at Morgan.

"I killed people because I thought I had to. I don't know how many, but that's why. They didn't clear," Morgan says. Daryl and Aaron share a look and nod.

"You said to show people what you meant? What do you mean?" Aaron asks Negan.

"They attacked my people. I showed them that if it happened again, they'd die," Negan says. "Now my people have betrayed me, and I'm dying from a bullet hole in my shoulder. Are we coming with you or not?" Negan asks harshly.

"Yeah, you're coming with us. Come on," Daryl says as he starts to walk away. They start to follow him.

Thanks for reading. I really have no clue where this is going. But I guess we'll figure that out as we go along. I'm excited to write charchters like Paula and Simon. I've never had the chance. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2-Getting back to Alexandria

Chapter Text

Chapter 2-Getting back to Alexandria
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl rode his bike up to the gates of Alexandria. The gate was pulled open, and Spencer looked at him. He climbs off his bike and looks at Spencer. "Who's that?" Spencer asks as he looks at Laura, who is on Daryl's bike.

"Found some people," Daryl says as Aaron, D.J, Alden, Negan, Gavin, Morgan, and Paula get out of Aaron's car.

"Come on," Spencer says as he leads them away. They stop when they hear shouting. Daryl, and Aaron push by Spencer, followed by the others. They get to the fire where the group is meeting as Rick shoots Pete in the head.

"Rick," Morgan says. Rick looks up at them and stares.

"Seems safe to me. That guy looks crazier than Simon," Negan whispers to Laura, who smirks. Rick moves towards them and holsters his gun.

"Seems like you been through some shit here," Daryl says as he looks at Reg's body.

"You have no idea," Rick says. "You found some people."

"Yeah, he's hurt. I'm going to take him to the infirmary,"

"Our doctor is dead," Abraham says.

"Good point," Daryl says.

"Take them to the basement they kept me in. We'll talk tomorrow," Rick tells Abraham, who nods as he leaves. They start to follow the man. Rick nods to Morgan as he follows. They look at Rosita as she comes over to them.

"Tara's awake," She tells them. Rick nods.

"Go see her," Rick tells Daryl, who nods as he starts to follow Rosita.

"I saw Abraham walk away with some people," Rosita says.

"They saved us. We're going to find them somewhere to stay tomorrow," Daryl tells Rosita as they enter the infirmary. Daryl looks at Tara. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," She says.

"Have you left this damn place?" Daryl asks Noah, who shakes his head. Daryl smirks and pats his shoulder. "Glenn here?"

"He went to go find Maggie," Noah tells him. Daryl nods.

"You guys have any luck?" Noah asks Daryl.

"Found six people," Daryl says. "One of them is Morgan. The guy who saved Rick in the beginning."

"And the others?" Tara asks.

"Don't know much about them," Daryl tells them. "I'm going to go see if they need any help out there," Daryl pats Tara's shoulder before leaving the infirmary.

Simon's P.O.V
The next day
Simon drives his truck through the gates of Hilltop and smiles as he turns the truck off and climbs out. He looks at Gregory and Jesus. "It isn't pick-up day yet," Jesus says.

"You're right, my friend. It is not," Simon says. "Come on, Gregory, we have to talk," Simon says as he leads Gregory into Barrington house. He pushes Gregory into his office and shuts the doors. "So, Negan's dead," Simon says.

"Dead?" Gregory asks in shock.

"Yep, I killed him myself. He wasn't fit to lead the saviors and protect Hilltop. I'm in charge now," Simon says. "What do you think of that?"

"I think that is great," Gregory says with a smile. "You were always a better leader than Negan. I thought you were better than Negan from day one."

"I knew I'd have your support, Gregory. Now I hope that your people accept this. I won't have to prove what I can do if you don't listen, will I?" Simon asks Gregory, who quickly shakes his head.

"Of course not," Gregory says. "We understand and will stick to our arrangement."

"Good," Simon says as he lays his hand on Gregory's shoulder. "That's really good. So you wouldn't mind kneeling in front of everybody, will you?"

"Of...Of course not," Gregory says. Simon nods as he leads Gregory outside. Simon stares him down as Gregory looks at him, takes a deep breath, and knees as everybody watches.

Simon bends down. "That's a good kneel, Gregory," Simon says as he ruffles his hair. "Now I have some friends I need to go see. I'll see you on pick-up day," Simon says as he walks back to his truck.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan looked at the door as it opened, and Rick walked in with Daryl, Glenn, and Abraham behind him. "You look a little less crazy now," Negan says.

"I'm Rick Grimes. This is Abraham and Glenn. Daryl has told us your names," Rick says, ignoring Negan's comment. "Would you prefer to stay together?"

Negan looks around his group, and nobody says anything. "As long as I'm with Laura, I don't care," Negan says.

"Well, we have three houses right now," Rick says. "Morgan. You, Alden, and Gavin will take the one across from us. Negan, you, Laura, and Paula will take the one on the end of the street. Negan, Paula, and Laura follow Glenn. You three follow me," Rick says as he leaves. Gavin, Alden, and Morgan follow Rick as Daryl, Glenn, and Abraham leave. Negan walks beside Glenn.

"So, how long have you been here?" Negan asks him.

"A little over a week," Glenn tells him. "I've been with Rick and Daryl since the beginning," They nod as they stop in front of a house. "Three bedrooms, a working shower, and some clothes are in there for you."

"When do we get our weapons back?" Paula asks.

"They're in there," Glenn says before he walks away. They nod as they walk inside the house.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked into the infirmary and looked at Rosita. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Daryl asks Rosita, who nods as she follows him onto the porch.

"What's up?" Rosita asks him.

"I haven't talked to Rick about this yet, but while we were out there, we got trapped in a car by some walkers," Daryl tells her.

"So?" Rosita asks him.

"They were locked in some trucks. It was a trap, Rosita," Daryl tells her.

"What do you want to do?" Rosita asks him.

"Nothing. They could have been in there a while. The people who set them could be long gone. I'm just saying we need to keep an eye out for anything weird," Daryl tells her. "I'll talk to the others when we get a chance."

Rosita nods. "I'll keep an eye out," Daryl nods as the gate opens, and Morgan and Rick come back in with Ron. Rick walks up to them.

"We have a problem. Grab Noah and Tara and meet us at Deanna's house," Rick tells them before he walks away.

Rick's P.O.V
The people of Alexandria gathered at Deanna's house. Deanna stood by the house, looking out the window. "My team, we saw it early on. They were a camp at the bottom. They must have blocked the exits with trucks," Heath says. "They didn't make it. They were roamers."

"No one's been there since?" Daryl asks.

"Dc, every town worth scavenging is in the other direction," Heath says.

"So all the while, the walkers have been drawn by the sound, and they're making more sound, and they're drawing more in," Abraham says.

"And here we are," Noah says.

"Now what I'm proposing, I know it's risky, but walkers are already slipping through the trucks," Rick says.

"It could give out any now day. Maybe after one more rain," Morgan tells them.

"They'll come east, right at us," Rick tells them. "It isn't about if it gives. It's when."

"That's why we have to do this. Soon," Morgan tells them.

"There isn't another way," Rick tells them.

"Maybe there is," Carter says. "Couldn't we just build up the weak spots? I can draw up some plans. I worked on the wall with Reg," Carter says.

"Even if that did work, the noise is drawing more and more walkers each day," Morgan says. "Building up the wall won't change that."

"We're going to do what Rick says," Deanna says. Rick nods to Deanna.

"I told you all, Daryl is going to lead the way on his bike," Rick says.

"It can't just be him," Rosita says.

"I'll go. Drive a car beside him. I'll keep them coming. Daryl can stop them from getting sloppy," Sasha says.

"I'll go with her. It's a long way to white-knuckle it slowly," Abraham says.

"I can help," Rosita says. "Ride with Daryl. If the walkers enter the woods, I can bring them back," Rick nods.

"We'll have two teams. One on each side of the forest helping to manage this thing. We're going to have a few people on watch now," Rick says.

"Spencer, Paula, and Holly," Glenn tells Rick, who nods.

"Okay, so they're out. Who's in?" Rick asks.

"I'll help," Negan says as Glenn and Maggie speak quietly. "Might as well prove myself."

"I'm in," Glenn says.

"Me too," Noah says.

"I'll help," Alden says.

"I would like to help," Gabriel says.

"No. Who else," Rick says.

"There's got to be another way," Carter says.

"There isn't," Negan says. "If you aren't going to follow the plan or help, shut up and get out," Negan growls to the man. "The rest of us have been out in this shit. Trust them, trust his plan. It will work."

"I'll help," Heath says, followed by Scott and Anne.

"I'm in," Laura says. Michonne and Morgan volunteer, followed by others.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan walked down the street and looked at Rick as he walked up to him. "Thanks for that."

"I don't know you, but I know this will work as long as everybody does their roll," Negan tells him. "I've been through some shit in the last few days. So this better work."

"It will," Rick says. "We'll start building the wall tomorrow," Negan nods as Rick walks away.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stopped by Deanna's house and looked at the woman who was standing on the porch. He walked up the porch and stood by her. "I would say I'm sorry about Reg, but I'm sure you're sick of hearing that," Daryl says to Deanna. "So I won't say that, but I know how it feels. I lost my a woman named Beth. She was Maggie’s sister.”

"Did the pain ever go away?" Deanna asks him.

"No, you just make room for it and keep going for the person you lost and the people who are still here," Daryl tells her. Daryl pulls a gun out and holds it out to her. "You should carry,"

Deanna looks at the gun and grabs it. "Thank you, Daryl," Daryl nods as he walks down the stairs. "Daryl, thank you for bringing those people back. They'll help make this place better."

"It's my job," Daryl says before he walks down the street, leaving Deanna alone.

Thanks for reading. So I got a few things to explain. The first thing is Noah, fuck Nickolas and Noah's death. I think Noah had a lot of potential as a character, so I wanted to work with him so. In this story, Nickolas died in the door instead of Noah. Next, is Rosita going with Daryl. I thought it would be more fun for her to join Daryl than stay at Alexandria and not do much besides for the shit with the wolves, but characters like Gavin and Paula will be there to take over for that. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3-A man of his word

Chapter Text

Chapter 3-A man of his word
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl was in Aaron's garage putting a rack on the side of his bike for Rosita's gun. He looks at Aaron as he walks in. "You really think you need that?"

"Won't hurt," Daryl says. "Be easier for her to use the gun if she has easy access to it," Daryl says as he finishes. "This should work."

"You going to help with the wall?" Aaron asks him.

"Yeah, I'm meeting Negan, Rosita, and Gavin by the gate. They are taking a truck with metal out there," Daryl says as he climbs on his bike. "See you out there."

Aaron nods as Daryl starts his bike and leaves the garage heading for the gate. He stops by the gate and motions Rosita over. "Nice rack," Rosita says as she lays her hand on the metal.

"Will that work for your A.R?" Daryl asks Rosita, who nods.

"Yeah. Should work fine," She tells him.

"You two ready to go?" Gavin asks as he walks up to the truck.

"Yeah," Daryl says as Rosita throws her leg over the back of the bike. They nod to Eugene, who pulls the gate open. Daryl and Rosita leave first, followed by Gavin and Negan.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon's truck stops outside of the gates of the Kingdom. He climbs out of the truck and smiles at the men aiming their guns at him. "What is your business?"

"I need to speak with Ezekiel. Just tell him Simon is here. He'll know to come out," Simon tells him. One of the men leave, and Simon motions Jared and Arat over. "When we get in there, grab the two blond boys. The ones Ezekiel cares so much about. That is how we control him," Simon says as the gates start to open. Ezekiel marches up to Simon and stops.

"I have a deal with Negan," He growls. "What are you doing here?"

"Negan's dead. I killed him, I'm in charge now, and your deal doesn't sit well with me. At least I waited until pick up day, huh?" Simon says with a grin. "So, are you going to let us in, or is this going to turn ugly?"

"What happened to Gavin? He did our pickups," Ezekiel says.

"He's dead," Simon tells him. "So what is it going to be, Ezekiel?"

"Let them in," Ezekiel says. Simon smiles as the saviors follow Ezekiel into the Kingdom. Jared and Arat walk ahead to find the boys.

"What is going on, your majesty?" Someone asks.

"Everything is going to be okay," Ezekiel says.

"No, it's not," Simon says as he sees Arat and Jared coming back with the two boys. "I want everybody on their knees. Now!"

Ezekiel looks at Jared and Arat. "Let them go."

"Negan was too soft on you. It's time for you to learn the same lesson Hilltop did," Simon says. "Now, if people do not start taking out their weapons and falling to their knees. The smaller boy is going to be the example."

"Do as he says," Ezekiel says as he removes his gun and throws it to the ground. The people of The Kingdom follow their leader as he goes on his knees. Simon walks up to a man who is standing.

"I don't think you got the message," Simon says with a smile.

The man spits on Simon's boot, and the grin on his face falls as he removes his knife and stabs the man in the neck. "No!" Ezekiel shouts as he tries to stand. A savior grabbed his shirt and pressed a gun into the back of his neck. Simon pulls his knife out and pushes the man to the ground as he chokes on his blood and dies.

"Your leader has been lying to you. Telling you, you're safe that you are all going to live happy lives. He's been giving the saviors supplies behind your back to make sure we don't kill you. Now the leader before me was okay with that but me, not so much. I need you to know me," Simon tells them as he walks past all of them. "Know that as long as you follow the roles. No one has to die. Now I must show you that I am a man of my word. That guy didn't listen, and he died, but that was more of an impulse. I reacted badly. Sorry about that," Simon says. "Make sure he doesn't turn and go dig him a grave," He tells two saviors who nod. "See, I can be a reasonable guy," Simon says as he stops in front of Jerry. "Now, Negan had Lucille, but I like a more direct approach," Simon withdraws his gun and shoots Jerry in the chest.

"Jerry!" Ezekiel cries out as Jerry gasps for air.

"I am a man who keeps my word. Don't forget that, or you'll end up like your friend," Simon growls before he shoots Jerry in the head. He bends down in front of Ezekiel. "You belong to me. You provide for me, right?" Simon asks Ezekiel.

"Yes," Ezekiel says. "Yes."

"Good," Simon says with a grin. He pats Ezekiel's shoulder. "Today has been a good day. I'll even give you another week. I killed two of your guys. Call it a sorry. We'll be back in a week, Ezekiel. Let's roll out," Simon says as he walks towards the truck, leaving the Kingdom's people in shock and scared as they stay on their knees, most of them looking at Jerry's body.

Dwight's P.O.V
Dwight watched as Simon climbed out of the truck. "How'd it go?" Dwight asks him as Simon walks up the steps.

"Great, Dwight. Only two people are dead, and Ezekiel knows where he stands. Scouts back yet?" Simon asks as Dwight follows him inside.

"Yeah," Dwight tells him.

"They find them?" Simon asks him.

"No," Dwight asks, and Simon stops. He turns around and stares at Dwight.

"Dwight, I think this goes without saying that as long as Negan, Paula, Laura, D.J, Alden, and Gavin are alive, we will never be safe from them coming back to take their revenge. So I suggest you either find them or find me more men!" Simon shouts. He takes a deep breath. "Please, we wouldn't want anything bad happening to Sherry and Tina," Simon says before he walks away from Dwight, leaving him alone in the hallway.

Paula's P.O.V
Paula hits a pole into the ground and looks at Carol as she brings her a cup of water. "Thanks," Paula says. "I don't think we've met. I'm Paula."

"Carol."

"So, what is your role?"

"I'm just a housewife trying to help," Carol says sweetly.

"Come on, sweetie. You aren't fooling me. I don't believe your group has kept you alive this long," Paula says, making Carol smile.

"It was the best way to get in their inner circle. No one suspects me," Carol tells her. "You're not as dumb as them, it seems."

"Nope. You should probably go pass out more water. Keep your role up."

"Good luck," Carol says before she walks away from her.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan and Gavin pick up a piece of metal. "So how did we go from looking for somewhere safe to helping them build a wall to stop a herd?" Negan asks him.

"We need to prove ourselves, or they'll send us back out, and Simon will find us, and we'll have no one to help protect us," Gavin says as he sets the metal down. "We help these people, we get them to trust us, and we try to avoid the saviors for as long as possible."

"Shouldn't we kill them?" Negan growls

"We will, but there aren't nearly enough people. Alden was right about this being a fresh start. Use it, and we'll figure out how to kill Simon,” Gavin tells him.

“You think we should tell Rick and Deanna?” Negan asks him.

“No, they’ll throw us out if we’re lucky. They might just kill us. We stick to the plan,” Gavin tells him.

“Then I am going to go help the big guy," Negan says as he walks over to Abraham. "You want some help?"

"Hold the wall," Abraham tells him. Negan nods as he grabs the wall and holds it in place. "What were you and your friend talking about?"

"Nothing important," Negan tells Abraham, who stops what he is doing and looks at Negan.

"Then let's talk about something important, like that gunshot wound. It's been there a few days at least, so it happened recently. Now I don't give a rat's ass about who gave it to you, but if that person is still after you or their friends are still after you, and that gets someone hurt or killed. If that happens, this herd and that group will be the least of your problems," Abraham tells Negan.

"Understood, chief," Negan says. "Now, can we build this thing?"

Abraham nods.

Tara's P.O.V
Tara walked up beside Maggie as she watched Glenn and Noah. "What happened at the warehouse?" Tara asks her. "How'd they get out?"

"They got trapped in a revolving door. Glenn and Noah were on one side and Nickolas on the other. Glenn tried to break the glass with a gun, but Nickloas freaked out and was trying to push it open, and he would have killed them, so Noah beat him to it. He rammed his shoulder into the door, and it knocked Nickloas back, and Noah managed to push their side open enough for the walkers to get Nickolas. They pushed their way out after," Maggie tells her.

"What did they tell Deanna?" Tara asks her.

"That Nickolas died trying to help Aiden," Maggie answers. "Nickolas would have gotten them killed. He could have gotten them both killed. I'm glad Noah did what he did. He did what he had to," Maggie says. "Do you think he should have tried something else?"

"No, he did what he had to so they could both make it out. He made the hard decision."

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked over to Rick, who was watching Deanna and Jessie. "You sure she should be out here?"

"Which one?" Rick asks.

"Deanna," Daryl tells him.

"She said she wanted to help," Rick tells him. "When Lori died, I needed a distraction. I killed walkers in the tombs. That was my distraction. This is Deanna's."

"Hopefully, she doesn't lose her mind as you did," Daryl says.

"Thanks, asshole," Rick says.

"Walkers," Morgan says as three walkers emerge from the woods.

"Morgan, wait," Rick says. "They need to learn. Use the ends of the shovels. Go for the head."

"Help us," Carter says.

"You have to be able to do this," Rick tells him as the walkers get close. Jessie swings her shovel down on down of one of the walker's head craving its head in. Deanna stabs another in the eye with a knife as the third one grabs Carter. Daryl raises his crossbow and shoots it through the head. Carter pushes the body down and glares at Rick. "Let's get back to work," Rick says. "Good job," He tells Jessie and Deanna. He looks at Daryl. "Yeah, she should be out here."

Thanks for reading. Killing Jerry hurt me, it really hurt me, but he just felt like the right person to kill for the Kingdom besides Ezekiel. I think maybe one more chapter before we get to the herd. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4-Finishing preparations

Chapter Text

Chapter 4-Finishing preparations
Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna looked at Rick as he walked up to her. "You did good today," Rick tells her.

"Thanks," Deanna says. "How long until we can do this?"

"Two, three days. I'll take everybody out for a test the day before," Rick tells her. "Deanna, make sure Alexandria is on high alert while we are gone. This could go wrong at any moment. We're all thinking it."

"Will it go wrong, Rick?" Deanna asks him. "I am putting the lives of our people in your hands, the safety of Alexandria and every person who lives here."

"The plan's solid, Deanna. We've dealt with plenty of herds, Deanna. I'm not worried about something with the herd. They move together as long as nothing happens to Daryl, Rosita, Abraham, and Sasha, then we should be able to manage that. I'm worried about people like Carter."

"He's a good man, Rick. When it comes down to it, he will do what is right to keep Alexandria safe," Deanna reassures him. "But if he does become a problem, send him back."

"You doing okay?" Rick asks her.

"I'm getting by," Deanna tells Rick, who nods. "I need you to tell me something and be honest."

"Okay," Rick says.

"Nickolas, did he actually die trying to save Aiden?" Deanna asks him. "I saw Tara and Maggie, and Glenn and Noah seemed like they were lying. I didn't ask then, but I want to know now."

"No, they got trapped in that door, and Noah made a choice when Nickloas almost got him and Glenn killed," Rick answers.

"Thank you for being honest," Deanna says to Rick before he walks away.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl sat on his porch that night, making arrows from his crossbow. "You have a house you could do that in," Rosita says as she walks past the house.

"Then I'd have to clean it up," Daryl says. "What are you doing out?"

"Abraham and Sasha are talking with Rick," Rosita tells him as she climbs the steps. "You worried?"

"No," Daryl says flatly. "We've survived worse shit than this. We made it out of Terminus. We can do this."

"This time, we won't have Carol to come save our asses," Rosita says as she leans against the wall.

"Then we better not make any mistakes, one mistake and we could die, and so could other people," Daryl says. "You know you don’t gotta go with me. I can ride solo."

"I know you can, but if something goes wrong, you'll need someone to watch your back. I don't want to stay here while the rest of you are out there risking your lives," Rosita tells him.

Daryl nods as Abraham walks up to the house. "You guys done?" Rosita asks Abraham, who nods. "See you tomorrow," She says to Daryl as she goes down the stairs.

"Get some sleep, Dixon," Abraham says.

"I will. I'll have to get your ugly ass out of my head first," Daryl says with a small smirk. Abraham laughs as he walks away with Rosita.

Noah's P.O.V
Noah sat on the bench he had talked to Reg on before the run and looked at the journal Reg gave him before the run with Nickolas. It was still early in the morning, and most of Alexandria was waking up and getting ready to head back to build the walls. "I figured I might find you here," Deanna says as she walks up to him. "Maggie said you left."

"Yeah," Noah says as Deanna sits down.

"Rick told me the truth about what happened at that warehouse," Deanna says to Noah, who stays silent for a moment.

"Glenn's plan was going to work. He was too scared, and I knew Glenn wouldn't make the call, but I wasn't willing to let him die, let Maggie lose her husband because Nickolas couldn't keep it together. So I made a decision that I wish I didn't have to, but I don't regret it. If that makes me a bad person, so be it," Noah says firmly. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"Are the dead trapped in that warehouse?" Deanna asks.

"Yeah,"

"I understand why you did it, Noah. I am not here to give you a speech, call you a bad person, or kick you out. All I ask is that when this herd is gone. You take a group to clear that warehouse and retrieve the bodies," Deanna says softly.

"We can do that," Noah says. Deanna nods. She lays her hand on his shoulder before she walks away, leaving Noah by himself.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan walked up behind Ron Anderson as he glared at Carl, who was talking with Enid. "You know, if looks could kill, Carl would be lying on the ground," Negan says with a smirk. Ron glances at him.

"What do you need?" Ron asks him.

"Nothing," Negan says. "Just saw you standing here, and I was curious about what you were staring at."

"His father killed my Dad," Ron says.

"You're Dad killed Reg," Negan says. "Abused your Mom. Your Dad was a dick, kid."

"What do you know about my Dad?" Ron asks.

"Only what I have been told. He abused your Mom, lost to Rick, killed Reg, and Rick killed him. Deanna didn't want him buried here. Can't say I blame her," Negan says.

"He was a doctor. He saved lives," Ron growls.

"And he took the life of an innocent man who also saved lives. Look, kid, I don't give a fuck about your revenge plot. If you wanna try something against Carl or Rick, be my guest. You'll only be a problem when they kill you, and I have to bury you, or maybe we'll stick you in a dirt pile by your Dad, kid," Negan says calmly.

"Why do you think they'd kill me?"

"Because they've killed people, they were on the road, you've been tucked up in here since the start. You probably haven't even killed ten walkers. Like I said, if you wanna be dumb, go for it," Negan says. "Gotta go. Someone's gotta build that wall," Negan says before he walks away.

Tara's P.O.V
Tara walked over to Paula as she put more wood in a truck. The two of them had volunteered to go to the construction site early and get more metal and wood for the wall. "I'm surprised you and your friends didn't leave," Tara says as she sets a piece of metal in the truck.

"Why would we leave?" Paula asks her.

"Why wouldn't you? The night you get here, Rick killed Pete, and the next day, you find out that a herd is close to breaking out of their hole in the ground and making their way to Alexandria, where we live," Tara says.

"Most people would leave. The place doesn't seem safe, but it is, and as long as this works, it will remain safe. The place we were at before, it was safe. We could survive there, but the people were assholes, and the place looked like shit. Alexandria has good people and reminds you of the old world. It makes me hopeful that one day we can have a piece of the old world back. The others would agree," Paula tells her. "You want us to leave?"

"No, we can get every man and woman we can get," Tara tells her. "I'm glad you stayed. Maybe we can get through this without anybody dying," Paula nods as they go to grab more metal and wood.

Ezekiel's P.O.V
Ezekiel stood looking at Jerry's grave. "He didn't have to die," Richard says from behind him. "We should have never taken their deal."

"What would you have done then, Richard?" Ezekiel growls.

"We should have fought. We know the Hilltop is just like us, and there are probably others. Maybe you were right when you took Negan's deal. We couldn't beat the saviors by ourselves or even with the Hilltop, but now Negan's dead, and I guarantee a lot of the people who followed him fought back against Simon and were also killed as well. We should take the chance and fight back. Avenge Jerry and save more people from his fate and the fate of the Kingdom," Richard answers.

"I will not lead more of my people to the slaughter. If this is what we must do to ensure that nobody else ends up like Jerry, so be it," Ezekiel says. "Now leave me," Richard doesn't say anything as he turns around and walks away. "I'm am sorry I could not save you, my dear friend. I will save others from your fate, that I swear."

Simon's P.O.V
Simon sat on Negan's couch, drinking a bottle of his whiskey with a grin on his face. He looks at the door as it opens, and Arat walks in.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Arat says as she stares at the man.

"Why shouldn't I be enjoying myself. Negan's gone, I'm in charge, and the leaders of Hilltop and the Kingdom have bowed to me and are too scared to fight. We won, Arat," Simon says with a grin.

"Negan could still be out there alive," Arat says.

"Yes, he could be, but he was injured, and they don't have a lot of supplies. We're sending men out every day to find them. It is only a matter of time before D.J, Paula, Gavin, Laura, Alden, and Negan join the rest of the dead on the fence and help protect the Sanctuary," Simon says with a grin. "So don't worry, Arat. Grab a glass, let loose."

Arat sighs but grabs a glass.

Dwight's P.O.V
Dwight shut the door to Sherry's room and looked at Sherry and Tina. "Why are we here, D?" Sherry asks her.

"I think we made a mistake," Dwight says. "Betraying Negan."

"We didn't," Tina says firmly.

"Simon threatened the two of you yesterday. Negan may have been an asshole, but at least he never touched one of you. I don't know if I can say the same about Simon. He's unstable," Dwight tells them.

"What do you purpose we do then?" Sherry asks.

"We leave, go as far away from here as possible, and never look back."

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, we will get to the herd and maybe the wolves I don't know yet. The whole first half of this season is going to some what follow the show, but I will be changing a lot of the dialogue. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 5: Chapter 5-The herd

Chapter Text

Chapter 5-The herd
Daryl's P.O.V
The group stood at the canyon where the walkers were trapped. "I know this is insane, but this is an insane world. We have to come for them before they come for us. It's that simple," Rick says while looking at everybody. The walkers could be heard behind them. "This is where it starts tomorrow. Tobin gets in the truck, opens the exit, and we're off. He hops out and catches up with his team at red, staying on the west side of the road. Daryl and Rosita will get on Daryl's bike--" Rick is cut off when the truck on the other side of the canyon falls. "It's open. We gotta do this now! Tobin's group, get moving, go!"

"No, Rick, we're not ready," Carter says as Tobin gets in the truck.

"Sasha! Abraham!" Rick says.

"We're on it. We'll do it live," Abraham says as Sasha and Abraham go to the car.

"You meet Daryl and Rosita at red. Let them take the walkers through the gauntlet," Rick orders them.

"We'll meet at red," Rosita says to Abraham and Sasha, who nod as they leave.

"Rick, I'll hit the tractor place," Glenn says.

"Okay, who else?" Rick asks.

"We got to take them out, or they'll distract the herd," Heath says. "I'm in," Heath says.

"Heath, Glenn, and I will take the tractor place," Noah says. The other two nod as they leave.

"Rick, this was supposed to be a dry run," Carter says.

"You two, get ready," Rick says to Daryl and Rosita.

"They're coming," Alden says as he pulls his gun out.

"Rick, we haven't ever gone through the whole plan," Carter says.

"If you want to go back, go back. We're doing this now," Negan says to him. "We don't need you complaining the whole time."

"Tobin, you move it on my signal," Rick says. "They're heading home. We don't have a choice. Get ready to hit the flares," Tobin starts the truck. "Tobin hit the truck," Rick says. Tobin moves the truck, Daryl shoots a walker through the head with his crossbow, and flares go off.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan, Rick, Michonne, and Morgan move down the road. Rick pulls out his radio. "We all know our assignments. You know where the rendezvous is. Daryl and Rosita lead them out. Abraham and Sasha join them at the hill. Glenn hit the tractor place and meet up with us. We gotta stay ahead of that," Rick says. "Just keep moving."

The four of them move until they get to a wall with yellow balloons. "Now we just wait for Daryl," Negan says. "You ever do anything like this?"

"No," Rick says. "We've never seen a herd this big either. We have a solid plan in place."

"As I told you a few days ago. It isn't the plan that worries me. It's the people."

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn, Noah, and Heath run down the road until they see the tractor place. "Rick, we're almost there," Glenn says as they get to the tractor place and see walkers beating on the glass. "Okay, Heath, you'll pull the door open and only let a few out at a time. Then shut the door. That is how we control this," Glenn says as they go around the side, and he pulls his knife out. Noah pulls his knife out as Heath grabs the door. Glenn nods, and Heath pulls the door open. The entrance was blocked.

"So what now?" Heath asks.

"We improvise," Glenn says as he puts his knife out and pulls his gun out. He walks around to the window. "We have to clear this place," Glenn says before he shoots the window. Noah and Heath pull their guns out as walkers start to exit the tractor place. The three of them shoot the walkers until all the walkers lay dead on the ground. "Let's go," Glenn says as they leave the tractor place, heading for the rest of the group.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl sat on the porch with Judith. He looked at Paula as she walked past the house and stopped to look at them. "Hey," Carl says to the woman. "You don't have watch?"

"Not yet. D.J. and I are about to relieve Spencer in a few minutes," Paula says as she steps up on the porch. She looks at Judith and smiles as she waves at her. "I had four daughters," Paula says softly. "They didn't make it."

"I'm sorry," Carl says. "I lost my Mom. I had to kill her so Judith could live. You want to hold her?"

"Sure," Paula says as she picks Judith up. "Hey, sweetie," Paula says with a grin as she held her. Judith smiled at her as D.J. walked up to the house.

"You ready?" D.J. asked.

"Yeah," Paula says as she hands Judith to Carl. She walked over to D.J, and they left to relieve Spencer.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan, Rick, Morgan, and Michonne stood in silence as they watched the wall waiting for Daryl, Rosita, Abraham, and Sasha. "Michonne," Morgan says, making the woman look at him. "Back when you were in that place...where I lived. Did you take one of my protein bars?"

"No," Michonne tells him.

"See, I could have sworn there was one more peanut butter left," Morgan says.

"You always think there's one more peanut butter left," Michonne says as they hear walkers.

"The party has arrived," Negan says as he pulls his flare gun out. The others nod as they pull their flare guns out and aim them into the sky as the walkers start to hit the wall. "If this doesn't hold, I say we trip Rick and run."

"Thanks, Negan," Rick says as they fire their flares into the air after they put the guns away and turn around as they go to meet the others. Negan fell in step with Michonne.

"So, did you take it?" Negan asks quietly. Michonne looks at him and smirks before she catches up with Rick and Morgan.

Simons's P.O.V
Simon walked down the stairs and looked around at the Saviors. "Two days ago, Dwight, Sherry, and Tina made off with some supplies. They betrayed us, betrayed the family we have here. We saved them. We saved Tina from being Negan's plaything, and this is how they repaid us," Simon says as he gets to the bottom of the stairs. He walks up to a man standing in front of the furnace and lays his hand on his shoulder. "Now, Regan here was on watch. So Regan, what were you doing that was so damn important that three people made it out without you noticing?" Simon asks calmly.

"I was sleeping," Regan answers. "I'm sorry, Simon. I'm so sorry."

"Don't sweat it, buddy," Simon says. "It's all in the past now, and you want to make up for it, right?"

"Yes, of course. I'll do anything," Regan says.

"I need you to help protect the Sanctuary. Can you do that?" Simon asks, still speaking in a calm voice.

"Yeah, I'll take as many watches as needed. I'll hunt whoever you need me to."

"That's good to hear," Simon says as he turns around to look at the rest of the saviors. "He made a mistake, and now he is willing to give his life to fix it," Simon removes his knife and slams it into Regan's stomach. Regan coughs up blood as Simon grabs him by his head with his other hand. "You'll protect the Sanctuary forever!" Simon says as he pulls the knife out and stabs to stab Regan in the throat. He continues to stab him in the throat until his head is cut from his neck. Simon breathed heavily and threw the head on the ground. "I may have lost control. Take the head out there. Feed his body to the others. No more mistakes," Simon says before he walks towards the stairs.

Gavin's P.O.V
Gavin was walking through the streets of Alexandria and looked at Shelly as she sat on her porch smoking a cigarette. "Either those or the wakers will kill you."

"This will probably be less painful," Shelly says with a smile. Gavin nods as he turns around. He starts to walk but turns around when he hears Shelly cry out in pain. He saw a man with a w craved into his head holding an eye. Gavin pulled out his gun and shot the man in the chest as he charged him. He heard gunshots and fighting as the group started to invade Alexandria. Gavin ran through Alexandria and shot one of them as he tried to kill another member of Alexandria. "Get inside, lock your door!" Gavin tells the woman, who nods as she runs away. Gavin turns around and aims his gun as Spencer comes up behind him. "Stay close. We save who we can," Gavin tells Spencer, who nods as they start to move through Alexandria.

Paula's P.O.V
Paula shot a man in the head through her scope on the watchtower. "Paula, truck coming in!" D.J shouts. Paula moves over to him, and they shoot at a truck, quickly killing the driver. The car goes out of control and barely misses the watchtower and goes back onto the road, and hits a tree as the man's head hits the horn, and it starts to go off.

"We have to get down there!" Paula says as they go towards the entrance.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick, Negan, Morgan, and Michonne ran through the group until they came upon Glenn, Alden, Laura, Noah, and the rest of the group. "It's working," Carter says.

"We told you it would," Negan says as he stares at the herd. "I gotta say, you're pretty smart, Rick."

"Thanks," Rick says. "Okay, let's spread out and keep an eye on the herd. Carter, you're with me. Negan goes with Morgan. The rest of you split into groups," Rick says. They all nod as they start to move through the woods. Rick ran behind Carter. A walker that was stuck to a tree grabbed Carter by his shirt and bit into his cheek. Carter screamed in pain as Rick pulled out his knife and stabbed the walker in the head. Carter fell to the ground screaming as Rick covered his mouth. "Carter, be quiet," Carter continues to scream, and Rick stabs him in the back of the head as the group on the other side of the forest starts to shoot their guns to lore the walkers back into the herd.

"What was that?" Glenn asks.

"It was Carter. A walker got him," Rick says. Rick looks at Morgan and Negan as they come up behind him. "Go back to Alexandria. Tell them everything is going well."

The two of them nod as they leave. Rick goes back toward the rest of the group. He stops by Michonne as they look at the herd, and then a horn is heard in the distance.

Thanks for reading. I have some plans for this part of this story that will change it a lot from the show. This is where we really start to break away from the show. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6-Fighting back

Chapter Text

Chapter 6-Fighting back
Negan's P.O.V
Everybody stopped as they heard the horn. "What the hell is that?" Negan asks as they see the walkers start to go towards the noise.

"Negan, Morgan, get back to Alexandria now!" Rick shouts at the two men, who nod as they run away from the group as Rick tries to control the situation. They run through the woods as fast as they can.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl grabs his radio after they hear the alarm going off. "Rick, what the hell is going on?"

"There's a horn or something, half of the herd is breaking off," Rick tells him.

"Daryl, we need you where you are. We'll deal with them and get them back on track, take the rest of the herd, and keep going," Rick orders him.

"They'll need us at home, man," Daryl tells him.

"Daryl, he's right," Rosita tells him softly. "We need to lead the herd. We have to trust them."

Daryl stays quiet for a moment before he gives a silent nod.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn, Michonne, Noah, Alden, Laura, and their group ran through the woods, trying to get to a town so they could start a fire. Scott was shot, in the leg by Sturgess and David was bit on the shoulder, and Annie had hurt her ankle during the attack. They get to the town and start to look through the cars. They stop when they see walkers eating Sturgess. "Back!" Alden shouts as they start to run through the town until they get to a pet store. They slam the door shut and put a bar on the handle to stop the walkers from getting in.

"What the hell do we do now?" Heath asks.

"We'll figure it out. Everybody rest while we figure out a plan," Glenn tells them. They nod as they walk away, leaving Glenn, Noah, Alden, Laura, and Michonne.

"What's the plan now?" Alden asks.

"Glenn," Annie says. "There are people here."

The others withdraw their weapons and go towards the back. They stop when they see three people.

"Laura," Dwight says with shock evident on his face as he stares at the woman.

"I should kill you," Laura growls.

"You know them?" Glenn asks.

"Yeah, they were a part of our former group, the group that tried to kill us," Alden says.

"I'm sorry, we made a mistake," Sherry says. "Please."

"Lower your weapons," Glenn tells them. They slowly nod as they lower their guns. "Why did you try to kill them?"

"Because Negan's a psychopath," Sherry growls. Everybody looks at Laura and Alden.

"There is a lot you guys don't know about us," Laura says with a sigh.

"He had wives, five of them, and he would beat people to death with that bat, and she was his second," Tina says.

"This true?" Michonne asks as she looks at Laura, who nods.

"We have a terrible past, and so do all of you. We did what we had to so we could survive, and I will tell you all everything. But that part of our lives is over. We're trying to change, and Alexandria is giving us that chance. Our second chance."

The group stays silent for a moment before Michonne nods. "We'll talk about this at home. No more secrets, but you won't be kicked out, that I promise. You're right. We've all done things. I care about the people that you are now. That is how I will judge you."

Glenn and Noah nod as Laura and Alden let out a sigh. "So what do we do with them?" David asks.

"We offer them a place with us," Glenn answers as he looks at the three of them.

"No way we are going back with you. I will not be around him," Sherry growls.

"It's either Negan or Simon," Dwight growls. "Negan is better than Simon, and we all know it."

"He will kill us."

"He won't," Alden says. "Negan's trying to change, just like the rest of us."

"We need somewhere safe,"

"Dwight, he is crazy. He could be using these people just like he did us," Sherry growls.

"We would be better off by ourselves," Tina says.

"We won't. You know Simon sent people after us. If they catch us, he'll do things to you two that you will wish you have died instead," Dwight growls. "We need to go with them."

The two women quietly, who nodded. "We'll come."

"Good, we need all the help we can get out of this."

Negan's P.O.V
Negan and Morgan run into Alexandria and see bodies on the ground. "Stay safe," Negan tells Morgan, who nods as he walks away from the man. He sees a man chasing a woman and pulls out his gun, and shoots him in the chest. The woman looks at her. "Get inside, now!" Negan tells the woman, who nods as she runs. Negan looks at Gavin as he runs up to him. "What the hell happened?"

"They came out of nowhere," Gavin says. "Paula got the man off the horn."

"Well, that didn't do shit. The herd is still coming. Rick radioed he is going to use an R.V to divert them back on the right path," Negan tells him as they both shoot down two more men. They slowly go through Alexandria, killing as many wolves as they can. Negan goes back towards the gate as Gavin goes to help Paula and Spencer. He gets to the gate, and he sees three wolves trying to run out. He pulls out his gun and shoots two in the head and the other in the stomach. They fall to the ground, and Negan puts his empty gun in his holster and walks up to them, holding Lucille. He brings his back down on the first one's head and continues until he's dead, and then he does the same to the next. He looks up at Morgan as the man stares at him.

"I was giving them another chance," Morgan says as he stares at the bodies.

"They all have to die, Morgan. Can't have any more surprises," Negan growls as he leaves the man to clear the remaining men.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn and Noah leave the store after Dwight and Alden kill some walkers to allow them to get out. Their plan was to set a building on fire that Heath told them about. They run through town until they get to the building and see that it is already burnt down. "Shit!" Noah shouts as they hear growls behind them. They see a herd of walkers coming toward them. They pull out their guns and shoot at the walkers but then quickly climb on top of a dumpster. They look around and see that they are surrounded. "You have a plan, man?"

Glenn looks around and then looks down at the walkers and stops. "Yeah, come here," Glenn says as he pulls Noah onto his side of the dumpster. He pulls the dumpster open and motions Noah inside. Noah gets into the dumpster, followed by Glenn, who pulls it shut and holds it as they listen to the growls outside of the dumpster.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick runs down the road until he reaches the R.V. He climbs inside of the R.V and finds the keys, and starts it as he sees the herd of walkers. He starts to move forward, and the herd follows. "I got them," Rick says with a smile.

"You going to be okay, man?" Daryl asks over the radio.

"Yeah, I'll get them away from Alexandria and then get the hell out of here. You keep that herd moving, Daryl."

"You got it, brother," Daryl says before he turns the radio off.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl looked at Rosita, who was smiling. "I told you," Rosita says.

"Shut up," Daryl says as he looks at Abraham. "Rick's got 'em!" He shouts to Abraham, who nods.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan walked through Alexandria with Gavin beside him. "These are some of the assholes who attacked us in the woods," Negan says to Gavin, who nods as they see Eugene pull the gate open and Michonne, Alden, Heath, Laura, Scott, Sherry, Dwight, and Tina walk through the gates. "What the fuck?" Negan says as he marches up to them. "What the fuck are they doing here?!" Negan asks in anger as he draws his gun and aims it.

"Negan, no!" Gavin shouts as he grabs the gun and tears it out of his hand. Negan glares at him and looks at Laura.

"We found them," Laura tells him. "They're joining us."

"No way in hell," Negan says.

"Shut up, Negan," Michonne tells the man who looks at her. "You have a lot of explaining to do as well as them."

"Fine," Negan says. "We have a lot of work to do."

Maggie walks up to them with Tara and looks at the group. "Where are Noah and Glenn?"

"They're okay. They went to set a building on fire to distract some of the walkers. They'll be back soon, Maggie," Michonne tells her softly. "Rick got the herd. Everything is going to work out. We'll talk when he gets back," Michonne tells Negan, who nods as she leads Maggie and Tara away. Negan looks at Deanna as she walks up to them.

"We'll find you somewhere to stay. You all need to get cleaned up," Deanna tells them.

They nod as they slowly disperse. Negan stands in front of Dwight, Sherry, and Tina. "They said you were trying to change," Dwight says. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, why did you leave?"

"Simon's lost it. He went after the Kingdom. Killed two of them," Dwight tells him.

"Jesus," Negan says. "These are good people, and if Simon finds them, he will kill them, and I won't allow that if you're here. We'll fight them. Eventually, you know that, right?" Negan asks.

"We know," Dwight says before they walk away.

Tara's P.O.V
Tara sat on her porch, staring at the ground. She looked up at Paula as she walked up to her. "You look like shit," Tara says.

"Thanks," Paula says as she sits down beside her. "Denise is still helping people. She's doing good."

"She's a good doctor. She needed a pep talk, though," Tara says as she looks at her. "Noah's out there."

"Noah's a strong guy. He'll be back," Paula says.

"Can we trust you?" Tara asks, making Paula look at her. "Michonne told me what Dwight, Sherry, and Tina said. We don't know any of you, so can we trust you?" Tara asks.

"Yes, I'm not hiding what I've done, Tara. I've done bad things. I've killed a lot of people. But I'm here, I fought for Alexandria, and I will fight for it as long as I'm breathing. This place is special."

"The group you were with before, will they come for this place?" Tara asks.

"Probably at some point, and when they do, we'll kill them."

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, and Rosita drove past the twenty-mile marker, and Daryl looked at Abraham, who nodded as they drove away from the herd and turned to leave for Alexandria when people started to shoot at them. The two vehicles separated quickly, with Daryl and Rosita going towards the woods and getting into a burnt forest. Daryl stops the bike and climbs off quickly, with Rosita following with his Ar. "What the fuck was that?"

"No, idea. We need to hide the bike and stay away from them. We'll find Abe and Sasha after," Daryl says as he pushes his bike into the woods and hides in. "Let's go," Daryl says as they head into the woods.

Thanks for reading. I know a lot happened in this chapter, but I wanted to get through this stuff so we could get to the more fun stuff next chapter. Because of Negan, those wolves weren't able to ambush Rick, and he was able to lead the herd away. The next chapter will show Rick with the herd and Daryl and Rosita invading their attackers as Glenn and Noah figure out their next move. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 7: Chapter 7-Getting home

Chapter Text

Chapter 7-Getting home
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl and Rosita slowly and quietly walked through the woods away from the bike. "Who do you think they were?" Rosita asks.

"Don't matter," Daryl answers. "We need to stay away from them, wait a little bit and find Sasha and Abraham, radio Rick and find out where he is," Daryl tells her. "Let's take a break."

Rosita nods as she sits down by a tree and looks at Daryl's shoulder. "You're bleeding," She tells him.

"I'm fine," Daryl tells her as he sets his crossbow down and looks at her. "Thanks for coming. Glad I got someone with me I can trust."

"I'll always have your back, Dixon," Rosita tells him. "Just like I know you have mine."

Daryl nods as he grabs a bottle of water out of his back and takes a drink. He holds it out to Rosita, who takes it.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn and Noah were in the dumpster for about two hours. Glenn pushed the top off and looked around to see all the walkers were gone. He climbed out and looked around. Noah climbs out and looks at him. "Now what?" Noah asks.

"Heads up," They hear above them as a bottle of water hits the ground. They look up at Enid as she stares at them.

"Enid?" Noah says as he stares at the girl. Enid doesn't say anything as she moves out of their eyesight. Noah grabs the bottle, and they head into a building after the girl.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan picked up the body of one of the men and threw them in a pile as Michonne walked up to him. "You wanna do the integration now?" Negan asks her with a smirk.

"No, Rick and Daryl aren't back," Michonne says. "But I want to know without them around. So start talking."

"After I lost my wife, I kind of lost it. Beat a biker to death with this bat, and eventually, Laura, Franklin, and I came across the Sanctuary and killed the leader there. We lost Franklin in the process, and the place was a piece of shit, so I started going after communities. There was one called Hilltop. I lined them all up and beat a 16-year-old boy to death," Negan says as he looks at Michonne, who stares at him in shock. "I'm not a good man, Michonne. I know that what I did to those communities makes me a monster. But being a monster is how I survived, and I am trying to make up for that now," Negan tells her.

"Glenn told Laura and Alden that you wouldn't get kicked out, and she's right you won't. Because if what I've heard about the saviors is correct. We might need that monster," Michonne says before she walks away from him.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick looks at the herd and smiles as he sees that they are still following him. He grabs his radio. "Daryl? Abraham, does anybody copy?" Rick sighs when he hears nobody say anything back. He knew he was getting close to a good place to drop off the walkers. "If anybody is there, come back," Rick says as he sets the radio down.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn and Noah find Enid as she tries to leave a restaurant. "Enid, stop!" Glenn says, making the teenager stop and turn to look at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Alexandria isn't going to survive. You know it, and I know it. Those people don't know what they are doing," Enid says.

"They can learn," Noah says. "Enid, there are no places like that anymore. They are gone. Alexandria is special, and it can be saved. We need people like you who have seen the outside world. You know how to make it out here. We need people. You can't survive without them anymore. Come back with us. Let us show you that this place is worth it," Noah says. Enid stares at the two men and shakes her head.

"Good luck," She says as she turns around to leave. Glenn grabs her arm, and she withdraws her gun and aims it at him. Glenn raises his hands as Noah sets his hand on his gun. "Don't touch me," She growls.

"I understand you being hesitant, Enid. You've probably been through some shit. You have trust issues. But Noah's right. We need people like you. I need Alexandria to be safe, for my family, for me, Maggie, and our child," Glenn says, making Noah look at him in shock and Enid lower her gun. "Please, come back with us."

Enid stares for a moment before she slowly nods and holsters the gun. "Thank you, now let's get home," Noah says as they leave.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl and Rosita were about an hour away from the bike, sitting by a tree. "How'd you meet them?" Rosita asks as she looks at Daryl. "Rick and the others?"

"Rick wasn't with us at the start, but his wife and Carl were there, and his partner, Shane. Merle and I found them just after Atlanta was bombed. Been with them ever since," Daryl says as he stands up. "Let's get back to the bike. I think we've waited long enough."

Rosita nods as she follows him toward the bike.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick turned the R.V down a side road and sped up, leaving the walkers behind with a grin on his face as he started to drive towards Alexandria.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stopped his bike outside of a building in a nearby town and looked at Abraham and Sasha as they came outside. "You okay?" Abraham asks them.

"Yeah, we're fine," Rosita says as she gets off the bike and hugs him, and Abraham hesitantly hugs her. Daryl stared at the two for a moment before he looked at Sasha.

"We found a truck. Our car was shot to hell," Sasha says. "Who were those assholes?"

"I have no idea. We avoided them and came to find you," Daryl tells her as Abraham goes to the truck and grabs an RPG out of bed. "Nice," Daryl says. "Let's get going," Daryl says as he goes to the bike with Rosita. They nod as they climb into their car.

Glenn's P.O.V
The gate of Alexandria opens, and Glenn, Noah, and Enid walk inside as Maggie and Tara run up to them and hug them. Maggie hugs Glenn, and Tara hugs, Noah. "You okay?" Glenn asks Maggie, who nods. "Rick? Daryl?"

"Aren't back yet. Come on, let's go get you cleaned up. We need to talk about Negan's group."

Glenn nods as they hear a car, and the door opens. They look at the R.V as it stops, and Rick comes out. "We did it," Rick says with a grin as Deanna comes down from watch.

"Come with me," Deanna says to Rick, who nods as she follows.

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna, Rick, Michonne, and Negan stood in front of Deanna's house. Negan had just finished telling them the same story he told Michonne. "The saviors, can we beat them?" Rick asks.

"Not by yourself, boss," Negan says. "I thought we were waiting for Daryl."

"I'll tell him everything, and then we'll make a decision," Rick says. "You've been a great help to Alexandria, Negan. You and your people. From my understanding, a truck would have hit the wall if not for Paula and D.J., And more people would be dead if not for you guys too."

"So?"

"So I want your word," Rick says after a moment. "I don't care about what you did, who you hurt. God knows I've done the same, maybe worse. I want to know everything you've done. You'll tell Deanna and me, and you'll tell me about these other communities and the saviors. But first, I want your word. You will fight with Alexandria, no matter what comes our way."

"You have my word, Rick," Negan says. "I'm done with the saviors."

"Good, Michonne, give us a little bit. Let us know when Daryl gets back," Rick says. Michonne nods as she leaves. "Grab the camera," Rick tells Deanna, who nods as he sits down and stares at Negan.

Abraham's P.O.V
Daryl stops the bike in front of a group of men on bikes. Behind him, Abraham stops the truck. "Why don't you come on out and join us on the road?" The leader says. Daryl and Rosita climb off the bike, and Abraham and Sasha climb out of the truck. "That's great, going good right from the start," He says as they stand in front of Daryl's bike. "Now, step two, hand over your weapons."

"Why should we?" Daryl asks him.

"Well, they're not yours," The leader says.

"Whose are they?" Sasha asks.

The man takes a step forward. "Your property now belongs to Simon," He says. "Now, if you can get your hands on the good vehicles. Your people are someone our person wants to know. So let's get those sidearms, shall we," He says as he walks towards Daryl. "Right now," Daryl pulls out his handgun and hands it to him. "Thank you," He then walks to Rosita, who gives him her gun. "Thank you," He walks over to Sasha, who does the same. "Thank you," He finally stops at Abraham, who stares at him. "If you have to eat shit, best not to nibble, bite, chew, swallow, repeat, goes quicker," Abraham hands him his sidearm. "Thank you," He says as he walks back towards his bike.

"Who are you, people?" Rosita asks.

"I get the curiosity, but we have questions ourselves. We'll be the ones asking them while we drive you back to wherever it is you call home. Take a gander at where you hang your hats. First though, your shit. What have you got for us?"

"You just took it," Daryl says.

"Come on, I mean, can we not? There's more. There's always more. T, take my man to the back of the truck and work your way up," He says as T takes Daryl to the back with the others watching. "Bite, chew, swallow, repeat."

"Who's Simon?" Abraham asks.

"Ding, dong hells bells," The leader says as he raises a gun at Abraham. "You see, usually we introduce ourselves by just popping one of you right off the bat, but you seem like reasonable people. I mean, you're sporting dress blues, for christ's sake. Like I said, we're gonna drive back to where you were. I mean, do you know how awkward it is carpooling with someone whose friend or friends you just killed? But I told you not to ask questions, and then what does this ginger do? So that's that. I don't want you to get the wrong impression of me," He says as he cocks the gun.

"Wait," Sasha says before Rosita can speak. "Wait, wait, you don't have to do this," She says as he raises a gun at her.

"Shut up," Abraham says.

"I am talking to the man," Sasha says.

"No, you're not," He says as he stares at them. He lowers the guns after a moment. "I'm not gonna kill you," He says, making Sasha and Rosita sigh. "Wait, wait, you know what, yes I am," Before he can raise the guns, he and the rest of his men are blown up, sending Abraham, Sasha, and Rosita onto their backs. They look at Daryl as he comes around the truck with the RPG. They get up and look at them.

"Son of a bitch is tougher than he looks," Daryl says as he looks at T, who is now dead.

"Did he cut you?" Rosita asks.

"A little," He answers. "What a bunch of assholes."

Rosita lays a rag on his cut. "Let's get you fixed up at home," She says.

"Yes, Ma'am," Daryl says as he puts the RPG back and walks towards his bike with Rosita.

"Nibble on that," Abraham says before he goes to the truck. They start their cars and leave, heading back to Alexandria.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, everybody is back in Alexandria. Daryl learns more about Negan's past and their group and a decision is made as Daryl tells them about their encounter with the saviors. Rick and Daryl find some olds friends. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 8: Chapter 8-Old friends

Chapter Text

Chapter 8-Old friends
Ezekiel's P.O.V
Ezekiel walks into the infirmary of the Kingdom and looks at one of his most trusted men as he talks with the doctor. They both turn and look at him. "How is he doing?" Ezekiel asks.

"He's awake," The doctor tells Ezekiel. "He is preparing to go talk with him."

Ezekiel nods as he looks at the man. "Are you sure about this, T-dog?" Ezekiel asks as he stares at the man, who nods. T-dog's head was still bald, but now he had a black beard growing on his face. His left hand was metal.

"Yeah, I knew him at the beginning, Ezekiel. He was an ass, but he's here because of something I did, and maybe he knows what happens to the rest of my group," T-dog tells the man, who nods as he follows him into the room. The man turns and looks at them. His eyes widen when he sees T-dog. "Hi, Merle."

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl drives his bike into Alexandria, and Abraham drives in behind him. He stops the bike and climbs off as Michonne walks up to them. "Rick needs you," Michonne tells him.

"Good, I gotta talk to him," Daryl says. "Go rest," Daryl tells Rosita, Sasha, and Abraham, who nods as he follows Michonne through Alexandria. He walks into Deanna's house and looks at Negan, Rick, and Deanna. "What's going on?" Daryl asks the two of them.

Rick nods to the camera. "Watch it," Rick tells Daryl, who nods as he grabs the camera and sits down. The only sound in the room was the voices from the camera as Daryl watched it. When finished, he set the camera down and looked at Negan.

"I just blew a group of your guys up," Daryl growls, making everybody look at him.

"What?" Negan asks.

"A group of bikers stopped us on the road, trying to take our shit, would have killed Sasha and Abraham if Abraham didn't find that RPG," Daryl says. "Some of 'em attacked us after we dropped the herd off."

"That means they are still looking," Negan says with a sigh. "Fuck."

"We'll talk more about that in a minute. We need to decide what we're going to do with them," Rick says to Daryl, who nods.

"The way I see it. Nothing's changed from what we knew before to what we know now. He's an asshole. We know that. Sounds like Simon even's worse than he is," Daryl says. "We're gonna have to fight them, Rick. It's not an if. It's when. How long will it take them to find Alexandria?" Daryl asks.

"So you suggest we do nothing?" Deanna asks him.

"No, I suggest we prepare, gather as many supplies as possible, and find as many people willing to fight. And I think Negan and his group want a crack at Simon, right?" Daryl asks Negan, who nods. "He's the greater of two evils, Rick. Simon's our enemy, not Negan, Alden, D.J, Laura, Paula, Gavin, Dwight, Sherry, or Tina," Daryl says. "I vote they stay. Nothing changes. We're gonna need them. They know everything about the Saviors."

Rick looks at Deanna, who nods. "Okay, what about the other communities Simon controls, Hilltop and The Kingdom?"

"Hilltop's leader is a spinless piece of shit. We go after him. He'll tell Simon about us. Most of them don't even know how to fight. Only one worth a damn is named Paul Rovia. They call him Jesus. The Kingdom would have the numbers, but their leader will be hard to convince," Negan says. "He wouldn't join us as we are."

"But if we build up our supplies and numbers?" Deanna asks.

"He might. You may be able to convince two of his guys to convince him, some asshole named Richard and another one. Has a metal hand. What the fuck was his name?" Negan stays silent for a moment before he speaks again. "T-dog."

Daryl and Rick tense up for a moment before they look at him. "Big black guy, bald?" Daryl asks Negan, who nods.

"How do you know that?" Negan asks him.

"Because he was a part of our group once," Daryl says. "We're going to the Kingdom."

"I just said."

"I know what you said. I'll go with Rosita," Daryl says. "Get me a map."

Deanna leaves the room and comes back with a map. "Michonne, go get Rosita ready," Rick tells Michonne, who nods as she quickly leaves. Deanna lays the map down in front of Negan.

"Mark it," Daryl orders Negan, who nods. Daryl grabs the map. "Don't tell anybody until I get back," Daryl tells Rick. "Especially not Carl, Carol, Maggie, or Glenn."

"Got it," Rick says as Daryl leaves.

Merle's P.O.V
Merle stared at T-dog with shock evident on his face before it quickly turned to anger. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Merle shouts in anger as he tries to get the handcuffs off.

"I got this," T-dog tells Ezekiel, who nods as he leaves and T-dog sits down.

"I'M GOING TO TEAR YOUR OTHER HAND OFF!" Merle shouts. T-dog sits in silence as he listens to Merle scream, and after a minute, the older Dixon brother stops and takes a deep breath. "Where the hell is my brother?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen Daryl in a long time. After Atlanta, we left the quarry after it got attacked. We just Jim and Amy. We went to a farm, and it got overrun as well. I got separated by the herd," T-dog says as he shows Merle his metal hand. "Lost my hand, had to cut it off, just like you did. But you came here and fell in with the saviors."

Merle nods with a chuckle. "Karma's a bitch, T-dog. Tell me, was Officer Friendly still alive?"

"Yeah, he was," T-dog answers. "We saved you. My guys found you bleeding out on the road, they knew who you were, but they still saved you. What happened?"

"Simon betrayed Negan, and I fought and almost died. I don't know what happened to Negan," Merle answers.

"Simon said he killed him, and then he killed Jerry," T-dog says as the door opens. "What?" T-dog growls at the guard.

"We need you at the wall," He tells T-dog, who nods.

"Watch him," T-dog says as he stands up and leaves. He walks through the Kingdom and gets to the gate where the gate was opened, and he stops when he sees who is standing there.

"T-dog," Daryl says as he stares at the man.

Daryl's P.O.V
T-dog stared at Daryl as he T-dog motioned for his men to lower their guns. He walks up to Daryl, who just stares at him, and then he hugs Daryl, who hugs him back. After a moment, he lets him go and looks at him. "I need to show you something," T-dog tells Daryl. "These two are with me. If Ezekiel has a problem, he knows where I'll be," T-dog says as he motions for Daryl and Rosita to follow him. They walk to the infirmary and stop outside of a door. "Go in there, just you," T-dog tells Daryl, who looks at him and nods as he walks into the room. He stops when he sees Merle as T-dog shuts the door.

Merle looks at his brother. "Daryl," Merle says. "What--" Merle is cut off by Daryl walking up to him and hugging him. Merle stays silent before he wraps one of his arms around Daryl. After a moment, Daryl pulls back and wipes the tears from his eyes. "Sit," Merle tells his brother, who nods as he sits down. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm part of a community, one of the people there met T-dog here, so I came to see him," Daryl answers after a moment. "What about you?"

"I was a part of a group called the saviors. They betrayed--"

"I know the story," Daryl says. "Negan's the one who told us about T-dog," Daryl says quietly.

"He's alive?" Merle asks his brother, who nods. "Let's talk for a minute, baby brother. T-dog told me that the last time he saw you, Officer Friendly was still alive. That still the case?"

"Yeah, Rick's alive," Daryl says.

"WHAT THE FUCK, BABY BROTHER! THAT ASSHOLE LOCKED ME UP ON A ROOF. I LOST MY HAND BECAUSE OF HIM!"

Daryl stands up, knocking the chair to the ground. "YOU LOST YOUR HAND BECAUSE YOU'RE A SIMPLE-MINDED PIECE OF SHIT!" Daryl shouts back. Merle looks at his brother in shock, as Daryl has never stood up to him. Daryl takes a deep breath. "You're my brother. But so is Rick, in all but blood. He's been a better brother than you've ever been. He's been there with me through all of this shit. No matter what, Rick was there, Don't make me pick between him and you, Merle. Cause I don't think you'd win," Daryl growls. "I've lost so many people, people I loved, people that were family to me. The people I fight for don't make me have to lose you again or Rick."

Merle stares at his brother in shock. "You care about them?"

"I'd die for every one of 'em. Happily, they are my family," Daryl answers. Merle nods as the door opens, and Ezekiel walks in.

"Let us speak," Ezekiel says to Daryl, who nods.

"I'll be back," Daryl says as he leaves with Ezekiel.

Ezekiel's P.O.V
Ezekiel sat in his chair with Shiva to his left and Richard to his right. Daryl, Rosita, and T-dog stood below him. "T-dog tells me Merle is your brother," Ezekiel says to Daryl, who nods. "Are you a savior as well?"

"Nah, just killed some of those assholes earlier," Daryl tells Ezekiel. "The Kingdom and Hilltop are both under the control of the Saviors of Simon. Not Alexandria, not yet, at least. We hope to make sure that doesn't happen."

"How?" Richard asks.

"We'll fight them," Rosita answers. "Simon lied to you."

"What do you mean?" Richard asks.

"Negan is alive," Daryl says, making all three of their eyes widen in shock. "He's a member of Alexandria now. Him, Laura, D.J, Paula, Gavin, and Alden. They fight with us, and they're gonna fight the saviors."

"Do you know what that man has done?!" Ezekiel exclaims.

"I do," Daryl answers. "That doesn't matter anymore. I care about what he is going to do," Daryl says. "I want the Kingdom to fight with us, not now, not anytime soon, give us time. Let us build up people, weapons, and supplies, then I'll come back, and you give me your decision."

"You have given me a lot to think about Daryl of Alexandria. I will think about your offer. We will give you a car so you may take your brother with you as well."

"My king," T-dog says, making Ezekiel look at him. "I ask your permission to join Daryl back to Alexandria. I would like to see my friends and help them in this fight."

Ezekiel stays silent for a moment before he nods. "You are not a prisoner here, T-Dog. If you wish to go, you may. Daryl, I would like to ask a favor of you."

"What is that?" Daryl asks.

"There are two boys here. Henry and Benjamin, it is my fear that Simon will use them against me as he did before. I ask that you shelter them in Alexandria until I have come to a decision?" Ezekiel asks.

"They can come," Daryl says.

"Thank you, let me speak with them, and we will meet you out by the gate in an hour."

Daryl and Rosita nod as they leave with T-dog.

An hour later
Daryl, T-dog, Merle, and Rosita stood by a truck and Daryl's bike as Ezekiel walked over with Benjamin and Henry. "I thank you for this. Please keep them safe."

"I will, I promise," Daryl says.

"You listen to him, do you understand?" Ezekiel asks the two boys, who nod, and Ezekiel hugs them. After Daryl and Rosita climb on the bike and Merle, T-dog, Benjamin, and Henry climb into the truck, and they leave.

Thanks for reading. Yes, Merle and T-dog are alive in this story. The next chapter will be focused on everybody and start to show other charchters stories as well. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 9: Chapter 9-Some peace

Chapter Text

Chapter 9-Some peace
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl drives his bike into Alexandria and stops it as he sees Rick walking up to them with Carol, Carl, Maggie, Glenn, Negan, and Abraham. "Well?" Rick asks as Daryl climbs off of the bike.

"See for yourself," Daryl says as the driver door opens and T-dog steps out. He walks around the front and looks at Rick.

"Hi, Rick," T-dog says. Rick smiles as he walks up to T-dog and hugs him as the others look at the man in shock.

"That's not the only thing," Daryl says. "Come out, asshole," Daryl says, making everybody look at the passenger door as Merle climbs out.

"Officer Friendly," Merle says as he slams the door shut.

"Don't worry, he ain't got any weapons," Daryl says as Rick lets T-dog go.

"Yeah, my baby brother doesn't trust me," Merle says as he holds back his anger.

"He's your brother?" Negan asks Daryl, who nods.

"Merle," Rick says as he walks closer to the man. "What happened on that roof-" Rick is cut off by Merle trying to punch him, but Daryl grabs his arm and slams him against the car.

"I told you, don't try anything stupid," Daryl says as he lets him go. Merle glares at him as he walks away.

"It's good to see you," Glenn says as he hugs T-dog, followed by Carol and Maggie. He looks at Carl and smiles.

"Damn, kid. You have grown up," T-dog says with a smile as he looks around. "Lori? Hershel? Beth? Shane?"

"They're dead," Rick says. T-dog nods as he looks at Alexandria. He looks at Deanna as she walks up to them. "T-dog, this is Deanna. She is the leader of Alexandria."

"I'm one of them," Deanna says as she shakes his hand. "Who was the man I just walked past?"

"My brother," Daryl answers. "Don't worry, I'll handle him," Daryl says as he walks away from the group. Daryl finds Merle by the pond. "What the hell was that?"

"All of this happened because of him," Merle growls.

"It didn't. It happened because you were a fucking idiot on that roof," Daryl says. "Look, I don't feel like having this argument with you anymore. You're either with us or you ain't. If you are with us, then you need to accept that Rick is in charge and that Deanna is in charge. That I'm in charge."

"You've become Officer Friendly's bitch baby brother."

"Nah, I was your bitch," Daryl growls, making Merle look at him. "I'm Rick's brother. Don't pull anything else like that," He tells him before he walks away.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog walked through Alexandria with Glenn. "You've grown since I last saw you," He says, making Glenn look at him. "I can tell."

"A lot has changed," Glenn says. "We wanted to look, man. I'm sorry we left you."

"I understand, Glenn. You don't need to apologize," T-dog says. "I see you are wearing a ring."

"Yeah, she's pregnant too," Glenn tells T-dog, who grins.

"I'm happy for you, Glenn. You deserve it," T-dog tells him as they stop at a house. "Benjamin and Henry are already inside. Fresh clothes are inside, and take a shower," Glenn tells him with a grin before he walks away.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick walks up to Jessie's house and looks at the blond as she steps outside. "I haven't seen a lot of you," She says with a smile.

"Yeah, been a little busy. Are Sam and Ron okay?" Rick asks her.

"Yeah, they are fine," Jessie says. "So they are actually going to be spending the night with some friends. How would you like to...come over for dinner?"

"I'd like that," Rick tells her. Jessie nods with a smile as she goes inside her house.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan sat on his porch sharpening his knife when Merle walked up to him. "I never saw you as the type to follow a prick like Rick," Merle says.

"He's a good leader," Negan says as he sets his knife down. "These are good people."

"Took my brother, made him soft."

"Your brother isn't soft," Negan says.

"You must be blind. Rick Grimes is a dick that will get you killed."

"You're wrong," Negan tells him.

"Boss-"

"Listen to me," Negan growls as he stands up and looks at Merle. "I don't give a shit about your grudge with him. I don't know the full story. We need Rick and Alexandria if we ever hope to kill that fucking Judas Simon. If you fuck this up, I will cut off your other hand and make you eat it, understood?" Negan asks him.

"Yeah, I got it, boss," Merle says before he walks away from Negan.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stood on his porch smoking a cigarette. He looked at Deanna as she walked up the stairs and held her hand out. "Want one?" Daryl asks.

"No, give it," She says. Daryl scoffs as he drops it and stomps on it. "I didn't know you were my mother."

"I'm not. I just want to make sure you don't help the walkers or the saviors," Deanna says. "Daryl, I need a favor from you."

"Anything," Daryl says as he looks at her.

"I need you to teach me how to survive. How to shoot, how to fight walkers," Deanna says.

"You got it. We can start tomorrow," Daryl tells Deanna, who nods as she walks away.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl walked up to Glenn's house and knocked on the door. The door opened, and Glenn looked at him. "Maggie told me you were talking with Enid," Carl says. Glenn nods.

"You wanna talk to her?" Glenn asks Carl, who nods. "I'm gonna go check on Maggie," Glenn says as he leaves. Carl walks inside and looks at Enid, who is staring at him.

"You came back," Carl says as he sits down.

"I have my reasons," Enid says.

"What does JSS mean?" Carl asks her.

"Just survive somehow," Enid says. "It's what I would tell myself after my parents died."

"I don't want to just survive, Enid. I want to live. I want to build this into a place where Judith can have a life. We can't just survive. People have died so we can live, your parents. My Mom," Carl says. "If you don't want to live for yourself, at least do it for them," Carl says as he stands up. "I'm glad you came back," He says as he leaves the house.

Abraham's P.O.V
Abraham sat in his house staring at his wall as Rosita opened the door and walked in. "Hey," She says as he continues to stare at the wall. "Abraham," She says, making the large man look at her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Abraham answers as he stands up. "I got patrol."

"We just got back," Rosita says as she steps in front of him. "I bet someone else can do it for you."

"I'll be fine. I gotta go find Sasha. I'll see you tonight," Abraham says as he leaves the house, leaving Rosita alone, staring at the door.

Dwight's P.O.V
Dwight walked around Alexandria after leaving Sherry and Tina with Michonne, who was giving them a tour. He stops when he sees Paula talking with Tara. "You just gonna stare, D?" Paula asks Dwight, who walks over to them. "You're planning on staying, right?"

"I do," Dwight says.

"Can we trust you?" Paula asks as Tara looks between the two saviors.

Dwight scoffs and stares at her. "I should be asking you that. You do whatever Negan tells you. If you told you to kill everybody here, you would," Dwight growls.

"I wouldn't. You're right. I did do whatever Negan told me because I was loyal, unlike you. You went from Negan to Simon, and then you ditched Simon too," Paula says.

"I did what I had to so I could protect Sherry and Tina," Dwight explains.

"I'll do whatever I have to do to protect Alexandria if you betray us again," Paula tells him. "Now you should go find your wife," Dwight doesn't say anything as he turns around and leaves.

Abraham's P.O.V
That night Daryl sat on his porch staring at the sky as Abraham walked past his house. "Shouldn't you be at home?" Daryl asks him.

"Had patrol," Abraham says. "Took a walk after."

"You seem a little out of it. Did something happen while we were separated?" Daryl asks as he stands up and walks over to the man.

"No," Abraham says as they start to walk together. "I just needed a moment to think."

"About?" Daryl asks as they walk past the pond.

"You ever think about settling down, Dixon?" Abraham asks him.

"Not since this shit started," Daryl answers. "You thinking about settling down with Rosita?"

"No, just a question," Abraham says as they get to his house. "Night," He says as he walks inside. He walks to his room and sees Rosita asleep in bed. He stares at her for a moment before he walks back downstairs and falls on the couch.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked back towards his house and stopped when he saw Merle sitting on his porch. "I don't know about what you've been through, baby brother, if it's anything like what I've been through. It's pretty bad."

"Probably worse," Daryl says as he walks up to his brother and sits down.

"You really care about them? These people, this place?" Merle asks.

"I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for these people. This place is worth dying for," Daryl answers.

"I'll do my best to behave," Merle says. "They didn't give me a house."

"I have another room. Come on," Daryl says as he leads him inside.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog looked at Benjamin as he walked into the living room. "Henry asleep?" He asks the teenager, who nods.

"What are we doing, T-dog? Negan is here. We could kill him," Benjamin growls.

"What good would killing Negan do us?" T-dog asks. "He's on our side now. Simon is our problem."

"He killed our people!" Benjamin says in anger.

"He did," T-dog says as he stands up. "But he made a deal with us. He was more reasonable than Simon. He killed Jerry and broke that deal. Remember that before you do something stupid, now go to your room and sleep," T-dog tells the teen, who growls before he leaves the room and T-dog sits down.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan stood on watch, staring at the trees as Michonne climbed up the ladder and stood by him. "Where's Rick?" Negan asks her.

"He's having dinner with Jessie," Michonne answers.

"Really? I thought you two were a thing," Negan says with surprise in his voice.

"No," Michonne says with a smirk. "Do you think we can beat the saviors?"

Negan looks at her for a moment and nods. "We're gonna beat them, Michonne. I was an idiot. If my wife could see me in that factory, she would have killed me. I wasn't saving people, and Simon won't either. When this is all said and done. I'm going to save people. Make the saviors live up to that name. I promise you that. But first, we must kill Simon, and I will make him regret crossing me."

Thanks for reading, this was a fun chapter to do, and the next few will be planning as well as building up charchters. I am still going to wait at least two months before I have the first fight with the saviors. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 10: Chapter 10-Making plans

Chapter Text

Chapter 10-Making plans
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked out of his house with his crossbow on his back as the sun started rising. He walked to Deanna's house and knocked on the door. He waited a few minutes and looked at Spencer as he opened the door. "What do you want? The sun is not even up," Spencer says.

"Get your Mom. Tell her I am here," Daryl tells him. Spencer looks at him, confused for a moment, before he goes inside. Daryl sat on the porch for ten minutes before the door opened, and she walked outside.

"When you said tomorrow, I thought you meant after breakfast," Deanna tells him.

"Nah, we'll start now, come on," Daryl says as he leaves the house with Deanna following him. They go to the armory, and Daryl walks inside. "You have your handgun?" Daryl asks Deanna, who nods as she shows him her handgun and knife. He nods as he grabs a rifle and hands it to her. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Deanna tells him. Daryl nods as they go to the gate and head into the woods.

Rosita's P.O.V
Rosita woke up and looked around the empty bed. She got out of bed and walked downstairs. She stopped at the entrance to the living room and stared at Abraham, who was sleeping on the couch. "Abraham," She says. "Abraham!" She said loudly, making him jump up and look at her. "What are you doing? Why didn't you come to bed?" Rosita asks him.

"I was tired, and I laid on the couch for a minute. Most have fallen asleep," Abraham lies as he stands up. "I'm sorry," He says as he walks past her into the kitchen. Rosita shakes her head as she walks upstairs and grabs her coat and boots. She puts them on and puts her gun belt on before she walks downstairs, slamming the door as she leaves the house. She walked through Alexandria until she saw Carol and T-dog talking on T-dog's porch.

"You guys know where Daryl is?" She asks them.

"Took Deanna out early this morning. Hey, spread the word. Glenn wants to have a meeting when they get back. He said we need to talk about a place where we can get enough weapons to fight the saviors," T-dog tells Rosita, who nods as she walks away.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick woke up in Jessie's bed and looked around. He saw that Jessie was gone and grabbed his clothes and put them on before he walked downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and looked at Jessie as she sat at the table drinking a cup of coffee. She looked up at him and smiled. "Good morning," She says.

"Good morning," Rick says with a smile as he pours himself a cup and sits down across from her. "I should probably get out of here before Ron or Sam show up."

"We're adults Rick. They can't get mad at us for this," She says.

"Ron can. He's still pretty pissed about Pete," Rick says after taking a drink.

"Give him some time. He'll see it as a good thing, promise," Jessie says as she stands up and puts her cup in the sink. "Glenn called a meeting. We're meeting him at Deanna's house when Deanna and Daryl get back."

Rick nods as he continues to drink his coffee.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl followed behind Deanna as she walked behind a walker. She raised her knife and stabbed the walker in the back of the head. She pulled her knife out and looked at him. "We almost done? We've been out here for hours," Deanna says.

"Yeah, we're done," Daryl says as they start to walk back toward Alexandria. "You did good."

"Thanks. But I need to get better."

"You will with time," Daryl tells her. "Let's enjoy the small victories right now."

Deanna nods as they walk in silence until they reach the gates of Alexandria, where Eugene pulls the gate open and looks at them. "Glenn called a meeting."

Glenn's P.O.V
Everybody stood inside of Deanna's house, staring at Glenn. "Negan said that there are hundreds of saviors. All of them armed. The Kingdom will help with people, but we need weapons."

"Where do you expect to get that many guns? Every place with that many guns has been looted," Heath says.

"Every place around here. But I know a place where we can get a lot of firepower," Glenn says as he looks at Daryl and Rick. "The prison."

Daryl and Rick tense and stay silent. "The place we found you at?" Rosita asks.

"He's not wrong," Daryl says. "We left a lot of supplies there."

"How do you know it hasn't been scavenged?" Tobin asks.

"We don't," Glenn says. "But a lot of army outposts were set up in Georgia if the prison has been looted, which I doubt because of the state we left it in. We can also get weapons at those places."

"Who would lead this?" Deanna asks.

"I would," Glenn says.

"Nah, you won't," Daryl says, making Glenn look at him. "Shit can go real bad on the road, man. You know this. You got a kid coming."

"I fought the herd. I can do this," Glenn says.

"I'll lead it, you can come, but I'm taking the lead," Daryl tells him. "I know the place better than you, where camps are. I saw a lot of them while looking for the Governor."

"You pick your group then," Rick says. "Unless anybody wants to volunteer."

"I would like to come," Gabriel says, making Daryl look at him. "I know, I am not like the rest of you. But I can never earn your trust if you do not let me."

Daryl looks at Rick, who shrugs his shoulders. "Fine," Daryl says. "Rosita, Abraham, Sasha. You guys in?" Daryl asks the four, who nods.

"I know a place we may be able to get some weapons too. A military came in DC," Gavin says.

"We'll need people for that run too. Eight more people, Daryl."

Daryl looks at Glenn, who sighs. "I'll go to DC," He tells Daryl, who nods.

"Merle, T-dog, Noah, Negan, Laura, Paula, Michonne and Tara," Daryl says.

"I'm coming too," Deanna says.

"Mom," Spencer says.

"Daryl, let me help. Rick can hold down the fort here. I will be more useful out there," Deanna says.

Daryl nods. "Okay, Daryl, Abraham, Rosita, Sasha, Merle, T-dog, Negan, Noah, Laura, Paula, Tara, Michonne, Deanna, and Gabriel. Everybody okay with that?" Rick asks everybody, who nods. "The rest of us will plan a run to DC. You guys will leave the day after tomorrow. Make sure everything is ready," Rick says to everybody, who nods as they leave.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walks up to Glenn and Maggie as they talk on the street. "Can we talk for a minute?" Daryl asks Glenn, who nods as Maggie walks away. "I'm sorry if I sounded like a dick in there."

"No, you're right. I should be here in case something happens with Maggie and the baby. This run could take a week or two, maybe more. I should be here," Glenn tells him. "Daryl--"

"I'll make sure he's buried, Glenn," Daryl tells him. Glenn nods as he walks towards Maggie.

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna sat at her table and looked at Spencer as he walked into the house. "What the hell are you thinking?" Spencer growls.

"Rick can hold down the fort here. We can't hide in here forever, Spencer."

"Mom, these people are going to get us killed, get you killed," Spencer says.

"No, they aren't. They are going to help turn Alexandria into what I want it to be, what your father wanted it to be."

"Dad is dead because of them! Aiden is dead because of them!" Spencer exclaims.

"That isn't true, and you know that," Deanna says as she stands up.

"Isn't it? Don't you find it a little weird that no matter what, their people always make it out? In that warehouse, Aiden and Nicholas didn't make it, but Noah, Glenn, Tara, and Eugene did. We never had a problem with Pete until Rick came here," Spencer argues.

"Aiden's death was an accident. Glenn and Noah tried to save him," Deanna says.

"And Nicholas? We both know he didn't try to help him," Spencer growls.

"No, he didn't. They got trapped in a revolving door. Glenn had a plan, and Nicholas wouldn't listen, and he tried pushing the door open, and he would have gotten Glenn and Noah killed, so Noah beat him to it, and he knocked Nicholas back into the herd," Deanna says.

"You're okay with that? With them killing our people?"

"I never said that, but I understand why he did it and Pete. He was always an ass. We just turned a blind eye to it. I'm going on this run, Spencer," Deanna says before she leaves the room.

Rosita's P.O.V
Rosita walks inside of her house and walks upstairs. She looks at Abraham, who is packing a bag. "You know the run isn't for two days, right?" Rosita asks him.

"I know," Abraham says as he continues to shove the clothes into the bag.

"Then what the hell are you doing?" Rosita asks him.

Abraham stops with a sigh and looks at her. "We are about to go on a run that could end very badly for those going, and if we make it back, we are going to war. I need some time to think," Abraham tells her before he goes back to packing.

"Think about what, Abraham?" Rosita asks as she walks closer, but he doesn't answer. "Think about what?!" She shouts at him while pushing on his shoulder. "Tell me why you are doing this!" Abraham drops his bag and grabs her shoulder.

"Because I don't know what I want!" Abraham shouts. "Because you're aren't the only woman left! Because shit like this happens!" He tells her as he grabs his bag and leaves Rosita standing there crying.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl was woken up by someone pounding on his door. He gets out of bed and walks out of his room as Merle walks out of his. "What the fuck is that?" Merle asks.

"I'll deal with it," Daryl says as he goes down the stairs. Merle shrugs as he goes back into his room. Daryl opens the door and looks at Rosita, who is standing there with tears on her face. "What happened?" Daryl asks her.

"Abraham left," She tells him as Daryl hugs her. Daryl held her as she cried into his chest, knowing he was going to have some words with Abraham tomorrow. He led Rosita into the house and sat her down in the church. He sat with her until she fell asleep. He laid her down and put a blanket over her. He was about to walk back to his room but instead walked over to the chair and went to sleep.

Thanks for reading. So I know Abraham left quicker in this story, but in my opinion, he had feelings for Sasha before they got back to Alexandria, and with the threat of the saviors and the run, I think he would just leave knowing that he doesn't want to be with her anymore. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 11: Chapter 11-The day before

Chapter Text

Chapter 11-The day before
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl woke up the next day and saw Rosita lying on the couch, staring up at the wall. "Hey," He says softly, making her look at him.

"Hey," She says as she throws her legs over the couch. "Sorry about last night."

"Don't be," Daryl says. "You doing okay?"

"No, he just left, Daryl. After everything we've been through, he just left. The reason why hurts more than anything."

"What'd he say?" Daryl asks her.

"He told me that I wasn't the only woman left and left," Rosita says. Daryl stays silent for a minute before he stands up. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it. Stay here," Daryl tells her as he leaves the house. Daryl walks to Sasha's house and knocks on the door. He waits a minute before the door opens, and Abraham looks at him. Before he can speak, Daryl punches him in the face. Abraham stumbles back and wipes the blood from his lip as Sasha stares at the two men.

"I deserved that," Abraham says. "Can we talk outside?"

Daryl nods as Abraham walks outside and shuts the door. "I should do a whole lot more to you."

"I handled that wrong. I'll admit that, but I didn't know what else to do," Abraham tells him as he sits down. "I don't love her, Daryl. At least not the way she loves me."

"So you go to the first girl who gives you some attention?" Daryl asks him.

"It isn't like that," Abraham tells him as he stands up. "I feel something for her, stronger than Rosita."

"You're gonna to apologize to her and tell her the same thing you told me. Tell her the truth, at least. You owe her that. Do it before this run," Daryl tells him before he leaves.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick found Ron by the pond staring at it. The teenager saw him and got up to leave. "Stay," Rick says. "I think it's about time you and I had a talk."

"Just because you're with my Mom doesn't mean I need to like you," Ron growls.

"It doesn't, but we need to talk, Ron. Sit," Rick tells him firmly. The teenager glares at him before he sits down. Rick sits down beside him. "Your Dad was an asshole, Ron."

"He didn't deserve to die," Ron tells him.

"He killed Reg. He had to die. He would have killed more,” Rick says. "While we were on the road, we ran into a group of men, I killed one of them a while back, and they were hunting me. They found me. They were going to kill me and rape Carl and Michonne before they killed them," Ron stares at Rick in shock before Rick continues to speak. "We killed them because we had to. Because they were a threat, and so was your Dad. He was a threat, to Alexandria, to your Mom, and to you and Sam. There are people in this world that shouldn't be alive, those men and your Dad were some of them. I don't care if you like me but accept that, and if you want, I'm still willing to teach you how to survive," Rick tells him. He pats his shoulder and stands up before he walks away, leaving Ron to his thoughts.

Merle's P.O.V
Merle walks downstairs and into the kitchen, where Rosita is making a pot of coffee. "You and my brother, do you dirty?" Merle asks with a smirk.

"No, we didn't, asshole, I needed a friend, and he was there for me," Rosita answers. Merle nods as he sits down.

"How long have you known my brother?" Merle asks.

"A couple of weeks," Rosita answers.

"But you came to him first? After the big guy left you?" Merle asks.

"Yeah, because I don't trust anybody more than your brother, here and out in that shit," Rosita answers as she looks at him. "You'll see during this run. Nobody is better than Daryl out there. He's the person you want watching your back, and you'll see how good of a leader he's become."

Merle doesn't say anything as the door opens, and Daryl walks inside. "What did you do?" Merle asks him.

"Punched him," Daryl tells him as he looks at Rosita. "Why don't you grab what you need for the run and bring it here? You can stay here tonight."

"Okay, thanks," Rosita says as she leaves the house.

"You ready for tomorrow?" Daryl asks Merle, who nods.

Abraham's P.O.V
Abraham sat on Rosita's porch and looked at her as she walked up the stairs. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Please, I'll leave right after I'm done," Rosita crosses her arms and nods. "I shouldn't have done what I did last night. You deserve better, Rosita. I'm sorry," Abraham says before he walks past her.

"Did anything happen between you two in that building?"

"No, nothing happened last night. I just know that I don't have the same feelings as you do," Abraham tells her. Rosita nods before Abraham walks away, and she goes inside.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick walked into his house and looked at Carl, who was putting his hat on. He had his coat on and put his gun in his holster. "Where are you going?" Rick asks.

"Out with Enid. We'll be safe."

Rick nods. "Carl, if you wanna go outside of the walls, I won't stop you. Just don't go too far," Rick tells Carl, who nods.

"I'll be safe," He says as he goes to the door and opens it. He looks at Carol, who is waiting. "Hey, Carol."

Carol smiles at the boy before she walks inside and shuts the door. "Michonne," She calls out. After a moment, she looks at Rick. "We need to talk."

Rick nods as they walk into the kitchen and sit down. "What is it, Carol?"

"What happened to the plan?" Carol asks him.

"The plan?" Rick asks, and then he realizes what she is talking about. "We were wrong, Carol."

"No, we weren't, Rick. These people are weak. If that herd had gotten in here, they would have died, if we weren't here, they would have died, and they will die to the Saviors," Carol says.

"We can show them how to survive. You know we can," Rick says as he pushes his chair back and stands up.

"We are better off taking this place," Carol tells him.

"No, we're not! We were wrong, Carol. Even if I wanted to, do you think we would be able to? That Glenn, Maggie, Abraham, Sasha, Tara, Noah, Rosita, Eugene, Gabriel Carl, or Michonne would stand with us," Rick growls.

"Daryl would. He'll follow you," Carol says.

"No, he won't. He's getting closer to Deanna every day. He already cares about these people, this place. He's finally seeing this place as a home, and I won't take that away from him, Carl, or anybody else. We are working with Deanna. This is our home, and they are our people now. I don't want to hear anything else about it," Rick tells her. Carol stays silent for a second before she leaves.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn finds Daryl as he is walking toward Rick's house. "Hey, can we talk for a minute? About the run," Glenn says, making Daryl stop and nod. "I don't know if it's smart for you to take Negan and Merle."

"Why not? They both know what they are doing out there."

"I don't trust them, Daryl. Neither should you, I know Merle is your brother, but you haven't seen him in a long time, and he was one of Negan's men and Negan, come on, man. You heard the stories," Glenn says.

"I don't trust, Negan. I don't need to trust him. He's going to fight for this place because he knows that if we lose, he will die, and Merle, he'll be fine after he gets a few days away from Rick. You don't need to trust him, either. I just need you to trust me."

"Of course, I trust you, Daryl. Okay, just be careful."

"I will," Daryl tells him as he pats his shoulder and walks away.

Noah's P.O.V
Noah knocked on Deanna's door and looked at her as she opened the door. "What can I do for you, Noah?" Deanna asks as she steps outside.

"I've been reading Reg's journal," Noah tells her as he sits down. "I had some ideas I wanted to share with you."

"Okay," Deanna says.

"I think we should expand, make room for more housing and a farm. As well as a training zone. Somewhere for people to learn how to shoot and fight walkers. We should clear the sewers underneath of walkers, and we can use them as an escape route if needed. We need to make it harder for people to climb the walls, as the wolves did," Noah tells her. Deanna smiles and nods.

"I think those are great ideas, Noah. Let me talk with Tobin and see what we can do. Maybe while we are on the road, you can draw up some plans," Deanna tells him with a grin on her face.

"Yeah, I can do that," Noah says as he stands up.

"Thank you, Noah. For keeping Reg's memory alive. He would be proud," Deanna tells the young man, who nods as he walks away.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog stood in his room packing a bag. He looked at the door and saw Benjamin standing there. "You know, you are great at playing the pissed-off teenager," T-dog tells him.

"I should be coming."

"I need you here, and they will need you on the run to D.C. Also, you have to stay to watch your brother," T-dog tells him. "Look, I don't know who will come back from this run. I also don't trust Negan, Merle, or any of the saviors. I want to be there to help Daryl if he needs it."

Benjamin nods as he sighs. "What happens after all this is over? What do we do to them?"

"I don't know," T-dog answers.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick opened his door and looked at Ron, who was standing on the other side of it. "These men who are coming after us, what will they do to us if they win."

"If you're alive. They'll probably make you work for them if they get your Mom. She'll wish she was dead," Rick answers honestly. "But that's not going to happen. We'll beat them."

"When do we start?" Ron asks him.

"Tomorrow, after Daryl leaves," Rick tells Ron, who nods as he walks away.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl set his crossbow down by the couch and sat down as Rosita walked in with Merle behind her. "You can take my bed," Daryl tells her.

"I'm not taking your bed."

"You are, only for the night. We need to get some rest," Daryl tells her. Rosita sighs but nods as she walks upstairs, and Daryl looks at Merle. "Can we beat them?"

Merle looks at him and stays silent for a moment. "Yeah, baby brother. We can beat them," Merle says before he goes to his room, and Daryl lays down.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon sat in his room with a glass of whiskey and a plate of food in front of him. He grinned as he ate, and there was a knock at the door. "What?"

Jared walks into the room and looks at him. "We found something."

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, the group leaves for the prison. The planning for D.C starts, and we see how the Santuarcy is running under Simon and what they found. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 12: Chapter 12-Leaving for Georgia

Chapter Text

Chapter 12-Leaving for Georgia
Simon's P.O.V.
Simon stood up and looked at Jared. "Negan?"

"No," Jared answers after a moment. "A group of people living in a junkyard."

"How many?" Simon asks.

"I don't know, we saw a group of them head into there," Jared tells him as he follow Simon outside of the room. He walks down the halls and sees Saviors sitting and eating. Workers sat against the wall in a row, eating sandwiches with dog food in it. "Send a group out to watch them. Wait till a group comes out and have them take them and bring them here to me," Simon tells Jared, who nods as he walks away. Simon walks outside and sees workers on the fence trying to control the walkers, which have tripled since Simon took control. Simon sees one of the workers sitting down away from the walkers taking a break. "Hey, come here," Simon tells the worker, who looks at him and quickly stands up.

"I'm so sorry," He says quickly.

"Come here," Simon growls. The worker slowly walks up to him with fear evident on his face. "How would you like a better life?" The man looks at him, confused. "Temping, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," He says.

"I need an inside man for something. You wanna help?" Simon asks.

"Of course, sir," The man says, lowering his guard.

"Good," Simon says with a grin before he withdraws his gun and shoots the man in the neck. The workers look at him as the man falls to the ground and dies. "Next person slacking on the job will become a meal!" Simon shouts. "Feed him to them," He says before he walks inside. "Who should I invite to my bed tonight?" He wonders as he walks through the Sanctuary.

Tara's P.O.V
Tara was packing a back when there was a knock at her door. "It's open!" She shouts. The door opens, and she hears footsteps as they walk upstairs and stop at her door. She stops and looks at Paula. "Hey, what's up?" Tara asks.

"Daryl has been assigning vehicles. We're taking five vehicles. His bike, three trucks with trailers, and an R.V. Him and Rosita are riding his bike. Sasha and Abraham are driving the first truck. Negan and Michonne will be in the second. Deanna, Noah, Merle, T-dog, Gabriel, and Laura are sharing the R.V. He wants you and me to take third truck," Paula tells her.

"Okay, is he sure that T-dog and Merle should be trapped in the same vehicles?" Tara asks.

"He said that they need to get along," Paula says with a smirk. "Put your stuff in the red truck," She tells her before she leaves.

Daryl's P.O.V.
Daryl puts his bag in the back of the truck and looks at Rick, Glenn, and Carol. "Be safe," Rick tells him. Daryl nods as he hugs him and then Carol. Rick and Carol walk away, and he looks at Glenn.

"Remember what I said," Glenn says.

"I will see you in a couple of weeks," Daryl tells him as he hugs him. Daryl waits by his bike as everybody says goodbye and then climbs on his bike after they load up. Rosita climbs on behind him, and they leave Alexandria heading for Georgia.

Merle's P.O.V
Merle sat in the back of the R.V by himself. Laura was driving in the front with Deanna beside her, and the two of them were talking quietly. Noah and T-dog sat at the table drawing up plans, and Gabriel sat on a couch on the side reading. "What are you reading?" Merle asks Gabriel, who looks at him.

"The Bible," Gabriel answers. "You ever read it?"

"Yes," Merle answers. "None of that shit matters anymore, though. God ain't saving us. He didn't save you. It's just a miracle that you are alive."

"The same for you. You would be dead if the man who left you on a roof didn't save you," Gabriel says. The R.V was silent as the two spoke.

Merle smirks. "You might just have a chance of surviving this, father," He says as he lays back on the bed. "Wake me up when we switch," He says as he closes his eyes.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick looked at his door when there was a knock. He opened the door and looked at Ron. "Come in," Rick says as he walks inside. Ron shuts the door and follows Rick into the kitchen. "Let me see your gun," Rick tells Ron, who pulls his gun out and hands it to Rick, who takes it. He motions for Ron to sit down and sits across from him. Rick unloads the gun and sets the gun and clip on the table. "Make sure there is nothing in the chamber."

Ron grabs the gun and checks the chamber. "Nothing is in there."

"Good," Rick says as he stands up and walks out of the room. He comes back a few minutes with a knife and sets it on the table. "We use our knives first. Try to save ammo and kill them quietly."

Ron nods as he takes the knife. "Guns are easier," Ron tells him.

"It is, but it will attract more," Rick says. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Ron asks as he stands up and follows him.

"You'll see," Rick says as he leaves and heads for the gate.

Gavin's P.O.V
Gavin, Glenn, Maggie, Aaron, Alden, D.J. Heath, Tobin, Carl, Enid, Scott, Spencer, Eugene, Carol, Francine, Morgan, Benjamin, and Jessie stood inside of Gavin's house looking at a map of D.C. "The camp is right here," Gavin says as he marks the camp on the map.

"That's towards the center of the city," Tobin says as he looks at it.

"Yeah, that's part of the problem. Walkers own the streets in D.C. A lot of them end up outside of that camp. We'd have to kill the ones outside of the camp first and then the ones inside," Gavin explains.

"How many do you think are outside of it?" Heath asks.

"A dozen, maybe more. Clearing them will be the easy part. Clearing the ones in the camp will be the hard part. That fence is already in rough shape. It won't take much to knock that thing down," Gavin tells them.

"So we have to do this fast," Morgan says, making Gavin nod. "Spencer, how many guns do we have with silencers on them?"

"Five," Spencer answers.

"Okay," Morgan says.

"Okay, they have scopes on them?" Gavin asks Spencer, who nods. "This building right here," Gavin says as he marks a building across from the camp. "Has a staircase up to the roof, we can send a group of there. They'll start shooting the ones in the camp. The rest of us will have to kill the ones outside. Hand to hand," Gavin tells them.

"So, who will go on the roof?" Maggie asks.

"You," Gavin says as he looks at Carol. "I've heard good things about your shooting," He tells Carol, who nods. "D.J," He says to the man, who nods.

"I can do it," Tobin says.

"You sure? You can't make a mistake up there. Every round has to count," Morgan tells him.

"I can do it," Tobin says firmly.

"Okay," Gavin says. "We need two more."

Glenn looks at Alden, who nods. "Alden and I," Glenn tells Gavin, who nods.

"Jessie, Maggie, and Benjamin will stay back here and protect Alexandria. The rest of us, we leave tomorrow morning," Gavin says. Everybody nods as they leave the house.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick and Ron walk through the woods in silence. "What are we doing out here?" Ron asks.

"Have you killed a walker, Ron?" Rick asks Ron, who shakes his head. "You're gonna learn how," Rick says as they see a group of three walkers. Rick pulls out his hatchet. "Stay back," Rick tells him as he walks up to them. He slashes one across the face and then slams his hatchet into another one's head. He moves out of the way of the last one and kicks it in the back of the leg. It falls to the ground, and Rick kicks its arm and breaks it. He then kicks the walker's left arm, breaking it. He pulls his hatchet out of the walker's head and motions Ron over as the walker crawls towards him. Ron pulls out his knife and walks towards Rick. He looks at the walker and then brings his knife down to its head. The walker's body slump as he pulls his knife out. "Good job."

Ron nods as another walker comes out of the woods. "I got it," Ron tells him. Rick nods as Ron walks up to the walker. He moves out of the way of it and kicks it in the leg. After it falls to its knees, he stabs it in the back of its head. Ron pulls the knife out and smiles at Rick.

"Let's head back. We'll clear any we see along the way," Rick tells Ron, who nods as he follows him.

Jessie's P.O.V
Jessie looked at the door as it opened, and Rick and Ron went in. "Why don't you go clean yourself up while I talk to your Mom," Rick suggests to Ron, who nods as he walks upstairs.

"How'd it go?" Jessie asks as he walks into the kitchen.

"It went good, Jessie, your son, he can kill walkers. I know he can survive against them. But that's not what worries me. Walkers aren't the only threat anymore. Killing a person, you don't get time to think. You have to do it if you think you will die. I'm worried that when that time comes, he won't be able to. I wish it wouldn't come but with the fight against the saviors coming. It's gonna happen."

"He'll do it if he has to, you do, Carl does," Jessie says. "I did."

"I know," Rick says as he takes her hand. "I gotta get back and talk with Carl," He tells her. Jessie nods as Rick kisses her and leaves. A few minutes later, Ron walks back downstairs and into the kitchen.

"You feeling better?" Jessie asks her son, who nods.

"He's not a bad guy, Mom," Ron says. "I'm gonna go hang out with Mikey."

Jessie nods as Ron leaves, and she smiles.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stood on watch that night. He stood on top of the R.V as the group sat down by the fire. He looks at the ladder as Rosita climbs up the ladder. She holds out a bowl to him. "You need to eat."

"Thanks," Daryl says as he takes the bowl and sits down on R.V as he starts to eat. He looks at her. "You should probably get some sleep."

"You should be getting sleep. You have to drive tomorrow," Rosita tells him.

"Noah is taking over for me after he gets down eating," Daryl tells her as he looks down at the fire and looks at Abraham. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rosita tells him as Noah comes up the ladder.

"Merle will relieve you at midnight," Daryl tells Noah as he goes towards the ladder. He walks over to his sleeping back and goes to sleep.

Thanks for reading. The run will be tomorrow, and the group will continue to head toward Georgia as Rick and Jessie try to get through to Sam. This will be the last chapter of the year. I’m going to take a break this week and enjoy time with Family. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, have fun and be safe and I’ll see you in 2023. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 13: Chapter 13-Tenison

Chapter Text

Chapter 13-Tenison
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl woke up the next morning and climbed out of his sleeping bag. He's looked at Merle, who sat at the campfire. The sun was just starting to rise in the sky. "I see all your time with these people hasn't changed when you wake up," Merle says as Daryl grabs a bag of their food and walks over to the fire. He puts a pot over the fire and starts to cook a can of beans. "But it did turn you into a housewife," Merle says.

"Shut up," Daryl says. "We need to eat before we go."

"A shitty can of beans is our breakfast," Merle says.

"Go ask your friend Simon for some eggs," Daryl growls as the group starts to wake up.

As the group eats, Abraham looks at Daryl, who is sitting in between Deanna and Rosita. "We going to be driving all day again?" Abraham asks him.

"Yeah, that's the plan. When we get to the prison, we'll set up, and over the next week or so, we'll loot the towns around the prison," Daryl says.

"We should be able to get there by midday," Merle says. "Let's get going then."

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn walked into the armory and grabbed a rifle off the shelf. He grabs a couple of boxes of ammo and looks at Maggie as she walks in behind him and shuts the door. "You don't need to do this," Maggie says.

"We need these weapons, Mags," Glenn says as he looks at her. "We've dealt with plenty of walkers."

"You might run into the saviors," Maggie replies.

"We could get rid of a few of them. I know you don't like being kept in Alexandria, but it is how we keep you and the baby safe," Glenn says as he lays his hand on her cheek. "Okay."

"Okay."

Rick's P.O.V
Rick walked as Gavin's group left Alexandria. He walks towards Jessie's house and knocks on the door. Jessie opens the door and looks at him. "Where is Sam?" Rick asks her.

"His room, he barely leaves it anymore," Jessie says. "Ron, we've been able to show him how to survive, but getting Sam is a whole different ball game. He won't even leave his room."

"Should we talk to him?" Rick asks. "He can't stay there forever, not with what's coming."

"Come on," Jessie says as he leads him inside.

Gavin's P.O.V
Gavin stopped the truck a block away from the camp. Everybody climbs out of their cars and looks at Gavin. "You five get to that roof. Radio us when you are up there. That's when we will attack the ones on the street," Gavin tells Glenn, D.J., Alden, Carol, and Tobin, who nods as they leave. "Okay, when Glenn radios, we got in, and we go in fast. We don't break formation. We don't need anybody being mistaken for a walker. We need to do this hand-to-hand. We don't want to draw any more walkers."

They nod as they see a walker. Heath goes up to it and stabs it in the head.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn runs into the building with the other four behind him. They get to the roof and pull the guns off their backs. "Gavin, we're ready," Glenn says.

"We're moving," Gavin says.

"You got a dozen and a half walkers on the street," Glenn says. He doesn't hear anything as he shoots a walker through the head. The other four start to shoot at the walkers inside the camp. On the streets, Gavin's group starts to kill the walkers on the street. Gavin was in the front, with Heath and Aaron on the other side of him. The walkers in the camp continued to push on the gates. The creaking on the gates could be heard as the weight of the walkers pushed on it.

Glenn, Alden, Tobin, D.J., and Carol continue to shoot at the walkers. The fence falls down. "Get back!" Glenn shouts into the radio as Gavin's group backs up. The group starts to withdraw their guns and shoot at the walkers. The gunfire echoed around Dc, and in minutes the herd lay on the ground. "We gotta do this quickly, Gavin."

"Let's get to work."

Gavin's P.O.V
The group starts to tear the camp apart, loading whatever supplies they can find into a truck that was left there. Spencer, Heath, and Morgan drove the trucks up to the camp. "We don't have much time. We could hear the herd," Morgan says.

Gavin nods as they continue to grab whatever guns they can find. Five minutes later, Tobin shouts. "We gotta go!" Tobin shouts.

"Load up!" Gavin shouts. The group starts to load into the trucks, and Gavin climbs into the military truck with Carol and starts it. They turn onto a street away from the walkers as they head out of D.C. "We got at least two of three dozen guns. That will have to work."

"It will," Carol says.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick and Jessie walk up to Sam's door and knocks. "Sam, baby, can I come in?" Jessie asks.

"Yeah," They hear his soft reply. Jessie opens the door, and they walk in. "Sam, you know Rick, right?"

Sam nods as Rick bends down. "You mind if we turn the music off?" Rick asks Sam.

"That's okay," Sam says. Rick nods as Jessie turns the music off. "You know, when this all started, my son wasn't much older than you. You know my son, right? Carl?"

"Yeah, he's Ron's friend," Sam says.

"Yeah, so one day, we lost one of ours. A girl named Sophia walkers ran her off the highway, and I tried to save her, but we lost her. We went looking for her and Carl got shot and by some miracle he survived but Sophia, she didn't, we found her in a barn as a walker. She didn't have any weapons, she didn't know how to shoot or fight walkers, and she was dead before the next morning. Before Carl got shot, maybe if we had shown her how to survive, Sophia would still be alive. I know you are scared, Sam. I'd be worried if you weren't, but you have to learn how to survive. To protect yourself, Ron, your Mom."

"I can't, they'll tear me apart, and I'll feel it. She told me that. I would feel it as they killed me."

"Who told you that?" Jessie asks.

"Carol, during the party, I found her in the armory. She told me that if I told anybody, I wouldn't wake up in my bed. I would wake up far away tied up to a tree, and nobody would hear me scream as they ate me," Sam says with fear evident in his voice.

Jessie was about to speak when the door came open. "They're back," Ron tells them.

"Jessie," Rick says as Jessie storms past her son.

Jessie's P.O.V
Jessie throws her door open, and it hits the side of the house with a bang. The others look at her as she storms up to Carol and pushes the woman into the car. She punches Carol in the face and slams her head into the metal of the truck. She throws another punch, and Carol catches the punch and headbutts her. Jessie takes a step back and withdraws her knife. She swings it at Carol and cuts her shirt. "Enough!" Glenn shouts as he grabs Jessie and pulls her back. Gavin and Health help him as Tobin, Carl, Spencer, and Morgan grab Carol as Rick comes outside.

"I'll fucking kill you! I'll kill you for what you said to him!" Jessie shouts.

"Get her out of here," Rick tells them. "Glenn, you come with me, you too," Rick says to Carol as he grabs her arm and leads her away. Glenn follows.

Carol's P.O.V
Rick pushes Carol into his house and shuts the door, and looks at her. "Is it true? What you said to Sam?" Rick asks her.

"Yeah," Carol says. "He found me in the armory the night of the party."

"Why were you in the armory?" Glenn asks.

"I threatened him, told him that if he told anybody, I would take him far away from him and tie him up for the walkers," Carol says. Glenn looks at Carol in shock. "Rick, what are you doing? These people are weak. Why are you taking their side? Tobin, Deanna, Jessie, they are weak, and they are going to get you killed. We have a chance now, Rick. We can take this place, as we planned too. Daryl will understand when he gets back."

Glenn looks at Rick. "What is she talking about, Rick?" Glenn asks him.

"When we first came here, I saw these people as Carol does now, weak. Daryl, Carol, and I were prepared to take this place from them. Daryl, Abraham, Maggie, you. You guys saw this place as I see it now. The future, I was wrong, Glenn. I was wrong. This place is our home. Those people out there, they're family."

Glenn nods. "Glad to see you came to your senses, dumbass."

Rick nods as he looks at Carol. "Anything you wanna say?"

"After the prison, It wasn't just Tyreese, Judith, and me. Tyreese got out with Mika and Lizzie. One day while we were staying at a cabin, Tyreese and I were getting water. We left Judith with the girls, and when we came back. Lizzie had killed Mika. She wanted her to turn, to show me that walkers were still people. I didn't let that happen. I took Lizzie outside, and I killed her, Rick. People like Sam and those people out there. People who are weak, people who don't understand this world, they will get us killed. Sam will get you and his mother and brother killed. These people will get all of us killed."

"They won't," Glenn says. "We fought together today, all of us. We trusted each other with our lives, Carol. These people are going to make it because they are survivors."

"What happens now?" Carol asks.

"Let me talk with the others. We'll decide from there," Rick says. "Stay here."

Carol nods as Rick and Glenn leave.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick and Glenn walk outside and walk through the street. "You go talk with the others. I'll go talk with Jessie."

Glenn nods as Rick walks away. Rick walks up to Jessie's house and pushes the door open. He walked into the kitchen and looked at her. "Where is she?"

"You handled that the wrong way. You should have let me talk to her," Rick says.

"I WANT HER GONE, RICK!" Jessie shouts at him.

"We'll figure something out, Jessie. I can't just kick her out. I owe Carol my life," Rick says. "We'll have a vote when Daryl and the others get back. Until then, you'll stay away from her, and I'll keep her away from you."

"No, she needs to leave."

"That isn't just your decision to make," Rick says. "Take a minute, cool down. Make sure Sam is okay," Rick says before he leaves. He walks outside and looks at Glenn as he walks up to him. "Well?"

"They want to wait until the others get back. Get the full story, and then we'll decide from there," Glenn says.

"I agree. Let's go talk to Carol," Rick says as he and Glenn walk towards his house. They walk inside and see the back door open and Rick's cabinets open, and some of his food and water gone as well as the guns he had hidden away and his bag. They quickly run outside. "Carol! Carol!"

Carol's P.O.V
Carol walked away from Alexandria and into the woods. "Carol!" She hears, but she continues to walk.

Thanks for reading. So Carol is gone, and I have a lot more planned for her. The next chapter will start with the aftermath from this, and the rest of it will probably be focused on the group in Georgia. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 14: Chapter 14-The prison

Chapter Text

Chapter 14-The prison
Rick's P.O.V
"Carol!" Rick shouts as he looks around the streets of Alexandria. He looks at Glenn, who is staring at him.

"Rick, what happened?" Maggie asks as she runs up to him with Gavin, Morgan, and Tobin.

"Carol's gone. She took some supplies, a bag, and she ran, she must have climbed the walls," Rick says. "Get search parties together. We need to find her, bring her back."

"Rick," Morgan says. "She left on her own accord. If this is what she wants, we can't drag her back."

"No, she's not thinking clearly. I'm going after her. She couldn't have gotten far," Rick says as he looks at Glenn, who nods.

"Let's go," Glenn says as they run towards the gate.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl drove his bike towards the prison and stopped on the path leading towards it. He climbs off his bike and looks at Rosita. "We only ever saw the smoke," She says as she looks at the prison.

"What's the plan here, Dixon?" Abraham asks.

"We clear the field enough for us to get the vehicles into the courtyard. We can block that part off," Daryl says. "Once we get this area and the cellblock cleared, Michonne, Sasha, and Tara will start mapping towns to scavenge. I'll bury Hershel."

"Okay, we all know the plan," Abraham says. "We stay within eyesight of each other. We don't know if anybody is in there," They nod as they walk towards the prison. Daryl shoots a walker with his crossbow as Michonne cuts one's head off, and Deanna stabs one in the head. The group slowly goes through the woods until they get to the top.

"How in gods name? Did you stop this tank?" Abraham asks as he looks at it.

"I threw a grenade down the barrel," Daryl tells Abraham, who laughs. "We'll move the cars up here, facing the road. If we need to get out quickly, we need to be able to just go."

"We aren't going to be able to prevent walkers from getting in," Tara says.

"I know. We'll keep someone on watch with Sasha's gun. They'll shoot any walkers that get too close," Daryl says as he looks at the woman, who nods. "Let's get the cars up here."

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn and Rick walked through the woods, and Rick tried to track Carol. "Bad time for Daryl to leave," Rick says.

"If we don't find her, what are we going to tell Daryl?" Glenn asks.

"We won't have to tell him anything. We're going to find her," Rick says.

"Rick, she left," Glenn says, making Rick stop and look at him. "She left, and even if we do find her, Morgan was right. We can't drag her back. We can't knock her out and handcuff her. Even if we did get her to come back, the odds are that they'll vote for us to kick her out when the others gets back. Maybe Carol leaving on her own was for the best."

"Let's go," Rick says as he continues to walk, and Glenn sighs as he follows him.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stood down in the field, digging a grave for Hershel. "Who was he?" He turned around and looked at Merle, who was looking at him.

"Maggie's Dad. After one of his hands shot Carl, he let us stay on his farm. We lost Dale, Sophia and Shane on that farm, but Hershel was a good man. He was the best man I had ever met, he wanted this place to work, and even after losing his leg, he still held onto hope. Even in the end, before the Governor killed him, he still had hope. I saw him smiling, even though he knew he might die. He smiled. You know, throughout your life, there are people who make you who you are. Hershel was one of them. He made me who I am now. I keep fighting, so he is never forgotten. As long as I'm breathing, a part of Hershel is still alive."

"Who were the others?" Merle asks, making Daryl look at him again. "Who else has made you who you are, baby brother?"

"Dale, T-dog, Hershel, Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Rick, a man named Tyreese, you, and Maggie's sister...Beth," Daryl says after a pause. "You guys set up in there?" He asks to change the subject.

"Yeah," Merle says. Daryl nods as he continues digging. Merle looks at the knife on Daryl's hip that is smaller than his other one. "Where'd you get that?"

"It's Beth's knife," Daryl says. "Go. I got work to do."

Tara's P.O.V
Tara stood by the tank staring at Alisha's body. "You know her?" She turns around and looks at Paula.

"I was with the Governor when he attacked the prison," Tara says. "My sister, and niece, we were with the Governor, and Alisha was in the camp when we found it. We were together. I knew she didn't live. He told us lies about this place and these people, but I realized that he was wrong. I just realized it was too late after he killed Hershel. If I knew what he was, I would have put a bullet between his eyes when he found us."

"You wanna bury her?" Paula asks her.

"No, we'll burn her with the Governor's body," Tara says before she walks away.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog walked into a cell and looked at the picture of Lori, Carl, and Rick sitting on a stand. He looked at Abraham as he walked in behind him. He looks at the picture. "That's Judith's Mom?" Abraham asks T-dog, who nods.

"I got the story from Glenn the day after I got back. She died during childbirth, and Carl was the one who put her down," He says.

"Jesus," Abraham says. "That kid is one strong son of a bitch."

T-dog nods as he puts the picture in his bag. "I bet Carl will want this back."

"Come on. We're going with Merle and Sasha to check the cafeteria," Abraham says. T-dog nods as he follows him.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick and Glenn walk out of the forest and look at the road where there are a couple of cars. They walk around the cars until Glenn stops. "Rick," Glenn says as he looks at a window of a car towards the back. Rick looks at him as Glenn reads the message. "Don't come looking for me. I don't want to cause any more problems. Live your lives, beat the saviors. I hope you are right, Rick. Tell Daryl this was my choice and don't come looking and that I love him. Goodbye, Carol," Glenn reads. "Let's head back."

"Glenn--"

"Rick, you can read that. She doesn't want us looking for her. She doesn't want us to risk our lives to find her. We have people at home to protect. Let's go," Glenn says as he walks towards the woods. Rick stares at the message before he follows Glenn.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl lays Hershel's body in the grave and starts to shovel the dirt back onto the body. He turns around and looks at Rosita as she walks down to him with a shovel and two water bottles. "How's it going up there?" Daryl asks.

"Good, Abraham, Sasha, T-dog, and Merle found the food, and Deanna, Gabriel, and Noah are getting the weapons gathered. Michonne, Negan, Tara, Laura, and Paula are gathering the supplies from the other cellblocks," Rosita tells him as she holds the bottle of water out to him. He looks at her. "I haven't seen you drink anything since you start digging. It's almost a hundred degrees, Daryl. Drink."

Daryl nods as he takes the bottle and takes a drink. "Thanks," Daryl says. "I don't need any help."

"Good thing is I don't need permission," Rosita says as she starts shoving the dirt onto the grave. Daryl looks at her for a moment before he starts helping.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick sat in his house, staring at the wall as Carl walked in. "Jessie's outside. She wants to talk with you," Carl tells him.

"Let her in," Rick answers after a moment. Carl nods as he walks away. After a moment, Jessie walks in.

"Sam's okay," She says. Rick looks at her. "She broke my nose. Denise looked at me and said it should heal soon."

Rick nods as she sits down. "You got your wish, she's gone, and we're not looking."

"That's a good thing, Rick. She threatened my child. How can you be okay with her being here?" Jessie asks.

"Because I know, Carol. She would have never done that."

"People change."

"I know, I've changed. I've killed more people than anybody in these places. Maybe aside from Negan, Dwight, Paula, Laura, and D.J," Rick says. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Carol. None of us would, not even you because we would have never come, and that herd would have killed all of you. She saved our lives at Terminus, and because of that, we were able to find Alexandria and stop that herd. You owe Carol your life, too," Rick says. "If she ever comes back, she'll be welcomed," Rick says before he stands up and leaves, and Jessie sits there alone with her thoughts.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl put a cross on the ground and looked at Rosita. "Thanks," He says. "Not just for this, but everything."

"We're partners, aren't we?" Rosita asks Daryl, who nods.

"Yeah, we are," Daryl says as he looks at the grave. "We failed him."

"No, you didn't. If the stories I heard about Hershel are true. He would have been proud of all of you."

"They are. A lot of people have died since the start of this shit, some deserved it, but Hershel, he didn't deserve to die. He should have been able to watch his daughters grow up, be a grandpa," Daryl says.

"A lot of people deserve that future," She says. "The best way you can honor Hershel is by making sure others get that life."

Daryl nods as they walk towards the prison.

Night
Daryl stood in the watch tower, watching the walkers. He looked at the stairs as Abraham walked up them and stood by him. "When I found Glenn outside here. I never imagined this is what this place looked like," Abraham says. "A lot has happened since I found Glenn," Abraham says.

"It has been," Daryl says. "You ever think this is where you'd end up when Glenn punched you?"

"He told you that?" Abraham asks with a chuckle.

"No, Tara did. While we on watch after Terminus," Daryl says.

"I was an ass," Abraham says. "Tomorrow, we'll go on the first one. You, me, Rosita, Sasha, Michonne, Negan, Deanna, and Gabriel. The time that asshole pulled his weight,"

Daryl nodded as they stood in silence.

Thanks for reading. So Carol is gone for now, but she will show up soon. The next few chapters will be scavenging, and we will check in with Ezekiel, the saviors, and others inside of Alexandria. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 15: Chapter 15-Strangers

Chapter Text

Chapter 15-Strangers
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked up to Deanna as they prepared for the run. "When we get to this town, we're going to split into groups of two. Abraham and Sasha, Michonne and Negan, Rosita and I. You and Gabriel. But I can change that. You can go with Rosita. I'll go with Gabriel."

"No, I'll go with him," Deanna says. "I can do this, Daryl. Gabriel and I were the same at one point. We didn't kill walkers. We were scared, cowards. You guys helped prove to me that it's okay to be scared as long as you are willing to fight for your people. I'm going to show Gabriel the same thing."

"Okay," Daryl says as he goes to his bag and grabs a flare gun. He holds it out to her. "We only have two. Negan and Michonne are taking the other. If things go bad, you shoot it up in the air."

Deanna nods as she takes the flare gun. "You ready to roll out, Dixon?" Abraham asks.

"Yeah," Daryl says as he walks up to his bike, where Rosita is already waiting. Daryl climbs on the bike, and Rosita climbs on behind him. Negan and Michonne climb into one of the trucks behind him, and Gabriel, Deanna, Abraham, and Sasha climb into the other truck and leave the prison.

Merle's P.O.V
Merle stared at his bike that was lying on its side. "Nice bike," Laura says as she walks up to him.

"It was mine," Merle says.

Laura nods as she lifts it up. "You know where the keys are?" Laura asks.

"Probably Daryl's cell," He answers. "You know how to ride?"

"Yeah, we mostly used bikes at the Sanctuary. If this thing still drives, we'll take it back."

"Well then, let's go look for those keys," Merle says as they head for the prison.

Jessie's P.O.V
Jessie walked into her house and walked up to Sam's door. "Sam, open the door," Jessie says. She waits a moment, and Sam opens the door. Jessie bends down and pulls out a knife. "Take it."

"Mom, I don't want to. I don't want to fight them."

"It isn't a choice, now, baby. No one will tie you up and let those things kill you, but if you don't fight. They will kill you. What Carol said to you, it was wrong, and it was horrible, but you need to fight, or you will die, and I don't want you to die, Sam. I want you to live and grow old, but for that to happen, you have to push past this fear, and you have to fight. Now take the knife, Sam."

Sam stares at her and slowly takes the knife. "Good job, baby. Tomorrow we will show you how to use it and shoot a gun. Do you understand?" Sam nods. Jessie kisses his head and walks away.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick, Glenn, Heath Gavin, Dwight, and Alden stood in Rick's house with a map. "The Saviors try not to go much further than the Kingdom," Gavin says as he marks the Kingdom. "They usually don't go out on runs. They don't need to."

"How many men are we looking at?" Glenn asks.

"Before, he tried to kill Negan. A couple hundred," Alden says. "Now, a hundred, two hundred."

"What about firepower?" Heath asks.

"They have enough ammo to kill everybody here ten times over," Dwight says.

"But we know where that ammo is. When this starts, we don't go straight for Simon. We go for his outposts. We take out his men and corner him."

"We'll still need the Kingdom," Rick says. "Once Daryl gets back, we'll send a group there to talk with Ezekiel."

"And Hilltop?" Dwight asks.

"We'll need to get one of them alone, get them to kill Gregory. He won't fight with us. We need someone else in charge."

"Paul Rovia. People call him Jesus," Gavin says. "He'll be a good leader."

"For now, we keep doing what we have, we make sure that they don't find us, and if they do, we hold them off," Rick says. "That's enough for today."

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna climbs out of the truck and looks at Daryl as he climbs off his bike. "Alright, Abraham, Negan, Deanna, and I have the radios. Negan and Deanna have a flare gun as well. We'll split up; we'll meet back here in an hour and go through any building you think will have supplies we can use. Our priorities are guns, ammo, gas, food, water,"

Everybody nods as they split up. Deanna and Gabriel walk down the street in silence. Deanna stops when they get to a pawn shop. "Stop," Deanna says, making Gabriel look at her.

"It's a pawn shop," Gabriel says.

"Could have weapons," Deanna says. "Pull out that machete. If there is anything in here, you are killing it.

Gabriel slowly nods as he pulls the machete out. Deanna hits the door a few times, and they hear a walker hit the door. Deanna looks at Gabriel, who nods as he raises the machete. Deanna pulls the door open, and the walker comes out and moves towards Gabriel, who slams the machete down on its head. He pulls it out and stares at the dead walker. "Good job," Deanna says as they enter the building.

Abraham's P.O.V
Abraham and Sasha enter a gas station and look around. "We'll check under the counters, look for guns, maybe some hidden food," Abraham says. Sasha nods as they start to look through the store.

Abraham grabs a handgun from under the counter and looks at Sasha as she tries to open the office door. "Is somebody in here?" Sasha asks. "If there is someone in there, come out. We can help you."

"Okay," They hear a weak reply. Abraham looks at Sasha, who backs up and raises her gun as the door opens, and a woman steps out and looks at them. "I know you. You were at the hospital when Dawn killed Beth."

"You're Amanda Shepherd, right?" Sasha asks the woman, who nods. "What are you doing out here?"

"The Hospital is gone. It went down so fast. A group attacked, and they were gone, and I barely got out, and I kept running. I've been on the road for about a week now," Amanda says. "Is he with you? Rick?"

"No," Abraham answers.

"Daryl is. He's the one leading this group. The others are in a community in Virginia."

"Your brother? Noah?" Amanda asks.

"My brother is dead. He died a few days after we left here. Noah's alive. He's at the place we are camped out at," Sasha says as she looks at Abraham, who nods. "How many walkers have you killed?"

"A couple dozen," Amanda answers while looking at her confused.

"How many people have you killed?" Abraham asks.

"Three," Amanda asks.

"Why?" Sasha asks.

"Two because they tried to kill me and the last one because they asked me to," Amanda answers.

"Grab your things. You're coming with us," Sasha says. Amanda nods.

Rosita's P.O.V
Rosita and Daryl walk into a gunshop and look around. "You know this place has been picked over, right?" Rosita asks him.

"Glenn ever tell you his first role about scavenging?" Daryl asks her.

"No, but I imagine it is to survive," Rosita says.

"There is nothing left in this world that isn't hidden," Daryl says. "I had a friend who's Dad owned a gunshop in our town. He kept three guns hidden throughout the place so that no matter what, he was always ready."

"He ever use any of them?" Rosita asks as they look around.

"Yeah, some dumbass came in waving his gun around. He was dead before he got halfway through the store," Daryl says.

Rosita chuckles as she pulls out two handguns and a silencer that is hidden inside a piece of wood behind the counter. "I guess Glenn was right."

"He usually is. Kind of pisses me off sometimes," Daryl says with a smirk. "Come on, let's keep looking."

Daryl's P.O.V
The group met back at the cars. "How'd we do?" Daryl asks them.

"We got weapons, food, some ammo, water, and some fuel," Abraham says. "It was a pretty good first one," Abraham says. "Daryl," Abraham says. Daryl looks at Abraham as Amanda comes around the truck.

"It gone?" Daryl asks Amanda, who nods. "I ain't going to kill you if that is what you're worried about. You're coming with us. You're a good person. I saw that at the hospital. What happened to...Beth. It wasn't your fault. Come on."

They nod as they get into the cars and leave.

Merle's P.O.V
Merle turns the key in the bike, and it roars to life. "Would you look at that?" Merle says with a smile, "Son of a bitch still runs," Laura nods as they hear Daryl's motorcycle. They walk to the cars as they pull in, and T-dog and Tara shoot walkers that are coming towards them. "Nice haul, baby brother," Merle says.

"We got another run tomorrow," Daryl says. "You'll be leading this one with Tara, T-dog, Paula, Laura, Noah, Abraham, and Sasha."

"Those two okay going out again?" Merle asks.

"We'll be fine," Abraham says.

"Daryl wants to stay here with the others and get things sorted," Sasha says. "Let's get inside."

Rick's P.O.V
Rick sat on his porch that night. "He took the knife," Rick looks up and sees Jessie on his steps. "He'll learn, and we'll start tomorrow. I want you to help him."

"I will," Rick says as Jessie sits down beside him.

"Carol wasn't entirely wrong, he needs to learn to survive, or he is going to die just like she said he would. He would be torn apart by walkers. If she comes back, we'll work something out until the others come," Jessie says.

"She won't come back. You don't have to worry about that," Rick says. "If we're going to do this, we should get some sleep."

Jessie nods as Rick stands up. "Rick," Jessie says, making the man look at her. Jessie grabs her face and kisses him. "Goodnight," She says as she leaves.

Carol's P.O.V
Carol sat by a campfire that night, staring into the flames. She pulled her gun out when she heard a branch break behind her. She turned around and aimed it at the man standing there. "Hey."

Chapter 16: Chapter 16-Meeting the man

Chapter Text

Chapter 16-Meeting the man
Carol's P.O.V
Carol stares at the man, who stares back at her. "There is no need for that. If I wanted you dead, you would be," The man says.

"I think I'll keep it up. You can't be too careful these days," Carol says.

"Mind if I sit at least?" The man asks her. Carol nods as she motions for him to sit down. The man sits down, and Carol sits across from him. "My name is Paul Rovia. But my friends call me Jesus."

"Jesus?" Carol asks.

"It's just what they call me," Jesus says. "I'm going to set my knife and gun on the ground in front of me. I would like it if you lowered that after, so we could talk."

Carol nods as Jesus pulls out his knife and gun and sets them down. He looks at Carol, who lowers her gun. "My name is Carol," Carol says.

"I'm part of a place, Carol. A community called Hilltop. I can tell by looking at you that you know how to survive. We could use people like you."

"What's the catch?" Carol asks. "What's wrong with this place."

"A group has control over it. A group called the saviors, our leader is a coward and won't fight back, so we provide for them."

Carol stares at the man as a plan starts to form in her head. "Their leader show up?" Carol asks.

"He does. He's a prick. His name is Simon," Jesus tells him. "We need strong people if we ever want to fight them."

"I'm coming. We'll leave in the morning," Carol tells Jesus, who nods with a smile.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn walked through Alexandria the next day and up to Eugene. "I need you," Glenn tells Eugene.

Eugene looks at him. "For what?" He asks.

"A run," Glenn tells him. "The warehouse."

"The one Aiden and Nicholas died in?" Eugene asks.

"Yeah," Glenn tells him. "Noah promised Deanna that we would go back there and clear it. Bring Nicholas and Aiden back. Bury them," Glenn says. "When Deanna comes back, I want her son to be in the ground. That warehouse, could you use the technology and equipment in there for weapons?"

"Yeah, I could," Eugene says. "There is equipment there that I could use to make bombs, trip wires. Traps, bullets."

"Good, get your gear," Glenn says.

"What?"

"You're coming, Eugene. Meet me by the gate in thirty minutes while I get some of the others."

Noah's P.O.V
Noah and T-dog walk through the town they are searching. "How did you lose it?" Noah asks T-dog, who looks at him.

"I was on Maggie's farm with the group. I got separated from them by a herd. One of them took a chunk out of my arm in the woods. I got into a house and cut it off. While I was on the road, I found a community with a blacksmith. He made me the hand," T-dog tells him as he shows him the knife that was now attached. "He made me a hand, a knife."

Noah nods as a walker comes toward them. "I got it," Noah says as he pulls his knife out and stabs it in the head.

"How about you? How did you run into them?"

"I was being kept in a hospital in Atlanta. Beth, they brought in Beth, and she helped me escape. I found Daryl and Carol, and I robbed them. I got trapped by a walker, and they saved me, and we tried to get Beth back, but she didn't make it, and I've been with them ever since."

T-dog nods as they stop by a shop. "Let's look in here," T-dog says. Noah nods as he follows him in.

Tara's P.O.V
Tara stabs a walker in the head and throws it to the ground as she looks at Paula. "Crossing my fingers," Tara says as she opens the door to the basement of the house they were searching. They walk down the stairs with their knives and flashlights out. They look around and see a couple of cans on a table and a crate. Tara walks over to the chest. She pulls it open and smiles.

"What's in it?" Paula asks.

"A shotgun, two handguns, and a rifle," Tara says as she pulls the weapons out and sets them in a bag. "We're getting lucky."

"I would say we are due for some luck," Paula says with a smirk.

Tara nods as she stands up. "Maybe we are, but luck always runs out."

"It does, but we're smart, and we don't need it," Paula says. "Come on."

Tara nods as she follows her.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn, Eugene, Heath, Morgan, Aaron, Alden, and Spencer climb out of their cars and looks at the warehouse. "The walkers outside were led away," Glenn says. "The walkers inside are the ones we have to worry about."

They nod as they get to the revolving door and look at the walkers in the lobby. "We kill them with our guns. When Nicholas comes out, we use our knives," Glenn tells them.

"And Aiden?" Spencer asks.

"He's trapped on a forklift. He won't be here," Glenn tells him. "Get ready," Glenn says as he raises his gun and shoots the glass breaking it. The walkers start to come through the glass as the six of them shoot at them. Eugene stood behind them. Glenn looks at Nicholas and pulls out his knife. "Keep me covered!" Glenn shouts. They nod as Glenn grabs Nicholas by his shirt and stabs him in the head. Glenn drops the body as they shoot the rest of the walkers.

"Heath and Aaron, stay out here. Yell, if something comes, we'll tell you when to come in."

They nod as they enter the building. They walk through it slowly, clearing any walkers they see until they get to the forklift. Aiden's walker grabs at them. Tear's go down Spencer's face as he stares at his walker. "It should be you," Glenn says, making Spencer look at him. "He's your brother."

Spencer nods as he pulls his knife out and walks up to Aiden. "I'm sorry this happened. I'll protect Mom. I hope you and Dad are together," Spencer says before he stabs him in the head.

"Spencer and I will get Aiden out of here. Morgan, Gavin, help Eugene with whatever he needs help with," Glenn tells the two men, who nod as Spencer and Glenn pull the body off and take it outside.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick, Carl, Jessie, and Sam stood by the house where Rick hid the gun. "Alright, Sam," Rick says as he bends down beside the boy. "This isn't a toy, but you can't be scared of it. This will save your life someday," Rick says. "Now take the gun."

Sam nods as he takes the gun. Rick points to a target that they pained on a tree. "You need to hit that. You need to be able to shoot."

Sam nods as he raises the gun and fires. He misses the tree completely. "This is going to take a while," Carl says.

Ron's P.O.V
Ron finds Enid by the pond and sits down beside her. "We need to talk," Ron says.

"About what?" Enid asks.

"Us," Ron says.

"Ron--"

"Please, just let me talk," Ron says, and Enid nods. "I was an idiot before. Before Rick came, but I know better now. I'm not trying to make you like me. I just want you to know. I understand now what this world is, what you went through."

Enid nods as Ron stands up. "If you think you can have a life with Carl. Take it," Ron tells her before he walks away.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked out of the prison and down to the Governor's body. He grabs him by his arms and drags him into the courtyard. He walked to the third truck and grabbed a gas can. He poured it on the body as Rosita came outside. "Daryl," Rosita says. Daryl looks at her as he sets the gas can down.

"I know it's a waste, but I want to watch this fucker burn for what he did. He took this place down. Killed Hershel and sent us all back out there. Bob, Beth, and Tyreese, they all died because of that," Daryl says.

"Burn him," Rosita says. Daryl nods as he lights a match and throws it on the body, and it goes up in flames. Daryl and Rosita stare at the body.

"I've always wondered what would have happened if Carl or I had taken the shot," Daryl says.

"Hershel and Michonne could have died, and you would have still ended up out there. Maggie told me the story. You guys did what you thought was right,"

Daryl nods as they watch the body burn.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn dug in the dirt with Aiden and Nicholas's bodies beside him. Behind him, Eugene was digging. "How many bombs do you think you can make?"

"Enough to make the saviors wish they never came at us," Eugene says. Glenn nods as he looks at the man. "You are a lot stronger than you think you are, Eugene. I know it. Abraham, Rosita, and Tara know it too. You're gonna survive."

"I've only survived because of Abraham and Rosita and all of you. The people who gave their lives for me, Bob included. I would have died at the start if not for them."

"Yeah, you would have. But now you can protect yourself, Eugene. I'm willing to show you how how to shoot a gun better and fight walkers. Let me show you how to survive," Glenn offers.

"Let's get these bodies in the ground and get started."

Glenn nods with a smile as he continues to dig.

Carol's P.O.V
The gates to Hilltop opened, and Jesus and Carol walked in. They saw saviors walking around, and Carol looked at Simon as he walked down to them. "Jesus, it is good to see you, my friend," Simon says as he pats his shoulder. He looks at Carol. "And who are you?" He asks with a grin.

"Someone who can help you," Carol says.

"How so?" Simon asks.

"Let's talk. I can tell you how," Carol says.

Simon grins at her and nods. "Okay, I'm interested, come on," Simon says as he leads her away. They enter Gregory's office. "Gregory, get out."

"Who is this?" Gregory asks as he looks at Carol.

"I don't know, but she already interests me more than you, so get out," Simon says. Gregory nods as he leaves. "I didn't get your name," Simon says as he shuts the doors.

"Carol, my name is Carol."

"How can you help me, Carol?"

Thanks for reading. Carol has met Jesus and has now met Simon. What is her plan? The next chapter will start with this and then a little bit more in Alexandria and the prison before a possible time skip. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 17: Chapter 17-Being happy

Chapter Text

Chapter 17-Being happy
Carol's P.O.V
Carol stared at Simon. "Jesus was telling me about this place on the way back," Carol says. "About how only a few people here know how to fight."

"That is correct. It makes it easier to control them. That's why they don't have guns."

"But that only leaves one man to scavenge supplies for the saviors," Carol says. "Sure, they give you enough food, but food isn't the only thing you need nowadays. You need guns, ammo, medicine, fuel, and water. Jesus can't get all that by himself, but if these people knew how to fight, you could send more out, they could bring more in, makes everything for you guys better."

Simon stares at her and grins, and then starts laughing. "You, you are one of the most interesting people I have ever met, you've been here all but ten minutes, and you are trying to change this place."

"If I'm going to live here, help them keep you guys happy. I'm gonna make sure it stays that way, and this is the best way to do it," Carol says.

"So what are you suggesting, Carol?" Simon asks.

"They get trained, in how to fight walkers, people if needed. So more can go out and get supplies you need."

"What's in it for you?" Simon asks.

"I survive, and maybe you get rid of that asshole out there," Carol says.

"You see, here's the thing, Carol. I like the yarn you are spinning, but if I got rid of Gregory, put you in charge, and trained these people. You could attack."

"I'm not dumb, Simon. I want to survive. Jesus says that you protect this place."

"We do. It's part of the deal," Simon says.

"I imagine you have a pretty big army. It can take on most herds and groups. If that means that we have to give you supplies to live, fine, but if we send more people out, you get more supplies and better supplies, and so do we. We get more supplies to keep us going. Both of us win."

Simon stares at her for a moment. "Okay, let's say I agree to this. I'll let you train seven of them. That gives me four run groups and makes sure not all of them are ready to kill me. If it works out, we'll talk about more."

"And Gregory?"

"I'll deal with that," Simon says. He walks to the door. "Gregory, come in."

Gregory walks into the office. "What is it?"

"We're going to try something," Simon says. "Our new friend here, Carol. She is going to be taking over Hilltop for a little while," Gregory goes to open his mouth, and Simon punches him in the face, grabs his shirt, and pushes him into the wall. "Do you understand!?"

"Yes," Gregory says in fear.

"Good. If I hear of any problems with you, I'll make you wish Negan was alive," Simon says as he shakes his hair. "You have one week, Carol. I better see some results."

Carol nods as Simon leaves.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl sat on the porch with Judith as they walked Alexandria. He looks at Enid as she walks up the stairs. "Hey," Carl says.

"Where is your Dad?" Enid asks.

"He's with Gavin, Dwight, and Alden," Carl tells her as she sits down beside him. She smiles at Judith.

"Ron seems to be doing well," Enid says.

"Looks like it, and so is Sam. He's taking a while to get used, but by the end of the day yesterday, he was hitting the tree," Carl says with a chuckle.

"They'll make it, Ron and Jessie are getting stronger each day, and Sam is following," Enid says.

Carl nods. "I got patrol soon. You wanna join me?" Carl asks.

"Yeah, sure," Enid says as Carl leaves the house to take Judith to Jessie.

Carol's P.O.V
Carol sat in the office looking at all the names of the people in the Hilltop. She looks at the door as it opens, and Jesus walks in. "So, what are you planning?" Jesus asks. "Simon told me to stay back for two days and help you."

"Close the door," She tells him. Jesus shuts the door and looks at him. "What I'm about to tell you. It does not leave this room. You tell nobody. You promise me that."

"I promise I won't tell anybody," Jesus says as she sits down.

"I'm from another community. I left it because of something I did. It's called Alexandria, and it has almost a hundred people. One of those people is Negan."

"What?" Jesus asks. "Simon said he killed him."

"He didn't. D.J., Alden, Paula, Gavin, Laura, Dwight, Sherry, Merle, and Tina are in Alexandria. They are preparing to fight the saviors, to fight Simon."

"You know who he is, right?" Jesus asks.

"I do, but we could use people like that if we're going to win. They are talking with another community, the Kingdom."

"I know it. The leader is Ezekiel. Has three men beside him, T-dog, Richard, and Jerry."

"Jerry's dead. T-dog told us he was a part of our group at the start. Benjamin and Henry are at Alexandria. Alexandria and, hopefully, the Kingdom is going to fight the saviors when we get these people trained up, and I get Simon's trust. We're going to help them. That's why Gregory couldn't lead. I need control of this place to train them, not just seven, all of them, but Gregory can not see, and Simon can not know. We need to make sure we find all the supplies I promised him in a week."

"I know a place, but we'll need at least five people," Jesus says.

"Then let's get to work," Carol says as they leave the office.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walks out of the prison and up to Abraham as he loads some more of the supplies into the trucks. "We could leave a day or two early, hit a few of the towns we saw coming through," Abraham says.

"We've scavenged the towns near here. The rest were scavenged when we lived here. We'll probably be able to find some more in towns heading back," Daryl says. "We'll stay here tonight and start heading back tomorrow. If we hit most of the towns, we should be back home in about a week. We'll take some detours and hit as many towns as possible."

"I'll look at the maps and start to pick some town. We've only been gone a couple of days. We still have at least a week and a half before we said we'd be back," Abraham says as he walks away. Daryl nods as he follows the man into the prison.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn and Eugene walked through the woods. "How did you kill your first walker?" Eugene asks Glenn, who looks at him.

"I was scavenging in Atlanta, back while we were there. Before Rick showed up, I was in a store, and I heard it, I had a knife with me, and Rick's partner Shane gave it to me. I knocked it down, and I stabbed it in the back of the head," Glenn tells him. "After a while, it became easy."

Eugene nods as they hear a growl. They look at a walker as it comes toward them. "It's yours. I got your back," Glenn tells Eugene as he pulls his knife out. Eugene nods as he pulls his machete out, he slams it down on the walker's head, and the blood sprays onto his shirt and the top of his neck. Eugene pulls the knife out and looks at Glenn, who nods. "Good job."

Eugene nods as they continue to walk. "Do you think we are born brave?" Eugene asks Glenn, who shakes his head.

"No, I think we become brave. The people who are alive now, we're brave. We survive no matter what," Glenn tells Eugene. "Once we survive, we get to live."

Eugene nods as they continue to walk.

Rosita's P.O.V
Rosita was putting her stuff as the group had decided that they would leave the prison tomorrow. She walks outside and puts it in the back of the truck as Abraham walks up behind her. "How are you?"

Rosita looks at him. "I'm fine," Rosita says. "Sasha, was she the reason?"

"Yeah," Abraham says as he looks at the woman who is talking with T-dog. "We're moving steadily. We both wanted it. We were just scared of losing each other. But being scared, it's just a part of this now. I'm sorry for the way I handled it."

"I know," Rosita says. "We're still friends, though."

"We are," Abraham says. "What about you? I know Spencer has the hots for you."

Rosita chuckles and shakes her head. "No," She says as she looks at Daryl, who is talking with Merle by Merle's bike. Abraham follows her eyesight and chuckles.

"Tell me how he is in bed. I've wondered," Abraham says with a smirk.

"Shut the fuck up and walk away," Rosita says with a smile. "It might not even happen."

"It will," Abraham says. "A blind person could see he likes you. He trusts you more than anybody here, maybe besides Michonne," Abraham says. "No point in wondering about the what ifs. I have watch with him tonight. Why don't you take it," Abraham says. Rosita nods as he walks away.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan was putting guns in the truck when Michonne walked up to him and started to help. "This place must have been one hell of a home," Negan says.

"It was. It was the first real home I had since all of this started. They became my family here."

"They are becoming my family," Negan says. "I wanna keep these people alive, kill Simon, disband the saviors. Have those assholes live as they should. Helping people, really helping them," Negan says.

"That's the point of all of this, to save everybody we can. The only person who has to die is Simon," Michonne says.

"And I'll be the one to kill him, I will," Negan says.

"I know you will," Michonne says.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stood in the watch tower that night, staring at the trees as Rosita walked up the stairs. "I thought Abraham was on watch with me."

"We switched. He's gonna take watch with Sasha."

"I don't imagine much watching is gonna be done with those two."

Rosita chuckles as she stands by him. "Probably not," Rosita says. "But we're safe. If a herd shows up, they'll hear it regardless of what they are doing," Daryl nods. "How's Merle doing?"

"He's starting to accept everything how it is. I think being away from Alexandria is helping," Daryl says. "I saw you talking with Abraham earlier. You two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Rosita says as she sets her gun down. "He's moved on. He's happy."

"Are you?" Daryl asks.

Rosita looks at him and takes his hand. She leans up and kisses him. Daryl lays his hand on her arm and kisses her back. After a moment, she takes his hand and leads him into the tower. "I don't think we're gonna be doing much watching either," She says as she kisses him again and pushes his vest off.

Thanks for reading. The next chapter might have a time skip to when the group is back in Alexandria. I don't know yet. I am having fun with Rosita and Daryl, and I plan on giving some other charchters some time next chapter. The next chapter will probably start with them leaving the prison.

Chapter 18: Chapter 18-Returning to Alexandria

Chapter Text

Chapter 18-Returning to Alexandria
Rosita's P.O.V
Daryl woke up when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He looks at Rosita, who is lying beside him with one of the blankets that Maggie and Glenn left up there. "Hey," Daryl says softly.

"Hey," Rosita says as he takes her hand and kisses it. "We gotta get up. Abraham and Sasha are coming out soon."

Daryl nods as he stands up and starts to put his clothes back on. Once he had his pants back on, he looked at the field and saw that there were no walkers. He grabs his shirt and vest and puts them on. Rosita looks at him. "Was this a one-time thing?" Rosita asks.

"Do you want it to be?" Daryl asks.

"No," Rosita says. "I trust you more than anybody else, more than Abraham, Eugene, Rick. I know that you are strong. I want to give this a chance, but only if you do."

"I do," Daryl says as he kisses her. They hear the door open and pull apart. Abraham walks up the stairs.

"Where is Sasha?" Rosita asks.

"Killing the walkers in the field," Abraham says. "Go get some sleep," Daryl nods as he leaves. Abraham grabs Rosita's hand. "Might want to fix your hair. Looks like you were just manhandled," Abraham says with a smirk.

"Thanks," Rosita says. "You can use the mattress and the blanket," She says with a smirk. "Abraham," She says as she stops by the stairs. "He was amazing," She says, making Abraham roar with laughter as she goes down the stairs with a smirk on her face. She walked inside of the prison and saw Daryl standing outside his cell.

"You coming?" He asks her. She smirks as she walks to his cell and lays down beside him. He wraps his arms around her and kisses the back of her head as they fall to sleep.

One week later
Rick's P.O.V
"Dad!" Carl shouts as he runs up to the house. Rick looks at Sam as he helps the boy clean his gun and runs outside. "They're back,"

Rick nods as he runs toward the gate with Carl beside him as Daryl's bike comes into Alexandria and then the rest of the cars. Rick smiles at Daryl as he takes his hand. "Looks like you did good."

"Better than good," Abraham says as he climbs out of the truck. "We got enough firepower to kill everybody here ten times over."

"What about food, medicine, fuel, ammo, water."

"Enough of that to last us two months, maybe more," Merle says. Rick looks at the older Dixon brother and nods.

"So what do you think? You think we're ready to hit them?" Rick asks.

"We have the weapons, but not the people, and not yet," Negan says. "Simon is expecting some sort of attack. We give him a little while longer, and when he isn't expecting it, we attack. We still need Ezekiel, and having Hilltop would help."

"You said their leader would never go for it," Glenn says.

"We could kill him," Rick says.

"Rick--" Deanna says.

"We need all the people we can get," Rick says. "We'll talk about it. You guys have been on the road for a while. Let's take the next two days to unload and rest. We'll plan more then."

Everybody nods as they walk away.

Carol's P.O.V
Carol stood in front of Barrington with Jesus and Bertie beside her. The trucks pulled into the Sanctuary, and Simon climbed out with a woman beside him. "I have somewhere else I gotta be, but I do want to see if all of this was worth it," Simon says as he walks up to Carol.

"It was," Carol says as she motions for him to follow her. She leads him to the back of Barrington house, where there are two trailers. "More food than you have ever got from this place. Twelve guns, two boxes of ammo, water, and fuel. I kept ten guns for the people we trained and watch," Carol says. Simon looks at her and grins.

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"A lot of the places we need to clear for this kind of supplies is filled with walkers. We'll lose people without guns, and that means you lose these supplies," Carol says with a smile.

Simon stares at her for a moment. "Load it up, boys," Simon says as he pulls Carol aside. "You get to keep this place and your life. Keep it up. But next time I'm here, I would watch how you talk to me. You don't want to piss me off. Arat is in charge. See you next week," Simon says before he walks away.

Carol nods as he leaves, and she looks at Arat. "Can we talk?" Carol asks her. Arat stares at her for a moment before she nods as they walk inside Carol's office. Carol shuts the door. "Does Simon know?"

"Does Simon know what?" Arat asks.

"That you let Negan go," Carol says. Arat's eyes widen as Carol withdraws her gun and aims it at her. "If you yell or anything, I will kill you. I just wanna talk, sit," Carol tells the woman, who nods as she takes her weapons off and sets them down.

"How do you know that?" Arat asks.

"Because I know Negan, Alden, D.J, Laura, Paula, Dwight, Sherry, Merle, Tina, and Gavin," Carol says.

"They're alive?" Arat asks.

"Yeah, how'd you get away with it?"

Arat lifts her wound and shows a bandage on her side. "I killed the other one# and shot myself, made it look like they fought out. I hate Simon, I trusted, Negan, but I didn't want to die."

"Good. I'm gonna lower this. You gonna keep your mouth shut?" Carol asks the woman, who nods. "Good, so here is my offer. You help me beat Simon."

"It doesn't matter what you do here. This place will never be able to take on the Saviors."

"It won't just be us. We need a spy. If you complete a task for me, I'll know I can trust you, and then I'll bring you in. I'll tell you about the plan, about Negan, all of it, and when it is all over, Simon will be dead, and Negan will lead again."

"What do you need?" Arat asks.

"A list of all the outposts that are being used," Carol says.

"I can get that," Arat says. "When I do this, you let me talk to, Negan."

"Deal," Carol says. Arat nods as she stands up, grabs her weapons, and leaves.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl was putting his stuff back in his room when there was a knock on his door. He looked at the door and saw Rosita standing by it. "Hey," He says. "I thought you would be home."

"Well, we don't have any empty houses, we're still getting them ready, and with everybody we've been bringing in, we're running out of room," Rosita says. "I'm going to offer Amanda my place with Eugene if you're okay with me coming to stay here."

"We've been sharing the same bed for a week now," Daryl says. "I don't got a problem with it. Bring your shit here. Got plenty of room in here."

Rosita smiles as she walks away. Daryl continues to put his stuff away. "Not bad, baby brother," He looks at Merle.

"Fuck off. Go get your shit in your room."

"Yes, sir," Merle says with a mock salute before he walks away.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog walked out of his house and saw Henry and Sam walking down the road. "They have been good for each other," T-dog looks at Glenn as he walks up to him.

"He mostly hung out with him brother," T-dog says.

"How did you end up here, at the Kingdom?" Glenn asks him.

"I was by myself for about six months after the farm. I was losing hope in finding all of you. I knew you guys were alive. I found Otis's truck on the highway, I just kept looking, and I actually walked all the way to Virginia. One day I got trapped by a herd in a car, and I thought it was the end, I was ready to end it, give up hope on living, finding the rest of you, and then I heard someone shout, and the walkers fell, it was Ezekiel, Jerry, and Richard, they saved me, took me back to the Kingdom, and I stayed because I owed them my life," T-dog says.

"We always kept an eye out for you, some kind of sign that you were alive, that you were out there. I knew you were alive."

"How?" T-dog asks.

"Because you're a survivor, T-dog. Everything that has happened since the farm to both of us. What we've had to do so we could survive. It doesn't matter. You're back with us. You're back where you belong."

T-dog nods as he pats his shoulder, and they continue to walk.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick looks at his door as there is a knock. He opens it and looks at Daryl. "I was looking for Carol. Glenn said come find you," Daryl said. Rick nods as he lets him inside.

"She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Daryl asks.

"When she raided the armory, she threatened Sam. She told him she would take him out to the woods, tie him to the tree and leave him to the walkers," Rick says.

"That ain't her, man," Daryl says.

"She admitted it to me. She killed Lizzie, Daryl. After Lizzie killed Mika, Jessie attacked her, and we decided that we would talk about it when you all came back. She left, and Glenn and I tried to find her. She left a message and told us to live our lives. She told me to tell you that this was her choice and she loved you," Rick says.

Daryl stares at him and leaves the house slamming the door shut.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked inside his house and walked up the stairs. He looked at Rosita, who was putting her things away as he grabbed his crossbow and bag. "Hey," Rosita says as she grabs his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Carol left," Daryl says. "I gotta find her."

"I know," Rosita says, making Daryl look at her. "Glenn told me a couple of minutes before you came. He told me to make sure you didn't leave."

"I need to find her," Daryl says.

"She doesn't want to be found," Rosita says softly. "You can't go out there. We need you here. A million things could go wrong. The Saviors could find you. You could run into a herd. Carol is strong, and she is smart. She'll be okay and when this is over. You and I will go looking, and we will stay out there until we find her. I promise," Rosita tells him. Daryl looks at her and nods.

"Okay," Daryl says.

Rosita nods as she kisses him. "Come on, I need help," Daryl nods as he starts to help her.

Thanks for reading. We are getting closer and closer to the start of the fight. Next chapter, the group will start to plan. Simon will find a group, and Daryl will deal with Carol being gone. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 19: Chapter 19-Coming together

Chapter Text

Chapter 19-Coming together
Simon's P.O.V
Simon was sitting in his room when his radio went off. "Simon, we got a group of them," Jared says over the radio.

"Where?" Simon asks as he grabs the radio.

"By the lake with walkers in it," Jared answers.

"I'll be there with a group soon," Simon says as he stands up and walks outside of his room. He walks through the Sanctuary and looks at Jed and Arat. "Get a small group together, and meet me outside," Simon orders. They nod as he walks outside and stands by the car. When they come out, Simon climbs in the truck, and they leave the Sanctuary.

Rick's P.O.V
Everybody stood inside Deanna's house. "Okay, we have enough ammo. Now, all we need is people," Rick says.

"I'll go to the Kingdom and talk with Ezekiel," T-dog says. "I might be able to convince him to fight."

"What about Hilltop?" Laura asks. "We could kill Gregory, put Jesus in charge."

"Dwight, Glenn, Merle, and Laura. Head to Hilltop, scout out it, and wait for Jesus. Talk with him," Rick tells the four of them, who nodded.

"What about the rest? When we have the Kingdom and Hilltop, how do we attack?" Negan asks.

"We attack the Sanctuary. Go straight for it. They don't have the numbers anymore, not after everything with all of you,"

"I'll go with T-dog," Tina says. "He shouldn't go alone."

"Okay, everybody knows their plans. Let's get to work," Rick tells them. They nod as they leave.

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna looked at Spencer as he walked into the kitchen. "Shouldn't you be in the armory helping with the guns?" Deanna asks him.

"People are going to die if we go this way," Spencer says. "If we fight the Saviors."

"Then what do you suggest, Spencer? Wait for them to come and kill us?"

"We make a deal with them," Spencer says.

"If we make a deal with them, they get half of our shit, and they are going to kill Negan, Gavin, Alden, Merle, D.J, Laura, Sherry, Tina, Dwight, and Paula," Deanna says. "They are one of us."

"They aren't! They are the reason we are in this!"

"No, they aren't! Because we would be here even if they never came, the Saviors would have found us eventually, and they would have killed one of us! They could have killed me, or you, or Rick, or Maggie," Deanna says. "This is how we ensure that as many of us as possible survive! This conversation is over! Go to the armory!" She shouts at him. Spencer glares at her before he leaves.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl looks at Deanna as she walks up to him. "What's wrong?" Daryl asks her as he sets the gun down on the table.

"Spencer, he thinks we should try and make a deal with the Saviors."

"Do you agree?" Daryl asks her.

"No, if we did, they would kill the saviors with us, your brother," Deanna says.

"Do you know who is on watch tonight?" Deanna asks.

"Gabriel," Daryl says. "Gabriel, and after him, Noah."

"Tell them to keep an eye on him. He makes stupid decisions in the heat of the moment," Deanna tells him.

"I'll let 'em know."

Deanna nods as she walks away.

Abraham's P.O.V
Abraham sets the guns down in front of Spencer, who takes them to the armory. "Someone pissed in his cereal," Negan says as he walks up behind the large man.

"He's a prick. I would love to break his teeth out," Abraham says as he checks another gun.

"So why don't you?" Negan asks with a smirk as he helps.

"Because he's Deanna's son," Abraham says. "I may not like him, but I like her."

"So, is this group still gonna be the least of my problems?" Negan asks, making Abraham look at him confused. "Back while we were building the wall. You said that if I brought something that could endanger the group. The group would be the least of my problems. I figured that meant you were going to kick my ass."

"I might, but they would have come for us eventually, anyways," Abraham says. "We'll get them before they get any of us."

"We will."

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn, Dwight, Merle, and Laura stare at the Hilltop as people come in and out of it. "Where the hell is this guy?" Glenn asks.

"He'll be out soon. He doesn't stay for too long," Laura says as the gate opens and Jesus walks out. "See, come on."

They nod as they walk through the woods as Jesus walks down the trail. They wait until he is out of eyesight of the Sanctuary. "If you wanna talk, let's talk," Jesus says.

"Damn," Laura says as they exit the woods and aim their guns at the man. Jesus looks at them.

"Dwight, Laura," Jesus says as he looks at the two.

"We need to kill Gregory," Laura says to him. "Put you in charge."

"Gregory isn't in charge anymore," Jesus says. "There is someone new. You'll like her, come on," Jesus says as he leads them towards the Hilltop.

Glenn's P.O.V
The gates to the Hilltop open, and they walk in as Carol walks down towards them. "Carol," Glenn says, making the woman look at him.

"I figured you would come sooner or later," Carol says as she hugs him. "They're back?"

"Yeah," Glenn says. "You're in charge here."

"Yeah, Jesus found me after I left. I came here and made a deal with Simon. I got control of the place, and I have been training them to fight. To fight the saviors."

"We were coming here to get Hilltop on our side," Dwight says.

"We're on your side," Carol says. She looks at Glenn. "Daryl? How did he react?"

"He's doing okay. Rosita is keeping his mind off it?"

"Rosita?" Carol asks.

"My baby brother has a girlfriend," Merle says with a smirk making Carol smile.

"We'll come back in a couple of days, be ready for a fight, Carol," Glenn says as he pulls a radio out and holds it out to Carol, who takes it.

"Be safe," Carol says. Glenn nods as they leave.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog follows Ezekiel as he walks through the theater inside the Kingdom. "Ezekiel, you have to decide now."

"I can't," Ezekiel says.

"You have to!" T-dog shouts at him, making Richard look at them. "Okay, you don't just get to sit on that chair and wait for things to go bad! Wait for the world to punch you in the face. You have to make a choice here and now! We're going to fight! Are you with us?"

"Your majesty, they killed Jerry, and they are going to kill more of us. It could be Benjamin or Henry. It's time to fight," Richard says.

Ezekiel looks at the two men he trusts most and nods. "Alexandria has the Kingdom," Ezekiel says.

T-dog nod as he pulls out a radio and hands it to Ezekiel.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl looks at the gate as it opens, and Dwight, Glenn, Merle, and Laura drive in. "How'd it go?" Rick asks as he comes up beside Daryl with Deanna.

"Good," Glenn says with a smile.

"You guys kill Gregory?" Daryl asks.

"Didn't have to. There was already someone else in charge."

"Who?" Deanna asks as Glenn looks at Daryl.

"Carol," He tells Daryl.

"She's there? She's okay?" Daryl asks.

"Yeah, ask her yourself," Glenn says as he holds the radio out to Daryl, who takes it.

"Carol," Daryl says, and after a moment, she answers.

"Hi, Daryl," Carol says.

"Are you okay?" Daryl asks.

"I'm okay," Carol says. "I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me."

"Can't help it."

"Worry about getting ready to fight and your new girlfriend."

"Of course, they said something about that. We'll see you soon."

"You will."

Daryl nods as the radio goes off, and they see T-dog come in the gate. He steps out of the car and smiles at them. "We have the Kingdom."

Rick's P.O.V
Rick, Glenn, Merle, Negan, Abraham, Daryl, Maggie, Deanna, Aaron, Rosita, Merle, Noah, and Sasha stood in Deanna's house. "Why aren't the rest of them here?" Sasha asks.

"Because the others already know too much. If someone gets caught, I want to make sure they give nothing up. I know this group won't give anything up," Rick says.

"Okay," Sasha says.

"I've already radioed Carol and Ezekiel. They'll be here tomorrow with their troops, and the day after, we attack the Sanctuary. We kill Simon."

"All of them?" Noah asks, making them look at him. "We don't need to kill all of them, only Simon. We give them a chance to give up."

"I agree," Negan says.

"Okay, fine," Rick agrees.

Simon's P.O.V
The saviors stood outside with the ground of the garbage people in front of them. "Open this door, and your people won't die!" Simon shouts, and after a moment, the door opens. The saviors walk in, and they look at the leader. "Hi, I'm Simon."

"I'm Jadis," The woman says. "What do you want?"

"To save you," Simon says with a grin. "You see, I'm part of a group that saves people, and we will save you for a very simple price. Half of your shit."

"No deal," Jadis says, and Simon smiles as he withdraws his gun and shoots one of the prisoners in the back of the head. The scavengers back up and stare at them as Jadis stares at him in shock.

"It wasn't really an offer!" Simon shouts. "Half of your shit! We won't kill you!"

Jadis stares at him, and he smiles. "Light it up!" Simon shouts.

"No!" Jadis shouts as the saviors start to shoot the scavengers. After a couple of minutes, they all lay dead on the ground beside Jadis.

"We're taking her," Simon says as he motions for Gary to grab her, and they leave.

Spencer's P.O.V
Spencer walks up to the gate and Gabriel. "Gabriel," Spencer says, making him look at him. "I can take over."

"I'm good," Gabriel says.

"Mind if I join you?" Spencer asks.

"Sure," Gabriel says as Spencer climbs up the ladder.

"Nice night," Spencer says. "Sorry," He says before he hits Gabriel over the head with his gun knocking him out. He quickly climbs down and pulls the gate open, and goes to a car. He climbs in and leaves. He stops and shuts the gate before he grabs the map and looks at the location of Sanctuary, and starts to drive.

Thanks for reading. The communities are together, the scavengers are dead, and Spencer is planning on doing something stupid. Next chapter, the group prepares for the fight, and Spencer talks with Simon. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 20: Chapter 20-It begins

Chapter Text

Chapter 20-It begins
Simon's P.O.V
Simon woke up when he heard someone knocking on his door. "What do you want?" Simon asks.

"There is a man here for you," Jared says from outside.

"It can wait till morning," Simon growls.

"He says he wants to talk about Negan," Jared says, making Simon's eyes snap open. He stands up and walks to the door.

"Where is he?" Simon growls as he follows Jared to the meeting room where Spencer is waiting. "Leave us," Simon tells Jared, who leaves, and Simon shuts the door. "Negan, you know him? He alive?"

"Yeah, he's alive, I know him, and I know where he is," Spencer says. "I wanna help you kill him."

Simon grins. "Is this going to take a while?" Simon asks Spencer, who nods. "Tell me the story," Simon says as he sits down.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl was woken up by pounding at his door. He looks at Rosita as she gets out of bed. "Who the hell is that?" Daryl asks as he walks downstairs with Rosita and Merle behind him. He opens the door and looks at Eugene. "What?"

"Spencer's gone," Eugene tells Daryl.

"Shit," He says as he runs back upstairs and grabs his crossbow and vest. He runs outside and towards the gate as Rick speaks with Gabriel. "What happened?"

"Spencer, he hit me from behind, I woke up, and he was gone, and so was the car."

"Rick, you need to radio Ezekiel and Carol right now. They need to come right now."

"Why?" Rick asks.

"Because he went to make a deal with the saviors," Deanna says from behind them.

"What?" Rick growls.

"He brought it up earlier. I told Daryl. I didn't think he would go through with it."

"Okay, Eugene, radio Carol and Ezekiel. They need to be here by noon. Go!" Rick shouts at Eugene, who nods as he runs away with T-dog following.

"Get everybody ready!" Daryl shouts. "Guns on the walls. Everybody needs to be in position. The saviors could be here at any moment."

Everybody nods as they start to move.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon stares at Spencer as he speeds. "So Negan is at your community, alive and well?" Simon asks.

"Yeah. Negan, Alden, D.J, Paula, Laura, Dwight, Sherry, Tina, Gavin, and Merle," Spencer says.

"Merle Dixon?" Simon asks Spencer, who nods.

"His brother lives there, Daryl."

"His brother is alive. I gotta say, I'm amazed."

"They plan on attacking tomorrow with Hilltop and the Kingdom," Spencer says.

"Damn, all of them betrayed me, even that bitch, Carol. I liked her," Simon says. "Okay, Spencer, are you prepared to watch your friends die."

"Wait," Spencer says. "Only Rick's group needs to die, and the saviors. But my Mom will listen to you. We can work for you," Spencer says.

"If your Mom gives your friends up, we can make a deal," Simon says. "After we take Alexandria, we'll go to Hilltop, kill that bitch, and put Gregory back in charge. Then we'll head to the Kingdom with those two blond boys that you guys are holding. I'll kill them, and then Ezekiel will fall back in line. Today you get your community back," Simon says with a grin.

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna looks at Rick and Daryl as they walk into her house. "What happens to him after we're done?" Deanna asks.

"We lock him up," Daryl says. "Deanna, what he did--"

"I know, there have to be consequences," Deanna says as she turns and looks at them. "But we do not kill him."

"We won't kill him," Daryl says. "Promise."

"Deanna, you have to prepare for something," Rick says, making her look at him. "Spencer might already be dead. Simon, he's crazy. If the stories are true, he may have killed him, and if he didn't, he might kill him when he gets here to make a point."

"I know, Rick," Deanna says. "I know."

Rick nods as they leave the house.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick walks up to Jessie's house and looks at her. "So the fight might happen today," Jessie says.

"Yeah," Rick says with a sigh. "When they come, you need to lock Sam in that closet. Tell him not to come out unless it's you or me. Ron will go in there with him."

"No, I won't," Ron says from the door, making both of them look at him. "Carl and Enid are going to be out there, aren't they?" Rick nods. "Then I should be too. I can shoot, Rick. I can fight. Let me help defend this place."

"Your choice," Rick says as he looks at Jessie.

"I'm gonna be out there too, okay, you can help, but you listen to everything, Rick, Daryl, Carl, and I say, understood?" Jessie asks Ron, who nods.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan sat on his steps, looking at the bat as Michonne walked up to him. "What are you thinking about?"

"Some of these people are going to die today," Negan says. "They're gonna die because Simon is coming here to kill me."

"Simon would have come for us regardless," Michonne says. "These people could still die. You being here might save some lives because you know what we are facing, and we know that they are coming."

"Yeah," Negan says with a sigh. "Doesn't make any of this any easier."

"I will never be easy," Michonne tells him.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl runs up to the gate as it opens, and Carol and Jesus, and the rest of the Hilltop fighters walk through the gate. Daryl hugs Carol, who smiles as she hugs him back. "It's good to see you," Daryl says as he lets her go.

"You too," Carol says as she hugs Rick. "This is Jesus. He took me to Hilltop."

"Nice to meet you. Thank you, all of you," Rick says.

"Yeah," Negan says as he walks up to them, making them all look at him. "Bygones."

"You killed Rory," Jesus growls.

"Hilltop, it was at Hilltop?" Rick asks Negan, who nods.

"I made a mistake. I see that now," Negan says. "I'm trying to make up for it."

"Well, Simon is worse than you," Jesus says. "But just to make this clear, we are fighting to save Hilltop, Alexandria, and the Kingdom, not to save you, and if you try anything after, you'll die."

"After, the saviors will be disbanded," Negan says. Jesus nods.

"We'll get you all set up and tell you the plan," Rick says. "Noah, let me know when Ezekiel shows up."

Noah nods as they walk away.

Rosita's P.O.V
Rosita sat on her porch loading her gun when Carol walked up the steps. "You are a sight for sore eyes," Rosita says with a smile as she hugs her. "Ezekiel should be here soon, and we'll be ready."

"Good," Carol says as she motions for Rosita to sit down, and she sits down beside her. "I heard about you and Daryl."

"Are you here to give me the hurt him, and I'll make you regret it, talk?" Rosita asks with a smirk.

"No, because you already know what I'll do," Carol says with a smile. "I came here to ask you something else. I came here to ask you to make a promise."

"Promise what?" Rosita asks.

"People are going to die, Rosita. I might be one of them, but Daryl, he won't. He doesn't die. If I don't make it, if Merle or Rick doesn't make it, he's going to need someone. I need you to promise me that you'll take care of him."

"I promise," Rosita says. Carol nods as they hear the gate open. "The Kingdom is here."

Ezekiel's P.O.V
Ezekiel looked at Negan as he walked towards him after Rick had explained the plan. "What do you want?" Ezekiel asks.

"I heard about Jerry. Sorry, he was a good guy, funny."

"Simon killed him in front of all of us. He threatened Henry and Benjamin."

"He'll die for what he did to Jerry. I promise you that," Negan says before he walks away from him.

Jessie's P.O.V
Jessie looks at Carol as she walks up to her. "You gonna hit me again?" Carol asks Jessie, who shakes her head. "I'm sorry for what I said to Sam."

"You shouldn't have said that to him," Jessie says. "But you were right in the fact that he would have died if he didn't learn to survive. He's learning how to shoot. Ron is too. He'll be fighting when the saviors come."

"Good," Carol says. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you're here, Carol," Carol nods as she walks away.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick walks up to Daryl. "You ready for this?" Rick asks Daryl, who nods.

"We beat Terminus. We beat the Governor. We'll beat this prick, too," Daryl says.

"We lost people every time. Hershel, Beth, Bob," Rick says.

"We'll lose people this time, too," Daryl says. "We can't change that. We just gotta make sure as many of us as possible make it."

Rick nods. "Rick! Daryl! Negan! Deanna! Let's talk!" They hear Simon say into a microphone. Daryl and Rick look at each as they run towards the gate as Noah climbs down. They look at everybody as they are in position, and the four of them climb up the ladder and look at Simon.

"Hey, Negan," Simon says with a grin.

"Simon, how's life been as me?" Negan asks.

"Pretty damn good," Simon says. "You're Rick. You're Daryl. You're Deanna. I'm Simon."

"We know who you are," Daryl says.

"Carol, I thought we had something good, you too, Ezekiel," Simon says.

"We want a better future," Carol says.

"You won't get one," Simon says. "I'm going to offer you all a very simple deal. You give me Negan and all the saviors back there. Including your brother. You give me Rick and Daryl and the half of your shit, and nobody dies but them," Simon says.

"No deal," Deanna says. Simon nods as he motions to Jared, who brings Spencer forwards and kicks his leg, knocking him to his knees.

"This is your son, right?" Simon asks.

"Yes," Deanna says.

"Give us what we want, or your son dies," Simon says as he withdraws his gun and aims it at Spencer's head.

"Please, you don't have to do this," Deanna pleads.

"Give me Negan!" Simon shouts as he pulls the gag off Spencer's mouth.

"Mom, please! Don't let them kill me!" Spencer pleads.

"My son doesn't deserve to die."

"Your son betrayed all of you," Simon says. "But he's unless to me now, so you're gonna give me Negan by the count of the three, or I'm gonna shoot him!" Simon shouts. "One! Daryl whistles, and Simon fires his gun.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, the war begins. Deanna grieves the loss of the rest of her family, and the group makes up a new plan to fight. Daryl comforts his new friend. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 21: Chapter 21-The war begins

Chapter Text

Chapter 21-The war begins
Rick's P.O.V
Deanna screamed as Spencer's body fell to the ground, and the group started to shoot at the saviors. Simon quickly grabs one of his soldiers and uses him as a shield as he gets behind a truck. They hear Simon over the gunfire. "That is one man dead already," Simon says into the blowhorn. "How many more have to die before you give me what I want! Two days, I would bring Negan to the Santuararcy if I were you," Simon says as he nods to Jared, who whistles, and the saviors start to throw smoke grenades on the ground. They hear the truck engines, and by the time the smoke clears. The saviors were gone.

"Dammit!" Negan growls.

"He was just showing us what he could do, that he knows about us, trying to scare us," Rick says as Deanna climbs down and pulls the gate open and runs over to Spencer's body, and flips him over.

"I'm sorry," Deanna says as she lays her head on his chest and cries.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl dug a hole in the graveyard and looked at Glenn and Abraham as they walked up toward him. "How many did we lose?" Daryl asks.

"Two," Glenn says. "One from Hilltop, his name was Andy, and another from here. Maya and Spencer, of course."

"We should be putting him by Pete," Abraham says.

"He's Deanna's son," Daryl says. "I don't like him either, but he is her son. Have you seen her?"

"No," Abraham says. "I would say she needs a friend right now. We'll dig the graves."

Daryl nods as he hands Abraham the shovel and walks away. Daryl walks through Alexandria until he reaches Deanna's house and walks inside. He stops in the hallway and looks at Deanna, who is sitting on the couch with a gun on her table. "It's not for what you think," Deanna says as she shows him the cylinder, which has no bullets in it.

"I'm sorry about Spencer," Daryl says.

"Two months ago, this house had four people living in it. Now only one does," Deanna says. She looks at him. "I'm not trying to put that blame on you or Rick or Negan. I just didn't think it would go this way."

"Yeah, you know, after all of this is over, the saviors that do live, they might want to move to different communities, have a fresh start. We're running out of places to put them. This house is too big for one person. Merle, Rosita, and I could come over and open up another place. Only if that's okay with you."

Deanna looks at him and smiles. "That's okay," Daryl nods as he goes towards the door. "Daryl," He looks at her. "Thank you," He nods before he leaves the house.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon sat in his chair with a grin on his face as Arat, Jared, Gary, Jed, and Justin stared at him. "What's the plan?" Gary asks.

"Nothing," Simon says.

"What the hell do you mean?" Jared asks.

"I gave them two days to bring me, Negan, and they will bring me Negan."

"How do you know?" Justin asks.

"You think I killed that stupid prick for no reason? No his mother, Deanna, she is weak, her son knew, and I knew it. She lost her son, her husband, and now her other son. She has nothing. She'll give me Negan so she can save the rest of her people, you'll see. Negan doesn't know which outposts are still in use. We've won."

They nod as they leave the room.

Carol's P.O.V
"Carol," Jesus says as he runs up to the woman.

"What is it?" Carol asks as Jesus holds a piece of paper out to her. Carol takes it. "What is this?" Carol asks.

"A list of outposts," Jesus says.

"Where was it?" Carol asks.

"Under of the bodies. My guess is that Arat left it there."

"Carol, it's time for the meeting," Abraham says.

"Come on," Carol says as they go towards Rick's house, where Rick, Ezekiel, Daryl, Negan, Gavin, T-dog, Laura, Carol, Jesus, Abraham, Glenn, and Deanna stand inside Rick's house. "Where are Rosita and Merle?"

"Moving our stuff into Deanna's house," Daryl says as Carol sets the paper down on the table, and Rick grabs it.

"What is this?" Rick asks as he hands it to Negan.

"It's Outpost locations. How the fuck did you get these?" Negan asks Carol.

"Arat," Carol says.

"Arat turned on Simon?" Gavin asks.

"She did let us go," Laura says. "She stayed with him to survive. She must still want you leading the saviors."

"This is great," Rick says. "Good job," Rick says to Carol, who nods. "Simon expects us to give Negan up because of what happened outside the gate to Spencer, they expect that to make us crack, but it won't. We're gonna end this war. Abraham, take Sasha, Tara, and Paula, go out towards the highways, and find a herd. We're going to box them in there while we deal with the outposts."

"Why don't we just take them all out at once? We have the firepower and the manpower."

"Because we don't need to," Daryl says. "Killing all of 'em doesn't help up. The only person that needs to die is Simon, we make sure he dies, and Negan takes control again. That's the whole plan,"

"I'll get the others," Abraham says as he walks away.

"Once Abraham finds a herd, we hit the Sanctuary, lead the herd there. Simon is so sure that we'll give Negan up that it gives us two days. We'll sort out groups, we'll attack the Sanctuary, and then we'll take out the Outposts, and then Simon will give up, cause he'll have no other choice, and if he doesn't, they'll give him up to survive," Rick says.

"Then let's get to work," Daryl says.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl poured gas on the pile of dead saviors. "Carl," Ron says as he walks up behind him. "Your Dad wants to see you."

Carl nods as he lights a match and throws it onto the pile of bodies, and follows Ron back into Alexandria. "Did you hit any?" Carl asks him.

"I don't know. We were all shooting. I could have," Ron says as they find Rick talking with Jessie.

"What is it, Dad?" Carl asks.

"I need you and Ron to stay here when we go after the saviors,"

"What?" They both ask.

"Dad, we need to be there," Carl says.

"No, you don't," Rick says.

"Rick, he's right."

"No, Ron, you both are staying," Jessie says.

"Are you going?" Ron asks.

"Yes," Jessie says. "We are taking most of our fighters with us. We need you two here to lead this place, just in case something happens."

"Please," Rick says.

Carl sighs but nods. "Okay, we'll stay."

"Thank you," Rick says as he pats their shoulders and leaves.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan stood outside of the gates staring at the burning pile of savior bodies. "You okay?" He turns around and looks at Michonne, who nods.

"I knew some of these men. They were a bunch of assholes," Negan says. "The saviors, their numbers have already been cut down, and now more are going to die. When this war is over, there will be no more saviors."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Michonne says, making him look at her. "The saviors, they have killed and spread fear. That is their legacy. Maybe when this is over, you should build a new group with a different legacy somewhere else."

"Maybe, I will," Negan says as he walks back into Alexandria.

Abraham's P.O.V
Abraham stopped his truck on a highway. "You see that?" Tara asks as she points at two cars with a string in between them.

"The saviors did that," Paula says. "That means there is a herd nearby."

"What are the strings for?" Sasha asks.

"To hold the bombs."

"Bombs?" Abraham asks Paula, who nods. "Come on," Abraham says as he climbs out of the truck and walks up to the two cars.

"Can you disarm these?" Tara asks Paula, who shakes her head.

"I can," Abraham says as he pulls the metal grate out after he disarms it. "Take these off slowly. Then we go. That horde should stick to the highway."

They nod as they start to work.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn walked towards the graveyard and looked at Merle as he put a cross in the ground. "What are you doing out here?" Glenn asks the older Dixon brother.

"Putting a cross on this asshole's grave. Deanna asked me to," Merle says. "I do have a heart, regardless of what you may think, Glenn."

"What kind of shit did you do for Negan?" Glenn asks.

"The shit I had to so I could survive," He answers. "Just like the rest of you. You have all done some pretty horrible shit."

"I've never killed anybody."

"You've gotten lucky," Merle says. "By the end of this, you will, if you wanna protect your wife and that baby."

"I'll protect them," Glenn says firmly.

"I hope so. I know you've changed, Glenn. But I hope it's more than this because this is disappointing," Merle says before he pushes past him and walks away.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked into the armory and looked at Dwight. "What are you doing?" Daryl asks.

"Getting more ammo for the gate," Dwight tells him.

"I got a question for you," Daryl says. "You were with Simon for a few days after he betrayed Negan. Do you know what Outpost he would put the most saviors in?" Daryl asks as he holds the list out to Dwight, who takes it and nods.

"This one," Dwight says. "The satiate building, closet to Hilltop, and it's where Simon used to live. He cares about it."

"Good," Daryl says.

"Why?" Dwight asks.

"Because I'm going hit that one," Daryl says as he leaves.

Deanna's P.O.V
That night Deanna stood on her porch and stared at the roads of Alexandria. "You doing okay, boss lady?" Negan asks as he walks down the street.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Deanna says as Negan walks up to the porch.

"I'm sorry," Negan says. "For Spencer."

"That's not your fault. That was Spencer's fault and only his," Deanna says. "You wanna make it for it? Beat him to death with that bat."

"You got it, boss lady," Negan says before he walks away.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, the group will attack the saviors, and the war will continue. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 22: Chapter 22-Attacking the Santuarcy

Chapter Text

Chapter 22-Attacking the Sanctuary
No one's P.O.V
Rick, Carol, and Ezekiel stood on top of a truck staring at their people. "Our worlds have grown a lot bigger in the last few days," Rick says as he looks around. "We've found each other. Some of us were enemies before now, some of us friends," He says as he looks at T-dog and Merle. "Some of us have been together since the start. We're together now. This bigger world is ours by right. We've all come together because of that simple truth. That it's ours by right. Any person who would live in peace and fairness, who would find common ground, it's their right, too," Rick says.

The bridge
Glenn, Daryl, Tara, and Paula stood on the bridge. "Down," Daryl says as they see the herd.

The truck
Rick looks around once again. "But those who would take and kill to carve out their world, we end them. We don't celebrate it. We don't enjoy it either. There's only one person who has to die," Rick says as he looks at Negan. "And he'll kill him," Rick says as he points at Negan, who nods. "Then we'll keep making the world bigger together."

The Sanctuary
Arat stared at the walkers by the fence, and then she saw movement. She turned around and walked inside as the two guards on the roof were shot.

The truck
Ezekiel steps forward. "Together, Bound Forever! To quote the Bard, "For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother," He says as he nods to Rick and lays his hand on Carol's shoulder. "And she, my sister."

Carol steps forward. "We've practiced. We've been through it over and over again. We all know the plan doesn't end this morning. That we may have to live in uncertainty for days, maybe more. That we have to keep our faith in each other. If we can hold on to that with everything we have, the future is ours. The world is ours."

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl, Glenn, Tara, and Paula ran to the other side of the bridge and looked at the trip wire they had set up. They see a walker, and Daryl shoots it in the head as they hear the cars. "Down," Daryl says as they bend down, and the saviors drive into the tripwires, killing them. "Okay, I'll get the herd there."

"We'll meet you at the satellite outpost," Glenn says, and Daryl nods as he goes towards his bike.

Negan's P.O.V
The cars stop in front of the Sanctuary. Rick looks at everybody and nods. They aim their guns at the windows and fire. They hear screams and stop after a couple of seconds. "What the hell was that?" Noah asks as the doors open, and Simon walks out, followed by Arat, Jared, Regina, Jed, Gary, and Justin.

"You just killed some good workers, Rick," Simon says. "I needed a way to make sure your bullets didn't hit my people, and chaining the workers to the windows seems to have done that."

"Simon, Arat, Jared, Regina, Jed, Gary, and Justin," Rick says as he points to each of them. "You all have a choice right now. You surrender, give up Simon, and you all get to live."

"That is a mighty generous offer, Rick. It sounds like my people have a choice, but what happens to me?" Simon asks.

"You know what happens to you," Negan says, making Simon look at him.

"I feel like my deal was pretty good too, Rick. You give me Negan and half of your shit, and we are good to go," Simon says. "But I'm going to offer an even better one. You give me, Negan, and all of those traitors, and I'll only take twenty-five percent of your shit."

"No deal," Rick says.

"Fine, plan B," Simon says as he nods to Jared, who pushes Gregory outside.

"Must have left when we came to Alexandria," Carol says to Jesus, who nods.

"What do you have to say to Rick, and the piss patrol, Gregory?" Simon asks.

"The Hilltop stands with Simon and the Saviors. Any resident of the Hilltop who takes up arms or who supports this ultimatum against the Sanctuary or any of the Saviors, for that matter. They will no longer be welcome in the colony."

"And?" Simon asks.

"Their families will be thrown out and will be left to fend for themselves."

"And?"

"Go home, or you won't have a home to go back to."

"Do what you have to do," Carol says.

"All I have at Hilltop is some books," Jesus says.

"You heard the man. Go home," Simon growls.

"The Hilltop stands--" Gregory starts.

"The Hilltop stands with Carol!" Jesus shouts.

Simon looks at Gregory. "I tried," Simon pulls out his gun and shoots Gregory in the head, and then pushes his body to the ground. "That is two of your people I have killed!" Simon shouts.

"Time to make up your minds," Rick says, and nobody says anything. "Are you gonna make me count? Alright, I'm counting. Ten...Nine...Eight," Rick fires at them, making them go inside as the rest of them start to fire. "Now!" Rick shouts, and Merle climbs into the R.V. and drives it into the fence. He jumps out and runs back to the group as the R.V. explodes and the fence is taken down.

"Time to move out, Rick!" Negan says to Rick, who nods as they hear the walkers. They climb into their cars and drive away as the walkers arrive at the Sanctuary and start to press themselves up against the building.

Rick's P.O.V
Everybody stood in the clearing once again. "You all know your assignments," Rick says. "Go to the outposts, take them out, find the guns," Rick says as they start to move. Rick looks at Daryl as he walks up to him.

"Glenn, Tara, and Paula are on their way there," Daryl says as he looks at Rosita. "We'll get rid of the Outpost."

"Carl ran into someone," Rick says. "Carl, Ron, and I. I shot my gun above his head, but Carl thinks I should have helped him."

"That's what we do, man," Daryl says. "See you after."

Rick nods as Daryl walks away.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl packs a bag and looks at Ron as he walks into the house. "What are you doing, Carl?" Ron asks.

"Going after the man we saw," Carl says as he puts the bag on. "You coming?"

Ron looks at him and smiles. "Of course," Ron says as they walk out of the house. They climb over the wall and start to walk through the woods. "Enid is going to be pissed when she sees that we are gone."

"She's busy with Maggie and Carson," Carl says.

"Hilltop could need, Carson."

"Carol thought it was better if he was here with Maggie," Carl says as they continue to walk.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl, Eugene, Rosita, Jesus, Abraham, Sasha, and Noah walk up behind Glenn, Tara, and Paula, who are standing with members from both the Kingdom and Hilltop. "Everything going well?" Glenn asks Daryl, who nods.

"Sasha, you'll take the two guards out on my signal, give me a minute," Daryl says as he motions for Glenn to follow him. Daryl leads Glenn away from the others. "Are you sure you're ready for this? You've never had to kill anybody, Glenn."

"They have to die, Daryl. If they don't, Maggie and our child will never be safe," Glenn says. "Trust me."

"I do," Daryl says as they walk up the fence. Daryl nods to Sasha, who raises her gun and shoots the two guards through the head.

"Alright, let's get in there and kill these assholes," Abraham says as they cut the fence.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon, Arat, Jared, Regina, Jed, Gary, and Justin sat around a table. "What the hell do we do?" Arat asks.

"We still have people out there who will get us out," Simon says. "They don't know what outposts are being used."

"You saw him out there, right?" Arat asks. "Dwight was there. That means Spencer wasn't lying. That means they know where our outposts are because he knew."

"What do you suggest we do, Arat?" Simon growls. "You seem to have all of the answers! How do we get out of this!?"

"I don't know," Arat answers.

"Then keep your mouth shut," Simon says with a smile. "Now, how much ammo do we have?"

"Enough, but we don't have enough to beat them if we use it to kill this herd," Jared says.

"What are our other options?" Gary asks.

"We could distract them," Simon says, making them all look at him. "We could lock all of the workers up at the back of the building and let the herd in."

"We'd lose the Sanctuary," Arat says.

"We might be alive."

"We need somewhere to stay," Justin says. "If we don't have that, their hunter, Daryl, could just track us and kill us."

"DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS?!" Simon shouts in anger, and none of them say anything. "Get the fuck out," They quickly leave.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan sat beside Rick in the car as they drove towards the outpost. "Once we hear the gunshots, we go in," Rick says.

"I know the plan, Rick," Negan says. "We go in, kill the rest of the assholes in there and find the guns."

"Hopefully, Aaron can keep them distracted long enough for us. Once we find the guns, we go out and kill the rest of them, and then we move on back to Alexandria and wait for them to surrender."

"You think they will?" Negan asks.

"They don't have a choice," Rick says. "They either surrender or die."

"Simon would rather die," Negan says as they see the outpost.

Daryl's P.O.V
The group moved into the outpost slowly until they reached the doors where the saviors slept. They slowly split up into groups of three. Daryl stood with Neil and Greg. Daryl looks at the other people and nods. They kick the doors open and fire as some of the saviors fire back.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, the war will continue. Daryl will continue to try and clear the outposts, and Negan and Rick will work together to find the guns. Simon tries to find a way out of the Sanctuary. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 23: Chapter 23-Clearing outposts

Chapter Text

Chapter 23-Clearing outposts
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl lies on the ground staring at Neill as the saviors run past him. He got up and looked around as he grabbed his gun. He shoots Neil and Greg in the head. He walked through the outposts shooting saviors as they ran out of their rooms. He walked into a door and threw it open. The sun shined into the room, and Daryl walked out and covered his eyes as he looked at the saviors that were being held at gunpoint. "Daryl," Rosita says, making him look at his girlfriend. "You okay?"

Daryl nods. "Yeah, I killed a few of them. They got Greg and Andy," Daryl says as she hugs him. "What are we doing with them?"

"We're letting them live," Glenn says.

"We shouldn't," Paula says.

"If we kill all of them, then we're not better than them, and if they're all dead, there is no future after," Glenn says.

Daryl stares at him. "Where would we put them?"

"Alexandria, Morgan made a cell, and we can make some more to keep them locked up," Glenn says.

"Daryl, this is a bad idea, I'm telling you," Paula says.

"Noah, Eugene, Tara, watch 'em," Daryl tells the three, who nods as the rest walk away. "What do you guys think?" Daryl asks Sasha, Abraham, Jesus, and Rosita.

"It would be safer to kill them," Abraham says. "But if we showed them our ways, we might be able to get them to join us. That will give us more men and a better understanding of Simon's mind. He lived here for a while."

"I agree with him," Sasha says. "We save people. That's who we are."

Daryl looks at Rosita. "It doesn't matter to me either way. If we keep them alive, we can do what Abraham said. If not, they're dead, but Glenn does have a point."

Daryl looks at Jesus. "I agree with Glenn."

"I'll radio, Deanna. Tell her to have whoever is there make a cage for them," Daryl says as he walks away.

Aaron's P.O.V
The cars drove toward the outpost and quickly formed a barrier stopping the saviors from leaving. They quickly climbed out of the cars and shot at the saviors, killing a few of them as the others hid behind cover and fired at them.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick and Negan entered the building with their guns raised. They search the first floor. "There is nothing here," Rick says.

"They must be upstairs," Negan says. Rick nods as they start to go up the stairs. They split up and started to search the rooms. Rick enters a room and looks around. He walks towards another door and is tackled into a wall by a man. Rick's gun slides to the ground as he knees the man to the stomach and throws the other man into the wall. He pushes himself off the wall and charges into Rick, who grabs his shoulder. The man punches Rick in the face, and Rick headbutts him and withdraws his knife before he shoves his knife into the man's stomach. The man lets out a gasp of pain as Rick withdraws the knife.

"Gracie," The man gasps as he reaches for the door, and Rick stabs him through the heart. The man lets out another gasp as he stops breathing, and Rick drops him to the ground and looks at the door. He grabs his gun off the ground and walks towards the door, and pushes it open. He looks at the baby sleeping in the crib and frowns.

"Dammit," Rick growls. "I'll be back for you, sweetheart," Rick says as he shuts the door and walks out. He walked through the building until he reached another room. He walked into the room and saw a picture. He looked at it as he heard a gun cock behind him. He turned around and looked at the man.

"Hi, Rick," Morales says.

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna watched as a cage for the saviors was being built. "Deanna," Deanna looks at Enid as she walks up to her. "Do you agree with this?" Enid asks.

"It doesn't matter to me, either way," Deanna says. "If they cause a problem, we'll kill them," She says as she looks at the girl. "But that isn't why you came to find me."

"Carl and Ron are gone," Enid says.

"You can't find them anywhere?" Deanna asks, and End shakes her head.

"I went to Ron's house, no one was there, and I went to Carl's, and no one was there. Brenda is watching both Sam and Judith."

"Their parents are gone. Jessie is with Aaron, and Rick is with him as well. We don't know where Carl and Ron are. We just have to hope that they are okay. We need as many people as possible in Alexandria," Deanna says. "We have to trust them. We have a job here. Once Daryl gets back, I'll tell him about Carl and Ron, and we'll figure something out," Deanna tells the girl, who nods.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl and Ron walk down the road toward the gas station. "We are idiots," Ron says to Carl, who chuckles. "We are in the middle of the war, and we are trying to save a stranger."

"We have to," Carl says. "This is who we are. It's who my mother wanted me to be. She told me to do the hard thing and never do the easy thing. This is the hard thing, we could have stayed in Alexandria, and we could have been safe, but this is how we move forward when the saviors are dead," Carl says. "This is how we build the world after, by saving people."

"As long as it doesn't get us killed," Ron says.

"It probably will one day," Carl says as they continue to walk.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick stares at Morales as he holds the gun to him. "I know you," Rick says.

"It has been a long time, Officer Friendly," Morales says.

"Are you, Simon?" Rick asks.

"Yeah, I'm Simon."

Rick sighs as he looks at him. "You don't have to be. You can come back with me, Carl, Glenn, Merle, T-dog, Daryl, and Carol. They are alive. They're with me."

"Simon will give me quite the reward if I give you to him," Morales says.

"Did you ever make it to Birmingham?" Rick asks, changing the subject.

"No, I watched my family get torn apart before. Negan found me. He saved me."

"Then why fight against him? I've lost people, Shane, Lori, Andrea, Jim, Jacqui, Dale, and Sophia. They were my family too. But I have a lot of family left. They can be your family too. Negan saved you. Fight for him."

"How do I even know that Negan is alive? It could all be a lie, a way to get saviors to turn against Simon."

"I am very much alive," Morales turns around and looks at Negan as he stares at him. "I could have just killed you. I just saved your life again, so why don't you lower that gun and pick the winning side 'cause you could shoot me, but Rick would kill you in seconds," Morales stares at him for a second and then lowers his gun. "Good choice. Where the hell are the guns?"

"They were moved to another outpost," Morales says.

"Which one?"

Jessie's P.O.V
Jessie shot saviors through the heart and looked at Aaron as he helped Eric. She watched as a walker bit a woman in the throat. Aaron carried Eric away as the others started to finish off the rest of the saviors.

Daryl's P.O.V
The gates to Alexandria open, and Daryl leads the others into the community and looks at Deanna as she walks up to them. "We have a cage set up for them," She tells him. "The others can take them there. We need to talk," Daryl nods as Deanna leads him away.

"What's wrong?" Daryl asks.

"Carl and Ron are gone," Deanna tells him.

"Dammit," Daryl says. "Rick said that they ran into someone at a gas station about an hour or so from here. They must have gone after him. I'll find him. I'll take Rosita. The others can help clear the outposts," Daryl tells Deanna, who nods as he walks away from her. He walks up to Rosita. "We gotta go."

"We have to go help clear the outposts," Rosita says.

"Carl and Ron went after a stranger. We gotta find 'em," Daryl says. "Abraham, you're in charge of clearing the outposts. Glenn, you stay here. This was your idea. You make sure they behave," Daryl tells his friends, who nod as Daryl and Rosita leave.

Jessie's P.O.V
Jessie looks at Rick, Negan, and Morales as he walks up toward them. "Good job," Rick says. "Where is Aaron?"

"Eric, he was shot. He went to get him," Jessie says. "Who's your friend?"

"I knew him in the beginning. He's going to be helping us," Rick says. "They moved the guns to the outpost that Carol, Ezekiel, and T-dog are attacking," Rick says as they see Aaron. "Eric?" Aaron shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Aaron."

"Thank you," Aaron says.

"We have a baby. I don't know what to do with it?"

"I'll take her," Aaron says. "I'll take her back to Alexandria with Jessie. I'll take care of her."

"Okay," Rick says as he leads Aaron toward the car.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog walks with Carol and Ezekiel. "They should have sent saviors with us," Ezekiel says.

"They know the other outposts and your people have a bone to pick with them after Jerry," T-dog says. "Alden, Laura, D.J, and Merle are at Hilltop. Paula is with Tara, Tina, Sherry, and Dwight are helping to guard Alexandria. Negan is helping Rick,"

"My people would not attack them as they fight with us," Ezekiel says as they arrive at the field and look at the outpost. Carol breaks away from them to head inside. "We are winning this war,"

"Half of the saviors are dead. Of course, we are winning. I'll check the other side," T-dog says as he walks away. He walks away from the group as he hears Ezekiel shout.

"Down!" Ezekeil shouts as gunshots go off.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, we will see what happens to the members of the Kingdom. It will not be that much different than what happened. Daryl and Rosita track Carl and Ron. Ron and Carl find the stranger, and Simon tries to figure out a way to get out of the Sanctuary. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 24: Chapter 24-Great loss

Chapter Text

Chapter 24-Great loss
Ezekiel's P.O.V
Ezekiel pushed the bodies off of him and let out a gasp of air as he pulled himself away from the bodies. He grabbed his cane off the ground and pulled himself up. He looks at the bodies of his people and lets out a scream. He looks around and sees his people starting to rise once again as walkers. He slowly walks away, but he trips on an arm and falls to the ground. Daniel's walker comes towards him but is shot in the back of the head. "My king," Alvaro says as he helps him up. "We have to get out of here," Alvaro says.

"You need to leave me," Ezekiel says. "I will only slow you down."

"I will not leave you, my king," Alvaro says as they hear a grunt behind them. They turn around and look at a savior who had his gun raised, but a sword was through his chest. The sword was pulled out, and the body fell to the ground. "T-dog," Alvaro says as the man walks up to them and grabs Ezekiel's other side.

"How are you doing, Zeke?" T-dog asks.

"Not great," Ezekiel says as they get to the gate and hear gunshots.

"It's locked," Alvaro says.

"I can see that," T-dog says. "Keep the walkers off me," He says as he pulls the shotgun off his back and shoots the padlock. The padlock crumbles to the ground. T-dog pulls the chains out and throws the gate open. He grabs the chain as Alvaro helps Ezekiel through the gate. T-dog shuts it again and puts the chains through it. "That won't hold them long," T-dog says to the two men, who nod as T-dog helps Ezekiel as they move towards the gunshots and sees Carol shooting at Carol. T-dog withdraws his gun and shoots two of the saviors in the chest, making them look at him. Carol rises and hits two more as T-dog shoots the tire of the truck as it roars out of the lot. They watch it as it drives away and then spins out of control, flipping onto its side.

"We need that truck. It has the guns," Carol says. T-dog nods as he grabs two rifles off the ground and hands them to Alvaro and Ezekiel.

"Keep us covered," T-dog says. "Keep him alive," He tells Alvaro, who nods as Carol and T-dog go out of the gates.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog shoots two walkers through the head with his handgun as they hear another truck. They look at the truck as it stops, and Rick, Negan, and Morales climb out of the truck and start to kill the walkers. Negan runs up to T-dog.

"Come on, we'll get the guns," Negan tells him. T-dog nods as he follows the former leader, both of them killing the walkers as they get to the truck. T-dog shoots the driver through the head as he starts to climb through the window and helps Negan grabs the gun and move it away from the truck. They grab the ammo and a bag and set them down by the box as Rick and Morales kill the last walker. They walk up to them.

"Morales," T-dog says. "You were with them."

"I was just like Merle," Morales says.

"You're on the right side now," T-dog says as Carol and Alvaro help Ezekiel over to them.

"I'm sorry, Ezekiel," Rick says as he looks at his dead men.

"They died for a worthy cause," Ezekiel says. "We got what we came for," Ezekiel says as he sees Shiva coming towards them, and he smiles.

"If you want, you and your people can come to Alexandria until this is over," Rick offers. "We can help protect them."

"We will take you up on that offer, Rick Grimes," Ezekiel says.

"We'll take one of the trucks in there back to the Kingdom," T-dog tells Rick, who nods as he helps Ezekiel walk away.

"I'll head back to Hilltop and update them. We're winning this. We took down the outposts," Carol says.

"We'll head to Alexandria," Rick says as Carol pats Morales on the shoulder and walks towards a car and the other three grab the bag, the ammo, and the gun and take them toward the truck.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl and Rosita walk down the road. "You sure they went this way?" Rosita asks him.

"Their tracks came onto the road. I know the gas station that Rick was talking about. It ain't far from here," Daryl says.

"You worried about him?" Rosita asks.

"Of course I am," Daryl says. "I've known that kid longer than anybody else in this group besides Merle. I met Carl and T-dog on the same day."

"Where was Rick?" Rosita asks.

"In the hospital," Daryl answers as they see the gas station. They walk up to it slowly and towards the woods behind it. "Yeah, they went in here."

Carl's P.O.V
Carl and Ron watch the stranger as he kills a walker. "Hey," Carl says, making the man look at them. "Woah, we're not here to hurt you. You remember us from the gas station?" He nods. "I'm Carl, this is Ron," He says as he throws the man and bag with a bottle of water and a granola bar in it. The man opens the bag and starts to drink the walker. "We have a community not far from here. Would you like to come back with us?"

"Yes," He says. "I'm Siddiq."

"How many walkers have you killed?"

"237, give or take one or two," Siddiq says.

"How many people have you killed?" Carl asks.

"One."

"Why?"

"I had to."

"Come on," Carl says as they start to walk through the woods. They stop when they see a small group of walkers eating a deer.

"My Mom believed killing them released their soul," Siddiq says. Carl looked at him.

"My Mom told me to do the hard things, not the easy things. That's why I saved you. My Dad thought it was a bad idea, but I wanted to honor my Mom. So let's honor yours," Carl says as he pulls his knife out. He looks at Ron, who nods as he pulls his knife out, and they walk up to the walkers. Carl stabs one in the head as they hear more coming toward them. Ron stabs another one as one grabs Siddiq, and another grabs Carl. Carl holds onto the walker as it pushes him back. He trips over the deer and holds the walker as another comes up to him. He knocks that one off him and holds the other one as the one beside him moves toward his side. An arrow goes through the side of the walker's head beside him as the one Siddiq is holding gets shot. Ron kills his walker and runs up to Carl, killing the walkers he is holding as Rosita shoots the last one, and Daryl and Rosita run up to them.

"Carl," Daryl says as he runs up to the young man and helps him up. "You okay? You bit?"

"No, I'm fine," Carl says as Daryl moves his jacket aside and lifts his shirt up to check for bites. He sighs when he finds none.

"You're a fucking idiot," Daryl says as he pulls his arrow out of the walker's head. "He could have got you."

"I'm okay," Carl says. "He didn't. How'd you know we were out here?"

"Deanna sent us out after we got back, Enid told her," Daryl says. "What the hell were you thinking? Both of you?"

"We had to try. This is Siddiq," Carl says as he points at the man. Daryl looks at him.

"I'm Daryl. This is Rosita," He says as he points at his girlfriend. "You ask him the questions?" He asks the boy, who nods. "What'd you do before this?"

"I was a doctor," Siddiq says.

"Well, maybe you're not as stupid as I thought," Daryl says to Carl, who chuckles. "Come on, let's get back," He says as they start to walk through the woods.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon, Gary, Arat, Regina, Jed, Justin, and Jared sat in the meeting room once again. "People are getting desperate, boss," Gary says.

"We have to kill the walkers out there," Jed says.

"We'll lose all of our ammo," Arat says.

"We can get more," Jared says.

"From where?" Simon growls. "Rick and his piss patrol have it all."

"What about the women from Hallowbrant, they had guns and ammo, and they just disappeared. We could go there, after, wait for one of them to visit their families grave and then find out where they are," Jared offers, and Simon smiles.

"That is a plan," Simon says with a grin. "Jared, I am naming you my right-hand man," Jared smiles. "We still have those grenades?"

"Yes," Gary answers.

"Good," Simon says. "Blow the doors up. Let the walkers in, and after, we'll kill the workers, tie them up inside and leave a message for Rick and piss patrol. They'll enjoy the last few days they have, and then we'll kill them when we get that ammo."

"You got it, boss. Let's get to work!" Jared says with a grin as they leave the room.

Ezekiel's P.O.V
The truck pulls into the Kingdom and stops. Ezekiel climbs out as his people start to gather around. "Our families, our friends, they died on the battlefield, but I will tell you, their deaths were not in vain. The guns that the saviors would have used to free Simon. We have them now. They are in Alexandria. If I could, I would throw myself into the ground to bring our people back, but I can not. Today was a great victory and a great loss. We will mourn our dead, but we are not safe here anymore. We don't have the fighters right now. Rick Grimes of Alexandria has offered us a home there for the time being, and I have accepted, so please, pack your bags. We will leave in one hour," Ezekiel says more he walks away with his cane, and Shiva follows, and T-dog watches after him as the members of the Kingdom stare at their king.

"You heard, man, let's get to work," T-dog says, and they nod as they start to head to their homes.

Thanks for reading. Of course, I wasn't going to kill Carl. Also, for anybody wondering about the truck with the music from the shows. Because the saviors have fewer people in my mind, nobody was there to set it up, and all of them were guarding the outposts and Sanctuary. Next chapter, Rick arrives back in Alexandria, as do Carl, Daryl, Ron, Siddiq, and Rosita. Simon puts his plan into action. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 25: Chapter 25-Breaking out

Chapter Text

Chapter 25-Breaking out
Rick's P.O.V
Rick drove the truck into Alexandria and stopped it as Glenn, Maggie, and Deanna walked up to him as he climbed out of the truck. "We need to make room. The people of the Kingdom will be joining us."

"What happened?" Deanna asks.

"They were ambushed. Most of them were killed."

"T-dog?" Glenn asks as Negan climbs out of the truck.

"No, Ezekiel, Alvaro, and T-dog are okay," Rick says as Morales climbs out of the truck. "We found another friend, though."

"Morales," Glenn says with a smile.

"Hi, Glenn," Morales says. The man hugs him.

"You're family?" Morales shakes his head. "I'm sorry," Glenn says.

"They would want me fighting with you guys," Morales says as Rick looks around and looks at Jessie as she walks to them.

"Where are Carl and Ron? And Daryl and Rosita?" Rick asks.

"The man you shot at, the man at the gas station, they went out to help him. When Daryl and Rosita got back, I sent them out to find them," Deanna tells Rick.

"I'm going out there," Rick says.

"You might be looking for hours. Daryl and Rosita could be back with them right now. Daryl is the best tracker we have. He'll find them. Give him an hour. If they aren't back, we'll go looking."

"An hour," Rick says before he walks away.

Carol's P.O.V
Carol stopped the car inside the Hilltop and climbed out. She looked at Gavin, Alden, and Merle as they walked up to her. "How'd it go?"

"We lost some people. Most of the Kingdom's fighters. Ezekiel is taking the rest of his people to Alexandria. The outposts are gone. Now we are just waiting for them to surrender."

"Anybody we give a shit about die?" Merle asks.

"You should care about all of them," Carol says. "But T-dog is fine."

"You know that isn't what I meant," Merle says.

"Daryl's fine, so are Deanna and Rosita," Carol says as she walks towards Barrington house. "Gavin, a word."

Gavin nods as he follows her into her office. She shuts the door. "Deanna radioed me on my way back. They took the satellite station saviors prisoner. Most of them, at least. Do you know anybody else who lived here that's with us?" She asks.

"Alden did, and I lived there for a short time before Negan moved me to the next outpost. To get supplies from the Kingdom."

"Send Alden to Alexandria with Merle. You and I will stay here and hold down Hilltop."

"Alright," Gavin says.

Daryl's P.O.V
The gates to Alexandria open, and Daryl, Carl, Ron, Siddiq, and Rosita walk into the community as Rick and Jessie run up and hug their children. "You okay?" Rick asks.

"I'm fine," Carl says.

"I'm okay, Mom," Ron tells his Mom.

"Carl, what the hell were you thinking? What the hell were you guys thinking?"

"We help people, Dad. That's who we are. It's who Mom wanted us to be. I'm honoring her. That's why I did it."

"Go clean up, both of you," Rick orders the two boys, who nod as they walk away. Rick looks at Glenn as he walks up to them. "Can you get him settled?" Rick asks as he looks at Siddiq, Glenn nods as he walks away with the man, and Rick looks at Daryl. "I owe you."

"Rick, he's a good kid, hell I think he's the future, but he's gotta be careful. A walker almost got him, man. I got it before he did. I would rather die than have that kid die. I'm not telling you to stop him from saving people. He's right. That is what we do. Just make sure he knows that we'll help him do that," Daryl says before he walks away but stops. "And maybe next time, don't shoot at a stranger. The guy is a doctor; strangers will help us. They'll become family if we let 'em. We were all strangers at the start of this, and we're family now," And then he walks away.

Alden's P.O.V
The truck came into Alexandria, and Alden climbed out and looked at Glenn, Deanna, Sasha, and Abraham as they walked up to them. "What's the plan?" Sasha asks.

"I'm going to try and convince them to join us," Alden says. "That's the plan, the whole plan."

"They're loyal to Simon," Abraham says.

"They want to live," Alden says as he walks up to the cage, and the saviors look at him.

"The other traitor," One of them says.

"You're the traitors," Alden says. "But you don't have to be. You can fight for the living side, the winning side. Negan is here, and he is going to kill Simon. The Sanctuary is going to surrender because those men want to live. They're surrounded. If they fight their way out, they'll die anyways. They'll have no ammo. We've won this fight. It ended the second we came to Alexandria. So you can fight with us, be apart of the world we are building, or you can stay here. Maybe you'll die after, or maybe you'll be watched and carry a knife. You have the night to think about it," Alden says.

"What if we don't need to think about it?" One of them asks.

"Then you'll be let out," Deanna answers.

"But I want to make something very clear if this is some bullshit plot to kill one of us in our sleep. I will tie you up and feed you to that herd outside of the Sanctuary."

"Understood," A woman says.

"Alright," Glenn says. "Three of you will let out at a time, the ones who will fight. You'll be kept in a building, locked up during the night until we can trust you. During the day, you'll be let out, but you will be watched. We'll ask you questions, and you'll answer them honestly."

"Understood, boss."

Simon's P.O.V
Simon stood on top of the catwalk and looked at Gary as he walked over to him. "We need to let a few people go. We won't have the supplies."

"Drop Negan's wives," Simon says. "Besides Amber, she's fun."

"Leave the rest?" Gary asks.

"No, let Frankie and Tanya go. I want them to deliver a message for me," Simon says with a grin.

"You got it, boss."

"I'll need fat Joey," Simon tells Gary, who nods as he walks away. A couple of minutes later, all the workers were gathered at the bottom. "I know shit has been tense, but we have a way to get out of here, and all of you are the key," Simon says.

"How?"

"You'll distract them," Simon says and whistles. Gunshots start to go off, and workers fall to the ground letting out screams as Jared and Gary throw two grenades at the door, blowing them open and bringing part of the wall down. The walkers begin to enter the Sanctuary and start to feast on the screaming workers as the saviors shoot at them. The sounds of gunshots and explosions surround the Sanctuary for over fifteen minutes before it stops, and all the walkers and workers lie dead. "How much ammo do we have left," Simon asks Jared.

"A couple of clips," He answers.

"Alright, grab what we have, the girls and fat Joey, and meet me outside. Make sure their lookouts are dead," After the lookouts were shot and killed by saviors who went out the back. Simon walked out, and a couple of minutes later, the remaining saviors came out. Simon nods to Gary, who grabs Amber.

"Let her go!" Frankie shouts.

"No, she has a mission, she'll take care of me, but the three of you also have a mission," Simon says as he looks at Frankie, Tanya, and fat Joey. "Joey, yours is very important."

"Anything, boss," Joey says.

"You're a good loyal man," Simon says as he withdraws his gun and shoots Joey in the heart. Frankie and Tanya jump back as Joey falls to the ground. Dead before he hit the ground. Simon withdraws his knife and starts to carve into his throat until he pulls his head off. "He still probably weighs more than us, even without his body," Simon says. He holds it out to Frankie. "Take it, or you'll join him."

Frankie quickly grabs the head. "What do you want with us."

"One don't kill his walker. I want Negan to see that they were close. Now," Simon says as he holds a map out to her. "That will lead you to Alexandria. Here is what you two are going to do, you're going to go to Alexandria, and you're going to tell Rick and the piss patrol about what happened here, you're gonna give Negan that head, and then you're gonna tell Rick, Daryl, and Deanna that when I come to Alexandria again, I want all of the traitors on their knees in the middle of those streets and I'm going to kill every single one of them. Then Rick is going to pick two of those women to be my new wives and one of his friends to die. Tell him if he lets me put a bullet through Daryl's head. I'll only take twenty-five percent of his shit the first time if he does and tell him Carol better be there with them, so I can take her hand. You got all of that?" Frankie quickly nods, and Simon smiles as he hands her the keys. "Have fun. You better be convincing, 'cause if you don't and they fight, you'll die with them. Now go. NOW!" Simon shouts at the two women, who quickly run for the car. "Alright, gents, let's go find those dumb bitches," Simon says as they walk towards their cars.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick was sitting on his porch eating when he saw Glenn running up to them. "There is a car," He tells Rick, who sets his plate down and follows Glenn to the gate where Daryl, Deanna, Negan, and all of the rest were waiting.

"Open the gate," Rick says. He opens the gate, and Frankie and Tanya walk toward them. A bag in their hands. "What's in the bag?"

Frankie reaches into the back and pulls out Joey's head.

"Joey," Negan says as Frankie drops the head. Daryl shoots the walker's head.

"Simon's out, and he has a message," Frankie says.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, the group hears the message and prepares to figure out how to kill Simon and end the war. Simon continues with his plan, and the group decides where to make their stand. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 26: Chapter 26-Family

Chapter Text

Chapter 26-Family
Rick's P.O.V
The group stared at Frankie and Tanya. "What's the message."

"When he comes back. He wants all the traitors on their knees in the middle of the streets. Simon is going to kill them all in front of us. He said that Rick is going to pick two women to be his wives. You have to pick one of your people to die," Frankie stops for a moment. "He said that if you let him put a bullet through Daryl's head, he'll only take twenty-five percent. He said that Carol better be here, so he can take her hand. That's all of it," Frankie says.

"How the fuck did they get out?" Negan growls.

"They used all of their ammo, shot all the workers, and blew the doors open. While the walkers were busy eating the workers. They killed them, and then they took out your lookouts."

"Are they still there?" Rick asks.

"No, they left. I don't know where, and I don't know what they are planning."

"Alright," Rick says. "Glenn, take T-dog and Morgan. Go to Hilltop, tell Carol was has happened, and have her bring her people here. We're going to make our stand here. Negan, Daryl, Rosita, Abraham, Sasha, Heath, and Tobin. Head to the Sanctuary and check it out, be careful and get the bodies of our people. Be careful."

They nod as they split up.

Simon's P.O.V
The trucks went through the woods slowly until they saw Hallowbrant, the former home of the women of Oceanside. Simon climbs out of the truck and smiles. "Make sure these are hidden. Make sure they are hidden well. We don't want anybody to find them," Simon tells his men, who nodded.

"Jared, let's make sure this place is cleared," Simon says. Jared nods as he follows Simon into the building.

"So I have a question," Jared says.

"What is that?" Simon asks.

"When we find this gang of bitches, what are we going to do with them?" Jared asks.

"Take their weapons, kill one or two of them," Simon answers.

"The rest?" Jared asks.

"Do what you want with them, have them make your food, clean your clothes, fuck them. I don't really care. I just want their guns," Simon says.

"So you're not keeping Negan's rules."

"Am I Negan?" Simon asks as he turns around and looks at Jared. "AM I NEGAN?"

"No sir," Jared answers.

"Then don't ask stupid questions, or you'll see Negan in hell when I send him there," Simon says before he continues moving forwards.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stops his bike a couple of minutes away from the Sanctuary and turns it off. The others climb out of their cars as Daryl and Rosita climb off their bike and grab their guns. "We go quietly, watch the windows and the buildings. We don't know if there are any of them left," Daryl tells them. They nod as they slowly walk towards the Sanctuary, but they stop when they see a body.

"That's one of ours," Heath says.

"Yeah, it is," Daryl says. "We'll get him on the way back. Get the others, too," Daryl says as they move toward the Sanctuary. They get to the door and see the workers as they walk toward them. "Stay together!" Daryl shouts as they start to shoot at the walkers. The walkers fall within minutes, and Daryl reloads his gun.

"We've seen what we need to, boss. Let's go," Negan says.

"We get our lookouts first," Daryl says as he walks away.

Alden's P.O.V
Alden knocked on the door to the bathroom. "What?" Frankie asks from inside.

"I got you some fresh clothes," Alden tells her. The door cracks open, and Alden hands her the clothes and walks away. He sat in the kitchen, writing a list of the saviors that were being let out. He looks up at Frankie as she walks into the kitchen.

"Thanks for the clothes," Frankie says. "What are you doing?"

"Writing down a list of saviors that have agreed to fight with us, we took them from the Satilate Station," Alden answers.

"You trust them?"

"No, but we need fighters. Kingdom lost theirs. We need fighters, and these people know that Negan is better than Simon."

"He is," Frankie says. "I thought life under Negan was bad. I didn't think it could get worse, but it did."

"I trust, Negan," Alden says after a moment. "I know who he was, but these people trust, Negan."

"You believe these people are good?" Frankie asks.

"I think these people, Hilltop, Alexandria, and the Kingdom. I think these people and those places are the start."

"The start of what?" Frankie says.

"The next world," Alden answers. "A world where people like Simon are dead, people can have families, birthday parties, weddings, a life."

"It's a nice dream."

"These people will make it a reality. I believe in that."

Gabriel's P.O.V
Gabriel sat inside the church and looked at the door as it opened, and Negan walked in. "Well?"

"Frankie and Tanya were telling the truth. Simon is gone," Negan says. "I figured I could be alone here. Forgot you were a priest before this."

"I'm still a priest," Gabriel says as Negan sits down. "Tell me what is bothering you. No one will know."

"When I first took the Sanctuary, Simon was there. I named him my right-hand man right after I killed the asshole that was leading it, the man who killed Laura's father," Negan says. "I knew what he was, who he was, but I enjoyed the power, and I didn't care. I should have killed him that day if I had. A lot of people would still be alive."

"Maybe, but because you kept Simon alive, it led you here. It changed you, made you a better man than you were. We all have our paths, Negan. Yours has been rough, and it will continue to be that way until Simon is dead, but after that. Our lives will become better."

"I hope you're right, Gabby, boy," Negan says. "Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime," Gabriel says as Negan leaves the church.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn drives into the Hilltop and stops the truck. "What are you doing here?" Carol asks as Glenn gets out of the truck.

"Simon got out," T-dog says. "He killed all the workers, they abandoned the Sanctuary, and Rick wants everybody to go to Alexandria. He wants to make our final stand there."

"We'll all be in one place for Simon."

"He could send men to each place and attack us all. This is how we make sure it doesn't happen," Morgan says.

"Alright," Carol says. "We'll get ready."

Ezekiel's P.O.V
Ezekiel stood with Rick. "This was not how this was supposed to happen," Ezekiel says.

"I know that," Rick says. "Simon has a backup plan. We've cleared their outposts and warehouses. They don't have any supplies. They might be going after something. They could be back tomorrow, a week, or a year."

"No, Simon won't leave the state. He's too hot-headed. He has something nearby. He wants us to worry, to be paranoid. He'd be here as soon as he can. We need to prepare."

"We'll be prepared."

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl sat on the edge of his bed. He ran his hands through his hair. "You okay?" Rosita asks.

"Just tired," He tells her as she walks over to him and sits down beside him.

"This is going to end soon," Rosita says. "We'll win."

"What happens after? After the saviors are dead?" Daryl says.

"We continue to build," Rosita says. "Help people, build families, maybe start our own," Daryl's head shoots up, and he stares at her. "You're looking at me like I grew a third head. Is the idea of having a family of your own that crazy to you?"

"I just haven't thought about it since the world ended," Daryl says. "Before it ended, I thought about getting away from Merle, his shadow, and doing my own thing, having a family, a couple of kids. When the world ended, we knew it wasn't coming back. I let it go, that idea of being with anybody until you."

"I'm glad I could get through your hard head," Rosita says with a smile. "I never let those ideas go, I thought Abraham was the one, but I was wrong. I wanna have a family with you, Daryl. But I won't force you to do anything."

"I wanna do it," Daryl says as he takes her hand. "But we gotta end this first."

"We will," She says before she kisses him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Simon's P.O.V
That night the saviors sat inside Hallowbrant eating. "This could take days," Gary says.

"Then we'll wait days unless you wanna attack now, have Rick and the piss patrol gun us. If you want to do that, be my quest. They'll burn your body with the walkers."

"We could leave, set up somewhere else," Arat says.

"No, Negan has to die," Simon growls. "They will not push us away, we will not give up, they need to die, and they will, and they will die slowly and painfully. That is the only way this goes down."

Simon looks at the door as it opens, and Jed comes in. "One of them is out there."

"See, luck is on our side, surround her," Simon says. They nod as they move out. Simon watched from a window as the woman bent down and placed a flower by a grave. She turned around when she was surrounded. Simon smiles as he walks outside and looks at the woman. "Hey."

"Simon," She growls.

"It's good to see you, Kathy, right?" Simon asks. "Shit has gone down since I killed your men. Saviors are dead. Negan fights against me. They beat us, for now, but they won't for long. You're gonna talk. You're gonna tell me where your people are."

"I won't," Kathy growls.

"You will," Simon says. "Jared put her on her knees," Jared kicks her in the legs, and she falls to her knees. Simon pulls out his knife. "Where are they?"

"Go to hell," She growls. Simon smiles as he grabs her finger and cuts it out. Jared covers her mouse to muffle the scream. He pulls his mouth away.

"Where are they?" Simon growls.

"Fuck you," She growls.

"Alright," Simon says. "Gents, you've all had a couple of stressful days. Take her inside, have fun, just don't kill her," Jared grins as he grabs her. The others grin as they push the woman inside, and she struggles.

Thanks for reading. I did not enjoy that last thing, but I had to write them as they were. They are bad men, and I have to write them like that. Next chapter Simon continues his torture, and the group prepares. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 27: Chapter 27-Becoming the man

Chapter Text

Chapter 27-Becoming the man
A year ago
Simon's P.O.V
Simon walked through the Sanctuary and stared at the men eating. He looked at the large man as he walked up to him. "Simon," He says. The man stood over six feet. He wore a brown leather jacket and had short dark brown hair and eyes. On his hip were a bowie knife and a desert eagle.

"What's up, Luke?" Simon asks the leader of the Santuarcy.

"We just found three more. Two men and a woman. Between us, that woman is real pretty. I might take her one of these nights, and have some fun."

"You've fucked every other woman here. Gotta bag the new one."

"That's right, man," Luke says. "They're starting to learn. The men protect them and do the work. They keep the men happy. It's the way of life. Anyways, show them around, see what you can find out, and tell them how this place works. They are waiting outside," Luke tells the man, who nods.

Simon walks outside and looks at Negan, Laura, and Laura's father, Franklin. "Welcome to the Santuarcy," Simon says.

"Thanks," Negan says. "I'm Negan, this is Laura, and that's Franklin."

"I'm Simon," Simon says. "You've met the boss."

"Yeah, between us, kind of a prick."

"You won't find me disagreeing," Simon says. "Come on. I'll show you around," They nod as they follow him into the Santuarcy. "Things are very simple around here. The men do the work, and the women keep the men happy."

"Keep them happy?" Negan growls.

"You don't need to ask, you know."

"If you think I'm going to be a whore, I'll cut that man's dick off," Laura growls.

"We can't change it. The man here, he has fear, and that is what a man needs to control these people," Simon says. "He isn't the leader I'd choose, but he keeps us alive."

"What else do we need to know?" Negan asks.

"That's all, do that and you'll be fine."

Negan's P.O.V
A week later
Negan sat in a room with Franklin and Laura. "These guys are a bunch of pricks," Negan growls.

"We can't stay here," Franklin says. "I won't stay here, not in a place like this."

"Then let's make it better," Negan says. "We've all seen how this place runs. That asshole runs it. You take him out. They'll fall in line. I can do that. I can kill him, take this place over, make it better. I've had a couple of drinks with Luke. I can get another one with him and kill him. Just be ready," Negan says as he leaves the room. Laura and Franklin watch him. None of them know about the man listening around the corner who pulls out his radio. Negan walks to Luke's room and knocks on the door.

"Negan, what can I do for you?" Luke asks.

"I could use a drink," Negan says.

"Come on in," Luke says. "I could have a nice girl brought in."

"Not right now, just had my fill," Negan lies.

"Alright," Luke says as he pours him a drink. "You know, I like you. You understand how the world is now, that we all have a job to do, us men, we do ours, and the women do theirs. But I did need to talk to you."

"About what?" Negan asks.

"Laura," He answers. "She doesn't understand how things are. A few of our guys have asked her to play her role, and she hurts them. I need you to talk with her, make her understand how the world works."

"I'll make sure she understands," Negan says as he finishes his glass. Negan stands up and walks towards the whiskey, but Luke grabs his arm and throws him on the table. He removes his desert eagle and aims it at him. "What the fuck is this?"

"I have ears everywhere," Luke growls. "Your two friends are already being rounded up," Luke says before he kicks him in the face knocking him out.

Laura's P.O.V
Laura, Negan, and Franklin sat on their knees by the fence. "These people have betrayed us. They do not understand how the world works. Do not understand the rules in the world. So first, we're going to kill these two, and then we're going to make sure this bitch understands her role, and she'll complete that until the day she dies."

"If you touch my daughter, I will tear your head off," Franklin growls. "I will kill you, I swear!" Franklin is silenced as Luke swiftly removes his Desert Eagle and shoots Franklin in the head.

"Dad!" Laura cries out as his body falls to the ground and blood leaks out of his head.

"He talked too much," Luke says. "How about you?" Luke asks Negan, who glares up at him.

"I'm going to kill you," Negan says. "You'll die slowly, begging,"

"She's going to be the one screaming," Luke says as he raises his gun to Negan's head. Gunshots go off behind him, taking out Luke's men, and a bullet goes through Luke's side, sending him to the ground. Simon walks out with a dozen men.

"Your reign is over," Simon says as he kicks Luke in the side and takes his gun. He looks at Negan. "There's a new king," Simon says as he holds his hand out to Negan, who takes it. "Give the man his bat,"

Jared nods as he hands Negan the bat. He looks at Laura. "It's your kill,"

Laura takes the bat and stands her over, and brings it back down on Luke's head, and she continues to do it until his head is nothing but flesh and blood.

"You giving me leadership?" Negan asks.

"I'm not much of the type."

Negan smiles. "Why?"

"Because I just have a feeling that you understand the world better," Simon says. "Prove me right."

Negan's P.O.V
Negan stood on top of the catwalk staring at the men. "Now that the prick is dead, I'm going to turn the Santuarcy into what it is meant to be. Now, before we do this, does anybody disagree with this?"

"I do," A man says.

"Good," Negan smiles. "Simon," Simon grabs the man and throws him to the ground in front of the furnace. "Is it ready?"

"It is, boss," Simon says. "Tie him up," He tells Jared, who nods.

"Now, the world has fallen into chaos, and I am the man who is meant to lead us back to a world that makes sense," Negan says. "So let's set some ground rules. One, no more rape. If these women want to have sex with you, then that's okay. If I find anybody trying to rape a woman, I'll kill you. Everybody has to contribute, if you don't, you'll work, and you'll wish you were dead, and if you betray me, I'll kill you just like Luke, but I'm going to make an example," Negan says as he grabs the gloves and puts them on and grabs the iron and walks up to the man.

"What's your name?" Negan asks.

"John," He answers.

"Wrong," Negan says. "I am the man who needs to lead us back to the old world. I'm the savior. We're the saviors," Negan says as he moves the iron closer to his John's face. "What is your name?"

"John," He growls.

"Wrong, you're Negan," Negan says. "You're all Negan," Negan says as he presses the iron against John's face making the man scream in pain and he pulls the iron off after a couple of moments and sets it down. He looks at Simon. "Who are you?" He growls as he points Lucille at him.

"Negan," Simon says with a small smile. He looks at Laura.

"Who are you?"

"Negan," Laura answers after a moment, and he looks at Jared.

"Who are you?"

"Negan," Jared says as he looks at the saviors.

"Who are you!?"

"Negan," They say after a moment, and Negan grins. "On your knees."

The men look around as Negan grabs John by his hair and lifts it up. "On your knees," Negan says with a smile. They fall to their knees. "This is how we keep each other alive. I expect this when I am around. One more time, who are you?"

"Negan," They all say.

Two weeks later
Negan smiled at the saviors as they ate and worked. "Negan," Simon says as he walks up to him. Negan looks at him and miles. "That old fuck, Frankie's dad, was caught stealing."

"Bring her to my room. Let me talk to her first," Negan says as he walks away, and Simon nods.

Negan sat in his chair and looked at the door at Frankie as she walked in. "Your Dad was caught stealing pills."

"He needs them."

"Then he should have earned the points," Negan says. "You know what has to happen to him."

"Please, Negan. He needs them. I'll do anything to keep him safe, to get him the pills."

Negan smiles. "You know I was married before all of this. I did whatever I could to help my wife, ask Laura. So if we were to be married, I'd take care of you and my new father-in-law."

"Are you asking me to marry you to save my father?" Frankie asks Negan, who nods.

"Yes, I'll give you a better life than anybody here. You have two choices. What is your choice."

"I'll marry you," Frankie says after a moment of silence. Negan grins.

Two months later
Negan climbed out of bed and looked at Frankie, who was lying in bed naked. Negan put his clothes on and grabbed Lucille. He walked through the Sanctuary and outside. He looks at the guard. "Give me a minute," Negan tells the guard, who nods as he walks inside, and Negan walks over to Franklin's grave. "Only if you kept your mouth shut a little bit longer, huh buddy," Negan says as he stares at the cross huh. "I don't think you'd agree with how I do things, especially not the wife, and I plan on getting more, but you know, Luke had a point, even if he was a dumbass. They need to understand how the world work. I don't believe that women are used to keep us happy shit. Some of my best soldiers are women, but if everybody understands how shit works. Life is so much easier," Negan says with a smirk. "Don't worry. I'll keep her safe, she's a strong girl, and I'll keep your dream alive. I'll save people," Negan says as he taps Lucille against the cross.

"Negan," Negan looks at the door and at Simon.

"What?" Negan asks.

"We got another one?"

"Who?"

"Tanya," Simon says.

Negan grins as he follows Simon inside.

Thanks for reading. I really enjoyed this chapter. Doing a backstory for these three was really fun, and maybe I'll do some more and explain Hallowbrant better. I don't know yet. . Stuff has happen in my life, so for the next week or two, I’ll only upload on Tuesday. But as always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 28: Chapter 28-Choices

Chapter Text

Chapter 28-Choices
Simon's P.O.V
Simon watched as Jared walked out of the room. "How is she?"

"Alive," Jared says. "You sure you don't want a turn?"

"No, I had mine, Amber. She is fun," Simon says. "She talk?"

"No, she did not," Jared says. Simon nods as he walks into the room. Katy lay on the ground. Covered by a blanket.

"This could all end. All you have to do is tell us where your people are," Simon says.

"So you can go and do this to them. Go to hell," Katy says.

"They can do worse, but you know that. I admire your loyalty, but they'll come looking soon enough, and we'll get more, and they'll give up your camp. No matter what, we'll find your camp," Simon says before he leaves the room.

Eugene's P.O.V
Eugene sat in his house making trip mines when Amanda came in. "What are you doing?"

"Making trip mines," Eugene answers. "We'll set them up across the road when Simon comes here. We'll take their cars out."

"Should you be doing that in here?" Amanda asks him.

"Don't worry," Eugene says. "If it goes off, it will be painless."

"That's reassuring," Amanda says sarcastically as she sits down. "You ever do this?"

"No, I have not," Eugene answers.

"You are not good at reassuring people."

"What is the point in that?" Eugene asks. "If I screw up, this thing will go up, and we will be nothing but ashes flowing through the wind."

"I'm gonna go," Amanda says as she quickly stands up and leaves the house. Eugene continues to work.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan stood in the tower, watching the roads. "You've been up here for hours," Michonne says as she climbs into the tower.

"I'm watching for that asshole."

"You don't know where they could be hiding?" Michonne asks.

"They could be in a hundred different places. We would spend a year searching for them. We'd be safer waiting here and preparing for them to show up. Eugene is preparing the trip mines," Negan tells her.

"We'll kill him," Michonne tells him. "You know that."

"I do," Negan says as he looks at the woman. "Or he might kill us. Simon is smarter than you guys think he is."

"We're strong," Michonne says. "We've beat plenty of assholes like that one."

"I hope you're right."

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna stood in the kitchen making coffee. "We're going to run out of that someday," Rosita says with a smile.

"That is the day I'll give up," Deanna says. "The saviors had plenty of it."

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah...I'm getting by," Deanna says. "You, Daryl, Merle, you'll all helped a lot."

"You mean Daryl," Rosita says.

"You know when you all came through here. Daryl is the last person I thought I'd get close to. But after Reg and Aiden. I felt hopeless, ready to die. Spencer didn't help me. He was drinking most of the time after. Daryl helped me through that and taught me how to survive. I owe a lot to him."

"I bet every person in our group could say that," Rosita says.

"I bet they could."

Merle's P.O.V
Merle walks up to Rick, who looks at him. "Your plan went to shit, Officer Friendly."

"Thanks, Merle," Rick says. "I figured that out."

"So what's the plan? Wait for the prick and his crew to show up here?" Merle asks him.

"Yeah, we're armed, no matter how many guns he has. We have more. We have the weapons from the outposts. It doesn't matter what Simon brings back. We'll be ready for him."

"I hope you're Officer Friendly 'cause my brother is finally forming a life in this fucked up world. Your plan better work 'cause if it doesn't, I will definitely make sure I'm the one that kills you."

"Thanks for the faith, Merle."

"I don't have much faith anymore," Merle says before he walks away.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon stood by the door, watching the woods. "Simon," He turns around and looks at Arat.

"What?" Simon asks as he looks at her.

"There's gotta be a better way of finding these women than what you're doing to her."

"You have a problem with what I'm doing?" Simon asks. "If you do, you can join her back there."

"I don't want to," Arat says.

"Good, now shut the fuck up and help me watch for these bitches," Simon orders the woman, who nods.

"You wanna try again?" Jared asks as he comes out of the room.

"Sure," Simon says as he walks into the room. "You do not look good, sweetheart."

"Fuck you," Kathy says.

"You know you had some exciting equipment, a harpoon gun. Doesn't seem like a good weapon against walkers, but fishing it might," Simon tells her.

"I don't have much."

"And you aren't carrying a gun, which means you have them locked up somewhere in case we ever showed up," Simon says with a smirk. "Now, I know you got some children there, so I'm going to give you a chance. You tell me where your camp is, and none of those children will be hurt or worse," Simon says. "This is your last chance to make sure they don't get hurt. I give you my word."

"Your word means nothing to me. The word of a snake is a lie."

"I gave you a chance," Simon says before he leaves the room.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan sat in the watch tower and looked at the hatch as it opened, and Noah climbed up there. "What do you want, kid?" Negan asks.

"To talk to you about the future," Noah says as he pulls his journal out. "When we attacked the Sanctuary. I got a good look at the place. It is a piece of shit."

"Thanks. I didn't stay there because it was a five-star hotel, it was easy to defend, and it had good vantage points. That's why we took from other communities. I hope you didn't come up here to talk about that shithole."

"No, I came up here to talk about something better," Noah tells him. "For the saviors that survive, for the new group you plan on building."

"What are you talking about?" Negan asks.

"A new community," He says. "I've been writing up plans. We could build around a town nearby. We have the materials we need to do that."

"You think Deanna is just going to hand those over?" Negan asks.

"I've already talked with her," Noah says. "She's agreed to this."

"Alright, kid, show me what you got," Negan says as he turns to face the boy, who smiles as he sits down.

"There is a town near here, about an hour. We can build walls there, just like in Alexandria. We'll use solar panels to give you all electricity. We'll get you fresh water, and it will be just like another Alexandria. A new start for you and the people who want to join you," Noah says as he shows the man the drawings and notes he had made.

"Who would lead this project?" Negan asks him.

"I would," Noah says.

"What did you do before all of this, kid?"

"I went to school," Noah answers. "Deanna's husband, Reg, he showed me a little bit before he died. I can do this."

"Alright, kid, I trust you."

"Thanks. Deanna wanted to talk with you."

"I'll be down soon," Negan says as Noah leaves the watch tower.

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna sat in her house with Negan, Rick, Daryl, Ezekiel, and Carol. "So what is this meeting for?"

"You intent to lead the saviors again when this is over, correct?" Deanna asks the man, who nods. "We don't know who will make it out, which ones will surrender, but even if they do surrender, it does not guarantee them a new start."

"What do you mean?" Negan asks.

"The ones who did the worse kind of things during the war, they will be locked up or killed for that, all of Simon's lieutenants."

"Besides Arat, if she continues to help us," Carol says.

"Alright, those pricks don't matter to me anyways."

"We also need to know the ones that you think will try and retaliate," Daryl says. "We don't want any problems after this man," Daryl tells him.

"I get it," Negan says. "I want a fresh start for my people after that. If that means that the worse of them has to go, you'll find no complaints from me. They did betray me."

"They will get a trial," Ezekiel says. "To plead their case, we are trying to build a better world. We must be fair to all."

"Will I get a trial?" Negan asks them after a moment.

"You don't need one," Rick says. "You've done things in the past, but you are making up for them right now."

"Anything else?"

"Who do you want to lead the saviors if you die?" Deanna asks after a moment, and Negan stays silent.

"Laura," He answers. "Is that all?"

"Yeah."

Negan leaves the house.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl sat in his room, just staring at the wall. He looked at the door as it opened, and Enid came in. "You okay?"

"I almost died out there," Carl tells her. "If Daryl didn't show up when he did, that walker would have got me."

"It was pretty stupid going out there in the first place," Enid tells him.

"I know," Carl says. "But it did make me realize something," Carl says. "All of this has."

"And what is that?"

"You're wrong," Carl says. "Back in the tree, you said that this is their world. We're just living in it. It's still our world. We're going to bring it back."

"You're too hopeful, Carl Grimes. I guess we could all use a little hope in our lives."

"It also made me realize that we could die at any moment," Carl says as he stands up and walks over to her. "I don't want to waste any of the time I have left," He says before he kisses Enid, who kisses him back.

Simon's P.O.V
Simon was sitting by the window when the door flew open, and Jared came in holding a girl. "Who is this one?"

"Found her sneaking around by herself," Jared says with a grin.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Simon asks.

"Fuck you," The girl says to him. Simon smiles as he grabs her by the hair, and Jared drops her as Simon drags the girl to the room that Kathy is being kept in. He pushes the door open, and Kathy looks at the girl.

"Rachel! Let her go!"

"You have two choices now!" Simon says in anger as he withdraws his gun and presses it to Rachel's head. "YOU TELL ME WHERE YOUR CAMP IS, OR I LET MY MEN RAPE HER IN FRONT OF YOU AND THEN BLOW HER BRAINS OUT, OR YOU TELL ME WHERE YOUR CAMP IS. CHOOSE NOW!" Simon shouts in anger as he pulls the hammer back.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, Kathy makes a choice, Simon prepares, and the group continues to prepare for Simon and make plans for the future. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 29: Chapter 29-The future

Chapter Text

Chapter 29-The future
Simon's P.O.V
"Wait," Kathy says. "Don't hurt her. She is a child."

"I don't give a damn," Simon growls. "Where is your camp."

"Don't tell them," Rachel says.

"SHUT UP!" Simon says as he hits her in the head with his gun. "You are going to tell me, or she is going to have a worse time than you are!"

"We're at the beach!" Kathy says. "We're at the beach," She says softly after a moment.

"You're gonna take us," Simon growls. "Get up," He says as he pushes Rachel into Jared and grabs Kathy by the hair, and lifts her up. "If you try anything, I will drown that girl and make you watch. That is after we make her wish she was dead."

"Okay," Kathy says weakly.

"Good, start moving!" Simon says as he pushes her forward.

Carl's P.O.V
Carl walked up to Ron as the other teen was cleaning his gun. "Hey," Carl says.

"Hey," Ron says as he motions to Carl to sit down. "So, what is your idea?"

"How do you know I have an idea?" Carl asks.

"Because you have the same stupid face you did when we were looking for Siddiq," Ron says.

"Don't worry, the dumb idea I have isn't going to happen until after we kill Simon," Carl says. "What we did, saving Siddiq, it felt good."

"You almost died doing it," Ron says.

"I didn't, though," Carl tells him. "Saving people, I wanna keep doing that, so after this, I'm gonna. I'm going to find other communities and more people, and bring them in, so we can all have a better future. I want you to help. Enid has already agreed to help me."

"Alright, Carl, I'll help you," Ron says. "Sounds like it could be fun," Ron says with a smile. Carl nods as he walks away from his friend.

Deanna's P.O.V
Deanna stood in her kitchen as Rick, Michonne, Maggie, Daryl, Abraham, Glenn, Noah, Rosita, and Merle walked into Deanna's house. "What's this meeting about?" Abraham asks.

"I once told Rick, Michonne, and Maggie I wanted this place to be like the old world," Deanna says. "How I wanted it to run, this war with the saviors, it is coming to an end. I can feel it. Once they are gone, we will continue to build. The people in this room are the start," Deanna says.

"How?" Noah asks.

"We have all roles to play," She tells him. "You have maybe the most important role. You're going to design what comes next."

"We all have roles?" Merle asks.

"We do. As I said, Noah will design the future of Alexandria. Glenn, he will be the one to keep us alive, supplied. Daryl, Rick, Maggie, and I will make the decisions for the future of Alexandria. Abraham will lead up the construction crew and build, and Rosita and Merle will keep Alexandria safe," Deanna says. "We have roles to play. These are the roles we must play to keep Alexandria running and help the other communities."

"You're trusting me with protecting this place?" Merle asks.

"I am, should I not?" Deanna asks.

"I'll keep it safe," Merle says.

"That is all," Deanna says, and they nod as they leave.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl walked to Carol as the woman stood by the gate. "You're gonna come back when this is over?" Daryl asks his best friend, who shakes her head.

"I love you, and I love our family and Alexandria, but I belong in Hilltop. They need a leader there, and it fits me."

"It does," Daryl tells her with a nod.

"Don't worry. You'll still see me. Alexandria has a lot of supplies that Hilltop could use. We'll be trade partners," She tells him as she lays her hand on his shoulder. "Also, I think you'll be busy with another woman," Carol says as she looks at Rosita, who is talking with Merle.

"She wants to start a family," Daryl tells her. "After we kill Simon."

"If you have a daughter, name her after me."

"One of you is too many for me to handle," Daryl says with a smile. "I don't know how this will end."

"We'll win, and you and Rosita will be alive," Carol tells him. "Trust me."

Simon's P.O.V
Simon and the rest of the saviors watched Oceanside from the trees, and Simon grinned. "Where are the guns?" He asks as he presses his gun into Rachel's head.

"There," Kathy says as she points at a building.

"We don't have a lot of ammo," Jared says.

"I know, Gary, you're with me, we'll sneak into that building and take their guns, and when they come for them, we'll shoot them down until they fall. When we get to the building, the rest of you follow us in, and we'll enter the camp," Simon says as he walks away with Gary, who nods.

They get to the building, and Simon slips the window open before entering it, and then Gary gets in. Simon grabs a gun as Gary grabs another. They hear talking outside. The two men hide as two women walk in. "Cyndie, we can't send anybody after them," The older woman says. The older woman was Natania, the leader of Oceanside. "We can't risk what we have here," Gary looks at Simon, who nods. They rise up and aim their guns at the two women, who stare at them in shock.

"It is pretty nice, what you have here," Simon says as he walks over to Cyndie. "Hi, sweetheart," He says as he takes her gun and knife, and Gary does the same to Natania.

"I'll kill you," Cyndie growls.

"You won't," Simon says as he grabs Cyndie by the hair and drags her outside. The women look at them as Gary drags Natania out. "It's good to see all of you again!" Simon says as Jared comes out of the building.

"Our guys are coming through the window," Jared tells Simon, who nods.

"Oceanside now belongs to the saviors and me," Simon says as he points his gun at Natania and shoots her in the head.

"Grandma!" Cyndie shouts as she looks at the woman's body.

"I'm the leader here. Now you can all throw your weapons down and live or hold them and die. Your choice," Simon says as he points the gun at Cyndie as they bring Kathy and Rachel outside and throw them to the ground. The women remove their weapons and throw them to the ground. "Good choice," Simon says as he pulls Cyndie up. "Give me a tour, sweetheart."

Paula's P.O.V
Paula walked through the streets of Alexandria and saw Michonne playing with Judith and smiled. "Hey," Tara says as she comes up behind her. Paula looks at the woman and smiles.

"What's up?" Paula asks her.

"Can we talk?" Tara asks Paula, who nods. Tara nods as she leads Paula back to her house.

"Is there a problem?" Paula asks her as she shuts the door.

"No, no, everything is great," Tara tells her. "I mean, not great. We're in the middle of a war, and we have no idea where our enemy is, and they could be coming to kill us right now."

"Tara, take a deep breath," Paula tells her.

"Right," Tara says. "We've been spending a lot of time together, and I like you, and I wanted to say that just in--" Tara is cut off by Paula kissing her. She pulls back after a moment.

"I like you too," Paula tells her. "They don't need us right now," Tara smiled as she took her hand.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog sat on his porch cleaning his gun when Glenn walked up the porch and looked at the man. "What's your plan after?" Glenn asks him. "Are you going to stay here or go back to the Kingdom?" Glenn asks him.

"I don't know," T-dog asks as he looks at him. "You guys were my family, my home back at the start, and you still are, but for a long time, the people of the Kingdom and the Kingdom itself have become my home. I don't know if I can abandon it."

"You wanna hear my opinion?" Glenn asks him.

"Sure," T-dog answers.

"Go back, they need. Ezekiel needs you by his side," Glenn says. "I remember the day after the farm, when we all got back to the highway and Lori told us what she saw. Daryl, Rick, and I wanted to go after you. The others convinced us that it was better to leave, keep the rest of us safe, and that night, all I could think about was it you were alive or dead, if you were running through the woods thinking your family abandoned you, or if you were walking with that herd and every night after that. That thought crossed my mind, and I thought about leaving to come and find you," Glenn tells you. "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you, T-dog, and when you needed us most, we left you."

"A decision I'm glad you made," T-dog says as he stands up and walks over to his friend. He points at the lake where Carl, Ron, Enid, and Benjamin were at talking while Sam plays with Henry and Carl holds his sister. "Everything we've both fought for, since Atlanta, it's been for them, so they could have a future. If you came after me, Carl or Lori could have died, and Judith would have never been born. Because you didn't come after me, I was able to find Ezekiel and gain his trust and convince him to help us fight against the saviors. It may have sucked when it happened, but me losing you guys, it was a good thing," T-dog tells him. "I don't regret a thing."

Arat's P.O.V
The moon has risen in the air, and screams and cries can be heard around Oceanside. Arat sat by herself, listening. She looked at Gary as he led Cyndie and Rachel into a building. She stands up and walks over to the building, and slowly pushes the door open. "You two listen, and nobody will die," Gary says with a grin. Arat slowly creeps into the room and withdraws her knife. She comes up behind Gary and grabs him by his mouth, and slits his throat. She held him as she struggled and then stopped moving. She dropped him to the ground and looked at the two women who were staring at her.

"We gotta go," Arat says as she grabs Gary's rifle, gun, and knife.

"You killed my brother," Cyndie growls.

"I did, and you can kill me for it if you want, but if you do, you won't get out, and Simon will kill both of you, or I can get you out here and get you somewhere safe," Arat tells them. "Then you can help those people kill Simon, and after, if you want, you can kill me."

"Cyndie," Rachel says.

"Alright," Cyndie says, and Arat nods as she hands her Gary's rifle and gives Rachel his handgun.

"Let's go."

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, Arat gets Cyndie and Rachel to Alexandria, Simon decides to attack and the final fight begins. Next chapter will be the final chapter l. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.

Chapter 30: Chapter 30-The end

Chapter Text

Chapter 30-The End
Arat's P.O.V
Arat, Cyndie, and Rachel sneak through Oceanside until they get close to a house. "Arat!" Simon shouts.

"Hide," Arat tells the two women, who nod as they hide, and Arat comes out from behind the house. "What's up?"

"We're having a party. Tomorrow is the day Negan dies," Simon says.

"We're attacking tomorrow?"

"Yep, we'll hit Alexandria, kill them, and then we'll attack Hilltop and the Kingdom," Simon says. "We'll drive straight through those gates and gun them down."

"Let's do it, boss," Arat says with a smile.

Simon nods. "Get some sleep. It's gonna be a big day," Simon says as he walks away. Arat nods as he walks away. She walks back over to Cyndie and Rachel.

"Let's go," She says as Cyndie leads them through a hole in the wall. Cyndie leads the two women to a car hidden in the woods.

"My Grandma hid this here in case we ever needed it," Cyndie says. Arat nods as they climb in and leave.

Rick's P.O.V
Rick was on watch when he saw a car. He looks at Noah, who is beside him. "Go get the others, now!" Rick orders the kid, who nods as he goes down the ladder. Rick bends down as the car comes to a stop.

"Don't shoot, Rick!" Arat says as he climbs out of the car. "I'm Arat."

"I know who you are," Rick says as Daryl, Carol, Rosita, and Abraham run toward the gate with their guns. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to prepare you," Arat says as Cyndie and Rachel climb out. "These two need your help. Simon's gonna be here tomorrow. He's coming."

Rick lowers his gun. "Open the gate," Rick tells Deanna, who nods as she pulls the gate open. The three women walk inside.

"Do you know what time?" Daryl asks.

"Morning, probably. He wants to catch you all off guard," Arat tells him. "Tomorrow is the end of this."

"It is," Rick says. "Let's prepare."

Simon's P.O.V
Simon stood in front of the saviors the next morning, nobody was speaking, and they had tied up all of the Oceanside women and locked them up. "Gents, today is the day," Simon says. "Today is the beginning of the rest of our lives," Simon says with a smile. "Today, Negan dies, and so do all of those pricks in Alexandria, and then we take out Hilltop and the Kingdom, and we start to rebuild. Let's go kill these sons of bitches!"

The saviors cheer as Simon walks towards the truck, and they start to get in their cars. Simon stops for a minute and looks at it, Jared. "Where's Arat and Gary?"

"I don't know," Jared says. "I'm not their babysitter. Come on, man. We've gotta get this done. Gary's probably drunk in a damn trailer, we'll beat his ass when we get back, and Arat, she's probably already in one of the trucks. We don't have time to lose."

"You're right," Simon says after a moment as he climbs into the truck.

No one's P.O.V.
The morning air was cold, and no sound could be heard after a couple of minutes. The sound of truck engines could be heard coming down the road. Simon's truck was in the back. "They have to see us," Jared says.

"They are probably still sleeping, just like I planned," Simon says with a grin as the first truck goes over a wire and blows up, sending the truck onto the side of the road. The second truck quickly hits another wire and goes to its side as Simom slams his feet onto the brakes. The truck stops as the other three trucks do the same. "What the fuck!" Simon shouts as bullets start to hit the trucks from all sides of the woods. Saviors start to shoot back from the trucks as more get out of the back and shoot into the woods.

"They knew!" Jared says as he sees saviors being moved down in front of him. "How the hell did they know?!"

"I don't know!" Simon shouts. "Grab the smoke grenades!" Simon shouts, and Jared grabs them and throws them out around the car.

Simon climbs out. "Run for the woods! Shoot any of them, you see!" Simon says as they split up and run into the woods.

Abraham shoots a savior through the head as more shot at him, and he moves back into the woods. "God damn, this fuckers do not give up," Abraham says as he shoots at another one, not noticing Jared as he creeps around through the smoke. Jared raises his gun at the large man.

"NO!" Someone shouted as Abraham pushed to the side, and Jared fired. The bullets hit Eugene in the chest, and he falls to the ground.

"Eugene!" Abraham shouts as he shoots Jared in the head, sending the man to the ground. Abraham runs over to Eugene, who coughs up blood. "You're gonna be okay, pal."

"I saved you," Eugene says as Abraham holds a cloth on his chest. "Now we're even. Thank you, Abraham," Eugene's eyes close as his breathing stops.

"Eugene! Eugene!" Abraham shouts as the smoke starts to clear. He looks around and sees Sasha as she runs up to him. "They retreated. Oh my god."

"How many?"

"No more than ten. We gotta regroup, Abraham, we're spread out everywhere," Abraham nods as he sees Daryl and T-dog.

"Help me," Abraham says as he stabs Eugene in the head, and the two men nod as they pick him up.

Rick's P.O.V.
Everybody stood together in the streets of Alexandria as the bodies were lined up. "How many of ours?" Rick asks.

"Two dozen," Deanna says as she looks at Rosita, who is sitting by Eugene's dead body with Abraham.

"Gavin's gone," Carol says as she runs up to them. Rick looks around at the people of the three communities and then at Daryl, who nods.

"We're ending this today! These men and women, they died for the new world! We're going to secure the new world right now! Load up," Rick says as he looks at Arat.

"Where would he go?" Rick asks the woman.

"Hallowbrant," She says.

"It's the closest place."

"Let's end this," Rick says as they climb into their cars.

Simon's P.O.V
Regina throws Gavin to the ground as Simon looks around. Only 8 of his men were alive. Regina, Norris, Jed, Justin, Roy, David, Roman, and Yago. Simon bends down and looks at Gavin. "You and the others should have left when you had to chance!" Simon shouts.

"I wanted to see your face," Gavin says with a smirk as they hear engines.

"What the fuck is that?" Simon asks as he looks at Gavin, who starts to laugh as he drops two grenades to the ground.

"There was a reason I was alone, asshole," Gavin says with a grin.

"RUN!" Simons shouts as he runs towards the doors. He gets out with Justin, Jed, and Regina before the building explodes, killing the saviors and Gavin as the building collapses. Simon coughs as he looks around, and his eyes widen as he sees them completely surrounded by cars and people.

Negan's P.O.V
Negan pushes the door to the truck open as Simon stares at them. "Damn, Simon," Negan says. "None of us knew what Gavin had planned, hell I was beside him most of the time, but he wanted to make sure you had nowhere to hide. Even in death, he had more balls than you," Negan says with a smirk as he walks up to the three saviors. "I would stay on your knees. You don't want a bullet in them," Negan says as he withdraws his gun and shoots Jed, Justin, and Regina in the head.

"Negan," Simon says, and Negan smiles as he sees the fear in his eyes.

"You know, the old me, he would have drawn this out, had more fun with this, but good people have died because of that man and his stupidy. The man who sees now, he wants to honor them, and to do that, the new world has to begin," Negan says as he raises his bat.

"Negan!" Simon shouts.'

"Goodbye, Simon," Negan says before he brings the bat down on Simon's head, sending his head to the ground. Simon slowly raises his head. Negan brings the bat down again. He continued to bring the bad down on Simon's head until it was mush. Negan breathes heavily. Everybody stared at him. "Let's burn these pricks."

Everybody gathered the bodies together in a pile and lit them on fire. "It's over," Rick says as he stands by him.

"Not yet," Negan says as he looks at the bat and then throws it into the fire. He watches as his bat burns, and then he looks at Rick. "Now it is," Negan says before he walks away from the man who watches him.

Arat's P.O.V
Arat walked up to Cyndie as she prepared to go to Oceanside with members of the Kingdom to help the women. Arat holds her gun out to the woman. "I got to see him die, do what you have to," Arat tells her. Cyndie looks at her and then at the gun.

"You saved Rachel and me and probably saved a lot more by telling Rick what you did, but I promise you, if I ever see you again, I'm gonna kill you," Cyndie tells Arat before she walks away from her with Rachel behind her and Arat nods as she walks back over towards the others.

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl, Rick, Ezekiel, Negan, and Carol stood in front of the five communities, Alexandria, Oceanside, Hilltop, Kingdom, and the new saviors. "We were all strangers to one another a few weeks ago," Rick says. "We didn't know who each other were, but we fought together because we all wanted the same thing, A better world, the new world. A world where we could have children, birthday parties, and weddings. Today is the start of that world. We're done fighting each other. Everybody who's standing here, this world is yours by right. Now we stand together against one enemy, the dead," Rick says as he looks at Ezekiel.

"We have all spilled blood for one another. That makes us family, brothers, and sisters. No matter what our past was, we look to the future now, we fight for that future, we fight for each other, and if we need to, we die for each other."

Rick looks at Carol, who shakes her head, and then he looks at Daryl. "When Merle and I first joined this group, we didn't give a rats ass about any of them. We thought it was just us against the world. We've never been so wrong in our whole lives. These people are my family. You're my family. Because of that, we were able to win this, and we'll win no matter what, as long as we fight as a family."

"Now go home, rest. Tomorrow, the work begins, and the new world begins."

Five years later
Rick's P.O.V
Rick pulled himself out of bed and walked out of the room. He walked downstairs. He walked up behind Jessie and kissed her head. "Good morning," He says as he sits down beside his wife. "Sam?"

"He went with Tara and Paula to Oceanside. He wanted to see Rachel," Jessie tells him with a smile.

Rick nods as they hear a baby crying. "My turn?" Rick asks Jessie, who nods. Rick smiles as he walks up the stairs and picks up his son as Judith starts to wake up in her bed. Jessie and Rick had their son, who they had named R.J., and kissed his head. "Come on, sweetie, let's go eat," Rick says to Judith, who smiles as he goes downstairs.

Glenn's P.O.V
Glenn was working in the gardens of Alexandria when he heard footsteps behind him. "Dad!" His son Hershel Jr shouted as he ran up to Glenn and hugged him.

"Hey, buddy," Glenn says as he ruffles his hair. "Where's your Mom?"

"She's coming," Hershel says with a smile as Maggie walks up to him. Glenn stands up and kisses his wife.

"Everything okay with Deanna?" Glenn asks.

"She's fine. She has way too much life in here for someone her age," Maggie says.

"Hopefully, we'll be like that when we are old," Glenn says. "You wanna go on a walk?" Glenn asks Hershel.

"Yeah!" He says.

"Alright, come on," Glenn says as he grabs his hand, and Maggie grabs the other.

Abraham's P.O.V
Abraham stood by the wall of Alexandria, staring at the wall with all the names of the people who died during the war. He stared at Eugene's name. "You do this every day," Sasha says as she walks up behind him with a baby boy in her hand.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Eugene," Abraham says as he takes his son. "Isn't that right?" Abraham says as he holds his son, who they decided to name after the man who saved Abraham's life more than once. "Hopefully, you'll be as smart as him."

"I don't know if we'll ever meet anybody as smart as Eugene was again, but he is our son. He might be," Sasha says.

"Maybe," Abraham says as he walks away from the wall.

T-dog's P.O.V
T-dog walked up beside Ezekiel as the man stared at his chair. "You sure about this?" T-dog asks him.

"I wanna be with Carol," Ezekiel says. "We've been talking about it for a long time," Ezekiel says. "But she must remain at Hilltop. I will gladly give up this seat for that. I know that the Kingdom has someone that will take care of it," Ezekiel says as he lays his hand on T-dog's shoulders. "King Theodore, it has a nice ring to it."

T-dog chuckles. "I think I'll stick with T-dog," T-dog says. "I'm happy for you, Ezekiel. You deserve this."

"As do you, my good friend. Amanda is interested. All you have to do is make a move."

"I will," T-dog says as he hugs him. "Good luck."

"To you as well, my friend," Ezekiel says before he leaves, holding Shiva's chain, and T-dog sits down.

"So what's the first order of business, boss?" Benjamin asks as he looks at him.

"You wanna get some cobbler?" T-dog asks.

"Yeah," Benjamin says as they leave.

Merle's P.O.V
Merle stood on watch and looked at Rick as he climbed up the ladder. "I'm surprised you're not with Laura."

"The baby ain't due for a few weeks Officer Friendly. If I stay by her side, I won't live long enough to see it," Merle says. "Once the baby is born, she wants to go to the new Sanctuary."

"She wants the baby to be near Negan, can't say I blame her," Rick says. "You'll be missed, Merle."

"Shut up," Merle says. "You're an asshole. You know that?"

"Ought to be polite to a man with a gun, only common sense," Rick says with a smirk. Merle laughs.

"That is correct."

Alden's P.O.V
Alden lay in his bed inside of Hilltop, staring at the ceiling. Frankie lay beside him with her head on his chest. "You're supposed to go see Carol," She says softly."

"She told me to take the day off. Ezekiel will be here soon," Alden says as he rubs his hand up and down her back.

"Is he taking your job?" Frankie asks.

"No, I'm helping her manage the place," Alden says. "She's taking a break today. She's letting Jesus and Aaron handle it."

Frankie nods as she looks up at Alden. "I wanna have a baby?" She tells him. Alden looks at her.

"You sure?" Alden asks.

"Yeah, I am," She says. Alden smiles as he kisses her.

Ron's P.O.V
Ron knocked on a door inside the New Sanctuary and waited till the door opened. Amber opened the door and smiled when she saw him. "Hi," She says as she hugs him.

"Hey," Ron says before he kisses her. "So I have some good news," Ron tells her as he leads her inside. "If it's okay with you, I would like to move in here with you."

"You'll be sharing a house with Noah and Tina as well."

"I know, I'm meant to be here with you, I know that," Ron says.

"I would love that," Amber says. Ron smiles as he kisses her. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Carl's P.O.V
Carl was sitting inside of his house cleaning his gun when the door opened, and Enid came in. "How'd it go at the infirmary?" Carl asks her.

"It went well," Enid says as she sits down.

"What did Siddiq think it was?" Carl asks her. Enid sets a pregnancy test down on the table, and Carl looks at her. "We're having a baby?"

"We're having a baby," Enid says with a smile as Carl stands up and hugs her. "We're gonna be parents."

"Yeah, we're gonna be parents."

Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl was in the garage working on his bike when the door opened, and Rosita came out. "Your best friend is holding our daughter hostage," Rosita tells her husband, who chuckles as he sets his tools down and follows her inside.

"She's lying," Deanna says as she sits with their daughter, Beth. "Your daughter is three. Rosita is just mad that she likes her aunt more than her mother."

"You two will be the death of me," Daryl says as he sits down. "What are you drawing, sweetie?" Daryl asks his daughters.

"Our family," She says softly. "This is me, and that's Mamma and Auntie Deanna, and that's you."

Daryl smiles as he looks at the picture. "It's perfect."

Negan's P.O.V
Negan watched Michonne as she sharpened her sword. "You going somewhere?" Negan asks his girlfriend.

"No," She says. "I just don't want it to become dull," She says as she walks over to him and sits down. "What's on your mind?"

"It's been five years since the end of the war," Negan says. "I've been thinking about everything that has happened lately."

"You having regrets?" Michonne asks with a smile.

"Of course not. Simon betraying me was the best thing to happen. It helped me become a better man," Negan says.

"You would have done it without that happening."

"I don't think I would have," Negan says. "Because of that prick, I was able to meet all of you. Because of all of you, I realized I was a prick, and I became a better man, better than the man who led the saviors and the one before the world turned to shit. You guys were my Salvation."

Thanks for reading. That is the end of Salvation. I decided to end it in one big chapter. This story was never meant to be long. It was a fun idea, and I had a lot of fun writing it. I have more stories planned, and thank you to everybody for your support on this story. Until next time.