Shambles- The Walking Dead [Alden x Maggie] [1/2]

21- Haunted

Alden sat on the front steps of the once empty trailer they had locked him into when he first came to Hilltop. Now this trailer was his home. He didn't mind the fact that it was out back and some distance away from the other trailers. Some people still gave him odd looks or barely acknowledged him. He could easily escape to his trailer for a bit. More and more people seemed to accept him as a member of their communitie.

"Alden, do you think we can still pick some of our stuff up from Sanctuary?" Rose asked, lingering in the door frame behind him.

He looked back and up over his shoulder. "I told you that we probably wouldn't get back what we left behind when we escaped with Sasha. And you said you had everything you wanted to take with you."

"I know. And I did." She replied, crossing her arms. "I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say you were." He chuckled. "But if you didn't forget anything, why do you want to go back?"

"I took everything I could bring with me." She explained calmly. "It's only about that quilt. I really liked that quilt." She fumbled with her hands a bit. "I know they probably burned it or something. But I really liked it."

"It's no bother for me to look if it's still there. I'm going to help with construction there tomorrow anyway. Just don't get your hopes up."

"I won't." She insisted right back.

The next morning Alden found himself in front of the old factory standing next to Laura. He needed a moment to take in how much it had changed already. "I have to say that it does look a whole lot better without the walkers in front." He noted. "And the lack of the smell of death is also an improvement."

"Does that mean you're planning on moving back in?" Laura asked.

"No, Rose and I were never supposed to be here." He shook his head as he spoke. "This place has too many bad memories anyway. I came back to help and hopefully bring some of our stuff back."

"Oh, your stuff's still there." She replied. "No one really cared enough to go in and get rid of it once we realized you were gone. Negan felt like you stole Sasha from him and he'd wanted to use her as a bargaining chip. He figured you went back to Alexandria, so that became what we were focussed on."

"No, I was planning on going to Kingdom. It was my safest bet because the Saviors never set a foot inside their walls. Sasha opted for Hilltop instead. Alexandria being attacked was a given, I just couldn't let Sasha be used as a bargaining chip."

"I was glad you got out." She said softly. "You wouldn't have lasted long here."

"Uhm, thanks?" Alden asked, a bit confused.

Aaron tapped Alden's shoulder from behind to get his attention. "The truck's empty, we could load up already. Have it done before we're tired and want to head back."

"Sure." Alden nodded. He turned to Laura again. "See you later."

"You too, Al."

"So how come they all call you Al? I heard them call you that in Alexandria too." Aaron asked as they went up the stairs outside. "But now no one does."

"It's a nickname Negan gave me. I didn't pick it. Never really liked it but I wasn't going to tell Negan that. Kinda helped with adjusting to the way things went here." He replied as they reached the top of the stairs and went inside. "I would prefer it if you just kept on calling me Alden."

"Then I'll just keep on doing that." He looked around the darkened hallways they walked through. He'd never gone into Sanctuary before and this was far from how he imagined it. The floors were banged up from years of people walking across it and the walls were shabbily painted in a dark gray till it switched over in white half way up the wall. "This place is depressing."