I fell in love with the devil |The Walking Dead| NeganxOC |CarolxDaryl

Chapter 42 - Departure

Kingdom

After Siddiq told everyone what happened, the leaders gathered in the now-empty movie theatre for a meeting. First, they were sitting in silence, really shaken by what happened. Henry and Lydia were holding hands tightly. Carol was sitting next to Ezekiel, without any physical contact, not even looking at each other. Daryl sat further away from them, glancing at Carol from time to time. Michonne brought Judith along, she couldn't leave her alone. Not after what happened. Jesus stood in the shadow, tears dried on his face, his eyes red and puffy from crying. Gabriel was looking down at his own hands, he was praying silently.

Michonne was the first one to break the silence. She stood up and stepped forward.

"I know it is really hard to move on when something like this happens... but we have to figure out something. We have to keep our people safe."

Judith was listening very closely, she barely had a chance to see Michonne in action. She wanted to learn from her, she was curious about what was going to happen.

Ezekiel glanced at Henry and Lydia, then he stood up too.

"Michonne is right. We have to send everyone back home, we can't continue the fair. We cannot celebrate now."

"What about Hilltop?" asked Daryl in a very low, grave voice, it was even lower than usual. Michonne, Gabriel, and Ezekiel looked at Jesus at the same time. Jesus looked around them, quickly wiped his face.

"I know you don't want this Jesus, but you have to take back the leadership of Hilltop," said Michonne strictly. "Just temporarily, until the residents of Hilltop choose another leader."

Jesus shook his head, then shrugged his shoulder.

"I guess so..." he mumbled. The others nodded in agreement.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Henry, ready to do anything. "My head would be on a spike too if it weren't for Jesus. Alpha will hunt me."

Lydia nodded.

"She won't forgive him for "stealing" me..." she said.

"We have to protect Henry somehow," said Ezekiel. "I know you won't like this, but we cannot risk it."

Carol looked Henry in the eye and continued Ezekiel's sentence.

"We will take shifts with your father and guard you 24/7. We have no other option. You are in danger."

Henry seemed disappointed, but eventually, he nodded in agreement. Not one teenager in the world wanted their parents to watch them every minute... but there was nothing else they could do. Silence fell again on the room. After a couple of minutes, Carol spoke again.

"What are we going to do about Quinn?" she asked. "Can we bring her back here?"

"You are busy guarding your son and Quinn cannot be moved in her state," said Jesus.

"But you are busy with leading Hilltop again," added Michonne, looking Jesus in the eye.

"Wait!" spoke up Judith, she jumped to her feet. "What are you talking about?" she asked disappointed. Michonne just realized she told her Quinn was dead, so she wouldn't tell Negan about her. "Is Quinn alive?" she asked in her tiny little voice. Carol stood up and approached her.

"It's complicated, honey. Negan has to think she is dead. So he wouldn't want to escape."

"But he has changed!" argued Judith. Michonne shook her head.

"Can we talk about this later?" she asked her daughter.

"No! Why are you lying to me? I wouldn't have told Negan!" she said, really disappointed.

"You must not tell him now either! Do you understand?" Michonne asked strictly.

"Let her be," growled Daryl. "She can tell him, won't change anythin'."

"Are you kidding?" snapped Michonne. "Negan will go crazy if he finds out Quinn is alive! He would want to break out again and we would be in danger because of him! We have enough on our hands with Alpha already."

"He proved he is not dangerous anymore!" Judith raised her voice, looked really determined.

"Alright," said Carol. "Let's leave it to Judith, to decide. You can tell him or you can keep quiet about it."

Judith was angry, but she nodded and sat down.

"Alright, sorry, back to the topic," said Michonne. "So what's going to happen to Quinn?"

"I can take care of her," volunteered Jesus.

"But you will have leader duties," said Gabriel.

"I'll go back to Hilltop and take care of her," said Daryl.

"We will take shifts," insisted Jesus.

"Alright, it's decided then," said Ezekiel. "Let's end this meeting. And close the fair."

He said in a grave voice. They all stood up and headed to the exit.

"Judith..." called Michonne quietly. "I couldn't risk it... I'm so sorry. Daryl told Negan this lie because he was very angry. We couldn't risk it."

"You didn't trust me... I'm not a baby anymore," said Judith, angrily.

"I know," said Michonne. "And I trust you."

Judit shrugged her shoulder and snapped a killer glance at Michonne.

Ezekiel stayed with Henry and Lydia, while Carol hurried after Daryl.

"Are you heading back already?" she asked.

"Yeah. Quinn needs someone," he growled.

Carol shook her head, worry in her eyes.

"I wish I could go. I have to protect Henry... I can't choose between them..."

"You don't have to. I'll be there for Quinn. Siddiq said she's going to be on her feet again in two months."

Carol turned to face Daryl.

"Why is this keep happening?" she asked, her voice cracked. "I almost lost Henry..." tears started to roll down her cheeks. Daryl hugged her.

"Shh... Don't cry. He is here. Alive."

"But that bitch will keep hunting him," she said, backing away from Daryl. "Why is this keep happening?"

She was clearly thinking about Sophia, Lizzie, and Mika, but she didn't have enough strength to say it out loud. She didn't have to anyway, Daryl knew exactly what was going on in her head.

"You can protect Henry," he said and stroked Carol's arm. She looked him in the eye.

"Don't you dare to die," she told him.

Daryl nodded and left her to leave for Hilltop.

After Alpha took Daryl away, Carol was really scared that she might lose him. She was reminded of how worried she was when Daryl was living in the woods for years and then there was that girlfriend of his...

As Carol was staring at his back, at his angel-winged vest, a thought ran through her mind: I have to break up with Ezekiel... She felt like she woke up from a pink dusty dream, back to the harsh and brutal reality.

Carol watched Daryl leaving with Jesus and dog by his side. Ezekiel stepped next to her and hugged her. Henry and Lydia also stepped next to her, still holding hands, watching people clearing out the fair and leaving...

...

Author's notes: Listen to "when the party's over" by Billie Eilish.

Thank You for reading! ❤