Malevolent. The Walking Dead

[ 033 ] no escape

"Well—" Carl started, and Joey sneered. "Nobody was talking to you." She snapped, which earned a sigh and an eye roll from Carl, and startled and confused looks from everyone surrounding them. Joey, for once, knew she wasn't being irrational. Even if Carl was just trying to protect her, she didn't need his help, and she didn't want to be protected.

They were on the road for a while, before Abraham grumbled from the driver's seat and pressed on the brakes. "Enemy close." he announced, and Rick immediately pushed to the front. Joey looked at Bill and Finn, before inching closer to the front seat. Out on the road, there were three trucks blocking the road, as well as men all standing in a makeshift wall. They were standing triumphantly over a body that was laying on the road, bloodied. Joey wondered if it was one of the missing people from the group.

"We doing this?" Abraham asked, but Rick shook his head. "No." So Abraham shifted the gears, and put the trailer in park. Rick pushed out the side door, while the others followed in suit. They carried their guns loosely by their sides, and walked gingerly toward the Saviors that were sprawled on the road. Joey kept a firm grip on her gun, but didn't click off the safety yet. She hadn't had to kill anyone since the Wolf attack—but she wouldn't be surprised if this didn't end well for them. Rick held his hands up to show that they weren't a threat—but Joey knew they were.

"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someone's who didn't listen." A man from the road spoke. Joey watched as the injured man writhed on the ground.

"We can make a deal. Right here, right now." Rick spoke after a moment of silence, his hands still up by his ears. Joey noticed she was shaking a little and cursed to herself. Carl looked back at her, concerned, but she just kept her eyes forward.

"That's right, we can." The man had an uncanny smile on his face that gave Joey the chills. She shifted on her feet. "Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you, that's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen. Rick smiled, laughing to himself, and Joey anxiously looked at the others, who were doing the same.

"Yeah. That deal's not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was just about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinking I won't have to kill any of you."

Joey could tell Bill didn't agree with the approach Rick was taking, just by the way he was standing. He was gripping his gun until his knuckles were white, and his breathing was rapid as his chest rose and fell. Joey inched closer to him because she, for once, felt scared. He actually made her feel safe.

"Any more of you." Rick added, a triumphant grin on his face. Joey swallowed and watched the other men's faces contort with a wide range of emotions. One man started rattling a can, shaking it as he approached the man on the ground, and spray painted an X over his body. Joey stared at him with disgust.

"Sorry. My deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate."

Rick shook his head, waving his hand around for them to go back into the trailer. Bill placed a hand on her arm and started guiding her back. "Then me and my people are leaving."

"Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get where you're going." The Savior yelled back, pacing a bit on the concrete. Joey settled in a spot next to Bill and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She did not know why she was so scared—they had fought people like this before. But almost every time they had an option. Now, it seemed as though they didn't have a choice at all. The man outside kept talking, but Joey couldn't hear anything. Her ears kept ringing and she pinched her eyes shut.

"Rick. Don't you think we should try to get some sort of deal? We don't know how much man power they have. We could be driving to our deaths." Bill suggested, leaning his arms on his knees. Rick didn't even look over at him—Joey could tell Bill was trying hard and biting his tongue. "No. They don't deserve a damn deal. They told us what they want—we can't give it to them."