oh come on | twd

• Punishments •

Maggie looked down at me, tense as she awaited Deanna's response. She didn't reply though because instead she was in thought.

"Please, let's just wait a little longer," Maggie said, taking the job of damage control more than she already had.

"No." Deanna's answer was final, and I gritted my teeth. "Rick physically assaulted Pete, stole a gun and pointed it at my people. They should get a say in what happens about this," she said firmly.

Everyone took turns in saying their piece when it came to Rick. The people of Alexandria had different views on his place here, some vouching for him whilst others didn't.

"Rick Grimes saved my life over and over. There's terrifying people out there. And he rescued me from them. People like me, people like us need people like him. I know what happened last night was scary. And I'm sure he's sorry for that. But maybe we should listen to what he was saying." Carol feigned her innocence, playing the part of a simple scared housewife like she had been since we got here.

"Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit that you people don't know shit about. Rick knows every grain of said shit. And then some." Abraham said bluntly and I couldn't agree more with him.

From Terminus to the stories I'd heard about some 'Governor', Rick had been through a lot. It was no wonder he snapped like he did with Pete. I'd only heard about Pete through Carol, who I asked, and in her words, "Pete got what was coming to him."

Maggie spoke next. Her words were spoken sophisticatedly with her accent yet I found myself listening to them with an ear for the art.

"My father respected Rick Grimes. Rick is a father too. He's a man with a good heart who feels the things he does; the things he has to do. And all of us who were together before this place, no matter when we found each other, we're family now. Rick started that. And you won't stop it. You can't. And you don't want to. This community, you people... that family... you want to be a part of it, too."

I suppressed my smile at the way she said 'family'. I had considered them family from the plain fact of I had nothing left and they were the only people and things I cared about now. Hearing Maggie say it too made me feel less strange.

I looked to Deanna as she coughed.

"Before we hear from anyone else, I-- I would like to share something in the spirit of transparency." She paused, looking at her people. "Father Gabriel came to see me the day before yesterday and he said our new arrivals can't be trusted, that they were dangerous; that they would put themselves before this community. He had specific words against Amelia; that she's a thief and that her father taught her to deceive us all, despite her claiming he died at the start."

I felt my jaw tense, my fingernails digging into my palms in anger and shame. I heard gasps from different Alexandrians and lots of eyes on me.

"And not one day later, Rick seemed to demonstrate all the things Father Gabriel said. I hate to bring a child into a discussion like this but I felt it should be shared. I had hoped Gabriel would be here tonight."

"I don't see him here, Deanna. So you're just saying what someone said," Jesse spoke up and I looked to her in shock.

I hadn't expected her to defend us. Out of everyone, I thought she'd be the most against us staying since Rick had beaten her husband. My people and Deanna continued to argue, whilst I kept my eyes glued to the floor. Gabriel had ratted me out. Yes, what he had said was partially true, but he worded it horribly. Not to mention no one had ratted him out for what he did to those people who needed help at his church.

I looked up, noticing Rick as he dropped a walker body onto the floor. People gasped, clutching their loved ones as they stared at the horrors they'd never had to see before.

"There wasn't a guard on the gate." Rick said. "It was open."

Deanna looked at Spencer, a glare on her face.

"I asked Gabriel to close it," he explained quickly.

"Go." She ordered, and Spencer ran presumably to go check the gate and for more walkers.

"I didn't bring it in. It got inside on its own. They always will-- the dead and the living, because we're in here. And the ones out there... ...they'll hunt us. They'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us. But we'll kill them. We'll survive. I'll show you how." Rick said. "You know, I was thinking-- I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives?" I cringed as I hoped he'd be able to speak some sense into the people here. "But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change. I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. You're not ready, but you have to be. Right now, you have to be. Luck runs out."

I looked to Maggie, she seemed more relaxed now Rick was here. I felt the same. No one was looking at me anymore because Rick was now here. I also just felt safer in his vicinity. I stood up quickly at the new presence of someone else. Pete was here. And he was drunk. With Michonne's sword.

"You're not one of us," he slurred. "You're not one of us!" He shouted at Rick, pointing the sword at him.

Deanna's husband, who I'd never actually spoken to, was quick to jump up and try deescalate the situation.

"Pete, you don't want to do this." Reg reasoned.

"Get away from me Reg!" Pete shouted.

I was ready to step forward and pull Reg away. I could see where this was going. As my foot stepped forward, I felt a soft hand grip mine and pull me back. It was Maggie. She shook her head at me, pulling me further towards her and wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"Pete—," Reg started but was cut off by Pete yelling.

Deanna screamed. I watched as the blood poured from Reg's neck and Reg dropped to the floor, gurgling. Deanna held him, holding her hand to his neck as blood continued to spill onto her hands.

I hadn't noticed Abraham tackle Pete and disarm him but when I had looked at them, Abe had Pete pressed on the floor, his face craning up to yell more at Rick.

"This is him!" He yelled.

"Shut up!" Abe yelled back.

"Oh, God! Oh, my love. My love, my love." Deanna sobbed as she held her husband. "No, my love, no. No, my love." His gurgling stopped and her sobs died down.

I couldn't pull my eyes away from the scene in front of me as much as I wanted to. Her sobbing only proved what Rick had said. They weren't ready.

"Rick," she said weakly, looking up from her position on the floor. Tears wet her cheeks and the whole scene made me uncomfortable. "Do it."

Without hesitation, Rick shot Pete and women screamed out in shock, maybe even fear. I didn't know why but I had to swallow the lump in my throat when Maggie squeezed my shoulder comfortingly.

"Rick?" An unfamiliar voice said, making me look up.

I hadn't even heard the gate open, and yet someone I didn't know stood there, a look of confusion on his face.