𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 ↠ 𝘤.𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴

71: Bad Things Happen to Good People

Carl helped drag a body into the fire they had started to burn the Saviors and Jadis's group members' bodies. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he fought to keep himself composed. He brought his right arm down to notice blood on the sleeve of his white flannel. He knew it wasn't his blood and that it wasn't there in the beginning of the fight. Taking the flannel off, he tossed it into the fire and walked away.

The air was still and the room was quiet as Rick stood at the front of the church, the pews filled with the people of Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom who decided to stay and listen before heading back.

Rick cleared his throat and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "As I'm sure most of you have heard," he began. "Two members of my group were killed, they were both children. Ryder and Elle." Some people shifted in their seats when they learned the names of the deceased. "They were good kids, great kids. Elle helped save my life, back in the beginning of all this. I had just woken up from a coma and had very little knowledge of what was going on and she was patient with me as I adjusted." He paused.

"I know it's not easy to trust new people, but something just clicked and I instantly trusted her. Her parents were presumed dead and she turned to me when big decisions were made so I found myself taking her under my wing." He let a small smile appear on his face. "Not in a father-daughter way, I was more of a.. protector. That job got harder as she got older and more reckless and volunteered herself for dangerous situations. I always knew she'd be okay. This one time, though, I failed to protect her." His smile disappeared just as quick as it had appeared. "Everything I do from this moment on will be for her." He finished.

He walked away from the stand as Daryl took his spot. He walked over and stood by Michonne, taking her hand as they waited to hear what Daryl had to say. "When I first met Elle, I thought she was a prick, she thought I was a prick. To be honest, we were both kinda pricks." He talked without looking at anyone. He kept his head down, looking at his hands. "We found out we had a lot in common, actually. Supposed dead older brothers, not fans of our parents, we liked to be alone but hated being alone long enough to sit down and think about all of the fucked up shit we did. We haven't spent a lot of time together lately, which is a shame because I like her a lot more now than I did about five years ago."

Daryl looked up from his hands and into the crowd of people in front of him. "I would do anything for that little girl, I still will. She knows that. I don't care who does it, but Negan better wind up dead. Sooner rather than later." His mood had quickly changed and now he was pissed off. He stepped away from the stand and wiped his face as he walked over to stand next to Rick.

Michonne pushed herself off of the wall as she began making her way up. "You alright?" Rick offered his assistance.

"I'm okay." She smiled. She made her way up to the small podium, taking a deep breath. Michonne was the only woman to fill the "mother-like" role in Elle's life, and did a better job than her biological mother. "Elle was the first person to trust me when I met Rick. She gave me a chance and got to rub it in everybody's faces that she was right, which she enjoyed." She smiled. "I trusted her with my life, and it's a damn shame she lost hers so early. She had her whole future ahead of her, a really great future."

She nodded as she fought off tears. "I knew Ryder before I met this group for the first time, and he was a nice kid. He was funny, strong, he never let anybody's words put him down. I wasn't surprised at all when he and Elle clicked so fast, they had so much in common. They both had so much out there for them, they deserve justice." Like Daryl, Michonne had started to get a little upset as she heard herself speak. She decided against saying anything more and walked back to her spot next to Rick as Maggie stepped up.

What was supposed to be a meeting regarding the next moves to make against Negan, turned into a small memorial for the children. Nobody minded, seeing that the group needed to grieve and talking seemed to help. "Michonne was right, about Elle having a bright future. She didn't know it, or she refused to see it, but she would've been a great leader. She was strong, smart, knew how to take a punch." She laughed a little at the last part. "When I first met her, my daddy was digging a bullet out of her because she had been shot. It was back in the beginning, she couldn't have been older than twelve. She went from screaming and crying to up and working on the farm two days later." Maggie looked at everyone in the crowd, it was clear that the death of children didn't only have an impact on the people close to them. "I know she's in a much better place now."