When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 100 - You're gonna make me count?

They pulled the cars up sideways and hid behind them, armed and ready. Their three communities were spread out, covering every bit of free ground that belong to the Saviors. Louise stood beside Rick, the tip of her rifle wedged through a small hole between the cars, just big enough for her to see down the scope.

"Ready?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah"

"Alright then" he said, exhaling deeply before everyone raised their guns and fired 4 warning shots into the air. It didn't take long for Negan to open his doors and side out, baseball bat in hand and his closest ally's in tow.

The Saviors leader walked with such arrogance that it was taking all of Lou's strength not shoot him on site. A smirk was plastered on his face, his grin spreading from ear to ear as he walked back and forth.

"Well, shit" he laughed. "I'm sorry, I was in a meeting. I see you got your little mud flaps with ya. So I'm not exactly feelin' a reason for us to try throwin' lead at each other. I care about my people. I don't wanna just march them into the line of fire because I wanna play 'my dick is bigger than yours'". He pursed his lips and shrugged. "It is. We both know it. But I'm also comfortable enough to accept the fact if it wasn't. I'm certainly not gonna let my people die over that shit...like you're about too"

"My god he likes the sound of his own voice" Lou breathed.

"So, Rick. What the hell can I do for you?"

"Dwight" Rick said loudly, pointing towards the group of people standing beside Negan. "Your names Simon, you're Gavin and you, you're Regina"

"Rick, I'd feel remis-"

"No" he snapped, cutting Eugene off before he could finish his sentence. "I know who you are. Listen, you five, the Saviors inside, all of you have a chance to survive here. To survive this. Y'all can live if you surrender. Can't guarantee it any time but now. Right now"

Nobody moved. Negan's smile grew wider.

"So they surrender and you and your little piss patrol doesn't kill them?" Negan asked. "That sounds like a good deal. What about me, Rick?"

"I told you. Twice" he spat. "You know what's gonna happen"

"I do. I do know what's gonna happen. You don't. You have the idea the shit that's about to go down. Let me ask you somethin' Rick. Do you think you have the numbers for this fight? You don't. Simon..."

Simon nodded to his leader and moved back inside, only to return a few seconds later with Gregory - the vile leader of Hilltop - at his side.

"Of course...that's where he went" Jesus sighed from his spot behind Maggie.

"What do you have to say to Rick and the piss patrol, Gregory?" Negan asked.

Gregory put his hands on his hips. "The Hilltop stands with Negan and the Saviors. Any resident of the Hilltop who takes up arms or who supports this ultimatum against the Sanctuary or any of the Saviors for that matter, they will no longer be welcome in the colony"

"And?" Negan pressed, draping his arm over the leaders shoulders.

"Their families will be thrown out and will be left to fend for themselves"

"And?"

"Go home now. Or you won't have a home to go back too"

Maggie sighed defeatedly and turned towards her friends, the people who had risked their lives so far for their community, for their family and for the Hilltop. "You do what you need too"

Jesus looked to the floor and nodded before a small chuckle left his lips and a smirk formed on his lips. "All I have at the Hilltop are a bunch of books and an old lobster bib"

The smile that appeared on Lou's face was something he hadn't seen in a while. He winked at her playfully.

"You heard the man. Go back to separating wheat and shit or whatever the hell it is you people do" Negan scoffed.

"Doesn't look like anyone's goin, does it?" Lou shouted, taunting him.

"The hilltop stands with-"

"The Hilltop stands with Maggie!" Jesus yelled at Gregory.

Simon grumbled and grabbed Gregory by the back his blazer. "I feel like I invested a lot in you..." he backed him up slowly, shoving him further and further towards the steps. "And I am very, very disappointed" he gave one last shove and pushed him down the stairs, his body landing with a thud and a yelp at the bottom.

For the briefest of seconds, the entire place was silent. The only noise came from people tapping their weapons anxiously and swallowing the lumps that entered their throats. That was until a loud explosion went off in the distance. Louis knew what it was. It was the sound of Daryl and Carol executing their part of the plan...and she let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he was still alive.

"Sounds a like shit is goin' down, Rick" Negan huffed.

Rick moved to where they could see him. "You lieutenants...you're gonna a have to make up your minds. This has to happen now. This is the only way"

The smirk that had resided on Negan's face for the previous fifteen minutes quickly turned into a scowl. He resumed his pacing and Rick laughed, visibly laughed at the man.

"You're gonna make me count?" He looked at Lou, still chuckling. "Okay. Okay. I'm counting. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven"

He opened fire.

Negan ran to the side, knocking over his men to get inside as continuous bullets flew his way. Every window of the building shattered, every brick was charred and every door was full of hole upon hole. Nobody was getting out of that building without getting shot.

The group retreated slightly as Maggie shouted for them to fall back, clambering into their cars and shielding themselves from want was to come. Louise however stayed with Rick, firing at Negan as he failed to enter his own sanctuary.

"Fall back" he shouted at her, only for her to shake he head.

"I'm not leaving you here"

He patted her on the back, dropped to a crouch behind a car and nodded. The RV exploding behind them filled their ears. They were so close to the fire that she could feel the flames singeing off the edges of her hair as the smoke embedded itself into the fabric of her clothes.

"You alright?" Rick asked as he dropped the detonator and helped her up.

"Yeah, we have to go" she said quietly. She tugged on his arm.

"Yeah"

Rick ran to his car as she did to hers. He didn't look in his mirror to notice that she hadn't made it. He hadn't realised when Gregory pushed her out of the way and dived into the drivers seat. And he definitely hadn't noticed when the dead swarmed her.