Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 91 (The First Day)

Daryl watched her as they walked into the armoury and she put her bow and quiver down on the shelf. "Nah. You're right. It's gonna be okay."

"Good," she smiled. She stood in front of him and hooked her fingers around his belt loops, pulling him close and pecking his lips. "We'll win."

"Yeah. We will," Daryl nodded with a hint of a smile as he leant down to kiss her again.

They headed back out to the gate with their guns in their arms, ready to face the Saviors head-on. As per Rick's request, the two of them were stationed right by the gate on the front line. Neither of them objected to that request; they wanted to be there. They had suffered their own demons because of Negan when held I his dungeons. They needed to show they weren't afraid of being seen anymore.

So far, it seemed that Dwight had been telling the truth about taking down a tree on the road, because no Saviors had arrived yet. People were up on the watch platforms, lined up and ducked down behind the wall. Rick stood up straight, ready to be the first one the Saviors saw when they did eventually arrive.

They had been ready and waiting for several minutes when they started to hear vehicles approaching. It was several big trucks like they were expecting, only when they saw who it was on the front vehicle with the megaphone, Eugene Porter, all of them felt a mixture of confusion, betrayal, and anger. Rosita more than any of them.

"All points are covered," Eugene said as the trucks approached the gate. "Every contingency is already met. I come armed with two barrels of the truth. A test is upon you and I'm givin' out the cheat-sheet."

The breaks of the trucks squeaked as they came to a halt in front of the gate. Eugene was stood on the back of the truck, which had pulled up sideways in front of the wall where Rick was stood glaring at the man that betrayed Alexandria to save his own life.

"H-Hello," Eugene greeted, seeming a lot less confident now he could see the look of distain on Rick's face. "I come salved with the hope that is my dropped knowledge that you heed. Options are zero-to-none. Compliance and fealty are your only escape. Bottom lining' it, you may thrive, or you may die. I sincerely wish for the former, for everyone's sake. The jig is up and in full affect. Will you comply, Rick?" he finished his pathetic speech.

Looking around, CJ saw that Rosita had tears in her eyes, along with a look of pure hatred for what Eugene was doing and saying. CJ was angry too. She put herself into a cell for weeks, because she'd rather have done that than betray the people who cared about her. And here Eugene was, thriving on the power that Negan had gifted him like it was no big deal.

Everyone was looking up at Rick, wondering how he was going to respond. There was a long moment of silence before he spoke.

"Where's Negan?" he asked.

Eugene lowered the megaphone and sighed before answering. "I'm Negan."

"Oh my god," CJ mumbled under her breath.

Looking up at Rick, she saw how angry and wound up he was from this whole thing. He looked down at Rosita, who's thumb was hovering over the button that would detonate the explosives. He thought for a moment, glancing around at everyone before nodding his head to her and ducking down.

Rosita pressed the button and they all prepared for the explosion, but it never came. It didn't take more than a second for the Alexandrians to realise what had happened, and it seemed the garbage people were onto them too.

In a flash, they all had guns aimed at them. The garbage people had gone back on the deal Rick made with them. None of the Alexandrians even had time to move, all of them clutching their guns but not raising them to avoid bein shot on the spot. In the corner of her eye, CJ could see two women with guns pointed right at her head.