The End of a New Beginning // Daryl Dixon

Part 48

Daryl

"EVERYBODY ELSE, WE need eyes in every direction." Rick announces. "They're coming for us. We might not know how or wen, but they are." I fall to my knees and tied Aaron's hands behind his back security.

"Me and Sasha, we didn't see him." Maggie calls out. "If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've."

"Anybody see anything?" Rick questions.

"Just a lot of places to hide." Glenn calls.

"Alright, keep looking." Rick nods. Moments later, Maggie revives Aaron with a wet clothe. Aaron let's out a small groan, his eyes opening up a little bit and looking up at Maggie. Surprisingly, a smile forms across his face.

"That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick." He says.

"Sit him up." Rick demands.

"I think it's better if-"

"It's okay." Aaron stops Maggie.

"He's fine. Sit him up." Rick demands. Maggie and Michonne pull Aaron up. Aaron let's out a groan, opening his jaw from the soreness.

"You're being cautious." He nods. "I completely understand."

"How many of your people are out there?" Rick questions him. "You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?" Aaron sighs. 

"Does it matter?" He asks.

"Yes." Rick nods. "Yes, it does."

"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say- eight, 32, 444, zero- no matter what I say, you're not going to trust me." He shakes his head.

"Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face." Rick tilts his head.

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?" Aaron asks. Mystery guy confirmed. I turn my head and look at the water bottles.

"How long you people been following us?" I demand.

"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail." Aaron states. "Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world." Rick slowly approaches Aaron.

"How many others are out there?" He asks.

"One." Aaron answers confidently. As much as I don't wanna tell Rick, I believe Aaron is telling the truth. I can always tell the difference between good people and bad. Maggie's right, if he wanted to kill her and Sasha, he could've. But he didn't. I don't know if he's smart enough not to do it since there'd be us against just him, or maybe he's telling the truth. 

"I knew you wouldn't believe me." Aaron says, Rick shaking his head. "If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real?" He questions. "What if I drove you to the community? All of you? We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."

"I'm not sure how the 16 of us are going to fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in." Rick shakes his head.

"We drove separately." Aaron explains. "If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us." He nods.

"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Carol asks.

"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16." Aaron nods. "We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it."