The Walking Dead: Danielle Grimes

122. The Garbage People

Danielle's POV

There are too many of them to fight. Even if we have all the guns we will still be outnumbered. They lead us through a maze of high stacked garbage piles, through a storage container and into a large open space.

They never speak, just gesture where they want us. They push us to the middle and form a very deliberate formation around us. Watching them is like watching an ant farm. They moved with purpose but none that's clear to me. Finally they stop, forming a perfect three ring circle.

Without a word said between them one of them each steps forward and searches us for weapons. The woman whose searching me also manages to find the flip knife I hide in my bra. She touches it through my shirt and looks at me raising her eyebrow. Clearly asking if I would remove it or if she has to. Glaring at her, I hand it over.

I hate not having any weapons on me. I feel naked without them.

The woman's steps back with my shoulder rig over her shoulder, my claw in her hand and the rest of my knives tucked into her belt. She regards me, tilting her head to the side before she steps forward and snatches my sunglasses off of my head and puts them on her face. I feel an antsy feeling in my stomach at someone else touching my stuff making me scowl at her.

"Are you a collective or does one lead?" A woman voice comes from behind us. She steps out from the storage container. She wore the same expression as the others. I'm guessing they're a collective. It has a cult feel to it which makes me feel uneasy.

When Rick doesn't respond right away the woman standing closest to him shoves him forward several steps. "This." She mutters in disgust.

It's not you who need to be disgusted.

"Hi." Rick says pleasantly. "I'm Rick." For someone who's temper is a little short, I'm surprised at how calm he right now which the same can't be said for me.

"We own your lives." The leader says calmly. "You want to buy them back? Have anything?" She asks looking around at her group.

Rick cocks his head to the side but doesn't say anything about her weird as fuck speech. "Well, you have one of my people, Gabriel. I want to see him first, then we'll talk."

The leader lifts her chin and the one who pushed Rick walks away without a word. The others stand perfectly still around us and it makes me feel uneasy. I shift feeling the pressure in my thigh. This is going to turn sideways, I just know it. This was stupid and now we are going to pay for it.

The woman returns shoving Gabriel, harshly may I add, in front of her.

What is it with this woman and shoving?

When he sees us there is such relief on his face and I know he didn't leave on his own. She shoves him towards the rest of us making him stagger. Tara catches him and smiles at him gently.

The leader glances over all of us before she turns her attention back to Rick. "The boat things you took, got taken. Saw them, so we took the rest. And we took him." There isn't a hint of remorse as she nods at Gabriel.

"Then you know we have nothing to buy back our lives with." Rick says casually before his face hardens. "That's what you'll have soon, nothing. Because me and my people already belong to that group who took the supplies from the boat. They're called The Saviours and they own our lives. And if you kill us you'll be taking something from them and they will come looking. You only have two options when it comes to The Saviours they either kill you or own you..." Rick looks around at the group surrounding us. "But there is a way out. Join us. Join us in fighting them."