Shambles- The Walking Dead [Alden x Maggie] [1/2]

48- Mask

It was up to Alden and Aaron to track down the herd and make sure they kept on heading the right way. All the while they had to stay hidden because being spotted meant they'd die. They'd been following the herd since Alexandria and everything had been going easier than either one of them expected. Aaron turned the walkie talkie on and gave it a whack on his prosthetic to make sure it worked properly.

"Tower do you copy?" He asked. They could still see the seemingly never ending stream of walkers moving past them.

"Yes, we copy." Gabriel replied over the walkie.

"They're heading towards Oceanside as expected."

"Any signs of slowing." His voice was somewhat distorted by the radio static through the walkie.

"Not yet. We'll stay on them. We'll send word if anything changes."

"Copy that. Be safe."

"Same. Over." And with that Aaron flicked the walkie off and put it back on his belt.

"Right, on we go." Alden sighed.

They continued their careful pursuit of the walkers because they both knew they'd be dead if they were spotted or made a loud noise. Alden clutched his bow tightly in his hand and held a single arrow clenched beneath his index finger on the riser.

"You know this plan..." He began hesitantly after they'd been walking for a while again. "It worries me. It needs so many parts to work out the way we planned it for it to work. One misstep and everything's lost."

"It has to." Was all Aaron replied.

"I guess so." He sighed back. "Only I'd hoped that after Alpha was dead it would be easier. Easier to move past what we lost."

"I don't know about that. But I can fight here, try to make sure we don't lose again. For Gracie, Hershel, Hope, Adam and all the other kids. Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes." Alden asserted. He peaked back to the continuous stream of walkers. "Hold on. Are they slowing down?"

"No." Aaron sounded stressed. "They're changing direction."

"Towards the tower?" Alden asked stressed but he already knew the answer. "Call it in."

Aaron already had the walkie out but all he heard was static. He tried to get it to work by twisting the knob and giving it another whack against his prosthetic but he just couldn't get it to work.

"It's no good." He said, worried. "We got to leave– now."

They turned to run. Their only hope to warn the others was to out run the herd and reach the tower before them. Their path got blocked by whisperers that stepped out of the bushes surrounding them immediately. They yanked out their knives and stood back to back as the whisperers encircled them completely. When Alden heard a gun cock he looked over his shoulder to see it aimed straight for Aaron's face.

—

"It's been a while since Aaron and Alden checked in." Maggie stressed as she tapped her finger on the table nervously. "I don't like it."

"I don't like it either." Jesus stressed.

Aaron said they'll send word if anything changes." Gabriel told them calmly. "No word means the herd's still heading to Oceanside."

"Or something happened."

"They're both capable fighters." He tried. "They're fine and everything's going according to plan."

"Maggie!" Dianne yelled as he ran up to them, Carl following close behind her. "They're here. The herd's coming."

She shook her head. "See? I said it was taking too long. Does everyone know what to do?"