the great war (r.g)

twenty-one

cora and dan walked into hilltop hand in hand, several paces behind the rest of the group. the hilltop community was breathtaking, too say the least. there was one main house surrounded by plenty of rv's. there were rows of crops and sheds used for storing food. "this place is amazing," cora muttered.

"it's okay," dan joked. "that one over there," he pointed to a small, army green colored motor home on the outskirts of the community, "is mine. come on." dan started walking towards his home, pulling cora along with him.

"cora," rick called. "come on." cora stopped walking to turn and look at her friends.

"she's coming with me," dan told rick, answering for cora. rick looked from cora, to dan, and back. cora held eye contact with rick, slightly nodding to tell him she was okay.

when cora turned back to dan, he was eyeing rick. "come on," she said. dan continued walking to his rv, pulling cora along again. secretly, she wanted to go along with rick, to know his plans with hilltop. but dan, her fiancé, was back from the dead and she felt she needed to stay by his side.

the inside of dan's motor home was nothing special. there was a bed, a small kitchen, and a couch. there was a big difference between the house she had been staying in in alexandria. "this is so cute," cora commented.

"thanks darlin'" dan said. still gripping tightly to her hand, dan led her over to the couch where they sat down. he finally let his grip go and turned to look at cora. "so i was thinking," he started saying. "you're going to live here. with me." cora was caught off guard. they lived together, in a tent, at their old camp, but this was a big upgrade.

"oh, i dont think a can," cora admitted. "i love you, i do, but my family is in alexandria. and there's definitely not enough room in here for izzy." there was only one bed.

"your family will watch and take care of her in alexandria," dan implied.

cora laughed. that thought was outrageous. izzy didn't live in cora and dan's tent but living in a different community was just crazy. "that's not happening. i'm not going to be living in a different community than my daughter. especially not in today's world."

"don't be ridiculous, cora," dan also laughed. "she'll be okay. she's tough."

"im not being ridiculous, you are," cora was getting upset. dan looked angry. before he could get even more upset, there was a scream outside. cora got up and rushed around dan to the door. one of the hilltop residents was straddling rick with a knife to his throat. there was an older man cora guessed was the leader that was off to the side, stabbed. "rick," cora whispered and ran off towards him, leaving dan by his rv.

before cora reached the scene, rick stabbed the man on top of him. cora stopped in her tracks a few paces away from him. "what?" rick asked as he got to his feet, looking around at the people surrounding. his face and torso was covered in blood, which scared cora until she realized it was the man's, not ricks. "hey," cora said, approaching rick. "are you okay? what was that about?" jesus summoned rick and his group to meet in the library.

"ethan just came back from a mission to someone named 'negan''s compound," rick informed cora as they walked towards the manor. "he said his brother was taken captive and negan would only let him go if he killed gregory."

"is gregory okay?" cora asked.

"harlan took gregory to their infirmary," rick told her.

"you didn't answer me before. are you okay?" cora asked. rick might be tough but someone holding a knife to your throat can't be easy on anyone.

"i'm fine," rick said. something about his demeanor was colder than it has ever been towards cora.

"rick," she said, grabbing his arm, stopping him on the stairs up to the library. "i wanted to be there, i swear. it's just...dan was pulling me towards his rv and it seemed important to him." cora hated not being in the loop about the important things.

"are you okay?" it was rick's turn to ask the question. cora nodded with a small smile. rick softly smiled back before turning off toward the library.

"negan is the head of a group called the saviors," jesus was explaining. "he agreed not to attack us in exchange for half of our resources."

"we can rescue craig," rick offers. "we will rescue craig and take out the saviors in exchange for food, medicine, and supplies."

jesus thought about the offer. "i'll take it to gregory when he wakes up."

***

a/n
short chapter sorry