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

69- Agreed

Hornsby headed for their truck straight away with that same smug smile on his face. Alden judged that he thought he had it all figured out. Maggie squeezed Alden's hand. She was thankful she let him go ahead with his absurd plan of basically destroying their only working motorized vehicle.

Hornsby tore the tarp of the old timer and after taking a short peak at it, he turned to Maggie. "Nice truck." He noted. He turned back around and let his hand glide across the hood. "This new?"

"We've only had it for a bit. I'm still working on converting the engine to run on the new fuel. It doesn't run." Alden replied. "I was never a car guy." He added with a shrug.

"You know, we found tire tracks at the scene." He stated; it was a threat. He reached down and touched the muddied wheels. "Seems it ran recently."

"You got something you wanna say, why don't you just say it?" Daryl spat as he took a step closer to Daryl.

"Just stating the facts." He scoffed. "Yeah. I came from a long line of gear heads." He explained to Alden alone. "Do you mind?" He didn't wait for an answer before he popped the hood and took a look at the engine. "She sure is clean for a truck that just sits here." He noted as he examined it.

"Told you, I'm working on it." Alden shrugged.

Maggie took a step back, closer to Alden. Her chest was flush against his chest and she could feel him breathe. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

"It'll be fine." He whispered.

"Ethanol conversion is solid." Hornsby continued. "And we left plenty of fuel last time we were here." He took another look at the engine and chuckled. "No wonder she won't work, the starter relay is disconnected. I'll just go ahead and hook that back up for you." He snapped the wires in place and closed the hood.

Alden felt Maggie's body tremble against his and wrapped his arm around her tighter. "Don't worry." He whispered.

Hornsby stepped inside the car and found the keys hidden in the vizor. He turned the ignition and nothing happened, exactly as planned. The engine was dead. Hornsby was frustrated and turned the key again, trying to force the car to come to life.

Maggie's stress faded and she pushed away from Alden gently. She crossed her arms and walked to the driver's side window. This felt better than punching him in the face. The frustration in his eyes was rewarding enough.

"You and your people have till sundown then you have to be one your way." She told him calmly, but sternly. She was in control and she wanted him to know it.

—

Maggie and Alden took a break from it all and stayed inside their trailer. They needed some privacy to discuss a couple of things.

"What'd you do to that car anyway?" You had me nervous there?" Maggie asked.

"A bunch of things. Disconnecting the starter relay was one of them." Alden replied as he picked Adam up from his crib. "Took the spark plug out and messed up the internal wiring. I figured he might catch one thing, but not all. Watching him fall flat on his face was wonderful."

She smiled, "yeah, but you gave me a minor heart attack as well."

"Sorry, I should've told you what I did, instead of keeping it to myself."

"No, it's fine." She sighed. "We should get Hershel and Hope back inside. I know letting them walk around on their own makes us look that much less suspicious, but it makes me uncomfortable. What if it still goes wrong? They'll be trapped in the middle."

"I told them to stick close and Hershel will look after his sister. He always does, even if no one asks him to." Alden said. He set Adam down on the blanket they used as a play mat. He immediately reached for the building blocks with his little hands.