"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥."
It was a chant Madalyn Taylor told herself every day. Every day since the world ended. She didn't believe it most times, but if she said it enough times it had to come true at some point. Right?
"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦."
...
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JASE
Many people talked about the calm before the storm. About the quietness that came before the tragedy. Jase had a friend who grew up down south. This friend had shared stories about the hurricanes that would hit from time to time. He would tell Jase about how only twelve hours before the storm reached them the sky would be clear and the atmosphere would be peaceful. Then the wind would be shaking trees to their roots and the rain would be making the bodies of water rise to extreme levels.
People talked about the calm before, but few mentioned the calm after.
After the first time at the satellite station, it had been calm. Calm until Maggie Rhee and Sasha Williams came up to their gates with two dead bodies and enough trauma to supply a lifetime. They didn't have time to be still after the battle at Alexandria. They had a war to prepare for and preparations could never be without chaos.
Now, as Jase sat on the steps of Barrington House, it was peaceful. At least, relatively so. A lot had to be done to bring the Hilltop back to how it was before the war. Cars had to be moved. Fortifications taken down. And those were just physical aspects.
Many people were enraged, with valid reasons. Rick Grimes had spared Negan even after everything the man had done. People wanted to see Negan dead. They wanted to see the Saviors as a whole wiped out. Jase... well, he wanted some of those things, too, but he couldn't find it in himself to be angry at Rick for what he did. Rick's reasoning for his choice was unknown to Jase, but he had to have an incredibly good reason to do it. Frankly, it was none of Jase's business.
They won the war, and that's what really mattered to Jase.
They won the war, and now they had to rebuild and improve. Build a better future.
Jase had made an offer to Nick for him to stay at the Hilltop if he wished. He wasn't sure if the man was welcome at Alexandria, but he wanted him to be welcome somewhere other than the Sanctuary. But Nick had declined, saying something about how he had things he needed to do back at the Sanctuary.
As Jase surveyed the Hilltop, he saw Madalyn standing by a red truck with her arms crossed tightly against her chest. Daryl was by the driver's side as Dwight walked around to the back. Madalyn had a vicious glare directed right at Dwight while he entered the truck. Jase didn't know where Madalyn and Daryl were taking Dwight, and if given the opportunity, he didn't want to know.
