State of destruction- The Walking Dead [Alden x Maggie][2/2]

11- Kill or be killed

The night was closing in and after everything that had happened today neither Alden, Maggie, nor Negan wanted to split from what remained of Amaia's group. It was a safety in numbers kind of thing to stay with them for the night, at least that was what they told themselves. In truth they cared. Every single last surviving member of Amaia's group looked broken and drained and they needed all the help they could get.

Negan sat to the side and picked at the glass shards in his hand. Each one he picked out sent another droplet of blood seeping down his hand. That was the price for performing his horrifying act today; beating a man's head through multiple glass panes and slicing his throat. Each time his fingers enclosed around the next shard, he winced.

"Stop doing it like that, you'll make it worse. Let me."Alden grumbled as he walked up. He shrugged off his backpack and got his first aid kit.

"Awh, so you do care about me?"

"I need you at your best to get my sons back, can't have you die on me because of an infected wound before I get them back."

Negan had a strange look in his eyes, almost suspicious. "You need me, huh?"

Alden hesitated. He'd misspoken, one more misstep and he could lose it all. "You know the Croat better than us, and you owe it to Hershel."

"Because I killed his daddy?"

His eyes flashed angrily. "Because he chose not to kill you for what you did when he had the chance." He grabbed Negan's wrist and pulled his hand towards him. "You're going to let me do this."

"Aye-aye, doc."

Alden shook his head slightly. He really wasn't in the mood for Negan's stupid remarks. That little respect Alden had built up for him had washed away today. Negan called it an act, a mask, but Alden knew better. He no longer felt sorry that they would have to turn Negan over in the end.

He worked quietly to get all of the glass shards out of Negan's hand. He cleaned the tiny wounds with disinfectant and wrapped his hand in a clean bandage.

Negan flexed his fingers. "Thank you."

He moved away as he packed his stuff back up again. "Don't mention it." He wanted to go back to sulking quietly again. He went back to Maggie. He was cold, she was probably cold, and he made sure he nestled close beside her.

"You didn't need to do that for him," Maggie insisted. "Wasting those supplies on the road to gain people's trust is one thing, but he..." She sighed. "He simply doesn't deserve it."

"We need him alive. There was glass in those wounds. Too much chance of him getting a bad infection." He let his tired eyes fall closed. "Can't have him die of scepsis."

"I guess you're right about that." She sighed ."We should get moving."

Alden made a tired noise and buried his head into her shoulder. "Five minutes. It's gonna be a while before we'll find a place safe enough to sleep."

"I'll give you three minutes, maybe." She chuckled slightly.

It wasn't long before Amaia approached Negan. "Thank you for your help."

Maggie only watched.

"Yeah," Tammaso agreed. "I was lying about the thousands of us out there. Those people we lost." He started to choke up. "That's it. That's our family. Been going that way for a long time."

"We'd return the favor, but there's no supplies here for your trip." She took over. "Whatever's left, someone's already got it."

"Not that it matters. Your boat's sunk by now. You get on the island, but you don't get off. Those Burazi back there, the psycho they work for... He makes sure of that."