Surviving Alexandria (BOOK THREE IN THE SURVIVING THE WALKING DEAD SERIES)

Heartbreak and Misery

     Guilt. That's all I could feel. Daryl knew I slept with Merle, his own brother. He couldn't even look at me. I ran home, hoping to find Daryl there, but he wasn't, no one was there. I don't even know why I even expected Daryl to be there, he looked completely heartbroken. I must've talked in my sleep or something. I needed to talk to him, explain to him what happened. I never cheated on him, but as far as I knew, he assumed I did. I quickly changed into a dry pair of underwear and jeans and ran towards the church, by the time I got there, Rick had already began to tell everyone about what happened at the Hilltop, the deal we struck with Gregory, and who the Saviors were.

     I looked around the church and saw Daryl standing off to the side at the front, this was my chance to talk to him. I quietly made my way over to him as he kept his focus on Rick. "Daryl." I whispered, but he didn't respond. "Daryl, we need to talk." Daryl looked over his shoulder at me, instantly scowling.

     "Ain't nothin' to talk about." Daryl whispered back before turning back towards the stage.

     "Yes, there is. We need to talk about what happened."

     "I'd rather be spared the details. Besides, I think ya did enough talkin' for me to know what happened."

     "Daryl, I-"

     "Michaela?" Rick called to me from the podium. "Could ya come up here please?" I let out a sigh and walked towards Rick. "Michaela, you're one of the most strategic people I know, do ya think you can come up with a game plan?" I gently nodded and took his place at the podium.

     "Okay, so I take it Rick has caught y'all up to date with the Saviors, right? About Craig?" I looked over at Jesus who gently nodded. "So, then y'all know that the only way to get Craig back is to bring the Saviors Gregory's head. Now, as much as I hate that fuckin' dude, we're not gonna do that. Half the world is dead and walkerfied, I'm sure it won't be hard to find a walker that looks like him. We bring the Savior's the walker's head and we take their compound, then we take 'em out."

     "Take them out?" Tobin asked. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

     "No, Tobin, I actually don't think it's extreme. These Saviors, they killed a sixteen year old kid, just to get a point across, these Saviors almost killed Sasha, Daryl, and Abraham. They're practically loan shark extremists. Who knows how many other communities the Saviors are doin' this to. It won't be long until they find us and then we'll be next to kiss their asses in exchange for our lives. I dunno about y'all, but the one thing I ain't is a fuckin' kiss ass. We gotta eliminate the Saviors. Every. Last. One of them. This is the only way to ensure our safety and stability."

     "We have to win." Rick added. "We do this for the Hilltop, it's how we keep this place, it's how we feed this place." Rick let out a sigh. "This needs to be a group decision. If anyone objects, here's your chance to say your peace." The room stood silent. I looked over at Daryl who looked at me in disgust, as if I was a disgusting cockroach. My stomach flopped, I wanted to crawl up in a ball and die.

     "You're sure we can do it?" Morgan asked as he stood up. "We can beat them?"

     "With what this group has done, what we've learned, what we've become, all of us- yeah, I'm sure."

     "Then all we have to do is tell them that."

     "They don't compromise, Morgan."

     "This isn't a compromise, it's a choice you give them. It's a way out, for them and for us."

     "He's right, Rick." I tittered before turning to Morgan. "Go ahead, go find 'em and talk to 'em, make sure they know to send us your beautiful obituary." Morgan didn't respond. "We talk to them, there is no compromisin', there's only death. Do ya really wanna play them odds?"