Poker Face

Chapter 64 - The Last Outpost

"Workers inside!" she shouted. "Saviors, get to the perimeters." She could see guards at other posts already looking through their scopes and she did the same, but she couldn't see anything. "DWIGHT, COME IN," she tried one last time before letting out an aggravated growl and switching the channel to the one used around the outpost.

"Anyone see anything?" one voice said.

"Nothing yet. North wall?" said another.

"Nope, nothing. Where's Dwight?"

"He stopped answering," Aven said before setting the radio back down and continuing to look through the scope towards the forest.

"Aven, you have to get down here!" DJ yelled from below. He, like all the other Saviors, knew they weren't allowed to let her get hurt. She was about to argue but she mentally cursed herself out for even thinking of staying up there in her condition; that wasn't smart and she was done being stupid. She quickly complied and turned to climb down the ladder, accidentally knocking her notebook down first. No later than she ducked out of sight, a bullet whizzed over her head. Out of the corner of her eye, two other guards dropped at once in their posts. She looked past them to the furthest post she could see and the guard had fallen and was lying dead on the ground.

Her feet hit the ground and DJ grabbed her by the wrist and began pulling her back towards the building. She let him pull her, unsure she'd be able to keep up otherwise. Just as they got to the door, several crudely-armored cars sped into the compound and all at once, bullets were flying in every direction.

"Dwight wasn't answering," Aven said when they got inside and closed the door.

"Shit, Negan's gonna be pissed if we lost another full crew," he muttered before bringing his radio to his lips. "Mara, Todd, lock the stairwells. Every floor."

"Roger," a female voice replied.

"Come on," DJ said, waving Aven down a hall. They were making their way towards Aven's room but that's when they heard the crash of a metal door slamming open onto a wall, followed by several shrieks and gunshots. "FUCK," DJ hissed, immediately turning a corner and rushing Aven down a different hallway. "Aven, I know you don't know me very well, but I'm gonna need you to fucking trust me." The gunshots were getting closer and several more screams were arising and subsequently being silenced.

"CHECK EVERY ROOM!" a voice yelled.

"That's Rick," Aven hissed, turning back. "I'll fucking kill him."

"Not right now," DJ insisted. He grabbed her wrist again to pull her down the hall but she yanked it away and drew her gun before progressing back the way she came. DJ ran in front of her and blocked her path, his hands out in front of him to show he meant no harm; he knew she'd drawn a gun on at least two Saviors when she first arrived at the Sanctuary. "Aven, you fucking can't. Negan will fucking kill all of us if anything happens to you." She stared at him furiously for a moment but then reluctantly lowered and holstered her weapon. "Thank you," he said. "Come on." He led her the rest of the way down the hall and pushed open a door, ushering her inside.

"A fucking broom closet?" she asked angrily. This was just going to make her a sitting duck.

"Sorry," he said before slamming the door in her face. She could have opened it but came to her senses and knew at this point, all she could do was sit and wait things out.

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3:26 PM
"Negan, we have a big fucking problem," Simon said over the radio. Negan was out in the yard with the other Saviors, clearing as many stray walkers as they could.