Losing Control ➵ The Walking Dead

CHAPTER FIVE

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"Help you find your brother?" Ezekiel repeated leaning forward in his chair. "How do you know he's still alive little warrior?" The man pressed. Ezekiel may have been an odd man, but he was smart. He would never risk the lives of his men on a wild goose chase for people that didn't exist.

Dory would never tell her friend how she knew her brother was alive, at least not the whole truth. She would keep her little affair with Negan behind closed doors like she had been doing for over a year now. Nights between the sheets, her heart skipping a beat whenever he looked her way - things she would never tell anyone. "I got a report from one of my scouts." Dory replied, lying easily.

"Ezekiel, my brother is still alive. My friends. Some of the strongest and most skilled people I know have just entered Washington. If we're going to take Negan down you're going to want their help." her voice held strength as she talked to the man before her. Ezekiel trusted Dory fully. They talked about trades, tactics and battle strategies all the time. Most importantly, between everything he would have considered the women a friend - even if she didn't see the same.

"You trust that they will help? This isn't their battle to fight." Ezekiel asked, finally leaning back in his chair and looking to the women with a curious stare. "It's not their fight yet. But you know Negan will stop at nothing to take from them either once they get settled and start to build a foundation. Just like he did to us." Dory answered. Dory knew Negan, he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

For being a world with no government left, Negan stepped in to play a dictator that would stop at nothing to have anyone and everyone working for him. "Very well Dorothy, you've convinced me." Ezekiel finally said with a smile. "We will help you find your brother and friends. We will come back together a week today to talk about what we've found and what the next step is." the man added in making Dory smile herself and give the man a nod while saying thank you.

Before she could turn to leave to go find Alexis a lady walked up to her, handing her a bag full of fresh fruits. Dory accepted it gratefully before finally leaving the building. Stepping back into the warm sunlight Dory sighed in relief. She was one step closer to finding her brother, one step closer to being with her friends and family. She quickly wiped the smile off her face and turned to the direction of the apple trees where Ezekiel sent Ben and Alexis.

When she found the two teenagers they were sitting on a bench under the apple trees laughing. A small smile broke out onto Dory's face when she saw them enjoying the company. "Alexis!" Dory called breaking the moment between the two. Both teenagers looked up to her, Alexis quickly bidding Ben goodbye before getting off the bench and running towards Dory. "So? How did it go with Ezekiel?" Alexis asked as the two walked back towards their horses.

Dory looked down to the curious girl before grabbing an apple from the bag she was holding. "Pretty damn good." Dory replied before biting into the juicy fruit. Alexis didn't take her eyes off the woman, a million questions going through her head in the moment. "What does that mean?" Alexis asked as they walked to the stables where their horses were during their visit. Dory looked down to the teenager beside her and gave her a small smile. "It means that everything is going to work out in the end." Dory replied, throwing the core of her apple into a bush before climbing onto her horse.

The two made their way through the streets of the Kingdom waving to Ben as they passed him while he was talking to his little brother, at the same bench he and Alexis were sitting on just minutes before. The gates to the Kingdom were opened for the two as the left, Dory nodding in appreciation while Alexis called a thank you to the two men standing watch. But the ride was quiet after that. The kingdom wasn't far from the hilltop, and Dory had too many thoughts going through her head to hold a conversation with the curious teen beside her.

Dory knew that she was a hopeful person, it was something Merle would tell her all the time growing up. Or at least he would tell her that she had her hopes too high. Growing up Dory thought if she brought home good grades it could impress her father - instead it made him angry. Telling her that she was trying to prove to him that she was smarter than himself, something she had never said to the man. She went out and got a job at the only place in town that would hire her, a small gas station all the way on the other side of the small place she grew up in. Coming home she was hopeful it could go towards groceries and new clothes. Instead it went towards her father's addictions, it's what it had to go towards he would say.

The last time Dory every asked her father for something was her first year of highschool. The quiet girl sat at the back of science class, avoiding the gaze of the teacher who talked about Protons and neutrons. It wasn't until her teacher started talking about stars and planets did the women at the front of the class see Dory's curious eyes. Her teacher gave Dory a piece of paper that had the address of an Observatory on it in the next town over, Dory ran home that day and begged her father to go. But the man ripped the piece of paper in front of her, ripping up her dreams with it.

But, no matter what Dory had hope for her brother and her old friends. She always did even after the prison fell. That was the last time she had seen her brother. When the Governor rolled up and took down the fences, killed her mentor in cold blood and shot at her family. Dory barley made it out of the prison after running back inside to her cell to get supplies. By the time she was back to the courtyard it was overrun and she was walker bait. No matter how many signs she passed telling her about sanctuary at Terminus, Dory walked the other way. She never took the tracks, finding safety in the tall trees. A week after the prison fell, Negan found her and brought her back to the sanctuary.

"Dory!" Alexis called for the upteenth time. The woman shook her head, clearing her thoughts before looking back at the teenager. "What is it kid?" she asked. "We're five minutes from home." Alexis informed her, making Dory nod her head slowly before looking to the road ahead of them. "What were you thinking about?" Alexis asked, her tone unsure. Dory was hard to read, one minute she would tell Alexis and Micheal anything they wanted to know - and the next she was closed off and would give them short answers until they changed the subject.

Dory sighed and looked at the girl, a small painful smile painted on her lips. "Nothing important, don't worry about it kid." she said softly.