-Chapter fifty seven; Conquer-
———
TAYLOR
SLOWLY OPENING HER HEAVY
eyelids, Taylor looked around the room she was in.
Everything before her was blurry, and she saw a figure standing over her.
Blinking her eyes a few times to clear her vision, she mumbled, "M-Merle?".
She watched as he brought a lighter to the end of a cigar in his mouth, lighting it before he flicked it off and shoved it back into his pocket.
Taking a drag, he replied, "Yep, yer good ol' pal Merle, darlin'. What? This the hundreth time yer in bed from some fuckin' injury? Broke yer ankle, stabbed in the side by a piece o' wood, got punched in the nose and landed flat on yer ass, got shot in the stomach, bit by a walker, got an' infection, hit in the head by some assholes gun, an' now this? Stop bein' such a fuckin' pansy baby, me an' Daryl taught ya' better than that.".
Groaning, she sat up, "It's not my fucking fault everywhere I turn there's another fucking asshole.".
"Sounds like a load o' bullshit ta' me. Yer better than all o' 'em. What is it this time? Fractured rib?" He asked, poking her side.
She cried out in pain, "Fuck, Merle! Don't do that!".
"Stop bein' a lil' bitch, yer not. Ya' know. Yer friend Jordyn's plannin' on killin' that shitbird Nicholas. She already shot that Pete dick in the shoulder after he sent ya' onto yer ass." Merle pointed out.
"...Why are you here? You died..." She mumbled in response.
"Well, yer hullicinatin' an' shit. Even if ya' are, take this bit o' advice: don' take shit from these pansy assholes. Yer a Dixon now, that what my baby brother said, right?" He asked.
Groaning, she blinked and instead of Merle being above her, it was Eugene.
"I am no medical expert, but I do believe she is hallucinating." He said.
"What? Did you fucking give her too many pills?" Jordyn asked.
"Only as the doctor prescribed." He replied.
"And you...believed him. Even after he's the one that gave her the fractured rib." She pointed out.
"Well Ms. Ford, I do belive Pete would never dare try to give her an overdose with Daryl being around." He responded.
"Yeah, well Daryl's gonna fucking kill Pete when he gets back." She sighed.
"An' what? Yer still out for Nicholas's head, aren't ya'?" She heard Kenny ask.
"Of course I am. He got Noah killed. I'm not gonna let him get away with it." Jordyn said.
That's when Abraham opened the door, holding two jars with flowers, "Oh. I'll come by later.".
"It's fine. Taylor's up and Tara's fast asleep." Rosita replied.
Abraham sat down in the chair next to Eugene that was next to Taylor and Tara's bed while Jordyn and Kenny stood.
"I didn't know Tara was in here..." Taylor mumbled, looking over at a sleeping Tara in the bed next to her.
"Got hurt on the run where...never mind..." Rosita mumbled, looking down at the ground.
"I uh...got you these. Jordyn said you'd like 'em." Abraham said, handing Taylor on if the jars of flowers.
Smiling, she thanked him, "Thanks, Abe. I love them.".
"Anyway, would you be up to sitting in a wheelchair for a bit?" Rosita asked her.
"Why?" Taylor replied.
"Well, you have a fractured rib after Pete shoved you down the other day. Atleast, that's what he said. Deanna's having a meeting tonight to determine if Rick should be exiled or not. Deanna specifically stated she wants to hear what you have to say." Rosita explained.
"...Yeah, I'll go. Who's gonna push me?" Taylor asked.
"Me. Jordyn would, but...she specifically implied she has unfinished business with Nicholas." Rosita sighed.
"Why is everyone against me killing him? He got Noah killed. End of story." Jordyn groaned.
"We just don't want you to get kicked out. Deanna finds out, she'll be pissed." Abraham replied.
Jordyn mumbled, "I can take care of myself, Abe...".
"...Daryl and Aaron aren't back?" Taylor asked.
"I am afraid not. I tried to contact them via radio, but I had no luck with a response. I do believe though Daryl does not particularly care for my presence, so you may have better luck with reaching him." Eugene explained.
"I mean...if one of you could get me a radio...I'd really appreciate it..." She said.
"I'll get you one." Jordyn said before walking out.
Jordyn came back a few minutes later with the radio, to which she handed to Taylor, "Here.".
"Thanks. Do you mind pushing me around the block in the wheelchair?" Taylor asked.
"Sure." Jordyn nodded.
Rosita wheeled over the wheelchair, and Kenny picked her up and set her down in it.
She whimpered in pain as he asked, "You alri'?".
"Y-Yeah my side just really hurts." She groaned.
"Here. I'll wheel you to Carol's while you talk to Daryl so she can help you clean up for tonight's meeting." Jordyn explained, and she then wheeled Taylor out of the house and down the block.
Kicking the radio to life, Taylor said, "Aaron, Daryl, do you copy?".
"I'm here, Taylor. What's going on?" Aaron replied.
"Oh thank god. Are you two alright?" She asked.
"If you count being trapped in a car surrounded by walkers." Aaron said.
"Oh shit. Um...could you hand over the radio to Daryl?".
"Yeah, sure." He replied, "Daryl, Taylor wants to talk to you.".
"Hey, babygirl." She heard him finally say.
"Hi. I've been worried sick about you two. You've been gone for so long." She said.
"I know, we'll be home soon. You doin' alri'?" He asked.
"Well...if you count having a fractured rib, then yeah." She replied.
"Wait, the hell did ya' jus' say?" He replied.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'll explain when you get back." She said.
"Hey, Taylor. We're here." Jordyn pointed out.
"Oh, alright. Daryl, I gotta go. Carol's gonna help me get cleaned up. I'll talk to you later." She said.
"Alri'. I'm gonna make it back, I promise. I love ya' babygirl." He replied.
"I love you too, dad." She said before turning the radio off.
Opening the door, Carol smiled, "Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?".
Shrugging, Taylor replied, "As good as you can with a fractured rib.".
"Don't worry. We'll get you a shower, a new change of clothes, and some food in your stomach." Carol explained.
"C'mon, let's get to it. We don't have that much time left until the meeting." Jordyn said before wheeling Taylor inside.
———
AFTER GETTING A SHOWER, A
change of clothes, and some food, Jordyn left to take care of whatever business she had to do with Nicholas, and Rosita came by to wheel Taylor to the meeting with Carol.
All the residents of Alexandria stood by a campfire, chatting quietly as they waited for the meeting to start.
"...What do uou thinks going to happen to Rick?" Taylor asked Rosita.
"I'm sure everything will turn out alright." She replied.
That's when Deanna spoke up, "We're going to start.".
"Can we wait?" Maggie asked, "There's still people coming. Glenn, Rick.".
"We're going to start." Deanna repeated, "It's already dark. We're going to talk about what happened. Not the fight. Not what precipitated it. We're dealing with that. We're going to talk about one of our constables, Rick Grimes. We're going to talk about how he had a pistol he stole from the armory, about how he pointed it at people. And we're going to talk about what he said. I was hoping he'd be here.".
"She said he's coming." Michonne spoke up.
"...Yeah...Rick will show up, and Glenn too. And Daryl and Aaron will make it home safely...right?" Taylor thought.
"I'm sure he'll be here." Carol agreed with Michonne, "And I'm sure we can work this all out.".
They waited a few more minutes before Deanna said they had to start, and Michonne began her speech, "And after being out there; and then not being how you were out there...it can drive you crazy. Rick just wants his family to live. He wants all of you to live. Who he is is who you're gonna be...of you're lucky.".
Then it was Carol's turn, "Rick Grimes saved my life over and over. There's terrifying people out there. And he rescued me from them. People like me, people like us; need people like him. I know what happened last night was scary. And I'm sure he's sorry for that. But maybe we should listen to what he was saying.".
Then Abraham went, "Simply put...there is a vast ocean of shit that you people don't know shit about. Rick knows every fine grain of said shit...and then some. And overall...I will never forget how he protected my sister and the girl she cares about for all those months.".
Taylor couldn't help but smile, "Abraham...you are one interesting man...".
Maggie then began her speech, "My father respected Rick Grimes. Rick is a father, too. He's a man with a good heart who feels the things he does, the things he has to do. And all of us who were together before this place, no matter when we found each other, we're family now. Rick started that. And you won't stop it. You can't. And you don't want to. This community, you people...that family...you want to be apart of it, too.".
Deanna then turned to Taylor, and she took it as her queue to start her own speech, "When everything went down all those months sgo, I was just with my fathers friends, Merle and Daryl Dixon. We met up with some other people on the highway...and we ended up forming a group. More and more joined us...and we became one big family, just how this group is now. But...a lot of the people in the camp...treated Merle and Daryl as outsiders, and I understood. They were hotheaded assholes...but they still meant a lot to me, so it kinda hurt. Then...a month later...Rick Grimes showed up. He brought this family even closer, and with over time, even though Merle died; wich he still lives on with me and Daryl, Daryl slowly warmed up and became apart of the family too. Look, what I'm trying to say is that Rick Grimes is a man full of compassion towards his family, and he'd do anything for them. You all are his family too now.".
Deanna nodded a knowledgeably before she sakd, "Before we hear from anyone else, I...I would like to share something in the spirit of transparency. Father Gabriel came to see me the day before yesterday, and he said our new arrivals can't be trusted, that they were dangerous, that they would put themselves before this community. And not one day later, Rick seemed to demonstrate all the things Father Gabriel said. I had hoped Gabriel would be here tonight.".
"Oh that fucking coward. After this, I'm gonna go find him and beat his ass even with a broken rib.".
"I don't see him here, Deanna. So you're just saying what someone said. Did you tape him?" Jessie asked.
"He's not here." Maggie agreed.
"Neither is Rick." Deanma countered.
"Jesus Christ, it's like she wants him gone...".
"Excuse me." Maggie said, and she walked away from the meeting.
"Maggie...".
That's when Tobin, a fellow resident of Alexandria, decided to step up, "I just want to keep my family safe. You know? And I don't even know what that means anymore, but if it means that we've got to get rid of-".
That's when Rick walked up, covered in blood and a walker over his shoulder, and he tossed the walker down and some of the woman gasped.
"There wasn't a guard on the gate. It was open." Rick announced.
"I asked Gabriel to close it." Spencer, one of Deanna's children, said to his mom.
"Go." She replied, and Spencer ran off towards the gate.
"I didn't bring it in. It got inside on its own. They always will...the dead and the living, because we're in here. And the ones out there...they'll hunt us. They'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us. But we'll kill them. We'll survive. I'll show you how. You know, I was thinking...I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives? But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change. I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. You're not ready, but you have to be. Right noew, you have to be. Luck runs out." Rick explained.
That's when Pete walked up with a sword, "You're not one of us. You're not one of us!".
"Pete, you don't want to do this!" Reg exclaimed, rushing up to Pete.
"Get the hell away from me, Reg." Pete argued.
"Pete, just stop." Reg said, stil trying to get Pete to stop.
The two continued to argue, and as Pete pushed Reg away, the blade of the sword sliced him in the neck, and he began to choke on his own blood as Deanna held him.
"Oh god..." Taylor gasped, Rosita wheeling her back a bit.
Abraham pinned Pete down as he continued to scream.
As Reg drew his last breath, a crying Deanna looked up at Rick, "Rick...do it.".
Without hesitation, Rick put a bullet in Pete's head.
"Rick?" A man asked, and Taylor looked up to see an unknown man with Aaron and Daryl.
"Daryl!" She cried, rushing up to him and hugging him despite the pain in her side.
"You alri'?" He asked, placing his hands over the skin of her cheeks.
Looking down at a now lifeless Pete, she replied, "Yeah...everythings fine now.".
End of Season 5...
Word Count: 2326
Edited: ❌