Daryl showed up the next morning. I avoided him.
Mom waited at the watch post like the others were about to show up. That would be worse.
"I'm thinking.." I tell Anna and Josh.
"What's that?" Josh asks.
"Thinking?" Anna teases her brother.
Josh rolls his eyes and I laugh at the duo.
"Mom wants to fight the Saviors. But, we can't exactly fight with just a few of us. Alexandria is out of the question. Hilltop.. they're farmers. Not fighters."
"So, you want to recruit?" Josh asks.
"No. We don't have the skill for that just yet."
"Then, what?" Anna wonders.
"Me and my mom were farmers before all this. My whole family. But.. we're fighters now. So, these people can make the same change."
"So.. recruit people inside the walls," Josh clarifies.
"Exactly."
--
The three of us spent all day and night talking to people about the Saviors.
It wasn't hard. I now felt grief due to Negan and his actions. Others had been feeling it for months.
The next morning, Anna and I were training with mom.
"Earl did good on that," mom notes.
"It's cool, right?" I grin, holding the weapon up. "Mr. Earl said it was like those clackers he used to play with growing up."
"Goodness.. Clackers," mom laughs. "That's as old school as I can remember. Daddy brought some from the store once. Bethy was still just a baby. You weren't even born yet."
I spin the weapon around and send mom a smile.
"Sean like to have broken his wrist playing with it. He didn't tell anyone but me. I kept checking on him throughout the night like a hurt hand was gonna kill him."
"Well, these sure can," I add, swooping the weapon around again.
"It'll take you some time to practice and get used to it. But, I think you can."
I spot Daryl walking past a trailer. He looked lost. Afraid.
"You should ask him to train you," mom catches on.
"No, I can do it myself," I shoot down at once.
"Daryl's good with a lot of weapons. He could teach you all the basics on technique and stances. Hand to hand combat, too."
"Will we need that?" Anna speaks up, pausing her actions of stabbing at the air. "Hand to hand combat?"
"As of now, it's just us in this. We have to be prepared for anything."
My lips purse.
"I'm gonna go head up on watch. Kick my feet up for a bit. If you need anything, you know where to find me," mom decides.
"Watch is 'kicking you feet up'?" I ask.
"Eduardo is up there, too. I like the view. It's fine," mom lists of.
As she walks away, she gives me a knowing look. She wants me to talk to Anna.
I sigh when she doesn't even go to the watch post. Instead, she walks to where Glenn is buried.
"So.. Daryl?" Anna asks.
"No," I deny.
"I thought he was your friend?"
I spin the weapon around. "Yeah. 'Was'."
"Is this about the lineup?"
"He got Glenn killed."
"He didn't mean to. There's no way anyone could've known that would happen."
"Negan said don't move. He moved."
"And probably thought he would be the one taking the fall for it."
"So, then, what? If he got his way and he got killed, was I just supposed to grieve losing Daryl instead? That's still another loss he would've made us go through."
"You need him. Your mom is right. He can train you, me, and even Josh!"
"My mom can train me."
"She is already leading a revolution here, Ellie. She's still pregnant. She can't do everything at once."
"Okay, then Sasha can train me."
"Ellie," Anna scolds. "Sasha, Jesus, and whoever else is great. But, Daryl would know best."
"You gonna say I have to forgive Rick next?" I entice.
"No. No, that's asking too much."
"But, Daryl isn't?"
"At least give him a chance? Have one singular conversation with him? Say 'hi'?"
"Ellie! Sasha!" mom shouts.
At once, my guard flies up. I set a hand on my knife and Anna and I take off running to the gate.
Just as we get there, Rick is stepping away from he and mom's hug. My footsteps falter and I pause.
"You were right," he tells mom. "I didn't listen and I couldn't. I can now."
My arm knocks into Anna's when Rick looks over at me.
"Ellie.." he says.
I clench my jaw and set my eyes into a glare. Rick steps in front of me.
"When they came, there were some missing guns. I had to search everywhere.."
I cross my arms, my weapon dangling by my side.
"I found this stashed in a ziplock bag in the back of the toilet," Rick says, taking out a gun.
It was my gun. Dad's gun.
Goddamn cops and their thorough eyes.
"We never counted it on the weapons logs. I think it belongs with you."
Gently, he hands the gun out to me. I snatch it from his hand.
"You had a gun, Saviors were there, and you didn't kill Negan?" I ask, sliding the gun in the waistband of my jeans.
"I didn't. But.."
"I did," Rosita speaks up.
I finally notice Rick wasn't alone.
Michonne, Tara, Rosita, Carl, and Enid were also with him.
Rick looks past me and sets off. I figure Daryl was there.
"You did?" I ask Rosita.
"I had a gun. Eugene made me a bullet. Negan was there and.. he killed Spencer."
"Spencer?" I repeat.
Some might think we were friends. But, my point stood the same. I didn't care enough to lose him. Still, Negan killed another member of the group.
"I shot at him. That goddamn bat got in the way and I missed."
"But, you tried?" I clarify.
"I tried."
Thank God.
I throw my arms around Rosita and hug her tightly.
"Someone finally thinking straight," I voice my inner thoughts.
With a huff, Rosita's shoulders relax and she wraps her arms around me as well.
"Someone that finally agrees," she whispers.
𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈--
guess whos back back again shinees back back back back
no fr hi im back from mental health break and i have a lot to post and say hehehehe