Rosie really did not like having her wrists duct-taped together, because it made her very itchy. At the same time, she also couldn't decide if the gag was worse than the duct-tape. At least the gag wasn't itchy. After a short car ride, they were brought into some building. They were taken to a room, and then forced to sit on the ground as far from each other as possible.
"You're wondering if there's a way out of this. There isn't. Not unless I say so," Paula said as she duct-taped Carol's legs together. She then moved onto Maggie, and then Rosie. As Rosie's legs were being duct-taped, she could hear the others out in the hallway, firing off shots- presumably at walkers- before calling for backup. "I want to kill you all right now. It's taking all I have not to, so go ahead, I dare you, try something. Just see what happens," Paula spat before going off to help them.
Once Paula was gone, Rosie tore her glare away from her and looked at Maggie instead, hoping she'd know what to do. Maggie had twisted herself to rub the duct-tape around her wrist up against the corner of the wall she was leaning against. It didn't seem to be working very well. Even though Rosie was sure that it'd probably be useless, she tried the same thing. As long as gunshots were firing, the Saviors were still busy killing walkers, so Rosie and Maggie kept at it until the gunshots suddenly stopped.
Rosie went back to staring straight forward- that is, until Carol started making some weird noise. Looking over at Carol with her eyebrows pinched together, Rosie could see that Carol was breathing really fast and really heavy. Rosie didn't get it. She was being very un-Carol-like, and it was a bit concerning. It was like she was hyperventilating or something.
About fifteen seconds later, the group of Saviors came back into the room. Paula was helping the man stand up, because by now he had lost so much blood that he could barely stand on his own. "When's the last time anyone checked this place?" Paula complained.
"It was fine a month ago," the youngest woman answered.
"Sweetie, that was a month ago. Shit hards quick. The guns have gone bye-bye, the food's gone bye-bye, and we got growlers up and down the halls," the oldest woman said. Rosie thought that she ought to be stupid, because now she, Maggie, and Carol all knew that they didn't have any guns aside from the ones in their hands, and that things weren't going well for them.
"Means people can get through, too," the man said as he leaned himself up against the wall. "Maybe we should get gone."
"Carol!" Maggie shouted through her gag. Being so focused on listening to what the Saviors were saying, Rosie almost forgot about Carol's odd behavior. Her breathing was only getting louder.
"Yeah? Where the hell to?" the youngest woman asked the man, her voice tense and irritated.
"Nowhere," Paula answered. Her voice was calm and authoritative. She was crouched down in front of the man, and she was doing something to his gunshot wound. Rosie wished they'd just let the man bleed out, but that probably wasn't going to happen any time soon. "Got dead in the halls? Free security. Those assholes get here before out people, the cold bloods will buy us some time," Paula explained. Rosie wanted to scoff, because walkers would maybe buy them thirty seconds of time when it came to Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and all the others. They could take down walkers without even thinking about it. Paula turned to Carol, growing irritated with her loud breathing. "Shut up," she said.
"Jesus, it's bleeding. It's not supposed to keep bleeding," the man continued to complain about his arm as Carol continued to breathe loud and fast. Rosie felt like her head was about to pop. Focus on listening. Try to figure out how to get out.
"Molly, give me the rope," Paula said. Molly. Which one's Molly? Rosie watched carefully as the oldest woman handed Paula a rope. Molly was the oldest.
"I'm not losing it," the man claimed. "I'm not."
"So you grind it out. Jesus, Donnie," the youngest woman growled out. Maggie started shouting through her gag again, and Carol's panting kept getting louder and louder. Rosie wanted to scream at everyone to just please shut up, but she didn't do that, because she needed them to be talking, so that she could listen.
"Screw you, Michelle! We have to get him back. He can fix it," Donnie said, his voice harsh and rough as he clenched his teeth in pain. The oldest is Molly, the redhead is Paula, the youngest is Michelle, and the man is Donnie, Rosie memorized. "We have to, Paula."
"No," Paula said, pulling the rope tighter around Donnie's arm. "I saw them, you didn't. They took the place down, they got the guns, they'll kill us, too. I'm not going down like that, not after making it this far," Paula ranted. Yes, you are, Rosie wanted to tell her, but she kept her mouth shut instead. Maggie started shouting more and more through the gag until it irritated Paula enough for her to get up and stalk over to Maggie. "What?" she asked as she pulled Maggie's gag down.
"She's hyperventilating. Somebody needs to take her gag off," Maggie said in a panicked and worried voice as she gestured over to Carol. Carol had her head tilted up and her eyes all wide as she breathed heavy. Paula rolled her eyes, and then looked to Molly, nodding her head over at Carol.
"She's a nervous little bird, ain't she?" Molly commented as she made her way over to Carol. When she pulled Carol's gag down, Carol let her breathing slow down a bit, but not completely.
Michelle pulled out her gun and pointed it right at her. "Look at you. Bitch, how did you make it this far?" she asked, her voice showing her utter disbelief.
"Honey, you need to take some yoga breaths and calm your ass down. The little girl is doing better than you," Molly drawled, her hands on her knees as she bent down to Carol's level. She watched as Carol kept trying to reach into her pocket. Molly reached into the pocket for her and pulled out a cross on a beaded chain, and suddenly, Carol's breathing started to calm. She held the beads up close to her face, and Rosie was beyond confused. "Oh. You're one of those," Molly said.
Paula walked up next to Michelle, peering down at Carol. "What are you so afraid of? Are you actually afraid to die?" Paula asked, her eyebrows raised. She scoffed and turned her head to the side. "All this and you're scared of getting your ticket punched."
"It doesn't matter what happens to me," Carol said quietly. She looked up at Paula with a few tears in her eyes. "Just don't hurt the others. Don't hurt Maggie. Don't hurt the baby," Carol revealed to them. Rosie's eyes widened a bit as she stared at Carol. Why would she tell these people that Maggie was pregnant? Wouldn't that give them more power over Maggie?
As Michelle moved to point her gun over at Maggie, Paula's eyes widened. "Yeah, right," Michelle voiced her disbelief.
"She got a bun in the oven, she doesn't look it," Donnie mumbled.
"I'm only two months, I think," Maggie told them all.
"You're some kind of stupid, getting knocked up at a time like this," Paula said. Rosie wanted to kill her, let her turn, and then kill her again. Maggie only seemed to chuckle to herself. "You think that's funny? You already have one liability," Paula gestured to Rosie, "and you want to add another?"
"When was it ever smart to get knocked up?" Maggie asked, glaring up at the woman. Paula didn't give any response. "Women used to just die in childbirth. And they always thought the world was gonna end. Living through it, why would you just give up?"
"But are you gonna live through it?" Paula interrupted, tilting her head to the side a bit. Rosie didn't like her offhanded threat, and she was getting more and more fed up. She wondered how long she was going to have to stay here. She was only with the Vatos for less than a day. But this time it was just different. Paula put on a smile. "Anyway, that's cute. Babies are the point. Children are our future- except for that one," Paula smirked over at Rosie for a moment, and Rosie flipped her off. "Making bite-size snacks for the dead. The point is to stay standing."
"No. Walkers do that. I'm choosing something," Maggie said, her voice firm and confident.
"That's right. You are. You did," Paula said. After that she turned and walked off, leaving the room behind her. Michelle kept her gun pointed at Maggie, but Rosie didn't see the point in it. Maggie wasn't doing anything they didn't like- not yet, at least.
Molly pulled a cigarette out of a box from her jacket, and started smoking as she paced across the floor in front of Rosie. Rosie watched her carefully, anxiety bubbling in her stomach. Molly took a drag from the cigarette, and then began coughing loudly. She had obviously had been smoking for far too long.
"The baby," Carol spoke up from her spot on the floor.
They all started to stare at Molly, and she started laughing wildly, her coughs mixing in with her laughter. "Honey, in case you haven't noticed, you've got bigger problems than a little secondhand smoke," she said before putting the cigarette back in her mouth.
"Molls," Michelle said, her voice firm and stern. Michelle has a soft spot for babies, Rosie noted. Maybe she'd have a soft spot for little kids, too.
"Y'all are worse than a bunch of evangelical second graders," Molly complained as she crouched down to put out her cigarette against the cement flooring. She went into the corner and started hacking into her handkerchief. Rosie looked away, wishing that she could cover her ears. The sound of it made her feel like she was going to throw up.
"Those things'll kill you," Carol spoke up. Rosie wanted to roll her eyes, because she had seen Carol smoking before, too. But by now, Rosie had come to realize that Carol was putting on some sort of act.
"They already have," Molly said. She untangled to rag in her hands and showed it off. It was coated in blood. "I'm a dead woman walking," she said, seemingly unphased by it. "Which puts us in exactly the same boat." Now, Rosie finally decided that she had enough of having a gag in her mouth. So, in order to get one of the Saviors to take it out, she began coughing. She was ignored for a good thirty seconds before Molly finally rolled her eyes and roughly pulled the gag down. "Y'all are a bunch of babies," she huffed.
He's even more of a baby, Rosie debated on saying. Donnie was still whining about his arm on the other side of the room. "My arm feels like it's on fire," he was complaining, tugging on the rope that had been used as a tourniquet.
"You pull that off, you gonna be nothing but a spigot," Molly told him as Paula came rushing back into the room.
"Ok, hold on," Paula said as she began tightening the tourniquet even more. "Scout crew is coming. They're 30 minutes out, maybe less."
"He doesn't have 30 minutes," Maggie said. Rosie wondered if she was telling the truth. "His nerves are dying. If he doesn't get medical help, he's gonna lose his arm, maybe his life. I'm not a doctor, but my dad lost his leg, and I know that much. Your man, Primo, you think he can help you? It's time to end this. Talk to Rick."
"30 minutes," Paula said to Donnie.
Donnie went on whining about his arm for a few moments after that, and Rosie tossed her head back, sighing as she rolled her eyes. When she looked back forwards, Donnie was staring right at her with angry eyes. She glared right back at him. Donnie moved his angry gaze over to Carol next. "You know my problem?" he asked, stumbling up to his feet. He paced over to Carol until he was standing directly in front of her. "She did this to me. She did it and she's just sitting there right as rain, fully intact. No, you're not gonna make the trade. And we just kill them all now."
"No, we wait for the others," Paula said. She spoke like Rosie remembered her old teachers speaking. "We have to be smart. We need insurance."
"Then shoot her in the arm, too. Or shoot the kid. That'll make her regret it," Donnie said, standing tall in front of Carol.
"No," Paula said with a scoff of disbelief, shaking her head.
"You really gonna stick up for some gutless bitch over me?" Donnie drawled.
Rosie decided that she finally had some words worth saying to these people. "Fuck you," she spat, glaring up at Donnie. Each Savior's head shot in her direction.
"You talk?" Paula asked, her voice tense to show just how irritated she was.
"Yes," Rosie said.
"You fucking talk? Then what's all this bullshit been since we found you?!" Donnie asked, now stepping in front of Rosie. Rosie glared up at him, trying to keep herself strong and tough. "What's your name, girl?" Donnie asked, his voice low and his teeth clenched.
"Fuck you," Rosie said again.
"Answer the question," Donnie said, trying to make himself sound threatening. Rosie kept her lips sealed, continuing to just glare it. "Answer the question!" Donnie shouted, suddenly throwing his fist against Rosie's cheek.
"Hey!" Michelle yelled.
"Don't touch her!" Maggie yelled at the same time, leaning closer, ready to stand up and do something if Donnie tried anything else.
"We need to know her name!" Donnie yelled back.
"No, we don't!" Michelle argued.
"Sit back down," Paula said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"She could be the girl," Donnie growled, gesturing back to Rosie with his good arm.
"She's not the girl. Sit the hell down," Paula ordered.
With her eyes even angrier than before, Rosie stared up at Donnie. Her cheek stung, but she tried to ignore it. Be tough, she reminded herself. Tougher than Donnie, at least. "God damnit!" Donnie suddenly groaned, bending over as he gripped onto his arm.
"Shut up," Paula said.
"Don't push me, Paula!" Donnie said before letting out a dramatic groan.
"Shut up!" Paula said again. Donnie stayed bent over for a few more moment before suddenly jerking up and using his good arm to hit Paula across the face, smirking all along.
Maggie pushed herself off of the wall and swung her feet around to knock Donnie on his ass. "Leave her alone!" she shouted.
As Maggie stood up, Donnie got ahold of her hair. "You dumb, uppity bitch!" Donnie shouted. Rosie was able to maneuver herself so that she was standing on her knees, but she didn't know what to do. Luckily, before Donnie could do anything, Maggie head-butted him so hard that he went tumbling backwards. When he did, Carol grabbed onto his leg, trying to stop him, but he overpowered her and began kicking her rips while Rosie screamed at him to stop.
After the third kick, Paula slammed her gun right into Donnie's head, knocking him out cold. She took a breath, then turned to Maggie. "You really are some kind of stupid," she said, her hand up against her cheek. "Take her out. See if she knows anything. Should've done that before." Michelle stepped forward and grabbed onto Maggie's jacket, pulling her out of the room.
•
Rosie was getting more and more impatient by the second. She had tried to tune out most of the conversations that were had between Carol and the Saviors. The only conversation she listened to was the one where Rick had called to check in, on the walkie. He and the others must've grown impatient. Rosie was counting the bricks on the wall in order to pass the time when Paula finally gave her answer to Rick over the radio.
"Asshole, are you there?" she asked the walkie.
"I'm here," Rick's voice replied.
"We've thought about it. We want to make the trade," Paula said. Rosie's eyebrows furrowed. For many reasons, she couldn't believe Paula's words. There had to be a catch. They weren't just going to let them go. The only reason they needed Primo was because of Donnie, and Donnie was already as good as dead.
"That's good," Rick said.
"There's a large field with a sign that says God is dead about two miles down I-66. Good visibility in all directions," Paula described the location for them to meet at.
"We'll meet you there. 10 minutes?" Rick asked.
"10 minutes," Paula confirmed. Once she was done on the radio, she began pacing and shaking her head to herself. "Now, that was too easy."
"Maybe they're just itching to get their people back," Molly said, shrugging her shoulders.
"No, there was no static. There should've been static," Paula denied Molly's guess. She turned to stare down at Carol. "They're close. They're probably already here. We were careful, but there were tracks. There had to be," Paula reasoned. Rosie had a feeling that Paula was right, because Daryl was the best tracker she'd ever met. Maybe they were already there. Maybe Rosie wouldn't have to kill anymore people in order to get back to her people alive. "They killed everybody back home. They have the weapons. They know what they're doing. They're probably waiting to kill us as soon as we walk out those doors. That's what we'd do."
"Thought ya weren't afraid of dyin'," Rosie murmured.
"I'm not going to die like an idiot," Paula snapped.
"No. You have to listen to me, please. Rick is a man of his word. He wouldn't put any of us at risk to attack," Carol said, her voice all broken and pleading. She was really committing to the fragile, weak little bird act.
"Then he's just as stupid as you are," Paula said. Rosie thought that the Saviors were the stupid ones, personally. They had already turned against each other, and they were just waiting to be attacked. Paula pulled the walkie off of her belt again, and pressed down on the button. "What's your ETA?" she asked.
"A few minutes away, but the car is running on fumes," Rick's voice told her.
"We have gas. We'll fill you up and then we move. Radio when you're back in the perimeter," Paula said.
"Copy that."
Paula put the walkie back on her belt, then went to pick up her backpack. "We gotta get ready. Pull Michelle out so she doesn't get stuck in a fight. We have to be ready to move at any second," she said to Molly.
"What about the woman?" Molly asked.
"Leave her for now. If we leave, we travel light. And if the pricks are here, we pick 'em off at the door," Paula said as she loaded her gun. Rosie waited patiently for the two of them to leave and close the door behind them before she scooted closer to Carol.
"Why're you holdin' that thing?" Rosie asked, her voice all quiet. Carol slid the cross out to the tips of her fingers and began to repeatedly scrape it against the cement floor, and now Rosie understood. A smile almost found its way onto her face, but her face remained stoic.
Once Carol was able to sharpen the cross into a point, she used it to cut the binds on her wrists. Rosie held her hands out to her, and Carol moved on to cut Rosie's binds. As soon as their wrists were free, they both began working on undoing the tape around their ankles. Once they were both free, they got up to their feet. Carol started heading to the door, but Rosie went back to where she had been sitting before; right next to Donnie's unconscious body.
Rosie crouched down next to him, and she began searching him for any hidden weapons. She had noticed him reaching to his waist when Maggie head-butted him, so that's where she looked first. Much to her luck, there was actually a knife there, tucked beneath his shirt. Just as she pulled the knife out, Donnie started to stir. He tried to sit up, but Rosie didn't hesitate to stick the knife into his eye.
When Rosie stood back up and turned to the door, she could see Carol watching her. Carol took in a sharp breath, then nodded. Together, the two of them went out into the hallway. They stayed quiet, sneaking through the halls until they found Maggie. Maggie was in a room, rubbing the tape around her wrists up against the corner of the wall again. Rosie hurried over to her and used her new knife to cut off the binds.
As soon as her hands were free, Maggie's hands went to the sides of Rosie's face. "You're ok?" Maggie asked, her eyebrows pinched together as she eyed the bruise that was forming on Rosie cheek.
"Fine," Rosie said, nodding her head. "You?"
"I'm ok," Maggie said, easing Rosie's worries. After giving Rosie a big hug, she moved on to hug Carol. "Are you ok?" she asked Carol.
"I have to be," Carol answered before pulling away from Maggie. "They've spread out, but I think we can make it past them. We have to try."
"We can't leave them alive," Maggie said. Rosie agreed with Maggie. She wanted these people dead, for what they said and did.
"No, we should just go," Carol argued, shaking her head.
"Carol, we have to finish this. We have to," Maggie said, her voice tense.
"There's only three of 'em left. We can do it," Rosie said, nodding along with Maggie's words. Carol stared at the two of them for a moment, her eyes all watery, and then she gave in.
They snuck back out into the hallway, and they hid around the corner. They just had to wait- only for a few minutes- for one of the Saviors to go back into the room they were held in. Rosie counted 231 seconds until Molly made her way back into the room, and grew angry at the sight of Donnie's dead body on the floor. She counted 20 more seconds until Maggie's knife slid across Molly's throat, and 2 more seconds before Molly was dead on the ground.
Once Molly was dead, they moved on to searching for Paula and Michelle. They found a hallway full of walkers, but the walkers were all stuck in their own place, tied up. The three of them started making their way through the walkers, stabbing each of them in the head, but then gunshots started firing through the hall, so they dropped down.
As soon as the gun was empty, Carol popped back up, a gun in her hand. She pointed it at Paula. "Just run," Carol said.
Rosie's eyebrows furrowed. "Kill her," she said. She didn't understand why Carol was being this way. These people had attacked them, threatened to kill them, and locked them in this building full of walkers. Killing them all would be nothing but self defense. They had no reason to keep them alive.
"Go on, do it," Paula taunted, her hands down at her sides. Rosie waited for the gunshot. "You've killed Donnie, you've killed Molly. Your people have destroyed my home."
"Get outta here," Carol said quietly, her face contorted with emotion.
"Carol," Maggie said, also waiting for Carol to pull the trigger.
"You have no idea. The things I've done, what I've given up, what I had to do," Paula ranted.
"Just run," Carol pleaded.
"Carol, what're you doin'?" Rosie hissed.
"Carol, shoot her," Maggie said.
"Go ahead. I've already lost everything," Paula taunted even more. A walker came right up behind her, and Carol finally pulled the trigger. The gunshot hit Paula on the shoulder, knocking her back.
"Paula? Paula?! Molly?" Michelle's voice echoed in throughout the halls. Rosie kept herself pressed against the wall, right next to Maggie. They waited until Michelle's shadow came around the corner, and then Maggie slammed her up against the wall. Rosie watched carefully, ready to insert herself into the situation if Maggie needed her to do so. When Michelle seemed to get the upper hand for a moment, Rosie tensed, but Maggie was quick to take control again, shoving her back.
"You lying bitch!" Michelle shouted. She pulled a knife off of her belt and slashed it at Maggie. The knife sliced across Maggie's stomach, and Rosie's heart dropped. She instantly lurched forward, slamming her knife into Michelle's back. "Get off me!" Michelle let out a scream, and threw Rosie back off of her. When Michelle turned around, a bullet went through her head, and Carol was standing there next to her.
Rosie's head snapped towards Maggie, her eyes wide. "Are you ok?" she asked quickly, regaining her breath.
"She only got my shirt," Maggie said, catching her breath. Relief flooded Rosie's body, and she took a deep breath. Her relief was interrupted by Paula's laugh coming from a little bit down the hallway.
Maggie went for the discarded gun on the ground, but Carol stopped her. "I'll do it," she said, and began walking towards Paula's laughter.
"You're good. Nervous little bird," Paula mocked, still smiling and chuckling to herself. She pulled herself up to her feet. "You were her. But not now, right? Me, too."
"I told you to run," Carol whispered, shaking her head to herself.
"If you could do all this, what were you so afraid of, Carol?" Paula asked.
Carol started stepping closer, and Rosie wished she would just pull the damn trigger. "I was afraid of this," she said. Paula continued to laugh, and Carol took another step forward. When Carol took that step, Paula lurched forward and slammed the gun out of Carol's hands. They fought and fought for a good twenty seconds, until Carol pushed Paula into one of the poles that the walkers were stuck to. Rosie watched as a walker tore into Paula's face.
Screaming, screaming, screaming.
When the other Saviors arrived to help, Maggie, Carol, and Rosie were waiting around a corner. They had poured gasoline on what was called the kill floor. And when the Saviors gathered on the other side of the door, Carol slid the door shut and tossed her cigarette in through the crack. When the room lit up into flames, all they could hear was screaming, screaming, screaming.
•
Through the smoke and walkers, the three of them found their way to the exit. When Maggie slid open that door, her weapon raised, Glenn was right on the other side, Rosita behind him. "Maggie," Glenn breathed out, instantly enveloping his wife in a hug.
Daryl rushed in next, and dropped down to his knees when Rosie came running towards him. Rosie wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but only a second later, Daryl pulled away so he could look at her face. "You ok?" he asked, one hand on her shoulder and the other on her cheek.
"Yeah. A guy hit me, but it ain't even hurt that bad, and I killed him," Rosie explained. Daryl stared at her for one more moment before pulling her in for a longer hug. "I did what I wanted. I helped Maggie," Rosie told him.
"Yeah. You did good, but you ain't ever comin' with to somethin' like this again," Daryl told her before pulling away once again. "Where's Carol?" he asked next. Rosie turned around to show him where Carol was, just as Carol walked out the door. While Daryl went to Carol, Rosie was met with Rick coming in through the door.
"Hey," Rick said, bending down to hug the girl. "Are you ok? What happened in there?" he asked.
"They weren't as nice as Guillermo's people," Rosie told him, raising her eyebrows a little bit.
"Yeah, I can see that," Rick said, gesturing up to her cheek. "We can go home and get you some ice. Just hang on a sec." He left Rosie next to Daryl and Carol, then went over to a new man that Rosie had never seen before. The man had blood all over his face, and he looked to be in distress. Rosie was pretty sure that this was Primo. "Your friends are dead. No one's coming for ya. So you might as well talk."
"Let him burn," Daryl grumbled.
"I'm gonna ask you one last time... how'd you get the bike?" Rick asked, raising his eyebrows at the man. Rosie didn't know what bike they were talking about.
"We found it."
"Like hell you did," Daryl muttered, and Rosie realized the bike must've been the same bike that had been stolen from Daryl.
"We found it," Primo said again, refusing to make eye contact.
"Was Negan in that building last night or was he here?" Rick asked.
Primo seemed to consider the question for a moment before finally turning his head to look at Rick. "Both," he said. "I'm Negan, shithead. There's a whole world of fun that we can talk about, so let's have a chat."
"I'm sorry it had to come to this," Rick barely managed to get out before pointing his gun at Primo's head and pulling the trigger.
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I won't be able to post a chapter tomorrow because I'm going to a Duster concert with my brother 💪💪💪 i have to drive two hours alone with him and idk how to have a conversation with him so wish me luck 😭