WILLOW HELPED Maggie check each gun, ensuring they were fully loaded.
Maggie had talked to her after they buried Denise. She worried about an attack on Alexandria, and Willow agreed. They didn't end things. They started something.
Glenn and Michonne trailed towards them, watching the two of them check the guns and drop the larger ones into a bin.
"We'll have these, but we should hide a few. That way we can find them, but strangers can't." Maggie explained to the two. "In case anyone gets in."
Glenn picked up a pistol and checked it, the metal clinking together. "They won't."
Their heads snapped towards the front gates of Alexandria when they heard Daryl's motorcycle revving.
"Oh, no." Michonne said.
"What the hell is he doing?" Glenn asked, his eyes squinted.
"He's going after them." Willow said under her breath, tossing her gun down.
The four of them sprinted to the gate, trying to catch him and talk him out of what he was about to do, but Rosita already had the gate open and Daryl was already pulling 60 on his bike. Michonne and Glenn immediately hopped into a van, the engine roaring to life and heading to the gate.
Abraham hopped down from his post and stepped in front, slamming his hands down on the hood of the van. "Whoa! Make room for my freckled ass."
"No." Rosita said harshly. "Cover my watch. You stay."
"Hey, we should keep numbers here." Glenn said, protesting Rosita's assistance.
"I know where Daryl's going." She shot back, already halfway into the van.
Willow stepped up to Glenn's window, her thoughts racing, unable to form simple words. He looked at her, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "We'll bring him back, I swear."
He gave her arm a squeeze, offering some reassurance, but it didn't do much.
It took everything in her to step back and watch the van leave the community. She didn't look away until Abraham had the gates shut.
Maggie stepped beside her, slipping her hand into Willow's. They both shared the same fear and desperation, and they could practically feel it through each other.
"They'll make it back." Maggie said, speaking those words to see if she could believe it herself.
Willow clenched her eyes shut. "We need them all here, now. If you're right about an attack coming, we just lost four of our best."
"What time did she leave? You know what she took?"
Maggie and Willow turned towards Rick, walking fast with Tobin towards them at the gate.
"Sometime in the night. I never heard her go, but she made a bunch of food, you know." Tobin responded, his voice shaking. "She took her pack, one of my coats-"
"Did she leave on foot?" Rick asked, his face twisted.
"I- I don't know."
Rick and Tobin finally came to a stop beside Maggie and Willow. He had the attention of Abraham, Sasha and Morgan, the three of them stepping closer.
"What the hell is going on?" Willow asked, looking between Tobin and Rick for an answer.
Rick tilted his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Carol. She left."
Willow's eyes widened, and Maggie shared the same look.
"Rick, I took over at 12:00, I was on till 6:00. I never saw anything." Sasha explained.
"Front's been quiet since the others left." Abraham added.
Rick's muscles tensed so much, it looked like his seams were about to burst. "What? Who?"
Abraham sighed. "Daryl. He went ICBM after the Saviors from yesterday. Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, they all went to shut that shit down."
"Where's the other car?" Tobin muttered, peering through the gate.
Willow walked up to the gate, peeking through the metal bars. "What car?"
Tobin spun around. "We added two more cars yesterday. One of them's missing, the one we put right between those houses."
Abraham took a look too. "You can barely see between the houses from up top, especially at night."
"The note, can I see it?" Morgan asked Rick, his eyes glued to the paper in his hand.
Rick handed the paper to Morgan as he grilled Abraham and Sasha with more questions. "You never saw any headlights, taillights? She's smart enough to cover her tracks."
Sasha thought for a moment. "She must've left during the shift change."
Willow ran a stressed hand through her hair, all of them watching Morgan trail down the street with the note.
"Where are you going?" Rick called out to him.
"I'm gonna go find her." Morgan called back.
"Wait." Rick said firmly, turning to Willow. "Tell Carl I'll be back soon. No one else leaves. Everyone else stays ready for a fight."
"Rick, no, wait-" Willow pleaded, but he was already jogging to catch up with Morgan, ducking into the passenger seat of his car. Abraham slid the gate open for them and shut it immediately once they were through.
"Make that six." Willow said heavily.
-
Maggie had Willow on house calls while she took an extra shift on watch.
She went to each home. Knock on the door. Give them a gun. Be ready to fight.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
She pushed the cart along the street, glancing at the next house. A lump formed in her throat while she looked at the large brick home. She felt a sense of guilt. She had promised Deanna that she would check in and look out for Spencer, but with the events lately, it has slipped her mind.
She went up the back porch steps slowly, rehearsing what she wanted to say, but her mind came up empty. She was already knocking before she could form any coherent sentence.
It didn't take long for him to open the door. It opened slowly, and he stood tall in the frame of it, a glass of a dark liquor in his hand.
"Hey." He said quietly, rocking on his feet.
"Hey Spence." She responded, hardly looking him in the face. "We need to talk about something. Come outside with me?"
He nodded, taking a few steps out before following her down the stairs and to the cart she had been wheeling around.
"What's this about?" He asked, eyeing the pistols and rifles sprawled on the cart.
She put her hands in her pockets with a sigh. "What we thought was ending things with the Saviors... turns out we started something, and they're not going to live it down."
He took a sip from his glass, staring blankly at the guns. "So, we're gearing up for a fight."
She nodded, sifting through the guns before picking up a handgun and a rifle. She held them out to him, and he was hesitant in taking them for a moment, but he set his glass down on one of the steps and took both guns.
She stood awkwardly beside him, hoping he would say something. He wasn't usually the quiet type, but his silence lately has been deafening.
"Six of our people are out, and we don't know when they'll be back. We need to be ready for if shit hits the fan while they're gone." She finally spoke up, beginning to wheel the cart out of his backyard.
"Willow." He called out, stopping her before she was too far.
She turned slowly, watching him take a seat on the bottom step, purposely leaving room beside him for her. She bit her lip, sitting down on the step with him.
He took one last sip of his drink before dumping the rest out in the grass. "Were you with her? Denise?"
Willow took a deep breath, the mention of her feeling like an old wound reopening. "Yeah, I was."
"What happened?" He was hesitant in asking, but he felt the need to know.
She bounced her knee anxiously. The slightest mention of the incident rips her from reality and forces her to relive it, and somehow it gets worse each time. Her lip quivered, and her eyes stung. "I couldn't protect her, couldn't save her."
She wiped the wetness away from her eyes, but it immediately came back. "She asked us to go with her to protect her, and we couldn't."
She did her best to not let the emotions escape her, but they were brutally overwhelming. Her tears stained her cheeks in long streaks and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Each heave of her chest felt like a thousand hot knives perforating her lungs, but somehow that wasn't anywhere close to being worse than the grief she constantly feels now.
Her body shifted into Spencer's side as he put his arm around her and pulled her into him. Normally she would retaliate, but in the moment it felt a little better. She'd been surrounded by death for so long, she'd take any chance she can get at feeling the warmth of a living being.
She reached up and wiped her eyes again, and they didn't fight her. They slowly began to dry.
He gave her a few seconds to compose herself, and it worked. Breathing didn't feel like a challenge, and her eyes didn't burn anymore.
He let her go, leaning back and looking at her fully. "Are you okay?"
She shook her head, laughing at the irony. "I'm supposed to be asking you that."
He raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look.
"Nothing." She said in a heavy breath, scooting herself off his side. "Really though, how are you?"
He smiled with sad eyes. "I'm fine."
"Fine can mean a lot of things." She responded, clearly seeing he's still hurting.
"Yeah, it can." He said with a sigh, leaning into the step behind them. "But I think that's all we can be now."
She was quiet in thought. She can't remember the last time she was better than fine. She can smile and laugh, and she can love all she wanted, but she hasn't felt more than fine in a long time.
She pushed herself up to her feet, giving Spencer a small smile as she took the cart and headed to the next house.
-
Willow sat with Carl, the both of them with their hands full. She had Sienna in her lap on the porch, and Carl with Judith in his.
"She's getting big." Willow said with a smile, looking at Judith smacking Carl's leg.
He nodded, playfully bouncing Judith around. "Feels like she was just born yesterday."
"Yeah, that's how it goes." She said, looking back at Sienna playing with a few blocks. "Time flies now, but it also stands so still."
Carl picked up on her eagerness for everyone to get back. He scooted to her side with Judith, kicking his legs out in front of him. "They'll be back. Any minute now."
She looked at him and smiled, appreciating his positivity. She didn't know how he did it. The poor boy got his eye shot out, yet he still has the biggest smile of them all. She wished she could have his optimism. It was something she seriously lacked these days.
"What did I say?" He said with a broad smile. "Any minute now."
She looked at him confused before following his line of vision to the gates. Abraham had the gates open, and she could just barely see a car coming in, and that was enough to have her flying to her feet with Sienna in her arms, running down the street and waiting by the gates. She listened to the car's engine coming closer, and she smiled when she recognized it as Rick and Morgan's car, but it quickly faded when Abraham slid the gates shut.
Rick parked the car in line with the others, getting out and walking over to her and Abraham.
"Morgan and Carol?" She asked him, confused.
He shook his head. "He's staying out there to look for Carol. What about Daryl and the others?"
"No sign of them." Abraham responded for her.
Willow adjusted Sienna on her hip, forcing a strong face, but ultimately failing. She couldn't hide how worried she was. She was thankful to have Rick back in one piece, but the fate of the others wasn't known, and that made it all worse.
Rick didn't hesitate to hug Willow. He wrapped her up in a firm hold. He didn't want to tell her they'd be back because there was no knowing anymore. So he held her for a minute, and that was the best he could do for her at the moment.
He took a step back, giving Willow's shoulder a squeeze and playing with Sienna's hand. "Anything happen here?"
She shook her head. "Not yet."
He looked off down the street, squinting to see Carl and Judith still sitting on the porch. He smiled and waved, but his words were dark and scary.
"They're coming."
Willow looked down at her boots, wishing she didn't hear him right. "You're sure?"
He turned to her and Abraham. "Yeah. They're gonna come, full force."
Abraham cocked his gun. "Well what in the damn-"
"Rick, Willow!" Enid screamed from down the street. "It's Maggie!"
They glanced at each other for a second before sprinting back down the street to Enid, her face red and flustered.
"What happened?" Willow asked quickly, following her into the house.
"I- I don't know. There's something wrong. I think it's the baby." Enid said quickly, leading them to the kitchen.
Willow and Rick ran to Maggie's side. She sat on the floor with her back against the island counter, her skin pale and clammy. She screamed bloody murder as she clutched her stomach.
"What do we do?" Enid said in a panic, pacing around the kitchen.
Carl ran through the door with Judith, his eye wide when he saw Maggie.
"She needs medical help-" Willow began to say.
"Where the hell do we get that? Denise was the only one who knew anything." Enid said, making her way to Carl's side for comfort.
Willow looked at Rick. "Hilltop."
He stared at her for a second before nodding. "We need to go now. I'm gonna pull the RV around."
She nodded and watched as he, Carl and Enid left the house quickly. She set Sienna down beside her, grabbing Maggie's hand and holding it tightly.
"Take a deep breath, Maggie. You've gotta breathe." She guided Maggie, but she continued to scream, not getting much air in between. "We're gonna take you to Dr. Carson, he's gonna help you. Breathe."
Maggie nodded, listening to her and taking a few deep breaths, her face twisting in pain. "Glenn. He's still out there, we can't-"
Willow held her hand tighter. "I know, but we need to make sure you and your baby is okay. We need to figure out what's going on, that's our top priority right now."
Maggie let out another scream, her whole body trembling and sweating more. Her skin was cold, but Willow could feel extreme heat radiating off of her.
"Let's go, come on." Abraham said, his heavy feet pounding against the wood floor towards them.
Willow stood up, offering help, but Abraham swept Maggie up effortlessly and carried her out of the house. She followed them with Sienna, a large group of people already crowding around the RV to see what was going on.
"Any change?" Sasha asked Willow.
"She's getting worse." She responded, watching Abraham take Maggie into the RV.
"Good call on the transport." Abraham said from inside.
Rick came around the RV with a few bags, setting them inside. "Well, I figured she'd be more comfortable."
"It also means you got room for more." Abraham said confidently, stepping down from the RV. "They're out there, so I'm gonna be there with you." He glanced to Sasha with a smile. "We are."
Sasha looked at Rick. "Package deal."
"Uh, what she said." Eugene added as Sasha and Abraham began to load into the RV.
Rick stepped up to him. "Look, it's a long trip, and you're just getting over-"
"It's a superficial graze, proteins are binding, plus we need to discuss ammunition production and manufacture, so let's roll."
Abraham stuck his head out of the RV. "I already tried. Give him an inch, he's taking a mile."
"I'm only asking for 23, give or take, depending on the route." Eugene said simply. "I know I can be of some help. Now's the time and here's the place. Don't shine me. I'll be your anchorman. Yes, I damn will."
Before Rick could protest again, Eugene was already stepping inside.
Willow shut her eyes, hearing Maggie scream in agony again.
"You should come too." Rick said to her. "She needs you."
She took a few deep breaths, pushing back the horrible thoughts on what may happen while she's gone.
"All right." She answered him. "I'll come."
She felt a tap on her shoulder, a light one. She turned, looking up at Spencer.
"I've got her." He said, holding his arms out.
She looked at Sienna, regretting the whole thing, but handing her over nonetheless. "Promise me you'll take care of her."
He nodded, but that wasn't good enough.
"Say it." She demanded. "Promise me."
He adjusted Sienna against him. "I promise."
She thought that would make her feel better, but she felt the same. She nodded and forced herself to get onto the RV before she never would. She sat beside Maggie sprawled out on the couch, the state of her getting worse by the minute. A few more people filed into the RV; Aaron and Carl. Once they were loaded up, Abraham had the RV rolling through the gates and on its way to Hilltop.
"We're gonna get there." Willow told Maggie, brushing her short hair off her forehead. "Dr. Carson will make it better. He will."
Maggie looked up at her through glazed eyes. "How do you know?"
"Everything we've done, we've done together." Willow said. "We got here together and we're still here. Things have happened, but it's always worked out for us 'cause it's always been all of us. That's how I know. 'Cause as long as it's all of us, we can do anything."
Maggie put on her best smile and nodded, curling up on her side with Willow.
Willow caught a glimpse of something shift in the doorway. Aaron.
"Hey." She greeted him quietly.
He looked at her and then Maggie, coming in and squatting down by her side. "Here."
He unscrewed the lid to a bottle of water and held it to Maggie's lips. She weakly took it, and drank a majority of it, not taking a breath until she was done.
"What the bitch?" Abraham's deep voice carried throughout the RV.
"What?" Willow asked, standing from the couch and stepping towards the front of the RV with Rick.
"Enemy close." Abraham answered, bringing the RV to a stop.
Willow stared ahead at nine men blocking the road with a few cars. One of the men was face down against the asphalt, a bright maroon pooling from his mouth and around his eye.
"We doing this?" Abraham asked Rick.
"No." He said fast, grabbing his gun and gesturing for others to get theirs too. They grabbed their pieces and followed him down the steps of the RV and into the road. Rick walked with his gun and hands up, the others following with their guns hesitantly by their sides.
"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen." One of the men said loudly, staring down at the man against the pavement.
"We can make a deal, right here, right now." Rick suggested heavily.
The man smiled a sick and twisted smile. "That's right, we can. Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you. That's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen."
"Yeah..." Rick groaned, his hand twitching around his gun. "That deal's not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you." He paused, his eyes squinted. "Any more of you."
Another man began to shake a bottle of spray paint before spraying a big 'X' on the hurt man's torso.
"Sorry, my deal is the only deal." The man said. "We don't negotiate."
Rick gestured with his hand, and they all began to backtrack to the RV. "Me and my people are leaving."
The man raised his arm. "Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going."
Willow stopped for a moment, staring at the man and his group. She didn't move until Abraham grabbed her shoulder and practically dragged her back to the RV.
Rick stopped at the entrance to the RV, turning his head to the man. "You want to make today your last day on Earth?"
"No, but that is a good thing to bring up." The man responded. "Think about it. What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true? Maybe you should be extra nice to those people in that RV, 'cause you never know..." The man snapped his fingers. "Just like that. Be kind to each other. Like you said... like it was your last day on Earth."
Rick nodded, his face twisted. "You do the same."
He loaded up into the RV, slamming the door behind him. He stood with Willow, looking out of the windshield. The man looked back at them, his eyes burning into them both before he began to kick the man on the ground. They heard his groans, with each blow and kick that landed on him.
Abraham started the RV and began to reverse it down the road. "What now?"
"Rick, they know we're going to Hilltop." Willow said to him. "They know."
"Logrun Road's a straight shot." Eugene said at the table, already looking for a detour on the map.
"We want visibility." Sasha said, looking at the map too.
Eugene tapped his finger anxiously before pointing to another road. "There, you got it on Shelton. Golf course, country clubs, sloping terrain. No bum rush from the bogeyman. We'd see them from a good piece. It is a longer trip by a third, but we'd get the scenic safety of clear-cut dingles and glens."
"You're being serious, right?' Sasha asked in suspicion.
He nodded. "As coronary thrombosis."
"Lets go." Rick said after listening in. He took a few glances at the map before taking a seat behind Abraham, giving him directions.
-
"Bitch nuts."
Abraham stopped the RV again at another road block.
Willow looked over the seats and out the window. Another group of men with cars, all different faces. Their numbers were already outweighing theirs.
"We making our stand?" Sasha turned and asked Rick.
"Yeah, we end it." Carl answered.
Rick continued to look ahead, gears grinding. "No, not now. They've been waiting. They're ready. With one of us behind the wheel, that's six on 16. We're gonna play it our way, how we want it. All right, go slow."
Abraham shifted into reverse and slowly began to back the RV up, Eugene scrambling to find another route.
They all stared out the windows at the group, flinching when they fired a few shots into the air.
-
"How are we on gas?" Rick asked, keeping an eye out ahead of them on their new route.
"Half a tank." Abraham responded, keeping his eyes peeled too. "I pulled some more cans before we left."
"Those weren't the same men who blocked the road the first time." Willow told Rick from behind him.
"Same outfit, different soldiers." Abe added. "They got numbers."
"Yeah, we keep driving, we get here there." Rick said confidently.
"We will." Sasha said.
Abraham adjusted himself in the driver's seat. "If we have to shove each and every one of them up their own asses."
He immediately slammed on the brakes around a curve, another road block, but this one was different. Walkers were chained up all across the road, already growling at them.
"We can't go through it. Can't risk the RV." Rick said, looking at the walkers. "You stay behind the wheel, just in case. We'll clear it."
Willow glanced down at Maggie, moving slowly to prevent her from waking up. She grabbed her gun and they filed out onto the road again, aiming down their sights towards the tree lines and further ahead, anticipating more Saviors to bombard them.
"Putting together a red rover like that takes people." Eugene stated the obvious. "A lot of them."
"Come on, let's do this." Rick said, throwing his gun over is shoulder and taking his hatchet from his side.
Willow grabbed her knife, stepping forward to the first walker in line, but Aaron and Carl stopped them.
"That's Michonne's." Aaron said, nodding to a walker with a dread sewn into it's head.
Willow stepped closer, looking at the piece on the walker, her heart dropping.
"That's Daryl's." Sasha said, nodding to another walker down the line.
Willow slowly looked down the line of walkers, a few green and white bolts catching her eye. They stuck out of the walker's chest like a sore. Her throat burned as she stepped closer. She grabbed the bolts and ripped them from the walker's chest, looking at them closer in her hands as if she didn't see right the first time. But she knew his crossbow and the bolts it fired.
Anger rose inside of her, and she desperately needed to exert it. She flipped one of the bolts in her hand and slammed the tip of it into the walker's head, retrieved it and did it several more times. She would've kept going, but the ground around them was littered with bullets from every side of them.
"Get back to the RV! Go!" Rick yelled, barely audible over the gunfire.
Most of them stood their ground, holding their fingers on their triggers and firing back. They couldn't see much, only the tops of their heads as they peeked over the brush in the woods.
Willow fired a few more shots before tossing her gun over her shoulder, shouting for Rick's hatchet. He kept firing his gun in one hand while he tossed the hatchet to her with the other. She caught it and immediately began to bash it into the arms of the walkers, trying to break the line of them. It took two swings to completely separate the two middle walkers, ultimately releasing the rest. They reached and grabbed at her, tripping over their feet to get their bite. She brought the hatchet down on one to her right, and the others began to drop as the group turned their gunfire to the dead. As they dropped, Willow tried to catch them before they fell, tossing their bodies as far off the road as she could. Her heart was racing as flying bullets whizzed around her. Rick ran and helped her move the last body off the road before they all retreated quickly back into the RV.
Abraham didn't waste any time to get them out of there. They jerked back into their seats as he pressed down hard on the gas, the RV sputtering for a moment before flying down the road.
-
"What's that sound?" Sasha looked around at anyone for an answer.
"Undercarriage could've caught a bullet. Or could be transmission. It could be nothing." Eugene answered smartly.
"They were firing at our feet." Rick said numbly. "They blocked the road, but they weren't trying to stop us. They want us in this direction."
"Barton Road takes us north, but they gotta know we wanna go north." Sasha said angrily as she looked at the map.
"Meadows." Eugene suggested, slamming his finger down on it. "Could take us east a piece, but we can get back on track on Mayhew."
Sasha shook her head. "We're down to a third of a tank. We could top off at the next stop, but no refills after that."
"All right." Rick said, taking a look at the map himself.
Aaron stood up from beside Maggie and Willow, heading to the front with Rick. "She's burning up."
Willow turned her attention back to Maggie, cringing against how pale she was now.
"Rick." Abraham called out.
The RV came to a stop again, and it had everyone silent. Ahead was another road block of their men, easily more than 20 of them.
"Go back." Rick demanded.
"Where?" Abraham asked quietly.
-
"Are we close?" Maggie asked Willow.
She swallowed hard. "We're getting there."
"Were there- I heard shots." Maggie said weakly.
Willow nodded, wiping the sweat off Maggie's forehead. "Yeah, the Saviors, but they're gone. We're gonna get you there."
Maggie nodded as Willow stood up, making her way to Rick once the RV came to another stop. They got out of the RV and walked ahead to the blockage. Large trees laid across the road, completely blocking any path on it and around it.
Eugene stared at the tire marks left in the gravel. "These tracks... they would indicate they not only have people, but some big-ass toys and capabilities."
Abraham stepped forward. "What it indicates is we are neck-deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open."
An unfamiliar voice was heard to their right, screaming. They spun around, watching a chained up body drop from a bridge. The chain was tight around the man's neck, his face turning purple and blue already.
Willow recognized the man as the one from the first stop. Her eyes traced the spray-painted 'X' on his dirty shirt, trying not to watch him choke to death. In a few seconds, he stopped struggling and his body hung limp.
They turned around again when they heard crackling. Their eyes were lit up by flames that began to engulf the dead trees that occupied the road.
"You're treating your people good, right?" The man from the first stop said from behind the stacked trees. "Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of theirs? You better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where you're going."
"Go." Rick said immediately to them. "Go!"
They turned back quickly, getting back into the RV again.
-
They had been stopped for a while, in the middle of no where, trying to construct a plan. The clock was ticking, and the pressure was on.
"There are two more routes north from here." Sasha suggested.
Aaron looked at her, hopeless. "They're probably waiting for us right now."
Eugene shook his head, catching Willow's attention.
"What's up Eugene?" She asked him, leaning into the table.
"So, they're ahead of us, probably behind us." He began. "But they're not waiting on us, per se, they're waiting on this rust bucket. And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust-bucket. And the sun sets soon."
Willow leaned back in the chair. What he was saying was an absolute genius plan. It was their only plan.
"All right." Willow said, gathering the thoughts and ideas. "We carry her to Hilltop. Someone stays behind and drives the RV, make them think we're playing their game." She looked back at Eugene for a confirmation. "Right?"
"Correct." He cleared his throat. "I humbly volunteer myself to drive this rust-bucket to the next expected destination."
"Hell no." Abraham interjected right away.
Eugene snapped his head in Abraham's direction. "With all due respect, that was not an inquiry. That was a statement."
Abraham's face twisted for a moment, but finally relaxed. For a moment he looked proud, and in another moment he looked worried.
-
They created a makeshift gurney, helping Maggie lay on it gently.
The sky was dark, and it felt more dangerous than ever, but it was a risk they had to take.
They all held onto the gurney, carrying her slow and steady. They stopped for a moment when she looked at Eugene.
"Thank you." She told him.
He nodded, giving her arm under her blanket a squeeze before letting her go.
They got a few feet into the woods when they heard the RV start up, the engine loud before it wasn't anymore. They were left in the dark and in silence.
Carl let go to take point after they heard the low growls of a few walkers. He kept it stealthy and quiet, taking them out swiftly with his knife.
"Aaron, please. Just let me walk it." Maggie said to Aaron beside her.
"Relax." Aaron said kindly. "Just a few more miles."
Carl looked over his shoulder at Willow. "I heard what you told her when we were leaving. We can do anything, 'cause we'll do anything we need to do. We have and we will. What happened to Denise, I'm not gonna let anybody die like that again."
Willow nodded, admiring his courage. "Never again-"
Whistling echoed around them, the sound bouncing off the trees. They came to a quick stop, glancing around them for the source, but there was no telling.
"Go!" Rick yelled. "Go!"
They ran as fast as they could with Maggie in their hands, but no matter how far they got, they didn't get far enough. The whistling was everywhere, never ending. They picked up the pace when they saw a break in the trees, just barely illuminated by the moon.
Their feet hit the gravel, but the first step they took, they were blinded by a bright light that flashed on. The area was so open yet so enclosed. Dozens upon dozens of men surrounded them, far more than what were at the stops. The whistling continued, all in perfect sync, louder than it was before. They caught a quick glimpse at the RV they left not too long ago, Eugene on his knees a few feet in front of it.
"Good. You made it." The man from the first stop came forward, only visible until he was in front of the light. "Welcome to where you're going. We'll take your weapons." He unholstered a gun from his side, aiming it directly at Abraham. "Now."
Willow looked down at Maggie, a horrified look on her sickly face. She held her hand to provide whatever comfort there was left for her to provide.
Rick breathed heavily. "We can talk about-"
"We're done talking." The man interrupted. "Time to listen."
A large portion of the men came forward to each of them, forcefully removing their guns and knives. Willow stood deathly still as her gun was ripped off from her shoulder and her knife pulled from her leg.
The man traipsed over to Carl, taking his handgun from him. "That's yours, right?"
Willow and Rick stared at the man, thinking of ungodly things they would do if he hurt him.
The man leaned into Carl's face with the same sick smile he always has. "Yeah, it's yours."
He flicked the sheriff's hat that Carl wore before he finally backed off.
"Okay. Let's get her down and get you all on your knees." The man said, turning to the rest of them. "Lot's to cover."
More men came forward towards Maggie, but Abraham intervened.
"Hold up." He said angrily. "We got it."
They began to lower her down slowly, assisting her off and onto the ground. Another man yanked Eugene up and brought him over to them, pushing him back down to his knees. His face was bloody, and his eye was already swollen shut. He mouthed 'I'm Sorry' over and over, taking the blame for the inevitable.
"Gonna need you on your knees." The man said, just inches away from Rick's face.
They stood their ground as Rick stood, but the moment he looked at his son, all faith was lost.
They lost.
Rick slowly got to his knees, and the rest followed.
Willow helped Maggie down, Abraham next to her also trying to steady her out.
"Now get the other ones, right now." The man demanded. "Dwight! Chop-chop."
Willow's stomach dropped when she saw the burnt man in front of her. Her first instinct was to shoot him, but she had nothing. Her and everyone else were defenseless.
They watched Dwight open the back door to a large van.
"Come on. You got people to meet." He said as he grabbed one of the people and forced them out.
Willow's heart stopped when she saw them file out of the van; Daryl, Michonne, Rosita, Glenn. Her vision blurred behind tears. Tears she didn't think she had left in her. Her eyes were glued on the blood that soaked Daryl's shirt. Blood that soaked the tattered blanket around him.
Dwight threw Glenn to the ground, only for him to stumble back up.
"Maggie?" His voice broke when he saw his wife.
"On your knees!" Dwight yelled, slamming Glenn back down to his knees.
Willow found Maggie's hand again, squeezing it tighter and tighter as she cried for her husband.
The Saviors had them right where they wanted them. They were vulnerable and at their disposal. On their knees, lined up and waiting for their next move.
"All right!" The man said from in front of them all. "We got a full boat. Let's meet the man."
He knocked on the RV door, his eyes still glued on each and every one of them. It was quiet for a few seconds. It was dreadful. They didn't know who was on the other side of the door, and what kind of agony awaited them.
The door finally swung open, and out came a sturdy man wielding a bat confidently over his left shoulder.
"Pissing our pants yet?" He said with a lean and a flashy smile. "Boy, do I have a feeling we're getting close."
He moved closer to them, taking in their features one at a time. The end of his bat reflected the light in different spots, the barbed wire wrapped tightly around it becoming more apparent.
"It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon." He said proudly. "Which one of you pricks is the leader?"
"It's this one." One of the saviors said, pointing to Rick. "He's the guy."
The man with the bat stepped over to him, looking down on him. "Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly. Yeah. You're so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes. Yes, you are."
Willow's body shook the more she listened to the man. His words alone were frightening, but the way he spoke and carried himself made it that much worse.
The man adjusted his grip on the bat. "You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if you're stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready?"
Their group was silent, too scared to speak.
"Here goes. Pay attention." Negan said with another flashy smile, bringing his bat down and sticking it in Rick's face. "Give me your shit... or I will kill you. Today was career day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now I know, that is a mighty big nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly will. You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out. You are not safe. Not even close. In fact, you are pegged, more pegged if you don't do what I want. And what I want is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be."
He trailed down the line, stopping in front of Willow and Maggie, letting them get a close look at the spiked wire on the bat. "So, if someone knocks on your door... you let us in. We own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down. You understand?"
Willow leaned back form the bat. She could practically smell the metal it was made of.
He spun on his heel to see Rick again, leaning in. "What, no answer? You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished now, did you? I don't want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go. I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're dead, no, can you? I'm not growing a garden. But you killed my people, a whole damn lot of them. More than I'm comfortable with. And for that, for that you're gonna pay. So, now... I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you."
Willow flinched when he flipped the bat in his hand, showing it off again.
"This- this is Lucille, and she is awesome. All this, all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor." He trailed back down the line to Abraham beside Willow. He glanced at him for a few moments before rubbing his own face. "Ugh, I gotta shave this shit." He moved again to Carl. "You got one of our guns. You got a lot of our guns. Shit, kid, lighten up. At least cry a little." Next he was in front of Maggie. "Jesus. You look shitty. I should just put you out of your misery right now."
He raised the bat, Willow pulling Maggie to her side and Glenn scrambling to his feet, rushing at Negan.
"No!" Glenn screamed angrily. "No!"
Dwight shoved him to the ground, kicking him in the stomach twice before aiming Daryl's crossbow right between his eyes.
"Stop it!" Maggie yelled, tears flowing like a waterfall.
"Nope." Negan said simply. "Nope, get him back in line."
"No-" Glenn protested as Dwight dragged him back to his original spot.
Willow's heart broke when she heard a sob escape his mouth follow by another scream.
"Don't." Glenn pleaded with Negan, his voice shattering. "Don't."
Negan laughed. "All right, listen. Don't any of you do that again. I will shut that shit down, no exceptions. First one's free. It's an emotional moment, I get it. Sucks don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit."
Negan took notice of how shaken Rick was. Another twisted smile grew on his face as he pointed with his bat at Carl. "This is your kid, right? This is definitely your kid."
"Just stop this!" Rick yelled.
"Hey!" Negan yelled back, his tone far deeper. "Do not make me kill the little future serial killer. Don't make it easy on me. I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waiting for me to order."
Negan pursed his lips together and whistled, the same whistle that echoed around them in the woods.
"I simply cannot decide." He said with a laugh. "I got an idea."
Negan trailed back to Rick, bringing the end of his bat down just a few inches away from his face. "Eenie..."
"meenie..." Willow watched in anger as he pointed the bat at Maggie.
"miney..." She stared at the barbs right in front of her.
"mo..." Michonne didn't waver at the end of it.
He continued down the line, playing his little game. The closer he got to finishing, the more fearful everyone was. They blinked fast, hoping it was all a dream, but they were stuck in this nightmare of reality.
Willow looked down the line at Daryl, and he was already looking back. She had the dying need to be in his arms again. To kiss him again. To tell him she loved him again. But time kept her still. She didn't move. It was as if she was bound to the ground.
Her lips quivered as she mouthed the simple three words, and her heart felt full only for a moment when he mouthed them back.
"It."
Negan finished.
"Anybody moves, anybody says anything, cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father and then we'll start. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry. Hell, you're all gonna be doing that."
In a swift motion, the bat was brought down. Bone crunched beneath the wood and metal, blood splattering and their people screaming. Everything was a blur. Everything sounded like it was a mile away.
Willow looked through the blood in her eyes. Everything was red. It was a horror film.
And that was when she finally found him.
She picked him out in the crowd.
Ash.
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