Rosie was outside helping clean up after the attack last night. Her favorite part of helping was when she got to slam on the walls around Hilltop in order to scatter all of the walkers that had been attracted by the gunfire. Unfortunately, though, she didn't get to that job for long, because Siddiq, of course, had to come in and ruin it. He said it was bad for her shoulder and she needed to give her arm a break. Rosie rolled her eyes at that, but she was forced to pick a different job, anyway. Now, she was walking by Daryl's side, picking up any bolts or arrows that were left on the ground and possibly able to be reused. So far, she had found five. She didn't like this job.
A car pulled forward and Rosie spotted another bolt on the ground behind it. She hurried over to the other side of the car to collect it. "Hey. You shouldn't be out here," Rosie heard Daryl say. She peaked over the hood of the car to see who was inside. It was Tara. She had been shot last night. Daryl was right. She probably needed to be resting, like Rosie had to for the first few days after she'd been shot.
"Oh, it's just- it's just a scratch," Tara said, cocking her head to the side as she got out of the car and shut the door behind her. She rubbed her injured arm, which was her left arm. "I can help," she assured Daryl.
"What if it wasn't?" Daryl asked. Rosie didn't understand that question. What if it wasn't a scratch? Tara just said that it was a scratch. So why did he care what would happen if it wasn't a scratch? Maybe the question really meant something else, Rosie thought. Sometimes people would say something and mean something else. It was confusing.
"Then it'd be my own damn fault," Tara said. She sounded like she didn't like this conversation- sort of like she was annoyed. Rosie felt like she was missing a lot of context that was relevant to the conversation, and that was probably why she didn't understand what they were talking about. "He's back with them because of me," Tara said.
That was something that Rosie didn't know about before, but Liam filled her in on it. Apparently, after she veered off from the group on the way to Hilltop, Dwight was sent to go back and look for her. But Tara wanted Dwight dead for what he did to Denise, so she followed him and tried to kill him. When they were fighting, they ran into a small group of Saviors, and Dwight distracted them so Tara could get away. That small group of Saviors was the same group that found Rosie, and one of them shot her. So, obviously, Daryl wasn't too keen on Dwight right now.
"No, he's back with 'em 'cause that's who he is," Daryl said to Tara, his voice tense and annoyed. They weren't agreeing on this, Rosie had come to find out.
"We- we got lucky," Tara said, shaking her head. "Finding Maggie... Rick. It could've been different. It was, for me, when I was with the Governor."
Rosie had almost forgotten that Tara was once with the Governor. No one told her about it until a while after they had all already gotten to know Tara a little better. They knew how much Rosie hated the Governor, and what the Governor had done to her, Maggie, and Glenn. So they didn't tell her anything about how they found Tara until they were sure she'd be calm about it. But, now, Rosie was sure that Tara was a good person. Rosie wasn't always the best at telling the difference between the good and the bad, but she was trying and she was sure that Tara was good, even if she had been with the Governor at one point in time.
"Yeah, but you weren't one of 'em," Daryl said, dismissing Tara's thoughts.
"But I was with them," Tara reminded him. Rosie was starting to put the pieces together. She was pretty sure they were talking about Dwight. Rosie didn't care if Dwight had done good things for them; she wanted Dwight to die. He had been the one to torture Daryl at the Sanctuary. He didn't deserve forgiveness. Oh, but at the same time, what about Negan? What about what he'd done? No, stop thinking about that. It's just confusing. "Your brother, too," Tara said.
"My brother?" Daryl scoffed, raising his eyebrows a little bit. "My brother ran the wrong way his whole life. If he were here, if I stuck with him when he left, we'd be with the Saviors, too, or some other group just like 'em."
That was something Rosie definitely didn't want to imagine. Daryl as a Savior. Daryl if he had left with Merle from the beginning. Where would she be then? Would she be alone, or would she be dead? What would Daryl be like? No, Rosie didn't want to think about that either. There were too many things that were just too overwhelming to even think about.
"But I figured out who they were. Just like you did," Daryl said, gesturing towards Tara. Yes, that was what really happened. Daryl could tell the difference between the good and the bad, and he chose the good. So it didn't matter what could have happened if he had chosen the other side, because it wasn't what really happened. There was no use worrying about that.
"Maybe that's what happened to Dwight," Tara said. Rosie was right. This was about Dwight.
"Is that before or after he killed your girl? Or is that all square now?" Daryl asked, his eyes narrowed and his tone tense.
"It is," Tara said. Daryl wanted to scoff and walk away- Rosie could tell by the look on his face and the way he was shifting his weight from his right leg to the left- but he stayed and he listened, because he was good like that. "Look, I might hate him forever, but he saved my life."
"No, he tried to kill you last night," Daryl said. Was it Dwight who had shot Tara?
"When we were in the woods, when we were coming here, I saw him try and help us win," Tara said, crossing her arms.
"You mean before he shot Rosie?" Daryl asked, cocking his head to the side a little. Rosie looked down at her shoes, listening, but pretending she wasn't listening.
"That wasn't him. You know that," Tara said.
"Might as well have been. He was s'posed to find her, bring her back here. Instead, one of his men shot her and he left her. Didn't look for her. Left her to die," Daryl argued. Tara didn't say anything, because she didn't know what to say. Daryl scoffed. "It's bullshit," he muttered before walking off. After a moment of hesitation, Rosie followed after him, continuing on picking up bolts and arrows.
•
The sun had gone down and Rosie was supposed to be in bed and asleep a long time ago. But, for whatever reason, she just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Maybe it was her aching shoulder. Or maybe the constant feeling of overwhelm. Or maybe she was thirsty. Yes, that had to be it. She was just thirsty.
Slowly and quietly, Rosie sat herself up and climbed out of bed. She looked over to where Daryl was and saw that he was sound asleep. Or, at least, it looked like he was sound asleep to Rosie. As silently as she could, Rosie tiptoed towards the exit of the bedroom and pulled open the door. It creaked when she opened it, but not enough to wake up Daryl or anyone else who was sleeping in the room, luckily. When she stepped out into the hallway, Rosie kept her eyes on the ground. People were sleeping all over the floor, considering that there were more people than beds. Rosie got to sleep in a bed because of her injured shoulder, which apparently gave her priority. Part of Rosie wondered if it was just because Maggie was in charge and Maggie liked her a lot. But maybe it was just because of the injury, though.
As quietly as she could manage, Rosie tiptoed down the stairs. When she got downstairs, she went to her right, because that's where the kitchen was. She pulled an empty glass out of the cabinet and filled it up with water. Water was good and refreshing, of course, but Rosie wished that she could have a glass of rootbeer. Nobody had any rootbeer anymore, as far as Rosie knew.
When Rosie was done with her water, she put the cup in the sink and started heading back towards the stairs. Before she even got out of the kitchen, though, she heard the door to Barrington House open and close with a creak. After a moment of thinking it through in her head, Rosie decided there would be no harm in going to see who had left. When she opened up the door, Rosie saw Henry walking through the yard with a large gun in his hands.
"Henry," Rosie whisper-shouted at him, confused. Henry paused for a moment, and turned back to look at her. Rosie widened her eyes, hoping that it would convey the message, what the hell are you doing? Henry didn't say anything. He just turned back around and continued walking. Rosie quickened her pace to catch up with him. "Henry, what're you doin'?" she asked.
"I'm going to kill the man who killed my brother," Henry answered. Oh, god, he's still stuck on that, Rosie thought. She understood, though. She thought it was stupid and dangerous, but she understood.
"Just wait. Maggie's gonna kill 'em all," Rosie reminded the boy. Maggie was planning on killing them, but only after Negan was dead. The captured Saviors were leverage, and Maggie wasn't just going to give that up. There was another thing for Rosie to feel conflicted about. She wanted the Saviors dead, but she didn't want Coach Smith dead. Don't think about that.
"I want it to be me," Henry said, his voice deep and firm. Henry always seemed angry, in Rosie's opinion. She wondered if it was just because he lost his brother, or if he was always like this. Rosie was always angry after Fraser died. Maybe Henry felt the same way. Maybe he just needed time.
"Why? Don't matter, s'long as he's dead," Rosie said, keeping her voice quiet for fear of anyone hearing them. They were definitely not supposed to be out there. Especially with a stolen gun.
"It does matter. If you could kill the person who killed your brother, wouldn't you?" Henry asked, finally stopping to look at her while he was talking.
Rosie didn't answer his question, because his question did nothing more than make her eyes sting and her heart stop beating for a moment. She took a deep breath. He just doesn't know, she reminded herself. He didn't say it to be mean. Henry scoffed at the fact that she didn't give any response, then turned and continued walking towards the pen that the Saviors were kept in.
When he reached the pen, he poked Gregory in the shoulder with the tip of the gun. Why, out of all people, would he choose to wake up Gregory? Rosie hated Gregory. "Shh!" Henry hissed, holding his finger up to his lips. Gregory sat up, his eyes wide. "You're Gregory, right?" Henry asked, keeping his voice calmer than before. Rosie stayed back, a few steps behind Henry, because she knew she wasn't supposed to talk to, let alone go near, any of the Saviors in that pen. But here she was, doing it anyway.
"Thank God," Gregory breathed out, sitting himself up straighter. "Yes. Let me out," he said, grabbing onto the fence and pulling himself up to stand.
"Do you know which one killed my brother?" Henry asked, the gun ready in his hands.
"I- I don't know who your brother is," Gregory murmured. He stepped even closer to the fence and looked Henry in the eye. "I- I don't know any of these people. I'm not one of them," he said. He was trying to do the same thing Randall did, Rosie thought. He was trying to trick Henry into thinking he was his friend, so that Henry would let him out. Rosie wondered if Henry would fall for it, as she had once done. Gregory eyed the gun in Henry's hands. "That's a very dangerous weapon you got there, kiddo. Uh, I don't want you to get hurt- I don't want anyone to get hurt. Why don't you give it to me, and we can talk, huh?"
"Henry," Rosie said quietly, making Henry turn to her. She shook her head, silently telling him not to hand the weapon over. Henry nodded. He understood.
"I'm sorry about your brother," Gregory said. There was that manipulation again. "Killing them isn't gonna bring him back." He was right on that one, Rosie thought.
"No. But it'll make me feel better," Henry said, his face stoic. Rosie's stomach started to hurt. They should not have been out there by themselves. They were going to get in trouble, and maybe they'd even get hurt. This was dumb. But she couldn't just leave Henry out there alone. "It already did once. And why would you be in here if you're not with them? I'm not dumb. One of you knows who killed Ben, and if I have to, I'm gonna start shooting people until someone tells me," Henry said.
"You can't kill all of 'em, Henry. Then Maggie loses her leverage," Rosie said, shaking her head.
"I can do what I want," Henry snapped, his tone more angry than it was before.
"Hey, kid. I get it," a new voice said, grabbing both of the kids' attentions. It was a man with light brown hair and a flannel over his shirt. He had some sort of accent- he sounded like he might've been from Boston or New York, Rosie thought. She wasn't so sure, though. Either way, she wanted him to shut his trap and go back to sleep. "My- my big brother died, too. Killing a bunch of guys who might've had something to do with it sounds pretty damn good in theory. But, uh, it's not gonna make you feel any better. Not for long. I know," the Savior said.
"Shut up," Rosie said, glaring at the man. She thought he was right, actually, but she didn't want to hear his opinion either way. He was a Savior. Maggie didn't trust him, therefore he was untrustworthy. But Maggie didn't trust Negan either and- No, no. Stop it. Upon hearing, Rosie's voice, the man's attention turned to her. Rosie could see the recognition flash through his eyes, and she wondered just how many people knew who she was now. Just how many people did she have to careful around?
"What's up, Al?" a drowsy voice said. It was a man with long, brown hair. He was sleeping on the grass, now half-awake from the sounds of their voices.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep," the first Savior- Al, apparently- said. Just as he finished his sentence, a loud, terrified scream came from inside Barrington House. Rosie turned to look at the house, followed by Henry, Gregory, and most of the Saviors. More and more screams started to erupt from inside the house.
"Give me the gun," Rosie said to Henry, reaching out for the weapon in his hands.
"No. You'll just go in there," Henry said, gripping the gun tighter.
"You wanted to fight, too. You're a hypocrite!" Rosie argued.
"So are you!" Henry retorted.
"He's right. You can't go in there, kid," Al said, his eyes wide as he looked at Rosie.
"Shut up!" Rosie snapped at him once again.
The other Savior, the one who had long, brown hair, stood up. He smiled, watching as people screamed and ran out of Barrington House. "Music to my ears," he said, stepping closer to the fence.
Henry walked closer to the gate, holding his gun ready in front of him. "Was it you?" he asked the long-haired Savior.
The Savior turned to him, and amused look on his face. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, kid," he drawled. Henry reached into his pocket and pulled something small out of it. Rosie watched for a moment, confused. Then, he lifted his hand up to the lock, and Rosie realized that what he was holding was the key to the pen. Her heart started beating fast and she grabbed onto his arm.
"What the hell are you doing?" Rosie snapped, pulling his arm away. Henry shoved her back, not shying away from pushing her injured arm. Rosie fell back into the dirt, her left hand going up to squeeze on her right shoulder, as if it would make the pain go away. "Henry!" she shouted at him. But Henry put the key in and unlocked the gate anyway. "Henry, stop it!" Rosie yelled at him. He opened the gate and stepped inside. The Saviors all held their hands up, eyeing the gun in Henry's hands warily.
"I want the guy who killed my brother," Henry demanded, his voice more loud and firm than it was before. Rosie watched with wide eyes, unsure of what to do. She couldn't go back inside and get Daryl or Carol or Maggie or someone else, because something was going on inside and Rosie didn't have any weapon on her. But staying here was dangerous, too, because Henry had just opened up the gate, practically letting the Saviors out for free. "Somebody better tell me now!"
"Look, I know you're angry. Ok? I know. I was, too," Al said, his hands raised above his head. His eyes were wide as he looked at Henry. It looked like he was taming a wild animal. His eyes moved to the gun. "But words are a lot easier t-to live with than action, alright?"
"Be a man and step forward," Henry remained adamant on killing them. "So I don't have to kill your friends. I'm gonna count to ten and start shooting."
"Henry, stop," Rosie said again.
"One," Henry went on anyway. "Two... three... four... five..."
A scream. One of the Saviors was being attacked. "Henry! Get out!" Rosie shouted as more and more Saviors began being tackled to the ground by walkers. Henry didn't listen, though. He started shooting his gun wildly, not taking the time to aim.
Then, out of nowhere, the lonh-haired Savior jumped forward and tackled Henry, stealing the gun in the process. "Gates open, boys! Let's go!" he said, his smile wide.
"Hey!" another Savior shouted, grabbing the long-haired man's attention for just as moment. "We bring the girl, maybe Negan'll take us back!"
Before Rosie knew it, the long-haired man was next to her, grabbing onto her arm. "No! Let me go!" she shouted, kicking at the man. He kept pulling, pulling, pulling her closer towards the gates of Hilltop. "Let me go!"