50 hours.
Waves of Walkers.
Wave after wave after wave.
Michonne and her people are back in Alexandria. Fighting to defend it from the dead throughout the night and day. No matter how much they fought, another wave would always come.
As they were gathering up the dead to dispose of, Judith came running out. A woman - one of the teachers running after her. Carl quickly grabbed her.
"Judith! What are you doing?"
"You and Hedley promised to train with me!" She whined, pouting.
"We are busy." Carl sighed, putting his sister on the ground, "You cannot run away like that. It's dangerous."
"But you said-"
"Judith!" Carl yelled, his fear getting to him.
Hedley went over and rubbed Carl's back before kneeling down to Judith. "You need to understand, Jude, that we are busy here protecting our home. You need to stay with the school with the rest of the kids, where it's safe."
"But I want you and Carl and Mommy safe too!"
"I know you do."
"And I'm tougher than all the other kids! You taught me!"
Getting an idea, Hedley smiled, "You're right. You are tough. So tough that I need your help with something."
She lit up, "What is it?!"
"I need you to help your teachers protect the school and everyone inside. Stay with the adults and keep a close eye on everyone. Do you think you can do that?"
She nodded, serious, "I can do it!"
"Good."
She hugged Hedley and Carl then ran back to her teacher, telling her all about how she was going to help protect everyone. The teacher looked at them with a nod before luring Judith back to the school.
"See you later, Alligator!" Hedley called over.
She turned her head to yell back, "See you in a while, Crocodile!"
Then she was gone.
Carl looked at Hedley, shoulders deflating as Hedley held him.
"She can't run out like that. It scared me half to death." Carl muttered.
"I know. It scared me too." He kissed Carl's temple.
"Hedley! Carl! Up front!" Called Daryl from in front of the gate.
And they were back to working, going over to where Michonne was ordering her people.
"How long till the next wave hits?" Michonne asked Eugene up in the tower keeping watch. He looked through the binoculars.
"One hour from the north, two from the south. Northern wave's thicker than fleas on a farm dog, but the southern's more dispersed. By my estimation, we'll be fighting into the night again."
Michonne looked at Daryl.
"Yeah, can't push 'em too much further."
"I have eyes." She snapped then took a deep breath, "Sorry. I'm just tired."
Daryl put a hand on her shoulder, "We all are."
Hedley spotted someone coming up to the gate, "Dad!"
Everyone looked.
It was a Whisperer. Just the one. A girl, young, cleaner than the others.
"The north border. Now." She said, trying to be tougher than she looked.
"Call off your walkers." Michonne ordered.
"Not us."
Daryl scoffed, "Yeah, right."
"Not. Us." The Whisperer insisted. "Go to the border, lay down your weapons, and wait."
"Wait for what?"
"Her."
****
A meeting was being held.
Hedley was standing behind Lydia's seat, keeping a protective eye. Many people of Alexandria still wanted Lydia dead or gone so he kept a hand on his knife. Carl sat with Michonne at the front while Daryl leaned at the wall.
"All right!" Michonne yelled, quieting the noise of chatter. She turned to Lydia, "Is this your mother?"
Shaking, Lydia shook her head, "No. I don't think it is."
"Why's she want to talk with us?"
"You crossed into her land. Again. You have to answer for that."
"We don't have to do anything." Aaron said, "We could just not go."
"That's a bad idea." Lydia insisted.
"We're already under attack." Said a man at the back.
Many calls of agreement rang out.
"It isn't her. If she wanted you dead, she'd send the horde. All of it, not just a few waves at a time." Lydia said.
"Maybe she's trying to wear us down first." Carol added.
Eugene decided to speak up, "Or, as I relayed to you all at the beginning of this meeting, there's plausible reason to believe that the satellite and fire..."
Margo quickly shut him down. "I don't want to hear about the damn satellite anymore, Eugene!" She yelled, standing, "My friends died trying to save yours and ended up with their heads on spikes. The Highwaymen want justice!"
Cheers rang from the crowd.
"So all I want to hear from you is that you're gonna take a dozen of us to meet these freaks at the border and that we're gonna take that lead bitch's head off!"
Gage - a young boy shouted out, "We cut it off! And then we'll put their heads on spikes!"
Siddiq walked out, needing air.
Michonne stood, turning to Daryl, "How many walkers did you see in Alpha's horde?"
"Tens of thousands." He answered.
"Ah. So..." She looked to Margo, "What's your plan for taking them out?"
No answer.
"Oh, that wasn't rhetorical."
Margo huffed, "I don't have one."
"Ah." Michonne nodded, looking to the rest of the crowd, "Does anybody else?"
No answer.
"If she sends that horde, that's it!" She slammed her hands against the table, "Right now, all she wants to do is talk. And we are going to listen. Now, while we are doing that, everyone here needs to focus on what's coming in from the north and the south!" She took a deep breath, trying not to get too worked up. Hedley had never been prouder of Michonne in that moment. She continued, "We're tired. We are on edge. And it is going to get worse before it gets better. But we aren't gonna get through it at all if we do not act as one."
She took out a map and the main leaders crowded around it.
"Three objectives means three groups. Gabriel will take point in guarding the gate from the northern wave... while Aaron will take some troops and handle the southern wave, breaking it up before it hits the wall. That leaves us, and the border. Unarmed."
"You're really going in there unarmed?" Carol asked.
"We got no choice."
****
They went to the border, the spikes still stood.
Everyone took their weapons and placed them on the ground.
A herd of Walkers came forward and Alpha soon revealed herself.
"There was one rule between our people." She began, her entire being threatening, "One law. Stay where you are. Yet you disobey."
"That fire would've destroyed your land." Daryl pointed out.
"Fire's nature to burn." Alpha said, "We have no conflict with nature."
Michonne spoke up, "It could've wiped out one of our communities. We were not gonna sit back and let that happen. You can understand that. We crossed one time."
"Three times." Alpha corrected, "During the fire, you walked my land. And during the winter storm, you walked my land. During your search along the river, you and the man with the metal arm walked my land. That's three times. We are always watching. What did I tell you about crossing my border? You have to be punished."
The Whisperers behind her took out their knives and Carl's hand reached for Hedley's.
"But..." The Whisperers put their knives away, "I consider context. There will be no bloodshed this time."
"So what do you want?" Michonne demanded.
"Land. The creek that winds into the valley. That is your new southern border. We will mark the new border to the north."
"That'll cut off our hunting grounds." Carol growled, "We don't have to stand here and listen to this-"
"Carol!" Michonne stopped her.
But Alpha wanted to hear it, ""To this"... what?"
"To this bullshit." Carol finished.
Daryl rushed over to take Carol away, "That's it. Come on. We're done."
"We're not." Alpha's voice made them freeze. Her eyes firmly on Carol... and Carol's were firmly staring right back. "Not until this one lowers her eyes to my feet. You should fear me."
"I don't." Carol said, "I look at you and I feel nothing at all."
"Is that right?" Alpha then smiled, "The blonde boy...screamed your name just before we took his head."
Carol then took the gun she had hidden in her pants, aimed and fired but Daryl quickly took the gun and the bullet landed on the floor.
"Stop. Stop!"
"I apologise...for my friend." Michonne said desperately to Alpha, "We have not slept. And you know what she lost."
Alpha gave a pause to think, "I forgive you. Mother to mother."
They got out of there before anything else managed to happen.