With Marco's call of 'they're here', we all set into motion.
"Al," I say, grabbing Alden's jacket sleeve. "The truck."
"What about it?" he wonders.
"They probably saw tracks. We're done for if they know we have a working vehicle."
Alden curses under his breath and we rush over to the spot it was parked.
"I pulled the ignition cable," I tell him.
"Too obvious.. Something else, too."
Alden pokes around under the hood until he decides he's made it so the truck won't start. When we finish, we hurry over to the rest with our weapons holstered, but ready. The gates were already opening and the Commonwealth soldiers were marching in.
Mom walks over with a stoic look on her face.
I lean in close so only she can hear me. "We killed the truck."
"Anna's going to lock the new supplies in the hatch," she whispers back. "And Elijah is securing the emergency exit."
I take a deep breath and straighten my back.
"We're not in the clear. Just keep strong and don't let 'em know," Mom says, pointed and leaderly.
I wring my hands and Alden and I trade a nod before the three of us go in separate directions.
"Ellie?" a soldier asks.
I grimace at the sound of such a familiar voice coming out of a Commonwealth soldier's suit.
"Hey, Daryl," I greet.
He takes the helmet off and sighs. Lance Hornsby catches sight of us and walks over. He looked like he was trying to act stealthy, but I saw him coming with ease.
"You weren't lying, huh?" I try to joke. "Really did get that gig. Is Rosita here, too?"
"Nah.. Aaron and Gabe are, though."
With Lance even closer, I knew he could hear us. I put on an act.
"I'll have to see them. I haven't seen Gabe since I peaced out of Commonwealth."
"Well, Judith sent a gift in case I saw you," he says.
I think about Anna and I's talk about Rick and Michonne. I cringe internally- Judith trying so hard to have a relationship. It hurt knowing the things I said to her parents.
I scoff as Daryl hands me an eyeshadow pallet.
"I tried to tell her that a farm girl like you ain't care. But, she insisted," he says with a faint smile.
"Not little farm girl anymore," I muse with a nostalgic smile.
"Not with these crops," he jokes.
I scoff and raise my eyebrows. "Yeah.. it's a little dry here. It's tough out here. But, we're all right."
"Hey," Lance finally speaks up, acting like now I could see him. "Ellie, right?"
"Chance?" I feign remembrance.
"Lance," he corrects.
"Right," I say and fake a smile. "My bad."
"I figure I try not to sneak up on you this time," he says with a laugh.
My throat goes dry at the reminder of me punching him last he was here.
"Yeah.. you just.." I motion to my own face. "Reminded me of something. Someone."
"Clearly not someone with a good reputation."
I ignore the intrusive thoughts of The Governor and fake a smile to look strong.
"We won't be long. We're just having a little look around," he says.
"Something you need?" I question.
"Well, are friends were wiped out by this rogue group. It's just for the paperwork that we search this place."
"A search warrant type-a thing," I note.
"Exactly!" he laughs and claps once. "Say.. how about you give me a quick look around your trailer? This way you don't feel like we're overstepping boundaries."
"I can-"
"No," I cut Daryl off. "It's fine. I can show our.. friend.. around."
Daryl sighs and nods. I nod for Lance to follow me and I lead him to Anna and I's trailer while Daryl makes his way over to Mom.
"It's not much. Probably smaller than your shoe closet," I say and step to the side so Lance can walk in.
"Yeah.. I'm not sure if I'm one in line to have a 'shoe closet'," he jokes, strolling around the small area.
He points at a picture on the wall- one I'd gotten back from the farm. "Your Mom.. she raise you and your brother all on her own? Leading a colony and on the road?"
"After, yeah," I say, crossing my arms and leaning against the kitchen counter. "We had a big family before. But, it's just us now."
"Your dad.." he starts.
My eyebrow quirks up. Was he going to cross this line? Really? Is he that dense?
"Isn't the same as Hershel's? You both share Maggie as a birth mother, though, no?"
Oh, he's actually that stupid. Both my father and Glenn?
"My parents were high school sweethearts. Hershel's dad- Mom met him after the fall," I keep it short.
"Men have a hard time, huh?"
"A friend of mine says that living is harder than dying because you get left alone by those that you love.. Now, how about that twice over, whole family, two kids, and a colony to lead."
"Your Mom is a strong woman. I never denied that."
I bite my tongue so I don't remind him that he implied as much.
"What's this map here for? It looks fresh," he says, moving to the wall beside the door.
I eye the map. Anna and I put it together last night when we returned. It was the first plot in order to find Rick and Michonne.
"A lot around this area has been scouted. Was planning on traveling further to find supplies to rebuild Hilltop," I lie.
"On foot?"
Shit.
"We've been on the road a long time, we know when to give the horses a break," I cover it up with ease.
"Expert on animals?"
"Used to live on a farm," I explain. "My dad was a caretaker for the place. My grandpa was a veterinarian."
Lance nods and I see him searching through his brain for more interrogation questions or reasons of something suspicious in my trailer.
"Find what you were looking for?" I ask.
"Can't say that I have," he says with a chuckle. "I think I'll have to see what the other officers are up to."
I give him a fake smile and he does the same right back before leaving. Once he's gone, I exhale sharply and regain my bearings.
Regardless of the tension, I make sure to pat myself on the back.
Lance was pushing. He knew I was still a wild card. He wanted a reaction out of me.
And despite him bringing up Dad, Glenn, and life before- I kept strong and didn't let him in.
The road to recovery and self-acceptance was long. But, I was managing it. Even the tiniest step is a step in the right direction.
I look outside the open door to the sky.
Is this what they wanted? For me to do better like this? Am I doing this right?
Suddenly, a soldier goes running by the door with his weapon drawn.
"Motherfucker," I curse under my breath and run outside after him.
"Elijah!" I hear Hershel cry out.
My pace goes faster. I ignore the burn in my stomach of my still healing wound and run past the soldier I initially saw.
"Hershel?" I ask upon arriving to the scene.
"Asshole here touched Hershel," Elijah growls, pushing Lance further into the side of the main house by his collar.
My eyes widen and I take my gun out. I hardly registered pulling Hershel behind me and shoving the gun against the side of Lance's head- right on his temple.
"The fuck?" I question. "Do you have a death wish?"
"It's not like that," Lance says, trying to keep Elijah and I both calm.
"Hey! Release him!" a soldier shouts, pointing his gun at us.
"Elijah," I call. "He's mine."
Elijah drops the grip on Lance. But, Lance doesn't have much room to breathe as I take Elijah's place and put the tip of the gun under his chin- I grab his hair with my free hand and slam his head against the brick to keep him in place.
"What happened to our friendly conversation?" Lance asks.
"You put your hands on my brother, you piece of shit. That's what happened," I hiss in his face.
"Release him now!" another soldier screams.
"Not before I blow this asshole's head off," I threaten.
"Ellie?" Mom asks.
Hershel breaks from Elijah's side and into Mom's arms. Daryl was with her as well and he holds a gun up at the soldiers with their aim on Elijah and me.
Elijah quickly informs Mom of what happened and Hershel tells her that Lance told him something bad was going to happen.
"Just say the word," Josh whispers to Mom, pointing his gun at the soldiers.
Despite how much I wanted to tear Lance Hornsby to shreds, I knew I shouldn't.
Hershel was watching. The soldiers would take us all out before we even knew what happened. We were barely getting by- the last thing we needed was a war on our hands with a community that has thousands of people.