10. Strangers With S'getti Rings
"can't you see the way her face lights up when she sees you?"
☾
DANI HELD OUT HER HAND. Tara held up two fingers. Scissors beats paper. Again.
"Stop doing paper." She whispered in order to retain the quiet of the barn.
"I was hoping I could use reverse psychology." Dani replied.
"Hey." Maggie's voice broke through the silence. "Everyone..." She opened the door wider, and, where Sasha should have followed alone, another man entered. He was tall, well groomed and dressed in clean clothes, something that group could have only dreamed of. "This is Aaron." She told them.
Dani reached over Tara, grabbing her gun that laid beside the other and holding it tight to her thigh, all as Daryl stormed outside, checking around cautiously. Tara jumped up, giving the woman a nod as she followed, and checking the outsides once more. Dani refused to trust strangers so easily. After what happened at Terminus and in the church... She didn't need a repeat.
"We met him outside. He's by himself." Maggie clarified. The man looked around wide-eyed, understandably nervous as he looked at the group. They looked like cavemen. "We took his weapons and we took his gear." Daryl ignored her words as he patted the man down.
Raising her gun, Dani pointed it at him with narrowed eyes. He didn't seem as physically unnerving as Gareth had been. Then again, she wasn't leaving anything to chance.
"Hi." Aaron nodded, his hands up in surrender.
Judith began to cry, her wails drawing everyone's attention. Her father handed her to his son, Carl already reaching for her.
"It's nice to meet you." He tried again, stepping forward. Dani cocked her gun, freezing his movements.
"You said he had a weapon?" Rick asked the two women, ignoring the extra completely. Maggie headed forward, handing off the small gun to the leader, all the while Dani assessed the stranger. He really was clean. He must have a good home somewhere. Somewhere with running water. That was always a plus.
Rick tucked the gun into the back of his pants, eyeing the man carefully. "There something you need?"
"He has a camp nearby." Sasha explained. "He wants us to audition for membership."
"Audition?" Dani raised a brow. "I can wiggle my ears, that a good enough talent for you?"
Aaron breathed a laugh. "I wish there was another word. Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of a dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights." He joked.
The room stayed uncomfortably silent. Well... Until Dani piped up again. "I never did have any rhythm." She mumbled to herself, keeping her gun trained on the strange man.
He shook his head, regretting his words as he turned back to Sasha. "Um, and it's not a camp. It's a community. I think you all would make valuable additions. But it's not my call."
"How would you know?"
"Dani." Lucia hissed.
"No one else is questioning the guy." She argued. Lucia shot her a sharp look and, for the sake of keeping the peace, Dani snapped her mouth shut.
"My job is to convince you all to follow me back home. I know. If I were you I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into." The group stared at him, blankly. "Sasha, can you hand Rick my pack?"
As she did so, he continued giving directions. "Front pocket, there's an envelope. There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community. That's why I brought those." Rick pulled out the envelope, the others watching over his shoulders. "I apologise in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last—"
"Nobody gives a shit." Daryl cut him off.
Dani shrugged in agreement and let her gun lower. She wasn't sure what it was, but something about Aaron felt trustworthy. She hoped that trust wasn't misplaced. Letting her eyes flick back across the group of people, they made their way to the woman like a moth to a flame. One way or another she always looked back at Tara.
It was hardly the time, but she couldn't help herself. Tara stood with her gun held loosely in front of her body. Her slightly tousled hair was down, draped over her shoulders and her skin had a shine to it that was probably gross but Dani didn't care. They were all gross in there.
She held her breath as she watched Tara's eyes flick around the room, her brain repeating itself in a loop. Look at me, She begged. Anything to show that you think about me as much as I do you.
Tara watched the man turn to Daryl. "You're absolutely 100% right." He said awkwardly. Dani sighed internally. "That's the first picture I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe."
From her position, Dani could see the photos just enough to make out the supported walls. Lucia had moved and stood by Michonne, assessing the images with a keen look in her eye.
"If you join us, you will be. Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot-high, 12-foot-wide slab of solid steel, framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing." He explained thoroughly. Dani decided he could've been a real estate agent in his past life. He was good at it. "Nothing, alive or dead, gets through that without our say so. Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people. Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger." Dani noticed the look Rick and Michonne gave each other. It didn't fill her full of confidence for the guy. "The next picture, you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construc—"
They never did hear the end of that sentence. Rick Grimes had already stormed forward and knocked the poor man out cold with just one punch. Dani winced at the impact, watching him hit the ground like a sack of bricks. She felt a little bad for him.
"So we're clear, that look wasn't a 'Let's attack that man' look." Michonne remarked. "It was a 'he seems like an okay guy to me' look."
"We got to secure him. Dump his pack. Let's see what this guy really is."
"Rick."
"Everybody else, we need eyes in every direction. They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are."
"You think we're in danger?" Dani asked.
"Can't take chances."
"Yeah... but from that guy." She pointed to the unconscious Aaron on the ground.
"Stay alert."
She sighed and nodded, heading over to a wall and eyeing the outside through the cracks of the wood.
"Me and Sasha, we didn't see him." Maggie explained. "If he wanted to hurt us, he could've."
"Anybody see anything?" Rick asked.
"Just a lot of places to hide." Glenn told him.
"Alright, keep looking." He walked over to Carl, checking what was kept in his bag.
Lucia stood beside Tara, watching out the front doors of the barn while anxiously looking over the man.
"Hey." Tara caught her attention. "It's gonna be okay."
"It's just—" She started, her eyes glancing over the room, more specifically at Dani. "I don't want a repeat of—"
"That's not gonna happen."
Lucia nodded and crouched beside Aaron, helping Maggie with the rag she had pressed to his skin. He finally stirred, groaning slightly as he moved his jaw around. He huffed a laugh as he woke properly. "That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick."
Well, at least he had a sense of humour about it.
"Sit him up." Rick ordered.
"I think it's better if—" Maggie tried.
"It's okay." Aaron said.
"He's fine. Sit him up."
Maggie and Michonne lifted him into a sitting position while Lucia stood, moving beside Rosita.
"You're being cautious. I completely understand."
"How many of your people are out there? You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?"
Aaron sighed. "Does it matter?"
"Yes. Yes, it does."
"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say... Eight, thirty-two, four hundred and forty four, zero... No matter what I say, you're not going to trust me."
"Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face." Rick told him.
"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?" Aaron asked.
Dani's throat dried. He was the one that left the water. That meant he must've been following them. And for a while too. If he saw what she did—
Daryl voiced the question. "How long you people been following us?"
"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail. Long enough to see that, despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors... and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world."
He was right. Dani knew that. The others knew that. But still Rick didn't ask for anymore explanation on his community. He stepped forward. "How many others are out there?"
"One." Rick shook his head as Aaron nodded. "Knew you wouldn't believe me. If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real?" He looked around desperately. "What if I drove you to the community? All of you? We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."
"I'm not sure how the 17 of us are gonna fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in."
"We drove separately. If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us."
"Are you sure about that? How big are these cars?" Dani raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Carol asked.
"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it."
"Yeah, you've really thought this through." Rick nodded.
"Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here. You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit. You can trust me."
Somehow, that confirmed it for Danica. She could trust him. He was telling the truth. She knew that because that's exactly what she would've done to ambush them. Right down to the flame.
"I'll check out the cars." Michonne offered.
"There aren't any cars." Rick didn't take his eyes off of Aaron.
"There's only one way to find out."
"We don't need to find out." His gaze cut to her.
"We do. You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not."
"Me neither." Maggie agreed.
"We should at least try, Rick." Lucia told him.
He shook his head. "Your way is dangerous, mine isn't."
"Passing up some place where we can live? Where Judith can live? That's pretty dangerous. We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do." Michonne raised her chin. It wasn't often she disagreed with Rick.
"Then, I'll go too." Glenn nodded. "I'll go."
"Abraham." Rick said.
"Yeah." He nodded. "I'll walk with them."
"Rosita?"
"Okay." She tucked her gun away.
"Dani?"
She nodded, turning to her pack. She took out the knife that laid on top of it and tucked it into her holster before heading to the door. Lucia gave her a nod as she moved over to Carl, checking on him and Judith.
"The walkies are out of juice. If you're not back in 60 minutes, we'll come. Which might be just what they want."
Michonne nodded and lead the group outside. As Dani got to the door, a soft hand reached out, grabbing her own.
"Be safe." Tara said.
Dani winked. "Always am."
☾
"Eyes open, everybody. Weapons up." Glenn reminded them.
"Guys, is that really necessary? I really think he was telling the truth." Dani confessed, looking towards the fields as she strolled beside Abe.
"You see someone coming at us, you fire."
She sighed and moved her pistol from her side to in front of her.
"Copy that." Abe nodded. Dani rolled her eyes.
Glenn and Michonne murmured hushed words to one another as Dani watched Abe checked all their surroundings.
"You don't think that's a little paranoid?"
"It's what's necessary."
"If you say so, big guy."
"I do say so."
It didn't take too long before the group found the cars. They really did have enough room. One car and one very large RV parked on the side of the road, both cleaner than they expected.
"He was telling the truth." Michonne thought aloud.
They moved closer, and as Rosita stepped over a fallen tree, a rustling from the bushes kicked everyone into position. Don't fucking ruin this, Dani silently begged.
"Not one step closer, asshole!" Glenn warned the person.
They watched, their guns pointed on the bush moving, as two walkers trudged their way out, snarling with their rotting jaws.
"I got 'em." Abe said.
"We got 'em." Rosita corrected him.
Relief coursed through Dani, air releasing from her lungs as she let herself hope. This could still work.
Rosita and Abe checked out the RV as the others briefly glanced inside the car. Approaching slowly, Dani didn't want to interrupt anything important but she knew they'd have to hurry before Rick sent out a search party and murdered Aaron. She opened the door and stepped inside, Rosita and Abe just finishing their talk.
"Sorry... We better get back." She told them.
"Yeah, you're right." Abe smiled, tapping the can in his hand.
"Oh fucking score. S'getti rings!" She beamed. "Dibs!"
"Over my dead body." He furrowed his brows.
"I can make that happen."
☾
They had piled up the cans of food on a chest in the barn and Rick smiled a very small smile. "This? This is ours now." He told Aaron.
He nodded, resigned. "There's more than enough."
"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp."
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we go?" Carl asked.
"If he were lying, or if he wanted to hurt us..." Michonne explained. "But he isn't, and he doesn't. We need this. So we're going, all of us. Somebody say something if they feel differently."
Although they were on different sides of this argument, Rick looked at Michonne with a sparkle of admiration in his eye. Dani smiled softly at the sight, and the idea that they could have a place again. A home.
"I don't know, man." Daryl said to Rick. "This barn smells like horse shit."
"Yeah. We're going." Rick nodded. He turned back to Aaron. "So where are we going? Where's your camp?"
"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel diving recruits back."
"You can't make a change this one time?" Dani asked him.
He looked around awkwardly. "I believe you're good people, I've bet my life on it, I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives just yet."
"You're not driving." Michonne told him. "So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how."
He sighed, realising he had no out here and nodded at Rick. "Go north on Route 16."
"And then?"
"I'll tell you when we get there."
"We'll take 23 north." Rick said. "You'll give us directions from there."
"That's... I don't know how else to say it, that's a bad idea. We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."
"We'll take 23. We leave at sundown."
"We're doing this at night?" Sasha asked.
"Look I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."
"No one is going to hurt you." Aaron emphasised. "You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger."
"Tell me where the camp is, we'll leave right now."
Aaron shook his head slightly and Rick turned to the others. "Gonna be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can." He walked outside.
Tara moved to Dani's side, her hand reaching for the other woman's before pulling it back, unsure. Dani turned, smiling at her as she reached for a can. "Look what he has."
"S'getti Rings?"
"Fuck yeah."
Tara grinned at the smile on Dani's lips as she watched her place the can back. "Can you really wiggle your ears?"
She nodded and lifted her hair to prove it.
"Hm. Weird."
"You're weird." She laughed, watching the group interact. Tara followed her gaze, her hand loose at her side, brushing Dani's. She didn't rethink it for once. Letting it happen, Tara's pinky finger found Dani's, linking the two, hidden by their sides. The Myers girl smiled to herself at the littlest touch. Maybe all hope wasn't lost. It didn't have to be.
☾
The drive in the dark was oddly smooth. It felt wrong. Nothing was ever smooth with them.
"You're worried." Tara observed from beside her.
"Not worried. Just... suspicious."
"Not everything has to go wrong, Dani. Maybe the universe is finally giving us a break."
"Bitchnuts!" Abe yelled.
"Had to jinx it, huh?" Dani shrugged.
"Shut up." Tara rolled her eyes, grabbing the side of the vehicle.
The RV swerved and through the window, Dani watched the horde of walkers trail after the car. "What about the others?" She asked as they made their escape.
"They'll be fine, they can handle themselves!" Abe yelled to her.
"Up there!" Lucia pointed out the flare in the sky.
"On it." Abe nodded.
The group waited in a small supply room for the others. They met Eric, a man who knew Aaron. He was injured but Maggie and Lucia had checked him over and it wasn't anything major. Tara and Dani already had a bet going with Abe and Rosita. The women thought they were dating, Abe wasn't convinced. Rosita just backed him up because she felt bad.
Daryl was on watch for the group and soon enough he was knocking on the door to let them know they had found them. Carl shot outside, a grin over his cheeks as he hugged his father.
"Eric? Eric?" Aaron repeated, over and over.
"In here!" He shouted from inside. Aaron perked up at his voice, yelling his name again as he shoved through the door. Tara shot Dani a knowing look.
They moved back inside, giving the two some privacy while they waited for an idea on what to do. Tara hopped up and perched on the side of the counter while Dani stood in front of her. It was an oddly intimate position, stood between her legs, not outright, but just about if you looked close enough.
Noah joined their side and tapped their arms. "Just so you guys know, I'm with you."
"Hm?"
"Team dating." He nodded. "Absolutely."
Aaron exited the room and joined them, his voice shaky. "Excuse me." He tried. "Excuse me. Everyone."
The group turned to him and Dani moved to the left, trying to get out of Tara's way. She felt the woman's hand scrunch up the back of her shirt as she tugged it, pulling Dani back into the spot, closer now, and having to grab her knee to stabilise herself.
"Thank you." He said. "You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria."
Dani inhaled a large quiet breath. It had a name. More hope. More similarities. She wasn't even sure how to feel.
"Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do anymore driving tonight." He joked. "Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."
"That sounds fine." Rick nodded. "But if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there." He pointed to the dark corner.
"You really think we gotta do that?" Maggie asked, her head tilted.
"It's the safe play. We don't know you." Dani rolled her eyes slightly at his words. She picked at a thread on Tara's jeans, all the while Tara fidgeted with the fabric of Dani's shirt.
"The only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me." Dani sent a pointed look at Abe. He nodded in defeat before turning back to them. Glenn murmured words to Rick that she couldn't quite hear from so far away but she knew they weren't for her. She wasn't the one who needed to hear them.
When Rick nodded, she knew they'd be spending the night.
"Stay beside me?" Tara asked, her words leaving her in a rush.
Dani admired how soft her features looked with only the moon as their light source and smiled softly. "Yeah. Okay."
It was strange that she could feel a ridiculous giddiness at the idea of going to sleep. She felt like some sort of pathetic love struck teenager. It was confusing.
☾
"I'm gonna take some of the pills to Aaron." Noah told them. Dani smiled and nodded encouragingly.
"Eugene you're gonna have to run through this for me. I suck at card games."
"Seven-card stud. Stares and squares. It's aces, cuatros, neeners and two-eyed jacks."
"So there's 14 wild cards? Are you serious?" Tara asked, her brows scrunched. Dani smiled and poked at the lines below her forehead.
"Serious as two copulating dogs."
"Wait so what's the point of the game?"
"Dani, I really don't think I can make this any clearer." Eugene sighed, before starting up his explanation again.
He never finished it as the RV spluttered to a stop. Dani cursed loudly at their inability to have anything without something fucking up and Tara rolled her eyes at the expletives, grabbing her wrist and dragging her off the vehicle. They stood at the end of it, leaning against it with Rosita and Sasha.
Abe was just as mad. As he and Glenn tried to fix the thing, Dani rubbed her fingers on her temples.
"You calmed down now, Hot Head?" Tara elbowed her.
"Cute."
"It just needs a battery. Glenn said." Sasha explained to the others. It revved and they shot up, cheering and clapping. They're almost there.
They drove the last bit of distance to the walls, and Dani looked to Lucia with a grin. Her older sister returned the smile, albeit wobbly and unsure but a smile nonetheless as they climbed out.
She beamed as she heard children laughing and shouting. Playing. They were in a place that was safe. This wasn't Terminus. It didn't even feel like it.
Tara's eyes were trained on the glowing expression on Dani's face and it brought a smile to her own. She reached her side, looking up at the walls as they squinted through the sun. Their hands brushed once, twice, until Dani gave up. They could think about the precautions later. Her fingers wove their way with Tara's, an interlocked masterpiece, and she gave her hand a squeeze.
They were at Alexandria.
They could be safe.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
end of act 1! i'm so excited because i've been waiting for SO long to get to act 2. i have so many plans. anyways i hope you enjoyed! let me know if there's any mistakes. ily <3