Finally, we've found a trap door that allows us to drop into one of the subway cars. As everyone slowly lowers themselves, including Alyssa, Negan looks at me, "Ladies first."
I scoff, "Don't worry, I'll catch you when you get down." He chuckles and holds my backpack for me while I slowly lower myself through the roof before letting go and grunting as my feet hit the ground. Negan tosses me my backpack and then comes down last. The train car is old and rusted, all of the seats rotting away, and only a few dead Walkers remain.
When we get down there and see Maggie isn't there, Negan and I both glance at each other, a sigh of relief washing over him. "It's rusted shut." Frost notices as he tries to pull one of the connecting doors open. "Safe bet that they all are."
"Where's Maggie?" Alden asks.
Negan pretends to look around, "She-she was right behind me." Nobody responds, instead, we all listen to the Walkers growling and scratching at the subway's sides. Alyssa looks at me with a "seriously?" look. I look at her as if saying "I didn't do shit." Because I didn't.
Directly.
"Somebody boost me up." Alden says.
"You go up there, you're dead." Frost reciprocates. "She'd be pissed if you tried. She'd want us to keep moving forward."
"All right, we need to get that door open. Then we'll go from car to car until we hit the front of the train. Then we'll hop off... and then we just keep going." Gabriel voices. Negan walks through our group to go help with the door with his crowbar and Alyssa approaches me.
"What...the hell...did y'all do?" She whispers so quietly I have to lean in to hear.
"We didn't do shit." I reply, just as quietly. She flashes me a suspicious look but accepts my response.
After a few minutes of trying to pry the door open, a loud squeak comes from the door as Duncan pries it open. Without wasting a second, we all walk through, leaving the thought of Maggie behind.
"Why don't you guys handle that one?" Negan says as Alden, Elijah, and I all walk over to the door. "If you get tired out, we'll take over." Though, suddenly, loud, thumping noises sound from somewhere around us. My heart stops and I can already tell who it is, though, I'm praying it's Daryl.
"Is that the roof?" Alden asks.
"Could be Walkers." Negan suggests hopefully. Gabriel quickly shushes him and listens to the rhythmic thumping below us.
"That's Morse code. It's SOS." Alden says. Quickly, Duncan grabs Negan's crowbar and pries a trap door open. Unfortunately, Maggie climbs out, her irritable aura floating around her.
She stares at Negan with an angry look before she approaches him and punches him with her gun. "Hell no," I exclaim, punching her in the cheekbone before Alyssa grabs me and pulls me back. "Don't fuckin' touch him." I warn her, my nostrils flaring and my eyes narrowing.
"Why the hell not?!" She snaps, glaring at me. "I slipped, he saw, and he left me to die."
"Yeah, okay, so what?" Negan replies, straightening up. Alyssa's arms tense around me, knowing if she lets go I'm gonna tackle Maggie.
"You're just admitting it?" Gabriel asks.
Alden jumps in, "You tried to kill her."
"No, she was in trouble, and I didn't help. There is a big difference." Negan retaliates. Suddenly, Duncan grabs him and shoves him against the wall. I grunt against Alyssa's arms and try to fight her off but somehow she's gotten stronger and is managing to hold onto me pretty well.
"Okay, so who's gonna help you now? Who in here's got your back?" Duncan challenges.
"I do, asshole." I announce, finally managing to shove Alyssa off and taking a step forward.
"Why?" Maggie exclaims, turning to me. "Why the hell do you protect him?"
"Because I knew him way longer than I knew Glenn and Abraham! I knew him way longer than I knew fuckin' Sasha and Denise and Olivia! I've known him longer than I've known all y'all!" I argue, making Maggie back down slightly.
"You loved Glenn." Maggie says.
"Yeah? Well, I love Negan more! I've loved Negan more for like fifteen years! Think about it, Maggie. Who the hell killed his men first, huh? We did. Went into their goddamn outpost and killed their men. Now, if that happened to us, what the hell would we do? We'd retaliate! And that's what the Saviors did! They fuckin' retaliated just like we would've. Except, we woulda' taken them all out. He killed two of ours initially. Why the hell is it any different? Because we were the ones who suffered?" Everyone other than Negan and Alyssa stares at me in horror. I know Alyssa agrees with me, she just doesn't want to say it.
"Negan brought you back to Nick." Gabriel adds, stepping forward.
"Yeah, he did," I look at Negan, "And it was a shitty thing to do." Negan closes his eyes and looks down, sighing. "But have y'all never made a bad mistake? Exactly, you have. I killed Nick, I've moved on. Without being reunited with him, I never woulda' been able to. Yes, I'm pissed Negan brought me back, but-but listen to this Maggie." I lean in close to her. "It was...seven fuckin' years ago!" I gasp exaggeratedly. "Oh my god! People...move on? After almost a decade?! That's fuckin' insane. Crazy." I straighten up. "Maggie, how many husbands, sons, and fathers have you killed? Huh? Because...why is it any different for you to do it than Negan? So put on your goddamn big girl pants, and get the hell over it!"
Maggie gapes at me, her eyes wide and glossy. I can feel everyone's eyes on me though, I don't give a fuck. This was long overdue.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Adrian?" Maggie whispers.
I take a step closer to her. "The girl you left six years ago is not the woman standing before you now." I whisper, quoting her from yesterday.
After a few silent seconds, Agatha jumps in, "Nod and it happens. We can get through the city without him." Though she's speaking to Maggie, she's glaring at me, her eyes burning holes through mine.
"Do it." I urge, grabbing my gun and cocking it. "Nod." I hold it to Maggie's head; I'm so sick and tired of her goddamn shit. Agatha quickly holds her bow and arrow to mine, "Watch it."
"No," Alyssa jumps in, aiming her gun at Agatha's skull. "You watch it, asshole." I can't help but smirk.
Maggie stares at me, not breaking eye contact. But before she can respond, Gage's voice comes from the door behind us. "Help! Help me! Help!" He begs, banging on the metal door.
Maggie slowly backs away from me until I lower my gun. All of us quickly run through the train car and run through the first one until we get to the door opposite of the one we were trying to open. "Gage? What happened?" Alden asks, approaching the doors.
"We got lost in the tunnels! Walkers are everywhere, they-they might have-"
"How'd you get in there?" Negan asks, interrupting Gage.
"I-I got a door open on the far end."
"Did you close it?" Alyssa asks urgently.
Gage pauses, "Uh..."
"Gage?" Gabriel asks.
"I..." When Gage turns, a dozen Walkers are stumbling their way inside his train car, inching dangerously closer to him.
"Hey, this one seems a bit looser." Negan says, jiggling a bolt. "Sasquatch, give me a hand."
"We open that they'll all get in." Maggie says. When Duncan doesn't move, Alyssa and I nod to each other and run to help Negan.
"He's right there!" Alden grunts to Maggie.
"I know he is." Maggie replies.
"To hell with you." Alden grumbles, running to help Alyssa and I as we try to pry the screws out of the door.
Alyssa inhales sharply as her finger gets split open by Frost grabbing her and pulling her away. I narrow my eyes and turn to Frost. "The fuck?"
"It was a goddamn accident you freak."
Alden yells, "Are you insane? Move!" As Duncan pulls him away.
"God fuckin' damn it! It's a teenager!" I yell, running back to the door but Duncan grabs me. "You did not just grab me." As I try to fight him off, Negan pulls me away and pushes my hands behind my back.
"Don't cause any more shit." He whispers in my ear. I huff but, reluctantly, comply.
"Maggie?" Gage whimpers, pressing his nose against the foggy glass. "Maggie!" He screams, slaming his hands on the door. "Open the door!" As Gage looks back at the Walkers approaching him, it's clear it's starting to freak him out even more, realisticly. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry..." He starts crying, his voice cracking almost inaudibly. "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry, but I just...I want another chance. Okay? I won't do it again. I won't do it again. I'll do better. Please, I promise. Please."
"Maggie! That's a kid!" Alyssa tries, holding in tears. Maggie doesn't reply, she just stares blankly at the dead door.
"Maggie, listen to me. We have time. We can get that door open." Alden whispers.
"For the first time ever, I agree with Alden." I narrow my eyes at Maggie, "And you're not the goddamn leader." When I try to fight Negan off of me again, he holds onto me tighter.
"Adrian," He warns, causing me to deflate again.
Alyssa stares in horror at the door, "I don't want to be the reason a kid died." She looks at Maggie, "I know you don't either."
"We don't have the ammo to clear them." Maggie quips. When Alden tries to run to the door, Duncan grabs him again.
"Let it go." Gabriel tells Alden.
"I'm sorry," Maggie says. "I can't."
The terror that creeps into Gage's eyes is something I don't think I'll ever get out of my head. Even through the grey, dim light and the foggy, dirty window, I can see Gage's face turn ash white.
"Maggie," Alyssa whispers.
"Liar." Gage says, pulling out a knife before stabbing it into his chest. He pulls it out and stabs again, falling back into the Walkers as they tear him to shreds.
"You're a cold blooded murderer." I growl to Maggie, shoving Negan off of me. "That was somebody's kid." Alyssa's facing the wall, hiding her view of a teenager getting torn to shreds because Maggie was too lazy to save him.
A few minutes later, most of us are sitting in the seats, listening to the growls of the Walkers all around us. Duncan and Frost are on the other end, trying to pry open the door without a dead kid behind it.
Negan paces in one spot, his face grim. "You good?" I ask.
"Bad memories." He admits, sitting in the row next to Alyssa and I's.
"Of what?" Alyssa asks. Negan rubs his face with his hand and doesn't respond, Alyssa doesn't ask again. "Adrian," Alyssa whispers, nodding to the door Gage died at. When I look up, Gage is standing at the window, blood pouring out of his mouth. He's growling and snarling, slamming into the door as he tries to walk forward. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, man spreading, resting my elbows on my knees, and resting my head on my interlocked hands.
"You guys don't wanna look at him." Alden says, noticing everyone avoiding eye contact with the Walker we have memories with. "Why? Why won't you look at him?"
"All that is, is the shell of a man who died a coward." Gabriel replies lowly.
"That's a hot take, Father." Alden says.
"Being scared doesn't mean he's a coward." Alyssa protests, looking at Gabriel.
I shake my head, "He was an ass but...he didn't deserve to die like that. In the worst way imaginable."
"There are worse ways." Maggie adds, holding a lit flare. "A lot worse. Before I found Elijah and his people," She continues, walking closer to Alden. "Hershel and I were alone for a long time. One day we came across this...fail old man, who was kneeling by a turned-over grocery cart. It was full of scavenged clothes he said was for his sons and daughters and could we help him haul the cart back home? And he said he'd give us food for our trouble. I knew that he was a liar. But I was starvin' and soon Hershel would be."
"So we followed him back to his house. I held a knife to his throat and reached in his pocket and I pulled out the chloroform rag he was gonna use on me. I stuffed it in his mouth. And then we went inside the house and I locked my little boy in a room, and I went and searched the house. There were these three...deforemed...I wouldn't call 'em men." Maggie stares off into space, recalling the memory. "They came after me. But I handled them. And then the house was quiet...except for this thudding sound that was coming from upstairs in the attic. And I thought maybe they had people tied up up there that were tryin' to get free."
She continues, "So I walked to a door at the end of this hallway. And I opened it, and I looked up, and there was a set of stairs. At the top of the stairs, there's this shadow...writhing and rocking. I thought it was an animal. Then all of a sudden it fell down the stairs and it came right at my feet. It was a Walker...that used to be a woman. Her arms and her legs...had been cut off, stitched up. Her eyes gouged out. No tongue. And she was wheezing through an open, cauterized gash in her throat where her vocal cords had been ripped out."
Reminds me of Nick. Wish this woulda' happened to him instead of this poor lady.
"And her belly was round and full. And whatever was inside of there was trying to get out. And when I went upstairs there were three more just like her. But their hearts were still beating."
"Jesus." I whisper, dropping my head between my arms.
"And do you know the first thing I thought? The very first thing that crossed my mind? 'If they're alive, there must be foor here.' So I took care of them, and then I found the food. Lots of it. And Hershel and I filled the cart with it, and we left." Maggie walks over to Alden, "I don't feel anything when I tell you that. Do you understand me? Because that is what's out there. And seein' it...I lost somethin'. And I don't think it's a bad thing that I did. Because it has made things so much clearer. What we have in Alexandria, what we had at Hilltop, and Meridian...it's rare. It has to be. Compared to everythin' that's out there. Because if it isn't-"
"That means we were lucky." Negan chimes in. "It means that nobody has it figured out. Nobody ever did. And nobody ever will."
Finally, Duncan and Frost manage to pry the door loudly open. If this is the rate we're going in, it'll take days to get out. To our unlunkiness, Duncan turns and shakes his head to Maggie, telling us the door is no use. Alyssa nudges me and points to the Walker-filled door as it begins to slowly open and the glass slowly begins to crack.
Elijah quickly runs and places flares at the seats right before the door, Gabriel stands with his shotgun cocked at the door and Maggie next to him, holding her bow and arrow.
Boom.
The door collapses and Walkers begin piling in. My sneses kick in and the adernaline causes my body to seemingly go numb. Gabriel obliterates the first few before his gun clicks, when it's out, Maggie and Agatha shoot their arrows before he grabs a machine gun. Once that's out, they shoot their arrows again.
"Damn it. Go." Maggie says once she has no more arrows. Alden and Cole stand in front, stabbing the Walkers with their weapons.
"Hey!" Duncan yells. "They're coming in from this side."
"Feeling a little claustraphobic." Alyssa whispers shakily.
I put a hand on her shoulder, "Would it make you feel better if I agreed?"
She scoffs, "You're scared? Then hell no." I chuckle dryly, and grab my gun. Alyssa and I stand on either side of Alden and Cole, shooting at the Walkers not directly in front of them.
"Mother fucker." I mumble when my gun clicks. "HYAH!" I yell, snapping my whip on a Walker's head, causing blood to splatter on my arm. Negan is at the opposide door with Duncan, clearing the Walkers on that side. When Alyssa's gun clicks, she spins her swinging spiked hammer and smashes two Walkers' heads in.
"Hurry!" Negan yells from the now open door.
"Go!" I yell to Alyssa, practically shoving her out of the seat she was standing behind and running down the aisle.
Once everyone's inside, Daryl, guess he showed up (when does he not?) yells, "Get behind something!" Alyssa grabs me and we fall to the ground behind the subway seats protecting us from the grenade Daryl put in a Walker's mouth.
After a few seconds, a loud boom echoes and blood splatters everywhere on the window of the door. Everyone stands up and stares, "Guess we did have enough ammo." Alyssa sasses to Maggie.
Finally making our way out of the subway, I feel like I can breathe again. Instead of going to Meridian, we're going to a place called Arbor Hills, a hidden supply depot, Maggie says. According to her, it's from Georgie. It has ammo, food, weapons, first aid, everything.
As we're approaching Arbor Hills, with the injured Roy as well, we slow down a bit. There are Walkers upside down tied to wooden poles lining the sides of the road all the way as far as I can see through the dark light. "Well, this place sure has gone to shit since the last time I was here." Negan remarks.
The road ahead is barely illuminated by moonlight above us. The slick, shiny road in front of us seems to stretch on forever. The whispering, cold, after-storm breeze causes the trees to shivver around us.
Suddenly, an arrow pierces Roy's head, killing him instantly. We don't get a second to realize what the hell just happened because arrows and knives fly rapid fire around us. "Alyssa!" I yell, grabbing her and diving behind a broken down car along with the rest of the group. Cole is groaning in pain at his now-missing hand and sliced up leg.
When I peek outside around the car, a whole group of masked men are marching toward us in a triangle formation, their sharpened weapons gripped tightly in their hands. "Go! Go!" I yell, grabbing Alyssa's hand and running through the woods. Nobody wastes any time, hasitly trying to escape this insane group.
I hear screams of pain from all around me as all of my group some how gets injured. Alyssa yelps in agony behind me and I see a knife stuck in her bicep. When I skid to a stop to help her, a knife lands in my side, resulting in a scream of pain. Another knife goes straight to Alyssa's leg immobilizing her. "Alyssa!" When I run to try and grab her, two men grab her by the arms and start dragging her away.
Terror bursts through my stomach like fireworks, causing the pain in my hip to disappear. "NO!" I wail, scrambling to grab her.
"ADRIAN!" She screams, trying to fight the men off. One of them throws a knife straight at my head and the other at my shoulder. I duck to avoid the headshot but I can't avoid the shoulder knife. Alyssa's feet worthlessly kick at the ground as she's being dragged, her fights nothing compared to the strength of the men.
An arm wraps around my waist and I go to stab whoever it is, but Negan stares at me. "We gotta go!" He yells, ducking from a knife.
"NO! They have my sister! They have my sister! They-" I break out into a sob as he drags me away.
"Look! That's Daryl!" He yells, pointing at Daryl stabbing the two men from behind. Daryl grabs Alyssa and runs away with her- hopefully running to safety. "Now, we gotta go!" Negan urges, allowing me to break out of his grasp and run away with him.
What the hell just happened?
Alyssa's hurt. Bad.
Alyssa's with Daryl.
Alyssa almost got kidnapped and killed.
Alyssa could still get kidnapped and killed.
Alyssa's with Daryl.
Daryl's Daryl.
Daryl wouldn't let anything like that ever happen to her.
Right?