We all clapped as Ezekiel walked out onto the balcony that displayed a statue of Shiva. "I stand before you today at the start of a new tomorrow. A tomorrow made possible by the sacrifices of many over the years. Among them...was a man whose mission was to build community and strengthen the bonds between us. A man who had to destroy the very thing that connected us in order to save us. It took us far too long to fulfill the promise of what Rick Grimes and his son Carl envisioned, the same promise Paul Rovia, better known to most as "Jesus," believed in when he brought us all together those many years ago. We've always been bound to each other. We always will be. We fought our way back to each other. We have grown. The crossing over the river may be gone. But we have rebuilt a bridge, nonetheless."
We clapped again. "Today is proof that we can unite, not against a common enemy, but for the common good. So eat, drink, trade, and be merry...'cause we got a lotta lost time to make up for."
Jerry walked up, standing on a small stand. "Let the First Annual Inter-Community Reunification Faith begin!"
"Jerry. We changed that." Ezekiel spoke to him.
"For reals? F.A.I.R. Fair?"
"It's too many-nevermind. Let the Fair of New Beginnings begin!"
Jerry's son opened the birdcage, releasing the doves as the crowd broke out in cheers. I slipped away, walking towards the gate, where the others were getting ready to go look for Daryl, Connie, and Henry. I planned on joining them. Ezekiel somehow beat me there and as I was approaching, the gates opened. There they were, in a carriage with Michonne and Judith. Daryl walked alongside, calling Dog inside. Dog ran up to me and I crouched down to pet him. "Hey." Daryl greeted.
I stood, bringing him in for a tight hug. He held me close, burying his face in my neck and picking me up of the ground momentarily. "Whoa, what happened?" I asked when I noticed his face.
"Got Henry, has a scuffle with some skins, no big deal. Everyone's fine."
"Thank god." Carol came over, hugging Daryl as a thank you.
"The plan was to bring Henry." Our attention was brought to Tara, who was staring at Lydia. I hadn't noticed her before. "Just Henry."
"Gather up all the leaders. We have a lot to talk about."
~*~
"I know I haven't always seen eye to eye with everyone in this room. But I never stopped caring about any of you. I was just trying to protect my family and do right by my people. Alexandrias future is here. Together, with you. And we lost sight of that for a while. But...I'm here now. We're here now." I grabbed Daryl's hand, reminded of the day our children were taken, along with the others in Alexandria, what Jocelyn's children did to him and Michonne, and what Michonne had to do to save ours.
"I've taken an informal vote with the other council members at the Fair, and we all agree. Alexandria is willing to grant asylum to Lydia. She's one of us now. We hope the rest of you can join us in doing the same."
"Thank you." Lydia spoke from her spot beside Henry. "I'll do whatever I can to earn my keep and pay you back."
"If her mother retaliates, it's gonna be against Hilltop, not Alexandria. I have to do right by my people. I thought we were on the same page." Tara spoke, arms crossed.
"We were. And, look, when she came to my gates, I asked her to run away. And when she didn't, I was angry."
"Then you know why I'm not okay with this."
"I do. I also know why Rick didn't trust me when I showed up at the gates of the prison. And how people didn't trust you after seeing you on the other side of the Governors firing line."
"I was gonna kill you on site when you washed up on our shore." Rachel, of Oceanside spoke up.
Tara looked around, then down at Lydia. "Okay, okay. Fair."
"Lydia didn't choose where she came from, but she chose where she wanted to be. Just like everybody in this room."
"I left some of my best fighters at Hilltop, but if Daryl's right about these skin job numbers, it's not enough people."
Daryl nodded beside me. "We should take a group to Hilltop to protect 'em, just in case."
"It's a good idea. I'll take some from the Kingdom."
"Oceanside can spare some fighters."
"Alexandria can, too."
"So we head out in the morning?"
"No, they can take advantage if we wait. We should go today."
"Agreed. But sending more people is only a short-term solution."
"In order to face this threat, the four communities have to present a united front. Which is why I'm proposing a mutual protection pact. An attack against one community is an attack against all of us."
"Together, we can make these people think twice before moving against the Hilltop."
"The leadership of the Kingdom is very amenable to this idea."
"Oceanside's down."
"Okay, so how do we seal it?" Tara asked. "Spit and shake, blood oath?" She joked.
Ezekiel smiled. "I have just the thing." He walked over to what used to be a display box from a movie theater, pulling out...the charter? I thought that was in Alexandria?
"What?" Michonne asked as he laid it on the table. "How did you..."
"Well, he's magic. Obviously." Tara joked. "I may have taken a few things with me when I left. I did what I thought was right. Sorry for the way it went down."
"Me too. And thank you. You were right."
"You were, too."
"I knew this day would come." Ezekiel smiled. "Never doubted it for a moment." They gathered around it as Ezekiel signed. "John Hancock, eat your heart out."
He handed the sharpie to Carol, who thought for a moment, then signed Queen Carol. Then Rachel signed, then Tara. She handed it to Michonne, who sighed and held it out to Gabriel. "It should be the head of the Council."
He took it and signed his name, setting it to the side after.
"You all just made history." I smiled. Things were finally looking up.
~*~
I decided to go out with the first group. As much as I would love to enjoy the Fair, I knew I wouldn't with all that's going on. Daryl and I said goodbye to the kids and sent them with Siddiq and Jerry. I sat cross legged with Daryl and Dog. "He's not coming tonight." Daryl said.
I smiled. "He deserves the break. He's such a good dog." I cooed, wrinkling my nose as Dog licked me.
We both stood when Connie came over, opening her notebook. Be safe it read. Daryl nodded. "You too."
When she turned to leave, he tapped her shoulder. "Do you think you could, uh, feed my dog?" He asked, pointing at Dog and then gesturing like he was eating. She smiled and nodding, patting her legs to get Dog to follow her. I smiled at Daryl. "What?" He asked.
"Nothing, you just don't really trust people to watch him."
He shrugged. "Eh, she's okay." I rolled my eyes. He would never admit they were friends.
Carol, Ezekiel, and Henry approached. Henry nodded, shaking Daryl's hand. "Thanks for, um, keeping me out of trouble."
"Take care of your mom." Daryl pat his shoulder.
"Thank you." Ezekiel spoke from behind him. "When Hilltop is secure, know that our doors are always open to you. Both of you. We'd be honored if you'd consider calling the Kingdom your home."
"We'll think about it." Daryl nodded.
"Good." Carol smiled.
We walked away. "I wouldn't mind staying here. It's nice." Daryl nodded. We got on his bike and I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his back.
~*~
As we rode through the woods, we came across Ozzy and Alek, two of the Highwaymen, along with DJ. "We were clearing the roads." Ozzy started as he brought us to an upturned cart. "Spotted tracks leading here."
"It's from Hilltop." Magna said, picking up one of the wooden coins a woman from Hilltop makes.
"Dead people didn't do this."
"The skins? You know about them?" Michonne asked.
"We got the download. Strange times, strange ways to cope. Anyway. Yeah. That'd be my guess. If anyone else was out here, my patrols would've seen 'em. Something else...they put up a fight."
"Hey. Drug 'em out this way." Daryl pointed, walking off the road.
"Let's go."
"We can't all just go rushing in there."
"They could still be alive."
"But if those skin freaks followed them from Hilltop, the whole community is in danger right now."
"So we split up."
"Michonne, Charlotte, and I can go with Daryl. We'll track 'em. The rest of you, go on to Hilltop."
"We'll keep up our patrols around the Kingdom. Just in case. 'Course this means you owe us a couple of movies when this is done." Ozzy nodded.
"I'm sure I can work that out." Carol smiled.
~*~
We followed their trail deep into the woods. It was dark now. Daryl shines his light on a stick, picking it up. Blood. We walked a few more steps. "I don't know if there's a happy ending here." Carol said what we were all too afraid to say.
"The trail...goes off in three different ways. Don't make sense." This felt like a trap. A trip snapped to our legs. "Come on, let's head back. Let's go." Daryl ordered, turing around fast.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Yumiko stopped us. Walkers. Michonne shines her light in the direction of the growling. Two walkers, recently turned. "They're from Hilltop." She and Daryl took them out, then we heard more growling.
"Watch their hands. They could be skins." Michonne warned.
We killed the incoming walkers, but it was too dark, this was too dangerous. "Back to the road, come on!" Daryl ordered.
We turned to go back, but our path was blocked by at least ten more walkers. "This way!"
We tried to go the other way, but we realized we were surrounded. "Shit. Shit!" I cursed, pulling out my knife and machete. We stood in a circle, killing the walkers left and right. This was nerve wracking. We couldn't tell if they were skins, could barely see their hands, so it was a guessing game. Once all the walkers were dead, a man in a fresh looking skin mask emerged from the dark, soon followed by dozens more, completely surrounding us, all whispering. They pulled out their knives.
"Drop them." Came a deep, threatening voice. "I won't ask twice." Daryl looked at him like he recognized him. The man was big, wearing a leather trench coat and mask that only covered down to his nose, a long beard hiding the rest. Daryl dropped his knives on the ground, and we followed suit. "You just had to give me the girl. No one else had to die. Now that deal...is done."
~*~
They brought us deeper into the woods, had our wrists bound behind us, standing around a tree. Alpha approached slowly, holding a knife. "You ain't getting her back." Daryl was the first of us to speak.
"You think this is about my daughter?" She glanced at her bloody knife. "I ran into some trouble on the road." She wiped it on her jeans. "It was unavoidable." She sheathed her knife. "Do you like my new camp? My people like to keep moving, keep roaming."
"We've granted Lydia asylum. Any attempt to take her by force will result in retaliation." Michonne informed her calmly.
"What's your name?" Alpha asked her.
"Michonne."
"Does she speak for you?" She asked Daryl.
"We speak for each other."
She nodded slightly. "My daughter isn't a concern anymore. She was weak. She never lived up to expectations."
"Was?" Daryl asked. My heart sank to my stomach. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"To be clear..." She pulled out a sawed off shotgun. "Your group is in no position to threaten me. That is a habit that needs to be broken." She looked at Daryl, walking closer to him. "Come with me. Just you."
My throat got tight as he stepped away from the tree, nodding at me. Please god don't let this be the last time I see him.
~*~
The skins brought us to a field as the sun rose. They told us to wait there for Daryl. When I saw him walking towards us, I felt like I could breathe again. He was okay, she didn't kill him. I hugged him and handed him back his crossbow and coat. Carol and Michonne hugged him and we kept going. As we walked through the woods, we heard whimpering. Someone was tied to a tree. Siddiq. We ran up to him and Michonne untied him and removed his gag. How the hell did he get here? He was beaten, face bloody. When Michonne cut his bindings, he pointed up the hill. He stumbled as Michonne struggled to carry him.
We rushed up the hill, toward something at the top. I placed a hand over my mouth once we got close enough and I realized what they were. My legs shook and I fell to my knees, holding onto Daryl's leg. Tears cascaded down my cheeks. I felt sick.
Ozzy. Alek. DJ. Frankie. Tammy Rose. Rodney. Addy...Enid...Tara....Henry. Just their heads...on spikes. Mouths chomping, blood dried on the torn skin of the crude remains of their necks. I jumped when Daryl rushed away. "No! No!" He ran to Carol, turning her away, shielding her from the sight of her sons writhing head on a spike. "Just look at me. Just look at me."
I was on my knees beside Yumiko. I didn't really know her, but I couldn't help reaching out a trembling hand for hers, which she took, squeezing tightly. This was horrendous. This is truly the worst thing I've ever seen.
~*~
"I was there." Siddiq spoke from the stage where people had previously been playing music. All the joy was drained from everyone's faces. Tears filled them instead. "I was taken with the others. And I saw...I was supposed to die with them. I was ready to. Then Alpha whispered in my ear, 'Tell them.' Something hit me and everything went black. And when I woke up, I was alone. What happened was evil. It was evil. And I think she left me alive to tell you that story. To scare you and to drive us all apart again. But I want to tell you a different story. See, before the end...Ozzy, Alek, and DJ found us...and they gave us an opening. And everyone fought back...they fought like hell. And what they did...was more than brave...'cause they defended each other. And they sacrificed for each other. And some of them-they didn't even know each other but they still fought like they did. Like they were family. 'Til the very end. And, uh...and in the end, they-their time was cut short, but ours keeps going. So we have to keep going. For them and...for all of us. We need to honor them. We need to honor them and we need to remember these friends, our family, died as heroes. That's the story that I want to tell you. That's the story that I want us all to remember."