The drive away from the Saviors was filled with silence, no one wanting to admit their fear of losing all they had fought for. Clary was the same, staying silent as she looked out the window of the RV, her eyes resting on the fast passing of green leaves and tall trees. The only ounce of ease that was produced was as she turned away, seeing Carl leaning against the counter of the small kitchenette, his gaze on her.
As he smiled to her, Clary realized that he almost looked the same. Such a thought came as she remembered the malice, the darkness, in his voice when asked if they were going to make a stand. She had never seen Carl as aggressive or quick to action, attributes she always thought were more hers than his. She knew him as careful and kind and a wanter of peace, an image that was tarnished when she seen his dark gaze.
The thoughts faded as she made her way to Carl, not wanting to bring them up in fear of him closing off to her. However, it seemed as if he already knew what was on her mind as a small frown fell upon his lips. "Everything okay?" Clary asked upon seeing his change. "You're picking at the skin on your nails." Clary was confused at his words until she looked down to see that he was right, the skin around her nails red and torn. "You do that when you're deep in thought. Just like you mess with your tags when you need to ground yourself and your bracelet when you're sad." Clary's gaze softened, a ghost of a smile upon her face. "You pick up on a lot more than you let on."
At that, Carl let out a soft laugh. "The last two I found out early on, but I wasn't sure about the nails. It wasn't until I got shot and you stuck around." Clary furrowed her brows as he smiled, reminiscing. "You would always look out the window when you thought I was sleeping, picking at your nails or biting the inside of your cheek. You do that during meetings too, so I just assumed."
It was silent for a while as Clary registered how well the boy knew her, much better than she thought he did. But the question still remained as she looked to him. "Are you okay?" Clary asked the boy besides her, causing him to sigh. "Clary—" she shook her head. "You're acting different. More impulsive, shoot first ask questions later. What's going on?" Carl sighed, knowing she was right. Sometimes he forgot how observant the girl was, the two of them picking up on certain aspects of each other that they didn't even realize.
"Ever since I got shot and lost my eye, I realized you were right. Alexandria is exactly what you said it was: a lie. It's a lie that, if we give in to, we die. It made me realize that we can't live in the world Alexandria creates because it's not there anymore. We need to fight, so that's what I'm doing." With one last look, Carl stepped away and her face fell, knowing he didn't want to speak about the change.
However, before Carl could move another step, the RV halted to an immediate stop, causing both of them to stumble. They didn't hesitate to grasp onto each other, steadying themselves as they looked past Abraham and out the window. From where she stood, she was surprised to see a tall pile of logs blocking the road.
Wasting no time, Clary made her way to the hall to guard Maggie, keeping her eyes on the front window as the group exited the vehicle. "Clary—" the girl turned to see Maggie trying to sit up, to which Clary rushed to her before helping her down. "You don't need to move, just rest." The woman shook her head. "I need to know what's happening, please. You all can't just leave me in the dark I—" Clary saw the emotion fill the woman's eyes, causing her to clench her jaw.
After a moment of thought, the girl nodded before smoothing back the woman's hair. "It's the Saviors. They're blocking every path we get to." Seeing the woman's widening eyes, Clary continued. "But don't worry, we'll get to Hilltop. We'll get you a doctor and everything will be okay." Clary was surprised as Maggie scoffed slightly. "You— you can't believe that, can you?" Clary's eyes softened, her jaw clenching as she realized Maggie was right. The girl, seeing all the destruction the Saviors has placed on her, she knew there would be no end.
Maggie held tightly onto the girl's hand, speaking softly. "I know you, Clary. Before you are my daughter, you are a warrior. A commander. That's what you told Glenn and I. You know the odds when you see them, so you don't have to lie." Clary shook her head softly, trying to convince the woman before her. "I'm not. Ever since this new world, I've defeated all odds. I have treaded where no man could and have defeated enemies no one dared to. I know the odds, but I don't bet on them." She shook her head with a soft smile. "I bet on myself. I bet on my family because all you have showed me is that no matter what, because we're together, we'll win." Maggie's eyes seemed to lighten a bit before she nodded, bringing her hand up to run a thumb over the girl's cheekbone. "We will. You give me hope that we will."
As Clary heard the group piling back in, she stood up only for Maggie to still hold onto her hand. As the girl looked down at her, the woman smiled. "I'd bet on you, too. Just so you know." Clary smiled softly before departing, making her way to the front of the RV to see the logs that had been blocking them had begun to burn. As Aaron passed by to check on Maggie, she made her way to Rick. "What happened?" She noted the clench of his jaw. "Simon again. That's another road blocked by Saviors, and who knows how many more after that."
After a few minutes of traveling, Abraham stopped the RV at an intersection before everyone rounded up to look over the map. "So what's the play?" Abraham asked, causing Clary to step forward. "Maggie needs a doctor. She won't last too much longer if we don't get to Hilltop soon." Everyone looked at Clary, not surprised by the worry in her voice for the woman. Sasha looked towards the map before pointing to two separate roads. "There are two more routes north from here." Rick shook his head. "They're probably waiting for us right now."
Everyone went silent, the air of hopelessness shared by the many, seemingly except for one. Eugene looked to the map before shaking his head. "So they're ahead of us, probably behind us. But they're not waiting on us, per se, they're waiting on this rust bucket. And they don't know the moment to moment occupancy of said rust-bucket. And the sun sets soon."
The air of hopelessness mentioned before seemed to lighten as everyone realized that Eugene was right. Clary's eyes met Carl and he gave her a nod, finding some way to tell her that everything would work out.
•
•
•
As night fell, the group got ready to leave into the dark night, prepared to haul Maggie through the undergrowth to get her to where she needed to go.
Clary stood outside, waiting as the others got the woman onto a makeshift stretcher. She made her way to Eugene, his eyes meeting hers before he gave her a nod. "Are you sure you can do this, Eugene?" The man didn't hesitate to nod in answer to the girl. "Commander Dean, I assure you that I am fully capable of keeping the attention of the Saviors to provide a safe passage for you." Clary let out sigh, knowing Eugene was much stronger than he had been on their first run together. She nodded, placing a hand on his arm in thanks.
Before she could depart, however, he caught the girl's attention once more. "You know, it was your words to me on that run we did early on that pushed me to fight?" Clary looked back to him in confusion, especially upon seeing the slight smile on his face. "You said I had to step up and not be afraid. So here I am, stepping up." His smiled widened slightly. "You are a mighty gal, Commander Dean, and I hope this will not be the last time I work by your side." Clary gave him a nod. "It won't be, Eugene. Good luck."
As the man gave her a nod in return, Clary saw Carl towards the front of the RV before making her way towards him. Although her steps were quiet, he looked back to see her. "Hey," Clary said softly, the boy smiling slightly. "Hey, is Eugene ready?" Carl asked, leading the girl to nod her head. "Ready as he'll ever be. I have faith in him, though, he's come a long way." Carl nodded in agreement, knowing that Eugene had changed from the man he had been before.
Although the two were quiet, the boy knew Clary well enough to know there was more on her mind. "Clary?" Carl questioned softly, surprised at the soft breath that left her lips. "No matter what happens out there, if the Saviors find us, you have to let me go." Carl's eye widened, but she couldn't meet his gaze. "You can't let them know that you and I are close because they will use it against me. If they find out how important you are to me they'll hurt you or— or they'll kill you." Carl's eyes widened as he realized what she was saying, ready to fight against it until she continued. "So if they get me, you don't react. You let them do what they do to me."
Carl was silent, no words able to describe how much he hated hearing her words, which were practically void of hope. "What? You're crazy if you think I wouldn't fight for you!" He was surprised seeing the slight smile upon her lips. "I know you would, and that's what terrifies me. Not being caught by Negan but how much you care." With her dark gaze meeting his, she placed a hand on his arm. "You have to try and keep your emotions in check. It will protect you." Before Carl could argue, they heard a whistle, the two of them turning to see Rick signaling for them it was time to go.
As they hauled Maggie out of the RV, Clary moved closer to see the woman, whose eyes met hers. "You just hold on, okay? We'll be there soon." Maggie nodded as Clary looked up to Rick before getting into position, trailing the group and covering from the back. As they went into the forest, Clary's footsteps were quiet against the leaf-strewn ground. Her sword was gripped firmly in her hand, only used twice as walkers came close.
The group treaded through the dark forest for a while, their breathing harsh as they tried to move as quickly and quietly as possible. Her attention was taken when she heard a whistle come from Abraham, his eyes pointed towards her. She sped up to fall step by step with him, a smirk arising to his face. "You're real quiet back there, Commander." Clary only shook her head. "I'd rather not draw attention to us, whether it's walkers or people out there." Meeting his eyes, her face softened. "You need me to take over?" Abraham only shook his head, sending her a wink. "Nah, I am doing mighty good. But—"
His words were cut off as whistles sounded from all throughout the forest, her eyes widening as she recognized the tune. As her eyes scanned through the trees, she saw figures moving from behind them. Tightening her grip on her blade, she looked to the people surrounding them before bringing her eyes upon her people. "Move!" Clary demanded, the others listening before going down a path that seemed free of Saviors. Clary moved from the back, making her way to move by the side of the stretcher Maggie was on, her eyes alert as she looked for the Saviors. As their whistles grew louder, the group only moved faster down the path they had chosen.
As they continued on, hitting a break in the trees, a bright light flashed on and the whistles only grew louder. Getting into a fighting stance, Clary raised her blade to see men and women surrounding them, their smiles not faltering as they saw the group falling right into the trap they had set.
"Good. You made it. Welcome to where you're going."
Simon declared, unholstering his gun before aiming it at Carl. "We'll take your weapons." Clenching her jaw and taking her own advice, Clary tried to hide her worry as she saw Carl stare down the gun to Simon. Simon looked to the girl, smiling darkly. "Glad to see you were with them, Commander Dean. Or should I call you Angel of Death?" Clary stayed silent, her eyes dark as she kept her eyes on him, to which he only chuckled. She heard Rick's voice, shaky as he realized they had been caught. "We can talk—" Simon cocked the gun. "We're done talking. Time to listen."
As Simon made his way to disarm Carl, Clary watched as another man came closer to her. She kept her eyes on him, watching as he took the sword from her hand and the rifle slung over her back. He didn't frisk her, thankful as she held the knowledge of the switchblade in her boot and the hidden knife in her cuff. However, that thankfulness was cut short as the man pulled away, chuckling before grabbing her chin forcefully. "You'll pay for everything. You'll pay for the all the people you killed, like my brother." The man was surprised seeing her own face relax, a dark laugh falling from her lips. "Which one was he? I'm sure I can give a first-hand account of how he died nice and slow—"
The man let out a yell before winding back and punching her. She took it, stumbling back partially because of the force before turning back to the man. With a glare, she spit out the blood from within her mouth and clenched her jaw, wanting nothing more than to tighten her fist and allow it to find a hole in his jaw. But she couldn't. They had been caught. They didn't have the upper hand.
As the man stepped away, her eyes averted towards Simon to see him already looking at her momentarily before his eyes scanned the group. "Okay. Let's get her down and get you all on your knees. Lots to cover."
As Saviors made their way towards Maggie, Clary moved in front of them, her gaze daring them to touch her. As a Savior stared the girl down, ready to take her up on the dare, she heard Abraham speak. "We got it." Simon looked at the group before nodding. "Sure, sure." The Saviors that had stepped forward moved away from the group, allowing Clary to turn to help Maggie from the stretcher. Helping the woman, Clary wrapped an arm around Maggie before her and Abraham helped her to her feet and to the ground.
As Abraham kneeled with her, Clary stood in between where Rick stood and Maggie kneeled only to come face to face with Simon. "I'm gonna need you on your knees." Clary glared at the man, her jaw clenched to prevent her from spewing the things she wanted to say. She wanted to stay standing, knowing if she were to die by his hand she would rather die standing, but a touch on her leg stopped her. She looked down, seeing Maggie look pleadingly up at her. It was in her eyes that Clary knew she couldn't stand, not to protect herself but to protect Maggie from losing her child.
So, as Rick fell to his knees, Clary did the same, keeping her eyes on the man in front of her. Simon chuckled seeing her on the ground, crouching in front of her before whistling in awe. "You know, Commander, this image reminds me a lot of someone." Dramatically, he brought his hand to his chin before smiling. "Ah, that's it! You— you look a lot like your sister did when she was kneeling. Of course, that was before, ya know..." Simon smirked as he made the motion of a bat swing before chuckling and standing up, her eyes filled with rage.
As Simon stepped back, his voice filled the air once more. "Dwight! Chop chop!" Clary watched as the blond Savior made his way out of the mass of people, looking back at the group before making his way to a van. With a heavy heart, Clary's mind wandered as to what would be behind the doors of the van.
As the doors swung open, Dwight and some other Saviors began pulling people from the back. It wasnt until they were settled within the lineup that Clary saw Daryl, Rosita and Michonne. But as the next body was dragged out, she let out a shaky breath as she saw Glenn forced onto his knees. He looked up, his eyes scanning the people before landing on Maggie and Clary where they kneeled. "Maggie? Clary?"
Before either of them could respond, Simon clapped his hands. "All right! We got a full boat. Let's meet the man." As Simon stepped away, tossing something in front of Carl that Clary couldn't hear, she watched as the door to the RV opened. Clenching her jaw, she watched as a familiar figure stepped through, the infamous bat he wielded right in his hand.