Daryl was right. It didn't take long at all to arrive at Alexandria. The gates were high but not as high as Hilltop's. From a distance, I could see that they had just one person on guard. It wasn't until we got closer that I saw it was Aaron. If I was being honest, I didn't think I'd ever see him again.
"Daryl. What are you guys doing here?" he asked.
"Henry hurt his leg. He needs to have it looked at. Your place was closest. We didn't have another choice."
"What about her?" he asked, referring to Lydia.
"She's good, man. We'll take responsibility for her."
Michonne showed up next to him.
"Open the gate," she called out.
The gate to our left opened up and I was taken aback at the fact that this place looked nothing like Hilltop. It was a neighborhood. An actual neighborhood, with houses lining the streets. A parish and a section for the crops. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. Aaron and Michonne met us before the gates closed up again.
"Hey, Nat. It's good to see you again," Aaron said, giving me a hug.
"Back at you."
"Let's get Henry to Siddiq," Michonne said.
Lydia along with Connie followed Michonne to the infirmary.
"What happened after we left you guys?" Aaron asked.
"They came. Had Alden and Luke. Offered a trade for the girl."
"What's she doing here then?"
"It's a long story, man."
"Will you guys excuse me?" I said.
"Don't go far. We can't stay," Daryl said.
"I know."
I had been eyeing a water wheel the second the gates had closed up. I walked over and sat down on the dock that led to a small pond. Fidgeting with my fingers and looking out at the water, my mind started to drift. Beta had been taken care of. All that was left to do was take care of Alpha and this whole mess would be behind me. No one else would suffer under her hand. No more worrying whether or not more of these people would die because of her. And then maybe, maybe I could try to move on. Although some of these people had somewhat welcomed me into their group, I still felt like I wasn't wanted here. I had promised Tara that I'd do everything to prove myself that I wasn't like the Whisperers. That I wasn't a threat to her or her people and that I could be trusted. I hoped with everything in me that Alpha hadn't gone back to pay them a visit. Once Beta didn't come back to camp, she'd more than likely send a group to investigate. What would she do once she found out her second in command was no longer around? Would she rebel against Hilltop, thinking that they had something to do with it? Shit. I shouldn't be thinking about this stuff.
"Excuse me?" a small voice said.
I jumped and looked over to see a little girl in a sheriff's hat looking back at me.
"I'm sorry. Is this your spot?" I asked, starting to get up.
"No. It's okay. I was just gonna ask if you could scoot over."
She smiled sweetly and I did as she asked.
"So. You're new here, huh?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Well, I do know just about everyone in this place. Plus I saw you come through the gate with Uncle Daryl."
"Yeah. There's that."
"I'm Judith. Judith Grimes."
"I'm Natalia but you can call me Nat. Judith Grimes...you wouldn't happen to be the same Judith that saved Connie and her group would you?"
"She told you about that?"
"Well, not her but Luke."
"Oh. Yeah I liked him. Are they doing okay at Hilltop?"
"Yeah. They're doing fine."
"So then, that means you're from Hilltop?"
"Well, not exactly. Aaron and...and Jesus found me on the road. Brought me back to Hilltop."
Saying his name again almost brought me to tears.
"Did you know him well? Jesus?"
I cleared my throat before answering her.
"Unfortunately, no. I would have liked to though."
"He was a good man. He'd always find comics for me whenever I saw him."
"That was nice of him."
"Yeah. It's been awhile since I've read those. I think maybe I should read them again."
"Sounds like a fun thing to do."
"Hey, you two. Everything okay here?" Daryl said, walking toward us.
"Uncle Daryl. Have a seat will you?"
Daryl went ahead and sat next to her.
"I'll uh...I'll give you guys some time to catch up," I said, standing up and wiping the dirt off my pants.
"Nat. It was nice meeting you," Judith said, looking up at me.
"You too, Jude. Is it okay that I call you that?"
"Yeah. That's what Jerry calls me."
I had no idea who Jerry was but I just smiled and nodded. I left the two of them to talk and walked aimlessly nearby.
"Hey there, stranger," someone said from behind me.
I turned around to see Rosita, sitting by a bench.
"Rosita? Hey."
I walked over to her and took a seat next to her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better. Honestly. I mean, physically."
"And mentally?"
"I...can't...I can't seem to get what happened out of my head. What I heard."
I sighed. I still hadn't managed to get the whispers out of my head either.
"You don't know, do you?" I asked.
"Know what?"
"That I was one of them."
She sighed.
"Aaron told me on the way back."
"Then you must hate me."
"No. You saved me. I can't be mad at you for that. Let me just ask, are you planning on betraying us?"
"I wouldn't tell you if I was."
"True. But at the same time, I can tell when someone is bullshitting me."
"I'm not with them, Rosita. I never will be again."
She looked at me for a few seconds. More than likely trying to see if I was telling the truth or not.
"Okay. But know if you ever do, I'll kill you myself."
"Not if the others beat you to it."
"No. I call dibs."
We both started laughing together then.
"I'm glad you're here, Nat."
"I can't stay."
"Where are you guys headed?"
"I don't know. But so long as Lydia is here, you all are in danger. And that's something that I just can't live with. Other people being placed in danger because of Alpha...Lydia...Lydia's life being chosen for her...all of this is just...it's all gone to shit."
Rosita nudged my shoulder. I looked over at her.
"I admire what you're doing."
"What is there to admire?"
"You decided to take that kid away from the only place she knew because you knew that she deserved a better life. That what her mother was doing to her wasn't right, regardless of the values that group had. Regardless of what you'd be giving up to do it."
"There was nothing for me to give up other than my allegiance to her."
"That in itself took so much bravery."
"Can't call it brave when it was done out of fear."
"And what was it that you feared?"
I looked away and started to think.
"A lot. What life would become if I had stayed with them, what would happen to Lydia when I left? Lastly, would they even notice I left in the first place? And if they did, how long would it be before I was either back with them again or killed to help protect them?"
"All of that roaming around in your head but you still decided to leave. You chose what was right."
"What's your point, Rosita?"
"My point is, nowadays, we don't judge people by who they were or what they did in the past. We judge and trust the people we surround ourselves with by what they choose to do. Who they choose to become."
I looked over at her and lifted my eyebrow.
"Have you always been this knowledgeable?"
She chuckled lightly.
"I guess you can say that I've recently gained a new perspective."
"Any specific reason?"
"Well I mean, when you have another body growing inside you, it does tend to change the way you see things."
My eyes widened.
"Wait...are you serious?"
She nodded.
"Found out before I left Hilltop. I haven't told anyone else but the father, my boyfriend and my best friend."
"Well shit. What's the story behind that?"
"That's for another time."
"Nat?" Lydia said from a distance.
I looked over at her.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah I just...can I talk to you?"
"I'll go. I've gotta stretch my legs anyway. It was good seeing you again, Nat," Rosita said, standing up to let Lydia sit down.
"Back at you. Hope we can see each other again."
She nodded and left me alone with Lydia.