' We'll keep this place safe, keep our families safe. '

85. no chances

QUINN

     SHE WATCHED FROM HER POSITION ON THE COUNTER TOP AS RICK slowly lifted the map from the kitchen table, as though it was a treasure from some long lost fairytale, which maybe in some way it was. Quinn, Daryl, Morgan and Rick were gathered in the kitchen of their house, enjoying a meal of cold beans while Rick was trying to make sense of his long lost friend returning.

'You were right,' Morgan spoke, shifting in his seat so he could look at Rick. 'It wasn't over.'

Rick just stared at him, still not seeming able to grasp the reality of his friend being here. 'We should talk more tomorrow,' he said while he placed the paper down on the table again. 'Listen,' he added, slowly walking towards his long lost friend. 'I don't take chances anymore.'

'And you shouldn't,' Morgan nodded.

'Good,' Rick nodded, then gestured for the man to follow him. The two of them left the kitchen, probably to place Morgan into the makeshift cell for the night.

She narrowed at the door while placing down her empty bowl on the counter beside her. She thought Rick would be more happy to see his friend, but then again, the man had changed a lot since they last saw Morgan. It almost felt like the roles had been reversed since that day in King County. Rick was trying to find himself, while Morgan seemed organised and calm.

Finally she looked away from the door, her eyes going to the only other person in the room, who was busy eating his food like only a charming redneck like himself could. She swallowed her comments about his eating habits and instead jumped down from the counter top. 'I'm gonna take a shower,' she said, stretching herself before heading towards the door.

'Hey,' Daryl called after her, making her turn back around. 'Got somethin' for ya.' She watched as he got up from his seat, placed his bowl down and reached inside his pocket. Her eyes went wide when she saw the dagger in his hands, her dagger.

'H-how did you...?' She stammered while walking forwards and taking her precious blade in her own hands again. 'I thought I lost this.' She lifted her eyes to meet his. 'Thank you.'

He just nodded, like it was nothing while he knew it was everything. These daggers represented her strength, they stood for everything she left behind and everything she had endured since the outbreak started, everything she had survived. He knew that and went through the trouble to retrieving this one in the choas of escaping that trap set for them. All for her.

She looked up at him and suddenly noticed how close they were standing. She only had to stand on her toes, lean forward just a little bit and she could...She blinked, trying to pull herself out of those thoughts but she was already drowning and had no way of saving herself this time.

He was studying her, his blue eyes roaming her face while he stood completely still. As though he was waiting for her to do something, silently daring her to lean forwards and close the remaining distance between them.

"Don't wait" Aaron's words echoed through her mind, loud and clear and suddenly she wondered why she had been waiting all this time. Why she should wait now when he was standing so close...

The sound of the frontdoor opening startled the both of them and she stumbled backwards. 'I'm eh, gonna take that shower now,' she mumbled, then turned on her heels and almost ran out of the kitchen with her dagger firmly in her hands. When she crossed the hallway however she came to a stop, a smile breaking through on her face when she saw it was Milo who entered the house. She walked forwards and almost let herself fall into his arms.

A slight chuckle left his lips as he held her closely. 'It's good to have you back.'

'It's good to be back,' she mumbled into his shoulder.

'Woah,' Milo laughed, letting go of her while studying her. 'Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth.'

She simply shrugged, then threw a glare over her shoulder at the kitchen, where Daryl was finishing his meal. 'I guess someone changed my mind,' she said, turning back to look at her brother.

He was watching her with a knowing smile on his face. 'Yeah, yeah I'm sure he did.'

Shaking her head at him she started walking into the direction of the stairs. 'I don't have to listen to this. I'm gonna shower now.'

Milo scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Quinn make her escape towards the bathroom. She didn't look back at her brother as she opened the door and stepped inside, locking it behind her. Her eyes landed on herself in the mirror and she shook her head at the stupid smile that refused to leave her lips. Somehow she felt lighter, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A weight that only gotten heavier since they arrived at this place. The feeling of not fitting in, of being locked up and surrounded by people who were ready to move on, while she felt like she was stuck.

The feeling wasn't completely gone and she knew that she had a long way left to go before she'd be ready to find peace. But finding Morgan had lit a fire of hope in her heart that had been gone for a really long time.

It was a start.

After getting undressed and taking a long shower she changed into more comfortable clothes and jumped into bed. She fell asleep almost immediately, drifting off into a sleep filled with dreams she couldn't remember when she woke up. All she knew was how much lighter she felt, ready to try again, for real this time. If only the world would have let her do so in peace because when she woke up the next morning, bad news was waiting for her.

Quinn had barely finished her breakfast when Milo came storming into the house, looking around frantically. 'What's going on?' She asked, placing her plate down in the sink while keeping her gaze focused on her brother.

'Rick's calling a meeting, it's urgent,' he said, already making his way back to the door.

'What? Why?' She questioned, reaching for her boots and putting them on as soon as she could, the heavy weight returning to pull her down. Then she stood and followed Milo out on the street and towards Deanna's house.

'He went out with Morgan this morning to burry Pete, said he refused to burry killers inside the walls,' Milo explained, sounding like he didn't fully agree. 'When they came back they said something about tens of thousand of walkers trapped in a quarry not far from here.'

'Shit,' Quinn muttered beneath her breath, picking up the pace. They almost ran into the living room of the Congrasswoman her house. Everyone was already there. She picked a horrible day to sleep in...

Silently the two of them made their way inside and she found a spot next to Michonne, leaning against the couch where Maggie and Glenn were seated on. Milo joined them on the couch while Rick explained in horrifying detail what they found out there. It was indeed what Milo told her seconds before. In a quarry a few miles north were thousands of walkers trapped. It was how this community survived for so long, why there hadn't been any herds to take down the walls. All the walkers were trapped, all stumbling around in one spot, waiting for an opening so they could finally be released and search for their next meal.

'How come no one knew about this?' Milo asked when Rick was done, looking around at the Alexandrians for an explanation.

'My team, we saw it early on,' a guy named Heath spoke up. He had just returned from a run with a couple of other people and so they hadn't had a chance to meet yet but Quinn thought he already looked a lot smarter than Aiden and Nicholas had. Not capable by a long shot, but being smart was a start. 'Back when we were on one of those first scouts, finding out what was around here. There was a camp at the bottom. The people they must've blocked the exits with one of those trucks back when everything started to go bad. They didn't make it. They were all roamers. Maybe a dozen of them.'

'No one's been back since?' Maggie questioned, her tone soft, without so much as a hint of judgement.

Heath shook his head. 'D.C, every town worth scavenging, they're all in the other direction. And I never really felt like having a picnic next to the camp that ate itself.'

'So, all the while, the walkers have been drawn by the sound and they're making more sound and they're drawing more in,' Michonne concluded, her deadly scowl in place. She wasn't happy about the situation one bit.

'And here we are,' Rick added, sounding just as annoyed by the turn of events as Michonne did. 'Now, what I'm proposing, I know it sounds risky but walkers are already slipping through the exits. One of the trucks keeping the walkers in could go off the edge any day now. Maybe after one more hard rain. That exit sends them east, all of them. Right at us.'

Was leading a herd of thousands away possible? Hell yes. Was it dangerous? Absolutely. But Quinn would rather take the risk than sit here, do nothing and just wait for the herd to show up at their gates. Even though it was a risky plan, it was the only plan they had and it wasn't even a very bad plan. If executed right, they might just be able to pull this off.

'This isn't about if it gives,' Rick continued. 'It's when. It's gonna happen. That's why we have to do this soon.'

'This is, I don't even have another word for it, this is terrifying,' Carol spoke up. 'All of it. But it doesn't sound like there's any other way.' She didn't sound very terrified and the fact that her eyes were as hard as stone didn't really help either. Quinn wondered why she was even bothering to keep up her act of the good house wife. But what she wondered even more was how these people bought it.

'Maybe there is,' a man named Carter spoke up. 'I mean couldn't we just build up the weak spots. I could draw up plans. I worked on the wall with Reg. Construction crew. We can try and make it safe.'

'Even if we could the sound of those walkers is drawing more and more every day,' Rick interrupted the man. 'Building up the exits won't change that.'

Carter looked like he wasn't done pleading his case but Deanna spoke before he could. 'We're gonna do what Rick says. The plan he's laid out.' Her voice was deprived of emotion, the grief of her recent loss still clearly on her shoulders. She should have time to grief but the people of Alexandria trusted her judgement and so she would have to find it within herself to lead them, or else the plan would fail before it could well and truly begin.

Rick nodded curtly at the woman's input. 'I told you all. We're gonna have Daryl leading them away.'

Her eyes went to the redneck, seated in the window still. It felt as though a pit had appeared in her stomach and no matter how hard she tried, it would not go away. She knew what he was capable of, knew he would be fine out there and yet the thought of him at front of that enormous herd, scared her to her very bones.

'Me too,' Sasha spoke up. 'I'll take a car, ride next to him. It can't just be him. I'll keep 'em coming, Daryl keeps them from getting sloppy.' For the first time in a long time she didn't sound like all she wanted to do was lay down and watch her life slip away. No matter what had changed for her, Quinn hoped it was enough for her to keep her shit together. She was going to be out there with Daryl. One wrong move could end his life as easily as hers.

'I'll go with her,' Abraham offered before Quinn could. 'It's a long way to white-knuckle it solo.'

'All right,' Rick nodded. 'We'll have two teams. One on each side of the forest helping manage this thing. We're gonna have people on watch from now on. Rosita, Spencer and Holly. So they're out.' Then he turned to look at her brother. 'Milo, I want you to stay behind as well.'

'What? No way,' her brother protested but when he saw the look on Rick's face, he shut up, took a deep breath and nodded. 'Alright, you got it.'

Quinn could read between the lines, knew very well what Rick wasn't saying. Milo had earned the trust of these people and with Deanna grieving her late husband, Rick needed someone to stay behind and manage things here. He wasn't about to place the safety of his kids in the incompetent hands of these people. Milo was the best choice to stay behind and lead in Rick's absence. And he seemed to realise it as well, as he stopped protesting almost immediately.

'So, who's in?' Rick asked, looking around the room.

'Me,' Michonne spoke up almost immediately, her angry scowl softened a bit when she looked at Rick.

'Me too,' Quinn added, earning a thankful nod from Rick and a worried glare from her brother, which she ignored.

'I'm in,' Glenn volunteerd.

'I wanna help too,' Beth's small but determined voice sounded through the room before Maggie could make an attempt to stop her.

'No,' Rick replied, his voice soft but without room for any arguments. 'You can help here, stay on guard.'

Beth leaned back in her chair, not seeming happy about it but accepting her faith in silence. After Noah she had taken any job she could, just to keep busy. Quinn knew she wanted to stay occupied but agreed with Rick. She couldn't go out there.

Gabriel shifted from his position by the window. 'I'd like to help as well.'

'No,' Rick said, swift and absolute. She didn't know the exact situation concerning Father Gabriel but Milo told her something along the lines of him going to Deanna and telling her this group was as evil as satan himself. It was going to take a lot to make up for that, no matter the reason he did it. 'Who else?' Rick questioned. 'We need more.'

'There's gotta be another play,' Carter spoke up again. 'We can't just control that many.' This man was getting on her nerves. She understood he was scared, she was too but the fact that he didn't have the dignity to suck it up and at least pretend like he wasn't crippled with fear, was making her more annoyed at him with each growing second. People like him shouldn't be alive anymore.

'I've said it before,' Rick replied, clearly losing his patience. 'Walkers herd up. They'll follow a path if something's drawing them. That's how we can get 'em all at once.'

'So, what?' Carter questioned. 'We're just supposed to take your word for it? We're all supposed to just fall in line behind you, after...'

'After what?' Rick's voice was calm but his eyes were hiding a storm.

'After you wave a gun around, screaming, pointing it at people. After you shoot a man in the face. After you-'

'Enough!' Deanna yelled and not a second too soon because Quinn's self control to not jump up and punch the idiot in the teeth, was growing tinner with each passing second.

Carter swallowed his last words, silence filling the room until it was finally broken by some of the Alexandrians volunteering to help. Whatever had changed their minds all of a sudden, she could only be happy about it. They needed everyone they could get to pull this off. Even if half of them looked so scared they might piss themselves at any given moment.

Rick nodded thankfully at each of them. 'We'll make this work,' he said, sounding confident and determined. Though Quinn knew that everyone from their group was able to see the nerves he was hiding behind his mask. 'We'll keep this place safe, keep our families safe. We will.'

'The plan,' Carter mumbled. 'Go through it again.'

'Man, he just said it,' Daryl snapped from his seat by the window, sounding completely done with the man his bullshit.

'Every part again,' Carter said, ignoring the redneck, even though he refused to look at him and was shivering all over. 'The exact plan.'

Rick sighed and nodded then. If that was what it was going to take for these people to come along, then that was what he was going to do. And so they went through the entire plan again until everyone knew in detail what to do. Then Rick ordered for them to gather weapons and gear. They would head out in two hours to start working on blocking the roads to lead the herd away. Today they would do a test run and tomorrow they'd lead the herd away.

As everyone left the room to gather their stuff and head out, Milo approached her. It took everything she had to hold back a sigh, knowing what he was going to say to her but when he opened his mouth, his words surprised her.

'Look after Rick out there, will ya?'

She frowned at him, folding her arms over her chest. 'Why?'

Her brother took a deep breath, he almost looked uncomfortable to speak his mind. 'You didn't see him. He's trying to pull himself together and I'm worried what might happen if he can't.'

She studied her brother closely and realised he truly was very worried for their friend. She wasn't here when he broke down but she heard about it and knew it hadn't been pretty. The first time she met Rick he wasn't in a stable state of mind either but he pulled through and came out even stronger and so it was hard to see him fall apart again. But even the strongest could sometimes use a break in this cruel world.

'I will,' she promised Milo with a nod.

'Alright,' he said, then smiled slightly. 'Let's go built a wall.'

And despite the nerves flying through her body she managed to smile back at him. Together they made their way out of the room and towards the gate, where almost everyone had already gathered. Tobin and Abraham and some others had been sent out to gather the plates from the construction sight. The rest of them got into the cars and made their way towards the crossroad where the wall had to be built.

Rick put Carter in charge of giving instructions and not just because he worked on the wall and was supposed to know what he was doing, but also to put the man his mind at ease. It was smart because if the man could make sure this wall would hold, maybe he'd feel a little more comfortable with the rest of the plan.

Quinn and Michonne both had been sorted into the group handling the digging of the trench that would hold the plates into place. Even though winter was around the corner the sun was still shining like it was midsummer. Sweat was crawling down her back and arms as she worked to get the trench done. She was pretty sure she looked like a mess. Her hair in a messy pony tail and her black tanktop stuck to her skin. But as she looked up from her work for just a second and saw Daryl walk by with a wheelbarrow her heart skipped a beat. If the heat was bothering him, it certainly didn't show. They'd been working for hours now but he showed no signs of fatigue, he wasn't even out of breath. And even though his hair was stuck to his face and the sweat on his arms almost seemed to glinster in the sunlight, he never looked better.

She was roughly pulled out of her day dreaming about a certain smoking hot redneck when Michonne all but threw a sandbag down against her leg. Frowning Quinn turned to look at her friend only to notice Michonne was somewhere else with her thoughts completely. Her gaze was focused on something happening a few feet away from them, a deadly scowl on her face as she watched Rick talk to Jesse. Understanding flashed through Quinn's mind and she couldn't help but laugh.

Michonne's eyes snapped away from the two, now focusing her deadly scowl on Quinn. 'What?' She grumbled.

'I had no idea,' Quinn said, nodding at Rick.

'About what?' Michonne hissed, pretending to be oblivious as to what Quinn was suggesting.

'Of course I should've seen it coming. Milo once told me he caught you staring at Rick's ass but I didn't think that meant anything,' she teased, her smile widening.

Michonne bent down and picked up another bag, throwing it at her friend. 'What about you, huh?'

Laughing Quinn managed to catch the bag and carefully placed it down again. 'What about me?' She questioned.

'You've been staring at Daryl for months now, I don't see you doing anything about it either.' Michonne smirked slightly at the shocked look that appeared on Quinn's face.

'I don't-,' she started but stopped herself, knowing it was useless to pretend that Daryl was just a friend. She had known for a while now he was so much more than that and she was growing tired of denying it. 'Fine,' she sighed heavily. 'Turns out we're both idiots.'

Michonne reached for her shovel once again. Her eyes going back to Rick and Jesse, who were still talking. 'Yeah, only you got no competition,' she mumbled beneath her breath.

Quinn grinned, her eyes flashing once again to where the two were standing. She knew Rick well enough by now to know he was not interested in Jesse that way but Michonne clearly couldn't see it. 'You do know he used to he a cop, right?' She said. 'I think he just wants to help her.'

'What makes you so sure?' Michonne fired back, a little too quickly.

She shrugged. 'He killed her husband and being who he is, he probably just wants to make sure that she and her kids are gonna be okay.'

The woman's dark eyes focused on the couple once again, her scowl fading away a little bit. 'It just feels like there's no...time.'

Quinn found herself looking for Daryl and watched as he worked. 'Yeah,' she mumbled, then took a deep breath. 'But, hey, it was you who told me we have to try. We owe it to everyone who didn't make it to try.'

'Alright,' Michonne said as she turned to look at her friend. 'When you tell Daryl, I'll tell Rick.'

Quinn scoffed and was about to tell her she could be waiting a long while but then, once again, she thought of Aaron his words. She thought of last night, how she almost threw caution into the wind, how she almost kissed him...She wanted to, so badly. Every bone in her body ached for him but at the same time she terrified. She feared his rejection, was afraid that her confession would change everything between them. She couldn't risk losing what they had. She wouldn't survive.

The loud snap of a twig snapping in half came from the forest behind them, followed by the familiar snarls and moans of walking corpses. The two women turned swiftly, dropping their shovels and reaching for their weapons. Footsteps came from behind them as Rosita, Abraham, Morgan, Milo, Maggie, Glenn and Daryl came rushing toward them. Quinn took a dagger in each hand but was stopped by Rick, holding out his hand as a sign for them to stop. He nodded at Carter and the four Alexandrians surrounding him. They were closest to the approaching corpses. 'Use your shovels,' Rick ordered. 'The guns will draw more.'

As much as she agreed with him about these people needing to learn to defend themselves, the fear on their faces told her that this wasn't the moment to be teaching them that lesson.

'Help us!' Carter screamed, frightened as he stumbled away from the approaching walkers.

'You can do this,' Rick told him, 'you need to, all of you!'

The first walker reached one of them. The man shouted out in fear and simply pushed the walker away, only for it to come stumbling right back to him. The man kicked it away, falling down in the process. Still, they kept coming, their teeth getting closer to biting down into the flesh of the frozen Alexandrians.

Morgan rushed forwards, ignoring Rick's shout to stop. The rest of their group followed. Quinn ran up towards a female walker with half her stomach ripped open. Her intestines were dangling down from the open wound but Quinn ignored the horrible sight and pushed her dagger into the walker's skull.

A familiar arrow flew right passed her face and found its target into an approaching walker's eye. She threw a quick glance at Daryl and nodded as a thanks before storming forwards and kicking another walker down to the ground. She placed her feet on its arms to stop it from scratching her and then leaned down to kill it. When she looked back up all the walkers were down and the Alexandrians still stood frozen in fear in the very same spot, they didn't even have the sense to run away.

'You said you don't take chances anymore,' Morgan spoke, anger clearly evident in his voice as he faced Rick.

For a second Rick just stared at him but he had no answer for the accusation and just turned to walk away.

The group finished the wall in silence and then packed the supplies. Everyone headed back home searched for a spot in one of the cars. She walked up to the green truck where Milo was seated behind the wheel. He rolled down the window as she approached and she leaned on the door.

'Be safe,' he said, offering her a small smile.

'You too,' she replied and patted him on the arm before taking a step back.

He waved at her, then started the engine and headed back into the direction of Alexandria. Taking a deep breath she turned around and headed after the others toward the quarry.

A U T H O R 'S  N O T E

And so season 6 begins! I am really proud of this chapter and hope you guys liked it, please leave a comment or a vote if you did! I wanted to just say thank you. I have gained so many new readers for this book the last few weeks and your support means the world to me guys! I absolutely love taking the time to read your comments and I smile everytime I see a vote. You guys are the best readers a writer could ask for!

I also wanted to give a shoutout to -PERPETUALLYBLUE She is writing a plot I made for Negan and she is just blowing me away with her writing skills and how she's making the plot her own. I adore her so much and please go check out her book Touch of Death! I swear it's worth your time!

Much love,

xXx

UYM