CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE,
the start of the great big,
scary new word.

The group returned to Alexandria. The people were informed to meet in the church after an hour passed.

That hour passed.

"And we can work with the Hilltop. Maggie hammered out a deal. We get food- eggs, butter, fresh vegetables. But they're not just giving it away. These Saviors, they almost killed Sasha, Daryl, and Abraham on the road. Now, sooner or later they would've found us, just like those Wolves did, just like Jesus did. They woulda killed someone or some of us. And then they would try to own us. And we would try to stop them. But by then, in that kind of fight, low on food, we could lose. This is the only way to be sure, as sure as we can get, that we win. And we have to win. We do this for the Hilltop, it's how we keep this place. It's how we feed this place. This needs to be a group decision. If anybody objects here's your chance to say your piece." Rick stated.

Everyone turned when they heard someone stand. Aiden looked and saw that it was Morgan who stood. "You're sure we can do it? We can beat 'em?"

"What this group has done, what we've learned,  what we've become, all of us- yes, I'm sure." Rick replied.

"Then all we have to do is just tell them that." Morgan said and Aiden furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well, they don't compromise." Rick said to him.

"This isn't a compromise. It's a choice you give them. It's a way out, for them and for us." Morgan spoke.

"We try and talk to the Saviors, we give up our advantage, our safety. No, we have to come for them before they come for us. We can't leave them alive." Rick tried to tell the man.

"Where there's life, there's possibility."

The man just wasn't listening.

"Of them hitting us." Rick said loudly and firmly.

"We're not trapped in this. None of you are trapped in this." Morgan said.

"Morgan... they always come back." Rick said.

"Come back when they're dead, too."

"Yeah, we'll stop them. We have before." Rick responded.

"I'm not talking about the walkers." Morgan said. Aiden sighed and turned back around in her seat and played with her fingers. He's not wrong, is he? A voice whispered in her head. It was only Shane, not Dalton.

"Morgan wants to talk to them first. I think that would be a mistake, but it's not up to me. I'll talk to the people still at home. I'll discuss it with the people on gauged now, too, but who else wants to approach the Saviors, talk to them first?" Rick asked the church.

Aaron stood, "what happened here, we won't let that happen again. I won't." The man said and nodded at Rick before sitting back down.

"Looks like it's settled. We know exactly what this is. We don't shy from it, we live. We kill them all. We don't all have to kill. But if people are gonna stay here... they do have to accept it." Rick said and walked out of the church.

»

"I'm going." Aiden said to Daryl.

"You're not." He responded without looking up at her from where he sat on the porch h.

"I am. I won't go in the compound. I'll stay outside, keep watch." She insisted, "hell, you'll forget I'm even there."

Daryl sighed and looked up at her this time, "what if ya go into labor while we're out there? What if they got people outside and they take you? What if walkers come out and attack ya?" He asked.

"Forget the what if's, Daryl," she scoffed, "when have I ever held out on a mission like this? I'm going. That's final."

»

"Describe it." Rick said to the red shirt man who Aiden learned name was Andy.

"Rectangular building, big satellites on it." Andy said.

"Any windows?" Aiden asked him.

"I don't remember any. I think they made it so there's only one way in." Andy replied. As he described the place he drew it, as well.

"Guards outside?" Payton asked.

"Yeah, two of them, at least."

"And you don't know how many people they have?" Michonne questioned.

"No. Uh, I mean, no. I saw a place where they stored food. It wasn't that big, so..." Andy said.

"You've been inside?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. They had us load in supplies one time." Andy spoke.

"Hmm. What do you remember?" Glenn asked as he placed another piece of paper down for Andy to draw on.

"And you didn't see any other rooms?" Maggie asked.

"No, it's a big place." Andy replied as he draw what seemed to be hallways. "This is the hallway I saw. There is more."

"And every time, they had you bring things into here?" Michonne pointed to what Andy has labeled Pantry.

"Jesus. We brought a couple spears for them. Two of the Saviors took them down this hallway. Now, they must've don't something with them because they didn't come back with them." Andy explained.

"Maybe a weapons locker, an armory."  Jesus suggested.

"Okay."

"We get in there, secure the armory, that's how we end it." Glenn said.

"That's how Carol ended it here." Maggie said, thinking back to when the Wolves attacked them.

"But we don't know if they have an armory or where it even is." Andy looked up at them.

"Well, we've got a lot of good guesses. We've done more with less." Daryl said.

"We got in at night while they're sleeping." Rick said.

"The guards won't be sleeping. Like I said, I think there's only one way in and there's not way to bust through that door without waking up the rest of them." Andy said.

"We don't need to. They're gonna open it for us, let us walk right in. They want Gregory's head, right? We're gonna give it to 'em."

»

The followed day the group of several people got out of their respective vehicles. Aiden got out of the RV behind Sasha.

"Aaron, Rosita. You start here. We'll peel off every quarter mile, meet back here in a couple hours. See what we got." Rick said to them all.

Aiden walked off and stood with Maggie. "You know, when we get back I have a present for you." Aiden told her.

Maggie rose an eyebrow, "really?" Aiden smiled at her and nodded.

»

"We're gonna take a look around, try to get a feel for how many people are in there. We like how it looks, we go in. A couple of hours before dawn. The guards outside'll be tired. Everyone inside'll be sleeping. We don't like what we see, we head back, make a new plan. They don't know who we are. We'll keep Jesus in the shadows. This is how we eat. This is how we eat. We roll out at midnight." Rick said to the group.

Night settled after a couple hours and Aiden had a choice between staying with Carol and Maggie or go with Tara, Gabriel, Jesus, and Andy.

She chose Tara, Gabriel, Jesus, and Andy. She watched from behind the bushes as Daryl sliced one of the guards throats before stabbing him in the head.

The other guard walked out of the building with their guy, Craig. "Well, well, well, look who it is." Michonne killed the guy quickly.

They all rushed forward. Andy, Jesus, Craig, Tara, Gabriel, and Aiden all stayed outside of the complex. Aiden was itching to be inside.

"You think they're okay?" Aiden asked them all. She had so many people inside the building she cared for. Everyone, everyone, was in there.

Glenn, Daryl, Payton, Xavier, Nathaniel, Aaron, Rosita, Abraham, Sasha, Rick, the list goes on.

"They'll be okay." Jesus replied. This man was slowly growing on Aiden. Gabriel and Tara were having their own conversation.

Suddenly, alarms blared. Aiden jumped and her hand instinctively went to her pistol.

"We need to go. Get them back to the Hilltop." Tara panicked.

"What? Your people could be in trouble." Jesus said to her.

"If you get them back the deal's still on, right? Right?" Tara asked.

"They can get themselves back. Andy, drive him back to the Hilltop." Jesus instructed the other man. The two men drove off.

"Look, if they see you and we don't make it-" Tara was cut off.

"We're gonna make it. And they're not gonna see me." He replied and nodded his head in Aiden's direction. "Watch her." He then took off towards the facility.

"Are you kidding?" Tara scoffed, "I know to watch her."

Aiden heard a pair of doors open and saw two of the Saviors running out. She aimed her Beretta
and shot both men quickly.

Gabriel walked over towards them and spoke to one of the men, the one who hadn't died yet.

Aiden didn't flinch when Gabriel fired the killing shot in the man's head.

»

Tara hugged Aiden and kissed the woman on the cheek, "I'll see you in two weeks." Aiden nodded.

"Stay safe."

Heath hugged the woman and soon the duo was gone. Aiden and Daryl stood side-by-side until the heard an engine.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl yelled. Rosita aimed her gun and shot the man. The man stood and Daryl tackled him before punching him a couple times.

"Where'd you get the bike!?" He yelled at the man. Aiden rushed forward and looked down at him while Rick aimed his gun at his face.

"Just do it. Like you did everyone else, right?" The man shouted.

"Lower your gun, prick. You, with the Colt Python. All of you, lower your weapons right now." Someone said on the walkie-talkie.

"Come on out." Rick said into the walkie. "Let's talk."

"We're not coming out but we will talk. We've got a Carol and a Maggie. I'm thinking that's something you want to chat about." The lady said.

"Well, shit." Aiden mumbled.

________________________________

word count: 1,671
episode: not tomorrow yet

and here's an edited chapter folks!!

i hate this chapter. i hate it so much. it's so jumpy and all that jazz.

we're finally into the savior era and i'm so mf excited for this part of philophobia (and then valiant) ugh.

but aiden is such a badass, independent idiot. she's so reckless but we all know reckless is her middle name. something she will always stand by. whether she's pregnant or not (crazy, she's fucking crazy) but then again, she's crazy because i made her crazy.