SIXTY ONE. the city of wonder

"AT SUNDOWN WE FIRE A SHOT INTO the air. Get two of them out on patrol. Then, once it's dark enough that the rooftop spotter won't see us, we go." Rick's voice echoed through the empty space of the building they stood in, his body crouched down next to a makeshift map that was drawn by the two boys Daryl had found. When he returned the night before, he also informed them of the news that Beth was alive. And the very group that took her did the same exact thing to Carol.

They found themselves in the remnants of Atlanta, which gave the Grimes siblings a feeling of deja vu upon their return. Every so often, Adeline would find her mind drifting back to the thought of how they once walked the walker infested streets covered in blood and organs. It made her think of Glenn, who she hoped was alright and on his way to Washington without issue. Those thoughts caused her to be reminded of the ones they left at the church in order to save Beth ━━ Theo, Carl, Judith, Michonne, and the defenseless priest. They were okay. They had to be.

"We cut the locks on one of the stairways, take it to the fifth floor. I open the door, Daryl and Adeline takes out the two guards." Rick informed, snapping his sister out of the trance she was in as he glanced up at her figure which stood with her arms crossed, eyes looking down to him, a nod of silent confirmation coming from her as she shifted in her position.

Tyresse looked between the siblings, "How?"

"They slit their throats." Rick answered as if it was common sense, "This is all about us doing this quiet, keeping the upper hand. They're not expecting us. From there, we fan out. Knives and silenced weapons. We need to be fast." He continued, turning down to the map with a piece of white chalk held in his grasp.

He marked two X's, "Tyresse and Sasha, take them. Adeline, you take care of whoever's in the kitchen with Daryl. I got Dawn."

"If they're smart, the rest of them will give up. Then it'll be seven on three." Rick added, his words causing a shared look to concur between a reluctant Tyresse and Daryl. Adeline shook her head, "Eight on three once we give Beth a weapon." She corrected, eyes glancing to her brother who nodded in confirmation.

Wesley Miller, the older brother to Noah (the two of them had previously worked (forced to) with the groups newfound enemy, which allowed them to have so much information on the things they needed to know in order to survive) looked at the woman who stood next to Daryl ━━ "Fourteen on three. Wards will help." He informed, Adeline moving her attention to the younger boy.

"That's best case." Tyresse spoke, "What's the worst?" He inquired, shaking his head in dismay at the plan. "All it takes is one of those cops going down the hall at the wrong time. Then it's not quiet. All hands on deck. We're talking about a lot of bullets flying around." He speculated, his eyes trained on the group.

Sasha shrugged her shoulders at her brothers words, "If that's what it takes."

"It's not." Tyresse was quick to disagree, "If we get a couple of her cops alive out here, we do an even trade. Theirs for ours. Everybody goes home." He suggested, desperation in his features.

Rick stood from his crouched position, reaching the height of the rest of the group. "I get it. And it might work. This will work." He assured, stepping closer to Tyresse and meeting his eyes as Adeline watched the interaction closely.

Daryl shook his head, "Nah, that'll work, too. You two said this Dawn, she's just trying to keep it together, right?" He questioned, his attention on the two brothers as his voice caused Adeline to pull her eyes off of Rick and towards the archer.

Noah, the youngest Miller, looked between the group before speaking. "Trying and doing are two different things."

"You take two of her cops away, what choices does she have?" Daryl inquired, "Everybody goes home. Like he says." He spoke, pointing in the direction of Tyresse.

Silence overcame the group as the idea began to settle, Rick shifting in his spot as he pulled his eyes off of the redneck and to the familiar figure of his sister ━━ "What do you think?"

He needed her opinion.

Adeline felt reluctance run through her body, and she realized that the idea of killing them seemed ten times easier than a trade. But, the thought reminded her of the same way her husband acted the night he killed Otis. An innocent man that deserved to survive. And it didn't help that Daryl and Tyresse, two men she cared deeply about, voiced their opinion against Ricks plan.

Swallowing the persistent dark feeling, Adeline nodded towards her brother ━━ "I think we should give it a shot. And if all hell, breaks loose... Then we know what to do." She spoke, her voice filling the empty space of the building as Tyresse held a grateful expression towards the woman. She had to do what was right for her family. So, why didn't it feel like that's what she was doing?

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Gunshots echoed across the open air, the sound of tires squealing against concrete followed by doors slamming shut and voices talking. "Put the gun down, Noah." Adeline listened in from her position behind a brick wall, waiting for the right time to make her entrance as the muffled conversation continued. Metal scraping against concrete barley reached her ears, her hands tightening around the material of her own pistol ━━ the figure of Tyresse and Sasha quietly standing next to her.

"Hands up, turn around." The order was followed by zip ties zipping, restraints. "You let me know if it's too tight, alright?" A voice questioned, "Thought you were smart. You think we wouldn't hear you?" Another spoke, breaking through the air. "Where are those rotters y'all were shooting at? ... And where's Wesley?"

A whistle soared through the wind, Adelines body moving out from behind the wall with her weapon raised. Rick, Daryl, and Wesley stepped out from the opposite building in the same position, scopes pointed directly at the two cops. "Hands." The eldest Grimes instructed, the pair turning around hastily.

"What do you want?" The woman inquired, keeping her pistol raised as the man next to her unholstered his own. "Whatever this is, we can help." He informed, a hint of worry hidden in his face.

"Put your guns down." Adeline spoke, stepping behind him and pressing the barrel of her gun to his temple ━━ "Or I'll put a bullet through your skull." She added, her voice lowered to a whisper as he allowed a trembling breath to slip by his lips before raising his hands and nodding in agreement, "Okay. Okay." He agreed, nodding to the woman next to him who lowered her gun.

Rick cocked his pistol, "Good. Now turn around. Put your guns on the floor and kneel." He ordered, Adeline backing out of the way while releasing her hold on the second cop as he laid down his gun and placed his knees to the concrete alongside the other.

As they followed the instructions, Wesley lowered his weapon and rushed over to his brother to cut off the restraints as Daryl and Sasha attached new ones to the two cops. Adeline stayed still, keeping her gun aimed in the direction of the figures as her brother began speaking once again. "We need to talk. There's water if you need some, and food." He informed.

As Daryl pulled the male cop whose tag read Lamson up to his feet, he opened his mouth to talk ━━ "You mind if I ask you something?" He inquired, Rick glancing over at the man who laid his eyes on him. "The way you talk... the way you carry yourself. Were you a cop?" He continued, Adeline glancing to her brother who only stayed quiet at the inquiry.

The cop raised his brow, "Believe it or not, I was too."

"That's Lamson." Wesley spoke, walking over to the two siblings who seemed to be on constant guard. "One of the good ones." He informed, sliding the sharp blade of his knife into the sheath on his side as Noah nodded in confirmation. "He'll be down for this."

The silence failed to last long as the sound of tires squealing echoed from the distance, the group hastily raising their weapons just as a dark car sped down the alleyway they stood in. Gunfire broke through the air, Adeline raised her pistol and stood still on the pavement as she fired several shots into the windshield ━━ bullets spraying across the concrete from the open windows. The car was heading straight for her, and her planted stance failed to allow her to move out of the way as the rest of the group moved.

She felt her heart beating and her skin grow warm, the fast vehicle ready to crash into her body just as a set of calloused hands pulled her back before the car squealed to a harsh stop into the spot she was standing in. Adeline breathed heavily, her chest heaving up and down as her finger felt glued to the metal of her pistol ━ her skin making contact with Daryl Dixon who held onto her with worried eyes. "You alright?" He questioned, his voice rushed.

Adeline hastily nodded her head, the shirt she wore scrunching up as the skin of her back pressed against the cool metal of the dumpster, "I'm fine." She assured, but her words fell short as the sound of gunfire echoed around her. Bullets sprayed like wildfire onto their cover, shots firing towards them as the two restrained cops jumped in the backseat. It didn't take longer than several seconds for the car to drive off, tires squealing against pavement as Sasha hurried out of her hiding spot ━ her eye trained down the scope of her gun as she fired a single shot into one of them.

Air sputtered from the tire, screeching against the concrete as it drove away from the family. They rushed out from behind their bullet pierced cover, chasing after the vehicle with determined blood running through their veins. It wasn't long before they rushed into an empty parking lot, black tar and smoke marks stained the area lot before them.

The bold letters of EVAC HERE hovered above them on the surface of what looked like a water tower, multiple burned out cars scattered around the space with flesh ridden bodies melted to the ground, snapping at the survivors that rushed into the area.

The car they followed sat alone in the lot, all four doors open and left to the ghosts as Adeline eyed the broken glass on the concrete. Shattered images of a white cross littering across the black tar from the previous gunfire. The vehicle was empty. "Where'd they go?" She questioned, keeping her voice low as she inched closer to the car alongside Daryl and the others.

The sudden movement of a door creaking open caused all eyes to turn to the sound, spotting the two figures of the restrained cops running away. "Two, on me!" Rick shouted, racing after their trade bait. The group hastily followed after him, Adelines eyes stuck to the empty car as they raced off. Where was the driver?

Failing to tag along, the question ran rampant in her mind as she moved towards the car with her gun raised. She kept her breaths steady, eyes sharpened in concentration as she peeked inside of the abandoned vehicle ━━ nothing. The distant sound of a can rolling against the pavement caused her to turn, her attention settling upon the half burned RV that sat with the letters FEMA painted against its side. Pulling away from the car, she tightened her fingers around the metal of her gun and moved closer.

Sparing a glance around the lot, she found herself to be completely alone as she curled her free hand around the door to the RV. A loud creak emitted from the movement of her grasp opening it, quickly returning to her gun while her eyes scanned the burned out interior of the vehicle. Empty. Backing away, she went to close the door but the sound of shuffled footfall caused her to turn around, heart racing as she spotted Daryl Dixon.

"Jesus." Adeline breathed, allowing a breath of relief to fall from her lips. Daryl looked around the area, keeping his touch on the AK-47 he held in his grasp ━━ and just as his mouth opened to speak, the door to the RV slammed shut as the protected body of another cop shoved Adeline to the black tar beneath them. Pain rushed through her figure as she made contact with the ground, her gun clattering out of her hands and into the parking lot.

Inside of her head rang an unholy sound, piercing her thoughts as the muffled sounds of fighting became numb to her. It took her several seconds to realize that her skull had made contact with the sharp corner of a tire rim, crimson leaking from the cut within her hair. It trailed down her pale skin as she breathed heavily, pressing her stained hand to the wound while pushing through the pain to move to her side. It was then when she spotted Daryl Dixon.

He was pressed to the ground, the cop hovering over him with his hands wrapped around his throat. Two walkers that were melted to the pavement snarled at him, reaching their claws out in attempts to scratch him as their teeth snapped at his skin.

The remnants of tears marked against her face, the ghost of a trail staining her pale skin. Her attentive and glossy eyes were dead set on the two figures fighting in the field that was once full of life, the place where she planted crops with her family. It was now a place of death and war, and there she was. Frozen in fear. It was Rick. He was barely even moving, the Governor sat straddled on top of him with his hands curled around his neck. He was killing him.

Adeline wouldn't allow herself to become frozen again.

The ringing fell to a quaint silence as she rose from the ashes, pulling herself from the ground as her scream pierced the sky. Anger coursed through her veins and built a city within as she kicked the body of the cop off Daryl, not even giving him time to react as she unsheathed the sharp blade of her hunting knife and straddled the man's figure. Blood dripped from her face and onto his own, his eyes full of rage looking up at the widow as she pressed her knife to his throat. She wanted to kill him.

Rushed footsteps became nothing to her, her dark eyes not caring enough to notice the figure of her brother that rushed into the area with his silenced pistol raised. The cop beneath his sister breathed heavily, flinching each time her crimson fell onto his expression. "Okay. You win, bitch." He seethed, the blade of her knife pressing further into his pale skin as he jerked back in pain.

She didn't move. Eyes clouded by the need of revenge locked on him, her fingers dancing around the handle of her knife as Rick kept his gun trained on the defenseless cop. Daryl looked between the siblings, pressing his hands against the ground marked in smoke as he pulled himself to his feet ━━ "Addy." He started, his voice reaching her ears while she dared to press the blade further into the man's throat. He almost killed Daryl.

"Adeline." The archer repeated, tone sharp as he laid his tar covered hand against her shoulder. "Hey. Listen to me, three is better than two." He informed, the sound of his voice running miles in her mind as she shook her head in dismay.

"He tried to kill you." Adeline whispered, her chest heaving as the soft click of her brothers gun finally caused her eyes to pull away from the man beneath her. "But he didn't." Daryl assured while glancing to Rick and gesturing towards the woman that struggled with what her mind wanted her to do. "I ain't even hurt." He added in attempts to reach out to her, his hand laying against her.

"Addy." Rick spoke, bolstering his gun as she pulled her eyes away from the cop beneath her and back to her brother. A silent nod of confirmation was all she needed to release her hold on the man, hastily sheathing her knife as she stood to her feet with the help of Daryl as Rick jerked the cop off of the ground and tied restraints against his wrist. "You're coming with us."

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The floorboards of the abandoned building creaked underneath the groups weight, the three new restrained additions trailing within the middle of them. Adeline walked next to Tyresse, her weapons holstered as she held the ripped fabric the man had given her to the bleeding wound on her head. "Your friend. What's his name?" The female cop, Shepherd, broke the silence ━ her eyes taking notice of Rick, Wesley, and Noah who arrived a few minutes earlier than them, bodies bent down next to the map.

"I need to talk to him. Your plan is going to get me and my friends killed." She speculated, words catching them attention of Sasha who walked alongside her ━━ "We're gonna make it work." The younger Williams assured, the female cop turning to glance at her with furrowed brows. "It would work if you had different cops to trade. Dawn's running Grady into the ground. A bunch of us want her out and she knows it. Pretty sure she knows we want Lamson to replace her, too." Shepherd informed, the group slowing to a stop in the middle of the room as she finished speaking.

The bald cop with blood coating the side of his face turned to her, "Dawn doesn't know that." He assured ━━ his eyes glancing to Adeline who used a dirtied cloth to wipe the crimson off of her features. "She might." Shepherd retorted, "And she's smart. So, there's a good chance you can't make this deal work and that'll leave us all dead. But, if you let us go... we'll take care of Dawn ourselves and then we'll let your friends go and this is over."

"No." Lamson spoke up, breaking his silence. "We're not gonna do that." He informed, his words causing Adeline to furrow her brows in confusion as she leaned against one of the pillars that connected to the ceiling above. "Do you want to die?" Shepherd questioned, clueless to her friends meanings. Lamson shook his head, "No. I just need you to shut up right now." He retorted, the woman next to him closing her eyes in aggravation.

Lamson turned his eyes to the group before him, "You can make this work. But you've got to be able to talk to her."

"Noah and Wesley told us all about her." Adeline spoke, curling the blood stained cloth in her hand as she crossed her arms over her chest. Lamson glanced over to her, "I've known her for eight years, ma'am. I know this woman. And my only interest is peaceful resolution, not dying, and sleeping in my bed tonight. So, please, let me help you." He offered, looking around the group.

Pulling her eyes away from the cop, Adeline turned to Daryl and nodded her head in confirmation ━━ giving him the signal to gather Ricks attention that stood crouched by the makeshift map. And it didn't take long for them to gather the information they needed, it all led down to the waiting game of the next patrol.

They took their time to rest in the building while they could, but the younger Grimes failed to let her mind settle. It brought her to the everlasting worry of Sasha, knowing the place her mind was in after losing Bob. Adeline couldn't help but feel the need to protect the woman ━━ she knew that she owed it to Tyresse, seeing as he was the one who kept her alive after losing the prison.

But the moment the widow walked into the room Sasha was meant to be in, she knew something was wrong. The body of the sniper laid unconscious by a cracked window, worry drenching her features as Adeline rushed over to her figure. "Oh my god," She breathed, pressing her knees to the concrete flooring as she turned Sashas body over ━━ noticing the blood that leaked from the newfound wound on her forehead.

Then came the sound of footfall. Running. Adeline whipped her head around to the exit she once stood in, catching sight of the figure of Lamson that rushed out of the room with his hands still restrained behind his back. He hurt her. "Rick!" The widow yelled, grabbing the attention of her family as she rushed out of the room in pursuit of the cop. "He's making a run for it!"

Laying the information out to be seen and heard, the figure of Tyresse raced into the room his unconscious sister sat in as it all became a blur to Adeline. The yells of Rick telling everyone to stay in the building numbed in the widows mind, her legs burning with adrenaline as she curved her way through the building in search of Lamson. She took so many turns that her head began to ring, mot even noticing that she had already unsheathed the red handle of her crimson stained machete.

The harsh sunlight greeted her pale figure as she shoved the door open, her boots making contact with the pavement as her eyes scanned the alleyway before her in search of the cop. The door behind her slammed shut ... she had already fallen for that trick.

Before she knew it, Adeline felt her fingers tighten around the handle of the weapon as she turned around ━━ the sharp and death stained blade sinking through the stomach of Lamson.

A gasp fell from her lips, blood christening her hand as she jerked the blade from his body. The crimson spluttered from his lips, eyes looking up at her in horror as his body stumbled to the pavement below. Adeline backed away from her own demise, her chest heaving up and down as her hands began to tremble.

Then, the door pushed open ━━ the figure of her brother breaking into the sunlight. His eyes landed upon the sight before him, pulling his attention to his sister who swallowed the words of regret and looked back to him in shock. "I didn't know... I didn't." She whispered, clamping her trembling fist shut to calm herself.

Rick nodded, stepping towards her and curling his hand around the bloodied handle of her machete. "You didn't know." The words fell like a repeat from his lips, taking the weapon out of her grasp and into his own.

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AUTHORS NOTE.

yikes! miss adeline's character is taking a turn down a
very dark and twisty road ... smirks in development

what are your thoughts on adelines new arc?