When Rick came home, he ordered all adults to the church for a meeting. Austin was honored, but the news he was given would ruin his life sooner rather then later. But, he sat with Glenn. He just sat with Glenn and looked at the Dork The Explore bandaid on his hand.

"We can work with the Hiltop." Rick informed the group, speaking of his recent visit. "Maggie hammered out a deal. We're getting 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."

"We need a little Jesus right now." Austin mumbled as Glenn nudged him.

"They woulda killed someone or some of us." Rick went on. "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."

Austin perused his lips as he looked around the silent room. Maggie and him shared a look before Morgan spoke. "You're sure we can do it?"

"Hell yeah!" Austin called as a few people cheered.

"Okay." Rick encouraged them to calm down as he watched his son get praised and patted on the back. He looked at Morgan. "What this group has done, what we've learned, what we've become, all of us- yes, i'm sure."

Morgan nodded. "Then all we have to do is just tell them that."

"They done compromise." he shook his head in return.

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

"We try and talk to the Saviors, we give up our advantage, our safety." Rick listed on, his body moved slightly each time he said it. "No, we have to come for them before they come for us. We can't leave them alive."

"Where theres life, there's possibility." Morgan pointed out.

"Of them hitting us." Rick rose his voice.

"We're not trapped in this." Morgan matched his tone. "Non of you are trapped in this."

They all were silent as Morgan's gaze fell over them. Rick shook his head. "Morgan... they always come back."

"Come back when they're dead, too." he agreed with a small bounce to his leg.

"Yeah, we'll stop them. We have before." Rick stared, not breaking eye contact.

"I'm not talking about the walkers." the Jones man corrected.

Rick looked around. "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 guard now, too, but who else wants to approach the Saviors, talk to them first?"

Aaron got to his feet. "What happened here, we won't let that happen again. I won't."

He looked at Morgan when he said it. Austin exhaled. "Aaron's right."

Rick nodded to him, Morgan did too in understanding. Rick scanned their faces, hands on his hips. "Looks like it's settled. We know exactly what this is. We don't shy from it, we live. We kill them all."

A certain energy went over the group, Maggie took Austin's hand and Glenns in her other. Rick felt the tension. "We don't all have to kill. But if people are gonna stay here... they do have to accept it."

"Aw, my little god child." Austin gushed over the ultrasound photo Maggie and Glenn gave him. "Look at em. Like a limea bean!"

Glenn gave a snort. "Don't call him a lima bean."

"Or her." Maggie pointed out.

"Little lima bean." Austin shook his head. "So, this Hilltop doctor, he's better then me?"

"I don't know, it's close." Maggie shook her head. "Oh, Austin, you'd love it there. They have all types of doctor stuff, like the real deal. I told em all about you."

He gave a little grin as she nudged his chin, looking over as Michonne laid a drawn lap onto the counter. "Let's go over this."

"You didn't see any other rooms?" Maggie leaned over to see the places that were getting circled.

"No, it's a big place." Andy shook his head. "This is the hallway I saw. This is more."

"And every time, they had you bringing things into here?" Michonne pointed to one of the areas.

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

"Maybe a weapons locker, an armory." Jesus suggested, bringing his eyes up from the page."

"Okay." Andy wrote it down, Austin pushed against the table. "We get in there, secure the armory, that's how we end it."

"That's how Carol ended it here." Maggie added in.

"What a good dose of hypocrisy." Austin inhaled and patted his Dad on the back. "What if they don't have an armory? And if they do, we have no clue where it is."

"Well, we've got a lot of good guesses." Daryl mumbled as he rubbed his chin. "We've done more with less."

"We go in at night when they're sleeping." Rick informed the remaining of his group.

"The guards won't be sleeping." Andy exhaled, like he was annoyed with the words. "Like I said, I think there's only one way in and there's no way to bust through that door without waking up the rest of them."

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

Austin and Maggie shared a look in the corner of their eye.

Nightfall was quick, Austin spent time in his bar. He cleaned the used glasses from today, tearing the paper of names and tossed it in the trash. He inhaled deeply, alone. His eyes shifted toward the wish bone necklace Beth wore, hanging on the window ceil. He touched it as he passed, placing the glasses in order and flipping the blue lights off, replacing them for the normal ones.

A child's scream echoed all through Alexandria.

Austin hurried outside, seeing Abraham and Rosita coming from their house, like many others were doing. "What the hell was that?"

"Don't know." Abraham said, the scream echoed again. "A little one."

"It's outside the gate, it's not close enough." Rosita inhaled, Austin sprinted down the street. "Austin!"

He ran to the gate, seeing Spencer near the top. "Open the gate."

"Are you sure?" he yelled down to him.

"I'm sure, open it!" he encouraged quickly as Spencer opened the gates.

"Austin!" Glenn yelled for him, ignored as he watched him squeeze through the small opening in the fence before it could fully open. He wasn't sure where he was going, it was dark, and he had no clue who or where this kid was.

"Help!" his first words, it was easy to sense how young he sounded. Austin ran in the direction, hearing the walker growl.

"Hey!" he yelled, the louder he was, the more likely the walkers would come for him. Austin saw a group of seven crowding around a tree. "Hey, dickheads!"

His voice caught their attention, groaning and moaning in his direction. Austin grinned, waving them over. "Come on, I know you want me."

He continued to encourage them to follow him, the kid hadn't screamed again and he hoped he was smart enough to keep quiet, not that it was too late. As the walkers got close, Austin shot each of them. His gun was silenced, but it was still loud, and it was still night. He hurried toward the tree, seeing an opening. Just as he made it, a small head poked out.

Austin's eyes widened, staring at a little boy. There's no way he was older then eleven, if even that. He was tiny, with wavy hair and sad eyes. He'd been crying, a knife and a flair gun in his hands. Austin didn't say anything. "Are you going to hurt me?"

Austin dropped onto his knees to be on his level. "No, i'm not. Those walkers, the monsters, they're gone now. You can come out."

He did, peaking around first before walking out and standing infront of Austin. He had leaves and twigs stuck to his grey sweater. The older boy nodded as he stayed still, not wanting to scare him. "What are you doing out here, kid?"

"Ran away." he picked the leaves off his sweater, dropping them. "Don't make me go back."

"Why'd you run away? Your people will be worried about you." Austin spoke to him softly, nodding his head. "Do you have parents?"

It made the kid laugh. "Everyone has parents, weirdo."

Austin cracked him a grin. "I mean are they still..."

He wasn't sure what this child had seen or exposed to, he could have been like Sam and didn't know the reality. The little boy shook his head. "It's just my Dad."

"Me too." Austin nodded. "You don't think he'll be worried?"

He was quiet, looking down at his feet. Austin leaned down to catch his eye. "Did you hear me?"

"We wanted to run away to get away from him." he met his eye. "He's not nice."

"We?" Austin looked around, expecting more.

"I have a sister and a brother." he held the flair gun out. "I was suppose to signal when I found somewhere good, they're waiting for it, to follow me."

"They sent you out here on your own?" Austin was in shock, especially with how young he was.

"I was the only one small enough to fit through the vents." Austin felt for him, frowning and nodding. He couldn't imagine what type of Dad they had if they were willing to sneak through crammed vents to get away. "Don't make me go back to him. Please."

"I won't." Austin promised him. "Does he hurt you?"

"No, he's just mean. Says I act too much like my Mom." he looked down at the mention of her. It had been about three years since the apocalypse happened, he could imagine he still remembered his Mom, even if she died before. "He hurts other people though. It makes us sad and scared."

Austin nodded his head. "Do you think you can answer a question if you know it?"

He nodded, Austin looked at him from the ground. "Do you know if your Dad is apart of a group called the Saviors?"

The little boys face fell, his eyes widening. "He's the leader."

Maggie found extra sheets and blankets. It was late, and the boy needed a place to stay, so Austin figured the apartment above the bar could finally be put to good use. Three bedrooms and a bathroom wasting away until now. Glenn and Maggie left while the child was in the shower, Austin left him one of his shirts to change into. Whenever he walked into one of the room, it hung around his tiny body.

"You never told me your name." Austin glanced in his direction as he fixed the final side of the bedsheets.

"Luke." he said back, walking over when Austin pulled the blankets back. "What's your name?"

"Austin." he said back. "Your hair is soaked, kid. You're gonna get sick."

He grabbed the towel from the bathroom, walking back over and towel drying his hair. Luke laughed from until the towel, making Austin do the same as he removed it from his head. "There, that's better."

Luke grinned, pulling the blankets up. "How old are you?"

"I think i'm almost twenty, I lost track of the days." he said back. "Do you know how old you are?"

"No." Luke sighed heavily with a frown. "I know I was eight when it stared."

Austin nodded. "So, you're probably eleven right now. Seem about right, yeah?"

"Yeah, seems about right." he agreed. "I wish you would let me signal my brother and sister."

"I know, but it's really late and it'll be dangerous for them to go through the woods." he explained to him honestly. "We'll get them, it'll just take a day or two."

"Will they live with us too?" Luke looked at him curiously. "Do we have to live somewhere else?"

It was clear he didn't want to have to move again, this likely being the first home he felt safe in after all he'd seen. Austin nodded. "I'm sure we can figure a way to get you guys to stay."

Luke smiled. "Can I go to sleep now?"

"Yup." Austin stood up. "You got everything you need?"

"You're leaving?" Luke gave him a scared look. "What if someone comes back?"

"I'm not leaving, I just have to finish a few things downstairs then i'll come back up." he promised him with a nod of his head. "Is that okay?"

Luke laid back down. "Swear?"

"Swear." Austin nodded, flipping the lamp off. "Go to sleep, okay?"

As Austin went down stairs, his Dad was waiting at the bar. "The kid okay?"

"Yeah, he's just tired, worried." Austin nodded as he sat at the bar with him. "I know what you're gonna say."

"Feels like a trap." Rick said honestly. "The leaders son?"

"I know how it looks, it crossed my mind too." Austin kept his voice low, looking up the stairs. "But, Dad, he looked really scared. I think he's seen a lot of bad stuff. Even if it was a trap, what kind of people would we be if we sent a kid back to someone who willingly let him go into the woods, alone, at night?"

Rick exhaled, rubbing his face. "You want him to stay here then?"

"I do." he said confidently. "And I want to get his brother and sister when we go. They're scared too, Luke said they're just two years older then he is. That means they're just thirteen, Dad."

Rick stared at him. "Son, I know you want to do this, but I can't take-"

"I'll take care of them." he cut him off, shaking his head. "They won't be anyones responsibility except mine. I've got three bedrooms upstairs, i'm stable again."

"You're still a kid." Rick stared at him. "You're only almost twenty."

They knew it because of the cold weather, and Austin was a November baby.

"No offense, Dad, but don't you think i've had plenty of practice with Carl and Judith?" he said honestly. "Especially with her, I mean, I practically became her Mom after Mom died."

It made Rick laugh. "Her Mom?"

"I'm just saying." Austin shook his head. "These kids need someone to protect them. This world is already a shitty place, the worst type for a kid to grow up in. They shouldn't have to have it worse with who they live with."

Rick exhaled, staring him dead in the eye. "And if it's a trap?"

"It won't be." he promised. "Levi and Natalie, that's their names. Luke showed me on the map where they're room is, I can get to them while you guys take the rest of them out. I'll get out, secure them in the RV, then come back and help."

"No, you should take the car." Rick spoke with a finger to the bar tabletops. "That way, as soon as you have them, you take off. We can do it without you, those kids don't need to be left alone."

Austin exhaled, looking up the stairs to make sure Luke wasn't sitting up there listening. "Okay."

•

kylie speaks

negan straight up
lost his parental rights
to a twenty year old lmao