— THE FIRST DAY —

DWIGHT was about to leave again. He had came here to warn us that Negan was coming to Alexandria today with three trucks and at least twenty Saviors, maybe even more.

Dwight presented his plan to everyone, most of all being Rick, last night before I arrived here. He suggested we attack Negan and his crew while they are in Alexandria. From there, Dwight can radio the Sanctuary and let them know everything is okay. The Saviors there will be caught off-guard when we ride in, using the Saviors' own trucks. Once inside, we can rally the workers to their cause, take down the Saviors, and destroy their other outposts one by one, too.

Rick apparently agreed to that and this is why Dwight was about to leave again, to help both sides in a way. Before he could leave, though, I asked Dwight for a moment alone in the empty house together.

I slowly approached Dwight, seeing how he was now out and free from that cage. He handed the soft pillow back to me and smirked. "Thanks for, uh, the pillow. It helped."

"No problem," I said and held the pillow in my arms. "I can't believe that you're going off again."

"I gotta help you guys. You know that," he reassured while he stared down at me. He was somewhat biting his bottom lip, too. "Plus, I'll come back. Eventually, I promise."

I took a brave step forward and was almost body-to-body with him, even with the pillow smashed between us. "You promise, hm?" I was eyeing him suspiciously and he noticed, nodding. "Don't leave me, D – not like I did with you."

"Yeah, about that," he sighed and looked down for a moment. "I was worried... About you. Didn't know where you went off to."

Somehow, I was brave enough to extend my right arm and placed my hand around his elbow. Our eyes were staring into each other's and the moment was getting even more intense by the second.

"I didn't mean to, but... I had to come home. You know that. This is my home and I'll never leave, not if I can help it."

"I'm glad that you're safe, Tess," he suddenly said and began to leave. I do not want him to leave, though. It kills me that I feel this way, too.

He made it to the door, but I quickly reached out and stopped him from leaving. The door was still shut, as he did not get there in time, and I placed my right hand on his chest while I let go of the pillow to drop to the ground beside us.

I cocked my head to the right side and somewhat whispered up to him, "Don't die out there today, alright?"

"Oh, you're worried?" He smirked and it made my legs weak. "Didn't know that you still cared."

"Yeah, well, I do," I countered and my left hand snaked its way up to touch his arm. "I don't want to see your dead body out there because... I'll have to bury you. I don't want to do that."

"Don't worry 'bout me, honey," he reassured and smiled back. "I'll be back, but don't miss me too much. Okay?"

"Miss you?" I tried to laugh it off, but it was true that I was going to miss him. Hell yeah, I was gonna miss him like fucking crazy. "As if."

He licked his lips, tempting me, and remarked, "I know you'll miss me, but it's cool 'cause I'll miss you, too."

I studied his lips for a moment and stated, "Don't die, D. I mean it."

"As long as you don't, I won't, either," he breathed out and it made me reconsider. Does this mean that he would die without me? Huh...

Without another thought, I launched myself up until my lips touched his. I placed my hands on the sides of his head, where each piece of his hair was slipping through my split fingertips. Both of his hands had traveled down straight to my ass, which he was obsessively touching, but I did not mind.

I crashed my lips into his like it was a head-on car accident. I did not care because I really liked how his lips tasted against mine and how his tongue danced around in my mouth as mine did in his as well.

Our eyes were closed and focusing only on our kiss, of how we never wanted it to end. It could be like this everyday, my mind told me. Just you and him. He could be your Prince Charming.

Then again, it could not be like this everyday — not if he is going to leave us everyday to act like a Savior. I would not allow myself to get that close, anyways... Even if I am already seemingly wrapped around his skinny little finger and he may be wrapped around mine, too.

Alas, the kiss had to be broken apart before he will not leave at all because I would allow him to take me all around this world... Without even leaving the bedroom. We broke apart as my hands slid down the sides of his face and we both tried to catch our breaths.

"I just... I just didn't know that you really did have a weakness for men with scars," he confessed before I could even get a word out, myself.

"And, I didn't know that you had a weakness for crazy women," I countered and he glared at me. "Because that is exactly what I am."

He stepped forward, filling the space between us once more, and promised, "I don't care about anything else because it doesn't matter what has hurt you... I'll fix it for you. Whatever it is, Tess. I'll fix it for you."

Before he could reach out for me, I jumped away and shook my head. I turned my back on him, so that I would not have to see him leave. Why was I allowing myself to get so close to him like this?

I mean, I did sleep with him every damn night for a whole week before abandoning the Sanctuary. We were closer than two peas in a pod, from the looks of it.

"You should go," I gulped out with a nod, trying to reassure myself more than him. "Before they get suspicious, that is. You should go."

"Tess..."

"I mean it," I spat out, keeping my eyes closed and my back to him. "Just go, but please come back."

It was dead silent for a minute, but I soon heard him whisper, "I will," before the door opened and closed behind him.

My heart broke when I heard the door, along with his footsteps, as I may not get to see him later. I told Glenn that I would see him later, but yet, I did not... But did at the same time. I could be scrapping Dwight's body up later, but I do not want to do that.

It is just really hard to believe that I had started to fall for the man with the permanent burnt mark across his face. More than that, though, because I had also started to fall for the enemy that I had set-out to kill once upon a time.

—

"ARE you sure that we can even trust these people, Rick?" I asked him about the people that he recently became friends with. They were currently strolling inside of our gates. "I mean, you said that they came from the trash."

Rick shook his head and said, "We have to trust them. We need all the help that we can get."

I understood where Rick was coming from. Really, I do, but... These people came from the dump and were now just strolling in a caravan of garbage trucks and bicycles. At least, they did not need to use gas for their bikes, but they were just a little bit too weird for my taste.

They stopped to unload from the back of the trash trucks, all wearing similar colors of really dark blues and blacks. One lady, who had a very unusual haircut, began to make her way towards us, mostly eyeing Rick. "What you fight for," she said after glancing around the place.

"Not the place. The people, each other," Rick claimed, glancing at myself and Michonne, who stood by him. "You're a part of that now."

I could not tell if Jadis, I remember Rick saying that her name was, was impressed or not. Instead, she rehearsed, "We take. We don't bother. Our way. Maybe another way." Then, out of completely nowhere, Jadis motioned towards Rick while looking at me with a smirk. "Yours?"

I did not understand what she was asking, but I think that she was trying to ask if Rick and I were together or not. "What? No. No, not us. We're not together," I told her and stepped back, allowing Rick and Michonne to fill my gap.

Michonne quickly took over and explained, "Yeah, we're together."

I was honestly about to walk away and allow them to talk it out while I got ready, yet I heard Jadis say something and I nearly broke my neck to come back to hear the rest. I heard her say, "I lay with him after." What the fuck?! "You care?"

Michonne thought it was a joke, but she soon found out that Jadis was not playing around at all. So, Michonne's face dropped and she decided to say instead, "We should get back to work."

Rick began to slowly back-up while blinking frantically and breathed out, "Yeah..." I began to back away, too, before all three us practically ran away from her.

"What the hell was that?" I asked them while I walked in the middle of them, shaking my head and blinking like Rick was just doing. "I mean..."

"Stay away from her," Michonne warned, glaring over my way. "And, if you have a man, Tess, I would recommend you keep him away from her."

I sighed and shook my head, looking ahead, and mumbled out, "Well, good thing that I don't have one, I suppose..."

—

I did not like these trash people already. From Jadis' remark about sleeping to Rick till now while they watched Tara and I set-up the blockade outside the gate.

I was looking over my shoulder at one of them until I heard Tara ask me, "You wanna move this car?" I slowly snapped out of my trance with the Scavenger, now looking at my friend instead and she noticed what I was doing before. "What? What is it?"

"These... people," I hissed and gritted my teeth. "I don't trust them."

"Why not?" Tara asked, shrugging. "They all may be a bit odd in a way, but who isn't now?"

"Odd isn't the problem, T," I countered and shook my head again. "They're just... They just don't seem so trustworthy. What if this comes back and hits us in the face later?"

She slowly put her head to the side and studied me, somewhat trying to hide her natural grin. "Yeah, well, if it does, we'll be okay," she tried to tell me, even if it sounded like a lie to me. I felt her hand hover over mine, feeling her warmth now run through my blood. "We always are."

"Yeah, but Negan is going to kill me when he sees that I'm here," I sighed and felt more down than ever before. "Daryl, too. He's going to come in and kill all of us, expect for Rick, most likely, after he makes Rick watch all of his friends and family die right in front of him. That is who we're dealing with here."

"Hey!" Somebody suddenly called out to myself and Tara, and we paused to see some Scavenger coming our way. "Everything okay?"

I was about to say something smart back, but not before Tara backed me up and called back, "Yeah, we're good. Just needed to talk real quick."

The Scavenger nodded, turned her back, and walked back into Alexandria. "She should really mind her own damn business," I growled and Tara just shook her head. "Should've let me handle her."

"Trust, Tess," Tara simply said, now holding my hands with hers. "Trust."

She began to walk away, wanting me to move the car, but not before I yelled at her back, "Trust gets you killed!"

Nevertheless, she kept on walking and never responded while I got in the old and wrecked car, parking it where we needed it to be. I'll trust them when they give me an actual reason to.

—

We're ready.

No, we're not.

We're not ready.

Yes, we are.

No, we are not.

We will be...

WE got the call as soon as the the Scavenger gave out the turkey-call, alerting everyone in Alexandria that the Saviors had arrived. I was down on the ground-level behind the closed gate entrance with Daryl, Tara, and Rosita — and several other Scavengers, too.

I had the gun that I was assigned — which was the Rugar AR-556 Semi-Auto Rifle. It was small, yet very effective. Everyone, for the most part, all carried the same gun.

Rick was the only one that Negan would be able to see from the outside as Rick stood on the guard-post while several of our own people and the Scavengers stood below along with him. Jadis sat down below on Rick's left.

"Rosita," Rick called out above and looked down at her. "Get into position. I'll signal you. And, are the walls gonna hold?"

Rosita confidently nodded and promised, "It'll hold." She looked to Daryl and this is when he glanced up at Rick, nodding.

Then, we all could clearly hear the vehicles approaching little by little. Immediately, we all could hear a very familiar voice say through a megaphone, "All points are covered. Every contingency is already met. I come armed with two barrels of the truth. A test is upon you, and I'm giving out the cheat sheet."

"Wait, is that Eugene?!" I whispered-yelled to Rosita and she immediately hissed back, "Yes!"

The breaks squeaked, air brakes hissed, and engines shut off all there in one swing. I could not see the scene behind the closed gate, but I wish that I did.

"H-Hello," Eugene continued to talk through the megaphone. "I come salved with the hope that it is my dropped knowledge that you heed. Options are zero to none. Compliance and fealty are your only escape. Bottom-lining it... You may thrive, or you may die. I sincerely wish for the former for everyone's sake. The jig is up and in full effect. Will you comply, Rick?"

Is he kidding me right now?!

Instead of answering Eugene, Rick simply asked, "Where's Negan?"

I could only imagine what Eugene's face looked like now — until I heard him say back, "I'm Negan."

I seen Rick shut his eyes, turning his head away in disbelief and possible sadness, too. I never took it this far since I knew, no matter what, I was always going to come back home. Eugene is already in way too deep to probably even notice, but Rick sees the full and disgusting picture, though.

Nevertheless, with a look of sadness, Rick nodded down to Rosita, who actually had real tears in her eyes. Rick nodded, giving her signal as we all waited, and she looked away before clicking the button to detonate the explosives. Rosita pushed the detonator, awaiting for it to go off, but there was no explosion.

Rosita was nervous and in disbelief while Rick was, too. He suddenly stood up and, before he could reach for his gun, the Scavengers all stood and had their own guns at the back and in front of our faces. What the fuck?! I knew it!

Nevertheless, we held our weapons back up at them and I snickered to Tara, "I knew it! We could never trust them!"

The gate began to open and I just knew now that Daryl and I were screwed more than ever before. We were standing right there in the open. Fucking hell...

Now, I could see the outside view perfectly — like I was front-row to a concert. I spotted Negan jump out of one of his trucks and Dwight hopped out behind him. I am so pissed right now.

Eugene hopped down from the back of the truck while Dwight stared us all down. Help us, D, I thought to him without any closure. Don't let me down.

The Saviors opened up the truck outside of our gates that held the explosives. They made their way inside and got them back. Negan came up to the gate with Eugene in hand, guarding him from any shots that might come his way. Rick finally stood up, holding his gun in the back of his pants.

"You ever hear the one about the stupid little prick named Rick, who thought he knew shit, but didn't know shit and got everyone he gave a shit about killed?" Negan taunted, holding Lucille in his other hand. He pointed up at Rick and smirked. "It's about you. You're all gonna wanna put your guns down now."

"No one drops anything," Rick demanded before looking to Jadis next. "We had a deal."

"Tamiel came for the boat things. Followed ones who took. Made a better deal," Jadis said in return, holding a pistol to Rick's head. Shit...

"You push me, and you push me. And, you push me, Rick," Negan continued on with his crap. "You just tried to blow us up, right? I mean, I get me, my people. But, Eugene? He's one of yours. And after what he did — he stepped up. You people... are animals. Universe gives you a sign, and you just shove your finger right up its... ass!" Negan now flashed his right hand's middle finger up in the air and pointed right at Rick and laughed. "Dwight, Simon... Chop-chop."

Simon and Dwight climbed on top of the flatbed of the truck that Eugene was previously just standing on, unbuckling something that was covered up with a sheet. It only took them a minute to reveal a very shiny shiver coffin, which almost made me drop to my knees while my mouth hung open instead.

"Sasha," I whispered and a tear managed to slip down my cheek. "Oh, no..."

We all watched very closely in disbelief while they set-up the coffin up-right while Negan got on the flatbed now while Dwight and Simon dismissed themselves from it. That son-of-a-bitch!

"So, you don't like Eugene anymore," Negan announced, bringing his arms up with Lucille and shrugged. "You guys gotta like Sasha. I do, too." He hit the coffin with Lucille two soft times. "Got her right here packaged for your convenience, alive and well." I cannot believe it and Carl could not, neither, as he now stood up to see what was going on. "Now, I brought her, so I wouldn't have to kill all of you, and not killing all of you could get complicated."

I cannot believe this... betrayal. I cannot believe that Negan actually kept Sasha alive this whole time, neither. I am thankful, but still skeptical and concerned.

"See, I know there's a lot of firepower left in there, Rick. So, I'm gonna make this simple. I want all the guns you've managed to scrap-up. Yep, I know about those, too," Negan continued to dish out each and every demand that he had. "I want every last grain of lemonade you got left. I want a person of your own choosing... for Lucille." He pointed to his barbed-wire baseball bat and smiled.

Then, Negan looked over at myself and Daryl with a grin. "Daryl... Ooh, I gotta get me my Daryl back. I see you," he teased, using his two fingers to go from Daryl back to himself. He seemed to have stopped whe he spotted me not far from Daryl. "Then, Tess... Ooh, as much as I want my favorite girl back, I most certainly want to see her more dead than alive. So, Rick, to make it easier on your decision later for who takes the bashing from Lucille, I would highly recommend just handing over Tess to me on a silver platter."

"Not going to happen," Rick immediately said back to Negan, to my surprise. He was actually defending me against that creep. Thank God.

I had nothing left to lose, so... I might as well do it now. So, I did. "Yeah, and... Fuck you, Negan!" I exclaimed before delivering two middle fingers right back to him.

He laughed and shook his head. "If only you would have let me, Tess," he teased and I slowly put down my hands. "If only..." I was about to shoot him right here and now, but I decided to wait on Rick's signal instead.

Turning his attention back up to Rick, Negan went on with his demands. "And... The pool table and all the pool cues and chalk. And, I want it now or Sasha dies, and then all of you. Probably." Negan shrugged and smiled about this like the twisted and sick man that he is. "C'mon, Rick... Just because I brought her in a casket doesn't mean she has to leave in it."

A moment began to pass and Rick did not say shit, resulting in Negan sighing and chuckling to himself, resting his head in his hand for a second. "You know what? You suck ass, Rick. You really do. I don't want to have to kill her, but that's exactly what you're gonna make me do."

Negan seemed serious and genuine, like he actually did not want to kill her because Rick was making a wrong call. Negan wanted me — not Sasha. However, if he had to, he would kill us both in cold blood just to prove a point.

"Let me see her," Rick suddenly chirped out, which sort of broke my heart in the way with how his voice shook. I wanted to see that she was alive and well, too. I think that we all did, to be honest.

Negan recognized Rick's request and he chuckled, smiling about it. "Oh. Alright. Just give me a second. I might have to get her up to speed. You can't hear shit inside this thing. Sash... You're not gonna believe this crap."

Before any of us could process it, even though it felt like a whole century had passed us by, Negan opened the casket door and Sasha came out... But she was now a Walker and belonged to the dead. I screamed out in pain as tears did not even have time to escape. Then, I began to open fire.

To Be Continued...