FOUND LANDS.

chapter thirty, last day on earth.
[ season six, episode sixteen ]

IF THEY THOUGHT THEIR day couldn't get any worse. It does. It certainly does. Their lives end the second Maggie collapsed in her house while screaming in nothing but utter pain.

Enid had rushed from the house, screaming for help. She didn't know what to do. She was scared and confused.

Alexandria's problems began that morning when Carol was discovered to be missing. Then Daryl decided to go on a crazy suicide mission to avenge Denise. Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, and Odessa all chased after Daryl to stop him from getting himself killed. Then Maggie started screaming.

No one can figure out what's wrong with her. Everyone's first thoughts are something is wrong with the baby. They don't have a doctor or anyone remotely close to one here.

They decide their best solution lies in the Hilltop Colony hours away. Doctor Harlan Carson, they man they saved, was an obstetrician before the Fall.

Everyone loads up in the RV. Cole sits in the back with Maggie, he brushes her newly cut sweaty hair away from her face.

She has tears in her eyes. "Cole—"

Cole interrupts her. "Don't talk, Maggie."

"If I die..." she sniffs. "If I die and my baby dies, I want you to tell Glenn that I love him."

"You're not going to die today, Maggie. Neither is your baby. Okay, I promise you." Cole whispers to her.

"You can't promise something like that." Maggie groans.

"I just did. And I don't break my promises." Cole kisses her forehead before standing. Aaron takes his place in the back room with Maggie.

Theo sits on the couch in the RV. Cole ignores him. Eugene sits by the young man. There are others. Abraham, Sasha, Carl, Rick.

They leave Alexandria. And for some, they won't return.

They drive until they come to a slow. "What?" Rick moves forward.

Theo looks out of the windshield. Parked several yard away are three vehicles. There's a group of men standing around them, all holding guns. There's another man laying in the ground.

"Enemy close." Abraham announces. "We doin' this?"

"No." Rick says. He moved away from Abraham and Sasha. Abraham shuts the RV off and in a line, everyone expect Maggie and Cole get out.

Cole watches from inside the RV, his heart beats all too quickly in his chest.

"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen." The front Savior says.

"We can make a deal, right here, right now."
Rick attempts to negotiate.

"That's right, we can. Give us all your stuff. We'll probably have to kill one of you. That's just the way it is, but then we can start moving forward on business. All you have to do is listen." The front man says.

"Yeah... that deal's not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was gonna ask for your stuff ,only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you. Any more of you." Rick tilts his head to the side.

A man behind the front Savior shakes up a can of spray paint. He leans down and spray paints something onto the man on the ground. Theo's brows furrow.

What the hell is this?

"Sorry," the former man says. "My deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate."

Rick motions for his people to retreat, "me and my people are leaving."

"Okay, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going." The Savior says. As they all pile back in the RV, Rick stops at the door and looks back at the Saviors.

"You want to make today you last day on Earth?" Rick asks them.

"No, but that is a good thing to bring up. Think about it. What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true?" The man says. "Maybe you should be extra to nice to those people in that RV, cause you never know," he snaps his fingers together, "just like that. Be kind to each other. Like you said... like it was your last day on Earth."

"You do the same." Rick replies darkly. He enters the RV, slamming the door shut behind him.

A little while later, they park and they plan. Theo sits on the floor beside Maggie. He's scared for her, for her baby.

"We're gonna get you to the Hilltop." Theo tells her. Her eyes peel open. When she looks at him, he looks like a frightened little boy. He's the same boy who couldn't kill his fathers until it was someone else's life in danger. He's the same boy who was unconscious for days after he was shot in the stomach by his own dad.

"This group— this family, we've done harder things than this, Maggie. So I promise you, we are going to make it to the Hilltop. Doctor Carson is gonna find out what's wrong and you and the baby will both be okay."

To Maggie, it sounds like Theo is trying to convince himself as well as her.

They start to move again. It isn't long until they hear Abraham say, "bitch nuts!"

Immediately, everyone is ready for a fight. They all look out the wind shield at the new group of Saviors. It's a bigger group than the last.

"We makin' our stand?" Sasha asks.

"Yeah, we end it." Carl responds. Theo's eyes shoot to him. How can someone so young be so angry?

"No, not now. They've been waiting. They're ready. With one of us on the wheel, that's seven on sixteen. We're gonna play it our way, how we want it." Rick looks at his son. "Right?"

"Right." Carl whispers in response.

"Alright. Go slow." Rick instructs Abraham.

Slowly, he backs up the RV.  One of the Saviors start to fire his gun into the air in an attempt to intimidate Rick's people.

They all stare out the windows as they retreat once again. They drive until the come to yet another stop. In front of them is a wall of walkers. They're chained together.

"We can't go through it." Rick takes not. "Can'f risk the RV. You stay behind the wheel, just in case."

Slowly, everyone exits the RV expect for Abraham. Theo's gun is raised and ready. They all creep towards the walkers.

"Puttin' together a red rover like that takes people. A lot of 'em." Eugene speaks up.

They look at the walkers. "Alright, let's do this." Rick says.

Theo notices something. "Wait— Rick," Rick follows Theo's line of sight straight to a walker. There are two dreads shoved into its temple. Michonne's dreads. "That's Michonne's."

"And that's Daryl's," Sasha says suddenly. Eyes turn to another walker. Two bolts are stabbed into its body.

Their situation goes from bad to worse. The Saviors have their people. Rick's head tilts angrily. His daughter is in danger.

Rick yanks the dreads from the walkers hair. He goes to kill it but is stopped when gunfire fills the air.

Theo is already returning fire. The fire fight is short livid because before the Saviors can do anything about it all of the walkers are dead.

"Start it up!" Abraham shouts from outside. The man was fast to join them in the fight.

Cole, who's already in the RV, starts to RV. Everyone piles in. As soon as the door is shut, Cole puts the petal to the metal.

Abraham and Cole switch out soon.

As Theo throws himself onto the couch he realizes something. As soon as his people were in danger he didn't hesitate to return fire at the Saviors. He didn't even think about the lives he could've taken.

And somehow he knows then what he can't do anymore. He can no longer hesitate.

As Eugene and Sasha discuss what could possibly be wrong with the RV, Rick speaks up. "They were firing at our feet."

They come up with a new plan.

"They blocked the road but they weren't trying to stop us. They would want us in this direction." Theo says.

"Barton Road takes us north, but they gotta
know we wanna go north," Sasha says

"Meadows," Eugene suggests. "Could take us east a piece, but we can bet back on track on Mayhew."

"We're down to a third of a tank," Sasha looks to him. "We could top off at the next stop, but no refills after that."

"All right," Rick sighs.

Cole emerges from Maggie's room and says to Rick. "She's burning up."

"Rick!" Abraham calls for their leader. The RV rolls to another stop. Theo looks out of the windshield. They see another group of Saviors. This group is bigger than the last.

"Go back." Rick orders.

Abraham looks at him. "Where?

They share a look before they look back at the Saviors. Slowly, the RV backs away from them.

There's another stop down another road. There are no people this time. Logs are simply piled upon each other, blocking their path.

"These tracks... they would indicate they not only have people but some big ass toys and capabilities." Eugene says.

"What it indicates is we are up shit creek without mouths wide open." Abraham growls angrily.

Suddenly, a man screams behind them. They all whirl around. The same injured man from the first group of Saviors is dropped off of the bridge with a chain wrapped around his neck.

Theo has his gun aimed right at the chain.

"Don't." Abraham stops him.

"I can try to break the chain!" Theo exclaims.

"I won't work. And we need to bullets." Rick says. Theo lowers his gun. They watch as the man dies.

The logs behind them catch fire.

"You treatin' your people good, right?" The same Savior from before calls out. They can't see him but thy knows he's here. "Like it was your last day on aerate? Or maybe one of their's? You better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where you going!"

"Go, go!" Rick snaps. They rush to the RV. And again, they drive off.

They park a couple miles away. "So, what's the play?"

"She needs a doctor." Rick says to the group.

"There are two more routes north from here." Sasha points out.

"They're probably waiting for us right now." Aaron tells them.

"So, they're ahead of us, probably behind us." Eugene begins. "But they're not waiting on us, per se, they're waiting on this rust bucket. And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust bucket. And the sun sets soon."

They understand what Eugene means. He means to stay with the RV, just him. The others while walk the rest of the way to to the Hilltop. It'll take longer but it hopefully will be safer. Maggie needs Doctor Carson now.

The sun sets and the moon rises. It's a scary thought. They might be saying goodbye to Eugene for what could be the the very last time. Cole approaches the man. Eugene eyeballs him.

Cole sticks out his hand for Eugene to take. He does. "I'm sorry for hitting you that one time." Cole apologizes.

"Thank you." Eugene says blankly. Just when Cole thinks Eugene hasn't forgive him, the man pulls Cole into a hug.

It shocks him at first but then he wraps his arms back around Eugene. They break apart, Cole smiled weakly at him. Then he walks away from Eugene.

They get Maggie out of the RV, she lays on her mattress. She thanks Eugene. He's risking how one life. Something he's never done before.

As the group walks in the forest, Eugene drives away. Theo and Carl lead the group. Theo's rifle is in hand, still ready if need be.

"Are you worried about Odessa?" Theo asks Carl.

"The Saviors have her," Carl responds. "If they haven't killed her yet."

"Hey," Theo's brows bunch. "She isn't dead. You know that."

Carl does know that. He would feel it if his sister was dead. He would know because he would feel it in his heart.

Suddenly, whistles pierce the air. Theo's gun is up in an instant. Everyone looks around frantically in attempt to find where the whistling is coming from. It's coming from everywhere.

"Go! Go!" Rick orders. They all take off running through the woods. They're stopped when lights blind them. The whistling intensifies. The group looks around frantically in search of an exit, a way out of this mess. But Saviors surround them. Their trucks do. Each Savior is armed.

The RV is parked several feet away from them. Eugene is on his knees. His face is newly bruised.

"Good." The savior from before walks from the shadows. "Welcome to where you're going." All eyes go to him. "We'll take your weapons." He pulls out his own pistol and points it directly at Carl. "Now."

Rick is shaking, frightened tears well in his eyes. "We can talk about—"

"We're done taking." The front man tells him. "Time to listen."

Saviors approach them and snatch Theo's gun from his hands. They take everything. Their knives, their guns.

The Savior holds a gun that Carl had. "That's yours, right?" He levels himself so he can look Carl directly in the eye. "Yeah, it's yours." He then flicks his hat.

"Okay," he stands back to his full height. "Let's get her down and get you all on your knees. Lots to cover."

The Saviors advance towards Maggie and the others. "Don't touch her." Cole growls.

"Sure, sure." The front man says. They gently set Maggie's mattress down. They help her up and set her down in the gravel.

Abraham kneels by her to keep her steady. Theo stands by them protectively. The front man steps closer to Theo.

"Jesus, kid," he smirks. "You're scary as fuck."

Theo's lip curls upward as the man turns to Rick, "gonna need you on your knees."

Theo bends, getting on the ground beside Maggie. Rick kneels beside him. Sasha, Cole, Carl, Aaron, and then Eugene. Nine people are on their knees in the gravel.

In a truck, Odessa's hand is laced with Glenn's. She's scared. She's so scared. She can hear muffled voices outside. Then the door opens.

Odessa holds her arm up to block the the sudden light. A hand grabs her and yanks her from the truck. Confusion crosses her face.

Her dad, Carl, they're all here. Why are they here? What is happening!?

"Dad?" Her voice comes out weak. The Savior pushes her on her knees beside Glenn. She's at the very end of the lineup.

"Maggie?" Glenn asks. His wife kneels between Abraham and Theo. She looks ill. Glenn struggles against the Savior but he only shoves him to the ground.

"Alright!" The front man exclaims. He grins at the lineup. "We got a full boat. Let's meet the man."

Odessa keeps her stare on her brother. But Carl, he stares straight at the RV as the man knocks on the door.

Theo watches as the door opens.

Two boots hit the ground.

And the first words the man says to them is, "pissin' our pants yet?"

Odessa looks away from Carl when the man finally steps into the light. This is him. This is the man behind it all. This is the man that murdered Cori's baby brother right in front of her. This is Negan.

"Boy, do I have a feelin' we're gettin' close." He says. He studies the kneeling people. He examines them. Unbeknownst to them he's trying to determine which of them he will beat to death with the barbed wire wrapped bat he hold over his shoulder. "Yep. It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon."

Cole hasn't felt dread like this in a long time.

"Which one of you pricks is the leader?" Negan asks, looking around at everyone.

"It's that one." A new voice says. It's feminine. It comes from the RV. Cole gasps. All eyes turn to the RV. This isn't real life anymore. It's simply a bad dream.

Again, two boot hit the ground. Gravel crunches under her weight. She's dressed in a leather jacket, leather gloves, black pants.

She steps into the light.

And Cole's world ends.

"Kathleen?" His voice breaks.

"Oh!" Negan laughs. He looks back at Kathleen. "I totally forgot you guys know my girl!"

Cole's eyes are full of tears. His lips quiver. Theo had been right. He was right all along. Cole was a fool not to listen because Kathleen is a Savior.

Negan winks at Kathleen. She does nothing in return. She doesn't look at Cole though. Negan turn back to Rick.

He steps forward. "Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, went I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool! You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly."

Odessa's chest rises and falls rapidly. She can't take her eyes off of her father and Negan.

"Yeah. You are so gonna regret crossin' me in a few minutes. You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the New World Order. And the New World Order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if your stupid, which you very well may be, you can understand it. You ready? Here goes. Pay attention."

Odessa gasps when Negan brings the bat off of his shoulder. It's nearly hits her father. Negan holds the bat right at Rick's face.

"Give me your shit... or I will kill you." Negan says. And like he said before, it is simple. It's so simple it's terrifying. "Today was Career Day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do."

Negan walks in front of the people. He stops in front of Michonne. He points his bat at Rick. "You work for me now. You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now, I know, that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly will."

Negan walks back to Rick. "You ruled the roost. You built something.  You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out. You are not safe. Not even close. In fact, you are pegged, more pegged if you don't do what I want. And I want is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be."

Negan walks in front of them.

"So, if someone knocks on your door... you let us in. We own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down! You understand?" Negan looks down at Rick.

Rick doesn't respond. So Negan cups his ear and leans in. "What, no answer? You do really think you were gonna get through this without being punished, did you? I don't wanna kill your people. Just wanna make that clear from the get-go. I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're dead, now, can you? I'm not growin' a garden. But you killed my people. A whole damn lot of them. More than I'm comfortable with. And for that, for that you're gonna pay."

Kathleen remains still. She can feel Cole's eyes boring into her. She does, however, look at Theo. His eyes lock with hers. He's angry. More angry than he's ever been. There is not a hint of fear on his face. Instead, it's pure, unbridled rage.

Negan looks around at them. He continues. "So, now.. I'm gonna beat the holy hell outta one of you."

Odessa sucks in a shallow breath. Her fingers dig into her palms, cutting small, crescent shaped wounds into her skin.

"This is Lucille," Negan presents his bat to them. "And she is awesome. All this, all this is just so we can pick out which one of you gets the honor."

He looks around at everyone. He stood in front of Abraham. Abraham pushes himself up taller. He stares Negan straight in the eyes. "Huh. I gotta shave this shit."

Negan walks away from Abraham and down the lineup. Odessa's heart starts to beat faster when Negan stops in front of Carl. "You got one of our guns." He kneels in front of him. "You got a lot of our guns. Shit, kid, lighten up. At least cry a little."

He chuckles and stands. He stops in front of Maggie. "Jesus! You look shitty. I should just put your out of your misery right now."

As Negan readies his bat, Glenn shouts. "No! No!" He lunges for Negan but Dwight tackles him.

"No!" Odessa gasps. She makes a move to stand but a Savior is on her in an instant. She hits the ground harshly. Her face is pressed against the gravel. The Savior kneels on her back. She gasps for air.

"Stop it!" Maggie screams as Dwight hits Glenn. Her eyes move from Glenn to Odessa frantically.

"Nope. Nope. No, get him back in line." Negan says. Glenn cries out as Dwight drags him back into place beside Odessa. "Larry, get off the girl."

The Savior gets off of Odessa. She shoots back up and stares at Negan. "Don't. Don't," Glenn pleads.

Negan laughs. "Alright, listen. Don't any of ya do that again. I will shut that shit down no exceptions. First one's free. It's an emotional moment, I get it." He points at Glenn.

He looks back to Rick. "Sucks, don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit."

Negan looks at Carl then back at Rick. "This is your kid, right?" He points his bat at Carl. Then his eyes shoot to Odessa. She's much more scared than her father and her brother.

Tears fall down her checks, piece of dirt and gravel are on her face. But through her terror she looks straight at Negan. Negan grins at her.

"That one, too, right?" Negan laughs. "These are definitely your kids!"

"Just stop this!" Rick shouts.

"Hey!" Negan thunders. "Do not make me kill the little future serial killer and his actual serial killer big sister. Don't make it easy on me."

"I gotta pick somebody." Negan announces. "Everybody's at the table waitin' for me to order."

"Please," Odessa begs. Negan's eyes shoot to her. "You can— you can take me. Please."

"Dessa," Rick tries to stop her.

"Hey!" Negan snaps at Rick. "Let the girl talk. I wanna hear this." Negan moves towards Odessa and levels himself with her eyes. "What'd you say?"

"Take— take me please. Don't hurt— don't hurt anyone else. It can be me." Her eyes are full of tears. She's scared but she will do this if she has to. If it means everyone else can live, she will gladly give her life. "It doesn't," she swallows. "It doesn't have to be a hard decision. I'm— I'm offering myself."

Then he laughs. "Oh, my goodness! Rick," Negan looks back at the father. He has tears falling down his face, his hands are curled into the gravel. "Your daughter has a huge set of lady balls! She just offered herself to Lucille so everyone else can live!"

He stands. "But I like her." He hisses. He walks along the lineup and begins the whistle the same tune from before. He stops in front of Odessa. "I simply cannot decide." After a couple seconds, "I got an idea."

And so it begins.

Negan points his bat at Rick. "Eenie." The bay goes to Theo next, "meenie." Then it's Maggie. "Miney."

It's a game to this man. As he points his bat at each and every person in the lineup, they stare up at him.

"Mo... catch... a tiger... by... his toe... if... he hollers... let 'em go..."

"My mother," Odessa gasps shallowly as the bat is pointed at Carl. "To me... to pick... the very best one..."

"And you..."

"Are..."

"It."

Negan makes his decision. "Anybody moves, anybody says anything, make the girl cut the boys other eye and feed it to their father and then we'll start. You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry."

"Hell, you're all gonna be doing that."

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word count: 4,080

and here we are folks!!! the finale of found lands!! we have a shit ton to talk about so let's get to it.

first off, kathleen is very much a savior like theo thought. who all believed theo or has been suspicious of kathleen from the very start? that's why i created kath. she is a traitorous bitch and i fucking hate her.

cole's reaction to her coming out of the rv = 🥲🥹. he really did love her even though he only knew her for three months. and then theo 😳. yeah, guys, theo's unhinged era is about to begin. are we ready for the theo that no longer hesitates? because i very much am.

and what about odessa offering herself to negan in hopes he would kill her instead of someone else?? my heart absolutely breaks for her and even more so in the next book.

all of the foreshadowing and irony has finally be drawn together in this chapter. kathleen being a savior, theo's unhinged development, odessa's voices in her head.

i say it in the title chapter of damnation but the next book is going to be so much more gorey and depressing. it has extremely heavy subjects and events that change my characters for the rest of their lives. so prepare yourselves for that.

ODESSA GRIMES, THEO BLAKE, COLE TANNER, KATHLEEN COOPER, AND CORI ACKLER WILL RETURN IN DAMNATION.