87. Maybe.
Rosita was able to patch up Eugene, which was very much a relief. The bullet had only grazed him, and the antibiotics that Denise picked up saved his life. Abraham and Eugene made up. Daryl hadn't said a word to Rosie, and Rosie was too scared to say anything to him. Once they knew that Eugene was ok, Daryl went to bury Denise's body, and Rosie went straight home.
Daryl wasn't there when Rosie eventually fell asleep, and he wasn't there when she woke up, either. So, Rosie carefully made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Maybe if she just acted like everything was normal, he would, too. Probably not, though. She sat down at the table with a glass of water, but she wasn't really thirsty. She just sat there at the table with her chin in her arms, unsure of what to do.
That was when the door swung open. Rosie jumped when it slammed back shut, and she looked up to see Daryl. He looked at her for only a moment before walking straight past her, going up the stairs to get something from the bedroom. When he came back down the stairs, Rosie was still at the table, but now sitting up straighter and tapping her hand on the table anxiously. Daryl almost just walked right past her and left, but he let his anger get the best of him.
"You lied to Abraham," he started with. He wasn't yelling just yet, but the anger he felt was made clear by his heavy breathing and intense glare.
"'M sorry," Rosie murmured, unsure of what else to tell him.
"I told you I don't want you goin' out there no more. Next fuckin' day, you do the exact thing I told you not to do," Daryl was nearly shouting now. His voice was tense and angry, and it made Rosie's stomach hurt.
"I just wanted to help Eug-"
"It's dangerous, Rosie!" Daryl snapped.
Rosie didn't know what to say. "I'm tough," she said. It was dangerous, but she was tough, and she made it.
"You're a fuckin' kid. You're tough for a kid. I know ya like to think you're just as capable of handlin' yourself as Rick, or Maggie, or me, but you ain't, Rosie! You're a fuckin' kid! You need to understand that!" Daryl lectured. Rosie listened with her eyebrows furrowed, trying not to let the lump in her throat melt into tears. "Any a' those guys coulda' killed you, or taken you, or done whatever the hell they wanted to do! They obviously want somethin' to do with ya; they were askin' for your name."
"I didn't know they'd be out there," Rosie reasoned, her voice shaky.
"You didn't know who or what the hell coulda' been out there, and that's why you don't fuckin' go out there!" Daryl shouted. He looked away for a moment, shaking his head and rubbing his face. "Ya know how selfish that is, you doin' that?" he asked.
"Goin' out there don't hurt nobody but myself," Rosie argued, her voice raising a bit now, too.
"Yes, it does!" Daryl yelled even louder this time, slamming his hand down on the counter and making Rosie flinch. He didn't seem to notice, though, because he only continued. "You think I wanna see my kid get shot in the head like that, Rosie?!" Rosie didn't say anything. "You think we'd all be just fine after seein' that?! That what you fuckin' think?!"
"Stop it! You're scarin' me!" Rosie shouted as loudly as she could. Surprisingly, Daryl actually did. He stopped saying anything and just stared at the bruise on her cheek, taking in heavy, angry breaths. After a moment, he turned and started heading towards the door. "Wait! Where're you goin'?!" Rosie shrieked.
"To do what I shoulda' fuckin' done in the first place," Daryl replied before slamming the door shut. Rosie ran after him, but by the time she got outside, he was already on his motorcycle. She shouted for him to stop! and wait! but he didn't stop or wait. He just kept going.
Rosie ran towards the gates of Alexandria, hoping she could get him to stop before he got outside of the gates, but when she got there, Daryl was already long gone, along with Michonne, Glenn, and Rosita. Only Maggie and Abraham were left at the gates. Rosie slowed to a stop and let her hands go up to her eyes, pressing the heels of her palms into them.
•
"It's not your fault he left, Rosie," Maggie said, tucking Rosie's hair behind her ear. Rosie was chewing on her lip, trying her hardest not to let anymore tears slip from her eyes. Carol was gone now, too, and that only added to her sadness and frustration. "You shouldn't have lied, but not all that anger was because of you."
Feels like it was, Rosie wanted to say. She didn't. "Ok," she said instead.
"He just wants you to be safe," Maggie insisted.
"Ok," Rosie said again. Maggie pulled her into her side, giving her a half hug as they sat together on the couch. Ian was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, sharing a jar of pickles with Maggie. Rosie didn't like pickles, so she didn't eat any of it; she just kept thinking. "He called me his kid," she suddenly said out loud.
"Well, you are pretty much his kid. I thought he was your dad. And he acts like your dad," Ian said, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "You can have parents that aren't actually your parents. Especially now. Sometimes I kinda feel like Glenn and Maggie are my parents. Just 'cause they take care of me. Like Daryl takes care of you."
"He's right," Maggie said when Rosie looked to her for an answer.
Rosie narrowed her eyes at Ian. "I don't like when you know more things than me," she said, making both Maggie and Ian chuckle.
"Oh, I know lots of things. Liam let me borrow a trivia game from his house. I bet I can beat you," Ian challenged, raising his eyebrows. Rosie twisted her lips to the side, trying not to smile. She was supposed to be angry and she was supposed to be sad, but Ian was making her be in a good mood. "You wanna play, too, Maggie?" Ian asked.
"No, I'm good. I'm supposed to be resting, anyway. You two have fun," Maggie said, a smile finding its way onto her face.
Together, Rosie and Ian left to go back to the house that Rosie lived in. They didn't want to bother Maggie while she was trying to rest, so they figured it'd be better if they played the trivia game in the other house. The two of them played for about an hour until Ian got bored because Rosie just kept on getting most of the questions right.
"Hey, did Tara give you any glow-in-the-dark stars before she left?" Ian brought up once they were done putting the trivia game away. Tara had left on a two week trip with another person from Alexandria, who was named Heath. Rosie nodded. "Can I see? I don't think I've ever seen your room."
"I guess," Rosie shrugged, standing up to start going up the stairs. "It ain't really that interestin'. I just sleep in there. It has 52 glow-in-the-dark stars, though," she explained as the two of them ventured up the stairs.
"You counted?" Ian asked, scrunching his face up. Rosie just nodded, and then opened the door to her and Daryl's bedroom. Ian walked in, and he wasn't very impressed. "You're right. It isn't really that interesting," he said. He looked around the room, then noticed the toys on Rosie's bed. "You have a Jessie doll? I used to have one of Woody and one of Buzz at my old house in Georgia."
"I wanted to get Buzz, too, but my brother said it was too much money," Rosie said, shrugging.
"Oh, that sucks," Ian murmured. He looked around her room a little bit more, and Rosie was just very glad that he wasn't touching anything. She hated when people touched her stuff. After a moment, Ian's eyes landed on the baseball cap that was sat on top of her dresser. "What's this hat for?" he asked as he pointed at the hat.
"My baseball team," Rosie answered.
"You should wear it," Ian said, raising his eyebrows. Rosie wasn't sure why she hadn't worn it yet. She didn't really want people to ask about it, so she just never wore it. She didn't mind giving such a simple answer when Ian asked, though, so she decided that she would wear it. She took the hat and placed it on her head. "Looks good," Ian said, his cheeks shaded a bit pink.
Before Rosie could say thanks, there was a loud groan of pain that sounded like it came from next door. Rosie and Ian locked eyes, unsure of what to do. Then another scream came, and they both started running downstairs. They ran into the next house over, where Maggie was. Maggie was on the ground, and her hair was short again. Enid was their, too, her eyebrows pinched together with concern.
"Go get Rick! Go get Rick!" Enid said quickly. So they did.
•
Maggie needed a doctor, and she needed a doctor bad. She was only getting worse as the hours went by, so they were going to the Hilltop. The Hilltop had a doctor, and Rosie was going to do anything to get Maggie and her baby there. Maggie couldn't die, and neither could the baby. If that baby died, Glenn wouldn't be able to be its daddy, and Maggie wouldn't be able to be its momma. That couldn't happen.
Rosie wasn't planning on going with at first, because she didn't want to get into anymore trouble with Daryl. But Daryl left, too, and now he couldn't be there to tell her no. That was his fault. Ian was going, and Carl was going, so Rosie was going. They all piled into the RV- Abraham, Eugene, Rick, Carl, Maggie, Aaron, Ian, Rosie, and Sasha. Maggie had helped them all countless times, and now it was their turn to help her.
The drive was quiet for awhile. No one wanted to bother Maggie while she was in pain. They all did their best to comfort her and reassure her, and she tried to remain optimistic, but it was hard when she was in so much pain and they were all in danger.
Rosie was sitting at the table with Ian when Abraham suddenly started to slow the RV down. "What the bitch," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. Rick got up to go look out the windshield, and Rosie leaned over the back of Abraham's seat to see. "Enemy close," he said. There were men gathered in the road, weapons in their hands. In front of them, on the ground, was a man writhing in pain. He was beaten and bloody. "We doing this?" Abraham asked.
"No," Rick answered. He got out of the car with his gun in his hand, and everyone else followed. Rosie decided she'd stay in the RV with Maggie, just in case- but also because, for whatever reason, the Saviors seemed to have some sort of obsession with her name. Though she stayed in the RV, Rosie watched from the window, making sure to stay out of sight.
"He's someone who was with a whole lot of someones who didn't listen," the man in front said, gesturing down at the writhing man on the ground. Rick held his hands in the air, showing no intent to fight with these people.
"We can make a deal. Right here, right now," Rick said, trying to keep everyone calm.
"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," the man in front explained. Although Rick's hands were up, Rosie could tell that he was ready for whatever these people had planned by the way his head just barely tilted to the side. "All you have to do is listen."
"Yeah..." Rick murmured, lowering his hands. "That deals not gonna work for us. Fact is, I was about to ask for all of your stuff, only I'm thinking I don't have to kill any of you. Any more of you."
They all waited for a response, but the only one they got was one of the men stepping forward to spray paint something onto the writhing man's chest. He wasn't writhing anymore, though.
"Sorry, my deal is the only deal. We don't negotiate," the head Savior said.
"'Me and my people are leaving," Rick said. They all started to make their way back to the RV, and surprisingly, none of the Saviors tried to stop them.
"Ok, friend. Plenty of ways to get to where you're going," the Savior said, a condescending tone to his voice.
Rick stopped outside the door to the RV, and turned back to the group of Saviors. "You wanna make today your last day on Earth?" he threatened.
"No, but that is a good thing to bring up. Think about it," the Savior replied. Rosie's eyebrows furrowed. "What if it's the last day on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true? Maybe you should be extra nice to those people in that RV, 'cause you never know...." he paused to snap his fingers. "Just like that. Be kind to each other. Like you said... like it was your last day on Earth."
"You do the same," Rick responded, his eyes narrowed, before getting back into the RV. After a moment, Abraham started it back up. They had a new route to follow.
•
Rosie's stomach hurt, but it wasn't car sickness. She tried to focus on the map that Eugene and Sasha were looking at, but she couldn't. Her eyes kept drifting out the window, to the walkers that were roaming the fields and the forests. How long would it be before one of her people were one of those walkers? Like it was your last day on Earth. Was it Maggie's last day on Earth? Would they make it in time? She couldn't stand that thought. It tore apart her insides, just thinking about it. Any of the people she loved being gone forever. She already missed enough people; she didn't want to miss any more.
Any of them could die at any given moment. From a bite, or a gunshot, or a bolt, an arrow, a sickness, a c-section, a sword, a heart attack, a knife, a rope- anything. Anything could kill any of them at any time, no matter how much they didn't want that to be true. It was true even before the end of the world. But it didn't seem to bother Rosie so much until she met these people.
"Bitch nuts," Abraham muttered. Again, Rosie's attention was torn away from her thoughts, and she sat up to look over Abraham's shoulder. More Saviors were gathered outside. Rosie counted 16.
"We making our stand?" Sasha asked from the passenger seat.
Carl leaned over Abraham's other shoulder, next to Rosie. "Yeah. We end it," he said, his voice quiet, but firm.
"No, not now," Rick denied it, shaking his head. Rosie wished that they could kill them all there. They were supposed to all be dead at their base, but it turned out that it was just an outpost. There were many more Saviors than they ever would've thought, and the Saviors were a force to be reckoned with. "They've been waiting. They're ready. With one of us behind the wheel, that's seven on 16. We're gonna play it our way- how we want it," Rick said. He turned his head back to look at Carl. "Right?"
"Right," Carl said, nodding his head.
Rick turned back around to watch out the windshield. "Alright, go slow," he said to Abraham. Abraham slowly started to back up until he could turn all the way around. One of the Saviors popped off gunshots, but their gun was pointed at the sky. It was only a warning. They'd get to where they were going, no matter which route they took.
•
"How are we on gas?" Rick asked Abraham.
They'd been driving for another few hours, with no more interruptions. Rosie couldn't stop thinking about Daryl, and Glenn, and Rosita, Michonne, Carol- all of them. They were out there. The Saviors could've gotten to them already. Maybe they were already corpses. Maybe it was their last day on Earth. Maybe that last thing Rosie did to Daryl was argue with him. Maybe the last thing she told him was that he scared her. Maybe Glenn wouldn't get to be a daddy. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
Stop thinking. Listen. Be helpful.
"Half a tank," Abraham replied. "I pulled some more cans before we left."
"Those weren't the same men who blocked the road the first time," Sasha pointed out, referring back to the last road-block they'd run into. The Saviors that had taken Rosie, Maggie, and Carol were calling for backup. Maybe they had much more backup than anyone could've guessed.
"Same outfit, different soldiers. They got numbers," Abraham sighed.
"Yeah, we keep driving, we get her there," Rick said, his voice firm, like he knew what he was saying was true. Rosie wasn't so sure, but she was trying not to be a pessimist. Maggie's gonna be ok, she told herself, she has to be.
"We will," Sasha said, agreeing with Rick. She said it the same way- firm, honest.
"If we have to shove each and every one of them up their own asses," Abraham promised. Rosie nodded in agreement, even though no one was looking to her for an opinion. She'd die for Maggie and the baby. Maybe she'd have to. The brakes squealed, and Rosie was looking over Abraham's shoulder once again. Walkers. Lots of them. In a line across the road.
"We can't go through it. Can't risk the RV," Rick said with a sigh. He took a moment to think. "You stay behind the wheel, just in case. We'll clear it," he decided.
Together, with their weapons raised, everyone but Abraham and Maggie carefully stepped out of the RV. All of the walkers were tied together with a chain, blocking the road. They approached the chain with caution.
"Putting together a red river like that takes people. A lot of them," Eugene said, his unease showing through his voice.
"Come on, let's do this," Rick said, slinging his gun over his shoulder.
"Dad," Carl murmured. Rosie took a moment to follow his eye line, and he was looking at one of the walkers. It had Michonne's hair attached to its head and her vest around its torso, and Rosie's heart started beating fast.
"That's Michonne's," Aaron pointed out to Rick.
Rosie let her eyes scan over the other walkers. Her eyes landed on one dressed in all black. It had two bolts stuck in its chest. Daryl's bolts. Daryl never missed- not by that far, at least. He didn't shoot those bolts, but they were his. "That's Daryl's," Rosie mumbled out, pointing to the walker she was looking at.
Rick stepped closer to the walker that had Michonne's things. He pulled the piece of hair off of its head, then raised his axe. When he was about to drive the axe into the walker's skull, gunshots started raining down at them. The bullets were going towards their feet, just like at Terminus. "Get back to the RV! Go!" Rick shouted. While Rick managed to break apart the chain of walkers, the others shot up at the tree line, where the bullets were coming from.
•
Rosie was sitting in Sasha's seat, bouncing her leg while Sasha and Eugene went over the maps in order to find a new route to take to try and avoid the Saviors, again. Michonne could be dead. Daryl could be dead. They all could be dead.
"What's that sound?" Sasha asked. Rosie had noticed it, too, but she didn't mention it, because the idea of the RV breaking down any time soon would shatter their spirits.
"Undercarriage could've caught a bullet. Or could be transmission. It could be nothing," Eugene answered, trying to ease everyone's worries.
"They were firing at our feet," Rick suddenly spoke up. Rosie looked back at him and saw that he still had those locks of Michonne's hair in his hand. "They blocked the road, but they weren't trying to stop us. They want us in this direction."
"Barton Road takes us north, but they gotta know we wanna go north," Sasha said, leaning over the map next to Eugene.
"Meadows. Could take us east a piece, but can get back on track on Mayhew," Eugene suggested, running his finger over the map.
"We're down to a third of a tank. We could top off at the next stop, but no refills after that," Sasha said, her eyebrows raised.
"Alright," Rick said, nodding his head.
"Rick, we don't know how long Maggie can wait. We should just kill 'em," Rosie spoke up, her eyebrows furrowed.
"We don't have the numbers," Rick said, shaking his head now.
Rosie felt her stomach churn. "We should try," she said, her voice firm.
"We can't," Carl spoke up now.
"They prob'ly a'ready killed Michonne and Daryl. Maggie can't wait. We have to kill them," Rosie said, her voice getting more and more shaky as she went on.
"If Michonne and Daryl were dead, they would've had them on that chain. And if we try to take them all out, we won't ever get to the Hilltop. Maggie won't make it. This is our only option," Rick said, sounding angry at his own words.
Aaron came up behind Rick and tapped his shoulder. He had a very concerned look on his face, and that concerned Rosie because he and Ian were the ones in the back with Maggie. "She's burning up," Aaron said quietly to Rick.
Rosie turned back around in her seat, letting her hands go up to her hair, pulling. But when she opened her eyes and looked out the windshield again, her heart dropped.
"Rick," Abraham alerted the others.
There were more Saviors than before, all lined up across the road. Of course there were. Of course.
"Go back," Rick said.
"Where?" Abraham asked.
Rick didn't know the answer, but they'd figure it out. They had to. Rosie didn't know what she'd do if they didn't figure it out.
•
They backtracked again, but every way they went was blocked. Blocked by people, or cars, or walkers. But this particular roadblock was made up by a stack of large wooden logs; tree trunks. They approached it with their weapons ready, hoping to see a way around it. It didn't look like there was one. In front of the wood, on the road, were dark marks in the grass and dirt. They looked like if someone skidded their bike tires on the pavement, but hundred times bigger.
"These tracks... they would indicate they not only have people, but some big-ass toys and capabilities," Eugene said, a look of worry on his face as he stared down at the tire tracks.
"What it indicates is we are neck-deep up shit creek with our mouths wide open," Abraham grumbled. Usually Rosie would find a saying like that somewhat funny, but she didn't feel like laughing right now.
As soon as Abraham finished his sentence, a loud scream came from behind them all, and they all spun on their heels. When they turned around, the writhing man from before was hanging from the bridge with a chain around his neck. His face was red and he was grabbing onto the chain, trying to stop himself from dying. There were scratch marks, Rosie remembered. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting her hands pull on the roots of her hair. Suddenly, her ears were ringing like crazy. She felt a hand on her back, turning her away, and she felt weird. It's not like she was dizzy, but she sort of felt like it. It's not like everything was silent, but it sort of sounded like it. It's not like she was going to throw up, but her stomach sort of felt like it. It's not like it was hot out, but her hands were sort of clammy. She chewed on her lip, keeping her eyes shut. Don't look, don't look, don't look. It's just some guy. Who cares? Who cares.
"You're treating your people good, right? Like it was your last day on Earth? Or maybe one of theirs? You better go. It's gonna get hot. You go get where you're going," a Savior's voice shouted. Rosie could hear what sounded like flames, but she didn't want to open her eyes again until they were gone, so she didn't check.
"Go. Go," Rick said. Rosie let the person who had their hand on her back lead her back to the RV, because she was scared that if she saw it again, she might actually throw up. When they got back into the RV, Rosie opened her eyes again and sat back down in her seat. Looking back, she could see that Carl was the one who had lead her back, and she gave him a nod- a silent thank you. He pressed his lips together and nodded back. Rosie wondered what Daryl had told everyone about Fraser. Did Carl know? She leaned back in her seat and kept her gaze down at her red cowboy boots, letting the brim of her hat cover whatever was outside the windshield.
"So, what's the play?" Abraham asked once they'd pulled off to side to figure out a new route.
"She needs a doctor," Rick said, a bit of urgency in his voice.
"There are two more routes north from here," Sasha said as she traced her finger along the lines on the map.
"They're probably waiting for us right now," Aaron said solemnly.
"So, they're ahead of us, probably behind us. But they're not waiting on us, per se. They're waiting on this rust-bucket," Eugene said, his eyebrows pinched together. Rosie didn't know what he was getting at, at first. "And they don't know the moment-to-moment occupancy of said rust-bucket. And the sun sets soon."
Eugene was ready for this to be his last day on Earth. He was going to drive the RV the rest of the way, and the others would take Maggie to the Hilltop on foot. If Eugene got caught, the Saviors may very well kill him. But that was a sacrifice he was willing to make for Maggie and her baby. Rosie didn't want him to die. She really didn't want him to die. But maybe he wouldn't. He was a survivor. Maybe he'd make it.
While the adults carried Maggie on a cot, Carl, Rosie, and Ian would lead the way with their guns raised and ready. They'd make it. Rosie really hoped they would.
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