➳ "JUDE?" I screamed out for the lost little girl, running along with Rosita, Laura, Aaron, and Eugene. "Judith?! Where are you?"

"Judith!" Rosita added, screaming out for her, too. Then, Laura: "Jude!"

Eugene has a dead coyote on his back while Aaron screamed out for her, too: "Jude!"

Suddenly, a little and familiar voice called out: "I'm here!"

I snapped my head straight into her direction as I saw Judith, now around nine-years-old, running straight back to us. "Are you okay?" Aaron asked, definitely relieved to see her alive and well. He kneeled down in front of her, holding her close to him.

"Judith," came my warning tone, seeing her as my own daughter now. "Where the hell did you go?"

However, she didn't have time to answer before we heard people coming our way. I took out my machete, wanting to chop them up if needed to. They were chasing after Judith. They had to.

However, Judith quickly came to their defense before they even got here. "I heard them calling," she claimed, innocently. "They needed our help."

Immediately, Aaron places Judith behind him while I stepped up with my machete, ready to kill for my friends. A big guy, sort of like a teddy-bear, ran up first as they were all so exhausted from running. They were sweating and heaving.

"Our rig... It got overrun by sickos," the teddy-bear man said, barely able to get the words out. "We owe our lives to Miss Grimes here."

"They still need our help," Judith quickly claimed, yanking off Aaron's water supply from around his shoulder. She threw it down to one woman, who looked to be Asian, and with a white cloth wrapped around her head from probably being injured.

Other than the fair-skinned man and Asian lady, there were three more people with them. There was a white woman with tattoos all over her and the last two were dark-skinned women.

I glanced down at the man and asked, "What's your name?"

He didn't exactly know if I was talking to just him or not, but he decided to just answer me. "Luke. You?"

I nodded and replied, "Tess. Tess Rovia."

The Asian lady gulped down the water, up until its last drop while the fair-skinned woman watched us all with caution. They were all nervous and exhausted.

"So, um," Luke breathed out, before he started to point to his friends. "This is Magna and Yumiko. A-And, that's Connie and Kelly."

"We can't," Rosita reminded Judith, looking straight down at her. "You know that."

"But—"

"Hey, uh, I dabbled in the culinary arts, uh, — once upon a time ago, and, uh..."

"Luke," came Kelly's warning tones, probably for him not to get too close to us.

"Y'know, with a little bit of help, I can help whip this buck into a mighty fine osso buco," Luke claimed, trying to show his worth to us after hearing Rosita's warning to Judith.

"Stew," Eugene suddenly spoke up, staring back at Luke. "We make stew. More mileage for the masses."

Birds chirped in the background while Luke appeared to be shocked, but the curly-haired lady stared back at us. "There are more of you?"

"Way more, with walls and—"

"Jude," came almost everyone's warning tones, staring down at the innocent girl. She just wanted to help these strangers, but she knew the rules that we couldn't afford to take anyone else in right now.

Rick and Carl would be so extremely proud of her, if they were here right now. However, with Judith opening her mouth and spilling the beans about Alexandria, they would probably tell her to keep her mouth shut right now.

Suddenly, I nearly broke my neck when I heard Walkers growling and coming our way. They were running from the dead, and they must of heard us yelling and started to come our way.

"Aaron!" I called out his name, hoping for him to actually take these people in. The dead were on us now. "Gotta make a decision. Quick."

"Incoming," Kelly called out, warning us of the dead coming our way. Her and her team yanked out their weapons, but my own team already had ours out and ready to go.

Eugene, Laura, and I stepped up and took out the few that were already there. I swiped off two heads with my machete, before flicking it off to the side to discard of some blood.

"There's more on the way," Laura announced, glancing around the woods. "We gotta get outta here."

Walkers were growling in the distance, getting closer and closer, but I managed to hear Judith say aloud: "They need food and water and medicine." I started to walk backwards, hoping that we were about to get a move-on. "If they don't go, I don't go."

"What? Judith...," I breathed out, staring back at her now. She looked back at me, but stood her ground. Dammit, I was a little proud of her sassy-self. She always knew how to face off with me, considering the fact that I have always told her stories about her father and brother when she was growing up.

Alas, after Aaron exchanges stern and questioning looks with both myself and Rosita, he finally came to a conclusion. "Come on."

Luke turned and asked for reassurance, "Yeah?" As we started to get a move-on, I heard him say to his group to come on now.

We started to run, just as I placed my machete back in its holster on my belt, but before I knew it, I tripped and my body fell forward on the ground. "Fuck," I breathed out, just as I started to sit up and hold my knee. It was busted open. Lovely. "I'm so fucking clumsy."

Aaron turned back and asked, "You okay? Can you walk?"

I held my breath and tried to get up, and managed to stand on my own two feet, but I wasn't walking so good. Suddenly, someone's arm came up behind me and held me up, in an effort to help me walk. "Here. I got you." It was Luke, out of all people. "Lean on me."

I didn't know what else to say or do, so I just shook my head and placed my arm over his shoulders, depending on him to get us home.

➳ I could see the sign to Alexandria — my home — and I smiled in gratitude. "Again, I feel the need to remind you that what we are doing is in direct and flagrant violation of the current security protocols," Eugene was warning us, as I shook my head.

"Yeah, we know," Rosita quickly claimed, already annoyed by him saying it for the millionth time already. I had to roll my eyes, too.

After Rosita removed the bags from their heads, they took a moment to readjust their vision. I struggled to get inside the gates on my own, but Aaron placed his hand on my back in an effort to help me.

The gates screeched open with a thud and I could Kelly say to her group, "Can't be worse than Jones Springs."

"Just like Jones Springs couldn't be worse than Coalport," Magna added with a stern look.

"Oh, God," Luke shivered, not liking the sound of that. "Coalport was a fossilized city of shit."

Judith saw their concern and decided to step forward. "You'll be safe here," she reassured, innocently. "I promise."

Judith held out her hand for Manga and, after a moment of hesitation, she finally took the little girl's hand. With that, Judith welcomed her and her group into Alexandria with open arms. Also, I learned that Connie was actually deaf and Kelly — and the rest of them — spoke to her through sign-language. I really admired that.

Aaron left my side as I kept trying to walk on my own, but someone's familiar arm was back around me and willing to help me inside. "Here, let me help you again," Luke practically whispered in my ear, smiling. "It's the least that I could do."

I allowed him to help me again, and managed to whisper back out to him: "Thank you."

He grinned as we steadily walked inside, when he suddenly said: "Holy shit." He turned to look at me and asked, "This is your home?"

I nodded and replied, "Yup. This is our home."

"This is Alexandria," Judith announced to our new shocked people. "This is home."

We kept walking inside, as I had to take another moment for it to sink in. This place looked a lot different six years ago. Judith and Tory were still babies, basically, and this place was just starting to get back on its feet. I'm glad that it's still standing. It's what Rick and Carl wanted.

"Mommy!" I heard a very familiar voice call out for me, as I turned and saw Tory running straight up to me. I quickly separated myself from Luke, ready to take her straight into my arms when she gets here. Despite being hurt, I took her straight into my arms as soon as she was here. I held her and kissed her hair, thankful to be back with her.

"Mom?" I heard another familiar voice call out to me, as I saw my grown adopted daughter coming my way. She appeared to be worried, seeing how there were strangers all around us. She was seventeen, from what I have gathered, practically an adult. She gingerly walked up to me and stared at Luke, who was still standing close to me.

"These are your... kids?" Luke asked, seemingly shocked. I nodded in return. "They're beautiful. Just like you."

I was honestly flattered, but Mollie wasn't impressed whatsoever. She actually seemed to be a little pissed off, after placing her arms over her chest and staring Luke down.

I nearly fell back with Tory in my arms, but Luke quickly caught me before I fell. I had to let Tory down, who walked over to Mollie and held her back.

Luke has his hands on my hips/waist, now looking up into my eyes while he's bent down, and holding me before I could fall. I finally managed to stand up correctly, seeing how I wasn't hurting as much as I was.

"You okay?" he asked, and I nodded. "Hold it. Good?"

Again, I nodded and smirked. "Thanks. I got it now."

He was smiling like a goofball, red cheeks and everything, and I was pretty sure that my eyes were smiling back. "No problem. Anytime. I'll do it again in a heartbeat."

Saddiq, D.J., and Gabriel — along with some others — approached us. "There's another one in the wagon," Rosita said to Saddiq, who was our certified doctor at this point. "Female with head trauma. She's conscious."

Rosita led Saddiq to the back of the wagon and, immediately, he turns and says to everyone: "Alex and the other nurses are on standby."

I stepped forward and asked, "What 'bout Brie?"

Saddiq turned and answered me, "She went back to Hilltop this morning." I nodded and he continued to speak to everyone as a whole about Yumiko. "I'll take her to the infirmary right now."

Without hesitation, Magna stepped up and claimed, "I'm coming with her."

Immediately, D.J. stepped in front of her, stopping her from tagging along. Everyone stepped towards D.J. and Magna, hoping that a fight or fuss was about the break-out. I wanted Yumiko to make it and, if Magna is her better-half, then maybe she should join her.

However, nothing happened as a horse whined and squealed off in this distance, but was coming closer to us. Michonne rode in on horseback, which was worrying already. She was the boss around here now, ever since Rick... died. Or, disappeared, as Daryl likes to think.

Michonne hopped off of her horse and grabbed her bag from the horse-lady, who had came up to take her horse. Michonne was already pissed, walking up to us in question, before throwing her bag to the side.

She glanced at each one of us before asking, "You wanna tell me what this is?"

"Five unknowns... all clean, one headed to the infirmary," D.J. answered her, somewhat being her second-hand man now. And, to think, he was once out to kill us all those years ago, but is definitely one of us now.

Michonne made her rounds while taking a moment, with silence included, to stare down Connie, Kelly, Luke, and Magna. However, once she made it to Magna, she bent down and started to pat her down, like she was the sheriff and ready to arrest her.

"All clean?" Michonne asked, definitely not liking Magna the most out of everyone so far. "You sure about that?"

"Indeed," Eugene answered, stating facts now. "They're whistle-worthy, clean as a-wise. They surrendered their weapons willingly and submitted to standard frisk procedure."

I stepped forward and added, "They seem to be good people, Michonne."

She stared me down before asking aloud, "And why are they here?"

"My call," Aaron said, taking all the responsibility. However, he shouldn't take all the responsibility. He was one of my best friends now, and I respected him.

Michonne turned her head into Aaron's direction and snapped back, "It's not your call to make."

Aaron lowered his head, disappointed in himself, just as Judith approached her mom and said: "I decided. They needed help."

Again, I couldn't talk about how innocent Judith was and how much I loved that little girl to death. Although I vouched for these people, the next ones probably won't be so nice.

"Judith," came Michonne's warning tone, as she took a step closer to her daughter, "you know the rules. You all do."

"Thing is, they're here now, and one of 'em's badly hurt," Aaron spoke up again, shining the spotlight back on him. "Siddiq's checkin' her out, but..." He cut himself off after taking a moment to breathe. "Look, no disrespect, but maybe their fate is something we should decide together."

I couldn't agree more, so I straightened myself up and spoke loudly: "I agree." Michonne stared at me, almost pissed that I did. "We should."

Almost immediately after I said that, Gabriel spoke up from being behind everyone: "It'll be dark soon. First thing tomorrow, we can bring them before the council for a vote."

I nodded, and agreed with that. I admired Gabriel for saying this. So, I turned back around to see how Michonne reacted to that and she was not liking it. She kept staring Magna down, for some reason.

"Okay," Michonne innocently agreed, smacking her lips in the process. "Put them in holding."

I stepped forward and tried to say, "Michonne—!"

She stared back at me and repeated, "Do what I said." I decided not to fight her; rather, to step down, as it wasn't my place to fight her on anything. I decided to put myself back down than stand tall against her.

"Come on," D.J. called out, grabbing Magna's arm and trying to pull her back. She snatched her arm away from him. "Let's go."

I gulped, now holding Tory's hand while Mollie stood her ground beside me. As soon as Luke started to walk away, she placed her hand on her gun — which was in her holster around her belt. She didn't like strangers, and definitely didn't like when they were around me.

However, just as he was almost away, Luke took a moment to turn his head and look back at me with a smile. I smiled back and Mollie nudged me in the side, out of disapproval.

• YAY! I'm so happy about this chapter! What do y'all think of everyone and how I introduced them? I hope that I don't offend anyone with how I worded some things. Anyways... Wtf is going on with Luke, huh? Hm... It seems to like Tess. I wonder how she will respond to the big teddy-bear guy. Mollie certainly doesn't approve of this new guy trying to make an appearance in her mom's life. We'll just have to see... 🙃 All the love .xx •