"Anyone who is not one of us is a threat."

~Rick Grimes

The road to the Hilltop was a silent and awkward one. Abraham was seemingly too focused on the wheel while Rosita stared out of the passenger window solemnly.

"You've been avoiding me. You were never the one to give me the silent treatment- Why are you holdin' your tongue now?" Abraham finally asked, not breaking his gaze from the road.

"I thought you would be upset or something about me and Rick. And I didn't want any damn lecture," Rosita sneered.

"Me? Giving you a lecture? Rosita Espinosa, you are a grown-ass woman. Why the hell would I give you a lecture? Did I give one to you when you were with Spencer?" Abraham was slightly offended by this ridiculous accusation.

"Don't mention him!" The woman grimaced at the painful memory of her former boyfriend. This instantly shut the ginger up. "But no, you didn't. This is different though."

"Enough with the drama, Rosita! Tell me what the hell you're talkin' about." Abraham swerved to the side of the road roughly, putting the vehicle in park.

"Because a part of me still hurts after what you did! A part of me wanted to yell you weren't the last man on earth when you walked in on us!" Rosita snapped; tears pouring from her reddened eyes. "A part of me wanted you to feel what I felt."

Abraham looked at her with a softened expression. He had no idea she had been hurting all this time. He had taken for granted that beneath her tough exterior lied a vulnerable and devastated woman.

"I know it's childish and stupid compared to everything that's happen-"

"I'm sorry," Abraham interrupted. "I was a douchebag- I am a douchebag. I never meant to hurt you like that."

"I would have understood, you know. Leaving me for Sasha. Sasha's great." Rosita rubbed her eyes with a gloved hand.

"Yeah, she is.." Abraham sighed. "And so are you. You both don't deserve an idiot like me." Abraham shifted the gear into drive.

He stayed quiet for a moment as he drove off before asking, "Do you... mm... have feelings for Rick?"

"At first, I wasn't sure. I thought that maybe he was just a rebound," Rosita exhaled deeply. "And I felt guilty. But now, whenever I'm around him... I feel calm. For once, I don't think of you or Spencer or anyone else. I just see him." Rosita smiled to herself.

"I know he may not always make the smartest decisions sometimes. His leadership skills can be... faulty. But he still persists and takes action. He never gives up on his people. Even right now with this Glenn situation, he still sees him as his friend," Rosita continued. "How many men are like that? How many men have remained like that?"

"If you were to get with someone else, I would hope it'd be a man like Rick Grimes," Abraham responded gently. "But if he ever breaks your heart, you come and tell me. I'll make sure he-"

"Alright, I get it!" Rosita laughed loudly, interrupting before he could finish his sentence.

Just as the pair was growing comfortable with each other, Abraham's cheerful mood shifted as something just occurred to him. This dramatic shift did not go unnoticed by Rosita as she asked:

"Hey, what's up?"

"I feel like I failed Rick...well, not just him, but all of y'all."

"What are you talking about?" Rosita glanced at him incredulously.

"That night... that night you were all captured... I wasn't there. I should have been there! Things might have gone differently."

"Abe, you were protecting Alexandria. You couldn't have known-" Rosita stopped, unable to utter the remainder of what happened that night.

"...That wasn't the only reason I stayed behind," His voice dropped as his face darkened. "I'm a coward."

"Abraham..." Rosita's eyes widened at this statement.

"Sasha had a dream. She told me I would die if I went with you to Hilltop. I tried telling her Maggie needed me. But she looked so scared. Hell, she even scared me. I finally let her convince me. And it's been killing me ever since," Abraham confessed; his grip tight on the steering wheel.

"You're not a coward," Rosita muttered. "How could you even say that?"

"No? Then tell me what I am then if I feel relieved that I didn't get to see that!" Abraham exclaimed furiously.

Rosita shut her eyes, pursing her lips as she had no answer to his question.

The road to the Hilltop was a silent one.

~

Sasha hummed softly as she took in the setting sun from the log she was sitting on. Each day at dusk, she would come here to escape from her troubles and responsibilities. This place at the edge of the forest was the only place she could find peace at.

Slipping quietly beside her, Jesus joined in to watch the drowning sun. They stayed together in silence; their shallow breathing the only sounds that could be heard.

"You come here often now," Jesus observed quietly.

"Yeah. It's one of the few places where I feel calm." Her eyes never broke their gaze from the brilliant sky.

"Where are the other places?"

"With Abraham. With my friends at Alexandria. Well, they used to be. I don't know anymore," Sasha sighed tiredly.

Jesus paused, turning his head to look at the woman. She didn't meet his gaze until he said, "Abraham is here."

"He is?" Sasha tugged at her necklace inadvertently. It was a necklace Abraham had worn until he had lost it at the Hilltop.

"He's waiting for you. He's insid-" Jesus was unable to finish as Sasha had already taken off.

She hadn't seen Abraham in weeks, which had made this experience even more lonely. As she raced back to the main house, Abraham's words came back to her.

She did not want to return to Hilltop at first. But Abraham had somehow convinced her. He told her that these people were still relying on her.

That she couldn't just bail because things got hard; that wasn't like her.

That it was best to stay away from Alexandria right now.

She had forgotten how much she had missed Abraham, but once she saw him inside the foyer a rush of emotion overwhelmed her.

So much so that she didn't notice the other woman standing beside the wall as she embraced him tightly.

He enveloped her, spinning her around as he did so. They both laughed and even Rosita couldn't help but smile.

"Hi," Abraham said awkwardly as he put her back down on the ground.

"Hi," Sasha giggled, smoothing down her hair.

"Hey." Rosita made her way towards the pair.

Sasha did not even hesitate to hug Rosita, surprising the woman.

"It seems like it's been so long," Sasha admitted sadly. "Ever since Glenn-"

"About him. That's why we're here, Sasha," Abraham interjected.

"Abe..." Rosita glared at the man, wondering why he had to kill the mood so suddenly.

"There's no point in beating around the bush," He retorted.

"Wait... you're not here to see me?" Sasha's face fell at this realization.

"Sasha, well yeah, I am happy to see you. It's just part of the package as to why we were sent here," Abraham tried to reassure her, but the damage had already been done.

"Glenn's escaped from the cell. And we're trying to find him." Rosita stated bluntly, deciding Abraham had screwed up enough already.

"Oh. Well, I haven't seen him. How about you, Jesus?" Sasha looked behind them at the man who was at the door.

"No. I haven't either... How did he even escape?" Jesus gave them a puzzled look.

"We guess that he tricked the woman who was guarding him into opening the cell and then killed her," Abraham answered; a tired look crossing his face as he did so.

"Well, I can check to see if anyone else saw him. I'll call a town meeting." Sasha tried to hide her misery with what she hoped was a firm response. "Jesus, can you, Abraham and Rosita scan the nearby area and forest for any signs Glenn was here?"

They all complied, going off to search into the woods and buildings while Sasha marched to the meeting center with tears in her eyes.

She shouldn't be feeling like this, not now. She couldn't let her loneliness and disappointment cloud her judgment.

There were more important things at hand like finding Glenn.

But the pain still hurt nonetheless.

~

"I take it that the situation has not improved in Alexandria," Ezekiel greeted, reading Rick and Carl's faces.

Meanwhile, Morgan stood to the side wondering what Rick had to say. But like the king, he sensed it wasn't anything good.

"They have only worsened if that's possible." Rick ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"In what way?" Ezekiel leaned to the side of his throne curiously.

"Glenn has escaped."

Ezekiel and Morgan were taken back by this, especially the latter. He had built this cell after all, so how could he escape?

"That is a heavy-duty cell, Rick," Morgan explained. "I made sure that-"

"It wasn't the cell that was the problem... it was me. I shouldn't have put him in there to begin with." Rick shamefully lowered his head.

"Then why did you?" Ezekiel narrowed his eyes at the man; his gaze seeming to pierce Rick's soul.

"I just wanted to help... I stupidly thought I could help these people." Rick clenched his fist. "I thought I could make a difference! That's who I was before! But...he was right... I wasn't cut out for this world." He took in a sharp breath, shaking as he did so. "Ever since I was small, I just wanted to be a hero! I wanted to save people! But I realized too late... saving someone means not to save someone else," Rick concluded deadpanned, something unusual for him.

"That's how the world is; how the world's always been," Carl glowered; his eye glancing at his dad.

"That might be true, but that's a terrible mindset to have. Rick, I might not know exactly what you're going through. But I went through something similar when I lost Duane..." Morgan took a few steps closer to his friend. "I gave up on the existence of humanity. I felt like we deserved to die. We were awful, evil creatures who didn't deserve to be saved. I failed my wife and son. I wanted to die; I was fine if I were to die. Until I met a man...his name was Eastman. He instilled the hope in me for humanity. Eastman gave me another chance at life. You can look at this apocalypse as not saving people and failing others. But I look at it as brave strangers banding together to save each other!" Morgan insisted firmly.

"Morgan is correct. We all have failed people. I have failed my own people as a leader. We are humans; we are bound to fail. But we can also change for the better. We can correct our mistakes. Together, we can move mountains." Ezekiel stood up suddenly. "I saved Shiva. Shiva saved me. My people saved Morgan. Morgan saved you-"

"And Glenn saved you," Morgan finished.

"I am still learning that as well." Ezekiel started making his way closer to the trio. "Ever since the war, I have been wondering if I am fit to lead the Kingdom. The guilt of losing someone as young as Ben has been on my mind lately. However, I think there is still much more I have not accomplished."

"But you both have done so well...I've just tried to please everyone and gotten nowhere. And when I try to have confidence in my decisions, that backfires too. I either overestimate or underestimate my abilities; I can never just estimate," Rick muttered.

"I have overestimated my skills before." Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. "Also, that is your first mistake. Thinking you can please both sides. Someone will always be disappointed or as you said not saved."

"So have I. As well as underestimated." Morgan crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look, we're just here to see if Glenn was here. But I guess he's not," Carl interjected, aggravated with all this philosophical nonsense.

"No. He is not here. But if he was, what would you do with him, Rick?" Ezekiel questioned. "Should he even be under your guard?"

"I-I don't think so. I guess it would be better if he were here. It would ease the tension," Rick admitted. "But he's not here, right?"

"As I have stated before, he is not. But if he does turn up here, I will keep him. He will not be treated as a prisoner like he was in Alexandria. He will become a citizen of the Kingdom."

"That's fair. I actually think that is a good decision." Rick nodded thoughtfully.

"Good! You can take a look around the perimeter to see if he was here. I shall ask around to see if anyone has seen him," Ezekiel smiled.

As Ezekiel left the auditorium, Morgan took a moment to tell Rick that if Glenn does turn up he should be more sympathetic to him. That was the only way to help him, not to put him on trial or serve Glenn's head on a platter to the Oceanside women.

"That's what Eastman did for me. Because that's what really works in the face of something to fear. Knowing there's something to look forward to."

~

Glenn jolted upright from his desk. He groaned, rubbing his sore neck since he had fallen asleep.

"How long did I stay up?" He asked himself, noticing the smudge marks on his arms and hands.

Judging from the number of pages covered in ink, he had to have been awake writing for quite a while.

But the window told him that it was early morning as it was still dark outside.

Glenn yawned, but then yelped as the door suddenly flung open.

"Hey! You're up!" Jeffrey exclaimed. "That's good! The Commander wants to leave soon so she'll be glad to know you're almost ready."

"What... are you talking about?" Glenn regarded the young man with annoyance.

"We're going back to Alexandria this morning!" Jeffrey was practically spinning around the room. "I can't wait! I'm finally going to see my brother! And my nephew!"

Glenn shifted his eyes to the side, wondering if he should mention the presence of a niece too. In the end, he decided not to.

"Where is my sister?" Glenn rose to his feet.

"She's down in the front, loading the vehicles. C'mon, let's go! She's waiting for you!" Jeffrey was about rush out of the room, but noticed Glenn's clothes.

"Hold up. You need to change into an official uniform first. And clean yourself up," He studied the man, scratching his head.

"I would have. If you hadn't burst into my room all of a sudden." Glenn forced the kid out, shutting the door on his face.

"How can my sister stand him...What a pain."

~

"That uniform looks sharp on you," Maiya teased once she saw him.

"I should have known you'd choose a uniform like this," Glenn retorted, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Maiya put her hand on her hip in confusion.

"Your emo phase never wore off, did it?" Glenn gave a tight-lipped smile.

"Commander, you had an emo phase?!" Jeffrey questioned loudly.

"With red streaks in her hair and dark eyelin-"

"Shut up!" Maiya cut off her brother before he could continue. She cleared her throat, clearing the awkward atmosphere.

"This morning, we will be going to Alexandria again. But this time we will make it to our destination. We will try and form a partnership with the Alexandrians. A partnership that suits both our interests."

"Whatever you do, don't mention that they have to work for you," Glenn warned his sister.

"Glenn, of course not," Maiya pursed her lips. "We have to demonstrate we are a strong community who will be of great value to them. I would hope for them to come back here and see what we have to offer."

"So that they can take it from you? Because that's what basically happened. What has happened? Rick and company have gone from place to place, taking things from others. And then leaving the place to burn," Glenn stated nonchalantly.

This earned several whispers and worried glances from the youth and a glare from Jeffrey.

"Glenn..." Maiya frowned, beginning to grow tired of her brother's attitude.

"I'm trying to tell you what you're going to be up against. If Rick sees you as weak, he will think you can be overpowered. You have to remember we're the people who took down The Saviors."

Maiya considered this, knowing that they had to display their strength if they wanted to be taken seriously. There was also the issue of Glenn being a 'criminal' in Alexandria. They would probably want him back.

A knowing smirk crossed Maiya's face as she glanced at Jeffrey. She was not a genius by any means, but an idea was beginning to form in her resourceful mind.

~

"You know, I always wanted to D.C. but not like that," Tara piped from the passenger seat. "Not with the monuments in ruin."

"Yeah, it's a lot different from how I remember it." Michonne gave her a half-smile as she drove back to Alexandria. 

"...Do you think they found him?" Tara asked as she fiddled with her fingers nervously.

"I don't know. And I'm not sure if I want them to," Michonne sighed, looking towards the rising sun above them.

"Same." Tara leaned back in her seat, putting her arms behind her head. "Wake me up when we get there, yeah?"

"Yeah," Michonne murmured back. She enjoyed the temporary silence as it gave her time to think. She wondered where Glenn was at the moment. If he was safe, much less alive. She prayed that he was at least alive even after all that's happened.

However, it wasn't long before Michonne had to wake her friend as something came into view in the stretch of the road. 

"Wha-What is it?" Tara rubbed her eyes sleepily. 

"Up ahead. It looks like Dwight and Sherry." Michonne pointed to the two figures that were leaning beside a wrecked motorcycle.

Michonne slowed down the car and pulled up to the pair, who had not recognized the vehicle.

"It's just us! Chill out!" Tara waved her arms around defensively.

"Sorry. We didn't know who you were." Dwight lowered his crossbow.

"This is Daryl's," Michonne observed, kneeling down beside the bike. "And it's what was missing."

"So Glenn crashed?" Sherry looked around nervously. 

"It looks that way..." Michonne trailed off, glancing towards the forest around them.

"Then where did he go?" Tara also noticed Michonne and Sherry's uneasiness. 

"The walkers might have gotten to him," Dwight offered, earning a frightened look from his wife.

"There's no trace of anything. No blood or bones." Michonne countered, unconvinced he was eaten. "It's as if he disappeared."

A sudden breeze of air sent a chill down their spines once Michonne said this. They seemed to be hunting a ghost amongst a world filled with the dead.

"When we first got here, we heard some cars in the distance," Sherry stated out of nowhere. "They were loud like there were a lot of them."

"Did you see anything?" Michonne questioned as the feeling of being watched suddenly came over her.

"No, they were too far away. But they didn't come from behind us, they were up ahead," Dwight gestured.

"Maybe it was just some of the other group," Tara suggested worriedly.

"None of them should have been going this way or this far though." Michonne's heart started to rapidly beat as the feeling of unease grew twofold. "Hilltop and The Kingdom aren't this way..."

Dwight, Sherry, and Tara immediately caught onto Michonne's panic, widening their eyes as they realized these cars did not belong to them.

"We need to go back. Right now!" Michonne commanded, motioning for Tara to get back into the car.

"What about the bike?!" Dwight exclaimed.

With a heavy heart, Michonne instructed him to 'just leave it.' Carrying it back would only slow them down, and they had no time to waste getting back to Alexandria.

Michonne sped through the empty street with Dwight and Sherry following close behind them. Even Tara was warning her to slow down as she was hitting 80 mph, but only one goal was on Michonne's mind. 

Possible scenarios were invading her thoughts about who these people were and none of them were good.

Michonne gritted her teeth in anger as the one thought that kept coming back to her was that they were Saviors. 

"No...." The word escaped Michonne's lips before she could stop them. 

"What?" Tara jerked her head to glance at the woman. 

"They can't be alive. We killed them!!" Michonne yelled to herself. 

"Who?!"

"The Saviors..." Michonne groaned as Alexandria came into view. Tara slowly turned her head, feeling her face grow white instantly.

Several unknown vehicles were just parked outside the walls facing towards the remaining members of their search party. No one had gotten out of the vehicles, making them more intimidating.

Rick, Abraham, Carl, and Rosita had their weapons drawn, waiting for the slightest movement from the strangers. The other citizens like Aaron, Gabriel, and Eric were surrounding the vehicles from behind with their own guns.

"What is this?!" Dwight shouted, jumping out from the car.

"Gabriel told us they arrived just before we did. But they haven't gotten out or anything," Rick answered, gesturing with his Colt Python.

"We have no idea who they are!" Gabriel wiped his brow from anxious sweat. "They've just been parked here menacingly."

"Then it's time we find out." Michonne reached behind her for her katana.

At that moment, the passenger door opened to one vehicle, revealing a woman.

"It's alright, you can lower your weapons," She stated with a smile.

"No. I think we're good," Rosita retorted. 

The woman looked miffed by this, but quickly regained her composure. "Okay then. Just be sure not to let any accidents happen."

"Who the hell are you?!" Rick demanded, fed-up with this woman's vagueness.

"My name is Maiya. My people have been watching for yours for a while now. We have learned a lot, so I should start off by thanking you for our mutual Negan problem."

This caught everyone completely off-guard, making the Alexandrians even tenser.

"You know about us? You knew about Negan?" Gabriel's jaw dropped.

"Yes, we actually worked for him. But we were able to escape long before you all met him. Our rebellion actually kind of put you in his warpath..." Maiya sighed, motioning with her head for her members to step out now. 

"How the hell do you know all this?!" Abraham glared at the plentiful uniform-clad youth. "Who are you people?!"

"That's why we're here. My people need your help and we think you'll be a good ally for us. But like I said, we have scouted your community. And we have found out some pretty interesting things." Her demeanor suddenly darkened. "Like how you mistreated my brother."

At that moment, Rick and the Alexandrians knew they were screwed. 

"B-Brother?" Rick asked weakly, lowering his gun.

"Yes. But there are no hard feelings about it. There are more important things to discuss like how we can work together. I hope you can at least give me a chance to expla-"

"Forget it! Where is your brother?" Rick raised his gun up again. "He's the one I want to talk to!"

Maiya frowned at this gesture. "He's right here. Glenn, get out." She knocked on the window of the car she came out in.

Glenn carefully climbed out from behind, tugging along someone else with him. This person had a bag over their head and their hands bound with cable ties.

"Hey, Rick. Don't look so surprised, we haven't even gotten to the best part," Glenn laughed. Unbeknownst to him, Netanya and the rest of Oceanside were staring at Glenn with pure hate. 

"Who's that?" Rick's voice dropped.

"Rick, I want us to get along. Enough fighting; it's not getting anyone anywhere. That's why I decided to not go after Negan. I wanted my people to focus on something meaningful. History does have its eyes on us after all," Maiya tried to convince the man. 

"Who is that?!" Rick demanded again.

"The reason you will work with us." Maiya exchanged a glance with her brother as he pulled the bag off.

Jeffrey shook his head back, displaying a warm smile, which soon turned to an oversized grin once he saw his brother and nephew.

"Ric-" But the bag was put back on him before he could greet his brother.

Maiya smirked at the horrified expressions of Alexandria's leader and son as she said, 

"I guarantee it."