𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒.
chapter twenty-eight; Scare Tactic
" Keep your crosshairs on someone else. "

  RICK WANTED TO speak to everyone, and Vex Williams was not exempt just because she knew what was transpiring beyond the gates.

  She was beside her brother,  who had scarcely let his eyes leave her after being told of the meeting with Paul.

  Zeppelin, however, was still in the dark.

  Vex held her daughter close to her, her arms around the girl as Zeppelin's back leaned into her mother's chest, both girls staring at Rick Grimes as he thought before he spoke. 

  "When I met with the Governor," Rick finally began, "He offered me a deal. He said. . . he said he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne."

  Zeppelin quickly felt her panic rise, holding onto her mother's arm tightly.

  "And I was gonna do that," Rick continued, "To keep us safe. . . I changed my mind. But now Merle took Michonne to fulfill the deal and Daryl went to stop him and I don't know if it's too late. I was wrong not to tell you. And I'm sorry. What I said last year, that first night, after the farm. . . it can't be like that. It can't. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are; it's not my call. It can't be. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good, because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here, not me. This is life and death. How you live. . . how you die. . . it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We vote. We can stay and we can fight, or we can go."

  Vex squeezed her daughter's shoulder, though her eyes never left Rick's.

  The woman gave him a nod, one that was returned, before Rick departed from the group.

  And after a couple of moments, Vex joined him in his watchtower.

  "You were right."

  "Those are my favorite words to hear," Vex admitted, taking a seat beside the man.

  He let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head.

  "I don't want you to change. I don't want any of us to. Least of all because I tell you to."

  Vex leaned her head back, resting it on the side of the building.

  "We're all changed," Vex said quietly, "But that's inevitable. None of us have to stay the same, we can't. . . but staying together. . . like you said. That's all that matters now."

  Rick looked at the woman, finding his own shock at her words.

  She'd hardly wanted to join them, and he didn't need Dean to tell him that. Vex had dragged her feet for a long time, even some odd months into their journey on the road, she'd remained closed off.

  But sometime between then and now, Vex Williams hadn't just opened up, she'd welcomed others.

  "You're all my family," Vex continued after a moment. "And Zeppelin and Dean's. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my family."

  And maybe that was all Rick needed to hear.

  "Look alive," Vex elbowed him, lifting her gun to peer down the scope, "Michonne's back."

  Zeppelin Williams was the first one to greet Michonne. And Michonne couldn't help but smile as the girl tackled her with a hug, exclaiming how happy she was that she'd returned. 

  And only a few hours following her return, did Daryl Dixon enter the cell block.

  Alone.

  Vex departed from her daughter, Dean, and Michonne, who had all begun packing after the agreement that they would stay and fight.

  She approached Daryl, her pace slowing when she saw the bloodshot eyes and poorly masked red nose.

  "Hey," Vex said.

  "Hey," Daryl greeted, continuing his stride to their landing, "Rick already told me."

  "Alright," Vex said, following him.

  She didn't have to ask to know that Merle was dead. It had been clear that Daryl wasn't planning on returning without him, and aside from this, Daryl had been crying.

  So Vex didn't speak. She watched Daryl collect any scattered items, before discarding his poncho and climbing into his bed. Vex lingered for a moment, before starting toward the cell she'd moved herself into.

  Vex made it down two steps before Daryl said her name.

  The woman turned, seeing he'd already sat up from his bed, leaving room for her to sit beside him.

  So, she did.

  Shoulder to shoulder, staring at the cells filled with people they cared about, all preparing for their last night in this place.

  "He took out a bunch of 'em."

  "Tough son-of-a-bitch," Vex noted.

  ". . . He turned by the time I got there."

  Vex didn't say anything, because there was nothing to say. No words could help how he was feeling, because no words could bring his brother back, or fix their relationship.

  So she just inched herself until her shoulder was pressed against his because this way at least he would know he wasn't alone. 

  Daryl let out a breath, feeling his own emotions rise at this small gesture. 

  "Waited 'til the end to do something for me."

  Vex lifted her arms, pulling Daryl into a hug for the first time since he was a child.

  And it felt warm and familiar, like something he should have been used to, like Vex had been there with him his entire life.

  She hugged him and while it fixed nothing, his brother was still dead and Daryl had to carry that for the rest of his life, Vex was holding part of that grief with him.

  And he hugged back, holding onto her like he deserved it when he knew he didn't, he would never.

  But at that moment, he didn't care.

  "Wanna get your mind off of it?" Vex offered, still hugging the man.

  He pulled away, a confused expression on his face. Daryl didn't want to make any assumptions, but couldn't help it with a question as open as this one.

  "Booby traps."

  Daryl breathed out a laugh, shaking his head at her childish grin.

  But when Vex stood and offered a hand, he took it.

  Something deep inside of Daryl warned him that he might always take her hand.

🗡

  Everything was set early the following morning. The cars were packed, and everyone was set and briefed on the plan.

  Vex, however, was making sure everyone was still briefed.

  "And you don't come out, shoot from hiding, you don't engage-- this is a scare tactic--"

  "We got it, V."

  Vex breathed out, looking between Maggie and Glenn, who wore matching suits of body armor.

  "Just be careful, please," She tried, "I mean, this is a hell of an engagement party."

  Despite the looming danger, Glenn couldn't help but smile.

  Vex had spotted the ring on Maggie's finger early that morning and had aired her grievances that no one told her sooner, before genuinely congratulating the couple.

  "You be careful, too," Maggie said after a moment, "I mean it."

  Vex saluted, the corner of her lips tugging up before she went in pursuit of her daughter.

  "Hey," Vex greeted Zeppelin, who stood beside Carl, "You two ready?"

  "Yeah," Zeppelin said, elbowing Carl when he didn't speak, "Carl."

  "Yeah."

  Vex eyed the boy, before kneeling down to their level.

  "I know you wanna stay inside with us," Vex said quietly, "But your job is keepin' your sister safe, yeah?"

  Carl chewed the inside of his cheek, clearly still angry, but unable to argue this point.

  "Plus, you gotta have Zep's back," Vex said, "She's your best friend, after all?"

  Carl looked to Zeppelin, who smiled sheepishly.

  "Yeah," He said quietly, "She is."

  "Well, alright then," Vex said, standing, "Keep an eye on each other. Your part's just as important as ours."

  Zeppelin departed with Carl, the two climbing into the vehicle Hershel drove deeper into the forest along with the rest of the cars.

  Everyone quickly fell into place, Zeppelin watching her mother stalk back toward the prison beside Daryl Dixon and Dean Williams, snickering at something the man said.

  She wondered if this was what her mother was like on every deployment. If her mom had always been so offhanded about danger like this, walking into it the way Zeppelin used to walk into school.

  Zeppelin could hardly calm her heart rate down, but Vex looked light as air. 

  "I hate to admit it, but I really wish I joined the military now," Dean breathed out, holding a fist out to Vex.

  "Hey, you win some you lose some," She said, bumping her fist to his, "Stay safe."

  "Never lost," Dean pointed, winking once before turning on his heel.

  Vex watched her brother depart to his station, before continuing on beside Daryl and behind the remainder of the group.

  "You sure you're good on your own?"

  "Best on my own, Dixon," Vex smiled lazily, "Plus, I can keep an eye on you from up there."

  Daryl scoffed as they turned, separating from the group.

  "Keep your crosshairs on someone else."

  Vex rolled her eyes despite her smile, approaching the outside of Cellblock C.

  They'd set up a wonderful make-shift rig for Vex to climb, but Daryl had insisted he make sure she got up before he took to his own space.

  "Watch and learn," Vex said dramatically.

  Daryl scoffed, crossing his arms as Vex took a running start.

  He had to say he was impressed, watching Vex put the rig together was amusing, but watching her climb wooden pallets and manage to secure a rope to one of the barred windows, using this to scale a couple of feet until she reached a higher window, pulling herself onto the ledge, before finally grabbing the edge of the roof and pulling herself onto this, it was impressive.

  "We coulda just found the roof access."

  "That would've taken too long!" Vex yelled back, "Just admit that was cool."

  Daryl scoffed, before pushing the pile of palettes over to discard any evidence of her climb.

  "Oh, whatever," Vex mumbled, laying on her stomach and setting up her rifle before coiling the rope back into a neat knot, "Zep woulda thought it was cool."

  "I ain't twelve."

  "No, you're much harder to impress," Vex scoffed, "Go, get ready."

  Daryl held a hand to shade his eyes, looking up at the woman.

  She was nearly out of his sight, thanks to the half wall atop the prison.

  "I'll come to get you after."

  Vex held up an 'ok' sign with her fingers, scooting back into position.

  And then she lay in wait until trucks began driving through the gates, walking straight into the trap they had set.

  She was admittedly surprised when she saw them in military vehicles, gunning through towers and walls with ease.

  But she waited.

  Even as she watched people unload into her home, as she watched the Governor himself lead them.

  She waited.

  Until, of course, the sound of their traps went off, the alarm blaring.

  Vex grinned as people emerged like insects, flooded from the prison.

  She heard Glenn's voice shouting as he and Maggie began shooting, the people of Woodbury shooting back sloppily as they fled.

  Vex looked, she looked and looked until she found him.

  She had been told the goal of today was to at least put a dent in these people or their spirits, to scare them from coming back-- to hold out any hope in keeping their home.

  Rick had told her she had no target unless she chose to.

  It was a heavy choice. Glenn had brought up the idea and she'd shot it down-- killing the Governor meant making a martyr.

  But she didn't know how else to end it.

  Vex breathed out, focusing her crosshairs on the man's chest, following as he moved.

  Her finger hovered over the trigger waiting for others to move out of her line of shot.

  She could still take the shot. It might not be clean, it might go through someone else, but she could take it.

  But she waited.

  Because Vex had been a sniper, in real wars, when the world seemed more intact than it did now. Paul preyed on this constantly, reminding the woman she was a murderer, that she killed people for work, took lives like they were easy, and that the number of people that had died as a result of her rifle was in the hundreds. 

  She reminded him they were bad people. Not every target was a person; sometimes it was a control panel or a vehicle.

  Vex had never gloated about her kills. She never spoke about them. 

  She didn't like killing people. And she had never killed a civilian.

  So even sitting here now, at the end of the world, with a man in her crosshairs, Vex couldn't pull the trigger because it meant taking another life as collateral damage.

🗡

  "I should be there."

  Zeppelin sighed, looking away from the prison as Carl spoke.

  He'd been angry since the night prior and clearly hadn't come to his senses at all.

  Zeppelin hadn't argued with him, but couldn't understand why he had the urge to join the adults in the fight. It was a warzone. Zeppelin didn't want to be in a warzone.

  "We're needed out here," Zeppelin said quietly, looking to Hershel and Beth, the latter of which held baby Judith.

  Hershel gave the girl a small comforting smile, nodding in approval.

  But Zeppelin lifted her head, holding tightly onto her bow as she heard leaves crunching in the forest around them.

  She lifted her weapon, drawing back an arrow as Hershel and Carl lifted pistols, all pointed at one boy.

  Boy? He couldn't be an adult, Zeppelin thought. He must have only been a couple of years older than her-- maybe 19 or 20.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa," He said, skidding to a halt and raising a hand, "Don't shoot."

  "Drop the weapon, son," Hershel instructed.

  "Sure," The boy said, holding out a shotgun, "Here, take it."

  He inched forward, closer and closer to Zeppelin and Carl.

  "Put it on the ground," Zeppelin said quickly, not fond of the idea of a handoff.

  The boy nodded, one hand still up as he slowly began to lower the shotgun.

  Zeppelin wondered what they'd do with him. If he'd be like Randall if they should just let him go, if she should get her mother--

  Her breath was stolen from her lungs as the boy dropped to the ground, a gaping bullet hole in his forehead. Zeppelin couldn't look away, she could hardly bear it-- was she breathing? She couldn't hear anything at least-- he was dead, how was he dead?

  Zeppelin turned her head slowly, seeing Carl's gun still held high.

  Carl had shot him.

  Carl had shot him, but he was surrendering.

  Carl had shot a boy who was putting his gun down.

🗡

  Vex Williams did, in fact, wait until Daryl returned to help her down. She scolded herself aloud for not taking the shot, but Daryl assured her she'd have ample chance to rectify it.

  Dean joined the two quickly, noting he needed target practice after missing a shot.

  The trio met with the rest of the group, who after a brief conversation seemed to agree they'd be following the fight back to Woodbury.

  But first, they'd check on the others.

  Vex entered Cellblock C, watching Beth enter first with Judith. The woman smiled warmly as Rick kissed his daughter's forehead, but her face fell as she saw her daughter.

  "Zep?" The woman questioned, hurrying to the girl, "Baby, you okay?"

  Zeppelin lifted her eyes to her mother, a blank stare on a face normally so bright.

  Vex craned her neck to look at Rick, who seemed just as concerned as her.

  "Dad, we're coming to Woodbury."

  Vex creased her brow, wrapping Zeppelin up in her arms before turning to face the boy.

  "Carl," Rick sighed, running a hand over his face.

  "Dad, I did my job out there," Carl said. "Just like all of you. Took out one of the Governor's soldiers."

  Vex's stomach churned.

  "One of his soldiers?" Hershel said, "A kid runnin' away? He stumbled across us."

  "He drew on us," Carl argued.

  "He was putting his gun down," Zeppelin whispered.

  Carl looked at the girl, shaking his head.

  "He drew on us," He repeated, "We're going, Zep, come on."

  "Zeppelin needs a minute, thank you, Carl," Vex said, standing quickly, "Come on."

  Zeppelin watched Carl as her mother lead her away, bile rising in her throat as Carl turned away from her.

  "Mom. . ."

  Vex rolled her lips, leading Zeppelin right past the concerned looks of the group around her.

  "He was putting his gun down," Zeppelin repeated quietly after a moment. "But. . ."

  Vex entered a cell, gently guiding Zeppelin to take a seat on the bed, before crouching in front of her.

  "Carl's my best friend, I. . . I just. . ." Zeppelin said quietly, "I don't--"

  "Hey, hey," Vex said, brushing the hair out of Zeppelin's face, "Breathe for a second, babydoll."

  Zeppelin swallowed her bile, nodding, attempting to slow her racing heart.

  Her best friend had just killed someone right in front of her.

  She was struggling to see why he'd done it, or how he was capable.

  It wasn't a walker. It was a person. A person who was surrendering.

  "Am I weak?"

  "Why would you think that?"

  "I-- I just don't think. . ." Zeppelin said slowly, "I don't think I could do what he did."

  "That doesn't make you weak," Vex said, "Not killing someone does not make you weak."

  "But. . . but those people were dangerous--"

  "Listen to me, Zeppelin," Vex said, "You are strong and smart and brave. You are so brave, not because you're not scared, but because you keep going right past that fear."

  Zeppelin blinked back tears.

  "You haven't been weak a day in your life. What Carl did. . . he made the wrong choice, and he has to carry that weight now."

  "Does that mean I can't be friends with him anymore?"

  Vex had to think about that answer.

  "It means you have to decide if that choice showed you his character, or if you know that choice wasn't him."

  Zeppelin let out a shaky breath, tears beginning to fall.

  "But whatever you decide, you don't kill a person unless your back is against a wall," Vex said, still quietly, but stronger, "Hunting animals, killing walkers, that's different. It's surviving. But killing a person, a human being, Zeppelin. . . that is something you can never take back. It's something you will carry with you forever. So make sure you can live with yourself before you pull the trigger."

  Vex lifted a hand to the back of her daughter's neck, pulling the girl's forehead to rest on her own.

  "Thank you for telling me," Vex whispered.

  Zeppelin closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks.

  Daryl approached the cell slowly, lingering when he saw the scene before him.

  "Vex," He called after a moment, earning both girls' attention. "You comin', or you stayin'?"

  Vex looked to her daughter, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

  "Will you be okay, baby?" She asked gently, "Uncle Dean can go and I can stay if you want me here."

  Zeppelin shook her head, wiping her tears.

  "I wanna go with you," Zeppelin said, "I wanna-- I wanna be brave, Mom."

  "Oh, honey, you are so brave," Vex said, shaking her head, "But this time-- this time isn't a trip for you and me. Especially after what you just saw--"

  "What if there are good people there?" Zeppelin sniffled, "In that town?"

  Vex said nothing, pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead.

  "Then we will have a choice to make," Vex said, standing, "You'll be okay?"

  Zeppelin nodded hesitantly, hugging her mother.

  Daryl nodded to the woman as she fell in step with him, the two joining Rick and Michonne outside.

  "She okay?" Rick questioned, though all three awaited the answer nervously.

  "She will be," Vex sighed, "She's. . . she's rattled. The first people she's lost have all happened within a year. Now her best friend shot someone right in front of her and she's trying to forgive him for it."

  Rick squeezed the woman's shoulder, giving her a sympathetic look.

  And hell, if anyone could offer sympathy, it was him.

  "So, what's the plan?" Vex said, crossing her arms, "Sneak in like we did last time?"

  "I doubt that's possible now," Rick said, "We have to be ready for the fight."

  "Fine by me," Daryl said gruffly.

  "Come on," Vex said, "Let's finish this."

  Daryl nodded, climbing onto his motorcycle and Vex joined him without a word. Rick and Michonne climbed into the pickup truck, the group heading toward the gate.

  Vex looked over her shoulder, watching as Carol, Beth, Glenn, Maggie, and Dean manned the gate and took down any walkers that got too close.

  Part of her was sad she didn't see her daughter waving goodbye.

  The other part understood why Zeppelin needed time by herself.

WORD COUNT : 3555