HEARTS STILL BEATING
ROCK IN THE ROAD

I was in my room. There was a knock on my door. I opened it to see Jesus. He rushed in

"Come on, we gotta go" Jesus said. I looked at him with a smile

"Finally, I've been waiting to escape this hell hole" I said. He looked at me with a smile

"Well, we better hurry" He said as we both ran out. We were heading for the bikes when we saw Joey. He was eating a sandwich before he dropped it, he put his hands in the air

"Whoa. Whoa. It's cool, I swear. Buddy, you can walk right out that back gate there, and I won't say anything to anybody. I'm supposed to be there now, but, listen, I'm- I'm just trying to get by, just like you. Please" Joey said before we watched someone hit him over the head with a pipe. I couldn't tell who it was until we had gotten closer. It was Daryl, and he was beating the shit out of this guy

"Daryl" Jesus said as Daryl grunted. That guy was unrecognizable. Daryl had fucked him up. Daryl was breathing heavily

"Daryl?" I asked. He looked at us. There was blood all over his clothes. Daryl dropped the pipe and grabbed something that he had seen on Joey

"It ain't just about gettin' by here. It's about gettin' it all" Daryl said as he held the gun before putting it away. Jesus just stared at Daryl in shock

"That's my husband" I said to Jesus

"I got the key. Let's go" Daryl said as Jesus grabbed a walkie. Daryl got on one of the motorcycles

—————

We had made it to Hilltop, when Maggie saw us, she instantly had the gates opened up. She along with Sasha and Enid were waiting for us. Maggie engulfed me in a hug. I smiled as I put my hand behind her head

"You miss me?" I asked her

"God, I didn't know if you were alive or not" Maggie said relieved

"I'm here in the flesh" I said. She then turned to Daryl

"And you're okay, too. I'm so glad" She said relieved. Sasha gave me a quick hug

"I knew you were a fighter" She told me

"Damn right. I wasn't gonna die without bringing some hell onto Negan first" I said. She grinned

"Come on, let's get you guys inside" Maggie said

—————

After we had all eaten, me and Daryl were given a place to sleep. It was just us, and it was kind of awkward. He still wouldn't look at me, or talk

"Hey, you there?" I asked. I got no response as Daryl played with a knife

"You know, I don't like it when you do this? Can you talk to me? Are you mad at me?" I asked

"Yes" He muttered out. I internally cheered

"Okay, I did something to upset you. So, what exactly did I do?" I asked

"You shouldn't.. have.. you could've.. so stupid.." Daryl muttered to himself. It really didn't make any sense

"I'm not following" I said. Daryl looked at me with tears in his eyes

"You shouldn't have done that! You could've gotten killed!" Daryl lashed out me

"Done what?!" I yelled back

"Why would you give yourself up like that?! You could've been killed!" Daryl yelled

"But I wasn't!" I yelled

"Yeah, well you just aided to our enemies with all those drugs you made" He said. I looked at him and started laughing. He looked at me confused

"What is so funny?" He asked

"You seriously thought I actually made drugs that could help them? Dude, those pills don't do anything, they're all duds" I said as I laughed. Daryl's mouth opened in shock

"How did yo-" He was cut off

"I'm a chemist at heart. Also, I did threaten to kill everyone there multiple times, so if I get caught. I'm fucked" I said

"You're such an idiot" He told me

"I'm your idiot" I said as I held his ring in my hand. He looked at it as he bit his lip. He then took it and put it on his hand

"Don't you ever do somethin' stupid like that again" Daryl told me before he engulfed me in a hug

"I'll try" I said with a soft smile as I hugged him back

—————

It was morning. Me, Daryl and Jesus had heard the gates open. We walked over to see. It was Rick, Michonne, Tara, Rosita, Carl and Taylor. When Taylor saw Daryl she sprinted towards him. She practically tackled him into a hug

"You're okay, you're okay" She said happily. Michonne rushed over to me before giving me a hug

"I underestimate you too much" She told me

"You underestimated me?" I asked with a grin

"I'm so glad you're okay" She said

"I'll be even better when we get back at those fuckers" I said. Rick saw Daryl and walked over to him. Taylor watched as the two hugged. They both cried into the other's shoulder. They were like brothers. We all smiled at the reunion. When they broke apart, Daryl pulled out Rick's python and held it out for him. Rick took it and looked at it before putting it away. All of us had smiles on our faces. We all then followed Rick into the Barrington house

—————

We were in Gregory's office. We needed his support to defeat the Saviors

"No! No way in hell. That was not the deal. You people swore you could take the Saviors out, and you failed. So any arrangement we had is now done- null and void, okay? We aren't trade partners, we aren't friends, and we never met. Hmm? We don't know each other" Gregory said before sitting down. He then looked at Rick

"I owe you nothing. In fact, you owe me for taking in the refugees, at great personal risk" Gregory said

"Oh, you were very brave staying in here while Maggie and Sasha saved this place. Your courage was inspiring" Jesus said sarcastically

"Hey, don't you work for me? Aren't we friends?" Gregory asked

"Gregory, we already started this" Rick said

"You started it" Gregory said

"We did. And we're gonna win" Rick said

"These are killers" Gregory said

"Is this how you want to live? Under their thumb, killing your people?" Rick asked

"Sometimes we don't get to choose what our life looks like. Sometimes, Ricky, you have to count the blessings you have" Gregory said

"How many people can we spare? How many people here can fight?" Maggie asked

"We? I don't even know how many people we have, Margaret. And does it even matter? I mean.. w-w-what are you gonna do? Start a platoon of sorghum farmers? 'Cause that's what we got. They grow things. They're not gonna want to fight" Gregory said

"Her name is Maggie you asshat!" I corrected. Gregory glared at me as Tara spoke up

"You're wrong. When people have the chance to do the right thing, they usually step up. I mean, people just-" Tara was cut off

"L-let me stop you before you break into song, okay? And, by the way, who would train all this cannon fodder?" Gregory asked

"I will/Give me a week" Sasha and Rosita said at the same time

"Rhetorical, okay? I don't want to know. I never want to hear another word about any of it, ever" Gregory said

"Would we be better off without the Saviors, yes or no?" Rick asked

"Yeah. Sure. Okay" Gregory said

"So, what will you do to fix the problem?" Michonne asked

"I didn't say we had a problem. You did. And what happens outside of my purview is outside of my purview" Gregory said

"What the hell, man? You either with us or you ain't. You're sitting over there talking out of both sides of your mouth" Daryl said. Gregory stood up

"Well, I-I think I've made my position very clear. And I want to thank all of you for not being here today and not having this meeting with me or- or being seen on your way out. In other words, go out the back" Gregory said. We all walked out. Rick turned and looked at Daryl

"Yeah, well, we don't need him anyway" Daryl said

"Yeah, that's right. And we have Maggie, Sasha, and Jesus here" Rick said. A door opened

"And.. Enid" Maggie said. Enid came in

"Hey, um-" She was cut off

"What's wrong?" Sasha asked

"Nothing. Just.. come outside" Enid said. We followed her outside. People were standing outside

"What's going on?" Maggie asked

"Hey. So if you don't remember, I'm Bertie. And I owe my life to you all, twice over. A bunch of us do. Enid says that you want Gregory to get us to fight the Saviors with you. Is that true?" She asked

"Yes" Maggie said

"Do you think we can win, that we could really beat them? Us?" Bertie asked

"I do" Maggie said

"Well, Enid says you could show us the way. I'm ready" Bertie said

"Me, too" A man said. The others agreed

—————

We had arrived at a community. We all got out of the car

"It's called 'the Kingdom'?" Rick asked

"Yeah. I didn't name it" Jesus said

"How much farther?" Rick asked

"Well, technically, we're already here. I mean, we're always here, but here we are- at the Kingdom. Well, it's the outer edge" Jesus said

"Hey, what the hell we waitin' on?" Daryl asked

"I'm seriously getting bored" I said

"Waiting for them" Jesus said pointing. We all turned to see two guys on horses

"Who dares trespass on the sovereign land of the-" The man cut himself off

"Oh, shit. Jesus, is that you?" The other man asked. Jesus smiled and waved. The men on the horses stopped in front of us

"Who are all these people, Paul?" A man asked

"Hi, Richard. Nice to see you" Jesus said

"It's good to see you, too. Your friends, who are they?" Richard asked

"This is Rick Grimes. He's the leader of a like-minded community. These are some of his people. We would like to request an audience with King Ezekiel" Jesus said. Richard got off of his horse and walked over

"You say they're a.. like-minded community. Like-minded how?" Richard asked

"We live, we trade, we fight the dead. Sometimes others" Jesus said. Richard nodded

"Line up" Richard said

"Okay. This is a waste of time. Come on, let's go" Daryl said

"Daryl, don't be like that" Taylor said. Daryl turned and looked at her unamused

"I agree, they talk funny. Seems interesting" I said with a grin

"Maybe you're right. The King is a busy man. And it's a dangerous world. We don't usually allow a pack of strangers to waltz through our door" Richard said

"We want to make the world less dangerous, and we are all here to show the King how serious we are about that" Michonne says

"Car stays outside. You gotta hand over your guns" Richard said

"We only have two" Rick said. He and Carl handed Richard the two guns

"Okay. Follow me" Richard said. He led us to a city. They had everything

"They have the numbers" Michonne said

"But can they fight?" Rosita asked

"Oh, they can fight" Jesus said

"Maybe" Daryl said. There were people everywhere

"Morgan?" Tara asked. We all turned to see Morgan. He smiled at us as he walked over

"Hey" He said as he and Tara hugged. They let go and he then hugged Sasha

"Hi" He said

"How do you know each other?" Richard asked

"We go back to the start" Rick said

"Well, the King will be ready to see you in a couple minutes. He has some business" Richard says

"Okay" Rick said. A couple minutes passed. A man walked up to Richard and whispered in his ear

"The King is ready to see you" Richard said. He led us all inside. Me, Daryl, Rick and Morgan stayed outside

"Did you find Carol?" Rick asked

"I did, yeah" Morgan said

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Daryl asked

"She was here, and then she left. You know, she wasn't too happy, me following her. She wanted to get away from us, from everyone. But when I found her, she was shot. It was just a graze. I got her back here. They got doctors. They're good" Morgan said

"Was it them?" Daryl asked

"It was. She had crossed with some of them, and one of them followed her, tried to kill her, but I stopped him. I killed him. I had to. Carol was here. She got help. Now she's gone" Morgan said

"That woman is always disappearing on us" I said. Rick nodded. We went inside to see a man with a staff. A tiger beside him and two men standing

"Is that real tiger, can I pet it?!" I asked. The man in the chair laughed as he grinned. We all stayed close to the exit

"Jesus!" The man I assumed was Ezekiel yelled

"It pleases me to see you, old friend" Ezekiel said

"It pleases him, indeed!" A man yelled with a beard

"Jerry" Ezekiel said side-eyeing him

"Tell me, what news do you bring good King Ezekiel? Are these new allies you've brought me?" Ezekiel asks

"Indeed, they are, Your Majesty. This is.." Jesus stopped as he looked at us realizing we were staring at the tiger

"Oh, right. I forgot to mention that-" Jesus was cut off

"Yeah, a tiger" Rick said. The tiger growled. Jesus turned as we all followed him down the aisle. This looked like a theatre.

"This is Rick Grimes, the leader of Alexandria, and these are some of his people" Jesus said

"I welcome you all to the Kingdom, good travelers. Now, what brings you to our fair land? Why do you seek an audience with the King?" Ezekiel asked

"Ezekiel- King.. Ezekiel. Alexandria, the Hilltop.. and the Kingdom- all three of our communities have something in common. We all serve the Saviors. Alexandria already fought them once, and we won. We thought we took out the threat, but we didn't know then what we know now. We only beat one outpost. We have directions to the Sanctuary. We've been told you have a deal with them, that you know them. Then you know they rule through violence and fear" Rick said. Ezekiel not only looked shocked, but pissed as he looked at Jesus

"Your Majesty, I only told the-" Jesus was cut off

"Our deal with the Saviors is not known among my people- for good cause. We made you a party to that secret when you told us of the Hilltop's own travails but we did not expect you to share-" Ezekiel was cut off

"We can help each other" Jesus said

"Don't interrupt the King" Jerry said

"We brought you into our confidence. Why did you break it?" Ezekiel asked

"Because I want you to hear Rick's plans" Jesus said. Ezekiel looked at Rick

"And what plans have you, Rick Grimes of Alexandria?" Ezekiel asked

"We came to ask the Kingdom, to ask you, to join us in fighting the Saviors, fighting for freedom for all of us" Rick said

"What you are asking is very serious" Ezekiel said

"Several of our people- good people- were killed by the Saviors, brutally" Michonne said

"Who?" Morgan asked

"Abraham and Glenn. Spencer, Olivia. Eugene was taken. They took Daryl and Y/n. They escaped. Every second he's out here, he's a target. You gonna say you were right?" Rosita asked with a smile

"No. I'm.. I'm just real sorry they're gone" Morgan said

"Negan murdered Glenn and Abraham, beat them to the death" Rick said

"Terrorized the Hilltop, set loose walkers just to make a point" Sasha said

"I used to think the deal was something we could live with. A lot of us did. But that's changing. So let's change the world, Your Majesty" Jesus said

"I want to be honest about what we're asking. My people are strong, but there's not enough of us. We don't have guns- not enough, at least. Not a lot of weapons, period" Rick said

"We have people. And weapons. If we strike first, together, we can beat them. Your Majesty, no more waiting for things to get worse beyond what we can handle. We set things right. The time is now" Richard said. Ezekiel nodded and then looked at Morgan

"Morgan, what say you?" Ezekiel asked. Morgan looked at us and then at the King

"Me?" He asked

"Speak" Ezekiel said

"People will die. A lot of people, and not just the Saviors. It.. If we can find another way, we have to. Maybe it's just about Negan- just capturing him, holding him. Maybe.." Morgan stopped himself

"The hour grows late. Rick Grimes of Alexandria.. you have given the King much to ponder" Ezekiel said

"Well, when I was a kid, uh, my mother told me a story. There was a road to a kingdom, and there was a rock in the road. And people would just avoid it, but horses would break their legs on it and die, wagon wheels would come off. People would lose the goods they'd be coming to sell. That's what happened to a little girl. The cask of beer her family brewed fell right off. It broke. Dirt soaked it all up, and it was gone. That was her family's last chance. They were hungry. They didn't have any money. She just sat there and cried, but.. she wondered why it was still there.. for it to hurt someone else. So she dug at that rock in the road with her hands till they bled, used everything she had to pull it out. It took hours. And then.. when she was gonna fill it up, she saw something in it. It was a bag of gold" Rick said. Jerry smiled

"All right" Jerry said

"The king had put that rock in the road because he knew the person who dug it out, who did something, they deserved a reward. They deserved to have their life changed for the good forever" Rick said. Ezekiel nodded

"I invite you all to sup with us and stay till the morrow" Ezekiel said

"Yeah, we need to get back home" Rick said

"I shall deliver my decree in the morn." Ezekiel said before banging his staff on the ground

—————

It was day. We all met up with Ezekiel

"This is life here. Every day. But it came at a cost. And I wanted more of this. I wanted to expand. To create more places like this. Men and women lost their limbs. Children lost their parents because I sent them into battle against the wasted when I did not need to" Ezekiel said

"This is different" Rick said

"It isn't" Ezekiel said

"It is. The dead don't rule us. The world doesn't look like this outside your walls. People don't have it as good. Some people don't have it good at all" Rick said

"I have to worry about my people" Ezekiel said which ticked me off

"You call yourself a damn king. You sure as hell don't act like one" Daryl said annoyed

"All of this.. came at a cost. It was lives, arms, legs. The peace we have with the Saviors is uneasy, but it is peace. I have to hold on to it. I have to try. Although the Kingdom cannot grant you the aid you desire, the King is sympathetic to your plight. I offer our friends Daryl, and Y/n, asylum for as long as they require it. They both will be safe here. The Saviors do not set foot inside our walls" Ezekiel said

"As nice as that is, I don't need protection. I say we just blow them all up" I said

"Yeah, no" Rick said

"How long do you think that's gonna last?" Daryl asked before walking away. The others followed him. We all walked to the gate. We stopped in front of it

"All right, open it up. We're gone" Daryl said. The gates opened and the others began to walk through

"You're not" Rick told him. Daryl looked at him

"I'm not staying here" He said

"I don't think we get a choice" I said

"Y/n is right, you have to. It's the smartest play. You know it is. Try to talk to Ezekiel. Or stare him into submission- whatever it takes. We'll be back soon" Rick said as he put his hand on Daryl's shoulder. Rick turned around and walked through the gates. He stopped and looked at us as the gates closed

(3484 words)
01/14/22

Edited: 07/11/22