Shambles- The Walking Dead [Alden x Maggie] [1/2]

10- Lines crossed

The first person Alden ran into was Dwight. Who was standing right beside a softly crying woman.

"What the hell was that shot about?" Alden asked as he approached him. He frowned at the woman. "Yeah, I'm going to need an explanation here."

"Rick's kid, Carl, fired his gun. Something about medicine being taken or something." Dwight fiddled with his gun. "So, now Negan wants all of their guns, only they're missing two." He pointed to the woman beside him with the barrel of his gun. "That's why Oliva's here."

She whimpered softly; which both men ignored.

"You look like shit, Al," Dwight insisted.

"I just found out I lost someone." He wasn't planning on opening up. "Where's Negan?"

"Don't know," he shrugged. "He'll probably show back up here soon."

Alden shrugged his backpack off and placed it in the back of one of the nearby trucks. He headed back to Dwight. He was used to conversations without any real depth, especially with Dwight since the day his face was burned off. Both of them preferred to keep things close to their chest, both saw it as a way to protect themselves. They had learned that lesson the hard way.

"Oh, shit. Al, there you are!" Negan cheered as made his way down the street. "Walked all the way to that little graveyard to find you, and then you show up here." He paused for a second. "I'm sure Dwighty has caught you up. Rick and the prick brigade are searching for them guns. And I hope, for Olivia's sake, that they'll find them. Otherwise Dwighty is gonna have to pop a round into her," he continued just as cheerfully."

"Yeah," Alden replied because he didn't know what else to say. He knew Negan was careless with people's lives. You were never saved from being toyed with. All Alden could do was hope and wait that it would end well. He didn't want to play a part in more deaths.

He waited and eventually Rick walked up with Gabriel and Aaron trailing behind him.

"What you got for me, Rick?" Negan asked, taking a small black pouch from him. He opened it up and peaked inside. He chuckled softly. "Well, would you look at that? They were here after all," he laughed to himself again. "Funny how a little 'holy shit! Somebody's gonna die!' Lights a fire under everybody's ass."

Olivia whimpered pitifully. She'd been quite composed whilst the threat of death loomed over her. More composed than Alden had expected with the comments Negan made from time to time.

"So, tell me Rick, which one of your fine folks almost cost Olivia the rest of her days?" Negan asked, taking a threatening step closer to Rick.

He looked away, still defeated. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"No, it matters," Negan bit back, still looming over him. "See, you need to get everybody on board. Or, we just go right back to square one." He pulled one of the guns out of the pouch and stepped back. He held the gun out to Alden. "This is a glock. Seems like it would suit Rose to me. That kid has more guts than half my men anyway."

Rick stared at Alden too. He'd figured Rose had died somewhere along the way, children didn't fare well in this world. That was why he'd thought Alden looked so broken, because he'd been alone for too long. But now that he knew Rose was alive, his opinion changed. Most of his actions had been to protect her.

Alden took the gun in his hands and glared at its smooth black surface. He'd picked up a thing or two about guns, but still barely knew more than how to aim and shoot. "Ain't it a bit much for a kid?" he asked with a frown.

"Nah," Negan shook his head assertively. He waved his hand towards the van. "Wrap this up for me, will you? Can't wait to go back home."