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

16- It should've worked

Simon yanked Alden out of the car roughly and threw him down on the ground. The rough tarmac bit painfully into his hands as he caught himself.

"Now, luckily for you, Hilltop has been chosen to keep producing for Negan." He lifted Alden up by the collar of his shirt, cutting off his air supply slightly, and drug him back to the truck. "All this wouldn't have been possible without your friend Eugene." He continued. He held Alden's hair firmly in his hand, keeping him forced on his knees with nowhere to go. Simon looked at Maggie. "Oh, you care about him? That's going to make this part a whole lot easier." He pressed her gun against Alden's temple.

"Because there's a couple ways to go for him. I could put you in this box and take you back to Hilltop. Gather everyone up and kill you in front of the whole place. Could probably figure something out for Alden as well, string him up as a sweet display there. Then we'll drag you to Sanctuary and put you on a spike. And then my people will lead the walker herd to Hilltop and pull off the same move that your people tried unsuccessfully at our place." He scoffed. "A pain in the ass for everyone concerned. Or two, we'll settle things by letting us deal with the traitor here."

He yanked Alden's hair back further and forced him high up in his knees. He looked at Maggie and managed to nod ever so slightly at her. Now all she had to do was act like she cared for him.

"No, please, don't." She begged convincingly. "He's one of us."

Alden could see the tears welling up in her eyes from his position. He never figured she'd be able to sell it that well.

"Then it's your lucky day!" Simon beamed. "Because we're going to need to kill one of you. And although I would've enjoyed breaking all his limbs and beating him to death, I'll allow him to take one for the team." He clicked the gun's safety off and Maggie clenched her eyes shut. "I'm really going to need you to see this, Maggie."

Alden was keeping it together but even he could tell that Maggie wasn't. Her breathing was fast and irregular. She was only just about able to stop herself from breaking down. At least he could die with the peace of mind that Rose would be safe and cared for. And a bullet was fast. He'd be dead before he knew it, it was a whole lot less painful than what Simon had planned for him. He closed his eyes in anticipation of what was about to happen.

The gunshot rang out. It took Alden a second to realize he wasn't dead. He was still there. Only now did he realize how uneven his heaving breaths were.

"Oh, my bad." Simon laughed. "I lied. We've got something else planned for him entirely." He chuckled to himself. "I don't even know who they decided to kill. How funny is that?"

Alden was still too startled to even move. He remained in place when Simon let go of him and walked back to Maggie. She was still doing her best to keep it together, a ragged sob escaped from her mouth. "Now, tell me I don't have to kill more people. Tell me! Now!"

"No!" She cried out. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "You don't need to do any of it, I just want to ask you a favor."

"What is that?" He asked, entertained.

"I'd like that box. To bury our man."

"Favor granted." He walked back to the truck. He and his men climbed in and drove off, driving back past the convoy again.

Jesus, Sasha and Maggie all climbed out of the car quickly as soon as they were gone. Sasha ran to the back to find out who they'd killed. Jesus went over to check up on Jerry and Maggie went to Alden instead.

"You alright?" She asked, she couldn't hide the concern in her voice. He was still shaking and didn't seem to notice her fully. He looked almost confused about how concerned she was.