my tears ricochet

Chapter Fifty Nine

The walls of Alexandria made Ivy think of Oscar. Someone had engineered them to stand, solid compared to the flimsy fence that wrapped around the prison. If they had the time and resources, he might have made something similar. He might have made something better, Ivy thought loyally.

Daryl nudged her lightly towards the centre of the group with Beth, Abraham falling at their heels. When she looked at him she couldn't properly read his expression. Daryl gazed at the gate and Ivy couldn't tell if he trusted what was on the other side. Maybe he thought it was better than the side they currently stood on.

Someone slid it open and Beth jumped slightly when it hit the far end. During the trip from the barn to Alexandria, she had started hearing a ringing again. The rest of the world was muted, frustratingly out of her reach. Everyone swung around to the bushes and Ivy followed a beat behind, her gun in hand.

One of Daryl's arrows caught the possum. He hoisted his game up by the tail and she made a face, turning away in time to see a man come around the side of the gate. Whoever he was, he looked at Daryl with open dislike and Ivy instinctively hated him, that clean face twisted up into a hint of a sneer.

"Brought dinner," Daryl said, swinging it slightly.

Aaron nodded his head. "It's okay," he told the man, as if trying to sooth the aggravated edges. "Come on in, guys."

They were stepping across a welcome sign and straight into a manicured landscape of suburbia. She could see gardens of flowers growing along the green space, pavement cutting ribbons through the neighbourhood. Ivy hesitated on the edge of what was and wasn't Alexandria, looking back to Daryl. With his free hand he gently pointed towards his eyes, instructing her to keep watch for anything suspect.

"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons. Stay, you hand them over," the stranger instructed them, looking over their numbers like he was counting up targets.

Rick shook his head. "We don't know if we want to stay."

It was strange, entering into another group. They had spent so much time seeking out safe refuge while they plotted their moves, migrating from the farm to the prison and then from Terminus to Washington. They had never gone looking for others to settle in with, wary of extending trust where it might turn into regret.

"Ir's fine, Nicholas," Aaron interjected.

But Rick kept talking. Ivy frowned, looking at the man intently as he spoke so the words wouldn't slip past. "If we were gonna use them, we would have started already."

Daryl lightly tugged her back some, angling himself so he was between her and Rick. New lines of loyalty were being drawn up and she wasn't quite sure where they all fit anymore. All Ivy really knew that she could trust was Daryl. And Maggie, Glenn, and Beth.

"They can keep them until they speak to Deanna."

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham cut in, standing slightly in front of Rosita. The woman frowned at his protective stance but kept put, once hand resting on his back gently like a reminder.

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place. Rick, why don't you start?"

They were being separated, Ivy realized with a hollow pang of fear. They would divide them up and lock them somewhere that the light would never find again. She caught Daryl's wrist so she could check for her name and he caught her hand, squeezing it lightly.

.

Rick had gone first, followed by Carl. Abraham had lined them up in some order, staggering the younger members between the heavier hitters. Aaron watched silently as he order Daryl behind Carl and placed Tyreese directly after Ivy, the undercurrent of anxiety teetering them to the line up.