Janie's Got A Gun (A 'The Walking Dead' Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Rick.

"Maggie!" Jesus called and she quickly slid a crow bar into her bag. "I didn't realise you were back from camp."
"I'm heading back now." She replied. "I was just grabbing some stuff."
"Like a crow bar?" He asked angrily and she sighed.
"I have to make things right." She replied sternly as she walked towards the Hilltops gates and he followed. "I'm not asking you to agree with me."
"There was a time I did." Jesus replied and she stopped and turned to look at him. "Negan deserved to die when it ended, I just don't want you to do something you regret."

"Where are you going?" Janie asked Daryl as he rushed about the tent.
"Out." He replied as he picked up a jerrycan and shook it before throwing it back down when he realised it was empty.
"I gathered." She rolled her eyes at his vague answer.
"Alexandria." He said as he laced up his boots.
"Alexandria?" She asked. "What's in Alexandria."
"You know exactly what's in-"
"Negan?" She interrupted him. "Youre killing Negan? That's what you're telling me?"
"Mhm."
"You can't." She said and Daryl turned to look at her, his breathing heavy.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Carl said-"
"I don't give a damn what Carl said!" Daryl growled as he stepped closer to her. "You need to think for yourself girl."
Before she could say another word, Daryl had left the tent and got on his bike, and before she could stop him, he was gone. She turned back to the tent and kicked the pile of empty oil cans that littered the floor. She huffed and looking up, out of the tents opening to see Jerry sat atop a horse.
"Jerry." She panted. "Give me your horse."
"No can do." He replied shaking his head and smiling.
"Well..." She hesitated as she desperately thought for a moment. "Let me get on the back."
"I'm sorry dude." He replied. "I've got stuff to do." He raised two fingers to his forhead and saluted before riding away.
"Shit!" Janie whispered to herself.

"Hilltop to Relay 1. Hilltop to Relay 1." Jesus's voice came through the radio.
"What's going on?" Rick asked.
"Maggie's heading to Alexandria." Jesus replied. "You might want to stop her."
"Copy that." Rick said before lowering his radio and sighing.
"What's up?" Daryl asked as he approached Rick.
"Has your bike got fuel?" Rick asked him. "I need to get to Alexandria."

"Hey baby." Michonne spoke before kissing Judith's head. "What are you drawing?"
"Our house." Judith held up her art work, Michonne smiled warmly as she looked at the crayon house and corner sun.
"I love it." She said as one of the lookout men appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Maggie's here." He spoke.

Maggie stopped at the entrance of Alexandria's prison, her crow bar in hand.
"Get out of my way." She said calmly to Michonne who was stood in front of the door.
"It's done." Michonne said sternly.
"Because Rick decided it was?" Maggie asked, her voice shaking. "You were there, Michonne. You saw what Negan did."
"You think Glenn would want this?" Michonne asked. "For you to go through me to get to him."
"I don't know what he'd want." Maggie yelled. "But the one thing I had was knowing I was going to see his murderer die and you took it from me." Michonne just shook her head stubbornly. "If he'd butchered Rick in front of you instead of Glenn, if you had a child to raise alone because of him, he would've been dead a long time ago and you know it."
Michonne wiped the tears from her face as she dug in her pocket and pulled out a key, then she gently placed it into Maggie's hand and stepped to the side.

Janie left her tent to see the camp empty, the only living thing left was Rick's horse. A large, white stallion that was trotting around camp, keeping an eye on things.
"Hey." Janie cooed, reaching her hand out to stroke the horses nose. "Where's Rick?"

"Pull over!" Rick yelled and Daryl's bike came screeching to a halt. "You missed the turn off." He said sternly as Daryl let the bike fall to the ground with a thud. "What is this?"
"You know exactly what this is." Daryl replied. "This time, man, it's gonna go the way it's supposed to."
Rick pulled the gun from his holster and Daryl hit it out of his hand letting it fall to the ground, then he pushed Rick hard in the chest causing to pair to tumble to the floor and roll down a hill. The pair grunted in pain as they stood up and dusted off their clothes as they realised where they were. A hole, about 12ft deep.
"You set this up too?" Rick spat. "You know what keeping Negan alive means to us."
"I know what seein' him dead means to Maggie." Daryl replied. "Your ass wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for Glenn. You wouldn't have found your family and you sure as fuck wouldn't have found any of us."
"I think about that every damn day." Rick growled. "But I've only done what I had to do."
"Well she's doin' what she has to do." Daryl replied. "Keepin' Negan alive is givin' all those Saviours hope that it'll return to what it was."
"If Negan dies he becomes a Martyr." Rick continued. "The war was for nothing. Every person who died, died for nothing." Rick's lip quivered and tear ran down his cheek as he tried to talk. "Carl..." He whispered. "Carl died for nothing."
"What about the rest of us, huh?" Daryl asked, his voice breaking. "I'd die for you and I would've died for Carl but you've got to let him go."

Janie came to a stop and looked down the dirt track in front of her, just ahead of her was the bridge that work had just finished on and just ahead of that was Alexandria. She climbed down from Rick's horse and patted it on the back.
"Stay here." She whispered to it. "I'll come back for you."

Maggie unlocked the door of Alexandria's prison and stepped inside to see a cell with wrought-iron bars. Inside was Negan, his beard alot bushier than the last time she'd seen him. He chuckled.
"She just gave up the keys, huh?" He spoke. "It's a shame."
"Get on your knees." Maggie said sternly and Negan just chuckled some more as he took as step towards her.
"I remember you screaming in that clearing." He said as if he was reminiscing on good times. "I remember how much I broke you, breaking open your husbands head like I did-"
"Glenn." She interrupted him. "His name was Glenn. Get on your knees."
"Glenn." He whispered. "I cracked open his skull and popped out his goddamn eyeball. I bashed his big, beautiful brains into the ground over and over while you and his little friends watched." Negans smile stretched across his face and his eyes flashed brightly as Maggie slid her key into the lock on his cell door. "I used to say I don't enjoy killing. That was a lie." Negan finally got to his knees as Maggie opened the door and stepped towards him. "Get to it." Maggie gripped the crow bar until her knuckles turned white before slowly letting it slip out and hit the floor with a clang. "What are you doing?" Negan asked. "Kill me." Maggie grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to his feet before throwing him hard against the concrete wall behind him, he fell to the floor in a pathetic heap and sobbed. "Please." He spoke. "Please kill me."
"Why?" Maggie yelled. "Why should I?"
"So I can be with my wife!" He yelled back. "So I can be with Lucille."
"Get back in your cell." Maggie whispered as he continued to plead. "I came to kill Negan but you're already worst than dead."

Daryl grabbed ahold of a thick root that was growing out of the wall of the hole they were in and lifted himself up, his arms shook as he pulled himself back onto the bank and then reached his hand in to help Rick too.
They were both back on the surface when they heard a chorus of growls behind them. The pair spun around to see twenty odd walkers stumbling towards them and more would appear if they didn't kill them quickly. Daryl and Rick pulled their knives out and started to stab and slash at the walkers but, as suspected, more were coming. Suddenly there was a neigh and a white horse appeared from behind the trees, Rick sighed and patted his horse before turning back to Daryl.
"You go back to camp." He spoke as he hoisted himself up onto the horse. "I'll lead them away." Daryl nodded.
"Take them to the bridge." He replied. "It won't hold and they'll all get washed out to sea."

Janie looked up at the sunlight breaking through the thick leaves of the trees, the sun illuminated the trunks making them glow.
"Woah." She whispered as she ran her fingers down the jagged tree bark and admired it's golden colour. Suddenly a branch snapped behind her and she spun around rapidly to see nothing there. She exhaled in relief as the sound of leaves crunching on the ground filled her ears. She turned back to the tree to see Daryl leaning against it, a half smoked cigarette sat limply between his lips.
"What're you doin' out here?" He asked as he dropped the cigarette on the floor and stamped it out with his booted foot. "You followin' me?"
"So what if I am?" Janie replied, her eyes narrowing at her uncle.
"It's Maggie you should be followin'." He continued. "Not me. Negan's probably dead by now."
"Why are you doin' this?" Janie whispered. "Why can't you just leave things be?"
"I can't." Daryl whispered back.
"You were happy leaving things be when I was stuck at home." She snapped and Daryl just stared at her, his mouth agape for a moment.
"Jane-"
"I always dreamt that one day we'd pack up our stuff and run away." She continued but he wasn't listening.
"Shut up." He said, looking past her.
"What?"
"Shut up." He repeated and she spun around to see the bridge just through the trees. There was a large herd of walkers approaching it and stood on the bridge covered in blood was Rick. Instantly Janie pulled the crossbow from off of her back and aimed at the walkers at the front of the heard. She shot a few of them before turning to Daryl.
"Why aren't you helping?" She panted.
"The bridge won't hold." He replied.
"What if it does?" She argued. "Help me!" Daryl sighed before grabbing his crossbow too.
They continued shooting and by now the herd was half way across the bridge and there was no sign of the bridge giving way. Suddenly Rick pulled his gun from his holster and held it in front of him, not at the walkers but at a box on the floor.
"What's he doing?" Janie asked. "What's in the box?"
"Dynamite." Daryl replied as Rick pulled the trigger and the bridge exploded into a ball of light.

- Princexiero xx