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

53- Permanent solution

"Everything we brought back will only last us a week?" Alden shook his head. "All that work for barely anything."

"That's why we have a new plan." Maggie began.

"Yeah, there's more food in that base. I'm sure of it. And we can clear out those walkers. if we just-"

She shook her head. "We're not going there again, it still won't be enough. We'll end up facing the exact same problem not a week but a month later. We need a permanent solution." She objected.

"The walls are unstable. They're going to fall. We'll need to fix those walls first. Make sure everyone here is safe and then we can go for that permanent solution." He scratched his chin. "What even is this permanent solution?"

"Meridian." She replied.

"You mean the community that was slaughtered and we took in?" He cocked his brow. "They said they didn't even see The Reapers coming and once you saw them you were dead already. And you want to go after the people that did that?"

"When you and Daryl were out there only one of them came for you." She continued. "That makes me think there aren't many of them. And if there aren't many of them we can take them."

"It might've been just the one but he got way too close to killing me." He shot back, before he realized what he said.

"What!?" Her voice snapped. "The hell do you mean?"

He bit his lip. He knew he'd said too much already and now there was no way to go back. "I went after the guy on my own. I thought I had it. But I didn't, I walked right into a trap he set up. I dangled upside down from my ankle, thought it was over for me. I'm only alive because Daryl shot a bolt through his head in time."

"And you didn't tell me, why?" She asked as she grabbed his arms tightly and gave him a stern look.

"Because you have enough to worry about already. I didn't want you to worry unnecessarily. I wasn't injured." He sighed. "But these people are dangerous. They're skilled beyond belief."

"We're gonna have to risk it." She insisted. "I want you to come too. You're one of the few people that has faced them. You have experience with going on runs and you're part of our militia. I need you with me on this one."

"This might very well be a suicide mission." He objected. "I'm fine with putting my life on the line. But both of us? At the same time?" He shook his head. "I'm not comfortable with that."

"We're going to have to risk it or we will all starve."

He sighed. He knew she was right. "When do we leave?"

"Within the hour."

—

They had only taken people who volunteered to go on their run to Meridian. Everyone within the group knew they might die. Well, everyone who wanted to come plus Negan because they needed someone to guide them through DC. Cutting through the city would cut off a lot of travel time.

That's why Laura had decided to come. To keep the peace. Or at least keep people from bashing Negan's brains in. Gage had somehow managed to talk everyone into letting him join. Elijah and a bunch of others from Meridian had joined as well, wanting to reclaim their home. Gabriel, Carl and Daryl had joined as well, even Dog had. And lastly Rose had managed to talk Alden into letting her join.

Rain started to pour down on them around sundown, stealing the last bit of -light away. It didn't take long before they were soaking wet and shivering. The rain turned

into a thunderstorm and they knew they needed to find shelter fast. But finding shelter meant losing time. And Maggie was hellbound on pushing on. She had final say as elected leader.