Karma's a bitch {Daryl Dixon}

82 || Not Tomorrow Yet

We pull into Alexandria and roll to a stop. Rick told us that we need to meet at the church with everybody.

I help Rick and everyone load the food I to the pantry. Olivia writes down everything we bring inside and soon enough, it's time for the meeting.

"And we can work with the Hilltop. Maggie hammered out a deal. We're getting food-eggs, butter, fresh vegetables. But they're not just giving it away. These Saviors, they almost killed Sasha, Daryl, and Abraham on the road. Now, sooner or later they would've found us, just like those wolves did, just like Jesus did. They woulda killed someone or some of us. And then they would try to own us. And we would try to stop them. But by then, I'm that kind of fight, low in food, we could lose. This is the only way to be sure, as sure as we can get, that we win. And we have to win. We do this for the Hilltop, it's how we loop this place. It's how we feed this place. This needs to be a group decision. If anybody objects, here's your chance to say your price." Rick says

Everyone looks around, looking at Gabriel then everyone else. Morgan stands up and we all turn to face him.

"You're sure we can do it? We can beat them?" Morgan asks

"What this group has done, what we've learned, what we've become, all of us-Yes, I'm sure."

"Then all we have to do is just tell them that," Morgans says

"Well, they don't compromise," Rick argues

"This isn't a compromise. It's a choice you give them. It's a way out, for them and for us." Morgan says

"We try and talk to the Saviors, we give up our advantages, our safety. No, we have to come for them before they come for us. We can't leave them alive."

"Where there's life, there's a possibility."

"Of them hitting us."

"We're not trapped in this. None of you are trapped in this." Morgan says to everyone in the church

"Morgan...they always come back."

"Come back when they're dead, too."

"Yeah, we'll stop them. We have before." Rick says

"I'm not talking about the walkers."

"Morgan wants to talk to them first. I think that would be a mistake, but it's not up to me. I'll talk to the people still at home. I'll discuss it with the people on guard now, too, but who else wants to approach the Saviors, talk to the first?" Rick says to all of us.

Aaron stands up.

"What happened here, we won't let that happen again. I won't." He says looking around the room

"Well, it looks like it's settled. We know exactly what this is. We don't shy from it, we live. We kill them all. We don't all have to kill. But if people are gonna stay here... they do have to accept it." Rick says marching out of the church.

-time skip-

"Do you really want to go out there and fight and kill?" Morgan asks me

"I've changed Morgan, you can thank my past."

"You said yourself that you would only kill if it were dire. To only hurt if they needed 'Karma.' You said that yourself."

"I was 12. I'm 37 now and the world has ended. Of course, no one is going to stay the same. Even you changed, Morgan."

He stops and looks down for a minute. He thinks about what he's going to say next.

"How many people have you killed?"

"Morgan-"

"How many."

I look down at my shoes that are covered in blood and dirt. I don't want to answer.

"...86," I mumble

"What?"

"86," I say louder

"You really want to add to that list?" Morgan says ashamed

I turn on my heel and go back to my house.

As soon as I get into my house there's a knock on the door. My eyes are watery and I'm on the brink of tears.

I open the door and there stands Daryl.

"Everything alright?" He asks

"I can't do this," I say covering my face

I sigh.

"I've killed too many. So many. I don't know who I am anymore." I say, my eyes watering even more than before

"You can do this. And your still the only one I love." He says

He plants a warm kiss on my lips. He pulls away with a sad face.

"But if you really want to, stay guard. Either way, I know you'll be safe."

"Ok," I say giving him another kiss.

-time skip-

We drive down the road and stop by an old rusty car. We all pile out. I told Daryl and Rick that I wanted to stay behind. Daryl told Rick why so I didn't have to.

Glenn and Heath come back with a walker's head.

"We're gonna look around, try to get a feel for how many people are in there. We like how it looks, we go in. A couple hours before dawn. The guards outside'll be tired. Everyone inside'll be sleeping. We don't like what we see, we head back, we make a new plan. They don't know who we are. We'll keep Jesus in the shadows. This is how we eat. We roll out at midnight." Rick says

-time skip-

I watch from the woods as everything happens.

They exchange the head, one man goes inside, Daryl kills the remaining guard, everyone removes the body, they bring out the man, Michonne kills the other guard and they all go in.

I wait outside for everything to go into play. I hold my gun ready in case anything happens.

Soon an alarm goes off. I shift my weight on my feet. I don't know whether to go and help or to run.

I pull up my bandana and ready my gun.

Gunfire springs from the building. It sounds like someone is lighting fireworks.

I move around, panicked. Daryl could be hurt or worse.

I shoot down some of the people trying to escape.

87

88

A sharp stun pierces my neck. I swing the but of my gun around and make contact with someone. They drop a taser and hold their head.

Someone else grabs my arms and ties my hands together. They grab my ponytail and yank my head back so they can whisper something in my ear.

"You're so dead." They say