Leah Grimes

Chapter 121

I watched as Negan dropped down and then waited a moment before I stepped towards him. "Where's Maggie?" He shook his head, "she was right behind me I swear." I closed my eyes sitting down on one of the train seats. "Is she dead?" I asked. Negan looked away, "I don't know Leah."

"For fuck sakes." I whispered putting my head in my hands. They were shaking and I was doing my best to steady them. "She'd want us to keep moving forward. We need to get that door open, we'll go from car to car until we get to the front." Gabriel insisted.

I bit my lip watching as Negan used his hatchet to pry open the next car door. "Be ready everyone." We all pushed through the next door, and I heard a loud banging coming from under my feet. There was a door latch here. "That's SOS code." Alden said. Quickly I knelt down opening the hatch and smiled as I saw Maggie's head pop up through the door. "You're alive?" I whispered. She nodded, "you bet."

I watched as she marched over to Negan slamming her gun across his face. "I slipped, Negan saw. He left me there to die." I watched as one of the men from Maggie's community lifted him up and slammed him against the train wall, "you tried to kill her." Negan shook his head, "no, I just didn't help her. Big difference. Two seconds ago she was talking about killing me." Another woman looked at Maggie, "you nod, it happens." I was waiting for a reaction from Maggie when we were all distracted by a banging in the next cart. "Help me." It was the boy from Hilltop, "Help. Please." Alden banged on the door, "how'd you get in there?" He looked behind him, "we got lost in the tunnels, there's walkers everywhere. I got a door open on the other end." Gabriel raised his eyebrow as we heard growls, "did you close it?" He shook his head, as walkers started to fill into the car he was in. This guy had to be around my age, maybe even a year younger. "Help me please."

Maggie stopped them, "if we open that door than they'll all get in." Alden stared at her, "he's right there." She nodded, "I know he is." Alden scoffed, "to hell with you." I watched as he jumped forward doing his best to open the door, I was secretly praying he would get it open because I didn't want to watch this kid die.

One of Maggie's men pushed me aside and pulled Alden off the door. The boy held his face up against the window, "Maggie," he whispered. "OPEN THE DOOR. Look I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please just give me another chance. I'll be better. Please." I couldn't listen to his cries.

Maggie sighed, "we don't have the amo to clear them." I took a few steps back focusing on the floor insead of the boy. "I'm sorry, I can't." Maggie told the boy.

I lifted my eyes for only a moment watching him take out his knife plunging it into his heart. Then I saw walkers hands feel their way around his body, they began tearing him apart and I turned myself completely looking at the other door. "Leah," Maggie whispered putting her hand on my shoulder. I shook it off taking a few steps back from her. "Don't," I whispered. "Just don't say anything."

I sat down on one of the train seats pulling my knees to my chest. I saw Alden point to the seat beside me and I moved over so he could fit. He nudged me when that boys body started throwing itself against the door as a walker and I felt tears well up in my eyes. Everyone else looked at the boy for only a moment and then looked away. "You guys don't wanna look at him, why?" Alden asked them. Gabriel scoffed, "all that is, is the shape of a man who died a coward." Alden nodded, "that's one take. No one deserves to die like that, that's the worst way to die."
Maggie shook her head, "that's not the worst way to die, not even close."

I gave Alden a small nod, so that he'd know I agreed with him and then I listened as Maggie told us a story about frail women she found. When she was done I could tell everyone else had taken something from the story but I hadn't. "Maggie everyones been through shit, and seen shit. We're supposed to be a community, a family. That's what we became over the past five years while you were gone. We had to mend, but we put ourselves together piece by piece. And family fights for family. We had time to save that boy, and we've don't shit like this before. If that was me, would you have done the same thing, because I can't imagine a world where I'd do that to anyone who put their life in my hands, even if they were a coward." She looked as if she was gonna say something but she didn't. "I'm sorry." She finally whispered. "I did it for our people."

I watched as the door was starting to give from the walkers pushing in on it. "Looks like it wouldn't have mattered either way. Those walkers are getting into
our cart anytime now." I stood up grabbing my machete and standing a fair bit back. Gabriel stood in the centre with a shot gun and we let him shoot until that gun ran out of bullets. He then grabbed a machine gun which also only had a small amount of amo. When that was gone, Maggie and another woman used their bows.