found lands → the walking dead ³

[ 027 ] sinners.

FOUND LANDS.

chapter twenty-seven, sinners.
[ season six, episode twelve ]

WHEN THEY RETURN TO Alexandria, Rick gives the order for everyone to meet at the church in an hour.

Jesus, Cori, and Andy all return with them.

Clouds gather overhead. Thunder booms in the distance. It's the perfect setting to the mood that has settled over Alexandria.

As time passes, Odessa sits on the porch. She sits and she thinks. Whatever this great new world is, it's scary. There are other people out there. Some bad and some good.

The good are people like Jesus and Cori. They helped Rick's people work out a deal for food. Though their part of the dead requires violence and bloodshed, it's nothing they haven't seen before. It's another walk in the park for them.

The bad people are the ones like Negan and the Saviors. They take half of the Hilltops stuff. Half of everything. Their leader beat Cori's brother to death right in front of her and her kid brother. Jesus even said she was on her hands and knees, begging with the man. He was fourteen. The same age as Carl.

Would Negan kill Carl?

There's a simple one-word answer. And it's yes.

"Hey," a voice says. Odessa looks up from her hands and sees Maggie walks towards her.

"Hey." Odessa replies as Maggie sits beside her. Maggie holds the ultrasound picture. Odessa looks away from it.

"Glenn told me about how you reacted to the news." Maggie starts. Odessa sucks in a breath. "You're scared. I understand... so am I."

Odessa forgot. Maggie was present when Lori died. Maggie was the one that delivered Judith. She blamed herself for killing their mother.

How could Odessa be heartless enough to forget that Maggie watched Lori die?

"I'm sorry," Odessa whispers.

"No, it's okay." Maggie rubs her back. Then she draws the younger girl into her side. Odessa allows her head to fall onto Maggie's shoulder. "I miss her."

Odessa knows she's talking about Beth.

"Me, too." Odessa admits. Beth is still a hard topic. The two still mourn her. Some days are harder than others. Some days they wake up and go about their lives. And other they wake up and stay in their beds all day, crying and wiping their snotty noses.

Maggie knows she isn't Beth. She knows she could never fill that hole in Odessa's heart. But she can be there when Odessa needs her the most.

She'll always be there to pull Odessa out of the water when she's drowning. And yet every time she does, Odessa always seems to sink lower the next time she goes under.

An hour passes. Everyone gathers in the church, waiting for Rick to join them.

Theo and Cole sit side-by-side in the back of the church. Odessa sits by Abraham oddly enough. Her arms are crossed over her chest.

The doors to the church opens. Rick walks in. All eyes go to him. And so the next chapter of their lives begin.

"We can work with the Hilltop." Rick starts. He looks around at his people that have gathered. "Maggie hammered out a deal. We get 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 and Cori did. They woulda killed someone or some of us. And then they would try to own us. And we would try to stop them."