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

12- Homecoming

They parked the cars a couple of minutes walk away from Hilltop into the garage of an old abandoned house. Sasha didn't want anything to lead back directly to Hilltop, that was simply too dangerous. Which was why she quickly went for this place, she'd forced the garage door open herself on a run a while ago. With an old dusty tarp they covered the car and closed the garage door behind them, making sure no one would ever find that car again. The sun was about to come up and the dark sky was already starting to lighten up with a rosy pink color.

Alden spotted Hilltop from a distance, or at least what he presumed to be Hilltop. A high wall made from wooden beams, all standing straight up, doomed up on top of a small hill. A roof and upper floor from some sort of large structure rose even higher than the tall wall. Each step he took closer from then on made his limbs feel heavier and heavier. He finally realized just how tired he was.

"Sashsa, think you could take my gun off me? Rose's too," Alden asked as they walked straight through a grassfield to reach the gates.

"Why? You saved my ass. I don't really trust you, but I used to trust you. I wanna trust you're still that guy; hidden behind all that shit you pulled," she frowned. "You can't draw Negan back, he knows where Hilltop is already. And besides, you're still a shit shot and I'm a faster draw."

"I'm not planning on taking risks, not more than strictly necessary. I'm fully aware that I'm walking in here as the enemy, or at least someone unknown in a very tense time. I don't want anyone mistaking me having a gun as a threat. Shit, my knife too."

"Throwing it on the ground in front of the gate is enough, I'd say," she shrugged. "It's less suspicious than you showing up unarmed with blood on your hands."

Alden looked down at his hands. He hadn't noticed the dried and cracked blood staining his fingers. He didn't know whose blood it was. It could be David's or the other guy he killed, or maybe it was from both of them.

"You should watch the blood off with your leftover water," Sasha urged as she stopped walking to give him the time to do so.

He carefully poured the water over his hands and watched most of the blood away. "Okay, I'll follow you." He let his shoulders hang and they continued their way to gate across the path.

"Sasha!? Is that you?" the guy standing on top of the gate yelled excitedly and relieved. His face turned sour almost immediately when he noticed Alden. "Who's that? Who'd you bring?"

"They broke me out and got me back here," Sasha replied.

"I'm not here to fight," Alden yelled back up to him as he threw his gun to the ground, followed by his knife. He turned to Rose and gave her a nod. She followed his example.

"Kal, could you-" Sasha waved her hand at the gate.

"Yeah, just wait here," Kal replied before she'd even finished her sentence. He disappeared behind the wall.

"Like we'd go anywhere," Alden sighed tiredly. All he wanted to do was sleep.

The gate creaked open slowly. Its weathered mechanism seemed to slow it down. Alden's jaw dropped upon seeing a recognizable face.

"Maggie?" he asked with a shaky voice. Shock kept him frozen in place; he was seeing a ghost. He shuddered and felt like he was stuck in some sort of dreamstate. This couldn't be really happening, his eyes had to be betraying him.

He was roughly shaken back into reality when Maggie stormed at him and punched him square on the jaw. He fell down on this back, his backpack cushioning his fall for the most part but keeping his back arched awkwardly. Instinctively he used his hands to protect his face for the next blow to come.