Malevolent. The Walking Dead

[ 035 ] unbound

035: unbound

They had agreed to stay in Hilltop for the night. The trip back to Alexandria was too taxing for them—Joey and Finn were emotionally drained and tired. Carl agreed to stay with Joey in one of the trailers that Jesus offered to them. Joey was sitting on the edge of her bed—gripping the sheets and staring at the moon light that was pouring through the window. She hadn't had a moment to sit alone, in silence, until now. Her limbs felt weak and it was like she was floating through space. The more she stared at the wall ahead of her, the less sense everything made. It was like she was waiting for things to make sense, but it would never come. She wasn't eating—everything Carl offered to her sounded like mush. Nothing was appetizing, and she thought she would vomit it all up.

Finn had told her that he saw a map at the one satellite station of all their outposts. However, he couldn't remember it by heart and only knew there was one in Arlington. He wasn't adamant about them going after the Saviors—if anything, he rejected it no matter how many times she had urged for it since they got to Hilltop. It was risky, she knew that—but she didn't care anymore. Everything was risky, and they were going to die if they didn't try, and die if they did try.

There was a hefty knock on her door, and she flinched. It took a moment before Joey could pry her limbs from the bed, and sluggishly made her way over to the door. She flipped on a light switch to allow some of the light to pool into the dark room before opening the door—being greeted by Finn's tired face as he held a small basket in his hands. He gave her a small wave. "Hey."

Joey inhaled. "Hey." He tried to look away from her, visibly shaken from the cold. He gestured toward the small couch in the trailer. "Can I sit down?" He asked, and Joey nodded. "Yeah." She moved aside to allow him to come inside. Finn placed the basket down on the table, and sat down on the couch, arms leaned on his knees as he adjusted the hat on his head. Joey moved to sit down next to him.

"Carl wants to make sure you're eating."

Joey didn't answer for a moment, biting on her lip. "He wants to come with me."

Finn shook his head and sighed. "To have the guys we would need to do this smart, we'd need Rick to get on board. Plus, we'd be leaving Alexandria and Hilltop vulnerable." Joey stared at him, and it was obvious that Finn was trying not to look at her, because he didn't want to face her. He just wanted to talk, and it drove Joey up a wall.

"So he just gets to get away with this?" She snapped, and he shook his head, letting out a nervous laugh. "Nobody wants that."

"Yeah, well that's what is happening." She shook her head, and Finn sighed loudly. "What if we get hit by hunters? Or anything else?"

Joey narrowed her eyes. "Is this you talking or Rick?"

"It's a valid point."

"If this was me or you, Bill would be halfway through those satellite stations."

Finn sat back on the couch, placing his hands on his head. "No he wouldn't." Joey threw her hands up. "He absolutely fucking would be!"

"Look—we don't even know if there is a satellite station in Arlington, or anywhere."

"You said you saw a map at their one satellite station. You said it said Arlington, and that there were others, and that there was a main station where Negan was." Joey kept glaring at him, but he wasn't looking at her. Almost like if he did look at her, there was no going back. "Maybe that isn't right—maybe it was there to trick us."

Joey got up from the couch and paced away. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed, looking at him with worrisome eyes. He finally looked at her, and she started to tear up, especially so at the tension-filled silence. "You know what—I'm leaving tomorrow," she wiped away her tears. "With or without you."