Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 76 (The Hilltop)

Early the following morning, Daryl and CJ were downstairs to the kitchen. They were sat across from each other at the table, talking quietly when they heard a commotion by the stairs. They both immediately shot up and grabbed their guns, rushing to see what was happening.

They were greeted with the scene of Jesus sat on the stairs and Carl stood behind him, holding a gun to the back of his head. CJ and Daryl also pointed their guns at him, making sure he didn't try to run.  Alerted by the noise, Abraham, Glenn and Maggie appeared behind them on the stairs with their weapons.

Rick and Michonne came out of Rick's bedroom; Rick was shirtless and fixing the zipper on his jeans, whilst Michonne was straightening her tank top.

Carl looked away from Jesus and furrowed his eyebrows at his father.

"Carl..." Rick mumbled awkwardly, clearly feeling caught out.

The entire group was slightly confused by the sight and CJ gasped quietly. "I knew it."

"Not now," Daryl mumbled.

"Right," she nodded, focussing on Jesus again.

Michonne held her hand up to the group at the bottom of the stairs. "It's okay," she said, and they hesitantly lowered their weapons.

"You said we should talk," Rick muttered. "Let's talk."

The group headed downstairs, and Jesus sat at the head of the table as they all looked at him. Daryl paced around the table with his gun in his hand whilst the rest either sat at the table or stood away and listened as Rick questioned Jesus. CJ leant back against the wall behind Rick, one hand hovering over the gun in her holster.

"So, how'd you get out?" Rick asked.

"One guard can't cover two exits. Or third floor windows," Jesus replied. "Knots untie, locks get picks. Entropy comes from order, right?"

"Right," Daryl grumbled, moving to stand beside CJ.

"I checked out your arsenal," Jesus continued. "I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. You're well-equipped. But your provisions are low. Very low for the amount of people you have. Fifty-four?"

"More than that," Maggie said.

"Well, I appreciate the cookie," Jesus replied. "My compliments to the chef."

"Yeah, she ain't here," Daryl said, taking a step closer to Jesus, like a warning.

Jesus sat up in his seat and looked up at Daryl. "Look, we got off to a bad start. But we're on the same side. The living side." He looked between CJ and Rick. "The three of you had every reason to leave me out there but you didn't. I'm from a place a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things, and you three looked like trouble. But I was wrong. You're good people. And this is a good place. I think our communities may be in a position to help each other."

"Do you have food?" Glenn asked.

"We've started to raise livestock," Jesus explained. "We scavenge, we grow. Everything from tomatoes to sorghum."

"Tell us why we should believe you," Rick sat forwards.

"I'll show you," Jesus replied. "We take a car; I can take you back home in a day. And you can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer."

"Wait," Maggie spoke up. "You're looking for more settlements... You mean you're already trading with other groups?"

Jesus smiled and nodded his head, sitting back in his seat. "Your world's about to get a whole lot bigger."