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

23- Making everything run smoothly

This run had been carefully planned over weeks after Jadis informed them that the museum carried a motherload of heirloom seeds. Not only that; it had relics of the past they could use to make a better future for themselves. Most of the people that had come along had headed inside, only a few remained outside to watch the horses and stand guard.

Jesus laid back on the steps in front of the museum leisurely. His hair was tied up in a bun and he had his eyes closed, enjoying the sun. Tara was sitting next to him, bright orange sunglasses resting on her nose. She was chewing on a Red Vine, which she somehow always seemed to carry on her. Alden was sitting cross legged at the top of the steps, tapping his fingers on the rough floor beneath him rhythmically. Aaron was taking this whole thing dead serious. He stood next to the horses with a spear in his hand, repeatedly scanning the street again and again.

"You know, this is boring," Tara insisted with a sigh.

"Would you rather have us swarmed by walkers then?" Alden asked with a chuckle.

Jesus opened his eyes, "we could deal with it but I'd rather enjoy the sun."

"And I'd rather be inside actually doing something," she sighed deeply.

"It ain't that bad," Aaron insisted as he tapped the bottom of his spear against the ground. "It's slow, but it's still a job that needs to be done."

"We know. We were just messing about," Jesus told him softly, biting his lip and smiling up at him.

Aaron scraped his throat and looked away, "I knew that."

"I haven't asked you yet; but how's Gracie doing?" Alden asked to change the subject.

Aaron's face lid up. "She's growing so unbelievably fast. She has really started to babble too. Won't be long before she's talking" He paused briefly. "I didn't like to leave her behind but I know she's well cared for."

"Yeah, Maggie didn't like to leave Hershel behind either. Neither did she like me bringing up that she could stay back for once," he added with a chuckle.

Jesus sat up straight and looked up at Alden. "I offered Aaron to join in on one of my self defense classes. Wanna be his sparring partner?"

Alden rolled his eyes, "I tried it once and got kneed in the crotch straight away by Gage. Never again."

"You can trust me not to knee you in the crotch," Aaron chuckled. "But I figured Rose would've been front and cen-" The slightest shake of Jesus' head made him pause and almost immediately he realized that he'd said something wrong. He tapped the spear against the ground again. "Sorry."

Tara and Jesus had been there that day when they found her covered in blood in the woods. Back then they didn't know how much of an effect it would have on her.

"She had to bash someone's head in with a rock to protect herself," Alden explained. "At first she seemed fine, but then after the war ended and everything was built back up, she wasn't. As if everything finally landed. And with everything, I mean everything." He sighed again. "It's gonna take a bit more time before she's back at it."

"God, I'm sorry." Aaron shook his head. He got interrupted by the low growling of a couple of approaching walkers edging closer before he could continue.

"Got it." Alden stood up, pulling his knife from his waistband. In truth he just wanted an out for his frustration. Rose being messed up was his fault; he'd failed to protect her.

Only the others weren't going to let him deal with 3 walkers on his own because it was an unnecessary risk. Alden held the first walker back by its neck and stabbed it in the top of its head. He reached for the second one next to him, only for Jesus to kick it down and Aaron to jam his spear into its head. Then Alden turned to the last walker to see Tara tossing the corpse aside.