Dead Man Walking

lxxxii.

It's been a few months since Hunter watched the bridge blow up. Months since Rick died and months of not finding his body. It's been a week since Hunter was at the Hilltop and yelled at Maggie. Weeks since he last saw her. But his main focus now wasn't making friends or keeping friendships it was finding his brother.

"He's not out here," Hunter says as he walked over to Michonne, she was showing now. And it only hurt Hunter even more. Rick wouldn't be able to meet his kid, "I followed this to the ocean and back. Nothing's there either. Are you okay?"

"This one's been kicking the shit out of me every morning at 4," Michonne told him with a slight smile, "Can't sleep, anyways. Judith misses you, you know? She asks about you all the time. It's been a while since you've been to Alexandria."

"I"m just trying to find him. I'll be back for good when I find something."

"Plenty of reasons to come back," Michonne said, "Finding something doesn't have to be one of them."

Hunter averts his eyes, "Daryl and I might be the only ones out looking. Seems like you're gonna give birth real soon."

"You don't need to do that."

"I can't stop looking. I won't."

Michonne sighed, "He wouldn't want this. You don't have to stop looking but you should come back home. To your family. To Judith, to Rosita. To everyone, you're leaving behind. I want this baby to know their uncle."

"They will. I promise."

"What's going on?" Hunter asks as he walks down the stairs to meet up with Michonne and Aaron.

"Daryl's at the gate."

"And you didn't let him in?" Michonne asks.

"He's not alone."

Hunter jogs ahead and climbs up the tower in front of the gate. He looks down to see Daryl, Henry, the girl they found and Connie, "Henry's hurt. You were closest. I wouldn't have come. We had no other choice."

Hunter nods toward the girl, "And what about her?"

"She's with us," Henry answers as he leans against his stick and Daryl nods his head in agreement.

Hunter turns to Laura, Michonne, and Aaron. Aaron slightly shakes his head, "We can't trust her."

"I trust Daryl," Hunter says before looking down at the people who were on gate duty, "Open the gate!"

Michonne had convinced Hunter to come back with her. The gate opened and he saw Scott and Rosita with a bunch of kids and a woman with them. Hunter averts his eyes from Rosita as Scott starts talking.

"Found them wandering not far from here. One of them's hurt."

Hunter looks over at the woman Rosita was holding up. A flash of realization went through the woman's eyes, "Oh, my God...Michonne?"

"Jocelyn?"

_____

"So, where to now?" Michonne asks Daryl, "Straight to the Kingdom?"

"Well, probably not straight, but, yeah..." Daryl says as he washes his hands clean of all the blood, "Carol should know."

Connie holds up a notepad where she's written 'This wasn't the plan but I'd do it all again.' She flips the page, 'With different shoes.'

Hunter chuckles but it slowly comes to a stop as he sees some of his people coming back from searching for any of the skins. Michonne noticed it too and the two turned but Connie stopped them. She signed to them, she thanked them for everything.