We're The Ones Who Live | The Walking Dead (2)

Part 41 - A New Deal

"So, the slate's just wiped clean?" Aaron questioned. 

The group were gathered on the outskirts of the Commonwealth while Carol explained the new deal she'd made with Pamela. Carol paced up and down as she spoke, filling them in on every detail. Standing behind a large building, they were under a cover as the rain poured down over their heads, bouncing off of the roof. CJ sat beside Maggie on a wooden trailer as she listened, takin gin the information. 

"Debt, deaths on both sides," Carol nodded. "We get supplies, water, weapons. Pamela provides everything we need to finish rebuilding... Free and clear."

"And then what?" CJ asked, her arms folded over her chest, clothes still caked in blood from the event of the last few days. "We just get to go home?"

"That's up to everyone to decide," Carol said quietly. 

"What does Pamela get out of this?" Maggie asked. 

"Hornsby," Carol replied. "We tell the people what he did out here, back at that house where folks died. He takes the fall for it."

"So, this is about savin' her son," Daryl mumbled, saying things as they were. Pamela was willing to do whatever necessary to prevent the mob of the Commonwealth trying to call for Sebastian's arrest. Using Lance as a scapegoat was her last option.

"It's not our problem anymore," Carol shrugged. 

"We'll talk about it with our people when they get here," Annie spoke up. "There's a lot to think about on our end."

"Right, yeah," Negan mumbled. "Like how they killed most of our people."

It was silent for a moment as everyone thought over the deal they'd been provided with. 

CJ felt that if it was a legit deal, it would be perfect. She could go home, back to Alexandria with her family, and they could go back to rebuilding the lives they'd been trying to fix before the Commonwealth came into the fold. Supplies and resources would be a great help, and they wouldn't have to worry about Pamela, Lance, or any others from the Commonwealth coming after them. 

But all that was only if the deal was real. 

Looking over to her husband, CJ watched Daryl staring at a puddle on the damp concrete, deep in his thoughts. She wished she knew what he was thinking, as he seemed worried. 

"Think the most important thing is that we're together," Maggie spoke up. "I don't wanna go it alone anymore. I don't trust them, but if you say that this deal gets us back in our homes with our own rules, then I think it's worth the risk."

"I agree," CJ nodded her head slowly, her words causing Daryl to finally look up from the ground. "Every decision we've made, we've made it together. And we're still making it right now. We know we can handle ourselves if it goes wrong, but if it goes right? This is what we need to do."

She glanced over to Daryl as she ended the sentence, catching his eyes. He looked at her for a moment, and she silently asked him to trust her with a small nod of her head. 

Pressing his lips together, Daryl finally muttered an, "Alright." He took a fresh red apple from the crate of food they'd been given, and he walked away. 

Later on that morning, there was a trial was being held for Lance, where Pamela would accuse him of the crimes Sebastian had carried out behind her back. Even after everything he'd done, she was still going to protect her son from any kind of rule or lawful punishment from the lives he had indirectly taken. 

The town hall was filled with residents of the Commonweath, standing in an orderly crowd as they drew their attention to Pamela, who stood before them on the grand stairwell. The polished dark oak had a shine to it beneath the bright overhead lights, lulling the people inside the hall into a false sense of security, made to believe their home was just as perfect and professional as they were always led to believe. None of them were aware of the corruption and lies they were being fed every day.