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

46- Trials

Alden stumbled more than he walked as he held Adam tight to his chest, all wrapped up safely in a blanket. He wasn't alone. Tara and Laura walked a couple of steps behind him. Laura leaned heavily on Tara with each slow step she took. Kelly limped next to Alden due to her hurt ankle with a knife in her hand and Mary trailed behind the whole group.

"How about you let me or Kelly carry him for a bit?" Tara opted. "And you could use a rest. Laura too."

"I'm fine," Laura objected. "We can keep going. The sooner we reach the rendezvous the better."

"She's fine. I'm fine. We're all fine," Alden bit back. "Laura's right, we have to keep going. Maggie and the others could already be waiting for us."

Mary straggled behind the group. She knew better now than to come close to Alden when it regarded her nephew. Adam was crying on and off the whole way already. Each time Alden had managed to hush him by humming the same nursery rhymes that had worked for Hershel and Hope when they were Adam's age. Only when Adam started to cry again they didn't seem to work this time.

"Maybe see if I can help?" Mary asked hesitantly as she took a step forward.

"Thought I told you to stay back," he snapped back at her immediately.

"I can help with Adam," she tried again.

"Like hell you can," Tara scoffed. "Get back."

"She knows him. She might actually be able to help," Kelly tried.

"She knew him," Alden corrected, angrily.

"All he does is call walkers towards us right now and all we have is two spears and a couple of knives between us. She isn't going to hurt him," she replied calmly. She wasn't going to let his anger get to her because she understood where it was coming from.

"She and her people left him to die right in front of our gates, don't you remember?" Tara shot back in support of Alden. "Your sister had to rescue him."

Alden still desperately tried to hush Adam's whiny cries. He was most likely hungry and tired but there was nothing they could do about that now. "It's okay, buddy. It's okay," he soothed as he bounced him up and down slightly. He turned to Kelly again. "She's lucky that I even let her come." He switched his gaze back to Mary. "Move back."

It wasn't just his hatred towards the whisperers getting the best of him again. It was also his worry about everyone he cared for. He didn't know if they were alive or dead. He of course only knew that Kelly, Laura, Tara and Adam were alright. But the fate of everyone else was a mystery. One he could hope to traverse by focussing on keeping Adam safe because it kept his mind from wandering to places he didn't want to go.

Mary hadn't moved back and Adam was still crying. His cries had only grown louder because of Alden's loud voice and stress.

"Just try rubbing the back of his head–" Mary tried again, only to get cut off again.

"I thought I told you to be quiet!" he snapped back, his voice even louder than before. Kelly shot him an annoyed look.

"Just let her speak, man," she sighed tiredly.

"Try rubbing the back of his head very gently and very slowly. And keep making shushing noises right into his ear, over and over."

This time Alden did as he was told but Adam's cries still didn't die down. Most likely he was still feeding off Alden's own stress.

"Let me try," she offered.

"No." Tara pointed the tip of her spear at her chest. "You don't get to hold a baby you left behind as a walker snack."