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

60- Broken

Barely any time later they were outside. Elijah leaned on Jesus for support and used an old crutch on his other side. Walking still caused him a great deal of pain and it took everything out of him to keep going.

They had gagged Carver because he wouldn't keep his mouth shut and bound his hands behind his back. Negan marched him ahead, holding his own knife to his throat. Daryl walked a couple of paces ahead from the group, scanning for any signs of a trap. Then he motioned for them to stop and turned back to Maggie.

"You ready?" He asked.

She was hesitant to reply. She knew what they were about to do and she knew the dangers. Everyone knew but if something went wrong it would be on her. Even if Daryl and Alden would insist it was on them, she knew it would've been on her. "Yeah." She finally replied with a slight nod.

"Here." Daryl handed her the gun he'd taken from Carver. He knew she'd run out of bullets. "Take this. Just in case." Then he brought Carver's radio up to his mouth again. "Leah."

"We're here." She replied, coolly. She spoke as if it was just another normal day. Then promptly an old rusted sliding door opened and she peeked her head out. They could barely see her from the position they were in.

"Come out. Put your weapons on the ground." Daryl instructed through the radio.

"I need to see Carver first!" She yelled back, taking half a step outside. Now they could see and theoretically Maggie could take her out with one well aimed shot. But killing Leah now would seal Carl and Rose's fates.

Daryl grunted softly and handed the radio to Alden, figuring he was the most level headed out of their group. Then he grabbed onto Carver roughly and pulled him from Negan's grip. He held his knife to his throat and marched him ahead of him out into the open.

"Come out!" He yelled again.

For a second Alden wanted to follow him. Daryl was acting without any regard for his own safety, but stepping out into the open wouldn't help them, not yet anyway. Leah was the first to walk outside, almost storming out of the old rambly building. Two Reapers followed behind her. They held Carl and Rose hostage in a similar manner as they held Carver hostage, gagged with their hands bound behind their backs and a knife pressed to their throats. On their faces was a mix of fear and relief, they weren't quite sure what to think yet.;

"Lay your weapons on the ground." Daryl growled at them as they approached.

"What are you offering?" Leah countered calmly. She knew they had the upper hand in this negotiation.

"Loose your weapons and we let you leave."

"Is that all?" One of the men taunted and pressed the knife tighter against Carl's neck, drawing a single droplet of blood that trickled down into the hem of his shirt.

Daryl chose to ignore his taunt because it was only meant to rile him up. "You head north, don't turn back. I see anyone, anyone at all, I'm going to kill him. And you leave your hostages here. And once we're far out enough, I let him go."

"Can't agree to those terms, Dixon." Leah replied. "Because you see, we have two hostages and you've only got one. And you really expect me to trust you now?"

"Yeah, I do." He countered. "We're doing this all wrong. We survived everything for what? To keep fighting and killing each other."

"If that's what it takes." She bit back.

He shook his head slightly. "You don't have to. I'm giving you a chance to save what's left of your family and mine."

She was silent for quite a while, thinking about Daryl's words. She ran her hand back through her hair a couple of times before she spoke op again. "No more lies." She turned her radio on. "Jensen."