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

62- What we're used to

Tara headed down the road towards Aaron's house. Alexandria was barely recognizable. The state it was in was horrific, everything had been destroyed. Windows were bashed in, the mill had burned down and there were walker corpses spread around. It wasn't the same Alexandria she had left behind. Somehow it still looked better than the burned down remains of Hilltop they'd come past on their way here.

She finally reached Aaron's house and it too had seen better days. The windows were broken and the door was rotted out. The real shock hit her when she carefully opened the rotted out door and stepped inside. It looked even worse inside. She could immediately tell nearly everyone had slept inside by the smell of ,well, bodies and pillows and blankets scattered everywhere. When she walked further in she saw the blood splattered up on the wall by the staircase. Some little droplets reached all the way up to the ceiling. They had clearly set up a chokepoint there, meaning the walkers had gotten inside.

"Tara?" Herschel's little voice asked from behind her, halfway hidden behind the door frame down to the basement.

"Hey." She greeted with a soft smile. "Your mom said you ran off."

"Yeah." He admitted. He looked down at the knife in his hands and fumbled with it. "They told me Rose died." His eyes became teary and he looked up again. "That's not fair."

She let out a heavy sigh. "No, it isn't."

"They promised me they'd come back. They all did." He continued. "I know they can't promise me that they'll make it back because it's too dangerous outside. But they always promised us and they always came back."

"Come here." She went down to one knee and held her arms out, inviting him in for a hug.

He looked down the basement stairs before he walked over to his 'fun aunt'. He let her hold him tight. His anger quickly decayed into sadness and he cried into her shoulder. "It's not fair." He sobbed. Eventually he pulled back and wiped his eyes dry with the sleeve of his jacket.

"What were you doing in the basement anyway?" She asked.

"When the storm got bad we all had to go upstairs before the walkers got in. Gracie and Judith were in the basement, they nearly died. And I couldn't help because Dianna and Rosita told me to watch the babies." He put his knife back on his belt. "I'm not a baby. I wanted to help and they wouldn't let me."

"Is that why you were mad?"

He bit his lip. "Maybe Rose would still be alive if they let me help."

Tara knew that being gentle with him never worked. Even treating him like a child didn't work anymore. So there was only one option left; to be frank with him. "Or the more likely option; you would've died." She knew it was harsh and something you shouldn't say to a child. She never would've said something like this Megan. "Nothing would've been better if you died instead. It's horrible that she died but she knew the risks in a way you can't yet because you are a child."

"Hershel, there you are." Alden sighed relieved from half way up the stairs. He'd feared he'd somehow found a way to slip outside of the walls. Then his eyes flickered over to Tara and he looked incredibly surprised, in a good way. "Tara!?"

"We found that communitie, turned out they're willing to help. They're just really careful about who they trust. That's why it took me and Eugene so long to get back home."

"What are you wearing:" Hershel then promptly asked her.

"I'm a soldier at the new place we found." She replied. She turned to Alden to explain it in more detail. "Because I was in the police academy when this all started they got me instated almost right away. And then Hornsby figured that me being a soldier would make the whole communitie look more trustworthy."