VILLAINESS [TWD]

➴112

Mom, Elijah, Alden, Dianne, Lydia, and I headed out on a run later that day.

"You look happy to see him," Mom jokes in regard to the horse that was pulling the wagon.

"Thought all animals were done for," I admit.

"He's yours?" Lydia asks.

"I trained him. Alden and Ken were the ones to find him, though."

"Ken?"

I sigh to myself.

"He's an old friend. We lost him on a run a few years ago," Alden helps out.

"He was the Sutton's boy. Earl and Tammy," Mom adds.

"Oh.." Lydia whispers. "Right.."

I glance to the back of the carriage where she was. "You met Tammy and Earl? They were good people."

"I.. yeah.. they were.."

My head tilts at her hesitation. Who was this young girl anyway?

"When did you link up with the crew?" I wonder.

"Daryl brought me in. And Henry kept me there. But, Michonne and Gabriel granted me 'asylum'."

I run my tongue along the inside of my lip. "You knew Michonne?"

"She was with the Whisperers," Alden blurts.

"Alden!" Mom hisses, scolding him.

I turn around more to face her. "Whisperers? The group that burned Hilltop?"

"Ellie," mom warns.

"The group that killed Tara?"

"Eleanor," Mom states.

I un-tense myself and grip the seat as I watch the girl. She wasn't afraid or anything.. she just looked sad.

"Her mom was the leader. That Alpha woman," Alden explains. "Michonne, Daryl, and some others took her when they ran into each other on the road after Jesus was killed."

"So, she got the Negan treatment?"

"Henry vouched for her and she was accepted in. Her mom sent in people to try and kill her and.. well, we went to war."

Henry.. Carol said that Henry was killed by those Whisperers.

A piece of my heart hurts.

"After they killed all those people, Lydia stayed with us. She helped fight against them in the war."

"And Carol let Negan out to kill Alpha.." I recall.

"And he did," Alden confirms. "But, that doesn't change the fact that he's dangerous."

I break contact with Lydia and look at Alden. I frown as I remember the Reapers.

"Well, if this is confession time.. I'm sorry for stabbing you," I tell him.

"Anna told me. But, honestly, if it were anyone else, they wouldn't have stopped. You saw who I was and stopped."

"I thought you were back with him," I admit. "I thought you betrayed us."

"I would never," he promises.

"I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry, man."

Alden reaches up and rubs my shoulder. Mom pulls back on the reigns.

"Walkers," om announces.

Elijah and I both stand up. There was a good number of them blocking the road. They'd already noticed us getting closer and were making their way to us.

"You good?" Mom asks me in regards to my injury.

I take out the weapon that Earl made me all those years ago. "I'm good."

We all hop out of the carriage and meet the walkers on the road. Just when we thought it was over, more come out of the woods. It was just the droplets of a bigger herd.

"Shit!" Diane curses when her knife lodges in a walker's neck and she loses the weapon.

I take out a knife from my side and throw it. It soars through the air and stabs a walker that is close to her back. She catches the body and rips the knife out, now having a weapon.

"Ellie! The horse!" Mom shouts. "We can't lose them!"

I spin my weapon around and take out another walker. I spot the horse Mom was talking about. It had gotten loose from the wagon and was trying to run through the herd. 

I curse under my breath and rush forward. My wound hurts, but I push myself. I kick a walker away and hook my foot in the stirrup. With a swift motion that reminded me of my childhood, I climb onto the horse and grab the reins. I lead the horse a bit further away and turn around, taking out my second, and last, knife.

"Ellie?" Anna asks, running over.

"Hey.." I start, but pause when I see the people behind her.

Commonwealth soldiers. Daryl was hugging Mom. 

"What's this?" I ask.

"They found me when I was looking for service.. Josh, Daryl, and Aaron are here," she explains. "Everything okay here?"

I pat the horse's neck and climb back down once I'm sure the walkers are all gone. I hand the reins to Elijah who leads the horse back to the wagon.

"So, you're the escapee," a woman says, walking over with a guy around my age. "You sure had a lot of people worrying about you."

I look the woman up and down. She had on clean clothes and a fake ass smile. I didn't like her already.

"Ellie, this is Pamela Milton. She runs the Commonwealth. And that is her son, Sebastian."

I squint at the duo. Were they the equals of Commonwealth to Mom and I of Hilltop?

"Pleasure to meet you," Sebastian says and holds his hand out.

I look at his hand, then back to his eyes. He smiles. It was just as fake as his mother's.

I place my hand on Anna's arm and usher her to the side. Mom catches up with us and Lydia, Elijah, and Diane walk over as well.

"Are they here for me?" I ask Mom.

"I don't know.. But, don't let your guard down. Keep calm and compliant.. but, don't let shit fly."

"Yes, ma'am," Elijah agrees. "Diane and I will bring the wagon back to Hilltop if you're gonna stay here."

"I'd rather them not know where exactly we live," Mom admits. "We'll catch up. If we're not back before sunset, come for us. Take Lydia, too."

Elijah, Lydia, and Diane leave for Hilltop. I look at Mom and Anna excuses herself to go back to Josh's side.

"Sniff 'em out. Don't let 'em in, though," Mom advises.

"I don't like them," I easily come to my conclusion. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I. And I sure as hell don't trust them. But, being on the good side is just as important. We don't want a war on our hands when we're barely getting by. I'll take the leader.. you get what you can out of the rest."