What's Next

Chapter Forty Six 🦋

Val's POV:

We were finally on our way home. Now the only thing that was playing on my mind was if everyone was alive or not. The drive was long. I could feel the exhaustion really begin to take over me, as the thoughts of whether or not my family were still alive. If they were still going to be there waiting for us to return. Daryl grabbed the walkie, I guess to give one last go to see if he could reach anybody. "rick, you copy?" He spoke. Nothing but static. I gave Daryl a sad look, only being able to think the worse no matter how hard I tried not to. "Anybody?" He asked. Static once again. Although it didn't last long. Muffled sounds began to come through.

Daryl and I looked at each other for a second before focused back on the road. "Say it again?" static sounded through once again, as if the person on the other side were questioning if they were doing the right thing. "help." We finally hear. I felt my heart sink. That had to be someone from back home, calling out for our help. That meant something had definitely gone wrong. Something that they couldn't handle. "Dare...." I began to say, feeling even more anxious than I already was before. "Yeah I know sunshine."

"We'll make it back, don't worry. Okay?"

"Okay." I murmured, drifting off to sleep. The exhaustion finally winning.

**

I woke up to the truck slowing down. The first thought that crossed my mind was that we were back home. Only that couldn't have been further from the truth. I opened my eyes, seeing a group of strangers sitting upon motorcycles blocking the road. Our main way home. 'what now?' I mumbled to myself.

"Dare...?"

"I know sunshine... I seem them two." Okay good to know that I wasn't having some sort of fucked up dream. "what in the holy shit?" Abraham questioned. That was one way of putting it. I linked my arm with Sasha, at first she gave me a questioning look, like a what the fuck are you doing kind of look until she realised just how nervous I was becoming. It wasn't because I was afraid. It was the fact I started to question the whole point of our survival, nervous that something will happen to me like it did Lori. Like back at the prison. We've come too far for this. I've come too far for this. For more trouble. Trouble we didn't even think we were starting.

As Daryl brought us to a stop, someone from the unknown group before us began to call out to us. "Why don't ya come on out? Join us on the road." The man began, gesturing his hand for us to come out. "you know if you wanna resist, try something. I mean it's a choice I guess... but we will end your asses, split you right in two. Straight through to the sinuses." He threatened.

"so c'mon." Daryl shut off the engine, as we began to follow the stranger's request. Or should I say demand. We all slowly began to get out, standing just outside of the doors. "that's great. It's going well right out of the gate."

"Now step two..."

"hand over your weapons." He instructed.

"Why should we?" Daryl huffed.

"well they're not yours." Ummm.. what? Who the fuck is this guy? He wouldn't know what was ours and what wasn't. if he was going to be getting anything from me at least, it'll be one of knives straight into his head. It would happen so fast he wouldn't even have time to blink. "What?" Abraham sneered, exactly what I was just thinking. "see... your weapons, your truck, the fuel in your truck, if you got mints in your glove compartment, you got porn underneath your seat, change in the seats, hell the seats themselves, the floormats, your maps, little stash of emergency napkins you got there in the console."

"none of those things are yours anymore."

"Whose are they?" Sasha questioned.

"Your property now belongs to Negan."