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

77- Attack

They didn't let the train pull all the way into the station. It would be crawling with soldiers there and they needed to stay hidden for as long as possible for them to win this fight. Instead they stopped it out of reach from the Commonwealth's patrols. They would cut the rest of the way through the woods.

Princess had secured them a way in through Mercer. So the group followed her, she knew where to go. Despite not knowing her well, Alden liked her. She was completely herself and that was something he could appreciate. It was quite a walk, but eventually they made it to the access site. From the bushes they saw a couple of guards patrolling the area. They didn't seem very interested.

"We're sitting dick out here." Negan whispered to Daryl. "Mercer ain't coming and we can't wait."

"It's time for a new plan." Carol agreed.

"Guys, please. Mercer's gonna show up." Princess insisted. Of course she would believe her boyfriend would show up for her, but to almost everyone else he was a complete stranger. Just another Commonwealth soldier.

"I don't know if we can trust him. I don't know him." Maggie countered. "And something might've happened to him."

"He's one of the good ones." Rosita said. "He'll keep his promise. He'll come."

"We're running out of time." Daryl sighed.

"We can head around, try to find another way to slip in." Carol opted.

"There's only four of them. We could take them." Maggie didn't take her eyes off the guards.

"If those guards go missing, the clock's ticking on us." Rosita shut her down immediately. She was right.

"Hey." Judith whispered, stressed.

"Hold a minute. Did you hear that?" One guard said.

The group stayed still and quiet, there was nothing else they could do. They just had to hope they wouldn't be spotted. Worst scenario was that they needed to take these troopers down and start the clock. Because Maggie was right, of course, they could take them. Although that could be dangerous.

A warbling voice spoke through the radio and the troopers stopped scouring forward, towards them. He took a hold of his radio and spoke into it. "Does that include tunnel H?"

A reply followed through the radio, just as warbled. The conversation continued until one of the troopers barked out an order. The group couldn't be happier because all the troopers left the area in a hurry.

"He came through. Mercer did it." Alden insisted. He wanted to keep Princess' hopes up.

They watch the troopers leave the area and now the tunnel, their access point, was abandoned.

"I think we're good." Judith whispered. She sat furthest forward out of everyone and had the best sight on the tunnel.

"You sure?" Daryl whispered, his voice as rough as ever.

She took another look and hummed. There was no one there.

"Alright." He sighed. "Let's go." He was the first to step out of the cover the bushes provided.

The rest of the group followed, a little bit slower and more hesitant. The last thing they wanted was a firefight. They would suffer too many casualties out here in the open. Not all of them were fighters, not by a longshot. So many of them were prisoners trying to get home. Some of them had never even held a gun before. When they made it to the tunnel they found out it was locked.

"Well, that sucks." Alden mumbled. He stared at the heavy metal doors padlocked with a thick chain. He cursed silently.

Gabriel snickered. "I'll break it." He stepped out in front of everyone and raised his shotgun with the bud of it facing down. He aimed for the padlock and brought it down with force. With a little hollow clank the lock gave way. "See? No problem."