Asperity - Daryl Dixon

XVI

The group, gathered in front of the prison gates, was discussing logistics when Carol stepped in, inquiring about Glenn and Maggie's whereabouts. "Where's Glenn and Maggie ? We could use some help." Daryl pointed to the guard tower, eliciting a knowing smirk from the group. "Guard tower? They were just up there last night," Rick remarked, perplexed. Daryl took the lead, yelling toward the tower, "Glenn! Maggie!"

A door clicked, and Glenn, with no shirt and hastily buttoning his pants, showed up. "Hey, what's up, guys?" he greeted, and the group burst into laughter, aware of the couple's interrupted moment. Vanessa, eager to tease her best friend, spoke up, "You coming?"

"What?" Glenn asked innocently, prompting another round of laughter. Daryl joined in the teasing, "You comin'? C'mon, we could use a hand."

"Yeah, we'll be right down," Glenn responded, and as Maggie and Glenn headed to get ready, T-Dog noticed Alex and Oscar approaching. The atmosphere immediately shifted as Rick walked toward the inmates. "That's close enough. We had an agreement."

Alex began explaining, "Please, mister. We know that. We made a deal, but you gotta understand..." The conversation continued, and the prisoners described the grim conditions in their cell block, emphasizing their desperation. Vanessa couldn't help but feel sympathy for them, understanding the difficult situation they were in.

"We can't live in that place another minute, you follow me ? All the bodies- people we knew. Blood, brains everywhere. There's ghost."
Daryl cut him "why don't you move the bodies out ?" T-dog follow suit "you should be burning them."
"We tried ! We did." Vanessa cuts in "well apparently not enough." Oscar speaks up unfazed "The fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. Dropping the body and just running back inside."
Alex adds "Look, we had nothing to do with Tomas and Andrew. Nothing. You trying to prove a point ? You proved it, bro. We'll do whatever it takes to be part of your group. Just please, please... don't make us live in that place."

As the conversation unfolded, Rick firmly stated, "Our deal is not negotiable. You either live in your cell block, or you leave."
Alex sigh at that and Oscar tells him "I told you it was a waste of time. They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys. You know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week ? Just threw 'em out, like. These were good guys. Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joints, like Tomas and Andrew. Now we've all made mistakes to get in here, chief. And I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me... we paid our due, enough that we would rather hit that road than to go back into that shithole."

Rick turned toward Daryl and Vanessa but this time they didn't agree, Daryl shake his head no while Vanessa nods at Rick.
Despite their plea, the inmates were left with no choice, and the group retreated to discuss their fate away from the prisoners.

"Are you serious? You want them sleeping in a cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons," Rick questioned Vanessa and T-Dog. Vanessa intervened, "They don't even know how to fight! You saw them, Rick. They're no danger."

Rick, however, expressed his concerns, turning to T-dog this time, "You want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?" T-dog countered, "I never stopped. Bring them into the fold."
Vanessa adds "If we send them off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves."

As the group debated, Glenn added his perspective, "I don't know, Axel seems a little unstable." Carol voiced her worry about the newcomers potentially taking what they fought so hard for "After all we've been through ? We fought so hard for all this, what if they decide to take it ?"

Maggie, who had initially brought the group in, admitted, "It's just been us for so long. They're strangers. I don't- it feels weird all of a sudden to have these people around."
T-Dog reminded her, "You brought us in."
But she doesn't back up "Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms. Didn't give us a choice."