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

79- Promises

Breaking Mercer out of prison didn't prove to be difficult. They ran into a lot less resistance than expected. Most of the guards had abandoned their position. As soon as Mercer was freed he let them to the weapon storage.

The herd caught up with them when they loaded the supplies into a truck. A sea of death encroached on them, and within that sea Jesus recognized two familiar faces. He would recognize Aaron and Lydia everywhere and he made sure they could safely approach.

Aaron's face was pale and written with concern. Lydia looked even worse than him. Her skin was even paler, almost gray. She looked weak and in pain.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Jesus asked them. He stayed clear of the rotting guts on their clothes.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Lydia replied before Aaron could say anything to the contrary.

"Jerry? Elijah? Are they with you?" Ezekiel asked.

"No." Aaron shook his head. "They're still out there."

Jesus took Lydia up and down. "You don't look alright, I know something has happened." He turned to Aaron. "Tell me."

"The only thing that matters is that Lydia needs to see a doctor as fast as possible." Aaron said, hastily. "And I'm more concerned about what happened here."

Alden shoved one of the last crates into the back of the truck; he'd been listening in. "We better go. We can talk once we're out of here."

"We gotta get to the hospital, now!" Princess stressed.

The herd was starting to get too thick to plow through with the truck. Everyone piled up into the back of the truck quickly and they set off. They would meet with the others back at the clinic, there Alden and Maggie would see their son again.

But they weren't that lucky because the clinic had been breached. A scramble for another safe place ensued and Mercer brought them to an abandoned building just outside the Estates at nightfall.

Waiting for Rosita, Gabriel, Eugene and Mike to show up with the babies was agony. But in the first moment Maggie got to hold her son, just for a split-second, she forgot about everything they still had to face before the day was through. After that short moment it hit her like a ton of bricks all over again and she handed him to Alden. She watched him walk up and down the room in the hope of soothing him to sleep.

"And he's asleep." Alden said with Adam bundled up in his arms. He was too afraid to let go of him.

"I'm glad he's too young to remember any of this." Maggie sighed. "He's only going to remember what comes after, a better place."

She'd made that same vow for Hope and Hershel; that she would make the world a better place for them. She had always hoped they wouldn't have to live through a war. To no fault of her own, she hadn't been able to keep that promise.

Despite not being able to keep her promise for her two oldest, she and Alden had still made the same promise for Adam. It was a principle to wish for a better world for your children. But it wasn't only for their children, it was also a vow to themselves to do better than the day before.

Alden teared up. That future they had been working on for years was something he wouldn't get to witness. He would linger on as a memory, slowly slipping from the minds of his family. It finally hit him fully now. He choked on his breath and all the strength flowed out of his arms. He needed to get out of here and he shoved Adam into Maggie's arms without warning.

"I have to go outside for a minute, I need to catch my breath." He mumbled.

His sudden mood swing left her too flustered to protest or question him. She stood there with a baby in her arms. She thought it was just the stress of the day catching up to him. Then she noticed Tara staring at her. There was something about the way she looked at her; pity. As soon as she noticed Maggie returning her gaze, she looked away. Now Maggie knew she was hiding something and all her senses told her it had something to do with Alden.