𝖣𝖺𝗋𝗄𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝖪𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗌 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖬𝖾 | ᴅᴀʀʏʟ ᴅɪxᴏɴ ³

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴏɴᴇ

«Fire»

TOM devoted most of his time to aiding in the ongoing construction in Alexandria. During his leisure hours, he joined Lydia for Aikido training, as they practised with their sticks.

"Do you think she's back?" Tom inquired, twirling his stick in the air alongside Lydia.

"I don't know."

Negan's voice interrupted them as he called out, crouching nearby and picking up tomatoes. "Everything okay, kids?"

"Fine," Tom spat, turning away.

"What was the big meeting for?" Negan asked, and Tom stepped back, wary of leaving Lydia alone with him. "And why are folks giving you the side eye?"

"The same folks eyeing you," Lydia retorted, continuing to twirl her Aikido stick. "What have you done in the past however many years you've been here, huh?" He asked Lydia.

"Don't talk to him," Tom hissed, urging Lydia to move. "Come on, let's go."

"Negan," Brandon, the person monitoring Negan, warned. "Get back to work, sir." He then addressed Tom and Lydia. "Hey, you're supposed to keep your distance."

"They're on alert," Lydia informed Negan.

"Lydia!" Tom tried to pull her away.

"Why?" Negan asked.

"Someone found a skin," Lydia, refusing to budge, disclosed.

"What does 'alert' mean?" Negan questioned her.

"Negan, you're not allowed to talk to her or anyone!" Tom warned. "Brandon, why don't you take him away?"

"Watch your back, kid," Negan cautioned Lydia before being led away.

"You're not supposed to talk to him," Tom sighed.

"Why?" Lydia inquired. "Why does no one tell me anything about anything?"

"He—" Tom began. "He killed good people."

"Your auntie?" Lydia asked, and Tom stood there, contemplating what to say next. However, before he could respond, a loud boom in the distance caught them by surprise.

"Alexandria to Oceanside. Come in, Oceanside."

"Oceanside copies. This is Rachel."

"This is Eugene. I need to speak with Chloe and any of the community leadership at O.S. right away. Somethin' of grave importance is about to happen."

"Chloe!" Michonne hollered upon spotting Chloe at camp. "Eugene's on the radio. He needs to talk to you right away."

Chloe swiftly made her way to the radio, exchanging a worried glance with Michonne. As she reached for the communication device, the atmosphere in the camp was tense, sensing that something significant was about to unfold.

"Eugene, this is Chloe. What's going on?" she inquired, her voice steady but tinged with concern.

"Chloe, my calculations indicate that a defunct satellite is in a decaying orbit, hurtling toward Earth. It's highly probable that the impact site is within our vicinity. I'm crunching the numbers as we speak, and it ain't looking good," Eugene explained.

Chloe's eyes widened. "A satellite? How bad are we talking, Eugene?"

"Bad, like major cataclysmic bad. If it hits us, we're looking at wildfires," Eugene responded.

Wildfires.

Wildfires raged, consuming the forest in an inferno of flames. The sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving only the ominous glow of the approaching fire as a guiding light. Panic spread among the residents of Oceanside, who scrambled with buckets of water hastily prepared in response to Eugene's timely warning.