Ephemeral - Alia Dixon

9

When we arrive back at Alexandria, I'm the first to exit the RV, walking straight home. I don't wait for anyone as I walk home, past everyone else and walk inside, up the stairs and into my room. 
What they're planning to do is stupid. Ruthless and it seems like I'm the only one who realizes that.
"Meeting at the church. You comin'?" my brother asks through the door. I wonder how long I've been laying here.
I don't say anything as I get up from my bed, open the door and walk past him. The church is already packed with people when we arrive and while my brother sits down I remain standing in the back, leaing against the wall.
"As most of you know, me and a few other people have been to this other community today called Hilltop. And we can work with the Hilltop. Maggie hammered out a deal. We're getting food. Eggs, butter, fresh vegetables. But they're not just giving it away. These Saviors, they almost killed Sasha, Daryl and Abraham on the road. Now, sooner or later, they would've found us, just like those Wolves did, just like Jesus did. They would have killed someone or some of us. And then they would try to own us. And we would try to stop them. But by then, in that kind of fight, low on food, we could lose. This is the only way to be sure, as sure as we can get, that we win. And we have to win. We do this for the Hilltop. It's how we keep this place. It's how we feed this place. This needs to be a group decision. If anybody objects, here's your cahnce to say your piece" Rick says and I cross my arms infront of my chest while staring at him. We both look over at Morgan though as he stands up, looking at Rick with an uncertainty in his eyes.
"You sure we can do it?" he asks. "We can beat 'em?"
"What this group has done, what we've learned, what we've become, all of us. Yes', I'm sure"
"Then all we have to do is just tell them that" Morgan states and I narrow my eyes.
"They don't compromise" Rick says.
"This isn't a compromise. It's a choice you give them. It's a way out, for them and for us"
"We try and talk to the Saviors, we give up our advantage, our safety. No, we have to come for them befoer they come for us" Rick says and I scoff.
"You've given up our safety when we walked out of Hilltop with that food, Rick. You promised things you shouldn't have. We know nothing about these people. It's better to just walk away, while we still can. Same for them"
"No, we can't leave them alive" Rick states.
"Where there's a life, there's a possibility" Morgan says, causing Rick to grow angry.
"Of them hitting us" Rick says angrily, clearly not siding with Morgan.
"Hey, we're not trapped in this. None of you are trapped in this" Morgan says, looking at the people around us who are looking everywhere but the situation between Rick and Morgan. 
"Morgan, they always come back" 
"Come back when they're dead, too"
"Yeah, we'll stop them. We have before" 
"I'm not talking about the walkers" Morgan states and I just stare at him.

Morgan's one of these keep the peace and the people alive guys. He doesn't kill people and honestly, I get where it's coming from. If it was for me we wouldn't have to kill them too but for other reasons. 

"Morgan wants to talk to them first" Rick says before taking a step forward. "I thin that would be a mistake, but it's not up to me. I'll talk to the people still at home. I'll discuss it with the people on guard now, too, but who else wants to approach the Saviors, talk to them first?"
"What happened here, we won't let that happen again. I won't" Aaron states, getting up for his little speech before sitting down again. 
No one else says anything though, causing Rick to nod in content.
"Well, looks like it's settled"
"No" I say loudly, everyone looking at me now. "We shouldn't do this, Rick. It's going to be our death sentence. We don't don't know anything about the Saviors and they've done nothing to us. I know it's not right to let Hilltop suffer from it but we have no clue what the numbers are. You really want to bring a whole community into a fight like this? What if it goes wrong? What if we kill a few people and underestimate them? There could be hundreds of them out there. Do you really want them all to come for us?"
Rick looks at me before he swallows hard. "They won't come for us. We'll have a good plan and it's going to work. We know exactly what this is. We don't shy from it, we live. We kill them all"
I take a deep breath. Rick has made his decision and he has definitely convinced all the people around him. That's what makes Rick the leader he is. His ability to convince people, to talk to them. He knows exactly how to approach someone and what to say. 
I chuckle. He's perfect for this apocalypse role. People like Rick definitely gained an advantage since the world ended. He's a leader now. 
"We don't all have to kill. But people are going to stay here. They do have to accept this" Rick says before walking out of the church.