Morgan and Eugene finally make it back to their car safely and now are waiting anxiously for Father Gabriel to arrive. All Morgan knows is that Gabriel hung back, with a rifle, to cover Glenn while Morgan and Negan snuck the rest of the group out the back door and into the woods. He knew the danger of waiting for Gabriel too long was that those men might find them here. "Eugene, we're sitting ducks. I hate it but five more minutes and we've gotta make tracks for Alexandria. If Gabriel's not here, we'll come back with reinforcements," Eugene nodded he understood but whispers, "Do you have the walkie-talkie, Morgan? Perhaps the boy genius had the foresight to take theirs. We can break radio silence and give Glenn and Negan a jingle and see if Gabriel is with them." Morgan digs into his jacket pocket and fishes out the walkie-talkie. "Good thinking, Eugene." Morgan presses the button and gives it a shot. "Car 2? This is Car 1. Are you there? Can you hear me?" He releases the button and waits. Nothing. He tries once more, quietly, not wanting to attract attention, if indeed, there are walkers lurking about. Still nothing. Meanwhile, Eugene has been listening and watching, still hoping Gabriel will come running up at any time. After five minutes of hearing nothing but the sound of the winter wind blowing through the trees, Morgan sadly admits something may indeed have happened but their need for more gun power before facing this formidable force means they have to leave for Alexandria...now!
On their way back, Eugene tries to reach home using the short-wave radio but there's too much interference from the snow and wind. They travel the rest of the night and find themselves arriving in Alexandria just as the sun is peeking above the horizon. With no time to waste, they make a beeline for Rick and Michonne's house. Banging on the front door, Rick quickly appears, "What in the world? Oh, you're back. What's with all the frantic banging?" Rick opens the door wider to let them in and by that time, Michonne has come downstairs, tying a long robe around her waist. "What's going on, Rick?" As she spots Morgan and Eugene standing in the foyer, Rick says, "Let's get some coffee and then you can tell us what's going on!"
As the group moves towards the living room, Morgan asks, "Have Negan and the others returned? We were supposed to meet up on the road but they never showed and we couldn't raise them on the walkie talkies either." Eugene interjects, "Father Gabriel was supposed to be with us but he was a no show too. We waited but..." Eugene's voice fades out when Michonne suddenly says, "What do you mean they never showed?! They haven't turned up here either. Just the two of you." Now seated on the arm of the couch next to Michonne, Rick places his hand on her arm before asking them to start from the beginning.
Morgan recounts how they arrived in Culpepper Creek and found Michael and Bella tied up in the lobby of the hotel. He told them how they were ambushed by a group of heavily armed men and women who had kidnapped the couple's young child earlier that day, the sudden encounter with those same people and the firefight which ensued. Morgan continued, "Negan, Eugene and I were to get Michael and Bella to safety out the back door while Gabriel and Glenn laid down cover fire. They were supposed to be right behind us. We had a plan to get back to our cars and meet about 10-15 miles up the road, once we were out of immediate danger. We thought for sure the others would be here by now."
"We've got to go back and rescue our compadres!" Eugene urgently cries. "You're right but we've got to have level heads here. Questions. How many were there? What was their agenda and where did they come from?" Rick asks to which Morgan quickly replies, "There were about 6-7 in the group that attacked us but I got the feeling there were more in their group. Wasn't clear what their agenda was beyond the taking of the child and where their camp is? We don't know. We heard them leave on motorcycles. Quite a few from the sound."
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Leaving the Apocalypse Behind | The Walking Dead
Fanfiction*Here is where I enter my disclaimer regarding any and all pictures, .gifs, .jpegs, music and/or videos used in the writing of this fan fiction. I give my undying gratitude to those who used their talent to make them and post on the internet for al...
