ꜰᴏᴏʟ'ꜱ ᴍᴀᴛᴇ || ᴛᴡᴅ

134: ꜰᴜʀʏ

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The Commonwealth were coming for them. Danny knew it. And So did everyone else. So they had to go.

The Soldiers had been there the day before, and turned the place upside down looking for Negan and Grace's people, but found nothing. But they knew they helped them.

Now, Danny wasn't sure what the plan was. But they had to fix it, or there'd be no one to live in the Hilltop.

The dropped Hershel off with Negan and Grace's people, and updated them on what was going on. 

And then, they went back to Hilltop. The end it.

It was dark when the men arrived.

They didn't arrive like the Commonwealth soldiers. They arrived in dark clothing, with dark masks, torches on the end of their rifles. Quiet, but Joel could hear the sound of untrained feet. They were still soldiers, just playing dress up. 

They searched the house, and came upon nothing but burnt wood. Until they came upon Maggie's old office. There was a soft light, coming out from under the door.

The soldiers made their way forward.

And Danny knew his tripwire had been set off the moment fire, smoke, ash and glass exploded from the house and it's windows, killing all the men inside.

Lydia went to cover Danny's ears, and then remembered there was no point, and pulled her hands away awkwardly, which almost made him laugh. 

"No sign of Hornsby." Joel appeared, as he'd been watching from somewhere else, and was now beside Maggie. 

"Asshole's always gotta make someone else do the dirty work." Marco said.

Maggie nodded. "See if we can recover any of their weapons. Then we follow their trail back to their camp, and we end this."

"On it." Marcus looked at Joel and Elijah. "Ready, lads?"

Joel flicked one of the locust bugs off his shoulder. A swarm of them had descended upon their land, though they weren't much of an issue, just annoying. Though thanks to the sound, it made them and the soldiers more hidden. Which meant Joel was hoping that Danny would spot them, since his hearing was just the same as normal.

"I'm ready. Just hate these things." Joel said.

Marco was the first to his feet, and the one to fall. The rifle shot echoed over the sound of the bugs, and the blood that shot from the bullet hole in his head now landed over Danny's face. Warm. Thick. 

"Get down!" Maggie yelled, as Lydia pulled Danny back down to the ground. But he was watching the door, as an almost alien fury rose in his chest. A woman, blonde hair, in all back, was walking out of the main house, gun raised. 

Danny looked at Marco's body. He'd known him since they were kids. He was a bit older than Danny, but he and Rachel were the only children he knew once the Saviors fell. All the rest were dead. Addy. Gage. Rodney. Carl. He'd grown up with Marco, he'd taught him how to care for horses. And now he was dead. Just like anyone else. 

Danny grabbed Lydia's arm, as Maggie did the same with Elijah, and they ran to the trees. The woman was gaining on them, but Danny could see her eyes scanning the area. She had only seen Marco. She didn't know where the rest were.

And she was walking, which Danny thought was stupid. 

But he couldn't think of any of that. He had to think of Lydia and the others. Keep them alive.

The woods were dark. And with the bugs, loud. But they followed Danny through them. He'd spend his childhood playing in the trees and knew them like the back of his hand. He covered their tracks as they went, and tried to keep as clear a head as possible, which was hard. But he did. Live. Live. Live.

Elijah and Lydia were different. They were pissed. So, he let them deal with the few walkers that stumbled their way.

And as they did, Joel and Maggie filled Elijah and Lydia in on who Leah was. Since it was her that was after them.

"Please!" Maggie begged, as they took out another lot of walkers. "I can lead Leah away."

"I'm not leaving you." Elijah insisted.

"I will not risk loosing you, too."

Lydia shook her head, her grip on Danny's arm tight. "We can handle ourselves, okay, Maggie? We'll lead them away, too, and then when everyone's safe we can meet up with the others."

Danny hit Maggie's arm. 'I stick with you.'

She shook her head, but he interrupted her before she could say anything.

'We survived the Saviors together. I protected you then, I'll do it now, too."

She hesitated. "Fine. Joel, go with them. Go, and quiet!"

Elijah, Lydia and Joel ran into the darkness, and Danny stayed with Maggie. It was strange. Like a flick had been switched. Suddenly, it felt like before. Dangerous. Like they could die and lose anything at any second. Terrifying. 

And as Maggie looked up, so did Danny. The bugs were gone. 

They were alone. 

Danny took the lead, and Maggie followed him into the dark.

With the bugs gone, Maggie seemed more on edge. Listening to every tiny thing. From walkers to air. 

But she still followed Danny, who wasn't covering their tracks anymore. He wanted Leah to find them. 

A walker stumbled towards them, and Danny pushed Maggie behind a tree before she could stab it. There was a shift in the dark behind it. 

He pulled out his gun as he saw the blonde hair vanish behind a tree, and took his shot once it popped back out, and heard a yell, as the walkers got close enough to Maggie to stab it. 

Leah ran out from behind a tree, and Maggie shot this time, another yell sounding.

"Circle round." Maggie sighed, and vanished into the darkness, ignoring Danny's hand trying to stop her. 

He took a breath, and followed after Leah, as he thought of Sami the night he arrived in the Commonwealth. His finger was gone. He was covered in cuts and bruises. His arm hardly worked because of his elbow being slit, and he now had a new scar over his cheek. 

He had told Danny about how he killed one of them. Beating him to death with a crutch. 

Danny could remember all the conversations they'd had since the world ended. Where Sami said he hated how far he went sometimes. And a newer, hotter fury rose in his chest. What these people did. Not to just Maggie and Joel's people, not just to the people who went to get food for Alexandria. But to Sami. Making him want to kill someone like that. As weird of a way to look at it as it was, that's what Danny thought of. He needed something to fuel him, why not his love for his big brother?

But, with Maggie having vanished, he was more frightened than angry. Where was she? He wouldn't even know if Leah had found her.

He felt something shift behind him, and turned, knife in one hand, which he swung backwards. It embedded itself in Leah's arm, making her yell. She was much bigger than Danny, much stronger. He worked out that he'd probably loose right as she pulled her other arm up, and hit him in the face with the butt of her gun.