rag doll | TWD

[79] what comes after

blaze of glory --- jon bon jovi

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[POV]

"Everything's ready. We're about to leave." Carol told JJ, walking over to her as she stood at the edge of the camp, gazing into the deep woods with a blank expression. "JJ? You okay?"

JJ didn't move, didn't even blink. Her eyes remained locked on the distance, "Something's wrong."

Carol crossed her arms, "You should go to Alexandria." She insisted. 

She shook her head, sighing. "No," she said flatly. "I told you I'd go with you to the Kingdom."

"The Kingdom's fine. We're fine," Carol replied softly. "They could use you."

JJ's heart skipped at the thought of returning to Alexandria.

"You'll be okay." Carol assured her.

"No matter who I side with, things are gonna go to shit."

She shook her head, "Rick loves you, Daryl loves you - things are gonna be okay." 

"Thanks, Carol." JJ shot her a soft smile. 

"It's always us." Carol sighed, walking towards the Kingdom's people, who waited patiently at the top of the hill. 

JJ raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Doing the hard shit." She gave a half-smirk, "Be careful, JJ."

The blonde nodded, softly telling her friend, "You too."

JJ glanced back at her gear; her mind made up. She grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, and made her way to the bike —the same one she had escaped the Sanctuary on all those months ago. 

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[JJ]

As the road stretched out in front of me, I thought about how pissed off I was. I kept thinking about how if Carl didn't put those two sentences in that damn note, none of this would be happening. Negan would be dead, and everyone else would be kumbaya, one big happy, fucked-up apocalyptic family again.

I felt guilty, though. Carl's letter had been his last words, his dying hope for us all. Being angry with that felt wrong, like I was betraying my nephew's final wish. But the truth was, I wanted Negan dead. 

The shit he did to me - it wasn't something I could just forget about. And I didn't want to fight with Rick, or Maggie, or Michonne, or even Daryl. But every conversation, every decision, always came back to one thing - whether Negan deserved to be alive or dead.

Maggie needed it, Daryl needed it, I needed it. 

My brother needed it.

He needed it for us. No one was happy about the situation. It needed to be dealt with. 

My hand tightened around the handle, which caused the bike to come to an eventual stop. My heart rate spiked as I saw the top of Alexandria's walls came into view.

"I should've gone to the damn Kingdom," I muttered under my breath, the weight of everything pressing down on my chest.

But I hadn't gone. And here I was, back at Alexandria, where I swore I wouldn't come until Negan was dead. 

Hell, he might already be. But if Maggie hadn't done it yet, I was next in line.

The gate whined as it was pulled it open, and I stepped inside. I noticed the horses - Hilltop's horses, tied up just inside the gate. Maggie was already here.

The knot in my stomach tightened as I walked further in. Everything seemed so normal. Too normal, almost. 

I walked through the streets to the place I was actually able to call home in this damn apocalypse. My mind raced as I thought about how everything was going to go down with Maggie and Michonne.