Safe haven | Rick Grimes

067. WHAT'S UP UP UP

Chapter sixty seven

"What's up up up."

The strangers confiscated their weapons, forced them out of the clearing, and marched them through a rusted shipping container into the heart of a massive junkyard. The scavengers swarmed the area, forming two distinct, intimidating perimeters: one tight circle pinning Rick's group in place, and a massive outer ring sealing off any hope of escape.

Rick and Scarlett exchanged a quick, calculating glance as a tall, stern woman stepped forward from the crowd.

"Are you a collective, or does one lead?" the woman asked, her voice flat and rhythmic.

Before Rick could answer, a guard behind him delivered a hard shove. "This," the guard grunted, forcing him forward.

The woman approached him, her analytical gaze locking onto his.

"Hi. I'm Rick," he told her, keeping his voice level.

"We own your lives," the woman stated plainly. "You wanna buy them back? Have anything?"

"Well, you have one of my people. Gabriel," Rick shared, refusing to break eye contact. "I wanna see him first. Then we can talk."

The woman gave a slight nod to a guard standing behind Scarlett. The guard and another man immediately walked off into the maze of junk. The group waited in a tense silence until the two returned, dragging Gabriel between them. The priest had been stripped of his suit jacket and clerical collar, wearing only a dirty tank top, with a fresh, blooming bruise coloring his forehead.

"The boat things you took got taken. Saw them, so we took the rest. And we took him," the woman shared, gesturing to Gabriel.

"Well, then you know we have nothing to buy back our lives with," Rick shared, taking a deliberate step toward her. "But that's what you'll have soon, too... nothing. Because my people and I already belong to the group that took those supplies from the boat. They're called the Saviors. They own our lives. If you kill us, you'll be taking something that belongs to them. And they will come looking."

Rick paused, letting his words sink in as the scavengers listened intently. "You only have two options when it comes to the Saviors. Either they kill you, or they own you. But there is a way out. Join us. Join us in fighting them."

The woman looked Rick up and down, her expression entirely unreadable. "No," she said flatly.

She lifted her hand, spinning her index finger in the air. On her command, the guards grabbed Gabriel and began dragging him back into the shadows. The inner circle immediately closed in on the Alexandrians, weapons drawn.

The sudden movement sparked chaos. Rosita threw her head back, slamming it into the face of the guard behind her, before pivoting to punch another scavenger square in the jaw.

"Rosita, don't!" Aaron shouted, trying to stop the eruption, but he was instantly cut off as a wooden bo staff struck him hard across the side of the head.

Tara lunged forward, catching a guard in a chokehold and wrestling them backward. A man rushed at Rick, but Rick anticipated the movement, driving his knee sharply into the scavenger's face and slamming him hard onto the dirt.

"Everybody, stop! Wait!" Rick roared, trying to regain control of the room.

But the fight had already boiled over. A scavenger lunged at Scarlett, but she sidestepped the blow, throwing a devastating punch directly into their face before delivering a powerful front kick that sent a second attacker sprawling back into a pile of scrap metal. Beside her, Michonne grabbed her target by the vest and forcefully hurled them to the ground, while Tara drove her knee into another guard's chest, throwing them flat onto their back.