Li'l Sparky // [Daryl Dixon]

Broken Promises

Season: Seven

Episode(s): Something They Need

*Ryan's POV*

I didn't know whether to slap Tara or kiss her. Apparently, she knew of a gun goldmine called Oceanside. It was a community ran entirely by women because all the men were killed by Saviors. 

They took her in and let her go, but at a price. She couldn't tell anyone about Oceanside. She swore. 

Today, Tara would break that promise. Accompanied by Eric, Enid, and some other Alexandrians, we made our way to the Oceanside. 

The plan was to let Tara talk to them before time was up and try to get the women to fight with us. If she couldn't get them to join before time was up, explosives would go off around the perimeter of the community. We would round up the people and talk to them. 

Michonne would wait in a tree with a rifle and make sure everyone got rounded up. I would go in with Tara as her backup. 

"The leader's name is Natania," Tara explained to me from her hiding spot. "Stay hidden, if something goes wrong, pop out, but don't shoot."

"No promises," I said and prepped my bow. 

"Ryan," Tara sighed.

"Fine," I rolled my eyes. "I won't shoot." Suddenly, the door opened. An elderly woman, whom I assumed was Natania, stepped in. 

"Hi," Tara popped out and pointed her gun at her. "Stay quiet and put your hands on your head."

"We should've just killed you in the village," Natania hissed. 

"You're gonna be glad you didn't," Tara patted her down. 

"You're not alone, are you?" Natania asked. 

"No, she ain't," I stepped out and pointed an arrow at her. "Name's Ryan and if you scream, I'll send this arrow into your lung." 

"Sit," Tara ordered. 

"What do you want?" Natania asked. 

"I want you to sit," Tara repeated. Natania sat down just as the door opened. A young girl walked in. 

"Hey, Cyndie," Tara greeted her. Cyndie turned around, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"You promised," she muttered. 

"Yeah," Tara said. "I did. Put your hands on your head. I didn't have a choice."

"Why are you here?" Natania asked. 

"I said I didn't have a choice," Tara repeated. "But you do, both of you do."

"We can avoid a lot of damage if you just hear us out," I said. "We're not here to kill anyone." 

"Our friends are out there right now, and they're gonna take this place, hopefully without firing a shot," Tara explained. 

"What?" Cyndie gasped. "You're-- you're gonna 'take this place'? What are you talking about."

"We need your guns," I said. 

"What?" Cyndie asked. 

"We're gonna fight the Saviors," Tara said bravely. "You should join us."

"No," Natania said strictly. 

"The Saviors killed your fathers, your brothers, your husbands, sons, and you ran from them," Tara exclaimed. "I thought we got rid of them. Beatrice said there was more out there, and she was right. They came back. They killed my friends. They killed my girlfriend. They took us over. They took everything from us. We do whatever the Saviors tell us to do, and they think we're still doing that, but we're not. We're gonna fight them. And we have other communities beside us, and with Oceanside, we would have an army."