Alexandria

Chapter 9

"No," Eugene shakes his head.

"I.. i'm sorry, Eugene," Rick says.

"But.. she can't be gone. She.. she was gonna have a baby."

Rick swallows deeply, the air suddenly thick.

"Where is she?" Eugene asks, getting up from Rick's sofa.

"We buried her," Rachel says.

"Why? Why would you do that? You had no right!" He yells, his vision blurring as tears fill his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but we thought it best," Rachel assures him.

"Why?!" He shouts, his lip trembling.

Rick holds out a hand. "Eugene, we-"

"No! I wanna know why?"

"The Whisperers took her body, they took all of their bodies. We thought it best to bury them out there than people have to live with that knowledge," Rachel says.

Eugene stares at her, his mouth agape. He falls back onto the sofa, his head in his hands as he sobs quietly.

"I'm so sorry," she says, her words seeming meaningless under the circumstances.

Eugene lifts his head and wipes at his face. "So what do we do now? We're gonna make a move right? Hit them with every man woman and weapon we have?"

Rick shakes his head. "It's not as simple as that."

"How? How is it not that simple?" Eugene asks.

"They have an ocean of the dead at their disposal," Rachel says. "If we make a move, they set them loose."

"How many?" Eugene asks.

"At least ten thousand," Rick says sombrely. "They'd rip straight through this place, we wouldn't stand a chance."

"So you're gonna do nothing?" Eugene sneers.

"He didn't say that," Rachel says. She steps towards Eugene, placing a hand against his shoulder. "They'll pay for this, i promise you that. But right now, we need to use our heads. We can't go in there all guns blazing, it won't work. You're a man of science, and we're going to need that, we're going to need you. We'll come up with something, but until then, we have to be smart about this. Can you do that?"

Eugene nods, blinking away tears. "That is what i do best."

~

They'd spoken with the loved ones of those who'd died individually. Brandon had been the hardest, what with him being not much more than 19. He'd come to Alexandria with just his mother, and now she was gone.

Rick had called a meeting for the rest of Alexandria. The entire town gathers outside the church, most of them standing impatiently, a mix of anger, fear and confusion on their faces.

He stands in front of them, their chatter quickly ceasing as all eyes are on him. Michonne stands by his side, giving his hand a quick squeeze as she rubs at her stomach with a smile.

Rick clears his throat as he steps forward, staring out at a sea of faces. "I'm sure you all know by now that we've suffered a great loss. This is hard on everyone, especially those who've lost loved ones. Now, i'm sure you've got a lot of questions-"

"Hell yeah," a man shouts from the crowd. "I just wanna know what you're gonna do? Tell me that you're gonna do something."

Rick goes to open his mouth, but he's cut off before he can speak.

"I'll go," a woman says as she steps out of the crowd. "I'll ride out there. I'll tell you exactly what we're up against. They'll never know i was there. We can't just sit here."