Book 3/6
Negan is finally dead, Rick was bitten, and Joan was murdered. Now, our group of rockstars must pick up the pieces and continue with their lives. Tom now must take leadership over Alexandria, a sanctuary he's been at for only a year. Axl an...
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*This is the small detail I changed in the first two books btw. Enjoy! ~Jess*
Tom's POV: My legs nearly gave out from underneath me as tears of joy quickly formed. My entire body was shaking with disbelief. How is this possible? I thought he was dead, a goner, but no, he's here.
It's Eric.
Without any hesitation, we ran and hugged each other. I couldn't stop crying. I haven't seen him in so long. How did he survive? I understand why Blackie said I needed to come meet the new arrivals.
"I thought they were joking." Eric said, still hugging me, "But you're here. I can't believe it's you."
"You don't know how happy I am to see you." I said, pulling away slightly. For the first time in a while I had a genuine smile on my face. My friend is alive, my true best friend.
"If Jeff ok?" Eric asked the inevitable, "I saw you two escape that day, but I couldn't catch up to you. Is he here?" My smile faded. I was silent, trying not to let the depression resurface in front of Eric.
"Come with me." I motioned for him to follow. Once we made it to the grave, Eric tried to hold back his tears. He covered his mouth, unable to look at the makeshift cross. Clearly he didn't want to believe what he was looking at. His gentle crying made me tear up more. Every time I think of Jeff being gone I end up the same way as Eric. I pulled him in for another hug.
"Tell me he went peacefully." Eric said, looking at me, "Not that he was shot or eaten alive."
"He got bit on the neck." I explained, "We were scavenging for this one guy, Well, asshole is a better word. He got surrounded and bitten. I stayed with him and took care of him until he left." I stared at the ground, my one arm still wrapped around Eric's neck.
"Well," he said with a sniffle, "At least he died with someone who cared about him at his side." I know Eric's trying to make things positive, but it's not helping me.
"Let's get back to the others." I said, trying to change the subject. Eric agreed, and we made our way back to Blackie. My demeanor quickly changed since I didn't want anyone knowing about my weak side. "Ok. As for living arrangements, Eric can stay with me, and Slash, if you wanna live with Axl, feel free."
"I'm up for it." Slash said.
"Follow me then." Axl said, leading Slash to his place.
"Pretty cool that you're the boss here." Eric said, "You fit the role of a leader perfectly."
"Yeah, well, the circumstances that led me to getting here weren't too good." I explained, "Last guy died. For some reason everyone else here thought I was a good fit."
"Well you are Tom." He replied, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Don't doubt yourself." I couldn't help but smile a little.
"Tom, sorry to interrupt," Blackie interjected, "I need to talk to you for a moment." He and I walked away from Eric. "We have a problem."
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Slash was telling me there's another group out there looking for blood. Called the whisperers." Blackie quietly said.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I replied, "We get rid of one group and boom, in comes another. Why does this have to happen when I'm in charge?" I rubbed my temples.
"According to him they're pretty cunning. They tend to disguise themselves as walkers to kill or kidnap people in their path." Blackie explained.
"Have everyone on high alert." I started, "If they find anyone outside looking for sanctuary, take all their shit, make sure there's no walkies or anything to contact another group. If you let them in, keep a close eye on them. Anything suspicious at all, you tell them to come get me, ok?"
"Now you seem more like a leader Keifer." Blackie said, smirking.
"No one messes with my friends." I replied, walking back over to Eric. "Ok, now that that's taken care of, follow me and we'll head to my place."
"Lead the way." Eric said as he followed me. Once inside, I tried to quickly tidy up a little. The place has looked disheveled ever since I went into reclusiveness.
"This is surprising nice looking." Eric said, looking around, "Everywhere Slash and I stayed was rundown. Although it does look like a small tornado blew through."
"Don't judge me I've been going through a rough patch." I said, grabbing dirty clothes and tossing them into a nearby basket.
"Sorry." He replied.
"There's an empty bedroom upstairs, you can stay there. Just make yourself comfortable, you've clearly had a rough time out there." I said. I still can't believe he's ok. Things are finally looking up...
