A Jaaron fic bc im upset :,)

During

Rosita had been safely transported to Hilltop. She was stable now. Siddiq had her hooked up to fluids and she was all patched up.
"She'll be alright." He assured the worried Aaron and Jesus. Aaron nodded slowly, still in shock at the state they'd found her in. She was terrified. It was almost how she'd been that night with Negan.

Jesus nodded as well, then brought up the broken words she had spoken.
"She said something about Eugene being in a barn. We need to go out again and find him." Jesus glanced at Aaron. "We're gonna need backup. The two of us won't do out there, especially with that herd. And there's a storm coming."
Aaron knew he was right. There was no way the two of them could do this alone.

"Alright. We'll bring Daryl then. He's come back for a while at least. He's a tracker."
Jesus nodded in agreement.
"You're right. Haven't seen him in a while anyhow. We'll get to play catch up." He chuckled some, trying to lighten the mood.
Aaron laughed softly but there was a lingering sense of dread in his gut. Something wasn't right and with the way the night was looking, it only made it worse.

~

Eveything had been sorted out now and the trio were going out to find Eugene. The night was dangerous. Fog surrounded everything, making it difficult to maneuver in. Luckily, Daryl brought Dog with him and allowed the furry animal to sniff around before the rest followed.

"Smell him, boy?" Daryl quietly asked Dog as they inched closer to the barn Rosita had been talking about. Dog barked in response, the three following.
"Come on." Daryl whispered to the other two men, seeing as they were walking a bit slower behind. They nodded and caught up, soon reaching the barn's entrance.
"Careful." Jesus warned Aaron. "We don't know if he's alone in here."

"Yeah.. You too." They all tried to stay relatively close while also covering as much ground as possible.
Aaron noticed a straw pile closer to the back of the barn. Daryl saw it too. He started towards it and began to sift through the pile.
"Anything?" Jesus asked. Daryl dug more and found a hatch in the floor.
"Yeah. Sumthin'." He studied the door for a moment.

Aaron softly called out. "Eugene, you down there?" A quiet "affirmative" echoed from below the door and the missing man slowly creaked the hatch up.
The three helped him out and sat him carefully down as his knee was popped out of place.
"What happened?" Jesus asked, desperate for some kind of clear answer. Eugene hesitated a moment.
"We need to leave now. They'll be back."
"Who?" Daryl piped up.
"The walkers. They've come through twice now. They're looking for me. They were whispering to each other."

"What?" The three said in a shocked unison.
"Listen.. I know it sounds crazy but.. It's true I swear!" He was as panicked as Rosita had been.
"Okay, calm down, we believe you. What else happened?" Jesus asked, his hands animating a slight up and down motion.
"Well... I couldn't walk fast enough so Rosita left me here. She was gonna get help. Is she okay??"
"She's fine. All patched up at hilltop." Jesus assured.
"Good. But- but we seriously need to leave! They'll be coming back! They- they'll find us if we aren't careful." His voice was shaking. Aaron was baffled by the way they were acting. How long had it been since a herd was this scary?

"Alright, if we're gonna leave, then we need to do it now. That herd isn't far. We heard them a few minutes ago." Jesus told them.
Daryl just gave a stiff nod and stood.
"Let's go then."

Aaron and Jesus got on either side of Eugene and helped him stand up carefully, trying not to hurt his knee more than it already was. They all went outside and then, Dog started barking loudly. Over the distressed barks came the familiar growls and moans of an approaching herd.
"Great." Aaron stiffly commented.
"I'll distract em'. You guys need to get outta here." Daryl's harsh voice broke through the other night sounds.