A New Beginning

The Future

Two Years Later

Alexandria has been fully repaired and has become a safe community again. People are having a new life again. AJ is now the leader of Alexandria with Derek as his right hand man. AJ approaches the graves of Jeremiah and Clementine and places flowers on them and kisses the crosses. He gets up and heads towards Rick's house and sits on the chair on the front porch. He takes the Python out and begins spinning the cylinder.

Morning

AJ opens his eyes and notices the sunlight shining in his room. He stands up and stretches. He heads over to his closet and puts on a blue button up shirt and black jeans. He grabs his belt and puts it on and grabs his Colt Python and checks the cylinder. Six bullets, fully loaded. He puts the gun in his holster and proceeds to leave his room and exit the house. When he reaches outside, he notices individuals gardening and they wave. AJ smiles and waves back. He walks over to the guard tower and Derek notices AJ from below. "Hey!" He calls out. "Everything go all right on your shift?" AJ questions. "Yeah, no trouble." AJ nods and climbs up and stands next to Derek and they admire the morning sunshine together. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" AJ asks and Derek simply nods. "Want to know my theory on why it's so shiny these days?" Derek asks. "Sure." AJ responds. "Because of Jeremiah and Clementine. They shine the darkest spots and make them the brightest. God took home two of His angels." Derek says. This only makes AJ smile. "You're right." He says and they continue to stare off into the distance. "I better get to work." AJ calls out causing Derek to snap back. "Let me know if you need anything." Derek says. AJ nods and climbs down the ladder and heads over to the church.

In the Church

AJ walks inside and notices three men talking. He approaches them. "Something I need to know?" AJ questions respectfully. The man looks at him. "Going on a run." The man says. AJ nods. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know your name." He replies. "Names Jack." AJ holds out his hand and Jack shakes it. "You?" AJ asks the other man sitting next to him. "Sam." "How about you?" AJ asks the final man. "Charles." "My name is Alvin Junior. Some of the people that used to be here called me AJ for short." They nod and Jack stands up. "We thank you for having us here, AJ. It's been a real pleasure." Jack says. "Just know, if you ever need us for anything Alvin, let us know. We're more than happy to help." Sam calls out. "I appreciate that." AJ replies. AJ proceeds to walk out. "What are you doing today?" Charles calls out from behind. AJ stops and turns around. "Working on the bridge."

At the Bridge

AJ lifts a piece of heavy wood and places it against a set of finished parts of the bridge and begins hammering it in to make the part stronger. From up above, Jeremiah and Clementine look down on him and smile with joy. "We did that." Clementine says. Jeremiah smiles. "Yes we did. Our goofball is a man now." Jeremiah places his arm around Clementine and reels her in and she holds on to him and smiles. They both continue to watch over AJ. "Hey! Would you like some help?" A voice calls out from the left. AJ stands up quickly and aims his gun at the stranger. The stranger raises his hands. "I get it. You don't know me and you're being cautious. That's smart. I am no threat to you whatsoever. I'll even let you search my things." The stranger throws his backpack over to AJ. AJ begins searching and notices food, water bottles, medicine, and magazines for a pistol. AJ looks back up. "You have magazines in here. Where's the pistol?" He questions. The man slowly reaches in his back pocket and pulls out his pistol. "Here it is." He slides the pistol over to AJ. AJ picks it up and slides the chamber back and a bullet pops out. He takes the magazine out and inspects it. Fully loaded. He sets the magazine back in and slides it over to the man. The man picks it up and places it in his back pocket. AJ picks the backpack up and approaches the man. "Here are your things." He says. The man takes his backpack and puts the straps on. "Did you need any help with that? I'm good with a hammer." AJ looks behind him and then back at the man. "No, I'll be okay. Been working on the bridge for fifteen minutes. I'm finished now." The man nods. "I'm assuming you have a camp nearby since you're well armed and clean." The stranger adds. "Yeah, I do." AJ replies firmly. "Mind if I join?" AJ glances down and then back at the man. "How many walkers have you killed?" AJ asks. "Couple dozen." "How many people have you killed?" "None." "Why?" "Never had the reasons to." AJ stares at the stranger. "How have you survived this long?" He asks. "I don't know. I ask myself that a lot every day." The stranger replies. "I don't know you, but I do know this. If you try anything, you're gonna be the one who loses." AJ exclaims. The stranger nods. They begin heading back to Alexandria.

Inside Alexandria

Everyone from the council is gathered around. "We take a vote." AJ begins. "I just brought a man here who hasn't killed any humans, only walkers. My gut tells me he's right but this isn't my decision to make on my own. He's either in or out." AJ finishes. The council members begin talking to each other. Meanwhile the stranger is inside a cell with Derek watching him, waiting for AJ to come back. After three minutes pass by, they begin speaking up. "I vote in. We have more people, we become stronger. We have the Hilltop and the Kingdom. Sure, we're no longer allies with the Commonwealth but it's good to have more numbers." A member says. The others look at him. "I vote in." Another member says. "Out. We barely know anything about this guy and from what he's telling you, he could be lying." A member of the council responds. "He looked me in the eyes and answered. Hell, he even smiled and obliged to everything I told him." AJ replies. "I still don't know him and wouldn't feel comfortable with a stranger roaming around inside our walls." AJ stares at him. "You were once a stranger, too, and we brought you in here and trusted you. I'm not asking you to trust him, I just want you to think about the vote you're making here." AJ responds. "I already made my mind and said my piece." The member replies and remains standing. Most of the members vote in and the others remain out. "I hereby declare that the man stays due to the amount of votes for in. I know you may not like it, but if you get to know him and see how agile he is, you may like him staying. He knows that if he tries anything, he loses." AJ walks out of the room and begins heading for the cell.

Inside the Cell

AJ approaches and makes eye contact with Derek. "He's free to go." AJ says and brings out a pair of keys and unlocks the cell door. He opens it and the stranger gets up. "Thank you. I understand why you placed me in here and had me wait." He says with a smile. AJ nods. "Thank you." He responds. The man walks up the stairs and Derek continues to stare at AJ. "What?" AJ questions. "You know what. You're just gonna let this guy roam around here when we don't know him?" Derek asks with aggression. "We took a vote! He's staying whether you like it or not. It's what my mother and father would have done." Derek continues to stare at AJ, refusing to lose contact. "Your mother and father died protecting you and making sure this place is better, I know. Maybe you're right. Jeremiah and Clementine would have done something like this." Derek finishes. "I'm making the future that they would be proud of. I'm the leader of this community and I make the calls whether people agree or disagree. If I feel like Mom and Dad would make those calls, then I'll make them too." AJ closes the cell door and walks up the stairs with Derek right beside him.

Morning

AJ wakes up and gets dressed then heads outside. He begins walking to the car and opens the driver side door and sets himself in the seat. He takes the keys out and places them in the ignition and starts the car. Derek enters inside the car and sits himself in the passenger seat. "Ready?" AJ asks. "Let's do this." Derek responds. The men at the gate open it and AJ and Derek leave Alexandria.

On the Road

Derek stares at a map while AJ focuses on the road. "Where is it we're heading again?" Derek asks. "We're going 22 miles out. We cleared most of what's in the vicinity of Alexandria, we need to check on more. Hopefully we come across something good." AJ responds. Derek sits the map on the dashboard and begins running his fingers down the map. "What about here? Downtown?" He asks. "That's a good start, but we know what happens in busy areas. Best find a quiet neighborhood to loot before we make our way downtown. See any neighborhoods on there?" AJ questions. Derek continues running his fingers on the map until he comes up with something. "Here. Delaware Road. We got many houses to search." "That'll do. Turn on the GPS and set the location to Delaware Road." Derek nods and begins marking the destination they head to.