[Finished] Living Among the Dead

54. Warning Signs

When Justin, the long haired man who Daryl fought with's body is brought to camp, all hell starts breaking loose.
"Guess they're gonna execute every last one of us!" A Savior by the name of Jed yells; he was the one I fought on the bridge. "Just like Justin!"
"Not if we have guns, too." Regina responds.
Voices begin overlapping one another, and soon the long blonde Savior named Laura starts breaking through, yelling with the rest.
But she can't stop it, and one of her friends move forward, and I punch him. He came way too close to my kids, who are just in my tent. The tent we're all fighting in front of.
That starts the arguing turning physical, as more punches are thrown between more people.
Above the yells I hear Alden, "Stop this shit! Stop it!"
People finally calm down and Alden starts talking, "We're gonna find out who did this, and we're gonna make sure it never happens to us again, all right?"
"'Us'? You're not one of us anymore." Jed sneers.
"'Us' means all of us."
He turns to address everyone but as Jed steps forward; I yell, "Alden duck!" Jed misses just partly, and I move forward and deck him right in his lip, breaking it open.
He goes to throw his own punch, but Carol moves forward with one hand on Jed's chest, the other on her gun.
"I thought you were supposed to be our leader," Jed snaps.
"Enough," Carol replies. "Turn around, all of you."
"No can do, Cee. Why don't you go ahead and yank that Roscoe; pop me right here? It's better than worrying about getting it in the back."
Laura rushes forward, as my people start pulling out their guns. "We don't want this. Hey, we just need to protect ourselves."
"No guns!" Daryl's voice rings clearly through the forest.
"That 'cause you're the one took out Justin?" Jed replies.
A short haired Savior disagrees, "Nah. My money's on garbage lady."
"Revenge for Simon's play, sure." Regina says.
A Savior around Daryl's age speaks up, "No. It's him. Finishing what he started." He moves towards an ax and picks it up, some of the other saviors do the same.
"Hey, stop." Arat warns, "It's gonna go too far."
"Nah." Daryl contradicts. "It won't." He loads his crossbow.
"Maybe it's both of them," the savior who first picked up the axe suggests. "Come on." The saviors start approaching us just as Rick rides in on his horse and shoots a gun in the air. "Everyone back off! Right now!"
Aran rushes forward and takes the axe from the instigator. "All right, we are not doing this. Let it go."
"I'll talk to Rick," Alden says. "I'll try and find a way to make everybody feel safe, all right?"
They don't look happy but they start moving.
"Start the redirect," Rick orders. "Pair off to work the grid."
I go back into my tent where the kids are huddled towards the back, silently crying. I pull Gracie and Paul on my lap, Hope curls into my side as I rock them gently.

"Carol," I call as I see her walk past the tent opening.
"Hey, how are you?" She asks.
"I'm fine, Rick's going to go accuse Daryl. Can you sit with the kids, Daryl's temper... it's been worst... He doesn't' need to be fighting with Rick... y'know?"
She nods, "Okay."
I smile briefly before rushing out, towards where Daryl's been camping.
I keep my distance as I hear Daryl say, "Bringing all these people together, it was always gonna happen."
They're sitting in the clearing.
"No. It's the right thing to do. The future belongs to all of us now."
"Why do they get this future? And Glenn don't? Or Abraham? Or Sev? Or Sasha? All the people the Kingdom lost Hilltop Oceanside? You ever think about what they want? What they'd do, if they could?"
"Yeah, I do. I have. For a long time, I wanted it, too, maybe more than anyone. But killing each other when the world already belongs to the dead? It's not the way, not anymore."
I see Daryl's anger sparking.
"Hey, we got Grid duty." I speak up before it can light.
Daryl nods, grabbing his crossbow as he stands up.
"Daryl, I know you don't agree with everything we're doing here. I know you don't either, Anne. All I ask is that you try. Do it. Let people see it. And maybe everyone moves past what's happened to what could happen and maybe, just maybe, it'd be one of the best decisions you ever made. Like not killing a guy who left your brother on a rooftop to die."
"That's a load of shit and you know it, Rick." I respond. "It could just as well be the worst decision. But we'll try. Out of respect for you, well... I'll at least try."