[Finished] Living Among the Dead

61. Bounty

"You're in no place to make demands here," I call down to the woman calling herself Alpha. "There are plenty of us here, each more ready to defend this place than the next."
"I show you my face because we mean you no harm." The woman responds. "I just want my daughter. I know you have her."
Daryl speaks up, "You should turn around. Leave now and no one gets hurt."
"Wrong answer," she says, then holds up her hand. A group of her people start falling in, bringing two hostages forward. I exchange looks with Daryl.
"They don't see her." Kelly whispers. "Least not yet."
"See who?" I ask, not taking my eyes off of Alpha.
"Connie; she's in the cornfield."
I sigh, today is not going to be an easy day. "Tara, where're my kids?"
"They went to sit with Jesus."
I nod, "Okay... okay. Daryl? What do you think?"
"That girl told me what her mom does to her. We ain't sending her back to that."
"Yeah," Tara responds. "But what if she has Alden and Luke? Pissing her off can get them killed."
"Did you kill our friends?" Magna calls down. "We found their horses."
"

No." Alpha responds, simply. "Which one of you leads these people?"
Daryl and I exchanfe a glance.
"What the hell does it matter?" He calls down, angrily.
"Then I'll just address all of you. Your people crossed into our land. There will be no conflict. Your people killed our people. There will be no conflict. I'm done talkin'. Bring me my daughter, or there will be conflict."
"No one touches the girl." Daryl grunts.
"Daryl," I sigh, but he turns around and starts decending the wall.
"Daryl?" Tara repeats.

"Where's he going?" Yumiko asks.
"Daryl, stop." Tara orders, she then looks incredulously at me.
I shrug, "I'll get him, and before you say anything. If it comes to a trade, I'm not responsible for the girl. I am responsible for Alden and Luke."

I reach Daryl as he's passing by Enid and Henry.
"Does she have Alden and Luke?" Enid asks.
"I don't know," Daryl responds, harshly.
"What does she want?" Henry asks, and Daryl turns to look at him as I respond.
"

They want the girl."
"No, Daryl," Henry begs. "We-we can't do that."

"She ain't gettin' her," Daryl says as he looks pointedly to me.
"Then what are you doing?" Henry inquires.
"She's done talkin'. I'm not. Come on." Daryl holds a hand up, and Kal opens the gates, so I shrug and follow Daryl.
We approach the gate that Alpha is standing on the other side of.
"You can't have her. Now... if it's a fight you're lookin' for, we got enough firepower to light you up. Right here and now."
At the sound of a baby's cry, I look out to Alpha's people and see a baby being held by one of the women.

"You brought a baby out here?" Daryl asks, shocked.
"We're animals. Animals live out here. Animals have babies. So we have babies out here. Now, what were you sayin'? Lightin' us all up? You seem to want conflict. I don't. So I'm proposing a trade."
She glances back and her people demask the two they'd drug over earlier. Its Alden and Luke.
"I wanted to kill them." Alpha continues, evenly. "But I want my daughter more. One of mine, two of yours. It's a good trade, which is why you're gonna take it. Now... bring me my daughter."
I turn around immediately, time to get the girl.
Daryl follows behind me and as soon as we've made it back inside our walls, Enid asks, "Anne, what'd she say? Are they okay?"

I don't respond, disgusted by the choice I have to make.
"Yeah," Daryl responds for me. "They will be. We got to hand back the girl. Where's Henry?"
"I don't know. Why?" Tammy Rose asks as her and Earl approach us.
"He's gonna want to say goodbye."
"Daryl, Anne," Magna says, approaching us. "Tara and Yumiko went to get Lydia."
"What?" Daryl snaps.
"Anne had said that she'd make the trade. So Tara decided when she saw Luke and Alden."
"Hey," Yumiko states as her and Tara run over to us from the direction of the cells. "She's gone."
"How you mean she's gone?" Daryl asks.
"Her door was open," Tara explains. "Key was in the lock. Daryl, you know we have to do this."
"All right, split up. Find Henry, we find the girl." I nod, and off we go to try to find Henry and Lydia.