Daryl's Angel: Saviour (Book Two)

Chapter 27: Red Night

As the evening comes and the sun starts to set, I head to the meeting with Elliot. Rosita offered to keep an eye on the infirmary (and Tara) so that we could both be there. We've gathered near Deanna's home in a small alcove with a fire pit that allows for light, warmth, and plenty of seating. Eric sees us and waves, offering us the chairs next to him, and we take them.

"Hey," he murmurs. "How are things?"

"Could be better," I reply softly.

Elliot pats my knee. "It'll be alright, cher."

We lapse into silence. Almost everyone is here, although I notice glaring gaps. There's no sign of Glenn or the man of the hour himself. Thankfully, Pete isn't around either. Jessie stares into the fire, her left eye puffy and bruised.

Deanna clears her throat. "We're going to start," she calls.

"Can we wait?" Maggie asks. "There's still people coming. Glenn, Rick."

"We're going to start," Deanna repeats. Maggie's shoulders sag. "It's already dark." She addresses the group. "We're going to talk about what happened. Not the fight. Not what precipitated it. We're dealing with that. We're going to talk about one of our constables, Rick Grimes. We're going to talk about how he had a pistol he stole from the armoury, about how he pointed it at people. And we're going to talk about what he said."

I look around the group. The Alexandrians look nervous, scared, while members of my group seem self-assured.

"I was hoping he'd be here," Deanna says.

"She said he's coming," Michonne says.

"I'm sure he'll be here," Carol agrees with a sweet smile. "And I'm sure we can work this all out."

I sure hope so.

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The meeting is calm and structured, with Deanna keeping things in line. Anyone who wants to speak is given the floor, allowed to stand and share their thoughts without interruption.

Michonne speaks ardently on Rick's behalf, as expected. She speaks of how hard it is to change from the person you have to be out there to the person you have to be in here. It's hard to take the survivor out of someone when that's all you've been for so long.

"Rick just wants his family to live," Michonne says. "He wants all of you to live. Who he is is who you're gonna be...if you're lucky."

Carol takes the floor next, and once again, she plays her sweet, unassuming housewife role perfectly. She speaks like she's at the prison giving storytime again.

"Rick Grimes saved my life over and over," she says. "There's terrifying people out there, and he rescued me from them. People like me, people like...like us, need people like him." She looks at Deanna. "I know what happened was scary, and I'm sure he's sorry for that. But maybe we should listen to what he was saying."

Another smile, sweet and hopeful, as she sweeps her gaze over everyone. Always watching, keeping an eye out.

In the other direction, Abraham's words are blunt and somewhat crass. "Simply put," he says. "There is a vast ocean of shit that you people don't know shit about. Rick knows every fine grain of said shit...and then some."

That's putting it simply.

When Abraham finishes, I get to my feet. All eyes fall on me, and I swallow, lifting my chin. Be brave, I tell myself, and speak the truth.

"When I met Rick, I thought he was the leader of the group who rescued me. It turns out, he had just met them that day, same as me," I start. "Even then, right at the start of all this, he showed intelligence and strength that very few have. He had and still has the strength to make the hard decisions that none of us want to make. It's what good leaders do."