valiant|| the walking dead

eight.

CHAPTER EIGHT,
who was the best
friend?

Aiden glared at the back of Eugene's head as she walked behind him and Rosita. Daryl walked in front of them all.

"I can't help but suspect that the reason I'm being taken alive is, despite... what completely warranted bad blood exists between us, you still harbor a vestigial nostalgia for our erstwhile camaraderie. And in light of that, I'm willing to just shut my grub flap and give you your space until you see such a time as you're ready fo break the ice, one traveling companion-" Eugene was cut off by Daryl quickly whipping around and pointing his knife at Eugene.

"Shut your mouth before I cut you tongue out!" Daryl hissed at Eugene as he backed the man up. Rosita stepped between the two and pulled them apart.

"Alright! We gotta keep going. They have to be out looking for him by now." Rosita said to Daryl.

Aiden looked up at Eugene and he looked down at her. She flipped him off before following after her husband.

"Thank you. I-" Eugene was cut off once again by Rosita, "shut up!"

Daryl and Aiden walked side-by-side in front of Eugene and Rosita, "Dare?" She said softly. He glanced down at her.

"Yeah?" He asked her gruffly.

"I hate him. For betraying us like he did." She stated.

"Yeah, me too." Daryl replied.

"After what Negan did to his goddamn best friend. To Abraham. I should turn around and blast his brains all over that fucking pavement," Aiden hissed. She was so full of hatred she was blinded by it. She was at the point where she could rarely see past her anger and violent nature. She hated it. She hated that she was becoming worse than Shane.

Her violence and hatred terrified her. She was petrified that she would hurt someone she loved one day. She blanked out sometimes. The last time it happened was during the attack on Hilltop. When she fired at Dwight and Simon, nearly getting herself killed.

"We need him," was all Daryl replied with. Aiden gaped up at him.

"We could figure out how to make bullets! Xavier knows about that stuff, too." Aiden said to him.

They started to walk down a hill before she heard Rosita and Eugene stop walking.

The couple turned and watched as Rosita had her gun pointed under Eugene's chin, "you're selfish, and you're a coward, and you're a traitor. You turned your back on the only friends you ever had. Shooting you in the head right here would actually make the world a better place." Rosita moved her gun away from him, "but we're not gonna kill you, not because we give a rat's ass about you. We just need what's in there!" She shaved his head. "We're gonna stick you in the darkest hole we can find, and the only time you'll see the light of day is when we need you to teach us how to do something. So don't worry- you'll get what you want. You'll live. But we're gonna force you to do something useful with your pathetic life!" She shoved him and they were walking again.

»

The four continued on until they got back to the car and saw a small herd of walkers, "they must've heard us pull up. We got it. Watch him." Daryl said to Rosita. He approached the herd. Daryl fired his crossbow at the dead while Aiden slashed at them with her machete.

Once they were dead, Aiden turned and watched as Eugene vomit all over Rosita.

"He just-"

"He hurled on me!" Rosita exclaimed before she shouted, "he got away!"

The three raced after the man.

They approached a large pile of ashes and bones. Daryl pointed at footprints and spoke, "he couldn't have got far. Come on." Daryl said.

The three started to run, "we can't let him get back to 'em! If you see him, blow that pig's head off!" Rosita demanded.

"I wanted to back at the Sanctuary!" Aiden shouted.

After running for several minutes and looking Eugene, the trio never found the fucking traitor.

»

They returned to the Hilltop only to learn about the attack the following day.

The final fight.

Aiden was more than ready. Elliot, Judith, and Gracie would stay at the Hilltop with Annalise.

Aiden sat on a picnic bench with King Ezekiel when she said, "hey, Ezekiel, I never said I was sorry 'bout your tiger."

He looked at her and smiled, "she died a hero."

"Yeah, she saved Carl's ass from Negan at Alexandria..." she trailed off and fiddled with her fingers.

Ezekiel looked at her and he could see the amount of pain she felt. The way her hands trembled more than they should, the way she bounced her knees whenever she sat still for too long, the way she took deep breaths every couple minutes. He paid very close attention to Aiden Dixon.

"He's not gone, Aiden." Ezekiel said and looked away from her. While looking straight ahead he spoke, "the ones who love us never truly leave us."

Aiden looked at him, "I guess you're right. As long as we're here to honor them they'll never die out." She smiled softly, "this group is never gonna die out. We're strong. We're a family."

Ezekiel smiled at her widely. "Yes, yes we are." The King pat her knee, "we are."

Aiden rubbed her face and sighed, "when I was younger, my brother would look at me and say, "you're so much like me it's scary" I could never really understand it because the only thing similar about us was our eyes and sarcasm. But I get it now," she said.

"And what is it?" Ezekiel quizzed her.

"Both of us were driven by hatred." She mumbled, "he was- after the world ended he changed for the worse. His lust for this woman drove him mad. He tried to put a bullet in her husband's back so he could have her, his son, and the woman's future child all to himself. The sad part was the husband was his best friend. But in the end, the best friend kill my brother. Ever since, I've been driven by hatred."

"Who was the best friend?" Ezekiel asked her, his brows furrowed.

She looked at him and scrunched up her nose, "Rick."

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word count: 1,063
episode: worth

and here's yet another edited chapter! i'm going to finish act one tonight and i'll star after two whenever i wake up. but did anyone notice that little sirius black quote i slipped in?

that ezekiel and aiden conversation was my favorite part of this entire chapter. it's a pretty short chapter but it shows a small little side to aiden.

next chapter is the final chapter of act one and i'm so mf excited for act two. it's one of the saddest things i've ever wrote.