80

                                    

                                          
We all followed Ezekiel outside, looking around at all the people. They seemed happy. It seems as if nothing bad ever happened here. "This is life here. Every day." I watched a girl with one leg, sitting on a stool and firing arrows at a target. "But it came at a cost. And I wanted more of this. I wanted to expand. To create more places like this. Men and women lost their limbs. Children lost their parents, because I sent them into battle against the wasted when I did not need to."
                          
"This is different." Rick nodded, walking towards him.
                          
"It isn't."
                          
"It is. The dead don't rule us. The world doesn't look like this outside your walls. People don't have it as good. Some people don't have it good at all."
                          
"I have to worry about my people." Rick glared at him, turning away.
                          
"You call yourself a damn king. You sure as hell don't act like one." Daryl shook his head.
                          
Ezekiel walked up to Daryl. "All of this...came at a cost. It was lives, arms, legs." He walked back over to Rick. "The peace we have with the Saviors is uneasy, but it is peace. I have to hold onto it. I have to try." Rick looked frustrated as Ezekiel turned away. "Although the Kingdom cannot grant you the aid you desire, the King is sympathetic to your plight. I offer our friend Daryl asylum for as long as he requires it. He will be safe here. The Saviors do not set foot inside our walls."
                          
"How long do ya think that's gonna last?" Daryl asked. Ezekiel glances at him and he walked away, tugging me with him. The others followed right behind us. 
                          
"Shouldn't you stay here? It's safer."
                          
Daryl shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna stay at Hilltop. It's closer to you." I smiled, looping my arm through his. "Hey, open it up, we're gone." Daryl waved his hand at the people by the gates.
The gates opened, everyone in a rush to leave.
                          
"You're not." Rick stopped us. 
                          
"I ain't staying here."
                          
"You have to. It's the smartest play. You know it is." Daryl scoffed, turning away. "Try to talk to Ezekiel. Or stare him into submission-whatever it takes. We'll be back soon. Lottie, say your goodbyes, it'll look suspicious if you're gone too."
                          
I nodded, turning to Daryl as Rick walked away. "I love you. We love you." I grabbed his hand, setting it on my stomach.
                          
He nodded, kissing me. "Right back at ya." 
                          
I tried to push down the lump in my throat and hold back the tears welling in my eyes. "I'll come back as soon as I can. Promise." 
                          
~*~
                          
As we were driving back, the radio we got from the Saviors came to life. "For anyone out there who loved the obese bastard as much as I did, I just wanna say a few words. Fat Joey was not the most badass sonuvabitch, but he was loyal. He had a great sense of humor. In fact, we were just joking about oral sex with Lucille the other day. Things will not be the same now that he's dead. Without Fat Joey, Skinny Joey...is just Joey. So it's a goddamn tragedy." We came up on a bunch of cars lined up deliberately, blocking the road. "So, lets have a moment of silence."
                          
"Someone's trying to block the way. Gotta be the Saviors." Jesus stated.
                          
"Look." We all looked in the direction Carl was, seeing what looked to be a factory. "I think that's their base over there."
                          
"Yeah, that's it." Jesus nodded. "Must be trying to make it hard to get to them."
                          
Rick nodded. "Yeah, we gotta keep moving. We'll move 'em, then we'll move 'em back. They don't need to know we were here."