"We can make it together. But we can only make it together."
~Glenn Rhee
"Do you really think it's a good time to be leaving when Rick's gone?" Abraham asked Sasha, reclining on his favorite chair.
"If Rick is able to become allies with this King Ezekiel, then we're going to need all the support we can get. Abraham, I've never stopped thinking about what Jesus said," she knelt down beside him. "I believe I can do this." Tears glistened in her eyes.
Abraham stood up and took her into his arms, "I believe you can, too."
They held each other in silence for a while before Sasha broke it, "I know that scumbag Gregory will never agree to this though." She let go of him, sighing.
"I'm pretty sure I can convince him. I have a way with words," he gave her a toothy grin.
"I don't think you should come. If Negan does come back, you're going to need to be here," she said grimly.
"Sasha, the last time I wasn't with you two people died. I have to be there this time," he responded stubbornly. "And maybe I can live at Hilltop with you."
"Alexandria needs you here..." Sasha looked unsure, not wanting to leave Abraham and her friends behind.
"It needs you here as well," Abraham said sadly.
"We'll still be able to see each other often. Maybe we can even have a shuttle between Hilltop and Alexandria," Sasha giggled, causing Abraham to chuckle. They linked their hands together, not wanting to let go.
~
Abraham walked Sasha to the gates, not liking the idea she was going to walk to Hilltop by herself. But she wasn't going to have any of it. She was going to do this whether he liked it or not. Whether anyone liked it or not. Eugene even tried to protest this, but she practically forced him to open the gate. He finally did, albeit with much hesitation.
"Take a car at least," Abraham told her.
"No. We only have one car left. You all need it more than I do."
"Sasha, why do you have to leave right now? There are Saviors out there, Rick's gone, and-"
"These past few days have been incredibly tough for all of us," Sasha interrupted. Everyone is moping around, unsure of what's going to happen. I made a promise to myself the day Maggie and Daryl were killed that I... we would kill Negan. This is how it begins. We can't just sit around and wait. We have to take back control over our lives."
Abraham nodded his head, proud of the woman he had chosen to love. Eugene, who was listening, even felt a surge of empowerment at her speech.
"I'm not much of a religious man, but Amen," He gave her a half-smile.
Footsteps were heard as they approached the pair, interrupting their goodbye. Glenn's eyes passed between them, wondering what was going on. "I'm just here for my wall duty," he told Eugene. "Are you two going somewhere?"
"I'm going to Hilltop," Sasha stated confidently.
"Alone?" Glenn asked.
"Yup," Abraham smiled at her. "She's already a badass woman, but she's going to be a badass leader."
The gears started turning in Glenn's mind, thinking how the chess board was being set. Their pieces were starting to fall into place, with Rick going to find The Kingdom and Sasha leading Hilltop. This was one step closer to his goal, declaring war on Negan and slaughtering him.
"What will happen to Gregory?" Glenn inquired, knowing that Hilltop's weak leader would do everything in his power to stay on top.
Sasha and Abraham exchanged glances. "We don't know yet. I'm sure Jesus has a plan..."
"I know the last time I was there Maggie negotiated a deal with him..." Glenn took a deep breath in. "If only she was here now." He could feel his eyes tearing up; they always did when he mentioned her name. "I want to go with you, Sasha."
"Glenn, Rick put you in charge. You can't just leave!" Sasha gaped at him.
"He also put Michonne and Carl in charge. They're better leaders than I am anyway," he paused, thinking about how he could convince her. "I don't know if I will be able to retain my cool if Negan does come back. I nearly shot him last time and he nearly killed me for it. I feel useless here. I want to help in any way I can. I want the same thing as you," He pleaded.
"Sasha, I'm not one to argue with you. But I would feel better if someone escorted you," Abraham looked at her intensely.
Sasha remained silent, mulling over Glenn's words. If they were going to accomplish this, they had to all work together and help out. It wasn't an "every man for himself" world anymore.
"Alright," She gave in.
"Let me get my stuff," Glenn went back to his house.
"Tell Gregory to suck it for me, okay?" Abraham said before he leaned in and kissed her passionately. Sasha was so lost in the moment she didn't hear Glenn come back.
"Who's going to take up wall duty then?" Eugene asked. "Eugene," Abraham was about to say something sarcastic, but stopped himself. "I'll relieve you."
Sasha and Glenn headed out on horseback, waving bye to Abraham and Eugene. A long road laid ahead of them, both to Hilltop and to overthrow Negan. A road filled with the shed of blood, tears, and sweat.
~
Elsewhere, Tara woke up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. She looked around at her surroundings, unfamiliar with where she was. Beside her laid bottles of water, fish, and a spear.
She took the bottle, desperately drinking its contents. Her mouth was so dry despite being surrounded by water. Go figure.
She looked to see a young girl sitting on a rock, watching the waves. Tara quickly hid, knowing that no one could be trusted anymore. She patiently waited until the girl left, deciding to follow her. She had to live in a community and maybe they could help her. She left a good amount of distance between them, careful not to make any noise.
As she followed the girl, she took note of her clothing. She had never seen anything like it. It was a dress made out of net, seaweed, and shells. To Tara, this was indeed interesting.
Suddenly, the girl stopped in the middle of the forest. Tara immediately hid behind a tree, watching to see what was happening.
The girl looked up to the sky and let out a birdlike whistle. As soon as she finished, ladders dropped down from the trees.
Hesitantly, Tara gazed up to see what the ladders were connected to. Her jaw dropped in amazement; the ladders had come down from none other than treehouses!
Tara was too caught up in her awe at the ingenuity of this that she didn't notice that some of the women from up above had seen her.
They shouted, pulling out guns on her. Tara didn't even look back as she ran from their bullets.
They kept shooting and even threw spears at her, which missed her by an inch. Tara was becoming out of breath, not sure how much longer she could continue running from these women.
Out of the blue, a net was thrown over her, entangling her from escaping. She struggled relentlessly, her attempts to escape futile. Several women, also wearing similar clothing to the girl, approached her with stern looks on their faces. A blonde, middle-aged woman carrying a trident stood right in front of her, and Tara didn't need to be told this was their leader.
"So... I like your get-up," Tara gestured towards the sky.
The woman only smiled in response.
~
It was already nightfall by the time Glenn and Sasha arrived at Hilltop. They hadn't talked much on the way over there; both too invested in their thoughts and keeping themselves on the horse.
"I don't know how we're going to get in," Sasha looked at Glenn tiredly.
"Yeah, I don't really feel like spending the night out here," He glanced over at the walkers slowly moving towards them.
Sasha grew impatient, jumping off the horse and knocked furiously on the wooden gate. To their surprise, it opened, revealing Jesus standing on the other side.
"You're lucky tonight I was on guard," He smiled brightly.
"Sasha, I'm glad you're back. I was hoping you would take up my offer," He gestured for her and Glenn to enter.
"Yeah, I thought about it for a long time. It wasn't until... Until Carol died that I decided to listen to you," Sasha responded, walking into Hilltop.
"Someone else from your group died?" Jesus looked at the pair sympathetically. "Was it Negan?"
"No, she took her life," Glenn answered somberly. The wound was still fresh for him, dripping blood out from inside his heart.
"I'm very sorry," was all Jesus said.
"Rick's not at Alexandria. He left to go find another community that Carol told him about. I thought this would be the best time to leave since he wouldn't try and stop me. Note how I said try," she smirked. Glenn and Jesus grinned at her determination. "We've all got jobs to do. And this is mine."
"I still don't know how to get Gregory to step down. But we can talk about all this tomorrow. I'm sure you two are exhausted," Jesus led them to a camper next to the main house. "You two can sleep here. I'm sure Gregory will love seeing your faces tomorrow morning," He opened the door.
"I'm sure he will," Sasha stepped in first, following Glenn. They expressed their gratitude to him and said goodnight.
"I'll sleep on the couch. I don't want Abraham knocking me out," Glenn teased. Sasha laughed as she collapsed on the bed. Tomorrow would certainly be an interesting day, but for now, they embraced sleep.
~
Tara was interrogated about her identity, community, and why she was there. She gave honest answers about everything, knowing lying would not be helpful here.
The leader, Netanya, did most of the interrogating. The other two women would only speak to give Tara a hard time, which Netanya would quickly put a stop to.
"Look, I don't want any trouble. I'm not here to hurt or steal from any of you. I just want to get back home," Tara begged.
"I understand that. But we still need to discuss some things," Netanya explained. Tara sighed wearily, sitting on the hard, wooden floor.
"I need to find my friend. He could be injured," Tara tried to get these women to understand.
"I don't think you get it," the woman named Beatrice spat. "We could have killed you already."
"Beatrice, enough," Netanya stopped her. "But Tara, we shoot anyone on the spot. Or more specifically any man," She looked at Tara seriously.
"Wait...what?" Tara looked at her fearfully.
Netanya nodded. "But it's almost dinner time so we can discuss this there." She motioned for Tara to follow her, exiting out of the house. "The bridge seems like it'll break, but we built it pretty sturdy," Netanya said as she crossed the suspended rope bridge that led to another house. There were several bridges like this to connect the houses to each other.
"Is it too late to mention I'm scared of heights?" Tara called out as she saw the women crossing the bridge with ease. The women looked back at her with a "Really?" type of expression. Tara gripped the ropes tightly and crossed, trying not to look down as she did this.
She let out a sigh of relief once she had gotten across it, heading into the house. Inside was a table with five seats around it. The table already had plates and utensils set.
"Sit down, Tara. My granddaughter, Cindy, will bring out dinner shortly," Netanya said warmly.
Tara took a seat nervously, asking, "So what was this about killing any man?"
Netanya was about to answer her, but Cindy, the young girl Tara had first encountered, appeared with a basket. Cindy instantly recognized Tara and said hello.
"Ah, Cindy. This is Tara," Netanya introduced the two. Cindy smiled as did Tara, neither of them saying they knew each other already.
The women started eating and Tara dug into her... fish. Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers.
"As I was about to say, yes we kill any men who wander in here," Netanya wiped her mouth.
"That explains why there are no men here," Tara said with her mouth full. "But why?"
The women all exchanged looks with each other before Netanya spoke. "We have had a bad history with men. All of us here used to be part of another group... but we're the only survivors now. Cindy is all I have left of my family."
Tara remained speechless at this, knowing the feeling of that history. "I'm so sorry," she finally said.
"It's not your fault. But we just don't take chances with men anymore. So if you leave, which I hope you won't, you can't come back with your friend."
"So, Tara, why were you looking for guns and medicine way out here?" Beatrice looked at her darkly. "You said you got into some trouble with walkers and ended up knocked out in the river. But there must be other places around your community to find those items."
"We, uh, we had to look further because we have a deal with another community. We had to kill this Negan guy and give them weapons and medicine in exchange for food," she didn't notice the wide-eyed expressions on the women once she mentioned the name "Negan." "And we did kill him. We raided his base, this big satellite place, and we killed everyone there. We're just like you. We don't take chances either."
"Well, I can see you want to get back to your group. And I have no reason to keep you here. Tomorrow, Beatrice and Lauren will walk you back to the bridge," Netanya finished eating.
"Thank you. For everything," Tara smiled a little before she chomped down on her food again.
~
The door to the camper swung open, letting in a frantic Jesus. "Get up. Gregory wants to talk to you."
Sasha stretched while Glenn stood up, yawning. They walked over to the main house; Sasha thinking about how she'd approach Gregory and Glenn thinking about he'd convince Gregory.
Gregory was waiting for them in his office, furious at Jesus for letting them enter Hilltop.
"I told you to leave and never come back!!" Gregory jumped out of his chair, pointing at Sasha.
"Sir, we have unfinished business," Sasha reasoned.
"NO! Our business is finished! The Saviors are due any day now and you need to get the hell outta here! What they did to Marcia and Danny will be what happens to all of us!" Gregory shouted, infuriating Glenn, who knew who he was referring to.
"Her name is Maggie. His name is Daryl," Glenn said quietly, trying to keep his anger under control.
"Yeah, yeah," Gregory dismissed him. "You all just need to go immediately!"
"They're not going anywhere," Jesus stepped in front of them. "Sasha wants to stay and she's going to."
"I'm the leader here, Jesus. Or did you forget that since you're always gone?" Gregory scoffed.
"Maybe right now. But I think things are going to change soon," Jesus retorted.
Gregory's face turned beet red at Jesus's defiance. "You're going to be in charge?!"
"Not me," Jesus glanced over at Sasha.
"And I want to negotiate why I would be a good leader," Sasha stepped forward.
"Maybe we could one-on-one," Gregory said sleazily. Glenn's fist collided with his face in a powerful punch before Jesus or Sasha could react.
"I'm getting really tired of all these leaders disrespecting women," Glenn growled. "Negan already insulted my wife's memory. I'm not going to let another douchebag insult, Sasha, too."
Gregory placed his hand over his bruising cheek, preparing to yell again. But the sounds of roaring trucks interrupted him. Negan's men were here.
"Hide them in the closet," Gregory ordered Jesus as he went out to meet the Saviors. Jesus nodded his head as Gregory touched his sore wound. Today was just going well.
~
Cindy watched in hiding as Tara walked towards her doom. She knew her grandmother had ordered Tara to be killed.
She was prepared to intervene when she saw Beatrice and Lauren pull out their guns on Tara. She was not going to see more people get killed. But then something unexpected happened.
"We should kill you. There's nothing left for you back at home," Lauren waved her gun at a surprised Tara.
"Don't. I won't come back here. Just please let me go," Tara slowly backed away.
"You better not. Or we won't hesitate to shoot you," Beatrice warned. "Or any of your friends."
"Yeah, I promise I won't come back..." Tara was trying to get away from these insane women.
"Good luck identifying the bodies of your dead friends," Beatrice started to walk away along with Lauren.
"Wait, you know about what happened to my group? How?" Tara asked.
"Because we used to work for Negan and one day we decided to rise up against him. He doesn't put up with that shit and he attacked our community," Beatrice explained annoyedly. "Netanya, Cindy, Lauren, and me were the only ones to survive his attack. He destroyed everything. Just like he destroyed your group. You only killed a portion of his men. There's more. There always is."
"No... No...." Tara was in denial.
"It's true," Cindy said, stepping out from the brush. Tara felt her eyes well up with tears.
"Go! What are you waiting for?!" Lauren pulled out her gun again. Tara immediately fled, desperately holding onto the hope her friends were alive. She would not rest until she reached the city.
~
"So what do you want to show me?" Simon, leader of his group of Saviors, questioned curiously. Gregory smiled, leading him to the closet in the hallway. Oh, how great it would be when he turned over those two nuisances to the Saviors. He could already imagine the looks on their faces when he opened the door.
But the only look of surprise was coming from Gregory. They weren't in here! Dammit, Jesus! He could feel his smug grin radiating off him from across the room.
But Gregory couldn't dwell on that. He had to think fast and the only thing in the closet was...
Alcohol.
"I wanted to give you this," He handed Simon a bottle of scotch.
"Scotch? I'm not really a scotch type of guy. But Negan will sure appreciate this," Simon grinned at Gregory, who was sweating. Simon went into the closet and took the whole box of alcohol. "I'll give this to him. Don't worry, I'll give you credit. Some credit."
Gregory could only watch in utter shock as Simon took all of his alcohol. Jesus was trying so hard not to laugh at this sight.
"You are a solid man, Gregory. You better keep showering us with more gifts! I can't to see what you get us next time!" Simon said cheerfully before leaving a stunned Gregory.
"Jesus!" Gregory's shock quickly turned into anger. "I told you to put them in the closet!"
"I did, but you didn't say which closet," Jesus went into Gregory's office, gesturing to that closet.
"You sold us out!" Sasha was livid as she stormed out of the cramped space. "And you call yourself a leader?! You're a coward!"
"Like you could lead these people, you stupid bitch!" Gregory laughed. Sasha was about to slug him, but Glenn stopped her.
"If you won't listen to her, maybe you'll at least hear me out," Glenn said. "I think we need to discuss some things and how it'll benefit both our parties."
"You will listen to him,"Jesus looked over at Gregory expectedly.
"Fine, let's make this quick," Gregory groaned. Jesus and Sasha left the two of them standing there.
"This will be quick. I promise," Glenn started. "I know Maggie was a better negotiator than me, so hopefully I'll still be able to persuade you."
"And a lot better to look at," Gregory folded his arms. Glenn's mouth twitched at this as he walked over to Gregory's desk. "She sure was."
"What are you looking for?" Gregory looked at the man suspiciously as Glenn pulled open different drawers.
"Oh, just this," He pulled out a gun.
"What the?!" Gregory shouted. But Glenn didn't point it at him, he handed it over insistently.
"Here, take it." Gregory took it slowly, unsure of what was happening.
"I told you this would be quick," Glenn said before he grabbed Gregory's wrist. He aimed at the wall and pulled the trigger with Gregory's finger. Then he turned the gun on Gregory himself and shot him squarely in the forehead. Glenn started breathing heavily and dropped the gun to the floor. Just as he did, Jesus and Sasha rushed in.
"Glenn! What happened?!" Jesus stared at the blood pooling over Gregory's body.
"Gregory went to his desk, pulled a gun on me and threatened to hand my dead body and Sasha's over to the Saviors. I tried to wrestle the gun away from him. It went off... twice," Glenn feigned his shock at the turn of events.
Sasha was in too much surprise to speak, leaving Jesus to say, "I knew he was the scum of the earth. But to stoop that low?"
"It doesn't matter now. We have to clean this up," Sasha finally said. Glenn and Jesus nodded firmly, lifting up Gregory's body and carrying it out.
Once they had wiped the blood, Jesus was going to gather people of Hilltop and tell them what had happened. He knew they would understand why Glenn did what he did. He just didn't know how The Saviors would react to this. Or how the people would welcome Sasha.
Jesus advised Glenn to leave immediately. Staying would only cause further problems for both of them.
"Before I go, can I change clothes? These have blood stains," Glenn asked sheepishly.
"Sure, I have some clothes you can have. Take whatever you want," Jesus directed him to his room.
Glenn emerged in a black long sleeve shirt under a grey jacket with black pants. In fact, he was dressed in pure black since his boots were the same color. Sasha and Jesus glanced at him with a look of "wow."
"Well, I'll see you all in Alexandria," Glenn went up to Sasha and hugged her. "You'll do great here, Sasha. I believe in you. Maggie believed in you," he reassured her. Sasha hugged him back tightly.
"Thank you."
Jesus gave Glenn one of those bro-hugs before telling him to be safe. Glenn assured he would be.
Glenn couldn't suppress his smile as he journeyed all the way back home. This was the happiest he had felt in a long time. "We're almost there, Maggie," he looked down at his pocket watch, before pressing it against his lips.
~
Tara swiftly approached Alexandria, seeing her favorite ginger atop the walls. Abraham snatched his binoculars, saying, "Well I'll be."
Tara grinned as she was let into the city, but her smile dropped when she saw Abraham's sober face. He always had the hard job.
Tara was still crying when Rosita entered the medical center.
"Tara, you have to have seen something out there. There has to be a clue, a lead," she knelt beside her. "Anything, I'll take anything. I just need something that can help us."
Tara stared blankly at her shoes. "There was... a place. By the ocean. A place filled with women."