Glenn's group laid out the food they'd found in the vehicles.
Joe eyed it, then said flatly, "This is ours now."
Aaron nodded without hesitation. "There's more than enough. When do we leave?"
Joe didn't blink. "Soon."
Heads turned, faces lighting up with the first flicker of hope in weeks.
Then Joe's gaze snapped back to Aaron. "So where are we going?"
Aaron shifted. "I always drive the groups back."
Joe's expression hardened, ice cold.
Aaron lifted his hands slightly. "Look, I know you're good people. I bet my life on it. But I won't bet my friends' lives."
Michonne stepped forward, voice firm. "You're not driving. If you want to get home, tell us where."
Aaron hesitated, then locked eyes with her. "Go north on Route Sixteen…"
"And then?" Michonne pressed.
Aaron shook his head. "I'll tell you when we get there."
Joe sighed. "We'll take Twenty-Three north. You can give us directions from there."
Aaron's voice cracked. "That's… a bad idea. We cleared Sixteen. It's safer. It's faster."
Joe just repeated, "We're taking Twenty-Three. We leave at sundown."
Aaron's eyes widened. Amy blurted, "At night?" Everyone turned to Joe.
Joe's voice was steady. "I know it's dangerous. So is getting caught unprepared."
Rick nodded grimly. "If it's not safe, we need to move on before they even know we're there."
Aaron spoke up sharply. "No one is going to hurt you. You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger."
Joe crouched down in front of him, eyes sharp. "Tell me where the camp is, and we can leave right now."
Aaron's silence was answer enough.
Joe rose. "That's what I thought." He faced the others. "It's gonna be a long night. Eat. Rest. Be ready. We don't know what we're walking into."
He stepped out into the cool night air, Maggie slipping out after him. They stopped beside the RV.
She clutched her stomach, and Joe turned. "You alright?"
Maggie's voice was soft. "When you said we're going… you meant it, right? You weren't just trying to push Aaron into talking?"
Joe nodded, brushing a kiss against her cheek. "We're going. I just want to keep everyone safe. We've got too much to lose."
Maggie smiled faintly. "And everything to gain."
Joe studied her. "When you walked up to Terminus, what did you hear?"
Maggie's face fell. "Nothing."
Joe sighed. "Tonight, we'll be outside those walls. No sound, no proof. And I'll have to decide whether to bring my family inside."
Maggie nodded, waiting.
"Aaron asked me what it would take to make me believe," Joe said quietly. "Truth is… nothing could. But I'll look anyway."
Tears welled as Maggie hugged him tight, her voice breaking. "There can't only be bad people left. We have to try. For the kids."
Joe held her, rubbing her back. "We will."
She cried against his chest, then pulled back, calmer. She kissed him softly. "Come on. Let's eat before it's time to go."
Joe nodded, following her back inside.
...
That night, the group piled into the SUV and RV. Glenn drove the SUV in front, Joe took the wheel of the RV behind.
As the road stretched dark ahead, Rick popped open the glove box. A neat stack of license plates spilled into his lap.
Rick held them up.
Aaron glanced over. "I'm collecting all fifty states. Gonna hang them on my wall."
Glenn smirked. "How you planning to get Alaska and Hawaii?"
Aaron froze... then laughed. "Didn't think that far ahead."
The others didn't laugh. Michonne cut in, her voice steady. "You have your own house?"
Aaron nodded. "See for yourself." He pulled a bundle of photos from the seat pocket and handed them back.
Michonne flipped through slowly. Houses. Streets. Smiling porches.
Then she stopped, frowning. "Why don't you have pictures of your people?"
Aaron didn't flinch. "I did take a group shot. Exposure was off. Didn't come out right."
Michonne's eyes hardened. She turned to Rick and Glenn. "Did we ask him the questions?"
Rick shook his head.
Michonne faced Aaron squarely. "How many walkers have you killed?"
Aaron blinked. "What?"
"How many?" She repeated.
Aaron hesitated. "I don't know. A lot…"
The car went quiet. Uneasy.
Michonne pressed. "How many people have you killed?"
Aaron's voice lowered. "Two."
"Why?"
"Because they tried to kill me."
The silence broke when Rick felt something at his foot. He reached down, pulled out a small black device.
He held it up. "You've been listening to us."
Aaron met his eyes. "I told you. I was watching. Yes, I was listening."
Rick's jaw tightened. "Then your people already know our plan. They could be waiting."
Glenn didn't answer. his eyes were locked ahead, but it was too late.
The road was flooded with walkers.
"Shit!" Glenn slammed the wheel. There was no stopping. Joe's RV loomed close behind. Slam the brakes and both vehicles would be wrecked.
The SUV plowed into the herd. Bodies crunched under the tires. Hands slapped the glass.
Glenn hit the wipers but blood smeared across the windshield, turning the night into a red blur.
"Go!" Rick barked.
Glenn floored it. The SUV barreled through, bodies rolling over the hood until the tires skidded slick with gore.
The car spun, fishtailing. Glenn fought the wheel, stomped the brake, and the SUV screeched to a halt.
Rick shoved open his door, jumped out, scanning. The RV was gone.
"They made it through," Rick said quickly.
Glenn's voice was tight. "Then we circle back. Let's move."
They scrambled, but the SUV's engine coughed, dead.
Walkers staggered toward them, closing in.
Michonne jumped out, scanning the hood. She yanked at something wedged in the grille. Rotted arms, tangled bone.
Aaron's voice rose in panic. "They're coming right for us!"
Rick snapped, "Calm down. We know."
But Aaron wasn't listening. His composure cracked, sweat pouring, hands shaking against the door.
"We need to leave... now!"
And then, a flare shot high into the night sky.
Aaron's breath caught. His face went white. "Shit."
Rick spun. "Who did that?"
Aaron stammered, panic flooding his voice. "It's over. I need to get out. It's over. Let me out!"
Michonne reached for the door handle to climb back in. Aaron kicked it open, slamming her aside.
He bolted into the dark woods.
"Dammit!" Rick hauled Michonne up, and they ran after him.
The forest came alive with groans. Shadows moved on all sides.
Walkers swarmed from the trees, jaws snapping, hands clawing in the dark.
Rick's revolver barked. Michonne's blade flashed. But the herd was everywhere.
And Aaron was gone, lost in the chaos.
...
Glenn was cut off, walkers pouring between him and the others.
He veered left, shoving through brush, stabbing and shooting as he went.
A dead hand clamped his shoulder. The weight dragged him down, teeth snapping inches from his face.
Glenn grappled, fingers digging into its throat. With a roar he smashed its skull against a rock again and again until the bone gave way.
He shoved the corpse aside, chest heaving, then pushed into a jog.
More walkers staggered out of the dark. He cut them down quick, blade flashing.
He was about to turn right when a voice cut through the chaos... desperate, panicked.
"Help!"
Aaron.
Glenn didn't hesitate. Distrust or not, he wouldn't just let him die.
He sprinted left, hacking down two more walkers before finding Aaron pinned against a tree.
Hands still bound, Aaron kicked wildly at the corpse lunging for him.
Glenn drove his knife through its skull, yanking Aaron free. He cut the binds with one quick slice.
"Run if you want," Glenn snapped. "I've got other problems."
Aaron grabbed his arm. "Wait. We can do this together. You care about your people... I've been listening. I care too."
Glenn hesitated, blood streaked across his face. Then he nodded once. "Fine. But don't slow me down."
Aaron nodded hard, falling in beside him.
...
Rick and Michonne fought like cornered animals, blades flashing in the dark.
Their guns clicked empty long ago. Rick pulled the flare gun and fired point-blank.
A walker's skull burst into flames, the light spilling over the road.
It lit the area, revealing at least a hundred more, pressing in.
They hacked, slashed, shoved the dead back. Step by step, retreating, arms burning with the strain.
Their motions slowed. Their shoulders ached. The pack didn't thin.
It just kept coming.
They were about to be swallowed whole when gunfire cracked through the night.
Glenn and Aaron burst out of the trees, dropping walkers left and right.
Rick and Michonne seized the opening, breaking away, sprinting toward where the flare had painted the sky. Glenn and Aaron fell in behind them.
They broke free onto Route Sixteen, lungs heaving.
Rick spun, glaring at Aaron. "If this is a trap. If you lured us here... your people are gonna die tonight."
Aaron swallowed hard, but said nothing.
They pushed on, boots pounding pavement until the outline of a water tower rose in the distance.
Down the road, light posts. Structures. A town.
And then... The RV.
Rick whistled sharp and low.
From the shadows, a reply. Joe stepped out of cover, weapon raised, then lowered. He motioned them forward.
Rick rushed up. "Everyone okay?"
Joe gave a short nod. "We're good."
From the warehouse beside him, the others spilled out.
Carl ran straight into Rick's arms, Judith clutched tight to Michonne. Tara rushed to Glenn, relief all over her face.
Joe's eyes flicked to Aaron's free hands but he held his tongue.
Aaron's focus wasn't on him. His eyes darted everywhere, scanning. "Eric? Eric!"
A voice, pained, answered, "Here!"
Aaron bolted into the warehouse.
Eric lay propped on a box, pale and sweaty. Maggie and Carol hovered nearby.
Eric managed a strained smile. "It's not a big deal. Just a broken ankle. At least that's what they said."
Aaron dropped to his knees beside him, hands trembling as he touched Eric's shoulder. His voice cracked. "I thought I lost you."
For the first time that night, the tension in Aaron's face broke. Not into fear, but into something closer to relief.
...
Aaron crossed the floor to Joe's group, his voice steady but his eyes still damp.
"Thank you," he said. "You saved Eric. I owe you... all of you. And I'll make sure that debt is paid when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria."
The group exchanged quiet nods. Even Joe gave the smallest acknowledgment.
Aaron exhaled, a shaky chuckle breaking from him. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling another mile tonight. Maybe we hit the road in the morning?"
His eyes went to Joe. Everyone else followed.
Joe studied him a beat, then gave a single nod. "That's fine. We rest tonight. We'll move out at first light."
The group settled, the warehouse falling into silence as people ate and found a spot to rest.
...
The next day, they rolled out in the RV.
Joe and a few of the men rode on top, hands gripping the rails as the vehicle crawled along at thirty.
No rush. Just steady progress towards Alexandria.
They crested a hill, and in the distance the Washington Monument cut the skyline.
Abraham froze, staring. Rosita's lips parted. Even Eugene lowered his head, a faint smile tugging his mouth.
They had made it. From Houston to D.C.
They'd seen it with their own eyes. Even if they never set foot there, they could say they'd reached it.
The monument faded behind trees as the road curved. Three miles from Alexandria, the RV sputtered and died.
Abraham coasted it to a stop.
Joe hopped down from the roof, Rick and Daryl following. Glenn already had the hood up, muttering about the engine.
Joe gave him a nod and ducked inside the RV.
When he came back out, he carried a duffel bag stuffed with a rifle, a shotgun, a few handguns, and the last boxes of ammo they had.
He handed shovels to Rick and Daryl. "We're gonna stash a few guns."
They moved to a nearby house with a pile of junk slumped across the lawn.
Joe and Daryl dug while Rick kept watch. The hole wasn't deep, just enough to swallow the bag.
Joe dropped it in, kicked dirt over the spot, then shoved the rotted furniture and splintered wood across it.
To anyone passing, it looked like nothing but trash.
The three men shared a look, a nod of silent agreement. Insurance. Just in case things went south.
When they returned, the RV was running again. Everyone waited inside. Joe, Rick, and Daryl climbed back onto the roof.
Joe signaled with a sharp whistle. The RV rumbled forward, carrying them the last stretch to Alexandria.
...
The RV rumbled to a halt twenty feet from the gate.
Everyone climbed out. J
oe stood at the front, Andrea, Maggie, Beth, Emma, and Amy at his side. His hand rested on his Glock, eyes sweeping every shadow, every sound.
The walls loomed high above them... fifteen feet of steel, unforgiving and silent.
Joe's jaw clenched, suspicion carved into every line of his face… until he heard it.
Children laughing.
Soft at first, then clear, drifting from inside the walls.
For the first time in hours, something eased in his expression.
Rick felt it too. The sound tugged at him, loosening the grip that had been wound tight since Atlanta.
Michonne's voice broke the quiet. "Ready?"
Rick nodded, shifting Judith into his arms. "Yeah."
Together they moved toward the gate, weapons still in hand. Aaron and Eric walked ahead, calling up to the guard.
The gate slid open with a sloght rattle.
As they filed forward, Carl slowed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a brunette girl about his age peeking from behind a wall.
Clem and Sophia noticed too, glaring until the girl ducked out of sight.
When Carl turned back, they were both smiling sweetly, hands clasped tight.
Movement snapped everyone's attention left. Weapons came up in unison... Daryl's crossbow loosed, dropping a possum skittering from the brush.
He scooped it up by the tail, holding it high.
He looked at the guard. "We brought dinner."
Nicholas face twisted in disgust.
Aaron cut the tension quickly. "Come on in, guys."
Glenn and Daryl took point, stepping through first. One by one the group filed inside, the gate shut behind them.
Nicholas squared his shoulders. "Before we go any further, I need you to drop your weapons."
Nobody moved. All eyes went to Joe. He shook his head once.
He tried again. "To stay, you'll have to hand them over."
Joe's voice was cold. "We're not sure we want to stay. Besides, if we wanted to use them, we'd have done so already."
Nicholas opened his mouth to argue but Aaron stepped in. "Let them talk to Deanna first."
Abraham frowned. "Who's Deanna?"
Aaron answered simply, "The one who can tell you anything you want to know about this place."
He looked at Joe. "Why don't you go first, Joe?"
Joe glanced back at the others and then gave a short nod.
Aaron and Nicholas led them deeper inside, toward a waiting building.