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Safe Haven in the Chaos	By : IdrilsSecret Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 6520 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the walking dead or any of the characters. No money is being made from the writing of these stories

Chapter List
- 27
- 28
- 29
Chapter 28

The chaos was over and the streets of Alexandria were littered with the bodies of both Wolves and residents. Aaron, Tara, Carol, and a few others were combing the neighborhood for those who had returned. It was still dangerous, as some of the newly turned roamers were up and walking around looking for their next meal. Everyone split up and took a different area to cover. Aaron took the street his house was on, seeing some of his neighbors among the dead. A couple of them had returned, though they weren’t walking. The Wolves had seen to that, severing their arms and legs from their torsos, leaving the rest of the body to reanimate. Aaron knifed them in the head, and then stood back to look at the carnage. Why, he wondered? Why would they do this? It made no sense. If the intruders wanted Alexandria or its weapons and supplies, why go to the trouble to dissect their victims in such a morbid way?
In all the craziness, Aaron hadn’t had much time to think of anyone or anything, except Daryl, hoping he was alright. It suddenly dawned on him that he’d left Eric back at the infirmary with Denise and Eugene where they were trying to save Holly’s life. Who else hadn’t he considered in all of this? And then it hit him. “Caleb,” he said aloud.
Just before the trouble started, Aaron was at Rick’s house with Carol. Carl was there with Judith, but Caleb wasn’t around at the time. Caleb lived with Rick and the others. Where had he been in all of this? Where would he have gone? If anything happened to the boy, he’d never forgive himself. Aaron passed a couple of dazed people and asked if they’d seen Caleb. No one had, or at least they didn’t remember seeing him. Aaron picked up the pace of his tread as he searched the streets, always worried that the next body he’d find would be Caleb’s. Eventually, he made his way to Rick’s house. The door was open. He let himself in.
“Carl!” Aaron shouted, thinking he was still upstairs.
“I’m right here,” Carl said in a calm voice. He was in the kitchen removing a pair of oven mitts from his hands. Carol’s casserole sat on the counter, steaming hot and fresh from the oven. “The timer just went off.”
“Where’s Judith?” Aaron asked with extreme concern.
“She’s still sleeping upstairs,” Carl informed him.
It was almost too comical, Aaron thought. The casserole was done and the baby was still asleep. He’d watched Carol set the timer, but he didn’t think twice about it. Now he realized that all of this, the invasion, the slaughtering, happened in just forty five minutes. It felt like a whole day had passed.
“Have you seen Caleb?” Aaron asked.
“No,” Carl said, suddenly looking concerned himself. “Enid was here, but she left. Ron was here too. I stopped one of those Wolf guys from killing him, and tried to get him to come in house until it was over. He wouldn’t though. But I haven’t seen Caleb since he left the house this morning.”
“Do you know where he went?” Aaron asked.
Carl shook his head. “Didn’t say.”
“I’m going back out to look for him. Stay here in case he comes back. Tell him I’m looking for him if he does, and to stay put. I’ll come back if I don’t find him to check,” Aaron said.
“Ok,” Carl agreed.
Aaron left the house, and was surprised to find Carol sitting on the steps. She was still dressed in the clothing of the Wolf she killed. Dried blood in the shape of a W marked her forehead. Carol was really smart, Aaron said to himself. That was fast thinking to disguise herself as one of the intruders in order to get around town easier.
He stepped down a couple steps and took a seat next to her. She held a pack of menthol cigarettes in her hand, turning them over and over unconsciously. Carol was gazing emptily across the road. Aaron followed her line of sight, and his breath hitched by what he saw. Somehow, he hadn’t noticed when he first arrived at the house. “Is that–”
“Mrs. Neudermyer,” Carol finished for him.
“Shit,” Aaron said with true regret.
“I told her she was going to die,” Carol said in a weak voice. “I told her these cigarettes would kill her.” She waved the pack in front of her.
“I’m … I’m not sure I follow,” Aaron said, confused.
“This morning,” Carol continued. “I ratted her out for smoking. Not only that, but I scolded her for smoking in her house. Told her if she was going to continue with her nasty habit, the least she could do was to smoke outside.” Carol huffed a breath, rolled her eyes to the sky and shook her head. “She was just pissing me off this morning, going on about my cooking and using boxed pasta. She was so clueless, so fucking stupid, living in a dream world. All the things I’ve seen, all the shit I’ve done, the really bad shit … I’ve been doing everything and anything to keep myself alive, and she’s been here since the beginning … protected and seemingly unscathed by it all. I guess I got jealous. I wished I could trade places with her. I wished I was the clueless one. And then, like a silly school girl, I told everyone her secret. Mrs. Neudermyer, the health conscious nut job, smoked when she thought no one was looking. It felt good to expose her for a hypocrite. I took joy in watching her squirm.”
“Hey, you couldn’t have known that any of this would happen today. It’s not your fault. Mrs. Neudermyer was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Aaron said to comfort Carol.
Tears threatened to fall as Carol looked at the lifeless body across the street. “I saw her get attacked. She was outside in her yard … smoking.” Carol slowly turned her head to look at Aaron. “And it was because of what I said to her. I can’t help but think that if I’d never said those things, she would have been in her house smoking a cigarette, safe from those Wolf people. But no. The bitch had to go and actually take my advice, and now she’s dead.” Carol wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, smearing dirt across her cheek. “I didn’t even like her that much, but she didn’t deserve to die, not like that.”
“A lot of people died today, and none of them deserved it, but a lot of them survived because of you. Don’t forget that, Carol,” Aaron reminded her. He put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. “Why don’t you go inside? There’s enough of us to start cleaning this up.”
Carol looked at him like he didn’t know what he was talking about, and then something dawned on her. “There’s no time to rest. We have to . . . You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“Morgan came back … alone,” she told him.
“I thought I saw him. Why? What’s happened?” Aaron said with concern.
“The walkers in the quarry, they got out. Morgan said part of the ground caved in and opened up a way for them to get out. They’re leading the herd as we speak. But the truck … when it crashed into the tower … the horn, it drew half the herd away. They’re coming this way,” Carol informed him.
“What? But–”
“Michonne and Glenn are leading the rest back home. Rick went off on his own to try and distract the herd. That’s all he knew.”
“What about Daryl? What about Sasha and Abraham?” Aaron wondered.
“They’re following the plan, which means–”
“They’re out there with thousands of roamers behind them,” Aaron finished in a daze. “I should have gone. I should be out there with him.”
“You’re not out there and neither am I. We’re in here, and just like Rick and Daryl have stuck with the plan, so should we,” Carol told him. “We need to get ready for this.”
Aaron nodded, knowing Carol was right. If half the herd broke off and was heading towards Alexandria, they needed to be prepared. “Alright. I need to find Caleb first, and then . . .”
“We have to secure this place first, make sure the dead are dead, get the bodies off the streets. People don’t need to see this right now, and they don’t need to know what’s happened. Michonne and Glenn are on their way back. We’ll wait for them before we announce to everyone else what’s going on. Agreed?”
Again, Aaron nodded. “Yeah, but I’m finding Caleb.”
“Ok,” Carol agreed.
>>------->
Aaron held his knife in his hand as he walked along the streets. He came upon a few reanimated people and took them out quickly. He noticed that some people were already moving the bodies. The clean up was already underway. That was good. People cared about their home. They cared about what happened to the victims too. Humanity still existed in Alexandria, and that’s what Aaron wanted to hang on to.
As he went along, keeping an eye out for Caleb, he suddenly noticed a few dead bodies on the ground. Some were noticeably Wolves with W’s on their heads. But there was another body covered by them, and Aaron stopped in his tracks when he recognized a blue jacket. It was undoubtedly Caleb’s jacket, the one he had been wearing when they found him.
“Jesus, no,” Aaron said desperately under his breath. He pulled the bodies off, rolling them over and checking for signs of movement. The one in the jacket was definitely moving, but he was on his stomach, trapped by the dead Wolves. Aaron’s heart was pounding in his chest. He feared the worst, and prepared to do the unthinkable. As he rolled the last body over, relief washed over him. It wasn’t Caleb, but one of the Wolves wearing his jacket. This was good, but Caleb was still missing, and now Aaron feared anew for the boy.
Aaron took out his knife, and got down on one knee. As he slid the blade into the skull, he noticed blood on the front of Caleb’s jacket. “I hope that’s not–” he started to say when something else captured his attention. There was a strap beneath one of the other bodies, sticking out to the side, a familiar strap. Aaron pushed the Wolf body over, and gasped. There was a brown backpack that looked a lot like the one he’d lost a while back. There was only one way to be sure. Aaron took the pack and stepped away from the bodies. He observed the bag, and memories that had been full of holes were now flooding back complete. “This is my bag,” he said, shocked. Aaron looked behind him, and sat down on the bottom step of a set of stairs. He slowly unzipped the pack, revealing many things he’d forgotten about. There was a flare gun, a compass, a couple jars of food, a few other odds and ends, and pictures. Aaron’s heart cringed as he took the pictures out of the bag and sifted through them. They were of the town, pictures of the inside and outside of the walls, the solar panels, the generators, and some of the houses.
“Shit,” he mumbled to himself. He looked up and around the area. The bodies, the destruction, the broken hearts, it was all his fault. Aaron looked back at the pictures in his hand. “They knew exactly how to get in. This happened because of me.”
“Aaron?”
Aaron forced himself to look up at whoever called to him. Eric was standing next to him, watching him, but Aaron bent his head down over the pictures.
“Aaron,” Eric said again, sorrow in his voice. “I was so worried. I–” He cut his words short, and shook his head. “Holly … she … she didn’t make it.”
Aaron let the photos slip from his fingers as he pulled his knees into his chest and rocked back and forth.
“Aaron, what is it?” Eric asked with true concern. When Aaron didn’t answer, Eric crouched down next to him, and saw the pictures laying askew on the sidewalk.
Aaron lifted his head, eyes red with tears that threatened to roll down his blood-stained face. “It was me,” he croaked. “They’re all dead because of me.”
Eric seemed confused. “I don’t understand.”
“The bag. I lost it. The cannery … the walkers … I dropped it, I guess. These people … these wicked, evil people, they must have found it and–” Aaron glanced at the pictures that Eric was now holding.
Eric knew exactly what was in the bag, and he knew the pictures well, from when they were still together and doing recruiting runs. Aaron had taken them, and Eric had developed them. It had been Aaron’s idea to have pictures of Alexandria as a way of convincing people that their town actually existed. “Aaron, it’s because of these that we saved so many and gave them a place to call home.”
“It’s because of me that a lot of those same people are now lying dead in the streets. This is all my fault. If I didn’t have those in my bag, the Wolves wouldn’t have been able to get in so easily. Don’t you see? I basically gave them the blueprints to the city. That’s how they were able to sneak in undetected. And now Holly is … and Mrs. Neudermyer, and … and … Fuck! Caleb is probably–”
“Caleb is fine,” Eric said quickly, although to hear about the pasta lady was a shock. He ignored it though.
“He is?” Aaron asked, looking over to Eric. “Are you sure?”
“He managed to make his way to Olivia’s house. They were both hiding out there. He’s ok, Aaron.”
“Thank God,” Aaron said with minimal relief.
“Why don’t we get you home,” Eric told him. He helped Aaron to stand, shoved the pictures back into the bag, and flung it over his shoulder. “You should get cleaned up,” Eric said.
“But there’s so much work that–”
“It’s being handled,” Eric interrupted.
As they were walking back to Aaron’s house, they paused when they saw Michonne and Heath helping an injured Scott. “They’re back,” Aaron said excitedly. “I need to go. I need to see if Daryl’s back.”
“I don’t see him,” Eric said, hoping Aaron would just go home and rest.
Aaron pulled away from Eric and marched off towards Michonne and the others. He saw right away the blood seeping through Scott’s pant leg. He looked at Michonne with questioning eyes.
“Gunshot wound,” Michonne said in answer to Aaron’s expression. “We’re going to the infirmary. What the hell happened here?”
Aaron looked around, still in a bit of a daze. He felt like he needed to tell her everything, especially the truth behind the reason for the invasion, but his words failed him at the moment. Eric came up next to him and took over. “Some people got in. They call themselves Wolves. I still don’t understand what they wanted. They were just … killing people. They weren’t even stealing supplies. They were just hacking and slashing, cutting and stabbing. It was awful.”
“Daryl … Is he back?” Aaron asked with desperation.
Michonne slowly shook her head. “Far as I know, he’s still leading the herd with Sasha and Abraham. We lost radio contact a while back. Glenn and Nickolas, are they here?”
“No,” Aaron answered. “I saw Morgan, but that’s it.”
Michonne looked around her with wide watchful eyes. “Those people, are they still here?”
“Only if they’re dead.” Eric grasped Aaron’s shoulder. “Thanks to Aaron, Carol, and some of the others–”
“Not me,” Aaron muttered, and Michonne looked at him oddly.
Before she could asked anything, Eric spoke up. “You better get him to Denise,” he said, looking at Scott’s leg.
Michonne nodded, but she kept her eye on Aaron, and put her hand on his arm. “I’m sure Daryl’s ok. We’ve got a bigger problem though. Part of the herd broke off and was headed this way. There was a … a horn or something.”
“That must have been the truck. They crashed it into the watchtower. The walls held though,” Eric answered.
“Well, the noise distracted a portion of the herd. We were leading everyone home and got stuck in some town. Rick’s still out there trying to lead them away from Alexandria with the RV, but I haven’t heard from him either.”
While they were talking, Maggie ran up to them and started interrogating Michonne, mostly about Glenn, but Michonne didn’t have much to add from what she already told Aaron and Eric. “He was supposed to start a fire, but we never saw any smoke. I’m sorry, Maggie, but I just don’t know what happened.”
Maggie looked distraught, but she kept a brave front. “He’ll send a signal when he can. He knows to do that.”
“Maybe he’s not far behind,” Michonne said to try and calm her.
“I’m gonna keep watch for him,” Maggie said, and she went off to what they referred to as the crow’s nest. It was just a platform at the top of the wall where they could look out at the surrounding area.
Aaron had a strong urge to follow her. He wanted to keep watch for Daryl, too, but he didn’t think Eric would let him. Eric insisted that Aaron go home for now, and let the others worry about things for a bit. Aaron wasn’t in much of a fighting mood, or he might have told Eric to shove it. Instead, he let Eric lead him home.
Once they got there, Eric made Aaron lie down on the couch while he fixed some them some tea. But Aaron didn’t lay down. After a few minutes, he got up and went to the window. He watched as some of the townspeople walked towards the wall by the front gate. They were carrying paint brushes and buckets. He wondered what they could be doing.
Meanwhile, the streets were empty except for bloodstains. One woman was standing on the sidewalk talking to Michonne. Her name was Betsy, David’s wife. Aaron’s heart sunk. David was gone, Michonne had said. He was never going to make it. He’d been bit, but all he wanted to do was get back to Alexandria and say goodbye to his wife before he died. He didn’t come home, and perished on his way back.
Aaron studied Betsy as Michonne spoke to her. At first she looked hopeful. Then, fear crossed her face. Finally, devastation settled in. It was as though her soul left her body and she was suddenly like one of the roamers. Her shoulders slumped and her head bowed down. Betsy’s hands came up and covered her face. Aaron could see by her body language that she was crying. And then he thought, “This could be me. Someone might show up any minute with news that Daryl died.” In the world they now lived in, this was always a very strong possibility, and everyday Aaron was faced with the fact that either he or Daryl might not be alive at the end of the day. It became so commonplace that he thought he’d become immune, but now with real fear hanging over his head, he didn’t think he could take hearing such horrible news. It’s funny, but Aaron always wondered how Daryl would go on without him, not the other way around. Aaron thought that if death was inevitable for either of them, it would be more so for himself than Daryl. He’d never really given a lot of thought about having to survive without Daryl.
Aaron watched Betsy walk away by herself, going back to her house to mourn the loss of her husband. What would she do now? How would she go on? The two of them, David and Betsy, were very close and very much in love. Aaron remembered bringing them into Alexandria. He’d found them individually in two different situations during the same recruitment run, but they bonded quickly during the trip back to Alexandria and became inseparable. Of course, they weren’t legally married, if there was such a thing anymore, but they asked Deanna’s husband to perform a ceremony. David and Betsy were beyond thrilled to learn that a real pastor had come to town, and they were getting ready to have Father Gabriel bind them in matrimony and make it official. But Gabriel had been rather aloof since coming to Alexandria, as most people were when they were trying to adjust to the idea of having a normal life. He never had the chance to marry David and Betsy.
Aaron thought that he should go and talk with Betsy, console her during her time of sorrow. It was the least he could do after the devastation of everything that just happened, and discovering that he was responsible. The feeling of guilt came back full force as Aaron watched people try to pull their lives back together. So many were lost. So many hearts were shattered. Families were broken, and Aaron couldn’t help but take the blame for it.
“Why don’t you come sit down,” Eric called. He stood by the couch with a cup of hot steaming tea in his hand.
Aaron started to walk over to the couch, but he stopped and glanced out the window again. He shook his head as he turned back to Eric. “I should be out there helping. I’m not injured. I’m not … mourning … not yet anyways.” The last part was spoken no louder than a whisper.
“He’ll be back,” Eric comforted. He handed the cup to Aaron and they both sat on the couch.
Aaron looked into the cup, but he didn’t drink. He had no appetite for anything at the moment. Instead, he shook his head. “I need to do something, Eric. None of this might have happened if I’d been more careful. I practically put out a welcome mat and invited these people in. They knew where our lookouts were stationed and scaled the walls at their most vulnerable points. What the hell was I thinking to carry around pictures of the town?”
“You have got to stop blaming yourself, Aaron. You didn’t deliberately drop your bag. You were being chased. You were trapped. Saving your life was more important than some old canvas backpack,” Eric said.
Aaron set the cup down and stood from the couch. He marched over to the coat rack and grabbed his jacket. Eric jumped up and followed him. “Where are you going?” he asked.
Aaron shook his head again. “I … I can’t stay. I know you mean well, Eric, and I appreciate your support, but I have to go and see where I can be of help.”
“But you–” Eric started to argue, but Aaron cut him off.
“I can’t sit here sipping tea, sitting in my cozy house while people lay dead in the streets, and knowing it was something I did that brought that on. And Daryl is out there somewhere, putting his life on the line for all of us. I don’t know whether he’s alive or … or … Shit, I can’t even bring myself to say it.”
“You’re just emotional right now,” Eric said to calm him, reaching out to take his hands.
Aaron pulled away from Eric’s touch. “No!” he demanded. “Don’t touch me. Don’t ever touch me again.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Eric asked.
Aaron’s eyes were wild and full of confusion and rage. “I see what you’re doing here. You wait until I’m vulnerable and then suddenly there you are to comfort me. What … do you think I’ll just fall into your arms and have myself a good cry? You think you can just work your way back into my life and make everything better? Probably hoping Daryl doesn’t come home, don’t you?”
“It’s not like that at all,” Eric defended. “Listen, I know nothing will ever happen between us again, but I want you to know that I’m still here for you if you need me.”
“I don’t. I don’t need you. All I need is to go out there and help. I need to know Daryl is ok. I need … I need–” Aaron stopped when he heard people shouting outside, and he opened the door.
“He’s back,” they heard people saying.
“Daryl?” Aaron wondered aloud. “Oh God, please let it be Daryl.” He flew down the steps and ran towards the front gate, leaving Eric behind.
Eric hung his head and closed his eyes. “I guess that’s it then. There’s absolutely nothing left between us, not even friendship.”
>>------->
Aaron was at the gate in a flash, just in time to see Michonne and Maggie closing the gate. It wasn’t Daryl that was back. It was Rick, and he looked a mess. There was blood everywhere, and he looked terrible. But that’s not what Aaron was most concerned about. Right behind Rick, now crashing upon the gate like a tidal wave was the herd, or the part that wandered off from the main grouping. Rick barely made it back in time.
“What happened?” Michonne asked him.
“I couldn’t get the RV started. And then … then I was attacked by these . . .” Rick’s words trailed off when he noticed bodies piled up off in a grassy area. “What happened here?”
“We were attacked too,” Michonne told him.
“Wolves,” Maggie said.
“Let me guess. Guys with W’s on their foreheads,” Rick confirmed, and Maggie nodded. “Same son of a bitches attacked me. One of them had a gun, shot at me.”
“Is that what happened to your hand?” Michonne asked. “Jesus, you’re bleeding pretty good.”
Rick lifted his hand and looked at it. “No, I cut it. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna need stitches.”
“Where’s Glenn?” Maggie asked quietly.
“I was hoping he’d be back by now,” Rick said. He looked at Michonne for an answer but she shook her head.
“I don’t know. He was supposed to light up a building to distract the herd, but there’s been no smoke, nothing,” Michonne said.
“What about Daryl?” Aaron finally spoke up, moving closer to the others. “Has anyone heard from Daryl?”
Rick glanced at Aaron, but he couldn’t look him in the eye. “We lost contact. Far as I know, he’s still leading the walkers.”
“W-Well, how … how long do you think–” Aaron stammered, but Rick cut him off.
“I don’t know, Aaron, but if there had been a problem, I think there’d be a lot more out there,” Rick said looking out at the herd surrounding them. “Give them some more time, and I’m sure they’ll all be back by sundown.”
“And if they’re not?” Maggie spoke up.
“We’ll figure something out,” Rick answered. It was obvious that he needed a moment to breathe and get his thoughts in order.
Aaron watched as some people set up a ladder on part of the wall. One man climbed the ladder with a paint can and a brush while others watched him from the ground. Once he reached the top, the man started writing a name and then another and another. Aaron realized they were the names of the deceased. “Rick,” he called out.
“Yeah?”
“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Rick moaned as he moved his hand. “Can it wait, Aaron? I need to get this looked at.”
Aaron glanced at the wall again. “Yeah, ok,” he answered solemnly. When he looked back, he couldn’t help but notice the faraway look on Maggie’s face. She was extremely worried, and Aaron knew exactly how she felt. “You doing alright?” he asked her.
“Gotta get back in the crow’s nest,” she said, never looking at Aaron, and she was off.
“What about you?” Michonne asked.
Aaron glanced at her and looked back towards the wall where two more names had been added. It meant something that they started at the top of the wall. The list would be long. “I’m fine,” he said absently, and he walked away too.
>>------->
He didn’t want to go home, in case Eric was still there. Aaron couldn’t deal with him right now. Some pretty harsh things were said, and he didn’t want to think about it. Instead, Aaron walked around the streets, checking to make sure there weren’t any roamers. He spoke to a few people to make sure they were alright. He helped comfort a few whose loved ones didn’t make it. That was the worst of all this turmoil. Aaron felt solely responsible for their deaths, and he grieved for each and every victim.
After making his rounds, and wandering aimlessly, Aaron found himself back at the wall of names. The list was long enough that the painter had abandoned the ladder and was working from the ground. Off to the side, a group of people were gathered. Aaron saw Rick, Maggie, and Michonne amongst the others. Rick’s hand was bandaged. It looked like he was going to be ok.
The man painting the names left his work to join the group. Aaron glanced at the wall. The last two names were Nicholas and Glenn. No, Aaron thought to himself. They still weren’t sure of the fate of those two. Why write the names now? He looked to Maggie to see her reaction. Her face was stone cold as she stared at her husband’s name. Why not add Sasha, Abraham and Daryl up there, he wondered. They hadn’t been heard from. They hadn’t made it home yet. Why have hope for them and not for Glenn and Nick? Aaron took a step towards Maggie, wanting to talk to her, but Rick spoke.
“I know everyone is worried about the walkers outside. The walls are holding up, but so must we. We got to come up with a plan to draw them away, but in the meantime, we need to do everything we can to make this place as uninteresting as possible. That means we need to keep very quiet. Walkers are drawn to sound and movement. I saw we keep our voices down, stay inside as much as possible, maybe even keep our lights off at night. If we can make this place seem like a graveyard–”
“It’s already is a graveyard,” interrupted a woman. She glanced towards a bloody stain in the road. She was referring to the invasion by the Wolves earlier in the morning. A couple other people started to protest to Rick’s ideas of what to do next. People were giving up before they even tried. They weren’t giving Rick a chance.
“I’m sorry things happened and our plans went askew,” Rick started to say when another woman spoke up.
“Our plans? These were your plans,” she accused. Aaron knew her to be one of the people who followed Alison. “You came up with this whole scheme, you and your people, and while you were out there, we were attacked. Maybe if we were allowed to keep some weapons we might have had a chance to save more people, but you disarmed us, and then alienated us.”
Rick cocked his head and glared at her. Obviously, he knew whose side she followed. “Alison was responsible for that, and if you chose to follow her then that’s on you.”
“Alison is dead because of you. Where do you think those Wolf people came in at? They scaled the walls on our side of town. We were completely helpless. Only a few of us escaped. Maybe if we had weapons, we could have taken most of them out, and then the people on this side that died might still be alive,” the woman said angrily.
“This is the problem,” Rick countered. “There can’t be you and us. There can’t be division amongst us. We are all in here because we want to survive, and we want a chance, a real chance at making this place work. If we aren’t willing to work together–”
“You’ve never been willing to work with us,” she interrupted. “You never gave us a choice.”
Rick took a few steps towards the woman so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. “You had a choice all along, and you chose Alison. Now, I’m sorry that she’s dead. I really am. She was strong. She could have contributed in such a great way, but her choice was made out of selfishness. She was a danger to this community and to some of its residents.”
Tensions were running high, and the sound of the massive herd on the other side of the wall wasn’t helping to calm the situation. Fear and anxiety were taking over, and Aaron was afraid that Rick was about to be verbally attacked for his recent choices on how to keep Alexandria safe and standing. It wasn’t his fault though. Rick made the right choices. Unable to keep quiet any longer, Aaron stepped into the center of the crowd and confessed.
“Everything that Rick has done has been for us, for all of us. He saw a threat, and he neutralized it. Same thing with the walkers in the quarry. And even though it broke open and those plans were put into motion prematurely, it was working. It’s still working. Daryl, Sasha and Abraham are still leading half of them away from here. The half that’s out there right now isn’t there because of anything Rick did.” Aaron paused to look around, but mostly to speak directly to Rick. “I remembered something recently because of something I found. A while back, Daryl and I were out on a run. We found a cannery that I thought might be full of food supplies. Daryl didn’t want to stop, but I convinced him otherwise. It turned out to be a trap set by the very people who just broke in here. In the process of trying to get away, I must have dropped my backpack, and they found it. There was proof of Alexandria’s existence in there. I had pictures of the town … the walls, the solar panels, the watchtower, houses. Those people found this place because of me.” Aaron’s voice was full of regret. Rick watched him, confused by this new information. “I’m sorry,” Aaron said to Rick.
Aaron waited for Rick to say something, to rush him, to yell or berate him, anything. Someone called out Deanna’s name, and everyone turned to see her walking away from the crowd gathered by the wall. Shoulders slumped, head down, she looked like she had given up on everything.
“We’ll talk later,” Rick told him. The people left. No one spoke to Aaron. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. Silence was the real threat, he thought to himself. At least he had told them. Now they knew. Now they could stop blaming Rick. Maybe they would start listening to him.
As Michonne passed Aaron, she clapped a hand to his shoulder. It was only slightly comforting. It might have been better if she had said something, but she didn’t speak a word. Aaron caught Maggie out of the corner of his eye. She was looking at the names on the wall again, studying Glenn’s name more than the others. And then she just walked away, but with purpose in her stride. Aaron watched her a moment, and noticed that she was going towards the armory. Some instinct told him to follow her. He suddenly feared for her, or perhaps for a decision she was about to make. Aaron needed to know what she was going to do, so he followed her at a distance. Just as he thought, she went into the weapons room, now unguarded and open for just anyone to stroll into. He waited and pondered the decision whether to intervene or not. He didn’t know Maggie as well as some of the others, even though she and Sasha were the first people Aaron encountered when he approached Rick’s group before bringing them to Alexandria. Maggie had always been kind, though, and for this reason he thought it would be alright to talk to her and find out what she was up. But she was in the armory, and it wasn’t difficult to figure out what that was.
Aaron slipped inside the door quietly and found Maggie filling a clip with bullets. She had a bag already open on the counter and he could see a flare gun, a couple revolvers, a box of ammo for a shotgun, and said shotgun laying on the counter next to the bag. Just as he thought, Maggie was going out to look for Glenn.
“Maggie,” he said in a hushed tone.
“Go home, Aaron,” she answered before he could say anything else.
“You can’t do this.”
“Like hell I can’t,” she said, continuing to fill the clip.
“I know you’re worried about him, but you heard what Rick said. Glenn will be home before–”
She stopped what she was doing to look at Aaron. “You don’t know that. Rick doesn’t know that. Michonne said he was going to set a building on fire, which would have meant there would have been smoke. There’s been nothing but clear skies all day. Something’s wrong and I have to go. I just do. Glenn would do the same if it was me out there.”
“How are you going to get out? Have you noticed that we’re surrounded by roamer? We’re trapped in here,” Aaron pointed out.
“Which only means that Glenn can’t get in. What if he’s injured? What if he needs help?” Maggie shoved the filled clip into the gun then tossed it into the bag and started on another. “You don’t have to worry. You know where Daryl is. He’s leading the rest of the herd with Sasha and Abraham, otherwise there’d be a lot more walkers outside.”
“You don’t think I’m scared shitless about Daryl’s whereabouts? This wasn’t even supposed to happen today. This was only a dress rehearsal for tomorrow, but suddenly they’re all in the thick of it. Do you know how many times I’ve looked at the gate, and tried to figure out a way around the roamers so that I can go find Daryl? Christ,” he said plopping onto a stool. “Just yesterday, we were talking about what to have for dinner tonight. So … yes … I do have to worry, because I don’t know what I’ll do without him.”
Maggie stopped what she was doing and turned to him. “Then you must understand why I have to go. You’re not going to stop me. You’re not going to convince me otherwise.”
Aaron looked up and connected with her eyes. “No, I’m not … because I’m coming with you.”
“Aaron,” she started to protest, but he stopped her.
“I can’t stay here another minute. I have to do something. I have to contribute in some way to make up for what I’ve done. Those names on the wall … If I have to read each and every one of those again, I … I just don’t know if I can take it.”
Maggie still looked hesitant to say yes, but just as Maggie wouldn’t stay put, neither would Aaron. They both had loved ones out there, missing or having not been heard from all day. Instead of protesting anymore, mainly because time was of the essence, Maggie picked up a gun and handed it to Aaron. “Better get loading it, and grab a box of extra ammo. We’ve got to get through this herd somehow. Rick said they were probably fifteen, twenty bodies thick.”
“I just remembered something,” Aaron said. It was amazing how he was still rediscovering missing pieces of his memory after all this time. “There’s another way out.”
With their bag packed, weapons loaded, and their knives holstered at their sides, Aaron led Maggie towards the back side of town. This was where Alison and her group were staying. This was also, according to a couple of her people that survived the attack, where the Wolves gained entry. People had been busy burying bodies in a makeshift graveyard. There were still blood stains on sidewalks and in the grass. The scene was a bloody one, and it looked as though Alison’s people took the brunt of the attack. Aaron didn’t much like Alison, but she didn’t deserve this. It was nothing short of a massacre, and he knew why.
“These people had no guns. We took them all away when we found them stashed in a closet in Alison’s house. They had no way to defend themselves,” he said regretfully.
“Alison was planning on attacking Rick and our group, and then throw Deanna out of power. She brought this on herself, Aaron, and don’t forget it,” Maggie reminded him, hoping he would stop taking the blame for everything.
“Over here,” he said, and removed a steel manhole cover revealing a passage to the sewers.
Maggie looked down into the darkness. “You don’t have to go. I can do this on my own.”
“If I can’t keep you from leaving, then you can’t keep me from staying. We find Glenn together, and hopefully, by the time we get back, Daryl will be home. If not, looks like I’ll be taking another trip outside again.”
Maggie stopped before climbing into the sewer, and hugged Aaron. “You’re a good man, Aaron. Please don’t blame yourself anymore. It wasn’t your fault, none of it.”
Aaron held her to him and closed his eyes. “Thank you, Maggie,” he whispered.
They navigated the sewer with flashlights. It was dark, damp and the air reeked. Roots grew through the cracks of the concrete. It was amazing how nature reclaimed things when no one was around to maintenance it.

“How do you know there this will come out at?” Maggie wondered.
“Caught some people trying to sneak in once. They used this sewer. Since then, it’s been locked up tight, but I can get us out.”
They went along, but ran into some trouble, and Maggie came close to getting bit when they came across the people Aaron was talking about. It looked like they tried to climb a ladder to get out of the sewer, but the ladder and part of the tunnel collapsed on them. Now they were walkers, the most horrid and disgusting Aaron had ever seen. Being in the dark, wet sewer had made them decay to the point that their skin hung from their bones, which were exposed. They were slimy and difficult to kill. When Maggie tried to move the ladder, it slipped and hit Aaron in the head. Blood ran down his face, practically blinding him in one eye. He fell into the nauseating water and couldn’t get up because the ground beneath the water was slimy. Aaron couldn’t get his footing. Two walkers attacked, and Maggie was having a difficult time. Aaron was finally able to stand, and he plunged his knife into the thing’s head just in time. Once they caught their breath, Maggie noticed the blood.
“Aaron, you’re hurt,’ she said worriedly.
“It’s nothing, just a scratch,” he replied, but he knew it was worse than that. He felt a little dizzy from the hit, and had flashbacks to when Gerrard clubbed him and sent him into a coma. Maggie must have been thinking the same thing.
“You need to go back and have Denise look at you. You’ve already had one concussion.”
“And leave you here? No way,” he protested.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said.
“I do,” Aaron said with a raised voice. He realized his tone was harsh, and closed his eyes to regain his temper. “I do,” he said again in a more hushed manner. “People are dead, Maggie, and no matter what you or anyone else says, I know for a fact that’s on me. I have to make things right, and if that means helping you find Glenn, then that’s what I have to do.”
Maggie studied him a moment, and then nodded. “Alright.” She searched her bag and found some gauze and tape. “First, let’s do something about that cut on your forehead. This water is disgusting, and the last thing you need is for that to get infected, if it isn’t already.” Maggie patched him up and they were on their way again.
Eventually, they came to the end of the sewer system. It opened up so that they could walk straight out, except for the iron bar gate. Maggie turned to Aaron, who was behind her and started to ask about the gate, but Aaron already held a key in his hand. They took a moment to look outside. The sewer dumped them out right at the back of the herd.
“They’re too close,” Maggie said worriedly. “We’ll never make it out of here.
“As soon as I open the gate, go to the right. It’s kind of a steep hill, but the walkers will struggle to climb it. It will slow them down, but keep you footing. You don’t want to slip and slide down into them,” Aaron told her. He took his knife out and got ready.
Maggie stood still a moment longer, deep in thought as she looked at the ground around her feet. “Glenn and I have this thing. If one of us is in trouble, we will always send out some kind of sign or signal.”
“Yeah?” Aaron wondered.
“I would have thought he’d of done something by now if he was still–” She could finish her sentence.
“Don’t do this now, Maggie. He’s out there somewhere, and we have to find him,” Aaron assured her.
“That’s our other promise. We will always try to find each other.”
“Then what are we waiting for.” Aaron pulled the padlock around so he could insert the key.
“Aaron, wait,” she said softly.
“As soon as I open this up, we need to go, just in case the door makes noise and draws their attention,” he said, ignoring her.
“No,” she protested lightly.
“We can’t wait any longer.”
“No. Please wait a–”
“There’s no time. Ok, here we go,” Aaron insisted, thinking Maggie was just getting nervous.
“I said no!” she shouted.
Aaron stopped what he was doing and turned to her with a questioning look, wondering why. They had made it all this way. They had risked their lives just to get this far.
Maggie continued. “We made this pact a long time ago, and we’ve always stuck done this. We swore we’d never stop looking for each other if we ever became separated. But this time . . .” She paused and wiped a tear away. “This time is different.”
“How so?” Aaron asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
“This time I can’t go because we made a new pact. We had to, you see. I can’t go because I wouldn’t just be risking my life.”
Aaron was clueless. It was only the two of them, and he made an assumption. “If it’s me you’re worried about, I assure you I–”
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
Aaron stared at her open mouthed. Suddenly, breaking the quiet moment between them, a group of roamers slammed into the gate. They must have been drawn over by Maggie’s shout. Aaron jumped away from the iron bars as their thin bony hands reached in trying to grab him, but he knew they couldn’t get in. Aaron never had a chance to unlock it. He went to Maggie and laid his hands upon her shoulders. “Are … are you sure?”
Maggie was crying as she nodded to confirm. “That’s why I wasn’t out there with them. That’s why I stayed in Alexandria.”
“I’ll admit, I thought it was a bit strange that you didn’t go, but . . .” He looked at her face, and the sadness was killing him. This should be a happy time for her. Aaron pulled her against his chest and let her cry into his shoulder. “Hey now, it’s alright. You have to keep hope, Maggie. Maybe the reason he hasn’t signaled is because he hasn’t been able to. He could be hiding out somewhere.”
“I’ve always told myself that I would never give up looking for Glenn, even if what I found was … well, you know. I’ve always had to know because I don’t think I could go on not knowing what happened to him. This time, though, maybe I don’t get to know. I thought I could do it. I thought I could go out there, look for him and stay safe, but what if he’s really gone this time. This baby might be all that’s left of my husband, and I won’t risk losing that.”
Aaron held her and let her cry. He thought about what she said, and she was right not to go out there. “I’ll go,” he whispered in her ear.
Maggie pushed away from him and looked into his eyes with terror. “Aaron, no.”
“I’ll have to find another way out. This way is blocked. And besides, I need to get you back home. But I’ll go and find Glenn, and one way or another you’ll know.”
“You can’t do that. What about Daryl?” she protested.
“Daryl’s out there doing everything he can to keep us safe. Now’s my time to contribute in some way, and what’s most important right now is you and Glenn,” he explained.
Maggie shook her head. “I won’t let you do that. If I stay and you go, and something happens to you, and Daryl comes back and finds out that you–”
“I can handle myself, Maggie. I’ve done it many times before.”
“I need you to stay,” she said, if only a bit reluctantly.
“Why?”
“Besides Glenn, you’re the only one who knows about the baby. I … I don’t want anyone else knowing right now. It’s so soon, and if something happens, I don’t want everyone’s pity. But having someone else know is comforting too, and I just … I … Please stay, ok?” she pleaded, which was very unlike Maggie.
He couldn’t turn her down, not now that they had bonded. Aaron nodded and hugged her again. “Alright, I’ll stay. Now, let’s get you home. I’ll make you some tea.” The sudden urge to take care of her came naturally to Aaron. This was what he was good at.
They finally made it back, and Aaron was walking Maggie home when she stopped. “There’s something I need to do first,” she said, glancing at the wall of names. Without waiting for him, she made her way over. Aaron followed. She stood at the wall, looking at Glenn’s name, a pugnacious gleam in her eye. Then she took the sleeve of her shirt and began rubbing at the paint, trying to erase Glenn’s name. Aaron thought it had been a premature decision to put Glenn and Nicholas up there. No one knew for sure what their fate was.
Aaron picked up a discarded water bottle still half filled. He handed it to her, and she smiled. Together, they scrubbed at the two names, as hope returned to their hearts. Aaron felt a laugh bubble up in his throat, and it came out as a huff. Maggie glanced sideways at him. “What?” she questioned.
“What do you think?” he said with a smile. “Aaron if it’s a boy or Erin if it’s a girl.”
“That’s a little presumptuous, don’t you think?” she teased.
“Well, I did save you back there in the sewer.”
“I was doing fine on my own,” she protested.
“Maggie, your hand went through its chest and came out of its back,” he reminded her.
She laughed. “Alright, so I needed a little help, but I’m not so sure it was name worthy help,” she said jokingly.
“Ok,” he mocked disappointment. “Well, if you won’t name the baby after me, then can I at least be known as Uncle Aaron?” he jested.
“That we can certainly do,” she smiled as she rubbed the wall with her shirt. She slowed her motions until she stopped and looked at Aaron working next to her. “Thank you, Aaron. Thank you for this.” She reached up and kissed his cheek.
Aaron smiled at her, and then they both continued their work. He felt better about things now, although he still felt the guilt from earlier. At least now he felt like he was helping and making a difference. Now, if only Daryl would come home, and Glenn, and Sasha and Abraham. If they would come back soon, everything could get back to the way it was. But despite everything that happened that day, the rollercoaster of emotions, the dangers, and the joy of learning that a new life had been created, Aaron still felt emptiness in his heart. As long as Daryl was gone, Aaron would not rest easy. And as the sun began to set on that very disturbing day, a new fear settled over Aaron, the fear of having to go on without Daryl.
“Please come home soon,” Aaron said to himself several times as hid his worry from Maggie. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you. I need you here, Daryl. I’m not ready to let you go yet, so hurry back. You promised me that.”
>>------->
Author’s note (12-16-2015):

To all my dear readers and reviewers, I’d like to say thank you for your continued support and kind words. I’m happy to know my story is being read and hopefully enjoyed. Writing is my life. It keeps me going in good times and in bad. To be able to share my work with people who appreciate it is one of my joys, and to know through reviews how it affects my readers is the best thing I can think of as an author.
So now I must take a short break from this story, as I’ve pretty much caught up to the season 6 mid-season finale. I feel I can’t take this any further until I know where the TV version goes. Their timeline is my backdrop, and though I have ideas of where I’d like to take this, I feel I need to wait before I put those thoughts on paper. I promise I will be back once the show get rolling again, and I hope you will continue the journey with me. Depending on the site you are reading this story, either set your Story Alert option or check back after the second half of season 6 gets underway for the continuation of Safe Haven in the Chaos, or set your Author Alert option to see any new stories. I have other ideas for other characters, and it’s possible that I’ll begin posting these during the downtime for this story. Again, thank you for your support, and we’ll pick up again soon. **IdrilsSecret**
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Safe Haven in the Chaos