𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝘆

𝟏𝟖 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑

❝𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘.❞ Judith said as she painted. Ivy smiled at Michonne and Carl as they all watched the young girl paint excitedly. It was the small moments like these that made life worth living.

"Was it drippy? That's okay." Michonne smiled. Carl looked down at Ivy who had her head rested on his shoulder.

"It's a— I'm gonna make it into a heart." Judith told the group. They were all so caught up in Judiths adorableness, they didn't even see Rick step out.

"Okay, that's fine. That's fine. Go ahead." Michonne assured the girl.

Judith frowned a bit when the paint started running down the picture. "It's dripping from the heart." Judith stated. "It's okay."

"It's cause the heart is so full, Jude." Carl explained. Judith smiled at her big brother widely. Carl adored Judith. Everyone did, but not like Carl. Judith kept Carl sane along with Ivy.

"How about you tell us about the painting?" Ivy put forth.

Judith pointed to a house. "That's our house. And Aunt Maggie. And the King. And all our friends!" The young girl beamed. Everyone grinned at Judith.

"Who is that grumpy face?"

Everyone turned and saw Rick standing there. The man had visibly aged, and nobody could blame him for developing all those grey hairs. The man went through hell and back in the last couple of months.

Judith smiled widely at her dad. "You got a grumpy, little face." Judith giggled. Carl let out a stifled laugh and Ivy stopped herself from laughing.

"You're doing a grumpy face?" Rick asked. The group laughed all together.

"He had a happy face, too." Michonne told Judith. Judith shrugged and continued showing off the painting of Rick.

"There's going to be his big tummy." Judith stated. Ivy covered her mouth and laughed. Carl took his hat off and ducked his head down. Michonne bursted out laughing, unable to keep it together. "There's a big tummy."

Rick laughed a bit and walked to the group. "That's daddy's big tummy?" Rick inquired.

After Judith finished up painting, they brought her into a field. Today was the day the adults had been promising Jude for a while. Family days weren't very common nowadays, but, everyone wanted to live, and not just survive.

A flock of birds flew from the field and up into the sky, which left Judith in awe. The Grimes family, and the Rhee girl stood together and watched the birds with Judith. Ivy held Carls hand tightly as she stood beside Rick.

Ever since Negan was put away, life has been good. Everyone was happy— well at least more happy than they were before.

Life was good.

𝗜𝗩𝗬 𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘 of her boot as she stood outside the museum with the rest of the group. Nice days always get cut short whenever you remember that you have to survive. Find things to survive. And, then use them. Ivy stood beside Enid as she waited for Rick and Michonne to give them the clear sign.

"We're good for now." Michonne whispered. "Sweep protocol when we get in." The door creaked open and everyone stepped inside.

Everyone walked through the museum cautiously, hands on their weapons and slow footsteps. Ivy and Enid trailed not far behind Daryl, and Cyndie walked alongside Carl who was right behind them.

A walker emerged and Rick approached it slowly. He sent his axe into its head, and its body thudded to the ground.

The group moved on from there and walked further into the museum. Everyone looked around as they looked at the banners and pictures hanging from the walls.

"Y'all got your lists. Circle back here when you're done." Rick ordered in a hushed tone. "Be safe."

Ivy and Carl followed Ricks group. The two held hands tightly as Carl gripped his flashlight. Everyone stepped through cobwebs, which made Ivy cringe. She hates spiders more than anyone.

The couple walked not far behind Enid and Siddiq. Enid was Ivy's sister, but she was also her best friend, and Siddiq was Carls best friend. Everyone looked through and it was all quiet until they heard yells.

They ran towards the sound of yelling and saw someone under a tarp. And, a walker— of course. The walker quickly stopped moving and Siddiq squirmed out of it. Carl helped Siddiq up.

"You good?" Carl asked. Siddiq nodded his head and wiped his body off. Ivy furrowed her eyebrows and lifted up the tarp.

Ivy screamed and jumped into Carls arms when a bunch of spiders crawled out. Enid and Rick had found their way to the group by now, and they all looked at the girl shaking in Carls arms.

"I don't like spiders." Siddiq breathed out.

Ivy shook her head. "Me, either." She squeaked out. Enid laughed slightly at the Ivy and Siddiq, which made everyone else start to laugh as well.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗣𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 their way back to the meeting spot and were now moving a wagon down the stairs. Nobody knew the type of things they'd be getting into that day, but splitters and running over their toes was not what they had in mind.

"All right. Easy." Rick instructed. "Last step. Easy." Ivy stood behind Daryl as she pulled on the end of the rope, and Carl stood behind Michonne at the other rope. "So far, so good."

Rick cautiously stepped on the glass, stepping on the metal that resided under the fragile glass. Underneath the glass was a huge group of walkers.

"Let's go." Rick announced. The group began walking slowly as well as they lowered the wagon. The wagon began rolling on its own, and everyone quickly stopped it.

"Watch your fingers." Carol spoke. Ivy bit cheek when the grace began creaking.

Everyone sped up the process when the glass started cracking. Ivy helped push the wagon onto the solid floor. The girl looked back when she saw Maggie walking across. Maggie shot the girl a look, basically reminding her that she's okay.

Rick, Daryl, Ezekiel, and Carol were the last ones on the cracking glass. Carl had made his way to Ivy's side and held her hand tightly.

"No sudden moves. Just keep going nice and slow." Rick instructed. Rick and Daryl slowly moved the canoe they were transporting onto the ground.

Carol and Ezekiel grabbed the plow and moved it along. The glass cracked even more below them and Ivy's eyes widened.

Rick turned around. "You got to go!" Rick yelled. Carl let go of Ivy's hand and ran to help his father and Daryl.

Ezekiel let go of the plow. "Save the plow!" He shouted as the floor beneath him broke. Luckily, he had a rope attached to him so he wasn't instantly sent to the ground.

"Ezekiel!" Carol cried out. The whole group moved to grab a hold of the rope that was keeping Ezekiel alive. "Hold on!" Ivy strained as she pulled on the rope. Carol grabbed a blanket and placed it down next to the broken hole. Daryl and Carol helped Ezekiel out of the glass. Ezekiel panted as he threw himself back against a pillar and Carol brought him into a hug, than kissed him. They kissed once again and Ivy smiled.

"They're so cute." Ivy whispered to Carl.

𝗜𝗩𝗬 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 the other side of the plow and pushed it onto the wagon Gabriel and Anne— well, Jadis, was on. Rick patted the wagon. "You're good." Rick told them. Rick walked to his horse, and Ivy walked to her wagon. The wagon where the people of Hilltop resided. Ivy found her seat next to Enid again and sighed as she plopped down.

"You good?" Enid asked. Ivy nodded and groaned as she stretched her legs out.

Ivy laughed and looked towards the girl. "Yeah. I'm just so fucking tired— and sore..." Ivy answered as she looked over at Carl on his horse. Maggie let out a stifled laugh from behind the girls, and Enid just bursted out laughing.

Maggie whistled. "That's why your wrists are all red." Maggie noted. Ivy rolled her eyes and hid her wrists in her lap.

"Stop it, mom." Ivy groaned. Cyndie joined in on the laughter, and Ivy whipped her head. Ivy slightly pushed Cydnies knee. "You laughing, girl?"

Cyndie nodded. "Hell, yeah, I am."

Ivy was very grateful for her developing friendship with Cyndie. Cyndie was an extremely nice girl and she was fun to be around. Ivy didn't know how to approach her, but she didn't have to. Cyndie came to Ivy a few months ago saying she forgave her for killing Natania, and that if anyone was about to kill one of her friends, she would've killed them too.

Everything was wonderful with Carl, too. They're relationship was perfect. Yeah, they got into a few arguments but every couple has its fights. The only downside of their relationship was Carl was still living in Alexandria and Ivy was at The Hilltop. Carl knew she had to be their for Hershel Jr and her mother, so he was okay with it.

Enid and Ivy have grown nothing but closer, if it was even possible. They were sisters, but best friends as well. The girls shared all the gory details of their love lives, including how good it was. Enid hadn't settled down with anyone, but she did hookup with this one boy their age from Alexandria. It only happened a couple times, but Enid gave Ivy all the details. And Ivy was not one to leave any details about Carl, either.

Maggie and Ivy were quite popular amongst The Hilltop, Alexandria, and The Sanctuary. Their story had people in a chokehold. Their life was the kind of story that people talked about when they walked by. Everyone knew that if anything happened to Maggie, Ivy would take over The Hilltop. And, everyone knew that Ivy was a natural born leader so they were ready for it.

Everything was good with Aaliyah, Ivy, Lacey, and Avalyn. They lived over at The Sanctuary still, but still made a lot of visits to see each other. Avalyn and Henry were extremely close. They're childhood romance reminded Ivy of her and Carl, it was adorable.

Everything was good.

The group moved closer down the road, all engaged in their conversations. Ivy was talking to Enid, but kept her eye on Carl who was talking to his father. "V, you're such a creep." Enid laughed. Ivy snapped her head towards the girl and flipped her off. "Like you're just... staring so hard. It's unbelievable."

"He's just so pretty." Ivy sighed. Enid gagged and Ivy kicked her leg gently. "Shut the hell up." Enid giggled and Ivy shot her a dirty look.

The group came to a halt when Daryl and Rosita drove in front of them.

❝𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗦 merged into Silvia, so now it's even bigger." Rosita explained as she walked around the wreck of metal and wood on the ground where a bridge once stood. "One of them came through here, and the back end took down the bridge. Took the walkie repeater with it."

Daryl crossed his arms and sighed. "What about Route A? S' that clear yet?" The archer asked.

"It's still too close to the herd." Rosita answered. Ivy looked over the waste in front of them, stepping over the metal and inspecting it all.

"We can get to Alexandria from this side," Michonne put forth. "stay here till it passes."

Ivy shook her head. "Nah." Everyone looked to her. "Route A takes a shit tone of time to clear. My mom and I need to get home to Hershel." Maggie nodded and smiled at her daughter.

"We could take Route D. It's early enough in the day." Carl suggested. Ivy stepped down from a piece of metal and stood next to her boyfriend.

Rick turned towards the group. "Keep an eye on the trade road in case anyone else tries to move through." Rick ordered. "Gabriel, y'all came head back to Alexandria from here. The rest of us— we can go to The Sanctuary or Hilltop. Stay the night, and head off from there. Take care. Get home safe."

𝗜𝗩𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗 into the crook of Carls neck, arms wrapped around his waist as the horse carried them away. "Why aren't you on the wagon?" Carl asked his girlfriend. Ivy just hummed in response and rubbed his thighs. "I asked you a question."

"I know." Ivy mumbled. "Enid kept asking me about last night."

Carl smirked to himself. "Well, did you tell her?" Carl inquired with a small chuckle.

"Nah. Too much to tell her about. Long night." Ivy laughed. Carl blushed slightly at the reminder of the night before. "Barely got any sleep."

"And whose fault is that?" Carl asked jokingly. "Actually, don't answer—"

Ivy was quick to cut off her boyfriend. "Absolutely you're fault. You were all over me—" Ivy was cut off by the sound of Ricks voice.

"Hold up, love birds." Rick called out. Carl quickly stopped the horse and turned slightly. "The wagons stuck. Come help us."

Ivy groaned as she hoped off the horse, Carl following behind her. The horses were visibly tired and distressed, which made Ivy frown as she stepped closer.

"Maggie, I think they need a break." Ken spoke. Ivy walked up to Ken and the horse, stroking the horse softly. "What do you think we should do?"

Ivy bit her lip as she looked over the horse. "They're definitely tired..." Ivy sighed before turning towards Rick and Maggie. "We gotta stop. These horses can only take so much."

"We can swap out the horses, split up, take 'em out in the clear, give 'em a rest while we see what we can do about the trailers." Rick explained.

Ivy nodded and looked back at the horse."Sorry, babe."

A few minutes later, the group struggled as they tried to pull the wagon from the mud. Ivy knew that this physical work was mandatory, but, she hated it. Her body ached all the time from tasks she had to partake in. If there wasn't walkers roaming around, this would be considered child labor.

"One, two, three!" Rick called out. Everyone grunted and groaned as they pulled roughly on the rope. Ivy dug her boots into the mud, trying to keep her balance.

"Rick." Michonne spoke. Everyone stopped when they saw a few walkers come into view. Ivy looked over at Carl who grabbed his gun, but was quickly stopped by Ezekiel.

"We're almost there. Keep going." The king told Carl. The boy nodded and walked back over to the ropes.

Rick cleared his throat before speaking again. "One more time. One, two, three." The group began pulling again, successfully getting the wagon out of the mud. "Good. Lets get out of here." Rick and Ezekiel ran to pick up Cyndies canoe that resided in the mud. "Daryl, Michonne, Carl, V."

"On it." Michonne answered. The small group of four ran and began killing walkers.

Ivy pulled her knife out of a walkers head as it's body dropped to the ground. Ivy pushed her blade through the front of the walkers head, kicking its body back to retrieve her knife. Ivy was so caught up in the walkers in front of her, she didn't even notice the walkers beside her.

"Ivy! On yer left!" Daryl yelled. Ivy turned slightly and saw walker teeth almost at the skin of her arm. She kicked the walker back into Daryl's knife, and Daryl successfully killed the monster.

Ivy's breathing heaved as she looked up at the man. "Thanks." Ivy breathed out before stabbing another walker. The sound of the horses neighing  filled everyone's ears.

The horse took off, dragging the wagon along with it. The plow flew out of the back and broke. More walkers swarmed the group, and Carl quickly grabbed Ivy's arm. "We gotta go! Leave the wagon!" Rick yelled. The group began running, grabbing onto Ken and Marco, making sure not to leave them behind.

Ken broke out of Ricks hands and turned around. "I gotta free her!" Ken told before running to the horse.

"Ken! Wait!" Ivy yelled, about to run after him herself, but Carl stopped. Ken took out his machete and lifted it up to cut the harness connecting the horse to the wagon, but a walker came behind him.

Ivy gasped and her hand flew to her mouth when a walker bit Kens arm. His screams filled her ears and tears fell down her face. The horse began whining, and ended up kicking Ken down to the ground. Ivy quickly ran up to the walker, despite the groups protests and sent her blade through its head.

"Where's Siddiq? Or— Or Enid?" Ivy yelled as the rest of the group ran beside them. "Stay with me, Ken. Okay? Keep looking at me."

Ken began crying. "I'm not gonna make it. I'm not gonna..." Ken cried. Everyone began circling around them, but Ivy only focused in on Ken. "I'm not gonna make it."

"Don't talk like that, Ken." Ivy awkwardly laughed. She felt someone slightly push her out of the way, and she looked up to see Siddiq and Enid quickly coming to her side.

"We'll keep the walkers away." Rick told the group. He looked to Carl and Michonne. "Carl, Michonne, Daryl, lets go!"

Maggie dropped down beside Ken, and Ivy quickly moved to Maggie's side. "Enid, get the quick clot and a— and a tourniquet." Siddiq ordered, his voice laced with panic. Enid reached into her bag and shoved the supplies to Siddiq.

"Tell my dad to let Marco take my place, okay?" Ken told Maggie.

Maggie shook her head as tears filled her eyes. "Hey, you're gonna talk to you dad yourself, okay?" The sweet woman assured. Ivy ran her bloodied hands through her hair, not caring that Kens blood laced her scalp slightly.

Siddiq ripped opens Kens shirt, revealing his bruised abdomen. "Just stay awake. Stay awake." Siddiq said to Ken. Enid unwrapped some bandages, trying to keep her cool.

"Ken. Stay awake. Ken, Ken. Look at me. Ken." Maggie instructed, trying not to cry.

"Tell my mom and dad I'm— I'm comin'." Ken breathed out. His eyes closed and Ivy's mouth gaped.

Maggie rested a hand on his forehead reassuringly. "Ken." Maggie whispered. "Ken?"

Ivy stood up and removed herself from the scene. She walked towards the wagon and bent over it, tears spilling rapidly down her face. Not many people had died over the past couple months. Everything was going smoothly, why did it change?

The girl felt someone's arms wrap around her waist. "It's okay, love..." Carl whispered as she cried. "Shh, it's alright."

❝𝗧𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗥,❞ Alden sang. Ivy sniffled as Carl held her in his arms. Ken was a bright souls. He had a great personality and he brought joy to everyone around him. "Left blooming alone. All her lovely companions are faded and gone." Not only was Alden a super all around good guy, he was a great singer. The go-to funeral singer.

Ivy laced Carls fingers in hers as tears threatened to spill. "No flower of her kindred. No rosebud is nigh. To reflect back her blushes or to give sigh for sigh."

Carl looked up at the balcony of the Barrington house and saw Maggie standing on it somberly. Carl didn't think it was fair that Maggie had to sit out on the service. The Rhee woman loved Ken. He was a kind soul and everyone cherished her. But, Carl knew Maggie was respectful and wouldn't overstep the Sutton family's wishes.

Alden's singing quickly meshed into a blur of unidentifiable words as Ivy began to lose herself in a new world. This happened a lot. It felt like the world would stop, and it was suddenly just Ivy and the dead body in front of her.

After everyone said a few words for Ken, that's when Ivy snapped out of her quiet state of mind. Ivy looked over at Carl who was gently tugging on her arm, trying to pull his girlfriend from her daydream— or day nightmare.

Tears glazed over Ivy's eyes as she looked up at Carl. "Sorry." The girl apologized. Carl grabbed her hand and kissed her forehead.

"Don't apologize." Carl hummed. "C'mon. You need to relax."

Carl brought the girl into The Barrington house, and into her room. Ivy plopped down on her bed and sighed as she snuggled up into the fetal position. Carl smiled to himself at the sight of the beautiful girl in front of him.

Carl took off his sheriffs hat, placing it on the bedside table. He slipped off his flannel, and then the black t-shirt underneath it. He threw the shirt to Ivy, and she quickly grabbed it. She sat up on her knees and pulled off her own shirt.

"Carl, baby?" Ivy called out. Carl furrowed his brows in question, but quickly knew when the girl pointed to her back. "Unhook my bra, please."

The man nodded and walked over to her. "Do you remember at Terminus... when you unhooked my bra?" Ivy asked, a slight giggle erupting from her lips.

"How could I forget?" Carl answered. Ivy's bra slipped off of her body, and she turned to her boyfriend. "First bra I ever unhooked... now I unhook 'em all the time."

Ivy laughed before putting on her— Carls shirt. She watched as Carl slipped off his pants, leaving him in only boxers which made Ivy whistle. Carl shook his head before getting in the bed. Ivy took off her pants and got in beside him.

The Rhee girl played with his hair, moved her hands down his chest. In this moment, she did anything to be close to Carl. "Do you ever think you're gonna move here?" Ivy asked curiously. Carl still resided in Alexandria, and Ivy had been asking him about this a lot. Carl sighed and shrugged. His hand trailed down the small of Ivy's back and onto her ass, just resting there.

"I don't know, love." Carl responded truthfully. Ivy nodded knowingly. "I just... I have to be in Alexandria for my dad, and Michonne... and Jude."

Ivy frowned. "And I have to be here for my mom and Hershel." Carl nodded. Right after Ivy said that, there was knock on the door, three times. Maggie's signature knock. "Speaking of." Ivy stood up from the bed and slipped on the nearest pair of pants she could find.

She opened the door and revealed a distressed looking Maggie with Hershel in her arms. "Mom? What's wrong?" Ivy inquired.

"Some defaced your fathers grave."

Ivy's chest heaved as she looked back at Carl. "I—I'll be back..." Ivy muttered. Carl nodded as Ivy stepped out of the room and closed the door. Ivy followed her mother out of The Barrington house, and as they stepped outside, Maggie placed Hershel into his stroller.

The two woman walked over to where the graves resided. Both of them were on edge. Who would do such a thing? To disrupt the grave of a poor innocent man was cruel, and vile. The two stepped at the grave, and saw nothing wrong with it.

Maggie turned and saw someone in a black cloak emerge from the shadows. She gasped once she was hit in the face, and Hershel's stroller was knocked over. Ivy came at the anonymous person, but was kicked back and pushed to the ground, hitting her head on a nearby rock.

The only thing Ivy could hear was the muffled cries of Hershel Jr, and the grunts coming from Maggie as she fought for her life.

Maggie watched her daughter hit the rock and saw complete red. There was two things you could never do. You could never hurt Hershel Jr, or Ivy. No matter what. Mentally or physically.

Maggie yelled as she hit the man in the face roughly, sending him to the ground. Alden, Cyndie, and Enid all ran to scene, grabbing ahold of the masked man.

The sound of Carls voice rang through Ivy's head as he ran closer. "Ivy!" The boy yelled. Ivy felt her body being lifted up, but she quickly passed out due to the sudden contact.

As Carl ran to get help for Ivy, Maggie stood in front of the masked person. She ripped the mask off, revealing Earl. Her mouth gaped before storming off to a certain trailer.

Maggie kicked open the door and stepped inside. She stormed in and saw Gregory sitting in his chair, reading a book. "Margaret...." Gregory spoke as he stood up. The man stammered, not even knowing what to say. "My god, Maggie, w—what happened?"

"What happened?" Maggie repeated in awe. "You tried to have me killed 'cause you're too chicken-shit to do it yourself. You almost got my daughter killed. What's stopping me from killing you—"

"Margaret, you— you need to sit down. You obviously h—have a head injury." Gregory lied.

Maggie got closer. "You want to lead this place?" The woman asked in a hushed tone. "You can't even murder someone right."

Gregory's jaw dropped. "This place? I built this place! None of this would exist if it wasn't for me!" Gregory defended himself. "You're just Rick's lackey."

"Rick ended the war. That's more than you ever did." Maggie spat.

"And he's your friend and your mentor. You know what's funny, is you can't go back to Alexandria because you-know-who is still there." Gregory said, a smirk taking over his lips.

"Do you even give a crap about all of the stupid shit that you have done?" Maggie inquired angrily. "After all the chances that you've been given?"

Gregory shook his head and sighed. "No." The man answered. "Because I'm still here."

The man pulled out a knife a pushed it towards Maggie's stomach. Maggie caught his hand and tried to fight him off. "They'll all know that you did this." Maggie reminded him.

"Earl attacked you because you got his son killed!" Gregory yelled. He pushed Maggie against the wall. "You blamed me. You attacked me. And I defended myself."

Gregory pushed the knife closer to Maggie's neck, but it took to things to pump the Rhee woman's adrenaline. Ivy and Hershel Jr. She had to stay alive for her two kids. If she didn't, they'd have no one. Maggie yelled as she pushed Gregory off her.

She took the man's knife and stabbed his stomach, not deep enough to kill him, though. Maggie watched as Gregory fell to his knees.

𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗬𝗟, 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 had been at The Hilltop all day. They were informed of last nights events that left The Hilltop stunned. They all visited Ivy and made sure she was okay. Ivy was banged up pretty bad. Bruises on her face, and her back. Cuts on her head and cheeks. And, the inability to walk due to the slight damage to the areas that control her leg muscles.

Ivy sat in a wheelchair, which Enid and Carl were standing besides. Ivy didn't even try to fight the wheelchair— she literally couldn't walk. Everyone awaited Maggie's arrival as they sat in front of an underdeveloped building.

Maggie strutted up to the group, and stood in front of them. Earl stood beside his wife, Tammy and held his head down.

"I don't want to do this." Maggie sighed as she looked around. "But people need to understand that at Hilltop, the punishment fits the crime."

Everything went quiet as Maggie turned as she faced the horror that stood before everyone. "Do you have any final words?" Maggie asked.

Gregory whimpered as his neck was loosely decorated with a noose. He looked around anxiously as tears fell. "What you're doing isn't right." Gregory spoke. "Somebody stop this, please. Killing me in the dead of night because you're ashamed."

"You're wrong." Maggie denied. "I'm not ashamed." Maggie nodded at Daryl, who nodded back at her.

"Stop this! Please!" Gregory cried out. "Now, for the love of God, stop it!" His breathing ragged as Daryl walked towards the horse that held up Gregory.

"Maggie, stop!" Michonne yelled. Ivy whipped her head and saw Rick holding onto Michonne. She saw a few kids walking to the scene.

Daryl didn't stop, and whipped the horse. The noise tightened around Gregorys neck as he fell, his neck cracking as he squirmed in the air.

"Someone get the kids out of here!" Ivy yelled. Cyndie and another girl ran to evacuate the kids from the scene.

Ivy looked over at Maggie who had a a still straight face. "I made this decision." Maggie announced. "But this is not the beginning of something. I don't want to go through it again."

Ivy watched with no expression as Gregory's lifeless body swung. "Cut him down." Maggie ordered. Daryl obeyed and began cutting at the rope. Gregory's body fell to the ground, which made everyone except a few people cringe.

Carl looked down at Ivy, and read her like a book. She looked cold, but on the inside she was scared. Ivy knew what was coming. She didn't expect anything good to come out of it, either.

𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘
chapter starts off happy then goes down hill but that's how this book is😍😍