Maisie had no idea how long she was in there, but she was on her feet the second she heard someone outside the door. A sliver of light shone through the crack in the door as the chair was removed. She didn't know who was outside the door, but she attacked them anyway.

With a growl, she burst out from the darkness, her knife drawn. She pinned the other person to the wall across from the closet with the point of her knife at their throat. Unfortunately, she figured out who she'd attacked pretty quickly as she was swiftly disarmed and pinned to the floor.

"Rude," Maisie groaned as Daryl got up from on top of her, drawing one knee up and spreading her arms like a T across the cool hardwood floor.

"Comin' from the one who attacked me with a knife," Daryl spat.

"I thought you were Glenn," Maisie told him from the floor. "What're you even doing here?" she asked irritably, propping herself up on her elbows to glare at the man.

"Glenn told me there was a rabid dog in your closet, and he ain't half wrong," Daryl said, smirking at her scowl. "Are you gonna lay on your ass and collect dust or are you gonna get up?"

Maisie stuck her arm out, groaning when he pulled her up.

"Do you ever take a shower?" Maisie asked, wrinkling her nose. Daryl scowled dangerously at her.

"One of these days I'm just gonna spray you with the hose," Maisie laughed, leaning her elbows on the counter. When she glanced outside, she saw it was already dark. She'd have to just murder Glenn tomorrow.

〄

Maisie didn't sleep well that night. She tossed and turned constantly, unable to shake the feeling that something bad was gonna happen the next day. Letting out a low growl of frustration, she flipped onto her stomach and forced herself to go to sleep.

〄

Maisie was drawn out of her sleep by a distant tapping noise. Ignoring the tapping, she closed her eyes once again, jumping out of bed when she realized the sound was someone knocking on her front door.

She flew down the stairs and skidded across the floor, barely managing to stop herself from crashing into the door before she opened it. She was surprised to see Maggie standing on the other side of the door. Although Glenn was Maisie's best friend, she wasn't close with Maggie.

"Hey," Maisie said breathlessly, slightly caught off guard.

"Did I... wake you?" Maggie asked, smirking at her disheveled blonde locks and rumpled sleep wear.

"No. I mean, you did, but it's my fault for sleeping in."

"Can you help me with something?"

"Yeah, sure, totally," Maisie rambled, stepping out of the way and letting Maggie inside. "Sit tight, I'm gonna go change," Maisie said, zipping up the stairs.

Maggie looked up when Maisie bounded back down the stairs, dressed in black jeans, a black T-shirt, and scuffed black boots. In addition to her funeral-esque attire, her bright blonde hair was thrown up in a sleek ponytail.

"So, what can I help you with?" Maisie asked, plopping down in the chair across the table from the brunette. In response, Maggie slid a pair of silver shears across the table. Maisie picked them up and cocked an eyebrow.

"I borrowed them from Jessie. Didn't trust myself to do it alone," Maggie explained.

"Alright," Maisie said, standing up and making her way around the table.

〄

Maisie snipped the last section before putting the scissors on the table and disappearing into the washroom. She returned with a small hand mirror that she promptly handed to Maggie and watched her as she silently took in her new look.

"D-Did I cut it too short?"

"No, it's f–" Maggie stopped suddenly, her face contorting. Maisie moved to help her, when she slid off the chair and leaned against the table, holding her stomach and letting out cries of pain. Maisie crouched down and put a hand on Maggie's shoulder.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," she told the brunette, straightening up and bolting out into the street, running right into Aaron.

"Sorry!" Maisie gasped, moving to go around him when he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"What's wrong?"

"Maggie! I think something's wrong with her baby!"

"What's wrong?" Glenn's voice came from behind Maisie and she whipped around. Glenn stood with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Aaron, get Rick, Daryl, Abe, and anyone else who wants to come to the Hilltop, Glenn, come with me!" Maisie ordered, grabbing his hand and dragging him back to her house where Maggie still sat on the floor, screaming in agony.

Maisie stood on the porch anxiously, chewing at her fingernails as Glenn tried to console his wife. She watched as Rick, Abraham, Carl, Aaron, Rosita, and Daryl came running, Eugene trailing behind them.

"Explain the situation," Rick ordered her in a calm voice.

"Maggie — she... I don't know, she just started screaming. I think something's wrong, and it's a something we can't fix here. We have to go to the Hilltop."

"Alright," Rick said, nodding at Abraham, who jumped off the porch and ran back down the street. He returned in less than three minutes, parking the RV right at the base of the porch steps.

Daryl and Glenn came out carrying Maggie between them, her complexion paling. They tottered into the RV and laid her on the table-turned camp bed. After they made sure she was as comfortable as she could get in her state, they piled in, Maisie and Abraham in the front seats. Abraham probably wasn't the best person to have behind the wheel as he was often reckless, but no one felt the need to point that out; they were too concerned for Maggie.

〄

"What the bitchshit," Abraham swore loudly, waking up a dozing Maisie and interrupting the tense silence as he pulled the RV to a stop.

Maisie rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and peered blearily out the windshield. The road was blocked by a few trucks, motorcycles, and at least fifty gun-baring men. Saviors. Rick leaned between the front seats and surveyed the situation, the tips of his fingers digging into Maisie's shoulder ever so slightly, before striding out of the RV.

"You want to make today your last day on Earth?" Rick called out, holding his automatic weapon up with his hands.

"No, but that is a good thing to bring up. Think about it. What if it's the last on Earth for you? For someone you love? What if that's true? Maybe you should be extra nice to the people in that RV, 'cause you never know..." the Savior paused dramatically and snapped his fingers before he continued. "Just like that. Be kind to each other. Like you said... like it was your last day on Earth."

Rick sneered at the man as he turned and strode back to the RV.

"You do the same."

Abraham turned the RV around on the small road and they went back they way they came, looking for a side road they'd driven past.

"Bitch nuts," Abraham snapped, stopping the RV again.

Another road block, courtesy of the Saviors. But the Saviors were no where in sight.

"These blockades... They would indicate that they not only have people, but some big ass toys and capabilities," Eugene reported from the back of the RV.

"What it indicates is we are all neck deep up shits creek with our mouths wide open," Abraham retorted.

"I have an idea."

Maisie turned in her seat to look at Eugene.

"What if you guys take Maggie on foot and I drive the RV as a decoy."

"That could work," Rick said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

〄

Darkness had began to set as Aaron and Rick carefully carried Maggie's cot between them like a stretcher. They thought they were safe until an eerie whistle surrounded them, and the darkness was replaced by bright, white floodlights. They were surrounded by Saviors. Completely surrounded. Outnumbered by what seemed like thousands.

"Take their weapons," the Savior from earlier ordered. People stepped forward and roughly stripped them of their guns and knives.

"Get on your knees."

Rick and Aaron carefully lowered Maggie's cot to the ground and helped steady her on her knees before they were herded apart. The gravel bit their skin through their pants, while the floodlights worked to blind them.

"Lets meet the man, shall we!"

An unnamed Savior stepped forward and pulled open the door to what Maisie suddenly realized was their RV. First, a battered Eugene was pushed out and forced to his knees at the end of the line, before a tall man in a leather jacket with a red ascot tucked in it stepped out, carrying a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire over his shoulder.

"Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan."

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