Chapter Text
When Mordecai was in boot camp, he had learned all sorts of techniques, methods, and battle plans set in place in a "break glass in case of emergency" situation where the United States would go to war with any kind of foreign nation. All of those techniques were a little elaborate, with some that Mordecai enjoyed, others that he thought were a little much but bearable, and others that outright disgusted him. But Mordecai also knew that in the case of a war, sometimes the case of thinking about the greater good was the right course of action, and he was more than okay with doing so, as long as innocent lives weren't lost.
Going to war with the Saviors alongside all of Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom reminded Mordecai of those processes, but he brushed that aside, since they at least weren't willing to go to the extreme lengths that he had learned of in boot camp.
... Mostly.
The first course of action had been to clean up Alexandria completely after the attack from Negan and the Saviors, and Jadis and the Scavengers, which they had done with a fervor, ensuring that their dead were buried, and the turmoil that the Saviors and the Scavengers had caused. Luckily, there were more losses on the enemy's side than Alexandria's side, which was a great relief to everyone involved (though they did still mourn the losses they had, especially Sasha).
Mordecai wondered why the happiest thing that he experienced that day was that he had found his silenced rifle with the grenade launcher, along with his Beretta. This meant that alongside his katana and Tyreese's hammer, he still had his complete arsenal, alongside enough ammo for both guns, and six remaining rounds for the grenade launcher. Of course, as he looked amongst those six grenade rounds and thought back on his history with it, Mordecai couldn't help but groan and roll his eyes, thinking about how often he had been stupid with the launcher. *1*
Luckily, though Mordecai knew that he had a bad history with the launcher, he still knew that they had more than enough forces between all three communities combined against the Saviors.
After all, all three communities had at least dozens of capable fighters. Along with Mordecai himself, Alexandria had at least 30-40 soldiers, including Aaron, Bob, Bruce, Carl, Daryl, Eric, Gabriel, Francine, Mikey, Noah, Rick, Scott, Tara, and Tobin. Hilltop managed to provide another couple dozen, including Andy, Bertie, Beth, Eduardo, Enid (Carl had nearly cried when she finished moving to the community), Freddie, Jesus, Kal, Maggie, Oscar, and Wesley. The Kingdom ended up providing a large number of soldiers thanks to the many people in riot gear, including Ezekiel himself, Alvaro, Carol, Daniel, Dianne, Jerry, Morgan, and especially Shiva the tiger (who Mordecai still needed to steer clear of due to his allergies). Michonne and Rosita were both still wounded and recovering from their injuries from the initial fight against the Scavengers and the Saviors, and while this irritated them, they knew that they were going to have to stay behind, partially to help protect the people who weren't fighters, especially Judith.
Of course, between all three communities, they were able to get the full scale of what they were facing against Negan and the Saviors, all thanks to Dwight and the information he provided them behind Negan's back. Many were still very skeptical of Dwight (with Daryl and Tara still making it abundantly clear they were going to kill him as soon as he outlived his usefulness), the Savior managed to provide them with a lot of information.
Though few people still trusted Dwight, Mordecai was admittedly with Aaron, Carl, Gabriel, Noah, and more than a few others in understanding why he was helping them, particularly after learning about Dwight's history with Negan. Learning that Dwight's wife, Sherry, had been forced to marry Negan, freed Daryl, and had to escape before Negan could have her killed made it clear why Dwight was helping them. And while many were still more than ready to condemn and kill him, Mordecai still understood where he was coming from, and hoped that his aid would actually provide them assistance.
A tense silence followed for a few days after the Saviors' and Scavengers' initial fight against Alexandria, but during that time frame, Dwight managed to provide them information about the Saviors and what they were doing. Apparently, Jadis and the Scavengers were staying out of the conflict, as part of the agreement that they had made, so all they had to deal with were Negan, the Sanctuary, and the numerous outposts. This meant that they were able to learn about the numerous places the Saviors lived, and this provided them with a lot of information.
For one thing, there were at least hundreds of Saviors, men and women alike, though the families mostly lived at the Sanctuary, alongside numerous workers who were forced to work for Negan and the other arrogant enforcers, and numerous prisoners. There were at least three other outposts, between an office building, a chemical plant, and the Satellite station had been reformed (much to the annoyance of Aaron, Bob, Beth, Carl, Carol, Daryl, Eric, Gabriel, Jesus, Maggie, Mordecai, Morgan, Noah, Rick, and Tara). Some of the leaders included Simon, Gavin, Dwight himself, and now Eugene, while other top lieutenants included Laura, Arat, Gary, and many others. Negan himself was obviously the Big Man in charge, and he was the top one they needed to take down.
Between the many combined forces of Alexandria (with Aaron, Bob, Bruce, Carl, Daryl, Eric, Gabriel, Francine, Mikey, Mordecai, Noah, Rick, Scott, Tara, and Tobin), Hilltop (with Andy, Bertie, Beth, Eduardo, Enid, Freddie, Jesus, Kal, Maggie, Oscar, and Wesley), and the Kingdom (with Alvaro, Carol, Daniel, Dianne, Ezekiel, Jerry, Morgan, and Shiva), Mordecai knew that they'd be able to take down the Saviors. And if they needed an extra angle of attack, then hopefully they'd be able to go back to Oceanside and convince them to help. After all, even though Natania was determined to stay out of the fight, residents like Cyndie, Beatrice, Kathy, and even young Rachel were all ready to help, so they had lots of possible allies in this battle.
Though, worry had filled numerous people when Kal had returned. Apparently, Gregory had forced Kal to drive him towards the Sanctuary, following a lead that Simon had given him. Once he arrived at the Sanctuary, Gregory sent Kal away, and when he reunited with the communities, Kal informed them about Gregory's actions, and the theory that he was most likely making some kind of deal with the Saviors. While this worried some of them, Beth, Daryl, Maggie, Mordecai, and many others all knew that he was too much of a coward to make any kind of impact, so they weren't going to let Gregory and his actions worry them too much.
Anyway, after the three communities had first banded together after the battle against the Saviors and the Scavengers, representatives from all three communities gathered together at Alexandria to determine the best course of action on what to do. Daryl had gotten the information from Dwight on the trio of outposts, so he made sure he was in the planning process alongside the likes of Aaron, Beth, Bob, Carl, Carol, Enid, Ezekiel, Jesus, Maggie, Mordecai, Morgan, Noah, Rick, and Tara so they could plan the best kinds of attacks.
When learning of the three outposts and the leaders, they used this information to put together what plans they needed to start fighting.
Of course, along the way, Maggie frequently kept her hand on her stomach, thinking about her baby. Beth had used Dr. Carson's tools to determine that she was due in November, meaning that with it being late May, she was about three months along into her pregnancy (something that also had Beth a little jealous, but she brushed it aside). This reminded everyone of a form of the future they were fighting for, and helped invigorate all of them in the fight. *2*
At the same time, other couples throughout the communities also managed to share tiny moments together, with Carl and Enid grasping each others' hands as they stood near the back of the room, Aaron frequently glancing out the window towards a smiling Eric, Jesus checking Aaron out behind his back, and Rick smiling as he frequently thought about Michonne. Mordecai had to stop himself from glancing towards Beth, and when he looked away, he never noticed that she was also resisting the urge to glance at him. Tara also fiddled with a can of Fanta soda, thinking about Denise, Bob fiddled with the patch on the chest of his jacket as he thought about Sasha, while Ezekiel and Daryl both glanced towards Carol.
Only Mordecai and Noah noticed that last one, and the two of them inwardly wondered if their friends were about to go through a love triangle. They brushed this aside quickly as they continued to join the planning process with everybody else.
The large team managed to put together a plan involving the herd that Carl, Jesus, Michonne, Mordecai, Noah, Rick, Rosita, Sasha, and Tara had left on the highway when they had stolen the explosives. Daryl had checked it and confirmed that the herd was still around, and it had only grown in size, which was just what they needed. So, the group started to come up with a plan on how to use it to their advantage, and as they looked over the information Dwight had provided them, they all also realized that they had an angle.
Dwight had also provided them with a bag of extra guns, but he also informed them that the leaders of the outposts were going to gather on the 31st to meet with Negan and the others to discuss what to do about the three communities. This obviously led to planning on what to do.
Mordecai provided his own input as they decided to attack during the meeting, with the intention of shooting up the walls, blowing up the front fence at the Sanctuary, then leading the herd to the walls to box them all in and prevent them from being able to leave. With the Sanctuary compromised, teams with soldiers from all 3 communities combined would go to the three outposts and take them down, ensuring that they would have no avenue of escape. Dwight also informed them that there were 2 high-powered .50 caliber machine guns that the Saviors had, which they would need to acquire from the office building outpost. Once they took down the outposts, every member of the Militia would go back to the Sanctuary after they were weakened and starved enough from the herd, and finish Negan and the Saviors off.
Of course, along the way, the team also decided that they would grant the Scavengers a chance of mercy and redemption if they would take it. As they attacked the Saviors, the members of the Militia would take pictures of their wins, and present them to the Scavengers to offer Jadis and her people the chance.
Some members of the group were a little skeptical of providing another chance to the Scavengers (especially Beth, Daryl, Jesus, Morgan, and Tara), but Aaron, Bob, Carl, Carol, Enid, Ezekiel, Maggie, Mordecai, Noah, and Rick that they would make the offer to Jadis and her people, as a way to show that they were better than Negan.
"It's admirable, yeah," Mordecai remarked as he nodded his head with the rest of his allies. He raised an eyebrow. "Although... it might still be a little difficult to get them on our side. I mean... I did kill that Brion dude, and he was apparently really close to Jadis and that Tamiel chick."
"There might be bad blood, but we should still offer them the opportunity," Rick reminded Mordecai, while Beth, Daryl, Jesus, Morgan, and Tara all still looked a little skeptical.
Bob, Carl, Ezekiel, Maggie, and Noah all nodded in agreement.
"We'll come up with some kind of arrangement," Rick reminded the group. "I can do it."
"Yeah, well, you might also wanna talk Jadis down from wantin' to sleep with you," Noah commented.
Mordecai grimaced in agreement, while Aaron, Beth, Bob, Carl, Carol, Daryl, Enid, Ezekiel, Jesus, Maggie, Morgan, and Tara all raised an eyebrow, while Rick just sighed out.
"What's the next course of action, guys?" Beth asked, looking amongst most of the group.
"The cars," Jesus said, gesturing with his hands. "Remember, when we do that attack on the Sanctuary, we're gonna have to shoot at them. And given how many Saviors there are, they'll most likely try to shoot back at us."
"So, we're gonna need protection," Morgan assessed, with Aaron, Carol, Enid, and Tara all nodding in agreement.
"Luckily, we've got just the material for that," Maggie remarked. She looked amongst the others. "Hilltop's got lots of metal platings leftover from when Gregory had them build the walls. We've got a blacksmith, and he can show us how to fit the platings against the cars."
"And those platings are just as thick as the ones here at Alexandria," Jesus informed them.
"Bulletproof," Aaron assessed. He smiled and shared a look with Bob. "Shields against whatever else the Saviors shoot at us."
"Luckily, according to Dwight's info, they don't have any of the RPGs at the Sanctuary," Rick said, with Ezekiel, Maggie, and Morgan nodding in agreement.
"Finally, he gave us something good," Tara muttered, with Daryl also looking down in irritation.
"Glorious," Ezekiel declared with a grand tone in his voice. "We shall outfit out cars with enough protection, and then we shall begin our assault against the Saviors at their compound."
"Though, I suppose I'll be the one to ask..." Mordecai said with his arms crossed.
He huffed, reached into his satchel, and pulled out the Ziplock bag with the remaining six grenade rounds within. Mordecai showed the bag to the room, and Aaron, Beth, Bob, Carl, Carol, Daryl, Enid, Ezekiel, Jesus, Maggie, Morgan, Noah, Rick and Tara all looked at the bag.
"We've still got six of these things left for the launcher," Mordecai reminded the group. "Though the explosions aren't that big, they can still cause a lot of damage. What possible avenues can I exploit by using them?"
"Shooting the Sanctuary," Daryl immediately said, an eagerness in his voice. "If Negan and all his lieutenants and top people will be there when we attack, then Mordecai can take 'em all out with a single shot."
"Except now Negan knows that we've got a grenade launcher with us," Maggie pointed out.
"Yeah, they'll most likely keep that in their plans and try to accommodate for it," Beth agreed.
"In that case, young Eclipse..." Ezekiel slowly said as he looked at Mordecai. "Maybe you should hold off on using your launcher until the absolute right moment approaches itself."
"Yeah, I'm thinking that, too..." Mordecai admitted as he looked at the bag of grenade rounds.
Carl let out a small sigh, happy to hear that Mordecai wouldn't be risking any other lives with the grenade launcher, while Enid nodded at him and grasped his hand.
"Besides, I've got a long history with not being that smart with these things," Mordecai admitted as he looked at the grenade rounds.
"You mean not being smart at all..." Maggie muttered, looking down with a frown.
"How many times have you used it so far?" Jesus asked, crossing his arms in intrigue.
"When I first stole it, I snatched twelve rounds," Mordecai informed him. He looked at the bag. "I wasted one to kill a dude in riot gear. Then I used another to scare off a bunch of soldiers so Merle and I could escape the Governor." Daryl nodded in respect at that. "Then I used one to kill a bunch of the Wolves." Noah nodded at that. "Then I used another during the invasion of the zombies from the quarry, but that turned out to be a waste considering how easily the rest of the herd put out the fire. And then I accidentally wasted another shot to kill a single guy during the attack. Though, that guy was an asshole, so it wasn't too much of a waste."
Everyone nodded their heads at that. *3*
"Hang on," Enid said, frowning thoughtfully. "You said you stole twelve rounds, but you've only used it five times."
"Uh, yeah," Mordecai said with a flat look on his face. "While I loved and miss Glenn, he and Carl were still kind of stupid by stealing my rifle behind my back, posing with it in a forest, then accidentally wasting a grenade on one single zombie."
While Maggie frowned at her late husband being called stupid, Aaron, Beth, Bob, Carol, Daryl, Enid, Ezekiel, Jesus, Morgan, Noah, Rick and Tara all raised their eyebrows at the story, with most of them being reminded of it. Carl then let out an awkward chuckle as people proceeded to look at him, and Enid couldn't help but smirk, which only made him blush even more.
"Well, anyway..." Mordecai said, smirking at the look on Carl's face. "I got the message. Only use it when absolutely necessary."
"Though, I won't mind if you waste another round on Dwight..." Tara said with a dangerous look on her face.
Mordecai shrugged that off, while Carl grimaced at the anger he saw in both Tara and Daryl's eyes.
"Well, then..." Bob slowly said. He smirked. "What's say we get the cars ready for when we knock on Negan's front door?"
Aaron, Beth, Carl, Carol, Daryl, Enid, Ezekiel, Jesus, Maggie, Mordecai, Morgan, Noah, Rick and Tara all nodded with Bob in agreement, though Carl was still a little worried about his friends and family.
The majority of the next two weeks consisted with a majority of the army staying at the Hilltop as they all prepared to get the cars ready for their trip to the Sanctuary. The plans were made clear to everybody from the three communities, and they all worked to band together to get the vehicles ready. This ended up including a lot of different kinds of thinking and working as they got all the giant metal plates necessary for the cars, while also putting together the teams for each stage of the plan. People would be staying behind at Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom to keep everybody safe within the communities, while a majority of the Militia would attack the Sanctuary when they led the herd down the road to them, and at least dozens of soldiers would go to the different outposts.
As mentioned before, a large number of members of the Militia all gathered at Hilltop over those weeks as they prepared the vehicles to be defendable against the Saviors' bullets. Though Michonne and Rosita had to stay behind at Alexandria, aided by Mikey helping defend the community, Aaron, Bob, Bruce, Carl, Daryl, Eric, Gabriel, Francine, Mordecai, Noah, Rick, Scott, Tara, and Tobin all went to Hilltop to join in with Beth, Enid, Jesus, Maggie, and the others, while people from the Kingdom like Carol, Ezekiel, Jerry, and Morgan all came from the Kingdom to aid in the construction process.
The blacksmith at Hilltop, a man by the name of Earl Sutton, and his son Kenneth (who was working to learn what his father knew about being a blacksmith) helped show the people of the communities what to do when it came to welding the giant metal platings to the sides of the cars. Everyone worked together as they made sure to get dozens of cars ready with the metal platings to ensure that they would have more than enough protection when they fired at the Sanctuary, wanting to make sure they all escaped that situation alive so they could go on to attack the outposts.
This process went on for a majority of the course of two weeks as they all worked in groups to get the cars ready and secured. Aaron, Eric, and Gabriel worked on one car, Enid and Beth helped Maggie with another, Andy worked alongside a couple of Alexandrians and Hilltop residents on another car, and Carl helped make an effort in helping Bob and Mordecai fix up a car. Everyone made sure to work together so that these cars would be complete and ready.
During all of this, Bob and Noah also made sure they spent enough time in Alexandria with Daryl and Rosita to make sure the RV they were going to sacrifice was prepared for blowing up the front fence at the Sanctuary. If they were going to get rid of the fence and the walkers placed against it, while also clearing out any Saviors from the front yard, then they were going to need as many explosives as they could spare for the attack. Noah had joined in so he could learn from Bob and Rosita as they worked, while Daryl provided his own input as they prepared the RV. Once the explosives were prepared, they knew that it was ready.
It took some time, but they made sure to get everything ready for the attack. The day before, Daryl even went to the Sanctuary and fired an arrow towards Dwight (pointedly firing it into the tire of his motorcycle, just to screw with him), letting him know they would attack tomorrow. Dwight fired an arrow back, giving Daryl more information that they needed, including various lookout posts around some of the roads to the Sanctuary that Negan had set up. They would definitely take care of those as they made their way to the Sanctuary and started their attack.
Mordecai nodded his head as all this information was shared with the group, and they all began to prepare together for the next course of action.
In preparation, Mordecai ended up driving the van with the eagle design on the side with Carl down a highway road. The two of them had volunteered to check on the herd and the highway to make sure it was still there, and they were both satisfied to see that the massive amount of walkers was still large, even with the explosion that had blown part of them up. Of course, Carl and Mordecai still made sure to get out of there quickly, not wanting to be caught by the immense amount of undead when they were unprepared (even though they were both armed).
In leaving, Mordecai decided to let Carl test out driving once again, though he made sure to keep a close eye on his friend (especially when remembering Enid's story of how Carl had crashed a car using it to kill a walker). Despite a couple of small mistakes, Mordecai was still impressed with his younger friend's driving capabilities, especially with his missing eye.
"All right, you're making good progress," Mordecai complimented as Carl kept driving them down the road.
"Thanks," Carl said, letting out a small sigh as he kept his eye on the road. "I suppose learning how to drive this early is, uh... one hidden benefit of the world ending."
"Hey, at least I'm making sure you don't make the same mistake I did when I was driving at your age," Mordecai commented. He sighed out as he leaned back in his seat. "Remember, I drove one of my foster parents' cars into the living room. Well... through the living room."
"And into the kitchen," Carl and Mordecai simultaneously said.
Despite his apprehension about the fighting, Carl proceeded to laugh with Mordecai as they shared a look.
"Eye on the road," Mordecai quickly said, gesturing back to the windshield as he noticed a lone walker in the street.
"Yep," Carl said.
He quickly looked at the road again and dodged the walker, showing to Mordecai that he was already improving from the last time he had driven a car. *4*
Silence filled the car as Carl and Mordecai kept driving together down the highway towards their meetup location with the rest of the Militia back at Alexandria. Carl kept driving at a steady rate, and he and Mordecai watched as the landscapes passed them by, which mostly consisted of lots of forests and empty plains. Of course, as they continued down the highway, passing by a couple of giant, overturned cars, Carl quickly noticed as the needle on the dashboard got closer to E, and he grimaced as he slowly pulled the van to a stop.
Mordecai leaned over, and he grimaced as he saw how they were just about out of gas. So, he nodded in encouragement, and Carl slowly pulled the van to a stop near a couple of other abandoned cars, including a giant truck turned on its side. Carl and Mordecai then nodded their heads in preparation before they pulled open the doors of the van, climbed out, and landed on their feet. Mordecai kept a hand over Tyreese's hammer on his belt as Carl walked around the side of the van, opened the back doors, and pulled out the gas can. Mordecai watched as Carl put his hand as he walked towards him, grimacing over how empty the gas can sounded.
Both teens were dressed in ways that they were long used to. Carl wore a gray shirt underneath a large, open, button-down shirt that helped cover some of his figure, along with a set of jeans and boots. Mordecai, meanwhile, had on a shirt with Ozzy Osborne underneath his black and blue jacket, his own jeans, and his black and blue sneakers, while his satchel was around his shoulders with his katana and rifle. Both teens looked around for a moment.
"Hey, we're lucky," Mordecai said. He looked around the abandoned cars. "I once heard that gas would evaporate over a course of a few months or so. But literally everything that we've seen has proven that to be bullshit, so with these cars all over the place, we should find something."
"That's the hope," Carl agreed, securing the suction tube in his hand with the gas tank.
With that, Carl and Mordecai walked together down the highway, looking around together to check the numerous cars. They soon made their way down a nearby road that went through the forest, soon making their way into another clearing. Along the way, they walked next to a large car that was upside down with back tires missing, which both teens raised an eyebrow at, but they brushed it aside for now. Walking together down the road, they passed by a large fence and went underneath a big sign as they walked across some trashed grounds as they passed more abandoned cars, with Mordecai checking to see if they still had gas. When confirming that the cars were empty of gas, Carl and Mordecai just continued along the plains.
They both grimaced as they saw a large collection of abandoned cars, confirming that this had most likely been an abandoned encampment for survivors. They especially grimaced as they saw broken bikes for toddlers on the ground, and they tried not to think about the implications there, especially when they thought about Judith and the baby that Beth and Mordecai had lost. They continued walking together past a brick walled outdoor bathroom as they walked between the cars, and Carl leaned forward and grimaced as he saw a long-decayed body in the driver's seat of one car. Mordecai grimaced at a couple of bodies in other driver's seats, but he and Carl brushed this off as best they could as they kept walking.
Soon enough, though, Carl and Mordecai managed to pass through the numerous cars and make their way to the gas station. Dozens of other cars were spread out in the main area of the gas station, and there were at least four double sets of pumps underneath a large awning above them. Mordecai also checked the actual gas station, and he raised an eyebrow in intrigue when he saw that there were numerous stands of candy bars still within. He nodded at the stands through the glass, and he and Carl nodded their heads, deciding that they would grab those after getting the gas.
With that, Carl and Mordecai walked towards one of the pumping stations, and Mordecai looked around cautiously to cover Carl as he prepared to siphon gas for the first time.
"Remember what the others and I told you with doing this," Mordecai told his friend.
"I've got you," Carl promised.
"Hi," a man's voice suddenly called out.
Carl dropped the tank on the ground, and he and Mordecai quickly turned around and pulled out their Berettas. The two of them huffed as they kept their handguns raised, with Carl having finally gotten used to raising it to his left eye instead of his left.
"Yeah. I-I'm okay," the man's voice called out as Carl and Mordecai kept their handguns raised. "I mean... I'm not, but... I've been shot at."
Carl and Mordecai looked around with their Berettas raised, pointing them in preparation to fire in case this man turned out to be a threat. Of course, given the numerous cars causing the man's voice to echo, this meant that it was difficult for them to narrow his location.
"Someone threw a microwave at me," the man continued. Mordecai raised an eyebrow at that. "So... I-I'm just gonna say something my mom used to say and hope for the best here."
Carl and Mordecai both noticed the awkwardness in the man's voice, but they decided to stay prepared in case this turned out to be a farce. Of course, Carl narrowed his eye as he looked at the space underneath a car, realizing that this could be helpful.
"'Whatever you have of good, spend on the traveler'," the man said as Carl and Mordecai kept their guards up. "My mom said that-that helping the traveler, the person without a home; that's everything." Carl and Mordecai moved together down the length of the cars, keeping their Berettas raised in preparation. "I'm sure you've seen things, been through things, that you don't trust people. I get it. I get it. I don't, either."
Mordecai kept his Beretta raised as Carl slowly crouched down and removed his hat, setting both it and his Beretta down as he lowered himself so that he was looking underneath one of the cars.
"I've been through things, too," the man's voice continued as Carl looked underneath the car. "My mom; she also said that, 'May my mercy prevail over my wrath'."
Mordecai raised an eyebrow, since he admittedly found that to be a pretty inspiring quote, while Carl looked through the space under the car for the speaking man.
"It's not all my mom," the man admitted with a small scoff. "That-That one; That's from the Quran. Probably shouldn't have said that." Carl slowly turned his head, and his eye narrowed when he saw a couple of legs slowly pushing themselves up. "I don't even know you, but I ha... I haven't eaten in a few days. You might not even be real."
Carl frowned as he jumped to his feet. Mordecai quickly turned towards his friend, feeling that this had to be really important since he had forgone putting his hat back on, then followed him down the length of the other cars. The two of them moved quickly between the many cars, moving away from the gas station and in front of one of the vans. Once they were in an open space, they quickly found themselves in front of the man, and they raised their Berettas and pointed them at him. *5*
"Hands up," Carl ordered.
"And don't try anything," Mordecai added.
The man immediately jumped to his feet and raised his hands. Carl and Mordecai looked over the man, seeing that he appeared to be close to Mordecai in age, if maybe a couple of years older. He had black hair and a matching beard, and though he was dirty, he had light brown skin, and his mention of the Quran confirmed he was most likely of Middle Eastern descent. The man also certainly looked dirty enough to not having eaten in a few days, as he had on a dark shirt, a matching jacket and pants, and a set of boots. His hair was a mess as he looked at the two teens while keeping his hands raised.
Of course, there was clear desperation in his eyes as he looked at Carl and Mordecai, and Mordecai paused. This man was reminding him of when he had first met Bob with Daryl and Glenn.
"Listen," the man pleaded. "I'm gone."
"Huh?" Carl asked as he and Mordecai frowned in confusion.
"It's cool," the man insisted. "I just... I just wanted some... e-even just some food."
Carl and Mordecai both just furrowed their eyebrows. The man's appearance and the desperation in his eyes reminded them of when they were on the road to Terminus, then to DC, meaning that he was most likely telling the truth.
Of course, then a gunshot rang out, and Carl frowned and looked at his gun, knowing he hadn't fired anything. Mordecai narrowed his eyes, recognizing the gunshot sound as being that from Rick's .44 magnum. This was confirmed when another gunshot rang out, the man turned and ran away, then Rick moved towards where he had been standing, wearing a tan colored shirt, dark pants, and his boots as his hatchet hung at his belt. Rick then pointed his .44 magnum up and fired into the air once again, though Mordecai grimaced, a little worried about where those bullets would come down.
Whatever the case, Mordecai huffed and put away his Beretta as Carl lowered his own. Carl frowned and walked towards his father as Mordecai followed. Mordecai then turned and looked towards where they had last seen the man as Rick lowered his revolver and looked at where he had also last seen the man.
"We were supposed to meet at the intersection," Rick remarked to the two teens.
"We were low on gas," Mordecai informed him with a shrug of his shoulders.
Rick then looked at Carl and Mordecai, and he frowned at the offended look that Carl shot him. Mordecai looked at his younger friend and raised an eyebrow, while Rick gestured towards where they had last seen the man in indifference.
"I shot over his head," Rick said, though Carl still frowned at his father. "I just wanted him gone."
"I'm more worried about where those bullets are gonna come down," Mordecai admitted with a grimace.
"He said that he was..." Carl started to say, clearly still offended.
"I heard what he said," Rick interrupted his son. "Most of it." He looked to the side, then back at Carl. "But he could've been one of them."
Mordecai tilted his head to the side, knowing that while the man did look disheveled enough to be what he said he was, there was still a possibility that he could have been planted by Negan. After all, between the Sanctuary and three different outposts, that meant that they still had hundreds of Saviors on hand that easily could've followed some kind of plan or something, especially between all the lookouts.
Carl, however, still just frowned at his father.
"Like a spy?" Carl asked.
Rick just said nothing as he slipped his .44 magnum back into the holster.
"I shot above his head," he told Carl. "If he isn't one of them, I hope he makes it."
"Here's hoping," Mordecai agreed as he put away his Beretta.
Of course, Carl just continued to frown as he walked away from Rick and Mordecai. The both of them frowned and watched as Carl moved around the cars and back towards where he had placed down his hat and dropped the gas can.
"It's not gonna be enough, Dad," Carl told Rick.
"Enough what?" Rick asked as Carl kept walking.
"Hope," Carl said, not even looking back.
Rick and Mordecai both frowned at that before Carl moved back to his hat, grabbed it, and slipped it back on. Rick then sighed out as he turned and looked towards the sound of a walker snarling. Mordecai looked in that direction with him, and he raised an eyebrow at the sight of a female walker, one who appeared to be a young woman, with blonde hair wearing a white nightgown, complete with numerous bloodstains along her dress, and a large gash in her right cheek next to her mouth slowly limping towards them.
Mordecai just shrugged his shoulders in indifference at the walker, while Rick thought she looked strangely familiar. He brushed this off as he took his hatchet out, then walked towards the walker to kill her. Mordecai shook his head before he moved back along the length of the cars towards Carl, knowing that they still needed to get the gas.
At the moment, Mordecai could admit that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to listen to Rick or Carl's lines of thoughts. Rick was ready for war, while Carl appeared to be focusing on hope, something that had both adults a little curious.
Whatever was going on, though, Mordecai knew that he was going to side with the person he believed was right. *6*