AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN I RICK GRIMES

The Company We Keep

The Company We Keep

When Alexis and Holly came back over, Nicholas was handing round weapons to Glenn and the others, deeming the guns 'sweet-ass biscuits', Alexis not missing the way Glenn and Tara looked at each other again at this, whilst wondering why they hadn't signed out their own weapons.

"Got your gun, Lexie?" Aidan fired at Alexis, Spencer's sobriquet for her sitting ill on his lips.

"Yeah," Alexis said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"You want me really," Aidan smirked, reading her face like a book, making Nicholas snigger on cue again.

"No, I really don't," Alexis muttered.

"Come on troops," Aidan said, ignoring Alexis now, "let's get this show on the road." To Alexis's relief, Aidan didn't speak again until they were outwith shouting distance of Alexandria's walls, more focused on making sure their way was clear of roamers. "Mom's making plans on expanding our borders," he said, noticing Tara glancing over her shoulder at Alexandria's rooftops just visible beyond the walls, "though Holly probably knows more than I do on the subject."

"I definitely know more, sonny boy," Holly said, rolling her eyes, unable to resist the urge like Alexis, "especially since I'm going to be building that perimeter with my own pretty paws."

"Don't you fancy getting your hands dirty again, Alex?" Aidan aimed at Alexis. "You impressed even my dad with your DIY skills."

"Maybe," Alexis said, glancing around her, "it would make a change from doing dye jobs."

"Yeah, Mom's getting a bit edgy about her grey streaks," Aidan said, shouldering his rifle higher, "maybe you should take a look at them."

"So how do you plan out your supply runs?" Glenn asked Nicholas, changing the subject, not missing the way Aidan kept goading Alexis.

"We're increasing the radius mile by mile," Nicholas said self-importantly, "spreading in a semi-circle around the town – we've made it fifty three miles out so far."

"Slow down," Alexis suddenly admonished, seeing the way Noah was limping.

"If you can't handle the heat, keep out of the kitchen," Aidan sing-songed, striding ahead, "now when we step outside our vehicles, we break into two groups. When shit hits, we fire a flare. Group comes and gets the other" -

- "Or they do a Nicholas and run," Alexis muttered under her breath, making Glenn glance sharply at her.

"Good system," Noah said, missing this bit of byplay.

"It is," Aidan acknowledged loftily, "still, you're only standing here because we lost four people last month" -

- "And who's fault was that, I wonder?" Alexis drawled, rounding on Aidan.

"If you've got something to say, Alex, just spit it out," Aidan snapped, "instead of trying to undermine my authority" -

- "Your authority?" Alexis scoffed. "Don't make me laugh" -

- "Look, I know I'm a douchebag," Aidan said tiredly, making Holly turn a laugh into a cough, remembering her earlier conversation with Alexis, "that I can be a hard-ass, but somebody's gotta call the ball around here, and that someone is me. If you're on this crew, you do exactly as I say" –

- "Hey, it's gone!" Nicholas exclaimed, startling everyone but Aidan.

"What's gone?" Tara asked, confused.

"We got one of the dead-heads who killed our people," Nicholas said, gesturing to a tree up ahead, "strung it up like a fucking piñata."

"Are you nuts, Nicholas!?" Holly said in disbelief.