chapter 84

Chapter 84 – "The Man They Call Monster"

The mood in Alexandria was uneasy.

Axel's arrival wasn't met with cheers or celebration—just whispers. Cautious glances. Tension that hung in the air thicker than the summer heat.

Some had seen him speak at the Sanctuary's gates. They'd watched him walk away from a war with only words. They'd seen the way he protected children, even the ones not his. They remembered how he stood between Rick and another bloodbath. And because of that, some were willing to give him a chance.

Others weren't.

By the end of the day, the town square was full. Rick had called a meeting—everyone was invited. Even Axel.

He stood in the back at first, arms crossed, leaning on a wall. He wasn't trying to hide, but he didn't demand to be seen either. That alone said something to some of the more observant Alexandrians.

Rick stood at the center, flanked by Michonne and Daryl, trying to keep things from spinning out of control.

Then the first voice rose.

A woman in her forties stood with shaking hands.

"I don't want that old man in here," she snapped, pointing directly at Axel. "I don't care what he did or didn't do. I don't want him near my kids."

There was a pause.

Then Axel stood up, casually. Calmly.

He didn't look angry. In fact, his voice was half a groan, half a mock protest.

"Oi," he said, brushing his coat off dramatically. "Old man? I'm twenty-one years old, god damnit."

He pointed at his hair, slightly long and streaked with black and silver. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Black and silver hair. But come on. Do I look that old to you?"

There was a beat of silence.

Then… a few chuckles.

Even Daryl smirked. Michonne let out a quiet exhale that might've been the closest thing to a laugh she'd had all week. A couple kids near the back giggled.

Axel held up a finger like a teacher. "Now I don't mind if you hate me. Really, go ahead. Join the club. But at least hate me accurately."

Some of the tension in the air cracked.

The woman didn't laugh, but she looked a little less certain. "You're still dangerous."

Axel didn't deny it.

"I am," he said softly. "And I'll never pretend I'm not. But I've seen what real monsters look like. I've been one."

He glanced at the children near the back, his gaze briefly haunted before he masked it again.

"I'm not here to rule, or to fight. I'm here because I want something I've never had before. Peace."

His voice was rough, but sincere.

"If you still want me gone, say the word. I'll walk out the gate, no drama, no threat."

He looked at Rick.

"But if you want someone who will fight for you, who'll protect the weak, and kill anyone who tries to hurt a child—then maybe, just maybe, keep me around."

The room was silent again.

But this time, it wasn't fearful.

It was thoughtful.

Even the woman who called him a monster seemed to be thinking.

Rick didn't speak.

He didn't need to.

Alexandria was already beginning to decide.

....

The silence that hung in Alexandria's meeting hall after Axel's last words was thick and heavy. No one moved. No one dared to interrupt the storm that brewed just beneath the surface of the man standing in front of them.

Axel looked out across the crowd—men, women, children—all watching him. Judging him. Fearing him.

And he kept talking.

His voice dropped low, rough like gravel, trembling—not with fear, but with the weight of the truth.

"I saw monsters," he said. "Not just walkers. Real ones."

He let out a long breath, steadying himself.

"There was this woman… I called her my neighbor once. I knew her before all this. Our families shared dinners. We laughed at cookouts."

His jaw clenched.

"She killed my family."

Some people shifted uncomfortably. Axel wasn't done.

"My father. My mother…" His voice cracked. "Even my…"

He looked away, swallowing hard. For a moment, his tough exterior seemed to collapse. But only for a moment.

"She killed my little brother."

Gasps rippled through the room.

"And she didn't stop there," he continued, his voice sharper now, each word like a knife.

"She cut off his arms. His legs. Put holes in his chest. Not because she had to. Because it was fun to her."

Even the woman who had spoken against him earlier looked sick now, her hand pressed over her mouth.

Axel turned back to the crowd.

"That was the start of the world ending. I ran back home after my so-called college friends left me to die. I saved them. Helped them. And they left me."

He looked down at his hands.

"Came home just in time to see what she did to my family."

The room was silent. Not out of fear anymore. But from something deeper.

Pain. Shock. Understanding.

He stepped forward slowly.

"Tell me, woman…" he said, his voice low, steady. "If that happened to you—aren't you going to be a monster too?"

The woman didn't speak.

No one did.

Axel looked around, catching every eye he could.

"I was a monster for a while. Driven by wrath. Revenge. Blood. I lost who I was."

He exhaled, and his voice softened.

"But the people in the Sanctuary… the ones you all want to destroy… they made me human again. They listened. They followed me. They helped me, not because they were afraid, but because they believed I could be better."

He looked to Rick, his gaze level.

"I'm not asking you to forget what I've done. I'm not asking you to trust me right away. But if I can change, maybe we all can."

And with that, Axel stepped back.

He didn't ask for applause. Didn't demand anything.

But something had shifted in the room.

The monster they thought he was… maybe wasn't a monster at all.

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