The Walking Dead #153

Paula rushes to the gate where Siddiq and Annie are on patrol. They both ask her what she is doing at the gate; however, she avoids the question, and tells them to wait for Rick to arrive. As they attempt to further question her, Rick and Michonne walk up to the gate and come to the conclusion that Negan most likely escaped with Maggie's group headed to the Hilltop. Dante leads a group back to the Hilltop as Maggie and Brianna talk. Meanwhile, hidden under a cloak and walking alongside them, Brandon watches them, then ducks into the bushes. Brandon sneaks away from the Hilltop group traveling on the road, and gives Negan his old clothes. They then start to argue about Brandon's plan, so Negan pushes Brandon, telling him to take him in the right direction, then they both walk off. Michonne and Aaron talk with Rick about going after Negan. Aaron tells Rick if Negan was smart, he would just leave and never come back. But, Rick tells him that Negan will probably try to hurt him, the Alexandrians, and destroy everything they have. Michonne and Aaron then leave to try and find Negan after coming to the conclusion that he was headed to the Whisperers' territory. Eugene is talking to the radio survivor about his trip from Texas. The survivor claims that he is narrowing down Eugene's location, to which Eugene responds that he hasn't given too much away. Their conversation is cut short when Eugene hears a gun shot and runs outside to investigate. Marco gets shot in the leg. Jesus grabs the man wielding the firearm, while Eugene grabs the gun from the man. The man claims that he thought Marco was an infiltrated Whisperer, as he had never seen him before, but Jesus explains that he is just from the Hilltop. Eugene and Jesus take Marco to the infirmary, leaving the shooter seemingly stunned about what he just did. Dwight leads a team out in the open. Gabriel almost gets bit, but Dwight saves his life, then they all proceed to kill the roamers that attacked them. Laura asks why Dwight has Lucille. He states that she represents a lot to him, including oppression, misery, and authority, and he wants to change what she represents to positive aspects. In addition, he believes no one at the Sanctuary should take her and start waving her around as if she was a prize. Meanwhile, Magna's group get into an argument about whether or not they should stay in Alexandria. Magna and Yumiko state they stand with the community. Magna reminds Connie and Kelly that they are doing this for Luke and for them. Then, both Magna and Yumiko walk off. Rick asks Paul, the man who shot Marco, about what had happened. Paul tells Rick he was scared and that he thought Marco had snuck in like Alpha had, and that he was just trying to prevent more deaths. A shocked Rick then walks away, while Paul gets worried about what will be done with him. Michonne and Aaron continue their search for Negan and confirm that he is headed for the Whisperers' border. Meanwhile, Negan and Brandon both arrive at the border. The latter starts thinking about his mother, Tammy, whose head was one of the ones on the pikes that made up the border. Brandon begins to sob, prompting Negan to tell him to stop being such a coward. He then feigns empathy for Brandon and gives him a hug. Brandon then admits that he just wanted Rick and Alpha to kill each other, to which Negan tells him, "that's the plan." "Or rather," Negan goes on to state, as he kills Brandon, via a fatal stab wound to the chest. Negan then finishes, "… that was your plan," as he walks alone into the Whisperers' border.