STORY: Image/Skybound's 'The Walking Dead' No. 94 Preview (Exclusive)

After being held hostage and beaten, Jesus freed revealed that he wasn't exactly being held against his will as he was easily able to free himself and opted to remain in captivity in a bid to win Rick's trust.

"Rick is extremely wary of everyone. But once he learned that Jesus could have freed himself at any moment and chose not to, that caused him to begin to trust Jesus somewhat," Kirkman tells The Hollywood Reporter.

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With the group on the cusp of discovering what awaits them within the Hilltop, they're either about to stumble onto a new way of life or an epic battle. "Nobody knows what to expect from anyone else, so everyone would be fearful of any human interaction from anyone," Kirkman says. "But as Jesus has revealed, the Hilltop operates on a basis of finding other communities and sharing resources, so this is something that they’re used to. What the actual reaction will be is currently unknown but will be revealed very soon in this issue?."

"I certainly wouldn't expect things to go extremely well because of what you see on the cover," he warns.

Check out the first five pages of issue No. 95 -- exclusive to THR -- below.

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The Walking Dead No. 95 hits stands Wednesday. How bad of a confrontation do you think RIck and company are in for?

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit