Update: Chapters 2 and 3 have been deleted.

The backstory goes until chapter 8. Rick and the others come in around chapter 9 and onward.

Prologue.

He had lost track of time. How long they'd been stuck inside that dark train car, his brother sitting across from him, was unknown. And for the most part, it was quiet. It made time seem to stretch on even longer.

Except for the screams.

The screams of agony. Of terror. The cries and snivels among those that were trapped in that boxcar.

The few remaining survivors of Terminus.

But he was smart. He knew. He knew without anyone saying a word, without any sort of explanation, what this was all about. What was happening. To their fellow survivors. Friends. To his own mother.

All because of those goddamned signs.

Because of hope.

We were trying to do something good, Gareth's own words resounded in his head. The words he had spoke to his brother just earlier that day. We were being human beings.

Where did that leave them now?

Gareth started to slump further against the cold wall, eyes shut tight as he slightly buried his face in his hands. Tried to tune everything and everyone around him out. It was useless though. Because the screams still penetrated his ears. And the laughs. Those god awful laughs spouting from those sick bastards.

It made his stomach churn.

Gareth startled once he heard someone approaching. The rickety train car door was pulled open and just the slightest bit of light seemed to filter in from the night sky. Upon seeing his mother, he shot forward, he and Alex just catching her as she all but fell into the car. Scared, rattled to the core, bruised.

Gareth paid no mind to the man that had escorted her back in one piece. That was just it: one piece. It was how he had to look at it. Because it could have been worse. She was shaking something fierce, nerves shot and uncontrollable whimpers escaping her lips. Alex had mostly pulled her into his lap and Gareth found himself grasping a hold of her hand.

"It's okay. Mom, it's okay," Gareth tried. They were all a bit banged up. The initial attack on Terminus wasn't pretty. But she looked so much worse now than she did before they took her away what felt like hours ago. He squeezed her hand. Tried to ignore the visible blood and splotches of purple. Echoed, "It's okay. It's okay…"

There was a creak in the floor and a shadow was cast over Gareth from his left. He turned his head slightly to take in the man's appearance: slick black hair and a malicious glint in his eyes to match the grin slowly forming on his face.

The man stooped down. Grinned even wider. "No. It's not."

He practically laughed as he brought his arm up—the one holding a heavy flashlight—and smacked Gareth upside his head, knocking him flat on his back. He'd almost swear the crack of the impact echoed through that car.

There was a collective gasp between his mother and brother, but Gareth didn't register much other than that. His head was spinning, he felt sick, yet he didn't waste any time getting right back to his family's side. He felt his mother's hand graze his bruising cheek just as another woman was taken from them. Screaming.

It was all like a game to them.

The door slammed shut, leaving everyone in pure darkness once again. Gareth, knowing the responsibility fell on him being the older brother, took it upon himself to try and stay positive. To try and stay strong for them.

He found his mom's hand and squeezed. "We're gonna take it back. We will."

Gareth awoke in a daze. His back was propped up against the wall next to Alex, their mother still pulled in close. There was a moderate amount of light beginning to peek in through the cracks of the train car, suggesting that they had made it through the first night alive.

Gareth had begun to doze off again, eyes heavy, until the door was opened with such a force it rattled the entire car. Mary had crawled into a sitting position and sandwiched herself between her sons as the man from last night made another appearance.

The first thing he noticed was that it seemed eerily silent. The second was that the train car was down to just the three of them, Albert, and Martin. All of the women who had been taken hadn't returned. All except Mary.

The man stepped into the car, his stare lingering on Mary and causing her to shiver. Alex wrapped his arms around her, pulled her closer. But Gareth knew that wasn't going to stop this man from getting what he wanted.

Gareth got on his feet and blocked the only two people he truly had left in the world. His arms down at his sides, he balled his hands into fists. And though the guy had a good few inches and pounds on Gareth in comparison, he looked the man dead in the eyes.

What no one seemed to know was that Gareth had stayed up most of the night thinking of a way they could make their escape. A way that they could take Terminus back. He thought the sharp chunk of wood he was able to get off of one of the inside corners of the train car would suffice, having used his belt to work it free. Now it was hidden up his sleeve.

The man took another step forward and Gareth quickly dropped the makeshift weapon down into his palm. All within one swift motion, Gareth had made an attempt to stab the guy while the man simply grabbed a hold of his wrist, stopping the assault and violently twisting Gareth's arm.

"Gareth—"

He tried to fight through it though. He didn't let go. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed onto the man's arm with his free hand and struggled to bring his twisted arm back upright. The pain traveled down his arm and into his shoulder the longer he drug it out and the more force the man used.

Gareth received a knee to the stomach which ultimately ended the quarrel, unexpectedly driving the wind out of him as he dropped the only piece of hope he had at killing the man. The knee was followed up by a gratuitous punch to the face before he was rammed backward into the wall beside a frightened Mary and Alex, who were both on their feet now.

The man gripped Gareth by his chin. Slightly turned his head to the left to gauge how bad his face looked after yesterday's incident. It was only going to get worse—the swelling and the aching, the bruising.

The pain.

There was the sound of a gun cocking and Gareth ripped his attention toward his family. Mary had the piece of wood Gareth had dropped, her hand shaking and tears in her eyes.

"Put it down. Put your hands in the air and get on your knees. Both of you." Another man who was perched outside, the culprit of the loaded gun, spoke up. The firearm was pointed at them.

"Just let him go," Mary's voice was just as unstable as the rest of her. Gareth could visibly see her fingers tighten around the makeshift weapon all while Alex cautiously put his hands in the air to surrender.

The man slowly turned Gareth's head back to face him, leaving Gareth no other choice but to look back at him. It was in that moment that Gareth had never felt so small in all his life. He couldn't fight this guy. Not head on. He didn't stand a chance.

The smug, evil smirk didn't help matters either.

"Mom—" Gareth started, shutting his eyes. He nervously licked his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling like sandpaper. "Mom, just drop it and do as they say."

It was silent for a beat. No movement. No 'clunk' of wood hitting the floor. Only the huff of breaths and sniffling from Mary.

"I ca—"

"Just do it," Gareth raised his voice, cutting her off. Almost immediately after, the wood chunk bounced off the floor. Glancing over, Gareth noticed she had listened. She was on her knees next to Alex with her arms slightly raised, lip trembling.

And without warning, Gareth had been ripped off the wall by his collar. Thrown toward the exit, into the light. He stumbled, having almost lost his balance due to the excessive force, before there was a hand tangled in his hair.

A cold blade pressed to his throat to ensure everyone's cooperation.

It was only just the beginning though. And had Gareth realized that at the time, he wouldn't have tried to put up such a fight in the first place.