Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Rosita let the chant echo through the emptiness of her mind with the dead beat march of her boots. She strayed to the back of the group, all alone, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

How could Abe be gone just like that? She thought. He had been the strongest man she had ever seen from the moment the two met. He was purely stubborn and once he put his mind to something, he did it. That was what what their mission to bring Eugene to Washington was all about. And now it was just her. She lowed her cap over her eyes. Alone.

"Hey. You want some water?" She looked up to see Tara offering a bottle to her, a look of concern in her eyes.

I must look like shit. "Sure. Thanks." Rosita took it, surprised at how dry her throat was. She drained the bottle. "Um." Rosita smiled sheepishly, eyeing the empty plastic."Sorry about that."

"Nah, it's all good." Tara shrugged and returned her smile. "We're gonna need more soon. I hope we find like a lake or something."

Rosita sighed. "Yeah." She looked at Tara for a little, letting her gaze linger, before turning her gaze forward at Glenn and Maggie in front on them. Something about her smile made Rosita feel happy, even with all the shit that had happened before.

"How's your leg?" She nodded towards Tara's leg where she seemed to be favoring one side more than the other.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Tara said. Maybe I was imagining it. Rosita thought. I'm glad she's here. At least…At least it's something.

They continued walking. Rosita watched as Michonne attempted to dispatch a nearby walker that was stumbling on the road. She reached behind her reflexively and her hand clutched empty air. She chuckled to herself and instead bashed its head in with her gun, shaking her head as she stepped over the corpse.

Ugh. You'd think I get used to the smell by now. She gingerly walked around the mangled mess of skull and decayed flesh. While Rosita could handle herself and knew how to fire a gun well enough, she was really more suited for medical instances, being in early stages of med school when the whole thing started.

Then she had met Abe. He had plowed through the walkers her group had been fighting after being pinned down in a 7-11. She remembered what he had said. He had looked directly at her and proclaimed "Anyone who wants to save the world better come with me."
She had yelled back "Bullshit! That's not possible."

Abraham crossed his arms and grinned. "I thought it was to. Until I met him. Dr. Eugene Porter. He knows how this all went down and he knows how to fix it. I'm taking him to Washington." He looked at the rest of the group. "The offer still stands. Anyone who wants to help mankind is welcome to join."

That was how it all began.

Now he was dead.

"And now you're going to have to live for Abraham." Tara's words echoed in her head.

Rosita clenched her fists around the gun she was carrying. I'm getting him to Washington if it's the last thing I do. When should I tell them though? She thought about the leader, Rick. He probably wouldn't like the idea of splitting up. She internally sighed. Abe was better at this kind of thing.

Rosita quickened her pace until she caught up with Eugene, who was looking at his shoes as he walked, his mullet bouncing against his neck.

"Hey. We're still getting you to Washington." She said.

"Oh." Eugene mumbled. He looked up. "Of course." He quickly looked back to his shoes.

What the hell? "Pull yourself together man." Rosita said. "And just what exactly is the cure? I think I deserve to know." She said, curious that he had never told them before.

Eugene stared blankly at her, then resumed walking. "It's classified." There it was again. Always "it's classified."

Something snapped inside her. Rosita jumped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks, poking a finger accusingly at his face. "Listen! People have died trying to get you there! Abraham fucking died for you yesterday! I have the right to know!"

"What's this all about?" A voice said. She became vaguely aware that the group had stopped its march and all eyes were on her.

"Eugene knows how to stop this!" Rosita exclaimed, almost shouting.

"What are you talkin' about?" Daryl said gruffly, his eyes squinting in suspiction.

"He knows…"
"HEELLP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" Someone screamed in the distance.

Nobody moved.

"Dad, we have to help them." Carl said, looking at his father with worried eyes.

Rick didn't move. "We're not done here." He asserted.

"Rick." That was Glenn. "We have to. That's still who we are. It has to be."

Something in Rick gave in. "Okay." He nodded. "Come on." Rick led the way to the sounds of the screams. The rest of the group followed, except for Maggie, and for some reason, Bob.

Rosita stared at Eugene accusingly who bowed his head in shame, although she could hear him sigh audibly, as if in relief. All her rage evaporated and confusion filled the gaps.

"Why'd you freeze up on me?" Rosita said.

The man stumbled on his own feet. "I'm…I'm sorry. It's classified." He followed the others.

Rosita scoffed in disbelief. "I hate classified." She muttered.

"It must really be some high level shit huh?" Bob said jokingly.

Maggie sighed. "Not funny, Bob."

"Sorry." He said in a tone that said otherwise. Bob walked off with a goofy grin on his face, and Maggie followed, shaking her head.

Rosita watched them go and let out a sob that she had felt building up, gasping for air as she felt her chest tighten. She bent over and cried. No Abraham. And now all this classified mumbo-jumbo that Eugene refused to let go of. It was hopeless.

She felt a hand on her back. "Maggie, I'm fine." She said, throwing the hand off and turning towards her. Oh.

"I'm not Maggie." Tara replied simply. "I'm Tara. And I'm here for you." Tara drew her in close to her and locked her arms around her back, hugging her so closely.

Oh. Rosita was shocked. But it felt nice to be held like that. So she hugged back.

That was how Maggie found them, locked in each others embrace, neither one letting go.