They roll along parallel to the railroad for a few hours. Most everyone sleeps except for Lupe, who drives. And Daryl, he sits in the back with Carl and Michonne.
"You said this place was at the end of the tracks?" Lupe asks Daryl, quiet as she can.
He nods to her gaze in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, supposed to follow them all the way to the terminal."
Lupe sighs out flapping lips, but the sound is airy as not to wake the others up. "Okay, well, I think this is the last road to intersect the tracks before the terminal. Rick said he wanted to approach on foot, right? I want to hide my car."
Daryl rouses the group while Lupe pulls off the road. They probably would've gotten shaken awake from the bumpy terrain anyway. She soon finds a nice patch of lumpy earth and gnarled trees. Everyone gets out and gears up. They watch Lupe manipulate the truck, the tarp, and the brush until the pieces fade into one another. They're all pretty shocked at how seamless it looks surrounded by the rest of the woods.
They make a beeline for the railroad and start to follow it. Carl balances on the tracks. Daryl limps along, morose and eying the woods with a squint. Rick and Michonne lead the way. They whisper back and forth to each other. Michonne leans in and curls her arm around Rick's. They walk in tune with each other until they reach some busted posts sticking out of the ground.
Lupe approaches warily and sees a large hunk of dirtied plywood. Rick kicks it clean with the toe of his boot. The lettering has faded, but she sees the offering, the entreaty. She shudders at the wording.
"I have seen some bait in my life, and that is some goddamn bait." Everyone turns to look at her. She swallows, throat tight and nervous from the attention. The anxiety never quite stopped her from speaking her mind. "This is where you're going? Some place that leaves signs out in the wild? With directions? For literally anyone to find?!" Her eyes pop to each of them between blinks. "That doesn't seem suspicious to you?"
Rick sighs hard and nods. "We'll be there soon, well before sundown." He glances at Daryl and Michonne, he's still wary of looking at Carl. He's afraid of what he'll see in his son's eyes. "We head through the woods now. Lupe's right, we don't know who they are."
"Alright," Daryl nods. He glances around, through the trees and up the tracks. He looks at Lupe and she's gnawing on her lips. Her frown is so deep it's like her brows are swallowing her eyes. Rick heads into the woods with the rest trailing him. Daryl looks back at Lupe and asks, "You comin'?"
Lupe looks up at him, eyes twitching through the forest. "I don't like this."
Daryl sighs. "Me neither, but we gotta find the rest of our group. We find them? We can definitely get the girls back safe."
Lupe swallows, her face cringes with sadness, but she buttons it up. She nods at Daryl and they head into the woods to meet up with the rest. They hike through the brush for a while, silent and careful. Lupe doesn't feel alone in these woods. And it's not because of the 'warmth' of her current companions. There's the itch of someone's eyes on her back. Her paranoia grows and grows with each step.
They soon reach the outer gates of Terminus. The chain link stands at about seven feet, covered with leaves and vines. Wooden crates dot along the perimeter on the outside. Spikes stick through too, but they're wobbly and could be sharper. They'll suffice as footholds to climb over.
Daryl waves over the group and Rick approaches first with his gun drawn. They all patter over to the fence as he peeks in. Daryl and Lupe stand guard and watch their backs.
"We all spread out. Watch for a while and see what we can see," Rick says as he eyes the compound, a veritable hive of buildings and pathways. "Get ourselves ready." He looks back at his family and commands, "Stick within shouting distance." The group nods and starts to disperse. Carl passes by his father. Rick licks his lips, nervous as he brushes his son's shoulder to stop him. "Want to stick with me?"
"It's alright," Carl shoots back without inflection and walks away.
Rick grits his teeth, eyes fleeting back to the compound. He exhales hard, fingers gripping the chain link.
"Don't take it too personally."
Rick turns to see Lupe at his back. She gazes off after Carl as he walks with Michonne. "My sister did the same thing when I killed people in front of her. In a way, both of us did." Lupe sighs. "It's less about him feeling scared of you, but rather a guilt. Carl doesn't know what you'd do for him, not really. It's difficult to confront the sort of unconditional devotion that wreaks havoc. A little like staring into an eclipse. It burns, it's scary, it's humbling, but it's beautiful."
Rick purses his lips to stop his chin from quivering. His voice is gruff with unspoken grief, "How do you know that?"
"Because the first human me and my sister came across that tried to do us ill?" Lupe swallows hard. "Well, I wasn't the one to kill him." She remembers being so scared of the man who attacked her, she could barely function. She froze right up. "I felt awful that it was Alma who went through it. The one who had to kill. I vowed I'd never put her in that position again. I may have failed at that, but I do what I can to keep her from having to do something she hates."
Lupe swallows, trying to get her mouth to stop being so dry. "Carl's scared of putting you in a position where you'll have to save him. He probably feels weak and foolish too. I've been assaulted like that. It's one of the most dehumanizing feelings on the planet. He's confused and he'll need your support. But you'll have to wait until he's ready." Lupe gazes at Rick, sad and sympathetic. "It's not about morality. You did the right thing. You both know that. But you can also just wish it didn't have to happen."
She walks off to follow the group into the woods. Her eyes flicker to the expanse of the compound as she traverses the perimeter. Her first suspicion arises when she doesn't see anyone out and about. It's past dawn now and the world is waking. But not Terminus.
She gets distracted by some sounds in the woods. She creeps through the trees and stumbles upon Rick burying his blue duffle bag. Daryl stands at his side.
Rick looks up at her, then Daryl, and mutters, "Just in case..."
She gets it. Lupe left her duffle full of weapons hidden in her truck. They didn't need to know about that yet.
Rick finishes covering up the duffle and hiding the shovel so they head towards the fences. They use the pikes like Lupe suggested, climbing up and over in no time at all. The second Lupe's feet touch the ground, she knows she's in hell. Or at least another level of it.
The group crouches against the fence and looks around, weapons drawn and ready. Racing behind the buildings, they keep Carl in the center. Lupe and Michonne buffet him while Rick leads the charge and Daryl pulls up the end of their train. They cross over the empty tracks and make themselves disappear.
Rick rushes towards an open door to one of the buildings and waves everyone in. He presses a finger to his lips as if it weren't obvious to stay quiet. Lupe gets distracted by a loud whining whir. It sounds electrical, like a big saw. It's not close by any means, but it bounces between the buildings. She looks around, trying to swallow past the tightness in her throat. She follows the group inside and hears a voice.
"Terminus..."
"Sanctuary for all."
"Community for all."
They step into a giant warehouse, the room wide open. An elderly woman sits at a desk speaking into a microphone. Several others are across the way, working at standing tables. They paint signs for Terminus.
"Those who arrive survive."
Daryl is first, glaring around the room with his weapon up. Rick walks right past him, his gun low.
"Hello," he says.
The woman at the desk stops talking into the microphone and jumps. Her eyes go wide. But Lupe doesn't see panic. She sees anger and indignance. Her hand grips one of Alma's pistols, she wears it like a totem for comfort and reassurance. Her palm and fingers curl around the carvings on the grips, feeling at home against her skin.
Rick turns to the group working at the tables. "Hello," he says louder. His group spreads out into a line, weapons poised to look relaxed. But they're ready.
A lanky brunette in a grey button-down looks at them and sighs. Lupe sees that same anger welling in his chest before he huffs out air. "Well, I'm guessing Albert is on perimeter watch." He puts down his paintbrush and turns to Rick's group. He walks around the tables and stares at each of them.
Lupe meets his gaze head-on. His eyes are dead just past the iris. She leans back, away from the senseless, endless void in him. A stare like that is hardly human. He does his best to walk the walk and talk the talk. But there's a shadow looming about him that even the most charming grin can't shake.
Looking back at Rick, he asks, "You here to rob us?"
"No," Rick states. He holsters his pistol as he walks forward. "We wanted to see you before you saw us."
"Makes sense," the man drawls. He shifts and his face morphs. Much too fluid, like it's practiced. He walks forward with a grin. "We usually do this where the tracks meet," he clears his throat and opens his arms. "Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth." He drops his arms and looks through the group again. "Looks like you've been on the road a good bit."
"We have," Rick nods, "I'm Rick. That's Carl, Daryl, Michonne, and Lupe."
Gareth gives them a stilted wave. He walks forward, saying, "You're nervous. I get it!" But the animated tone doesn't match his lifeless gaze. "We were all the same way. We came here for sanctuary. That what you're here for?"
Rick nods, his tone is deep and stern, "Yes."
"Good, you found it," Gareth says, bouncing on his toes. "Hey, Alex..." he shouts over his shoulder, then turns back to their group, "This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but the welcome wagon is a whole 'lot nicer." He grins wide.
Lupe scowls at him. People who have nothing to hide, don't need to say it. The other man, Alex, approaches. His smile is wide, but his eyes aren't empty, they're ravenous.
"Alex will take you out to get some food and refreshments. He'll ask you a few questions too. But first…" Gareth sighs. "We're gonna need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you."
Rick looks towards his group and Lupe checks in too. She's grateful to see that none of them look particularly comfortable about any of this. Alarm bells are ringing in Lupe's head. Red flags are popping up like fireworks in her brain. If any of them try to touch her, she might start shooting and never stop. This place vibrates with a horrific energy. She wants to burn it away.
"Alright," Rick mutters, putting down his gun.
"M'Sure you understand," Gareth says, arms flopping to his sides.
Rick doesn't take his eyes off Gareth. "I do." The rest of the group follows his lead. Gareth makes a T-pose and everyone raises their arms to be pat down.
Alex approaches Daryl while Gareth frisks Rick. Alex takes in the wreck of Daryl's face. "Hate to see the other guy," he chortles.
"You would," Rick replies, tone grave.
Alex moves to Carl and pats him down. "They deserve it?"
"Yes," Carl says. With his young voice, it's irrevocably chilling to hear.
Gareth starts talking as he approaches Lupe, "Just so you know, we aren't those type of people." He reaches for Lupe and she flinches away from him. "But we aren't stupid either." He eyes her up and down like she might be lunch. She fights the urge to snarl at him. He reaches for her again and she steps back. He backs off from her and raises his hands in supplication. "And you shouldn't be stupid enough to try anything." Gareth smiles right at her.
Gareth turns towards Rick with a different grin. "As long as everyone's clear on that, we won't have any problems. Just solutions." He claps his hands. "Okay." He turns and walks away while Alex goes to grab Michonne's sword. He hands it back to her. She watches him with a strained stare the entire time.
"I got it," Lupe growls when he tries to approach and touch her and her sister's guns. She grabs them herself.
Daryl doesn't say a word. He grunts and grabs his bow before Alex can reach it. Alex does have luck with Carl and Rick. Rick glares at him, but Alex keeps smiling.
"Follow me." Alex waves them over and starts walking. The group follows him out of the warehouse.
Once they exit into the open air, Daryl looks around, following Alex close. "So how long's this place been here?"
Alex glances over his shoulder, the smile is almost gone as he speaks, but the corner of his lips curl up in his cheeks. "Since just about the start. When all the camps got overrun, people started finding this place." He looks around, pleasantly pleased. "I think it was instinct, you know? Follow a path. Some folks were heading to the coast, others out west or up north, but they all wound up here."
They pass through a narrow alley between the buildings. There are flowers in clay pots lining the way. They enter into a wider common area with a raised garden bed. Some tables are set up with chairs and umbrellas. Charcoal, dropped and stepped in, scuffs the ground in scattered footprints. A huge silver grill sits to the side.
"Hi," says an older woman behind the grill. She seems tense as she gazes between each person. "Heard you came in the back. Smart." She smiles, but it's empty. "You'll fit right in here."