Sorry for the long wait! Hope you in enjoy! Big thanks for my beta reader! Happy thanksgiving everyone!
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Len was fast asleep long before Rick and the others had returned. It didn't take long for the older man to fall asleep, which Barry was thankful for. Though he figured it had to with being physically drained from everything he had been through. No, getting Len to sleep was the easy part; Barry was just worried about nightmares. He left the room and quietly shut the door behind him. He didn't stray too far in case Len needed him.
"How is he?" asked Lisa, concern showing clear as day on her face.
"He's asleep. I don't know for how long though." he admitted.
"Nightmares?" Lisa whispered brokenly.
"He might get them, if today's reaction was any indication." Barry said.
"Can you tell me what happened to him?" she asked.
"I thought he already talked to you."
"He didn't give me details. I know that he was locked up and beaten and that psycho threatened Lenny with my life. Told him he was going to kill me and feed me to him, but that's it. I know there's more. He said so himself, but we were around people, and he didn't want to say."
"Then maybe you shouldn't hear this from me." Barry said, uncertain he should tell Len's baby sister what really happened to him. "I don't want to betray his trust like that. He'll tell you when he's ready Lisa."
Lisa blinked tears and looked up, trying hard not to let them spill.
"It's bad, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Barry looked down. "Just remember that he's still Len, still your brother. He doesn't want to be treated differently because of it."
"You've been on eggshells around him." Lisa closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "You try to hide it, but it shines through."
"I know." Barry sighed. "I'm trying not to treat him like he's glass, but it's hard."
"Tell me."
"I can't." Barry refused her. "This is something Len needs to tell you."
Lisa sighed and reopened her eyes. "Okay."
"Hey," Mick called over. "Cop's back with the group, and they've got food."
"Thanks Mick." Barry nodded.
"Should we wake him?" asked Lisa, looking over Barry's shoulder towards the door.
"Not right now." Barry shook his head. "Let him sleep until he wakes up on his own or the food's ready, whichever comes first."
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Rick's group was greeted with smiles and cheers, knowing that everyone was back safely and on top of that with food.
They unloaded the trolleys and lifted the boxes of food and supplies into the church hall. Gabriel was happy to return to his church and the others were happy to finally get to sit down. Tyreese offered his help as Judith was fast asleep.
"Where's Carl and Beth?" Rick asked the large man, having not spotted them.
"Out back looking around." Tyreese answered.
"Have Daryl and Carol been back yet?'
"Not yet." Ty replied.
"Where's Glenn, Tara and Maggie?"
"They went to raid a gun store. It's a long shot but it's worth taking a look in case something was left behind."
Rick nodded and walked back outside. He turned from the door and went around the side of the church. Sure enough, Carl and Beth were standing together looking at the wall of the church with what appeared to be great interest.
"Hey, Tyreese said you were out back." Rick called to them as he walked up to them. "Come on in! We found food, a lot of it."
"Good." Carl said in response, barely listening.
Rick glanced at Beth who was looking between Rick and the wall.
"What is it?" He asked them.
Carl pointed to the scratches on the blocked window. "Those scratches, they're deep. Knives or something. Someone was trying to get in."
Rick studied the scratches in the wood. Carl was right, these were caused by knives. His suspicions about Father Gabriel were beginning to gain weight.
"We found something else. I don't know what happened but whatever it is, we can handle it." Carl told his dad. "Doesn't mean Gabriel's a bad guy for sure but it means something."
Rick studied what Carl had pointed out. There was a short message scratched into the wood of the church wall with a knife.
YOU'LL BURN FOR THIS
"This was the only evidence we could find." Beth commented. "He did something, something horrible."
Rick nodded. This was all the proof he needed to know that something awful had happened. Gabriel had hurt people somehow, enough for them to condemn him to Hell. Between this and what happened at the food bank Rick was starting to get some idea of what might have happened.
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After Rick, Beth and Carl came back, it took an hour for them all to organize the food and supplies. Halfway through the organizing Maggie, Tara, and Glenn had returned from their run, showing what little they had found. Rick still nodded in approval and was happy they had found anything at all. Every little thing helps in the long run.
Abraham and Rosita had finished up work on the short bus by the time everyone was done organizing. They were now sitting in the church with the others. It had been a productive but tiring day and everyone was glad that they could finally rest.
Now with everything sorted and they had just about everyone present, people were getting to work to make dinner. Rick had Judith in his arms watching the others come together to make a feast for them to eat. They deserved it after all. It wasn't every day that you escaped death from cannibals and everyone making it out alive, plus adding on to the group making it stronger than it was before.
The ones missing were Len, Daryl, and Carol. Rick knew that Len was sleeping in the other room when he had asked Barry earlier, but there was no sign of his lover and best friend, Carol. It had him worried because it had been so long and it was already night time.
Rick knew that both people were strong and they could take care of themselves but Rick couldn't shake his gut telling him that something was wrong. Rick was jerked from his thoughts when Barry walked passed him.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment." he called out catching Barry's attention.
"Sure."
Rick gave Judith to Carl on his way over with Barry behind him.
"What's up Rick?" asked Barry.
"Is Len doing okay? Is he sleeping soundly?"
"As far as I know." Barry said. "I haven't heard anything from the room. Lisa and Mick have been keeping an eye on the door as well."
"Good, just making sure Len was okay." Rick nodded as it was his personal goal to make sure everyone was okay even if it was one at a time. "We'll wake him in half an hour and then we can all eat, if that's alright."
"Oh, yeah, that's fine. I was planning on waking him up when the food's done anyway. I just wanted him to rest but he needs food too."
"Good man." Rick smiled. "Listen, I want you to know that I know what happened to Len."
Barry stiffened and his smile turned strained.
"Daryl told me, but only because I asked him." Rick explained quickly. "I needed to know what I was dealing with."
"Dealing with?" Barry's strained smile turned to a frown. "Look if you have a problem-"
"No problem." Rick cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I just wanted to let you know that I knew, that I'm here to help if you need help. I was cop Barry; I know how to handle certain situations."
Barry sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Okay, yeah, he somewhat knew already that Rick had an idea of what happened but to hear it out loud…Len didn't want people to know.
"Yeah, okay. I understand. I had a feeling you knew but I didn't want to confirm it in case I was wrong."
"Nothing has to change." Rick insisted. "I have no problem with Len or you or anyone in your group. I will help Len if I can, hell anyone would. However, if Len becomes unhinged."
"That won't happen." Barry said sharply.
"This type of trauma can do a lot of damage to a person. So far Len is handling it well, maybe too well, and I just wanted to make sure everything is going to be okay."
"Everything will be fine." Barry clenched out through his teeth hating the fact that Rick was doubting Len.
"Okay then." Rick nodded. "It's settled. But if things become too much, come to me okay?"
Barry unhinged his jaw. "Okay."
"That's all I have to say on the matter. You should get Len." Rick said, looking at the others of the group. "It looks like dinner is ready."
Barry nodded tensely and went on his way, returning to the room where Len was sleeping in. He nodded to Lisa and Mick who were outside of the door listening for any signs of distress inside. So far there had been none.
"Going to wake him?" asked Mick.
"Yeah. Dinner is ready and he needs to eat too." Barry explained. "Have you heard anything?"
"Nothing yet." answered Lisa. "Seems like you were wrong about the nightmares."
"That is something I'm glad I'm wrong about."
"I'm glad too." Lisa smiled before Mick and her moved out of the way to let Barry pass inside.
Barry quietly entered the room and shut the door behind him. He smiled softly as he took in his lover. Though beaten heavily, Len looked very peaceful curled up. He hadn't really moved from his position since Barry had left him which was good. That means he wasn't tossing and turning while he slept.
Barry walked over and right as he was about to place a hand on Len to shake him awake, the older man grunted and started to twitch.
He was back again; Gareth. He tensed waiting for the inevitable to happen. It was the same thing every time the man visited.
" You're so beautiful Snowflake. I could lick you all night long."
He did more than lick.
Len startled awake, his body shaking with the feeling of a pair of hands on his chest shaking him. Sweat was running down his forehead, his heart was pounding and his hands were trembling. Len hit the hands touching. He didn't want to be touched. He didn't want Gareth to ever touch him again.
"Hey, hey, hey…" Len heard Barry call out to him. "It's okay. You're safe. Whatever you saw wasn't real Len."
Len panted as he slowed down his fighting. It had been a nightmare. He turned his head and saw the pair of hands on his chest belonged to Barry. His Barry who had very concerned eyes looking down at him.
"You okay?" Barry asked him. "Talk to me."
"Yeah, just a nightmare. That's all." Len nodded slowly, gaining his breath.
"Will you tell me what happened?" Barry asked. He was hoping Len would start opening up to him. It might help the other man in the long run.
Len gazed into Barry's eyes for a moment. He wanted to lie, tell Barry something different, like he had lost the speedster again. However, as he stared at Barry's green eyes and saw the worry and love that was there, Len knew he couldn't.
"I dreamt of Gareth." Len looked down ashamed that even though he wasn't there anymore, he still was constantly thinking about it. He took one of Barry's hands in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"It's okay. You're not there anymore. He's not here, I'm here. I won't let him touch you again." Barry spoke as he squeezed back. "Thank you for telling me. I know how hard this must be for you. But I'm here and I want to help any way I can."
"Thank you." Len said simply. "For being here. I lost so much hope in that room. I'm so glad you're alive and here with me."
"I'm so glad I'm alive too." Barry lightly teased. "And I'm glad I'm here with you."
Barry leaned in and kissed Len lightly but the other man wasn't having that, not this time. Len deepened the kiss by tilting his head and opening his mouth wanting, no, needing to taste Barry.
Barry gave a groan in surprise. He had been keeping things light not to scare Len or put pressure on him, unsure on how he was going to react. This new action both surprised and thrilled Barry to no end. He missed being intimate with his lover.
Their tongues battled and Barry let Len win, letting the other man have control on how far this went. Len had an inkling that Barry had let him win and was a little ticked but at the moment Len was just grateful that nothing awful had happened. Len was so worried that he was going to have flashbacks or worse; Barry would be disgusted with him despite the other's reassurance.
Len took things a step farther and started to rub Barry's arms and back and the kissing continued. Barry followed Len's lead and did the same; both were lost in their passion, not realizing how long they had been inside the room.
A knock startled them apart, bringing them back to reality.
"Hey guys." Barry could hear Cisco's voice coming through the door. "I don't know what you're doing in there and I don't want to know, but everyone's waiting for you so we can eat already."
Len dropped his head in frustration. And everything was going so well too.
"Okay, Cisco!" Barry called back. "We'll be out in a second."
"Alright then."
They heard footsteps leaving the entrance of the door and probably back to the main group where everyone was probably waiting to eat.
"Time for dinner, I'm guessing?" Len asked him, wincing slightly as he got up and straightened into a stand. Healing wounds pulling taut and rubbing the wrong way.
Barry nodded
"Yeah. I was coming in here to wake you when you started to have that nightmare and then we made out." Barry smirked slightly just from the thought of making out with Len.
"You almost make it sound like it's all my fault you got distracted. I wasn't hearing you complaining about it a second ago." Len smirked back.
"Well…" Barry drew it out. "I wouldn't be against a repeat if that's what you're saying."
"Minus the nightmare?"
"Minus the nightmare." Barry said seriously as he too stood up. "But if you do have one, I'm right here to kiss it all away if you need me to."
Len huffed with a smile on his face. "Enough Barry, that's so cliché."
"You're probably right." Barry pouted. "Hey, I love you."
"And I love you." Len repeated. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying that."
"And I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing it. " Barry said with a smile on his face. "Come on then. Let's go eat. I'm starving."
"You're always starving." Len spoke automatically; not noticing that for once he's words have never rang truer. He opened the door and held it for Barry to come out too.
Barry paused a second before going through the door. His vision blurred a little and his head felt dizzy but it cleared before Len could notice. Thank god Len wasn't completely focused on him or he might've caught it.
Len was more focused on the church hall. It was alive with conversation and laughter. There were sounds of metal cutlery being used as their whole group decided that they had waited long enough for Barry and Len and were going to eat anyway. That was fine with both of them. Though food was important, reconnecting after such a long difficult separation was on the top of there list of things to do.
They saw various cans of food had been opened and emptied into bowls where everyone could help themselves to whatever they wanted. The candles provided light in the room as the group conversed and consumed their dinner.
There was a lot of laughter, so much so, that one would think it wasn't the end of the world. They often had so few opportunities to laugh that it was always a precious occasion, no matter how small or simple the cause of the laughter was.
Rick sat with Judith in his arms as he fed her. She had also decided to feed Rick and would place food in his mouth. Barry smiled while Len smirked at the display. It was one of the most adorable things they had ever seen in this world and it gave them a glimpse of the man Rick used to be before the world ended.
"Hey glad you guys could make it out!" Cisco joked as he raised his plate of food. "You better get some food while it lasts. Don't know when we'll have this again."
"Already on it Cisco." Barry gave a wave as he and Len went to get some food of their own.
"And what took you guys so long to come out?" asked Lisa with her saucy voice and smirk on her face. "Your lips are awfully red Lenny?"
"None of your business train wreck." Len casually said.
Lisa smirk grew wider before lightly hitting her brother.
"Well, I'm glad you're still able to get some jerk. Didn't think you had it in you old man."
Tara, who was right next to them, snorted causing some food to go down the wrong hole. She was coughing and laughing at the same time, causing a huge commotion.
"Shit, you okay?" asked Maggie as she hit the girls back hoping to help.
It didn't but it was thought that counts. Tara waved her away with a shake of her head and a wave of her hand.
"I'm fine." she choked out. "Went down the wrong hole."
"Well, be careful next time." Maggie scowled her a bit but there was no heat in it.
"See? This is what happens when you're around Lisa." Len gestured to the scene. "You cause havoc."
Lisa shrugged, not even bothering to deny it.
"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham called out interrupting them.
Len and Barry quickly filled their plates and sat down next to their friends and family before listening to what Abraham had to say
"I look around this room and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title." Abraham announced and held up his glass of wine. "To the survivors!"
"To the survivors!"
Everyone repeated with him, lifting their glasses as well.
"Cheers!"
"Is that all you want to be? Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, then sleep at night two eyes open, rinse and repeat?" Abraham asked them all. "'Cause you can do that. I mean you got the strength, you got the skill."
No one really wanted to do that, but it was what they had to do, in order to survive.
"Thing is, for you people, for what you can do? That's just surrender." Abraham explained. "Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip."
Everyone fell silent at this. If it was true it would certainly be worth the journey. Everyone had their doubts on whether it was true or even if it was how the world could recover from such an awful event. Jason considered it. If he could help save the world so that not only could he and Carl be together for years to come but also so that Carl could see his baby sister grow up, that was worth any risk.
"Eugene, what's in DC?" Abraham asked the scientist who sat on one of the pews.
"Infrastructure designed to resist pandemics of even this FUBAR magnitude." Eugene answered. "That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."
Abraham smirked. "However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started."
Abraham stared down at Rick who sat with Judith in his arms.
"Come with us. Save the world for that little one." Abraham pleaded to him. "Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there. Don't got nothing left to do except survive."
Silence fell again. Rick noticed that no one appeared to have any objections nor could they vocalize anything in favor of the mission.
He smiled as Judith cooed out a sound at him while resting her head on his chest. Rick chuckles as he looked at everyone when Judith cooed again.
"What was that?" He asked his baby daughter, earning a laugh from the others. "I think she knows what I'm about to say."
Judith cooed happily.
"She's in. If she's in then I'm in." Rick answered with a grin. "We're in."
Laughter and applause echoed around them.
"Yeah!" Tyreese cheered.
"Let's do it." Rick said. They were going to go to Washington DC and end the apocalypse.
"Looks like we're going to Washington." Barry bumped his shoulder with Lens'. "We said we would if Rick agreed to go."
"I did. It looks like we're going." Len nodded agreeing.
"Wait when did you guys agree to that?" asked Cisco before gesturing to himself and Caitlin. "Cause we didn't agree to that."
Barry's eyes widened like a deer in headlights. "Uhhh. Outside when Abe first tried to recruit us."
"And you didn't think to tell us?" Cait asked a little hurt that they were excluded.
"God, I'm sorry guys." Barry really felt bad. "I didn't think you would mind."
"Well we do mind." Cisco said angrily.
"It's more like you not telling us then the actual fact of us going to DC." Cait tried to smooth. "Unless we decided not to go as a group, we were going to follow Rick if he decided to go too."
"We don't like it when you don't tell us things." Cisco finished. "It can be dangerous out here."
"They do have a point." Len conceded hearing the truth in their words. "We should have told you."
"Yeah, you should've." Cisco snapped.
"Hey, lay off alright." Barry narrowed his eyes. "We said we're sorry. What more do you want?"
"To tell us this stuff!"
"That's enough Cisco." Caitlin whispered to him. "There's no reason to be this angry. They're sorry and they promise to tell us stuff like this in the future, right?"
"Yes, of course." Barry immediately said especially after the look Cait was giving him.
Cisco took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah, okay. I'm sorry. I'm just tired. Little shit like this is just getting under my skin."
"You should probably go to sleep." Lisa piped in sliding next to him. "Here, I'll show where you can sleep."
"I-uh, they-us-huh?" Cisco was star struck and lost of words.
"Come on baby. Let's sleep together." Lisa said in her seductive tone.
Cisco openly stared with his mouth opened, making the others laugh.
"I think you broke him sis." Len smiled at Cisco's reaction.
"Then I'll just have to fix him." Lisa said as she got Cisco up and moving. "See you later guys."
"Shouldn't we've helped him?" asked Caitlin as she watched their backs.
"Nah, they'll be fine." Mick grunted into his food. "It'll release pent up tension."
"Are they really going to have sex in here?" asked Barry, astonished.
"Eh, I doubt it." Len shrugged his shoulders. "I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure Lisa only meant sleeping."
There was a crash sound making everyone tense up before Cisco ran out of the room he and Lisa had claimed.
"We're fine!" he announced. "Sorry, we knocked over a vase."
People relaxed at that and some even laughed.
"Of course, I have been wrong before." Len continued amused as Cisco raced back inside the room.
"Don't want to know." Barry grimaced.
"Same." Cait agreed.
Now that people relaxed again, they went back to their mini celebration.
Sasha kissed Bob, both of them smiling. She was so happy that he was here and well. It scared the shit out of her when he had fallen in the water at the food bank. And now they had a plan. They were going to do more than just survive, they were going to live and thrive.
"Okay, I'm not going to let my brother be the only one that gets to hold that baby!" she declared to him happily.
"Wait." Bob stopped her, gazing into her eyes. "One more."
They kissed again, this time for longer. When they broke apart and Sasha walked away, Bob closed his eyes and lowered his head to hide the tears threatening to fall. He stood up and headed for the door while Sasha held Judith.
Tara sat herself down beside Maggie nervously.
"You okay?" Maggie asked.
"Yeah, yeah." Tara answered quickly while she gathered her mental strength.
"I was at the prison with the Governor." Tara confessed, shaking. "I didn't know who he was or what he could do. I didn't know who all of you were."
Maggie's face fell with shock. The memories of that day coming back to her. The slaughtering of their friends, the loss of their home and the decapitation of her father.
"I-I just didn't want it to be hidden." Tara told her. "That I was there. Glenn, he saved me and he had no reason to save me, but he did anyway."
"You're here with us now." Maggie answered weakly and hugged the younger woman. "Does Glenn or Rick know who you are?"
"Rick does." Tara told her. "He was the one who talked to me at the prison. Said he knew that I didn't want to be there and it was true. When I realized what was really going on, I didn't want to do this-that. I didn't want to fight."
Tara had tears in her eyes feeling a weight on her chest leaving her as she unloaded onto Maggie. She had been carrying this secret around for awhile now and she was so glad that she could release it and not have to hide it.
"And Glenn?" asked Maggie. "You said that he saved you."
"Yeah, but he doesn't really remember."
"You should tell him." Maggie told her. "You're one of us now. You have saved our lives too. The Governor tricked you. He's done this before and I don't blame you. Glenn won't blame you and if Rick already knows and you're still here, then he doesn't blame you either."
"Thank you." Tara cried as she hugged Maggie again. She sniffed as she pulled away and wiped her tears. "I'm going to find Glenn and tell him about me."
"Good, he won't be angry, promise." Maggie promised her.
Tara nodded and went to find Glenn. It didn't take long to find him. It was a little awkward as Tara didn't know how to start the conversation at first so she just blurted out everything as fast as she could. She word vomited all over the place, not stopping to take a single breath in between and was even crying a little towards the end.
Once she was finished, all she could do was just stand there waiting for Glenn to yell at her. But he didn't. Instead he pulled her into a hug and instantly Tara knew that things were going to be okay.
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Rick walked over and sat himself down next to Father Gabriel. They needed to talk, well, he was going to be doing most of the speaking and if the Father had any balls left on him, he'll confess to everything Rick suspected him of doing.
"Thanks for the hospitality." Rick commented. "I'm surprised you let us drink your communion wine."
"There isn't anyone left to take communion. The wine is just wine until it's blessed." Gabriel answered and took a swig of the wine bottle trying to drown his sorrows.
Rick noticed how somber Gabriel was being. It was clear between that, the mention of communion, the female walker and the writing on the outside wall that the priest had dark secrets. Secrets that could be dangerous to the group.
"You're hiding something." Rick told him. "And it's pretty obvious that it's something you can't hide from."
Gabriel's face fell as he stared off into space. Rick was right. He was hiding something; something terrible. So terrible that it was horrifying to think about, agony to remember.
"That's your business." Rick continued. "But these people? These people are my family and if what you're hiding somehow hurts them in any way, I'll kill you ."
Gabriel stared wide-eyed. This was the second time someone had threatened his life in the same amount of days from two different people.
"So are you going to tell me what you're hiding?" asked Rick, but Gabriel kept silent, looking away possibly ashamed about what he did.
"Alright then. Do you understand me?" asked Rick seriously. "If I find out that whatever you're hiding affects my group, I will end you."
Gabriel nodded numbingly.
"Good." Rick ended it and left to be with the rest of the group leaving the Father to reflect on his words and he hoped to god that he wasn't making a mistake keeping this man alive.
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It was starting to get dark when Daryl and Carol decided to head back. Unfortunately, they ran into a little bit of trouble. They were carrying water, gas and a little bit of food they had managed to find. Daryl was carrying the bulk of it while Carol covered them from walkers and was on the lookout for anything wrong.
"You think the others found that food bank?" asked Carol.
"Probably." Daryl grunted. "Won't find out til we get back."
"Yeah, you're right."
They came up on an intersection when they met some walkers turning the corner.
"Shit!" Daryl dropped his supplies and reached for his crossbow.
"There's too many of them!" Carol yelled as she too dropped her supplies and started to knife and shoot her way through.
True to Carol's word, there were too many. First it was a dozen and then two dozen and then it became a small herd, just shy of what they had seen on the highway so long ago. Because there were so many of them, they got separated and were fighting desperately to get back to one another.
"Carol!" Daryl screamed as he watched her get farther and farther away from him.
"Go, go! I'll be fine!" she yelled back at him.
Not able to do anything else, he fought like hell and wished for a fleeting moment that the rest of the group was here. It would have been easier to take this herd down and it was nice to have someone watch your back. But Daryl immediately shut that thought down. More people meant more lives at risk and a chance that not all of them would make it out.
Yeah, it was better that it was just him at the moment. He wasn't worried about Carol. She was a survivor and she would make it no question. So with that in mind he focused back on getting out of here alive too. He fought his way, losing a lot of arrows and having several close calls but he pushed through and got away from the main herd.
He was still on guard, still fighting. Though he was away from the majority of them, they were still scattered largely around the area. If Daryl wasn't careful, one could come up out of nowhere and chomp his ass.
"Daryl!" he heard Carol call for him. He spun around sharply looking for her, going in one direction then the next.
"Carol!" he called to her hoping to get a pinpoint on her location.
"I'm over here!" the call came from his left and off he went.
He was over a hill looking around when he spotted her. Somehow they had been turned around and where by the old beat up car that they had found earlier.
"Carol!" he shouted to get her attention.
He watched twist her head back and forth before spotting him. She waved with a smile and started heading towards him. The moment she had stepped three feet away from the junker car, another car came out of nowhere and hit her straight on.
"No!" he cried as he jumped to action, trying to get down the hill as fast as he could, but his legs won't go fast enough.
Daryl watched with a feeling of dread in his stomach as the car stopped and drove back before people exited the vehicle. They picked her up and dragged her back to their car.
"You sons of bitches!" Daryl snarled, getting closer. "Let her go!"
They didn't listen to him or didn't hear him because they jumped back into the car with Carol and sped off without hesitation. Daryl swore up and down as he reached the bottom and was too late to stop them from taking her, but he wasn't about to give up.
Using his crossbow, he knocked out the back lights of the junker and started the battery. He wasted no time in starting the car and he sped off after them.
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Daryl was missing, and it was driving Rick up the wall. He was trying to stay calm and tried not to let people see how wrecked he was but there was an itch in his chest that was telling him to move!
"Dad, have you seen Daryl? Has he come back yet?" Carl asked as he approached his father. "I haven't seen him since you guys left."
"No he hasn't. Carol's missing too." Rick sighed looking down.
"Well, why are we just sitting here?" Carl jumped into action. "Why aren't we looking for them?"
"Because, we don't know where they are and it's too dark outside." Rick explained. "I'm worried about him but I also know that Daryl can take care of himself, Carol too."
"Why didn't we look earlier?" Carl asked angrily.
However, truth be told, Carl didn't notice that Daryl was missing in the first place. Though Daryl was with his father now, he was still the same man he had met all those years ago. He liked his space and sometimes would leave the group and be on his own for awhile, but Daryl always came back
Just as Rick was about to answer, Sasha came bursting through the front doors of the church, running up the hall towards the group.
"I can't find Bob anywhere!" she told them anxiously. "He's gone!"
Rick stood up and walked over to the table they kept the gun bag and ammo on.
"Alright, you, me and Tyreese will head out to look for them." Rick explained, grabbing a flashlight.
"He can't be far." Tyreese reassured his younger sister.
"Do you want us to help?" asked Barry.
"No, we got this." Rick waved his hand. "The less people out there the better. We can't be running out there right now."
"But with more people looking, you'll find him faster." argued Cisco.
"We also don't know why Bob is missing in the first place. It could've been a walker or it could've been people. If that's the case we need everyone ready and willing to protect the rest of the group until we figure this out." Rick explained causing Cisco to relent knowing that Rick was speaking the truth.
The three of them grabbed some guns and headed out the doors, leaving the others inside the church. Father Gabriel looked on with a mix of fear and guilt as the doors closed behind them.
"Do you think they'll find him?" Beth asked quietly to Carl.
"They will." Carl said confidently. "It might not be now but they will."
00000000000000
"Bob!" Sasha called out quietly.
She made her way between the trees, a powerful rifle with a night vision scope in her hands. The woodland was almost total darkness and there was no sign of her lover anywhere.
"What the fuck?" she asked herself bewildered. On the tree trunk next to her she noticed a line had been carved into it with a knife. It looked like a mark for navigation. Someone was watching them.
The snarl of a walker echoed in the darkness along with the snap of a twig. Sasha spun round and aimed her rifle. With the night scope she could see someone disappear into the dense forest in the distance. Whoever was watching them had just got away again. There was nothing else. Just darkness and the constant chorus from the grasshoppers.
She turned her aim to her right just in time to spot a walker lunge at her from the darkness.
"Holy shit!"
It tried to grab her but she backed away and pushed it against the tree trunk, knocking it to the floor. A second walker approached from behind the first, snarling as it got closer to the woman. Sasha fired her rifle, shooting the walker in the head before slamming the bottom of the rifle into the head of the first one to crush its skull.
Suddenly an arm came from behind her and grabbed her, the hand wrapping around her mouth to muffle her scream of surprise.
"Shhh, it's me!" Tyreese said slowly before releasing her.
Rick stood with Tyreese, flashlight in hand as they checked their surroundings. Sasha took deep breaths to get her breathing back to normal after the fright Tyreese gave her.
"He's getting away!" She told them, referring to the person she had seen through the night scope.
"Who?" Tyreese asked, having not seen signs of anyone in the darkness.
"Somebody was watching us!" Sasha declared anxiously, looking towards the forest.
"If we go in there now, someone's not coming back." Tyreese warned.
Rick aimed his gun in that direction along with his flashlight, looking for any signs of life.
"Bob is out there somewhere!" Sasha pleaded. "Scared! Alone!"
"Maybe not alone." Rick answered. "Daryl and Carol are missing too."
There had been no signs of any of the three missing group members. Rick hoped the best for them all. He hated losing people and having three missing members was making Rick itch to hurt someone.
"We need to push on." Sasha insisted.
"No." Rick refused. "We have no idea who or what is out there and we can't see shit. We go back to the church. We have no choice but to wait for morning."
"This is bullshit Rick." Sasha hissed. "If Daryl was out there-"
"If you haven't noticed Daryl is out there!" Rick roared making the woman step back. "And I get how you're feeling, I do, but as much as I hate it too, we have to wait until morning. Understand?"
Sasha inhaled and exhaled trying to calm herself before nodding.
"Good, now let's go back."
000000000000000
The others couldn't do anything but wait for the search party to come back. Most were sitting around, a few were pacing, and others were trying to busy themselves with stuff to make the time pass faster.
"They're taking their good old time." Mick noticed. "Been out there for a good minute now."
"Generally searches take more than a minute Mick." Lisa sighed as she bushed a hand through her hair. She grimaced at the feel of greasiness and how knotted it was becoming. She feared she was going to have to cut it or she'd end up with a rat's nest for hair.
The sound of the church doors opening made them turn their heads in the hopes of seeing six walk in instead of three. Their hopes were quickly dashed as only Rick, Tyreese and Sasha returned. Sasha immediately walked up to Father Gabriel who was moving some things around on his desk.
"Stop! What are you doing?" she asked the confused priest. "What are you doing?! "
She took a step closer to him causing people to tense anticipating what's going to happen next.
"This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched." Sasha accused. "And now three of us are gone!"
"Things are about to get shitty really fast." Mick warned, eyeing the pair up.
Lisa nodded ready to move if things get dicey.
Gabriel looked flustered as all the group's eyes were focused on him, penetrating him like daggers. Accusing him of something he hadn't done.
"I…I don't…I don't have anything to do with this." he defended weakly not sure what else to say.
Sasha pulled out her knife. Gabriel jumped back. Rosita rushed to stop her but was held back by Abraham.
"Here we go." Mick pulled out his knife. "We should go before this becomes a blood bath."
"We're not leaving." Len hissed. "Even if it does come to that."
"Stop!" Barry shouted. "We don't have proof that it was him. We can't just kill him."
Len looked over to his lover and a warmth spread over him. So, Barry wasn't completely gone. He was so worried how easily Barry could kill now, but at least he still had enough humanity to not just kill everyone who seems like a threat. Barry was still in there and that brought Len joy like nothing else.
"Sasha, put it away!" Tyreese called out.
"Who's out there?" Sasha began but was interrupted by Gabriel.
"I don't…I don't have anything to do with this."
"Where are our people?"
"I don't have anything to-."
"Where are our people?!" Sasha bellowed at the top of her lungs sending chills down people's spines.
"Please, I don't have anything to do with this." Gabriel continued to defend himself calmly with his hands up. There was nothing else to say. He didn't do it but it seemed like these people didn't want to believe him.
Rick grabbed Sasha's arm and gently pulled her away from the priest before taking her place in front of him. He studied Gabriel's expression and glared into his eyes.
"Why'd you bring us here?" Rick asked him.
Gabriel shook his head nervously. He didn't know what he was being accused of with Rick's question.
"We're the ones who demanded to be brought here." Cait defended the priest. "I don't like it anymore than you do but I don't think he did this."
Rick waved her point away. Though he half agreed with her, they had three people missing, one of them Daryl. It didn't matter if it made sense or not, Rick needed to get to the bottom of this.
"Please, I-I…"
"You working with someone?" Rick asked, taking a step forward.
"I'm alone! I'm alone!" Gabriel answered nervously. "I was always alone!"
"What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel?" Rick interrogated. "What did you do to her?"
Gabriel couldn't answer, pain shooting through his face at the mention of the woman. It was too much, too much.
" You'll burn for this . That was for you. Why? What are you going to burn for, Gabriel?" Rick continued pressing, hoping to break the man.
Rick grabbed the priest by his collar and pinned him against his desk, glaring daggers into his eyes as he continued his interrogation. He was getting to the bottom of this one way or another. He's had enough with these games. He was going to allow the priest his secrets but now those secrets were affecting his group and he won't have that.
"What?! I told you I would kill you if your secrets affected this group, and now they are. So, do you want me to kill you?" Rick snarled, losing his patience before bellowing. "What did you do?!"
Gabriel's lips quivered as emotions threatened to burst out. He knew he had no choice but to explain what happened now. It was either tell them or die right here, right now. The grief and the guilt came bubbling to the surface, turning him into a nervous wreck.
"I lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night; I always lock the doors at night! I always-!" Gabriel fought back the tears. "They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were-they were looking for a safe place, a place where they felt safe."
Gabriel looked around desperate for them to understand. He needed them to understand. Most were starting to realize what he was getting at as their eyes widened and shock were flashing across their faces.
Cait put a hand over her mouth knowing what the priest was getting to. Cisco wrapped an arm around her, he too, knowing where this was going. This world had changed them for the worst and it seemed like no one, not even a man of god, escaped that change.
"And it was so early, it was so early. The doors were still locked. You see, it was my choice." Gabriel explained nervously. "But there were so many of them, they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me and so the dead came for them."
"Why didn't you help them?" asked Barry. "They came for your help and you denied them that."
"I-I couldn't…!" Gabriel yelled. "I knew if I let them in, they would have killed me too. There were so many and they were so loud. I couldn't bring myself to open the doors."
Len's expression changed from that of horror to utter disgust. This priest, this supposed man of God had locked his congregation out of the church. He had locked them out and left them for dead. Gabriel saw Len's expression and the look on everyone else's faces.
"Women. Children. Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart. Begging me for mercy, begging me for mercy. Damning me to Hell." Gabriel whimpered and sniffed trying to hold his tears back. "I buried their bones, I buried it all. The Lord sent you here to finally punish me."
Everyone was speechless. The group was a mix of shock, horror and rage at the priest in front of them. He had let entire families be torn apart when all he had to do was turn a key to save them. Gabriel dropped to the ground, whimpering and shaking.
"I'm damned. I was damned before." Gabriel finished, crying. "I always locked the doors. I always locked the doors! "
Sasha sheathed her knife and looked down on Father Gabriel with utter disdain. Beth stayed seated next to Carl, both of them in complete shock at what they had just heard. They all had their demons, all of them had done things they weren't proud of. This was different. This was a horrific act of selfishness.
"Damn, didn't know you had it in ya man of god." Mick gave a chuckle breaking the horrified silence.
"That's not funny, Mick." Cait snapped at the pyro causing the man to subtly flinch, breaking his laughter. He guiltily looked away; he didn't mean to upset Cait.
The sound of someone whistling came from outside.
"What is that?" asked Lisa.
The person kept whistling loudly until Glenn finally made his way over and looked out the window.
"There's something…" Glenn announced. "There's someone outside lying on the grass!"
Most of the group rushed out to inspect the body lying on the grass.
"Bob! Oh, Bob!" Sasha cried out she realized it was Bob, who was unconscious but alive. Snarls from around them announced the arrival of walkers to the area.
"His leg!" Maggie pointed out in horror. The lower half of his left leg was gone.
"Get Bob inside, we'll take care of him!" Glenn called out.
The Asian man rushed for the closest walker and smacked the handle of his rifle into its skull, cracking its forehead and knocking it to the ground with a hiss.
"Can you help me, please?" she begged Lisa. "Help me. Help me!"
Maggie stabbed a walker in the head with her knife while Sasha and Lisa lifted Bob off the grass towards the church. Tara was right behind them covering them, making sure nothing got close to them while their guard was down.
Rick was about to pistol whip another walker with his revolver but the walker received a bullet beforehand. The echo of a rifle sounded around them. Rick fired into the woods in the direction of the bullet. Someone was shooting at them.
"Get inside!" He barked at the others. "Go!"
Once Bob was inside the gunshots ceased. Rick quickly made his way back inside, failing to notice the letter "A" painted on the church wall with blood.
"Why the fuck did you go out there Lisa?!" Len growled mad that his sister took off into a dangerous situation without even thinking it through.
"Don't know." Lisa shook her head. "I just did."
"That's no excuse." Len glared but he left it alone. There was nothing anyone could do about it anyway. It was over and done with.
"Can you please not do that again chicka?" Cisco asked as he looked Lisa over.
"I'm fine Cisco." Lisa gave a sinecure smile before kissing him. Him being worried about her was adorable and a turn on for her. Most people she knows don't care about her like that except for Len and Mick.
Once they had got Bob inside and on the floor he had started to wake up. The group gathered round him in horror at the condition he was in. The lower segment of his left leg was gone but the stump was bandaged and his lip was burst open and bleeding down his chin. He looked physically weak and drained.
"Move! Move!" Caitlin ordered as she rushed over to check the downed man.
"What happened Bob?" Sasha asked gently as Caitlin worked on her man. "What happened to you?"
"I was in a graveyard, somebody knocked me out, I woke up outside this place, looked like a school." Bob explained, breathing heavily from the pain. "It was that guy, Gareth and five other ones. They were eating my leg right in front of me, like it was nothing. All proud like they had it all figured out."
This revelation came as a shock to the group.
Len visibly flinched once he heard Gareth's name and took steps back at the thought of Gareth being alive and now here! Barry quickly noticed his lover turn pale and start to shake. His eyes were wide and frantically moving back and forth. Sweat was starting to become visible as Len felt his chest tighten and felt like he couldn't breath.
"Hey, hey, hey." Barry whispered gently as he stepped up to Len and cupped his face.
Len flinched at the touch and jolted away from Barry's touch. Barry felt a ping of hurt at that action but it was tiny compared to the overwhelming feeling of worry and concern for the man he loved. The other man walked away unable to handle the situation.
"Lenny!" Lisa called out worried about her brother.
Caitlin looked up and saw Len moving across the room clearly shaken by the realization. She made a move to go to Len instead. There was really nothing that could be done with Bob. She had checked his leg where they had wrapped and even though she didn't want to admit it, they did excellent work on wrapping it.
"Stay with Bob, Caitlin." Barry ordered before looking at Lisa.
"Don't worry Lisa I got this." Barry waved her off knowing exactly what was wrong with Len. Lisa didn't know yet and could comprehend what her brother was feeling at the moment.
"But-" Lisa took a step forward planning on following them regardless of what Barry said.
"Don't." Mick put a hand on her shoulder. "Leave the kid and the boss alone."
"Like I'll listen to you." Lisa snarled as she shrugged his hand off. "That is my brother over there suffering. I won't leave him."
"You're not leaving him Lisa." Cisco said coming up to her and put an arm around her, which she allowed and didn't shrug off. "Your brother loves you and I know you want to go to him right now but Len was hurt and Barry seems to know exactly what he needs. Let him help your brother."
"Barry," Lisa hissed his name. "Only knows how to comfort Lenny is because no one will tell me what happened to him."
"I don't know either but even I can see that this is affecting him greatly." Cisco said gently. "Let Barry work his magic. Let him take care of Len and when your brother's ready he'll tell you."
"I know, I know." Lisa sighed and closed her eyes. "I hear you, I do. You've all told me this, to give him time but it hurts. Not because he hasn't told me, but I hate seeing him like this. I haven't seen him this distraught since before our father was put away for good."
"And Barry will help fix that." Caitlin spoke. "No one can resist Barry and Len has a special weak spot for him."
"Yeah," Lisa opened her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. I just hate waiting."
"We know." they all said.
"Shut up." Lisa growled but there was no heat in it.
Barry caught up with Len who was already clear across the room. They were far away from the group huddling up around Bob.
"Len, wait up." Barry called to Len.
Len kept going but Barry had longer legs than him and easily caught up.
"Len, you're safe here." Barry tried to comfort the best he could once he reached his lover. "I won't let him take you again. I promise. Gareth isn't going to get to you."
"How can you say it's safe when he was here?!" Len harshly said. "He's here and he knows we're here. He was out there on the front lawn."
"Shhh, I know," Barry hushed him. "I know. He was out there, but now we know he's out there. Their element of surprise is gone. I won't let him get near you. I swear on my life he wouldn't touch you again. I'll kill him before he does that."
Len was panting, near hyperventilating but Barry's words were calming him in a sense as his more logical side started to take over. Barry was right, they know that Gareth is here now, and they also know what those cannibals are capable of.
"Barry…" Len's eyes were pleading silently asking without asking.
"I'm right here." Barry reassured as he tried to touch Len again. This time Len allowed the touch burying his face into Barry's chest.
"I wish I had my cold gun." Len spoke into Barry's chest. "I feel useless. It brought me a comfort that I didn't know I had until Gareth took it away."
"You're not useless Len." Barry assured. "You're smart and cunning and I don't know anyone who could steal and crack safes or lay out plans as good as you."
"Yeah, look how far it got me?" Len asked. "I was overpowered and outsmarted and I paid the consequences for it."
"You look at me Len." Barry pulled them away and cupped Len's face with both hands. "No one deserves what that monster did to you, no one. You're not useless. You're so very smart that it sometimes scares me. I love you with all of my heart. Do you love me?"
"I love you Barry Allen."
"Then we'll get through this together, right?" asked Barry.
Len hesitated. Would they be able to get through this?
"Len, I won't let anything happen to you." Barry said determinedly. "Cisco still has a few bars left, I'll use them if I have to."
"You can't do that Barry. We might need that for more important things." Len tried to say, but Barry wasn't having anything of it.
"Don't you say that, ever." Barry growled. "You are the most important thing in my life and I rather use those bars and my speed to save you than for anything else in the world."
"I can't ask you to do that Barry. I can't ask you to use a bar. We might need it later."
"That might be true but I'm not asking your permission. If I need to use it tonight to keep you safe I will."
Len closed his eyes overwhelmed by emotion. God he hated this. What happened to the cool collected supervillain? He was the best of the best and now look at him. Quivering over such nonsense! He wasn't worth it! He couldn't even help the group in present condition!
"Len," Barry spoke, seeing Len drifting away from him. "You are worth it. I won't let you believe otherwise."
"Barry…" Len trailed off. He had no idea when Barry started to read minds but he was good at it. "Please…"
"He won't touch you, he won't get to you." Barry said firmly. "I am here and I will protect you."
"Okay." Len nodded before deciding something. "I want a gun."
"What?" that caught Barry off guard.
"I want to protect myself and you too. I don't want to rely on you all the time, Barry." Len said tensely thinking Barry wouldn't give him the gun.
"What if I like you relying on me?" Barry said slyly.
"I want to get over this. I need to get over this." started Len. "I can't do that if I'm scared of the very man who did this. So, I need a gun. If the opportunity comes and I have to shoot, I need to know that I'll be able to do it. I can't let him control me like this."
"Okay one, you don't have to just 'get over it.'" Barry began. "And two, I will get you a gun but don't beat yourself up if you can't go through with it. I'm here and I'll take care of it if you can't."
"This is something I need to do Barry." Len silently begged him. "In order to accept it and put it away, I need to confront it."
"Okay, yeah, I hear you."
"Thank you Barry. I love you."
"And I love you too." Barry said with a concerned smile. He was happy for Len but, at the same time, terrified for him.