Gareth is here!
000000000000000
Rick glared, hating himself that he had let this happen. They should've gone back and killed all of the people of Terminus but no one wanted to. Bob had lost a leg because no one had agreed with him. Len was having a panic attack at just hearing the bastard's name.
He looked over the couple that was across the room. He wasn't blind. He saw the way Len reacted to Gareth's name. Most of the group did, but Barry was taking care of it so they could focus more on Bob.
"Did they have Daryl and Carol?" Rick asked Bob, needing to know where they were. If they had Daryl, there was no stopping him this night. He would go out there and kill them himself if he had to.
"Gareth said that Daryl drove off." Bob answered. "They didn't see Carol."
This next revelation confused most of the group. Daryl wouldn't abandon the group like that; he wouldn't just drive off. Something must've happened. And Carol? Where was she? Did something happen to her and Daryl went to follow? Rick felt his heart speed up. Something was wrong. They had to get this done and quick so Rick could go look for them.
"Did he say why?" asked Glenn.
"No." Bob groaned and gasped in pain as he tried to sit up. Agony shot through his leg and up his body, almost overwhelming him.
"He's in pain! Do we have anything?" Sasha asked Caitlin.
"I think there are pill packets in the first aid kit." Rosita answered, knowing that was really all they had.
"Save them!" Bob countered.
"No!" Sasha argued, not letting her lover refuse treatment.
"Really!" Bob retorted loudly.
He stared at Sasha's hurt face. She was so filled with pain and panic and confusion. He didn't want to make that any worse but he had to. He had to keep them all safe. Bob rolled down his shirt off his right shoulder, revealing a fresh bite. He looked back at Sasha. She was stunned. She was frozen in place with her mouth agape in shock and horror. Bob had been bitten. Her lover had been bitten and there was nothing that could be done.
"It happened at the food bank." Bob explained, looking back at all the confused faces.
The group fell into a morbid silence at the realization that their friend was going to die.
"Oh, no." Cait had her mouth cover and looked like she was about to cry. A missing leg she could help heal, but a bite. Without a lab to process the cure, there was no way to help Bob now.
Cisco looked down in sadness. He wasn't close with the guy but he was part of the group; family. It was hard regardless.
Mick looked away. He didn't care much for this lot of people, but he also felt a ping of emotion that one of their own was going to die.
Glen and Maggie hugged each other as they glazed heartbrokenly at their friends, knowing the pain and suffering they must be going through.
Carl hugged Judith to his chest and Beth came up to his side in a comforting hug too.
Abe, Rosita, and Eugene's eyes were glossed over with sadness but they didn't have the connection the rest did. They didn't know Bob all that long, but it was still hard to lose someone you know. It was different than a random stranger.
Rick cursed to all the seven hells.
"It's okay." Sasha whispered as she and Bob began quietly crying together as Tyreese looked at the couple suffering. He prayed that his sister would make it through this. It was hard to lose a loved one, and he didn't want to lose his sister too.
This would be their final night together and they weren't ready for it. Bob suddenly collapsed back, the pain and the stress making him temporarily lose consciousness.
"Bob?" Sasha questioned fearing that he had already passed.
"He passed out." Caitlin said.
"There's a sofa in my office." Gabriel spoke up. "I know it's not much but…"
"Thank you." Sasha replied gratefully.
"I got him." Tyreese announced, standing up and moving over to Bob to lift him.
"Len was just in there. Let me clear it some before you put him in there." Lisa said as she went ahead of everyone and got the sleeping bag and any loose item that was left inside the room.
"Hey Lisa, what's happening?" asked Barry as he and Len rejoin the group.
"Bob needs a place to rest, so they're using the sofa that Len slept on." Lisa answered as she handed Barry the sleeping bag and his things to him. "Bob's been bitten."
"Wha-? No way!" Barry clenched his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "When?"
"The food bank." Lisa said before looking at her brother. "Are you going to be okay?"
Len gave his sister a weak smile but there was glint in his eye, something that wasn't there before. It gave Lisa hope that Len was recovering, even if slowly.
"I'll be fine sis." he answered. "I just need to chill a little."
"Oh god." Lisa laughed a little relieved. "You're making puns now? I'm glad to hear it bro."
"Trying sis."
Tyreese came over with Bob in his arms, Sasha and Caitlin not too far behind him.
"Is there anything you can do for him Cait?" asked Barry.
"No. I can only make him as comfortable as possible." Cait shook her head sadly before walking into the room and closing the door behind them.
000000000000000
Rick shifted over to Gabriel. They had to take care of these people as soon as possible if they wanted to survive.
"Do you know the place Bob was talking about?" Rick asked, a dark look filling his eyes.
"It's an elementary school." Gabriel answered. "It's close."
"How close?" Rick asked quickly, they needed to know and Gabriel looked nervous. "How close, Gabriel?"
"It's just a ten minute walk through the woods from here due south of the graveyard." Gabriel explained.
Rick considered the situation that was unfolding around them. The people from Terminus were back and they were only a ten minute walk away from where they slept; from where Judith slept, from where Carl slept. The threat had to be dealt with and everyone had to be kept safe in the process.
"Carl, take Judith and go into the office." Rick told him, working out a plan. "Go with them Beth."
"Why?" Carl asked. They all had guns; they were safe where they were. "I can help fight them. They need to be stopped."
"Because all it takes is for them to kick open those doors and start shooting this place up." his father answered, considering the worst case scenario. "Judith could get hit. You or Beth could get hit. Hide in the office, it's safer."
"Let's go Carl. Your dad's right. We might have guns but they don't work if we're dead before we can shoot them." said Beth.
Carl accepted the explanation and picked up Judith's basket. The baby started to cry after her sleep had been disturbed by all the commotion. Carl tried to sooth her but was more focused on getting her into the office with Bob. Beth held her hands out for the babe, hoping to calm her down. It wouldn't be good if the baby started a full blown cry now.
"Hey, where are you guys going?" asked Barry as he, Len and Lisa were almost fully back with the group.
"Dad, told us to hide in the office with Judith. Gabriel said that the people from Terminus were just a ten minute walk away and could kick the door down any moment. I don't see why we have to hide. We have guns, we can fight them."
Len paled at hearing that. He could feel his pulse starting to pound and sweat start to gather on his forehead. He could feel his hands tremble and his chest seizing once more.
"Are you okay Len?" asked Beth concerned at seeing the ashen face of the older man.
Len ignored her. He had more pressing things to worry about.
Ten minutes. That was how far Gareth was. A ten minute walk! Gareth was so close, too close!
Barry turned to his lover at hearing Beth's concern. His eyes widened when he noticed that Len was starting to have a panic attack again and quickly thanked Carl and Beth before telling Carl to listen to his father and hide in the office. He turned back to Len who had gotten worse. Barry cursed. He had just got Len to calm down just a minute ago.
"Len, baby, you need to calm down and control your breathing." Barry tried to soothe.
"What's happening?" asked Lisa as she looked at her brother concerned.
"A panic attack." Barry quickly explained. "He just got done recovering from the earlier one."
"Lenny." Lisa spoke softly. "It'll be alright. Barry's here and Mick's here, and I'm here too. We won't let anything happen to you. Take a breath Lenny. Breathe! You have to do it!"
Surprisingly, Len listened and he took a large gulp of breath.
"Good, now exhale and do it again." Lisa instructed and Len listened to her and was calming down a whole lot faster than before.
He took a shaky breath and came back to himself. He looked at his lover and Lisa. He really needed to get control of this. It wouldn't do if this keeps happening.
"Thanks sis." Len grunted out.
"No problem."
"Wait, wait, wait! How did you do that?" asked Barry bewildered before it had taken him a lot longer to get Len to calm down the first time.
"This isn't the first time Len's had a panic attack. I'm usually there to help him through it which you would've known if you'd let me go with you the first time."
"Ah," Barry rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. "Sorry."
"I may not know the full extent of what happened." Lisa glared at her brother, telling him that she was mad for not telling her everything yet. "But I'm here to help my brother, just as much as you. Don't put everything on your shoulders; we're here to help you too."
"I will remember that." Barry gave a small smile. "Thank you Lisa."
"No problem hon."
Rick started to walk over and he nodded to them as he passed. He was glad that Len was doing better and seemed to be over his panic attack from before. He went to the closed door and knocked on it. He didn't open it because he didn't know if he was welcomed or not.
Thankfully, Cait opened the door but quickly shut it behind her. Rick noticed Sasha was caring for Bob to make him comfortable while she silently cried at the pain she was feeling.
"Does he have a fever?" Rick asked Caitlin.
"He's just warm." Cait answered, not sure how long he'll last. She never had the pleasure of seeing someone suffer through this. They were either already dead or they were killed before they could turn.
This was the worst. Caitlin thought. Knowing what was going to happen but there was literally nothing they could do.
"Jim lasted almost two days before we left him." Glenn added. The problem with bites is that the death and reanimation speed varied wildly. One person could die in an hour and turn right away, another could take days and could take hours before they turned.
"Time for a reality check!" Abraham declared. "We all need to leave for DC. Right now!"
"Oh, this is going to be good." Mick said in amusement as Lisa glared at him.
"Daryl and Carol are gonna be back." Rick countered. "We're not going anywhere without them. If they don't come back, we're gonna look for them."
"I respect that but there is a clear threat to Eugene here. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier." Abraham explained. "So if you all won't come, good luck to you. We'll go our separate ways."
Abraham turned and marched towards the door. It would be dangerous to go out there not knowing where dangers were lurking, but it was a chance Abe was willing to take. He couldn't just sit here and wait for cannibals to come back for them. They'll take the short bus; it'll give them better odds.
"You leaving on foot?" Rick challenged already thinking that same as Abe.
"We fixed that damn bus ourselves." Abraham answered to the challenge, turning to face him.
"There are a lot more of us." Rick responded, walking up the soldier, clearly ready for shit to go down.
"You wanna keep it that way? You should come." Abraham retorted.
"Carol saved your life, we saved your life!" Rick snarled.
He couldn't believe the lack of loyalty. They needed each other to survive! However, if push came to shove Rick was willing to kill Abe if he had to. Well, maybe not kill but cripple. He was not leaving with that bus, not without them, and they weren't leaving without Carol and Daryl!
"And I am trying to save yours!" Abraham bellowed back impatiently. "Save everyone's!"
"We're not going anywhere without our people." Rick defended decisively.
"Your people took off!" Abe spat.
"You don't know that!" Maggie yelled.
"They're coming back!" Rick spat back angrily. "And if not, we're gonna look for them. They could be in trouble. They wouldn't just take off, something happened!"
"What are they coming back to?! Picked over bones?!" Abraham shouted back. "We can't save them if we're dead! Let's cut our losses and leave."
Rick tried to grab Abraham's arm. "How dare you?! You're not…!"
Abraham knocked Rick's arm away from his own.
"Do not lay hands on me!" he bellowed aggressively. "Don't you ever touch me!"
"Abraham!" Rosita called to the muscular man. She knew his short fuse often got the better of him.
"Hey! Hey! Stop! Now!" Glenn shouted, getting in between the two males. "Do you really think you're going to be any safer leaving right now? In the middle of the night?"
"Yeah." Abraham answered. "Yeah."
"What about tomorrow? We need each other for this!" Glenn pleaded. "We need each other to get to DC! We can get through all of it together!"
"I have an idea." Tara told them uncertainly but determined as she stepped up. "If you stay just one more day and help, I'll go with you to DC. No matter what. Okay?"
"Len and his group too." Abraham declared. He knew them best and trusted them.
"No." Rick growled.
"That wasn't the deal." Len drawled. "You had to convince Rick or at least Caitlin and Cisco.
"Good luck then. I'm not interested in breaking up what you have here." Abraham answered. "Rosita, grab your gear."
"Abraham…" Rosita started.
"Now!" Abraham barked. "Eugene, let's go! Eugene."
Eugene didn't budge from his seat.
"Eugene. Move it!" Abraham barked.
"I don't want to." Eugene answered hesitantly.
"Now!" Abraham growled.
"Okay." Eugene whispered in defeat and stood up.
Lisa ground her teeth as she watched this man trying to walk out on them. She understood that Abraham had his mission but he was deliberately making everyone weaker. She didn't give a damn about him. Hell, she would kill him if it was to save her brother and Mick, but that wasn't the point at the moment.
His speech at dinner had given them hope, a plan, a purpose! Ever since they had gotten to this world, it was a tragedy, one after the other, with no hope of making it out of here in one piece. Her brother was hurt, they lost people, and they had seen horrible stuff, done terrible things! Losing people was not an option. The more people they had, the stronger they were together as a team. And as much as she hated to admit, in this world, you need people to survive.
"You know what? Fuck you!" Lisa yelled. "How dare you try to walk out on us!"
"Lisa?" Len questioned in surprise.
"You're a fucking idiot if you think going out there right now is a good idea!" Lisa called out aggressively. "Do you even have a brain in your head?"
"It's a damn sight better than staying here missy!" Abraham barked back. "It's a better plan than the last time we face these people!"
It was a low blow and everyone knew it. Lisa's face contorted darkly.
"That was low." she hissed. "We had no way of knowing."
"Yeah, well, guess what?" Abe asked sarcastically. "Now we know!"
"And we paid the price!" she yelled as she gestured to her brother.
"Which I'm not going to do again." Abe countered.
"Those people could be right outside the front door. You could be marching into a fucking bullet storm." Lisa argued.
"If we stay here, they can surround us." Abraham opposed her. "I'm not about to be a goddamned sitting duck! Eugene is too important for us to wait it out."
"And Caitlin and Barry aren't?!" Cisco countered. "She can make a cure from Barry's blood! All we need is a lab and supplies."
"And they don't want to come with me!" Abraham stated. "I would bring them too if they wanted, but they don't. So instead of waiting around here to die, I'm going to cut my losses and take Eugene. He knows how to make the cure too."
"What are we? Chopped liver?" Cisco asked. "It'll be faster if you had all of us and Barry's blood rather than starting from scratch."
"And we don't have to wait them out." Lisa tried to reason coming up with a plan. "And we can attack them in here! Use our knowledge of where they are against them! We know that they only have six members at most."
"We could just as easily die in here!" Abraham bellowed.
"Not if we plan it right!" Lisa tried.
"I've had enough of this." Abraham snarled and stepped back. "We're leaving."
Rosita and Eugene headed for the door as Abraham followed behind them. Rick glared at them as they made their way down the church hall.
"You're not taking the bus." Rick said sternly.
Abraham stopped walking and turned sideways.
"Try and stop me."
Rick thought about it. It seemed like the only way. The other man was giving him no choice. He couldn't let the other man leave, not with the bus at the very least. They needed that bus and he wasn't going to be taking it anywhere.
"You need help?" Mick whispered.
"No."
He started walking towards Abraham causing the man to give his gun to Rosita and marched towards the ex-sheriff ready to fight to the death if necessary.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Hey!" Glenn shouted and got between them.
He turned to Abraham knowing what he was going to have to do and knowing that Maggie was probably going to kill him for it.
"You stay. You stay and help us. Maggie and I will go with you instead, deal?"
"Glenn?" asked Maggie in shock.
She didn't want to leave the group; her family. Her gaze went to the closed office door. She didn't want to leave Beth.
"Please Maggie?" Glenn pleaded with her, begging her to trust him.
She nodded silently trusting her husband.
"No." Rick argued. It was bad enough that the man wanted Len and his group but he was not taking Glenn and Maggie. They were family for a long time; Glenn since the beginning.
"It's not your call." Glenn retorted before rounding back to Abraham. "You stay, help us, and we'll go with you."
Abraham thought for a moment before nodding. "Half a day. Come high noon we're tail lights. I'm not waiting for the other damn shoe to drop."
"Then, we'll leave with you." Maggie confirmed.
Abraham nodded as silence fell around them. He knew in his head that this was a bad idea but in his heart, he felt like he at least owed this much to them for what they've all done for him and his group.
"Twelve hours, then we go."
Abraham picked up his rifle and walked away from the door. He walked past Rick and stopped as he reached Lisa.
"Don't do that again. If you were a man I would have decked you, you know that?"
"And then, I would've killed you." Len spoke coldly eyeing the ginger, protective of his sister. "Do you know that?"
Abe titled his head in acknowledgement, before backing off. He knew a promise when he saw one. Len might not be at full strength yet, but one day he will be and Abe knew that he would be a dead man if he messed with the man's sister.
000000000000000000
Tyreese was staring at nothing. Well, technically it was the church floor but he was so numb that his mind wasn't registering it. He couldn't believe that Bob was going to die. Yeah, Bob, like most people, had issues but he made his sister happy, but now…that happiness was gone. His sister was crying her eyes out as Bob was slowly and painfully dying in there.
He knew that his sister was strong but she had never gone through this type of pain before. This was you couldn't breathe, heart ripping pain that one could only experience with loving another person as humanly as possible. He just prayed that his sister could make it through this. It would take awhile, he knew, but it didn't matter as long as she did recover.
Rick stood at the front of the church hall with the rest of the group. He had formed a plan that he was sure would work. Lisa brought up a good point. The people of Terminus were outnumbered three to one and if they could just get the jump on them, they could take them out.
"They think they're in control." Rick explained. "We're in here and they could be anywhere but we know exactly where they are."
Everyone was busy reloading and checking their weapons as they listened to Rick's motivating speech. He was gearing them for war, again, and it probably won't be the last time either.
"Plan's got stones, I'll give you that." Abe commented.
"Make our move before they do." Glenn confirmed.
"That's right." Rick nodded. "They're not counting on us thinking straight."
"Are we?" Rosita challenged. "I'm just making sure because it's a big play."
Rick walked up to her from where he was, tilting his head as he stared at her. They needed to be strong. They needed to have conviction. There was no room for doubt. Doubt could get someone killed, or worst, all of them killed
"Remember what these people are capable of." Rick reminded her. "What they did to us, what they are still doing to us."
Abe nodded along in agreement. It was time to end things once and for all.
"I'm coming with you." Barry spoke up determined with a dark glint in his eyes. "I want to be there when we take them down."
"Barry, no." Len said not wanting his lover anywhere near Gareth.
Not only did Len fear what Gareth could do to the younger man but what he could tell Barry too. Len didn't want Barry to know all of the things Gareth did while he was in that room.
"No." Rick turned to him and Barry became enraged, not understanding and not liking being denied this.
"I deserve to be there! After what they did to my friends, to Len! I want to look that bastard in the eye as we kill him!" he argued. "Besides, you need all the help you can get."
"I'm sorry but I can't let you go. Yes, we do need the help, but that's why I need you here." Rick answered, squaring up to the younger man. "Help keep everyone else safe."
"Bullshit!" Barry cursed surprising quite a number of people. Barry didn't curse often so this was left field for them. "We have plenty of people here to look after the others left behind."
"That's true." Rick nodded. "But if things go south and things could go south, I need you here. You are a leader if I ever saw one and if something happens to us you need to take point and lead the others in my stead. You can protect them if we fail."
"Damn it." Barry muttered as he rubbed his hand through his hair repeatedly. "Why did you have to go and say that?"
"Will you stay here?" asked Rick trying to confirm that the speedster will in fact stay behind.
"Yes." Barry growled. "But I don't like it. I deserve to be there."
"That's fine. You don't have to like it, but thank you for staying. We will bring these bastards down. I promise you, one way or another."
Rick looked over at Tyreese who was staring at the floor a small distance away from them.
"Tyreese?" Rick called.
"Yeah."
"You up for this?" Rick asked him.
No. He was not up for this. He was a peaceful man. He hated violence and he detested killing of anything, even walkers. To go out and kill humans was weighing heavily on his mind and he didn't think he could do it.
But Rick, his leader was asking this of him, and it was hard to say no. He knew that Gareth and his man were killers and stains to the human race and they deserved to be destroyed for what they've done but Ty didn't know if he could commit to something like this, even if it was for their survival.
Before he could answer Rick, a noise made him look up and saw his sister coming out of the office.
"I'm going with you." Sasha declared strongly.
"You should stay with Bob." Ty told his younger sister.
"No." Sasha shook her head. "I wanna be out there. I wanna be a part of this."
Sasha disappeared back into the office but was followed by Tyreese.
00000000000
They left and they had a mission to complete. Rick and his group left the church with strong determined steps, ready for battle. They'll kill the people of Terminus or die trying.
Gabriel watched them leave and locked the doors to prevent others from coming in. He went to his office room which now held a massive group of people. It was a tight fit for everyone and the room was hot and getting hotter as body heat accumulated in the room. Once he was in, he locked the office door as well.
Gabriel took a seat at his desk fumbling with some papers to keep himself busy. He didn't want to think about what could happen right now. Tyreese was sitting next to Bob who was still passed out on the sofa. Eugene and Rosita were sitting against the wall staring at nothing, just waiting for something to happen; good or bad.
Carl had Judith tucked away to the farthest corner from the door sound asleep and hoped that she remained that way. Beth was with her, sitting there, ready to protect in any way possible. Carl himself was just standing facing the door tapping on his gun, waiting just like the rest of them for something to happen.
Lisa, Mick and Len were closer to Rosita and Eugene against the wall but far enough to give personal space. Mick had found a lighter and was flicking it on and off, pissing off Lisa to no end. Len was almost cationic. Just staring, but not really seeing. His pulse was racing and his breath was in short bursts. It wasn't a full blown panic attack but one wrong move would push it there.
True to Barry's word, he was handed a gun which he now had in his right hand, clenching and unclenching it as the minutes ticked on. Barry, himself, was with Cisco and Cait on a different wall staring at the door leading into the church hall. He wanted to be near Len but the man wanted to be left alone.
This whole thing was stressing Len out to the max and he knew that no amount of comfort from Barry was going to help with this. He needed to help himself first. He needed to do this on his own. He didn't want Barry to worry though he doubted he was succeeding in that area.
No one was speaking a word too worried about what was going to happen next. There were so many things that could go on tonight for anyone to relax. Rick and the others could die tonight. The people of Terminus could die tonight. There could be casualties on both sides, or they themselves could die tonight. There were too many things that could happen and it was driving everyone crazy with restlessness.
The church was silent. The only thing they could hear were insects chirping and the wind rattling the church and surrounding trees.
All they could do was sit and wait. It was killing them to just do nothing while their family and friends were out there, possibly going to be killed. Barry bounced his leg up and down as an outlet for his nerves. He had to force himself not to use his speed. He wanted to run but even with the feast they had, it was still too small amount of calories for him to consume.
Fortunately, Judith was sleeping; Beth was making sure of it as she checked on the little girl constantly. Not just because it would be for everyone's benefit that she'd stay asleep but also because she was restless too and her outlet was fretting over the small child.
Bob was still breathing as Ty watched him to make sure. He would keep his sister's promise and finish this if Bob passed while they waited. He would hate to do it but he promised and it was the least he could do for the man who helped his sister's heart and was good to her.
It was when they heard it that they tense. Someone was outside messing with the door. The unmistakable sound of wood splintering as the front door of the church was broken open. Their blood ran cold and their hearts stopped. This either meant that Rick and the others had somehow been killed or the people of Terminus had slipped past them.
Everyone got ready at once, preparing themselves for the worst and ready to fight to the death. Carl flicked the safety off his gun and aimed at the door. Rosita prepared her shotgun. Eugene was behind her with nothing as he knew that Rosita would protect him. Gabriel clung to his cross necklace and silently prayed for help. Beth stood Judith with a knife. She wasn't good at fighting yet but she was getting there. Her sole job now was to protect Judith at any cost.
Caitlin and Cisco got up, each with a knife and a gun, ready and waiting as they looked at the door. Mick and Lisa were up too, a gun in each hand, with a glare of death in their eyes ready to dish out some pay back for what these people had done to them.
Barry bounced up with fire in his eyes. He was well and truly ready to fight to protect everyone; to protect Len. He pushed the thought of how the people of Terminus got here. He didn't know if Rick was dead or they simply were just waiting for their group to leave the church and frankly Barry didn't care at the moment. He wanted to be there when Gareth was killed and well, now he got his wish.
The only thing he regretted was to put Len through this as he watched his lover shakily stood using the wall to hold him up. Len drew a shaky breath as he tried to calm his nerves and harden himself for what was to come. He inhaled and counted to ten before exhaling slowly. His hand on the gun tightening and ready to use it. He didn't know what was going to happen and he was scared of what could happen but as he looked into Barry's eyes and saw the protective ferociousness in those hazel orbs, Len felt better.
He could feel his heart calming some and the blood that rushed to his head was becoming more manageable. He straightened and pushed off the wall; he was ready. He was ready to face this and put it behind him. Push it to the past where it belonged so he could move on from here.
"Well, I guess you know we're here." Gareth's voice called out from the church hall and all that calmness that Len managed to muster went down the shit hole.
"And we know you're here."
Len started to shake again, gaining his sister's concerned look as she put a hand on his arm to comfort him. He gave a weak smirk to portray confidence he didn't at all have, but he needed to do this. He needed to do this to get on with his life. Just like with his father. He needed to end this so he wouldn't be afraid anymore.
"And we're armed. So there's really no point in hiding anymore." Gareth continued to call out. There was a long pause making Len's hair stand up. Something was happening out there. They were planning something.
"We've been watching you."
Well, that confirmed that. Barry thought with hope as he shared a look with Carl. Rick was alive and so were the rest of the group. If Gareth killed the other or even encountered them, Gareth would have bragged about that instead of just watching them.
"We know who's here. There's Bob, unless you put him out of his misery already." Gareth called out with a smile. "Eugene, Rosita, Tyreese, Beth, Carl and Judith."
Carl tightened the grip on his gun. He would not let these men harm his baby sister. Carl didn't care what it took. These men would have to get through him to get to Judith.
"Then there's Barry, Catlin, Cisco." he continued as he walked.
Barry shared a look with his friends. This bastard remembered their names too. Mick frowned when Gareth named Cait. The scumbag should never speak her name. He knew one thing though, he would rather die than let this monster touch the people he cared about.
"And who else?" Gareth almost giggled insanely. "Oh, the firecracker Lisa, and the pyro, Mick."
Mick growled at the sound of his name as well as Lisa's.
"Now, who am I missing?" Gareth asked tauntingly. "I know there's at least one more person. He was my favorite too."
Len was almost hyperventilating as Gareth taunted him with that same tone of voice from before. He's eyes were moving back and forth as memories resurfaced, putting him back into that room again.
"Len…" Lisa whispered squeezing Len's arm trying to ground him as he relived his captor over and over again.
"Oh yeah!" Gareth exclaimed as if he suddenly remembered. "My little Snowflake. Oh, how I've missed you!"
Len bit his cheek hard to stop the whine of fear in his throat. Not again. He couldn't go back there. Not again.
Suddenly, Lisa was in front of him holding his head with her hands.
"You need to breathe." Lisa hissed softly, trying to make as little noise as possible. "You're going to pass out, if you don't breathe."
Len nodded as he tried his best to get himself under control.
"Rick and the rest walked out with a lot of your guns." Gareth continued, pausing trying to listen for any signs of where they are. "Listen, we don't know where you all are but this isn't a big place."
In the office, Gabriel was shaking with fear. He had heard the others talk about this group and Bob's leg was proof of what he had been told. There were devils in his church and he was powerless to stop them.
"So let's just stop this now before things get more painful than they need to be." Gareth continued calmly.
Gareth signaled for two of his men to go to the office door and the side room door. Both doors were locked thankfully, rattling as they tried to open them. Everyone with a gun aimed at the office door. The only ones who didn't were Lisa and Len as she was making sure her brother breathed through his panic attack.
They were running out of time.
"Look, we know you're behind one of these two doors and we have enough firepower to take down both." Gareth called out, growing impatient. "Can't imagine that's what you all want."
"I know you're here Snowflake." Gareth called to his favorite toy.
Len choked on his breath as he heard Gareth called to him.
"Why don't you come out? I promise not to kill your sister when this is all over." Gareth promised. "You, me, and her can all walk out of here alive and well. I took very good care of you the first time. Yeah, we had our bumps, but the second time around should be much smoother. All you have to do is come out."
Len was gasping now as he shook his head. No! He wasn't going back there! He couldn't go back there! Especially not with Lisa. He was never going to go through that again. He never wanted to ever have to guess what he was eating, whether it was her or not. He never wanted to ensure all of the pain and terror that Gareth inflicted. He would rather die than go through with that again.
"Shh, shh, shh. Don't listen to him." Lisa tried to quiet her brother and calm him at the same time. "You're not going back there with him. I promise.
Gareth paused but nothing happened. He could hear something, breathing maybe. He smirked. His Snowflake remembered him and all the fun they've had.
"How about the priest? Father, if you help us wrap this up we'll let you walk away from this." Gareth attempted to trick the man. "Just open the door and go, you can take the baby with you."
Gabriel to his credit did not budge from where he crouched in the office. They all continued to aim at the door, ready for what was next. Gareth's tricks weren't gonna work on them, so violence was most likely going to be next.
"What do you say?" Gareth pleaded.
Barry glared at the door. Mother fucker, trying to bribe Len of all people! Did that bastard really think Len was going to just walk out of here willingly to be placed back into his own personal hell and take Lisa with him?! Gareth didn't know Len at all if he thought that trick was going to work.
Then he went for the priest of all things, but Barry also relented that if Gabriel wasn't so scared, he might have done it. He didn't trust the priest, not after what he tried to do with Len.
Suddenly, Judith woke up and started crying loudly.
"No, no, no…" Beth scrambled to keep her quiet but it was too late. She had revealed their location.
Barry cursed under his breath upon hearing Judith's cries. Their time was up.
"I don't know, maybe we'll keep the kid. I'm starting to like this girl." Gareth commented as they all advanced for the office door.
They were now aiming their guns at the office door, all of them locked and loaded.
"This is your last chance to tell us you're coming out!" Gareth called out one last time.
Nothing.
"Hit the hinges. I want them alive." he instructed as the man advanced. He also didn't want to hit his Snowflake. Now that Daryl was gone, he had no one to play with, so he'll dust off his old toy and have another go at him.
Suddenly the heads of the men standing at the office door exploded and splattered blood on the wall as their bodies fell to the ground. A silenced gun had been used to shoot them.
"Put your guns on the floor." Rick's ice cold voice came from the darkness.
"We're prepared to fire right into that office so you lower your guns!" Gareth demanded.
Another shot rang out and two of Gareth's fingers were blown off by the bullet, causing him to cry out in pain and clutch his bleeding hand.
Rick emerged from the darkness with a silenced gun aimed at them.
"Put your guns on the floor and kneel." Rick ordered them with an icy tone causing everyone to kneel as instructed.
One man stood against the rest. He knew that the moment he knelt he was good as dead. He knew what was going to happen and he didn't want to die like that.
"Do as he says!" Gareth demanded from his agonized position on the floor. He was withering in pain from losing two fingers
"Martin, there's no choice here!" Gareth told him desperately.
"Yeah there is." Martin answered, almost nonchalant. He wasn't talking about life or death. He was talking about die fighting or die kneeling.
"Wanna bet?" Abe growled at Martin putting the man in between the sight on his gun.
Martin finally dropped his gun and knelt on the floor. It was over.
Rick stood over Gareth as Sasha pulled his gun away from him.
"No point in begging, right?" Gareth had accepted defeat, staring up at Rick's cold glare.
"No." Rick answered.
"Still, you could have killed us when you came in there had to be a reason for that." Gareth pointed out, hoping Rick was going to show some degree of mercy.
"We didn't want to waste the bullets." Rick answered bluntly.
"We used to help people. We saved people! Things changed, they came in and…" Gareth gasped from the pain shooting through his hand. "And after that? I know that you've been out there, I can see it. You don't know what it's like to be hungry!"
Rick didn't answer, but he moved his head to suppress a laugh. This disgusting man didn't know what he was talking about. He clearly lost his mind if he thought Rick and the others hadn't felt hunger like that. The world was bad out there. It was killed or be killed.
"And Len?" Rick asked. "He wasn't food. You played with him, tortured him. What reason is there for that?"
Gareth nodded with a tilt of his head.
"You've got me there. There was just something about Snowflake from the very moment I saw him." Gareth shrugged with a blissful look on his face and relived the memories. "I just wanted him, so I took him."
"Daryl?"
"Archer?" Gareth smiled. "Same thing. He was something else so I took him too. Shame that I didn't get a chance to actually take him."
Rick raised his gun like he was going to shoot the man right then and there but at the last second stopped and pulled his gun back. Oh, he wanted to kill the man alright. This disgusting worm of a being, who didn't deserve to live, but he had something else in mind.
"You know where this is going right?" Rick asked.
"I do but you don't have to do this. We can walk away. I'll leave Snowflake alone and I won't come after Archer." Gareth pleaded for mercy. "We will never cross paths again, I promise you."
"But you'd cross someone's path. You'd do this to anyone, right?" Rick answered coldly. "Besides, I already made you a promise."
Rick holstered his gun and put a hand on his machete that had the red handle. Gareth's eyes widened as he desperately pleaded for his life. Knowing what was coming but powerless to stop it. Rick pulled out the machete and was ready to kill Gareth once and for all.
"Stop!" a voice called out.
Everyone stopped as everyone was prepared to kill the people of Terminus.
Rick stopped in mid air as he turned to see who it was that yelled out. He's eyes widened as he saw Barry standing in front of the office doorway with a terrible look in his eyes.
"You don't get to kill him that easily." Barry said darkly as he walked forward to the man who had the balls to touch his lover.
Behind Barry, the others in the room started to pile out curious to what was happening and to face their captors. The only ones who stayed behind in the doorway were Ty, Carl and Beth. They left Judith in the office. Gabriel was inside the office too, praying for everything to end.
"I want to look him in the eyes when he dies." Barry informed Rick. "I want him to know who I am, who Len is, and I want to see his reaction when death is knocking for him this time."
"So, what can I do for you Barry?" Gareth was trying to play it cool but it was failing. He was in pain and unless something happened fast, he was as good as dead in a few moments.
"You know my name but do you know who I really am?" Barry asked as he stepped up to Gareth.
"I'm not sure what you mean." he said confused.
"Let me clarify then." Barry moved back to the others. He spotted Len towards the back and went to him. "Come on."
"I don't know about this Barry." Len said as he was gently coaxed to the front. "I don't know if I can do this."
"It's alright. Just like we talked about." Barry comforted. "If you can't then I will. You need closure more than anyone here. And you're going to get that tonight."
Barry made his way back to Gareth, holding hands with Len as the man trailed behind him.
"Oh, I see." Gareth smirked. "You know, I had a feeling, from how you acted from seeing Snowflake's necklace but I wasn't sure. Glad to know."
"Good." Barry nodded. "I'm glad we have an understanding then. And speaking of which, I'm taking this back."
Barry marched up to Gareth and took Len's necklace back.
"This doesn't belong to you." Barry told him.
"I don't know about that. How's it going Snowflake?" asked Gareth smugly like he wasn't about to die in a moment. "You miss me?"
Len's breath hitched as Gareth taunted him. Barry put a hand on the small of his back in comfort. He could feel the onset of another panic attack. Shit, this wasn't a good idea anymore. He needed this but he was freezing when he should be taking action.
"I see that you do." Gareth said happy to know he still had an effect on the other man. "You still look so good Snowflake."
"His name is Len!" Barry hissed.
He glanced at Len worried that maybe he had pushed too much too soon. He had hoped that with this closure Len would feel better. He knew it wasn't going to flip and all of a sudden Len was better again but he had hoped that this would at least help in some small way.
"Still quiet as ever I see. How about you get me out of here and I can change that?"
"That's enough!" Lisa stepped forward. "I won't hear anymore bullshit from you! Rick, kill him!"
Rick nodded. It was enough. He tightened his hold on the handle again and prepared to kill the man in front of him.
"Wait." Len spoke, stopping him.
Rick blinked and looked towards the other man. Something had changed. There was a look in Len's eyes now, that wasn't there before.
"Can I see your gun? Mine doesn't have a silencer on it." Len held out his hand for Rick's gun. Len was eerily calm and collected now. He wasn't shaking anymore and his hand was steady as he waited for Rick to put the gun in his hand.
Rick was surprised but honored the request. He didn't want to waste the bullets but he can make an exception for Len, just this once, and handed the man his gun. Len tested the gun's weight, getting a feel for it.
"Oh, what are you going to do with that Snowflake?" asked Gareth, confident that Len wouldn't shoot him. "You don't got the balls-"
A shot rang out surprising everyone. Gareth howled excruciatingly as he clung to the floor curling into himself hugging what used to be his family jewels. Len stood there watching the effects of what he did. The gun was still pointed at it's mark before letting drop to his side and watched the man whither around on the ground in agonizing pain.
"Now, neither do you." Len said calmly as he handed the gun back to Rick with a nod. "Thank you."
Len left and went back to the office to recollect himself. Barry was trailing after him and he was alright with that.
The others stood silently as Gareth continued to cry and yell in pain, cursing Len to hell and back.
"I believe I still have a promise to keep." Rick's voice interrupted Gareth's pain as he violently hacked into Gareth repeatedly with the machete, causing a chain reaction of Rick's group to kill the rest of them without mercy.
The sounds of blows, of slicing and the horrific screams echoed against the walls of the church as the rest of the group looked on horrified at what their group was doing.
Eventually, the screams came to a stop. Their enemy was dead.
The once holy church where people came looking for God was now a place of hell, with dead bodies painting the group in red blood.
Michonne looked down and noticed the handle of her sword sticking out from someone's backpack. She grabbed the handle and pulled out the katana. It felt almost weird holding it again. Like it was a long lost friend and they were finally reunited again.
Rick looked around and noticed disgust and self hatred looks around him. It was savage of them, he would admit that but it was killed or be killed and Rick wasn't planning on dying today and he sure as hell wasn't planning Carl's or Judith's deaths too.
"That could have been us." Rick reminded them all with a growl. "It could've easily been us dead on the ground right now. Don't feel bad for people like this."
"Yeah." Sasha agreed but in her heart she knew it was wrong to kill them like this. They should've just killed them from the start; clean, with the silencers
Though most of the group were coming to terms with what they've done and seen, Glenn and Tara were most shocked of all of them. Their group was turning into something that they didn't want to be. Rick was turning into something they didn't want him to be.
Father Gabriel stepped out of the office timidly. He took in the nauseous sight of the hacked up bodies and all the blood on the floor, soaking into the fabric of the rug that ran up the centre of the hall.
"This is the Lord's house." he stated in shock that something like this could happen here.
"No." Maggie corrected him. "It's just four walls and a roof."
She had lost her faith in such things a long time ago. Ever since the farm, she had begun losing her faith. Losing her home, losing people she cared about. So much darkness, and so little light to stem from, it was no wonder she had lost her faith in the first place. She only kept up pretenses for her father. Once he was killed, they were no room for such nonsense.
Mick snorted. God, he wanted a beer so badly.
"Girlie's right. The 'Lord'," Mick spat. "Never gave a damn about us, if he even exists. It's time for a reality check there priest."
He walked past Gabriel heading for outside. Now that the threat had passed he needed to get some fresh air before he killed someone.
"You okay?" Catlin asked, halting him in his tracks.
"Just dandy." Mick said shortly, before continuing on. He didn't mean to be short with her, but he felt an inch under his skin and it felt like any moment he might do something he might regret.