A/N: OK, so this one led me somewhere I didn't expect. But it's to show that even the strongest of us have a breaking point and that even the most confident ones have insecurities buried deep inside. I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers :)

Daryl and I arrived at the small church mid-afternoon after a long-overdue love-making session. I still could feel his hands and kisses while we confessed our feelings to each other. A huge grin wouldn't leave my face, and I knew that at least one person will notice, but I didn't give a shit about it.

Daryl parked the RV around the back, where I spotted a big bus with Red under it. Arm in arm, we entered the building, noticing few faces were missing. Carol sat down on one of the benches and was sharpening her knife. Maggie and Glenn were chatting with the new girl, Tara, and Hairdoo and Rosita sat quietly in the corner. Judith and Lucy sat on one of the blankets, close to the altar with Axel and Oscar, playing with some pans.

Merle approached us and silently motioned towards the door, not waiting for us to follow him when he left the church. I arched my brows at Daryl, but he only shrugged, going after his brother.

"What's wrong?" The hunter asked, and Merle rubbed his hand over his face before turning to us. We stood on the grass, few yards from the entrance, and I didn't like how older Dixon looked.

"It's Queen. I think she ain't alright," He finally admitted, and I scrunched my nose, unsure how to take it.

"Aren't we all?" I asked them. "We just lost our home. We're back on the road. Just barely avoided fucking cannibals."

"It ain't that, Doll. I think- is the prison. Sits tough on her conscience."

"I'll talk to her," Daryl stated firmly, and I nodded. I knew that Carol and I weren't on the best of terms just yet, and I still wasn't sure how I felt about what she did. I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling like a hypocrite. Just a day ago, I killed someone because he was a threat to our family. But this was different. I didn't know the guy; he wasn't one of us.

"Maybe not now, Big Boy. She won't talk around other people. Catch her alone, and then try," I finally spoke, squeezing Daryl's arm a little. Merle also nodded, and we were ready to go back when voices down the road caught our attention. Immediately I pulled out my gun and turned towards them, only to see Katana and the others pushing shopping carts full of supplies.

I smiled widely at that and moved with Dixons to help with that.

"Dad, Eli!" Carl called over, just as Grimes stopped his cart in front of the church. I glanced around my shoulder, and the boy was waving his hand, calling us to come over.

"Go, we got it," Daryl stated to both of us, and I walked over to Carl, wondering what he needed.

"What is it?" Rick asked when we stopped on the side of the building. I looked over at the boy, who wasn't a kid anymore. Hell, Carl was as tall as I was, and he was still growing. Not that being taller than me was a big achievement.

"Those scratches," Carl pointed out to the wood and stepped back so Rick and I could have a closer look. "They deep. Like knives or something. Someone was trying to get in."

I touched one of them gently and furrowed my brows. "That could happen before the turn. Maybe someone tried to break in or something."

"That's what I thought, and then I found this." Carl led us around the corner and sighed heavily, with one hand on his hip. He looked so much like his father right now. "I don't know what happened, but whatever it is, we can handle it."

He nodded towards the back wall, and I turned my eyes to it, reading carved words out loud. "You'll burn for this."

"Doesn't mean that Gabriel's bad guy, for sure, but it means something."

"Yeah, it does," I said slowly. I looked over at Rick and noticed how tense he became after reading the sentence. "What you want to do, Officer?"

"We wait, see if something happens. You said he wasn't lying before," Rick finally spoke, after stroking words few times.

"He wasn't, but it doesn't mean he's not hiding anything," I told him what I thought, and he nodded.

"I want you to observe him when you can, see if anything pops up."

"You got it, Officer," I saluted and smirked at him, walking back to the church. It felt like old times, before the prison, and I was relieved that he took charge and scared at the same time. Scared that something will push him over the edge again, and he will lose it. But that's when I would be ready, and this time if the idea is shit or not good enough, I will tell him.

A few hours later, when our supplies were split and sorted, we had a celebration. Of having a roof over our heads for the time being and to survive Terminus. Celebration of finding each other against all odds. Gabriel was nice enough to provide us with his ceremonial wine, or maybe he was scared. After all, a group of armed people invaded his home, and he had no way to defend himself.

I passed two glasses to Daryl and Merle and went back for the rest. I grabbed food, some canned goods, and meat from the squirrels we caught earlier. I handed out plates to Dixons and sat between them, watching with warm heart Daryl who had Lucy on his lap, feeding her between his own bites. Axel and Oscar weren't that far behind us, sitting on a bench, and we exchanged jokes every so often.

It was a peaceful, sort of family reunion until Red's voice echoed inside the church.

"I'd like to propose a toast," After his words, others who were still standing moved to find a place to sit down, and we got quiet.

"I look around this room... and I see survivors." That we were, but I wasn't sure where he was going with it. I heard from others that he was trying to take Eugune to DC, that they were on an important mission. Is this was about that?

"Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors!" Abraham rose his glass, and we followed with our own shouts and chuckles. I sipped on wine and glanced over at Daryl. Lucy was playing with his beard while he still tried to eat, and it was the sweetest and funniest view I saw in a long time.

"Is that all you wanna be?" Red continued, and I moved my eyes back to him, my gaze calculating. "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat?"

And here we are, the punch line. I narrowed my eyes because I knew that this speech just shifted into recruitment.

"'Cause, you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. 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."

I tried very hard to stop myself from snorting. I pressed the glass to my lips and took a big gulp. There was no way Hairdoo could do it, and even if he knew something, there was no reversing it. We were all fucking infected. Whatever caused the turn in the first place obviously modified our DNA in some way. And if other scientists didn't find a solution before everything collapsed, how could this one guy do it?

"Eugene, what's in DC?"

Hairdoo glanced around himself for a moment before replying in his usual monotone voice. "Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude," The man started, and I shook my head, sloughing in my seat. I could see that people around me looked at him with hopeful faces, wanted to believe in something, and I felt just like at the beginning; when we 'waited' at the quarry for someone to save us.

"That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

I already opened my mouth to finally interrupt when Daryl squeezed my hand gently. I gazed at him, and he shook his head slightly, telling me to shut up. Even if it was a pipe dream, we needed it right now. But fucking going to Washington seemed like a terrible plan. With such a big population, there had to be still plenty of walkers in the area, and I seriously doubted that whatever infrastructure Hairdoo was talking about existed.

Abraham smiled softly and nodded at Eugene's words. "However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there."

Nowhere's safe.

"Safer than you've been since this whole thing started."

Especially not the capital that was overrun in the very early days.

"Come with us. Save the world for those little ones. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there, who got nothing left to do except survive."

I chanced a gaze around, noticing how others were looking at each other with a bit of hope, love and I sighed. We did need a destination; I was just really scared of where it would lead us.

Rick chuckled, and I saw a real smile on his lips, something we all missed for a long time. The sheriff moved his eyes to Judith, who was perched on his lap, playing and babbling.

"What was that?" The girl cooed again, shoving a fist into her mouth. "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."

There were cheers and laughs; someone clapped, and Rick stood up, walking across the room to get more food.

"Hey, I'm gonna check on Carol," Daryl whispered in my ear, his breath brushing against my neck, sending shivers down my spine. He placed a quick kiss on my cheek and stood up, placing Lucy on the ground next to me before walking away.

I also stood up and slowly made my way towards Rick, hoping he wouldn't shut me down, while I tried to say my peace. I felt a small hand in mine and glanced down, seeing Lucy walk with me. I bent down and picked her up in my arms, smiling at her.

"Did you hear? We're going for an adventure," I told her, and she stared at me with those gorgeous big eyes.

"What's aventure?" I laughed at her question and answered once I reached Rick.

"It's when all of us going to ride in the cars, telling stories and stay safe together. Rick..."

The sheriff didn't get a chance to reply when Sasha came to us, with a massive grin on her lips.

"I came to kidnap your kids," She stated and took Judith from Rick's arms cuddling little girl and nuzzling her face in smooth blonde hair. I giggled and tickled Lucy gently, making her laugh.

"What you think, sweety? Do you want to play with Judith and Aunty Sasha?" I asked her, and she nodded, wiggling in my grip, trying to get down. I chuckled and watched her walk away to another part of the church, holding onto Sasha's hand.

"I know what you gonna say," Rick said quietly, plating himself some more food, not looking at me.

"Well, can I say it just so my conscience is clear?" I cocked my eyebrows and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for his reply.

"Sure. Have at it."

"You know it's a pipe dream, right?" I started straight away, not mowing my words. "You saw what happened in CDC in Atlanta. Why should we believe the one in DC still stands? And I told you that I know capital and Pentagon fell, almost at the beginning. East End was overrun. I mean, if walkers invaded FBI quarters, who knows what happened to other federal buildings? Going there is dangerous."

"What if it's not a pipe dream, Elena?" Rick asked me after a few moments, his eyes sparkling with something unfamiliar. "What if he does have a cure?"

"Rick, I love you, but don't you fucking remember CDC? Jenner said that no one even knew what it was, how it spread in the first place," I answered softly, stepping closer, not wanting others to overhear us. "If he really had a cure, why he didn't share it with others? It didn't suddenly start with Atlanta's bombing, Rick. I'm sure governments across the globe knew days, weeks before the worst wave came. In that case, all scientists would work together, gathering information and sharing it, classified or not. And- "

I paused and glanced around, my eyes landing on Hairdoo for a moment, noticing how he sat just staring in front of himself.

"And what?" Rick insisted, pulling my attention back to him.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat. "I'm not a geneticist, but you know that I have a high IQ and read probably a million books in my life. I'm not bragging, just stating the fact. What he says, what Euguene talks about? The killing of the walkers? Whatever it is that makes them undead, we carry that as well. I don't know if it's mutated DNA, something in the bloodstream, or something. But answer me. How do you shut off the walker's brains on a mass scale without hurting the living?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Rick finally asked. "I know all of this. Maybe not in as complex manner as you do, but I'm not stupid, Elena. But we have nowhere to go, and our people need hope and some direction. Maybe we will find something on the way, a place to call home again."

With those last words, Rick squeezed my shoulder gently and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I poured myself another glass of wine, starting to feel a little buzz, preparing myself for a conversation with new people—time to apply my old habits and get to work.

"Hi, guys!" I chirped, standing in front of the group of three. Red jumped from his seat when I approached, and the other two leered at me from their spots. "Now that we going together to DC, I realized we didn't have time for introductions."

"Yes, we didn't. Sergeant Abraham Ford," Red stated, and I shook his hand when he offered. Then he gestured to his companions, first the woman and then Hairdoo. "Rosita Espinoza, and Eugene Porter."

I shook their hands as well, though I noticed the dark-haired man was uncomfortable under my touch. "Is it not Dr. Euguene Porter?" I asked him with a soft and hopefully innocent smile and saw his eyes snapping up to mine.

Finally, he released my hand and nodded slowly. "Yes, but the time for titles passed, and it's not necessary during introductions such as these."

I chuckled and sat down on the cold, stone floor, crossing my legs in front of myself. "It may as well be, considering where we going and what we going to do. Especially that things going to change."

Abraham furrowed his brows and exchanged a glance with Rosita before asking. "What you mean?"

"Just that now you going to travel with more people. I didn't introduce myself, though. SSA Elena James. I guess now it's Dixon," I replied, smiling brightly at them, and saw a muscle twitch just above Hairdoo's brow while his chest started raising a little bit more rapidly.

"FBI?"

"Yep. I just wanted to tell you that if you need anything, you got it. And Euguene, I might not have a doctorate in genetics, but I'm quite smart and got eidetic memory. So if you want to share something about the cure, I'm all ears."

I smiled even wider when I noticed that my words made the man uncomfortable.

"It's classified," He announced, avoiding my gaze. With an understanding nod, I looked around.

"Well, do you see any other government parties in here?" I said lightly, and Rosita chuckled at that shaking her head. "Exactly. 'As soon as it no longer meets the standards for classification', and 'when necessary to respond to an imminent threat to life or in defense of the homeland'. I think it applies, don't you?" I asked and waved my hand around the room.

"We all put a lot of trust in you, Eugene. I know that DC and Pentagon were overrun very early on. I hadn't had contact with anyone from the Bureau in a long time. So, in current conditions, I'm the highest-ranking party of government. And it might not be the Department of Defence or Security, but that's all you got. So here you go, declassified."

I watched their faces change. Rosita was showing confusion, and Abraham seemed like some kind of weight was lifted from his shoulders. But Hairdoo glanced around and swallowed thickly.

Unfortunately, before he managed to reply, Rick came around and tapped me on the shoulder. "Come with me, Elena."

I gazed up and sighed at the interruption. "I'll be back, guys. Think about it, Eugene."

I followed Rick to the doors, furrowing my brows. "What's up?"

"Daryl and Carol are not back. Bob is missing too, and Sasha went by herself to search for him."

"Fuck. Oscar, Michonne, keep guard," I told others who gathered around the entrance and motioned for Merle. "Come on, Hook. You with us."

I ran to my pack and grabbed the Barrett, hoping to use night vision in the scope to see something in the woods.

We found Sasha a little bit into the woods, and she insisted that someone was in there, watching her. I tried to see anything, but now that two walkers that came close were dispatched, the forest seemed empty.

Merle and I offered to try and track whoever was there, but Rick didn't want to risk it. If, in fact, someone took them or was watching us, it wasn't a good idea to split up, especially not during the night.

Sasha was beyond worried, and even though I was too, I also knew that Daryl and Carol could take care of themselves. And if Bob was with them, he was in good hands, safe. The Black woman marched back inside the church, and the first thing she did was get as close to Gabriel as she could. Not holding her emotions under control, she started accusing the priest of working with unknown people, of arranging the disappearance of our people.

Now, I didn't exactly trust the guy, but it was clear that he had no clue what she was talking about.

That's when Rick finally pried the truth out of Gabriel. Chilling one, but utterly unrelated to our issue at hand. It was his story of the beginning of the apocalypse.

He locked himself in like a coward. When his congregation needed him, his help, and council, he shut himself in and didn't open doors. Not until it was all over, people eaten by walkers, while he stayed inside, safe.

The only thing we achieved with it was Gabriel kneeling on the floor, crying, reliving probably the worst memory of his life.

"There's something out there," Glenn announced after Gabriel's confession. He and Maggie went to the windows as soon as we came back, weapons in hands, watching out for others to come back. "There's someone outside, lying in the grass."

"Merle, Oscar, torches. Sasha, Rick, come one," I said quickly, raising my gun once I approached the doors. Axel moved towards it and opened it. Sasha didn't really wait for my words, just ran outside, and when we followed her, a cold sweat covered my body.

"Bob! Oh, Bob!" She was shouting, getting down the stairs towards the man who layed in the grass. I couldn't see him clearly, but I could tell that he was missing the lower part of his left leg, and I swallowed thickly.

"Walkers!" I warned, spotting a few geeks trailing towards us, and more people emerged from the building. I let the sniper go, letting it rest over my chest, and pulled machete out, jogging at one of the undead.

"His leg."

"Get Bob inside. We'll take care of them," Glenn was the one to order that and others set up to get rid of the walkers. I swung my machete above my head and spun around, not seeing any other geeks around me. Rick started shooting, urging us to get back inside when I noticed something painted on the side of the building.

"Rick!" I called him over and pointed my finger before getting back inside. My fists clenched tightly, and my heart pumped fast.

"Seemed like Daryl was right," I whispered to the sheriff, and he nodded, crossing the room to where Bob was layed down.

"Bob! What happened?" Rick asked him, crouching next to the Black man, alongside with rest of us. I tried to avoid looking at his leg and wonder how we would run anywhere with him right now. Losing an arm in this world is one thing, but leg...

"I was in the graveyard. Somebody knocked me out," Bob started his story. He was sweating, and his breathing was labored, undoubtedly because of the blood loss and pain. "I woke up outside this place. It looked like a school. It was that guy, Gareth. And five other ones."

Suspecting something and knowing are two different things. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to shove images of strangers eating Bob's flesh out of my mind.

"They were eating my leg right in front of me. Like it was nothing," Bob's voice wavered, and I saw how hard he was trying not to cry, how scared he was, must've been while they had him.

"All proud like they had it all figured out."

"Did they have Daryl and Carol?" Rick asked gently, his voice warm and calming. Bob turned his eyes to the sheriff and then to me, smiling sadly.

"Gareth said they drove off."

I furrowed my brows and stood up abruptly, my head spinning and sending weird and crazy scenarios through my head. Drove off...

"He's in pain. Do we have anything?" I heard Sasha, but it seemed foggy, and I realized I was starting to hyperventilate. Drove off.

Turning my back to others, I held tightly to one of the benches, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to control my breathing.

Drove off. With Carol.

There was a logical explanation for it. There had to be.

He wouldn't just fucking leave me, us, his family. But then, my heart reminded me how fucking unlucky in life I used to be. Did you think it always will be roses and daisies? How everyone I loved ended up dead, and why I had issues with connecting with other people.

Carol was always fond of him; ever since the farm, they were close. And even if both of them denied that there was anything romantic, the bond was there, undoubtedly.

Drove off. Is this how a broken heart feels? I almost forgot the feeling, as if someone slashed you open and ripped your insides apart.

An arm snapped me out of my thoughts, and I reacted instinctively, spinning around and snatching the knife from my belt. Before I could do anything, a hand wrapped around my wrist, constricting my movements, and that's when my eyes met Rick's.

"He wouldn't leave you," His voice was low and comforting, soothing even. "You know this. Once we deal with Terminus people, we'll look for them."

"They drove off..." I hated how shaky and unsure my voice sounded. Small and on the verge of cracking.

"Not like that. They wouldn't. I need you, Eli. Are you with me?" I took a big, shaky breath, trying to compose myself and get my emotions under wrap. Rick was right. Daryl wouldn't leave me, Merle, Lucy, or others just like that. And if something was happening between him and Carol, I would notice before. Right?

"Yeah," I whispered and nodded my head, finally taking in my surroundings. Sasha and Bob were gone, and I scrunched my face. How long was I out of it?

"Bob was bitten. When we were getting food, he didn't want to worry us," Rick seemed to know what I was thinking about, and I scoffed, closing my eyes for a second. Not even a moment of a breather for us, it seems.

"Come 'ere." Merle came around, and he circled his shoulder around me, pulling me after the sheriff so we could talk with the others.

"How close is this school, Gabriel?" Rick asked him, and Gabriel shook his head gently, knitting his brows together.

"It's just a 10-minute walk through the woods from here, due south of the graveyard."

Axel grabbed Lucy's hand, and Carl moved the big wooden basket Judith was lying in, and they both walked off towards the offices, so kids could have some sleep. And so they wouldn't hear us talking war plans.

"Does he have a fever?" Rick asked Maggie, and she shook her head.

"He's just warm."

"Jim lasted almost two days before we left him," Glenn stated, reminding us of the long-lost member of our group.

"And it took almost a whole day for the fever to set," I added quietly, bringing my arms around myself, stepping aside from Merle.

"Time for a reality check," Abraham's voice boomed from behind. He stood with one of the rifles, close to the door; presumably, he was supposed to keep watch. "We all need to leave for DC right now."

"We're not going fucking anywhere without Daryl and Carol," I snared at him, walking in his direction, shaking someone's hand off, as they tried to stop me.

"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier. So if y'all won't come, good luck to you. We'll go our separate ways."

"You leaving on foot?" Rick asked from behind me, and Red stopped his retreat, slowly turning back around.

"We fixed that damn bus ourselves," The man started to sound angry, but I was madder. At Daryl, and Carol, and those fucking pricks from Terminus, and now at him.

"You're welcome to the RV, but you not talking the bus. There's more of us than you," I told him coldly, twisting my lips down in a snarl.

"You wanna keep it that way? You should come." Abraham tilted his head down to me, and I took another step forward, pointing my finger at his chest.

"We're not leaving without my husband!" I told him firmly.

"Your husband took off with another woman!"

"You fucking bastard!" I yelled at his words and pushed him backward.

"Don't you fucking touch me!"

But I didn't listen; my fist already connected with his jaw, sending him back, and I was prepared to plant my knee onto his stomach when an arm wrapped around my middle, lifting me from the floor and pulling away from Abraham.

"You bitch!" Abraham snarled, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, but before things could escalate, Glenn stepped in between us. I tried to wiggle my way out of tight grip, but Merle held me firmly, and I was actually worried he will stab me with his hand by accident. I huffed and stilled, sending daggers towards Red with my eyes.

"Stop! Now!" Glenn shouted as well, looking around, his attention focusing on Abraham. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah," Red replied, twisting to turn around. I scoffed and sent him a dark smile.

"Then you're more stupid than you look. First, you believe lies of this idiot, and now you willing to risk his life just to prove us something," I told him, and he turned back to me, ready to cross the room and finish our fight. Well, I was more than ready. As soon as Merle lets me go, that is.

"Shut your mouth, bitch."

"What about tomorrow?" Glenn asked calmly, ignoring me. "We need each other for this. And for DC. We can get through all of it together."

Red stared down at the Asian man, analyzing his words, when Tara spoke from behind us, slowly circling Merle and me to stand opposite Glenn.

"I have an idea. If you stay just one more day and help, I'll go with you to DC no matter what." I furrowed my brows at her words and tried again to get free, but Merle just pressed me tighter against his chest.

"Calm down, Doll," He whispered in my ear, and I scoffed at him.

"Glenn and Maggie, too," Abraham finally answered, sending me into a frenzy again. How dare he try to fucking break us apart like that? How dare he fucking separate this family for a big fat lie?!

"No," Rick was the one to reply, and Red turned back around, motioning for Rosita.

"Good luck, then. I'm not interested in breaking up what you have here. Rosita, grab your gear."

"Abraham-" The woman tried to protest, but he quickly cut her off.

"Now! Eugene, let's go. Eugene. Move it."

The supposed scientist didn't make any movement, still staring ahead, arms crossed on a bench in front of him and a bleak expression on his face.

"I don't want to."

"Now!" Abraham ordered, and Eugene finally relented, standing up from the bench and moving towards the doors, not looking at anyone when he passed by us.

"You're not taking the bus," Rick told them when they were by the door, his voice low and threatening. That made them pause in their steps.

"Try to stop me."

"Merle, let me go. I got a better chance," I hissed at Dixon, who was holding me down, and he loosened his grip a little, but not completely.

After a few seconds of silence, Rick started walking towards the red-haired man with utmost confidence, but Glenn was there once more.

"Hey, hey, hey. No!" He pushed himself between Abraham and Rick, stretching his arms out to keep them apart. "You stay- you stay and help us, and we will go with you."

"Glenn, no!" I yelled, finally breaking from Merle's grip and grabbing Glenn's arm, begging him with my eyes to not do this.

"No!" Rick said almost at the same time, and the Asian man turned to us, slowly prying my fingers off him.

"It's not your call." I took a shaky breath at his statement, feeling as if he slapped me, and I nodded weakly, pressing my lips in a thin line. "You stay, help us."

Abraham considered it for a moment. "Half a day. Come high noon, we're taillights. I'm not waiting for other damn shoe to drop."

"And we will leave with you," At Maggie's words, my shoulders dropped, realizing they were fucking serious.

Red nodded, not meeting mine or Rick's eyes. "Twelve hours. Then we go."

With that, people dispersed, and I walked blindly towards one of the benches, slowly sitting down.

Maggie and Glenn would leave us, and for what? Daryl- Daryl drove off. Your husband took off with another woman! Abraham's words circled around my head while my fingers grazed small stones on my ring finger. Yeah, he did. And when he comes back, there will be hell to pay for it.

Leaving in the middle of the night to go into the forest should be scary. Walking away in a manner where the enemy can see us should be terrifying. But those people pried on others. And leaving church defenseless should draw them out.

Rick, Michonne, Merle, Sasha, Glenn, Maggie, Oscar, Abraham, and I left after forming a short plan. Others would stay inside, protecting kids, Bob, and the priest. We walked in the school's direction, but once we ventured further back into the forest, we stopped, crouching down. Sasha and I used our scopes to watch the church, and we signaled the others when six people emerged from the woods.

We saw them slowly stroll up the stairs, open the doors and disappear inside.

"Give them two minutes, so they're further in, then we get inside," I told them, and with hums of approval, we waited. After what seemed like hours but was only ninety seconds, we stood up and jogged silently towards the stairs.

We made sure to crouch when we moved to pass the windows, and Merle, Rick, and I climbed up the stairs first. Step after step, watching our feet and ensuring that we not going to make any noise.

And that's when Judith started to cry, and we glanced between each other.

I waved at Sasha to join us, and she climbed up the stairs. Rick and Merle moved to the sides while I crouched by the door, the woman doing the same next to me.

"It's your last chance right now to tell us you're coming out," The man who seemed to be a leader, Gareth said, and I brought Barrett up, looking down the scope. Two men guarded the door with their weapons pointing towards it. Two others stood behind them, but in such a way that we had a clear view of the first pair.

"The door. You take left one," I whispered into Sasha's ear, as quietly as I could, and when I saw her nod, I lined up my weapon.

Down on one knee, propping the sniper on the other one, I took a deep breath in and out. When I had the guy on the right in the line of sight, I watched his movements for a second before squeezing the trigger. Sasha's shot followed mine, and we scrambled up to our feet, Rick stepping into the church as we followed, using lack of light to our advantage.

"Put your guns on the floor," The sheriff ordered while the other four people looked with terror in our direction. We were hidden in the shadows, and I took off to the right, slowly creeping along the wall towards the woman that pointed her gun at the entrance's door.

"Rick, we'll fire right into that office. So you lower your gun-" Gareth's words were interrupted just as Sasha shot his hand, the one he held onto his weapon. Slowly the others started to emerge from the shadows. I took the opportunity that the woman was distracted, pressing the sharp blade of my hunter's knife to her throat.

"Drop the weapon," I snarled in her ear, and slowly she obeyed. Using the other arm to circle her middle, I held her arms together, pressed to her sides.

"Put your hands on the floor and kneel," Rick ordered again, finally coming out, his face showing up in soft moonlight.

I pushed the woman to the floor, kicking the back of her knees, and she stumbled forward, stretching her hands out to catch herself.

"Do what he says," Gareth ordered his people; his voice was strained and full of pain. That's usually what happens when someone shots your fingers off.

The other two men slowly placed their weapons down and kicked them to the middle, away from themselves. I saw the woman trying to reach for her gun in the corner of my eye, and quickly I pressed one foot down on her leg, pulling her hair back. She yelped in pain, and I bend down, my knife back against her throat.

Oscar came around to us and picked up her gun, stepping aside. Her shoulders sloughed, but I didn't release my hold on her.

Abraham and Merle stood by one of the other men while Sasha glared at Gareth but pointed her weapon down, slowly placing it against one of the benches. Rick circled the leader of Terminus before stopping in front of him.

"No point in begging, right?" Gareth asked, holding onto his injured hand, trying to stop the bleeding and pain.

"No," Rick answered shortly in a dark voice.

"Still, you could have killed us when you came in. There had to be a reason for that."

"We didn't want to waste the bullets."

At that woman in my grasp started to move, trying to get away, but I gripped her hair tighter and kicked her in the kidney. Her short cry of pain echoed in the church, and Gareth sighed to himself before replying.

"We used to help people. We saved people. Things changed. They came in and-" He groaned and chuckled to himself. "After that... I know that you've been out there, but I can see it. You don't know what it is to be hungry. You don't have to do this. We can walk away. And we will never cross paths again. I promise you."

"But someone will," I said out loud. "Someone will, and even if you'd have resources, animals to hunt- you don't come back from that. And you'll do it again to someone. Someone's father, mother, sister, son."

"Besides what she said-" Rick put away his gun and placed his hand over the hilt of his machete. "I already made you a promise."

After that, the sheriff swiftly pulled the blade out, and the rest was blurry. Someone yelled, cried, and Rick was slashing at Gareth.

I pulled at the woman's hair, tilting her head so she could look me in the eyes, and my knife pierced the skin, veins, and artery, splashing her blood around me. Some dripped on my hand, and a few drops landed on my cheek. I pushed her dead body to the ground, and then with an angry yell, I stabbed her in the head, preventing her body from reanimating.

I was so fucking angry and frustrated. And heartbroken. Daryl and Carol took off who fucking knows where. Bob was assaulted by those- those monsters and bitten on top of it. Maggie and Glenn were leaving come noon.

Everything was falling apart. I stood above the body of the dead woman and staring at her coldly, feeling my heart shattering to the ground.

He drove off...