I don't own Total Drama and The Walking Dead.
Sorry if you find any grammar mistakes. I'm still learning English because it's not my first language.
wood21: I'm glad you liked it! The group managed to salvage some of their things, thanks to Carol and Heather, but unfortunely Harold's and Glenn's riot gear was one of the things that were lost. Don't worry I'm not planning to give up on this story anytime soon. :)
Brendan: You'll find out if you're right in the chapter after the next one. Right now Harold will stick with using a simple knife, but that may change sometime later in the story :)
ThEndymam: I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far! Hope you'll enjoy the future chapters as well! You'll find out if you're right in the chapter after the next one. :)
Dr Changer: I'm glad you liked the chapter! :)
The large group was making their way away from burning Terminus, walking down the deserted road for a while now, with the smoke of burning Terminus becoming less visible to them with each passing minute. After spending the last few hours on walking away from the burning remains of Terminus, they decided to stop and catch their breath and eat whatever food they had left, which wasn't much, but it was still something.
Not along after they decided to stop for a moment, Tara set her gaze on Geoff, Bridgette and Duncan, knowing that she had to talk with them about something. There were still a few people in this group that she had to talk with, about what she did, about what the people she was with did to their friends and their home.
She let out a sigh, bracing herself for how they were going to react to her confession and approached them, "Hey."
Geoff looked at her with a smile, "Hey, Tara."
"What is it?" Bridgette questioned.
"I just want to talk with you three." Tara explained, "You were friends with this boy. His name was DJ, right?" Duncan, Geoff and Bridgette all exchanged glances with each other before nodding their heads in confirmation, "I just want to say I'm sorry for what happened to him. I wished I could have done something to stop Brian and Jose from murdering him and Hershel."
Bridgette stared at Tara for a second before asking, "Did you knew what kind of men they were?"
"No." Tara shook her head, "Brian and Jose told us that you were bad people and I believed them until it was too late to do anything."
"Then, you don't need to apologize to us." Bridgette told Tara, offering her a small smile.
Tara looked suprised by them forgiving her so easily, "What?"
"You said it yourself." The surfer pointed out, "You didn't know what the Governor and Jose were capable of doing and what kind of people they were."
"Exactly." Duncan nodded in agreement, "Those bastards are dead now and they didn't get away with everything they have done, this is good enough for me."
"You don't need to worry about us not trusting you." Geoff added, offering Tara an assuring smile, "We're in one team, now."
Tara smiled, relieved by the three of them forgiving her for standing next to the Governor and Jose and doing nothing when they killed DJ and Hershel. She held her hand out to them, offering them a fist bump. Geoff looked at her at her hand for a second and bumped it. She looked over her shoulder a second later and saw Rick looking at her. Knowing who she should talk to next, she turned away from Geoff, Duncan and Bridgette and made her way to him.
She stopped in front of Rick and waited for him to say something to her. He spoke up to her a few seconds later, "You didn't want to be there. That's why I tried to talk to you. Glenn and Gwen told me you saved their life."
Tara shrugged, smilling slightly, "They saved mine."
Rick smiled back, nodding his head, "That's how it works with us, right?"
"Right." Tara nodded in return as she held her hand out for a fist bump.
Rick returned the gesture and bumped her fist, "Get something to eat. We'll start back at sunup."
Chef was keeping watch on the other side of the camp when Abraham approached him. The co-host of Total Drama titled his head towards the ginger haired man, "What is it?"
"I don't think we've been introduced to each other." Abraham said to Chef and held his hand out to him, "Sergeant Abraham Ford."
"Chef Hatchet." Chef shook Abraham's hand, offering him a small smile, "Nice to finally meet a fellow army man after all this time."
"The feeling is mutual." Abraham nodded his head as he and Chef shook hands, 'It's been a long time since me and my group came across someone related to the army. They were more of us when it happened."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Chef offered his condolences to Abraham, bowing his head, "Losing a fellow soldier is never easy, even if you're telling yourself that you have gotten used to it. It is one of the reasons why I quit the army, even though I was about to promoted to a higher rank."
"Yeah." Abraham nodded in a agreement, knowing exactly what Chef was talking about, "I'm glad to have come across someone with military experience like you. We're gonna need people like you in our mission."
"What mission?" Chef asked out of curiosity.
"The mission that will give the world back to the living." Abraham explained.
Chef looked at Abraham in a curious manner, "I'm listening."
It was night ad the group was split up around the camp they have set up in the forest. Rick walked over to Carol, intending to have a talk with her about everything that recently happened between them and to their group.
"I owe you everything." He told her.
Carol shook her head, "You owe Tyreese, Heather and Bridgette. They were at the prison."
"You got back there." Rick said, referring to the prison.
Carol reached into her bag and pulled out a watch that she and Heather found in one of the rooms in Terminus, "It was in one of their storerooms."
Rick nodded, taking the watch from Carol, "I saw them kill him. That kid." He leaned his head closer to Carol, making sure that no one will overheard their conversation, "I still don't know about what you did... but I know you knew some things I didn't. I sent you away to this."
"You said I could survive." Carol cut him off, "You were right."
"I and Chef sent you away to this and now we're joining you." Rick pointed out the irony of this situation, "Will you have us?" Carol nodded her head, "Thank you."
He turned away from Carol and walked away from her. Carol watched him leave for a few seconds before turning away from him and walking over to Duncan and Daryl who were keeping watch at the other side of the camp. She sat down on the ground between them and the three of them just sat there in the silence, staring into the darkness ahead of them.
"I don't want to talk about it." Carol said to Daryl and Duncan after a moment of staying silent, knowing that they were consdering starting a conversation with her about what she did to Karen and David, "I can't. I just need to forget it."
Daryl nodded in understanding, "All right."
"Okay." Duncan nodded as well.
It wasn't long before they heard something ahead of them. It was the sound of a branch breaking. Duncan and Daryl got up from the ground and began approaching the area from which the noise came from, the former holding his bow in ready and the latter holding his crossbow in ready. Carol stood up as well and was about to follow them, but Daryl and Duncan motioned to her to stay behind.
Daryl took a few more steps forward and lowered his crossbow, "It's nothing."
Duncan slowly put his bow down, nodding in agreement, "Yeah."
It was the next day and the group had abandoned their camp, making sure to take all of their things and was making their way through the forest, walking ahead of themselves without any destination, yet. Everyone heard a noise on their right and aimed their guns in the direction the sound came from and saw Daryl and Duncan walking out of the woods, with some squirrels they caught.
"Oh, no." Duncan pretended to have a panic attack as he placed his free hand on his heart, looking at Daryl, "We're doomed."
"We surrender." Daryl said in a joking manner, making everyone lower their guns. The group started walking again and he and Duncan walked over to Rick and Chef who were walking in the front of the group, "No tracks. No nothing."
"So whatever you two heard last night... " Rick was interrupted.
"It's more what we felt." Daryl corrected him, "If someone was watching us, there would have been something."
"Our brains could have been playing tricks on us." Duncan added.
"It is a possibility." Chef said, "I wouldn't be suprised, considering everything that happened in the last several days."
"We will still keep our eyes open, just in case." Duncan said.
Rick nodded his head at him. He slowed down his pace, leaving Daryl, Chef and Duncan in the front of the group and making a few members of his group walk past him.
It allowed Abraham to catch up to him, "Ready to get some concrete under your feet?"
Rick nodded, "I think it's time."
"That is sweet music to my ears, Officer." Abraham stated, "Take the next road we come to, try to get back to going north till we find a vehicle. Good?"
"Good." Rick responded with a nod of his head.
"HELP!" An unknown voice which belonged to a man sounded in the distance, "Help, anybody! Help!"
Rick signaled everybody to stop, but Carl had completely different opinion about it. He turned around to look at his dad and began insisting, "Dad, come on. Come on! Come on."
He pushed himself into run and Rick ran after his son, followed by the rest of his group. They reached their destination a moment later and saw a clean shaved and a well dressed black skinned man laying on top of a large boulder, kicking the walkers that were trying to reach for him. Carl fired his pistol and shot the walker in the head, killing it immediately. The rest of the group got rid of the walkers with their melee weapons.
"Clear." Trent announced, looking around himself.
"Keep watching." Rick ordered him and a few others.
Trent nodded, "Will do."
Rick looked up at the man on top of the boulder, "Come on down." The stranger wasted no time and did as he was told. He jumped down from the boulder, feeling how everyone had their eyes on him, "You okay?"
The stranger raised his finger in the air and looked away from Rick and his group, before vomiting all over the ground. Everyone looked away from him in disgust, waiting for him to be done with it.
"...Sorry." The stranger apologized for vomiting, turning his gaze back towards the people that just saved his life, "Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel."
"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick wanted to know
Gabriel chuckled, "Do I look like I would have any weapons?"
"No." Chris shook his head, gesturing to his rifle, "But do I look like I would have any weapons?"
"Or I?" Harold added, gesturing to his Striker 12.
"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham pointed out.
"It's a yes or no question." Gwen added, "Just answer it."
"I have no weapons of any kind." Gabriel responded, "The word of God is the only protection I need."
"Right." Noah rolled his eyes, "Because It did such a good job at protecting you."
"I called for help. Help came." Gabriel explained. Everyone just stared at him in silence, "Do you have- have any food? Whatever I- I had left, it just hit the ground."
Carl pulled out some peanuts from his pocket and handed them to Gabriel, "I have some peanuts."
"Thank you." Gabriel said as he took the peanuts from Carl. He heard some baby noises in the back of the group and glanced over Rick's shoulder, noticing Judith who was being carried by Tyreese, "That's a beautiful child." The group just continued to stare at him, "Do you have a camp?"
"No." Chef shook his head, "Do you?"
"I have a church." Gabriel replied, unsure of whether it would be accepted.
"Hold your hands above your head." Rick ordered. Gabriel complied and raised his hands in the air, allowing Rick to search through him for any weapons, "How many walkers have you killed?"
Gabriel seemed nervous when he answered to Rick's question, "Not any, actually."
"Turn around." Rick said as Gabriel turned away from him, his back facing him, "How many people have you killed?"
Gabriel seemed to be confused by this question, looking over his shoulder at Rick, "None."
"Why?" Rick wanted to know.
Gabriel turned around to look at Rick again, responding, "Because the Lord abhors violence."
"What have you done?" Rick asked another question, noticing how uncomfortable Gabriel was, "We've all done something."
"I'm a sinner." Gabriel admitted, "I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."
Ezekiel stepped forward from his group, "You said you had a church, eh?"
Gabriel looked at him and quietly nodded, deciding to take the people that just saved him from the undead to the church he was living in.
Gabriel walked in the front of Rick's group as he led them towards his church. The walk to the place he was living in since all of this started was quite a short one and the group was already nearing their destionation. It wasn't long before Gabriel's church appeared in the groups view.
"Hey." Rick called out for Gabriel as they were nearing the church, earning the priests attention, "Earlier, were you watching us?"
"I keep to myself." Gabriel replied, "Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"
"No, people are worse." Daryl stated.
"Walkers at least became more predictable once we learned how to deal with them." Chris added, recalling what Walter told him and Chef after he invited them into their home.
"Well, I wasn't watching you. I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I've gone before today." Gabriel explained, "Or maybe I'm lying. Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels." He instantly regretted making this joke once he saw the looks Rick's group gave him. He quickly added to defuse the situation, "Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired."
"Yeah, it does." Daryl nodded his head to that.
"Don't joke like that, ever, because it will get you killed these days." Gwen said as Gabriel quickly nodded his head in understanding.
"Besides." Sasha said in a more of a joking manner, turning to look at Noah, "We already have someone with one annoying liners in our group, we don't need another one."
"My feelings are hurt." Noah rolled his eyes as he placed his free hand on his heart, pretending to be hurt by it as Glenn, Maggie, Tara, Izzy, Ezekiel and Sasha smiled slightly at his response.
The group reached Gabriel's church a moment later. Gabriel walked up the porch and pulled out his key, intending to open the entrance for himself and Rick's group, but was stopped from doing so by Rick who walked up the porch as well and stopped next to him.
"Hold up." He said, making Gabriel look at him, "Can we take a look around first? We just want to hold on to our squirrels."
Gabriel nodded and handed the key to Rick. The sheriff deputy unlocked the door with it and entered the church, followed by Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Glenn, Chef, Chris, Geoff and Alejandro. The group split around the church and began searching through every room in it, looking for anything suspicious. They found some empty cans of food and some drawings on the walls which looked to be drawn by children, but overally found nothing suspicious. This place looked like an ordinary church.
"Dudes." Geoff called out for the group once they decided that the church was safe, "Come in. It's safe!"
The group heard him and entered the church, moving everything they had into the building. Ezekiel sat down on the nearest bench, closed his eyes and performed the cross sign. It had been a long time since he was in church. Over a year to be exact. The last time he was in church was when he and his group were looking for Sophia.
"I spent months here without stepping out the front door." Gabriel said as Rick handed him his key back, "If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising."
Carl looked at Gabriel with a grateful look on his face, "Thanks for this."
"We appreciate it." Bridgette said to Gabriel, offering him a grateful look.
"I and Izzy found a short bus out back." Abraham told Rick, "It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he doesn't want it. Looks like we found ourselves some transport. You understand what's at stake here, right?"
Rick nodded his head at him, "Yes, I do."
"Now that we can take a breath." Michonne was interrupted.
"We take a breath." Abraham cut her off, "We slow down, shit inevitably goes down."
"We need supplies no matter what we do next." Michonne argued.
"She's right, Abraham." Chef agreed with Michonne, "Resources are important on a mission, especially with a group as huge as ours."
"Short bus ain't going nowhere." Noah pointed out, "Bring you back some baked beans."
"One way or another, we're doing what Rick does." Glenn said to Abraham, "We're not splitting up again."
'That's right." Izzy nodded, "I'm in for the mission, but I'm not splitting up from my group again, not after we found each other."
Tara nodded in agreement, "What they said."
"I'll help you fix the bus. Someone from our group who owned an RV showed me a thing or two about fixing vehicles back when it all stared." Harold said, "But no matter, I'm with my group, no matter what."
Chef nodded his head, "I'll help you fix the bus as well."
Abraham shifted his gaze between the two people offering their help for him and nodded his head. They headed out of the church and began making their way towards the bus, intending to start working on it.
Izzy approached Duncan, "Duncan."
Duncan looked at her, "What?"
Izzy reached into her pocket and pulled out the replica of the skull that she took from Courtney's grave the last time she was at the prison, "I took this from the prison after the Governor and Jose attacked. I thought you'd want this. I would have given it to you sooner, but it completely flew out of my mind after Terminus."
Duncan took the skull from Izzy, offering her a grateful look, "Thanks."
"What are you doing to do with it?" Izzy asked out of curiosity.
"I don't know, yet." Duncan responded as he put the skull in his pocket, "I'll figure something out."
Izzy nodded her head and turned away from Duncan before going over to talk with Ezekiel and Noah.
"How'd you survive here for so long?" Rick asked Gabriel, eyeing the church, "Where did your supplies come from?"
"Luck." Gabriel replied as Chris walked over to him and Rick, "Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me. The food lasted a long time. And then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place nearby. Except for one."
"What kept you from it?" Chris asked, joining the conversation.
"It's overrun." Gabriel answered.
"How many?" Rick wanted to know.
"A dozen or so." Gabriel replied, "Maybe more."
Chris exchanged glances with Rick and nodded, "We can handle a dozen."
"Bob and I will go with you." Sasha approached Rick and Chris, "Tyreese should stay here, help Bridgette keep Judith safe."
Rick looked at Tyreese, "That'll be okay?"
"Sure." Tyreese nodded, "You ever need me to watch her, need anything for her, I'm right here."
"I'm grateful for it." Rick looked at Tyreese with a grateful look on his face, "And everything else."
"I'll ask a few people in our group." Chris said, "See who is willing to come with us."
Rick nodded his head at him, "Okay."
"I'll draw you a map." Gabriel said, beginning to head towards his room.
"You don't need to." Rick looked at him, "You're coming with us."
"I'm not gonna be of any help." Gabriel pointed out as he stopped and looked at Rick, "You saw me. I'm no good around those things."
"You're coming with us." Rick insisted on Gabriel going with them. The black skinned man just gave him an uncertain nod of his head.
"Excuse me, Rick." Rick titled his head in the direction of the voice and saw Ezekiel approaching him, "Can I speak with Father Gabriel for a second?"
Rick nodded his head at the homeschool, "Sure."
Ezekiel turned to look at Gabriel, "Do you do confessions, eh?"
"Of course." Gabriel nodded his head at the young man, "This way."
He led Ezekiel to the confessionals. They entered it and Ezekiel relaxed in the small place, closing his eyes. He looked down at his hands, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. My last confession was over a year ago, before the dead started walking. I've killed people since it happened. Two to be exact. I regretted it at first but now I don't know if I do, because I did what I had to do to protect myself and the people that I care about. I am sorry for these and all the sins of my past life, Father."
Gabriel seemed shocked by the confession he just heard from the young man, but quickly regained him composure, "An act of Contrition a day, to remember all you have done."
"Thank you, Father." Ezekiel responded, "In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Rick, Chris, Gabriel, Trent, Gwen, Michonne, Bob, Sasha and Michonne were making their way towards the abandoned food bank which Gabriel had told them about to see if Gabriel was right about this place being filled with food and supplies. They weren't the only group that headed to find something for their group, though. Glenn was leading another group which consisted of him, Maggie, Tara, Alejandro, Heather and Leshawna to loot an abandoned gunstore.
"Hey." Bob called out for Rick, "When you said they don't get to live, you weren't wrong. We push ourselves and let things go. Then we let some more go and some more. And pretty soon, there's things we can't get back. Things we couldn't hold on to even if we tried. Washington's gonna happen, Rick."
"I haven't decided if we're going." Rick pointed out.
Bob looked at Chris, "What about you, Chris? Do you think we should go?"
"I don't to be honest." Chris replied, "This whole Washington thing seems like a shot in the dark."
"I understand how you feel about it." Gwen said, "This entire thing seemed like a shot in the dark to me as well when I first found out about it."
"You've seen Abraham in action." Bob said to Rick and Chris, "He's gonna get there and Eugene's gonna cure all this and you're gonna find yourself in a place where it's like how it used to be. And if you've let too much go along the way, that's not gonna work. 'Cause you gonna be back in the real world."
"Just think about it, guys." Trent said, "You Rick, will return to being a cop and you Chris will return to being a TV host."
Chris shook his head at Trent's words, "I don't think if I could be a TV host again after everything that happened, Trent."
"What will you do if we will return to the real world, then?" Trent asked Chris out of curiosity.
"I don't know." Chris shrugged, "Maybe I will return to Newfoundland and spend the rest of my life catching fishes with my cousin Jerd, if he is still alive."
"Besides, this is the real world, guys." Rick pointed out.
"Naw." Bob let out a short laugh and smiled, "This is a nightmare, and nightmares end."
"If there's a chance that Eugene is a scientist that can end this nightmare, don't you think we should give it a shot?" Trent asked as he smiled as well.
"Exactly." Bob exchanged a look with Trent, "I'm sorry. I'm calling it. Washington's gonna happen. You're gonna say yes. Already too much momentum. You can't fight the city hall."
Daryl, Duncan and Carol were walking down the forested road with six jugs of water they've collected for their group, making their way back towards the church where they and their group were currently staying at.
"Hey, I get it." Daryl said to Carol, "You don't want to talk about it."
Duncan titled his head towards Carol, "You okay?"
"Gotta be." Carol replied.
"We get to start over." Daryl stated, "All of us with each other."
"You and Heather saved us." Duncan added, "We got lucky. We all should be dead."
An abadoned car appeared in the distance ahead of them and Carol immediately started walking towards it, "I'll check it."
"All right." Daryl nodded his head as Duncan stayed silent, nodding his head.
Carol made her way to the car and put her jugs on the ground. She opened the door to the drivers seat and got herself into the car, sitting down on the drivers seat. She tried to start it up, but it was no use. She got herself out of the car and walked over to the trunk. She opened it and started searching through it as Daryl and Duncan catched up to her.
"Hey." Daryl earned her attention, "We ain't dead. And whatever happened, happened."
"Let's start over." Duncan added.
Carol turned around to look at her friends, "I want to."
"Well, you can." Duncan pointed out.
Carol turned away from Duncan and Daryl and looked at the batter inside the trunk. She pushed a button on it and it showed her it had a little battery power left. She turned to look at Duncan and Daryl again and slammed the trunk, "We should leave this here for backup in case things go south at the church."
"Good idea." Duncan nodded in agreement as Carol reached down for her jugs.
"Want me to carry one of those?" Daryl offered as one of the jugs he was carrying flew out of his grasp, landing on the ground and spilling some of the water all over it.
Carol smiled playfully at him, "No."
"I don't know you were such a gentleman, redneck." Duncan smirked playfully at Daryl.
Daryl rolled his eyes at the looks Carol and Duncan were giving him and picked up the now half filled jug from the ground.
Glenn and Heather were checking the gunstore to see if it had any weapons or ammo left while Maggie and Leshawna waited for them outside. Tara and Alejandro were outside as well, but weren't standing in front of the gunstore, because Tara wanted to speak with Alejandro about something in private.
"You know, girl." Leshawna said to Maggie, "I didn't want to mention anything when we looked this place up in the phone book, but I just can't imagine a gun store having leftovers nowadays."
Maggie nodded in agreement, "Don't look good, does it?"
Their conversation was interrupted by a noise coming from inside of the gunstore. They aimed their guns at it, just in case if it was something bad as Glenn and Heather came out of the gunstore, the latter looking like she was holding back a laugh.
"Was it a walker?" Maggie asked her husband.
"Uh, yeah." Glenn lied, "It was a walker."
Leshawna didn't buy his lie, narrowing her eyes at him, "Really?
Heather smiled at Glenn, "Don't lie to them, Glenn. We all know that you're not a good liar."
"It was a stack of boxes and a mop and I tripped." Glenn sighed, causing Leshawna, Heather and Maggie to laugh at his expense.
Heather stopped laughing and reached into her bag, "Still... got what we came for."
"You actually found something?" Leshawna looked suprised.
Heather pulled out three silencers and showed them off to her group, "Three silencers stashed in a mini-fridge."
"Why would anyone stash silencers in their fridge?" Leshawna asked.
Heather shrugged, "I don't know."
"Rule number one of scavenging." Glenn added as Heather put the silencers in her bag, "There's nothing left in this world that isn't hidden."
Heather looked around herself, noticing two people gone, "Where's Alejandro? And Tara?"
"Tara wanted to talk with Alejandro in private." Maggie explained, "They should be nearby."
Alejandro and Tara were standing in the area between the two abandoned buildings, a few meters away from the gunstore which their group was searching through and glanced at each other. Tara brought Alejandro to this place, because she wanted to talk with him in private about a certain person both of them knew very well.
"Alright." Alejandro said, looking around his surroundings, "Why did you want to talk with me in private, senorita?"
"Your name is Alejandro, right?" Tara questioned. When Alejandro nodded in confirmation, she asked him another question, "Jose was your older brother?"
"Yes." Alejandro nodded in confirmation, "He was one of the two older brothers that I had, both of which are dead, now."
Tara hesitated for a second to ask Alejandro this question after learning about the fate of his other brother, "...I'm sorry to ask you this question, but I just want to know, was your brother always like this, or did he changed?"
Alejandro bit his lip before responding, "Jose that I knew before all of this was far away from perfect, but never was whatever he became in this new world. I thought I hated him before all of this started, but right now, I actually miss the old him, which is something I thought I will never say."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Tara said, offering Alejandro a sympathetic look, "I can't believe how hard it must have been to you when you had face your own brother. I can't believe what you have to be going through right now."
"Actually, I'm not going through anything related to him right now." Alejandro replied as Tara looked to be suprised by it, "I promised to myself that I won't keep mind occupied by the atrocities he has committed and blame myself for them, just like I did after we faced him and the Governor for the first time, just like I did after Jose murdered Duncan's girlfriend. We won't be seeing him ever again. I and Geoff made sure of that."
"What did you do to him?" Tara wanted to know what happened to Jose. She knew that he was dead, but had no idea how did he died.
"We, or rather Geoff, made sure he won't be able to walk anymore and left him for the walkers." Alejandro replied, "The worst part about it is that I felt nothing as I walked away from his unmoving wounded body. I felt nothing when I left my own brother to be eaten alive by the undead and to be honest "
Tara nodded her head, slightly taken aback by how blank Alejandro's voice was when he was telling her about how he left his own brother to be eaten alive by the undead after making sure he won't be able to escape his death, but could understand why he didn't care about his brother dying so much. She probably would have feel the same if she found herself in his shoes.
"I lost a sibling during this day too." She said as Alejandro looked at her in interest, "My sister Lilly. She just gave up after her daughter, my niece, Meghan died. The walkers surrounded her and she didn't do anything to save herself. She just let them kill her."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I understand how it feels to not have anyone you're related to alive, because I'm most likely the last living member of my family." Alejandro offered his condolences to Tara, "But I don't need to worry about being all alone in this new dangerous world, because I found a new family within this group and these people can become your new family too."
Tara looked at Alejandro with a grateful look on her face, happy that he accepted her as a part of his group, "Thank you."
Rick, Chris, Gabriel, Trent, Gwen, Michonne, Bob, Sasha and Michonne made their way across the street and reached the food bank about which Gabriel told them back in the church.
Gabriel stopped in front of the building and confirmed to them that it was indeed the building he told them about, "We're here. This was the food bank. It served the whole county. All the cans at my church were gonna end up here."
It was the only confirmation that Rick, Chris, Trent, Gwen, Michonne, Bob, Sasha and Michonne needed to get him from. They readied their weapons and walked into the building, with Rick and Chris walking in front of their group, the former holding his AK47 in ready and the latter holding his rifle in ready. The group carefully made their way across the building, which seemed to be safe enough for them, at least at the moment. They had no idea what was waiting for them further in it.
Rick and Chris raised their hands in the air, signalling their group that they found something when they entered one of the rooms in the building. Their group nodded, following them into the room. They saw them standing on the other side of the room, in front of a hole in the floor. They walked over to them and glanced down into the hole, seeing some walkers being soaked in water.
"Looks like they've been there for a while." Trent stated.
Gwen nodded in agreement, looking disgusted by the smell, "It sure smells like it."
Bob cringed at the smell, "If a sewer could puke, this is what it'd smell like."
Michonne looked up at the ceiling, "The water's been coming down that hole for a while. Slimed this place up good."
"We can use the shelves to block them." Sasha stated, pointing at the shelves in the hole below them.
Chris nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that's it, Sasha. There's our way. Down those shelves."
"Hey." Rick glanced at Gabriel who was backing away from the hole as his group started readying themselves to go into the hole, "I said you're coming with us."
The group of eight prepared themselves and jumped down in the hole. The walkers immediately started making their way towards them as the group used the shelves to keep the walkers in the safe distance away from them and stabbed them in the head if they got closer. Gabriel remained in the back of the group, pressing his back against the wall whena walker of a person he used to know before all of this started appeared in his view.
He started panicking right after he set his eyes on her. He started making his way away from her, not wanting to look at her anymore and made his way to the wooden stairs, but they broke down the moment he set his feet on them. He landed on the floor, splashing the water all over him as the familiar walker continued to make it's way towards him.
Rick quickly noticed what was happening with Gabriel, "We have to get Gabriel."
"What happened?" Chris questioned.
"I don't know." Rick replied.
"He's going to get us all killed." Gwen stated, wondering how in the world Gabriel survived this long in this world all by himself.
"All right, we'll push down the shelves on the ones in front of us. We'll fight through and I'll grab him." Rick explained his plan to everyone from his group.
The others nodded. The group of seven pushed down the shelve, trapping a few walkers underneath it. Rick started to make his way towards Gabriel who was leaning against the wall, staring at the familiar walker in a terrified manner while Chris, Trent, Gwen, Michonne, Bob, Sasha and Michonne made sure to take out as many walkers as they could.
Gwen stabbed one walker in the head with her knife, instantly killing it, but a problem for her quickly appeared when another walker lunged for her just a second later and she didn't even have the chance to release the now dead walker from her grasp. Gwen held the body of the walker that she just killed in front of the walker attacking her, trying to figure out how to get rid of the problem, but the solution quickly came as Trent rushed to her aid and stabbed the undead attacking her in the head, killing it.
The goth offered him a grateful look on her face as the musican just nodded his head at her. Rick had just reached Gabriel and grabbed the walker nearing the priest by it's back, moving it away from the black skinned man. He slammed the undead which scared off Gabriel against the nearest shell, causing it's rotting head to explode, splattering the blood all over the wall and water. Gabriel just stared at the scene with horrified look on his face.
It was just a matter of time before the entire room was cleared off of the walkers. Bob sheathed his knife and started making his way towards some supplies, "Yeah. I know which way it's gonna break."
He immediately regretted saying those words, because a hand reached out for him from the water and grabbed him by his shoulder. The walker trapped below him pulled him down in the water.
"Bob!" Sasha and Trent cried out for him in worry for Bob, they along with Gwen, Michonne and Chris making their way towards him.
Bob came back up with, fighting a walker that looked like it had rotted away to nothing. It's skin was almost gone and it's skeleton was visible in many places. Bob clenched his teeth, struggling to keep the walker away from him as Chris grabbed the walker by it's shoulders and threw it away from Bob, impaling the undead on a a pipe.
Sasha grabbed the nearest storage container and started making her way towards the walker, with the intention of finishing it off for good as Chris wiped his hands against his shirt, looking at the walker with a disgusted look on his face. She smashed the walker's head open with a storage container, getting rid of it.
Sasha threw the container away and went over to Bob, sending him a worried look, "You okay?"
"I'm fine, now." Bob nodded his head as Sasha let out a relieved sigh.
"You're one lucky dude, Bob." Trent smiled at Bob, relieved to see him alive and well, "You know that?"
Bob returned Trent's smile, though it looked a bit bittersweet, "Yeah. I know that."
The group of eight was walking through the forest, returning to Gabriel's church from their supply run. Rick, Michonne, Gwen and Trent were pushing a loaded up carts of supplies as Bob, Sasha, Chris and Gabriel were walking by their sides with their weapons in ready, well mostly Bob, Sasha and Chris, because Gabriel didn't have any weapon, checking if there were any walkers nearby.
Gabriel catched up to Rick and Michonne who were pushing a cart of supplies together and Chris who was walking next to them, "I'm sorry. I- I panicked. I told you I..."
"You knew her when she was alive?" Rick cut him off. Gabriel remained silent, refusing to answer to this quesiton and it was the only answer he needed to get from him, "Yeah, I get it." Sarcasm was evident in his voice, "You only tell your sins to God."
Gabriel stayed silent as he stepped away from Rick and joined Bob and Sasha in the back of the group, looking at him with a guilty look on his face, and refusing to look at Gwen who was looking at him with an angered look on her face. The goth was clearly angry at him for almost getting some of them killed during this supply run.
"Do you miss the sword?" Chris asked Michonne right after Gabriel stepped away from them.
"Wasn't really mine in the first place." Michonne replied, "Found it in the very beginning."
"How'd you get so good?" Rick questioned out of curiosity, joining the conversation.
"It was just me and them out here all day, every day a good long time." Michonne responded, "I don't know what that was, but it wasn't a life. Not like today. Stumbling around in three feet of slime for some peas and carrots, that's living." Rick and Chris smiled and laughed quietly at her words, "I miss Andrea. I miss Courtney. I miss Hershel. I miss DJ. I don't miss what was before. I don't miss that sword."
The group returned to the church from their supply run a few minutes later. Rick and Chris walked out of the church after leaving their supply cart inside it, the former wanting to talk with his son who was outside, according to Tyreese and Bridgette. They made their way to the back of the church, where Chef, Harold, Rosita and Abraham were working on getting the bus to work and Carl was looking at the wall of the church in front of him.
"Nice to see you guys made it back in one piece." Chef smiled at Rick and Chris, wiping his hands.
"It wasn't easy, but we managed." Chris smiled back as Rick walked past them, walking towards his son, "How's the bus coming along?"
"We're getting there." Abraham replied, laying underneath the bus, "Give us one more day at most."
Rick walked over to Carl and stopped next to his son, "Hey. Tyreese and Bridgette said you were out back. Come on in. We found food. A lot of it."
"Good." Carl said, keeping his gaze on the wall in front of him.
Noticing that something had his son's attention, Rick asked, "What is it?"
Carl pointed at the scratches on the wall, "Those scratches. They're deep. Like knives or something. Someone was trying to get in." Rick took one step forward and narrowed his eyes at the scratches, realizing that his son was right, "I found something else." He turned the corner and Rick followed him. He stopped in front of another wall and gestured to something on it, "I don't know what happened, but whatever it is, we can handle it. Doesn't mean Gabriel is a bad guy for sure, but it means something."
Rick looked at the thing on the wall that his son was gesturing to and noticed that someone had scratched the words into it. He pressed his hand against the wall, reading the words scratched into it.
YOU'LL BURN FOR THIS
Later that night, after the sun disppeared from the horizon and was replaced by the moon, the group was having a dinner in the place they were currently staying in, feasting on the food and drinks they have found on the supply run a few hours earlier, simply having a good time.
"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham declared, causing everyone to look at him, "I look around this room... and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title." He raised his wine filled glass in the air, "To the survivors."
Maggie raised her wine filled glass as well, "Survivors!"
"Cheers!" The rest of the group chorused, following Maggie's example and raising their wine filled glasses in the air.
"Is that all you want to be?" Abraham began as everyone continued to stare at him. Everyone listened carefully to what Abraham had to say to them as he continued, "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? '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. Eugene, what's in DC?"
"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude." Eugene explained as everyone shifted their attention towards him, "That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."
"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there." Abraham continued, looking at Rick, "Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there... who don't got nothing left to do except survive."
Rick smiled and looked down at his daughter in his hands, "What was that?" A few people in his group laughed at the scene, "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."
Abraham smiled, happy that all of these people, even Noah who was skeptic about Eugene being a scientist, agreed to tag along with him, Rosita and Eugene on their mission to save the world from the dead.
Leshawna looked at Harold and smiled at him. He returned her smile as Leshawna gave Harold a kiss on his cheek before standing up from the floor, "I'll be back in a second, hot stuff." She picked up her empty plate and looked at Harold, "Do you want me to refill your empty?"
"Sure." Harold smiled up at Leshawna, handing his empty plate to her.
Duncan had just finished talking with Geoff and turned around to look at Harold and Leshawna. He looked at the scene in front of him with a smile on his face and approached Harold, once Leshawna was gone.
"So." He said as he sat down next to Harold, earning his attention, "You and Leshawna finally got together, huh?"
"Yes." Harold smiled, "We had a honest talk with each other the night before they trapped us in Terminus and decided to give our relationship a try."
Duncan patted Harold's shoulder, returning his smile, "Good for you, man."
"Thanks." Harold nodded his head, offering Duncan a grateful look on his face. It was when he noticed something Duncan's neck. It was a necklace made of the skull that Duncan made back in the prison after Courtney died, "Where did you get this skull? I thought it was lost in the prison."
"Izzy gave it to me after we arrived at this church." Duncan explained, "I thought about what I should do with it after she gave it to me and I ultimately decided to make it into a medalion after finding some thin line in Gabriel's room. At least I will have something to remember her."
"I'm sorry about Courtney, Duncan. Me and her may have not been on the best terms with each other, but I wish she was still here with us." Harold said. He wished all the people their group had lost were with them now. He wished he could talk to Tyler again and tell him that he was right about everything back on the farm. At least the jock was at peace now, with his beloved Lindsay by his side, "She'd be proud of you if see saw you, now."
"I know." Duncan nodded, "Those were the last words I ever heard from her, right before she left the prison with Andrea."
Harold nodded his head in response and was silent for a few seconds, "...You know. I never excepted to see us like this."
Duncan looked at him in confusion, "What?"
"You know, talking, as friends, about relatioships and other things." Harold explained, "Past me would have been so confused to see us talking like this now, considering how much I used to hate your guts."
"Yeah. Me too." Duncan nodded in agreement, "A lot has changed since we hated each other."
Harold let out a short chuckle, "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I miss you calling me Doris. It reminds me of how everything used to much simplier."
"I can return to calling you Doris if you want to." Duncan smirked at Harold.
Harold shook his head at Duncan's suggestion, "No thanks. A part of it may miss it a bit, but it doesn't mean I want to be called like that again."
Duncan was about to say something to Harold, but stopped himself from doing so when he saw Daryl looking at him and gesturing to him to follow him. Duncan nodded his head at him and got up from the floor, "I'll be right back."
Sasha smiled and Bob and leaned in to give him a kiss, "Okay. I'm not letting my brother be the only one that gets to hold that baby."
"Wait." Bob stopped Sasha from walking away from him, "One more."
Sasha smiled at him and kissed him again. She placed her hand on her cheek and gave him one last smile before getting up from the floor. She walked over to Judith and picked her up as Bob watched her with a saddened look on his face, which his group failed to notice, yet.
Rick walked over to Gabriel who was staying in the back for most of the dinner and sat down next to him, "Thanks for the hospitality. I'm surprised you let us drink your communion wine."
"There isn't anyone left to take communion." Gabriel pointed out as he took a sip from the wine bottle, "The wine's just wine until it's blessed."
"You're hiding something." Rick whispered to Gabriel, letting him know that he knows about his secret, "And it's pretty obvious it's something you can't hide from. That's your business. But these people, these people are my family. And if what you're hiding somehow hurts them in any way, I'll kill you."
Carol was standing in front of the car that she found with Daryl and Duncan earlier this day. She connected the batter from the trunk to it and had already started it up. She was about to fill it up with gasoline, but the noise made by the engine led a walker to her. She set the gas can on the ground and pulled out her knife. She walked over to the walker and stabbed it in the head, killing it.
She looked down at the now dead walker on the ground and stared at it for a few seconds before she heard something approach her from behind. She quickly turned around to the source of the noise and saw Daryl and Duncan coming out of the shadows.
"What are you doing?" Daryl wanted to know.
"I second that." Duncan said, "What are you doing?"
Carol shook her head, "I don't know."
Daryl looked in the direction of the church, "Come on."
"Let's go back to the church." Duncan added, turning in the same direction as Daryl.
Carol nodded her head, agreeing to go with them. The three of them were about to head back to the church, but their attention was shifted towards something else when they heard a car driving in the distance. They glanced in the direction of the noise and saw a car speeding past them. Daryl ran towards the road it passed by to investigate and noticed a black car with the distinctive white cross in the back. The very same symbol that the car that took Beth away had.
He quickly made his way to the started up car and began breaking the back lights with his crossbow, much to Carol's and Duncan's confusion, "They got Beth!"
It was the only answer they needed to get from Daryl to understand what he was doing. The group of three quickly got into the car, with Daryl sitting in the drivers seat, Carol sitting next to him, and Duncan sitting in the back. Daryl quickly grabbed the wheel and began driving after the car with the white symbol, hoping that it was going to take him, Carol and Duncan to Beth.
Noah felt a small smile forming on his face as he took another sip of wine from his glass, enjoying the taste of it. He, Izzy and Ezekiel sat in the back of the church, having a little party of their own. He lowered his glass and placed it on the floor next to him. His smile faded away from his lips when he set his gaze on Eugene, a part of him still having hard time believing in him being a scientist.
He wanted to believe in Eugene being a scientist as much as most of his group did, but it just seemed to be too good to be true to him and any good liar could have make a lie like this to make other people protect them with their lives. He still remembered what Dr. Jenner told him and his group about the cure back in the CDC and it was one of the few reasons why he was so skeptic about Eugene being a scientist capable of creating a cure.
He will believe Eugene once he'll see him do his job after they will reach Washington. He stayed silent about it, because he did not want to be the one to ruin mood. He hasn't seen Izzy this happy since Cody's and Eva's deaths at the prison.
"Wow, Izzy." He said to his orange haired friend, "I haven't seen you smilling this much in weeks."
"What I can say?" Izzy continued to smile, "I'm just in a good mood."
"I wonder why." Noah said.
"You know why." Izzy told her friend, nudging him, "Our group was reunited at last and we can have a normal life again after all this time, thanks to Eugene."
"Normal life?" Noah questioned her, "Define normal by your standards."
Izzy rolled her eyes, but continued to smile, knowing that he was just messing with her, "You know what I mean, Noah."
"Yes, I know." Noah said, "It is what scares me. I wouldn't call your life a normal one before all of this started."
"Whatever you say, bookworm." Izzy shook her head, smilling, "My life may have not been normal in a lot of people standards, but I wouldn't consider being Chris assistant being normal as well."
Noah shrugged, "I had to start off in this business somehow. It was the best way to do it."
"If you say so." Izzy chuckled as she shifted her gaze from Noah to Ezekiel who was silent for the past few minutes, "What is it, Zeke? You've been silent for a while now."
"It's nothing." Ezekiel brought himself out of his thoughts, "I've been thinking, eh."
"Thinking?" Izzy titled her head to the side in a curious manner "About what?"
"About something which was on my mind ever since the prison was destroyed, eh." Ezekiel explained. He hasn't told anyone about it. Even to Duncan when they were having a honest talk over the glass of Jack Daniels, "About the fact that I may die soon and that you two will still be alive long after that."
Izzy's smile immediately faded from her lips, "...Zeke. Don't say stuff like this."
"It's true." Ezekiel said, "I wouldn't be suprised if the two of you were one of the last people standing from our group."
"Wow." Noah said, looking at Ezekiel, "What a way to kill the mood, Zeke."
"I'm sorry, eh." Ezekiel apologized to his friends, realizing that he shouldn't have share those thoughts with them, "It's just, those thoughts couldn't leave my mind after what happened to the prison, eh. I didn't even told Duncan about it when we were traveling together. More of those thoughts started appearing in my mind after what happened at Terminus. I came this close to dying, was ready for it when a man was about to swing his bat at me after slaughtering a few people next to me. I'm extremely lucky to be alive. I would have most likely be killed by him if it wasn't for Carol and Heather."
Noah exchanged a look with Izzy, trying to figure out how he should respond to Ezekiel's words. Izzy was about to say something to Ezekiel to help him get rid of those things but Noah made a gesture with his hand to be quiet, telling her that he will take care of it without saying any words to her. Izzy nodded her head at him, trusting Noah to take care of this. After all, he was the smartest person she has ever met.
"Stop having those thoughts, Zeke." Noah began, "You ain't going nowhere. You ain't going to die anytime soon. What happened in Terminus, happened, and it ain't going to happen again. This place was burned down to the ground by Carol and Heather and the people, if we can call them people, are gone. Our group has been reunited after what the Governor and Jose did to our home, and we are not going to let you die, we are not going to let anyone die."
Ezekiel smiled at Noah, grateful for his words, "Thank you , Noah."
"Don't mention it." Noah shrugged his shoulders, "I know I may come off as unlikable to many people but I actually care for the people I consider my friends, and you Zeke are one my friends."
"Thank you, Noah." Ezekiel thanked Noah for the second time, "I'm glad to have you as my friend." He looked at Ezekiel, "I'm glad to you have both as my friends."
"Wow, Noah." Izzy shook her head, "The part about us not letting anyone else die is probably the most optimistic thing I've ever heard from you."
Noah once again shrugged his shoulders, "Don't get used to it."
"Don't worry." Izzy smiled at him, "I won't."
"I'm sorry for killing the mood, eh." Ezekiel apologized to his friends for killing the mood, "Is there anything I can do to make up for it, eh?"
"You don't need to do anything, Zeke. We're your friends." Izzy replied, "It is our job to comfort you about your negative thoughts. Don't be afraid to share them with us if you'll start having them again."
"I won't take it for the answer, Izzy." Ezekiel shook his head, referring to him not having to do anything to make up for killing the mood, smilling slightly, "I still killed the mood and I should make up for it, eh."
"Okay, if you say so." Izzy grinned as she pointed in the direction where the group was keeping the wine bottles they have gotten from Gabriel, "You can make up for it by bringing us another wine bottle."
"Another wine bottle?" Noah asked her, "Didn't you have enough?"
"You're the one to talk." Izzy shook her head, "Don't you remember you getting drunk back in CDC, because I remember it very pretty."
Noah rolled his eyes, "It was my first time having a drink with alcohol. I would have never drink it if I knew you'd still bring that up after over a year."
Ezekiel smiled at their interaction and stood up from the floor, "I'm on it. I'll be back in a moment, eh."
He walked away from his friends, with the intention of bringing them another wine bottle. He stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the road separating him from the wine bottle, because he noticed something out of the corner of his eye in the back of the church. He turned around and saw Bob walking out of the church. He narrowed his eyes once he saw him walking out of the church, beginning to wonder why would Bob walk out of their shelter this late at night.
Deciding to check it out, he quietly followed Bob and walked out of the church. He saw him standing a few meters in front of the church, among the trees. Bob didn't seem to notice him, because he just kept staring at the church with a smile on his face. His smile didn't last, though, because it faded away from his lips just a few seconds later. He broke into sobs right after his smile vanished from his face.
Ezekiel began making his way towards Bob when he saw the black skinned man crying, worried for him and wanting to know what was wrong with him. Bob's mood was completely different from the one he has seen ever since they escaped Terminus together. Bob continued to cry as he turned away from the church and took a few steps away from it.
"Bob?" The homeschool called out for him, "What are you doing, eh?"
Bob stopped dead in his tracks and turned around once he heard Ezekiel call out for him. He looked to be a bit suprised to see Ezekiel standing behind him. The homeschool must have saw him leave the church and followed him outside. This wasn't how he was planning it. He was planning to leave without anyone noticing. He opened his mouth, intending to explain to Ezekiel what he was doing.
Unfortunely, Ezekiel never got to hear the explanation because someone hit Bob in the back of his head, knocking him down. Ezekiel's eyes snapped open in suprise as he cried out for Bob in worry, reaching out for his holstered handgun, "Bob!..."
His words died in his throat because someone stabbed him in the gut. He let out a painful gasp and he glanced to his side, his handgun falling out of his grasp. He saw Scott standing next to him. The ginger haired man was now wearing a dark hoodie and had a hood over his head. Scott glared at Ezekiel and stabbed him four more times, before pulling his knife out of his gut. Ezekiel clutched his wound and slumped into the ground against a tree, coughing out blood.
"What do we do with him?" A man that just knocked out Bob stepped out from the shadows, revealing himself to be Martin, "Do we take him with us?"
"No. We came here to get only one." Scott shook his head at Martin's suggestion as he sheathed his bloody knife, "We leave him here to turn. They'll get the message. They destroyed our home and will now pay for it."
Martin nodded his head and turned away from Ezekiel and Scott. He walked over to unconsciouss Bob and grabbed him by his shoulders, beginning to drag him away into the darkness out of Scott's and Ezekiel's view. Scott stayed behind for a few seconds. He picked up Ezekiel's handgun from the ground and looked at the bleeding homeschool. He gave him one last glare and followed Martin into the woods, disappearing in the darkness of the night.
Ezekiel's vision was blurry as he watched how unconsciouss Bob was dragged away by Scott and Martin. He pressed his hand against his wound, feeling how blood was pouring out of it, feeling himself becoming weaker and weaker with each passing second. He opened his mouth and tried to call out for his group for help, but he couldn't. His words died in his throat before they were even properly formed.
He was simply too weak to do anything at this point.
The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was someone opening the door of the church and crying out to him, worry evident in their voice, "...Zeke!"
Bob's vision was blury when he woke up from his slumber. He could see someone crouching down in front of him, but he couldn't see who it was. He could hear this person saying something to him as well, but he couldn't hear what it was. His vision returned to him a few seconds later and he couldn't finally see who was crouching down in front of him.
It was Gareth.
He was still alive. Him and Scott and Rachel and Norm and a few other people from Terminus. They were all still alive and somehow managed to track him and his group down.
"Ah, you're back with us, huh?" Gareth grinned as Bob woke up from his slumber, "Good news is... you're not dead yet. That's a relief, right? But try not to read too much into the word yet there. It'll just drive you crazy, Bob." Bob slowly looked around each other, watching all of the people around him as Gareth grabbed him by his shoulder, making him look at him again, "You see, we didn't want to hurt you... before. We didn't want to pull you away from your group or scare you. These aren't things that we want to do. They're things we got to do. You and your people took away our home. That's fair play. Now we're out here like everybody else trying to survive. And in order to do that, we have to hunt. Didn't start that way, eating people. It evolved into that. We evolved. We had to. And now we've devolved into hunters. I told you. I told you. I said it. Can't go back, Bob. I just hope you understand that nothing happening to you now is personal. Yeah, you put us in this situation and it is almost kind of a cosmic justice for it to be you, but... we would have done this to anybody. We will. But at the end of the day, no matter how much we hate all this ugly business... a man's got to eat."
Gareth lowered his gaze towards Bob's legs and Bob immediately noticed it. He glanced down at his legs and noticed most of his right leg missing. Bob's breathing became heavy as one deep breath was leaving his mouth after another, panic evident on his facial features.
Gareth lifted up a piece of meat to his mouth and took a small bite of it, "If it makes you feel any better, you taste much better than we thought you would."
Hope it wasn't that bad. See you in another chapter.