Red River Blue

Chapter 58

Maggie never thought she would want to see that foul mouthed disgusting man again. Part of the appeal of leaving the church was to get away from him. Even if he did help Glenn find her, Maggie still didn't like him. But when Abraham nearly killed Eugene and then moved to go after him again, the first thought that popped into her mind was that she wished Merle Dixon was there. Not Daryl or Rick. Though they were both stronger than Glenn and might have been able to help. But Merle was the only one crazy enough not to be scared of the much larger man.

Maggie felt for a pulse. Eugene was still unconscious. But his heartbeat was regular and he was breathing normally. Maggie didn't have much medical training but she hoped those were good signs. The only thing they could do now was wait for the man to wake up and see if he had a head injury.

"Well what the fuck are we gonna do now?," Rosita grumbled, lowering herself to the pavement on the other side of Eugene's still form.

"We should go back," Maggie said, "...rejoin the rest of the group."

Rosita nodded, casting a worried glance in the direction that Abraham had stomped off in. All of them believed Eugene's lies. Not because they were convincing. But because they wanted to believe them. Maybe they needed to believe in something. But Abraham took it to another level. This mission was his reason for living. His reason to get up in the morning. Without the mission he had nothing.

"Should we move him onto the bus so we are ready to go when Abe gets back?," Rosita asked. Maggie shrugged her shoulders. She thought it might be dangerous to move Eugene. But it was also dangerous to have him lying on the ground out in the open. If a herd came they wouldn't be able to fight and move him at the same time. After another moment of indecision, Maggie pushed up off the ground and grabbed the sheet they were using as a shade cloth.

Getting the sheet under Eugene was easy. They just rolled him onto his side and slid it under his body. Then rolled him onto his other side and spread the material out. Lifting his body using the sheet as a hammock proved a little more problematic. Glenn stepped in to help, grabbing the top section near Eugene's head. Maggie and Rosita each took a corner near his feet. But the man was large and much heavier than he looked. They were able to pick him up. But they could only move him a few feet at a time. When they got to the bottom of the steep metal stairs that led up into the bus, Maggie just shook her head.

"On three?," Glenn suggested. He counted off and they tried to lift the man high enough to get his body up the steps. But when Glenn went up backwards, the angle made Eugene's body slide backwards, almost taking both Maggie and Rosita onto the ground with him. They tried several more times. Turning him around didn't help. And sending two people up while the third held his feet was even more of a disaster.

"What in the dick?"

Maggie turned. She didn't want to smile in case the man was still wild with anger. But Abraham was standing a few feet behind her, just shaking his head at their pathetic attempts to get Eugene onto the bus. Maggie felt her body tense when the big man moved in and touched Eugene. But all Abraham did was pick the other man up like he weighed no more than Judith and carry him onto the bus. He set him down on the floor between the seats a little more roughly than Maggie would have preferred but she decided to keep her mouth shut about that.

"Well let's get moving," Abraham announced, sliding into the driver's seat of the bus. He glanced back, noticing that no one was taking a seat. Instead they were all staring at him with mixed expressions of confusion and nervousness. Maggie was concerned that he still intended to drive on to Washington DC. And she was no longer interested in being part of that mission.

"We have to go back and regroup," Abraham added.

Maggie sighed in relief and sat down. Glenn put his arm around her, pulling her close. The drive back to the church was a quiet one. Eugene finally woke up when they were about halfway back. He looked like shit but he was able to sit up in a bus seat and drink some water. So Maggie figured he was going to be alright.

The moment the bus pulled up outside the church, River was out the door and running towards them. She was hollering for Maggie.

"They found Beth!," she yelled, "they know where yer sister is!"

Maggie stumbled down the bus steps. She would have face planted right into the dirt if River hadn't snatched her up into a rough hug. By this time Carl, Wren and Mika had also exited the church and all three of them were talking at the same time. Maggie couldn't hear River over the loud commotion.

"YOU KIDS," Abraham hollered, "SHUDDUP!" He pointed to River. "They found the people that took Maggie's sister?," he asked. River nodded.

"They went to Grady Memorial Hospital to get her back," she added, "in the city. Those same people took Carol too. They hit her with a car. Daryl thinks she's hurt bad."

Abraham climbed down from the bus. River's daughter rushed in, wrapping her slim arms around his waist and hugging him with her head against his chest. Carl scowled at him and quickly wrapped his arm around the girl when she stepped back away from Abraham.

"All you kids go get your shit and get on this bus," Abraham ordered, pointing them towards the church. When River just stood there staring at him, he barked his next order at her. "Go get your shit. Get the baby. Get on this bus."

"Where are we going?," River asked, the corners of her mouth already tipping up into a smile as the crook in her nose became more visible.

"Where do you think we're goin'?," he asked. "Those fuckers took our people and we're gonna get them back."