A/N: ... Man, this chapter... I'm not even going to say anything here.
Shit. The church.
There's no way we can go back in there. Not to get our supplies, not to kill the rest of the walkers, no way.
They're all at the door, pushing against it to try to get their meals. I can see their hands through the gap between the doors, grasping at the wooden edges and scraping their nails against it. I shiver at the sight.
A hand rests on my shoulder, and I turn to the sight of mom looking at me, concern in her chocolate brown eyes. I give a small smile and nod to her, a silent sign that I'm okay. She presses a kiss to my forehead before turning to Carl and Judith. He nods to her too. Her hand goes to cradle Judith's cheek lovingly, who's resting on Carls' back. Knowing all of us were okay, she turns to Father Gabriel. Though he's in quite a state of shock, he seems to be taking the destruction quite well.
"Where did you go?" Mom asks, not angry or condescending; concerned.
"The school." He answers gravely, his hands grasping the wooden fence that goes around the church. I shiver at the mention of it. "I had to see. I had to know."
He turns to her, giving her a nod of understanding. He's getting better. Good.
The growls at the door get louder, grabbing our attention. The top plank breaks, the force pushing against it too strong to withstand. I watch in fear as the pieces swing loosely from the nails on the door. I eye the bottom plank, hoping it won't fall as well. We don't have enough ammo for this.
Carl and I take our guns out, just in case. Moms hand goes backwards, to the hilt of the katana. Everyone stares at the doors, scared.
"Where do we go?" Carl asks. I don't know.
"What do we do?" I ask. I don't know.
Just then, the last plank drops from the door. My heart rate spikes and my gun automatically goes up. But I don't need it.
My head turns to the sound of tires to my right, and a huge firetruck comes into view, speeding like a big red blur. It goes to the steps of the church, running over them and blocking the door, where it parks. Apparently, find a firetruck.
Woah, what? I point my gun downwards again, waiting for whoever was driving to come out. Abraham!
But he's not alone. Hopping out behind him is Maggie, Glenn, Tara, and Rosita.
Mom and Maggie embrace each other tightly, each grinning and laughing in relief. The second Glenn's out the door I run to him, hugging him like my life depended on it. He chuckles and returns the gesture, telling me, "See? Not dead."
"Good." I reply, grinning into his shirt. When I let him go we turn to the others, and he goes to mom and grasps her forearm in greeting.
"You're back." She beams at him. The grin on his face fades, replaced by a scowl.
"Eugene lied." And the look on moms face drops too. "He can't stop it. Washington isn't the end. Where is everybody?"
At the thought, mom turns to Maggie. Her hands go to Maggie's forearms reassuringly and she grins again. "Beth's alive. She's in a hospital in Atlanta. Some people have her, but the others went to get her back."
The look on Maggie's face is of pure joy. Her eyes fill up with tears of happiness, and I grin at her reaction. Her words are stuck in her throat as she asks, "Do we know which one?"
Mom nods. "Grady Memorial."
She steps back from mom, her hands going to her face as she wipes the tears from her eyes. It's as if she can't believe it's true. She probably doesn't. "Oh my god!" She laughs out, and she hugs Glenn sweetly. Her laughter fills the calm silence that spreads over the group. It leaves us all happy, and for a moment, we all seem okay. As if, maybe this world isn't so bad. It let us have this happy moment, this prospect of having Beth return to us. We'll be okay.
"Let's go blow this joint; save your sister." Tara says, and we're all grinning and laughing heartily.
"Sounds like a plan." Abraham grunts out. "Let's all get our asses in the truck and head on over."
And we all hop into the back of the truck, ready for tearful reunions and happy gatherings.
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you told him all along
And pray to god he hears you
And pray to god he hears you
We make it to Grady fairly easy. Driving's like that when you're the only car on the road.
When we all hop out of the truck, Rosita opts to stay in to watch Judith, Gabriel, and Eugene (who is currently passed out in the back.) the rest of us, guns blazing and armed to the teeth, walk cautiously to the front of the hospital.
Where did I go wrong?
It's a mess here. There are old military tents set up outside, most likely used at the start of the world crashing but never since then. There are many dead walkers scattered around, proof that our group has been here. There's some live ones limping about, but not enough for us to worry about.
We cautiously walk to the doors, our guns pointed to the old silver gates, the adults at the front of the group. Maggie and Glenn are the closest, Carl and I are at the very back. As we inch closer to the doors, they're pushed open from the other side.
Rick walks out first, and I immediately know something is wrong. Even from a distance, I can see his eyes are red and puffy, his head bowed down. When he looks up to the rest of us, he gives a small shake of his head. What?!
I watch from where I stand as the rest of the group walks out; Sasha out first, followed by Carol and Tyreese, and Daryl with-
Oh no.
I can hear Maggie's sobs from where I stand. My eyes see her falling to the ground, Glenn beside her and holding her tight, but they don't want to register it. They're lying, I tell myself. My eyes are lying to me.
But as I look back to Daryl, I see her again. Those beautiful blonde locks that I love, the cowgirl boots she always wore, that gray cardigan she found on that one run. I can hear her voice singing as clear as bells in my head.
And I see the hole right though hers.
I lost a friend
I drop my gun to the ground, a sob escaping my throat. No. Not her. Not Beth.
My legs, though they feel like jelly, try to break out to a sprint. I need to see her. Beth. Beth. But I can only go so far before I'm stopped by someone grabbing my arm. I turn to look and its Carl, tears streaming down his face. It mirrors my own.
He shakes his head at me. I can't say anything anymore. My voice won't let me. Instead, I look to him and I let out the most broken sound I could ever make. His arms go around me, and I do the same to him. We both drop to the ground, crying to each other. I lost her. I lost my best friend.
I hold him tightly, so tight I wonder if he could even breathe. It feels like the whole world just crashed onto us, taking the wind from our lungs and the tears from our eyes as it pleased. And I realize that I hate this world. It's cruel and selfish and it takes and it takes and it never gives back.
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I, would have stayed up, with you all night
Had I known
How to save a life...
I wish we could have saved you, Beth.
A/N: ... Yeah, this one was not fun to write. But it's out, done with.
On a happier note, I might be able to get another one out for this week. Maybe. Depending on how good/bad school is. Since it's only the first week they may not give us too much homework, but being an honors student, my teachers like to give us shitloads. Either way, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping.