Hey, guys, I'm back with a new chapter and holy crap it's a long one. That's part of why it took me a little longer to post. There's so much I wanted to fit into this one and I'm really excited about it, because it's sort of special in the sense that it's the title chapter. I really wanted this chapter to embody Rick's group and who they all are at this point in the story. Anyway, enough nerdy stuff! The chapter title is of course "Heathens" by twenty one pilots, and it's a really amazing song with amazing lyrics that are PERFECT for the story. I truly hope you guys enjoy. Until I get the next chapter out, thank you all for your awesome support and let me know what you think!
24. Heathens
It was their second day on the road, and despite all they'd escaped everyone was in high spirits, or at least they were on the outside. They weaved between the road and the train tracks, and camped in the woods at night. Mason migrated among them- hunting with Daryl, keeping watch with Carol, walking with Rick so she could hold Little Asskicker.
She always ended up returning to Eugene and Tara, who both seemed uncertain among the others. It was easy to puzzle out the source of Tara's guilt. Mason made a concerted effort to ease her anxiety as much as she could, though she knew it would just take time.
Eugene was a mystery. Whenever he thought no one was looking, his face turned bleak. It pained her to see him so distressed but she didn't know how to bring it up without prying. She tried to keep his mind on lighter things instead.
Still, despite the outward cheer, it was obvious that things beneath the surface had changed. Mason thought about it late at night when sleep was late in coming. Her family was broken. That was clear. Everything they'd endured at the prison, and everything they'd gone through to find each other again- which some of them remained rather tight-lipped about- had tried to destroy them. And maybe it would have in the end if things had gone differently, but they were together now. They would mend together.
On the second night, Daryl and Carol took watch so Mason settled down next to Eugene. It felt so natural now she didn't even think of it. She did notice, however, the uncharacteristic distance in his eyes.
"I've been thinking a lot about Jason Vorhees' face," she said.
As she was hoping, Eugene gave her a look that questioned her sanity.
"That's your ideal man, is it?"
Mason grinned. "Sure is. A slammin' body and a sparkling personality?"
"Not to mention his face."
"Yes, his face. His many faces. His weird-ass fucking faces, oh my god."
"The eighth was the most ridiculous, both in movie quality and facial construction."
"That was the one where he went to New York, right?"
"Right you are, sister."
"Okay, I'm not gonna lie, that was one of my favorites. It was just such an 80's cheeseball, I love it. But in all seriousness the creepiest face was either four or seven."
"Absolute agreement. It was not uncommon at all for that ugly mug to feature in my nightmares. At least in my younger years."
She elbowed him teasingly. "Admit it, you still have nightmares about him."
"Full transparency, I wish I did. But that's not what my nightmares are about anymore."
He said this last quietly and there it was again, that distance. Mason frowned.
"I know something's bothering you," she said before she could stop herself. "Do you…I mean, you can talk to me about it, you know. If you want. We talk about everything else anyway."
Eugene glanced at her, and the anguish on his face was a sharp twist in her gut.
"Mason, you know very well that I hold you in the highest regard. And truly…there's no one else I'd rather tell…"
He trailed off, wringing his hands convulsively. Instinctively she reached out and held them in her own.
"I…I just…"
His chin trembled a little and tears pricked behind her eyes. She tightened her grip enough to hurt, enough to feel his pulse align with hers.
"I keep thinking about those people," he finally said. "About what they would have done to us, and how it was my fault."
"…What?"
Mason glared at him so venomously that he leaned away, clearly surprised by her reaction.
"What do you mean what?"
"I'm sorry, I guess I should've made myself clearer, I meant 'how the fuck could you have come up with such an asinine idea, it's complete dickfuckery'?"
Eugene blinked. "Okay, bullet point one: you and Abraham truly are cut from the same profane stone. Bullet point two: it's not dickfuckery at all. I'm the one who suggested the campaign into the snake pit in the first place. I'm the one who convinced you all to…to accompany me there."
"Bullshit! We all agreed to go. Subtract you from the equation and we still would have gone. We had to try."
"But that's not… Mason, I…I should've seen. It's not just what could've happened."
He paused to take a breath, like the words were too heavy, like they fought to stay inside him.
"Eight people," he said. "Eight people died to get me where I am right now. Their hearts stopped pumping blood so mine could and that… It's like…"
"They're haunting you," Mason finished. "Like you carry them around on your back and you can't stop because it's the least you can do for them, right?"
"Yes," he whispered.
He looked as if he wanted to say more, but at the last second he shut his mouth. Mason shook her head.
"Those people chose to go with you. They chose what they were willing to die for. That's all you can ask for these days. Christ, Eugene, do you even know what you did for me? Don't you remember what I was like when I first met you?"
Something flickered in his eyes. A memory. "You were…you were like Abraham when I first met him," he said. "Angry."
"Yes, and I was ready to let it eat me up, too," she replied. "My feet were dangling over the edge and the rest of me was about to follow, but then there you were. You pulled me back."
He stared at her, apparently at a loss as to what to say.
"Eugene, you are officially one of my favorite people in the whole world and fuck whatever else happens," she said. "I will watch you Superman us the hell out of this shit, or I will die for you. And I will be happy with either."
"I don't want you to die for me," he said.
Mason grinned. "Let's just both agree to stay alive then, coolioz?"
"Coolioz."
Mason kept the conversation on mindless nonsense after that, until both of them fell asleep. When she awoke in the middle of the night, with Eugene snuggled up next to her, she didn't move away. His arm was wrapped around her midriff and his face was pressed to her back, and she could feel the occasional shudder of the sobs he failed to suppress.
Wordlessly she laced her fingers through his, and stayed awake with him until the tears ran dry.
~m~
Neither of them mentioned it the next day. Mason kept up a cheery façade to bury the awkwardness. This eventually led to her telling jokes to make Eugene laugh, each with increasing desperation as they failed.
"Goddammit, why are you so damn deadpan all the time?" she fumed.
"It was a requirement at the lab where I worked. Science is serious, missy."
"I can be serious."
"Oh, you can? What does the sign on an out-of-business brothel say?"
"Um…"
"We're closed. Beat it."
Mason snorted, then clamped her mouth shut. Carl shook his head.
"C'mon, Mason, I thought you were mature."
She gaped in mock outrage. "Who is the adult here?"
"Literally everyone else except you."
"You know what, fuck you, you short little cowboy. And fuck you, too, Eugene, that was just a courtesy laugh. I'm gonna be absolutely serious from here on out."
Behind them, Abraham chuckled. "Anyone else here smell bullshit?"
Mason glared. "Yeah, but we've gotten used to you."
"I bet Eugene here can get you to laugh before the day is out."
"I'll take that bet."
"I'm with Abraham," Rosita announced.
"Me, too," Carl said.
"Oh, thanks for the support, guys."
"They're just using their thinking caps," Abraham said. "Eugene can always make you laugh. It's simple logic."
"It's science," Eugene agreed.
"Yeah, fuck you guys."
As the morning went on, this wager escalated until nearly everyone had a stake in it. Even Daryl muttered his support of Eugene.
"What the hell, Daryl?"
"Mason. I know you."
Only Bob and Sasha were on her side, claiming that she had more maturity than the others were giving her credit for. Which only made everyone else laugh. By midday, Mason had realized two things: Eugene was really fucking hilarious, and she was going to absolutely fucking lose.
The scream came like a bucket of ice water, shocking them out of their levity. Everyone stopped, reaching automatically for their weapons.
"Help! Somebody please!"
Rick stood rigid, his face dark with suspicion, but Carl tugged on his arm.
"Dad, c'mon. Come on."
Nobody moved until Rick did, hissing at them all to stay together. They rushed through the trees in a tight amoeba until they saw the rock, surrounded by a cluster of walkers, all of them fixated on the man crouched on top.
Mason went with Rick, Daryl and Carol to dispatch the walkers and then fell back to cover Eugene. There didn't seem to be any other immediate threats in the area but she wasn't taking any chances.
"Come on down," Rick said to the man, who was dressed as a preacher. He slithered down from the rock and stood trembling before the group.
"You okay?" Rick asked.
The man's lips trembled a little before he doubled over and vomited. Mason exchanged a disgusted glance with Rosita.
"Sorry," the man said. "Uh, yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel-"
"Do you have any weapons on you?"
Gabriel looked genuinely shocked. "Do I look like I have any weapons?"
"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like," Abraham said.
"I have no weapons of any kind," Gabriel said, and then he drew himself up like he was regathering strength. "The word of God is the only protection I need."
Mason narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Daryl snorted.
"It sure didn't look like it."
Nervously, Gabriel smiled. "I called for help," he said. "Help came."
Nobody said anything. They all continued to examine this weaponless survivor, who grew more nervous at their relentless scrutiny.
"Do you…have any food?" he asked. "Whatever, uh, I had left just hit the ground."
Carl was the only one to step forward, offering a handful of pecans, but the whole group tensed when Gabriel smiled at Little Asskicker.
"Do you, uh…do you have a camp?"
"No. Do you?" Rick was no-nonsense, his head tilted in that way of his.
"I have a church."
"Hold your hands above your head."
Gabriel trembled but obviously thought better of disputing him. Roughly, Rick patted him down.
"How many walkers have you killed?"
"Uh…not any, actually."
"How many people have you killed?"
"None." Again, Gabriel sounded shocked. Too shocked, like he was overcompensating.
Rick finished the pat down, but though he found no weapons everyone remained on edge.
"Why?"
"Because the lord abhors violence."
"What have you done?" Rick growled. "We've all done something."
Gabriel looked from face to face, and Mason could only imagine what he saw. Feral shadows, grungy with blood and grime, prickling with weapons. She couldn't summon up an ounce of pity, however. Not after Terminus. Not after everything. He needed to know how dangerous they were. He needed to be scared.
"I am a sinner," he finally said. "I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God. Not strangers."
"You said you had a church?" Michonne said.
Gabriel nodded. Rick looked back at the group to read their faces and then he said, "Good. You're gonna take us to it."
~m~
Mason and the rest of the council members inspected the church while the others waited outside with the preacher. Their silence was tense but companionable, and it struck her just how easily they all moved as a harmonized unit, like a flock of birds or pack of wolves.
Finding nothing dangerous inside, they stepped out to summon the rest of the group.
"I spent months without stepping out the front door, if you found someone inside…well, it would've been surprising," Gabriel said.
Rick said nothing but it was clear from his expression that his attempt at a joke was just another strike against the preacher.
"Thanks for this," Carl said, choosing to ignore his dad's hostility. Gabriel nodded appreciatively and disappeared inside.
"We found a bus out back," Abraham said. "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."
Rick didn't respond at first. He ran a hand over Judith's gossamer locks several times but his eyes were distant.
"You do understand what's at stake here, don't you?" Abraham continued. Mason threw him an exasperated glare.
"Yes, I do," Rick murmured.
"Now that we can take a breath?" Michonne argued.
"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably gets cocked."
"We need supplies. No matter what we do next."
As though Michonne's words were a wake-up call, Rick nodded assertively. "That's right. Water, food, ammunition."
"That bus ain't goin' nowhere," Daryl agreed, following him into the church.
It was clear Abraham would've liked to argue more, but Glenn spoke up before he could.
"One way or another, we're doing what Rick does. We're not splitting up again."
Tara, Sasha and Bob voiced their agreement, but Mason stayed silent. Now that they'd had a few days to recover, the mission had returned to forefront of Abraham's mind. Just as Mason's had returned to hers. And it began to dawn on her with a sinking horror that whatever happened next, she was going to have to leave some of them behind.
"Hey. Killer." Gently, Eugene elbowed her. "You alright?"
She didn't know how to say what she was thinking, so she just nodded. It wasn't very convincing but Eugene didn't pry, for which she was grateful.
"So I've been tossing an idea around in my head ever since the saturnalia with our friendly neighborhood cannibals," he continued. "I was wondering if you might be interested in assisting me."
Mason raised an eyebrow. "What kind of idea?"
"Well, as Rick said there is water that needs to be gathered, and as you seem to be the prime expert at finding it I thought you could assist me in the gathering. While we're out I teach you how to build water filters, and you teach me how to fight."
It shocked her so much, and reminded her so vividly of the last time someone had asked the same thing, that she flinched visibly.
"You…what?" she gasped.
"I understand that it is an out-of-character request, and by no means am I asking for balls to the wall special ops drills. But I…I should know how to defend myself."
Mason swallowed. "Of course you should."
"So will you? I couldn't think of a better teacher."
"Um, hello?" Abraham demanded. "My happy ass has been here from the start."
"Yeah, but you're a grisly man and Mason's a beautiful woman," Rosita said with a smirk.
Abraham nodded sagely while Mason and Eugene displayed an aptitude for blushing in unison.
"That has nothing to do with it," Eugene muttered. "Mason and I just-"
"Play well together?" Abraham grinned. "Look, you two go off, do your thing, but you find yourselves straying too far, you book it back here. Me and Rosita'll be fixing up that bus. You run into any unfriendlies out there, we'll be within shouting distance."
"I'll start yodeling maniacally if we need backup," Mason said.
"I'll scream like a frightened schoolgirl," Eugene said.
"See? Playing together like two harmonious violas."
~m~
Mason watched in fascination as Eugene constructed the water filter, layering a water bottle with cloth, sand, and beds of gravel in increasing size. The water went in muddy brown and came out clear.
"That's really cool," she said. "But you know, I would've taught you anyway."
"I'm a bargaining man by nature," he said. "Plus I think given the precarious state of affairs that everyone should learn all they can learn about survival. I'll teach you how to make a battery next."
Mason stared quietly at the stream where they crouched, screaming internally while her stomach twisted in anguish.
"Okay, you did this for me, so now I'm doing it for you," Eugene said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just tired."
"Sorry, but I am calling bullshit on that."
"It's not bullshit."
"It's the oldest line in the book."
"You see these?" Mason pointed to the shadows under her eyes. "It's not bullshit."
"I am well aware that there is something else on your mind. And you don't have to tell me, but…you're my favorite person in the world. If you think there's a chance I can help, I'm right here."
His words were faltering but genuine. Mason's eyes stung with tears.
"Thank you," she murmured. "But you…can't help me with this. Eugene, I have to find Beth. I have to find her. Daryl said she was taken by someone. What if those people are like Terminus? What if they're holding her hostage somewhere?"
"Daryl also said they were overrun by walkers. What if they were trying to save her?"
Mason smiled slightly. "Best theory wins?"
Eugene stared pensively at the water filter, like it could somehow sift through the issue itself.
"Maybe…I could convince Abraham-"
Mason barked a laugh. "Eugene, there is no convincing a bull not to kill you, you feel me?"
"But I would help you look for Beth. There has to be a compromise."
"Sometimes there isn't."
They sat in silence for a while, Mason in despair, Eugene in desperation. The filter dripped intermittently like it was marking time. Eventually Mason sighed and stood up.
"We should get to training if we're going to," she said.
Eugene stood, too, his brow creased pensively. "I'm going to think of something."
"Okay, but it's going to make it a lot easier for me to eat you."
"What?"
Mason grinned. "I'm a walker. Come at me."
~m~
Mason and Eugene returned to the church around sunset to find that the group who'd gone out to find food had been wildly successful. Everyone pitched in to make dinner, Gabriel even donated several bottles of wine, and by the time night fell a full-fledged feast was underway.
Laughter and chatter and the flicker of candlelight warmed the small building. Though she was eager to eat, Mason kept pausing every few bites to look around. It was the first she'd seen her family all together, all happy, since the prison. Joy and despair warred for dominance in her chest.
How do I always find myself in this goddamn position? she wondered. Unable to stay, unwilling to leave.
"I'd like to propose a toast," Abraham announced over the noise. Everyone quieted and took their seats, looking at him expectantly.
"I look around this room, and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title." He smiled and lifted his glass. "To the survivors."
The others followed suit, hooting their pride like a band of coyotes. Mason grinned and clinked her glass with Eugene's.
"Is that all you wanna be?"
The silence that fell this time was noticeably strained. Everyone glanced at each other uncertainly, apparently at a loss as how to answer.
"Wake up in the morning," Abraham continued. "Fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night, two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you could do that. You got the strength, you go the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do? That's just surrender."
Mason frowned down at her plate. She wished he wouldn't insist on talking about this now, when she was hoping to have one last moment of peace. She wished that last wasn't getting to her. Surrender. Was that was this was? Was that what Beth would think it was?
I just wish…
"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 wish you didn't have to be good at this…
"Eugene."
…at what living is now.
"What's in D.C.?"
Eugene tensed at Abraham's prompting, but after a moment he stood and addressed the group.
"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude," he said. "That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."
I wish I could give you a different world, Beth.
Mason closed her eyes. She had said that, hadn't she? And she'd meant it. God, she'd fucking meant it.
"However this plays out," Abraham said, "however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us."
I wish
"Save the world for that little one."
I could give you
"Save it for yourselves."
a different world
"Save it for the people out there who got nothing left to do except survive."
Beth
Everyone looked at Rick, who looked at each of them in turn and then finally at Little Asskicker, who seemed pleased with all the attention. She cooed excitedly and Rick chuckled.
"I think she knows what I'm about to say," he said. "She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."
The tension dissolved immediately in a smattering of applause and laughter. Mason deflated, but she couldn't tell if it was from relief or desolation. Eugene nudged her gently and they exchanged a silent look that no one else could read.
"So, you two violas."
Abraham plopped down on the pew in front of them. Now that he'd gotten what he wanted, a goofy grin brightened his features.
"Happy hunting?"
Mason cleared her throat and scraped her fork distractedly through her food, which suddenly had all the appeal of a month-dead possum.
"Yes, actually. Eugene caught a walker. It took him twelve tries but he got it."
Abraham raised an eyebrow. "Twelve tries, huh? Not much of a golfer, were you."
Mason frowned. "It should also be noted," she growled, "that he managed to take down this walker by throwing a knife right through its eye. So, yeah, fuck you."
Rosita looked shocked. "Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"I can only take partial credit," Eugene said. "I would not have known the proper technique for knife throwing if not for having such an excellent teacher."
Abraham waved his arms dismissively. "I think we're all forgetting the most important question here, and that is: have you made her laugh yet?"
"Oh, yeah, I've got a lot riding on this!" Rosita said.
"Like what?" Mason demanded.
"Like, two cans of peaches."
"The laugh is still forthcoming, as I did not see fit to win the bet with no witnesses," Eugene explained.
"Alright, work your magic then," Abraham said.
So Eugene launched right into it, and despite Mason's bleak mood, despite the fact that there was a pit growing larger and larger in her stomach, the others were right. Five jokes in and she was fighting not to laugh.
This is fucking ridiculous, she thought. You're not a child.
But everyone was smiling, bright-eyed and cheerful.
Besides, she was competitive as fuck.
"A man walks into a zoo," Eugene said, deadpan as ever. "The only animal in the entire zoo is a dog. It's a shitzu."
Mason bit down hard to keep her lips from twitching. Nobody was fooled, however.
"She's gonna crack," Abraham said. Carl, Tara and Michonne, who had wandered over to see what the commotion was about, all murmured their agreement.
She flipped them off rather violently and focused all of her energy on frowning with equal aggression.
Eugene examined her for a minute, and she felt a twist of apprehension at the thoughtful cunning in his eyes. Finally, he cleared his throat.
"Apologies, but this one is not appropriate for all ears," he said. Then he leaned close to Mason and whispered, "What do you call a masturbating cow?"
Goddammit, shut the fuck up, you motherfucking son-of-a-bitching-
"Beef strokin' off."
The giggles broke through all of her defenses. Everyone cheered. Mason punched Eugene on the shoulder and he smirked.
"Guys."
Everyone looked up at the urgency in Sasha's voice.
"Have you seen Bob? I can't find him."
"He stepped out, didn't he?" Tara said. "He said he needed some air."
This did nothing to soothe Sasha's nerves, so Mason and Tara volunteered to help her search. But the woods were dark and empty, home only to a few walkers.
"Where is he?" Sasha hissed.
Mason laid a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him."
"Maybe he's back at the church," Tara suggested.
When they returned, however, the others were still searching. Rick met them at the front door.
"Daryl and Carol are gone, too," he told them.
Anxiety twisted Mason's stomach. Sasha's eyes glinted steel and fire before she slammed open the church doors and marched inside.
She stopped a few feet from Gabriel, taking on a stance that could only be described as feral.
"What are you doing?"
He flinched and a spoon clattered to the floor. "W-what?"
"This is all connected," she growled. "You show up, we're being watched, and now three of us are gone."
"I…I don't have anything to do with this," he protested.
Sasha pulled her knife from her belt and Gabriel leapt back.
"Don't!" Rosita lunged but Abraham held her back.
"Sasha, put it away," Tyreese ordered, but his sister ignored him. She advanced on Gabriel, who backed up against the pulpit and had nowhere else to go.
"Where are our people?"
"I don't-"
"Where are our people?"
"Hey, hey," Rick murmured, tugging Sasha back to take her place. When he looked at Gabriel, however, his expression was no longer soft.
"Why'd you bring us here?"
Gabriel cast around for help, but no one was willing to give it. Mason stood protectively next to Eugene with her fire poker raised, sharply aware of the windows, and how anyone standing outside in the dark could easily see inside.
"Please, I-"
"Are you working with someone?"
"I'm alone! I was always alone."
Rick cocked his head. "What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel? What did you do to her?"
Mason narrowed her eyes. What woman in the food bank? Clearly it struck a nerve, as Gabriel's face distorted with pain. But Rick wasn't done.
"'You'll burn for this'? That was for you. Why? What are you going to burn for, Gabriel?"
Quick as the strike of a snake, Rick slammed him against the lectern, and only when Gabriel collapsed into terrified sobs did he release him.
"I lock the doors at night. I always, I always lock the doors at night," he stammered. "They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were, they were looking for a safe place. And it was so early, and the doors were still locked.
"It was my choice. There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me, and so…the dead came for them. Women…children…entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy. Damning me to hell.
"I buried their bones. I buried it all. And now the Lord has sent you here to finally punish me."
Heaving with sobs, Gabriel collapsed on the floor. The others stared in horror, in disgust. Sasha sheathed her knife.
"Hey, guys," Glenn interrupted. "There's someone outside lying in the grass."
With a gasp, Sasha rushed outside, ignoring Rick's warning that it might be a trap. Everyone followed except for Abraham and Rosita, who stayed behind to guard Eugene.
"Bob!"
Mason's heart stopped at the sight of Bob sprawled on the lawn, one leg missing. Walkers advanced on him, drawn by the smell of blood. Mason, Michonne and Rick leapt in to take them down while Maggie, Tara and Sasha carried Bob inside.
Gunfire came from the woods, sudden and deliberate. A walker's head exploded next to Rick before he could get to it.
"Shit, someone's out there," Mason said.
"Get back inside!" Rick ordered.
There was nothing else to do but listen.
~m~
They laid Bob carefully in the center of the aisle, and he woke up not long after. Sasha touched his cheek with such tenderness that Mason felt awkward watching. Like she was intruding on something.
"Bob," Sasha whispered.
Bob blinked in surprise. "How did you find me?"
"You were lying outside on the lawn," Glenn explained.
"They left me out there…"
"Who?" Rick asked.
Bob's eyes darkened. "Those people. From Terminus."
Mason stiffened and exchanged a loaded glance with Rick. So they'd been right after all. They shouldn't have let them live.
"I was out in the graveyard," Bob continued. "Someone knocked me out and I woke up outside this place…it looked like a school. Gareth was there, and five other ones. I don't know if there were more. They were…eating my leg right in front of me."
Her stomach turned at the thought, but the rest of her boiled with rage.
"Did they have Daryl and Carol?" Rick asked gently.
Bob frowned. "Gareth said they drove off."
What the fuck?
Before anyone could vocalize this sentiment, Bob groaned, sweating profusely. Sasha cradled him delicately.
"He's in pain. Do we have anything?"
"I think there are pill packets in the first aid kit," Rosita said.
"Save 'em," Bob said.
Sasha frowned. "No, Bob-"
"Really."
The growl brought everyone up short. Bob never growled. Bob was never angry. As they watched, he sat up and drew the collar of his shirt down, exposing his shoulder.
Exposing the ragged bite there.
Mason's veins iced over. The look on Sasha's face made her feel dizzy.
"It happened at the food bank," he explained quietly, and then slumped in Sasha's arms.
"There's a sofa in my office," Gabriel spoke up. "I know it's not much, but…"
Sasha nodded tearfully. "Thank you."
Tyreese stood. "I got him," he said, and everyone stepped away to give them room. Mason's eyes stung as she watched him carry Bob away. She realized with a jolt that at some point her hand had slipped into Eugene's without her knowing.
Rick approached Gabriel, who to his credit didn't flinch. "Do you know the place Bob was talking about?"
"It's an elementary school. It's close, just a ten minute walk through the woods from here. Due south of the graveyard."
Rick glanced meaningfully at Mason and she nodded. But before either of them could start planning, Abraham spoke up from his watch point at the door.
"Time for a reality check. We all need to leave for D.C. right now."
Mason gritted her teeth. "Abraham, this isn't the time-"
"Oh, this is exactly the time."
"Daryl and Carol are gonna be back," Rick said. "We're not going anywhere without them."
"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier."
Eugene's fingers tightened around Mason's, but she shook free and stood up. "You think we can't protect him? I'm not letting anything happen to him."
"I am not arguing and I am not allowing him to stick around for storm and shit to collide. So if ya'll won't come, good luck to you."
Abraham and Rosita strode for the door, but Eugene stayed put. When he realized this, Abraham barked, "Eugene! Move!"
"I…I don't want to."
"Now!"
Eugene fidgeted and then stood up. "Okay."
"No. No. That's bullshit." Mason barred his way, shaking with outrage. "If you don't want to go, you don't have to. He can't make you."
She said this last with a pointed glare in Abraham's direction, a clear assurance that if he were to try, he'd have to go through her first.
Eugene laid his hands on her arms. "Mason. It's okay."
"It's not okay," she insisted. But he shook his head.
"It's okay."
"Eugene. Move your ass."
Mason seethed, barely restraining herself from leaping over the pews and decking Abraham square in his jaw. Watching Eugene go felt like ripping a slice right out of her heart.
"You leaving on foot?" Rick demanded.
Abraham smiled, but there was nothing friendly about it. "We fixed that damn bus ourselves."
"There are a lot more of us."
"You wanna keep it that way? You should come."
"Carol saved your life. We saved your life-"
"And I am trying to save yours."
Mason looked from one to the other, quivering as she readied herself. The tension in the room crackled along her skin like electricity.
"We're not going anywhere without our people," Rick said.
"Your people took off."
"They're coming back."
"To what, picked over bones?"
"Hey! Stop, now!" Glenn stepped between them, shoving them away from each other. He glared at Abraham. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now? In the middle of the night?"
"Yes."
"What about tomorrow? We need each other for this. We need each other to get to D.C. We can get through all of it together!"
"I have an idea," Tara said, stepping forward hesitantly. "If you stay just one more day and help, I'll go with you to D.C. Okay?"
Abraham stared at her for a moment, deliberating. Finally, he said, "Mason, Maggie and Glenn, too."
Mason startled at the sound of her name.
"No," Rick said.
"Good luck then," Abraham said and turned away.
"You're not taking that bus."
Abraham stopped. Half-turned with an expression that Mason recognized with a twist of her gut.
"Try to stop me."
There was a razor's edge of silence in which Rick stared him down, but Mason was not fooled by his stillness. It was the eye of the storm. As soon as Rick started to move, she and Glenn jumped between them.
"Rick, stop," she said, placing a hand on his chest. She saw the fire in his eyes and knew he could tear a hole right through her to Abraham if he really wanted to. But she wasn't afraid of that. She was afraid of her next move.
The same fear was on Glenn's face, but when he looked at her she nodded slightly.
Glenn faced Abraham. "You stay and help us," he said, "and we will go with you."
"No," Rick growled.
"It's not your call," Mason said.
"Half a day," Abraham said. "Come high noon, we're taillights. I'm not waiting for the other damn shoe to drop."
With the dispute settled, Abraham strode away, likely to cool off. Mason sagged, suddenly numb. Rick looked around at all of them in disbelief.
"You don't have to do this," he said.
Mason shook her head. "We're not fighting over this. That's the dumbest thing we could do right now."
"I'm not gonna let him force you to do this."
"Nobody's forcing me. It's my choice. What we really should be focusing on is what to do about our friendly neighborhood cannibals."
Shyly, Eugene stepped forward. "I believe I might have an idea about that."
~m~
Rick led the way out of the church, Michonne, Sasha, Glenn, Abraham and Mason following in a line like ducklings. They moved silently in the direction Gabriel had said the church was in, weapons ready. The woods were dark and gave nothing away. Mason's neck prickled with the sensation of being watched.
They followed the road a ways until they passed the sign for the church, then disappeared into the trees. Once they were submerged in shadow, they stopped to face the road.
Nothing moved for a good while. There was only the night chorus of frogs and crickets to fill the silence. Mason's palms began to sweat but she gripped her poker tightly, still as stone.
When the figures crept out of the trees on the other side of the road, everyone tensed. Six in all, Gareth's confident stride betrayed him in the lead. Mason curled her lip, bloodlust roaring in her veins. But she didn't move. The whole group stayed where they were until Gareth's people disappeared, headed directly toward the prison.
"Okay, keep close. Keep quiet," Rick instructed. And they snuck back the way they came.
When they came to the church, the doors were flung open. Gareth's voice could be heard from inside, saying rather congenially that this was the last chance for the rest of the group to come out of the hiding place. Silent as snow, Rick's group flooded into the building, keeping to the shadows along the wall until each of them was in place.
There were two men lurking near the office door, behind which the rest of the group was hidden. When Rick gave the signal, Abraham shot them both in the head.
The cannibals whipped around, the whites of their eyes bright in the dark room.
"Put your guns on the floor," Rick said.
"Rick, we'll fire right into that office so you lower your gun-"
Mason shot the gun from his hand, effectively cutting both his sentence and his fingers off. She smiled as he toppled to the floor with a jagged cry.
Rick emerged from the darkness, his own handgun aimed and steady.
"Put your guns on the floor and kneel."
"Do what he says," Gareth groaned.
Reluctantly, the rest of the cannibals obeyed and Rick's group fanned out, making sure each was covered. Mason took the man in the hoodie, the one with the black eye who had apparently tried to kill Judith. Remembering this, she was only barely able to keep her fury in check.
Rick and Sasha hovered over Gareth, whose severed hand had become a fountain.
"No point in begging, right?" he said.
"No," Rick replied.
"Still, you could've killed us when you came in, there had to be a reason for that."
"We didn't want to waste the bullets."
Even in the gloom, Mason saw the color drain from Gareth's face.
"We used to help people, we saved people. Things changed. They came in and they…" Gareth broke off with a whimper. "I know that you've been out there, but I can see it. You don't know what it is to be hungry."
Mason snorted. Rick cocked his head and smiled.
"You don't have to do this," Gareth continued. "We can walk away, and we will never cross paths again, I promise you."
"But you'll cross someone's path," Rick said. "You'd do this to anyone, right? Besides, I already made you a promise."
Without another word, Rick drew the machete from his belt and drove it through Gareth's head. The others took their cue from him. Mason didn't stop swinging her iron until her cannibal was a bloody mess staining the floorboards.
In the silence of after, thick with the stench of fresh gore, the creaking of the office door sounded like a scream.
The others crept out slowly, blinking at the blood-splattered pews, the guts spilled like snakes along the floor. Eugene paused at the sight of Mason, painted in so much red she was a gruesome rose, but only briefly. She looked up and their eyes met and it didn't matter how much blood she was sporting. He swept her into his arms anyway.
"It could have been us," Rick said. The thought quickened her pulse. It could have so easily.
Gabriel emerged last, his eyes bulging at the sight of his defiled church.
"This is the Lord's house," he said.
"No," said Maggie. "It's just four walls and a roof."
~m~
When Mason stepped outside, Eugene was waiting for her. She'd said her goodbyes to Bob and left Sasha with him. From the looks of him she was afraid he didn't have long.
She sat with her back against the church wall and Eugene sat next to her. Now that she was afforded a bit of peace, she realized how unbelievably tired she was.
"Are you okay?" Eugene asked.
Mason sighed. "I have no idea. Everything's just kinda…fucked in my head."
"My apologies."
"It's not your fault."
"Truthfully, some of it is."
"Oh my god, what is with you and this guilt complex?"
"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be forced to go to D.C."
"Eugene, you're not the asshole who tried to start a fight over a bus last night."
"But what about…what about Beth?"
Mason closed her eyes, swallowing down the pain like bits of glass.
"Beth is a fighter," she said. "She would've wanted me to try. For Maggie. For Judith. For all of us. If there was a chance she could change the world for me, she would take it. She would want me to take it."
She knew this was true. Beth would've journeyed to the other side of the planet if she thought it would fix things. Saying it still made her feel like she was bleeding on the inside. Giving up the search was almost unendurable.
She didn't know she was crying until Eugene touched her face. He wiped the tears away and then pulled back, like he hadn't meant to do it, like he thought she might bite. Mason just smiled.
"Now would be a really good time for one of your inappropriate jokes."
Eugene's lips twitched. "Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Howie."
"Howie who?"
"Howie going to hide this dead body?"
Mason giggled and bumped her shoulder against his. "Promise me you'll always be my body hider."
Eugene held out his pinky. Mason raised an eyebrow.
"For real?"
"I take my pinky swears very seriously."
With a little snort, Mason linked her pinky with Eugene's.
"Partners in crime."
~m~
Bob died an hour later. When Sasha came out of the office to tell them all, her face was stony with grief. Mason and Rick offered to dig the grave but Sasha insisted that she could get it alone.
The sun snuck across the sky, sitting forlornly at high noon like it felt their sorrow. Slowly they gathered in the churchyard, helping Abraham's group load the bus with supplies. As Rick and Mason set the last box of canned goods inside, he turned to her.
"Are you sure about this?"
Mason wanted to cry. She was tired and she was scared and her heart was full of holes, one for each person she was leaving behind. Blinking away her tears, she replied, "Are we sure about anything anymore?"
Too soon, it was time to go. She had hugged everyone goodbye. She had tried not to think of how they'd only just found each other. She kept herself carefully numb as she and the rest of Abraham's army faced Rick's group.
"Here's our route to D.C.," Abraham said, handing Rick a folded map. "We'll stick to it as long as we're able. If not, well, you've got our destination. Once Eugene gets to the big brains up there, things are gonna bounce back. This group should be there for it."
"They will be," Maggie said.
"We will," Michonne said.
Rick nodded. "We will."
With a smile and a nod, Abraham turned to leave, calling for his group to follow. Mason trailed them onto the bus, her legs full of lead. She took a window seat so she could look at her family one last time.
Eugene sat next to her, and she reached instinctively for his hand. His grip was firm, and it was the only thing keeping her from crumbling completely.
The bus pulled down the road and soon her family was gone. Mason leaned her head on Eugene's shoulder and cried until the tears ran dry.