A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.
Chapter 59-Sacrifice
"Did you see how many people there were?" Rick had immediately sprung into action upon their return and Daryl, JR and Tyreese began gathering their weapons and ammunition to load in the van.
"There were three or four snipers on the roof, the scumbag who took Maggie and three cops came out the side door," Taylor said as he pointed to the rough sketch of the hospital and parking garage layout. "But who knows who all is in there." Rick turned to Rosita, who was getting cleaned up by Alice. The bullet had only grazed her but it still took a sizable chunk out of her arm near her shoulder.
"And he didn't say anything to you?" Rosita shook her head.
"Just that 'help was here' after he tried to run us down. That fucker is crazy. I don't know if he is a cop or was just wearing the uniform." Daryl looked at Rick.
"You should put your uniform and badge on. If they're really cops maybe that'll get you in." Rick looked at Michonne who nodded.
"Daryl's right. Go get washed up Rick. If they are actually cops, they'll probably respect a uniform." JR frowned.
"Are you plannin' on just walkin' in there and negotiating?" Rick nodded, checking his handgun and placing it in his holster.
"If we can get Maggie and Beth out alive without a shot fired that's the goal." JR was angry.
"They shot Rosita. They kidnapped Maggie and apparently her sister too and y'all think they're gonna listen to reason?" Rick looked up at him.
"We have two people in there who can be held as hostages. We can't go in guns blazing. We have to approach this carefully, ideally without shots being fired." JR glared at Rick.
"Some sonofabitch shot Rosita and kidnapped Maggie, is doin' God knows what to her and you just wanna do a peaceful exchange? That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard." Dani tried to reason with her cousin.
"Jasper, you should listen to Rick." He waved his hand.
"Dani, he's wrong. And I would've thought you'd back me up on this given what happened to you." Dani's eyes flashed with anger and Daryl immediately stood eye to eye with JR.
"You don't talk to her like that!" JR narrowed his eyes.
"She's my cousin and if she's not talkin' sense…" Daryl glared at him and cut him off.
"She's my wife. And nobody is gonna bring that shit up to her again!" Dani put her hand on Daryl's chest and pushed him back.
"She is right here," she turned on JR. "And she is sayin' that we need to listen to Rick precisely because of what happened to me. Think about it JR. Would you have sent the soldiers under your command into a situation without lookin' at the risks?" Dani glanced over at Rosita, who looked torn between backing up JR and siding with Rick. "Rosita, would he?" Rosita sighed and shook her head.
"No, he wouldn't." Rosita touched JR's arm. "JR, you know she's right. We saw the people who came out of the hospital. There are civilians there." Rosita knew that word, "civilians", would hit him hard. JR blinked and his jaw twitched. He flicked his eyes over to her.
"That's not fair." He was breathing hard.
"It's not meant to be fair JR, I'm just stating the intel that's in front of us." He looked from Rosita to Dani and then back to Rick.
"Fine, we'll do it your way." He walked outside and got back on the bus. Dani stayed with Rosita and Alice as the rest of the group moved outside to strategize. Dani smiled down at Jesse who was sprawled out asleep on the blanket next to Judith.
"Rosita, what just happened?" Rosita shook her head.
"Don't ask me that." Dani snapped her head around to her.
"That little wordplay you just did to get him to agree, I saw what it did to him and I know you did that on purpose. Now I want you to tell me why those words affected him because I sure as shit am not gonna ask him." Rosita sighed.
"It was on his last tour in Afghanistan. The call came in to leave the area, that they had received information that some Taliban leader had taken over a village and they were sending in drones. His unit commander, who was on the ground, recommended they wait and send in ground troops because they had just cleared the area and hadn't seen sign of any Taliban but they were overruled. About a dozen civilians were killed in the drone strike, many more were wounded and they didn't get the leader they were told was there. JR's unit was sent in after the drone strike and it has haunted him to this day. If they had waited one day, they could have confirmed the intel. He finished off his tour six months later and they sent him to Fort Bragg. He obviously had PTSD, like most soldiers who had seen combat, but of course the army shrink said he was fine. However, that shrink put something in his file that kept him from going back to the Middle East. He stayed a few years at Fort Bragg until he got his Sergeant promotion, then he was transferred to Fort Hood. I think if he'd been a screw off, they would have honorably discharged him but they saw that he's a good leader and was fully committed to the Army." She winced as Alice finished wrapping the bandage tightly around her arm.
"Is that too tight?" Alice asked. Rosita flexed against the bandage and moved her fingers.
"No it's fine. Thanks," she looked back at Dani. "He trusted me by telling me that and I betrayed that trust twice. Once by using it to get him to agree with Rick and again by telling you. Don't tell him you know. The past couple of years have been triggering enough for him, I shouldn't be doing it on purpose. It's not right."
Glenn loaded up the van silently, barely speaking to anyone. Rick approached him.
"Glenn, you gonna be alright?" Glenn ignored him and continued to load what few weapons they had in the van. "Glenn, I asked…" Glenn slammed his backpack down and looked at Rick over his shoulder.
"I heard you alright. I'm fine. We're gonna get Maggie and Beth and we'll all be fine." He turned his back to Rick and climbed into the van. Rick nodded.
"Alright. We'll load up." He walked back to the group. Daryl, JR, Tyreese, Taylor, Dani stood ready to go. Rick did a double take with Dani.
"You sure you want to go out there?" Dani nodded.
"Maggie's my friend and Beth got taken on my watch. We can guess what's goin' on in that place. I'm going with you. Besides, I know every inch of that hospital. Do you?" Rick looked from Dani to Daryl. Daryl nodded slightly, showing he obviously didn't agree but wasn't about to argue with her. Rick saw that Michonne was holding a sleeping Jesse, shading his face from the sun with a thin blanket.
"You're staying here?" Michonne nodded.
"Dani needs to go, to be with Maggie and Beth. I promised her and Daryl that I'll keep Jesse safe," Rick still looked unsure.
"Dani, you sure you're up to this?" Dani checked her gun and looked back up at Rick.
"Rick, I have my son back and my family back. We need to get our people. I'm fine." He shrugged.
"Alright let's load up."
"Wait," Andrea stepped forward. "Let me go with you." Dylan took her hand.
"Andrea, don't go." She knelt in front of him.
"You can stay with Carl, Alice and Michonne. It'll be ok. But I have to go help bring Maggie and Beth back. Understand?" The little boy nodded and stepped back by Carl. Rick looked at Andrea and then back at Carl.
"You keep an eye on Dylan and your sister ok?" Carl nodded. Rick handed the boy a gun. "It's time I gave this back to you." Carl took it without emotion. Rick flashed back to the prison when the boy begged to get his gun back. Now, Rick hoped they'd get someplace where he could see his boy show some feelings again.
Beth waited on her bed, staring at the camera. She wanted to go out and run down to Maggie but she had to figure out a way to do it so they, Dawn and Gorman especially, didn't catch on. She heard angry voices just outside her room. Her door shook slightly in the frame as something or someone was slammed against it. Quietly, she got down off the bed and crept over to the door.
"You sick fuck," she heard Edwards say. She looked out the small window of the door and saw Edwards had Gorman pinned against the wall. Edwards saw her looking but didn't acknowledge.
"She jumped in front of my car, I told you." Gorman's voice was almost whiny. Edwards slammed him against the wall again.
"Bullshit. You just took her. There's bullet holes in the back of the car and Licari and O'Donnell spotted a white van taking off out of the parking garage right after she was brought inside. Your gun was fired twice. You took her and you brought her here to replace Joan." Beth couldn't see Gorman's face but could imagine that sick grin of his.
"So what? Who's going to believe you? Dawn? Licari? That nutjob Jeffries? They don't care what or who I do. The only one who does is you. Besides, you're one to talk. I know you've been with that Hannah chick." Beth saw Edwards visibly flinch.
"That's different. I never forced myself on her."
"Sure. Like you didn't tell her you'd give her things and make sure I stayed away from her if she put out. We're exactly the same Edwards. We're getting payment for protecting them from the dead. Only difference is that I don't promise anyone anything more than that. They owe us. Without us, they wouldn't have anything."
"You know that's not true. Beth was with two people when you took her. You killed Joan's husband and child…" Gorman laughed again.
"You think you've got it all figured out, don't you? You think this was MY idea? This is Dawn's. She's protecting her, Shepherd and Rodriguez. Because she knows what would happen to them if there weren't other women around." Edwards frowned and slammed Gorman against the wall and then stepped away.
"Bullshit. You're the only rapist here." Gorman laughed again.
"This is the end of the world man. You should get what you can whenever you can. I do and I'm having a blast. These chicks should be grateful it's me and not some psychopath." Beth immediately thought "You are the psychopath." Edwards shook his head in disgust and walked away. Gorman stepped away from the wall and straightened his uniform. He turned to walk past Beth's room and she quickly ducked out of sight. She waited a few minutes, opened her door, confirmed that the hallway was clear and then walked purposefully down the hallway. She almost screamed when a hand clapped around her mouth and she was pulled into an old storage closet.
"Where are you going Beth?" Edwards removed his hand from her mouth and stood between her and the door. She smiled and tried to keep her voice from shaking.
"To the infirmary. To check on the new patient. You know how Jeffries is. He's liable to drill a hole in her head if we don't watch him." Edwards relaxed slightly and smiled.
"That's a good idea. If Dawn asks, tell her I assigned you," She nodded and hoped he'd move but he remained in front of the door. He looked her up and down and Beth's blood ran cold. "I know you just heard me talking to Gorman. He's right about Dawn but I'm sure you already know that. I figured that was true but I stayed anyway." Beth debated whether he was confiding in her because he was honest or if he was trying to turn her into the next Hannah. She stared at him without speaking and he eventually stepped aside.
"Go downstairs, stay with the new patient and help Jeffries. Probably not a bad idea for you to work down there permanently. Carter said your dad was a doctor and you used to help him. Jeffries could use a permanent nurse." Beth didn't correct him and was surprised Carter had talked to Edwards about her. She stepped around him, left the supply closet and hurried downstairs to Jeffries.
When she walked into the room Maggie was still unconscious, but the monitor was beeping steadily. She appeared to be ok. Jeffries appeared startled to see her in the doorway.
"What is it? Do you need an attending for something?" Beth tried to get her brain to focus so she could play along. She smiled.
"No. Doctor Edwards said you needed a nurse to watch the patient. Said you were needed in surgery." Jeffries frowned and then smiled and nodded.
"Of course! Are you new? I don't think I've seen you in this hospital before." He handed her the notepad where he had gone from documenting Maggie's vitals and injuries to scribbling nonsense.
"Yes I'm Beth. I just moved up here from Barnesville," her brain immediately flashed to Dani's husband. He probably used to be Jeffries' boss. "I worked with Doctor Robertson at the clinic when he was there." Jeffries smile grew.
"Ah wonderful!" He looked behind her. "Just between you and me, if Chief Robertson wrote you a referral, then you must be good. He's not generous with his compliments or his time," he walked around her to leave the room. "Have me paged if her status changes. And welcome!" Beth smiled and nodded. As soon as Jeffries left the room, Beth closed the door and hurried to Maggie's side. She took her sister's hand and leaned down.
"Maggie, it's Beth. I'm here. I need you to wake up because we need to get out. We're in danger here." Maggie groaned and her eyelids fluttered. "Please, please, please wake up." Maggie opened her eyes slightly. She squinted at Beth.
"Beth?" Her voice was quiet and weak. Beth nodded.
"I'm here." Maggie squeezed her hand and a tear ran down her face.
"Where are we?" Beth looked over her shoulder at the door and then back to Maggie. She knew if Dawn was watching the camera in here that she'd be downstairs in a flash.
"Atlanta Medical. A bunch of cops took over this place and they're keeping people here. One of them took me from a house where I was with Daryl and Dani. I think they killed Dani. The same one brought you here." Maggie blinked as she remembered.
"He shot at me and Rosita. I fought him…" her voice trailed off. Beth nodded.
"He said you jumped in front of his car but we knew he was lying. Maggie we have to get out of here. He collects women. The other cops here let him. Lieutenant Dawn is in charge and she lets him do it. Who's Rosita? Are you with another group?" Maggie shook her head.
"No. We found each other. Glenn, Rick, Michonne, Carl…" she trailed off, wincing. "My head hurts." Beth squeezed her hand.
"Did you find Daryl?" Maggie kept her eyes closed and nodded.
"Daryl, Dani and Jesse…" Beth smiled and her eyes blurred with tears.
"Dani and Jesse are both alive?" Maggie smiled with her eyes closed.
"A lot of us made it. Dylan and Judith too. We lost Abraham but met some new people." She opened her eyes. "They know where I am, I'm sure. They'll come for us." Beth smiled.
"We have to try to get out of here." She adjusted to bed to help Maggie sit up and then removed her IV, wrapping it with a bandage. "Can you walk?" Maggie tried to stand and almost fell over. Beth supported her and got her to her feet. Maggie took a couple of hesitant steps, leaning heavily on Beth. As they approached the door, it swung open. Dawn, Licari, Gorman and two other officers stood in the doorway.
"What the hell is this?" Dawn snapped, glaring at Beth and Maggie. Beth glared at her defiantly.
"We're leaving." Dawn laughed.
"The hell you are you ungrateful bitch!" Maggie stood up straight.
"Don't you talk to my sister that way!" Dawn's eyes widened.
"Sister? You're her sister?" Maggie nodded.
"That asshole shot at me and my friend, beat the shit out of me and took me. But my friend made it. My husband and the rest of our family, they'll come lookin' for me." Dawn appeared stunned and turned back slightly to Gorman.
"What did you do?" Gorman's stupid face tried to feign ignorance.
"She's lying! She jumped in front…" Dawn cut him off.
"Shut up! I told you, if you're going to do this then take single women only! She was with those guys in the van! You took someone who has a group that will come looking for her?" She turned back to Maggie and Beth.
"We can't let you leave. It's not safe out there." Maggie stood on her own and Beth walked over to Dawn until she stood inches away from her. Dawn was tense but didn't react.
"You let Gorman pick up women so he won't rape you, Shepherd and Rodriguez. We're disposable to you. You were his partner before. How many women did he abuse while you looked the other way?" Dawn pulled herself together and stepped back.
"Take them both to holding rooms. Keep them separated." She smiled at Beth. "You are a sick little girl. You need help, you really do." Gorman and Licari entered the room. Maggie pushed Beth behind her.
"You're not taking us anywhere. We're leaving and going back to our people." Gorman laughed.
"No one knows where you are, bitch." He reached around Maggie to grab Beth and Maggie kicked him hard in the groin. Gorman doubled over in pain. Licari pulled out his baton and advanced on both women when the radio squawked to life.
"Uh, Lieutenant? We've got a situation out front." Dawn went pale but kept her eyes fixed on Maggie and Beth as she brought the radio to her face.
"What is it O'Donnell? Goons?"
"No. It's a group of people. There's a cop with them. They're asking for Beth Greene and a Maggie Rhee. What do you want us to do?" Maggie and Beth both smiled. Dawn narrowed her eyes.
"Shoot them."
They pulled the van up directly in front of the hospital's main entrance. There were a few walkers to take care of but no sign of the living. Judging by the number of walker bodies littering the street, someone was keeping the herds thinned out. Guns at the ready, the group stayed behind Rick as he slowly walked towards the front entrance of the hospital. He heard a gun chamber from over his head, stopped everyone and looked up. A man in a uniform was leaning out of the third-floor window.
"Hands where I can see 'em! Drop your weapons!" Rick put his gun in his holster and raised his hands.
"I'm Deputy Rick Grimes. I believe you have two of our people with you. Beth Greene and Maggie Rhee. We've just come to take them home." The officer in the window lowered his gun slightly and Rick heard him on the walkie talkie and waited for the response. Rick heard a two word response and pulled his gun from his holster a split second before the officer raised his gun again. Rick fired three shots. He wasn't sure if he made contact but it was close enough to make the lone officer back into the window and begin yelling for back up.
"Let's move!" They ran forward against the doors, placing themselves in a position where anyone would have to come down to have a clear shot. The double doors were of course locked, and Rick made room for Glenn to pick the lock. He did it easily and they quickly made their way inside. Through the elevator doors in the hallway, Rick heard the sounds of the walkers in the basement of the building. They could hear yelling and gunfire echoing through the building. Dani motioned for the group to follow her to the stairwell door next to the elevator. Rick opened the door to the stairwell and, finding it empty, motioned the group up the stairs.
Michonne couldn't get over how big Jesse was getting. At the prison, she'd tried to stay away from him, the pain of losing her own children still too raw. Now, she wished she'd been able to experience that tiny newborn stage one more time. He was strong, already trying to sit up and roll over, and unfazed by the horror that surrounded him. Judith was the same way. Walking with Carl on the grass she was looking up at her brother with big brown eyes and grinning from ear to ear. Michonne resumed playing peek a boo with Jesse, loving his little giggle. Rosita approached her and sat down, taking Jesse's hand. He kicked his legs and smiled, obviously glad he had another playmate. Michonne addressed Rosita without taking her eyes off Jesse.
"Has Eugene picked up a signal on that radio of his?"
"He said he did. We were looking at the map and he said we're on the right track, should be there in a couple of days." Rosita smiled. "If he's right, this should all be over soon. And this one," she tickled Jesse and laughed as he giggled. "Will never know this world except in books." Michonne's smile dropped.
"You think he's telling the truth?" Rosita glanced over at her.
"I have to hope he is. It's all we have left." Alice approached them, concerned.
"Michonne, you need to talk to Father Gabriel." Rosita waved her off and took over playing with Jesse while Michonne walked away with Alice.
"What's going on?"
"He's been quiet since we left his church, just praying, but I overheard him just now. He was praying to be 'delivered from the agent of Satan, Rick Grimes'." Michonne's forehead furrowed in worry.
"He said that? Those words?" Alice nodded.
"We never questioned why he wanted to come with us after what happened with those Terminus assholes. What if he wants to kill or hurt Rick? Or anyone else?" Michonne nodded.
"Keep an eye on the kids out here. I'll go talk to him." Michonne got on the bus. Eugene was sitting in one of the seats fiddling nervously with his radio. Father Gabriel was on his knees in the back, praying silently.
"Eugene, would you please excuse us?" Eugene nodded.
"Of course. I should stay close to Rosita while JR is away." Michonne waited until Eugene had left the bus before speaking to Gabriel.
"Father, I need to speak to you." He dropped his head down.
"I was wondering when someone would come talk to me," he remained on his knees, his back to Michonne. "We're all in danger." Michonne's heart skipped a beat and her hand went instinctively towards her sword before remembering it was still outside on the grass. Swearing at herself, she regained her composure.
"We're safe here, from the walkers. They can't get over the fence or the gate. We did a full inspection. The fence has razor wire around the top. We'll be safe until they bring back Maggie and Beth." Gabriel sighed.
"I'm not worried about the dead. We're in danger from the man leading us."
"Rick is protecting us. We're not in danger from him. I've been with him for a long time." Gabriel looked over his shoulder.
"He murdered a man," Michonne saw the fear in Gabriel's eyes. "He murdered a man on his knees in my church. Hacked him to pieces in front of me. Who does that?" Michonne assessed the man in front of her. He had probably not had human contact since he'd barricaded himself in his church. He had spent the last two years stewing in guilt, losing his hold on reality and grasping onto his faith to keep him sane.
"Do you know what that man had done? Do you know what they were going to do to the children? He ate people. He put out a call to survivors to come to his community and if they wouldn't also turn cannibal, he and his people would butcher them like cattle and eat them. There was a room there filled with things they'd taken from all the people they murdered. We'd already escaped them once and they hunted us down to kill us for food. He would have killed you too. Do you understand that?" Gabriel got to his feet and turned around.
"I do understand that. But I saw Rick's eyes. He enjoyed killing that man. The threat was gone. He could have let him go in the woods and let God decide his punishment. He was unarmed. We already had transportation coming and he wouldn't have been able to follow us. It is up to God to decide our fate, not Man." Michonne struggled to remember her time at Calvary Way Gospel Church when she was growing up in . Her father had been a Deacon there. She had turned away from the church when she went to school, focusing on studying political science and the law rather than the Bible but her years from birth through the time she left for school were filled with church. Sunday school, the sermon, afternoon potluck followed by afternoon meetings and youth sermons until supper. Wednesday night youth society, Thursday Bible study and of course nightly prayers at home. She'd all but forgotten what she'd learned and she struggled to remember now so she could try to reason with someone so entrenched in their own faith.
"The Bible says 'Whoever shed the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed'," Gabriel looked surprised when she said that. "Also, I'm pretty sure there's a lot in the Bible where God speaks against cannibalism, especially when you kill someone to eat them." Michonne tried to read Gabriel's face, to see if he was accepting any of this.
"Jesus said to forgive. That violence is not the answer to violence. The man was repentant." Michonne shook her head.
"No, that man was looking for a way to distract Rick so he could escape and try again. You haven't been out in the world. The people from Terminus, these people who have Maggie and Beth, they're not good people. We have to protect those we love from those people or we will lose them. We've already experienced that. That's how we lost our home. We let someone who had threatened our home and our family live, let him escape, and he came back and killed so many people," She trailed off remembering everyone at the prison. Carol, Hershel, Rachel, Kristen, Jessica, Bill, all the kids on that bus like little Maddie and Darnell…all of them dead because of the Governor's desire for revenge and control. The guilt she felt because she had not been able to find him and kill him. "We know that, in this world, you can't just forgive. Because those people will hunt you down and kill you. That's why Rick killed him. To protect us. Rick is a good man." Gabriel looked like he was starting to come around.
"You're right. I don't understand what you've been through. But I know that God has protected me this whole time and I know He will continue to protect me, wherever I am. He'll do the same for you all if you ask him to." Michonne shook her head.
"I'm sorry to break this to you but God isn't listening to anyone in this world anymore. If He was, then Hershel Greene, Maggie and Beth's father, wouldn't be dead right now. He prayed every day. He was our doctor, our friend, the voice of calm and reason. He was a good and decent man and God still allowed him to be decapitated by a madman. He allowed a madman to murder innocent people, innocent children, innocent babies. He didn't protect any of them so, you'll forgive me Father if I don't rely on prayers and God to protect us." Gabriel looked at her with a mix of shock and pity.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize your history. I've been alone for so long…" Michonne nodded.
"Please understand that Rick is a good man. He would never hurt someone just to hurt them." Gabriel nodded.
"I'll continue to pray that God protects us and guides us." Michonne prepared to leave the bus.
"If that's what brings you comfort Father then go ahead."
Maggie and Beth allowed themselves to be led down the hallway by Gorman and Licari as Dawn and the other two officers ran to back up O'Donnell. Maggie glanced down at Gorman's hand clasped firmly around her sister's arm and then realized that she was walking on his right side. Without moving her head, she confirmed that she was right by his gun and that his holster was unsnapped. She slowed by half a step, let him get just in front of her and quickly pulled his gun from holster. She whirled on Licari before he could react and shot him high in the leg. He screamed and dropped, blood quickly pooling under his leg.
"Gorman!" Maggie kept her eye on Gorman, stomped down on Licari's chest and pulled his gun from his holster. Beth wrenched her arm free from Gorman and punched him square in the crotch. He grunted and dropped to his knees. Maggie handed Licari's gun to Beth just as the footsteps sounded down the hall. Beth started to back away.
"Maggie we have to get downstairs!" Maggie quickly followed her sister as gunshots erupted behind them. She followed Beth down another hallway that ended in a half open elevator shaft. Beth threw open a door to a dark stairwell. "Down here!" More shots hit the wall and the open door. Maggie turned around and fired back at the cop ducking around the corner.
"They're heading down the stairs!" Beth recognized Dawn's voice.
"Maggie let's go!" Maggie fired two more times and followed her sister down the stairs. They heard footsteps walking slowly up the stairs and froze. Maggie looked at Beth.
"Walkers?" she whispered. Beth shook her head.
"I don't think so." Maggie closed her eyes and took a chance that her instincts were right.
"Glenn?" Her heart skipped a beat as she heard a set of footsteps running up the stairs. She hurried down the stairs and jumped into Glenn's arms. Glenn kissed her.
"Are you ok?" Maggie nodded.
"We have to go. They're right behind us." The group hurried down the stairs just as the door on the third floor opened. The officers fired in their direction and JR raised his gun, firing in the direction of the officers. He waved everyone behind him.
"Go!" He fired again, hitting two, and then followed the group down the stairs. Daryl joined him, firing and hitting another one which caused them to back off.
"Main stairs! Go!" The officers retreated into the hospital and the group ran down the stairs. At the doorway, Rick threw open the door and walked into the hallway with his gun drawn. They hurried towards the front door and came face to face with two girls, both with weapons. They aimed them shakily. Beth stepped forward and grabbed Rick's arm.
"No! They've been held here too." She cautiously approached Hannah and Ginger. "Put the guns down. They're my family. It's ok." Hannah slowly lowered her gun.
"We need to go. They're going to kill us all…" A bullet to her head silenced her. Ginger turned to run and was quickly shot. Gorman came down the main stairs, his eyes wild and focused on Beth.
"Where do you think you're going?" Beth raised her gun and fired. It clicked empty. Gorman grinned at her.
"You're dead bitch." He then shifted his aim to Maggie and fired just as Rick fired at him. Dani watched it all in slow motion. Beth jumped in front of Maggie and took the bullet. Rick's shot was accurate and hit Gorman in the throat. The cop grabbed his throat as blood bubbled out of his mouth. He dropped to the floor just as more cops ran down the stairs. A woman cop stopped them and drew her weapon on Rick. Dani raised her gun and shot her. Maggie caught her sister as she collapsed to the ground. Rick, Daryl, Tyreese and JR provided cover and yelled at everyone to get in the van. Dani followed Taylor to the van and opened the side door. Taylor jumped into the driver seat and started the van. Dani jumped in, Andrea right behind her followed quickly by Maggie and Glenn who carried Beth. Rick, Daryl, Tyreese and JR were backing towards the van, firing back at the cops who cowered down just behind the doorway. They quickly go into the van and slammed the door. Hearing the door click brought Dani back to the present.
"Taylor drive!" yelled Rick and Taylor peeled away from the curb, hitting walkers that had been attracted to the gunfire. As he drove away, a bloodied cop stepped in front of him, gun raised.
"Hang on and get down!" He yelled and floored the van. The cop fired three times before Taylor ran him down. One of the bullets came through the windshield and Taylor felt pain in his chest. He felt with his hand and glanced down to see blood quickly spreading. He focused and drove back onto the freeway. He had to get back to the storage yard.
"Taylor, you ok?" He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Rick looking at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just take care of Beth." Taylor gritted his teeth and hoped the adrenaline would be enough to get them to safety.
Maggie held her sister's head in her lap as Andrea and Dani did their best to stop the bleeding.
"I'm glad you found me," Beth said quietly. Maggie felt the tears running down her face and stroked Beth's cheek.
"I'm so sorry it took so long. I'm so sorry you went through that." Beth smiled.
"I wish I could've seen Judith and Jesse one more time. They're probably gettin' big." Maggie shook her head.
"Don't you talk like that," she said firmly. "We're gonna get you to Alice and she'll fix you up." Beth smiled and looked over at Daryl and Dani.
"It wasn't your fault," she coughed up blood and took a deep breath. "They set up that house. We couldn't have known. It's not your fault." She looked over at Rick and Tyreese.
"Thank you..everything. Keep…keep people safe…" Her voice grew softer and her breathing grew shallow.
"Elizabeth Greene, you hold on! You hear me? You just hold on!" Maggie's voice cracked as she struggled to hold on to her emotions. Beth looked back at her.
"Have babies…you…Glenn…before…too late…" her eyes closed and Maggie slapped her cheek.
"No! You stay awake! Dammit you stay awake!" Beth barely re-opened her eyes and smiled.
"I see Daddy n' Momma…Maggie…love…" her voice trailed off and the hand Maggie was holding went limp. Maggie screamed in anguish and held her sister to her.
Michonne heard the van engine returning. She and Rosita hurried to the gate to open it up. The van screeched to a halt in front of the office and the door slid open. Tyreese, JR, Rick and Daryl stepped out of the van. Michonne started to ask if the found Beth when a bloodied Andrea got out of the van. Michonne's heart dropped and she rushed to the van. Inside, Maggie cradled Beth's bloody body. Glenn and Dani sat with her.
"Maggie, she's gone," Glenn said quietly. "We have to take care of her." Maggie had her eyes focused on Beth's face. She stroked Beth's face and hair, tears streaking down her own face. Dani handed Glenn a knife and put her hand on Maggie's shoulder.
"Maggie, you can't let her turn. Beth wouldn't want that. Please." Maggie looked up at her.
"We should've found her sooner. We should've kept lookin' for her." Dani nodded and looked at Glenn.
"We don't have much time." He nodded and took Maggie's hand.
"Maggie," she looked up at him and nodded. She lay Beth down on the floor of the van, took the knife from Glenn and put it through her baby sister's head. Then she broke down. Glenn took her into his arms and Dani carefully climbed out of the van. Daryl took her hand and kissed her.
"You ok?" She looked up at him and saw the grief, pain and guilt in his eyes.
"She was right. It wasn't your fault. You tried to look for her." He nodded and sighed. JR looked around the group.
"Where's Taylor?" Dani also looked around.
"He didn't get out of the van?" JR ran to the driver's door and found Taylor sitting upright and breathing rapidly. He was holding his hand to his chest and looked over at JR.
"Think…bullet…hit…my lung…" he began gasping for air and JR pulled him out of the seat, yelling for Alice as he brought Taylor around to the front of the van. Alice quickly looked him over and saw there was no exit wound. Her brain ran back to her years as a trauma nurse and tried to remember the protocols.
"He…he…he needs…" she realized she was panicking and took a deep breath. "He needs a chest tube. The blood is collapsing his lung." Taylor started to shake and choke, the pressure in his chest made it impossible to breathe. He could feel his heart racing and knew he wouldn't make it. He tried to talk, to tell Alice not to bother, that it was too late but he couldn't make the words come out. Suddenly, he felt no pain. He turned his head and saw his mother and his three little sisters standing close by, waiting for him. He smiled and reached his hand for them. His mother took his hand.
"My baby," she said and he knew that everything was going to be alright.
"I need something to drain off this blood," Alice said, frantic. Tyreese put his hand on her shoulder.
"Alice…" she shrugged him off.
"Don't just stand there!" Tyreese pulled her away.
"Alice, he's gone." Alice looked down at Taylor's lifeless body, his eyes open and staring. She heard footsteps behind her and then Dani's voice saying his name. She dropped to her knees beside Alice. Seeing Taylor's body, Dani cried. She remembered picking him up that day they fled Atlanta. He was so good to her and to Abigail. She and Dylan were the last of that original group. Mark, Jaime, Dylan's brother Josh and now Taylor. All gone. She saw Tyreese kneel down with the knife to finish him and collapsed back into Daryl's arms.
"We need to take them somewhere to bury them. Somewhere nice." Maggie's voice was quiet. "Somewhere away from the city, in the country. Where wildflowers will grow. I think they'd like that." Rick ran his hands through his hair. Two more of his family were dead on his watch.
"We can do that. I'm sure Father Gabriel could say a few words." He looked over at the priest who nodded.
"Of course." Rick looked around at the group. They looked broken, lost. First the Governor, then Terminus and now some power hungry cops in a hospital in Atlanta. They had lost people to people, not to walkers. The threat was people, just like in the old world. Walkers they could run from, they could secure themselves against. They could predict what walkers would do. People…there was no limit to what people could do to them, no predicting what would happen. He looked at his children. Carl, who was more mature than his thirteen years. Judith, who at a year old just accepted what the world was and would never know any different. Dylan had the same haunted look in his eyes that Carl did but Jesse was just as accepting of the world as Judith. Scanning the group, he focused on Eugene. If that man was telling the truth then he was the one who held the future. If he was telling the truth…
"Eugene," the man looked up at Rick, startled. "Have you heard anything on that radio?" Eugene nodded quickly.
"We just need to stay the course for D.C." Rick nodded.
"Alright. Let's get ready to head out."
They drove for two hours before they spotted a field filled with sunflowers.
"JR stop," Maggie called. JR pulled the bus over to the side. "This is where we should bury them." Tyreese and Daryl carefully lifted Taylor's body from the floor of the bus and carried him out to the field. Glenn followed behind with Beth. The ground was soft and they were able to dig two shallow graves. They set aside any rocks they found for the cairns. While they dug, the rest of the group dispatched the walkers that came out of the sunflower field. There weren't many and they were easy to spot. Dani stayed back against the bus with Jesse, Dylan, Carl and Judith, doing her best to keep Jesse quiet. Once the bodies were buried, they joined the rest of the group at the graves and Gabriel conducted the funeral. Dani watched as JR mouthed the Lord's Prayer along with the priest and she struggled to pray or connect with the divine spirit that Gabriel obviously felt. She didn't have it in her anymore. Too much had happened, too much loss to feel the way she had felt growing up in her deeply religious family. She was numb and knew she would stay that way until they found safety again. She had to protect herself from the losses she knew were still to come.
"Lord, please give us the strength to leave these two souls in your care, in the knowledge of an eternal life through Jesus Christ. Amen." A murmured chorus of "amen" followed and Gabriel looked at his group. He still didn't trust Rick but felt God had a purpose. He, Gabriel, was meant to lead these people back to Him. It was His purpose for Gabriel, to atone for turning his back on his flock and leaving them to the dead. And he would follow God's commands, no matter where they led him.
Rick heard Maggie's quiet sobbing and sighed.
"I'm sorry but we need to get back on the road before dark." Glenn nodded and led Maggie back towards the bus. She resisted at first, not wanting to leave Beth but finally allowed herself to be led away. As he started the engine, JR looked over at the graves and closed his eyes. He vowed once again to get Eugene to DC, to heal this world and make sure that all the death he had witnessed wouldn't be in vain. They headed north as the sun dropped lower into the sky, turning a deep orange and purple to the west.