no matter how hard they tried to run,
their demons followed them.
even into the end of the world.
no matter how far they run,
no matter how hard they tried to hide,
they found them.
[season 1-]
d.d x oc
r.g x oc
Judith was sleeping on Carl's back, while Liam sat in Vivian's arms, resting his head on her shoulder.
Gabriel was a few yards away, resting his hands against the rotting fence, staring off into space. Vivian approached him, swaying slightly to get Liam to sleep,
"Where did you go?" She demanded.
Was he planning on ditching them, trying to escape the church only to return when he was attacked by a herd?
"The school." He answered after a moment, "I had to see. I had to know." Gabriel met her gaze, but it didn't give her much satisfaction.
Know what?
The sound of wood splintering gathered everyone's attention back to the church, where the walkers were getting close to breaking out,
"Where do we go?" Carl asked, grabbing his gun from his holster,
Vivian didn't have an answer. There was no where to go, no shelter anywhere. They couldn't go far, not without risking loosing Rick and the others.
The sound of an engine broke Vivian from her thoughts. She turned to see a fire truck approaching the church, and instead of breaking, drove through the front steps and blocked the door.
"Fire truck!" Liam squealed, pointing at the vehicle,
Vivian let out a small laugh, setting the toddler down so he could get closer.
Abraham was the first to get out, followed by Maggie and Glenn.
What were they doing back here? Did something happen on their way to DC?
Maggie wrapped her arms around Vivian before her husband followed. Once Glenn pulled away, he lifted Liam up to greet him while they all looked around,
"You okay?" Tara asked, approaching them,
Vivian nodded, a sense of relief filling her. Now they had more muscle, more protection for the kids, "Yeah." She glanced between Maggie and Glenn, "You're back."
Glenn's expression dropped, "Eugene lied. He can't stop it. Washington isn't the end."
She nodded in acceptance. Vivian looked over at Abraham, who was still gripping his rifle and keeping watch away from the others.
For some reason, she wasn't surprised. The only end to this world was through death, and even that wasn't guaranteed.
But now, what were they going to do? Find a new home, build a new community?
"Where is everybody?" Glenn questioned her,
Vivian's gaze went to Maggie, a smile growing on her face, "Beth's alive." Maggie's eyes widened as she reached for Vivian's hands, probably trying to figure out if what she said was really true, "She's in a hospital in Atlanta. Some people have her, but the others went to get her back."
Tears filled Maggie's eyes, "Do we know which one?"
Vivian nodded, "Grady Memorial."
Maggie stepped back, bringing her hands to her face in disbelief, "Oh, my God."
Glenn handed Liam back to Vivian before wrapping his arms around his wife. Vivian smiled at the exchange, and she used her free arm two wrap around Carl's shoulders,
"Let's blow this joint, go save your sister." Tara smiled,
Liam was excited to get into firetruck, and Abraham let him fire up the sirens once to make him happy.
They were all in high spirits, despite knowing DC was no longer their endgame. Vivian was ready for all of them to be together again.
Abraham drove them into the city, with Vivian instructing them how to get to Grady Memorial. He parked outside the doors, and she had Carl stay inside the truck for a moment with the children as they made sure it was safe.
They approached the entrance, guns raised.
Tents littered the area, along with bodies. Glenn took out the lone walker as it approached them, but other than that, there were no threats.
Would it really be this easy?
There were no scouts, no one on watch.
The doors opened, and Rick was the first to step out. Vivian's smile faded as she saw the look on his face.
Sasha was next, then Carol and Tyreese. Marcie was behind them, with Michonne supporting her.
They all had such devastating looks on their faces.
What had happened before the others got there?
Vivian stopped walking when she saw it.
Daryl was the last one out the door, Beth in his arms. She was limp, and there was blood matting her hair.
She was dead.
Maggie walked past Vivian, her gun falling to the ground as she also came to the realisation. Glenn kneeled behind his wife as she fell to the ground with a cry.
There was no rush to leave, because there was no where else to go.
They let Maggie and the others mourn their most recent loss.
Vivian's eyes moved away from Beth and Daryl as Rick approached her. His blue eyes shined brightly with tears as he tried to hold it together.
She let him bury his face into her neck as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
The sound of Maggie's sobs filled their ears as almost everyone had the same question running through their mind.
