the weight of living; c.g.

[1.6]: stay

"Bridget!" We were just starting to have dinner when I heard Maggie say my name. I turned to see her with the new people, the ones I hadn't met before. I stood up, putting my plate down on the pew.

"Y'all, this is Bridget. Bridget, This is Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, and Tara." Maggie gestured to each one of them in turn. Abraham, a big red-headed man, stuck his hand out for a handshake, which I didn't even know people still did. I shook it awkwardly, my injured shoulder getting jolted by his strong shake.

"Nice to meet 'ya. Pretty brave thing 'ya did, takin' care of that kid. I appreciate that." Abraham grinned as he shook my hand. I smiled back, resisting the urge to rub my shoulder.

Maggie explained how Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene were going to Washington and how Tara was going with them. They had saved Maggie, Sasha, Bob, and Glenn's lives, so I knew they were good people.

After the introductions, I sat back down next to Grace, who was picking at her plate. We decided to have a feast of sorts the first night, Gabriel had plenty of cans. Everyone sat in the pews together, laughing and sharing stories.

We sat apart from everyone, in a pew of our own. I still felt out of place here, with all these people and their connections. They were a big family, we we were just observing.

"Are we still going to Terminus?" Grace asked in a hushed tone. Rick hadn't mentioned anything about it, so he obviously had no plans to go there.

"I think we should." I looked around before, watching for anyone who might be listening.

I mean, this group was nice, but we didn't belong in their family. We were outsiders here, they didn't need us.

"We'll leave tonight." I decided.

After a speech from Rick, Abraham got up and spoke about going to Washington. Apparently Eugene had to get to the scientists there, to help them. I halfway ignored this, planning Grace and I's departure. We had to leave without anyone seeing, which would be hard but we could do it.

Hardly anyone would miss us. Carol probably would, since we bonded at the prison. She was almost like a motherly figure, but not quite. I didn't feel bad about leaving her because she had others here, real family.

The dinner dissipated, everyone going to their respective sleeping places. I still had the bag of cans I gathered a few days ago, from that run I made. It would be enough to get us to Terminus.

"I'll wake you up in a few hours, okay?" I told Grace as she went to bed. I would pretend to sleep, waiting for the perfect time to leave. The hard part would be getting outside, but I figured we could slip out the window in the small room. I already opened it a crack earlier, as I grabbed the backpack.

Only Judith and Carl were sleeping in there, on the cot. If we were quiet, we could do it. Judith wasn't a light sleeper, I didn't have to worry about her alerting everyone to our escape. Carl, on the other hand, could be an issue.

Everyone seemed to settle down after a while, most people sleeping already. I waited until the first watch, Daryl, went out by the door. Then, I gripped the backpack and hoisted it over a shoulder. I held back a whimper as it landed on my wound.

My hands shook Grace awake and I placed a finger over my mouth to indicate she needed to be quiet. She understood, slowly standing up. I crept towards the small room, keeping low. The door was ajar, so I pushed it open with a finger.

They were sound asleep inside, away from the window. I gestured for Grace to follow me to the window, where I began to pry it open. She reached me and I hoisted her through the window. It was a small jump to the ground, so she was able to make it without much difficulty.