I Need You

Run

The next morning I had woken up to find my family rising from their slumber with the sun. I stood up and began stretching. Every muscle in my body ached. The events of the previous day reeled in my mind as the pain in my shoulder surfaced. Then my thoughts drifted to the nightmare and falling asleep in Daryl's lap. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I was on the floor when I woke up, not in Daryl's arms. I scanned the room for Daryl, but he was nowhere in sight. Where was he? Terror took over me. I looked at my family in front of me praying they were not a mirage like they had been in my dream the night before. Cautiously, I went over to Rick who had Judith in his arms. Relief washed over me as my hands made contact with the sleepy infant. They were real. I scolded myself internally for being so silly. When my had my wits about me, I realized Daryl probably had just went out for his usual morning hunt. The thought made me feel better but I knew I would be a little anxious until he returned.
As the morning wore on, everyone was busy with their tasks. Daryl was out hunting. Carol was tending to Judith. Rick, Michonne Tyrese, and Sasha were looking over the map Abraham gave to them. Gabriel was in the corner reading his bible. Carl, Noah, and I were talking sitting on the pews near the windows. I tried to keep up with the conversation, but was having trouble focusing unable to stop myself from stealing glances out the window.
It was around noon when Daryl finally returned from his hunt. I watched him as spoke to Rick and the others for a minute, nodding his head in agreement to whatever they were discussing. Rick stood in the middle of the church and announced, "Now that everyone is here, I just wanted to say, we will be heading out later this afternoon. Tyrese, Daryl, Carol and I will be making a quick supply run. We shouldn't be gone longer than a couple of hours. I would like everyone staying here to be packed and ready to go when we get back." Just like that they were gone five minutes later.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half an hour later...
I sat in the floor of the church playing with Judith. She has gotten so big since I last saw her. She has got more hair, jabbering all the time, grown at least couple of inches in height, and I can see some new teeth in her smile. It saddened my heart to think of all the time I missed with her. But at least she still remembered me. A small chuckle escaped my lips as I watch the sweet baby's face go from a blank to amazement as we play peek-a-boo. After about five minutes, I can tell she has become bored of my game. Her evergreen eyes search the room for some other form of entertainment. Her sights set on Carl and Noah and like a flash she goes crawling after them.
"C'mere you." I say playfully in my baby voice snatching her up in my arms causing her to squeal in delight. Joy fills my heart at the sound. I had always wanted to be a mother. I just never imagined I would be one at twenty years old to a child who isn't even my blood. But that didn't matter. I couldn't imagine loving another child more than Judith. However, that didn't stop me from praying for my own someday. Until then I try to cherish these precious moments.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I look up at the sudden sound to see Michonne standing in front of a door in the back of the church. It barely cracked revealing Gabriel on the other side. He claimed he wasn't feeling well and went to lay down shortly after the other left on the run. I hadn't had much interaction with the man, but something about him was off. He always seemed on edge. His tone would get real defensive if you asked him too many questions about himself or the church in general. He definitely was hiding something.
Curiosity got the best of me as I strained my ears to hear what they were saying with no luck. I watched as he nodded to Michonne quickly closed the door in her face. I could tell she was frustrated by him as she lingered at the door for another moment before finally giving up. She turned catching my stare and came to sit down next to me and Judith.
"Everything okay?" I ask hestitantly.
"Yeah. Went to check on him and he says he was just resting." Michonne said looking at her hands in her lap. She breathed in deep and continued, "He's scared... of us. He was before and even more so now after the other night when we killed the people from Terminus."
I can tell it bothers Michonne for him to be scared of us. "He will learn we are not bad people. Y'all were protecting yourselves and others by killing those people. This is all new to him. This world... surviving... he will learn." I reassure her.
"And if he doesn't?" She countered.
"He has got to..." I simply say. She turned her gaze from her hands to my eyes. She nods to me and we turn our attention back to Judith. We played with her until she finally began to wear out. Judith's eyes got all heavy. "Someone needs a nap." I say aloud.
Michonne held out her hands and asked softly, "Let me...?"
I don't answer. I just handed her the sleepy child. "Why don't I go check on Gabriel? He might open up to me a little easier. I am the smallest and weakest of the group besides Judith."
"Yeah that might be good." She said after thinking on it for a moment. I started to turn around but I felt Michonne reach out and grab my arm. I looked back at her. "You maybe the smallest, but you aren't the weakest."
Her words filled me with pride. I grinned as she let my arm. "Thank you." I say quietly before making my way over to the door she just came from ten minutes ago. I knocked on the door and waited. I tried to listen for him stirring but instead was met with silence. I knocked again with a little more force than the last. After another minute, still nothing. Instead of knocking again, I decided to just go in the room. I turned the handle slowly opening the door. The room was empty. Right in front of the couch there was hole in the floor, big enough for him to escape. I look around the room once more before lowering myself into the makeshift crawl space. Under the church, I see where he snaked his way out of the building. Once outside, I see a set of footprints going away from the church. "He should be easy to track." I thought.
Going back the way I came, I pulled myself into the room he abandoned. Brushing off the dirt and dust I accumulated, I walked back into the main room. "Gabriel's gone." I announce to the others.
"What do you mean he's gone?" Sasha growled at me.
"I mean he pulled up some of the boards in the floor and crawled out of here." I said again confidently.
"Sasha stay with everyone. I'll go after him." Michonne huffs in frustration.
"I am going too." I declare. I can tell Michonne was about to argue so I quickly added, "Daryl taught me how to track. It will be faster to go together."
She and Sasha look at each other mulling over the idea. Sasha raised her eyebrows at Michonne who then turned to me, "Alright let's go get him."