Beyond Terminus (Book Two)

Chapter 4: Freedom

Hope's POV

"What the hell is going on?" Abraham demands, pounding on the door with his fists.

"Maybe our people got out," Sasha says hopefully.

"Let's pray to God that's what happened," I say, glancing at Maggie with an understanding glance. We're the married women of the group, after all.

Eugene brushes past us, kneeling down by the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rosita asks.

"I may be able to use this shell to compromise the door. By the sound of things, there aren't many left."

Rosita and Abraham start mumbling to each other, and Michonne looks back at Carl, Maggie, and I.

"Hey. My dad's coming back," Carl says.

"They all are," I say.

"Which is why need to be ready to fight our way out when they do," Maggie finishes.

As we continue working, everyone continues talking, but I'm so focused on the weapons that I tune most of it out.

However, when Sasha brings up wanting to hear the cure, I snap back to reality.

Eugene stands up, looking at all of our tired and dirty faces.

"I was part of a ten person team at the Human Genome Project creating weaponized diseases to fight weaponized diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms with pathogenic microorganisms. Fire with fire. Relationships were made, information was shared. I'm keenly aware of all the details behind a fail-safe delivery systems to kill every living person on the planet. I believe with a few tweaks of the terminals at DC we can flip the script. Take out every last dead one. Fire with fire."

We all take that in, and I sigh.

"Let's keep working," I say.

As I pick up my makeshift weapon, a belt with a sharp piece of wood on the end, we hear creaking outside as the door slides open.

Rick appears at the door, yelling for us to hustle as he rushes out and begins mowing down walkers with his gun.

I leap out, and Daryl sees me immediately. He places his hand on my neck and gives me a fierce kiss, nodding to me as he breaks away. No words are needed between us as we head into the insanity of Terminus.

I hold one end of the belt tight, doubling to weapon as a whip and a knife. The rattling of gunfire fills the air and the heavy sounds of walker bodies hitting the ground surrounds us.

We head towards the wall, where Rosita drapes a blanket over the barbed wire. We climb over, Daryl sending me over before him.

Soon, we're all over the wall and rushing away from Terminus, free again.