His Wings (D.D. fanfiction)

Chapter 19

My heart raced as I stood before the imposing gates of a place they called 'Terminus.' An unsettling feeling clawed at me, despite the signs along the railway track proclaiming it to be a 'Sanctuary for All.'  I had been struggling for a few days and had nothing to eat. Daryl promised he would find me but I felt my faith in him begin to shake, so maybe staying at this place for a while would be a good idea until I got back on my feet.

I drew in a trembling breath, adjusted my backpack, and gingerly pushed the gates open. Stepping over the threshold, I couldn't help but notice the first thing that struck me: a group of people gathered around a barbecue. I was greeted by the smell of food, the good kind that reminded you of summer nights and family dinners.

The group abruptly turned toward me, guns at the ready, sending jolts of nervousness through me.

"Drop your weapons!" They screamed. This was a mistake. I slowly put down my weapons and a guy came towards me and picked them up.

"On your knees!" another voice commanded, and despair washed over me. I should've trusted Daryl to find me.

"Son, hold on," a woman's voice startled me, and I peered up, meeting the gaze of a woman around my mother's age. She raised her hand toward the man wielding the gun.

"She's an intruder!"

"She's just a young girl on her own. What harm can she do?" The woman approached me and stuck out a hand to help me. I observed her kind smile and hesitantly took her hand.

"Welcome to Terminus, I'm Bridget and you are my dear?" An anxious feeling crept over me, a gnawing suspicion that something was amiss. I couldn't shake the notion that these people weren't to be trusted, not after they had pointed their guns at me. Her smile seemed too perfect, too calculated, and my gut instincts screamed at me.

"Patricia." I lied, using my middle name.

I swallowed a little and tried to keep the composure on my face. Bridget scanned my features as I slowly smiled at the woman and she seemed to buy it.

"Well, Patricia, why don't we have you sit down and cook you up something? You must be hungry." She kindly smiled.

A nagging feeling urged me to run. These people were being overly friendly, and my instincts screamed at me to be cautious. However, fear kept me from refusing.

"Of course, thank you." I replied with a forced smile. Bridget gestured to the seating area, and I cast a glance at her son, who still clung to his weapon, glaring at me. I averted my gaze, slipped into a seat, and observed as they continued to barbecue. There was a lot of meat; were they hunters? Bridget took a seat across from me, her fingertips tapping rhythmically on the wooden table.

"What happened then, Patricia? Were you always on your own?" Bridget asked and I shuffled uncomfortably at the question. The feeling of having to lie came back again.

"Yes, I met a group at the beginning but I decided to go my own way. I didn't need them." I gave her a small smile and she surveyed my face again. She nodded and suddenly clicked her fingers. The man behind her with the meat put the plate down on the table and I felt my stomach start to turn. It was human, it was a human liver; the size, the smell, I couldn't be wrong.

"Well dig in." She smiled, but I couldn't move, I just stared in horror at the plate of meat.

"You must be starving, Patricia, eat it." Her smile started to vanish as I showed her my horrified face and my mouth hung open with shock.

"I can't."

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes down at me and I swallowed nervously.

"I know that's human meat." my voice shook and her warm motherly glow turned sour, her smile fell and her eyes grew dark and hollow.