Malevolent. The Walking Dead

[ 013 ] tomorrow, today, now

013: tomorrow, today, now

There was a sudden collective silence that followed after dinner. Most of them were exhausted from the heat and the long day, and Joey had to pull her hair away from her neck and wave her face cool in order to get any semblance of peace. Finn was nodding off next to her in the pews, and she got up to move around to keep herself awake. Despite the comfort they were all reigning, something still felt off. She had also noticed how Daryl, Carol and Bob had gone missing, but no one else seemed too worried about it. She didn't like the idea of them wandering around in the dark, but couldn't speak otherwise ━ they were adults, and quite frankly, they knew what they were doing. Joey also didn't understand why she cared so much for these people she had been seeking shelter with for not even a week, but getting close to people on the sole idea of reliance and protection seemed to work in her favor.

Bill was eating, even after everyone else. She wasn't sure why he waited until after she ate to do so, but his back was leaned up against the wall, and she moved to sit down next to him, hugging her knees up to her chest. "Hey kiddo,"

"Hey,"

"You tired?"

Joey shrugged, attempting to tie her hair back into a braid after fingering through some of the knots. "A little,"

"You should try and sleep,"

"Nah, I wanna stay awake until everyone is here. That guy still gives me the creeps . . . especially after what we saw on the side of the church," she nodded towards Gabriel, who seemed to be pacing and sweating simultaneously. Normally Joey would find it normal, especially in this climate, but something about him just set her off. "I saw Rick talking to him earlier tonight. Dunno what for . . . but I think we're safe. Nothing we can't handle, right?"

"What if he is with those people back at Terminus? What if this was like . . . their hideout if something went wrong?" she suggested, fiddling with the ends of her hair. Bill shook his head, placing a caring hand on her knee. "Stop worrying. We'll be fine. Besides, we're not staying here much longer,"

Joey looked at him. "We're really going to DC?" she questioned, shifting in her seat. Bill took another bite of his food and nodded slowly. "I mean, we've got nowhere else to go. I see no reason not to," he hummed, and she nodded carefully.

"I guess so," she reached for her water to take a small sip, and moved back to pull her knees up to her chest. "Oh, I forgot," Bill murmured, placing his food on the ground and moving to his backpack to shuffle through it. "I found something while we were out that I thought you might like," he pulled out a comic book, and handed it over to her. "I don't think you've read that one yet . . . have you?"

It was a (pretty beat up) twelfth issue of the Amazing Spider-Man. Joey let a small smile on her face. "No, I haven't read this one. Or the other eleven issues," she teased, and he sighed. "Shit, sorry, I couldn't find any others ━"

"I'm messing with you, this is sweet Bill. Thanks," she nudged him with her elbow, and he grinned in return. Joey started to look through it when the church doors opened, and Sasha came walking in with Tyreese and Rick. Her eyes were fixated on Gabriel and she looked to be under duress. "Stop," she told him, and his eyes widened briefly. Bill stood up with his hand attached to his holster. Joey wanted to follow in his trail but he held up a hand to stop her.

"What are you doing?" Sasha asked, and Gabriel swallowed thickly. "What are you doing? This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now three of us are gone,"

Finn had woken up at this point, and looked and Joey will sleep ridden eyes. She told him to shush before he could even open his mouth, and nodded toward the interaction that was taking place not far from them. He furrowed his brows to look over at Sasha and Gabriel, and Joey shrugged in return when he looked to her to ask what was wrong.