In the Very End: Book One

Chapter 53

"Quinn," Rick said.

I turned around and took Judith from him, bringing her inside. I watched them close the doors and head off for the truck. Michonne, Carl, Gabriel, and I would stay with Judith while they went to get Carol and Beth back. Judith's cries echoed out through the church and I sat her in her makeshift bassinet.

I lifted a piece of wood and held it up to the door while Carl grabbed a nail and the end of bed's headboard, using it as a hammer. Judith wailed again as Carl beat the nail into the wood.

I hated that Daryl was leaving again, but I knew he wanted Carol and Beth back. He was just as stubborn as me, so there would be no convincing him to stay anyway.

___

"Pick one," Carl instructed as he laid weapons down in front of Gabriel. "You need to learn how to defend yourself. We can teach you."

Gabriel looked up at him. "Defend myself? They said they'd go."

"They were liars and murderers," Carl said.

"Just like us."

"We were protecting ourselves," Carl reasoned. "They wanted us dead. You're lucky your church has lasted this long, but we can't stay in one place anymore...not for too long. Once you're out there, you're gonna find trouble you can't hide from. You need to know how to fight."

Gabriel reluctantly picked a machete off the ground.

"Good choice," Carl said, "but you're not holding it right; you gotta be able to drive it down because sometimes the skulls aren't as soft and you gotta be able to—"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He looked towards the ground before swallowing and standing up. "I need to lie down."

Carl nodded and I watched as the machete swung by Gabriel's legs as he walked away from us.

___

After about twenty minutes, I stood and handed Judith to Michonne. I walked down to Gabriel's office and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" he asked as he opened it.

He sounded antsy and it worried me.

"You said you weren't feelin' good. You doin' okay?"

"I was just resting."

I heard Judith crying again and tried to speed up the conversation. "I know all this is new to you, but I just wanted to tell you that the things that we do, they're worth it."

"Yeah, I already took the machete, what more do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you, just tryin' to help."

"Thank you," he said quietly.

I nodded ever so slowly before he shut the door.

___

"Please!" someone called. "Let me in!"

It sounded like Gabriel. Carl stood up and rushed for the door. Michonne placed Judith in her bassinet and we jogged to the door, too. Carl tried prying the piece of wood off but to no avail.

"Carl, get back," I said as I cocked the axe behind my shoulder.

I laid it right in the middle of the board until it busted in half. I pryed the rest of it off and flung the door open. Gabriel ran inside and Carl started shooting off rounds as I swung the axe around. Michonne unsheathed her sword and sliced off two heads at a time. The walkers all started filing into the church faster than we could kill them off.

"Michonne!" I yelled as I pulled Carl back into the office.

I closed the door and leaned against it.

"The rectory!" Gabriel suddenly said. "C'mon! That's how I got out. Crawl under the back, just go!" He pushed me out of the way and leaned agaisnt the door. "Take the little ones and go!"

"Carl!" I called before he crawled down. "You wait for me."

He nodded and continued down the hole in the wooden floor. I jumped down after him with Michonne after me. We waited outside for a few seconds and soon enough, a bloody machete popped out from under the building and then Gabriel followed after.

"I can't run anymore," Gabriel said as Michonne helped him off the ground.

"We're not runnin'," Michonne assured.

Carl and I put down the walkers that were stuck on the metal poles. We quickly closed the doors and nailed them shut, trapping the walkers on the inside. I tied my belt around the door knobs while Carl beat the nail in again.

___

I ran my hand through Judith's soft hair and examined her sleeping face.

"Where did you go?" Michonne asked Gabriel.

"The school," he replied. "I had to see, I had to know."

Before any one of us could reply, the sound of wood breaking caught our attention. The walkers were breaking the wood of the doors and would be out to get us soon.

"Where do we go?" Carl asked.

The rumble of a vehicle caught our attention next. A firetruck ran over the spikes and out came Abraham, Maggie, Glenn, Rosita, and Tara.

Maggie immediately pulled me into a hug. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Are you?"

She nodded. Glenn was next as he pulled me in for a side hug.

"You're back," I said with a smile on my face.

"Yeah, Eugene lied," he informed. "He can't stop it. Washington isn't the end. Where is everybody?"

A smile broke across my face as I moved to Maggie. "Beth's alive. She's in a hospital in Atlanta. These people have her but the others went to get her and Carol back."

"Do we know which one?" Maggie asked as tears pricked her eyes.

I nodded. "Grady Memorial."

Maggie ran a hand through her hair before she hugged Glenn who was right by her side.

Tara smiled. "Let's blow this joint and go save your sister."

We all nodded and hopped into the firetruck, leaving the old church behind in the dust.

___

The firetruck rolled up to the front gates and we all got out, guns raised. Glenn took out one walker and I took out another, but the place wasn't that crowded. I smiled as I saw all the familiar faces walk out of the hospital; Rick, Sasha, Carol, Tyreese, Noah...

My body went numb and I felt the gun fall out of my hands and clatter to the ground. Beth lay limp in Daryl's arms.

"No!" Maggie cried as she fell to the ground, sobbing.

How many more people could we lose?

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Hey everyone! That's it for this book. Go check out the sequal, A Long, Long Journey. Thanks for the likes, comments, and support; it means a lot to me!

-Mackenzie