Sheriffs Hat | Carl Grimes (PROGRESS ON PAUSE)

c a n d l e l i g h t

Various call-outs of cheering and hollering sound through the church as the adults raise their glasses of wine and Maia and myself simply take sips of water. People clap and smiles are spread widely across everyone's faces.

"Is that all you want to be?" The room quiets at this. His tone is harsher then it was mere seconds ago. "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep every night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat?"

I stiffen slightly at these words and Maia shifts uncomfortably on the ground. While his words are harsh and unforgiving, he's speaking the entire truth we all have been thinking since this situation began.

"You can do that. You've got the strength, got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip." As he speaks Maia turns her head to face me with a confused stare.

I lean in closer to her and whisper. "Eugene believes he has a way to cure all this if they can get to D.C., it's a risk but it's hope." At these words she furrows her eyebrows.

"There's a lot of bullshit in this modern world," She whispers to me. "I'm really hoping that this isn't that." I smile lightly and we both turn back to the redhead at the front of the room.

"Eugene," He begins again. "What's in D.C.?"

The man in question visibly stiffens at the sudden spotlight being on himself. He clears his throat lightly before speaking. "Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude."

Maia turns a looks at me from the corner of her eye with a very confused stare, to which I just shrug.

"That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart." He finishes speaking very firmly.

I glance around at the ground, trying to gather their reactions. It is difficult for me to understand what they're thinking, especially my dad. He's never been one for risky decisions and these choice proposed to him certainly fall under that category.

"However this plays out," Abraham speaks again. "However long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer then you've been since this whole thing's started."

The concept of safety is something many of this group has lost along the way, and the idea of having back is certainly enticing.

"Come with us. Save the world for that little one." I look over to Judith with fondness. "Save it for you yourselves, save it for the people out there who don't got nothin' left to do except survive."

The church fall eerily quiet. Loved ones and family look to each other for a hint at what one another is thinking. Everyone remains in deep contemplation over the man's words for quite some time before my dad chuckles lightly.

With Judith in his lap, she coos and he looks to her. "What was that?" People laugh lightly. "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in." I smile softly. "If she's in, I'm in. We're in."

Everyone chuckles and claps, hoots and hollers at the commencement of the next journey, hopefully to somewhere far more safe then a petite church.

While there is nothing I want more than to reverse the changes made on this world, I've found a repeating pattern with this new day and age. We find shelter, somewhere we think can be permanent and can be a break from the hell that lives outside, but it's frequently been reversed. The walker board at the farm, the Governor at the prison, and every last person remaining at Terminus. Between the walkers and the people, it's hard to feel comfortable even in the most secure place.