The Reaper ⚔︎ Rick Grimes

23 - Believe Nothing

Glenn quickly introduced us.

Gareth nodded and his eyes shot down to my hand on my gun. "Before we move any further, I'll need to see everyone's weapons."

Sasha and I squinted at each other. None of us moved.

"I get it, you're nervous. You don't know us. But we also don't know you," continued Gareth. "We're just taking precautions. I'm sure you understand. Lay whatever you have down in front of you."

It was clear we were outnumbered. It was either comply or risk being gunned down. Maggie was the first to put her pistol on the concrete ground. Soon, we all followed her lead. Tara's hands shook as she dropped a knife. Abraham was the last to surrender his weapons. He did so with downturned eyebrows and an angry huff.

Three men behind Gareth stepped over to us and patted us down. I stared up at the sky as the stranger's hands touched me. Each of the men nodded at their apparent leader. He nodded back at them. The men bent down and handed our weapons back to us.

I thought this was strange. Was the purpose of dropping our weapons an exercise in trust? That was the only reason that made sense to me. Giving them back just gave us the opportunity to use them.

"This is all nice and dandy, but we've got a mission in mind," Abraham stated.

Gareth raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Abraham stepped forward, ahead of the rest of us. He pointed to Eugene. Abraham explained how he was transporting him to D.C. and how he had the skills and knowledge to put the world back. There was sense of urgency in Abraham's speech. He expressed how we needed a vehicle and supplies as quickly as they could get them for us. He even told them anyone was welcome to come and it was a more than worthy cause.

Gareth let out a condescending chuckle before he said, "I'm sorry to say your mission has ended here. You're not going anywhere."

"What in the holy hell is that supposed to mean?" Abraham questioned.

The man in charge winked and nodded upwards. I rapidly turned and saw a man with a sniper rifle on the roof of a building.

"Run!" I yelled.

As soon as the word left my mouth, the rest of people of Terminus pulled out their guns and scrambled. A shot from the sniper landed by our feet.

"This way!" Glenn said.

As we ran between the buildings, more gunfire sounded in our direction. I shot blindly behind myself. There was no time to stop and take in my surroundings because there was a person in every direction. Dust from the bullets hitting the ground made my eyes sting.

"Come on!" Abraham shouted as he basically dragged Eugene behind.

We entered a garage. Ahead of us someone was closing a large door. Behind us the gunfire was still going even though we were no where in sight. I looked around for another exit. On the left side of the garage was a black door with a large white A painted above it. I ran for in, prompting everyone else to do so too. The door led outside into an alleyway littered with large crates and cars. All of them were covered in bullet holes. The moment we were in view again, we were shot at. But not directly. It was behind us, at our feet.