𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚'𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐱. carl grimes

THIRTY-FOUR: i call shotgun

Soon after I regain my balance and wipe the dirt off my clothes, Michonne shimmers her way from under the church as well. I outstretch a hand and she grabs it firmly allowing me to help her up. Michonne dusts herself off as she positions herself next to Carl, watching the hole the rest of us came out of. Gabriel should've been out by now, it's been too long. I take Claire's hand into mine, squeezing it for reassurance as I hope to see Gabirel crawl out of the hole at any moment.

Thankfully, I watch as a bloody machete is throw out from under the church followed by Gabriel. This time Michonne helps the priest up. Once Gabriel regains his balance I can see the dried blood splattered on his face and a proud feeling surges through my body. He finally did it.

"I don't want to run anymore" Gabriel announces, pulling me away from my thoughts. I stare at Gabriel, confused. Who was this man? This wasn't the pitiful Gabriel I knew thirty minutes ago. Strangely, he didn't seem afraid anymore.

"We aren't" Michonne reassures Gabriel with a determined glance before she turns the rest of us, "Carl and Finn, you two will get rid of the stranglers up front while Claire and I close the doors and bird the walkers in, sounds good?" I give Michonne a quick nod, understanding what she wanted us to do perfectly. "Alright then! Let's get moving!" she commands before rushing over to pick up the wooden board laying on the ground a couple feet away.

I then turn to Carl as he hands Judith to Gabriel. Once his hands are free of the baby he unholsters his gun and walks towards me. "You ready?" he asks, gun firmly placed in his hands.

I grip my machete in a ready position and smile at the boy next to me. "Always" I answer with a nod before slowly making my way to the front of the church, Carl right behind me.

We make our way around the the front as quietly as possible to find the only stragglers were the ones impaled by the metal spikes we put out there perviously. I glance back at Carl and give him a quick nod, letting him know I got those two. There was no need to use the gun, it would only draw more near. I rush towards the impaled walker who's arms were still reaching out in front of it, clawing at nothing. I jam my machete into its head and pull it out in one swing. I then move into the next walker who was in a very similar condition and repeat my actions. Once the walker slumps down I turn to face Carl and quietly mouth, "All clear"

Carl gives me a nod before giving the rest of the group a thumbs up. Once they see the signal, they all come rushing around the corner, board in hand. Michonne quickly runs up the stairs and closes both doors, the sound grabbing the attention of the walker's inside. Before any of them can reach the door though both Claire and Michonne slam the wooden board across the doors and nail it in with the butt of a gun. They quickly back peddle down the stairs once they finish, the hands of the undead reaching through the crack in the door.

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The six of us stand around at the front of the church, watching the walkers try to make it through the door. The weak barricade was slowly giving out due to the sheer amount of walkers in the church. "The doors won't hold much longer. We need to get out of here" I announce to the group, stating the obvious.

Everyone tears their eyes away from the doors and face me. Michonne is the first to speak up, "Where would we go though? We don't even know where the rest of the group are"

I nod, Michonne had a point. If we left and made the wrong turn at some point, we could never see the rest of them ever again. "Then I guess we just sit here and fight the hoard of walkers?" I ask, half sarcastically.

No one answers, I only get a quick nod from Michonne before she walks away to join Gabriel. I roll my eyes at Michonne before turning to Carl. I take his hand into mine before face planting into him, my nose hitting his shoulder. I shake my head a bit before lifting my head off of his shoulder to look him in the eyes. He notices my anger and squeezes my hand before turning to fully face me. He lets go of my hand and rests both his palms into my shoulders, his arms outstretched like a walker. "Hey, we'll be fine, Finn" he tells me calmly.