COLLAPSED ᵀᵂᴰ¹ ✔

58. long lost friends

Rick had stepped forwards, shaking his head in disbelief, frowning at her. 'Did you do that?' He asked, nodding at the smoldering building of Terminus.

Tears had gathered in Carol's eyes, as she bit her lip and nodded but before she could say a word Rick had already pulled her into a hug. She chuckled slightly before embracing him back and Quinn felt herself unable to stop smiling at the sight.

'You have to come with me,' Carol spoke, untangling herself from Rick's grasp.

They didn't ask any questions and headed after her as she led them towards their destination with determinated steps. Quinn wondered what exactly it was she wanted to show them and as they walked further into the forest her curiousity only grew.

Finally a small shed appeared behind the trees and just as they got closer, someone stepped outside. A familiar, tall, brown man wearing a beanie and holding a little girl in his arms.

She saw Rick throwing down all his weapons and the bag he had been carrying, running forwards with tears streaming down his cheeks, quickly followed by Carl and Sasha.

Rick reached Tyreese first and the man handed Judith over to him. A sob left Rick's mouth as he held his daughter in his arms. He turned to Carl who reached out to take his little sister's hand in his own. While Sasha attacked Tyreese in a hug.

Her heart felt as if it was glowing at the sight of two families being reunited and she couldn't surpress a smile. A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned to see Milo standing next to her, wearing a bright smile on his features as well. She chuckled, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close as they watched Rick put his hand on Tyreese his shoulder, no words leaving his lips but his eyes saying it all.

'I don't know if the fire's still burning,' Rick said, staring at the smoke that rose above the treeline. He handed Judith over to Carl and given out the weapons from the bag to everyone. It felt like a relief to have her daggers back around her waist and she grinned at Milo as he threw the axe Rick had given him, into a tree to test it.

'It is,' Carol told Rick, staring at the smoke as well, making Quinn turn to look away from her brother.

Rick nodded. 'We need to go.'

'Yeah, but where?' Daryl asked.

'Somewhere far away from there,' Rick replied, pointing in the direction of Terminus.

And so they headed back towards the tracks, before turning to walk into the forest, leaving those damned things behind. She never thought train tracks would cause a trauma, but now they certainly had.

They walked under the burning sun, making their way out of the forest and unto the road. She was happy to feel some solid ground under her feet and have a clear sky above her. No matter how much time she spend in the forest the past few weeks, she would always prefer the open air.

Milo walked next to her and they talked, not about the horrible things they'd been through or whatever horrifying things they'd yet to face but just about the simple things. How the air seemed clearer now and the sun brighter, how the birds sang louder even though the world had become quieter. Things that she loved about this new world, things that had changed for the better because not everything had turned into a dark, endless nightmare the day the dead started walking. Which, strangely enough, included her own life. Of course she'd suffered, she'd seen things she wished she could forget but she had gained something she never had before.

A family.

In the middle of all the chaos, death and destruction, Quinn had found a purpose, a reason to live. And she was willing to fight for it, to fight until her very last breath.