[gif credits: the walking dead amino]
it's been a while
It was a couple hours after the group had escaped from Terminus, the fire was still burning. Taking a break from walking, the group takes some time to catch up with one another or introduce themselves to others.
(Name) looked at the woman with short brown hair, she hadn't said anything since (Name) had met her, so she walked up to her. The woman stood there, she looked a bit lost.
Hi.
"Hello." She said, her tone unsure. "Can I help you?"
I just saw you standing by yourself and wanted to meet you.
"Oh, sure." She said with a small smile, "What's the name, kid?"
(Name), I'm ten.
"You're that kid Glenn told me about." She said, a light bulb going off in her head, "The one and only, huh?"
Is that why you didn't ask why I didn't talk? The woman nodded. What did he say about me?
She chuckled before speaking, "He said for someone your age, you're pretty reliable." (Name) gave themself a fist bump, the woman chuckled some more.
Sorry, I kinda forgot to ask, but what's your name?
"Tara." She said.
I like that name.
"I like yours, too." She gave (Name) a bigger smile than the small smile she had moments before. Rick had suddenly walked up to the two, (Name) took it as their que to leave, "See you, kiddo."
(Name) waved and made their way to Carl and Judith. Carl and (Name) take turns feeding Judith. The two caught up with each other, telling the other one about the conflicts on the road, but also telling them good memories.
It was nighttime when the two started to realize how much time had passed. "Hey, you two." A voice had called out, it was Rick, he had come to tell the two that is was time to get some shut eye.
"Okay." Carl said.
•••
"(Name), hey.. kiddo." A gruffy voice calls out, (Name)'s eyes fluttered open. "Time to go."
(Name) nodded, getting up and started packing their things, but realized that they were missing. Daryl had assured that he had packed their stuff, handing them their bag. (Name) signed a 'thank you,' Daryl nodded and led them to where the rest of the group was.
It was time to hit the the road. The group traveled for a few more hours before resting again, that night Daryl had thought he heard something, so he went to go find that somethingthe next morning, but he didn't find anything. The group went back on the road. Another day of walking.
This day was different. The group had been walking for a while now, until they hear screams in the distance, Rick didn't really want to go, but with his son's calls to him, he does so. The group rushes over to where the screams were coming from.
The screams belong to a man, an African-American man, bald, some facial hair, wearing something what a Father would wear. He was surroundedby walkers, but he had managed to get on an upper level. (i'm sorry, i have no other idea on how to describe this bc i literally haven't been to church in 3+ years😭) The group all took turns killing the walkers that surrounded him. Rick helped him down, asking if he was okay, but began to throw up.
The man introduced himself as Gabriel. He led the group to his church, trying to joke around with the group, he said that there might not be a church at all when Rick and Company wanted to go see the church. (Name) looked at the man, trying to read him.
To (Name), Father Gabriel seemed like a nice person, but he looked like he was trying to hid something.
The Father led the group to his church, he already had the keys out, ready to open the door, but Rick didn't trust the man, making Father Gabriel give the keys to him.
"Hold up." Rick says, the Father pauses, Rick walks up the stairs, "Can we take a look around first? We just want to hold on to our squirrels."
Gabriel gave Rick the keys, and opened the door. Some group members stay outside, while the others go inside and look around the place. A whole bunch of religious stuff in each room was found, a journal with various verses from the bible, children's artworks, religious decor, and more. In where the service was held, Rick found a bunch of eaten cans of food.
"I spent months here without stepping out the front door." Gabriel says, holding his hands together. "If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising."
"Thanks for this." Carl says, hold Judith in his arms.
"We found a short bus out back. It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he doesn't want it." Abraham explains, looking at Rick, who begins to run his hand on top of Judith's head. "Looks like we found ourselves some transport. You understand what's at stake here, right?"
"Yes, I do." Rick replies to the ginger man.
"Now that we can take a breath—" Michonne begins to speak, but Abraham interrupts her.
"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down."
"We need supplies no matter what we do next." Michonne returns his tone.
"That's right. Water, food, ammunition." Rick said, walking off, going into the church, various group members follow him.
"Short bus ain't going nowhere." Daryl says, looking down at the ginger haired man. "Bring you back some baked beans."
"One way or another, we're doing what Rick does." Glenn said, looking at Abraham. "We're not splitting up again."
"What he said." Tara says.
"We want to roll with you, but... what she said." Bob and Sasha also walk by Abraham.
What everyone else said.
(Name) showed him the piece of paper, the man stays silent as the child walks into the church with the rest of the group.
•••
"How'd you survive here for so long?" Rick asks the Father, holding Judith. "Where did your supplies come from?"
"Luck. Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it." Gabriel explains. "It was just me."
"Come here, Judith." Carl takes Judith out of Rick's arms.
"The food lasted a long time and then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place nearby, except for one."
"What kept you from it?" Rick asks.
"It's overrun."
"How many?"
"A dozen or so. Maybe more."
"We can handle a dozen."
"Bob and I will go with you." Sasha said, her and Bob come walking up. "Tyreese should stay here, help keep Judith safe."
"That'll be okay?" Rick asks Tyreese.
"Sure, you ever need me to watch her, need anything for her, I'm right here." Tyreese said, assuring Rick.
"I'm grateful for it and everything else." Rick said, walking up to the man, Tyreese nods as a thank you.
"I'll draw you a map." Gabriel said, about to go draw, but Rick rejected the offer.
"You don't need to. You're coming with us." Rick replies, Gabriel giving an awkward smile.
"I'm not gonna be of any help. You saw me. I'm no good around those things."
"You're coming with us." Rick's tone got a little bit deeper.
That's when I know Rick is serious.
•••
"Listen, I don't trust this guy." Rick said, sitting down Carl for a talk.
"Why?" Carl asks.
"Why do you trust him?"
"Everybody can't be bad." Carl replies.
"Well... I don't trust this guy and that's why I'm bringing him with me. But, he could have friends." Rick tells his son about his distrust. "So I need you to stay alert and help Tyreese protect Judith, okay? Now... I need you to hear what I'm about to say."
"Okay."
"You are not safe. No matter how many people are around or how clear the area looks, no matter what anyone says, no matter what you think, you are not safe. It only takes one second. One second, and it's over. Never let your guard down, ever. I want you to promise me."
"I promise." Carl assured his father.
"Okay." Rick said, as he's about to get up.
"Dad." Carl said, following his father, which made Rick stop in his steps, turning around to face his son. "You're right. I am strong. We both are. But we're strong enough that we can still help people. And we can handle ourselves if things go wrong. And we're strong enough that we don't have to be afraid and we don't have to hide."
"Well, he's hiding something." Rick said.
"I'll stay safe, Dad." Carl assures his father another time.
"Yeah."
•••
"You wanna hold her?" Tyreese asks (Name), who nods with a smile. "Alright, careful."
(Name) looked at the baby with gentle eyes, they begin to wonder what she will be like when she begins to grow up. A leader like her dad? A selfless person like her brother? All that Judith needed to know that she was never going to be alone.
I will always be by your side and I will protect you, no matter what.
(Name) put their forehead against Judith's. Tyreese adored the sight he was seeing. Carl comes walking in a little while after. He looked at (Name), who was currently adoring his baby sister. He sat down next to (Name), asking to hold Judith, who gave the precious cargo to him.
"Did you ever have any siblings, (Name)?" Carl asks, curiously.
No, it was just me and my parents. I'm sorry if I'm being too clingy to her.
"No, you're good." Carl assured, giving them a smile. "I'm just glad there's people out love her as much as I do."
Tyreese looked at Carl and (Name) talking while playing with Judith, the smile on his face never went away. When Carl wanted to go outside, he asked Tyreese to watch Judith, which he accepted.
"Thanks, Tyreese." Carl thanked the man, which he nodded and smiled.
Thank you, Ty.
The nickname caught the man off-guard, but he returned with a nod and smile as well. The two walked off, just decided to walk around the church's property.
The two just talked, or wrote down their words, drew in the dirt, and other things to pass time. That was until something caught Carl's eye.
Some sort of scratches were on the church's exterior, but then another thing was found by (Name). Words carved into the walls.
"You'll burn for this..?" Carl read the words out loud. After a few moments of silent, Carl said something. "We'll wait for Dad to get back, okay?"
(Name) agreed.
•••
A while later, Rick, Michonne, Bob, Sasha, and Father Gabriel return to the church. Rick had come fo the back of the church, finding Carl and (Name).
"Hey. Tyreese said you two were out back. Come on in." Rick said, walking up the (Name) and Carl. "We found food. A lot of it."
"Good." Carl said, simply.
"What is it?" His father asks in concern.
"Those scratches. They're deep. Like knives or something. Someone was trying to get in." Carl said, he led his father to where the carved words were, (Name) following. "(Name) found this, too. I don't know what happened, but whatever it is, we can handle it. Doesn't mean Gabriel's a bad guy for sure, but it means something."
Rick looked at the words, putting his hand against the 'this' part of the words. Rick led the two back into the church, the sun had set and it was time for a small feast, celebrating the jackpot of food the five group members had found earlier.
"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham's words made the group's chattering stop. "I look around this room.. and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors." Abraham raised his glass.
"Survivors! Cheers!" The others did the same, all expect those who didn't have a glass of wine.
Can I have some?
"In twelve years, you can." Maggie said, pointing her finger at the child, who only gave her puppy dog eyes. She looked at Glenn. "Help me out here."
"Oh, c'mon Maggie. If you haven't noticed, the law doesn't really matter anymore." Glenn said, letting (Name) take a sip of his wine. "I'm not gonna let them have my whole glass."
"Sweetie, that's enough." Maggie said, smiling through her obvious annoyance at Glenn. (Name) gave Glenn back his glass and thanked him. "Alright, hon. That's enough for you."
"Is that all you want to be?" Wale up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat?" Abraham asks, "Can you do that? I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and be will make the dead die and the living will have this world again, and tbat is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip. Eugene, what's in DC?"
"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude." Eugene explains. "That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."
"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started." Abraham tries to convince the rest of the group. "Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there... who don't got nothing left to do except survive."
Rick lets a chuckle, Judith coos. "What was that?" Some of the group members laugh. "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."
"Yeah. Let's do it." Tyreese agrees.
Sasha begins to get up, before she does, she kisses Bob."Okay. I'm not letting my brother be the only one that gets to hold that baby." She lets out a laugh.
"Wait. One more." Bob and Sasha kiss again. Sasha touches his cheek before she gets up. Bob grabs her hand, as she walks away, it slides out of his grip.
"You okay?" Maggie asks Tara.
"Yeah, yeah. I was at the prison. With the Governor. I didn't know who he was or what he could do. And I didn't know who all of you were." Tara says, staying silent for a few moments. "I— I just didn't want it to be hidden. That I was there."
"You're here with us now." Maggie assured the woman, embracing her.
Away from everyone, Father Gabriel sat. Rick comes up to him, sitting next to him. "Thanks for the hospitality. I'm surprised you let us drink your communion wine." Rick said, he takes a sip of his glass of wine.
"There isn't anyone left to take communion. The wine's just wine until it's blessed." Father Gabriel's words were slightly slurred, he takes a sip from the wine bottle.
"You're hiding something. And it's pretty obvious it's something you can't hide from. That's your business. But these people, these people are my family. And if what you're hiding somehow hurts them in any way, I'll kill you."
•••
(Name) sighed, they looked back before letting out a breather. The ten year-old wanted some zen, so they walked out on the church steps. Bob was out there too.
(Name) snuck past him, before finding the roads. Walking about a few minutes away from it, (Name) decided to just sit and look up. Wondering what their parents were doing or if they were even alive. A car's lights had suddenly came up behind them. Then, they were grabbed and shoved into the back.
As they were getting dragging, familiar voices were calling out to them. It was Carol and Daryl, not long after, the trunk door was shut and the car zoomed off.
When I woke up after being taken, I woke up in a strange place. I don't know how long I was out, but I knew it had been a while. Nothing was broken or hurt, so I didn't even know why I was hooked up to all those machines.
I hadn't been in one in my life, aside from me being born, obviously, but I was in a hospital. I immediately regretted sneaking out, why did a ten year-old need fresh air? I don't know still don't know to this day.
The door opened, there stood a woman with brown hair, which was in a bun. Next to her was a man in a lab coat, he also had brown hair, but slightly lighter. They assured me that everything was okay, but I knew that was a lie. Why would they pick up a ten year-old?
I knew their acts, they assure you that you'll be safe and that nothing would happen to you, that's what the man did. I've been through this once.
But, the woman had a stern look on her face. She acted like I was a burden or something. I wasn't just going to let her act like she was above me.
"Hello, my name is Dr. Steven Edwards, and you are?" A man with brown hair asked (Name), kneeling down to their height. "It's okay, we just need to know your name, that's all."
"When an adult is speaking to you, you answer." The woman said, her voice was stern. "What is your name?"
This is why I hate talking in new people, sometimes.
(Name) tries to sign out that they couldn't speak. They began to mouth random words, then made an 'x' with their arms, shaking their head as well.
"You can't speak?" Asks Dr. Edwards. (Name) nodded. "Interesting."
"Go ask if anyone knows sign language, Dr. Edwards." The woman says, still in her stern tone. The man nods and leaves, she then turns to (Name). "My name is Dawn, my people found you on the side of the road, wondering by yourself. Thought you needed some help."
(Name) shook their head.
"When you're your age, being alone isn't the best, so we thought you need to be somewhere." Dawn said, she gave (Name) an assuring look.
The door of the room swung open, (Name) looked at who it was. There stood the blonde hair, blue eyed beauty named Beth Greene. Both of their eyes widened, (Name) walked over to her, wrapping their arms around Beth, who picked them up and smiled.
"I haven't seen ya in a while, (Name)." Beth said, her eyes widened in realization. "I-Is Maggie alive? Daryl?"
(Name) nodded, Beth let out a huge sigh of relief. Dawn's tapping foot made it their que to stop talking.
"We can reunite later, now do your jobs, (Name), since Beth said it out loud, you'll do simple jobs." Dawn said. "That means delivering food, supplies, and other things to my officers, Dr. Edwards, or anyone else who needs one."
Dawn led (Name) out, they noticed that they were wearing scrubs, who changed them?
"Just do that, then, you'll be free to go." Dawn said, she signaled for them to follow. "C'mon."
~~~~~
sorry if you didn't want me to make (name) be taken to grady, i wanted them to have some time with beth.
hope you liked this chappy! <3