I walked along the tracks for two days. I spent the third in an old, run-down train station to rest my ankle and gain some energy. It wasn't bothering me as much anymore but still needed to heal. Especially after being on it all day long. I stayed in the building for half of the fourth day before continuing my journey. Each night I'd find a house or any building to sleep in. If I couldn't find one, I'd search for a tree I could climb with large limbs where I could get some rest. Most nights I didn't sleep for more than a few hours. My mind was constantly on guard for walkers or people. Not to mention the cold that caused me to shiver all night long.
On day six on the tracks, there was a huge hoard of walkers blocking my path. I had to run deep into the woods while using too much of my ammo. It took me hours to find my way back after escaping.
Today was day number twelve since the prison had fallen. Twelve days of being alone and on the run. Twelve days of thinking about nothing but surviving. It had been quiet. I only saw three walkers and they did not put me in any immediate danger so I let them be. Ahead of me was a Terminus sign. I had passed many of them on my walks, but there was something different about this one. There was something written on the map. As I neared it, my heart began racing in my chest. It wasn't from fear or worry, but from pure excitement and happiness.
It read: GLENN GO TO TERMINUS MAGGIE BOB SASHA
"I-I found them," I stuttered as a lump formed in my throat and a few tears rolled down my cheeks. "I found them."
I touched the writing. The blood they had used remained on my fingers. They were close.
My pace quickened now into a jog. I slowed down after an hour because my body couldn't keep up with my enthusiasm. But I kept walking. I didn't even stop to eat or drink. I just grabbed what I needed out of my bag and did it on the go.
It had been three hours since I saw the message and I was beginning to lose hope. I had seen no other sign of them. By now, I thought I would have caught up to the group. My feet slowed to a stop. I rubbed my face in frustration.
"Jo?"
I quickly spun around to see Maggie, Sasha, and Bob emerging from the forest. They held full water jugs in their hands. Each of them had a huge smile on their face. I threw off my bag and ran to Maggie. I enveloped her in a hug. Her arms wrapped around me tightly. I couldn't control my emotions any longer as sobs escaped my mouth. Maggie held onto me as my legs gave out beneath me.
"You're okay," she cooed. "You're with us now."
I took a deep breath and regained my composure. Bob held out his hand to help me up. I embraced him and Sasha.
"I can't believe you're all here," I said. "I saw the sign."
"I couldn't believe it either when we saw you," Sasha told me. "I thought I was hallucinating for a second."
"If you saw our message, then that means the others could have too," Maggie added. "Glenn could have seen one. Did you see him get out?"
I shook my head. "I didn't see anyone."
Bob shot me a knowing look before saying, "You were alone? All this time?"
"Yeah." I gazed at the ground remembering every lonely night.
The man placed his hand on my shoulder. "Well, you're not alone now. We're alive. I'm sure the others are too if we made it this far. That curse didn't get us this time."
I nodded and hugged Bob again. Maggie smiled at me.
"We should get going," said Sasha. "We could be at Terminus in another day or two."
"Are you good to walk some more?" Maggie asked me.
"If everyone else is there, I'll walk all day and night," I responded.
The four of us carried on with the expedition. It was nice to actually have people to talk to besides myself. More time isolated from others and I am sure I would have lost my mind. Being with them reminded me of what it was like to smile again. Bob knew how to make you laugh even in the worst of conditions.
Maggie and I walked next to each other behind our two group members. I noticed a glimmer in Bob and Sasha's eyes when they looked at each other. There was some unspoken tension between them. A smirk formed on my face. I knew Bob had a crush on Sasha, but it seemed he had finally done something about it.
I glanced over at Maggie. Even when she was covered in blood and dirt she remained a sight to behold.
"What happened to you, when everything went down?" I asked her.
Maggie met my eyes. "I shot at those people from the fences with everyone else. But then Beth ran out of ammo they were gettin' closer. So I took her to the bus," she told me, dancing around the obvious trauma, "Then I got Glenn out of A block when the tank shot at the building. I took him to the bus too but Beth was gone. When I went to find her I ran into Bob and Sasha and we had no choice but to leave."
"Did you find the bus?"
"Yeah. Everyone was dead. Glenn wasn't on it."
"Oh my God," I breathed. The people I had gotten to know and work with were all slaughtered because of a plan we were sure was safe. I clenched my fists at the thought of the kids who had gotten on that bus because they believed it was the right thing to do.
Suddenly, every thought and feeling I had been suppressing caught up to me. I had been so focused on getting to Terminus alive that I didn't have the time or the energy to really think. Was Carl alive? Knowing that kid he'd stay in the action for as long as possible. He wouldn't have gotten on the bus or stayed on it if he was told to. Rick flashed in my mind. He was so close to the Governor. To his group when they attacked us. The last image I had of the man was him shooting through the fence after Hershel was killed. I felt guilty because my head remained on him.
"Did you see Rick?" I forced out. "Was he killed?"
Maggie's eyes saddened. "He was shot. The last time I saw him he was hidin' behind the bus. I'm sorry everythin' was a blur. I don't know if he got out."
I only nodded and watched my feet as we trudged forward.
The woman touched my back. "You know Rick. You know he's a survivor. He got Carl and Judith out and he's on his way to Terminus too."
"Yeah," I whispered.
I did know Rick was tough but I didn't know how anyone could survive that. I had a bad habit of thinking the worst. And the worst was that when the Governor and his people came through those fences they gunned him down. His body was gone. Torn apart by the walkers. I'd never see those blue eyes again.
Although my mind was clouded with this evil thought, a shining light remained like hope in Pandora's box.
The four of us came upon a long dark tunnel. We stopped at its entrance.
"What do we do now? Go around?" Bob asked.
"No," Maggie stated. "That would take too long. We have to go through."
Sasha tilted her head and scrunched her mouth. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Maggie. We don't know what's in there."
I took a step forward. "If anyone made it to Terminus yet, I want to get there as soon as possible. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of surviving out here. Even being with you all, I don't know much longer and I can just hope and believe they're alive. I need to see with my own eyes. If they aren't there, at least we'll have food and a safe place to sleep while we wait. Then, maybe I'd get some closure if they never come."
"Jo's right," said Maggie. "We have to know. I have to know."
Maggie looked at Bob and Sasha with pleading eyes.
Sasha shook her head. "Fine. You're both right. If Tyreese is there, I'd rather get there sooner than later."
Before we entered, we lured a walker over, killed it, and used its blood to write the message to Glenn on the concrete wall. Now my name was added to the end.
Maggie and I led the group with our flashlights. All of us had our guns and knives at the ready. As we got deeper into the tunnel, I heard feet shuffling. A clinking of metal echoed throughout the passage.
"Stay close," I said softly.
Just as I spoke, a few walkers appeared in our beams of light. Sasha and Bob took them down as Maggie and I kept them illuminated. We pushed on and continued this strategy. Bits of concrete fell onto us from the cracked ceiling. Chunks of the material had already landed on the tracks.
Bob stabbed a lone walker. We all took a few steps forward before at least ten entered our vision.
"Shit!" Sasha shouted.
The four of us huddled together and shot at the walkers. The more we took down, the more seemed to appear. My ears rang from our gunfire echoing in the enclosed space.
A path opened up through the hoard. "Follow me!" I commanded.
I rushed through the gap, shooting at walkers that reached for me. Although we got on the other side of the bigger group, more came from behind us.
"I'm running out of ammo here!" said Bob as he shot down a walker.
"Me too!" Sasha added.
I stabbed two walkers trying to conserve my own ammo. Things were beginning to look bleak for us. There were too many.
"Get back!" Maggie yelled while she aimed her gun up at the ceiling.
The rest of us did as she said without question. Maggie then unloaded her clip into the concrete. A massive amount of rubble descended upon the walkers, crushing them. All of us coughed from the dust cloud. Despite our lack of vision, we ran through the tunnel. I shot at any movement I saw. Luckily we were getting close to the other side so the sunlight made up for our dim flashlights.
When we got outside, more walkers came toward us. They were drawn by the gunfire and falling rocks.
"We gotta keep going," I said.
All of us ran for a bit longer until we got clear of the walkers. Then, we kept walking.
"That was quick thinking there, Maggie," Bob stated.
"I just thought about what Glenn would do." The corner of her mouth went up to form a lopsided smile.
Sasha's eyebrows furrowed. "Give yourself a little more credit," she told her. "That was smart. You saved us."
Bob grabbed us all into a hug. "I got some pretty clever women with me. I consider myself a very lucky guy."
The man squished us all together. We laughed and wrapped our arms around one another. Over Bob's shoulder, in the distance, I saw a dirty black van on the tracks. It wasn't there before.
"Heads up," I said while pulling away.
Maggie, Sasha, and Bob gazed over in the direction I was looking.
"Should we go over there?" Sasha asked. "Do you think it's any of our people?"
Maggie shook her head. "I don't know. But we gotta find out. How much ammo do ya'll got?"
My revolver was empty. I checked the box in my bag and had enough ammo to fully load it one last time. Bob had two bullets and Sasha had one. Maggie had none. It wasn't ideal, but it was all we had.
I sighed, "We'll have to make do. If it's not anyone we know, just act like we have more firepower." I slung my bag on my back. "And if anything goes wrong, we make a run for it. We meet back near the tunnel."
Everyone nodded in agreement and headed for the vehicle. As we neared, I heard at least three people yelling. None of the voices sounded familiar. I held up my gun and placed my thumb on the safety. The man in the passenger seat spotted us but what I spotted on him made my stomach drop.
"Get out of the car!" I instructed him. "Get out!"
The man with the mullet slowly opened the door and held up his shaking hands. Shortly behind him followed a big man with red hair and a younger woman. The taller guy carried himself with authority. It was clear he was a police officer or in the military or in some other position of power before this all happened.
"Where'd you get that riot gear?" I turned off the safety.
The big man moved himself in front of the other one. "Now, let's all stay calm. No need to do anything we regret."
"She asked him a question," Maggie sneered. "Where did he get that?"
The man shoved the redhead out of the way. He was scared and his lip trembled.
"Eugene!"
"We're friends of Glenn. He gave this to me," Eugene blurted out. "You're Maggie, correct?"
Maggie lowered her gun with a shocked expression on her face.
"Well, I'll be damned," the big man breathed.
"Where is he? Is he alive?" Maggie asked as she approached the group. Her eyes begged for answers.
The woman nodded. "When we left him he was. He went through the tunnel after you. Eugine stopped us to wait for him."
Sasha and I shared a concerned look before she said, "Oh, no."
"What?" the woman questioned.
"That place is filled with walkers," I informed them. "We barely got out."
"If he's your friend, you're gonna help us get him," Maggie concluded. "Do you have guns? Ammo? We need it."
Eugene nodded and reached into the van. He pulled out two automatic rifles. The redhead put his arm out, stopping Eugene from moving any further. "We're doing this. This is not a negotiation."
The redhead grunted angrily before letting him pass. Bob and Sasha took the guns. The woman opened the trunk. Inside was ammo for Maggie's weapon. I took another rifle. The group of three grabbed their own gear. Then, we packed inside of the van.
As we sped toward the tunnel, everyone introduced themselves. That's where the conversation started and ended. We all were too focused on the task at hand. When we entered the darkness Abraham flicked on the headlights. Gunfire echoed around us.
"That's them, hurry!" Maggie said.
Abraham sped up. Quickly, walkers appeared in front of the vehicle. He then slammed on the brakes. We all got out of the car as fast as we could. Without a word, we lined up and aimed our weapons. Near the rubble, I spotted Glenn and a black hair woman.
"Get down!" Abraham commanded.
Glenn dived on the woman and the rest of us began shooting. We didn't stop until every walker was on the ground.
Maggie ran forward into Glenn's arms. My heart ached at the reunion. I was over the moon for them. I just wished I had someone in this world that loved me that much.
___
Glenn and I had our reunion. We both shed a few tears and hugged each other. The last time I saw him he almost died. It felt amazing to see him again, up and well.
I then helped Abraham make a fire for the night.
As we squatted to form the branches and kindling, Abraham squinted at my face. "No offense, but you look like you've been mauled by a cougar." His eyes ran along my bare arms and back up to my face. Most of my scars had faded by now. But the one on my face and a few on my forearms were more prominent. The deep, gnarly ones remained covered by my clothing.
I scoffed. "You really know how to flatter a woman, huh?"
"My specialty."
I shook my head. "Attacked. Tortured. Don't have to worry about the assholes who did it anymore though."
I flipped open my lighter and set fire to the grass and small sticks.
"Why?"
I blew on the flames to get them to grow. "I killed them all."
Abraham chuckled. "I'd say those scars are some medals of honor then."
Bob, Sasha, and Eugene joined us around the campfire. My group members groaned as they sat down. We'd been on our feet all day and this was our first time really resting.
"I didn't know you could do this," Bob said, gesturing to the flames.
I shrugged. "I'm a woman of many talents."
"Like I said, clever." The man grinned at me.
After a few minutes of silence, Abraham dropped a bombshell on us. He claimed that Eugene knew what caused the outbreak. He said they were taking him to Washington so he could use that knowledge. I didn't know what to say or believe. If it was true that the man who stared silenty into the fire could end this, my whole life would change. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. My whole identity shifted after the apocolypse started. But, like with all things now, I pushed it down. I wouldn't allow myself to fully buy into these asserstions. The distance between here and Washington was long. There was no guarantee he would even make it there alive. Or if anything was left to make the cure.
Abraham tried recruiting us all to go. In the end, we agreed to go to Terminus first. I told him I had to see who was there , then I would make my decision. That was enough to get him off my back.
That night I slept the best I had in days.
Tomorrow we headed to the end of the line.