Before we entered Terminus, we scoped the area. It was my idea to do so. After the Governor and Helen's group, I didn't want to take any chances. There were multiple brick buildings and red train cars scattered around the area. I saw no one. That meant everyone was inside or the place had been abandoned.
My group converged at the designated spot. "Anything?" I asked.
"Nothing," Glenn responded.
I nodded. "What's the plan now?"
"I say we head inside," Abraham said. "Even if there's no one in there, we can hold up and wait for your people for a few hours. Gather supplies. Find a vehicle."
"Our people," corrected Maggie.
Abraham didn't reply. He only gave her a hesitant, stiff nod.
Glenn circled his finger around. "All of us stay together. No matter what. We don't know who or what's in there."
"And meet back here if anything goes wrong," I added with Glenn's approval.
Maggie, Glenn, and I lead the group in. I gripped my revolver as we went through the gate.we passed plant beds full of growing crops. Crops that were obviously tended to. We came up to another gate with blossoming sunflowers near by. On it was a sign that read: LOWER YOUR WEAPONS YOU WILL BE MET YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT TERMINUS.
Although I did lower my gun slightly, I kept my finger hovering on the trigger. We continued walking, passing more plant beds, a washing station, and tables. There was no sign of anybody. Not even walkers. I smelt something cooking.
Ahead of us stood an older woman at a grill. As we approached her she turned around with a smile. There was no fear behind her eyes. I was all too familiar with that look. No, she was comfortable. Too comfortable for someone alone with a group of strangers with guns. I clenched my teeth together.
"Hi. In Mary," she said. She looked us over and sighed. "Looks like you've been on the road for a while."
"We have," Maggie told her.
"Let's get you settled and we'll make you a plate. Welcome to Terminus."
Mary fished out a whistle tied around a string that hung under her shirt. She blew it and seconds later multiple men and woman emerged from the buildings. They all had smiles and nonthreatening expressions on their faces. Ahead of the group was a young man with short brown hair. My eyes darted around, keeping track of every person. Most of them had a gun on them. If one wasn't visible, I'm sure it was hidden.
The man approached us with a lopsided smile. "I'm sure Mary already greeted you all but I'll still welcome you to our sanctuary. I'm Gareth."
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.
We continued to sprint for our lives. I passed a fenced area and quickly glanced in. On a blue tarp laid a pile of bones stripped of any flesh or guts. But that wasn't the most concerning detail. Inside of the train cars I heard people banging and yelling out for help.
"What is that?" Tara asked.
"I don't know, come on," Glenn hastily replied.
We entered a large opening into another building. It had an A on the outside.
I was the first to walk into the room. Candles were lit in a circle pattern around dozens of names written on the floor. Personal items were placed by each name. This was a memorial for the dead.
On the wall it said: NEVER AGAIN NEVER TRUST WE FIRST, ALWAYS.
"This is completely batshit crazy," said Abraham.
"Who the hell are these people?" Sasha added.
Maggie spun around, looking at everything in the room. "They're luring people here with the signs."
"To do what?" Rosita questioned.
Next to a door, below the writing, was another A. I stomped over and pointed to it. "They're leading us somewhere. Everywhere we've gone has had this written on it."
Glenn nodded. "Jo's right. They could have easily killed us by now. They're shooting at our feet."
Abraham groaned and kicked over a candle stand. Rosita tried to calm him down.
Eugene swallowed loudly before saying, "We're being led to the slaughter."
"Try the other doors," I told everyone. "If we go through here we're doing exactly what they want."
Tara tried pulling on one but it was already locked. Maggie tried the one we came through. It wouldn't budge. Someone had already gotten to it.
"Look for anywhere we can break out from," continued Glenn.
It was hopeless. The windows were too high for us to get through and there were no other exits. We had to go in door A.
We ran out into the sunlight once more. The shooting pushed us forward and caused us to face a line of people with guns sticking through the fence. To our left was the last A we'd see written on a train car.
The nine of us stopped. There was no where else for us to go.
"Drop your weapons! Now!" Gareth commanded from atop a building.
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. I set down my revolver and knife.
"Drop your bags!" he added. "Now, drop anything and everything you have in your pockets."
I bit my lip and said a mental goodbye to the last image I had of my family which was tucked away in my backpack. Their faces flashed in my mind. My parents' had started to become fuzzy. How long would my sisters and Will's stay fresh?
Glenn clenched his fist around the pocket watch Hershel had given him before placing it gently on the concrete.
"Mullet, take off the gear!"
Without a second thought, Eugene stripped it off. His eyes were as wide open as they could go.
"Poncho and cowboy hat, on the ground too."
Maggie and I did as he said.
"Mustache, buzz cut, and poncho, line up at the train car in that order," said Gareth.
Each of them hesitated, looking at the their respective people they had sworn to protect.
"You go now or we kill your friends in front of you," the man threatened.
Maggie touched Glenn's hand before she walked with Bob and Abraham over to the door. The rest of us stood as still as possible. My nails dug into my palms.
"Pigtails, girl with the limp, and mullet. Behind them."
I took deep breaths as Glenn, Sasha, and I were the last to remain. Our eyes met. They were all filled with fear.
"The last man standing, then ponytail, then cowgirl." As we walked to the train car, Gareth said, "Mustache, open the door and go in."
The people of Terminus kept their guns aimed at us as we went up the steps and into our enclosure. They only lowered them when the door was being shut behind us.
"I told you we should have gone straight to Washington," said Abraham. He dug his finger into Eugene's chest.
Glenn separated the two by putting himself between them. "Blaming people is not going to get us out of here. Besides, it was all of our decision to come here."
"Yeah? Well look where that got us. Trapped in a fucking tin can." The man leaned up against the wall.
I crossed my arms and began pacing. "They must have seen us coming and prepared for this whole thing," I said. "They've obviously done it before too."
"My question still stands," stated Rosita. "What do they want with us? Why keep us alive? They had others trapped too."
"Nothing good if they're willing to waist ammo to get us in here. We should have never have thought they'd be good people when they willingly let us walk into their home." I paused for a moment and couldn't help but think of an Edgar Allan Poe quote, "Believe nothing you hear, and only one half what you see."
___
We spent hours looking through the little cracks in the train car door. People passed by continuously but they never stopped. There was no sign on what they were planning on doing to us.
Then, I heard more gunfire. I put a finger to my lips to quiet those who were conversing. Everyone now listened.
"It's getting closer," Glenn whispered.
"More people like us?" Tara guessed.
The gunfire stopped suddenly. I tried looking through the crack again but I only saw a strange man pointing a gun to the right. There were voices but they were hard to make out and muffled.
"Get back," said Glenn.
The group fell back into the darkness, away from the door. Then, I heard the unmistakable cadence of a man I had little hope I'd ever see again.
The red train car filled with a blinding light. Before my eyes got time to adjust, it closed once more. I blinked repeatedly and got my vision back. Glenn was the first to cautiously step forward.
"Rick?" he stated.
I walked beside him. The sunshine from the exit illuminated my face. When I saw his eyes my heart jumped in my throat. It was then I realized the 'you' I had written so many times on that notebook paper was Rick. I did want to find everyone else, but deep inside of me he was the one I needed the most. In the end, he was the one that found me.
Rick's gaze remained on me as he said, "You're here." He broke away to look at everyone else. "You're here." He stiffened when he noticed Abraham, Rosita, Tara, and Eugene.
Daryl, Carl, and Michonne emerged behind Rick. I couldn't help but smile.
"They're our friends," Maggie told him. "They helped save us."
"Yeah," grunted Daryl. "Now they're our friends."
"For however long that'll be," Abraham said as he began turning away.
Rick shook his head with a hard expression on his face. "No."
Abraham paused and turned back around.
"They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out." Rick peered through the door. A fire was growing inside of the man. I missed that.
"Find out what?" Abraham asked.
"They're screwing with the wrong people."