Gabriel crumbled to the ground in a fit of tears. "I always lock the doors. I always lock the doors," he sobbed.
I scoffed and crossed my arms. He didn't do anything to Bob, Daryl, or Carol. But he certainly wasn't innocent. We all had our demons, but at least I never willingly let children be torn apart.
A muffled whistle sounded from outside the church. Glenn rushed to the front window.
"There's something-- there's someone outside lying in the grass," Glenn said, urgency in his voice.
Sasha immediately ran out the door. I followed closely behind her. When I got down the steps, my heart felt like it stopped. Bob was passed out on the ground, missing one of his legs.
"Oh, Bob!" Sasha cried as she fell to her knees next to him.
Maggie stared down at the man. "His leg."
Walkers growled and walked toward us from the darkness.
"Get Bob inside," Glenn told us. "We'll take care of them."
Sasha peered up at me with wide eyes. "Help me, please. Help me."
I slung one of Bob's arms over my shoulder and grabbed his fully intact leg. Sasha did the same but on the opposite, more damaged, side. Bob mumbled something as we carried him up the steps and into the church. His eyes darted around under his eyelids. Sasha and I lowered the man slowly to the ground.
"Get a pillow," I instructed Carl.
He nodded and immediately ran to find one. In just a second he was back. Sasha lifted Bob's head as I slid the pillow underneath it.
My hands shook as I studied his leg. Any alcohol I still had in my system completely evaporated at that moment. Bob's leg wasn't ripped or bitten off by a walker. It wasn't crushed or shot either. It was intentionally sliced, cauterized, and bandaged.
The men who were taken from the train car had explained to us what Terminus was doing with those they captured. They told us how they slit throats to drain the body of blood before they buttered it for its meat. They were cannibals. Seeing Bob's leg only made me think the worst.
Bob's eyes fluttered open. Sasha stroked his face comfortingly as he took in his new surroundings. He tried sitting up but she had to support him so he could. Everyone who wasn't already gathered around the man came over.
"Bob, what happened?" Sasha asked him.
"I was in the graveyard," he began with a shakey voice. Sasha gripped his hand. "Somebody knocked me out. I woke up outside this place. It looked like a school. It was that guy, Gareth, and five other ones."
It felt like boiling water filled my veins when I heard him say that name. I could swear steam was coming out of my ears. Everyone, everyone, didn't want to find the Terminus survivors. Even Rick after he was the one who came up with the idea in the first place. I told them they would come back. They always do and this just proves that.
"They were eating my leg right in front of me. Like it was nothing. All proud like they had it all figured out."
Rick kneeled down. "Did they have Daryl and Carol?"
Bob furrowed his eyebrows. "Gareth said they drove off," he said. He then groaned and grabbed his injury. Sweat was pouring off of him.
"He's in pain. Do we have anything?" Sasha asked.
"I think there are pill packets in the first aid kit," said Rosita.
Bob took deep breaths. "Save 'em."
"No," Sasha told him, confused.
"Really." Bob sat up more and pulled the collar of his shirt over to reveal he had been bitten. My breath hitched in my throat. "It happened at the food bank."
No one moved. We all just stared at the man. Not only was he suffering because of the bite, but he was also suffering because some psychos took him and ate his leg. If they were dead, Bob would have been able to pass more comfortably. He would have never had to experience the fear he did. Now we all experienced a sense of impending doom. We didn't know where the Terminus people were hiding or when they were coming.
I glared at the back of Rick's head.
Bob passed out again. Tyreese and Sasha took him into Gabriel's office to rest.
I looked out the window closest to me, attempting to see if anyone was watching us. But it was too dark and there were too many trees to hide behind. I instinctively reached for my revolver before I remembered it was gone.
"Time for a reality check," Abraham said, his words echoing off the walls. "We all need to leave for DC, right now." We all turned to him as he held his gun at the ready.
"Daryl and Carol are gonna be back," retorted Rick. His voice was low and gruff. "We're not going anywhere without them."
"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier. So if ya'll won't come, good luck to you. We'll go our separate ways." Abraham walked toward the doors of the church with Rosita.
Rick's face was filled with anger. "You leaving on foot?"
The two of them stopped. "We fixed that damn bus ourselves."
Rick stepped toward the bigger man. "There are a lot more of us," he snapped.
"You want to keep it that way? You should come," said Abraham.
"Carol saved your life. We saved your life."
"Well, I am trying to save yours," Abraham yelled. "Save everyone's!"
"We're not going anywhere without our people."
Both men were red in the face. I huffed and rolled my eyes. This conversation could have been had calmly and quietly. But those two were like fire and ice sometimes. They were similar in the way that they were both on one side of the extreme, but still opposites nonetheless.
"Your people took off."
"They're comin' back," Rick said through clenched teeth.
"To what, picked-over bones?!"
Rick reached his hand over to Abraham. He swatted it away aggressively. "Do not lay hands!"
Glenn got between the two. "Hey, hey. Stop! Now!" Rick and Abraham backed away from one another. Glenn then attempted to talk the redhead down.
Tara stepped in and said, "I have an idea. If you stay just one more day and help, I'll go with you to DC no matter what. Okay?"
Abraham nodded slightly as his cheeks returned to their normal shade. His eyes scanned the room and they seemed to pause on me. "Glenn, Maggie, and Jolene, too."
I didn't know how to feel about him wanting me to come. Flattered? Scared? Excited? Devastated?
Before I could even respond to the request, Rick said, "No."
"Good luck, then. I'm not interested in breaking up what you have here." Abraham commanded Rosita and Eugene to grab their things.
"You're not takin' the bus."
"Try to stop me."
The men were both challenging each other to make a move. It was inevitable that one would either pull a gun or a fist on the other.
As soon as Rick took the first step toward Abraham I rushed through a pew to the middle aisle. "Rick, stop!" I shouted, my anger evident. I got in front of him and put a hand on his chest. I could feel his heart racing as he stared into my eyes. "Just stop."
"You stay--you stay and Maggie and I will go with you," Glenn told Abraham.
My hand slid off of Rick and I turned away from him. "Me too."
The sheriff stepped next to me. "No."
"It's not your call," Glenn shot back.
Rick wordlessly pleaded with me as Glenn convinced Abraham to stay. I turned my head away so my heart would stop aching so badly.
Abraham said he would stay for 12 hours if we came. It was a done deal. I had half a day to say goodbye to my family. Who knows if I'd ever see them again? We could all die. There was no way for us to keep in touch. Even if I did come back, I might spend years searching for them.
Rick grabbed the side of my shoulder tenderly. "Are you sure? I can make sure you stay with me."
I nodded. "I'm sure. There's no reason for me to stay."
I shrugged Rick's hand off. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but quickly sealed his lips back together.
"I need to check on Bob," I told him before walking away.
As I was entering the office, I glanced back. Rick still stood in the same spot. His head hung low. 'Stay with me.' That phrase repeated in my mind. I didn't have time to dwell on his choice of words anymore. No matter how much I wanted to. I was still angry with him.
I turned back around to be there for my friend one last time.