Chapter Twenty-Nine // {jordan's pov}
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"You didn't wanna be there. That's why I tried to talk to you," Rick explained to Tara while I stood beside him, holding Judith who was currently drifting in and out of sleep. Carl was off talking to Michonne about comic books that they used to love.
Tara nodded to signal Rick to continue, "Glenn told me that you saved his life."
"He saved mine," she sighed, glancing towards the floor for a split second.
"That's how it works with us, right?" Rick said with a chuckle.
"Right." Tara confirmed, before holding her fist out. I grinned at her and Rick fist bumped her before they parted.
Rick turned towards Judy and I.
"Where now?" I questioned, looking into his eyes. He grabbed Judith's hand, holding it carefully. Judith stared up at her Dad looking quite content.
"I don't know. We need to find shelter. Food. Water. I don't think we'll find anything like the prison though," Rick said, removing his hand from Judith's to scratch his beard. It was definitely not a stubble anymore. I quite liked it.
"We should get some concrete under our feet -- a road," I suggested, "head up North until we find a car."
I looked around our a group, noting the amount of us, "maybe more than one car."
Rick smiled and nodded in agreement to my idea.
"Sounds good to me," he replied, pecking my forehead. Rick led me and Judith back over to the rest of the group, who were sitting down under a tree for shade.
"I need to talk to Beth about everything that had happened," I stated, looking up at Rick. He nodded and took Judith out of my arms. A small smile forming on my features as I looked at Rick holding his gorgeous daughter. The sight was one of the few beautiful things left in this world.
I made my way over to Beth who was sat down next to Maggie. Maggie hadn't let her out of her sight. Now that I am thinking of it, neither has Daryl. I mentally noted to talk to Daryl about that later.
I crouched down next to the smiling Beth.
"How?" is all I said with a grin on my face. She giggled.
"I'm guessing you know how I was with Daryl originally?" she questioned. I replied with a small yes.
"We found a graveyard and there was a pretty large house overlooking it. It was weird -- it looked like it was untouched and it was well maintained," she explained, "after a while there was a bark at the door from a dog that we saw earlier. Daryl opened it, expecting the dog.. but it was a horde of walkers. He told me to run and to leave through the window. I did, trusting that he'll be fine. He was fine. But, I wasn't. It was a set-up. These cops of sorts, wannabe post-apocalyptic policemen and women. They fixed me up at the Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta," I gasped causing her to glance up at me to see my expression. Visions of my office desk in Atlanta, Grady was only down the road. We're miles away from that now.
"I eventually escaped, taking one of their cars with me. If I didn't escape they would've made me repay them or something like that. The 'leader,' Dawn, was insane. She couldn't live in this world without people keeping her safe and doing shit for her," Beth explained, sighing. She quickly tied her hair up in a low ponytail.
"Dawn, did you say?" I questioned, frowning a little, trying to think back to my police woman life.
"Yeah, why?" she replied in a curious manner but a look of realisation spread to her facial features.
"You were a cop..." she spoke, answering her own question.
"Did she wear a dark navy uniform, dark brown hair, blueish - greyish eyes?" I asked slightly frantic, eager to see if the woman had managed to stay alive.
"Yeah, she fitted that description..." Beth said sadly, nodding her head.
"Holy shit... Did you bump into anyone called Bob Lamson?" Beth nodded and gave me an awkward smile.
"Dawn used to be smart and probably one of the kindest people that you would ever meet. She was a great officer.. I can't believe that she's still alive though. I worked with Bob a few times, even went on a date with him once. That ended horribly though," I chuckled. She grinned at me before continuing her explanation.
"So, after I escaped, I somehow found the prison, later that day. There was nothing left. Nothing, apart from walkers. By now, this is 2-3 days after I lost Daryl. I just drove until I found Tyreese on the side of the road, walking with Judith in his arms. I had never been happier. The car ran out of fuel and that's when we started following the tracks. Found this guy near a shed, he mentioned Carl and Michonne. He was going to set off fireworks to draw the walkers away from Terminus. We drew on him, Tyreese guarded him, ended up killing him all while looking after Judith and keeping her safe. I took the fireworks and basically caused the explosion and mayhem," she finished, giggling.
"I was kind of out of it during that," I commented with a smile. Her eyes travelled up to my head, concern filled her eyes.
She chuckled, "oh yeah, how is your head anyway?"
"Alright for now. I keep getting extreme migraines though," I replied sighing. She furrowed her eyebrows.
"If Daddy was here, he could've helped you," she said sadly. I bowed my head a little before looking back up to Beth.
"Maybe, he could have. But that doesn't matter right now, what does is that he is very proud of you right now. If you didn't step up and basically blow up Terminus, we would've probably been killed and eaten," I grinned at her, making light of the situation.
"Thank you," she replied sheepishly, heat flooded to her cheeks, making them go a reddish colour.
"Nah, thank you, Beth," I stood up from my spot, stretching my stiff legs. Beth is a changed woman. She was no longer the weak scared girl. She changed for the better.
I decided to sit in between Daryl and Rick. I looked towards Rick but he was already staring at me with a smile. Daryl noticed that he wasn't really paying attention and looked up to see what he was smiling about. A small smile played on his lips when he noticed me walking over. He should learn to smile more.
I sat in between them, holding Judith's hand. Rick was bouncing her up and down, making her giggle.
"Ye seem a lot happier," Daryl pointed out, poking my rib cage. I jumped a mile. He knew I was ticklish there too. I playfully glared at him.
"I guess so," I replied, unable to remove my smile. It was a strange feeling. We were like homeless. The prison -- our home, was gone. We were sitting on the ground under a large tree, but I was beaming.
"Daryl's right, you are awfully happy," Rick added, leaning into me more.
"Must be the happy pills I'm taking, " I replied jokingly. This earned me a chuckle from both of them.
"We need to get moving," Rick informed, becoming serious again. Daryl and I nodded in agreement. Rick stood up and explained to everyone the plan of finding a road that will take us up North. He also said to keep our eyes out for a car. Everyone agreed with the plan and we were on our way.
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I had gradually made my way over to Daryl who I had noticed, was stealing glances at Beth who was happily conversing with Carl.
"Jealous of Carl, right now?" I questioned with a giggle. He turned to glare at me.
"No," he replied sternly.
"Seems like it. Looking over at her, wishing she was besi-"
"Shut it, Jordan," he growled. His cheeks turned a pale pink, betraying his words yet showing his true emotions.
I laughed loudly, causing some to glance over before getting back to talking to whoever, "I knew it!" I cheered.
He scowled.
"Daryl has a crush, Daryl has a crush, Daryl has a cr-"
"Rick, control yer woman!" he called out to Rick who turned around with a smirk. Rick beckoned me to go over to him. I scowled but skipped over to him, turning slightly just to poke my tongue out at Daryl who made him scowl even more -- if that is possible.
"What are you up to? Being all childish, hmm?" Rick chuckled.
"Daryl has a crush though," I explained, beaming. Rick shook his head, smiling.
"He said the same thing to me about you," he revealed. I gasped in surprise. Sometimes, I wondered what they talked about back at the prison. They did get along very well after all.
"You should be helping me tease him then," I exclaimed with laughter. I felt weirdly happy considering all that has happened.
"Maybe lat-"
"Help! Help, anybody! Help!" I almost rolled my eyes at what the man was yelling.
"Dad, come on!" Carl yelled to his Dad who was looking at the direction the screams came from. Rick followed his son, with us all behind. We stopped at a rock.
"For fucks sake," I scowled.
A priest sat on top of the rock, surrounded by walkers.
My mood had completely changed. The guy's level of stupidity skyrocketed on my 'stupid scale' -- that I just made up.
I stomped forward, pulling out my knife and shoving it into every one of those walker's heads.
"Do you have any fucking weapons, idiot?" I growled, wiping the blood off of the knife Rick had given me.
"No, I'm sorry. But than-" The priest vomited to the side, making me almost gag. I have never been good with vomit.
"You okay?" Rick questioned, with not a very concerned expression, pushing me slightly behind him. I kept a scowl on my face.
"Sorry, I'm fine. Thank you. I'm Gabriel," the priest introduced himself, holding his hand out. Rick didn't even glance at it, making Gabriel awkwardly drop it.
"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick questioned, repeating my question in a nicer way. I almost laughed realising how impolite I was. I would've never said that to anyone before the apocalypse.
Gabriel chuckled, glancing at me, "do I look like I have a weapon to you?" Honestly, hell no. How is this guy even alive?
"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like," Abraham said coldly.
"I have no weapons of any kind," the priest replied, no longer smiling. Rick cleared his throat.
"The word of God is the only protection I need," Gabriel added, a small smile played on his features.
"Sure didn't look like it," Rick said almost mocking him.
Gabriel chuckled again, "I called for help. Help came," pointing to us all. I frowned. Strangely enough, he was right. I didn't believe in the whole God thing, my Mother did, despite everything.
"Uh, do you have any food? Whatever I had left, it just hit the ground, " he questioned carefully.
Sasha spoke up, "we've got some pecans," she offered him some and he took them gratefully.
Judith fussed in Carl's arms. Rick must've given her to him.
"That's a beautiful child," Gabriel admired Judy. A ghost of a smile appeared on my face. "Do you have a camp?" Gabriel asked cautiously.
"No. Do you?" Rick answered.
"I have a church."
"Hold your hands above your head," Rick commanded as he went up to pat him down for weapons while questioning him the signature three questions, "how many walkers have you killed?"
"Not any, actually." Oh damn, what a fucking surprise. I almost rolled my eyes at this pointless questioning. But I knew that Rick was being extra cautious, especially when it involved his family.
"Turn around. How many people have you killed?" Rick questioned, patting him down rather quickly.
"None," Gabriel replied.
"Why?" Rick asked, stepping back into place.
"Because the Lord abhors violence," he answered confidently.
"What have you done? We've all done something," I said rather accusingly. He looked at me, nervously.
"I'm a sinner," he confessed, "I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."
Carl looked at me and rolled his eyes, making me lightly punch him with a playful smile.
"You said you had a church?" Rick changed the subject.
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We followed the priest to his church. It was a boring walk. It was silent, no one was talking unlike before.
"Hey, earlier, were you watching us?" Rick spoke up, killing the awkward silence. Gabriel rose an eyebrow and then shook his head.
"No. I tend to keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?" he questioned. Carl scoffed.
"No, people are worse," Carl muttered. I frowned at his negativity, but ended up brushing it off because he was in fact correct. We all silently agreed with him.
"That was the furthest I've gone before today. Or maybe I'm lying. Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels," he chuckled, "members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired," he said trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah it does," Daryl said sarcastically causing some of us to chuckle. Gabriel awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, smiling.
"Can we look around first? We just want to hold onto our squirrels," Rick asked cautiously yet with a small smirk.
"I spent months here without stepping out the front door. If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising," Gabriel spoke from behind us.
We all had already made our way to the church, impatiently waiting for the priest to unlock the door. I took out my bronze golden eagle, switching the safety off. Rick copied my actions, as did Maggie and Glenn. Daryl readied his crossbow while the others checked out the back.
As soon as Gabriel unlocked the door, Rick opened it quickly. Raising his colt python, ready for any signs of danger. We all filed into the small church. I automatically felt uncomfortable and intruding. It was dead quiet besides our heavy breathing and footsteps.
Daryl yelled out clear from left room and Maggie called out clear from the other. I lowered my gun and automatically sat in one of the chairs in the church. Rick walked over and placed a hand on shoulder.
"You alright?" he asked in a quiet voice, squeezing my shoulder a bit.
"I can't believe that he lived this long without a weapon or anything, while we're out there getting shit thrown at us and then there were people trying to take our home," I ranted, frowning. I glanced up at Rick who was smirking.
"Some are just lucky," he replied, before walking over to Michonne and Abraham.
"I guess so," I mumbled to myself.
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