1.9 ⊧ Home
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Part II: The Universes Roundhouse Kick
Third Person, Omniscient
The walking was long, slow paced as if everyone knew they needed a break but couldn't take one.
It was weird having a group this big out in the open, not being confused to four walls or having a place to sit.
The last time Thalia had been apart of a group this but was at the campsite, when they lost Bailey and Lucas' mom. even then it was only a small number of people, forming a small community and living together.
It was overwhelming to say the least, everyone seemed to be caught up in their own little worlds.
Rick and Carl were up at the front with Judith, spending much needed time with her. Sasha and Tyrese shared whispers, bumping together every so often and sharing smiles.
Lucas was with Bailey, Carol with Daryl.
Thalia stayed behind, not wanting to impose on everyone's bonding moments.
Plus there was too much on her mind, she feared that if she tried speaking the words would get caught up in her throat and she'd choked. So she didn't speak.
Just watched.
Watched the leaves fall and the light fade, watched the way the group was so close knit.
It only took a few hours for someone to come beside her, to fall in step with her and walk beside her in silence.
After a few minutes they finally spoke, catching her attention and dragging her eyes away from her own feet.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," she responded her voice soft as she glanced up at the man beside her.
Glenn nodded in agreement gently taking the others arm and slinging it over his shoulder, taking the weight off of her injured leg.
"We should be stopping soon, getting some rest for the night."
"I'm not really keen on sleeping," she mumbled dragging her leg uselessly behind her as the group slowed to a stop and began stepping down into a clearing.
Glenn helped the girl down so she was sitting against the back of a tree, the rest of the group doing the same and dispersing throughout the area.
The girl sat down slowly trying to stop the stinging coming from her leg, "thank you."
The older man nodded sitting beside the girl and dropping his back beside him.
"Shouldn't you be talking with Maggie?"
"Talking with me about what?" the woman hummed walking over to the pair and standing beside her lover, moving so her hand was intertwining in his hair.
Glenn smiled up at the woman grabbing her hand and bringing it to his mouth, pressing a warm kiss to the back of her hand gently.
"I can stay here while you sleep if you want, was gonna keep watch anyway."
Thalia pondered the offer, her back was aching her leg throbbing and her body tired.
She nodded without much thought, letting herself relax beach against the tree bark and let her eyes close slowly.
Just a minute of rest. That's all she needed.
They left again in the morning. Walking again.
"Are you sure I'm not too heavy, I can just limp it out, Carl,"
"No way you're fine, plus it's like a workout for me so win-win."
Thalia grinned smacking the boys chest in shock, "Don't be rude you asshole."
"So," he paused adjusted his grip on the others waist and lifting her up over a fallen branch.
The blonde looked over at the boy, "So."
"Have you spoken to Lucas yet?"
She groaned tossing her head back in annoyance, "No, he's been too busy with Bailey."
"Well I told him about the CDC, and he told me that he knew."
"Wait he knew?"
Carl shrugged casually as he tightened his grip on the girl's waist and tugged her along with him, the pair being toward the front of the group where Rick and Daryl were whispering softly. It was like this for most of the trek not that they were moving that fast anyway, in all honesty, they had no idea where they were headed.
Yet it was better than being alone.
It was when a shout was heard, a shout for help. That the group stopped in their tracks and turned to find out what the noise was.
Of course Carl was the first to insist they go, pleading with his dad that they had to help.
Thalia slipped out of his grasp and ushered him to go, letting the boy run toward the noise with his father and the rest of the group.
A strong hand grasped her shoulder and tugged her away from the rest of the group, luckily she had enough strength in her to stop it and pull away. Blue eyes gazed up to meet the tired brown ones, shock hidden behind them and glazed over with hurt.
Thalia stumbled back on her scuffed boots, distancing herself from the other as she folded her arms across her chest, somehow she managed to put on a forced smile, "Hi."
"Hey, how're you feeling? Any better?"
The girl looked down at the dirt beneath her, feeling the urge to cry again, "I feel okay," she whispered voice shaking slightly.
"What about the stuff that happened at the house when you were almost assaulted, or how you were almost choked out by a guy twice your size. Feel okay about that stuff too?"
The question caught her off guard, it hadn't even occurred to her that Carl would tell him all that stuff, instead of answering she kept her gaze down wiping at her now damp face.
Lucas was whisper-shouting now, glancing around to watch for any biters coming near the two, "Rick told me what happened, that guy did he," he paused, voice shaking as he slowly moved closer to the other "Did he hurt you?"
The words got caught in her throat as she shook her head, "never got the chance."
"How come you didn't tell me about it Lia, we tell each other everything remember? No secrets."
"Did you know about dad."
A thin silence settled over the pair as the small words were spoken, forcing the younger into a smaller state and the older into a state of regret. It was like he didn't know what to say, which was fair because what can you say when you've been lying for the past however many years?
sorry?
"Lia I just wanted to protect you okay? That's different than this."
"You knew that dad was gone, you knew that he wasn't coming for me and that the CDC was gone and that everything was gone!"
"I didn't wanna lose you, I heard it over the radios one day that it had blown up and there was nothing left. That everyone inside had gone with it, you were still little and mom was still with us. You were so young I didn't want to crush that last bit of hope you had."
"Fuck you! Do you realize how selfish that is? Lose me Lucas really? What about losing th-this stupid version of myself, I don't know who so am anymore without that small bit of hope I had."
"My dad he was always everything for me he was how I wanted to act a-and how I wanted to and now I have to find out from someone who didn't even know him that he died. And on-top of that you didn't even care enough to tell me!"
Thalia's throat was raw by the end of the conversation and she found herself shaking with so much displeasure it was seeping out of her body, she knew that every word leaving her mouth was only sharpened by her angerbut maybe it wasn't.
She tried to walk away she really did but he kept pulling her back, trying to apologize trying to give her empty promises.
"I trusted you! Lucas, I trusted you!" she screamed.
"How am I supposed to look at you again, I can't even speak to you without feeling it in my chest, the anxiety clawing it's way up my neck and choking me out. Because the one person I trusted most out of anyone lied to me, I love you but I cannot do this right now. I can't."
Thalia finally looked up to meet her friends eyes, he was crying too. Tears streaming down his face and his cheeks all red and splotchy.
He looked like a little kid again, like the scared little boy who saved her from the grocery store, who held her when the buildings crumbled and who took care of her.
But now, he was unrecognizable almost, a man who she didn't know.
"Lia, please." the voice crack came involuntarily as he took another step forward.
Thalia shook her head limping away from the man and back toward the group.
↭
She had arrived just in time to catch the group before they left.
Apparently the screams were coming from a priest stuck on top of a rock trying to fight off a few walkers. He was talking with Rick when she came up, his eyes holding fear as the man patted him down.
"I have a church, just a few miles up the road."
"Well then, lead the way."
The group followed the man through the forest, walking once again.
The church was close enough, only took them about ten minutes to get there. By the time they did Gabriel had told them still very little.
After Terminus it was clear that everyone was still very much on edge, as if waiting for their next danger to come.
It was clear that the group from the prison wasn't used to this, being on the outside. They had been given places to stay for long periods of time, given a way out.
Thinking they had avoided the world but instead just hiding away, shielding themselves.
Now on the outside they were able to see how bad everything had gotten, how torn apart the world had become.
"Our people go in and clear it, the rest of you look around outside,"
While Rick and a few others went inside of the church, guns held upward and footsteps moving slowly through the place of safety, the rest stayed outside all talking quietly and watching the man who Thalia had yet to officially meet.
So being the curious person she is, she took it upon herself to stick her hand out to shake with a warm smile.
"I'm Thalia, this your church?" Sure the answer was obvious seeing as the man was dressed in priest attire and the scared look in his eyes as a teenager waltzed up to him with a gun in hand, but she didn't care if her question was self-explanatory.
"I'm Gabriel, and yes it is. I see you're religious," the man stuck his hand out to lift the cross on his neck and caress it gently, the heavy weaved metal heavy in his fingertips. The girl had almost forgotten about the necklace she wore around her neck without feeling or thought, she had gotten it from her dad when she was merely three months old.
It was the morning of her Catholic baptism and her entire family was there, of course, she didn't know, being only a newborn. But ever since that day she had yet to take off the small oval-shaped pendant around her neck, tangling with the wedding ring necklace she wore.
"Guess so, mom was and she's dead so I thought i'd wear it for her sake,"
"Oh, well I'm sorry for your loss."
"Yeah me too, think they're done in there."
As if on cue Rick and the others exited the church with guns down and stern looks on their faces, motioning everyone inside without another word. Gabriel was nice enough to help the injured girl inside after everyone else with a strong arm tucked under her arm, seeing as everyone else was too busy focusing on the newfound shelter.
The building was hot in contrast to how she remembered these places feeling, the air was oddly sticker than outside the large brown doors and everything was neat. Bibles sat untouched in the backs of benches and the carpet was stain-free as if nothing ever happened.
Gabriel set the girl down on a bench close up to the podium before leaving her to speak to Rick, something about it being important.
Everyone scattered around the church talking and whispering to each other about what was to come next, what happened to everyone else from the prison, and who Bailey was. Though Thalia couldn't bring herself to think about any of those things because Justice ran back and he was probably a biter now, the thought made her stomach churn.
She didn't feel the urge to go up and greet people because at the moment she felt utterly alone and numb.
Luckily her thoughts were interrupted by Glenn shoving past her oh so gently and into the small spot next to her, his warm body pressed up against hers in a surprisingly comforting way.
"You look pale, you dying?"
Thalia scoffed shaking her head, "No, wish I was though."
"Nah, then you wouldn't be able to enjoy my presence."
The blonde girl turned her head towards the man her eyes soft for the first time since her talk with Lucas, she could tell he wanted something but she had no idea what it was. So she asked, "You don't have to do this you know? I'm okay with being alone, You should talk with Maggie or something."
"Sometimes women need space, and sometimes they don't. Hence why I am talking to you," Thalia simply blinked her mouth somewhat open and her arms crossed and hands tucked away.
"I heard about your dad, and I just wanted to let you know that we're all here for you, no matter what we're your family now."
"Thanks?"
"And I am definitely the cool uncle."
↭
Hours had gone by before Thalia awoke.
The church was quiet except for the occasional cries from Judith and the sound of wood banging, it was easy to sleep through for sure. Though Carl could barely fathom how soundly the girl slept through everything.
He sat next to where she laid running his dirty fingers through her matted hair and humming softly, the others had left only a few hours ago leaving the few kids left and Tyrese to look after the church.
After boarding up some more windows and checking out all the little crevices of the place Bailey and Carl had taken a break, sweat encasing both of them after the long labor.
A few grunts came from the young girl's lips as she slowly squirmed around and woke up, blue eyes still tired and bags deep underneath her eyes.
"Wh-hat time? Carl?"
Carl places a gentle touch onto the girl's cheek notifying her that he was beside her and offering a small smile, "Right here, sleep well?"
He could tell she was still a little spaced out by the way she pushed her head into the boy's leg, nodding slowly. Her fingers slipped out of her own grasp and over to grip the other side of the boy's leg gently.
"What's been going on? why are the windows gone?" she questioned humming contently into the boy as she pulled her legs closer to her body, craving warmness she didn't know she needed.
The boy sighed taking off the sheriff's hat and placing it on the bench before running dirt encased hands through his thick brown locks, "Some groups went out looking for food and such, and the windows are covered not gone. We need to make this place safe."
"And Lucas?"
"Went with my dad, he looked a little sad. what happened?"
Thalia opened her eyes forcefully to look at the bench in front of her, a ruffled bible shoved into the small slot with few pages sticking out, "I'm mad at him, my dad is dead and I have no one left and he isn't even sorry about it."
Carl furrowed his eyes brows shaking his head and placing a soft hand onto the girls tan skin "you have Lucas and my dad and all the others," he pointed out allowing the girl to scoot off of his lap and sit up full, stretching as she looked around the nearly empty church.
"feels like no one."
wc; 2210