Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 59 (Terminus)

"Do you think aunt CJ will be there?" Carl asked Daryl as they walked behind Rick and Michonne.

"Not sure," Daryl replied. "Maybe."

"If she is, she'll be happy you found her necklace for her," Carl smiled. "I didn't mean to run away from her at the prison. There were walkers everywhere and I had to go the other way. Maybe if I stayed by her, she'd be with us right now," he mumbled as he looked down at the ground.

"It ain't your fault," Daryl shook his head. "I lost her too. Now we just gotta hope she's out here."

"I think she is," Carl nodded confidently. "I miss her."

Daryl tapped Carl's shoulder and gave him a sad smile. "I do too."

Rick and Michonne came to a halt by a sign for Terminus that had fallen of the post and onto the ground, covered up by a few dry leaves.

"We're gettin' close," Daryl said. "We'll be there before sundown."

"Now we head through the woods," Rick instructed. "We don't know who they are."

They hadn't been walking for long when they came to a chain link fence out skirting the woods. Peeking through the gaps, they saw a large warehouse-type building with 'TERMINUS' written in big black letters across the wall. There were no people around, no walkers, no sound. Apart from a few crates and some laundry hanging up, you'd never believe that there were supposedly a large amount of people living inside.

"We all spread out, watch for a while. See what we see," Rick whispered lowly. "Get ready. We all stay close."

Whilst the others were looking around, Rick dug a hole in the dirt to bury his duffel bag. Inside, were a whole arsenal of weapons that they'd collected from the Claimer's bodies. After dropping the bag into the hole, Rick paused and reached for his own un that was rested in its holster on his belt. He looked down at it for a moment before throwing it into the bag and zipping it up.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Daryl approaching him. "Just in case," Rick told him as he started burying the bag.

Checking the coast was clear beforehand, Rick and the others jumped the fence into some sort of courtyard and held their weapons up ready to aim at anyone who jumped them. The silence of the place was unnerving. there was nobody around. One could assume just from looking around the outside that the place was abandoned.

They made a run for the building across the yard and headed inside with their weapons raised. they could hear a woman's voice echoing through the hallways, getting louder as they went further through the building. She was repeating the same phrase.

"Terminus. Those who arrive, survive. Follow the tracks to the point where all lines intercept. There are maps at the crossings to help guide you with your journey. Terminus. Sanctuary for all. Community for all."

Daryl peeked through the door and lowered his crossbow when he saw a lot of people working at the other end of the large room. He nodded to the others as he made his way into the room. Nobody inside seemed to notice they had come in.

Rick walked over to the woman who was sat in front of a microphone. "Hello." She seemed surprised as she stopped talking and took of the headset she was wearing. Rick looked down the room to the other people, who hadn't looked around. "Hello," he called out louder, his voice picking up and echo.

The people by the tables all looked up to see Rick, Michonne, Daryl and Carl all stood in a line watching them. One of the men let out a sigh and rolled his eyes as he dropped his paintbrush on the table.

"Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch," he mumbled before approaching Rick. "You here to rob us?"

"No," Rick replied. "We wanted to see you before you saw us."