Casually Cruel - TWD

6. Panic.

A few people had gone out. Bob had left, but they couldn't find him. Rick, Sasha and Tyreese went to look. Daryl and Carol were also gone.

Eliza sat on one of the church pews with Carl, who was holding his baby sister. "How old is she?" Eliza asked, she hadn't seen a baby in years now. It wasn't really safe to have them anymore. They cry, they can't do anything for themselves.

"Seven or eight months," Carl responded. "Tyreese saved her from the prison."

Eliza vividly remembered Glenn and Tara talking about a prison. It was their old camp or something like that.

"I've never really had someone that's around my age to talk to, there was a few kids, but they're all dead now," Carl shrugged. This group seemed to have lost a lot of people. Eliza had only lost her dad, she didn't know if anyone else was alive or not.

"Oh," Eliza didn't really know how to respond. "I'm sorry."

Before Carl could say another word, the church door opened and in walked Sasha, followed by Rick and Tyreese. She went straight up to Gabriel. "Stop. What are you doing?"

Gabriel didn't respond and just took a step back, so Sasha moved even closer to him. "What are you doing? This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now three of us are gone."

"I-" Gabriel mumbled and looked around the church. "I don't...I don't have anything to do with this."

Sasha suddenly pulled out her knife, Rosita rushed forward. "Don't!"

Eliza's eyes widened, she didn't want to watch, but she also could take her eye off the scene.

"Sasha, put it away," Tyreese spoke up. Rosita was now being held back by Abraham.

"Who's out there?" Sasha breathed out, looking at Gabriel, who had his hands up.

"I...I-I don't have anything to do with this."

"Where are our people?" Sasha got even closer to his face.

"I don't have anything-"

"Where are our people?!" Sasha finally lost her temper and raised her voice.

Gabriel just kept on repeating himself. Rick pulled Sasha back and took a step closer to the man. "Why'd you bring us here?"

"Please, I-" Gabriel looked around at everyone, hoping someone would jump to his defence.

"You working with someone?" Rick got even closer.

"I'm alone. I'm alone," Gabriel emphasized. Eliza didn't really know what to do, Gabriel seemed genuine. That didn't mean she liked him very much. "I was always alone."

"What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel?" Rick took another step forward. "What did you do to her? "You'll burn for this." That was for you. Why? What are you gonna burn for, Gabriel?" Rick lunged at him and grabbed his shoulders. "What? What did you do? What did you do?!"

Gabriel took a few breathes and then looked back at Rick. "I lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always..." he shook his head. "They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were...they were looking for a safe place, a place where they felt safe. And it was so early. It was so early. And the doors were still locked. You see...it was my choice. There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me. And so the dead came for them. Women...children," he looked at Carl, Eliza and Judith. "Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy," Gabriel began to weep. "Begging me for mercy. Damning me to hell. I buried their bones. I buried it all. The Lord sent you here to finally punish me," Gabriel dropped to the floor.