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CHAPTER ELEVEN: AND ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE
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THE SUN HAD begun to set. Melanie didn't know how long they had been walking. They had to move slowly to not be noticed by the walkers, so she knew it had been a while but she had been trying to zone out to calm her anxiety. She focused on the things she could feel like Carl's and Jessie's hands in hers and the sheet draped over her body. She drowned out the sound of the walkers, knowing that hearing them all around only made her more anxious. Melanie tried not to look around as well, her anxiety rising when she remembered exactly where she was and what she was doing. She was scared but you would be stupid to not be scared in a situation like that. She knew she needed to keep her composure so that's what she did.
As they walked, Rick directed Carl to a spot near the lake. Melanie furrowed her brows as she followed. Rick had let go of Carl's arm that was around Judith and everyone had let go of each other's hands but Carl continued to hold onto Melanie's like he knew she was feeling anxious still. Melanie, however, let go of his hand. She brought her hands together and played with her fingers, her anxiety slowly trying to torture her.
"All right, new plan. Flares from a few guns aren't enough. Too many walkers, too spread out," Rick explained. Carl turned around, watching the walkers to make sure they were all still hidden with the sheets as Rick explained the new plan. "We're not going to the armory. We need our vehicles back at the quarry. All of us drive. We'll need to round 'em up. We leave, we come back."
Melanie nodded, liking the plan and thinking it was better than the original one. Jessie nodded as well but bit her lip and gestured to Carl who was holding Judith, "But Judith... to the quarry and back..."
Rick nodded. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of what to do. Gabriel stepped forward, "I'll take her, keep her safe in my church until you all lead the walkers away."
"Can you do this?" Michonne asked him.
"I'm supposed to. I have to," Gabriel nodded. He looked at Rick with a determined look. "I will."
Carl nodded and handed Judith over to Gabriel, putting her under Gabriel's sheet. Gabriel took her and Jessie bit her lip once more before placing a hand on Sam's shoulder, "Take Sam."
"No," Sam denied.
"Yes, Sam, it'll be safer," Jessie explained to her son.
"I'm not leaving you," Sam argued. Jessie attempted to persuade him but he was deadset on staying with her. "Mom, I'm not. I can keep going. Please."
