𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄! ᶜ ᵍʳⁱᵐᵉˢ

009. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

My rest doesn't come peacefully. I dream of my brother's screams as he was being ripped apart. I dream of my zombified mother and my father's fear-filled face. I toss and turn on the bench, drifting in and out of a nightmare.

The loud bustling and cries are what finally woke me up. I instinctively grab for my holstered gun, my heart pounding in my chest as I sat up. "What?" I shout, watching a part of the group carry a body in. "Who is it?" I ask frantically, jumping to my feet. "It's Bob," Tara answers, pulling the doors closed behind them. "Is he bit?" I ask, anxiety brewing alongside my steadily rising pulse. "Yes. And the Terminus people... they ate his leg."

The disgust must be evident on my face before the fear takes over. "They're alive?" I ask, clutching my gun handle tighter. She swallows, twisting her hands together. "And we can't find Daryl or Carol."

I cover my mouth with my hand, mentally preparing myself for the worst case scenario- they're dead and the Terminus ambush us. "Where is he now? Did- did he.."

Tara shakes her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "No, no. He's in Gabriel's office. Sasha's in there with him now." I pull my hand down my neck to rest on my chest. My head turns to Judith, who's crying in a basket at the front of the church. Tara and I walk to where everyone is gathered around, speaking in tense tones. "We all need to leave for DC right now," Abraham demands. I walk through one of the pews to avoid the tense conversation. "Daryl and Carol are gonna be back," Rick states. "We're not going anywhere without them."

"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier. So, if yall won't come, good luck to you."

I take a spot next to Carl, running a hand through my hair. "How long was I asleep for?" I ask, looking down at babbling Judith. "Maybe an hour. But you kept mumbling and making noises. I almost woke you up, but Dad told me to leave you be."

"Just bad dreams," I say quietly, reaching down to drag a finger down Judith's round cheek. The baby smiles a toothless smile, grabbing onto my finger. I can't help but smile back at her gorgeous innocence. "Gosh, she's gorgeous. She looks just like you," I comment, looking up to Carl. He immediately looks away, a light blush dusted across his cheeks.

We both look up when the mixed shouts of Rick and Abraham carry through the church. Glenn breaks them up. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now in the middle of the night? what about tomorrow? We need each other for this. We need each other to get to DC. We can get through all of it together."

Abraham demands Glenn and Maggie go with them as well. I turn away from the conversation and back to Carl. "Do you think Daryl's okay?"

The teenager bends down to brush Judiths blonde hair back. "Yeah. He's a tough guy. I'd be more afraid of whoever gets in his way. Why?"

I tuck my hands into my pockets, almost embarrassed. "I don't know... I mean, he... when the... the Claimers found me, he was with them. It's like... like I was up for an auction. They 'claimed' my stuff, were gonna 'claim' me. But Daryl did. If one of those other men did, I don't even wanna know what they were gonna do to me."

Carl's face twists in discomfort as he shifts his weight. "I wasn't with them but a couple hours 'fore they stumbled on you with your dad and Michonne. Said he wanted to find the guy that killed their friend. When they started closing in on yall, Daryl was gonna let me go. Get away." Carl tilts his head, looking at me intently. "Why didn't you run?"

"Well, I figured the way they had yall surrounded, yall wouldn't make it. They kill yall, they come find me and then..." I meet Carl's eyes and drag my thumb across my neck. "Y'know. Or worse," I frown. "I feel like I'm in debt to Daryl for it."

Carl crosses his arms. "You know, you're nicer than I thought you were. A guy like Daryl doesn't keep score. 's just how he is." I shrug, a sudden feeling of insecurity cloaking me. "I dunno. Just a feeling."

---

I pace back and forth in the small room, chewing on my thumb nail. Rick, Michonne, and some others left to hunt down Gareth and his group. The sound of the doors bursting open causes my fight mode to take over- Carl and I both turn to the door with our guns pointed. "Well, I guess you know we're here," Gareth's eerie voice carries through the building. Gabriel cowers deeper in the corner of the room, watching the door fearfully. "And we know that you're here. So, there's no point in hiding anymore."

My heart beats in my throat as his voice carries closer with every threatening word. "We've been watching you." I look to Carl. His face is alarmed, and I know we share the same though. Yesterday, in the woods.

"We know who's here. There's Bob, unless you've put him out of his misery already."

I swallow, clenching my jaw. "And Eugene." I can imagine whoever is left of his group crawling through the pews, searching for us. "Rosita. Martin's good friend, Tyreese."

"Carl. And his little girlfriend, Elody." The sound of my name coming from his mouth makes me dizzy- the same mouth that consumed Bob's extremity was now threateningly calling out for me. "Judith." I feel Carl tense up at the threat to his baby sister. Rick better get back soon.

Almost as if he could read my mind, his next line is "Rick and the rest walked out with a lot of your guns. Listen, we don't know where you all are, but this isn't a big place. So let's just stop this now before things get more painful than they need to be."

They move silently, their voices becoming clearer as they move closer. Gabriel clutches a rosary between his trembling hands. The door begins to rattle at one of the cannibals trying to enter. Rosita lifts her gun, moving closer to us. "Look, you're behind one of these two doors and we have more than enough firepower to take down both. Can't imagine that's what you all want."

By now, Carl and I are side by side. He is fridged beside me, muscles so taut I don't know if he's even breathing. The sound of a gun cocking outside the door sends an unsettling chill down my spine.

"How about the priest? Father, you help us wrap this up, we'll let you walk away from this. Just open the door and you can go. You can take the baby with you. What do you say?"

I look back at Gabriel, giving him a look that lets him know I'll kill him if he says a single word. Like a bad omen, Judith begins to wail.

Carl quickly rushes over to soothe her as I curse under my breath. "It's your last chance right now to tell us you're coming out."

I silently move closer to the door, trying to determine how close they are. They seemed to have gone silent, so I press my ear to the wooden door. "Rick, we'll fire right into that office. So you lower your gun-" and then whimpering. I slide down the wall, silently thanking God for what feels like the first time in forever.

After the endless sounds of choking and screaming fade away, Gabriel slowly enters the sanctuary. A moment of silence passes before he mutters, "This is the Lord's house," in disbelief.

I rise to my feet, stepping out of the room. The carnage makes my lip quiver. This could have been us, I have to remind myself. They were going to kill us.