𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄! ᶜ ᵍʳⁱᵐᵉˢ

010. 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

"It was nice knowing you, Bob. I'll see you in the next life," I gave him a small smile. I turn to Sasha. "I'm sorry," I breathe, and exiting the room.

We all finished giving Bob our goodbyes, and then offered them to Abraham and his D.C. bound group. I'm sure mine didn't offer the dying man much solace, but it felt necessary to not give him my sympathy.

I wished them all a safe travel and gave Tara a meek hug. "Thank you," I say. "For what?" she asks, pulling away, confused. I pull my lips into the corner of my mouth. "For being... my friend?" I say, unsure myself. She laughs lightly before squeezing my shoulder. "I'll see you in D.C." I nod a goodbye, watching her board the bus. I retreat up the steps, watching them pull away.

—-

Daryl came back with another newcomer- a boy a little older than Carl and I by the name of Noah. He apparently knows where Maggie's little sister, Beth, as well as Carol, are being held.

Before they leave again, I make myself useful by assisting Daryl, Tyreese and Sasha fortify the church. Gabriel watched us with a face of dismay as we disassembled the accessories of his church. Sasha and I chopped apart some pews while Daryl and Tyreese handled the organ.

Daryl tried to insist that he chop, but I refused. The feeling of slamming the axe down into the wood was therapeutic- feeling my muscles ripple under my skin, the sweat bead down my neck in the cold air. "Damn, little lady," Tyreese comments, wiping his arm across his sweat-coated forehead. "What?" I ask, panting as I lower the axe.

"You sure are going at that wood," he chuckles, turning back to the organ. "Feels good, after being couped up," I comment. I glance back at Sasha, who's chopping at the wood so furiously I don't know how it hasn't broken into splinters at this point. I understand what she's going through. I wish I could offer my sympathy to her better.

"Shouldn't you be taking it easy?" Rick asks, stopping by with an armful of boards. I lift my flannel shirt- given to me by Michonne when she noticed my pathetic cotton tee-shirt- slightly, just to reveal my green and yellow bruise. "Only hurts at night," I comment, before dropping the shirt. "Howd'ya get that?" Tyreese asks, unscrewing another pipe. "I drove for the first time," I answer, breaking apart the last piece of the pew. "Turns out I'm not that good at it."

Daryl scoffs lightly. "'ll say. Came across her passed out on the ground and the truck was wrapped around a tree." Tyreese looks at me with wide eyes. I shrug, leaning onto my axe handle. "What can I say, I have a gift for ruining things."

"This oughta be enough," Daryl says, tossing the last piece in the pile. We all carry armfuls of our new scraps outside to make a barricade around the steps of the building. I wait until Daryl and I are alone before speaking up.

"I never thanked you back there," I say, shoving a splintered piece of the pew into the hard dirt. "F'what?" Daryl asks, not looking away from the task at hand. "Claimin' me," I answer, picking up another piece. It sounds pathetic to say aloud.

Claiming me as yours before someone with bad intentions did.

"Can't imagine what might've happened if one of those other men did," I say, trying not to let the fearful emotions leak into my words. I watch him falter for a split second before continuing on. "Ain't no need to thank me," he muttered gruffly. "I wouldn'a let that happen."

He continues to work, digging the wood into the ground. "I guess I oughta thank you too, for helping us out back there." I grab one of the pipes, inserting it into the soil. "I guess we're even now."

And now, almost everyone's gone. I sit in a pew away from the others with baby Judith. Gabriel scrubs furiously at the dried blood from the Terminus massacre while Carl and Michonne board up the windows. She sits in my lap, wailing. Ever since Rick left, she's made it clear that she's unhappy with the arrangement.