⋆ ★ REQUIEM FOR THE ACCUSED ⋆ ★

LIKE A STONE

"i'll wait for you there like a stone." - audioslave

the next morning comes quickly. the group moves with quiet determination, working together to clean up the bodies of gareth and his men. gabriel sits on the floor, tears streaking down his face as he scrubs at the blood-stained wooden boards. salem sits in a pew next to carl, who cradles judith in his arms. they sit in silence, both of them still haunted by the horrors of the night before. salem's mind races, wondering what could have happened if rick and the others hadn't returned when they did.

"kids, you should go in there, say goodbye." rick says softly, his voice heavy with exhaustion as he gestures for them to go say goodbye to bob. salem and the others slowly gather at the door, watching as maggie wipes away a tear, smiling sadly at bob before she leaves the room. salem stays in the doorway for a moment, watching sasha sit beside bob, clinging to him as if every second she had with him mattered, and they did. closing the door quietly behind her, salem leaves rick alone with judith and bob.

"do you think we'll ever stop losing people?" carl asks as they sit down on the floor together. his voice is low, almost defeated. salem places a comforting hand on his knee and shakes her head, feeling the same hopelessness creeping in. "it isn't fair." carl adds, his voice small.

moments later, rick exits the room, his face as unreadable as always. behind him, sasha's sobs echo through the church, and salem knows without a word that bob is gone. tyreese steps into the office, closing the door behind him to take care of the body before bob turns.

outside, the group helps sasha bury him. she ties a small ribbon onto two sticks, creating a makeshift cross to mark his grave. everyone stands around silently, watching as the earth covers bob's body. "this is our route to d.c.," abraham says, handing a map to rick. "we'll stick to it as long as we're able. once eugene gets to the big brains up there, things are gonna bounce back. this group should be there for it."

"they will be." maggie says, and it dawns on salem that maggie and glenn are leaving with abraham and his group. sadness wells up inside her; maggie has always been a kind and protective figure to salem. "we will." michonne adds firmly. "we will." rick echoes. "let's go." abraham says, and salem rushes up to maggie, throwing her arms around her in a tight hug. "will i see you again?" salem whispers, her voice trembling with emotion.

maggie pulls back slightly, offering a reassuring smile. "very soon." she promises before grabbing glenn's hand and boarding the bus. the group waves as abraham drives off, and salem feels a pit of loss in her stomach as the bus disappears down the road. back inside, salem sits with jack in the corner of the room. "we should've gone with them," she whispers, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "we would've been safe there."

"it's safe here, with rick." jack responds, though there's a bitter edge to his tone as he bites into a granola bar. night falls quicker than salem expected. the day has been a blur of mourning, and exhaustion weighs heavily on her as she drifts off. when she wakes, jack isn't beside her. she searches the church before stepping outside, finding him sitting on the steps.

"i can't sleep," salem admits, sitting next to him. "do you really think staying here with rick is the best option for us?" she asks, her voice filled with doubt. jack doesn't answer right away, but when he does, it's with frustration. "he ripped a man's throat out with his teeth, jack," salem continues, "and beat another to death with a machete." "yeah, and he did it to save us. i would've done the same damn thing." jack snaps, his voice sharp.

salem's patience thins. "why are you so mad at me all the time?" she asks, her voice soft but firm, tired of his attitude. before jack can respond, a rustling sound comes from the trees nearby. immediately, jack pushes salem behind him, pulling out his knife as he steps off the porch to investigate. salem's heart races, fearing it might be someone from terminus.

daryl emerges from the trees, and jack exhales in relief. "you're back. where's carol?" he asks, looking for more answers. "come on out." daryl says, and a kid, about jack's age, limps out from the trees. salem's eyes narrow with curiosity as she notices the boy's limp. "sons of bitches took her too," daryl explains. "this is noah, he was one of their prisoners." jack sighs deeply. "shit, man. we gotta tell rick. we can go get them both now that we know beth's in there for sure."

"i'm jack, sorry about all this, man." he adds, shaking noah's hand. "don't sweat it. a friend of beth's is a friend of mine. friends stick together." noah says. salem taps jack's arm nervously. "shit, salem. go back inside, okay?" jack tells her. reluctantly, she listens, turning on her heel and heading back into the church. a pit of worry forms in her stomach as she wishes maggie were still here. she'd know what to do now that they knew beth was alive. 

the morning sneaks in, soft light filtering through the church windows as salem sits across the room from jack. she watches him as he talks quietly with noah, both of them tense but focused. daryl had explained everything to rick, and now they were coming up with a plan to find beth. rick had decided they needed to add some protection around the church in the meantime, using wood from the pews and metal rods from the wall. the group works away, pulling pieces together, leaving salem sitting alone, her thoughts heavy.

rick steps out of the small office, gathering some of the group to join him on the journey to find beth. he hugs carl tightly and pats salem on the shoulder before handing judith over to michonne, who had volunteered to stay behind with the kids. judith's cries echo through the church, the sound bouncing off the old wooden beams, making salem's heart sink. she can feel the weight of fear creeping in, growing heavier with each moment.

salem helps carl board up the front door, their movements quiet and methodical, the scrape of the wood and clatter of nails the only sound in the room aside from judith's soft whimpering in the other room. michonne rocks the baby gently, her presence a calm force in the chaos.

on the other side of the church, gabriel sits on the floor, still scrubbing the blood-stained wood. his hands are raw, bleeding from hours of scrubbing, but he doesn't stop. salem glances at him, feeling a strange mix of pity and frustration. she doesn't understand how he can just sit there, lost in his guilt while the world around them continues to crumble.

her mind drifts back to jack, who had left with rick. the worry gnaws at her. beth is important to him, she knows that. but jack is important to salem, and she's seen the recklessness in him lately, the way he charges ahead without thinking, driven by anger and desperation. she fears that his stubbornness will get him killed, that in his blind determination to save beth, he's forgetting to protect himself.

as they finish boarding up the door, salem takes a deep breath, trying to push the anxiety down. but it lingers as a constant companion, and no matter how much she tries to shake it off, it won't go away. she fears that the next time she sees jack, it might be the last.