Unbreakable threads

Chapter Seventy- Two: Journey Too Terminus.

As Alyssa and Rick stood there, their bloodied embrace anchoring them in the midst of the chaos, Alyssa's thoughts snapped to one crucial, glaring absence—Judith. Her heart sank as she realized she hadn't seen her baby sister, not with Rick, Carl, or Michonne. She pulled back slightly, her voice cracking as she looked up at Rick, her wide eyes filled with panic. "Where's Judith? Did you see her on the way out of the prison?"

Rick froze, the question hitting him like a punch to the gut. His face twisted with a mix of guilt and confusion, and he shook his head slowly. "I... I thought you had her," he said, his voice rough and hesitant. "I assumed... I thought you'd grab her."

Alyssa's chest tightened, her breath catching as her mind raced. "What?" she demanded, her voice rising. "You thought I had her?" Her voice cracked again, anger bubbling to the surface. "How could you just assume that?"

Rick's hands went to his temples, his face pale with realization. "I thought... I thought Beth would have had her," he stammered, his voice heavy with regret. "And I thought you would've gone for Beth. I assumed you'd..." His voice trailed off as he looked at her, seeing the same shattered guilt in her eyes that mirrored his own.

Alyssa's face twisted with anguish at the mention of Beth, and her fury surged as her gaze snapped to Daryl. She pointed at him, her hand trembling with anger, her voice shaking as she turned back to Rick. "Well, she's not here, is she? Because Daryl let her get taken!" Her words were sharp, cutting through the air like a blade.

Daryl flinched at her accusation, his jaw tightening as he looked down, guilt etched into every line of his face. He didn't try to defend himself, didn't try to justify what had happened. He simply stood there, silent, as Alyssa's words bore into him.

Rick's eyes widened as he processed what she had said. "Taken?" he repeated, his voice low and horrified. "Beth's... Beth's gone?"

"Yes!" Alyssa shouted, her voice cracking with a mix of rage and despair. "Some guys grabbed her, stuffed her in a car, and drove off! And he—" she gestured to Daryl again, her hand trembling—"he didn't stop them!"

Daryl finally lifted his head, his voice low but filled with pain. "I tried, Alyssa. I tried to stop 'em. But there were too many. I—" He stopped, his words faltering as he looked at her, his expression broken. "I couldn't..."

Rick took a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady himself as he explained. "The Governor's dead," he said, his voice low and gravelly. He glanced at Michonne, who stood nearby, her katana in hand, her expression grim but resolute. "Michonne killed him. Took him down after he—" He paused, shaking his head as the memories flooded back. "After he killed Hershel."

Alyssa's chest tightened at the mention of Hershel, the loss still fresh and raw. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her emotions in check, nodding for Rick to continue.

"After that... everything fell apart," Rick said, his tone weary. "I got hit—shot in the leg—but Michonne found Carl and me. Got us outta there." He shifted his weight slightly, the strain of the wound evident in his movements. "We followed the train tracks. Saw a sign for a place called 'Terminus.' Some kind of community... sanctuary for all. That's where we were headin'. Figured if anyone else from the group saw it, they'd go that way too."

Alyssa frowned, her mind racing. A sanctuary? It sounded too good to be true. Nothing in this world came without strings, and trusting strangers was a risk she wasn't sure she was willing to take. But the desperation in Rick's voice, the glimmer of hope that this place might be a lifeline, made her pause.

"You really think people are headed there?" she asked, her tone skeptical but not dismissive. "You think... you think Beth might be there?" Her voice cracked slightly on Beth's name, the uncertainty eating away at her.