This Is Reality

Chapter 5

On our walk I learned they were headed to Terminus. But before I got that information, I learned on how far they have come.

"We've seen the signs, we are headed to Terminus," Rick said, trusting in this place

I stop dead in my tracks, eventually so does everyone else. Daryl looks at me out of the corner of his eye, but glances mostly at Rick.

"Dodger? You okay?" Carl asks

"Y'all don't understand..." I shake my head and continue walking

*flashback*

It has now been about a month since this all began and sometimes I still cannot wrap my mind around the things that are going on around me. The people I have recently encountered were insane... They set up a place called Terminus, it was supposed to be a sanctuary and all, but it wasn't anywhere near that. Even though it was at its early stages, I knew this place was not going to get any better. I never really caught the name of the leader, but in the train car they put me, held a small family. Gareth, Mary, and another girl I believe. The men who appeared took each woman at least once an hour at night to rape them. Every time they were dragged away, their screams echoed and rang throughout the air. I spaced myself as far from them as I could. I was taken twice but thankfully in a weird way, raped only once. The leader's daughter, I believe she was, set me free the first time. She knew what was going on and it bothered her so much.

I was in the car for a few days, starving. They threw in some 'meat' and a can of stuff every other day but it was never enough for everyone to share. Gareth and his family ate it all before I could even get there. Every so often the daughter would sneak some regular food through a hole for me. She saw me differently than anyone else did and I didn't know what it was.

Then the night came, I was wide awake when the train car door opened. We were set free. The men were tied to posts, stripped to only undergarments. The sight completely boggled my tired mind. Gareth refused to leave, insisting he would get his revenge. Mary and the rest stayed with him since they had nowhere else to go. I didn't stay long after Gareth gave his speech about changing Terminus into a real sanctuary, but by the look on his face, it wasn't going to change very much...

The girl and I left together but ended up going separate ways. Through the little time we talked and walked after I retrieved my weapons, I learned her name was Celia. She wasn't like the men who ran Terminus, she was 'normal'.  She told me she knew where people were and she was going to head for them. And for me, I'd be on my own again. Celia told me where she would be if I ever wanted to be with her and a good group. I thanked her for the offer but told her I was better off alone. She understood completely and wished me much luck before we separated. She needed the luck more than I did, but I couldn't tell her that. Even though she was equipped with a hunting knife, machete, and a pistol, she never really had experience on her own. I silently wished her all the luck in the world as her figure headed off into the sunrise.

*end flashback*

Daryl harshly grabs my wrist with a firm grasp which stops me in my tracks, "No, you're tellin' us what the hell ya meant"

His grip not letting up, I sigh, "If you're ready for a short story, then yeah I'll tell ya what's wrong"

At that, he lets me go and crosses his arms, "C'mon, we're listenin'"

I turn to face them, all eyes on me. I take a deep breath and begin the horrors behind the signs.

"Don't interrupt me while I speak, ask questions later... It was about the first month when this all began, I was walkin' along, mindin' my own business when I came 'cross the signs. I figured, 'eh why not' and went there. Only when I arrived, I was stripped of all my weapons and put into a train car. In the car was myself, a man and two or three women. It was about midday when I arrived. By night, 'bout every hour, a woman was taken away. As she was dragged, the screams and cries echoed. What did they do with the women? The raped them, any struggling you gave, you were beat on top of it. I was in the car with the small family for almost a week, we got food but I never got around to it. The man and women got to it first. The leader's daughter, I never caught his name only her name, she saved me and the rest of us. She used to slip in extra food for me every once in awhile. One night, she set us free. The man, Gareth, had his revenge all planned out, and at his speech, he claimed he would make it a better place but he obviously wasn't going to. After his revenge speech, Celia, the leaders daughter took me to get my weapons and we parted ways... That, is Terminus..."

The looks on their faces weren't very surprising. Rick looked horrified, Michonne was putting herself in my shoes, Carl couldn't believe what I just told, and Daryl, well he was just staring at me blankly.

"So you're sayin' not to go" Daryl says with a harsh attitude

"No, I'm sayin' go there and die" I spit at him

"Hard to believe, comin' from someone like you" He rolls his eyes

"Oh so you're gonna tell me what happened? You didn't starve in a train car, you didn't have to deal with screaming and crying of the women, and you didn't have to get ra-" I stop mid sentence and turned my head away from them, looking at the ground.

He looks up at me, knowing that being a smartass pushed me too far. Daryl knew he fucked up. Rick looked at me with sorrowful eyes,

"Dodger, I'm sorry..." Rick apologizes for Daryl