Daryl's Girl

Chapter 158

I ran and ran with the yelling becoming clearer as we got closer. Soon enough Carl was running along side with me as we saw a man trying to get away on some rocks with walkers holding onto his feet.

Carl shot his gun which alerted the attention of the walkers. Luckily enough for us there were only about five or six so there wasn't many to dispose of. I pushed one into the rock and stabbed my knife into its head. Carl, Rick and Daryl took the rest.

I turned round and a walker dropped to my feet with an arrow sticking out the back of its head. I pulled the arrow from it and walked over to Daryl as Rick approached the man still sitting on the rock quivering.

"Come on down." Rick told the man. He looked to be some kind of father or priest with his choice of clothes. "You okay?" Rick asked.

The man raised his hand and chucked up the contents of his stomach onto the floor. We all looked away as he did. "Sorry." He stood up straight and looked at us all. "Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel."

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick questioned.

Gabriel chuckled and looked at us all. "Do I look like I would have any weapons?"

"We don't give two short and curleys what it looks like." Abraham called from behind.

"I have no wepaons of any kind. The word of God is the only protection I need." Gabriel answered the question.

"Sure didn't look like it." Daryl replied.

Gabriel smiled at Daryl and looked at me and Carl. "I called for help. Help came." He chuckled again. "Do you have any food. What ever I had left, it's just hit the ground."

"We've got some pecans." I offered.

Gabriel looked at me and took them gratefully from my hand. "Thank you." He nodded. "That's a beautiful child." He lookd at Judith in Tyreeses arms.

We all just stood and looked at Gabriel as he tried to make conversation. "Do you have a camp?"

"No. Do you?" Rick replied immediately.

Gabriel glanced back at me again and them towards Rick. "I have a church."

"Hold your hands above your head." Rick ordered.

Gabriel did as Rick asked and looked rather nervous. Rick stepped forward and started to frisk him. "How many walkers have you killed?"

"Not any actually." Gabriel stuttered. Rick turned him around and carried on searching for weapons.

"How many people have you killed?" Rick continued with the questions.

"Non." Gabriel turned around to face Rick.

Something didn't seem right. How has he gone this whole time without killing at least one walker? It doesn't make sense. "Why?" I asked.

Rick stood as close as he could to Gabriel so they were face to face as Garbiel replied. "Because the Lord oppose violence."

"What have you done? We've all done something?" Rick spat.

"I'm a sinner. I sin almost everyday. But those sins I confess them to God not strangers." Gabriel stood his ground against Rick.

"You siad you had a churh." I asked changing the subject. Gabriel nodded. "Could we possibly come back with you?"

Gabriel looked aroumd at us all and slowly nodded his head. "This way." He walked past me and we all started to follow.

We walked for a while in silence as Rick walked up front with Gabriel keeping his eyes on him. I walked behind the others with Briana as Daryl went up with Rick to question Gabriel.

Ever since we found each other we haven't really spoken much. It's like ever since the prison we've grown further apart and with the lost of her brother I don't know how she's feeling.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

Briana looked at me and back to the others ahead of us. "I don't know if we can trust him. What if he's lying? What if there's no church up here at all? There's something about him I don't trust."

"I'm not talking about this. I'm talking about you." I told her.

Briana looked at me and sighed. She slowly stopped walking and I saw a tears build up in her eyes. "What is there to say. We've got no food. No water. No shelter. No nothing. Were the only ones from the prison who made it out alive."

"Beth's out here somewhere." I tried to lighten the mood.

"Thats what Daryl says. But we've still lost people. Your dad. Hershal. Jace. Everyone else. Why are we still out here? What is it we're hoping to achieve?" She sobbed.

"Listen to me. Not a day goes by that we don't miss them. But we have to be here to survive. If Eugene's right about Washington then that's our goal. We can end this." I told her.

Briana slowly nodded her head and I pulled her into a hug. "Come on. Let's catch up to the others." I looked up at them as they were half way up through the tress.

Once we'd caught up we came out upon a church just like Gabriel had told us. Gabriel was standing at the door and Rick walked over to him. "Hold up. We'd like to have a look around first. We just want to hold onto our squirrels." Rick took the keys and opened the door.

Me and Briana looked at each other as the others went inside. Abraham, Eugene and Rosita all went round to the back of the building and we kept an eye on Gabriel and Carl with Judith.

Abraham came back round and started talking to him as the others came back out of the church. "I've spent months in there without stepping out the front door. If you found someone inside, well it would've been a suprise." Gabriel told us and took the keys from Rick.

"Thanks for this." Carl thanked Gabriel.

"We found a short bus out back. It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he doesn't want it. Looks like we found ourselves some transport." Abraham announced to the rest of us as Gabriel went back inside. "You understand what's at stake here right?"

"Yes I do." Rick nodded.

"Now that we can take a breath-" Michonne started to say.

"You take a breath, we slow down. Shit inevitably goes down." Abraham interrupted.

"We need supplies. No matter what we do next." I stepped up. The last thing we want is for everyone to be at each others troats.

Rick nodded. "She's right. Water. Food. Ammunition."

"Short bus ain't going no where. Bring you back some baked beans." Daryl told Abraham.

One by one everyone began to walk into the church. "One way or another, we're doing what Rick does. We're not splitting up again." Glenn walked passed Abraham.

"What he said." Tara walked in behind Maggie.

"We want to roll with you, but what she said." Bob walked in with Sasha.

Abraham looked at me and Briana still standing in the same spot. I shook my head slightly and he went out to the back of the building. "It's gonna be okay. Come on." I told her.

"I know. I just feel like I'm alone. I know what you're gonna say but you're right. We have to survive. To prove to people were strong and to keep what ever's left of the world alive." She replied.

I nodded my head and we both stepped inside the church to join the others.