Survivor (A Glenn Rhee fanfiction)

Four Walls and a Roof

Chapter 55: Four Walls and a Roof
Glenn's POV

"What are you doing?" Sasha storms up to Gabriel. "This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now two of us are gone!"

From the corner of my vision I can see Kadyn's hands covering her mouth, biting back sobs. Her emotions can't hide behind her tear-streaked cheeks.

Rick refused that Kadyn go out and try to find Baylee. There were people watching us, and we know it. They already took Bob. Daryl had already told everything he knew; all he saw was a black car speeding away.

"I have nothing to do with this!" Gabriel pleads as Sasha pulls out her knife.

"Sasha, don't!" Tyreese warns.

"Who's out there?" Sasha pressures Gabriel. "Where are our people?!"

"Please, I-"

"Are you working with someone?"

"I'm alone! I was always alone!" Gabriel stutters.

"What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel? What did you do to her? 'You'll burn for this'. That was for you. Why?" Rick asks.

"I lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night." Gabriel starts to sob, falling to his knees.

"What did you do?" Rick asks in a low voice.

"They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were looking for a safe place - a place where they felt safe. And it was so early.. and the doors were locked." Gabriel wails. "You see, it was my choice. There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging at the sidings, screaming at me. And so the dead came for them. Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy. Begging me for mercy. Damning me to hell. I buried their bones. I buried it all. The Lord sent you here to finally punish me. I'm damned. I was damned before. I always lock the doors. I always lock the doors."

I hear a faint noise from outside the church and unnoticeably make my way to the door. I peek out carefully, squinting against the orange sun rays and then realize someone is out there.

"There's something.. there's someone lying outside in the grass." I call to the group.

Everyone rushes forward, including Kadyn. I grab her arm as she tries to pass, quickly shaking my head. It wasn't Baylee, and she didn't need to go out there.

"Oh, Bob!" Sasha cries.

We pull Bob inside, noticing immediately that he was missing most of his leg. Bob is unconscious, and we lay him on a pile of blankets in one of the back rooms.

The tension in the room is cut short. Now everyone has a focus: Bob. It relieves most of the group that we at least got him back alive, but it was still unnerving that he was missing his leg.

When Bob regains consciousness, he explains that it was Gareth who did this to him. According to him, Gareth and a few of his men had eaten the leg they took from him. However, Bob sadly revealed that he had been bitten. Optimistically, Bob stated that the Terminites had eaten tainted meat.

Once everyone has settled down a bit, most of the group returns to the main room of the church.

"Time for a reality check. We all need to leave for DC right now." Abraham declares.

"We have people missing. We can't leave." Rick shakes his head, standing up.

"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier." Abraham states. "So if y'all won't come, good luck to you. We'll go our separate ways."