don't hold on | rick grimes, twd

45

nothing is more unsettling than hearing a man scream for help unexpectedly. you're just doing whatever and suddenly, you hear blood curdling screams, cries for help. it was a bone chilling moment, and we didn't know what to do at first, but it was father gabriel outside screaming.

i ripped the axe from the ground, and swung at the wooden barricades blocking the door. my muscles hurt, and so did my eye, but i still used all the strength i had to do it. i swung on repeat until it finally broke down, finally. just as gabriel came running in, there was no time to close the doors, we had no choice but to fall back.

"move!" michonne commands us, whipping out her sword and slicing through the walkers in an instant. we weren't quick enough to close the rectory door on time, so we tried to barricade it with a wooden chair.

the fingertips of walkers clawed through the cracks, adrenaline pumped through my veins, my heart was racing with fear, fuck. we got three children in here and all we have to barricade ourselves with is a goddamn wooden chair—yeah, we're doing great.

"that's how i got out, crawl under to the back. just go—take the little one, and go!" father gabriel insisted, pointing to a hole in the wooden floorboards, his voice was raspy from screaming so much—that, i could tell.

lola already carried judith in her baby carrier, and she was the first to crawl through. carl held the bags of stuff, and he went in right after lola. i crouched down into the hole, about to crawl through when i turned to michonne, her determined eyes staring right back at me, "we'll wait for you."

michonne nodded, quickly waving me away so i could get out. i followed her directions, and paced through underneath the church to the outside, the kids were waiting for me right at the hole. my hands were covered in dirt, and i was sweating profusely. now what do we do?

all of us stood outside the church, stranded, and unsure of what to do. the others weren't gonna be back until night, early morning would be the most. the church is gone, that's for sure, we had our little supplies left, but still, what the hell were we supposed to do now?

walkers were heard snarling from inside the church, trying to claw their way in, it was unsettling. i glanced at the children to see if they were okay, and they were. judith was passed out in a baby carrier on carl's back, and lola was laid back against the old, wooden fence, sweat dripping from her face. "where did you go?" michonne interrogated gabriel.

"the school, i had to see. i had to know."

it wasn't long to take in gabriel's answer before the sound of wood breaking was heard. the walkers were breaking away at the wood, determined to get at us.

i quickly reloaded my rifle i still had from terminus, and i was ready to take them out, we all were, that was until a big red fire truck zoomed through and took out the church porch, blocking the doorway. instant confusion sparked inside me until when i got a better look of who was inside the first truck, it was glenn, maggie, annoying ginger, and the others. relief ran through me, a smile tugged at my lips that i couldn't help but hide.

one by one, except eugene, they all dropped down from the fire truck, i was so excited to see them. when maggie came down she brung me into a big, tight hug. surviving for so long with her and glenn, it's just an automatic thing now, to hug them.

we exchanged quick hellos before pulling away, in my rear view i could see maggie engulfing lola in a hug. i moved to glenn, giving him a pat on the shoulder, "back so soon?"

glenn's facial expression changed drastically, "eugene lied—he can't stop it, washington isn't the end." a frown came upon my face, it was nice to have some hope for a little while, but it always ends, it always does. "where is everybody?"

i looked to michonne, she should be the one to give her the news. "beth's alive—she in a hospital, in atlanta. some people have her, but the others went to get her back."

maggie's eyes welled up with tears, she was emotional about it, but excited, i could tell, "do we know which one?"

"grady memorial."

in shock, maggie moved her hair out of her face, before engulfing glenn into a hug, my smile was wide. seeing maggie this happy, it made me feel good. while maggie and glenn were hugging, i went over to rosita and tara, telling them a quick, "welcome back".

"let's blow this joint." tara suggests, readjusting the heavy gun she was carrying,
"—go save your sister."

all of us agreed, and so, we piled inside the fire truck. glenn, maggie, an abraham were in front once again, rosita and tara were hanging off the back, and the rest of us were in the backseats. to atlanta we go.

-

except for the kids, everyone else piled out of the truck. our guns were up, and on high alert. we were walking towards the entrance of the hospital, army tents were set up to the side, it was easy to tell it's been abandoned.

dead walker bodies were scattered around us, and some, came out from the tents, which we easily put down without a problem. i just wanted to see the others again—have us all back together, it's all i wanted. and there we saw it, one by one the others piled out of the hospital, their facial expressions were ones i couldn't explain, sorrow, sadness, despair, all of it. it confused me, and all of us.

then, it hit me. seeing a lifeless beth being carried by daryl, seeing his face with tears, broke me. hearing maggie break down into tears, sobbing, i couldn't help but cry myself. after surviving together for so long, you become family, you learn to trust each other with anything, and that's how we all felt with beth, and now, she's gone. goodbye, sweet pea.

-
!gif is of nikki when she sees daryl carrying beth's body!