The Butchers - Terminus

3

Ally's POV:

It was easily late in the afternoon and I had been locked in Gareth's room for nearly a day. The door slammed open and I whipped my head around to see him walking around the table so he was facing me. "I found this." He said, throwing a book down onto the table.

"What is it?"

"A book obviously." He stated, rummaging through the set of draws that were near his bed. I didn't say anything back to him, clearly he wasn't in he mood to speak and neither was I. I stayed quiet, watching him to try and figure out what he was doing. "You can draw in it or whatever, I don't really care." He said, picking up his own book from out of the draw, grasping it firmly in his hands. "I'm off now." He said, heading towards the door. "There's some important stuff I need to take care of."

"Can I leave now?" I asked, tipping my head back from the chair to see him behind me. I didn't have the energy to turn around anymore.

"Nope." He said, slamming the door shut. I was alone once again. I flicked through the book Gareth had given me, there was already previous writing and scribbles of drawings, dotting the corners of the pages.

***

Days passed and I was still locked in his room. I had gotten to know Gareth more and more but still that didn't change my opinion about him. It was late and Gareth was lay on his bad resting on his back with his arms folded across his chest. I figured he was sleeping since he hadn't moved in a while. I was sat at the chair, drawing pictures in my book and singing quietly, not wanting to wake him. It had got to the point were I was considering doing anything to have the chance to go outside. Having spent so much time outdoors trying to survive to then be locked away was something I clearly wasn't used to.

"Gareth?" I said in a questioning tone. I figured that if he heard me then I'll ask him otherwise I'll leave it. "Gareth." I whispered, slightly louder.

"What?" He sighed, still keeping his eyes shut. He mustn't have been sleeping at all for him actually hear me speak.

"Can I please go out?" I begged. It was worth a try. Gareth sighed, sitting up on the bed. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could I interupted him. "I promise I won't try to runaway again, you can even send someone out with me. Anyone. Anyone but Martin, he freaks me out." I added, wrapping my arms around my waist for my own comfort.

After a couple of seconds, he finally replied. "Fine." He said, as if it had took all his courage he had to do so. "But I'm coming with you." Gareth added, walking towards the door.

"Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. " I said, jumping up from my seat like a child.

We arrived outside the building but still in the ground of Terminus. We sat down on one the steps, I rested my head back looking at the stars. "Why did you want to come out here?"

"I don't like being locked up in a tiny room, Gareth." I said, sarcastically. He sighed and rolled his head towards the side to look at me.

"Seriously."

"I like looking at the stars." I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Why?" He asked, looking up at them in confusion.

"It's not really that interesting." I added. I hated speaking about myself to people. I knew people would think I was weak if I ever explained myself to them, what happened to me before all this. I could kill walkers no problem, could go on runs without caring about the consequences and I could kill people who threatened anyone in my group. I wouldn't want anyone to think anything else of me than someone who ws care-free and able to survive on their own.

"Tell me." He instructed seeming curious, as he looked back up to the stars.

"They remind me that not everything has changed." I started. I could see Gareth look at me from the corner of my eye. "No matter how bad the world gets, they're always there. They don't leave."

"You're crazy." He answered.

"Told you it wasn't that interesting." I slightly laughed, realising how stupid my little theroy was.

"People make up all sorts of things to cope. If that helps you deal with all this, then fair enough." Gareth said. We stayed in silence for a bit, I sat watching my breath in the cold air. A little while later he started speaking again. "I'm thinking of going out tomorrow, putting up more signs around the track. Maybe, you can come with."

"Are you serious?" I asked. I didn't want to get my hopes up if he wasn't allowing me out.

"Yeah. I figured that you won't runaway anymore. You're smart enough to realise that you don't have a chance outside these walls." I furrowed my eyebrows at his insult. I had survived weeks on my own after losing my group and long before I met them, i knew I was capable of doing it again. I didn't answer back, if I started an argument I could lose all chances of getting out. "You ready to go back in?" He asked. I nodded my head and he stood up, reaching out his hand and pulling me to my feet.

Gareth told me to sleep in his bed since he still wouldn't allow me to go back into my own room and he needed to take notes of how much supplies had been used. I shuffled around, uncomfortable in my clothes that hadn't been changed in months. "Can't sleep?" Gareth questioned, looking over to me from the table. He was sat pen in hand as his book was placed on the table. I shook my head, standing up and walking over to him.

"What you doing?" I asked, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"Nothing." He smirked, closing his book. He leaned back on his chair, still smirking. Mocking me at the fact he wouldn't let me see his work.

"Fine. I'm not interested anyway." I mumbled, resting my head in my hands. I was tired, even sitting in a dark room all day was enough to make me feel exhausted when I was this worn down. I closed my eyes, my head falling deeper into my hands. I heard Gareth open his book again, but my eyes ached too much to open them. It was comforting to know that he was here, opposite me. Even without us speaking to eachother, knowing that he was with me made me relax a little bit more. Being lonely in a world like this was the scary, but he made me feel a little less lonelier.