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"You okay?"
"I'm okay now. I have you."
Daryl smiled shyly, his ears becoming pink, though not noticeable in the setting sun.
"I saw you running... I should've gone after you." He was beating himself up, tired of losing people.
"Don't think like that. You had to get out of there too. It wasn't safe to stay." Daryl nodded at Kat's words. They both sighed, basking in each other's presence. Kat reached over, grabbing Daryl's hand with a smile. She felt him tense, his shoulders going to his ears before slowly deflating. He squeezed her hand softly, showing that he was okay.
They found a map showing a sanctuary called Terminus.
"What if the others are here?" Carl said optimistically. Kat smiled at the boy and nodded.
"I bet they are. It'll be our best hope."
"We gotta be careful. We won't know these people. And anything can happen."
They found the fence towards the sanctuary, Daryl and Kat scouting the area.
"What if this is fake?" Kat asked Daryl.
"We'll be fine. We're fighters." Daryl replied.
"I just have a bad feeling, is all." She admitted. Daryl grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"You're okay. Things will be okay. I promise."
"Don't promise anything... please." She said softly. He nodded slowly, letting go of her hand and grabbing his crossbow from his shoulder. Rick smiled at the two of them, turning to the other two as they watch Daryl and Kat's interaction.
"We all spread out, watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready. We all stay close."
It didn't take long for the scouting and preparations. The group hopping over the fence, making sure to be ready. They walked in cautiously, staying close as Rick instructed. Daryl and Kat shared a glance before he kicked in the door, everyone's weapons raised. There was a voice, speaking on an intercom, as they walked into the building. People littered the inside, all doing tasks while an older woman spoke. She cut off her words once everyone saw the group in line.
"Hello," Rick spoke, getting everyone's attention.
"Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch. You here to rob us?" A man asked. He approached the group, making us stand our ground in a warning.
"No." Replied Rick.
"We wanted to see you before you saw us."
"Makes sense." The man scoffed.
"Usually, we do this where the tracks meet. Ahem. Welcome to Terminus." He raised his arms to gesture towards the large building everyone resides in.
"I'm Gareth."
They patted everyone down, told them to take out their weapons. Kat felt a sense of discomfort as the man patted her down, eyes lingering on places they shouldn't. Daryl looked over, anger prevalent in his eyes.
A woman was cooking. It all happened quickly.
"Where the hell did you get this watch?" Rick growled as he held a man at gunpoint. The group raised their weapons, trained on the man and woman.
"Put down the gun!" He yelled.
"I see the sniper on the roof. I wonder how good's his aim? Where'd you get the watch?" Rick asked again. Looks were shared amongst the broken group as they found items of their people in strangers' hands.
It all happened so fast.
Bullets went flying, guiding the group into unfamiliar territory.
"They're aiming at our feet!" Kat yelled.
They found a room full of candles and writings on the wall.
"They're not trying to kill us," Michonne said, making them look at each other.
"There." We followed Rick before the door closed on us, making us find another exit.
"Here," Daryl called.
"Go!"
Bullets were raining down on their feet, making a path for them to follow. They were surrounded. Nowhere to go.
~~~
I was breathing heavily, tired of the running, and my heart palpitations from the bullets flying at the ground. We looked around for an escape, finding none. We all looked at Carl, sad expressions plastered on our faces.
"Drop your weapons. Now." Gareth yelled. We looked over at him, my heart in my throat. We all did as we were told, throwing our weapons to the ground.
"Ring leader, go to your left. The train car, go." We hesitated, looking at each other with fear in our eyes.
"You do what we say, and the boy goes with you. Anything else, he dies, and you end up in there anyway." Gareth spoke. I glared him down, not caring about the sun in my eyes. Rick nodded, going to the left.
"Now, the archer." I turned to Daryl, putting on a brave face and sending him a nod. He followed behind Rick, getting in line with him.
"Now, the samurai." I looked at Michonne, letting my bravery drop for a moment when she caught my eye. We nodded to each other, a silent 'it's going to be okay.'
"Now, Mrs. archer." I looked at Carl, hesitant about leaving him alone. In any other situation id be flattered and embarrassed by the nickname, but now was not the time.
"Go." Gareth urged. I began to walk, turning to keep Carl in my sights.
"Stand at the door. Ringleader, archer, samurai, Mrs. archer, in that order." He instructed. I bit my lip as we all looked towards Carl, finding fear evident in his face.
"My son."
"Go, kid." Carl quickly walked over to us. I tried to give him a reassuring smile, though it came out as a grimace.
"It's going to be okay," I whispered to him.
"Ring leader. Open the door, and go in."
"I'll go in with him," Rick demanded.
"Don't make us kill him now," Gareth yelled. Rick sneered at him before doing as he was told. We all filed in, our breathing heavy.
I ran over to Daryl, hugging him tightly before hugging Michonne. There was a thud before we saw figures in the darkness.
"Rick?" It was Glenn.
"Oh, thank god!" I cried. Maggie and a few others followed behind them. Maggie ran into my outstretched arms as tears pricked my eyes. My anxiety flaring up as the adrenaline wore off.
"You're here. You're here." We saw more people come up, strangers.
"They're our friends," Maggie told us as they saw our weary glances.
"They helped save us."
"Yeah. Now they're friends of ours."
"For however long that'll be." A ginger man spoke before stalking away.
"No." Rick started.
"They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out," Rick said, looking through the crack in the train car door.
