THE GROUP HAD BEEN on the move for about a few hours, making stops here and there to rest and eat.

They all decided to stop again. People like Tyreese, Y/N, Sasha, Rosita, and Abraham kept watch for straggling walkers. For Y/N, he paced around as he held his gun in hand, but also had an eye on Mika, who was sitting with Carl and Carol, snacking.

Rick had just finished talking to Tara, thanking her for what she had done and for being on their side. He walked away as he gripped his assault rifle. Later, Y/N felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see Glenn.

"I don't think I've seen you eat." He remarked as he offered him a protein bar.

Y/N glanced at it. "Eh, you keep it."

"I already ate." He butted and slapped the bar against his shoulder. "Come on, it's the brand you always talk about."

The young man chuckled and ultimately took it. It indeed was the brand he always praised and sponsored back during his baseball days.

"Thanks," Y/N replied and took a bite out of it. "Maggie all right?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"You doing all right?"

Glenn nodded again. "Yeah. You?"

Y/N looked back at the group. He trained his eyes on Mika, who was enjoying her snack and making conversation with Carl. Seeing her have some sort of normalcy always brought him some relief.

"Ditto."

Later, Y/N was at a creek washing his hands and face. Tyreese soon joined him and started to wash up as well. The young man greeted his friend with a nod and the burly man reciprocated, but his expression showed that there was something on his mind.

"Y/N...I gotta tell you something."

He turned to Tyreese. The fellow former athlete let out a sigh as he looked ahead at the water.

"Lizzie...uh...she's gone."

Y/N was taken aback at the news and was crestfallen. He had known Lizzie and promised Ryan that he'd look after them. Finding out that the eldest Samuels died really hurt.

"Jesus..." He muttered. "What happened?"

Tyreese took a moment. He wasn't sure how to explain what really happened in the previous days with Carol. Ultimately, he spoke up.

"We had her, Judith, and this boy, a curly haired kid named Luke. Carol and I stuck with them but as time went on...we noticed how Lizzie started to act. She wasn't really...right in the head."

Y/N stayed quiet and let Tyreese continue.

"She killed Luke. She even wanted to kill Judith. She wanted to see them come back as walkers. Lizzie was conflicted...she felt remorse for killing Luke but also thought that was how it was supposed to be. So, Carol and I decided it'd be best to..."

Tyreese stopped for a moment and took in a breath. Y/N could tell it pained him to relive the memory. He also didn't need to hear the rest of the statement to know what they did.

"Fuck..." Y/N breathed out. "She...she was really going to kill Judith too?"

Tyreese kept looking down. "We felt like she was going to do it eventually. We couldn't take that risk."

Y/N looked down as well. Although it pained him to know that Lizzie was dead and that Mika now had no father, mother, or sibling, he believed the two did what they had to.

"You freed her from this hell, Ty. You did what you had to do." He reassured him. "And she's with her parents now."

Tyreese nodded. There was a moment of quiet before he spoke again.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell the others. What will Mika think?"

Y/N thought about it too. He wasn't sure how Mike would take that news. There wasn't a way to explain to her the circumstances of her sister's demise.

"Right now, I think we should keep this to ourselves. There will be a time for it."

Y/N got up and patted his back before walking away, but the man called out.

"Maybe we shouldn't."

Y/N looked back at him. Tyreese continued.

"I just want to forget it."

The young man didn't respond and simply kept walking. Tyreese stayed crouched beside the creek and stared into it in thought.

The group walked through the barren road in a sort of line formation. Rick was at the front joined by Glenn, Y/N, Maggie, and Tara. Tyreese, Carol, Michonne, Carl, and Mika were close behind. Toward the back were Ramon, Daryl, Sasha, Bob, Eugene, Abraham, and Rosita.

Later, they went back into the woods in a similar formation. A walker came out and growled, garnering their attention.

"I got it." Michonne said.

She went up to it and reached for her back, but chuckled upon remembering she didn't have her katana. She ultimately used the butt of her rifle to knock the walker to the floor before finishing it off with another hit.

CRACK!

They continued as Michonne dispatched the walker. Abraham looked on and was impressed by the handiwork the survivors had demonstrated.

"Right there is why we're waiting for our moment." Abraham told Rosita.

The Latina let out a sigh as the ginger walked passed her. She chuckled.

"Yeah, fair enough."

Later that night, they settled in the woods. Y/N was keeping watch at a tree stump on the East of their perimeter, with a compound bow at his side. He looked on into the dark shrubbery in silence.

Suddenly, he heard a twig snap behind him. He immediately turned around but his state of high alert was quelled upon seeing the young girl.

"Mika? What are you still doing up?"

The blonde writhed her hands and went up to him. "I can't sleep."

Y/N let out a breath through his nose. He knew she still was getting used to sleeping in the woods after the prison was destroyed.

"Come on." He pat the space on the ground next to him. "Stick with me, then."

The girl gave a soft smile before doing just that. She sat in the spot close beside him. Y/N looked up for a moment and saw some stars in the clear skies. Mika took notice as well.

"I had a classmate that knew all about stars. The names and everything." She said.

"Really?" He replied and looked up again. He pointed. "What's that one then?"

She scoffed. "I don't know."

"Come on. You don't remember? Wouldn't he tell you?"

"Nobody really listened. He was a weird kid."

Y/N chuckled. Mika's smile then changed to a solemn expression.

"I feel bad. Nobody really wanted to play with him. And now that everything is gone...I feel like I could've been that friend but I wasn't. I'm a bad person."

Y/N turned to her. "That doesn't make you a bad person. You're a kid. That was kid stuff. Stuff that is in the past now."

Mika nodded. Y/N continued.

"You just gotta move on and if you can...correct that mistake once you get the chance."

"Like if I see him again?"

"Wouldn't get my hopes up, but sure. Or if you ever meet someone new. Give them a chance."

Mika liked the advice. Y/N nodded and nudged her.

"Unless they think you're the weird one."

"I'm not weird." Mika butted with a scoff.

"I don't know."

Mika nudged him back and they both laughed. They looked back up at the sky where Mika rested her head on his shoulder. Y/N could tell she was tired.

"Get some sleep." He told her. "I'll be right here."

She nodded and nestled up beside him. That spot was way more comfortable than the ground she was going to sleep on. Mike closed her eyes and rested.

Back in camp, Rosita was looking at Y/N and Mika from her seat within the camp. She lightly smirked at the sight. But unbeknownst to all of them...there was someone within the trees watching them too.

• • •

THE NEXT MORNING, the group was on the move again. They walked through the shrubbery but stopped upon hearing a noise ahead. The members with arms raised their weapons in the same direction...where they saw Daryl carrying lines of squirrel carcasses.

"We surrender." He said.

Rick gave him a look and they all kept walking. Daryl spoke to the former sheriff's deputy.

"No tracks. No nothing."

"So whatever you heard last night..."

"It's more what I felt." Daryl replied. "If someone was watching us, there would have been something."

Rick nodded. He looked back at the people behind him and whistled.

"Keep close."

Abraham went up to Rick and walked beside him. "Ready to get some concrete under your feet?"

"I think it's time." He replied.

"That is sweet music to my ears, Officer. Take the next road we come to, and try to get back to going north till we find a vehicle. Good?"

"Good." He then looked at Y/N, Glenn, and Maggie were at the end of their formation. "Tighten it up."

They kept walking through the woods. Bob and Sasha were having a rather playful conversation.

"Uh, wet socks." She began.

"Cool feet." Bob retorted.

"Mosquito bites."

"Itching reminds you you're alive."

"Danger around every corner."

"Never a dull moment."

"The hot sun beating down on you."

Bob scoffed. "Come on, a glorious tan."

Sasha laughed. Bob continued.

"I said it and I meant it."

"No privacy." Sasha added.

"Captive audience." He countered and winked.

Sasha smirked and kissed him. They parted but Bob insisted.

"One more."

They kissed again.

"One more."

Sasha just laughed and so did Bob before the man kept walking forward. Behind them was Tyreese and Y/N, the latter having caught up with his friend and walked alongside him.

"He's a damn expert at that." Sasha told her brother.

"What the hell even was that?" Y/N asked.

"A little game. Good out of the bad."

Tyreese chuckled. He didn't mind seeing his sister being in a relationship with Bob. Y/N didn't have a problem with it either despite that spat he had with Bob back at the pharmacy a few days ago. That was all water under the bridge.

"Help!"

The distant callout got all of their attention and they came to a halt.

"Help, anybody! Help!"

Carl turned to Rick. "Dad, come on."

He was hesitant at first. Mika supported Carl and also wanted to see who needed aid.

"Someone is in trouble." She said.

"Come on!" Carl gestured ahead. "Come on."

Ultimately, Rick relented and motioned toward the group to follow. They all ran through the woods toward the direction of the screaming.

Meanwhile, an African-American priest was on top of a boulder trying to kick away the walkers below. They attempted to grab him as the fearful man kept screaming.

"Help! Help! Help! Anybody, help!"

Suddenly, one was shot in the head by Carl.

BLAM!

Rick ran up and slammed one of the walker's heads into the boulder. Y/N aimed at another and shot it down with his bow. Michonne and Daryl also took down an infected that tried going for them.

SCHRESH!

THOKK!

WHACK!

THWICK!

With the undead taken out, the man on the rock looked around and panted. Rick called out to Abraham, Rosita, and Glenn.

"We're clear. Keep watch." He looked up at the trembling priest. "Come on down."

He did as told and got off the boulder. Rick eyed him.

"You okay?"

He held a finger up before bending down and hurling. They all looked away in both disgust and annoyance as he vomited. Rosita rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Sorry." He wiped his mouth. "Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel."

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

He chuckled. "Do I look like I would have any weapons?"

"We don't give a shit what it looks like." Ramon interjected as he held his rifle.

"I-I have no weapons of any kind." Gabriel stammered. "The word of God is the only protection I need."

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

"I called for help. Help came."

Gabriel weakly smiled as he looked at the group, who just looked at him with stern and/or confused looks. Maggie kept eyeing him and contemplating whether his act was genuine.

Mika also studied him, finding the man pretty weird, but also recognized him as a priest because of her time in Sunday School.

"Do you have—have any food?" Gabriel asked. "Whatever I—I had left, it just hit the ground."

Mika ended up walking up and offering a snack from her bag. Y/N was about to stop her but she already had the food out in her palm.

"I have some granola. You could have it." She told him.

Gabriel looked down at the girl and took it. He was grateful for her kindness.

"Thank you."

Judith cooed nearby in Tyreese's arms. Gabriel heard and looked over at them, smiling.

"That's a beautiful child." He complimented.

There was no thanks or any other response given. Rick kept his gaze on the man. Y/N also did, as the two men learned to study the situation as best they could before letting their guard down. They weren't going to take any more chances.

"Do you have a camp?" Gabriel asked after the silence.

"No." Rick immediately answered. "Do you?"

"I have a church." He replied.

"Hold your hands above your head."

Gabriel did as told. Rick went up to him and began to pat him down with one arm.

"How many walkers have you killed?" He asked.

"Not any, actually."

"Turn around."

Rick didn't even let him move on his own and forcefully turned him around.

"How many people have you killed?"

"None." Gabriel answered.

"Why?"

He turned back around. "Because the Lord abhors violence."

Rick did not believe that one bit. Just by looking at the man's eyes, he could tell he was hiding something. That he kept something close to his chest.

"What have you done?" He asked Gabriel. "We've all done something."

"I'm a sinner. I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."

"You said you had a church?" Michonne asked.

Gabriel turned to Michonne and nodded.

Soon enough, Gabriel joined them and they followed him to his church.

"Hey, earlier, were you watching us?" Rick asked him.

"I keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"

Y/N cut in. "No, people are worse."

"Well, I wasn't watching you. I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I've gone before today." He replied, then spoke again after a pause. "Or maybe I'm lying. Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels."

Gabriel chuckled and turned around, only to be met with the stern gazes of Rick, Y/N, and Daryl. They didn't think his joke was funny. He swallowed.

"Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired." He added.

"Yeah, it does." Daryl replied.

They all kept walking. Y/N went past him and spoke.

"Stick to bible scriptures."

They all went up to the church. Gabriel walked up the steps and was about to unlock the door with his key.

"Hold up. Can we take a look around first?" Rick held out his open palm. "We just want to hold on to our squirrels."

Gabriel relented and handed him the keys. Rick called over a group consisting of Daryl, Carol, Glenn, and Michonne and they all went inside to check the interior of the church. About a few minutes later, they came back out and informed the rest that it was clear.

"I spent months here without stepping out the front door. If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising." Gabriel told them.

"Thanks for this." Carl thanked him as he held Judith.

Abraham walked up to Rick. "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."

Rick simply nodded and rubbed the top of his daughter's head. Abraham continued.

"You understand what's at stake here, right?"

"Yes, I do." He replied.

Michonne spoke. "Now that we can take a breath—"

"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down." Abraham interjected.

"We need supplies no matter what we do next."

"That's right. Water, food, ammunition." Rick said as he walked into the church.

"Short bus ain't going nowhere," Daryl told the former army man. "Bring you back some baked beans."

The redneck went inside as well. Everyone else started going inside. Glenn stopped in front of Abraham.

"One way or another, we're doing what Rick does. We're not splitting up again."

Glenn went inside as well.

"What he said." Tara added and followed Maggie.

Bob spoke. "We want to roll with you, but...what she said."

The man went inside with Sasha. Y/N and Ramon were the last outside and were about to go into the church as well, but not before Y/N got a word in.

"Lighten up, G.I Joe." Y/N said as he patted his arm.

He went inside. Ramon chuckled before following his friend. Abraham stood outside with Rosita and Eugene and the man grumbled.

Later, the group ended up splitting to gather supplies. Rick, Sasha, Bob, and Michonne went with Gabriel into the nearby town to check out an overrun store. Daryl and Carol went out to look for water. Glenn, Maggie, Ramon, and Tara also left to look for any sort of munitions. Y/N, Tyreese, Carl, and Mika stayed at the church with Judith while Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene were outside working on the short bus.

Y/N sat in the pews looking at the altar ahead. The last time he was in a church was the first time he saw the apparition of his father. He glanced around for him and was honestly relieved that he wasn't around. It had been a few days since he'd seen him, which was when they encountered the Claimers.

He looked ahead and saw Tyreese with Judith and Mika. The blonde girl was lightly laughing as she played with Judith, which brought a smile to Tyreese's face. Y/N looked on and also grinned.

The young man got up and did the sign of the cross upon leaving the pews. It was a habit of his since he practiced Catholicism with his mom growing up. Although it was something his dad hated, his mom made it a part of her sons' lives.

Y/N left the church and walked outside. There, he saw Carl looking over at the short bus that was being worked on. He turned to Y/N upon seeing him.

"Hey."

"Hey." Y/N greeted back. "You doing all right out here?"

"Yeah, I was just looking around."

Y/N nodded. Abraham was knelt by the front of the bus and noticed the two looking at him.

"You just gonna stand there with a thumb up your ass?" He asked.

Y/N crossed his arms. "What? Tough guy need the help?"

"I'd ask, but I'm sure a pretty boy like you ain't got the cajones for this grunt work."

The young man took it a bit personally. He walked up to the former Sergeant and scoffed.

"Pretty boy."

Abraham arched a brow as Y/N came over and looked into the open hood. He checked it and pointed at it.

"Radiator hose needs to be patched up." He looked into the toolbox they had. "Nothing tape won't fix, and this kind won't be affected by the pressure or heat."

The young man started to patch it up. Rosita turned to him.

"Know your way around cars?" She asked.

He shrugged. "My dad had me work on them."

"Good ol' pastime with the old man?" Abraham asked.

"You can say that." He muttered.

Y/N kept patching it up. Abraham kept eyeing the young man and he pointed.

"You look very familiar...but for the life of me, I cannot figure it out."

Later that night, they all regrouped in the church with their newfound supplies. It was very festive as they enjoyed the delicacies Rick and company acquired from the food bank in town.

There was laughing and chatter within. For a moment, it felt like nothing was wrong. Everyone was just having a great time as if they were simply friends and family enjoying time together.

"I'd like to propose a toast," Abraham called out and the chatter stopped. "I look around this room...and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors."

He held up his glass. Maggie did as well and called out.

"Survivors!"

Everyone else joined in.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers."

"Survivors."

Suddenly, Abraham spoke again. "Is that all you want to be?"

They all looked at him. The former Sergeant continued.

"Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip."

There was no response but the coos of Judith, which were quelled by Rick. Y/N sat back on the pews and simply looked at Abraham, not sure of what to think of his words. Abraham looked over at Eugene.

"Eugene, what's in DC?"

"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us." Abraham added. "Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there...who don't got nothing left to do except survive."

Y/N, along with everybody else, stayed quiet as they pondered the thought. For the young man, he thought of what's been lost. He thought of Alan, Erica, Liliana, his son, AJ, and the innocent lives that perished at the prison. There was also his brother, who he figured was likely dead by now.

According to Abraham, there was a chance to make it all right. There was a chance to reclaim the world. Although it was unfortunate people like Liliana and AJ wouldn't be around to experience it...he felt like he owed it to them to try.

Rick glanced at Y/N for a moment, reading his expression as he pondered. Y/N looked back and gave a slight nod. Rick looked back at Judith who cooed and the man chuckled.

"What was that? I think she knows what I'm about to say."

There was light laughter that came from a few in the room. Rick continued.

"She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."

Bob applauded as they all laughed and cheered. Y/N softly smiled as he looked over at Mika beside him. She beamed back, feeling content that they had a plan and were on their way to making things better.

"Let's do it." Rick added.

The man got up with his daughter and walked off. Sasha also gave a kiss to Bob before getting up to be with the baby. The man watched her walk away, before gingerly getting up himself and going toward the front door of the church.

Y/N sat alone as he finished the bit of food off his plate. Moments later, Tara came over and sat down beside him. He nodded in greeting.

"Hey."

"Hey." She replied.

"Tara, right? You good?"

"Yeah, yeah."

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.

"You—you know I was at the prison. With the Governor."

Y/N just looked at her and didn't respond. He did remember seeing her during the whole confrontation. She continued.

"I didn't know who he was or what he could do. And I didn't know who all of you were. I want to say...I'm sorry. For everything that happened. For what happened to you."

Tara knew that Y/N lost his girlfriend and baby during the attack and she felt somewhat responsible for it. The young took in a breath and looked down.

"You didn't deserve it. None of you did." She added.

Y/N took a moment. He finally looked up at Tara.

"That was then. Philip is gone now. They...they're gone now." Y/N said. "But you're here now. With us. Make the best of it."

Being told that felt like a burden of her shoulders, but was honestly taken aback by his immediate forgiveness.

"You—you don't hate me?"

Y/N ended up taking out the photo of Lili and AJ from his pocket and holding it. He sighed.

"She wouldn't want me to harbor that...especially to those with a good heart. And I know you possess that."

Tara looked down at the photo. She smirked. "What'd you name him?"

Y/N softly smiled. "AJ."

A few seconds after saying the name...he suddenly teared up. It wasn't long until he then began to cry a bit. Tara offered comfort and embraced the tearful man as he continued holding the photo. It was an act that Y/N appreciated...from a stranger of all people.

Carol was put on the road dealing with stragglers by their hidden car. After killing one walker, she heard rustling coming from the tree line. Upon looking back, she saw that it was Daryl and Ramon.

"What are you doing?" Daryl asked.

She took a moment. "I don't know."

"I get it," Ramon said. "Letting out some steam in peace?"

"I guess you can say that."

He nodded. Suddenly, they heard a car approaching. Daryl motioned them to hide behind their vehicle.

"Come on."

They hid and waited for the car to pass by. As he dove down the road, Ramon stared at it and noticed the sign on the back windshield: A cross. His eyes widened.

"It's them..." He breathed out.

"What?" Daryl replied.

"It's the motherfuckers who took Beth."

Daryl immediately went over to their car and broke the taillights. Carol was confused.

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing? What are you doing?"

"They got Beth." He went over to the driver's side and called them over. "Come on. Come on, get in!"

They quickly went inside the car and sped away, chasing after the car.

Sasha noticed that Bob was missing. She went outside and checked the perimeter with her silenced scoped rifle but all she found was a walker. She took it out with her single gunshot.

PFFT!

She swore she had seen someone in the shrubbery before being attacked. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and they muffled her scream. Thankfully, it was just Tyreese.

"It's me. It's me."

She broke free. "Tyreese."

With him were Y/N and Rick. The former had his pistol out while the latter had his revolver and a flashlight.

"He's getting away." Sasha said.

"Who?"

"Somebody was watching us."

Tyreese looked ahead at the shrubbery. "If we go in there now, some of us aren't coming back."

"Bob is out there somewhere." She replied. "Scared, alone."

"Maybe not alone," Y/N said. "Daryl, Carol, and Ramon are missing, too."

The four went back to the church and rejoined those who were still there. They immediately went up to Father Gabriel who was sorting the silverware.

"Stop," Sasha said. "What are you doing?"

The man was confused. There was a pause before Sasha spoke again but more sternly.

"What are you doing? This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now four of us are gone."

"I...I don't..." He stuttered. "I don't have anything to do with this."

Sasha was buying it. She took out her knife and that scared Gabriel.

"Wait!"

Rosita got up from her seat. "Don't!"

"Sasha, put it away." Tyreese called out.

"Who's out there?" Sasha stepped up to Gabriel, ignoring them.

"I—I don't have anything...to do with this." He replied.

"Where are our people?!" She shouted.

"I don't have anything to—"

Y/N finally stepped up to Gabriel as well. He too was suspicious of the man and was worried about his friends. He grabbed his collar and held him in place.

"Are you sure about that? You lying in the house of God? Huh?!"

Mika saw him forcefully handling the priest and called out. "Y/N! Stop!"

"Please, I don't have anything to do with this." Gabriel kept pleading.

"We know you're hiding something!"

"I—"

Rick ended up pulling Y/N back and the young man let go. Rick calmly, albeit with a threatening tone, spoke to the priest.

"Why'd you bring us here?" He asked.

He stammered. "Please, I—"

"You working with someone?"

"I'm alone. I'm alone. I was always alone."

"What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel? What did you do to her?" Rick asked, then mentioned etchings outside the walls of the church. "You'll burn for this. That was for you. Why? What are you gonna burn for, Gabriel?"

Immediately, Rick dropped his calm act and went for Gabriel too. He grabbed him by the collar with both hands.

"What? What did you do?" He exclaimed. "What did you do?!"

Rick let him go. The man panted and looked down in shame.

"I lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always—" He began to cry. "They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were—they were looking for a safe place, a place where they felt safe. And it was so early. It was so early. And the doors were still locked. You see...it was my choice. There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me. And so the dead came for them. Women...children. Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy."

Gabriel sobbed as they all listened. Mika sat with Carl and was heartbroken hearing the story. The man tearfully continued.

"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." He dropped down and leaned against the altar. "I'm damned. I was damned before. I always lock the doors. I always lock the doors."

The priest kept sobbing as he curled up against the altar. Sasha just stared at him as she sheathed her knife. Y/N was unresponsive and he held his waist and looked at him.

Suddenly, they heard faint whistling outside. Glenn went over to the window and peeked outside.

"There's something—there's someone outside lying in the grass." He said.

Sasha immediately made her way toward the door. Y/N called out. "Sasha."

Glenn opened the door and Sasha was the first to go out. She quickly realized who it was on the ground and gasped.

"Oh! Bob!" She ran over to the maimed man. "Bob."

Maggie came out as well and saw the current state he was in. Her eyes widened.

"His leg..."

The man was amputated and in horrible condition. Y/N looked around and saw walkers snarling and coming over.

"Get him inside. We'll take care of them." He told them.

Y/N took out his knife and killed a walker nearby.

SULK!

Glenn and Maggie assisted along with Rick, who used his revolver.

WHACK!

SULK!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Get inside!" Rick shouted. "Go!"

They all carried Bob inside the church. Y/N finished off one more walker before turning around...where he saw something painted on the side of the building in blood.

An A.

"I was in the graveyard. Somebody knocked me out." Bob explained. They were all gathered around him in the middle of the church as he laid on the floor. "I woke up outside this place. It looked like a school. It was that guy, Gareth. And five other ones. They were eating my leg right in front of me. Like it was nothing. All proud like they had it all figured out."

Y/N was livid to hear that Gareth and a few others were still around and about. He was also enraged that they had Bob endure such a fate. They should've gone back and made sure they were all dead.

"Did they have Daryl, Ramon, and Carol?" Rick asked.

"Gareth said they drove off." He replied.

They looked at one another in confusion. Bob groaned in discomfort.

"He's in pain," Sasha said. "Do we have anything?"

"I think there are pill packets in the first aid kit." Rosita answered.

"Okay."

"Save 'em." Bob grunted.

"No."

"Really."

Bob sat up and pulled down his collar, showing the bite mark on his shoulder. Sasha looked on in shock as well as the rest of his friends.

"It happened at the food bank." He explained.

Sasha fought back tears. He held his hand. "It's okay."

Suddenly, Bob felt weaker and laid on his back. They all can tell he didn't have long before he succumbed to his injuries and infection.

"There's a sofa in my office," Gabriel spoke. "I know it's not much, but..."

Sasha looked back at him. She appreciated his offer despite the mistreatment she gave him.

"Thank you."

Later, Bob settled in the office. Rick huddled up with a few of the group to discuss.

"Does he have a fever?" He asked.

"He's just warm." Maggie answered.

"Jim lasted almost two days before we left him." Glenn mentioned.

Suddenly, Abraham called out to the rest of them. He was by the door with Rosita and holding his rifle.

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

"Daryl, Carol, and Ramon are gonna be back," Rick said. "We're not going anywhere without them."

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

"You leaving on foot?"

"We fixed that damn bus ourselves."

Y/N chuckled. "Without my eyes and hands, you would've been stuck with shit."

Abraham looked back and glared at him. He scoffed.

"What? Tape a hose? Tighten a few screws? You think you're better than me, pretty boy?"

Y/N stepped up to him. "Every aspect."

"Your Barry Bonds ass can't juice up anymore. I'll knock your ass to the ground."

"There are a lot more of us." Rick said as he walked forward too.

"You want to keep it that way? You should come." Abraham replied.

"Carol saved your life. We saved your life."

"Well, I am trying to save yours. Save everyone's."

Y/N spoke up. "We're not going anywhere without our people."

"Your people took off." He retorted.

"They're coming back." Rick added.

"To what, picked-over bones?!"

Rick reached out. "You're not taking—"

Abraham swatted his hand away. "Do not lay hands!"

Y/N shoved him. "Take your own advice."

"Touch me again and see." He exclaimed.

"Abraham!" Rosita called out.

"What are you gonna do?" Y/N taunted and stepped up to him again.

"Hey, hey, stop!" Glenn ran up and got between them. "Now!"

Glenn looked at the both of them and turned to Abraham. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah."

"What about tomorrow? We need each other for this. We need each other to get to DC. We can get through all of it together."

Tara spoke up. "I have an idea. If you stay just one more day and help, I'll go with you to DC no matter what. Okay?"

Abraham stood quiet for a moment.

"Glenn and Maggie, too."

"No." Rick seethed.

"Good luck, then. I'm not interested in breaking up what you have here. Rosita, grab your gear."

"Abraham—"

"Now." He turned to Eugene who was sitting down. "Eugene, let's go. Eugene. Move it."

"I don't want to." He muttered.

"Now."

He relented rather quickly. "Okay."

The trio made their way to the door. Before they left, Y/N spoke up.

"You're not taking the bus...the bus I fixed."

"Try to stop me." Abraham taunted.

There was a moment of quiet. Y/N looked down as he held his hips before making his way toward the army man. He handed the rifle to Rosita and was ready to fight Y/N. Glenn immediately ran over and got between them again.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Glenn looked over at Y/N, motioned him to calm down, and then spoke to Abraham. "You stay—you stay and help us, and we will go with you."

"Glenn...no..."

"It's not your call." He butted and kept speaking to Abraham. "You stay, help us."

"Half a day." He replied after a few seconds. "Come high noon, we're taillights. I'm not waiting for the other damn shoe to drop."

"And we will leave with you." Maggie added.

"12 hours. Then we go."

Abraham walked off. Glenn turned around and Rick spoke to him.

"Glenn..."

He gave the same response he gave to Y/N to Rick.

"It's not your call."

The group sat in the church going over the plan to deal with Gareth and the remaining termites. Y/N sat across from Tyreese on a seat as he looked down at his hands.

"They think they're in control," Rick spoke. "We're in here and they could be anywhere. But we know exactly where they are."

"Plan's got stones, I'll give you that," Abraham said. "Make our move before they do."

"That's right. They're not counting on us thinking straight."

"Are we?" Rosita asked. "I'm just making sure. It's a big play."

For a moment, Y/N glanced ahead and saw someone sitting behind Tyreese on the pews. It was a face he hadn't seen in some time and thought he wouldn't see again...at least not for a while.

It was his father.

He simply gave a stern look at Y/N. The young man just ignored him and spoke in response to Rosita's statement.

"We know what these people are capable of. I wanted to go back and finish them...but we held off and suffered the consequences of it. We have to correct that mistake and make sure it doesn't happen again."

Rick agreed. The apparition of Y/N's father smirked at his son's words. Nearby, Mika looked at Y/N and watched as the man fiddled with his fingers. Y/N paid no mind to any of their looks.

His mind was set on one thing: to kill the Gareth and his people.

Under the guise of night, Gareth and company decided to infiltrate the church after seeing Rick, Michonne, Y/N, Sasha, Glenn, Maggie, Tara, and Abraham leave for their hideout at the nearby school.

This is what they expected. They planned to kill the people who decided to stay in the church, which were Tyreese, Carl, Mika, Judith, Rosita, Eugene, Bob, and Father Gabriel. Gareth wanted them to come back to the massacre before going after the rest.

They stepped up to church. Gareth and his people slowly went up to the doors where Martin broke the lock with the end of his bat. Gareth went in first with his gun drawn. He called out into the dark space.

"Well, I guess you know we're here. And we know you're here. And we're armed. So there's really no point in hiding anymore."

Gareth looked back at his group and motioned forward. He knew that they were probably all holding up in the closed office. He continued as they walked toward the altar.

"We've been watching you. We know who's here. There's Bob, unless you've put him out of his misery already. And Eugene. Rosita. Martin's good friend Tyreese. Carl. Judith. And that girl the shortstop is fond of, her name escapes me...ah! Mika. Oh, how can I forget you?"

There was still silence as they all looked at the door. Gareth kept speaking.

"Rick and the rest walked out with a lot of your guns. Listen, we don't know where you all are, but this isn't a big place. So let's just stop this now before things get more painful than they need to be."

Albert went over and tried the door but it was locked. He gestured to Gareth and kept calling out.

"Look, you're behind one of these two doors and we have more than enough firepower to take down both. Can't imagine that's what you all want." He cocked his rifle. "How about the priest? Father, you help us wrap this up, we'll let you walk away from this. Just open the door and you can go. You can take the baby with you. What do you say?"

Suddenly, the cries of a baby were heard from within the office. Gareth smirked and looked back at his group.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll keep the kid. I'm starting to like this girl."

He stepped back as two Termites went up to the door and aimed their guns at it. Gareth called out.

"It's your last chance right now to tell us you're coming out."

Martin aimed at the door too. He turned to Gareth.

"Are we done?"

Gareth took in a breath. He too felt like this was going on a little too long.

"We'll hit the hinges."

Before the two by the door could shoot the hinges, two silenced gunshots rang out and took them down.

PFFT! PFFT!

Gareth, Martin, and the remaining Termites looked back into the shadows.

"Put your gun on the floor."

"Rick, we'll fire right into that office," Gareth warned and pointed at it. "So you lower your gun—"

PFFT!

Another shot rang out that blew off Gareth's index and middle finger. He held his hand and groaned in pain.

"Ah!"

Rick soon came out of the shadows with his silenced pistol. He was joined by the group that seemingly left the premises earlier.

"Put your guns on the floor and kneel." Rick ordered.

"Do what he says." Gareth told his people as he knelt.

They all did as told except Martin. Gareth grunted as he held his maimed hand.

"Martin, there's no choice here."

"Yeah, there is."

Y/N came over and held his pistol to his face. "Give me a reason."

Martin glanced at him before relenting. He dropped his gun beside the bat he had put down on the pew.

They were now all at the mercy of the group. Rick went up to the kneeling Gareth and stood in front of him.

"No point in begging, right?" He asked.

Rick stared at him. "No."

"Still, you could have killed us when you came in. There had to be a reason for that."

"We didn't want to waste the bullets."

There was silence after that. Every single group member in the room had eyes and weapons trained on each of their prey.

"We used to help people We saved people. Things changed. They came in and—" He groaned. "After that...I know that you've been out there, but I can see it. You don't know what it is to be hungry. You don't have to do this. We can walk away. And we will never cross paths again. I promise you."

"But you'll cross someone's path. You'd do this to anyone, right?" Rick asked.

Gareth kept looking up at him. Rick kept his eyes on the cannibal as he reached for the red machete holstered on his belt. Gareth noticed it.

"Besides, I already made you a promise."

Rick took out the blade and swung it down at Gareth.

"No!"

SVAASH!

In unison, Rick, Sasha, Michonne, Abraham, and Y/N dealt with the cannibal that was in front of them, varying from hits, stabs, and slashes from their respective melee weapon.

SULK!

SVAASH!

WHACK!

SCHRESH!

Martin tried to attack Y/N before he could act, but the young man hit him across the face and knocked him down. Y/N immediately spotted the metal bat by the pew and grabbed it. Martin looked up and held out his hand.

"Wait—"

The word fell on deaf ears as Y/N swung the bat down, cracking his head.

WHACK!

Martin groaned and was in a daze. Y/N swung down again and again and bashed the cannibal's head in.

WHACK!

SLAM!

BOCK!

His face soon became a bloody mess. Still, Y/N let all his anger out on the man and kept beating him to a pulp with the bat.

SCHRESH!

SHRESH!

SCHRESH!

"Argh!" Y/N grunted in anger.

Soon enough, they were all dealt with. The Hunters had become the Hunted. They were mere prey to the predators that were the group.

Gareth tried to instill fear in them, but in the end...they feared Rick and his people.

Rick panted after giving one last slash at Gareth's maimed body.

Nearby, Maggie, Glenn, and Tara looked on at the carnage. Although they were a bit taken aback by the brutality, they understood it had to be done.

Michonne caught her breath as well and wiped the blood off her face. She looked down and saw a familiar handle protruding from one of their bags. It was her sword.

Y/N panted as he held the bloodied bat. Martin's dead body was by his feet and his face was unrecognizable. He looked around the dimly lit room, where he saw his father at a pew looking back at him. This time...he had a smile on his face.

The young man looked away and at the door nearby. There, he saw Tyreese who was in shock at the scene before him, more so because of what he saw his sister do. But beside him...was Mika. She had been peeking through the cracked open door and saw the killings, specifically Y/N's.

Y/N stared at her, not knowing was to say or do. He could see the horrified expression on her face. Mika just gave one last look at him before going back into the room. Y/N looked down and dropped the bat.

Rick looked around. He wanted to justify their act the best he could.

"It could have been us." He told them.

Sasha nodded. "Yeah."

Rick sheathed his machete and went into the office to see Judith. Abraham, Michonne, and Tara did as well. Glenn, Maggie, and Y/N stayed outside amongst the gore.

Father Gabriel walked out and saw the aftermath. He was horrified.

"This is the Lord's house..." He muttered.

Y/N didn't respond, simply looking down at the blood. He could still see his father sitting down and grinning in the corner of his eye. He was proud of his son.

Maggie looked at Gabriel and replied to the priest's remark

"No. It's just four walls and a roof."