CHAPTER TWELVE || THE GROVE

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Alex, Josh and Sam had kept walking, Writing messages telling Glenn to Head to Terminus on every wall, every sign they'd passed, yet they still hadn't reached it and another night had passed, Alex's hope wearing thin. again, not a sign anyone else was alive, no indicators anyone had survived the prison, and that filled with the worst type of dread you could ever imagine. the type of dread that fuels your weaknesses, and eats away at your heart.

Coming to a tunnel Alex stopped, Writing another message on the wall with the remaining soup left in the can, they couldn't be that far now... maybe a two days walk from Terminus, but a lot can happen in two days. Sam stopped shining his flashlight in the tunnel. The growling of walkers echoing through the tunnel filled their ears, it wasn't safe.

"might add a few extra hours. but I'm saying we go up and around. we don't know what's in there and we got a kid with us" Sam suggested, his eyes flickering between Alex and Josh knowing the odds would be against them going through what seemed to be a long dark tunnel and the dangers that came with it. Alex looked between both Sam and Josh. Her eyes lingered on the young boy as she thought of Carl, She'd want someone to keep him safe.

"yeah alright." Alex agreed, Nodding as she hoped she was getting closer to finding the people she loved, Securing her pack on her back She followed Sam and Josh treacherously climbing the slope by the tunnel, to make their way around.

"This is basically Mount Everest" Josh huffed Climbing in front of Alex, His comment causing a smile to tug at Alex's Lips, distracting her from the aching pain deep within her spine as they carefully climbed.

the dreaded silence returned as they reached the top and began walking, that's all that she felt like they were doing. and it was nothing to help Glenn, nothing to help her family. She felt like they were aimlessly just walking. the survivor's guilt she experienced in the army slowly crept its way back as silence consumed them. 

They kept walking, time passed, yet to Alex it didn't, her concept of time had completely disappeared just in the way it had when she was alone for all those weeks. her hope was gone, her faith was gone. maybe Glenn and her family really were gone too, and there was nothing she could do. maybe she was consumed by denial or false hope, but false hope was better than no hope at all surely...

the silence was deafening, not a sound apart from their boot-clad feet crunching against leaves as they walked, not a walkers growl, not a voice in the distance. yet both adult's minds were consumed by the voices that plagued their thoughts, for Alex, she could hear Eli and for Sam, he could hear his sister. the silence was once again disrupted by none other than Josh's sarcastic voice.

"do you two talk or is this like one of those movies where the two people stuck together hate each other?"Josh looked between the two adults as Sam snickered at the boy's comment, Alex turning her head sending Sam a look of disapproval.

"no, he's just pissed me the fuck off" Alex shrugged bluntly as she kept walking not paying much attention to Josh's words. he nodded as his glance shifted to Sam, who ran a hand over his face. Sam didn't mean what he said, not like that. the words had just slipped from his mouth before he had the chance to think them over. 

"I don't know about you Sam, but I say you should kiss and make-up or whatever" Josh huffed his hands gripping the straps of his backpack, his comfort levels around the two adults already seeming to have improved, and it didn't go unnoticed to Alex, he trusted people too quickly... that could get him killed. yet that's exactly what she thought about Glenn's kindness when they'd first met.

Sam exhaled deeply as his eyes flickered toward Alex, guilt creeping its way through his stomach as he thought over what to say, what could he say? if Glenn and her family really were still alive, he'd just made her question it. 

"you're right... so Alex?" Sam's voice echoed through her ears as she turned her head to look at him as they walked, her eyebrows raised waiting for a good enough apology. Josh watched a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I'm sorry for what I said about Glenn, I didn't mean it like that... everything I told you about my sister, everything I said then was true. but the other night that wasn't right. we're going to find him" Sam's words were genuine as he hoped Alex would accept his apology... yet it wasn't even his words that had annoyed her, it was the feelings that followed... deep down, she knew he was just being realistic. 

"What did you say about Glenn?" Josh questioned trying to get a better insight into what happened between the two people he'd begun to trust, he hadn't had any entertainment in weeks, and this was just peak comedy to him. 

"if he's alive" Alex quoted Sam's words rolling her eyes, A hiss left Josh's lips as his eyes widened in disbelief his glance shifting toward Sam as he shook his head. 

"ohhh, low blow man" Josh shook his head, his eyes fixated on Sam as he watched the freckled man shake his head, pinching the bridge of his nose at Josh's antics feeling as if the teen was doing everything but help the situation between the two friends. 

"but... you should accept his apology considering the fact it's just us three out here." Josh low-key sided with Sam, making Alex chuckle, shaking her head, somehow the 13-year-old boy had taken her mind off the thoughts that tormented her, and she couldn't deny the fact he was kinda funny. 

"Sam you're forgiven..."  she rolled her eyes jokingly as the young boy's smile grew at her words, and he'd succeeded in the little task he'd set himself, Sam's eyes darted between Alex and Josh unable to tell if Alex was joking or not.  

"Really?" the man questions his eyes now fixated on the shorter brunette the fear of losing their friendship diminishing as they locked eyes a small smile tugging at her lips as she looked up at Sam, she couldn't hate him. Josh was right, Sam was all she had now. she couldn't lose him too.

"really" she nodded offering a smile, one almost identical showing on his lips, as he felt a rush of relief through his veins, he never wanted to hurt her feelings he wanted to protect her. not that he really could, he knew she was a better fighter than him. 

**

"You Guys both Army?" Josh Asked having noticed the Jacket Alex Clung to, As they kept walking to get around the tunnel, each step more exhausting than the last, it had been a few hours now, hours of what felt like pointless walking as they tried rounding back to the railway they were following to terminus, yet to Alex the possibility of never finding Glenn, never finding her family was beginning to fully set in, her hands trembled, the anxiety rushing through her body triggering her fight or flight as she shoved her hands into her pockets in an attempt to hide the symptoms of her violent emotions, yet somehow they weren't as overpowering as before. 

"ROTC, I didn't finish"  Sam answered his boot-clad feet colliding with the forest floor with each step, His legs Aching from all the time on his feet. yet he was in a much better mood than he was earlier. the young boy they'd agreed to help get to Terminus boosting the mood that surrounded the two adults. the cloud of grief that hung over them now had sun shining through because of him. 

"And you?" Josh asked his head Turning toward the Woman, whose back was aching more than it had done in years. trying to fight off the limp that was bound to come hoping they would get to Terminus, find Glenn. find her family before it got any worse before she got too weak. 

"Intelligence and a sniper; basically did 6 years" Alex answered, Oh how she missed it. She missed the family the army gave her. eli. There was so much she wanted to tell him, she wished he could've got to meet Glenn, see the prison. there was no greater pain than wishing you could swap places with someone you lost because you deserved death more than they did. 

"That's sick. wanna teach me?" Josh gushed knowing he was with two people fully trained to kill... well Alex at least. Alex shook her head, she could never train a child, they needed to be protected, not taught how to protect themselves.

"no you're a kid" Alex scoffed, She hadn't even trained Carl, She left that up to Rick. yet now she wished she had, maybe then she would've felt better about this, all of this. knowing her cousin could easily protect himself. she knew he could... she knew he was strong, yet so was she and look at the things that had happened to her. 

"Doesn't stop me dying" Josh remarked, She knew he was in danger no matter what no matter how young he was, and he knew it too. they all did. there was no escaping death, not even as a child...  Alex could see the end of the tunnel, Almost back on track. She sighed thinking of Josh's Words and what that could mean for her cousin. How dangerous the world was now. maybe children needed to know how to fight now.

"if terminus is what we think.. if we can stay there. if my family's there. you can train with me and Sam" Alex sighed, If Carl was there she wanted to train him too. start a whole training program, a small smile tugged at her lips at the thought. there had to be somewhere they truly could call home, there had to be... 

maybe she was like Rick, after all, maybe she truly was a Grimes. 

"yesss" Josh gushed with a smile, the thought of being trained by a soldier filling him with a sense of excitement as the two adults walking beside him chuckled at his overjoyed reaction. his personality bringing a sense of light when needed.  

"Tara!!" A voice echoed through Alex's ears, The familiarity of it made her heart drop, she froze. it couldn't be. 

"did you hear that?!" Alex exclaimed looking between the two boys, her eyes wide in shock. a shiver shot through her spine as the voice echoed again. All the oxygen somehow felt like it had been knocked from her lungs as disbelief washed over her... 

"Glenn." she ran. Her boot-Clad feet hit the forest floor. Pain shooting up her back with every step. Her heart racing.  that was Glenn. She knew that voice anywhere. and it was his. She Ran as Fast as her feet could take her. The boys following behind her confusion wracked Josh's mind as he chased after her and Sam. The pure urgency radiating from her uncanny. 

Gunfire filled her ears as she rushed down the hill, her leg catching on thorns as she ran, yet she couldn't feel a thing. the pain, the grief it all disappeared as she focused on getting to him as fast as she could. her lungs were burning as she raced across the old train track. it had to be him. it couldn't be one of her mind's terrifying tricks. it had to be him. 

"Alex wait! it's coming from inside" Sam stopped as they reached the other side of the Tunnel. His lungs heaving for Oxygen, as panic consumed him. They didn't know what they were running into. they didn't know what dangers hid in the depths of that tunnel. She didn't even think about that, she didn't care. she needed him. 

"I Don't Give a shit. it's Glenn!" Alex ran. Nothing could stop her. It was Glenn. her boot-clad feet pounding against the rocks on the floor as she raced toward the sound of walkers, the gunfire. Glenn was all that mattered. She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes as she ran hoping she could get to him, what if he was hurt?

 Josh looked at Sam gasping for oxygen Before he Shrugged Following Alex into the tunnel's Darkness, it consumed their surroundings as they ran toward possible danger. but to Alex... nothing else mattered apart from him.

"fuck sake. you two are gonna get me killed" Sam huffed Grabbing his gun from his waistband Before he ran after Josh and Alex, Following them into the Darkness, he didn't know what they were about to face, but he knew he wasn't going to let her do it again... if that was Glenn, the walkers they'd heard, the gunfire. what were they about to see...

"Glenn!" Alex Screamed, her Lungs begging for Oxygen, The Pain in her Back increased with each step.  Gunfire filling her ears As Anxiety rushed through her Veins. her stomach churning as she saw a light shining in the depths of the tunnel, hope instantly returning. She slowed when she saw a group of people in the darkness. her eyes shot toward Glenn, the light she'd seen shining toward her blurring her vision. but she could see him. the only person who mattered.

"Glenn," she sighed, a smile tugging at her lips as she caught sight of him, a tear instantly slipping down her cheek as her chest exploded with emotion, it was really him. he wasn't a flashback, it wasn't one of her mind's tricks. it was the man she loved. Rushing toward him, her heart raced relief washing over her, he looked just as beautiful as he did the first time she saw him.

Pulling him into her arms, Alex instantly felt his warmth - a feeling she had craved since the prison. His arms wrapped around her as she buried her face into his neck, a small laugh of relief escaping her lips, disguising the sob that followed, her heart filled with every emotion he'd ever made her feel. His tight grasp around her waist pressed against the pain in her back, but she didn't care. He was alive. She inhaled deeply taking in every part of him, her hand finding its way into the hair at the back of his head as she sobbed into his shoulder, his jacket muffling the noise.

Alex held onto Glenn for a moment longer, savouring the feeling of being in his arms. tears slipped down her cheeks staining the material of his jacket as his grasp around her waist tightened as he mumbled a soft; "Oh my god"

 they basked in the feeling of finding each other, the emotions radiating from them so strong everything else blurred into oblivion their focus purely on each other as everything else faded, nothing else mattered apart from each other...  

she pulled away needing to see his face, reminding herself this wasn't a dream, it was really him, breaking the hug she examined his features almost automatically searching for any injuries... he was beautiful, and he was okay. tears slipping down her cheeks as her hands gripped the material of his jacket almost afraid to let go of him. he cupped her cheeks, a soft smile etched onto his face as he gently wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb, their eyes locked.  his brown eyes had such an effect on her, she melted under his gaze in seconds her heart swelled with joy. he had a place in her heart no one else could have.

Without hesitation, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his, savouring the taste of him. He was like a drug and she couldn't get enough, she never wanted it to end, she never wanted his love to end, and this experience. it was too close to the end of it all. it felt like lightning was running through her veins as they shared a kiss of love. she never knew she could miss someone as much as she missed him. 

As they pulled away breaking the kiss, their foreheads leaning against each other, Alex felt a sense of contentment wash over her as another tear slipped down her cheek She knew that it was going to be hard, loving in what the world had become, but she was happy to be with him. his arms felt like home. 

Glenn's eyes were filled with tenderness as he looked at her, and she felt herself melting under his gaze. She knew he was it for her, her heart laid in his hands and she wouldn't have it any other way. She took a breath as Glenn's soft voice filled her ears as he began to speak; "I need to tell you something..."

"Alex?" he was cut off before he could finish. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard that voice, and she stepped back from Glenn. her eyes wide with shock, as nausea washed through her body. She stared at the group behind him and she froze in place. tears immediately sprung to her eyes as her face fell. 

she couldn't move. her chest tight with disbelief as she inhaled shakily, tears spilling down her cheeks. In that moment it felt as if the world had stopped turning. it couldn't be... there was no way. she raised a trembling hand to her mouth as a sob threatened to escape her lips. The year of grief that had weighed her down suddenly dissipated into nothingness, and she felt as if she was seeing him again for the first time...

"Eli?" Alex stared at him, her chest exploding with emotion, her voice wavered she could barely breathe as she took in his appearance. The blonde man in front of her the one she'd been grieving for a year. The voice she'd been hearing in the back of her head for months, believing he was gone. But he wasn't. he was stood right in front of her and she couldn't move. tears escaped her eyes as she lost control of her own body, the memory of the last time she'd seen him flashing before her eyes.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she'd barely processed the fact he was in front of her as she rushed into his arms, The taller man pulled her into his body a year's worth of grief and pain vanishing in seconds as she clung to him tightly. Sobs of disbelief escaped her lips as she realized the first person to ever make her feel truly loved was there, right before her eyes. he was alive. 

Eli pulled his best friend into his arms, lifting her from the floor. A laugh of relief left his lips as he processed the fact she was really there, in his arms. The moment filled Alex with emotions she'd never felt before, the pair basked in the unimaginable emotions that came with finding each other a gasp escaping her lips as she cried into his shoulder, she was finally reunited with the person she thought she had lost forever.

Eli, Glenn. They were Alive. She couldn't fathom the fact they were both there. The violent emotion that flooded her chest was indescribable, Eli lowered his best friend to the floor. The tears Escaping her eyes staining his bloodied shirt as she buried her face into his shoulder. maybe all the pain she experienced was worth it, purely for just this moment. souls don't speak, yet theirs spoke fluently. 

"I thought you were dead" Her voice wavered as she broke the hug looking at him in disbelief, Worried if she tore her eyes away from him even for a moment he'd disappear and she'd wake up from a horrid dream. But he didn't. this was the last thing her heart expected yet she couldn't be more grateful.

"We looked for you.." He smiled, grinning ear to ear as he looked down at her. Alex's eyes shifted to the Pair standing behind him, Abraham and Rosita. her sergeant and one of her best friends. they were all okay.  her feelings were equivalent to Christmas morning, crimson fireworks and birthday wishes. 

"oh my god" She breathed seeing her friends alive and well. Rushing to give Abraham a hug she wrapped her arms around the muscular man her heart racing as she looked up to her Sergent, the man who'd taught her so much was alive... they were all alive. 

tears blurred her vision as she pulled away from the ginger man, walking up to Rosita. a vibrant smile upon the woman's face as she pulled Alex into her arms a laugh of relief escaping her lips as Alex's arms wrapped around one of her closest friends, the hole that had been drilled through her heart almost instantly repaired itself as she pulled away from rosita her eyes darting between the people she'd thought she'd lost. it was unreal. 

"you're all okay? not hurt?" she looked between the three people she'd believed were dead in disbelief as she disregarded Sasha, Bob, Maggie and the other woman who was with Glenn. her mind too preoccupied with Eli. he and Glenn were the only people that had made her feel safe from the things that hurt her inside. 

"We're okay." Eli smiled before Bringing Alex into another hug before she could wipe the tears from her eyes, his muscular arms wrapping around her small frame as her head laid on his chest. no camera could ever capture the look in her eyes and the feeling in her heart as she cherished the fact he was alive. She clung to Eli like her life depended on it, Her mind filled with questions yet they could be answered Later, her mind was focused on him. 

"I missed you so much" Eli whispered as he held his best friend, his words, his voice. just how she remembered it. her heart swelled with relief as her grip on him tightened. She could never do that again, she could never lose him again. and the fact she'd found him proved that. they were meant to be together, maybe not romantically but they were destined to be in each other's lives. and that was a fact. 

**

"so you sprained your ankle and still outran the herd? then found Eugene?" Alex chuckled as she stood talking to Eli trying to process the fact her old family was still alive as he explained the events that had taken place since they'd been separated. how he'd sprained his ankle when they got separated, how Rosita and Abraham had to tear him away from where he had Alex had originally been, where they both thought the other had died... how he'd been on the road and found Eugene, yet he missed out one very important detail. 

"yeah... then we were on the road for what felt like forever even we ran into your little boyfriend and Tara, he kept going on and on about his girlfriend. wouldn't shut up about you lex. then he showed me that Polaroid... and it was you" Eli confirmed talking to his best friend, his sister. Alex stood staring at him as the rest of the group began to settle for the night. a smile tugged at Alex's lips, an uncontrollable sense of happiness flooding through her body as her eyes flickered between Eli and Glenn who was sat between Sam and Josh smiles covering their faces. 

"he would've done anything to find you lex, I mean anything. Boys crazy in love with you" Eli smiled, joy beaming from him. he was proud of her, he was so proud of her.  Alex chuckled as she looked back over to Glenn, Watching as he laughed at whatever Josh was talking to him about, the love that consumed her eyes when she looked at him didn't go unnoticed by the man who knew her better than he knew himself.

"I haven't seen that look before" Eli joked noticing the way she admired Glenn, The loving look in her eyes not one he was all that familiar with, he'd seen how she'd looked at boyfriends in the pasted yet this, this was something else. she looked at Glenn like he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, like when she looked at him everything around her seemed to disappear and it was just the two of them.

"holy shit. you really love him too huh?" Eli smiled his arm going around her shoulders pulling her into him having missed her, his overwhelming happiness radiated making her feel it too, as a blush came onto her face leaning into her best friend in disbelief. he couldn't be happier she'd found someone, he knew what she'd been through. he knew she deserved the world. 

"I love him so much Eli" She smiled watching Glenn smiling as he spoke to Josh.

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AN// I have been so so so so excited to repost this edited chapter!! please let me know what you think, for some reason my keyboard is fucked today and keeps typing double letters so if you spot that please point it out!!

anyways plot twist who? well not if you've seen my TikTok, hope it wasn't underwhelming and sorry its so long lmaoooo.