"just stay with me." - deftones

it's been hours—glenn and his new friends have been explaining how they ended up in this mess, shoved into the same train car. they talk about what to do next, debating whether they should put up a fight or try to escape. eventually, rick settles on a blitz attack. the group will go after whoever opens the door next with everything they've got.

everyone grabs whatever they can find to use as a weapon. salem pulls the knife from her boot, carl does the same. jack removes his belt, making spikes with the buckle as it rests in his hand. some of the others pry wood pieces off the car, sharpening them or tying knots as they prepare. daryl stays on the lookout, his eyes sharp, focused.

"all right, i got four of them pricks coming this way." daryl announces, and everyone's posture hardens. "y'all know what to do—go for the eyes first, then their throats." rick hushes as the men approach the train car. the tension is thick, everyone's heart pounding in their chests.

"put your backs up against the walls." one of the men outside instructs. but before anyone can react, footsteps patter on the roof, and a small hatch suddenly opens. in falls a can that explodes into a cloud of white dust. salem drops to the ground, coughing as the gas fills her lungs. her vision blurs and she watches weakly as the door opens and the men drag a few of her people out, slamming the door shut behind them. she struggles to stay conscious but quickly succumbs, passing out.

when she wakes, michonne is shaking her gently. "get up." she says softly, her voice rough from the gas. salem sits up, clutching her burning throat, her head pounding. carl sits beside her, coughing as well. she scans the car, and her heart drops when she notices the men are all gone—including jack. panic surges through her, and she scrambles to her feet, rushing to the door and trying it, but it's still locked.

"they've been gone for about an hour. we haven't see or heard anyone since." michonne explains, her voice calm but laced with worry. "we need to figure a way out." a woman says, her black pigtails hanging by her broad shoulders, a slight spanish accent lingering on certain words. suddenly, an explosion rocks the car, shaking the walls and sending everyone off balance. salem peeks through the crack in the door, hearing screams and chaos outside. the fences are down, and the dead are spilling in, swarming over the compound. she notices a few buildings on fire, the flames casting an eerie glow through the smoke.

"what was that?" carl asks, stepping closer to the door to look out. "maybe our people got free." another woman suggests, one who looks eerily familiar to salem. her dog tag necklace swings as she steps forward, and salem suddenly remembers seeing her on the governor's side when he attacked the prison. "excuse me." a man with a mullet says, pushing through the group of women. salem had forgotten he was even there. he crouches in front of the door, his clammy hands trembling as he starts to mess with the shell of the door.

"eugene, what the hell are you doing?" the girl with the pigtails asks, her tone sharp. "i might be able to use this shell to compromise the door. from the sound of things, there may be no one left to open it." eugene explains, his voice shaky but determined. "eugene, i'm sorry, but shut up." the woman who was with the governor snaps. eugene lowers his head but continues to work on the door, unscrewing the shell.

"look, my dad's gonna be back. they all are." carl says, his voice filled with a mixture of hope and desperation. "they are," maggie adds, sounding like she's trying to convince herself more than anyone else. "we need to get ready to fight our way out with them when they do." salem watches through the door as more of the dead flood in, their groans growing louder as they close in on the compound. dust swirls in the air, mingling with the smoke from the burning buildings.

as salem peers through the crack, a walker suddenly slams its hand against the car, causing her to jump. the fingers are lightly smoking from the recent gunfire outside. distant screams and gunshots echo through the air as the dead swarm in. the group works in silence, scraping makeshift knives on the floor, the tension building. "what's the cure, eugene?" sasha suddenly asks, breaking the quiet. salem's mouth falls open in shock, turning to face eugene. she can't believe what she's hearing.

"what?" carl asks, just as surprised. "he's a scientist," the woman with pigtails explains, "he knows how to fix all this shit." "it's classified," eugene replies, his voice flat. "we don't know what's gonna happen." michonne adds, trying to coax more information out of him. "we need to keep working." maggie interjects, cutting off the conversation. her voice is firm, but sasha isn't ready to let it go. "yeah, but it's time to hear it." sasha insists. "what's next is we get out of here." maggie answers, her tone leaving no room for argument.

eugene hesitates before speaking again. "even if i told you all, even if i provided step-by-step instructions complete with illustrations and a well-composed faq and i went red-ring, the cure would still die with me." "we aren't gonna let that happen." the spanish woman responds. "thank you, rosita. but best-case scenario, we step out into a hellstorm of bullets, fire, and walkers. i'm not fleet of foot. i sure as hell can't take a dead one down with sharp buttons and hella confidence." eugene says, his fear evident. "yeah, but we can." michonne replies, looking down at the wooden stick she's added to her sheath beside her katana.

"you don't owe us anything. not yet. but we just want to hear it." sasha says, her voice firm. "you don't have to." rosita adds softly, her voice sounding young and soothing, possibly not much older than jack, who is by now at least twenty. the tension in the room remains thick as the group continues preparing for whatever comes next. eugene finally stands up, taking a deep breath before he begins. 

"i was part of a ten-man team at the human genome project, working to weaponize diseases to fight weaponized diseases. pathogenic microorganisms against pathogenic microorganisms. fire with fire. interdepartmental drinks were had, relationships made, and information shared. i am keenly aware of all the details behind fail-safe delivery systems to kill every single living person on this planet. i believe, with a little tweaking on the terminals in dc, we can flip the script. take out every last dead one of them. fire with fire," his voice is steady, but the distant gunfire booming outside adds weight to his words. "all things being equal, it does sound pretty badass." he adds with a small smirk.

"so let's get back to work." maggie says, determination in her voice. suddenly, a loud bang on the door echoes through the train car, startling everyone. "come on! fight to the fence!" rick shouts, yanking open the door. carl grabs salem's hand, pulling her with him as they all burst out into the chaos. they run together, shooting down walkers as they race toward the fence. salem pushes through the dead, their hands grabbing at her as she fights to stay with the group. "up and over!" rosita yells, pointing at the fence. the red-haired man is the first to climb over, quickly helping eugene up after him. one by one, more follow as salem, jack, rick, and daryl hold off the incoming horde. "go!" jack shouts to salem over the gunfire.

"i'm not leaving you!" she shouts back, her voice defiant. daryl and rick glance at her, momentarily surprised by her outburst. together, the four of them jump to the fence, kicking at the dead as they grab at their feet. jack helps salem down on the other side, and they watch as the walkers bang against the fence, desperate to reach them. salem's eyes widen as she sees flames engulfing the community behind them, black smoke swirling into the sky. "everyone okay?" maggie asks, and the group nods, quickly dusting themselves off before they start walking toward where rick had planted the bag full of guns.

"right here." daryl says, pointing to the ground. he and rick start to dig, but their faces fall as they realize the bag is gone. suddenly, the crunch of leaves behind them catches salem's attention. she sees a woman approaching, and fear spikes through her as she pulls on jack's arm. but then daryl runs up to the woman, hugging her tightly. rick, maggie, and a few others follow, their faces breaking into relieved smiles.

"it's carol," carl explains to salem, who watches the reunion with a mix of confusion and relief. "she's been with us since the start." "did you do that?" rick asks carol, his voice filled with gratitude. carol smirks, nodding slightly. "thank you." rick mutters, pulling her into a hug. "you have to come with me." she says, wiping away tears as the group follows her down the road.

as they walk, carol laughs softly, catching up with daryl. in the distance, salem spots a small cabin, and standing on the porch is tyreese, sasha's brother, holding judith in his arms. carl's face lights up as he realizes who it is, and he breaks into a full sprint, rushing toward his sister. he scoops her up, hugging her tightly as rick runs over, wrapping his arms around them both, overcome with emotion. sasha runs into tyreese's arms, and the whole group is reunited in a moment of pure relief. jack stands beside salem, his arm wrapped around her as they watch the scene unfold, the weight of their journey finally starting to lift, if only for a moment.