WHEN DAWN BROKE, the group had already cleared out the bodies from the church. Now, they all took time to say goodbye to their longtime friend, Bob Stookey, who was getting worse by the hour.

Before Rick spoke to Bob, Y/N had gone into the office and chatted with him, per the man's request. Y/N went inside and sat by his feet on the sofa he was lying on.

"I...I wanted to thank you."

Y/N arched a brow. "Why?"

"For not kicking my ass back at the school."

The young man chuckled, and so did Bob. Y/N smirked as he looked at his hands.

"I should be apologizing. It wasn't right for me to blow up on you like that."

"No, it's fine. You were right. You cared about everybody else...while I only worried about my booze. That wasn't right."

"It's all water under the bridge, man," Y/N said. "And you did everything you could. You helped protect the prison, you helped Glenn, you helped us escape Terminus. You are one of us."

Bob weakly smiled. Y/N continued.

"And Sasha became fond of you...so that let me know you were all right since she pretty much hates everyone."

He laughed with Y/N. He soon quieted and kept looking at him.

"You've shown that you got your head straight despite all this. Calm and composed. Impressive for a guy your age." Bob said. "You'll make it far, Y/N, I know it. Just keep going."

Y/N nodded. Mika was looking in by the door, and Bob noticed. He smiled at her and continued.

"If not for yourself...then keep going for her."

Later, Bob succumbed to the infection. Tyreese took him out before he turned, as Sasha was too emotional to do it herself. With him now buried, they had to move on to their next plan of action and save the mourning for another time.

Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene were ready to leave on the short bus outside the church. As promised, Glenn, Maggie, and Tara were there too and prepared to go with them. Although the rest weren't very keen on their longtime friends leaving, Glenn was a man of his word and followed through with it. Still, he believed they'd see them again.

"This is our route to DC." Abraham handed Rick a map. "We'll stick to it as long as we're able. If not, well, you got our destination. Once Eugene gets to the big brains left up there, things are gonna bounce back. This group should be there for it. You should be there for it."

"They will be." Maggie cut in. "We will."

"We will." Rick said.

Abraham nodded. He glanced at Y/N, who stood beside Glenn.

"Soon enough, you'll get back to juicing up and homering in Yankee Stadium, pretty boy."

Y/N scoffed. "I'll make sure to give you season tickets."

Despite their spat the night before, their issues were seemingly resolved. Abraham nodded at him, too, and Y/N reciprocated.

"Let's go." Abraham called out and walked to the bus.

Before she followed, Rosita stepped forward and looked at Y/N. She spoke.

"Keep an eye on that girl of yours. I want to see her again when the time comes."

He chuckled. "Really?"

Rosita nodded. She has had moments there and then with Mika, sharing brief conversations in passing. Seeing her and Y/N at times also brought some joy, letting her know that their bond was strong despite the two having no familial relation. It spoke to how selfless Y/N was and reminded her about the relationship she once had with her six-year-old nephew.

"Yeah, I'm starting to like her." She replied.

The young man nodded and crossed his arms.

"Like we said...we'll be there."

Rosita smirked and walked away.

Later, Abraham's group all got into the bus. Everyone else stood outside and bid farewell to them before they all drove out of the lot and down the barren road.

The mood was solemn afterward. While the rest went back inside, Rick stayed and took the map Abraham gave him out of his pocket. He opened it and noticed some writing in the corner. It was a message from the former army sergeant.

SORRY, I WAS AN ASSHOLE
COME TO WASHINGTON
THE NEW WORLD'S GONNA
NEED RICK GRIMES

It was nightfall. Michonne was outside, sitting on the church's steps with her sword in hand. Moments later, Y/N came by after walking around the perimeter for a bit.

"Everything all right?" She asked.

"Checked. Nothing's around." He answered.

He leaned against the railing beside her. Y/N looked down at his hands and fiddled with his fingers. Upon glancing up at him, Michonne figured something was on his mind.

"What's wrong?" She questioned in an annoyed sister manner.

"What? Nothing's wrong."

"I've gone on runs with you for six months straight. I know."

Y/N snickered. He rubbed his chin and looked ahead.

"Uh, I've noticed that...Mika has not been talkative today. At least to me."

"It's understandable. Look at what happened last night. What happened with Bob."

"She saw what we did, Michonne." He admitted. "What I did."

The woman took in a breath and sighed. Y/N turned away from her and looked back down.

"Once again, she had to witness such...brutality. All happening right in front of her."

"It's just how the world is now, Y/N."

"I get it. It's just..." He paused. "She saw what I did when we dealt with the Claimers. She understood why...it was for her immediate safety. But what we did to Gareth and his people...all she saw was murder."

They all had a chance to let the Termites go, but they obviously couldn't. But all Mika witnessed was the brutal murder of unarmed people who were at their mercy. The little girl saw her protector brutally murdering a man with his own bat despite him pleading.

"I just...don't want her to see me a different way, that's all." Y/N added. "Like some...monster."

Michonne replied. "She won't. Mika thinks the world of you, Y/N. She understands that our actions are for the greater good of the group, no matter how unsettling it may be. We aren't monsters like Gareth."

"What if..." Y/N turned to her. "What if we're turning out to be?"

Before she could respond, the door opened, and Father Gabriel came out. They decided to put their conversation to a halt. The man sat down on the steps beside Michonne and took a moment before speaking.

"I can't sleep. And now, sitting in there...quiet. It isn't just what happened last night. Saying what happened before...out loud...I see it all again. I hear them."

They knew he was referring to his guilt when he didn't save the many families that came to his church for aid at the onset of the outbreak. Michonne and Y/N listened to the priest.

"Yeah. That won't stop." She replied and turned to him. "But it won't be all the time."

Suddenly, they all heard rustling coming from the tree line. Michonne immediately got up and kept her hand on the handle of her sword. Y/N took out the knife from his sheath and held it. The two sauntered toward the noise as Gabriel quickly went back inside.

Michonne drew her sword and got in front of Y/N. Like she said before, she was willing to die for Y/N if given the chance. Y/N, feeling the same way for her, decided to move ahead and brought up his blade.

There was more rustling until two figures came out of the shrubbery. It was Daryl and Ramon which brought relieved smiles to both Michonne and Y/N.

The feeling was short-lived, though...as they noticed Carol wasn't with them.

"Where's Carol?" Michonne asked.

Daryl nor Ramon immediately responded. The archer glanced at the Latino before looking back and shouting to somebody else within the shrubbery behind them.

"Come on out!"

• • •

DARYL AND RAMON had brought back a seventeen-year-old black kid named Noah. They explained where he was from and that it was the same place Beth and Carol were currently at: a hospital in downtown Atlanta containing medical personnel and cops led by an officer named Dawn.

They all wanted to get Beth back. Rick formed a group that included him, Y/N, Ramon, Daryl, Tyreese, Sasha, and Noah, and they were going back to Atlanta. Michonne, Carl, Mike, Judith, and Gabriel would stay at the church.

They all bid farewell. Y/N spoke to Mika outside, which was the first time that day since she was a bit distant.

"You'll be okay here." He told her as he knelt. "We'll be back...hopefully with Beth and Carol."

Mika simply nodded. Y/N smiled back and rubbed her hair.

"Be good for me. Help Carl with Judith if you can."

Y/N got up and started walking away, but the girl suddenly called out to him.

"Wait!"

He turned around and was immediately met with a hug. Y/N reciprocated the embrace and patted her back. Despite what she saw a couple of nights ago, she still wanted Y/N to return okay.

"Be safe. Please."

"I will."

"And bring them back." She added.

Y/N nodded and leaned down to kiss her head.

"I will."

• • •

RICK'S CREW MADE it to Atlanta and held up in an abandoned factory building a few blocks from Grady Memorial Hospital. With Noah's help, Rick had drawn up a layout of the interior on a sheen of dirt on the floor.

"At sundown, we fire a shot the air. Get two of them out on patrol. Then, once it's dark enough that the rooftop spotter won't see us, we go. We cut the locks on one of the stairways, take it to the fifth floor. I open the door, Y/N takes the guard out."

"How?" Tyreese questioned.

"He slits his throat." Rick replied matter-of-factly. "This is all about us doing this quiet, keeping the upper hand. They're not expecting us."

Tyreese didn't respond. Y/N listened and was okay with their plan of taking them all out to save Beth and Carol. Ramon felt the same way, keeping his attention at the layout as he bit his nail.

"From there, we fan out. Knives and silenced weapons." Rick continued as he drew on the dirt. "We need to be fast. Tyreese, Sasha, take them. Daryl, you take care of whoever is in the kitchen. Ramon, you have the storage room right here. I got Dawn. If they're smart, the rest of them will give up. Then it'll be seven on three. Eight on three once we get a weapon to Beth."

"14 on three." Noah cut in. "The wards will help."

"That's best case. What's worst case?" Tyreese asked. "All it takes is one of those cops going down the hall at the wrong time. Then it's not quiet. All hands on deck. We're talking about a lot of bullets flying around."

"If that's what it takes." Sasha said.

"It's not."

"What do you propose, Ty?" Y/N asked.

"If we get a couple of her cops alive out here, we do an even trade. Theirs for ours. Everybody goes home."

"Yeah, I get it." Rick got up. "And it might work. This will work."

Ramon was feeling gung-ho and wanted to do whatever it took to get Beth back. He chimed in.

"Then let's do it. We kill who we have to."

Daryl surprisingly agreed with Tyreese. He spoke.

"Nah, that'll work, too. You say this Dawn, she's just trying to keep it together, right?"

"Trying and doing are two different things." Noah replied.

"You take two of her cops away, what choices does she have? Everybody goes home." Daryl pointed at Tyreese. "Like he says."

Rick looked at each of them. He wanted input from his friends on what they preferred to do. Ramon was the first to speak.

"Do we really trust these guys? People that just kidnap young women in the middle of the night? Are you really okay with that? With what we've been through?"

Y/N turned to Noah. "You know this Dawn. She the leader, right? How is she with the power she has?"

Noah responded.

"She basks in it. I see that she tries her hardest to be a good leader...but she thrives in the corrupt system she runs. She desires respect and control, which is why she keeps everyone in that place. No one can leave. It's why he chased after Beth and me when we tried to escape. It's why she's still after me."

Y/N and the rest took in the teenager's words. The former shortstop put his hands at his waist and gave his opinion.

"I learned never to take the risk again. Negotiating a trade, that's a risk. One that can cost not only our lives but Beth and Carol's."

Tyreese took in a breath and didn't respond. Y/N continued.

"We know what we're capable of. We know how we work together. Following Rick's plan is the best chance we got."

Rick nodded. Y/N, for a second, thought he saw the figure of his father in the corner of the room. He kept speaking.

"If you don't protect what belongs to you, then sooner or later, it belongs to someone else. Beth and Carol are our people and these monsters have them...we can't wait any longer."

Unbeknownst to Y/N, he had quoted something his father would always tell him and his brother. Still, the group took in his words, and most agreed, with Tyreese still being a bit hesitant.

"Then let's do it." Sasha said.

Ramon agreed. "You know I'm in."

Tyreese simply nodded. Noah spoke up, too.

"Sounds like a plan."

Y/N looked to Daryl. The redneck took a moment before agreeing to the plan as well.

"If this is what we gotta do, then we gotta."

Rick was content with the plan. He looked down and nodded as he looked at the layout on the dirt.

"Then, let's not waste any more time."

• • •

BACK AT THE CHURCH, Carl had just spoken to Father Gabriel about protecting himself and being willing to kill walkers. The priest excused himself and retired to his office.

Carl went back to boarding up one of the windows. Mika helped, too, but ended up taking a break, which he was okay with. She went to sit down with Michonne, who was tending to Judith.

The baby was calm and reached out to the woman's hands. Michonne smiled, and Mika let out a giggle.

"She's so cute." Mika remarked.

Michonne agreed. "Oh, she's adorable."

Mika reached out and Judith grabbed her hand. Michonne smiled at them. Suddenly, the girl's expression became a bit crestfallen.

"You okay?" Michonne asked.

She took a moment before answering.

"I just...miss AJ."

Michonne's expression became solemn. She rocked Judith on her lap and touched Mika's shoulder.

"We all do." She replied.

"I understand that with him gone...with Lili gone...it changed Y/N."

Michonne recalled her conversation with Y/N the night before about his assumption of what Mika thought of him. She wanted to know for herself.

"Is that what you think?" She asked.

"I mean...a little. But I get it."

"You saw what happened two nights ago?"

Mika nodded her head and fiddled with her fingers.

"You shouldn't have seen that. I'm sorry." She apologized. "But you have to know that those people...they had to be dealt with."

"I—I don't know...I saw how Y/N...killed that guy."

"They were bad people, Mika, like those men on the road."

"I get that. It's just..."

There was a pause. Michonne waited before Mika continued.

"After the prison, when I was with Y/N, he told me that if he had to kill to protect me, he would. I get it. He did that when those guys tried to hurt me and Carl. But, here at the church...I saw them on their knees. The man was begging. They weren't dangerous."

"They were, Mika," Michonne emphasized. "You can't let a little sob story get to your head. You saw what they did to Bob. They were going to do that to us...or worse. Rick, Y/N, me...we did what we had to do. We couldn't take that chance."

Mika looked down and gave a barely noticeable nod.

"Carol taught us how to use knives. How to kill walkers. Y/N tried teaching me how to shoot. I can kill walkers...but I can't bring myself to kill a person. Someone alive. It just doesn't feel right."

Michonne took in her words. She had a unique sense of innocence that was surprising to see despite what she'd been through. Still, the woman wanted her to be strong and smart.

"What if someone is trying to hurt you? And no one is around?"

Mika didn't know what to say. She kept looking down and kept quiet. Michonne rubbed her shoulder.

"This world we're in...sometimes you have to change and do what you once couldn't do to survive. You are not safe. No one is. If Y/N hasn't told you that...then I'm telling you now."

Mika looked at her and nodded, taking in her words. Michonne's stern gaze became soft as their eyes met.

"And what Y/N's done...doesn't make him a bad person. He cares about you."

"I know. He has a good heart. That's why Lili liked him...that's why I like him."

Michonne smiled. She gripped the girl's shoulder reassuringly and replied.

"Y/N would do anything to ensure the ones he loves are safe. He's not a monster. He makes it his mission to stop monsters. You know what that makes him?"

"What?" Mika asked.

Michonne quietly chuckled. She used one word to describe him, and it was ironic due to what he actually was before the fall of civilization.

"A champion."

The officer stood by the door of the fifth-floor stairwell. He was pretty bored, so he decided to walk over to a poster and read it.

Suddenly, the door behind him opened quickly. He didn't get to react before a knife slit his throat.

SVISH!

Y/N's hand went over his mouth, and he made sure to place his dying body to the floor carefully.

Rick and the rest came in right after. They dealt with the first officer just like their leader planned. Y/N used the same knife he used to slit his throat to stab him in the back of the head to make sure he didn't reanimate.

SULK!

They went on with the plan. They each had a knife and a silenced weapon and went along the hallway.

Sasha and Tyreese entered a room and saw two officers talking with one another as they stood at a desk. Slowly but surely, the two made their way to deal with them. In Tyreese's case, he did, regrettably.

Daryl went toward the kitchen area, where he knew someone else would be posted. Ramon crept through the dimly lit halls and went to the storage room to handle the officer there.

The Latino entered the room but was surprised to see it was empty. Moments later, that officer came out of another doorway and spotted the man.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed and took out his walkie. "We have an intruder—!"

Ramon quickly ran up and tackled him, pinning him against the wall. He tried to go for his gun, but Ramon grabbed his arm and kept him out of reach.

They wrestled, and everyone on the floor could hear the noise. Another officer came out of another room and saw Rick behind cover.

"Shit!"

Immediately, Rick shot him down with his silenced pistol.

PFFT!

Back in the room, Ramon ended up breaking free from the cop's grasp and threw him to the floor, where he then stomped on his head multiple times.

CRACK! CRACK!

With him down, Ramon ran out of the room. He looked down the hall and saw a female officer looking on, having just arrived at the scene. Noah, behind the cover, peeked out and saw her, too.

"That's Dawn!"

Immediately, Ramon ran toward her. The police lieutenant reacted by running down another hallway. Y/N called out to his friend.

"Ramon!"

Suddenly, a few more officers arrived. The group took cover as they fired at them.

POW! POW!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"What did I say?" Tyreese remarked.

Y/N scoffed. "Still, we're together. We're getting out of this."

Rick overheard and agreed. He gripped his pistol as he prepared to fight off the incoming cops.

Ramon still ran after Dawn through the corridors of the fifth floor. She made a sharp left into a room, and the man quickly followed. But upon getting inside, he was met with a shocking sight.

"You come any closer...I'll kill her." Dawn threatened.

She had an arm wrapped around Beth's neck and had her at gunpoint. The blonde writhed in the police woman's grasp with eyes not of fear...but of hate. Hate towards Dawn for what she had gone through at the hospital.

Ramon aimed his gun at Dawn. She began to back away toward the wall with the barrel of her pistol still pressed against the side of Beth's temple.

"Let her go." Ramon demanded.

"You think you can just come in here...attack my colleagues...and get what you want?" Dawn retorted. "Who do you think you are?"

Ramon held the gun at Dawn, glancing at Beth.

"...someone who'd do anything in their power to get back someone they love."

His remark made Beth's heart swell. Meanwhile, Dawn scoffed.

"This ain't like the movies, kid."

Dawn still had the gun to Beth's head while Ramon kept his weapon trained at the officer. She spoke again.

"You monsters are ruining a great thing here."

"That involves kidnapping young women in the middle of the night? Taking them from where they were to this damn place?"

"You just don't get it. This is a place of order. We all work together to thrive and get through all of this. The people here...they know how to use their skills for the benefit of everyone. Even Beth here."

"I never—never wanted any of this." Beth breathed out.

"Just give her to me." Ramon demanded once more.

"No. No orders from you. You put your gun down, or else I'll pull the trigger." She threatened. "I'm going to count to three."

Ramon didn't move. Dawn became impatient and pressed the gun into Beth's temple.

"One...!"

Ramon still didn't react.

"Two...!

Dawn's expression became cold, and she looked at Beth, ready to pull the trigger. Before she could, Ramon finally relented.

"Okay! Okay..."

He raised his hands and held his gun in his right hand. Dawn gestured at it with her head.

"Drop it. Now."

Beth watched as Ramon did as told. She noticed him glance at the window to their right as he dropped the weapon. He still kept his hands up.

"Now..." Dawn began, this time aiming her gun at Ramon.

"Beth..." Ramon abruptly spoke. "Agacharse."

Dawn stood there confused. Beth took in his foreign command and remembered what it had meant from the time he had taught her Spanish during the trek after the prison.

"Agacharse." He repeated.

In order to duck, Beth got her arm free and elbowed Dawn in the side. She groaned, and the blonde was able to break free and drop down.

"Argh! You—!"

BLAM!

Immediately, a bullet came through the window and pierced her skull. Dawn fell to the floor, dead. Ramon looked through the shattered window to where Y/N was holding his pistol.

Ramon instantly went over to Beth, who was lying on the floor. He got to her level and grabbed the stunned girl's face.

"Beth...Beth!" He spoke. "Are you okay?"

The blonde finally looked at him and nodded. He noticed the fresh scars on her forehead and cheek from injuries she sustained during her time there. Ramon swallowed and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I—I..." He was about to break down. His lip trembled. "I missed you so much."

Immediately, Beth leaned in and kissed him. They parted, and the couple embraced.

As they did, the rest of the group came over after dealing with the cops, even forcing some to surrender. They even found Carol, whom Daryl found in a wheelchair but could still walk.

Ramon and Beth got to their feet. Beth turned to Y/N next, who came inside to check if they were all right.

"Beth..." He spoke.

The blonde hugged him as well. She was already teary-eyed from her reunion with Ramon, but now she cried more.

"Thank you...thank you."

Y/N rubbed her back. As he did, he turned to see a familiar face in the corner of the room by Dawn's body: his father. His arms were crossed, and the man nodded contentedly. Y/N decided to look away and ignore it.

After they parted, Beth reunited with Rick, Sasha, Tyreese, and Daryl. The redneck was visibly relieved to see the Greene sister okay. They shared a warm embrace.

Finally, Beth went over to Noah. All he did was smile at her.

She knew that the teenager had found a way to her friends and was the reason she and Carol were rescued in the first place. He could have just left and gone alone, but he didn't.

Beth embraced him, too. Noah reciprocated the act.

"You came back." She said into his shoulder.

Noah nodded and rubbed her back.

"I wasn't going to leave you behind. No way."

Rick and the crew, now joined by Noah and the recently rescued Beth and Carol, walked down the block to where their truck was.

There were still people at Grady Memorial Hospital, which included the good officers who surrendered and the medical personnel. Rick had offered them to come along, but they decided to stay put and care for the patients that were there. He respected their decision and let them be.

But then again, there might have been a reason they didn't want to join the crew. They had just invaded their home and killed a few of their colleagues.

As bad as they were...they were still jarred that they were planning on wiping them all out if they had to. They didn't want to be around that. Around...monsters.

The group kept walking. Suddenly, they saw a dirtied fire truck driving toward them. Y/N raised his rifle along with Rick and Daryl.

They stopped several yards away from them. Soon, Abraham came out with Rosita, Glenn, and Maggie.

"Well, I'll be damned." The ginger remarked.

"Abraham." Rick called out.

Soon after, more people came out. This included Michonne, Gabriel, and Tara. Eugene, Mika, and Carl stayed inside with Judith.

"Beth...?" Maggie called out upon seeing her, a look of awe on her face.

Beth immediately sobbed as she ran over to her older sister. Maggie dropped her gun and embraced her tightly as she cried as well.

The people nearby looked on with warm expressions. Glenn approached Carol and embraced her, albeit carefully due to her injuries.

Y/N looked over at the firetruck. He saw Mika through the cabin window, who smiled at him. The young man was delighted to see her okay. He grinned as well and waved back at her.

Although he still didn't know why they weren't at the church or why Abraham's crew weren't on their way to Washington, he was still pleased to see them. Once again, they were all together.

• • •

THEY WERE ON the move right after what transpired in Atlanta. Their plan was to get to Shirewilt Estates outside Richmond, Virginia, which is where Noah once lived. He and Beth planned to go when they first planned their escape from Grady Memorial Hospital.

Y/N and the rest of the group discovered Eugene's lie and how he didn't know anything about a cure. There would likely never be one. The world they were in now was what they had to endure...and it was up to them to make the best of it.

It took a little over fifteen days of traveling before they finally closed in on Shirewilt. Noah, Michonne, Y/N, Rick, and Glenn were in a single van operated by Tyreese. The rest stayed in a safe location while they checked the estates.

"How far out?" Rick asked Noah, who sat in the front seat.

The teenager looked over at the dashboard. "Five miles."

Rick took out his radio and spoke into it. "Hey, Carol."

"I'm here."

"We're halfway there. Just wanted to check the range."

"Everybody's holding tight. We've made it 500 miles. Maybe this can be the easy part."

"Got to think we're due," Rick replied. "Give us 20 minutes to check in."

"We don't hear from you, we'll come looking."

"Copy that."

After a moment, Noah turned to Tyreese. "I've been wanting to tell you something."

"What's that?" He asked.

"Back at the hospital. I can tell you weren't really down with what happened. Maybe...maybe the trade would've worked. But again, it was risky. Dawn was unpredictable."

"It went the way it had to. The way it was always going to." Tyreese admitted. "I never wanted to kill anybody before. I've wanted that. But it just made it so I didn't see anything except what I wanted. I wasn't facing it."

"Facing what?" Noah asked.

"What happened, what's going on. My dad always told Sasha and me that it was our duty as citizens of the world to keep up with the news. When I was little and I was in his car, there were always those stories on the radio. Something happens 1,000 miles away or down the block. Some kind of horror I couldn't even wrap my head around. Stories of monsters doing horrible things. But he didn't change the channel. He didn't turn it off. He just kept listening. To face it. Keeping your eyes open."

They all listened to Tyreese's story. Y/N rarely heard about his friend's past or his dad, only that his old man was a veteran. That was something the two had in common.

"My dad always called that paying the high cost of living." Tyreese added.

"I lost my dad in Atlanta. I think he would have liked yours. Still got a mom and a couple of twin brothers." Noah replied with a chuckle, but his smile soon fell. "I hope."

"I hope so, too." Tyreese replied.

There was another moment of quiet. Noah looked at the meter again.

"Two more miles." He said.

"All right," Rick replied. "Let's pull into the woods. We'll go on foot. Stay off the road."

"We don't need to." Noah butted.

Rick looked ahead. "Just in case."

They soon parked in the woods next to a broken-down car, making it seem like their vehicle was part of an old wreck. Y/N got out of the car with the rest and holstered his gun.

"Yeah..." Y/N looked at their van. "Looks beat up enough to look the part."

A walker banged on the windows in one of the other cars and snarled. They all stared at it as Noah pointed back.

"It's this way."

They followed the teenager through the woods until they stumbled upon a barrier formed using wires wrapped across tree stumps. Rick pointed it out.

"Your people do this?"

"Wanted to. They must have." He answered.

They carefully went underneath the wires. Noah, who still sported a limp from his foot injury a couple of weeks ago, wasn't as careful and cut his forehead on the sharp wire. He yelped in pain.

"Ah!"

Y/N turned around and made sure he was okay. "You all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah." He breathed out as he touched his cut. "I'm good."

They kept moving. The group could see the walls of the gated community in the distance.

"They have spotters?" Rick asked Noah. "Snipers?"

"We built a perch on a truck. Sometimes it's out front."

Glenn looked through the shrubbery and surveyed the front of the estates. There were no signs of a spotter.

"Not today." He told them.

They all came out of the tree line and walked across the lonely road to the front gates of the community. Noah went up to the doors and shook them, putting his ear against it to hear what was behind it. He heard distant banging.

"You hear that?" He asked them.

They could hear the clanging behind the gates. Glenn holstered his weapon and went up to it.

"Just wait."

Glenn climbed up the gate and looked over it. Noah stayed below and just stared at Glenn. The Korean took a breath upon seeing what was before him...it wasn't good.

He looked back down at Noah and shook his head. It was then that the teenager felt a sense of dread. Rick, Tyreese, Michonne, and Y/N all knew what was on the other side and the fate of the people of Shirewilt.

Noah immediately went over and started climbing. Y/N called out and went over to the gate, too.

"Noah...Noah!"

He didn't listen and continued going over the gate. He landed on the grass with a grunt. The rest of them soon followed and got on the other side into the estates. Noah looked ahead, seeing burnt houses in the distance and corpses on the lawn near them.

He limped forward, albeit quickly, not caring about his discomfort.

"Noah, hold up." Rick called out.

The teenager started to go faster. The rest chased after him as Rick called out again.

"Noah!"

Noah stopped at the roundabout and looked around, seeing the devastation that was left. It was a remnant of the place he and his family used to call home. All that remained were trash, corpses, and walkers that were once people he knew.

The kid sobbed as he buried his face into his hands and dropped to the ground. It pained them to see Noah in utter turmoil, especially Y/N, who had gotten to know the teenager and his good nature the last couple of weeks. He didn't deserve any of this.

Y/N went up to Noah, crouching down and holding his shoulders. He tried to offer comfort and reassurance.

"It's all right. You're gonna be with us now. We're here for you."

Noah didn't respond. He sat in a cross-legged position and kept crying. Michonne, who sympathized with the teenager, expressed her emotions by going to a nearby walker.

"I got it."

Rick went up to the sobbing Noah and crouched beside him.

"I'm sorry, Noah. I truly am."

The boy was still unresponsive. Rick got back and sighed.

"We should see if there's anything we can use and head back." He told the rest.

"Then what?" Michonne retorted with some attitude.

Rick simply looked at her. Michonne turned back around and eyed the stragglers ahead.

"They see us." She said and went to deal with them.

"We can make a quick sweep." Glenn said.

Tyreese looked at Y/N, Glenn, and Rick. "I'll stay with him. You guys go along."

Rick simply nodded and walked away, taking out his radio to update Carol on the situation.

Y/N kept looking down at Noah with a sad look. Tyreese knew he felt terrible for the kid and also harbored some empathy. Y/N knew what it felt like to lose a family.

"I got this. Really." Tyreese reassured him and patted his arm.

Y/N looked up at Tyreese, who gave him a warm look and a reassuring nod. Y/N was very appreciative of his friendship with Tyreese, a bond that had been strong since their time in Alan's RV park.

The young man nodded and patted Tyreese's shoulder, too. He walked away and joined the rest on their sweep of the community.

Michonne smashed a framed baseball jersey and bat with her foot rather angrily. Rick noticed and tapped her arm, worried about her current emotional state. She looked back at him and composed herself.

"Clean shirt." She said as he took the jersey out of the frame.

"We'll figure it out," Rick reassured her. "We will."

She ignored him and walked away. "There's some garbage bags in the garage."

Y/N was checking some boxes in the garage, having overheard the exchange. He saw Michonne coming in and saw the jersey in her hand and the shattered frame on the floor.

"You know...that's bad luck." He said. "Don't get near me."

"Shut up." She butted and walked passed him, garnering a snicker from the man.

"You check if it has my name on it?"

She ignored him, too. Y/N looked down and saw the wooden bat that had rolled out of the shattered case. He picked it up, eyeing it and holding it with both hands. Y/N decided to fake swing and clicked his tongue to mimic the sound of a hit.

Glenn was passing by and was startled by the swing. Y/N chuckled, and Glenn waved him off.

"Watch where you swing that thing." He said.

"Watch where you keep your face." Y/N butted with a smirk. "I could've cracked your head open."

Glenn snickered and went outside as Y/N kept looking around the garbage. Rick went up to Glenn and spoke to him about their current situation.

"You didn't think it would still be here?" Rick asked.

He turned around. "Did you?"

Rick rubbed his scruffy beard and put his hands on his holster.

"I suppose I did. After what happened at the hospital, I figured we could follow through with Beth and Noah's original plan. Bring him home. Do this for him." Rick looked around and sighed. "And it could have been for us, too."

Suddenly, Y/N, who was nearby, spoke.

"You think this is karma?"

Rick turned to him. "Huh?"

Y/N sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"For what we did. For what I agreed to. Killing those cops. Killing Dawn." He paused for a moment. "I don't know...I've just been thinking about it lately."

Y/N had that on his mind recently. He recalled the moments before the attack on the hospital and after killing Dawn when he saw the apparition of his father. He started to fear that the more he saw him, the more he was becoming like him. He didn't want to prove him right.

Mika didn't even know the full extent of what transpired at the hospital. All she knew was that they saved Beth and Carol and had to protect themselves. She didn't know that Y/N and Rick basically agreed to invade a building and kill whoever they needed to in order to succeed in the mission. He didn't even think to give them mercy.

Did that make him a bad person? A monster?

Finally, Rick responded. "We did what we had to do. And we saved Beth and Carol. What happened then happened. What matters is what's going on now."

Y/N took in his words. He nodded.

"What happened and what's going on," Y/N repeated what Tyreese said during their drive. He smirked. "That's right."

Later, they kept searching the nearby houses for supplies. They gathered what they could and put them into black garbage bags. The four walked down the street toward the next house.

"We could put some of the garage doors together against the break," Michonne said. "Park a car against them until we can brick it back up. It can work."

Michonne was adamant about pointing out the positives of their discovery of the estates. She held out hope on somehow building it back up into a safe home for the group.

"This place is surrounded by a forest." Rick butted. "There's no sight lines. Whoever, whatever would be on top of us without us even knowing it."

"That's probably what happened," Y/N remarked, mentioning the devastation. "That's what happened to us."

"We could start taking down the trees. We use them to build the walls up." Michonne said.

The three men weren't so sure. Michonne gestured down the road. "Look."

They followed her to a broken wall of the community. On the other side, they were met with a grizzly sight. Corpses, mostly maimed and in pieces, were all over the ground. The body parts were cut in ways that were unlikely to have been caused by walkers. They had an inkling that it was living at fault.

"It doesn't matter." Glenn told Y/N.

"What?"

"You wondered if it's all karma. If what you did was right." He replied, then looked back at the gore before them. People who were way worse than them surely caused it. Monsters.

"It doesn't matter." Glenn added.

"Washington." Michonne spoke after a bit of silence. "Eugene lied about a cure, but he thought of Washington for a reason."

Glenn wondered why she even brought it up but entertained the conversation.

"But he was lying." He replied.

"About the cure, but he did the math and realized that Washington was the place where there'd be a chance. We're close."

Rick simply sighed. Michonne continued.

"What if there are people there? Huh? What if it's someplace that we can be safe? We're 100 miles away. It's a possibility." Michonne started to get emotional, and her voice quivered. "It's a chance. Instead of just being out here. Instead of just making it. Because right now, this is what making it looks like."

She gestured toward the corpses nearby. Y/N didn't even look back at that and just gazed at Michonne. He had never seen her so passionate in her words since their conversation after surviving their encounter with the Claimers.

"Don't you want one more day with a chance?" Michonne asked them.

Rick absorbed her monologue and thought about it. Suddenly, he heard snarling and saw a couple of walkers coming out of the woods and going toward them.

"We should go."

Michonne felt let down as it seemed Rick just wanted to move on from it. She, Glenn, and Y/N began to walk away, but Rick stayed where he was and spoke again.

"It's 100 miles away." He nodded and looked at Michonne. "We should go to Washington."

A smile, albeit barely noticeable, formed on her face. Rick looked down momentarily before turning to Y/N and Glenn, who agreed with his plan.

"Rick!"

They heard the distant callout and looked down the road.

"Help, Rick! Y/N! Glenn! Michonne!"

Y/N recognized Noah's voice. He was the first to run ahead as he gripped his baseball bat. The rest soon followed, and they all ran back into the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Noah was on the porch of a house trying to push back two walkers with a piece of fence. Y/N saw him and ran up armed with his bat and knife.

"Help!"

"I got you, Noah!"

A walker turned around and lunged at Y/N, but it was quickly met with a hit to the face with his bat. He quickly finished it off with a stab to his skull.

WHACK!

SULK!

"I got him." Michonne informed and went to another walker.

She drew her sword and tried to slash his neck, but the rebar that protruded from his collarbone stopped the blade. It gave the walker a chance to grab Michonne, and a struggle ensued.

Glenn went over and dispatched the other walker who was going for Noah with a stab to the head.

SULK!

Rick ran to Michonne and pulled the walker off of her, He then took out the rebar from its collar and slammed it against its head, the force cracking it open and destroying its brain.

CRESH!

With the undead dealt with, Noah got up and panted.

"It's Tyreese!"

"Where?" Y/N asked.

"My house. He's been bit."

With that, Y/N immediately hopped off the porch. Noah ran off, and they all followed him to where Tyreese was.

Noah led them to the house, all while taking down nearby walkers. They ran inside and followed him to a bedroom, where they saw Tyreese sitting in the corner with a profusely bleeding arm.

"Ty!"

Y/N ran over and checked his wounds. He saw that he had two bites on his forearm.

"Ty! You'll be all right, man." The young man said.

Tyreese didn't respond. He was in a delirious state, sweating and blankly looking around while mumbling. Y/N looked over at Michonne.

"We need to chop it off."

Glenn stammered. "How—How long has he been been—?"

"It don't matter," Rick interjected. "Come on!"

Rick knelt and grabbed onto his maimed arm, stretching it out. Y/N got on the other side and held his other arm in an attempt to keep the burly man from moving. Michonne unsheathed her sword as Glenn and Noah stood back and watched.

"You hold him!" Rick shouted.

"I got it!" Y/N grunted. "Go!"

"One hit, clean! Go!" Rick ordered Michonne.

With that, Michonne swung her blade down and sliced the arm off at the elbow.

SVAASH!

Tyreese let out a weak guttural groan upon the amputation happening. Immediately, they wrapped his bleeding stump with a shirt and picked him up.

Y/N and Rick paired up to help keep the man on his feet as they brought him out of the house. Noah, Michonne, and Glenn escorted them.

"Push it!"

"Let's go! Let's go!"

"Through the back!" Michonne exclaimed.

They all hurried down the road and made it to the back gate. They noticed it was locked and could hear a group of walkers on the other side. They needed to deal with it as there was nowhere else to go, and they were running out of time.

"We've got to break the chain." Rick said.

"We can use the bat." Y/N said.

Rick nodded, letting him know that he had Tyreese and for him to break the lock. Y/N ran forward and did just that.

"I got him." Noah told Rick.

"Can you hold him up?"

"Yeah."

Noah grabbed onto Tyreese, and it allowed Rick to assist Y/N, Michonne, and Glenn in dealing with the walkers that spilled out of the now open gate.

"Get ready!"

As they were being dealt with, Tyreese was zoned out but could see what was happening before him. Everything seemed slow, and he could barely hear anything as sounds faded in and out.

SVAASH!

bang! bang!

WHACK!

Y/N ran over to Tyreese. He spoke to him and was ready to pick him back up.

"Come on, brother, I got you."

Rick came to help. "One, two, three, now!"

They both lifted him and brought him to his feet. Michonne, Glenn, and Noah ran in front and had their guard up in case of any stragglers.

"Stay with us, now. Stay with us."

They ran across the road and went back into the forest. They had trouble getting past the wire barrier with the heavy man as his foot had gotten stuck in it.

"I got it! I got!" Y/N exclaimed.

He tried prying the wires off his foot, ignoring the pain of it cutting into his palm. Y/N didn't care as his priority was to free his friend. He grunted and kept going.

"Argh!"

"Come on!" Rick exclaimed and looked back at Tyreese. "You got to hold on, man. Hold on!"

Finally, Y/N was able to get him free. He immediately went back to lift him.

"Two, three..."

He grunted as him and Rick got him back up. They continued to their van, and Glenn opened the door. He went inside and helped bring him in. Once they put him in a seat, they all entered the car, and Rick ran to the driver's side. He immediately radioed Carol.

"Carol, we're at the car. We need to cauterize the arm and wrap it." He entered the car. "Get Sasha and the kids away. They don't need to see this."

Rick started the engine and tried to drive off, but the tire was stuck in a mud hole. He grit his teeth as he stepped on the gas.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on."

Finally, he could move but ended up crashing into the wrecked truck ahead. Several undead amputated torsos came from the back, landing all over the hood and windshield. Y/N was bewildered.

"What the fuck?"

Some of them had Ws carved into their foreheads. It should've been a topic of conversation, but they had more pressing matters at hand. Rick stepped on the gas again and drove out of the woods, knocking torsos off the hood.

They all drove down the road. Tyreese had his head against the window, looking out at the passing trees. Y/N, who sat next to him, looked over and gripped his shoulder.

"Stay awake for me, Ty. Come on, brother. We're almost there."

Tyreese didn't respond, but he heard him. He kept looking out, and his eyes landed on the sun. Y/N spoke again, but to Tyreese, it came out as a whisper.

"It'll be all right."

Those words from his friend were the last he'd hear before he ultimately succumbed to the infection. He had closed his eyes...never to open them again.

Y/N kept looking at him and took notice. He shook him a bit, but the man wasn't moving. Immediately, Y/N felt his heart drop.

"Ty...?"

Noah looked over and was crestfallen. Rick turned around and saw him, too, realizing that Tyreese passed away. He ended up stopping the car on the side of the road.

"Ty." Y/N sadly said again, lowering his head.

They all got out of the car and pulled the man's body out, laying it beside the car. They all gathered around him and were heartbroken.

Rick rubbed his face and paced around as Michonne looked away and took a deep breath. Noah stepped away and shook his head while Glenn looked down and covered his mouth.

Then, there was Y/N. He backed away into the side of the car, staring at his friend's body. He was unresponsive at first...but a seconds went by, he began to tear up. He sniffled and wiped the wetness away.

They all lost someone who was like family to them. Sasha had now lost a sibling. And Y/N, he didn't just lose a friend....he lost someone who had been with him since the early days of the outbreak. Someone who was there when he first met Liliana, when he helped take in the people from Woodbury, and when AJ was born. He was there to witness the change Y/N made from being the conceited superstar athlete trying to make it in the new world to the caring and selfless man with a purpose he was today.

Tyreese was gone, and with that...Y/N had basically lost another brother.