Time After Time

It took one more full day of walking before we reached Terminus. After the night we had gone through, arriving at the gates of this so-called safe haven was the only thing driving us forward. Everyone was shaken up by last night, Carl the most. He trailed beside Michonne, finding the most comfort in her presence. He wasn't scared of his father, but you could tell by his face that for the time being Carl looked at Rick differently after watching him tear another man's throat out.

Rick carried himself around us like he was walking on eggshells, continuously asking if we were okay. He knew what he had done to Joe was barbaric. He knew that no matter how desperate we were, not any one of us would have done what he did. In his mind it was necessary and he was remorseful of that. But, that didn't make me look at Rick any different. He did what I always knew he would do, protect Carl. Protect us. I was grateful for that.

"We're close," Daryl said as he wiped the dirt off of a broken-down sign that read "Welcome to Terminus."

"Now we head through the woods," Rick ordered, "We don't know who they are."

With that fact agreed on, we headed off to our left, straight into the bush. It took about five minutes of walking before we reached one of their outer fences. We steadily walked up to it, our few weapons at the ready. The chain-link face kept us well hidden, the majority of it covered in vines, wrapped up and twisting through the links.

We peaked through any opening we could find within the leaves. Down at the bottom of the small incline, we stood on, was a large red warehouse. The windows had been boarded up. Each one had a letter painted in thick black paint, spelling out the word TERMINUS. Dispersed around it were other small factories that looked to be transformed into houses for the residents. We could see a few people walking around, but none with weapons. They looked to be preparing for dinner.

Rick then stepped back from the fence, I looked over at him.

"We all spread out, watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready," he explained. "We all stay close though."

I nodded my head and headed off to my left with Daryl. Rick decided to stay put, watching the town from where he was while Carl followed Michonne off to the right. Daryl and I walked along the fence perimeter, scoping out different angles of the town and watching out for any guards or spotters. The air between us was silent, but I could tell Daryl had something he wanted to say because he wouldn't look at me. He was too distracted by the thoughts in his head that he wouldn't even turn his head in my direction. We have been together since last night, walking all day long, yet he hasn't said a word to me since the day we were separated. Before we left the side of the road I overheard him talking to Rick. Rick had asked him how he ended up with those guys. Daryl's response was that I was just gone and they were enough to get him by. The frustration was finally bubbling up inside of me. So much so that I couldn't keep it concealed any longer. His silence towards me pushing my rage over the edge.

"Daryl," I called him, keeping my voice low but my tone was harsh. He turned around, being a couple of steps in front of me. I walked up to him, his eyes finally meeting mine before I shoved him with both of my hands as hard as I could. He didn't move much, but he could feel the anger behind my actions. "You said you'd look for me!" I threw my hands towards his chest again. His right foot took a step backwards, catching himself. "In that fucking graveyard! You said you'd be out there until you found me!" The tears welled up in my waterline, my vision blurring as I threw my hands at his chest. His shoulders caved in that same shameful look washing over his face. "You didn't look for me at all, finding another group was enough for you. If it wasn't for Joe seeking out Rick then we wouldn't… you wouldn't even be here right now." My hands made contact with his chest one final time before he latched onto me, swooping his arms around my back and holding me close to him. I sunk into his embrace, but my skin still boiled in anger.

"I tracked you all day and night," he said quietly, still holding onto me.

"Why'd you stop?" I asked, my voice meek, afraid of the answer.

"I found this," he said. He let go of me, reaching into his pocket to pull something out. His hand was balled into a fist as he placed it out in front of me. Opening up his palm I stared down at my father's and brother's dog tags. Blood smeared across the metal. My reflexes kicked in and my hand immediately reached to my neck to feel for them. Like staring at them in his hand was not enough proof for me. "I found them in the leaves where it looked like two people had fought," he explained. "As bad as they were, Joe's group was enough… because I thought you were dead or worse, a walker."

I looked up at him, taking my dog tags back from his hand. "Let's head back," I said, turning and walking away from him.

Daryl silently trailed behind me. It didn't take us long to reach where Rick had remained. Carl and Michonne had made it back before us. Rick knelt over a hole he dug in the forest floor. His bag of guns was placed neatly at the bottom of it as he pushed the dirt back over the top of it.

"Just in case," he said.

"The perimeter looks to be clear. No guards," I explained.

"Alright, let's head in."

We each jumped the fence, making our way down the incline. We kept ourselves low and light on our feet as we went for the back door to the main warehouse. Rick gripped onto the handle of the red metal door that had already been left ajar. He looked at Daryl, both men nodding their heads before we entered, our guns held in front of our chest. We sped down the hallway, following the quiet hums of the voices coming from a room up ahead.

"There are maps at the crossings to help guide you through your journey. Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive," a woman's voice carried through the empty factory. Daryl peeked around the doorway, entering slowly as we followed. A stared at a small, grey-haired woman who sat at a desk on the opposite side of the room. A headset was placed over her ears as she spoke into a microphone. "Terminus, sanctuary for all. Community for all-"

"Hello," Rick said as he walked to the middle of the room, catching her off guard. That's when we spotted more residents from their community. To our right, roughly ten members worked on their chores down at the end of the room. "Hello," Rick said louder, attracting the attention of the other people.

A man turned around, sighing harshly when seeing us, "Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch," he stated. He put down his paintbrush and walked closer to where we were. "You here to rob us?" he asked.

"No. We wanted to see you before you saw us," Rick answered, stepping closer to the man, but putting his gun in its holster in the process.

The man nodded, smiling, "Makes sense. Usually we do this where the tracks meet," he stepped forward, looking around at his fellow members and raised out his arms motioning to the space, "Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth. Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit," he said as he analyzed each of us individually.

"We have," Rick agreed. "Rick. That's Carl, Daryl, Michonne, and Scar."

Gareth waved and waited for us to reciprocate the gesture. We remained still, analyzing them for ourselves.

"You're nervous, I get it. We were all the same way," he bellowed, trying very hard to be welcoming. "We came here for sanctuary. That what you're here for?" he asked. That question alone raised a red flag in the back of my head. Why ask that question if that's what you were advertising to the world?

"Yes," Rick answered,

"Good," Gareth paused, "You found it. Hey, Alex," he then called out to a man behind him. Alex stepped forward, immediately turning on a smile. Gareth then turned back to us. "This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but the welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer," Gareth smiled. Alex reached Gareth's side, an average-built man with a shaggy beard and beady brown eyes. "Alex will take you, ask you a few questions." Alex waved at us. "Uh, but first, we need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you."

We all looked at one another, skeptical of the request. We did not know much about this place, how they decided to run their sanctuary. Ultimately, it ended, as usual, each of us looking at Rick for him to make the call. He nodded slowly before taking his pistol out of his hostler and being the first to place it on the ground by his feet.

"Alright," Rick spoke up, we each followed his actions. I placed my Glock on the ground in front of me, quickly making the decision that I'd keep the knife I had tucked in the side of my boot a secret. What they didn't wouldn't hurt them, unless they tried anything.

"I'm sure you understand," Gareth defended his request.

"Yes, I do," Rick sighed, looking up at him.

Gareth and Alex approached to pat us down. I raised my arms as Gareth lightly tapped on the outside of my clothes. He didn't find my knife, the thick leather from my combat boot concealing the weapon well.

"I'd hate to see the other guy," Alex attempted to make conversation with Daryl as he stared at the purple circle surrounding Daryl's right eye.

"You would," Rick spoke up, side-eying Alex.

"Just so you know, we aren't those kinds of people, but we aren't stupid either. And you shouldn't be stupid enough to try anything stupid. As long as everyone's clear on that we shouldn't have any problems. Just solutions, okay." Gareth said his spiel before heading back to his work.

Alex then handed our weapons back to us, surprising me. I thought for sure they were going to confiscate them upon entering, but instead, they only took inventory of what we carried.

"Follow me," Alex waved us along after him.

"So how long has this place been here?" Daryl asked the first question as Alex led us back outside.

"Since almost the start," Alex smiled, proud of that fact. "When all the camps got overrun, people started finding this place. I think it was instinct, you know? Follow a path. Some people were headed to the coast, others out west or up north." We followed Alex into a courtyard, one similar to what he had at the prison. This one was much more developed though. They had four beds of gardens, along with a variety of picnic tables for people to sit down and eat. "But they all wound up here."

We approached a barbeque where a woman with a long red braid flipped meat on the grill.

"Hi. Heard you came in the back door. Smart," she smiled, a very welcoming tone to her voice. "You'll fit right in here."

"Hey, Mary, would you fix each of these new folks a plate for me?" Alex asked.

I stared down at the freshly grilled meat, my mouth watering from just the smell alone.

"Why do you do it?" Michonne now asked. "Why do you let people in?"

"The more people that become a part of us, we get stronger," Alex answered, "That's why we put up the signs, invite people in. It's how we survive." Alex picked up a plate of meat, handing one to each of us. I took it graciously as I listened to him.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as Rick stomped forward, brushing right past us as he slammed the plate out of Alex's hand and yanked something out of his pocket. Within a split second, Rick had Alex pressed against his chest, gun to his head, and Glenn's pocket watch dangling out of the other. Each of us immediately raised our weapons, circling each other. That's when I finally took in my surroundings, probably what Rick had been doing the entire time as we remained fixated on Alex. A man across the yard was dressed head to toe in riot gear from the prison. Another woman wore Maggie's poncho that was originally Carol's.

"Where the hell did you get this watch?" Rick asked, his tone filled with rage. My stomach immediately dropped, this was no sanctuary, it was a slaughterhouse.