FIFTY THREE. the realization

BLOOD. The stars. The night sky. Flashes of screams and cries, haunting her dreams. Grief. An unexplainable grief. A feeling that took her months to suppress. One that still, even after all the time that she had tiptoed around, hadn't went away. No matter how hard she tried... it never left her alone. The constant reminder of how everything went wrong. One misstep. One long trip down a hill full of rocks and holes. Never ending grief. That feeling of unending defeat that haunted her mind every time she closed her eyes. Blood. The stars. The night sky. Grief.

Murder. Hatred. Death. Repeat.

Adeline hated dreaming. They looped like a chord progression each time she slept, the same group of memories taunting her. There was one thing she never talked about, not even with Daryl or Glenn. They didn't even know about it. Before the world ended and the dead rose, it was times that no one talked about. It was almost like they never existed in the first place - that version of them officially gone with the wind after experiencing loss. A loss that changed them and shaped them into the person they are now.

Years before the new world began, Adeline cherished a lot of different things. Her life. Her passions. Family. The people she loved. With Shane, the two of them always wanted to have a kid. There were trials and errors, yet not one successful story between the sheets that resulted in a healthy baby. But, there was one story. One that had been buried so deep in futile attempts to completely forget that it ever even existed. One unhealthy baby. One story.

Adeline lost her baby.

And the only time it had been brought up since the world caved was when she was slicing her knife across the stomach of Lori Grimes. Her sister in law. The mother of her dead husbands baby. The baby she could never have. It took Adeline weeks to be able to even look at the cooing infant, let alone hold her. If it wasn't for the fact that she undeniably loved the people she was with since the real start, she would've packed her bags and left the moment she knew that baby was okay. But she didn't. She stayed for them.

Shane wanted to run. There were days when Adeline completely forgot about the conversation that the two of them shared that day on the highway. He wanted them to leave. And there were days when the woman changed widow thought about how differently things would've turned out for them if they did. Would they have survived? All alone, on their own? With no idea which road to take or which house was safe. Would he still be alive? She thought about that question more than she would ever like to admit.

But he wasn't. Shane Walsh was gone. He died months before he asked Adeline to leave her family. The man she fell in love with was dead way before her brother pierced his stomach with a knife. Blood. The stars. The night sky. Acceptance. Adeline accepted the fact that Shane was gone long ago. But the nights, those were the hardest for her. Because when she closed her eyes, she was pulled into an unwanted silence - when the voices and memories came to play. Repeating on an endless loop in her mind. And every time it happened, she always traced the words back to one thing.

Forgiveness.

Adeline Grimes had forgiven her brother. And she never got to tell him. He could be dead, a rotting corpse roaming the infected world. There was no possible way of her knowing if that was true or not. The memory of the Governors hands wrapped around his neck stained her mind, blood and cuts littering all over his body. Choked to death in a field. And all she could do was run away.

"Addy, we have to go!" Tyreese pleaded, Judiths bawling figure clutched to his chest as he helplessly tugged on the woman's arms in attempts to pull her away. But, there she was, frozen in fear.

The remnants of tears marked against her face, the ghost of a trail staining her pale skin. Her attentive and glossy eyes were dead set on the two figures fighting in the field that was once full of life, the place where she planted crops with her family. It was now a place of death and war, and there she was. Frozen in fear. It was Rick. He was barely even moving, the Governor sat straddled on top of him with his hands curled around his neck. He was killing him.

Tyresse instructed for Lizzie to take ahold of Judith, whispering a few words that were inaudible to the grief filled body of Adeline. "I'm sorry... there's nothing more we can do." His voice was all of a sudden closer, careful hands wrapped around the woman's fragile state as he pulled her away from the scene. Frozen.

A sharp gasp pierced her abdomen, the night sky nearly swallowing her figure whole if it wasn't for the stars and moon that shined above. Adeline sprung from her uneasy slumber, an unwanted trail of tears sticking to her pale and freckled skin as she hastily wiped the liquid away with her palm. "Crap." The word left her chapped lips as a whisper, running a hand down her face as she let out a deep sigh into her grasp.

"I hate bad dreams." The soft voice of Lizzie spoke up, causing the widow to look up from where she was. They had decided to camp out on the railroad tracks underneath a small passing, and Carol sat watch with a sleeping Judith just a few feet away. Adeline hadn't realized she had been laying on Tyreese's legs until she looked behind her and noticed the man shift in his sleep at the sudden disappearance of the warmth from his body.

Mika was fast asleep next to Adeline, her head resting against the doctors bag with her jacket draped over her small body. Lizzie was awake, leaning against the railroad tracks - her eyes resting upon the woman expectingly. "Yeah, me too." Adeline replied, a tired look on her face as she ran a hand through the greasy and tangled locks of her hair. "You should sleep, Liz. You need it." She added, a small smile worn on her lips as she stood up from the tracks and motioned to the spot where she once laid.

"Looking at flowers always help me." The girl informed, moving to lay next to her sleeping sister while keeping her eyes on the now standing figure of the widow. "Huh?" Adeline inquired, furrowing her brows in confusion. "When I cry." Lizzie spoke, "The flowers help." She added before turning over on her side and ceasing the short conversation between the two of them.

Taking a second, the doctor looked down at the sleeping bodies of Tyreese and Mika - a soft smile of gratitude rested against her lips before she sighed and looked to the figure of Carol. "You can go to sleep now," Adeline finally spoke, her voice quiet enough to avoid waking up the people she loved. "I'll take over." She added while nearing the small concrete platform that the woman sat on.

"How long has it been?" Carol inquired, watching with both concerned and worried eyes as Adeline hoisted herself onto the concrete platform. Turning to her friend, the doctor gave a look of confusion at the question - "What'dya mean?" She asked with an arched brow threaded by curiosity, the brunette locks of her messy and tangled hair falling down to rest against her expression.

Rocking slightly due to the sleeping toddler, Carol pulled her eyes away from the figures on the railroad tracks and back to Adeline. "Since you've woken up like that." She cleared up the confusion, watching as the understanding expression breached the features of the doctor as she nodded her head. "I remember when we were on the road... after the farm. You would wake up crying. Sometimes screaming. It would scare us all half to death," Carol informed.

Adeline casted her eyes to the boots she wore, avoiding the look that her friend sent her way. "Yeah.... It would me, too. It's been a while." The widow spoke, clearing her throat and looking back to Carol with a tight lipped smile - "But I'm fine now. What's done is done, you know? There's no going back." She continued, the lies that slipped out of her mouth being all too familiar to the woman beside of her. "We've all got jobs to do." Adeline added.

Carol nodded in an understanding way, choosing to not prod and poke at the woman. "Did you... Did Rick talk to you? Before it all happened, I mean." She questioned, causing Adeline to look to her with furrowed brows - the confusion lingering within her veins until it disappeared completely. The last conversation she had with her brother surfacing to her mind, the topic being something that Adeline hadn't thought about due to constantly trying to survive.

"Any news about the Karen and David situation?" Adeline questioned, curling her hands around the small base of the thick glass to keep herself from falling. She could feel her head get heavier, and the more she moved her eyes became blurry with dizziness. "I know Carol said she was asking you to look into it. Get a list of who-where-when, stuff like that." She informed.

Rick shifted on his feet before nodding slowly, "That's what I came to talk to you about." He spoke, causing her head to slowly lift to meet his eyes. "It was her." He informed, Adelines eyebrows to furrowing in confusion. "Carol was the one who killed them. She told me herself." He added, a slightly shocked look coating the nurses features as another cough fell from her lips. "Said she was trying to stop it from spreading." Rick added after a second.

Carol killed Karen and David. Adeline glanced back to the sleeping figure of Tyreese, guilt seeping through her veins as she turned to face the woman next to her. Scrounging her mind for something to say, she found herself stumbling over words as she anxious picked at the sides of her thumbs. "Yeah, he did." She finally spoke, her words causing a noticeable change in Carol. "He told me that you two were going out on a run, that it might take a while." Adeline lied.

It was convincing. Enough so that the widows attentive stare noticed the relief that pierced Carols expression as she nodded in confirmation. "We met this couple. They didn't make it." She informed, carefully fixing the blanket that was wrapped around Judiths body. "A day after Rick left, I saw the fire. All of the smoke from the prison. And when I got there... I was too late to help. Saw you guys running and followed after you." She adds.

Not wanting to say anything else, scared she might give away that she lied, Adeline shifted in her spot while stretching out her neck by rolling it against her shoulders. "So, Terminus... Sanctuary for all, community for all. Those who arrive, survive. Sounds too good to be true. Tyreese said he didn't know what to think of it yet. What's your take on it?" She questioned, thinking back on the signs they had been following on the tracks. It was a pipe dream, Adeline was sure of it. No one just offers a free sanctuary.

Carol shook her head - "The girls like it. Gives them hope. But, you're right. It does sound too good to be true." She informed, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she looked to Adeline. "I've been meaning to ask, a few days ago Tyreese was threatening to kill you and now he tells you everything? What happened there?" She questioned, the widow knowing exactly what she meant.

"A lot can change when you save someone's life." Adeline informed, sliding off of the concrete platform and glancing back at the sleeping figure of the man. "If you're not gonna sleep, then I'll at least try to. Again." She assured, which was a bit surprising- seeing as the doctor had the tendency to stretch her limits. It was refreshing to see that she was trying. Carol nodded in agreement, watching as Adeline walked away and towards the sleeping figures until she abruptly stopped in her steps, turning around.

"For what it's worth." The widow started, memories racking her brain as she met eyes with Carol. "You should tell Tyresse." She finished her words, giving the woman just enough to realize that she knew. Adeline knew she had killed Karen. The woman that Tyresse loved. And if anybody knew how it felt to get the love of their life ripped away from them, it was always the widow.

HOURS had passed since the sun rose, the blue sky providing both warmth and light to the survivors. Adeline had managed to tie the short length of her hair into a suitable ponytail, her body feeling surprisingly well rested from the extra hours of sleep she managed to snag thanks to Carol. It was obvious to Adeline that her friend since Atlanta was keeping a close eye on her, and it wasn't because she was worried of her mental health - it was for one reason and one reason only. Carol thought Adeline would tell Tyreese the truth about what happened to the woman he loved.

The skepticism was understandable seeing as the widow was, well, a widow. When Carol lost her husband, Ed, it was a relief. She received an out to the (what she believed was never ending) abuse, and her daughter did as well. She didn't love Ed - she knew that now. It wasn't love. It was fear. She feared her husband so much that she convinced herself that he loved her and she loved him. Because, who in their right mind would hurt the person they love? So, it wasn't a lie when Carol admitted that she had no clue at all about how Adeline felt when she lost Shane.

But, the last thing Adeline planned on doing was telling Tyreese. It wasn't her call - it wasn't her story to tell. Truth be told, she had no idea why Carol actually killed Karen and David in their sleep. To try and stop the infection from spreading? Sure. But, Adeline was more convinced that she did it for Lizzie and Mika. The girls that were put into her care after their father died. Carol lost her daughter, the one she brought into the world. And she'd be damned if she was to let the same thing happen to the two sisters.

While she was trying to go back to sleep after their conversation last night, Adeline figured out what she was going to do. At first, she felt she owed it to Tyreese to tell him. He saved her life, and she saved his. If it wasn't for him - Adeline would have stayed frozen in the prison courtyard. He was a good person. Tyreese deserved to know what happened. But then there was Carol, one of the ones that Adeline had known since the start. Since Atlanta. And the woman had lost too much- see too much loss in such a short amount of time. They were family and Adeline trusted her.

But more importantly to the widow, Daryl Dixon trusted her.

"Found some!" A quick shout yelped from Lizzie Samuels throat, grabbing the widows attention and pulling her from the sunken ship of deep thoughts. They had been walking the railroad tracks for a few hours, but due to Judith growing hungry - they decided to take a small break on the railings. Adeline and Lizzie started walking along the tree line in search of sap, hoping to gather some for Tyreese's wound that painfully laid claim on his arm.

Stepping closer to the girl, Adeline curled her hand around the rough bark of the tree. There a small space within that held a pouch of sap, begging to be collected. "Nice catch, Liz. Good job." The doctor smiled softly, unclipping the hunting knife from its sheath and gathering enough sap to cover the wound on her friends arm. "Okay, let's go." Adeline directed, straightening her back out and leading the girl back down to the tracks.

Making sure to keep her bandaged hand cupped underneath the sharp blade, Tyreese gave her a tight lipped smile the moment his eyes landed upon her. "Your girl has a good eye," Adeline spoke momentarily to Carol who fed a drifting off Judith, the woman responding with a haste nod before turning her attention back to the sisters under her care. "Alright then." The widow mumbled.

Carefully sitting down next to Tyreese, Adeline gestured the man to lay her arms across her lap. "Feel any better?" She questioned, keeping the knife steady in her right hand as she unwrapped the bandages on his arm with her left. Tyreese winced slightly at the feeling before nodding, "A little. Not as much as I'd like," He gave an honest answer - causing the widow to nod in agreement.

"I gave what I had left of the painkillers to..." Theo, the name ran circles in Adelines mind as she shook her head - "To Doctor S. Probably should've kept them." She informed, a solemn look to her features as she draped the used bandages across the railings and sniffed as she wrapped her now free hand around Tyreese's to keep his arm steady. "This might hurt a little," She prepared him.

Watching as Adeline inspected the inflamed skin around the cut and lowered the sap covered knife down to the wound, a stinging pain shot through his arm as she slowly began spreading the sticky substance onto the skin. Reflexes kicking in, Tyreese tightened his grasp around the woman's knee and squeezed tightly as she laughed softly at feeling. "Low pain tolerance?" She inquired, a hint of sarcasm to her voice as she looked to the man.

"Something like that." He cleared his throat, shifting slightly against the railroad tracks. "How're you holding up? Couldn't have been easy." Tyreese questioned, keeping his eyes on her and away from the sap being applied to his cut. He watched as the doctor furrowed her brows slightly, glancing up at him with confusion lingering in her eyes before turning back to his arm.

"She was my first." Adeline spoke reluctantly, swallowing all of the instinct that told her to shut up and keep it bottled away. "The woman at the prison. That I killed." She continued, "It feels like a part of me should regret it. But I don't." The words kept falling out of her mouth, eager to let them escape. "You wanted me dead. You thought that I did something horrible," As she spoke, the sound of her voice reached Carols curious ears. "You're family, Ty. And I'll do anything for the people that I love. But, yeah. It wasn't easy. It never should be. Killing someone." Adeline finished spreading the sap onto his wound, finally raising her head to meet his eyes.

Expecting to find some sort of disturbance in his features, the widow was comforted by the expression of gratitude. Tyreese held a small smile to his lips as he nodded, the grip of pain he held on her knee becoming a squeeze of comfort. "You're family too." He informed, watching as she grabbed the bandages from before and wrapped them back around his wound.

"The sap will help fight the infection. It should bring down that fever or yours, too." Adeline informed, tucking them bandages underneath the first layer before assuringly squeezing the uninjured part of his arm and standing to her feet.

"Hey, Addy?" Tyreese spoke, grabbing her attention once more.

The doctor turned her eyes back to him, "Yeah?"

"Shoes untied." He joked, a warm smile greeted with a red blush laying softly against Adelines face as she shook her head, the small sound of a laugh crawling out of her throat.

The widow moved a rock underneath her boots, awkwardly shuffling against the railroad tracks. "Thank you." She informed, that small moment making her forget everything bad that ever happened to her or to the people she loved. "You got me." Adeline added onto her words, before bending down to the diaper bag that rested against the earths ground.

Taking a moment to gather what they had, the doctor gave up on crouching and decided to sit against the rough surface below. Digging within the bag, Adeline discovered that they only had one and a half bottle of waters left - the empty ones remaining still in the bottom of the bag. There were several diapers left, but not near enough food to keep the group of six fed for two more days.

"How's it looking?" Carols voice ventured out into the open air, walking over to the two other adults of the group after leaving a sleeping Judith with Mika and Lizzie a few feet away. Adeline tore her eyes away from the bag, glancing at the woman and Tyreese before shaking her head slightly. "Good on diapers."

Carol looked between the two, "That's all?" She inquired, careful to keep her voice low to avoid panic in the children. Adeline nodded in confirmation, shifting slightly on the ground and zipping the diaper bag closed. "We need to find this Terminus place soon. Or any place in general, really." She spoke.

"What do you think? Three days out? Four days?" Tyreese questioned, keeping his eyes trained on the two women.

"We haven't seen any of those maps at the crossings. I'm not sure." Carol reminded the two, causing the slight ping of hope to fade away from Adelines veins as she sighed deeply. "What do we do?" The widow questioned, running a hand over her face.

Tyreese looked over at the children that stood a few feet away, "Lizzie's tough." He reminded, his words causing Carol to smile slightly at him before shaking her head - "When it comes to people." She added onto his statement.

"What'dya mean?" Adeline inquired with furrowed brows.

"You two haven't seen it?" Carol questioned, moving closer to them with silence being their answer, "How she's confused about them, the walkers. She doesn't see what they are. She thinks they're just... different." The mother informed, Adelines eyes turning to the small girls figure that paced back and forth.

"Mika the same way?" Tyreese questioned curiously.

"No, she's worse." Carol informed, the sound of her voice taking Adelines attention off of Lizzie as she turned back to the woman. "She doesn't have a mean bone in her body." Carol added quietly.

Standing back to her feet, the widow grabbed the strap of the diaper bag and carefully slung it over her shoulder. "We should keep moving." She informed, removing her jacket from the side of the railroad tracks and stuffing it into the bag. "Need to focus on finding water. Food. A place to stay." Adeline informed the two.

Tyreese was quick to agree, alongside Carol and the children who followed the adults every move. The widow decided to carry Judith, her nieces sleeping figure resting against her chest as the group of six walked along the railroad tracks. The forest stood proudly around them, it's overgrown vines and branches resting against portions of the railings - reclaiming their home every so slowly.

When the diaper bag began growing heavy on Adelines shoulder, Tyreese, who walked alongside her, offered to take it off of her hands which she gladly accepted. The strap held in his grasp just as Mila began talking in the front where she walked next to Carol, Lizzie lingering in the middle of the group. "Did Tom Sawyer have a happy ending? We never got to finish it." The girl asked.

"Well," Carol started, careful to keep her voice low due to the sleeping baby in the back. "Tom and Huck, they stop Injun Joe and his partner and wind up getting all his gold." She informed the girl, also including Lizzie by glancing back at her between words.

Mika looked at her sister in awe, "So they wind up rich?" she retorted, looking to Carol with wide eyes. The woman humming in confirmation, "And the Widow Douglas adopts Huck."

"Like you adopted us?" Mika was quick to question.

Carol smiled, "Yeah. Just like the Widow Douglas," She confirmed with a slight pinch of humor as Adeline laughed quietly underneath her breath - her hand patting against Judiths sweaty back. "And I'm Huck Finn." Mika added with a wide smile.

"I think you're more like Tom Sawyer." Lizzie butted in, her voice louder than her sisters as she spoke. Nodding in agreement, Mikas smile dropping slightly - "Yeah, you're right. You're way more like Huck Finn. You're not even grossed out by dead rabbits." She informed, looking back at her older sister with an empty smile.

Dead rabbits? Was the first thought to breach Adelines mind, stopping in her step slightly as she furrowed her brows. The phrase registering as familiar in her mind as she racked through her memories in search of what it was.

"Right before the Governor fired that shot into the tower," He started, keeping his eyes on her as he continued. "I was with Daryl and Rick in the tombs. I found something... something nasty. It was a rabbit, pulled apart and nailed to a board." Tyresse informed - causing Adeline to turn to him with furrowed brows as he nodded in confirmation. "Day before, Sasha found rats by the fences. My guess is, whoever was feeding walkers, is the same person who killed Karen and David." He finished confidently.

"You okay?" Tyreese's voice pulled Adeline out of the memory, causing the widow to quick shake her head and tear her eyes away from the walking figure of Lizzie. "Yeah, just thought of a stupid coincidence." She informed, giving the man a tight lipped smile before continuing to walk down the railroad tracks with him.

As they continued walking, it wasn't until at least twenty minutes later when the smell of something burning caused Adelines nose to scrunch up - turning her head slightly to look around at the tree line. "You guys smell that?" She inquired, glancing over to Tyreese and Carol who looked back to them.

"Yeah," The older woman answered after sniffing the air.

Tyreese nodded in confirmation, "There's a fire somewhere."

"Must be a big one. It isn't anywhere around here." Carol replied after her attentive eyes looked around the forest once more. "We should stop here. We need to look for water," She added.

Tyreese turned to the woman as the small group began to slow in their step, "I can do it." He offered as Adeline slightly shifted the small body of Judith as they stepped over the railroad tracks.

Carol was quick to shake her head, "No, you need rest. Rest your arm. Mika will help me." She informed, causing the girl to turn around a nod happily. "I'll stay too," Adeline spoke up, shifting her weight onto one foot and keeping Judith against her chest.

A small look of hesitation was drenched over Carols figures before it quickly disappeared and she nodded reluctantly. "Okay. Come on, Mika. Let's go." She ushered, motioning for the small girl to follow her as they ventured into the woods in search of water. More importantly, anything that they could find.

Deciding to move away from the railroad tracks, Tyreese and Adeline led Lizzie over to the base of a tall tree. Lowering herself onto the forests floor, the widow rested against the rough bark and kept one hand on Judiths back. It was quiet. No noise besides the retreating footsteps of Carol and Mika, twigs and leaves snapping underneath their shoes. The baby against Adelines chest slept soundly, small breaths escaping her lips as her hand was grasping the fabric of the widows shirt.

Sighing softly, her caramel eyes dropped down to Judith. Her face was familiar, hints of Shane mixed with Lori Grimes taunting her with every step. Adeline kept her hand against the baby's back, rubbing against the soft fabric of her onesie. Together, the four of them say against the bark of the tree - awaiting the return of Mika and Carol who would hopefully bear some good news. It was a thing that they all needed to have right now. Something good. Anything with the slightest touch of hope, really.

Silence devoured the forest whole, every so often the distant sounds of twigs snapping of birds singing wavering throughout the air. Nothing but the sounds of nature, which included the slowed and slumped sounds of footsteps coming from the railroad tracks. Adeline straightened out her back, her heart gathering a heavy beat as she tightened her hold on Judith and turned to Tyreese. "Walkers." She spoke, his head nodding in agreement.

"Lizzie," Adeline whispered, gathering the girls attention as the two curious eyes that belonged to the girl met her own. "Stay here and watch Judith, okay?" She instructed, waiting as Lizzie have a reluctant look to the railroad tracks before swallowing her words and nodding hastily. "Okay." Adeline repeated, shifting onto her knees and carefully laying the sleeping body of her niece into the girls outstretched arms. "We'll be right back." She informed.

Tyreese stood to his feet, holding out his hand for the widow to take which she did. Uncurling her palm from around his own, together they snuck down to the small slope that led to the railroad tracks they had once walked on. Allowing her fingers to fall to the handle of Daryl Dixon's hunting knife, Adeline silently pulled it out of its sheath as her attentive eyes landed on the source of the slowed footsteps. A single walker made its way down the tracks, another trailing behind it at a limped pace. Two for two.

"I'll take the one in the front, you get the back?" The man next to her questioned, his voice lowered to a whisper as he clutched the handle of his hammer in his grasp. His eyes were set on Adeline, watching intently as she nodded in confirmation and tucked the loose strands of brunette hair behind her ears. "Good luck," She replied, holding her free hand out in a closed fist - small playful smile curled around her lips as Tyreese chuckled quietly.

"You too." He spoke, bumping his closed fist with her own.

Breaking away from her friend, Adeline felt the smile fade away from her features as she tightened her grasp on the handle of the knife. Finishing the short walk off of the rest of the slope with Tyresse on her heels, they reached the railroad tracks and the faded eyes of the walkers caught sight of them. An angry growl came from the one in front, fastening his pace to reach them as Tyresse stepped forward to take care of it.

But before he could, a hole between the tracks caused the walker to fall - its leg caught between the wooden beams. Adeline furrowed her brows, her fingers dancing around the handle as she moved past the fallen walker, it's arms snapping out to trip her only for her eyes to catch its movements. Moving out of its way, she left the stalker to Tyreese and turned to the second one that neared her. "Not so lucky, huh?" She breathed, a growl emitting from the rotten throat of the walker.

Avoiding its outstretched arms, Adeline sent her boot into its fragile kneecap - the weak bones snapping at her movement as it stumbled to the ground in front of her. Without a second thought, the widow used her palm to tilt its head to the sky, teeth snapping at her in attempts to bite as a loud shriek of; "No!" broke through the air as she forced the knife through its jaw and into its brain.

Hastily, Adeline jerked the hunting knife out of the skull and turned around to find the source of the sound- her eyes catching sight of a wide eyed Lizzie standing next to Tyreese with her arms clutched around Judiths now awake figure. The man with the hammer stood over the fallen walker, it's arms stretched out and weakly clawing at the figures in front of it. "Why would you do that?! His leg was broke!" Lizzie questioned, tears welling in her eyes as she stared at Adeline with an expression of betrayal.

"What?" The widow questioned, stepping away from the dead body of the walker she had killed and closer to the girl. Lizzie sniffed, "Sometimes we have to kill them. I know that. But, sometimes we don't." She spoke, her voice cracking as she turned to Tyreese- "Leave this one alone, please." Lizzie begged, the man tearing his eyes away from the girl and placing them onto Adeline who stood a few feet away with furrowed brows and squinted eyes. His leg was broke. What did she mean by that?

Before the two adults could decide what to do with the trapped walker, Carol and Mika's figures appeared from the tree line and waved them over. Adeline sighed, shaking her head slight as she moved closer to Lizzie and Tyreese, "Let's just leave it." She agreed, not wanting to put up with an argument from the girl.

As they walked away, Adeline couldn't help but to push away the gut feeling that told her something was wrong. Lizzie didn't just see the walkers as different, she thought of them as people.

━━━━━

AUTHORS NOTE.

okay WOWZA i thought i would be able to fit the
whole grove section in this chapter but i didn't want
to put like 10,000 words on yall lol

would you guys want to see another chapter of
theos storyline? or should i skip it and continue
on with adelines? but to be honest with y'all,
both theo & adelines story is pretty interesting
during this section of the book! A LOT of character
development will be made between the two of them.

i estimate there to be like at least two or three more
chapters until the terminus section is reached!

word count, 5748