SIXTY. four walls and a roof

HOPE had soon turned to worry, the sudden disappearance of three of their own causing a panic to ensue within the group. Daryl, Carol, and Bob. Adeline paced the church floors, awaiting the return of Tyreese and her brother who went out to find Sasha. Theo was anxiously cleaning up the church, hands throwing away the plastic plates they ate off of just an hour ago.

The widow refrained from going with her brother due to the fear of losing anyone else, and instead choosing to stay at the church to make sure no one else left it. She kept her eyes on her family, occasionally drifting over to Gabriel with a cautious look. He could have friends. We should've checked the woods better. Those were the only thoughts that rushed through her mind, prying into her.

Hearing the door to the church creak open, Adeline dropped her hand to the hilt of her pistol, curling her fingers around the rough texture. When the familiar figures of her brother, Tyreese, and Sasha stepped through - she allowed her guard to fall as she approached them. "Anything?" She questioned, a worried look on her face.

Rick shook his head silently, meeting eyes of his sister as she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Watching as she shifted anxiously on her feet, he placed a hand around her wrist and pulled her attention back to him. "We'll find them." He assured, trying to calm her.

"Will we?" Adeline retorted, allowing her fear to control her actions as she lowered herself down into one of the pews with a look of exhaustion wavering against her features. She watched as the sister of Tyreese began to approach a pacing Gabriel, the woman giving him a look that could kill.

"Stop." Sasha instructed, causing the priest to turn around with furrowed brows. "What are you doing?" The sniper continued, Gabriel taking a small step towards him as she mimicked his movements. "What are you doing? This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now three of us are gone." She spoke intimidatingly.

The priest shook his head, "I... I don't... I don't have anything to do with this." He informed - raising his hands defensively. Adeline watched from the pews as Sasha's hand trailed down to her knife, hastily pulling it out of its sheath. The widow stood up, Rosita springing from her spot and attempting to stop the woman but was instead held back by Abraham.

"Sasha, put it away." Tyreese instructed, the floorboards creaking underneath the weight of Adeline as she inched closer to Sasha. "Who's out there?" She continued, taking steps towards Gabriel as he fearfully backed away. "I- I don't have anything to do with this." He begged.

"Where are our people?" Sasha questioned, anger glimmering in her features as the priest repeated his statement from before. "Where are our people?!" She screamed, her voice cracking with fury as the man in front of her flinched. Adeline took a step closer to the woman, her anger resembling the same one that roared inside of her when she lost Shane. "Sasha..." She started, voice low.

"Please, I don't have anything to do with this." Gabriel pleaded, his teary eyes watching as the widow carefully wrapped curled hand around Sasha's upper arm and slowly pulled her away. Offering her silent support, Adeline weaved her figure in front of the woman's - placing her in between her and Tyreese as Rick stepped forward to continue the conversation with the priest.

"Why'd you bring us here?" The leader questioned, his voice calm but balancing on the thin line of bursting with anger. Gabriel only shook his head, "Please, I-" he started to repeat all he had said before, words hammering into the widows skull as the sudden fear of not seeing Daryl, Carol, or Bob ever again taking over her actions.

"Answer the goddamn question!" Adeline broke, silence slamming onto the church as she cursed. Theo flinched at the loud tone of the widows voice, the anger portrayed being one she never saw from her before. Rick tore his eyes away from the priest, placing them onto his sister with the slightest hint of concern.

"I'm alone. I'm alone. I was always alone." Gabriel spoke, holding his trembling hands by his side as Tyreese stepped forward to place his hand around Adelines arm.

Seeing this, Rick turned back to the priest with furrowed brows. "What about the woman in the food bank then? What did you do to her?" He inquired, inching closer to the nervous man. "You'll burn for this. That was for you, why?" He continued, reminding him of the words that Carl and Theo had found inscribed on the outside wall of the church. "What are you gonna burn for, Gabriel?"

The leader quickly stepped forward, wrapping his hands around the priests suit and shoving him against the podium. "What did you do?What did you do?!" He bellowed, his voice echoing across the church. Adeline stayed glued to her spot, eyes focused on her brother and the priest who had tears falling from his own.

"I lock the doors at night." Gabriel finally spoke, Rick only allowing a few inches to be placed between the two of them. "I always lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always-" He continued, taking a deep breath in as Adeline watched him closely. "They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were- they were looking for a safe place, a place where they felt safe."

Silence fell briefly as he glanced around the church, the familiar look of guilt glimmering in his eyes. "And it was so early. It was so early. And the doors were still locked. You see... it was my choice. There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me. And so the dead came for them." Gabriel informed, the group all forming a slow realization as to what the man had done.

"Women... children." He sobbed, eyes settling upon Theo and Carl who sat next to each other on one of the wooden pews. Adeline felt disgust crawl into her features, her face scrunching in a judgmental manner. "Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy. Begging me for mercy. Damning me to hell." He added, "I buried their bones. I buried it all." He finished.

"The Lord sent you here to finally punish me." Gabriel informed, falling down against the podium and tucking his knees to his chest. "I'm damned. I was damned before. I always lock the doors. I always lock the doors." He sobbed, an eerie whistle heard outside of the church.

Glenn furrowed his brows, pulling his eyes away from the crying priest as he stood to peer out of the windows. "There's something..." He started, Adeline quietly pulling her pistol out of its holster - motioning for Theo to stay put as she inched closer to the doors. "There's someone outside lying in the grass." The boy at the window spoke.

Feeling her heart drop, the widow hurriedly ushered out of the church - slinging the doors open as Rick called out for her to stop. Sasha was quick to fall in line, rushing after the widow in hopes of it being Bob outside. Adeline spotted the figure laying in the grass, her heart beating heavily inside of her chest as she jogged down the steps.

Reaching the body, the face soon became visible to her. It was Bob, sweat laying against his skin as Sashas eyes widened at the sight. Adeline kneeled down next to the unconscious man, the sudden loss of his left leg becoming apparent to her. "Oh my god..." The doctor whispered, the snarls of walkers echoing around her as she lifted her head to see three of them inching closer to the church.

"Get Bob inside, we'll take care of them!" Glenn yelled, rushing towards the walkers as Adeline nodded hastily. Half of the group had joined them outside, a few of them branching off to take care of the dead ones as Sasha and the doctor raised Bob off of the grass.

Placing each of his arms around their shoulders, the two women curled their wrists under his thighs and began making their way inside of the church. Before they could fully finish the trip, the echoing sounds of gunfire caused Adeline to flinch in fear of someone she cared about getting shot. "Get inside! Go!" Rick yelled, firing multiple shots into the tree line before running inside.

Hearing the church doors slam shut behind them, Bob began to stir awake in their grasp as they laid him against the wooden floorboards. Adeline kneeled down to his side, her hands resting against his waist as Sasha looked to her with panic in her eyes. "Is he okay? Can you look him over?" She breathed, the doctor nodding hastily.

"I was in the graveyard...." Bob grunted, attempting to sit up, but was instead ushered to stay still by Sasha. "Somebody knocked me out." He added, his hands pressed against the floorboards as Adeline backed away slightly to let him talk. "I woke up outside this place. It looked like a school. It was that guy, Gareth. And five other ones. They were eating my leg right in front of me. Like it was nothing." He spoke, voice trembling.

"All proud like they had it all figured out."

Rick shifted from where he sat crouched, "Did they have Daryl and Carol?" He questioned, a careful tone to his voice as Adeline glanced at him. Bob shook his head, gritting his teeth - "Gareth said they drove off." He informed the group, the widow looking to him with confused eyes as he attempted to raise one more time.

Hearing him wince in pain, the doctor pulled her mind away from what he said and placed her hand against his back to help him up. "I need to look you over, Bob." Adeline informed, her voice and mind distant as she spoke. He groaned, shaking his head in denial. "I'm alright, Doc. I'll be just fine." He informed her.

"Do we have anything?" Sasha inquired, looking around the group for answers. Rosita nodded her head from where she sat against one of the pews, "I think there's pill packets in the first aid kit." She spoke, receiving a nod of confirmation from the doctor beside Bob - standing to move towards the bag only for the man to speak up.

"Save 'em." He pleaded, Sasha turning to disagree with him only for him to continue his words - "Really." Bob sniffled, wincing in pain as he moved to pull down the sleeve of his shirt. Revealing a bite on his shoulder, Adeline softened her features at the sight and fell back against one of the pews in defeat.

Sasha was frozen on her knees, body feeling like someone had dumped cold water all over her. Tears began to well in her eyes as Bob turned to her, "It happened at the food bank." He informed, watching as the woman shook her head - a broken smile covering her emotions as she placed her hand against his arm. "It's okay. It's okay."

"There's a sofa in my office." Gabriel spoke up, looking to the group with sympathetic eyes. "I know it's not much but..." He started, Sasha turning to face him with teary eyes as she nodded. "Thank you." She whispered, her brother looking to her with a troubled expression.

"I got him." Tyreese announced, the group clearing away from the man on the floor. Adeline moved, slipping into one of the pews as she watched with sympathy filled eyes as he carefully carried Bob off of the floor and began making his way to the office in the back of the church.

Rick walked up to Gabriel, "Do you know the place that Bob was talking about?" He inquired - eyes squinting in curiosity. The priest nodded in confirmation, "It's an elementary school. It's close." He informed the leader.

"How close?" Adeline retorted, stepping out of the pews and over the the two men. Gabriel glanced at her, a part of him still scared by the woman - "It's just a ten minute walk through the woods from here, due south of the graveyard." He spoke, gulping slightly as the soft sound of Judith crying echoed within the church.

Carl was quick to pick the baby up, carrying her in a basket as he began making his way towards one of the back rooms of the building. Theo grabbed the diaper bag off of the pew, following after the boy as she searched the space within for a bottle to feed the baby.

Rick pulled his eyes away from the children and back to his sister, "Did Bob have a fever?" He questioned, the widow shrugging her shoulders. "He was just warm. But, it'll only get worse from here." She informed quietly, Glenn and Maggie stepping up next to the siblings to join them. "Jim lasted almost two days before we left him." The boy reminded, the widow nodding in confirmation.

"We could give him some of those painkillers. It'll help some, but not much." Adeline spoke, crossing her arms over her chest as her mind raced through to the memories of the bitten man back at the Quarry.

"Time for a reality check." Abraham announced from the closed doors of the church, all heads turning to him. "We all need to leave for DC right now." He advised, Rosita throwing the strap of a rifle over her shoulder as she walked towards the red head.

Rick tilted his head slightly, "Daryl and Carol are gonna be back. We're not going anywhere without them." He spoke sharply - his voice low. Adeline looked between the two, quietly leaning against the pew behind her.

"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier. So if y'all won't come, good luck to you. We'll go our separate ways." Abraham nodded, turning on his feet and heading for the door before Rick spoke up - "You leaving on foot?" The leader questioned with furrowed brows.

The redhead stopped in his steps, slowly turning to set eyes on the man. "We fixed that damn bus ourselves."

Adeline watched as Rick began to walk forward, a sigh leaving her lips as she hastily followed after him. "There are a lot more of us." The leader argued, meeting in the middle of the church to face the esteemed soldier.

"You wanna keep it that way? You should come." Abraham advised, his hands resting against his rifle.

"Carol saved your life. We saved your life." Rick reminded, his sister slowing her steps behind him.

"Well, I am trying to save yours! Save everyone's!" Abraham yelled, the widow behind the leader keeping her attentive eyes on his figure. "We're not going anywhere without our people." Rick reminded, keeping his voice steady. "Your people took off." The redhead retorted.

Adeline scoffed, "They're coming back."

"To what, picked-over bones?!" Abraham snapped, his voice tearing through the church. Rick felt a surge of anger and protectiveness blow throw him, his hands shoving against the redheads chest - "You're not-!"

"Do not lay hands!" The solder roared, Adeline quickly stepping forward and wrapping her arm around Ricks as Glenn shoved himself between them. Pulling her brother back, she kept a tight hold on his upper arm - keeping him in place and out of reach from Abraham who received a stern scolding from Rosita behind him.

"Hey, hey, stop!" Glenn yelled, standing in the middle of the two of them. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now in the middle of the night?" He questioned, Abraham looking down at him as he spoke. "Yeah." The redhead was quick to agree.

Adeline sighed from her spot next to her brother, "The only thing you'll end up doing is getting yourself and your scientist here killed." She informed, his eyes turning to where she stood next to Rick.

"We need each other for this." Glenn added, "We need each other to get to DC. We can get through all of it together." He pleaded, his tone passionate as Adeline settled her attention onto her best-friend.

"I have an idea." Tara spoke up from where she stood within the pews, inching closer to the group. "If you stay just one more day and help, I'll go with you to DC no matter what." She informed, glancing at Rick - "Okay?"

Abraham looked at the leader, "Glenn, Maggie, and the doctor, too." He listed, Adeline eyes turning to him with furrowed brows. "No." Rick was quick to deny his request, a protective look glimmering in his features.

"Why me?" The doctor questioned, slowly letting go of her hold on her brother as Abraham looked to her. "You're a doctor. That kind of asset is pretty damn rare in the world now. And it would be of great help if Eugene here, for some unknown reason, came to be injured." He informed, attempting to convince the woman.

"I said no." Rick repeated, his eyes and tone sharp.

Abraham turned to him, "Good luck to you, then. I'm not interest in breaking up what you have here." He spoke, reluctantly placing his eyes back onto Adeline before turning to the woman behind him. "Rosita, grab your gear." He instructed, her mouth opening to refuse but was only cut off by the sharp sound of now.

"Eugene, let's go." Abraham continued, looking to the man that sat quietly in the pews. "Eugene. Move it."

"I don't want to." Eugene stuttered out.

"Now."

"Okay." The scientist agreed, standing up from where he sat and making his way towards the church doors. As the small group of three began to leave, Rick curled his hand around the hilt of his python with his head turned to the church floors. "You're not taking the bus."

Abraham stopped in his steps once again, "Try to stop me." He tried, silence overcoming the group as Adeline looked back at her brother. She watched with careful eyes as he released his hold on his pistol, hastily moving from his spot and began to rush towards the redhead.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Glenn shouted, rushing to hold Abraham back as he handed his rifle off to Rosita. Adeline quickly slid in front of her brothers body, carefully pressing her hands against his chest and attempting to hold him back. Standing in the middle of Rick and Abraham, the two of them attempting to hold the peace in their grasp.

"You stay- you stay and help us, and Maggie and I will go with you." Glenn informed, his hand resting settled onto Abraham's chest. Rick attempted to step forward but was held back by his sister, "No." He was quick to deny.

"It's not your call." Glenn reminded, Adeline looking to her best-friend who failed to meet her eyes with his words. She could tell that he was already struggling with confronting Rick with the offer, which meant it would be ten times harder for him to say it directly towards her.

He turned back to Abraham, "You stay, help us."

"And you?" The redhead questioned, pulling his eyes to the doctor that stood between himself and Rick. Adeline shifted on her feet, "Even If I wanted to, I couldn't. Not until I know that Daryl and Carol are safe. And I can't leave my family... not again." She informed, releasing her hold on Rick as she took a small step back.

Abraham looked at the woman with the hint of respect in his expression. "Half a day." He agreed, his eyes settling upon Glenn. "Come high noon, we're taillights. I'm not waiting for the other damn shoe to drop." He remarked, Maggie nodding at his words. "And we will leave with you." She added, Adeline glancing back at her.

"Twelve hours. Then we go." The soldier agreed, grabbing his gun from Rosita and pushing back to the front of the church where the podium stood. Adeline sighed heavily, running a hand through the tangled locks of her dark brown hair. Glenn glanced at her with guilty eyes before walking away, following after Abraham.

Forty seven minutes later, Adeline found herself hidden within one of the back offices. Vacant of her machete, she kept her hand wrapped around her pistol. When she heard the wooden front doors break open, she protectively stood guard by the entrance to the room she was hiding in.

It was all apart of the plan.

Theo, Carl, Gabriel, and Judith sat with her - guns tightened in the two children's grasps. Gabriel sat crouched by one of the walls with a chain in his hands, a cross attached to the end of it. Judith was in the same basket as before, luckily enough for them, making no sound. The other room consisted of Tyreese, Bob, Eugene, and Rosita. The majority of them armed.

"Well, I guess you know we're here." A voice broke from the silence of the church, Adeline tightening her fingers around her pistol as she pressed her back to the wall. "And we know you're here." It continued, the widow guessing it to be Gareth as it grew louder. "And we're armed. So there's really no point in hiding anymore."

"We've been watching you. We know who's here. There's Bob, unless you've put him out of his misery already. And Eugene. Rosita. Martin's good friends Tyreese and Adeline. Carl. My good friend Theo. And Judith." He listed, Adeline feeling the anger tear through her mind at the mention of Martin - fingers tightening around the pistol.

"Rick and the rest walked out with a lot of your guns." Gareth continued, oblivious to the groups deception. "Listen, we don't know where you all are, but this isn't a big place. So let's just stop this now before things get more painful than they need to be." He advised, the sounds of muffled footsteps growing closers to the door that Adeline hid behind.

The widow felt her body stiffen, silently pulling the barrel of her pistol back while keeping her movements completely silent. "Look, you're behind one of these two doors and we have more than enough firepower to take down both! Can't imagine that's what you all want."

Hearing a gun cock within the church, Adeline turned her eyes to Carl and Theo who stood in front of Judiths basket with their own raised. She nodded silently at them, her footsteps muffled by the carpet as she shifted to stand in front of the door. "How about the priest?" Gareth inquired, causing the widows eyes to shift to Gabriel.

"Father, you help us wrap this up, we'll let you walk away from this. Just open the door and you can go. You can take the baby with you. What do you say?" He offered, the priest staying quiet and returning to his cross due to the fear of the widow that stood by the door with a daring expression.

Judith let out a loud cry, Adelines stomach dropping at the sound. Tearing her eyes away from Gabriel, she watched as Carl hastily lowered his pistol and rushed over to his baby sister to shush her. Knowing it was too late and that their position had been compromised, Adeline took a deep breathed and hoped that the plan would kick in soon.

Placing herself in front of the door, the widow aimed her gun at the wood and planted her feet. Hearing the shuffle of footsteps, she trailed her fingers over the hilt of her husband pistol and steadily held it up. "It's your last chance right now to tell us you're coming out."

Before they knew it, two silenced gunshots soared through the church's walls. Hearing the sound of blood splattered and bodies falling limp, Adeline quietly stepped forward and wrapped her hand around the knob of the door. The moment she heard her brothers voice, she slowly started to twist the knob to aid her family.

"Put your guns on the floor."

"Rick, we'll fire right into that office. So you lower your gun-" Another silenced gunshot was heard, a loud groan of pain followed by knees slamming against the wooden floorboards echoing throughout the church.

"Put your guns on the floor and kneel." Rick spoke lowly, hearing the strained voice of Gareth to order his people to do what the leader said. Adeline quietly pulled the door open, stepping out to look at the familiar figure of Martin who stood with his back to her.

He was the only one standing, refusing to listen to Ricks orders as the rest of their group threw their weapons down and kneeled against the church's floor. "Martin, there's no choice here." Gareth pleaded, Adeline sneaking up behind the man - anger for what he had done tearing through her as she slammed her boot into the back of his knees.

Watching as he stumbled to the floor, the widow behind him slid her pistol back into its holster and pulled out the familiar hunting knife. "No one's gonna save you now." Adeline whispered, her voice sharp to his ears as she pressed the blade to the side of his neck. He scoffed, turning on his knees to face her darkened eyes.

The doctor slid the blade underneath his chin, craning his face so she could get a better look at him. Noticing his swollen eye and bruises that marked his features, she scoffed softly and pressed the blade further into his skin. Martin hissed in pain, blood pricking from the spot as Rick stepped around Gareth - making him face him.

"No point in begging, right?" The previous leader of Terminus questioned. Rick eyed the man, a dark look held in his expression - "No." He answered, resting his hand upon the hilt of Adelines machete that he had asked to use before leaving the church as a ploy.

"Still, you could've killed us when you came in. There had to be a reason for that." Gareth pointed out, the hint of desperation wavering in his tone. Rick shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "We didn't wanna waste the bullets." He informed, his voice low and calm.

"We used to help people. We saved people. Things changed. They came in and-" His sentence was broken by a sudden groan of pain, leaning over slightly on his knees to hold his bleeding hand to his chest. "After that..." He whispered, lifting his head. "I know that you've been out there, but I can see it. You don't know what it is to be hungry. You don't have to do this. We can walk away. And we will never cross paths again. I promise you." Gareth pleaded for his life, eyes desperate.

Rick tilted his head at the man's words, "But you'll cross someone's path. You'd do this to anyone, right? Besides, I already made you a promise." He reminded, Gareth's wide eyes landing upon the red handled machete by the leaders side. Before another word could be spoken or even thought of, Rick pulled the weapon out of its sheath and slammed it into the head of the defenseless man.

Then the rage came.

Adeline felt something inside of her break like nothing had before, her hands curling around Martins shirt and slamming him against the churches podium. Roaring the sharp blade of her knife down, blood splattered against her face as she embedded into the side of his neck. As the crimson spluttered from his mouth, the widow continued slamming the blade into his neck, hitting the same spot over and over until all she could see was red.

Panting heavily, Adeline stumbled away from the nearly unrecognizable face of Martin. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she felt the dark strands of her hair mix with the crimson substance that marked her arms and face. Looking down at her thin material of her tank top, the blood that soaked it caused it to stick to her frame - outlining her body as she sighed deeply and looked back.

Her dark eyes caught sight off a familiar set of headphones that sat around Martins neck. They were now covered in blood, but as she slid the crimson soaked blade back into its sheath - she grabbed the wires from his dead body. Feeling a heavy weight attached to the bottom, she crouched down and patted the sides of his jacket. When her blood stained hands came in contact with plastic, Adeline pulled it out from its hidden spot.

Holding the walkman she had given Theo in her hands, Adeline lifted her head to look at the cracked door she was once hidden behind. Gabriel stood in the entrance with his eyes wide with fear, taking notice of the blood that covered his churches walls. Rick stepped over the fallen body of Gareth, handing his sister her machete back as she carefully took it back into her grasp.

"This is the Lord's house." The priest spoke, raising his head to look at the blood covered group.

Maggie shook her head, "No." She stated, tucking the strands of her hair behind her ear. "It's just four walls and a roof." She reminded - silence overcoming them all.

The next day, Bob passed. Adeline had said her goodbye with the rest of the group, and when Tyreese stepped in to do what he wouldn't allow Sasha to do - the widow held the woman in her arms as she cried in the pews. She knew how much it hurt to watch the person you love die, and Sasha found comfort in her arms, the exact kind that Adeline had longed for after she lost her husband.

It wasn't long before Abraham and his group had decided to leave. It was harder than expected to watch them drive off in the bus, and Adeline was sure that she had given Glenn and Maggie at least fifteen hugs before they left. She made them promise that they would be in one piece when she reached DC, and they had told her that they would try their hardest 'just for her'.

And hours later, the sun had set and their group had been brought down from eighteen to nine in just a day. With two still missing and weighing heavily on Adelines mind, she sat with her legs crossed under her body on one of the wooden pews. Theo slept on the surface just a a few feet away from her. Blood and dirt was stuck underneath the widows fingernails, her eyes settled on the sight.

She had cleaned herself up as best as she could, exchanging her crimson soaked tank top with Tyreese's purple long sleeved shirt that he had changed out of yesterday. It was either that or a baptism gown. Adeline had stopped wearing her jacket after the heat grew to be too much while burying Bob and the bodies of the ones they killed that night. That was, of course, Ty's idea.

Feeling the weight shift on the pew, the widow tore her eyes away from her hands and to the approaching weight of her brother who moved to sit next to her. "Hey," She spoke, cracking her knuckles as she spoke. Rick nodded, leaning against the wooden pew - "You alright?"

"Yeah." Adeline lied, the emotions of everything that had happened trapped inside of her, excluding the rage. She had let it out of its cage, giving it the freedom to roam and control her actions. "It could've been us." The widow added, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I don't think I can take it being us right now." She added.

"Yeah, I know." Rick assured, shifting slightly on the pew as he looked to his sister. "I never asked how it was for you... getting to Terminus." He inquired, repeating the same question he had asked Tyreese earlier that day. But since he received a blank answer, he chose to go to the one person who he was mainly worried about.

Adeline sighed, running a hand over her mouth as she thought about the words that burned tracks inside of her mind. "It's a long story." She spoke, attempting to shut her brother out, but she knew it was impossible as he furrowed his brows and looked down at his watch.

"I think I can spare a few minutes for my sister." Rick assured, squinting his eyes at the woman as she raised her brows and shook her head in dismay. "Of course you can." Adeline whispered, turning her head to look at the sleeping figure of Theo that laid against the far end of the pew that they were sitting on. "Okay, then."

Fiddling with her hands, the widow began to tell her brother the story of what happened. "We escaped with Lizzie, Mika, and Judith. Tyreese and I." She informed, not noticing the unexpected look on Ricks face at the two extra names added onto her story. "We eventually ran into Carol, she'd been tracking us since the prison. Saw us run into the trees or something like that." She explained.

"A few days out, I started to notice these small details about Lizzie. I just thought it was my mind messing with me. No sleep, not a lot of food, not a lot of water. We were pushing it. Anything I had I gave to Judith or the girls, I put them first." Adeline informed, running her thumb over her knuckles. "Then we came across this Grove. It had a cabin, there were pecans... a water well, some deers that had came from a nearby fire."

Listening intently, Rick started to notice as his sisters face tightened in attempts to keep her emotions hidden. "She was convinced that the walkers were people. Someone that she could save. She wanted to take care of them, to keep them alive." Adeline spoke, her voice trembling. "I guess she started to believe that she could convince us to do the same by killing Mika. So she did." She whispered, her brothers face holding the slightest hint of shock.

"She told us... she told us that she was going to change Judith, too. That it would make us see. She told Ty that she was the one feeding the walkers in the prison, said she was having fun. We realized that she couldn't be around other people." Adelines voice was soft as she spoke, her eyes turning to Rick - giving him the chance to see the tears welled within them.

"I had to make sure of that. So, I took her out in a field and I killed her." Adeline admitted, telling her brother the truth of everything she had went through while they were separated. "What else was I supposed to do?" She questioned, almost as if she wanted Rick to tell her that there was another choice - another way out.

But he knew that there wasn't.

The sound of the church doors creaking opened caused the siblings to reluctantly pull away from the conversation, their eyes landing upon the four figures that entered the building. Adeline felt her skin run cold, the tears in her eyes trailing down her cheeks as she stood from her seat on the pew.

For the third time, she felt that unexplainable relief.

Michonne led the dirtied body of Daryl into the church, two boys trailing behind him with attentive eyes. Rick grew weary of the unfamiliar faces, but before any questions could be answered- Adeline rushed out from behind the pew and over to the archer.

Pushing past the samurai, the widow threw her arms around Daryl's figure and closed the gap between them. It was as if curtains had been opened in a pitch black room, light rays peeking through the dark rage that blinded Adelines every move. And just for a second, it vanished as the archer wrapped his arms around her waist.

━━━━━━━ AUTHORS NOTE

see how quick the mood changes in this story?
it's very emotional times for adeline grimes but
still even though the first half of season 5 will
be very sad for her, i am so excited to write
these coming seasons.

also i didn't realize how many episodes i would
be skipping cause adeline can't be in every scene
LOL but that actually kinda helps me out a lot :)
unfortunately tho it means the story is moving a
whole lot faster than i intended it to. there's like a
28 day time skip between when beth dies and tyreese
dies so i'm very conflicted on how i'm going to
write that, i didn't expect it to happen so soon

if you didn't notice, instead of it just being daryl
returning with noah, there is a little extra person
joining them.... drumroll please... new character!!

introducing wesley (wes) miller!
portrayed by alfred enoch

he will be noah's older brother!

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER: are you
guys excited for wesley, what do you expect from him?

i made a trailer for serpents tongue, for the first half of the book. let me know what you guys think of it!

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

also made a serpents tongue as parks and rec memes
i rlly hope yall enjoy this as much as i did
while making it

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

WORD COUNT, 6276

( header made by jcpiters )