EVERYONE STAYED AWAY FROM THE BACK OFFICE, WANTING TO GIVE SASHA AND BOB THEIR PRIVACY.

Vivian had first thought they were lucky, being able to find each other and no one dying between Terminus and the church.

But they weren't. Luck was only a concept that they weren't able to grasp.

Tension filled the air inside the church. Which was strange considering how much laughter and light heartedness was going around only hours earlier.

Now one of them was dying, and they were being hunted.

"They think they're in control." Rick spoke up while others were either loading their guns or sharpening their knives, "We're in here and they could be anywhere. But we know exactly where they are."

He wanted to trick the Terminus group. Send out a group of their strongest, making it seemed like they were going to attack first. Meanwhile, Tyreese, Vivian, Gabriel, and a few others were going to stay behind. This wasn't Gabriel's fight, and Tyreese and Vivian wanted to keep the kids safe.

When in reality, Rick wanted them to come to the church. To trap them and attack them.

It was similar to their plan back at the prison, when they were trying to fight off Woodbury. And if that worked, why wouldn't this plan work?

Except Rick wasn't going to spare the people of Terminus. They were too dangerous to keep alive.

"Plan's got stones, I'll give you that." Abraham commented,

"Make our move before they do." Glenn added.

"That's right." Their leader replied, "They're not counting on us thinking straight."

"Are we?" Rosita asked, taking the words from Vivian's head, and everyone stared at her, "I'm just making sure. It's a big play."

He stared her down for a moment, "Remember what these people are capable of." Rick turned to Tyreese, who was sitting off to the side and staring off into space, "Tyreese."

"Yeah?"

"You up for this?" Rick asked him,

Before Tyreese could answer, Sasha walked out of the back office, "I'm going with you." She declared, staring at Rick,

"You should stay with Bob." Her brother insisted,

"No, I want to be out there. I want to be a part of this."

Vivian understood. She would want revenge, too. But Bob only had so much time left, and Sasha shouldn't leave him. Not yet.

She walked back into the room and Tyreese followed, probably to convince her to stay behind.

But he wasn't able to. Sasha came out, a hard look of revenge on her face while gripping her gun. 

Vivian rounded the kids up and they went into the office, where Bob was sleeping on the couch. Rick walked in, holding Judith in his arms. He rocked her gently before laying her down in the basket next to Carl, patting the boy on the shoulder before walking out to meet the group in the main room.

Vivian followed them to the door, prepared to lock the door behind them. Rick paused and turned to the brunette,

"It's going to end tonight." He told her, brushing a piece of hair that fell from her ponytail behind her ear,

She nodded, not knowing what to say. Good luck? Everything will be okay? She decided to stay silent, watching them leave the church before closing the door behind them.

Vivian gripped her gun tightly between her fingers as she walked back to the office, where Tyreese was sitting with Bob and Carl was with the younger children.

Rosita and Eugene sat against the far wall, Abraham didn't want to risk Eugene's safety and ordered Rosita to stay behind to protect him. Gabriel sat in the corner, clutching his rosary beads tightly while praying quietly,

Vivian sat at the desk, trying to seem calm to keep from worrying the kids. But on the inside, her heart was beating in her ears.

She jumped as she heart the sound of the front doors being broke in. Her and Carl raised their guns to aim at the door,

"Well, I guess you know we're here." A man's voice called out, must've been their leader, Gareth, "And we know you're here. And we're armed. So there's really no point in hiding anymore." Vivian swallowed nervously, clicking the safety off, "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 Vivian."

The two of them shared a look, with Vivian's eyes wide. Tyreese told her he killed him. But he lied. 

Why would he lie about that?

"Carl. Can't forget about Liam and Judith." The man continued to list them all off, "Rick and the rest walked out with a lot of your guns. 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."

The doorknob began to rattle and Rosita lifted her own gun.

"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." Gareth called out,

Vivian took a few steps forward to ensure that if they did fire at the door, she would be the first to get shot and not Carl,

Where was Rick?

They heard the sound of a gun cocking and Vivian's finger hovered over the trigger as Gareth's voice got closer,

"How about the priest? 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 kids with you." They turned to look at Gabriel, to see what his decision was.

"What do you say?"

He didn't move.

Judith's crying broke the silence and Vivian's eyes widened. Carl went to comfort his sister while Vivian kept her gun aimed at the door,

"It's your last chance right now to tell us you're coming out." Gareth stated.

They were right outside the door now. 

The sound of loud thumps made Vivian jump, but she knew the others were inside now. Vivian let out a small sigh of relief as she heard Rick's voice, 

"Put your guns on the floor."

"Rick, we'll fire right into that office. So you lower your gun-" She heard Gareth cry out in pain. Vivian lowered her gun and went over to comfort Liam and Carl.

"Put your guns on the floor and kneel." Rick ordered,

Vivian buried her face into Carl's hair as she heard the sounds of the people being beaten to death, the grunting and screaming of pain. She made sure to cover Liam's ears as he cuddled up to her side.

Once it got quiet, Vivian stood. She left Liam in the room and walked towards the door.

Blood splattered the walls and Vivian tried not to gag at the sight of the bodies on the floor. The bodies that her friends brutally murdered.

Rick turned to her and Vivian's brown eyes widened at the blood that stained his face, "It could have been us." He told her.

He was right. She hated that he was right.

Gabriel came out behind her, also gazing around in horror. Rick and a few of the others walked past them into the office, to Bob,

 "This is the Lord's house." The priest stated, 

Vivian didn't believe in God, or heaven or all that, but she felt bad for the man. This was his home, and there was great significant to him. And now it was stained with horror and blood.

"No." Maggie replied, "It's just four walls and a roof."

Some of the men threw the bodies out the back, but it didn't rid the horrors of what happened. They only did it to make the kids more comfortable for the night.

But no one slept but Liam and Judith. 

Vivian stayed against the far wall, trying to stay away from the blood. Carl sat next to her, holding her hand, "Where do you think they went?"

"Who?"

"Marcie, Daryl, Carol. They wouldn't just leave." Carl stated,

Vivian looked down at the boy next to her, "They'll be back. They could be hunting or something."

He nodded, "I hope they're okay."

"I'm sure they're fine, kid."

Carl stared up at her for a moment before letting go of her hand and fiddling with the friendship bracelet that Marcie gave him at the farm, "I never apologised for how I treated you at the prison... after Woodbury."

"Carl, you don't have to-"

"No, I do." He glanced down at his lap, "I treated you like shit after I killed that kid. I ignored you for months and then suddenly you and Judith and Liam were gone." The younger Grimes sniffled slightly, "I'm sorry, I really am. You mean a lot to my dad and I, and Judith, too. I don't want to lose you again."

Vivian wrapped one of her arms around the teenager, "I forgive you. And you're not gonna lose me anytime soon."

Carl laid his head on her shoulder, staring down at the blood stains in the wooden floor before he fell asleep.

Once the sun rose in the sky, they knew it was time. The twelve hours were up, and the others weren't back yet.

That meant Abraham and his group were gonna leave with Glenn, Maggie, and Tara. 

They needed to leave, but there was Bob, who was still alive and resting on the couch in the office. Sasha didn't leave his side all night, but they knew it was almost time.

He needed to be put out of his misery.

Vivian stood in the corner, Liam on her hip as everyone said their goodbyes. Vivian didn't know Bob that well, but still wanted to pay her respects.

Once everyone else had finished, they filed out of the room. Rick stayed behind upon Bob's request and once they were done, Sasha and Tyreese went inside to finish it.

Tyreese dug the grave outside. Vivian sat on the steps, watching. It reminded her of the grove, of Lizzie and Mika.

They've been digging too many graves lately. 

Abraham walked over to Rick, holding out a map, "This is our route to DC. 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 responded for Rick,

Vivian nodded, giving her friend a small smile, "We will."

Rick looked back at Vivian, nodding at her words, "We will."

Abraham nodded before walking towards the bus, "Let's go."

Vivian hugged Glenn and Maggie before the got on the short bus, "We'll find you, promise." She whispered.

"We'll be waiting." Maggie smiled,

The group watched as they got onto the bus and it started perfectly. They were separating once again.

What if they didn't see each other again? What if something happened on the road and they weren't there to protect each other?

The bus began to drive off and Liam waved. Vivian waited for them to be out of sight before going back inside, trying to come to terms with the possibility of never seeing her friends again.