.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

Levi assisted Stella over the fence before jumping over it himself, joining up with the rest of the group. They stealthily raced to a door that led them to a corridor. With their weapons in hand, they slipped through the corridor, following a female voice at the end of it.

They stepped into a large back room, with bright shining lights, illuminating their surroundings. Before Stella managed to catch a glimpse of the room, she felt the smell. Fresh. Clean. Nothing smelled like that in the current state of the world.

Stella's eyes traveled around the room to explore their new surroundings. Tall walls, concrete floors, and people running around talking and working. In front of them sat a woman, speaking into a C.B. radio.

Suddenly Rick marched past the group to the woman with the radio. "Hello?" His voice cut through the room making everyone fall silent with every pair of eyes locking on the new group.

They stared in silent shock seeing Rick and the group who had now formed a line in front of them.

"Well, I bet Albert's on perimeter watch." One of them said, placing his painting brush back on the table. He scanned their faces as we approached them with his hands to the sides to show that he was unarmed. "You here to rob us?"

"No," Rick said shortly. "We wanted to see you before you saw us."

The man in front of them chuckled and nodded. "Makes sense." He stepped forward holding out his hands as a welcoming sign. "Usually we do this where the tracks meet..." he cleared his throat. "Welcome to Termius. I'm Gareth. Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit."

"We have," Rick said, his words laced with a threatening tone. "I'm Rick. That's Carl, Daryl, Michonne, Levi and Stella."

The girl tilted her head up, looking down at the man through her nose to look threatening. She was threatening. They all were. After what they had gone through, they had changed into the worst monster of themselves. And if the new so-called sanctuary would try anything on them, they'd be ready.

Garreth sent them an awkward wave, earning none back. "You're nervous, I get it. We were all the same way. We came here for sanctuary. That's what you're here for?"

"Yes," Rick spoke coldly.

"Good. You found it!" Gareth said before turning to one of the men behind him. "Alex!" He shouted to which a brunette hurried forward. "This isn't as pretty as the front. We've got nothing to hide but the welcome wagon is a lot nicer. Alex will take you, ask you a few questions." Garrett explained to the group. "Uh, but first we need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them in front of you."

Stella's jaw tightened. She had no interest in walking around unarmed in new territory. She glanced over at Levi and her father who both seemed equally hesitant. Rick swallowed hard before reaching for his gun, causing a domino effect in the rest of the group who all instantly copied him by placing their weapons on the floor. Stella bent down and placed her gun and machete on the ground and remembered the pocket knife that was tucked into her shoe. Instead of laying it down next to the series of weapons, she stood up straight. Maybe it was stupid. If they found it later, she would be putting her life at risk but she wasn't ready to hand over her weapons to the unfamiliar group. Not after last night.

Garett and Alex motioned for the group to stretch their arms out to allow them to search through them. Stella's heart dropped and she instantly regretted not giving up her knife. The one named Alex walked up to her, looking at her for a moment as he waited for a nod of approval to let him search through her. She sent him a quick nod to which he smiled before patting over her body while Levi sent him threatening glares.

Fortunately, his hands only grazed over the spot where her blade was tucked in and he didn't notice anything. Instead, he tracked to her upper body, patting her over her arms.

"Wow you've got some..." he pointed to his own face, referring to the blood on stellas face in an attempt to make a joke. His chuckle transformed into a frightened exhale upon seeing Stella's narrowed eyes and Levi's clutched fists.

He stepped away from Stella before standing in front of Levi. "You look like you wanna punch me in the face so let's get this over with quickly." He chuckled nervously making Levi grin amused by the man's nervous and scared expression.

"Just so you know, we aren't those kinds of people, but we aren't stupid either," Garret said once everyone had been searched through. "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."

Alex made his way to Stella's father and picked up his gun from the ground and surprised everyone by handing it back to him. He continued to hand over their weapons.

"Follow me," Alex said and the group did what he said and followed him through a door that led outside to some sort of courtyard. Plans grew from large pots, people chattering around small tables and a stand with food. Suddenly Stella's eyes fixated on a man sitting leaning over a book. Hunger games. She wouldn't have thought much about it if it weren't for the small and scattered drawings that she spotted over the pages. She froze. A doodle of Judith that she remembered well. And another one. One that she made off Sophia's doll.

She would've thought it was a coincidence but the woman a few tables away wore a cap that looked exactly like the one Ellie used to wear. Her heart sank as her eyes traveled over the courtyard, watching almost every person wearing an item that she could swear had belonged to someone from their group. Alex prattled on about this whole place but Stella didn't listen.

They stopped in front of the food stand where they were greeted by a woman.

"I heard you came in through the back door. Smart." She smiled brightly. "You'll fit right in here."

Stella looked at her father hoping to signal that something was wrong but he seemed to already have noticed.

"Mary, would you fix each of these new folks a plate for me?" Alex asked and the woman smiled even brighter. Too happy.

"Why do you do it?" Stella asked, staring at Alex with narrowed eyes and a tightened jaw. "Why do you let people in?"

"The more people that be on a part of us, we get stronger," Alex said, handing a plate to Carl. "That's why we put up the signs, invite people in. It's how we survive."

Stella was handed a plate but she was everything but hungry.

Rick marched forward just as Alex turned around, holding out a plate. Rick showed the plate to the ground and twisted his way behind Alex with his gun pressed against his temple while holding him in a headlock. Within seconds Stella and the rest of their group had reached for their weapons and were now back to back forming a circle.

"Where the hell did you get this watch?" Rick asked through gritted teeth. Stella recognized the watch, it used to be Hershel's before he gave it to Glenn.

Alex trembled under Rick's grasp. "You want answers? You want anything else, you get that when you put down the gun."

"I see your man on the roof with a sniper rifle. How good's his aim?" Rick asked adding pressure against his temple. "Where'd you get the watch?!" The man mumbled something. "Where'd you get the watch?!"

Instead of answering Rick's question, he yelled at the sniper on the roof. "Don't do anything! I have this! You just put it down! You put it down!"

"You wanna listen to me." Alex calmed his voice down. "There's a lot of us...."

"Nothing we can't handle." Levi turned to Alex, who kept squirming against Rick's grip. "Now, where'd you get the watch."

"I got it from a dead one." Alex raised his arms in the air, seeing as both Rick and Levi were aiming their guns at his head. "I didn't think he'd need it."

"What about the riot gear? The poncho?" Rick asked.

"Got the riot gear of a dead cop." Garret's voice caused everyone to spin around, weapons raised. "Found the poncho on a clothesline."

"Garett we can wait," Alex said.

"Shut up, Alex"

"You talk to me," Rick told Garett.

"What's there left to say? You don't trust us anymore. Rick, what do you want?"

"Where are our people?" Rick asked through gritted teeth.

"You didn't answer the question," Garett said and Rick opened his mouth to say something else but the sound of a gunshot piercing through the air cut him off. He spun around as the bullet had missed him with only a few inches and the second bullet landed in Alex's chest. Rick dropped the corpse and held his gun with both hands. Bullets rang in the air and panic erupted from the people in the courtyard. Stella took down the three men around her before forcing Carl behind her despite his squirming.

Suddenly, Stella was being dragged away by her father who led the group toward the exit where they had just walked through. But the sniper on the roof blocked their path by shooting manically at their feet. They spun around and suddenly Levi was in the lead, racing between the houses but again their path was blocked as the doors around them shut, locking them inside.

Stella's eyes flashed around the room for an exit until she saw a large black door marked with the letter A. "There!"

She led the group through the door and into a maze of containers, abandoned cars, and gunshots blocking their every turn. They found themselves in front of another door leading into a building with the letter A painted over the wall.

They stumbled through a room covered with lit candles and what seemed like religious drawings on the walls and floors. They stopped for a moment, looking for an exit and catching their breath.

"You hit?" Levi's worried eyes scanned Stella's body frantically.

"No, I'm okay." She told him.

"How's your leg? Can you run?" He asked earning a nod. Stella hadn't even noticed the pain as she had been to focused in getting her family out of that place that they were still stuck in.

"There!" Daryl said and the group followed him through the door at the far end of the room. Before even making it out the door they were being shot at. Several snipers stood scattered over the rooftops, spewing out bullets at their feet.

They were suddenly brought to a halt as they found themselves surrounded, on an open surface. Levi's hand wrapped around Stella's wrist and they looked around in panic hoping to find any way out. But armed men waited for them outside the fences and all around them on the roof.

Stella's heart thundered in her chest, so loud she could hear every loud beat in her ears.

"Drop your weapons. Now!" Garett shouted from the roof. Stella's eyes flickered over to her father whose eyes were flaming. He hesitantly placed his revolver on the floor. Stella's jaw tightened and she threw her machete and gun to the ground but her knife remained tucked into her shoe.

"Ringleader, you go to the left. The train car. Go." Garret ordered. Rick stalled, staring at the train car to his left. "You do what we say, the boy and the girl goes with you. Anything else, they die and you end up there anyway."

Rick's gaze lingered over his children before sending them a quick nod. He walked off, slowly approaching the train car.

"Now the archer," Garett said. Daryl's eyes were flaming with hatred before joining up with Rick. "Now the Samurai." His words made Michonne walk over to the two men by the train car. "Now The battle angel."

Stella cringed at the nickname but her face remained an icy expression. Her eyes didn't leave Garett as she marched toward the line that had formed before the door to the train car.

"Now the soldier." The man said. Levi hesitated, his arm lingering around Carls shoulders as he stared at him before unwillingly leaving the boy to stand with the rest of the group.

"Stand by the door. Ring leader, archer, samurai, battle angel, and Soldier. In that order." Garett spoke.

"My brother," Stella said, her words burning with anger. There was no way she was getting into that train car without him. Even if it meant dying for it.

Garett stared at Carl who looked smaller than usual as he stood frightened and alone in the middle of the open surface. "Go, kid."

Stella let out a huff of air and took a step forward to embrace Carl seeing his shaky hands but as she was about to place her foot in front of the other, a bullet struck the ground. She jolted backward, choking on her own breath.

"Don't move," Garett warned her. "Ringleader open the door and go in."

Rick glanced over his shoulder without obeying Garett's orders. "I'll go with my children."

"Don't make us kill them both now," Garett said, smiling with amusement.

Rick's face twisted in rage but he remained calm and shoved the train door open leading the group into the consuming darkness inside. The train car was surprisingly cold making Stella shiver as she stepped inside. She refused to let herself breathe out until Carl was inside. Soon the boy slowly and tremblingly entered, not hesitating before walking into Stella's embrace. She pressed him against herself as Daryl shut the doors, leaving them in complete and total darkness.

It took several moments for Stella to adjust to the dark. Once she finally had, she managed to see a crowd of silhouettes at the far end of the car. She froze at the sigh of one of them stepping closer and she pushed Carl behind her.

She blinked repeatedly, trying to make out who was standing before her. Small slots allowed sunlight to illuminate the person's face. Upon realizing who it was, she didn't hesitate to hurry forward, wrapping her arms around the man.

"Glenn." She breathed out, feeling his arms encircle her. Her eyes traveled over the many faces behind him. Some she recognized but some she didn't. She scanned the faces of the new group. A red-haired man stood next to a girl in Carls's age. Despite the darkness around them, Stella could tell that the two redheads were related. Along with them stood two new women and a man with a funny haircut which probably would have made Stella laugh if under any other circumstances. Bob and Tristan stood beside them along with Sasha.

Stella let go of Glenn, sending him a smile before embracing Maggie. She hadn't had time to hug her after Hershel's death but now she was clinging into her for dear life.

Stella stepped away from the two and watched as the unfamiliar faces emerged from the dark.

"They're our friends," Glenn explained. "They helped save us."

"Now they're friends of ours." Rick said.

"For however long that'll be." The red-haired man said, disappearing into the shadows again.

"No," Rick said and walked to one of the slots in that train car, peeking through it. "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out."

"Find out what?" The red-haired man asked.

Rick took a moment before answering, still squinting to see between the slots. After several beats he tore his gaze from the outside, looking over at the group.
"They're screwing with the wrong people."

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟐𝟔𝟖𝟎 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍
season 4 is officially over guys.

if anyone's confused about who the second redhead is, it's my oc Melissa. go to the introduction to find her fc<3