He's Our Future

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 ℕ𝕚𝕟𝕖 - 𝕋𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕤

Edited.

Word Count: 891

Days of running would make anyone tired. But for me, I was just annoyed. Running is all I have been doing for days.

Judith would non-stop cry for hours. When she wasn't crying, she was sleeping. I was in the middle of the woods, following the train tracks. It would have to lead me near a town.

I soon came across a sign that said, "Sanctuary for all, community for all. Those who arrive survive." It had a map attached to it.

I looked down at Judith, who was staring up at me. "What do you think?" I smiled as she made a gurgling sound. "I'll take that as a yes."

I continued walking along the tracks. After a few hours, we finally came across a small clearing. There stood a house with a small garden in the front.

This looked like a great place to stay for a while. I walked up to the door knocking twice. I took a step back, reaching for my gun as the door opened in front of me.

I stopped as I saw Carol standing there. Behind her was Tyreese, Lizzie, and her sister Mika. Carol hugged me and then looked down, seeing Judith in my arms.

"I'm glad you both made it out." She said, reaching for the baby.

"It was a close one." I handed the girl to her and walked into the house with her, "Did you see Jacob or Daryl get out?"

Mika spoke up, "I saw Jacob get on the bus with Maggie, but then I didn't see anything else."

"Thank you, Mika." I smiled sadly. Hopefully, everyone else made it out just fine.

Later that night, Tyreese put the girls to bed in the spare room. We all sat and reunited.

"I need to go find Daryl and my son." I looked up, meeting Carol's eyes.

"We could all go with you. It's not safe out there-" Carol started, but I cut her off.

"This place is safe. You have the girls to take care of. If we get caught in a horde, there might be no way to get them out safe." I looked at her, then at Tyreese.

Tyreese looked as if he agreed with me. Then Carol spoke up, "Where would you even start to look?"

I remembered the sanctuary sign that I passed by earlier that day, "Termius, I saw signs for it along the tracks."

"What if they aren't there?" She questioned.

"Then I'll keep looking. The group couldn't have gone that far."

"When are you leaving?" Tyreese asked.

"Tomorrow morning."

"Just be safe. I think we'll be here for a while. In case you don't find the group. You can always come back here." Tyreese said as he stood.

That seemed to end our conversation. Everyone went off to go to sleep.

Early that next morning, I saw that everyone was still asleep. I got out a piece of paper and began writing a note.

Dear Carol, Tyreese, and kids.

I'm sorry for leaving unannounced. I wanted to get an early start on walking.

I need to make it to Terminus and see if my boy is there. Terminus is just a way up the tracks. Hopefully, it's still up and running. If you decide to come, I will be there.

If I find anyone from our group, I'll send them your way. Give Judith a kiss for me.

I'll see you again real soon.

-Rose

--

Hours and hours had passed before I arrived at the gates of Terminus. I stood there looking at the gates. Something deep in my gut had an off feeling about this place.

I tried not to think about it as I knocked on the gate to be let in.

A woman opened the gate and gave me a smile, "Looks like you've been walking for some time."

I laughed as I walked in, "I have. I'm glad I made it."

A man came up, handing me a plate of food. There were vegetables and some type of meat.

I looked around, realizing that there were no animals. I ate the vegetables but didn't touch the meat, answering any questions asked.

Mary one of the leaders of the sanctuary. Narrowed her brows, "Why didn't you eat the meat?"

"Oh, I don't eat meat," I said. I knew I should have listened to my gut.

"You shouldn't be picky in this world." She said, taking the plate from my hands.

"I know. It's just a preference." I said. I looked around, trying to see if Jacob or Daryl were there.

Gareth led me to one of the many train cars and asked me. "Do you want to be out here, with us, and do what we do, or do you want to be in there and end up on a plate."

It took a moment for me to process, the meat was human.

"This is human meat?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"You know the answer to that. Now it's time to answer my question."

"No."

"That's a shame. You would be a great addition to the family." He chuckled.

I needed to leave. I turned trying to find the nearest exit, as I moved forward to run I felt something hard hit the back of my head, then everything went black.