East

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The silence crept over me as I rose to place myself before the people of Alexandria; all their eyes were fixed to me, searching for something, some sort of hope and reasoning

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The silence crept over me as I rose to place myself before the people of Alexandria; all their eyes were fixed to me, searching for something, some sort of hope and reasoning.

"Yesterday, we lost one of the brightest souls to have ever evolved within these walls. A person that brought smiles to the faces of those who didn't believe they had anything left to smile for." I looked to my side, gazing at Rick and then Deanna, both of whom were allowing me to begin the remembrance. Swallowing the sorrow, I looked back at across the crowd that had formed within the pews. "Denise believed in the good of people. She believed in the spirit of trying, no matter the cost, because that is the only way to truly live now." The faces before me were conflicted with fear, anger and fight, and all in equal measure. "I know you're scared. We have no idea what we're gonna have to face, but what we do know is how we're gonna face it. Like Denise always did, we're gonna try. We have each other, our home, trust, respect for one another. All of the things that people like the Saviors could never share. We have family, grown from community. And we will try, as one."

"Thank you, Bella." Deanna took over, exchanging places with me as I went to sit next to Rick.

"You did good, they needed to hear that." My husband said in a mere whisper.

"The world is much bigger than we could have ever imagined it to be..."

"Did you believe it?" I asked.

"I used to believe this was about civilisation- everything we're growing here..."

"What do you mean?" We turned to face each other, his eyes searching deep within mine.

"But it's more than that. It's about fighting for what it is right. Fighting to keep our hearts beating..."

"Did you believe in what I just said, or do you still think this is nothing we haven't handled before?" And for the first time, I felt myself resenting him.

"We have all been through so much, and we still have more to overcome yet. But we can get through this, together, as we have since the beginning. We all agreed what needed to be done and we have to see this through for ourselves, and for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice too..."

"Belle'—"

"No!" I straightened out my posture, regretting my harsh tone which caught the attention of the audience before us. In the corner of my eye I watched Rick shift uncomfortably in his seat and I felt at a complete loss with myself. "I apologise, Deanna. Please, excuse me..."

I hurried myself out the church and kept to the wall of the compound, travelling along it in an attempt to avoid passers-by. Although most had gathered in the church in memory of Denise, plenty had decided to honour her in their own way and, as we all knew, the world didn't stop turning for anything. As much as we wanted to grieve our loss, we knew we had too much to do to allow the sorrow in.

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