𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘐

28: On a Road Bound to Nowhere VII

On a Road Bound to Nowhere
Part 7

Carl and Girl found more scratches around the windows and along the walls. Either one person had ran around the entirety of the church, trying to get in, or there were more than one; maybe even a crowd of people, all struggling with the windows, all feverishly trying to enter the church.

If Gabriel's story was true, and he really hadn't left his church, then he must've known that people were trying to get in. And he didn't let them. That had to mean they meant him harm then, right? He'd let all of them in, so Girl assumed that he wasn't opposed to company.

Then again, he had just run out of food. Maybe he only let them in because he was desperate for whatever supplies were in the food bank and he really couldn't get it himself.

Or maybe he was actually certain that God had sent them. Maybe he truly did believe still, maybe he held out hope that God still cared for him and was looking after him.

Girl didn't know if she understood this, but she wasn't really one to judge.

She brushed these thoughts aside, she and Carl continuing to mull around the yard until they heard the others come back.

"Hey. Tyreese said you were out back," Rick anounced, approaching them from the front of the church, "come on in. We found food. A lot of it."

"Good," Carl nodded, looking at Girl nervsouly. He didn't want to admit that his father may have been right. Maybe Gabriel wasn't a good person.

"What is it?" Rick asked.

S-h-o-w, Girl signed, not knowing the word quite yet.

"Yeah, we have to show you something," Carl agreed.

Girl led them over to the deepest of the scratches, on the opposite side of the wall from the words.

"Those scratches. They're deep," Carl said.

K-n-i-f-e, Girl added.

"Yeah, like knives or something," Carl nodded, translating for his father

"Someone was trying to get in," Rick said, eyebrows furrowing.

"We found something else," Carl said, leading his father down the wall, pointing to the words they'd found carved into the wood.

"I don't know what happened, but whatever it is, we can handle it," Rick said, sighing when he saw the sad look on his son's face, "doesn't mean Gabriel is a bad guy for sure, but it means something."

"Okay."

Carl and Girl followed behind Rick, both sending one last look to the carvings before they made their way around to the front of the church.

Girl was shocked to see the mountain of food that the group had collected at the food bank. It was shocking that there was that much there and no one had tried to get to it yet. Maybe there just wasn't anyone else left.

"We're eating good tonight," Abraham announced, rubbing his hands together.

It didn't take long for the group to dig into the food. Dark had fallen quickly, leaving them hungry and glad to have the stocks of real things to eat. This was definitely more filling than pecans.

"Hey, Girl, you get some?" Daryl asked, seeing her sitting alone, sort of apart from the others.

Girl nodded, motioning that she'd had a little.

"You need more?" Daryl asked.

Girl shook her head, holding her stomach as to say she was full.

"Yeah. You haven't eaten real good in a while, you probably can't keep much down," Daryl nodded, "you wanna take watch? Me and Carol are walking."

Girl nodded, standing up from her seat and fixing her belt. Her gun and knife were hanging from her sides, ready to be used if need be.

"Thanks."

Girl waved to Carl, walking out of the church and standing near the bottom steps. She watched Daryl and Carol wander off into the trees, her eyes scanning all around for any signs of a threat.

The words on the side of the church made her feel as though someone else was around. She didn't know how long they'd been there, but they could be recent, meaning the person who did it could still be close by.

Girl stood her post, listening closely for anything in the vicinity. She did a few laps around the church, looking for anything out of place. She jumped to attention when a thud from the trees sounded out, echoing through the close quarters of the church yard. It didn't sound like an animal, so she made her way out to follow it, knife held at the ready. Walkers nearby would be bad, and Girl needed to be sure that they wouldn't have any surprises during the night.

She tapped the side of a tree, trying to lure whatever- or whoever- was there.

When nothing appeared, Girl frowned, venturing further. She spotted some broken branches, and knife marks against a tree.

Tally marks.

Counting them up, Girl found that someone had been counting how many were in their group. She spun around, trying desperately to find the perpetrator, but coming up short.

Another branch snapped behind her and she spun around, coming face to face with a very much alive man. She swung her knife at him, yelping when she was thwarted by another person hitting her from the side and knocking her to the ground. Her knife was still held tight in her hand and she didn't hesitate to jump up and swing again, pushing the two men back. She didn't get far when another appeared behind her, gun pressed to her back.

"Drop the knife," he whispered, "I know you can't talk. It's not like you're gonna yell for help."

Girl breathed in deeply, trying to weigh her options. She could try and fight all three, but she'd get shot, no doubt. Or, alternatively, she could scream, sending a warning to the others that there was trouble. But that might make someone come outside after her. And she had no idea how many enemies were in the area. She feared that if she drew anyone else out, they'd only get hurt too. And the scream would also, most likely, land her with a bullet in her spine. On the bright side, if she was shot, her friends would hear the gun go off and know that something was going on, even if the scream plan didn't go as she hoped.

But she would still be shot.

And if there was anything that Girl hadn't outgrown it was her sense of self-preservation.

Making a split, unwise decision, Girl knocked the man with the gun to the side. He pulled the trigger, her movement catching him off guard. Luckily for Girl, the gun had shifted far enough not to send lead square into her back. But the bullet still caught her, tearing through her lower torso, on the side of her body. She knew it had missed anything vital, but that didn't stop it from hurting. She screamed involuntarily, just a short, pained cry. Her knife swung again, this time hitting it's mark just barely. She managed to cut open one of the men before another dropped her. She was losing blood fast, her body feeling weaker by the moment.

The last thing she remembered was Gareth smiling down at her and the butt of a gun to her head.