𝘿aryl was back. Lacking Carol but bringing along a kid, no older than twenty, named Noah. Carol and Maggie's sister, Beth, had been taken. They were at a hospital in Atlanta. Noah had escaped from the hospital, but they would be taking him back shortly enough. They needed their people back.
The first order of business was to fortify the church. They broke down the pews and the pipe organ. Sasha had been handed an ax and was currently taking out her frustrations on one of the pews. No one dared to go near her.
Adalyn was helping outside, getting the pipes from the organ jammed into the ground, pointy side up. Gabriel stood near her, looking up as Daryl approached, carrying more pipes. "Are you gonna take the cross, too?" he asked Daryl.
Daryl shrugged, laying the pipes down on the ground. He and Adalyn each took one, jamming them in place. "If we need it," Daryl replied.
Around the side of the church, Michonne, Rick, and Carl hammered boards over the windows. Noah was wandering, not really knowing where to go. He stayed close to Rick, never leaving his line of sight.
Rick was going to take Daryl, Sasha, Tyreese, and Noah to Atlanta to retrieve Beth and Carol. Adalyn, Carl, and Michonne would be taking turns keeping an eye on Judith, as well as continuing the fortification of the church. It went without saying that they would also be keeping an eye on Gabriel.
It was time to go.
"All right," Rick said as he handed Judith over to Michonne. He pulled Carl into a hug. "We'll be back soon."
"I know," Carl said.
Rick hesitated before he moved to shake hands with Adalyn. "Stay safe," he said. "We'll start to D.C. once we've got this handled."
She offered him a smile. "All right," she said.
She waved as he and the others left.
Judith started to cry as she realized that her father was gone. Michonne shooshed her gently, bouncing her in her arms. She laid her down in the basket. "I'll keep an eye on her," Adalyn said. "You two can finish up the windows, right?"
Michonne nodded.
They used the back of one of the pews to keep the door barricaded. Adalyn lowered to sit on the floor as Judith continued to cry, smoothing her hands over the baby's hair. "It's all right," she said softly. "It's all right, little one. You'll be all right."
At the front of the room, Gabriel stared down at the blood that remained from the Gareth's death. He lowered slowly, scratching away at it. Nothing. He seemed to consider, and then spit in his hand, scrubbing at the bloodstains, trying with all of his damn might to get them away.
Adalyn left him to it. She didn't think stopping him would be a good idea, no matter how much she knew that it wasn't going to work.
After a while, he seemed to think better of his spit idea. He got himself water and a cloth and kept at it, not even stopping as Carl laid out a selection of weapons in front of him.
"Pick one," Carl said.
Gabriel shook his head, staring at the floor, still scrubbing.
"You need to learn to defend yourself," Carl said. "We can teach you."
Gabriel looked up at him, managing a smile. "Defend myself?" he asked. He looked back at the blood on the floor. "They said they'd go."
"They were liars and murderers," Carl stated.
"Just like us."
"We protected ourselves. They wanted us dead."
Carl hesitated, reconsidering his approach. "You're lucky your church has lasted this long," he said. "You can't stay in one place anymore. Not for too long. And once you're out there, you're gonna find trouble you can't hide from. You need to know how to fight."
Gabriel looked down at his choices. Three knives, a machete, a shotgun, an ax, a pistol.
He reached out slowly, hands shaking. Adalyn watched as he selected the machete.
"Good choice," Carl said. "But you're not holding it right. You've got to be able to drive it down, 'cause sometimes their skulls aren't as soft and you need to be able- -"
"Carl," Adalyn interjected, seeing the look on Gabriel's face.
He flashed her a thankful expression before he looked back at Carl. "I'm sorry," he said. He swallowed hard, getting to his feet, holding the machete away from his body. "No. I need to lie down."
Carl nodded. He, Michonne, and Adalyn watched the priest leave the room.
Adalyn hesitated a moment before she took Carl by the shoulder. "You had the right idea," she said. "But I don't think he's gonna be up for anything like that any time soon."
"Yeah," Carl agreed. "But he has to learn."
"I know," Adalyn said. "Trust me, I know." She flicked the brim of his hat with a chuckle. "Just no more talking about soft skulls anymore around him, all right?"
Carl nodded, a smile playing at his face. "Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that," he agreed.
"No, you shouldn't have."
