56. those who arrive survive

QUINN

     CAREFULLY SHE REACHED OUT AND WIPED the blood of her knuckles, wincing each time the cloth touched the cuts but she had to clean it, or else it could get infected.

A shadow fell over her, making her look up. Daryl stood next to her, having come back from dragging the men's boddies into the forest, out of sight. Without saying a word he moved to sit on the ground next to her but she stopped him at the last second.

'I'm fine,' she whispered, her voice hoarse.

He didn't believe it, of course he didn't but she didn't care. She nodded at Rick who sat leaning against the car, completely covered in blood. Michonne had taken Carl inside the vehicle to rest but also get him away from the sight of his father. Rick seemed to be numb, sitting there, staring into nothingness with blood all over his face and hands.

'Go help him,' she whispered, handing Daryl the piece of cloth. He seemed to be doubting and she gave him a little nudge. 'He needs it more than I do.'

Upon hearing those words a sudden anger crossed his face as he turned to her. 'Ya were almost-' he cut himself off, seeming unable to finish that sentence. But that wasn't all he was worried about. She could see it in his eyes. Behind the anger, behind the worry ran something much deeper...She killed someone and he knew she couldn't possibly be okay after something like that.

She had killed people before, in Woodbury when they were trying to escape but that was different. That was in the heat of the fight, in a moment of high adrenaline and she could barely even recall it.

This was different.

Quinn had stared into the man his eyes as all the life left his body. She had felt his body going limp beneath her as her dagger was pushed into his skull.

She wasn't okay, far from infact, but her feelings didn't matter at the moment. Rick was even further gone, having fallen back into the pit he had spend months trying to climb out of. All his hard work to forgive himself, to grief for his wife, all the possible innocence he had tried to reclaim, all gone. In a matter of hours.

Looking in her eyes, Daryl seemed to understand her perfectly. And listening to her wish he nodded slowly before offering her his hand. She took it, letting her aching body being pulled up from the ground. He was about to walk over to Rick but she placed her hand on his arm at the very last second, stopping him.

'Are you okay?' She questioned softly, staring at him, studying every little detail of his face to make sure she would know it if he lied.

He gave her a small nod, making her raise her eyebrows at him. Before she could stop herself her hand moved from his arm to his face. Her fingers carefully touched his cheek where a bruise was forming. It felt as though her veins were on fire. Her fingertips were burning as she touched his skin. He stood still as a statue, holding his breath but not stopping her. 'You sure?' She muttered. Part of her brain was screaming for her to drop her hand but her brain had lost all control over her body. Her hand was glued to his face, her fingers aching to explore every part of him.

'Gotta be,' he replied, his voice hoarse.

She blinked, her brain suddenly back in control and she dropped her hand. Her heart was hammering against her ribcage as his eyes stared at him with a burning intensity. Then he turned and walked away, heading over towards Rick. She watched as he sat down beside his friend and with a trembling breah she turned to look at the forest edge again. She closed her eyes and drowned out their voices as the night came rushing back to her like a hammer hitting her in the stomach. A shiver ran down her spine as her eyes went to her hands, covered in blood.

Quickly she shook her head, trying to drown out those images. She took a shaky breath, placing her head in her hands as she bit her tongue to try and stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks once again. She was tired of crying but at the same time all she wanted to do was cry.

She missed Milo.

She missed him so much it felt like a knife was being stabbed into her heart everytime she thought of him. But at the same time she couldn't help but feel relieved he hadn't been her. Having to look him in the eye after she killed someone wasn't something she ever wanted to do. It had been unavoidable, the only way to ensure they would make it out alive. But no matter how many times she told herself that, the guilt never faded.

Footsteps sounded from behind her and she slowly turned around to see Rick standing behind her. The blood was more or less gone on his face but there were still stains here and there.

She offered him a small smile but before she could say something to him he took a step forwards and embraced her in a tight hug. For only a second she froze, completely dumbfounded by his reaction but then wrapped her arms around him as well, closing her eyes as she let herself drown in the moment.

Finally he let her go, taking a step backwards, giving her a smile before placing his hand on her shoulder. 'I'm glad you found us,' he said.

She nodded. 'Yeah, me too.'

The sound of a car door opening echoed through the silence of the forest and they turned around to see Michonne and Carl walk up to them. A smile appeared on Michonne's features as she reached Quinn and pulled her into a hug. Quinn stumbled from the sudden impact but managed to steady herself and wrap her arms around her friend.

For a moment they just stood there, relieved to have found each other again, relieved they know they were both alive.

Quinn pulled away first, studying her friend's features. She looked tired, hungry but more determined than ever.

'We should get going,' Rick said from behind them. Nodding at him Quinn walked away from Michonne, taking her backpack off the ground and putting it around her shoulders, wincing when she moved her arm. She ignored the look Daryl gave her and followed their leader into the forest.

It didn't take long for them to find the train tracks again and even though every part of her body was aching, she never felt more determined to reach her destination.

'You okay?' She could hear Rick asking Michonne, the two of them walking just in front of her.

'Yeah,' Michonne replied.

'I'm okay,' Rick said.

Her friend nodded. 'I know.'

'How?' Rick questioned.

''Cause I'm okay too,' Michonne told him, making a smile appear on Quinn's face. Sonething had changed between the two of them. Friendly words now seemed to have more meaning and she wondered if they saw it too.

Rick led them off the tracks, kneeling down by something laying in the grass. It was another Terminus sign, covered by the dead leaves that had fallen from the surrounding trees.

'We're gettin' close,' Daryl said. 'Be there before sundown.'

'Now we head through the woods,' Rick spoke, 'we don't know who they are.'

They headed off the trails, seeking the cover of the trees as they walked forwards. Daryl walked ahead of them, his eyes focused on their surroundings and she couldn't help but stare at his back, noticing how he tried his hardest to walk normal but completely able to hide the small limp in his step. Her stomach seemed to squeeze together whenever she looked at him and she didn't really understand why.

She was taken out of her thoughts however when she noticed a fence standing in the middle of the forest, covered by leaves.

Daryl gestured for them to walk towards it and so they did, carefully. As they reached the iron, she stood on her toes to look over Michonne's shoulder at what lay behind it.

She saw an old trainstation with buildings surrounding it, train tracks coming together at the front gates, Terminus.

They made it.

'We all spread out,' Rick said, 'watch for a while, see what we see and get ready. We all stay close.'

Quinn took two daggers out of her belt, one in each hand and walked along the fence, towards the left side, staring through the iron. There wasn't a single hint of movement to be seen from the other side and that slightly worried her. She narrowed as she stared at the building but it remained deadly quiet. Maybe they stayed silent to not draw any dead ones near but she couldn't even see any guards stationed anywhere.

Turning to her left her eyes fell on Daryl, who must have followed her. By the looks of it he had been examining her for a while.

'Are you okay?' She asked him, frowning.

He nodded, but in a way that was enough for her to know he was lying. Instead of saying something about it though she just nodded back at him.

'You know I don't blame you right?' She said instead, not taking her eyes off him. 'About Joe and his men? It wasn't you fault.'

He gave a small shrug, walking over to her and looking through the fence, seeming to avoid her gaze at all costs. 'We shoulda left when ya said,' he mumbled.

'You had a good reason not to,' Quinn replied, standing next to him and letting her eyes wander over the so called sanctuary before them. 'If anything I should thank you for having my back.'

Her words made him turn to look at her, his blue eyes holding a silent question. She offered him a small smile. 'I wouldn't have made it this far without you.'

'Nah, you would've,' he replied with a small shake of his head. Then he gestured towards the way they just came from, not giving her a chance to reply. 'We should head back.' He started walking into the direction of the others and Quinn slowly followed, finding herself unable to supress her smile.

They found Rick sitting on the forest floor, burrying the bag with weapons they had stolen from Joe and his men into a hole he had digged. Michonne and Carl stood next to him, watching him with just as much confusion as Quinn and Daryl.

'Just in case,' Rick said, noticing their questioning stares. He reached for the small shovel but Quinn stopped him at the very last moment. He frowned at her but didn't protest as he watched her take her daggers from her waist, leaving her with just a small knife. She placed her daggers into the bag and then gestured for him to close it.

'Like you said,' she sighed, 'just in case.'

She watched as he closed the hole, only now realising how attached she had become to the daggers. They had saved her life more times than she could count and even though she felt almost naked without them, she didn't want to take a chance and loose them. Who knew what those people would ask of them? Taking in someone's weapons wasn't a strange thing to ask, which was why she rather left them here.

When Rick he was done he gathered them all up before walking over to the fence and climbing over it. They agreed not to use the front door in case these people couldn't be trusted. Her bruised arms screamed with protested when she pushed herself over the iron but she bit her tongue to hold back a groan.

Once they all were on the other side they headed towards one of the buildings that stood closest. Rick shared a quick glare with Daryl before opening the door. The redneck entered first, his crossbow raised. Rick gestured for Michonne and Quinn to go in next before pushing Carl inside and entering himself.

They ran through a hallway, Quinn holding her small knife tightly in her hand. She frowned upon hearing a voice, the sound becoming louder as they reached a door. Looking over Daryl's shoulder she could see an elderly woman sitting behind a desk that had a radio on it, reading a script into the microphone. Her breath caught in her throat as she suddenly realised why the words written above the map had seemed so familiar to her. She heard them before on the radio on their way to the veterinary collage.

Daryl threw a look over his shoulder and Rick gestured for him to keep going. He walked forwards, entering the hall and Quinn followed quickly, her eyes widening upon seeing people painting maps that led to Terminus. They all seemed so busy that they didn't even notice the group of strangers that just walked through their door.

'Hello,' Rick broke the silence, walking towards the woman behind the radio, making her look up from the script she'd been reading. Upon saying the word again, and louder this time, the people who'd been painting looked up as well.

One guy sighed deeply, putting down his brush. 'Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch,' he spoke, annoyed, before walking around the table up to their group.

Quinn felt her grip on her knife tighten but couldn't say why. Everything seemed to be okay and yet her heart rate refused to go down.

'You here to rob us?' The guy questioned.

'No,' Rick replied, putting his gun back in its holster, 'we wanted to see you before you saw us.'

The guy chuckled. 'Makes sense. Usually we do this where the tracks meet.' He spread his arms and cleared his throat. 'Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth.' He dropped his arms, his eyes scanning them. 'Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit.'

'We have,' Rick responded. 'Rick. That's Carl, Daryl, Quinn and Michonne.' He nodded at them as he spoke their names.

Quinn watched as Gareth gave them a small wave. She didn't feel like returning it and instead stood still as a statue as silence fell over the room.

'You're nervous, I get it,' Gareth interrupted the quiet. 'we were all the same way. We came here for sanctuary. That what you're here for?'

'Yes,' Rick confirmed.

'Good,' Gareth told him, 'you found it.' Then he turned around and gestured towards a guy who stood behind the table with the paint on it. 'Hey, Alex.' The guy came walking forwards as Gareth kept on talking. 'This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide but the welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer. Alex will take you, ask you a few questions. Uh, but first, we need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you.'

Quinn turned to look at Rick who gave them all a small nod, being an example by putting his gun on the ground.

'I'm sure you understand,' Gareth said.

'Yes, I do,' Rick replied, taking out his knife as well.

She put her knife on the floor, her mind flashing back to the daggers she hid in the forest, somehow glad they were hidden. Next to her the others put their weapons down as well.

Gareth and Alex walked towards Daryl and Rick, searching them for other weapons they might be hiding. When Alex noticed the bruised on Daryl's face he slightly smiled. 'Hate to see the other guy.'

'You would,' Quinn said sharply, not wanting to be reminded of last night.

Daryl didn't reply, kept on staring ahead of him and didn't even show a sign he heard them. Alex moved on to Carl, searching him as well. 'They deserve it?' He asked.

'Yes,' Carl spoke firmly.

'Just so you know, we aren't those kind of people but we aren't stupid either,' Gareth said. 'And 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. Okay.' He turned around and walked back to the table as Alex handed their weapons back to them.

Quinn took her knife from him with a small frown on her face but she didn't question him, instead put the knife back behind her belt.

'Follow me,' he finally said and turned around, heading towards a set of double doors. They followed him, watching as he opened them and stepped out unto a courtyard, the sunlight hitting their faces.

'So how long's this place been here?' Daryl asked the guy.

'Since almost the start,' Alex explained, 'when all the camps got overrun people started finding this place. I think it was instinct, you know? Follow a path. Some folks were heading to the coast, others out west or up north but they all wound up here.' He stopped walking when he reached what seemed to be a huge grill.

A woman with reddish hair stood behind it, keeping an eye on the meat that lay above the smoldering coals. 'Hi,' she said, 'heard you came in the back door. Smart. You'll fit right in here.'

'Hey Mary would you fix these new folks a plate for me?' Alex asked the elderly woman.

'Why do you do it?' Michonne asked before Mary could respond. 'Why do you let people in?'

Quinn watched his face as he responded, trying her hardest to catch a sign that he might be lying.

'The more people become a part of us, we get stronger. That's why we put up the signs, invite people in. It's how we survive.' He handed Carl a plate with some meat on it before taking another out of Mary's hand and holding it out for Michonne to take. But suddenly Rick walked forwards, hitting the plate out of his hands and taking the man into chokehold while holding his gun to his head.

Quinn opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing when she noticed he had taken something out of Alex his pocket.

It was a watch.

And not just any watch, one she used to see Glenn walk around with all the time. Her heart started beating faster in her chest. She watched Alex struggle against Rick his grip, her hand going to her knife, as the others took out there weapons as well.

'Where the hell did you get this watch?' Rick hissed.

Other people who had been walking around in the courtyard had reached for their weapons too, making Quinn take out her knife. The small weapon wasn't much against the guns some people had and suddenly she was glad she had trained herself into throwing them. Her eyes scanned the courtyard, narrowing when she noticed one guy wearing the same body armor they used to have in the prison. And a woman wearing a poncho she once saw Daryl with. This was stuff their friends might have taken when leaving the prison. Some of their friends could be alive and could be right here...

'Where the hell did you get this watch?' Rick repeated, more forceful this time.

'You want answers?' Alex replied with a trembling voice. 'You want anything else? You get 'em when you put down the gun.'

'I see your man on the roof with that sniper riffle,' Rick said. 'How good's his aim?' He asked, knowing someone with a bad aim could just as easily hit Alex. 'Where'd you get the watch?'

Quinn moved closer towards Daryl and Michonne, forming a small circle as they all faced the people on the courtyard with their weapons firmly in their hands. Her entire body was shaking as her thoughts were blurring together in her mind. What happened to their friends? To Milo? Were they here? Did they leave? Were they dead...

'Where'd you get the watch!' Rick shouted.

'Don't do anything!' Alex screamed to the man on the rooftop. 'I have this! You just put it down! You put it down!'

Quinn watched out of the corner of her eyes as she saw the man standing down but she knew he could retake his position within seconds.

'You want to listen to me,' Alex said, 'there's a lot of us.'

'Where did you get the watch?'

'I got it off of a dead one. I didn't think he'd need it,' Alex replied but without even looking at him Quinn could tell it was a lie.

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

'Got the riot gear off a dead cop,' another voice joined the conversation. 'Found the poncho on a clothesline.'

Quinn threw a glare over her shoulder to see Gareth had come walking outside, standing calmly as he faced Rick but she didn't believe a word he said. It was impossible that they found stuff that looked exactly the same as the stuff they used to have at the prison.

'Gareth we can wait,' Alex mumbled.

'Shut up, Alex,' this one replied.

'You talk to me,' Rick said, his voice calm but laced with poison, which sounded far more threatening than anger.

'What's there left to say?' Gareth asked. 'You don't trust us anymore.'

'Gareth-' Alex started but was cut off by Gareth yelling for him to shut up. 'Gareth please.'

'It's okay,' Gareth said, holding up his hand, 'it's okay. Rick what do you want?'

'Where are our people?' Rick questioned.

'You didn't answer the question,' Gareth noted and then closed his fist. Suddenly gunshots echoed from all over the courtyard, the guy on the roof had taken his riffle again and was now opening fire. She couldn't do anything with her knife against gunfire.

Rick screamed to get their attention leading them into an ally, running ahead but he was cut off by the sniper shooting into their direction.

'Come on!' Daryl shouted, taking them back to the courtyard as he ran along the wall to stay out of the sniper's sight but they were cut off once again, forced to take another ally. Stopping wasn't an option but it seemed like they were being forced into this direction on purpose and Quinn was afraid of where they'd end up.

Rick ran into a building and they quickly followed him into a large storage space but the door leading to freedom was closed by one of the Terminus people. Quinn stared at it with wide eyes, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

'Here!' Daryl yelled, gesturing for them to follow him towards another door on their left but as he tried to open it they noticed it was locked. They ran to the other side of the room, finding a door that led them into another small ally. Daryl ran ahead of them, his crossbow raised.

Quinn was right behind him, her knife tightly in her hands even though she knew there wasn't much she could do with it.

They ran through the ally, gunshots raining down on the street behind them and Quinn wondered why they didn't just shoot them, since they obviously could.

They were being kept alive for a reason.

Daryl ran towards a street that led to a gate but a sniper on the roof cut them off, forcing them to run into an ally on the right.

She felt as if they were being hunted and she hated the feeling. She wanted to get out of here, as fast as they could.

They ran passed a few shipping containers and her eyes widened upon hearing screams coming from inside as well as fists banging on the sides.

'What now?' Daryl screamed, taking her attention away from them.

'Keep moving!' Rick shouted back.

They didn't need to be told twice and ran to the end of the ally. Relief washed over her upon seeing the fence they had climbed over to enter this place, they were almost safe.

But all that relief disappeared in an instance when at least ten guys with guns appeared behind the fence, aiming right at them.

They were trapped.

Breathing heavily she stared at the men, putting her hand on her stomach to catch her breath she doubled over. Her body was still healing from last night and all the running only made her limbs hurt more. Adrenaline was flying through her veins, the only thing keeping her from collapsing completely.

'Drop your weapons! Now!' A male voice echoed over the courtyard.

Quinn turned around, her eyes falling on Gareth who stood on the roof with three more snipers surrounding him. All their weapons aimed at Quinn and her friends.

'Now!' He repeated.

Not having another choice they all placed their weapons on the ground in front of them.

'Ringleader,' Gareth shouted, looking at Rick, 'go to your left. The train car, go.'

Quinn turned to see a red train car standing on their left. It was big but still her hands started sweating by the thought of being locked in that dark space.

'You do what we say, the boy goes with you,' Gareth shouted when Rick wouldn't move. 'Anything else he dies and you end up in there anyway.'

Throwing one last look at Carl, Rick gave him a small, reassuring nod before heading over towards the train car, coming to a halt before the door.

'Now the archer,' Gareth ordered.

Quinn threw a look over her shoulder at Daryl, who had his eyes focused on the Terminus man, rage written all over his features but he did as he was told.

'Knife girl, go,' Gareth shouted.

A shiver went down her spine but she forced herself to take a deep breath before walking after Daryl towards the red train car. She came to a halt behind him in front of the door, her eyes going back to Michonne and Carl, the only ones still standing in the direct line of fire.

'Now the samurai,' Gareth's voice echoed over the courtyard.

With angry eyes Michonne looked at the man before walking up to them, standing behind Quinn in the line. She waited for the man to order Carl to go, but he didn't. Silence was the only thing to be heard.

'My son,' Rick shouted.

'Go kid,' Gareth finally spoke making Quinn release a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. 'Ringleader, open the door and go in!'

'I'll go in with him,' Rick responded.

'Don't make us kill him now!' Gareth shouted back.

Not having another choice, Rick walked up the stairs of the train car, pulling at the heavy door and pushing it open, a dark space awaiting them. Walking up the last few stairs he entered the train car, followed by Daryl. Quinn took a shaky breath before entering as well with Michonne right behind her. Finally Carl reached the train car too and Rick all but pulled him inside.

She watched as one of the Terminus people closed the door behind them. It was less dark than she thought it would be as light came through the cracks next to the door. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself, this was far less worse than being locked in the trunk of a car.

A thud echoed through the train car, making her frown and turn around. She wanted to step forwards but Daryl put his hand in front of her, narrowing against the darkness as they waited for whoever it was to step into the light.

'Rick?' An all too familiar voice questioned.

Her eyes widened and it felt like her heart would explode when the beam of sunlight showed Glenn's face. Dirty and bruised but alive. Other people came walking up behind him, Maggie, Sasha, Bob and...

Pushing Daryl's arm away she rushed forwards, launching herself at her brother, putting her arms around his neck as she embraced him. He stumbled on his feet, a small chuckle escaping his lips before embracing her as well.

'Hey Angelina,' he whispered.

She could only laugh as a response.

'You're here,' Rick's voice echoed through the train car. That made Quinn let go of her brother and take a step back, looking at their leader. The silent question hung in the air as everyone waited for him to answer it. What were they gonna do now?

'You're here,' Rick said again, as if having to reassure himself it was real.

Only then Quinn noticed four other people in the back. A tall ginger man, a pretty girl with a hat, another tall man with a mullet and a small girl who seemed strangely familiar to her. She just couldn't place her finger on it.

'They're our friends,' Milo said, noticing her glare and his words were enough for Quinn. If her brother trusted these people than so could she.

'They helped save us,' Maggie added.

'Yeah,' Daryl spoke up from behind her, making Quinn turn to look at him. 'Now they're friends of ours.'

'For however long that'll be,' the tall ginger man spoke up.

'No,' Rick said sharply, making her frown. 'They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out.' Walking over towards the door he narrowed through the cracks, looking outside, his words hanging in the air.

'Find out what?' The same man who spoke earlier questioned, voicing what they'd all been thinking.

Rick turned back to them, his blue eyes shining with a fiery determination. And his words awoke a raging fire inside of her.

'They're fucking with the wrong people.'