XXII. as long as I have you

Mia was on edge as she followed Alex out the building. She was waiting for something to happen. The way they kept referring to it as a sanctuary weirded her out. Something that seemed so perfect was bound to have a flaw somewhere. "So how long's this place been here?" Daryl spoke.

"Since almost the start," Alex answered. "When all the camps for overrun, people started finding this place. I think it was instinct, you know?"

Her eyes widened when she saw an outdoor area that looked to have a garden. There were tables with umbrella over them and a grill where a woman was standing. It put her on the edge even more.

"Hi," the woman greeted them with a smile. "Heard you came in the back door. Smart. You'll fit right in here."

Mia found herself standing closer to Carl as she listened to her talk. It was so strange. She was grilling what looked like meat.

"Hey, Mary, would you fix each of these new folks a plate for me?" Alex asked.

"Why do you do it?" Michonne voiced, just as suspicious as them. "Why do you let people in?"

"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 white plate with meat on it. Then he handed one to Mia and she cautiously took it, but she only stared at it. She let out a gasp and dropped the plate when Rick smacked one of his hand and pointed his gun to the side of his head. Mia took out her weapon and held it up.

Rick took a pocket watch out of Alex's pocket. "Where the hell did you get this watch?" He said roughly.

Mia pointed her gun to the people watching them. Rick repeated his question. Alex shook in fear in his hold. "You want answers? You want anything else?  You get 'em when you out down the gun."

"I see your man on the roof with a sniper rifle," Rick informed and turned them in the direction of the man that stood on top of the roof. "How good's him aim?  Where'd you get the watch?"

Mia slowly moved the gun around, keeping her eyes wide and clear for any sign of trouble. Daryl moved closer to her with his bow raised.

He repeated the question again, louder and rougher.

"Don't do anything!" Alex shouted at the man with the rifle. "I have this! You just put it down. You put it down!"

The man obliged and slowly put the rifle down.

"You want to listen to me. There's a lot of us."

But Rick wasn't backing down. "Where did you get the watch?" He repeated the question in a threatening manor.

"I got it off of a dead one." Alex finally said with his shaky hands raised. "I didn't think he'd need it."

He jerked him in the direction of the others. "What about the riot gear? The poncho?"

"Got the riot gear off a dead cop. Found the poncho on a clothesline."

Mia swiftly turned to the side and pointed her gun at Gareth. Daryl gave her a stern glare, telling her with his eyes to watch around her.

"Gareth, we can wait—"

"Shut up, Alex." Gareth retaliated.

"You talk to me." Rick ordered the man, threatening him again.

Gareth remainder eerily calm. It almost gave Mia chills. "What's there left to say? You don't trust us anymore."

"Gareth—"

"Shut up!"

"Gareth, please." Alex begged again.

"It's okay. It's okay,"  Gareth assured him and slowly held up his hand. He looked back at Rick. "Rick, what do you want?"

He stared at the man with cold eyes. "Where are our people?"

"You didn't answer the question."

Before Mia could blink, Rick threw Alex to the ground and gunfire started to go off. She immediately pulled the trigger of her gun even though it didn't hit anyone.  Her eyes widened in complete shock.

"Mia!" Carl shouted to her over the gunfire at same time Rick shouted his name. He grabbed her hand and dragged her backwards with him.

The group began to ran and more gunshots were fired their way. Mia covered her head with her hand.  Adrenaline coursed in her blood. They ran across the courtyard and the gunshots followed them. Rick urged them to run the other way out of the courtyard.

The garage door closed when they were a foot away.  Mia looked all around her in a panic. They were able to exit through one of the doors and they found themselves outside again. Mia ran as fast as she could with the gunshots following behind her.

A small scream escaped her when a bullet grazed by her and hit the concrete. Michonne immediately pulled her away and they continued to run until they passed by abandoned train cars.

"Let us out!" Was shouted from inside the train car and Mia slowed down, her eyes narrowing. "Help!"

"Mia, keep going!" Shouted Rick.

The young girl snapped out of it and she scurried to follow them inside one of the building. She followed behind Carl and Michonne led them into a room, the first thing catching her eye being hundreds of hit candles all over the room, along with names written on the floor and the walls.

"The hell is this place?" Daryl uttered, voicing all of their thoughts.

"These people, I don't think they're trying to kill us." Michonne pointed out through heavy breathing. 

"No, they were aiming at our feet," Rick explained. He pointed across the room to a door that was cracked open. "There!"

They rushed towards the door only to have someone close and seal it shut. Another rush of panic invaded Mia's chest and she glanced back at Carl with wide eyes. He sent her the same wide eyed expression.

His father quickly ordered them to run to the other door. They managed to slip through with ease and it led them back outside to more gunfire. 

Give us a break, Mia thought to herself and followed behind Michonne as they ran through the yard to where the fences were. She paused, along with the others, when she saw a group of the Terminus people standing on the other side of the fence with rifles.  They were cornered. They had no where to go and Mia felt completely trapped.

"Drop your weapons! Now!" Gareth ordered from on top of the building.

None of them moved. A string of shaky breaths fell from Mia's lips and she clutched the gun tightly in her hand like her life depended on it. 

"NOW!"

Together, the group dropped their weapons onto the ground and Mia felt a piece of her leave when she let go of the firearm. "Ringleader,  go to your left." Gareth ordered Rick. "The train car, go."

When Rick didn't move, he shouted again. "You do what we say, the boy goes with you. Anything else, he dies and you end up in there anyway."

At the threat, Mia immediately looked at Carl and he shook his head at her, mouthing an it's okay. He looked at his father and the seemed to be having a conversation in their minds. A father and son connection. Rick understood Carl's expression and did what Gareth said and moved to the train cart.

"Now the archer," Gareth continued, talking to Daryl.

The archer stared at him coldly but he didn't retaliate.  He walked over to where Rick stood.

"Now the samurai."

Michonne full glared at him and followed Daryl. It felt the teenagers still standing and Mia was absolutely panicking. She kept her eyes on the blue eyed boy, her heart thudding in her chest. 

"Stand at the door. Rringleader, archer, samurai, in that order."

The three adults stood in the demanded order and Rick looked at the remaining kids that were standing alone. "My kids!"

Gareth looked at Carl and Mia. "Go, you two."

Carl instantly grabbed her hand. The two of them walked to the train car. He could hear her heart pounding. "It's okay, Mia. It's okay." He whispered to her while keeping his eyes forward. He squeezed her hand. "It's okay."

"Ringleader, open the door and go in!" Gareth ordered again.

"I'll go in with them." Rick snapped.

"Don't make us kill them now!"

His cold stare shifted to his son and then to Mi. Their hands were clutched together. He not only had to worry about possibly losing one kid, but both of them.  Mia wasn't his daughter but she was his family. He wouldn't lose them both. He entered the train car first,  then Daryl, then Michonne. Finally, Carl and Mia entered the car and Rick immediately pulled them into him. 

She gripped one of his arms with a shaky hand and the door to the train car closed, leaving them in complete darkness. She felt like that scared little girl she was when Lucas was still alive. She trailed behind him like a scared animal because she was afraid to face what was in front of them. She put all of the burden of living on him and they both paid for it in the end.

She was tired of being afraid.

Mia heard faint thudding in the train car and she squeezed Rick's arm again. It was a large train car but it was completely dark. She froze with terror when she saw a shadowy figure appear from the darkness but she almost collapsed when she saw that the figure was Glenn. "Rick?" He uttered.

Then Maggie appeared, and Sasha, and Bob. "Maggie?" Said Mia, her eyes immediately filling with tears.

Maggie let out a shaky breath. "Mia."

She let go of Rick and dashed to her. Maggie immediately brought her into her arms. Mia hid her face in her chest and squeezed her waist like she was afraid that she would disappear. "You're alive," she uttered with a crack in her voice. "You're alive."

"I'm here. I'm here." Maggie said with a quick nod and put her hand on the back of her head.

She felt another hand touch her back and she looked over to see it was Glenn. She took one of hands off of Maggie's waist and wrapped it around his, pulling him close as well. She longed to feel their touch again. It felt so foreign. She felt like she was hugging ghosts.  She spent so many nights in despair, coming to the conclusion that she would never see them again.

But they were here. They were real.

"You're here. You're here." Rick voiced.

Glenn pulled away from them but Mia stayed in Maggie's grasp. She turned her head and saw a group of people she didn't recognize come out of the darkness. Two pretty woman, a large man with red hair, and another man with a mullet.

"They're our friends," Maggie told them. "They helped save us."

"Yeah. Now they're friends of ours." Daryl declared with a curt nod.

"For however long that'll be." The red haired man voiced, a husky accent emphasizing.

"No," Rick shook his head. His expression was completely dark and cold. "They're going to feel pretty stupid when they find out."

"Find out what?" The same red haired man asked while taking a step forward.

They stared at their leader with anticipation. Rick stared out the crack in the car door. "They're fucking with the wrong people."

Chills ran up and down Mia's spine at his words and she hugged Maggie tighter. She turned her head slightly so that she find Carl's eye. They stared at each other with silence. Water blue eyes mixed with whiskey brown. Whatever was to happen in the next minute or so, they would be okay because they had each other and that was enough for now.