THE REASON

chapter six : déjà vu
[ season five – episode three ]

   "AND DRAW TWO cards!" Reina smirked triumphantly as she slammed down the red Uno card onto the pile. "Suck on that, Carl."

"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes, laughing slightly as he examined his own Uno cards in his hands. He had only three left and was in the lead. He grabbed two cards from the pile beside the other pile and sneakily tried to take a peak at them.

Although, he was immediately stopped when the woman opposite him swatted his hand. "No cheating, Grimes," Kloe chuckled, playfully glaring across at the teen.

"Oh, and you totally haven't cheated at all this round, Klo," Isabelle, who was opposite Reina, shook her head with a wide, cheeky smile. Kloe squinted her eyes and then flicked the Marshel girl's cheek with her finger. "Ouch!"

"Yeah, I don't cheat, Isa," Kloe laughed, looking back down at the set of cards in her grip. She was definitely gonna lose the game. "I sure as hell suck at this game though."

"Exactly when was the last time you played Uno, Klo?" Zayn wondered, who was sitting on the pew closest to them as he watched the four.

Rick, Tyreese and his sister, Sasha, all went out not so long before searching for the three missing members of the group — Daryl, Bob and Carol.

The Uno players were sitting in the corner of the church, a few candles lit beside them for light.

Glenn, who was standing beside a window keeping an eye out, snapped his head over to the four and his brother-in-law. Kloe pursed her lips for a moment as she thought about the answer for her brother's question.

"Jesus, must've been a while ago, huh?" Reina snickered while Isabelle pondered on what card she should use. "I played a few months ago with my niece."

"The last time I played Uno... uh... was in fact around ten years ago—"

"What the f—" Reina cut herself off as Gabriel peered over his shoulder. "What the flip! Ten years? Are you kidding me?"

"The last time you, Kloe Rhee, played one of the best card games — was when you were thirteen?" Carl said, unconvinced.

"Well, fourteen, but sure, thirteen works," Kloe nodded as she watched Isabelle set down a regular card. "Don't ask why I didn't, because I sure as hell don't know the answer to it."

"We're so playing another round of this," Carl mumbled, Kloe placing down a blue version of the card Isabelle had just put down. "I miss playing these kinds of games."

Reina slammed down a card, saying the word Uno before she did. "I'm so gonna win this shi— crap. I mean, it's the easiest game in the world. I'm the freaking master of Uno."

"Don't get ahead of yourself just yet, Salazar," Kloe wiggled her brows. "Who knows? Perhaps Carl over here picked up two cards that'll make him win."

"Well, I'm certainly not winning this. I still have twelve cards left from you stacking all those draw two's and draw four's cards," Isabelle rolled her eyes, pointing to the side at the teenage boy.

"Hey, whoever wins this gets to hold Judith and play with her for fifteen whole minutes," Reina started, sharing a glance with the other three. "And the loser has to change her diaper in the morning."

"Oh God, not in the mornings," Kloe grimaced, scrunching up her face as she leaned back.

As the four continued to play the card game, Zayn exhaled heavily, his eyes lingering over his youngest sister across the room. She was resting on Maggie's shoulder, having not slept at all the previous night.

Isabelle had offered her to join in on the game of Uno after they had finished the game they were currently doing — but she turned them down and said she needed to catch up on some rest.

His eyes then transferred over to his brother-in-law. He pursed his lips as he decided to go and talk to him. They still talked pretty much everyday, but it felt like they hadn't had the talks like they usually did.

He stood up from the wooden pew and stepped over to Glenn, who looked up at him. "Hey," Glenn greeted, flashing the man a small smile. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just worried about the others," Zayn responded honestly, turning his gaze to the window. "They couldn't have just disappeared like that without telling us."

"I'm sure they're fine. They're all strong — every single one of them," Glenn assured, not only his brother-in-law, but himself too.

The pair stayed quiet for a moment as they both stared out of the window, examining the dark area. Sometimes he wondered what would've happened if the apocalypse had never started.

He would've never met the people he was with at that moment. He probably wouldn't have been as close with his sister. Maybe he wouldn't have even known if he had another sister. Would he still be delivering pizzas like the man beside him was.

Then something clicked in his brain. Would his best friend and his sister ever have met? Would they even be together? Would they ever have been married?

"You know..." Zayn began, catching Glenn's attention as he looked up at the taller man, "I've just realized something. Kloe has a wedding ring, but you don't."

"Yeah," Glenn nodded, absentmindedly glancing down at his own finger. "When I got Kloe's ring, I didn't plan on getting myself one."

"Well, I think I have something just for that." He lifted his hand and set his eyes on the golden ring that was wrapped around his middle finger. It was the ring he rarely ever took off since his father had given it to him.

"Our dad gave this to me a few days before he left... the week before he died," he started as he slid the ring off his finger. "It's a family heirloom. Has been going on for around three centuries. It's extremely special to the Schmidt family and only goes to the eldest son."

"What if you don't have a son?" Glenn found himself asking, shifting the weight onto his other leg. "What if you only have a daughter?"

"Then... you wait until there's another male in the family," he shrugged. "There's nothing interesting about it. It's just a piece of gold that's a few hundred years old. My dad never told me the reason behind any of it, and now I'll never know."

Zayn stared down at the ring sitting in his palm one last time before offering it to his brother-in-law. "Take it. You're a part of this family now. It can be your wedding ring."

"Woah, are you sure? You say this thing's super special... Are you sure you want me to have it? It's yours," Glenn rambled, his eyes glued on the ring of gold.

"Glenn, trust me. I want you to have it," he gestured toward the item in his palm once again. "And one day, if you ever have a kid, you can give it to them. Boy or girl. It doesn't matter."

The Rhee man's eyes somewhat widened and was taken aback. "What if you have kids?"

Zayn squinted his eyes toward the man. "I want the ring to stay with the bloodline, Glenn. I know it's super weird about how much I care about a singular ring. But it's the only thing I have left of my father, and I trust you with my life to have it."

Glenn stayed silent for a moment or two, staring down at the ring that waited to be grabbed. To be worn. "Wh— what if I don't have... kids."

Zayn couldn't help but silently chuckle. "Bullshit, man."

As Zayn went to continue, he was stopped when the main entrance to the church swung open, a wave of wind hitting him and Glenn. The chatters from the ones playing Uno stopped their chatter and glanced up.

Sasha Williams harshly stepped forward, stopping in front of Gabriel. Kloe had lost all attention to the card game and was now focused on what was going on — a more serious matter.

"Stop," was the first thing Sasha said to the man. Rick and Tyreese were close behind the woman, and Kloe didn't hesitate to set down her small set of cards and stand up.

She shared a look with her brother and husband at the back of the room before turning back to the others. "What are you doing?" Sasha asked the man, and if looks could kill, Gabriel would be more than dead. "What are you doing?" she repeated, seething. "This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now three of us are gone."

Gabriel looked around the room nervously, somewhat confused with the Williams woman. "I—" he stuttered, unsure on what to reply with. "I don't— I don't have anything to do with this," he defended, furrowing his brows. Not taking it as an answer, Sasha pulled out her knife from her sheath. Gabriel instantly stepped back with panic. "Wait!"

"Don't!" Rosita yelled from the side of the room, not thinking twice to step forward to stop Sasha. She was restrained from going any further when her boyfriend, Abraham, wrapped his arms around her waist.

Everyone in the room who was sitting down instantaneously rose to their feet. "Sasha, put it away," Tyreese ordered his younger sister.

Sasha ignored her brother and slowly walked forward nonetheless. "Who's out there?"

Gabriel continuously stepped back as Sasha approached him, his hands raised. "I— I don't have anything to do with this."

"Where are our people?" Sasha growled, staring straight into the man's eyes. Her face was merely an inch or two away from his.

"I don't have anything to—"

"Where are our people?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Kloe to wince from the loud noise.

"Please," Gabriel said in a low tone, staying calm, "I don't have anything to do with this. I—" he cut himself off when tears began to well up in the woman's eyes. Rick grasped onto the woman's wrist and pulled her back away from the man.

Now it was Rick's turn to speak. He stood a meter in front of the Stokes man, an intimidating look in his eyes. "Why'd you bring us here?"

Gabriel parted his lips to speak, but nothing came out as he searched for the words he had to say to defend himself. "Please, I— I—"

"You working with someone?" Rick questioned, tilting his head to the side as he examined the man's face — looking for a particular expression to catch him.

"I'm alone. I'm alone," he repetitively stated, looking across at everyone in the room. "I was always alone."

"What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel?" Rick inquired, jabbing his finger at the man. "What did you do to her?" There was silence as everyone stared at the man, the ones that weren't at the food bank frowning deeply. "You'll burn for this. That was for you. Why?"

Kloe sucked in a deep breath, remembering the words she and the Grimes' read on the wall outside the church.

"What did you burn for, Gabriel?" he asked once more before clenching his jaw and lunging forward, wrapping his finger's around the man's collar. "What? What did you do?" he spat. "What did you do?!"

He let go of the man as Gabriel parted his lips, his body trembling from fear. His bottom lip quivered as he began to speak. "I lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always..." he stopped, glancing down at the ground as his face scrunched up, tears forming in his eyes.

He took a few deep breaths and pulled himself together before making eye contact with the intimidating man in front of him. "They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were— they were looking for a safe place, a place where they felt safe. And it was so early. It was so early. And the doors were still locked. You see... it was my choice."

Kloe glanced down at the ground with sympathy and pity. She bit down onto her bottom lip before turning back to face the man who was fighting to keep his tears in his eyes.

"There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me. And so the dead came for them. Women... children..." he stopped for a moment, feeling nothing but shame for himself as he broke his eyes away from Carl and Judith. "Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy. Begging me for mercy," he sobbed, holding his hands together against his chest as he leaned forward, tears now streaming down his cheeks. "Damning me to hell," he sniffed. "I buried their bones. I buried it all. The Lord sent you here to finally punish me."

The man crashed down onto his knees, feeling far too weak to stand as he started to cry his heart out silently. He then lifted his gaze up to the Grimes man. "I'm damned. I was damned before. I always lock the doors. I always lock the doors," he cried.

As the man sobbed, footsteps behind them made them turn around. It was Glenn — striding over to the window after hearing something outside. "There's something..." he paused, squinting his eyes to make out what he could see. "There's someone outside lying in the grass."

Sasha didn't hesitate to rush over to the door, Kloe directly behind her. Everyone followed suit as Sasha pulled open the doors with force, immediately gasping when she recognized the figure on the grass.

"Bob!" she screamed, hurrying down the steps and into the darkness where she saw her boyfriend unconscious. "Bob."

Kloe froze in place when her eyes caught onto the man's leg. It was missing. Glenn stopped beside his wife, his own eyes widening at the sight as Sasha crouched down beside him.

In unison, their heads shot up to the sound of walker snarls. Kloe whipped out her knife from her belt as she glared at the dead people walking. "Get Bob inside," Glenn told them. "We'll take care of 'em."

The two walkers that approached the married couple were the first ones they went after. Glenn flipped his gun around, bashing the butt of his gun across the walker's face, making it fall to the ground.

Kloe gripped on tightly to the other walker's shoulder, driving the blade of her knife through its chin and through its skull. Reina kicked another walker with the sole of her foot and stomped it directly on the walker's face once it reached the ground.

As more walkers approached the church, Rick had no choice but to pull out his gun and shoot them down. "Get inside!" he instructed as he killed more and more walkers.

...

Mostly everyone sat around in the middle of the church as they waited for the man to wake up — and the moment he did, he was petrified. Sasha managed to calm the man down and tell them all what had happened.

Kloe stood by the window that Glenn was previously looking out of beforehand, keeping watch in case Daryl or Carol returned the same way Bob did.

"I was in a graveyard," he breathed heavily, resting his elbows on the ground as he lifted himself up. "Somebody knocked me out. I woke up outside this place," he panted, sealing his eyes shut to try and subside the pain from his leg. Sasha rubbed his hand comfortingly as she held it. "It looked like a school."

Kloe swallowed thickly as she went to join the rest of the group, stopping beside Isabelle. She folded her arms over her chest as she watched the man with sympathy.

"It was that guy, Gareth," he said. Kloe felt her eyes broaden and her heart fall into the pit of her stomach. She was right. All that time, she was right. The threat wasn't enough. "And five other ones. They were eating my leg right in front of me. Like it was nothing. All proud like they had it all figured out."

Kloe's heart race began to pick up as she turned her back to the group, running her hand through her hair worriedly.

"Did they have Daryl and Carol?" Rick queried in a soft tone.

"Gareth said they drove off," he answered, causing everyone to look at one another. He groaned as he tried to sit himself up, in pain.

"He's in pain," Sasha said, turning to Rosita. "Do we have anything?"

"I think there are pill packets in the first aid kit," she replied. Sasha nodded her head, making Rosita push herself off the pew she was leaning against.

"Save 'em," Bob stopped her.

"No," Sasha said, carefully squeezing her boyfriend's hand.

"Really," he said in a higher tone. Kloe peered over her shoulder, her eyes setting on the man skeptically. He set himself up with all the strength he had to offer and pulled away the fabric of his shirt from his shoulder.

Kloe had a large wave of déjà vu. This exact moment reminded her of the night Vickie revealed her bite mark. Her eyes widened when she noticed the rather large bite on Bob's shoulder.

"It happened at the food bank," he told Sasha, who stared at the bite mark with tear-filled eyes. Her bottom lip started to tremble and slowly nodded.

His arms gave way and his back fell down onto the ground. Before his head could hit the ground though, Sasha caught it and carefully set him down on the ground.

"Kloe," he said shakily. She looked down at him as he looked up at her. "They— they said they did this to show you that they're not afraid. They know you're here, and they want you more than just dead. They were the ones watching us."

He groaned even louder than last time, flopping his head back and sealing his eyes shut with nothing but suffering.

Glenn lifted his chin and faced his wife, and he saw in her eyes the mixture of emotions she held. Sadness, weakness, rage and guilt. He stood up and walked over to her, setting his hand down on her shoulder.

"There's a sofa in my office," Gabriel spoke up, catching Sasha's attention. "I know it's not much, but..."

Sasha nodded, "Thank you."

"I got him," Tyreese whispered, standing up to his feet as he stretched out his arms, ready to lift the man on the ground.

Kloe patted her husband's hand on her shoulder, sending him a small smile before walking over to Gabriel. Rick watched as the woman approached the man and opted to see what she had to say.

Gabriel gulped as the woman stopped in front of him. "D'you know the school Bob was talking about?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

He nodded as Rick discontinued walking beside the Rhee woman. "It's an elementary school," he answered specifically. "It's close."

"How close?" Rick chimed in.

Gabriel stayed silent, his eyes dancing between Rick and Kloe. The woman sighed heavily, not wanting to waste any more time than they already have. "How close is it, Gabriel?"

The man exhaled. "It's just a ten-minute walk through the woods from here, due south of the graveyard."

Kloe instantly spun on her heel, her eyes landing on her bow and quiver on one of the pews. But she was refrained from going any further when Rick gripped onto her arm.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, searching her eyes.

She stared at his eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths to settle her rage. "I told him to stay away, Rick. I made sure he listened to me," she hissed. Glenn stood beside Kloe, his brows furrowed as to why she looked so angry. "I said to him that if he even thinks about following any of us, I'd kill him myself. I said it with no remorse, Rick. I didn't even feel bad for hurting him. I thought that, you know, perhaps he took that as a sign not to mess with us. We're all capable of anything. But no, me pushing my own limits with what I do to people wasn't enough."

"We'll find him," Rick assured, giving her a single nod.

"I know that," she replied. "I know we'll find him, Rick. But my point is that the last thing I said to him was something I am not capable of. I can't kill people, Rick—"

She stopped herself from talking when she saw Maggie and a few others walk over to them. She pulled her arm out of Rick's grip and looked down at the ground.

Glenn kept his eyes trained on the side of her face with a concerned gaze. He knew that everything happening was too much for her to handle, especially while grieving a loved one.

He intertwined his fingers with hers, catching her attention. She shot her head up and met Glenn's eyes. Even just looking at him made her nerves ease up.

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words: 3553
1st may 2023
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I LOVE SEASON 5 SO MUCH!
also i loved writing a wholesome moment w klo, isa, reina n carl playing uno LMFAOAO