WHITE FLAG : ̗̀➛ THE FINALE

chapter sixty-three : terminus
[ season four - episode fifteen & sixteen ]

THE TERMINUS SIGN they all currently stared at was at least the tenth one they'd seen that day. After leaving the small bungalow the day before, they only rested up the previous night for a few hours.

"We're close," Carol stated as she watched the looks on the three other adults' faces. Sure, they were definitely exhausted, but they were also determined.

Judith lay asleep in the arms of Kloe Rhee, her small head resting peacefully on her shoulder. "We're gonna get there. All of us," Kloe reminded in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake the baby.

"I'm gonna make sure you all get there. That you're all safe," Carol added, causing Kloe to turn her head to the side to face her while Tyreese and Reina inspected the sign. "But I'm not gonna stay."

In unison, the pair examining the sign twisted their necks to face Carol. Kloe's eyes furrowed deeply, while Tyreese kept a neutral expression. "What do you mean?" Kloe asked as they continued to walk.

"I mean, once everyone reunites with each other, I'll be leaving to fend for myself," Carol elaborated. "Rick kicked me out of the prison for a reason--"

A walker snarled as it made an appearance behind the small group. "Carol, you can't," Kloe whisper-shouted. "You can't leave."

The gray haired woman ignored the younger woman, strutting forward with her knife in her grip. Within an instant, Carol grunted as she drove the knife into the walker's brain, sending them both to the floor.

The woman sat on the ground to catch her breath for a moment or two, that was until Kloe heard something very familiar to their right. "Shit," she muttered as Carol turned her head, her eyes widening as she stared right ahead at an upcoming herd.

"More," Carol mouthed to the three.

Simultaneously, they all spun around and hurriedly rushed off the tracks. "Behind the tree," Reina whispered, to which they all followed her and crouched down behind a trunk.

They all breathed heavily as they watched the large number of walkers stumble onto the tracks, treading over where they just were.

Kloe felt her heart rise into her throat when her ears caught onto gunshots in the distance. She snapped her head over to the younger woman beside her and they both shared a knowing glance.

They had to get there. Because there were four possibilities on what was going on in Terminus.

Number one, a herd of walkers could be attacking and so they had to shoot them all down. Number two, the small group that approached her and Reina a few days prior had gotten to the place before they could. Number three, Terminus ended up being not as expected so their group decided to take them out before they could. Or number four, which is the exact opposite of number three -- Terminus attacked their group.

Kloe had a gut-wrenching feeling that number four was the correct answer. Reina was right on the realistic side -- about how it seemed too good to be true.

After a long five minutes of waiting for the herd to stumble away, the small group hurried back to the tracks again. Although instead of walking in the direction the walkers went (the way to Terminus), they went the opposite way.

Correction, Carol went the opposite way.

"That gunfire," Tyreese began as he cautiously checked their surroundings, "it could've been from Terminus."

"It most likely was from Terminus," Kloe commented, pursing her lips as she made a decision in her head.

"Someone was attacking them," Carol pointed out.

"Or they were attacking someone," Reina added, which was the part that Kloe chose to believe.

"Do y'all even wanna find out?" Tyreese wondered, sharing a glance with everyone in the small group.

"Yeah."

They all came to a stop, all staring at each other as they all decided to make a decision -- except, Kloe Rhee and Reina Salazar already had. "Look," Kloe started as she offered the baby to Tyreese, who took her, "me and Reina will head through the woods in the direction the walkers went in. It's a quicker route. We know it's not as safe as going on another track due east, but if they were attacking someone, it's possibly our group.

You guys should stick to the tracks, alright? Reina and I will be fine. We've managed so far. But I want you to do one thing. Don't go into Terminus unless you really have to. We'll go see what's going on, and if things are good then I'll come back for you guys in about an hour. If we don't, then you know something's wrong."

"You sure? What if the walkers turn around?" Tyreese inquired, concerned for the woman's life.

"They won't," Reina chimed in. "We can sneak around them."

...

It only took the two women thirty minutes to reach the fence that protected the place they had been trying to get to for pretty much the last week. Kloe couldn't believe that she was actually standing in front of it.

She took in all the features about it -- how fortified it was, how neat, how organized. But she just knew it was all an act.

The gunshots definitely came from Terminus, that's a fact. But yet everyone was walking around as if nothing had happened. She squinted her eyes as she eyed the people that walked around, spoke together and generally had a nice time.

"It looks...safe," Reina murmured as they hid amidst bushes and branches.

"Yeah, it does. But we both know that it isn't. This far living into an apocalypse, you would've seen the bad people. You wouldn't just willingly invite them into your home unless you got something twisted going on," Kloe explained under her breath, her eyes still narrow.

"Look at that woman over there." Reina raised her index finger and pointed at the mentioned woman. "You said you do archery, right? Look at that cool bow."

Now, Kloe's eyes were more squinted than ever. Yet, her face scrunched up as she started to notice its features. Instantaneously, Kloe unzipped the backpack on Reina's back and grabbed onto the binoculars.

She lifted them to her eyes and twisted them to focus on the woman. She stared at the weapon that was wrapped around her shoulder, and she immediately felt her eyes broaden as she unhurriedly brought the binoculars away from her face.

"That is my bow."

"What? How?" Reina questioned, puzzled.

"I have no idea..." Kloe trailed off, trying to think of how exactly her bow managed to leave the one prison cell and got itself into Terminus on some random woman's shoulder. "But it is. It has a little dent at the top where I stepped on it once in the dark."

"We have to sneak in, right? There's only one way it managed to wound up here and it means that some or all of your group are here," Reina countered as Kloe placed the binoculars back in the bag.

"Right," she confirmed, pushing herself forward. She stayed crouched down as they walked along the fence -- except they were cut short when Kloe stepped on something.

It was a duffle bag that was somewhat buried beneath the dirt. Kloe frowned as she extended out her hand, pulling it away from the dirt and dried leaves as she carefully unzipped it.

Her eyes widened as she examined all the weapons that were inside. There were machine guns, rifles, shotguns etc. More or less everything. "Holy shit..." she muttered as she wrapped her fingers around an assault rifle.

The Salazar woman bent down, her own jaw agape as she grasped onto a shotgun. "No way."

"They have to be here. They all have to be here. This is a very Rick Grimes thing to do," Kloe stated as she filled the gun with ammo.

"Hey, look," Reina told her, pointing again at something else. "There's a little opening."

Kloe sighed heavily, stepping over to the cut open fence. It was only a little bit far from the duffle bag that Reina hastily reburied before following the woman. But from the pace they were going, it didn't take too long to reach it.

The Rhee woman came to a stop, tracing her hand over the rough ends of the chain link fence where it was cut open with pliers. "We have to plan this... If they were here, which we both know they are, then the guns would've been gone by now," Kloe said, scratching the side of her face nervously. "Rick-- anyone in our group wouldn't hesitate to get the guns back before someone else does."

"I don't mean to ruin the moment, Kloe--" Reina began, biting down onto her bottom lip as the woman glanced up at her, "but... what if he left them out for you?"

"Exactly," Kloe stated in an obvious tone. "He left them out for me so that I know something's wrong. If everything was okay, he'd come get 'em before I arrive so then I know it's good to go. But he hasn't -- they're all here, abandoned."

"What if we're overthinking this whole thing?" Reina rambled to herself as Kloe lowered herself down more to squeeze through the fence.

"Reina. That's my bow over there. And now that I'm looking, that's Maggie's goddamn poncho," Kloe countered, her voice low and harsh as she glared at the two people. "Our plan is to get our people out, get our shit, and get the fuck out."

Reina couldn't help but slightly smile when Kloe said the words 'our people'. It made Reina feel like they were her group too, which is exactly what Kloe wanted for her.

"Maybe we should thank them," Reina joked. "Give them cupcakes for keeping your beloved bow in good hands. Also-- did I mention I love sarcasm? It's like punching someone in the balls with words..."

"That's... actually agreeable," Kloe nodded, waiting patiently for the right time to sneak into the grounds of Terminus -- a place that was just how Woodbury seemed.

It looked welcoming -- like anyone from anywhere were allowed to waltz in and have a good life under protection. Where as in reality, it was only one big show and was nothing but a nightmare and torture.

"Though, I don't exactly wanna punch them in the balls with words. That's too boring. Physicality is a lot better."

"You're totally one-hundred percent right on that, but, y'know, words are sometimes better when you're just dealing with a cocky dick. No pun intended," Reina continued.

"Okay, look, no more time for chatter. We gotta do this right now because no one is currently looking..." Kloe whisper-shouted, ushering the smaller woman to go through first.

Reina sent the woman a single nod before squeezing through the small entrance, keeping her gun high as she aimed ahead of her. There was currently no one in sight, which was coincidentally great for the two women.

After the Salazar woman, Kloe followed her actions. She narrowed her eyes through the aim sight of her assault rifle. She raised her hand and signaled over to the closest building, which was completely made out of red brick.

"If they are here, then everyone's gonna be on look-out," Kloe reminded in a hushed tone as the pair quietly and hastily sprinted over to the wall.

"Don't move."

Kloe and Reina both felt their hearts drop into the pits of their stomachs. There was absolutely no way that they had been spotted within just a second.

"Put down your weapons and turn to face me," a masculine voice ordered the two women who kept a firm hold of their weapons. "We have hidden men in places neither of you can see, and it only takes me one confirmation through this walkie for them to blow your brains out."

Reina discreetly lifted her gaze to the woman beside her, who instantly caught her eyes. "I'll let them take me, and you run," she mouthed before spinning her body around, dropping her shotgun onto the ground. "Ah, crap. You caught us, dude-- hold up, damn. You're a lot shorter than what I imagined you to be."

"Stop talking, jokester," the man with dirty blonde hair snarled, glaring across at the woman who only smirked. Reina knew she wasn't gonna get hurt because she knew Kloe wouldn't let that happen. And even if they were both to get taken, Carol was most likely on her way at that point anyway.

Kloe finally turned around, sending the man a death glare with not even a hint of remorse in her eyes as she aimed the gun right at the guy's forehead. "Where are they?"

"Woah, woah -- remember what I just said. I have a bunch of men on you right now--"

"And you won't be able to give them a confirmation if there's a bullet in your hollow head of yours," Kloe finished through gritted teeth. "Now tell me where they are before I pull it."

The man forced out a laugh, "Not if there's someone directly behind you right now with an arrow a few centimeters away from your head."

Kloe's expression fell as she twisted her head to the side, catching a glimpse of the woman she had spotted earlier. The woman who had her bow. Kloe scoffed, "Mind telling me why this rando has my bow?"

"This isn't your bow, asshole," the woman growled, pulling the bow string back further. "I don't see your name on it anywhere."

Now it was Kloe's time to laugh. "Look on the side, dipshit. See the initials there? K.S?" Kloe listened carefully as she waited for the woman to inspect the area where the Rhee woman had engraved her initials into the wood when she was a teenager. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"So you're an archeress..." the man started, fascinated with the information he had just learnt. "Not only do we have an archer with a crossbow, we have a stubborn young archeress with a bow too!"

Upon hearing the fact that the familiar man that Kloe was bluntly aware of with a crossbow was in fact in Terminus made her lips parted. But this subconscious act caused the man to step forward and rip the gun out of her grasp, leaving her and Reina completely empty-handed.

"You have nowhere to run now, ladies," he smugly smirked. "Hold on... how rude of me! My name's Gareth, and I run this place. Now... if you'll follow me."

The man, Gareth, began his departure from the two women who stood completely still. That was until the two people behind them shoved them forward.

"Considering you were asking me where they are, I'm assuming you were with the bunch that arrived two nights ago... that's also including the lot that ambushed us earlier today." Kloe whipped her head over to Reina, a sudden new fear in her eyes as they continuously got shoved forward.

"Yeah... I wouldn't get your hopes too high on them since we don't exactly plan on keeping them around for too long," Gareth continued as he led the two women to where the containers were.

Kloe had to swallow down the uneasiness as she didn't even dare halt in her step. She had absolutely no idea how she was going to get everyone out, but she would do anything.

"Now," Gareth began as he came to a stop, causing the two women, "here we are. Two containers and you both have to pick which one you're going in. One in two chances if you wanna see your people for the last time."

Kloe's eyes were immediately glued onto both containers. Both were the same color. A rusty orange. Both of them had the letter 'A' written on them. Kloe gulped, knowing this was her luck that was coming into play.

Suddenly, a small nudge came from the woman beside her, causing her to snap her head over to her as Gareth continued to ramble on about nothing but shit, his back turned to them.

"Run now," Reina mouthed again before sending her elbow into the groin of the man behind her, causing him to release a loud pained yell as he clutched onto it. "Go!"

Kloe hesitated for a moment as someone lunged for the Salazar girl, but she fortunately dodged the hit and punched them across the face. Kloe panted heavily before spinning on her heel, sprinting for the first building in sight.

Reina noticed how Gareth reached down for his walkie, and she didn't hesitate to dash forward and rip it out of his grip. She earned a twist to the arm, causing her to shriek with pain before she forcefully threw the item across the ground, smashing it.

"Oops," Reina shrugged before wriggling her way out of Gareth's grasp and twisted his own arms. "Hurts, right?"

Gareth kicked his leg back, kicking Reina directly in the shin. She jolted back with pain, wincing as she felt the strong pain erupt on her leg. The adrenaline managed to subside the pain as she pushed herself forward, her knee meeting Gareth's groin.

"She was right. Actually hurting people in the balls is so much better than sarcasm," Reina muttered under her breath as Gareth folded over from pain, her hand meeting his sheath as she gripped onto the pistol.

And just as she removed the safety and aimed it at Gareth's head, the woman with Kloe's bow stood back up from the ground and aimed the arrow ahead at the Salazar woman.

"Don't even think about it," the woman threatened, pulling the bowstring far back as Reina twisted her head to face the woman. But just as she did, Gareth straightened his back and ripped the gun out of her hand, aiming it straight back at her.

"Shit..." Reina whispered as she stared up at the gun that was set between her eyes.

"Get in the goddamn container!" Gareth bellowed, hoping he was loud enough for his pals with snipers to hear. "Hey, one of you get Alex and tell him to get that woman!"

And before Reina knew it, another two people grabbed onto her arms, restraining her. As much as she tried to wriggle her way out, she wasn't budging.

They practically dragged her all the way to the entrance of the rusted container, the one that was closest to them all. Reina was then left alone, the two people backing away as Gareth somewhat stepped forward.

"I wouldn't try to run. You see him up there?" he pointed up at one of the snipers that was directly above her. "Yeah, he will shoot if you even think about stepping out of line."

Reina took a deep breath as she looked ahead of her, being met with the door that would be the place where she was most likely going to be spending the last time of her life -- or so she thought.

"Now I want you to step forward and walk in there!" Gareth ordered, earning a harsh glare from the Salazar woman. He looked around him for a brief moment, realizing that no one had moved -- meaning Kloe was still on the run. "Someone go get that girl! Now!"

Someone finally obliged and scurried away for Gareth's brother, Alex. He turned back to face Reina, who still panted as she stared at the door in front of her.

She sighed heavily before reluctantly taking a few steps up the metal stairs. She extended out her arm and hovered over the latch which kept it locked. Finally realizing, her heart picked up its pace as she thought about who was inside.

It could either be a bunch of random people, or Kloe's group. And she prayed it was them.

She unlatched the rusty door, pulling it open. Inside was completely dark, and Reina had to reassure herself before stepping inside. The moment she did, she began to lose her hope.

She was now trapped, and Kloe was currently getting hunted.

The door suddenly slammed behind her, and she felt her hand began to tremble from anxiousness. But that wasn't the only thing to surprise her when out of nowhere, a manly hand set on her neck as she was shoved into the wall.

As much as it was dark inside the container, it was still very easy to see. Reina's eyes widened as she looked up at the man who had grabbed onto her.

"Who the hell are you?" he growled, his ocean blue eyes burning through her dark ones.

"Oh God, oh God," she whispered out of fear. "Uh-- Reina-- my name's Reina! I'm not one of them, I swear!" she rambled, stammering her words as she felt the man's grip tightening around her neck.

"How do we know that you're not?"

Reina released a forceful scoff, "You're telling me you didn't hear all the shit that went down just then? Man, I gotta get out of here. My friend's getting hunted. Now please, let me go!"

"Rick," another man from the small crowd on the other end of the container spoke up, immediately catching Reina's attention and making her eyes go wide, "let her go. She's only a kid."

The man, Rick, hesitated for a moment, staring at Reina before relinquishing his hand. Reina rubbed over the part where Rick had grabbed her, and her eyes trained on everyone over the group as Rick stepped back.

He rejoined his group, and they all watched her with confused glances as she stared at them with bug-like eyes. "You're-- you're Rick?" she found herself saying, causing the mentioned man to slightly step forward again. "As in Rick Grimes?"

"How do you know my name?" Rick snarled, growing suspicious.

"Holy shit. Oh my God..." Reina mumbled as she set her eyes over everyone. "You're the group. She was right all this time. You're all here."

"Who?" a man with an Australian accent asked.

Reina breathed heavily, and she somewhat found herself smiling. "Kloe! She was right. She knew you were all gonna be here--"

Cutting her short, an Asian man who looked to be only a bit older than her stepped forward with widened eyes. "You're-- you're with Kloe?" he questioned.

"Yes. Yes, I am-- I was--"

"How do we know you're not lying?" a woman this time asked, a thick southern accent in her voice. "What if you saw the signs... the ones where she put her name on."

"I'm not lying because I was with her when she did them. We-- we found the ones that had M, B and S on them. And she told me that their names were Maggie, Bob and Sasha. Am I right or am I right 'cause she sure as hell told me that," Reina reasoned.

The three mentioned people all shared a glance, knowing that maybe the younger woman was right. But Rick being Rick was still suspicious. "Tell us more. What do you know?"

"Alright, okay, uh..." Reina trailed off, beginning to think of all the things that Kloe had told her. She then turned back to the man who was a few meters in front of her, the Asian man. "You're Glenn?" she asked, earning a single nod in return. "Okay, right, well. She told me she met you at the very start and that you and Zayn saved her at her dorm at college," she told them, before turning to Rick. "She told me that she and Glenn saved you in Atlanta. You were in a tank and you were surrounded by, what she calls, walkers. Is that enough for you or would you like to know more in this wonderful interrogation?"

Everyone shared a knowing glance. They all believed her now. Especially Glenn. "You said just a moment ago that your friend is getting hunted. Is that--?" he stopped himself, wanting the younger woman to finish him off.

"Is that Kloe?" she finished, earning a nod from him in return. "Yeah. Yeah, that is. And I think she might have a plan to get all of us out of here."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

words: 4025
2nd march 2023
--------------------
ANNNND THAT IS THE FRICKIN END OF WHITE FLAG !! I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY FUCKING FINISHED IT BRO LIKE HOLY SHIT.

but shall you NOT worry people 😏 girlie over here is working on the second book named THE REASON. and it should be out VERY soon! i will make sure i make another chapter based on just the second book so all of you reading this can head over to it and continue kloe and glenn's journey!

you have no idea how happy it makes me reading all of your comments, and if i'm being honest -- i'm still completely shocked that there's estimated 100k reads on this book. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

i love you all so much and i'm so happy that you all stayed with me til the very end (except it's not the end lol we gonna ignore that JUST GO WITH THE FLOW AND BE EMOTIONAL WITH ME).

and this is jess confirming the end of WHITE FLAG, over and out!