Submission for the USS Caryl Heaven and Hell and Everything In Between Challenge
(Because I really like this song and love seeing a badass Carol. Thanks for reading!)
"Blackbird claw, raven wing/Under the red sunlight /… Hundred years, hundred more/ Someday we may see a /Woman king, sword in hand/ Swing at some evil and bleed." Iron & Wine, "Woman King"
Carol allowed the cool water to wash over her as she submerged herself in the crystalline lake. Kicking her legs out she let her body float on the surface, the sun warming her features. She was still achy and sore but keeping her body as limber as possible was slowly helping. The events at Grady Memorial had made them all worse for wear, but they were still here and moving forward. After hearing Noah speak about the compound in Virginia they had decided as a group that it should be their next destination.
Living on the road was harder than they had remembered, the comfort of the prison so close in their memories, but they were making the best of it. For now they were settled somewhere in South Carolina, off the shore of Wateree Lake, figuring that the lake was a good source of food and fresh water, and the surrounding campground made for a decent few nights stay.
"Hey," his soft grunt sounded from the rocky shore and Carol swooped down until the water lapped up around her shoulders.
"Never guess what I caught us to eat," Daryl continued. She quickly stepped out of the water and he held his poncho out to her, careful to avoid her gaze. Carol thanked him, grabbing the material to wipe herself down before snatching her clothes up from the ground and shuffling into them with haste. Water from her curls was dripping down onto the sheer tank top she wore.
"Hold up," he grumbled, finally looking at her now that her pants and tank top were on. He held a hand up before she could put her top on and stepped closer to her. The bruise that ran down the right side of her collar was striking against her pale skin, and Daryl gently ran a finger down it. She winced slightly.
"It's getting better," she admitted. Chewing his cheek as he tends to do when something doesn't sit right with him, Daryl nodded. She knew he still blamed himself for most of her injuries, which she thought was incredulous. Offering him a small smile she pulled her top on over her head.
"So what'd you get?" Carol attempted to pick up his initial conversation while she turned from him, stretching his poncho out on a small boulder so it could dry in the sun.
"Hmm?"
"You said you caught something pretty special."
Daryl's chest puffed out slightly with pride, "I got us a turkey."
Her mouth formed into an eager smile as her eyes drooped just thinking about the juicy turkey. She was practically salivating when she groaned, "Oh god, Daryl, I could just kiss you right now."
Carol tried to pretend not to hear his breath catch.
"Yeah, well, it's there. Maggie's plucking it," his grumbles were getting more indistinguishable as he scratched behind his ear with a bolt.
She smiled up at him and rested an arm on his exposed bicep in an attempt to calm him. He nodded, his eyes hidden beneath the dingy fringe that lay across his face, but the blush of his cheeks was there as she stepped closer to him.
The plunking sound of falling rocks caught their attention, and they diverted their eyes to the direction of the small boulder Daryl's poncho laid on. Beyond it was a small clustering of trees. Daryl raised his crossbow and Carol reached for her pistol. They waited expectantly.
A tall man with curled blonde hair emerged. He wore a denim jacket that perfectly matched his jeans, certainly an oddity to have such a coordinated outfit. Holding his hands out in front of him, he flashed an assured smile at them.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you! My name is Kurt, and we just set up camp a little ways down the shore from you all. You're with that big group up on the campground, right?" They kept their weapons trained on him. He chuckled to himself, seeing their trepidation. Throwing a thumb over his shoulder he continued, "My boys and I were just wondering if anymore of you folks would be cleaning yourselves off in the lake. We're a disgusting group of men and would like to wash up ourselves but don't want to cause any awkwardness."
Daryl's body stiffened as he understood what Kurt was getting at. They had seen Carol, were probably watching her and getting off on it like a bunch of sick fucks. He heard Carol pull the hammer down on her gun. The man took a step back his hand shooting back up in surrender.
"It'd probably be best for you if you and your boys clear out," Carol lashed.
Kurt's smile never faltered as his steps retreated back, "We're all just trying to get by. That's all. No harm done. But you're right; we should head further down the shoreline. Better fishing down there anyway! Ya'll have a nice day." He tipped his head before cutting into the trees. They held their weapons steady listening to the sound of his footsteps on the rocks of the lakeside. The rustling of packs and complaining gnarls rang through the air and they waited for the sounds to subside. Daryl walked over to the trees, checking for their whereabouts.
He walked back to Carol, "There's 'bout eight of them. Looks like their heading up to the North side of the lake. Shouldn't be a bother to us anymore."
She lowered her weapon allowing the breath she was holding to pass her lips.
Daryl glanced back towards the spot Kurt had emerged from again, feeling uneasy. "Maybe I should tell Rick to go on without me today. I can stay here, help fix up the turkey."
The cars they had been using since they got out of Atlanta had finally gave out on them, and they had been trekking for the past day. After finding the lake, they decided to rest up for a day or two, try to gather supplies and replenish, before trying to find more vehicles and continuing for Virginia.
"Rick doesn't need me to come. He's got Ty, Rosita, and Noah. That's enough. No need for five o' us," he was fidgeting, unable to focus between Carol and the tree line behind them.
"Hey," she soothed, laying her palm gently to his cheek, "We'll be alright. Our numbers are still bigger, even with the five of you gone. Besides, I know you've been itching to go on a run. Between being stuck in the car for the past few days and stuck at this camp for another night, you look like a trapped cat. You should go, stretch your legs a little bit."
He pushed against her hand. She was right, he was feeling restless. He had never been a fan of long car rides, preferring the freedom of a motorcycle to the confines of a vehicle. And they hadn't stopped much at all since leaving Atlanta. Hunting was barely enough of a stretch for him, as he kept close to camp and was only out at dawn. Daryl needed a little independence, just a few hours away from constant proximity of the group.
"Plus, you can bring me back something sweet. Like a candy bar—I'm sure there's some chocolate hiding out there somewhere. Make sure you grab it before Rick tries to get one for Michonne!"
Daryl snorted and rolled his eyes before reaching up and taking her hand in his. He tugged her arm lightly, leading her back to camp. He released their clasp when the others came into view. Making a beeline for Rick, Daryl told him of their encounter. Rick agreed that they wouldn't be a threat, but before the group of five headed out they had decided to leave most of the weapons at the camp.
By sunset, they had found two SUV's and a sedan that looked promising and wanted to head back out tomorrow to gas them up and get ready for travel. They headed back to camp as the sun hung low in the sky, painting it with a brilliant display of deep purples and crimsons.
"We should check that auto shop we passed up before. They might have—" Rosita was interrupted by shrilling screams that burst through the woods from the direction of their group. Rick broke into a sprint, the others on his heels.
When they finally got into seeing distance, eight men had infiltrated the camp. One had grabbed Beth, wrestling her to the ground while another held Maggie back. Tara was hit over the head immediately, and Michonne screamed for Carl to grab Judith while she swung her katana, jutting it into the leg of the man holding Maggie. He had dropped to his knee, releasing the older Greene girl and she lunged at Beth's attacker. Abraham and Glenn had appeared from the woods opposite them, running full speed. Abraham leaped over Tara's still body, which Eugene was crawling towards, and lifted the burly man that had knocked her out into the air, before slamming him to the dirt. Glenn shot the raider who was now trying to strangle Maggie while sitting atop of Beth, who was screaming and hitting at his rotund belly. He had collapsed atop the smaller girl, smothering her. Maggie kicked him over, gathering Beth into her arms and holding a pistol out towards the next advancing raider. Sasha had put herself between Carl and Judith and the man that had been holding Maggie struggled to his feet before streamlining for the kids. They were scuffling as Sasha tried to use her rifle against him, attempting to bash him in the head with its base.
"What do we do?!" Tyreese asked his eyes widening with trepidation as he pulled his machete up.
"Just give me a minute, I gotta…we can't just jump in," Rick said, trying to formulate a plan as quickly as possible as they ran closer. Daryl wasn't listening, his eyes searched as fear began to trickle through to his extremities. Where was she? He couldn't see any bodies lying around so Carol wasn't dead, but she wasn't there. His breath hitched as it quickened. Rosita stared at him with worry as she jogged beside him.
"Where the fuck is she," he muttered, eyes still searching.
They stopped and dropped behind some underbrush a few feet away when two pops were heard and the men attacking Abraham and Sasha dropped suddenly, blood oozing from their skulls. A guttural yell broke through the air and Carol was running from the direction of the lake. She tossed her now empty pistol to the side and stretched her arms out as she barreled into a man who had his weapon trained at Michonne's back. His gun went off as Carol made contact, but she had pushed it off track, causing the bullet to strike Michonne's shoulder instead of her spine and her sword to drop. The man's face landed in the fire and he screamed out in pain.
The man staggered, his hands covering his burnt eyes, the smell of flesh filling the air before he collapsed. Kurt ran around him, eyeing Michonne's katana. He lunged to grab it but Carol bent swiftly and ripped it up from the ground. She faced him, holding the edge to his face. He pulled a revolver from his waistband, and she thrust forward.
The light of the setting sun refracted through the canopies of the trees bathing her in a red glow. Her muscles contracted and stretched as she slashed down upon him. Sanguine fluid splattered across her, adding to the blood and bruises that already peppered her skin. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically with her labored breaths. Sweat glistening off the skin of her collarbone and her eyes were narrowed and focused on the gasping man.
Keeping her grip on the katana, Carol knelt down close and spoke into Kurt's ear. Her voice barely above a whisper, as she spat, "I thought I told you to clear out."
The trembling man held a bloodied hand out, telling the final three able men to wait, "W-we won't do no harm no more. Just please, l-let the rest of us g-go."
Carol rose and looked around at the scene before her. Four large burly men laid dead, three men stood, either ready to run or to fight, and Kurt lay writhing on the ground at her feet.
Michonne was on the ground behind her, grimacing in pain and clutching at her dark shoulder. Beth was shaking in the arms of Maggie who held her pistol across her sister's shoulder, aiming at one of the remaining men. Carl was cradling a screaming Judith against the trunk of a pine tree with Sasha standing over them, her rifle at the ready. Tara was unconscious, blood quickly seeping from a hard blow to the head. Eugene had her in his lap, trying to put pressure on the wound while Abraham took a protective stance in front of them to barricade them from the attackers. Glenn had been inching his way towards Michonne but was held up by one of the men, their rifles held at each other's face.
Daryl had his sights on Kurt, his crossbow trained on his skull as he hid unnoticed in the underbrush where the raiders had come from. Rick was beside him, rifle at the ready. Tyreese, who only had a machete, kept making glances at Rick waiting for the signal to charge. Rosita was crouched low on the other side of Daryl, equipped with the double-barrel shotgun they had just picked up. Noah hovered a few feet behind them, holding a baseball bat that he had fashioned into a melee with some nails driven into the end of it.
"I already gave you a chance," said Carol. Her eyes were clouded over in a way Daryl had never seen before. He had seen guilt and sadness, grief and anger, but this was pure unadulterated rage. This was the Carol that had taken down a cannibalistic compound by herself. It was different from the woman he saw in Atlanta who was trying her best to get through the crossfire at Grady Memorial, hobbling down hallways and doing what she could to make it out alive. This wasn't Carol the survivor, this was a warrior.
The man at her feet whimpered. Carol continued, "People like you don't get to live. You don't get to come into camps of women and violate us. Just because most of our men had gone off on a run doesn't mean we're vulnerable. You should have never underestimated us. We're lucky because we're stronger than you. You're weak-minded. But not every group will be like us, and because of that, you don't get to live. I can't allow you to go around terrorizing other women."
"There's more o' us. They'll be comin' for yeh," said one of the raiders.
"Don't try to bluff me," scoffed Carol, "I saw you all down by the lake before. I knew you'd been watching us, and I told you then to stay clear, but you chose to ignore my warning."
"W-who the hell are you l-lady? I-I thought that bearded guy was the leader of this outfit. Ya can't do this without him. He's your ruler," Kurt sputtered, blood spewing from his mouth.
Carol shook her head, "I wouldn't be so sure of that."
Daryl took the opportunity and fired his crossbow, driving the bolt through the man's head. Glenn fired a shot at the man he was face to face with, who turned distractedly. The last two raiders turned and ran, sliding down the rocks leading towards the lake. Rick started to run towards them but Tyreese held him back. They probably wouldn't survive out the night anyway.
The second the threat was eliminated, Carol's shoulders hunched forward and she fell to her knees beside the dead man, dropping Michonne's sword. Daryl sprinted toward her, dropping at her side and gathering her shaking body into his arms. All the adrenaline had seeped from her the minute Kurt's head hit the ground and was replaced by the overwhelming fear she had been keeping at bay.
"I got you," he murmured soothingly as she pressed her face into the collar of his shirt, gripping at the sides of his vest. He ran his hand through her grey curls as he kept a tight grip around her shoulders.
Glancing around to the others he took in their mostly unscathed conditions. Rick had run to Michonne, and was already trying to wrap her arm with a torn piece of his own shirt while she was swatting him away, attempting to get over to Carl and Judith. She gave in to his fretting though and allowed him to treat her, gripping his shoulder as he poured a few splashes of alcohol over the wound to clean it before winding the rest of fabric around it. Tyreese checked on Sasha and the kids, but they were fine and he was already cradling Judith in his big arms, calming her down. Glenn was clutching Maggie and Beth in his arms, crushing them to his chest. Beth loosened herself and went over to Tara, whose eyes were fluttering open as Abraham and Eugene kneeled around her. Beth brought over a water bottle and removing her sweater she wet the sleeve and held it Tara's head. Rosita and Noah began to check the dead bodies, rummaging through their pockets and collecting their weapons. Carl joined them after exchanging a tight but quick hug with his father.
Daryl felt Carol's body begin to calm, her shaking beginning to still. She pushed away slightly and looked up at him. His arms still encircled her and his palms pressed flat against her shoulder blades. She wiped quickly at the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes as she too looked around at the group.
"Jesus Christ, Carol," he breathed out his own relief and she looked back at him. He brought his hands up to her face, cupping it and kissed her hard. There wasn't any thought or hesitation, just a need to convey to her everything that was bubbling inside him. The taste of salt and iron mixed with their lips. Daryl pulled back slightly, intent on cleaning the blood off her but Carol quickly closed the space between them again, wrapping her fingers in the ends of his hair. She leaned forward, lifting to her knees from her seated position, and deepening the kiss with the need to be close to him, to feel safety in his presence, and to remind herself as to why it was good thing that six men laid dead around them. She needed to feel her reason for fighting.
They pressed their foreheads together when the kiss ended; their hands entangled in each others hair. "You can be downright scary, you know that?" Daryl whispered to her.
"Sorry," she said, biting the inside of her lip as she looked down at the dead man.
"Hey," he tipped her face back towards him, "It's not a bad thing. It's keepin' us alive, keepin' you alive." He brought his hands down the length of her settling them on her ribcage, feeling her inflate and deflate as she breathed.
"I should have just shot them when I had the chance," she scolded.
"Yeah, me too," Daryl paused and then shook his head, "But it don't matter. It just matters that you're okay. We're all still here."
He kissed her once more, soft and gentle. When they parted he stood up, holding his hand out for her. "Let's get you cleaned up," he said, guiding her towards the lake.
"We don't have time," she protested, "Walkers will be here soon, no doubt they heard all the noise. We have to move out, find another spot." She looked towards Rick, but he was already on his way over to them.
"We found some cars, about four miles West. We were thinking about getting them ready for tomorrow but, after all this…" he vaguely suggested around them. "Do you think we should go now?"
"You're asking me?" Carol was slightly taken aback.
He nodded, and Carol looked towards the others. They were all staring back at her, waiting. Not even Abraham was offering up orders. Carol shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do with new reliance of the group.
Carol took a minute, surveying the group again as they waited, patiently for her instruction.
"I think…" she started, tasting the uncertainty in her voice. She cleared her throat and began again, her conviction growing with each word, "I think we should try to move out of this area. But I'm not going to decide for the group. It's just what I think is best." She nodded to herself bending down and picking up Michonne's sword from the ground and nudging the handle towards its rightful owner.
Michonne took the sword and then grasped Carol's hand with her free one, "I agree with Carol. We need to move." She stood next to her in solidarity.
They waited eagerly for any word of opposition. The only sound was Tyreese as he began gathering up Judith's supplies.
"It's settled then. Let's get going," Rick chimed in. The group mobilized, grabbing as much as they could.
"Glenn, Sasha, and Dar…" trailing off Rick looked towards the archer but he was already trailing two steps behind Carol as they synchronized their movements, gathering all they could. He changed his mind, knowing that Daryl wasn't going to leave her side at this point and instead looked to Carl, "C'mon buddy, lets go gas up those cars and try to bring them over here. Maybe I'll even let you drive."
Their belongings were compiled by the edge of the campground, where it would be easiest to toss into the cars once Rick and the others came back. Carol had her back to the group, keeping a watch on the darkened edge of trees. Daryl stood besides her rummaging through his pocket.
He bumped her with his elbow, holding out his palm, "Here."
Carol tried to make out the small triangular shape that glinted in the moonlight, "Is that a...is that a Kiss?"
Daryl nodded, "Probably stale as shit."
She clutched the small candy in her palm, bringing it to her chest.
"You know," he spoke with that gentle and caring tone that Daryl always brought out for her, "You are scary and a damn force to be reckoned with. But you're also good and kind. We don't just have to be one thing or the other anymore. You can be all of them. You are all of them."
Carol saw all the love and understanding that his eyes always exposed when he looked at her. It was there for as long as she could remember, but it had been understated before. Now, it was loud and bright, shining there in the moonlight.
"You're every bit as good as them," he spoke quietly. She gathered the end of his shirt in her fist, pulling him closer to her. Leaning up she barely touched her lips to his. The kiss was feather light as they hesitated at the edge of togetherness before crashing fervently. A throaty moan escaped him when she caught his lower lip between her teeth. She pulled back slightly but he was there within a second seizing her lips once again. The low rumble of engines growing nearer gave them pause.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your good Lady and her Knight, but thy royal chariot awaits," they turned to see Michonne sweeping low into a playful bow, using her good arm to flourish a hand at the line of vehicles that was pulling up. They broke apart and Daryl eagerly ran to help throw their equipment into the cars, overcome with embarrassment.
"You know if that's the kind of action you give Daryl over a little Hershey's Kiss, then what am I supposed to do now that Rick gave me this?" Michonne teased, pulling out a full sized Snickers bar from her back pocket. Carol pursed her lips to suppress the laughter that threatened to spill out.
The cars were loaded up within minutes. As Carol gave on last sweep of the area Rick came over, shining his flashlight onto a road map, to consult the course they should take with her. She climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV Daryl had taken operation of. He reached over, shyly placing a hand on her knee lightly, ready to remove it if she wanted him to. Carol placed her hand atop his, and felt his thumb close around her fingers. They pulled out onto the highway, the others following close behind. The vast night swallowed them as the promise of Virginia shone bright in the hopefulness of their minds.