SUMMARY:
After Carol confesses to a crime, Rick banishes her from the prison. Now, all alone at the end of the world, she's forced to start over. But, what happens when Daryl returns from a run to find her gone?
STORY NOTES:
** This is my first venture into The Walking Dead fanfic world. ** For days now, this little "idea" wouldn't leave me alone, gnawing at the back of my brain like a dang walker. Ha! Ha!
- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - - indicates a scene break
: ~ * ~ : appears before and after any flashbacks
All flashbacks and/or inner thoughts are in italics
DISCLAIMER:
This fanfic has been written purely for entertainment value, with no money being made from this work. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners with no copyright infringement intended. The original characters/places/plot/etc. are the sole property of the author. Thank you.
- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - -
EXILED
- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - -
- 1Day After Banishment
- Somewhere in Georgia
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Carol gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as she watched the hand drop further and further toward the "Empty" sign on the gas gauge. She knew she was close to running on fumes and she didn't need a damn red light to keep reminding her.
To add to her growing list of problems, it would be dark soon, making an already bad situation even worse. There was just no two ways about it, she needed shelter and she needed it now!
She cursed herself for the "big, bright idea" of sticking to the old, country roads. She had felt that they would be her best chance of survival, but now she second-guessed herself. Should she have taken a more populated route? Would it have given her better odds at finding others? It didn't matter now. It was much too late to play the "what if" game. Live and learn, as they say. Or, you know, die and don't.
Still, with tired bones and a weary heart, she pushed forward; eyes peeled for anything that could offer some sort of shelter, at least for the night. Imagine her surprise when a small white building came into focus.
"Well, will you look at that?" she said aloud, a grin forming at the corners of her mouth. Pulling the car over onto the dirt lot, she stared at the large, yellow sign that stood on the porch roof.
"The Double G Country Store," she whispered after rubbing her eyes for the second time, as if to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Here, in the middle of nowhere, was the answer to a prayer… if she had still bothered to pray.
- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - -
The first thing Carol noticed, upon entering "The Double G", was the aluminum ball bat that lay across the counter at the cash register. She immediately grabbed it up and smiled. It would be a nice addition to her collection of weapons. She mentally took note of all the pros: no loud "bang" to draw the attention of the walkers, the base allowed for a good strong grip that would be better than some of her knives, and the length would give her a bit of distance between her and her target, which was always a plus.
The second thing she noticed were the two walkers, a man and woman, who were gnawing on a raccoon in the far right corner of the room. It didn't take long for them to notice her as well, immediately leaving their meal for something a little "fresher".
Deciding that "now was just as good a time as any" to test out her new tool, Carol mimicked a stance similar to the one she used all those years ago when she played softball and she waited. When the walkers came at her, she was quick to land one good blow each, which knocked them to the floor. Momentarily tossing the bat, Carol reached for her bowie knife, quickly jabbing the steel into the skulls of the walker couple; destroying their brains and whatever life had remained within them.
With a deep breath, she wiped the stray spatters of blood off her cheek before moving to check out the rest of the establishment. When she found nothing but the carcasses of a few dead critters, she felt the burden on her shoulders ease just a bit. The store was clear and she was thankful.
However, the same could not be said for outside. The minute that Carol pulled her car around to the back of the store, so as not to draw the attention of any looters, she was greeted by her third walker. He was an elderly man, as best she could tell, who was already missing the lower half of his body. That didn't seem to bother him none though, as he had no trouble dragging himself across the gravel, slowly inching his way toward her.
Carol glanced briefly at the woods that lay just a few hundred yards away, making sure there were no more little "surprises" waiting on her, but the area was clear of walkers… except one.
"Damn it," she muttered under her breath, as she felt fingers trying to claw at her boots. "Why can't you just die?"
She didn't wait for an answer, and it wasn't like he would have given her one anyway. With enough force to do damage, Carol brought the heel of her boot down onto the man's head, crushing it instantly. This time, he would stay dead.
- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - -
Just an hour or so had passed since she'd taken shelter in the old store and Carol felt lucky to have the solid structure as her refuge for the night.
"Much better than last night," she thought, thinking briefly of the car wash that she'd hid out in the night before. "Much better."
There was only one thing: it was quiet.
Truth be told, it was too quiet for her liking. She'd become accustomed to a prison full of people and noises, and now? Now there was nothing.
As she stretched her body out onto the old futon she'd uncovered in the "office", Carol stared at the moonlight that peeked in at her from the skylight. She had a decision to make. If she could find gas, should she move on at first light or should she stay put for a few days?
She was leaning toward staying put for a while. Honestly, The Double G had a pretty good setup. There were only three walker accessible windows (which she already blocked off) and two exits (now booby trapped and set up with an "alarm system" made from kitchen string and empty cans). A good amount of canned food still sat on the shelves and water and soda still rested in their slots in the non-working coolers. Hell, there was even a bathroom.
"What more could an exiled girl want?"
Carol smirked slightly at her own attempt at a joke, and then hurriedly tried to close the door she'd just opened in her mind. Everything in her screamed to "just think about the task at hand" because there was "no use in dwelling on what was already done", but it was too late. The thoughts and feelings that she'd tried so hard to push aside came crashing into her.
Though she no longer had a watch, she could guess at the time, and it had been 30 or so hours since she had been banned from the place she'd once called "home". She wondered if Rick had told everyone of his decision to kick her out? If so, had he told them why? She was sure that he had. Why wouldn't he? Once he shared his knowledge with the group, every good and decent thing that she'd ever done would be forgotten. The people she'd grown to love, the people she thought of as family, would remember her as a killer… nothing more and nothing less.
"Stupid whore," she heard Ed mock, taunting her in her head. "Always knew you'd end up alone."
He'd been right, too.
Carol had been left to face this world alone. There was no Lizzie, Mika, Daryl or Sophia. All the people she cared for and loved the most in this world were now gone from her, in one form or another. The realization of it all shook her to her core.
And just like that, all the walls that she had so meticulously built up around her, came crashing down, exposing a heart that was worn and tired, broken and aching.
"Tomorrow," she promised herself as she brought a trembling hand up to muffle the sound of her own soft cries. "Tomorrow, I'll be strong."
But for a moment, now that there was no one to see, Carol let her guard down and allowed herself to grieve.
- - : - : ~ * ~ : - : - -