For almost two weeks, they had been on the road. The herd came though and they quickly lost the farm. It all happened so suddenly. There wasn't much time to gather their supplies. The group had lost so much. They had lost Andrea, some of the Greene family, and almost lost Carol. Lucky for her, Daryl came to her rescue on the motorcycle.
They had been without a solid shelter. Some nights they were forced to sleep in the vehicles. They were down to the suv, two small trucks, and Daryl's bike. They were running out of food. They had been living and sleeping damn near on top of each other. To say that tensions were running high would be an understatement.
The caravan turned down a long dirt road that twisted and turned all through the woods. Daryl and Carol were up front on the bike as they so often were. He signaled to the others to stay back while he and Carol circled what they assumed was the perimeter of the property to see if it would be a good place to call home for a while. It seemed as though the land was used for church retreats.
The first thing Daryl noticed was a large path into the woods. Carol noticed the large pond with a wall of mature weeping willow trees around the back half of it. It had a few benches and big wooden swings scattered around it. There was a little dock that looked as though it was used for fishing and there was still a net stuck in between the boards. She wondered if there were fish in there. The thought saddened her as she flashed back to Andrea's fishing skills at the quarry. Andrea and Amy certainly were a big part of the group surviving with all of the fish they hauled in to eat. Carol felt some of her sadness and guilt over the loss of Andrea diminish as she realized the woman was now with her sister. She could even be with Sophia.
As Daryl continued around the grounds, they found many reasons to hope. On one side there were numerous fruit trees and even a decent garden that still had some vegetables. They couldn't believe the luck they had in finding shelter and food and couldn't wait to share the great news. The property was home to five large cabins, a house that was in questionable shape, a church, and of course, the customary country red pole barn.
He shuddered at the memory of the last barn the group was near. He would never forget that dreadful day. They were all frozen in shock as Sophia stumbled out through the barn doors and over the walkers scattered on the ground. He had reached out and caught Carol as she was rushing to her daughter's side without a second thought. Daryl usually shied away from human touches, but he clutched her tightly to him trying to restrain her at first. It quickly turned to comforting her as she was consumed with grief, but he needed some consoling as well. He followed after her and they sat together in haunting silence. He had exhausted himself every single day searching for the girl. At night, Carol told him so many stories about Sophia, he began to feel a connection to her. Hell, he wished she was his daughter, but he couldn't admit that to anyone.
After a while, he came back from his memories and realized if he felt this bad, Carol must be crumbling to pieces. With that, she tightened her arms around his waist. He placed his hand over hers, trying to reassure her as well as he could. He sped back up the drive to rejoin the rest of the group.
The others broke through the woods when Carol waved them forward. They parked themselves in front of the large church. It was in exceptionally good condition considering what this world had become. The bright white siding looked as if it was replaced just before the turn. The stained glass windows were intact, allowing the bright rainbow of colors to shine down on the group that had gathered in the pews below. On the very top of the church was the bell tower. Although they made no sound now, they were large enough to ring loudly throughout the little settlement. Even more exciting was the fact that the building seemed to have enough room for everyone to spread out. If things went well here, they could spread out more and stay in the cabins, but for now they would stay together in the church.
After Daryl, Rick, and T-Dog cleared the church, the rest of the group split up to see what they could find in the building. Carol, Maggie, and Lori took stock of the pantry and the kitchen. They pulled some of their finds out to make a nice dinner. Rick and Glenn checked the garage and found some dry wood to start a fire and some sleeping bags among other things. It was getting late so they decided that sweeping the other buildings could wait until tomorrow.
Daryl and Hershel went to the offices downstairs and everyone else looked over what they could. It appeared as though someone had lived down here. They had next to nothing as far as clothing or medical supplies, so hopefully they would find something useful.
Hershel was pleased with stumbling upon what appeared to be new bibles and books of hymns. He was excited to bring the presents to his girls. While checking out the room, Daryl found a shelf full of various information pamphlets. There was a variety of topics ranging from Sunday school, to addiction, to marriage. It seemed to be an odd collection, but all were needed by different people at different times he supposed. "Why'd someone need to read about gettin' hitched if they're already here in the church?" he wondered aloud.
Hershel heard Daryl's question, but hesitated to provide an answer. Since the group appeared on his farm, he had been silently observing their individual interactions. Daryl didn't connect much with them. He discussed things with Rick when need be, but went out of his way for Carol. He was out day after day looking for this woman's child, a woman whom he didn't know from Adam prior to the end of the world. Hershel knew that both of these individuals had lived tough lives full of unprovoked torment. Both Daryl and Carol had experienced abuse and their bodies and mannerisms showed that. He decided to be nosy and ask Rick one day while he checked in on a sleeping Carl. Rick informed him of a few of the known details of the abuse Ed handed out when he had asked about the girl's father. Honestly, Hershel thought Daryl was Sophia's dad based on his undying enthusiasm to find her. He saw a number of similarities between himself and Daryl. It was easy enough for him to put the pieces of his history together.
He knew that what they both needed was a caring and understanding partner by their side. They needed each other and he was going to help them see that. He decided if these two were to be together, he needed to answer the younger man before too much longer.
Hershel strode over to stand beside Daryl. He looked at all of the handouts arranged in front of them. "Whose face do you see?" was written across the front of one of them. It was familiar to him. Hershel realized he had seen it before in the old church back home. The pastor had referred numerous young couples to meet with The Greene's as they were experienced in all of the good and bad that went into making a successful marriage. "The church recommends sessions to help you decide if you truly want to marry your partner. It just guides young people with taking this step seriously," Hershel informed him. Daryl went to toss it back on the table, but crammed it in his pocket after Hershel began to walk away. They didn't have many books to read anymore. At least it might entertain him for a little bit.
The group gathered back in the center of the church to see what everyone had found and settle in for the night. They decided that Rick, T-Dog, and Glenn would sleep downstairs in the event that they weren't alone on the property. Hershel slept up on the balcony with the women and Carl. Daryl decided he would take the first watch and headed up to the bell tower where he could see in every direction.
After a few hours, T-Dog came up to take over watch. Daryl took a seat on the couch in the office he claimed for himself and pulled the pamphlet out. He laughed to himself a little imagining what Merle would say if he saw his little brother and his reading material. "What the hell," he thought while opening his little booklet, "Maybe I'll learn something."
Whose phone calls or visits are never unwanted or too long? Do you see her face? Who would you most like to have in your life to ward off moments of loneliness? Do you see her face? When you travel, who would make your travels more enjoyable? Do you see her face? When you're in pain, who would you most like to comfort you? Do you see her face? When something wonderful happens in your life, a promotion at work, a successful refinancing, who do you want to share the news with? Do you see her face? Whose face appears to you, my friend? Whose face?
Daryl closed the booklet and tossed it onto the floor next to him. He laid down on the couch and looked up. He pictured the smile that appeared when he was near her. He pictured the way her bright sapphire eyes lit up. He laughed as it finally dawned on him. He was in love with Carol.