Carols eyes were wide open as she and Morgan walked alongside each other to their destination. She must have been quite the vision in her bloodied rags, tear stained face and general dirty person but Carol hadn't much of a care for any of that. Her eyes shifted around her surroundings looking for possible routes of escape and there were many, but where would she go, where could she go? Just as the trees came to an end they were met at a very familiar place. Her jaw slacked at the sight in front of her, she was standing in front of her old high school.
Keeping her composure behind Morgan she did as she normal, kept all her cards close to her vest. She had to admit, the stacked buses and sheets of metal was impressive but her face betrayed any positive thought. Their saviors who had worked together some of the night in a small town private practice to help Carol, deserved some form of thanks from her and that's why she was here. When the gates opened they were welcomed in but abruptly stopped. "Search them." It wasn't a hostile command but it didn't stop Carol from backing away closer to the exit. "Don't worry, you may be rearmed when you speak with our leader. You understand?" Spoke the guardsmen. She looked over at one of her saviors who nodded. She stepped forward reluctantly as they pulled various weapons off her. In comparison to her and Morgan, she had everything and he had nothing. "Letting the woman be the hero hey?" Teased the guardsmen.
"The woman doesn't need a hero." Morgan said calmly. He had a friendly but reserved demeanor, in Carols experience that wasn't abnormal. Morgan looked at the guardsman and while he had his attention, Carol looked around the high school. "Your men here saved her life and we would like to thank whoever is in charge of the honorable men." The guardsman looked rather unconvinced. "My name is Morgan, that is Carol." He said gesturing back to her. Nancy. She wanted to shout. Carol is dead. She thought. Carol still stayed silent as the Guardsman obliged and said he would bring them to Ezekiel. Apparently he didn't see anyone without an escort so some guards followed.
Though it seemed like the majority of the people lived outside, they were directed inside. The halls hadn't changed that much but perhaps these people had restored it the best they could. The guardsmen who they learned was called Andy, spoke about their security measures but he was careful not too speak too much. They reached the old principals office and sitting behind the desk was the obvious leader. "I'm Ezekiel. I don't like shorts for my name. You will meet my lady Shiva soon I am sure. She's out for dinner." Carol thought that was a weird statement but didn't think much of it. "I heard Kane and Lander rescued you out of some trouble." He said pointing right at Carol. "I also heard that you both still managed to keep up with them." Carol looked to the floor disinterested. "I need that kind of power and will. I would like to offer you a place here... not freely of course. I need to know you can earn your keep." It was reasonable but not what Carol wanted.
"My friend and I were hoping we could stay the night, give our thanks and be on our way in the morning." This prompted a grin on Ezekiel.
"You could probably do that, I wouldn't suggest it." Ezekiel seemed to speak in riddles but before he was questioned he elaborated. "We are doing an exile tonight, those who are angry come back. I'd hate to see you get stuck in the crossfire of our battle." Morgan seemed to understand and he didn't speak to argue. "You can stay here until my men clear." You could tell when the man said "clear" it caused Morgan to wince. "I would still need you to earn your keep. Nothing is free, nothing ever was." He reiterated. "I'm sure you will earn your keep, will she?" He asked gesturing to Carol.
"I can earn it. She will too, right Carol?" Carol looked at Morgan with a blank expression on her face, even that was arguing with him. "Right. Carol?" He repeated in a hastier tone. Finally Carol offered up a nod in acceptance of the offer.
"I'm not sure about this one. We could make her leave before the exile." Ezekiel pondered. This sparked a trigger reaction from Morgan.
"We will come and leave together. She is a better shot than either of your men. She will earn her keep more than me." He pleaded her case for her. Carol didn't like a man speaking for her but she let him still. Finally Ezekiel gave in with a nod.
"Show them to the free rooms." Ezekiel said looked at a guardsman.
As they walked down the hall, Carol couldn't ignore some of the nostalgia that passed her by. Morgans room was first which left Carol walking down with Kane and Lander alone but she did not feel intimated. "Your weapons and bags are in your room, I know this seems hostile ma'am but... honestly he has never accepted anyone that fast." Said Kane. Lander stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall and opened it. "Get settled, you can go straight to sleep if you like. There's a walkie talkie, if you tune it on 5 then you can reach your friend." Kane explained.
Carol nodded in thanks, but that was all she could manage to do. She slipped into the room and shut the door right away. She found her weapons and giant bag on the freshly made bed. The room was rather plain with just a dresser, bed, small TV and side table with the promised talkie but it would do. She found a door which led into a bathroom with a simple stand up shower which she would utilize soon. She put her clothes in the drawer, what else could she do?
After her shower she walked to the bed and climbed into it. She found a bible in the side drawer after snooping through it and started using it as a mock ashtray. She decided she wanted to say thank you to Morgan so she picked up the talkie in one hand and her smoke in the other and fiddled with the equipment. All she got was static for a few minutes until voices started on. She thought it had to do with the place she was in, until it became clearer. "Anybody moves, anybody says anything - cut the boys other eye out and feed it to his father.. And then we'll start."
Alarms started ringing in her head as the voice continued to talk about breathing and crying. There was a body shocking crunch sound that happened over and over. She listened intensely to it, trying to ignore the snickering men who must have the radio on. When it seemed over, the screaming turned into crying, all sounds she recognized. "Daryl!" She heard Maggie cry out. Tears were streaming out of her face as the name everyone was screaming, was Daryls' and there were no sounds from him.