LINES
Summary: She has to find them. Even if they don't want her she has to know they are okay. Caryl.
CHAPTER 1
Carol sleeps in the car the first night. Cold, alone, in shock. And denial.
The next morning as the sun comes up, she drives until she comes across a small filling station. She is surprised it doesn't take time to work up the nerve to get out, knife in hand. The first crunch of gravel under her foot and a thought crosses her mind. That's not who she is anymore. Someone who can't get out of the car. She isn't afraid, can't afford to be.
As she slowly steps through the surprisingly still intact front door she gazes around, eyes and ears alert. Searching aisle by aisle she doesn't find much. A few cans of pork n beans, chap stick, and an old John Grisham book are just a few of her spoils. It's when her hand closes down on the diaper ointment that reality catches up to her. She drops it quickly as if burned and stumbles back. Reality set in and tears came to her eyes. She would never see Judith again. Or Lizzie or Mika. Daryl. Clamping down her tears she made her way back to the car and slams the door.
She shifts her gaze back and forth from where she had come from to the road ahead. She knows she needs to move on. But in the end she makes her way back to the neighborhood she had last seen Rick. She isn't ready to move on. Not yet.
The second night she sleeps in a bed. Lonely, sad, regretful. She is in one of the houses they had ransacked only two days ago. It was a small one story house which had been home to an elderly couple. It was completely empty of walkers and impressively clean. Lying in bed, weapons close by, the tears finally come. She wonders what they are doing at that moment. Was Daryl back with medicine? Were there more sick? Had Rick told them? Were they happy she was gone? She would like to think Daryl would fight and argue on her behalf, but she is afraid to hope.
The memory of that night comes back to her. Of killing Karen and David. She wished she could say they had begged her to end it. They hadn't. They had been too busy coughing up blood and fighting for breath. She knew they didn't have long and she couldn't risk it. After she had killed them she knew she had made the wrong decision. She cried and begged for forgiveness. No one answered and none was to come. So she had burned their bodies, hoping to stop the sickness. And it hadn't worked. Oh god, it hadn't worked. She had tried to be brave. To protect her family. To do for them what she didn't do for Sophia. But instead she had become a murderer.
The next morning she can't find herself to pack her bag and leave. Sticking around that house the next few days isn't something she should do. It isn't healthy. She knows she should try to move on. Put some distance between herself and the prison. But she can't. It is silly but she knows some part of her, the part of her that she has beaten down, hopes he will come looking. Maybe he will. If he doesn't after a few days then she will leave. But not yet.
Two days go by and she spends them going house to house looking for anything they might have missed. She has only seen a few walkers so far and easily kills them. At night, lying in bed, the quiet gets to her. She hasn't heard her own voice in days so in the quiet that night, she can't help but whisper one word in the dark. His name.
She is searching for wood when she hears the first boom in the distance, startling her out of the quiet existence she has been in. She waits, listening for what seems like hours but is only minutes. Then faint gunfire. And explosions. Running back to the house she grabs her bag and hops in the car. Panic and fear run through her. The prison, it was coming from home. Where her family was.
It has been about half an hour and she is speeding down the road wondering what she is going to find. Praying for their safety. She crests the hill and slams on brakes. Horror fills her. The prison is destroyed. Walkers through the fences. There is no sign of the living. The bus is gone and she hopes they got away. Had any died? She didn't pass them. All she can do is back up and try to find another way around.
Before she turns movement out of the corner of her eyes catches her off guard. A woman is walking her way, gun in hand, blood all over. They gaze at each other before the woman drops her weapon and slides to the ground. A walker notices and begins stumbling over to her. Carol watches. The woman makes no move to get up as the walker gets closer. Carol gets out and walks over. She grabs the gun off the ground and shoots the walker in the head. Turning back to the woman, who hasn't moved, she points the gun at her.
"Who are you?" Silence.
"What happened here? Where is my fam-the people that lived here?" Carol says louder. Silence.
"TELL ME!" Carol shouts, getting in the stranger's face. The woman slowly looks up and stares at Carol.
"My daughter. It bit my daughter." She says quietly. More walkers are headed their way. Bending down, Carol pulls the woman up.
"Come on, get in the car." The woman obeys and Carol backs the car up and turns it around. She looks at the woman and a twitch of emotion flows through her. Memories of her own daughter flash through her mind and she shakes her head. No. She can't think about that right now. She has to find the group. Find Lizzie and Mika. Find Daryl. Make sure they are alive.
Turning to the stranger she spoke firmly. "Tell me everything that happened. Everything you saw."
Would love comments. I haven't really written much before so let me know what you think.