Ladies Run

by Stellamare

It was just a standard supply run, nothing more, nothing less. A few miles away from camp was a big department store which seemed pretty untouched. Imagine the treasures they could delve up there? Medicine and formula of course, but also toiletries, clothing, hunting and fishing gear, maybe ammunition. But what the f*** happened? The women go out on a run by themselves.

Ladies run

A Walking Dead Fan fiction

Dsiclaimer: I do not own the walking dead, just grateful I can play with the characters.

Readers: I hope you enjoy reading my stories, I certainly enjoy writing them. Don't get too annoyed by my mistakes since English isn't my native language, I still learn every day.

Please leave a review, honest feedback makes me grow.

The men

It was just a standard supply run, nothing more, nothing less. A few miles away from camp was a big department store which seemed pretty untouched. Imagine the treasures they could delve up there? Medicine and formula of course, but also toiletries, clothing, hunting and fishing gear, maybe ammunition.

But what the fuck happened?

Normally they would put together a team consisting of some seasoned runners (such as Daryl, Glenn and Michonne) and add some newbies or unexperienced people to the mix so they could learn the trait. Worked every time.

But not today no…Daryl was out hunting, Glenn was busy repairing a car with Abraham, Carl wasn't supposed to go on a standard yet dangerous run, besides his father had taken him to chop wood. Tyreese was recovering from a twisted ankle and Eugene and Father Gabriel were out of the question to do a supply run.

So the women decided to go for it together. I mean, why not? Most of them did runs before, Michonne, Sasha, Maggie, Carol on occasions. All of them could handle themselves very well around walkers or humans with bad intentions. And it seemed the ladies needed this, this bonding experience together. Maggie and Michonne joked about raiding the lingerie and make up section so the men would really get to appreciate –if ya catch my drift- the feminine half of the group. Rosita wiggled her eye brows in a cheeky way when she mentioned to Abe she would look for you-know-what.

They could have waited till the other day so Glenn, Daryl or Rick could join in , but hey, the ladies had proven to be men enough a long time ago. So they went….all six of them, promising to be back just after noon.

The women

This was a golden opportunity. There was this place, just asking to be looted, and none of the men seemed to be able to come along. Not that the women didn't want to go with the men, but most of them just missed that 'girl bonding'' that they took for granted in the world before.

In the early days of the apocalypse there were times that the women gathered doing their chores, like laundry or cooking, and just talked and laughed and cried together. Although they hated the tasks, they loved the interaction they had together. Being on the road in a small group didn't leave much opportunity for this. There were no particular men or women jobs anymore. Everyone contributed the best he or she could, whether it was at watch duty, baby sitting Judith, cooking or hunting.

And besides the bonding….wouldn't it be nice for the girls to do a bit of old-fashioned shopping at the lingerie section, trying out perfumes and make up and maybe pick up some naughty toys from the adult section? So they packed up their weapons and headed for the store, promising the men to be back by noon.

The men

'Bye bye y'all,' Abraham waved at the departing cars and grinned. 'well, before I would be lying on the couch by now watching a game and popping a beer.' Glenn chuckled 'Good idea, besides the fact we don't have a couch, beer or a game to watch.'

'Sucks doesn't it? ' Abraham said with some pity in his voice. 'Let's finish this car and see if we can go fishing instead.' After a while Rick And Carl called it a day chopping wood and joined both men at the lakeside. 'Ain't nothing but a quiet day fishing without the women nagging, right?' Abraham asked. 'Speak for yourself friend,' Glenn said 'Maggie doesn't nag, she just as a strong will.' 'Yea, keep telling yourself that,' Abraham chuckled 'she got you right under her thumb, doesn't she?' The men laughed.

Daryl walked into camp carrying his latest kills, a few rabbits he collected from the snares and two pheasants. He sat down with the men and began to skin the rabbit. He tossed a pheasant at Carl 'Here boy, pluck them feathers will ye? '

He turned to the still snickering men 'Where are the women?'

'They are out, going on a run together to that large store." Rick replied. Daryl shrugged 'think that's wise?'

'Yeah, they can handle themselves,' Rick returned 'Carol is with them, can't forget how she took down Terminus, so must be able to handle some stray walkers.' Daryl nodded reluctantly.

'I think that's his problem, Rick,' Abraham stated 'Carol is with them. That means Carol isn't here to stare at, huh" He howled with laughter 'For fuck's sake, we have a henpecked pussy here and a love sick puppy who both deteriorate completely when their significant others go shopping. Great bunch to win the war with, huh.

'Shut up, ' Daryl growled 'Carol is not – I don't – I trust the women can defend themselves. I just don't think it's wise they took the last two working cars. B'sides, six is a rather large group for a supply run.' Daryl stated his case and started to work on the second rabbit.

'Pff brighten up sunshine, let's enjoy the peace and quiet this morning,' Abraham slumped back on the lake side.

The women

'Ooooh this is so great,' Tara squealed from the backseat. Carol and Michonne shared a smile in the front seats. The had been on the road for five minutes following the car with Rosita, Maggie and Sasha. 'Girls on a road trip! High fives all' he held up both her hands and the women happily patted them. 'Soooo,' Michonne suggestingly said 'when we have grabbed the necessities, ' what things will you girls be after?' 'A sewing kit, 'Carol tried.

'No way, sister. I'm not talking about useful things, but fun things, luxuries. You know.'

'Aha,' Carol said and thought for a while. 'A sweater… now don't say 'no useful things,' she warned Michonne, 'I'm not talking about an ugly, dull-coloured, practical, fleece, sweater, but about a white, slight see-through sweater with a low neckline and maybe some beads embroidered on it.' Tara chuckled 'Yeah, the minute you put that on and sit next to Daryl it will have smutches all over it.' Carol turned around and raised her eyebrows in an amused way 'Uh, I mean because he is like always covered in dirt and mud, just walking past him gets you dirty. Not that he wipes his hands on your shirt,' Tara fumbled for the right words. 'Not that she would mind,' Michonne added with a bit of sass 'getting Dixon's hands all over her." She gaggled loud and Carol nudged her shoulder playfully before she started to giggle herself. 'Yeah, enough about that, what about you Tara, what do you want for fun?'

'Oh,' the young woman started 'this is really silly, but I would want toys to play outside with. Like a soccer ball, badminton rackets, jump ropes.' 'Not silly at all,' Carol said 'at the prison we had a few of that toys for the children. Made them be kids again in this horrible world. I remember the day they brought back big chunks of chalk and the kids went crazy drawing in the courtyard and on the walls.' She sighed at the memory.

'Okay, Michonne's up, 'Tara returned to the original subject, 'and don't say comics or crazy cheese.' Michonne grinned 'Those are necessities, dear. But besides that, chocolate of course. And uhm, hair dye in crazy colors like fire engine red, turquoise and lime green. Painting supplies and books. Good books, literature, Stephen King novels, God how I love those. We need to preserve some culture for the generations to come you know? Oh, and some insane expensive body lotion.'

'Add that to my list as well,' Carol grinned.

The men

'Damn, no luck here,' Abraham grunted as he pulled up the fishing rod for the 100th time empty. 'Let's call it a day men. Getting lazy with all this sitting around anyway' He jumped to his feet. 'Hey Carl, wanna play catch?' Carl looked up from his comic and grinned 'Yeah sure, got to keep in shape. You never know when a baseball scout shows up.' Rick chuckled and even Daryl showed a little smile. 'Aaah baseball,' Abraham said 'never was too big a baseball fan, football is my game. When I was younger, no one could get past me.'

'Oh really,' Rick dared him. 'What ya say boys,' he eyed Daryl and Carl 'wanna set him straight here?'

Carl jumped up 'Oh yeah!' Daryl slowly got up removing his vest and weapons 'when a guy practically asked to get his ass whooped, I'm in.'

The women

The women made quick work clearing out the formula and diapers in the baby section, Next stop was canned food, camping supplies and the pharmacy. The place wasn't as pristine as they thought but there were no walkers inside and former looters had mostly been after alcohol and electrical appliances like I-pads and tv sets. 'Poor saps couldn't predict it was all gonna be worthless crap within a week, ' Maggie said shoving the entire contains of a shelve into her bag. They placed the loot nearby the door and sat down all together to have a sip of water and some to eat. 'Right,' Sasha said. 'We have what we came for, care for some fun shopping, girls?' 'Hell yeah!' Rosita insisted 'I need Nivea chapsticks. A lot of them. Cherry flavor in particular.'

"Let's go then,' Sasha got up and stalked back into the store followed by her five apocalypse sisters. The women had their so badly wanted blast. Maggie and Rosita cleared out the condom stash and when on to the lingerie section. Carol and Michonne dwelled over the body lotion and creams for like hours, trying all sentences and brands. Carol found the desired pretty but too impractical for the road sweater. Michonne didn't had much luck with her crazy hair dye, but got loads of chocolate instead. Tara took some deflated balls and a pump. At the last minute she tossed in a toy crossbow for fun. 'Would be nice for Judy. Uncle Daryl can teach his l'il asskicker to shoot stuffed animals with it.' The women laughed simultaneously.

Before calling it a day they glanced over there new found treasures. 'Ooh this is so great girl,' Rosita giggled. We got all this medicine and food, we got the fun stuff we wanted and we got little gift for the men as well. She hugged a stuffed dolphin doll 'it's for Abe, little inside joke we got.' Michonne smiled at her and let a pair of toy handcuffs dangle from her finger. 'Whààt, you girl!' Maggie squealed 'don't tell me you have inside jokes with Officer Rick? ' All the women started talking and giggling all at once. Michonne started to laugh and eased them down 'Lemme say this: I hope we can get some inside jokes. Guy is hanging around me all the time, but he's too damn serious when we are on the road. Guess he is afraid to let his guard down. Back in the prison I was really thinking something was bound to happen, you know?' Tara puffed her breath out 'What is it with those men? Can't see a good thing even if it is right under their noses,' she eyed Carol and Michonne, 'That's why I prefer women myself.' They all laughed again. 'Come on, we must go,' Michonne said. They cramped all their newly found supplies in the booths of the two cars and started heading back home.

The men

'Daryl here! To me, to me,' Carl yelled and jumped up and down in excitement. Daryl held there make-shift football – basically a bundle of rags held together with ductape – close to his chest and took a few steps back taunting Abraham to come closer and grab it. The moment the redhead tackled Daryl to the ground he threw the ball to Carl who caught it and cheered. 'That's one more point for them again Abe,' Rick said. He and Abe agreed to form a team against Daryl and Carl, but they weren't doing so hot. Abe was in fact a great defender with his massive body, but Carl was nimble enough to duck right under his hands and pass the ball to Daryl who ran faster than Rick could.

Daryl lay on the ground panting 'Ready to give up now, big boy? We got past you for, what? 15 times. And you only managed once because Carl slipped.' Daryl snorted. Abraham gritted his teeth 'Fuck yeah, but I will get revenge someday.' He reached his hand to Daryl who took it and let Abe help him up. 'Girls gonna be back soon I guess.'

The women

The mood in the two cars was uplifting. The women chattered all excited over the gigantic loot and the ease with what they got them. 'Before that Chanel body lotion was way out of my budget,' Carol cheered 'and now I got five bottles of them. FIVE! I'm gonna label them no. 1 to 5.' she chuckled and Michonne laughed with her. 'Here girl, 'she said and tossed a bottle of Chloë perfume to Tara in the backseat. 'Figured it'll suit you.'

'Oh wow,' Tara cooed and opened the cap to take a whiff 'oooh, smells amazing, thank you Mich.' 'Got one for you too Carol, ' Michonne said holding up a classic bottle of Chanel's No. 5 up. To go with the body lotion.' Carol took her eyes off the road for second to look Michonne in the eyes 'Ooh how thoughtful, thank you dear.'

'Got nice smells for the men too,' Michonne said cheeky. Hugo Boss for Rick, Obsession for Dary-' 'Yeah right, like he is gonna wear that.' Tara interrupted, Carol chuckled 'it's the thought that counts.' A mischievous grin grew on her face 'Gimme, I'll hold on to it. Until, you know..' Both Tara and Michonne flailed 'Sometimes in this lifetime, hm?' They all laughed.

'Anyway,' Michonne continued 'Burberry for Father Gabriel, Dolce a-'' Michonne's body was almost thrown against the dashboard if it weren't for her seatbelt as Carol slammed hard on the brakes. 'Wow….'the three of them awed at the road in front of them. The road went slightly downhill and there were walkers as far as the eye could see. Carol put the car in reverse and drove back to Maggie who had stopped as well. She drew the window down and said to Rosita who was in the passenger's seat 'No way we can drive through this. Let's go back to the junction we crossed and try a detour to camp.' Rosita nodded and gave a thumbs up to let Carol know they agreed.

The men

'It's well past noon. Girls should've been back by now' Daryl mentioned to Rick who was cleaning some weapons with Carl. 'Yeah well, I was thinking the same thing,' Rick replied 'but I don't know if we should be too worried. The all can handle things and they have plenty of daylight left. God knows they are just having a blast at the clothing section," he chuckled. But Daryl frowned 'Ain't funny, all things could've happened. Maybe it's nothing, but I'm not joking about it." Rick sighed 'I guess you're right. The world has changed. A simple shopping trip in the past is a dangerous endeavor nowadays.' Daryl nodded solemnly 'I'm heading out in their direction, seeing if there are any problems up ahead.' He slung his crossbow across his back and took off immediately.

He made his way through the woods swift and silent. He would walk a mile or so up the road towards the store to check for trouble. Daryl stayed in the overgrown roadside as he half walked, half ran about. Just before rounding a corner he stopped and listened for a moment, it was faint but he heard the familiar and dreaded moans and shuffles of walkers. Stealthy he sneaked through the bushes to peak around the corner without needing to be on the road. The road dipped downhill and the sight took his breath away. He had seen the huge herd on the road to the veterinarian college but this herd was bigger than that one and the one that overran the farm together. They came from an open field, went on the road and shuffled up the hill towards the direction of the store the women had gone to. Daryl cursed under his breath. No fucking way he would make it to that store now. Even if he stayed in the bushes, the walkers would hear him, smell him, notice him. He crept back in silence. He would go back to camp, round up the able men and attempt to go to the store using a detour. Panic rose in his guts but he pushed it back. He worried about the women, but worry wouldn't help anyone now.

The women

Carol thought it was amazing how smooth this whole run was going. They got there without incidents, they robbed the place clean, found much needed and amazing items and apart for the detour because a megaherd of walkers was coming towards them, everything went like it was a pleasant daytrip. 'Do you think the men are worried?' Tara asked 'I mean, we were supposed to be back at noon, but with the fun shopping and the detour. We are late by hours.'

'Oh well,' Michonne said 'who cares about getting to your appointment on time these days? I bet the men are fishing or sleeping and haven't even missed us.' With a frown Carol looked at the forest paths. There a so many of these back roads, do you think which one we should take to get back to camp?

Tara sat up and watched the road side 'I think we drove a bit too far. I was out here with Rick the other day to place snares and the road we need to take had a fence along the way.'

'Okay,' Carol aid and slowed down making a 'turn around' gesture to the other car. Tara proved to be right, they had driven about a mile to far and they saw the backroad with the fence just around the next corner. 'Carol let out a happy sigh 'This was so much fun girls, but I'm pleased to be back.'

But when they got to the camp it was eerily quiet. The place looked abandoned since they saw no people around. Michonne got out of the car drawing her katana. She turned around in a flash when she heard a voice behind her 'Thank God, you're here!' It was Tyreese. Behind him she saw Gabriel, Eugene, Noah and Carl holding Judith.

'What's happening Maggie asked, stepping out of the car as well. 'Where is everybody?' Tyreese looked at the women and said 'didn't see the men out there? You were late and Daryl got worried and went up the road to look for you. Poor man came running back all panicky going on about the mother of megaherds heading towards the store. He, Rick, Abraham and Glenn went on a rescue mission. The women exchanged an amused look with each other. 'Rescue mission, for real?' Rosita said baffled. Poor saps don't even know how to rescue themselves. 'yeah, what do they think we are?' Tara joined in 'Pathetic ladies who panic if we break a nail? Shit'

Carol muttered something to Michonne and Maggie. The two women nodded and Carol spoke up. 'There was a huge herd on the road when we were heading back. They were going in the opposite direction so we don't need to panic here,' she hasted to say when she saw fear glancing over the men's faces. 'So we took a detour, drove a bit too far but made it back safe and sound. I suggest we stay here and don't go on a rescue mission ourselves, we might miss each other again. If Daryl keeps his head together he will notice the signs we were driving there.' The group thought about this for a while and all thought it made sense. 'Soo, I see some dead animals,' Maggie said 'let's start dinner while we wait for the men to come back from there 'rescue mission'.' She made quotation marks with her fingers when she said this and the girls squealed with laughter. 'Come on Carol, we'll cook. Ladies, let the men unpack the cars.' She took three steps in the direction of the cooking fire and then swayed back with a sly smile on her lips 'No wait I get my own bag,' she said as she snatched her back-pack out of Eugene's hands.

The men

'I'm telling ye, we need to go there. There is this enormous herd on the road. God knows the girls can't get out of the store.' Daryl insisted. 'And how are we going to defeat the walkers with only the four of us, hm?' Rick questioned. 'Really, they know what to do…they will just stay inside till the herd moves on, and if they encountered them on the road they will drive around them.' Glenn looked nervous listening to both men, he thought they both had valid points but couldn't decide what was the best course to take. He faced Abraham who just stood there with his arms folded before his chest 'What do you think is best?'

'What I think,' Abraham began 'is that we go out there and just go check if the girls are held up in the store or anything else. When we get there we can decide what to do.' Daryl slapped the man on the shoulder 'Great, you re with me. What ye say Glenn?'

'I, uh, ' Glenn glanced from Rick to Daryl and back 'I think we should go and look. It's the least we can do and we have some certainty then anyway. 'Majority voted to go,' Daryl said and started to head out. He stalked through the woods at a steady pace taking lead of his little rescue team. 'We go the other way around, don't wanna run into that herd. If the women take the same road we must meet them anyways on the way there.' He suddenly halted causing Rick to bump into him 'What're you doing?' 'Shh,' Daryl hissed 'Listen.' They were quiet for a minute straining their ears to hear what Daryl apparently was hearing. 'Damn, 'he said after a while 'I thought I heard a car but I'm not sure. Can't hear nothing at all now. Maybe it was just the wind. Let's go.'

Daryl practically ran all the way to the store, his friends following close behind him. But at a junction there path was blocked by the megaherd. There was no way to go around it and killing them was out of the question. Daryl felt like yelling and cursing and throwing stuff but he restrained himself to not attract the walkers. Instead he paced back to the woods and banged his fists against a tree before resting his forehead against the trunk. Rick approached his friend carefully to not to startle him 'Best head back man. Nothing we can do here, 'Rick said trying his best to sound reasonable 'I'm sure the women are either taking a detour or just stay put inside. We go back to camp and if they aren't back in the morning we go out again. The herd might have passed by the-…' But before he could finish his sentence, he had to run behind Daryl again as the hunter made his way back through the woods. Rick tried to grab his arm to calm him down and talk to him. Daryl threw his hand right of his shoulder 'Don't touch me!,' he snapped, 'what is it with you and shit decisions? Letting them girls go out by themselves like it is some fucking fun shopping trip.'

'Wow, hold it there partner,' Abraham tried to calm the men down 'we were there as well. Don't blame Rick for a group's decision.' Daryl gave the former soldier a dirty look 'We have clear standards when it comes to supply runs, That must speak to you as a damn U.S. military, huh. Small groups, only the necessary things, no fooling around.' Daryl walked away from the group again en let out a little sob as he whispered 'if anything has happened to her…' Glenn stepped up to Daryl now, gesturing to the other men to leave them for a moment. 'Daryl, come on. I know you're worried sick over Carol,' Daryl gave him a seriously warning look not to go there. 'Don't look at me like that. It's obvious, even a blind man can see you care for her. Ain't no shame in that, man.' Glenn chuckled a bit and Daryl let himself relax for a while. 'And you know she can handle herself,' Glenn continued 'took out fucking Terminus by herself, survived for while alone and with Ty and the girls too. She's gonna outlive us all.' Daryl drew a deep breath 'You're right, I'm losing it here. Dunno why, she'll be fine for sure…but still. Can't stand to not know.' 'I understand,' Glenn said with a little smile, 'felt the same way when Maggie and I were separated.' Daryl nodded and hummed 'Yeah, something like that.' He shook off his anger 'let's go back to camp, wait it out.' And he took off.

Rick looked at Glenn questioning, but he just shrugged, 'Come on, keep up'

The camp

'Dinner's almost ready,' Carol announced. Gabriel, Noah and Eugene had just finished unpacking the load from the cars and with a glad look on their faces they joined the women at the cooking area. Sasha was feeding Judith and Michonne was having a friendly banter with Carl over some actionfigures she snuck in her bag too. 'Sure hope our knights in not-so-shiny-armours get back soon,' Maggie sighed. 'A bit of fun is always good, but I don't want them all worked up and panicky over this.' Michonne grinned 'No girl? Imagine their happiness when they see we can take care of our own asses.' Both Carol and Maggie chuckled.

Meanwhile Rick, Abraham and Glenn did their bests to keep up with Daryl who was still stalking through the woods in a heady pace, did that men ever get tired? When they came closer to camp Rick ran up to his friend, 'Daryl hold on. I don't think it's a good idea to enter camp all worked up. Calm down,' he sniffed, 'I smell food cooking, let's eat and get ourselves together.' Daryl nodded and slung his crossbow across his back.

They continued walking towards camp now in a slower tempo but still in a bleak mood. Rick turned around while walking to talk to the other men when Daryl abruptly halted again. He grabbed Rick by the front of his shirt to keep him from falling over when he bumped into him. 'Ssh,' he hissed 'voices.' Glenn peered at his teammates puzzled 'I hear no-' Then Daryl let go of Rick and took off like he devil was on his tail.

Maggie walked back to the cooking pit after she dropped her bag at her tent as she heard rustling in the bushes. She was about to reach for her knife when Daryl darted out of the woods, a hopeful look in his eyes. He looked up, saw Maggie and then Rosita, Sasha, Michonne, Tara and finally Carol. The women and the men who were left behind looked at him in silence. Behind Daryl Rick, Glenn and Abraham made their way into camp.

Maggie broke the silence 'Heeeeey!, What kept you so long?'

The end