Kiss Away My Sins - Chapter 3

Okay, here we go.

I PROMISE that the next chapter will have Caryl in it. :)

I promise.

I don't own The Walking Dead.

Chapter Three

Carol walked back to her tent, holding her basket of clothes under one arm. The sun was just beginning to set in the western skies, casting an array of colors across the sky. Oranges, reds, yellows, pinks, blues, and even purples, were splashed across the sky as if by an artist's hand. Birds trilled their songs in the canopy overhead, sending a wave of serenity over the gray-haired woman. She was oddly content out in the forest. Here, she was far away from the anger of her husband and the stress of the apocalypse. Here, things felt… almost normal. It was as if the world had not ended, and almost all of the people she loved and cared about were dead, or undead.

When she reached the camp, she was greeted by Lori. The younger woman gave her a friendly wave before walking over to Shane. The police officer was emerging from the RV with a scowl on his face. Carol watched with mild interest, wondering what had happened to make him so upset. As she walked by, she overheard what Shane was saying.

"Damn rednecks," he muttered, rubbing his head tiredly. "Think they can come in here and run the fuckin' show."

Lori rubbed his arm sympathetically. "I know, but it's just the way they are. They'll come around."

Shane snorted. "I dunno if I want 'em to."

Carol, not wanting to make her eavesdropping obvious kept walking until she was out of earshot. She had no doubt who Shane was talking about: the Dixon brothers that Andrea had mentioned earlier down by the pond. Carol had had little to no contact with them, which she was glad for. From what she'd heard, they were two rugged, uneducated rednecks that were only in the group because the younger brother was a pretty good hunter. All she really knew about them was their names, and that the younger one was a hunter and older one was a racist, sexist, and a drug-addict on top of that.

They were certainly not the kind of people that Carol would ever associate with.

Even though there were more than enough reasons to persecute the two brothers, Carol felt a little guilty doing so. She never did like judging books by their covers; she didn't even know Merle and Daryl Dixon that well. Maybe they were just as bad as they sounded, or maybe there was something more. She didn't know, and she probably never would. She had never even made eye contact with either of the brothers let alone spoken to them.

Carol pushed the two brothers from her mind, knowing it was useless to continue that train of thought. She went over to a small copse of trees where the women had hung fishing line between the branches, creating a place to hang their clothes to dry. Setting the basket on the ground beside her, Carol began to hang up her family's clothes, taking pleasure in the domestic task. It was just another activity that kept her from thinking about the fact that the dead now walked and had an appetite for human flesh.

She had gotten a little more than half of her clothes hung when she heard someone approaching from behind her. Carol turned, expecting to see Lori, or one of the other women with their own basket. Instead, she saw Ed stalking toward her. The mere sight of him was like a kick in the gut. Carol turned away from him, closing her eyes and bracing herself from the beating that she knew was coming.

"Ya almost done?" he asked, his voice characteristically tight.

"Yes," Carol breathed. She picked up another item of clothing from her basket and gripped it tightly. She tried to hide the tremors that were already plaguing her body. She hated the beatings, then again, who wouldn't?

Ed nodded in approval. "Good. When ya're done, meet me behind our tent," he instructed. Without even waiting for her to reply, he walked off.

To any onlooker, it would appear like a relatively normal scene—a husband and wife interacting, and him asking her to meet him someplace, most likely to talk, or perhaps even fool around. But this was not a normal scene, nor a normal relationship. Ed's request sounded so harmless to anyone else's ears, but it was agonizing to hers. She knew that he would beat her tonight, perhaps even rape her again. She had quit calling it sex a long time ago; she didn't want it, and she never gave him consent to do it, but he did it anyway. He held her down and covered her mouth sometimes if necessary.

Carol slowed her pace, taking as long as she could to hang the rest of the close. She didn't want to go back there; she didn't want to go through whatever he had planned. She tried to block out the thoughts of what was waiting for her, and tried to let her mind wander. But it couldn't. It couldn't find room to be happy anymore. She couldn't focus on the birds' love songs in the trees. She couldn't think about her darling Sophia. Hell, she even tried to think about the Dixon brothers, but even they were blocked out by her fear of what was to come.

Carol began to wonder if she would ever escape that fear. She wondered if she'd ever be able to overcome her fear of Ed and leave him. She wondered if she could ever find a new life. She wondered if she could ever find happiness again; happiness with Sophia.

That's all she wanted.

Happiness.

She didn't want to be afraid anymore.

Carol had waited as long as she could, but now she could no longer avoid it. After tucking Sophia into bed, she entered the woods behind her tent. Ed had left a small, but distinctive trail for her to follow, so even in the shadows of the dense forest where even the moonlight could not seem to penetrate, she would know where to go.

She found her husband leaning up against a tree, and his hands in his pockets. "Ya took yer damn time," he commented before spitting on the ground in front of him.

Trying not to grimace, she shrugged. "Lori… Lori said she needed my help with making dinner, and then I had to tuck Sophia in… I'm sorry I'm late. I tried to get here quickly."

He snorted. "I bet'cha did."

She didn't reply. Her heart began to pound as Ed started toward her, pulling his hands out of his pockets. Carol's body tensed as she braced herself for his attack. The blow came hard and fast to her ribcage, making her stagger. She knew from the strength of the punch that it was his right hand; he'd hit her so much that she had learned to tell the difference between his fists. She let out a hiss of pain between her teeth as she struggled to keep from doubling over. Pain erupted like a volcano on her left side; she knew she'd have one hell of a bruise there the following morning.

"Ya're a fuckin' liar, ya know that?" he growled.

When she didn't answer again, he hit her right in the gut. Left hand this time; it wasn't as strong of a hit. It was still more than enough to send her to the ground. She clutched at her abdomen that now felt like it was on fire. Tears were in her eyes, blurring her vision. She wanted to cry out for help. She wanted Ed to be stopped. She didn't want to go through this again.

Ed grabbed her by the arm and roughly yanked her to her feet. "I ain't gonna get down on my fuckin' knees ta hit ya, ya stupid bitch!" he snarled before backhanding her in the face.

Carol cried out, and fell to the ground once more. The familiar taste of metal flooded her mouth as she realized she'd bitten her lower lip. She spat out the blood, her body trembling sobs that were rising in her throat. She yelped as Ed's foot collided with her side, sending a new wave of pain throughout her body.

Ed kicked her over and over until she was certain that at least one of her ribs was broken. After what seemed like a century, his assault finally concluded. "Next time, ya come when I fuckin' tell ya to, got it?!" he roared. He gave her one final kick before storming off, leaving her to find her own way back to the camp.

She waited a few minutes so she was sure that he was long gone before she began to test her limbs. Her arms and legs seemed fine, but her torso hurt like all hell. Her lip was throbbing from where she'd bitten it, and her face ached from where he'd hit her. She couldn't go back to camp like this. She couldn't let Sophia see her like this.

Her body trembled as she painfully pulled her knees up to her chest. Thinking that no one would be able to hear her, Carol began to sob uncontrollably. The sounds of her pain echoed throughout the forest, drowning out the rustling of animals in the undergrowth, and hooting of owls as they left their nests to hunt. They were the only ones that would hear her. They were the only ones that would know her anguish.

Little did she know, the animals were not the only ones that would hear her.

Nearby, a hunter sat by his fire watching the dancing flames. He too heard her cries, and, out of pure curiosity, decided to investigate.

A/N: Review? :)