Author's Note:

Basic geography lesson. IN THIS STORY

What was once Alexandria Virginia was southwest of what was once Washington DC. About forty miles to the west lay the Alexandria compound… founded by someone who had come from a family from Alexandria. Further to the west is Mount Weather a couple of miles west from the crash site. Winchester VA is about a hour west of Mount Weather.


CHAPTER FOUR


It was nearing two am when Carol knocked on the door of the Grimes RV.

The trip back had been fairly uneventful, most of the walkers within noticing range of the crash site had obviously already passed through. They had only seen maybe half a dozen on the drive to the RV and since the stars and moon were so bright, they had driven with only the parking lights on to avoid drawing them with headlights.

Lori—who had not slept a minute since her husband had departed on the middle of the night excursion—opened the door immediately. It was not who she'd been expecting and Carol broke the puzzled silence. "We need to do some serious first aid,"

Lori looked from Carol to Lincoln—who held the unconscious Octavia in his arms—and Bellamy was standing right beside him. "Was anyone bitten?"

"Would Rick send us if they were?" Lincoln asked brusquely as he pushed past both women impatiently. "Bellamy come on in."

"Excuse me," Bellamy muttered, if nothing else his manners remained intact. Carol followed them in.

"Carl" Lori called out. "Get up and make sure the blinds and curtains are drawn. I'm going to need some light,

When it was ready, Lincoln laid Octavia down on the bed, and Lori and Carol shooed the males out and made quick work of checking out the girl.

While they examined Octavia Lori requested some answers. "Where's Rick?" she asked, the worry in her voice.

Carol reassured her quickly, "He's fine, he's with Daryl and the brothers. They had some serious clean up to do. It was some sort of aircraft, And it was full of kids. Dozens of them. The majority of them didn't make it. Abe and Glenn are taking the survivors back to Alexandria in Bertha."

"Kids?" Lori looked into Carol's eyes in disbelief.

Carol was more explicit, "Mostly teenagers, a couple appear to be slightly older, like her brother Bellamy and some were just older than Carl."

Carol could tell by Lori's posture that her blood was boiling in fury. She and Lori had that much in common. The anger that kids were exposed to the world they now lived in.

Lori had finished cleaning the scalp wound, the bleeding was slow, it might need a couple of stitches, but those could wait, it was the lump beneath it that was a cause for concern. Carol pulled a cold pack from the RV fridge applying it to Octavia's injury.

Their conclusion was that Octavia most likely had a concussion and would be better served by someone with more medical expertise than they possessed. They had a doctor at the compound.

It was decided that they all would take the RV back to Alexandria and the station wagon would be parked beside the Impala, available for Rick when he got back—a note taped to the steering wheel.

"She needs Herschel. See you there."

With Bellamy sitting vigil at Octavia's bedside with Carol and Lori, and Lincoln behind the wheel with Carl riding shotgun, the RV headed southeast…


SPN*TWD*100


Abe shifted Bertha's gears again. Normally he'd be driving faster, but given that his cargo was a group of terrified kids most needing medical assistance on some level he was taking it slower.

The two boys riding up front with him—Finn and Wells—were full of questions. He tried to explain it to them but it was difficult to find a common point of reference. He didn't ask too much from them given that he knew Rick would do a thorough interrogation and these kids had seriously been through enough, but first they needed food, first aid and rest.

In the back of the transport truck the kids were huddled together in groups of two or three. There were a few sniffles and some tears, but the for the most part they were traveling in stunned silence.

The events of the day were seriously traumatic. To be dropped from the sky and then find themselves as the main course for a zombie buffet—it was enough to traumatize anyone.

Clarke was fidgeting with her wristband. Uncertain of the future for her and her friends. She sighed drawing Glenn's attention.

"You okay?" he asked.

She noted Glenn was of Asian descent like Monty. "Been better." she replied caustically.

"I'm sure you have." he replied, "That armband—I notice that all of you have them. What are they?"

"They are for tracking our vital signs. The idea I suppose was to know how we all were doing on the ground. When we get to your compound can you help us remove them?"

"I suppose," Glenn said, "but won't they think you're dead then?"

"They sent us down here with nothing-no food or supplies, and already most of us are gone, why would I want to spare them further grief?"

"Don't you have any family up there?"

Clarke considered that a moment. She would give anything for the security of her mother's embrace. But she'd and the others had been betrayed by the council, and unlike most of her companions she knew exactly why they were expendable. And that knowledge was why she'd been kept in solitary confinement. Her only crime was that she knew things she wasn't supposed to know.

"No one that matters anymore."

'You got that right." snorted Murphy who was sitting next to Jasper and Monty. "They floated both my parents. I spent the last two years in detention because I was just a bit upset."

"Floated?" Glen asked.

Clarke explained. "You commit any infraction, break the rules. Punishment is the same for everything."

Murphy continued. "Yeah zero tolerance. Pop you into an empty hatch, seal it and open the outer hatch and suck the offender right out into space. They took offense when I punched out the person who opened the hatch on my mother."

"Wow," Glenn reacted. "That's harsh. But you said zero tolerance, then how are you …?"

Clarke spoke, "Most of us are juvenile offenders. Doesn't mean we escape floating, we are on what you might call "reprieve" until we turn 18. There is a slim chance of pardon for some, but most of us in detention are on borrowed time."

"Jesus..." Glenn swore. He glanced at Clarke, "You look like a nice kid, why were you in detention?"

"For knowing too much. I spent the last 18 months in solitary confinement."

"And what was it that you knew?" Murphy asked.

'"My dad had figured out that the Ark is dying. The equipment simply can't continue to be recycled or repaired. Life support systems have maybe another year and when the reserves run out everyone dies. Sending us down here probably bought them at least a month more."

Glenn had no words.

Murphy on the other managed to come up with one. "Bastards."


SPN~TWD~100


The Winchester's Impala came into view, the station wagon beside it. The RV was long gone. The distant eastern sky was just starting to lighten as sunrise approached.

Rick didn't jump to conclusions yet. If they had left there must have been good reason. He walked over to the station wagon, the note was clearly visible. He pulled the flashlight from his belt and flicked it's beam across the note.

Digesting it's contents without missing a beat he glanced toward Sam and Dean. "How about breakfast on me this morning?"

"Ellen still running her kitchen?" Sam asked hopefully. He and Dean had been relieved when their friends Ellen and Jo Harvelle and the man they thought of as a second father, Bobby Singer, had taken safe harbor in the Alexandria compound.

All in all, Alexandria was secure—well as secure as could be expected. Sturdy walls were only as secure as the people manning them. Although they had a place in Winchester, Sam and Dean frequented Alexandria enough that they also rooms at Bobby's place at the compound. Although these walkers were all they had done lately, they'd known nothing but hunting all their lives.

Dean smiled, "Ellen's cooking? Sign me up,"

Rick snorted, "You think I can cook anything edible?"

Daryl commented from astride his motorcycle. "Rick ain't kidding, he can burn soup."

"Our mom used make the best tomato rice soup in the world." Dean asserted.

Sam smiled, "Yeah, and Dean does a good imitation. Damn good stuff when your sick."

"I'm not particularly in interested in soup right now," Daryl replied, "But I'm up for one of Mama Harvelle's amazing omelets. "

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rick replied before slipping into the driver's seat of the station wagon. "

Sam and Dean followed suit. And the little caravan began it's reasonably short journey to Alexandria. Daryl led the way.

As their tail lights disappeared into the distance, more walkers broke through the tree line crossing over the road and into the woods on the other side, the smell of smoke from the crash site still drawing them.


SPN*TWD*100


The sun was breaking above the horizon and one of the watchers in the Alexandria tower raised a pair of binoculars to get a better view of the headlights.

Maggie was hoping it would be her husband Glenn and their friends. His group had been on a supply run. Disappointed to not see the station wagon they'd left in or Daryl's motorcycle. She sighed and her blonde co-watcher didn't let it slide. "What is it Mags?"

"Nothing Jo."

Jo met Maggie's gaze with a knowing look. "C'mon Maggie"

'I was hoping for Glenn," Maggie looked through the binoculars again at the vehicle descending the winding slope of the hill about a mile away. The slope keeping the vehicle to a slow rate of descent.

Jo asked, "So…. Who do we have then?"

"Looks like Abe and Lincoln, and Bertha's hazard lights are flashing."

"Well, I think we should be careful about opening gates until we're sure it's them."

It wasn't the first time they'd used this precaution. They'd had undesirable people show up before in one of the compound's stolen vehicles. Not here, but back before –when the core of Rick's group was still at the prison in Georgia.

Jo pulled a walkie-talkie from her hip. "Who's on radio tonight?"

Maggie laughed. "My Dad and Bobby. Bet you 'worthless' money they're playing checkers."

"What else would they be doing at 6 am?" Jo responded, then pushing the button on the walkie-talkie. "This is Jo, we have incoming. Could we get someone on the gate."

Bobby's voice crackled back. "We'll get someone right on it."

Maggie took the radio from Jo, "That you Bobby?"

Bobby: "Yeah,"

Maggie: "Who's winning?"

Bobby: "Yer old man, but he cheats."

Hershel's voice came on. "I don't cheat, he's just a sore loser."

Jo's voice came back on. "Bobby, is Mom up?"

Bobby: "She just walked in."

Jo: "Tell her to get started on breakfast. It's Abe and Linc's big truck, and we all know how much Abe can eat."