The next morning, they found themselves nearly to Terminus. Carol and Tyreese walked side by side with Judith sleeping on Tyreese's back. They had both been able to get some rest the previous night, but were still exhausted from being on the road again.
Finally, the gates to Terminus came into sight and they heard several gunshots. Carol looked to Tyreese and her face paled.
"Could be walkers," he offered.
"Could be something else," she replied skeptically.
"Sasha might be in there," Tyreese said. "I need to know," he said looking down.
"I know," she sympathized. She'd be lying to herself if part of her didn't hope Daryl was at Terminus with the others. After hearing the gunshots, she wasn't so sure if she wanted him there though.
"We have to approach this carefully, though. They could be like us at the prison, but they could also be another Woodberry," she said, trying to reason with him. Tyreese was generally very trusting and ready to go in.
Carol on the other hand, had learned through her own experiences not only after the apocalypse, but with Ed, that you couldn't trust people so easily, and had to be cautious. She wouldn't allow herself, Tyreese and Judith to walk into a trap.
"We should walk the perimeter first, see if we can find anything out," she said. "We'll have to be quick, those gunshots are going to draw any walkers into the area."
Tyreese agreed with her plan, and they began to walk the perimeter of the gates, looking in. They paused when they heard a voice shouting in the distance. They cautiously walked towards it, trying to remain hidden in the foliage.
Carol heard the words, "ring leader," "archer," and "samurai," and her heart dropped as she looked to Tyreese with wide eyes. She saw her own fear and recognition mirrored in him.
Rick. Daryl. Michonne.
"We have to do something," Tyreese said to her, echoing her thoughts. Her heart started to beat uncontrollably. It was beating so fast she started to shake. Daryl was in there, she was sure of it. And Rick and Michonne. Her thoughts were all over the place, starting to think of how she could get in there and get them out.
"I know, I know, but we have to play this right," she replied with a million thoughts racing through her mind. All she knew was she needed to get them out, and her heart leapt into her throat at the thought of Daryl.
She then heard a voice that was unmistakably Rick's and the fear that had been planted in her mind was confirmed, but so was her determination.
"I'm going in," Carol said without another second thought.
"What! You heard them firing shots at our friends and you're just going to go in there?" Tyreese's face hardened as he glared at her.
"I'm going to go in, weak and defenseless. Hopefully that will give me an advantage. I'd take Judith, but I can't risk it. You're going to stay here with her while I go in."
Carol made sure her knives were concealed under her clothing, and patted herself to see if they could be detected. Pleased when she realized they wouldn't be, she stood back up and faced Tyreese.
"You're going to stay with her, and you go, if you see anything suspicious or think we're in danger. You understand?" Carol said firmly, taking her gun out.
Tyreese gave in and nodded. "Good luck," he sighed. "Bring them out safe."
"That's the plan," she smiled as she walked away.
She made her way to the front gates and approached them hesitantly. There was no one there, but she could still hear noises coming from within Terminus. She gripped the gun in her hand more firmly and tried to control her breathing.
"Welcome to Terminus," she heard someone speak from behind her. She turned to see a woman standing there with what was supposed to be a warm and welcoming expression.
"I'm Mary, can I fix you a plate to eat?" She asked.
"No thank you," Carol responded. "I don't think I could eat right now," she answered honestly. "My name's Carol," she smiled at the woman and held out her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Carol," the woman replied, shaking Carol's hand with a string grasp.
"I thought I heard some gunshots," she asked hesitantly, and with a worried look on her face.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, just a couple walkers managed to get in. You must be tired, let me show you to a room," she said turning her back and starting to walk towards one of the buildings.
Carol followed her, taking in the surroundings. She saw a group of people walk towards them, and noticed that there was a girl wearing Daryl's poncho, a man wearing riot gear that looked to be from the prison, and another man that looked younger, leading the three of them. Carol once again tried to keep her breathing calm, and make sure that she feigned cluelessness.
"Mary, who is this?" He asked as he walked up to them.
"Her name's Carol, she just walked in, I was going to take her to a room. Did you take care of our little problem?"
"Oh yes, they won't be a problem anymore," he smiled. Carol had to admit he was a good-looking kid, but there was something off about him. "I'll take over, why don't you get back to the grill," he said to Mary before he turned to Carol.
"My name is Gareth, welcome to Terminus," he smiled widely. "How did you find us?" She saw his eyes flicker down to the gun in her hand.
"I was part of this small group, we got over run by walkers," she choked back a sob that she hoped sounded convincing, "I barely managed to escape. I was so scared, and I had to leave everything behind. I saw the signs and took two days traveling here."
"I'm sorry to hear that. You must be tired then," he sympathized. "I won't keep you. One thing though, I'd like to hold on to your gun," Gareth said as he held his hand out.
"Mary said you had walkers get in though," she said, praying to God that Gareth was believing her act. "I feel more comfortable with it."
He dropped his hand. "You don't need to worry about that, any breaches are taken care of within minutes, and we haven't had any deaths here in months. If it makes you more comfortable though, you can keep it."
"Thank you," she sighed in a breath of real relief. She did have her knives hidden on her, but it didn't hurt to have the gun too. It seemed like Gareth was trying to get on her good side. Good.
"Well, here we are, you can take this room. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," he finished before leaving.
She stepped into the small room and looked around. It had a twin-size bed, and that was about it. Thankfully there was a window to make it less claustrophobic. She looked out and noticed there was someone guarding a red train car. Her instincts told her that's where they were being held captive. Where Daryl was.
She had to push the thoughts of him away. She couldn't risk being distracted. She was on a mission, and couldn't afford to slip up. She paced the small room, wondering what her next move would be.
Before she knew it, it was nightfall and Terminus had finally quieted down. Someone had come to check up on her sometime ago, but she pretended to be asleep.
She glanced out the window and saw that there was a different person guarding the train car now. She didn't see anyone else around, and decided she had to act then. She took one of her knives out, and stuck it in the pocket of the sweater she was wearing for easy access.
She crept quietly out of the room and outside, while at the same time trying to make herself cry, or at least look like she was about to. Luckily she didn't run into anyone else. She stopped in her trucks the second she was outside though, when the voice of the guard called out to her.
"Hey, who are ya and what are ya doing out here?" The man guarding the train car asked, holding up his gun.
She held up her hands and whimpered. "Please don't hurt me, I just came in earlier today. Gareth gave me a room, and well I- I woke up from a nightmare," she sobbed. "I had to leave my group, they got overrun by walkers-" she choked on her words then and noticed the man's face soften as he lowered his gun.
"I just, I needed someone to talk to, and I saw you out here," she said walking until she was standing right in front of him.
"Aw hell lady, I'm sorry," he said running his hand over his hair. "C'mon, don't cry."
"I've just been so scared," she said as she put her face in her hands. "Damn," he muttered. He set down his gun and brought his arms around her. She sobbed into his chest, for a minute, as he stroked her back in an attempt to calm her down. She waited, making sure his guard was down before swiftly taking out her knife and stabbing him in the head as though he was a walker. She slowly let his body fall to the floor and looked around, making sure nobody was there.
She grabbed the gun and opened up the train car. At first, she saw nothing but blackness before Rick walked up, with Daryl behind him. "Carol?" Rick asked.
Her breath caught in her throat. She felt a myriad of feelings, seeing their faces, but there was no time for that. She handed him the gun that came from the guard. She saw Daryl come up behind him. Their eyes met and she looked away. She had to focus on their safety first, and her feelings later.