Tensions run high with Rick's arrival and one of the group faces danger as he puts his plan into motion.
7.
"I'm just sayin' they can't kill the zombies; zombies are already dead, right? Dead man walkin'?" Abe asked. "So calling the show Zombie Killers is a misnomer. You can't kill something that's already dead."
"Then what would you have called the show?" Daryl said, holding in his smile, trying not to be so amused at the conversation. He couldn't wait to tell Carol about it. He liked how that felt, having someone he wanted to tell stuff to. Then he did smile.
"Zombie Hunters of the Apocalypse. Cause that's what they do: they hunt the zombies." Abe said triumphantly. "You tell them that!"
"You actually know the producers?" Shane asked Daryl skeptically.
"They flew the actor out, I rode with him to make sure he could handle the bike, met a couple of production people, one of them might 'a been a producer." Daryl shrugged. He didn't know shit about what it took to run a TV show. He just knew bikes.
"Cool you met the dude though—he bring his bow and arrows?" Shane said.
"It's a crossbow and bolts, but yeah—we had to make sure the mount for it worked." Daryl said.
"Cool." Shane nodded.
Shane turned the Jeep into the driveway to the beach house and stopped, looking over at Daryl. They all saw that Michonne's Cherokee was already there.
"You ready for this?" Shane asked.
"Are you?" Daryl replied.
"Since we all hate the son of a bitch why is he here?" Abe asked rhetorically.
"It's a reunion." Shane said and they all chuckled darkly.
"So Lori was your girlfriend first, and then she married Shane and now Abe." Beth said sitting cross-legged on the couch facing Rick. "And Michonne dated T-Dog and then Andrea and now Carol and Daryl are together. That was a busy house!" she leaned forward and swatted her hand on Rick's arm.
"Oh, you don't know the half of it, sweetie." Rick said, winking at her and refilling her wine glass while Beth giggled.
Sitting in a chair across from them Carol crossed and uncrossed her legs, narrowing her eyes at Rick in warning. T-Dog sat in another chair, leaning back in seeming disinterest, but periodically exchanging a loaded look with Carol.
"Who do you think he'll piss off first? Shane or Daryl?" Andrea asked dryly, watching the action from the bar stools in the kitchen area and picking at the hors de oeuvres they were supposed to be preparing and bringing back out to the living room.
"My money's on Shane." Michonne said, "What do you think?" she asked Lori.
"I think we should get back in there before they get here." Lori said, with an eye roll. "Beth's had just enough to drink so she's at the giggly phase."
"Oh dear." Andrea said, smirking.
"No, I really should keep an eye on her." Lori said with a long suffering sigh, setting down the knife she'd been using to cut the celery and lifting the tray of vegetables and dips, "She acts like the Queen Bitch of the Universe, but I've known her parents since I moved to Alexandria...and Shane cares about her."
"You are an example to us all..." Andrea said with teasing praise, pointing at first the fruit tray and second the cheese, silently asking Lori which she should carry, "...in how exes should behave."
"Let's hope Shane and Rick both follow your lead." Michonne said, taking the cheese tray and adding crackers to it. "Or this is going to be a tense week."
The three of them carried the snacks to the living room, setting them out on the dining room table along with small plates and napkins. The idea was that everyone would have a late afternoon nibble and then they would head over to the south coast to the Kaunolū Village Site, which Lori had triple starred in her guide book.
Michonne, who had become their built in tour director after lining so many years here, told them that it was one of the more interesting and scenic places on the island. A fishing village abandoned in the 19th century, it dated back to prehistoric times, and was an excavated archaeological site, allowing visitors to see a chronological progression of every phase of Hawaiian culture. The best preserved and largest such site in the whole island chain, it was a designated historical landmark and not be missed.
After the visit they would go to a local restaurant owned by one of Michonne's friends that was right on the beach, for their own private luau, including a roast pig as a welcome to the reunion dinner, now that everyone they knew for sure was coming, was here.
First though, came the hurdle of Daryl and Shane's reaction to Rick. So far he was behaving himself, the flirting with Beth notwithstanding, and Carol hoped he would do as promised, back off from Daryl and leave tomorrow with no hassle. She'd texted a message to Daryl, asking him to rethink the punch in the face, for the sake of the reunion, and promised him Rick would leave tomorrow. She hoped that was enough.
The three men came through the door and the tension they brought with them twisted the room up tight. Everyone stood and Rick waited for the others to approach rather than going to them. Carol went to Daryl, taking his hand in hers, while Abe and Shane went forward to greet Andrea and T-Dog.
Though they tried not to make it obvious, everyone was waiting to see what both Shane and Daryl did next. Shane went to Beth, giving her a little kiss of greeting, noting that she'd been sitting with Rick, who he gave a bit of a side eye before finally holding out his hand.
"Grimes." Shane said with a grudging politeness.
"Walsh." Rick said pleasantly and shook the hand. "You have a lovely young friend there; Miss Greene is quite the lively conversationalist."
"Mmm hmm." Shane said, staring Rick down.
Rick released Shane's hand with a little chuckle, shaking his out to acknowledge the strength of the other man's grip.
Abe greeted Rick next, and Grimes was equally affable. From across the room Rick caught Daryl's eye right after Dixon hugged Andrea and the two men exchanged a nod, Daryl's face carefully blanked. They then pretty much pretended that the other didn't exist until it was time to leave.
Carol supposed it was better than a punch in the face, but not nearly as satisfying.
"And just off these cliffs is a sheltered bay giving access to rich fishing in the deep seas below. King Kamehameha the first himself enjoyed coming here to fish and had his house right over there." their guide, a Hawaiian native, told the group, who made appreciative noises of recognition for the name.
"His rival, Kahekili came here as well and as part of his luakini preparations for war, would make his warriors jump from these heights to the ocean below to prove their bravery. That opening in the wall is still called Kahekili's Leap. Don't get too close now! Unless you want to hot dog it over the edge to show off to your best girl or have a death wish, depending on the tide." the guide grinned.
They all made their way back down to the lower village area to the Interpretive Center, where the guide showed them several interesting artifacts discovered in the excavations.
Carol was standing on the edge of the crowd, distracted with thoughts about what would happen at the end of the week. Would Daryl come to Atlanta? Would she and Sophia go to California? The Christmas holidays were coming up soon, maybe then—
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft touch to her shoulder.
"We need to grab a couple of minutes to talk about the arrangements for tomorrow." Rick said in a quiet voice. "Walk with me?"
Carol looked around to see what the others were doing. Most were listening intently to the guide, who was entertaining and informative, full of stories about the people who once called this place home. Daryl and Abe were his guinea pigs, trying to attach the replicas of ancient fishing lures to modern deep sea fishing line, not very successfully and to much laughter.
Carol nodded at Rick and they moved away from the group. T gave her a questioning glance, but she signaled to him that she was all right.
A half an hour later when the guide's presentation was finished, Daryl looked for Carol to share a smile, but didn't find her in the crowd. He started asking everyone if they had seen her.
"I saw her go off with Rick a bit ago—she said she was fine." T-Dog said, but Daryl's reaction made him realize he'd been right to worry.
Calls to their cell phones went unanswered. Daryl organized search parties of two and they started combing the site.
When another half hour had gone by with no sight of them, Daryl climbed the heights back to the heiau cliff where the war sacrifices had been made during Kamehameha's time. His search partner Andrea struggled to keep up, so fast was he moving.
Standing at the edge of Kahekili's Leap, facing the sheer drop to the ocean below, was Rick, silent and still.
"Rick? Where's Carol?" Daryl called, and when the other man turned, Daryl's heart stopped.
Rick had his arm locked around Carol's neck in a choke hold, holding a knife to her chest. Her arms were tied behind her back, her scarf knotted as a gag in her mouth. Her blouse was open, ripped, and her bra looked like it had been cut in half at the center. The point of the blade was almost touching the curve of her left breast, just over her heart.
"She told me this is paradise." Rick said, his eyes glittering as he looked at Daryl, "I remember you once damned me to hell."
"Rick...just...just let her go." Daryl said, holding his right hand out placatingly, while with the left he motioned the other coming up the path behind him to stay back.
"I wouldn't come any closer." Rick said mildly, "And no one else should try and run or call for help either...take the batteries out and throw your cell phones over here!" he said to Daryl and Andrea who had just arrived on the scene.
Daryl and Andrea complied, tossing their cells within Rick's reach. He stepped forward and crushed them under his boot heel.
"You stand witness. Anyone tries anything..." Rick continued and he pushed down on the knife at Carol's breast just hard enough to break skin.
Carol gasped at the hot slice and felt the blood start to drip down her chest.
"Rick!" Andrea screamed, horrified.
"Andrea shut up!" Daryl bit out without turning to look at her.
Andrea sucked in a breath and put her hand on Daryl's back in support.
"Why don't you tell me what's happening here Rick?" Daryl said carefully, "I want to understand."
Rick jutted out his chin and narrowed his eyes, shaking his head to clear the sweat that was dripping off his forehead, catching in his brows, the salt biting his eyes.
"I wanted to show her...how good it would be...all of us together...she was supposed to help me. Explain it to you, like that night, that last night, she liked it, you saw...she liked it then; us together, kissing her, touching her." Rick said, looking vague and unsure. "That was the plan. You love her, I love you both, and you'd love us then."
"Rick please..." Daryl said, "We can talk, work it all out..."
"She didn't want me. I had to show her..." Rick turned his knife hand slightly so his knuckles brushed over Carol's nipple, stiff in the chill ocean air, lightly rubbing it, back and forth. "So pretty..."
Carol closed her eyes, humiliation and fear etched on her face.
"I see why you wanted her so badly...so soft...like a peach...no, a strawberry...juicy with those delicious freckles, this soft ass, those fiery curls..." he ground his hips against her bottom lewdly and Carol involuntarily whimpered. "...but she didn't want me." Rick said, looking sternly at Carol.
"What did you do, Rick?" Daryl said, and the cold menace in his voice made Carol's eyes come open again.
"I had to show her, make her behave." Rick said self-righteously, "She's the third; she's just the fuck toy so you'll play. She needed to know that."
Daryl had to take a few precious seconds to get himself under control. The murderous rage building inside him thinking of what Rick may have done to Carol while he'd been searching for them was taking away his ability to think rationally. Then he calmed, knowing what he had to do.
"Do we really need a third any more, Rick?" Daryl asked, putting a seductive touch of gravel in his voice, his posture relaxing.
Carol's eyes went wide and she tried to shake her head back and forth, willing him to stop. She knew what he was trying to do, but Rick was so far gone it was too dangerous.
Rick's head tilted to the side, staring at Daryl, listening...
"It was too much...back then...I was too young... I couldn't handle the way it made me feel, being with you like that; it scared me... how much I wanted you." Daryl said, his voice now shy, almost as if he was channeling his nineteen year old self.
"And now?" Rick asked, interested but wary.
"I've been around—fucked around a lot more—now I know what we had was special...but after I told you to stay out of my life back then I didn't think you ever wanted to see me again." Daryl looked at Carol, apology in his eyes for every lie he was spinning. "Thought I had to settle for this, for her; what people expected of me; settle for a wife and kids," and then he looked lovingly at Rick, "when all I really wanted was you."
"So if Carol wasn't here?" Rick asked, looking over his shoulder at the long drop and then back at Daryl, raising his eyebrows.
"Carol's our friend, Rick." Daryl said calmly, though in his head the pulse at his throat was hammering away more loudly than the surf crashing below. "You don't want to hurt her..."
"I already did." Rick admitted, now sounding unsure. "She'll tell...I'll get in trouble...can't be with you if she tells."
"She won't. She knows you didn't mean it—you were just trying to show her..." Daryl said, taking a small step forward and holding out his hand. "Just come with me, Rick, leave her here, it's just us now..."
"Tell me you don't love her." Rick said edgily, and the knife pressed in again, making Carol gasp and more red drip down to stain her torn clothes.
"I don't love Carol. I love you, Rick, I've always loved you." Daryl said gently and with great sincerity, walking towards him slowly, both hands held out in supplication.
"I knew it...from the moment I saw you...I knew you were mine." Joy broke over Rick's face and he started to cry.
"That's right...I'm yours...not hers...we don't need her." Daryl said soothingly.
Rick seemed to realize he couldn't take Daryl's hands and continue to hold Carol captive so he relaxed his hold on her and started lowering the knife to his side.
It took everything in him for Daryl not to rush to Carol and pull her away from her captor, but he knew if he did that it would break the illusion that he was giving to Rick. Rick was still too close to her and could very easily lunge at her and thrust with the knife before Daryl could stop him.
"I need to hold you, Rick...feel your lips on mine...feel your touch; I've missed you so much..." Daryl coaxed, coming still closer, reaching his hand out to the other man.
Rick dropped his arm from Carol's neck and took her upper arm in his hand, still holding her precariously close to the cliff's edge.
"Andrea, would you come help Carol, please?" Daryl said, all the while smiling warmly at Rick. "She'll take her away, okay?"
Rick nodded, letting go of Carol who stood still, looking terrified for Daryl's safety.
"Go with Andrea now." Daryl ordered her, still looking only at Rick.
Rick rushed to Daryl, throwing his arms around him, the bloody knife still held in the right and grasping the back of Daryl's neck with the left to hold him, and kissed him like a long lost lover, deep and passionate.
While he was distracted, Andrea ran forward and grabbed Carol, dragging her away from the men and working to remove her bonds.
As soon as her gag was removed Carol whispered desperately to Andrea:
"Run for help, please!" hoping Rick was too caught up to notice.
Andrea hesitated, trying to pull Carol along with her, but when Carol couldn't leave Daryl, Andrea took off at a run.
Rick let his hand slide from Daryl's nape to his back until he reached the curve of Dixon's ass, grabbing it and pulling forward so they were pressed tightly against one another. Daryl could feel the cold steel of the knife pressed against his shoulder blade as he lowered his hand to do the same, sickened as he felt Rick's erection push into his belly.
Daryl needed to get the knife away from Rick.
He wasn't sure if Rick had forgotten he was holding it or if it was a silent threat, but it lessened his surety that he could overpower the other man.
Rick continued the kisses over Daryl's face to his jaw, so manically happy now he was shaking.
"We can jump, together. Just like the warriors did—show our courage to be together." Rick whispered into Daryl's ear, taking Daryl's hand in his and pulling him to the edge.
Half way down the trail, Andrea heard Carol's scream.
"Kaunolū Village Site is located on the south coast of the island of Lānaʻi. This former fishing village, abandoned in the 1880s, is the largest surviving ruins of a prehistoric Hawaiian village. The archaeological site is very well preserved and covers almost every phase of Hawaiian culture. It was designated a U. Historic Landmark in 1962[2] and added to the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaiian bone lures used to troll for pelagic fish were found in Ulaula Cave, a small lava tube near the village.
King Kamehameha I frequently enjoyed fishing here. His house platform lies directly across the gulch from Halulu Heiau, high on the edge of a cliff above the bay. Between 1778 and 1810, he is said to have held ceremonies at this heiau (probably a luakini war/sacrifice heiau). During the late 18th century, Maui high chief Kahekili, a rival of Kamehameha, also used to visit here. Near the heiau is a notch in the cliff called Kahekili's Leap, where he is said to have ordered his warriors to dive into the sea below to prove their courage."
Source: Wikipedia.
