Carol
Pure relief flooded through Carol's veins as she clutched a shivering Sophie to her. She felt almost hysterical as she continually patted Sophie over, checking that she was ok. She looked up to thank Georgie-how could she ever thank Georgie, and realised in horror that she wasn't there. Daryl and T-Dog were racing towards the river, where the ice thinned out, and it suddenly hit her what must have happened. She felt sick to her stomach. She clutched Sophie to her, closed her eyes and started to pray.
"Please God, let her be ok. Please let her be ok." Next to her, Miao gave a cry.
"Oh God. They have her, they pulled her out." Carol opened her eyes and looked up. T-Dog and Daryl were pulling a sodden lump out of the water. It was Georgie and she wasn't moving. T-Dog scooped her up in his arms and ran to the women, Daryl close behind him.
"She's not moving, she's not breathing!" T-Dog lay Georgie down on the floor, and Carol saw the full extent of Georgie's condition. Her skin was pale, almost pale enough to see the veins in her arms, and already her lips and hands were turning blue. Most worryingly, her eyes were closed, and her chest wasn't moving.
"Do something!' Daryl was pacing, an expression on his face Carol had never seen-at least not on his face. He looked panicked, scared. He turned to T-Dog, who was shaking Georgie. "Why ain't she wakin up? Do something, goddammit, she's gonna die."
Carol handed Sophie to Miao and pushed T-Dog aside. Placing her hands on Georgie's chest, she started to press down hard. She wasn't sure if she was doing it right, but it was all she could think to do. An agonising minute passed, silent except for Daryl's cursing and Sophie's gulps. And then, Georgie coughed. Water spilled out of her mouth and her eyes opened wide as if she had been surprised. She rolled onto her side, and continued to cough up murky lake water. She tried to pull herself to her hands, and knees, but Carol stopped her. Almost immediately, she started to shiver violently. After a moment of shock, T-Dog seemed to pull himself together.
"Daryl, take Georgie and Sophie to that house. There were blankets there, it was inside, you may be able to start a fire. I'll collect the rest of the group." He pulled off his parker jacket and wrapped it carefully around Sophie. He looked at Carol. "You go with Sophie, she needs her mother." Carol didn't need to be told twice, not even once. She scooped her daughter up in her arms and looked to Daryl. Daryl was pulling Georgie to her feet, but even Carol could see that Georgie wasn't able to stand. The cold seemed to have robbed her of her senses, she looked confused and disorientated. Daryl pulled the long sleeved shirt off that Carol had heard T-Dog and Georgie spend a good fifteen minutes nagging him to wear and wrapped it roughly around Georgie. He swung his crossbow on his back, and lifted her into his arms. Carol saw with alarm, that although Georgie attempted to hold onto his neck, she was having difficulty moving her fingers. She glanced at Sophie, worried that she was in a similar state. However, Sophie hadn't been in the water that long, and she had been wrapped in T-Dog, Miao and Carols own tops for a while.
"C'mon. Get movin'." Daryl's voice snapped out, but Carol thought she could detect a hint of fear in it too. As she tried to match her strides to his, she heard him muttering to Georgie. "Don't ya go fallin' asleep now. Stay awake. Say somethin' dammit. What happened to not a Disney film? Say somthin'!" Georgie said nothing. As Carol caught up to the pair, she saw with horror that she was struggling to stay conscious. Carol didn't know a lot about medicine, but she knew that you shouldn't let someone suffering hypothermia fall asleep. She could see Daryl's face clearer now, and could clearly see him working to keep his usual indifferent mask on. But it wasn't working.
They traipsed through the snow for an hour. Carol kept rubbing her daughter, and talking to her, doing her best to keep her awake. Sophie seemed ok, just complained about being wet. Georgie was slipping in and out of unconsciousness, and Carol was getting more and more concerned about her. She didn't know where Daryl was taking them, and was beginning to wonder if T-Dog had made the right choice. Surely taking Georgie back to camp would have been better-it was only ten minutes away, and they could have wrapped her up in all the spare blankets. She was just about to mention this to Daryl, when the trees cleared and she saw where they had been headed.
If she hadn't been so worried about Georgie, she would have been impressed by the sheer beauty of it. The building was made of wood and stone, and was surrounded by trees. A large sign on the roof announced that she was looking at the "Wives and Daughters Hide Out". It was at least four stories high, and each story had multiple windows and balconies. Before Carol could take in any more, Daryl kicked the front door, breaking it open.
"Get in." Carol didn't need to be told twice. She scurried in the front door, and Daryl followed.
Carol had a brief impression what she imagined was meant to be rustic charm as she entered the reception area. Daryl moved past her and up some impressive wooden stairs, seeming to know where he was headed. Carol ran up the stairs behind him, and followed him into the first room next to the stairs.
The room, actually comprised of two rooms-a living area, and a bedroom. Compared to the rushed glimpses of the cabin that Carol had seen, the room was very modern. A huge L shaped couch took up most of the room, facing a wide screen TV. Underneath the TV, a large glass table sat, covered in newspapers and magazines. With a jolt, Carol realised that a pair of shoes were sat next to the door. She placed Sophie on the couch and raced to close it. Once it was securely shut, she moved to the couch and crouched down in front of Sophie.
"You ok baby?" How are your feet and hands?" Sophie sniffed woefully.
"I'm ok. I'm sorry Mom." Carol stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. She took her daughters hands in hers and examined them. Her hands were cold, but they were a normal colour. She looked at her face and sighed in relief. She would be fine.
"It's ok. Listen. I need to go help Daryl with Georgie. I want you to stay here. If you hear anything in the hall, you come into the bedroom. Don't scream, just come in fast as you can. Ok? When I've helped Georgie, we'll get you dry." She hugged Sophie again, and then walked into the bedroom.
The room was even bigger than the living area. Another large couch stood at the far end of the room, which was dominated by two luxurious looking single beds. On the one closest to the door, Daryl was kneeling in front of Georgie, who was still pale and unresponsive and in her soaking clothes. Carol took a deep breath and decided to take charge.
"You need to get her out of those wet clothes." Daryl's head turned to her. She walked towards a large wardrobe, near another door, and flung the doors open. It was still stocked with clothes. Like a bolt from the blue, Carol realised that the hotel had been abandoned in the middle of the season. She glanced nervously at the door to the room, and then returned her mind to the task at hand. Looking at the top of the wardrobe, she spotted the customary spare blanket. Pulling it down, she turned back to Daryl. He hadn't made a move towards Georgie, but was still looking at her blankly. She moved to the door that she presumed lead to the bathroom and opened it. Again, the room was sleek and modern, and fully stocked. She grabbed the large bath towels hanging on the railing, which were of course somehow still thick and fluffy. She moved to Georgie and pulled off Daryl's now soaked shirt.
"Take them off her. We can wrap her up in dry warm blankets for now." She started to peel off Georgie's jacket, Georgie seemed barely aware of what was happening, and made no real move to help her. She turned to Daryl. "Give me a hand please?" Daryl started.
"No way. Georgie'd kill me if she though I'd bin undressin' her. I ain't stupid." He moved away, closer to the door. Carol felt frustration boil up inside her.
"We either undress her, and risk her anger later, or she dies from shock, and you have to shot her in the head. What would you prefer?" She was surprised at her outspokenness, and half expected the customary slap in the face she would have gotten from Ed, but instead Daryl blinked, and then moved towards the bed. Gingerly, he lifted Georgie's arms, and held them there, looking anywhere but directly at Georgie's body. As Carol peeled off her tops, boots and trousers, she noticed with alarm how thin Georgie was. She knew Georgie hadn't been eating as much since they had escaped the complex, but she hadn't realised to what extent. She could almost count everyone of her ribs, and the tattoos on her stomach were emphasised by the angle of her hip bones. Without her many layers, she looked much, much younger, and fragile.
When they got to her underwear, Carol decided for both Daryl and Georgie's sake to leave it on She proceeded to wrap her firmly all but one of the bath towels, and the blanket from the cupboard. To her relief, colour was seeping back into Georgie's toes and she seemed to be getting more alert-or at least alert enough to just be led, rather than carried into bed. Carol felt a sudden motherly instinct towards her as she tucked her in. Daryl hovered around the door glancing at the entrance to the room and to Georgie. Carol turned and attempted to smile at him.
"Can you sit with her, while I sort out Sophie? I think she needs to sleep too." Daryl grunted and moved towards the bed. He perched on the end of the bed, elbows on knees and stared down at his hands. Carol left him there and went to get Sophie. She had fallen asleep on the sofa, thumb in mouth. Carol stopped and watched her for a while. For all that Sophie was trying to grow up, to be brave and fight, she too looked even younger than ever. Carol gently sat her up and as carefully as possible removed her wet clothes and wrapped her up in the bath towel. She carried her into the room and put her into the other bed. Sophie stirred, but didn't wake. Carol kissed her head, and moved onto the couch. Daryl didn't move.
"They'll both be ok." Carol spoke more to break the silence then to reassure Daryl. Daryl grunted in response. A long silence passed, Carol sat on the sofa, Daryl on the end of Georgie's bed, continually glancing at the door, then back at Georgie. He got up and started pacing the room, glancing at both Georgie and Sophie. Carol bit the inside of her mouth. She recognised this mood. She had seen this mood with Ed-the build up. Right before the explosion and the fists. She watched him warily. She didn't think Daryl would hit her, but she didn't want to take any chances. Finally he turned and moved towards hers, indifference replaced with anger.
"This is your goddam fault. Yours and that bratty kid of yours. Georgie shoulda bin scouting with me, not keeping your stupid kid entertained." His face was right in front of Carols now, and he was practically snarling in her face. "Why th hell didn't ya go an get her outta the ice? I know why. It's 'cause ya weak. Ya were too weak to save ya kid, jus like ya were too weak to leave ya pathetic excuse of a husband. Ev'ry knows he was beatin' on you, an you jus let him do it. Ya never fought back. I bet if he'd hit ya kid, you'd have let it happen. And what's your excuse-ya loved him?" He stood up, a look of disgust on his face as he looked down at her. "My aunt, she had a man like Ed. But she got away. Ya stayed. No wonder Sophie follows Georgie ev'rywhere. She needs someone ta look up to." He turned away from her, shaking his head.
Carol sat, stunned on the sofa. It wasn't like she hadn't thought everything Daryl had said to her. It was just that she had never heard it said out loud before. And he was right. All the times she could have left and didn't. All the times she had been on the brink of walking out the door with Sophie and hadn't. And it was because she loved him. Was that so bad? She had put up with a lot from him, because she loved him. She wasn't the first person to do that, to love someone who didn't deserve their love. In fact...
"You can't talk. Look at Merle." She clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. Why the hell had she said that? That was precisely the wrong thing to say if she wanted to keep Daryl calm. He turned at looked at her. Unlike Ed, whose face had always been unreadable before he exploded, there was anger written all over Daryl's face.
"Ya wanna say that again." Carol swallowed. She didn't know where her boldness was coming from, but she'd come this far without a punch.
"You and Merle." Carol kept her eyes down, whilst the words kept tumbling out, so fast she couldn't stop them. "You talk, you talk about me and Ed. At least I didn't deny what was happening. You and Merle...you worked for him. You did all the hunting. You kept him under control, you were always making sure he wasn't harassing Andrea and Amy, or taking a swing at T-Dog. When...when he was left in Atlanta, when he attacked T-Dog, everyone knows it's because you weren't there to stop him. And...and what did he do for you? Nothing. He never lifted a finger. He brought walkers to the camp. He didn't know you weren't there, you could have died."
"Naw." Daryl had started to pace again, walking back and forth agitatedly. He walked back to Carol, pointing his finger at her. "Naw, you people brought that on yourself. Merle knew I'd be able ta handle it. He knew. He knew I could cope with a couple a brain dead geeks."
"Like Tyrese and Carlos could?" Carol had no idea where she was finding the courage for all this, but now she had started, she couldn't stop. "They'd been trained to fight walkers, they lived to fight walkers, and they didn't come out of the complex. Everyone knows if you get surrounded, you're dead. Even Merle had to know that. And he still led walkers to the camp, where you were."
Daryl's face was contorted, as if he was in pain. Carol watched him, waiting for a response. When it didn't come, she pressed on.
"My point is, you can get on that high horse all you want. But we're the same. We both cared about someone who wasn't worth the air they breathed. Because we thought we had to. Because Ed was my husband and the father of my child. Merle was your brother. But we both knew..."
Before she could finish the sentence, Daryl had stormed out of the bedroom, and into the living, all but slamming the door behind him. Carol's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were shaking. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever stood up to anyone like that. Not verbally. It must have been at least fifteen years ago, when she had just graduated high school. Before she met Ed. Carol looked across at Sophie. Slowly, she walked over to her bed, and burrowed under the covers, watching her daughter sleep.
What had happened to that girl? That girl who had laughed at the cheerleaders, who had had ideas and dreams, who wanted to go places and meet people? Had she really changed since she met Ed? She couldn't even remember what she had been like before. She kissed Sophie on the forehead and closed her eyes. Before she drifted off to sleep, she thought over one thing Daryl had said. She needed to show Sophie that she could be strong too. That Georgie wasn't the only role model she had.
