This chapter will be very different from the rest of the story, but the muse wants to see how some old friends are doing. So we leave the cool mountains and go back to Georgia to whisper in our character's ears a promise that there is better place to go to in this life and the next. I am giving a dose of poetry because I think that Beth would like that poem and it sort of fits the story.

Better Place

Glenn stopped digging for a few minutes to rest and to drink some water. The Georgia sun was relentless and he was still weak from the flu. It had been three weeks and he still wasn't back to normal. Three weeks of living like moles in the basement of the farmhouse while Maggie and Beth tended Hershel. The old man had died this morning and he had sent the women away and put him down with a thrust through the brain stem. Carol had shown him how to do that and it left the face intact. Hershel had looked peaceful when they came back and began to prepare him for burial and he had left to start the grave. Maggie had come out to dig and Beth too. He needed to finish this so that Hershel could be buried before sundown and they could be back inside the basement.

Maggie came out and nodded that it was finished. She and Beth brought Hershel out wrapped in a blanket and Glenn helped them lower it into the grave. Maggie was too numb to say anything and Beth choked out "Amazing Grace" and Glenn knew that he needed to say something that gave some comfort to Maggie and Beth. He started, "Hershel believed in the promises in his bible. He believed that Jesus had left here to create a better place for his children. It was real to Hershel and he died in peace looking forward to reuniting with the ones that went before." Glenn looked over at the graves that he had helped dig that summer on the farm. "Hershel was the best man I ever knew and I like to think that he found that better place. He loved all of us and a part of him will be with us forever. He isn't gone as long as we can remember him. So we need to honor him by remembering the lessons that he tried to teach us when he was with us and by passing them on our children."

Maggie and Beth stood there awhile and then Glenn motioned them to leave. He needed to get this grave filled in and be back inside the basement before sunset. The walkers were bad enough during the day and but they were far worse at night when you couldn't see them out there.

That evening the three of them huddled in the basement. They basement still had canned food in it and there were able to get water from the well during the day. Hershel had contacted the flu after they fled the prison and in desperation they had come back to the farm to find the house still standing but not the haven of the past. Hershel had survived the flu but later on had developed pneumonia. Maggie and Beth had cared for him night and day and Glenn had scavenged for things that they needed to survive.

They were huddled close together as if the close presence of the living somehow evened out that the dead was walking above their heads. They had put sound barriers so that Hershel's coughing would not bring a herd looking for them and they could talk as long as they kept their voices low. No one said anything for a very long time when Beth spoke for the first time since she had sung at Hershel's grave. "I am getting the hell out of here tomorrow".

Maggie was almost as stunned at Beth cursing as she was by her declaration, "Amy, where do you think that you are going?"

Beth turned to her and saw that Maggie was falling apart. She had been so strong for so long, all through Glenn's sickness, the fall of the prison, their flight here, and then taking care of their father Maggie had held herself together. Now, she seemed lifeless and broken. Beth said, "I am going to go find Carol. She told us where she was going and said that we could come too. I love Carol and I want to see her again." She was a little defiant with that last statement. Maggie had been judgmental about what Carol had done, but Beth who had been much closer to Carol was willing to forgive.

Maggie turned furiously on her sister, "You will not run off and get yourself killed chasing a ghost."

Beth was calmer than Maggie when she answered, "I am not being suicidal. I just don't want to sit here and watch us die one by one. The last one won't have anyone to dig the grave for them, and I want a chance for something better. I will go with or without you, Maggie. This place is now a graveyard. I am not living the rest of my life waiting to die."

Glenn let them talk; he agreed with Beth. This place was a graveyard. "I have a map of Georgia/South Carolina/North Carolina in my backpack. I found it on the way here at a gas station. We can look for Adair".

Maggie stalked off to the other end of the basement and Glenn dug out the map. He hadn't really looked at it before but it unfolded into a map of the entire area and the back side had a map of each state. Beth looked over his shoulder and adjusted the lantern so that they both could see it. They found Adair finally. It must be a small place in the mountains of North Carolina, but a small place sounded good to them. Carol had said something about her family living up on some mountain out to town.

Maggie watched them angrily. Glenn brought the map to her eventually and she hissed at him," This is crazy. The woman killed two sick people and you want to risk your life to find her?"

Glenn sighed, "I love her like a sister and we never really heard her side of the story. Besides, we have both done things that we need forgiveness for. I just have a feeling that this is a gamble I am willing to take. It's better to have half a chance than no chance. Today at the grave I said something that surprised me. I said that I wanted to tell my children about Hershel. The last time I saw Andrea alive I was angry and unforgiving. Carol hugged her and showed that she still loved her. I lost my chance to hug Andrea and tell her that I loved her. I am not losing a chance to see Carol again and you aren't either. Your ass is going to be in that Tahoe tomorrow because we are going to have children someday who will hear your stories about their grandfather. The Grim Reaper waited in the shadows of the prison to take me and I am not sitting here waiting for him to find me again." He stalked off and Maggie was still angry but she got up and started to put the things in her backpack that she wanted to take. There was food that needed to be stored in the Tahoe and she needed to go upstairs in the morning to see if there was any photographs or family mementos that they could take with them.

They left before sunrise the next morning and the next few days were spent scavenging gasoline and supplies. Glenn wanted to bring some useful things with them and he stocked up whenever there was anything. He found a trailer and filled it full of medical supplies, weapons, ammo, and food. He wanted to be able to survive if they didn't find Carol.

Glenn was driving on the highway that led to Adair when he saw the roadblock. He stopped the Tahoe and told Maggie and Beth to stay put. He approached on foot and talked to the men at the concrete barrier. They knew Carol and gave them the directions to her house. Glenn walked back to the car and sat down. "We are just going to drive up this road until we see a sign that say McAllister Mountain and we stay on that road for miles and Carol and Daryl live in a log house close to the top. We will go past a big log house with three buildings and it is just a little past that. We stop at the gate and wait until someone lets us in."

Glenn waved to the men at the roadblock and they waved back. "They told me that we aren't the first ones to make it". Glenn found the road to McAllister Mountain and they started up the mountain. Beth remembered a poem by Christini Rossetti called Uphill and she began to recite it as a sort of prayer as they traveled past farms and houses. Children playing inside of fences waved to them as they drove by.

Uphill

Does the road wind uphill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

Will the day's journey take the whole long day?

From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?

A roof for when the slow, dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?

You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?

Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?

They will not keep you waiting at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

Of labour you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

Yea, beds for all who come.

Glenn thought they must be getting close because he saw the log house with the three buildings and he followed the road on home. The next house had a gate and he stopped by it. He got out of the Tahoe and stretched. There was a large log house with a long porch on the front. The door opened and Daryl stepped out and behind him came Carol with Judith. Beth had seen Judith and she jumped out and waited with him. Maggie got out more slowly.

Maggie saw Daryl run to open the gate and Carol go back inside. Daryl hugged them which seemed a shock to almost everyone and told them to drive on in. Carol had come back to the porch with Judith and Maggie saw Tyreese and Sasha waiting for them. Michonne and Carl followed them out with a man that she didn't know. Maggie saw Lizzie and Mika come out and stand beside of Carol. Everyone hugged them and kissed them when they got out of the car. Maggie knew when Carol knew that Hershel was gone because she saw the sorrow on her face. Beth bounded up to Carol and hugged her and kissed Judith who was a little frightened by all the noise. Glenn kissed Carol and told her that he loved her. Maggie went on in the house to find that the table was set and she could smell something that smelled wonderful. This was a home. The people who lived here came home at the end of their day and sat down and ate together. This was the way life had been and still was here.

Carol told Glenn that they would wait until they had a shower to eat. Daryl showed them where the showers were and they found that there actual hot water and soap. There were blue tshirts and black cargo pants to fit when they were finished. Daryl said, "Welcome to Clan McAllister", and laughed when he gave them the clothes.

Downstairs the table seemed larger and there enough seats and dishes for everyone to sit and eat. They sat down and Tyreese said a prayer of thanksgiving that they were safe and here with them. Then they ate together like a family. Maggie smiled at Beth who was holding Judith as they ate and Glenn who talking to Daryl. Maggie smiled at Carol who was talking to the Michonne and the man beside her. Carol seemed to sense her smile and looked up to meet her gaze. Something of an understanding passed between them, some secrets will always be kept within the family. Carol smiled back and Maggie felt a burden roll away from her. She was in a better place and she was home.

Hope you liked this chapter, I couldn't leave them out of the story. The muse sees potential in all of them and you know I have to go with what the muse wants.

Review please.

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