Chapter Twenty-Five

"It's gone."

The helicopter had seemed to vanish. It had even been there in the first place. Shane, Sasha, T-Dog and Andrea stopped following the nose and sagged in exhaustion and defeat.

"I think it was just our hopeful imaginations," Sasha mumbled. "Like when someone is stuck in the desert and they see water."

Shane looked over his group and wondered, not for the first time, what Rick would do. Rick was a natural born leader and when they had been on the force together, every seemed to look to him. At first, it had made Shane jealous of his friend,but soon realized that Rick had a good heart and leading people was what he did best.

"Come on, let's keep going toward the main building," he spoke. Three sets of tired eyes looked up at him and he tried hard to look determined and strong. They were looking up to him, after all. "Once we get there, we can rest and eat."

"Or we can kill Blake!" Andrea raised a fist.

"Or call for help," T-Dog added.

"Or, we can do all three," Sasha concluded with a smile. Some light returned to their eyes and they started to follow Shane once more through the trees.

"Jenner, look what I found!" Blake walked back into the monitor room, giddy and with a scowling Daryl Dixon. His hands were empty and Blake held up the crossbow in his other hand while the gun still remained in the other.

"Interesting," Jenner said and looked him over. "He doesn't look worse for the wear."

"I knew he wouldn't. I found him sneaking around the halls. Apparently, Glenn had a run-in with one of the raptors." He pouted. "And we missed it."

"Shame." Jenner shook his head. "Do you want me to get some rope to tie him up or are we going to let him go back on the island?"

"Get some rope." He pushed Daryl into one of the chairs and trained the gun at his chest. The crossbow was set on the table behind them, out of reach of Daryl. "You see, I have a feeling he's not the only one here like he claims."

"Oh? Do you think Carol is around here somewhere?"

"That's exactly what I think." He kept his eyes trained on Daryl to catch any reaction from the man, but was dissatisfied when he got none. "They've been glued together from the start. There's no way he would have come here, to a place that is safe, without her."

"Very true." Jenner nodded.

"I don't think he realizes that not only do we have cameras in the woods and around the island, but in here, as well. Of course, we didn't think to look at them since the action is all outside." With one hand, he typed something on a nearby keyboard and on several screens, empty hallways appeared and there was even one in the spacious kitchen.

"When you get back with the rope, it's time for a new game, Jenner. We're going to play 'Where's Carol?'"

Carol didn't emerge from the room until she was sure that Blake and Daryl were gone. She was still seething, but there wasn't much she could do at that point. First, she needed to get the water for Glenn and then, she was going for Blake and Jenner. If they hurt Daryl...

It took Carol a little bit to finally figure out where she was. She had yet to master the hallways of the large building before they had all been sent out on the island, but she knew that she was near the kitchen, which was a relief. Getting back to Milton, Maggie and Glenn would be a little difficult, but she knew she'd be able to do it. Hopefully.

Daryl felt sick as he watched the monitors. All of them. One had the T-Rex hunting and killing some poor dinosaur (at least it wasn't a human) and the others showed Carol quickly making her way to the kitchen. Blake was more interested in Carol and when he saw where her destination was, he grinned and stood to face Daryl, who was tied to his chair.

"Found her!" He exclaimed and grabbed Daryl's crossbow. "Now, it's time to collect my prize."

"No!" Daryl struggled hard on his bonds, but it was no use. He was trapped. He just hoped that Carol was able to get away.

Finally, Carol opened the door that led to the kitchen. Stainless steel gleamed in the dim light and Carol's widened at how large it was. On one side was the freezer that held the meat and other things and a few feet away was the pantry. There had been two doors leading to it, one was in the kitchen and the other close to the dining room.

Carol had never seen a place so big, but she supposed if it was meant to feed a whole theme park of people, then it would have to be large.

Now, she didn't need anything from the pantry or freezer. She needed to retrieve the water from the refrigerator, which was the farthest thing away from her. Of course. With a sigh, she began walking, but a noise outside had her stopping. It sounded as if someone was running.

Carol leapt over one of the counters and landed hard on the other side. Her gun skittered underneath the counter on the other side of her. Before she could reach for it, the doors were thrown open. Carol pressed herself into the stainless steel cabinets behind her and listened as the footsteps approached.

They stopped near where she was and Carol looked up to see the tip of a bolt. Then, more was shown. A crossbow. Daryl! She was about to jump up and hug him when the person behind the bow spoke. "Carol dear, I know you're in here." Definitely not Daryl's voice. "You're boyfriend and I watched it on the cameras. Come out, now and I won't hurt you."

The offer was not tempting.

As quietly as she could, she began to crawl away, hoping to find a cabinet already open and big enough to squeeze in. However, she didn't doubt that Blake would search every nook and cranny for her. She wouldn't give up, though. Her friends and Daryl needed her.

"There's no place you can go, Carol," Blake continued to speak. "You're trapped and I'm going to have fun with you when I find you." For every step Blake took on the linoleum, Carol crawled that many on her hands and knees. She needed to round the corner before Blake did and saw her.

She rounded the corner, just as Blake did and slammed her back against a wall of utensils. One clattered loudly to the floor and she winced.

"Ah ha!"

Carol took off scrambling on her hands and feet, making sure to keep her head down so that he couldn't fire a bolt on her. Up ahead, she spotted a perfect hiding spot or at least a spot that could keep her safe for a little while. Hearing Blake's running steps behind her, she squeezed into the tiny spot.

"There you are!" A bolt fired right at her...and crashed into only a reflection. "What?"

When he got close enough, Carol kicked his legs from under him and he landed hard on the ground. She wrestled for the bow, but he had a tight grip on it and wouldn't let go. Luckily, it wasn't loaded. He made a grab for one of her legs, but she danced out of the way and kicked him hard in the knee. She didn't wait around to see how he reacted. Instead, she flung open the nearest door, which was the door to the freezer. She'd be safe in there, but also trapped.

Turning, she went to leave and was nearly run over by Blake as he rushed her. Screaming, she moved to slam the door on him, she slid on the icy floor and fell hard. The breath was knocked from her. But there was another thump and Blake was on the ground by her. Quickly, she got to her feet first and rushed out of the freezer. The next door led to the pantry and she nearly cried when she saw a case of water bottles on one of the shelves. She grabbed a few and ran out the other door, knowing that Blake wasn't that far behind.

Daryl watched the whole thing on a TV screen. He clenched and unclenched his bound hands and almost exclaimed aloud when Carol and Blake were fighting over his bow. Jenner had dozed off in the corner, glad that his boss was occupied so that he could sleep. Any bit of noise could wake him. He would have seen where Carol had been hiding in the kitchen and warned Blake. Even now, he would see her running through the various corridors and radio his boss. So, Daryl kept quiet and watched with anticipation as Carol navigated the place and tried hard to avoid Blake.

"What was that?" T-Dog stopped mid-step.

"Something's rustling," Andrea answered. "Maybe it's an animal." Of course, she knew it could be other things. Things that were much bigger and more dangerous.

"It may be just some bir-"

Out from the trees behind them emerged the T-Rex, as if it had been waiting for that moment. It saw them and roared, long and loud. It was almost as if it were calling his friends because from across the way, four velociraptors materialized from the trees, as well.

Shane looked at his group, at his friends. "Run!"

Behind them, the T-Rex roared again and the ground shook as it began to chase them.

Jenner jolted awake and Daryl quickly averted his eyes away from the screen Carol had just appeared on. "Did you hear that?" He asked.

"Uh, no." The room had been silent except for Jenner's soft snores.

"Oh. Okay." Jenner shrugged and closed his eyes once more.

Carol, fortunately was able to lose Blake in the corridors and find her way back to Glenn, Maggie and Milton. She knocked softly on the door, reassured Maggie that it was her and slid through the opening Maggie held open for her.

On the table, Glenn's chest was bandaged and he looked pale. Though, he didn't seem to be in any pain. The medication must have worked. Carol handed the bottles to Milton, who quickly opened one for Glenn. "Where's Daryl?" He asked.

As the adrenaline slowly left her. Carol sagged into a chair and placed her head in her hands. "Blake caught him. He tried to make him believe that it was only him in the building, but he caught me in the kitchen. I was able to lose him, though and once I catch my breath, I'm going to find Daryl."

"Where did your gun go?" Maggie asked.

"Lost it in the kitchen and Blake has Daryl's crossbow."

"Here." Maggie handed Carol her rifle, but she pushed it back in her friend's hands.

"What about you? How would you defend yourself if Blake comes in here?"

Maggie glanced over her shoulder at Milton. "Well, Milton has a pair of scissors that he used to cut the stitches." Milton held up the pair she was talking about and Carol made a face.

"Those won't kill anyone." She stood and went for the door. But Maggie handed her the rifle, again.

"Take it. I mean it, Carol. Blake isn't getting through these doors and if he does, I'll be able to take care of him." Carol finally took the weapon and gave Maggie a ferocious hug.

"Hopefully, I'll be back soon."

"Hopefully. Be careful out there."

"I'll try." Carol opened the door and slid out into the corridor, rifle at the ready. She wouldn't hesitate to shoot Blake if she had to.

Did you all recognize the kitchen scene? ;) That was kind of hard to do with 2 humans lol

Only 3 more chapters to go!

Thanks for reading!