Chapter 28
"Damn it," Michonne groaned, slamming her hand against the steel pole near a cash register inside a large department store. "We're surrounded."
"It's ok," Carol assured her. "Daryl's pulling the truck up at one of the loading docks. We just have to get back there and open the bay door.
"Easier said than done," Michonne grunted, unsheathing her samurai sword as three walkers ambled toward them.
"The doors are closed. We take these guys out, and we've got the run of the place." She pulled the rifle around from her back and checked to make sure she had ample ammo. When she was satisfied, she fired off a shot into the first walker, as Michonne took out two with one slice of her sword. "See? Piece of cake." Michonne smirked at that.
"Three down, thirty to go," Michonne murmured, whipping the sword back to keep another walker at bay, jerking upward to split it straight up the middle. The thing about these walkers? The longer they walked around decomposing, the softer and squishier they were. It made for easy albeit messy kills.
They moved from the front of the store straight to the back with ease, picking off each walker that came across their path. There were plenty still roaming the store, but they'd be dealt with later. They would pick them all off, one by one, and then they'd make sure the store was sealed up nice and tight so they might come back later for more supplies.
"This place is a gold mine," Michonne chuckled, her hand brushing over some sweaters as they walked past the women's clothing.
"Tell me about it."
"Oh, look. Get this for Daryl." She pointed at a frilly negligee, and Carol snorted.
"Yeah, right."
"Hey, why not? Spice things up a little."
"Things are plenty spicy enough, thank you," Carol said with a laugh as they pushed through two swinging doors and into the back room of the store. Giant flat-screen TV's sat in boxes under thick layers of dust. Carol shook her head, clucking her tongue. All of that money people poured into those pieces of equipment, and they were utterly useless now.
The houses in Trinity Hills had televisions, but there really was no practical use for them, and the generators' power couldn't be spared for video games and movies.
The clink of the back of the truck connecting with the doors of the loading dock echoed through the dark, loud room. A snarl from nearby startled them both, and Michonne shined her flashlight in the direction of the sound just in time for Carol to aim and fire, dropping the walker in half a second.
"Nice shot," Michonne said with a smile. It had been about a month since Michonne's group had arrived at Trinity Hills, and everyone was pretty comfortable with each other at this point. Carol had found the beginnings of a true friendship forming with Michonne, and she enjoyed their outings together.
Another bang from the loading doors got their attention, and they quickly moved to pull it open. Daryl was hopping down from the top of the truck, having had to climb out and up the truck to avoid the herd of walkers outside.
"Shit," Daryl grunted, squeezing between the cement wall and the back of the truck before landing on his feet. He opened up the back of the moving truck they'd found a couple of weeks ago, and he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Let me guess," Michonne snorted, "piece of cake?" Daryl shot her a look.
"Come on," Carol chuckled. "We've got a lot of work to do." The three of them made a wide circle around the store, sticking together and picking off the walkers one-by-one. It took a good forty-five minutes, but when they were confident the place was clear, they headed up to the front of the store to grab some carts.
"My three favorite words," Carol said with a little hum. "Let's go shopping."
Carol took the infant aisle, grabbing all of the non-expired formula that she could find. She loaded up the cart with boxes of diapers, baby wipes, bottles, cans of formula, clothes and even a few toys. If a baby had to grow up in such a dark world, the least it could have was some toys.
Carol found a cute stuffed giraffe that she tucked away for baby Judith, as well as some teething biscuits that hadn't quite met their expiration yet.
She took two cartloads to the truck before moving on to grab clothes for Andre and Jenna. Michonne stuck to the food aisles, grabbing canned meats and spaghetti o's—a special request from Sophia—as well as pasta sauces and boxes of spaghetti. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had pasta, but the thought of it was enough to make her stomach rumble.
Daryl was in charge of grabbing toiletries. Toilet tissue, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, tampons, and more condoms. Noah had made his own list and gave it to Daryl, and condoms had been at the top of it. The young man had ducked his head when Daryl eyed him, when Beth had peeked over at them and blushed furiously, Daryl had grunted and shook his head, not wanting to hear any explanations.
"Probably don't even know what the hell they're doin'," he muttered, tossing the boxes in his cart. "Waste of a box, you ask me." He eyed a box of that special warming liquid that he and Carol had discovered they liked so much, and after glancing over his shoulder to see if anybody was close by, he stuffed a tube of it in his pants pocket and moved on to the first-aid aisle and then on to the pet section for Sugar's food.
Michonne was just bringing her second cart load to the back when she heard a crash, followed by a yelp of pain from Carol.
"You ok?!" she asked, rushing to Carol's aid. Carol grunted and stood, brushing her hands on her pant legs.
"Yeah. Can you help me with this box?"
"What is it?"
"It's a crib."
"A crib?"
"For Sasha's baby."
"What about the one at her place?"
"It's at least twenty-years-old, Michonne. She needs a new one. Help." Michonne sighed and helped Carol pick the box up and put it in the cart. "We might be living after the apocalypse, but it's still ok to spoil babies, you know." Michonne smiled at that and shook her head as she and Carol headed to the back to load their finds into the truck.
They loved the truck. It made necessary supply runs a less frequent occurrence. They only had to go out once a month instead of once a week. Still, Daryl went out every few days for fresh meat, which always made Carol worry, especially when he was late getting home.
Daryl came back with his last load of stuff just as they were putting the crib box in the truck.
"Think we got everything," he muttered, tossing the items into the back of the truck.. Michonne raised an eyebrow when she noticed the multiple boxes of condoms, and when she saw a flush rise in Carol's cheeks in the dim light of the flashlight, she snickered but said nothing. Daryl slammed door shut, locking it in place so they wouldn't lose anything on the way home.
"Not everything," Carol pointed out. "We need a Christmas tree."
"Christmas tree?" Daryl and Michonne asked in unison.
"Yes, a Christmas tree. Jenna's still expecting Santa."
"We don't even know what day it is. How we gonna have Christmas?"
"It doesn't have to be Christmas day. We just need to celebrate. She needs this, Daryl. She's lost so much."
"We gonna do gifts, too?"
"We can," Carol said with a shrug. "But we don't have to. What's important is that she knows she has us. We're here, even if her parents are gone." The way Carol's hand moved to her chest, above her heart, told Daryl this was something very important to her.
"I'll grab a saw when we get home. Kid's gonna have a Christmas, she's gettin' a real tree, not one of them shitty fake ones."
"Thank you, Daryl," Carol murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss.
"God, you two aren't past the honeymoon stage yet?" Michonne asked with an eyeroll and an amused smile. "Oh, sorry, gotta have a honeymoon first. Or a wedding, I guess." She saw the color drain from Daryl's face, and she cleared her throat. "I'm just…gonna take my chances with the walkers out there. I'll be in the truck." She climbed up back of the truck and disappeared, leaving Carol and Daryl alone in an awkward silence.
"That was…" Carol's eyes met his, and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Look, I'm not even going to give it a thought, ok? I know you love me, and you know I love you, and honestly, I don't need anything more than that. Formalities really aren't necessary these days." She kissed him quickly before unwrapping herself from around him and starting toward the back of the truck. He reached out, catching her elbow with his finger tips. She turned around, blushing furiously as he cast the light on her face. She squinted and held her hand up. "Daryl, stop."
"I do love you," he said softly. "The others know about us. Ain't no secret."
"Right," Carol said with a nod. "And it's fine the way it is. We don't owe each other anything. It's just…it is what it is. It's good. I'm happy. Are you?"
"'Course I am," he said with a nod. "I got you. We got Sophia. And Judith and Jenna. We got a family." Carol gave him a smile and a little nod. "'Course Jenna did ask if we're gonna get married, 'cause moms and dad are s'posed to be married." Carol sighed softly.
"I've been married. It…well, it wasn't for me. Back then? I got married thinking I was with my soul mate. Turned out, my marriage was just a piece of paper that gave my husband the idea he had the right to be an asshole. Best thing I ever did was get a divorce." She caught herself. "I'm not saying that's how it would be. It's just…things are different. I love you. I love what we have. I know there wouldn't be any pieces of paper. But if I made vows again, it would be forever. You know what I mean?" Daryl gave her a little nod.
"Never been married," he said with a shrug. "But I never found nobody I wanted to be married to. 'Til you." Carol felt her eyes welling with tears. "We don't gotta. Just sayin'…I'd marry you. Someday. If you wanted. That's all." Carol bit her lip, blinking back the tears, and she gently placed her hand against his cheek.
"You…this…you're what I need," she insisted. Daryl tugged at her hips, pulling her close, and he let out a little sigh. She smiled a little, stroking his cheek. "Let's just go with it, hmm?"
"Look, I hate to bust up this awkwardness. It's my fault. I admit it. But we've got a second herd coming for a family reunion," Michonne hollered from the front of the truck. "Let's get going!" Carol sighed heavily, and she reached out, giving Daryl's hand a squeeze.
"S'alright. We'll talk later," Daryl promised. Carol smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips before he nodded for her to go first. "Tell Michonne to pull forward a little so I can shut this door." Carol gave him a nod before pulling herself up the back of the truck. He could hear her footsteps against the steel top, and moments later, Michonne inched the truck up just enough for Daryl to pull himself out and shut the door. A walker's hand scuffed at his boot, and he raised his knee before bringing his heel down on the side of its head, sloughing off half the head as the brain spilled from the skull. He grimaced and reached out, hanging onto the truck.
"Go on!" he hollered out, slapping the side of the truck. Michonne gave him a little nod in the mirror before stepping on the gas, hurrying down the lot toward the road. When they were clear from the herd, she stopped, and Daryl climbed off, coming around to hop into the cab.
"Acrobat," Michonne said, pushing the truck into drive, speeding off down the highway.
"What?" Daryl panted, scooting in close to Carol.
"You were an acrobat before the turn," Michonne guessed. Daryl snorted.
"Nah."
"Too bad," Michonne said, winking at Carol. "Imagine. Daryl Dixon in a spandex jumpsuit."
"I could get on board with that," Carol teased, curling her fingers around his.
"Stop," he muttered, ears turning red. Carol bit her lip and chuckled, settling in for the ride home.
