Standing Their Ground
Carol woke up with a start; her heart was pounding and her mouth felt dry. She had a sense that the wait time was over; the big bads were coming. She dressed hurriedly and woke up, Rick and Andrea. Michonne and Tyreese had been on watch. It was still dark outside so they felt they could warn everyone at Ashton's place without attracting attention. They used a walkie talkie to talk to Ashton. He answered immediately and Carol wondered if he had been waiting for them to call him. Joaquin was with him; he had rode in with Ashton last night and stayed there.
Daryl woke before dawn broke. He had visited with Sam and Dave last night and had a shower, clean clothes, and something to eat. He had brought back some jerky and water, not much but he felt that this was winding up. He warned Sam and Dave to lock everything up tight and move somewhere else to sleep. Sam gave Daryl three grenades; they had just been given out today. Joaquin had led a team to an army facility and gotten more supplies yesterday. Sam and Dave had moved to Ashton's house after dark.
Ashton moved Jo, Ariel, and Arya to the safe room. He, Jonathan, Joaquin, Sam, Dave, and Emily checked their weapons and reviewed the plan. It was simple; keep them out of the house. Don't be distracted by anything else. They waited in a dark house; it was true, it really is the darkest before dawn.
Daryl moved down the mountain and toward Frank McAllister's house. He was pretty sure that house would be attacked to draw Ashton and Jonathan out to help. Joaquin had sent two men to stay there, but Daryl was afraid that they would start thinking that this attack would never happen and be caught off guard. He knew that Frank, Connie, Kevin, and the two soldiers were in the house. He hoped that would be enough. He positioned himself close to the road with his weapons ready. It was getting lighter, they would hit soon, hoping to catch everyone asleep or only half awake.
Everyone had been warned but how ready they were was a guess. He figured all the houses were closed up tight and there were people inside with the will and the way to fight. He just hoped that they were ready for what was coming.
Carol had talked with Dave last night; he had told her that Daryl was fine and looking forward to this being over soon. He had also warned them to move closer to the group. Dave carried a message to Carol from Daryl, "Be safe".
Carol moved to Michonne and Tyreese and kissed and hugged them goodbye. They were moving down the hill; they were going to track these raiders back to their lair using equipment that Kevin and Glenn had pieced together. They had to find their vehicles and put the tracking devices on them. They would try to sabotage the vehicles, but they had to let some of them work so that they could follow them home.
Maggie, Glenn, and Beth were in the log bunker between Ashton's house and hers. They had used logs from the ones they were bringing in for Rick and Andrea's house. It was a simple fort hidden by brush and trees, but those logs would withstand a lot of firepower.
Rick and Andrea slipped out to their bunker close to the house. She hugged and kissed them as well. There had been a heated discussion on which team would be tagging the raider vehicles and following them back. Rick and Andrea wanted to do it, but Michonne had overruled them by pointing to Carl and Judith. Rick had responsibilities to his children, and she and Tyreese were going to do it.
Carol and Carl were holding down the home front. Carl had created a sniper nest in the attic of the house. He was a good shot and could keep an eye on the front and back from there. Carol was on the ground floor. They had adjusted shutters so that she could shoot from each side of the house. Judith was asleep in the basement; Carol would go to her if it looked as if they were overrun. No one was going to be taken prisoner. They were standing their ground here.
Daryl was looking at the first rays of dawn hit the valley below when he heard distant explosions. The town was being hit; they had expected that and Joaquin had given command to an officer of the North Carolina National Guard who had experienced combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The hospital, water supply and storage areas were all being guarded. In a few minutes he could hear rifle fire fairly close to his position. He could hear vehicles coming up the hill. Daryl shifted the grenades to his front jacket pocket and waited.
Daryl heard the vehicles stop for a minute or two; he figured that they were probably letting walkers out at the driveway to a house. Then they started again and moved toward Frank's house. The lead vehicle was a heavily armored army vehicle with a 50 caliber gun located on it. His heart dropped, that gun could tear through lots of defenses and given the chaos of battle it would be even more deadly. He moved down the hill toward the truck keeping just inside the tree line. He could see two men adjusting something on the big rifle. He had to make these shots count and he stopped and waited until he had a target. He released the arrow, silent and deadly, it hit the chest of the man facing him. He saw too late that the man was wearing a flak jacket. He sent the next arrow into the neck of the other man. He threw a grenade in front of the first vehicle and watched it take out lead vehicle. The driver and passenger of the truck came out fighting and he ducked back into the trees. He used head shots to take out the driver but the passenger was loose on the other side.
The second vehicle maneuvered around the first truck before he had an open shot. This one carried armed raiders and the third one was a sort of box truck. The two soldiers stationed at Frank's house had moved into position and were trying to stop the truck here but they were moving through. Daryl moved back into the woods and toward his own home. He was going home to stand his ground there; he needed to keep the soldiers from using the woods to move toward the houses. He could hear Kevin and Frank's rifles join the fray.
Daryl stopped and waited. He could hear soldiers moving in his direction, probably more than he could take care of by himself. He moved past Ashton's house, knowing that they had set up defensive perimeters and would try to keep any raiders from entering the yard or the house.
He hustled toward Glenn, Maggie, and Beth's bunkers. Daryl spoke to Glenn from outside their bunker and Glenn, Maggie, and Beth went with him. They moved toward the next bunker. Rick, Glenn, and Daryl melted into the woods. Maggie, Beth, and Andrea stayed in the bunker.
Daryl had spent days walking through these woods and thinking of ways to defend their homes. He had identified some natural defenses and obstacles. The three men had barely settled behind a large rock formation when they saw the first raiders moving toward them. They held their fire; they needed to make these kill shots. Daryl had warned them that the men were wearing flak jackets. Daryl took the first one out with a rifle shot to the head and the others joined in. They were able to wipe out the first five raiders and the others got behind trees.
Maggie, Beth, and Andrea watched the six raiders run boldly up the road. Maggie and Andrea had been at odds since the farm but they nodded at each other when they were ready to shoot. Maggie took out the lead raider and Andrea the second one; they were both surprised to see the third and fourth raider drop like dominoes. Beth had gotten them both with two quick shots. The remaining raiders sent a line of fire in their general direction hitting mostly trees and logs. Maggie and Andrea took out the last two and took enough time to send a shot through their heads. They stood there waiting to see if any more ventured their way. Andrea had a cut on her cheek and Beth put a bandage on it. There weren't any more raiders coming up the road though they could hear gunfire from Ashton's house and behind them.
Daryl was worried that they would go around them toward the house and he left Rick and Glenn there and moved back toward the house. He could hear gun fire from the bunker. It sounded as if they were firing in some sort of order.
Glenn and Rick spread out a little and waited until the next wave moved toward them. They were much more careful though one was bitten by a former raider now walker. The other raiders started shooting their former comrades and Rick and Glenn were able to get close enough to shoot them. A lucky shot clipped Glenn in the arm and Rick used duct tape to seal it. They used their knives to ensure that no one else turned. Rick and Glenn settled back to wait.
Carol watched the front and side of the house. She knew that Carl was keeping an eye on the back and front. She figured that they would have to tear down the fence to get that close; she knew Daryl would be here soon. He had a key to get through the gate and she would let him in.
Daryl was on his way. He got to the gate and used the key in one swift motion. He opened the gate and locked it behind him. He ran full tilt toward the door knowing that Carol would have it open. She opened it as he threw himself in and closed it behind him throwing the bolt shut. She was glad that her grandmother had invested in reinforced steel as the bullets thudded against the door. Daryl used the front shutter opening to fire back and she took the side. Carl was firing from upstairs. She was able to shoot a raider trying to climb the fence. She could hear Daryl firing from the front. She moved to the other side and was glad to see no one there.
She went back to the side and shot one more straggler. Carl was at the back and she heard him shoot three times. Daryl was watching the front but had his gun pulled back. She could see Daryl and he seemed unhurt. She rechecked the other side but it was still empty. She could still hear gunshots from Ashton's house and thought that was a good sign that the lines had held. Judith was waking up downstairs from the sound of things but she left her there until they knew something. Daryl motioned for her to come to him; he hugged her close but told her that he needed to check out the situation. She needed to close the door after him; Carol drew the bolt back and on his signal she opened the door and Daryl slipped out. Carol shut the door behind him but didn't throw the bolt. She went to the window and watched him check out the dead along the fences. He put a knife through their eye orbits and slipped back into the woods. She locked the door then. Carl came downstairs and went to the basement for Judith. He brought her back to Carol and went back upstairs.
Daryl found Rick and Glenn. He had not seen any raiders on the way. They formed a line and walked back toward Ashton's house looking for walkers or raiders. They found more decaying walkers than recent ones and they moved on.
Maggie saw her first walker moving along the road not long after they had killed the six raiders. She aimed carefully and took a head shot. He went down and stayed there. There were more walkers straggling through after that and they continued to shoot them as they came close.
Rick, Glenn, and Daryl ran into more walkers as they got closer to Ashton's place. Daryl figured that between the gunfight and the walkers on the truck they were going to be busy for a while. They got to the area where Daryl had ambushed the raiders and the place was flooded with dead and walkers. They retreated a bit. Rick got on the walkie and talked to Ashton. The raiders had broken through the gate but had not gotten into the house. Joaquin and Dave had both been wounded and needed medical help. Daryl went to get Carol and Beth. Rick and Glenn went with him to get Maggie and Andrea to help clear out walkers. Jonathan and Ashton were still checking out the dead raiders to get their weapons and ammo while they gave put a knife stab through the eye.
Daryl gathered Carol, Carl, and Judith to go to Ashton's house. Beth was already there, Joaquin had a wound to his leg and his side, but not particularly life threatening. Dave was more serious and Carol and Beth worked to keep from going into shock and to stop his bleeding. He needed to be in a hospital but no one was sure that the hospital was still there. He was conscious and he decided to stay there until they knew what had happened to the town.
Rick had organized the removal of walkers. Every walker was killed with a knife shot to the brain, stripped of anything useful, and put in a pile at the side of the road. They dragged the walkers from the home place and the woods to one place and burned them there. They burned another pile in front of Ashton's and at the ambush site.
Daryl had gone to Frank McAllister's house to check on them. One of the soldiers had been killed and the other soldier had taken care to keep him from turning. Connie and Kevin were unhurt but Frank had been killed by a raider. Frank had been shooting from his barn loft when he was shot. Kevin and Connie had been fighting from the garage and Kevin had shot Frank when he turned and came toward them. Frank's wife had died of cancer years ago and his son lost during the ZA. Daryl and Kevin buried Frank and the dead soldier out back of the house.
Jo and Ariel made hot soup and sandwiches for lunch. They came in to eat in groups, and then quickly left so that others could eat. Jonathan and Ashton repaired their broken fences. Rick, Andrea, Maggie, and Glenn walked down the road to check on the neighbors. They had stayed in the house all day, but came out when they showed up. The men of the house helped look for walkers and they found a few, but everyone would be on the lookout for weeks to come.
Daryl, Carol and Sam rode the truck over to the distillery; it looked good on the outside. Sam milked the cow and checked out the distillery and the house. Everything was still locked up tight. They didn't see any walkers or raiders. Daryl said that the raiders would have probably run back down toward the other vehicles.
Joaquin, Ashton, and Rick went into town; the raiders had bypassed most of the mountain folk and had hit the town and McAllister Mountain. The MMB had held the town and had been on walker patrol ever since. The hospital was fine and they radioed back for Sam and Daryl to bring Dave in. Joaquin stayed to make to visit some wounded soldiers in the hospital and to identify the bodies of soldiers who had died that day. Ashton knew that Joaquin had given up his command and wanted to concentrate on finishing the hydroelectric dam.
Ashton and Rick tried to find news of Michonne and Tyreese. They had radioed the new commander that they were tracking some trucks back down into the lowlands. They had lost the signal but felt that Michonne and Tyreese could stay far enough back to follow them to their hideout. They would probably be back tomorrow.
Soon most were back on the mountain. The fence was repaired and Ashton's family was safe. Kevin and Connie were staying with Ashton until things settled down. Ashton had asked them to think about living in Frank's house when they had a fence set up.
Dave was admitted to the hospital and Sam stayed with him. Daryl came back up the mountain and found that people had gone back to their houses. Carol, Maggie, Andrea, and Beth were in the kitchen cooking dinner and exchanging war stories. Judith was kicking her heels and in a good mood; she had slept through most of the battle.
The men were hanging around the couches in the great room discussing the day's events. Daryl noticed that Carl was included in this group and thought that Carl really was a man in a lot of ways. He fought like a man today. Daryl had made it through the fence and into the house because Carl had picked off the raiders chasing him. Carl had saved his life today and he thanked him for what he had done.
They ate dinner after Carol gave a prayer of thanks for allowing them to survive another battle. She asked for healing for all those who had been hurt today. Carol asked God to protect Michonne and Tyreese and bring them back to them. Everyone said, "Amen".
Everyone was tired but they decided to keep watch tonight. Rick and Andrea took the first watch, Glenn and Maggie took the second, and Carol and Daryl would take the third watch.
Carol took a quick shower and went to bed to wait for Daryl. They would have the last watch and needed to get some rest. Daryl came in got a pair of sweatpants and went to take a shower. He was back in a very few minutes wearing only the sweatpants and a look of anticipation. He went to his dresser and put on his wedding ring. She decided to tease him a little by pretending to be tired.
Daryl had hoped to reap the benefit of Carol's libido surge and was disappointed that she was so tired. She turned her head into her pillow and he felt her shaking. Daryl thought she was crying or having some sort of meltdown and put his arm around her. She was laughing at him. "Did you really think I would be too tired to have sex?" she said, "Have you forgotten my libido already. You have had two weeks to rest up; it is time for you to fulfill your husbandly responsibilities". Daryl yawned and said, "I am tired, but if you insist, I will try to satisfy you, just don't have a whole lot of expectations." He was lying on his back and Carol leaned over him and kissed him. He pretended to be uninterested but his body betrayed him and Carol caressed the evidence of his interest. He rolled her over on her back and kissed her neck. He had missed her more than he could say or show her, but he did his best that night to do both.