Circle Unbroken

Carol woke up before they were called for watch, checking the clock she saw that she still had thirty minutes to sleep. She found that she would rather have this time just to lie beside Daryl's warmth and think about what they had accomplished yesterday. They had stood their ground and defeated a murderous enemy; the only worry was Dave's injury and Michonne and Tyreese's continued absence. Carol could not turn the sight on like a light bulb. She sensed that Michonne and Tyreese had been through some scary experiences but she had no knowledge where they were now. Daryl moved restlessly in his sleep and Carol hoped that there would be time today to catch up on the last two weeks. Daryl had thought that it was important to keep up the story that he had left the area. He thought that there might be others working with the raiders and he didn't want them to suspect that he had been working undercover at the nursing home.

Dave had given her Daryl's message, "Tell Carol that I know and I am very happy." Carol didn't have many secrets from Daryl; the only thing that she had yet to share was her belief that she was pregnant. Daryl couldn't have a clue about that; she hadn't even missed a period yet.

She was up and dressed when Maggie and Glenn's watch was over; she had awakened Daryl with a kiss and went out to take watch while he dressed. They solar powered dusk to dawn lights illuminated the yard and parking areas. Canary came up to for some affection; the poor dog had a bad day yesterday. Canary had whined and growled all day because of the walkers and the noise of battle. They were keeping watch from the front porch keeping back in the shadows. Daryl joined her on the porch and they made a tour of the fence making sure that it was still secure. Everything was still tonight and there was enough of a moon to light up the fields around the house.

Their watch was happily uneventful; Canary leaned on Daryl's leg and went to sleep. Daryl put his arm around her as they sat on the swing and watched the moon give way to the emerging sun. They stood up as they saw the headlights of an approaching vehicle coming their way relaxing when they saw that it was Joaquin's electric car. Carol and Daryl moved to meet Joaquin and when they saw Michonne and Tyreese in the car they rushed to open the gate and welcome them home. Carol hugged them noting that they both looked exhausted.

Daryl locked the gate behind them and they all went into the house. Carol brought Michonne and Tyreese some water as they sat down on the couch. Daryl noticed that Michonne looked around the room with tears in her eyes. Michonne was always a contradiction; she could appear impassive but she was an emotional woman given to tears when her feelings were touched. She was very glad to be home; what had happened to them out there?

Carol had noticed the tears but did not press her friend. She hurried to make some coffee and breakfast for them. Michonne went upstairs to shower. Tyreese stayed behind to talk with Daryl.

Tyreese looked weary and worn. He began the story by recounting the dash he and Michonne had made down to the hill. They had followed an old path down that was out of sight of the road. They were close to the bottom when they heard the explosions in town and they saw the vehicles start up the hill. They had radio contact with the army commander. His men had tagged a number of the vehicles during the fight in now. They needed to get to the car because they were thinking that at least some of these vehicles would be leaving soon. He and Michonne had located Joaquin's electric car and moved out of town toward the highway. The drove up a side road and turned on the trackers. Only two trackers showed up; they thought that the other vehicles may have been destroyed by the MMB.

The tracking device was neat; it showed two blips moving along the highway past them. They were aware that they had to stay within a fixed distance to keep track of them but they wanted to keep their distance. They gave cautious chase of the two blips. Tyreese drove and Michonne navigated their way. They had stayed on the highway for two hours when the blips took a left hand turn and continued on a more secondary road. The land was flatter here but still hilly. It was rural, the few houses and farms were spread far apart. They had pulled into a side road to try to get their bearing. The blips seemed to be moving purposely along the increasingly empty landscape, but they needed to know where they were. They watched the blips turn yet again and in a matter of minutes they stopped.

Carol called everyone in, oatmeal reminded them all of breakfasts at the prison, but there were also biscuits with honey. Tyreese went to take a shower and talk to Michonne who had not come back downstairs. Carol checked to make certain that there was plenty of coffee for Michonne. No one wanted to eat until Tyreese and Michonne came down, and it wasn't long before they came down together. Carol had made plenty of oatmeal; she wanted to use the extra to make oatmeal cakes for later. They were a particular comfort food for Michonne; it looked as if Michonne might need several oatmeal cakes. Michonne guzzled coffee and ate breakfast hungrily. The family breakfast went on without any serious conversation. After breakfast Rick and Carl quickly polished off the dishes while Michonne continued with the story.

Tyreese calculated that they were about 150 miles from home. It looked as if the blips indicated that the vehicles had gone onto a private road that wasn't on any of the maps. He also felt that they should go the next five miles or more on foot. They needed to hide the car in a place they could get back to the highway quickly. Michonne agreed that they needed to have an escape plan. They hadn't heard more trucks coming back so they could only hope that the MMB and their group had held their line.

They collected water and some granola bars; they put the car in a garage. Tyreese changed the battery and they took off using a compass and a map. They stayed on the road because the brush was so thick that it was difficult to move through. They didn't talk and listened for cars or people. They did find walkers, quite a lot of them, and had to spend time and energy killing them and hiding their remains.

They had set a good pace though and within the hour they saw the access road winding up the hill. There was a gate at the entrance to the road and they could see two armed men guarding it. They stepped further back from the road and talked quietly. There was a small stream that was running parallel to the road and they decided to follow the stream for a distance and then try to get up the hill to find information. Michonne stopped the narrative to tell that at this point she was getting scared. They were far from their own base, no one knew where they were, and every spidery sense she had was screaming that she was in some serious shit.

Andrea had been with Michonne through some scary situations before and she had never known Michonne to express fear. The woman just did what needed to be done; she didn't get scared she got even.

Tyreese admitted that he had been afraid; but he said that they stayed with the plan. They left the stream and tried to find an easy way up the hill. The hill wasn't too steep but there were walkers around. They decided to try to out run them up the hill; the raiders must use the walkers as a defensive tactic. There were too many around without some reason.

Finally they reached the top of the hill and a strong fence encircled the area. Tyreese had seen fences like these on military installation. The fences were strongly built and well maintained; they decided to travel along the fence to see if they could find some way in or see the headquarters. Tyreese had brought a camera and he began taking photographs. They moved back from the fence and continued walking until they saw rows of prefabricated houses laid out like a small town. There was a center square with a large building that appeared to be the headquarters. There were trees, shrubs, and graveled streets. They could see men moving in front of the headquarters and they kept walking until they were able to get a clear view of the front of the headquarters. There were two trucks parked in front of the big building and they might be the ones they had tracked. There were more steel buildings. Tyreese figured that is where they stored their weapons and vehicles. Michonne was more focused on the flag in front of the headquarters building; the flag was bright red with a swastika in the middle. They had found a nest of neo Nazis, well equipped, well trained, and filled with hate for every racial and ethnic group but the Aryan race.

They watched for a long while; it was mostly men but some women were there. Some women were walking around freely but others were shackled. Tyreese motioned for Michonne to move back further from the fence and they walked the distance around try to find any weaknesses and to ascertain how big it was. They wore out before they got all the way around, but they did find that there was another small community on the other side of the steel fences. There were two barracks back there. It looked as if the Nazi were using slave labor; there were people of all colors working in the hot sun while armed guards kept watch over them. Tyreese continued to take photographs. They needed all the information they could gather to tell this story when they got back.

It was getting late in the day; they had been walking for hours and running low on water. They decided to pull back and find their way home. The trip down the hill was a nightmare, walkers everywhere and fears of being captured or being tortured for information.

Finally, they made it back to the stream and Tyreese used his water purification kit to collect some water. They drank water and headed back to the road by the stream. This time they stayed in the brush along the road and they watched several vehicles come in.

It was dark when they got back to the garage where they stored the car and they waited there for a long time to ensure that no one else would be traveling along this road. They made it to the highway and they had made it back to the army headquarters and told everything they learned to the new commander. Tyreese gave the commander the memory card from the camera. Then, they had come home.

Rick kept a quick rundown of the battle here yesterday; the raider/Nazis were not supermen. They had lost many fighters yesterday trying to take the town and the mountain. This Nazi force might decide to try it again but Rick thought that they would probably look for easier targets for a while. He went on to say, "We will pull through this like we always do. This is a good day; Michonne and Tyreese are back with us. The circle is unbroken; so let's just take a day to enjoy that.

Glenn and Maggie took off for their house. Beth and Carl were going to Ashton's, but Carl stopped to hug and kiss Michonne. She hugged him back; she loved than man cub. Carl just gave Tyreese a punch on the shoulder. Rick and Andrea took Judith to inspect the house site. Tyreese and Michonne went upstairs for a nap.

Daryl asked Carol to go with him to visit Dave in the hospital and he also wanted to check on Kevin and Connie. Carol watched the group disperse and thought that the moved in and out of this house like an ocean tide. Their lives were lived around the ebb and flow of the pull to the group. It was true in the prison; Andrea had risked her life to find her way back. It was true here in the mountains. She had seen the relief on Michonne's face when she got back this morning. Carol hurried to get ready; Dave was part of the family now, and she and Daryl needed to check on him.

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