I took a few creative liberties with the show in this one. I wasn't happy with how things ended in the mid-season finale and decided to take matters into my own hands.
I hope you guys enjoy!
"This is it." The kid, Noah, announces. We were standing outside of some executive office buildings in the center of the city. "This is where I left them."
"Up there?" I pointed, stopping abruptly to shoulder the Daryl's crossbow more soundly. I took it from the boy shortly after we began back tracking to where he had left Daryl and whoever he was traveling with. I allowed him to keep the rifle but took the ammunition.
"On the crossing bridge, few floors up." He nodded. Without having to prompt him, he started for the door.
We climbed the stairs in silence until we reached level ten. Noah stopped short and looked at me.
"Go ahead." I encouraged him. He pushed the door open and we entered the office building. The building was eerily quiet and calm, like we were stuck in time.
"This way." Noah led us past a ransacked break room and sloppy offices until we reached another bulky oak door. He pushed it open as far as the thick chains on the other side would allow. It left a tiny gap open for a body to crawl through. "Do you wanna go first, or should I?" Noah asked.
"Hand me the rifle."
"It's empty!" He protested. "You can't send me through unarmed!"
"Hand me the rifle. I'll go first." I reiterated. His eyes widened, but he acquiesced, handing me the military grade gun. I shoved the gun and crossbow through the opening in the door as gently as possible and, turning my bad shoulder in first, slipped through the door.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting to see on the other side. I guess I half expected Daryl to still be there. Maybe he was dead, maybe he had made it. He stood a good of a chance as anyone, even unarmed in the middle of this abandoned office building. What I walked into still took my breath away.
At my feet lay at least a dozen walkers. Some sustained bullets to the head, some were stabbed in the temples. Not one looked like Daryl.
At least I knew they weren't weaponless in the middle of Atlanta. They had made it out alive. Only now we weren't sure where they went.
"They must have made it out. They probably followed me out that way." Noah was suddenly behind me.
I shuffled to grab the weapons on the floor anxiously, taking the crossbow again before handing the boy the empty rifle. "Let's go then."
We backtracked for hours, circling the hospital, spiraling inwards until we were only a few blocks from Grady. The sun would be setting in a few hours and we needed to find a place to rest for the night.
We slipped through an alley and we could see the tip of the hospital in the distance. At the edge of the adjoining building, Noah froze.
"We'll go in here for the night. Come on."
We crept up to the side door that seemed to be an emergency exit. I pounded on the door before leaning my ear against it. I waited a few minutes. Nothing. No low gurgles or muffled moans.
I tried yanking the door open, but it wouldn't budge. I slipped my Bowie knife out of my pocket and used it to jimmy the lock on the door to no avail. "There has to be another entrance."
The ruckus I created banging on the door roused a crowd and by the time we made it to the corner of the building, they had manifested into a hoard of biters. Six of them, walking in unison straight for us.
My hobbling cohort staggered behind me, falling against the brick wall behind us and leaning against it for support.
Alone, I took out the first three walkers easily enough. While I was busy making quick work of the fourth, a female grabbed at me, clawing at the sleeve of my shirt. I stumbled backwards, avoiding her grasp. I nearly tripped over Noah's feet and l ended up falling against him on the wall.
The walker seemed to have tripped too, falling against my chest, her head on my shoulder. She began chomping, trying in vain to get to Noah as I struggled to hold her teeth back. The boy, petrified in fear behind me, only managed to scream.
A rush of adrenaline washing over me, I lifted my leg, kicking the biter in the gut and throwing her forward into the last remaining walker behind her. Without hesitating, I pulled the pistol from my back and shot each walker dead on the ground.
"Are you crazy!?" Noah screamed. "They're going to hear us! They're after me!" Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the front entrance of the building. I shoved the boy inside and slammed the door shut behind us. Walkers were already drawn to the noise a few yards behind us. I scrambled to find something, anything to block the door.
"Here!" I hollered, my eyes locking on a desk in the opposite corner of the room. "Help me!"
Reluctantly, he followed me to the corner and helped me lift the desk. It was heavy and oak and it would barely budge. There was no way we be able to lift it. "Push!"
Together, we were able to shove the desk about two yards to the door just as the walkers reached the same target. It was heavy enough to block the doors, keeping the biters at bay. For a moment, Noah and I were able to catch our breath. Then, I began screaming at him. "How the fuck have to managed to survive out here, city boy!?" When he didn't reply, I only got angrier. "There's no way you lived out here alone! You must be some lucky prick!"
"I didn't, okay! Is that what you wanted to hear? I never had to kill any of those things before! I was still young when my dad and I got rescued! At the hospital, we were never allowed to leave the building! I didn't know things were this bad! I never would have left if I had known!"
From his outburst, one admission stood out to me. "The hospital?"
"Yeah, Grady Memorial. There's a sanctuary there. Though, if you ask me, it's more like a torture chamber."
"Grady? That's where you're from?"
"Yeah, they're after me. I escaped. You can't escape there." He muttered. "That's why I followed your friends. I'd never been alone before. I needed the weapons." He stammered, finally looking at me. "That's who they are, right? The old lady and the redneck? You know them? You lost your people, too?"
"I guess you could say that." I said quietly. "We've been separated for some time now. I escaped from Grady a few days ago."
The admission startled the boy into stunned silence and he stared at me for some time. "How?" He finally asked.
"Peter Shepard helped me escape."
"But you made it out alone?"
"Yes. He gave me a few weapons and some food, but I got out by myself."
"And they haven't found you yet?"
"I'm standing here, aren't I?"
"They would have heard the gun shots." He said, barely audible over the sound of the walkers beyond the doors.
"Then let's find higher ground." I muttered, and we both made our way up the stairs.
We found a floor to the office building that seemed to be empty. The west wing that we were on was easy enough to clear on our own, but it was connected to eastern wing that seemed to be a little less lucky. We found the door that joined the two halls and blocked it off, struggling again to move in tandem a large set of sturdy oak shelves to block off the door.
Nearly an hour later, we were sitting down to share a bag of chips and a bottle of clean water thanks to the water dispenser in the break room of the office. The snack machine in the room was already broken into. There was nothing more than a few stale bags of Munchos and Cracker Jack left.
"I didn't escape alone." Noah admitted out of the blue. "I had help… She didn't make it."
"You mean she…"
"No, I mean the officers caught her before she could get out of the fence."
"Oh…"
"How did they find you?" He asked, making casual conversation in the light of our coincidental past.
"I was out in the woods, running from walkers. The next thing I knew, I woke up connected to machines. They wanted me to – "
"I know what they ask of the women. If you weren't a ward on my floor, you were being used on theirs." He said it so bluntly, I was almost taken aback. "I'm sorry."
"I wouldn't let them. I got out before they could."
"You're lucky." He sighed. "We have to get out of the city."
"That's where we are headed. As soon as we can find my friends." I said. "We used to have a strong group. A sanctuary of our own. I think they tracked me out here somehow. I need to find them."
"It's not safe to be alone anymore."
"Especially not if you're you." I smirked.
"I owe you my life a few times." Noah admitted. "I'll help as much as I can."
A loud crash on one of the lower floors roused me as I patrolled the hall. The noise startled me and I froze.
"What was that?" Noah asked quietly leering out of the door way.
"I don't know." I whispered. "I'm gonna go check it out." I grabbed the crossbow and checked to see that my Bowie knife was secured in my pocket for easy access. I had a feeling I would need my most silent weapons in case someone other than the dead had somehow found us.
"Do you think they found us?" Noah asked, nervously.
"How?" I countered. He still stared at me nervously. "The ammo's in the backpack. If I don't return in ten minutes, come after me."
Noah nodded slowly and I walked down the hall to the stairwell.
Once on the lower floor, I traipsed the hallway as quietly as I could, finding nothing more than a few biters. I disposed of them and took the stairs to the next floor down, following the same protocol.
On the next floor, I heard another strange noise, followed by muffled voices. I could tell we were close, but I wasn't sure how close we really were.
The walker came out of nowhere, rounding the corner. I hesitated, raising the crossbow. The weapon was too heavy for me and the drawback threw me backwards. I ended up shooting the walker in the throat, pinning it to the wall instead of killing it.
My cover was blown. I could hear the voices getting louder and closer, heavy footfalls close behind me. I didn't have time to retrieve the precious bolt or even to think, I just ran, straight for the stairs, not stopping until I had made it to the floor Noah and I had camped out on.
I must have been gone for longer than anticipated because Noah was in the hallway.
I heard rapid fire ensue as he completely missed the walker in front of him. It must have slipped in from the open stairwell. I took off down the hall behind him, following him into the copy room where he was pulling on the bookshelf we had used to secure the room, sending the furniture careening down on top of him. I, of course, wasn't strong enough to lift the cabinet.
Noah was screaming, pinned underneath the heavy wooden contraption. Behind the now open door, another walker staggered forward.
My followers were close behind us and we were trapped. I considered jumping the shelves and taking my chances clearing the east wing of this hall, fighting my way out of the building, but I just couldn't leave the kid here. I settled on dropping the crossbow and grabbing my Glock off of the desk just as the pursuers made it to the doorway.
I was staring face to face with Carol. A few moments later, right behind her, was Daryl.
"Princess…" He whispered.
There wasn't any time for tearful reunions just yet. The walker from the adjoining room fell over the bookshelf and was clambering to reach Noah, still trapped under the shelf. I lowered my weapon, blowing the biters brains in spatters over the boy's face as he screamed for mercy.
The threat out of the way, I spun to face Daryl again, settling my eyes on Carol in the process. "You?" I muttered.
"Nice to see you, too." Carol replied.
Daryl was still staring at me, wide-eyed in disbelief. Carol nudged his arm and he ran forward, finally wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me up and I was surrounded by him, his familiar scent filling my nostrils and his strong grip cradling me protectively in a way I had nearly forgotten. I was safe and sound. I was home.
"Uhm, this reunion is nice and all, but can I get some help here?" Noah ruined the moment by butting in.
"You know this little prick?" Daryl asked, setting me down and turning his attention to the boy.
"This is Noah. He helped me find you." I laughed to myself. "Well, kind of."
"He stole our weapons. Left us stranded." Daryl growled.
"And that's how I knew you were here." I defended him. "We both escaped Grady."
"Grady?" Daryl asked. "You seen Beth?"
"Beth's there?" I gasped, piecing together the situation. "That's why you came to Atlanta?"
"Wait, Beth?" Noah asked, still breathy from his lungs being restrained. "Is she a blonde girl?"
"You seen her?" Daryl asked, suddenly interested in the young boy again.
"She helped me escape." He explained. "She's still there."
He turned to me. "You ain't seen her?"
"We were… on different floors." I explained, avoiding the subject. "Can we maybe…" I motioned to Noah. Daryl begrudgingly helped me lift the shelves off of the boy and Noah joined us all on our feet and rushed to the window.
"We need to move." He noted. "I think they heard us."
Daryl grabbed his crossbow off the floor and threw the rifle to Carol. "Boy's got a point."
"Alright." Carol nodded. She took the rifle and headed for the stairs.
Noah stared at me and I nodded. He followed Carol down the hallway.
I stopped to grab our pack of supplies, checking to make sure we had everything when Daryl grabbed my arm and I spun around just before he pressed me back into the desk. "I didn't know you were in the city." He said quietly.
"I hadn't been here long." I lied, worried this conversation was too private for the current situation.
"We need to get back to the others. Once we get Rick and the others, we kin get to Beth."
"The whole groups together?" I asked, startled.
Daryl nodded his head. "Everyone 'cept Beth." He sighed. "And you. Michonne said she lost yah. She let ya run ahead of her and when she finally got to ya, all she found was yer pack. She said it didn't look good."
"The officers at Grady found me. They fixed my shoulder and held me captive." I explained, trying to push him off of me. "We need to go, it's gonna look suspicious."
"S'just Carol." Daryl shrugged. His hand grazed my cheek and brushed my hair back before his lips locked on mine for a brief moment, then were gone. "C'mon princess. Time's a wastin'."