Disclaimer: I don't own the Characters of The Walking Dead.
I'm borrowing them for my muse to play games with; she's nicer than Lizzie at least…
Updated: 4/14 for typos I was alerted to; thanks guys! :)
Chapter Thirty-Seven
(Fin POV)
It takes us at least two hours on foot to reach the 'too-small-to-be-a-town' group of buildings. It's big enough that it contains one four way stop with a traffic light that's long dead-and two cross streets.
Dead leaves clog the gutters and litter the sidewalks. All the windows are coated with a thick dusting of yellow pollen and grime; their insides dark. The tallest building is the Steeple on the Baptist Church one street over.
Small town America… gone.
We're checking the cars along the side of the road, specifically those parked against the store front designating this stretch of single story buildings on Main Street as the local post office, and some tiny non-descript business office with a busted out front window. I'm about to move to the next row of parking spaces further down when Daryl grabs my arm. Uses his suddenly painfully tight grip on my upper arm to yank me down between the two cars.
"Car!" He hisses his single word explanation for his actions even as he proceeds to force me down farther against the pavement.
I wave him off; lean back against one of the vehicles doors listening intently and hear it a few moments later.
The distinctive sound of tires driving over rough pot-hole strewn pavement.
We just have to wait for whoever it is to move on; hope they don't stop here, though I can't imagine why someone would; there isn't much here. Strangers can be more dangerous than Walkers; we both know that all too well.
Daryl moves crouched low, slides up between the vehicles and around the hood of the sedan to my left. Moving onto the sidewalk, crossbow ready; he circles the front hood of the cars and moves to the other side; giving himself a second vantage point for shooting if it comes to that, one that puts him in the position of being the first target; not me.
I slide an arrow from over my shoulder, nock it in front of me, and resist the urge to hiss at him to get the Hell back behind some cover. I have to keep my bow angled so it doesn't scrape the pavement from my kneeled position.
I watch the car pass by us slowly, a station wagon…I stay low… don't see anyone on the passenger side in the front; or the back. Perhaps it's only the one person driving. That's lucky; if they're hostile one person will be easy to dispatch between the two of us, hopefully without either of us getting shot in return.
I jump when I hear him shout.
"Carol!"
Daryl's up on his feet, running into the street behind the car that just past us waving his arms over his head. Shouting her name again.
I stand up in time to watch the brake lights flare on the car. It jerks to a halt in the middle of the road about 200 feet from him, brakes screeching in protest.
The driver side door opens and a slender woman dressed in loose layers with close cropped hair a little taller than me jumps out; runs to him. I put the arrow back in my quiver over my shoulder as she hugs him tight. Drop my eyes to the pavement between the cars, than scan the street around us when his arms slide around her back a moment later holding her close.
When I look back they're no longer hugging but he's keeping his hands on her arms, still standing close enough to almost touch. I'm close enough I can hear them speak.
"Hell've you been?"
She doesn't answer bursts into a litany of her own breathless questions instead. "Rick and Carl?"
"They're fine."
"Judith?" When he nods she raises a hand to her face, looks like she's going to cry for a moment before she continues.
"Hershel? Beth…Maggie…Glenn?" His face must react to one of the names because she starts to cry.
"Beth's fine, Maggie and Michonne should be too, Glenn Sasha and Tyreese and…most of the kids made it."
"Lizzie..?"
"She's alive, and she's a real piece of work."
She keeps her hand over her mouth for a moment before dropping it to her side, nodding face carefully blank. Eyes dropping to the pavement. "Yeah, she's a little rough."
"A little rough my Ass! Hell, she shot Fin in the head right in front of us! Damn near killed her!"
She stares up at him for a moment silently squinting in the bright light, takes a visible deep breath.
Her gaze slides to me in the next moment, assessing the person she doesn't recognize. Something in her face shifts. I realize she's not looking at me; she's looking at his shirt, at the bow in my hand against my side.
Daryl takes a step back from her glances at me briefly over his shoulder following Carol's line of sight before turning back to face her. He pulls his hands up under his arms like he's trying to stop himself from fidgeting.
I feel like I should be in a petri dish with both their stares.
"I'm going to go find a car that works."
"Not without me. Stay here."
That word again.
His eyes flick to mine for just a moment. I nod, some of the anxiety fluttering behind my ribs quiets down. I put my hands up on the trunk of the car and hop up onto the flat surface to rest, we did just walk for more than two hours.
I turn my attention to looking down the roads again …presumably for Walkers…but really so I don't have to see her looking at me with that carefully blank expression.
"What…what happened to Hershel?"
"He didn't make it when they attacked." He gives her a few moments to collect herself after that news, she manages faster than I expect.
"Who is she?" Her voice is quiet, but I still hear it.
"Seraphim. She saved Rick and Carl's lives after they escaped the prison. Saved my life- Glenn's, Sasha and Tyreese, Molly, Mika and Patrick; she nearly got killed in the process-and then Lizzie tried to kill her right in front of us. Damn near succeeded."
"I don't understand, why…"
"Lizzie thought she got bit, decided to take her out to protect the group; sound familiar?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know what to do with her…."
That seems to be the general consensus lately: What to do with Lizzie?
"I went back to the Prison…got there just after." She pauses for a moment, he doesn't speak. "It's all gone. I went to the meeting point, but no one made it there…I thought I was the only one…that everyone was dead."
"We lost a lot of people."
"Who was it? What happened?"
"The Governor came back; brought his new group; wanted to take the prison for himself…killed Hershel right in front of Rick trying to convince us to leave...Beth and Maggie had to watch…" He stops looks down.
Carol makes a broken sound. I stare at my boots while they both collect themselves, when he continues finally his voice has changed.
"What the Hell were you thinking telling Rick that you killed David and Karen? You need to come back with us, tell him the truth; tell everyone the truth. We all owe each other that much don't we?"
"But Lizzie…."
"Fuck Lizzie; is that girl worth your life?!"
"Sophia…"
"She Aint Sophia! Sophia is Gone! You Can't Replace Her! Trying to Save that Monster Aint Gonna Change That!" His voice echoes off the store front.
They stare at each other for a tense minute.
I hop off the car bow in hand, reaching for an arrow before they come around the corner drawn by the noise. I hear Carol say his name behind me when she sees them approaching. He must glance back; take in the number ambling up the street with some distance between us still. "She's got it."
Yup.
And I welcome the distraction; right now it's a Godsend.
I feel like I've stepped into the middle of someone else's book halfway through; it's uncomfortable to say the least.
I move down the faded yellow line in the road, nock my arrow; raise my arms, fire. Nock another arrow and send another one down to the asphalt. Two more go down before they've gone another twenty feet, not in any particular hurry to finish them off; trying to avoid have to return to their private conversation.
I pause, arm still raised near my cheek listening…no…feeling the space around us…there.
I move forward again, nock another arrow, turn down the side street and take down two more ambling up the block.
I move between the buildings, retrieve my arrows from the Dead. Walk to the outdoor spigot on the brick building next to me, twisting the handle experimentally, crouching down to rinse the arrow shafts in the water that trickles out.
Not exactly wasting time… nobody wants putrid blood and decaying brain matter on their arrows, especially when you're carrying them anywhere near a functioning nose…
I have no idea what's going on in the street behind me; I'm not sure I want to know exactly.
After this morning I thought I kind of knew what was going on between us; but I feel all turned around again. That stupid knot twists in my stomach once more.
I toss my braid back over my shoulder—keep it out of the water puddle spreading across the pavement under my boots. I turn the tap off, stand up and move back into the street to grab the other arrows, taking my time.
Daryl's shifted the conversation in my short absence; they're both closer to the alley I went down. They're facing me when I step out from between the buildings. Daryl's arms still crossed over his chest; crossbow against his side like he wasn't worried despite moving, his face relaxes when he sees me.
Carol's standing beside him arms loose at her sides. They're too far away to hear what they're saying, or they've lowered their voices…I try my best to pretend I can't feel their eyes on me, busy myself yanking arrows out of eyes sockets.
I take the other four arrows back down the alley to rinse, trying to give them time to talk about whatever it is they need to talk about without intruding.
I'm twisting the spigot closed the second time shaking the arrows dry when he moves down the alley, keeping his crossbow against his side with one hand.
"Okay?"
I glance up at the question in his voice. He's watching me with an unreadable expression; carefully passive and blank; just like her.
"Yes?" I'm not sure what we're talking about; I don't think it's Walkers though.
He nods once, turning back toward the end of the alley jerking his chin for me to move. "Come on."
I follow him back down the alley. Carol is standing at the entrance, eyes slightly red, face drawn…she did just got confirmation that half her group is dead, that's a rough day to put it mildly.
"We going to keep looking for another Car?" Cause even if Carol's going with us now; not everyone is going to fit in that station wagon she's driving…
"Yeah," He moves past her; doesn't look at her when he does. She looks down for a moment, then turns and follows him. I glance down the direction we came from, her vehicle is off now the door shut; though it's still parked in the middle of the street…not that matters unless someone else happens to drive by. Highly unlikely.
We split up to some degree as we search; though every time I start to branch off towards another road Daryl follows me immediately. We don't speak as we work down each street, Carol still hasn't done much more than acknowledge my existence with the occasional wary glance. She does it far more when he's close to me; the knot in my stomach is back full force after just a few tense minutes.
We've circled most of the town before we find a vehicle not smashed to hell or blocked in by too many other useless immobile cars on flat tires sitting on their rims. It's hard to find one with four tires decent enough for driving on; ones that haven't gone flat or split and cracked with dry rot from sitting so long. Let alone being lucky enough to find one with battery power left to turn over when we try it…We have Carol's vehicle; so we could jump it, as long as we could get them close enough together; assuming we had jumper cables in the station wagon; I didn't ask, and no one's mentioned it.
I finally find a car in decent shape in front of the church just as I'm starting to get really frustrated with the whole situation; Daryl's hovering, Carol's quick darting glances at us both…
I pause in the nearly empty lot to stare at the bumper sticker on the back window for a moment before I check it, struck with irony.
God is my Co-pilot.
Bitterness claws at the back of my throat.
They were probably disappointed with those over-all results.
But the keys are just lying in the front seat when I approach it; like someone left it just for me.
I tamp down that positive thought. Whoever abandoned it thought they'd be coming right back…things obviously didn't work out like they planned; I can't see how any of that can be by design.
It starts the second I turn the key, Daryl's leaning with one arm against the roof near my open door when I try it. He circles the hood, climbs in the passenger seat when it starts, directs me to a big black truck parked half on the sidewalk one street over we passed earlier after Carol gets in the back seat.
"Still got those jumper cables in the wagon Rick used?" She must nod behind me because he addresses me next.
"Can you drive her back to the wagon, drive it over here?" He climbs out when I nod too; starts popping the hood on the Truck; crossbow resting on the curb by his boots within easy reach.
Leaving me with Carol.
I let him escape though, know exactly what he's doing. He's not trying to throw us together; he just can't deal with it right now.
I'm not the only one bothered by the tension; not sure what to do with it. He needs a few minutes of quiet to sort it out.
I think I'm going to need a little longer than that judging by the knots in my stomach.
I pull away from the truck and circle back to her vehicle; it only takes a few minutes.
She doesn't get out when I stop, we just sit there for an uncomfortable moment.
"Thank you for helping them."
Oh boy. Okay…what do I say, you're welcome? It seems like a hollow response.
Maybe because I have no idea where she fit in the previous group dynamics; what her relationship is to any of them; especially Daryl…
I nod as the silence stretches on another minute.
"You hurt him and I'll slit your throat."
She opens the door and climbs out not waiting for my response.
Alright then.
I wait for her to get in the wagon, heart still racing.
We both circle back to Daryl, he has Carol jump the trucks battery. I start to wonder if he chose the third vehicle so he could avoid picking who to ride back to the house with…
We leave them running for a few minutes to charge the batteries up while we siphon gas from the other vehicles along the street using the tube also in Carol's station wagon.
She's prepared; I'll give her that.
I take down four more dead drifting down the streets as we work. It's late afternoon before we climb into the cars and point them back towards the others…it's a much shorter drive than it was to walk.
Barely enough time alone to compose myself before we have to deal with not just Carol but everything else that goes with her arrival… I'm the first one to pull onto the partially hidden gravel drive. I slow to a crawl while they follow me parking on the rough gravel drive so the car is pointed towards the road in case we have to run in a hurry, they do the same behind me; staggering the cars so no one is blocking each other.
Glenn must be keeping watch out the front window for our return. He opens the front door and rushes out before we've finished parking, grabs Carol in a hug the second she's opened her door. She's laughing and crying at the same time while she hugs him back while Daryl climbs out of the truck to watch silently. I stand a few feet away letting everyone have their reunion.
"You're alive! Oh my God, you're alive." Tyreese practically picks her up off the gravel, looks like he might cry himself…I wonder how he'll feel after he learns she covered for Lizzie…the way she pulls away from him, expression flickering from relief to tension again I imagine she's thinking the same thing.
"Let's get inside," Daryl's voice is gruff, uncomfortable again.
Carol nods looking grim for a few moments 'til the kids see her race out onto the front steps grabbing onto her with a chorus of her name.
I didn't know Lizzie could smile; but she does hugging Carol when she sees her.
She shocks the hell out of me when she looks up at Carol smiling and asks her if they can play outside for a while.
Maybe there's hope for her after all.
:: Walking Dead ::
Notes: Thanks everyone for your continued support; means the world to me! I hope I got Carol right!
Has Lizzie turned over a new leaf or is she just playing everyone?!
muhahahaha!
Reviews give me warm fuzzies and keep me in front of the laptop... ; )