Wow. Well guys...that last chapter was...I'm grateful for all of you who wrote in and told me how you think, cause I was REALLY nervous about killing someone off who hadn't been killed off on the show, especially one of the long standing members of the group. So, I'm glad that it went down the way it did so to speak. And the action doesn't let up. We are hurtling down hill towards the end, hang on tight!
WinterIsComing1015: OK...ok. Ok. Ok. So...ok. Let me preface this first by saying that, I don't like Carol. Never did, and I personally feel that she's absolutely USELESS on the show. She's weak, she hasn't changed enough to be a valued member of the group, and what in the FUCK was she thinking by volunteering for a run? She has NO skills and it was PURELY PRIDE that made her volunteer to prove "I can do it." No, no you can't and NOW look what happened? You got killed, you've added to EVERYONE'S grief and now Daryl is SUPER brokenhearted, when had you had an ounce of rationality you would have stayed your ass where you belonged and NOT jumped in front of a speeding train when you're not sure you can fly away. UGH! FUCKING CAROL! ...BUT, with that being said, I will say that I WAS touched by the over emotionality of this scene and, I will also grudgingly admit that it was particularly sad because Carol had been with the group since day one. But, I'm not mad at you :-) Frankly, I had an inkling early on you were going to kill her and I was like "man, fuck it, g'on and kill her" but because you're SUCH a fantastic writer, you actually got ME - Carol's public enemy number 1 - to be SORT OF sad that she got killed (even though she's dumb and weak and brought it on herself and brought added unnecessary grief and tragedy to the group but whatevs). WELL DONE - you managed to melt my icy cold Carol-hatin' heart. :-)
Ya know Carol seems to get a lot of hate. I'm not entirely fond her character either, but I do like her interactions with Daryl, mostly just for the opportunity to see Daryl get a little soft, but as far as axing her in my story…it had to be done. This is the Walking Dead…people die. The group is howling their protests but it falls on deaf ears. In my mind, it wasn't purely pride that made her want to volunteer for a run. She wanted to contribute, to try and add something to the group when she could see how shaken Rick was after what's happened. Of course it was a mistake, but we can all be Captain Hindsight now can't we? But I am glad, I am so GLAD, that I was still able to get some emotions out of you after killing off your least favorite character. The Muse's ego is so stroked right now, you have no idea, I'm in here trying to get him to stop congratulating himself. Enough already you cocky bastard. Anywaaay, again, I am quite pleased to know that although there were no tears split on your part, at least there was a twinge of sadness for your least favorite charrie gettin' the ax. Awesome. XD
sage62442: Several several several things: -When this story is completed, definitely tweet the link to all TWD people. Norman Reedus (and others) and definitely Robert Kirkman. Every Verified account on Twitter relating to The Walking Dead. We will help! I'll spam them with the link and tag you in the Tweet so they know you wrote it. I will definitely help you out! You need to be discovered! I also recommend you writing an ORIGINAL story. Still on fanfiction, of course. But I'd like to see a completely original story from you, I think that would be sweet. Carol... when Fox said "I have a bad feeling about this". I thought either Daryl would get hurt or the Governor's people would attack... I definitely didn't expect Carol to die! I cried like a baby, no joke... and I'm so glad you have a good taste in music (Flyfleaf) I also want to praise you again, for writing such a great story. I remember a few months ago when I read it and didn't review...I love you! I know this is an unusually long review for me, but I have a lot of time on my hands today..
Awwww! You are just so awesome! All my reviewers and readers are awesome, but offering to help me try and get my little fantasy off the ground is just incredibly sweet and wonderful and I would totally hug you right now if I could. Like, football style tackle hug you. Cause that's just awesomeness. Aaaaaand, just an FYI, I have written several original stories! Novels no less. Not as long as Wildflower (this has been my longest work to date… WHAAAT!?) but I am in the process of doing a very lengthy original story that does take place in a zombie apocalypse and I would absolutely LOVE to bring it to you guys for you to see. So when Wildflower is done, I'll see about using to post it chapter by chapter OR I'll find some other forum and I'll definitely send all of you the link. Awww you cried when Carol died!? YAAAY. I always love getting those strong emotions from my readers. I am so pleased, you have no idea, and I'm also really really thrilled to hear that it was unexpected. I was afraid people could maybe have seen it coming… I write for myself primarily, but if ever I can bring it to people and have them love it…that's just…its not just the icing on the cake, it's starting to become the cake too, especially when the work is as brutally honest and gritty as something like Wildflower. So thank you for reading, and reviewing, and please feel free to leave reviews as long as you like, I enjoy them very, very much =)
FanFicGirl10: Well yes this is TWD but that does not mean people have to die in every chapter :) I never liked Carol so i won't say i cired for her, i cried for Daryl. I agree with Carol (I never thought i would say that) i would rather get burned than be underground. I hope Daryl and Fox learn from this, hell everyone; just hold your loved one like it was the last time with them cus in this new world that could be true. Sad chapter, Update Soon!
Awwww, more tears! Yay! Even if they weren't for Carol (which I knew many of them wouldn't be because she seems to get a lot of hate…) but I'm still glad that they were there. I think they've definitely had a major wakeup call. Nothing is promised. Something simple can turn into a tragedy, and so never take anything for granted, even the bad times.
Guest: Wow, I was not expecting this chapter...Brilliant as usual though. Can't wait to read more!
Yay! I'm thrilled to know that this was unexpected, because seriously, I really thought people might have been predicting it. Maybe it was just because I knew about it all along…
Saphireblue987: Oh man! That was so heavy. I love Carol. You did her GREAT justice though. I love the fact that Daryl cried..I honestly wasn't expecting that. I hope things get better for them! Thanks again for feeding the greed:)
YAY! Someone has some love for Carol! I'm not super fond of her charrie, but I don't hate on her either, so I'm glad to hear from someone who likes her =) I really did my best to do justice by her, because she does mean a lot to the group, but especially to Daryl. And yes indeed he did cry. He's been through a lot and there just wasn't enough left in him to push it away anymore. I always love to feed the greed, it's just as rewarding for me as it is for you =)
Emberka-2012: It's so sad. Carol for each member of the group found the necessary for him words.
It was really sad, but I definitely wanted Carol to have parting words for each member of the group. She's been with them since the very beginning and she knows them well, and in really charged situations like that, those words can have a lasting impact and could help them in the end.
hayleyjune13: oh my goodnesss, soooooooooooooooooooo sad. :(
Indeed, it was very tragic. I'm glad there appears to be no dancing on Carol's grave by my readers, I was slightly afraid that might happen…
Kaleiburzz: Oh, fuck yes! Thank you! This sounds bad, right after the whole feeling-sorry-for-Carol-because-she-just-died thing, but I'm really glad you got rid of her. She was pissing me off to no end. My eyes were narrowed to slits when I was reading that part where she's all like "What do you even see in Fox? Blah blah, love me instead because I'm so frail, blah." Well... okay, that might not have been exactly how it happened but that's what I was processing as I read. Lol. I do like how you did it though. Though I really hate her, I can't exactly blame her for loving Daryl. I mean, the man is a fucking sexy beast. Mmm... Norman Reedus... Anyway! At least she died being useful to the group. There's her "noble" shit that she wanted so badly. I was sort of wondering if you were going to kill her on the drive to the group so that it would've been only Daryl in her last moments. I thought you were going to have her ask for a kiss, and it would've been a little taken-to-the-grave secret. That would've been sweet. Oh wells. The scene was still pretty kickass. I loved how Carol requested fire. Exactly what I would've wanted too. A clean break. The whole exploding car thing was a nice touch. It reflected nicely on how chaotic Daryl's emotions were in that moment. Emphasized it. It was cool. But, oh shit. The helicopter... They found them! Oh no! Please don't kill anyone of importance. Feel free to dispose of Andrea, though! That'd be good. Lol. On a side note, are you going to incorporate Michonne into this story? You said Nay on the prison because you wanted to put distance between the show and the fic so I'm curious. Blah blah blah, update soon, blah.
I definitely viewed Carol as a mother figure to Daryl, so that conversation while they were on watch was to me her trying to look out for him, and being a little questionable about Fox. She's definitely not the type of girl that Carol would be comfortable with, so she was just voicing that in her own way, as a mother would do, so it wasn't so much as her trying to put a wedge between him and Fox for her own benefit, as it was her trying to look out for him (although I agree, Damn. Norman Reedus, you are breaking so many hearts with your sexiness. Its criminal.) You know I /really/ considered that whole scenario you were describing if it would have just been Daryl at her side when she died, but in the end I chose to play it the way I did because I think it would have crushed Daryl's spirit even worse if he hadn't been able to bring her back to the group. And yes, death by fire, and an exploding car no less. It was definitely a reflection of Daryl's emotional state at the time, the chaos and the pain and the destruction of yet another loss of someone he cares about. And yes indeed! They are about to be found and the conflict will be…well, you shall just have to wait and see now won't you? ;) As far as Michonne is concerned I am loving her character in the show (she reminds me of Fox a bit), but because I first made this plot when I didn't know about her character (hadn't seen the 3rd season when I started) I didn't incorporate her then, BUT, she /might/ make an appearance. Maybe. We'll see. ;)
oXxgeorgiaxXo: It's great that you showed Daryls feelings towards carol just before she died. It proves that all though he is supposed to be the tough guy , it doesn't stop him from having a heart and caring for people. Great chapter and I'm looking forward to more. Xxxxx
Daryl for sure keeps his emotions close to the vest, even after all this time, but I think the loss was just too much for him to try and hide anymore. After all this time, after everything that's happened, I don't think he could be bothered trying to hide it anymore. He definitely does have a heart, a big heart, but he's still wounded and scarred and so things have a different affect on him than they might other people.
TWDLDN: Wow, just WOW! I have read all of the chapters and I have to say I am enjoying this as much as if not more than the TV show. Another thing is that whenever I watch the show I keep expecting to see Fox. I don't think Daryl and Carol make a good couple anyway, whereas with Fox they are perfect for each other. Keep up the good work!
Awwwww YAY! I'm just always stunned speechless for a moment when people say that they like my story as much/or more than the actual show. That just floors me EVERY single time. And then of course when they say they wanna see Fox in the show I am jumping with glee. Again, that's just…wow. I love that so much, you just don't know. I could go on and on about that, but I'll just let you get to reading hm? I think that's what you all came here for, I'm just glad you're out there letting me know how much it means to you =)
They drove all day, still heading South, following a dizzying, aimless twist of black top and debris, but as the day wore on, the weather became worse and worse. At first it was just a light snow but then heavier and heavier, now almost to the point where it was sleeting right on his and Fox's back. It was all Daryl could do to keep the bike from toppling over and spinning out on the slick road. His fingers were numb from how hard he was clenching the handles, barely able to control the hot thrum of anger and pain rolling through him and still the only thing he could comprehend was why? Why had he let her go, why had this happened, why couldn't he have saved her? Why had he cared about her in the first place, why had they been thrown together, why had God or fate or whoever wasn't really there twisted his life with hers and her kid's so he had been forced to care. What the fuck had he ever done to deserve this?
"Daryl!"
Fox's voice jolted him back into consciousness and he realized that the convoy ahead of them was slowing down. He killed the speed on his bike and they came to a rest on a piece of highway that was rolling through a set of gentle hills covered in what had once been well kept farmland. Trees without leaves stood still as statues but were pummeled with the incoming flurries and ice raining down. More paint chipped off of the already broken down fences at the edges of the fields as the ice continued to hammer away at them. They'd crossed over the border into Indiana several hours ago but it wasn't like anybody was keeping track. The storm that was hailing down on them was chilling them to the bone and it didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon.
"What's going on?" Fox asked as they swung off the bike and stretched their legs on the black top as the others piled out of the car.
"Gotta find a place to stop for the night. You two can't be out in this weather anymore. One of these houses should do fine. We'll clear it of any Walkers and haul our stuff in. Try to get some food in our stomachs and then sleep." Rick sounded more like himself now than he had in what felt like eternity and the smallest amount of tension slipped out of Fox's shoulders. If Rick had been jolted back to reality by any means necessary…then at least they had someone calling the shots. Hopefully with a clear head. Or at least as clear as it could be in this state of affairs. They all hurried back into their cars to get the hell out of the storm and Rick's Jeep took the lead towards a large farmhouse situated in the middle of the surrounding fields.
When they parked the cars just outside the porch, Daryl was ready and willing to clean the whole thing out by himself, just to get his blood flowing and give him something to take his frustration out on. It was three stories tall, the windows boarded up, a heavy duty chain on the door. Glenn cracked it with his bolt cutters and Daryl flung the door open hard, sweeping in with his crossbow at the ready. Rick and Fox followed after him and they all fanned out, moving swiftly from room to room. They found the house to be empty, but when they tapped the hall door that they led to the basement, they heard an all too familiar hissing noise. Daryl readjusted his crossbow around his shoulders and pulled his buck knife free from his belt and nodded to Rick who pulled the door open with a sharp jerk.
Walkers immediately tried to shove their way through. Daryl took one out easily, the blade sinking straight through the bone right between the eyes. Rick struck the other with his machete, and the third Carl sent to hell with a quick shot from his silenced pistol.
"Probably the family that used to live here." Andrea murmured as they started to work to drag the bodies out and throw them outside, burying them loosely in the snow so as to not let the rotting smell attract anything else towards the house. When the bodies were dealt with, Daryl and Fox went down into the basement and although there was nothing left by the way of food and fresh water, they found a generator.
"Wanna try it?" she asked him softly. He nodded and flipped the necessary switches. It took a minute but the machine whirred to life and as they came running up the stairs Andrea hit the switch on a lamp and they all stared in amazement as the bulb flickered and began to glow.
"I can't believe it." Glenn said, staring at them all with disbelief. "Do you think it will heat the water?"
"We can try." Rick said. Immediately Glenn rushed into the kitchen as Andrea killed the light as the kid urgently tried the tap. At first there was only the sound of gurgling water through the pipes, but eventually a rusty stream began flowing through. As he opened the flow of water higher the stream became clearer, and after a minute or two, they saw steam rising from the stream.
"Hot water!" Benjamin howled with delight, spinning in excitement with Judith in his arms.
They all took their turns with the hot water, Fox and Daryl waiting patiently until everyone else had used what they liked. At this point Daryl was all but numb, and even the promise of hot water couldn't shake him from his stupor. Waiting with nothing to do was slowly eating away at his senses and his brain and the thoughts inside his head were only getting louder and louder. He barely felt Fox's hand on his arm, guiding him upstairs to the bathroom. She nudged him inside the bathroom towards the claw foot tub but he didn't move after she shut the door. She let him stand there wordlessly while she twisted the knob on the tap and got the water going, putting a stop in the drain. She approached him slowly and put her hands on his chest. She could feel him trembling even beneath his jacket and she carefully worked him out of the cloth, letting it hit the floor. He was still covered in gore from the killings earlier in the day from his hair line to the toe of his boots, but it wasn't just his clothes. His skin was streaked with filth from the road, blood from the killings, just the perpetual wear and tear of their lifestyle on the run and since getting wet in this cold weather was risking hypothermia, even sponging off was barely an option. She stripped him of all his clothes, methodically pulling each garment off and letting it hit the floor. He shivered at the chill air but it was as if he'd forgotten how to move.
"Come on," she coaxed, pulling him by the hand towards the tub that was almost full by now, to the point where she shut the water off as the last of the hot water was gone. He lowered himself into the steaming vat of water, hissing at the sharp touch as it sluiced over his skin. It was a shock to his senses, almost like a slap to the face, and it actually made him shiver at first, until Fox maneuvered him into leaning back against the heated porcelain so more of the water covered over his chest and shoulders.
"You don't have to do this." He said quietly as she picked up one of the washcloths and a bar of soap and started scrubbing off the grit, moving him to her liking as she saw fit.
"I know. But I don't feel like leaving you alone either." She said, her tone less soft now. She dunked the rag into the water and had him lean forward and she set to work on lifting the dirt and grime away from his back. It didn't matter how many times she saw them, the scars there made her stomach twist. He had never told her what caused those wounds, but she could tell from their severity and their longevity that whatever it had been was likely life threatening when he'd received them. Certainly enough to cause intense pain for a long time. His skin was shivering almost uncontrollably as she gently ran the cloth against his back, taking her time as she washed the dirt away.
"I'm not gonna leave or anything." He said, wincing slightly when she moved to the small of his back. "It's not like before."
She sighed and looked up from her work, meeting his eyes for a long time. "I know." She murmured. "For your, or for me."
He realized then that she wasn't unaffected by this either. For so long they'd been on the run and even when people had died yes she'd been saddened, but he realized for the first time she was truly mourning the loss. Maybe because now they had a second to just breathe and it was really hitting her the gaping holes that were being torn through their group bit by bit as one after another of them fell.
She ducked the washcloth back into the water and kept working on getting him clean, eventually getting her hair and arms wet as she did so. "I hate it when I can't believe my own words." She started softly.
"What do you mean?" He leaned back against her grip and looked her in the eye again.
"What I said at Lori's grave. That it doesn't matter how many of us they take. That we'll fight to the last man, and when they kill the last of us, we would have gone down fighting."
"And we will." He murmured. He reached his hand out of the water and cupped her cheek, dampening her skin and leaning his forehead against hers gently. "And you said something else too." He continued. "That as we fight for what we have left it's how we honor those we lost. That was true, Dahlia. We can't let go of that. Not now."
He didn't know where the strength had come from to say it. Something about seeing her shaking, seeing her resolve cracking, it forced him into trying to fix it. Because if she shattered, he would too, and there would be nothing left to hold him to sanity anymore. The gaping hole that had been ripped through his chest was still there, it was still bleeding, but the pain was starting to dim, just slightly. A deep darkness was washing over him, but it was not despair. It was the darkness of a hot night in the middle of July in Georgia and though warm and almost suffocating, it was not the intense burn of the sun at noon. It was almost soothing. An acceptance, a realization that Carol was gone and they had no choice but to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He never thought he would miss those insufferably hot nights, but for all his life he'd lived with him, and the memories were strong. His breathing evened out and very slowly, the pain began to ebb.
Tears spilled down her eyes and she closed them, trying hard to stop herself from shaking. He just held her to him and steadied her until she could get her eyes open and look at him, crystal tears gleaming with emerald tones as she gazed back at him. Everything she could have ever said was in her eyes. Her wonderment, her fear, her love, her pain. For so long she had carried the stress and strain of so many others, in the heat of fierce moments when the world was rattling itself to bits around their heads. But it was always here in the quiet where she cracked. He reached his second hand forward and ran his fingers through her hair which had grown so much that down to her jaw and the back of her neck was entirely brown, the rest a messy shade of reddish pink.
He leaned forward and kissed her gently, tasting the saltiness of her tears and the curled edge of smoke and pain on her lips. He could feel her shaking and so he just held on gently until she pulled back and managed to wipe her eyes and push her hair over to one shoulder, staring down at the tangled strands for a moment before looking up at him.
"Thank you." She murmured.
Later in the evening the group was pulled close around the fireplace in the large sitting room. Daryl had Judith in his arms as he leaned against the sofa, Fox sitting above him, occasionally bumping his shoulder with her leg while he nursed the baby. It hadn't even really been a question once he and Fox had come downstairs, clean and scrubbed free of months worth of dirt and gore, he had scooped the baby up from her little box and cradled her until she started to fuss for dinner. Rick had watched the whole thing happening with careful eyes, but it was more out of curiosity rather than watchfulness.
"Where do we go now?" Glenn asked softly as he stared into the fire.
"I think the real question is do we keep running or do we try to find somewhere permanent to settle down, like what we did in the mountains?" Andrea clarified.
"I don't think we have a choice. We can't run like this for the rest of our lives." Maggie murmured, leaning into Glenn briefly before staring up at them all. "We'll go crazy if we do."
"We might not have a choice." Rick said quietly. "Unless we can find a place that's isolated enough and large enough for the space we need. Spring will be here soon, if we found the right place, we could potentially start planting crops to sustain ourselves. So we wouldn't have to run from house to house looking for food. Just like what we were going to do in New York."
"Do we even have the manpower for something like that?" Andrea asked. She looked around at their pitifully small group and everyone shifted uneasily.
"Yes. We do." Daryl said firmly as he readjusted Judith in his arms. "It'll be hard work, but all of us are able bodied. Between me and Maggie, we can teach the rest of you. We just have to find the right place."
"Are we suggesting going back down South?" Glenn questioned. "Cause I don't know about you, but I don't fancy herd after herd blowing through and destroying everything we try to do."
"We need somewhere isolated. Somewhere that has always been separate from large populations, or any populations for that matter." Benjamin said, leaning on his crossed knees and staring into the flames. It was becoming clear that they were all exhausted and needed to sleep, but Rick seemed unwilling to let them all turn in.
"Ok, short term, let's just focus on that. Where can we go from here?" he questioned.
"Why can't we stay here? There's a generator, running water, heat if we need it. The place seems isolated, any Walkers that would come through we could pick off easily enough." Benjamin noted.
"Yeah, but there's no food." Fox said wearily. "And what we brought back today won't last for very long. Until we become self sustained, we will always need to be close enough to some kind of civilization to scavenge from. At least until spring when there's more game and Daryl can hunt."
Rick leaned back in his chair and then forward again, his forearms resting on his thighs as he stared into the fire and then looked at them all. "We're all exhausted. Running on too little food and sleep. Tomorrow if the storm lets up and the roads are passable we'll sweep the surroundings of this house more thoroughly and make sure that there's no herds coming over the hill. We're about an hour or so away from any basis of supplies we might need, but we're doing ok on gasoline. We can stay here for a little while."
"We also need to think about trying to get more bullets. We're running dangerously low on ammo." Andrea commented softly as she stared into the flames in the fireplace chewing over a log they'd recovered from a woodpile out in the back of the house.
"The only place we're going to find bullets for our guns is a military base or a police station." Rick said heavily. "Tomorrow if the area is clear maybe we'll make a run into the nearest town and see what's there." He paused and looked at the haggard group, his eyes settling on Carl last for a long while.
"Try and get some sleep. We've got a long march ahead. Benjamin you've got first watch. Glenn your on second."
The group dispersed, choosing bedrooms and moving in their stuff while Benjamin buttoned up his coat and picked up the rifle and went out onto the porch for his watch. Daryl and Fox stayed in the living room, Daryl still holding onto Judith, rocking her gently to sleep. It had become an almost nightly ritual that he would soothe her into dreams and then hand her over to Carl or Rick. Tonight it was Rick to take her and a silent understanding passed between the two men. An understanding of gratefulness, sorrow, but an unyielding determination to do right not just by Carol, but everyone they had lost since the world had gone to hell.
After he gave Judith over to Rick, Fox hauled her body off the couch and they took one of the upstairs bedrooms, collapsing onto the bed, barely taking the time to take off their weapons to avoid being poked. Normally she would have tried to seduce him and usually he would have melted straight into her hands, but they were both too tired and too grieved for it. She curled into him and enjoyed the way his skin smelled clean and fresh and loved the feel of his fingers through her hair. He soothed her towards sleep with the repeated motions of his hand and the steady thrumming of his heart against her ear.
"Well, well, well, lookie at what we have here boys."
Overhead the helicopter had signaled that they'd seen something and so the convoy of vehicles had followed their directions to a stretch of lonely, car strewn highway, but one of those cars was on fire, a huge smoldering wreck, a hunk of metal that had been all but blown to bits, burning like a meteorite on the blacktop, a clear signal from the air.
Merle and Philip piled out of the SUV and were slowly circling the charred out skeleton of the car, the acrid smell of smoke and burning metal filling the air. The winter storm was still coming down, causing the metal to cool and hiss as the flames were slowly dispersed by the weather.
"You think they did this?" Philip asked, turning to Merle as the one handed man tilted his head at the wreckage.
"Someone did. Why would someone set one random car on fire?" Merle questioned. It didn't make sense, but it was evidence that someone had been here, relatively recently, the fire was still licking what remained of the hood of the car and the rubber of the tires.
"Any sign of them?" Philip asked over the radio to the men in the helicopter.
"Nothing on the highway sir but we're seeing smoke a few miles further down. Want to check it out?"
"Follow the smoke, we'll keep pace on the ground." Philip answered back. The radio crackled into silence and Philip turned to Merle.
"You go with Martinez and the others at the back of the convoy. I'll call you in for backup over the radio if I need you." Philip told him as they headed back for their cars.
"Why not just let me talk to Rick? He knows me, I'm sure if I just explained the situation he'll hand it over." Merle reasoned.
Philip shook his head. "Merle. You're a good soldier, and a good soldier follows his orders, you understand that, don't you? Let me handle this." There was no room for negotiation or discussion. Merle could feel the hard edge of authority and he could see the gleam of light in Philip's eye. He wasn't playing. He'd come for blood this time.
"We had a deal. You remember that." Merle growled.
Philip's lips twitched into a smile. "Of course. I won't harm your brother. I don't want to harm any of them really, but I will do what I must to get our weapon back." He tilted his head by way of dismissal and Merle reluctantly climbed into the last SUV in the convoy as they started up on the highway again, his stomach twisting into knots. Why did Philip even bother lying? It was clear to everyone he'd come for blood. He could at least be honest about it.
"Guys! Guys wake up!"
Benjamin's frantic calls through the house started Daryl out of sleep. Almost immediately he and Fox we're rolling out of bed, staggering in their haste to get their boots on and then their weapons belt. They'd made it downstairs just as the rest of the group did, Carl holding onto Judith with a wide expression of fear in his eyes.
"What is it?" Rick demanded.
"Helicopter. Headed this way, I saw it above the trees. Don't know who they are or what they want, but they're coming."
"Daryl, Andrea, Glenn, Maggie, Fox, get the guns, Benjamin, take Judith and Carl and one of the cars, get the hell out of here." Rick ordered, already tearing through the room to the gun bag which they'd left on the kitchen table for the time being.
"Hell no, I'm staying with you!" Carl yelled as Benjamin took the baby and went to grab his medic bag.
"Carl! Go with Benjamin, I need you to take care of your sister." Rick hissed as he shoved a fresh clip into a nine millimeter pistol. Daryl loaded a bolt into his crossbow and Fox checked the clip of her hand gun with a satisfied clicking sound.
"If there's gonna be a fight, I'm staying here! I can shoot!" Carl insisted. He snatched his gun off the table before his father could take it from him but just at that moment, bullets began peppering the side of the house.
"Get down!" Daryl yelled, tackling Fox, Carl, and Rick, throwing them down as splinters of wood and glass began to fly. They were partially protected by the fact that the windows were boarded up, but the shots were powerful and must have been from close range because when Daryl looked up he saw that the bullets were taking chips of wood and splinters with them through the room.
"Benjamin! Out the back, take Maggie's car, just drive, get as far away as you can, go now!" Rick snarled as soon as he could get his head up and start moving towards the front door.
Daryl whipped around and saw the medic in the hall, one arm holding Judith who by now was beginning to cry and the other with his medic bag as well as the bag with the formula in it. The kid's face was terrified but as the bullets began to fly again, shattering through the boarded up windows and striking the edges of the walls and furniture he was started into motion. Daryl's heart twisted like a knife in his chest as he watched them go but was somewhat grateful when they heard the backdoor slam. He realized it must have been killing Rick to watch someone run off with Judith but Benjamin was useless in a fire fight and the baby was absolutely helpless. She had to be evacuated, and Benjamin was the best choice, at least in this fucked up situation.
"Out front, let's go!" Rick snarled.
They lurched up to their feet and Rick threw the front door open. They all squeezed the triggers on their guns, even Fox, peppering their enemies with gunfire.
In the dim predawn light and through the heavy snow coming down it was hard to see but when Daryl ducked down onto the porch he twisted his head on his shoulders and saw that there was a spread of three SUVs and men all in black with what looked like Kevlar vests strapped over their bodies aiming straight for them. He pulled his thirty eight out of his pants and twisted his wrist around the edge of the steps and fired. Bullets pinged wildly as they used the porch for cover but it wasn't much, and Daryl saw with horror as one SUV started moving towards the back, obviously seeing that Maggie's car was making a beeline for an escape.
"Hell no!" Carl yelled. He lunged out from his hiding place, Rick's hand missing to grab him and pull him back. He shot repeatedly from his pistol as he went running across the yard, shooting at the SUV that was pursuing Maggie's fleeing car. Daryl didn't hesitate. He swept up and gave the kid as much cover fire as he could, shooting until half the clip was empty, forcing the men firing on them to take cover behind their vehicles.
"I got him!" Andrea panted. She ducked off the porch and went running after Carl and now Fox moved forward and shot from her pistol, her finger squeezing the trigger deftly, no hesitation or fear on her face. When her bullet struck one of the men firing from behind the hood of the closest SUV she snarled her approval. Glenn and Maggie edged forward, unloading shells from their shotguns, pummeling the sides of the SUVS until everyone was thrown to the ground.
One of Carl's bullets had hit the fuel tank of the SUV pursuing Maggie's car. Everyone in the vicinity was thrown to the ground violently from the force of the blast, fire exploding around the vehicle as it went spinning through the air and crashing back into the ground the same way a comet strikes the earth. Daryl's head spun with dizziness and for a moment he was deaf to the din of the world. He felt hands on him, grabbing him and shoving him back down to get out of the way of the still flying bullets. He shook his head hard to try and clear his hearing as the world seemed to trapped in almost frozen syrup, moving so slowly things twisted and blurred into unnatural shapes.
"Carl! Andrea!" Rick yelled, the high pitch of terror in his voice shaking Daryl back to a faster tempo of reality. He whipped around and saw the man running towards his son and the blonde woman who were slowly getting to their feet. Guns we're still going off and now Maggie, Glenn, and Fox we're desperately trying to give them cover while he ran. Daryl swept up and fired again, trying his best to take out another soldier.
Andrea was on her feet faster than Carl. She'd been further from the blast and now she stood over the kid protectively, gun arm thrust out, her blonde hair a wild skewed mess as ash from the flinging debris smeared her face. She let out a scream of fury as she shot from her gun again and again, trying to force the men back while Rick ducked behind her and grabbed Carl up into his arms and beat a retreat back towards the house, still ducking and almost tripping trying to avoid the flying bullets. Daryl watched as Andrea began to run back towards the house as well but at that moment a man appeared from behind one of the SUVs, holding a revolver similar to Rick's python. He took aim at Andrea who still had her arm twisted back trying to fire even as she ran.
"Andrea!" Daryl yelled, hoping she would hear him and hit the dirt but he was far too late. The man, who wore a twisted expression of some kind of gleeful delight, cocked the hammer back and squeezed the trigger. A powerful gunshot exploded from the barrel and Andrea fell forward, blood gushing from a hole blown through the back of her skull.
They all screamed a wordless howl of rage. Rick had Carl on the porch now and as soon as his son's shaken frame was on the ground he turned and pulled out his python, firing like mad, blindly forcing the man who had killed Andrea to duck behind the SUV again. Glenn and Maggie unloaded their shotguns, tears of rage and pain streaming down their faces.
"Daryl! Daryl, take this!" Fox's voice was a panting, twisted sound of battle crazed adrenaline and urgency as they crouched down behind the porch. She was digging at her neck, pulling on something there. She pulled off a necklace on a long silver chain, at the end of which hung a metal pendant about the size of a dog tag which she ripped through her hair and shoved into his hand which she had grabbed in his own. "Take it, keep it warm." She forced his fist to close over it and then her hand grabbed the back of his hair. "I love you." The words were tense with the din of battle, but all of the emotion was in her eyes. She kissed him hard on the mouth, a sharp clutch of teeth and tongue, edged by bloodlust and reckless determination. She jerked away before he could grab her or call her back and went running off the porch.
"Die you son of a bitch!" she snarled, shooting the last of her bullets at the man who had killed Andrea. He was forced to duck behind the SUV but she just kept coming and the other men who had been shooting at them now swarmed her.
"Fox!" Daryl screamed, getting up from his crouched position and firing madly, but his gun was empty. He swung his crossbow forward and hit one of the men in the top of the shoulders forcing him to drop but by the time he had another arrow loaded into the crossbow Fox had gone down in a pile of black clothes and red hair, screaming and kicking violently. They shoved her into one of the SUVS and immediately the car took off, tires slinging mud and snow as they went.
"NO!" Daryl roared. He ran off the porch straight for Andrea's body and snatched up her fallen gun, shooting wildly, trying to take the tires out on the car but failed and all too soon the gun clicked empty. The men he'd been firing at had piled back into the cars and even under a hail of remaining gunfire they streaked away into the night, moving at well over safe speeds as they tore back into the road and disappeared into the darkness, veiled by the falling snow.