In every fairy tale there has to be dark force that counteracts the power of good and bright. Sheriff Dickens is the darkest of forces and like most evil he has managed to disguise himself in a benign covering. Do not be equally deceived, Dear Reader; Dickens is the darkest character that I will ever write. Perhaps the dark is drawn toward the light, not in an attempt to become light but because it seeks to destroy the light with its own darkness.
Behind the Mask
Sheriff Dickens rode by the library in his Jeep with the large star over the door. It proclaimed that this vehicle was driven by a man with power to do what he wanted when he wanted. Dickens stopped in the middle of the street and waved two girls to cross in front of him while he waited. It showed that he was courteous to the fairer sex and it gave him a chance to imagine those girls handcuffed and helpless in the back of this jeep. He recognized them as Lizzie and Mika; Carol McAllister's beloved daughters which made the fantasy all that more enjoyable.
Dickens hated Carol. She looked like Nancy McAllister and Nancy had seen through him years ago. He had been driving the school bus that went up McAllister Mountain and old Nancy had been waiting at the gate to meet her great grand-daughter Ariel McAllister. He had stopped and put his hand out to help the little girl down the steps. Old Nancy had reached out to take Ariel's hand, and for just a second they had been connected through the little girl. He felt her force touch him and he knew by the way she fell back that she felt his power. He had turned loose of Ariel and Nancy had grabbed her and put her behind her. She looked at him for a moment and he knew that she saw behind his genial mask. She couldn't have weighed a hundred pounds and was probably eighty years old but he was afraid of her. Nancy regarded him steadily and then turned and took the child through the gates and into Ashton's house. He had wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and turned the bus around. Two days later his supervisor called him and said that he was not going to do any more runs. Dickens figured Nancy McAllister had made a call to someone in power and he was done. He kept his distance from Carol; he feared that you could see the darkness within him like Old Nancy; he knew that if she knew his intentions toward Lizzie that she would kill him herself.
Dickens drove on enjoying the warmth in his groin that seeing Lizzie always gave him. He looked back in his rear view mirror and saw Carol and Daryl crossing the street toward the library. Carol was hanging onto Daryl's arm and smiling at him. Dickens frowned; he hated the both of them. Carol didn't trust him and Daryl despised him. He grabbed something that always gave him pleasure; his Taser. He had found this treasure locked up in the weapon's room in the sheriff's office. He had confiscated it for his own use; it was the perfect weapon for a hunter like him. It would immobilize his prey but still leave her aware of her surroundings. He liked that; he wanted to see the recognition that they were helpless and totally in his power.
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Carol shivered as she and Daryl crossed the street in front of the library. Daryl put his arm around her and asked, "Do you need my jacket?" Carol shook her head. She could see the Sheriff's jeep ahead of her and felt that chill again.
"I think I was just too close to the high sheriff of Adair County," Carol just wanted to go pick up some books from the library and take the girls home. Carol had never liked Dickens and he had only sunk lower in her opinion as she attended meetings in town. She found herself not wanting to be in the same room with him and he must feel the same way about her as he seemed to avoid her as much as she did him. Daryl looked at the Sheriff's jeep and had to hold himself back from making an obscene gesture. He was still pissed at himself that he had let the man arouse his jealousy.
Daryl ushered Carol into the library and she stopped to speak with Connie at the checkout desk. Daryl nodded to Connie and went on back to the non-fiction section. He and Carol found books about medicinal plants found in this area, farming, and Native Americans. Then she went into the fiction section and picked out a few novels. Daryl found a book about ancient weapons and added it to his pile. The girls usually took forever to pick up their books but they beat him to the check-out desk today. They waited on Carol and Daryl noticed that one of Lizzie's books was about pregnancy. Melody Hakim had allowed the girls into the room today so that they could see the baby on the ultrasound. Daryl had watched Lizzie and Mika's faces light up as the ultrasound showed Michael moving and kicking.
Lizzie had videotaped the visit. The kid was driving him crazy with that camera in his face all the time. She was making a video for the baby. She wanted everybody to talk about how much they wanted the baby; she filmed Carol all the time. Her last request was to be able to film the birth; Carol had laughed but said, "No, never. It really isn't all that much fun to squeeze a baby out, and when it is over I would just as soon not revisit it again."
They were soon up on the mountain and Carol moved carefully on the steps up onto the porch with Daryl's help. She had two months to go and Sophia had been a few days early. She had a crib ready and a changing table with baby clothes and diapers in it. Daryl had brought back a comfortably cushioned rocking chair that now sat beside of a window in their bedroom.
Carol went on to her bedroom because she needed to use the bathroom. She sat in the rocking chair for a bit and tried to calm her anxiety. The baby was fine, but oddly enough the anxiety was not for her baby which would be normal. Carol was afraid that something was going to happen to Lizzie or Mika. Carol wondered if it was some sort of delayed reaction to Sophia's death or that she was projecting her fear of losing her baby over to Lizzie and Mika. She had talked to Daryl last night and to Melody Hakim this morning before the girls were brought in to see the ultrasound. Daryl had taken her seriously but Melody had warned her she needed to keep calm and keep her blood pressure down.
Daryl followed her into their room and sat down in the chair beside his bed. "Carol, I think we need to talk to Jesse and Rick. We men will keep an eye on the girls. I know that you are worried but I trust you. I need you to trust me to watch over our girls. Do you think we should tell Carl?
Carol looked at Daryl sitting there biting his thumb. He had been on high alert this morning. She had a sudden realization of how much more she loved him now than the day that he had found her after Rick had thrown her out. She had loved Daryl then but she really knew so little of his true nature. She knew that he had loved Merle and cared about her that evening when she opened the door to him. She knew now that he had the ability to love and to commit himself to being a good husband and father. Daryl had accepted that she loved Lizzie and Mika and he would need to be their father. Daryl had done so much more than that; Daryl had found a way to give them a father's love and the horses that they wanted. Daryl giving Carl Morgan had shown her the depth of his goodness. Daryl's casual camaraderie with Jesse, Michonne, Andrea, and Rick was a disguise; she knew well that he loved them as brothers and sisters. Daryl might never forgive Rick but he did love him as a brother. The rest of the world still saw the rough around the edges redneck; it was a mask and behind it was a tender hearted loving man.
Carol considered his question; Carl might go all commando if he thought Lizzie and Mika were threatened. She didn't want the girls to be terrorized by what might be just late pregnancy jitters. Then, there was that trust your instincts and hers were on high alert. "Tell Carl and I'll talk with the girls. I want them to be wary and ready everywhere and that includes inside our fences."
Daryl was always struck how quickly Carol could change from sweet loving Carol to clear decisive Carol. He loved both Carols. He trusted both Carols. "Do you think its walkers or raider?" He moved to his chair so that he could hold her hand and look into her eyes.
Carol grabbed both his hands; she felt more able to deal with the abyss when she was holding onto Daryl. The fears were like looking into a black hole; you were afraid to look too closely because you might be sucked in. She closed her eyes and let the fear come toward her. It was stronger now because she wasn't fighting it. Before it was just a feeling, a sense of unease and dread when she looked at the girls, but now the vision was clearer. It was Lizzie and she couldn't move. She was being carried away from them by a man. The vision faded and she was left with the terror of knowing that this could happen. She opened her eyes and looked into Daryl's worried eyes, "It's a man and he is after Lizzie. We have to watch Mika too. He is going to try to get her right from this place."
So do you hate the dark turn the story has taken? You should know by now that I won't linger long on the dark side, but the muse who really likes our Lizzie and wants you to see how strong she really is. I do appreciate your input. I am snowbound again so the next chapter will be soon unless the electricity decides to go off or some other third world nonsense.
Reviews are welcomed.
