After leaving St. Bernard there was nothing but the occasional pile of rubble where a house had once stood. They were getting close. They'd left Violet early that morning just as the sun was rising. It was late afternoon now and they passed a sign indicating that Shell Beach was only a half a mile away. She heard Athena say
"How we gonna play this out?" They paused for a moment and Irving tried to hop off of the stretcher. Michonne held him down by his shoulder and said
"No, you especially need to look disabled. If we're going to gain their trust and pose no threat we need to look worse than we do now." Setting down her end of the stretcher, she walked over to a mud puddle. Rubbing her hand in it, she began to smear it across her face and clothes. "We're gonna wanna look like we've been on the road for awhile." Athena, Irving and Georgette joined her in the mud bath, making sure they were sufficiently dirty before getting back up. "Sound weak," said Michonne, "Cough, act like you're in pain. We need to be as convincing as possible." Getting comfortable on his stretcher Irving said
"Ain't gonna be hard for me." Michonne looked at him and said
"Keep it check Dixon, don't act like a wise ass with these guys." Irving smirked and said
"I'll try my best." Looking back up at Georgette he winked at her and said "As long as they don't try to take what's mine."
Ares had been called to his first guarding session. It had been just yesterday that Vince had threatened him into becoming a part of their team. He was told to meet them at the Town Hall where Vince's office was. The image of the man burning was still seared into his mind and as expected, reports of a missing man had been going around the town. He knew these people were suspicious and getting to the end of their rope. It had been going on for far too long now. He wanted to yell out the truth but he knew doing that now would end badly for him. He had to wait.
There were a group of men in the lobby with him, already all dressed up. Ares felt relieved that Beau wasn't with him. Vince saw him and smirked.
"Here," He tossed him a bundle of black clothes. "Those are your guard clothes, go change and come back out here." Ares went into the bathroom and pulled it all on. It was a pair of black heavy duty pants, a black T-shirt with alligator skin stitched into the back and front to act as a bulletproof vest. He looked at himself in the mirror. His face had an unhealthy pallor to it and he looked exhausted. He hadn't gotten much sleep since the night before. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and thought of his parents. He had to be brave for them. He had to make them proud. He remembered his father's face, full off seriousness but understanding as he spoke.
Ares heard the door open downstairs. Athena, who had developed a cold over the past few days, was asleep on the third floor above him. He was alone but he wasn't worried when he recognized the footsteps as his father's. After spending so much time at home waiting for him to return from runs, he had learned their exact sound. Unable to wait any longer, he got up out of his chair and ran for the door. Just as he reached it his father appeared. He would usually come in with a bundle of fresh meat that he'd caught but instead he was empty-handed and his face was badly bruised. Even the rifle he'd taken with him was gone. The worst of it was the long gash down the side of his face still oozing blood.
"Dad what happened?!"
"I got attacked."
"By who?!" He followed behind his father as he took a seat down on the couch, letting out a sigh of defeat. Ares jumped up next to him.
"I was in town," he said, "Got ambushed by a man there. After a fight he took my gun and the meat I'd caught." It was sickening to Ares. It was the first time that he could remember seeing his dad in a vulnerable positon.
"What'd you do?!"
"I got outta there, wasn't the right time to try and fight back" he said, "He was gonna shot me if I stuck around."
"Are you gonna go back?" His father nodded and said
"He's taking shelter in one of the buildings there." His father looked at him and said "When people do something wrong or take something you can't retaliate right away. If you have the chance, you have to wait until you're sure that you can overcome them."
"When will you go back?"
"Tomorrow night," said his dad, "I'll sneak up on him; he won't even know I'm coming." He was slightly worried about his father going back to face the man but he knew he was smart and wouldn't make a mistake. After all he was all that Ares and his sister had.
Ares pushed the door open confidently. He would wait for his chance. When he was certain he could win he would act then. Vince was waiting for him and said
"What took you so long chink?" The term was unfamiliar to Ares but he was sure it was some sort of insult. He didn't know how to respond and instead said
"What will I be doing today?" Vince continued to smirk as he led Ares over to a large oak table. On it was a large map flattened out. Ares realized it was of the entire town.
"I'll have you patrolling the northwest gate for the first part of the day."
"Inside of the gate?"
"No," said Vince, "Outside. We always put our new recruits on the outside for their first shifts. They're the least valuable, that way if there's a herd or an attack they'll be the first to go." Disgusted with Vince, he just wanted to get a move on.
"And what about the second part of the day?"
"Don't know yet," said Vince, "We'll see how your first shift goes and then decided where to put you at lunch time."
The end of the road was in sight. They came to the corner where it took a turn to the west. To the south was what looked to be endless swampland, bayous and land that they wouldn't be able to simply walk through. Numerous piles of bricks were scattered around, barely visible under thick amounts of vines. She felt Daryl run his hand up her back and whisper in her ear.
"How're we gonna keep goin' south?" She hadn't really registered what he'd said; only the feeling of his hands on her again. She turned to him so they were chest to chest. His blue gaze looked down on her and it was clear the attitude had changed. There was an electricity between them that had never been lost. It wasn't just sexual but a deep love and connection.
"Hey you two gonna tell us what we're doing next?" Pedro approached them, followed by a blushing Candice who hadn't seen her parents so close before. Daryl broke away and said
"I was just askin' Beth." Beth looked around the street and across the Mississippi River Canal that they would eventually have to cross if they wanted to get to the fort. They ran into the same dilemma that they had had back at the bridge.
"We're gonna need a boat. We can't walk through that." She looked out at the swamplands again. "We'll have to take a boat down the canal." The group fanned out like before and began to search through the rubble. Beth went over to one of them herself and began pulling at the vines to search. Before she could get far she felt Daryl's arms around her waist, pulling her to him. Putting his face into the crook of her neck he said
"We'll make everythin' right. Then we can go back to living the life we had." She put her hand up into his hair, holding onto him.
"I hope so."
"I love you Beth, I won't let anythin' tear us apart again."
"I know," she said, "I love you too."
They were close, she could feel it. It was almost noon and they hadn't stopped all day. She was excited but Michonne had warned them to keep a different façade on now that they were closer. They were all covered in dirt, their clothes were torn and Georgette even took it upon herself to sport a fake limp. Up ahead a small wooden bridge went across the river to their left.
"That's recent," said Michonne, "Someone had to have put there within the last month or so."
Meanwhile, Ares walked just beyond the tree line of the forest. He spotted the group of four and the dog on the other side of the river. He didn't recognize them at first. They looked to be in bad shape. His mind reeled as he thought of what Vince told him to do. If he found anyone who didn't seem to be a threat, he was to bring them straight back to town and invite them in. But did he really want to lead these unassuming people into such a terrible place? Taking a deep breath he knew it was the right thing to tell them to run. He stalked out of the trees and crossed the small footbridge across the river. The four people jumped in shock at his sudden appearance and it was only when they all turned to face him that he knew who they were. He dropped his gun and a sound of excitement left his throat as he ran to his sister. He jumped into a hug and they held each other tightly. He could hear Athena crying.
"I thought I'd never see you again!" When they broke away from each other Ares was overwhelmed. "How? Where'd you come from?" He looked around to see Michonne, Georgette, Irving on a stretcher, and his dog Thor.
"It's a long story," said Athena, "I could ask you the same thing." Ares looked around for anyone else. When he came to the conclusion that they were alone he gestured for them to follow him back across the bridge into the cover of the trees. Once they were enclosed they began to explain.
"After the fire Georgette and I were together for a long while. We ended up meeting Irving and Michonne in Jackson. We moved south and got into some trouble on a bridge." She indicated towards Irving's damaged face. "We managed to meet up with everyone but you, Judith and Carlotta." Georgette cut in and said
"We found my mom too. Turns out she'd been living in the same village that Odilia had us set out to go too. She escaped after getting attacked by Vince." Athena picked back up again.
"We separated with them because they're headed to some place on the coast near the village. Our plan was to go to the village and act as spies and report to them." Feeling excited about the similarities in the plan that he, Carlotta, Donna and Judith had devised he said
"We're doing the same!"
"You and who?"
"Judith, Carlotta, Donna and I."
"Who's Donna?" He had almost forgotten the crucial information that Odilia was Donna's daughter.
"Odilia's mom, she's willing to start a revolt with us."
"Well it's good you found her," said Georgette, "Odilia wanted us to meet up with her and let her know about everything."
"You can tell her that her daughter's a lot closer than we thought. She'll be thrilled. All I could tell her was that I didn't know what happened to her after the fire."
"So everyone lived then," said Michonne, "The fire I mean. If Carlotta and Judith is with you."
"What about Sarah?" Ares had not seen or heard anything about the old medicine woman that he'd met back in Georgia. Looking downcast Michonne said
"She died along the way with Odilia and Pedro at her side. She went peacefully according to what they said."
"Sorry to hear that."
"Not many people live to be her age with the way things are now." A sad moment of silence was quickly diminished when Ares said
"The three of us came down the Alabama Mississippi state line and then followed the ocean west. We got chased by a pack of dogs and our rescuers happened to be people from Vince's village. We've been there for a couple of days now."
"How is it?"
"It seems perfect on the outside," said Ares, "But he's an evil man." He remembered the man in the fire and shuddered. "He and his evil little sidekick Beau." Georgette seemed to shift uncomfortably and she said
"He's my brother." Ares didn't quite understand her and said
"What?"
"My mother had him when she arrived at the village years ago. My father didn't know she was pregnant when we all got separated as a family. He's a bad guy." Ares nodded, not wanting to think of Beau being related to Georgette, Daryl or Candice. With a sigh he managed to speak about his initiation into Vince's group of guards. The others looked disgusted.
"They wear full alligator suits," he said, "The heads and everything down to the feet. It's like a cult. Vince thinks by sacrificing people over a fire every month it'll help the village."
"He's a sicko," said Irving, sitting up from the stretcher.
"He threatened that if I didn't join that Carlotta and Judith won't be protected."
"What do you mean?"
"He takes women and does things to them."
"Like what?"
"Torture or murder I think. I don't know exactly. But if a man isn't part of the guards then the women in his household aren't protected and they could be taken."
"Like with Odilia," said Georgette, feeling completely horrified.
"Right," said Ares, "Carlotta and Judith are safe for now. But if he gets suspicious off us he won't hesitate to go back on his word." Athena then said
"We're not as bad as we look. We made it look like we've been on the road for awhile so they wouldn't see us a threat. Another reason we came was to get Irving the medical treatment he needs." Irving grumbled something in the background about not needing treatment.
"Good," said Ares, "I can bring you back to the village, introduce you and he'll take you in but we can't let him know that we know each other or he'll notice something's up."
"How are we gonna be protected then?"
"Once Irving's well enough he should look into joining the guards."
"Buncha pussies," said Irving, "I'll teach that boy a lesson."
"You can't be so hot-headed either," said Ares, "You may be his next sacrifice if he doesn't like you."
Thanks DarylDixon'sLover, K. Lynn Perks and crimsonrose0003 for commenting :) Sorry it's been taking long to get updates out I've just been very busy with school, work, and other activities but that in no way means this story is dead or becoming abandoned. The Walking Dead season is almost upon us and I can't wait. My question for you guys is do you want to see longer chapters that take longer to come out or shorter chapters like this one that come out more frequently?
Thanks for reading,
Wanderlustt
