July 26-27, 2010
~*~CP~*~
Carol takes a deep breath from where she's curled against the window in the driver's seat of Daryl's old Ford. Her daughter is sleeping soundly, curled between her and Honey and using the older girl as a pillow. She thinks Honey might be asleep, although she wouldn't swear to it. She should sleep herself. Merle passed the orders to everyone to get rest except for the ones he assigned watch. Every other vehicle has someone atop it, gun at hand regardless of the noise level. Hidden behind the middle school off the highway they were planning to use to leave Atlanta in the morning, they're not in the circled-up mode to protect from walkers.
Everyone's on high alert for human predators now.
It's funny how when the radio came to life, the ugly news breaking of the attack on the Vatos' compound, that they realized it happened on the one time both of the older Marines were out of camp, along with both former deputies. But no one argued when Merle took charge, smoothly ordering the evacuation of the quarry camp as if he always led their groups. Surprising Carol, no one questioned him taking leadership, not even Lori. The normally argumentative woman allowed herself and Carl to be bundled into Ed's old Cherokee with Glenn reassigned as her co-driver.
They've been here for three hours now, waiting on their wayward souls to return. Merle's walked the line of vehicles, passing news, everyone on radio silence but the Subaru, 'just in case'. She suspects it's as much in case to keep any bad news from alarming civilians as to keep quiet on the airways.
She startles a little when he taps her window gently. He gives her a bland smile as she rolls it down. "They're on their way. Don't normally drive at night, but Scout wants distance between us and Atlanta in case those assholes' group comes looking for them. But we may need you and the girls to help when they get here. They're bringing the old folks along."
"I thought it wasn't safe for them to travel," she replies, but already knowing she'll go play nurse's assistant if that's where she's needed.
"It's not, but we can't leave them sitting there as easy prey. They got a Greyhound bus from that depot. Loaded up everything they could and are destroying the compound behind them. When they pull in, they'll bring the bus right up beside you, because it's going to drop into the middle of the caravan. You and the girls shift onto the Greyhound and I want you to hang on to the walkie." He passes her one of the small portable units, which she wasn't issued when they left because Daryl's truck is fitted with a dash-mount radio. "I'll drive the truck for now, gonna drop back and help keep an eye on the rear."
Carol nods. It sounds straight forward. Switch vehicles and help. She's a little glad that she isn't going to be driving in the dark, because getting this far with the order to use only the unfamiliar blackout lights was nerve-wracking.
"They're about twenty minutes out, so go ahead and wake the girls. You got your gun?"
His eyes scan to the shoulder holster Honey all but buckled on her forcefully. She nods again, afraid she's not good enough with just a few lessons with an air pistol, but she'll figure it out. Unlike walkers, people feel pain, so as long as she at least hits her target, it'll have an effect. He starts to walk away to the next vehicle in line and turns back to her. "Be safe, Mouse." And then he's gone.
The nickname bothers her. If it were anyone else, she'd know for sure if they're teasing. She thinks it might even be affectionate, but getting a true read on Merle isn't like keeping a wary eye on Ed. She's just getting to know the man without the influence of drugs on his personality and he's not as easy to read as his brother.
Mouse implies she needs protection.
She doesn't want to be a mouse anymore.
~*~SW~*~
He's a little more than a mile away, driving the bus full of nursing home residents and wounded Vatos, when the WHUMP of the explosion Scout and Jamie stayed behind to create shakes the bus. He grips the wheel, keeping the big vehicle on track, following the delivery truck Rick is driving. They'd concentrated on the medical supplies mostly, but the rest of the truck is full of the other supplies. A pair of Vatos is driving another box truck loaded with supplies, and Robyn is driving the church van stuffed to the gills with one of the elderly men riding shotgun - literally. He'd firmly stated that being minus two legs from the knee down didn't mean his arms and eyes wouldn't work. They'd still not managed everything that was collected for the nursing home, even stuffing all the overheads on the bus. No one had wanted to go find another vehicle, and not all of the Vatos had come with them, including one of the wounded, who'd shook his head and left with the others who feel like the elderly are safe without them now.
Jazz wobbles a bit as he comes and sits on the bus steps. His arm is bandaged, stitched back together by Hershel's steady hand. Rick had offered for the boy to ride with him, but Jazz refused, so Miguel did instead. Shane's confident that either boy makes a good enough guard for a driver, sad as the idea of fourteen-year-old boys being enlisted in the duty is. They both watch the walkie at Shane's waist, waiting for official word that the two Marines got free and clear of the building they destroyed to hide the trail of the vulnerable residents.
Hershel and Felipe are on alert too, dividing their attention between the residents on the bus and the road behind them.
The walkie crackles at last, and Jazz makes a strange, almost hiccupping sound as he reaches for it as they hear Scout read out, "All clear. Meet the others and pull out."
"Want me to answer?" Jazz asks. He nods. Rick may be in the lead vehicle, but Shane's primary for this part of the caravan. Scout and Jamie aren't going to hurry to catch up, but linger a little, to check they aren't followed. But they're in one of the Vatos' muscle cars, so it'll be easy enough for them to catch up at the meeting point. No way a caravan as large as theirs can move as fast as the car, and it's built like a tank without any extra modifications.
"See you at dawn," the boy replies. He looks to Shane, uncertainty flickering in his eyes, so Shane reaches down to squeeze his shoulder.
"We'll see her, Jazz. Be lucky if she and Jamie don't beat us there somehow."
He takes the reassurance in the faith only kids can muster so easily, but shifts his position to lean against Shane's seat and wraps his arms around his bent legs, staring out the bus doors into the night.
~*~CP~*~
Carol and the girls exit the truck as soon as the squeal of the brakes engaging sounds. Two vehicles had pulled in ahead of the bus, and Rick bails out of a delivery truck to switch seats with Glenn. She gets a glimpse of an unknown woman behind the wheel of the church van, but ignores the prickle of curiosity in favor of making sure the girls load up quickly. Merle's standing guard over the switch as those on guard drop back into vehicles to start moving out.
Shane's in the driver seat and shuts the doors as soon as she's clear of them. Jazz sits on the floor next to him, long legs moved just far enough out of the way to let the girls and Carol by. She sees the bandaging on his arm and feels a flash of anger that halts her progress to following the girls to sit while Shane takes back off, falling smoothly in line of the caravan as if they'd always planned on this big bus coming along.
"What happened, Jazz?" she asks, kneeling next to the boy. He shrugs, looking pale despite his darker complexion, so she looks up at Shane.
The deputy's concentrating, but he answers her. "Assholes came to take the old folks' supplies. Thought they'd be easy pickings. He got grazed. Hershel put in about eight stitches, gave him antibiotics, but he won't take the painkillers."
"You'd be more comfortable in a seat?" She glances back. The girls are sitting separately, each taking an empty aisle seat next to a nursing home resident. There are plenty of places open.
"No." There's something in Jazz's voice that alarms Carol. Shane responds too, one hand leaving the gear shift to brush across the boy's hair for a moment before returning to the task of driving. The adults' eyes meet over Jazz's head and Shane gives a discrete shake of the head. Whatever this is, the boy seems to need contact with Shane for now.
"Do you need anything?" she asks Shane.
He declines, then reconsiders. "Bottle of juice. There's supplies in the overhead bins. Need the sugar. He probably could too."
She gets to her feet and one of the older ladies points toward the bin above her seat. She smiles at Carol as she opens the bin, tugging free a bottle of grape and a bottle of orange juice, unsure what flavor Jazz might like and fairly sure that Shane will drink whatever she hands him. Her guide grabs her wrist before she can go back to the front. "You the chiquito's mama?"
Carol shakes her head. The old woman sighs. "He kept us safe, with the officer. But he had to shoot too."
Dear God in Heaven, it sounds like Jazz had to kill someone. No wonder the boy's sticking close to Shane. She thanks the woman, who smiles and says to call her Abuelita, before returning to the driver's area. Jazz takes the grape juice, fumbling with it for a minute before managing to take a drink, while Carol cracks the seal on the orange and takes off the lid before handing it to Shane.
He thanks her in a softer voice than she's really ever heard out of the deputy and she goes to find Hershel to find out more of what happened on what was supposed to be an easy visit.
~*~MD~*~
It's half an hour after sunrise before they reach the meeting place Merle directed Cricket to drive to the high school in Powder Springs. The highway was clear to 285, but they left it at Mableton, using the smaller roads to weave their way here. The few jams they came across, they cleared just enough to get the caravan through. Then Merle, Tyreese, and Tara blocked the road again. He wanted to leave as little evidence they came this way as possible. There are no signs of any pursuit, so far, but instincts honed from his time in the military remind Merle it is possible they could miss something.
Without regular headlights, they have to go slow. At least now everyone from the quarry understands the blackout lights they thought were overkill on the vehicles Scout brought to camp. He is just damned glad that they'd gotten the new vehicles modified and the three drivers behind the each of the unmodified vehicles are attentive. Although he doesn't figure even in the moonlight someone in caravan formation could miss the big ass Greyhound bus.
But now, everyone's exhausted, and the drivers all continued without relief, keeping their backup driver (if they have one) on reserve. Merle knows he is being a paranoid bastard, but Scout didn't come up with these procedures for shits and giggles, so he follows them. He lifts the handset on his radio after surveying the vehicles parked in a horseshoe formation in the empty track complex parking lot. He is actually a little surprised that there is no sign of gatherings, evacuation, or even military here. Perhaps they used one of the other school campuses.
Everyone's waiting on his assessment of their location, so he keys the mike. "We layover for four hours. Everything seems clear so far. Scout and Jamie will be here in about half an hour. Hit the head if you need to, get some grub, and drivers get some sleep. Jimmy, Andrea, and Ana on watch, pick an RV."
He swings out of the driver's seat and circles the loop of cars, taking note of his brother crossing to check on Cricket. That reasonably covered, he makes his way to the Greyhound to check on the younger kids.
Shane has the doors open by the time he gets there. The deputy looks as exhausted as he feels. He shakes Jazz awake where the boy's asleep leaning against his seat.
"C'mon, Jasper. Need to let Shane up and stretch his legs." Merle reaches out to brace Jazz as he tries to rise but gets caught up in stiff muscles from his uncomfortable sleeping position. He takes his son's weight and gets him down the bus steps, hearing Shane follow with a groan.
The deputy doesn't go far, just goes through a series of stretches as he takes in their surroundings with the ease of long experience. Rick approaches, a half empty water bottle in one hand and a cereal bar in the other. His stride shows the long hours in the car too.
"I'd say good morning, brother, but think we need to sleep first," Rick quips.
Shane laughs, tilting his head to where Jazz is pretty much asleep standing up against Merle. "Ain't that young anymore, right?"
"He sleep much at all on the bus?" Merle asks. Jazz being asleep when he got there didn't mean much, and as much as he'd desperately wanted to check on his boy back at that middle school, he wasn't risking extra time stopped when Jazz was in good hands between Shane, Carol, and Hershel.
"Not really. Not til the last hour or so. Honey said he was the same way after the attack where they lost the other Marine. Couldn't sleep and hyperaware."
"I'd see if he'd ride in one of the RVs and bunk down, but I don't think it'll help." Merle takes the bottle of water from Carol as she exits the bus. "How're the girls?"
"Honey's sleeping, has been for the last couple of hours. She said she was going to do a driving shift when we leave, let one of the night drivers get some extra sleep. Sophia's helping Hershel with meds. Everyone is holding up better than expected, but Felipe wanted me to check in on Robyn and Mr. Diaz."
Merle nods. "Tell them to both come back to the bus to sleep. Be more comfortable than that church van. We'll shift drivers around anyway."
She agrees before heading off with other water bottles in the crook of her arm.
"Little jarring to see Carol with a gun," Rick mutters.
"I'm just glad your missus listened when we loaded up. Thought she was gonna deny she had a piece, but told her she wasn't riding with just Glenn if she couldn't help protect them."
"How'd you know she knew how to use a gun, much less had one?"
"I've yet to meet a cop's wife that didn't at least know the basics. If she'd been the first, I'd have stuffed her and your boy in Dale's RV and damn the consequences of her temper."
It surprises him when Rick laughs. "Can't take any of the credit there. Her uncle was a cop too. Used to take her to the range as a teenager. Was kinda glad to see she grabbed more than photo albums when I climbed in the Cherokee last night and saw her holster."
"Thought Carl was gonna pass out when she cracked open that case." Merle thinks the woman would have shocked the kid less if she streaked through camp.
Shane just laughs, the sound hoarse. "Let me grab Jazz and see if he'll let me put him in one of the empty rows if I stick with him."
Merle considers the offer a moment before nodding and shaking Jazz back awake enough to switch props. He watches them disappear back onto the bus before turning back to Rick. "You need something?"
"Just worried about Jazz. Not sure I understand how you can let him out of your sight."
"Ever shoot a man in the line of duty?"
"Yeah, twice before the shootout that put me in the hospital and that attack on the nursing home."
"They live?"
"Yeah."
"What about your partner?"
"Once. His didn't make it. Plus the shootout. Never did ask him how that ended."
"Something tells me a man who put a bullet in his partner didn't leave the scene in anything other than a body bag. Before, though, I'm betting that reconciling what happened worked a helluva lot better talking to the partner who was there than anybody else, right?"
"Yeah, it did." Realization hits the deputy. "You think when the shock wears off, he's going to need to talk to Shane."
"Exactly. Even someone who's taken a life before doesn't understand the same way as the man in the fight beside you. Why it was necessary right then and there. And it won't hurt getting to be riding along with the visual evidence of the innocents he helped save, either."
"Makes sense."
"Might want to see if you can get some sleep. Figure your wife can drive to the next camp, but I doubt you'll want to sleep then instead of riding shotgun."
"A'right."
The younger man makes his way back to Dale's RV, where his family was taking time for breakfast and a bathroom break. Most everyone is outside now, even the kids for what he thinks is a run around inside the protected shelter of the vehicles. He huffs, remembering the "Drill Sergeant" moniker that Patricia bore with pride. He's got no idea what that woman did before the end of the world, but if it didn't involve a lot of bossing folks around, she sure bloomed into it now.
Feeling the need for sleep himself, he heads for Cricket and the med unit. Bunking on the floor there means he can at least stretch out. He'll trust that Scout and Jamie can get themselves safely here.
~*~SW~*~
Shane could really use about twelve hours more sleep, but despite the lack of evidence of pursuit, he understands Scout's insistence that they at least get in the day's drive. His busload of nursing home residents can't spend long on the road, so they're going to push a lot harder than planned.
At least Jazz is actually in a seat for the moment, although that's more because he hasn't woken up yet than an active choice.
He leans on the bus' exterior, finished eating the pair of protein bars Patricia passed him when she came to check that they would be able to feed the elderly while underway. He straightens just in time to accept an embrace from Scout. She still smells like gunpowder and, more faintly, of the chemicals the Marines used to blow up the nursing home.
He can feel her breath against his neck as she speaks. "You good?"
"Yeah. Got new appreciation for bus drivers," he says to try to lighten her mood.
"I'd figure you'd be used to sitting til your butt goes numb, deputy." He can feel the grin against his skin.
"Well, yeah," he drawls, "but the lack of doughnuts is just miserable."
She draws back and kisses him, something they really haven't done in front of an audience yet. He enjoys the moment before they part.
"Got all the drivers shuffled? Gonna be interesting with Beth and Honey hauling trailers."
"King County's rural enough you've probably seen more than a few farm kids at the wheel like that."
"Not much. Mostly because the insurance would probably have a stroke about a kid that age driving something with a load behind it. What about the boys? Thought you were worried about the teens and the trailers."
"Jimmy's gonna drive Daryl's bus since it doesn't have a trailer, but the others are all city kids and none drive stick."
"More lessons for later."
"List just keeps growing. Got through to Glynnis. She's gonna keep everyone on alert. With luck, we'll make it to Kennesaw by tonight and past Canton by tomorrow."
"Good plan." He claims another kiss before reluctantly parting.
~*~CP~*~
"Mama?"
Carol glances away from the road to where Sophia is sitting on top of one of the truck cabs, making notes in her composition notebook. She took the suggestion to keep track of potential supplies seriously. Her expression is serious as she compiles a record of everything in sight.
They are clearing the vehicles faster than she expected, everyone too aware of the ticking time on the nursing home residents needing off the bus. The military checkpoint is too valuable to route around or leave unpilfered. She suspects they're about to be short another spare driver or two since Jim and Merle have the big transport vehicle hooked up to what Carol thinks is a trailer-based generator. Several of the original Dixon camp are hauling various gear out of the other vehicles and stacking it by the rear of the big truck for Tyreese to load up. Jim's been going under the hood of each vehicle and dragging away batteries or other parts, but she's not sure if he's actively salvaging or just disabling the military vehicles.
"Do you think people would have been safer if they didn't try to evacuate?"
Carol flinches, remembering navigating around a scene of absolute carnage at the first location on campus they tried. They hoped to use one of the athletic parking lots for a camp for the evening and get off the road two hours early to recover from the night on the road. But the first one was an overrun evacuation point, where based on the grim expression of the team that did investigate, the military turned on the populace the same way Shane reported.
"I don't know, sweetie. It does seem like large groups as a whole suffered more than small ones. But most people wouldn't have had enough food or water to last very long."
"Like after hurricanes? Our social studies teacher told us last year that grocery stores only have a couple days of food if you compare it to the population around."
"Like that, yeah. So maybe it would be safer from the dead or even other people, but in the end, people would have to come outside where it was dangerous."
"Would you be angry if I said I want to learn to do supply runs?"
Carol looks away from where she is keeping watch, but sees only curiosity on her daughter's expression. "I would hope that you would wait another year, but if Scout is willing to train you, it's okay."
"Are you gonna?"
"Yeah, I think I am. That okay with you?"
"Bad things can happen just sitting at home. I'd rather we do stuff rather than wait for stuff to happen."
"You aren't afraid, after what happened to Jazz?"
"No." The girl huffs a sigh. "I mean, I am, but I would rather be like Jazz than the people he was protecting. They were in a safe place and bad people still came."
Sadly, it is the truth of their world now. She doesn't want to see Sophia looking like Jazz did last night, knowing the boy killed at least one person. But she won't ever condemn Sophia back to hiding in a closet, hoping violence will sweep past her again.
"Mama? Jazz is going to be okay, right?"
"Yes, baby. What happened is hard to work through even for adults, and you know he'll have people who know how it feels."
"That's why he's riding with Shane on the bus, right? Because Shane was there?" Sophia didn't want to leave Jazz behind on the bus when they left Powder Springs, but the logic that putting another fully qualified nurse on the bus was better made sense, so Carol switched back to driving Daryl's truck. Julie joined them, and the teenager was nice enough, but Carol could tell Sophia far preferred either Honey or Jazz along.
"And because Shane was a deputy. They get training for dealing with things like that."
"Good." Sophia reaches for the set of binoculars that the younger Marine brought by shortly after they stopped and he noticed Sophia's task. "Got a walker coming, Mama. From the east."
Carol signals Daryl, who's closest of the trained archers. He looks in the direction she points and nods when she just shows one finger. After a word to Jamie, he slips beyond the protective line of vehicles and trots out carefully into range. A single shot takes down the wobbly walker, but he stands alert for a few minutes before going out to retrieve his bolt. When he returns, he comes by the truck and reaches up to high five Sophia.
"Little Eagle Eyes up there," he says with a grin before returning to his place in the loading.
Honestly, Carol thinks if they could harness Sophia's current grin for electricity, they'd have power til the next century.
~*~SW~*~
Shane's honestly surprised that it takes until nightfall for Jazz to finally crash back out of the numb state he's been in all day. The teenager shadowed him everywhere, and the few times someone less experienced sought to interact with him, they were smoothly intercepted by another of the Dixons or one of the non-Dixons Shane noted for being more aware of the true state of their world now. He was getting pretty tired of Dale's 'concerned looks' by the time Jazz abruptly stood from the circle where they were eating a dinner heated over propane. Shane passes his bowl off to Scout, grabs his water bottle, and follows as Jazz steps just outside the protective ring and out of sight from the others behind one of the buses. The big female hound trots after him on near-silent feet.
Shane catches up just as the boy vomits everything he'd eaten, sobbing quietly. He drops his palm against Jazz's back and rubs gently between his shoulder blades. When Jazz straightens, Shane passes him the water bottle so he can rinse his mouth.
"I feel kinda stupid, being this upset. He was going to shoot you in the back," Jazz says. Liberty winds around his feet, comforting him even as she keeps watch on their surroundings.
It doesn't surprise him that Jazz likely wounded or killed more than that last man, but in the heat of the fight, it probably didn't register the way firing that last shot did. "I'd be more worried if you weren't upset. It's the first thing out of the shrink's mouth after an officer involved shooting, and I guess after a while, they know how the mind processes it. Grief, fear, anger... S'all normal to feel, sometimes all at the same damn time. Might not be the only time you lose a meal over it. Might have some nightmares. But you got all of us to rely on."
Jazz leans into him a bit, processing what he said. It's an odd feeling, because the teenager is a few inches taller and probably weighs as much or more than Shane himself, and he's no lightweight. But despite all his maturity - both natural and forced by the disaster of a world around him - he's a boy at heart. Shane's not really, truly used to being the one trusted for reassurance and comfort for a child. Time with Carl was almost always as the fun uncle, up until Rick got shot. Then again, this really isn't that much different from Carl's grief months ago.
So, he does what he did then, and wraps an arm around Jazz, knowing it'll probably trigger the same response. Words aren't what Jazz really needs right now, just an outlet for emotions.
When he looks back toward the opening, he sees Merle leaned against the nose of the bus, turned slightly away. He's keeping watch, but trusting Shane is capable of soothing his son. It's a heady feeling.
A/N: Guest reviewer: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Merle and Shane will remain two of the primary POVs, although once they reach "home", you'll start seeing Lori and Daryl regularly, and the Daryl here is skewed differently on the show. On Ao3, the story is up to 42 chapters published and another will go out today, so they'll be coming a while. :)