Chapter 40

At first light, a knock came to Carol and Daryl's front door. It was Tara with a message from the front gate. Overnight, a small cluster of walkers had gathered outside the front gate. While the walls weren't threatened, that small herd was going to grow into a much larger one before long without an intervention. So, Carol and Daryl quickly dressed, gathered their weapons and left Tara to sit at the house in case the children woke up.

"I can do this alone, ya know," Daryl pointed out.

"So can I," Carol countered with a grin.

"Stubborn woman," Daryl muttered under his breath, as Carol gave him a swat on the behind.

"Yeah, I think you kinda like me that way." Daryl eyed her.

"No bow this time?"

"Nope. I like it keep it interesting. A machete to the skull. Quick and dirty." She punctuated her statement by tapping the sharp blade against the fence.

"How we doin' this?" Daryl asked, as the young man at the front, Noah, prepared to slide the gate door open.

"On on one, back to back?" Carol asked.

"Like the way you think." He leaned over and kissed his wife, and she smiled up at him. "Be safe."

"You too," she murmured. Daryl nodded to Noah.

"Do it." Noah quickly slid the gate open just enough to let Carol and Daryl out. As soon as they were out, he slammed it shut and started banging on the steel wall to draw some of them away.

There were about thirty walkers, and most of them were coming at Carol and Daryl, while a few others broke off to follow the ruckus Noah was creating.

The first two that came at Carol were quickly put down with sharp blows to the head. One fell and then the other. Daryl was picking them off with his favorite knife, and when he had an opening, he used his crossbow to put a bolt through the skull of one of the stragglers.

They worked like a well-oiled machine, keeping their backs together, turning with each kill. It wasn't long before Merle was up on the wall, picking off one walker at a time with his handgun and silencer. Within ten minutes, they were stepping over multiple bodies to get back to the gate.

"Gotta get that cleaned up," Daryl panted. "It's gonna get hot today. That smell's gonna be loud by noon." Carol made a face as she wiped off her machete on the grass. "You ok?"

"Never better," she beamed. Daryl narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're cheerful," he snorted.

"It's been a while since we fought together," Carol said with a shrug, tossing her weapon in a barrel just inside the gate. All contaminated weapons were taken to be sterilized before being returned to their owners. Daryl tossed his knife in and pulled his arm around Carol's waist.

"Like fightin' with you. Like it better when you ain't pregnant."

"Yeah. Me too. My back already hurts," Carol admitted.

"C'mon, I'll give you a backrub before breakfast."

"Oh, breakfast," Carol sighed, feeling her stomach growl at the idea.

"You two always been like this?" They turned at Noah's question, and Daryl narrowed his eyes at him but said nothing. "You just took down a small army of skin bags, and you're talking about breakfast?"

"This world ain't for the squeamish, kid," Merle laughed, climbing down from the lookout post he'd been standing on.

"Thanks for the help out there." Daryl clapped his brother on the shoulder.

"Don't mention it. I just wish you woulda called me. She ain't got no business going out there right now."

"Yeah?" Daryl smirked. "You try tellin' her that."

"Yeah, Merle. Try telling me that." Carol folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh, come on now. This ain't time for no equal rights, women's lib shit. You're one of the best damn fighters I ever seen. But ya ain't gotta feel obligated to go out there."

"I don't feel obligated. I know my limits, and I'm going to help as long as I can."

"Lost your damn mind if you ask me," Merle grumbled.

"You want some breakfast?" Carol asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Nah. Got myself another couple hours of beauty sleep to get in."

"Might wanna make that a couple years," Daryl teased, to which Merle shot him a look and promptly raised his middle finger in the air. Merle turned and headed back home. Carol and Daryl continued on toward home, and before they got there, Carol stopped and took Daryl's hand.

"Wait."

"Something wrong?"

"No. I...I think maybe I should stop. For now. Going out there."

"Yeah? You sure?"

"Oh, come on. I know it's what you want," Carol said with a sigh. "I know you hate it. And honestly, it probably isn't a good idea."

"What made ya change your mind?"

"I don't know. Maybe Negan leaving Henry. What happened to Lucy happened right here inside our walls. I know I can fight and take care of myself, but all it takes is one wrong step, and I could end up just like her." She ran her fingers through her hair.

"It's your decision. Can't say I ain't relieved, 'cause I am."

"I know," Carol murmured. "I know you worry every time I go out there. I'm sorry for worrying you. And honestly, something feels different this time around. I don't know what it is, but I think it's better if I stay close to home for a while." She looked down and put her hand on her belly.

"Different how?"

"I don't know. I can't explain it. I just feel like I need to stay close to home."

"Are you feelin' ok?"

"I feel ok. Just tired. Achy."

"Maybe you better talk to Denise."

"I will," Carol promised. "I have an appointment soon." She could see the worry in his eyes, and she knew what he had to be thinking. "Hey. Don't worry. I'm ok. The baby's ok. Denise says everything looks good." She shrugged her shoulders. "I have two five year olds, a toddler, and I'm pregnant. I'm perpetually exhausted." She gently stroked his cheek with her fingertips. "Please don't worry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"M'glad you did." He leaned in and kissed her. "I don't want you overdoing it. I'm gonna do what I can to help."

"You do more than enough, Daryl. You're the best partner I could have hoped for." She kissed him softly. And Daryl gathered her up in her arms without warning. She squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Daryl!"

"Today, you're gonna relax on the couch. I'm gonna take care of the kids and get the house cleaned up. And breakfast. Can't forget breakfast. Most important meal of the day."

"You don't have to do that," she laughed.

"I want to," he murmured.

"No you don't," she laughed. "But you're sweet." Daryl stepped up onto the front porch and put her down.

"M'serious. I wanna help."

"Thank you," Carol whispered. "I love you."

...

"Mommy? Are we there yet?" Dylan asked, kicking a rock with the toe of his shoe.

"No, baby. Not yet." Andrea paused at the crossroads and pulled out the map. Negan had circled the area where she could find this so called paradise, and she was beginning to think she'd been had. They'd set out at first light, and it was approaching noon. The more time went by, the more uneasy Andrea was beginning to feel about the whole thing.

The night the Greene farm was overrun was a blur in the back of her mind. She remembered that she and Carol had been cornered, and she remembered a walker falling on her and Carol screaming. In that moment, she was convinced she was dead, but somehow, she'd survived. She'd run after the truck Rick, Hershel and Carl had climbed into, but the roar of the engine and the snarls of the dead drowned out the sounds of her screams.

There had been nowhere to run. The walkers were everywhere, coming out of the woods in every direction. So she'd done the only thing she could think to do, and she'd busted the lock on the cellar door and barricaded herself inside. At least there were plenty of canned foods and dried meats to keep her fed for a while.

For days, she'd picked off countless walkers, one by one, by thrusting her knife between the cellar doors. And before long, the walkers began to wander away.

When she finally came out of the cellar, squinting into the harsh light of day, she finally got a good look at the destruction the herd had done to the property. The barn was a total loss. Just about every window in the house was busted out. Even the graves were destroyed.

She'd gathered what she could in a backpack and slung it over her shoulders. And her first instinct was to head back to the highway, to the old traffic snarl where they'd left food for Sophia. She'd headed across the field, discovering Shane's body along the way.

She'd fallen to her knees, throwing up at the sight of his bloody, decaying body, and when she'd finally come to her senses and attempted to dig a grave for him, three walkers came out of the tall grass. She'd been too weak to fight them off, so instead, she'd run, saying a silent apology that she couldn't do Shane such a simple kindness as a burial.

She couldn't count the number of nights she'd lay there awake wondering what had happened to Shane. She supposed she'd never know, because when she'd returned to the traffic snarl to find fresh tracks from various vehicles but no sight of any of her group for miles, the sinking feeling in her gut had told her that she was probably never going to see any of them again. She'd probably never get her answers.

"Mom, what's that?" Andrea pulled herself out of her own thoughts and looked down to see Dylan pointing at something straight ahead. She followed his gaze to what appeared to be several heaps in the road. She reached into her pack and felt around for her binoculars, and when she finally reached them, she peered through them to see that the heaps in the road were actually corpses. And what was more, those corpses were currently being loaded into the back of a truck by a couple of unfamiliar-looking men.

"I'm not sure, baby. Stay close."

"Are we there?"

"I don't know. I don't know." She swallowed hard and took his hand, giving it a little squeeze before stepping just into the tree line to stay out of sight as they approached the working men. As she walked, the tall, steel walls came into view.

"Mommy, the wall!"

"I see it, Dyl. Stay quiet." Over the years, they had learned how to stay quiet, especially days hiding out in the woods from the cannibals that had come after them from Terminus. So as they crept closer, the men loading the bodies in to the truck didn't suspect a thing. Stupid, she thought. They didn't even have guns on them. One had a spear, and the other had a sharp, sword-like weapon that was rounded on the end with what looked like an old saw blade. Then again, who was she to judge? She'd made a deal with a complete stranger and given up the three guns she had just to take a chance on some peace and safety.

It was when they heard the laughter of children that Dylan's eyes lit up.

"Mom…"

"Dylan, hush," Andrea scolded, putting her finger to her lips. But the moment she heard a twig snap behind her, she froze, feeling a cold dread settle in her belly.

"Well, well," a voice rasped from behind. "What're the two of you doin' out in the woods?" Andrea's heart began to pound, and she swallowed hard. Her tongue was thick and dry, and her fight or flight responses were failing her. She looked down at her son, and he looked up at her, and her shoulders trembled with her next breath. She held her arms up, and her pack fell from her shoulder.

"Negan sent us. Said it was safe here. I don't want any trouble. It's just me and my boy." She heard a soft chuckle, and there was something all too familiar about it, but she couldn't place it.

"Put your hands down. I ain't gonna hurt you." She slowly lowered her arms, and she heard the leaves crackle behind her. And as the air shifted around her, the man came walking around her in a wide circle. She pulled Dylan close, wrapping her arms around him and keeping him still. And when her gaze lifted to the man's face, a spark of recognition in his eyes mirrored the one in her own. She furrowed her brows. Her lips parted in a gasp, and a wide grin spread across the man's face.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Blondie!" Andrea closed her mouth then, feeling the cold dread replaced by something she couldn't define. Anger? Relief? Maybe a little of both.

"Merle Dixon," she muttered with a shake of her head. "Of course it would be you. As if I haven't been through enough." With that, Merle laughed and reached down to pick up the pack she'd dropped on the ground.

"Come with me. This is your lucky day."

"Lucky for who?" Andrea muttered under her breath. Merle just laughed and nodded.

"Come on. You're gonna love it."