Chapter 15

It was a sheepish Daryl who sat at the breakfast table with Eugene and Stephanie. Carol had stayed behind in their room to try and salvage something from the wardrobe to wear, the only feasible option being a garish pink sweater with an embroidered cat on the front. She hated literally everything about it. He supressed a laugh when she came out to join them and proceeded to choke on whatever he was eating at the time which she decided was karma.

Eugene had laid out a spread of various kinds of eggs. Claiming that he didn't know what they liked and did not want to miss any out. If she was honest, she had no idea there were so many different types and she had quite an extensive knowledge of cookery. She was also led to wonder just how many chickens were needed to produce enough eggs for an entire table worth of breakfast.

She picked at a bowl of French eggs, probably only managing a meagre number of forkfuls. Daryl watched her as he shovelled copious amounts of egg varieties into his face. She could feel his eyes burning into her, but her mind was miles away, staring at the little plastic table she thought of their meeting today and how they were ever going to get out of this place. She had made promises she intended to keep. Judith had serious questions about beds that needed answered and Lydia… well she needed Carol and Daryl more than she would ever admit. He eventually kicked her under the table to get her attention and wake her out of her daydream and she looked up at him accusingly. He didn't ask her if she was ok, but his frown spoke volumes and she nodded in response.

"Now we'll be gone until 1700 hours unfortunately work waits for no man or woman" Eugene informed them as he and Stephanie donned their coats "Now there'll be no exiting of this property for you two. House arrest rules apply directly. I expect Miko will want to see you at her leisure so, you know, try to stay decent"

Daryl turned a significantly darker shade of red as they turned to leave, and Carol muffled her laugh under her hand. Perhaps they should have settled on a song the night before.

"The password today is Bluebird" He informed them as he walked out the door.

Daryl rolled his eyes and began clearing up the many eggs. It was strange to not have something to do. Every day for as long as she could remember there were jobs to be done, people to be saved and battles to be fought. It seemed ironic to her that now they finally had nothing to do she was suddenly itching to do something. She had a hollow feeling deep inside her stomach, it told her that she would not be content with nothing.

Minutes passed into hours and they found themselves staring blankly at the wall of TV screens in front of them in silence. The entire living space had been cleaned, they had stared out of the window, tuned in the radio and distractedly thumbed through a handful of books. How they ever filled their days before this she couldn't tell. She began to wish away the time, staring at the big clock on the wall as it ticked away each dreadful empty minute.

In the end they were thankful for a knock at the door as they lay slouched and numb on the couch. Yumiko entered the apartment with an air of importance and laid out some papers on the coffee table. Carol was sure she saw her twitch an eyebrow at her sweater.

"So, I think we might be able to get them to forget this whole…escape thing" She told them. She looked rattled. "Since you weren't officially recognised citizens. They can't expect you to follow rules that you didn't know existed"

Daryl stood to attention, glancing over the assembled papers as though he knew exactly what they meant. Carol threw herself back on the couch, her arms folded tightly against her. It was clear Yumiko had expected some more jubilation from her.

"Can we leave?" Carol asked her.

The way Yumiko's eyes dropped gave her the answer. They would still be prisoners, just prisoners with an illusion of freedom. Daryl scratched his head and sucked his teeth. He started to pace, nervous energy building in his muscles and no doubt stress building in his brain.

"The only way out of here is in a body bag" Yumiko informed them ominously.

Carol and Daryl exchanged a look and a raised eyebrow. Everything was an option at this stage. Even an apparent death. Yumiko was not amused, however.

"You've got to be kidding me" She cried "I've looked into it, believe me. There is no way out of here, so you better get comfortable fast"

Carol fiddled with the edge of her sweater, feeling like a child who had just been told off. She knew, however, that there was no way on this earth she was going to make herself comfortable here. She might pretend to, if it fitted with her agenda but she fully intended to fight her way out of this place or die trying.

Daryl knew it. He knew it by looking at her. He could read her like a book.

"We're getting outta here" He assured them both "There's gotta be a way"

Yumiko guided them back to the subject of their current incarceration. She was fairly certain that the judge would quash the charges if they were able to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. She made them swear, which they did but of course they already had plans to check out the morgue and other options. Carol had told Daryl about the huge sewer tunnels Maggie had shown her, there had to be potential there.

"Make sure you tell Eugene we used the password" Yumiko reminded them as she left, and their confused expressions gave them away immediately. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head "Bluebird"

After she left Daryl huffed and threw himself on the sofa beside her. She was raised up a little by the wave he created on the soft cushions with his body. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, she could almost see it bearing down on him as he sat there hunched over staring at the table. Carol rested a gentle hand on the back of his neck and kneaded his tensed muscles, crossing her legs under her as she did so.

"We'll figure it out" She reassured him quietly, she believed it too. They always figured it out somehow. They had been in many desperate situations before, at least this time they had cat sweaters and many, many eggs.

Carol stared blankly at the huge wall of monitors and a sudden wave of inspiration washed over her. She stood so quickly Daryl almost fell flat on his face when she did. He watched her with some interest as she paced in front of the monitors twisting various knobs and pressing buttons.

"CCTV!" She cried as if that explained everything. When Daryl continued to look on with a confused expression she ran over to the bookshelf "He must have plans! Maps! Schematics! Layouts!"

Carol began pulling book after book out of the shelves with Daryl standing behind her desperately trying to catch them all and memorize exactly where they had been. Eugene was a very particular man, these were probably alphebetised or arranged in order of publish date or some other system he'd come up with. She felt hopeful all of a sudden and excitement fluttered in her chest like a flock of birds.

The flutters began to subside as she didn't find anything of what she was looking for. Not a single book on city plans, not a single blueprint or guidebook. She huffed her breath out and started scanning the room as Daryl attempted to right the bookshelves.

"The bedroom" She declared, ignoring Daryl shaking his head in protest.

She turned on her heel and marched down the short hall, past their bedroom door and into Eugene and Stephanie's bedroom without a single beat of hesitation. This room did not smell musty. Far from it, it smelled delightful. Candles adorned almost every surface. The huge bed had been made with almost military precision; she was sure she could bounce a coin off it without much effort. There was a huge shelving unit across one wall filled with photo's in frames and random trinkets. Carol spotted a set of rolled up blueprints leaning in one of the compartments immediately.

"Carol, Eugene won't want us in here" He reminded her.

Carol tutted and proceeded into the room "Make sure he doesn't find out then"

Daryl rolled his eyes at her and she quirked a little smile at him. He knew by now there was no point arguing with her. She was on a mission.

She carefully unrolled the blueprints casting her eyes over the drawings. She knew it would take much more than a few minutes to decipher exactly what she was looking for, but she was pretty certain that she had found it.

"We should take these with us" she whispered as though Eugene was already there.

"Can't we just come back tomorrow?" Daryl pleaded with her. There was little time and Eugene's observant mind would know immediately if anything was untoward "We'll have all day"

Carol knew he was right, that was the sensible thing to do. Patience was never her strongest trait though. When she got an idea in her head she went with it. No waiting around, no delay.

"Carol..." He warned.

Carol nodded slowly, trying to think of a way around this. She carefully rolled the blueprints back and placed them in what she hoped was the same position. It was getting late now, and Eugene would soon be home. She and Daryl padded out of the room, closing the door firmly behind them. He would never know. She was sure of it.

"We're gonna get out of here" She breathed as they stood in the tiny passageway between their rooms.

Daryl slipped his arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead. His lips lingered there for a long moment and he whispered into her skin "I know"