Daryl was frustrated. He knew why Carol was acting the way she was, but he didn't know how to stop her obsession with killing Alpha.
"Do you really want to stop her?" a voice in his head asked and he shook his head. He saw Caroline working on her motorcycle when she looked up and she gave him a grin.
"Hey," Caroline said as she stood and she used a clean cloth to wipe off her hands.
"How's the bike?" he asked, looking at the motorcycle. Neither of them wanted to admit her motorcycle was on its last legs and he had been trying to figure out how to get her another one.
"It's hangin' in there," she said. She felt something was wrong as she placed the clean cloth in her pocket when she crossed her arms over her chest and she gave him a blank look. "What's wrong?"
"Carol wants to go lookin' fer Alpha and Lydia. A few of us are goin' with her…."
"But….!?"
She had gotten good at knowing when Daryl was hiding something and he brushed the hair out of his face.
"I need you and Dog to stay here and help Gabriel and Michonne look after the others."
She locked eyes with her twin as they had a silent conversation and she nodded her head. He walked away as she looked at her motorcycle and she sat down on the seat.
The Cave
Daryl stood at the mouth of the cave as he looked into the darkness and he sighed. He hated himself for allowing Carol to run off after she had seen Alpha and Carol and the others had run into the cave. He suddenly noticed the air growing colder when he heard chanting and the sounds of drums and flutes and he felt like someone was standing next to him.
"What are you waitin' fer, Boy?" Jeb's voice asked in his right ear. "Yer woman needs you."
Nodding, Daryl started walking and he entered the cave. The darkness surrounded him while he tried to find a sign of any of them and he whispered Carol's name. He kept walking when the ground slid out from under him and he looked down.
"Shit," he thought then he fell.
Alexandria
Gabriel walked by the buildings as the others spread out and he heard the sounds of the Walkers moving in the shadows. He held his gun tightly in his right hand while he looked around the corner of the building when he felt like someone was behind him and he turned, pointing the gun.
"Shit," Caroline said as she pointed the crossbow at him and Dog was next to her.
"Sorry," Gabriel said, lowering the gun. "Why aren't you guarding RJ and Judith?"
"Michonne told me to come help you."
"Did you see the Walkers?"
"Yeah. Where did they come from?"
"I think they're some of us."
"How?!"
"I don't know."
Gabriel looked around the corner again as he signaled for Caroline and Dog to follow him when they heard gunfire and she looked toward the houses.
"That came from my house," she said. They watched the front door open when RJ and Judith ran out of the house and Caroline signaled them to come to her. She handed the crossbow to Gabriel as she knelt down and she hugged the kids. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Judith said, but RJ was crying.
"There's a monster in the house," RJ said.
"A monster?" Gabriel asked.
"Yeah. It was this really big guy," Judith said.
"And he had this mask on," RJ said.
"Sounds like they're talking about Beta," Gabriel said.
"Beta!? How did he get in here!?" Caroline asked.
"I have no idea."
"Aunt Caroline, where's Mary?" RJ asked. Mary, formerly known as Gamma, had surrendered herself so she could see her nephew and the last anyone of them had known she was still in the cell.
"Did you just call me "Aunt Caroline"?" she asked with a smile and he nodded. "Where did you see Mary?"
"She was inside with us," Judith said, looking at the house.
"How did she get out of the cell?" Gabriel asked.
"She said the monster let her out," RJ said.
"What about Laura? She was on guard duty."
"She said the monster killed Laura," Judith explained.
"Great."
"Hold on," Caroline said then she removed the walkie-talkie from her belt. She looked at the house as she pushed the button and RJ held onto her right leg. "Michonne, this is Caroline."
"What's wrong?" Michonne's voice asked.
"We found out Beta's somehow gotten into Alexandria."
"Shit. Do you know where he is?"
"He's in our house."
"What?! Where are Judith and RJ?!"
"They're here with me."
"Thank God."
"Do you want me to check the house?"
"Hang on. I'll be right there."
A few seconds later, Michonne ran to them while RJ let go of Caroline and Michonne picked him up.
"Are you sure if was Beta?" Michonne asked.
"The kids said they saw a really large man wearing a mask in the house and the only one I know who looks like that is Beta," Caroline said.
"Is he still in the house?"
"Dunno."
"Let's go," Michonne said as they carefully headed for the house and Gabriel led them up the stairs. They watched as he opened the door enough to look inside then he nodded his head. They went inside the house while Michonne went upstairs with Caroline and Gabriel waited with Judith, RJ and Dog. Michonne saw the large hole in the door to her bedroom while Caroline could barely see the blood on the carpet and she pointed to it. Michonne knelt down as she looked at the blood then she stood up.
"Judith said Beta broke Mary out of her cell and Laura's dead," Caroline said.
"Come on," Michonne said and they headed down the stairs.
"Did you find anything?" Gabriel asked.
"No. We need to go check the cell," Michonne said as they left the house then they went downstairs. Michonne carefully opened the door as she looked inside and she heard a gurgling sound. "Shit."
She opened the door wider as she and Caroline walked inside and they saw Laura shuffling around the room. Michonne removed the katana from the scabbard on her back while Caroline took aim with the crossbow and Laura turned.
"I am so sorry," Caroline said as she pulled the trigger and the arrow hit Laura in the forehead. Laura fell to the floor while Michonne walked to the body then she used the katana to cut the top of Laura's head. They left the room as Michonne closed the door and they walked up the stairs. Gabriel turned the children's faces away while Michonne cleaned off the katana then she placed the katana in the scabbard. Caroline noticed Dog was sitting on the bottom step as she walked closer and she sat next to the dog. She placed the crossbow against the stair while she ruffled Dog's head and she frowned.
"What's wrong?" Judith asked, walking to her.
"Don't you think it's odd that Dog hasn't reacted to any of this? He normally growls or barks whenever a Walker or Whisper is around. Why didn't he warn us about Beta?" Caroline asked.
"She's right. He should've warned us," Michonne said.
"Which means Beta masked his scent somehow," Gabriel said.
"He still would've heard Beta."
"None of us hear Whispers until it's too late."
"Did you find Mary, Mom?" Judith asked.
"Oh, I forgot about her," Michonne said and Caroline got up so she could go in the house. Michonne came out of the house a few minutes later and Caroline saw the anger on her face. "She's not in there."
"Do you think the monster got her, Mommy?" RJ asked.
"Dunno."
"I'm going to get some people and search the area for her," Gabriel said as he ran off and Michonne and Caroline held onto the kids.
"Mom, do you think we should tell Uncle Daryl what happened?" Judith asked.
"I don't think he took a walkie with him," Michonne said. She noticed the look on Caroline's face as she placed her right hand on Caroline's left shoulder and Caroline looked at her. "I'm sure Daryl's fine."
"Yeah," Caroline said with a nod and she prayed that she was right.
The Gas Station/Garage
Daryl knew he was dying. He could barely see and his chest felt funny. He remembered how he felt when he was hurt while looking for Sophia, but this was different. He thought about Caroline and how she was now going to be the last Dixon. He thought about Connie and Magna and how he had failed them. He finally thought about Carol and the things he hadn't told her.
He thought about what he and Alpha had talked about and he was surprised she hadn't killed him. He started praying when he heard what he thought was drums, chanting and flutes and he frowned. Suddenly, he saw a golden light and someone walked toward him.
"Givin' up so soon, Demon Slayer?" Jeb asked. Daryl tried to shrug his shoulder, but his body didn't want to work anymore. "And here I thought you were tough."
Daryl made a soft grunt and Jeb rolled his eyes.
"What were you thinkin'? Goin' off after this bitch without backup."
Daryl just looked at him and Jeb crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, you better stop thinkin' about dyin'. Remember why you came back to my cabin? It wasn't just so I didn't die alone. You wanted someone to be there to take care of my body. So, tell me, Boy. Who's gonna take care of yours?"
Daryl hadn't thought about that as he blinked his eyes a few times and Jeb knelt down on his haunches.
"What are you gonna do if you come back as a Walker? Are you just gonna vanish into the woods? Live off scraps and rotten flesh until someone finds you and ends you? What if was yer woman? Do you really want her to see you like that? What about yer sister? She would be really pissed off if she had to kill you."
Daryl's mind replayed Caroline telling him how she had to kill Benji and how she felt and he moaned.
"Ah, you don't want that, do you?! Then you better get off yer fuckin' ass and get the fuck out of here."
Daryl tried to glare at him, but his eyelids were closing and he felt his chest growing tight.
"Can you hear me, Boy?!" Jeb demanded as the loud sound of Daryl's heartbeat filled Daryl's ears and Daryl moaned.
"Can you hear me?!" Lydia asked as she looked at Daryl and she lightly shook him. She had seen Daryl stalking her mother and the Whispers and she had followed him. She was surprised he survived being stabbed in the leg and she could barely see the tourniquet he had wrapped around his left leg. She went to check the tourniquet when she noticed Daryl's eyes were open and he made soft wheezing sounds. "Daryl?"
"Wha'?" he mumbled.
"Can you get up?"
"No. Too tired."
"You have to get up. The Whisperers are coming."
"Don' care."
"Please," she said and he heard the fear and concern in her voice.
"Help me."
Lydia wasn't sure if she could pick him off the floor as she moved closer and she slid his right arm around her shoulders.
"Push up with your right leg," she said and he could just nod his head. He used his left arm and his right leg to push up as he moaned and she hoped his leg hadn't started bleeding. With a grunt, she lifted Daryl up to his feet and he staggered slightly to one side. She helped him regain his balance as he kept his weight mostly on his right leg and he moved his head to look at Alpha.
"Alive?" he asked and she looked at Alpha.
"I dunno."
"We gotta go," he said and she helped him move toward the door. She looked outside when she helped him walk and they headed for the trees. Neither of them noticed the large bear tracks leading away from the gas station/garage or the red eyes glowing in the darkness.
Alexandria
Caroline started waking up as she barely opened her eyes then she heard the sounds of the drums, chanting and the flutes.
"Listen, Little Squirrel, you need to get up. Yer brother needs you. Got to the top of the hill. That's where you'll find him," Jeb said and she sat up. She wiped her face with her hands when she got off the bed and she tried hard not to cry. She quickly got dressed when she walked to the door, slid her knife into the holder, opened the door and she walked out of the room. She walked down the stairs when she saw Dog sitting by the front door and she patted the top of the dog's head. She opened the door as she and Dog walked down the stairs and she tried to find Gabriel. She saw him talking with Aaron when her stomach sank and she ran to them.
"Aaron, where's Daryl and Carol?!" she asked and he turned, looking at her.
"Shit," Aaron said and she stopped when she saw how tired, dirty and angry he was.
"What happened?"
Gabriel sighed when he explained and her heart nearly stopped. He watched her back up when she turned and she ran for her motorcycle.
"Caroline! Wait!" Gabriel called out, but she started the motorcycle and she steered the motorcycle toward the gate. "Stop her!"
The guard stood in front of the gate, but Caroline wasn't stopping and his eyes widened.
"Shit!" the guard said as he opened the gate and the motorcycle roared by him. Gabriel had called the guard on the bridge as the guard saw the motorcycle racing toward him and he dodged out of the way.
"Did you stop her?" Gabriel's voice said over the walkie-talkie.
"No, she was going too fast," the guard said and he watched the motorcycle moving down the road.
Hilltop
The gate opened while Caroline steered the motorcycle by the guard and the motorcycle headed for Ezekiel's house. Ezekiel was outside while he talked to Jerry and they watched the motorcycle come to a halt.
"Caroline, what are you doing here?" Ezekiel asked.
"I'm lookin' fer Daryl," she said as she looked at Jerry and she placed the kickstand down after turning the engine off. "Hi."
"Hi," Jerry said. She got off the motorcycle when she walked to him and Jerry softly laughed as she hugged him. He patted her back when she moved back and she looked at Ezekiel.
"Where's Kelly?"
"She's with Yumiko," Ezekiel said.
"What makes you think Daryl's coming here? He went to see if he could find another entrance to the cave," Jerry said.
"Call it a twin thing," Caroline said. Ezekiel noticed she hadn't asked about Carol and he frowned.
"Did Carol return to Alexandria?" Ezekiel asked.
"No, just Aaron."
"Does he know where she is?"
"No."
Caroline's old insecurities started building as she moved the kickstand up and she rubbed the fingers of her right hand over the key. Ezekiel looked at her hand when he sighed and he shook his head.
"Look, I'm sorry. If you want, you can stay until Daryl shows up or we find out he's gone back to Alexandria," he said and she nodded. She got off the motorcycle as they headed for the house and they went inside. She headed for the stairs as she turned back to look at Ezekiel and Jerry then she ran up the stairs. She was surprised to see he had kept her old room and she closed the door, sat on the edge of the bed, removed her boots then she went to rest on the mattress. She looked at the wall when she rolled onto her stomach, buried her face in the pillow and she started sobbing.
The sound of a motorcycle woke her as Caroline got up and she placed her boots on. She ran to the door when she opened the door, ran down the hallway then down the stairs and the front door opened. She saw Ezekiel and Lydia helping Daryl inside as Daryl looked at Caroline and his eyes slightly widened.
"What're you doin' here?" Daryl asked.
"Waitin' fer you," Caroline said, walking closer and he saw the sadness in her eyes. He moved away from Ezekiel and Lydia as he limped toward his sister and she wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face into his right shoulder as he placed his head against hers and Ezekiel looked at Lydia.
"I'm going to go get a doctor. Help her get him upstairs," Ezekiel said and Lydia nodded. He left as Lydia walked to Daryl and Caroline and Caroline looked at her.
"I'm sorry," Lydia said.
"For what?" Caroline asked.
"For what my mom did."
"I don't blame you."
"Can we go upstairs now?" Daryl asked. Nodding, she helped Lydia lead Daryl to the stairs and they slowly went upstairs.
Caroline was outside Daryl's room while she sat against the wall and she had her head against her knees. She had her arms around her head, but she moved her arms back when she heard someone walking out of the room. She stood as the doctor and Ezekiel looked at her and she looked toward the room.
"Is he alright?" Caroline asked.
"With the wound he has on his leg, I'm amazed he's alive," the doctor said.
"That's not what I asked," she said with a slight growl.
"Caroline," Daryl called out as she walked by them and she went in the room. He was sitting up slightly on the bed and she noticed he didn't' have his jeans on. The blanket covered him except for his left leg and she saw his vest and jeans were on the chair near the door. She walked to the chair when she picked up the jeans and she looked at the blood, dirt and what she thought was oil.
"Looks like I'm gonna have to wash these," she said and he frowned.
"Put those down and get over here," he said and she placed the jeans on the chair. She walked to the bed when she carefully got onto the bed and she snuggled next to his right side. He slid his right arm around her as she placed her head against his right shoulder and she looked at his leg. "It looks worse than it feels."
"How did that happen?"
"I'll tell you after you tell me why you're here?"
"I had to," she said as she told him about waking up and what Jeb told her. She noticed the confused look on his face as he lightly rubbed her upper arm and he blinked his eyes a few times. "Daryl?"
He looked at her when he told her about seeing Jeb and she arched an eyebrow.
"He does have a point. I would have been really pissed off if I had to kill you," she said with a nod.
"Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"Yeah."
"Not funny."
"Sorry," she said and they sat in silence. "Do me a favor. Don't you dare die, Daryl Dixon. Not until we are really, really, really, really old."
He gave her a tired smile as she slid her right arm over his stomach and he felt her calming down. He looked at the bandage while Caroline looked at him and he told her what happened. The anger and rage he felt coming from her moved through his head caused him to sigh and she saw the look in his eyes.
"Don't hate her," he said in a soft voice.
"You don't want me to hate Alpha?" she asked.
"No, Carol."
"I don't hate her," she said as Ezekiel appeared in the doorway and they looked at him.
"Sorry, but we're going to have a meeting to discuss what we need to do about Alpha," Ezekiel said.
"Give me a minute," Daryl said. Nodding, Ezekiel walked away and Caroline looked at Daryl. She got up when she left the room then she walked back in the room with her sewing kit and she picked up his jeans. Daryl slowly got out of bed as he carefully placed his left foot on the floor and he felt his balance kicking in. After she had sewn the hole in his jeans shut, she handed the jeans to him and Daryl got dressed. He limped to the doorway as he turned to look at her and he nodded. She followed him out of the room when he leaned over the railing to look down at the others and she helped him down the stairs. She waited outside the meeting room when the doors opened and the others walked out of the room. Daryl limped to her as she went to help him to the stairs and they slowly went upstairs. He told her what they had decided as they walked down the hallway and they walked in his bedroom. She helped him get onto the bed and she removed his boots and he sighed. "Thanks."
She nodded as she watched his eyes closing and he fell asleep a few minutes later. She brushed some of the hair out of his eyes when she left the room and she went downstairs. She hadn't seen Judith sneak into Daryl's room when Judith took Daryl's vest off the bed, walked to the door and she left the room.
A/N: I always wondered how Lydia got Daryl up and out of the gas station/garage, so I hope you liked my explanation.