The full moon illuminating the bed room was something Carol usually welcomed. It took the horrors from the darkness and softened the nights edges. The bluish tinge soothed her and had invited her to small walks through Alexandrias streets more than once in the past.
This night, however, was different. It was unnerving, annoying and did nothing to calm her frazzled nerves. Frustrated, Carol threw her blanket aside and sat up, putting her feet onto the cool wooden floor. She sat there for minutes, staring at nothing in particular, tapping her fingers on the mattress.
She wished it was just the moonlight bugging her. Or the two people they had lost to a large group of walkers today. Stupid pricks had to ignore her warnings and had left the secured area – only to end as walker bites. Of course she felt bad for them, but it wasn't what was bothering her right now.
She got up with an angry sigh and wandered over to the window. It was in the middle of the night, no sunrise in sight yet. It was either get back to bed and try to find some shut-eye or skip it for tonight and start the day very early. Her eyes wandered along the completed parts of the wall before she tried to get a glimpse of what lay behind. She felt a lump form in her throat.
"Where are you, Daryl?", she whispered, trying to make out anything out there.
Two days. Nothing unusual. He had been gone longer before and had always showed up. In the book of Daryl Dixon two days were practically nothing.
It was her gut feeling stirring up her worries. The feeling she could always count on, the one who had saved her and many others a dozen of times. The one that had constantly told her everything was fine with Daryl all those years he had been out in the woods on his own. The feeling that had helped her find her way to him wherever he was.
The one that was currently weaving her stomach in knots and shrieking at her that something was terribly wrong.
Carol turned away from the window and leaned with her back against the wall, softly thudding her head against it. It still worked, this feeling. Even with their friendship being crippled the way it was these days, she could still count on it.
Tonight she wished she couldn't.
A noise from downstairs grabbed her attention. Frowning, she went over to where her clothes lay and took her knife out of its sheath. Opening the door she stuck her head out into the hall and listened.
Something was on the outside of the front door. An irregular thudding, accompanied by scraping noises was all she could hear. They stopped for a moment to be replaced by a pitiful whining, which was soon enough joined by the same thudding and scratching again.
Carol hardened the grip on her knife and went down the stairs as carefully as possible. If it was a boar or a wolf, the knife would be useless. Maybe she should take the bow and leave the house through the back door, so she could creep up on whatever was out there.
The scraping sounded again, the whine turning into a yelp, then a half-hearted bark. It was then when Carol recognized the noises. She slammed the knife onto the kitchen table, switched on the light and rushed to the front door, throwing it open. Spooked by the unexpected turn of events, the animal jerked back a few inches before it changed its direction and entered the house in a rush.
"Dog!", Carol cried out, watching the canine scramble through the kitchen, slipping in the process and hitting the counter with it's flank. Bewildered and worked up, Dog started to whine again and trotted to Carols feet, looking up at her with sad eyes.
Carol went to her knees, patting and massaging the agitated animal. "Sssshhhh", she cooed, "all good, you're good, you're home."
Dog was alarmingly thin and dirty. It looked as he had been on the move for days. She tried to swallow the fear that started to lay itself over her insides like lead and listened intently to what else could be heard over Dogs exhausted panting. The engine of a motorcycle maybe? The sound of heavy boots on her doorstep? If Dog was here, Daryl couldn't be far away. But no matter how hard she willed him to appear at her doorstep, or at least pass her house and give her a one of his small chin jerks, he was nowhere to be seen.
She got up and walked to the door, looking outside one more time before closing it slowly. She pulled a bowl from the kitchen cabinet and filled it with water. Dog was thirsty enough to jump up at her when he realized what she had in store for him. She sat down on the floor and inspected him while he drank greedily.
"You the advance party?", she asked with heavy heart, "Where did you leave Daryl, huh?"
At hearing his masters name, Dog abandoned his eager drinking and looked up at Carol without raising his head. He kept his ears down and whimpered. Without knowing anything about dogs or how to actually read them, Carol knew that her gut feeling hadn't betrayed her. It was the same moment she noticed Dogs blood-flecked fur for the first time.
-
The heavy silence in the room was suffocating. Maggie leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the floor, while Gabriel walked up and down, rubbing his bald head. Aaron occupied the couch – he looked beat, they all did, and it had nothing to do with being the middle of the night. Carol had rallied them immediately, not bothering about the time. No one had protested.
"We head out in groups of two or three people", she proposed, "Dog can lead us to their last location and we can start from there."
"You think he can do that?", Aaron asked, then scratched the animal behind his ear, addressing him, "no offence, my friend." Dog had laid down beside Aaron on the cushions, watching the small group of people in Carols living room with interest.
Carol smiled a bitter smile. "I bet he does."
"The problem is that we don't know how far away that is", Gabriel replied, "We can't send too many people away for days."
"Still, we should send the best", Maggie said, "Daryl is a capable fighter. If someone managed to put him out of action, we're dealing with an enemy we shouldn't underestimate."
"How do we know something happened to Daryl at all?"
Carol looked up sharply at the dark-haired man next to Maggie. Cole had his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I mean, the blood could be from another animal. Did you check the dog over, maybe it's his own."
"And how do you explain that he's here and Daryl isn't?", Gabriel asked, not convinced.
"I don't know, maybe the dog bolted. Or Daryl sent him away."
"No", Carol replied, feeling her anger rise, "None of this happened."
"From what I hear Dixon's quite the lone wolf. What if he didn't want to take care of the animal anymore?"
She was on him faster than anyone could react. Gripping Coles collar, Carol closed in on him, their noses almost touching.
"You don't know nothing about Daryl", she hissed, satisfied to see Coles eyes widen in shock, "That dog means more to Daryl then anyone else. Daryl means more to Dog than anyone else. He might even think this dog is everything he has left, because he rejects the fact that he means the world to me. I'll go out there, and I'll go alone if it's necessary, but I will find him, with or without your clever interjections. So stop talking shit, make yourself useful or get out of my sight."
Carol felt hands on her and Maggies voice right beside her ear. The fight left her in a rush and she turned away abruptly, resuming her position at the kitchen counter. It was probably not the smartest move to annoy one of the few people who could help find Daryl, she knew that. Yet, she couldn't stand the way Cole talked about him. He simply had no right.
She settled her gaze on Aaron, who gave her the tiniest smile.
"Okay", Gabriel spoke up, "as much as I hate it, we need to wait for dawn. I'll have the teams together by then. We find the spot Dog leads us to, then split up, see if we can find Daryl or at least something like a lead we can follow."
They nodded.
"Try to get some more sleep", Maggie said, addressing everyone, but looking at Carol in particular, "We need to be sharp."
Gabriel sighed and walked up to Carol, touching her shoulder. "We'll find him. I have faith."
Carol only snorted, and felt immediately sorry for it. It was actually the only thing they could rely on for now. Gabriel was unfazed by her reaction and left, taking Aaron and Cole with him. When the men were outside, Maggie stopped at the door.
"I have to apologize for Cole. He's just not ... well ..."
"It's okay", Carol interrupted her, "I overreacted. Tell him I'm sorry."
Maggie smiled sadly and shook her head. "No. You didn't. We're all worried. Go to bed, okay?"
She left, letting the door snap shut softly. Again, the house was quiet, and Carol felt more alone than ever.