April 6
1:00 PM
The Sanctuary
Dianne shouted over the noise of construction, and the hammering in Regina's old quarters stopped. Gavin turned to see a man standing next to Dianne. "This is Tobin," she said. "From Alexandria. He's their construction foreman. He's going to help you with the rooms."
"You're the one who helped with the fence?" Gavin asked.
Tobin nodded.
"A section came down."
"Well, I told Laura the patch was only temporarily," Tobin insisted. "We were just keeping out the walkers until you could fix it. But, hey, if you don't want my help, I've got a hundred things I could be doing back - "
"-No." Gavin interrupted. "Sorry. Yes. Thank you. I want your help. I could use your help."
Dianne shook her head at Gavin and left to go back on watch at the front gate.
"It's this room and then the old conference room," Gavin told Tobin. "We're converting them to apartments to house multiple people."
"I'll go get my crew. I brought two other men to help. When we leave, though, we're bringing all those mattresses with us."
"Fine," Gavin muttered. Laura should be back with more tomorrow anyway, assuming her run was successful.
6:30 PM
House of the Future
Governing Board Meeting Minutes
Meeting commenced 6:30 PM April 6, 2011
All here present.
1. Carl assigned to train in hunting and trapping under Daryl and Dixon on Saturdays in the small woods by the train tracks, five to six hours. (Resolved, 12-0.)
"Needs to hunt in the big forest," Daryl said.
"I agree," Rick told him. "Eventually. But start him in the small woods. Those forest trips are sometimes overnight."
2. Carl assigned to train in perimeter check under Michonne on Tuesday mornings, three hours. (Resolved, 11-1).
"Carl can shadow me on perimeter check on Wednesday mornings," Rick said. "I have it then."
"Sometimes teenagers are more receptive to learning from someone who isn't their parents," Glenn told him. "Trust me on this one."
"You don't even have children," Rick told him.
"I used to be a teenage boy."
"Not even that long ago," Andrea quipped.
"Shut up."
3. Carl assigned to train in gardening under Rick on Thursday mornings, three hours. (Resolved 9-3).
4. Sophia assigned to train under Sasha on guard duty, Monday afternoons, two hours. (Resolved 12-0.)
5. Sophia assigned to train under Rosita on military vehicle maintenance, Wednesday mornings, three hours. (Resolved 12-0.)
6. Sophia assigned to train under Michonne on perimeter check on Thursday mornings, three hours. (Resolved, 12-0)
7. Sophia assigned to train under Bob in medical assisting on Friday afternoons, three hours. (Resolved, 12-0)
"She has a lot of interests," Milton said. "You know what they say, though? Jack of all trades – "
"- Get shit done," Daryl concluded.
"I don't think that's actually how the saying goes," Milton murmured.
8. Eliza Morales assigned to train under Hershel in veterinary skills on Mondays and Wednesdays, three hours a day. (Resolved 12-0).
9. Eliza Morales assigned to train under Patricia in farming skills on Fridays, four hours. (Resolved 12-0)
10. Beth assigned to give horseback riding lessons to children age 5-11 in the day school. Schedule to be determined with teachers. (Resolved 12-0)
"The older kids need to learn to ride, too," Hershel said.
"Soph's a good rider already," Daryl boasted.
"But Patrick's certainly not," Hershel replied. "And there's Carl, Eliza, and Savannah not in the day school. Not to mention that it's a skill a few more adults could serve to learn." He looked pointedly at Daryl.
"Can ride just fine if I need to," Daryl assured him. "Prefer the iron horse is all."
10. Maggie or Beth to give horseback riding lessons by appointment to all other ages. (Resolved 12-0)
11. Rick assigned to give gun safety lessons to children age 5-8 in the day school. Marksmanship lessons for ages 9-11. Schedule to be determined with teachers. (Resolved 12-0)
12. Supply run to vocational center approved for April 8 – 9 for Beth and Dixon. The vocational center had pharmacy tech, agricultural, electrical, automotive, and welding programs. The goal is to find medicines, oil, and other car maintenance items, agricultural supplies, electrical supplies, and welding and other tools. Military truck allotted for trip. Sixteen gallons of gas approved for trip.
"I'm not sure Beth's ready for an outing of that kind," Hershel said.
"That girl can shoot good now," Daryl said. "And Dixon's been teachin' her to stab. She's been on a run once already."
"With three other people," Hershel said solemnly. "Not one. And not overnight."
"Dixon's been fendin' for himself since this shit started," Daryl reassured him. "Hell, he got the drop on me and Carol when we first met. Twice."
"What do you say, Glenn?" Hershel asked. "About your baby sister-in-law going on an overnight supply run?"
"Uhh…well…I mean…"
"Gotta cut the apron strings sometime, man," Daryl told Hershel.
(Resolved 10-2; Hershel noting a "strong objection.")
April 8
8:30 PM
House of the Future
Carol sat at the kitchen desk paging through the channels on the CB to see if she could catch any chatter. She did this once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. She heard Dixon saying, "Egypt, come in, come in Egypt" over the CB in the military truck they'd taken for their looting expedition.
"This is Egypt," Carol answered. "Over."
Hershel, having overheard from where he sat reading his Bible in the living room, now anxiously wandered over.
"We're battened down for the night somewhere safe. We scored a lot of medicine from the mail-in pharmacy for the pharmacy tech program. The place was untouched. We just took everything. Boxes and boxes of stuff. And they had birth control pills, too. How long do those last? Over."
"May I speak?" Hershel asked. Carol smiled faintly and handed him back the microphone. Hershel pressed the talk button. "They last between one and five years after their production date. So while they might last a good long while, there's no guarantee the quality won't deteriorate and an unexpected pregnancy won't occur. Over."
There was a long silence on the other end of the radio before Dixon came back on, sounding a little rattled to have learned Hershel was listening in. "Anyway, lots of meds. We'll sort it all when we get back. We also got seeds and pesticides and such. Oil and other automotive liquids – tell Uncle Daryl I got that replacement part he wanted for his bike. Anyway, we might do a little more looting somewhere tomorrow, so don't expect us until around dinner time. Over and out."
"Dinner time," Hershel mused. "Mission accomplished, but they're staying out looting until dinner time."
Carol switched off the radio and headed to bed. Daryl was already in the bedroom, sitting up in bed in his sweats and t-shirts, sharpening a knife. She liked the way he looked with his hair recently trimmed. She could see his eyes clearly now. "I suppose it's pointless to ask you not to do that in bed?"
"Ain't messy," he told her, but he set it aside on the dresser and watched her undress in the glow of a single lamp.
As she got ready for bed, she told him about the call on the CB.
"They ain't lootin' more tomorrow. Done lootin'. They're drivin' to his old cabin in the mornin', spendin' the afternoon there, so he can get laid."
"Is that what he expects is going to happen?" Carol asked skeptically.
"Yeah, sure. Beth said so. Wrote him a letter and shit."
"I know." Carol came and sat atop the comforter next to him. "She talked to me about it. Why me, I don't know."
"'Cause you're silent as the grave," Daryl told her.
Carol laughed. "Maybe. She said when she wrote him that letter, she was really worried about him and wanted to encourage him. But now she's not so sure she's really ready to have sex, and she feels bad she made the promise and doesn't want to go back on it. I told her not to go through with it if she isn't certain. And to just be honest with him."
"Shiiiit."
"What?" she asked. "Dixon will understand. You were very understanding of me when it took some time for me to come around."
"'S all the kid thinks 'bout these days. He ain't gonna like it."
"You don't think he'll pressure her?" Carol asked.
"Nah. He's a good kid. Ain't gonna act the asshole. But he ain't gonna like it. I didn't like it. Was a hell of a lot harder than you thought. And I ain't even eighteen."
She slid close and lay a hand on his thigh. "You were harder than I thought?"
He smirked. "Ain't what I said. Though uh…" He nodded down at her hand. "You could slide that hand up a little, Miss Murphy, if you want to find out just how hard I can get."
Carol kissed him, slid a hand over the front of his sweatpants, stroking him as she did so, and then wound one of the strings at the top of his sweatpants around her fingertip. Smiling against his lips, she pulled it loose and then slipped her hand inside his waistband.
9:30 PM
The Sanctuary
When Dianne came through the apartment door, Gavin got up to switch off the DVD he was watching while slowly sipping Negan's scotch. He and Laura had appropriated his two half-finished bottles and split it between themselves. They probably should have given it to the marketplace to sell, but it was there one little victory prize.
"I didn't mean to interrupt," Dianne said.
"I figure you don't want to hear it while you're trying to sleep. I should probably rack out, too."
"Where are you hiding that scotch," Dianne asked, "and why haven't you offered me any? Rather rude don't you think?"
Gavin shook his head and pulled down the secret bottle, along with a glass, to pour her a finger. Then he put it back and handed her the glass. Dianne sat down on the love seat. That's where Gavin had slept last night, curled up like a baby to fit, or legs stretched out and dangling over the arm, while Dianne took his bed in the adjoining bedroom. Some nights she'd been on night watch, so he'd just slept in his own bed, but tonight she'd been training the new guards all day.
He slid down into the chair at the two-person table near the counter and set his glass down.
"Good stuff," Dianne said as she sipped. "You've been holding out on me."
"I can't thank you enough for all of your help this past week. I was able to focus on the construction. I've gotten all the bed frames built, Regina's old quarters re-done…it's on to the conference room next. As soon as I get back from the Kingdom." They were leaving in the morning, him and DJ and Dianne. Laura had come back this evening with a truck full of mattresses as well as bedding. It hadn't been that hard for her to find. Mattress stores weren't looted. They'd had to kill a dozen walkers, but they'd had the firepower to do it. It made him wonder why Negan had insisted on stealing Alexandria's mattresses. Just a show of power, he supposed.
"This place is still a bit of a mess, though, isn't it?" she asked. "Always some new problem popping up."
Gavin sighed. "I wish you could stay. But I know you have duties in the Kingdom."
"You should ask the Hilltop to send help. Hallowbrant put in its time that first week with the guards. Alexandria with its construction crew. The Kingdom with me. The Hilltop should send someone."
"No one feels obligated to help me. I used to be a part of a syndicate that extorted them, after all."
"You don't know if you don't ask. Radio Jesus. Get Kal out here. Or that good-looking guard. Eduardo."
Gavin smiled. "Well, that answers it."
"Answers what?" she asked.
"Gordon and DJ have been taking bets on whether you're a lesbian."
"Tell DJ just because I shot him down does not mean I'm a lesbian. It just means I have high standards."
Gavin chuckled. "Is he giving you a hard time?"
"I can handle myself. I'm not one of these worker women you have to protect by moving them off the floor."
"I know."
"It's all very patriarchal, your arrangement here," Dianne told him. "The big important councilmen protecting the women."
"There are two women on the council," Gavin reminded her. "And what would you have me do? I'm trying here, Dianne. But all the women who could handle a gun? They became Saviors. And they got killed in the war." He shrugged and picked up his glass. "Except Laura."
"Then train more women. You've picked only men as your guards and supply runners."
"Only men applied."
"Sometimes you have to train people whether they want to be trained or not."
"Great," he said. "Then after we go to the Kingdom for a day, come back with me again and train them for me."
"I'm needed in the Kingdom. I'm just giving you friendly advice, here."
"And I'm just trying to hold it together here. But thanks for the advice." He finished off the last of his scotch and sighed. "I couldn't get Frankie on the radio today."
"She was probably busy with work."
"We had a time set. When we're supposed to talk. No one answered."
"That radio's not manned 24/7. I'm sure she just got busy," Dianne said. "And you'll see her tomorrow anyway."
"Yeah." He ran a finger around the rim of his empty glass until it whistled. "I need to crash."
"I guess that's my cue." Dianne stood, disappeared into his bedroom with her not-quite-fished glass of scotch, and shut the door. Gavin turned off the light, crawled onto the loveseat, and pulled an afghan down off the back of it and over himself.
He wasn't asleep fifteen minutes before there was a knock on the door. It was Alden. "Problem in the floor camp," he said. "Two men fighting over some bullshit. Anyway, I separated them, took their names. Wrote up a citation for brawling. But they're demanding to talk to you."
Gavin sighed. "Hold on. Let me get my shoes."
April 9
9:25 AM
House of the Future
Hershel, Patricia, and Maggie were in the breakfast nook eating breakfast together before resuming their farm work, which they'd begun when the rooster crowed and would continue until the heat of the afternoon. Daryl had left a little after sunrise to take Carl down to the small woods by the train tracks to hunt and check traps. Sophia was in front of the house practicing swordsmanship with Michonne, after having walked Andre, Louis, Mika, and Luke to the day school. Eliza was having a firearms lesson from Rick. It was a busy Saturday morning, like most mornings.
Carol would work on updating inventory later, and stand a three-hour watch on the slides, but for now, she sat in a chair at the kitchen desk sipping her morning coffee while paging through the channels on the CB to see if she could catch any chatter.
"…by noon or one at the latest," came a voice on the CB. "And then I don't have to leave until late afternoon tomorrow. Over."
Carol recognized the voice as Gavin's.
"I can't wait to see you, sugar." That was Frankie. "Again, I'm really sorry I lost track of time yesterday evening and missed your call. It's just, those sparring competitions between the knights can get real interesting sometimes. Daniel promised to teach me to use a sword. Over."
"Did he? That was uh…generous of him. Over."
"Well, you're always telling me I should learn protect myself better. I've been practicing with the handgun you gave me a little, with the dry firing cap. Anyway, can't wait. Get in that truck already! Over."
"Just one or two loose ends and – "
Carol turned the knob and changed the channel. The next was static. She took another sip of her coffee and turned the channel again. These coffee beans were losing their flavor. They might not be worth drinking much longer, she thought. They could still use the green (unroasted) beans for another year, and the instant crystals would last until they were gone, but it might be time to toss the roasted ones. Even so, she took another sip of the warm liquid.
"I hope Beth and Dixon don't try to loot any place that's got too many of those creatures," Hershel said from the table. "They got the goods from the vocational center. They should just come on home now."
"Daddy," Maggie assured him, "Beth is in good hands with Dixon. They'll be back by dinner like they promised. You don't get to worry until then."
"I still don't think she should have been outside the gates overnight," Hershel murmured. "An eighteen-year-old boy like that has only got one thing on his mind."
"Well, I've got news for you, Hershel," Patricia told him. "A seventeen-year-old girl like that has only got one thing on her mind, too. Take it from a woman who used to be seventeen. Especially when she's in love with a boy. And they've been dating almost five months now."
"Five months is not very long," Hershel insisted.
"A month is like a year in this world," Patricia told him. "This is not a summer fling."
"I hope you talked some sense into her before she left, Margaret," Hershel said.
"I am not in charge of Beth's decisions," Maggie replied. "But if it makes you feel any better, I do know Dixon made sure he got one of those boxes of condoms from the college run."
"Why would that make me feel better!" Hershel exclaimed.
An unfamiliar voice crackled suddenly through the radio. "10-50. Southwest of Athens. While attempting to recover the patient, civilian opened fire."
"10-71? Over."
"10-999. Over."
Carol began scribbling down the codes on a pad of paper by the radio.
"You're way out of range for assistance," another voice replied. "Just bring in the officer. Do you have the patient? Over."
"10-95. Citizen in pursuit on foot, firing. Over."
"10-001? Over."
"I lost him. Over."
"10-45? Over."
"10-45B. Blonde female. Late teens." Hershel's chair scraped back at the sound of this description. "In-coming in approximately one hour. Prepare a bed. Over."
"A bed is being prepared. Over and out."
Carol stared at the radio. Those weren't any voices she recognized from the chatter she'd heard between communities in the north. And they were northeast of Athens, here in Fun Kingdom. If this was happening southwest of Athens, the speakers couldn't be that far away.
Hershel was standing behind her now, staring at the silent radio. "Blonde female? Late teens? Are they talking about Beth? What do those codes mean?"
"It sounded like police code," Carol said. "I'll get Rick."
Carol brought Rick back from the firing range where he'd been instructing Eliza to practice her dry firing. He looked down at the notepad where Carol had written down the codes as she explained what she'd heard.
"Codes vary by department," Rick said. "But if I'm following correctly, the girl was the victim of the accident and is in serious condition and is being transported somewhere about one hour away. A civilian shot one of the officers, who is now down, quite possibly dead. And this other cop is getting the girl to…wherever he's taking her. The civilian pursued them on foot, firing, but was outrun."
"Beth is the girl," Hershel said. "Dixon must be the civilian."
"Why would he have shot at someone who was trying to help Beth?" Patricia asked.
"Because maybe he wasn't trying to help Beth," Maggie said. "Maybe he was just trying to take her."
"Where are they?" Hershel demanded. "The military truck has a CB. Get Dixon on it, now!"
Rick seized the CB and tuned the channel to the military truck. "Dixon, come in. Come in, Dixon. Over."
There was no response, so he tried several more channels. Still no response.
"I'm going to get Daryl," Carol told them. "If they need to be tracked, he's the one to do it." She hurried from the house to the small woods.