Chapter 12-Coming Together
Daryl's P.O.V
A few days later
It was around noon as Daryl drove his bike past the Texas state line into the state. He goes down the road until he reaches a small town. He stops his bike on the side of the road as the others stop behind him. Daryl looks at Shane as he gets out of his car and walks up to him. "So we got a plan now that we are here?" Daryl asks.
"See if we can find somewhere to stay for a little bit. Winter is getting closer, and I don't want to be on the road much longer, and I don't think you do either," Shane says to him.
"Yeah, you're right, I don't," Daryl says. Shane nods. "Let's go," Daryl says as he climbs back on his bike. He starts the bike and continues driving forward.
Madison's P.O.V
Madison was outside the stadium with Strand, Luciana, and Arthur with the wall on the left side. "We could use manpower, Madison," Strand says.
"We also need supplies, Strand. Abraham, Rosita, Ofelia, John, and Alicia are getting the supplies, and we are doing what we can here. Daniel should be able to start helping soon, and so should Eugene and Nick. Trust me, Strand. We'll get it done," Madison says. They turn around and see a walker coming towards them.
"I got it," Luciana says as she pulls out her knife. She walks up to the walker and stabs it on the top of the head. Madison stops when the radio Abraham gave her goes off.
"Madison, we might have a solution to our problems," Abraham says through the radio.
"What is it?" Madison asks.
"A group of people just came through town. I think they stopped a few blocks from here. Saw a bike and three cars behind it. The bike had a kid on the back," Abraham says.
"You think they are friendly?" Madison asks.
"No way of knowing. You want us to see if they want to come back?" Abraham asks.
"Yes, but Abraham be careful," Madison says.
"Got it, boss," Abraham says.
"Our problems may be fixed, Victor," Madison says with a smile. Strand doesn't say anything as he continues to work.
Shane's P.O.V
The group had stopped to eat and refill their gas. Shane was filling his car. "We got company," Merle says from the truck. Shane stops and looks at him. "Looks like two people coming towards us," Merle says.
"Be ready to shoot. Daryl and T-dog come with me," Shane says. Daryl and T-dog nod as they follow Shane. They walk up the road a little bit until they get close to the two men.
"We don't want any trouble," The first man says.
"What do you want?" Shane asks.
"I'm Abraham Ford, and this is my friend John Dorie. We have been working on a home not far from here. A baseball stadium, and we are low on manpower. I saw your group come through and figured it wouldn't hurt to ask," Abraham says as he held an Ar.
"You're offering us a place to live. You don't know us," T-dog says.
"No, I don't, but I saw that kid, and you don't seem like bad people," John says. "Are you bad people?"
"No, we are trying to get by like everybody else. Hasn't been easy. We've had our problems. We've met the bad people," Shane says.
"Do we look like those people?" Abraham asks.
"No," T-dog says.
"Let's go talk to our group," Shane says. They nod as they walk back towards the group. Daryl nods to Shane, who lowers his gun. They get to the group, and they look at John and Abraham.
"It's okay," T-dog says.
"They want us to join them at a baseball stadium not far from here. They need help building it up, but if it sounds like it does. It will be a safe place," Shane says.
"And you aren't getting to try and kill and eat, are you?" Lori asks them.
"No," Abraham says. "Have you ran in cannabis?"
"In Alabama," Andrea says.
"Where are you all from?" John asks.
"Most of us are from Georgia," Maggie says.
"Long way from home," Abraham says.
"We are," Hershel says.
"Does anybody have any problems with going with them?" Shane asks the group, who says nothing. "Okay, I'm assuming there are more of you," Shane says.
"Yeah, we'll ride in the back of your truck. Just go down the road and turn when you see a warehouse," Abraham says. The group nods as they get into the cars and leave.
Alicia's P.O.V
Alicia was helping Ofelia move a metal panel in the back of Abraham's truck when they heard a bike. "Looks like they got them to come," Alicia says.
"Hopefully, there are a lot of them," Ofelia says. Alicia nods as they put the panel in the back of the truck. Daryl stops his bike not far from them, and the others stop beside him. "That is a convoy," Daryl climbs off his bike and helps Carl off.
"Stay close to your Mom or me," Daryl says to Carl, who nods. Daryl nods and walks towards them as John and Abraham get out of the truck, followed by the others. "I'm Daryl. This is Carl,"
"Alicia, that's Ofelia, and that is Rosita," Alicia says. The rest of the group introduces themself to the three women.
"We are trying to load these supplies to help build the wall. Quicker, we get it done quicker. We can go home," Abraham says. The group nods. Daryl looks at Lori.
"Should you be lifting?" He asks her.
"I'll be fine. I can't lift anything too heavy, though," Lori says. Daryl nods as they walk over to the others. "Thank you, by the way,"
"For what?" Daryl asks.
"Helping with Carl. He's having a hard time still, but you're making it easy. Really thank you, Daryl," Lori says.
"Don't worry about it," Daryl says. "He's a good kid,"
"He is," Lori says as they get to the others.
Madison's P.O.V
Madison walks into the room Nick was in and sees her son sitting up. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Madison asks him.
"Better," Nick says. "Where's Alicia?"
"On a run with Abraham, John, and Ofelia," Madison tells Nick as she hands him a bottle of water. Nick takes a drink. "You want to see what we have done?" Nick nods as he slowly stands up. Madison walks over to him and helps him steady himself before they slowly walk outside. The sun hits their face as they walk out of the room Nick was resting in. "Daniel came out earlier with Eugene," Madison tells Nick, who nods. They walk down the stairs and walk across the field until they get to the gate. Madison pulls the gate open, and Nick walks out. Madison shuts the gate again, and they walk to the sidewall.
"Look who is up and walking," Strand says.
"Feels nice to be able to walk myself again," Nick says. Madison nods. It has been a few hours since Madison has heard back from Abraham. They continue to work on the wall for about an hour when Madison's radio goes off.
"We will be there in a few minutes. Make sure that gate is open. We got a convoy," Abraham says. Madison and Luciana go to the gate as Nick stands by Arthur and Strand. They see Daryl's bike first, followed by the other cars with Abraham's truck in the back.
"He wasn't kidding," Luciana says.
"No, he wasn't," Madison says with a smile as Daryl goes past her into the gate. "Go get the others. We'll talk inside," Luciana nods as she goes over to Strand, Arthur, and Nick. Once everybody gets inside, Madison shuts the gate and walks over to the others who have parked their cars. Madison walks down to the group. She looks at Shane as he gets out of his car. "I'm Madison,"
"Shane," Shane says. Everybody introduces themselves.
"As you can see, we could really use the help," Madison says as she looks around.
"Well, we'll get it done quicker now that there are more of us," John says.
"That's the plan. I want to build a wall around here as well as part of the parking lot, so we have somewhere to park the cars," Madison says. "But I have a feeling you are all tired, so that can wait till tomorrow. We'll spend today getting everybody settled in."
"Okay," Shane says. "We have tents if you don't have somewhere for us to sleep,"
"We are making rooms inside of the stadiums right now, but that might be best for a week or two," Madison says. Shane nods.
"We'll start to set them up," Shane says. Madison nods as she walks away.
Daryl's P.O.V
Everybody shares a tent with someone. We don't want to put them all up," Shane says. The group nods as Daryl pulls out Lori's tent, which is bigger than most.
"Lori," Daryl says. Lori grabs the tent.
"Are you looking for someone?" Lori asks Daryl. "Carl is going to share with Beth for now. Unless you plan on sharing with Merle,"
"Nah, if you're okay with it, I'm fine with it," Daryl says. Lori nods as she walks away.
"Ditching me for a woman, baby brother?" Merle asks.
"Shut up," Daryl says as he grabs his bag out of the car. All the group splits up into tents. Glenn and Maggie, Hershel and Carol, Shane and Merle, Lexie and T-dog, Carl and Beth, Daryl and Lori, Andrea and Michonne. Daryl was putting his tent up when Merle came over to him.
"You know when we get this place, and maybe after winter, we should head back to the school and see if they want to come here," Merle says.
"It wouldn't be a bad idea," Daryl says. Merle nods.
"That place I was at after everything. At one point or another, I want to go back and kill that bastard. He shouldn't be left alive," Merle tells his brother.
"I'll help," Daryl tells Merle, who nods. Merle walks away from his brother as he continues putting up his tent.
Night
The group sat around a fire-eating. "If it's possible, we want to have the walls built and the rooms ready by the first snowfall," Madison says.
"That's possible," Shane says. "We might want to send someone one a run for some heavier clothes, or we are going to freeze our asses off,"
"We should make an infirmary as well," Hershel says.
"I'll help with that," Arthur tells Hershel from where he was sitting by Ruby. Hershel nods as he takes a bite of his food.
"We got a busy couple of weeks ahead of us," Merle says. The group nods as they eat in silence, knowing that nothing will be easy for a while.
Thanks for reading. Sorry about not uploading on Tuesday. Last week I was sick and this week was catchup week, and I was very stressed out. But I'm good now, and we will continue with the normal schedule. The groups are together now. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.