May 25, 2017
- Aaron -
Even the arrival of the refugees didn't really upset the processes of life in Alexandria. The only real change was no one traveling unescorted. Considering their supply teams are the ones that typically brave DC periodically, those who venture outside the walls are used to being on high alert.
Having one of the kids come running so fast he literally went sprawling when he tried to stop was the first clue Aaron received that today was about to change everything. The kid was rattled beyond the embarrassment of his tumble. The second was Spencer's face when Aaron reached the watch room, which looked like a new apocalypse was dawning upon them.
Alexandria may not be the most militant of the communities, but Spencer rallied four teams together within half an hour. He ordered physical guards on the walls, instead of just video watch. They haven't had actual guards on the walls in years.
Despite the worry that something has caused twelve of Hilltop's best to disappear, the Alexandrians still split into two groups. Spencer leads his southwest to intercept one section of the route Honey's teams took. Aaron leads his southeast to do the same. They'll meet in the middle, with others converging around them.
"Holy Mother of God," Annie grinds out, stomping on the brakes. Aaron sees what she does and slams his door open.
"Aaron! What if he's a walker?"
"Then I owe it to his family to lay him to rest."
He isn't foolhardy enough not to ready his knife. With two children at home, no one expects him to risk orphaning them by not being cautious. Approaching the limping teenager with a heavy heart, he takes note of the bandage on the teenager's head and prays that's a good sign.
"Logan?"
The teen stumbles to a halt and turns his head as if any fast movement will roll it off his shoulders. "Aaron?"
While slurred, the name is distinct enough that there's no way the boy's turned yet. Aaron sheathes his knife and goes to catch Logan as his strength seems to give out.
"Heath! Holly! Someone give me a hand!" Logan might not be a biological Dixon, and nowhere near Jazz's size, but he's easily the same height and weight as Aaron.
Heath reaches his side, and they manage to sling Logan between them and get him to the back of the truck. Holly has the med kit ready, and Aaron sees her lip quiver. As Jazz's apprentice, they've gotten used to seeing the teen at Alexandria. It isn't a stranger they're treating.
Aaron waits just long enough for Holly to assess that the situation is desperately bad before running back to the cab. He keys the mike on the radio even as Annie turns the truck around. Behind them, the second team of four follows. He can see that the front passenger has their rifle at ready, and Aaron bets Heath is doing similar in the back of this truck.
"Everyone be on alert. We have a survivor in need of emergency care. My teams are en route back to Alexandria." He pauses, taking a deep breath. "Carol. It's Logan."
He isn't surprised that Carol's voice is rock steady. "Describe his injuries."
Aaron glances back into the bed of the truck, where Holly has an IV started. The young woman looks terrified, and he doesn't blame her. She's a medic, not a doctor.
"Two gunshot wounds. One to the head, a second to the torso. He was ambulatory and headed toward Alexandria. We didn't get any information before he lost consciousness."
He can't imagine getting a report like that on one of his family members, and it is enough to make him feel blessed that Eric rarely leaves Alexandria since they adopted their children.
"Location, please. My other teams will stay on search, but half of us will divert to Alexandria."
That's wonderful news. Alexandria has a good doctor, but Dana isn't a surgeon of Emmett Carson's caliber. At least Carol has an extensive amount of experience as a surgical nurse.
Aaron gives out their location, which hopefully will help them locate the other twelve people traveling with Logan. In the meantime, he takes the rifle from the gun rack in the truck and helps make sure nothing approaches their mini-convoy undetected.
- Jesus -
Paul already knew the discovery probably won't be anything hopeful as soon as he heard Aaron's shaken voice as he relayed finding Logan. There's no way in hell that his little brother would abandon his teams easily, although he tries to think Logan could be disoriented and trying to go for help.
Spencer's teams locate the missing Hilltoppers first, by virtue of being closer. By the time Paul's teams reach the location given, Camille from Solomons is on site as well. He pulls alongside one of the Alexandrian vehicles and parks.
The three cargo trucks with their loads of produce are nowhere to be found, only the sprawled forms of their lost people. It adds one clue to the mystery that they encountered bandits and not walkers. How the hell they got the drop on Honey's well-trained people, he cannot begin to understand.
"Jazz, I can handle this."
His husband reaches out and squeezes his hand. "I'm the council representative for Hilltop here." With that, Jazz exits the Humvee, leaving Paul to take a deep breath of his own and motion for his teams to unload.
They meet at the rear of the vehicle, where the second Humvee is parked behind. "Pair up and prepare to search once I see what Spencer and Camille have underway."
Not waiting for their acknowledgement, he joins Jazz where he is working alongside Camille to reconstruct what happened. It was one of the woman's areas of expertise before the Outbreak, forensics, although she's spent most of the last seven years as a more traditional sort of doctor. Around them, Camille's people are standing guard on high alert.
"Spencer's got his folks working a search grid in the woods north of the road," Camille says, looking up from where she's checking Kenneth Sutton's body for wounds. "South's pretty much open field, so you might see about helping Spencer."
"Who are we looking for?" Paul's gaze sweeps over the bodies, which haven't been moved from where they initially were found.
"Honey's missing," Jazz replies from further away. His voice is thick with emotion, and Paul realizes that the younger man is knelt next to Danny's too still body. He is examining the body with gentle precision even as he speaks.
Oh dear God. It takes seconds to do a count. Honey led four teams out, plus the Solomons scientist. There are only eleven bodies he recognizes, although there are four strangers, their clothing distinctly different from anything the Virginians wear.
As Paul strides back to issue orders to his people, he prays Honey is disoriented and seeking help like Logan. He isn't sure anyone here is ready to have to put down a walker wearing Honey Dixon's face.
- Merle -
Merle hasn't felt this level of foreboding terror since he was stuck in a Humvee rushing back to Homestead during the Governor's attack. Now he's even further away, one of his children is missing, and another is gravely injured. And Danny may have resisted any official adoption, not feeling the same need for family that Jamie had, but he's beloved and a Dixon whether he claims it or not.
Jesus, Scout's youngest Marine was only twenty-six.
Scout has gone as cold as he's ever seen her, dropping back into that remote Marine facet of her personality they've been seeing less and less of. The evidence that their people have never lost their militant edge shows as the convoy is being systematically readied under her orders.
But even as clear as the roads likely are thanks to patrols, they're still at least eight hours south of where they need to be.
"Cricket!" he calls out as he sees his daughter darting to the designated medical vehicle with a cart of supplies. Virginia has plenty, but no one will travel unprepared.
She hands off the task to an older teen he knows is apprenticed at the infirmary and moves to meet him halfway. "Please don't tell me I can't go, Dad. Lilly and T-Dog will stay with Tara and the kids."
That thought hadn't even crossed his mind. "Is Welles clear to fly?"
Cricket makes the connection easily and shakes her head. "He's a week after hernia surgery. I wouldn't even clear him for ground travel."
Merle considers the downside of pilot training being a minor skill few see the use of, because of the vast consumption of fuel limiting the use of the helicopters they have in possession. But they've been maintained for emergencies.
Only four people are qualified to pilot the Huey Welles brought with him to Homestead, the only helicopter with the expanded fuel capacity to make it to Virginia without refueling. Two of them are already in Virginia, and Welles is under medical care.
"Is it safe for Sophia to fly?" he asks at last, hating the necessity.
"She's more than eight weeks from her due date on a remarkably easy pregnancy, so I would say yes. Better than double the time in military vehicles, and you know she's not staying behind anymore than I am."
Merle is aware of that, because he knows that there's already a group loading up at King's Cross to go north. "Go radio her to meet us here."
He receives a fierce hug from Cricket before she runs toward the infirmary and the radio there. Merle scans for the rest of his immediate family and goes to the school playground, where he can see Ava among the children hovering at the fence. She runs to him, all but climbing him to get into his arms.
"I want to go, too, Daddy," she pleads.
Merle presses a firm kiss against her forehead. "I need you to stay here, sweetheart, and help Tara and Aunt Lori."
His sister-in-law meets his eyes from her spot at the picnic table where she's helping Rick and another teacher try to keep up some semblance of normalcy for the children whose parents are about to deploy. She sets down the basket of snacks and nudges Rick before going to the gate.
"Ava, can you help me with the little ones? Some aren't big enough to feed themselves."
Appealing to her helpful nature works, because the impending tears recede as Ava squirms to be let down. As she jogs over to settle next to one of the toddlers, he sighs.
"You going to be okay with two more, plus the twins?"
Lori smiles reassuringly. "I'm good. Maggie and Patricia will be plenty of help. Won't be the first time your house has been full of a hodgepodge family."
"I'll be back by before I leave." Even if he flies, which he's going to insist on, he suspects they'll leave at the same time as the convoy. "I doubt any community here is in danger, but stay alert."
The slim brunette pats her holster, expression turning grim. "Just like I was taught."
Lori is called away then, and Merle detests seeing guns on the damned playground again. Years of peace have allowed them to relax so many things. Homestead was surprised before, and despite the threat possibly being five hundred miles away, no one is taking chances.
He leaves the playground as he sees Daryl and Shane jointly loading one of the military cargo trucks. When he approaches, he alerts them by clearing his throat. As much as Merle loathes the idea of both Shane and Scout going north with two newborns, he understands why it's happening. The boys have a much wider support system than the old style family system had. They know Lori almost as well as their own parents, even this young.
"We're sending the Huey ahead."
Daryl grimaces. "You sure that's a good idea? It's not subtle."
"No, it's not. But four hours faster is more help with the search."
"Welles can't fly, and Michonne and Noah are in Virginia," Shane begins, but the penny drops quickly. "Oh, shit. Sophia?"
"She's been given medical clearance, so she should be here by the time we're ready to go." With any luck, Carol won't have his balls for not opposing it.
"What about the other one?" Daryl asks.
"Doesn't have the auxiliary tanks installed right now," Shane replies, falling back on his security post easily. Apache is less useful for long flight."
Considering the Huey's been used a handful for medical rescues, Merle supposes that makes sense. They still have years of fuel stockpiled and carefully treated, but the Huey is more versatile than the gunship.
"How fast can we get that taken care of?" Merle asks, thinking over what they might need. If it's a random group, the Apache is overkill. But that other group that the women and children fled? The reports dictate something even larger than Homestead.
"I can get Jim's team on it. Rosita is on her way back with some of Terminus's guards. But without a second pilot, we can't take both."
"I'll radio Hilltop to ready the train and get Noah down here. We need to be prepared for every possibility."
"How bad is it, really, Merle?"
"We don't know yet. Until Logan wakes, we don't even have enough information to do more than search. They're predicting at least another hour of surgery, and the head injury makes him waking up unpredictable."
It isn't just Dana at Alexandria now. As soon as Aaron located Logan, both Hilltop and the Kingdom sent backup security teams to escort the Carson brothers. Emmett Carson's experience as a cardiothoracic surgeon is the teenager's best bet for survival with the chest wound. But the one thing they don't have is a neurosurgeon.
Shane runs a hand over his head, making the black curls go wild. "He's a tough kid. He'll pull through."
Merle certainly hopes so. The Dixons already lost one of their own, not to mention the Hilltop losses. One more, barely older than a child, will mean whoever is behind this will regret it even more than they already plan for them to.
- Shane -
Their last checks are complete and all the farewells given as Shane passes a final gear bag to Carl in the Huey. "Be safe. Keep an eye on everyone for me."
The young man smiles, but it's an expression without joy. "I will. Y'all won't be long behind us, anyway."
Carl glances over his shoulder where Sophia is giving her father a crash course in monitoring the gauges and conditions. She's never flown without Welles before, and Shane can see the tension in her shoulders.
"We'll be coming fast as we can, I promise." Shane drags his nephew into a bear hug. The offer for him or Scout or both to go on the helicopter was made, but someone needs to lead their teams north. They won't make it to Virginia before dark, unfortunately.
A big hand clamps on Shane's shoulder. He lets Carl go and turns to find Daryl. "Scout's hunting you. You sure you're both good with going? No one is going to fault you for staying," the younger man tells him.
How does Shane admit that as much as he doesn't want to take both parents from the twins for any length of time, he isn't sure anyone else can really get through to Scout when she's in the mode she's in now? There's no way she'll stay, not with Danny dead, Logan injured, and Honey missing. The babies are young enough that they'll be okay for a few days.
"If it seems we'll be gone very long, once we've assessed security, we can bring them to Hilltop." Shane actually considered it today, but their pace is too rough for infants. Once they're sure of what's going on, then maybe all of the kids can be brought north. If not, they may be sending other children south.
"Alright." Daryl turns him loose and tosses a bag in the Huey. "Stay safe on the ground."
With a nod, Shane backs up, letting the rest of those flying north, all Daryl's hunter teams plus Cricket, load into the helicopter. "Go find our girl," he calls out.
Daryl salutes him from the doorway before sliding it closed. The Huey lifts into the air as smoothly as if Welles were flying, rising to altitude and putting on speed. By the time Shane reaches the lead Humvee where Scout is waiting, it's out of sight.
"You want me to drive?" he asks, running a hand along Scout's forearm where she's leaned against the frame of the open window.
She shakes her head. "Need the distraction."
Shane rounds the front of the vehicle, looking back to see everyone is loaded up. When it seems they are, he climbs inside and shuts his door. Scout puts the Humvee in gear.
As they pass through the last of the gates, a runner closing it behind them, Shane reaches over and slides his fingers around her elbow. His wife looks down at his fingers against her pulse point in an imitation of her comfort move. It's not a smile, but her expression relaxes just a fraction from that rigid sterness she's been stuck in since the alert summoned them to the watch room.
"We'll find her." He can't imagine anything else.
Scout nods, but doesn't speak, turning her eyes back to the long road ahead.
- Carol -
Logan still hasn't regained consciousness hours after surgery. No one tries to dissuade Carol from her vigil next to her son's side. She's never regretted the loss of MRI technology more than now, when all they can do is X-rays and surgery.
His blond hair is completely shaved on one side, although you can't tell under the bandages. It's a waiting game to see if his brain can heal from the skull fracture, because anything invasive is as likely to kill him as the original injury.
At least he's breathing on his own, although he's got as much wire as stitching holding his torso back together. Emmett spent hours finding bone fragments, removing the two floating ribs, and making internal repairs. The injury is eerily reminiscent of Rick Grimes's medical records Carol reviewed years ago.
Just like Rick's police body armor failed when he was shot from the side, Logan's failed because military grade armor or not, he wasn't wearing side plates. They have had miracles happen before, so she can only wait and pray that Logan making it this far is a good thing. It has to be.
They lost Danny today. They can't lose Logan, too.
The whomp-whomp-whomp of an approaching helicopter drags her attention from the monitoring equipment. As much as she hates the idea of her pregnant daughter flying, she can't deny that having her family here faster is something she's grateful for. She waits in the tiny infirmary, knowing they'll come to her.
It's the quietest she's seen them in ages when Merle, Cricket, Sophia, and Carl arrive. She can hear others outside, but they're talking to Eric and Aaron. It's likely that they're being prepped to join the search teams. Finding Honey may be a needle in a haystack, but they have to keep trying.
She lets Merle envelope her in his strong arms, drawing strength from his sturdy form. The girls bypass both parents to hover over Logan. Sophia steals Carol's chair, easing the teen's hand in both of hers and speaking too softly for her mother to hear. It's no surprise that Cricket has the chart, reviewing it while fighting off tears at the sight before her.
It's Carl who finally speaks, hands gripping white knuckled on the footboard of the hospital bed. "We're going to find who did this and make them regret ever being born, aren't we?"
"Yes, son, we most certainly are," Merle replies.
A/N: Timeline wise, keep in mind that Honey was captured around 40 hours before meeting Negan. Next chapter will be focused on her, however.
I do need to remind readers that this isn't a fire and brimstone war story. Negan's fall will be a coup from within, much like how Eugene betrayed him in the show.