Disclaimer:

Carol Peletier, Sophia Peletier, King Ezekiel, Henry, Jerry, Shiva, and any other recognizable character or plot of The Walking Dead belong to AMC Network and Skybound Entertainment, Image Comics and Robert Kirkman.

In no way is the author claiming ownage of any of the characters nor is there any economic/monetary gain at any time. The author is extremely respectful of the original creators and is willing to take down this work of fiction if requested.

No copyright infringement intended.

Original characters are the property of the author.


Chapter 7: Time To Rise


"No! No! Stop! STOP! MAMAAAAAA!"

Carol is jolted awake by Sophia's blood-curling screams which bounce around in Ezekiel's room. She reacts without thinking, turning on the lamp on the bedside table then gathering Sophia in her arms. The little girl twists against her embrace, pushing her away, swatting at an invisible force, trying to escape the nightmare she is currently wrapped in.

"MAAAAAAMAAAAAAA!"

"Shhh, Sophia it's all right, sweet pea." She whispers near her daughter's ear, hoping it will be enough to calm her but Sophia keeps on struggling.

"STOP DADDY! NO HURT! MAMAAAA!"

"I'm right here sweet pea." Carol insists even as she hears the thundering footsteps coming towards the closed door. "Ed isn't here. It's just you and me, we are safe. Wake up, my love." Carol begs.

Sophia continues pounding her little fists against Carol's chest, though the strength behind them lessens. In front of her, the door opens showing a bewildered-looking Ezekiel. His eyes are wide, his fist clenched tightly as he prepares to fight against whoever is making the little girl cry. He breathes hard but doesn't say anything, Carol's not sure he even understands what's happening as he looks around in an attempt to find what has hurt Sophia. When he finds no immediate threat he turns on the light, bathing them in a soft white glow.

Sophia's eyes are still closed, though Carol can tell she's not asleep anymore. Her brow is furrowed and sweaty, her arms held tightly against her chest. Her cries have turned into small whimpers. "Open your eyes, sweet pea." She whispers as she gently caresses her daughter's sweaty cheek. "It's all right Sophia, Mama is here. Ed isn't here, he can't find us."

She feels the bed dip as Ezekiel sits on the edge of the mattress. He continues being silent though Carol can hear his breathing. She's grateful that he hasn't said a word because she's not sure what Sophia's reaction will be. Carol can feel his eyes trained on them but instead of it putting her on edge, his gaze actually calms her, makes her feel safe.

"Open your eyes sweet pea." She begs once more. Her daughter is afraid of opening her eyes and finding Ed in the same room as they are, Carol can't fault her but she knows she must also encourage Sophia to face her fear by reassuring her that she is as safe as she can be. In her arms, Sophia slowly opens her hazle eyes, her chin quivering strongly, big fat tears running down the sides of her face. Sophia's eyes go wide and she quickly looks around, trying to find the phantom of her father. "See? No one is here but you and I and Ezekiel."

Sophia turns to look at Ezekiel then buries her face against her mother's chest. Ezekiel inches himself a little closer before whispering in a soft, tender voice. "Hey, Princess Sophia. Did bad dreams plague your slumber?"

Sophia nods against her mother's breast as she looks at Ezekiel from the corner of her teary eyes. She raises a hand and clutches at her mother's shirt, adhering herself to Carol almost like a baby koala.

"Was your daddy hurting you?" Ezekiel asks. Before Carol can remind him that Ed never hurt Sophia, that she had made sure of it, Sophia shakes her head against her chest.

"No," she whimpers. "Hurt Mama."

Carol cradles her daughter closer. She buries her nose in her daughter's strawberry blond hair, taking a second to inhale the scent that was uniquely Sophia's intermixed with baby shampoo before pressing a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

"He was hurting your mama?" Ezekiel asks softly. Sophia's reply is to give her head a nod before burying her face once again against Carol's chest. "That wasn't nice of him, was it?"

"It wasn't." Carol agrees as she gently smooths her hand over her daughter's back. "It's never right to hit anyone, right Sophia? We have to use our words, not our fists."

"Right, Mama." She presses her face against Carol's shirt then rubs it from side to side leaving behind tears and some snot, her little hands going up to rub at her eyes before she lets out a tired yawn. Carol knows Sophia will fight sleep, she always does after a nightmare. She gives Ezekiel a glance, hoping that he won't be displeased by wakening in the middle of the night. Instead, all she encounters is Ezekiel's sleepy face with a tender smile.

"Don't worry little princess." Ezekiel reaches between them and gently caresses one of Sophia's chubby cheeks. Carol expects her daughter to pull back, fear running through her tiny body. Instead, Sophia sniffles which is followed by a tentative giggle. "Your father will not breach the protection of this castle. It is strong, impassable even by the worst of foes. Your Mama and you are safe here."

Carol remains quiet as Sophia gives a little nod. "Safe." She hears her daughter whisper.

It amazes her how Sophia has not only opened up to Ezekiel but also accepts his words as if they were law. She truly believes that they are safe here, in Ezekiel's home, surrounded by their shared love for animals. Now more than ever Carol knows how important it is for Sophia to have a safe place, a place that no matter what happens, she can go back to and not have to fear for her or her mother's safety. Ezekiel has provided that safe place for Sophia and Carol has no idea how to repay him for that kindness.

"Exactly. You are safe here. Even when you have nightmares."

Sophia's little hands release their hold on Carol's shirt as she relaxes in her mother's arms. She raises her hands to brush away tears before she giggles as Ezekiel teases her side. Wiggling she moves away from Ezekiel's nimble fingers, pushing herself deeper in her mother's embrace. "No tickles!" She squeals.

"No tickles?" Ezekiel asks, feigning ignorance. "But I am the tickle monster, I must tickle the beautiful princess."

"No!" Sophia squeals, her mouth wide in a smile, hazle eyes bright and sparkling, the remains of her tears leaving her eyes slightly red and tear tracks drying on her cheeks. She's already forgotten the thread of her father's presence. She's already moved past the nightmare, the revived memories, and the tears. Now Sophia giggles happily, wiggling away from both her mother and Ezekiel as she rushes to grab hold of her stuffed tiger.

"Rawr!" She grumbles as she pushes the tiger in front of Ezekiel's face.

Ezekiel gasps and pulls back. "The Princess possesses a pet tiger?" Ezekiel playfully questions.

"Yes!" Sophia declares. "Rawr!" She repeats, jumping slightly as she pushes her tiger to his face once again.

"The strongest tiger in the land is the princess' most loved friend!" He declares dramatically. "What misfortune has befallen upon me! A princess and a tiger! I shall refrain from tickling the princess if only to save my life from meeting an untimely death."

"You two are crazy." Carol interrupts their antics with a shake of her head, though her lips were curled into a smile. "What will I do with you two?"

Sophia turns to look at Ezekiel as if to ask him silently if he had an answer. When Ezekiel shrugs at her, Sophia turns to look at Carol and gives her a tiny shrug of her own. Sophia then offers her the tiger for a kiss which Carol gladly gives.

A quick look at the bright red numbers shinning behind her daughter's form tell her how late, or early, it really is. "Do you feel better now, sweet pea?"

Sophia gives her a nod before pulling her tiger against her chest. "Yes, Mama. I sleep?"

Carol stares at her daughter surprised, though she then adds. "If you feel like it, baby."

Sophia turns to look at Ezekiel with an upward tilt of her chin. "I'm not going anywhere, Princess," Ezekiel promises her, making a cross over his heart. "Remember, you are safe between these walls. Your mama is safe here. Even your tiger is safe here." Again Sophia nods before climbing off her mother's lap, crawling her way across the space between Carol and Ezekiel only to take Ezekiel's face between her hands and give him a kiss on the nose, just like her mom gives her on occasion.

"All right. Everyone back to bed!" Carol declares, fully taking advantage of her daughter's sudden change in routine from fearfully fighting off sleep to actively wanting to go back to dreamland.

"You heard her, Princess Sophia, back to bed." Ezekiel declares as he stands up from the edge of the bed. He gives Sophia a kiss on the top of her head before kissing Carol's forehead, letting his lips linger against her soft skin. "Whatever you guys need I will be in the living room. I'll keep guard over your lair, rest easy, you are protected."

Carol finds herself nodding in agreement before turning towards her daughter who has snuggled under the covers once again.

If they are lucky enough, Sophia won't wake up screaming a second time that night.

If they are lucky enough, Sophia will never have another nightmare.

Somehow the thought doesn't seem that far fetched anymore.

Carol wakes with a start. For a second she's not sure what woke her but she's in high alert right away. It's only when she sees the unfamiliar ceiling and walls that she calms down. She's not at the apartment with Ed and that's all that matters. Her face hurts as she tries to move it around to judge just how badly swollen it is front he beating she received. She raises a hand and gently presses her fingers to the affected area only to pull back with a sharp hiss as soon as her fingers make contact. It's bad and she knows it just by the level of pain she feels and how her eye can barely open.

Turning, she moves to look for Sophia who surprisingly hasn't waken. That's when she feels panic erupt in her chest, Sophia is not laying down beside her. Quickly she moves out of the bed, trying to see if her daughter has rolled off. She's about to rush to the door, in a full state of panic while screaming her daughter's name, when she notices the neatly written note at the door.

"She's with me. Woke up again. No nightmares. We decided not to wake you." She reads under her breath.

She must have been far more exhausted than she originally thought if Sophia woke up, got out of bed, reached Ezekiel who then left her a note on the door and she still didn't wake up. She presses her forehead to the door, right over the note, taking a moment to calm her sudden rush of panic. Sophia is all right. She's safe. She is with Ezekiel. Ezekiel can protect her.

Once her heart has stopped racing she combs her fingers through her hair, unruly curls flopping everywhere, and smooths out her hands on the shirt she used to sleep in to try and iron out as best as she can the tiny little wrinkles formed in sleep. She goes to the bathroom and readies herself to face the day without letting stares of people seeing her injuries affect her. It's only when she's stepped out of the room and gone down the hallway, that she realizes they are not alone.

"I know what I am doing," she hears Ezekiel say in a hushed tone. "It might seem like I have lost my mind, like I have fallen for folly, but my heart is true and I know their's is as well."

"Do you really?" A woman's voice replies. Carol doesn't know whom this voice belongs to, but she can still detect that it is dripping with worry. "You've only known them for what... a couple of weeks, at the most and only because the little girl happens to be in love with tigers, yet here we are and you've already moved them in."

"I couldn't allow them to return to her husband. He would have surely murdered both of them."

"See! You know he's dangerous but you are willingly putting yourself in harm's way for a stranger! Zeke, you have to start using your head and not your heart."

"Shhhhh." Ezekiel hushes the woman. There's a couple of seconds of silence in which she feels like an intruder for spying on the conversation, but she continues doing so only because they were talking about her and Sophia.

"Have you thought about that?" The woman asks in the same hushed tone that Ezekiel has been using. "What you're gonna do if her crazy husband gets here and tries to kill her and the girl?"

"I'll protect them till my dying breath."

"That doesn't calm me at all Ezekiel." The woman says after she lets out a sigh. "You are way over your head. This is only going to end with you hurt and her dead."

She can distinctly hear the sadness in the woman's voice, the resolution of her words almost as if she has seen this very result thousand times over.

"Michonne... Carol is what I never believed I would encounter in life. I know you don't understand, or perhaps refuse to believe, but it feels like I know her, like I've known her all my life, as if we are soulmates meant to be together. Who am I to go against what fate has dictated? What you see as an imposition, as dangerous, I see as an honor, the honor to be in her and Sophia's presence for as long as I am allowed. This is what I'm meant to do, what I want to do. Will you help me?"

There's some rustling while Ezekiel and the women remain quiet. Then she hears someone sitting down on the couch, letting out a sound of defeat. "I hate you." She hears the woman say though by the slight sarcasm in her tone Carol assumes she's joking. "Sophia is a cute kid though."

"Please Michonne, help us get rid of the danger. You are the only one I know who can do it."

She hears another sigh of defeat but then silence falls upon the talking pair once more. "Fine, I'll do it pro-bono but you better be right, she better be ready to go through with the divorce and not just be playing. If I even detect a hint of her considering going back to that man I will drop it all."

Before Ezekiel can reply Carol is already making herself visible to the pair by entering the living room. "I'm not going back." She declares.

The site that greats her is not at all what she had envisioned. For starters, Michonne had sounded harsh and cutthroat leaving Carol to think she'd find a woman dressed in pristine expensive clothes with hair sleeked back and a no-nonsense look on her face, but in her place is a woman with a strong face but a caring expression, long dreads styled down her back with tiny rings on them to adorn her hair, she wears a couple of bangle bracelets in one wrist and a ring in the opposite hand.

For a moment she's at a loss of words and she turns to look at Ezekiel for help. She finds Ezekiel is laying down on the couch. That's when she's surprised again. His laid back position is a complete contrast to the begging he had been doing just moments ago. A quick look tells her why he's laying down while Michonne sits opposite to him; Sophia.

Her daughter, who had woken in the middle of the night, rests comfortably against Ezekiel's chest. She's fast asleep, lost to the world, without a trace of worry or residual fear from her nightmares marring her face. Her little rosebud mouth is parted, her hand curled against her chin as she sleeps the morning away. Her strawberry blond hair is a mess, a mess she'll have to deal with later. All in all, they present a picture that Carol has always longed to see, that of a happy family.

"Did we wake you?" Ezekiel asks Carol before sending Michonne a dirty look as if he's accusing her of being too loud.

"No... I...". She's still trying to find the words to say while she feels her very soul melt with the need to form part of the happily laid back family picture Sophia and Ezekiel present. "You didn't wake me."

"Is it safe to assume you are Carol?" Michonne asks her as she extends a hand for Carol to shake. Carol can see the pity in the woman's eyes and though it saddens her to be on the receiving end of such gaze, she can't really fault her. She knows, even though Michonne doesn't look directly at it, that she's looking at the shinner Ed has left her with.

"Yes," Carol replies before shaking the woman's hand. "And as I said... I'm not planning to go back to him."

"Good." Michonne gives her a sharp nod followed by a smile.

"Because we have a lot of work to do."

She's exhausted.

All morning Michonne has been grilling her about her husband's abuse, drawing up a rough timeline of when it started, when it got worse and when it became unbearable. She asked every question there was to ask one, twice and three times. She left nothing unanswered. It was easy to see why Ezekiel believed she was the one that could help Carol. Michonne was a dedicated lawyer, cutthroat when she needed to be and gentle when things got too emotional.

By the time Michonne declares she has everything she needs, the roller coaster of the past and present abuse her husband has inflicted on her has rendered Carol physically exhausted.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Carol." Michonne interrupts Carol's exhausted train of thought. "Given the amount of evidence that has been explained away to the hospitals and the fact that no one but Sophia has witnessed the abuse, it's going to be hard to prove that Ed abused you. It's your word against his, that's how the judge is going to see it."

"Michonne..." Ezekiel starts with a warning tone which is cut off by Michonne as she raises a finger in his direction.

"But I'm going to do my best to make sure that he's put away for a very long time. The pictures of your face and your testimony will help and I'm going to request any file they have from the list of hospitals you visited. The more injuries we can prove the better. I'm also going to file an emergency restraining order, file for child custody, as well as start the divorce procedures."

"A restraining order won't stop him," Carol whispers before turning to look towards Sophia who has busied herself by playing with her stuffed tiger and her baby doll.

"That's why you need shelter." Out of the corner of her eye, she sees as Michonne shares a glance with Ezekiel. "Zeke has offered his home for your protection but he does have a job. You'll either have to stay in here during his shifts or you'll go with him."

"I'll stay." She replies

"She'll travel with me," Ezekiel answers at the same time.

"You'll have to talk about it." Michonne declares, her eyes switching from one to the other. "Whatever you decide you need to stick to it. Are you sure Ed has no way of knowing where you'd be?"

Carol nods slowly, dread setting in the pit of her stomach as her mind reminds her that this is too much trouble to go through for the likes of her.

"Are you sure Carol? This isn't just about you and Sophia anymore. Ezekiel's safety is also something we have to consider."

Carol's eyes quickly turn to look at her then at Ezekiel. She has to fight the impulse that has been growing all morning to call the whole thing off. It's a losing battle she's about to forfeit when Sophia's sing-song voice reaches her. She turns to look at her daughter who for the first time seems completely at ease, playing without having to look over her shoulder in case her father flips. She's moving her head from side to side, humming a lullaby, as she 'feeds' her dolly before rubbing her face against her tiger's soft fur. She has to do this for Sophia. The dread is still within her, the impulse to run is still there, but the strength she gathers from seeing Sophia finally enjoying life is too strong to be squashed by her insecurities and fears.

"I'm sure." She replies. "We never told him we were leaving the apartment and we never mentioned the zoo."

"Good." Michonne gives her yet another nod. "If for whatever reason, at whatever time, you feel that he knows where you are, or you see him near here or near the zoo, call the police then call me, understood?"

"Yes."

"Just..." Michonne's change in tone of voice from cutthroat to soft has Carol looking up. She can see the concern on the woman's face, concern not only for Ezekiel's well being but for Sophia and her as well. "Just be careful. I'm going to do everything I can to rid you of your husband, but I need you to be careful."

"I will be," Carol promises.

"All right," Michonne says with a flair of finality. "I'll leave now, get started on the paperwork. I'll come by to have you sign the divorce papers and deliver the restraining order."

Carol watches as Michonne gathers her things before sending a silent look towards Ezekiel. She knows what the look means and she finds herself feeling a sudden rush of shame. She quickly looks away and tries to stop the slam of emotions that surge through her. She feels so inadequate, like she's just a burden to him, a burden that could potentially cost him his life. There is no doubt in her mind that Ed could reach that level of violence and the last thing she wants is for Ezekiel to be hurt.

"You mustn't hide." She hears Ezekiel tell her as he moves from his sitting spot to sit beside her. "The situation is overwhelming but in the end, all that matters is that you and the Princess feel secure."

"I don't want to get you in trouble." She manages to squeeze the words through her constricted throat. "Ed... he wouldn't doubt in killing us."

"Carol, I live a calm pleasant life. I have no enemies as I have procured to harvest friendships out of those I meet. I have no doubt your husband is someone we need to keep guard from but I promise you," He pauses as he gently coaxes her to turn and look at him. "I promise you I will not let any ill will befall upon you, even if it means laying down my life for yours and Sophia's."

"But I don't want you to!" She quickly intersects, the tears that have gathered in her eyes now freely falling down her cheeks. "I don't want you to be in danger, I don't want you to have to support my daughter and I. I don't... you shouldn't have to deal with a useless woman and her kid."

"The person who has called you useless doesn't know or can't see the pureness of your soul, the strength you have within you."

"I'm not strong,". She says as she brushes away her tears. "I'm not."

"You are... you just have to find the strength within you. You have to believe in yourself as I believe in you."

"And if you are wrong? If I really am not strong?"

Silence falls between them and around them. Hearing no sound from her daughter, Carol turns to look at Sophia who is looking intently at them. Her daughter doesn't seem scared, instead, her big hazel eyes seem to hold the promise of a new future. She knows she has to keep trying for her, knows she has to keep telling herself she can do it, reminding herself what she's fighting for. It is not just her liberty but Sophia's well being on stake.

When she turns to look at Ezekiel she finds that he is also looking at Sophia. He has a face splitting grin on him as he opens his arms and leans back against the couch, perching an arm on the backrest and one of the armrest. Finally, he turns to look at her. "Do not doubt yourself for neither Sophia nor I believe you to be weak. You are the Phoenix and milady...it's time to rise."