Chapter 23.
Daylight.
"What's gonna happen to him?"
Rick ran his hand through his hair, no answer in sight. Her words were simple enough, and Rick knew of a few things that should happen to him – jail, at the top of the list. But there were no prisons anymore, no law apart from fellas with guns, and fellas without.
"I'm not sure," Rick said, reaching over cautiously, closing the gap between them. He put his hand on hers, found her shaking. "If he was really a part of that…"
Carol pulled her hand gently away from his, not unkindly. She gave a sad smile, tightening her other arm around her daughter. "Are we sure that he was? He says he wasn't."
Rick had lost count of how many women he had seen defend their abusive husbands to the death. Sometimes literally.
But Sophia piped up, "He was. Daryl said he was."
Rick stared at the girl, having never seen her so confident. She rarely spoke to him, and he wasn't sure she had ever looked at him for quite this long, quite this directly. Maybe having her daddy handcuffed inside the RV on the other side of camp gave her confidence.
He said, "Daryl said that?"
"Yeah."
"Did he say anything else?"
"No." Sophia bit her lip, glancing at her mother before adding, "He was… he's the reason they let me go. I think they were gonna take me with them."
"Where?" Rick said. "Did they say a place? A town?"
Her eyes brightened, a memory. "Virginia. They were talking about Virginia."
A good drive from Georgia. Probably for the best they never crossed paths again. He and Shane had already agreed that following master trackers through the woods was a bad idea, especially now that they were almost out of ammo and food. Right now, their only priority was scavenging more supplies.
Rick knew Merle and Roy were slimy, felt it in his gut, but he wasn't sure what to think of Daryl. When Sophia had climbed up the quarry wall the night before, crying out for help, she told them that Daryl had brought her back. It would have been easier to kill her or leave her behind on some random road in the middle of nowhere.
Why did he go to the trouble?
It didn't matter now.
"He was a part of it," Rick said, clearing his throat. "And you and I both know that isn't the only strike he has against him."
Carol's eyes darkened, but she didn't look away. He could've sworn he saw a new strength building in her. From the time he met her on the highway to now, she had changed a lot. She was hardening on the inside. Even with a gash across her forehead from being attacked in the woods, even one night after almost losing her whole world in one fell swoop, she was still standing.
Rick said, "I'll think on it. He'll stay in the RV for now, handcuffed. We're gonna figure this out. I promise." He almost reached out again, habitually, but he stopped himself. Carol didn't like to be touched. He just nodded to them both, smiled, and ducked out of the tent.
It was violently bright outside.
Rick squinted, shielding his eyes as he went to join a group near the truck. Shane was using the hood to hold a map of Atlanta.
"If you take this highway in," he was saying, "There are a few little stores near the overpass, might have been overlooked so far."
Glenn gestured broadly, "I think a lot of this stuff evacuated early, locked their doors."
"Locks ain't keeping us out, won't keep others out," Rick said, stepping up beside Shane. "Have we decided who's going yet?"
Shane gave him a long, thoughtful look, probably wanting to talk more about what they were going to do with Ed, but he kept that to himself. "Glenn, T-dog, Andrea, and Jacqui are gonna head this way, like I was saying. I figure that leaves enough to hold down the fort here, you figure? Half of them are trained with firearms, and as much as the walkers like noise, might be a bad idea firing in the city. Me and you and William can go in through here, the May Tunnel. With less of us, we can probably move around unnoticed."
Rick looked around the assembled faces, finding determination and sadness in them all. It was a necessary trip to replace the stolen supplies, and some of them might not make it back.
"I know you're nervous," Rick said to them, keeping his voice as level and confident as he could manage. "But you've all made it through this so far. You made it here. You're survivors. When you get out there, you stay tight, you watch each other's backs. Be quick, be quiet, and don't take risks."
He took a deep, settling breath. Now came the worst part. Lori was already waiting outside their tent, her arms crossed, pretending to pay attention to Carl as he went through his math work.
Rick said, "I gotta go."
"I know," she said simply, not looking at him.
He stepped closer, tugged on her arm, drew her into a hug. He pressed his hand to her head, held her tight against him. "I'm coming back. I always do."
She tipped her head up, kissed his jaw, murmured against his skin, "You better."
He smiled, kissed her lips. "I'll see you tonight. I'll find us somethin' nice for supper."
Carl looked up, dropped his pencil, a sudden horror gripping him, "Are you leaving?"
"We need food," Rick said. "A bunch of us are going out, getting supplies." He went over to his son, crouched down, passed him his hat. "You know what I'm gonna ask you. I need you to keep this safe while I'm gone, and to keep your mom safe, okay?"
Carl took the hat, put it gently on his head. "When are you coming back?"
"Not long at all. You'll barely know I was gone."