Part 16: Somewhere to Begin
Michonne noticed the long looks first. Next came the guarded whispers. First light always made things clear, and the newcomers weren't as skilled at hiding their plans as they believed. Rick and Carl had left minutes ago to tend to nature's call, so she nudged Lorenzo as he stepped from the cab of his truck to stretch. He must have recognized something in her expression because his hold on the tire iron tightened.
"What?" he asked, his face reddening. "Winchester?"
"Not Dean." She shook her head. "He's doing a perimeter check with Bob. Abraham and his people have been huddled for a little while."
"They know the vehicles are off limits."
"Knowing and accepting are two different things," Michonne stated. "Where's your brother?"
"The three of them slept in the Explorer, like you, Rick, and Carl. I don't know if they're up."
"He seemed…less agitated last night." She moved to lean against the bumper of the Chevy. They had packed it and were ready to move whenever Rick gave the word.
"Nik blows up and he cools down." Lorenzo shrugged. "He won't start anything."
Glenn stepped outside and went straight to Michonne. "Morning. Is Rick around?"
"He should be back soon," she said. "What's going on in there?"
A slight frown wrinkled his brow for a moment. He glanced toward the double glass doors and when he turned back to face her, understanding lit his dark eyes. "You heard?"
"Not word for word, but enough." She folded her arms across her chest. "They don't want to test us."
"They won't," Glenn stated. "It's settled. Maggie and I worked it out. They won't be a problem."
"When you say, 'It's worked out…' what do you mean?" Lorenzo asked.
"They'll join us until they find workable vehicles—"
"Fine," Michonne said.
"But that's not the problem. Daryl and Sasha left," Glenn continued. "Sometime before daybreak."
"They're probably hunting," Lorenzo said.
Glenn shook his head. "Beth thinks she heard them mention Tyrese."
"Damn," she murmured under breath. "Of course."
"We can't just let them do this alone," Glenn said, his voice firm to match his worried face.
"We won't," Michonne said.
Nik checked his rifle again. Waiting had never been something he excelled at, so he had grown to accept this flaw in himself. Not that he was flawless. He had plenty, but since they started out on the search for Daryl and Sasha, he hadn't been able to shake a sense of unease.
He and Bob had volunteered to keep watch of the vehicles while the others followed the tracks into the woods. Daryl's Harley was found lying on the side of the road about ten miles from the sanctuary. Dom had positioned the hog upright and now kept a hand on the bars as if he was the bike's personal bodyguard. Nik regarded his son with a faint smile. When everything went to hell, Dominik had been a boy. Nik wasn't sure when his firstborn had transitioned into manhood. It pained him to not know how his daughter fared. Thinking of Noelle always produced a ball in his throat, but when things were quiet, he couldn't stop his mind from reminding him of the early morning when she was born, her first words, and how adorable she was at her first ballet recital. He tried to be strong in Dawn's presence, but his ache grew with each passing day.
"How long have they been gone?" Bob asked, coming to stand beside Nik.
Nik glanced at his watch. "Not quite an hour."
"I hope Sasha finds him," Bob stared at the tip of his machete. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Daryl went with her."
Nik nodded. Bob's interest in Sasha had seemed more than platonic and now, Nik had confirmation. Love triangles were tiring and added unnecessary stress in an already tense situation.
"Have you been with the group long?" Bob asked.
"Long enough, I guess." Nik heard rustling in the bushes. He slung the rifle across his shoulders and reached for his knife. "Dom!" he whispered.
Dominik nodded in response and readied his weapon. Bob moved into formation, too. A low grumbling filtered into the rustling noises. Seconds later a trio of walkers appeared. Two appeared to have recently turned and the third was a moving pile of decay. The stench was strong, and Nik took deep breaths through his mouth. He gestured for Dom to take down the older walker. He and Bob moved in on the newer ones.
Nik's walker, formerly a well-built middle-aged man, proved insistent in claiming Nik for his next meal. Grunts joined his aggressive lunges, and Nik wished he hadn't secured the rifle. The tactic of killing walkers in silence often proved sound, but this monster kept deflecting Nik's knife to his head.
After disabling his walker, Bob moved in to aid Nik. He first slashed the walker's arms from behind. Dom shoved the walker to his knees. Then Nik drove his knife into the back of the walker's head.
"Damn," Nik muttered.
"You okay, Dad?"
Nik squeezed his son's shoulder. "I'm good. Thanks, guys."
Dom blushed, nodded, and headed back to the Harley. Nik and Bob moved the walker remains off the road and rolled them into a ditch.
"Before, I used to think I'd have time," Bob said quietly. "I was too busy to stop and spent way too much time avoiding what I didn't want to face."
Nik understood. In his pursuit of becoming a tenured professor, he had felt things were out of balance. Research, publishing, and lecturing kept him away from his family more than he liked, but he tried to fit the time in. Life shouldn't have been about squeezing minutes for his wife and children. He had it all mixed up. They never complained, but if he could do it over again, his career would not have been the priority.
"You're a lucky man," Bob said, jutting his chin toward Dom, who was now talking with his mother. "Very lucky."
"I am," Nik agreed.
He and Dawn met at the double yellow line, which centered the road. Her dark brown eyes danced with fire. Part was the usual excitement at seeing him, but something else brewed underneath. He did a quick scan of her face and body. No new bruises, cuts, or bites, so that gave him some relief. After rubbing his hand free of grime and walker residue, he cupped her face.
"What's wrong?"
"Needed some air," she replied. "Needed to check on my men."
"We're good. Did you come back alone?" He expected Lorenzo to arrive soon, or maybe Carl.
She shrugged. "Yeah. It's quiet out."
"Lorenzo should've come back with you," he said with more force than he intended.
"Babysitter not required," she remarked, eyebrow arched. "Dom said you had company."
"We're fine."
Her gaze drifted over him in a heated once-over. "That you are."
"Behave." He took her hand and they walked a few feet from where Bob was standing watch. "What gives?"
She released a deep sigh as she stared up at him. "I can't find them, Nikky."
"Daryl and Sasha couldn't have gone far. Not with the bike here—"
"I wasn't talking about them, but you're right. They're close by."
"So what else are you looking for?" He frowned. Their backpacks were always ready and within easy reach. The outline of her cell phone shone from her front pocket. What else could she have lost?
"My fucks," she said with all seriousness. "I looked the entire walk back, and they were nowhere to be found. Not a single one."
He bit back a smile. "Really? All of your fucks have vanished? You haven't saved any for me?"
"Well, I always have back up fucks for you, but…" She shrugged.
"Tell me this, whose ass am I kicking later?"
She then smiled. "You don't hit women."
"What woman?"
She shrugged. "It's stupid and petty. Girl shit. Probably best left out there."
"Tell me."
"Rosita got in my face. I guess someone overheard my conversation with Michonne about using clothes as a form of protection, embellished the language, and there birthed some passive-aggressive shit." She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Nik bit back a smile. Her "whatever" was loaded, and he debated whether or not to push the conversation. Larger groups usually led to personality differences. That had become their life, learning who clicked right and who didn't. He trusted his wife's instincts even when dished with her loaded catchphrase. Their family wouldn't have made it this far without her gut serving as a guide or warning bell. He pulled her to him, relaxing as her arms circled his waist. Several moments passed before her breaths became even and she leaned against him.
"I guess it'll work itself out," Dawn murmured against his chest. "Or they'll leave for D.C. Time will tell, right?"
"It always does."
#
Leaving the Harley could have been a bad call. At the time, Daryl decided it was the right decision. If Rick and the others followed, they'd see the bike and know something was off. If he and Sasha ran into assholes, the bike was away and couldn't be used as a bargaining tool. But now that they were stalking through high grass and headed closer to a ringing alarm, he questioned the decision. Daryl hated second-guessing shit, but he couldn't shake the questions in his head.
He'd lost track of how long ago they left the sanctuary or even the bike. Sasha had stopped him with a hard poke to his shoulder. He pulled onto the side, cut the engine, and that's when he heard the shrill sound. A noise like that would be a call to every walker within hearing distance. The fastest way to stop it would have been on the bike, of course, but driving the Harley through that high, dry grass promised crap that he didn't want to deal with. So now, they were maybe less than a mile away from the sound and not knowing what the hell they were walking into.
"I just have a feeling," Sasha said quietly. "We're almost there."
"Yeah," he said. He glanced at her and noted the strong set of her jaw. Her hands clenched her rifle and stick. The reunion with the others had been good except her brother was still out there. Somewhere.
"What do you think it is?" she asked. "Finding the sanctuary was luck. I thought there was nothing out here. Just trees."
"You'd be surprised what's hiding in the back woods, off the main road."
"Is that how you stayed off the grid?" Her mouth quirked into a faint smile. "Running around in the woods?"
"Running after Merle," he muttered. "Not proud of it, but I ain't ashamed either. It was what it was."
"You shouldn't ever be ashamed of your past—"
"I've done some stupid shit," he cut in. "I ain't no angel."
This time, she laughed. "I know Daryl. I'm not either."
Making her laugh struck him deep. He had almost forgotten the sound and how her face brightened when she was happy. He promised himself that he'd find Tyrese for her if it was the last thing he did.
"There's a farmhouse." She indicated with her stick. "That has to be it."
They broke into a jog. Side by side, they ran toward the two-story home and the trill sounds. At the gate, Daryl stepped in front and gestured for Sasha to remain behind him. Other than the noise, a strange stillness had settled over the land. Speakers jutted from beneath the gutters, but disabling them would take too much time. They needed to find the source.
"This way." Sasha touched his arm before heading to the back of the house.
Daryl kept his crossbow ready. The alarm was louder in the back. He kept expecting a horde of walkers to come from all sides. If that happened, he'd find a way for him and Sasha to scale the roof and wait it out. When they reached the rear, Sasha went inside the unlocked door. He guarded her as they hurried through the kitchen. She found the control box in the hall leading to the dining room. Daryl was silent as she punched a series of buttons. Quiet settled over them in a sudden rush. He stared at her, mouth dropped.
"What?" she asked.
"You totally hacked that shit."
She shook her head. "Just knowledge from the old days."
"It's a good thing I didn't have that knowledge in the old days," he mumbled.
They began the work of clearing the space, but considering the volume of the alarm, if walkers were around, he and Sasha would have walked into them. The house seemed untouched. Of course, there was dust and cobwebs, but overall, the place seemed to be waiting for its occupants to return. Furniture, knick knacks and all that shit appeared undisturbed. Daryl didn't know what to make of it.
"What the fuck caused that alarm?" he asked when he and Sasha returned to the kitchen.
"Beats me." She stared at him. "There's nothing here. Think it's a trap?"
He pressed a finger to his mouth. Her eyes widened and he shook his head.
"You hear that?" he whispered.
Noises, akin to grunts and murmurings, came from below. He grabbed Sasha's hand and they ran.
#
The tracks were easy to follow. If Rick wasn't worried about his friends, he would have been suspicious of how clear and deliberate the markings were. He heard Carl, Noah, and Beth talking just a few steps behind him and Michonne. To his far right, Abraham and Rosita marched as if they were heading to war.
"Daryl and Sasha..." Michonne gestured toward the prints with her kitana. "Two more. One has a limp or injury. The other is larger, carrying a weight." She looked at Rick and frowned. "What do you think?"
"You're damn good at this," he said with admiration.
She nodded. "Anything else?"
"Can't say if they came after Daryl and Sasha and that concerns me," Rick said.
"Rick." Glenn pointed toward an abandoned farmhouse that stood several yards in the distance.
The house was in decent condition without too much wear and tear. Only a few posts were torn from the picket fence.
"Everything is heading that way," Maggie said.
"Spread out," Rick said. "Michonne, you're with me. Carl...stay close."
Rick's grip on the ax handle tightened. Waves of overgrown grass and weeds fanned his legs. He crouched low, using the brush for cover and saw Michonne and the others doing the same. He had lost count the number of times he had rushed into unknown situations. Back when he was a Sheriff, protocol was in place, but that time felt like a century ago. The emergence of the walking dead changed everything. Sometimes, he wondered if his organs functioned differently now because the shit that used to scare him didn't anymore. Sure adrenaline rushes still happened, but instead of pausing to think things through, answers came faster. He just knew what to do. Most of the time his gut instinct proved to be the right call. Most of the time.
They were less than 10 yards from the house when the smell drifted over the rise. Then, the distinct mumblings followed. He released a warning whistle to his family.
#
Sasha was never one to question her decisions. The friends who had teased her about her interest in becoming a firefighter hadn't remained her friends for very long. The drive to serve was equal to the adrenaline rush that came with rushing in to do the right thing. That's what drove her now as she hurried into the basement, flashlight in one hand and weapon in the other. She sensed Daryl's anger that she had moved in front, but she had to and if he didn't understand, so be it.
After all this time, mumblings and noise in an abandoned building usually meant walkers. Some pour soul had succumbed to either their own hand or the idea of waiting it out would bring an end to despair. But walkers weren't waiting in the former man cave. Sasha's breath caught and her steps came to a sudden halt. Daryl grabbed her shoulders and then he muttered.
"Fucking shit."
"Sasha!" Tyrese, eyes wide and clutching a squirming blanket, rushed forward. "Sasha?"
"Oh God." She was in her brother's arms before she knew it, breathing him in and realizing that the squirming was another person. She pulled away to pull the blanket back. "Judith."
Behind her, Daryl moved. His hand skimmed her shoulder but it didn't catch hold. She felt his energy change. Anxiety and relief mixed together. She heard him gasp and that was enough for her to look away from the miracles before her.
Daryl stood just a foot from Carol. Just staring, not moving.
"Hi," Carol said, quietly.
Daryl nodded and gave her a quick hug. "How did…?"
"We found each other," Tyrese stated too quickly. "I had the girls and Judith. We were headed for Terminus."
"It's gone," Daryl said.
"It was bad," Sasha added. Emotions threatened to overtake her, but she refused to surrender. Discussing what happened and what was going on would have to occur later. "We thought we heard walkers down here."
"Back there." Carol pointed. "In the pantry. Too bad we couldn't get the food first, but it was the only way."
"As long as you're safe."
"What caused the ringing?" Daryl asked.
"Me," Tyrese admitted. "Tripped the alarm. Got them stirred up."
Daryl flipped a table over and pushed it against the pantry door. "That should hold for awhile. Gotta hope the noise ain't beckon no more of 'em."
Carol stood at the window which allowed a limited view of outside. She shook her head. "Can't see anything from here, but that doesn't mean anything. Did you secure upstairs before you came down?"
"Of course," Sasha said.
"Well, there's room for all of us," Carol said. Her gaze lingered on Daryl before she included Tyrese and Sasha. "Once we take care of them."
"We'll get 'em, get the food, but we ain't stayin'," Daryl said. He nodded at Sasha in silent agreement. "We gotta head back. Y'all are comin', too."
"Head back to what?" Tyrese asked, cuddling Judith close.
Sasha smiled at her brother and the baby. "Rick and the others. We're all together. We were. They can't be too far ahead or behind. We just left them this morning. And the sanctuary isn't too far away—"
"You said Terminus was gone."
"Not there," Daryl said. "We burned it. It was a shithole anyway."
"How far away are they?" Tyrese asked.
Before Sasha could answer, noise sounded from the stairway. She readied her weapon, but there was no need. Rick and Michonne stepped forward. Disbelief and tears wet the stoic leader's eyes.
Without a word, Tyrese stepped forward and placed Judith into Rick's waiting arms.
[A/N: More time has passed since the last updated, so if you're still reading, I truly appreciate it. :) I've been working on this chapter for quite awhile but life demanded my attention and I had to listen. Also, TWD took a few turns that…well, let's not go there. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to update more often than I have been!]
