I know, I know- it's been forever. I kind if want to keep my fic an episode or two behind Kirkman, so the plots coincide. However, with Jamie involved, I guarantee somethings will be different.
Jamie may start growing more independent- the group is united without a stable place, but Jamie's not some twelve year old crying over Ryder anymore. She's grown and killed, and as you saw in the last chapter- she can use her small stature and act like a little girl to play people.
Starting a new feature to his fic- Mailbag! I choose a few reviews from the previous chapter and respond to them. Check it out down below!
I'm not giving you anymore spoilers, nope! Nuh-uh. Just read it!
They tore through the brush like a bat out of hell. Thorns tore through their skin, raking their clothes and hair, but that was the least of their problems. They ran until they couldn't run anymore, until they fell into the leaves, panting and gasping.
And even then, it was only a minute's respite before they scrambled to their knees, getting ready to keep going.
Jamie tore off a piece of her jeans, wordlessly wrapping it around Carl's wounded arm.
Her wounded cheek wept blood onto the leaves, and she looked over at him calmly. "We have to get to the bag."
Carl nodded, reaching out a finger in an attempt to brush some of the blood from her cheek. All he succeeded in doing was smearing it across her face. He winced- it looked even worse now.
"Don't worry about it." Jamie said, stumbling to her feet. "C'mon."
Carl nodded, understanding her point. They'd be taking a risk, but it was worth it- Terminus would probably send people out after them. Not to mention the fact that their was no way they'd be able to do much with a revolver and a knife between them.
But it was going to be a long walk- they'd busted out from the other side of the compound. Meaning it'd be a long walk around to get back to the shack, and dodging Terminus.
"Let's move."
"Yeah, I got the bag. The chick with the sword knew what she was doing. No, I haven't seen the kid with the hat or the archer's kid. They won't get far- not without the bag."
There was the sound of a gun cocking, then, and Carol stepped out of the brush. "We're friends with the chick with the sword and the archer's kid."
The man froze.
"Finger off the button and drop it." Carol circled around the man, who quickly obeyed.
Carol tossed the radio away, then, and Tyreese stepped into the clearing behind her, holding Judith.
"Easy there. The kids and their people attacked us- we were just doing what we had to." the man said simply.
Carol shot him a disgusted look- Daryl wouldn't have attacked them unless he had a damn good reason to.
"You're lying."
"I'm not..."
"What were you saying about the boy in the hat and the archer's kid?"
The man grinned up at her. "You'll never know now, will you?"
Carol pistol whipped the man, and the side of his head made harsh contact with the side of the shack. "You'd best pray that girl is all right. Tyreese- tie him."
Gunshots echoed through the air, then.
"Is that terminus?" the man asked, looking concerned.
Carol allowed a slight smile to grace her lips. "Yeah. There's a herd headed towards Terminus right now, isn't there?"
The man suddenly looked nervous from where he was bound, and Carol nodded to Tyreese before disappearing into the brush.
"How many?" Jamie whispered anxiously. They'd been making their way towards the shack- they'd escaped Terminus on the opposite end of the compound, however, and it'd taken them three hours to walk a frustratingly short distance while dodging walkers and Termite patrols. It was becoming clear that this wasn't an hour-long stroll through the forest anymore.
Carl army-crawled out from where they were- under a small overhang of dirt provided by a tree's roots, intertwined above their head. He peered over the dirt, at the group of walkers milling around ahead, before ducking back inside.
"Twenty. Maybe more."
Jamie nodded, biting her lip. She was clearly thinking.
Their eyes met, and they both knew what the other was thinking. There was the sound of stumbling in the brush to their right, then, and they both pushed their hunched-over backs farther into the overhang. If they were out of sight, everything would be alright.
Still, the walker stumbled closer to them, looking curious... A moment later it peered beneath the overhang and saw them, and dead hands reached through the dirt, intent on killing its cornered prey.
Carl ducked, the heel of his boot colliding with the walker's knee with a sickening crack. The walker went down, falling forward, and Jamie's knife in its head made the moaning, rasping sound that was its breath stop.
They exchanged glances, looking from each other to the dead walker at their feet. Jamie crouched, rolling the carcass over and studying it, looking up at Carl.
"This is gonna be fucking nasty." she warned.
Carl simply nodded, and she sank the blade into the carcass's stomach. A rotten stench filled the small overhand as she drew the blade back towards her, slicing the rotting flesh up to the ribs. Carl fought the urge to gag, and Jamie blinked rapidly, struggling to keep her eyes from watering at the acrid stench.
She'd done this before, she reminded herself, as she reached a hand into the sack of dead flesh. But still, it'd seemed like decades since she'd covered herself in walker guts and raided the Walmart. But really, it'd only been a year and a half ago.
Carl was watched with a slightly disgusted but determined look on his face, and she drew her hand out of the walker, holding a handful of putrid guts. She swallowed back the acid she felt burning in her throat, before slapping the guts onto her shirt.
Carl winced, before he, too, startled rubbing the entrails of the walker on his bare arms, moving on to cover his torso and thighs.
She continued as well, all the while praying she'd be able to get the smell of dead out of Ryder's old jacket.
When she looked up at Carl, he was equally bloodied down his front half. Her hair touched her bloody shoulders, and she realized how dumb she'd have to be to walk into a herd with it this long. One grab, one pull, and she'd be bit.
She gathered her hair into a pony tail, doing her best to clear the guts from her knife before in one swift move, cutting. She dropped a fistful of chestnut hair to the ground, and Carl stared down at it for a moment, understanding why she'd done it.
"Let me get your back."
And the smearing commenced. She sat as still as she could while Carl smeared intestines and shit across her back. She could remember a time when, at the prison, they'd have found this really fun, hands skimming over each other's bodies like this. Now, though, all that was in the air was a smell of decay and worry- they were truly on their own.
She finished smearing guts on Carl, then, covering every visible inch of flesh. You could never be too careful.
When they both decided they were amply covered, Carl nodded to her. "I'll take point."
And before she could argue, he was gone. She swore quietly- why'd he always have to be so damn brave- before she, too, ducked out from beneath the overhand, facing the herd before them with trepidation.
Carl had already started towards the herd, who seemed to pay no attention to him. They'd done a good job of smearing, she realized, when a stray walker brushed past her without so much as a second glance.
Carl shot her a glance, nodding, before he disappeared among the bodies.
She let out a breath. She could do this- she HAD to do this. Carl was doing it, and if she wanted to get to Carl, she had to walk through. She took one step closer, two... She brushed shoulders with a long-dead looking woman, the skin around her mouth worn away to show where her teeth fit into her head.
She stared into the amber eyes, unable to break contact, before she was striding past the next walker, and the next.
It was unnerving, really- to walk through a herd of the undead, not sure if they'd find you out, pick up your scent at any moment, and go for you.
She was a coiled spring, ready to snap at a moment's notice. But one slip- one move to take out a walker- and the herd would realize what she was, see through the guts. And they'd converge on her.
After what felt like an eternity, the group began to thin. Slowly but surely, she walked on- if a walker did figure out what she was, try to claw her- there wouldn't be anything she could do to kill it without drawing the attention of the whole herd. It was easier to walk without worry when she knew it was really just her against fate. She'd fought fate her entire life, it seemed, for her very existence- and she hadn't lost yet.
She peeled off from the herd at the very end, seeing Carl was doing the same. She fake-limped the next twenty yards, waiting until they crested a hill and were out of sight of the walkers, before she fell into step beside Carl once again.
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when she saw him, saw there were no new scratches or bites amidst the guts he'd smeared on himself.
And she gave him a half-smile, knowing they might die but not really caring. Things looked grim, sure- but they'd been looking that way since the world went to shit.
They'd fought fate for years, now, it seemed- to survive in this hell of a world. And they hadn't lost yet.
Carol fired- the tank exploded in a hellish fireball. But she didn't smile, didn't celebrate. Instead, she fell into step with the herd, ignoring the screams of the dying and dead as the walkers feasted on their wounded bodies. They were none of her concern- they'd made there bed- now they had to sleep in it.
She ducked into an an alleyway when she saw one of the the termites that was still alive struggling to fight off the impending herd. Bullets ricocheted around the building, but she easier peered around the corner, finding the man's forehead in her scope. She fired.
The shot, amidst the hellfire and chaos, only managed to attract the attention of one stumbling walker, which she easily stabbed in the head. She strode into a building that seemed relatively untouched, then, away from the chaos and moans of the dead and dying. The gunshots were muffled, here, it was like the eye of the storm.
Several plastic tables were set up, and on them sat an array of weapons and personal items. A locket, open, revealing a blood-spattered picture inside. An engraved knife, a filthy teddy bear, a rifle with the name carved into the handle...
She stopped dead when she laid eyes on it. The familiar looking silver watch- Rick's watch. She pocketed it, before she noticed what made her heart leap to her throat.
His crossbow. Scuffed and dirty, covered in scratches that showed the silver metal underneath the black paint. And, thrown haphazardly beside it, an all-too familiar compound bow.
She wordlessly hefted the crossbow behind her, clipping it onto a line she'd strapped to her shoulder, before doing the same with Jamie's bow, slinging her quiver over her shoulder as well, to hang beside it.
She turned, then, leaving- she'd gotten what she could carry, what she'd come for. There was more to do.
Daryl flanked Michonne as they fought their way through the held. This was as close to hell as he'd even been, he realized, amidst the gun smoke and the smell of death. Desperate pleas and screaming filled the air, but it was all they could do to work to get themselves out, to keep the walkers surrounding and rushing them at bay.
He was glad, for one, Jamie wasn't with him. Glad she'd escaped this. Some desperate part of him wanted to hope she was holed up in a tree somewhere, simply waiting for him to come.
He was used to walkers, of course, but the sheer number of them was enough to make everyone doubt they'd make it out alive, brandishing only sharpened stakes of wood and stolen assault rifles. But they jumped the chain link without incident, disappearing into the woods.
They ran like hell for about ten minutes, before they were certain they weren't being followed. Terminus wouldn't survive the night, let alone had forces enough to come and search for them.
They were debating a plan of action, then.
"We need to find Jamie and Carl." Maggie said seriously. "They're out here somewhere, they couldn't have gone far..."
"That's what I'm worried about." Rick admitted, and they all fell into somber silence.
"What are you guys talking about?" Glenn looked confused. "They were the ones that blew Terminus to hell, weren't they? They probably got in there somehow, got weapons..."
But as Glenn spoke, Daryl saw her. She was walking up, silent as ever, wearing that small little smile...
He ran to her, then, threw his arms around her. All his breath had been stolen at the mere sight of her. He hadn't seen her in what felt like years, had only chased after her in his dreams. He'd thought she was gone. But here she stood, before him.
He held he close, then, sniffing- she smelled liked she always did. Like gunpowder and Cherokee roses. His rough hands ghosted over her shoulders, shocked that she was actually here...
She smirked slightly at his reaction. He was like a puppy dog seeing its owner after being lost- sniffing her, staring at her with those green eyes. And then he buried his face in her shoulder, just glad that she was there, and she wrapped her arms around the rough leather jacket that embodied Daryl.
They stayed like that for a minute or two before Daryl finally pulled back. Carol unclipped his crossbow from her line, smiling and handing it to him.
He grinned, running his fingers over the familiar metal before looking up, eyes concerned.
"Where's Jamie?"
Carol blinked, surprised. "I... I thought she was with you."
"She was." Daryl said quietly, voice barely above a whisper. He blinked, then, realizing the truth- Jamie was still out there. She was still alone.
"We need to get to the shack- that's where they'll be headed." Rick said firmly. They HAD to be, he reasoned- they couldn't be dead. not yet. They had experience in the world, alone, had survived alone for a night outside the fences at the prison...
Abraham looked on morosely. He didn't want to say anything, but the kids might not've made it. It wouldn't be the first time he'd seen people disappear and not come back- not come back alive, at least. And they might have to move on. With the way Terminus was burning the fire might spread to the forest by nightfall.
But something within him- some fatherly instinct that'd been alive long ago, one that he'd thought had died- flared up acutely, preventing him from voicing these opinions. Ever since things had gone to shit, all he'd wanted to do was to get to Washington.
But honestly- something within him wanted those kids to be alive. He just hoped they'd find them.
"Walk through?" Carl suggested. They'd come to a clearing, with five or so walkers milling around. They looked relatively manageable, and they were still covered in guts. It'd be much easier to walk through.
Jamie studied them carefully, shaking her head. "We need weapons. Look at the woman- leather jacket, empty holster... she was a survivor."
Carl nodded quietly, understanding her reasoning. "Got a plan?"
Jamie shot him a grin. "Hell yeah. Wait here." and she was gone, ducking behind a thick tree trunk.
She let out a sharp whistle, and the walker nearest to her- a long-since dead man- turned his head, stumbling over, curious. As soon as she was within range, she darted out from behind the trunk, knife plunging into the walker's head before he could react.
This attracted the attention of the other walkers, who started stumbling towards her at various speeds.
Jamie backed up, studying the four approaching undead skeptically, knife ready. a moment later Carl was behind the impeding crew, kicking out the back of one walker's knees, pistol whipping its head and allowing a gush of dead blood as the walker fell to the leaves, not dead but no longer a threat.
From there he moved onto the next walker, the woman, seizing a fistful of bedraggled hair and bashing her face into a tree until her brains oozed out her forehead.
Jamie, meanwhile, took a single step forward, thrusting her knife through the closest walker's forehead and stepping back, letting it fall, before kicking out the knee of the last walker, bringing it to its knees in the leaves, before stabbing it through the forehead.
She looked up to see Carl watching her carefully, revolver held at the ready incase she needed backup.
"Finish off the squirmer." she said, nodding towards the walker he'd pistol whipped. He wordlessly walked over, placing a booted foot on the half-dead walkers face and applying pressure, not wanting to waste a bullet if he didn't have to.
After its brains had squished out its eyes and he was sure it was dead, he knelt beside it, hands quietly searching the pockets, praying to find some sort of weapon.
"Anything?" A distinctly male voice asked.
the voice broke the silence of the group as they walked along towards the shack.
"I got a bowie knife and some shells." a different, but familiar, voice replied.
Rick turned to the group, surprised at seeing no one had spoken, before Daryl pointed.
"There." he said, voice gravely with slight anticipation. He recognized the voice, but didn't want to believe it.
"What caliber is that revolver? I found a few shells..."
Rick was already moving towards the sound, however, crashing through the brush.
They made it to the clearing in time to see Carl, revolver raised, having heard the sound of running feet, and Jamie flanking him, knife held at the ready to throw.
It was a moment before they recognized it was Rick and everyone, and Carl lowered the revolver, while Jamie sheathed her rather bloody knife in her belt.
"Holy shit..." Eugene muttered, staring.
And it was slightly shocking. The two teenagers who'd escaped Terminus relatively sweaty but clean that morning were now completely drenched in putrid guts and congealed blood.
But Jamie had seen Daryl and was off and running, not really caring at the moment about anyone else as she threw her arms around him. Daryl, for his part, dropped his crossbow as he caught her, grateful she was simply alive.
Rick, meanwhile, was jogging towards Carl, eyes anxiously scanning the boy for injuries. "I'm fine." Carl reassured him, and Rick wordlessly pulled the boy into a hug.
Jamie was still buried in Daryl's embrace when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned, finding herself face-to-face with Carol. Her breath was stolen from her, then, before she threw her around around the familiar frame, unable to stop herself or the tears that streaked down her cheeks, leaving streaks of visible flesh beneath the grime.
She buried her head in Carol's chest, then, content to simply lay in the strong embrace. She'd thought Carol had been gone forever.
And Carol simply smiled, brushing a haphazard tuft of chestnut hair back into place on Jamie's head.
All too soon, though, Carol pulled back, and her bow was being placed in her hands. She smiled, wiping her eyes before grinning.
Rick looked at the dead walkers quizzically, looking over at Carl. "You two killed these?"
Carl nodded quietly, and Rick studied the bodies approvingly for a moment, before they fell into step and walked on.
Abraham studied the kids quietly- they were clearly a hell of a lot tougher than they looked. They shouldn't have to do that, shouldn't have to fight of the undead daily and smear themselves in decomposing entrails to stay alive.
But the road to Washington wasn't going to be easy, he reminded himself. Still, he'd done a double-take when he'd seen the kids. They were tougher than they looked- he just hoped they'd survive the trip.
Mailbag
Jhill88; Omg I was soo not expecting that I'm all excited now are Jamie and Carl gonna find Carol and company and make plan to save everyone from the boxcars?
Response; Unfortunately, no. I would've loved to put Jamie with Carol- but realistically, I figured it'd take Jamie and Carl a few hours to circle around the compound and circumvent the approaching horde. Not to mention the fact that we haven't had much Jamie/carl interaction for awhile, not to mention I like the idea of them on their own (not for romance, but survival).
Bellabear; As always, perfection:) I love how Carl and Jamie get out, because so many fics focus on getting out of the train car, but in this they never went in to begin with. I know exactly how you feel about AP classes though, you actually have to try! It's so foreign. Update ASAP, I'm dying for Walking dead to return!
Response; Carl and Jamie's escape was sort of a tough one for me to puzzle out. i wanted just THEM out, not the entire group, and in order to escape the boxcar they'd have had to have had the others with them. I guess I just saw an opportunity for escape with Jamie playing scared- fool them, kill the, and run.
Britney; oh my gosh! where have you been girly? I loved this chapter and I cant wait to read the next one :)
Response; Unfortunately- school. Though I can't blame it all on school, I also have a major martial arts tournament (Supergrands in Buffalo) approaching, and I've been bumping up my training time. I'm really glad you're enjoying the story, though.