Carol was terrified, as the men approached her and she started to back away. It was obvious to the men that she was so one of them put up his hands and called out to her.
"You allright?" He asked, stopping his movement forward.
Carol nodded.
"You need some help?" He called out again, trying to size her up. He could tell she was shaken and it was obvious she had been through hell. Being a genuinely nice guy, he didn't want her to be afraid of him.
Carol looked around as if searching for any other alternatives before answering.
"I've been walking through the woods for three days. I saw this road, but there were walkers everywhere. I thought I'd lost them." She explained.
"Why don't you come with us? We've got food and water. You can leave tomorrow once you've rested, if you'd like." He offered but he could tell she was nervous so he added, "There's plenty of other women here as well. You won't be alone."
She looked relieved, pausing for a moment, before nodding.
"Come on. Let's get you settled." He said, motioning with his hand for her to follow.
She passed by the gates, following the man who'd been talking to her. Upon entering, she was immediately struck by the normalcy of the town. Children were running around playing tag, women and men were in groups, talking and working. She saw gardens blooming and someone was playing a guitar. She was amazed that they had managed to build all of this and smiled with nostalgia.
"This way," he turned around to walk backwords, "By the way, my name's Aaron." He introduced.
Carol smiled shyly.
"And you are…" he asked, trying to assess her. She seemed to be somewhat timid and she was definitely overwhelmed with everything.
Startled, Carol stopped staring at the surroundings and turned to look at him.
"Oh! It's Carol." She blurted out.
Aaron smiled warmly, opening the door to their headquarters to allow her in.
Stepping into the building, Carol noted how many armed men there were inside and it made her nervous. She must have looked visibly disturbed by it, because Aaron smiled encouragingly at her.
"These guys are our guards. They patrol and keep us safe." He nodded at a few of them who were checking out the "new" guest.
Taking her through a few more doors, he led her into a room where three men were gathered.
One of which was Merle Dixon.
Carol gasped when she saw Merle's face and he did a double take before breaking out in a wide grin.
"Well look what the cat dragged in." Merle hooted, swaggering over to her.
"Merle?" Carol was shocked. She hadn't expected this. Her mind began racing with panic, the walls closing in around her. She stumbled a little, feeling lightheaded. She knew she was going to get found out, probably die, but she didn't think it would be this soon.
Merle saw her sway and actually took her arm to steady her.
"Woah there girl." He said, helping her over to a chair.
"You know her?" Aaron asked, surprised as well.
"Hell yes I know her. She was married to that asshole, Ed, used to smack her around." He offered, checking her out like she was prey.
Carol sat in a stupor of shock, scrambling to think of a plausible story now. They had come up with one but no one knew that Merle Dixon would be here.
"What happened? They leave you behind too?" Merle asked, shoving a canteen of water into her hand. Even Merle noticed how pale she looked all of a sudden.
Carol shook her head, no.
"N…no. I got separated…at the farm. There was a herd." She answered somewhat truthfully.
"The Gov'na gonna wanna talk to you." Merle said, nodding at one of the other boys to go and get him.
"Th…the who?" She stuttered.
"The man who run this town. He's called the Gov'na." He replied.
Carol shook her head, trying to appear confused.
"Why?" Carol asked.
"Cuz "our" mutual acquaintances done give him a hard time." He answered enigmatically.
"I don't understand." She said, looking up at Merle.
"He'll tell ya. For now, just relax, drink that water and tell me about Daryl." He ordered, pulling up a chair.
"Daryl? Daryl was at the farm." She told him.
"Did he survive?" Merle asked quietly.
Carol looked at Merle sympathetically. Merle was a dick, but Daryl still loved him.
"I saw him riding away on his cycle." She answered honestly, not adding the part where he rescued her as well.
Merle nodded.
"I pray he's alive still." Carol said quietly.
Merle laughed.
"You sweet on my little brother?" He asked merrily, enjoying her discomfort.
"Merle!" She expounded, "Stop it! I cared about your brother. He was good to me when…" Carol paused, letting the emotion of losing Sophia fall across her face.
"When what?" Merle was curious now.
"When my Sophia went missin'." She answered softly, sadness bringing a frown to her face, "He searched for her long after everyone else gave up."
"Sounds like maybe my little brother was sweet on you." Merle whooped, laughter accentuating his loud exclamation.
"No. He wasn't. He just…cared." She finished, trying to end the conversation now.
Thankfully, a tall man with a patch over his eyes entered the room, interrupting any more conversation with Merle.
"Well who's this?" the man asked, his southern drawl charming and dripping with honey.
Merle shoved his thumbs into his belt and said, "This here is Carol. One of the old group."
Carol could see the man's jaw clench tightly and surmised that this would be none other than, The Governor.
A chill ran down her spine.
"The old group, huh?" He asked, looked her over.
"They got split up at a farm when it was overrun with walkers." Merle supplied the answer for her.
"Really?" He drawled, his eyes narrowing.
Carol shifted nervously, looking nervous.
The Governor must have noticed because his voice became somewhat lethal sounding.
"Why you look so nervous?" He asked her.
But it was Merle who rescued her.
"Ah, that's just how she is. Her old man used to beat the shit out of her. She's always been timid." Merle stated, snorting at the thought of that stupid son of a bitch, Ed.
Carol looked embarrassed and stared down at her feet.
The Governor looked at the woman sitting before him, noticing her demure posture and her quiet voice and nodded. It made sense.
"Well, nobody here's gonna do that." His voice actually softened, "You're safe now."
Carol took a slow breath and looked up at him.
"Let's, uh, get her a place to stay." He said, motioning for one of his men to take care of it.
"There's someone here who might like to see ya." The Governor said mysteriously, making Carol look at him with confusion.
The Governor held the door for her, and she walked through it. Taking her down the hallway, she was brought into a room with a fireplace.
Carol gasped in surprise, and then cried out, putting her hands over her mouth.
Standing in the middle of the room…was Andrea.