Here we go! As always, thanks for the reads and reviews, they mean the world!
The city was eerily silent.
They were in one of the branching arms of Atlanta, surrounded by tall buildings and empty cars. The shattered windows of ground-floor stores gaped like angry jaws with blood-smeared teeth, and the walkers of people who had hung themselves dangled from the fourth and fifth stories, blowing in the breeze and snarling faintly.
Other than the pitiful corpses, the only sounds were the whistling of wind through broken windows and the quiet tread of their boots on the cracked asphalt.
"Mall's this way." Rick muttered, pointing with his long-handled knife. They crept around the corner, Mika and Rosita at the centre of their group. Rosita cradled Judith tightly to her chest, trying to keep her quiet, but the infant seemed so awed by the towering constructions that she sat mutely in Rosita's arms, her fingers jammed into her mouth and an expression of wonder on the tiny face.
Abe and Daryl slipped forward, ahead of the group, weapons drawn and scouting silently for lurking walkers. Daryl had found a tubi-bangage that was currently supporting his arm, although he had abandoned his crossbow in favour of a machete to reduce the stress on the almost-recovered limb.
The silence with which the men moved added to the surreal quiet of the scene. Surrounded by looming relics of pre-apocalypse life and abandoned vehicles, they crept almost inaudibly up the road towards the front entrance to the mall, communicating mostly by glances. Once they reached the bulletproof automatic doors, Daryl rapped sharply to draw out any walkers inside the mall, but there were none. Abe wrestled the doors apart with his crowbar, and after a quick sweep Daryl reappeared and beckoned them forward. With a sigh of relief, Rick squeezed Carol's arm and headed for the open door, disappearing down the street and into the dark opening at a trot.
The rest of the group followed, and Mika took Rosita's free hand in one of hers, and reached for Carol with the other.
"I'm scared of the dark." She whispered. Carol squeezed her fingers.
"That's okay." She answered, and pulled the girl gently inside.
It was very dim inside the building. It looked to be four or five stories tall, and had a fountain in the centre of the ground floor that had long since run dry. There was a faint green line in the rim that suggested the water had gone stagnant and evaporated, rather than been used by anyone living in the abandoned shopping centre.
The checkerboard linoleum floor was coated in a thick layer of dust, thick enough that the pattern was a little hard to discern. Long-dead pot plants stood morbid sentry outside each store, brittle branches rattling unsettlingly in the slight breeze that followed them in whilst Abe tried to jimmy the doors closed again.
The security rollers blocking each storefront were intact, and Sasha and Bob went to the nearest ones, dragging their weapons along the cage-like fronts and trying to attract any walkers that hadn't noticed them yet. Eugene and Maggie went the other way, covering the stores they hadn't checked yet.
Somehow, the mall was completely free of walkers, judging by the lack of activity as the rest of the group stood in the open space, barely breathing for the nervous tension in the air.
"Looks clear." Glenn said at normal volume. His voice echoed thinly in the cavernous building and everybody strained their ears for the sound of walkers.
"Guess so." Daryl said after a while. "Don't look like too many people'a been through neither. Place is locked up tight, no lootin' or nothin'."
Abe grunted with exertion, trying to manually force the locking mechanism he'd inadvertently destroyed into position to keep the doors shut. Every time he released it, however, it would slip back a little and the doors would crack open enough that somebody could slip through.
"We should hole up here for a few days." Rick said, now bouncing Judith gently.
"We couldn't just set up here?" Carl asked, a glimmer of hope cracking through his exhausted and cool façade.
"No," Rick glanced around nervously. "It's too attractive to anyone passing through. We're not capable of fighting for this place."
"We'll sweep every store in the place." Carol suggested. "Take what we need, lock it all back up again. Once we're settled we could come back here if it's still abandoned; get supplies as we can carry them."
"Good idea." Rick agreed. "It's getting darker in here." He observed.
"Sundown ain't far away. Y'wanna help me find somethin' to eat in here?" This part was directed at Carol as Daryl dropped his bag on the floor against the fountain.
"Sure." She said. "Just let me get a drink first." She let go of Mika's hand to rifle through her own bag, where she'd put a few bottles of water to share around, and the girl wrapped her arms around herself.
"Are you going in there?" She pointed tremulously at the dark storefronts.
"Uh huh," Daryl confirmed. "Hopefully there's somethin' around here for dinner."
"There might be walkers." She whispered.
"Sweetheart, there aren't any walkers in here that we know about… And they're not smart enough to hide from us." Carol said as she petted her blonde mop of hair.
"Be careful, okay? It's dark."
"We will be, a'ight?" Daryl tried to appease her. "An' 'sides, Carol's got nine lives. She'll protect us."
"Yeah," Carl chimed in. "You saw her take down those walkers yesterday!" He grinned and made hand-chopping gestures. "She's like a ninja!" He teased.
Carol dusted imaginary specks off her shoulder and blew on her fingernails. "What can I say?" She teased back.
"Come on, sensei." Daryl scoffed. "Let's find us some grub."
The first floor turned up a few chocolate bars from small displays and some granola squares, which, although not much of a meal, could be rationed out easily in a pinch. As they scavenged, they kept their talking to a minimum until they had completely inspected the stores for walkers. Each one was empty.
"What's up with Mika?" Daryl queried as they rummaged through drawers in the office of a shoe shop. It wasn't a store they would be clearing out for its actual contents. The walls were covered in displays of sparkly high heels and strappy, entirely useless sandals, and Carol made a note to keep an eye out for a hiking store or something similar for sturdy boots.
"She's afraid of the dark." Carol answered, reaching as far as she could into the top drawer. "I can't blame her, really."
"Guess not." Daryl shrugged, triumphantly holding up a flashlight scrounged from the cabinet containing a fire-extinguisher. "You findin' much?"
"Nope." She sighed. "Maybe we should check upstairs. I can't imagine a bite of chocolate and," She wrinkled her nose. "A chunk of 'Wildberry Rush' is going to fill anyone up. This looks awful, by the way." She held up one of the granola bars for him to inspect in the gloom.
"Probably so full'a preservatives it's still good to eat." He shrugged.
The next floor was more successful. There had been a food court, and the stench of long-rotten food made Carol gag slightly. Daryl wheeled around and let the swinging door shut behind him.
"Fuck, that's rank!" He breathed deliberately through his mouth for a moment. "You still wanna go in?"
She swallowed against the smell. "No. But we could find something in there."
"A'ight, then." Daryl bounced on his toes, hyping himself up to enter, then tapped her on the shoulder and headed in.
"You assholes better be hungry." Daryl announced as he and Carol descended the motionless escalator.
As they reached the bottom, they dropped their bags and let the contents spill out. Jerky and packets of dried fruit were distributed amongst them all, and Daryl revealed an abundance of bottled water. There was enough that everybody drank their fill and were able to scrub up with washcloths and body wash from one of the stalls over the sinks in the restrooms.
Whilst they had been searching for food, the others had hauled dressers and wardrobes from the first-floor furniture store to barricade the doors.
"There are beds in there." Glenn gestured. "They're so soft." He sounded a little dazed.
Carol sunk to the floor to eat her dinner, next to Mika who was happy to lean up against her.
"A'ight, squirt?" Daryl grunted at her.
She nodded back, feeling infinitely safer nestled with her surrogate mother.
Once everyone was finished, it was virtually pitch-black. Daryl flicked on his flashlight and packed away the remainder of the food, before heading to the furniture store and flopping onto the nearest bed to the door with a delighted groan. The rest followed suit, picking out where they were planning to sleep and gathering a few blankets to ward off the chill.
"Can I sleep with you?" He heard Mika ask Carol. "It's so empty in here."
"Of course you can," He heard over the soft murmur of people organizing themselves. "Where are we going to go?"
"Come on." He sat up and patted the mattress next to him. "S'gonna get colder yet."
Carol lay down, her back pressing against his, and cuddled Mika closely. "Are you okay?" She whispered as Mika drifted off. He rearranged the blankets over them all.
"Yeah." He replied. "You?"
"I wish we could stay here." She admitted.
He hummed. "Probably no good for more than a year, though. Saw the building certificate before an' this place ain't had a building inspection for fifteen years… Damn near ready to come tumblin' down, give it enough time."
"There's no water nearby, either." She added. "We should find a car big enough to cram full of supplies though."
"We'll sort it tomorrow, yeah?" His voice was growing groggy.
"Guess so." She nudged him lightly in the back. "Night, Daryl."
"Night." He muttered, and quickly dropped into sleep as she pressed closer to his back, trying to absorb as much body heat as possible.
In the end, they stayed for almost a week before they moved on. In that time, they'd scoured the mall top to bottom, hunting for useful items. They'd packed three cars full of food and bottled water, extra clothing and blankets. They'd emptied the pharmacy of everything they could think of, and grabbed toothpaste and hairbrushes as well.
They left because the most recent scouting mission around the city, consisting of Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Abe, and Daryl, had found signs of another group about forty minutes' walk away.
They'd discussed it long into the night, but nobody was willing to lose any more people over the mall, given that they had no information about the other group except that there seemed to be thirty to forty of them.
"What's a group that size doing wandering around?" Glenn asked.
"Probably same thing we're doing." Maggie shrugged. 'Looking for someplace safe to set up. Thing is, they're big enough to defend that place and we ain't."
They were currently in a sprawling hunting and camping store. It had had half-a-dozen walkers in it, but they were feeble and easily dispatched. They had split up into small groups, each searching for different items. Daryl and Glenn were clearing out the weapons section, gathering ammunition. Rick and Carol were in the clothing section along with Maggie and Bob, grabbing anything that looked hard-wearing enough to last a long time. Sasha and Michonne were grabbing hiking boots and sturdy shoes, whilst Eugene and Rosita kept watch with Mika and Carl. Tyreese was patrolling the dark and dingy remainder of the store, clutching the rifle with their final few bullets in it.
They had been in there for half-an-hour before Tyreese came bolting back as quickly as he could whilst remaining silent.
He gripped Carol and Rick by the arms and towed them back towards the rest of the group.
"What's going on?" Carol asked, but Tyreese clapped a hard hand over her mouth.
"Another group!" He hissed. "They came in the back of the store. I think it's the same group whose camp we found. We gotta go, now."
Carol's eyes widened in fear. "Get everybody out." She breathed.
At that moment, they heard Maggie scream.
Carol drew her knuckle-duster knife and raced towards the sound of Maggie's loud sobs.
"Maggie!" Glenn hollered as he sprinted towards the darkened rear of the store. Daryl threw him a box of ammo and he loaded his gun as he ran, dropping bullets in his haste.
They arrived at the same time to see Maggie sink to the ground, facing away from them, with a pair of arms wrapped around her neck.
Glenn choked out a sob and raised his gun, preparing to kill the walker that had somehow grabbed his fully armed and capable wife. He stepped around Maggie where she lay crumpled in a death grip with the walker, lining it up in his sights. He almost squeezed the trigger when he realised that, instead of grimacing in pain as she sobbed, Maggie was smiling.
He glanced in shock at the cluster of strange men who were watching him warily. They were all armed, but they didn't look afraid of the scene before them; rather, they were eyeing Carol, Daryl and Glenn with distrust.
"Mags?" Glenn tried. "Maggie, what's happening?"
"Bethie!" She cried, burying her face into the blonde tangle of hair. "Oh my God!" She began sobbing too hard to speak, squeezing the shaking body tightly to her, still kneeling untidily on the floor in the dingy light.
"Beth?" Daryl repeated. Carol had her hands clapped over her mouth, still hanging onto her handgun, tears running down her cheeks.
Maggie finally released her from her tight embrace and cupped her pale face, wiping away the tears that left smudges on her dirty cheeks. Beth gripped her sister's wrists as she bawled helplessly and Glenn stepped towards them, dropping to his knees and catching her as she launched herself into his arms. He sniffled as he hugged her to him, letting her soak his shirt with tears. Maggie beamed, face blotchy with tears, hands shaking, and he thought she'd never looked more radiant.
The men spread out a little, shifting anxiously. Daryl raised his crossbow as they slowly encircled him and Carol, and Beth choked out in sudden fright.
"They're my family!" She stuttered through her tears. "They're okay, I swear!"
The men lowered their guns and knives, and Daryl stared them down for a moment before he let the point of his machete drop to the ground, uneasy in the presence of so many armed strangers.
Rick jogged out from between the racks of clothing, hand on his handgun, but staggered to a halt when he saw Glenn and Maggie clinging to Beth.
Silence reigned for almost a minute as everybody came to terms with Beth's sudden return, until one of the others stepped forward.
"I'm Daniel." Said the scruffy-looking man. "I'm the leader of our group."
"Rick," Rick gestured to himself. "Carol, Daryl, Glenn and Maggie."
"Who's in charge?"
"Ah, nobody." Rick looked at him, then over his shoulder to the group of ten or so men surrounding them. "We've recently been… Displaced. We don't want any trouble." His eyes kept flicking disbelievingly to Beth. "Are you okay, Beth?"
"Fine." She whispered, blinking rapidly as Glenn rocked her, pretty much seated in his lap. Maggie had scooted over to Glenn's side and seemed unable to stop petting Beth's hair. "They're good people, honest."
"Is this all of you?" Daniel asked, gesturing at them with his rifle.
"No." Carol said. "We're just trying to get some supplies, then we'll leave you alone."
"We're not established here. We're just passing through, like you. Is there a destination in mind?"
Carol glanced at Rick anxiously. "Not as yet." She reached out to Beth with one slender hand. "Beth. Come on." She beckoned. Beth rose slowly to her feet and staggered towards them, falling into Carol's arms. "Oh honey," She cooed as Beth dissolved into another round of tears. "You're okay?" Beth nodded mutely against Carol's shoulder. The tears were beginning to threaten and she discreetly wiped at her eyes with a soft laugh.
"Is there… Is there any chance we could meet the rest of your group? We're hunting for a safe place too." Daniel glanced around hesitantly. "It's just, we have women… Children… One of the women is pregnant. We're desperate." He rubbed nervously at his short beard.
"We'll have to talk to the rest of our group." Rick said, fidgeting.
"We'll wait." Daniel said. "Thank you."
Beth threw herself against Daryl's chest and he wrapped his arms around her reflexively. "Daryl!" She squeaked. "I thought you were dead!"
"Back at'cha," Daryl muttered, looking decisively teary-eyed. "Glad you're a'ight, Beth." He patted her arm awkwardly. She let him go and went to Rick, who squeezed her tightly.
"Where's everyone else?" She asked. "Are they…?" She didn't dare finish the question, but Carol raced to reassure her.
"They're okay. Don't worry."
The rest of the group were ecstatic to see Beth, but they regarded her group with concern.
"They want to join us." Rick muttered into Michonne's ear.
"What are you thinking?" She asked. "We gonna let them?"
"They seem like good people. Me and Daryl are going to talk to them, you should come along. Try and get a read on them."
"Can we afford to take on thirty-odd people, Rick? We're just making it."
"We can pool our resources… They've got kids with them. Pregnant women."
She sighed. "We can talk to them, I guess."
Time to address reviews! I like having an open discussion going about the story and I really appreciate the comments!
*Guest: Any comments on the actual story? Writing style, that sort of thing? I'm aware the plan would exist but surely you wouldn't just assume everybody was okay (especially with the amount of sick people there) and disappear on your own merry path? I feel like Rick flip-flopped towards the end of S4 part 1 between wanting to be in charge again and wanting to be completely removed from any sort of leadership as and when it suited him. I also understand that he was still recovering from Lori's death, his psychotic break, seeing Herschel killed, losing friends to walkers and the flu, believing Carl to be dead, and finding Judith's bloody carseat, though, and I do sort of understand his "Oh my god you're okay, let's get the f*ck out of here!" actions when he found Carl.
I am also aware what a bus looks like, but thank you for sharing some of your superior world knowledge and enlightening me just in case.
I am definitely of the mindset that Rick should not have left Carol, and if you consider that to be me wearing 'blinders', then sure, I guess I am. I do get that he thought he was doing the right thing, but Rick strikes me at that time as a man who is aware he is incapable of leading them but unsure of his worth as anything but a leader… By making the decision to leave Carol, he is reassuring himself that he is still able to make hard decisions. The problem is, his argument as to why he made that decision is hella weak and he knows it, which is why he resorts to wounding her emotionally with "Nobody will want you there when they find out what you've done." (Abridged, obviously, just in case you're also a little doubtful of my ability to remember quotes.)
I do like Rick as a fallible character. I think he is fascinating to observe but he is not some all-knowing perfect leader, and I think the presence of another leader threatens his perceived position in the group.
And I'm kind of trying to keep spoiler-free so I'm not sure what you're referencing re. the whole 'Carol was in the right place at the right time' thing.
Oops, I accidentally wrote an essay! (I do actually appreciate a good debate, so if you wanna send me a PM we could carry this on? That applies to anyone reading this! Send me a PM and we can talk about next season or where you think the story is going or Rick's personality flaws or whatever!)
*Sophiacharlotte, you're freaking adorable! Your reviews make me sooo excited to write the next chapter!
*GotHimASandwich, thanks for the review! Much appreciated :D
Thanks for reading, everyone!