Author's Note: I was going to make this into a super long chapter but I guessed it would be like...epically long so I'll finish up tomorrow. I think this would be as good a place as any to cut it off anyway. Thank you for your kind words.
TWDTWDTWD
She could barely feel the pull in her leg as she walked briskly towards the forest. Carol had made it out of the house in record time, successfully dodging Lori, whom she could hear vomiting in the bathroom. She kept a steady pace as she made her way through the trees. The creatures tended not to stray over to the part of the forest closest to the house, preferring to be closer to the river.
She knew the trail well. She couldn't track an animal like Daryl, who could see every footstep even when there was no tracks visible to the eye. Carol tended to rely on sight and sound. It worked fine for her, although she hardly ever made more kills than he did. Tracking came with years of experience and she had had merely months.
She found her first two kills fairly quickly, two fat grey squirrels, only a foot or two apart on the same tree. She took the second out before it even realised that the first had been killed. Stringing them up, she couldn't help but feel smug. She hadn't been out hunting for almost two weeks, but her aim was precise.
Every arrow shot released a little more anger. She never got angry before. Not really. She could never win a battle with Ed, so what was the point. It was never in her nature to fight back, even as a child. Daryl made her angry. Everytime she thought about him refusing to let her go out of the compound, it made her blood boil. It made her sad too. She always knew that he was trying to protect her, in his own little way. Initially she thought that he didn't think she was good enough to be out there, but she knew that wasn't true. He wasn't one for praise or stroking egos, but Daryl had told her more than once that she was good. So good, she surprised him. Maybe he just wanted to lock her away because he didn't know what else to do.
He made her happy too. So happy she could burst into song. There wasn't much joy to be had in this new world. Not now Sophia was gone. But in the darkest of nights, he was a beacon of light. They weren't having sex. They hadn't even kissed. She wondered if their relationship could even be classed as friendship some days. But he meant more to her than anybody else.
She made the decision, after they left Hershel's farm, that she wanted to survive. He reached out and gave her the tools. And now he gave her the reason. She wouldn't let that reason go over a stupid argument. She wouldn't let him run away. But she wouldn't give in either. She wasn't the same meek old Carol anymore. Just like he wasn't the ignorant, racist redneck. Things had changed.
She'd spent several hours out in the forest, judging by the sun and had almost a dozen animals strung to her thigh. They were beginning to weigh her down and she was going to aim for lucky number thirteen before heading back to the compound.
She spotted the hare through some low bushes and bent down to get a good look at it. She swore never to wear the stupid dress again. She'd scratched her legs on so many thorns that it looked like she'd been attacked. The wind kept blowing the hem up and it was damn cold. As she pulled another thorn out from her calf, it was then she heard the groaning from behind her. Her heart jumped to her throat, she could feel the blood pumping in her ears. Only one creature made a noise like that.
She looked behind her and contemplated making a run for it before it spotted her. She'd not faced a Walker alone since her first. One of the group had always been with her. Before she could make a decision, it stumbled through the trees, it's groaning increasing in volume when it spotted her. She drew her arrow back and released, it hit the Walker in the jaw, the force sending it stumbling against a tree trunk. She cursed and drew another but it regained balance and pursued her, the arrow poking from it's face at a grotesque angle. She dropped the bow and unsheathed her knife, taking a deep breath before running towards the Walker with as much speed her damaged leg could muster and slammed the knife in it's temple with every bit of strength that she had.
It plunged in so deep that she had to let it fall with the creature, crumpling to the ground quickly. She used her foot to dislodge both her knife and her arrow, racing back to retrieve her fallen bow. She stood and listened for a moment, but she couldn't hear any other footsteps.
She stepped past the fallen Walker, skirting round it as if it would jump up again, although she knew it wouldn't. It's clothes were wet. Soaking in fact. It had to have been in the river. She wasn't too far from the river edge, not even a hundred feet, but the trees were dense and she couldn't see anything in that direction. Then came another from the side of her. It moaned loudly on spotting her but it was slow to move, one leg contorted at an angle that suggested something had been broken. She fired the arrow easily, this time taking out the Walkers straight in the head. It has come from a direction nearest to the compound. It's clothes were not wet like the other. It had probably been wandering the forest for awhile. She retrieved the arrow again, worried now.
Daryl had mentioned before, about Walkers coming from across the river. What if there was more? She slung her bow over her back and looked up, searching for a suitable tree she could climb. One that was high enough would provide her with a good view of the river and possibly what was past the bank on the other side.
She chose one with plenty of low branches and made her way up it slowly, it caused her thigh a great deal of pain. She hated climbing trees. Every time she even thought about the distance between her and the forest floor, she felt a wave of nausea. Still, this was important. She gritted her teeth, stopping herself from crying out, she didn't to attract the attention of any potential threats on the ground.
She eventually got high enough to spot a building on the horizon. She didn't know what it could be. A library? Or maybe a college? It looked old, all stone bricks and ivy trailing up the walls. There were Walkers. Not too many, for the size of the building, but they weren't wondering aimlessly, they were heading in her direction. She looked down, peeking through the branches trying to find the river. Right there, at the water's edge, were maybe two dozen Walkers, all trying to cross. She could see one get pulled by the strong current, taking it swiftly down stream. But some were making it, gurning and groaning their way through through the waist-high water.
They were coming towards the compound. She wondered if they had spotted the smoke coming from the chimnies of the house. Unlikely she thought, but couldn't be sure. She had to let the others know. She began her descent down the tree, hissing as she caught her leg on a sharp branch, grazing her leg through her thin skirt. She pulled up the hem to look at the damage, she had split the would. She carried on regardless, hoping that there wasn't a Walker close enough to smell the fresh blood.
TWDTWDTWD
Daryl stomped around Newtown like there wasn't a single Walker about the place. He was still angry and he couldn't help but take it out on any fucker that got in his way. Maggie coming on the run was a stupid fucking decision. Her and Glenn didn't stop talking the entire journey in and every time he glanced in his rearview mirror, the were cosying up to each other. It was irritating to the point where he wanted to stick an arrow in each of their heads.
It went faster than he would've liked. Partly because his anger made him quick on the mark, taking out targets with more risk to himself that luckily paid off. Partly because the others were so wary of his ferocious temper that they worked fast, eager to get back to camp and escape him.
Rick wouldn't let him drive back, insisting that T-Dog did it. He wanted to hurl abuse at the former sheriff, who usually was his second most tolerable member of the group, after Carol, but he settled for mumbling a few choice expletives under his breath.
T-Dog put his foot to the floor to get back to the compound earlier than usual. It had been a fairly successful run, a whole bag of ammo was found, a couple more axes and some knives. Everyone would now have at least two weapons at their disposal. Maggie found the cookery stuff they needed, as well as a little more in terms of medical supplies.
He would talk to her. He had decided. He didn't want her going out there, but he wouldn't stop her. If he forced her hand, he'd lose her anyway. The best he could do would to be by her side, every step of the way. He wasn't like Ed Peletier. He wasn't like Merle Dixon.
T-Dog hit the horn once when they approached the gate and it was opened almost immediately. They were all outside he noticed, apart from Carol. His eyes stopped at Lori. She was searching inside the van quickly, a look of worry written all over her face. As she made to call Rick, he knew instantly what was wrong. Carol was missing.
"Where the fuck is she?" He growled at the woman, picking his crossbow up from the floor of the passenger side.
"I thought maybe she'd gone with you. None of us have seen her. Her bow is gone too." Lori rushed to get the words out, stepping back from him. His blood boiled. Did any of these useless fuckers ever notice her?
"Fuck!" He yelled. He turned back to Glenn, who stood behind him and pulled the pistol out of his hand. "What the fuck is wrong with you people?" He spat the words out in Lori's direction, but they were meant for everyone. Rick stepped between them, hands out in surrender.
"Stop. We'll get the guns and we'll go out. With that leg, I doubt she's gone very far. She knows her limits Daryl. She probably just wanted some breathing space."
"Fuck this." He muttered, turning on his heel. Fuck them. He'd find her himself.
TWDTWDTWD
He spotted her tracks as soon as he got out the gate. He ignored Rick and Hershel's calls as he followed them into the woods. It took him a little while to get deep into the forest and he cursed with every step. She went way too far. He hardly ever went this deep himself.
He smelt Walker before he saw it and he loaded his bow ready to take the thing out. But when he reached the target, it was already on the floor. He kept his weapon poised, in case it was only dormant, as some of them were on occasion but realised quickly that it already been taken out, the contains of it's skull spilling onto the forest floor. She'd been here.
He whipped round, trying to find her tracks again when he saw the body of a second Walker. This was not fucking good news. He tried to find her tracks again, but they were all over the place, as if she was panicking, pacing the area. He heard rustling up ahead and raised his bow into the trees, a flash of red catching his eye.
She was wearing that dress. The one she picked on a whim, It whipped round her thighs as she climbed down the tree slowly, awkwardly, he noticed. She'd strained herself. She didn't notice him, focused on getting herself to the ground. He knew she hated climbing trees. He'd always made her do it anyway, to try and rid her of the fear.
"Where the fuck do you think you've been?" He spat out at her as she came down, only a few feet from the ground. She squeaked in surprised and stumbled and he reached out and caught her by the calf to help steady her.
She was out of breath, as if she had raced down the tree and he shouldered his bow to wrap his hands round her waist, taking her down from the last branch, dropping her gently to the ground.
"Walkers." She breathed at him wide-eyed, clutching the sleeve of his coat.
"Yeah, I saw." He groused at her, gesturing to the fallen undead behind him.
"No." She shook her head rapidly, tugging on his sleeve in the direction of the compound. "There's a herd, we need to get back to the house. They're trying to cross the river."
"What? How did you see? Did they spot you?" He asked the questions at rapid fire, shaking her off his sleeve so he could clasp her hand. He pulled her in the direction of the house as he spoke.
"No, they didn't." She took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in her leg as he dragged her along at breakneck speed. "One I took out was wet. I went up the tree and I could see them trying to cross the river, some are getting dragged by the current. There's maybe two dozen?"
He didn't say anything, just carried on pulling her to the compound. Eventually the pain got too much and she cried out.
"Stop! Daryl, you gotta slow down, my leg -" She yanked his hand, forcing him to stop with her.
He let go of her hand, taking her by the waist instead, helping her along that way.
"Don't think I am not goin' to fuckin' kill you when we get back." He shot at her, but he tightened his grip on her anyway, as they hot-footed it back to camp. He was so relieved that she was alright. Although, if they didn't get back soon and batten down the hatches in time, that might change.