Author's Note: Thanks for the reads/reviews. Wow, some of you sure do hate Lori, huh? Can't say she bothers me all that much, but every story needs an antagonist! Hope this new development pans out...
TWDTWDTWD
Daryl had agreed to scout the area with Rick. He was still absolutely resolute in his opinion that Camp Sheldon was a bad idea and would not be swayed by anyone else's thoughts on the matter.
Lori was just as stubborn. Carol completely understood why. Not only did she have a young son to protect, but a child on the way. Pregnancy and giving birth were scary and complicated enough as it was, to go through it without medical care was absolutely terrifying. Carol was sure, that if it were her that was pregnant, she would feel exactly the same way. And she was sure Daryl would be considering it too.
Her head jerked at the thought that seemed to pop into her head from nowhere. Pregnant, with Daryl's child. The picture of it made her blush. It was ridiculous. She was 40. 41? She didn't know the date, but she thought maybe her 41st birthday had passed by silently. She wasn't entirely sure how old Daryl was. Younger than her, she was certain. But by less than she first assumed. Maybe five years or so. It wasn't impossible for her to have more children by any means, but she had struggled with Sophia. She had vowed there would be no more. Her body couldn't take it, nor her mind. Bringing a child in this world intentionally, even with a man different to Ed, would be inconceivable.
It was a ridiculous thought anyway, regardless of her health or the world they lived in. She was sleeping with a man could barely be seen to be touching her in front of someone else. It didn't bother her, per se, because really, what did titles like boyfriend and girlfriend really matter anymore? She figured he'd be the type to be like that no matter what the scenario. All that mattered was that he was going and he was taking her with him. But that didn't mean he would be the type to settle down with a woman and a baby.
"Hey. You ok?" Lori came to the kitchen, bearing the sewing kit and a handful of darning that had needed to be done for a few days, but they never stopped long enough to get to it. Everything was packed into the vehicles, ready to go at a moment's notice if they had to. Most of the others were sitting in the conservatory, keeping an eye out for Rick and Daryl, even though it would probably be hours before they returned.
As she sat at the kitchen table with Lori, mending a tear in yet another of Glenn's shirts, it hit her that these would be the last few hours with the woman she could call her closest friend. Chances are, they wouldn't see each other again. The thought made her tear up.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Lori put down her own darning and pushed her chair closer to Carol, resting a hand on her arm. Carol shook her head, choking back the cry.
"It's just...you've been with me since this started, I don't-don't know what I am going to do without you." She threw down the shirt in her hand and reached over to pull Lori into a hug, tears falling freely now and she could hear Lori sniffing against her shoulder and she knew the other woman was feeling the same way too.
"You're gonna be fine, Carol. Just fine. I know it." Lori murmured to her. "And you know, you can always come with us."
Carol shook her head sadly. "I can't. Not without Daryl."
Lori nodded, understanding. "You couldn't be with a better man. He'll take good care of you."
They fell against each other again, tears beginning again and it seemed to set the tone for the rest of the day.
When Daryl and Rick returned, she rubbed at her face, hoping that they wouldn't notice her her redrimmed eyes. No such luck.
"What's wrong?" Daryl asked, the moment he passed her in the doorway and he caught her arm as she turned away.
"I'm fine." She gave him a weak smile, pulling away to join the others in the conservatory to hear what had to be said.
"It's big. It's a cluster of buildings, some sort of government facility we think, but the map we have isn't all too clear on what it is. No signage that we could get close enough to find out. The wall though, is definitely a new addition. It's topped with a lot of barbed wire and four watch points. It's definitely well protected. You could have hundreds of people living there." Rick explained. "There's no way of knowing anymore until we're in there."
Daryl sighed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Rick shot him a look and turned to look at the rest of them. "There doesn't seem any point in holding out any longer. Who ever wants to go, we can leave tomorrow. If you don't...then that's fine."
There was a collective slump within the group as the realisation that they would need to make a decision hit them.
"Daryl has already said he's not going, so we've decided that the best option, if things don't work out in Camp Sheldon, is to have a meeting point. He's going to prepare a route, a first stop off point and leave notes for his next destination if that one doesn't prove safe enough to stay. It's not a guarantee of a meet up, but the best we can probably do."
Daryl stood up to leave, because really, what else was there for him to do? Rick would no longer be making any decisions with him, so it was up to him where they were going to go next. They. Him and Carol. He didn't look at her as he picked his way through the group to get back to the kitchen, although from the corner of his eye, he could see her stand up and he felt a swell of pride in his chest. She had already said she was going with him, but there was that little bit of doubt in the back of his mind, especially when he walked in the door to see her red from crying and a glance at Lori had told him the other woman was similarly emotional.
She joined him at the table and he spread out the map. "Nebraska still good with you?" She nodded her affirmation.
"You gotta say if it ain't." He told her. "Don't just be agreein' with me."
"I'm not. North makes sense. It's colder, less populated." Carol tried to keep her voice steady and firm. She watched him making plans on the map and he was trying to familarise her with the route, but maps were never her strong point and she found it hard to even find the spot he was talking about once he lifted his finger from the paper.
"I've been huntin' up near Fort Robinson state park. Plenty of natural resources. Fish, game, lots of land. There's cabins and stuff already up there. Trouble is, it's on the west side of the state and eastern Nebraska is a lot busier. Lot more highways and stuff. Lincoln was probably their declared safe-zone, so we really gotta stay away from there. We could either travel up through Iowa, then go through the northern part of the state or we can push through north Kansas and then travel up."
Carol opened her mouth to respond but the kitchen door swung open and a tearful Maggie was being led in by Glenn, who pushed her into a kitchen chair and rubbed a hand over her shoulder.
"We're coming with you." He told them and this illicited a fresh sob from the younger girl.
"And Hershel and Beth?" Carol asked hesitantly. But she knew the answer, why else would Maggie be sitting with them crying if they were coming too?
"They're still deciding, but Hershel, he wants to go with Rick." Glenn hugged himself to Maggie and Carol felt her own tears welling at the sight of them.
"Oh Maggie." She sighed out. She got up to hug Maggie and Glenn moved out of the way to let her, visibly relieved at Carol taking over.
She guided the girl out the room, leaving the men to continue with their plans. She had a feeling that tonight would be a long night.
TWDTWDTWD
They were up at dawn. Maggie was still arguing with her father about his decision and she had a feeling the girl would continue arguing until her father walked in the Camp's doors. She and Daryl had already decided to go out first thing. They needed more fuel and Daryl had seen some cars that could prove to be fruitful whilst out scouting with Rick. He could've gone alone, would've preferred to even, but Carol did not want to be there when the Grimes family left nor to see the heart wrenching goodbyes of the Greene family, so she made her farewells early, doing her best not to sob her heart out as she hugged her friends for the last time.
Glenn and Maggie would wait at the house until they returned, they would take the truck, whilst Carol and Daryl would ride the bike until the other two obtained something of their own. T-Dog had eventually decided to go to Camp Sheldon, he was neither here nor there with his decision, but in the end he told Carol he was simply tired of running.
It was with a heavy heart that Daryl handed the details of their journey to Rick. Everything he had in him told him that this was a bad choice. He was certain Rick had doubts too, but the worry etched on his wife's face was enough to spur him on. There wasn't a whole lot of evidence of foul play at Camp Sheldon, but his gut told him different and he always, always trusted his gut. He was thankful to Rick, even if he couldn't find the words to voice it. Rick had trusted him when most people didn't.
He didn't look back as he and Carol drove off from the house and he told her not to. She'd stopped crying, rubbing her eyes furiously and he prised her hand from her cheek to take it in his own, squeezing her fingers tight. He didn't know how to comfort her, there was nothing he could to fix this, to make it better.
"They're gonna be fine." He whispered to her.
"You know you don't believe that." She choked out, but she didn't pull her hand away from him. It was true, he didn't believe that. But he thought she needed to, for her own sanity.
He was trying to think up a good response when he heard the gunshots. Four, all in quick succession. He slammed the brakes on and looked around, seeing if the source was in viewing distance. It wasn't. It was close though. They'd stopped on a bridge, one with a wall that mostly obscured the truck and he pulled up the shotgun to go look and see if the noise came from the road underneath. Carol took a sharp intake of breath as he opened the truck door, stepping onto a railing to get a good look over the bridge.
Immediately, he found the source. There were two vehicles, a shiny black jeep and a smaller beat up looking car. The front was ruined, smoke coming from under the hood. There were three men, all dressed similarly in what Daryl thought looked like SWAT gear. All carrying weapons. They were in the boot of the car, pulling out boxes and bags, throwing them into the jeep.
Looting? He couldn't be sure. Then he spotted the bodies on the ground. Two that he could see, one half slumped in the passenger seat, a girl he thought. The other face down on the ground, a man, dark hair and stocky in build. There was pool of blood around his head. There had been a stand off here. Once they finished loading the goods into the jeep, the all piled into the car, without so much at the backwards glance at the devastation they'd caused. He was betting he knew where the men came from. And they had to get back to warn Rick and the others before it was too late.
He was about to turn around to get back into the truck when he heard the cry. Slow at first, before picking up into a full blown wail. Carol heard it too and she scrambled from the truck to peer over the edge to seek the source. It was joined by second sound. Another cry, smaller than the other, frailer.
She knew what it was before he did. And why wouldn't she? She had experience with this sound.
"Oh my god." One hand flew to her mouth, the other pointing out to the car below. Clambering from the open door, sliding down on her belly with trembling hands and feet was a little girl, no more than two years old.
Carol felt the bile rise in her mouth as the wailing child toddled to the body of the man, hands pushing to try and move him as she sobbed. From the back window the car, Daryl could make out the shape of a baby carrier.
"Shit." Daryl breathed. He took a second to take in the scene. They had to warn Rick and the rest, they were due to leave at any moment and any second they delayed could mean the loss of their lives.
"We can't leave them." Carol moaned, as if she knew what he was thinking. "She just a baby."
He nodded once, plan forming in his mind. "We need to warn the others too." He pulled her and pushed her into the driver's seat. "Follow the road around, cut across the verge, try to hold steady as ya go down, I'm gonna unstrap the bike." She nodded and cranked the engine as he hoisted himself into the truck bed.
It took only moments, but it was a rough ride as the vehicle bounced down the slope off road as he tried to undo the rope securing the bike. Even over the noise of the engine and the wind whistling in his ears he could still hear the cries of the children.
The truck lurched to a stop and he slammed forward with it. She jumped out before cutting the engine off, darting across the road to the little girl, sitting in a pool of blood. He left the bike where it was, rushing over to help her and she scooped up the little one, ignoring the little fists beating at her arms in shock.
Carol turned to look in the car and there she saw the source of the quieter wailing, a cry that ceased the minute his eyes clocked Carol. A little boy, judging by the blue babygro, not more than 6 months by her eye, maybe even less. Daryl caught up with her as she yanked open the door and he immediately went to check the bodies of the adults. The man was definitely the father of these children. They all had the same shock of dark wavy hair and tan skin. Two shots, straight through the head. He still had a baseball bat in his hand. Stood no chance against three men wielding guns.
The mother was younger, late twenties maybe, mid brown hair. She hadn't even a chance to get out of her seat.
"Here." Carol passed him the little girl so she could unclip the belt from around the car seat of the baby. He'd never held a child before. Not one. She wailed in his face, blood splattered on her cheeks and the sight of her like that was enough to make him feel sick. A child should never have to endure what she had in the last few moments. He didn't know how to comfort her, how to hold her.
"Daryl!" She snapped him from his thoughts and he realised suddenly that he didn't have a clue what to do. "Get those bags, I think they're baby things." She ordered him as she finally pulled the baby seat free and he realised exactly what someone meant when they used the term maternal instinct. Carol's had kicked in instantly upon laying eyes on those kids.
He did as she asked and threw them into the truck bed with one hand and pushing the little girl into the cab of the truck straight after. He jumped onto the bed and pushed the running board down to get the bike off and she came running behind him, babyseat in one hand and the dead woman's purse in another.
"Do you remember the way back the house?" He asked over the roar of the engine.
"I think so." She huffed out, trying to plug in the seatbelt around the carseat.
"I have to go warn the others, see if I can find them on the road. You get to that house an' you stay there alright?" He told her and she nodded absently, focused on the children in front of her. "Carol!" He called out and she pulled out of the truck to look at him. "Don't you dare hesitate to use that gun if ya gotta." She nodded once more and with that he kicked up the stand and tore out of there.
The little boy was amazingly quiet. It was as if on seeing her, he knew he had been saved. He gurgled quietly, blowing spit bubbles as Carol pushed the belt into the clip. The little girl on the other hand, was not so easily content and Carol didn't blame her. Blood coated her little denim dress, hands and face too. She wished she could clean her up immediately, but there wasn't time. She got back into the cab a few moments after Daryl had left and realised that she didn't have a child seat for her but there was not time. If those men in the jeep had heard their engines, they could be back at any moment. She dragged the little girl to her lap as she got back onto the bridge, clutching her to her chest and stroking her hair as she tried to navigate the truck with one hand, murmuring words of comfort.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, she prayed to God. She hadn't since Sophia died. She silently prayed that everyone she loved would make it back safe.