Information Age

Carol turned in her seat to get the last glimpse of the mountains. They had left before daybreak this morning and now were traveling through foothills. She turned back around to face the front and met Daryl's eyes in the rear view mirror. He nodded at her and she smiled back.

Michonne shifted in the seat beside her and Carol grinned. Michonne had wanted to drive but Morgan told her was that she drove too fast and wasted gasoline. She was pouting and Michonne in full pout was impressive. They were going to let her drive at the first stop but they were all enjoying teasing her a little. Not too much because she was as always in full possession of her katana and various weapons of mass destruction. Michonne had had tears in her eyes this morning as she said goodbye to the barely awake Alia and Matthias. Carol steeled herself not to cry just thinking about not being with them for however long it took to gather information about the Nazis.

Jesse was in charge which rankled both Abraham and Rick, but the men from their mountain would follow no one else. Jesse had lived off and on the mountain his whole life and he was one an intelligence officer in the army. He had dealt with minds as twisted as the General's before. He had planned this as an intelligence gathering mission, but they all knew that they were in danger. Jesse was the man you wanted in charge when it all went down and Abe and Rick were going to have to accept that.

Their first stop was off the main road at an abandoned farm. Jesse, John, and Greg were out in front and they had already checked the place out. Jesse was looking at a highway map and he motioned Carol and Emily to look at a place on the map. He pointed to an area west of Interstate 95 that was located on the Georgia-South Carolina border. "I think we want to get close to the exit on 95 to this county. Just don't think they'll want to take their army too far away from Savannah. It is only about 70 miles away. I am getting a vibe about this place."

Carol looked again at the map and had the vision of the army trucks pulling off the interstate and heading toward this place. "Let's get to this place before they do."

Their stop that first night was an old textile mill. The machines had been taken out years ago but the brick and concrete building was still sturdy. They did watches in three groups of two. Daryl and Carol had an early watch and they huddled together on the roof of a loading dock. There were smatterings of walkers around but so far seemed to content to groan their way around the parking lot. The factory was separated from the parking lot by a sturdy fence. The area hadn't been heavily looted and they had found gasoline and a few supplies.

Daryl whispered, "Go to sleep, and I'll keep watch."

Carol shook her head, "I am fine." It wasn't all that cold and the weather here today had been balmy compared to the mountains. It was time to get plants in the ground down here. She was using this quiet time to think about what they would be facing tomorrow. Jesse was bringing them in from the west and away from major highways but you never knew what was around each bend in the road.

The next morning Jesse left early with John and Greg. Their rendezvous point was at a small college outside of the county seat. They were to travel together for a few more miles and then separate into groups of two vehicles and come in different highways. Each team would gather information which they would all share when they met back together.

Rick, Abraham, Carl, Arya, and Emily were in their group. The Savannah River was the border between South Carolina and Georgia. There were nice sized farms that bordered the river but they seemed to be abandoned. The roads were littered with debris from storms and the houses looked looted.

They had to stop several times to clear the roads so that they could move ahead. Carol's spidery senses were starting to tingle. The Nazis were close. She exchanged a look with Emily and Carol told the others, "They are in the town now. They have set their headquarters in the courthouse and their troops are quartered in the high school. There's a small hospital there close to a nursing home. The Nazis want to use the college too, so be very careful."

Rick rolled his eyes and Abe snorted. The others nodded soberly. They approached the area very slowly. Jesse had told them to hide their vehicles about 2 miles out and walk in using all the cover they could find. They found a house with a two car garage and they hid their vehicles in there leaving the keys in the ignition. Daryl guided the group through a pine forest that bordered the road. The only sounds were their feet going through pine straw and the clatter of birds who always so oblivious to the turn in human fortunes.

Daryl kept the road to their right and they soon were on the outskirts of the college. There was staff housing and athletic fields and Daryl moved them toward the staff housing. He had caught Carol's fear and he wanted them out of sight. He, Rick, and Abe cleared two apartments on the first floor. There weren't any walkers and the apartments didn't have any sign of occupancy. No furniture in either apartment. Carol and Emily were watching from a window. The windows all had wooden plantation shades that created a thick screen. Michonne and Morgan were watching from the other apartment because its back windows had a view of the main highway.

They waited there an hour before Abe and Rick became too restless to wait any longer. They had checked out the rest of the building. The top floor apartments had been gutted for some renovations. Rick wanted to go find Jesse and the others. Daryl growled, "I'll go, just stay here. Watch out for each other. Abe insisted on going and Daryl and Abe left together. Rick and Carol began to patrol the apartments looking to see any sign of anyone out there. They were watching together when they saw the Humvee come up the road and turn into the street that they were on. The Humvee stopped at their building and four soldiers popped out. They checked out the building next to them and then stopped in front of their building. Carol and Rick had sent the others upstairs to Michonne and Morgan at the first sighting of the Humvee and they were both on the second floor landing when Carol saw that Abe had left his pack in the entry hallway. She knew as soon as the Nazis saw that pack they would search every inch of the place. She met Rick's eyes and he said, "Go upstairs and I'll go say it's mine." She shook her head, "No, we'll go together. Remember we are joyful because the Army had just rescued us." Rick as the lone survivor might trigger them to keep searching. Men were much less suspicious of a woman.

Together they rushed down to the entry hallway and Rick grabbed the pack and they tumbled out to meet the Army. Carol exclaimed, "Thank God! We have been rescued by the Army".

Rick thought that was laying on a little thick but the four soldiers relaxed their grip on their weapons. One soldier looked at Carol carefully, "Carol, Carol Peletier, is that you?"

Carol looked at him. Years ago Ed had gotten friendly with some militia types. They would go off to meetings and spend weekends out in the woods. Carol was so relieved to have Ed out of the house that she had supported his involvement. She knew they were bat shit crazy blaming every bad thing that happened to them on "mud people" and Jews, but she hoped that Ed would cross some line and get sent to prison. Ed dead and Ed in a prison with Black inmates was two of her favorite fantasies. Occasionally, some of the men would come by the house and drink beer with Ed and she had met this guy. He was much thinner and fitter now, "Frank James?"

He smiled wolfishly and Carol remembered that he fancied himself a ladies man. Ed had beaten her once because Frank had given her a compliment. She went full Scarlett as every Georgian woman knows that men can't resist honey, "My goodness, you look so handsome in that uniform."

Frank asked, "Where is old Ed?" He didn't look like he cared particularly since he was checking Carol out.

Carol said soberly, "Ed was killed when this all started, My daughter Sophia too. We were with a big group but now it is just Rick and me." She put her hand on Rick's arm. "Rick Grimes meet Frank James."

Rick had been standing quietly all this time but his mind was going through all sorts of scenarios and none of them seemed to end well. Carol was distracting the men from searching the building, buying time for the others to scramble out on the roof out of sight. What she said was entirely plausible and might discourage these men from finding the others. He held out his hand, "Glad to see the Army come in. Carol and I are from Georgia originally. Are you looking for survivors like us?"

Frank shook his hand and took a good look at Rick. Dark hair and beard going to gray and blue eyes. He was white which was all that really mattered. "We're recruiting people to settle out here on farms. We'll build some fences and leave some of our troops here to protect you. We're sweeping to find survivors and give them a place of safety and security. So have you all seen anyone else?"

Rick shook his head, "We have been walking for days and haven't seen anyone. We were looking for a place to sleep tonight. The place is empty inside. We looked in all the units and didn't find anyone."

Frank turned to look at the building and Carol guessed he had been ordered to search every building. She asked, "Do you want us to stay here or are you taking us somewhere?" She gave him a big smile. Frank was glad to see that Carol was still pretty. Rank does have its privileges and he thought that he would collect one with Carol sometime before he was deployed out. He said, "We will take your back to headquarters and they'll process you. Jump in front with me and your friend can take the back with the men."

Rick held up his hand, "Carol isn't my friend. She is my wife. Let's clear that up now. We go together, package deal." He kept his voice firm but assertive. He put his arm around Carol and pulled her to him. She put her arm around his waist and hugged him even closer.

Frank nodded, "Didn't know. Should have figured that out. You two out here all alone." He didn't give a shit. He had wanted her all those years ago and she had been married then. Now he got to take what he wanted. He smiled again, "Well, you two can share a seat then, I'll take you to meet the General so grab your gear and hop in."

Carol and Rick grabbed their bags and threw them in the Humvee as if their prayers have been answered.

Michonne and Morgan had moved the others to the roof and had watched Carol and Rick talk to the Nazis. Rick hugging Carol seemed a little off, but they watched in silence when Carol and Rick left in the Humvee.

Michonne pushed herself up to watch the direction the Humvee took. Carol and Rick had sacrificed themselves so that this group would be safe. She was going after them and get them out. Morgan stood beside her, "Shit, what in the world will we tell Daryl?"

AN

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