Time for the battle to begin. We will get a smattering of the General, but testing the mettle of the ragtag opposition. They have accepted that they must put down the dead in order to survive. It is more difficult to kill the living.

Men of Honor

Rick and Gabriel had hurried their men to the battle site. Carol had given them clear directions and they found the long large crater that was to be the burial site. They found the grader that was to cover the site and Gabriel asked that everyone look at it so they would know the manner of men they were fighting here today.

Rick had taken his men after that for short talk. He told them that the Nazis had come to take Allanvale and intended to bury its Black citizens. They should also know that they intended to make the white citizens leave their homes and work in farming settlements to feed the army. They were coming for them next; they would be either be killed or become enslaved on some southern plantation. Rick knew that the thought of being dragged out of their mountain homes would make them fight that much harder.

The men and women of Allanvale were paired with the men from the mountain. A huge pine was pushed down with the grader closing the road and they found cover and they waited. The plan was simple. Take out the first and last trucks first. Then, try to get the supply trucks without destroying their contents.

Rick took command to take out the lead truck and Gabriel took the rear. They weren't sure how many trucks there were or how far apart so his group was some distance away. Gabriel and Rick couldn't communicate so they had to depend on the other.

It was very quiet as they waited. The dense fog was beginning to lift when they heard the trucks coming. Gabriel warned his troops, "Don't shoot until I tell you. They have to be past us and all the way to tree before Rick will start. Don't stick your head up to look. Just lie there and make your peace with your Creator."

Gabriel had found an abandoned car to hide behind. The trucks were coming closer and he saw the first one emerge out of the fog and was relieved that it held less than a dozen soldiers. Four large trucks followed them and then the last open truck with just a handful of soldiers. He heard the first shots from ahead and he stood up and shot into a group of soldiers. He got back down and listened to the rounds from his troops and then popped up again. One soldier ran toward him seeking the safety of the pines behind him and Gabriel shot him in the chest and then took his knife and put him down.

It was all over very quickly. They had lost two men; one white and one Black but there were several injuries. Gabriel's sister was a nurse and she took care of the wounded while the bodies were buried quickly.

Rick's troops had waited until the truck stopped to look at the tree in their way. Then they had struck quickly and mercilessly. He had his men to gather the bodies, make certain that they were put down, and then thrown into the ditch. They hastily covered the bodies with dirt.

Gabriel had spent the night gathering his people together and he had the trucks turned around to meet the ones that were leaving with him. They would go thru the contents of the trucks later. He shook hands with Rick. "We'll meet you at the rendezvous point. I am the only one who knows where it is and if we get captured I'll take it with me."

Rick nodded. Gabriel was a man of honor. He would never betray them and he was wise enough not to trust that the others had his courage. "Don't look back, Gabriel. Just take the ones that want to go and meet us there."

Rick gathered his men and they left. They had completed their mission and now they were moving out of her as fast as possible. His group needed to go and secure the rendezvous point before the others got there.

TWDTWDTWD

Michonne had let Carl drive after two hours behind the wheel. She had taken advantage of the long empty straight stretches of South Carolina but she was getting tired. Carl was a good driver and he drove even faster than she did on empty roads. He had learned to drive on curvy mountain roads so he could handle a vehicle. They skirted a few small herds but they had taken the route they came in on and the path was clear.

She didn't sleep or let her guard down. Michonne had stayed alive this long by never taking anything for granted. She hoped to be home in the mountains before this day was done. She had children to hold when she got there. The tiny bits of flesh that were inside needed her too.

TWDTWDTWD

General Mason Summers was in a foul mood. Somehow Carol and Rick had been spirited away last night. The Black prisoners had been released and they had disappeared too. It had been too dark and foggy last night to attempt to find them. They might be hiding in this town because no one had seen them escape last night.

Mason Summers intended to send his troops out today and wreck vengeance on Allanvale. He had contemplated burning the town but that seemed a waste. He was even more determined to build a farming settlement here. He was waiting until the trucks came in with more supplies. He wanted his vehicles to have a full supply of fuels as they hunted the highways and byways of this place. He had given a shoot to kill order. He didn't know who he could trust and he wasn't bothering to sort them out now. Some of the new men had looked unhappy at that, but they would soon learn that you followed orders or were killed as a traitor.

Mason wasn't angry with Carol today. He had been furious last night when he realized that his prize was denied him. It had only made him want her more. She had escaped because she didn't know that it was her destiny to be beside him when he was crowned King of the Carolinas. Being a general wasn't enough for him. This new world needed men who would rule as kings. Kings told generals what to do and it got done. They ruled for life and then handed it down to their children. He had a pregnant mistress back in Atlanta and that child could rule after him if he never found his son. Mason was going into the mountains this summer to look for his son and if he ever found Carol again. Well, this time she wasn't getting away.

TWDTWDTWD

Jesse and Eugene were waiting for John and Greg. They could hear the truck coming though the boys had turned the music down some time ago. They had snared a herd of forty or so and a few more had joined along the way. Eugene was ready to put in the last chemicals. There was a curve in the road just up ahead and then a straight shot to the barricade that the soldiers had set up last night. It wasn't very strong and this bomb would open the whole area up.

John and Greg's truck came into view. The box that they were putting the bomb in was bolted to the open bed of the truck. Jesse's truck was facing the town and as the boys pulled up beside it and stopped. Jesse and Eugene moved the big container over and put it inside. Then Eugene moved the smaller container and stood there pouring the contents in as gently as he could. The snarls and groans of the walkers coming ever closer. He finished and closed the container up completely and took the time to make sure that it was securely fastened to reduce movement. Finally he leaped onto the back of Jesse's truck and they began to move away to the side of the road where the others were waiting. Eugene was a fine shade of green but he managed to hold his arm up in triumph.

John and Greg exchanged relieved looks as they drove off. The walkers were almost upon them now and John had to hold himself back from speeding up too much as they went around the curve. They saw the barricade just ahead and John set the cruise control and fixed the steering wheel so that the truck would hit it. There steel plates on the front and no windshield. It was time to jump and John scooted over beside of Greg and they both slid out and hit the ground and up again in almost one move. They ran as only seventeen year old boys can run. Their long legs stretched out and they ran for a goal line that signaled that might live another day.

They could hear the volleys coming from the trees and the deer hunters of the mountains put rounds at the soldiers who seem confused by the truck, the walkers, and the rifle fire right at them. That hesitation cost them their lives because the truck kept moving toward them. It bumped solidly against a barricade and the bump set off the explosive stored in the back.

The explosion killed all the soldiers still alive at the barricade and created an opening for the walkers to move in. The walkers had been distracted by the rifle fire but the explosion and the fire drew all the walkers toward town and the dead soldiers rose as the other walkers came in and they moved together to kill the living.

Emily and Abe met John and Greg and rushed them to a waiting vehicle. Everyone at his site was gone in thirty seconds of the explosion. Their route to the rendezvous point was slightly different than any other but they were on their way. Mission accomplished.

TWDTWDTWD

Elijah and Morgan had loaded their rocket launcher. It had been used by the college football team for years as a way for receivers to practice catching footballs. It was a like a pitching machine for batting practice except this machine hurled footballs instead of baseballs. Elijah had set the machine for long passes and amped the speed up and at the first rifle shot they began using the machine to hurl rockets toward the town. They moved the machine around so ""

Carol and Daryl had put their container bombs in a long line close to a barricade. The soldiers were in view as the fog lifted and when Daryl heard the first shot he aimed his bow toward a container. They were a good distance away but he thought he could hit them. He missed the first one and moved a little closer warning Carol to stay where she was. He aimed again and this time he struck a container so solidly that it exploded and that caused the others to explode. He turned and ran like hell toward Carol jumping the walker that she must have put down while he was shooting. Together they ran toward the suv hidden away and got it started and out in the open by the time Elijah and Morgan sped toward them.

Daryl roared away. He knew that he might attract the soldiers but this was a heavy powerful machine and he was going to use that to get away. He was taking the highway for only a few miles and then moving to less traveled roads.

Morgan and Elijah had their rifles ready but they didn't have anyone following them yet. They would be along as soon as those inside dealt with the walkers, the fires, and the confusion of the attack.

Daryl turned off to an access road that would lead him eventually to a major highway several counties away. He turned to Carol, "Do you still think that Morgan and I are too old to run now?" He had been a little rankled by her dismissing him as too old and slow to do the truck.

Carol was still trying to calm her heart rate down and control her breathing, "I knew you could run but no one else would have your nerves to load those bombs that close to the barricade or figure out how to launch those rockets."

Morgan spoke up from the back, "Don't see anyone behind us, but just keep driving like a madman. I don't think we will be welcome down here for a really long time."

Daryl asked, "Now how did the kid do?"

"I don't think we can call him the kid anymore. Elijah sent those rockets flying through the air like a boss." Morgan hugged Elijah in that rough way that men show affection.

Elijah pushed Morgan away. "You can call me Kid Boss from now on. Just don't look at the wet spot on my blue jeans. Don't judge. I haven't been a warrior like you guys."

Morgan asked, "Carol, you really used your sight today."

Carol confessed, "The only sight that I had was the supply trucks coming in".

Daryl narrowed his eyes a bit but never let them leave the road, "Where did the truck plan come from?"

"The Governor had released walkers on us at the prison. I did get a glimpse of the walker herd and just figured out the rest of it. I knew Jesse would figure out the rest. I knew that you guys would come up with something with the bombs and rockets. I was just along for the ride." Carol had learned that sometimes you didn't have to everything your way. You had to trust others because you could be wrong.

It was getting warmer and Daryl put the window down and let the warm spring smells of South Carolina into the suv. He was feeling more confident that they could outrun the soldiers that would be searching for them. "Glad that you didn't share that with us before we carted containers of explosives out there. I might have gotten nervous and dropped one of those on my foot." He did turn and smile at her, "I can't wait to get home."

AN

I don't have a clue if the football launcher could hurl bombs or not but it sounds like it might work. Carol just gave them an idea and she let the others come up with the final plan.

Next chapter will have rendezvous all over the place.

Please give a review.