Mara murmured against him and Daryl tilted his head so he could see her face better. She was still asleep. He'd been awake for a while but he hadn't gotten out of bed. He couldn't hear anyone moving around and he didn't want to leave Mara just yet.
When Daryl heard soft voices, he decided that he'd been lying there doing nothing long enough. He gently eased out from under Mara. She had taken the brunt of the battle with Christine and Merle so she needed more sleep. He could see bruises on her legs now and knew from experience that she'd be aching and stiff when she woke up. He dressed quietly and Mara didn't even stir.
Once he was out of his little cell, he could hear voices more clearly now. It was Carl and another adult who he didn't recognise. He quickly patted his hip to check that his knife was still attached to the belt before padding down the stairs.
Hershel was just coming out of his own little cell when Daryl made it to the bottom of the stairs. He hadn't bothered to put on shoes and the concrete was cool beneath his feet.
Daryl managed to catch the end of the conversation.
"I understand you can't let me in but can you go wake up one of the grownups?" the man requested evenly. His hands were by his side and he didn't appear to have a weapon.
"What's going on here?" Daryl asked roughly, putting himself beside Carl. They had locked their block from the inside so that they were protected in case the Australian soldiers weren't as noble as they appeared.
Daryl's arrival caused the man's body language to shift. He hadn't seen Carl as a threat and had talked to him like he was a child and not dangerous. That was his first mistake. Carl was just as likely to put a bullet in his gut as Daryl was. But Daryl made him change. He crossed his arms and lifted his chin in a typically alpha male pose. Daryl was unimpressed.
"Sarge wants to speak to Nathan or Rick."
Daryl noticed the absence of Nathan's title and wondered if that was deliberate or subconscious.
"What's your name, son?" Hershel asked politely, probably trying to defuse the immediate tension.
"Corporal- It's Paul. Call me Paul," the man said changing tracks midway. He looked uncomfortable with the rank and clearly preferred to be on a first name basis. It made Daryl like him better but not enough. It did however make him think that his leaving off Nathan's rank hadn't been disrespectful at all.
"Carl, can you find Nathan or Rick for Paul?" Hershel asked. Carl cut his eyes from Paul to Hershel to Daryl. Daryl noticed his gaze drifted to the knife on Daryl's belt before he nodded and drifted off into the cell block. He pressed the key into Daryl's hand as he went.
Daryl unlocked the door and exited the sleeping zone. His actions pushed Paul back out into the common area. Hershel followed and took a seat with a groan. Paul's was discreetly taking in Hershel's injury but Hershel still noticed the stare.
"It wasn't a shark," Hershel said mildly.
Paul actually cracked an honest to god smile at that joke. Even Daryl wryly grinned, remembering the Australian's lamenting one evening how all foreigners thought they had to fend off sharks every time they got in the water.
"Did it happen before?"
"No," Hershel said simply.
Paul winced and the conversation trailed off. Paul took a seat and folded his hands neatly in his lap. He seemed content to just sit there.
Daryl studied the man. He was maybe mid twenties and was calm. Yussuf would have been telling knock knock jokes at this point. Every member of Cheiny's team was Caucasian. It was going to make telling them apart a pain in the ass.
Paul had traded in his military jacket for a short sleeve t-shirt. Every time he moved, he showed off some pretty good muscle definition and a tattoo on one of his biceps.
"What's the tat?" Daryl asked, filling the silence.
"Is it my name in a heart?" Yussuf asked, stepping into the room.
Paul's expression changed from neutral to disdain but he didn't say anything because Nathan and Rick followed.
"Sergeant," he said by way of greeting. The contempt almost vanished. So it was Yussuf that personally annoyed the new corporal, not his race. Daryl could almost understand how Yussuf might be a little hard to take.
"Corporal," Nathan nodded.
"You wanted to see us?" Rick said, cutting to the heart of the matter.
"Sergeant Cheiny requests a meeting so that a plan can be decided on."
"That's sensible," Nathan said. "Tell him to come inside when he's ready."
"We'll get someone to guard while we talk," Rick added.
"I'll pass that along," Paul said and moved to leave. As he passed Yussuf he added, "It's a heart but it's got your mum's name."
Daryl bit his lip to hide his smile.
"Y'know, I very nearly like that one," Yussuf commented, jabbing a finger in Paul's direction.
"You very nearly like everyone," Daryl pointed out with a grumble.
"Don't be like jealous," Yussuf said, "You know you're my favourite brooding man." Yussuf patted Daryl's cheek and Daryl immediately batted his hand away.
"You trying to steal my boyfriend, Yussuf?" Mara asked sleepily, finally appearing. She hadn't gone far in the waking up process beyond putting on pants.
"Only if he's keen," Yussuf threw back with a wink.
"I always wondered 'bout him," Merle contributed in a raspy voice from just behind Mara.
Daryl rolled his eyes at the banter. Nothing like teasing to unite a group.
...
Mara moved to Daryl's side, affectionately running her hand up his arm. What she really wanted to do was to press a deep kiss to his lips but that would be slightly unprofessional and Daryl would just be made uncomfortable by the gesture. Her muscles were cramped and achy. She had seen the array of bruises that decorated her body and tried not to grimace. The cell block filled up with the rest of the residents.
"We need two people to be on guard," Rick said.
"I'll go," Christine offered. "I've already heard Cheiny talk enough shit to last a lifetime."
"I'll go with her," Beth piped up. This earned a few surprised looks as Beth's duties mostly consisted of baby minding. Andrea had opened her mouth to offer as well but she closed it with a snap. Mara suspected she didn't want to participate in helping track down the Governor but her and Merle had the greatest insight into his character.
Rick shot a discrete look at Hershel who gave a tiny nod of consent.
"Do you know how to use a weapon?" Nathan asked, managing to make the question inoffensive.
"I know how to handle a gun," Beth said confidently.
Once the two women had left Merle shook his head. "Guarded by infants now."
"She's eighteen," Yussuf pointed out, unexpectedly coming to Beth's defence. "Carl's been doing as much and he's a-"
Mara knew Yussuf had been about to call Carl a kid but the youth's steely gaze stopped him.
"A very capable young man," Nathan said, smoothing over the situation easily. Carl looked pacified but still shot one last glare at Yussuf who spread his hands wide in surrender.
Any further debate was cut off by the arrival of the other soldiers. Cheiny came in first. He was always was the first of his team. Mara would concede that Cheiny would never let someone proceed him into danger. It was brave but it was sometimes stupid. The team needed a leader more than they needed a hero.
They had weapons and Mara saw a preference towards swords. Only David had a bow though it was neatly strapped to his back at this point. It wasn't a very effective weapon in close quarters but the two long knives on either of his hips would make up for it. He was the shortest of all the men but still tall. Cheiny's team struck an imposing picture.
Paul looked the most at ease. His hand was the only one not hovering near the hilt of a weapon. Mara could tell they were trying to present a non-threatening image but they were failing. Even Eric looked on edge though Mara didn't have a clear view of him. Since he was the medic, he was right at the back, protected.
Frank had used his considerable height to shield Eric from the rest of the group. He wasn't quite as tall as Elias but he was close. He was also the youngest, about Mara's age. Last time she had seen him, he had been a tall, lanky thing but he'd gone to some effort to line his frame with lean muscles. He wouldn't be as strong as David or Paul but Mara bet he was faster than all of them. He looked tired and his short blond hair was ruffled like he'd raked his hand through it a number of times, probably as a nervous gesture.
Richard was the last member of their group of six and the most similar to Cheiny in behaviour. The others were happy to laugh at Cheiny's taunts but Richard usually had a few of his own to throw in. Mara didn't think he was a racist like Cheiny but he definitely liked to make himself feel superior through bullying. Nathan's rag tag team of misfits and strugglers had been a natural target.
They had retaliated by casually calling him Dick every opportunity they got. It had driven him mad. Mara could see that Yussuf was itching to do so now but so far both sides had been very well behaved and Yussuf didn't want to be the one to break the civility.
Mara was certain it couldn't last. This gathering was a time bomb waiting to happen. Too many people, too many opinions, too many strong personalities. Someone would mistake Rick's courtesy for weakness, which would put the prison survivors on edge. Mara just hoped none of them picked a fight with Merle. That would be like throwing a Molotov cocktail on kindling.
Daryl would keep a hold on his temper as long as he didn't personally feel attacked or the new soldiers didn't say anything stupid. Eric being tucked up at the back couldn't hurt the situation. She still couldn't fathom what he was doing there. Sure, logically she knew why the man with the medical training was travelling. But Eric as a person?
She could already feel his eyes on her and she knew eventually they'd have to have a conversation that would most likely be painfully awkward. His appearance caused small butterflies in her stomach which she attributed to nerves. Mara still thought he was a handsome man but she didn't feel drawn to him anymore.
"Thank you for having us," Cheiny began with almost forced formality. Maybe HR had dragged him over hot coals for his political incorrectness before they had set him loose in the world. Probably far-fetched since a human resources department had never been confirmed as existing. Nathan had navigated most internal arguments by telling them to pull their heads out of their arses. The army hadn't had a lot of time for finesse.
"My pleasure," Rick said politely. They had decided that Rick could speak as their unofficial leader. Nathan was confident enough in his own position that he could admit dealing with another white man might bring out Cheiny's better side. Nathan was clearly hoping that being out in the field would make them all consummate professionals. Mara darted a glance at Yussuf and thought this might be wishful thinking.
"What are you doing in Georgia?" Glenn asked. "We understood there were only enough people to send one team to every state."
Cheiny turned to Glenn and his composure didn't change. "We were sent to Illinois," Cheiny answered.
"That's a way aways," Hershel commented.
"There weren't a lot of survivors," Frank said. Carol made a pained sound, clutching Judith to her a little tighter. Cheiny silenced the other man with a look.
"He's not wrong," Cheiny admitted. "The density of survivors in the United States is lower than we expected. It's led us to believe the outbreak started here."
Everyone hung on his every word. This was the most information they had gotten about the rest of the country for a long time.
"We set up a commune in Tennessee and we're trying to evac other people there. There are a number of teams protecting it while we search neighbouring states. There are more spooks in some states than others."
"What's the situation like?" Rick asked.
Cheiny glanced at Nathan but then looked back to Rick. "It's bad. We've come across a number of situations where the recon teams have hooked up with bands of survivors. Similar to what you have organised here. There have been a number of causalities within the army too."
Mara's chest felt tight and she wanted to ask for names. But she didn't because she was too scared she would recognise them.
"What killed the recon teams?" Maggie asked suspiciously, picking up on something in their tone.
"It wasn't always the dead, if that's what you're asking," Richard answered. The rest of the team winced collectively. Mara decided she might have found the cause behind their better attitude. They'd seen enough horrors since coming here that petty disputes no longer mattered.
"So you're peace keeping?" Andrea said. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and she was regarding these new men warily.
"We're just trying to help out where we can," Paul offered. "Trying to restore a little order."
"What do they say about the road to hell and good intentions?" Andrea countered.
"Whatever road we're on is gonna be bumpy as fuck," Merle muttered quietly but not quietly enough that nobody heard.
Mara didn't put a lot of stock in what Merle said usually but she had to agree with him in this instance.
AN: I expected to cover more ground in this chapter but it turned out character introductions took up the bulk of it. I'm not trying to provide novel sized back grounds for these new characters but make them a little more distinctive for readers. Otherwise I may as well have named them Cheiny, Eric & Soldier A, B, C & D. Thanks for all the lovely reviews from last chapter. You don't know how happy it makes me.