Flight or Fight
Carol and Daryl were taking their evening walk of the perimeter of the prison. Daryl inspected the integrity of the fence and Carol checked on the garden and the livestock. They took that time to leave the burdens of the day behind and spend some time together. Daryl smiled to himself, and Carol catching his expression raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Just thinking about all those fairy tales, this is happily ever after?" Carol smiled back, "For me, it is. You are my good redneck prince". "My Queen, are you ready to check out the pigs?" Daryl teased back and then more seriously, "This is my happily ever after, but I wish our castle had some privacy once in a while." Daryl's happy notion that they would be spending every night having sex had fallen by the wayside when the reality that both of them were often called away at night. Every upset stomach or fever in the children and the elderly called Carol away to help. Daryl was often on watch or helping Carol with the sick. "Do you want to screw around?" Daryl asked hopefully. Carol grabbed his hand and gave a squeeze to let him know her answer. "Can we play warden and prisoner later, it's my turn to be warden," she replied. He laughed, and squeezed back. They continued their walk but they picked up the pace a bit.
The graveyard was the last stop on the tour. Carol often left a flower on Lori, TDog, and Andrea's grave. Death had stalked the weaker citizens of the prison last winter and this summer's cholera had taken more. There had been walkers inside the fences and people lost in the attack. There were now as many graves as there were those still alive here. Four members of the group had asked for a vehicle and left the prison. They were all from a small town hours away and they just wanted to go home. Carol had organized a going home party with food and drinks. It was a surprisingly happy occasion. They left the next morning waving happily from the car.
Rick was standing in the center court as they came through the gate. He was obviously waiting for them, and Carol had the sinking feeling that Daryl was not going to be her prisoner tonight. Rick wanted to talk with both of them. They moved into the library which also served as a meeting room. Michonne, Tyreese, Glenn, Hershel, Bob, and Maggie were already there. Michonne stood up as everyone grabbed a chair. She had put a laminated map of Georgia on an easel with the prison marked by a red circle. Michonne, Tyreese, and Bob had been on a run today, something was up. Michonne began by drawing a line to show where their run had been today; they had traveled east along a major highway and from there onto a secondary road leading to a gated community. She described how they had parked behind a house when they heard the sound of approaching vehicles. There was a convoy of ten military vehicles moving up the road toward the top of the hill. They used the cover of overgrown bushes and trees to get closer to the convoy. The Humvees and trucks had stopped in the parking lot of a country club. Bob counted 31 men milling about when the passenger side door opened and out stepped a scruffy wild looking man who Michonne instantly recognized as the Governor. Michonne admitted that her first reaction was murderous rage but she knew that he was too far away and too well protected to do anything immediately. They had watched as a six man team went into the building. The Governor and the others waited outside and someone came to the door and motioned for the others to come in. The Governor was within 90 miles from the prison, had built a new army, and seemed well supplied. All the news was bad.
Carol grabbed Daryl's hand under the table just wanting to be able to hold onto him for just a little while. He put his arm around her and whispered, "We will be alright". Glancing around Daryl saw his friends were in shock; the reality that their peaceful life in the prison was over was sinking in. Michonne sat back down and Rick stood up and asked for suggestions. They had brainstormed different scenarios in the past because they knew he would never be satisfied until they were all dead and the prison destroyed or in his hands.
Rick stood up and asked for suggestions in how to handle it. He put up a piece of paper and wrote Flight on the left hand side or Fight on the other. Carol thought to herself, it's always down to one of the two.
