As much as I want Carol back on McAllister Mountain with Daryl the Muse says patience and life is a journey and not a race. My Muse is fond of platitudes, but Carol's journey has changed her from an abused mouse of a woman to a well-loved warrior. Carol has an unlimited capacity for love, and Carol has grown to love both Allen and Caleb in the short time she had been at the Eagle's Nest. Not to worry, Carol's other half Daryl is her true love. Allen is not her soul mate, but they do have an honest affection for one another.

I own nothing. TWD owns the rights to all its characters.

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning at Allen's house meant a breakfast of French toast with apple toppings. Carol had learned that Allen was actually the pastor of two churches. He preached at 11:00 for the people who lived in the little town and at 12:00 for the slaves. Allen had told her that everyone had attended the same church until the Nazis had taken over and separated the two worship services. The Nazis did not attend church regularly, but there was always a few there to make sure that nothing was preached that would be seditious to the ruling elite.

Allen was distracted this morning but complemented her on her dress. Apparently everyone dressed up to go to church and Allen had scavenged up some dresses for her and the girls. They were going to attend both services so that the girls could see Jo. Getting ready for church reminded her of attending church with her grandparents. Grandpa always complained that they were going to be late and yet they never always at the church parking lot when the bells rang.

Allen and Caleb went early so that they could talk to everyone before the service started. They looked very handsome in their Sunday suits and ties. She and the girls came along later but were inside the big room when the bells rang. Carol wondered if the bells made the walkers push against the fences. She shivered involuntarily; they were always there just waiting for an opportunity to devour their prey.

Carol noticed that the girls were attracting lots of attention. They did very pretty in their dresses. Ashton had insisted that Ariel and Arya lift weights and used the exercise equipment at his house so they were both in good shape. Ariel has some bruises from all the martial arts workouts this week but she looked like an angel. Arya was already squirming in her seat and looking less angelic by the minutes. The services were simple. They sang hymns with piano accompaniment and time was given to "testimonies". Members of the church would stand up and praise God for his blessings in the testimonies, but they also asked the church to pray for them that they would have more faith. It was similar to church services she had attended with her grandparents and Carol relaxed until Allen got up to speak. He looked very handsome and she was proud of him in a non-sexual partner kind of way. She appreciated his looks without desiring him and that summed up how she felt about Allen.

Allen was a good speaker; he knew how to draw his audience into his sermon and today Allen was preaching on Rahab the harlot whose faith in God had saved her and her family. Carol was as captivated as any of the congregation when Allen described how Joshua had sent two spies into the city of Jericho to investigate their military strength and those spies had found safety with Rahab a harlot. Rahab had faith in God and asked that in exchange for her harboring the spies that she and her family would be spared when Jericho would fall.

Carol had the growing realization that Allen was talking not just about Jericho but about Eagle's Nest and wondered if she was the only one who was thinking that way. Allen talked about faith and how easy it would be to turn the spies over to Jericho authorities and how difficult it would be to trust these two men not to forget about her as soon as they were back out of the city. Rahab was an example of faith he explained she had faith that God would give Jericho to the Israelites and she had faith in two spies that they would honor their agreement.

Allen spoke about the red cord that Rahab had used to show the house to protect. He said that was an outward sign of an inward faith and that it blessed God when His children showed their faith in both outward and inward ways. Rahab and her family survived because they had stayed in their house when the attack came and trusted in the red cord to save them. If they had ran out into the streets they would have been killed. Faith requires works Allen told them and sometimes it just requires you to wait upon the Lord to do things in His time. The congregation listened intently and Carol had hoped that when the attack came they stayed in their houses and not run out to fight back. Allen was playing a dangerous game here, but they both knew that time was running out. He could not stop himself from warning these people and she hoped they got it. Soon it was over and Allen was back at the door shaking every hand and hugging almost everyone,

Allen grabbed a bottle of water and they moved to the next service. Carol guessed that it was alright for them to go because they were Allen's wife and children. This service was held outdoors today because it was such a glorious day. Jo sat with them in a seat up front. She had been cold to Carol until she understood the situation and that her girls were safe with Allen and Caleb. The congregation was mixed with whites on one side and dark-skinned people on the other. The music was more enthusiastic and joyful here; and Allen had requested a spiritual "Go Down Moses" to begin the service and the song seemed to ring out like a bell in the clear air.

Allen's message was different for this group; the theme of faith was the same but he used the story of the children of Israel's release from slavery to make his point. God delivered them from slavery and gave them safety from the death angel. The Israelites had to wait upon the Lord to deliver them. They had to have patience and to suffer without fighting back. Allen kept repeating the phrase, "Stay your hand", which meant that the Israelites did not attack the Egyptians but waited until the Lord did his work. Carol knew that he was telling this group not to go on a bloody rampage and kill everyone on this mountaintop but "to wait until the Lord sends his angels to deliver you". Carol felt real fear for Allen; he had risked himself for her and the girls and now he was endangering himself to give warnings to the slave populations that their "angels of deliverance would come and carry them home". Allen talked a little about his first sermon and Rahab. That red cord was a type of the blood sacrifice that the Israelites had made to protect themselves from the death angel that would kill the firstborn of the Egyptians. The red cord and the blood sacrifice were outward signs of inward faith and should tell the believer that they should "stay their hand" when they saw it at a house. They finished with "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and soon they were walking back to the house at the end of the street.

Michonne had "attended" church by spying at the unguarded fence. She could see Carol, the girls, Jo, and the blond boy sitting up front in the service. The preacher was the man that walked around with Carol. Michonne had recognized the songs as code words used during the Underground Railroad. This preacher man was telling his congregation that "angels of deliverance" were coming and Michonne knew that to be true. She was leading the party over this fence tonight and she hoped they had been listening to the whole sermon. She believed the preacher man was telling her to pass over any house with a red cord hanging on the door. She believed him but she didn't know how she was going to convince the others. She was going to try because messing with God's faithful was scarier than facing a bunch of well-armed fascist thugs.

Commander Morris and two of his lieutenants came by after lunch and told Allen that he would not be preaching anymore. They were closing all church services indefinitely. Carol knew that if rescue didn't come soon that it would be too late. The clock was ticking close to midnight.

The inhabitants of their street were mostly New Americans because those houses had been set in place by the original founders of the town. They were watching as the Morris and his two henchmen walked to Allen's house. The congregation had been afraid that their church would be shut down. Most of the people put a red ribbon on their door to show solidarity with Allen that afternoon.

Carol was jumpy all day; she could feel that the time for the rescue to happen. She had not real "sight" experiences that related to here and now. She kept getting flashes of the dark-skinned woman and the girl. They were being followed and needed to be rescued. Hold on, Carol thought, we are coming.