The morning sunlight woke Daryl as he yawned, rolled onto his back and he wiped his face with his hands. He opened his eyes as he looked up at the wooden paneling on the ceiling and he placed his hands behind his head.
"Mornin'," made him look over at the door to the bathroom and Caroline leaned on the doorframe.
"Yeah," he grumbled and she headed for the door to the main room. "Heard you talkin' with Katherine."
"She just wanted to apologize."
"She had no right talkin' to you like that."
"She's just overprotective of Connor and Murphy. Don't blame her. I did hurt Murphy."
"You had a good reason."
"And she gets it now. So, drop it."
"Fine," he said as he got out of bed and he headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
A short time later, Daryl walked out of the bedroom as he headed for the dining room table and he sat on the chair. Murphy sat at one head of the table while Connor sat at the other head of the table and Caroline handed Daryl a white coffee mug with coffee inside. He took a long drink of coffee as she placed a plate of some scrambled eggs and chicken sausage links and a bowl of porridge in front of him and he picked up the spoon.
"Where's Katherine?" Daryl asked.
"She's down in th'hospital," Connor said then placed a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.
"What were you and Katherine talkin' about last night?" Murphy asked.
"She was just apologizin' fer gettin' me upset," Caroline said.
"She told me the same thing when she came t'bed," Connor said.
They started eating while Murphy barely tapped Caroline's left foot with his right foot and she glanced at him. He gave her a tiny smile as she ducked her head down and Connor and Daryl cleared their throats. Murphy moved his foot back and Caroline felt the blush moving across her cheeks.
"How did you get out of Boston?" Caroline asked, looking at Connor. He took a long drink of coffee before he sat back in the chair and sighed.
Boston
"Murphy, get yer ass back here!" Sibeal shouted while Murphy ran down the sidewalk. Connor ran to get his twin when he lightly grabbed onto Murphy's right upper arm and Murphy quickly turned to look at him.
"Where are you goin'?" Connor asked.
"I need t'find someone who can take me t'the airport," Murphy said and Connor saw the pained look in his brother's eyes.
"You said she didn't want you t'go with her."
"I don't care! She ain't gonna face this alone!"
"It was her choice."
"I love her!"
"I know that. Jus' like I know she loves you. But I also see her point. If anythin' happened t'you, she would never fergive herself and neither would I."
Murphy lowered his head as they headed back to Sibeal and Romeo and Sibeal sighed.
"I was able t'find us a ride," Sibeal said as he pointed to the semi-truck parked in the parking lot across the street. "Th'driver said he's takin' passengers, but we have t'pay."
"We don't have any money," Romeo said.
"He said we can get some over there," he said as he pointed to the bank.
"He wants us t'rob a bank?!" Connor asked with wide eyes.
"No," Murphy said.
"No offense, guys, but it's not like anyone's gonna be using the money," Romeo said.
"It's still stealin'!"
"He's….," Connor said when the sound of gunfire filled the air and they ducked behind a car. Connor looked up to see the driver of the semi-truck on top of the cab of the semi-truck and he was firing the rifle at the crowd of people surrounding the semi-truck.
"Back off! If you wanna get a ride, you gotta pay!" the driver shouted as he reloaded the rifle
"Bullshit!" one of the men shouted.
"If you had any sense of common decency, you'd let us ride for free!" a woman with three, young children said.
"Come on, Dude!" a young man pleaded.
"I said back off!" the driver said as he fired the rifle and the young man's head exploded.
"Fuck!" Romeo whispered after he ducked down.
"We're not gonna get anywhere with him," Sibeal said.
"Hey!" made Connor look to the right when he saw two young men near a van and they motioned for them to come over. Connor, Murphy, Romeo and Sibeal ran to the van as the young men smiled and Connor noticed one of them had a small, gold ring in one nostril. "You need a lift?"
"You headin' fer the airport?" Murphy asked.
"Why?" the other young man asked.
"I need t'get there before my girlfriend leaves."
"Heard most of the roads to the airport are blocked, Dude," the first young man said and Murphy sighed.
"Where are you headin'?" Connor asked.
"There's this boat down at the docks. Captain said he'll take us as far as Philly if we wanna go."
"How much is he chargin'?" Sibeal asked.
"Aint' charging shit," the second young man said.
"Let's go," Romeo said.
They got in the van as the first young man started the engine and they headed down the road.
"Hold on. Go back and get that woman with those kids," Romeo said as he looked behind them.
"Why?" the first young man asked.
"Because it is th'right thing t'do," Sibael said.
Nodding, the young man turned the van around and headed back to the semi-truck. The woman and her children were hiding behind a car as the driver of the semi-truck fired the rifle at the crowd and the screams echoed in the air. She looked up to see Connor and Murphy motioning for her to get in the van and she frowned. She looked down at the children when she picked up her youngest son and they ran for the van. Connor and Murphy moved back so she could hand the children to them then she got into the van. Murphy closed the door as the young man put the van in gear and the young man steered the van down the road.
"Why didn't anyone try and stop that asshole?" Daryl asked.
"No one had any weapons," Murphy said.
Boston – docks
The van came to a stop as Murphy opened the door and the woman and her children got out of the van. Romeo, Connor and Murphy followed them then the woman hugged them before she headed for the boat. The young men headed for the boat while Sibeal looked at his nephew and Romeo then at the boat.
"We shouldn't go on that boat," Sibeal said.
"What are you talkin' about? This was your idea," Romeo said.
"We don't know fer a fact that he's headin' where those boys said he was headin'."
"Then what do you want t'do?" Connor asked.
"We can take th'van and drive anywhere we want."
"Like the airport," Murphy said.
"Th'roads to th'airports are blocked," Connor reminded him. He hated the pain in his twin's eyes and Murphy looked down at their feet.
"Even if we did take the van, does anyone know where we can find gas in case we run out?" Romeo asked.
"No," Connor said and Murphy shook his head.
"Then we're better off taking our chances with the boat."
"I agree," Connor said.
"Let's go," Murphy said. They headed for the boat when Connor turned to see Sibeal standing near the van. Connor waited until Sibeal walked to them and they went to talk to the captain.
"He took us t'Philadelphia. From there, we joined a group of survivors and their camp is where I met Katherine," Connor said.
Philadelphia
"Will you hold him still?!" Katherine shouted while she tried to treat the young man lying on the cot and blood poured out from between her fingers.
Murphy, Romeo, Sibeal and Connor entered the make-shift clinic while the young man on the cot screamed and Katherine growled. She moved back as she wiped the blood off her hands and she looked at the young men standing next to the cot.
"I'm sorry."
The young men looked at their friend when one of the young men removed a gun from the holster on his belt and he placed the silencer on the end of the barrel of the gun. He pointed the gun at their friend's head when he fired the gun twice then they left the clinic.
"Why did he do that?" Connor asked and Katherine turned to look at them.
"He did it so his friend wouldn't come back," Katherine said as she walked closer.
"He's dead. How could he come back?" Murphy asked.
"You must be new," she said as she smiled then held out her right hand. "I'm Katherine."
"Connor. This eejit is my brudder, Murphy. That's our uncle, Sibeal, and that's Romeo," Connor said and they shook hands.
"What can I do for you?"
"We were told t'come here fer a checkup."
"You didn't answer his question. How could that young man come back from th'dead?" Sibeal asked.
"We're not really sure. All we know is people around here don't stay dead unless you shoot them in the head," Katherine explained.
"Didn't we see some really weird lookin' people on the side of the road before we came here?" Romeo asked as he looked at Murphy and Murphy nodded.
"Where are you guys from?" Katherine asked.
"Boston," Connor said.
"Is it bad there? Haven't heard much news since they stopped broadcasting."
"We nearly got ambushed by some of those things before we went to the dock and got on the first boat outta town," Romeo said.
"Well, let's get you checked out," she said and they headed for the examination area.
"After she made sure we were healthy, we went from one place t'another. Stayed clear of Pittsburgh," Connor said.
"Why?" Daryl asked.
"Heard there was some bad shit happenin' there."
"I told Connor we should keep goin' south," Murphy said and Caroline lightly tapped his right foot with her left foot.
"How did you end up here?" Daryl asked.
"Uncle said we had to go home."
"He got us passage on th'first boat t'Ireland," Connor said.
Ireland – years later
Murphy hitched up the backpack while Jeanie walked next to him and he looked straight ahead. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about Caroline, but he kept wondering where she was.
"Are you ok?" Jeanie asked and he looked at her. Jeanie was the same height as Caroline, but she had blonde hair and gray eyes. She had the strap of the rifle over her left shoulder and a baseball cap was on her head. She wore a white shirt, jeans and work boots and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
"I'm fine," Murphy said with a small grin.
"Where are we going?"
"We're goin' home," Connor said as they stopped at a row of apartment buildings and he looked up at the windows. Murphy stood next to him as they headed up the stairs and Katherine, Romeo and Jeanie watched them and Sibeal enter the building. They headed up the stairs when they heard growling and hissing and something moved by the opened doorway. They watched as Chompies stumbled out of the apartment and they aimed the guns. Chompies were the Irish version of Walkers. Connor and Murphy fired the guns as the bodies fell and they headed down the hallway.
"You sure she's still here?" Murphy asked.
"Nope," Connor said with a shake of his head and they went upstairs. They walked down the hallway when they stopped in front of the door to their old apartment and they both sent a silent prayer to find no one inside. Connor opened the door as they carefully entered the apartment and Murphy saw a framed photograph sitting on the bookshelf. He picked up the frame when they heard something moving in one of the bedrooms and they looked at each other.
"I'll go look," Sibel said. He held the gun in his hands as he walked into the bedroom and Connor walked over to the stove. Dried stew was in the metal pot and the strong smell of whiskey came from the metal pot. The sudden sound of gunfire made them run to the doorway and their eyes widened at the sight of Sibeal kneeling next to a woman lying on the floor. Connor recognized the dress the woman was wearing and he crossed himself.
"No," Murphy whispered. They walked to Sibeal when they knelt down next to him and they looked at their mother.
"She was jus' sittin' on the bed. When she saw me, she got up an'…," Sibeal said, softly. "She didn't even put up a fight."
Connor saw a framed photograph on the bed as he stood and he walked to the bed. He picked up the frame. The photograph was of their mother and father holding them as babies. Both of them were smiling. He held the picture frame against his chest as Sibeal and Murphy stood and they crossed themselves before leaving the room.
"After that, we went to th'homestead where we lived while in exile. Stayed there until th'place was overrun and we lost Jeanie and th'kids," Murphy said.
Caroline explained what happened and Daryl ducked his head.
"Sorry," Daryl said.
"It's ok," Murphy said.
"We traveled around Ireland fer awhile then we hopped a ride on a boat t'France," Connor said.
"Why didn't you go back to America?" Daryl asked.
"We didn't think there was anythin' t'go back to," Murphy said with sadness in his eyes. Caroline stood as she headed for the stain glass windows and Murphy went to follow her. He placed his hands on her shoulders while she watched the sunlight sparkling on the glass and he rubbed her shoulders. She moved away to turn to face him and she smiled at the colors covering his face. "What's so funny?"
"You look like a rainbow," she said and he pulled her into a hug.
Daryl and Connor looked at each other when Connor started eating his breakfast and Daryl took a drink of coffee.
"Another reason we didn't go back t'America was there was no one who wanted t'go there," Connor said.
"That's what the guy who brought us here said," Daryl said.
"Who was he?"
"Ever hear of a Captain Hank Trask?"
"That bastard!? He's reported t'be a slaver."
"Damn."
"Do you remember where you were dropped off?"
"Do you have a map?"
"Hold on."
Connor got up when he walked into his bedroom then came back out with a map. He headed for the table as Murphy cleared the table and Connor placed the map on the table. Caroline had gone to get the map from the backpack when she handed the map to Connor and he opened the map, placing the smaller map on the map.
"Now…," Connor said as he looked at the maps while moving his left index finger over the maps then he pointed to the nearest location of a town with a dock. "Looks like this is where Trask dropped you off."
"Trask? Why are you talkin' about that asshole?" Murphy asked, walking to stand next to Connor.
"That's who brought them here."
"Christ."
"Lord's name."
"Connor said he's a slaver," Daryl said.
"Not jus' any slaver. He's the most ruthless of them all," Murphy said.
"Would he have someone cut a person's hand off if it looked like this?" Caroline asked as she held up her right hand.
"Yeah, he would," Connor said.
"Then it's a good thing I kicked the jerk who tried in the balls."
Murphy smiled when he pulled her onto his lap after he had sat down on the chair and Caroline placed her left arm around his shoulders.
"We've tried t'stop him a number of times, but he's a slippery one," Connor said while looking at the map then he noticed one of the places they had visited was the Palace of Versailles. "You met Remy?"
'Yeah," Daryl said with a nod of his head.
"Did you meet his little girl?" Murphy asked.
"Charlotte? Yeah, we did," Caroline said.
"We've been keepin' an eye on them since someone broke into th'palace. They almost killed her."
"What happened to them?" Daryl asked.
"He said he scared them off, but I have a feelin' he did summat," Connor said.
"What do you feed her?"
"Whoever volunteers."
Caroline frowned as Murphy leaned his head against her head and Connor looked at the map. He moved his right index finger along the maps while Daryl looked at the map and Daryl tilted his head to one side.
"What is that?" Daryl asked as he pointed to a spot on the map.
"That is t'Channel Tunnel or th'Chunnel. It connects France t'England," Connor said.
"Can we still use it?"
"No. From what we heard, th'French and th'British governments demolished th'center sections of th'tunnel t'prevent Macabre from goin' t'England or whatever they call those things from comn' here."
"Shit."
A knock on the door made them look up and Connor and Caroline removed the maps from the table. Murphy got up as he moved the hood up until the hood nearly covered his face and Connor handed the map to Caroline. He pointed to the door to their bedroom and Daryl nodded. They went into the bedroom while Connor moved the hood up until the hood was nearly over his face and he and Murphy walked to the door. Connor opened the door when he looked at the guards and the guards bowed.
"What do you want?" Connor asked in French.
"A swarm was sighted near the Arc," the guard said on French.
"How many?" Murphy asked in French.
"At least fifty."
"Get the teams ready," Connor said in French.
The guards nodded while Connor closed the door and they headed for the wardrobe. The bedroom door opened while Caroline and Daryl walked out of the bedroom and Connor opened the doors to the cabinet near the door. Caroline saw their black Navy pea coats hanging on the back of the doors as she walked closer and Murphy turned to look at her.
"You still have yer coats?" she asked in a soft voice. Murphy removed his black Navy pea coat from the hook when he slid the black Navy pea coat around her shoulders and she smiled at him.
"Where are you goin'?" Daryl asked as he walked closer.
"There is a swarm of fifty Macabre near th'Arc," Connor explained as he dropped the robe onto the floor and slid his feet out of the sandals. Caroline helped him put on the black body armor, boots and pinned his hair up so he could put on the riot helmet.
"We have extra battle armor downstairs if you wanna help us," Murphy said while she helped him put on the black body armor, boots and pinned up his hair so he could put the helmet on.
They headed for the door as Connor opened the door and Daryl and Caroline followed them out of the room.
The Arc de Triomphe
Murphy and Caroline knelt down next to car while they watched the Macabre stumbling down the street and Caroline held the crossbow in her hands. He lightly tapped on the riot helmet as she looked at him and he pointed to the Macabre climbing up the wall of the building across the street. She took aim as her right index finger brushed over the trigger and she was startled when one of the Macabre fell off the wall and crashed to the ground. She glanced over at Daryl and Connor kneeling next to the car to her right and Daryl was reloading his crossbow.
Sighing, Caroline took aim again as she fired the crossbow and the Macabre fell off the wall after the crossbow bolt hit the Macabre in the head. She knelt down as she reloaded the crossbow and Murphy stood, took aim and fired the gun with the silencer. The head of the Macabre exploded as he ducked down and Caroline lightly nudged his right side.
Daryl took aim when he fired the cross bow and the Macabre fell after the crossbow bolt hit the Macabre in the head. He watched Connor firing the gun with the silencer and he was surprised when Connor didn't miss hitting any of the Macabre. He remembered what Caroline said about what Connor and Murphy did before the world fell apart and Daryl reloaded the crossbow, took aim and fired the crossbow.
"Move out," Connor said as they carefully moved from one car to the other and Caroline heard the soft hissing and grumbling sounds coming from behind the cars.
"Duck!" Murphy said as she went flat on the ground and he stood, fired the gun and the head of the Macabre on the roof of the car exploded. Murphy helped her up as they headed down the sidewalk and Connor pointed to the alleyway. They headed down the alleyway while Connor and Daryl looked up at the fire escapes and Caroline checked the dumpsters. They kept walking when they came out of the alleyway and they could see the Arc in front of them.
"Damn," Daryl said as the Macabre climbed on the Arc and some of the Macabre were eating people they had killed.
"This way," Connor said and they headed toward the Arc.
Caroline saw some of the others from the Cathedral attacking the Macabre as she took aim, fired the crossbow and the Macabre fell to the ground. Murphy pulled her out of the way just as one of the Macabre tried to grab her and he fired the gun. The Macabre fell to the ground after its head exploded and Murphy gave Caroline a small, sideways hug.
Daryl and Connor walked under the Arc as they checked the stalls for survivors or Macabre and Connor sighed when he saw two men lying on the ground in a large puddle of blood. Daryl watched Connor make the Sign of the Cross before he fired the gun at the men's heads then they walked off. They came to a stop when four Macabre appeared in front of them and Daryl noticed they were cut off from the exit.
Connor saw the bottle of whiskey as he picked up the bottle of whiskey and he frowned. Daryl saw a small cloth as he picked up the small cloth and he handed the small cloth of Connor. Nodding, Connor opened the top of the bottle of whiskey when he placed the end of the cloth in the bottle wrapped the rest of the cloth around the neck of the bottle and Daryl looked around for something to light the cloth. He saw a lighter in one of the stalls as he picked up the lighter, flicked the switch and the flame appeared. He lit the cloth as the cloth caught fire and Connor smiled. He tossed the bottle at the Macabre as the Macabre caught fire and Daryl and Connor climbed the stalls. They jumped off the top of the stalls then started running and Connor saw Murphy and Caroline.
"Move!" Connor said and Caroline and Murphy saw the fire and smoke coming from under the Arc. Murphy took hold of Caroline's right hand as they started running and they headed for the evacuation area.
Notre-Dame Cathedral
Daryl woke up as he looked up at the dark ceiling and he listened to the room. He didn't hear Caroline's breathing as he sat up, pulled his legs up and he placed his wrists on his knees. He got out of bed when he walked to the door, opened the door and he walked in the main room. He saw Caroline sitting on the couch as he walked to the couch and she looked up at him. He sat next to her as she moved closer and he slid his right arm around her shoulders.
"You good?" she asked, softly.
"Yeah. Just didn't know where you were."
"I'm just sittin' here thinkin'."
"About what?"
"About who wanted to kidnap us. Why did they do it? What do they want from us? What happened to Trask and his crew? How do all of us get out of here? I mean if Katherine, Connor and Murphy wanna leave. How are we gonna get home? Speaking of home, is anyone looking for us or have they forgotten us?"
"Hmph."
A fire was burning in the fireplace as they sat in silence and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
