"Not far now," stated Carol, ducking to avoid a low hanging branch, and taking a deep breath of cool air, "You want me to take Judith?"
She turned back to Maggie who's face was flushed with exertion. It had been a longer walk than they thought towards the shell of a shack that had been nominated as a meeting point should the prison fall or be attacked.
"No," Maggie shook her head, "I got her."
They trudged onwards in silence as the day seeped away.
Carol dared not think of Daryl, of what he would do when he returned home. It wasn't certain that the other inhabitants of the prison would flee, those who did might not make to the shack. Some might take their chances out in the world on their own.
She refused to allow herself to dwell on not being inside the fence when The Governor rolled up. The thought of Hershel, Glenn and particularly Carl being potentially separated and even lost forever caused her mouth to run dry and the stomach roll uncomfortably. There was no guarantee that those three were out there together, after the fall of the farm, it had been sheer luck that the group had found each other on the highway, but to do it twice was highly unlikely.
Panic would do herself, Maggie and Judith no good. They had to focus on themselves until they reached the shack, with the best and hopefully most likely scenario being Glenn, Hershel and Carl sitting on the broken porch waiting for them. They could then plan further. Carol would not entertain thoughts which deviated from that.
A thread of an idea bubbled up in her mind. What if The Governor had back up waiting on the main road or in and around the area of the shack?
The building was barely standing but it was noticeable because at some point the roof had been painted yellow. That roof though now partly rotted or fallen away, still provided a fairly prominent focal point from a distance, which was why it had been selected as their go-to spot. It would pay to be cautious.
Carol stopped in her tracks, although her aching feet throbbed and she yearned to sit down against a tree.
Maggie halted, "Everything ok?" she whispered, remembering that it wasn't so long ago that her friend had been ill to the point of near death.
Nodding Carol took a breath, a plan forming in her head as she remembered that her pack contained her binoculars.
"Maggie, we need to take a moment," she began, knowing the reply she would receive. "But, the meeting point. Glenn could be there already!" Maggie protested in a low voice. "They probably all are if they got the bus outta there!"
"I know," nodded Carol, "But I think we should have a talk about this. Now," she cut off her friend before she could reply, "What if The Governor had a back up plan? Or what if he has people stationed around the main road? He's dead but any colleagues may have out there might not know that. Or they may know that and be just as evil as he was. They could be looking to take hostages or prisoners. Or something worse."
Maggie's eyes widened as she took in the possibility.
"I don't want to scare you," Carol continued, "But we have to think this through. If Glenn and the others made it to the shack, what if they were ambushed or are in some kind of trouble? Maybe we should head North a little and approach the shack from there. I have my binoculars. We can check it out without being seen or walking into a trap. We'd have the element of surprise too."
"Oh, that could be wise," her friend nodded, seeing the logic behind the plan. "How do you think of this stuff?" marvelled Maggie, "You're like a strategic genius. You ever think of joining the military?"
Carol snorted, "No. Was too busy trying and failing to be a good little wife."
"You'd have been amazing in the forces," Maggie said as they started walking again in a more northerly direction, "And that Ed, he'd shit his pants if he could see how able and strong you are now. Don't ever forget that."
The women exchanged smiles as Carol reached into her bag and placed her binoculars around her neck. She didn't mention that she had often ran through escape routes and plans in her head late at night in her cell, which was how she had come up with the notion of stashing secret guns in the bark of that tree. She also knew that if Ed suddenly re-entered her life, she'd no longer be the cowed, pitiful victim she was before. That woman was long gone.
They walked in as near to complete silence as they could. Carol had whispered that they needed to move like ghosts to maintain their cover, should any enemies or trouble be waiting on the road.
A fair distance from the point where the trees met the main route through the area, they stopped and fed Judith.
Just two bottles of formula remained, which meant they had eight hours to try to find more, whether they risked returning home or traveling around for it.
Once the baby was content and settled back in her sling on Maggie's back, they forged onwards. Half an hour later they arrived at the trees lining the road, and Carol could see the partial yellow roof a short distance away. Keeping their cover, she raised her binoculars and scanned the road from their vantage point.
The school bus was parked at the shack! She couldn't see much activity around it, but the moans of a few walkers drifted by on the breeze.
Carol turned to Maggie, still holding her binoculars aloft. "The bus is there," she whispered as a relieved smile broke out on the younger woman's face. "I can't see any of our people. Can't see anybody else either. We need to move closer, just so I can be sure we're not walking into anything we shouldn't."
Maggie nodded, not daring to speak should any noise attract unwanted attention.
"Let's move down to that embankment, we can keep cover but I think I'll be able to see and hear better." Carol nodded in the direction of a mound of earth which held a copse of dense trees lining the main road just yards from the school bus parked at the shack opposite. They set off determinedly.
The two women crouched down behind the small hill and Carol offered up thanks that Judith remained in a peaceful slumber but still felt a twinge of concern over their lack of baby supplies. She pushed the worry to the back of her mind; they had to concentrate on the situation at hand first.
Taking a deep breath, Carol inched up the damp earth on her stomach and peeped her head up enough to raise the binoculars.
She could see a number of dead walkers on the ground around the school bus, the back doors of the vehicle swung open in the breeze and several bodies slumped out over the step. It appeared that the dead had managed to enter the bus and so many survivors from the prison met their end in a metal trap, some of them attempting to escape to the rear which ended in failure.
Moving the binoculars, she scanned the area of the shack but it looked as deserted as always, no Glenn or Hershel sat on the porch.
"Damn," she muttered under her breath.
Sensing movement from the front of the bus, Carol adjusted her view and her heart dropped. Closing her eyes for a second, she gathered her thoughts, inhaled and crept down the earth towards Maggie.
"Glenn? Daddy?" Maggie instantly asked, but her face fell as she took in Carol's sober features.
Carol shook her head. "We do have a problem though," she informed her friend in a whisper.
"What is it?"
"The school bus looks to have been over ran by walkers. Most of our people are dead. No sign of Hershel or Glenn, sorry," The older woman took a deep breath, "There doesn't appear to be any of The Governor's people stationed here, but I saw a strange man. He was putting down a walker and he had Carl, Lizzie and Mika around him. He could be holding them against their will. We need to get those kids back."
"Are the kids ok?" Maggie gasped.
Carol grimaced, "They didn't look too scared or upset but I wasn't close enough to see clearly. I think Carl could be bleeding from a cut on his arm."
"Tell me what I need to do," replied Maggie, a determined look crossing her face as she grabbed her gun from its holster.
"Ok," Carol fixed her friend with her blue eyes and relayed the plan. "You head south a little, to just beyond that burned patch of trees, see it?" She indicated her head towards an area behind Maggie, who turned, spotted the correct place and nodded before focusing again on Carol.
"You come out of the trees, gun raised to his face, tell the asshole to get on his knees." Carol's eyes were like steel, "I'm going to go back along there, where we came from, cross behind the bus and sneak up at him from behind. I'll get the kids to run to you, then we deal with him…..however he needs to be dealt with."
Maggie nodded solemnly, "Now?"
"Now," Carol replied.
The two women gave each other a quick hug, before turning in opposite directions without another word.
Carol made it down to the line of trees running along the road quickly. The sky behind the shack burned with tones of russet and copper as evening drew in.
She crouched and hurried across to the bus, carefully navigating around bodies, trying not to dwell on the fact that these had been her friends and acquaintances, she had cooked for them, done chores for them, held conversations about the days before the apocalypse with them. She pulled out her knife and put down the few reanimated corpses at her feet while scanning the forest surrounding the yellow roofed shack. She replaced the knife into his sheath and carried on with her task.
Creeping along the side of the bus nearest to their meeting point, she heard Maggie's strong, clear voice order the stranger to his knees. Carl shouted out to Maggie and Carol heard shuffling which she assumed and hoped was the guy complying with commands.
She peeped around the front of the vehicle at the group of people just yards in front of her.
Carol hurried out across the front of the bus and came up behind the stranger in a few short steps.
"Don't move, asshole!" she ordered, pressing the tip of her gun into the short dark blond hair at the back of his head.
He was taller than she had thought, even kneeling he was imposing, probably over six feet when standing. He raised his hands in surrender without a word. Lizzie and Mika stood to the man's right while the young Grimes was to his left.
Carl whirled around and gasped, a smile breaking across his features and he threw himself at Carol, wrapping his arms around her waist. She allowed the embrace for a second as she gave Lizzie and Mika reassuring smiles.
"Go. Go run to Maggie," she said and the kids obeyed in a heartbeat, Carl thrilled to spot his sister nestled in Maggie's sling.
"Put your hands behind your back," she ordered to her captive and he obliged in silence. Carol produced a length of twine from her backpack as her friend inched closer with her gun pointed at the stranger's face.
Tying his hands together behind him, she gave another command, "Move, across to the shack. Now."
He stood with a grunt and Carol noticed a patch of blood staining his light grey jumper, it appeared he had an injury to the right side of his stomach. She cast a glance at Carl who seemed to be trying to get her attention.
The man moved across the road to the shack and sat on the steps of the porch as Carol demanded. Both women kept their weapons trained on him and the three kids stood behind them.
"Carol," whispered Carl.
"What?" she whispered quietly, motioning to Maggie to keep her attention focused on the stranger.
"He's ok," Carl explained, tipping his sheriff's hat towards the man. "He was helping us. Helped us off the bus and killed a bunch of walkers. He's not a threat, I can tell."
Carol studied the boy, knowing that he had a gift for assessing newcomers, he had vouched for Michonne almost immediately upon her arrival and now she was firmly part of the family.
"What happened to your arm?" Carol asked.
Carl looked down at his stained shirt, "It's not my blood, it's his. He got hurt helping us, got cut on some glass."
The man looked solemnly across and gave a small smile to the boy, which Carl returned. Carol narrowed her eyes at the stranger and he quickly averted his gaze.
She turned to Mika and Lizzie after exchanging a look with Maggie.
"This true?" she asked the girls.
"Yes ma'am," answered Lizzie, her eyes filled with innocence.
Mika giggled slightly, "He was wonderful," she breathed.
Carol rolled her eyes.
"Ok," she stated, looking at each of them, "I'm going to have to check him out. We have to be careful. But I'll bear in mind that he helped you. Carl, take out your gun. Girls, your knives. I need you to stay alert for walkers while Maggie and I take care of this. Then we need to figure out what we're gonna do about Judith and finding her some milk."
Maggie stood statue still in front of the man and he sat studying the foliage in the yard of the shack, avoiding her eyes.
"We're going to have to talk to this guy," Carol murmured to her friend, both weapons now trained on the man. "Carl says he helped them get off the bus alive."
Maggie turned her head, "So what are we going to do?" she breathed, quickly focusing again on her captive.
Shrugging, Carol kept her voice low, "If he's not a threat, we cut him loose. Quickly. Warn him to keep the hell away from us. We need to think about finding food for us and Judith is gonna need formula. And soon."
"Or he could come with us?" suggested Carl from behind them.
"Hey," the man piped up before either of them could reply to the boy. His grey eyes studied them calmly from his position of weakness.
"What?" Carol snapped, channeling her best snarl and hoped it was as effective as that of a certain hunter close to her heart.
"Hi," he continued, and he smiled, a gesture which transformed his slender features.
Both Carol and Maggie noticed that he was actually incredibly good looking, his dirty blond hair falling over his forehead, blond stubble across his jaw, and broad shoulders clothed in a jumper which highlighted his muscular arms.
Carol now understood Mika's giggling and hoped her snarl hadn't slipped under the beam of his smile. She heard Maggie clear her throat and shuffle her feet beside her.
"My name is Alec," the man informed them, a hint of an accent clipping his words, as though he had lived in Europe at some point in the past. His smile faded but his grey eyes remained genuine, "I believe I can help you out, especially with the baby formula. But I need you to trust me."
The two women, still brandishing their guns looked at each other and realised a choice had to be made.