Athena

Athena (Greek) - Goddess of war and wisdom and domestic crafts. Athena's greatest strength was her ability to assess a situation and then develop winning strategies.

Aaron raced downstairs to check on Eric and Daryl moved closer to Carol. "We can't stay. They're coming in through the gates. The Wolves are inside reinforced trucks and the walkers are in trailers. They are coming fast. You need to get inside. We have to stick with the plan."

Aaron was back, "Let's go, Daryl."

Daryl touched her arm, "I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you, but please go inside. We got this." He and Aaron disappeared in the night.

Rosita walked out on the porch with her rifle. "Texans don't stay in the basement."

Michonne swung her katana around to loosen up and Carol checked her new pistol. She took the safety off and slapped the clip again to make sure it was seated. The extra clips were in her cargo pants. Her rifle was on the porch. She could hear the trucks and she guessed it wouldn't be long now.

Jessie and Ron were standing now holding rifles and Carol saw Sam go inside. Jessie, Ron, and Sam were supposed to be with Tobin and his family. Jessie had changed her mind this evening and insisted that she and Ron would defend their home. She's manic this evening. Sam shouldn't be in that house. Jessie is going to get those boys killed.

There was a loud crashing sound and the sound of the trucks was louder now because they were inside the walls. Alexandria was silent. She could hear the sound of the trailers being opened and the muffled groans of the dead. A killer tsunami was rolling their way and Carol felt her whole body quake with terror. Michonne was gasping for air and Rosita was rocking back and forth. Carol moved to Michonne and took her hand. Michonne nodded. Rosita moved to Carol's side and for a few seconds they held onto each other. Then, as one they stepped away from each other so that they had room to fight.

Jessie suddenly bolted toward the tower and Carol saw Ron follow her. That left Sam alone in the house. Carol raced for the Anderson house. Please, please let me be there in time.

The Anderson house was closer to the gates and the walkers were starting down their street. The door to the house was unlocked and she called as she went into the house, "Sam, come on. We must go now." Let him be right here. We can make if he is.

The house was silent. He must be upstairs and she switched on the thin flashlight and bounded up the stairs. The first door was the master bedroom, the second had a skateboard and she had seen Ron with it, and that left door number three which had books.

Carol hurried to the closet, "Sam, open the door. It's Carol. I've come to take you somewhere safe." At least I am going to try.

There was the rattle of the latch being lifted and he came out blinking in the light, "The monster is going to drag me out into the woods."

Carol grabbed his hand, "No, I'm not going to let it take you. Come on." There was no point to being quiet now. They flew down the stairs and she didn't bother to stop at the door to reconnoiter. She was going out anyway and they cleared the front porch and down the steps. The walkers were there to meet them but she had her pistol out and was able to get the two closest ones.

Michonne was standing on the sidewalk with her katana clearing a path for them. Carol took it and saw that Rosita was shooting into the herd. Sam stumbled and Carol jerked him up and she half dragged him up the steps. She opened the door and gave him the flashlight. "Go to the basement but yell for Tara so she will know who you are." She pushed him in the house and took out her rifle.

Michonne and Rosita had reformed their line on the top steps of their house and Carol joined them. The moon was bright enough so that they could see the walkers. The yard and sidewalk were covered with the finally dead, but they were running low on ammo. It was time to retreat to the house. Suddenly, there was a tremendous wave of sound that rocked off the metal walls of Alexandria. The catchy tones of KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way I Like It" roared through the air and most of the walkers stopped and after a few moments they began to drift toward the music and by the time that Steppenwolf's, "Born to be Wild" began to blare there weren't any walkers in the yard,

Michonne and Rosita slipped off toward the gates using the back yards. Carol locked the door behind her and pushed the couch in front of it. The Wolves were still out there. She opened the door that went to the basement and locked it behind her. She called out quietly, "It's Carol" and Tara opened the door and enough lights spilled out that she could see her way to the safe room.

Judith was still asleep and Eric was sitting up in the chair with his broken ankle propped up on a box. Sam flew into her arms and she kissed the top of his sweaty hair. Tara looked tired, but clear headed. Carol drank some water. "I'm going to go back out in the basement. You lock the door and I'll call out when I need in. Don't open the door unless I say open sesame." There were bunks along the wall and enough food and water in the storage containers underneath the bunks for them to stay for days.

She grabbed one of the big flashlights, "Don't talk."

The door shutting behind her made her uneasy. Pitch black . The adrenaline was wearing off and the old self-doubts were creeping in. Carol took a position with a clear shot at the basement steps. The walls felt as if they were closing in and the memory of being trapped in that small cell at the prison came back to taunt her. Eric, Tara, Judith, and Sam were only a few feet away but she felt as alone as she had ever been. Alone to face the demons that never quite went away.

You were too weak to go after Sophia. She's dead because you failed her over and over." The chief of her demons was on her right side whispering what they both knew would hurt the most.

"Daryl is never going to stay with you. He'll throw you out like Rick did. You should have left the group, but as usual you were weak and selfish." Demons always took your happy times and ruined them. "He was just horny. He'll find someone younger and you'll be old news."

"You are getting too close to Michonne. She doesn't know who you really are".

"I'll take Sam from you like I took Sophia. Just waiting until you admitted to yourself that you care about him. More fun that way."

"Those wolves will get past you and blow that door down. Then they'll go in and hack those people into pieces, but they'll keep you alive long enough so that you can watch it and know that you failed again."

Carol closed her eyes and let the memory of her day wash over her. Laughing with Michonne as they walked around Alexandria. Making sure that her elderly friends were put somewhere safer tonight. Talking with Jeremiah Thompson and him giving her keys to some house. Being upstairs with Daryl as the rainbow colored lights danced on the ceiling as they made love. Eating dinner with the people that she loved and then walking around Alexandria as the moon came up over the walls. Running toward Sam and a herd of walkers because she wasn't weak. Fighting with Rosita and Michonne when she wanted to run because she needed to do her part. Sitting here in the dark facing her demons because her job was to protect the ones inside that little room. "Go, fuck yourselves, demons. The Wolves aren't getting past me."

She checked her pistol and shoved in a new clip. She would have to move once she fired. The Wolves were experienced fighters and they probably had more big teeth to bite her with. Carol decided where her next position would be and the one after that.

Something was slamming into the front door upstairs and then she heard several pairs of footsteps going up the stairs to the bedrooms. That wouldn't take long. Soon they were going through the kitchen and pausing at the basement door. The first man went down the stairs tentatively. The second followed them cautiously. There was another man on the landing. There were always going to be three bad wolves. Just like in the fairy tale.

Carol waited until the first man stepped onto the squeaky step that was the next to last step. She kicked on the bright flashlight and aimed four feet above the steps and shot six times as rapidly as she could. Clicking off the flashlight she darted to a new position. There was a barrage of bullets aimed in her general direction and she felt a jabbing pain in her left arm which she ignored. It was only a graze. I can still shoot, no biggie.

One man was down for sure and the other might be it. Carol sent another round in their direction and knew from the meaty sound of bullet hitting flesh and the thud of a body falling down the stairs that another one bit the dust. She moved toward the bathroom. Follow me, Wolf. I am the old granny and you don't worth to bother with Little Red Riding Hood.

The last man on the stairs let loose another volley of bullets. Her ears were ringing and how long could Tara keep Judith quiet? He swerved his flashlight searching for her. She smeared some of the blood from her arm and put it on the floor leading to the shower.

The bathroom had a shower stall with a curtain and there was a linen closet that faced the door. The linen closet didn't have shelves in it yet and she slipped in there and waited. He was a wolf and she was wounded prey. He would come.

Carol aimed the pistol at the door and waited. The shower had a curtain across it and she heard the squeak of the shower curtain being drawn open and Carol slammed the door open and shot him in the chest and then in the head. He didn't go down immediately but he couldn't seem to be able to raise his weapon in her direction. He dropped his flashlight and she pushed him into the shower. It was time to go check on the others. One was wandering around as a walker and she used her knife on him. The other man was still alive and she put her knife through his skull. She pushed their bodies off the stairs and went up the steps.

The front door was standing open and she could see a silhouette of a man standing there. She slunk back into the shadows. He called out, "Jeff, we need to leave. We're fucked. This was a trap."

Carol moved along the hallway that led to the living room. The man had turned to face the street. She inched closer and aimed at the back of his head. He turned back toward the house, "I'm leaving without you."

She shot him in the face and he went down immediately falling backward to the front porch. The door had been forced open and she waited in the shadows. The music had stopped some time ago and the street in front of the house was quiet.

No one else came toward the house and before long the power came back on. The refrigerator began to hum and Carol could see lights in the houses. The worst of the threats were over. Each house would be searched for walkers and wolves. Morgan and Rick's plan had worked.

Their plan was simple. Allow the walkers inside briefly, and then turn music on and drive them toward the deep trenches that had been dug outside the walls. A gate had been created so that the walkers could move out side of the walls. The wolves would follow the walkers in through the gates or over the walls. Teams were in place along the inside of the walls to kill the wolves. Another team was sent to capture the trucks trapping the wolves and walkers inside.

Michonne and Rosita came back first. They checked the upstairs rooms first and then the main floor for intruders. Then, the three women dragged the dead wolves outside and cleaned up the blood on the floor. Then, Carol gave the signal for Tara to open the safe room. Judith demanded Michonne and Sam latched himself on Carol. Rosita helped Tara upstairs.

Carol and Rosita moved Eric upstairs to the couch. Michonne took Judith upstairs. Abraham and Eugene came back and Abraham was able to fix the door enough so that they could shut it. Carol went into the kitchen to make coffee and Sam trailed along behind. He had asked about his mother and brother, but no one had seen them.

The coffee was almost finished when Daryl and Aaron came back. Daryl's stride moving purposely toward the kitchen. He leaned on the door, "You okay?"

"Gotta be." She smiled at him. "You okay?"

Daryl moved into the room. "I could use some coffee." He eyed the silent boy, "Sam I Am, you take care of Carol for me?"

Sam shook his head, "That's your job."

Daryl nodded. He came closer to Carol and hugged her to him, "You're right, taking care of Carol is my job."

She let herself cling to him for a few moments and then she pushed away gently. "Have some coffee. Sam, go tell the others that the coffee is ready."

She waited until Sam was out of the room, "What about his mother and brother?"

"Dead. Jessie was running toward the tower and the boy was trying to protect her. They were swarmed and Rick and Morgan shot into the herd to kill them." Daryl hugged her close again, "It was quick."

"I'll have to tell him soon before someone lets it slip." Carol rubbed her face against his chest. It did feel good to be held by someone who loves you.

"We'll tell him together, and we should take him upstairs to our room to do it. Nothing we can say can make it hurt less, but he needs to know that we'll take care of him."

Later the three of them went upstairs. Sam was exhausted but he had asked several times about his mother and brother and he was too smart not to know that something was wrong. Daryl sat down in the chair and Carol sat by Sam on the bed. "I'm sorry, Sam. Your mother and brother were killed tonight." Daryl's voice was soft.

Sam looked at Carol and she put her arm around him, "It's true. I am so sorry."

He cried until he went to sleep. Carol took his shoes off and let him sleep in their bed. She and Daryl went back downstairs. There was work to be done. The bodies of the walkers and wolves were being thrown in the trenches. There would be patrols running all night. The noise had attracted every walker in miles and the gates had to be reinforced.

Rick and Morgan brought Carl back and to give an update on the attack. Alexandria had stood its first test but there had been casualties. Alexandria was learning that every victory came with a price and eleven of their own had died tonight. Karen and Jeremiah Thompson were among the dead. Two wolves had gotten into the community center but Jeremiah had killed them before they had gone downstairs. He went out a hero, but Carol wondered what had killed Karen.

Carol went upstairs to check on Sam and to take a shower. She was surprised to find Daryl in their bedroom when she came out. He motioned to Sam, "How's he doing?"

"Hasn't woke up yet. What are you doing back?" Something was up and she had a feeling she wouldn't like it.

"Gonna take a shower and get some sleep. There were reports that some of the wolves went over the walls. We're going after them at daybreak." He rubbed his face, "I don't know how long I'll be gone."

Carol scooted onto the middle of the bed. Carl had bunk beds in his room and Sam could sleep in there but she didn't want him to wake up in a strange room. Daryl came back in a few minutes still damp from his shower. He slid in beside her and rubbed her shoulder, "How is the arm?"

"Just a scratch. Nine lives, remember?" Carol scooted closer, "You seem to find lots of reasons to stay away from me."

Daryl snorted, "You just wait until I get back. You'll be sick of me hanging around you like some hungry stray. Tired of leaving you." He was almost asleep and Carol murmured under her breath, "Wish you could stay."

AN

I threw Jessie under the bus, but she does give an odd vibe off.

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