The old library had seen better days, but the building was intact, there wasn't a lot of mess and it could be secured for the night. There was even a vending machine full of drinks in the staff breakroom, and though everything was flat and warm it was better than the tepid water they carried in their flasks and canteens. It looked as though the library had been closed before everything went crazy and it wasn't a location that people would loot, at least not most people.
Carol was finding books on farming, handcrafts, animal care, basic medical care, and a host of other things that sounded useful. Most of the others were already sleeping, or were huddled around one of their solar lanterns to talk before resting. Rick was looking through the stacks of newspapers. They were all old now, but they were new when the world fell apart.
He shuffled through the papers, trying to find the earliest relevant issue, and glanced up at Carol, "I never really got to hear the story like all of you lived through it. Morgan told me the basics, but I never got to hear how things started or what happened step-by-step for the rest of the world."
She nodded, looking up for a book about first aid, "You could have asked. We all went through different things, which probably affected how we saw what was going on, but I think that any of us would have been willing to talk about it. You were in the hospital back then, right? Carl mentioned something but he was so young no one wanted to press for details and Lori never wanted to talk about it."
"Yeah, I had been shot. I was in the hospital for weeks. I'm not even sure how long because I couldn't tell you what day it was when I woke up and the world had become like this." He shook one of the papers that had a full cover picture of a walker. "It seemed like a nightmare at first."
"I can imagine. It still feels like that and I saw the first reports of walkers attacking people. Ed made sure we got out of our neighborhood when it became dangerous, but have we ever really gotten away from danger since then?" Carol shook her head, her lips twisted wryly. "You know, you can read all of that and it will give you an idea of how we learned things as they happened, but you can still ask questions. I don't mind talking about it. We know more about what was going on back then now, than we did when it was happening too."
He nodded, already pulling out a chair at the nearest table. "Alright, I appreciate that. I'll read all of these first though; maybe they'll give me an idea of what I want to know." Rick glanced toward Carl, "I sometimes think that I should ask him about what happened to him, and his mother, and how Shane got them out, but I'm not sure if I should yet. He's so closed off sometimes I worry."
Carol glanced back at the young man for a moment and nodded, "Sometimes, but he's grown so much. You have a lot to be proud of in him. And talking about the past might help him cope with it too. They used to always saying that talking something out helped it heal. Maybe he has things he needs to tell you but he hasn't had a chance to do that yet." She nodded again, grabbing a second book about bow and arrow construction, "I think I'll do some reading by the lantern before turning in."
"Sounds like a good plan, good night, Carol." He watched as she made her way across the lobby of the library, and hand one of the books to Daryl before sitting down next to the archer. It made him smile, but it didn't last when he turned back to the stack of newspapers to begin his own reading assignment.