Carol walked down the hallway while the soft sound of music came from behind one of the doors. She stopped in front of the door when she knocked on the door and she lightly bounced on the ball of her feet. She hadn't been to Eugene and Max' apartment before. She remembered Daryl telling her about how spartan Eugene's was, but he had moved into Max' old apartment after they had gotten married.
"Hello," Max said after she had opened the door and her two months old daughter, Rosie, was in her arms.
"Hello," Carol said as she smiled at the baby.
"Did you need something?"
"I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"You do know Daryl and Caroline Dixon are missing, don't you?"
"Yes, my brother told me. Has there been any word?"
"It seems like someone has taken them."
"Do you have any idea who it is?"
"That's what I thought you could help me with. Did Governor Milton ever talk about a Captain Hank Trask and his ship, the Blue Dolphin?"
Max frowned as she thought for a few seconds then she headed into the apartment. Carol waited for her to close the door, but Max motioned for her to enter and Carol walked inside. She closed the door while Max placed the baby in the playpen and Carol noticed dry boards on the tables and what looked like charts written in erasable marker was printed on the dry boards.
"Sorry. Gene's charting something," Max said with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.
"Have you ever met Captain Trask?" Carol asked after Max had gone to check on the baby and Carol sat on the chair at the kitchen table.
"I never met him, but I do remember the Governor having me send him messages over the radio," Max said as she sat down on the chair across from her.
"Did any of those messages seem odd?"
"Not really. Mostly requests for supplies which we couldn't get here."
"Damn," Carol whispered and Max frowned.
"What does Captain Trask have to do with Daryl and his sister?"
"We believe Trask is the one who took them."
"Do you know why?"
"We have some ideas. One of them has to do with Milton selling Daryl and Caroline into slavery."
"Slavery?!" she asked with wide eyes.
"What is this I hear about slavery?!" Eugene asked as he walked in the room after he opened the door then he closed the door. Carol noticed how happier he seemed since he and Max got married and him becoming a father and she smiled.
"You have heard about Daryl and Caroline being missing, haven't you?" Carol asked as she stood.
"Affirmative. Has there been any new information about their abduction? Or their current location?" he asked as he walked to the playpen and he lifted his daughter into his arms.
"As I told Max, we believe Pamela Milton might have had something to do with it."
"Which might include slavery?" he asked as he tried to go back to their original conversation.
"Yes."
"Gene, have you ever heard of a Captain Hank Trask?" Max asked as she stood and walked to him.
"Negatory. The name is unfamiliar to me," Eugene said as he lightly bounced the baby in his arms
"We think he might have had something to do with Daryl and Caroline's abduction. We also think he might have sold them into slavery," Carol said and Eugene saw the sadness in her eyes.
"Well, if I can be of any further assistance, please let me know. Now, if you excuse me, Rosie seems to need my attention," he said as he headed for the other room and Max smiled.
"He takes his daddy duties very seriously," Max said apologetically and Carol nodded. They walked to the door as Max opened the door and Carol left the apartment. She waved goodbye then headed down the hallway and she wondered where Daryl and Caroline were. Sighing, she went down the stairs and she folded her arms across her stomach.
"Where are you?" Carol whispered then she left the building.
France – Paris
The cart moved down street while Daryl steered around the rubble and abandoned cars, buses, vans and trucks and the horse whickered, shaking its head. Caroline looked at the damaged buildings and shops while a light mist fell and she watched some people moving by them. Other horses and carts moved by as Daryl held the reins in his hands and Caroline tried to see signs for an inn.
"So, this is Paris?" Daryl asked.
"Yeah," Caroline said.
"We're gonna need somewhere to sleep."
"We spent the last of our money at the last inn."
"Great."
"Told you we might have to sell stuff."
"See a market?" he asked as he scanned their surroundings with his eyes.
"I think there's one over there," she said as she pointed to a large outdoor market spread out under and around the Arc de Triomphe.
"What do we have to sell?"
"We got a few riles, a few boxes of ammo and that bottle of wine I found in the box."
"Still don't know where that came from."
"I think Remy gave it to us as a thank you gift."
Daryl steered the horse toward the other carts as he stopped the horse and he hopped off the driver's seat. He tired the reins to the hitching post then Caroline handed him the box. Daryl placed the box on the ground as he opened the box and he looked at the rifles, knives, boxes of ammunition, the bottle of wine and the food. Daryl removed the bottle of wine as well as one of the rifles and a few boxes of ammunition. He placed the bottle of wine, the rifle and boxes of ammunition on the ground as he closed the box, picked up the box and he handed the box to her. She placed the box in the cart then she got out of the cart and Daryl picked up the rifle, boxes of ammunition. Caroline picked up the bottle of wine and they headed for the open market.
"What is this?" Daryl asked as he looked up at the Arc de Triomphe.
"Saw a picture of this in a history book. It's the Arc de Triomphe," she said.
"The what?"
"The Arc de Triomphe. It was built to honor those who fought and died for France during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars."
They walked by the sellers and stalls while they looked at the Arc and Daryl tilted his head to one side.
"Looks like someone wrote on it," he said as he pointed to the walls.
"Those are the names of generals who fought in the wars to defend France."
"Hunh."
He suddenly felt guilt coming from his sister as he turned her to face him and she lowered her head.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Just thought about how Benji hated it when I knew more than he did about stuff," she said and he lightly placed his hands on her shoulders. She lifted her head as he gave her the soft look he normally did when she got upset and she blinked her eyes.
"I don't care if you know every damn thing in the world. I'd be lost if I was here on my own. Hell. I have no idea what they're sayin'. I wouldn't know if someone was a friend or wanted to kill me. And I wouldn't have anywhere to spend the night. Wouldn't be able to take on so many Walkers neither."
She gave him a slightly stunned look then she nodded her head and he patted her shoulders.
They walked by the stalls as they tried to find someone to buy the rifle, boxes of ammunition and the bottle of wine, but most of the stalls were crowded.
"This is gonna take a while," Caroline said with a sigh. She noticed Daryl was looking up at the Arc with a puzzled look on his face and she lightly shoved him to get his attention. "What's wrong?"
"Not sure. Feel like we're bein' watched," Daryl said as he slid the boxes of ammunition into the pockets of the denim jacket and he placed the strap of the rifle over his right shoulder. Caroline held tightly onto the bottle of wine as they walked by the crowds and Daryl pulled her closer to him. He noticed some of the others seemed nervous as well as people slowly started heading for the carts and horses and some of the horses were snorting and clawing at the ground. Daryl helped Caroline onto the cart as she placed the bottle of wine back in the box under the front seat and he handed her the rifle and boxes of ammunition.
"Macabre!" someone shouted and Daryl and Caroline looked up at the front of the Arc.
"No way," Daryl and Caroline said at the same time. Several of the Macabre were climbing down the front of the Arc as they snapped their jaws and moved their heads around in circles. Three of the Macabre pushed off the Arc as they dived through the air and one of the Macabre did several flips before landing on a man near one of the carts.
"NO!" the woman next to the man shouted and her friend pulled her away.
Daryl took the rifle from Caroline as she removed the other rifle which was in the box and they checked to see if the rifles were loaded. They took aim as they fired the rifles and the heads of the Macabre exploded.
Some of the other men and women had removed the rifles from their carts as the fired the rifles and more of the Macabre fell after their heads exploded. More Macabre appeared while Daryl and Caroline got back onto the cart and Daryl took the reins in his hands. Some of the other carts started moving while people ran, but some people were attacked by the Macabre.
"Shit," Daryl said over and over when he finally got the horse to move and the cart headed down the Champs Elysees. The screams echoed behind them as Caroline placed one of the rifles in the box under the front seat and she saw some Macabre falling off the front of the buildings.
"There are too many of them!" someone shouted in French and Daryl and Caroline saw the swarm moving toward the cart. Daryl steered the cart down a long alleyway as some of the Macabre jumped at the walls of the buildings and the Macabre started climbing the walls.
"This is nuts!" Caroline shouted.
"Take the reins!" Daryl shouted.
She switched places with her brother as she took the reins and Daryl took hold of the rifle. He held the rifle in his hands while she kept the cart and horse moving in a straight line and Daryl took aim. He fired the rifle as a Macabre fell off the wall after its head exploded and he kept his balance while reloading the rifle. He took aim then fired the rifle and the Macabre fell off the wall after its head exploded.
"Turn left!" Daryl said and Caroline steered the cart down the small alleyway to their left. Daryl saw the Macabre had given up as he sat down on the seat and he placed the rifle on his lap.
"You good?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah."
She steered the cart down the alleyway until they got back onto the Champs Elysees and they saw people moving bodies of dead Macabre and people who had been bitten over to the side of the road. Daryl nodded as she stopped the cart and they went to help.
Later that day, someone had told Caroline where they could get a free bed for the night as Daryl steered the cart toward a large, cement walls surrounding the base of the Eiffel Tower and Caroline noticed there were barbed wire, iron pikes embedded in the cement. Large iron doors were pulled opened by large pullies as Daryl steered the cart inside and Caroline noticed the large spotlights standing outside the walls.
"Damn," she whispered after seeing the Eiffel Tower rising up from behind the cement walls and she could see there had been some damage to the Tower.
"Even I have seen pictures of that," Daryl said, pointing to the Tower. He stopped the cart near some other carts and a young man walked closer.
"Hello," the young man said in French. Caroline saw he had blue hair and gray eyes and he was wearing a tan shirt, a black bandana around his neck, jeans and black leather boots. He had a rifle strapped over his right shoulder and he gave them a suspicious look.
"Hello," Caroline said in French.
"You aren't from around here."
"No. We're travelin' and were told we could get a bed or two here."
"I will have to ask the Master."
They watched the young man run off as Daryl frowned and Caroline slid her right hand down to the handle of the knife in the holder on her belt. A few seconds later, the young man returned with a man who had long silver and white hair, a full beard and hard, gray eyes. He was dressed in a wine color shirt, a black leather vest, a black leather belt, black pants and black leather boots.
"Hello," the man said in French.
"Hello," Caroline said in French.
"Who are you?" he asked while looking from her to Daryl.
"Caroline. This is my brother, Daryl."
"I am Aramis."
Caroline tried hard not to smile as Aramis sighed, rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Let me guess. You've read the book," Aramis said in French.
"I have," Caroline said in French with a nod.
"My mother had a very strange sense of humor. My poor brothers hated their names."
"She didn't?!" she asked in French with a small laugh after she had figured out their names.
"She did," he said in French then looked around for somewhere for them to sleep. "We have some beds over there."
"Thank you," Caroline said in French and Aramis and the young man walked away. Caroline saw the confused look on Daryl's face and she sighed, lightly shaking her head. "You know that book I was readin' back home?"
"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod.
"Well, one of the characters' names was Aramis."
"Did he say we can stay?"
"Yeah. There are beds over there," Caroline said as she pointed and they hopped off the driver's seat. Daryl had handed her the other rifle before they hopped off the cart and they walked by the base of the Tower. Daryl saw some young men and women climbing up one of the Tower legs while their friends cheered them on and they laughed while one of the young men dangled from one of the metal beams.
"Not gonna be funny if he falls off," Daryl grumbled.
"You've become such a dad," Caroline teased, lightly nudging him.
"Stop."
They kept walking until they came to where the beds were located and they settled on two cots. Daryl stretched out on the cot when he placed his hands on his stomach and he closed his eyes. Caroline felt his mind relaxing while she sat on the cot and she watched the people going by. She picked up bits and pieces of conversations as she placed the palms of her hands on the mattress and she noticed the children happily running around or playing.
"This is how it should be," an older man with white curly hair said in French as he stood next to her. "Children playing and laughing. People being together as a community. Even if they've been herded in behind cement walls like sheep. The dead should stay in the ground. The world is for the living."
"You're right," Caroline said in French.
"I used to give tours of the Lady," he said in French as he looked over at the Tower. "Did since I graduated from school. I loved watching people's faces when they first saw her. The lovers standing on her great platforms. Stealing kisses here and there. The number of proposals I witnessed. Now?! Now, they use her like a toy."
She heard the anger in his voice. Nodding her head, she watched him head for the Tower and he started shouting at the young men and young women.
"Wanna go?" Daryl asked as he open one eye to look at his sister.
"Go do what?" Caroline asked, looking at him.
"Wanna go see what it looks like from up there?" he asked as he looked at the Tower.
"Not sure it's safe."
She went to stretch out on the cot when she closed her eyes and Daryl sat up. He watched the people moving by him while the voices, the sound of children's laughter and some music playing filled his ears and he felt a knot building in his chest from missing Carol and the others.
A child's cry in fear made him brought him out of his thoughts as Caroline opened her eyes then sat up and they looked at each other. They looked at the Tower when they got up and ran to the young men and women.
"Armond!" one of the young men shouted in French as Daryl ran to him and Daryl looked up at the Tower.
"Get me down!" Armond shouted in French. Armond was seven years old and had black hair and dark eyes. He was clinging onto one of the metal beams and Daryl could see he was shaking.
"What the hell is he doin' up there?!" Daryl demanded, but Armond's brother, Jac, just looked at him.
"What is he doin' up there?!" Caroline translated.
"How the hell should I know?!" Jac growled in French.
"Your mother is gonna have a fit if he falls," Jac' girlfriend said in French.
"Let him fall."
Daryl didn't need to understand what Jac said in order to get what he meant and Daryl ran to one of the base legs. He looked at the metal beams as he sighed, tested to see which metal beams were safe and he started climbing.
"What is he doing?" one of the young men asked in French.
"What he should be doin'," Caroline said in French while looking at Jac.
Daryl climbed up the metal beams when he looked down and he saw people gathering around Caroline. Looking back up, Daryl kept climbing until he saw Armond and the little boy had his face against the metal beam.
"Get me down," Armond whimpered in French as he cried and Daryl felt his chest tightening from the sorrow in the little boy's voice. Daryl climbed onto the metal beam when Armond looked up and Daryl knelt down on his haunches.
"Daryl," Daryl said, pointing to himself.
"Armond. Are you here to get me down?" he asked in French.
Daryl had to guess what he said as Daryl nodded his head and Armond smiled, wiping his eyes on the back of his left hand. He watched Daryl slowly get to his feet as Daryl carefully walked one foot in front of the other along the metal beam and held his arms out to his side. He stopped near Armond then held out his hands, but Armond shook his head.
"It's ok. You won't fall," Daryl said, but Armond just looked at him. Daryl thought for a few seconds while he wondered if Armond could understand sign language and he pointed to Armond, the metal beam then he pointed up while shaking his head then he did the signs to tell him he wouldn't fall. Armond thought for a few seconds when he held up his hands and Daryl carefully leaned over to lift Armond off the metal beam. He ignored the cheering as Daryl held onto Armond and the little boy cried. "See? Told ya you wouldn't fall."
Even though Armond couldn't understand what Daryl said, he felt comfort coming from Daryl's hug and he placed his head against Daryl's right shoulder. Daryl carefully walked across the metal beam when he lowered Armond to his feet then knelt down for Armond to get onto his back. With a small grunt, Daryl carefully stood then he started to climb down the metal beams and Armond held tightly onto him. Daryl looked down from time-to-time while he climbed down and he heard a woman calling Armond's name. She sounded worried, but angry at the same time and Daryl wondered what she was going to do once they got down from the Tower.
"Mama is angry," Armond said in French in Daryl's left ear.
A few seconds later, cheering erupted as Daryl made it to the bottom of the base leg and a woman with long white hair ran to him.
"Armond!" she called out in French as she scooped Armond off of Daryl's back and hugged her son.
"Mama! Not in front of my hero!" Armond said in French and he started blushing.
"He is a hero!" she said in French as she gave Daryl a hug and Caroline saw the blush moving across her brother's cheeks.
"Uh…," Daryl said.
"You're welcome," Caroline said in French and Armond's mother lightly kissed Daryl's cheeks. They watched her carry Armond to Jac as she started shouting and smacking at Jac and Jac tried to duck out of the way.
"Asshole," Daryl said as he walked to Caroline and she smiled at him.
"How was the view from up there?" Caroline asked while looking up at the Tower.
"Didn't notice."
"He probably thinks you're his hero now."
"Yeah."
"Excuse me." in French made Caroline turn and Aramis walked closer. He stopped in front of them as he looked at Daryl then he looked over at Jac and Armond.
"Is he alright?" Caroline asked in French.
"He's fine. Not the first time my grandson climbed up there," he said in French with a small laugh.
"Your grandson?"
"Yes."
"Where is his father?"
"My son died two years ago."
"Oh. Is the other boy his older brother?"
"Yes. But he could care less what happens to his little brother," he said in French with a small growl. He sighed as he gave them a soft look and he placed his hands in front of him. "Thank you for saving him."
"You're welcome."
They watched Aramis walk away as Daryl looked at Caroline and she told him what they were talking about.
"He sounds like Merle," Daryl said as he looked at Jac.
"I don't think Merle would let you do somethin' that dangerous," Caroline said.
"Then you're bullshittin' yerself. He woulda left me up there until I climbed down myself or he was forced to get me down."
Caroline nodded as they headed for the cots then stopped after Armond ran to them.
"Mama told me I have to say thank you," Armond said in French.
"You're welcome," Caroline said in French and he smiled.
"She also said you're eating dinner with us."
He took hold of Daryl's right hand as he gently pulled on Daryl's hand and Daryl and Caroline smiled. They walked over to one of the small shacks made of scrap metal and blankets were covering the windows and the doorway. Armond moved the blanket back as they walked inside and the woman smiled at them.
"Hello. I am Elisbeth," Elisbeth said in French.
"Caroline. Daryl," Caroline said in French as she pointed to Daryl then herself.
"Thank you again for saving my son."
"You're welcome."
Elisbeth smacked the back of Jac's head as he glared at her then looked at Carline and Daryl.
"Thank you for saving my brother," Jac said in French.
"Now, come, dinner is ready," Elisbeth said in French as she pointed to the small table and Caroline and Daryl went to share their meager dinner.
