Paris
The cart moved down the street while Carol held the reins in her hands and Negan sat next to her on the driver's seat. They had been able to stay at some inns before they arrived in Paris and one woman confirmed Daryl and Caroline had saved her inn from Walkers.
"What is that?" Judith asked while she pointed at the Arc de Triomphe.
"That is the Arc de Triomphe," Lance said and gave a quick history of the Arc.
"Why are Walker crawling on it?" Hershel asked.
"I have no idea."
The cart moved down the road toward the Arc when they noticed more Macabre moving under the Arc. Carol could just see some charred marks on the Arc and the Macabre turned to look at the cart.
"Uh…. Carol," Lance said as the Macabre started to move toward them and Carol hitched the reins. The horses moved faster down the road while Dawsons, Mercer and Mike picked up the rifles and took aim. The Macabre ran faster when one of the Macabre jumped into the air, did a few flips and Mercer fired the rifle. The head of the Macabre exploded as the body fell to the ground and the other Macabre were catching up with the cart.
"Damn! Just how fast are these things?!" Negan shouted as he and Maggie picked up the rifles and the kids and Dog went flat on the bottom of the cart.
"Shit," Carol repeated as she steered the cart down the road and the sound of rifle fire filled the air. She steered the cart around a corner of a side street as she watched the road and flicked the reins.
"There're more of them!" Maggie called out as she fired the rifle and the head of the Macabre climbing down the wall exploded. People exited the buildings as Carol saw they were armed with rifles, one of them had a machine gun, and the people fired their weapons. The Macabre fell off the walls or onto the ground after their heads exploded and Carol steered the cart around the corner. The cart came out onto the main road and Carol slowed the horses.
"Shit. And I thought the Walkers at home were rough," Negan said.
"Is everyone ok?" Carol asked.
"Yeah," Mercer said while helping Hershel to his feet.
"Where do we go from here?" Maggie asked.
Negan removed the map Remy had given them from the backpack near his feet and he opened the map. He placed the map on his lap as he looked around and he frowned.
"The Eiffel Tower's that way," he said as he pointed to the right and Carol steered the cart down the road. The cart arrived at the large cement walls surrounding the Eiffel Tower and Carol noticed there were barbed wire, iron pikes embedded in the cement. Large iron doors were pulled opened by large pullies as Carol steered the cart to the iron doors. Hornsby changed places with Negan when the guards approached the cart and held the rifles in their hands.
"Who are you?!" the guard asked in French.
"We are travelers. We were told you had rooms for the night," Lance said in French and the guards walked around the cart. They looked at Mercer as the guards glanced at each other and one guard was startled when Dog appeared. The dog panted and wagged its tail and Judith ruffled the top of Dog's head.
"Hi," Judith said.
The guards headed for the iron gate when one of the guards walked to the smaller iron door, opened the door and went inside.
"I think Mercer screwed up our chances of getting somewhere to spend the night again," Lance grumbled, looking back at Mercer.
"Let's wait and see," Carol said. She held the reins in her hands when the guard walked outside, closed the smaller iron door and headed for the cart. The guard looked at Carol while she waited for him to say something and the guard slid the strap of the rifle over his left shoulder.
"You may enter," the guard said in French.
"He said we can go inside," Lance translated and Carol hitched the horses to move. She watched as the large, iron gate opened and she steered the cart by the iron gates. She looked at the Eiffel Tower when she saw a place to stop the cart and Hornsby looked at the man-made shacks spreading out around them.
"Damn," Dawsons whispered while watching people going about their business, children playing and the sound of music came from somewhere.
"I heard about these landmark towns. Most of them were destroyed by Macabre," Mike said.
"What's a landmark town?" RJ asked.
"They are towns built around landmarks like the Tower," he said as Mike pointed to the Eiffel Tower.
"And the palace where we met Mister Remy?"
"Right. But I don't think he'd allow a town to spawn around the palace."
"Because of his daughter?"
"Yeah."
The cart came to a stop as a young man tied the reins to a hitching post and Carol saw a tall man with long silver and white hair, a full beard and hard, gray eyes heading for the cart. He was dressed in a wine color shirt, a black leather vest, a black leather belt, black pants and black leather boots.
"Guess he's the leader," Lance whispered.
"Greetings," Aramis said in French with a bow.
"Greetings. Do you speak English?"
"Yes. I do."
"Are you the leader around here?"
"Yes. I am Aramis."
"I'm Carol," Carol said then she introduced the others. Aramis glared at Mercer as Mercer arched an eyebrow and Carol sighed. "We are not here to cause trouble."
"I do apologize. We have had trouble with soldiers in the past."
"I am no longer a soldier. I am the assistant governor of the commonwealth where we come from," Mercer explained and Aramis smiled.
"I see. Well….," Aramis said as he looked at the man-made shacks. "We did have a few people leave us. You can have those shacks there."
"Thank you," Carol said. She and the others got out of the cart and Dog went to stand next to her.
"Grandfather, who are these strangers?" a young boy, seven years old, asked in French as he ran to Aramis and the young boy had black hair and dark eyes.
"They are visitors," Aramis said then he looked at Carol. "This is my grandson, Armond."
"Does he speak English?" Carol asked.
"He does speak a little English."
"Grandfather, they have a dog!" Armond said in French with wide eyes and Dog panted, wagging its tail.
"I see that," Aramis said in French and he smiled.
"Is he friendly?" Armond asked, looking at Carol.
"He wants to know if Dog is friendly," Lance translated and Carol smiled, nodding her head.
Dog walked to Armond as the dog sniffed the little boy's feet and Armond held out his fingers for Dog to sniff. Dog sat and Armond patted Dog's head. Dog wagged its tail and Armond smiled.
"This way," Aramis said in English and he led them to the man-made shacks. Aramis spoke in French to one of the young men and the young man ran off. "He is going to get you some bedding, food, water and supplies."
"Thank you," Carol said with a nod.
After they were settled in the man-made shacks, Judith, RJ and Hershel watched the other children playing when Armond ran to them and he smiled.
"Hello," Armond said in English.
"Hello," Judith said.
"Who are you?"
"I'm RJ. Judith. Hershel," RJ said as he pointed to Judith and Hershel.
"You play, yes?"
"What's going on?" Maggie asked as she walked closer and Armond looked at her.
"He wants to know if we want to play with him," Hershel said.
"How do you know?"
"He speaks a little English. Can we go play with him?"
"It's ok with me."
"What's ok?" Carol asked as she walked to them.
"He wants to know if they can play with him," Maggie said as she pointed to Anton.
"Sure," Carol said with a nod and Armond smiled. Maggie and Carol watched as the kids ran off then Maggie noticed the sad look on Carol's face.
"We'll find them," Maggie said and Carol sighed.
"I can't help feel like they're…."
"Don't! Just don't. You know Daryl. He'll find a way to survive. And Caroline? She's just as tough as he is."
"I know that. I just wish I knew where they…."
The air turned ice cold as Carol glanced around with her eyes and she noticed the blue light moving over everyone and everything.
"Carol, are you ok?" Maggie asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine," Carol said and she walked off. Maggie frowned and she wondered where Carol was going.
Carol headed for the base of the Tower as the sounds of harps, singing and violins filled the air and she felt a familiar feeling moving through her. She came to a stop when she saw a young woman with white hair and ice blue eyes standing in a blue light and she was wearing a high collared, blue dress with long sleeves puffed up at the shoulders, a long skirt and lace on the front of the dress, black leather shoes, white lace, fingerless gloves.
"Hello," the Blue Lady said in English with a nod of her head.
"Hello. Who are you?" Carol asked.
"I am the Blue Lady."
"Wait. Are you the woman Jeb told me about?"
"Are you talking about the Old Bear?"
"Is that what you call him?"
"Yes."
"Then, yes, that's who I am talking about."
"I am glad to finally meet you."
"Do you know where our friends are?"
"I do."
"Where are they?"
"They went somewhere with the friends of the sister."
"The friends of the sister? We're her friends."
"These are friends from her past."
Carol thought for a few seconds when she remembered Caroline mentioning having friends in Boston, but how could those friends be in Paris?
"Are you sure these are her friends and not the people who took them?" Carol asked.
"Yes. I am sure," the Blue Lady said. Like with Jeb, Carol wasn't sure if she truly believed her and Carol titled her head to one side with a blank look on her face.
"Are they alright?" Carol asked.
"I do not know." the Blue Lady said.
"You don't know?"
"There is no one there I can ask. All I know is they are no longer here."
Carol started feeling the Blue Lady was hiding something as Carol frowned and crossed her arms under her breasts.
"You do not believe me." the Blue Lady said.
"No. I don't. For all I know? Caroline died after she was shot and Daryl was sold to someone and taken who knows where."
"Have you asked anyone if they had seen your friends?"
"Most of the people we've met have either told us to leave or hadn't told us anything."
"That is due to your associates," the Blue Lady said while Mercer, Dawsons and Mike walked by the base of the Tower.
"I know two of them are slavers, but Mercer…."
"He is a soldier."
"Not anymore."
"You have to understand. When the world fell? Most cities were taken over by the military. Paris was one of the cities which fought back against the attempt to put the country under a military dictatorship. When a soldier is sighted? People do whatever is necessary to prevent the city or its people from being taken."
"I was told this before. Where are our friends?
"Keep looking," the Blue Lady said as she vanished and the blue light, harp and violin music and singing faded. Sighing, Carol shook her head as she walked off and she headed for the cart.
"Are you ok?" Negan asked when he saw her and Carol stopped to stand in front of him.
"No. I am not ok," Carol said as she looked at the Tower.
"Maggie said you went over there after seeing something. What did you see?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me," he said with a smile.
"You're going to think I'm nuts."
"Won't know until you tell me what the hell's going on."
"Fine," she said with a sigh and she told Negan about Jeb and the Blue Lady.
"Hold on. You're saying you're talking with some sort of ghost?" he asked.
"They're more like Earth spirits."
"And they're helping you?"
"Remember back at the Tower and Caroline was stuck in that storage room?"
"Yeah. Daryl somehow got the strength to move that metal cabinet so he could get her outta there."
"Jeb was the one who gave him the strength to do that."
"Damn."
"He was also the one who left the warning on Alexandria's wall," she said then told him about what Jeb had written on the wall and how it connected to the Commonwealth.
"Why didn't he stop Milton's people from takin' over Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside?"
"He said he couldn't or things would change."
"Sounds like bullshit to me."
"He also told me about Caroline getting shot," Carol said and Negan's eyes widened.
"She got shot?!"
"Yeah," she said and she told him what happened.
"Are you sure she's still alive?"
"No. I'm not sure. Not sure if Daryl's alive or hadn't been sold into slavery either."
"What does this have to do with you going over to the Tower?"
"It appears the Blue Lady wanted to talk to me."
"Does she know where Daryl and Caroline are?"
"More or less. But, like with Jeb, she wasn't forthcoming with information."
"Great," Negan said with a sigh. He noticed Hornsby was talking with a woman with long white hair and dark eyes and she nodded her head a few times. "Wonder who she is."
Carol and Negan headed for Hornsby when Hornsby turned and he smiled after seeing them walking closer.
"Looks like this woman had a run in with Daryl and Caroline," Lance said.
"Hello. I am Elisbeth," she said in English with a small nod.
"You speak English?" Carol said.
"Yes. Your friend said you are looking for my son's hero and his sister."
"His hero?"
"If it wasn't for Mister Daryl? Armond would have fallen off the Tower," she said as she looked at the Tower. "You have to understand. He likes to climb up the Tower like his brother and his brother's friends, but he does not like heights. He had climbed up there, got stuck and it was Mister Daryl who got him down. He also saved Armond and his friends while they were out on a scrap hunting run and they ran into the Macabre."
"That sounds like Daryl," Carol said with a grin.
"What about his sister?" Negan asked.
"Miss Caroline? She helped him save Armond and his friends from the Macabre."
Carol noticed the look in Elisbeth's eyes as Elisbeth frowned and lightly shook her head.
"If those…. If Jac…," Elisbeth said with a sigh.
"What happened?" Negan asked.
"Mister Daryl and Miss Caroline went to the Tower after they returned from helping Armond and his friends with a scape hunt. I guess they wanted to take a closer look. Most do. While they were there? My son, Jac, and his friends decided it would be funny to toss garbage at them."
"What did Daryl and Caroline do?" Carol asked.
"They got on their cart and left."
"Do you know where they went?"
"No," she said with a shake of her head.
"Thank you," Carol said and Elisbeth walked away.
"Now what do we do?" Negan asked while he looked at the Tower.
"Maybe Aramis knows where Daryl and Caroline went."
"Maybe," Carol said and she walked to the man-made shack she was sharing with Dog, Judith and RJ.
By the Tower, Armond, Judith, RJ and Hershel watched the young people climbing on the metal beams and Judith noticed the sad look on Armond's face.
"What're you kids doing?" Lance asked after walking to them.
"We're just watching them," Judith said, pointing to the young people climbing on the metal beams.
"My brother and his friends are up there," Armond said in French, pointing to the young man with black hair and dark eyes.
"Are they allowed to do that?" Lance asked in French.
"No. Grandfather says they are disrespecting her."
"Your mother told me you got stuck up there."
"I did. Mister Daryl got me down. He is my hero."
Hornsby smiled while they watched the young people climbing the metal beams when something moved by them and the young people screamed.
"Macabre!" one of them yelled while they climbed down to the ground and Lance placed his right hand on Judith's right shoulder.
"Run!" Lance said and the alarms blared around them. He picked up Armond as they ran for the man-made shacks and Elisbeth ran to him.
"Mama! Macabre are here!" Armond said in French after Hornsby handed him to her.
"Do not worry. Grandfather and the others will get rid of them," she said in French and she ran to the others.
"Lance!" Carol called out while waving for him to follow her and Hornsby ran to her.
"What're we going to do?" Lance asked.
"I think we're supposed to follow them," Carol said as she pointed to the women, children and the older people heading for a cement building and Hornsby nodded. They ran for the cement building as one of the guards held open the door and Carol led Maggie, Hornsby, Dog, Hershel, RJ, Elisbeth, Armond and Judith in the building. The guard pointed to the stairs as they ran down the stairs and Carol saw the others huddled in a large room with cement flooring, walls and ceiling. Vents were on the walls and lights were embedded in the ceiling. The guard closed the door as he stood near the door and Carol found them a place to stand.
"Where are Negan, Mercer, Mike and Dawsons?" Maggie asked.
"I guess they're out there," Carol said.
"Jac?! Where is my son?!" Elisbeth shouted in French after she couldn't find her son.
"His friends are missing as well," one of the women said in French.
"Damn," Lance said and Carol looked at him. "Seems like some of those kids are still out there."
"Great," Carol said and she looked at the door.
At the Eiffel Tower
"Shit," Negan said as he, Mike, Dawsons and Mercer held the rifles and guns in their hands and they stood next to Aramis.
"How did those things get in?" Mike asked.
"They sometimes climb the walls and jump toward the Tower," Aramis said.
"They can jump that far?!" Dawsons asked with wide eyes.
"No. They land on the ground, hide then attack. These must have been hiding for a while."
"Just how smart are these things?" Mike grumbled.
Mercer watched the Macabre moving toward the men and women spread out around the man-made shacks and he pointed his rifle at one of the Macabre. He fired the rifle as the head of the Macabre exploded and he aimed the rifle at another one.
"Can't let him have all the fun," Negan said as he fired his gun at two of the female Macabre and the Macabre fell to the ground after their heads exploded.
Mike and Dawsons fired their guns as the heads of two of the male Macabre exploded and Aramis fired the rifle at a large, male Macabre.
Mercer had headed for the Tower when he saw Jac and his friends standing on the metal bars of one of the base legs. The Macabre snarled and grabbed at them as Jac and his friends took turns tossing garbage at the Macabre and Mercer rolled his eyes.
"Assholes," Mercer grumbled and he headed for the Macabre. He aimed the rifle as he fired the rifle and the heads of the Macabre exploded.
"Hey! Those are ours!" Jac shouted in French and his friends started tossing garbage at Mercer. Mercer ducked as he fired the rifle then he saw a Macabre climbing up the metal bars. "Oh shit!"
Mercer aimed the rifle when he fired the rifle and the head of the Macabre exploded just before the Macabre could reach out for Jac' right foot. Mercer didn't see the Macabre behind him when Jac removed the gun from the holster on his belt, took aim and fired. Mercer ducked as the head of the Macabre exploded and Mercer turned to see the body fall to the ground.
"You're welcome!" Jac shouted in French and his friend laughed.
"Get your asses down here!" Mercer shouted. Jac and his friends did understand English as they looked at each other then they looked at Mercer and Jac and his friends started climbing down the leg of the base of the Tower. They walked to him as Mercer glared at them and they were surprised when he barely smiled. "Let's go."
Mercer started walking off as they looked at each other, shrugged and went to catch up with him.
In the bunker, Armond sat with RJ, Hershel, Dog and Judith when Judith removed the photograph of her, RJ, Caroline and Daryl and Armond looked at the photograph.
"Mister Daryl," Armond said in English as he pointed to Daryl.
"Yeah. He's our uncle," Judith said, but wasn't sure if Armond understood what he said.
"Hey, kids, what're you looking at?" Lance asked as he knelt down on his haunches.
"It's the photo of us, Uncle Daryl and Aunt Caroline," RJ said.
"Armond recognized Uncle Daryl," Judith said.
"Is this your hero?" Lance asked Armond in French while tapping his right index finger on the photograph.
"Yes," Armond said in French and he smiled.
"Is this his sister?" he asked in French, pointing at Caroline.
"Yes. She helped Mister Daryl kill the Macabre who went after me and my friends."
"Uncle Daryl and Aunt Caroline do cool stuff like that," RJ said with a grin after Hornsby told them what Armond said.
"Lance," made him look at Carol then he noticed the door was opened and people were leaving the bunker. Hornsby held out his right hand to Judith as he helped her to her feet and the kids followed as he headed for Carol. They headed up the stairs when Armond ran to his mother and Elisbeth waved at Carol, Maggie, Negan, Hornsby, Dog and the kids.
"That kid is a big Daryl and Caroline fan," Lance said, watching Elisbeth and Armond headed for their man-made shack.
"Most kids are," Carol said with a small smile. She thought back to how Carl, Sophia, Henry and the other kids they had encountered looked up to Daryl and Lance saw the sadness in her eyes.
"Find out if anyone knows where they are?"
"They were here until his brother and his friends threw garbage at them."
"Why did they do that?"
"They thought it as funny," Carol said when she saw Elisbeth shouting at a young man with black hair and dark eyes and he glared at her. "I think that's the brother."
"Seems like Mom's pissed off at him," Maggie said and Carol nodded.
"Did she just say Daryl and Caroline left after he and his friends tossed garbage at them?" Lance asked Carol.
"Yep," Carol said.
They headed for Mike, Negan, Dawsons and Mercer and Mercer talked with Aramis. Carol noticed the angry look on Aramis' face and she wondered what Mercer told him.
"What did you say to him?" she whispered to Mercer after walking to him.
"I told him what his grandson and his friends were doing on the Tower," Mercer said, softly. He told her what happened and she looked at Jac.
"He is just as reckless as his father," Aramis growled in English.
"I also told him we'd help clean up this mess," Mercer said.
Nodding, Carol followed them as they headed for the Macabre bodies and she looked at the Tower. She had seen photographs of the Eiffel Tower, but seeing the Tower surrounded by cement walls made her sad.
"Carol," made her look at Negan as she sighed and she ran to him.