Carolina in my mind
Chapter 35
The air was charged with anticipation as the long thick metal chain slowly stretched taut behind the armored truck. Daryl's arm was hanging out the driver's side window. He turned, glancing back behind the truck as he finally began to feel some resistance against the forward movement of the vehicle. As he applied a little more pressure to the gas pedal, a loud scraping sound came from the roof of the store they were gathered together to clear. This was followed by the loud whine of metal scraping against metal. The truck's engine roared as it weaved slightly back and forth, waring with the heavy load Daryl was using it to drag. There was a brief squeal of the rubber tires against the pavement. And then the edge of the helicopter finally appeared over the edge of the building.
"Holy crap," Glenn exclaimed, "...here it comes."
Carolina giggled as the younger man began to almost bounce around with excitement next to her. Michonne was on her other side, watching the scene with her usual stoic look of detachment. That only lasted until the large piece of machinery began to teeter on the edge of the roof. When it toppled over, Michonne ducked for cover with the rest of them, putting her hands over her head to protect it from the flying bits of metal and glass debris.
Carolina was the first to pop back out from behind the large moving van they rode there from the prison in, checking to make sure Daryl wasn't hurt since he didn't have the luxury of taking cover that the rest of them did. For a moment she couldn't see him. The driver's seat of the car appeared to be empty. His name caught in her throat like a strangled prayer, turning into a smile and a laugh when he popped back up into view.
The remains of the helicopter were smashed against the pavement of the parking lot. And as people began to emerge from the vehicles they'd hidden behind, a loud chorus of cheering and clapping rang out. Dragging a large aircraft off a roof and smashing it on the ground was certainly something that no one would have been allowed to do in normal life. And sometimes it was nice to be reminded that with the dangers of this new world came a sort of liberating freedom. There would be no consequences for further destroying the expensive piece of machinery. And certainly none for entering the store it was caving in the roof of and taking whatever they wanted.
"Daryl was right," Rick announced, earning him a raise of Carolina's brow as he shouldered up next to her. "I didn't think that truck was heavy enough to move it," he added. Carolina simply nodded, hoping that her obvious refusal to make casual conversation with him would be enough to send Rick on his way. She was trying her best to hide the petty hostility she felt towards him. But that didn't necessarily mean she wanted to be his friend.
"How did you know?," Rick asked. Carolina sighed, giving up hope that if she ignored him he would go away.
"Know what?," she huffed. "I don't know what kind of truck can tow a helicopter." Wherever Daryl got that information, it wasn't from her. It was probably just something he just knew.
"Not that," Rick corrected. "How did you know we needed to check the roof?" Carolina turned, hiding the stab of anxiety in her gut by giving him her best impression of a dumb blonde. She looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about while she internally cursed Daryl for repeating what she said to Rick. Merle was always smart enough to keep the source of his questionably gained knowledge to himself. But then again, maybe that was just because he didn't trust these people and Daryl did.
"Daryl said you told him to check the roof," Rick explained. "Have you been here before?"
Carolina shook her head. When she spoke, she kept her tone casual despite the sudden unexpected integration she was getting from Rick. "I don't remember telling him that," she lied. Carolina shrugged and favored Rick with a big fake smile. "Maybe you misunderstood him."
Before Rick could ask her any more questions, Carolina hurried away to help Michonne unload a stack of empty plastic bins from the back of the bus. They drug the bins towards the front of the store, stopping halfway so Michonne could dart off to take care of a small group of walkers. Tyreese took her place, helping Carolina carry the bins to the entrance of the large retail store. The doors had already been pried and propped open. Carolina stepped nervously inside, glancing up to check the condition of the ceiling. There were a few spots that were clearly rotted with water damage. And pulling the helicopter across put a hole in the roof on one side. Sun was shining in, making the dust that was lingering in the air visible.
"Canned goods and heavy shit first," Rick called out, stepping past her into the store. And for once, Carolina agreed with him. People could play with cardboard cutouts and instant cameras later. After the food and essentials were loaded into the waiting vehicles. She turned back, pulling a few large bins loose from the stack and placing them on a flat push cart. They took out a few loads before Bob and Sasha found the forklift in the stockroom. With that, they began to lift entire wrapped pallets down from the higher shelves and drive them out to the waiting vehicles.
Carolina was loading her empty cart with cases of water when Daryl bumped his body against hers. She bumped him back, smiling when he pulled the heavy case of water from her and began to stack them in a more organized way onto the waiting flat bed cart. His shirt rucked up when he bent forward over the cart, revealing the waistline of his boxers and a sliver of his lower back. Carolina licked her lips and reached forward, getting herself a healthy palmful of his ass and squeezing it. She squealed when Daryl jerked upright and turned on her. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her body against his before his hands drifted lower to grope her ample backside in the same way she'd just handled his. She was nipping at his bottom lip when a loud crackling sound from above tore their attention away from each other.
Daryl reacted faster than she did, darting quickly out of the way and pulling Carolina with him as a chunk of the rotted ceiling hit the edge of the tall metal shelving unit above them. It cracked apart, raining down over the aisle and sprinkling them with gravel and bits of rotted wood. The body of a walker came next, its insides tearing apart on the way down. In theory, Carolina knew people had somewhere around fifteen feet of intestines coiled up inside them. But seeing a dead body actually hanging from them made them look much longer. Unlike what happened on the show, the walkers that came flopping down through the hole in the ceiling were already all the way dead. Daryl and Rick headshot them before Daryl drug the helicopter off the roof. But that didn't make them any less disgusting. A particularly bloated corpse bumped into the body that was hanging from its own guts on its way down before it hit the hard cement floor with a disgusting splat. When the creature's guts spilled out like pinata candy, Carolina felt the bile rising up in her throat.
"I think I'm gonna puke," Carolina warned. She clamped her hand down over her mouth and nose. But it was too late. The smell already hit her. She turned away from Daryl and braced her hand against a pallet of energy drinks as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor.
Carolina felt Daryl's arm wrap around her. "Let's get some air," he whispered as he quickly led her away from the mess and towards the door. She apologized for her disgusting display in between the gulps of fresh air she was sucking in. To her relief, Daryl seemed more concerned than disgusted with her. He handed her a bottle of water and suggested she take a break, tugging Glenn back inside with him to help him finish loading the cases of water.
As the vehicles they brought began to fill to the brims, a quick discussion was had about whether to keep loading or leave room for everyone to ride back together. It only took a few volunteers before they agreed to split the group. Half of them were going to drive the supplies back to the prison and unload them, while the other half stayed and continued packing and pulling pallets and containers to the front of the store. With the sun already dipping low in the sky, the first group was planning to come back and begin the process anew in the morning.
Despite the possible danger and the foul smelling walkers, Carolina felt herself excited at the prospect of staying the night in the large retail store. And to their credit, the group that stayed behind with her did their share of dragging containers and pallets of food and drinks towards the front door before they descended into total childlike madness. They began tearing into the snack food aisle, excited to finally be able to eat their fill for once instead of rationing. And after they were fully sugared up on stale candy bars and twinkies, Carolina and Michonne were making everyone laugh as they chased Glenn and each other around the store on tiny children's bicycles. Determined to join their game, Tyreese pulled a pink tricycle down and lowered himself onto it. The metal groaned as he shifted his legs forward to the pedals, putting his full weight on the tiny trike. And then the thing just completely collapsed under him. It didn't just lose a wheel or break in one spot either. He completely flattened the fucking thing. Carolina exploded in laughter as she drove her own bike straight into a display of baked potato chips. She wiped out, falling sideways off the tiny bike as bags of chips rained down on her.
Michonne swatted the junk away before she attempted to help Carolina back onto her feet. This was nearly impossible. Not because she was hurt or stuck. But because Carolina was laughing so hard, she'd completely lost control over her body.
"I swear your man just got his backdoor virginity taken by a toddler trike," Carolina gasped between near hysterical giggles. Michonne turned to survey the possible damage Tyresse had suffered. He was back on his feet and not looking too worse for wear. But when he turned around, he still had the seat of the tricycle stuck to his butt. At that point, Michonne gave up any hope of forcing Carolina back onto her feet. Instead, she flopped down into the bags of chips with her and just let her own laughter take over.
"Fuckin' hell," Daryl cursed, shaking his head at the pair of them before he offered Carolina his hand. "Come'on. Got somethin' ta show ya."
Reaching for both his hands, Carolina let Daryl pull her onto her feet. She wrapped her arms around him. There was a smile still lingering on her lips when she pressed them against his cheek. He didn't pull away. But his body went rigid enough against hers that she knew he was uncomfortable with the public display of affection. Before she could embarrass him further, he caught her by the hand and began pulling her away down the aisle. Daryl looked down as he stepped over the flattened remnants of a pink children's tricycle.
"The hell happened ta that bike?," he asked, shaking his head when his question brought on a fresh round of laughter from the woman at his side.
Since Daryl was leading her, Carolina was trailing slightly behind him. She used the opportunity to rake her eyes over his body, lingering the longest on the broad stretch of his shoulders and the way his ass moved as he walked. She'd slept with men she found sexy before. But she was quite certain that she'd never been as lust drunk for any of them as she was for Daryl. Just the sight of him heated her insides up. And he made her smile. It was a dangerous combination. One that was slowly shifting her focus from wishing herself home to hoping that she never had to go back to reality.
When Daryl stopped inside the large darkened stock room, Carolina wrapped her arms around him again. And since they didn't have an audience, this time he kissed her back. She stroked her hands over his shoulders, skimming them down to grab a handful of his backside. His ass was as firm and muscular as the rest of him. Carolina pulled his hips flush against hers, moaning into his mouth when he ground down harder against her. Her back hit something solid. And she blinked her eyes back open when she heard the crinkle of thick plastic behind her.
"That's what I wanted ta show ya," Daryl said, smiling like he'd nearly forgotten the purpose of their trip to the stockroom. He pulled out of her embrace, allowing her room to turn around and look at the area he was gesturing to. Behind her was a long row of new mattresses. They were still covered in the thick plastic protective covers. "Thought we could take tha bunk from my room and shove it next ta yers, then put one a'them on there," he said, pointing at the mattresses. "Wouldn't leave much room in there. But we can put all yer crap in my empty cell."
It took a moment for what Daryl was saying to really sink in. But when it did, Carolina could feel the excitement bubbling up inside her. She forced a portion of it back down, not wanting to completely dork out.
"Are you asking me to move in with you?," she asked. She knew they'd slept together the last two nights. But Daryl was hard to read. She'd been preparing herself for the possibility that this might be a passing infatuation for him. But if he wanted to move his bed into her room, she assumed that must mean he intended to sleep there. Every night.
"Uh," Daryl stammered, trying not to laugh at the giant smile Carolina had plastered across her face. He was quite certain they already lived at the same place. And since they were sleeping together anyway, he thought it might be more comfortable to not be doing it on a narrow ass prison bunk. "Yeah," Daryl finally said, the word coming out more like a question than a statement of intent. Since Carolina threw her arms around him, he assumed that meant she was pleased with the idea. Women were crazy. Every last one of them. But at least her particular brand of crazy made him smile.
After covering the side of his face and most of his neck in sloppy kisses, Carolina backed off. She turned and gripped one of the mattresses, pulling it out from the row and letting it flop down on the storeroom floor. Daryl gave her a questioning glance when she walked around it and pulled a second mattress off the wall. It hit the ground with a loud crinkle of plastic.
"What're ya doin'?" he asked. Carolina smiled as she grasped the hem of her shirt. Whisking it off, she tossed it away before she answered him.
"I'm not sure which mattress I want," she said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I think we better test them out before we take one home."