Carolina in my mind

Chapter 47

Daryl pulled at the seat belts he used to fasten the man's wrists to the metal pipe inside the rundown cabin, making sure the bindings were secure. The man made yet another desperate attempt to draw Daryl into a conversation. He said his name was Martin, and asked for Daryl's name in exchange. But all he got for his effort was a hard punch to the side of his face.

"We should kill him now," Michonne said. When they stumbled upon the man, he was speaking into a walkie talkie. He mentioned several members of their group to whoever was on the other end of the conversation, laying claim to a few of their personal items that he wanted after his people 'bled them out'. As far as Michonne was concerned, this was enough to warrant an immediate death sentence. The man was a cannibal. Just like Carolina said. He was dangerous. And even though he was tied up, after their recent experience in the woods, Michonne wasn't in the mood to take any unnecessary risk. But Daryl wanted to keep the man alive just in case they had to use him as leverage to get their people back.

"He's already dead," Daryl said, his voice laced with the promise of violence. "He's only breathin' until we've got our people back. Then you can stick 'im."

Michonne nodded her reluctant agreement to this, adjusting the strap that was holding the large rifle onto her back. They'd taken it from the man Daryl had tied to the wall, along with another handgun and a bag filled with fireworks and small explosives. This was added to the small arsenal they'd taken from the men they killed in the woods. Following Daryl's lead, Michonne took a step towards the door, stopping to wrap her arm around Tyreese.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?," the big man asked. Michonne's eyes flicked towards Lori and the small frightened group of children that were clustered close to her. Then she shook her head.

"They need you," she whispered. Tyreese pulled Michonne against him, hugging her fiercely tight. And for just a moment, she gripped him back with equal force, surprised at herself and how reluctant she was to let the man out of her sight for even a moment. Not just because she was worried something might happen to him. But because she liked Tyreese and enjoyed his company.

"Come'on," Daryl urged, thumping her arm with the back of his hand.

Michonne released her grip on Tyreese, and headed for the door. She paused in the doorway, glancing back at the man with the bloody lip and nose that was tied to a wall support on the backside of the cabin. "If he does anything, and I mean anything, shoot him in the face," Michonne warned, her eyes meeting Tyreese's before she continued on her way.

After disguising themselves with the insides of a rotted walker, Michonne and Daryl walked silently through the woods together. She couldn't remember a time before this that she and Daryl worked together, just the two of them. But they'd been on enough runs with the rest of the group that the trust between them was inherent. Michonne didn't just hope, she knew that she could trust Daryl to watch her back. And it was obvious from his body language that he felt the same.

Michonne peeked through the scope on her gun, gasping in surprise when she spotted several of their people inside the compound. She quickly handed the gun over to Daryl so he could observe the scene for himself. Rick, Carol, Glenn and Bob were lying facedown on the ground. Their hands were fastened together behind their backs. And from the way the two men grabbed Rick and began to drag him towards the large brick building, Michonne guessed his feet were also fastened together at the ankles.

"We need ta do this quick," Daryl whispered. Michonne nodded, not wanting to think about what would have happened to their friends if they'd shown up tomorrow instead of today. Daryl used the scope to look around the place, hoping that a plan would come to him. Because as tough as Michonne was, the two of them still were not enough to storm and take down an entire armed compound.

For the most part, Daryl could credit his backwoods survival skills as the reason why he was still alive a year after the civilized world fell apart. But there were a few select times that he was saved just by plain dumb luck. And when he looked back later, he'd realize this was one of those times. Because as Daryl glanced around the compound, desperately trying to think of any way to help his friends, he suddenly heard a lot of commotion. The people inside the compound began to panic and run. And off to the far left, Daryl saw why. There was a giant herd of walkers headed right towards their front gate.

Terminus was locked down in much the same way the prison was, with tall chain link fencing. Daryl knew that these people wouldn't be overrun by the herd. They would secure themselves inside and take the herd out by shooting at them from the rooftop until it was safe to return to the fenceline and take the rest of them out. What he needed was a way to get the walkers inside the compound.

"There," Michonne said, pointing across the courtyard to a large metal tank. The tank had a big red sticker on it with a picture of a flame. And it said propane across the side, printed in faded black lettering. Daryl looked to his side, giving Michonne a slight grin as he watched her pull one of Martin's fireworks out of the bag they took from him.

Once everyone made it outside the fences, Daryl and Michonne approached the rest of their group with caution. Even though most of the people were known to them, it was never a good idea to startle anyone in the middle of the apocalypse. And Michonne had her own reasons for hanging back. The last time she saw Rick, he was kicking her out of the prison and telling her he didn't trust her around his kids. Even though she and Daryl just saved his ass, she still wasn't sure what a reunion with him was going to look like.

Michonne observed the group as she moved carefully closer, counting them off like she was doing an elementary school roll call. She'd already seen Rick, Carol, Bob, and Glenn outside the train cars while she and Daryl were watching from the woods. So she knew they were okay. There were a few unfamiliar faces in the crowd. But among them, she was relieved to also see some more familiar ones. Maggie and Tara were standing with Carl. And off to the side, Sasha was adjusting her belt.

Michonne wasn't surprised that Carol was the first one to spot them. She was one of the more observant members of the group. Her face lit up and she ran straight for Daryl, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug. Sasha moved next, rushing in to hug Michonne. Given that neither of them was much for casual physical affection, this was the first time they'd ever hugged each other even though they'd been friends for what felt like forever in apocalypse time. And Michonne held on tight, savoring the moment.

Rick walked up behind the two women. His face was a colorful map of fading bruises. And Michonne had a sneaking suspicion that most of them were not put there by his recent captors. His face was filled with uncharacteristic humility as he glanced back and forth between her and Daryl.

"You did this didn't you?," Rick asked, earning him a soft chuckle from Daryl.

"It was mostly Michonne," he corrected. Daryl helped with the actual attack. But Michonne was the one that convinced him that they should approach the place with extreme caution. She knew these people were no good. If it wasn't for her instincts, everyone would still be locked up in that train car. And he'd be in there with them.

"Thank you," Rick said, moving slowly closer to her until his hand was resting on her shoulder. Michonne nodded, relieved that he was willing to make amends and also eager to get this awkward situation over with.

"Come on," she urged. "I have something I want to show you."

Daryl and Michonne led the small group through the woods. When the cabin became visible, Daryl whistled twice to let Lori and Tyreese know he was the one approaching the structure. Tyreese stepped out first, making the kids wait until he was sure everything was safe before he allowed them to rush out behind him.

"Aunt Tara!," Megan squealed, running for the woman and jumping up into her arms. Lizzie and Mika rushed Carol, both of them pushing against each other as she squeezed them as tight as she could. Sasha ran for her brother, laughing when he lifted her off her feet and swung her around in a circle.

"Mom!," Carl hollered, his eyes already filled with tears as he rushed towards his mother and baby sister. Rick was right behind the boy. And he wrapped his arms around the lot of them, kissing his wife for the first time since Hershel's farm fell to a herd of walkers. He pulled back, lifting Judith into his arms and cradling the little girl gently against his chest.

The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before someone realized who was missing. "Hey," Maggie asked, "...where's Carolina?" As she escaped the prison with Carl's hand in hers, Maggie saw the woman. Carolina and Daryl were on the opposite side of the prison yard. They ducked through a broken section of fencing and quickly disappeared into the woods. But Maggie was sure she'd seen them escape. And since Carolina was with Daryl, she assumed that there was no way anything happened to the woman.

"Oh god, Daryl. I'm so sorry," Maggie gushed, feeling horrible for speaking without thinking. If Caorlina wasn't here, then something bad must have happened to her. And the moment she mentioned the woman's name, she could see the upset and hurt written all over Daryl's face.

"She's not dead," Michonne corrected. "She was taken by another group."

"Not them…," Maggie asked, glancing back towards Terminus in horror. The place was a blazing inferno of living dead people. She didn't even want to think about the possibility that they'd left one of their people back there.

"Naw," Daryl said. "Summone else took her. They pulled 'er into a car with a big cross on the back window." People began to move in closer to Daryl, ready to offer him sympathy and promises that they would help him with anything he needed. But Rick spoke up before they could.

"Did you say a cross?," he asked, shifting Judith in his arms as he wiped a stray tear from his eyes. "Like a decal sticker? A big white one?"

"Yeah…," Daryl confirmed, looking at Rick with a small bit of hope finally blooming inside his chest. "Ya know the car or what?"

"Not exactly," Rick admitted. "But it sounds like it might be from Grady Memorial, the big hospital in Atlanta." He turned towards Lori. "Remember that church group that donated all those cars to the hospital…"

Lori nodded. "I do. They were driving people with no transportation in to visit sick relatives or something right?" Rick nodded. He couldn't remember what they were doing exactly, just that if he saw cars with back window crosses going a little faster than the speed limit he tended to ignore it and let them continue on their way since he knew they were on some errand for the hospital.

"Sounds like a long shot, but it's better than nothing," Michonne said. She could tell from Daryl's face that he was ready to chase down any lead they had, no matter how small. They both turned when the large red haired man that had escaped Terminus with them spoke up.

"Who's in Atlanta?," he asked.

"My girl," Daryl replied, eyeing the large man with interest.

The man laughed before he spoke again. "Well since you're the one that just saved all of our asses, looks like we're headed to Atlanta to help you get her back. Then we can all head to DC and save the world together!"

Daryl shook his head. He was having a hard time not smiling back at the big ginger giant. The guy sounded half crazy. But crazy or not, it still felt good to meet a friendly stranger. Or even just someone that wasn't trying to kill or eat him alive.

"Who the hell are you?," Daryl asked.

The man stepped forward, offering Daryl his hand. "Sergeant Abraham Ford at your service."

** I hope everyone is enjoying the story. The stats on this website are still down and have been since September. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to leave a comment. But as it's been showing zero views for almost 4 months, the only way I know anyone's reading this is if I get a review or if someone follows or favorites the story. Feel free to just say hi if you like!**