Beyond Terminus (Book Two)

Chapter 12: Carol, Daryl, and I

"Hey, I get it. You don't want to talk about it," Daryl says, adjusting his grip on the water jugs he's carrying. "You okay?"

"Gotta be," Carol answers, continuing to stare straight ahead.

I sigh and kick a rock absentmindedly with my foot. While Rick and a few others went on that run, we were left to get water. I'd be fine with it, if I didn't feel Carol's eyes burning into the back of my head anytime Daryl touches me.

"We get to start over. All of us with each other," Daryl continues. "You saved us all by yourself."

"We got lucky," she replies, deadpan. "We all should be dead."

We fall back into silence, and I catch sight of a car up ahead. Carol notices it too.

"I'll check it," she says, pulling ahead and reaching it first.

"Alright," Daryl and I agree in unison.

We wait as she tries the engine. Once she gets out, she opens the trunk and starts digging around.

"Hey. We ain't dead, and whatever happened, happened. Let's start over," he says. "We could all use it."

Carol glances at me, but her gaze returns to Daryl and lingers there.

"I want to," she says, still not looking my way. I fight the scowl that's begging to be shown.

"Well, you can," he insists, albeit nonchalantly.

We look down at the trunk, where a small portable heater sits.

"We should leave this here for backup in case things go south at the church," I suggest.

Carol nods, as does Daryl. I fidget, biting my lip. I hate this tense quiet between the three of us. It's awkward.

"Want me to carry one of those?" Daryl asks me, accidentally dropping one if his jugs in the process.

I smirk and look to the one on the ground.

"Nah. I'll pass," I say, and he gives me an embarrassed smirk as he picks it up.

Carol narrows her eyes and spins on her heel, walking ahead of us again.

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Daryl and I rest in one of the pews sipping our drinks later that night. I lean against him, so that my head rests just under his chin. Everyone chats and laughs, but we stay quiet. Daryl's arms are wrapped around me, and my head rests on his chest, studying the reddish drink as though I'm actually interested.

"Ok, what's botherin' you?" he asks.

"Hmm?"

"You're never this quiet. Somethin's botherin' you."

I sigh heavily and close my eyes.

"I just wish it didn't feel so...hostile between Carol and I," I say, completely aware of her sitting a ways away from us. "I'd like to believe that we could've been friends."

Daryl bites his lip, taking a gulp of his drink before placing the glass back down.

"I'm no one special. What I don't get is why it feels like she's fightin' for me," he says. "Whatever battle happened ended long ago, and you won."

I smile, and he places a soft kiss on the space right below my right ear.

"I'd like to propose a toast," Abraham announces, swirling the drink in his glass around a bit. We look up at him, listening. "I look around this room and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title...To the survivors."

"Survivors! Cheers! Cheers," people murmur, and glasses clink together. Daryl smirks and clinks his to mine as he grabs a piece of squirrel and pops it into his mouth.

"Is that all you want to be?" Abraham continues. "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip." Judith makes a little noise, and Rick kisses her head. "Eugene, what's in DC?"

Eugene looks around at all of us, swallowing. "Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there who don't got nothing left to do except survive."

Judith coos, and Rick smiles.

"What was that?" he asks her, and we laugh. "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."

We all cheer and laugh, and I yawn.

"Tired angel?" Daryl asks.

"A little," I reply.

"We should get some sleep then," he says, stretching. He glances around the room. "Carol's gone..."

"Huh? Where is she?"

He shrugs. "We should find her. We don't need anyone dyin' tonight."

We get up and head out of the church hand in hand, moving towards the car we found earlier, the dark tree branches surrounding us on all sides.

I hear a walker snarling, then Carol grunting as she takes it down. The car's engine idles nearby, and I raise an eyebrow. Was she going to leave?

"What are you doin'?" Daryl asks, stepping out of the shadows.

Carol jumps, but relaxes when she sees us. "I don't know."

"It's late. We all need some sleep," I say, holding my hand out in a gesture of welcome.

She nods and starts to follow us. Daryl freezes, and we hear the sound of tires approaching.

We spin and crouch behind the car, watching as another vehicle goes zipping by. Daryl's eyes widen as he notices the back window, which has a white cross on it.

"Come on," he says, and I react immediately.

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing? What are you doing?" Carol demands as we each smash a back light in.

"They got Beth," Daryl says simply. "Come on." He motions to me.

As he climbs into the driver's seat and I sit shotgun, Carol hesitates as she watches us.

"Get in or don't. Your choice," I say, shutting the door.

She climbs in the back a moment later and Daryl drives off, following the kidnappers.