Beyond Terminus (Book Two)

Chapter 13: Back to the Beginning

"So it was just you and Beth after?" Carol asks from the back.

"Yeah," Daryl answers, his eyes fixed on the road.

"You save her?"

"She's tough. She saved herself," he says. After a pause, he adds, "We were out there for a while. We got cornered, she got out in front of me and I don't know, she was gone. I came out and a car's pullin' out with a white cross on the window."

"Just like that one?" she asks, pointing.

"Yep."

"Rick's gonna wonder where we went," I say, glancing back the way we came through the rear view mirror.

"Tank's runnin' low..." Daryl mutters.

"We can end this quick. Just run him off the road," Carol says.

"Nah, we're good for a bit."

"If they're holding her somewhere, we can get it out of the driver," she argues.

"Yeah, but if he don't talk, we're back to square one," he counters.

"Right now, we've got the advantage," I say.

"We'll see who they are. If they're a group, see what they can do," he says.

"And then we'll do what we've gotta do to get her back," I finish.

"They're heading north, I-85," Carol notices.

Something pricks in my mind, and I bite my lip. What was the I-85 leading to? My question is answered in a moment as the car heads into the barren wasteland of Atlanta.

My breath hitches in my throat and I grip the seat, my knuckles white. Daryl glances over at me, and I can almost sense him asking me if I'm ok.

I give a short nod and take a deep breath, watching the road again.

We keep driving, and I focus on the car ahead of us. I want nothing more than to tuck away all memories of my old home away in the back of my mind, although, now that we're here, that may prove difficult.

"What the hell's he waiting for?" Daryl asks as the car ahead of us stops.

Our ride slows, and we wait another moment. The car ahead of us shuts of, and the passenger side opens. A man climbs out, looking around.

"There's two of them," I say. "Someone's driving."

"Is that a cop?" Daryl squints his eyes, studying the form ahead of us.

Carol pulls her gun out, glancing between us.

"They might've seen us," she says simply.

We wait as the man walks away, down one of the side streets. We wait patiently, and something slams against my window.

I jump, but quickly recover upon seeing that it's only a walker. My fingers brush my knife handle, and I wish I could kill it.

The man returns to the car and climbs in. It starts up, and Daryl turns the key. The engine makes a pitiful whirring noise, but doesn't start.

"Aw, shit! Tank's tapped," he groans, running a hand through his hair.

"They'd have taken the bypass and they didn't. They must be holed up in the city somewhere," I comment, pointing to the different routes as I say it.

"We gotta move, find someplace to hole up till sunlight," he says.

"I know a place just a couple of blocks from here. We can make it," Carol says. She looks at me. "Unless your old apartment is closer..."