Wings

Circles (2/2)

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated." — Maya Angelou

____________________________

DARYL

He had messed up. Badly. Again. And now, Carol was gone.

*~earlier~*

They had been staking out the hospital. Grady Memorial, they learned. Carol knew where it was. They heard some noise and expected walkers, like the family Daryl had put down for Carol. Instead, they were ambushed by some kid. He took their weapons and set a tent of walkers loose on them. Daryl and Carol fought their way through, but were now weaponless. They found a vending machine and were eating chips while they regrouped. He remembered something that Carol had said earlier.

"You said I ain't like I was before. How was I?"

"You were like a kid," she told him, "Now you're a man."

"How about you?" She physically turned herself from the question and he almost regretted asking. But then, she answered.

"Me and Sophia stayed at that shelter for a day and a half before I went running back to Ed. Went home, got beat up, life went on. I just kept praying for something to happen but I didn't do anything. Not a damned thing. Who I was with him, she got burned away and I was happy about that. I mean, not happy but...and at the prison I got to be who I always thought I should be, thought I should have been and then she got burned away. Everything now just consumes you."

"Well hey we ain't ashes."

And they weren't.

—-

A short time later they heard a door. When Daryl investigated, he found a Walker pierced with a bolt. His own. Then the gunshots rang out. It wasn't long til he found the boy who had stolen their weapons trapped under a bookshelf with a walker pushing in. He started pleading for help, and Daryl wasn't inclined. He had stuck his neck out for him with Carol and he had repaid them with theft and a tent load of rotters.

This time, it was Carol who appealed on the boys behalf. Daryl saved him, and the boy said that his name was Noah and he was trying to rescue his friend Beth from Grady Memorial Hospital. It has to be the same Beth.

Unfortunately, Noah's shots had attracted the attention of the cops. As they were running out, Carol got ahead, and to Daryl's horror, was struck by their car.

It went against everything in Daryl to leave her. Noah told him that he couldn't help Carol, but that they would fix her up at Grady. He knew the way, and they would get her and Beth back.

He had the boy, Noah. That had to count for something. They'd make it back to the church, the group, and they'd get Carol and Beth back. Rick would figure it out. All he had to do was find a car...

——

REMY

When the morning came, it became clear that Bob's time was getting short. Everyone lined up to send him off. Maggie summed things up best by telling him "You'll always be with us. A part of us."