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Safe Haven in the Chaos	By : IdrilsSecret Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 6517 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the walking dead or any of the characters. No money is being made from the writing of these stories

Chapter List
- 83
- 84
- 85
Chapter 85 You Always Hurt the Ones You Love

They were stuck in a cave facing Alpha’s horde. They couldn’t go back the way they came and they couldn’t go forward. Everyone looked around, assessing their situation when Jerry called for everyone’s attention. Their sight followed the direction he was looking, and up above, across the way to an opening they would never reach, was none other than Alpha, unmasked. Everyone was caught off guard as Carol let out a primal scream born of anger, hate and frustration. It seemed that no matter what they did, Alpha and the Whisperers were always one step ahead of them. And then just like that, Alpha was gone.

“We gotta get out of here,” Magna said in Daryl’s ear.

“Yeah, no shit,” he answered, searching through a pack and retrieving a flashlight. Everyone else who had a light source did the same.

For the first time since they got trapped, Daryl could see what he was dealing with. The light beam lit up the cave, revealing the horde. The sound was almost deafening. He shined the light on the wall across the cave, and moved it along deeper inside. There seemed to be no end to the depth of the cavern or the size of the horde.

“I don’t think we can go that way,” Aaron commented.

“Guys,” Magna called. Aaron and Jerry saw her looking up through the opening in which they fell. “I might be able to climb back up if someone can give me a lift.”

“It’s too high,” Aaron said.

“Dude, it’s worth a try,” Jerry encouraged.

The two men crouched down to let Magna climb onto them. Like a well-rehearsed routine, the men stood up while balancing her on their shoulders. Magna reached up and felt around on the stones. There was a lot of loose dirt, but her fingers found purchase on some solid rock.

“Higher,” she commanded, and Jerry and Aaron stretched. But after a few minutes, their muscles gave out, and they lowered Magna back down. “I almost had it,” she complained angrily.

Meanwhile, Daryl flashed his light around, looking for another way out. “Hey,” he called. Aaron came up beside him, and followed Daryl’s light beam.

“Water,” Aaron observed.

“If water is coming in,” Daryl started.

“Then there must be a way out,” Aaron finished for him.

It was promising until Daryl looked at the walkers that stood between them and the other side of the cave. He sighed and looked defeated.

Aaron watched the disappointment play out on Daryl’s face, and he looked again. That’s when he noticed the large rock formations that studded the floor and crossed to the other side. “Hold on,” he said, lifting up his lantern, and gaining Daryl’s attention. “There might still be a way,” he said pointing at the large boulders.

Walkers surrounded the rocks, but it was clear to see there was just enough room in the center where they couldn’t reach. Some of them jetted up higher, and they might be able to elevate themselves from the herd below.

Daryl’s light followed the path to the other side of the cave, and then he saw it. “There’s a crevice over there. Maybe a way through,” he noted.

“Are you serious?” Kelly asked from behind.

Aaron shrugged. “It’s our only choice.”

Daryl turned to Aaron. “I’ll go first. You bring up the rear. Make sure everyone crosses and take out any threats,” he said after seeing Kelly’s discomfort.

Daryl started to turn away, ready to take that first leap into the sea of walkers, but Aaron grabbed his arm. “Be careful,” he said worriedly, and Daryl squeezed his arm in return.

Everyone watched as Daryl took his first jump. He landed safely on the closest rock, but was immediately the attention of every walker closest to him. Dead hands reached for his feet, but he had just enough room to keep out of their grasp. He looked back at Carol. “You come next,” he ordered, and then he jumped to the next surface. Carol followed him.

Aaron glanced at the others. “All right. Time to play Super Mario,” he joked nervously to an unamused audience. Jerry went next. Then Magna, and then Connie, after giving her sister a pep talk. Aaron, in the meantime, watched the walkers at the edge of where they stood, and knifed a few who got too close.

All the movement was attracting more walkers, and they were starting to climb onto the ones Aaron had killed. He couldn’t take down many more or they would be onto the stone ledge. But Kelly seemed to be having second thoughts, even as her sister motioned for her to jump. Their position was almost compromised, and Aaron had to yell at her to move. “You have to go. Now!” he ordered, and Kelly finally made her first jump. Her sister watched in horror as Kelly missed her footing and fell onto the rock. Walkers reached and grabbed for her, but Aaron started yelling and waving his arms, trying to distract them to give her a chance. Finally, Kelly got up and hopped to the next rock formation where Connie was waiting for her.

Aaron stood at the edge, and took notice of where everyone was. Daryl had made it to the other side, as well as Carol. The others were still on their way. It was his turn to go, and just in time as walkers started to climb onto the rock ledge where the group originally landed. He made his first jump, steadied himself and looked up to find Daryl anxiously watching him. He told himself it wasn’t his time yet, and concentrated on getting across. On his last jump, Daryl was there waiting for him, his strong arms capturing him as he leapt to the rock wall. They gazed at each other for a split second, finding that connection they had always shared. They would do this together, just as they always had.

“All right, this way,” Daryl said, and he was the first one through the opening in the wall. It spilled out into a small cavern. They all stopped to catch their breath after their previous death-defying stunt. Daryl came up next to Aaron and leaned into his ear. “I’m gonna have a look around. You stay here and keep an eye on everyone.”

Aaron gave a nod and watched Daryl go, but Connie caught his attention as she was trying to sign to Carol.

“Oh, I’m okay, just a little winded,” Carol told her.

Daryl had abandoned one of the tunnels and passed them to look at a different one. As he did, he looked at Connie so she could read his lips. “She’s claustrophobic,” he said, and kept walking.

Aaron hadn’t noticed until now that Carol had been behaving differently, and now it made sense why. He went to her and put a hand on her arm. “Is that true?” he whispered, and she nodded reluctantly.

“Why didn’t you think of that first before you led us all down here,” Magna complained after overhearing the conversation. She was being confrontational when she didn’t need to be.

“Leave her alone,” Aaron warned calmly. A match strike diverted his attention to the opposite side. Daryl was trying to determine which way to go. Aaron could see the flame dance from where he stood, and he knew they’d found a way.

When Daryl returned to the group, Magna had Carol cornered, and was berating her for her erratic behavior which led to their current situation. “There’s no time for that,” he told Magna, breaking up the bullying. He knew better than anyone that you didn’t corner Carol. “I found a way through,” he claimed.

The group followed Daryl through the dark, and came to another bigger cavern. It was filled with stalactites and stalagmites. There was more room in this place, and they decided to take some time and rest to regain their strength. They had no way of knowing whether it was day or night, but they were exhausted after everything they’d been through.

“We’ll rest here for a while,” Daryl announced. He noticed water dripping from some of the stalactites. “Anyone with canteens or bottles, fill them up. There’s no telling how much longer we’ll be here.” He watched Carol take her container and begin filling it, then he took a seat on the cave floor across the way. Connie sat down with Kelly to give her some comfort. Jerry searched through his pack, taking inventory of his belongings. Magna was pacing like a caged animal. Aaron came over and sat next to Daryl.

“You doing okay?” Aaron asked, moving his leg so that it rested against Daryl’s.

Daryl nodded. “I’m good. Better now,” he said giving the slightest of smiles to Aaron.

“We’re gonna make it out of here,” Aaron said with solid confidence.

“Those walkers got in here somehow, so yeah, we’ll find the way.” He gave a sigh and glanced at Carol again. “She’s not right anymore,” Daryl confessed.

Aaron looked over to her and gave a nod. “She’s got a one-track mind right now.”

“Yeah, well, now it’s got us all involved,” Daryl admitted. He shook his head slowly back and forth. “If she would have just listened, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“If you’re going to blame her, you might as well blame me too. I’m the one who took the chance to believe Mary, and convinced us to come here. But it was a risk I think we needed to take, and I still think she was telling the truth. Alpha moved the herd since then, and that’s not Mary’s fault,” Aaron argued.

“It didn’t pan out, but we could have been searching for Lydia right now if Carol hadn’t run into this fucking cave,” Daryl returned. He shook his head with disappointment. “I’ve tried with her, but this time . . .” His words trailed off.

“I know you have, but … look, I can see her remorse. Now’s not the time to play the blame game. Being in here is really wearing on her. I’m worried for her. We have to keep her and everyone as calm as possible until we get out of here.”

“I know,” Daryl said, as he gave in. He glanced around at the others, finding them all preoccupied, and took the moment to kiss Aaron, who always had a way of keeping him grounded in dire situations.

Magna approached them and asked Daryl for his matches. He tried to get her to sit and rest, but she wasn’t the type to listen once she put her mind to things. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing,” she told him out of desperation.

Daryl reached into his pocket and removed the matches. He handed them to her and she thanked him before running off to look for a way through. He caught Carol out of the corner of his eye, hovering around. Aaron saw her too, and he started to get up.

“Wait. Where are you going?” Daryl protested.

“I’m going to get ready,” he said, lifting his metal arm to him. “We don’t know what we might come up against as we try to find a way out. I still get the feeling that we’re being watched.” He glanced to the side, gesturing to Carol. “Talk to her.”

Daryl gave Aaron a quick single nod of his head, and Aaron left him on his own. He joined Jerry on the other side, opened his pack and took out his mace. Jerry watched him twist off the metal hand and replace it with the mace. It clicked into place, and Jerry looked impressed.

“That’s badass,” Jerry replied.

“Gets the job done,” Aaron said.

Carol cautiously approached Daryl and sat next to him. Neither one said anything at first. Daryl took the moment to think of how to talk to her without getting upset and blaming her for their predicament.

“I’m sorry,” Carol said first, quiet as a mouse. Daryl was reminded of the woman he had first met a decade ago, the one who cowered in the shadow of an abusive husband. She wasn’t that woman anymore. Was this still an act?

“Why did you follow her?” he asked, speaking about Carol running after Alpha. “You had to have known we would come after you.”

“I-I don’t know,” she stammered.

“It’s like I can’t turn my back on you anymore. As soon as I do, you’re getting into something dangerous,” Daryl continued. “It’s bad enough I got Aaron running around with that skin freak. I don’t need to worry about you too.” He stopped to let her respond, but she stayed silent. Daryl felt he still hadn’t gotten his point across. How many times would it take before he got her attention. “Time and time again, I’ve asked you … no, I’ve begged you to come to me, to talk to me, but you still won’t.”

“I’ve talked to you,” she rebutted.

“You’ve humored me. It’s not the same thing. And now we’re . . .” he stopped and glanced around the cave, then shook his head. “Lydia is still out there somewhere. Our friends and loved ones are back home, and don’t know what’s happened to us. Did you even stop to think about Jerry’s wife and children? About Yumiko, Luke. For God’s sake … Gracie?”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m s-sorry,” she said again, her voice raised, determined to make Daryl believe her. “I just … I can’t stop thinking about it, and I know I have to, but I can’t. I don’t just want to kill Alpha. I want to make her hurt like she hurt me. Worse than that. I want her to regret the day she ever crossed us. I want her to beg for forgiveness, and then I will kill her.”

“We all want that, but in your search for her, you’re hurting those you love, who love you too. I know because I’ve been here. When Caleb died, I wanted Negan to pay in ways no one had ever thought of before. But I didn’t lead others into danger. I went off on my own until I could cope with things.”

“You still hurt Aaron by doing that,” she mentioned.

Daryl hung his head. “I did, and I’ll always hate doing that to him. But he was the only one I hurt like that. I’m not saying that made it okay, but I limited my casualties. He knows I regret what I did, and I’ve been making up for it ever since.”

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” she confessed. “I know … I know I have to stop.”

She seemed sincere, but Daryl felt there was still something missing, as though she was only going through the motions to make him feel better. He called her out on it.

“Don’t bullshit me, Carol. You have to stop bullshitting me. You have to promise me you’ll stop all of this. I need to know if we’re playing on the same team. We, you and me, all of us, we fight for our future. We don’t fight for revenge.”

A tear fell down her cheek as she nodded at Daryl. “I promise,” she said.

Daryl studied her a moment before he responded. “All right,” he said, and she settled her head on his shoulder.

They stayed that was for a while, taking the time to revisit their old friendship. Daryl saw Aaron across the way, watching them. He smiled at Daryl, glad to see the two friends had made amends. Daryl only hoped Carol was finally being sincere, but there was still a piece of him that didn’t trust her.

>>------->

“Guys!” Magna yelled from the dark passage. Her cry was cut off before she could say anything else. Next came the sound of a struggle.

Everyone jumped up from where they were, grabbed their weapons, and rushed from the cavern to follow Magna’s voice. There came other shouts and screams, and they knew it was Whisperers. The group emerged just in time to find Magna fighting with a group them. Everyone ran in and a struggle ensued. A few were killed, but some ran away when they saw they couldn’t win this fight. Everyone ran after them, taking different passages in the pitch black. Luckily, all ways led to another part of the cavern, but the Whisperers were gone.

Connie looked concerned and signed to Kelly, who interpreted her message. “She said we can’t go running into the dark like that and risk getting split up.”

“She’s right,” Carol agreed. “We have to stick together.”

“Did you see which way they went?” Daryl asked Magna since she was the first one who entered the new area.

Still watching all the other passages for signs of movement, Magna shook her head. “No.”

“At least we know there’s a way out,” Aaron commented.

“Yeah, but where?” said Magna. “There are several options.”

“Uh, guys?” Jerry called. “I think I know which way.” He pointed at an arrow carved into the cave wall. “They left a road sign.”

“All right. Everyone, single file and hang onto the person in front of you,” Daryl ordered. “Don’t need anyone getting lost or left behind. Aaron, you’re in the middle. Jerry in the back. Everyone keep your wits about you.”

The group moved as a whole, twisting and turning through the close passageway until they came to another small room with several ways leading out. Daryl and Aaron searched the walls, but there were no more signs showing the way.

“Magna, you still got those matches?” Daryl asked, and she handed them over. He struck one on the box and held it up to the closest passage, but the flame was still. Two more showed negative results. Finally, the last one seemed to be the right choice. The match’s flame was almost to Daryl’s fingers, but it danced and almost went out. Wind. They had found the way. “This is it,” Daryl notified. He looked a little further in, and sighed. “It’s gonna be tight.” He saw Carol from the corner of his eye, as she leaned against the wall behind her. Her breathing was becoming rapid with her escalating discomfort. He went to Aaron and whispered in his ear. “Keep an eye on her.” Then he addressed the others. “I’m going in first. Wait for my call before the rest follow.”

With a flashlight in one hand and his knife in the other, Daryl started making his way into the vertical passage. He had to squeeze through at certain points, but he was still moving forward. He couldn’t help to notice that he wouldn’t be able to protect himself in this position. His flashlight was in front, of course, so he could see before him. His knife was in his other hand, which trailed behind him as he scooted sideways through the shaft. If he came upon Whisperers, there wasn’t enough room to get his knife out in front to protect himself. As he moved, he felt sand beneath his feet and looked down. There were boot prints in the sand. At least now he knew he had chosen the right path.

“All right. Come on,” he called to the others. It was time to get out of this place for good.

Aaron stood by as Magna went first, followed by Kelly. When he glanced at Carol, he could see her struggling. He wasn’t sure how to approach her. He didn’t want to make matters worse for her, but he had to do something. As he was about to move, Connie stopped him when she put a hand on his arm. She smiled and gave a nod, then she went to Carol. Connie took her hand and moved her finger over Carol’s palm. Carol repeated the letters U, R, O, K, over and over until she got the message. Aaron was amazed at how quickly she calmed. Connie smiled and squeezed her hand. It was enough to get Carol to enter the passageway. Connie followed. Aaron was going to let Jerry go next, but Jerry insisted he go. Aaron patted his shoulder and went in.

The vertical shaft gave way to a crawl way, and they had to get onto their stomachs and inch along the floor of the cave. Even those who didn’t suffer from being in tight spaces were nervous. It felt like the entire mountain was on top of them. It wasn’t over yet. The horizontal crawl narrowed to a tight circular shaft. Daryl was there now. He stopped for a moment, and prayed this was it. Then he squeezed through, and finally, he was standing in the open again. He wasn’t out of the cave but he’d found a very large dark cavern. He was afraid to move too much until he had time to observe the surrounding area. Right now, it was important to see the others through, so he called into the tunnel. “I’m out.”

Magna came out next, and then Kelly. Daryl stood by and watched for Carol. He could hear her hyperventilating, but he couldn’t see her yet. She must have stopped moving. “Carol, you okay? Are you hurt?” he called down.

It took her a moment, but she finally answered. “I’m okay.”

He didn’t think she sounded okay, though. “Can you see my light?”

“Yes.”

“Follow my light,” he said in a calmly manner.

“I can’t,” she cried.

“You have to. The others need to get through too. You can do this,” he encouraged, and she started moving again.

Finally, he could see her. When she was close enough, he reached in and took her hand, pulling her the rest of the way out. She clung to him once she was free of the tight space. Daryl held her while she recovered from her traumatic experience.

Connie, Aaron and Jerry were on the move again, when Jerry called out to them. “Hey guys?”

“What is it?” Aaron answered worriedly.

“Be quiet a second,” Jerry said. He wound up his flashlight and searched the dark behind him. That’s when all hell broke loose, and he screamed. “Move! Move! Walkers!”

Aaron gestured in a panic to Connie to go, while yelling up to the others that there were walkers following them. Connie went as fast as she could. Daryl and Magna helped her out, and Kelly went straight to her sister to make sure she was okay. Daryl waited anxiously for Aaron. As soon as he saw him, he started reaching for him. They clasped hands and Daryl pulled him from the hole. There was no time to make sure they were all right. They still had to get Jerry out.

He was so close. He was right there, but Jerry got stuck. Aaron and Daryl both tried to reach in and take his hand, but he was still too far down. Jerry was scared, but Aaron talked to him to try and get him to calm.

Suddenly, Jerry was in a panic. “They got me! They’re biting my feet!” he screamed.

Aaron was still reaching for him when he noticed Jerry was wearing his Kingdom armor. “Take off your gear,” he told him. “Hurry, take it off.”

Jerry struggled, but he got his armor off and handed it up along with his rifle. He kicked at the walkers and started trying to move forward again. Once he was close enough, both Aaron and Daryl reached in and grabbed whatever they could and pulled until they had Jerry free from the tunnel. Connie and Kelly helped him to sit and started examining his feet. Thankfully, only his boot had been chewed. The bites didn’t go all the way through.

The first walker emerged from the tunnel, and Daryl knifed it in the head. Aaron helped him pull it out. When the second walker popped out, Aaron punched it with is mace hand. Daryl and Aaron took a moment for each other, and gathered one another in their arms.

“You good?” Aaron whispered in his ear.

“Yeah. You?” Daryl returned.

Aaron nodded and looked back at the rock wall they just crawled from. “That was close.”

“Too close,” Daryl said, capturing Aaron, their eyes locking on onto each other. Daryl released him. “All right. Time to find a way out of here.”

“Hey look,” Magna called out to everyone, and she pointed to a light beam coming in from across the wide cavern. Without watching where she was walking, she almost stepped off the edge of a precipice with a vertical drop into nothingness.

“Wait!” Daryl yelled, and he grabbed her just as her foot slipped off the edge. Rock and dirt fell into the dark, and there came a familiar sound up from below. Daryl looked around and took an arm from one of the walkers. He lit the end like a torch and dropped it. It fell for hundreds of feet before landing. For a brief moment, it lit the area, exposing at least half of Alpha’s horde. “We’ll find another way,” Daryl told Magna. The group gathered their things and moved on carefully.

>>------->

Finally, the first signs of civilization since they fell into this place. Before them was a wall made from wooden slats. Daryl, Aaron and Jerry pulled the slats down, exposing what looked like an entrance to a mine. The walls and ceiling were supported by wooden beams. Unfortunately, without proper maintenance for the past decade, the structure had become unstable, and the entrance must have collapsed.

Daryl and Aaron went to inspect the debris to see if they would be able to dig their way out. Daryl noticed that there were some tiny holes allowing the slightest bit of light in. “It’s definitely the way out, but we need to remove a good portion of this debris first,” he announced.

Everyone stood around and observed their surroundings. Magna’s impatience was getting the better of her. She couldn’t understand why no one was doing anything. Connie signed and Kelly interpreted. “She says we have to be careful. It’s unstable. If we take out the wrong piece, the whole place will collapse.”

“Kelly … you, Connie and Magna look around for something to dig with while we start clearing some of this debris,” Daryl ordered. He noticed Carol standing off my herself. She didn’t seem to be in the right state of mind to help, so he left her alone for now. He joined Aaron and Jerry, and they started removing debris.

“I found something that might get us out of here faster,” Kelly said from behind.

The three men turned to see Kelly holding a sweaty stick of dynamite. Everyone froze.

“Oh shit,” Jerry squeaked. “You need to very carefully put that back where you got it from. It’s unstable and very dangerous.”

Kelly slowly returned the stick to the box with the rest of the dynamite and covered it with a tarp, exactly how she found it.

Daryl looked at Aaron. “As if we don’t already have enough to worry about.”

“Let’s just get the hell out of here,” Aaron replied.

Daryl decided they could work more efficiently if they split into teams and took on different sections. He worked with Jerry on one area, while Aaron and Magna worked on another. Aaron couldn’t help but notice that Magna was very high strung. She was always moving, never stopping. Now, it seemed like it was taking its toll on her. She looked exhausted, though she wouldn’t stop.

“You wanna take a break?” he asked. They had been working for a while.

“I can rest when I get home,” she answered, as she moved at an accelerated pace.

“Are you in a hurry?” he said.

“I just don’t want to be here any longer than I have to. I’m sure you don’t either,” she responded.

“No, but … you’ve barely rested. And you haven’t eaten anything. You never stop. I’m just worried about you,” he said calmly.

What he said must have registered with her. Magna paused from her work. He could see her hard outer shell crack slightly. Aaron patiently waited for her to speak.

“Yumiko and I … well, I left on a bad note,” she admitted with defeat.

Aaron didn’t think anyone had ever actually stopped to ask her how she was. He might have been the first in a long time, and he was glad she was opening up to him. He reached out and touched her arm. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too,” she whispered.

“Come on. Let’s take a break just for a moment. It’s the least you deserve.” Aaron coaxed her over to the side. They both took a seat as he retrieved some jerky from his pack. He gave her some and watched to make sure she ate.

Daryl and Jerry took over, and not long after, as Daryl pulled on some junk, a hole opened up. Sun show in, bright and beautiful. Everyone shielded their eyes, especially after being in the dark for so many hours. Daryl signaled for Kelly to climb up and take a look. She could only get her head out.

“We need to make this hole bigger, but it’s definitely the way out,” she happily announced.

Everyone was overjoyed to see the sun. Daryl glanced around to see what Carol’s reaction was, but she wasn’t there. “Where’d Carol go?” No one knew. They had all been busy working to get out.

Daryl glanced down to the box of dynamite next to him, and saw that it was uncovered and a stick was missing. “Fuck,” he said under his breath.

“I’ll go look for her,” Aaron told him, but Daryl shook his head.

“No. Stay here, look out for the others, and work on getting us out of here,” said Daryl.

“Let me go with you,” Aaron said worriedly. “You shouldn’t go alone.”

Daryl put an arm around Aaron’s waist. “I’ll try not to be long. I think I know where she went.”

Aaron shook his head. Daryl’s defiance had won the argument. “Please, be careful. I don’t want to lose you to this place,” Aaron pleaded.

“You won’t,” Daryl tried to comfort him with his smooth voice. “We’re getting out of here now.”

Aaron nodded, and reluctantly turned away from him. He grabbed everyone’s attention while Daryl made his escape back to find Carol. He didn’t want the other to worry, and instead got them to take turns digging at the exit.

>>------->

Daryl made his way back to the large room with the precipice. He could just make out a shape moving along some rocks, and knew it must be Carol. He couldn’t tell what she was doing, but he made his way toward her. He saw a spark. A match, he thought to himself, and was suddenly concerned. The dynamite. She was going to blow up a boulder that jetted out over the edge, sending it crashing down on the horde below. But Daryl knew that she wouldn’t have survived it. She couldn’t have gotten out of the way fast enough, especially with the unstable stick of dynamite.

The flame when out, and he heard Carol gasp along with the sound of rocks falling down into the abyss. The movement disturbed the walkers below. They got increasingly loud. He hurried and arrived just in time. Carol had slipped and was about to fall to her death. He made sure his footing was stable, reached for her wrist, and pulled her up to safety.

As scared as he was for her, his anger trumped his emotions, and he didn’t hold back. “What the hell are you doing? You wanna get yourself killed?”

“We can take out half the horde from here,” she said.

“And you’ll kill us both in the process. Fuck, Carol. You almost died for nothing. Why do you keep doing this? Don’t you know? Don’t you give a shit?”

Tears formed and rolled down her cheeks, leaving trails of dirt. It was the first time since she returned from on the boats that he’d seen actual tears. This was not an act this time. “She killed my boy,” she cried.

Daryl felt bad for yelling at her. She didn’t need that right now, but her lack of interest for her own life had become a repeat situation. He softened his countenance and his voice, and put an arm around her. “You need to come back with me. Please. I know what happened to you was terrible. I know you’ve had a difficult time dealing with it, but there are others who still need you, who still love you. I’m one of them. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to lose you. So come back, please.”

Carol got her sobbing under control and nodded in agreement. She started to come toward him, but stopped and reached back around the rock where she placed the dynamite. She was going to retrieve the explosive. Just as Daryl was about to tell her to leave it, it slipped from her hand.

There was a moment when time seemed to slow to a crawl. Daryl watched the stick fall until the dark swallowed it up. He remembered how long it took the torch to fall, and his whole body cringed as it prepared for the explosion. Carol was still leaning across the boulder, and he knew she had to move, just incase the entire side of the cliff broke away. Time sped back up, and Daryl pulled her away from the edge. “Hold on!” he yelled, and he fell backwards with Carol tight against his chest. Just as they hit the ground, the dynamite exploded, and the entire cave shook and rumbled. Dirt and rock started falling. The entire place had been compromised. “We gotta go! Now!” he cried, and they rushed to make their way back to join the others. He just hoped Aaron had gotten everyone out already. He prayed even more that him and Carol weren’t trapped down here.

>>------->

It was Aaron’s turn to dig again. He made the most headway with his mace hand. He punched around the opening, and it opened up faster than the tools the others had used. Finally, he could tell the hole was big enough. He stopped and smiled as he turned to the others. “That’s it. I think we should all be able to–"

*BOOM*

There was an explosion, and the entire place started to shake like an earthquake. The support beam just next to the exit started to come loose. Aaron and Jerry grabbed it and pushed it toward the ceiling to hold it in place. There was no time to try and figure out what was happening.

“Get out!” Aaron demanded. “Get out now!”

Kelly wasted no time and shot up the ladder. She slipped through the hole to safety. Aaron looked back to see who was next, and watched as Connie and Magna ran back into the cave. “Where are you going? You have to leave now,” he screamed at them. He knew they were going back to look for Daryl and Carol. Aaron wanted them all to get out, and then he was going to go. He was scared to death for Daryl and Carol.

Kelly called back down the hole. “We’ve got freaks!”

Aaron was torn. He was still holding up the beam. Daryl and Carol were missing. The entire place was about to collapse, and now there were Whisperers above ground.

“Go help Kelly. I’ve got this,” Jerry said.

“You can’t support that by–"

“I said go!” Jerry ordered.

Aaron glanced back into the cave, and then made the decision to go above. He crawled out into the sunlight, just in time to see Kelly taking on a couple Whisperers. He went into instant battle mode, punching the enemy with his mace. Two freaks went down quickly, just as Kelly took out the last one. When they were sure there weren’t any more, they both rushed back to the escape hole.

Daryl and Carol came back, led by Connie and Magna. Daryl had just caught a glimpse of Aaron’s boots as he climbed out, and he had never felt more thankful that a prayer had been answered. He turned to Connie and Magna. “We need to leave right now.” He could see better in the light, and noticed the blood running down Carol’s face. She looked to be bleeding from her forehead. Daryl scurried up the ladder and out of the cave. He saw Aaron and Kelly, but he didn’t have time to ask if they were all right. Instead, he turned back to the hole and leaned in to reach for Carol. Connie helped her up the ladder, and Daryl took her hands and pulled her up. They both landed on the ground. Aaron was there to help Daryl up, and both men dragged Carol as far from the entrance as possible. She was in shock and taking longer to respond.

Connie and Magna should have already been up and out so that Jerry could finally drop the beam and leave, but they weren’t there yet. Daryl went back to tell them to hurry when he heard Magna yell. “Skins!” It seemed the explosion was chasing all the rats out of the cave.

Daryl thought about going back down to help the girls out, when Jerry suddenly dropped the support beam. He climbed the ladder and both Daryl and Aaron helped him up.

“Where are they?” Daryl asked him.

“They killed the freaks. They should be right–"

But Jerry was cut off by another explosion. This one sent rock and dirt flying twenty feet straight up into the air. Everyone covered their heads to protect themselves from falling debris. When it was over, they all looked back to find a pile of rock where the cave exit used to be.

Daryl rushed back and climbed onto the pile. He frantically began removing rocks, throwing them to the side. Kelly let out a blood curdling scream for her sister who was now trapped with Magna inside the cave. Aaron immediately thought that there was no way they could have survived that. The box of dynamite must have gone off, and they would have been close to it.

“Connie! Magna!” Daryl yelled, still tossing rocks away.

Jerry was comforting Kelly, and Carol was still in shock, sitting off by herself. Aaron looked to Daryl and knew what he was doing was a lost cause. “It would take us a week to clear this,” he said gently.

“You gonna fucking help?” Daryl screamed at him.

“Daryl, stop,” Kelly said, gathering herself. When he ignored her, she raised her voice to him. “I said stop!” She finally grabbed his attention. “We can’t stay here. That blast is going to bring walkers from miles away, and we can’t be here when that happens.”

“Just like that? You gonna give up?” Daryl said to her, almost disgusted by her reaction to not even try.

“I’m not giving up, but we can’t help them if we’re dead,” she told him.

Daryl snapped out of it, and took Kelly’s words to heart. She was right. They couldn’t stay. He glanced at Aaron, and saw that he put his hand out to him. Daryl took it and Aaron helped him down from the rocks. Their hands stayed connected as they looked each other in the eye, speaking without words. It only lasted a moment, and Daryl released him, turned, and started to walk away.

Carol stood up and started to say something to Daryl. He pointed at her to keep her from opening her mouth. Now was not the time. He was too angry to speak because he knew whatever he said was going to be hurtful and full of hate. He wanted to call her out, to say I told you so, to tell her this is all her fault, but words failed him because of his extreme anger. She had promised him she was done with all this. She had told him so. She lied, lied to her best friend.

Daryl started to walk past her, but Carol stepped in front of him. “Say something to me, please,” she cried hysterically.

Daryl started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm, stopping him again. “You were right. I was wrong. Say it. Just say it. Say anything. Please.”

It was a pitiful scene and the others stood by and watched it play out before them. Not one pair of eyes looked upon Carol with sympathy. No one came to her defense. Everyone knew it was because of her that they fell into the cave, and it was because of her that Connie and Magna were gone.

Daryl yanked his arm from Carol’s grasp and walked away from her. He stopped briefly and called over his shoulder. “Go home, all of you. Go tell the others we found the horde.”

“Daryl, wait, I’ll–" Aaron started but Daryl cut him off.

“No. Go home. Please,” he said without looking at Aaron. He started on his way.

“Where are you gonna go?” Aaron asked. Daryl at least owed him that much.

“They got out before us. There must be another way in,” Daryl claimed, and he was gone.

Jerry and Kelly left together, heading back to Hilltop. Aaron watched them go. Carol stood to the side, crying. It took everything he had not to talk to her or look at her, but he knew he had to be tough and leave her to fend for herself. He wouldn’t welcome her to come along with him. He knew she wouldn’t be welcomed back home once they found out the role she played in this tragedy. She had finally gone too far, and now Connie and Magna were missing, possibly dead because of her irrational decisions. And so, with a heavy heart, Aaron passed Carol by, leaving her alone, and turned for Alexandria.
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Safe Haven in the Chaos