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The Anderson Family's Survival

Searching for Sophia

The next morning the group gathers again to collect weapons from the collection Carl had found the previous day to arm themselves with and listen as Daryl maps out their course. Despite Andrea’s obvious objections to the idea, no one will be allowed to carry a gun with them aside from Daryl, Rick, Shane, and the only two of the Andersons with some military experience. They couldn’t run the risk of anyone getting jumpy and popping off rounds they couldn’t spare, let alone any that could draw in a herd like the one that had passed the day before. Then they were all done for.

“Seems fair enough.” Shawn conceded, knowing the last thing they needed was anyone else getting lost or their group being split up further than it already was. Sheon sniffs his agreement, clicking a fresh magazine into his pistol as Andrea watched with narrowed eyes; the young man leveled her with a cool gaze.

“Gonna need to deal with it, Skippy.” He told her as he holstered the gun and turned to join the other men gathered around the hood of one of the abandoned cars, missing the glare Andrea shot after him, her teeth gritting together irritably.

“The idea’s to take the creek here,” Daryl traced the twisting blue line on the map, the creek where Shawn, Rick, and Rose had left Sophia the previous day, “Go about five miles upstream, then turn around, walk the same distance downstream. If she’s anywhere, she’ll be by the creek since it’s her only landmark.”

Rick nodded his head in agreement, surveying everyone carefully, “All right everyone, when we’re out there, I want all of you to stay quiet and sharp. Keep space between each other, but never stray out of sight.”

“Everyone assemble your packs.” Shane called as the group dispersed and Rick folded up the map once more; Shawn turned to regard Dale and Elijah, who would be staying behind to finish repairs on Dale’s RV.

“Be sure to keep going on those repairs.” Shawn smiled, squeezing his son’s shoulder as Elijah nodded his head in agreement, “We’re going to need to get the RV ready to move once we’ve found Sophia. Sure no one wants to stay here any longer than necessary.”

“Be careful out there.” Dale handed Shawn his pack and the Anderson patriarch nodded his head as he shrugged it on, “And be sure to bring Sophia back, safe and sound.”

“We will.” Rick promised as Lori nodded her own head in agreement, smiling at Dale.

“You two be sure to keep an eye on Carl and Keith for us while we’re gone, will you?”

“I’m going with you guys.” The adults turned to face the boy as he and Christina came back from the Anderson RV, Christina shifting Keith in her arms to hand him to Elijah, who he immediately latched onto. “You need people, right? So we can cover as much ground as possible.”

Lori sighed, crossing her arms as she turned to look at her husband, who blinked as he looked between her and their son, “It’s your call.” Lori told him, pressing her lips together, “I can’t always be the bad guy.”

Rick scratched the back of his neck, as though unsure, as he glanced at Shawn, who shrugged his shoulders, quietly telling him it was his choice whether or not they brought the preteen along. Dale cleared his throat to get the other man’s attention, stepping up to Carl’s defense.

“He’ll have all of you to look out for him.” He pointed out logically, knowing Carl wouldn’t be alone and would have at least half a dozen eyes on him at all times, “I’d say the boy is in good hands.”

Rick smiles gratefully to Dale and nods his head in agreement before turning to face his wife again; Lori sighs, conceding, knowing she wouldn’t be able to argue that logic.

“Fine, but,” she put a hand on Carl’s shoulder, turning him to face her full on, “You’re to always remain in our sight, no exceptions.”

Nodding eagerly, Carl scurried over to join his father as Christina squeezed Elijah’s arm with a gentle smile and followed him; Elijah wished her luck as Keith waved, the pair missing as Andrea came up to Dale, her eyes hard and expression set determinedly. Dale caught the look in her eyes and sighed heavily.

“Andrea, please, I’m begging you.” He adjusted his fisher’s hat, clearly uneasy as Anna came down the RV steps behind him, frowning at the pair, “Don’t put me in this position.”

“I’m not stepping foot into those woods without my gun.” Andrea told him, sighing and shifting her weight a little as she glanced away, then at him again, “I’ll even say please.”

“I’m doing this for you…” Dale tried to tell her, but Andrea shook her head, cutting him off.

“No, Dale, you’re doing it for you and you need to stop.” She told him, her voice hard, angry, “What, do you think I’m gonna stick the thing in my mouth and pull the trigger once you’ve handed it to me?”

“Andrea,” Anna stepped down from the RV, frowning at the blond in understanding, her eyebrows pinching, “I get you’re upset for what happened at the CDC, but can’t you just let it go? Dale saved your life back there and for all the good he’s tried to do, all you’re doing is throwing it back in his face.”

“It was my choice,” Andrea replied tautly, turning her heated gaze on the young woman, lips pressing together tightly, “Jenner gave us the option to die peacefully if we wanted to and I decided that was what I wanted.”

“You were choosing suicide.” Dale’s voice broke in several places and he had to gulp to push back the heartache clenching at his chest. Andrea eyed the two before her, clenching her jaw.

“And what’s it to either of you? Neither of you know me.”

“We know you enough.” Anna snipped back, crossing her arms, “We’ve learned enough to care about you, Andrea, enough that we worry about you! Just like Amy would be if she was here. Do you really think you’re the only one suffering from her death?”

“Keep Amy out of this!” Andrea snapped, glaring at Anna, “This is not about her, this is about us.” She looked between the two before her again, “Neither of you could possibly understand how I felt back there; I decided there was nothing left for me to live for and neither of you had the right to tell me otherwise! What the hell kinda sick move was that, forcing my hand like that?”

“We gave you another option.” Anna pointed out quietly.

“By forcing me to have to make a choice to save the two of you.” Andrea bit back venomously, “I didn’t want either of your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What were either of you expecting by doing that, huh? That I’d have some kind of epiphany, some life-affirming catharsis?”

Dale looked lost on what to say, his mouth falling open for a second as he struggled to find his voice again, “Maybe…a bit of gratitude…”

“Gratitude?” Andrea scoffed at the word, “I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by mindless, drooling freaks. That was my choice.” She inhaled slowly, reigning in her temper, “You two took that away from me when you didn’t need to. You think either of you know better?” she shook her head slowly, “It was the last thing I wanted...to get out of this endless, horrific nightmare we live day to day after I lost the last bit of family I had. I wasn’t hurting anyone else…” she looked between Dale and Anna, who glanced at one another sadly, feeling their hearts constrict at the thought she didn’t consider them family even after what they’d been through together, even before Amy’s death, “You two took my choice away and you’re expecting gratitude for it?”

Anna glanced away and moved past Dale to join her family as the elder sighed, scratching the back of his neck, “I…I don’t know what to say.”

Andrea watched Anna go before returning her attention to the man before her, “I’m not your little girl or wife…I’m not her sister,” she indicated toward Anna, who was talking quietly with Alex, “And I’m sure as hell not either of your problem either. That’s all there is to say.”

The rest of the group watches quietly as the blond walks away from Dale, who watches her go sadly before catching the others watching him. He rubs his neck again, turning away to disappear into the RV as Elijah sighs and follows him, leaving his father to redirect the group’s attention to other matters; before long, the search group is equipped with what they need, including their bags and weapons, enough to set out into the woods in search of the missing girl, leaving Dale, Elijah, and Keith with T-Dog, who’s arm has been cleaned and bandaged.

Just as they’d mapped out back on the highway, the group heads back for the creek in which Sophia had last been seen, following the creek downstream first for any clues; it’s midday by the time they’re halfway done. Tired, sweaty, and worn from the summer heat, the group takes a short break to drink some water before setting off again. At one point, they stumble across a small campsite and the group scurries to hide behind some nearby bushes while Daryl, Rick, Shawn, and Shane peer around cautiously to see if there were any inhabitants they should be wary of.

“She could be hiding in there.” Shane pointed out in a whisper, inclining his head toward the solitary tent just ahead once they were sure there wasn’t anyone else around.

“Could be a whole buncha things in there.” Daryl huffed, shifting to adjust his grip on his crossbow; Rick nodded, indicating for Carol to come up alongside them. The timid woman moved to his side, bending down a bit so he could whisper to her.

“Call out softly,” he told her gently, indicating the tent, “If Sophia’s hiding in there, your voice should be the first she hears.”

Nodding her head rapidly in understanding, Carol took a half step forward, raising her voice just barely above normal speaking tones, “Sophia? Sweetie, are you in there?” A brief pause, “Sophia, it’s mommy…we’re all here, baby.” Her throat tightened a little in anticipation, “Sophia, it’s mommy…”

Silence was the only thing that answered the woman’s call, making her heart sink as she glanced back at Lori and the other women for support; Rick indicated for Shawn and Rose to cover Daryl as he moved closer to the tent, leaving the others to watch from a distance. The trio move carefully, pausing outside the entrance with their weapons raised as the hunter carefully unzipped the plastic shelter, raising his crossbow cautiously.

A horrible smell came wafting out from inside, assaulting their noses; Rose gagged loudly at the scent of hot, rotting flesh and took a step back, her stomach rolling as her father swallowed lowly to subdue the raise of bile in his throat and Rick turned away, covering his mouth. Daryl pushed the flap aside and disappeared behind it, leaving the others to cough and gag behind him. None of them could get past the scent of decay to follow him and Rick called out several times before the hunter reemerged, a small revolver in his hand.

“Ain’t her.” He gruffed, causing the others further back to deflate sadly while Shawn asked what was inside; Daryl shrugged, looking back, “Just some guy, decided to opt out, like just Jenner said.” He paused, suddenly thoughtful, “Is what he called it, wasn’t it?”

Rose and Shawn started to nod their heads in agreement when a sound in the distance caught the group’s attention; Shawn shushed everyone to listen, perking up his ears as everyone looked in all directions. It was distant, but familiar, the rhythmic tolling of church bells, a noise each of them felt they hadn’t heard in literally years.

“What direction is it coming from?” Shane muttered, looking around; Rose pointed due west.

“Sounds like that way.” She listened briefly, “I’m pretty sure.”

“Damn hard to tell out here.” Daryl frowned, glancing at the young woman as her father pressed his lips together thoughtfully.

“If we’re hearing them, chances are Sophia is, too.” He pointed out hopefully, looking to the other leaders as Shane looked somewhat skeptical and anxious.

“Dunno, someone’s ringing those bells.” He said, glancing between Rick and Shawn, “Could be calling others.”

“Or maybe signaling they found her.” Rose added as Carol clasped her hands together before her, as though in prayer.

“Or maybe she’s even ringing them herself.” Lori agreed with a gentle smile as she put an arm around Carol.

“Won’t know until we check it out.” Shawn looked to Rick for his input and wasn’t disappointed when the other man nodded his confirmation; the group set off at a near sprint without further argument, following the sounds of the tolling bells with raising hearts, hoping they would be able to find what they were looking for.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Ain’t you two supposed to be fixing that radiator?”

The sound of T-Dog’s voice as he rejoins Dale and Elijah at the RV draws the pair’s attention as Dale looks down from his perch atop the vehicle and Elijah leans out the open door. T had been out poking through some of the cars out of boredom, picking up random objects along he way, including a couple cartons of cigarettes and some lighters before circling his way back, where he’s found the elder on watch and the teen playing with Keith inside, his legs hanging out the RV door. He looks between the two of them, furrowing his brows a bit.

“What if they come back with Sophia and Ricks wants to move on right away?”

“Had it fixed yesterday.” Elijah pointed out, leaning his elbows on his knees as Keith happily built a block tower behind him; T-Dog raised his eyebrows, looking at the young man in confusion before gazing up at Dale for confirmation.

“If y’all had it fixed yesterday, what was all that rubbing and sanding for then?” he crossed his arms carefully, mindful of his injured arm, “Just bullshit?”

“Hm, that’s one word for it.” Dale confirmed, raising his binoculars back to his eyes, “Another might be pantomime…”

Elijah nodded his head in agreement, “Meaning, just for show. None of the others need to know we’re mobile yet.” He shrugged as T-Dog turned skeptical eyes on him, “Can’t get them thinking we should mobilize just yet, not until we’ve at least tried to find Sophia.”

“You two think they aren’t gonna find her?” T-Dog looked between them as Dale sighed.

“We’re just guarding against the worst.” He pointed out quietly, running the binoculars along the tree line, “If she isn’t found, sooner or later people are going to start doing the math and we want to try and hold off the needs-of-the-many-versus-the-needs-of-the-few argument as long as we can.”

A somewhat impressed look crossed T-Dog’s face, making him chuckle to himself under his breath as he shook his head back and forth, giving Elijah an amused smile, “One tricky hose, ain’t it?”

Elijah returned the smile with a grin of his own, nodding and chuckling himself, “You have no idea.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The tolling bells would lead the search party to the edge of a wide, sweeping field, which houses the headstones and graves of a cemetery belonging to a small Baptist church. The bells have stopped by now, leaving the group somewhat confused since it doesn’t look like this church has the steeple needed to house them, although they continue to approach cautiously, despite Shane’s objections that this isn’t the one they’re looking for. Rick ignores his complaints and leads the way inside, wanting to be sure.

A trio of walkers is sitting among the pews within, facing the wooden statue of Jesus Christ nailed up on a cross at the front of the church, as though they still had enough consciousness left to be able to recognize such a religious icon. They’re all dressed up as though for a special occasion, like a wedding, with one of them as the bride, complete with a veil that covers the upper half of her face. The trio of walkers turns and stands at their entrance, snarling and growling hungrily, as though they haven’t eaten in forever.

Handing Rick a machete, a majority of the group stays back as Rick, Daryl, and Shawn cautiously enter the church and dispatch with the walkers with little effort before Rick moves to check the back rooms to see if Sophia was hiding inside. Shane walked down the aisle toward him, putting a restraining hand on his friend’s shoulder to stop him as the others slowly step in behind him; Rose moves up behind Daryl, watching him glance up toward the icon perched on the medium at the front.

“Yo, J.C.,” he nodded toward the wood structure, wiping his own blade off on his pants, “You taking requests?”

Rose shakes her head, patting Daryl’s back before turning to watch Shane try to convince Rick this was the wrong church, pointing out there was no steeple for the bells to be housed in. His words, however, are soon cut off by the loud tolling of bells from just outside, causing the group to look up in surprise as Daryl pushed past everyone to run back outside; glancing at one another, the others followed close behind, trailing the hunter around the side of the church, where they found the fuse box for an automated bell timer attached to a pair of speakers high on the wall, which continue to ring loudly. Glenn opens the fuse box and pulls a couple of wires, silencing the ringing with a frustrated frown marring his features.

“It’s on a timer…” he growled, tossing the ruined wires to the side as everyone sighed in disappointment; Carol announces she’s going back inside and disappears into the church with Rick, Carl, and Glenn in tow as Shawn gathers his brood together and they move off to a corner of the cemetery to talk, leaving Andrea to rest under the shade of a nearby tree and Shane to talk to Lori.

“Another dead end…” Sheon murmured as he glanced back toward the church, feeling a peg of empathy for what Carol must be going through. The rest of the Andersons look at one another, sighing together as he returned his attention to his family, “Not to mention all this tension in this group…I dunno how much more we can take…”

Shawn cast an eye over his own family, watching Anna lean tiredly into Alex as he wraps a protective arm around her waist, noting each of them looked just as tired and strung out as any of the rest of their group. The Anderson patriarch sighed, rubbing his neck.

“It’s been a long day for all of us, that’s for sure…” he frowned, exchanging a look with Rose, “Honestly, I’d thought this could’ve been the break we needed, but I guess not….” He frowned as his eldest chewed her bottom lip anxiously.

“I hope Sophia’s okay…” she muttered, crossing her arms before her as the rest of the family nodded their heads in agreement.

“I’m honestly surprised she could have gotten this far, being as scared as she was…” Christina pointed out, furrowing her brows, “She was so tired yesterday, too, she couldn’t have wandered that much…she should’ve been easy to find…”

“Unless something happened.” Alex said, frowning, “Remember what Daryl said, about her tracks veering off suddenly? Maybe something spooked her, made her change direction…I think that trail he, Rose, and Rick were following yesterday could have led to something if they’d kept going.”

“But we lost that trail, remember?” Rose pointed out, shaking her head sadly, “No trail means we couldn’t keep going, even though we so wanted to. The only other way we’d be able to find her is monitoring the creek since it’s the only thing she could recognize…”

“Not unless she got herself lost trying to find the creek again.” Sheon crossed his arms, cocking his head, “I think going back to that trail couldn’t hurt, you know? At least go a little further just in case there was something you missed.”

“How could Daryl have missed anything?” Rose frowned, “He’s an expert at tracking and hunting, no way he could’ve overlooked something…”

The rest of the Andersons looked at one another in thought, each processing this carefully; while it was true Daryl was an expert at this sort of thing, it couldn’t dismiss the thought that something could have very well been overlooked. Even skilled hunters and trackers still made mistakes.

“Maybe we should bring this up to Rick.” Christina looked to her father, missing the way her elder sister pursed her lips into a thin white line, “Like Sheon said, it couldn’t hurt to double check.”

Shawn considered this, glancing toward where Daryl was walking between some of the headstones nearby before he heaved a sigh, “I’ll mention it to Rick on the way back, just to be safe.” His eyes drifted toward the sky, noticing the sun was dipping closer to the western horizon with each passing second, “For now, we should check in with him, it’s getting late and I’m sure we could all use a rest.”

The rest of the Andersons nod their heads in agreement and turn to head back for the church entrance, where Shane and Rick were talking in private. The duo glance up at their approach and they each frown, taking in Rick’s countenance, Shawn cocking his head at the resolute, yet drawn out, expression on his face.

“You okay, Rick?” he put a hand on the other man’s shoulder, pinching his brow as Shane pointed out he had suggested they start heading back. Rick shakes his head in protest.

“I can’t stop yet.” He rasped, his voice tight, “We’ve still got a lot of ground we need to cover, the whole other side of the creek bed.”

Shane frowned at his best friend in concern, “We’ll search that on our way back.”

Rick shakes his head once more, looking Shane square on now, “She would have heard the bells, she could be nearby.”

“Rick, she could be a lot of things.” Shane pointed out sternly, pressing his lips together as Rick refused, “I can’t go back, not yet.” He paused, taking in a quick breath, “Her being out here is my fault.”

Shawn frowned, squeezing Rick’s shoulder tightly, “Rick…don’t put the blame on yourself. You, Rose, and I did all we could for Sophia…we’re still doing all we can…”

Shane scoffed, shaking his head, “So now y’all are doubting yourselves?” he looked between Rick, Shawn, and Rose, frowning, “Now they got y’all questioning yourselves.”

“Not all of us.” Sheon frowned, putting a comforting hand on his cousin’s shoulder as she clenched her hands at her sides, “We believe in them and know it wasn’t there faults.” He gave each of them a pointed look, “Rick, Uncle Shawn, and Rose protected Sophia and are doing their best. No one can say they aren’t.”

“Man’s right.” Shane looked at the three again, nodding in agreement with Sheon, “Y’all can place all kinds of blame, but it isn’t going to help.”

“yeah, but this means something to us,” Rose spoke up, chewing her lip, “Finding her and bringing her home…that means something.”

Shane frowned at her, noticing the same resolute look in her features as Rick and Shawn’s, making him sigh and mess with his hair, “oh man, you three are stubborn…” he muttered, even as a faint smile quirked his lips, “But, this could be the miracle we need.”

The rest of the Andersons nodded their agreement, “We can’t give up.”

“All of us shouldn’t stay behind to look, though,” Shawn pointed out, looking around at each of the others, “Everyone’s still tired and Elijah will be wondering where we are…”

“Just have a few of you go, then.” Shane looked around at the Anderson family, humming, drawing Shawn’s attention; Christina nodded her agreement, knowing it wouldn’t make sense to have the lot of them stay around here when they didn’t need to.

“I think I should just go with Rick and Shane.” Shawn spoke up, holding a hand up to his eldest daughter as she’s about ready to protest, “Rose…I know you’re as worried about Sophia as we are, but everyone’s tired and the few people we have stay behind the better. I want you to take the night to relax and get some rest.” He looked gently at Rose as she frowned at him, still looking unsure, even as he can clearly see the dark shadows under her eyes; like him, he knew his daughter hadn’t slept well the night before, not with how worried she was for Sophia while she had to spend the night out in the forest and he didn’t want her pushing herself harder than was necessary. There was only so much the body could take before it shut down and he would rather she got some rest and recharged then risk passing out on them, especially in the middle of the forest.

After a long pause, the young woman let out a slow sigh and nodded her head, conceding; Shawn smiled softly, wrapping an arm around Rose and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead as the others were starting to gather around them now, obviously anxious to know what their next plan of action was.

“All right, everyone…” Shane called once the group was gathered, hooking his thumbs into his front pockets, ‘Y’all are gonna be followin’ the creek bed back to the highway, okay? Daryl’ll be in charge on the way.” He looked around at everyone, noticing the quizzical looks they sent his way as he ran a hand over his hair, “Rick, Shawn and I, we’re just gonna hang back, look around the area for another hour or so, just to be sure we don’t miss anything.”

“You’re splitting us up?” Lori frowned in concern, furrowing her brows at her husband, “Are you sure about this?”

Rick gave her a reassuring look, nodding, “Yeah, don’t worry too much, though, okay? We’ll catch up.”

The group exchanged looks among themselves, unsure, while Carl stepped forward, “I want to stay, too.” He announced, drawing the adults’ attention, a few of them frowning, “She’s my friend and I want to help.”

Rick smiled gently at his son before letting his eyes drift toward Lori, as though checking to be sure this was okay with her; she nodded her head, turning to regard Carl as she brushed some wayward hair out of his face.

“You be careful, okay, sweetie?” she told him in a gently stern voice, “Listen to your father, Shane, and Shawn.”

Carl smiled reassuringly at his mother, nodding his agreement, “I will.”

Lori’s expression softened, and she cupped Carl’s cheeks, leaning down to kiss the top of his head gently, “When did you start growing up?” she joked, earning a few collective chuckles in amusement.

Rick watches his family with a gentle smile playing on his lips before he cleared his throat, dispelling the tender moment, “I’ll be along soon enough.” He promised, unholstering his gun and offering it to his wife, “Here, take this. Remember how to use it?”

Lori looked down at the Colt, the smile slipping from her lips as she lifted her gaze back to Rick, “I can’t take your gun and leave you unarmed.”

“I’ve got a spare.” Daryl spoke up before Rick can argue the point further, pulling the gun he’d collected from the campsite they’d come across earlier out. He offered it to Lori, who glanced at the hunter quietly, still unsure; Daryl scoffed, insistent until she took it from him like he’d offered. Andrea watched the exchange quietly, pressing her lips together in disproval as Daryl nodded to Rick, Shawn, and Shane before leading the way they’d come. The men watch the group go before Rick tells Shane and Shawn he has something he wants to do really quick and climbs the stairs back into the church. Shawn watches him for a moment, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he joined Shane and Carl on the steps to wait for him.

Even in such a situation as they found themselves in nowadays, it was still amazing to see how people handled it, whether they continued to hold faith in themselves, in their family or humanity, or even in a power greater than themselves. Like that little beacon of light awaiting them at the end of a long, dark tunnel they needed to travel through to get to it; it was a long, hard journey, one not everyone was willing to take. It was something like an indicator of one’s character, their strength and will to keep going for as long as they possibly could. Yes, there were going to be hard times, like now, times when they might want to give up, but it was their willingness to keep going, to keep hope alive that would separate the survivors from the walkers. Their strength in the face of adversity where others weakness had taken them down.

“Hey,” Shane’s voice drew the patriarch’s attention, making him look over his shoulder as Rick was rejoining them; Shawn pushed up to his feet, turning to face him again, “Got what you needed?”

Rick shrugged as he reached the bottom of the steps, heaving a sigh, “I guess I’ll find out…” he muttered, not sounding quite as sure as he wanted as he ushered to Shane and Shawn to follow as he led Carl toward the woods. Shane looked quietly at Shawn, eyebrows raised, by the latter just shrugged and started after them, leaving the former no other choice but to follow not too far behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The trek back to the highway is mostly silent, though there is an obvious tension in the air that is rather unsettling; after such a long day, everyone was tired, not to mention more than a little disappointed with the lack of clues as to what they’d been looking for, leaving them no closer to finding Sophia than they had been when they’d first started. The addition of their group being further split up does not help matters.

“So this is the whole plan, huh?” Carol scoffs in frustration, glancing around at the others; she’s still visibly anxious and upset at her daughter’s disappearance and the lack of progress they’d made in finding her; the group pause for a short break in which they can each grab themselves a drink of water. Daryl circles around to Carol’s side from the edge of the group, sniffing disapprovingly himself.

“If that includes whittling us down into smaller and smaller groups, then probably.” Daryl leans into a nearby tree, accepting the canteen Alex offered. Andrea huffed, hands on her hips.

“Yeah, groups carrying knives and pointy sticks.” The blond eyed Sheon, Alex, and Lori disdainfully, lifting her chin in a somewhat indignant way, “I see you have a gun.” She snipped at the other woman.

“Probably because she knows how to use it and is responsible enough to have it.” Sheon shot back heatedly before Lori could open her mouth. Andrea turned to the young man with wide eyes, as though surprised at the backlash.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Andrea.” Sheon crossed his arms, “Lori is Rick’s wife, so I have no doubt he’s shown her how to use a gun, which is a lot more experience than you’ve had. We need people responsible enough to have one, not someone who’s going to pop off rounds every time she hears a rustle in the trees and get us in even deeper trouble than this, like you almost did yesterday.” Andrea blinked slowly, as though confused, “You know what I mean, that shit you pulled in the RV when that herd passed by, Christina told us what happened. You can act like a victim all you want, but you were the one who drew the walker to you because you wanted to be stupid and made noise. You know even if that gun had been whole, you couldn’t have been able to use it without drawing the whole herd down on you, Christina, and Keith. Stuff like that makes it obvious you don’t deserve to have a gun, not if you’re just going to treat it like a game. Use your head and stop blaming others for you not being able to hold your shit together or for you being miserable.”

“That could go for a few others here.” Lori agreed, nodding gratefully to Sheon before giving Carol an apologetic, but stern look, “Honey, I know you’re upset and none of us can do more than imagine what you’re going through, but you have got to stop blaming Rick, Shawn, and Rose.” she gave the young woman in question a gently reassuring look as she glanced away guiltily while Lori retuned her attention to Carol, “We can see it every time you look at any of them. None of them hesitated to run after Sophia yesterday, did they? Not even for a second. I don’t know if any of us would’ve had their bravery or strength to do what they did.” She indicated the rest of the group, who each gave a small nod as Sheon wrapped an arm around Rose, pressing her gently to his side.“Not to mention the fact Rick and Shawn are the ones making the difficult decisions to keep us going. Any of you think you could do things differently, make things better, hm?” she crossed her arms, casting a glare over the group now, “Y’all look at them and blame ‘em when none of them are perfect. But, if you think you can do better without them, then go right ahead. No one is stopping any of you from leaving.”

The group lapses into a brief moment of silence as both Lori and Sheon’s words sink in, considering their actions over the last couple of days that had caused this reaction; Glenn frowns, putting a gentle hand on Rose’s arm in apology as Andrea and Carol look at one another, then away guiltily, neither quiet sure what to say. Finally, Daryl clears his throat, pushing off from his tree.

“We should keep movin’.” He broke the heavy silence, looking around at everyone once before turning to continue their trek toward the highway; Sheon guides Rose away with the rest of his cousins, Glenn, and Lori not too far behind; Carol and Andrea look at one another again and trail after them, neither speaking a word the entire way as they continue to mull over Sheon and Lori’s words in silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

By this time, Rick has led his group a ways into the woods just on the other side of the church; Shawn and Shane act as flanks on either side, keeping watch from walkers as Carl walks with his dad, scanning the trees for any sign of his missing friend or clues that could help find her. The forest is mostly quiet now, the only sound that of the wind in the trees and the faint call of birds as the sun slanted in through the canopies overhead. It was nearing the end of the summer, meaning soon the days would grow shorter and they wouldn’t be able to stay out this long, so they would have to take advantage of the warm season as long as they possibly could before winter encroached.

(Hm, at least we’ll know how a bear or squirrel feels having a deadline to adhere to.) Shawn thought to himself in mild amusement as the group came upon a small clearing; Rick caught the other man’s shoulder to stop him, nodding quietly across the short break in the trees as he whispered something to Shane. The Anderson patriarch’s gaze slid across the grass, coming to stop on the solid, dark brown body of a young buck grazing just a couple of yards away. Shane’s gun is cocked, ready to fire, but Rick stops him, indicating toward his son.

With his head tilted just the slightest bit to the side in wonder, Carl had taken several cautious steps forward, gaze almost completely transfixed on the animal before him. He stops, glancing back at the three men as though silently asking if he can move closer; Rick inclines his head for him to go ahead, earning a beaming smile in return as Carl returned his attention to the buck. It raises it’s head, meeting his gaze with a pair of big, expressive black/brown eyes, standing completely still as he moves just a little bit closer until the two are barely an arm’s length apart.

Time seems to slow in that moment as the three men watch peacefully from the sidelines; Shane can’t help but grin happily as Shawn recalls the times he had watched his own children in such a position as this one. The beauty of it all, watching them encounter something so rare and fascinating, connecting with nature on a level most people would not be able to, interact with a species usually so skittish and timid they would run at the sight of a human. Peaceful moments like these they all still needed to cherish even in the remains of what once had been, especially if it meant it could keep them going, keep them fighting, keep them alive so they would continue to be able to experience them.

A gunshot broke the air, bursting the bubble of peace that had enshrouded them as the deer went down. Then Carl.

There was a beat of shock; then fear and heartache as Rick raced to Carl’s side while blood seeped from his abdomen into his shirt.

Even more so since those peaceful moments were so fleeting.

Notes

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