"Sniff her out Banjo, sniff her out." Amber says, Banjo's head low on the ground, sniffing around trying to find Sophia scent. The two were doing fine until the trail went cold on them, Banjo losing the scent and Amber losing Sophia's footprints.
"Here, smell this again boy." Amber say, pulling a shirt of Sophia out of her duffle bag, Banjo sniffing at it. Suddenly the sounds of church bells ringing could be heard in the distance. "Come on Banjo, come on." She says running towards where she thought the ringing was coming from.
"Amber!" She heard Rick say.
"You haven't had much luck either?" Amber asks, Daryl handing over Shadow's chain.
"No we heard church bells ringing and thought either someone was ringing them, or you or Sophia." Rick says. Amber looking up and seen that both of her dogs heads were looking in the same direction.
"Dogs must know where I ringing coming from." Amber says, clipping the chains off. "Find it boys." She says, the two dogs running, everyone following them.
The group ran out into a small graveyard, there in the middle of it stood a church.
"That can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells." Shane says, Amber turning around and looking at him.
"Are you questioning my dogs' sense of hearing?" Amber asks, Shane shaking his head. Amber turned out and whistled for the dogs. Banjo and Shadow running back, Amber re clipping the chains back on.
"Come on you guys." Amber says before running over to the church, everyone running after her. The group reached the doors, suddenly Shadow and Banjo started growling and snarling, pulling on the chains hard. "There must be walkers in there." She mutters
Rick and Daryl went to slowly open the door, Amber stopping them.
"Don't I got this." Amber says, quietly. The two men looking at her.
"You sure you can handle this?" Shane asks, Amber turning around.
"Seriously? You are questioning me now?" Amber hisses. "What's next? You will be questioning about my ass?" She asks.
"Shane's right, you sure you can handle this?" Rick says, Amber nodding before loading her crossbow, clipping the chains off her dogs and grabbing them by the collar.
"I'm sure Rick. Now open the doors before I lose an arm." Amber says, the two dogs still pulling hard. Rick and Daryl looking at each other before opening the doors. In the church were three walkers.
"Sic them boys!" Amber yells, letting the two dogs go. Shadow and Banjo making a beeline for the walker that was by itself. Amber raised her crossbow and shot another walker before walking up to the female walker. The walker slowly walked over making moaning noises.
"Shut up!" Amber says before smashing her spiked bat into it's head, the walker falling to the ground. Amber walked over to the one she shot and pulled the arrow out of its head.
"That will do!" Amber says, walking over to the dogs. Both of them walking over Amber. "Damn you boys did a number on him." She says, looking down at the walkers torn neck, guts and legs. The walker raising its arms into the air, trying to reach Amber, snarling at her.
"Can it you fucker." Amber mutter before loading the crossbow and shooting the walker in the head. The arms hit the ground with a flop, Amber walked over and pulled the arrow out, placing the two arrows into her arrow bag.
"Good boys." Amber says, praising her dogs. She looked up and seen the group was looking at her in shock. Amber smirked before swinging the strap of her crossbow over shoulder and clipping the chains back onto her dogs.
"See boys? I ain't no damsel in distress, I can save myself. No knight in shiny armour needs to save me." Amber says before walking out of the church, the two dogs right behind her heels.
"I'll give her credit, that woman has got guts." Daryl says.
"Sophia!" Rick yells, while Daryl walked up to the front of the church.
"Yo J.C, you taking request?" Daryl asks the Jesus statue before walking back to the group.
"I'm telling you it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple Rick. There is no steeple." Shane says. Suddenly they heard the bells ringing again, everyone running out to the side of the church and seeing Amber was bashing a small box with her bat, the ringing stopped.
"It was on a frigging timer." Amber mutters, before walking off.
"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol says before walking back into the church. Daryl walking around to the back of the church and seeing Amber was in part of the graveyard, looking down at a tombstone.
"Hey. You alright?" Daryl asks walking over to Amber.
"Yeah… yeah I'm okay." Amber says.
"You sure?" Daryl asks, Amber nodding.
"Yeah I'm sure." Amber says. "I'm going to head back to the church." She says before quickly walking over. Daryl waiting until she was gone before walking closer to the tombstone and reading it.
'Beloved and caring mother, who put her child's life before her own. R.I.P.'
Amber sighed as she reached the front of the church. She walked over to one of the trees and leaned against the trunk.
"Sit." Amber commanded to the dogs, both of them sitting. Amber dropping their chains to the ground before pulling out a packet of cigarettes out of her pocket. She stuck one in between her teeth before lighting it.
"Ain't you a bit young to be smoking?" Shane asks, walking over to Amber.
"Again with the questions. It's starting to piss me off." Amber says.
"I'm just-" Shane starts to ask, Amber placing the cigarette in between her fingers and pointing her right index finger at Shane.
"Alright mister, I don't question you, you don't question me, plain and simple as that." Amber says, Shane storming off. "Yeah you better run." She mutters.
Awhile later the group rejoined while Shane and Rick talked. Shame walking back over to the other.
"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough." Shane says.
"You're splitting us up. You sure?" Daryl says.
"Yeah we'll catch up to you." Rick says.
"I want to stay, too. I'm her friend." Carl says, Rick and Shane looking at each other before Rick looked at Lori.
"Just be careful, okay?" Lori says.
"I will." Carl answers.
"When did you start growing up?" Lori asks, hugging Carl. Rick and Lori kissing and hugging before pulling away.
"I'll be along soon enough." Rick says. Amber looking and seeing that Shane and Andrea were giving a look to each other.
'Wonder what's going on there?' Amber thinks to herself.
"Here, take this." Rick says, pulling out his gun and holding it out to Lori. "Remember how to use it?" He asks.
"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed." Lori says.
"Here, got a spare." Daryl says pulling out a small pistol and walking over to Lori. "Take it." He says, Lori taking it.
"Alright let's hit the road." Amber says, picking the chains up, the group leaving. As soon as they got back into the woods, Shadow and Banjo lowered their heads to the ground, sniffing at the ground.
"They're looking for a scent?" Lori asks.
"Yeah of anything at this rate. Food, walkers or Sophia." Amber says.
"You trained them yourself?" Glenn asks.
"Shadow no, Banjo yes." Amber says. "I got Shadow when he was 3 years old and Banjo as a pup." She adds.
"So this is it? This the whole plan?" Carol asks, sitting on a fallen tree.
"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups." Daryl says, leaning against a tree trunk.
"Carrying knives, pointy sticks and using two dogs." Andrea says.
"Hey! Don't speak about my dogs like that!" Amber growls.
"I see you have a gun." Andrea says, looking at Lori.
"Why, you want it?" Lori asks, pulling the gun.
"Hey Lori pass me that for a sec." Amber says, Lori handing it her. Amber holding it up before throwing the gun away.
"Hey! The hell you do that for?!" Andrea demands.
"Because I'm sick of you acting like a childish brat over a goddamn gun!" Amber say angrily.
"Still you had no right to do that! You are not part of this group!" Andrea says, getting up close to Amber.
"Okay look here blondie. I have this personal bubble and you-" Amber says before shoving Andrea backwards. "-are invading it right now!" She finishes.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Andrea demands, Shadow and Banjo starting to growl and snarl.
"I'm that bitch that's gonna fuck your face up if you don't back off!" Amber yells.
"Hey! Hey! That's enough you two!" Daryl shouts, standing between the two women.
"Next time-" Andrea starts to say.
"No next time you want to pick a fight with me I'll do more than shove you!" Amber threatens before walking over to where she threw the gun and putting it into the waist belt of her jeans.
"Now you can give me filthy looks for having the gun instead of Lori." Amber says.
"Just give me the gun." Andrea says, coldly. Amber folding her arms across her chest.
"Nope. And you can try and take it but all I will do is knock your ass down I don't care if I get kicked out." Amber says.
"Do you even know how to use one?" Andrea says.
"I don't know maybe I can test it out, on you." Amber says.
"Amber enough!" Daryl snaps. Amber pulling a face before lightly tugging on the chains, her and the dogs walking off. Then she stopped.
"I have a question." Amber says before turning around.
"What?" Glenn asks.
"Would have you guys done it? Run after Sophia without a second thought in your mind." Amber says.
"Would you?" Andrea asks.
"Fuck yeah I would do it. I wouldn't care if I died for that little girl. And that man that ran after her is doing everything he can to find her now. I know he ain't Superman but even Superman wasn't perfect. So if you think you can do better than he could by all means go right ahead, no-one will stop you." Amber says, before pulling out the gun and tossing to Andrea.
Andrea picking it up and looking at it before walking over to Lori and giving it to her.
"We should keep moving." Andrea says before looking at Amber. Amber narrowing her eyes a little before walking off.
"You're one not hold back what they want to say aren't you?" Daryl asks Amber.
"I don't really give a fuck if I hurt someone's feelings because of what I think." Amber says, Daryl shaking his head a little. That's when the group heard the echoing sounds of a gun.