Bella could tell that the group was beginning to feel weighed down by their travels. What would've been only a few hours' drive before the turn, the trek to Fort Benning was riddled with jams and herds that made it very arduous for them to cover significant ground. It often forced them to either backtrack or loop around, thus costing a lot of time and gas. It's been five days since her hunt with Daryl, making it roughly a week since Bella and June decided to leave the water tower behind.
It was easy enough for them to be accepted by the group. The pair offered their hunting and fighting skills, while the group provided protection and stability. In the past couple of days, Bella had come to appreciate Carol's easy conversations, Glenn's jokes and quick-thinking, and Dale's humble advice (even though she never asks for them). She began teaching Andrea how to clean and assemble her gun, much to the latter's appreciation. Bella even asked Carol if she and her daughter would like to learn, but they didn't accept her offer. Rick would often even include her in initial plannings and discussions that he normally would only speak to Shane and Dale first about.
Her biggest fans seemed to be the kids. Claiming it was only because she played good music, Carl and Sophia would often ask to join Bella in her car. They became her mini shadows, and, to be honest, it was easier to talk to them than the adults. With the kids, she didn't have to worry about how her words or actions were being perceived. Kids just don't give a shit about those things, and it was almost cathartic.
Bella noticed that while Carl and Sophia had become her mini shadows, June tended to gravitate toward the sporadically brash and impulsive Daryl. June would often try to initiate conversations with him, even if it was clear he was not in the mood to do so. She managed to somehow convince him to help her gain experience with gutting and prepping fresh kills. When Bella asked June why she didn't just ask her own mother instead, June simply grinned and said, "I like talking to him. He's just funny."
Bella had no idea what that meant. Her daily interactions with Daryl typically consisted of them two hunting for the group. Silently. Not that she minded. When in the process of hunting, they communicated easily through whistles and expressions. There wasn't much room for conversation, so it acted as a refuge for her to get away from the constant socialization and chatter that came with joining a group. It grounded her. It was only after the hunt, when they would walk back to camp, that they would have the chance to talk. But they both seemed to recognize that making conversation was just something they were both naturally poor at. While they did often speak of that day's hunt or other similar topics, most of the time they spent together was filled with a familiar, comfortable silence.
That day, Bella had allowed June to ride with Rick, Lori, Carl, and Sophia in the Cherokee. Carol, who had strangely become the person Bella talked to the most, and Glenn rode with her in the truck. Glenn and she had actually become fast friends. Similar in age, they spoke easily and often made references from before the turn. Her humor was often crasser and more morbid than the other two could handle, much to Bella's delight. It was a strange trio in her car that day, but it made things even more entertaining.
They had only been on the road for about two hours when the Cherokee and others in front began to slow down. Recognizing the situation, the three grimly scanned the still and lifeless mass of cars they had entered. It was always unsettling for the group to have to go through these car jams. Their hauntingly empty appearances bring back reminders of the current state of the world they live in. Passing upturned and crashed cars, Bella was struck by how they looked like snapshots of people's lives, similar to photos taken at crime scenes.
She briefly saw Daryl's motorcycle circling around the RV before heading back up to the lead. Then, to Bella's surprise, Rick's car suddenly slowed to a stop.
"What's going on," Carol futilely asked. The concern and worry in her voice sounded so different from the engaged and entertained woman that was there not ten minutes ago.
Seeing Rick opening his door, Bella uneasily turned the car off before kicking her own door open. Before exiting, she reached over to grab her quiver and bow before swinging them both around her back. Soon, everyone had left their vehicles. Placing a hand on June's shoulder, the two made their way up to the front of the RV where everyone was beginning to congregate.
"This darn radiator hose." Dale shook his head at the steaming head of the RV. "What did I say?"
Shane climbed out of RV. "What's happening, Dale?"
"We need more than duct tape to get this old thing going. I've been saying it over and over again. And now look where we are. We are stick with no way of fixing –" Dale's voice trailed off as everyone looked at Daryl, who was ignoring their stares while rummaging through the trunk of one of many vehicles on the road.
"Okay," said Dale. "That was dumb."
"There's plenty of stuff we can find here – if not a radiator hose," spoke Daryl. He moved around the car to a truck nearby.
T-Dog began moving forward. "We can get more fuel for our cars by siphoning them from these."
Andrea nodded. "Food. Water. Everything we need we can find here."
Lori looked at everyone. In a quiet voice, she said, "this is a graveyard." She shifted. "This just doesn't feel right."
Everyone, including Daryl, looked at her uneasily. But it wasn't long before people cautiously moved forward to scavenge.
Bella crouched so that she was eye-level with June. "I'm going to head up there and help look around. You stay here close to our cars with the others. Don't take chances, okay?" June nodded.
"Do you have your knife?" June held a thumbs up.
Satisfied, Bella, along with the others, meandered their way through the forgotten cars. Peering through car windows, she often found the dry and almost skeletal remains of the previous owners. Squashing her guilt and unease, she dug out a black sling bag to help carry anything useful she could find.
To her relief, there wasn't any indication of any recent looting. Bella and the others would easily find canned and packaged foods for the group. This could mean that Daryl and she wouldn't need to go out hunting – at least for the next few days.
Bella made quick work of the cars and soon found her way up ahead with T-Dog and Daryl. Opening the door to a rusty blue Jetta, she was unexpectedly lunged at by a very not dead woman. Most of the bodies have been dead-dead, so Bella was quite put-off at being attacked by this one. Pushing it back into the driver's seat with her forearm, she easily dispatched it by using her hunting knife she had pulled out from her belt. Daryl, who stood at the next car over, raised an eyebrow at her. To his amusement, she grimaced back.
In the quietude and peace of the forest, they unknowingly began to pick up on each other's body language and habits. They didn't need to say a lot for the other to understand. Daryl thought it was almost uncanny on how effortless it was for him to be able to interpret her subtle gestures and signals, even when outside of a hunt. He figured it was because of all the hours they'd spend together in the mornings.
Daryl shut the trunk of his car and began to move past Bella to find another one to scavenge. But his neck prickled, and he realized something was off. It was still. Too quiet. The sounds of the rest of their group talking, moving things around, and opening doors were gone.
Then came the smell. A soft breeze hit him. He immediately tensed and without thought let out two short, low whistles. In a heartbeat, Bella crouched and had strung her arrow into her bow. Not needing to look back at him, she looked back towards the directions of their cars and began to see the stiff and clumsy movements associated with walkers.
She began backing up and, keeping low behind cars, moved toward the other side of the road. Unsure of where she was heading, he stayed close behind her while keeping a watchful eye on the herd.
It was when she suddenly banked right and let an arrow fly that he saw T-Dog clutching his bleeding arm, unharmed from the closing-in lone walker Bella had just shot. Bella quickly caught the walker before it could fall and gently and soundlessly placed it on the road.
The herd almost upon them, Daryl gave a short whistle – more air than sound. He nodded his head toward the car next to them, and, without hesitation, Bella rolled underneath the car. Daryl quickly grabbed the dead walker and threw it on top of a very bloody and confused T-Dog before throwing himself under the car next to Bella. As soon as he slid in, the telltale sounds of snarls and moans reached their ears. Not long after, their car was surrounded by walkers slowly making their way down.
The two exchanged anxious looks. Tense, Daryl controlled his breathing as if he was on a hunt. Inwardly shaking his head, he thought to himself that this basically was a hunt. He and Bella communicated with each other using calls to signal walkers were near and to give an order that was meant to be followed without question. They both followed each other's lead instantly. But this was the first time they've had to use it outside of hunting. This was life and death, and it was disconcerting for Daryl to realize that in this moment they both trusted each other with their lives without thought or hesitation. They immediately fell back into the routine that they're both used to around each other.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Could've been five minutes or thirty for all he knew. At some point, the numbers began to dwindle until eventually there were only stragglers left behind.
Daryl sensed Bella relaxing and barely heard her soft exhale. Still, the two and T-Dog didn't risk moving so soon after the herd had just past.
Suddenly, a distant shriek shattered the new silence. Young and high pitched – it unmistakably belonged to a little girl. The change on Bella's demeanor was immediate. Like a deer shot in the heart, she jerked violently. Daryl saw the jolt and was intuitively ready for the dash he knew would follow. Before she could jump out, he threw his arm around her neck, allowing him to cover her mouth was his hand. He used his leg to press her legs down, immobilizing her, and thus preventing her from leaving their hiding place. She struggled against him before freezing when a straggler walker slowly made its way by the car.
Once it passed, Daryl felt her body sag underneath him. Relieved, he had barely loosened his grip when Bella took the opportunity to jerk her elbow into his side – hard. He let out a grunt, and she slipped away before he could even recover.
Swearing, he rolled out from underneath. He shot down two walkers who were stumbling after Bella's retreating form. Fortunately, the rest of the herd seemed to have been far enough to not hear the shriek. Lugging up T-Dog with him, the two swiftly ran down the cars toward the others and Bella.
By the time he caught up, everyone in the group was congregated along the fenced side of the road next to the forest. Daryl scanned the solemn faces and realized that Rick, Sophia, and June were missing. Clearly, Bella had noticed to.
Face white as a sheet, she was firmly grasping Carol, who was sobbing despondently. "Carol," her voice was high but firm. "What happened?"
When Carol didn't respond, Bella shook her shoulders, a tinge of desperation coming out of her voice. "Carol!"
Lori, who seemed just as shell-shocked, stepped up. "June and Sophia were under a car when the herd came through. Towards the end, they ended up getting chased away by four walkers." Bella stared intently at her, unblinking. Eyes blazing, she scarcely seemed to be breathing.
Lori took in a trembling breath. "They had to run into the forest. Rick immediately chased after them just now."
Bella inhaled sharply. A pause. Then suddenly, she whirled on her heels and started stalking resolutely toward the forest.
"Hey, hey," Shane blocked her with his arm. Without a word, she shoved him, hard. Seeing her about to just run headlong into the forest, Daryl also intervened by placing himself in her way.
"Grime's got this handled. We don't need anybody else runnin' blindly into the forest."
"Get out of my fucking way," she hissed. She made to move around him, but Daryl grabbed her shoulder. Like a wounded animal, she lashed out so violently that he stumbled back. "Don't ever fucking touch me."
Ignoring the protests of everyone else, Bella scanned the grass approaching the forest. She spotted the imprints of recent steps, and with a fierce determination, she began to track down her daughter.
Bella was distinctly aware that a couple of the others were following her. Not that they would be much fucking help. As far as she knew, June and she had only been with them for a week before June goes disappearing. This never happened at the water tower when it was just the two of them.
The ground she followed was quite disturbed. Several tracks were crisscrossing and stumbling right on top of each other. There were signs of two humans taking long, running strides. But most their tracks were disrupted by the dragging shuffle of walkers.
Bella herself moved fast, almost recklessly. Practically racing, she only slowed down occasionally to confirm she was heading in the right direction before sprinting off again. She barely slowed down to shoot down a walker, not even bothering to retrieve her arrow.
Soon, she reached the edge of a steep incline that framed a creek. Stopping, Bella desperately looked around the upturned leaves and twigs. The shuffling had taken a sharp left, but she saw a rock that led to the incline had mud on it. It seemed to have been from the bottom of a shoe. Knowing that the rushing water would tell her nothing, she made way to head toward the walkers. But as her eyes gave a final sweep of the creek below, she saw a familiar face farther down the stream.
"Rick." Voice sharp as a knife, Bella skillfully and quickly made her way down. She jumped into the water and waded toward a blood-stained Rick. She noticed Rick immediately looked towards a very small cave that was built into the incline. Seeing his face fall, she forcefully went up to him.
"Where are they?" At that point, the rest had finally caught up to Bella. Daryl made his descent down while Shane and Glenn stayed up above, eyes searching.
Unsettled, Rick pointed at the cave. "I caught up to the girls, but I couldn't take out four walkers without leaving them defenseless. I hid them down here and told them to stay put, but if I didn't make it back to head back to the highway."
He rubbed his jaw. "I told them to head there," he pointed towards the highway. "And to keep the sun on their left shoulders."
Bella's chest felt tight and compressed. She thought she could scarcely breathe as she stared at Rick with slight panic in her eyes. As afraid as she was, Bella took in sharp breathes, forcing herself to calm down. She knew she couldn't break – not now, when time is young and valuable.
Shane from above spoke out. "You sure they understood what you meant? Two scared little girls – you gotta wonder if any of it stuck."
Bella resisted the urge to chuck a rock at his head. The indignation she felt on behalf of her daughter was enough to clear her head. "They're not toddlers. June isn't incapable of understanding basic commands," she said flatly.
Daryl, meanwhile, was scoping the incline for any signs of where the kids went. "Over here," he called out. He pointed at a path. "There's fresh tracks. Oi –" he waved away Glenn. "Get out of the way. You're messin' 'em up."
Immediately, Bella and Rick sloshed their way over to Daryl. Squashing her still simmering resentment, she accepted Shane's hand to hoist her back up.
Following close behind Daryl, Bella resisted the childish urge to shove him to the side and pursue the girls herself. However, she was impatient and restless, which is a bad combination when tracking. So, Bella squashed down her bitterness and irritation and followed the much calmer and more level-headed Daryl – something she never thought she'd see.
Ignoring Bella, who was practically breathing down his neck, Daryl suddenly stopped. Looking around him, she saw the trail suddenly veer to the left, away from the highway. Bella moved past him and began to intently scour the ground for other tracks.
Daryl crouched and squinted at the ground. "Girls were doin' just fine up to here. Could've kept goin' to reach the highway, but they changed directions."
Glenn's concern and puzzlement showed. "How come? Walkers?"
Shane moved next to Daryl and shrugged. "Could've been anything that came and spooked them away."
"There's some disturbance along here," Bella spoke. With a single-minded focus that would make June proud, she gestured toward the leaf-littered ground a couple feet away. "The wind makes it hard to tell but could be a few walkers."
Rick stood up, looking toward the direction of the girls. "You two," he said pointing at Glenn and Shane, "head back to the road. Calm the others down and let them know we are on this. Us three–" He turned toward the collected Daryl and the also collected, yet on-edge, Bella. "- will continue looking."
Good. Less assholes to deal with.
Bella stalked toward the trail without looking back to see if the rest were following. She couldn't bear looking at the guilt-ridden Rick and Daryl, who tried restraining her in the first place, without wanting to immaturely – yet justifiably – shoot them with her arrows. Perhaps aware of her sour mood, they didn't speak or comment on her aggravated state.
At least, up until they came across a walker. After Rick had found flesh in its teeth, she pulled out her hunting knife from her belt and prepared to cut into this disgusting and positively wretched creature. However, Daryl's hand rudely intercepted – again – before she could.
"In the state you're in, it's best that I should do it."
Indignant, she contemplated if he would still say such a thing if she decided to turn her knife on him. Ignoring her glowering look, Daryl forcefully stabbed his own knife into the walker. Unlike Rick, Bella unflinchingly watched him with an unsettling focus. Grimacing, Daryl stuck in his hands and began to dig through the walker's organs.
Finally, he tossed something out. "Here's the gut bag."
Bella refused to even entertain the thought that parts of the two girls could possibly be in there. If any inkling of that trickled in, she would break. Still, something in her stopped her from reaching forward. So, with a detached, yet pale, expression, she watched as Rick sliced it open. And she continued to look as he and Daryl dug through it.
Beginning to feel doubt creeping in, she squashed down her nausea and looked at the flesh and bloody remnants of its last meal. Rick flicked some of the pulpy vestiges off of his knife.
Daryl finally lifted something solid out of the organ. Dangling on the tip of his knife was the skull of woodchuck. "Gross bastard ate himself a woodchuck for lunch"
Bella exhaled, releasing the breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"At least we know," Rick said solemnly. Daryl echoed this in agreement. Bella tried not to curse them out.
From this, they knew nothing. It didn't tell them where June and Sophia were or where to look next. This was a waste of time more than anything.
Yet as the sun started to sink lower and lower, the three could only hopelessly try to cover good ground. The trail had gone cold, and thus they wandered for most of the time, killing and gutting up any walker they come by.
When they made it back to the highway, Bella just felt exhausted. Emotionally and physically worn, her anger and frustration had ebbed away until it was just anguish.
As the rest of the group rushed up to them with Carol in the lead demanding answers, Bella, suddenly feeling very winded, sat on the guardrail with her head in her hands. Attempting to block out Carol's audible despair and the group's badgering, she messaged her temples, avoiding looking up.
She was distinctly aware of Carol sitting next to her. Recognizing her pain, Bella simply placed a consoling hand on Carol's shoulder. Carol seemed to have deflated, the situation sinking in.
"How could you," Carol spat at Rick, the scorn clear in her voice. "How could you just leave my baby girl out there?"
She might as well had physically stabbed Rick in the chest. Rick stepped back as if reeling from an imaginary blow before kneeling in front both of the mothers. Shoulders heavy, he first looked at Carol and then Bella. "There were four walkers on us. I couldn't take them on my own while protecting the two girls. I had to go ahead to take the walkers out."
Looking at his distressed and anguished eyes, the same kind of look Bella knew was on hers and Carol's, Bella felt no anger or resentment. True, for most, if not all, of the time spent tracking in the forest, Bella did occasionally contemplate colorful ways to make to punish them. But somewhere along the way, she realized she felt angrier at herself than anybody else. She went ahead to leave her girl behind. She was the one who allowed this to happen.
She failed as a mother to be there to protect her child.
So, Bella looked at him. Instead of feeling loathing, she felt pity. And she was so, so tired.
"It sounded like Rick did everything he could," Bella murmured softly, speaking for the first time about this whole shitty situation to anybody. She could tell that Rick and Daryl especially did not anticipate this admission. After all, she was seething and lashing out for the whole time in the forest. But she could see how grateful Rick was by her consolation.
She continued to speak. "Because the two are together, they definitely are still out there. June and I had spent six weeks living in the forest, so she knows how to get food and take out walkers. It's a familiar environment for her." Bella chose not to mention that she had never left June alone in the forest to fend for herself, or that June has only taken out walkers with a gun. Since June had ridden in the Cherokee that day, she had left it behind, leaving her out there with only a knife. If June encountered a walker, she'd have to somehow knock it down or gain enough altitude to reach its head.
This, Bella could see, seemed to have reassured even the whole group. Rick swooped in, nodding with a newly found surety in an attempt to comfort the still reeling Carol.
"Bella and Daryl will be leading the search. If anyone can find them, it's them two."
Now addressing the whole group, he continued. "We will begin as soon as the light comes in the morning. We will find them."
Rick rolled out an array of knives and machetes on top of a car's hood. "Everyone takes one. We need to be prepared for anything that's out there."
Andrea looked up at Rick in disbelief. "These aren't the weapons we need to take on any walkers."
Shane butted in. "We use a gun in there, we could potentially attract a herd or any walkers within a five-mile radius. We don't need all of y'all going trigger-happy when a tree rustles."
Hand on her hip, the blonde challenged, "It's not a tree I'm worried about."
"Only Daryl, Rick, Bella, and I will carry. That's final, so you need to get over it."
Earlier, when they decided this, the boys originally didn't even think to mention Bella for the list. True, Bella rarely carries a gun, but it's too soon for them to know that. But she recognized in that moment, to carry a gun is to have standing in the group. It means that they will be seen as capable for making choices and being able to protect themselves. So, in a tone that made no room for argument, she flatly said, "So will I." Not wanting to challenge the steel-eyed mother, no one spoke against it.
Daryl, recognizing that this conversation was absolutely pointless, took his chance. "The idea is we gonna go up the creek for about five miles. It's the only landmark these girls got, so it's the best place to search."
Rick, who still seemed to be weighed down by his guilty-conscience, spoke in a low tone. "Stay safe and stay quiet. Don't stray too far from the group but spread out from each other, so you're always within sight."
Everyone began to pack and prepare for what was most likely going to be a very long day. Bella, who only carried her weapons, settled back on top of the hood of another car. Hopping on, she wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to squash her impatience. With little emotion, Bella watched everyone seemingly stroll their way around.
To her incredulity, it wasn't long before another argument broke out.
" – Dale, you need to stop. Do you think I'm just going to put the gun up to my head and shoot myself as soon as I can?" Bella, slightly taken-aback, cocked her head as she took in the unconcealed dispute in front of her. Everyone else looked obviously uncomfortable by the blatant quarrel taking place between Dale and Andrea.
"Look, I know you're mad. But if I haven't done what I did, you'd be dead right now." Dale, in his fisher hat and printed shirt, looked at her imploringly.
Andrea exploded at that. "What's it to you? You barely know me. I had a choice to make, and I chose."
"You chose suicide. I know that after Amy's death –"
Andrea let out an exhale. Pausing, she looked right back at him stone-faced. "Stop it right there. This is between us. If I choose I have nothing left to live for, that is on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands, and so you forced it on me. You took away my choice." While everyone else was listening with a rather inappropriate attentiveness, Bella uncomfortably stared at her clasped hands, lips pursed.
To Bella's exasperation, Andrea kept going. "I'm not your little girl." Yikes. "I'm not your wife." Ick. "That is it. That is all there is to say." Thank god.
Her and Dale had talked about this the morning Daryl and she shot the deer. While sympathetic to his confession and worry, Bella was rather convinced that she was to stay out of it. When Daryl came up saying he was about to go hunting, she invited herself as a way to escape. It wasn't that she didn't care; she just didn't know the right words to say. She obviously didn't tell June about their problem, and for it to be brought up now of all times made Bella want to bang her head against the car.
Without a word, everyone began to make their way to the forest, leaving behind T-Dog and Dale, both injured in their own ways.
Bella walked off to the side from everyone else, barely speaking a word. Tense and antsy, she looked for signs of the two girls with a narrow-minded intensity that caused the rest of the group to give her the space she obviously wanted.
At some point, Carl made his way up to her, doing something everyone else was too awkward to do. When he pulled up at her side, Bella couldn't help letting her rigid disposition soften. She didn't say anything but gave him a weak half-smile. He returned a smile in kind, and for a bit they walked together in silence. In that moment, it was the most comforted she's felt from anybody.
When he first spoke, he looked at her with an optimism and hope that she hadn't seen much of from the rest of them. "You know, we'll find them, right? June's tough like you, and she told me you taught her how to handle herself."
She let out a soft sigh, shoulders deflating. "I don't doubt her strength and capability. But it's a tough world we live in, where even the strongest don't always survive." Bella recognized that she may be depressing the boy, but at that moment she pettily wanted everyone to just understand her worry.
But Carl still had his light and was unruffled by her words. "Don't think like that. I think June is one of the most skilled in this group. And she's only thirteen!"
Bella smiled at that. It was small, but it was genuine. "Thanks, Carl. That means a lot to me."
They continued their way along with the rest of the group. Now and then, she noticed the others glancing back, checking on the two. At that moment, it was Daryl who looked back. She saw the brief surprise on seeing her more relaxed than she has been since the girls' absence. But once he realized Bella was looking back, he immediately turned around without any tact.
It seemed that Carl had took it upon himself to bring Bella out of her self-imposed solitude. He took another failed shot at guessing her job from before (teacher, firefighter, boss-lady). He'd coerce her into telling stories or answering questions.
"Do you think you can teach me to how to defend myself like you and June?"
She raised an eyebrow at this. "Why don't you ask your dad? Or Shane?"
At this, Carl quieted. Head down, he shrugged in what he probably thought was a casual way, but instead came out rather sad. She thought about how the group has been running around the couple of days with Rick at the head of it. Especially since yesterday, Rick has seemed to be preoccupied by the loss of the girls – understandably so, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy.
Bella knew what it was like to be put to the side, forgotten.
She nudged him with her elbow. "Hey. As long as your parents agree to it, I would love to teach you."
A smile crept on his face. Before he could respond, Bella suddenly stopped. Turning to the side, she intently stalked her way without looking away from what caught her attention. She was vaguely aware of the others, once realizing she had seen something, beginning to follow at close distance. Soon, Daryl was at her side, just like when they had caught the trail of the deer.
Covered by the foliage of the tall stalks of short shrubs and trees, a green tent was camped out a couple yards away. She didn't see anyone around it, but she still had her bow at the ready.
When they were only a few feet away, Daryl and she bent down, studying the clearing. There didn't seem to be any fresh prints, but it was clear by the camping gear and equipment littered around it that it had been in use. The front flap of the opening was partly unzipped. Everything was still.
Glenn, from behind her, whispered, "They could be in there." Bella quietly slipped out her knife from her arm guard, holding it upright and ready.
Seeing Bella preparing herself to move in, Daryl spoke cautiously, more to Bella than Glenn. "There could be anything in there."
Not bothering to respond to the obvious warning, Bella crept her way forward, low to the ground. She felt Daryl's presence close behind, backing her up. Once right out the tent, she tried to peer inside, but saw little. She saw Daryl do the same from the other side. Looking at her, he shook his head, shrugging.
Looking back at the rest of the group with Carol at the front, she saw that they were watching, frozen.
Her voice still sounding loud even to her, Bella spoke in a calming and soothing tone. This did not match her tense muscles and upraised knife. "June? Sophia?"
Silence.
Bella lightly grabbed the zipper at the corner and began to peel it back. When Daryl began to lift the flap, Bella, who stood closest to the opening, couldn't stifle back her gag. So much for stealth. But the smell of rancid and putrid rot had hit her hard. Pressing her nose into the inside of her elbow, she forced herself to move in, knife at the ready.
To her relief, there weren't two little girls inside the rank tent. Seeing a body facing away on a chair, she crept to it, wary that it'll suddenly decide to make her day even worse. Breathing shallowly out through her mouth, she inched her way around.
On the chair, with a rather obnoxious button saying "No excuse for domestic violence" pinned to its chest, was a maggot infested corpse. She lightly reached over to grab the gun from its decayed hand, noting its missing jaw and blood-splattered tent.
"Bella?" It was Carol, voice wavering.
Bella, feeling everything in between relief and disappointment, crept back toward the opening, which was still held open by Daryl. Taking in a deep breath of the clean, crisp air, she shook her head. "Wasn't them. Jackass shot himself in the head."
Bella, feeling her adrenaline fading away, took deep breathes to calm her heart down. This proved to be pointless since right at that point, the distant sound of bells rung through the forest. In a heartbeat, everyone briefly froze before sprinting toward the source.
Heart pounding, Bella could hardly think as the trees blurred all around her. Stray branches and leaves whipped across her face, but she hardly felt the sting as small, thin scratches bloomed on her cheeks. Feeling like a stalked whitetail, Bella felt like she was bounding through the forest, escaping from an ominous fate. But despite going as fast as she can, she still felt impossibly slow.
She, close behind Rick, Shane, and Daryl, finally broke through the tree line into a manmade clearing, revealing a white church in the middle. The bells had stopped at some point, but it had to be from here. The three men paused at the edge, looking warily at that open field that was strewn about with grave markers. Bella, not giving a damn, simply sprinted around them. Ponytail swinging, she knew she looked positively mad as she streaked across the cemetery.
Leaving the audible protests of the group behind in the wind, she pulled her bow back around her front and nocked her arrow. Once she reached the bright red doors of the church, without any sort of stealth or discretion, Bella kicked the doors in with her bow up and ready to shoot.
Everything felt instinctual – like muscle memory. She didn't even have to think as she aimed at the walker that hid risen in the front of the room. Before she even heard the thump of its fallen body, Bella had already let loose her second arrow. The third one, a groom, wasn't even halfway across the room before it fell. With just the bride left, she unsheathed her knife from her forearm, hearing the others just reach the doors. With a calculated move, she thrusted it in the woman's snarling head.
The others still stood at the doorway, gazing in disbelief. Breathing heavily in the middle of the aisle, she just stood there staring at the first walker she killed. Arrow sticking out of its head, its jumbled-up limbs looked morbid as it lied splayed in front of a display depicting the crucifixion of Jesus. Taking a deep breath, with hands clenching her bow tightly, she began to retrieve her arrows. With none-too-gentle movements, her aggressive yanks were the only thing that betrayed her aggravation.
As the group began to shuffle in, she practically collapsed on the risen platform where the alter was. Lying on her back with legs bent and dangling over the podium, Bella looked up and saw the carved, solemn face of Jesus looking down at her. Holding back a groan, she covered her eyes with an arm. Just focusing on her breathing, Bella blocked out the soft mumbles of the group.
At some point, she was distinctly aware that the bells had started ringing. But she remained just as she was, exhausted, even as the others went back outside to find the source. When it stopped only a moment later, she knew that it was nothing. That this place was nothing.
Carol, who had come back in and sat down unbeknown to Bella, began to pray. As Bella listened to her confess about her fears and guilt over Ed, she began to understand Carol. When Bella first met the group, she felt almost a kinship with Carol, a single mom whp only her daughter. She never asked Carol about the father, and Carol never brought it up. But slowly, everything, from the way Carol and Sophia were almost skittish to how Carol avoided talking about her life from before, began to click into place.
However, it brought a torrent of buried memories – stuff she hasn't thought about in years. Memories she definitely did not need to be thinking about right now. Eyes squeezed shut, Bella reverted her attention back to her breathing.
Her fingers subtly began to tap, forming an unseen rhythm. Focusing on her fingers, sound began to fill her head. Slowly, her muscles began to relax, and she felt like she could breathe again.
Once she felt grounded, Bella finally opened her eyes. Meeting Jesus's solemn stare, Bella couldn't help but discreetly slipping him the middle finger. She looked down and saw Carol and Lori sitting in the front bench. Feeling another stare, she turned her head to the side and saw Daryl leaning against the wall, one foot propped up against it, looking back at her. She knew he probably watched her as she was grounding herself, but he seemed more confused by her actions than anything.
This made her satisfied. Feeling more like herself, she sat back up, put on her quiver, and slung her bow around her shoulders. Bella quietly stood up and began to walk back out of the stifling church, pausing only to lightly squeeze Carol's shoulder.
Josephine U. Natastachi
October 13, 1937 – June 7, 2009
Beloved mother, daughter, and wife
Bella looked down at the golden, cursive engraving. She read it over and again, hardly thinking as she did it. Repeating it in her head, fingers tapping, she continued up until Shane's voice interrupted her right after she read "June."
"You all should head back. Cross over to the other side of the creek and continue looking for the girls as you go. Rick and I are gonna scope this area out for another hour to make sure we covered everything."
Most of the group were sitting underneath a tree in the cemetery. Bella was leaning on her shoulder against the tree trunk, arms crossed and eyes down at the grave marker. A few feet away, Daryl shifted, hands bracing against the strap of his crossbow. "Us splittin' up – you sure?"
Shane nodded. "We'll catch up after." Bella could hear the reluctance in his voice.
Carl stepped up. "I want to stay with you guys." Unfazed by Shane's disbelief, he insisted, "I'm her friend."
With a sigh, Lori kissed Carl's head. "Stay safe. And don't stray from your father."
The group stopped to take a long break at a clearing that lied on a hill. The sun was low, casting a reddish blanket over the forest. The bright red clouds in the sky looked inflamed. Shadows broke through the glow, creating dark lines across the ground.
Everyone was muted and disheartened. Quietly drinking or eating, no one had much to say. Daryl scanned the group, taking count of who was there. Realizing one green-eyed woman was missing, he scanned along the trees till he saw her sitting a couple feet away.
She was looking out through a break in the trees. Since there was only a decline beyond the clearing, they were able to see parts of the forest below them and the setting sun. Resting on a fallen trunk, she stared out into the bleeding sky, thumb rubbing against the cool, smooth surface of her bow.
She was the only one not eating or drinking, and he couldn't see anything else on her beside her weapons. He vaguely remembered everyone being given a granola bar during lunch, something to eat along with whatever they brought for themselves. Realizing she had nothing else during the whole day, Daryl shook his head.
Daryl made his way over. Her hair was tied back, revealing her face glowing in the sun's rays. She barely reacted or addressed him when he stood above her.
He held out his canteen. "Here."
During their hunts, it was common for them to share one. Either because they had little water to spare or simply because they didn't need the extra weight, typically only one person brought their bottle. So, it wasn't unfamiliar for him to give her his.
"I'm fine." She didn't even spare a glance.
Slightly peeved, he shot out at her, "you don't gotta act like this."
That caught her attention. Bristling, she spoke with a cold, icy tone. "What are you talking about?"
He waved his canteen, irritated. "Not drinkin' some damn water. Movin' away from the group without sayin' a word. Runnin' into the church with no plan or backup. We don't need to be chasin' after you to make sure your ass doesn't get bit."
She scoffed. "I can take care after myself. You shouldn't be focusing on me but on my daughter."
Daryl scowled. Letting out a huff, he tried to calm himself down. "Look, when your girl comes back, she needs to have a mother to come back to."
At that, Bella finally looked up at him. She appraised him, staring warily at his eyes. He wasn't quite sure what she saw – or what she wanted to see. He tried to stop scowling. Finally, she sighed. Her defensive stare softened until she nodded and accepted his canteen.
Just then, a resounding crack of a gunshot echoed through the forest.
AN: In case you were wondering what Bella's bow looks like, I've always imagined a black, traditional recurve bow. It would look a lot like a Hoyt Buffalo, which is the bow Katniss uses in the film Catching fire and Hawkeye uses in Age of Ultron. I like the look/style of recurve bows rather than compound bows (which are the more modern, gadget-y looking ones)
Also, the name/date on the grave marker are inspired by an account from a woman who's grandparents had been part of the Trail of Tears.