A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I take everything into consideration and make notes of what's especially helpful, to save for when I re-write and edit and fix this up a LOT. So thank you, it's greatly appreciated. If anyone cares I just finished writing chapter 31.
When the sun had reached high on the sky a sense of calm and normality (although with more than a hint of fear and worry) had set in the camp. Evan offered to help Carol to sort everything out after they'd eaten, but Sophia and Carl tugged on her arm and asked her if she could play with them. Under the watchful eyes of the other adults, Evan decided that they could play a few riddle games, since that would be silent enough. With her repertoire of strange and sometimes really ridiculous questions from her teaching days she sat with them in the grass at the foot of the slope and entertained them as best as she could. Sophie seemed to have a harder time than Carl to get used to the harshness of their new reality so she looked more than relieved that someone wanted to help take her mind off of it. And Evan didn't mind, she had loved working with kids and she missed it greatly. Besides she wasn't much of a shot and would probably end up taking out one of their own if she was told to keep watch on her own. And she wasn't well organized either, so she was most useful when keeping the kids safe and happy.
"Okay, hang on, I've got another one," Evan said, grinning. She cleared her throat, and adopted a very serious expression which made the girl beside her giggle. "I was walking down Mulberry Lane. I met a man doing the same. He tipped his hat and drew his cane. And in this rhyme I said his name. What is the man's name?"
The wind tousled Evan's hair as both children wrinkled their foreheads, thinking profoundly. Before lunch Evan had changed her clothes and helped Carol wash a bunch of their stuff in the lake, doing the best they could to at least rid them of the worst of the grime. Now her legs were bare because of the heat, and her denim shorts were a bit too big but had been fastened with a stray belt no one seemed to miss. The sun stroked her arms in the red tank top she wore, and momentarily she closed her eyes to just bask in the warmth and peace.
"His name isn't in that," Carl finally insisted. Evan shot him a grin.
"Are you sure?"
"What is his name?" Sophie asked, her raggedy doll clutched tightly in her left hand.
"He tipped his hat and drew his cane," Evan said, slowly, a meaning look on her face. "And drew his cane," she repeated.
Suddenly Carl's eyes lit up. "Andrew!"
Before Evan had a chance to praise him Daryl was at their side, seizing Carl with one hand and the other holding a finger up in front of his lips. Evan grabbed Sophia's hand without hesitation and got to her feet, glancing in the direction Daryl was pointing. Walkers. Many of them. Too many. Evan's heart sank as she looked back on the man, begging him for directions.
"Get under the cars," he whispered, shoving her harshly towards the green truck which wasn't more than ten feet to their left.
Evan nodded, taking Carl's hand in hers too, pulling them down low, and creeping as fast as she could with them in tow towards the truck. The walkers were still far enough away so that there was a possibility they hadn't been spotted and Evan prayed that was the case. While moving she looked around the camp and realized that the others had hid as well. She turned and glanced towards the hill where T-Dog had been keeping watch but it was empty. The group had efficiently and silently hid as soon as the threat neared.
Without words she helped Carl and Sophia to crawl into position under the truck and joined them soon after, her arms wrapped tightly around their smaller frames; she had settled in between them, to be able to keep both of them as calm as possible. From under there she could spot Glenn and Lori under the car in front of them and she assumed the others were under or in the remaining cars, maybe one or two of them were in the tents as well. She hoped not, because in there they wouldn't stand a chance. Sophia let out a soft whimper but Evan quickly slammed a hand over her mouth. She knew she was being rough, but if she wasn't then they could all lose their lives. As the walkers came closer to their camp so did the familiar stench and the moaning noises coming from the corpses. Evan's heart was beating so loudly she was sure it would give their position away. Soon enough, too soon, dragging feet were walking next to the car, too close for comfort. Evan pulled the kids in closer, pressing her cheek into Sophia's hair, hoping the contact would calm the shivering child.
Suddenly Evan realized she hadn't seen where Daryl had gone, but she hoped he was safe. Just as the thoughts crossed her mind she saw feet not belonging to the dead appearing on the right side of the car, while the walkers were on the left of it. She recognized the boots. Daryl. But why? The answer came when blood suddenly dripped from nowhere and Evan had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from making a sound. She recognized those shoes too, and knew it must be Shane. Why they were there, next to the truck, and why he was bleeding, she didn't know. She leaned up, looking above the heads close to her, and tried to assess how much space there was. Could she let Daryl and Shane join them? With a sinking heart she realized that there was no way. Even if she was able to move herself and the kids without making a sound they would be too close to the walking dead if she did.
A thump threw her heart into the back of her throat and she saw the walker lying flat on his stomach to her right. Daryl, or Shane, must have silently killed it when it strayed to their side of the truck. Blood and other fluids oozed out of the hole in the skull and Evan gulped, turning Carl's head, making sure he didn't see. Silently she looked back, and when she saw how many walkers were approaching she couldn't help the burning tears. Daryl and Shane didn't stand a chance where they were, for now they had been lucky, only a stray walker venturing to their side of the vehicle, but Evan guessed that there must be at least another 20 or so slowly making their way towards them. They wouldn't be that lucky. Suddenly Shane was on the ground, on his back, his eyes meeting Evan's. She could see her panic reflect on his face too. She reached for his hand, holding it momentarily as Daryl piled the walker on top of him. "Fucking brilliant," Evan thought. If Shane was lucky the walkers wouldn't be able to smell him.
Before Evan could even consider Daryl's safety another walker fell, and seconds later Daryl was underneath what had at some point been a brown haired woman. The following minutes felt like years, each second passing slowly, reluctantly, as the walkers made their way past the car. Evan could hear the moans, and feel the reeking stench, but none of them reached under the car to grab her or the kids. None of them seemed to have gotten their claws on anyone in the group. She could hear the unmistakable sound of their tents being explored, but no screams followed. No gunshots. She dared hope that this would turn out okay. That in the end they would all make it with their lives intact. She was wrong.
The violent screams intruded her consciousness, and instantly the walkers next to the truck stopped, re-organized themselves and then aimed for the screamer. It took Evan a moment to figure out who it was. T-Dog. Her heart sank, and tears rolled down her cheeks silently as she held onto the kids even tighter, praying that they would have enough sense to not react or make any sounds. Her eyes met Shane's, and she smothered a sob as the cries grew louder, swearing joining in, and a gun being fired. Why wasn't anyone helping him? This time Shane's hand found hers, and the look in his eyes told her exactly why no one was coming to the black man's aid. The survival of the group – that was the most important thing. The survival of the many, and not the individual. Her fingers wrapped tighter around Shane's bigger and stronger ones. His skin against hers oddly comforting, as the screams subsided. At first Evan assumed it was because T-Dog had finally met his fate, but then she realized it was because he was moving away. Away from them. Taking the walkers with him.
"Come on," Daryl suddenly whispered from his position next to Shane. Neither Shane nor Evan needed to be told twice. With the herd moving away, following the dying man who was giving his life for them, they had a chance to escape.
Shane's hand still in hers, he tugged her out, helping Carl and Sophia to get to their feet as well. Evan saw the bleeding wound on Shane's arm but he shook his head; it wasn't a bite. Relieved she followed Daryl's instructions and as silently as possibly opened the door of the truck, helping the kids inside. She looked around momentarily before joining them and saw that the others were doing the exact same thing. While everyone was salvaging what they could and piling quickly into the vehicles Daryl took out a few walkers with his crossbow and knife. The large herd had moved on, but it seemed some of them were slower than others.
"Where's my mum?" Sophia asked as soon as Evan had crawled into the backseat, and Evan pointed towards the van.
"She's in there. I saw her with Dale just now. She's fine." Evan tried her best to calm the shivering and sobbing girl, who nodded slowly.
Before long, Shane and Daryl had both gotten into the truck, with Daryl cursing over the fact that he'd have to leave the motorcycle behind and Shane doing his best to keep pressure on the wound on his upper arm but the blood slipped through his fingers easily. Evan looked around and found a stray shirt on the floor, reaching down to pick it up as Daryl turned the key in the ignition. Through the windshield Evan could see the other cars starting up as well, and they all pulled out at the same time as the walkers started returning. With the shirt in her hand she leaned forward, into the front seat as best as she could while the truck moved quickly towards the road from which they'd come earlier.
"Let me see," she said, moving Shane's hands with her own. "Here." She pressed the fabric as hard as she could against his skin, to try and stop the bleeding. It didn't look very deep, but out there without any real medical care even the smallest of cuts could kill.
"Thanks," Shane mumbled.
Evan didn't respond. Her mind was busy. In the past few days they had lost two people. Two friends. And they were on the road again. This time leaving behind their tents and a lot of their supplies as well. Knowing what she knew, Evan thought back to the last three people she had lost of her old group. She thought of their last moments and wondered if maybe they had been right. If maybe what they had done made sense. With dangerous thoughts invading her mind she let Shane hold the shirt in place himself and leaned back, sitting down carefully. Her hand seized Sophia's, and she offered the frightened girl a smile. When the little girl returned the smile Evan knew. The last three people of her old group hadn't been right. Not at all.