Chapter 12: Summoned

Rick watched as Noah, a little red faced, walked out of the little church, her curly red hair swaying behind her. He could tell she was leaving a little more confused than she had upon entering, and he wondered if that was good or not.

He didn't know why he'd decided to give prayer a shot. He'd never really been all that spiritual, and he'd tended to put his faith in himself and in his family instead of something or someone he couldn't see or hear.

He sat in the spot Noah had just been sitting in, wondering if this was even right, to try to pray to a God he wasn't even really sure he believed in. But still, something moved him to get down on one knee and stare up at the cross on the wall, the bleeding body of Jesus looking down at him.

"I don't really know if you're looking at me with, what, sadness? Scorn? Pity? Love?" He shook his head, trying to clear the emotions that were fogging his brain. "Or maybe it's just indifference."

He removed his hat, taking a deep breath. "Guess you already know I'm not much of a believer," he said, hearing the skeptical overtones in his own voice. "Guess I just chose to put my faith elsewhere. Family, mostly. Friends. My job." It sounded pathetic to his own ears. "The thing is we…I could use a little help, to keep us going. Some kind of acknowledgment, some kind of…indication I'm doing the right thing." Rick could hear his own voice shaking. "You don't know how hard that is to know!" He took a rickety breath and then looked back up at the bleeding face before him, and added, "Well, maybe you do."

He didn't know what else to say, so he put his hat back on and got up, walking briskly down the aisle. But then, in a flurry of emotion he didn't realize he had, he turned back around. "Hey, look, I don't need all the answers. Just a little nudge, a sign. Any sign'll do."

And then he knew he was really out of words, and that if God was there, he'd do his thing.

He walked swiftly out of the church to find everyone gone except for Shane and Carl. Shane looked up at him. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Guess we'll find out," Rick replied, walking past them and away, knowing they'd follow.

The woods were dense, and Rick was constantly making sure Carl was within his sight, afraid that the moment he couldn't see his son he'd be gone just like Sophia. He knew he shouldn't have been so paranoid. Even on the off chance Carl wandered away from Rick's direct line of sight, Shane wouldn't let anything happen to him. Rick marveled at how much Shane had done to protect his family, and while he was conscious of a bit of tension between his son and his best friend, he still couldn't be more grateful for what Shane had done for them. For him.

Rick's mind wandered. He wondered how often praying worked, and he wondered if God usually sent signs to people who asked for them. He thought maybe God did, but people didn't always understand what they were looking at. That was, of course, if this God did exist. If not, well, at least he made an effort.

"Dad!"

Rick's head was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the shocked voice of his son. He lurched forward. "Yeah, Carl?"

"Look."

Standing in front of Carl, about ten feet away, was a deer. It was still. It didn't move an inch. And it appeared to be looking right at Carl.

Rick and Shane didn't move as they watched Carl's face light up. He took the smallest of steps forward, and the deer still didn't even flinch. His smile grew wider as he turned around to glance at his dad before facing the deer again. They were locked in that moment, two living creatures seeing eye to eye, the connection between them evident and bright. For a moment, for one brief moment, thoughts of death and destruction and the world they lived in disappeared as every atom in that forest seemed to glow with sheer life.

The sound of the gunshot tore through the air, and the only emotion Rick felt at first as he watched the deer collapse moments before his son did as well was pure confusion.

But then Carl was on the ground, motionless, and there was blood flowing from his body, and Rick stumbled over to him, shocked. "No, no, no, no…."

Shane was right behind him, but Rick didn't really feel his presense. The blood was coursing through his body, panic settling in as he checked Carl's pulse and found the faintest of heartbeats.

He did the first thing he thought of. He lifted his bleeding son in his arms, hoisted him up into an easier position, and began sprinting.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

The forest was dense, and even though I had always been in relatively decent shape, what with my star studded high school varsity track and field career, I could feel myself tiring as the hike continued. The sun was pounding on my back, and I was starting to think that the next thing I needed to loot from some deserted home or car was a nice big bottle of sunscreen containing some obscenely high number of SPF.

I was walking by Glenn, who was the kind of guy who would talk animatedly if you gave him a reason to, but wouldn't say a word otherwise. I tried to gauge how awkward it would be to strike up a conversation with him, and finally decided that with all of the walking it was just far too boring to not talk.

"Hey, Glenn?"

He turned to look at me, the same coat of sweat that was glistening on everyone's faces covering his as well. "Yeah?"

"I never had the chance to say thanks for saving me a couple days ago," I said. "If you or Rick had decided I wasn't worth picking up, I'd be dead right now."

Glenn grinned at me. "Don't sweat it, Noah. I'm glad we picked you up, too. We'd all be dead if we hadn't."

I rolled my eyes. "That again. I don't see why people think I actually saved everyone. All I did was talk some sense into Jenner. The rest of you did all the escaping."

"Oh, hush," Lori said, listening in on our conversation, looking over her shoulder and grinning. "I already told you to just enjoy it."

Everyone gave a small, appreciative smile or laugh, all of which were immediately wiped away at the jolting sound of a gunshot.

Birds rustled through the trees as the sound of it reverberated through the air. Everyone was still for a moment, the echoes of the gunshot the only noise.

Andrea said what everyone was thinking. "Do you think Rick or Shane found a walker?"

Lori shook her head, obviously trying to convince herself that wasn't true. "They wouldn't have used a gun for just one. And if there had been more than one there would have been more gunshots."

"Then where'd it come from?" Carol asked timidly.

"It could be another group," Daryl reasoned. "Either way, doesn't change anything. We're still searching."

We didn't say anything else to the contrary, but I could tell by everyone's uneasy faces that they were concerned. I thought of little Carl, and I couldn't help but think the same thing. If something had happened to him, or to Rick…or even to Shane, I couldn't picture this group going on.

We trekked through the woods for nearly an hour after that. Somehow, I progressed to the head of the pack, with Daryl. I was still a little upset at him for being the world's worst waker-upper, but at the same time he was good at not talking to me, and after that gunshot, I had suddenly given up any desire to have a conversation.

The only interaction I even had with him was when I was trying to get through a particularly briary amount of brush that was impeding my path. I kept pushing at it with my hands, feeling the sharp thistles leave scrapes on my arm. I knotted my eyebrows together, determined to defeat the damned obstacle, when Daryl quickly stepped in front of my and swiftly yanked free a path for me. I looked up at him as he tossed the brush aside, and he gave me a look that said nothing other than after you.

We saw nothing in that hour, neither hide nor hair of little Sophia, and I was starting to get the kind of tired that left you unable to walk properly for a few days. Right about when I acknowledged the weariness in my bones was when the ground shook.

I looked up, immediately alarmed. I saw Daryl lift his crossbow, and if I wasn't mistaken, he took the smallest of steps in order to stand in front of me. Everyone looked up as the shaking turned into noise, like thunder on the ground. I'd heard the sound before, recently, on my journey north from Florida. I looked at Daryl, and when he saw my head turn he looked at me. "A horse?" I asked.

No one needed to answer me, because seconds later a horse came galloping into our midst, a young woman with dark hair that fell just above her shoulders riding atop it. This time, I couldn't mistake it at all when Daryl stood directly in front of me, crossbow at the ready, and I wanted to tell him to stop being ridiculous, but I was distracted by the harried face of the woman.

"Lori?" she called out. "Lori Grimes?"

My eyes went to Lori in surprise, and I saw Daryl lower his weapon slightly. "Who are you?" Lori asked.

"My name's Maggie, I live at the farm a little while up the highway. Your son…he's been shot. You need to come with me."

The look on Lori's face was one of such pure, unadulterated shock and terror that it almost broke my heart. She immediately started forward to join Maggie on the horse, but Andrea touched her arm, stopping her. "We don't know you," Andrea said. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

Maggie looked annoyed, directing her next words to Lori. "Your son, Carl, and your husband Rick, and his friend, uh, Shane. They came running to our house, your little boy with a gunshot wound. You really need to come now."

Lori didn't hesitate a second longer. She walked up to the horse, grabbed Maggie's hand, and slung herself onto the back of the animal. Maggie turned around, prepared to come back the way she came. "To get to the farm, just go about two miles up the highway and make a right on the dirt road. You'll see us there." Then she kicked the horse and it bolted forward, taking Lori away with her.

Sorry updating has been so slow. I'm a busy person, what with school, sports, working, having a social life, and watching all my TV shows. I will try to update as often as possible! Thanks for all the continued support! As usual, Follow, Comment, and Favorite! ~ Lacey :)