Lucy had decided fairly quick that she was going to be joining Daryl and Annabel as well as they searched for Sophia. Annabel thought it was a good idea as well since Sophia would feel more comfortable with them if there was someone her age around. Comfort was key especially after being alone for so long. Lucy trotted happily in front of Daryl and Annabel as they made their way to the barn to saddle up the horses.
Annabel shooed Daryl away from the saddles and insisted that she be the one to carry them since Daryl was injured. Daryl stayed quiet as he stepped away from the saddles so Annabel could carry them. She grabbed the first saddle and carried it out of the lean to and cut the corner. Daryl waited for her to be out of sight before he reached for his own saddle and lifted it with a grunt. The movement upset his wound, but not to the point to where he couldn't handle it.
"Mommy is going to be mad at you," Lucy said with a sing song voice. Daryl grinned looking down at her. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest much like her mother did whenever she was getting upset. She had a teasing smirk that reminded Daryl so much of Merle that it was scary.
"What else is new?" Daryl mumbled causing his daughter to giggle. She ran out of the lean to and ran into the barn where Annabel was. She had set the saddle down and was getting into the stall to retrieve a horse so it could be saddled. Daryl glanced over and seen the horse that had threw him. The horse watched him with curiosity, but nothing more.
Daryl heard Annabel click her tongue. He moved his attention to her to see her standing with her arms crossed over her chest. She was definitely angry with Daryl.
"I told you I was going to carry them. You're hurt! What if you popped your stitches? You're no good to this girl if you're bleeding out every five minutes," she complained as he put the saddle on a rack. He leaned over and groaned in pain.
"Shut up, woman, I'm fine," Daryl countered earning a sigh of frustration from his wife. Annabel stepped in close to him to check his stitches, but Daryl refused.
"I said I'm fine," he said. Annabel shook her head with a grin as she stepped in closer to him.
"Maybe I'm just trying to find excuses to get up close and personal with you," Annabel teased with a sensual voice. Daryl grinned and hummed in response.
"Ew," Lucy said as she leaned against one of the stalls. Annabel stepped away from Daryl then so she didn't scar her child anymore than she already was.
"You can't," Carol called out as she entered the barn. The Dixons' gazes all shifted to her. Annabel frowned. There was no reason Carol needed to try and stop them. It was going to be all three of them out in those woods looking for her little girl. There was no reason she needed to keep them from leaving.
"I'm fine," Daryl snapped perhaps a little too harshly. Daryl always hated being cared for whenever he was injured. Annabel recalled a time way back when he had broken his hand. He wasn't able to do much since it was his dominant hand that had been injured. It was hard to tell how many times that he had lashed out at her just because he wasn't able to do something and had to rely on her for it. He hated feeling useless.
"Hershel said you need to heal," Carol pleaded. Annabel snorted and grabbed the bridle off a hook.
"He did say that, but Daryl's a little hard of hearing," Annabel stated simply as she handed the bridle to Daryl. Daryl shot a small glare her way, but it went unnoticed.
"I'm not hard of hearing, I just don't care," he said as he turned to get into one of the stalls to pull the horse he wanted to use out.
"Rick's going out later to follow the trail," Carol said moving in closer to the trio of Dixons. Lucy stood in front of Annabel. Annabel rested her hands on her shoulders listening to Carol.
"Yeah well, I ain't gonna sit around and do nothing," Daryl said in a low voice. Annabel grinned shaking her head.
"Besides, Carol, me and Lucy both are going to be with him this time. Nothing is going to happen," Annabel reassured the worried mother. Carol gave her a kind grin, but it was clear in her eyes that she wasn't convinced.
"No, you guys are going to go out there and get yourselves hurt even worse." Lucy looked up at Annabel with questions, but Annabel shook her head. The all remained silent as Daryl put the bridle on the horse. "We don't even know if we're gonna find her, Daryl." The sentence caught them off guard. Daryl slowly turned and faced her. "We don't."
Annabel couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could she say something like that? Her husband was out there looking for her little girl and nearly died trying to find her just to have her give up? The entire group was even searching for her, though Shane was more than convinced that the little girl was already gone. How could Carol lose hope?
"I don't," Carol quietly admitted. Annabel felt anger surge through her body. She wanted to yell and throw her limbs about and break stuff, but she stood still in a silent fury. Daryl stepped out of the stall slowly and stepped up to her. His eyes were narrowed. Annabel knew he was raging inside. She could see the storm in his eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"Can't lose you too," she said in her small voice. Annabel shot her a look wondering what she meant by that. Daryl didn't respond. He turned away from Carol and acted like he was going to walk out, but he stopped. He grabbed the saddle on the rack and tried to throw it as his rage bubbled over, but all it did was upset his injury. Annabel hurried to his side.
"Daryl, are you okay?" she asked quietly as she rested her hand on his shoulder. Daryl pushed her hand away with a snarl.
"Just leave me be!" he snapped. Annabel gave him his space. She knew he would need it. She would have to wait until he calmed down before she could see if he opened his stitches again. Daryl turned to walk out of the barn, but not before he glanced over his shoulder long enough to call Carol a stupid bitch. Annabel watched Daryl leave before turning her attention to Carol. She had tears forming in her eyes. Annabel shook her head in disappointment before pushing Lucy along to leave the barn as well.
Annabel and Lucy followed after Daryl quietly as he made his way back to their tent. He climbed inside the tent and laid back on the cot with a huff. She looked down at Lucy who was staring inside the tent at her father.
"Let me talk to your dad," Annabel said down to Lucy. Lucy nodded and ran off so they could be alone for a moment. Annabel got into the tent slowly and sat down next to the cot. She leaned over him and ran her fingers along his cheek.
"I swear I'm the only one that thinks this girl is still out there," Daryl said with a slight shake of his head. Annabel grinned at him.
"Rick still believes that she's out there. And so do I." Daryl glanced at her out of the corner of eye.
"We've gotta find her," Daryl said fully determined. Annabel smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him.
"And we will. I can go out there and look for her. Carol said Rick is heading out to pick up the trail so I can go with him instead. Do you care to keep an eye on Lucy while I'm gone?" Daryl sighed and shook his head.
"I don't want you going out there without me," he said in a low voice. She smiled again.
"I've been going out in these woods since I got here. I'll be fine. And I'll be back before you know it."
"I said what I said and I mean it," Daryl commanded her. Annabel frowned.
"I'll be okay, Dary," Annabel reasoned. Daryl sat up slowly grunting as he did so. Annabel wanted to reach out and help him sit up, but she knew that there was no way that he was going to allow her to help him. Once he was completely sat up, he grabbed her chin to make sure that she looked him in the eye.
"Not. Without. Me," he said slowly as a way to make it perfectly clear to Annabel that there was no way she was leaving the property without him with her. She nodded slowly. He released her chin and moved his hand to the back of her neck. He gripped her there and pulled her against him roughly. He crashed his lips against hers so hard that it hurt. He released her so they could breathe, but Annabel was certain that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
"Come on, let me and Lucy take you to a pond on one of the back fields," Annabel suggested as she stood. She reached her hand out for him to take it, but she knew that he wasn't going to take it in order to stand. She watched him as he grunted and groaned. She shook her head at him.
"You sound like an old man," Annabel said once he finally stood. Daryl gave her a flat look, then shook his head.
"I feel like an old man," he said wrapping her arm over her shoulder as they stepped out of the tent. Annabel giggled as her gaze went over the camp to find their daughter hanging out with Dale.
"I think Lucy likes Dale," Annabel observed though it was clearly obvious. Daryl shrugged his shoulder then shoved his free hand in his pocket. Daryl yelled for her to follow them as they walked in the direction of the pond. Lucy ran along humming a song that Annabel used to sing her to sleep with.
The pond was quaint. Lucy told a story about how she had caught a fish while Annabel took her shoes and socks off and sat down on the edge of the pier. Annael slipped her feet into the water with a sigh.
"Can I go swimming?" Lucy asked looking up at her father.
"Ask you mother," he answered with a shrug.
"No," Annabel answered before Lucy asked the question again. "We don't have any clothes for you to change into."
"So?"
"I said no," Annabel said turning to her. Just as she turned, Lucy squeaked as she fell into the water. Annabel shot a look up at Daryl. "Did you just throw her in the water?"
"Maybe," he said vaguely. Annabel rolled her eyes. Annabel felt Lucy tickling the bottoms of her feet and the feeling was a little unnerving to Annabel so she pulled her feet out of the water. She leaned over and saw Lucy smiling up at her with her blue eyes shining extra bright underwater. The next thing Annabel knew, she felt a slight pressure between her shoulders and she was toppling into the water as well.
She surfaced and immediately started cursing the Dixon name. She stopped however, when Daryl seemed to not be paying any attention to her. He was staring at something near them. She turned around and grinned. There was a small bush of Cherokee Roses right on the edge of the water.
"Wait here. I'll be back," he said. Annabel nodded though he turned away from her before he could see the nod. Annabel looked back at Lucy when Lucy splashed her. They both started a water fight.
A little while later, Daryl appeared with Carol alongside him. Annabel had crawled out of the water and was laying out on the docks so she could dry out a little. Daryl was courteous enough to bring a couple towels with him. Annabel stood and retrieved her towel and draped it over her shoulders. She walked with Daryl around the pond to the Cherokee Roses.
"I'll find her," Daryl said with determination. Annabel smiled and leaned into Daryl. She loved how determined he was about finding the little girl. She would hate to admit it, but it was a turn on. "And I'm sorry about what happened this morning." Annabel was surprised that he actually apologized. Dixons rarely apologized for anything.
"You wanted to look for her," Carol said with a certain level of thankfulness in her tone. "Why?" Annabel looked up at her husband waiting for him to answer. She kind of wondered if he actually knew what was driving him so hard to find the girl. He watched Lucy as she ran down the docks and jumped into the water. "This whole time I've wanted to ask you."
"Because I think she's still out there," he stated simply.
"And Daryl is gonna find her," Annabel finished wrapping her arms loosely around his waist. Daryl huffed looking down at her, but made no move to push her away from him. She knew he hated showing affection in front of other people, but he would just have to deal. Carol smiled at them both before turning her gaze back to the roses.
"Truth is, what else I got to do?" Daryl admitted quietly. Carol stepped forward and touched one of the flowers gently.
"We'll find her. We will." Annabel grinned a relief washed over her. Carol turned to them. "I see it." They stayed at the pond for a little while longer before heading back to the camp. Daryl watched Annabel carefully from his place on the cot. Lucy had taken off as soon as she was changed so she could go hunt Dale down to tell him about her day. Annabel could feel his eyes wandering the bare parts of her body and she swore it was enough to send chills down her spine.
Once she was dressed, she turned to Daryl.
"You know, it's a shame," he said in a low voice. Annabel hummed in question as she scooted closer to the cot. She crawled up on the cot and straddled Daryl's waist carefully. Daryl's hands ran up her thighs slowly. "You wasted your time putting those clothes on just to have me take them off again. It's a damned shame." Annabel chuckled as she leaned down to kiss his lips.
"You know you can't right now with you hurt."
"Watch me," he said as he tried to sit up quickly so he could wrap his arms around her waist. The movement earned a painful grunt from Daryl, but he still wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her chest. Annabel wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed his neck gently. Annabel sighed as she felt her body begin to melt into his. She still couldn't believe that he had found them.
She felt his hands glide up the back of her shirt before she pulled away from him.
"Not right now. Maybe later," she hissed as she tried to stand from the cot. Daryl grabbed her and pulled her back down on top of him. She giggled into his mouth as he kissed her roughly.
"I'll be quick," he said between kisses. It drew another giggle from Annabel.
"I wouldn't brag about that," she stated. She managed to get away from him before he could retaliate from her previous statement. He moved from the cot and moved towards her like he was a predator after its prey. Annabel bit her lip as she felt all the heat in her body travel to her center. Daryl snatched her ankle and began to tug on her lightly. Annabel slid down to where she was laying on her back. She spread her legs out so Daryl could get between them.
Annabel reached down to start fumbling with his belt. Her hands shook with excitement as she undid the belt. Daryl undid her pants and slid them down in one motion. He took off her shoes so he could remove them the rest of the way. Annabel sat up so she could finish undoing his pants and pulled them down just enough to where he was exposed to her. He pushed her back to where she was laying down.
"You have to be quick," Annabel said in a low, shaky whisper. Daryl nodded. Annabel could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't going to last long, but that was more than okay with her because she knew she wasn't going to last long either.
After a few short minutes, Daryl and Annabel lay in each other's arms completely spent. Annabel felt perfectly relaxed as she ran her fingers carefully through Daryl's hair.
"I love you," Annabel whispered. Daryl lifted his head and kissed her lips gently.
"I love you," he answered in an equally low voice. She checked on his stitches to make sure none of their movements had popped any of them before they got up to get their clothes back on. They exited the tent and headed towards the house.
Andrea and T-Dog were heading towards the house as well. It was odd to see Andrea since she was supposed to be gone with Rick looking for Sophia. Annabel heard her mention that they were supposed to leave a couple hours before.
"Yeah, you were. What the hell?" Daryl snapped as he and Annabel approached.
"He told us he was going out." Daryl huffed in frustration.
"Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously?" he snapped. Annabel let out an inward sigh. He was terribly frustrated considering he just got laid. "We got us a damn trail," he complained as he threw his hand towards the woods. That was when she noticed that Shane was coming towards them from the fields carrying a duffle bag filled with what looked like rifles.
"Oh, here we go," Daryl said with his tone changing. Annabel didn't like it. Not one bit. She could feel the air around Shane all the way across the yard. He was out to prove something. He was out to do something wrong. He was out for blood. Lucy stood close to Annabel as the former cop approached as if feeling the dark vibe coming from Shane.
"What's all this?" Daryl asked gesturing to the guns. Shane held a shotgun in his hand. The look in his eyes screamed danger. Annabel wasn't for this situation.
"You with me, man?" Annabel heard Shane asked and it was in that moment that she knew what he was going to do. He was going after the barn. They were going to kill all of the Walkers inside. She didn't care for the way he was going to be handling the situation, but Annabel did agree with him when it came to taking the Walkers out in the barn. Hershel wasn't letting up so they had no other choice. Daryl glanced at Annabel and Lucy for a split second before turning his attention back to Shane.
Daryl grabbed the shotgun from him as Shane walked passed him and nodded.
"Time to grow up," Shane started as he approached the rest of the group. "You already got yours?" he asked over his shoulder at Andrea.
"Yeah. Where's Dale?" she asked. Shane handed T-Dog a gun before turning to Annabel.
"I thought we couldn't carry," T-Dog said looking down at the gun in his hand.
"We can and we have to," he said stepping up to Annabel. He handed her a pistol and nodded his head. Annabel checked the gun to see if it was loaded. She glanced at Maggie who watched her curiously.
"Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain't. How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?" he asked Glenn as he walked up to the Korean. He glanced at Maggie nervously, but reached for the gun anyhow.
"That's it. Can you shoot?" he asked Maggie. Maggie gave him a look of surprise.
"Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight," she reasoned. Annabel knew that she was right, but it had to be done. Annabel wouldn't want to leave the farm with those things still alive. She wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that Maggie, Beth and the others were in danger just because they didn't understand that those things were dangers and wouldn't even give it a second thought as they tore into their flesh.
"We have to stay, Shane," Carl said coming down the stairs.
"What is this?" Lori asked coming out onto the porch.
"We ain't going anywhere, okay?" Shane reassured the boy. "Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" Shane asked stepping to Carl. He knelt down in front of him. "I want you to take this." He handed carl a little snub nosed revolver. Carl had fear in his eyes. He wasn't wanting to take the gun. Lori put her hand in Carl's chest and pushed him back while she stood in front of him.
"Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make," Lori all but growled to Shane. T-Dog turned away from the drama that was happening before him when he saw movement just behind the tree line. When they walked out of the tree line, he could hardly believe his eyes.
"Oh shit," he said breathlessly. Everyone turned at once to see what he was looking at. Annabel felt her jaw drop. Hershel and Rick were leading a couple of the Walkers out of the woods with poles used to capture dogs. Jimmy was in front of them trying to keep the Walkers' attention on him so they would walk along easier.
"What is that?" Shane growled as he took off running. Daryl was close behind him and Annabel darted after Daryl.
"Are you kidding me?" Shane screamed as he moved around just out of reach of the Walkers. "You see? You see what they're holding onto?"
"I see who I'm holding onto," Hershel countered quickly.
"No, man, you don't," Shane snapped.
"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk," Rick yelled.
"What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people! They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothing for them because all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're going to kill all of us!"
"Shane, shut up!" Rick screamed at his friend.
"Hey, Hershel, let me ask you something. Could a living, breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane asked as he drew his gun and pulled the slide back. He aimed at the Walker Hershel was holding and pulled the trigger. It hit the Walker in its side. The Walker didn't even flinch. It just kept snarling. Hershel's eyes widened in shock at the spectacle.
"No!" Rick protested, but it went ignored.
"That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that? Why is it still coming?" He shot a couple more times in various areas in the body, but the Walker didn't stop. "That's its heart, it's lungs! Why is it still coming?" He shot it some more. Annabel prayed that he would stop. He had gotten his point across. Lucy clenched Annabel's shirt in fear.
"Shane, enough!" Rick demanded.
"Yeah, you're right, man," Shane said as he approached the Walker. "That is enough." He shot the creature in the head and it finally went down. Hershel fell to his knees right along with the Walker.
"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now." Shane turned quickly and ran to the barn. Annabel pushed Lucy behind her and readied her gun quickly. Rick tried to get Hershel to take the pole away from him so he could stop Shane, but Hershel wasn't hearing anything he was saying.
Shane grabbed a pickaxe and began beating at the lock on the barn. Everyone was trying to get him to stop, but no one made an actual move to stop the deranged man. He broke the lock on the barn and lifted the board that was keeping it closed. He beat on a door a couple times to attract the Walkers inside then stepped back and drew his pistol one more time.
Before too long, the first Walker emerged from the barn. Annabel gulped and looked to Daryl. He aimed his shot gun at the door. His eyes were completely focused on his target.
"Go for the head, Annabel," he said just loud enough for her to hear. She nodded her head. Shane took the first shot and took down a Walker with just one shot. T-Dog and Andrea hurried forward to make a firing line.
The massacre only lasted a few short seconds, but it seemed to Annabel that it lasted for hours. It seemed the dead just kept coming from the barn. She didn't recognize any of them, but she knew there were former family members of the Greene family inside. Everything was quiet as soon as the last Walker found. Annabel wasn't sure what to make of it. She figured that she would have felt relief for removing the Walkers, but that wasn't what she was feeling. It was a tremendous guilt and sorrow. Beth was crying in Jimmy's arms while Maggie stood behind her father.
Snarling from inside the barn caught their attention. There was at least one more still inside the barn. Everyone waited as it came to the door and stepped out. Annabel felt her heart fall as soon as she realized that the Walker was a little girl. She was tiny and blonde. But there was something different about the girl. Something that set her apart from all the other Walkers in the barn. She could tell on how the energy of the group shifted.
It was confirmed when Carol let out a couple sobs and ran forward screaming her daughter's name. Daryl caught her as she ran passed him and fell to the dirt with her to hold her back. The Walker was Sophia. The Walker was Carol's daughter. Carol's daughter was dead. Her heart broke for Carol as she cried in Daryl's arms. Annabel couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.
The girl stepped forward clumsily, but no one made a move towards her. Finally Rick stepped forward and held his gun up to the little girl and pulled the trigger. Annabel knelt down next to Carol and wrapped her arms around the sobbing woman. Carol buried her face in her shoulder. Annabel looked to Daryl with tears in her eyes. Daryl lowered his gaze from her and sat back on his rear. She watched as Lucy knelt down beside Daryl and leaned her head against his shoulder. Daryl lifted his arm and wrapped it around the daughter and held her close to him as she sniffled.
Daryl finally stood from his spot and tried to pull Carol up with him telling her not to look at her daughter's corpse. Annabel wanted to tell him that he needed to stop, but she couldn't find her voice. She lashed out at him before she turned and all but ran from the barn.
Beth broke away from Jimmy and stepped forward to go among the corpses to find, what Annabel assumed, her mother. She sobbed openly as she stepped through the death and found the Walker she was looking for.
"God, Daryl, what did we just do?" Annabel whispered to her husband. Daryl sighed and rubbed the back of his hand under his nose.
"It doesn't matter anymore since we can't change it," he murmured. She watched as Beth moved ne of the corpses so she could get to the one under it. It was a woman and Annabel knew that it was her mother. She rolled the creature over on it back and suddenly the thing came to life and reached for the mourning blonde. She immediately screamed. Everyone scrambled for her at once and tried to pull her away from the clutches of her undead mother.
T-Dog stepped forward and lifted a heavy foot and brought it down on the creature's head a couple times. It wasn't enough to stop it though, so Andrea stepped forward with a scythe and with one swing, the creature stopped moving. Beth flew into her father's arms as he comforted her and led her away from the barn.