Brittany, you're awesome ;) .
"Whoa whoa, dont strain yourself." T-Dogg took the tub from Lori and she smiled in appreciation. Since Dale's passing, Herschel had opened up more to the group, and had offered them to stay inside the house for the winter. Rick had also planned to release Randall, in honor of Dale, and just hope for the best. Funny how you can make a much bigger impact when you're dead. Mickey was working on the Winnebago with Glenn, who kept reaching up to rub his eyes. " You can cry. I dont mind." she had said quietly. He did just that. " I let him down. I didn't have his back." Mickey wiped the sweat from her forehead, leaving a black smudge in the process. " Dale loved you. And he would understand." He gave a small smile and went to the drivers seat to start the Winnebago. Mickey gave a loud " Whoop whoop!" when the engine purred, smooth as silk.
Daryl watched Mickey walk by the Windmill that Shane was currently up in, doing who knows what. " Watch out Mick!" Shane yelled down. She took a huge hop back, just in time to see a wrench fall to the ground in front of her. She cupped a hand over her eyes and looked up at Shane. " Dude, you tryin ta kill me?" " I'm comin down, hold on." When he finally hopped down to the ground, he took the wrench from Mickey with an easy smile. " Sorry." " Its fine..um it looks like Lori's comin this way." Mickey gave her a smile and walked over to Daryl who grabbed the top of her head and wiped off her forehead with his red rag. " Looks like someone's bein a lil grease monkey today." "That makes two of us." Glenn flicked Mickey on the ear as he passed her and walked up the porch steps. Maggie greeted him with a quick peck on the lips.
TWDTWDTWD
"Why don't ya go an' check up on the kid, T-Dogg?." He obliged to Andrea's request with a shrug of the shoulders, and walked down to the barn. Strangely, it was all quiet. Normally whenever someone went to check up on Randall, his mouth would run a mile a minute, trying to convince Rick and the others to let him go..or at least out of the barn. T-Dogg peeked through the cracks. "Oh hell no!" He ran back towards the house, yelling madly. Daryl and Mickey jumped up from the places against the wall and bolted outside. " What's wrong T-Mann?" Mickey asked. He huffed slightly. " Randall's gone." She could feel another nosebleed coming on. The rest of the group ran across the field, Rick being in the lead, hands running over the doors, inspecting it. " The locks are still intact.' Mickey pointed out. She stepped closer to the barn for a better look. "He was supposed ta be tied up, right?" she and Daryl shared a look, something didn't sit well. Someone was crunching leaves over beside the barn in the woods, and Shane came out with a wicked expression, his nose and most of his face covered in blood.
"What the hell happened?" asked Andrea. "Randall! Lil asshole jumped me and punched me in the face!..took ma gun too." "When could he have jumped you? As soon as you opened the doors?" scoffed Daryl. Shane glared at him. " He must have used something to cut his bonds." Rick rubbed a hand over his face before turning towards T-Dogg. " Take everyone inside. Glenn, you and Mickey go with Daryl. I'll go with Shane." Mickey was glad that Rick trusted her. Daryl positioned himself so he was covering her right side, while Glenn had her left. They gripped the weapons they had a bit tighter, Mickey giving Glenn one of her knives, and they looked uneasily around them before filing into the woods. Once they stepped inside it was like the light was completely sucked from the area. The treetops overhead were thick and lush, obscuring most of the light, and what light there was, was a eery yellow. " Daryl led Glenn and Mickey at an even pace, frequently staring at the ground before looking up and around him, and then behind him where Glenn and Mickey looked like they were glued to the side.
They hadn't found anything unusual..or really heard anything, strangely, until heavy and uneven footfalls softly echoed off the trees. Glenn immediately hopped behind a tree, pulling Mickey in front of him with a tight grip on her shouter. Daryl looking at them from behind the trunk of a tree right next to them. The footsteps advanced. Mickey's fingers twitched involuntarily around the handle of her favorite hunting knife. It was quiet for a brief second until a walker appeared just in between the trees. Mickey kneed it in the stomach swiftly before plunging her knife in on the way down. It collapsed to the ground with a thud. " Good work Mick. Gimme that flashlight kid." Glenn handed it to Daryl and he stooped to the ground, light shining on the greenish greyish face. " Well, looks like we found Randall." Mickey nudged its leg with her shoe.
Daryl ran his fingers lightly over the body, pulling away a bit of clothing, all the while with a crinkled brow. He stopped and looked at the two. " There's no bite marks. Or scratches for that matter." " Thats impossible." said Glenn. Daryl poked his fingers into the walkers neck. " Necks broken. That's what he died of." Mickey leaned against a tree, pulling away when she spotted something shining in the walkers waistband. "Son of a bitch! How'd he get my gun?" She yanked it out, inspecting it. "Whats on ur back Mick?" " What?" " Hold still." Daryl shone the flashlight on her back to reveal a big, shiny red blotch. "That's blood." Glenn stated, and stepped forwards before dabbing at it with a finger. " Still fresh." Mickey turned around, reloading her pistol that was empty in the process. " I knew what Shane said was just another bullshit story." Daryl nodded, shining the flashlight on the ground away from them, he walked briskly over to the spot and squatted. " These are footprints." Glenn picked up the long piece of rope, twirling it in his fingers. " And that would be the bonds. We gotta head back."
"Are you sure?" " Yep. Randall died from a broken neck..we found blood on a tree not far away and the bonds were severed, lying on the ground not far. Shane says that Randall cuts his bonds on the inside of the barn, so why would he take them with him?" " Plus I found my pistol in his waistband." Everyone shared looks with each other before hearing a loud cracking sound off in the distance. They filed out to the porch. " Sounded like a gunshot." Herschel said, leaning against the railing. Lori's eyes widened before she turned to Daryl. " Will you please go and see if you can find Rick and Shane. Find out whats goin on?" "You got it. Let's go, Mick." Carol stepped forward and put her hands on Mickey's shoulders. " Maybe that's not such a good idea." Her fingers slightly tightened. What the heck? Mickey thought. Daryl cocked an eyebrow before tugging her out of Carol's hands, his grip on her shoulder more slack, but still somewhat possessive. " Don't see what's so bad ' bout it." They walked out the door.
After walking around the plains for a few minutes, they returned back to the porch where a frantic Lori ran into the house yelling for Carl. He didn't show. Thats when Mickey saw something moving up towards the house out of the treeline. She hopped onto the railing and craned her neck, eyes widening. No human walked like that. " Walkers..." she breathed.