Silence. That's all she heard, even though everyone was making a noise. She didn't hear the digging, the sound of Maggie crying, Gabriel talking. She sat with Zephy in the back of a car as she remembered all the places they had been, her hand permanently fixed to Daryl's hand. The others had gone to find the place Noah was talking about. She heard Rick saying something over the radio to Carol, and her ears pricked up. "Get Sasha, Zephy and Carl away, they don't need to see this" the radio said, and Callie looked at Carol.
"Hey Zeph?" Callie called, and Zephy toddled over. "I need you to be a big girl and do something important for me" Callie said, and Zephy nodded at her. "I need you to take Sasha, Carl and Judith into the other room. Tell Sasha you want to show her your My Little Ponies, and lock the door behind you. Tell Carl he can't let Sasha out of the room until I come and get you. Can you do that for me?" Callie asked quietly, and her sister nodded. "Good girl" Callie said, kissing the top of her sisters head.
"Sash, can I show you my toys?" Zephy called, walking over to Sasha. Sasha nodded, standing up as Zephy took her hand and walked off to another room. Callie nodded for Carl to follow, and he nodded back. Callie stood up and walked over to the door as she heard the car pull up to where they were staying, and she stood outside waiting for them to rush in. Instead, they all solemnly got out of the car, slowly as if nothing was happening.
Glenn looked at her and shook his head once, and Callie's heart dropped. She turned back towards the others and Zephy peered out the room, Callie nodding once to say she could come outside with Sasha. Callie expected Sasha to cry, sob and scream like she had done with Bob. But instead, the woman deflated before her eyes, her body becoming heavy as her heart sank. She moved slowly, her face staring into nothing as she moved towards the car, and Callie had to turn back and look away as Sasha stared at her brother.
Maggie was just as distant, refusing to move from the tree where she sat. Daryl had become just as distant as the others, leaving Callie alone to stand in the woods, sit alone without company. The group had moved and set up camp on the road in their cars, and Callie sat on the floor next to Carl as they picked at the stones on the floor. "He just needs his space" Carl said, and Callie nodded, Zephy sitting beside her. "Let's go" Rick said, and everyone piled into the minivan behind them, Daryl firmly holding onto Callie's waist as she sat on his lap, like he was afraid to lose her.
She had asked him how it had happened with Beth, but the notion opened fresh wounds and he recoiled back to his quiet place, only communicating with Callie through holding her close whenever he was with her. "We're out, just like the other one" Abraham said as the minivan came to a stop in the road. "Then we walk" Rick said, and Callie stepped out of the car onto the tarmac, Daryl following her closely.
She silently cursed the long road ahead of them as she walked, her hand tightly clasped around Daryl's and her sister trailing along silently behind them. Daryl squeezed his hand once around hers and walked off to Rick, striding beside him as the group lagged behind. Most of them were still in shock over what had happened over the past few days, and it showed in all their faces. They looked weak, like easy pickings.
"Hey, I'll go with you" Callie heard Carol say, and Callie looked up from the floor. "I got it" Daryl answered as he headed into the forest, and Carol moved forward. "You gonna stop me?" she asked, and walked into the woods with him, leaving Callie standing at the side of the road. "Yeah that's cool. I'll just wait here, like I always do" Callie said to herself, and kicked a stone on the floor as she walked. Callie dragged along next to Michonne, the two walking in sync slowly as if they were one.
As the group wandered along, more and more walkers caught up to them, stumbling along behind burning up just as much as they were in the scorching sun. None of the group turned back to get rid of them, instead they walked ahead of them, one person looking back every so often to make sure they weren't keeping up. Callie kept walking with the group, although she walked alone, humming to herself softly so no one else would hear.
They stopped along a bridge and peered down into the shrubbery where the water once ran. Callie longed for the fresh taste of water, and pushed her craving and need for it down. She looked ahead of her and held Zephy back with one arm as a hoard of walkers stumbled towards them. Everyone was too weak, too tired to get their weapons ready. Instead, they all stood by the bank and as each walker walked up to them, they used as little energy as they could to move out the way and push them down the bank into the ditch.
"Sasha" Michonne hissed as Sasha walked up to one of the walkers and took it down with her knife. Callie inwardly growled as the plan was messed up, and she reached for her knife. "Stay in line, blank her. Keep in control" Rick said as he pulled out his Machete and took down a walker. "Plan just got dicked" Abraham said, and took out his own weapon. Callie didn't have the energy to fight the walkers like she wanted to, and instead had to get up close to them to score her kill.
As the last walker was taken down, she rested her hands on her knees as her vision clouded over. The group continued on, silently down the road and Callie still walked alone even though Daryl and Carol had returned. "Dad, look" Carl said, and the group looked on at some cars that were parked across the road. Daryl moved off into the woods again, leaving Callie alone once more. She inwardly sighed and carried on with the group, not even bothering to think about her situation with him.
The group sat by the road in the shade and rested, waiting for Daryl to come back from his hunt. Callie suddenly sat up as a pack of wild dogs came out from the trees, only to sit back on her heels as Sasha shot them all down. Rick stood up and took a branch, breaking it on his leg before heading over to the dogs with a knife. "Wait" Callie said, standing up and brushing her hands on her shorts. She walked over and checked each dog, making sure one of them wasn't Dixie whom she was still aching to see.
Once she was certain none of them were him, she nodded to Rick and sat back down, pulling leaves and branches together to form a fire. They cooked the meat quickly and ate ravenously, even though insane thirst still rocked their bodies. Daryl was now sitting alone, his interaction with Callie stopping completely. Callie gave a bit more of her meal to her sister, who was getting too skinny for her liking. The only one who didn't eat was Noah, who sat alone and stared at the dog collar on the floor.
Once they had finished, they set out on the road again, walking slower than before to conserve their energy even though it was burning up quickly. Glenn handed her a bottle of water silently and she took a gulp, watching as Daryl walked off again. This time, instead of walking with the group, she followed after him, keeping out of eyesight. She watched him as he stared at a barn, and sat down resting his back against a tree. He reached into his pocket and pulled a cigarette out, lighting it and watching the barn as he puffed on it. Callie peered out from behind a tree and watched him quietly, her hand resting on the bark.
Her heart broke a little as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and pushed it against his hand, burning his skin. She stepped out from the trees and quietly walked towards him, kneeling in front of him and taking the cigarette out of his hand silently. She said no words as she brushed the ash away, putting the cigarette out as he started to sob. She knelt between his legs and took his face in both hands, brushing his tears away as he bent his head down and into her chest, sobbing still as he took her hands and wrapped them around his shoulders.
She knelt silently as he cried, her chin resting on his head as his arms snaked up her back and clung on to her shoulders, one of her hands resting itself in his hair and gently stroking it. "We should get back" she whispered softly, and Daryl stood up and attached a hand to hers. They walked silently back to the group on the road, and Rick handed Daryl a piece of paper as Callie walked over to Zephy. "What else are we gonna do?" Tara asked.
"Not this, we don't know who left it" Rick said, gazing around. "If it's a trap we may already be in it. But I would indeed like to think it is from a friend" Eugene said, and Callie held a hand on her knife. She peered down at the water that sat there, and resisted the urge to purge herself on it. Eugene instead moved forwards, bringing the bottle to his lips before Abraham knocked it out and onto the floor. "We can't" Rick said. Just as Callie was about to give in, the heavens opened and rain fell from the skies.
Everyone smiled, sighed and inwardly cheered at the same time, grateful for the sudden water that shrouded them. Everyone smiled and grabbed anything that could hold the water, as Maggie, Sasha and Daryl all stood and watched, their faces still forlorn. Happiness suddenly turned to slight fear as thunder and lightning cracked around them. "There's a barn" Daryl said, and Callie grabbed a half full bottle of water and tucked it in her bag, following after Daryl to the barn they had watched earlier.
A few walked inside to check it was safe, the rest standing outside to wait for the all clear to come in. Once they knew it was safe, Callie rushed in and started to look around for anything that could be deemed useful. Much to her annoyance she found nothing, so instead retreated to a wall next to Carl, where she sat and rested in the slight darkness, listening to the rain. Her eyes felt heavy as she sat next to him, looking into the fire the group had started. She sat back a little as Carl rested his head on her lap, and her eyes dropped shut.
"Callie get up!" Callie heard her name and she shot up, awake and alert as ever. Her hand instinctively went over her knife and she scrambled up and over to the door, where the whole group pushed against the doors as a force tried to open them. Their feet kept slipping as they pushed with all their might against the force ahead of them, and Callie thought it was the end. Slowly but surely the weight on the doors became less and less, until it was all but gone. The group gasped for air as they stood by the door, dropping off one by one to lay down and rest.
Callie was one of the last, still wary of why the walkers left so easily. She wandered over to her sister and flopped down on the floor beside her, shutting her eyes and drifting into peace once again.