I do not own…
When the next day came everyone started placing food, water and other supplies for Sophia, along a sign telling her to wait for them here. After that was done they headed to the farm house. While driving Alice and Vlad were surprised by the land, as it looked like it hadn't been touched by the dead.
"Look mommy, cows and a horse." Maxine smiled
"I see, sweetie." Alice said and looked at Vlad. "I wonder how these people have been able to keep the dead away. They must have a lot of guns and ammos."
"It could be the nature that surrounds them. There are a few streams around that might be drying up. The mud could easily keep the Walkers stuck." He said
"So what you are saying is, it's just luck." She replied
Vlad nodded.
When they got close and saw the house everyone parked in the yard. They all got out and waited outside for the Grime family to show up. When Rick finally came out they saw how paled and exhausted he looked.
"How is he?" Dale asked
"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people." Lori said
"And Shane." Rick cut in. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him."
Dale went to hug Rick and Carol did the same with Lori, as they were relieved that the boy was alive. Alice and Vlad were too but neither took their eyes off Shane. They smelled a lot of guilt off of him and they wondered why. Then an hour later they all gathered around a stoned grave site that Hershel and his people made for their fallen friend.
"Blessed be god, father of our lord jesus christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, Now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace." Hershel speaked from the bible in his hand and looked over at Shane. "Shane, will you speak for Otis?"
"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry." Shane muttered
"You were the last one with him." Patrcia cried "You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."
"Okay. We were about done. Almost out of Ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. "We've got to save the boy." See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. "Run," he said. He said, "I'll take the rear. I'll cover you." And when I looked back…" He said as he walked over to the wheelbarrow and grabbed a rock before placing it on the gravesite. "If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his."
Everyone seemed to believe his story. All but Dale, Daryl, Alice and Vlad. Every word that he said was a lie as the vampire couple smelled it off him. Even their daughter smelled it off him.
"Why did he lie mommy?" Maxine whispered
They were walking away from the gravesite and far from the group.
"I don't know, baby, but stay away from him." Alice said
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After the funeral everyone gathered around Hershel's truck to plan about Sophia's search.
"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked
"This'll be day three." Rick said
Maggie came over to the truck with a map in hand.
"The county survey map." She said as she placed it on the hood of the car. "Show terrain and elevations."
"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick said
"Not you. Not today." Hershel replied "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." Then he looked at Shane. "And your ankle...push it now, you'll be laid up in a month, no good to anybody."
"Guess it just, Alice, Vlad and I." Darly shrugged, "We should head back to the creek, and look for the marks on the trees Demon left for us."
"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane said
"All right , tomorrow then." Rick replied "We'll start doing this right."
"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives." Shane pointed out. "They need the gun training we've been promising them."
"Or at least weapons and combat training. We've only got a few bullets till we run out soon." Vlad replied
"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property." Hershel said "We managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."
"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here…" Shane said
"Look, we're guests here." Rick said "This is your property. And we will respect that."
He took out his gun, showing that he was going corporate. Shane hated this but compiled and gave up his gun too.
"First thing first: set camp, find Sophia." Rick said
"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to." Shane muttered "What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."
Vlad had to place his around Alice again from hitting the man. Everyone looked over at Rick to see what he would say.
"You do what has to be done." Rick muttered
"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie asked, taken back a little at what they were saying.
"The truth." Andrea said
Amy just rolled her eyes at this.
"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site." Shane said "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."
Hershel looked like he was gonna say no so Vlad stepped in and used his mind control powers.
"Our people would feel safer for at least one person to have a weapon for lookout." He said
No one saw his eyes glow a little or how Hershel's eyes went blank for a second before nodding in agreement. With that said everyone walked away and did as they were told. When the vampire family headed to their side of the campsite they noticed a familiar looking black horse, eating the grass. Maxine was happy to see that Shadow had found them and quickly ran to the horse.
"Daddy, Shadows back." Maxine smiled
She hugged the horse's neck as best she could but the horse wasn't bothered. It just looked over at her before continuing eating.
"I told you Princess, Shadow would always find us." Vlad smirked and patted the horses back.
"You guys now this horse?" Maggie asked as she walked over to them. "I knew he wasn't ours but he was a beauty and wanted to try rope him in."
"Trust me you don't want to do that. He may look gentle now but he doesn't do well with other people." Vlad said
To prove his point, when Maggie tried to get near the horse, Shadow started making aggressive noises, stomping his front right leg and neighed for her to back off. Alice quickly got Maxine away and placed the little girl behind her. Maggie on the other hand, quickly backed away when the horse got on his hind legs with a warning another neigh. Seeing that he was going to charge Vlad got in front of the horse and tried to calm him down.
"Hey! Hey! Shadow, enough. Calm down. Calm down." Vlad said with a stern voice.
It took a few seconds but Shadow was able to calm down.
"Sorry, it'll take some time for him to calm around you." Vlad said
"Would he be dangerous around others?" Maggie asked
"Depend on the person." Vlad replied "Don't worry he likes to stay in the woods so he'll be staying there in the meantime."
"Well if he's not hostel around the other horses he could stay there." Maggie said before leaving.
When she left Alice decided to take Shadow with her and Maxine to ride on in search for Sophie. As much as Vlad would like for her and Maxine to stay on the farm he knew she wouldn't. When Daryl came over so they could discuss their searching Rick came to talk to them.
"So you guys are going on your own?" He asked
"We're all trackers, we'll be better doing this on our own." Alice said
"I'll be back before dark." Daryl replied
"We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now." Rick stated
"You got a point or are we just chatting?" Daryl asked
"My point is it lets you and your family off the hook." Rick said "You don't owe us anything."
"My other plans fell through." Daryl scoffed and walked off.
"Believe it or not Rick, we're doing this because we do want to help find Sophia. Not because we have to." Alice glared
Once Shadow was saddled up she grabbed the reins and walked away with Maxine by her side.
"You really need to stop pissing her off. You barely saw her mad side." Vlad sighed
"I didn't mean it like that." Rick said
"Sure sounded like it." Vlad replied before walking away.
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Daryl rode Merle's motorcycle to the creek where they last saw Sophia. After a few minutes he stopped and parked on the side of the road. He looked and walked around the woods and saw a farmhouse. It looked like a place that Sophia could hide in but in case a walker or something else was in there he armed himself. Once his crossbow was ready kicked down the door and searched the place. So far nothing, until he noticed a can of sardines open. He sniffed it and knew it was only a day old since it's been open. When he noticed a pantry door, he carefully opened it. He saw a pillow and blankets inside and it looked like only a child could fit in it.
"Sophia!" He called when he was outside. "Sophia!"
So far nothing.
He walked around and noticed a couple of flowers growing near the house. Seeing this as a sign he took one for Carol to give her hope.
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Alice rode Shadow in the woods very easily. She was able to find Demons' markings and started following them. They were only halfway away from the house till she spotted tracks of paw prints. Large paw prints that she knew were from Demons' true form. This worried her as she knew Demon wouldn't show his true form unless there was danger. Then she noticed more tracks that weren't Demons'. Looked to be four hellhounds. So she pushed Shadow forward as she followed the tracks that the hounds were heading. When she went further in the woods that when she found two dead hellhounds with their ripped open. She breathed in relief that none of them were Demon but now she was worried. This meant that a vampire of her species was somewhere nearby hunting. Boy, they won't be happy when they find out that two of their pets mauled and dead.
A part of her wanted to go further but it was going to get dark and she didn't Maxine out here that long. So she got off the horse and tied a ribbon around a tree to mark where she is. Then she took out a box of salt and gasoline before pouring them on the dead hounds. After that she lit two matches before tossing it on the bodies. Once the bodies were completely gone she headed back to the farm. She was able to get back before the sun set and placed Shadow in one of the horse stables.
"Any luck out there?" Daryl asked
"Not any good ones." Alice mutters before closing the stable door.
"What happened?" He asked
"I found two dead hellhounds in the woods. I saw the tracks and it looked like there were two more chasing after them." Alice whispered "That's why he hasn't come with Sophia."
Daryl wanted to curse but remember that Maxine was still there with them. The little girl was feeding some hay to Shadow, not paying attention but he knew better. She may not be paying attention but she was listening.
"This just makes it worse for us." He sighed
"But I didn't feel Demon hurt or die so I know he's still alive and is keeping Sophia safe." She said "That's a plus at lease. I saw the tracks and it looks like they were heading south-east."
"Alright, I'll tell Rick this news." Daryl said and left.
"Come on, baby. Let's get something to eat." Alice said to Maxine.
"Coming Mama." Maxine smiled "Mama. Demon and Sophia are going to be fine, right?"
"Of course, babygirl. Demon is the toughest and strongest hellhound around. He'll keep her safe." Alice smiled
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The next morning almost everyone had woken up and either started doing some work around their camp area or started breakfast. Alice was helping out Carol with the laundry while Amy was babysitting Maxine for her. She was a little irked though as Andrea wasn't helping out with chores. Ever since Shane had taught her how to use the gun properly all the woman wanted to do is take look-out in hopes to shoot something.
"Did you tell Daryl to give me that flower?" Carol asked Alice
"What flower?" Alice asked
"The Cherokee Rose that he gave yesterday. He gave it to me as a sign of hope." Carol said
Alice laughed a little as she hung up a pair of pants.
"Believe it or not Daryl can have a good heart. A bit of an ass and gruff but has a good heart." She smiled
"What about Merle?" Carol asked
"Same but mostly an ass. He only showed his soft side towards me because I was the baby in the family." Alice said
Carol laughed a little.
"You once said that you had two half brothers? What are they like?" She asked
"Well...Dean, he is about the same age as Daryl, but the only thing I could say is that he's a womanizer. If he was here now, he would hit on every woman here." Alice smiled "Then there's Sam. He's the smart one in the family. And the tallest too. He's sweet and caring. While he was okay opening up, Dean was the one that always holds it in. I really miss them."
"Do you think that they're still alive?" Carol asked
"I know they are, I have fate. Just like I have fate Sophia will too." Alice said
Carol smiled at her words and the two continued talking about other stuff until Lori finally woke up and came over.
"Sorry I slept in." She said apologetically.
"You must have needed it." Carol replied "You alright?"
"Next time wake me." Lori said "Especially on laundry day."
"Well at least you don't mind helping with the chores." Alice muttered
"We can manage. While you're here, I wanted to run an idea by you two. That big kitchen of theirs got me thinking, I wouldn't mind cooking in a kitchen again." Carol pitched in, not wanting the two women to fight again. "Maybe, if we all pitch in, we can cook for Hershel and his family tonight? I'm trying to find things to occupy my mind."
"After everything they've done for us, seems like the least we could do." Lori agreed
"You two mind extending the invitation?" Carol asked
The two women looked at her in question.
"Would just feel more right coming from you two. I mean, you're both wives of our leaders." She said to Lori. "It sort of makes you guys the unofficial first lady."
"Morning guys." Rick said to everyone. "Let's get going, we got a lot of ground to cover."
Once she was done with her side of the laundry she took her leave to the search party.
"Everyone's getting new search grids today." Rick said "She and Demon made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found and from the tracks that Alice had found, they have gone east."
"I want to help." Jimmy, the young man that was part of Hershel's group. "I know the area pretty well and stuff."
Rick appreciated the boy's offer but wasn't sure if this was okay with Hershel. So he asked if it was but according to Vlad and Alice the young man lied when he said that Hershel was.
"Nothing Darly or Alice found screams Sophia to me." Shane said "Anyone could have been held up in that farm house."
"Anyone including her right?" Andrea argued
"Anyone who slept in that covert couldn't have been bigger than yah high." Daryl nodded
"Maybe we'll pick up on Sophia's trail again." Rick said
"Maybe. I'm gonna borrow a horse and head up to this ridge right here." Daryl replied as he pointed on the map. "Get a bird's eye view of the whole grid."
T-Dog snickered.
"Good idea. Maybe you'll see your Chupacabra?" He teased
Daryl glared at him while Alice shook her head. She warned not to mention any of their hunting stories.
"Chupacabra?" Rick asked, confused.
"What? You haven't heard this?" Dale asked "Our first night at camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and saw a Chupacabra."
Jimmy laughs in disbelief.
"What are you braying at, jackass?" Daryl glared
"Easy, Daryl." Alice smirked
"So you believe in a blood-sucking dog?" Jimmy asked
"The dead are walking around, don't you think other supernatural beings might exist." Alice said
Jimmy nodded before grabbing for a gun. Vlad was the one that stopped him and took it away.
"Easy there, kid. Have you ever fired one before?" Vlad asked
"Well, if I'm going out, I want one." Jimmy protested
"Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees." Daryl snorted
Alice shook her but continued listening to the plan.