CHAPTER ELEVEN:
INTO THE FRAY!
"It's getting late," said Alex, looking up at the sky through the sparse treetops. "We won't be any good in the dark."
"We can't stop yet," Rick cried. He gripped Alex's shoulders. "She's out here waiting for us."
"So, what do we do, huh?" Shane sighed and patted Rick's back. "All of us press on?"
Rick's mouth opened, then closed, desperation in his eyes.
"We'll split up," Alex said, stepping out of Rick's grasp. She met his eye sternly. "But they will start panicking back there, and soon."
Rick nodded, relief surging across his face. He turned to Shane. "Better if you and Glen get back up to the highway. Let them know we're on her trail, doing everything we can. But most of all, keep them calm."
Shane nodded. "I'll keep 'em busy scavenging cars-Think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied." He clapped Glen on the back. "C'mon."
Alex watched Shane's retreating back, feeling much less on edge as he disappeared. Then, she turned toward Rick.
"If you're gonna make a call," she said stepping passed him, "then don't doubt yourself. Don't flounder like a dying fish. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the rest of us."
"I'll keep that in mind," he replied. Then, they turned to Daryl. "Let's go."
Daryl shrugged, picking his way carefully through the shrubbery. Alex, not much of a hunting enthusiast, remained alert to danger. Her eyes scanned the slowly darkening woods, keeping an easy grip on the machete Dale had given her.
"Tracks are gone," said Rick, gripping his shotgun in frustration.
"No, they're faint, but they ain't gone," saidDaryl. He ducked under a pair of leaning trees. "She came through here."
"How can you tell?" said Rick, scanning the trail. "I don't see anything. Dirt, grass."
"You want a lesson in tracking or you want to find that girl and get our ass off that interstate?"
Alex grinned, turning her back to them to secure their backside. Movement caught her eye, and she spotted a walker shuffling along below the grassy ledge they stood on.
She smacked Rick on the arm, nodding toward it, and took a step back where they'd just come from. She glanced back at Daryl, holding her hand up in a 'wait' signal. He nodded, heading forward to get on the walker's other side.
Alex moved quickly but quietly, rounding the bend that brought her down in elevation. The walker spotted her and paused. She whistled at it like she would a dog. "Come 'n get it."
The walker snarled and took a charging step, not getting very far before an arrow pierced the back of its head, popping out through the eye socket. It dropped like a stone.
"Sophia!" Daryl yelled into the trees, snatching his arrow out of the walker.
Rick, however, heaved the body over, lifting its rotting hand to his face.
"What are you looking for?" Alex asked, looking around for a sign of the thing's friends.
"Skin under the fingernails," said Rick. He sighed, prising its jaw open. "It fed recently. There's flesh caught in its teeth."
Daryl bent over Rick's shoulder to see. "Yeah, what kind of flesh?"
Rick tugged out his pocket knife. "Only one way to know for sure." Alex grimaced as he hovered his knife over the corpse's bloated belly.
"Here, I'll do it," said Daryl, pulling his own knife from his belt and stepping around Rick. "How many kills you skin and gut in your life? Anyway, mine's sharper."
He tugged his gloves up, tightening them at his wrists, then raised the blade in both hands. The body squelched as the knife sank into it just below the rib cage. A foul stench of rotting meat filled the air.
Alex stepped back, covering her mouth and nose with her elbow. She gave a glance around and returned her eyes to the dissection at hand.
Daryl grunted, tugging the blade toward him, carving open layers of skin, muscle, and fat, leaving a pit of discolored gore gaping up at them. He swiped his forearm over his face, clearing his sweat, then stabbed his knife into the dirt.
"Now comes the bad part." Checking that his gloves were secure, he reached into the cavity, pulling out its innards and dropping them into the grass. "Yeah. Hoss had a big meal not long ago. I feel it in there."
Alex groaned in disgust, looking at Rick, who looked like he might hurl at any moment. She couldn't blame him, the stench was nearly overwhelming.
Daryl pulled out a mass of bloody flesh and tossed it on the ground in the center of the group. "Here's the gut bag."
Rick and Alex locked eyes, and Alex looked away quickly, shaking her head.
"Nope."
Rick grimaced. "I got this." Breathing in small bursts through his mouth, he shoved his blade into the bag. Groaning, he sawed it open.
Alex had to turn away. The smell was twice as bad inside the gut bag, and she felt her stomach surge into her throat. "Well?" she called back, trying to clear her lungs of the fetid air. "What did you find?"
"This gross bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch," Daryll said, straightening from his crouch.
Rick rose as well. "At least we know."
"At least we know," Daryl agreed.
Alex hugged her body, swallowing hard to force her bile back down. She turned back to the men and carnage. "It'll be dark, soon, Rick. We gotta go back."
"Alex," he pleaded.
"We can't do nothin' in the dark," said Daryl. "We should get what little rest we can and pick it back up as soon as there's light."
"You're right," he said, hefting his shotgun over his shoulder. "Lord, I know you are, but it feels wrong."
Alex placed her hand on his shoulder. "You did what you had to. I'd probably have done the same."
Rick nodded and strode passed her, back toward the highway.
Carol met them at the railing when they finally made it back. "You didn't find her?" she asked as Alex climbed over.
"Her trail went cold," said Rick. "We'll pick it up again at first light."
"You can't leave my daughter out there-" Alex heard Carol say as she made her way through the cars toward Glen, Jake and T, who stood beside her truck.
"You're back," said Jake. "Did you find Sophia?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. We'll get a search party together tomorrow, so, don't worry." Her eyes softened as she found T-Dog, and she frowned. "How are you feeling?" His face was ashen and his arm hung limply at his side.
"I'm good," he said, glancing at Jake. "Hey, we found water. Let me show you."
She set her machete down, soothed Jake's hair, and followed. As soon as they were out of earshot, his shoulders drooped.
"It hurts. A lot." He raised his hand to his chest, showing her the fresh bandages. "Dale says my veins are discolored."
She frowned. "What about that bottle of antibiotics?"
He shook his head. "The bottle was being used to store vitamins." He chuckled darkly, tears pricking the corner of his eyes, which he quickly swept away. "I don't want it to end this way, Al."
She grit her teeth, biting back her dread. "It won't," she said with as much conviction as she could muster. "I'll stay behind tomorrow and tear every car apart until I find what you need."
He snorted. "Don't be stupid. They need you out there."
"You need me here." They reached the culligan truck, but she barely glanced at the 5 gallon water jugs. "I'll stay."
"Alex," said Rick, walking toward them and cutting off T's reply. He nodded to T, then poured water over his head to rinse off the gore. "I'll need you in the lead tomorrow, that way we have four experienced-"
"Rick, I'm not-" she began, but T-Dog grabbed her hand, pulling her around to face him.
"Find Sophia," he said. "We'll search cars while you're gone. Don't worry about me, just find that little girl." He strode off without waiting for a response.
Rick watched him go. "How's he doing?"
She shook her head. "Not great. He needs medicine." She kicked the side of the truck, which triggered the release of her fury, and she kicked it again and again as if trying to tip it over. "Fuck! Everybody needs something, and here I am-" She punched the truck-"FUCKING USELESS to help anybody!"
"Hey, hey," said Rick, grabbing her shoulders and bending to come face to face with her. "I know this is hard, okay? But I need you. You're a figure of strength around here-I've seen how people look up to you. You, me, Shane, and Daryl, okay? We have to be strong for our people. Can you do that?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine, but I need a favor, Rick."
"Name it."
She met his eye. "After we find Sophia, we go into the city, just us, and we raid every pharmacy we have to."
He stared at her, thinking. "After we find a safe place for the others. Then, I swear i'll help you with whatever you need."
"Okay." She nodded. "Get some rest, Rick. You're gonna need it."
"You should be asleep."
Alex turned her head to see Daryl heading her way. She shrugged and returned her gaze to the stars. He leaned back against the car beside her, following her line of sight.
"Without the lights of the cities, you can actually see the stars," she said. Her voice sounded hollow in her own ears. "It reminds me of my time overseas."
"Not good memories, I expect." He put an arm around her and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
She smiled. 'Some of them are. I had really good friends, but-" Here, she fell silent, cringing at the wailing of a broken-hearted mother that echoed through her head. "This world deserved the ending it got." She clenched her jaw, remembering that woman, cradling her children's bodies. "And most of us deserve this suffering. But it's not fair that a little girl, who never hurt anyone, should pay for our sins."
She shivered, self-loathing filling her heart.
"We all got our pasts," he said softly, tightening his grip around her. "There's no reason that things happened. She ain't paying for nobody's sins. Shit just happens. It always has."
Alex snorted. "Think we'll find her?"
He thought for a moment. "We'll find her." He nodded. "I don't know what state she'll be in, but we'll find her body, at least." He tensed, cursing himself. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be-"
"No, I like your honesty." She draped her arm around him, hugging him to her. "Just give it to me straight." She shifted, burying her face in his neck. "I'm afraid. Stupid, right?"
"It'd be stupid if you weren't." Daryl stroked her hair, sighing. "Find her or not, tomorrow's gonna be a hell of a day."
"You're right. You should go back to bed." she loosened her grip around him, prepared to release his heat.
"Nah." He tightened his hold. "I'd rather stay right here."
Alex chuckled, hugging him again. "It's your funeral," she muttered, returning her eyes to the sky, where her memories seemed to play on a loop. "I thought a lot about ending it," she said softly, "before all this began. I thought about swallowing a bullet."
"Mm." He stroked her head again, listening.
"I did terrible things, and I didn't know if I could live with them. So, one day, I got dressed up real nice, wrote a letter to my mom, and went to my bedroom-So, I could die in my own bed." She fidgeted, wringing her fingers. "Then, the phone rang. I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop, so, I put the gun down, and I-I answered it."
Her fingertips traced a figure eight on the skin of his arm, lightly. "No one was on the line. I figured they'd hung up before I could get to it. So, I hang up and turn back to my bed-And the phone rings again. I answer. Still, nobody there."
She gave a shaky laugh. "It was such a little thing-Sodumb, but I realized that it wasn't fair to take such an easy way out. I swore to live, no matter what, and to do whatever it took- that the people i-" Her voice cracked, and she fell into a heavy silence. "Well, if I were gone, then they'd be forgotten, and they'd suffered enough at my hands. I owed it to them to stay alive-To keep them alive-Or their memories, at least. Even if I had to live with the guilt, I'd keep living...for them."
"It kept you alive," said Daryl, tangling his fingers in her hair.
"Mm, that it did." She tilted her head up to look at him. "But I have other things to live for, now. Jake, T...you."
"Then, don't forget that," he said. "Let it chase off your ghosts." He kissed her lightly, and her eyes fluttered closed.
"I don't know if I'll ever be free of 'em," she said with a sigh. "But I'm learning to live with them."
"Don't be reckless," Alex said, rebandaging T's arm. A frown tugged at her lips. His arm looked terrible. "Take it easy and don't take on too much by yourself."
"Yes, mom," he said with a weak grin. "Stop worrying so much. You have a job to do out there. Focus on that."
"T, you look like shit," she snapped. "Don't patronize me. I can see you're in rough shape."
His grin faltered and he sighed. "It doesn't change anything, so you can stop being so snappy. I'm going to be fine. I just have to find some good meds." He pulled her into a side hug with his good arm. "C'mon. Go do what you gotta do." he steered her back toward the rest of the group.
"Everybody takes a weapon," said Rick, unfurling a leather pouch full of sharp camping tools.
"These aren't the kind of weapons we need," said Andrea. She crossed her arms. "What about the guns?"
"We've been over that," said Shane, cutting through the group with a rucksack. He set it on the car's hood beside the arsenal. "Daryl, Rick, Alex, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."
"It's not the trees I'm worried about."
Shane scoffed, rounding on her, his hands on his hips. "Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us." He turned back to the rucksack, unzipping it. "So, you need to get over it."
He pulled out the small hand radios, keeping one, and chucking the others to Alex, Daryl, and Rick.
Rick turned his on, clipping it to his belt. "In case we get seperated. Daryl?"
Daryl stepped forward with a folded map. He spread it on the hood and pointed to a blue line. "The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, then, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are, she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."
"Stay quiet and stay sharp," said Rick. "Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other."
"Everybody, assemble your packs," said Shane.
Rick turned to dale. "Keepon those repairs. We've got to get this RV ready to move."
"Alex?" Jake shuffled his feet, but his face was set in a stern expression. "I want to come too."
"I know Sophia's your friend," she began.
Daryl nudged her, giving her a shrug. "It could be good for him to get some experience out there," he said.
Alex frowned, cocking her hip and staring at Jake for a long moment. "You'll stay close," she said, scowling. "And you'll do exactly as you're told. Got it?"
Jake's face lit up, and he nodded eagerly. "I swear!"
"Hang on a sec," said Daryl, dipping back toward his pack strapped to his motorcycle. He came back with a bow and a quiver of arrows. "I know we haven't had much time to practice, but you've gotten decent enough."
"Woah! Really?" he slung the quiver over his body and slipped the bow over his shoulder.
"Don't be showing off or playing with them, Jake," said Alex. "Or I'll trade you out for a big stick."
Jake grinned. "Hey Carl!" He raced off toward the other boy, waving excitedly. "Look at this!"
Alex groaned. "What did I just say?"
Daryl chuckled and turned away, whistling. She glared at his back for a second, then smiled. Then, angry voices caught her attention.
"No, Dale, you're doing it for you!" Andrea snarled, facing dale with a mutinous look. "You need to stop. What do you think's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?"
"I know you're angry at me," said Dale, holding out his hands. "That much is clear. But if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."
"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay."
"You chose suicide-"
"-So, what's that to you? You barely know me."
"I know Amy's death devastated you." Dale took a step toward her.
Andrea jerked back, pain crossing her face. "Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy, this is about us. And if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that?"
Alex turned around, trying to get out of earshot of this argument.
"I saved your life," Dale said softly.
"No, Dale. I saved yours. You forced that on me."
"Ready?" Alex asked Jake, coming upon him and Carl zipping up their packs. She cleared her throat, feeling very awkward.
"Look at this," said Carl, holding up a curved knife. "Dad said it was okay to carry it!"
Alex took it, admiring the workmanship. "This is a pretty solid piece," she said approvingly. "It's sharp, so keep your fingers clear of the blade."
Carl nodded, giddy. Then, he waved Jake after him as he rushed toward Daryl to show off his trophy. Alex sighed, shaking her head. These kids would be the death of her.
The green tent stood alone in the middle of the woods. Alex stepped toward it, out of the brush, and looked around, listening intently. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded, and Daryl and Rick led the others forward. Daryl approached the tent flap and peered in through the crack. Then he moved to the left to peek through the window.
Alex took her position on right, readying the machete. Rick nodded, covering the front with his gun, and Daryl readied himself from the left.
"Carol," said Rick. "Call out softly. If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear."
"Sophia, sweetie. Are you in there?" She took a tentative step forward, snapping a twig. "Sophia, it's mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby." Tears fell down her cheeks. "It's mommy."
Daryl and Alex met eyes, and she nodded, her hand tightening on her machete. He unzipped the tent. A gut churning stench wafted from the tent, and Alex buried her nose in her elbow. Nothing stirred, and he stepped inside, retching.
Alex tensed, but after a second, she relaxed. If he hadn't been attacked yet, he was probably fine.
"Daryl?" Carol croaked, hopeful. He didn't respond, and panic filled her shaking voice. "Daryl?"
He flung open the tent flap and stumbled out, gagging. He spit on the ground, trying to clear his senses of that smell. "It ain't her," he said, coughing.
"What's in there?" asked Andrea, wrinkling her nose as he gagged again.
Daryl wiped his mouth on the back of his wrist and straightened, breathing deep. "Some guy. Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"
"Shh," said Alex, her eyes darting up into the trees. She turned, trying to pinpoint what she heard. "Hear that?"
Bells clanged loudly through the forest.
Shane stiffened. "What direction?"
"I think that way," said Rick, gesturing with his hatchet. "I'm pretty sure."
"Damn, it's hard to tell out here," said Shane, rubbing his head.
"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did too," said Carol.
"Someone's ringing those bells," said Glen. "Maybe calling others?"
"Or signalling they found her," said Andrea.
"She could be ringing them herself," said Rick, rushing past the rest of the group.
"Don't run off on your own," Alex hissed, hiking her pack better on her shoulders and jogging after him. "Rick!" She glanced back to see Daryl shepard Jake and Carl ahead of himself, and returned her gaze to Rick's back.
"It's louder this way," he panted. "It's coming from over here."
"Idiot," she groaned, increasing her strides to keep up. "If we run headlong into the middle of a herd, I'm gonna be pissed."
Alex burst into a clearing behind Rick, finding themselves in front of a small church. The bells had stopped ringing, and all was quiet.
Shane appeared next, huffing as he skid to a stop. "Wait," he said as Rick moved quickly toward the church. "This can't be it." Rick continued on, ducking Shane's grasp. "Got no steeple-No bells. Rick!"
"God dammit," Alex whispered. Then, she followed.
Silently, Rick stopped in front of the church doors, glancing over at Alex, who pressed her lips together, but nodded. Daryl stood between them as Rick shoved the door open, and he was the first inside, levelling his crossbow at the candle-lit interior.
Alex slipped through next with Rick, spotting three walkers sitting in the pews, all of which turned toward them at the sound of the creaking door.
She set her sights on an old man and hopped over the back of the pews, sweeping her blade clean across the monster's head, hacking it nearly in half. It stumbled, and she chopped again and again, until she'd silenced it forever. She looked up, panting, and swiped her arm across her face, shoving her hair out of her face.
Shane hacked at another, and Daryl had just finished putting down an old woman in a white dress and veil.
"SOPHIA!" Rick turned in a circle as he screamed the girl's name. Then, exuding desperation, he stormed back outside.
Daryl looked up at the giant Jesus-mounted cross. "Yo, JC, you taking requests?" He, then, followed Rick out.
The bells began to ring again, and Alex glanced up at the rafters before following the others.
"I'm telling you," said Shane, hurrying after Rick as he headed for the side of the building. "It's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick." They rounded the corner. "There's no steeple."
Daryl found a small box mounted on the side of the building and prised it open. "A timer," he called. "It's on a timer." He turned a knob and the bells stopped.
Carol raised a shaky hand to her mouth. "I'm gonna go back in for a bit," she said, turning away from everyone.
"It's not looking good, here," said Alex to Rick, Glen and Daryl. She paced a bit, her eyes lifting to the sky. "She didn't comment on the position of the sun. "What's your call, Rick?"
Jake and Carl came running toward them, and Alex softened a bit. She crossed her arms and stilled.
Rick rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I think-"
"Got to move, here, man," called Shane, marching toward them. "These people are spent. There's only so many hours of daylight left, and we still got a long way back."
"I can't stop yet."
"We still got a lot of ground to cover," Shane said, running his hand through his hair. "Whole other side of the creek bed. So, we search that on the way back."
"She would have heard those church bells. She could be nearby."
Shane shook his head. "She could be a lot of things."
Rick's eyes were pleading. "I can't go back. Her being out here is my fault."
"That's great." Shane scoffed. "Now they got you doubting yourself, huh?"
"Jake," Alex said, "do me a favor and go check on Caroland Lori, okay? Make sure there aren't any walkers still inside."
Jake nudged Carl, and both boys ran back around the building.
"This means something," Rick said, imploring him to understand. "Finding her. It would be the miracle we need. We can't give up."
Shane sighed and turned to follow the kids. He approached the gathered group, leaving Rick and Alex to catch up. He cleared his throat.
"Ya'll gonna follow the creek bed back, okay?" Shane nodded to Daryl. "You're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so, just to be thorough."
"You're splitting us up," Daryl said. "You sure?"
"Yeah," said Shane. "We'll catch up to you."
Alex frowned. She met Daryl's eye,seeing that he didn't like the idea any more than she did.
Rick approached Lori, handing over his gun. "Here. Take this. Remember how to use it?" He pressed his forehead against hers.
Lori shook her head."I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed."
Daryl stepped forward, pulling a revolver from his waistband. "Here, got a spare. Take it."
She accepted, tucking it into her waistband. Alex turned to Rick as the rest of the group started to move. "You guys good?" she asked. "Just the three of you?"
Rick nodded, tussling Carl's hair. "Take care of them, okay? We'll be along later."
Shane chuckled. "You ain't got nothin to worry about. Me and Rick can take on anything."
Alex kept her face blank, an irrational fear flashing through her as she looked at Shane. She could only compare it to the feelings she had when Merle was skulking about.
"Okay," she said. "Keep your eyes open, huh?" She gave a short wave and turned to catch up with the others.
