Thank you so much for the reviews! They really help me with getting me in the mood to write, lol. School hasn't been too hard on me, thankfully, and I've really been inspired to write. Hopefully this will keep up! I'm so excited about next month, when the Walking Dead finally returns to TV! I can't wait. Anyway, here's chapter ten. Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

Diary of the Dead Days

Part 2: Hershel's Farm

Chapter Ten
I'm Sorry

A gunshot had echoed throughout the eerily silent forest, the loud noise caused Ripley's chocolate eyes to gaze around in fear. I jerked at the sound, thinking about all the walkers that would be heading this way. Lori jumped as well, her eyes went wide. Our group froze, gazing at each other with uncertainty.

"What was that?" Lori said, panic rising in her voice. She was probably concerned about her husband and son who went off in the other direction.

"Rick might have killed a walker." Daryl offered.

That response didn't seem to satisfy her, "No, no, no, Rick wouldn't risk the noise of killing just one walker."

I was equally curious about the random gunfire, agreeing with Lori that they wouldn't waste the ammo nor risk the attention just to kill a single walker. However, finding Sophia and Rose was our priority, we would be wasting time if we investigated what was going on with the other group. I frowned, seeing her conflicted expression made it obvious she wanted to go figure out the source of the noise, but she wasn't going to go alone.

"We have to keep searching." My voice reminded the group with a slight hint of hostility, "If we don't hurry up and find them, something else might."

Our group forged on, Lori was the only one disappointed with our choice but didn't voice her concerns anymore. I felt myself scowl, she wasn't suffering like Carol and me. Her son was perfectly safe with his father, not lost in the woods with vicious, man-eating walkers look for their next meal. They already spent the night in the woods and were probably scared to death. Though I had faith in Rose.

Rose was known to be clever and resourceful at times, she had an extensive knowledge of what wild plants were safe to eat and what was poisonous, and she was able to build a campfire, even without a lighter. I knew my sister was still alive, she had to be. Ripley continued to sniff the ground, I had one of Rose's shirts that I would periodically shove in Ripley's face when no one was looking. If the others saw me, they would probably think my idea was childish since Ripley was a herding dog.

I trailed along beside Glenn, following Daryl's heels while the rest lingered in the back. I overheard Andrea and Carol talking, but I didn't really pay attention to their conversation. I was too busy looking out for any indications or clues about my sister's location. The group remained silent as we marched onward, but I couldn't help but hear a faint noise of hooves beating against the ground. Since our ranch was mostly populated by horses, I would hear them trotting around all the time. I could always look out my window and see the pasture where all our horses were grazing and running around. I was too busy basking in the strange sense of nostalgia that I didn't bothering to report I heard the sound of a horse approaching.

I glanced at Daryl, he appeared as if he was hearing something as well, but his thoughts were interrupted by Andrea screaming behind us. A walker managed to sneak up on her, causing Andrea to fall to the ground with the beast on top of her. It's teeth dangerously close to her skin. I gripped my axe tighter, ready to save her life until the beating of hooves came closer than it was before. A chestnut colored horse shot out from the tree line, its rider swiftly dealing a death-blow to the walker and saving Andrea. I blinked, staring at the girl who held the baseball bat as her eyes quickly surveyed the area. I was still baffled by her entrance, my guard was let down and I didn't even considered the fact she could be a threat. She saved Andrea like a knight in shining armor, if she had been a boy, I might would have fallen in love. I felt myself blush at my odd fantasies.

"Is Lori here?" Her voice was full of urgency.

"What is it?" Lori was unsure about this mysterious woman, but I could tell she was still worried about her family. Her concentration was never on our search.

"Carl's been shot. Rick's at the farm, I'll take you to him." At first her words went over my head. Carl had been shot? That didn't even make sense, but my mind went back to the gunshot we had heard earlier. Was that what happened?

"Is he alive?" Lori panicked, grabbing the girl's hands as she holstered Lori on to the horse's back.

"Yes." The girl said.

"We don't even know this girl, why you goin' with her!" Daryl shouted, the girl ignored the tracker's words and mostly focused her attention on Glenn, telling him the location of the farm they were staying at. It was a little ways from the highway, but not far.

I was somewhat furious that our search was cut short, but I knew that Carl's life was in danger. We had covered quite a bit of ground, and by the time we reached the RV, it was almost dusk and we would had to end our search anyway. T-Dog was in terrible condition, he looked extremely weak and was sweating. His cut must be infected, most likely blood poisoning. Glenn explained what happened to Dale, about how Carl was shot and Lori went to see him. I panicked at first, were we going to switch locations? What if we all left to find this farm and then if Rose and Sophia do come back, no one will be here.

"Are we leaving?" Carol echoed my thoughts, "What if they come back."

"I'll stay here with the RV." Dale offered with a kind smile, nodding towards both Carol and me.

It ended up being Glenn and T-Dog the ones who left the highway, T-Dog was in need of urgent care and the rest of us decided to stay behind in case Rose or Sophia turned up. There was enough room in the RV for everyone to sleep, Carol took one of the beds and Dale stayed awake on top of the RV to keep watch. Andrea and Daryl would take turns taking Dale's place to look out for walkers, giving Carol and me a chance to rest. I could have slept in the other bed, next to Carol, but I wanted to be alone. I sat in the driver's seat of my van, my diary opened in my lap and my pen laying limp in my hand.

I tried writing, but I didn't know what to say. My lack of sleep was starting to get to me and now my mouth felt sore, I couldn't stop myself from gnawing at my wound. I eventually forced myself to write, apologizing to my mom about losing sight of Rose. I know Rose is still alive. I knew if she was with you, you wouldn't keep that a secret from me, Mom. You would find someway to tell me. We've been searching the woods for her but we somehow manage to not find her. As the days go by, I can tell people are starting to lose hope. Every nightfall that passes, Rose and Sophia's chances of survival are falling ...

My mind kept going blank with things to say, I didn't feel much like writing. I didn't feel much like anything. If Rose didn't survive, what was my purpose for living? There was Ripley, but he couldn't rid me of my sorrow for my sister. Nothing could. I was starting to feel Andrea's depression, the loneliness gnawing at me and my heart aching. Suddenly, something was banging against my window. My first instinct was thinking it was a walker, but as I focused on what I saw outside, it was Daryl. Ripley barked, he had been sleeping and the noise surprised him as much as it did me. I opened my door.

"Why don't ya sleep in the RV, Carol doesn't want to be alone." Daryl said.

"She has you, Andrea, and Dale." I mentioned, my voice dragging on with depression, "I just want to be alone."

"You know what she's goin' through. Stop that." He hissed, noticing that I began to bite my bottom lip as he continued talking.

"I can't help it," I sighed, averting my gaze, "What if we don't find them? Rose has been my only reason to live, if she's gone, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"She's fine." I was expecting hostility like earlier today when I had questioned finding Rose, now it was kind. His tone confused me, I was so use to his sarcastic and harsh comments, "I'll find them. If you start giving up, everyone else will start giving up too."

I still sat in my van, my door open and Daryl standing in front of me with a serious expression. I kept trying to force myself to stay positive, but with the second nightfall, my doubt wouldn't go away. I sighed, slipping out of the seat and shutting the door behind me, leaving my journal behind. I grabbed Ripley, leading him with the leash. I grew accustomed to walking the canine with the leash, feeling that it not only made him safer but me as well. If a walker tried attacking me, Ripley would surely defend me and it would also stop him from running away in panic and getting lost.

"When I was around Rose and Sophia's age, I got lost in the woods," Daryl mentioned as we walked towards the RV, "Nobody was even looking for me, but I found my way back. I was lost for about a week, walked into the kitchen and made me a sandwich, no one even notice I had been gone. At least they got people looking for them."

"Yeah." I was unsure how to respond to his story.

"Ain't nobody looking for my brother." There wasn't any spite in his tone, but it reminded me of the harsh words I once said to him about his brother.

I stopped walking, falling a few feet away from the RV. Daryl noticed, turning to see why I stopped. I gazed down at the ground, biting my lip and then forcing my apology out, "I'm sorry about what I said about your brother, I didn't really mean it. I knew we shouldn't leave him behind, but I was really upset about what happened."

"What happened exactly?" He crossed his arm, staring at me with a solemn expression.

"He didn't tell you?" I asked.

"No," He shook his head, "I ain't stupid, I knew something was up when y'all came back. Then after that you had nothin' to do with me."

I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment, my hands gripping tightly at the fabric of my shirt, "He was drunk, I was getting ready to bathe in the quarry until he showed up. If Shane hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened."

I didn't look at his face, I oddly felt shameful. Daryl had proven to me that he was nothing like his older brother. He tried helping me with my archery, saved my life by killing the walker that grabbed a hold of my hair when our old campsite was attacked, and now he's doing all he can to help find my sister. It wasn't the ideal friendship, like the one I wanted with Amy, but I felt I could rely on him and he felt like a friend. I imagined him looking at me in disgust, thinking I was some kind of trash his brother tried to get with.

"I'm sorry." The gentle tone of his hoarse voice was still taking me by surprise, but I refused to look directly at his face. An awkward silence soon followed.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but Daryl, could you take over my shift." Dale's head peer over the top of the RV, gazing down at us with his friendly smile.

My eyes widened, realizing he must have heard our entire conversation. Daryl nodded, walking behind the RV to climb up the ladder on the roof. I gazed at Dale as he walked up to me, feeling odd. He continued to grin at me, "It's a really quiet night, isn't it? I didn't hear anything the whole time I was being the look out, it was nice. No walkers, nothing."

His smile was infectious, I couldn't help but smile at the old man. I followed him into the RV, claiming the empty bed beside Carol. She was sound asleep, but as I sneaked a peek at Carol's face, I noticed her cheeks were stained with tears. I frowned, I should have been here earlier comforting her. I snuggled into the bed, allowing Ripley to cuddle up beside me underneath the covers. He rested his muzzle on my chest, my arms wrapping around him tightly.

Before reuniting with Rick and the others, we left a large amount of supplies on top of an abandoned car and writing Rose and Sophia, Stay Here on the back window. Our caravan traveled to the rumored farmhouse where Carl was being cared for. The farm gave me a strong sense of nostalgia, the scents of farm animals and large pastures brought back fond memories. We set up our campsite a short distance from the house, I still used my van as my sleeping place and refusing Carol's offer of sleeping in her tent. I felt bad for saying no, but I still felt much safer in a vehicle than out in the open. Most of the tents circled the campfire that Glenn had set up, the RV parked to the right and my van flanking the left a little ways away. The rest of the vehicles sat near the dirt road, further away from camp.

We had to attend a funeral service for a man named Otis, he had been the one who accidentally shot Carl but ended up sacrificing his life to get the medical supplies to help save him. Shane had accompanied Otis and ended up injuring his ankle. His look was different as well, instead of the mass of black, curly hair, he had shaved it down to his scalp.

The girl who had rode the horse, saved Andrea, and took Lori to Carl, was named Maggie. The farm belonged to her father, Hershel Greene. They seemed like nice people, but they didn't allow guns on their farm. Meaning we had to give up our firearms, this mostly upset Shane and Andrea. I didn't like the fact of being unprotected, but Dale was allowed the only rifle since he was our lookout. Maggie gave us a map of the area, which helped to continue our search. We gathered around the map, marking off the places we had already searched and the places we hadn't touched. I felt anxious, ready to get back searching for Rose immediately. This was our third day and their time was running out.

"We'll start our search immediately." Rick announced, gazing at the map Maggie laid out.

"We can start where we left off." Shane added.

"I don't think so." Hershel approached our group. My eyes darted towards Rick and Shane, "You are weak from donating so much blood and your ankle will get worse if you keep over doing it."

I felt restless as the search was halted yet again. But, Rick and Shane were in no condition to keep looking for Rose and Sophia. No one else made an effort to lead a search party, however, I spotted Daryl grabbing his crossbow. His tent was set a little far off from our main camp, pass my van. I dispatched from the rest of the group that was assigning possible search areas for tomorrow and raced towards Daryl.

"Are you searching for Rose and Sophia?" The awkward conversation we had last night had temporary slipped my mind, but as he turned towards, I felt odd.

"Yeah." He said.

"Let me come with you." I offered, "I can help."

"I better off on my own, Lily. You'll probably get in the way." He words were true, he was less effective with his tracking when more people were around, but I couldn't help feel disappointed, "How about you help T-Dog and Dale with the well."

He didn't let me say anything else, turning his heel and walking towards the woods. I despised waiting at camp, but I desperately hoped that when Daryl would return, he wouldn't be alone. I sighed, heading towards the well on the other side of the farm. Glenn and Maggie had left awhile ago, heading for the pharmacy in town to gather supplies. I slightly wondered if Glenn finished the novels that I had lent him, hoping he hadn't lost them.

I ended up carrying a few empty canisters to the well. As T-Dog began pumping the water into the first canister, I stood with my arms crossed. The weather was humid and there were no clouds in the sky to cover the sun's rays, my ponytail was doing little to relieve the heat and my dark shirt and long pants only made it worse. T-Dog was sweating profusely, especially since the pump handle was slightly rusted and it was hard to move. I was growing impatient for the water, my mouth painfully dry. Ripley was by my side, sniffing at the broken wood that covered the well. I felt nervous as he walked closer, worried that he might fall in.

"Ripley, stay back." I scolded, grabbing his collar. I left his leash in my van, letting him have some freedom to roam around the farm. However, the German Shepherd just ended up following me everywhere I went.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed something strange in the well. I peered into the hole, something strange was moving around at the bottom. Dale journeyed near me, examining the bottom as well.

"What is that?" He inquired, squinting his eyes. The growl emitting from Ripley's throat answered his questioned, the dog investigated the scent further, his black nose sniffing the broken wood. A walker was trapped down in the well.

"Stop!" Dale cried out. Right in time too, T-Dog was about to take a sip of the water. He froze, confused. He dropped the canister, walking near the well and peering down into the darkness, seeing the walker growling beneath us.

"Damn." T-Dog muttered.

Thank you very much for reading, please leave me a review! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted, but I'll try to update as soon as possible.