Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.
0o0o0
~203 ~ 4479
Church bells brought Isabell from her dangerous thoughts about the possibilities of the missing little girl. It was her. It was Sophia. The girl had found a way to signal the group to where she was. Isabell smiled. Sophia was okay.
Rick pointed in the direction that he believed the sound was coming from and the group immediately began to run towards the sound. They came to a small clearing of trees and stopped for a quick moment.
"Which direction?" Shane asked, wondering where they should turn now.
"I think that way." Rick said, pointing. "I'm pretty sure."
"Damn, it's hard to tell out here."
"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did, too." Carol suggested, though it sounded more like she was pleading for that option.
"Someone's ringing those bells," Glenn said, "Maybe calling others."
Andrea let out a sigh. "Or signaling that they found her."
"It could be her ringin' those bells." Isabell said, tired of standing around and talking about it. She broke out into a run, getting there as quickly as she could with Daryl right on her tail. Isabell ran until they found another clearing. On the edge of it was a small graveyard. Isabell noticed the church and stopped in her place. "This isn't it." Isabell said. She couldn't be here.
"Can't be." Shane agreed. "Got no steeple, no bells."
Rick wouldn't agree to that though. He still kept walking towards the church.
"Rick!" Shane called to stop him. Everyone ran forward after the two anyway.
They came upon the door and Rick walked up the steps to the red front door.
Daryl stopped Isabell at the bottom of the stairs, and he joined Rick, taking aim with his crossbow.
Rick signaled for the group to be quiet and then turned to the doors. He opened them with Daryl's help. Inside the church, there were a few walkers sitting in the pews, dressed for a wedding.
Isabell never had her own wedding, but she couldn't imagine what she'd feel is this was how her day was to end.
The men looked shocked at the sight in front of them, but sprung into action.
Isabell handed her machete to Daryl and took his crossbow from him. These three walkers were going to be dealt with quietly. Isabell kept her eyes on Daryl as he went for the bride.
Daryl made kissing noises at the walker to get her attention, making Isabell roll her eyes. What Daryl hadn't expected was the walkers falling towards him after he hit it over the head.
Isabell took in a breath as he stepped backwards quickly.
While Daryl got the walker in one hit, the other men continued to hit their victims. They were just as frustrated as Isabell was for not finding Sophia, and they were taking it out on the walkers. Daryl walked up to the front of the church where the crucifix was placed. "Yo, J.C., you takin' requests?" Daryl asked the statue.
Isabell bit her lip hearing his words. She knew Daryl wasn't really the religious type, but she guessed that he was at the point where every last bit of hope helped in getting Sophia back.
"I'm telling you." Shane said, speaking to Rick. "It's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick." He stressed. "There's no steeple." Just as Shane said it, the bells tolled again.
Daryl pushed his way through everyone and out of the building first to find the source of the sound. They were at the right church. As everyone rounded the corner of the building, they saw that it was a computerized bell with the sound coming from a speaker.
Glenn angrily ripped the mechanics of the bells apart, and the sound stopped.
Daryl was breathing hard out of frustration. "A timer." He said, waving Isabell's machete around in a circle above his head. "It's on a time."
Isabell heart dropped. "She's not here." She said quietly, eye glazing over as she lost a bit of her concentration.
"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol said.
Isabell put a hand on her arm and led her back inside the church. She followed Carol up to the front, taking a seat in the first row pew while Carol knelt at the front.
"Father, forgive me." Carol prayed.
Isabell tried to ignore Carol's pleas. They were personal, and she knew she shouldn't listen.
"I don't deserve your mercy."
Lori came and sat down on the pew next to Isabell.
"I prayed for safe passage from Atlanta and you provided. I prayed for Ed to be punished for layin' his hands on me and for lookin' at his own daughter with whatever sickness was growing in his soul."
Isabell peeked her head up to Carol, having a hard time believing what she just said. She looked to Lori in confusion, wondering if the brunette knew what Ed had been doing.
Lori shrugged, not knowing.
Tears started to build up behind Isabell's eyes.
Carol continued to speak, her voice fading and cracking. "I prayed you'd put a stop to it, give me a chance to raise her right, help her not make my mistakes. She's so fearful. She's so young in her way. She hasn't had a chance." Carol paused. "Praying for Ed's death was a sin. Please, don't let this be my punishment." Her eyes pooled heavily with tears. "Let her be safe…. Alive and safe. Please, Lord." Carol prayed. "Punish me however you want, but show mercy on her."
Isabell couldn't take listening to Carol's begging anymore. Praying never seemed to work for her. It wouldn't work for Carol. Isabell hoped, but she never had any luck. She shook her head and joined Isabell at the back of the room. Isabell showed him a look that didn't need words to back up. She was worried.
"We'll find her." Daryl promised.
Isabell nodded and started to walk out of the building.
Daryl grabbed her arm lightly, stopping her. He jerked his head back and pulled his hand away, opening his arms to her.
Isabell sighed, but hugged him tightly. She needed the comfort from him. Daryl's promise was their only hope of finding this little girl. Isabell tried not to compare this to the last promise Daryl made her. That one hadn't panned out the way she wanted.
After whoever wanted to have their chat with whatever being they believed in, they all gathered around outside in the heat.
Isabell stood close to Daryl for the comfort. She had given him his crossbow back, and she got back her machete. Isabell hoped that Daryl was right this time, about finding the little girl.
Rick and Shane were off talking amongst themselves for a moment about what their next move should be. Rick was arguing to keep going forward in the search.
Shane, however, knew that they had the whole other side of the creek to look over. He came back to the group, clearing his throat. Shane rubbed the back of his head. "Ya'll gonna follow the creek bed back, okay?" He ordered. "Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so, just to be thorough."
"You're splittin' us up." Daryl pointed out, throwing his crossbow over his shoulder. "You sure 'bout that?"
"Yeah." Shane responded. "We'll catch up to you."
"I wanna stay, too." Carl piped up. "I'm her friend." He stressed, needing to be present when they found Sophia.
The men didn't know how to answer the boy. They didn't really want Carl to stay with them, but it seemed as if they couldn't say no to him. Rick looked to Lori, letting her make the final decision.
Lori moved forward. "Just be careful, okay?"
Carl nodded. "I will."
"When did you start growing up?" Lori joked, hugging him and kissed the stop his head.
Isabell looked from Carl and his mother to Rick. "I'm stickin' with you."
Rick nodded. He had learned to respect Isabell and her choices after she grabbed his son, keeping him safe from the herd of walkers. It would be smart to have her around.
"You sure?" Daryl asked from behind her.
Isabell turned around to face him and nodded. "They'll be busy on lookout for Sophia. Someone's gotta watch him." She pointed out. "Make sure we don't lose him, too. Can't have that on my conscious."
"Alright." Daryl took a step forward, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them. He grabbed the back of her head, fisting her hair just a bit. Daryl pulled her forward, kissing her forehead. "Be safe, okay?"
"Yessir." Isabell smirked, turning back to see some of the group start moving.
Rick held his gun out to Lori. "Here, take this. Remember how to use it?" He asked.
Lori looked to the gun, shaking her head. "I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed." Lori explained.
Daryl moved forward, pulling one of the guns from his pocket. "Here, got a spare." He held the weapon out to the brunette. "Take it." Daryl insisted when Lori hesitated.
Isabell heard Andrea scoff behind her as she watched on.
Andrea was shaking her head as she watched the scene.
"Cut it out, Andrea." Isabell stressed, walking in Shane and Carl's direction, joining them.
Andrea just passed a dirty look onto Isabell, and she joined the others who were walking back towards the highway.
"Give me a minute." Rick requested passing into the space between Shane and Isabell.
Shane nodded. "Yeah."
Isabell watched Rick walk up the steps back into the church. She wasn't thrilled about being in the group with Shane, but someone had to watch Carl. Isabell took a seat on the top step to the church, waving Carl over.
Carl took a seat in front of Isabell and Shane sat to the left of him.
Isabell reached down and scratched Carl's back lightly with the tips of her fingers. "How you feelin', bud?"
"I'm okay." Carl responded, looking up at Shane.
Shane nodded.
"Good." Isabell smiled. "You know, that while we're out here, we have to be really careful, okay? You gotta listen to your dad, Shane, and me."
"I know." Carl insisted.
"Of course you do." Isabell ruffled Carl's hair. The rest of the time the three waited for Rick were spent in silence. It wasn't until Isabell heard the footsteps heading their direction that she stood from the stairs. She followed Rick as he left off of the stairs.
"Get what you needed?" Shane asked.
"Guess I'll find out." Rick supposed.
! #$# !
Daryl's Group….
Daryl led the group through the many trees knowing that he was probably the only one that could direct them back to the highway. It wasn't until he heard Carol's voice that he paused. Daryl turned around, and he saw Carol sitting on a fallen-over tree.
Lori set her backpack next to Carol and was digging through it.
"So this is it?" Carol asked no one in particular. "This is the whole plan?"
Daryl shook his head. "I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups."
"Carrying knives and pointy sticks." Andrea complained. She turned to Lori. "I see you have a gun."
Daryl scoffed a quiet laugh, thinking that Isabell probably would have told Andrea off.
"Why, you want it?" Lori quipped. She pulled the gun out and held it out towards Andrea. "Here, take it." Lori stressed. "I'm sick of the looks you're giving me."
Andrea looked at Lori, bewildered by the thought. It was almost like she had no idea what Lori was talking about. Andrea took the gun anyway.
"All of you." Lori sat down, and looked to Carol. "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through." Lori said, gaining Carol's attention. "And I would do anything to stop it." She continued. "But you've got to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him. Isabell, too." Lori explained, surprising Daryl. "When Sophia ran, they didn't hesitate. Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way they did. Rick made a hard decision, putting her in that cave and telling her to wait until he was gone to head back. I'm sure if Isabell found her first, she woulda done the same thing. It was a hard decision that wouldn't have been handled differently." Lori looked around to the others in the group, wondering if they had any difference of opinion.
Everyone paused and Carol licked her lips, looking for an answer.
"Anybody?" Lori asked, wondering if someone would actually speak up. She looked to Daryl.
Daryl knew that she was right. None of the others in the group would have put themselves out there like that. Daryl nodded to Lori. He hoped she'd also take the gesture as a sign of acknowledgment for sticking up for Isabell.
Lori looked around a second more and shook her head. "Y'all look to him and then you blame him when he's not perfect. If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you." Lori paused to take a sip of her water.
Carol rocked herself on the tree, feeling bad for being so cruel to Rick and to Isabell. They were only trying to help her get her daughter back.
Andrea held the gun back to Lori, obviously not wanting it anymore.
Lori looked at the weapon for a second and took it back.
"We should keep moving." Andrea insisted.
Lori got up, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. She looked up ahead seeing Daryl nod his head, pushing her along.
Daryl had to give a fair amount of respect to Lori for what she'd said to the group.
! #$# !
Isabell's Group….
Rick led the small group through the trees with Shane taking up the rear.
Isabell walking in front of Shane and behind Carl. She looked to her left and gripped one of Carl's shoulders when she heard branches snapping.
Rick held up one of his hands, motioning for everyone to stop.
Isabell's grip tightened around her machete in her hand and readied it, holding raised next to her head. She took a step around both Carl and Rick, going forward before them and towards her left. The men followed after her.
Isabell saw the buck first. She thought about trying to get it using the bow around her body, but she stopped herself. "Carl!" Isabell whispered. "Come look. Slowly. Watch your step."
Carl slowly came from behind his dad, seeing the animal ahead of them. He smiled at the sight and joined Isabell's side.
Shane still had his shotgun raised and was ready to shoot it down.
Rick stopped Shane, motioning to his son and Shane lowered his gun.
Isabell leaned down to talk quietly into Carl's ear. "You can get closer. Just go slow." She caught Carl's eyes, and he seemed to hesitate, looking at her. Isabell nodded encouragingly. "Watch where you step and it won't run."
The boy nodded and started to move forward at a slow pace. Carl was a few feet away when he accidentally stepped on a small twig, making the buck's head turn toward him.
"Stay still." Isabell whispered, but Carl didn't listen.
Carl continued moving forward, surprisingly not yet scaring off the animal.
Isabell looked back at the two men that were watching Carl in amazement. The pure joy that seemed to be on the child's face was something they hadn't seen in a long time.
That was when the shot rang out, making Isabell jump. Time moved so slow.
Carl had been just a yard or two away from the buck when the child fell backwards.
Isabell couldn't move as she watched the boy fall to the ground. Even when Rick and Shane had pushed her to the side to go to the boy, Isabell couldn't move.
"Isabell!" Shane shouted behind him, holding up his shot gun. "Isabell!"
The sound of her name instantly pulled Isabell from her trance. She looked around to Carl, Rick, and then Shane. Isabell put her machete in the makeshift sheath that was wrapped around her waist. She pulled her bow from around her body. Isabell ran off in the direction that the shot came from. She kept running until she found a rather large man, slowly walking in the direction of the buck. As soon as Isabell saw the man, she raised her bow, grabbed an arrow, put it in her bow, and pulled it back.
The man looked at her confused. Instantly, he dropped his gun and put his arms in the air.
"Shane!" Isabell called.
"Wait, wait!" The man shouted. "Don't shoot!"
"Do you realize what you've just done?" Isabell seethed from between her teeth.
"I — I shot a buck! You can take it! Just don't kill me!"
"No, you didn't, asshole! You shot a little boy!" Isabell pulled the arrow back tighter, ready to fire at the man.
"I…." He looked past Isabell, thinking. "I did, what?"
Shane comes to the small clearing, pointing his shotgun at the man. He looked to the woman on his left who is staring angrily at the large man in front of her, ready to let her arrow fly. "Isabell, pull back."
Isabell scoffed. "Why the fuck should I? The guy shot Carl!"
"I swear I didn't mean to!" The guy begged.
"Shut up!" Isabell shouted, taking a step forward.
"Isabell, put your bow down." Shane said gently, trying not to upset her more.
"Look, I — I live on a farm. Th-There's a man there. Hershel! He might be able to help." The man suggested, dropping to his knees.
"Isabell, put it down." Isabell insisted.
Isabell took a few breaths, mulling over her options before she lowered her bow. "Which way?" She asked calmly. Isabell wrapped her bow around her body.
The man pointed behind him. "Straight back that way. 'Bout a mile, maybe mile and a half."
Isabell looked to Shane, wondering what she should do.
Shane glanced at her and then back to the man. "Get Rick. Run ahead of him. Let this Hershel know we're comin'."
"You got him?"
"I got him." Shane said, tightening the grip that he had on his shotgun.
Isabell ran back through the trees, joining Rick and his son on the ground. "Rick!" She shouted when she saw him. "Is he alive?"
Rick took a deep breath, trying not to break down. "He's alive. Barely."
"Alright. We're gonna go that way!" Isabell pointed behind her. "There's a man that might be able to help us. Can you carry him?" She asked, looking to the frail, unconscious boy.
Rick nodded.
"I'm gonna run ahead. You get there as soon as you can. I'll have 'em ready." She started to go back the direction that she came.
"Who shot him?" Rick called after her.
"Shane's taking care of him!" Isabell shouted over her shoulder. "He's just up this way." Isabell kept running. When she ran into Shane again, she let him know that Rick was just behind her.
After that, Isabell doesn't stop running. Even when she ran out of breath, she kept going. Isabell pushed her exhaustion away, needing to get to the house and talk to the people there.
Finally, the trees ended, and she came to a big field. She could spot the white house far away and it just pushed her determination all the more. Isabell sprinted in the house's direction. She came to the fence and pushed herself over it, continuing back into her stride towards the building.
"Hershel!" Isabell called out to the woman she saw sitting on the porch. "I need Hershel!"
The woman turns to the house. "Dad!" She ran towards the front door, disappearing inside.
As Isabell approached the house, five people came out: the woman who was on the porch, two other women, an old man, and a boy with a bat.
"Can I help you?" The old man asked.
Isabell stopped a few yards from the bottom step. She bent over, holding herself up with her knees. "We have a little boy. Your man shot him." Isabell spoke between large breaths.
"Otis?" The older woman on the porch stepped forward and walked down the steps.
Isabell shrugged. "Big man. With a gun. That is all I know!" Isabell shouted, stressing her anger. "He shot a little boy!"
"Alright, calm now." The man with a beard spoke. "Where are they?"
"They're behind me. Told me to run ahead. Talk to ya." Isabell took a couple steps towards the porch. "Your man said to find Hershel. Are you Hershel?"
The girl with short, brown hair picked up her binoculars from the railing in front of her. "There!" She said, pointing out into the field. "They're comin' up to the fence."
Isabell glanced, straining to see Rick coming towards them. Then she turned back to the group on the porch. "You have to help us!" Isabell begged.
"Isabell!" Rick shouted.
The blonde ran towards her friend, joining his side. Isabell tried to reach for Carl but Rick denied her help.
"Did you find Hershel?" Rick asked.
Isabell nodded, keeping a close stride next to him as they continued back to the house. "They'll help! Just give him inside!"
"Are you Hershel?" Rick asked the old man as he walked up the steps to the house. "Help me! Help my boy!"
The old man didn't answer. Instead, he turned back towards the house and made his way inside, rolling up his sleeves and barking orders to the surrounding people. "Patricia, I need my full kit. Maggie, painkillers, coagulates. Grab everything. Clean towels, sheets, alcohol."
Rick and Isabell followed the man into a side room with a bed. Rick followed Hershel around to one side of the bed.
Isabell took to the other side of the bed, staring at Carl. "What can I do?" Isabell asked, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stand still.
Hershel pulled the sheets back on the bed. "Here." He said, moving out of the way so that Rick could put his son down. "Pillowcase." Hershel ordered.
"Is he alive?" Rick asked after his son was on the bed, and he'd taken a step back.
"Pillowcase, quick!"
Isabell reached for the pillow, shedding the fabric over it. She knew that it would take a minute for Rick to snap out of his trance. Isabell folded up the pillowcase and held it out to Rick. "Hey!" She said, gaining his attention. "You need to focus for Carl!" Isabell shouted at him.
"Is he alive?" Rick asked again, taking the pillowcase from Isabell.
"Put pressure on the wound." Hershel told Rick.
Isabell knelt down on the floor, pushing Carl's short hair off of his forehead, trying to be as comforting as she could for the unconscious boy.
Hershel took his stethoscope from the woman named Patricia when she came into the room. He put the piece of metal against Carl's chest after sticking the pieces into his ear. Hershel listened. "I've got a heartbeat. It's faint."
Patricia moved behind Rick, trying to pull him away from Carl. "I got it." She insisted. "Step back."
Isabell quickly got to her feet and walked around the bed. She reached for Rick and pulled at his arm. "C'mon. They'll take care of him."
"Maggie, IV." Hershel called.
The brunette from the porch came forward with a bag filled with fluid. She squeezed herself past Rick to get next to Hershel. "We need some space." She said, taking Rick's spot.
"Your name?" Hershel asked, glancing in Rick and Isabell's direction.
"Rick." He said softly. "R-Rick."
"Rick?"
"I'm — I'm Rick."
"Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay?" Hershel promised. He straightened up and looked back at the two. "You need to give us some room."
Isabell strengthened her hold on Rick and pulled him back against the window. The two stood there for a moment before they hear Shane and the man, Otis, outside.
Rick walked himself out of the room.
Isabell followed quickly after him onto the porch. They watched as Otis and Shane approached.
Rick took off his hat when Shane and Otis come to the stairs and up to the porch.
"He's alive?" Otis asked pleadingly. "He's still alive?"
Rick couldn't answer because he was still in shock. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, leaving a trail of Carl's blood on his face.
"He's alive. Carl's hanging on." Isabell answered. She watched as Shane took a rag from his pocket and stepped towards Rick.
Shane tried hard to wipe the blood off his friend's face. "Where is he?" He asked. "Where is he? Is he okay?"
Isabell nodded, moving out of the way so the two could get to the door. "Rick, head back inside, okay? Carl needs you." Isabell insisted.
Rick took her advice, heading inside with Shane on his heels.
Isabell stayed outside for a moment with Otis, staring him down angrily.
Otis shook his head. "I — I swear I didn't see him. It was an accident." Otis said. "I'm sorry."
Isabell shook her head. "It don't matter. What does matter, is that you're a hunter and you weren't more careful. It's bullshit." She spat down at him. "If that little boy dies, it's on you." Isabell turned away from Otis and pulled the screen door open. She joined the men from her group into the room that Carl was in. Isabell noticed that the chaos of the room calmed down.
Hershel was on his knees by Carl's side holding a towel to his stomach. "You know his blood type?" He asked Rick.
"A-Positive." Rick responded. "Same as mine."
"That's fortunate." Hershel turned to eye Rick. "Don't wander far. I'm gonna need you." Hershel changes his attention to the man who was entering the room. "Otis, what happened?"
Otis was still confused and in shock by the events. "I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it. Went clean through."
Hershel examined the wound in Carl's side. "The deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out…. And I'm countin' six."
Otis traveled around the room, joining Patricia by her side. "I never saw him." He assured her.
Rick's eyes started to tear up, and he looked around the room like he was starting to lose it. "Lori doesn't know."
"No." Shane said.
"My wife doesn't know." Rick cried and then repeated.
Isabell joined Rick standing on his left, with Shane on his right. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder, knowing that it was nothing compared to the comfort that he really needed.