Bells and Gunshots


THE NEXT MORNING the group stood around a map, talking about the plan to search for Sophia. Rick unfolded a bag of various knives, "Everybody takes a weapon." he ordered.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need." Andrea noted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sweet." Kenzi scanned the arsenal and saw a blade that suited her well, "Ooohh, a machete, dibs!" she pulled the blade out and examined it in the sunlight. She dug out a thin belt from her backpack and strapped it to her right thigh, sliding the machete in between the straps.

Lauren stood beside her, looking over Kenzi, taking note of her knee high boots, skinny jeans, and her wolf-dreamcatcher tank top with her flannel tied into a half-jacket. "Interesting fashion statement Kenz."

"Oh, thanks." the young girl smiled, her hands on her hips.

Andrea rolled her eyes. "What about the guns?" she asked.

"We've been over that." Shane spoke up. "Daryl, Rick 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." the blonde muttered.

Kenzi was leaning against the car, ignoring the look Dale was giving her. When Shane noticed, he raised a brow, "Kenzi-"

"I'm not giving up my gun." she stated, despite Shane's glare. "I'm no amateur, I know how to use it, just fine. Thank you very much."

Shane rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So stubborn."

"Yep." Kenzi beamed.

Dale cleared his throat and gave Kenzi a look that took made her smile disappear. She sighed and pulled her gun out of the waistband of her jeans, handing it to the elderly man. "Fine Grandpappy, you win."

"Thank you." Dale took the gun and stashed it in the bag with the rest.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side." Daryl informed, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."

Kenzi turned to Lauren, "You sure you wanna come with us?" she asked. "Maybe you should stay back."

"It's okay Kenz." Lauren answered, "I want to help. I wanna start pulling my weight with this group." She wrapped her arm around the dark haired girl's shoulders, "Besides, someone's gotta keep an eye on you." she winked.

"Stay quiet and stay sharp." Rick advised. "Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other."

"Everybody assemble your packs." Shane added.

Lauren packed a large Gatorade bottle and two water bottles in the pack her and Kenzi were sharing. "Just stay behind me, okay Lo?" Kenzi told her, tucking hair behind her ear. "Like it or not, the health of our group rests with you now."

"I'll be fine Kenzi." Lauren assured, patting her shoulder. She strapped on the backpack, "C'mon, let's go find that little girl."

Kenzi nodded and the two joined the rest of the search group. Dale and T-Dog were going to stay behind and work on getting the RV repaired.


One by one, they each hopped over the guard rail, entering the dense Georgia woods. Glenn and Kenzi kept close towards the front. "Think you picked the wrong boots to wear for a trek in the woods, K." Glenn noted, looking down at the knee-high, heeled boots his friend wore.

Kenzi shrugged her shoulders, "These beautiful babies have knife sheathes on the insides." she informed, patting the side of one of her boots. "Besides, I'm not one to play it safe."

"I've noticed." Glenn chuckled. "You do things your own, unique way. It's the thing I admire most about you." he gave her a warm smile.

Kenzi grinned and nudged his shoulder, "Well aren't you a charmer." she giggled.

As the group walked deeper into the woods, Daryl and Rick found a tent hidden by some thick leaves. Everyone halted and crouched low. Kenzi kept one arm around Carol's shoulders as Rick, Shane, and Daryl checked the immediate area. Rick motioned for Carol to stand next to him, telling her to call out softly for her daughter. The others watched as Daryl slowly opened the tent flap, before stepping inside.

"Daryl?" Carol questioned after a couple minutes.

The redneck stepped out, "It ain't her." he informed.

"What's in there?" Glenn asked.

"Some guy." Daryl answered, "Did what Jenner said. Opted out." he slung his crossbow over his chest. "Ain't that what he called it?"

"Putting it nicely." Kenzi muttered, brushing hair from her face.

Suddenly, there was a sound of bells in the distance, making everyone run in the direction they heard them. Soon, they came upon a small, white church. "That can't be it." Shane shook his head. "Got no steeple, no bells."

Despite his friend saying otherwise, Rick charged ahead, the others chasing after him. Rick and Daryl opened the church doors and three walkers were spaced about, all turning their heads. The three men took care of them with barely any effort.

Shane panted, walking up to his best friend, "I'm telling you, it's the wrong church." he repeated. "It's got no steeple, Rick. There's no steeple."

The bells sounded again and everyone ran outside, realizing the sound was coming from a speaker system. Glenn unhooked the bells, cutting off the sounds.

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol told the rest of the group, walking up the front steps and sitting in the front pew.

"Poor Carol." Lauren sympathized. Kenzi nodded in agreement. The two walked over to a nearby tree for some shade. Kenzi leaned against the trunk, sipping on her water bottle.

Rick and Shane spent the next five minutes talking not far from the rest. "Y'all gonna follow the Creek Bed back, okay?" Shane announced. "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 questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you." Rick assured.

"I want to stay too." Carl spoke up. "I'm her friend."

Lori brushed her son's bangs to the side, "Just be careful, okay?" Carl nodded. "When did you start growing up?" Lori hugged him and kissed the top of his head.

"I'll be along soon enough." Rick told his wife, giving her a quick kiss. He pulled out his gun, handing it to her, "Here, take this. Remember how to use it?"

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed." Lori said with a smile.

Daryl pulled the small pistol he found earlier in the tent, giving it to Lori. "Here, got a spare. Take it." Lori accepted without much argument, and Andrea rolled her eyes.

Kenzi ruffled Carl's hair as she left with the others, walking in between Daryl and Glenn. The sunlight was barely cutting through the thick canopy of the dense leaves. The group walked a little spread out, keeping space between them.


"So this is it?" Carol broke the silence. "This the whole plan?" She took a seat on a moss covered log.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups."

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks." Andrea said sarcastically, looking at Lori. "I see you have a gun."

Kenzi leaned against the same trunk Daryl was, crossing one leg in front of the other. "Here we go again." she muttered under her breath, flipping her hair off her shoulder.

"Why, you want it?" Lori held the gun out to Andrea. "Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me." she snapped.

Andrea scoffed and took the small pistol. Lori sat down and faced Carol, "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through, and I would do anything to stop it. But you have got to stop blaming Rick." she stated. "It is in your face every time you look at him. When Sophia ran he didn't hesitate." she looked out to everyone else. "Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way he did or made the hard decisions that he had to make or that anybody could have done it any differently." Lori looked down at the ground, "Y'all look to him and then you blame him when he's not perfect." she muttered, but everyone heard it. "If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you."

Andrea handed the pistol back to Lori, her expression softening. "We should get moving." Lauren suggested.

As they walked, an hour or so later, they heard a single gunshot which made them freeze. "What the hell?" Kenzi looked around.

"Could that have been Rick or Shane?" Glenn questioned.

"Then why only one gunshot?" Lori questioned.

"Maybe they took down a walker." Daryl shrugged.

"Please don't patronize me." Lori quipped. "You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. Or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

Glenn wiped sweat from his forehead, "Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?"

"There's nothing we can do about it, anyway." Daryl said. "Can't run around these woods chasing echoes."

"So, what do we do, Daryl?" Kenzi asked, looking up at the archer.

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sophia, work our way back to the highway." Daryl answered.

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Lauren added with a small smile.

Andrea and Carol walked at the end of the group, the blonde trying to consul the older mother. "The thought of her, out here by herself It's the not knowing that's killin' me." Carol choked on her sobs. "I just keep hopin' and prayin' she doesn't wind up like Amy." Everyone lowered their heads and Carol quickly apologized.

"We're all hoping and praying with you." Andrea consoled. "For what it's worth."

"I'll tell ya what it's worth." Daryl spoke up, "Not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna locate that little girl. She's gonna be just fine." he assured. "Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord."

Kenzi chuckled, shaking her head. "Way to boost morale, Daryl." she praised, patting his shoulder as he walked past her.


The sun was getting low as the group made their way back to the highway. "Where the hell are they? How much farther?" Andrea complained.

"Not much." Daryl informed. "Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies."

"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea muttered, kicking a rck out of her path.

"For the love of God, Andrea, stop whining." Kenzi quipped, looking back at the blonde. "I'm out here in five inch heels and you don't hear me moaning and groaning." she continued on, keeping pace with Glenn and Daryl.

Andrea scoffed, flipping the young Russian the finger when her back was turned. "As the crow flies, my ass." A low growl came from not far off, a walker spotting Andrea and went right for her.

Andrea's screams caught everyone else's attention and they doubled back to help her. Out of nowhere, a young woman with short, brown hair came riding towards them on a chestnut colored horse and hit the walker upside the head with a baseball bat. "Lori? Lori Grimes?" the woman questioned.

"I'm Lori." the woman in question clarified.

"Rick sent me." the brunette informed. "You've got to come now. There's been an accident, Carl's been shot." everyone's faces fell at the sudden news. "He's still alive but you've gotta come now." she went on, seeing Lori's hesitation, she added. "Rick needs you."

Lori complied and climbed onto the back of the saddle, ignoring Daryl's protests.

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?" the southern brunette questioned. Glenn nodded in confirmation. "Backtrack to Fairburn Road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox. Name's Greene." the cowgirl kicked her horse's side and rode off the way she came.

The walker sat up with a low moan. "Shut up." Daryl spat, firing a bolt through the walker's temple.


The sky was a pale shade of orange when the search party returned to the highway, informing Dale and T-Dog about Carl. "Shot?" Dale repeated. "What do ya mean shot?"

"All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Glenn informed.

"You let her?" Dale questioned.

"Climb down out of my ass, old man." Daryl shook his head. "Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's."

"I heard screams." Dale stated, looking at the girls.

"No big Grandpappy." Kenzi brushed off, patting his shoulder. "Andrea had a close call with a stray walker."

Andrea shot the young girl a glare and slammed the RV door shut behind her. Dale walked over to Lauren, who was finishing what remained of her water bottle. "Dr. Lewis." he cleared his throat.

Lauren held her hand up, "Please, call me Lauren." she smiled.

"Okay, Lauren, can you check on T-Dog?" Dale asked. "He's got a serious cut on his arm, maybe he'd listen to a medical professional's opinion."

Lauren nodded, "Sure, okay." she got up from the guard rail and walked over to T-Dog, who showed her his bandaged forearm. She helped T-Dog into the RV to get a better look.

"So, what do we do now?" Kenzi sighed, leaning against a car, her hands in her pockets.

"We can't stay here much longer." Dale admitted.

"That girl on the horse said she lived on a farm not too far from here." Glenn reminded. "Should we head there?"

"We can't just leave." Carol spoke up.

"Carol, the group is split." Dale pointed out. "We're scattered and weak."

"What if she comes back and we're not here?" the older woman questioned. "It could happen."

Kenzi nodded in agreement, "If Sophia found her way back and we were gone." she slapped her thighs, sighing heavily. "She'd think we abandoned her, and that would devastate her."

"Okay. We gotta plan for this." Daryl said calmly. "I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV."

"If the RV is stayin', I am too." Dale added, leaning against the vehicle.

"Thank you." tears welled in Carol's eyes. "Thank you both."

"I'll stay too." Kenzi agreed, giving Carol a warm smile. "I don't mind."

"I'm in." Andrea echoed, standing in the RV's doorway.

Glenn adjusted his ballcap "Well, if you're all staying then I'm-"

"Not you, Glenn, you're going." Dale cut off. "Take Carol's Cherokee."

"Why is it always me?" Glenn groaned.

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on." Dale went on.

"We have to get T-Dog there." Lauren interjected, everyone turning to her. "The cut on his arm is deep. He's got a very serious blood infection."

"You heard the doctor." Kenzi patted her best friend's shoulder. "Get to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics or something."

Daryl stepped back from the group and went to his motorcycle. Lauren stepped out of the RV, "I don't want to scare anyone, but it T doesn't get antibiotics right away, he will die. And, I'm all out of supplies I need to stitch up a wound that big."

"Why'd you wait till now to say anything?" Daryl asked, setting a bag full of blue crystals and various orange pill bottles. "Got my brother's stash. Crystal, X, don't need that. Got some kick ass painkillers." he tossed the bottle to Glenn. "Doxycycline." Daryl handed the second pill bottle to Lauren. "Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion."

Kenzi bit her lip, holding back the urge to make a sarcastic remark. Lauren put the bottles in her bag, "Thanks, Daryl. These will help."

"Take care of 'em Lo." Kenzi said to her friend. "We'll meet ya there tomorrow."

Lauren helped T-Dog into the back of the Cherokee while Glenn started it up. The group parted to the side and watched him drive off. "It's getting late, I'll take watch." Dale volunteered.

Kenzi nodded, "Yeah, I'll see what I can scrounge up for dinner." she walked past him and rummaged through the crate of canned food she found the previous day.