A Symbol of Hope
EVERYONE STOOD AROUND in the shade as Hershel spoke words about Otis. "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." The elderly rancher closed his Bible. During the speech, Shane kept his head down. "Shane." Hershel spoke, getting his attention. "Would you speak for Otis?"
"I'm not very good at it." Shane mumbled. "I'm sorry."
"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments." Patricia said through her tears. "Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." Maggie kept her hand on the older woman's shoulder, offering some comfort.
Shane agreed, still uneasy about the whole thing. "We were about done, almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then." the words spilled out, running together. "I was limping. 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 walked up to the wheelbarrow, taking the last stone from it. "If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too." he set the stone on top of the pile, "It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his."
Kenzi, Daryl, Shane, Andrea, Rick and Hershel met by an old pickup. "How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked.
"This'll be day three." Rick answered.
Hershel's eldest daughter, Maggie, brought a map for the group to go over. "County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations." she anchored the paper down with a few small rocks.
"This is perfect." Kenzi noted, leaning into the truck, standing between Rick and Hershel.
"We can finally get this thing organized." Rick added. "We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."
"Not you. Not today." Hershel said to Rick. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." the older rancher then looked to Shane, "And your ankle, push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody. "
"Guess it's just me. I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." Daryl spoke up.
"What the hell am I, chopped liver?" Kenzi cleared her throat.
"Yeah, it's not safe to go alone." Shane agreed, turning to Daryl. "Take Kenzi with you."
Daryl looked across the truck, "Fine, just don't slow me down."
"Deal." Kenzi nodded.
"I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane volunteered, wanting to do something useful.
Rick nodded, "All right, tomorrow then. 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."
"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property." Hershel told them. "We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."
Shane shook his head, "All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here-"
"Look, we're guests here." Rick cut in, facing the older rancher. "This is your property and we will respect that." the former sheriff emphasized the second part to his fellow survivors. "First thing, first: set camp, find Sophia."
"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to." Shane sighed, "What happens if we find her and she's bit?" everyone looked down, not really wanting to hear think about that scenario. "I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."
Rick pondered the thought for a moment. "You do what has to be done." he answered.
Kenzi bit her lip, bracing her arms against the truck, "If that happens, God forbid, what would we tell Carol?" her eyes glanced up at Shane before turning to Rick.
"The truth." Andrea said bluntly.
"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site." Shane tapped his fingers on the hood of the truck. "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."
Hershel was about to protest, but Rick defended Shane's statement. "Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Hershel nodded in agreement, easing some of the tension.
Hershel's daughter, Maggie, cleared her throat. "That stuff you brought, got more antibiotics, bandages, anything like that?"
Kenzi shook her head, "Just what you've seen." she gave the girl a smile before heading off to the tent that was set up for her.
"In ten minutes I'm leavin, with or without you." Daryl told her as they walked to their separate tents.
Kenzi rolled her eyes and ducked into her tent, digging through her bag. She kicked off her heeled boots and slipped on her combat boots, lacing them up. She strapped the machete to her right thigh and grabbed an empty backpack, just in case her and Daryl came across some supplies the camp could use.
Seeing she had minutes to spare, Kenzi headed to the main house, wanting to check on Carl before she left, needing to see for herself that he was okay. The living room itself was spacious enough to fit at least four people, and right off to the side was the kitchen and dining area. Kenzi let out a soft whistle, "Nice." she muttered under her breath. She stood in the doorway of the room, watching Lauren check Carl's vitals, "How is he?" she asked, getting the female doctor's attention.
Lauren removed her stethoscope and draped it around her neck, "His pressure's up and breathing's stable." she answered, "He's on the mend, which is great." she looked over her shoulder at the sleeping boy. "He's a tough kid."
"Just like his father." Kenzi finished, smiling.
Lauren nodded, looking back to Kenzi, taking note of the combat boots she was wearing, which were already stained with what appeared to be mud. "You going somewhere?"
"Yeah." Kenzi straightened up and walked over to the bed, trailing her fingers over the blanket, "Daryl and I are heading out to search for Sophia. Go back to the creek and work our way from there." She placed one hand over Carl's and used her other to brush his bangs to the side. "I'll be back buddy, you just rest." Kenzi leaned over and pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead.
"You really care about those kids, don't you?" Lauren observed.
Kenzi nodded, standing straight. "Yeah." she confirmed. "I would often tell them stories before bed, around the campfire, about my time with the Fae, just omitting names and such." she tapped her thighs, "Carl and Sophia loved them and one time they even crashed in my tent." she looked down at Carl, "That farmer was right, the way the world is now, children are more precious then ever."
Lauren wrapped an arm around Kenzi's shoulders, "You're brave to go out there and look for Sophia, with those walkers about." she pecked the young girl's temple.
"Someone's gotta." Kenzi reminded, "It might as well be the chick with the sword." she tapped her sheathed blade. "Speaking of, I gotta go. Daryl said he'd leave without me if I don't meet him."
"Be careful." Lauren warned, watching Kenzi leave the room.
Kenzi caught up with Daryl just as he was about to leave. "You're actually going with?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Kenzi crossed her arms, her hair blowing in the breeze.
Daryl shrugged, "Figured you had better things to do."
"Like what?" Kenzi scoffed. "Laundry and dinner duty? That's not the type of girl I am." she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Look, as much as I hate to admit this, Shane is right." she rolled her eyes, "It's dangerous to be alone out there. At least if it's a pair, we can cover eachother."
"Fine, but like I said, don't slow me down." Daryl turned his back and headed into the woods.
"Don't worry, I can handle myself." Kenzi followed his steps, careful to make as little noise as possible.
The duo spent a good few hours in silence, their minds focused on finding Sophia. They came to a clearing and saw a lone farmhouse the looked abandoned. "She could be in there." Kenzi mused, taking a few steps forward.
Daryl grabbed her wrist, halting her. "A whole bunch of things could be in there." he warned, removing his crossbow from his back, loading a bolt. "Stay close and quiet." Kenzi nodded, unsheathing her blade.
They approached the house and kicked open the front doors, Daryl facing the left and Kenzi the right, their weapons up and ready. Daryl checked the first floor while Kenzi headed up to the second, the stairs creaking under her weight. The lower level was pretty much vacant. An ajar door in the kitchen was enough to raise Daryl's guard. He held his crossbow in front of his face, carefully pushing the door open. Nothing was in there except a small makeshift bed.
Upstairs, Kenzi had a bit better luck. She shoved sheets and blankets into her backpack, packing them in as tight as she could. She looked around the room, looking for anything else she could use, finding nothing. Kenzi walked out of the bedroom and saw Daryl waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, "Find anything?" she asked, leaning against the railing.
"Just a little bed in the cupboard, over in there." Daryl motioned to the kitchen. "What about you?"
"I found some blankets." Kenzi took a few more steps down, her foot finding a week spot in the wood. With a yelp, she fell forward right into Daryl, her leg twisting and a splintering piece of wood cutting through the fabric of her jeans. Blood trickled from the cut, and Kenzi's ankle throbbed. "Great." she sighed, gripping the fabric of Daryl's shirt.
Daryl eased her from the stairs and helped her sit on the last step. "Let's take a look at it." he rolled up the pant leg, seeing the deep and bloodied cut. "Yeah, your doctor friend might need to stitch that up."
Kenzi sighed, "Great." she shook her head, wiggling her foot and letting out a hiss.
"Stay here, I'll get something to wrap it." Daryl went into the kitchen and found an old dishrag and knelt in front of Kenzi, wrapping her leg as tight as he could to stotch the bleeding.
Kenzi watched Daryl as he wrapped her injured leg, "Thanks." she licked her lips and lifted herself up, favoring her right leg. "This is gonna be a real bitch to walk on back to the farm."
Daryl held his hand out, helping Kenzi to her feet. "I'll get ya back there, better get that leg checked out as soon as possible."
"Lauren's gonna give me hell for this, I just know it." Kenzi groaned, limping out of the farmhouse. She carefully walked down the front steps, stopping when her leg throbbed. Daryl stood beside her, slinging his crossbow across his chest. Kenzi sighed and straightened up, ignoring the pain in her leg. Her eyes found a patch of white flowers, "Wow, those are beautiful." she gaped.
"The Cherokee Rose." Daryl told her. They walked over to the patch, "Georgia state flower."
Kenzi nodded, leaning down and examining one, setting her backpack by her feet. She closed her eyes and sniffed, her lips forming a smile. "They're gorgeous." Kenzi looked up at Daryl, still smiling. "You were born and raised here, tell me about them."
Daryl scratched the side of his nose, cutting one free and holding it for Kenzi to get a better view. "The story goes that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the trail of tears the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation." Daryl explained, glancing at Kenzi out of the corner of his eye,"So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose-" he tilted it for Kenzi to see, "-started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell."
"Like a symbol of hope for a better life?" Kenzi questioned.
Daryl nodded, placing the flower in Kenzi's hands. "You said the other night that you miss your sister." he bit the inside of his cheek. "Take this as a sign you'll see her again, someday."
Kenzi looked up into his stormy blue eyes, before looking back at the flower in her hands. "That's beautiful." she smiled, tucking the flower behind her ear. "How does it look?" Kenzi turned to Daryl, giving him a smile.
He nodded his head, muttering something under his breath before cutting another flower from the patch and putting it in the pocket of his pants. "We should be gettin back, it'll be dark before too long."
Kenzi looked down at her wrapped leg, "With the way I hobble with this, we won't make it to farm until dark." she shook her head.
"Here." Daryl wrapped one of his arms around her lower back, earning a confused look from Kenzi. With barely any effort, he scooped her up and cradled her. "This'll be faster."
Kenzi wrapped her arms around his neck, holding herself up. "Give a girl a little warning next time." she chuckled, looking up at him. "You know from this angle, you're very attractive." she giggled. Daryl scoffed and lung the backpack strap over his shoulder.
Unlike before, the walk back to the farmhouse had a bit more conversation, with both Daryl and Kenzi trading stories of what they did before the walker outbreak. The farm came into view and Daryl carried Kenzi to the tent she was sharing with Lauren.
"What happened?" Lauren gasped when she saw the blood-stained cloth around Kenzi's leg.
"I lost a fight with a stupid stair." Kenzi brushed off, Daryl setting her on her feet. She smiled up at the archer, keeping her hand around his forearm, "Thanks Daryl."
Daryl gave both women a nod before leaving the tent. Kenzi limped over to her cot and took the cloth off, showing Lauren the wound. "I told you to be careful." Lauren reminded.
"Well how was I supposed to know the stair would give out?" Kenzi defended, taking off her combat boots.
Lauren just shook her head, pulling out the necessary supplies to stitch up wounds. "Patrica gave me some supplies, dividing it up evenly as she could." she informed, cleaning the young girl's leg.
"That's great." Kenzi winced, fisting the blanket on her cot when Lauren started stitching.
After about ten minutes, the wound on her leg was stitched and covered. "You'll need to stay off that leg for a few days, let the stitches set." Lauren informed as her and Kenzi were getting ready for bed.
"Great, looks like I'm stuck on laundry duty." Kenzi groaned, climbing under the blankets. "Wonderful."
"You'll live." Lauren chuckled, turning off the lantern in between their cots. "Night Kenzi."
"Night Lauren." Kenzi replied, looking at the Cherokee Rose that Daryl gave her. She smiled and set it over the picture of her and Bo, believing that she would see her big sister again, someday.
