Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.
Her Angel, His Strength
8 Bloodletting
Lori was worried; stopping every two minutes to look in the direction they heard the gunshot.
"Why one? Why just one gunshot?"
"Maybe they took down a walker."
"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly." Lily agreed, considering Shane's lecture in the morning to Andrea, about how a gunshot in the wrong moment could attract a herd. She motioned for them to keep walking; there was nothing to do about that.
"I'm sorry for what you're going through." Andrea said approaching Carol. "I know how you feel."
"I suppose you do… Thank you. The thought of her, out here by herself... It's the not knowing that's killin' me. I just keep hopin' and prayin' she doesn't wind up like Amy." Carol, realising what she had said, gasped. "Oh, God! That's the worst thing I ever said."
"We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."
"I'll tell ya what it's worth." Daryl snarled coming closer to then. "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 started to walk away. "Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord." Lily looked at Glenn and the two of them shared a smile.
After a while, Lily knew they should head back. They were starting to lose day light.
"Let's head back."
"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asked.
"Yeah, we'll find her tomorrow." Lori answered her, and they all kept walking. Lily still tried to keep an eye out for Sophia, though she figured if the girl was around, she'd hear them talking.
"How much farther?"
"Not much... Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies."
"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea said.
Lily hadn't realised Andrea was not with them anymore until she heard her scream. Rushing towards her, they saw a walker on top of Andrea, whose terrified kicks made difficult for them to shoot at the walker, until a woman on a horse came up at them, tackling the walker down with a baseball bat.
"Lori? Lori Grimes?" The woman asked looking at Andrea.
"I'm Lori."
"Rick sent me. You've got to come now."
"What?"
"There's been an accident- Carl's been shot. He's still alive but you've gotta come now. Rick needs you." When Lori hesitated, taking in what the woman said, she snarled. "Just come!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse." Daryl said marching forward towards Lori, who was already on the back of the animal.
"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?"
"Uh-huh." Glenn muttered, still shocked by her sudden appearance.
"Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox- name's Greene. Hi-yah!" With that, she was gone.
Their walk back to the highway was made in silence. Lily's head was spinning, why was Carl shot? Who would shoot a small boy like that? It was not as if they did not have enough on their plate, with Sophia missing. It seemed so unfair for those kind of things to happen to the children of the group.
"Shot? What do ya mean shot?" Dale asked when they returned and he didn't see the rest of the group with them
"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Glenn said.
"You let her?"
"Climb down out of my asshole, man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's." Daryl answered.
"Do you think we should go after them? Head towards the farm?" Lily asked when Andrea came back from the RV after washing up.
"I won't do it. We can't just leave." Carol answered her.
"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak."
"What if she comes back and we're not here? It could happen." Lily hadn't thought about that. She nodded, biting her lip. It was a slim chance, but Sophia could come back to them.
"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful."
"Okay. We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough ta pull up stakes. Give us a chance ta rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV." Daryl said, and Lily smiled at him. For his entire tough act, he had a golden heart.
"If the RV is stayin', I am too." Dale said.
"Thank you. Thank you both." Carol smiled.
"I'm in." Lily nodded her stay too after Andrea.
"Well, if you're all staying then I'm-"
"Not you, Glenn. You're going. Take- take Carol's Cherokee." Dale said firmly.
"Me? Why is it always me?" Glenn wined and Lily smiled with her head down.
"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on. But most important, you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke." Lily looked up, seeing T-Dog's shrunken form by the RV, a blanket covering his torso. Daryl waked away towards his bike just as Lily made her way to T-Dog.
"Why'd ya wait till now ta say anythin'? Got my brother's stash. Crystal, x… Don't need that. Got some kick ass painkillers. Doxycycline. Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion." Daryl said, and she looked up at him, with a grimace. Was it necessary to announce that in front of everyone? At least they had medicine now. T-Dog would be fine.
Lily hoped the same could be said about Carl and Sophia.
jeanf, well, I can't really tell you that, now can I? You'll find out soon enough. Thank you for all this amazing support you've been giving me!
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English is not my mother tongue, if you find a mistake, please let me know.
Thank you,
Mel.
