Chapter 11
~Charlotte~
The sun was almost setting, we've been here for ages now and Rick and Daryl were still looking for Sophia. It's gonna get dark soon, everyone was together handing in the supplies that we found. Dale is still fixing the RV with Glenn, Andrea is with Carol, presumably trying to comfort her, T-Dog has his arm slightly patched up, but it still needs to be looked at and Shane is looking at all the supplies that we have.
I have nothing to so I decide to walk over to Carl.
"How's it going, little man?" I ask him.
"Good. Just wish we find Sophia." He says sadly.
"So do I. We will, so don't worry." I tell him.
He smiles up at me.
"Where's my gun?" Andrea has made her way over to Dale, leaving Carol who stands by waiting for Rick and Daryl to come back with her daughter. "You have no right to take it."
"You don't need that just now, do you?" Dale asks.
"My father gave it to me. It's mine."
"I can hold onto it for you."
"Or you can just give it back to me."
Shane makes his way over to Andrea and Dale, hearing the problem going on next to him.
"Everything cool?" He asks.
"No, I want my gun back." Andrea snaps.
"I don't thing it's a good idea right now." Dale tells Shane.
I can tell why. Like Glenn with me he is worried that Andrea is going to commit suicide.
"Why not?" Shane questions.
"I'm not comfortable with it."
Andrea scoffs at the comment.
"The truth is, less guns we have floating around camp, the better." Shane tells Andrea.
"You turning over your weapon?"
Shane chuckles. "No. But I'm trained in its use. That's what the rest of y'all need is proper training. But until that time I think it's best if Dale keeps them all accounted for."
"Mmm-hmm." Andrea then walks away from the two men, rolling her eyes.
"Mind telling me what that's abour?" Shane asks Dale as Glenn comes over with a red basket full of food.
As Glenn stands next to me I look over into the woods and see the two men back from their search. Glenn notices this too.
"Oh God. They're back." he says, placing the red basket down by his feet.
"You didn't find her?" Carol asks as they walk up to her, sadness and disappointment in her voice.
"Her trail went cold." Rick states. His shirt is covered in blood and dirt. "We'll pick it up again at first light."
Everyone runs to them, listening to what is being said.
"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own," Carol replies. "to spend the night in the woods."
"Out in the dark's no good." Daryl speaks up. "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost."
"But, she's twelve. She can't be out there on her own." Carol says, tears in her eyes. "You didn't find anything?"
"I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." Rick trues to calm her down.
"And we tracked her for a while." Daryl says.
"We have to make this an organised effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."
"Is that blood." Carol asks, staring at Daryl's pants.
"We took down a walker." Rick tells her.
"Walker?" She says softly. "Oh, my God."
"There was no sign it was ever near Sophia."
"How can you know that?" Andrea asks.
Rick looks over at Daryl, waiting for him to explain. Everyone waits for one of them to speak up.
"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure." Daryl tells us.
I groan at the image of the two men tearing open a walker's stomach, analysing what it's eaten and if they find any young girl's body parts in it.
"Oh God." Carol starts to look ill and sits down on the ground. Lori makes her way to her and sits down next to her, comforting the mother. "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?"
"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance." Rick tells the angry Carol. Lori rests a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"Sounds like the didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane tells her.
"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own?" Carol asks. "She's just a child. She's just a child."
My heart aches at the sight of the sad mother who has just lost her child, not knowing if she is dead or alive.
"It was my only option. The only choice I could make." Rick says, his voice shaking.
"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane says.
"My little girl got left in the woods." Carol sobs.
Rick looks at all of us, not knowing what to say. No one says anything. Carl looks upset, staring at Carol who is crying her eyes out and all I can think about is the girl I read to last night and how scared she must be.
Andrea sits down next to Carol and like Lori, she is doing her best to comfort the woman. Rick walks off, leaving the rest of the group. And I continue to stare at the broken down Carol as she cries.
We all managed to sleep throughout the night without any disturbances. In the morning everyone was woken up to go through the plan.
"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick tells us, rolling out an arsenal of weapons, the ones that Carl found yesterday. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, completely tired. I was the last one to be woken up and only opened my eyes two minutes ago. My hair was a mess and my eyes were threatening to close. I didn't wake up at all during the night. As soon as I closed my eyes I went to sleep.
"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the nguns?" Andrea questions.
I am glad that they are not guns as I am not the best at shooting.
"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles." Shane explains. I lean on the RV, for support as I feel like I might fall and hurt myself.
"It's not the tress I am worried about." Andrea remarks.
"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a heard happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it."
"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles," Daryl explains. "turn around and come back down the other side." As he is speaking I stare at Glenn, admiring all the differnt weapons in store for us. I like my new knife that I have in my pocket, I feel like I don't need any of those. "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."
"Stay quiet and stay sharp." Rick tells us. "Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other."
"Everybody assemble your packs." Shane tells us.
I walk over to Glenn who is still picking out his weapon. "Decided what you want?" I ask sleepily.
"Yeah, I like this one." He says, holding a machete. "What you gonna pick?"
I take out the pocket knife and whip out the long metal blade. "I'll get exhausted carrying around on of those. If it plant one in a walkers head, it'll be hard for me to take it out. With this I can stab it in a walkers head and pull it out fast." I explain, putting the knife back in my pocket.
"It's nice." he says, chuckling at the end.
"I'm gonna get some water. I'm thirsty." I tell him.
"I'll get it." He walks off to the car that has our supplies next to it and hands me a bottle of water.
"Thanks. I am exhausted." I say before taking a gulp full of water. I screw the lid back on and look over at Dale and Andrea, having the arguement about her gun once more. In fact, everyone is looking at them.
"If I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now. So, would Charlie. I saved both of you." Dale says, turning round to face me for a brief moment.
"Don't bring me into this." I tell Dale. "I don't want to be a part of this argument, so please dale, just don't" I shake my head and look at the ground.
"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay." Andrea snaps.
"You chose suicide." Dale snaps back.
"So what's that to you? You barely know me."
"I know Amy's death devastated you."
"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy. This is about us. And if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that?"
"I save your life."
"No, Dale. I saved yours. You firced that on me. You forced that on Charlie. I didn't want your blood on my hands and I am pretty sure she felt the same way. That is the only reason I left that building."
I sighed at the mention of my name. I didn't want to be mentioned again, I didn't want to hear them talking about my stupid mistake.
"What did you expect? What, I'd have some kind of epiphany? Some life-affirming catharsis?"
"Maybe just a little gratitude."
"Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice. You took that away from me, Dale."
"But..."
"But you know better?" Andrea shakes her head. "All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless horrific nightmare we live everyday. I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale. And you expect gratitude?" I see the tears in her eyes as she looks up at Dale.
"I don't know what to say."
"I'm not your little girl. I'm not your wife. And I am sure as hell not your problem. That's all there is to say."
And with that, Andrea walks away from Dale. Everyone follows her, I swing my rucksack on my shoulders and walk behind everyone else so we can start our search whilst Dale and T-Dog stay with the RV.
~
No one says a word in the forest. I walk behind Carol and in front of Glenn, my hand resting on my pocket, ready to retrieve my knife at any attackers. Daryl leads the group, being the hunter. He has his crossbow in his hands, prepared to shoot at anything that comes.
After ages of walking we slowly come to a stop. I can see why. Hiding behind some trees is a worn out tent, Daryl makes the hand gesture for us all to get down and we obey. One by one everyone crouches.
"She could be in there." Daryl whispers."Could be a whole bunch of things in there."
Everyone slowly stands back up again as Daryl cautiously makes his way over to the tent, aiming his crossbow at it. Everyone satsy back whilst Daryl, Rick and Shane go over there with their guns.
I can barely see them as the tress are in the way,
"Carol." We hear Rick whisper. Carol makes her way over there and everyone slowly follows.
"Call out softly." Rick tells her."If she is in there, yours is the first voice she should hear.
"Sophia, sweetie," she calls out. "Are you in there?"
Daryl has his knife out, ready to open the tent and kill anything in there that isn't Sophia.
"Sophia, it's Mommy." My heart starts racig faster. She can't be in there. She would of come out by now. "Sophia. We're all here, baby." She calls out a little louder. "It's Mommy."
Rick leaves Carol's side and goes next to Daryl. Daryl. daryl slowly opens up the tent and Rick prepares to shoot anything that attacks him. Nothing. Daryl walks in the tent and starts coughing. Shane and Rick who are outside the temt also start coughing and I can tell that whatever is in there is dead and has been for a long time.
"Daryl?"
"It ain't her." he says as he walks out of the tent.
"What's in there?" I ask quietly.
"Some guy. Done what jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"
At that moment we all hear something in the distance. A chiming noise. Like a bell.
We all start running towards it, Rick leading us.
"What direction?" Shane asks.
"I think that way. I'm pretty sure." Rick says, pointing towards the source of the noise.
"Damn, it's hard to tell out here."
"Wait, if we heard them, then maybe Sophia does too." Carol says hopefully.
"Yeah and so will the walkers." I say.
"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others." Glenn tells us.
"Or signalling that they found her." Andrea adds.
"She could be ringing them herself. Come on." Rick says, sprinting off in the direction.
After a couple minutes of sprinting we all see a white church and I groan. I've never been one with religion, I don't have any beliefs at all.
"That can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells." Shane says.
Rick then starts moving towards it. The ringing stopped not too long ago, hopefully it will start again so we know for sure. We all run through the cemetary then run to the front doors of the church, jumping up the stairs. We all stop at the doors and Rick and Daryl stand by to breach. They slowly open the doors to reveal the inside of the church. I immediately see Jesus, nailed to the cross and three walkers sitting down in the pews of the church.
As the doors shut, the walkers turn to us. No Sophia. We all attack the walkers before they could get to us, Rick plunges his weapon into a walkers head, Shane stabs one in the eye and Darylhits one across the face with his blade.
"Sophia!" Rick calls out for the little girl. I step inside the church. I've only been in a church once and that was when I was really young. I have no idea why I was there, but my parents brought me to the church.
"Yo, J.C." I hear Daryl say to the crucified Jesus. "You taking requests?"
"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick. There's no steeple." Shane tells Rick once more.
Just at that moment, the bells start ringing again. Not in the distance. This is the church. Everyone runs outside and runs around the church. We all see a speaker and Glenn turns it off from the box that it was connected to.
"A timer." Daryl pants. "It's on a timer."
"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol says sadly, making her way up the stairs and into the church.
Everyone makes their way into the church, except for Shane, Lori and Andrea. I go into the church as well and lie down on one of the rows of seats. I put my rucksack on the seat and use it as a pillow. I'm tired from all the walking. I want to find Sophia, but I just want to lie down. I look up at the ceiling of the church and slowly close my eyes.
"Father, forgive me." I hear someone say. "I don't deserve your mercy." I can tell that it is Carol. "I prayed for safe passage from Atlanta and you provided. I prayed for Ed to be punished for laying his hands on me and for looking at his own daughter with whatever sickness was growing in his soul. 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 hasnt had a chance. Praying for Ed's death was a sin. Please don't let this be my punishment. Let her be safe, alive and safe. Please, Lord. Punish me however you want, but show mercy on her."
I didn't realise that I was crying until I felt a tear run past my ear. I slowly sat up and wipped them away.
At that moment I get up from the seat and put my rucksack on my shoulders and head out of the church. I see all the gravestones, some old some new. I walk to them, reading all of them. Reading their names and how old they were when they died. Ten minutes pass of me reading all the graves when I stop at a very small one, a teddy bear rests on the stone. Her name was Amber Lee, was one year old when she died.
"Hey." I hear someone call out to me. I turn and see Glenn.
"Hi." I say, and look back at the grave. "This grave is too small." I tell him sadly as he gets closer.
"Yeah, at least they didn't have to grow up in this world."
"My friend had a sister." I tell him, as the memories start to flood through my head. "She should be three years old now. Last time I saw her she was still alive. I hope she still is, but too grow up in this world. It's cruel." I look back at him then the church. "I don't believe in God. And I feel like our current situation just proves that he doesn't exist."
I look back at Glenn who doesn't say anything.
"I mean, I'd like to believe in a heaven. To believe that people go to a better place when they die. But I can't." I tell him.
We spend ages at the church, everyone is all grouped together, waiting to finally go.
Rick and Shane were discussing some things that I cannot hear, but after a while Shane comes to us.
"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? 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? You sure?" Daryl asks.
"Yeah, we'll catch up to you." Shane replies.
"I want to stay too." Carl speaks up. "I'm her friend."
Rick and Shane look at each other, deciding what to do.
"Just be careful, okay?" Lori says.
"I will." Carl says back.
"When did you start growing up?" Lori says, hugging Carl.
Rick walks over to them and kisses Lori. "I'll be along soon enough. Here, take this." he says, handing her a gun. "Remember how to use it?"
"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed." Lori tells him.
"Here, I got a spare. Take it." Daryl says, handing Lori a revolver.
I can hear Andrea sigh and I roll my eyes. We all split up, Rick, Shane and Carl heading off in one direction and the rest of us in the other.
I walk at the back of the group, my knife in my hands. I don't say a word to anyone. Stepping over logs and snapping twigs and crunching leaves.
"This is the whole plan?" Carol asks, sitting down on a log. We all stop and look at her.
"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups." Daryl explains.
"Carrying knives and pointy sticks." Andrea says. What is her problem? Calm down with the no gun thing. "I see you have a gun." She says to Lori.
"Why, you want it?" Lori asks her. "Here, take it." Holding the gun out to her. "I'm sick of the looks you're giving me."
Andrea then takes the gun and roll her eyes as Lori walks away.
"All of you." Lori says, sitting down on a log. "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. It is in your face every time you look at him. When Sophia ran he didn't hesitate, did he. Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gona after her the way he did or made the hard decisions that he had to make pr that anybody could have done it any differently. Anybody?" Lori questions, looking around at all of us. "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." She then stops to take a drink from her water.
Andrea then walks over to Lori and hands her over the gun.
"We should keep moving." Andrea says. Lori gets up from the log and so does Carol and we all keep on moving.
Minutes pass and I continue to walk at the back of the group. I then start to speed up to catch up with Carol as I want to speak to her.
"Hey." I whisper.
"Hi, Charlotte. Everything okay?" She asks me.
"Yeah, everything is good, I just want you to know, that we will find Sophia. I have no doubt about it. It will happen, so don't think that we won't." I tell her. She smiles at me. "I heard what you said at the church. God, has no reason to punish you. He will guide Sophia through this. Don't think for a moment that we will not find her."
"Thank you." She whispers. I smile at her, but the smile is broken by a gun shot.
"Was that I gunshot?" I ask, making sure that I am correct.
"Yeah." Daryl says.
"Why was there only one?" Lori asks.
"It probably wasn't them." I told Lori.
"Yeah. Yeah, okay."
Haven't written in ages. I just sort of lost interest in this story, thought it wasn't doing good, but a couple days ago I said, "Fuck it." And started writing again.
Do you think it's doing good? It'll be awesome if you'd write a review and and followed this story. I promise that there will be more.