A/N: So this chapter is another filler. I'm really excited about the next few chapters though because I'm really going to be able to have some fun with the characters and create some tension. As always, please leave a review telling me what you think!
~A.S.D
The morning sun spilled down on me, causing me to jolt awake. I stretched, my back and neck stiff from sleeping in the car all night. Shane wasn't in the car so I figured he must have left during the night to keep watch. I climbed out and walked over to the RV where everyone was huddled together.
"Morning Addie," Shane said and I waved sleepily.
"We all go out, then. We can cover more ground that way," Rick said, obviously talking about the search for Sophia.
Shane and Daryl nodded and Rick walked over to where everyone else was sitting.
"Dale, you and T-Dog stay here and work on the RV. Everyone else, get ready to head out to search. Everyone gets a weapon," Rick said, rolling out the axes, wrenches, and crowbars Carl had found in one of the cars yesterday.
"These aren't the weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea asked. There had been a big scene yesterday between her and Dale because he had taken her gun after her stunt at the CDC.
"We've been over this, Daryl, Rick, Addie, and I are carrying. We can't have someone popping off rounds every time a tree rustles," Shane said. I knew he'd had to fight with Rick about letting me carry a gun, but I would have anyway and he knew it, so conceded.
"It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea countered.
"Say someone fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. Then it's game over for all of us, so you need to get over it," Shane said and she was quiet.
"The plan is to follow the creek up about five miles. Chances are she'll be by the creek, it's her only landmark," Daryl said, being put in charge of the search since he was the best at tracking.
"Alright everyone, assemble your packs," Rick said and we sat out to pack our bags. I walked over to where the weapons were on the ground and picked up a wicked looking curved tool. It was stainless steel and had a sharp point at the end; I smiled at it and put it in my waistband. I was walking to get some water when I heard yelling.
Andrea was practically yelling at Dale about him taking her gun and coaxing her out of that building. The rest of us were trying not to listen, but it was hard not to. Andrea finished her rant and walked away from the old man, putting things in her bag. Carl walked over to where we were gathering and I looked at Rick.
"He's coming with us," he said after seeing the question on my face. I didn't even bother to argue. If he wanted to get his son killed that was on him. We trudged through the woods quietly, fanning out some but always staying in each other's sight. Shane and I stayed in the back while Rick and Daryl led the way. Carl was right in front of me and he was hanging back, trying to talk to Shane about something.
"Keep quiet. We're looking for Sophia," Shane snapped and I looked at him questioningly. Lori grabbed Carl around the shoulders and pulled him forward with her.
"What was that about?" I asked Shane once I thought they were out of earshot.
"Nothing, Lori told me to stay away from her family, so now I am," his face was stony but his eyes were full of pain.
"Bitch," I murmured and that earned me a small smile. We kept going until the front of the group slowed down. I craned my neck and saw a yellow tent sitting a few yards away.
"She could be in there," Shane said and I nodded. If Sophia had come across the tent and thought it was safe, she may have stayed there. It offered some shelter from the cool nights.
"Could be a whole bunch of things in there," Daryl said and started walking forward, knife ready in his hand. He walked around the tent a couple times, trying to peer into it without opening it up.
"Carol," Rick whispered and she stepped forward. "Call out softly. If she's in there your voice is the first one she needs to hear," he told her and she took a couple more steps towards the tent.
"Sophia. Sophia it's mommy. We're all here, sweetie," she called, tears in her voice.
Rick, Shane, and I stepped up to the tent with Daryl. He unzipped it slowly and yanked the flap open. I gagged immediately, the stench of death flooding out of the tent. All of us close enough to the tent were coughing and gagging as Daryl stepped inside, the flap closing behind him. I stepped off to the side and got sick, the smell turning my empty stomach.
"Daryl?" Carol called out after a minute with no sound from the tent.
"It a'int her," he said and stepped out. There were mixed reactions throughout the group, the main one worry.
"What's in there?" I asked, walking back over to everyone else.
"Some guy. Did what Jenner said, opted out. A'int that what he called it?" Daryl asked and we all looked at the ground. Out of nowhere, a loud ringing noise sang through the woods. It sounded like church bells and we all ran towards the sound. It stopped after a moment and we were trying to determine which way to go.
"What direction?" Glenn asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's this way," Rick said pointing off to our left.
"Damn. It sure it hard to tell out here," Shane said, looking around the woods.
"If we heard them then maybe Sophia did too," Carol said and that was a valid point.
"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others," Andrea said as we started running the way Rick had indicated.
"Maybe signaling they found her," Carol said, always hopeful.
"She could be ringing them herself," Rick called back. We broke through the trees a few minutes later at a small white church.
"This can't be it. It had no steeple, no bells," Shane said. I looked up at the building and noticed he was right. But what were the chances that there would be two churches in the middle of the woods? Rick was walking forward anyway and Shane called after him. He started sprinting across the graveyard and we all went after him. Shane, Daryl, and I were the first ones to reach it after Rick and he had his hand of the door, ready to rip it open. Daryl raised his crossbow and Shane and I had hands on our guns, just in case there was no other option.
The door swung open and there were three people sitting in the pews of the church. They turned around at the sound of the doors creaking, and growled at us. Walkers. I pulled my new weapon out of my waistband and so did everyone else. The four of us on the steps went inside. I walked around the pews to the walker who was closest to the front of the church. I gripped the tool tightly and smashed it into his head. Blood gushed out, getting on my clothes. Once he had collapsed to the floor, I knelt over him and hit him twice more, just to make sure. When I looked up, Shane and Daryl were taking care of the other two walkers.
"Sophia!" Daryl yelled out loudly, making me cringe.
"Yo, J.C., you taking requests?" he asked, looking at the carving of Jesus hanging on the cross. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to call up a good memory to keep me moving. I thought about Shane and my vacation to the mountains when I was sixteen. He'd driven all the way to North Carolina on a whim to show me the mountains. We got there, had no place to stay and no money anyways. He set us up a tent in a park somewhere and we laid out there all night, trying to count stars until we fell asleep laughing at ourselves.
"I'm telling you Rick, it's the wrong church. There's no bells and no steeple," Shane said, just as the bells started ringing again. Daryl flew out the door, running around the side of the church with us on his heels. There was a speaker mounted to the wall and the sound was playing from it. Glenn ripped open the box underneath it and pulled a plug out, making the bells stop.
"A timer. It's on a timer," Daryl said.
"I'm gonna go back in for a while," Carol said, looking shaky and walked back into the church. Daryl, Rick, Carl, and I followed her in, hanging on the back wall while she went to the altar.
"You okay? You look kinda pale," Daryl whispered to me.
"I'm fine. Just been a long day, hell a long week," I said, laughing with no humor. He smiled crookedly and shifted the crossbow onto his other shoulder.
"What about you? I saw the way you looked when you realized she wasn't here. You really care about finding her, don't you?" I asked. Daryl Dixon was an expert at hiding emotions, but I was an expert in reading them. Lori walked in then, walking pass us and sitting behind Carol.
Daryl just looked at me, but that look was the answer I needed. It was full of compassion, something you normally didn't see from him. I nodded at him, letting him know his secret was safe with me. He didn't want people to see that side of him, that softness that I could tell was right under the rough surface. Carol finished praying and Lori hugged her and they walked out. We followed behind them and stepped back into the bright sun that was setting much too quickly. Rick walked over to where Shane was standing and they talked things over. I took a water bottle from my bag and drank some, feeling drained from the sun and stress of another day in the woods. Shane walked over a minute later.
"Y'all going to follow the creek bed back, Daryl you're in charge. Rick and I are gonna hang back for a little while, search this area for another hour or so, just to be thorough.
"You're splitting us up? You sure?" Daryl asked him.
"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."
"I want to stay too," Carl said from his spot next to Lori. "I'm her friend." Rick, Shane, and Lori all looked at each other.
"Just be careful, okay," Lori said finally and gave him a hug. She hugged Rick too and he told her he wouldn't be long. Rick pulled his gun out of its holster and extended it to her.
"Take it. You remember how to use it?" he asked her.
"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unprotected," she said exasperated.
"Here, I got a spare, take it," Daryl said, handing her a small revolver. I saw Andrea roll her eyes and groan but ignored her.
We trudged across the grounds and back into the trees, Daryl and I in front with Lori and Andrea bringing up the rear.
"Do you see any tracks?" I whispered to Daryl, not wanting to get Carol's hopes up.
"No, but I don't think she came this far into the woods. When we lost the trail last night, it looked like she was heading to another section of the highway," He said, scanning his surroundings for any signs of the little girl.
"So this is the whole plan?" Carol asked, sitting on an overturned log.
"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups," Daryl said, stopping since everyone else had and leaning up against a tree.
"Carrying pointy sticks and knives," Andrea retorted. "I see you have a gun," She said to Lori.
"Why, you want it? Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me. All of you," Lori said, handing her the gun and sitting next to Carol.
"Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through, and I would do anything to stop it. But you have to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him. When Sophia ran, he didn't hesitate did he? No. Not for a second. I don't think any of us would have went after her the way he did or made the hard decisions he had to make or that anyone could have done it any better. Anybody?" she asked and I was trying not to laugh at her.
"Well, none of us could have done much worse," I said and started walking again. I saw Andrea hand Lori her gun back though and they all started moving again, Daryl coming up beside me.
"I think you just ruined her 'my husband is a perfect hero' speech," Daryl whispered and I smiled.
"I try," I said and that earned me a smile. We walked in silence for a few more minutes, then a gunshot rang out in the air. It was nearby, but not in our general proximity. My heart clinched as I thought of what that could mean. In this world, that could have just sealed our fate.