The next morning once everyone was awake Rick called a meeting. "We are going to search for Sofia, and we thought that more eyes would be better. Daryl, you should explain the rest." He said stepping back to the semi-circle, giving over the podium to the best tracker. Daryl took a deep breath and looked at the ground pulling together his focus. "We're goin' to follow the river go down and come back up, both sides." He spit out. Zoey watched as her brother glanced around waiting for someone to object. Once Rick saw that no one spoke up he took that chance to do so.
"We will be in two groups, one going down the side that we found her trail on and one the other. Just in case she crossed over at any point. Lori, Carol, Glenn and Daryl will go down the side with her trail. Myself, Shane, and Zoey will go down the other." Daryl's eyes popped up and so did his posture.
"Zoey, aint going anywhere she is going to stay here." He growled crossing his arms and glaring with meaning at Rick. The older man pressed his fingers into his eyes. "You said yourself that she knows how to follow tracks. We need both of you out there if we are going to find her." Rick explained hoping Daryl would calm down enough to listen to reason.
Daryl's response was to fling his arms in the air and walk away in frustration. Zoey smiled sadly, as much as she wanted to go she understood what her manically overprotective brother was trying to accomplish. After taking a deep breath she walked towards where her brother had disappeared at. Walking around a bent up minivan she found him with a cigarette in his mouth. He was leaning against the broken fender fidgeting with his crossbow. Zoey plopped down next to him and grabbed the pack that she had found out of his shirt and frowned at him.
Placing the pack in her lap she signed, 'you're a big smoke thief you know that.' She smiled at him hoping that he would look directly at her instead of the corner of his eyes. It took a moment but when Daryl did he didn't look happy. 'I don't think you need to go out there' he signed angrily. 'You are not going.' He signed with the finality of his statement sinking in. Zoey smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes, 'unless you are going to take over Merle's I am a big macho man who don't need my sister's help, then yes I am going. Besides I am worried about her too.'
Daryl glared for a moment before replying out loud. "I aint worried about anyone, 'cept you. You trip over your own feet half the time, walker could get your skinny ass." Zoey turned in a circle with a smile on her face as she walked back to the group. Collecting her bow and what little arrows she had left as well as strapping the pistol she had found to her hip.
When she reached the group, bow in hand she stood and waited for Daryl to catch up. When she pulled out the pack she had stolen back from her brother and lit one up she caught Shane staring at her. He wasn't even looking at her face either, but her lower region, she couldn't tell what. Feeling very uncomfortable she moved around the group slowly smoking the cigarette, but his gaze never fell away from her. When Andrea spoke up she figured out what he was looking at. "Why does she get a gun and I am not allowed to have one." Zoey rolled her eyes and shifted her weight onto one foot.
Rick frowned at both women. "What?" he asked confusion leaking into his voice. "Look at her belt Rick." Andrea said flinging her hand around in Zoey's direction. This made Zoey very uncomfortable so she took a step back. The red head looked at Rick and back to Andrea, but Shane was the one to step in. "come on Zoey hand it over you know the rules. No one carries but me and Rick." Taking another step back Zoey lifted her head in defiance. The semi-circle slowly turning and focusing on her.
Daryl took that moment to saunter in like he hadn't a care in the world. "What's going on? We movin' yet?" he ask looking slightly confused. Glancing at Zoey then back to everyone else waiting impatiently for an answer. He took an even more studied glance at his sister. Her bow was in her hand and the last few arrows she had for it was in her other. Looking for injuries like he normal did when she looked that tense he took note of a new pistol around her waist. "We goin' to sit here all day or are we gonna find that kid?" he asked gruffly, taking note exactly what everyone was looking at.
"Daryl, where did she get that gun?" Shane popped off letting his irritation radiate. He took that moment to look at the man in the face. "Who cares? I would rather have 'er out there with more than that bow." He took a menacing step towards Shane. "She don't have many more arrows for that thing as is."
With an audible sigh of acceptance Rick finally spoke up. "Shane, let her have the gun. Daryl is right, she may not be able to reach her arrows once she uses them." He looked around pointedly letting his gaze fall on Andrea a moment longer than the others. Zoey perked up with a smug glow in her eyes before turning around, her crimson waves waving behind her, as she headed towards the guard rail. Everyone followed after her without another verbal argument.
Carl took this moment to catch up and grab at his father's hand. "Can I come?" he asked adding to his request his eye became huge mimicking a puppies face. Lori raised her hands when Rick looked at her. "Hey I don't wanna be the bad guy this time." sHe said letting Rick make the decision about their son. A calculating look crossed his face as he studied the boy. With a sigh he announced, "You can come, but you are to stay with me at all times and are not to lag behind." Carl smiled and moved over the railing and trotted along to catch up, making sure he would not be last.
Once they reached the river, they split into the groups that were assigned. They walked at the same pace along the side of the river looking for any sign that Sofia had crossed or back tracked. Following the river down about three miles they all stopped and gathered on the same side of the river to go over where to meet. Considering the brush got in the way of eyesight further down river.
Rick and Shane were in a heated debate a few feet from the group. Zoey was hardly containing her frustration with the arrogant man standing next to Rick. She felt like she could learn to like Rick he was a laid back stable kind of guy. Although this wasn't what she was used to, she could learn to like him. Shane on the other hand was like a loose cannon. He shouted and flung his arms about reminding her much of how her daddy talk to her mom or brothers, and in the end her. Shane was volatile with very little control of his emotions. She could see that, but it seemed that maybe Rick couldn't. Zoey took a deep breath and learned back against the tree she was sitting next to.
With a sudden start, the sound of a church steeple bounced off the trees around them. After another moment it resounded again causing a burst of questions. "Do you think Sofia could be doing that?"
"If she isn't maybe she heard it and could be heading that direction?"
"Maybe they are signaling that they found her."
All these statements blended into the group before they heard it again and with a sudden burst Rick headed in the direction of the bell. Growling Shane followed behind giving everyone the choice to follow. Daryl grabbed her shoulder and pushed her ahead encouraging her to catch up. Zoey took off at an easy lope, gracefully avoiding tree branches and downed logs. Noticing that everyone was gaining ground on her she picked up the pace, pushing her legs to move quicker. Watching the group pile through the brush up ahead she folder her arms defensively against her face and chest. Pulling herself closer to the group she burst through the brush close to the ground the only scratches were on her arms, caused from the sharper sticks scraping against her hands. Not ten seconds after she came through the thicket Daryl clambered through
Taking a deep breath she kept herself low to the ground as she followed after Carol, who was in front of her. Winding through the head stones of the graveyard connected to the small church they didn't see any walkers. Once reaching the church she stood up straight as Rick opened the front doors. Inside was decent size holding about twenty or so pews in total. There looked to be people sitting down waiting, but Zoey could tell by the smell that these weren't people. The door closed with a decided slam, the disguised Walkers all turned on que snarling at their potential food.
Zoey raised her compound bow pulling tension into the string and let it loose into the furthest Walker in the front pew, hitting the male slightly to the left of the center of the forehead. As that Walker fell the group moved as if in sync taking down the other four without much problem. Zoey turned just in time to watch Daryl hit the female in the head with an axe and backing away with his hands in the air, almost like the body touching him would be the worst thing ever. She smiled and clapped her hands gaining her brothers attention. 'You're a pussy!' she signed covering her smile after wards.
Her brother snorted and replied with, 'your one to talk.' With a snort of her own she looked around gaging what everyone was thinking. Taking one last look at the front of the church to the large cross she stepped out the front doors. Taking note of the quietness around her she noticed that Lori had Carl a few steps to the left of the entrance with a guarded look of worry as she looked around. A large bell like noise rang through the air and Glenn took off around the corner looking for the source of the noise most of the group following closely behind him. When she reached the corner of the building Glenn was pulling wires out of a box announcing, "It was a recording." Throwing the cords in his hands onto the ground.
Zoey gritted her teeth, highly annoyed. Sofia was not even close to having been the one who sounded the bells. Much less anyone else for that matter. More likely it was on a timer that set it off when church was to start and end. Kicking the dirt with her boot she walked back over to the steps and took a seat on the bottom, waiting for the group to move to the next place to look.
Rick finally announced that his group, including Zoey herself were to keep looking and Daryl was to take the remaining group back searching along the river again just in case. Once the decision was made everyone departed with sayings of 'be careful and safe'. Carl was even granted the chance to continue on with his father, a smile of utter smugness covered his face as he took his place by Zoey folding his arms and copying her stance. She smiled down at him and place a hand on his head, playfully using him for a hand rest.
Once back into the woods Zoey attempted to keep a close look on the forest floor, hoping to catch something. Rick and Shane talked quietly in the rear as Carl kept pace Zoey mimicking her bent posture hoping to catch sight of what she might see. Zoey saw nothing and was growing even more frustrated as the minutes passed. A soft rusting noise up ahead caused her head to jerk upwards as she scanned the trees ahead. Within moments a buck moved into view. Shane moved up from the back with his shot gun raised. Rick softly whispered for Shane to stop as he watch his son move up in front of them smiling at the deer. Zoey smiled too standing and placing her free hand on her hip as Carl moved a few more steps forward. Keeping her caution in the front of her mind she moved with him slightly making sure to keep a few steps behind the boy as he stared in wonder. He turned back to her smiling, a look of wonder, before he looked back at his dad. Rick nodded and urged him forward again, Zoey even noticed that Shane had a smile plastered on his face.
Carl stood not two feet from the animal when a crack sounded out around them. With horror Zoey watched as the deer and Carl fell like dominos, the deer hitting the ground only seconds before Carl himself. With a gasp of dread Zoey started forwards scanning the woods and even before she could reach the unconscious child Rick was there screaming "no" over and over again. Off in the distance Zoey spotted a heavy set man, who seemed in shock as he slowly lowered his weapon.
From the corner of her eyes she watched the anger snap into rage as Shane moved towards the unsuspecting shooter. Zoey watched in dumb stuck shock as Shane ran up and punched the man and for a second looked as though he wouldn't stop. The stranger groveled and begged explaining that they was a farm not far from there were a man named Hershel could help. Zoey moved over and encouraged Rick to pick up the boy and move. Grabbing ahold of his shirt she pushed him without much encouragement in front of her. She watched him run for only a moment as she eyed the enraged man who had ahold of the unsuspecting shooter and pushing him in front of him. With a cautious gain to her speed she caught up to Rick and stayed right behind him and out of his way. She kept an eye out to the sides making sure dangers were within view just in case.
They ran for what seem like miles. A clearing opened in the trees with a burst of light, causing Zoey to blink for a moment as she blindly ran on a head. They had entered a pasture. In the line of sight was a house and off to the right a large shed and in the background of that a tall older barn stood almost blending into the background of trees. Zoey took note of these buildings and then focused on the house. Old and white, it seemed like a very well kept old plantation house. With Rick screaming for help she burst on ahead, being a lithe runner she opened the gate and with Rick and his ward through she closed it behind her.
A women maybe a little older than her with short brown hair on the porch stood and for a moment looked on at them running, before she turned and yelled into the house. Only a moment later an older man wearing tan pants exited the house, just as Zoey and Rick came to a stop. Out of breath Zoey bent over her knees pulling air deep into her lungs, as Rick explained what had happened. With a flurry of movement Rick was rushed into the house, Zoey stayed outside determined to wait there. With hope this man Hershel could help the little boy she would dare call friend.