Chapter 14
The Turning Point
...
It was a new day, but the light didn't bring them peace. The sun just shone under the ugly pieces the night had left. All of the group had been marked one way or another.
They woke up pretty early. Some of them didn't sleep at all. As soon as there was light Daryl and Rick made a grave. Then, the rest of the group came in.
"Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine... Because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt..." Rick's sincerity hit them all, as the man spoke next to Dale's grave. His voice was charged with regret, sadness but also resolution.
Dale had been buried earlier that day next to Sophia, William and Shawn.
"That kind of honesty is rare and brave," Rick admitted nodding. Barbie couldn't help but looked up at him, remembering Dale's word to her.
"Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us... The truth, Who we really are."
Barbara could help but turned and looked at Daryl on his side, several feet away from them and everybody else. He was looking back at her.
"In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves."
Barbara felt another person looking at her and when she turned she met Blake's eyes. His face was blank, but there was a sadness and acceptance in his eyes.
"And take control of our lives, our safety, our future."
Then she looked at Brett and Ellie. The blonde was hugging her brother and crying silently.
"We're not broken," Rick assured them. "We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on We're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."
Barbara couldn't save Dale, nor her mom nor her dad. But she wouldn't fail again. She would protect her family with her life. They wouldn't be ripped off her life again. Never again. And it was time to listen Dale. Barbie had been running since the world had ended, running from pain, running from happiness, whatever was left of it. She may have not wasted time, but she had wasted opportunities. She was going to fight for what she wanted from now on.
Barbie looked up to Daryl but he wasn't looking at her anymore. He was walking away.
After the funeral, Shane, T-Dog, Daryl and Andrea left on a truck to repair the fallen fence and killed the walkers that had walked into the farm. The rest of the group, started packing the camp.
"It'll be tight, sixteen people in a house," Rick told Hershel, Maggie and Barbie. They were helping the group to take down the camp, and move their things to the house.
Barbie shrugged.
"It's a big house."
Hershel nodded.
"Besides, with the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..."
"And fifty head of cow in the property, we may as well ring out a damn dinner bell," Maggie said.
"She's right," Hershel agreed. "We should've moved you in a while ago," the man admitted, apologetically, glancing at Barbie.
Rick nodded, smiling gratefully.
"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors, facing out toward the road," he told the group as everyone was putting things on backpacks or move bags.
"We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sight lines both sides of the property," he told Shane and Daryl. "T-Dog," Rick called the man who was carrying a bag. "You take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and go."
"What about standing guard?" T-Dog asked.
"I need you and Daryl on double duty. Brett will help you," Rick told him. Daryl turned to him nodded and then walked away.
"Gotcha," T-Dog replied, looking at Brett who nodded at Rick and then at him.
"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be," Hershel informed Rick, while walking to and giving her a cooler. The girl was standing , behind Rick, on the bed of the truck putting everything on a pile.
"We should also started to track and ration the food we have," Barbie suggested grabbing a box Lori handled her. "Make sure we don't run low..." But Daryl handled her another box and the girl lost her train of thought. He didn't look at her. And as soon as she was holding the box he walked away quickly. Barbie sighed and put down the box a little bit rougher than needed.
"What about patrols?" Andrea asked Rick.
"Let's get this area locked down first," he told her and then turned to Shane. "After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose."
"We're back to that now?" Shane asked a bit exasperated, aware that Barbie, Lori and Hershel were standing behind him all paying attention to the exchange.
"It was the right plan first time around. Poor execution," Rick replied.
"That's a slight understatement," Shane said sarcastically.
"You don't agree, but this what's happening," Rick assured him firmly. "Swallow it. Move on."
"You know that Dale's death and the prisoner, that's two separate things, right?" Shane asked Rick on almost a whisper, his voice full of something Barbie didn't like. She pretended to be busy by placing the gas tank Lori passed her safely down but she could sense the tension between both men.
"You wanna take Daryl as your wingman, be my guest," Shane added, bitterly.
"Thank you," Rick said annoyed, walking away.
"You got it," Shane replied loud enough for Rick to hear.
Hershel gave a look at Barbie and the girl nodded lightly. He helped her down the truck and both walked away.
Andrea finished loading up the truck and then hit it so Blake would started it up. She and the rest carried things by foot, except for Daryl who also brought his motorcycle close to the house.
Barbie saw him passing around and couldn't help to smile lightly. And when she turned she saw Elle, looking at her and with a big fat grin.
"Hey, I want you to put in your backpack a couple of cans, clothes, and your personals," Barbara told her sister on a whisper. "Have it ready, day and night, where you can get it easily."
Elle's smile disappeared quickly and she frowned.
"What for?" She asked, a bit worried.
"The farm is not safe anymore. We need to be prepared for the worst," Barbie replied and looked at her sister who had a startled expression. "If we need to run, I wanna make sure we have everything we need."
Despite a sinking feeling in her stomach, Elle nodded at her sister. That was a smart move, and she appreciated Barbie still worrying about her.
After a while, however, her smile returned.
"What is going on with you and Daryl?" Elle asked, always curious about somebody else' relationships.
Barbara turned to her again, and shook her head.
"Nothing."
Elle raised her eyebrows not believing her and Barbie sighed.
"It's my fault," the brunette admitted. "I pushed him away too many times."
"Are you gonna fix it?" Ellie asked her, stopped smiling. She wasn't going to mock her sister.
"If he lets me," Barbie replied honestly.
The smile Elle gave her wasn't sarcastic anymore.
"It was about time."
After he parked his motorcycle in front of the porch, Daryl went up to the roof the shack and started fixing it some holes it had on it. He knew Barbie and Hershel said Randall couldn't move with his busted leg, and the guy was handcuffed and gagged but he didn't want any surprises.
Barbara returned from the house and approached the barn. She raised a hand to cover her eyes from the sun and called him:
"Daryl?"
The man stiffened when he heard her voice but she didn't notice because he was up in the roof. He didn't turn to her and try to keep working with the same rhythm.
"Hum..."
Barbie sighed at his grunt but she didn't expect anything else. She had been an idiot.
"Do you need any help?" She asked.
"I'm good," Daryl grunted, forcing himself to not turn to her.
"Some water maybe?" The girl asked him, her voice clearly disappointed. He didn't bulge though.
"Nah. Thanks."
Barbie sighed again.
"Okay."
And she left him alone. She knew he didn't want to talk to her so she would him space. At least while he was working on the roof. She go back to the house where the group was putting their things inside the house.
She turned to Daryl's motorbike, parked outside with a duffel bag on top of it.
"Rick and Carl and I are taking the corner of the living room," Lori told T-Dog who insisted she shouldn't carry heavy weights, and grabbed the container she had.
"You can put that in my room," Hershel told T-Dog as he opened the front door for him. "You'll be more comfortable there."
But Lori shook her head.
"We can't do that," she told Hershel.
"A pregnant woman and child sleeping on the floor, while I've got a bed to myself?" Hershel said a big indignantly and shook his head.
"This is still your house," Lori reminded him.
"It's our home," Hershel replied with a smile. "I'll take the couch downstairs. On nights when I came home reeking of bourbon, my wife would lock the bedroom door. I'm sad to say that couch and I become old friends," the old man joked.
"Look, if you two can't decide, I'll take it," T-Dog intervened matter-of-factly, walking to them and taking the box out of the truck bed.
Lori smiled and then turned to Hershel.
"Thank you."
"The couch is mine," Hershel yelled after T-Dog who was entering the house.
"It's gonna get real cozy real fast in here," T-Dog replied sarcastically.
Barbie couldn't help but laugh at the interaction and shook her head, walking to Hershel and Lori.
"Actually Brett and Blake offered their room for Lori and Carl," she told both of them. "They're bunking down with the rest of the guys so you can keep your room Hershel."
"Well in that case, I think I may trade the couch rights for some favors," the old man said slyly winking at her.
They chuckled while Hershel walked back into the house.
Lori turned to Barbie and noticed the things she was carrying.
"Is that Daryl's?" She asked, with a rose eyebrow.
Barbara nodded, trying to suppress the heat in her cheeks that was growing, and look nonchalant.
"I'm just putting them inside," she shrugged and couldn't help but glance at the barn where Daryl was working on the roof.
Lori turned to Daryl working on the barn and then to Barbie who was blushing. Lori smiled lightly.
"Give him time. He can be stubborn," she assured the girl.
Barbara nodded and smiled joylessly.
"I know. The problem is that I was even more."
Later that day, Rick approached Daryl. They needed to make plans about how to move Randall out of the farm.
"We'll take him out to Senoia -hour there, hour back-, give or take," Rick told Daryl as both man leaned over a map. "We may lose the light, but we'll be halfway home by then."
"This little pain in the ass will be a distant memory," Daryl said, agreeing, and sat on the porch railing. "Good riddance."
"Carol's putting together some provisions for him, enough to last a few days," Rick told him as he folded the heard a car and when they turned saw Shane driving one of the cars back to the house.
"That thing you did last night..." Rick started, turning to him.
"Ain't no reason you should do all the heavy lifting," Daryl interrupted him and Rick nodded, appreciating it.
"So are you good with all this?" Rick asked him as Shane parked a couple of yards away from of them.
"I don't see you and I trading haymakers on the side of the road," Daryl said matter-of-factly, shrugging. "Nobody'd win that fight."
He heard footsteps and when he saw Shane he decided to leave, not wanting to be in the middle of whatever was happening betwen him and Rick.
"I'm gonna take a piss," Daryl said, and before Rick could say anything else. he walked away.
Daryl walked to his motorcycle to grab his stuff, but he noticed the bag was gone.
"...the Hell?" The man frowned looking around but it wasn't in the porch either.
The front door opened and he saw T Dog exiting the house.
"Hey, man, have you seen my stuff?" Daryl asked him looking around.
"Yeah, it's in the house," T Dog explained pointing at the building behind him.
"What?" Daryl looked at him confused.
T Dog shrugged and gave him a smirk.
"Barbie put it in there."
It was around four or five, nobody knew exactly. Blake and Ellie were nailing planks to the windows of the farm house while Brett and Barbie brushed the perimeter. Rick and Hershel had been adamant to let the girl go, but she insisted, she knew it better than any of them.
"Just one last round," Brett told Barbie. "Are you sure you're going to be fine with that?" Brett nodded at the crossbow in her hands. He knew Barbie could take care of herself, and it was actually a big relief, but she had just learned to use the crossbow and he didn't want her to take any chances but Barbie nodded.
"I have my knife and my gun, just in case," she told Brett. "But I can manage with this fine," she raised the crossbow and her brother nodded.
"Alright, then. One last round, I'll meet you at the house."
Barbie nodded.
"I'll check the stables one last time," she said as Brett walked away.
Barbara walked the perimeter again, not bumping into any nasty surprise. Then she went to the stables and made sure the horses had water and food and that the door was locked after her. Her stomach churned at the thought of waking up and find the horses devoured by those things. She locked them up and was going to go back but saw something between the trees.
Barbie frowned and followed the shadow swiftly, trying to make the least noise possible, her crossbow raised. She surrounded some trees and as she got closer she realized it wasn't a walker but Shane. The man looked very agitated and was passing around.
"Shane? Are you okay?" The girl put her crossbow down as the man turned around surprised.
"I'm fine..."
He said nodding his head, but then girl noticed the circles under his eyes and his hands shaking. Barbie frowned and put the crossbow in her back.
"You don't look fine," the girl said walking up to him. "Do you want me to check you up?"
"Nah."
She raised a hand but Shane shook his head, taking her wrist in his. Barbara didn't expect that, and when he looked at her, she felt a shiver running down her spine. She had the urge to run away, suddenly.
"Why do you voted in favor of Randall, huh?" He suddenly demanded, getting closer to her. "Why? That was stupid and I know you ain't. You carried a gun. You were prepared. And this is stupid. It's going to get us killed!"
"I did think it over!" Barbie snapped, getting angry at him. "We don't need to kill him."
"He's a threat!"
"He can barely move!" Barbara snapped exasperated. "He won't make it back into the county at least in days!"
"Yeah? An what if he brings reinforces huh?! What if they came at night?"
Shane let go of her hand, and grabbed her arm, forcefully pulling her to him.
"Let me go," Barbara said coolly, glaring up at him. "Let me go now!"
Something snapped in Shane and he leashed it on the girl. He pushed her to a tree, her head hitting it hardly, her crossbow hurting her back.
Barbie gasped, her breath and a scream, getting stuck in her throat and she was paralyzed with fear.
"Dale is dead!" Shane snapped at her, punching the tree barely inches away from her face. "This won't change that! And we are going to end like that if we don't do anything!I'm not the bad guy! I'm just trying to keep you alive! Don't you know that? Don't you fucking now that?!"
Barbara reacted despite her fear and she kicked Shane on the groin. The man groaned and doubled by the waist and the girl pushed him away. She tried to run away but he stopped her by pulling at her arm and knocking her to the ground, falling on her front. He limped to her, still hurting, but when he grabbed her shoulder she turned around hitting him with her elbow in his chest. It wasn't strong enough to stop him from breathing but the girl scrambled to her feet and ran away before he could stop her.
Shane watched her go and kicked a tree angry at his lack of restrain. He had screwed so bad this time.
"Shit..."
Daryl was packing the truck with water and supplies when movement caught his eyes. He saw something coming out of the woods and he thought for a moment it was a walker. But it was too fast, he noticed. Then his stomach sank when he recognized Barbie. She was dirty, her hair was falling off her ponytail and there was blood on her cheek and knees. And she was running while crying. No, no, no...
"Barbara!" he yelled after her, and ran to meet her.
The girl stopped dead and her eyes opened wide.
"Daryl," the girl said, taken aback, and cursed herself because she had picked such a direct route to the house. She tried to think up of an excuse but Daryl's attentive eyes had taken notice of everything.
"What the hell happened?" He demanded worriedly. "Are you bitten?"
Barbie shook her head, wiping her tears. He had seen them already so there was no point pretending she hadn't cried.
"I'm fine."
"The hell you are," Daryl replied angrily. "What happened?" Daryl reached out and tried to hold her but Barbie reacted instinctively and stepped back.
"Sorry," Barbie blabbed quickly, but Daryl had noticed something she wouldn't be able to recognize. He knew that fear that made you shrink at the touch of others. That expression expecting to be hurt. Barbie hadn't been attacked by a walker, she had been attacked by someone alive and kicking.
"Who did this?" Daryl asked her softly, taking her by surprise. She frowned, watching him confused. How did he knew? "Barbie, please, tell me. Who did this?"
Daryl tried again and reached for her hand. This time she didn't step back and sighed looking down. She was about to tell him, Shane's name almost rolling of her tongue but then she remember he was about to leave with Rick for a day maybe more. If she told him Shane had attacked her, Daryl would go and try to kill him and would cause more chaos. No, it was better if she didn't say anything for now. At least, until he and Rick were both back and safe.
Barbie shook her head.
"I just fell," she shrugged.
"Barbie..." Daryl didn't believe her for a second.
"Later, Daryl, okay?" She asked him, squeezing his hand in hers. "I promise I'll tell you everything."
"If someone attacked you..."
"Only got so many arrows," T-Dog interrupted putting a gun almost in Daryl's face. Barbara took the opportunity to step back from Daryl and take a deep breath, crossing her arms, trying to look compose.
"Is that Dale's gun?" Daryl asked him taking it.
"Yeah," T-Dog nodded and gave him a look.
"Wish I knew where the hell mine is," Daryl said shaking his head.
T-Dog turned to Barbie, ready to tease them a bit but he noticed her messy state.
"Damn, girl! What happened to you?" The man asked, frowning worriedly.
"I stepped on a very well hidden burrow and rolled down a couple of feet,"said Barbie quickly, forcing an embarrassed smile. "It was something stupid. I'm all bruised and scratched down," she said pointing at her knees with a grimace.
"Ouch, you gotta be careful," T-Dog told her with an empathetic grimace. "Can't be falling around like that with walkers around.
"I know, it was dumb. Please don't tell my brother," she asked him with big puppy eyes. "I don't want him to think I can't look after myself."
T-Dog waved his hand.
"He won't hear it from me. I promised."
"Thank you," Barbie said with a sweet smile.
T-Dog went around the truck to check everything was fine. Barbie tried to walk away but Daryl's hand closed around her wrist softly. She jumped a bit and he let her go frowning. She was just still jumpy.
"Are you going to be okay?" He asked her in a low voice, his eyes still looking worried.
Barbie nodded.
"I just need a shower," she said trying to smile. "Are you guys ready to leave?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Be careful. Okay? Be safe," and Barbie reached out and took his hand, squeezing it lightly. Daryl looked up at her with a questioning look and she smiled stepping closer. She opened her mouth just when Rick approached them, asking loudly: "Ready?"
Both turned around, and Barbie sighed exasperated. Was she going to bump onto everybody in the farm?
Of course Rick stopped as well and looked at her with worry.
"Barbie, what happened to you?"
"I fell," she replied, her face reddening. And she gave him the same lie than T-Dog.
"Gotta be careful out there," Rick told her and she nodded. But he promised not to tell Brett. Barbie, saying goodbye to both men, walked back to the house limping a little.
"She's good," Rick told Daryl as T-Dog went to fetch Randall. "A fall explains her scratched knees and bruises. That rock detail she added explains the face cut... but I don't think she had noticed the finger-shaped bruises on her arms," Rick finished upset with a grim expression.
Daryl nodded and grunted. He had seen them too.
"Did she tell you who attacked her?" Rick asked Daryl, but he shook his head.
"It wasn't a walker," said Daryl, frowning as well, his eyes following Barbie's silhouette. "I think someone in the group attacked her and she's protecting the son of a bitch."
Rick nodded.
"Maybe is close to her... Do you think Blake...?"
But they were interrupted by T-Dog shouting:
"Oh hell no!"
Rick and Andrea were looking around the shack and Daryl and T-Dog outside, looking for clues of how Randall had escape the shack. The whole group went there, except for Barbie who was in her bathroom cleaning up her wounds and putting ointment on her bruises.
"What's wrong?" Hershel asked.
"Randall's missing," T-Dog informed them, upset
"Missing?" Patricia covered her mouth with her hand.
"How long's he been gone?"
"What's going on?"
With all of them running around worried, nobody noticed Shane, all bloodied up, watching them.
"It's hard to say. The cuffs are still hooked. He must have slipped them," Rick told Hershel and Carol walking out of the shack and looked at the roof.
"Is that possible?" Carol asked.
"It is if you've got nothing to loose," Andrea replied walking out of the shack as well.
"The door was secured from the outside," Brett said, shaking his head. "And the holes repaired."
Shane cursed and quickly hid his gun between the leaves, before coming out of his hide out shouting to the top of his lungs:
"Rick! Rick!"
It worked. Everyone stopped and looked at him.
"What happened?" Lori asked him as he approached quickly.
"He's armed!" Shane told them. "He's got my gun!"
"Are you okay?" Ellie asked him startled, when he stopped next to her. There was blood all over his face and even some wood stuck to it.
"I'm fine," Shane told her and turned to Rick. "Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."
Rick turned around quickly.
"All right, Brett, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house," Rick told them. "Brett stay on perimeter watch around the house. T-Dog, you inside. Glenn, Daryl, come with us."
"T, I'm gonna need that gun," Shane told him walking to him. T-Dog handled him his gun.
"Just let him go," Carol said quickly. "That was the plan, wasn't it, to just let him go?"
"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun," Rick replied seriously.
"Don't go out there," Carol insisted, as Glenn and Daryl followed Rick and Shane. "You don't know what can happen."
"Get everybody back in the house," Rick yelled as the walked away. "Lock all the doors and stay put!"
"Let's go, back in the house," said Andrea urging Carol and Ellie back to the house.
"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out," Shane told Rick, Daryl and Glenn as they headed into the woods. "I'm not sure how long."
"He couldn't have gotten far," Rick said. "He's hobbled, he's exhausted..."
"And armed," Glenn added.
"So are we," Rick stopped and turned to Daryl.
"Can you track him?" He asked him.
"No, I don't see nothing," Daryl said, shaking his head and looking around the ground.
"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay?" Shane told them as the other three looked around. "He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it."
Something about Shane was off today, Daryl noticed and he remembered something Barbie had been repeating since Randall came in.
"Kid weighs about 25 soaking wet," said Daryl, turning to Shane. "You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?"
"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" Shane replied coldly.
"Alright, knock it off," Rick intervened. "You and Glenn start heading up the right flank," he told Daryl. "Me and Shane'll take the left. Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other."
Barbie took a quick shower and then patched her knees up. This time she put on some jeans to hide the bandages and she kicked herself. She should've put on some jeans in the morning instead of her shorts. Maybe she wouldn't have hurt her knees so badly. She put on a light shirt that had sleeves reaching her elbows. She had seen the marks while showering and realized how Daryl knew someone had attacked her.
Then she picked up her hair in a ponytail and put a small gauze on her face. She had a cut by her jaw line. She then went downstairs and frowned confused when she saw the rest of the group coming in a hurry, all looking startled and worried.
"What happened?" She asked Patricia.
"Randall escaped," the woman explained quickly. "Randall and the other's went looking for him."
"The others?"
"What happened to you?" Hershel intervened quickly, frowning at the gauze on her face.
"Nothing. I fall. Stepped into a burrow," the girl replied quickly.
"You should be more careful," Hershel started to scold her. "One of those things could have gotten to you while you where down."
"Okay, there was no walkers around and I just scrapped my knees," Barbie cut him, exasperated. "And if a walker had been around, I'd taken care of it, just like I've done before."
Barbara walked to her sister, not wanting to be scolded further and brought her upstairs with her. She needed her to patch her back. She had small cuts made by her crossbow that she couldn't reach. And she also needed Ellie to tell her, what the hell had happened while she was washing.
"So Shane was the last one to see Randall?" Barbie asked Ellie as the blonde put a gauze on her sister's back.
"Yes. Randall attacked him. Left him all hurt," Ellie replied, cutting another gauze. Barbie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I just hope they'll find him before it's too dark."
"He's limping. Daryl would find his trace easily," Barbara replied confidently.
"Well, he better be careful. He really messed Shane up," the blonde said, starting to rub some Voltaren on Barbie's back.
"It's a bit weird, isn't it?" Barbie said, thinking about what her sister had just told her.
"What?"
"A kid, not stronger than me or me, knocking someone like Shane out," Barbara said raising an eyebrow.
"Well he hit Shane with something," Ellie said, rubbing some more cream on her arms and shoulder which had turned purple at this point. "With a branch probably."
"How do you know?" Barbie asked her confused as she put on her shirt, careful to not mess up the gauze.
"He had pieces of bark on his face," Ellie said, scrunching up her nose. "On the blood."
Barbie looked at her sister, frowning.
"Bark? But how could he...?"
And then something down on her.
"The shack was locked from the outside and you said the lock wasn't picked," Barbie said, her eyes unfocused.
"Yes, and the handcuffs weren't broken either," Ellie nodded.
Barbie quickly put on her boots and her belt with her knife on. Then she grabbed her gun, and placed it on the back of her jeans.
"Gotta go."
"What?" Ellie frowned, standing as well. "No! You can't go out with that crazy guy out there!"
"Listen to me, Elle, Randall it's the last of our problems if what I think it's right," Barbara told her sister, grabbing her crossbow as well.
"But..."
"I'll be fine," Barbie assured her. "I'll go get Daryl. But you can't tell Brett or nobody else. Promise me."
"Barbie..."
"Promise me," the brunette urged her.
Ellie's face felt and she nodded.
"Fine. But if you don't return within the hour..."
"Alright, you can tell Brett," Barbie nodded. "Thanks."
Barbara went to her window and opened it. There was a small roof under it.
"Barbie. Be careful out there," Ellie told her as her sister slipped out of the window.
Barbara nodded and then slipped down.
Daryl and Glenn where advancing through the woods steady and silently looking around and turning at any little noise. They had been like that for a while but Daryl didn't see a thing and the noises around where the typical noises of a forest nothing out of the norm.
"This is pointless," Daryl grunted stopping and turning to Glenn. "You got a light?"
Glenn gave him his lantern and Daryl turned it on placing it high, so he could see the forest ground.
"Come on."
And both men kept going.
"We're just back to square one," Glenn mumbled when he saw a fallen tree. A tree where they had split with Rick and Shane before it went dark.
"If you're gonna do a thing, you might as well do it right," Daryl replied looking around. "There's two sets of tracks right here. Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said."
"Daryl," Glenn started to say but stopped when they heard noises. This time it wasn't a bird or a rabbit. It was something bigger, heavier. They were footsteps. Daryl looked at Glenn who looked alarmed. Daryl put a finger on his mouth and both men raised their weapons walking silently behind a tree. Whoever it was, it was getting closer.
Daryl took a deep breath and then threw himself out of the tree, lifting his crossbow ready to shoot... and met with Barbara's shock face. The girl yelped and stepped back raising her arms and Daryl put down his crossbow, angrily.
"Jesus, woman! What's wrong with you?!" He yelled at her. "I almost shoot you!"
Glenn came out of his tree looking at Barbie confused.
"I couldn't precisely shout and wave my arms at you, could I?!" She snapped back, glaring at him because of his tone.
"You shouldn't be here...!"
"Huh, guys could you speak lower...?" Glenn interrupted them. "We are, you know, in the woods at night..."
Daryl glared at him and then crossed the space until he was in front of the girl.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He scolded her in a lower voice. "It's dark. It's dangerous. Do you have a death wish or something?!"
"Randall didn't escape," Barbie told him, looking up at him, without being intimidated.
"What?" Daryl frowned, looking at her.
"Then what..."
"Shane let him escape," Barbie said looking at Daryl and then at Glenn.
Glen buffed and shook his head.
"That's ridiculous..."
"No, it's not," but it was Daryl who answer, not Barbie. Glenn looked confused at Daryl and then at Barbie.
"Why would Shane let Randall escape?" He asked a bit exasperated.
"First of all, Randall couldn't have knock him out," Barbie started explaining. "He's hurt. He can't walk and after been locked in the barn he was weak. I checked up on him earlier that day. Shane should have heard him coming."
Glenn opened his mouth to reply but Barbie raised a hand.
"Second, Ellie noticed some bark on Shane's mouth and nose wound."
"So...?" Glenn shrugged.
"So... if Randall knocked him out it should have been with a branch," Barbie said.
"Right," Glenn shrugged, not knowing where this was going.
"But how Randall got that branch so fast?" Barbie asked. "It couldn't be lying around, because then it wouldn't be long enough. He should have to cut a big large branch so he could even hurt Shane a little."
"Well maybe he found a big one lying around," Glenn said.
"No, Shane said it was a rock," Daryl intervened, cutting their argument.
"He said that?" Barbie repeated and Daryl nodded.
"Maybe the rock had some bark pasted on it," Glenn suggested. Daryl and Barbie raised their eyebrows and he shrugged. "It was just an idea. It's better than to think that Shane let Randall go. Why would he do that?"
Barbie looked at him before answering.
"I think that Shane let out Randall before T-Dog could get him. He took him to the woods and probably kill him."
Glenn opened his eyes a bit horrified.
"But that's..."
"I know, but think about it," Barbie urged him. "If someone has motives to do it, that's him. He wanted Randall dead since the beginning. And we know he's not the following-rules-kind of guy... I think he had enough and decided to act on his own."
"But are you sure? I mean..."
"I couldn't say it before..." Barbie interrupted him and glanced at Daryl. "I was scared... I thought he was just upset... Not that I'm defending him, but now..."
"What?" Daryl asked.
"Shane attacked me," Barbie replied, crossing her arms.
"What?!" Glenn looked mortified, Daryl looked angry. Angrier that she had ever seen him.
"In the woods," Barbie admitted. "I was coming from the stables and saw him. He looked mad so I followed him... He..." The girl made a pause, swallowing and Daryl closed his hands in fists, wanting to punch something badly.
"Did he touch you?"
Daryl's question and anger took both Glenn and Barbara by surprise. He hadn't forgotten that time he bumped into him and Lori in the CDC bunker. How scared she had looked... If that son of bitch had touched Barbara...
"No," the girl replied immediately, shaking her head and he felt a bit better.
"I managed to kick him and ran. He tried to stop me and I felt, hence the scratches."
"Why didn't you say something before? I would have bashed his brains out myself," Daryl snapped but she knew he wasn't angry at her.
"I- I was scared. And you were going out with Rick. I wanted you to take Randall away. Didn't want to cause a big fight yet," Daryl open his mouth to reply but Barbie said first: "He's not in his right mind, if he ever was. I have a bad feeling... He killed Otis. He probably killed Randall..."
"He killed Otis?" Glenn asked alarmed looking at Barbie and Daryl. The man nodded but kept staring at Barbara.
"You should have told me."
"I wanted to do it. But I also wanted you to come back safe."
Barbie shook her head.
"That's not important now. Let's find out what really happened."
"There's some tracks here," Daryl said nodding. "Be ready for what we might find."
Then he turned to Barbara.
"You go behind me and in front of Glenn. Don't do anything stupid."
Barbie frowned as he turned around and kept walking.
"Right back at ya, Dixon," she replied cheekily.
They kept walking in the dark, following the tracks Daryl had found.
"There's fresh blood on this tree," Daryl told them, shinning on a spot of blood. Barbie quickly went to see it and noticed it was higher on a tree.
"The mark it's high, like a feet taller than my head," Barbie said, glancing at Daryl and Glenn "Shane size maybe? That would explain the bark."
"There's more tracks, Sherlock," Daryl said looking at the ground. "Looks like they're walking in tandem."
He started following them and Glenn followed him. But Barbie stayed back a little watching around the tree.
"Yeah, there was a little dust up right here," Daryl observed shinning on the ground.
"What do you mean?" Barbie asked catching up with them.
"I mean something went down."
"It's getting messy," Daryl observed as they went. "Had a little trouble," then they stopped and noticed a black rag on the floor. Glenn picked it and held it high. It was long and stretch.
A stumble behind them startled them. Daryl grabbed Barbara's arm and pushed her ahead of him behind a thick tree. Glenn hid behind another next to them.
He turned to them scared. Daryl, whistling first, threw him the buck knife so he could be armed. Glenn caught it midair and peeked looking for the walker, stumbling behind them.
Daryl was watching it too, and Barbara leaned on him, raising the crossbow, but he shook his head and pressed her to the tree, his firm hold on her arm reassuring them both.
As they heard the walker getting closer and Glenn's breathing got heavier, Daryl let go of Barbara's arm and readied his crossbow.
Glenn then peeked out his tree and the walker's identity shocked him. And he threw himself at Glenn before he could killed it.
Daryl came out of the tree pointing at the walker but he pushed Glenn to the ground and Daryl missed him.
Barbara gasped and the walker turned to them.
The walker threw himself at Daryl who was out of arrows, and pushed Barbara out of the way. The girl tripped and felt to the ground.
Glenn was groping around looking fro the buck knife.
Daryl barely held the walker away in time, but the weight of this pushed Daryl to the ground, and the man struggling, barely keep the walker at bay.
"No!" Barbara yelled, jumping to her feet and pulling out her knife.
Just as the jaws of the walker approached Daryl's face, Barbara kicked him on the shoulder, throwing it on its side and stabbed it on his head viciously.
Only after it stopped moving she stood up and Daryl caught her when she missteped, shaken by what had just happened.
Barbara turned to the guys and both had shocked but different expressions. Glenn looked at her impressed and a bit surprised. Daryl, on the other hand, was looking at her with almost pride. His intense gaze was somehow tender and it made her blush.
"Thanks," he mumbled reaching out and taking her hand, squeezing it lightly.
Despite the adrenaline of the moment, her heart beat even faster and her skin burned. The girl managed a smiled and nodded squeezing his hand back. His eyes never left hers. She felt the warm of his hand and stepped closer to him.
"Guys, it's Randall," Glenn's voice snapped them out of the moment.
Brett was walking around the house when he saw the font door opening. He turned around quickly and saw Elle peeking out. The girl looked worried and guilty.
"What happened?" He asked quickly.
"It's Barbie," Ellie said. "She left a while, and she has been back yet."
Brett stopped, his hear racing and he rushed into the house. His sister had to been there. She had to.
It was in that moment that he or anyone else noticed Carl slipping out of the house as well.
"He's got his neck broken," Barbie said checking Randall's corpse as Daryl stood next to her with the flash light and Glenn crouched next to her.
Then Barbie moved the body and Glenn helped her. The girl looked for bites but she didn't find any.
"He has no bites," she informed them.
"Yeah, none you can see," Glenn suggested.
"No, he didn't died from this," Barbie shook her head.
"How's that possible?" Glenn asked confused.
Barbie nor Daryl didn't say anything. Daryl couldn't offer Glenn a valid answer, he just had a crazy thought. But something in Barbara's demeanor told him, his theory may not be that crazy after all.
Daryl nodded his head at Barbie and helped her up. They started walking back to the house, his hand protectively on her lower back.
Glenn stared at Randall's body a little longer before following them.