The following morning Glenn and Dale got to work as soon as the sun began to shine brightly in the sky. Nobody had a decent sleep during the night; they were all afraid and knew they were vulnerable because of being in a wide open area. Everyone was anxious to get moving in hopes of catching a break and finding some place safe. The sun was beaming down on them and there wasn't any wind—which made the weather very humid. Rick wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand as he approached the two men repairing the RV.
"Hey boys, how's it comin' along?" Rick asked, hoping for a good response. Dale looked over toward Rick and frowned,
"I'm afraid it's more damaged than we thought. There happens to be multiple issues with it and we're in need of some oil. Glenn and I were able to fix the main problem yesterday but unless we want it to break down again in a couple of miles we're gonna need to find a way to do a proper oil change without a garage." Dale replied. Rick released a heavy sigh after hearing the bad news.
"Well, continue what you're doin' and we'll figure something out…we always do." Rick said determinedly while walking past the two of them and heading to the others who were sitting on the pavement and leaning against cars, conversing with each other.
"Looks like we're gonna be stuck here longer than we expected. I need a couple of volunteers for syphoning oil from the cars all around us and completing an oil change on the RV. Dale said it's in desperate need of some newer oil. It'll take a while, but we're running out of ideas." Rick explained. Lacy and Daryl stood up at the same time. They both had some fair knowledge as to knowing how to change the oil on a vehicle and had a lot of experience. The two gave each other quick head nods and got to work right away. "As for the rest of us, I need a hand back in the forest. If this RV never perks up again we'll need to come up with a plan B. We can look for something in the woods…anything." He paused before continuing. "Shane and Susan, wanna come with? We did well yesterday. We'll go in the opposite direction that we went through yesterday." Shane and Susan agreed and gathered a couple of small, useful things and placed them inside of a backpack. "Now, the rest of you can continue to relax and keep your eyes peeled for any sort of danger." With that, the three of them turned around and headed for the forest. Carl instantly jumped up from where he was sitting and ran toward his father.
"Wait dad, let me go with you! I know I can help!" Carl whined, begging to join the three of them.
"No, Carl. Stay with your mother, protect her and the others, they need your help here." Rick insisted, patting his son on his shoulder to reassure him that he was needed there. Lori joined the pair and gave Rick a meaningful look. He knew what she wanted, and he felt terrible for denying Carl when he wanted to help out. He gave a small nod, put his hat on Carl's head, and handed him a 357 Magnum. "I'm trusting you, Carl. But I'll teach you how to properly shoot later." Carl's face lit up and he eagerly grabbed a bag of supplies, raring to go. "Only use it if you absolutely need to all right?" Carl nodded his head.
As they said their goodbyes and were heading for the woods, Merle caught their attention. He waved his arms and pointed to the road behind them. Dozens of walkers were making their way over, having no clue that their next meal was just ahead. Thinking quickly, Rick silently instructed everyone to hide. Full of panic, people hid in and under cars, Merle laid down on the roof of the RV, while Daryl, Andrea and Lacy ran inside the camper to take cover. Shane and Susan, being closer to the woods than the highway, ducked behind the brush, holding each other close and breathing shakily, keeping as silent as they could.
The walkers slowly shuffled between the vehicles, completely oblivious to the humans hidden all around them. Sophia, hiding alone under a van across from her mother and Lori, was in a panic, breathing heavily. Carol watched as the last two walkers made their way through a tight spot next to the van, tripping over one another and landing right next to her daughter. Having seen Sophia, the walkers went into a frenzy, clawing and grabbing at her. With tears in her eyes, she rolled to the opposite side and stood up, about to run. But there was a walker on that side that she hadn't seen and before she had the chance to escape, it bit into her neck. Lori held a hand over Carol's mouth as they watched Sophia fall to the ground, covering her mouth with her own hand to prevent any screams of pain; saving the others. Her head hit the ground, and she gave a last look to her mother as the three walkers began to feed on her. Rick, seeing what had happened, tried to save Sophia, taking out the walkers, but it was too late. She was gone.
When the other walkers were far enough away, people came out of hiding. Carol crawled over to her lifeless child, and hugged what was left of her, sobbing. Glenn put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "I'm so sorry Carol, but you know what we have to do…" he whispered, lifting her to her feet. She nodded and buried her face in his shoulder, she couldn't watch. Rick took his blade from his belt, knelt down and reluctantly plunged it into Sophia's head. He stood, ran a hand through his hair and looked to the others.
"We need to go. We can't stay here any longer, it's way too dangerous. We need some fucking shelter!" Rick hissed while catching his breath and looking up toward the sky. "Susan, Shane, Carl, and I are going into the woods to see if we can find somewhere safe." He quickly kissed Lori and started toward the forest, the others following closely behind. Those left on the highway packed up their things and waited—absolutely terrified for their lives and what was yet to come.
Two hours passed, and they hadn't found anything amongst the trees. They hoped to have found something by now; a clearing, an abandoned building, anything. Shane walked ahead of the others, making sure the coast was clear. Susan joined him and they spoke in hushed tones, making sure Carl and Rick couldn't hear. They had grown very fond of each other from what had happened the previous day, and wanted to make sure that they were on the same page about where their relationship stood.
"So…what is this thing we have?" Susan asked sheepishly. Shane snickered and smiled at her.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure. But I do know that I uh, I'm into you." He said while looking ahead. He then looked at her out of the corner of his eye and raised an eye brow. Susan looked down and smiled.
"I feel the same." She blushed.
"Good. Glad we're on the same—"he cut off mid-sentence while noticing near-by footsteps that were crushing leaves. The smile vanished from his face while he raised his arms, making Susan, Rick and Carl instantly stop in their tracks.
"Walker!" Carl shouted while anxiously pointing the gun Rick had given to him for their search toward a lone walker just 10 yards away.
"Carl, don't!" Susan hissed at him. Carl was so caught up in the moment he hadn't realized what she'd said. He pulled the trigger. The gun recoiled and jerked to the right, missing the walker, instead hitting Susan's right side, just under her ribcage. Susan fell to her knees in agony. Tears fell as she held her hand to the wound and saw the red stain growing on her shirt. Shocked, Shane instantly ran to Susan's side and picked her up in his arms, careful not to cause her too much pain. Rick took out the walker that Carl had meant to shoot with his blade and grabbed Susan's things. They had to move fast; her wound would bleed out and the gunshot would attract any surrounding walkers.
"Let's go." Rick ordered sternly, giving his son a serious glare and nodding for Shane to follow him.
The heat was getting to people back on the highway. All they could do was wait; the sun beating down on them. Glenn and Dale were almost done with the front part of the RV, having all the tools and parts he needed from looting cars. After a couple of tries, Daryl and Lacy had finally been able to drain the old, black oil from the bottom of the RV and replaced it with newer oil that they had scavenged from some of the other vehicles. T-Dog helped Andrea clear a path for the camper to get through the cluster of vehicles, and Merle continued to keep watch.
Lori watched Carol from a distance, full of concern. She didn't know what she would do if she lost Carl, and now Carol had lost everyone. But she showed no emotion on her face. From what Lori could see, she was in a whole other world. No one knew how to approach her and they didn't want to disturb her, so they just left her the way she was. She would heal in her own way, and no one would interfere. Instead Lori decided to join Andrea and T-Dog; they were taking a break from moving cars.
"How do you think they're doing out there?" Lori asked concerned, staring into the deepness of the forest.
"I'm sure they're just fine. They've all got great heads on their shoulders." Andrea replied soothingly.
"I sure hope you're right." Lori said while rubbing her eyes and stretching.
"Don't worry 'bout it Lori. Like Andrea jus' said, they're all strong and wouldn't let anything happen to one another." T-Dog said reassuringly while patting his large hand on Lori's back.
"You sure know a fair amount about cars huh?" Daryl asked Lacy, surprised at how well they had worked together. He loo ked her over; her curly red hair, her freckles, scars, and finally her lips. He studied them closely, a small smile playing on his face. When Lacy looked toward him he quickly glanced away and scratched and itch on his chest.
"Yup. I know many useful things. I've been taught a lot over the years." She took a sip out of her water bottle before continuing. "You ain't too bad yourself." Lacy replied while winking at him and leaning against the RV—relieved that they were finally finished with the oil change. Now they all just had to wait for Rick, Shane, Carl and Susan to return so they could be on their way. Daryl stared back at her, thinking up a question to ask her.
"Where'd you learn all this stuff? Back when we first ran into each other you had caught yourself a fine coyote, you're good with weapons and you know your stuff 'bout cars and shit…pretty impressive for such a young gal." he looked down at the ground and awaited her response.
"Well, all four of my brothers are six, eight, ten and eleven years older than I am and my parents worked a lot when they were still alive, so they were never home. They were often gone on business trips—knowing very well that my brothers would always protect me from anything and they ain't had nothing to worry about." She paused to tie her hair up into a pony-tail. "So that meant I had spent lots of time with my brothers. Once I was old enough, they had begun teachin' me little things like ridin' a bike, playin' baseball and even hockey. With age, I got taught more complex things like learnin' how to hunt, how to repair cars and other technological shit. With time I had a great knowledge for useful things in the world that have helped me get this far in such a fuckin' awful time." She paused again and yawned—the sun was still draining them all with its heat. "Eventually, they had all moved out and got jobs or went to college. When my parents died in a car crash my oldest brother, Jamie, offered to let me live with him, his wife and his son. Unfortunately, once the plague had begun, Jamie lost his family. The two of us still hid out in his apartment for the longest time and kept contact with my other brothers up until the damn phone lines were cut off." She glanced up at Daryl and made sure he was keeping interest. When looking at the intense expression on his face and how eager he was for her to finish, she continued. "Anyway, I wasn't feelin' well one day so he went out alone in search of some more food…and never came back. I waited until the next day but there was still no sign of him. I collected a few things and went out to search for him—which is when I ran into Susan who had been fendin' for herself for days. It was fuckin' amazin' that we had found each other but I still have no idea what ever happened to Jamie. Guess I won't ever find out." Daryl stared at Lacy for a few seconds in silence.
"Well holy shit, you're a lot tougher than you look, Red." He replied while smiling and gently tapping her shoulder with his fist while walking past her and staring into the woods. "Now I don't know what the hell is takin' em' so long but they better get back here soon."
"WE NEED TO GET HER HELP NOW!" Shane yelled, holding Susan in his arms. Her wound was bleeding a lot and if she didn't get help soon, there was no doubt that she would eventually die of blood loss. Carl paced back and forth, feeling terrible for what he had done. They were all guarded as the smell of Susan's blood would attract walkers, and kept their eyes and ears open for any noises or movement around them.
"I don't know what to do, Shane! There's nowhere to go!" Rick yelled while holding his hands behind his head.
"Hey!" shouted an unfamiliar voice from behind them. Shane, Rick and Carl whipped their heads around and met eyes with a plump man and a tall lanky adolescent whom they'd never seen before. "I'm Otis and this here is Jimmy. We've gotta farm back a little that way." The man told them out of breath, while pointing behind himself. "We were out huntin' when we heard a gunshot and immediately came running over here to see what the commotion was." he said while staring at Susan who had recently passed out, still in Shane's arms.
"Will you take us there? Please! She needs help, NOW." Begged Shane while staring intently in Otis' eyes.
"Yes, sure, of course. It's not too far, but you gotta follow me." Otis instructed while turning around and began hustling back toward the farm. Without a word, the three of them instantly began following the two strangers, thankful that they had been around.
Like Otis had said, they were closer to the farm than they thought they'd been. It only took about ten minutes for them to arrive to their destination. The four of them hurriedly ran across the nearly empty field toward an old farm-house, Shane still carefully holding Susan tightly in his arms. There were some other people standing around outside doing their own thing, but instantly panicked once they'd noticed that Otis had brought home four strangers. They all eagerly questioned him, but Otis and the others ignored all of them while storming through the front door. Jimmy stayed behind and quickly began explaining everything he knew to all of them.
"HERSHEL?!" screamed Otis while stepping inside of the living room. Hershel, an older man who was obviously the owner of the home, quickly stood up from his chair and quizzically examined the four new people who were standing right in front of him with terrified looks in their eyes.
"Was she bitten?" Hershel asked them while examining Susan.
"No sir, my son…" Rick sighed before continuing, "My son accidentally shot her." Carl looked to the ground, wiping away tears from his eyes.
"Can you help her?!" asked Shane impatiently.
"Quickly, follow me." Hershel demanded while walking past all of them, heading toward a near-by bedroom. They all rushed into the room and Shane gently placed Susan onto the bed, whispering into her ear that everything was going to be okay.