Chapter Sixteen
Stranger
The night had grown much colder than Carol had anticipated, but she came to the conclusion that her senses were heightened due to the fact that her body was in a state of shock and fear. Her heart felt heavier than it had done some few hours ago and the not knowing whether Sophia or Carl were safe weighed heavily upon her scarred heart. She had taken to sitting outside, her eyes desperately and frantically searching the cusp of the woodland that Rick and Daryl had been swallowed into an hour ago. They had still yet to come out which to Carol was neither a good or bad sign. She could only justify why they hadn't come back yet and that was that they had either found them and had stumbled across the dead or that they were on their way back.
She worried about Sophia every single minute of the day, but it was only when they were separated that Carol understood the true meaning of unconditional love. Sophia had been the only child that she was going to have, and she was a sweet little girl, reminding Carol of herself at times. Ed had meant well when they had first married but even though she missed him sometimes, the love for her daughter outweighed the love she had for Ed. As soon as Sophia had graced their life, Carol had found that she had begun to fall out of love with him. When he had died, she felt sadness but she felt relief as well, knowing that he was never going to lay a finger on her or her daughter. She had tried to protect Sophia from the hands of her father but he was a strong man, especially when alcohol fuelled his veins. Now, she was given another chance, and she just hoped that she had not ruined it or failed her beloved daughter.
Every time she glanced towards the edge of the forage, and no movement had been made, she felt her heart break even more.
Sophia was the only thing she had left in this world that belonged to her. The group had quickly become her family and she loved, respected and admired every single one of them. If anything had happened to her then, in Carol's case, there was no point of living. She lived for her daughter, and Sophia - still so small and innocent in a world plagued with monsters - would never understand the amount of love she had for her. Sophia was the reason as to why Carol never gave up at the hands of Ed. Sophia was the reason Carol woke up in the morning. Sophia was the reason for Carol to realise that when everything is lost, the only thing she needed was love, and the tight grasp of her daughters hand in her own. It would have been so easy to give up but Sophia was her lifeline.
A door shut in the distance and Carol turned to look. Lori waddled slowly towards her, her hand caressing her bump gently. It wouldn't be long before another member would be joining the group. They had found safety in a place that kept prisoners away from normal society, and now it was the only thing keeping them protected from the dead.
"I brought you this," Lori said, joining Carol on the chairs they had found in the gym. "Thought you might be cold."
"Thanks," Carol whispered, wrapping the thick blanket around her.
"Still no sign of them?"
Carol shook her head and Lori nodded. Lori felt the same fear creep into her heart that Carol felt but she knew that Carl had the tendency to trail off by himself most of the time, not particularly caring about the dangers that hid in the shadows. He was a young boy and he wanted adventure. No matter how many times Lori had told him to stay inside, she would always bet that within five minutes of their argument, he would be venturing outside out of sight of everyone.
"They'll find them," Lori said. "I know they will."
"How can you be so sure?"
"It's Rick and Daryl out there. They won't give up looking for them."
Carol sighed. "I'm not worried about them finding Sophia and Carl. I'm worried about…"
Lori turned to Carol when she fell silent. "What?"
Carol felt the tears that she had tried so hard to keep away begin to fill her eyes and a lump formed in her throat. "That… she'll be one of them."
"It's completely understandable," Lori whispered, budging closer towards Carol. She brought an arm over Carol's shoulders and gently rubbed it the way a mother would do to a child that had fallen over. "This world… no matter how many times we try and convince ourselves that we're used to it… we'll never be used to it."
"But Sophia… she's too young to understand."
"Sophia's a smart kid. She knows the dangers of the world we now live in. I have a feeling that they went out in hope of finding something that could help Glenn. Carl… even though we're different… we still care about people and if I wasn't pregnant, I would be out there, too, trying to find something to help Glenn," Lori said. "Rick and Daryl will find them. I can feel it in my heart."
Carol sobbed and nodded, trying to convince herself that what Lori was saying was true. Lori continued to reassure Carol but the fear within her own heart was beginning to increase. Carl would not have been stupid enough to leave the confines of the prison with a young girl just for the fun of it, if he had left, there had to be a reason. Lori hoped that there had been a reason for them leaving the prison but she wasn't so sure.
Movement towards the woods caught her eye and she stood up. Carol stood and asked her what was wrong.
"Have you got binoculars?" Lori asked, to which Carol nodded and passed them to her. Lori took them and peered through them, her eyes aiming towards the moving of the plants at the edge of the forage. She bit her lip as she watched and hoped that it wasn't walkers.
"What is it?" Carol asked, her voice tight.
"I don't know…" Lori said, her eyes narrowing.
The forage was swept aside and what she witnessed sent shivers down her spine. Daryl came into sight, his crossbow poised in his hands. He turned back and that was when she saw them. Carl and Sophia were holding hands and keeping close to Daryl. The panic rose within her as she realised that Rick was nowhere to be seen.
"They're back," Lori whispered. "Sophia and Carl are here!"
Carol yelped and allowed the tears to make their way down her cheeks, as she made her way towards them. Lori remained where she was, her eyes searching frantically for her husband. It felt like a lifetime but the leaves began to rustle again and it felt as though all her Christmases had come at once at the sight of Rick escaping the cover of the woods. Her eyes narrowed towards him and she watched as he turned back, his arm reaching towards something.
An arm snaked its way around his forearm as if in support, and he stayed there until a woman, dirty with blood and grime, came through the woods after him. She found herself moving towards them, knowing that they would enter the way they exited, through the hole cut in the fence, and made her way down.
Rick watched Lori's face for a moment, searching for any expression that caused bells to sound in his head. She stared back at him, as if telepathically telling him that Glenn's condition hadn't changed since they had left. Her gaze moved towards the woman, and her eyes travelled down towards the leg that the woman was favoring.
"What happened?" Lori asked.
"We'll tell you everything once we get inside," Rick said. "She needs her leg treating."
Carol enveloped Sophia as soon as the girl had re-entered the safe confines of the prison. The young girl started crying. Lori glanced at Carl and bit her lip, before moving forward and pulling him towards her. She noticed the look Daryl and Rick shared and she narrowed her eyes at them. Rick caught the look on her face and nodded, knowing that he would have to explain everything.
Lori glanced at the girl and saw something in her eyes that she couldn't explain.
