Chapter Five: Luck

Raven flung the Frisbee from her fingertips. The green circle soared into the air, perfectly flat. Lyra sprinted close and pounced into the air. She caught the disk (this is a really random side note but when I tried typing 'disk' it came out as 'dick' and I couldn't stop laughing. Carry on) between her fangs. Immediately, she raced back to her owner. Raven rewarded her by scratching her favorite spot; on the sides of her neck. "Good girl." But this is just light work.

Carl dragged the odd contraption out of the garage and into the driveway. It was an old pillow duct taped to a hat stand with four wheels. He stopped in front of Raven and Lyra. "So tell me why you need this… thing."

Raven jumped up from her crouching position. "This 'thing' is Lyra's training prop." She snapped her fingers, as if she just remembered something. She ran into the garage. Lyra nudged herself against Carl's side. He gave into her cuteness and rubbed her white fur. He admitted that Lyra intimidated him at first, but she is a sweet dog on the inside. Raven came jogging back, smiling mischievously. She had a duct tape and a sheet of paper in hand. She sloppily slapped the paper onto the pillow and taped it down. It was a picture of a pretty girl with curly brown hair. Her shirt drooped way lower than it should. Carl averted his eyes to Raven.

"Who is this supposed to be?"

"This," She whipped out a black Sharpie from the back pocket of her capris, "is a lustful hoyden that I abhor." Raven grinned as she drew a moustache and uni-brow onto the picture. When she was satisfied with her work, she capped the marker and stuck it back in her pocket. "This is one of the little things that give me joy."

Raven firmly held the hat stand and motioned Lyra to sit. She obeyed. Suddenly, she whistled, which caused her to spring up from her paws. Raven moved the stand around, teasing her. Lyra leaped into the air, eager to tear the pillow to shreds. She tackled the stand to the ground and ripped the pillow to pieces with her hone claws. Little pieces of newspaper flung out of the pillow case. Raven yanked it from under Lyra, before she destroyed the whole thing.

Lyra has probably killed more walkers than Carl had, which was understandable because Lyra was trained to fight them once the outbreak began, but he wasn't allowed anywhere near one until last year. Raven was reluctant to let her kill zombies at first, but with her power, she packed a real punch. Still, she only allowed Lyra to fight sometimes, in emergencies or for refreshment. She trained her to attack with her claws, rather than her teeth. Even though animals weren't affected by the disease, Raven didn't want her anywhere near a zombie's mouth. Not only skilled in combat, she has the ability to track; human, animal, or the dead. She was a useful dog indeed.

Raven took a broom and pan and began sweeping away at the scraps of paper. Carl yanked it from her gently and swept everything neatly and quicker than it would've taken for Raven. She snorted and said, "You know I have two hands too, right?"

Carl smirked back. "Just showing you how it's done."

Raven scoffed and rested a hand on her hip. "Oh really? Do you think you can show me how this is done?" She plucked up the green Frisbee from the floor and held it beside her head.

"Raven, you should know I'm hardcore when it comes to sports." Carl dumped the garbage into a container and rested the broom against the garage wall. He jutted his hand behind her head quickly and snatched the disk right from her hand. He sprinted off before she could slap him. Carl jogged over to the opposite side of the front yard, his hair bouncing all over the place, Lyra quickly catching up to him. Raven shook her head when she saw the huge grin on his face. And thus, the intense game began.

Sundown had passed and Carl and Raven were still outside on the grass of the front yard. Rick took Lyra inside and instructed that the teens go to bed in two hours. "Once a father, always a bother." Raven mumbled to Carl. He sat, using his palms to prop up against the ragged grass. Raven laid her head on his lap and stared at the black sky. It was silent, except for the sounds of crickets that filled the air. She liked being close to him and she prayed that he felt the same. Beth's words danced around her ears, I can see the way he looks at you.

She shivered just thinking about if they'd get together. Carl tilted his head and looked down at her amused. "What? Are you getting cold? We could go inside-"

Raven shook her head. "I'm fine, really." She wanted to tell him why she didn't want to go back. She'd never had such a difficult time spitting out her emotions. She'd always been straightforward with things. Oh the things Carl does to her. "Carl…were you happy before all of this?"

His lips parted with mild surprise. Perhaps she was too abrupt with that one? "Yeah. I did well in school and I was happy at home. I had a great childhood. Even if my family was small, just me, mom and dad, I was completely content."

Raven recalled that his mother died from giving birth to his sister. She chose her words carefully, "When did your sister come along?"

Raven couldn't see his expression. Hell, she could barely see the outline of his head in this darkness. "Maybe six months ago? Time is not really something I worry about anymore."

She scrunched her eyebrows in consternation. "Six months? She's a baby?"

"Was." Carl said, his tone suddenly solemn.

Raven stopped herself. No. Don't say it. The name spilled from her mouth as a barely audible whisper.

Carl suddenly jerked upright, nearly tossing her over. He caught her before she fell to the grass. He held a tight grip on her shoulders. "What?" Raven kept silent. Carl shook her with no gentleness. "What did you just say?" Even in the dark, she was able to see his chest heaving quickly. Her mouth was paralyzed and sealed. "Raven, please…" She was glad she couldn't see his pleading expression. It would've killed her to see him like that.

Just lie. You're good at it. That voice that followed her for the past year constricted her thoughts. She forced the voice out. "Her name…was it Judith?"

Carl couldn't contain his emotions. He was overwhelmed with hope. "Yes! Where is she? How did you know her?" He spat out questions before Raven could even process them.

Her words were spazzing out. Her tongue was twisted between lies and the truth. "I- I don't…"

Raven's shoulders were being squished by the eager boy. "Anything. Any information at all, please tell me." Lie, lie, lie, lie… You know where this is going. More dead weight to bear. More pain and suffering. "She's a part of my family, Raven." She tightly shut her eyes and begged that the voice would leave her alone. "She's all I have left of my mom!"

Carl's plea drove out the taunting thoughts in her mind. And then memories played. Memories about her mom. Memories about losing her and her whole family. Was she going to be so selfish, as to turn away from Carl when he was begging to be with his little sister? "Hell no." She muttered aloud accidentally. Before Carl could speak out in confusion she spoke with a firm tone, "I know where your sister is."

Raven had to force Carl to sleep. He insisted that they should leave immediately, that every second would be another opportunity of Judith being in danger. She stubbornly refused because it was pitch black outside and the risk was too big. After half an hour of back and forth arguing, Carl gave in. Raven pondered all night about how she was going to explain it, how to answer all the possible questions, what they were going to do. She was used to planning everything out before jumping into them.

The two teens were awake before everyone else. As usual, the group sat around the living room and kitchen for breakfast. Beth was playing a piano (which was in need of serious tuning) and humming. She sometimes was able to get Daryl to play a few notes, before he got frustrated and quit. Michonne was feeding and grooming Lyra. She seemed to have grown fond of her, which was pleasant for Raven to see. Rick was in the midst of sharpening his farm tools to maximize their efficiency. Carl and Raven were sitting up straight on a couch, looking very tense compared to everyone else.

Michonne was the first to notice. "You guys are quiet this morning. Something you wanna talk about?"

Carl agreed not to be the one to mention Judith. He glanced over at Raven to hear what she'd say. After a moment, she replied, "Actually, yes." Michonne was all ears, but the rest were still doing their own businesses. "I need to talk with all of you."

Beth's fingers let the melody cease and Daryl picked his head up from the arm rest of a couch. Rick also put his tools down and leaned against the door post of the living room.

Raven felt nerves creep into her. Almost like a chemistry test, all of the things she studied the night before were slipping away. But she clenched her fists and took a breath. "I may know where some of your group members went."

All the eyes on her went wide. Beth spoke out excitedly, "Seriously?"

"I saw a group of four, well, five people walking along railroad tracks a mile from here. But that was three weeks ago, probably a few days before I met you guys."

Daryl scratched the back of his head, not entirely convinced. "How'd you know it's one of us?"

Raven's eye flickered toward a tentative Carl. "I described what I could remember about their appearance to Carl last night." Her memory was failing on her. "What were the names…?"

Carl spoke for her. "She may have seen Tyreese, Mika, Lizzie and Carol." Raven saw the sparks of interest, especially in Daryl's eyes. Carl explained the story behind Carol to her yesterday. She was very reluctant in searching for her, she definitely didn't want a murderer in her house, sickness or not, but the deal had already been set.

Rick rubbed his chin, wanting to be hopeful, but his words were of the devil's advocate. "There's a good chance that they were strangers. It depends on how accurate their descriptions were-"

Michonne cut in with a sudden thought. "I thought there were five people that you saw."

This is it. This is the information that would push this group to go out of her comfort zone. She continued anyway. "You're right. There was only one name that I heard. And it was of the baby that the man held in his arms." Rick perked his head up and his expression was softer than Raven had ever seen. "The baby's name was Judith. I'm absolutely sure about that."

Rick rubbed his red face in his palms. For a second, Raven thought he was tearing up, but he was smiling in relief. Carl went over to him and they shared a comforting embrace. Rick was stifling out tiny laughs, like he couldn't believe it. Michonne, Beth and Daryl's faces were unlike anything Raven's ever witnessed. They were overwhelmed with happiness and relief. Weeks ago, they were convinced that everything and everyone was gone. Destroyed. Maybe for a little while, they had a tiny ember of hope that they'd find survivors, but that fire died out days later. Now Raven had proven that people had survived and Rick and Carl have a chance to reunite with their family. More like the whole group was going to reunite with their family. Not of blood, but of love and trust. Raven could already tell their bonds were strong.

Raven restored them.

"Well what're we doin' sitting on our asses? Let's move." Daryl hopped to his feet and quickly prepared for the search.

An hour later, they were ready to go. Raven decided to take Lyra this time. Lyra was key in tracking these people down.

Daryl came out of the garage in a red minivan. It was one of the two cars that Raven has. Both of them were in horrible shape before the group came. Only the red car was completely repaired. She obviously never used it because she didn't know how to drive. However, if she went on supply runs and happened to come across gas she took it. She intended to teach herself one day, but even in a chaotic world, procrastination rules all. Daryl drove out of the gates and pulled up beside everyone. He opened his door and waited for Rick's call.

After Raven triple-locked the gates, she handed her worn-out map to Rick. The group formed a huddle around him. He pointed a finger at a spot to the left of a red 'x', which was her house. "The railroad runs through here. It's not that far off. But they could be anywhere by now; it's been weeks."

Michonne rested a hand on her leather sheath. "We'll have to search the whole proximity and hope we get lucky."

That's the thing Raven hated about this journey. It relied on a lot of luck. There's a chance that the group would happen to skip over their location. There's a chance that the five people were already miles away. There's a chance that they all died a few hours ago. Nothing's for certain. But Raven was determined to find them. She wasn't going to go through all of this trouble for nothing. She looked over at Carl who was intensely studying the map. Raven definitely didn't want to disappoint him.

"We'll search for as long as it takes." Beth said firmly. Rick folded the map and motioned for everyone to get into the car. Rick and Michonne took the front, of course, which left Beth and Daryl in the center seats and the two teens in the back. Lyra sat in between Beth and Daryl, her tongue hanging out as she looked around, confused. The engine roared to life, a sound almost unfamiliar to Raven, and they took off.

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Meh, sorry if this chapter sucked. :P Wasn't feelin' it today...but I wanted to put something up. Thanks (and thanks in advance) to all who are still supporting this story! I'll try not to make you bored :O

~Beanie