"Don't be fightin' my battles!" Daryl growled as he pulled me away. I looked at him, more hurt at the intense anger in his voice than anything. That hurt quickly turned into anger.
"It wasn't just 'cause it was you!" I spat. "Woulda done it for anyone else Shane treated like that!"
"Jus' keep ya nose where it belongs." Daryl's voice was harsh.
"Fine!" I hollered at him as he walked away. "I will!" I picked up a hand full of dirt, flinging it at him. Of course, it just sprayed to the ground, not even close to where he was standing. Giving me a snort, he walked off.
Angry, I stormed away back toward the camp area. What was his problem? I understood that looking for Sophia had been hard on everyone, including Daryl. It seemed to affect him the most, but still that gave him no reason to take it out on the people that cared about him. Just two people, sharin' a tent. I remembered the words that I had said to Dale. That's all we are, and all we'll ever be, I lied to myself.
"Chy! Come over here!" I called to her. She came bounding up, blue eyes full of excitement. Unfortunately, she had witnessed the episode at the barn. Not with Shane and I, but with the whole group. The adrenaline of everyone else had rubbed off on her. The child couldn't sit still!
"What I gotta do?" Cheyenne grinned up at me.
"Sit." I pointed to where Carl and Lori were sitting. "I'm gonna write up some words for you..you need study time."
"Awwwl, but Spencerrrr!" Cheyenne whined.
"Chy," I said sternly, for I was not in the mood to argue.
"Okay." She mumbled, taking a seat.
"Good." I looked at Lori, who handed me a pencil. "Thanks."
"Yea." She smiled and looked back at Carl. I fetched the piece of paper from my tent and wrote down twenty words for Cheyenne to copy. I'd test her on them later, see how much she actually paid attention. Then, I wrote down a few simple math problems. Cheyenne was smart for a five year old. I wanted to keep that brain flowing.
"Does Shane think Sophia's dead?" Carl's voice suddenly broke through my thoughts.
"Shane's just scared." Lori said quietly, and I turned away rolling my eyes.
"Of the walkers in the barn?" Carl asked.
"Yea." Lori replied.
"Mom... I'm not leaving until we find Sophia. And.. I don't wanna go. Even after that." Carl said.
"Well, we're not leavin', Carl." Lori said back. "Now finish those problems."
"We're gonna find her." I gave Carl a weak smile, before looking back down at Cheyenne's spelling words.
"I just think she... She's gonna like it here." Carl said, and I could hear it in his voice how badly he wanted us to find her. "This place, it could be a home." Lori wrapped her arms around Carl, hugging him. I looked back down at Cheyenne and thought of Sophia.
When I had first met the group on the road, Sophia had been timid, a child of abuse. I had read her like a book from the start. I knew what it felt like to watch your mother get hit, and to be hit. The only difference between Sophia and I, was that her mother didn't stoop to that level and abuse Sophia as well.
But after Ed had died, Sophia had been more... Happy. It might sound wrong, but really it wasn't. After all that time, the man who had put his hurtful hand on her mother, was gone. Sophia would never have to watch Ed hit her mother again. Sophia would never have to hear him yell again. Sophia was free and it showed.
The child had opened up, especially at the CDC. She had talked more, and laughed more, even laughing at the things the adults said. Before Ed died, she wasn't even allowed to join in adult conversation, much less show interest in anyone else besides Ed or Carol. Just when she had gotten away from one horror, the world threw her into another one.
I had faith, though. I had faith that we'd find her. That Daryl would find her. He could do it, if no one else in the world could, Daryl could. I thought about it quite often, I had even dreamed about it once. Daryl coming out of the woods, Sophia beside him. Dirty and scared, but alive. When she saw the group, her mother... Her little face lit up and she ran to Carol... Yes, we were going to find her.
Something caught my eye, and I saw Daryl walking into the stables. I had to strain my eyes to make sure I was right and I was. He disappeared inside, and I watched as Carol charged in there after him. I felt a small pang of jealousy and immediately felt guilty about it. Feeling a tug on my shirt, I looked down to see Cheyenne was done with her spelling words and math problems.
"You can go play now. Stay away from the barn, and stay close to the house, got it?" I warned.
"Got it!" Cheyenne grinned and looked at Carl, who was just finishing his last math problem. "C'mon Carl!"
"Coming!" He shut the book and ran with Cheyenne toward Hershel's house. Beth had been a savior, always finding games inside to keep Carl and Cheyenne busy. It helped to have someone around that didn't mind keeping the kids entertained while us older ones had to deal with the shit.
I saw Daryl come out of the barn in a huff, so I decided now would not be the best time to try and smooth things over. Looking over, I noticed Rick and Andrea mapping out areas on the hood of a truck, so I walked over giving them a forced smile. Rick looked up, nodding and Andrea smiled back.
"Guy's goin' to look for Sophia?" I asked.
"We are." Rick nodded again.
"Can I come?" I looked at Andrea.
"Of course. We could use the extra pair of eyes." Rick agreed, and Andrea nodded.
"I think it's a great idea." Andrea said, and I could hear the sincerity in her voice. Stepping up in front of Rick, I watched as he pointed to the map.
"Also shows she could've been movin' this way, south. If Sophia kept in that direction, she could've gotten outta the forest, and into the farmland..." I lost Rick when I saw Hershel coming up, a serious look on his face. He nodded to me. I smiled.
"Rick!" Hershel called, walking up behind him.
"Hershel.." Rick turned around to greet him. "We just have our guns out because we're gonna go look for Sophia."
"Before you do that, I could use your help with something." Hershel said.
"Count me in." Andrea said surely.
"Me too." I piped up, interested.
"Thank you, both. But I just need Rick." Hershel said, looking at him. Rick looked at Andrea.
"I'll be down at the barn keeping watch until you're ready." Andrea said.
"If you change your mind..." I trailed off looking at Hershel. He nodded and motioned for Rick to follow him. Once they were farther away, I turned to Andrea. "What'd you think that's all about?"
"There's no telling." Andrea laughed.
"Yea..." I trailed off. Walking away, I decided to go to my tent and grab all of Shay and Cheyenne's dirty clothes. I grabbed mine as well, and then stalked off to Daryl's tent. He wasn't inside, so I ducked in and grabbed his dirty clothes. As I stepped back out, I was met with angry blue eyes.
"Didn't say you could go in there." Daryl was standing close to me, his face only inches from mine.
"Didn't ask, now did I?" I sneered at him, walking away.
"Spencer." I heard my name, and I turned back around, ready for some type of apology. Instead, he threw a plaid shirt at me. "Forgot one." He said with a smart ass tone.
"Ughhhh!" I bent down, picking up the shirt, and stormed off. Once I reached the water, I scrubbed the laundry furiously. Only when I my hands began to feel raw, did I stop. Gathering the wet clothes, I walked back over to our camp area and began hanging up the wet clothes.
I pinned the clothes quickly, my mind in a thousand places. After they were all pinned, I jogged toward Hershel's house. I could see Patricia, Beth, Shay, Carl, and Cheyenne sitting around a small table, playing a game. Maggie and Glenn gave me two silly grins as I jogged up.
"You look like you should be in line for an early bird special." Maggie teased Glenn, who was wearing Dale's hat. She took it off his head. "Go get your cap, I'll wash it for you, okay?" I smiled, sitting on the steps beside them. Glenn stood, and I saw T-Dog and Andrea walking up quickly.
"Do you know what's goin' on?" T-Dog asked as they walked closer.
"Where is everyone?" Andrea asked.
"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn threw in his own question.
"He went off with Hershel, we were supposed to leave a couple of hours ago." Andrea explained.
"Yea, you were. What the hell?" Daryl came strutting up, Carol behind him.
"He ain't back yet?" I looked at Andrea. She shook her head.
"Rick told us he was going out." Carol said.
"Dammit, is anybody takin' this seriously?" Daryl growled. "We got us a damn trail! Ah, here we go." Daryl said as Shane walked up. Daryl took a few steps toward him and stopped. I saw Shane was carrying the bag of guns... "What's all this?"
"You with me, man?" Shane asked, handing Daryl a gun.
"Yea." Daryl said quietly, and his voice sounded as if he really didn't know what else to say.
"Time to grow up! You already got yours?" Shane looked at Andrea.
"Yea, b-but where's Dale?" She asked.
"He's on his way." Shane grumbled.
"Thought we couldn't carry." T-Dog looked at Shane as he took the gun Shane handed him.
"We can and we have to." Shane looked at me. "Got your piece?" I nodded, feeling dread seep into my mind. My hands felt sweaty and I suddenly felt nervous.
"I got it." I said.
"Now look, it was one thing standin' around here pickin' daisies when we thought this place was s'posed to be safe. But now we know it ain't." Shane grabbed a gun and thrust it at Glenn. "How 'bout you, man? You gone protect yours?" Glenn grabbed the gun. Shane looked at Maggie. "That's it. Can you shoot?"
"Can you stop?" Maggie countered, anger and fear thick in her voice. "If you do this, if you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."
"We have to stay Shane." Carl said firmly.
"What is this?" Lori demanded, walking around from the side of the porch.
"We ain't goin' anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel... He's jus' gotta understand, okay. He, well he's gonna have to. And we need to find Sophia, am I right, huh?" Shane knelt down in front of Carl, holding out a hand gun. "Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes, you know how. Now go on and take the gun. Do it."
"Rick said no guns." Lori gently shoved Carl away from Shane. "This is not your call. This is not your decision to make!"
"Oh, shit!" T-Dog said. I looked over to see Rick and Hershel, guiding two walkers out of the woods. They had them secured with snare poles, walking them toward the barn. Shane took off, mumbling, and I turned to Cheyenne.
"STAY!" I ordered, running behind the group that followed. Andrea, T-Dog, Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, and myself ran towards Rick and Hershel. Of course, no one listened, and the others ran down as well.
"MAN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN'?" Shane yelled at Rick.
"Shane just back off!" Rick warned.
"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel demanded.
"Are you KIDDIN' me? You see? You see what they're holdin' on to?" Shane circled them.
"I see who I'm holding on to!" Hershel argued.
"Nah, man. You don't!" Shane kept going.
"Shane, just let us through, then we can talk." Rick ordered.
"What you wanna talk 'bout Rick? These things ain't sick! They're not people! They're dead! Ain't gotta feel nothin' for 'em, 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here. They're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They gonna kill all of us, less we do somethin'-" Shane was on a rant.
"SHANE SHUT UP!" Rick yelled. I saw Daryl holding his gun aimed at the walkers, and I began to fear the worst when Shane spoke again.
"Hey, Hershel, man. Let me ask you somethin'." Shane pulled out his gun and aimed it at the walker. "Could a livin', breathin, person... Could they walk away from this?" He shot the walker in the lower chest. Cheyenne ran over to me and I grabbed her.
"STOP IT!" Rick shouted.
"Three rounds to the chest! Could someone who was alive, could they jus' take that? Why's he still comin'?" Shane raised the gun, firing again. "That's its heart, its lung. Why's it still comin'?" He raised the gun, firing again.
"STOP!" I screamed, holding onto Cheyenne.
"SHANE, ENOUGH!" Rick screamed.
"Yea, you're right man," Shane said walking forward, "that is enough." With that said, he shot the walker in the head. I watched as Hershel fell to the ground. "ENOUGH! Riskin' our life for a little girl who's GONE! ENOUGH! Livin' next to a barn full of things that are tryin' to kill us. Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if you wanna live, if you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! I'm talkin 'bout fight, right here, right now!" Shane ran toward the barn.
Rick began begging Hershel to take the snared walker, but he just sat there, not moving. No one tried to help Rick, so I ran forward, going for Shane. I felt an arm wrap around my waist, swinging me off the ground. Daryl had me, his grip firm. His head was close to mine.
"He's in'a rage, girl, no." Daryl whispered, and let me go. I watched in horror as Shane began hacking away at the chain. Glenn and Maggie were screaming, and then the chain was off the door. Shane pounded on it, stepping back. Maggie was beside Hershel, crying. I looked up when the barn doors creaked, seeing the first walker step out of the shadows. I stepped in front of Cheyenne and pulled my gun from my waist band.
Andrea and T-Dog ran up when the other walkers began stumbling out, followed by Daryl. Guns were firing, the sound like thunder rolling in my ears. I heard Glenn's pleading voice as he said Maggie's name. She told him to go and I looked at her. She nodded, and I turned to Cheyenne.
"Cover your ears!" I called down to her. She stood directly behind me, ears covered. I looked back to the barn and began firing at the walkers. I saw Shane turn and shoot the walker Rick had on the snare. Rick was ordering Lori to stay back, as the rest of us kept shooting. I stopped firing when the last walker appeared. It went down, and then everything was quiet. Still.
Everyone began lowering their guns, and I looked at the mass of dead walkers on the ground before us. Footsteps caught my attention, and I turned my head to see Dale. But the hiss of a walker made me snap my head back at the barn. Guns raised. Then it appeared...and my heart stopped.
Her head was down, fighting the glare of the sunlight, but there was no mistaking who it was. She looked up, and I saw the cloudy, dead eyes staring back at us. A bite wound was on the side of her neck and blood surrounded the wound. The rest of her looked untouched, almost alive. Just those cloudy eyes told a different story.
"Oh, God... Oh... Sophia!" Carol cried out, and it was painful to hear. I felt my legs buckle, and I just sat on the ground, watching as Daryl grabbed Carol. "Sophia! Sophia...Sophia..." She kept calling out to her.
I pulled a crying Cheyenne into my lap, and glanced over to see Carl crying against Lori. Sophia kept stumbling forward, hissing and snarling. It was so unreal, it had to be a bad dream. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them. Nothing had changed. Sophia still came stumbling forward.
No one moved as she made her way over the dead walkers. She was so tiny... Shane just stood there, not saying a word. Sophia only made her way closer to us, and I watched in horror, not ready for what was coming. I watched as Rick walked forward, closer to Sophia, and lifted his gun.
"Don't look, Chy." I whispered, burying her head against my chest. I looked over at Carl, who was crying. Watching. Cheyenne sobbed against my chest.
"Sophia!" I heard her whimper, releasing another sob. I looked up, seeing Rick pull the trigger. The gun shot was loud in my ears, as Sophia dropped to the ground. Carol's cries echoed in my ears.
Okay, so that's ch. 17 ! Yes, Sophia was in the barn :( sad day ! But things are going to get better eventually and a lot of things are going to happen soon ! I am ready for the upcoming chapters and to make them crazy as mess ! I know this one was little short, and yeah Daryl's being stubborn, but he saved Spencer from possibly getting hurt by Shane. So that's a plus... Anyway, REVIEWS are GREATLY APPRECIATED ! You guys are AWESOME !
~Kaila