NICOLETTE
Nicki waved back at her sister before observing her turn to follow the others. She was glad that Sarah let her stay with Rick, she really didn't want to go back to the RV. She would have just walked around waiting for the sun to come down, at least like that she could feel useful. Even if she would have liked for Daryl to come with them. Nicki had observed the man in the woods; she wondered how much time he had spent in the forest and how much time it had took to learn how to follow traces. Maybe she would ask him how to do it, now that he seemed able to speak words instead of grunts and growls.
"Give me a minute?" Nicki turned as she heard Rick's voice. The man was speaking with Shane that took a breath nodding his head just before the sheriff started to walk towards the church.
Nicki couldn't help but observe Shane, he was acting more silent than usual, he was more distant from everyone. She wondered what was wrong with him.
"You ok?" he asked ruffling Carl's hair.
Whatever it was he seemed getting a better mood around the little boy.
"Is dad ok?" asked Carl. Shane took another breath before nodding his head.
"I'm sure he is, little man" he said before nudging his shoulder lightly "Come on let's go sit down" Carl nodded before Shane tuned towards Nicolette direction.
"Come on, Nicolette".
Nicki followed the two until they arrived just outside the church and they set down on the steps silently waiting for Rick. Nicki didn't feel like stay still. She didn't like doing nothing, so she started to walk towards a tree.
"Where're you going?" asked Shane, making her stop.
"Nowhere" she answered shrugging her shoulders. Shane's legs were bouncing up and down before he spoke again.
"You made a promise to Sarah" he said "Stay close to us, right?"
Nicki nodded her head before looking towards the tree she was walking to.
"Can you see up to there?" she asked pointing where she wanted to go. She saw Shane following with his eyes before frowning.
"Yeah?" Nicki adjusted the quiver.
"I'm close then" she said before starting to walk again as she heard Shane scoff.
She walked towards the tree. She needed to relax, and focus. She took her bow and with her right hand she took one of her arrows. She nocked it and pulled the wire. The bottom of the arrow brushed her lips as she looked at the bunk of the tree. She thought about Carol and how much she had cried that night, she probably didn't even sleep. Nicki released the arrow that hit the tree. Then she took another arrow. She thought about Rick and how distraught he felt after what had happened. She released another arrow. Then she thought at when she had run just behind Rick when she noticed that walker follow him towards the woods. How she had aimed and hit that corps and how her legs had become heavier in an instant.
Choices had been made, now we just have to wait.
She had decided to try and kill that walker, and she succeeded but Daryl was right... it had been out of luck and her body knew that. So, she froze. Nicki couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had followed Rick. He hadn't been able to help Sophia because he was alone against two walkers... Maybe if she had tried, she would have succeeded again, maybe another time out of luck. Maybe Sophia would have been back at the highway. As she released the arrow, it flew past the tree, missing it and hitting the ground.
"Fuck" she grunted.
"Language" she turned when she heard Rick's voice behind her. She hadn't noticed him getting out of the church.
"Oh... sorry" she said before walking towards the arrows stuck in the bunk of the tree.
"Were you practicing?" he asked as she moved to take the arrow on the ground.
"Relaxing" she said before turning to the man "Were you praying?"
"Trying" Nicki nodded at his words before they started to walk towards the woods followed by Shane and Carl.
The walk in the woods was silent disturbed only by their steps over leaves and sprigs. She followed Rick listening to the warm breeze getting past her ear accompanied by the tweets of the birds. Nicolette had no clue how long they had been walking since that morning, but probably it would have been twilight in few hours even if she would have never guessed it by looking at the sun. She wondered if Sophia was looking for a safe place to sleep.
"You didn't have to come" Carl's sudden voice wasn't surprising her anymore, he seemed to like sneaking up at her.
"Yeah?" she said avoiding a lower branch of a tree.
"Yeah" he said simply making her frown as she turned to look at the boy "You're not friend with Sophia" Nicki found herself taking a breath. She had never spent much time with Sophia, just when she had to look after the younger children, or when Sophia would come to her and say few things. Things that Nicki had never answered that much.
She bit her lower lip lightly.
"No, I'm not" she said in a whisper.
"She likes you, you know" Carl said simply as the two of them walked side by side following Shane and Rick.
"Yeah?" she asked with a frown before the boy nodded his head.
"She always says that you're so brave and stuff like that" he said.
"You don't agree?" she found herself say noticing his bored expression as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Thank you, Carl" she said sarcastically "I'm touched" that made him chuckle.
"It's just that you're annoying" he said making her widening her eyes "That surpasses bravery" she raised her eyebrows at the boy next to her.
"Yeah" she said with a sneering tone "I am the annoying one."
"I'm not if that's what you're saying" he argued making her nod her head.
"That's right" she said "You're a pain."
"I found the weapons" he said proudly.
"I saved your dad" she answered, but he shrugged his shoulders.
"Glenn brought him back to me and my mum" he said "That's difficult to surpass" she glared at him with a little chuckle. She wasn't sure if she was angry or amused, but he had a fair point. And when she heard him giggle too, she knew he was feeling the same.
"Little shit" she said before fastening her pace to catch up with the two men before them.
They walked a little more, but there was no sign of Sophia so far. She hoped that maybe Sarah's group had run into her, if they wouldn't found her. Nicki suddenly heard a crunching noise just before Rick made a gesture for them to stop on their tracks. Both men raised their guns and that made Nicolette do the same; she slowly raised her bow in front of her before taking one of the arrows resting on her back. She nocked it and pulled it until she was in position waiting for whatever was in those woods to came out. She didn't know why but her hand was lightly shaking and that made her nervous. She had never been nervous as she was shooting and she didn't like feeling like that. What if it was a walker? Would she be able to hit it if Rick and Shane couldn't? Will she have another lucky shot?
She hated it. The 'lucky shot'. She had never been 'lucky'; she hit the target or she didn't, there was no in between. Stay in between meaned being unreliable, for the others and for herself.
Let it not be a walker, she found herself thinking.
But by her surprise what walked out from the branches was a deer. Nicki lowered her arrow a bit with wide eyes as she observed the animal. She had never seen a deer so close. It was very beautiful, something that she really found herself thinking in a month or so. Since everything had been started.
Nicki looked at a side when she noticed Carl stepping forward towards the deer. He was moving slowly almost charmed by it. It was a peaceful sight; observing him smile widely as he studied the deer. And she wasn't the only one to think that because she saw Rick and Shane smile relaxed as they looked at the boy. Nicki smiled too, seeing something beautiful after so long.
But suddenly a gunshot could be heard echoing around them just before both Carl and the deer fell on the ground. Nicki's eyes widened in shock before she found herself say Carl's name and following Rick and Shane towards the boy.
Carl was on the ground, eyes closed and a red stain on his stomach getting wider by the minute. The deer was dead and Carl had been shot. Her breath was laboured as she saw Rick yelling for his son to wake up as he put pressure on the wound. Nicki's mouth was dry as she heard a rustling noise to her left side and before knowing it, she had pointed an arrow in that direction, just like Shane had done with his riffle. It seemed that an eternity had passed before a very plump man ran out from the woods getting pale when he saw Rick and Carl.
"Oh my God!" the man said trying to get closer.
"Don't come any closer" she said just before Shane made a step towards the man.
"You did this!"
"Is he dead?" the man asked trembling making Nicki look down at Carl who was getting paler by the minute.
Rick was crying and yelling Carl's name as the new man cried too.
"I didn't want to" he cried "I didn't see him."
"What do we do?" yelled Rick in panic "What do we do?!"
"Hershel" the man said in a whisper.
"What ya said?" growled Shane, making Nicki flinch.
"Hershel" the man said in a higher voice "We got a farm. He's got a farm. He can help your boy" Nicki turned to Rick that for the first time looked up from Carl. On his cheeks there were tears and his hands were trembling, just before he took the boy in his arms.
"Where?" he asked urgently "Where?!"
"East" the man said trembling pointing his finger "That way!"
Rick didn't wait a second before starting to run in the direction the man had pointed to.
"Is he dying?" Nicki asked with trembling hands as she looked up at Shane. The man next to him got paler and paler by the minute shaking his head muttering words that she couldn't quite catch.
"Shut up!" roared Shane making both Nicki and the man flinch.
"You don't have to even think that" he said pointing at Nicki before grabbing the man by the shirt making him yelp.
"And you! Take us there!" he said pushing the man in the direction where Rick had run to "Now!"
As they ran, Nicki couldn't seem to feel her legs. Rick was ahead of them holding his son as his arms covered more and more in blood. How could he survive? He had been shot in the stomach, he was losing so much blood, how could he survive? She felt her heart drumming inside her chest. Carl was sassy and overly proud and a real pain, but he couldn't die. After what had happened to Sophia, now losing Carl too was too much. They had lost so much; they couldn't lose him too.
"How far?" yelled Rick turning in her direction. Nicolette stopped taking heavy breaths before turning to Shane that was pushing the man to make him move faster.
"How far?!" insisted Rick becoming more desperate by the minute.
"Another half mile, that way!" the man said panting. Nicki looked in the direction he was pointing. It wasn't that far.
"I'll ran ahead" said Nicki looking up at Rick, whose eyes were wide in despair.
"You'll be slower" she said observing Carl laying limp in his father's arms "I'll warn them".
Rick nodded his head erratically not able to speak any words. That was all Nicki needed just before she turned to the man.
"What was the name?" she yelled. The man looked up at her from the ground before answering:
"Hershel" Nicolette turned and started running "Talk to Hershel. He'll help the boy" she could hear his voice becoming faint as she speeded up as much as she could. Nicki had always been a fast runner, always love P.E. lessons and right now she was focused on being as fast as she could.
The farm wasn't that far, but to her it felt like she had been running for hours. She pushed herself on running even faster and she almost let out a cry when she saw the wooden fence.
She was there. She was almost there. Nicki was repeating that inside her head as she climbed over the wooden rod and start sprinting again. As she arrived in near the house she started to yell.
"Hey!" she said, sore throat because of the running "Help!" she yelled again as the door opened to reveal a girl with short brown hair ran out.
"Help us!" Nicki said again as she felt her knees hit the grown "Hershel"
The girl, around Sarah's age was looking at her with a confuse expression.
"What?" Nicki took a deep breath before talking with a higher voice.
"We need Hershel!" she yelled "Hershel!"
The girl eyes went wide as she looked up behind Nicolette before turning.
"Dad!" she yelled before running inside.
It was the first time Nicki had turned from when she had started to ran that she turned her head to see what was happening behind her. And as she looked, she spotted Rick getting closer and closer to the farm. His left side, where Carl was laying, was covered in blood.
Nicki wasn't sure he was alive. How much blood had he lost until now?
Suddenly she felt two hands touching her shoulder making her flinch involuntarily.
"It's ok" the brunette girl said softly, like she was afraid of getting Nicki scared "It's ok"
Nicki shook her head weakly.
"He could be dead by now" she muttered as she noticed Rick running inside the house with his son, followed by a man with white hair and a woman with blond hair.
"Beth!" said the girl next to Nicki "Take care of her, I have to help dad" a girl a few years older than Nicolette step down the white stairs on the house and walked in her direction.
Nicki wasn't following what was happening, it seemed so surreal. It was all happening in a day, still it felt like days that she wasn't with Sarah.
"Are you ok?" asked the blond girl that was now kneeling next to her.
Ok?
What the hell did it mean in a world where not only the deads were coming back to life, but even a man shooting a boy in the freaking stomach?
"No" said Nicki turning to the girl that observed her with worry.
"Nicolette!" Shane's voice made Nicki turn.
"Shane!" she said as the man ran towards her leaving the man behind.
"Otis" the blond girl called. Well at least now they knew the name.
Shane knelt next to Nicki checking her everywhere.
"You hurt?"
"No" answered the girl shaking her head "We have to get inside. Rick's inside".
But before they could move, the door of the white house opened to let the former sheriff walking out. He was pale and his eyes were wide. He was in shock and Nicki felt her heart clench when she saw the man passing a hand over his face and getting his skin dirty with his son's blood. Shane got up from next to her and moved next to his friend as Otis went there too.
"He's alive? He's still alive?"
Nicki got up from the ground with tired legs, picking up her bow that she had let fall next to her. She wanted to know what was happening, what that man was doing and if Carl was still alive. But she didn't ask anything as she noticed Shane clean his friend's face with a napkin. She had never seen Rick like that, she felt so sorry for him.
"Where is he?" she heard Shane say as Rick stared at his own bloody shaking hands "Is he okay?" Rick was about to cry before turning and entering inside followed by Shane and Otis.
"Your friend" asked the blond girl next to Nicki "What happened?"
"That man, Otis, shot him" Nicki said without taking her eyes away from the door. She knew it was an accident, but how the hell didn't he saw Carl?
It was true the boy was short, but that wasn't an excuse.
She wanted to see how Carl was doing, how bad it was. Nicolette followed the steps that Rick and Shane had done just few moments before. She took a breath before taking the handle of the door and open it to let herself get through.
As she entered the house, Nicki couldn't help but look around herself. It was fully furnished; it didn't seem abandoned. Those people hadn't found that place, they were there since the beginning. The girl had no idea how long they had been on the road, but she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of those people; they were in their house, with a fence to protect them, all together with their family.
But then her attention got back on what was happening, when she heard voices the room next to the living room. Nicki walked slowly as she moved towards the entrance of the room where everyone was.
"I was tracking a buck" she heard Otis say with trembling voice "Bullet went through it. Went clean through".
Was Carl alive? Was he dead?
"The deer slowed the bullet down" the voice of another man could be heard when she reached the open door of the room, listening closely "Which certainly saved his life".
Nicki left out a shaky breath when she heard those words, suddenly feeling relived.
Little shit was alive.
"But it did not go through clean" Nicki's head shot up with a little frown, moving to look inside the room for the first time.
"It broke up into pieces" the man with white hair was saying as he put pressure on Carl's stomach. He was so pale.
"If I can get the bullet fragments out..." the man said again "And I'm counting six".
Six?
Six fragments?
Nicki looked at Rick, whose eyes went even wide, as he tried to breath properly. Everyone in the room was shocked. The brunette girl brought her hand on her lips as the blond girl walked closely to a boy around her age. Otis moved to the blond woman repeating that he hadn't saw Carl behind the deer as she tried to calm him. Nicki's eyes went to Shane as he brought his hands on his hips, not believing in what was happening.
Six fragments... was he going to be alright?
"Lori doesn't know?" Rick muttered with trembling voice making Nicki turned to him "My wife doesn't know" he kept repeating as he started crying. Nicolette bit her lips looking towards Carl. Lori would be destroyed when she knew, but it would have been much worse if something would have happened to Carl and she wasn't there for him.
"Hey" the brunette girl said as she walked towards Nicolette making her look up "Let's take a look at that knee" Nicki frowned looking down noticing the jeans clothing on her left knee, being ripped and her skin scratched.
"No" said Nicki shaking her head "There is no need."
"Come on" the girl smiled down at her "It'll take just few minutes; you can see your friend later" Nicki looked up; Shane was trying to calm Rick down as the man with white hair was taking care of Carl, there was nothing she could do to help, so maybe thinking about something else rather than what had happened would have been good.
Nicolette followed the girl up the stairs until they arrived in the bathroom. It was nice, seeing a normal bathroom after so long, but she couldn't help but feel like an alien, not sure if she could touch anything. The girl left her for a moment, as Nicki set down on the toilet, her bow reasting between her legs. It didn't take long before the brunette girl came back with a skirt, making Nicki frown. The girl smiled a little.
"Not your style, right?" she asked looking down at the cloth full of flowers "Neither mine. It's Beth's, my sister" that must have been the blond girl from before.
"But I need you to take off your jeans so I can see that wound"
"I don't think it's that serious, but whatever" Nicki said taking the flowered skirt in her hands and putting it on, before taking off her jeans. Then she set down again as the brunette girl took some cotton wool and hydrogen peroxide and knelt before her, starting to clean the wound. That girl made her think of Sarah and how she had always taken care of Nicki, every time she got even just a little bit hurt, Sarah was always on her feet trying to helping her.
"I'm Maggie, by the way" the girl said without looking up "Hershel is my father"
"The man with white hair?" Nicki asked making Maggie chuckle nodding her head.
"The man with white hair" she repeated.
Nicki thought about Carl again, she didn't know if he was still alive. Or if he would have survived the night.
"And you are?" Maggie asked after a moment.
"Nicolette" Nicki said.
"Nice to meet you Nicolette" Maggie said as she finished to clean Nicki's wound.
It was difficult to try and have a normal conversation due to the circumstances, she really didn't want to talk. It seemed to never end, all those deaths that was following them since few weeks. First at the camp, then the CDC, then Sophia and now Carl...
"Your friend is going to be alright" Maggie said again as she put a bandage around Nicki's knee.
"He is not my friend" Nicki whispered shaking her head and at that Maggie chuckled again, making her look up with a little frown.
"You're worried sick" Maggie said "That means something, don't you think?"
Nicolette and Carl never got along that well, but he was probably the person she talked the most inside the group.
"I hope not" Nicki said looking down, making Maggie look up with a confused look.
"Why?"
Nicolette shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know if he is going to make it" Nicki said turning her head towards the window. Six fragments, how could they take them out?
"I don't know" she said before Maggie got up.
"I have to go to help my dad" she said as she started to walk towards the door. "Thank you, Maggie" Nick said.
"Don't worry" Maggie answered before exiting the bathroom.
She didn't know for how long she had stayed, sitting on the toilet of the bathroom. But it felt slightly peaceful, being away from all of what was happening. The closed door was helping a little, but not for long. She felt restless. She needed to get out and face reality. Nicki wanted to go downstairs, sitting with Rick and Shane. She wanted to go back to Sarah and find Sophia and for Carl to be fine.
Before getting down the stairs, she put on her jeans and taking off the flowered skirt. She held her bow tightly as she made her way in the living room where Rick and Shane were talking, but she had no time to listen to what they were saying because the door of the room where Carl was opened suddenly and Maggie ran out calling for Rick.
"He needs blood" she said and as Rick and Shane got up from the sofa, Nicolette ran down the stairs to enter the room too; Hershel and the blond woman were keeping Carl still and Nicki's eyes widened as she heard the boy cry. Was he awake?
Carl was crying, calling for his father desperately as Hershel was doing something at his side.
"Dad!" he screamed again as the blond woman was trying to put a needle in Rick's arm to take some of his blood.
"He needs to stay still" she heard Hershel say and as she tried not to look at the needles, Nicki put down her bow, against the wall and ran towards Carl's side, trying to keep him still, as he tried to get free.
"Wait, I got him" said Shane trying to move Nicki away, but she shook her head.
"I want to help!" she exclaimed with loud voice "Let me help!"
"Ok..." muttered Shane "Alright..." he said and instead of pushing her away, he helped her to keep Carl still.
"Dad!" he exclaimed more desperately as Hershel did something to his side.
"Almost there" the man said, somewhat calmly.
"Stop! You're killing him!" Rick shouted. Nicki looked up; he still didn't have that needle in his arm?!
"Rick, do you want him to live?" asked Heshel as the woman was trying to keep the sheriff still.
"Rick!" Nicki found herself say.
"Do it now!" yelled Shane at the same time. And finally, Rick seemed to give in and stopped tossing and turning. Nicolette looked down at Carl, he was pale, sweaty and his cheeks were wet with tears. She bit her lips, feeling useless, there was nothing she could do to make things better. And panic started to arise in her, when she noticed Carl becoming weaker and weaker, stopping his movements and closing his eyes.
"Carl?" she muttered, making Shane look in her direction "Carl?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait" Shane said in panic moving closer to the boy "Wait. Wait. Hey"
"He just passed out" Nicki looked up towards Hershel that was calmly putting away a fragment that made a metallic noise as it was put in a bowl.
"One down. Five to go"
"One..." muttered Nicki looking from the man and Carl. All of that, just for one fragment?
She needed air, she really needed air. As everything seemed to have calmed down, Hershel told them that for now he wouldn't try and took out any other fragments. He would try again in a few hours and Nicki was glad. She really didn't want to see something like that as long as she could.
Nicolette set down on the stairs of the porch, breathing heavily as some tears left her eyes without her controlling it. That day seemed endless; the sun wasn't even near sunset.
"Hey" Nicki looked up when she heard Maggie's voice that set next to her "How are you?"
Nicki dried her wet cheeks with the back of her hand.
"I believe this is yours" the girl said as she handed her bow.
"Thanks" Nicki said taking it, she hadn't even realized that she had left it inside.
"Shane's your dad?" Maggie asked.
"No" Nicki said "No, he's not. I've got just my sister."
"Older?" asked Maggie, making Nicki nod her head as she rubbed her nose.
"Sarah" she said "She's with the others, with Carl's mom".
"You must be worried."
"No, actually" Nicki said "She's with some awesome people" then she turned towards the wooden door.
"Is he still breathing?" she asked observing Maggie that got serious again.
"I know what you're trying to do" said Nicki making the girl look in her direction "Making me focus on something else, but it doesn't work with me. My sister always tries."
"How so?" asked Maggie and Nicki shrugged her shoulders.
"I try sometimes to isolate myself, think about something else" Nicki explained "But after few moments I feel this restlessness inside me. Pushing me to do something. Anything" Maggie observed her for few moments before smiling at her.
"I get that" she said before standing up "Then maybe we should get inside and hear what is going on."
"Yeah" said Nicki getting "We should."
The both of them entered the room. It was deadly silent as Rick and Shane were sitting on a side and Otis on a chair in the opposite side. Nicki and Maggie looked at each other before sitting down on the couch. Her leg was bouncing up and down, afraid to hear again all those painful screams, but she wanted to know how it was going. If Carl was going to make it.
The door opened to reveal Hershel and the blond woman. All of them in the room gotten up ready to hear what was going on.
"He's out of danger" at Hershel's words they all let out a relieved breath, but his face was still hard "For the moment, but I need to remove those remaining fragments."
"Still five?" asked Nicki making the man look in her direction. It was the first time she had spoken to him.
"Yeah" he answered pensively "Still five".
"How?" asked Rick "You saw how he was" they all saw and heard, and Nicki hoped that those screams would fade at some point.
"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others" Nicki took a breath. How? They needed an hospital? How could they go deeper in a farm in the middle of nowhere?
She felt an hand on her shoulder and looking beside her, she saw Maggie, listening to her father.
"There's more" Nicki took another breath, what else could there be?
"His belly's distended, his pressure's dropping, which means there's internal bleeding" it was difficult to understand what he was talking about, but whatever it was, it wasn't good.
"A fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels" Hershel kept explaining "I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it"
"Operate him?" Nicki muttered in disbelief. "And he can't move while I'm in there. I mean, at all" Hershel said "If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in minutes" Nicki looked at Rick, he was scared, shattered and tired. He had to make a decision, but he was in no condition to do so.
"To even try this, I have to put him under" said Hershel again "But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own. Same bad results"
"What'll it take?" asked Rick in a whisper.
"You need a respirator. What else?" asked Otis, making Nicolette frown in surprise. He seemed to know what he was talking about.
As Hershel kept explaining what they needed, Nicki couldn't help but look between Shane and Rick. They needed medical stuff. Pretty specific medical stuff. Hospital stuff. But when Otis explained that there was something in the near school, he made them all feel hope even if a just a little.
"Place was overrun last time I saw it. You couldn't get near it" Otis explained "Maybe it's better now."
Rick and Shane shared a look, before Shane let out a shaky laugh.
"I said leave the rest to me."
Shane was going with Otis at the school, since Rick couldn't move from next to Carl, not only because he was his son, but even because if the boy needed blood, he was the only one who could give it to him.
"I should thank you" said Rick to Otis, once they had decided that the two men would have left soon.
"Wait till that boy of yours is up and around, then we'll talk" he answered, before Maggie took a step forward.
"Where is she? Your wife?" she asked.
"She..." said Rick "She was going towards the highway."
"It's not that far" said Maggie looking at her father, that observed his daughter with worry "I can do it."
"I'll go with her" said Nicki stepping forwards, making Shane shake his head as Rick turned in her direction,
"Nicki, no" Rick said almost sternly.
"Why not?" asked Nicki "Maggie doesn't know Lori and it's easier showing her than describe to her."
"It's too dangerous" insister Rick "I promised Sarah-"
"What you promised is useless now" Nicki argued back "You need your wife. Carl needs his mother. More than me" she said "That's what Sarah would want me to do."
"Nicki..." Rick said trying not to cry, but Nicolette shook her head.
"Whatever you have to say that it's not 'Thank you, Nicki' won't work" Nicki said calmly "I'm going and you can't move from here."
They all got silence observing her, surely not agreeing with her choice, but it wasn't something that she cared right now. She had stopped on the highway to follow Sophia, but not this time. Carl and Rick needed Lori.
"Thank you, Nicki" Rick said finally, making the girl nod her head and starting to follow Maggie outside the house.
"That was a good speech" said Maggie as she was walking.
"Thanks, I guess" answered Nicki, making the girl smile.
"We gotta be quick" Maggie said "How do you feel about horses?"
Nicki stopped on her tracks.
"Horses?"