Glenn POV
I wasn't even sure what had happened until Rick ushered everyone out from the cars. Carol was absolutely freaking out and as I scanned the faces of the group, I didn't see my girlfriend.
"What happened?" I asked Lori, the last adult I had seen her near.
"Sophia ran off, Majesty ran after her. They went into the woods."
My stomach twisted at her explanation. "Which way did she go?!"
Rick stepped forward, also listening for some direction. Carol pointed to her left, her hands covering her mouth as she began crying. I sprinted to the tree line, Rick calling out for me to stop. I stopped and turned to him impatiently.
"You gonna go out there alone? And with no weapons?"
To my surprise, Daryl came to my side with his crossbow in hand. He answered, "I'll go with em, try to see if I can track their prints."
He extended a hand, holding out a hunting knife. I took it with a nod of appreciation. I was aware of whatever bond Daryl had with Majesty, especially considering she was the only person he had full conversations with, so maybe that was the reason he was so quick to try to help find her. Didn't seem like anyone else was up to the task.
"Alright, I'll come too," Rick said, patting his son on the head and giving Carol a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. I appreciated the help but I just wanted to pick up the pace and be ready to head the fuck out so I can help my girlfriend and Sophia just in case they would end up in the position where I couldn't.
As soon as we broke the tree line, Daryl got low to the ground and started following whatever he saw in the ground. I squinted to find what he was looking at- just barely noticing the faint shoe marks in the dirt and the way the grass separated. He looked back at me and explained, "looks like she was runnin after the girl." He pointed to a different set of tracks, "them's Sophia's, see them geeks chasing her, right?"
I nodded, just trying to give him a reason to keep walking and not talking to me. We kept pushing forward, being guided by Daryl. Rick changed his pace so he would be right beside me. "If I know anything about Majesty, she would do whatever in her power to keep her and Sophia safe."
I tried giving Rick a weak smile. That fact was undisputed- I was well aware my girlfriend had a thing for keeping everyone else but herself safe. But that was what scared me.
Amy and Carol were waiting impatiently for the three of us- bombarding us with questions the minute we got back. I let Rick handle the situation with Carol, pinching my nose in frustration as I pushed past Amy to sit in the RV. I would've stood out in the woods all night if I didn't have the other men forcing me to make my way back to the highway.
We had made our way to a creek and then there was nothing left of either of their trails- or just not far enough for Daryl to track with the amount of sunlight we had left. He promised we could get back out there first thing in the morning but I was doubting that I would get a wink of sleep not knowing the fate of the love of my life.
As I sat in the RV I leaned back in a seat and closed my eyes, picturing the scent and look of Majesty, hearing the sound of her voice and the feel of her body that I had had the privilege to feel not even twenty four hours ago. I found it incredibly frustrating how fast things could change and be left to chance in this new world. So quickly we were down two people and in twenty minutes we had absolutely no idea where they could be.
Even with the walker we had found and torn apart, searching its stomachs content and finding nothing- it was hard not expecting the worst. Even seeing the walker that Majesty had more than likely killed- it was just too weird that both her and Sophia could disappear without a trace.
The RV door swung open, and a set of footsteps followed behind the noise. I looked up, noticing a disheveled Amy coming to sit across from me. "Are you ok?"
"No, Amy," I tried to say it with as little anger in my voice as possible but I couldn't help giving her attitude to that question.
"What happened out there, was there any sign of her? Blood? Anything?"
"There was nothing. Their prints stopped at a creek- Daryl said we're gonna pick it up tomorrow morning." I sighed and took off my baseball cap, using it to cover my eyes. I didn't even think I would be able to get any sleep tonight.
"I want to come tomorrow, I can't just sit there while they're both missing." Amy grabbed the paper that held her and my girlfriend's tic tac toe game from earlier and stared at it. "I know she's alive out there. She's probably keeping Sophia safe and they found somewhere to stay for the night. Right?"
"We can all go looking tomorrow, it's not like we have anything better to do." I was trying to stay nice, keep up my hopes and optimism alive but I have never ever been apart from this girl- if she was going to make it home she would've made it home. Unless she really was out there trying to take care of Sophia.
Amy must've noticed my demeanor, asking, "you okay?"
"No, Amy, I'm not okay," I snapped. The question made me drop my head on the table and cover my face. Sure Amy considered Majesty her best friend but that was my girlfriend and the only person I had. Now it was just me and there was no one here who could comfort that loss.
"You guys were together for three years or four?" She just didn't get the hint.
"Going on four. Our anniversary is in November. Eleven eleven. She liked things like that."
"That's so cute! She never told me how y'all got together, either."
"When I started working at her job. Oh my god, she got so mad when I won employee of the month. Our boss would give us like free pizza for a month." I started laughing at the memory. "She just hated me for so long. We were arguing and she just started kissing me."
Amy laughed out loud too. "That sounds like her. She told me she had a crush on you as soon as you started working there."
That made my heart ache. I remember the moment I first laid eyes on Majesty. Everything about her was so perfect; long black hair, big kind eyes, plump lips, and a cute button nose. Her body was just so gorgeous to me as well. She wasn't the only one with a crush. Every time we worked the night shift together she'd obnoxiously try to do everything herself, pushing me out the way and being overly touchy- I used to go home dreaming about her.
"I miss her already," I said, standing up and walking away. I looked out of the window, taking in the setting sun. Even if I tried not to think about her, everything was bringing my mind back to the fact that she was out there in the darkness and I had no clue where.
The minute I woke up I was ready to get back in the woods and start searching. I had barely gotten any sleep in the first place. Opting to sit on top of the RV and watch for anyone that would approach the highway just in case. Like usual, Daryl was the first person to be up and active, using his free time to search in some of the cars he hadn't hit up yet on the highway. As much as I didn't want to bother him, I was too anxious to not.
"When did you want to start searching again?" I asked him from my spot on the RV.
He squinted up at me and then looked up at the sky. "Give it a few minutes- everybody be up and we can cover more ground. We gon find em today."
That was the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear. There was no telling when the rest of the group would be up and I had no interest in waiting. The longer I went without seeing her the more antsy I got. I felt like because Majesty was an adult, no one was taking the situation as serious. The worry would really be with Sophia. Just because their tracks went cold didn't mean they were okay.
Thankfully Carol was the next one to exit her car, her arms crossed and a look of worry resting on her face. She looked up at me, trying to send a weak smile my way but I didn't return one. I did take her being up as my sign to stand, using heavy steps to walk atop the RV and jump down on the ground. Hopefully the noise would start getting everyone up.
On cue, Dale opened up the RV door, his rifle slung over his shoulder and cans of spaghetti that we still had left over. Just two nights ago everyone was safe and of course thanks to Shane we had to leave and be back in the open for things like this to happen.
"Hey, son," Dale greeted. "You get any rest?"
"I got as much as I could," I said weakly. He handed over a can of spaghetti that I declined. "I can't eat right now."
Dale put the cans on a car hood that was parked near the RV and dropped an arsenal kit that must've been found in one of the cars. Andrea and Amy were the next people out of the Rv, the sisters crowding around the people who were already standing there. Andrea asked, "are we all going out there now?"
"Why wouldn't we?" Amy asked, coming to stand by my side. "More people out there the better chance we have at finding them."
"Calm down, Amy," Andrea rolled her eyes, looking down at the arsenal. "What's this?"
"Carl found it," Shane answered, making his way to the car. "Take your pick, we all need to be armed."
"Yeah with guns," she argued. Andrea used to be chill. At some point her attitude became worse over the time of leaving the CDC. Even with Dale she would get snappy- the only person who ever got some kind of kindness from her was Amy.
Rick, Lori, and T were the last adults to make their way to where we all stood, Rick standing right in the middle of us all to give his usual direction of what was to come of the day. Before Rick could say anything Shane continued arguing with Andrea, "Dale, Rick, and I are carrying. Can't have people popping off round every time a tree rustles."
I made my choice of a machete, feeling the weight of it while the others took their pick at the other objects in the kit. Andrea stood her ground, deciding not to grab anything. "I'm not worried about the trees."
Rick finally stopped the back and forth, "if a herd is passing by and hears that gunshot, we'd be back in the same position as before."
"So get over it," Shane finalized, walking away from the situation. Good. I was tired of the arguing and didn't care if it left Andrea in a sour puss mood.
Rick gave the spotlight to Daryl who was going to be leasing the convoy with his tracking skills. "We gon go back to that creek, follow it about five miles up and down. Chances are they're somewhere by the creek hiding out."
"Stay quiet and stay sharp," Rick finished, "keep space between you but always within sight of each other. Dale keep up on those repairs- I wanna get out of here as soon as we find them."
Dale nodded, "good luck out there. Bring them back."
At that I walked away to catch up with Daryl waiting at the three line. He glanced at me as I joined him by his side. "You really think we're going to find them by the creek still."
"She ain't dumb. She's going to stay by her only landmark," Daryl answered. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, taking a long drag and staring into the woods, "she ain't dumb."
"I know." I rubbed a hand over my face and shook my head. I reached down and put my backpack on my shoulders, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up with the two of us.
Amy decided to take a stand next to me once we started the trek. Surprisingly she was pretty quiet and kept focused. As we moved through the woods I looked for any indication that they had left something behind- or worse. It was a struggle knowing how massive the area was and just how cluesles we were of it, just following Daryl's lead.
It felt like we were walking forever, the only sounds were some heavy breathing and crunching of the environment beneath our peoples feet. I stood in the front of the group right between Daryl and Rick who were in their element, keeping focused on the task ahead of us.
Finally we reach a small clearing, Rick hushes us and signals with his hand for us to stop moving. I squint, noticing a bright yellow tent in the middle of the clearing. My heart starts pounding in an instant, swirls of hope clouding my brain as images of us finding the two of them camped out in the tent start running through my head.
"You think they're in there?" I whispered, inching forward with anxiety. I wanted to take off running and open the tent right away just to kill the uneasiness.
"Could be anything in there," Daryl answered, taking the initiative to approach the tent. I took short steps with him, Rick and Shane following behind us. About five feet from the tent Daryl stopped us and dropped his crossbow, taking out a knife instead.
I rocked on the balls of my feet as I watched him scope out the tent, circling it slowly with his knife drawn. Carol ran up next to me, nudging at my hand with a small hopeful smile. I looked down at her, studying her face for only a second before looking ask to Daryl with my brows drawn in.
"Majesty?" He called softly, "yo, y'all in there?" My breath hitched as we waited for a response. Nothing. Rick walked up to support Daryl and I watched impatiently as he carefully unzipped the tent and disappeared inside. Rick and Daryl coughed and gagged, only taking a second to scope out the inside before coming back out.
"It ain't them," Daryl announced, allowing me to at least let out the breath I had been holding. Immediately I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked back to see Amy trying to give me a reassuring squeeze. Nothing they could do was helping.
"Ain't no sign of them either," Daryl said through his heavy breaths. "Just some guy who.. opted out."
The group shared a sad look. Just felt like we were starting back at square zero again. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn't losing hope at the moment.
Before anyone could say anything, a distant sound of church bells echoed through the trees. I surveyed the rest of the faces surrounding me to make sure I wasn't going crazy. They heard it too. Daryl motioned for us to follow him and took off running.
I sprinted behind him and Rick, asking through my pants, "someone's ringing those bells. Maybe it's Majesty."
"Where is it coming from?"
Rick pointed to our left, "from that way, I'm
pretty sure. C'mon."
We kept running without much else said, following a small path that was through the trees being lit by sunlight. As the trees got less and less dense, there was a large white building slowly coming into view. As soon as I could see it I pushed through the burning and was the first one to break the tree line. As if Jesus himself was trying to show us a way, the sun was bouncing off of the church- the only thing between us now being a small cemetery.
Shane and Rick were next to me in a second, Shane saying, "that can't be it/ there's no steeple"
We ignored him and the way he called for us to stop, rushing through the graveyard without another word being said. Once I had a better view I noticed the missing steeple right away but that didn't change the momentum I had as I charged the big, bright red doors. We stopped right at the entrance, pausing and sharing a concerned look. I was just praying this wasn't another hit or miss.
Daryl exchanged his crossbow for the machete I had in my hands and Shane, Rick, and him opened the doors. As soon as they swung open we were greeted with nothing but three walkers lurking in between the benches. Again I let out a steep breath that I didn't even know I was holding in. Dead end. Again.
The other men took out the walkers silently and I chose to scream for both Majesty and Sophia. Nothing. I sighed heavily, dropping the crossbow and slumping over in one of the benches. This could not be happening right now. Everyday I wanted to wake up from this movie- and it had just gotten to the worst part.
Over the arguing of Shane and Rick, the church bells started ringing again, fueling enough energy for me to jump up and charge ahead of everyone else outside. I looked up. Nothing. I turned around the side of the building and noticed the bullhorn playing the sound and the box it was connected to. The idea of some stupid timer knocking us off our trial infuriated me and I rolled the box open, slamming my hand on the off button to put an end to the stupid ringing. "It's on a timer. What a waste."
I stormed off, running a stinging hand through my short hair. I paced back and forth around the cemetery, my eyes stinging as I fought back some tears. This all felt so meaningless. I shouted, just to express some of what I was feeling to myself. Why couldn't it just be me.
"Does she know anything about this part of Georgia?" I heard Daryl ask. I wiped my face quickly and turned to face him.
"We don't know anything other than Atlanta."
"That was your old lady, you have to have some idea of what she would do if she was in this situation."
I scoffed. "She's never been stranded in the woods. I don't think she's ever been in the woods- she was a city girl. And before that she was on an island. I have no clue what she would do that would be any different than us- get somewhere safe and keep Sophia away from walkers. She'd probably die to keep Sophia safe."
"That's no doubt." Daryl said, pausing to look out into the tree line. "Be better to know if there was any small towns out here. This church means that somebodies got to live out here. Maybe they found a house to shack up in."
"That's the problem," I said, "just running on a bunch of maybes."
We stood silent for a second before Daryl came and stood right next to me. "We got a lot more ground to cover. I'm gon find em. That girl stuck her neck out for me more than once."
"For everyone."
"And that's exactly why we gon find her. Ain't going nowhere without her."
Rick and Shane called for the rest of the group to speak to corral around them and Daryl left me there to speak to them. I sighed and held onto my bag. Time to get back to it then.
I feel bad cuz i think this chapter is pretty short. I hate that I cant write about more maj/glenn moments :( After this chapter I'm gonna work on some teen wolf tho. But next chapter is def on the way!