Chapter 11 - What Lies Ahead

With my feet propped up against the wall of the RV, I stare at the ceiling. It's been awhile since the incident at the CDC and we're now travelling to Fort Benning. As we were making our way, my truck died and we were unable to fix it. It was hard to say goodbye too, it being my first car ever but it had to go. Daryl now rides Merle's bike while I travel in the RV. Shane's jeep and T-Dog's truck died as well, leaving us all to either travel in the RV or Carol's Cheerokee.

Daryl and I haven't really spoken about what happened at the CDC, but I know he was mad at me. After we escaped, he barely spoke to me for three days. We drove in silence, the tension in the truck's cab thick. However he began to slowly let up, though neither one of us brought up what happened. The tension between Andrea and Dale is worse, her barely having a tolerance for him. I understand where he was coming from in his decesion, but I have to side with Andrea. It was her decesion, he shouldn't have made it for her.

I turn my head to the side and see T-Dog asleep on the other bed, his large frame barely fitting on the single mattress. Everyone has been exhausted, each of us taking shifts in sleep while we drive. We begin to slow down and I sit up confused.

I tap T on the shoulder, "Come on, somethings happening." I say as he wakes up.

We make our way out towards the front and we look ahead of us. In front of us, the highway is completely cut off with a sea of abandoned cars. I hear the bike and I look to see Daryl ride over to the RV's window, "See a way through?" Dale asks.

Daryl nods for us to continue as he goes to inform Rick of what's going on.

"Uh, maybe we should just go back. There's an interstate bypass." Glenn says, looking down at the map.

"We can't spare the fuel." Dale mutters as he manoeuvres the RV through the cars.

I brace myself against the kitchen sink as I look on, seeing the absolute chaos and terror of the early days, "Geez." Glenn whispers.

There are bodies in the cars, decayed and lifeless and I look away from them, "Can we even get through here?" I ask.

Suddenly there's a bang and steam comes out of the engine and Dale mutters to himself as he turns the engine off. We all follow him out of the RV as he goes to inspect the engine, "I said it, didn't I say it? A thousand times, dead in the water!"

"Problem Dale?" Shane asks, his eyes scanning around us.

"Well there's the small problem of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no..." He trails off as Daryl begins to search through the trunk of a car beside us, "Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane trails off.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl says, grabbing something out of the car.

"Siphon more fuel out of these cars for a start." T-Dog says, walking forward.

"Maybe some water?" Carol says, "Food." Glenn adds.

"This is a graveyard." Lori states and we all turn to look at her, "I don't know how I feel about this."

We all look at her for a moment before Shane turns to us, "Come on ya'll. Let's look around. Gather what you can."

I fold my arms over my chest as I make my way through the maze of cars, my eyes looking for something I can grab. The smell is awful as I try my best to breath through my mouth and ignore the bodies surrounding me. I see a car up ahead with luggage tied to the roof. I open the door and climb up, undoing the ties and dragging the suitcases down.

I kneel down on the side of the road and open it up. Inside is woman's clothing and I check the size to see if it fits. Nearly all of Daryl and mines possessions were left in the CDC when it blew up, the only clothes I have being the ones on my back. The size fits me and I rifle through them, grabbing a few for myself. There also happens to be some feminine hygiene products and I grab those too.

I open up the second luggage case and I see males clothing. I read the sizes and see that they could fit Daryl. I grab the flannels and the button up shirts as well as some boots and jeans. I see a backpack on the side of the road and I stand up and grab it, emptying it of the laptops and electronics before stuffing the clothes and supplies in it.

I stand up and slip the bag on my back before I continue looking through the other cars. I hear a shuffling sound behind me and I turn to see a walker stumbling it's way towards me. I pull out my knife and stab it in the head when I look up and see more coming in from a distance behind me.

"Shit." I breath dropping to the ground and pulling the bag off.

Beside me is a truck and I quickly think up an idea. I pull out my knife and drag the walker to the truck. I stuff the bag under first before climbing under. I reach and drag the walker over so it's pressed up against me, it's arm and leg splayed over my exposed side. My hands shake and I try to calm down my breathing as I hear them come closer.

I grip my knife tightly in my hand when I see the foot of one walking beside the truck, followed by more. I remain as quiet as possible, though my heart pounds in my chest. I wonder about the others, Daryl especially. Are they okay? Did they see them? I don't hear any gunshots so I assume that they're okay.

It seems like hours I lie there, waiting for them to pass and they eventually begin to thin out. Soon it becomes two or three walkers before it becomes nothing at all. I wait there though, wanting to be safe when I hear more movement. I grip my knife tightly when I hear something else.

"Bree?"

I let out a relieved breath and whisper back, "Under here Dare!"

There are footsteps and the walker is pulled away from me, revealing Daryl's face, "You alright?" He asks and I nod my head, "Scared shitless but I'm good."

He offers me and hand pulls me out from underneath the car. He stands me up and proceeds to look me over, "What're you doing?" I ask.

"Checking for scratches." He murmurs, his fingers trailing all over my skin.

I shake my head, "I'm fine Dare, they didn't even know I was there."

"What were you doing so far away anyway?" He asks and I realise that I'm pretty far from the RV, "I was looking for supplies. Hold on." I say, turning and getting to the ground.

I reach under the truck and pull out the bag. He helps me to my feet and I smile, "I found some more clothes for you and I. It's not much but it'll do." I say.

He nods and he turns to me, "We better get back."

I nod and we make our way back towards the RV when we notice everyone huddled beside the road, "What's going on?" I ask, drawing everyone's attention.

"Sophia ran off into the woods and Dad's chasing her." Carl says, Lori's arm wrapped around him.

"What?" Daryl asks as my eyes widen.

"She thought they were gone but two went to grab her, she ran off and Rick went after her." Lori explains.

"How long have they been gone?" I ask.

"Ten minutes." Carol says, her body shaking.

I walk up to her and take her hand in mine, "Don't worry Carol, they'll be fine. Rick's got this." I say, trying my best to reassure her.

Lori and I stand with her until we hear a rustling in the bush and Rick steps out and Carol steps forward, "Where is she?" She breathes.

Rick looks around, "She isn't here?"

Carol slips down and Lori and I rush forward to her, helping her up, "She was with you." I say.

He shakes his head, "They were after us, I had to lead them away."

"So you left her out there?" Shane asks and he shakes his head, "No, I told her to wait for me. But if I was gone for too long to head back towards the highway."

"What makes you think she knew where to go?" Glenn asks.

Rick looks over to him, "I pointed out where to go."

Lori sighs, "Look, why don't you go back out and look for her now before it gets dark. She couldn't have gone far."

He nods and turns towards Daryl, "Okay, Daryl you mind helping us? You can track her."

I turn and see Daryl nod and sling his crossbow from off of his back. Rick turns to Glenn and Shane, "The both of you should come to. Everyone else continue to scavenge while we wait . We should be back soon."

Everyone nods and Lori and I turn to Carol, "Why don't you come sit down?" Lori suggests as the men head off into the woods.

Carol shakes her head, "No, I'll wait here." She whispers.

I turn to Lori and she nods as we walk her to the barrier and set her down. She stares out towards the woods with a heartbroken expression and I can feel her pain coming off of her. It's hard to lose anyone, but to lose your child? That must be some of the worst pain a person can feel. I glance out towards the woods and have the feeling that they will find her, especially with Daryl on the job. He's a good hunter, if anyone can find her, it'll be him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's significantly darker outside now, barely any light in the day left. Daryl and Rick have been gone for hours, Glenn and Shane coming back hours ago. We've been busy clearing the area around the RV for when Dale gets the engine fixed. As I bring a barrel of water to our growing pile of supplies, I notice Andrea walk over towards Carol, who has not moved from her spot.

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair when I hear Andrea speak from behind me, "Where's my gun? You have no right to take it."

"You don't need that just now do you?" Dale asks as we all turn to look at them.

"My father gave it to me, it's mine." She contends.

"I can look after it for you." Dale suggests.

"Or you can give it back to me." Andrea says, putting up a fight.

Shane steps over towards them, "Everything okay?" He asks, looking between the two people.

"No, I want my gun back." She says, folding her arms over her chest angrily.

"I don't think it's a good idea right now." Dale says.

"Why not?" Shane asks.

"I'm not comfortable with it." Dale says, implying a darker meaning.

Andrea scoffs and looks to Shane, "Look, truth is. The less guns we have floating around camp the better." Shane states.

"You turning over your weapon?" Andrea fights.

Shane chuckles, "No, but I'm trained in its use. That's what the rest of y'all need is proper training. But until that time I think it's best that Dale keeps them all accounted for."

Andrea shakes her head and turns away, mumbling to herself as she walks off. Glenn walks forward carrying a crate with his eyes focused ahead, "Oh God, they're back."

I turn and see Daryl and Rick walking up towards us, Sophia not with them. I fold my arms over my chest as we walk forward to hear what the news is.

"You didn't find her?" Carol asks defeated.

"Her trail went cold, we'll pick it up again at first light." Rick says, climbing over the barrier.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend a night alone in the woods." Carl says, becoming upset.

"Out in the dark's no good, we'd just be tripping over ourselves, more people getting lost." Daryl tires to reason.

"But she's twelve, she can't be out there on her own! You didn't find anything?" She asks desperately.

"I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. She's out there." Rick sates and Daryl adds on, "And we tracked her for awhile."

"We have to make this an organised effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody, I've asked him to oversee this." Rick explains, looking around at all of us.

"Is that blood?" Carol asks, looking at Daryl.

He glances down at his foot before looking back up at Rick, "We took down a walker."

"Walker? Oh my God." She breathes as she begins to hyperventilate.

"There was no sign that it was anywhere near Sophia." Rick explains to her.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asks.

Rick looks over at Daryl who then to Carol, "We got the son of a bitch open, made sure."

Carol turns and takes a seat on the barrier, trying to calm down her breathing and Lori takes a seat beside her, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. Carol turns and looks at Rick angrily, "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?!" She sneers.

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off, it was her best chance." Rick says, leaning down to look into her eyes.

Shane walks forward and looks at Carol, "It seems he didn't have a choice Carol."

"How was she supposed to just find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She just a child!" She cries, tears streaming down her face.

Rick kneels down and rubs his eyes before looking back up at her, "It was my only option, the only choice I could make."

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane says, leaning against the barrier.

Carol looks at him, "My little girl got left in the woods." She whispers in agony.

Rick looks down and nods his head before getting to his feet. His face is downcast, guilty and I know he blames himself for what happened. He looks around at all of us and takes in our stares before turning and walking away, needing a minute to be on his own. Daryl steps over the barrier and walks over towards the supplies to get a drink. I leave Carol be, knowing she has enough people around her and that she doesn't need anyone else.

I turn and follow after Daryl , my arms crossed over my chest and I stand beside him, "You okay?" I ask.

He takes a swig before handing me the bottle, which I take a drink from while he talks, "I'm fine."

I lower the bottle and put the lid on and stare after Rick, "He shouldn't be blaming himself." I whisper.

Daryl grunts in agreement, "Yeah."

I turn and looks at him, "We're gonna find her."

He looks at me for a moment before nodding his head, a twitch at the side of his mouth, "Yeah, we will."

I smile and turn, making my way over to the others to decide sleeping arrangements.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rick stands before us in his sheriff's outfit, looking over the roll of weapons that Carl found yesterday, "Everybody takes a weapon."

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need, what about the guns?" Andrea asks, looking towards Rick and Shane.

"Haven't we been over that? Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles." Shane says.

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." She mutters.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, herd happens to be passing by. See then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it." Shane says as I walk forward and look for a weapon.

"The idea is to take the creek up five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are, she'll be by the creek, that's her only landmark." Daryl says as I pick up one of the machetes that has a curved blade, narrower at the bottom, wider at the top. It's not too heavy and it comes with a sheath.

I attach it to my belt as Rick speaks, "Stay quiet, keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other."

"Everybody assemble your packs." Shane instructs.

Daryl and I walk over to the supplies and grab two bottles of water and some food for for the both us, knowing he won't be carrying the bag but I will be. I turn and see Andrea walking over to Dale and he holds up his hand, "Andrea, I'm begging you. Please don't put me in this position."

"I'm not going out there without my gun, I'll even say please." She says, looking at him in a condescending way.

"I'm doing this for you." He argues and she shakes her head, "No Dale, you're doing it for you. You need to stop."

She tilts her head and looks at him, "What do you thinks gonna happen?  I'm gonna stick it on my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you give it to me."

He looks down for a second before looking up at her, "I know you're angry with me, that much is clear. But if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."

I stiffen up and I feel a pair of eyes on me from beside me but I ignore him and look on as Andrea speaks, "Jenner gave us an option, I chose to stay."

"You chose suicide!" Dale argues and Andrea gets angry, "So, what's that to you? You barely know me!"

"I know Amy's death devastated you-" He begins and she cuts him off.

"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy, this is about us. And if I decided I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that!" She says, tearing up.

"I saved your life." He says and she shakes her head, "No Dale, I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect?! That'd I'd have some sort of epiphany? Some life affirming cartharsis?"

"Maybe just a little gratitude?" He says.

"Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice, you took that away from me Dale." She says and he goes to argue but she cuts him off, "But you know better. All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this horrific nightmare we live everyday, I wasn't hurting anyone else." She says and I feel her words resonate with me as I look down at the ground.

"You took my choice away from me Dale. And you expect gratitude?" She asks.

"I don't know what to say." Dale whispers.

"I'm not your little girl, I'm not your wife and I'm sure as hell not your problem. That's all there is to say." She says before turning and walking away.

I look up and see Daryl's eyes on me for a moment, tension going between the two of us. Though we haven't discussed what happened at the CDC I know that he's angry about it with me. I turn away from his stare and walk away after the others, not wanting to feel those feeling anymore. We make our way off the highway and into the woods, beginning our search for Sophia.

We're all silent, everyone focused on looking for anything that can lead us to Sophia's whereabouts. I walk towards the front between Carol and Glenn, Rick and Daryl leading the way. I see them slow down and Rick urges us to get down. I kneel to the ground behind the men and look ahead through the trees to see a tent set up.

"You think she could be in there?" Shane asks.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl murmurs before walking forward, his crossbow aimed.

Rick urges the rest of us to stay here and be quiet as we all watch him, Daryl and Shane walk ahead cautiously. They approach the tent quietly and the other two men stay back while Daryl stalks forward to inspect the tent. My heart thumps as I watch in anticipation and soon Rick turns to us, "Carol." He whispers, indicating for her to come forward. She rushes forward, the rest of us catching up. I stand beside Shane and watch as Daryl prepares himself to open the tent door.

"Sophia?" Carol calls out tentatively, "Sweetie, are you in there? Sophia it's Mommy. Sophia? We're all here baby, it's Mommy."

There is no movement from inside the tent and Daryl steps forward along with Rick and Shane. Daryl slowly opens up the tent door and all three men cringe, covering their noses at the smell coming from inside. Daryl steps in and we all wait for him to come back out.

"Daryl?" Carol calls out.

He steps out a moment later and looks towards Carol, "It ain't her."

"What's in there?" Andrea asks and Daryl turns, "Some guy, did what Jenner said. Opted out." He says, looking over at me, "Ain't that what he called?"

I look away from him towards the ground when we suddenly here the sound of bells ringing in the distance. We rush towards where the sound could be coming from and we slow down as we try to figure out what way to go.

"Which direction?" Shane asks.

Rick points off to the side, "I think that way, I'm pretty sure."

"Damn it's hard to tell out here." Shane says frustratedly.

"If we hear them then maybe Sophia does too?" Carol suggests.

"If someone's ringing this bells, maybe they're calling others." Glenn states.

"Or signalling that they found her?" Andrea adds.

"She could be ringing them herself. Come on!" Rick says, running forward.

We run through the woods until we see a clearing up ahead and we step out, seeing a cemetery with a church nestled in the middle.

"That can't be it. It's got no steeple." Shane murmurs, looking at the building.

Rick ignores him and goes forward as we all rush towards the church. We rush around until we get to the front and Daryl, Rick, Glenn and Shane go through, opening up the doors. Walkers are inside and the men go forward and take them out quickly. It silent without their moans when suddenly Rick yells out, "Sophia!"

I turn and look outside, letting out a disappointed breath when the bells begin to ring, coming from outside. We all rush out and see them coming from a speaker. Glenn rushes forward and turns them off, "Timer. It's on a timer." Daryl says, catching his breath.

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol whispers, her voice thick.

I turn and walk away towards the cemetery. I reach the first grave and take a seat on the ground, leaning back against the tombstone. I prop my knees up and place my elbows on them, laying my head in my hands. As I'm finally sitting and resting, I feel all my pent up emotions coming to life and I let out a weak sob as tears form in the corner of my eyes.

I sniffle as the tears fall into my grimy hands and I wipe at my eyes. I think of everything that's been happening, how it's all affected me and I realise how tired I am. I think about Andrea's words earlier and how she was right. I hear some commotion coming from behind me but I ignore it, wanting to be alone more than anything. I hear people walking out of the church and I wipe at my eyes, sniffling quickly. I hear footsteps coming towards me and I see dirty boots in my vision. I look up and he's illuminated by the sunlight surrounding him. He takes in my face and I look away, embarrassed once more.

"What's the plan?" I ask quickly, changing the topic.

"Waiting for a Rick and Shane." He says and nod.

He holds out a hand and I take it, him helping me to my feet. I get to my feet and my body is inches from his, his breath fanning my face. I look up and see him looking down into my eyes, his eyes searching mine for something. He lets go of my hand and reaches up, his thumb wiping away a tear under my eye. I close my eyes at the contact and my heart pounds in my chest.

Someone clears their throat and we break apart to see Shane walking towards the group. Daryl and I walk over as Shane addresses us, "You all are gonna follow the creek bed back. Okay Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick are gonna hang back, search this area an hour or so just to be thorough."

"Splitting us up? Sure?" Daryl asks from beside me and Shane nods, "Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

"I wanna stay too." Carl pipes up from beside his mother, "I'm her friend."

Shane and Rick exchange a look and Shane chuckles as Lori steps forward to her son, "Just be careful okay?"

"I will." He says as she cups his face, "When did you start growing up?" She asks, hugging him and placing a kiss on his head.

Rick and Lori exchange a quick kiss and hug as he murmurs something to her before he pulls out a fun, holding it out to her, "Here take this. Remember how to use it?"

She shakes her head, "I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed."

Daryl walks forward and holds out a gun to her, "Here, I got a spare. Take it."

Rick, Carl and Shane stay behind while the rest of us turn and make our way back towards the woods, heading back to the highway.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We're most of the way home as we search beside the creek, nothing but the sound of crickets and wildlife following us as we go. The group is silent until we reach a large log and Carol sits down, "So this is it? The whole plan?" She asks as I sling my bag off and have a drink before passing it to Daryl.

Daryl sighs from beside me as we stop, "I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups." He says before taking a drink.

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks." Andrea mutters before turning to Lori, "I see you have a gun."

"Why you want it?" Lori asks, looking up at her before walking over and holding it out, "Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me. All of you."

Andrea rolls her eyes as she takes it and Lori sits down, looking through her bag before turning to Carol, "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through and I would do anything to stop it but you have got to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him. And when Sophia ran he didn't hesitate did he? Not for a second. I don't know if any of us would have gone after her the way he did. Or made the hard decisions he's had to make or that anybody could have done it any differently. Anybody?" She asks, looking around at all of us.

"You all look to him and then blame him when he's not perfect. You think you can do this without him then go ahead, no one is stoping you." She mutters before taking a drink.

She puts the bottle away and Andrea steps forward, holding out the gun and giving it back, "We should keep moving."

I look away and Daryl puts the bottle back in my bag and I sling it over my shoulders. Lori walks forward and I pat her shoulder before I turn and we make our way towards the highway, each of us hoping to find the little girl who has lost her way.