She's Always Smiling - Jayhd (2024)

Chapter 1: Shattering Reality - Contents: Part One

Chapter Text

She’s Always Smiling

⚘↠Shattering Reality↞⚘

Part One

Contents

Chapter 1: Days Gone By

Chapter 2: It Takes Guts

Chapter 3: Judge, Jury, Executioner

Chapter 4: Don't Blink

Chapter 5: It's All Your Choice

Chapter 6: Going for a Ride

Chapter 7: In Italy...

Chapter 8: One Second

Chapter 9: Flowing Fear

Chapter 10: little secrets

Chapter 11: i don't know what to do

Chapter 12: Blood Flows as Deep as Hatred

Chapter 13: Falling From Grace

Chapter 14: Chupacabra

Chapter 15: A Shot in the Dark

Chapter 16: Secrets

Chapter 17: Keep Quiet

Chapter 18: Dead Already

Chapter 19: Mourning the Day

Chapter 20: Triggerfinger TBD

Chapter 21: Picking Flowers TBD

Chapter 22: Executioner TBD

Chapter 23: Better Angels TBD

Chapter 24: Purifying Fire TBD

Chapter 25: 15 Roses TBD

Chapter 2: Days Gone By

Chapter Text

“Sometimes I wonder if you even care about us at all.”

A young boy, no older than the age of eleven, spoke into the small corner of the playground to his friend. “She said that to dad before school.” He explained, following his friend's flowing dress carefully.

The young girl of the same age slowed her steps to a set of old swings. “Do you know what happened?” She asked easily, looking towards the boy before sitting on the swing’s seat gently.

The boy shrugged, his flannel picking up easily with the breeze as he pushed himself. “Not really, they just fight…” The girl nods, playing with her hands, as though she’s heard it before. “Mom’s usually really mad and Dad tries to calm her down but-” He takes another pause sighing into the air. “It doesn’t seem to work.”

The girl nods her head, knowingly. Grabbing the chains of the swing, looking towards her friend. “You know we… they both-” She started slowly stumbling over her words. “They love you, right?” She asked, her voice holding an emotion the young boy had heard before.

His shoulders shrug once again. “I guess.” He picks at his jeans with slight malice. “Sometimes I think it’s me-” He admits quietly. “Like maybe I’m the reason they fight.”

The girl’s shoulders go rigid. “You aren’t the reason, Carl.” She claims strongly but quietly.

The boy, Carl, kicks some sand on the ground. “I think they're gonna get a divorce.” His voice carries little emotion, as though he thought of it before.

“Do you really think they would?”

“I don’t know anymore.” He admits sadly. The weight of the confession seemingly drifted off his shoulders as he spoke.

The girl looks at Carl’s saddened face. “Well… no matter what happens-” She starts gaining Carl’s attention. “I’ll still be here.” She claims as though it was the easiest thing in the world. “You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.” She joked, pushing at Carl to swing a bit.

Carl grinned, swinging with her. “And you can’t get rid of me.”

The pair laughed, looking onto the playground where their fellow schoolmates ran around, screaming and laughing. The two fell into a quiet space, gently swinging.

The warm air of King County, Georgia brought with it the scent of fresh-cut grass and bloomed flowers further calming the pair as they swung. The sun hid between clouds as though waiting to jump out and ruin the peace that had settled.

“Do you promise?” Carl asked quietly into the silence. The girl stopped swinging and Carl opened his mouth before the girl could speak. “Pinky promise me, Bee.” He almost begged his friend.

The girl, Bella, smiled, sticking her hand out to her friend- their pinkies wrapping around each other.

“Pinky promise.” She claimed with a smile. The pair smiled as a whistle blew loudly calling for the end of recess and their last class of the day.

But the happiness disappeared as the sun came to beat on the school. The red and blue lights, tight-lipped parents, the multiple officers standing with her caps at their chest and their hands titled down. It was the day the world tilted on its axis for Carl and Bella… Rick Grimes, Carl dad’s, had been shot. And after a long surgery that saved Rick’s life, the rest of the world titled with them.

A disease spread like the breeze; people dying, waking up, dying again… people fighting, killing, burning alive- nothing but death, pain, and agony existed. It wasn’t till most of the world died that the fear and frenzy stopped but now a new fear settled in and it’s all people could feel.

“Bee, come on,” Carl whines into the air. “We’re not supposed to be this far out.” He claims, jogging a bit to catch up with Bella.

“I wanna pick some flowers.” She shot back quickly.

Carl jogs to Bella's side. “Mom and Shane are gonna be mad.” He says to her but Bella merely rolls her eyes as Carl tries to get her to slow down, to turn around.

Bella looks towards Carl continuing her steps up a small hill where she spotted some colorful flowers. “If you help me we can get back faster and they won’t even know we were gone.” She states, gripping and ripping at flower stems, choosing the prettiest flowers to take. Her hands quickly fill up with a small bundle.

Carl sighs, sticking out a metal bucket Bella had shoved into his hands before they started their search. “How many do you want?” He asks as Bella drops the flowers into the bucket.

“Whichever are pretty.” She says with a joyful smile. “I wanna draw them.”

Together the pair moved across the flowers picking at them and gathered a colorful array.

Carl let Bella drop the rest of her collection into the bucket. “Are you not scared one of the dead people might find us out here?” He asks, confused by the air of carelessness around her.

“Is that what you fear?” She questions, smiling at Carl. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” She jokes, causing Carl to shove at her shoulder in annoyance with a playful huff. Bella picked one last flower, dropping it into the bucket. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Carl.” She claims.

With a raised brow, Carl questions his friend. “What about Mom and Shane?”

Bella rolls her eyes. “Well… I’m a kid, I can only do so much.” She said, raising her hands. The friends sighed in unison.

They had been friends since they were born- growing up and learning everything about the world together. And when the world fell, they were together for that too. Bella and Carl had seen pain and death, things children should never see,... and they stayed together for that too.

Carl smiles looking at the large bucket. “You good?”

Bella nods her head reaching out for the bucket. “Yeah, come on.” Carl pulls the bucket away from her hands and runs down the hill leaving Bella behind. She hoots at Carl, calling him a cheater for running away without her.

The two laugh as they slow to a stop as they approach the center of camp.

The laughter was short as Bella’s father came up, pulling gloves off his hands.

“Where were you two?” He questions quickly spotting the bucket and the telltale signs of the pair having just run.

Bella took in a breath pointing at the bucket with a beaming smile. “Picking some flowers.”

Shane looks down at his daughter, his face stretched in seriousness with an eyebrow raised almost comically. “You left camp?!”

Bella's smile quickly drops. “No, Daddy.” She claims turning and pointing in the direction they went in. “We were just behind the bushes over there.” Carl quickly nods his head, agreeing with Bella.

Shane sighs loudly. “You both know not to leave our line of sight.” He states knowingly looking between the pair.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I thought we were close enough.” Bella claims.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he sighs. The pair had always caused some type of trouble by running away and even with the state of the world they continued running away. Shane and Carl’s parents would always joke about it- ‘Carl and Bella are just like their fathers- always causing trouble’... now they didn’t find it funny.

Shane brought his towering form down into a squat, sweat dripping down his strong face and moistening the tips of his hair. “It's okay. Just-” He paused looking between the kids, the children that were too soft and vulnerable for the world now. “Just tell me or Lori next time, okay?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“Yes, Shane.”

Shane smiles, dropping a kiss on Bella’s head and ruffling Carl’s hair. Standing back onto his heels he waves the kids off, the pair skipping over to the firepit. Sitting as a cut log Lori, Carl’s mother, folds a basket of laundry- her thin arms covered in a sheen of sweat from the Altana sun the beats on the camp.

Lori was always a thin lady- but though her form was not imposing, she made up for it with a quick, sharp tongue.

Looking up at the pair, Lori raises her eyebrow. “What do you two have there?” She questions towards the bucket.

“Bee wanted flowers,” Carl explains, dropping dramatically next to his mother.

Lori’s light chuckle flows around the trio as Bella settles herself down near Carl but stays a distance from the mother-son pair.

“What are you gonna do with them?” Lori asks.

“I was gonna draw some then make flower crowns,” Bella explains as she separates and bundles the flowers together, settling them down against rocks. Drawing was a known hobby of Bella even though her drawings were not leveled with Picasso she still enjoyed the calming hobby.

Lori nods looking towards Carl who pulls out a comic book. “Did you both finish your chores?”

“Yes, Mrs.Grimes.”

“Yes, mom.”

Lori grabs the comic from Carl’s hands, who turns in a huff. “Carl, why don’t you do some homework?” Lori offers setting the comic down next to her leg. “Don’t give me that look, it's important to study.” Her mom voice comes out as she looks towards Carl.

Complaining, Carl looks towards his mother with beginning eyes. “Can I just read?” He asks his finger crossed behind his back causing Bella to smile.

Lori stands strong for a mere moment before she sighs under the gaze of the two kids. “Fine.” She relents but quickly stops Carl who bends down for the comic. “But not a comic book.”

With another sigh, Carl turns on his heel heading towards the camp's RV in search of a book. With Carl gone, Bella and Lori settle into silence going back to their separate activities. It only takes a few minutes before Carl comes out with a simple book from Dale’s little library within his RV. Dale being an older man with graying hair and a gentle face- sat atop his RV keeping watch for the camp.

Carl settles down next to Bella, leaning against the wood log and pulling his knees up to rest his book. Bella took a side glance at the book title before starting her light sketching. Carl began reading the book, ‘The Hobbit’ recommended by Dale himself out loud to Bella and his mom.

Minutes pass as Carl reads the book, stopping a few times with troubling words before continuing once again on the passages. Bella focuses on her sketchbook, pencil moving across the page and eraser shavings pushed to the ground.

With her sketch deemed good enough, Bella sets her book aside and moves to her knees. With the bundles of flowers at her side her fingers move carefully twisting and turning the stems into place to create a chain of flowers.

The partially made flower crown is held up to Carl’s head every minute or two, Bella adding flowers to size the crown. Carl sighs in annoyance as Bella continuously places the crown on his head.

“I’m trying to read.” Carl finally says when Bella once again puts the crown to his head- the constant action distracting him from the book.

“I’m trying to make us crowns,” Bella explains, simply twisting stems and grabbing more flowers.

Carl closes his book with a snap and looks at his friend. “Boys don’t wear crowns.” He claims.

Bella pauses looking towards Carl. “Yes, they do.”

“Not flower crowns.”

She shrugs her shoulders with not a care in the world, the crown once again at Carl’s head. “They do now.”

Carl pushes at Bella's hands trying to move her away when a small body comes bouncing towards the pair, stopping themselves right at Bella and Carl’s feet.

“Hi, Bella. Hi Carl.” The joyful voice says, shying at Carl’s name. Looking up Bella and Carl see another girl their age, Sophia, a thin girl with messy blonde hair and long uncoordinated limbs. “What are you doing?” She asks.

“Reading and making crowns,” Bella responds simply and dryly, the crown dropping to her lap- Carl gives his friend a look from the corner of his eye confused at the sudden change in attitude.

“Can I make a crown?” Sophia requests with a hopeful smile. The girl tried constantly to play with the pair since they were the only other kids in the camp besides a few younger children who kept to themselves.

Bella grabs her flowers pulling them closer to herself. “You’ll have to find your own flowers.” She responds, voice hard, watching Sophia’s smile drop slowly. Lori, forgotten to the side, clears her throat drawing Bella’s attention. With a sigh, she looks back to Sophia.“I only got enough for Carl and me.” She explains with a softer tone.

In an explosive movement, Carl hops up from his seat dropping the forgotten book at Bella’s side. “She can have my flowers.” He says, causing Bella’s face to drop in confusion and sadness as she watches Carl leave her behind and head towards her father. “Hey, Shane!” Carl calls out to Shane quickly catching up to the larger man.

Ever since the death of Carl’s father, he had drawn closer to his godfather Shane, Bella’s father. Bella herself did not necessarily mind that Carl was spending time with her dad… but she did mind when he would leave her alone with others.

Bella sighs and moves herself gently prompting Sophia to drop down next to her. The pair sat together weaving flowers, Sophia stopping Bella to question how to do the next flower with Bella explaining that it was the same process as the rest. With Bella’s annoyance growing with each flower, a chubby-face man that was nothing but a headache came stomping towards the girls- he quickly grabbed at Sophia’s arm dragging her away with an excuse that Bella didn’t catch and didn’t care too.

With the sun moving farther across the sky, the afternoon breeze dissipated fully, leaving nothing but the afternoon sun beating down.

Resting underneath an umbrella, Bella looked up from her sketchbook to see Carl bounding over to her. “Where’d Sophia go?” He asks looking around the small camp for the girl.

“Why do you care? You left us first.”

Carl stands up straight. “I wanted to see what Shane was doing.” He explains sitting down next to Bella and trying to peek into her sketchbook. “What are you drawing now?” He asks as Bella snaps the book closed quickly.

“Nothing.” She says putting the book away and looking towards her friend, her chest feeling a tightness at the expression on Carl’s face. “I was thinking of asking Daddy to take me out to check the traps, you wanna come?” The question is said softly, Bella’s eye tracing Carl’s face carefully.

“Yeah!” He exclaims with a bright smile. “When are you gonna go?”

Bella stood up to brush her dress off. “I was gonna ask once Daddy was done chopping wood.”

Carl turns towards his mom who stands a distance away moving small firewood into piles. “Can I go, Mom?”

Lori looks up from the side of her eyes and nods having heard the conversation. “If Shane’s okay with it.”

Carl stands up to join Bella as the radio centered between the firepit and the RV crackled to life. Everyone in the camp goes quiet and still, turning towards the radio.

“Hel-ello?” A man's voice crackles over the radio. “Can an-ody -ear my voice?”

A blonde-haired girl of twenty years old, Amy, is the closet and moves to answer the man. “Hey? Hello?”

“Can - hear my voi-?”

“Yes, I can hear you,” Amy responds quickly, encouraging the man to speak. “You're coming through. Over.”

However, the voice over the radio seems to have not heard the callback. “Anybody -o reads, -ease -pon-d.” He continues as the group of survivors gather around the radio. Lori comes behind Bella and Carl, her hand resting reassuringly on her son’s shoulder. “Broadcast- on the -ergency chan— pproaching Atlanta - Highway 85. Anybody reads, p-e respond.”

Amy speaks again, voice raised. “We're just outside the city.” The radio squeaks and crackles as it struggles to keep the connection. “Damnit. Hello? Hello?” The noise fizzles out and the radio goes quiet. Amy’s shoulders drop, and the camp sighs in unison. “He couldn't hear me. I couldn't warn him.”

Dale, now down from his post, moves closer with his rifle resting in his hand. “Try to raise him again.” His head turns towards Shane who comes up with an axe still in his hands. “Come on, son. You know best how to work this thing.” Dale spoke to Shane.

Slamming the axe into an abandoned stump, he spoke into the radio. “Hello, hello, is the person who calls still on the air?” He questions into the radio with a pause. “This is Officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting a person unknown, please respond.” With an unanswered crackle from the radio, Shane sighs, dropping the radio. “He's gone.”

“There are others,” Lori states. “It's not just us.”

Shane nods his head looking up to Lori. “Yeah, we knew there would be, right, that's why we let the CB on.”

“Lots of good it's been doing.” She claims, drawing everyone's attention to her. “I've been saying for a week... that we ought to put signs up on 85 to warn people away from the city.”

Amy nods in agreement. “Folks got no idea what they're getting into.”

“We don't have enough time for signs,” Shane explains once again to the group, standing up from the radio.

“I think we need to make time,” Lori demanded, crossing her arms, her hip jutting out, voice laced with attitude.

“Yeah, that, uh… That's a luxury we can't afford.” He says pulling his hat off his head and smacking it into his hands in controlled frustration. “We are surviving here. We are day to day.”

Before Lori can resort, Dale speaks up. “And who the hell would you propose to send?”

“I'll go. Give me a vehicle.”

“No.” Shane shoots back before Lori can finish her sentence. “Nobody goes anywhere alone, you know that.” He states looking at the group before settling back on Lori. “Everyone knows that.”

Lori huffs. “Yes, sir.” Turning on her heel she stomped back towards her tent leaving the group in a moment of silence before they turned back to their work.

Carl and Bella stood towards the back watching Lori leave. Carl starts to move after his mother but is quickly stopped by Shane.

“Hey, hey, come on, take a seat, buddy,” Shane says, pointing towards a lawn chair. Carl’s face told of wanting to resort but he knew better. “Princess, stay with Carl.” Says Shane as he moves after Lori leaving the two children behind.

The conversion between the two widowed parents was private, kept from their children and the group.

Once Shane emerged from the tent and sent Carl to see his mom, he walked over to his daughter kneeling down next to her as she drew, curled up into the lawn chair.
Bella sat for a moment, waiting for her dad to say something but nothing came. Stopping her pencil strokes she looked to her father. “Everything okay, daddy?” She asks carefully.

Shane turns to his daughter, hand finding her hair, and petting it gently in affirmation. “Everything is fine, Princess. You don’t need to worry.” He speaks, pulling back gently to truly look at his daughter. “Are you okay, sweetheart? I know a lot has happened and we haven’t really had time to talk about it.”

“I’m fine, daddy.” She responds, her face curling in a smile. “Carl’s fine.” She adds on.

Shane gave a knowing smile grabbing at Bella’s cheek before turning his face with gentle seriousness. “I’m asking about you right now.”

Bella nods. “I’m fine. Maybe I'm a bit tired.” She explains, shrugging her shoulders. “The cots are uncomfortable- and I need to do my hair.”

Shane nods. “I know. I know.” He agrees, pulling gently at one of the many knots in Bella’s hair- the curls growing out of control since everything fell. “Hopefully soon we’ll get some real beds.” He adds. “And figure out something with this hair.” Bella hisses as her dad pulls at a knot, her hand smacking loudly on his chest but not causing any harm.

“I was gonna ask Mrs. Jacqui about it.” Shane looks down at Bella. “She said she could show me some ways to deal with it.”

Shane smiles, flatting Bella’s hair. “Sounds like a perfect idea, Princess.”

Bella smiles under the small praise and pokes at Shane’s face when she realizes he was looking at her hair once again. “Can we go with you to check the traps?”

Shane pulls back and rests on his foot. “We? As in you and Carl?” Bella nods her answer, one Shane already knew. “Of course, sweetheart.” He says, grabbing Bella by the hand and walking to find Carl.

The sun set and the temperature dropped, the camp coming together to rest. Though rest could never truly be found; the fire could only burn so high, they only had little to eat and drink, no comfortable beds and homes to sleep… and all that meant nothing when the nightmares of being ripped alive by the dead people rang in their minds every moment they slept- and every moment they lived.

Chapter 3: It Takes Guts

Chapter Text

With a new morning, the camp began their daily chores once more. Bella and Lori sit around the fire pit, picking, skinning, and cutting- Lori cutting- some wild veggies that one of the other survivors had found, preparing for lunch. There wasn’t much food nowadays… and there most certainly weren’t many choices, so anything they could find was used with not a piece thrown away.

Bella skins one last potato, dropping into a water bath and putting the skinner down. “All done, Mrs. Grimes.” She claims as she carries the semi-large container of water and potatoes over to the grown women.

“Thank you, sweetie. We’re almost done.”

Bella gives Lori a small smile and plops down next to Carl who scribbles out some math problems. Lori had to practically force Carl to sit down and do some studying, ‘Studying is important’, she would always claim.

“If only we had bread…” Bella almost whines.

Carl laughs before responding quickly. “I miss bread.”

“We all do.” Lori agrees, continuing her cooking. The bustling of the camp fills the air as the minutes tick by.

There was a light worry settled over the camp. A group of survivors from camp had volunteered to journey off into Altana city- a place infested with the walking dead- to retrieve necessary supplies the group needed; medicine, food, clothes, and ammo. But they had not returned.

The group was meant to arrive in the morning, a two-day trip into the city, but by now it was two and a half days with no word from any of them… not even a crackle over the radio.

The girl, Amy, walks over with a red plastic bucket in her hands, passing it over to Lori who dumps it onto a metal tray and looks through them. “How do we tell if they're poison?” Amy questions looking down at the mushrooms she had found. There weren’t many and if they were poisonous, it would be nothing.

Lori picks up her shoulders looking up with a squint to Amy. “Uh, there's only one sure way I know of.”

“Ask Shane when he gets back?”

Lori laughs gently while standing with the bucket. “Yeah, you've got it. Thank you.” She says releasing Amy from the conversation.

Amy moves swiftly over to the RV, staying close to the radio- her sister was a part of the scavenging group and her worry was greater than anyone’s.

Looking to the top of the RV where Dale sits Lori speaks loudly to him. “Dale, I'm heading out.” She states before turning towards the kids. “Sweetheart, Bella, I want you to stay where Dale can see you, okay?”

The kids quickly nod their heads looking at Lori who goes to turn.

“You too.” Shouts Dale from the roof. “Don't wander too far. Stay within shouting distance. And if you see anything, holler.” He commands looking down at Lori. “I'll come running.” Lori laughs- though Dale was a kind man, he was also an older man and though he could handle a gun, he wouldn’t be able to jump from the RV and run into the woods fast enough to save anyone.

“Yes, mom.” She responds jokingly before making her way into the forest.

Bella and Carl merely remain in their place doing their separate activities while sitting hip to hip. The camp continued its routine; chores, boiling water, chopping wood… it felt almost surreal to everyone- strangers, people that would’ve never spoken to each other now working to survive with each other, meant to stand side by side to protect each other.

Shane and Lori had taken Bella and Carl to the side when their hope of shelter in Atlanta had been destroyed, the city set aflame. They told them that things would never be the same, that it was important to watch over each other, to stay close to them- if they didn’t… it could mean death.

Bella and Carl had stopped their activities to eat a small snack and drink water. While finishing their food, Lori comes walking back into camp with Shane by her side.

The two walk seamlessly, as though they had met each other walking back to camp. Approaching their children, Carl greets them happily but Bella stares at the pair, the expression on her face a mix of confusion, interest, and thoughtfulness. But her expression is quickly wiped away as Shane commands her to go get her hairbrush in hopes of taming the mess atop her head.

Sitting around the lightly lit fire, Shane pulls at Bella’s curls. “Ow! Daddy!” Bella cries, pulling her head away.

Shane sighs trying to pull gently at a knot. “I’m sorry, Princess.” He says honestly, pulling pieces of hair apart with his fingers. “This is the last knot.”

“You said that last time!” Bella shoots back causing Carl to laugh. Bella grabs a comic, throwing it at Carl. “Shut up.” She tells him, his laughter bubbling up even more.

“Language,” Shane says simply, picking the last knot out swiftly with Bella distracted with Carl. “How many braids do you want?” He questions Bella.

With an answer of two, Shane moves quickly, parting his daughter's hair and beginning two French braids on her head. His hands, beaten and calloused with years of hard work and the handling of guns, move gracefully and gently atop his daughter’s head. The day Shane learned of his daughter's birth was an emotional one.

It was a short-term relationship of Shane’s, ending quickly when Bella’s mom, Samantha Turner, needed to return to New York City for her job. It was a mere nine months later that Shane was contacted by Samantha’s sister claiming she had Shane’s daughter and her sister was dead.

It was a difficult time for Shane, faced with a new reality of not only having a child… but having a daughter. Lori and Rick had greatly helped Shane with his girl in the early months but were forced to step back when Carl was born.

And though Shane was scared of his daughter, of the future, he decidedly became the best dad he could. He bought more books than he’d ever read, toys, clothes, and things to help his daughter grow. He went to ‘First Time Parent Classes’ and did everything he could… becoming the ultimate girl-dad, always ready to be with his daughter.

With the sun at its top point in the sky Shane, Bella, and Carl sat together working with rope tying knots into the strands.

Sitting atop Shane’s knee Bella faces Carl as the pair works at the knot Shane instructed them to. Instruction by instruction the kids twist and loop their rope.

“Attaboy,” Shane says as Carl leads his end through his loop. With the step complete, Bella and Carl wait for Shane’s next step. “Y’all ready?” Together they nod gripping at the indicated end. “And three, two, one… pull it.”

Together the pair pull at their own rope with bright smiles. Carl’s grin drops to disappointment as the knot completely unravels on his lap. “Ah! Aw.”

“Haha!” Bella cackles as she holds up her intact knot, waving her success into Carl’s face.

Rolling his eyes, Carl pushes at Bella trying to keep his face twisted in annoyance but quickly failing, the corners of his mouth twisting into a smile. “Shut up.” He demands with little strength behind his words.

Shane shakes his head with a light smile on his face looking between the friends. “Don’t listen to her, she’s been doing this since she was born.” He says to Carl reassuringly, causing Bella to stick out her tongue to Carl. Together the three laugh, Lori sitting close by smiling at the relationship between the three.

With the laughter died down, Shane goes back to teaching Carl to knot. “Start it over. Make your ‘p’ the other way… around your finger.”

Carl quickly follows Shane’s instructions paying close attention in hopes of succeeding this time. Bella rests against her dad's chest as she pulls at the knot and begins a new one, different from Carl's.

The calm that settled over the camp is swiftly interpreted by the squawking of the radio. “Hell- ase cam-!” Comes over the radio, people jumping up to move closer. “Can -body out -ere hear me? Base camp, this- dog.” Shane picks Bella up, dropping her to her feet. “Anybody -ear me?”

Quickly Dale grabs at the radio responding to the person on the radio. “Hello? Hello?” He speaks, the radio constantly squeaking and cracking. “Reception's bad on this end. Repeat. Repeat.”

“-hane, is -at you?”

Lori approaches from her spot looking towards Dale. “Is that them?”

“We- in -ome deep sh*t. We're trap- in… department store.”

A tense fog drops over the camp at the words from the radio. “He said they're trapped?” Shane repeats in concern, women cover their mouths as men drop their heads.

“- geeks all over… place- undreds of 'em- surrounded.”

Dale questions quickly. “T-Dog, repeat that last. Repeat.” With a final crackle and pop the radio goes silent leeching onto the survivors.

Lori is the first to break the silence. “He said the department store.”

“I heard it too,” Dale confirms, dropping the radio back to the stump it rests on.

With everything they hear, the survivors look towards Shane- their ‘chosen’ leader. He shakes his head swiftly, “No way.” He says strongly, he knew there would be pushback. “We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that.”

Amy looks towards Shane, unshed tears glimmering in her eyes. “So we're just gonna leave her there?” She questions, her voice gently breaking over her words.

Shane sighs, turning towards Amy, “Look, Amy, I know that this is not easy…” He tries gently.
“She volunteered to go-” Amy states her voice is lined with tears and anger, “... to help the rest of us.”

Shane nods his head. “I know, and she knew the risks, right?” He speaks gently, taking a step towards her, “See, if she's trapped, she's gone.” The words he speaks pains everyone- they know it’s true… and the truth hurts. “So we just have to deal with that… there's nothing we can do.” He finishes in a whisper.

Amy’s sadness turns quickly into disgusting anger. “She's my sister, you son of a bitch.” She spits before running away leaving everyone standing in their spots.

Lori gives Shane a strained look before jogging after Amy, thunder rumbling loudly in the distance. Sane sighs looking around the camp, sending everyone back to what they were previously doing. With a final turn, Shane looks at Bella and Carl, “Come on.” He says leading the two away. “It's all right.”

With the afternoon arriving, Carl was forced to sit on a log as his mother sawed at his hair. The scissors Lori was using did nothing but ruin Carl’s hair and Bella hated that. She turned to a book in hopes of ignoring the squirming of Carl.

With a gentle hand on her shoulder, Bella looks up to Shane. “You could do with a cut too, Princess.” He claims, picking away some leaf pieces that had found their way into Bella’s hair.

“I’m okay,” Bella responds shortly.

Lori smiles towards Bella, sawing at yet another piece of Carl’s hair. “It would be no problem, sweetie.” She claims, running the comb through Carl’s head. “Unless you act like Carl.”

“I’m sitting still.” Carl huffs in annoyance. He never enjoyed haircuts because his parents were insistent on giving him haircuts he thought were ugly. Bella would try to reassure him but ultimately agreed that they weren’t Carl’s style.

“Baby, you are fidgeting.” Lori grabs Carl's shoulders trying to get him to sit still. “The more you fidget, the longer it takes. So don't, okay?”

“I'm trying.” Whines out Carl as he pulls his head away.

Lori huffs a short laugh. “Well, try harder.”

Shane smiles, leaning his elbows on his knees as he cleans the exterior of his gun. “If you think this is bad, wait till you start shaving. That stings.” Shane claims pausing to take a good look at Carl. “That day comes, you'll be wishing for one of your mama's haircuts.”

“I'll believe that when I see it,” Carl responds, causing everyone to laugh.

Chuckling Shane came up with an idea. “I'll tell you what… you just get through this with some manly dignity and tomorrow I'll teach you something special.” Catching Carl’s attention, the boy leans forward before getting pulled back again by Lori. “I will teach you to catch frogs.”

“I've caught a frog before.”

A smile draws itself onto Shane's face. “I said frogs… plural. And it is an art, my friend. It is not to be taken lightly. There are ways and means. Few people know about it. I'm willing to share my secrets.”

Confused about the need for multiple frogs, Carl questions Shane who swiftly responds with the promise of cajun-style frog legs. Noises of disgust sound from Lori and Carl, denying the promise of frog legs.

Shane repeats his enthusiasm to Carl waiting for an answer. “What about Bella?” Carl askes.

Bella looks up at Carl. “I’m not the frog-catching type.”

Carl smiles, jumping up as Lori tells him his haircut is finished. “Scared you're gonna lose, Bee?” He pokes at Bella.

Bella gives Carl a sharp look, “Don’t start something you can’t win.” She says, her face was full of seriousness as her voice was laced in a joking tone.

Carl goes to respond but the blaring of an alarm tenses everyone’s spines. Shane jumps up quickly with his gun firmly held in his hands as he jogs to the RV. “Hey, Dale, can you see what that is?” Shane shouts at Dale who looks through his binoculars searching for the source of the sound in the rocky hills of the quarry where their camp rests. “Talk to me, Dale!” Shane shouts.

“I can't tell yet.”

Jogging up, Amy’s face is twisted in hope. “Is it them? Are they back?”

Dale pulls back slightly. “I'll be damned.”

“What is it?”

Dale’s mouth releases a cut-off laugh. “A stolen car is my guess.” He responds watching the speeding red sports car drift around turns and up to the camp, the driver moving with knowledge of the path.

Pulling up to the camp, the red car pulls to a stop. The alarm of the car blares loudly, even louder in the echoing quarry. Shane moves to approach the car as a Korean-American man gets out with the biggest grin plastered on his face.

Bella takes a step forward toward her dad in concern. “Daddy?!”

With a motion of his hand, Shane tells Bella to stay back- Carl grabs his friend's arm to pull her back.

Dale, now off the RV, moves to the car, “Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!” He shouts over the alarm.

The man, Glenn, throws his arms up, a smile still plastered on his face- a telltale sign of his still existent youth only being in his early 20s. “I don't know how!”

Shane sighs, pointing towards the front of the car. “Pop the hood, please!” He shouts as Amy runs up to Glenn smothering him with questions about her sister. “Pop the damn hood, please!” Shane shoots angrily.

The noise of the car is dangerous- it would draw the dead walkers to them, it would draw survivors to them.

“Okay- yeah yeah. Yeah yeah!” Glenn shouts, pulling the lever to pop the hood. Shane moves quickly to pull a piece of the car, forcing it into silence.

Amy, still pushing questions at Glenn faster than he could ever respond, continues her assault on his ears. “Is she okay? Is she all right?”

“She's okay! She's okay!” Glenn shouts back at her since her volume did not dampen with the removal of the alarm. Amy questions where her sister is again and Glenn responds in kind, his smile gone from his face. “Everybody is fine!” Glenn shouts to the camp, signing into a calmer tone before his face pulls into a wince. “Well, Merle… not so much.”

Shane sighs looking at Glenn with his face pulled into fury. “Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you trying to draw every Walker for miles?” He demands in question.

“I think we're okay,” Dale responds gently.

“You call being stupid okay?”

Dale shrugs his shoulders at Shane's question. “Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source.” Shane swiftly turns his scowl to Dale. “I'm not arguing. I'm just saying.” Dale says, turning to Glenn. “It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?”

“Sorry,” Glenn says truthfully, the seriousness of the alarm finally understood. “Got a cool car.” He says with a slight smile looking at the car.

The camp calms slightly as the truck containing the rest of the survivors pulls up. But with the arrival of the truck came pain for Carl. He wished every day and night that his father would return to him- that Rick wasn’t truly gone.

Bella never felt the pain of losing a parent- only having Shane her entire life- but watching Carl jump up from nightmares in a cold sweat or him stumbling his sentences because he wanted to call for his dad… it pained her in a way she couldn’t explain, something deep in her chest twisting at the thought. And Carl wouldn’t speak to her about it. She would try to be there but he would brush her off.

But now, Carl let Bella grab his hand in comfort standing at the back of the camp as people reunited with their families, fathers with their children.

It wasn’t until Bella picked her head up at her father’s words. “A new guy?”

Bella’s eyes went wide as the figure of a thin Rick Grimes rose his head towards the group. The world seemed to go silent as Rick sees Bella standing with his family- the people he was searching for finally in front of him.

It felt like a dream, floaty as the silence grew. Rick Grimes was dead- Lori and Shane told them that… he was supposed to be dead… how is he standing here?

Bella feels her eyes sting and a single tear drop down her cheek. “Mr. Grimes?” She questions causing both Carl and Lori’s heads to snap in the direction Bella stares.

The silence becomes too loud but is quickly destroyed as Carl screams in happiness, sprinting to his dad. “Dad! Dad!” He cries out.

Rick’s breath hitches as he moves towards his son, dropping to hug Carl with everything he had, tears starting to drop from both father and son.

The sounds of tears and happiness fill the camp as Lori goes to hug her husband and son- a reunion that no one would ever believe possible.

With gentle steps Bella approached the group, Rick looking at the girl and pulling her into the hug- Bella gripped tightly at Carl and Rick. The group cries and cries- happiness blooming over the entire camp as everyone is together once again.

And with the camp reunited and the sun setting, everyone moved off to their own tents- curling in for sleep. The disbelief and twisting of emotion exhausted everyone to their bare bones.

Atop the RV with the stars lighting the sky Bella curled into Shane. She could feel her father’s tension in his chest as the thunder continued to rumble above their heads. “You're upset.” She states simply.

“Upset?” Shane repeats looking down at Bella, “What do you mean, Princess?” He says gently but obviously hiding his true feelings.

“Nothing, Daddy. Nevermind.” Bella dismisses his question swiftly, curling into Shane tighter and wrapping her blanket closer. “I’m tired.”

Shane nods, “Go sleep in the tent, Princess.” He says but quiets down as Bella drops her head to Shane's thigh to sleep. Placing a gentle hand atop her head, Shane plays with a few loose strands. “Goodnight, my sweet girl.” He says quietly.

“Night, Daddy.”

Chapter 4: Judge, Jury, and Executioner

Chapter Text

A calm has draped itself over the camp- but Carl Grimes vibrates with joy. The light of it is brighter than the new morning sun and as contagious as a cold.

With the excitement, Carl drags Bella away from her morning greetings to play tag with the other children that had gathered in the center of camp- choosing Sophia as the one that was ‘it’ causing the others to scatter into the camp.

Sophia darts off with her long legs after a boy younger than herself, hoping he would be slow enough to catch.

Together, Bella and Carl creep off behind a section of bushes watching Sophia chase after the other kids. Carl switches foot to foot preparing himself to dart off and next to him, Bella stood still watching Carl- not Sophia or whoever was now ‘it’ given the shouts of disappointment… but watching Carl.

Feeling the piercing gaze of his friend Carl turned towards Bella, stilling slightly at her gaze. “Are you happy?” Bella says simply watching him before he could open his mouth to question her.

The question takes Carl off guard, his face full of confusion, “Of course I’m happy.” He says simply, as though it was the easiest thing in the world. His dad was back. He came back from the dead- he woke up in a new world and started searching for them- he would’ve searched for the rest of his life. Why wouldn’t he be happy?

Bella gives Carl a soft smile, a real content smile. “Good.” She says softly, turning her gaze away to the shouting kids.

And with Bella now interested in the game, Carl continues to stare at Bella in confusion. It was not the first time Bella said something… random or out of nowhere. It was so normal in fact that everyone knew to mostly ignore what she says- Shane, Rick, and Lori had agreed that Bella didn’t have much of a filter- similar to most kids so it was best to respond lightly and move on.

But Carl was not one to ignore his friend… and he most certainly wouldn’t ignore such a question. “Why wouldn’t I be happy?” He questions, watching Bella look down in thought before turning to him.

With a shrug, she responds simply, “Daddy and Mrs. Grimes said he was dead. But he wasn’t.”

“They thought he was,” Carl states, almost as though he was defending the people that told him his father was dead. But Carl’s innocence ignored the fact. “It doesn’t matter… he’s back now.”

Though Carl’s innocence was ignoring reality- Bella’s was fighting against it. “I like that you're happy.” She says to him right as the girl that was now ‘it’ came darting around the bushes after Carl and Bella.

Together the pair sprints away, Bella and Carl push at each other hoping the other would get caught. The game continues even as the adults complete their new routine of chores- small smiles breaking across the grown-ups’ faces at the shouts of joy.

With the kids playing, Rick drags himself out of his slumber and into the new morning. His shoulders are softer as he looks about the camp as though he truly realized that he was with his family… and it isn’t a coma dream he thought he was stuck in- it was real, all of it.

Walking into the center of camp, Rick simply watches and greets the people he comes across- letting his reality wash over him. Speaking to his wife, Rick absorbs everything he sees- and listens to the joy of the children but the conversation turns sour as Rick talks about leaving.

When leaving the city, the group left behind a member- Merle Dixion, a red-neck racist man who was nothing but nasty and rude, handcuffed to a pipe on a roof. Merle was forced into the cuffs by Rick after he beat T-Dog and raised a gun on him. And the key that would release him was dropped down a drainpipe, lost to T-Dog who was forced to turn away to escape.

Now, Rick was a law-abiding man, not only because he was a sheriff but a well-raised man that held onto his morals of kindness, and that did not change even with the new world that faced him.

He wanted to go back for Merle- a man who wouldn’t give water to someone burning alive because he could not live with leaving him. And Lori couldn’t bear the thought of watching Rick- her high school sweetheart, her husband, the father of her child, her first love- walk away into the pits of hell to save a man who doesn’t deserve the energy it takes to think of him.

With the sour conversation, Shane pulls into the center of camp, his vehicle filled with fresh water. He reminds everyone to boil the water first before consumption and gets out to walk towards Rick- he could read his best friend’s… his brother’s mind.

Shane was only two steps closer to Rick when the shouts of joy turned to screams of terror.

The worst thing about happiness is that it can disappear in a moment.

The shrieks and cries of fear drop the camp into a cold fear. “Mom!” Comes Carl’s fearful shouts, breaking the parents of their shock. The combined shouts of children and Jacqui are loud in everyone’s ears

Joining Rick in the run, Shane throws him a sharpened stick to defend himself. The quick run feels like an eternity as the screams continue. The hard beating of everyone’s fear shakes them deeply.

Hopping over a line of tin cans Lori grabs at Carl swiftly dragging him into a tight hug and looking him over for injuries. Jacqui drops to her knees and points in the direction the origin of fear resided, tight breaks barely escaping her chest.

Even with all the questions shot at Carl, he responds to none. Turning from his mother’s grasp, he shoots his gaze around him, searching. “Bella!?” Carl shouts, the image of his friend nowhere to be seen. “Bee!?” He shouts again drawing away to go back the way he came- but Lori held fast to her son as Rick and Shane continued their pursuit.

With his gun raised, Shane came into the opening first where his daughter stood still, staring at the rotting corpse distractingly eating its prey of a fallen deer. But the walker had not grabbed the deer all on its own, arrows stuck out of the deer’s back legs.

Bella's face remained neutral staring at the walker even as Shane grabbed her shoulder pushing her behind his back. “Bella, stay behind me!” He bites out, gun aimed towards the walker’s head as Rick and the other men of the camp gather around the back of the walker. Andrea and Amy approach the back of the group reaching out for Bella who pulls herself away and closer to Shane, unwelcome to the touch of almost everyone.

It isn’t until the gagging of Andrea and Amy that the walker comes up for air and turns towards the fresh meat. The men share a quick look as the walker tries to stand.

A hit by Glenn carrying a shovel. A swipe by Morales with a sharp stick. And a final grunting swing of an ax by Dale- removing its head clean from its shoulders.

The walker’s dead head rolls to a stop on its side, the body falling limp. Thick blood drips slowly from the stump the head once rested.

The group released a collected sigh at the sight of the unmoving corpse. And not even a breath later Shane turns on his daughter, grabbing at her arms, “What the hell were you thinking?!” He shouts at Bella causing her to flinch away from his voice. “You could’ve died, Bella. Don’t you understand?!” He says, fear dripping in his tone. The thought of losing his daughter was something that he could not bear and she just stared at death unmoving.

Tears weld in Bella’s eyes when she finally looks up to her dad. “I’m sorry, daddy. I was- I…” Her face contorts into fear as reality finally hits her, her voice crackling with tears.

Shane instantly drops his angry face as he watches the tears drip down Bella’s cheeks. “It’s okay, sweet girl.” He whispers softly comforting Bella as she hugs herself tight into her father’s stomach.

“It's the first one we've had up here,” Dale states, pulling the attention away from the father and daughter. “They never come this far up the mountain.”

“Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what.” A man, Jim, responds. The overrun city was out of food and the walkers left in search… everything needed to eat.

A crack of a branch sounds behind a large rock, and the group jumps into defense as the cause of the sound draws closer to the opening.

Daryl Dixion, another redneck man with a dirty muscle tee, sweat dripping down his exposed arms, and a crossbow stuck in his arms, drags himself out behind the rock- the men sighing in annoyance when they realize who it was.

Approaching the group, Daryl looks up and quickly spots the fallen deer and walker. “Son of a bitch. That's my deer!” He shouts walking into the clearing, uncaring of everyone staring at him. “Look at it.” He spits at the walker before raising his foot to beat at the fallen walker’s body. “All gnawed on by this… filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard! What a f*cking bitch!” Each word he speaks is coupled with a hard quick to the corpse.

The men simply stare at the scene already knowing the temper Daryl carried. But with each swear that Daryl spoke, Shane pulled Bella’s head closer as though it would stop the language from reaching her ears and tainting her speech. “Language.” He says simply motioning towards Bella.

Daryl raises his head swiftly, still angry with the walker. Dale steps forward slightly drawing the tension towards him in hopes of calming the situation down. “Calm down, son. That's not helping.” Dale's voice carries out simply.

“What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to ‘on golden pond’?” Daryl shoots back just as swiftly, almost as though he had prepared the response long before and was waiting for the opportunity to use it. “I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison.” He says dropping down to put the bolts from the deer’s legs. Pointing with the bolts in his hand he directs his question towards Shane. “What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?”

“I would not risk that.”

Daryl spits once more at the deer and walker as he stands. “That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel… ‘bout a dozen or so.” He points to the string of dead squirrels on his shoulder, adjusting the bunch. “That'll have to do.”

Suddenly the axed-off walker head begins to move causing Bella to jump behind Shane. The walker works its jaw and starts to growl. “Come on, people,” Daryl says, raising his crossbow to the head. “What the hell?” He shoots the bolt directly between the walker’s eyes. “It's gotta be the brain.” He pulls the bolt and looks at the group as though they were children. “Don't y'all know nothing?”

It was the only thing that put the walkers down for certain. A shot to the head, a hit, a stab… anything that destroys the brain. The government, the army, and anyone that tried to fight the walkers attempted other ways of killing them; burning, shots to the chest, cutting limbs off… everything. But the walkers weren’t alive- they were corpses… mere shells of the people that they once were.

With the deer forgotten, Daryl made his way into camp shouting for his brother, Merle. Shane and Rick stayed close behind Daryl trying to slow the man down. “Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you.” Shane says as the camp gathers around the arrival of Daryl and the group.

Bella had stuck close to Shane as they went back to camp and as soon as Carl laid eyes on her he darted over. Bella grabs at Carl’s hand letting him lead her towards the outer border of the circle forming around Daryl.

Daryl turns to Shane, eyebrow raised at him. “About what?” He questions dropping the string of squirrels onto a stump he planned to skin them at.

Coming to a stop, Shane relaxed himself into a calm stance, one he would use as a police officer, “About Merle. There was a… there was a problem in Atlanta.” He whips at his nose almost in deflection.

Daryl goes quiet, a timid and saddened look on his face as he questions Shane, “He dead?”

“We're not sure.”

The timidness leaves quickly as he shouts at Shane, “He either is or he ain't!” Anger coursing in voice- his relationship with his brother may not have been the best… but Merle was his brother, the only blood he had left in the world. And anytime they needed each other- they were there.

“No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it.” Rick drags the attention to himself, bringing himself closer to Daryl.

“Who are you?”

“Rick Grimes.”

Daryl huffs a laugh, “Rick Grimes,” He steps forward, “You got something you want to tell me?”

Rick nods his head. “Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal.” He explains simply, the anger in Daryl slowly building as he hears each word Rick says. “He's still there.” Rick finishes waiting for Daryl to react.

“Hold on. Let me process this.” Daryl paces shortly in his place, “You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!” He ends with a shout.

And with Rick’s nod, Daryl acts. Daryl runs swiftly at Rick grabbing at his shoulders and trying to pull him to the ground, but Rick throws him off simply. With another grunt, Daryl draws his knife flipping the grip in his hand.

“Hey! Watch the knife!” T-Dog calls out as Shane rounds on Daryl whose sites are focused solely on Rick.

Carl calls out in fear to his dad but Bella simply pushes him back as Shane moves quickly. Twisting Daryl’s arm to his back, Shane forces the knife to drop from his grasp and quickly puts Daryl into a headlock, choking him every time he fights to get out of the grasp.

“You'd best let me go!” Daryl shouts.

Shane shakes his head and tightens his hold, “Nah, I think it's better if I don't.”

Dropping to the ground Daryl weakly lets out his complaint. “Choke hold's illegal.”

“File a complaint.” He responds simply, “Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day.”

Rick kicks the knife farther away letting T-Dog grab it from the ground before bending down to Daryl who remained in Shane’s hold, “I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?” He says strongly, getting closer to Daryl’s face when he doesn't respond. “Do you think we can manage that?”

With Daryl’s nod of argument, Shane drops Daryl fully and takes a step back. Daryl stays on the ground for a moment before slowly rising with Rick’s face of approval. “What I did was not on a whim.” Rick starts, “Your brother does not work and play well with others.”

Daryl is still strung tight with anger but holds back waiting for Rick to better explain himself. Merle may have been a dick, something Daryl would agree with- but he was still human and they left him. But before Rick can continue, T-Dog steps forward. “It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it.”

“You couldn't pick it up?”

T-Dog has been filled with guilt at dropping the key. Even with the beating, physical and verbal, that Merle had forced onto T-Dog he still felt bad about what happened that day… even if he had deserved what happened. “Well, I dropped it in a drain.” He explains.

Daryl moves shortly to T-Dog. “If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't.” He spits out looking T-Dog up and down.

“Well, maybe this will… I chained the door to the roof… So the geeks couldn't get at him… With a padlock.” T-Dog states firmly. He gave Merle a chance, he’s still there baking away in the Altana sun.

“It's gotta count for something.” Says Rick looking at Daryl.

With his face screwing up in pain, Daryl shouts, “Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him.” He says approaching Rick. He would go find his brother the moment he learned where he was.

“He'll show you.” Lori says, causing everyone to look between her and Rick in confusion. Lori’s face is filled with resentment. “Isn't that right?”

A pregnant pause fills the camp as Rick stares at the ground fighting with himself. He did not want to leave his family, it would be the hardest thing to do… But they’re safe right now and Merle isn’t- and Rick can’t live with the fact they left him there like an animal. “I'm going back.” He says finally.

Disbelief fills the camp and a riot comes from Shane who follows after Rick questioning him about what the hell Rick was thinking. Why he would leave- how he could leave Lori and Carl. “Look… I don't understand, okay, Rick? So could you just… Could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why?” Shane begs Rick as he comes back into the center of camp, dressed and ready to go back into the city. “Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?” He spits out.

“Hey, choose your words more carefully.” Daryl says as he sharpens his knife.

“No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant.” He says easily. Shane releases a huff looking at Rick. “Merle Dixon…The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst.”

“What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst… me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being.”

“So you and Daryl,” Lori starts staring at her husband. “That's your big plan?”

Rick gives a gentle sigh before turning behind him to look towards Glenn who leaned against his red sports car. “Oh, come on.” Glenn whines when he realizes that Rick is looking at him.

“You know the way. You've been there before… In and out, no problem. You said so yourself.” Rick states back to Glenn the words he told Rick when they had first met- when Glenn had saved Rick from a tank surrounded by hundreds of walkers. “It's not fair of me to ask… I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too.” He says honestly.

“That's just great.” Shane spits. “Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?”

“Four.” Sounds T-Dog’s voice causing Daryl to huff.

“My day just gets better and better, don't it?” Daryl says sheathing his knife and pulling his crossbow across his shoulders.

“You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?”

Daryl raises an eyebrow. “Why you?”

T-Dog shakes his head, “You wouldn't even begin to understand.” He says unwilling to explain himself to someone like Daryl, “You don't speak my language.”

Dale speaks up, “That's four.”

“It's not just four.” Shane corrects, starring Rick down, “You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick.” Rick had just awoken to the new world, Shane lived through the fall- Shane knew better than Rick but Rick’s mentality of the old world was still stuck in his head. “Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp.” Shane spits, hoping that Rick will understand. “They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp.”

Rick nods understandably and Shane releases a sigh of relief. “It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns.” Rick says, seemingly following Shane’s leadership.

“Right, the guns.”

Shane stops the train of thought, “Wait. What guns?”

“Six guns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen guns.” Rick lists, “I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up.”

“Anmo?”

“700 rounds, assorted.”

Shane was slowly coming to the idea of going back into the city. Guns are important in protecting the camp, protecting themselves from walkers or any dangers that may come for them.

“You went through hell to find us.” Lori says sadly, “You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?” Her voice crackles with tears.

Carl steps forward looking up to his dad. “Dad, I don't want you to go.”

Lori huffs in anger. “To hell with the guns. Shane is right.” Rick looks towards his wife as he holds Carl’s hand. “Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in.” She spits angrily before coming closer. “Tell me. Make me understand.” She begs.

Rick looks at Lori seriously and explains why he is so adamant on going back. The father and son that saved him would be following him- they’d walk into the city, the same dangerous situation Rick did. And the only way to warn them was the walkie that was lost in the gun bag.

The walkie that matches no other scanner or bandwidth in the world, dated all the way back to the 70’s.

Lori’s eyes let loose a few tears as she looks at Rick… she can’t stop him, and it hurts her heart in unexplainable ways.

With the tension in the camp, Rick prepares the small four-man group to enter the city once more, gathering everything they would need to get both Merle and the guns that were forgotten. Within the hour, the group is ready to leave.

Once they said goodbyes and promises of returning, the group gathers into the cube van to begin the ride into the city.

Bella watched as the van left, standing close to Shane, and with a slight turn of her head she saw that Carl was no longer by her side watching the group leave.

Moving carefully Bella makes her way towards the Grimes’ tent, peering in to see Carl lying with his back to the tent opening. The silence in the tent is noticeable but Bella knows that Carl is merely listening to the silence, not asleep to it. So she carefully climbs over Carl’s legs to lay on the other side of the cot, facing Carl and grabbing his hand.

The pair merely stares at each other as the camp noises resume their routine, metal knocking and voices talking. It's only a few minutes into their silence that Lori enters the tent in the same manner as Bella, moving to sit next to Carl’s legs.

“Hey. You know, I bet they'll be just fine.” She says softly, whipping at the stray tears fallen on her cheeks.

Carl turns slightly towards his mom, “I'm not worried.” He states confidently, “Are you?”

Lori releases a soft motherly laugh, “Yeah, a little.” She admits looking into her son’s eyes.

Carl smiles gently, “Don't be.” Lori questions her son, why shouldn’t she be worried? “Think about it, mom. Everything that's happened to him so far… Nothing's killed him yet.” Carl’s proclamation causes Lori to laugh and drops a kiss onto his forehead.

A few hours go by when the group of Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog finally make it into the city and Glenn starts them on their task of retrieving Merle and the guns on foot. The group tense with what they may find in the city.

Down by the water of the mining quarry, Bella sits on a large smooth rock gently sketching the trees that poked from the top of the quarry’s wall. Shane looked up towards his daughter who sat quietly, “Sure you don’t wanna join us, Princess?” He questions.

“I’m fine here.”

Carl smiles up at Bella close to the water’s edge, whereas Shane stands knee-deep in the still blue water, bucket in hand, “I’m gonna catch you a big ol’ frog for you to draw.” Carl states proudly, fishing net gripped in his hands.

Bella laughs gently, the three had been by the water for the past half hour with no signs of frogs and not a single one caught, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” She responds simply, causing Carl to stick his tongue out mockingly to Bella and flicks the wet fishing net towards her in hopes of getting her wet.

Bella moves to revolt but Shane tells them both to calm down unless they want to scare the frogs away.

With the sun beating down the camp, the three sit by the quarry for another ten minutes before Carl starts to get bored, “I'm not getting anything.” He says lifting the empty net.

Shane sighs in disappointment before standing straighter. “Yeah. Being all wily, staying submerged. Little suckers, they know something's up. That's what's going on.” Shane cracks his neck carefully looking at Carl in excitement causing Carl to listen closer. “Just going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. All right, little man, look. You are the… you are the key in all this, okay? All I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go after one of them, all right, scare the rest of them off. They're all gonna scatter.” He explains, Carl nodding his head in understanding. “I'm gonna drive 'em your way, okay?”

“All right.”

Bella stops her sketching and watches the pair, “What you need to do is you need to round up every bad boy you see, all right?” Shane tells Carl, sparing Bella a smile. “Are you with me?” Carl nods enthusiastically towards Shane, “Hells yeah! Give me your mean face! Grr-” He commands Carl, the pair growling their ‘mean’ faces to each other, “Yes sir. Are you ready?”

“Yeah!”

“Here we go.” Shane says before he starts splashing the water attempting to scare as frogs towards Carl’s net that now rested in the water. Carl laughed as Shane splashed the water with no coordination, soaking himself and getting Carl wet too. The water soothing against the sun that was beating even harder today. “What have you got, bad boy?! What do you got?! What do you got?!” Shane claims, waiting for Carl to raise the net.

The suspense is quickly muted when the net rises and nothing but dirt and water run through the net. “Dirt.” Carl sighs.

Shane huffs, “Oh boy. All right, we've got to start over.” Shane says it as though it was the easiest thing in the world. “Come on, let's find this bucket.”

Bella has a sharp grin on her face, “I’m still waiting on my frog.” She sings to Carl who turns quickly telling Bella to be quiet.

Laughter bubbles up from Bella's chest at Carl’s face and she doubles over her lap in laughter- Carl mockingly laughing with Bella. It’s with Lori’s arrival that the laughter moves to silence.

Lori walks up, placing her hand atop Carl’s hair, “Hey, Carl, what did I tell you about not leaving Dale's sight?”

Carl's face twists in confusion, “But Shane said we could catch frogs, remember?”

Lori shakes her head, “It doesn't matter what Shane says. It matters what I say.” Lori was strung tight… angry. Bella and Carl look at each other in confusion at her attitude. Why couldn’t Carl catch frogs with Shane? Lori puts her hand to the back of Carl’s head, “Go on back to camp. I'll be right behind you.”

Carl looks on in confusion but listens to his mom, putting the net down and beginning to walk away.

“Why don’t you go along with him, Princess?” Bella looks up to her dad- she didn’t want to leave yet… the water was nice and she hadn’t finished her drawing and she says as much. Shane nods his head and motions towards the group of ladies farther down the shore where they were washing laundry. “Go with the ladies.”

Bella simply nods her head picking her stuff up to move over to the group leaving behind Lori and Shane, and Carl who made his way up to camp- watched over by Dale on top of the RV.

Approaching the ladies, Bella takes stock of everyone there; Jaqui, Andrea, Amy, Carol… and Ed who sat on the truck hitch smoking a cigarette. “Tired of the boys already?” Jaqui questions watching Bella come closer.

Bella gives the woman a soft smile, “A bit.” Jacqui was one of the only women in camp she relatively liked, having not talked with most of them. “Do you need help?” She asks looking towards the piles of clothes the women still had to clean.

Carol, a thin woman with a worn face and a closely shaved head brought a bucket over for Bella to sit, “Come on, I’ll show you.” She says sitting back down and waiting for Bella to place her sketchbook down in a safe place.

Sitting with the ladies, they lead her through the steps in cleaning on an old washboard- all while giving her little tips on how to do it quicker. Bella finally cleans her first shirt in the time it takes the others to clean five shirts each. With a sigh, she grabs for another shirt, “This is annoying.”

The ladies laugh in agreement and continue their work- dropping into conversation about everything they missed. “I do miss my Maytag, it makes this much easier.” Carol says, directing the end of the sentence towards Bella informing her of what a Maytag was.

“I miss my Benz…” Says Andrea as though she was remembering a life that had come and gone years ago. “My sat nav.”

Jacqui smiles as she rings out a towel.“I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey.” Her voice is floaty and dreamy as she thinks about her coffeemaker.

Amy joins in listing everything she misses, “My computer…” Bella nods in agreement, missing her tablet. “And texting.” Amy continues.

The conversation goes quiet for a mere moment before Andrea stops her work and looks out to the water, “I miss my vibrator.”

The women burst into laughter at Andreas' comment. Leaning forward after a slight turn of her head Carol leans towards Andrea, “Me too.” She says, causing the group to continue laughing.

But there is only one not laughing- Bella sits on her bucket in confusion with no idea why the women were laughing so hard, “What’s a ‘vibrator’?” She asks leaning forward in the same manner as Carol, as though it was supposed to be a secret.

It causes the women to laugh even harder, the sound echoing inside the quarry’s white walls. But with the laughter comes Ed… stalking up behind the women causing them to go quiet, “What's so funny?” He asks, some of the women rolling their eyes and Carol going silent.

A smile still dancing on her face Andrea looks over her shoulder, “Just swapping war stories, Ed.” She says, her face dropping in annoyance at the visual site of Ed.

Ed was a man like Merle but he was simple with his bad nature… hidden. Andrea looks back at Ed when she feels his presence remain at their backs, “Problem, Ed?”

“Nothin' that concerns you.” He blows out a lung full of smoke into the air, “And you ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club.” He says turning onto Carol.

“No need to worry Mr. Peletier,” Bella says to the man reassuringly, “We can work and joke.”

Ed looks at her with spite, “A grown-up is speaking- you ought to keep your mouth shut.” He tells her, his hand tightening as though he wanted to do more than just talk.

The group of ladies pull back in disgust at his attitude- especially towards a child. And tension tightens as Andrea stands up shirt in hand, “Ed, tell you what… you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here.” The wet shirt is tossed to Ed who grabs it and violently throws it back into Andreas’ face.

Andrea was an ‘outspoken’ and sometimes, annoying, person but she would not let anyone be abused or disrespected especially by someone like Ed.

“Ain't my job, missy.” Ed says as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What is your job, Ed?” Andrea spits, standing up taller to Ed who stares her down continuing to suck at the butt of his cig, “Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes? Talking down to a child?”

Ed huffs a laugh, “Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch.” Ed says his confidence growing as he realizes it's just him and a bunch of women, stuck in a quarry alone in a world where there are no more laws.

“Language.” Bella says simply on reflex, having heard Shane say the same thing.

Ed cackles spitting down in Bella’s direction, “Look a smart-mouth bitch in the making.” He turns his attention to Carol with the group of ladies finally silent, “Tell you what… come on. Let's go.”

“I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed.”

“And I say it's none of your business.” Ed raises his hand beckoning Carol to go with him, the woman’s body tight with fear at Ed’s tone. “Come on now. You heard me.”

Andrea tries stopping Carol, grabbing her arm and pulling Carol back. Stomping his fat legs closer Ed flicks his cig at Andrea, watching it bounce off her chest. “Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause you're some college-educated cooze, alright?” The women look at Ed in disgust, “Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later.” Ed threatens Carol.

Jacqui, having moved over to stand in front of Bella, spoke up, “So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed?” Ed looks at Jacqui, face almost uncaring. “Yeah, we've seen them.”

Ed laughs again, as though everything they said was nothing but a bad joke, “Stay out of this. Now come on! You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business.” He spits motioning again for Carol to follow him- she tries but can’t Andrea, Amy, and Jacqui will not let her walk away with a man like Ed. “You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on.”

Ed moves to grab at Carol but the women yell and shout at the man to leave them alone.

“Just leave us alone!” Bella shouts at Ed moving closer to Amy who Ed has grabbed at the bicep. Bella grabs Amy’s arm trying to pull it from Ed’s grasp.

But the big man merely pushes Bella harshly to the ground causing the women to freeze for a moment- long enough for Ed to grab Carol and raise his hand, “You don't tell me what! I tell you what!” His hand lands hard on Carol’s cheek. The abuse he just put on both a child and his wife caused the women to fully start screaming and fighting back.

But the hits from Andrea did little to Ed who reached once more to Carol who was hidden behind Amy- Jacqui bent down next to Bella.

It didn’t matter though. Since Ed had approached the women, Shane was tracking him with his eyes. And the moment Ed laid his hands on Bella was the moment Shane began his descent onto the group.

The shouts were muffled in Shane’s blood-pumping ears- the anger of the conversation with Lori and the fact that Ed, a pathetic excuse of a grown man, had laid his hands on his daughter was the only thing he heard.

Grabbing at the back of the man’s shirt, Shane drags Ed away from the ladies before throwing him to the rocky ground not even twenty feet away. Ed demands Shane let him go but he does not listen.

With his right fist raised Shane pummels Ed’s face, he watches as his face becomes bruised and bloody, the bones of Ed’s face breaking under the force of Shane’s hits.

The screams of the ladies do nothing to stop the repeated hits Shane forces onto Ed’s face. It’s only when Bella’s voice comes shouting does Shane stop his hits to grab at Ed’s already swelling face.

Shane promises Ed death if he lays his hands on his daughter ever again- a death more painful than he could ever dream of. He promises to beat Ed till he stops breathing if he ever touches another person in the camp again.

Once Ed weakly mumbles his understanding does Shane stand up from his chest. Bella darts from behind Jacqui running up to Shane as Carol drops next to Ed. “Daddy?! Your hand!” Bella cries, grabbing at the ripped knuckled hand.

Shane merely grabs under Bella’s arms placing her on his hip grabbing the back of her head as she forces her face into his neck. “Come on, my sweet girl.” He whispers as he walks away to camp, leaving an apologetic Carol crying over a beaten Ed and confused women staring at the aftermath of Shane’s beating.

The day continues with Amy and Andrea acquiring a large amount of fish for dinner and Jim digging a number of holes which end with him forcefully tied to a tree after he tried to hit Shane with the shovel he used. Night approaching in the hours to come.

Chapter 5: Don't Blink

Chapter Text

Bella sits shoulder to knee with Shane, slowly following the knife motions he makes with her own knife in her hand. The pair were fileting the abundance of fish Andrea and Amy had gathered along with others in the camp.

The process of fileting a fish came easier to Bella than trying to clean the clothes in the quarry. Shane was intent on teaching his daughter everything, not wanting her to grow up and rely on anyone else- anyone except him. If he was going to raise a little girl, he was going to make sure she was set up and ready to face the world with no fear.

Even if that meant breaking the rules once in a while like taking her to work or teaching her how to use a knife.

With Bella’s fish done, she walks over to a bucket of clean water to clean off her hands before slowly wandering over to Carl- the camp almost in a daze.

Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog have only been gone for a few hours- yet it's felt like an eternity… every second feeling like a lifetime. The city was a graveyard and to go back for Merle, a man who would surely kill Rick, T-Dog, and Glenn for leaving him… it was a suicide mission.

And now with Jim having fallen into a fit of insanity- digging holes with no rhythm or reason… and Ed attacking two people- it feels as though the world is slipping back into the frenzy it felt when the attacks of the dead first started.

But Shane, Dale, and Morales did everything they could to pull the group back together. Leading everyone back to their chores and reassuring that everything would be okay; Ed will never touch another person, Jim will come back from the heatstroke he surely has, and the group of men will safely return, guns- and Merle- with them.

Resting, well more tied, against a tree with thick leaves that create a strong shadow on the ground is Jim. When Shane had pulled the shovel from his hands- he led Jim to the tree tying knots that he wouldn’t be able to undo even if they were sitting in front of him.

Shane feels guilty forcing Jim to the tree with Bella and Carl watching from the side, but it needed to be done- he wouldn’t let anyone be in danger. And now treading softly alongside Dale, “Jim, take some water?” He says approaching the sun burned man.

Eyes slowly coming back from a daze, Jim lifts his head, “All right.”

Shane gives a small smile lifting the jug of water to Jim’s mouth, “Yeah? All right. Here you go, bud.” Jim greedily drinks the water, ice cold to his burning body. Pulling the jug back Shane stops Jim not wanting him to get sick.

“Pour some on my head?” Jim asks, dropping his head forward so the water will go down his back. The water almost sizzles off Jim’s hot skin but brings clarity to Jim’s eyes. Jim releases a long sigh, eyes finding Shane’s as others gather around the tree, “How long you gonna keep me like this?” Jim questions.

“Until I don't think that you're a danger to yourself or others.”

Jim nods in understanding, everyone’s face was etched with sadness, “Sorry if I scared your boy and your little girl.” He says towards Carol and Lori before turning towards Shane, “I’m sorry for what I said about your girl.”

Shane’s face pulls taunt before relaxing into a forced smile. When the group had confronted Jim, he said many things- that Shane shouldn’t have confronted Ed, that Carol and Ed’s marriage was their problem and that Bella getting pushed by Ed was her fault… if a child tries acting like an adult, then they're going to get treated like one. That comment didn’t sit well with anyone- especially Shane… who may have held a tighter grip on Jim’s arms than necessary.

But now, the camp goes about their days preparing for the biggest fish fry and dinner they’ve had since the world went to sh*t.

The smell of grilling fish seasoned with mismatched seasonings from the RV drifts through the camp, dragging everyone over for dinner. The air feels light with the prospect of food, laughter starting to bubble in the chests of everyone as they sit around the warming fire and the darkening sky sharing stories and conversion as though everything is normal.

Passing the random plates of food around everyone grabs at bits and pieces- the only people missing from the circle of bodies being a beaten Ed, a few mismatched people that rarely showed their faces, and the group of men that have yet to come back from the city.

Bella and Carl sit shoulder to shoulder between Shane and Lori, on their respective sides. Carl had dragged a small blanket over for him and Bella to share- the nights were getting colder and the days hotter. “Pass the fish, please.” Carl calls out, the plastic tray of pieces of cooked fish making its way over.

The small conversation slowly dies out as everyone picks at their food and Morales asks a burning question, “That watch. What’s with it?” He questions Dale as he’s gently playing with the watch laying on his wrist. Heads perk up at the question, waiting for a response.

Dale was an old man- a poetic old man, and every day at the same time he would rest back and wind the watch as though he was the village’s priest saying mass.

And the act confused many within the camp, “Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end,” Jaqui states when Dale announces his confusion about his watch. “At least hit a speed bump for a good long while.”

“But there's you every day winding that stupid watch.” Morales states with a light laughter breaking through his words.

“Time… it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least.” Looking around all Dale sees is faces that still don’t understand the purpose. “Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here.” Andrea shrugs her shoulders as if saying to not ask her. “I like… I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations… He said, ‘I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my fathers' before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.’” He recites smoothly, eyes staring at his watch as he spoke but with a slight raise of his eyes, he is met with the faces of lack-luster concern.

Amy is the first one to speak up, “You are so weird.” Everyone laughs at Amy’s words, agreeing silently.

Dale tries to explain who’s words they were but the message he tried to convey still did not reach those in the circle.

The small conversations resume as everyone relaxes- the night air drifts gently against everyone’s skin, bringing with it a blanket of calm. The world had not stopped running since the fall, had not released a calm breath into the air… but now surrounded by a group of people that would’ve never been acquainted before the outbreak, it felt as though things were calming down- that things would get better. And who wouldn’t want the world to get better after everything that has happened?

With bellies getting filled, Bella rests her tired head against her father’s leg, his hand drifting mindlessly to her hair. The conversation flows easily around the fire but takes a short break as Amy silently stands to leave.

Andrea perks up swiftly, eyes tracking her sister, “Where are you going?” She questions drawing the attention of the group.

Amy’s eyes widen and she curls inwards, “I have to pee.” She states moving towards the RV, “Jeez, you try to be discreet around here…” She says, causing everyone to laugh and turn back to the fire and their conversation.

With Amy walking away, Carl hands over his plate of remaining fish towards Bella, the girl having not touched a piece of food since sitting down, “You haven’t eaten.” He says in offering.

Bella shakes her head as she curls away from the offensive smelling fish, “I don’t like fish- you know that.” Carl rolls his eyes and finishes his plate, all while making dramatic chewing and content noises towards Bella.

Bella laughs weakly pushing at Carl’s shoulder and reaches over for the can of beans next to his leg. Carl whines jokingly at his stolen food but drops it as Bella starts eating- the pair has stolen food from each other since they could use their hands, the action did not bother Carl in the slightest.

Chewing on the lukewarm beans Bella relaxes once more as Amy’s voice sounds out behind her, “We're out of toilet paper?” She calls out from the door of the RV. Head turned, Bella looks towards Amy, “Why didn’t anyone say anything?” She complains loudly- the lack of toilet paper upsetting especially in the new world.

People laugh gently at Amy’s words keeping their back turned to the girl waiting for her to come back to the fire. With the sigh, Amy takes a few steps to the dirt ground with her grip holding the door but her approach back to the fire is cut short as a corpse grabs her arm and takes a bite.

Amy’s bloody curdling scream freezes the camp as the walker bites and pulls at Amy’s flesh- blood jumps to the air quickly from the wound, falling to the ground faster than people can blink- the flesh pulling like a rubber band that snaps clean from the arm.

Everyone jumps to their feet, Shane is the first one to stand, handgun raised and taking a swift shot to the walker's head dropping it where it stands. With the one walker dead everyone is frozen, even Amy and Andrea as they stare at each other- waiting for more walkers to attack Amy. But they don’t go for her.

Seemingly dozens of walkers growl and stumble into the open- bloody screams following after Amy as the walkers find meals of living flesh. The screams send the ground into a frenzy, Shane drawing his shotgun as others pull close to each other and away from the dead- as though grasping to the living will save them from the dead.

Carl and Bella grab at each other quickly, squeezing themselves between their parents as Shane pulls the trigger, dropping everything that comes towards them, “Mom!” Carl shouts towards his mother, holding tightly to her shirt.

The men of the group move quickly swinging and shooting everything that was dead as Andrea screamed her cries as she watches Amy’s get attacked once more, a walker coming behind her weak form and biting at her neck, right where it meets her shoulder.

The flesh pulls easily, easier than one would expect, and the smell of copper blankets the camp entirely. Running to her little sister, Andrea cries but she is pushed aside as Jim swings hard at the walker's head, killing it in one hit. Through the screaming and gun shots, Andrea cradles Amy and holds her hand to the wound on her neck begging anyone that could hear her to save her little sister… but Amy continues to bleed, just as the screams continue to sound in camp.

Walkers continue to flood out of the woods, the bodies of the living and the dead getting mixed in the darkness. “Shane, what do we do? Shane?!” Lori cries out as she holds tightly to Carl and Bella.

Morales swings his bat before screaming out, “Follow me!” Morales' family follows him closely as he moves towards the RV, the one little safe haven they have from the dead.

Shane follows with his back toward the vehicle, a physical shield between his family and the dead, “Come on, y'all! Work your way up here!” He calls out taking a swift shot at a walker that storms towards Carol and Sophia. The mother-daughter pair move quickly to join the others as more living join the semicircle around the RV, and more dead join the feeding frenzy by the fire and the approach to the living.

With the dread of the dead getting closer, Lori pushes Bella and Carl farther behind herself, “Stay with me. Both of you!” She shouts her voice dripping with fear as she grasps at the back of Shane’s sweat-soaked black shirt.

“Come on, make your way to the Winnebago!” With the chaos still raining, the future of a painful death settles in everyone’s stomach as the dead begin outnumbering the living and the numbers of bullets left.

But war cries fill the camp as the group of men from the city come storming into the camp- guns firing and bodies dropping quickly. Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog join the living and wipe the camp clean of any more living dead- the whisper of death silenced by the cries of relief.

Rick whips his head around the camp, eyes searching sharply for his family, “Baby! Carl!” He cries out at the sight of his family. Carl calls back wanting to run to his father’s arms, but Lori keeps her strong grip on his arm- everyone still on edge.

Tears form in Rick’s eyes as he begins walking towards his family, a hopefully smile forming on his face. But the smile is forced away as a fresh walker grabs at Rick- the walker, a recently turned camper… the fastest turn seen yet. The walker and Rick spin and tussle- the still living muscle of the walker's body becomes stronger with the disease controlling the corpse.

Everyone raises their guns and begins screaming, “Push him away!” Shane shouts as he tries lining up a shot, Daryl and Glenn trace the walker as well but can’t find a shot.

Screaming continues as the walkers move swiftly towards Rick’s neck, teeth bloody and shimmering with hopes of food… and a single shot sounds out. The body drops lifelessly into Rick, who lets the limp body fall to the ground- droplets of blood now dancing on his face.

With the body on the ground and no more movement heard, heads turn to the source of the shot- and there they see small shaking hands wrapped around so tightly around the gun the girl’s knuckles are turning white. Bella had pulled the trigger, she had taken the gun from her father's pants and pulled the trigger, the target so close to Rick’s head.

Bella’s eyes look at Shane, quickly filling with tears and her chest sucking in air she doesn’t need, “I’m sorry, Daddy…” She cries as her hands fall limp, Shane dropping his shotgun and pulling the gun from Bella’s hands quickly, “I’m so sor-” Shane throws the gun to the side and hugs Bella tight, squeezing her close to his chest- the little girl grappling tightly to her father.

Everyone moves in a daze as tears are shed and hugs are shared. Jim looked down at everyone and said a single line almost to himself, “I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes.”

Chapter 6: It' All Your Choice

Chapter Text

The camp rests in a blanket of pain, silence, and disbelief.

Everyone had believed they were safe- that the thing they had to worry about was a group of scummy living humans coming to take everything they had, everything they built. But they were wrong- the dead had found them… even so far hidden- they weren’t safe.

Side by side, Bella and Carl pick up cups and loose items littered on the ground from the frenzy. Bella looks at her friend as he mindlessly places his items into a bin to deal with later, “Are you okay?” She asks quietly.

Carl barely raises his head, “I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.” Bella responds easily, Carl and Bella always talk to each other, and it was obvious when one was hiding something, “What’s wrong?”

With a raise of his head, Carl’s eyes look at his friend, “I didn’t sleep last night.”

Bella nods sadly, “I’m sorry.”

Carl looks at Bella who turns back to picking up items, “Are you okay?” He questions back to his friend- it seemed as though the events of the past night barely affected Bella.

And Bella turned her head with a raised eyebrow, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Carl was taken aback as he usually was. It seemed as though certain things didn’t bother Bella in the slightest- even before the outbreak. But now, what happened… it was different, “Well… last night- you killed a walker.”

“It’s okay.” She responds as she tries a small knot between two ropes so the pair could pull up the fallen canopy fabric of a tent. Carl merely sighs and grabs the rope in joint with Bella.

Pulling, the pair erects the tenet up straight, Bella leading the end of the rope towards a solid support to tie it up- with Carl holding tightly Bella turns her back as a growling hand grabs at Carl’s ankle, “Dad!” Carl screams as he releases the rope. Another walker? Why couldn’t the camp catch a break?

Pulling his leg back, Carl leads the walker corpse out from under the tent. Moving quickly Bella grabs at Carl’s leg that the walker is gripping tightly. With the screams of the children, Daryl is the first to move towards the pair- the pickaxe in his hands landing hard on the walker's head sending Carl and Bella falling backwards.

The friends grip tightly at each other holding each other close as the walker stills. It’s only with the arrival of Rick does the pair release their tight grips on each other- Rick pulling his arms around both of them, looking over their exposed skin for any cuts or bites, “Are you both okay?” He questions quickly grabbing at their heads, “Did it get you?” Rick's voice is laced in fear as he looks at Carl, but with Carl’s shake of his head Rick sighs loudly and holds the pair close.

The embrace is cut short as Shane comes running up, grabbing his daughter. Shane holds Bella tight and makes sure Carl is okay before bringing both Carl and Bella towards the RV to calm down in a safe place.

If the camp was settling down, they weren’t anymore. Everyone was wound back up tight, moving about the camp as though there was danger around every corner. And it was, it was waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

Sitting under the RV canopy Rick settles down next to Bella as she sketches on her book, drawing nothing of any resemblance. Carl moves in front of them helping his mother clean under her watchful eye.

Looking down to the young girl, Rick leans to look at her sketch, “What are you drawing?”

Bella sighs and pulls away from the paper, “I don’t know, Mr. Grimes.” She states in a small voice, waiting for Rick to continue.

Rick sighs once more, leaning on his knees towards the young girl- Rick had been repeating this conversation in his head since last night. The little girl had killed a walker… killed a person- she saved Rick, even with all the time he had to think… How was he supposed to talk to Bella about this? He helped raise the little girl alongside his son and she saved him- a child.

“I wanted- I-” Rick starts but stumbles off. Bella looks towards Rick waiting for the man to speak, “I wanted to thank you… for last night.” He speaks softly towards the girl, watching her face pull into a slight smile, “But- you shouldn’t have done that.” Rick tacks on forcing confusion into Bella’s features.

“Daddy says we have to protect each other,” She responds looking at the older man, her words seem to add years to his face. “You would’ve done the same for me.”

Rick laughs gently, “You’re right… we gotta protect each other. But what you did-” He slows down, it seems as though Bella doesn’t understand the weight of what happened. “You shouldn’t need to do that. You’re just a kid.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Grimes.” Bella whispers to Rick, “Daddy says I shouldn’t have done it- but,” Bella pauses in thinking, moving her eyes from Rick to the far figure of Carl, “You’re my family… and we gotta look after each other."

Rick laughs gently at Bella patting her hair in reassurance and care, “You’re absolutely right, Bella… thank you.” He says before pulling the young girl into a tight hug. Bella gives Rick a small smile as she pulls back and Shane moves towards the pair to pick his daughter up- pulling her away from Rick.

The day goes on, the sun rises higher heating the air- cooking the dead flesh in camp into a disgusting combination. And a mere fifty feet away, a group stands looking towards Andrea who has not moved from above her dead sister since she took her final breath.

Amy lays dead, eyes closed and skin a pale sickly blue- when a person is bitten and they die, they come back as a walker unless the head is destroyed and Andrea hasn’t allowed anyone near her sister. When Rick came up to the sister duo, Andrea pulled out her gun aimed directly at Rick’s head, her hand deathly still almost as though she was daring Rick to touch her baby sister.

Rick apologized as he stumbled away, the drawing of the gun shocking him. Back in the group, it was determined to just leave Andrea alone but a close eye would be kept on the ticking walker time bomb that was Amy.

Dragging bodies into piles, Daryl, Morales, Jim, and Glenn separate them- those that they knew and those that they didn’t. The people they didn’t know would be burned and those they did would be buried in the number of graves Jim had dug the day before- the only camper they knew that would be burned would be Ed, his body a mere skeleton after the walkers’ meal and Carol’s mercy strikes to his head with Daryl’s pickaxe.

Working throughout the day and forgetting lunch- no one could eat and keep the food down- the camp was starting to clean up. Jacqui picks up fallen cloth, throwing the soiled pieces into a discard pile and keeping the salvageable pieces separated. Next to Jacqui Bella works with her throwing items into one pile or the other. Shane tried to get Bella to just sit down but the girl wanted to do something.

With a bloody frying pan in her hands Bella looks towards Jacqui, “Ms. Jacqui? What should I do with this?” She holds the pan with a few fingers as though the item was infested, keeping it far away from her body.

Jaqui laughs as her hands pull at items, “Put it to the side for now, sweetie. We’ll ask your dad later.” She states as the girl nods and throws the pan away from herself between the throw away pile and the keep pile- a new ‘maybe’ pile.

Together they work quickly through the items with Jim dragging nearby bodies away. With most of the items dealt with, Jim asks Jaqui for help with moving the bodies, the action of pulling the dead weight finally catching up to him.

Jacqui stands without fuss and moves to help the man but stops short at the slight beading of blood on the man’s shirt, “Are you bleeding?” Jacqui asks with concern from her bent down position.

Jim gulps dryly with a shake of his head bending down to grab the corpse's hands, “I just got some on me from the bodies.”

Jacqui doesn’t move a muscle, her face turning taunt and her voice sharp, “That blood is fresh. Were you bit?” She questions with concern.

“No. I got scratched during the attack.”

“You got bit.” Jacqui states at Jim’s fearful face, her body springs up and creates a wall between Jim and the young girl by her side.

“I'm fine.”

“Then show me.” She shoots back.

Jim’s eyes dart around the camp hoping no one has heard their conversation, “Don't tell, please.” He begs as he takes a small step forward with his hands out in front of him as though Jacqui could gift the secret to his greedy hands.

Jacqui stumbles back to Bella, her voice rising loudly, “A walker got him. A walker bit Jim!” Her words force everyone into motion, drawing the camp towards the trio and surrounding Jim as though he was a rabid animal that was going to snap at any moment.

“I'm okay. I'm okay.” Jim says.

Daryl, pickaxe tight in his hands, approaches Jim pointing the weapon towards the man, “Show it to us. Show it to us!” He shouts, his southern accent bleeding through.

Jim breathes hard as he pulls his own weapon, a shove, to the front of his body in defense, “Easy, Jim.” Shane calls stepping forward.

“Grab him!” Someone shouts.

From behind T-Dog moves swiftly, knocking the shovel from Jim’s hands by pulling both of his arms to his back. Daryl grasps the blood and sweat soaked shirt on Jim and lifts to reveal a perfect bite mark staining Jim’s ribs.

All the while Jim speaks, “I’m okay,” repeating it to everyone- reassuring everyone, or more likely, reassuring himself.

With Jim bit, the group is tense with concern and suspension- what are they to do? A bite means death, means you will become a walker unless… you save yourself.

Grouped together, everyone speaks about what to do as they stare down Jim who sits at the butt of the RV. “I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it.” Daryl speaks simply, pulling the conversations into one.

Shane sighs as he holds Bella tight on his hip, the girl attaching herself and not letting go of his neck, “Is that what you'd want if it were you?”

“Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it.” He speaks honestly.

“I hate to say it…” Dale sighs sadly looking at Jim’s figure, “I never thought I would… but maybe Daryl's right.” He speaks looking back towards the group.

Rick sputters in his place, eyeing Dale like he went insane, “Jim's not a monster, Dale, or- or some rabid dog.” Dale goes to speak, his hands raising to explain but Rick continues, “He's sick. A sick man.” Rick spits harshly, “We start down that road, where do we draw the line?”

“The line's pretty clear.” Daryl speaks back, “Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be.” He points towards Jim with the pickaxe in his hand.

Rick sighs deeply- Rick didn’t understand, why was no one saying anything? Why was no one speaking with Rick? Wanting to save Jim? It’s as though all thoughts of humanity left the group in front of him for fear, “What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure.”

Shane nods his head, “I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell.”

“What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?”

“Man, that is a stretch right there.”

“Why?” Rick questions, “If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they?” He speaks, hoping someone would agree- someone would stand with Rick, “I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection…”

Shane nods, his left hand sticks out in motion to calm Rick down, “Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay?” He states, looking to his brother, “Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning.”

“That's 100 miles in the opposite direction.” Lori says looking between the two men.

Shane agrees looking around the group, “That is right. And it's away from the hot zone.” He states, the cities were a bad zone and the CDC was right in the bad zone, “Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there.”

“The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that.” He draws strongly, eyes wide with concern, “The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance.”

The group stands in silence thinking of their options when the one young voice of the group speaks up, “Why don’t you ask Mr. Jim?” Bella questions from her spot under Shane chin, “No one’s asked him what he wants… maybe he doesn’t want to go.”

Rick’s eyes soften gently at the girl, “We aren’t going to let him die-”

“Everyone that gets bit dies, Mr. Grimes.” Bella interrupts the man simply. The adults of the group merely bow their heads in agreement as Shane touches the back of Bella’s head.

Rick looks startled as Bella, her father merely looking back at Rick with a face that said ‘sadly it’s true’. Jacqui nods her eyes leaving Jim’s hunched form, “I’ve seen people get bit- they get a fever… they die a painful death.” She explains to the man.

“Jim’s not dead yet.” Rick states. Rick may have not lived through the outbreak but he was here now and he wasn’t going to give up on someone.

But even being here now, Rick was blind to the truth- blind to why the outbreak destroyed the world within a day… the disease was meant to kill the living, “He will be.” Bella responds to Rick, the statement catching the group off guard and sending a heavy stone to their gut.

But even with the truth spoken out loud, Daryl knew they wouldn't do the right thing and with his hands balled in rage he spoke swiftly, “Y’all go look for aspirin, do what you need to do.” He spits lifting the pickaxe properly into his hands, “Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!” He shouts louder as his heels turn to Jim and the pickaxe raises to the air.

Shouts of horror and concern fill the space, Jim twisting in his place to protect himself poorly from the enraged man. Quickly behind the man, Rick pushes the barrel of his gun into the back of Daryl’s head, freezing the redneck in his place, “We don't kill the living.” Rick states.

Daryl drops the pickaxe and turns on Rick with a fierce eye, “That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head.” He spits as Shane comes forward, his daughter standing behind with Lori and Jacqui.

“We may disagree on some things, not on this.” Shane speaks about himself and Rick, “You put it down. Go on.” He commands easily. Daryl throws the pickaxe to the ground, spitting alongside it before stalking off away from the RV to cool his hot head.

With Daryl walking away, Rick holsters his gun before grabbing at Jim’s arm dragging him away to, “Somewhere safe.”

Once Jim is hidden away, the group turns to Andrea as Amy rises from the dead. And with tears in her eyes Andera apologizes to her baby sister for everything she’s done and says goodbye with a shot to Amy’s head.

As the air cools down, everyone gathers together by the graves for a moment of silence. The camp grows tense with the new reality- they need to leave, it’s not safe and they have a man that needs help.

Relationships are fracturing, Shane and Rick in disagreement with Lori not fully standing with one or the other.

But as the sun starts its descent into night Shane and Rick gather everyone together, “I've been, uh… I've been thinking about Rick's plan.” Shane starts looking around to everyone, “Now look, there are no… There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that.” Rick and Shane look towards each other before he continues, “I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts.” A sigh escapes him as everyone is dropped under a blanket of exhaustion, “I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning for the CDC.”

Chapter 7: Going for a Ride

Chapter Text

As the train of cars drives away from their little camp, Bella sits beside her father- the harsh dry hot wind breezes past their faces in the open Jeep. Morales and his family had left the larger group in search of their family with Daryl scoffing as Shane and Rick handed over a book of ammo- they needed the ammo… Morales and his family won’t survive on their own even with all the ammunition in the world.

Shane may not have voiced his similar opinion, but Bella could see it written across his face, “You're not happy.” Bella speaks simply looking out to the road that leaves as quickly as it comes.

Shane sighs and readjusts himself in his seat, “I’m fine, Princess.” His response is strained, and the father-daughter duo shares a look between themselves, a look that spoke the words they didn’t need too. He was lying… and they both knew that. “I’m worried about going to the C.D.C. Ain’t nothing gonna be there.” He speaks freely, looking back to the road.

The only reason the train of cars was heading to the CDC was because Jim was dying- but no matter what anyone said, Rick wouldn’t listen- he won’t give up on a man that’s already dead.

“It will be okay.” Bella tells Shane.

Shane releases a dry laugh at his daughter’s words… she sounded so sure, “How do you know that, Princess?”

It was with a small smile that Bella responds, “Cause we’re all together- and that’s all that matters.”

And like the scenery, Bella’s words drift away- left behind with the rotting city.

It seems like hours go by as the cars continue on- the tanks of gas lasting longer than expected. But it’s not the empty gas tanks that stop the train of car’s- it’s the pop-snap-and-steaming of the RV’s engine that pulls the cars to a stop.

With the area deemed safe everyone climbs out of their vehicles, cracking and popping their sore muscles. Carl and Sophia remain within the car they traveled in- Rick giving them a stern command to stay even as Bella walks by behind her father.

Approaching the front of the RV, Dale stands with bursts of smoke escaping to the air. Rick comes in close as though his mere presence would fix the problem, “I told you we'd never get far on that hose.” Dale speaks to Rick, “I said I needed the one from the cube van.”

Rick sighs heavily, staring down the engine before turning towards Dale, “Can you jury-rig it?”

“That's all it's been so far.” Dale’s words cause a collective group sigh- of all the things going on in the world, a broken radiator hose was something they didn’t need to deal with, “It's more duct tape than hose… and I'm out of duct tape.”

“I see something up ahead.” Shane speaks as he draws away his binoculars from his face, “A gas station if we're lucky.” He directs to Rick- if it was a gas station, maybe they could find a hose… or more duct tape.

But before any words can be spoken, the quick steps and slamming of the RV door sounds out- Jacqui at the source. “Y'all, Jim… It's bad.” She almost cries- her dark skin had taken on a sickly hue glossed over by a sheen of sweat, the pain and guilt of watching Jim taking a great toll on her, “I don't think he can take anymore.” Her words end with a turn of her body as she rushes back to Jim who sits in the back of the RV in gnawing pain.

The ride has been hell to the man. The bite of the walker was causing unbearable pain through his very being. The disease was meant to kill the living… and dying wasn’t painless.

Everyone’s concern twisted in their chests- people’s eyes turning glossy in concern, too much was happening at once, “Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort?” Shane says, less as a question and more as a forewarning, “I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back.”

T-Dog nods along grabbing a bucket and hose from a nearby car, “Yeah, I'll come along too, and I'll back you up.”

Shane nods once Rick gives his agreeing nods in turn, “Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back.” He says, before looking towards Bella who takes a step forward.

“Can I go with you, daddy?”

Shane shakes his head immediately, “Stay with Carl.” He commands, bending down to kiss her forehead before turning away. Bella watches her father walk down the street till he is merely a blur of color- and she only stops because Lori grabs at her shoulder causing her to flinch away from her touch.

“Why don’t you go sit with Carl and Sophia?” Lori questions leading Bella away with the presence of Lori’s arm hovering over her back.

With the children huddled within a car, everyone begins discussing what to do. Shane and T-Dog found a ‘pathetic but usable’ hose for the RV- words from Dale himself and Jim… he wanted to be left behind.

The man was in agony… and all he wanted was to die. But Rick, Shane- no one- wanted to leave him behind, how could they leave a living breathing human behind to die by himself? They’re so close to the CDC- they could save him.

But Jim wasn’t going to let them. He didn’t want to be saved- he wanted to die. He wants to be with his family.

And with the sunlight ticking away, the group said their goodbyes… gave their hopes and prayers to Jim before climbing back into their cars and driving away.

Gathered in the RV, Bella sits alongside Dale and Glenn in the front- the young mam showing Bella how to read the map even though she ‘already knew how to’- she didn’t. Not very well at least. But she listened as Glenn explained little details of a map and the tricks to reading it quickly.

Glenn shook the map flat and pulled it between himself and Bella, “You gotta make sure you know what the scale is on the map- that way you could figure out the distance and time it takes to get wherever you want to go.” He explains, holding the map steady so the young girl could search for the scale Glenn kept mentioning.

Bella mules over the map, eyes darting across the colorful and detailed map to find the scale. With the scale found Bella listens closely as Glenn explains how to figure out the distance left to the CDC. The math involved was easy for Bella- the young girl having done good in her class, according to her teacher Mrs. Mueller. “How can you read it so easily, Mr. Glenn?” She asks when Glenn swiftly responds to a seemingly difficult question regarding directions.

Glenn laughed, his brown eyes crinkling on his youthful face, “I would always have to read maps for work- delivery boy.” He explains as Bella smiles back at him.

“Well, you're definitely better at it than me.”

Dale laughs heartily from beside the pair as he drives the large vehicle, “It takes practice.” Dale speaks simply, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out quick- you’re a smart girl.” Dale’s words mixed with his soft and thoughtful voice brought a genuine soft smile to Bella’s face, the young girl thanking the man for the compliment- just like her daddy taught her.

Continuing the little map lesson, the day ticks on- the group getting closer to the CDC and farther into the walker infested city.

It isn’t long till they do reach their destination and with the approach of the CDC everyone sat rigid watching the building come into view.

The building wasn’t very big- it was fat but not very tall and covered in windows. How was that supposed to be a lab? It didn’t seem very safe- it looked like a movie set. Especially with the bodies that littered the ground.

RV rolling to a stop, Bella leans forward to look out the front window as others in the RV gather behind the trio in the front, “That’s a lot of bodies.” Bella says mostly to herself.

Switching the RV into park, Dale agrees with a heavy sigh, “Yes, it is.”

There must be hundreds of bodies littered on the ground- men, women, and children alike… some were civilians, and some were soldiers. The way they laid together… it was almost like it was a massacre and they now just lay there to rot.

Drawing out of the vehicles, the group gathers together silently- the buzzing of flies that swarm the dead bodies are almost louder than the footsteps on the concrete ground.

Crowded together, the group moves as one past the bodies littered on the ground and towards their- hopefully- safe haven. Pressed close to her father, Bella holds a tight grip to his dirty shirt as he keeps his gun raised, “All right, everybody. Keep moving. Stay quiet. Let's go.” Shane calls out in a whisper-yell, everyone staying on high alert for any movement outside their group.

With quick steps, the hundred-foot jog to the front of the building feels like years. Everyone in the group moves as though one wrong step will set off a bell, dinging their location to every walker that surrounds them.

The city was quiet- so quiet… people could hear their heartbeats in their ears. They could feel the stale air that has not seen a living being in so long enter their lungs. It was too quiet and too loud all at the same time.

Approaching the building, the sights of the shuttered and locked windows and doors finally come into view. Hands reach to touch the shutters as though they were merely hallucinations and not truly blocking their safety. Shane bangs harshly on the shutters startling everyone at the sound.

“There's nobody here.” T-Dog calls out as he searches for any opening.

Rick rounds to the front of the group that dances on the tips of their toes in worry, “Then why are these shutters down?” He responds, hitting at the shutters again, the action doing nothing but unknowingly waking the dead around them- drawing them to the group.

“Try opening them!” Bella calls out from her new spot next to Carl who eagerly nodded along, hoping to get inside soon.

The sky had darkened faster than anyone would have thought. It was as though the universe knew they were searching for safety… but didn’t want to help them.

Shane pulls at the shutters before kicking it in frustration when they don’t move, "They're automatic, Princess. Can’t move them.”

“There’s no other way?!” One of the women of the group calls out, voice covered tightly in worry.

Searching for a way inside, Bella and Carl drift towards the edge of the group and with a simple turn of her head she is faced with a walker fast approaching. A small yelp escapes her throat, the noise going sharper as Carl pulls her back by her upper arm.

The walker’s approach is cut short however as an arrow lands between its eyes, “Walkers!” Daryl calls out as the dead begin to rise around them, as they crawl out from the darkness like a monster from under a child’s bed. “You led us into a graveyard!” Daryl shouts at Rick as he reloads his crossbow.

“He made a call!” Shane defends.

“It was the wrong damn call!”

Shane jumps at Daryl, gripping his shirt and pulling him close, “Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up!” He shouts before pushing him back, “Rick, this is a dead end.” Shane speaks to Rick who stands in a mixture of disbelief and deep thought.

“Where are we gonna go?!”

Shane gets close to his brother’s ear, “Do you hear me? No blame.”

“Jacqui’s right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark.” Lori calls back quickly as cries start sounding from Carol, Sophia, and a few others in the group.

“Fort Benning, Rick… Still an option.” Shane almost begs- his voice pleading that Rick just say something.

Andrea pulls into the group as more walkers approach, “On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles.” The sky was getting darker- the air cold with the stench of the dead approaching. And the constant cries and shouts do nothing but draw more walkers to them.

They had nothing but the CDC; nowhere to go, no way to get there, and even if they did, they didn't have enough food or water to make it.

“Forget Fort Benning! We need answers tonight. Now!” Lori calls cutting off any stupid conversation that may come regarding Fort Benning.

Rick wipes his forehead, his gun grip so tight in his hand his knuckles are turning white, “We'll think of something.”

Shane huffs and redirects the group, “Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here.” He calls motioning for everyone to run back to the vehicles not waiting for Rick to agree. The group needed to be safe… Bella, Carl, Lori- they needed to be safe, and Shane was going to make sure of it, “All right, everybody back to the cars. Let's go! Move!” Shane screams to the group, Bella drawing to her dad not leaving without him- but he was waiting for Rick to turn around. The rest of the group stopped with Shane when they didn’t see him or Rick move.

Rick woke from the dead not even a week ago. He dragged his weak and fragile body across a new deadly world to find his family- all he wanted was to find his family to know they were safe… And he found them- but now he needed to keep them safe- him, and he failed them. The weight is coming down on his shoulders. He was so sure the CDC would be safe- would be somewhere they could find refuge. But he was wrong.

Shane grabs at Rick’s arm, his grip begging and anchoring to the man, “Brother… please. We need to go.”

The man’s eyes glisten with unshed tears, Rick nods his head causing them to fall. With one last look, Rick begins to turn after Shane who had released him to start his leave. But it is a simple movement in the corner of his eye that stops him, causing Shane to turn to look at him in disbelief, “The camera… it moved.” Ricks says stepping closer to the building rather than away.

“You imagined it.” Dale calls looking at Rick’s back.

“It moved. It moved.” Ricks says softly looking up at the camera.

“No! Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on!” Shane begs grabbing at his arm to pull instead of anchoring- they needed to leave, “Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick.” Shane shouts angrily, his voice turning hard. It was getting ridiculous- Rick’s obsession with the CDC, who cares?! They needed to be safe now, right now! They didn’t need to die for nothing- it wasn’t going to happen- not on Shane’s watch.

Rick pulls from Shane's grip, pounding his fist on the shutter causing everyone to scream and beg Rick to leave.

“Rick, there's nobody here!” Lori screams out to her husband.

Rick hits again before looking up at the camera- the man believing there was someone there when there were no signs of such, "I know you're in there! I know you can hear me!”

Lori and Shane move to grab at Rick, each grabbing at an arm. Shane yells at his daughter when he hears her voice calling to him, “Princess, stay with Carl!” He pulls at Rick getting a good hold and drawing him back even as he screams at the camera- at the ‘person’ behind it, “Everybody get back to the cars now!” Shane shouts as he drags at Rick like he’s a bag of potatoes.

But Rick pulls free- the man not giving up, “Please, we're desperate. Please help us!” He cries out, “We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left. We have nowhere else to go!” Rick was desperate- everyone could hear it in his voice, and it caused such sadness in their chests, “Keep your eyes open! If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!” He shrieks in agony, “You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!” He cries out one last time as Shane gets a strong grip and tugs at the man finally drawing him away.

The group bundles tight as Rick continues crying out- they are gonna get to the RV, to their vehicles and get far enough away that they're safe- at least able to survive the night. What were they going to do? Just looking out in the darkness, it was going to be a fight to get to their cars, there’s a sea of walkers approaching them.

Dread settles in everyone’s chests, tears falling down their faces without their control or care. And as the group raises their weapons to fight for their lives- light floods from behind them lighting the night as though it was the dawn of a new day.

Chapter 8: In Italy...

Chapter Text

Instead of following the light into the next life- the group followed it into the safe haven of the CDC. Guns raised in defense, the group enters swiftly with the door closing immediately once everyone was inside.

The inside of the CDC was clean- so clean it was as though the outbreak never happened, no blood, no bodies, not even a layer of dust. But it was empty- no bodies; dead or living… or the living dead. The building merely echoes with the sound of shoes against stone flooring and the call outs of the group, “Watch for walkers.” They say, even though there seems to be no one- but there was.

Creeping from the darkness of a shadow, a white man dressed in a plain dirty white shirt and khakis almost stumbles his way into the light, a machine gun gripped rather loosely in his hands. His presence draws all the weapons besides Rick’s to the man, he stands there almost… confused?

“Anybody infected?” The man calls out.

Rick drops his head as he answers, Jim’s absence painful, “One of our group was. He didn't make it.” He responds, the man from the shadows still holds his gun up.

“Why are you here? What do you want?”

“A chance.” Rick calls out, the fear he just tasted still bitter on his tongue.

The man pauses in his response as his eyes drift over the group, “That's asking an awful lot these days.”

“I know.”

The man nods once, his decision made swiftly, “You all submit to a blood test.” He states with no room for discussion, “That's the price of admission.”

“We can do that.” Rick agrees easily.

The man drops his gun and side steps in invitation for the group to approach, “You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed.” The group collectively shakes their heads and moves towards the man. They didn’t need anything- well maybe a good night's sleep.

Following the man, the group squeezes into an elevator. The man swipes a key card and pushes in a code before finally pressing a button to go down. The elevator lurches slightly and begins its descent, “Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here.” He calls out, the elevator seems to blink its light in response.

The elevator ride is silent and quick, not even thirty seconds, “Rick Grimes.” He says in an invasion to the unnamed man.

The man nods in greeting, “Dr. Edwin Jenner.”

Daryl looks down at the man- his gaze going up and down, the action even more judging with the redneck doing it, “Doctors always go around packing heat like that?”

Jenner looks at Daryl, “There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you all look harmless enough.” He states before looking down at Bella and Carl who stand side-by-side almost as though they were trying to squeeze themselves into one being, “Except you two.” He comments in a light voice to the two kids who give a small smile in response, “I'll have to keep my eye on you.” With his comment finished, he stands straight, the small smile adorned on his face wiped away quicker than anyone can blink.

The man’s presence was weird- not because he was alone… well it was exactly because he was alone. Why would only one person come up to meet a group of strangers?

Walking down a rather large cinderblock lined hallway- the walls tightened on a few of the group, Carol asking if they were underground and Jenner merely responds to try and not think of it- less she wants her claustrophobia to really set in.

The end of the hallway opens up to a large circular room with a platform centered in the middle, multiple large computers facing a large black screen. It was just as empty as upstairs- no blood, no bodies. There was no one except Jenner- Vi was a computer.

The group swallowed hard at the sight of an empty CDC- they were hoping for something, anything more than just one person. But there wasn’t.

But even with the hope of some type of cure gone- they had a safe pace. The building is secure, there is food, there is water… they are safe. And with their blood getting drawn- they would be officially welcomed by Jenner.

With all the blood drawn and bandaids stuck on the inner corner of everyone’s arm, Jenner leads everyone into a large cafeteria similar to the large room they first entered and brings out boxes of pasta and sauce- more food than anyone has seen since the outbreak.

The smell of pasta and bread fills the air along with the joyful laughter of everyone. Jenner pulled out bottles of wine and liquor, all the adults filling their cups or, like Daryl, merely claiming their own bottle- there were more than enough for everyone.

Shoveling in food and emptying cups, the conversation runs freely- true comfort and security finally felt across everyone. Sitting between Rick and Lori is Bella and Carl, the pair rapidly consuming their buttered pasta that was stacked high on their plates. Bella and Carl had always had a large appetite- it scared their parents how much the two could consume in one sitting.

They used to have eating competitions when their families would go out together. On the rare Friday night that both Shane and Rick didn’t have to work, they would take Lori and the kids to their local Olive Garden where Bella and Carl would eat at least three baskets of breadsticks… each, a plate of plain lettuce with croutons drench in ranch, cause Lori said they had to have some type of vegetable, and two or three bowls of pasta covered in parmesan cheese. With room for dessert too.

Even now, the pair eats their food like they’ve never eaten before in their life. And with the rationing they’ve been on lately, it’s sort of like they haven’t.

With Lori’s empty cup in his hands, Dale pours in red wine, “You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner,” He states handing the full glass to Loi’s awaiting hand, “And in France.”

Lori laughs as she moves her hand from Carl’s chair to cover the top of his empty cup that needed to be refilled with soda, “Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then.”

Rick laughs heartily, “What's it gonna hurt? Come on.” He says to his wife who gives him a side-eye but relents with a smile.

The table cheers as Dale fills Carl’s cup up a finger, “There you are, young lad.” He says handing the cup over to the boy.

The room is silent as they watch Carl take his first sip of alcohol. He takes a rather large mouthful of the red liquid before his face twists in complete disgust, “Eww.” He whines once the liquid is finally down his throat and his slight gagging of the taste passes. The room erupts in laughter- the kind of true, deep from the soul laughter.

With distrustful eyes he goes to push the glass away but it is grabbed swiftly by Bella who wants to try it too, “Sweetheart-” Shane calls out to her- the first to notice her reach but it's no use as she takes a sip too.

More laughter fills the room as the girl merely shrugged and hands the cup and its remaining liquid to Lori who pours it into her own- not letting the precious liquid go to waste, “That's my boy.” She says with a soft touch to Carl’s hair.

“Yuck! That tastes nasty.” Carl whines as he accepts the refilled cup of soda from Dale to wash the spiteful taste of alcohol from his tongue.

Shane gives a weak laugh- the man sits at the other end of the table in a mood. The air around him still even with his joking comment, “Well, just stick to sour pop there, bud.”

“Not you, Glenn.” Daryl cuts in next to Glenn’s blush stained ear. The young man’s face is coloring red from the warmth of the alcohol coursing through his veins.

Picking his head up, Glenn gives a confused laugh, “What?”

“Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get.” Glenn merely gives a half-hearted fake laugh.

It has been a long time since any of the adults have had a taste of alcohol, at least two months since the world went to sh*t. And the alcohol was acting faster than any of them remembered.

With more laughter filling the air, the tinking of silverware on glass draws everyone’s eyes to Rick, “It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly.” Rick raises his glass to Jenner who sits, much like Shane, secluded in his own still air.

“He is more than just our host.” T-Dog responds by putting his glass up. The group cheers, hoots, and hollers to the man who saved them from certain death. They could never express their gratefulness to the man.

The group cheers and refills glasses moving to continue their conversation but the joyous occasion is stilled with Shane’s voice, “So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?” The noise in the room goes comically still, “All the... the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened… where are they?” Everyone looks at Shane with disbelief written across their faces- why couldn’t they just have a minute of peace.

Tisking quietly Rick responds with his eyes looking sharp, “We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now.”

Shane laughs, falsely raising his hands in defense, “Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move…” The table settles into silence, “Supposed to find all the answers. Instead we… we found him.” The words are spit almost in accusation, “Found one man. Why?”

The table is silent in response to Shane’s words, “Daddy…” Bella whispers across the table almost begging her dad to just drop it.

But he doesn’t. Shane merely turns his eyes to Jenner waiting for the man to speak- it was as though Shane didn’t trust the man even after he saved all of them.

Jenner moistens his lips weakly and wiggles in his seat, “When things got bad, a lot of people just left… went off to be with their families.” Everyone listens intently as Jenner speaks- his voice growing hard, void of emotion, “And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted.”

“Every last one?” Carol asks softly.

“No, many couldn't face walking out the door.” The man looks straight out into the room- memories replaying behind his eyes, “They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time.” His words drift off weakly.

“You didn't leave.” Andrea states. Her body leans forward and inward- making herself smaller but interested in what Jenner was saying; “Why?”

“I just kept working. Hoping to do some good.”

The room is silent in sadness- what little happiness that was growing dissipated swiftly. Glenn is the first to break the silence as he stands straight claiming a bottle off the table, “Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man.”

Everyone finishes their food in silence. And with the food gone- the bottles are grabbed and everyone follows Jenner through the hallways.

Jenner shows the group to a cluster of staff lounges- pointing and directing everyone to their own rooms to rest and where they could find clothes and blankets if they desired more. All ending with asking the group to go easy on the hot water when they shower.

Hot water? Hot water?! No one has fully bathed in two months and now- they have hot water?! Giggling like children, the group runs off towards the communal showers to strip themselves of their clothes and the dirt that sticks to them like a second skin.

Carol leads Sophia, Bella and Carl to a small rec room so they could wait for the excited adults to finish their showers. The kids find a stack of board games which they pull at excitedly- they easily fall into the games laughing as one gets ahead of the others.

The sound of running water in the pipes can be heard from the walls. And within half an hour the water stops running and the laughter of all the adults drifts into the halls as they come out in fresh clothes with wet dripping hair.

After winning two games of Shoots ‘n Ladders Bella had left to claim a room and build a place to sleep for herself and dad. Cushions and pillows are arranged in a long strip underneath the couch's feet- there once was a time that Bella wasn’t concerned about sleeping alone but now… she wasn’t gonna sleep without her dad by her side.

Back from his shower, Shane watches Bella finish off the blankets on their makeshift beds- they’ll have to find a nicer way to sleep another day. Shane pulls out a set of fresh PJs for his little girl as she works in silence, “Princess, come over here for a second.”

Bella looks over her shoulder as she folds the edge of the blanket that will soon be undone, “Almost done, daddy.”

Shane rolls his eyes at Bella’s focus, “Don’t worry ‘bout that. Come here.” Shane had sat himself in a chair that hadn’t been stripped of its cushions and now motions for Bella to come over.

Concern draws over Bella’s young face- she hopes up quickly moving to stand between her dad’s legs, “What’s wrong?” Her blue eyes trace over her dad looking for a source of concern.

But Shane pulls Bella from her useless search with a gentle touch to her chin. Shane smiles softly down to his daughter, his eyes dry and red from exhaustion and alcohol, “We need to talk.” His voice is strained with his words- this was something he never thought he’d have to do, “About the other night.”

Bella’s face drops swiftly. She knew her dad would be mad- he always said that she couldn’t touch his gun or any gun without his permission. And now she was in trouble and her dad is mad… but she was just trying to protect Mr. Grimes. That can’t be that bad right? He can’t be that mad at her for that, right? “I’m sorry, daddy.” She speaks fast- her dad can’t be mad at her. ‘I know you told me to never take your gun without you knowing but-” She couldn’t handle it if her dad was mad at her.

Shane’s eyes widen quickly at the speed Bella forces out her words and her face twists in agony. He gives her a soft smile and grabs at her face, cradling it softly in his hands, “Slow down, baby girl. That’s not the problem. In fact-” He leans in close as Bella’s eyes focus fully, “I am so proud of you.” His words force a calm over Bella and tears to weld in her eyes. “You were scared- hell I was scared- but you saved Rick. You remembered what I taught you.” His voice is proud- the opposite of what Bella was expecting to hear. “You’re not in trouble, Bella. I just… I wanna make sure- I want to make sure you’re okay?” Bella gives her dad a smile in return. Her small hands touch her dad’s stubbly cheeks mirroring his own hands on her smooth cheeks.

“It was just a walker, daddy.” She states simply- she didn’t care about the walker only that her daddy wasn’t mad at her.

Shane nods tightly, killing a walker- killing anything- wasn’t something his little girl should have to deal with, “I know- I know…” Pulling the trigger is difficult- no matter if the person on the other end was trying to kill you or not, “But it was a person.”

“Once. It’s not anymore.” The young girl’s words are so simply said. It’s as though she speaks of killing a spider in her room.

Shane looks over his daughter’s face. She was his whole world- anything and everything Shane did or does is to protect her… but sometimes he feels like she doesn’t need him- like she’s lived a thousand lives and she doesn’t need him. How could his little girl not need her dad? “You’ll always tell me the truth?”

Bella smiles and grasps at Shane’s neck pulling him into a tight hug, “I’d never lie to you, daddy.” She speaks gently into the crook of his neck.

Shane’s hands pet Bella's messy braids, “I know you wouldn’t, my sweet girl.” A kiss is placed atop her head, “If you need to talk, you come straight to me.”

Pulling back Bella raises her pinkie between the two of them, “Same for you, daddy.”

Shane grabs his girl’s pinkie with his own, “Pinkie promise.” He swears to her and with everything in his body- he means it.

Once cleaned and changed, Bella had drifted down the halls to find Jacqui after she looked into her room to see her dad sitting down with a bottle in his hand, relaxing- she wanted her hair braided and she hadn’t figured out the pattern yet. But she couldn’t find Jacqui either, she must have gone to bed.

Shrugging away the hope of getting her hair braided she continues down the stone cold silent hallways. The lights are a dim yellow that bleeds into the darkness of the main room. Walking silently, Bella approaches the back of Jenner who sits at the only active computer. He smells silently of the sour alcohol she had tasted at dinner, Hello, Dr. Jenner.”

The man spins fast in his chair not hearing the young girl, “Hello.”

Bella looks over the man at the lines of unknown data on the screen, “Is that the blood?” The young girl’s eyes hold a gleam of interest.

Jenner nods stiffly, “Yep, all clean.” He leans away from the young girl’s presence- as though it is poisonous.

“What’s that?” She points to the screen.

Jenner looks at the screen and enlarges the image the girl was pointing to, “It is a blood panel so… it shows if there’s any infection and your blood type-” He explains watching her look over the screen, “You have O-positive blood. Your dad is B-positive.” He clicks through from one screen to the next.

“O- positive can be given to anyone, right? My teacher Mrs. Mueller was teaching us some stuff before… everything.” They had been learning Punnett squares but the lesson was cut short when parents stormed the school and dragged their children away.

“O-negative is universal, can be used by anyone. O-positive can only be given to other positive blood types.”

Bella smiles at Jenner before looking closer to the screen as though she could learn more, “Hmm… that’s cool.”

“It’s very cool.” He speaks with a laugh, “Do you like stuff like this?”

The young girl nods pulling away from the man, “It's interesting- my daddy would take me to the library and let me pick out any book I wanted. Carl would make fun of me for reading the ‘educational books’.” Jenner laughs at Bella’s words- it was rare for a child so young to be so interested in something that they would pick a book to learn more about it.

“It’s important to read.”

“Mrs. Grimes says that all the time.”

Jenner sighs gently, the girl needed her sleep and talking about blood wasn’t something she needed before bed, “Well, there’s plenty of ‘educational books’ for you to read here. I assume you’ve already started looking through them?” His words are meant to deter her back to her father but her eyes merely continue looking around at the new world around her.

“Yes, Dr. Jenner.” Her eyes land on a picture frame with a woman smiling brightly with her arms wrapped around Jenner, “Is that your wife?” The man quickly and almost violently pushes the frame down to hide the face of the woman, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no. It’s alright. I just- I lost her recently.”

Bella nods gently- everyone has lost someone, “I’m sorry for your loss.” The man dips his head gently in thanks but before either of them can continue Rick approaches the pair stumbling into railings and sloshing alcohol to the ground, “Good night, Dr. Jenner.” The girl calls as she walks away back to her dad. Jenner’s soft words in return followed behind her.

The young girl moves swiftly back to her room, the path already ingrained in her head. Pushing open the door to the dim darkness of the room Bella looks down to Shane who now laid passed out on his stomach- the cushions she had arranged into a nice mattress now a mess, and the bottle of alcohol empty. It’s with a gentle sigh that she closes the door and grabs the discarded blanket.

Fluttering the blanket over her dad, Bella gets the large man as comfortable as she can. She tries to roll him fully to his side but he was double the size of her, made up of pure dead weight muscle. Partially on his side, Bella kisses her dad’s motionless cheek before standing to curl up on the couch, “Good night, daddy. I love you.”

Chapter 9: One second

Chapter Text

The morning came by way of the lights turning onto their bright eye straining color. If they weren’t underground in a secure building, Bella would’ve thought a handful of walkers had slithered their way inside. Glenn seemed to be the worst of the adults, stumbling and sluggish as he walked into the cafeteria where many others already sat and T-Dog was cooking up breakfast for the group.

Skipping up to the seat beside Carl, Bella drops herself next to her friend just as T-Dog places a plate of eggs, toast, and some previously frozen bacon in front of her and Carl to share.

With a quick hand Carl grabs at a piece of bacon and digs into it, “Hey, Bee.” He says in a way of greeting while chewing his bacon.

“Good morning, Carl… Mrs. Grimes.” Bella says in turn.

Lori smiles at Bella, her gaze soft and still sleepy from the night, “Morning, sweetie. Did you sleep well?” Her hands grip snugly at a mug of coffee- the first in a long time.

“Yes, Mrs. Grimes.”

Carl scoffs at the girl, “Doesn’t look like it.” He responds while he tears apart a piece of toast that had been layered with jelly. Bella did not look well rested like others in the group- her normally bright green eyes were darkened with bags forming underneath and her skin was paler than normal.

Bella gives mock laughs at Carl while punching him in the arm before grabbing at some food before Carl finished it all. “I take it your daddy is as bad as mine.” The pair gazes at each other as Glenn groans in pain, “They are going to be very hungover.” Bella laughs as she speaks louder than necessary, all for Glenn to groan once more.

T-Dog comes behind Glenn dropping a spoon full of scrambled eggs onto his plate, “They won’t be the only ones.” Glenn grips at his head and pulls away from the eggs that smelled too much like eggs- everyone was poking at the headache he had.

Bella and Carl couldn’t see the appeal of alcohol- especially now… adults always drank it during dinner and it seemed to just cause a bad night of sleep and a morning headache- and it tasted bad.

The group silenced as they ate their food, Bella and Carl fighting for a moment over the last piece of bacon- Carl traded for the last bacon strip with a piece of perfectly toasted bread which Bella savored with a thick spread of butter. Who didn’t love bread and butter?

Footsteps alert the group of an approaching person which is Rick dragging his body to the seat on the other side of his wife. “Morning.” Rick drops himself into the chair as Lori fills a cup to the top with cold water.

“Are you hungover?” Rick turns his head to his son, “Bella said you'd be.” He explains with a slight smile.

Rick laughs painfully- his eyes were squinting towards the pair. The fluorescent yellow lights were headache inducing even without the hangover, “Bella… is right.”

“Bella is usually right.”

Carl’s eyes roll so hard for a moment all Bella sees is the whites, “If that’s what you want to believe.” He sasses to the girl causing Bella to stick her tongue out in return. The pair push at each other with their shoulders but are quickly scolded with a look from Lori.

The pair relent and Bella reaches over for one of the bottles of pain killers that were laid out by Jenner to pass over to Rick.

“Where'd all this come from?” Rick asks as he tries and fails at opening the bottle- the child safety measure is too difficult for the man.

Lori makes quick work of it, “Jenner. He thought we could use it.” Lori looks to Glenn as he groans once more, “Some of us, at least.” The smile is heard in her voice.

“Don't everrrr- ever- ever… let me drink again.” Glenn whines comically.

Everyone smiles as another pair of footsteps approach. With a small turn of their heads, everyone sees Shane make his way into the cafeteria, “Hey. Feel as bad as I do?” Rick asks.

“Worse.”

Shane’s response is short as he moves past everyone with a gentle pat to his little girl’s hair. He grabs a plate to begin piling breakfast onto. But he is stopped short at T-Dog’s concerned gaze, “The hell happened to you? Your neck?”

Shane stills momentarily- too quick for most to notice, “I must have done it in my sleep.” He doesn’t sound confident in his words.

“Never seen you do that before.”

“Me neither. Not like me at all.” Shane speaks, eyes drifting from the table to glance at Lori before he continues filling his plate.

Rick, being the man he is, goes to question Shane further- how was he not supposed to make sure his brother was okay? But he is cut off by Bella’s voice, “It was my fault, daddy.” Everyone’s head turns towards Bella- confusion painted on their faces. The girl loved her dad, why would she hurt him? “I tried fixing your pillow last night… it didn’t really work.” Bella's words are almost strangled as though she thought she would be yelled at- even though her father never once truly raised his voice to her.

A tight pained smile forms over Shane’s face, eyes going glassy for a second as though he was reliving a memory. The room was waiting for Shane's response, “That’s alright, Princess.” He plants a kiss on her head and drops down next to her with his plate of food. Bella smiles before grabbing a slice of toast and piece of bacon off his plate- handing the protein to Carl faster than Shane can stop her.

The group drops back into conversation and their meal now that the whole group was together once more. The air was light- just like the night before during dinner, well… the beginning of dinner.

Shane questions how his daughter slept- and did not believe when she said it was fine. The exhaustion was evident on the girl’s face and she looked a mess- her washed hair was tied back soaking wet the night before. Curly hair tied back soaking wet to sleep on? A very bad combination. Shane will have to fix it later- perhaps Jacqui could tell Bella how to do some braids, he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t figured it out herself yet.

The girl was a quick learner and stubborn like her father- but braiding hair was something she couldn’t figure out.

The conversation flows, talking about how everyone was and what they were gonna do today. And with the entrance of Jenner, all the talking stops, “Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing…” Dale starts, his fork now forgotten on his plate.

“But you will anyway.” Jenner finishes as he sips at lukewarm coffee- exhaustion written on his face.

Andrea perks up, dropping her fork to her plate, “We didn't come here for the eggs.”

Jenner is silent for a mere moment, his mug of coffee is placed on the table and he motions for everyone to follow him. They wanted to know about the outbreak- he would tell them.

Everyone gathers into the large main room they first entered not even 12 hours ago. The air was still and tense as they watched Jenner walk around the computers with a sigh, “Vi, give me a playback of TS-19.” His words echo into the room, bouncing against the cement walls.

“Playback of TS-19.” Come the robotic female voice.

Jenner sighs once more staring up to the large screen in the room. The screen was so large it almost seemed like a stadium Jumbotron, “Few people ever got a chance to see this.” His words are emotional- an emotion that can’t be placed, “Very few.” He whispers.

The screen goes from loading to the x-ray of a brain and upper torso- multiple numbers and readings lining the edge of the screen. The body lays on its back- the x-ray coming from the side.“Is that a brain?” Carl questions quickly- it was so defined on the video, no one in the group had ever seen anything like it.

Jenner smiles brightly for a moment, “An extraordinary one.” But the smile fades painfully, “Not that it matters in the end.” Carl’s face drops from his place next to Lori. Jenner looks at the group as they move their interested gaze from the screen to him and back, “Take us in for E.I.V.”

“Enhanced internal view.”

The screen zones in focusing on the brain and upper spine of the person that lays on the table, “What are those lights?” Carol questions, lights danced around in the brain of the person- bright white and blue lights sparking and twinkling in the head.

It was beautiful. The lights that shone in the head- but no one understands what they are. Was that normal? What was it?

“It's a person's life…” Jenner gazes almost… lovingly towards the screen, “Experiences, memories. It's everything.” His gaze turns towards the group, “Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you… the thing that makes you unique… and human.”

The group stares at Jenner like he was crazy- what the hell did all that mean?

“You don't make sense, ever?” Daryl speaks taking a few steps around a computer so he could lean back against it.

“Sign-apses.” Calls Bella.

A laugh escapes Jenner, “Very close- synapses.” He corrects. Bella repeats it to the man causing a small smile to break across his face. The girl had been reading the books littered in the underground bunker. “Synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages.” He crafts his words carefully- he wanted them to understand but didn’t want to confuse them with too many unknown words, “They determine everything a person says, does or thinks from the moment of birth… to the moment of death.”

“Death?” Rick questions, “That's what this is, a vigil?”

“Yes.” The doctor says in response, “Or rather the playback of the vigil.”

Andrea swallows thickly from the back of the group- loud enough for everyone to hear, “This person died? Who?” Her voice is laced with emotion- her own memories drifting back to Andrea who died not even four whole days ago… the pain still so fresh.

“Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected…” The doctor’s voice matches the emotion in Andrea’s- he knew this person. They were a friend, a coworker- they were someone he cared about, “And volunteered to have us record the process.” The group stays silent, “Vi, scan forward to the first event.”

“Scanning to the first event.”

The screen stills and loads before changing to a new time stamp. Everyone watches as the bright lights that twinkle in the brain slowly fade out as a deep red starts to bleed through, “What is that?” Carol voices out.

“It invades the brain like meningitis.” They watch the lights dim and go dark- no light or life in the brain… only the small pieces of deep from staining the base of the brain. “The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs… then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be… gone.”

Sophia's small voice questions, “Is that what happened to Jim?”

Carol swallows hard- another death that was still fresh, “Yes.”

Jenner waits as the group absorbs the new information- it couldn’t be easy. It wasn’t for him. “She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister.” Lori explains when Jenner’s gaze focuses on Andrea. The woman has her mouth covered and head bowed down.

The nod of understanding comes from Jenner, “I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is.” Andrea meets his eyes in a sense of gratefulness- no one could bring Amy back… but to know that someone understands your pain… It can lessen the pain in someone’s chest. “Scan to the second event.”

“Scanning to the second event.”

The screen changes once more, the brain still dark on the screen, “The resurrection times vary wildly.” Jenner explains as the deep red that lays in the brain drifts towards the neck and what seems to be the main stem of the brain. “We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours.” The dark red lightens little as it seems to replace a small bit of the once pretty white lights. “In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute… seven seconds.”

The back half of the brain lights up in a deep red. The body slowly begins to move in the restraints it was likely in. “It restarts the brain?” Lori's question is perplexed as she looks at the screen.

“No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving.”

“But they're not alive?” Rick shoots back to the man.

Jenner shrugs his shoulders, “You tell me.” It was obvious that Jenner believed they were dead- just a mere flesh suit being controlled by something.

Rick walks forward, “It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark.”

“Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part... That doesn't come back… the you part.” He speaks to the group, “Just a shell driven by mindless instinct.” His stance is sad as he speaks. This… thing, it takes every piece of who you are; your life and your body.

The room is draped in dread and sadness as they stare at the screen- the, now, walker struggled on whatever they laid on. But the struggle only lasted thirty seconds before a path formed in the walker's brain in a blink of an eye, “God! What was that?” Carol cries.

“He shot his patient in the head.” Andrea speaks, “Didn't you?”

“Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations.” Jenner says in response to the women.

“Powering down the main screen and workstations.”

Andrea moves forward while everyone stands numbly confused, “You have no idea what it is, do you?”

Jenner shrugs- how was he supposed to know? There was only him… did they expect him to figure it out all by himself. “It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal…”

“Or the wrath of God?” Jacqui adds to the list.

“There is that.”

“Somebody must know something. Somebody… Somewhere.” Andrea cries- the air became even stiller if it was even possible.

“There are others, right? Other facilities?”

Jenner shrugs again- he truly knew nothing, “There may be some. People like me.”

“But you don't know?” Rick questions in a strained voice, “How can you not know?”

“Everything went down.” The doctor's voice is strained in a deep pain, “Communications, directives... all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month.”

“So it's not just here.” Andrea speaks mostly to herself- the realization settling onto her and everyone else, “There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying,- right?”

“Man, I'm gonna get sh*t-faced drunk again.” Daryl calls as he paces the room.

There was no explanation to anything- the virus, or whatever it was, how to survive… if they could survive. This wasn’t something that would be fought easily- even though they survived, what truly is stopping them from getting bit or eaten alive just to turn into one of the dead? Forced to die painfully.

How can any of them believe there’s any hope when the one person that has a single clue about this disaster, doesn’t know anything?

The silence of the room becomes overwhelming- it causes uncomfortable tingling under everyone’s skin. Too much has happened… too much learned. The shred of hope they once felt was fading swiftly in front of their eyes… and there was nothing they could do.

“Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but…” Dale starts breaking the silence of the room. “That clock... It's counting down. What happens at zero?” He references the rather large red digital clock that is slowly counting down, its timer at 1:45:36, and ticking away every second. How did no one else notice or question it before now?

Jenner pauses looking at the clock, “The basem*nt generators…” He breaks his sentence as though he was thinking, “They run out of fuel.”

“And then?” Rick’s eye stares deeply at the man. Jenner, uncomfortable with the gaze, merely drops his own and leaves- walking away from the group. “Vi, what happens when the power runs out?” He speaks out to the computer Jenner always calls upon- if he wasn’t going to answer, the computer will.

“When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur.”

The group shares confused gazes. Decontamination? Is the building going to spray bleach out of the sprinkler system? “Decontamination... What does that mean?” Glenn calls out to the group in hopes someone besides Jenner, who wasn’t saying anything, knew what was going on.

The group merely stands in silence. The gazes shared around the group were filled with concern. Bella, holding tightly to her father’s arm, looks up towards the ceiling, “Vi, what does facility-wide decontamination mean?” She calls out, Vi knows what ‘decontamination’ means so why not ask.

“Vi manual turn off!” Comes from Jenner’s mouth faster than the computer voice can respond to the young girl. If people were concerned before they are terrified now.

“Manual turn off ready.”

Everyone stares at the man in disbelief as he hits a button, enters a long number code, and leaves the room. All the while everyone is screaming after him about what the hell was happening. Why wouldn’t he let the computer answer Bella? What was Jenner hiding?

It couldn’t be that bad- it’s like Jenner said, ‘the basem*nt generators run out of fuel’. They’ll probably just lose power and such, nothing too bad… right?

With the confusion still present, Rick takes Shane, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog towards a flight of stairs in hopes of finding the generators. They’ll figure out the problem themselves and fix it themselves if Jenner doesn’t want to. Rick sends everyone else back to their rooms to get dressed and organize their things. If Jenner was going to act like this… then Rick didn’t really want to stay. The situation didn’t feel quite right.

The group of men’s footsteps echo hard on the steel stairwell as they follow the signs down to the basem*nt generator room, “I don't like the way Jenner clammed up and shutting off the computer before it could answer Bella’s question.” Shane spits out as they enter the room swiftly, “The way he just wandered off like that.”

T-Dog scoffs from the back of the line, “What's wrong with him?” The group circles at the center of the basem*nt, “Seriously, man, is he nuts? Medicated? What?”

Rick looks around before pointing T-Dog and Glenn in one direction and Daryl in another, “In there. Check that way.” The men move swiftly to search the fuel tanks that are littered around.

Shane and Rick find the last generator that runs with a green light and humming noise rather quickly among the dead ones. Two tanks are attached to the complicated machine with tubes. “It's empty,” Shane calls as he pushes at one of the tanks before pushing at the second that moves only a hair with Shane’s force- the tank is full.

Rick and Shane share a look as the lights go dark- the fluorescent yellow turning to a dim emergency red. “Emergency lighting on.” Vi calls out in the room- it seems she was turned back on.

“What the hell is this?” Daryl calls out as he comes up with Glenn and T-Dog by his side.

“You guys kill the lights?”

“Nah, it just went out.” Shane responds to T-Dog as he stares at the tank.

Rick looks towards the men hoping for some good news, “Anything?”

T-Dog huffs a painfully amused laugh, “Yeah, a lot of dead generators and more empty fuel drums than I can count.”

“It can't be down to just that one.” Shane says mostly to himself. This was not good news.

Living in a basem*nt with no lights was out of the question. It’s time for them to leave- they overstayed their welcome by the doctor. The decision is agreed upon easily with a simple look between the men.

Legs moving quickly, they race to the main room, their shoes banging aggressively against the ground. The approach of the main room is easy with the yellow lights still shining inside to light their way and littered with the multiple questioning voices coming from within.

“What's going on?” Rick shouts over everyone’s voices. His feet move fast to the doctor, who walks numbly in the room, “Why is everything turned off?”

“Energy use is being prioritized.” His words are simple and… calm in the face of everyone’s confusion and anger. What the hell is going on?!

“Air isn't a priority? And lights?” Dale questions.

Jenner shrugs as he moves to a computer- his favorite it seems. “It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down.”

Shane’s approach to the man happens within the blink of an eye, “Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?” Jenner merely turns away from him, “Hey man, I'm talking to you!” He shouts, grabbing roughly at the man’s shoulder. How dare he turn his back on any of them. They just wanted to know what was going on- they weren’t children that needed to be kept in the dark.

Rick pulls Shane away from the man- he could see the anger taking over his brother’s eyes. “What do you mean it's shutting itself down?” Daryl asks from the edge of the computers. “How can a building do anything?”

“You'd be surprised.”

Rick pushes his friend away and walks up to the doctor- arms spread in a placating motion, “Jenner, what's happening?” His voice is soft yet firm- he was going to get an answer one way or another.

“The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power.” Jenner explains looking at the man, “It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark.” He points to the large clock on the wall that still ticks away every second, “Right on schedule.” He walks around the computers once more to get a better look at Andrea. “It was the French.”

“What?”

“They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know.” His voice drips in controlled agony once more- how the man can control himself as he speaks all his painful experiences is lost on the group. “While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end… They thought they were close to a solution.”

“What happened?”

Jenner looks around the large room as the lights within the hall change to the emergency red and the group finally gathers together on the main platform. “The same thing that's happening here.” A mere pause. “No power grid. Ran out of juice.” The doctor huffs a laugh, “The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?”

“Let me tell you…”

Rick stops Shane before the man can continue his approach or words, “To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!” He commands, sending everyone into motion.

“30 minutes to decontamination.”

The room drops into a dim red, the multiple lights of the room turning off permanently. “Doc, what's going on here?” Daryl shouts to the man.

Shane grabs the redneck’s shoulder in a sign to drop it- Jenner wasn’t going to say anything. “Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go!” He picks Bella up into his arms moving to lead everyone back to the rooms to gather their things quickly. “Go now! Go! Let's go.”

The group begins their move as the screeching of metal-on-metal sounds in the room. Whipping their heads in the direction of the spine shuddering noise, the hallway that leads to the surface is cut off by a wall of steel. Glenn is the closest to the wall and screams to the group, “Did he just lock us in?! He just locked us in!” He proclaims.

Jenner doesn’t even turn his head to the group, “We've hit the 30-minute window. I am recording.”

Rick approaches Jenner swiftly, “Hey, Jenner, open that door now!”

“There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed.”

Daryl looks down at the doctor, “Well, open the damn things!” He shouts- his crossbow tensing in his grip. Everyone was losing their patience. What the hell did Jenner plan to do?

He can’t keep them here- locked away underground.

Jenner shakes his head, “That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that.” He spits at Rick. He stands and looks at the group, their faces filled with fear and confusion, before settling on the leader, “It's better this way.”

“What is? What happens in 28 minutes?!” Jenner doesn't say anything- he just stares, “What happens in 28 minutes?!”

“You know what this place is?!” Jenner snaps- his voice spreads angrily across the room stilling everyone, “We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!” His scream echoes against the walls. Jenner takes a deep breath- the breath calming what little anger and exhaustion it can. “In the event of a catastrophic power failure... in a terrorist attack, for example… H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out.” He explains.

“H.I.T.s?”

Jenner sighs softly, “Vi, define H.I.T.s.”

“H.I.T.s...high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 degrees and 6,000 degrees. It is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired.”

Death. That's what it is. The group came to the CDC to find safety… a lifeline and now- now they are going to die after everything. After all the death and pain and exhaustion…

“It sets the air on fire.” Jenner whispers in the quiet air, “No pain. An end to sorrow, grief… regret. Everything.” Tears fall silently down people’s cheeks- hands grabbed and embraces shared with the new reality. They're going to die… and they have no choice.

Daryl shakes his head in disbelief before moving swiftly to a case of emergency axes he spotted when he first arrived. His crossbow shatters the glass covering, the sound echoing in the room mingling with the barley contained cries and tears. He grips one tight and tosses another to T-Dog, together they begin swinging at the steel wall that blocks their escape. The dings and bangs are sounding out.

“You should've left well enough alone. It would've been so much easier.”

“Easier for who?” Lori cries from her spot on the ground where she tightly embraces a terrified Carl. Carol and Sophia sat next to them in the same state.

“All of you. You know what's out there… a short, brutal life and an agonizing death.” The man must truly be insane… he can’t believe this is the right thing- killing them- killing children. But he looks gently over to Andrea who is bent over a computer, “Your... your sister... what was her name?”

Her head moved gently to look at the man, “Amy.”

Jenner smiles softly, “Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it.” His gaze turns to Rick. “Is that really what you want for your wife and son?” Death was always painful but now… it was agony. There’s such little hope that any of them will grow old like they once believed- who would want that for their family? A painful brutal life, full of fear?

Rick takes a single step to the man, “I don't. Want. This.” He grinds out.

By the steel wall, the dings of steel-on-steel stops, “Can't make a dent!” Shane huffs out in a scream- his form bent over to couch its breath.

“Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher.” Jenner states simply.

The turn of Daryl is quicker than anyone can register- if there weren’t computer stands and bodies in the way he wouldn’t have been stopped, “Well, your head ain't!” He screams, his ax raised to the doctor's head, like he raised it to Jim’s not long ago.

But his approach was stopped before he truly sealed their fate.

As Rick, Shane, Glenn and T-Dog try to calm the fuming redneck, Jenner sits back in his chair. “You do want this.” The sentence is given to Rick, the man turns to look at the doctor, “Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead.”

The tense air shifted in disbelief, “What?” Shane calls looking at the man. Lori and Carl look up to Rick, “What? You really said that? After all your big talk?”

“I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?”

“There is no hope.” Jenner states. “There never was.”

Rick turns on the man. How could he say that in front of his wife? His son? The most important people to him- Jenenr just said Rick has no hope? After everything! “There's always hope.” Rick proclaims to the doctor, “Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere…”

“What part of ‘everything is gone’ do you not understand?” Andrea spits to Rick- the woman had given up and it was inevitable.

“This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event.”

Carol sniffs loudly- “This isn't right. You can't just keep us here.” She cries as she pulls her daughter’s head closer to her heart. As though the love for her child would save her.

Jenner looks to the crying woman and the children on the ground, “One tiny moment... a millisecond. No pain.” He tries in comfort.

“My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!”

Jenner continues his gaze, “Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?” What kind of question is that? There was still hope- maybe if there wasn’t it would be different- but there is.

Carol doesn’t respond to the man- she merely dips her head into Sophia’s hair and cries.

With all the tears and the banging that had started once more, Bella stands to the side. Her father was trying to break down the door- he couldn’t hold her… so she just stood.

Numb and to the side she listened with silent tears. She listens to the words and the cries- listens to the begging. She didn’t understand. Why would Jenner kill them? He wasn’t the killing type- he couldn't be.

He was a man in pain, a grieving man. He wouldn’t want to die with the guilt of forcing death onto people… onto children. He was a doctor- doctors save people. That’s what her daddy always told her.

“...Do you think your wife would do this?” Bella asks into the room- the words escaping her mouth without her permission. Jenner whips his head to the little girl. “I don’t think she would.”

Jenner drops his head. “You don’t know what my wife would’ve wanted- you're just a child.”

Bella walks close to the man looking him in the eyes with tears falling from hers. Rick comes over to the girl, a buffer of sorts between her and the doctor. “She let herself turn.” The words cause disbelief to cross Jenner face. Tears begin to weld in his eyes. He never said his wife turned. “She let herself suffer and change into a monster so you could better understand what was going on-”

“And it was for nothing…”

The group looks between the pair. How did Bella know that T.S. 19 was his wife? When did she learn he even had a wife? “Test subject 19 was your wife?” Andrea asks, confused.

Jenner blinks hard, a tear escaping. “She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying.” He wipes roughly at his eyes, chest rising and falling with hard breaths. “It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody.” The doctor stands roughly to look at the dark main screen as though the images were still playing. “She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me?” His face turns to the group, “I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me.”

Rick touches Bella’s shoulder lightly, “Your wife died so others could have a chance to live. A choice.” He proclaims to the man- he just needed a chance, “Let us choose to live.”

“There is no life out there!” Jenner shouts.

“Maybe not for you!” Bella screams back to the man from behind Rick- the older man looking down at the girl- everyone looks at the girl. She had never spoken so angrily before… She is terrified. “And maybe you don’t want to find one out there, but we do!” The young girl cries as Carl’s small hand reaches out for her ankle- an anchor, a message that her friend was with her, “I wanna live… please, I don’t wanna die.” She cries out as her knees go weak and Carl grabs her. The young boy pulls his friend into a tight embrace as the numbness in the girl's chest starts to burn in hot tears.

The young girl’s tears cause the knife in everyone’s chest to twist more.

The cries sound out around the room and Jenner merely looks down to the girl, “You’ll die either way.” He says simply… numbly.

Everyone dies… and Shane was going to kill Jenner himself. Rick yells at the man to stop but it does nothing to stop the anger the man had become.

How dare he speak to his daughter like that. Make his daughter cry like that! He wants to kill anyone else, go ahead, but his daughter- his family- they were off limits. It wasn’t going to happen.

“Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!” Shane screams as he presses the shot gun to the doctor's head.

Rick doesn’t lay a hand on the red-hot man but stands by his side, “Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this. We will never get out of here.” He speaks but it only makes Shane press the barrel deeper. “He dies, we all…” Shane starts to huff, “...We all die! Shane!” Shane roars to the doctor as he turns the barrel to the computer screens next to the man. Three shots ringing out and destroying the technology that will soon be destroyed anyways. Shane turns the barrel back to the doctor, but it is pulled roughly to his grasp and the mass of muscle that is Shane Walsh is knocked to the ground. “Are you done now?” Rick raises the butt of the weapon in the air, “Are you done?”

Shane huffs looking up, “Yeah, I guess we all are.”

Rick’s gaze looks gently around the room, eyes taking in every detail. Takes in how Bella crawls from Carl to her father that lays on the ground.

The man moistens his lips and turns his tired eyes, “You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't.” The doctor stayed- watched his wife die. He killed the thing she became… and he stayed- he tried to figure out what this was. “You chose the hard path.”

“It doesn't matter now… not anymore.”

Rick looks at the man, “It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Your wife didn't have a choice. You do.” He bends down to look at the man- if this didn’t work… nothing will. The clock was ticking away, only ten minutes left. “That's... that's all we want... a choice, a chance. Let us keep trying as long as we can.”

Jenner stays silent and everyone looks him down. Silent prayers sent to the heavens that the man would let them leave, let them try. They’ve fought so hard- lost so much. It can't end like this.

The doctor's eyes drift gently across the room before landing on the man who almost blew his head off and the girl that clings desperately to his chest. Bella’s burning red eyes look up to meet his gaze and a pained smile carves into his face, “I hope you’ve grabbed some books you like.” With that he stands and swipes his key card with a number code entered onto a pad. “I told you topside locked down. I can't open those.” The metal door slides open startling Daryl and T-Dog that remained trying to break the door down. The sight of the door startles everyone to stand. Jenner looks at Rick, “There's your chance. Take it.”

“I'm grateful.” Rick says.

“The day will come when you won't be.”

Jenner’s words are final as he sits down in his seat to wait.

The group begins their run- the timer drops to 6 minutes. They need to climb stairs, find an exit, and get far enough away they won’t burn with the building and they have only… five minutes now.

Random bags are grabbed and feet pound on the ground. Bella and Shane stop alongside Lori and Carl who look at Rick that stands facing Jenner.

“Ms. Jacqui?!” Bella calls- why wasn’t she coming?

“I’ll be right behind you sweetie!” The tearful woman calls back with a simple nod and smile.

The nod is followed by Shane’s hands grabbing underneath Bella's arms- the man picks her up and leads Carl and Lori out- Rick right behind them as Jacqui sits down alongside Jenner and Andrea sits empty on the ground with Dale going after the woman.

The group rushes to the surface. Everyone tries the exits that make no sign of opening. Jenner said the top was locked- they were still stuck.

But the group didn’t need the doors to open- they’ll make their own exit. With a shout of warning Daryl smacks the large floor-to-ceiling windows with a metal chair. But the chair does not even scratch.

The metal chair bounces off the glass and out of Daryl’s hands. Shane drops Bella and raises his gun- the shot does the same damage as the metal chair.

“The glass won't break?” Sophia cries out.

But it will. Carol pulls out a hand grenade from her bag- her hand shakes violently as she hands it to Rick. The man had found it all those nights ago when he was in Atlanta city- when he had crawled inside a tank to escape walkers that wanted to rip him apart alongside the horse that had fallen to the road. The short-haired woman had found it when she washed Rick’s clothes.

Rick nods and moves swiftly to the window as the group crouches behind stairs. A simple pull of the pin has Rick running from the window- the explosion that follows sends the sheriff flying about five feet and the window shattering to the ground.

Cheers of excitement form as everyone rushes to the exit and jumps to the grass. Everyone sprints away from the building- it could blow any second.

Reaching the vehicles everyone moves to start them- they needed to get the hell away from the building. But before anyone can move Glenn stops Rick from starting the RV, “Wait wait. They're coming!” Andrea and Dale crawl from the broken window and begin their run to the cars- but the clock was almost to zero.

Shane stands in his open Jeep and shouts to the pair, “Dale, get down! Down!” Dale and Andrea drop roughly behind a stack of sandbags. Shane had roughly set a timer on his watch and if he timed it properly then it would be going off-

BOOM!

The sound rips past everyone's ears as the CDC explodes. The flames spread from the inside stopping at the edge of the building as a sphere of air forms. Cement crumbles as three seconds tick by and the air shield snaps. A wave of hot air shooting out and pushing everything in its place.

The building rips and tears- the sound of their previous safe haven crumbling to nothing but fire and rubble.

The flames reach high, and the smoke burns black as the group turn away from the building and drive away.

Jacqui and Jenner left in the rubble.

Chapter 10: Flowing Fear

Chapter Text

The only sound in the RV was the hum of the engine and the tinkering of a gun. Sat at the RV’s small dining table, Shane and Bella pull apart handguns. Bella slides the pieces apart before laying them out in an organized manner for her dad to grab and oil. The man had fallen behind on cleaning the weapons and decided to fill the time.

No one had truly spoken since they had escaped the CDC. The only words that were shared were directions from Glenn to Dale and small commands shared between the group. No one mentions what occurred; the loss of Jacqui- a kind and caring woman, Jenner- the man that tried to kill them all, and Andrea- who almost blew herself and Dale up and now lives in an air of anger and resentment.

The tears on everyone’s cheeks had dried long ago but Bella’s eyes were the only ones that remained puffy and red. Her tears stopped within the first minutes of the new road trip, but the evidence was still noticeable, now two hours and twenty-six minutes into the drive.

Sitting across from her dad, Bella pushes pieces of a handgun back together- her dad’s eyes tracking the movements. The young girl knew what to do… and an overseeing eye never hurt. They can’t have the gun misfiring, can they?

With a final click of the handgun, Bella sets it down in front of herself. “Good. You remembered.” Shane praises grabbing at the gun to give his own little inspection- they both knew it wasn’t needed, he was watching the entire time.

Bella smiles brightly, “You told me too, daddy.”

A light chuckle escapes Shane. The man drops the clean weapon to the duffle it is housed before reaching behind his back. “Here, try this one.” Pulled from his waist band is a Sig 1911-22 handgun. Its metal is a dark shined black with a handle grip made up of blood red wood. And engraved in the weapon is a small butterfly with Bella and Shane’s initials. “Better get used to that one, Princess.” Shane hands the weapon over to the girl.

The weapon is large in the girl’s hands, but her grin is infectious as she pulls at the weapon. He had the gun made specially for her.

It seems like a lifetime ago when the father-daughter duo went into a gun shop in their small hometown. Shane had dropped off his personal handgun the day before to get it altered by their friend, Mr. Beets, and took his girl to pick it up after school.

She had a tendency to browse every store she was in- she’d comment on everything she thought was pretty or cool looking all while proclaiming, ‘I want that!’. But of course, Shane could not buy everything the girl liked nor did she truly expect her dad to buy her any of it. But in Beets Gun Store, her eye had caught on the gun she claimed was ‘the prettiest of them all’ and said if she ever had a gun, she’d want that one.

Shane had asked her what she liked about it. “The color is pretty. But I would want to have a butterfly engraved… maybe our initials too.” Mr. Beets, the kind man he was, thoroughly agreed with the young girl and promised that one day he would engrave a weapon for her himself.

And he did. Shane had returned the next day in uniform to purchase the gun and have the old man grave everything his daughter had mentioned. HerThe father wanted to be the one to purchase Bella’s first gun- he wanted to give his daughter everything he could. The man had planned to wait until she was at least fifteen but something in his gut told him to do it now.

And it’s a good thing too. Cause not even three months later the outbreak took over the world.

Cleaning the outside of her weapon the girl smiles- she had known about the gun, but Shane didn’t want her to have it just yet. He would always be near her; she didn’t need to worry about protecting herself.

Looking across from the RV, Andrea moves to rest her arms against her knees. The blonde woman rests her face in her hands, “Looks complicated.” She comments towards Shane as he oils the barrel of a gun. Bella looks over to the woman that leans heavily towards Shane.

“The trick is getting all these pieces back together the same way. I could clean yours… Show you how.” He comments towards the woman. Andrea smiles at him before reaching into the duffel where her gun resided at the moment. Handing it to Shane, her hand brushes closely against the man’s, “Oh yeah. It’s a sweet piece.” He comments with a tight smile.

“It was a gift from my father.” The woman's eyes drift for a moment as she speaks, “He gave it to me just before Amy and I took off on our road trip. He said two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves.” Her sentence ends with her eyes drifting back into the world- her mind no longer drawing on the memories of her family.

“Smart man, your father.”

Andrea laughs with a big smile, “Looks like our dads think alike.” She says towards Bella who still rubs her gun with the cleaning cloth.

Bella doesn’t even raise her head in response, “I wouldn’t say that.” She punctuates with snapping the magazine into the base of the gun- the safety on.

Taken back for a mere second, Shane raises his eyes before turning back to Andrea, “Look, it's a- it's a limited capacity. See?” He draws Andrea’s stunned face back to him, “Only holds seven rounds.”

Andrea merely nods gently in response, taken aback by Bella’s words.

It was common for the young girl to give snappy, typically rude or cold, responses back to people; however, the group had not experienced the quips of Bella. Shane was used to his daughter’s comments, he would try to redirect her but had realized quickly that she was his daughter, and the task would be harder than traveling to the moon.

So now he merely gives a stern look to the girl before ignoring her comment and continuing the conversation. They had agreed she would withhold the quips best she could, and he wouldn’t have to punish her- nothing terrible. If Shane were being honest, he agreed with most of Bella’s comments even though he shouldn’t. The girl had been doing good with keeping the comments to herself.

With the disregard to Bella, Shane begins his memorized lecture on handguns as the RV slows to a snail’s pace, “Oh jeez. Aw no.” Dale calls out as he pulls slowly past multiple run-down cars.

All gathered at the front of the RV to look through the windows, the road ahead is littered with cars. The area is dropped in stillness as though looking at a worn-out old picture. The pop of Daryl’s motorcycle calms as he pulls alongside the driver’s window, “See a way through?” Dale asks.

Daryl gives a curt nod before revving his bike and moving forward, leading Dale through the mass of cars. Glenn stares down at his map, “Uh, maybe we should just go back. There’s an interstate bypass-”

“We can’t spare the fuel.”

Dale’s words quiet the group as they pass almost halfway through the cars. The last time they saw cars piled close like this was during outbreak day. Fear clustered together in groups of cars with no true escape.

“Daddy, we could go on the other side. There’s less cars.” Bella calls out with a point of her hand. The road across the grass strip of land meant to break the lanes of traffic had significantly less cars but the drop of land would prove to be difficult.

But another problem arises with the- POP! - of the RV’s engine. Swearing under his breath, Dale slows the RV to a stop- halting the car behind that held Lori, Rick, Carl, Carol, and Sophia inside. Daryl looks back at the sound and turns his bike around.

The group spills out of the RV door in a single file line to crowd among the front of the RV. The hot air of summer smacks harshly against everyone- the peak of summer may have passed but it seems like fall is ages away.

Dale’s eyes stare annoyed at the smoking RV, or steaming- Bella couldn’t truly tell the difference, “I said it. Didn’t I say it? A thousand times dead in the water.”

Carl comes alongside Bella, who stands behind Shane, “Problem Dale?” Shane calls.

“Oh, just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no hope of-” Everyone stares at Dale as he turns in his spot. The old man’s words die on his tongue as he looks at the untouched abandoned cars, a layer of dust and debris on all of them, “Okay, that was dumb.” He changes in an easy tone.

Shane rests his shotgun gently against his shoulder, “If we can’t find a radiator hose here…”

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff we can find.” Daryl states as he cracks open the window of a trunk to dig through the things inside.

“Can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start.” Says T-Dog.

“Maybe some water?” Carol adds hopefully.

Glenn nods in agreement, “Or food.” They needed everything. Food, water, clothes, supplies- everything they had was blown up within the CDC, only a few bags of belongings were salvaged.

The prospect of getting supplies got the group excited- they won’t have to go to bed hungry or go to sleep hungry… or just be hungry. They can find food, fresh water, and semi clean clothes. The group as a whole was starting to stink even with the clean clothes from Jenner.

“This is a graveyard…” Lori’s voice cuts in- stilling the group to turn to the women. “I don’t know how I feel about this.” Her voice is quiet as she stares into a car that holds an unmoving corpse of a woman- her skin tight and wrinkled as though her life was drawn from her body.

All the corpses look like their life was drawn from them.

The silence floods the area with a heavy stone dropping into everyone’s gut. The woman has a point- this place is a graveyard with corpses at every turn. How can any of them feel safe here? They are stuck here- they can’t even escape if they need to.

With a clap of his hands, Shane breaks the air of tension and draws eyes to him, “Come on y’all. Look around, gather what you can.” The unspoken command of, ‘be careful’, laced in his voice.

Living bodies move without struggle- hand gripping at trunks and car doors. There had to be at least a hundred cars and vehicles on the stretch of highway- who knows what kind of gold mine it could be for them.

Splitting into groups, Carl, Bella, and Sophia follow behind Carol and Lori- Shane digs into a trunk close by Glenn who tries to fix the RV’s engine.

“Kids, don’t look.” Carol commands looking back to the children that trail behind like little ducklings.

Standing side by side Bella and Carl look into a car- the inside empty of any bodies but dull dried blood was splattered across the far side of the car’s interior. The gentle hand of Lori’s pulls the pair back from the window as though the mother feared something popping up from the inside to take the kids from her grasp.

The low sound of hinges, shifting boxes, and random noises drift through the path of the cars- everyone picking through items with fear a walker may come from within. Fearful as though the walking corpses were hiding behind every corner… waiting for them to turn their backs to the danger.

The slight touch of Bella and Carl’s shoulders is pulled apart as Sophia wedges herself between the two. Bella looks at Sophia in surprise as the thin girl shows Carl something she found, her shoulder going cold from where it was pressed against Carl. The boy looks on in fascination while Bella sneers over Sophia’s turned shoulder- the thing wasn’t even that cool, it was just a toy or something.

“Hey Carl?” Lori calls out drawing the children’s attention, “Always within my sight, okay?” The boy gives his mother a gentle nod back.

Carol stops digging through clothing to peek around the car, “You too, Sophia.”

All in understanding the children move to continue searching when Shane’s voice calls out from twenty feet away. “Bella-?” He begins to speak.

“Yes, daddy.” The girl calls out now back alongside her place by Carl. Her father was going to say the same thing as the mothers- it wasn't hard to guess.

Slowly passing the dusty cars, Bella looks down into a dusty box styled SUV- the inside was filled with many totes and bags. From her view outside she could spot the bright red box of, hopefully, a med kit.

Her hands try for the trunk but the hinged door doesn’t move. She moves past Carl, who simply watches the girl at work. At the driver’s side door sits an unmoving corpse like the others- the impossibly thin man’s head leans heavily against the door. Testing the door’s handle Bella pulls it open to watch the corpse fall to the ground.

The thump of the body causes Sophia and Carl to squeak quietly and step back- their eyes comically wide as the girl leans over to unlock the car for the trunk. Carl and Sophia stare at the girl as she picks up the bottom of her white, well… off white skirt with the dirt that was dusting the clothing, up slightly so she could step over the corpse that was face down on the pavement.

The pair from the side moves away from the corpse towards Bella as she opens the trunk. Even only twenty feet away- Carol and Lori had not noticed the little moment with the body… they merely continued to dig through their respected trunks.

With the trunk now open, Bella picks gently at the belongings inside. The totes and bags she is after are covered with what looked like comforters and blankets- the pattern may have been a pretty floral, but the texture caused a shiver up the girl’s spine.

Tossing the blankets to the side she pulls at a heavy tote- a grunt escaping her mouth. The thing seemed to be 1,000 pounds to the girl.

Cracking the green lid off, Bella frisbees it off to the side of the road alongside the blankets, “What are you doing?” Carl calls, stepping alongside his friend to peek over her shoulder.

“Looking for stuff.”

Sophia moves from foot to foot, “The adults are supposed to be looking.” Her voice calls out dipped in fear. The area may not be all sunshine and rainbows, but did Sophia really have to act like such a scared little duckling?

“Hum…” Bella responds with a slight roll of her eyes as her hand makes contact with something special. A bright smile fills Bella's face as she pulls the item out to hand to her friend, “Here, Carl.”

Carl’s face brightens like the morning sun at the sight of an X-Man comic book sitting in her hand. “Awesome! Thanks, Bee.” The front page is turned the moment Carl gets both hands on it, he almost skips his way over to Lori with the book in his hands to sit and read.

The once believed med kit turns out to be a bust. And it takes a few more minutes of digging for Bella to find something of even remote importance- most of it was ugly clothes, photos and memory books. It is underneath a pile of photo albums that Bella pulls out a weird bumpy pillowcase.

Shaking it slightly causes the sound of rattling to reach Bella’s ears. Zipping open the pillowcase exposes multiple medicine bottles; yellow, orange, and white, a mix-match of prescription and over-the-counter meds. There must’ve been at least thirty different bottles! “Daddy! Look what I found!” Bella calls out as she jogs swiftly over to the RV, the bag swinging back and forth in her hands.

As if presenting a cure to the outbreak, Bella stands with a glowing smile with the bag hanging in front of her. Her daddy grabs the grab and peaks inside, a sideways grin forming on his face. “Nice find, Sweetheart!” He praises as he shows off the bag to Rick who approaches at Bella’s call. “Good job, Princess. This is real important.” He kisses her head a few times to show his happiness as he cradles her cheek.

“What you got there?” Dale calls from the top of the RV.

“A big bag of drugs. We’ll have to look through it later.” Shane replies as he tosses the back up to the man once he has rezipped the pillowcase. Dale shakes the bag up and down as if weighing it and gives the young girl a praising smile.

Meds are as important as weapons, food, water… they needed them. You can’t kill a cold with a bullet… well you could but it wouldn’t be the only thing dying.

Rick adjusts his rifle in his hands, “Good job, Bee.”

“Thank you, Mr. Grimes.”

Shane ruffles the girl's curls once more. He was terrified of her leaving his side but look at her- finding gold and helping the group. His little girl wasn't supposed to grow up so fast, “Keep looking, Princess. But stay close and be careful.”

Bella smiles and turns, “Yep-” She calls out as she joins Carl’s side once more. He dog-eared his page before placing it down, he only had so many things he enjoyed reading- he didn’t want to finish the comic within thirty minutes.

Hoping off the sedan’s truck he had climbed upon, Carl joins alongside Bella as she drifts past cars that were already dug through. The pair moves alongside a convertible, what a stupid car to take during the apocalypse, even with the dust layered on the paint, the pretty blue of the car came through.

“Ew, that’s nasty!” Carl exclaims as they look at the corpse that wears a full black suit. The man seemed to once be a businessman- maybe a CEO? Everything about the inside of the car seemed expensive.

Bella stares at the man, head tilting side-to-side as if trying to figure out a riddle, “Do you think it's alive?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Carl responds with a shrug, his face distorted in disgust as the smell truly hits him.

The area reeks of death and decay…all highlighted by the multiple buzzing flies that travel in the air.

With his hand now covering his nose, Carl watches as Bella raises her finger to poke at the corpse. “Don’t touch it!” He whispers-screams, he didn’t want to get her in trouble, but he also didn’t want her to lose her finger to a walker.

Bella pouts as Carl pulls her hand away, “Don’t be a scaredy cat, Carl.” She calls out.

Carl pulls her arm away, eyes stuck on the corpse as though it may turn and grab Bella’s back, “Sorry I don’t want you to die.” He proclaims as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Bella giggles and dramatically pulls her hand away, “It’s fine.” Even though her words claim her unafraid, she remains next Carl now five feet away from the exposed body. “Why do you think they're still here?” She questions into the air in wonder- it didn’t make sense to her. They died; shouldn’t they be walkers? “They didn’t seem to turn- so they just died?”

“I’m not a scientist, Bee.”

Bella laughs and turns to Carl, “Trust me- I know.” Carl trails behind her as she moves away from the fancy car and over to a minivan, the inside visibly empty of bodies.

The girl planned to search for more things- hopefully she could find a new dress or skirt. What kind of person wears a white skirt to begin with? Especially during the end of the world.

Skimming through the trunk of the vehicle she pulls at a child’s bag, bright pink with Barbie vinyl on the side. The inside only held stuffed animals and toys- nothing useful or even nice.

“Try finding more comics.”

Bella snaps her head to Carl with the last duffle in her hands, “Why do I have to do it?” Her voice pitches high.

Carl sits inside the trunk facing his friend all while swinging his feet, “Because I asked.” The smile on his face breaks the annoyance on Bella’s. With a huff she grabs at a loose shirt to throw at Carl.

The cloth hits him square in the face causing a laugh to bubble heavily out Bella's mouth. Carl’s expression sent the girl into a bent over laughing fit. The boy could not believe his friend just threw a dusty shirt in his face- it wouldn’t be the first time they threw things at each other but, a dusty shirt? Gross.

With her grin still straining her cheeks, Bella begins digging through the duffle once more. Lori approaches the pair to begin searching through a car a couple handfuls of feet away. The laughter of the children floated across the cars picking up the shoulders of everyone in the group.

Potentially dangerous environment or not- hearing the kids laugh freely and without care brought warmth to their chests. They weren’t afraid and it was… peaceful.

Inside she finds many women’s clothing; blouses and tank tops- but hidden at the bottom of the bag Bella grasps at an item.

“What is that?” Carl questions at the sight of an object wrapped within a blouse.

Bella shrugs as she begins unrolling the object, “I don’t know.” Fully unwrapped the pair stare at the bright pink cylinder- one end was a curve and the other seemed… fat? Still holding the objects in the blouse, Bella and Carl look closely at the foreign object. “There’s batteries in it.” Bella states as she looks at the, maybe, bottom of the thing.

Their brains work hard trying to figure out what it was… why would it be wrapped up hidden at the bottom of the duffle? It must be something important, right? Sighing, Bella ponders out loud, “Maybe it’s a toy… oh!” She shouts, throwing the item away from herself to the ground causing Lori to look over, “Ew! Ew! Gross!” She screams as she wipes the hand that was holding the offensive object, through a blouse but still, onto Carl’s shirt.

The girl had pieced the information together; a weird cylinder shape, like Ms. Smith mentioned during that biology lesson, batteries that could make something move... and Andrea’s comment back at the quarry all those days ago.

The girl gagged dramatically as Carl jumped away from her offending hand, “Stop!”

Lori is by the pair’s side within a moment searching for the source that caused the girl to shout, “What’s going on?” Bella points to the ground where the object now laid.

The laugh that escapes Lori’s mouth is bright and quick- she could barely calm it in her chest. “I need to bleach my hands.” She says as she holds her hands away from her. Lori tries not to chuckle as she kicks the toy away and underneath a car.

Motioning she leads the pair away to give Bella some soap and water. Carl repeatedly asked what it was- no one would answer the boy. And Bella… well she was officially done with searching- never again would she do that.

With her hands clean, Bella rests atop a car’s hood as Shane fixes up a blue hatch-back car. The man had found the seemingly best vehicle abandoned in the area and started his fix. The Jeep had run out of fuel within the first thirty minutes of the trip from the CDC- so he needed a new ride.

Sitting with her daddy, she tries to listen to the information about fixing a car’s engine he’s giving her… but Bella’s eyes merely follow Carl who stands along Sophia.

The young girl has been tracking her friend oddly for a while. Eyes always following from afar if she wasn’t by his side- always trying to be next to him. Though it's not truly strange… their kids. They know so little of the world and what they did know was ripped away from them.

Their home- their world was thrown into madness and death, all set ablaze by fire from the people that were meant to protect them. People, neighbors, friends- they once knew turned into animals and monsters, beating, stealing... killing people. How was anyone expected to handle this new world? Especially children.

Noticing her silence, Shane stops whatever he was doing to look up, “You okay, Princess?” He grabs a towel to wipe the grease from his hands.

Bella brings her eyes to Shane and gives him a genuine small smile, “I’m okay, Daddy.” A look begins to form on Shane’s face, “Your neck is healing nice.” She says- seemingly to change the subject. Bella was his daughter- he knew when she wasn’t okay, knew when she was trying to change the subject.

“It wasn’t that bad.” He says, smacking the grease cloth in his hand. How was he supposed to ask his daughter this? That night in the CDC- it wasn’t Bella that scratched him… it was Lori. He made a… a mistake and Lori scratched him. No one but him and Lori knew but- Bella was taking the blame? “How exactly did you scratch me so bad?” He asks with a raised eyebrow.

Bella takes a pregnant pause before shrugging her shoulders, “I don’t know- it was dark.”

“You don’t know?” He responds in question.

Bella shakes her head, “No, daddy. I don’t remember.”

The man looks to the ground in thought. Bella takes the moment of thought to hop off the car’s hood and skip over to Carl who had waved her over.

Shane watches as Bella joins Carl- the pair immediately falling into joyous conversation. She may be his little girl and he was the only one to have raised her, no mother to care for Bella, but sometimes he felt so lost. There are times where he doesn’t know what to do, how to help his little girl. What kind of father doesn’t know how to care for his child?

It makes him feel so lost. He never planned to have a child, at least not so soon. And when he learned of Bella’s birth, he was so… angry- he was in his prime, he couldn’t- scratch that- didn’t want to have a child. And now he had no choice but to be a father.

And now… he wouldn’t change it for the world. Bella was his sweet little girl- already so strong and brave in her young age. Shane feels nothing but happiness and pride looking at her.

But it doesn’t erase the fact that she terrifies him at times. He didn’t know how to deal with most of the situations that came along with being a father- he had figured most out but there were still times he struggled. Like now.

Bella claims to have scratched him in the dark but… the father-daughter duo both know it wasn’t her. They could see that in each other's eyes. So why was she taking the blame? Did she know what happened in the rec room? What had happened before that?

No- no- it’s impossible. Lori and Shane kept it quiet, their little affair. If you could call it that, they thought Rick was dead. They found comfort in each other… but now he’s back and they… stopped.

None of it made sense. It was all too much at once. Everything twisted in reality- none of this was supposed to happen, to even be possible.

Shane’s mind twists and turns, trying to understand everything. He knew the new reality but not everyone else did and it didn’t-

“Under the cars!” Rick's whisper-shout breaks Shane’s thoughts. The man jogs over to the children and mothers to command them as well.

Turning to look at the way they had come shows the slow approach of death. Walkers, too many to fight, make their way around the cars closer to the RV and the group.

Shane grasps at an unmoving Glenn to pull him underneath a large truck. He wanted to run for his daughter, but she was too far, and he would lead the walkers right to her.

Following Rick’s words, everyone hides themselves underneath vehicles and cars. “What do we do?!” Sophia whispers to Bella as they stand on the road- Bella merely grasps her arm and pulls her down. The girls were slightly farther away than Carl and the moms, and they needed to hide now.

The girls drag themselves on the pavement as Carol cries for her daughter underneath a separate car with Lori. Sophia clutches tight to her teddy doll and turns to speak but Bella merely covers her mouth with her hand and shushes her. No one wanted to get eaten alive and Bella was not going to have Sophia be the reason she was.

Holding each other's hands, Bella and Sophia watch alongside everyone else as the walkers make their way closer… and pass. They’re going pass them! They don’t even notice them.

But even though the walkers can’t see them, it doesn’t calm the tension in everyone’s heart. The area is silent alongside the drag of dead feet and moaning corpses searching for a piece of fresh flesh.

Sophia hiccups underneath Bella’s hand causing the girl to pull her closer to the middle of the car. Perhaps Bella shouldn’t have given Sophia the side closest to the road and the mass of walkers.

It takes five minutes of heart pounding silence for the mass to pass the cars- the time feels like years. Lips quiver, eyes water, and hand ball tight as they wait- running and hiding… It was the new way of life. And they weren’t made for it.

It takes another five minutes for the groans and dragging of feet to grow quiet- the sounds are still present, but they are far away now, and it releases a fraction of the tension in the air. Hands pulled back to herself Bella tries looking for her dad underneath the car with slight moves of her head. Carl was close by, so she knew he was fine. They were all fine.

It’s during her search for her daddy that Sophia begins her move. The girl slowly drags her body out from underneath the car. Bella notices the movement from the corner of her eye and her heart drops. Why the hell is she moving?! No one else is moving.

Grasping the back of the girl’s shirt, Bella tries to pull her back, but the effort is wiped away swiftly as a strong groan comes from the road and the legs of a corpse fit themselves in the area between the road and the bottom of the car they laid under.

Sophia cries out as she retracts her movements forcing Bella out the other side with the male walker dropping to the ground to crawl underneath the car. Two more pairs of feet show next to the third.

Bella picks herself off the ground the moment she is out and pulls the other girl’s arm roughly and without care. She begins to lead them back the way they had driven from- away from the mass and towards her daddy. He would protect them.

But Sophia pulls her towards the woods with near silent cries. Bella fights against Sophia grasp but it's too strong and the opportunity is lost as the walkers block both easy exits to the road.

Hoping over the guardrail the pair slides down the hill that lifts the highway- the walkers following close behind. The fresh corpses are strong and fast.

The pair runs through the trees and over roots, stumbling from time to time as fear washes over them. They’re in the woods running from three walkers alone. They're alone… Sophia pulled them into the woods alone.

The pair runs and hops over rocks as the sounds of the walkers continue their pursuit behind them. The cries of Sophia grow louder the longer they run.

Taking a swift turn around a rocky hill the girls slam into a solid body. Screams begin to escape their mouths but are quelled as they stare up at the sweaty face of Rick.

Chest huffing Bella looks at the man, “Mr. Grimes?!"

“Shh, shh. Are you both alright?” He questions as he looks them both over- Bella nods her head as Sophia reaches towards Rick’s revolver.

“Shoot them!” She cries out but Rick pulls her back.

“No, no. Those walkers on the road will hear it. Then it wouldn’t just be three, it’d be hundreds.” His breath is racing as hard as the girls’. The sound of the walkers grows closer and Rick huffs before hauling Sophia in his arms, “Alright, come on.” Bella nods in understanding and follows the man.

Jogging as fast as Rick can with a 100-pound child in his arms they make it towards a pissy little stream. Rick looks back for the walkers- they’re still after them but they have some time.

Dropping Sophia from his arms, Rick hopes into the stream. Grabbing under their armpits, Rick drops the girls into the running water from the four-foot ledge they stood atop of. He leads them to an overhang made of the roots of a fallen tree.

The stream must’ve run the dirt from the roots long ago and now Rick pushes for the girls to go underneath. “Alright, come on. Sophia, Bella, you have to do exactly as I say. Hide there.” They stand just out the roots, “Squeeze in tight. I'll draw them away from you.”

Sophia pulls her pants up on her waist as she speaks, “No no, don't leave us.” Her voice is dripping in fear.

Rick bends down to the girl, “Listen listen listen listen. They don't get winded. I do.” He explains to Sophia- Bella already knew to listen to Rick if her daddy wasn’t there. “I can only deal with them one at a time. I won't be able to protect you. This is how we all survive. You understand?” Sophia nods her head painfully. No one wanted to be left in woods where cannibal corpses were roaming. “If I don't make it back, run back to the highway, back to the others straight the way we came. Keep the sun on your left shoulder. Okay?” He huffs harshly as the walkers grow significantly closer to the trio.

Rick stares between the two girls- he didn’t want to leave them… but what else was he supposed to do? Bella nods her head when Rick looks at her, “Squeeze in tight, if you don’t come- go back the way we came. Keeping the sun on our left shoulder.” She repeats with shallow breaths.

The relief can be seen on Rick’s face with Bella’s words- she knows and understands. With a strained smile, Rick pushes the pair underneath the roots as the walkers have now spotted the man in the river.

Squeezed in tight, the pair watches Rick call for the walkers, “Come on! You ugly son of a bitch. Come on! Come on!” Two of the walkers splash harshly into the river from the fall of the bank and stand quickly to follow after the man as he leads them away.

And left behind is Bella and Sophia squeezed tightly against the dirt walls of their protection… all while hoping the ground would swallow them whole if it meant they were safe.

Chapter 11: little secrets

Chapter Text

“Sure this is the spot?” Daryl questions as he looks inside the roots Rick had left Sophia and Bella in. It had been only thirty minutes, Rick killed the three walkers within fifteen minutes and the rest was filled with running and grouping up with the other men that looked through the area.

Rick points at the roots in frustration, “I left them right here.” He turns into another direction, “I drew the walkers way off in that direction up the creek.” He explains once more. He had rushed back as fast as he could for the two girls… but they were gone. As if they were never there.

“Then where are they?!” Shane shouts as he paces the stream.

The father hadn’t realized his daughter was chased off the highway until Rick was deep into the woods- too far away to follow.

“They were gone by the time I got back here.” He speaks painfully but underlaid with hope, “I figured they just took off and ran back to the group. I told them to go that way and keep the sun on their left shoulder.” The girls are gone so they must’ve gone back to the highway. Shane, however, is not convinced as gives Rick a death stare strong enough to kill every walker on the planet. “Bella repeated what I said, she knew what to do.” Rick pushes.

Shane huffs and waves his arms out as if asking, ‘where are they then?’ “What about Sophia?” He questions pointing his gun out to the ground in anger, “She is the one that got Bella into this- probably took her off track too.” The man’s words are spit in disgust. Sophia’s stupid actions put his little girl in danger- of course he’s gonna be pissed. Carol couldn’t teach her daughter how to shut up and stay put?

“This isn’t Sophia’s fault, Shane.” Rick sighs in a final declaration. His feet take him closer to the fuming man, “We’re gonna find Bella- and Sophia. They understood me fine.” His words are spoken as though Rick knew the future but everything in Shane's gut told him otherwise.

“Hey, short round, why don't you step off to one side? You're mucking up the trail.” Daryl commands Glenn, the last man of the group, who stands directly in the trail of the girls. The young adult takes a step to the side and into brush. Daryl turns to Rick and Shane waiting for the next step- he could track them, there’s a trail, he just needed them to finish whatever piss fest they were doing.

Shane sighs with an almost unnoticeable grasp to his stomach. “Listen, man, the kids’ tired and scared. They had their close call, three walkers.” He starts in an attempt to calm himself- his anger would only hurt Bella, “Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck.” Bella was smart but she just faced death- who knows how she reacted.

“Got clear prints right here.” Daryl says looking closely to the tracks where Glenn once stood on the bank. “They did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let's spread out, make our way back.” The redneck commands as he stands to pull himself up. His eyes remain glued to the ground as she tracks the young girls’ prints back towards the highway where they once came.

“They couldn't have gone far.” Rick says as he and Shane climb out of the creak with the helping hand of Glenn. “Hey, we're gonna find Bella. And Sophia.” Rick stops Shane from continuing after Daryl.

“We better.” Shane states simply adjusting his shotgun tightly in his hands. Turning to look at his brother he drops his head- he can’t do this. He can’t break now when his daughter needs him. “They'll be tuckered out hiding in a bush somewhere.” He says out loud- perhaps to calm himself. But it only makes him more worried.

The group of four travel quickly and carefully, all led by Daryl who tracks the girls with practiced ease. Daryl is a redneck with a juvenile past that was taught to track and hunt as a child- this was a simple track… for the most part.

The tracker slows to a stop in the middle of a decent sized opening, “They were doing just fine till right here.” He points where he sees the track and the direction they stop “Just had to keep going.” Rick bends down alongside Daryl. “One of them veered off that way, and the other there.” Shane looks around the area, “Looks like there was a little skuffle, one of ‘em fell.”

“Why would they do that?” Questions Glenn.

Shane looks down to Rick, loosely controlled pain drawn tight over his face, “Maybe they saw something that spooked ‘em, made them run off, made ‘em fall.”

“A walker?”

Daryl shakes his head, “I don't see any other footprints. Just theirs.” The man stares down at the tracks- he’d never seen this before. Tracks cut off. It’s weird… its not normal. Daryl couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with them.

“So what? Now we have to go searching in two different directions?” Glenn questions, the sun had passed its peak and night was approaching. They had approximately five hours of sunlight left and they still needed to inform the group of what was happening.

Rick shakes his head, “No, we-”

Crunch… crunch…

The men draw their weapons up swiftly in the direction the crunching leaves come from. They hold their sights on the ruffling leaves of the bush as it grows more aggressive.

A hand peek out of the bush to push the leaves aside. “Dad?” Comes Bella’s small voice that is strained painfully. Her bloodshot blue eyes connect with her dad’s quickly, “Daddy?!” She shouts in excited disbelief.

Her feet close the distance swiftly before the men can even drop their weapons. The girl jumps into her daddy’s arms and Shane holds her tight enough to stop her breaths. Pulling Bella back Shane’s eyes darted up and down, “Are you hurt?! Bit?! What happened?!” He grabs at Bella. He picks the bottom of her skirt up to check her legs, he turns her arms around, and peeks over her shoulder to look at her back.

Bella nods with a strong teared sniffle, “I’m okay, daddy. Nothing got me- my ankle hurts though.” She says looking down to her right foot that she tries to lean off of. Bella’s ankle was swelling and already bruising at the bump. It seems they know which one of them fell.

The man grabs gently at her calf- her knees skinned in long streaks from the fall. “Looks like you rolled it, Princess.” He says as he touches it gently.

Rick smiles and bends down alongside Shane, “Bella!” His eyes are filled with concern and Bella gives him a small smile, “What happened? Where’s Sophia?” He questions once Shane gives his final check.

“I don’t know.” She responds looking between the men as they look down at her.

“You don’t know?”

Bella shakes her head and tears start to brim in her eyes, “I tried to get her to wait but she wanted to leave.” She sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “So we went back to the highway and there was a noise… she ran off and I fell.” Her eyes look back to Shane, “She was gone by the time I got back up.”

Glenn is the most expressive of the group when she speaks. “What way?” The Asian man asks.

Bella points her finger into the woods, “She went in that direction.” The men looked in the direction she pointed and started to plan.

“Why aren't we all out there looking?” Carol’s fingers are bleeding from where she chews on them, “Why are we moving cars?” Her face turns for a mere moment from the woods to the men behind her. The mother hadn’t left since Sophia and Bella ran off- how could she?

Dale twists the wrench in his palm, “We have to clear enough room so I can get the R.V. turned around as soon as it's running. Now that we have fuel we can double back to a bypass that Glenn flagged on the map.”

“Going back's going to be easier than trying to get through this mess.”

Carol looks in worried disbelief, “We're not going anywhere till my daughter gets back.” Her voice wavers in its firmness. It was probably the first time she ever stood up for herself- she didn't do it when it came to Ed.

Lori touches the worried mother’s shoulder, “Hey, that goes without saying.”

“Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay?” Shane reaffirms to the woman, “Just a matter of time.”

Andrea nods and looks around, “Can't be soon enough for me. I'm still freaked out from that herd that passed us by, or whatever you'd call it.” She was stuck in the RV with a walker during the mass with only a flathead dropped down by Dale to defend herself.

“Yeah, what was that? All of them just marching along like that.” Glenn questions.

Everyone is silent, “A herd. That sounds about right.” Shane confirms looking up, “We've seen it. It's like the night camp got attacked. Some wandering pack, only fewer.” Great- another thing the group had to worry about. How the hell are they supposed to survive if a herd like that or larger comes across them? Licking his lip, Shane gives the group a tight nod drawing them away from their thoughts, “Okay. Come on, people. We still have a lot to do. Let's stay on it.”

Walking away from the circle everyone went back to their chores; moving cars, finding supplies, fixing the RV- everyone was working to keep reality from eating away at their minds.

Carl and Bella had no trouble finding distractions. Sitting atop another car, Bella rests her ankle that was now bound with some ace bandage Dale had found- he said it should help with the swelling and pain. The pair reads their respective books- Carl finishing off his X-Men comic and Bella reading through ‘Of Mice and Men’, another thing Dale had given her.

With a tired sigh Carl throws his book to the car’s hood before hopping down. “Hey, don’t leave me alone.” Bella marks her page and slides off the car landing on her good ankle.

“I’m not.” Carl says as Bella moves. “Shane said you need to sit down.” He tries to get her back to the car but the girl won’t hear it.

Bella slaps her friend’s hand, “I’m fine.”

The boy rolls his eyes knowing he couldn’t win. Carl walks through the cars and spots a sun worn red truck. His interested mind controls his movements as he peaks into the truck. “There’s something in there.” The corpse inside has a large roll made of leather under his arm and Carl wanted it.

He opens the door to the truck’s cab as Bella watches from a few feet away leaning back. Moving carefully Carl looks at the corpse- none of them had moved… but that didn’t mean this one couldn’t.

Leaning over the man’s dead lap, his eyes dart back-and-forth to the corpse's face in hesitation, Carl grabs at the roll and tugs. And tugs. And tugs. The damn thing is heavier than he expected and wasn’t moving easily.

Carl can feel Bella’s gaze on his back and the grin that is forming on her face. With an internal desire to show Bella he can get the roll, he stands on the truck step and gets both hands gripped on it.

With all his weight he tugs. “Haha!” He cheers as the roll pulls loose from its spot. The roll now sits atop the corpse's lap and Carl almost vibrates with excitement- it sounds like there's tools or something in it.

The boy grabs the roll and begins to step from the truck- “Ahh!”

Bella laughs out loud at the sight of Carl on his back, the roll hugged tight to his chest with the corpse now leaning over him. The seatbeat of the truck stopped it from falling on top of the four- eleven boy.

“You okay?”

Carl gets up with the help of Bella’s hand, “Shut up.” The words are half hearted. Shaking the roll Carl smiles brightly at Bella, “Cool. Come on, let’s show Shane.”

Running, well Carl running then slowing down since Bella can barely walk, the pair gets over to Lori and Shane. With a call out to Shane, Lori is the one to speak first, “Carl, what happened?”

“Bella, you're supposed to be resting.” Shane stresses but the girl ignores him.

Kneeling on the ground Carl starts to unravel the roll, “Mom, we found something cool. Shane, check it out.” Fully open and safety flap up exposes the contents inside. “It's an arsenal!” The boy calls out at the sight of multiple hatchets, machetes and blades; at least ten total.

“That's cool, bud. Go give 'em to Dale.” Shane dismisses. Was he okay?

Bella’s bent down alongside Carl as he pulls out a hatchet, “Check this one out!” The boy swings it gently in place, “Whoa, it's a hatchet.”

Lori takes a step forward causing Carl to stop the short swings, “Be careful. Don't play with those.”

“They're really sharp.” He responds.

“ What did I just say? ” Lori's voice is tight as she stares down at Carl.

Carl looks up with a grin, “Can I keep one?”

“Can I keep one too?” Bella says as she gently touches the blade of a long thin knife.

Lori stares at the pair in disbelief, “Are you both crazy?”

The boy’s shoulders drop in unbelievable disappointment, “No way. Shane.” He looks at the man, “Shane, tell her to let me keep one.”

Shane’s face twists swiftly, “Hey, man, go give them all to Dale now! Go.” The man snapped at Carl… “Go with him, Princess.” He commands his daughter.

With disbelief and disappointment across his face, Carl rolls the weapons up and gathers it in his arms. The watering of his eyes are unnoticeable to anyone.

Anyone but Bella.

The young girl looks at Shane with a sharp and angry look. The girl’s soft features and full cheeks go sharp… as though she was looking at the devil himself.

How a girl that looks so soft, gentle, and kind can turn herself into such hatred… It was terrifying. And new.

As the pair walks away Lori turns on Shane, “What was that?” The woman almost spits at the man. What has gotten into him?

Shane has his back turned to the woman as she speaks. “What was what?”

“The way you blew him off just now. You crushed him.” The man keeps his back to her. The act causes Lori to round on Shane as he messes with something under a car’s hood. “I don't believe you. You're giving me the cold shoulder?” She questions in disbelief.

Shane looks up at Lori, sweat dripping down his wavy nose and bouncing off his sharp chin, “Isn't that what you want? Aren't you the one who said ‘stay the hell away from him and you’?”

The woman’s eyes widen and she takes a step closer to the man, “You forget what happened at the CDC?” Lori questions, “Your little meltdown in the rec room slip your mind? When you tried-”

“When I tried to, what?” Shane cuts her off looking down at the woman. “What do you think that was?” The man’s face is tight in pain.

“I think it is pretty plain what that was.”

“A mistake.” He spits at her with a shake of his head. What happened- he was drunk and angry and he wasn’t in control. “One that I admit to.” Lori’s eyes soften slightly- as though those words erased the painful truth of what almost happened. “I have a few mistakes under my belt, Lori. So do you.” Shane speaks to her.

“No debate there.” Lori drops her voice down, “But Shane, we need to stop this.” They didn’t need everyone hearing their business and they weren’t being exactly quiet.

Shane gives hers a look and smacks the blue SUV’s body, “Why do you think I'm prepping my new ride?” A pregnant pause fills the air for a moment, “I'm leaving.”

“Leaving?”

“As in gone for good. Gonna quietly slip away the first chance I get.”

Lori nods her head- it would be hard for her, Rick… Carl. But they did something they shouldn’t have and now, they had to deal with it. Crossing her arms, Lori’s eyes drift over to the RV where Bella stands next to Carl- obviously trying to cheer him up. “What about Bella?” She asks. Shane crawls into the driver’s seat to turn the car on.

The man’s head drops to his chest, “I ain’t gonna tell her till we’re gone.” His voice is quiet and full of pain. Limp hand on the keys, he decides to turn them- their conversation over.

“I think that’s for the best.”

Shane’s head snaps to Lori’s face as the car turns over and roars to life. The look on his face is full of confusion. Why did the women say it like that? Why did she say it like… like she was happy Bella was leaving?

Before he can open his mouth the radio with the car blares to life, “ The emergency alert system has been activated. ” The sound draws others over to the car, “ The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message: Normal broadcasting will cease immediately. This is a civil emergency .” The man’s voice over the broadcast is flat and robotic.

“Is that a local signal?” Glenn questions out loud.

“It's got to be within 50 miles of here.”

“ Avoid anyone infected at all costs. Remain calm. Help is on the way. The emergency alert system has been activated. ”

Shane huffs and turns the radio off, “Asshole.” Looking up at everyone gathered, the man shoos them away, “Okay, let's get back to work.”

And as the group drifts back to work, the sun continues its descent in the sky and the air sends small chills when the wind blows. No more walkers or herds pass them by as they slowly stop working and gather to have a mix-matched dinner while sitting atop car hoods.

Carol still stands at the guard rail waiting for her daughter to run out of the woods and into her waiting arms. “It's late. Gonna be dark soon.” She says to the group behind her.

“They'll find her.” Andrea says to the woman before walking towards Dale in a huff. “Where's my gun? You have no right to take it.” Dale looks up to the young woman’s angry face.

“You don't need that just now, do you?”

“My father gave it to me. It's mine.” She almost spits at him. Bella watches from alongside Carl atop a car’s hood- barley consuming the soup she was given.

Dale, the man he was, looks at Andrea. “I can hold onto it for you.” He offers. He didn’t want to fight with her but the woman that almost committed suicide 24-hours ago wanted a fight.

“Or you can give it back to me.”

Shane drifts over as Andrea’s voice gets louder. “Everything cool?”

“No, I want my gun back.” She sassed, everyone's eyes had drifted over to the group.

Dale shakes his head, “I don't think it's a good idea right now.” The woman’s eyes grow hard.

Shane looks back at Dale, “Why not?” It was obvious what he was doing, he was using his old cop techniques. Shane and Rick used to do it when her and Carl were younger and they would fight over a toy. They mediate the situation but in the end… they make the final decision.

“I'm not comfortable with it.” Dale stresses in his voice. And everyone knew why.

Shane sighs and places his hands atop his hips, “The truth is, the less guns we have floating around camp the better.” He states- no one is the group besides himself, Rick, Daryl, and Bella knew how to properly use a weapon.

“You turning over your weapon?”

“No. But I'm trained in its use. That's what the rest of y'all need- proper training.” Shane states with no room for argument. Andrea and anyone else could try but it wouldn’t work- they want to look to him and Rick for leadership then they're gonna deal with what they say or they can leave. “But until that time I think it's best if Dale keeps them all accounted for.”

Andrea raises her brows before pointing to the little girl watching from twenty feet away. “Bella giving Dale hers?" She asks, looking at the man. This woman was trying too hard.

Shane’s patience starts to wear thin. Having a gun didn’t protect you- having a gun and knowing how to use it can protect you… and Andrea didn’t have that knowledge. “Again- unlike the rest of you. She has proper training.” He shoots back at her, “Won’t go shootin off at every creak and russell.”

The blonde woman merely shakes her head and curls her lips in anger before turning away, “Uh-huh.”

The moment Shane had gotten Bella back he cleaned her up, got her into fresh clothes, and strapped the holster and gun he had made for her onto her waist. He should’ve done it before he let her out of the RV. What if something like that happens again? What if one of these useless and pathetic people put his daughter in danger again? He won’t let it happen.

As the woman stomps away, Bella rolls her eyes at the scene. The woman was thirty years old and she was acting like a child- it was pathetic.

With her thoughts rolling in her mind, Glenn calls out as a filthy Rick and Daryl come dragging themselves up the hill to the highway. Sophia is nowhere to be found.

Carol takes a few steading breaths, “You didn't find her?”

Rick drops in head in sorrow, “The trial we followed wasn’t hers.” He started, “But we doubled back and found another trial- but it went cold. We’ll pick it up at first light.” The trail they found in Bella’s direction wasn’t Sophia's- it was some random walker. But they had found another, one they believed was the lost girl’s.

Carol shakes her head and the control she had slipped away in her voice. “You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods.”

“Out in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost.” Daryl explains.

“She’s only twelve - she can't be out there on her own.” Carol cries as Lori holds the woman’s shoulders. “You didn't find anything ?” She cries.

“I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there.”

Daryl nods and steps over the guardrail, “And we tracked her for a while.”

The sheriff nods along with the redneck’s words. “We have to make this an organized effort.” He starts, “Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this.”

The group nods in understanding- they weren’t going to leave Sohpia. They’d find her.

Carol looks down Rick’s shirt as he crawls over the guardrail, “Is that blood?”

“We took down a walker on her trial.”

“Walker? Oh my God.”

Rick sticks his hands up covered in smudge dried blood. “There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia.”

“How can you know that?” Andrea calls, her voice still sharp.

“We cut the son of a bitch open,” Calls Daryl. “Made sure.” He speaks directly to Carol.

Carol cries as she leans against a car, “Oh God. How could you just leave her out there to begin with?” Her eyes filled with tears, look to Rick, “ How could you just leave her ?”

“Those walkers were on us. I had to draw them off.” He tells her, “It was their best chance.”

Shane sighs next to his daughter who watches with a flat face, “He didn't have a choice, Carol.”

“How is she supposed to find her way back? She’s just a child.”

“It was my only option. The only choice I could make.” Rick’s voice begs her to understand. He was an honorable man with good morals- he wouldn’t leave a child in the woods to fend for themselves.

“I'm sure nobody doubts that.” Shane says in comfort to his brother.

“Because your girl made it back.” Carol spits to the man, “You found her first before Sophia.” She accuses before curling into herself, “My little girl got left in the woods.”

She cries and cries and cries… her tears falling with stopping even as the sun drops and the sky fills with darkness.

The group prepare themselves for a difficult night of sleep as she cries inside the RV.

Gathering some blankets, Bella drops them next to the blue SUV her daddy had fixed up. It would be their bed for the night.

“Hey, Bella, could we talk to you for a second?” Rick calls to the young girl as she hands her dad another pillow for their bed in the back of the car. He showed her how to push the back seats down to make more room to sleep.

The young girl nods once Shane gives her the gentle okay. Walking over, Rick and Daryl lead her a small distance away from everyone. The sheriff bends down to the girl’s height, “You didn’t find anything?” Bella questions the pair before either could speak.

Rick merely shakes his head in answer.

Daryl sighs from his spot behind Rick- almost like good cop, bad cop. “The direction you pointed us in-” The redneck starts looking down at the girl. “You sure it was the right one?”

Bella nods simply, “Yes, Mr. Daryl.” The men give the girl a look to continue. “She was dragging me along. Then I tripped and when I looked up she was running off into the woods.” Her explanation is simple and quick.

Rick nods in understanding. “You tripped over a root, right? How didn’t Sophia hear you fall?”

The young girl gives him a weird look- her eyes jump up and down the sheriff's figure quickly, “No, Mr. Grimes. There was a noise.” She states looking at Rick. “And I don’t know- she just left me.” Her shoulders shrug as she readjusts her footing. Dale had shuffled through the meds she had found earlier in the day and handed her some painkillers… with the approval of Shane. But they were starting to wear away.

Rick gives her a curt smile, “Okay… okay. Thank you.”

Bella smiles back. “Good night, Mr. Grimes. Mr. Daryl.” She calls as she makes her way to her dad who is watching her approach.

He helps her into the back of the car as Daryl and Rick watch. Shane gives them a goodnight nod before climbing in himself and locking the doors. Rick continues to stare at the car in wonder- his mind turning fast.

Daryl sighs once before readjusting his crossbow. “I ain’t saying she’s lying.” He starts turning to face Rick, shoulder-to-shoulder, “... but those tracks weren’t Sophia’s.”

He leaves Rick to stand alone in the dark.

Chapter 12: i don't know what to do

Chapter Text

Standing in a circle formation, the group listens intently to Rick. A new day had dawned, and everyone was ready to go searching for Sophia's trail. The atmosphere was tense and laced with hope- they could find Sophia… they- Rick- needed to find Sophia.

Laid out in front of them was the roll of machetes Carl and Bella had found. They were clean and sharp, brand new in this fallen world. “Everybody takes a weapon.” Rick’s command sends people to grab at the desired blade. Glenn grasps at a pickaxe/ax looking blade and grows a boyish smile at it.

Andrea from her side of the group, grabs a machete and stares down at it, “These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?” She calls the group in hope someone would agree with her.

Shane doesn’t even turn his head in her direction, “We've been over that.” He pauses. “Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles.” He states as he checks his own weapon before holstering it.

“It's not the trees I'm worried about.” She speaks simply.

Finally, Shane turns his head to the woman, “Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us.” He spits swiftly- he was tired of this conversation, everyone was. “So, you need to get over it.” He commands her.

She merely gives him an unbelieving look before turning her gaze to the little girl next to his legs, “Bella’s still got a gun.” She comments towards the gun and holster placed back onto the girl’s waist. The baby blue overall dress and pink tee with small bees Bella now wore didn’t fit well with the gun hostler.

Shane places a hand to the back of her head in a protective cradle, “My daughter knows how to handle a gun.”

“She’s a child.” Andrea shoots back to the man. She couldn’t understand how no one could see that a child shouldn’t have a weapon over an adult. It was her gun- she should have it.

“I’m not acting like a child.” Bella speaks out.

Another look of disbelief and anger floods Andrea’s face. T-Dog and Glenn had to stifle their laughs at the young girl’s words. Shane, however, tightens the hold on the young girl’s head for a mere moment to tell her to stop. “Bella.” He calls looking down at her with a look in his eyes telling her to stop. “She’s staying here with the RV. Her carrying isn’t any of your concern.” He says to the woman.

“So, if I stayed with the RV, I could keep my gun?”

The little patience Shane had was gone now. Andrea would not stop. She keeps pushing and arguing with no experience or knowledge to back her up. She’s getting on everyone’s nerves and her attitude was going to get someone in trouble.

“If you have a problem with the way things are, you can make up a car for yourself and leave.” Shane says simply. Shock falls onto her face and Shane looks around the group before going back to the woman. “But if you stay, you're following mine and Rick’s rules. This isn’t up for debate.” His words leave no room for argument and Andrea gives a meek nod; the woman put back into her place like a child. Shane has other things to worry about- he had Bella and Carl and Lori, bigger things than some random chick wanting to hold a gun.

The group stands silently with their eyes downcast. No one else wanted to be at the other end of Shane’s lack of patience. After a long moment of silence Daryl takes a step forward to spread out a map. The redneck wasn’t concerned with Shane's anger. “The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark.” He explains to the group.

Everyone nods in understanding to the man and mentally prepares themselves for what may come. “Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other.” Rick commands, they need this to be organized and contained. They couldn’t risk anyone else getting lost or injured.

Dale walks forward to hand off a pack to Glenn- its insides filled with supplies for the tracking. Shane looks to the older man, “Keep on those repairs. We've got to get this R.V. ready to move.”

“We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to.” He agrees, giving Rick a handshake of good will, “Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back.”

“Keep an eye on Carl while we're gone.”

Carl pulls away from the hand Rick had placed on his back, “I'm going with you. You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible.”

Rick stares down at his young son and he can see the stubbornness of himself and Lori in the boy’s eyes. He turns to Lori with a questioning gaze, no words needing to be spoken.

The mother tilts her head with a shrug, “Your call. I can't always be the bad guy.” She says looking at her husband.

Rick stands in thought. He didn’t want his son out there, who knows what they were going to come across, and at the RV Carl would have Bella, Dale, and T-Dog with him… and on second thought it would be better if he came with them. Dale would protect the kids, so would T-Dog, but Dale was an old man and T-Dog was injured.

During the herd, T-Dog had gone to hide and sliced his forearm on the metal of a crashed car. It was the help of Daryl that he survived- if not for the redneck’s quick thinking T-Dog would’ve been eaten alive… the only bad thing is he needs stitches, he needs medicine and there were no antibiotics found.

“Well, he has all of you to look after him. I'd say he's in good hands.” Dale tacks on, giving the young boy a sideways wink. Carl gives the man a smile in thanks.

Rick nods at Carl’s smile and hopeful eyes, “Okay. Okay. But always within our sight, no exceptions.” He commands his son. Carl’s face goes stern in understanding as he gives his father a nod.

“I’m going too if Carl’s going.” Bella calls out from aside Shane.

Shane doesn’t even look up from his backpack. “Not on that ankle.”

Bella rolls her eyes and jumps on the injured ankle, “It doesn’t hurt- I’m going.” Her words leave no room for argument as she skips over to the blue SUV and grabs a bag from within.

Shane merely stared at the girl as she skipped away and took a deep sigh. He really needs to learn to tell the girl no. But today isn’t that day. And truthfully… he didn’t want to leave her behind- not with Dale or T-Dog.

So here they now were, creeping through the woods behind Daryl and Rick. Daryl was at the head of the pack as he led them farther along the trail. Everyone is tense in the woods, had it not been for the situation it would be beautiful. The woods are bright green, full of life and growth, there are small sounds from little woodland creatures echoing from within.

But now… those noises… the full of life forest- it did nothing but cause fear. Like death was creeping behind every corner waiting for someone to find him. Creaking and cracking branches as he followed around the group as they drew deeper into the woods.

At the back of the silent group Shane and Bella walk side-by-side with Carl slowing down to join them. “Shane, look!” The boy cheers as he holds up a small pocketknife, the blade exposed to the air. “Dad said I could carry it and mom said as long as I was-” His words are cut off as Shane turns to walk backwards, his eyes scanning the woods.

“Keep it down. We're looking for Sophia. You need to focus on the task.”

The smile Carl wore was once again wiped away from his face. With his eyes downcast, Lori grabs to pull him gently away.

The mother and son walk ahead, and Shane turns to walk normally again. But his steps slow when he realizes Bella isn’t keeping pace. Turning his head in concern Shane is met with Bella’s angry eyes. What happened to make her so mad?

And before he can speak, Bella’s arm whips around to smack him harshly on his chest. The father jumps back slightly from the girl’s hit and stares down in shock, “Bell-” He starts the shock bleeding into anger. How dare she hit him like that? And unwarranted too.

Bella raises a single finger to her father, a silent promise to him and everyone left in the world, whether they could hear it or not. “Don’t ever talk to him like that again.” She says before leaving the man behind to stare at her back.

Bella moves swiftly towards Carl. She takes his arm interlocked with her own and draws him forward. Lori stands still as they leave- she needs to speak with the man behind them.

Bella’s steps are more energetic than Carl’s- the boy drags his feet. “Ignore him. He can get really serious sometimes.” Bella tells her friend as they hurdle step over a rather large fallen tree trunk.

“Yeah, that’s what mom said.” Carl’s words are saddened. He likes Shane but the man… he was being so cold.

Bella shakes at the boy’s arm when he continues his moping. “Carl- I mean it.” The boy looks towards his friend as she continues. “Ignore him. He’s… scared.”

Carl huffs a distrustful laugh, “Shane scared?” Bella gives him a smile and a swift nod. “That’s not possible.” Carl states, as if he was saying the sky was blue. Shane didn’t get scared… never. He has and always will be calm, cool, and collected.

Bella hums in thought, “Worried?” She offers instead. Shane being worried was more believable than scared.

Carl nods in agreement as the group comes across a tent.

But there's no sign of Sophia within.

Only the corpse of a man that opted out… just like Jenner did. The group drops at the knowledge… they were back to square one, there was no sign of the girl.

With a sigh, Rick turns to command the group-

DING!-DING!-DING!

Everyone jumps at the sound of bells. Why the hell were there bells echoing in the woods? Why were bells even ringing?

“What direction?” Shane calls out as the group turns their heads all around.

The group shoots back comments of the bells. Where they are- who’s ringing them… maybe it was Sophia ringing them. Pointing in a direction, Rick leads the group towards the bells. Sticking close together the group runs and runs, then stops and listens, then runs again. The Atlanta heat beats harshly against them even under the treetops.

Bursting through a wall of brush, the group is met with the sight of open land dotted with headstone and centered within a small building. It was visibly a church, but it had no bell tower. They were at the wrong place.

“That can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells.” Shane speaks into the air- facing reality. But Rick continues forward through the graves- the air is quiet.

Gathered at the front steps the ground readies their weapons. The men would be the ones to face any walkers or threats.

In their fighting stances, Rick counts down from three before he and Shane knock through the church’s double doors, Daryl and Glenn following behind. Bella watches from the doorway as the men round on the five walkers within.

The corpses sit down in the church, facing the cross as though they were praying. Bella hadn’t seen many walkers but this… this was weird. Walkers weren’t alive. So why are they acting like it?

Each of the men round on their own walker, blade piercing their skulls easily. The fifth is an old woman with a black lace dress hat covering her eyes. She turns between Daryl and Rick who stand on both sides of her, but she is put down swiftly.

Bella and Carl watch in interest as the men move- as though they’ve been doing this their entire lives

“Sophia!” Daryl screams. Walking sideways to the cross where Jesus hangs, Daryl looks at him in scorn, “Yo, J.C., you taking requests?”

Everyone looks around- there’s no sign of anything living or dead. Shane goes up to Rick as he looks around, “I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick. There's no steeple.” The air was quiet as he spoke, but it was now filled with bells.

The sound is louder than they’ve heard, it surrounds them and the building. Feet rush outside to the source of the noise, a speaker attached to the siding. Glenn is the first to reach the control box it leads to, and the cords are ripped apart. “A timer. It's on a timer.” He says to everyone.

The silence in the air is heavier than anyone can handle. “I'm gonna… go back in for a bit.” Carol says before stumbling gently towards the church. Her little girl wasn’t there… they didn’t find her. Her heart couldn’t handle it.

Breaking apart everyone stays close but bleeds off into their own spaces. They need a break after everything, and this is as good of a place as any.

Bella stands off to the side watching Carl walk in the church alongside Rick. The boy was sad- it confused Bella more than she could explain. She was here, why was he sad?

With a gentle sigh, she rests against the siding of the church’s wall sinking to rest on her heels. Her mind races with thoughts as she picks at her fingers trying to understand them. This place wasn’t safe, but Bella found peace in the silence.

“Are you really leaving?” Lori’s voice comes in a whisper.

Shane puts his hands to his hips, “Don't you think it's best for all of us?” The pair stands away from the building talking in quiet voices. Sweat dripping from their skin under the blaze of the sun and the conversation they're in.

Lori nods in conformation, “I think it is. What made you decide?” She asks simply.

The man drops his head in pain. This decision… It hurt so much more than anyone could understand. He… he loves Lori. He loves Carl. He loves Bella. And Bella loves Carl. He’s not only destroying his relationships but his little girl’s. But it would be for the best- Bella would grow out of it. She’s a strong girl, she could do it.

“Gotta back away. Just trying to be the good guy here, Lori, even if you don't see it.” The man pauses to look at Lori. “None of this was intended. I hope you know that.” He breaks eye contact and backs a step away. “Well, it doesn't matter. As long as I said it.” His decision was made. Lori wants him gone- he’ll leave.

But the response she gives doesn’t seem to support the man’s final decision. "You're just gonna disappear? You're not even gonna tell Rick?” She questions. Shane looks at Lori in confusion. She wants him gone but she’s finding things to make him stay. “What about Bella? You're really just gonna take her away without saying anything?” She pushes him.

“Rick will only try to stop me.” Shane states the obvious between them. “You tell him what you want. Or tell him nothing at all. You're his wife.” The reality settles between the two of them. Lori was married to Rick. Rick was Shane's best friend, his brother. And Shane and Lori got together when they thought Rick was dead. The parents… they needed comfort, one they couldn’t and wouldn’t find with their children… and now- now they couldn’t stop drawing to each other. No matter how much Lori wanted to stop. “And Bella’s my girl, I’ll worry about that as it comes.” He speaks.

“And Carl?” She struggles out with a held back cry. “We dragged him into this.”

“I love Carl.”

“He thinks you hate him.”

“I'm trying to put some distance. I'm trying to make this easier.” He speaks.

“We did this to Carl and Bella.” Lori pushes as if he didn’t understand what they did.

Shane looks down at the woman, “You think I wanna do this? Break their friendship?” He asks, looking down at her with questioning eyes.

And it’s when Lori looks into his eyes that she pulls back- seeing something in them. “It will be for the best. They’ll get through it.” Her tone and body changes with the words.

Shane gives her a look. They could lie all they want but the two of them won’t get through it. “They’ve been attached to the goddamn hip since birth, this ain’t gonna be easy on them.” He tells her. “This ain't easy on any of us, least of all me. I'm the one who loses you.” He struggles out the last sentence looking at the woman.

She merely gives him a tight smile before walking away and into the church. Shane watches her leave for a moment before the crunch of a branch sounds opposite the doors. “I'm coming with you.” Andrea says from his left.

“I don't know what the hell you're talking about.” The man says going stone cold and walking forward.

Andrea jogs alongside him. “I'm not stupid and I'm certainly not deaf. Look, I don't know the story-”

“There is no story.”

The blonde woman throws her hands up, “Fine, I don't care. Don't confuse me with someone who does. Look, all I care about is getting out of here as far away as I can, like you.” She stops him in his place as she speaks, breath escaping her quickly.

Shane huffs a laugh looking at her, “We're gonna sail off into the sunset together? We gonna hold hands?”

She rolls her eyes at his tone. “I'm not asking you to go steady, Shane. I'm asking for a ride, a chance to start over somewhere else.” She looks to the church for a moment, “You observe this group lately? I have. I see two people who don't belong. We're the odd men out. Between the two of us, we make a great third wheel.” They were the odd men out- the black sheep. But Shane isn’t gonna run away with some chick when he has other priorities.

“So what? Say we do, we just run off. What's in it for me except for the extra ass I got to cover?”

“The chance to do something for someone else.” Shane rolls his eyes so hard only the whites can be seen. “And a door that swings both ways. Put a gun in my hand, I'll cover your ass too.” And back to the issue of guns. Andrea raises her chin at the man as Bella stands from the side of the house and approaches slowly. “You told me if I ain’t happy to pack a car and leave.” She shoots back to the man. “Think it over.” Her words are the mixture of begging and commanding.

Drifting alongside Shane, Bella comes to a stop. No words are shared as he leads her towards the church’s stairs. But the young girl doesn’t feel like going inside and opts to look through the closest graves.

Her eyes drift over the clean kept gravestones. Deep engravings line each. They were old, probably older than the girl herself, but they were cared for. It’s too bad they won’t be anymore.

Kneeling to the ground as Shane begins speaking to Rick about what to do next, Bella pulls her sketch book from her bag. She hadn’t touched it since the herd passed through the highway camp.

The pages are cracked open under her fingers. Blood, human or walker, had encrusted the upper corner of the pages. The caked on blood flakes off as she picks at it. She made sure her daddy didn’t see her take it back from the trash pile. It had all of her best drawings in it, it would be a shame to let it burn.

Finding her next clean page, she grabs her black crayon and strips it of its wrapper. And she begins to line up her pages with the gravestone. Dragging the crayon's body across the paper, the engravings of the head stone are formed on the bloodstained paper.

‘A Soul That Only Comes Once Every

Hundred Decades

As Terrifying As It Is Beautiful And Holy’

Bella looks down at the words, her thoughts turning over them. What beautiful words wasted on a gravestone.

“Y'all gonna follow the Creek Bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge.” Shane voices out forcing Bella to hide away the sketch book in her hands. “Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough.” He continues as Bella pushes underneath his hand like a dog wanting to be touched.

The redneck rests against his crossbow. “You're splitting us up. You sure?”

Shane nods, “Yeah, we'll catch up to you.”

“I want to stay too.” Carl’s voice calls- everyone’s eyes find him. “I'm her friend.”

Lori licks her lips before touching Carl’s hair, “Just be careful, okay?” She doesn’t want to leave him- everyone can see it in her eyes… but she gave in easily.

“I will.”

Lori smiles and smooches Carl’s hair, “When did you start growing up?”

Rick watches the interaction with a gentle smile. “I'll be along soon enough.” Reaching back he pulls out his large Revolver. “Here, take this. Remember how to use it?”

Lori nods but doesn’t move for the large weapon. “I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed.”

Andrea watches with hatred as Daryl pulls a small gun from his back handing it off to the woman. A gun that matches her stature much better than Rick’s. “Here, got a spare. Take it.”

The group separates to part ways and Bella doesn’t move to follow Daryl’s group. “You staying, Princess?” Her father asks, looking down. A simple nod is all he gets before she finds her place alongside Carl and the group separates into smaller pieces.

Bella, Shane, and Carl watch as Rick drifts in the church for a moment to himself. He needed a moment- he hadn’t gotten one since he woke up in that hospital not even a week ago.

The children rest against the stairs in silence, their shoulders touching each other in security. This place… it was unsettling in Carl gut. The land was clean and up-kepted, someone had put in the effort to continue tending to it. But underneath their feet were corpses that could very well be trying to dig their way out of their coffins.

Herds of corpses could drift out of the surrounding forest any moment. It doesn’t matter how beautiful and peaceful it may seem… death was lurking.

And it was so close. Nipping at their heels. Forcing them to run faster and faster. This is the first moment they’ve had to breathe.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Rick draws out of the church and down its steps. The trio on the steps follow behind the stiff sheriff as he leads them towards the opposite end of the land.

Carl and Bella walk between the two men as they look through the untouched forest. It was hard to keep their bearings within. The forest looks similar with every twist and turn they take.

The group is silent as they move, listening for anything in the air.

And their silence grants them a gift.

Turning into a very small opening, they are met with the sight of a lone deer eating at a small bush that flourishes within the sunlight that comes through the opening in the tree tops. The kids share a quick look, smiles bright on their faces as they slowly take steps forward.

The deer hasn’t noticed them yet. Its body is full of strength with a fur coat that shines under the sun in a golden brown. The white of its small tail rises and and falls in time with the twitching of its ears. It must hear them… and not consider them a threat.

Behind the pair comes Rick's small reprimand to Shane who has his gun raised. Turning his back, he sees the smiles on the pair’s faces. He drops the barrel and drifts back alongside Rick- the fathers track the kids as they slowly approach, smiles adorned on their faces.

Getting closer to the animal, its head picks up to stare at the kids. They offer the animal a gentle smile.

It was beautiful.

No one was scared. The air is calm and gentle. Birds sing in the air as the sun warms everyone’s skin.

Bella takes another step forward, Carl drawing behind her to follow. They both want to touch the animal, its presence is inviting, as though she was waiting for them to find her in the opening.

Only ten feet away from the creature, Carl looks over Bella’s right shoulder, his body peaking out from behind her. The boy was intrigued but more careful than his friend- she was impulsive compared to him.

The deer raises its head higher as they are now a few steps away. It doesn’t run, the deer merely stares into the kids eyes. The creatures' dark orbs are like portals- if they continue to stare maybe they could escape this reality. How badly they would love to escape this reality.

Holding each other's hand, Bella looks back to Carl- they were going to touch the deer. With a smile Bella questions Carl, “Do you want to to-”

The silence is split and exploded with the sound of a single gun shot. Carl watches as the deer is struck and Bella…

Bella watches as Carl is thrown back to the ground and blood begins to pool from his stomach.

Time stops as Bella drops to her knees alongside Carl, hands touching the blood without thought. She doesn’t notice Rick or Shane rushing to their side nor her screaming.

All she sees is the blood that bubbles out of Carl’s skin and sinks into her own.

Chapter 13: Blood Flows as Deep as Hatred

Chapter Text

Running and running and running.

It’s all they’re doing. They can barely breathe… but it doesn’t matter. They need to keep running. They need to.

The blood wet clothes sticking to their skin doesn’t matter. The heat of the sun that beats onto them in the open field doesn’t matter. The shouting from Shane to the large stranger that shot Carl doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t.

Cause Carl is dying and they aren’t running fast enough.

The boy lays limp within his father’s tight embrace. His blood spilling onto the sheriff shirt and down. He’s losing so much blood.

Bella doesn’t hear anything; not her father’s shouts and not the questions of the strangers that stand on the front porch of the farm house they race towards.

Rick must tell the old man, standing protective in front of the house and the other strangers, what happened because they let the trio through with no problem.

The larger group races towards a bedroom where the old gray man rips the blankets off a large bed.

Rick places Carl down with gentle care… the man in a trance as he watches the life leave Carl.

Bella is stuck in a trance as well but she moves to place her hands atop Carl’s bubbling wound… but it’s no use as the blood seeps between the girl’s small hands. She doesn’t even notice the tear drops that fall and mingle with the blood.

“Pillowcase.”

Rick stutters where he stands, “Is-is he alive?”

“Pillowcase, quick.” The old man commands once again.

Rick struggles to move his limbs so Bella grabs at the pillow by her side, one Carl’s head isn’t resting on. “Is-is he alive?” The father cries out in a whisper.

“Fold it- Make a pad. Put pressure back on the wound.” The man commands the girl that messily folds the pillowcase and presses it back onto Carl’s stomach. The man- Doctor, supposedly, grabs a stethoscope and places it against Carl's arm, “I've got a heartbeat- It's faint.”

“I got it- Step back.” A middle aged woman says to Rick, pushing him away from the bed and Carl.

“Maggie, IV.”

The young woman, Maggie, moves forward with a bag of liquids, “We need some space.” She says towards both the man and young girl. Rick steps back but Bella remains hovering over Carl, as though she was blocking the light Carl’s soul was looking towards.

“Your name?” The old man says.

“R-Rick.”

“Rick?”

He nods, “I'm-I'm-I'm Rick.” He struggles out of his mouth.

The doctor nods and stands facing the man, “Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay? You need to give us some room. Now.” He moves away without another word- the boy needs attention now, he doesn't have time to speak with the father.

And Rick drifts out of the room and out the front door of the house, coming face to face with Shane and the stranger.

Bella remains atop the bed, staring down at Carl. How could this have happened? She was in front of him- she should be the one in the bed. Not him. Never him. What kind of person lets their best friend get shot?

It was her fault.

She knew it. She didn’t need her dad or Rick or the stranger-

No.

No. No. No.

It wasn’t her fault…

It was his. The strangers.

That fat, pathetic, disgusting man.

‘Hunting a buck’? He shot Carl!

He shot him. He shot her best friend. He shot Carl. He-

He may have killed Carl.

Carl might die… and it's his fault.

If Carl dies… Carl might die.

What is she supposed to do? She doesn’t know what to do. ‘Keep pressure on a bleeding wound’. That’s what she’s doing. It’s what she’s doing and it isn’t working. Carl’s still bleeding- the blood is still coming, soaking the pillow case she has pressed hard against his stomach.

They promised they wouldn’t leave each other… but here they were- drifting away.

“She won’t move.” Maggie whispers behind Bella. The ringing within the girl’s ears is quiet as she comes back to the world. Heart still pounds and she is terrified to look away but she can hear now. The voices weren’t under water anymore.

The old man walks over to the bed opposite Bella. He pulls over a chair to sit in. “What’s your name, dear?” He questions the girl that kneels like a statue. Maggie and the man share a look, “Your brother is going to be fine.” He says.

“He’s not my brother.” Her voice is scratchy and painful.

The man nods and sends another look to Maggie, “Your friend?” Bella gives a small nod. “We’re gonna do everything we can to help him- but I need you to move.”

But she doesn’t move. She just keeps the pillowcase pressed down.

She barely notices the shrug he sends the young woman in the room but she hears the sounds. The tinkering and clanking of metal instruments. A silver pan comes into view with a few tools.

“Hunny, you don’t wanna see this-'' Maggie comes over to touch the girl’s shoulder but she flinches so violently it's as though she was shot too.

They don’t know what to do, she won’t move. “Would you like to help us?” The doctor asks, causing Maggie to send him a bewildered look and Bella to raise her head. Her eyes finally leave Carl’s body to meet the old man’s. “Hold his legs down. He’s gonna be in pain but we need to get the bullets out.” He explains and Bella nods, dropping her gaze quickly back to Carl.

She shimmies over to Carl’s legs, a hand on each knee pressing down to the bed.

The man speaks to Maggie; six bullet pieces, clean, and stitch, he tells her. That was their plan. The ‘hopefully this works’ was barely concealed in his words, or on their faces.

Bella watches as the doctor pulls the bloody pillowcase away from Carl’s stomach, blood immediately fills the pocket carved into the skin. And insert the shiny look-a-like tweezers underneath the skin.

The man digs carefully for the bullets inside the flesh, the poke of the instrument showing through Carl’s pale white skin.

The room is silent besides the squelching of flesh and blood as the man tries to capture the closet bullet fragment.

And as the tweezers squeeze down on the foreign object, Carl’s eyes snap open with tears dropping down his cheeks and blood pooling faster out his stomach.

Bella’s eyes go wide at the sight; Carl withering on the bed- trying to pull away from the pain, the blood pouring out his body, and the man trying to help but only making it worse.

He was making it worse and he needs to stop. He needs to stop now!

And the hand of her father stops her from shouting out… from lunging at the man. “I got him.” Shane calls out as he grabs at Carl’s shoulders pushing him into one place.

Even as the boy cries and begs for his dad, for his mom, for Bella… he was scared and everything hurt and why won’t they let him move?

The doctor twists the tweezers as Carl screams louder, his voice shaking the walls of the farm house. “Almost there.” He comments.

Carl screams and cries so loud it hurts. “Stop- You're killin' him!” Rick screams at the doctor, begging.

“Rick! Do you want him to live?!”

The older woman grabs Rick’s arm, “He needs blood!” He moves willingly as she pushes the needle into his arm for the lifeline Carl needs.

“Do it now!” Shane screams as Carl continues to fight against their hold. The boy’s dying body was stronger than anyone could understand. And all at once his cries stop along with the struggling. “Wait-wait, hey.” Shane pulls back and looks between the doctor and everyone in the room.

“He just passed out.” The doctor says as he finally pulls out the tweezers, a small string of flesh follows before snapping away, only the bullet fragment remains. “One down… five to go.” He drops the piece into the metal tray and it rings loud in the room.

Bella sits defeated at Carl’s feet as the doctor, Hershel she learns, cleans up Carl the best he could. Shane and Rick continue back-and-forth, the young girl only picks up a few words until she turns her head.

“Lori needs to be here. She doesn't even know what's goin' on.” Rick says from the corner of the room, elbows on his knees bent over in agony. “I got-I gotta go find her, bring her back.”

Hershel looks up from his task cleaning his instruments to say, “You can't do that.”

“She's his mother!” The father… he couldn’t do this. Not alone. He needs his wife. “She needs to know what's happened. Her son's lying here, shot.”

“And he's going to need more blood.” Hershel shoots back easily. Bella fully looks at the man- he was older, sixty or seventy, with a gently worn face that was adorned with a white beard and hair that was beginning to recede. The man looks to Shane that leans against a window seal, “He can't go more than 50 feet from this bed.”

“He can have mine.” Bella says from the bed without thought.

Her daddy immediately begins shaking his head, “No, Bella-”

She turns to face her dad, her thigh touching Carl’s foot in security- she couldn’t say if it was for her or the boy. “Jenner said I’m O positive. Carl can have mine.” She states looking at Hershel for confirmation that she was right. Carl could have her blood.

She could help her friend… She could save Carl. Why wouldn’t she want to do that? Why would her daddy and Mr. Grimes, not want her to help Carl?

Rick shakes his head in exhaustion, “No, Bella. I won’t let you do that.”

“He needs blood!” She shouts back looking at the boy paler than the sheets he lays on. Don’t they want Carl to live?

Hershel takes a step forward pulling the young girl’s attention. He could see her getting worked up. “You could get sick, you both don’t need to be in that bed.”

“But he’ll die!”

“Bella, enough!” Shane shouts standing up fully, “Rick isn’t going anywhere, he’ll be able to give Carl all the blood he needs.” He says it in finalization, for her and Rick. Bella drops her gaze back to Carl. “You're not going anywhere.” He says to Rick.

“Lori has to be here, Shane- She has to know.”

Shane nods as he bends down at Rick’s knees. “Okay, I get that. I'm gonna handle it. But you've gotta handle your end.” His tone changes as he speaks.

“My-my end?”

“Your end is being here, for your son. Even if he didn't need your blood to survive, there is no way I'd ever let you walk out that door.” Shane looks up at his brother. “Man, I-I'd break your legs if you tried. I mean, you know that, right?” He half-heartly jokes. “If something happened to him and you weren't here…” There’s a pause, “If-if he slipped away while you were gone, you would never forgive yourself for that, and neither would Lori, man.”

Rick nods, “You're right.”

Shane grins up at Rick, “When was I ever wrong?” Rick needs to stay strong, he needs to… for all of them. “You know, when.. When you were in that hospital, the one you were never supposed to leave, man.. You should've seen Lori. She was like- the strength of that woman… You can't imagine it.” His eyes hold admiration before focusing back onto Rick. “See-see, that's what you gotta have now. I mean, Carl, he needs that from you. So, you wire yourself tight, my friend. Hmm? You hear? You've got the hard part. You just leave the rest to me, okay?”

A moment passes between the men as they sit in silent embrace; they have faced so many things together… but this… this was something so much more.

Approaching from the other end of the room, Hershel pulls everyone’s gaze as other strangers enter the room. “He's out of danger for the moment, but I need to remove those remaining fragments.”

Rick looks up, “How? You saw how he was.”

The doctor nods gently, “I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others.” The fathers and Bella take the truth hard. “There's more.”

“Tell me.”

“His belly is distended, his pressure's dropping, which means there's internal bleeding.” Everyone looks at the man, “A fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there.” His voice becomes even more serious, “I mean at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in minutes.” Bella's chest pulls in pain. “To even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own. Same bad results.”

Rick rubs his hands down his face, fingertips digging into the corners of his eyes. “What'll it take?”

The pathetic man who shot Carl steps forward, “You need a respirator. What else?” He questions.

“The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures.”

Rick looks at Hershel, “If you had all that, you could save him?” He tries to hold back the hope in his voice, as though the universe would hear and take Carl.

“If I had all that, I could try.”

The shooter looks at Hershel, “Nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago.” He states. That was where they would find everything they needed. His eyes widen in realization, “The high school.” He says.

Hershel nods in agreement, “That's what I was thinkin'. They set up a FEMA shelter there. They would have everything we need.” He tells Shane who nods in understanding.

“The place was overrun last time I saw it.” The shooter says, “You couldn't get near it- Maybe it's better now.”

Shane sighs against the wall, “I said, leave the rest to me. Is it too late to take that back?” He joked towards Rick, strained.

“I hate you goin' alone.”

Shane shrugs it off; he was willing to do this for Carl, for Bella, for Lori, for Rick. “Come on. Doc, why don't you do me a list, draw me a map.”

“You won't need a map-” The shooter says looking at Shane. “I'll take you there. Ain't but five miles.”

The older woman steps forward, “Otis, no.”

The shooter, Otis, looks at the woman. “Honey, we don't have time for guesswork and I'm responsible.” Bella looks at the man and her daddy- she didn’t want him going with her daddy. He’ll probably shoot him too. “I ain't gonna sit here while this fella takes this on alone. I'll be alright.”

“Are you sure about this?” Shane asks.

“Do you even know what any of the stuff he's talking about looks like?”

“Come to think, no.”

“I've been a volunteer EMT. I do.” Otis says standing taller. “Now, we can talk about this 'till next Sunday, or we could just go do it real quick.”

“I'll take right quick.”

Rick stands with a slight wobble, “I should thank you.”

Otis looks sadly at Rick, he was truly sorry for what happened. “Wait 'till that boy of yours is up and around, then we'll talk. I'll gather some things.”

It only took five minutes for Otis and Shane to pack their things and get a truck pulled to the front of the house. Bella watches from Rick’s side as Shane throws empty duffles into the open bed of the truck.

Shane comes up as Otis says goodbye to his wife, Patrica. “Just get what you need and get out of there.” Rick says, grabbing at his brother’s arm.

“You stay strong, all right?” He gives in response. Rick needs to stay strong.

Otis drifts towards the trio and Rick pulls out his large silver revolver. He twists the handle to the man, “That's a fine weapon, Rick. I'll bring it back in good shape.” Otis says as he grips at the weapons and looks down at it. He turns to go to the vehicle with nothing else to say.

Bending down, Shane gives a side eye to the shooter as he leaves, “I’ll be back soon, Princess.” Bella had left Carl’s side for a mere moment, for this moment and she didn’t feel anything but fear and displacement. “Hey- I’ll be back in one piece… with everything Carl needs.” Her dad grabs at her cheeks in a gentle cradle.

Bella smiles in pain and hugs tight at his neck, “I love you, daddy.” She whispers into his neck. She needs him to come back… to come back in one piece with everything Carl needs. She needs it.

Her dad pulls back, “I love you too, Princess.” He drops a single kiss to her forehead before turning and leaving, dropping himself in the passenger seat.

Bella watches the truck lights go dim as they drift farther down the dirt road. And once they’re gone she runs back into the home, the adults following behind her.

Darting through the home she makes it into Carl’s room. Gently as though she would- or even could- wake Carl, she climbs atop the bed and sits near his stomach.

Carl… he was so pale. So lifeless and cold. She could barely feel his heartbeat under her fingers.

She can’t leave his side. If she leaves, he’ll be in danger. He could die. But her clothes… her clothes are filthy and her side was starting to hurt.

But- no. No. It doesn’t matter. Carl’s in pain, he’s dying. Her clothes and the pain- it means nothing.

She won’t let it mean anything.

She’ll sit at Carl’s side till she’s old and gray… that’s what friends do. They stay together.

What else is she supposed to do? She doesn’t know what else to do.

She doesn't know even as the hatred boils in her chest. She doesn’t know as Rick comes in to give Carl more blood. She doesn't know as Lori comes bursting into the room and cries for her son.

She doesn’t know what to do.

She just looks down at Carl as tears drip down her face. All she knows is the pain in her chest and the one blooming on her side.

All she knows is that everything is fracturing once more…

And she doesn’t know how to stop it.

Chapter 14: Falling From Grace

Chapter Text

Darkness has tinged the sky. Night falling on the farmhouse. And inside Bella lies by Carl’s side.

Curled on her right side, she stares intently at Carl’s unmoving face. Both bodies are so small on the bed, a pale boy and a blood-stained girl together like yin and yang.

A shocking scene.

Lori had arrived a while ago- tears falling the moment her eyes found Carl on the bed, her baby boy broken and bloody in a broken and bloody world.

But now, Lori and Rick are outside under the blanket of darkness and Bella lays with Carl. The house is quiet besides the gently creaking from bodies moving within. But here… inside the farmhouse bedroom- the two children rest in a buzz of silence and in the warmth of candle flames around the room.

“You're gonna be okay, Carl.” The young girl whispers next to her friend's face. She wiggles slightly closer to the boy, “Daddy’s gonna be back really soon then Mr. Hershel is gonna fix you up.” Her hands play gently with Carl’s cold one. He hasn’t moved since Hershel removed the first piece of the bullet and she just wanted him to move. “We promised not to leave each other, remember? … You gotta stay here with me.” Her gaze watches for a movement from Carl… for anything. “You’re not allowed to leave me Carl, you promised me- you promised we’d stay together no matter what.” Bella’s voice cracks painfully in her whisper. All the tears she shed before were wasted fakes… and she hates herself for it- wasting her tears on just anyone. “I won’t let you leave me, Carl.” She barries her face into the comfort of her friend's shoulder and relaxes with the feeling of Carl’s shallow breaths.

The house quiets in the darkness and Bella can feel the eyes of someone watching her. Raising her head from its place on Carl’s shoulder, she looks behind her… but there’s no one. It’s only Bella and Carl in the room but she doesn’t feel alone.

She can almost hear the footsteps creak on the floor of the invisible figure as it makes its way around towards Carl.

There’s no one there, but why doesn’t she believe it?

Sitting up tall, she goes quiet waiting for another noise. There’s nothing, no sound inside, no noise from the outside… it’s just her. The footsteps had stopped, and the weight of the invisible presence sinks onto her chest. The girl’s heart starts to beat painfully as she stares towards the end of the bed into nothing… almost nothing.

Because there’s something there.

It’s dark. Like a shadow in the darkness.

And it’s starring.

Its eyes stuck on Carl’s body. It won’t look at her. Why won’t it look at her?

Pushing to her knees, Bella goes to shout. Cough! Cough! Snapping down to the bed, Carl looks at the girl- and she can’t stop her smile. But the blood that begins to pool onto the bed from the boy’s stomach, does.

Eyes wide, Bella pushes down on the boy’s stomach, but it doesn’t stop. The blood seeps down and crawls up her arms as Carl looks at her- his face contorted into a silent scream of agonizing pain. The figure draws closer over her shoulder- hovering above the pair.

And she feels herself scream and scream and the hands pulling her shoulders back.

Eyes snapping open, Bella tearily looks up to Rick. His hands hold fast to her shoulders, and she lays back on the bed. Head turning, she spots Carl- a clean, relatively safe, not bleeding Carl.

“You fell asleep,” Rick tells the girl as she drops her shoulders. That thing… its gone. It was a dream. It was just a dream. “Honey, are you okay?” The husband-and-wife stare down at the young girl, a terrified child that they couldn’t help.

Bella nods slowly as she moves towards the edge, her feet dropping towards the floor. In her chest she’s scared to put her feet down, it's not here anymore but it's watching… she knows it is.

“Bella, sweetie-” Lori holds a damp towel in her hands, “You need to clean yourself up.”

She reaches gently for the towel and stares down at it unmoving. The towel wouldn’t be enough.

Rick’s hands haven’t left the young girl, a comforting anchor. “Bella, could you give us a moment with Carl?... Please?” The question causes the girl to tighten her shoulders and turn towards the boy- he hadn’t moved. “He’ll be fine.” She doesn’t want to leave; it is obvious on her face, but Rick helps her stand and leads her to the door without much struggle.

With a final look to the bed Bella turns and slowly walks out the door. Rick leaves the door open but leaves it with a small crack- they need a moment alone.

But Bella doesn’t notice as the walls start closing on her.

She doesn’t notice her feet bringing her outside into the darkness. That thing can’t find her here… right? Not in the darkness.

The screen door to the house snaps close, Bella jumping in her skin.

The young woman, Maggie, makes her way out and Bella finally gets a good look at her. “Here, sweetie.” The woman is pretty with nice shoulder length brown hair that turns caramel in the porch lights. She hands over a mug with a deep chocolate color, marshmallows dotted on the surface. “Hot chocolate. Thought you could use something warm.” Bella gives the woman a small smile and places that damp rag on the arm rest of the porch’s hanging chair.

Bella sits down with Maggie leaning against the railing opposite the young girl. Trying to steady her hands, she takes a careful sip. “Thank you, Miss Maggie.” Realizing it’s not too hot, she takes a larger sip. “It’s good.” She comments.

Maggie smiles with a gentle nod. She must be about Glenn’s age- early twenties or so. “Good- it was the last bit we had.” Bella gives her a look, “No one else drinks it- better you have it then it goin’ to waste.” The southern accent on her tongue is noticeable as she talks but she carries it with grace.

Bella nods and takes another small sip before setting the cup at her side and grabbing the rough hand towel. The woman is quiet as she watches the young girl badly clean her hands. The blood was deep in her nail beds and trailed up her arms- she would need a shower and new clothes; the towel won’t do anything.

Maggie watches the girl carefully. She was detached, rubbing her skin hard. “Carl’s going to be fine.” She speaks into the air.

“I know.” The young girl responds with her eyes still unfocused.

The woman places her cup of coffee to the side and leans slightly closer to the girl. “How’s that?” She invites.

“I just do.” The little girl finally raises her head.

Maggie nods and questions, “Have you been praying?”

“No.” Bella responds immediately. Her eyes sharply focus on Maggie, the woman stares back. “God put Carl into that bed- he’s not going to hear me beg.” The woman leans back from the girl with the strength of her words. “I’ll make sure Carl is alright myself.”

Maggie nods at the girl. Not everyone was religious but this girl… it took Maggie by surprise how certain she was. “Well… he has a good friend looking after him.”

Bella drops her gaze once Maggie turns hers away. Grabbing her mug, she finishes her hot chocolate as lights form on the dirt road.

The young girl gets excited but quickly knows it's not her dad- the light is a different color.

“Friends of yours?”

Bella nods to Maggie's question. Together they watch the car come to a stop and the two men exit. T-Dog and Glenn make their way up the stairs and to the door.

It’s obvious they haven’t seen the pair in the darkness.

“So do we ring the bell? I mean it looks like people live here.” Glenn asks, looking at T-Dog.

The man gives him a look as he holds tightly as the elbow of his right arm, “We're past this kind of stuff, aren't we? Having to be considerate.”

Before they can open the door Maggie speaks, “Did you close the gate up the road when you drove in?”

Jumping slightly, the men look over to see Maggie, “Uh, hi.” Glenn starts, “Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything.” Maggie gives them a thankful nod. “Hello. Nice to see you again. We met briefly before.” T-Dog and Glenn move their gaze as Bella comes into view. Their eyes go wide at the sight. “Bella? Are you okay?” The girl gives a small nod with the bloody towel in her hands. “We came to help. Is there anything we can do?”

Maggie goes to speak but looks down to T’s arm. “It's not a bite. But he cut himself really bad.” Bella says before she thinks the worst.

“We'll have it looked at.”

Glenn pulls up the large bag of drugs Bella had found alongside their RV stash. “We have some painkillers and antibiotics. I already gave him some.” He motions to T-Dog. “If Carl needs any.” Bella hands her empty mug to Maggie before grabbing the bag. She moves to reenter the house, but Glenn stops her by grabbing the towel. Bella looks up to the man as he gently dabs at the blood swipe across her face. The blood comes away easier than the stuff on her hands. “All good now.” He tells her with a pained smile.

The girl grabs the towel back and gives him a smile, “Thank you, Mr. Glenn.”

“Come on inside. I'll make you something to eat.” Maggie tells them and Bella leads the group back into Carl’s room. The parents have had enough time alone with Carl.

T-Dog and Glenn see the parents and the wounded boy; they give their support before leaving the room.

Bella hops swiftly onto the bed before handing the bag to Hershel who checks on Carl. Now that she’s back, she can feel the eyes. The eyes that stare deeply at her back… at Carl.

“They don't get back soon, we're gonna have a decision to make.” Hershel speaks into the room now that they are alone.

Rick holds tight to Lori's hand, “And that is?”

Hershel looks to the parents. “Whether to operate on your boy without the respirator.”

“You said that wouldn't work.” Lori says. How could he say something like that, knowing it won’t work?

The doctor nods, “I know. It's extremely unlikely. But we can't wait much longer.” Rick and Lori found out quite painfully that Hershel wasn’t a real doctor- well, real in the sense that he wasn’t a doctor for people… he was a veterinarian, a doctor for animals. And it made the odds even worse.

Carl was shot in a world with no hospitals, no more doctors… just people trying to survive, and the boy may not even make it. If Shane and Otis don’t make it back… he won’t.

“Daddy will be back soon.” Bella says before Rick or Lori can say anything else. “He has to…” She whispers to herself as she stares down at Carl.

She can’t see herself living without Carl. He’s her best friend… no one is supposed to lose their best friend. And her daddy needs to make it back- he has too.

If her daddy doesn’t make it back, then that means… It means he’s dead. And then Carl will die too. She can’t… she can’t breathe. Her chest is tightening, and she can’t breathe. She’s going to lose her daddy and Carl… she can’t-

“Bee?”

Bella snaps back to Carl who struggles to open his eyes. “I’m here-” she says to the boy. Looking around she notices they’re alone. Rick and Lori must’ve stepped outside- she can hear their voices on the porch.

Carl cracks his crusty eyes open, “Where are we?”

Bella smiles down at Carl- his talking! That means he’ll be okay!

Right?!

“Mr. Grimes!” Bella shouts over her shoulder quickly before looking back to Carl. “You’re okay Carl. Everything’s okay…”

Carl looks at Bella and raises his arm weakly. “You’re dirty.” The boy says to her.

Bella’s response dies on her tongue as Rick and others stomp their way into the room. The father drops alongside Carl’s head, his hand falling to the boy’s hair in comfort. “Hey, little man.” He smiles at his son who smiles back. “That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident.” Carl turns his head towards the older man by the door before looking back to his mom and dad.

His chest jumps and he hovers his hand over his stomach, “It hurts, a lot.”

Lori drops by his stomach and grabs his hand gently, “Oh baby, I know. I know.”

The boy looks back to Bella with a smile, “You should have seen it.” He says back to his mom.

“What?”

“The deer.” Bella huffs a teary laugh, “It was so pretty, mom. It was so close. I've never been…” The boy trails off slowly and his eyes go unfocused.

“Carl?” Bella calls as she feels the eyes slither back into the shadows of the room.

But he doesn’t answer. His body just starts shaking. Thrashing back and forth with no care or control.

Lori cries out, “What is happening?”

Rick grabs at Bella pulling her over Carl and off the bed when she tries holding Carl. “Don't. It's a seizure.” Heshel calls as he pulls everything off the bed besides Carl. “If you hold him down, you could hurt him.”

Lori cries and holds Rick and Bella, “You can't stop it?”

Hershel sighs. “He has to just go through it.” The boy continues to move uncontrollably on the bed and slows after a minute of movement.

The pale body stills and melts once the movement has disappeared. No one moves in the room. Why isn’t he moving? Why is no one moving?

“What’s happening?!” Bella screams at Hershel from her spot against Rick’s side.

The doctor holds a stethoscope to Carl and moves to checking the boy's eyes with a small pen light. “His brain isn't getting enough blood. His pressure is bottoming. He needs another transfusion.” He concludes to the trio.

The father nods and rolls up his sleeve, dropping his tearful wife and the child on his arm. “Okay, I'm ready.”

The man shakes his head, “If I take any more out of you your body could shut down. You could go into a coma. Or cardiac arrest.”

“You're wasting time.” He hisses with his arm stuck out.

Hershel gives in and prepares the IV for the transfusion. He takes everything he can- he takes too much… and it's still not enough.

Carl needs more blood. Everything he’s getting from Rick is filling in his belly.

His stomach is large and round, too big for his small body, and discolored- bruised and blue all around. Rick watches from the chair he was resting on in- the lack of blood making him lightheaded. “He's still losing blood faster than we can replace it.” Hershel comments in his place next to Carl. Bella has moved to rest against the wall opposite Carl- from here she can see everything; Carl, Hershel, Rick, Lori, and the entrance to the room- she’ll know who comes and leaves. And that thing won’t be able to sneak past her. “And with the swelling in his abdomen we can't wait any longer or he's just going to slip away. Now I need to know right now if you want me to do this, because I think your boy is out of time.” The pain in Hershel’s voice is covered slightly by his words. “You have to make a choice.” He insists- this was not something he would make for them.

“A choice?” Lori cries from next to Rick.

And her husband nods, sitting up to grab at her hands. “A choice. You have to tell me what it is.” Lori and Rick… they had talked before, about Carl, about this new world- a world of survival… isn’t a safe place for a kid. “You have to tell me what it is.” Rick begs his wife to tell him. To tell him what to do- he can’t make this decision.

“We do it.”

Bella watches in disbelief as the group begins to prepare the room. Nothing she could say would stop them- she tries. She tries begging Rick and Lori to wait, her daddy will be here soon, they just need more time. “There isn’t any more time, Bella.” Rick tells her as he pushes her back gently.

Hershel points to the corners of the bed. A young boy- Jimmy, Patracia, Rick and Hershel grab the four corners of the bed’s sheet, “Okay, on three. One, two, three.” The group heaves the sheet and Carl up and onto a steel table. Hershel and Patricia begin preparing Carl and their instruments, “Rick, Lori, Bella, you may want to step out.” He tells the trio who watches intently.

And the girl shakes her head catching the sight of lights outside the window. Darting forward she pushes the curtains back to see the lights of the truck her daddy had left in.

“Daddy?!” Bella darts quickly out of the room.

The girl runs quickly outside and towards the man that draws himself out of the truck with the duffels in his arms. “Daddy!” Bella gripes tightly at Shane midsection.

Her father hugs back tightly but grabs at her head, “Carl?” She nods at him with a teary smile.

“There's still a chance.” Calls out Rick from behind them- he wobbles in his place.

“Otis?” Hershel calls out at the sight of Shane.

He shakes his head and whispers out a no. The shooter didn’t make it- he was dead.

Hershel commands the group to stay silent- Patrica can’t know, he needs her for the surgery. And with that he leaves back into the home, a duffel in his hand and the other in the young man’s, Jimmy.

Shane nods at Rick and the two share a tight hug. “They kept blocking us at every turn. We had nothing left.” Shane says into Rick’s shoulder before pulling back, “We were down to 10 rounds. Then he said.. he said he'd cover me and that I should keep going. So that's what I did. I just.. I kept going. But I.. I looked back and he.. I tried.” His words are struggled out and everyone drops their heads.

“He wanted to make it right.” Rick speaks for all of them. Otis shot Carl by accident and he wanted to fix it… he just had to die to do it.

The night continues its darkness as everyone sits awake and still in the living room just outside Carl’s room. No words are shared between them. The two hours they wait feel like forever until Hershel comes out.

All eyes find the older man, “He seems to have stabilized.” He tells them and the weight of the room dissipates.

Carl’s okay. He’s going to be okay.

“I don't have words.” Lori cries.

“I don't either. Wish I did.” Hershel responds and looks around, “How do I tell Patricia about Otis?” He says mostly to himself. The woman was cleaning her hands in the kitchen- trying to stop the blood from staining her skin.

Rick looks down to Lori, “You go to Carl. I'll go with Hershel.” Together Rick and Hershel walk through the home into the kitchen. And Lori is trailed behind Shane and Bella into Carl’s room.

The mother cries in relief at the sight of her son, the color of his skin returning slowly. Shane holds Bella in his arms as she stares at the boy.

Everyone feels the relief of the stress… but not Bella. Not really. Something’s still wrong.

The gaze of that creature is still nearby; she knows it.

That thing… looming over them like death.

But Carl’s not dead. No one is.

Except for Otis but she doesn’t care about him. And he died far away from the farm.

So why does she still feel its gaze?

Why does that weight of the world still sit on her chest like a stone?

Why does it sit on her chest even as she washes it away under the rain of the shower head? Under the blazing heat of the shower.

She rubs her skin raw with the help of the boiling spray. But it doesn’t leave her chest as she stands there.

The eyes don’t leave her even when her daddy is outside the shower curtain.

Death doesn’t leave her shoulder no matter how hard she scrubs at the wound on her side.

Chapter 15: Chupacabra

Chapter Text

The shower’s rain steams the bathroom. Shane wipes at the mirror to reveal himself in it. He twists and turns to look at his exposed upper body- scratches and bruises forming on his skin.

Even now, almost three hours after escaping the infested high school, his body is still taunted with adrenaline. His muscles are defined and sharp with the exhaustion of the day. Skin dirty with dried blood and dirt scattered on his arms.

His gaze traces over himself in a trance.

It’s Bella’s voice that stops him. Looking over, the little girl stands next to the still running shower with dipping wet hair. She’s dressed in a skirt a size too big and a sweatshirt with ‘NEW YORK’ written across it- given by Hershel's daughters, Beth and Maggie. Her presence is dim… and blurred with the rest of the room.

Her skin was tinged red from the shower heat and her scrubbing but she’s clean now. Carl’s blood is gone from her skin.

In the small bathroom, the young girl grabs a towel and sticks it under the shower spray. Motioning for her dad to sit down, he grabs the stool and drops himself onto it- pushing the dirty clothes from it.

Shane sits still as his daughter wrings out the towel and begins to clean at the scratches on his back. The room is quiet for a few minutes before the girl makes her way in front of her dad.

She stares at him until he raises his gaze, “What’s wrong, Princess?” He questions.

Bella is careful as she reaches up to her daddy’s hair. Her fingers gently trace the skin that burns at her touch. Shane’s hand jumps to the pain on his skull and he feels the difference; a spot of hair that was seemingly ripped from his head.

His eyes go wide at the realization and even wider as Bella turns and begins digging around the sink cabinet. The cabinet door is closed quickly as she finds what she was looking for.

Unraveling the cord, Bella plugs the electric razor into the wall and turns to her dad. Shane stills and lets Bella turn the razor on. The farmhouse had electricity but the Greene family decided to only use it when necessary.

The pair is silent as Bella drags the razor across her dad's hair, cutting it down to his skin, the now loose hair dropping to the floor to be cleaned later. The room is silent as she finishes her little task and places the razor on the bathroom sink.

Shane tries to read his daughter but it’s hard- his vision is still pinpoints.

“If you didn’t do it… I would have.” She says and her daddy can’t hide the surprise on his face. Do what, exactly? Drawing herself into his chest, she hugs him tight, “I love you, daddy.” Shane holds her carefully, unsure what to do. “I’ll be with Carl when you're done.” Bella pulls back and kisses his cheek before grabbing her gun and holster and walking out the bathroom door. Her daddy needed a moment alone.

Dropping down the stairs, the sun begins to rise outside, the house getting dusted in the warm yellow and oranges, and Bella moves towards Carl’s room. But her journey is stopped by Glenn who leads everyone outside as the RV and Daryl’s motorcycle roars outside.

Following Glenn, Bella watches the rest of the group exit their vehicles. Dale is the first one to approach, “How is he?” He looks towards Rick and Lori, trying not to be too hopeful.

Lori smiles, “He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people.” She claims gratefully.

“And Shane.” Rick adds as the man exits the house much faster than Bella was expecting- the father cleaned and dressed in clothes too big. “We'd have lost Carl if not for him.”

Carol cries, “Thank God. We were so worried.”

“How'd it happen?”

Rick drops his head, “Hunting accident. That's all... Just a stupid accident.”

The group cannot express their thankfulness and happiness hearing that Carl was okay- that everyone was okay.

Well… almost everyone.

But now, the group begins to settle and start their chores; setting up tents, water barrels, clothes lines, and more as Maggie brings out a large map by request of Rick.

It felt like that day almost two months ago when they first settled on the highway camp near Atlanta city. Everyone working together and feeling safe… but it didn’t last on the highway, and it probably wouldn’t last now.

Not with that thing still creeping around.

Everyone’s safe. Everyone’s alive… So why can Bella still feel it?

She must be going crazy… that thing wasn’t real- it was all in her mind. Right?

She must be crazy like that old man in the hospital.

It was a couple days after Rick was shot, when the world was still normal, that Bella and Carl saw the man. They were walking through the busy and sterile smelling hospital halls with their parents, lost as to where they were going.

Rick had been moved to a long-term room across the hospital and they were trying to find it when the old man- all skin and bones, darted out of his room and towards a nurse.

He had begged the nurse to get the man out of his room. That the man wouldn’t say anything, he was just staring and staring and he won’t leave no matter what. But there was no man.

Another nurse saw the shocked faces on the group and led them away, directing them on how to leave the unit. Lori had questioned the male nurse on if the old man was okay and they were told he was merely experiencing some hallucinations and that he would be okay.

But he obviously wasn’t.

Just like Bella wasn’t okay.

With the shadows in the corners of her eyes… that disappears when she looks but she knows it was real. She knows that the thing is here.

No… no.

She’s okay. She’s fine… there's nothing wrong with her. She’s just tired.

Yeah?

Yeah… she’s just tired. It's the exhaustion. That’s all.

“I hear he woke up.” Shane’s voice comes from the RV. Bella realizes she’s been on autopilot helping Glenn with setting up the basics of the camp.

Lori smiles at the man who has the duffel of weapons slung over his shoulder. “Yeah. He's in and out, but yeah. He'll be alright.”

The pair share a look deeper than appropriate, “That's good.” Shane cares about Carl and it meant more than anyone knew that he was okay. Lori gives him one more smile before turning to leave. “Did you mean it?” He says to her turned back.

“What?”

Shane sighs, “You said ‘stay’. Did you mean it?” He takes a step forward to the woman. They had talked once he returned with everything Carl needed and Lori told Shane to stay. She told him to stay with them- to stay with her… “Look, if you didn't just say so. But do it now. I need to know.” The man begs to the woman.

“I meant it.” She tells him seriously.

He smiles, “All right then.”

“Why would we not stay?” Bella voices calls as she steps down the small hill underneath the group of trees, they set their camp under.

Both adults look at the girl and Lori leaves swiftly with mumbled words of checking on Carl.

Father and daughter watch the woman leave, the silence growing till Bella looks at Shane. “Come on, I need your help.” He commands turning away.

“Why would we leave?” She repeats.

Shane sighs and bends down. This is what he wanted to avoid. He didn’t want her to know, want her to worry. “We aren’t going anywhere, Princess.” He says looking into his daughter’s soft green eyes.

“But you were planning on it.” Bella says with hardening eyes.

Shane shakes his head. “No, I wasn’t.” He would never be able to leave Lori and Carl. He could never take Bella from Carl. He couldn’t… he wouldn’t be able to live with it.

But Bella doesn’t really believe it. Not when the creature is getting closer than it has been. It’s probably listening to them.

And it hurts. It puts her on edge. The creature is making her itch, making her nervous… unstable. How is she supposed to act with this thing constantly near her? It wasn’t possible.

“You weren’t?” She spits at her dad. Her eyes are so angry. His little girl was so angry. She never gets angry but… “That’s not what you said at the church.”

Her words still the air around them. She heard? She heard.

His and Lori’s conversation, she heard it. How the hell did she hear it?!

What is Shane thinking… of course she heard. They were out in the open and she was nearby.

Shane’s heart begins to beat painfully. His daughter heard he was going to take her away with no warning. She heard-

How much has she heard? Was it just that one conversation?

It must have been. But how could he be sure?

Bella stares down her dad. Eyes burning holes into his face.

Shane’s little girl was… cold and angry.

He didn’t know what to say- a man that always had a response was stumped in the presence of a young girl.

Even with his desire to say something- anything- to Bella, their conversation is cut by the childish voice of Andrea. “Give up our guns?!” She stomps over to the pair.

Shane stands to face the woman with a sigh, “You heard Rick. We're guests here.”

“And you're okay with it?” She says bewildered.

The man sets his hands atop his hips, “I don't recall being asked. Now lay down your weapon.” He tells her. His waiting hand rests in the air for the woman’s weapon.

Her eyes drop to the hand and back to his eyes in disbelief. “You may like rolling over- I don't.”

“You like complaining.” Bella spits at the woman, cutting off her whining. Shane drops his eyes to his daughter. “You're lying to me, daddy… I don’t like it. We promised to tell each other the truth.” She tells him, ignoring the woman next to them.

Shane sighs with soft eyes, “I ain’t lying to you, Princess.” He wanted his little girl back- not this angry spitfire. They were supposed to be a team.

“We have a problem.” Dale interrupts with concerned eyes.

Shane grunts in annoyance- he couldn’t get one minute to breathe. Trailing behind Dale, the trio make their way over to a well where others are gathering. Bella steams silently next to her daddy.

Shane, Bella, Lori, T-Dog, Glenn, Andrea, Dale, and Maggie circle around the opened farm well. And down at the bottom of the twenty-feet-or-so deep well, growls a fat bloated male walker. Its skin is slimed over with the algae of the well water and puss drips from a few cuts and bruises across its body- mostly caused by its fall. The walker’s hands reach up to the living flesh, as if its fat hands would reach them.

“Looks like we've got us a swimmer.” Dale sighs, leaning over to get a better look.

Glenn looks bewildered at the sight and turns to the group, “How long do you think it has been down there?”

“Long enough to grow gills.” Andrea points out in disgust.

The walker seems to have… adapted to the water. Bloated and big to float atop the water while still flexible enough to reach high for the living.

Lori sighs while staring at the dead, “We can't leave it in there. God knows what it's doing to the water.” She scratches her head. The farm may have five wells to drink from but this one was feeding the cattle- who knows what it’s doing to them.

“We gotta get it out.” Shane decides, trailing off in thought.

T-Dog stands from his crouched position, “Easy. Put a bullet in its head.” He turns to move back towards camp, “I'll get a rope.”

“No.” Bella stops T-Dog from his march with a raise of her hand.

“Why not? It's a good plan.” Glenn asks the girl.

Andrea shakes her head from next to the girl, “It's a stupid plan.” She agrees to the surprise of Bella- the girl was really starting to not like the older woman but maybe she should give her another chance. “If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing its brains out will finish the job.”

“She's right. Can't risk it.”

T-Dog questions, “So it has to come out alive?”

“So to speak.”

“How do we do that?” Glenn asks.

And his answer comes with a raised brow from everyone around the pit except Maggie. The walkers like meat- they’ll give it meat.

Maggie darts quickly to the farmhouse to find the large can of ham they had saved in their pantry. While T-Dog goes for the rope.

Gathering back, Shane and Bella tie two knots in their separate ropes. Bella ties a quick lariat loop around the ham and tightens it swiftly. She hands it off to T-Dog who begins to drop it down the well as Shane finishes off his knot.

The group leans back over the well. “He's not going for it.” Dale states. The walker merely growls and looks forward- it had lost interest in the living bodies a little bit ago. It must’ve realized it can’t get them. And it had no interest in canned ham.

T-Dog huffs and turns to look at Dale, “Maybe 'cause a canned ham don't kick and scream when you try to eat it.”

“He's right.” Lori states, still staring down the well, “There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards.”

Andrea crosses her arms, “We need live bait.” She turns her head towards Glenn. And Bella doesn’t like her anymore- the chance has been shattered.

Glenn looks bewildered as everyone turns to him, “What?! Why me?” He questions. No one wants to go down into a tiny well with a walker.

“You are the smallest.” T-Dog states.

“Why not a chicken?” Bella calls stopping the discussion. “This is a farm; you must have chickens or something?” How could they think dropping Glenn into a well was a good idea?

The group turns to Maggie, and she confirms that there are chickens they could use.

“But how will we get the rope around the walker?” Andrea asks.

“The same way we were gonna do it with canned ham,” Bella shoots back quickly.

“Bella.” Shane grounds out stopping the girl. He looks at the young Korean American with a questioning glance until he sighs. Glenn’s released sigh is all the confirmation the group needs to begin tying the rope around Glenn and retrieve a horse for more strength.

Bella watches in amazement as Glenn, terrified but willing, sits on the ledge of the well and looks down at the walker whose interest has begun once again. “Have I mentioned that I really like your new haircut? You have a nice shaped head.” Glenn says to Shane as he tightens the rope once more, ensuring his knots are proper.

Shane gives him a calming smile, “Don't worry about it, bud. We're gonna get you out of here in one piece.”

“Living piece.” He corrects quickly, “That living part is important.” The young man is terrified- who wouldn’t be? He’s really thinking they should just shoot it and seal off the well. Dale’s confirming callout pushes him into action. “Nice and slow, please.” He begs as he slides off the ledge and hangs in the mouth opening.

“We got you.” Andrea responds.

Maggie paces and pulls at her hair, “Oh, you people are crazy.”

“You want to get it out of your well or not?” Shane grunts as he controls the speed Glenn drops down.

“Give us an eye there, Maggie.” Dale commands the young woman.

Bella draws closer to the opening alongside Maggie. The pair peaks down at the man. “Don’t get too close, Princess.” The father calls out harshly in seriousness. He did not need her falling down the well.

The young girl gives an understanding nod and kneels down to be stable. “Doing okay?” Maggie calls.

Glenn smiles up confidently, “Yup, doing great.” He drops his head down, “Living the dream.” He whispers to himself in fear.

Maggie, trying to keep Glenn alive, gives the group commands, “Little lower. A little more.” The worried woman stares down at the well as the rope creaks from the tension.

Bella watches closely, giving little bits with Maggie. She likes Glenn- he’s always nice to her. And she doesn’t want to see him become walker bait. But her voice goes quiet as she feels its eyes on her neck. The things’ gaze burns holes in her head, as though asking what she’s going to do… how is she going to act?

And the silent question distracts her until the snap and shouts fill her ears. Maggie’s hands grab her shoulders and fling her to her back, the woman protecting the younger with her body as the pipe that supports Glenn snaps from its screws.

People begin to scream, the loudest is Glenn, as he sinks deep into the well, the walker’s hands scraping the bottom of his shoes.

Shane dives for the rope but it snaps away from his grasp.

So, T-Dog tries for the grab.

Sliding across the ground, T-Dog grips tightly at the rope- his palms victim to the burn of the rope but the saving grace of Glenn… saving in the sense he wasn’t face-to-face with the walker. But the rope sinks Glenn down an extra three feet as T-Dog plants his feet against the well’s rim.

A mixture of screams fills the area as all the adults jump to T-Dog’s help, grasping and pulling as hard as they could as Glenn’s blood curling screams flow out of the well. Dust springs up into the air as the rope is dragged back.

Glenn’s hands grip the stones so hard they turn white.

Maggie had joined the others in pulling the rope, leaving Bella to go to the edge to drag him up. Gripping his forearm tightly, Bella heavies hard in a final pull, Glenn fully peaking over the edge. “Mr. Glenn?! Are you okay?” Bella calls as the man curls up on his knees and seemingly kisses to dusty ground.

The man nods as dust clumps on his sweaty neck. Bella peaks along his legs in the same manner her daddy had done two days ago in the forest. There was nothing- no scratches or bites… thank God- or whatever was watching them.

“Back to the drawing board.” Dale says once everyone knows Glenn is okay.

The man huffs deeply for air and laughter bubbles over the edge, “Says you.” Snatching the rope off the ground, Glenn slaps the tight rope into Dale’s shocked hand. Following the rope, the group peaks over and sees the rope that is threaded around the walker's torso.

He did it.

Glenn did it!

Wasting no time. The group prepares to drag the walker out. With the rope attached to the horse, Maggie stands to lead the horse while the others prepare to pull too.

Tsking the horse into motion, the walker begins its journey up to the surface. Bella leans over the edge next to T-Dog, his hands were burning from the rope so it was decided he wouldn’t pull. “Almost there, daddy.” Bella calls over her shoulder as the walker's bald head reaches the opening.

Leaping to her feet, T-Dog pushes the girl behind him as the walker’s teeth see the light of the day. “Watch out, dawg.” Shane commands as the walker comes closer and closer to getting out of the well. But the reveal comes to a stop as the walker’s waist stops on the well’s edge.

“It's stuck! Come on.” T-Dog calls out and the horse rears up and pulls harder.

The group heavies once more and the rope loses tension. Those holding the rope fall to the ground as the walker growls and squelches. Its body is pulled apart, legs stuck on the well’s edge as the upper body is pulled from it easily.

“That’s no good.” Bella says as she watches the entrails of the walker spill onto the ground. A horrid smell of rotting insides fills the air and the walker continues growling even as its legs fall back into the well.

Sighing, Shane moves forward and grabs Bella's head, turning it away from the scene. She just watched as the walker split in half, as it turned and continued growling with no emotion… she just watched.

“We should seal off this well.” Dale calls.

“Might be a good idea.”

“So... what do we do about…”

SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!

T-Dog takes an ax to the walker's head. The remnants splash across the ground and the skull turns to mush. Once he’s satisfied, the black man looks up to the others, “Good thing we didn't do anything stupid like shoot it.” He says with mild venom.

He throws the ax to the ground and walks away. He wasn’t the first to walk away though- Maggie turned in shocked surprise as T-Dog killed the walker, only Glenn and Bella noticed her leave.

The group was disappointed. All that work and worry for nothing. They sealed the well and broke its pump arm so no one could ever get water from it again.

Bella watched as everyone cleaned up the mess, she made sure to double check Glenn was okay and grabbed some gauze coverings for T-Dog’s ripped palms. And with everything cleaned up, Bella drags herself to the farmhouse, she’s tired and dirty and she still hasn’t checked on Carl.

Walking into the room, Bella comes face to face with Lori who rests in the air chair next to Carl’s bed with a book in her hand. The woman looks up at the creaking of the floor boards, "Everything all good by the pump?” She asks.

“Yes, Mrs. Grimes. All cleaned.”

Lori gives her a tight smile and snaps her book closed, “You mind staying with him for a while?” She asks the young girl who gives her a questioning eyebrow raise- the mother had only been sitting with Carl for the past thirty minutes- now she wants to leave? “I have some stuff to do.” Lori explains simply.

Truth be told, Bella didn’t care. She would stay either way. “Yes, Mrs. Grimes. Take your time.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” Lori says standing and leaving with a kiss to Carl’s head.

Bella pulls off her gifted sweatshirt, the air getting warm now that it's midday, and cracks a window open farther so the fresh breeze can sneak in. “Bee?” Bella turns quickly to the bed where Carl starts to wake.

A strong breeze follows the young girl, kicking up the curtains as she circles the bed, “Hey, Carl.” She smiles down at the boy. Carl rubs harshly at his crusty eyes, “Are you okay? Any pain?” She worries.

“I’m okay.” The boy tries to sit up but only succeeds in raising his head higher onto the pillow. “Where’s mom and dad?” Carl looks around the empty room.

“They're doing chores.”

Carl looks at Bella, “Sophia?”

“I don’t know.” She says simply but the sad look on Carl’s face twists her chest, “They haven’t found her.”

Carl looks baffled, “What?”

“They haven’t found her.” She says again confused.

“Are they looking?”

Bella nods, “I think so.” The girl sits on the bed sideways to Carl, head dropped down.

Carl is quiet for a moment, “Bee? What’s wrong?” This time he pulls himself higher but stops with the tinged in his stomach.

The girl shrugs her shoulders, “Nothing- I’m just worried about you.” She tells him seriously.

The boy laughs and pushes at her shoulder, “Shut up- I’m fine.”

“You got shot, Carl.” Her words stop Carl. “I thought you died.” She tells him.

“It wouldn’t be that easy.” He responds simply.

Tears slowly crest her eyes, “I thought you died before we even hit the ground.” The girl stares at Carl’s stomach and the gaze that is tinged slightly with red, the wound underneath trying to heal, “I- I thought you left me.”

The boy is quiet in the presence of his friend. It’s not the first time they’ve been emotional but this… this is different. Carl almost died. And it’s finally hitting him. “I’m sorry, Bee,” he tells her. When his dad got shot… his world shattered. If Bella had gotten shot- it would shatter again.

Bella shrugs and adjusts herself on the bed, fiddling with her skirt, “It’s not your fault… I should’ve stayed in front."

“What, so you could get shot?”

Yes. So, she could’ve been the one in the bed. It would have shattered her daddy’s world but it’s Carl. He would understand. “... it doesn’t matter now.” She responds.

And the pair goes silent, chirping flows into the room with distant voices. Carl sits awkwardly and plays with his hands. “So… what have you been up to?”

“Watching over you.” She says and Carl rolls his eyes at her. Bella smiles in return- he hates when she says that. “Ripping a walker in half.” She tacks on.

Carl’s eyes go wide, and a smile breaks over his face, “What?! What happened?”

The young girl turns to face Carl fully, dragging a bent leg up onto the bed, “There was this fat bloated walker in one of the wells.” She starts, “Daddy said we needed to get it out, so Mr. Glenn goes into the well to try and get a rope around it. But the pole that was holding him snaps and drops him.” Carl goes to speak in worry, but she raises her hand for him to wait. “But Mr. T-Dog grabbed the rope and pulled him out like a superhero in a comic book.” Carl smiles with Bella. “Even with all that, Mr. Glenn still got the rope around the walker. So, we started to pull the thing out, but it got stuck. And Miss. Maggie had the horse pull really hard and it ripped the walker apart.” Bella motions at her waist, “All its guts and stuff fell out.” She jokingly mocks the walker using her hands.

Carl absorbs the story, “Really?! I bet it smelled nasty.” He comments as a large grumbling noise sounds through the room. Bella raises an eyebrow at Carl- the noise coming directly from his stomach, “I’m a little hungry.” He says simply grabbing gently at his stomach.

“I’ll go get you something.” She hops to her feet. “I found a book I think will be cool- I can read it to you?” She offers.

Carl nods, “As long as it’s not one of those health books you stole."

Bella smiles, “Mrs. Grimes does say that studying is important, even if we’re not in school.” Carl mockingly mouths the words as Bella says them. “I’ll be right back.” She says before leaning over Carl and kissing his cheek.

The girl is gone quickly, and Carl’s cheeks burn red. She kissed his cheek.

Why would she kiss his cheek? She’s never done that before.

But Carl doesn’t have long to think or wipe the heat from his face- Bella would be back quickly.

And in the kitchen of the farmhouse, Bella gathers a plate of food from Beth and the book Maggie had given her. The Greene family are very generous.

Walking back to the room, Bella is stopped by Lori who comes back into the house. “Bella, what are you doing?”

The girl looks up at Lori, “Getting Carl some food, Mrs. Grimes. And I was gonna read to him.” She explains even though one look at the contents in her hands could explain it.

Lori smiles, “Why don’t I take that to him?” She offers, “You could use some more sunlight.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Grimes.” She responds with a shake of her head.

Lori stands straighter and places her hands on her hips trying to seem nonchalant, “Your dad and everyone is talking about looking for Sophia. Don’t you want to help them?”

“No.”

Lori raises her eyebrows in confusion, “No?”

Bella looks at Lori, their eyes connected, “I don’t care about Sophia. I care about Carl.” Lori stands in shock as Bella walks away and into Carl’s room shutting the door behind her.

Lori has no idea how long she stands there in stunned silence. But soon she moves and continues her day.

But her shock doesn’t leave her face even as she cleans herself in the farmhouse. Hershel had offered a spare room to the parents so they could clean up before sitting with their son. The sun is dropping in the sky.

Numbly, Lori folds her old dirty clothes on the bed. Rick stands on the other side of the room watching her.

She had been quiet since lunch, and he didn’t know why. She wouldn’t talk to him. “What’s wrong?” He asks again.

And like her other answers she responds, “Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Rick says drifting towards Lori.

Lori sighs and stares at the pattern of the duvet cover, “It’s Bella.” She struggles out. “Something… things she’s said-” She tries to explain.

Rick nods and tries to get Lori to look at him, “She tends to say… ‘things’. We usually just ignore it.” He reminds her. But Lori’s mood doesn’t change. “What has she said?” He asks, maybe he could help her figure it out.

Lori sighs and drops her head back with her eyes closed, “It’s just- this whole situation with Sophia.” Her words are forced out as she digs her fingers into her eyes.

“What about it?” Lori shakes her head- she shouldn’t have said anything, “Hey- hey. What is it?” Rick asks worriedly, he grabs her shoulders reassuringly.

The woman grabs at his forearms, “She said she doesn’t care about Sophia today.” She whispers as though she was telling a secret, “And she- she had this tone… this look in her eyes… she meant it.” Lori didn’t know how else to explain what she saw, “She’s… worrying me.” The mother admits.

Rick looks at her in confusion, “Lori- she just watched Carl almost die. She was chased by walkers in the woods… it’s- it’s normal that she would… act out.” He explains. Sure, Bella was acting weird but how would someone expect a child to react?

Lori shakes her head hard and pushes Rick’s hands off her shoulders, “It’s not just acting out, Rick.” She speaks. She’s been thinking about it for so long. That morning in the CDC, when Bella took the blame for the scratches on Shane’s neck. The way she would stare at Carl and Sophia when they were together. The way she won’t leave his side now… “I think she left Sophia in the woods.” She whispers.

“I-I’m sorry… what?” Rick stutters out after a pregnant pause. “You think-?”

“She left Sophia in the woods.”

Rick stares at Lori dumbfounded. She can’t really believe that? But the look on her face… she believes it. It’s mixed with the exhaustion in her eyes. “You can’t really think that?” He says again.

Sure, she was her father’s daughter, but she’s never been aggressive or… dangerous. Never. She was a child in a death filled world and her friend almost died- how is she supposed to act?

Lori paces to the other side of the room and back to the bed, “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed her… cling to Carl. Haven’t noticed her snap at everyone when it comes to him or Shane.” She questions him. How could Rick not see it?

Rick sputters. Bella was like a daughter to them. She and Carl were raised together. “Do you even understand what you’re accusing her of?” He questions. Lori was accusing Bella of leaving Sohpia in the woods… of leaving her to die.

“I know- I know, it’s absolutely terrible. I know I shouldn’t but-” Lori breathes hard into the room, “It’s all I’ve been thinking of.” She admits, she won’t tell Rick all the reasons- she can’t tell Rick all the reasons. “What if she- what if… she becomes ‘obsessed’ with Carl? Possessive?” She proposes to Rick.

“Why would you think that would happen?”

“Because she’s like-” She stops herself.

Rick steps forward, “She’s like what?”

Lori licks her lips, “She’s like her dad.” Lori looks to her husband- they both know Shane risked everything; his own life and Bella’s, to protect Carl and her during the outbreak… even now he’s still protecting them.“Shane became protective over me and Carl, he’s been watching over us.”

“Protective and possessive are two different things.”

“Does a child know the difference?”

Rick raises his hand in a calming nature, “Bella may be… outspoken. But she’s not… dangerous. She wouldn’t leave Sophia alone in the woods.” He states firmly, leaving no room for discussion or push back. “She wouldn’t.”

She drops her head hard and grabs at her hair, “I’m sorry- I know… I know she… wouldn’t.”

“I think you need rest.” Rick tells her as he steps forward to grab Lori from behind.

Lori nods, “Yeah yeah you’re right. It’s the exhaustion talking.” She agrees as Rick wraps his arms around her waist.

Rick holds tight to her, “I love you… I love Carl.” He whispers into her ear, “And I’m not leaving you two.” He promises.

Lori smiles tiredly and tilts her head back into Rick’s, “I love you too.”

Chapter 16: A Shot in the Dark

Chapter Text

The growls of the walkers drift quieter and quieter the further they go. Rick’s shouting drifts away too until there’s nothing but Bella and Sophia’s hard breathing.

They’re squeezed so tightly into the fallen tree roots that Bella can feel a piece sticking into her back. Sophia cries silently in shock and fear, her teddy in a white-knuckle grip.

The air is silent for a minute, a minute that feels like forever, before Sophia turns her head. “We should run.” She whispers.

Bella shakes her head and grasps tightly at the other girl’s arm, “Mr. Grimes said to wait.”

“What if he doesn’t come back?” The girl cries.

“He will.”

“You don’t know that!” Sophia shouts at her with utter fear.

Bella smacks a hand aggressively to the girl’s mouth to silence her- the forest around them goes quiet, the chirping birds gone. “Be quiet.” Bella hisses. “You already got us into this mess and I won’t have you getting me killed.” The words are spit like venom and Sophia’s eyes finally shed tears as she pushes herself away and into the open stream.

She stumbles hard into the water, tearing her palms. “This wasn’t my fault.” She claims loudly.

Bella whips her head side to side and shushes the girl, “Shut up and get over here.” She commands.

“You're not my mom!” Sophia shouts, “I’m going back. ‘Keep the sun on our left shoulder.’” She repeats Rick’s words and turns to drag her body through the water.

“You won’t see your mom again if you leave.” Bella whispers-shouts harshly. The warm air goes cold. “You won’t see your mom-” She trails off.

Sophia turns with red eyes and sniffles at the sight of Bella.

She tries to open her mouth to respond but nothing comes out. No words come out.

Thick red blood drips from Sophia’s mouth like a waterfall. Her front stains red and the forest around them darkens around the pair.

And Bella watches in paralyzed fear.

The thing was surrounding them- it was watching her… it was watching Bella. Why is it watching her?

Bella can’t move. Not as Sophia’s thin body is snatched backwards by an invisible force. Not when the darkness turns the forest into nothing… not when she can feel its breath on her neck, so hot and ice cold at the same time.

Bella groans in disgust and discomfort as the creature’s hand curls around to her front and towards her mouth.

She can’t see it’s hand- can’t see anything other than the bottom of her face but it’s there. The pressure and the heat.

It trials up her cheek. She tries to scream but her mouth won’t open. Her lips are stuck together and she can’t make a noise. She tries- she rips her throat apart trying to scream but nothing is happening.

She tries even as the creature moves its hand towards her mouth and nose- covering them both and stopping her breathing. Now she really can’t scream because she can’t breathe.

She can’t breathe. Her chest is ripping and searing. Why can’t she breathe? She needs to breathe.

She knows how to breathe. One in. One out. Repeat.

She just needs to open her mouth.

She needs to get away from this thing. But she can’t move.

Hot tears drop from her eyes and the thing hisses and snatches it hand away. The tears had struck and burned its skin- at least she thinks it did because it whines and draws away from her.

It draws everything away from her- the darkness, the fear… she’s alone.

She doesn’t want to be alone.

Bella squeezes her eyes tight. She squeezes so tight, light dances behind her eyes.

She can see a pretty yellow light… and she follows it. Her feet move with pins and needles, shocking her nerves. But it doesn’t matter because she’s moving.

She’s jumping into the light.

“Bella?” The girl snaps her eyes open and sits straight up. Her father’s hand rests on her shoulder and her eyes dance around the room.

She fell asleep in a chair next to Carl. The duvet area her face laid is wet with tears similar to her damp cheeks and wet hair line.

It was another nightmare. Why another nightmare?

Looking at her dad, his face is twisted in worry. His gut had told him to find her this morning before going searching for Sophia and he would never ignore it. “Princess? You okay?”

Bella wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, “I’m fine.”

But Shane doesn’t believe it. He pushes at the arm of the chair turning Bella fully to him with Carl lying peacefully on the bed. “Come on.” He whispers to her, arms open in invitation.

And Bella collapses into his arms. Shane picks her up easily and carries her outside the room. “I got you, Princess.” He tells her.

“I know, daddy.” Comes from the junction of his neck and shoulder.

Shane carries her out to the truck Rick and others stand around. Rick gives Shane an understanding nod and a small good morning to Bella. She responds in kind as Shane rests her more comfortably on his hip.

“Morning, guys. Let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover.” Rick calls out in the new morning air. “All right, everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far.” He explains as he rolls the map out onto the truck's hood.

Daryl had left yesterday to search and found a farmhouse. Inside was a cabinet stuffed with some pillows and blankets with a recently opened can of food. Only someone the height of Sophia could’ve fit in there.

Jimmy, the young family friend of the Greene girl Beth, steps forward, “I'd like to help. I know the area pretty well and stuff.” He states.

Rick looks at the young man, “Hershel's okay with this?”

Jimmy nods stiffly-almost nervously, “Yeah yeah. He said I should ask you.”

Rick nods to the boy and looks around at everyone, “All right then. Thanks.”

Shane holds tight to Bella, “Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse.” He states looking at the map.

“Anybody includes her, right?” Andrea asks quickly. It was something. A peace of hope for the group and Carol.

Daryl moves his crossbow to one arm and raises the other, “Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high.”

Andrea smiles, “It's a good lead. Maybe we'll pick up her trail again.” She looks at Daryl with hope filled eyes.

“No ‘ maybe ’ about it.” The redneck responds simply, “I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her.” His words leave no room for discussion. He wanted to find Sophia and no one would tell him otherwise.

“Good idea.” Rick says.

T-Dog huffs a laugh, “Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too.”

That turns Rick’s head, “Chupacabra?”

“You never heard this?” Dale laughs out, “Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra.”

The group smiles but Jimmy is the one to laugh out loud. Daryl rounds on the boy, “What are you braying at, jackass?”

Jimmy looks at the redneck in wonder, “You believe in a blood-sucking dog?”

“Do you believe dead people walking around?” He shoots back, wiping the smirk off the boy’s face.

Jimmy licks his lips as he reaches for one of the many weapons on the truck hood. Rick stops him by pushing the barrel back down, “Hey hey. Ever fired one before?”

“Well, if I'm going out, I want one.” Jimmy states.

Daryl huffs, “Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees.”

Shane adjusts Bella again as she sits straighter, “Why don't you come train tomorrow? If you're serious, I'm a certified instructor.” He tells the boy. They need gun training- all of them.

Andrea grabs her handgun and smiles gently at the boy, “For now he can come with us.”

Daryl shrugs, “He's yours to babysit then.”

Shane watches as everyone gathers their weapon. “And you are staying here, Princess.” He tells Bella. He pulls her up and off his hip and rests the girl onto the ground. The girl was as tall as Carl but curled in the arms of her dad, she was so small.

Bella adjusts her skirt and nods at Shane, “Yes, daddy. Be careful.” The young girl gives her dad a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug before running back to the farmhouse.

And the adults watch her go for a moment before preparing themselves and leaving the open fields for the woods.

It was four hours into searching when Rick decided to speak to Shane about something other than the woods. “You remember the name of that waitress at the dairy queen when we were in high school?” Rick questions the silent man, he had been steaming silently all day. “I know you, Shane, well enough to know that there is only one sure-fire way of engaging you in a conversation, and that is to start asking you about girls you did in high school.” He states knowingly. Shane gives him a look. “I don't want to, but I'm willing to do it if that's what it takes.”

Shane trails slowly, eyes dancing around the woods for any sign of living, “Maryanne.” He gifts Rick. “I told you about her?” He asks with a raised brow.

The sheriff huffs a laugh and gives a slight wince to the man, “In excruciating detail.”

“Excruciating, my ass.” Shane chuckles easily, “You used to live for those details back in the day.” He pokes at Rick.

The man inturn shrugs his shoulders, “I was impressionable. And I may have been living vicariously through you.” He concludes.

“Why wouldn't you, with my impressive list of accomplishments?” He jokes. “I was an artist in his prime. A protege.” He calls confidently.

Rick looks back and falls into step with Shane- the grips on their guns going loose in comfort, “You mean prodigy.” He corrects.

Shane shrugs and steps over a fallen tree, “Maybe. Is prodigy what you call a young high school stud that bangs 30-year-olds on the regular?” He questions like a highschool boy.

“What 30-year-old were you banging in high school?” Rick questions bewildered voice pitching high.

Shane slows and gives Rick a side-eye, “The P.E. Teacher.”

“Mr. Daniels?”

“Mrs. Kelly.”

“The girls volleyball coach? Wasn't she married?” Rick asks as they continue their walk- they haven't found anything and they probably weren’t… not that Shane was going to say anything. “You know what I just remembered?” Rick calls out as he walks slightly ahead of Shane, “Why I never ask you about this stuff.”

“Why don't we talk about your high school love life then, huh?”

Rick tilts his head, “Well, that's a short conversation. It may even already be over.”

“That right? There was Holly, right?” He asks but quickly retracts before Rick can speak, “Nope, that was me too. Then there was Sheila. That's the one you lied to me about.”

Rick shakes his head and raises his hand, “I never lied about Sheila. I just got mixed up about what the bases meant.” He claims in embarrassment.

“Just so you know, a home run, that usually means a sexual act.” Shane performs a lowkey movement to emphasize his words, “That's intercourse.”

Rick laughs embarrassed, his cheeks turning pink like a young boy hearing about the birds-and-the-bees. “Yeah, I realize that now.”

“I think what you did was more like a ground rule double or something.”

“I'm aware of the judge's ruling.” Rick responds gently, continuing their walk.

The pair go silent in the quiet woods- the sounds of nature barely present. “Shouldn't be talking about this stuff. That life… it's gone and everyone in it.” Shane says sadly- everyone they knew was gone, that life and the futures they were going to have… it’s all gone. “Sheila. Maryanne. Mrs. Kelly. It's like we're old folk. All the people in our stories are all dead.”

“We can't just forget them.” Rick responds.

Shane huffs, “The hell we can't. It's hard enough accepting what's happened without digging up the past. I'll tell you what it is. It's nostalgia.” Shane recalls and turns the words onto Rick, “It's like a drug. Keeps you from seeing things the way they are. That's a danger. You got people depending on you.”

Rick gives Shane a look, “You think I don't know that?” The air of old comfort had vanished between the two.

“I don't know. What are we doing?” Shane asks seriously, stopping in his place to stare down Rick. This conversation… it had been growing for a long time and the pair were going to talk- whether the other wanted too or not. “You got every able body at your disposal out scourging these woods for a little girl we both know is likely dead.” Shane words hit Rick painfully.

“You think we should abandon the search?” Rick asks seriously.

“It's not my call, is it?” Shane goes to walk.

Rick jumps in front of him, “I'm asking. I'm asking.” He almost begs.

The man sighs and scratches his head underneath his hat, “ Survival , Rick. It means making hard decisions. But you've got this knack. You spread us thinner and thinner.” He states the obvious, “I'm trying to save lives here and you're out saving cats from trees.”

Rick looks at him in shock, “Is that what you think Sophia is, a cat in a tree ?”

Shane’s eyes go hard, “Don't do that, man. Don't twist my words.” The man looks at Rick deeply, “How many times we get called up to look for a missing child, man? You got 72 hours. 72 hours , and after that you're looking for a body. And that was before.” Shane’s words are underlaid with begging- he needs Rick to understand that this search isn’t worth the dangers. It isn’t. “I mean you honestly think we're just gonna find Sophia alive?” He questions gently.

“Are you that sure we won't?”

“Are we being completely honest?” He asks.

Rick nods, “I'm counting on you to be.”

“It's math, man.” Shane admits to his friend. “Alive or not, Sophia, she only matters to the degree in which she doesn't drag the rest of us down.” Rick looks at Shane with barely concealed disbelief- Rick couldn’t understand what he was hearing. “I thought you wanted honest.” Shane gives him when he doesn’t speak. He begins walking again forcing Rick to follow, “If we'd just moved on, man, we'd be halfway to fort Benning right now and Carl wouldn't have gotten shot. You said so yourself. But we're out here, we're risking lives.” Shane continues when Rick doesn't move to respond. “Your own son almost died. Otis, he paid that bill. What the hell are we still doing this for?” He spits.

Rick draws to Shane, “I had her in my hand, Shane. She looked in my eyes and trusted me. I failed her. If I hadn't, she wouldn't be out here.” He cries to the man. “I think she's still alive and I'm not- I'm not gonna write her off.” He comments strongly. This was his responsibility, all of them were. Rick pulls back when Shane’s face doesn’t change. “I mean what if it was Bella? You’d want us to just forget about her?” He asks, licking his lips.

Shane shakes his head and drops it to his chest for a moment. “No… no I’d be searching these woods till I knew.” He says simply. He steps towards Rick, his face turning into stone, “But I wouldn’t have the entire group spread thin looking for her. I’d before searching for her- me.”

“That’s what I’m doing.” Rick responds.

Shane shakes his head and his lips curl, “No you got the whole group searching.”

“They want to- they wanna look for Sophia .” Rick spits in annoyance. He wasn’t forcing anyone to go searching, they want to.

Shane pulls back and eyes Rick up and down, “Why’d you say it like that?”

“What?”

“That tone-” Shane questions, “what is it you're not saying?”

Rick licks his lips- he didn’t mean for it to slip. His and Lori’s conversation last night. His wife was exhausted- it was fear from exhaustion… it wasn’t real. But Shane won’t let Rick escape this, not when it’s about Bella. “Look, brother… I don’t think this- not for a second but-” He starts gently, gun even looser in his hand.

“But what?”

Rick shakes his head at Shane's face. “Never mind.” He speaks. He knows what he would do for Carl… and he knows Shane would do the same for Bella.

Shane stops Rick from walking away by blocking the path with his gun, “No, go on. Say it .”

He drops his head and tries to find his words, “It’s Bella and her… attitude?”

Shane looks at him in bewilderment, “Her attitude? She’s a kid- hell she’s better then half the damn adults in this camp; more mature, more thoughtful.” He lists, “But you’re worried about her attitude?”

“It’s not me. It’s Lori.” The moment the words leave his lips, Rick wants to take back even starting the conversation.

Shane’s face drops sadly, “Lori?”

Rick lips his lips, “She’s worried that Bella is… acting out?” Shane raises an eyebrow to the man to continue- ‘acting out’ was not a reason for anything. “She thinks Bella’s becoming overly protective of Carl.”

Shane pulls back, “The hell is wrong with her being protective of her friend? She watched Carl almost die.”

Rick raises his hands as Shane’s shoulders start to tense, “I don’t- look forget it.” But Shane’s face doesn’t change, his eyes go hard, and his grip tightens on his weapon, “Brother, please. I’m happy Bella is watching over Carl- I’m thankful they have each other in this sh*tty situation.” Rick tells him honestly, taking a step forward placing a hand on Shane’s shoulder, “I think it’s just- it’s everything that’s been happening. There’s so much stress and-”

“I don’t need your excuses.” Shane pushes the hand off his shoulder and turns away from Rick. Everything he’s done was to protect Bella, Carl and Lori. And now Lori is turning her back on him and his daughter?

Rick grabs Shane’s turned shoulder and pulls him around, “Shane. Don’t turn your back on me. We’re being honest, aren’t we?” He shoots back at Shane. They need to talk and getting pissy won’t help.

“I thought we were.” He agrees. Shane drops his head to his chest and worries his hands around the barrel of his gun. “Lori really thinks Bella is a problem?” He asks softly.

Rick sighs at Shane’s beaten look, “I just- I think she’s worried. She almost lost her child, everything's fracturing-”

“And she’s blaming Bella.”

“She isn’t blaming her.”

“What did she say?” The bite of his words comes back, “Lori isn’t blaming her but she’s thinking something.” Rick stays silent for a moment because Lori’s worry stems from something that isn’t true. Bella would never leave Sophia or anyone behind- she’s not like that… she’s not a monster. “It's blue. It's Andrea and t-dog.” Shane’s voice pulls Rick from his silent trance. Looking up he sees the blue marker in a tree. “Looks like we wandered into their grid.”

Shane is silently steaming as he turns around to go back the other way. “Shane…” Rick calls out without having turned around, “I shouldn’t have said anything.” He says simply once Shane’s steps stop. “You know I care about Bella, right? I care about you.” He tells him honestly. “I’m trying my best… I don’t know what else to do.” He admits painfully into the open forest.

“I get it.” Is all Shane says before starting his steps once more.

The pair walks in silence back to the farm camp, they had searched their entire mapped area and needed to regroup.

Both men grow tense and angrier the farther they walk in silence. Rick hands off his weapon to Shane as he parts from the sheriff; Rick goes to Lori and Shane heads to the RV.

Bella rises from her place by the clothes lines- she had decided to help Carol with the chores. Moving after her dad, Bella hops up the RV step and inside where only her dad stands. “Is everything okay, daddy?” She asks crawling onto the RV dining seat.

“Everything’s fine.” Shane grits out as he unloads the shotgun and slides it into the bag.

Bella’s eyebrows turn into a frown, “Then why are you mad?”

Shane takes a deep breath and pauses his movements. “You don't need to worry yourself with that.” He says before digging around the bag again. “Where’s your gun?” he questions the young girl.

“I have it.” Bella responds quickly. “I thought we were being honest.” She asks her father.

Shane takes a deep sigh and sits opposite his daughter. “What happened in the woods?” He asks softly. “And don’t say you fell.” He comments.

Bella raises an eyebrow and sits back, “Daddy, what happened?”

“Just- just tell me what happened.”

Bella stares at her father in confusion. “Sophia ran.” Shane watches Bella closely, “I ran behind her and I fell. When I stood up, she was gone.” Bella’s words are simple and easy. “Did something happen? Did you find her?”

Shane drops his head to his chest. “Are you lying to me?”

“Never, daddy.” Bella’s face twists in pain.

Shane bites his lip hard enough to draw blood. “I think you are.” He says into the air. Bella leans away from the man as his eyes harden. “The other day you said- you said you ‘would’ve done it’ if I hadn’t.”

The young girl stares at Shane- her eyes looking back at the RV’s entrance quickly before finding her dad’s eyes once again. “I did.” She responds simply. “I would’ve killed Otis if you hadn't.”

Shane jumps back, “How the hell did-?!” He stops his loud voice and rounds the table to Bella. “Who said I killed Otis?” He whispers.

Bella smiles down at Shane and her hand cradles his cheek. “You’re my daddy. I figured it out myself.” She explains softly and the gears inside Shane’s head burn with friction, “Kids see and hear everything daddy.” The man sputters in his place on his knees. “But none of it matters… as long as you stay by my side. I’ll always be by yours- you should always be by mine.”

Shane sits in shock even as Bella rises and moves to leave the RV- perhaps her daddy would actually take a moment. “Bella-” Shane starts quietly at the lock opening. The young girl turns her head, hand resting on the handle, as Shane sits like a statue. “Have you told anyone?”

Bella shakes her head even though he can’t see it, “I hadn’t told anyone anything,daddy.” The door creaks open and Bella skips out back to camp where Glenn is finally emptying the supplies he and Maggie had found during their first trip to town.

And Shane… Shane sits in stunned silence in the RV, still resting on one knee by the table. He doesn’t move until Andrea enters the RV. As he stands a rage that he can’t place fills his veins and his fingers grasp tightly onto an ax.

Chapter 17: Secrets

Chapter Text

Bella sits on a chopped log with Glenn sitting opposite. The man’s hand rests on Bella's knee as she stares down intently at it. The chemical scent of nail polish is carried through the trees as Bella narrows her eyes in concentration. Her fingers move the small bristle brush across Glenn’s right hand finishing the last nail.

The young man had found a few bottles of nail polish that he thought the girl would enjoy. He was worried she wouldn’t be as excited as she was since the colors were black, a ugly orange, and a bright turquoise. But she grabbed at the bottle with a bright smile and dragged him down to a seat.

And now, he sits with a full set of black nails- a few fingers had paint on the skin, but Bella wets a small towel and wipes it away. Glenn had sat still as Bella worked on her masterpiece- he was hoping to find some art supplies or books or anything her and Carl could enjoy but the small-town pharmacy Maggie brought him to, had very little left.

Glenn admires his nails, holding them to the side so Bella could look too, “How are you doing, Bella?” He asks, pulling his nails back at Bella’s hand motion.

“I’m alright, Mr. Glenn. How are you?” She responds as she adds some more polish to a lighter section of the man’s nails. “I see you’ve been hanging out with Miss Maggie.” The young girl looks up at Glenn with a small smirk as he stutters. “Do you like her?”

Glenn shrugs trying to act nonchalant, “Yeah… she’s nice.”

Bella pulls back with a larger smile, “You have a crush, Mr. Glenn.” The young girl cheers as she closes the polish.

“Shhh.. not so loud.” He whispers-shouts to the young girl, his head whipping around the camp for anyone that could have heard. Unknown to anyone but Glenn and Maggie, the young adults had formed a rather intimate relationship quickly… well except for Bella.

The young girl had a bachelor for a father, and she had noticed some little signs but for her… as long as she remained the most important thing in her daddy’s life- none of it mattered to her.

And most would be horrified to know that she knows but it’s always been that way. She’s always known more than others her age.

Bella motions for Glenn to come closer, “I think Miss Maggie likes you too, Mr. Glenn.” The girl whispers into the man’s ear in secret.

His face carves in an excited smile. “Really?” He asks with hopeful eyes.

Bella gives him an approving smile and grabs a bin of towels Carol dropped next to her to fold- the young girl told Carol to let her fold since the elder was busy preparing dinner tonight for everyone. “Maybe you could sit with her at dinner tonight?” Bella says.

Glenn scratches the back of his head and his eyes dance around the camp again. The area was bustling with activity, all the groups were back from searching and now tending to their basic chores. “That’s a little too obvious, don’t you think?” The young man leans against his knees, taking care to not smudge his polish.

Bella shrugs and twists her skirt, “Maybe.” She speaks when a question enters her mind, “Do you-”

“Walker. Walker!” Andrea’s voice screams into the air.

The camp goes rigid and grasps at weapons. They were told they couldn’t carry any guns except one watchman, currently Andrea, so anything sharp was held to defend themselves.

The men of the camp circle the RV quickly, Bella trails behind Glenn. Thankfully his nails should be dry by now. “Just the one?” Rick calls out to the woman.

She nods hard and tightens the grip on her gun, “I bet I can nail it from here.” Her body moves to lay on the RV’s roof.

“No no, Andrea. Put the gun down.” Rick shuts the woman down and stops her cold.

From under the trees Shane comes walking over, ax in hand and his button up shirt open to the world, his lean chest on display, “You'd best let us handle this.” He commands the woman easily. He was still taunt with anger, rage, and confusion from his conversation with Bella. He would never take it out on her… so he turned to the stack of wood instead.

Rick sticks his arm out, “Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers.” But the hand is smacked out of the way as Shane continues in the direction Andrea had pointed in.

“What for, man? We got it covered.” His voice is hard and quick as he moves. T-Dog and Glenn follow behind the man. “Stay here.” Shane’s voice comes over his shoulder.

The group of four men sprint towards the walker, Rick trails behind the three. Bella follows her daddy’s words and stands next to RV by Dale; the older man is stepped up on the ladder.

The group gets farther and farther away, their colors smudging with the greens of the field. And Andrea drops to a knee. “Andrea, don't.” Dale says.

“Back off, Dale.” She spits as she lays down on the roof, gun snug against her shoulder and her eye finding the site.

The woman is going to shoot even with everyone telling her not to. “Don’t shoot, there may be more.” Bella’s voice calls. “You shoot, you'll draw all of them here.” She doesn’t really care about that- she cares more about how the older woman’s target is right next to her dad. If she shoots her dad… Bella doesn’t know what she would do.

“Quiet kid.” The woman spits as the group of men stop moving in the distance.

Bella tries to talk again but the shot rings out and the walker falls to the ground. Andrea beams at her shot and raises her head. “See?” She says looking at the old man and young girl, “I know how to-”

“No!” Echos a man’s voice from across the field.

More screams echo down to the camp and Bella’s heart sinks. Her feet move before she can even think. Her legs burn as she sprints hard across the grass towards her dad, she can’t see the men clearly. They are so far away.

As her heart and legs burn and something rips, Bella comes to the scene. It’s not a walker- it’s Daryl. The redneck was covered in grime and wearing… a necklace of walker ears? That definitely won’t be a new fashion trend.

And the calling voices from behind her are coming closer. “Dad!?” She calls when she sees he’s fine. Shane grabs at Daryl’s side with Rick mirroring him, a tare from the bullet streaked across Daryl’s forehead… just a scratch, he’s still alive… hopefully.

Shane heaves the unconscious man higher and begins dragging him towards the farmhouse with Rick’s help, “It’s okay, Princess. Go get Hershel. Daryl needs help. Go!” He commands in a shout.

Bella nods hard and turns in her place running back towards the mass. Her voice calls out for the doctor and her voice rambles quickly on what happened when he exits his house.

The group watches as Daryl is brought inside and Hershel enters another guest room, Maggie trailing behind with a bag of tools.

Bella stands to the side and helps Maggie and Hershel with getting fresh water- she had taken a liking to medicine… not surprising to anyone that really knows her, so she tries to watch when she can.

But even though she is busy helping, her eyes catch the sight of the little doll of Sophia’s- it’s filthy, covered in grime and dirt, the details so muddled one would have a hard time figuring out what it actually was.

As it comes to stitches, Shane sends Bella away to Carl’s room. She kisses him goodnight, calling for a sleepover with Carl, and leaves to grab some plates of food from the kitchen for the both of them.

Watching the girl go, Rick, Shane, and Lori, stand in an empty hallway of the house. Shane rubs at his face, “I hate to say it, but I'm with Hershel on this one. Can't keep going out there, not after this.” He admits.

Rick’s eyes go hard, and he turns to the man, “You'd quit now? Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we've had.” His voice is soaked in disbelief and Lori gives the man a look. Daryl had taken a shot to the head and an arrow to his side, he’s lucky if he doesn’t get an infection.

“That is one way to look at it.” Shane gives Rick. But he tilts his head and stands from the crouch he sits in, “The way I see it, Daryl almost died today for a doll.”

Rick huffs in annoyance, “Yeah, I know how you see it.” The sheriff practically spits before walking away. Lori gives her husband a small squeeze of the hand as he walks away.

Shane approaches Lori close, “I'm not out to be a hard case. Just being realistic.” He tells her like it's a secret. “He's just gotta start making the tough calls. You know I'm right.” The man can read the woman… well he thought he could, but all the stuff Rick said... Rick must have said Lori’s name so he could hide behind her. Rick is weak. He has been since the beginning… of course he would throw his wife under the bus.

Rick is weak.

Lori shakes her head and crosses her arms, “I may not agree with all of his choices, but I respect him.” Her voice is firm and final. She stands by her husband- she has to. “I know yours and mine, and your way isn't harder. It's the easiest thing in the world to cut our losses and to not help.” Of course, it’s easier- but it’s also what keeps you alive. “You keep telling yourself you're making the tough calls. You're really just trying-”

Shane closes the small gap that exists between the pair, “The only thing I care about now in this world is Bella, Carl, and you. So, I apologize if I appear to be insensitive to the needs of others, but you see… I'll do whatever it takes to keep the three of you safe.” His eyes are hard and crazed as he speaks.

Lori, however, stands strong in front of Shane. “Even abandoning a lost child?”

“Yeah.” His voice is nonchalant.

“Even if it was Bella?”

Shane pulls even closer, if it’s even possible. “I wouldn’t put the entire group at risk. I’d find her- but Rick has every single one of us looking. It makes us weak.”

“Caring about finding Sohpia is not weak.” Lori spits at him. The woman shakes her head in disbelief and anger. Her feet pull her away from the man, turning her back but not leaving the hall.

Shane sighs, “I just want to protect you… you, Carl, my girl- that’s all I care about.” The man admits openly. He’s laying his heart out to Lori, why can’t she see that?

The brunette woman spins around. “My son and I are not your problem anymore, or your excuse.” Her beautiful face turns sour and mean.

And so does Shane. “Really?” He spits, stepping forward again, cornering Lori against a wall. “You’re really gonna try playing the innocent woman?” He laughs in her face before turning his face hard again. “You told me to leave. Then you told me to stay…hell you begged me to stay. But now you're acting like I’m the villain.” He accuses- if she wanted him gone, she should’ve told him to leave, she should’ve let him leave… But instead, Lori begged him to stay. For a woman that proclaimed her love for her husband she seems very content with keeping Shane around. “You're acting like Bella and I are the villains.” He tacks on and finds joy as Lori’s face falls, “Yeah, Rick let it slip- let it slip that you think Bella is problem.”

“I don’t think Bella is a problem.” Lori rebounds fast. “And I am far from innocent… just like you.” She pushes the larger man away with just an accusing finger.

“Then why don’t you tell me what you said?”

“I said Bella is becoming possessive just like her father.” Shane watches Lori’s face closely from his place. “Possessive over someone that isn’t theirs; their problem, their family, or their partner.” She spits at the man. She’s so angry… so tired of this. She doesn’t want to ruin Rick and Shane’s relationship anymore than it already is, but she doesn’t want Shane or his offspring around her family anymore. “We made mistakes. I will never deny that. But you need to stop thinking I’m yours… you need to stop thinking Carl is yours. You have a child- you should be focusing on her.” She finalizes before turning on her heel. Shane stands still as Lori turns, “It seems she needs it.” The woman gives over her shoulder before leaving.

Shane stands watching in a hot smoldering mess of nerves.

And Bella lays next to Carl in the guestroom he was first laid in just a few days ago. The pair had eaten swiftly and curled under the quilted duvet on the bed. Carl falls asleep quickly, his father’s sheriff’s hat resting on the nightstand.

He had given the hat to his son, a joke of both of them getting shot shared and promised to be kept between the two. Carl excitedly showed the hat to Bella who listened intently to everything Carl had to say.

But the dark circles under the boy's eyes were quick to take control.

So here they are, laying underneath the blanket as the night air goes cold enough to nip at one’s heels. Bella can hear the clinking of utensils on plates and the muffled voices of everyone conversing at the dinner table… well mostly clinking- there aren’t many words being shared between the adults.

Bela sighs as she watches Carl sleep, “Our parents are fighting.” She whispers into the darkness. “I think it’s because of me.” She admits.

Carl mumbles, surprising Bella and he turns to his left side to face her. “No… not your fault.” His voice is filled with sleep and Bella can barely make out the words.

Laughing, the girl curls the blanket farther around the both of them, “Like how knocking over the crayon tower in Mrs. Shoemaker’s class wasn’t my fault?” She questions.

“You pushed me- it was your fault.” He mumbles.

“I don’t think so-” The girl smiles in response. Carl merely mumbles some more. “Go to sleep… tomorrow we’ll go see all the animals Mr. Hershel has.” Bella tells her friend- the doctor had given the, possible, okay for moving around tomorrow- he wanted to double check Carl’s healing before he really started moving.

The boy falls back to sleep quickly, and Bella closes her eyes a few minutes after Carl. She really doesn’t want to sleep- not with all the nightmares. But she needs to sleep. And her daddy always said he never dreams when he’s exhausted so she’s decided to try it for herself.

But even with her exhaustion, she can feel the pulsing pain in her side. It hasn’t gone away… but hopefully it will soon, she thinks.

In the darkness of her eyes, she struggles to find sleep. The noises of the dinner party go quiet, and the warmth of the bed gets even warmer on her skin… it’s getting really hot; she doesn't like it.

Opening her eyes to move the blanket off of her skin, her vision is meant with the leaves and trees of the woods.

Bella feels her heart sink for a mere moment before a voice calls out, “Come on. We don’t have much time.” Sophia calls to her.

“Mr. Grimes will be back. We just have to wait.” Bella’s mouth speaks without her consent. The girl tries to move her limbs, but she can’t.

Sophia has tears flowing out of her eyes, “What if more walkers come?” She cries and looks around the trees as though one would jump out at any time.

“If we had stayed in the trees like Mr. Grimes told us too then it wouldn’t matter.”

Sophia turns on the girl, dragging her feet through the water they still stood in, “Why do you think you're so smart? You’re just a kid.” She yells at her.

Simmering rage flows through Bella’s veins, “At least I’m not acting like a baby.” She spits. “Mr. Grimes said he would be back and you're risking both our lives again because you can’t listen.” Bella’s feet move towards the young girl, “You’d think after growing up with that pathetic excuse of a man as a father that you would learn how to listen… no wonder your mother was always covered in bruises.” Her words cause Sophia’s face to drop and her lip to quiver. Bella’s words are mean… mean, rude, and insensitive.

But she doesn’t care.

“Shut up! Don’t talk about my mom!” Sohpia screams at the top of her lungs.

“I’m not the one that needs to be quiet.” She responds with a controlled anger.

“I hate you!” The girl screams as she stomps her foot in the water. “You’re a bully! You think everyone likes you, but no one does! Even Carl hates you!”

Bella goes still in the water as Sophia moves around, “Take it back.” The girl’s voice causes Sophia to pull back into herself- her eyes darkening in fear. The young girl doesn’t speak, she merely watches the other girl as she slowly takes another step forward, “I said… take that back.”

“Or what?” Sophia gathers up her courage. And the rage Bella could feel in her veins explodes to the surface.

Her body lunges forwards and her eyes open to the bright sun coming through the windows.

Carl’s concerned face hovers next to Bella’s as she realizes she’s awake. The boy tries to question his friend, but she merely brushes it off and stands as Lori enters the room with Hershel.

A new day has risen, and Carl is finally going to get out of the bed he’s been held prisoner to. Bella leaves him with his mother once she sees him stand on his own.

Bella walks in a daze around the camp, picking at her own painted nails, as she looks around. Glenn is acting weird. Lori is acting weird. Her daddy is acting weird… Everyone in the camp is acting weird. Why were they all acting weird?

Well… technically Bella has an idea why most of them are acting weird but Glenn… he’s acting extra weird.

Ignoring the confusion, Bella drifts down a dirt path of the farm, close to the camp but far enough away she could enjoy the beautiful site. She was still tired.

She had slept the night, but the nightmare had come back. That thing has come back.

It never really left but it would come closer in her dreams. It made her scared.

Why was it so close?

Why only when Sophia was involved? It makes no sense.

She had run away on her own… that’s not Bella's fault.

That child ran away and now everyone is putting themselves at risk to search for her…

That must be it. This search for Sophia… it’s going to kill someone.

It must be why that thing is so close- peering over shoulders and hiding in the shadows.

It’s death waiting for it's time to strike.

Bella doesn’t realize her feet have stopped moving and she stares blankly out into the distance. It’s Carl that shakes her out of her daze- the field and the lonely barn in her vision.

Carl pulls at Bella’s arm in excitement, and he drags her away. Bella is silent but happy to walk back towards the camp with Carl- the boy yapping quickly about everything he’s missed and what he wants to do.

The young girl just smiles as they come close to her daddy. The man sits by himself cleaning at some weapons atop a cut log.

Shane smiles at the pair and stands, “Dude, nice lid, man.” He calls as he hits the rim of the sheriff’s hat on Carl’s head. The young boy smiles brightly as Shane leans down with a kiss on Bella’s head. “What's going on?” He asks the two leaning against the RV’s outer wall.

Carl looks seriously at the man, “I want to learn to shoot too. Can you teach me?” Bella and Shane do a double take to the boy. He hadn’t mentioned learning.

Shane pulls his hat off and drops to his hunches, “Well, man, that's... that's up to your parents.” He tells the boy.

Carl looks over at Bella quickly before looking back at Shane, “Can you talk to them? They'll listen to you.” Shane’s face twists in a way that does not agree, “You taught Bee. You can teach me too.” He adds quickly to conversation. The girl did shoot a walker with trained accuracy during a frantic moment… and it was his training that allowed her to do that.

Shane sighs, “We'll see, okay?” The man stands up over the two.

Carl looks disheartened and Bella turns Carl to her, “They’ll say yes, Carl. I’m sure of it.”

The boy smiles in response and the pair turn to find his parents… but the clinking of metal stops the trio.

“Hey. Let me see what you've got there.” Shane commands simply and gently.

To both the father-and-daughter pair, they watch in surprise as Carl raises the front of his shirt and flannel to reveal the handle of a handgun tucked into his pants.

Shane snatches the gun quickly and slides it into his back waistband with a silent swear. Both kids are forced to sit down as Lori and Rick come up with Shane leading them.

“How the hell did this happen?” Lori’s ask as Dale joins the group.

Dale sighs and looks towards the kids, “Well, it's my fault. I let him into the RV.” He admits. “He said he wanted a walkie, that you sent him for one.” He tells on the boy.

Lori shakes her head in disbelief, “So on top of everything else, he lied. What's he thinking?” Her words are almost spit at the end of her sentence.

“He wants to learn how to shoot. He asked me to teach him.” Shane gives the parents. “Now it's none of my business, but I'm happy to do it. It's your call.” Shane has trained many people, adults and children including his own, he is fully capable of training Carl.

Lori’s eyes are trained on Carl’s hunched over form- the boy was upset he was caught. “I'm not comfortable with it.” The group is silent in response and Lori whips her head to Rick, “Oh, don't make me out to be the unreasonable one here, Rick.”

Her husband nods and he raise his hands, “I know. I have my concerns too, but…”

“There's no ‘but’. He was just shot.” She spits and rounds on her husband, “He's just back on his feet and he wants a gun?”

“Better than him being afraid of 'em.” The man says in response to his fuming wife- the world they know is changing, they need to be prepared. “There are guns in camp for a reason. He should learn to handle them safely.”

“I don't want my kid walking around with a gun.” Everyone knows why she said the words she did. Even hidden underneath her larger sweater, it was obvious that Bella still has her gun on her… the father not taking it away.

“But how can you defend that? You can't let him go around without protection.”

“He's as safe as he'll ever be right here.” The mother calls at the man, “Look, everything you're saying makes perfect sense. It feels wrong.” She says, “I mean I didn't feel good about him following you out into the woods. And I wish I'd said something. I should've gone with my gut.” Her words hurt the group- everything that has happened not even a week ago hurts.

“He's growing up, thank God.” He comments, “We've got to start treating him more like an adult.”

“Then he needs to act like one. He's not mature enough to handle a gun.” She spits in the direction of her son.

And the boy jumps to his feet and enters the group's circle. “I'm not gonna play with it, mom. It's not a toy.” He assures his mother, “I'm sorry I disappointed you, but I want to look for Sophia and I want to defend our camp. I can't do that without a gun.” He explains, his posture, eyes, and voice displaying nothing but seriousness.

Lori is silent as she stares down her son. “Shane's the best instructor I know. I've seen him teach kids younger than Carl.” Rick assures the woman. “He taught Bella once she could hold one.” He tacks on as the girl rises and finds a spot just over Carl’s shoulder.

Lori couldn’t help but think of the devil on Carl’s shoulder.

Wiping her face, Lori walks forward and grasps at Carl’s face, her grip serious but not harmful. “You will take this seriously and you will behave responsibly. And if I hear from anyone in this camp that you're not living up to our expectations…”

“He won't let you down.” Rick interrupts.

Lori’s eyes stare down at the boy. “Yeah.” He gives his mom in understanding.

The mother releases her son and gives room for Rick to speak, “Now if you're gonna do this, you listen to Shane.”

“Okay, dad.”

Rick nods and begins to gather the group for gun training. Bella and Carl can’t help the large smiles that pull on their faces.

The young girl cared more that Carl was excited to learn than him actually learning. She knows how to shoot so it’s not like Carl would ever be in danger.

Arriving at the makeshift shooting range, Shane, Rick, and T-Dog work together to lead everyone into a line and begin their training.

Shane explains the basics of a weapon as everyone holds their own; the safety, the aim, how to hold it,... everything. Lucky everyone knew most of the basics- especially to only point at something with the intent to shoot. A gun wasn’t a toy, even unloaded.

With his teaching finished, Shane tells everyone to raise their weapons and begin shooting. The booms of gun shots sound out in a random pattern as everyone becomes accustomed to the snap of the weapon.

Bella walks with Shane and Rick as they look at everyone shooting. There was T-Dog, Andrea, Carol, Lori, Carl, Bella, Jimmy, Beth, and Patricia alongside the teachers. Everyone was given three practice shots- ammo is scarce and needed to be rationed. God forbid another herd came thru.

The trio come to the end of the line where Andrea stands with her weapon down. “Don't be discouraged. You'll hit the target eventually.” Shane tells her.

Andrea gives the man a side-eye and a smirk. “Who says I didn't hit my target?” Her voice is sassy.

Rick raises his binoculars and searches for bullet holes. Their targets are glass bottles, but Andrea had changed her target to the ‘o’ in the ‘No Trespassing’ sign. The men share a nod as Bella looks at the older woman with squinted eyes. “Try this one. It's heavy. You get better balance, twice the rounds.” Shane hands off a larger handgun to the woman.

Raising the weapon, Shane pulls Bella slightly behind his hip as Andrea lines up her site on the glass bottle. A single shot rings out in the air and the bottle shatters, everyone watches the glass fall to the grass.

Rick smirks at Shane, “I'd say she's got the hang of it.”

The man laughs and grabs the gun back, “I'd say she's ready for the advanced class.” He double checks his ammo and clicks the safety on, “It might be worth your while after the rest of us head back to camp.” He slides the weapon into his belt.

“Sure. Why not?”

“How'd it feel?” Shane asks.

“I like the weight.” The woman grabs the original gun and checks the weapon herself. Rick and Bella drift away back towards the other end of the line where Carl and Lori stand. “So, you decided not to leave us.” The woman questions, “Something change your mind?” Her voice is sultry, and the man turns his head in the direction his daughter stands, she smiles brightly next to Carl, Rick resting on his knee next to the pair.

He merely nods to Andrea’s question and walks over. Bella pulls out her weapon next to Carl and pulls the trigger three times with a pregnant pause between each, “Nice, Princess. You like that one?” Shane calls as she holsters her weapon back under her top.

“Yes, daddy.”

Carl whines at the girl, “How did you get all of them?” He had gotten his shots close, but Bella had hit all of them.

Rick smiles and brushes Carl’s head, “She’s been doing this longer than you.”

Bella laughs at Carl, “What Mr. Grimes is trying to say is, ‘I'm better than you, that’s why I got all the shots, and you didn’t’.” Carl shoves the girl gently and she returns by sticking her tongue out at him.

“Careful, Princess.” Shane tells his daughter with a hand on her shoulder. “In no time, Carl will catch up with you.”

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?” She smirks.

Midday the group drifts back to the farm and the friends finally pull away from their parents' side. They walk down the path looking at the fields of horses and cows. There’re only a couple cows wandering, Maggie said that the cows were just stopping by earlier when Bella asked.

“Have you drawn anything?” Carl asks as he trails alongside Bella.

Bella picks a flower, “No… I haven’t had the time. Too busy taking care of you.” She pokes at the boy.

He rolls his eyes hard, “You're never going to drop that, are you?”

Bella shakes her head with a big grin, “A good friend would never let you forget.” Her words are cheeky.

The duo continues their walk, circling back towards the camp. “Do you think Sophia’s dead?” He asks into the air. “I don’t want her to be. I want to find her… hiding in a tree or something.”

Bella tries to control her face as she continues next to Carl. “There’s always a chance she could be…” She says in response.

Carl slows down and worries about his hands. “Do you think she’s alive?” His voices to the girl.

Bella’s face turns and she stands emotionally distant from Carl, “She’s not alive. And if she is…” Her voice is quiet between the two, “It would be a miracle for her.”

“I don’t want to think she’s dead.”

The girl shrugs her shoulders and continues walking down the beaten path, “No one in this camp does but… it’s certain at this point.” Carl doesn’t respond to Bella.

They both know that it is extremely unlikely Sophia is still alive- it’s been too long. And with the walkers… adults couldn’t handle a walker, how is Sophia?

The air around the kids is tense with emotion as they approach the old brown barn of the farm. Bella slows down at the front of the barn, she stands a stone’s throw away from it with Carl at her back.

“What are you looking at?” He questions as he moves to stand by Bella’s side.

“The barn.” Her voice starts and her eyes squint, “It’s locked up.”

Carl shrugs with no care, “There’s probably stuff in there?” He states sassily. Bella however walks closer to the barn. It’s only when she’s an arm's length away that Carl pulls her back from touching the lock, “Don’t go near it. It’s locked for a reason.”

Bella rolls her eyes as she turns her head, “Don’t be a scaredy pants.” She pokes at Carl. Even when he pushes her hand away, she continues poking the boy’s stomach gently aware of his bandage.

With a final smack of his hand, Carl sticks his tongue out to the girl and blows at her. The pair roughhouse gently around the front of the barn.

Carl rounds on the door as Bella tries to catch him, “Ew it stinks!” He calls out and walks away from the door.

“Probably filled with manure.”

Carl smirks, “You mean crap?”

“Yeah- a whole lot of crap.” Bella cackles and looks behind the pair in fear her daddy might be nearby to hear her curse.

Bella takes a quick sniff before pulling away with a disgusted face. Carl laughs at her and together they mess around as they walk back towards the camp, Lori watching them approach.

Walking up to the camp, Lori leads the kids towards the house for lunch. Hershel had insisted Carl eat the preserved and fresh food the farm produced to ensure he has enough nutrients to heal his wound.

Laughing together about childish things, Bella, Carl, and Lori move towards the house where Hershel welcomes them in.

Bella comments she wants to see her daddy quickly to see how he is and stands back as Carl follows Hershel. The man’s car is pulling up dust as it arrives back at camp.

And as the screen door slams closed Maggie calls out for Lori, “Hey! We got your stuff.” She shouts and approaches the stairs quickly; she smacks her horse’s lead into Glenn’s hand and storms away.

“Maggie, hang on, please.” Glenn pleads but it goes unnoticed.

Lori motions for them to follow her into the house, “Come on in here.”

Maggie digs deep into the paper white bag in her arms. “Why? Nothing to hide. We got your special delivery right here.” The young girl spits as Lori drifts down the stairs, “We got your lotion, got your conditioner, your Soap Opera Digest-”

“Maggie.” Glenn pleads.

Maggie throws the empty bag to the ground alongside everything she pulled out, “Next time you want something, get it your-damn-self. We're not your errand boys.” She growls at the woman.

Lori stands in shock and concern as her eyes catch the sight of blood splatter on the young woman’s light flannel shirt, “Honey, I…”

“And here's your abortion pills.” Maggie spits as she slaps the white prescription bag of drugs against the woman’s chest. Lori grabs weakly at the paper bag as Maggie turns and storms away. Glenn gives Lori a look of sorrow, struggle, and blame… Lori can’t place which emotion is for her as he too turns away and follows after Maggie.

Lori stares down at the bag in a frozen shock.

“You're pregnant?” Comes Bella’s voice.

Lori whips around and looks up the stairs to see Bella staring down them. If Lori’s heart hadn’t sunk… it did now. The young girl stares at the woman with cold unmoving eyes and Lori drips in dread.

Crawling up the stairs as quickly as possible, Lori drops to her knee to speak to the girl. “Bella, I need you to be quiet about this, please.” The woman begs the child, “I’m not certain, okay? It’s just in case.” Lori takes a deep and shaky breath. “I need to talk to Rick about this- but for now… I need you to keep this to yourself. Do you understand?... For Carl.” She tacks onto her words. Hopefully if Bella thought it’d protect Carl… she won’t say anything.

And Lori can't help the sigh of relief when Bella gives the woman a smile, “Yes, Mrs. Grimes. I won’t tell him.”

Lori, still stunned at everything that has occurred within three minutes, leaves the young girl behind at the greeting shout from Shane. Lori stumbles slightly but corrects herself swiftly as she walks to her tent.

And with her back turned Lori can’t see the smile that graces Bella face drop. The girl makes her way down the sets and towards her father swiftly.

Approaching the group, Bella sees Andrea smirking seductively at Shane who looks tussled and Carol moving close with Dale by her side. Shane and Andrea had taken his blue SUV out to a long-abandoned neighborhood housing production in search of Sophia. But there was nothing but walkers and burned corpses.

“Anything?” Comes Carol’s hopeful voice.

Andrea shakes her head, “Not today. I'm so sorry. We'll cover more ground tomorrow.”

Dale holds Carol’s shoulder in support. “What happened out there?” He asks given the blood on Andrea and Shane’s clothes.

“The place was overrun.”

Carol gives Andrea a sad smile and leads her towards the RV, “Let's go get you cleaned up.”

Bella has now entered the makeshift circle of the adults, staring hard at her daddy. “Bella, could you grab some water for your dad and I?” Dale asks the young girl.

But her gaze doesn’t move from her dad as she continues her steps, “Sorry, Mr. Dale. I need to talk with my daddy.”

“It will only take a moment.” He insists.

“No.” She says simply passing the old man, “Come on, daddy.” The girl commands walking past her dad. The man looks after her in confusion before trailing after her, gun still in hand.

The young girl is silent as she leads her daddy towards the border of trees surrounding the farm. He tries calling her name, tries stopping her but she merely keeps moving.

Shane sighs hard- he had other things to deal with. Breaking through the bushes Bella finally stops. “Bella- that was rude.” Shane calls from behind the young girl.

“Do you love me?” Bella asks softly with her back still turned.

The father’s heart twists painfully at Bella’s words. “What kind of question is that? Of course I do.” Everything he’s done is for her… because he loves her and wants her to be happy. She’s the one thing he’s ever truly loved.

The girl whips around to face her dad, a stray tear dropping down her cheeks that are beginning to burn. “Then why are you trying to replace me?” Shane’s face turns in confusion. “First you sleep with Mrs. Grimes… and I didn’t care until Mr. Grimes came back and you started acting differently.” Bella spits as she stands still like a statue, anger coursing through her veins. “And now you're sleeping with Ms. Andrea, and you got Mrs. Grimes pregnant.” Shane’s eyes go wide. Pregnant… Lori was pregnant. The girl doesn’t let Shane process her words. She steps forward, “So I’ll ask you again, do you love me?” Bella’s voice cracks in pain and sadness. “Because my daddy would never turn his back on me.”

Shane can’t find any words but somehow his mouth creates some, “How did you-?”

“I’m not an idiot.” She sneers at her dad, staring up at the man. “That’s what happens when you go out every Saturday night leaving me alone or with Carl. I learn things.” Bella begins to pace with nervous uncontained energy, “I haven’t said anything because you're my daddy and we’re supposed to stick together but… you're leaving me.” Her lower lip quivers.

“I ain’t leaving you.”

“Yes, you are!” Bella screams at him. “Ms. Andrea is an idiot that will just get someone killed- hell she almost killed Mr. Daryl! And Mrs. Grimes thinks we’re both monsters but is so twisted she is willing to have her husband and mistress stay together even when we all know what’s happened!” The girl is so angry, and she points an accusing finger at the man.

The girl’s words hurt and Shane drops to his knees, “You don’t understand, Bella.” He explains as he tries to calm the air, “Lori and I needed… comfort-”

“You should’ve come to me!” She interrupts getting close to Shane’s face. “I’m your daughter! I’m the only one that really cares about you, but you turned to Mrs. Grimes!?” Her face is littered in bewilderment. “A woman that left you in the dust the moment her husband came back but you keep trying to crawl back to her!”

Shane can’t help how deep the girl’s words cut. They cut deep into his heart… deeper than he ever thought possible. “Watch your mouth.” He says simply in response. What else can he say?

“Or what?” She spits, leaning nose-to-nose with Shane, “You’ll kill me like you killed that fat pig, Otis?” She whispers in question.

“Bella-”

“No. I’m tired of listening… that's all I’ve been doing, and Carl got shot because of it!” She screams. Bella paces away, giving silence to the woods. She turns her back to her daddy once more, “Figure this out before you actually get me, Carl, or yourself killed.” The man doesn’t respond. “I’m not asking, daddy.” She says turning back to the man. “Go talk to whoever you want, 'cause it clearly isn’t me, and figure out what the hell is going on or I may accidently let something slip.” The girl’s threat lingers in the air as she leaves Shane kneeling in the leaves.

And he stays there longer than he even knows… so long the sky begins to darken, and the air starts to bite at his cheeks.

And Bella sits inside the camp's dinner circle, smiling and laughing as though nothing had happened… as though she didn’t just tear into her father’s entire world.

Lori’s pregnant… and it’s Shane’s.

Lori is carrying Shane’s second child.

Now he can’t… won’t leave. What kind of man leaves his unborn child and the woman who’s carrying them?

Chapter 18: Keep Quiet

Chapter Text

The morning has risen and the air begins to heat. The Atlanta group sits surrounding the breakfast fire, munching on eggs and some preserved bacon the Greene family had gifted them. It’s noticeable how Carl and Bella sit separated from their parents and how cold the air around Bella is.

Shane chews at the unseasoned eggs as Glenn walks forward in a bundle of nerves. His gaze lifts uninterested at the man. “Hey… hey, guys?” The man moves foot-to-foot as all eyes draw to him. “Um, so…” Gleen sneaks a look at Dale who encourages him with a nod. And it is with a deep breath that he says, “The barn is full of walkers.”

The silence that follows forces ringing into everyone’s ears. Shane is livid.

In a flash, Shane leads the pack of worried people towards the barn. Questions are thrown at Glenn and into the air but none get answered as everyone gathers around the front of the barn.

Shane takes a small peek into the darkened barn before walking back to the group. The pungent smell nauseates everyone’s stomachs and they hope the wind stops blowing it towards them. “You cannot tell me you're all right with this.” Shane states at Rick as he paces the entrance of the barn, only a stone throws away from the dangers inside.

Rick shakes his head, “No I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land.”

“This is our lives!”

“Lower your voice.” Glenn begs.

Bella stands next to Carl outside the angry mess of adults, hand-in-hand. “We can't just sweep this under the rug.” Andrea states, swinging an arm up to the barn.

Shane pulls back slightly, “It ain't right. Not remotely.” He looks at Rick’s face in search. “Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or… we've just got to go.” Shane tries to finalize to the group, he had let the search go on but this wasn’t something he’d ignore. “Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time.”

Rick shakes his head, “We can't go.”

“Why, Rick? Why?”

Carol takes a small step forward, “Because my daughter is still out there.”

Shane huffs harshly, “Okay.” His hand rubs against his face before pulling onto his hips, “Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility.” He tells the mother.

“We're not leaving Sophia behind.” Rick tells Shane.

Daryl moves forward towards Shane, “I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago.” His voice is thick in his redneck accent.

“You found her doll, Daryl.” He claims, annoyed into the group, “That's what you did. You found a doll.” A doll was nothing here… and in a creak. Sophia could be anywhere- if she’s still even alive.

Daryl wobbles close to Shane’s face, “You don't know what the hell you're talking about!” He shouts in anger.

The shouting starts to burn Bella’s chest and raise the hackles on her back. It’s here. The thing is here watching… listening to their shouts. It’s getting closer with each.

Carl can feel the tightened grip from Bella, his bones rub harshly together in his hand. He goes to tell Bella off but the girl’s wide-eyes stop him cold… she’s terrified, staring at the group.

“I'm just saying what needs to be said.” Shane tells the redneck. “You get a good lead, it's in the first 48 hours.”

“Shane, stop.”

Shane doesn’t stop. “Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction.” The man spits at Daryl who launches at Shane in anger. The pair tussles, barely laying hands on each other, because they are caught midair by others in the group.

Lori pushes at Shane’s chest once they are fully separated, groups divide slightly to reveal the entrance of the barn to the kids that stand away. “Back off!” Lori commands Shane.

Shane raises a finger, “Keep your hands off me.” He spits at Lori before pacing away.

Everyone watches Shane pace, “Now just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out.” He tells everyone in the group.

“What are you gonna figure out?!”

Rick turns getting angrier, “If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land.”

“Hershel sees those things in there as people… Sick people…” Dale stops everyone, heads turning in his direction as he steps forward slightly, “His wife, his stepson.”

“You knew?” Rick accuses.

Dale nods simply, “Yesterday I talked to Hershel.”

“And you waited the night?” Shane calls.

“I thought we could survive one more night.” Dale tells the hotheaded man with a twisted face, “We did.” He states clearly into the air. “I was waiting till this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one.” He says easily to the group.

Shane walks close to Rick, “The man is crazy, Rick, if he thinks those things are alive.”

And more arguing begins as Bella watches. Carl tries to shake Bella, tries to get her to speak but nothing works and her grip is getting tighter. “Shane!” Carl finally calls into the air. But no one turns as everyone bites at each other's throat. “Shane!” He shrieks so loud everyone turns to the kids.

The group goes silent as the father rushes forward with Rick at his side. Shane drops to his knees and grasps at Bella’s unmoving face. “Bella? Princess, what’s wrong?” He questions as she doesn’t move. Next to Shane, Carl tries pulling out of Bella’s grasp again. Rick’s eye catches it and tries pulling Bella’s hand out of Carl’s but her strength is inhuman. “Bella! What’s wrong?”

“You need to stop shouting…” She whispers to the group as her eyes continue to stare at the barn doors, doors that are only stopped but the lock that lays on it. The doors swing viciously outwards and inwards as the walkers inside push to leave, as they fight to get the fresh flesh outside the wood door.

Everyone jumps away from the doors and gathers back towards the kids. Bella’s hand finally loosens enough for Carl to pull away but he keeps them intertwined. “Bee?” He whispers to the girl that still has fear pulled across her face.

“It’s here, Carl…” She tells the boy, finally drawing her gaze to him. “It won’t leave me alone.” The girl nearly cries to her friend.

And the confused boy merely stares at the girl as she looks back to the barn. Her gaze barely leaves it even as she is dragged away alongside Carl, Lori, and Glenn who leads the mother and children back to the camp. Rick and Shane remain to talk without spectators.

Tensely, the group goes about their day, their eyes glancing back-and-forth from their current task to the ticking time bomb that is a barn full of walkers. Rick walks inside the farmhouse, members of the Greene family leaving to their own chores, except Hershel, who sits at his grand dining room table eating cut fruit with a book spread open in his hands.

“A little light reading for lunch?” The sheriff questions lightly as he approaches the farmer’s right side. The room is flooded in the midday sun and calmness.

Hershel barely looks up to the man as his boots clink on the hardwood floors, “Been working so hard lately I get my studying where I can.” The Greene family was working hard tending to the vast fields and animals on the farm- repairing damage, milling the dirt, and preparing the farm for the approaching winter. The season would be on them faster than they realize.

Rick hooks his hands into his belt, “You know we can help you out with your work.”

Hershel finally raises his head, “It's my field to tend.” He states before continuing to eat his fruit chunks.

The men go quiet for a moment. “We found the barn.” Rick says gently.

“Leave it be.”

Rick stares at Hershel’s bowed head that continues reading his small book. “Well, I'd like to talk about it, but either way... your barn, your farm, your say.”

The farmer raises his head “I don't want to talk about the barn. I don't want to debate.” His voice is firm but is tired, as though he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Rick shakes his head, “Not a debate- a discussion.” He needs this. His group needs this and they are going to figure it out one way or another. They can't go back out there not with… not with Lori being pregnant. God- she was so scared when Rick found her last night, down on her knees with a pile of vomit an arms length away. Rick had found the piles Glenn had scavenged for her, the three packages ripped open and empty laying on the table in their tent… what if Carl had seen them? Why didn’t she tell Rick?... It doesn't matter now. Lori wants the pregnancy, so they’re going to figure this out.

Hershel finally makes eye contact with Rick. “I need you and your group gone by the end of the week.” The farmer is final and smooth in his command.

Rick’s stomach doesn't drop at his command. “I talked to Dale. You and I have our differences with the way we look at the walkers. Those people, they may be dead, they may be alive.” He leans over the table, voice straining in seriousness, “But my people, us, we are alive right now, right here, right in front of you. You send us out there and that could change.” He tells the man.

Hershel and his people have been hidden on the farm, hidden from the horrors and truths of the new world. They’ve only seen the walkers as fully intact bodies… not ripped in half or missing legs or the skin burned off their bodies… but Hershel doesn't believe it. “I've given you safe harbor. I have turned my eyes to your small thefts. My conscience is clear.” He tells Rick seriously.

Rick pulls back slightly. “Thefts?”

The farmer nods his head gently, “Someone has been stealing gauze and tape.” Hershel looks deeply into Rick’s eyes, “If you can do that, I’m sure you will be fine.”

Rick shakes his head, “This farm... This farm is special. You've been shielded from what's been going on out there.” He tells the man gently- he needs Hershel to understand the new reality. “Dale said you saw everything happen on the news. Well, it's been... It's been a long time since the cameras stopped rolling.” Hershel folds his book closed and leans back to listen to the sheriff’s words. “The first time I saw a walker it was just half a body snapping at me from the ground. My inclination wasn't to kill it… But what the world is out there isn't what you saw on TV. It is much much worse and it changes you. Either into one of them or something a lot less than the person you were.” Hershel’s face doesn’t change as he listens to Rick but he listens. “Please do not... do not send us out there again.” Ricks begs the man. “My wife's pregnant. That's either a gift here or a death sentence out there. If we were to stay we could help you with the work, with securing this place. We can survive together.” Rick begs Hershel, his chest twists so painfully as he speaks. He needs this farm and Hershel, Lori will need a doctor and a safe place. Her pregnancy with Carl wasn’t an easy one, especially the birth.

“Rick, I'm telling you we can't.”

Rick leans back, “You think about what you're doing.” He tells Hershel seriously.

“I've thought about it.”

“Think about it.” Rick tells his harsher.

Hershel responds in kind, “I've thought about it.”

Rick leans towards him, “Think about it again.” He spits harshly, “We can't go out there.” Rick eyes Hershel before turning and leaving the farmhouse. The old farmer would need time to think over their conversation and Rick had someone else to tend too.

The sun beats harshly onto his head as he approaches Shane. The man leans against the rickety wooden fence that surrounds the front of the barn. Shane offers Rick a slight turn of his head before turning his eyes back to the barn. “What's it gonna be, man? Which way does this thing go?” He asks into the air, hand resting on his weapon as though the barn would fall apart releasing the walkers.

“I don't know yet.” Rick sighs.

Shane turns to Rick now that he is an arm's length away. “Well, what did he say?” He questions.

“We're negotiating.”

Shane looks at Rick in disbelief, leaning forward and back before rubbing at his face, “You're nego-… Clock's ticking, Rick.” Shane tells him seriously.

“No it isn't, Shane.” Rick responds simply. He turns towards the barn and points at it, “That barn... The barn is secure. We didn't even know about it till this morning. We didn't.”

“Well, we know about it now. Right?” Shane tells him in turn. “We know there's over a dozen walkers in there. We know that it's about a stone's throw from our camp, Rick... Where we sleep.” Shane couldn’t believe Rick was going to gamble with this. Sure the walkers are secure now but what if that changes; it’s just a wood barn. “So look, if we're not gonna go in there and clear it out then we just got to go.”

Rick shakes his head and stands between Shane and the barn, “We're not gonna clear it out and we're not gonna go.”

The man sighs in annoyance, “We at least need our guns.”

“We can't have them, not here.” He tells him, looking down at the gun on Shane’s waist.

Shane paces lightly, the anger radiating off his skin. “Why do you want to stay here when it's not safe?” He asks Rick, walking back to the man.

“We can make it safe.”

“How are we gonna do that?”

“We will, okay?”

Shane shakes his head, “No, man, it's not okay.” He states in a raised voice.

Rick growls lightly, “Shane- Lori's pregnant.” His voice is raised but cut, freezing both men in their place, “We need to stay.” Rick tells him.

“We can find somewhere else.” Shane tells Rick, “A safer place- I’ve already been looking.”

Rick pulls back as Shane brushes the revelation away, “You knew?” He questions in a suspicious voice.

“Bella told me…” He tells the man. Rick raises his eyebrows in disbelief, “I don’t know how she found out.”

Rick nods his head harshly. “Just… just let me figure this out.” He begs his brother. They could figure this out, Rick just needed a moment to think.

Shane nods to the man before he turns to head back towards camp. “Hey Rick?” Shane calls out, stopping Rick short. The man barely turns around to face Shane, “Congratulations- Lori’s having a baby.”

“Thanks.” Rick continues his walks towards the camp and towards the children that sit in the field with a couple books and water bottles resting on the blanket they sit on.

Bella reads intently at a ‘medical book for dummies’ that she had stolen from the CDC. Carl next to her, barely, reads from his history book his mother had gotten from the RV. The pair had been silent since they were pulled away from the barn, silent as they sat down on the blanket, not a word spoken about what had happened. But what kind of friend would Carl be if he didn’t question Bella?

He snaps his book close. “Bee? What did you mean…” He starts freezing the girl in her reading. He clears his throat, “When you said ‘it’ was following you?”

Bella looks up quickly before looking back at her book and flipping the page, “Nothing… I was just scared.” She says simply.

“Yeah, I noticed.” Carl agrees, causing Bella to roll her eyes gently at him. Carl tosses his book away from himself, “I’ll just keep asking until you tell me…” He sings softly at her.

Bella sighs and closes the book, holding it tightly as an anchor. “Since you were shot… I feel like something…” She starts quickly. She looks towards Carl but doesn’t raise her eyes. “I feel like something is following me… hiding in the shadows.” Carl knows she is being honest as she finally meets his eyes, “Mostly my nightmares.” She tacks on.

Carl nods, “Have you told Shane?”

Bella shakes her head and tosses the book away, a loud thump coming from the book as it snaps on the ground, “I can’t tell my daddy about it.” She tells him.

“Why not? It’s Shane.”

Bella adjusts herself on the blanket- more comfortable now that she has finally said something… knowing Carl didn’t think her insane. “Our daddies have enough to worry about… they’re just some nightmares.” She tells him.

Carl doesn't believe her and they both know it; yes, their dads are busy but they’re their dads… they’ll always have time for them. “But you felt it when you were awake.” He states to the girl and she doesn’t respond- she doesn't know how to. “Maybe it’s an angel?” Carl offers her.

Bella laughs and drops her head to her shoulder, “An angel? You know I don’t really believe in that stuff.” She reminds Carl.

The boy shrugs in his seat and thinks back. “Well, mom says angels can be scary… but they still look over you when you need it.” He tells her, “Maybe it's just a scary angel that’s trying to protect you?”

Bella nods in thought. “I like that better than anything I was thinking of.” She admits to him with a small smile.

They smile at each other in calmness and gratitude, they’ve been looking over each other, they have too.

Bella reaches for a book that she plans to read aloud, the same book she started some days ago when Carl was finally awake. But her plans are interrupted as Rick comes over to the pair. “Hey, Carl, Bella.” He starts to duo. Carl looks up to him with a smile. And Rick touches his head gently as he bends down next to the blanket. “Why don’t you go find your mom?” He tells Carl.

The boy looks between Bella and Rick, the girl has her head bowed away. “But we’re-” He starts.

“I need to talk to Bella.” Rick interrupts. Carl gives Bella a quick look but the smile she offers tells him to get up, that she’ll find him once his dad is done talking to Bella. He stands, adjusting his clothes before walking away back to the main camp where Lori works. Bella and Rick watch him leave. “Have you told Carl?” Rick asks the girl once he’s certain no one can hear them.

“No, Mr. Grimes.” She responds to the man’s still turned back.

He turns his head and looks pointedly at the girl, “Do you know anything else?” He questions.

“No.”

Rick gives the girl a knowing smile, “You're lying…” He says simply, “you need to work on that.” He tells her. The girl may be able to lie at times, like everyone, but this was not one of the times.

Bella sighs and looks up at the man. “What do you want me to say, Mr. Grimes?” She asks him but she turns her head past Rick’s shoulder to the quick approaching figure of her daddy.

He walks up quickly, “Bella.” The girl stands and gives the sheriff a small nod in goodbye before following after her daddy. They walk farther away from the camp. “What was Rick talking to you about?” He asks harshly looking at the now standing figure of Rick. The girl doesn’t respond fast enough for Shane, “Bella. I’m tired of this attitude.” He tells her but she remains quiet and Shane snaps. The man grabs harshly at Bella’s shoulders pulling her close. Shane may be dropped on his hunches, lower than Bella’s face, but his aura surrounds them. “Enough. Do you understand me?” He spits with a snap shake of her shoulders, Bella tries rolling them away from the pressure Shane’s fingers force on them. “You’re not grown. You aren’t right. You’re a child. A child that needs to remember their place.” He growls at the girl.

“I just want us to be safe.” She tells him quietly, pain slowly lacing her voice.

“That’s not your job!” He growls and his grip tightens even more causing the girl to whimper. “That’s my job! I keep us safe! I keep us fed and alive- not you.” He pulls her close, stopping her struggle to get away, “So stop acting like a whiny brat and act the way I raised you.” He commands her in a voice he’s never heard.

Bella can’t believe how her daddy is acting. The pain he’s forcing into her shoulders and the harsh voice he speaks to her in. Why can’t he see she’s just trying to help? “You’re not my daddy…” She whispers to herself. It’s all her little mind could think… her daddy would never be like this so it must be someone else… someone wearing her daddy’s face. Shane tells her to repeat herself. “You’re hurting me.” She cries and kicks away from the man.

Shane grunts at the pain in his shin and looks in surprise and worry as Bella falls to the ground before jumping up and running towards the house where some of the group had gathered and she can see Carl standing.

Shane’s world twists in his vision and he walks forwards but the call from Glenn stops him. The young man stands atop the RV where Dale is meant to be. And Shane’s anger grows, telling the young man to go get him water leaving the watch to him.

Glenn nods concerned and goes to the house where Bella has run up the steps, tears beading in her eyes. “Bee?! What happened?!” Carl calls out from the living room where he sits.

The girl wipes harshly at her eyes and turns her back to him, “Noth-nothing… it’s nothing.”

Carl leaps from his seat and circles on the girl, “You’re crying… Bee?” He grabs at her hands and pulls them away from her face. And his grip tightens, “Your side is bleeding.” He tells her.

The girl pulls out a hand and touches her right hip where blood is soaking into her large shirt. The door of the house snaps closed as Glenn enters. His eyes almost jump out his head at the site of blood on Bella’s pale fingers and her crying form.

He calls out for Maggie who rushes over. “Maggie- get your dad.” He commands her and she rushes off at the site of the scene.

Glenn grabs the young girl picking up her shirt gently. “I’m fine, Mr. Glenn.” Bella says tiredly to the man.

“What happened?” Hershel calls coming into the main room.

Bella pulls away, “It’s old. I’m alright.” She sniffles wetly and wipes her face once more.

No one believes the girl and it doesn’t help as Lori comes inside too, Carl calling out to her. “Mom! Bella’s hurt!”

“I said ‘I’m fine’!” Bella shouts, pulling away. Shocked faces turn to the young girl as she grabs hard at the wound. “I’m fine- I’m fine…” She whispers to herself as tears fall once more, soaking her shirt as they fall.

Carl grabs Bella and leads her down to a seat Glenn had pulled forward. She drops harshly into it and Carl finds a place on her left side, a cover for her to curl up in.

Hershel sits with his bag at his side. Glenn pulls gently at her shirt to give the doctor a view of the wound. “It’s not a bite.” Glenn tells the women that have gathered around.

Hershel works carefully. The wound is a deep red beading with falling blood, the skin around it is tender and bright red with irritation. The young girl barely moves even as Herhsel pulls at the torn scab that had ripped apart. “Now I know where my spare supplies have been going.” He says outloud and Bella doesn’t even turn her head. “Hold onto her. There’s a bullet fragment under her skin.” He tells Carl and Glenn who grasp tight onto the girl.

“Bullet?” Carl questions louder than the murmuring from the group.

“We’re twins…” Bella smiles into Carl’s shoulder.

Lori steps forward as Hershel cleans his twisters. “How could she-"

“The pieces I pulled from your son didn’t make a full bullet.” The doctor explains to the mother. He nods towards the two men that hold the girl and places a supporting hand against her stomach. The metal enters under the girl's skin, so thin and pale the metal’s gleam can be seen through it. “I had thought the other was stuck in the deer but it seems…” He comments as he latches onto the fragment and pulls it out. The girl doesn't move even as blood bubbles up from the wound and the clank of the fragment falls into the small metal dish. “It was here instead.”

Carl looks at Bella, “Doesn’t it hurt? You barely moved, Bee.”

“Of course it hurts… I just don’t care right now.” She says tiredly, her eyes burning red and puffy.

Hershel pulls his rubber gloves off with a snap and places gauze onto the wound. “You should’ve said something earlier. You’re lucky you haven’t got an infection.” He tells the young girl seriously.

She turns her head gently, “Carl needed help.”

“Stop saying that.” He says seriously.

“Never.”

Glenn helps pull the girl’s shirt down and looks towards Hershel in concern. “Is she okay?”

He nods, “She’ll be fine. The fragment was under the skin. It would’ve come out on its own.” He explains simply as he stands.

“Where’s her dad?” Maggie questions.

A bubbling cry is given in response as Bella curls tightly into Carl. The group goes silent as Glenn grabs Bella and carries her over to a room- the girl is heavy dead weight but she needs rest and she won’t move on her own. Carl follows close behind her and sits by her side even as she turns her back and cries into a pillow.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sophia calls out as she approaches dry land.

Bella stomps forward, “I said take it back!”

“No! You’re not the boss of me.” She spits at the girl before turning and darting away.

“You’re going in the wrong direction!” Bella screams after her. She takes off after the girl, chasing her through the woods and bushes, quickly on her trail. “You’re going to get lost! You won’t last a minute out here!” She calls out.

But Sophia doesn't respond, she just continues to run, darting around trees and leaping over rocks. The exhaustion Sophia had felt has bleed away and she moves with unfiltered energy. Bella gets closer, her fingers almost skin the girl’s back but a loud creak sounds through the woods.

Bella stumbles and trips over a root. Her body smacks hard into the ground and her ankle flares to life, pain coursing up her calf, the flesh beneath already swelling.

Bella’s angry eyes jump up to watch Sophia disappear behind full bushes and trees, her baby blue shirt no longer visible.

Bella growls in pain as she turns onto her butt, grasping tightly at the hot swelling of her ankle. It’s the sounds of voices that causes her to move, brushing the ground and hiding underneath some large brush.

She can’t run… so she hides.

Chapter 19: Dead Already

Chapter Text

“Man, this is a good hiding place.” Shane calls out into the marshland hidden away in the woods. “We ain't been in the swamps much, huh?” He questions the old man that stands ahead of him.

Dale turns his head towards the father, resting in his arms is a large trash bag, the camp’s gun supply within. The old man was going to bury them, hide them in the woods where no one could find them. But Shane caught him first. “Imagine if you applied your tracking skills to finding Sophia.” He responds curtly.

Dale can’t help the way he tenses in the sight of the other man. His eyes are crazed and his hands twitch as he speaks, “How about you just give me that bag, huh?” Commands Shane, rather than question.

“I'm not gonna do that.” Dale shakes his head and holds tighter to the bag.

Shane gives him a smile, impressed with the other man’s boldness. “Yeah you are, Dale.” He tells him. Shane’s eyes raise up to weapon slinged across Dale’s shoulders as the man slowly puts the bag of guns on the ground, resting against a tree. “Unless, well… you do have that rifle over your shoulder.” He goads.

“You gonna shoot me like you did Otis?” Dale comments at Shane, the air tensing even more, going ice cold. “Tell another story?”

Shane gives him a crazed smile, “No, man.” Shane rolls his shoulders and Dale tenses, “Hell, when you really look at it in the cold light of day, you're pretty much dead already.” Dale just stares at the man. “Just give me the guns. Do it now.”

“You think this is gonna keep us safe?”

“Mm-hmm. I know it is.”

“Rick is trying to get Hershel…”

“Dale, shut up.” Shane spits and takes another step closer. “Just shut up and give me the guns.”

Dale’s mouth pulls tight and his hands raise the rifle on his body. He points it towards Shane and the man gives a crooked grin in return. “Am I gonna have to shoot you? Do I have to kill you? Is that what it's gonna take?” Dale questions, a beg hidden underneath his tone.

“Yeah. That's what it's gonna take.” He tells.

But Dale can’t. He can’t pull the trigger even in the face of the man who was slowly going crazy in front of him. “This is where you belong, Shane.” He tells the man honestly.

Shane tilts his head, “How's that, Dale?”

“This world, what it is now, this is where you belong.” He takes a small step forward and points at himself, “And I may not have what it takes to last for long, but that's okay.” Shane listens, uncaring. “'Cause at least I can say when the world goes to sh*t I didn't let it take me down with it.” He tells Shane who rolls his eyes. “I just pray you don’t pull your daughter down with you.”

The father steps up face to face with the old man, faster than he can blink, almost at inhuman speed. “Say something about my daughter again and I’ll tell another tale.” Shane growls.

He grabs harshly at the bag and turns away, back towards the farm. Shane’s hand grip and rip at the plastic covering, revealing all the weapons underneath. The farm was going to be cleared, now. Today.

They can’t wait. He can’t wait.

And Rick… Rick will have to deal with it because Shane’s doing this. If the sheriff won’t take control- the deputy will.

Scraps of plastic hit the ground as Shane continues his hard trek towards the farmhouse where everyone is gathering on the steps.

“What's all this?” Daryl questions, as he approaches.

Digging into the satchel bag, Shane drags a shotgun and hands it out towards the redneck. “You with me, man?”

“Yeah.”

The deputy pulls out more weapons and approaches, “Time to grow up." He calls out to the group. He approaches the steps, “You already got yours?” He questions Andrea.

“Yeah. Where's Dale?” She responds.

“He's on his way.”

T-dog grabs at the weapon Shane hands him, turning it over. “Thought we couldn't carry.”

“We can and we have to.” He calls out, looking around. “Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't.” Maggie, standing next to Glenn, watches in disbelief as the weapons are handed out and the people take them willingly. “How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?” Shane offers it to Glenn. The young man gives Maggie a sad sideways look before grabbing the rifle. Shane smiles, “That's it. Can you shoot?”

“Can you stop?” Maggie shoots back quickly. “You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight.” She tells him seriously.

Carl moves down a few steps, “We have to stay, Shane.”

Lori rushes from the house and down the steps to Carl. “What is this?” She questions grabbing her son’s shoulder.

And Shane doesn’t turn his head to the mother, just bends to his hunches and hands out a small revolver to the boy. “We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand.” He tells Carl and the group; Hershel, Rick and Jimmy are nowhere to be seen. “Okay? He... Well, he's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?” He questions moving the gun closer to the boy, “Huh? Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes.” Carl looks down at the weapon, “You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it.”

Lori pulls Carl behind her back, blocking the boy from Shane’s view. “Rick said no guns.” She tells him as he stands tall. “This is not your call. This is not your decision to make.” She spits at him and his gaze doesn’t change in the face of the woman. “Your daughter was shot.” She tells him, causing a crack to form on his face, “A piece of the bullet that hit Carl, hit her too. Did you know?” The mother questions the father.

Shane stumbles in the revelation. His tongue is tied tight as he searches Lori’s face, and he knows it’s true. She was shot.

His little girl was shot.

The sound of the door snapping closed breaks the silence as Bella walks on the porch. Shane’s blurring eyes find his little girl standing there. Her eyes are blood red from crying and her skin has gone pale but she’s walking… her face isn’t twisted in pain- only exhaustion.

And before Shane can speak, before he can say to hell with clearing the barn, T-Dog calls out, “Oh sh*t.”

Everyone looks to where the man points. Approaching the barn is Hershel, Rick and Jimmy, dragging two walkers along. “What the hell are they doing?” Shane growls and his feet run fast towards the group. The living bodies follow the steaming man closely.

Rick and Hershel have two walkers stuck on snare poles, the rope tight around the necks of the dead. And Jimmy acts as a carrot, leading the walkers forwards towards the barn doors. Rick swears under his breath at the shouts and stomping of approaching bodies.

“Shane, just back off.” The sheriff screams as the group surrounds the dead.

Hershel holds tight to his pole as the female walker fights hard to get a meal. “Why do your people have guns?” He questions.

Shane steams as he paces, eyes going crazy. “Are you kidding me? You see? You see what they're holding onto?” He calls to the group.

“I see who I'm holding onto.” Hershel responds.

“No, man, you don't.” Shane shouts at the old man.

Rick’s grip goes white on his pole, “Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk.”

The man continues pacing back and forth, cutting off the way to the barn. “What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people.” He shouts. “They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill!” Members of the Atlanta group nod in agreement. “These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us.”

“Shane, shut up!” Rick screams.

Shane huffs a laugh and pulls the weapon from his hip, “Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something.” He calls out, gun loose in his grip. “Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?” The gun is raised swiftly. Bang! Bang! Bang! “That's three rounds in the chest.” The female walker on Hershel’s pole snaps back at the force of the shots but it doesn't stop. It growls and hisses at the living, hand digging in the air. “Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?!” He calls out to the man who looks at the walker in numbness- the body that takes two more shots to the body and continues fighting without a care. “Why is it still coming?” Another two shots. “That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?” Shane screams to him.

“Shane, enough!” Rick shouts.

He huffs and drops his arm, approaching the walker. “Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough.” His gun raises long enough for the shot to snap the walker’s head back and drop it to the ground for good. Everyone, Atlanta group and Greene family, look on in horror as Shane continues. “Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!” He shouts, not noticing the flinch from Carol. “Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough!” He looks at Rick, “Rick, it ain't like it was before!” He turns his attention to everyone else. “Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you gotta fight for it!” He screams, hopping from foot to foot, “I'm talking about fighting right here, right now.” Shane darts towards the barn.

Rick screams louder than anyone, “No, Shane. Do not do this, brother. Wait! Don't do it!” He begs out to Shane who grabs at a pickaxe to smash the lock. Other screams join his, all of them telling Shane to leave the barn alone, but the man doesn’t listen. All he hears is red. “Hershel, take the snare pole.” Rick begs as the man at the barn continues trying to break the lock. “Hershel, listen to me, man, please. Take it now. Hershel!” Rick cries to the man.

But it’s too late as the smashing stops.

The metal chain drags out and piles onto the ground. And Shane darts a distance back and raises his gun, goating the walkers out under his breath.

Everyone holds their breath waiting… and a hand curls around the wooden door. The male walker drags itself out from the darkness with a growl. As the door opens wide enough, it finally pulls through darting towards Shane and the group.

Bang!

A single shot from Shane drops the walker to the ground and begins the flood in full.

Growls of all types fill the air as the bodies rush out. Shane’s gun fires off at the approaching bodies. The squelch and splatter of dead flesh hitting the ground louder than the shots themselves.

Andrea comes close with her own gun raised on Shane’s right, T-Dog pulls to the man’s left, shots ringing out at an uneven rhythm. And with the shots and squelching of torn apart flesh, cries join in the air.

Maggie grips tight to her little sister as they both cry from their spot on the ground. Glenn apologizes to the brown haired woman before joining the shooting party, she gives him an understanding nod.

Hershel rests on his knees as he watches his family and friends get slaughtered. As the Atlanta group shoots each one with no empathy or care.

Shane turns his head back to Rick, the man still standing with the snare pole, a raise of his hand drops the walker attached. The deputy turns back and continues the massacre until there is no more.

There’s nothing… nothing besides the cries of Beth and Maggie. No more growls. No more shots. No more dead.

Shane looks at the fallen bodies, and the shield of shooters loosen their grips.

The door creaks…

Eyes snapping to the barn, everyone watches as a single hand pushes at the door. A hand smaller than the others… younger.

The walker steps into the light with its opposite arm raised towards the sun in muscle memory. And no one raises their guns… they just watch as the walker shows its face and moves closer.

“Sophia?” Carol's voice cries and the mother darts forward towards the dead girl. Daryl drops his gun fast enough to grip tight at the woman, arms wrapped so tight around her as they fall to the ground. “Sophia!” She cries painfully.

Cries so painfully it twists everyone’s chest. Lori grabs tight to Carl and pulls him down, turning the boy’s head away, he cries into his mother’s chest.

The walker, the once alive Sophia, stumbles forward through the fallen bodies. Growling softly at everyone, her pace is slow as she finds her way through the maze of limbs.

No one can raise their gun.

They just watch as she draws closer.

A holster unhooks and Rick draws forward. The man’s shoulder brushes against Shane’s as he passes. Rick can’t help the shake in his hands as he picks his gun up to the girl’s head.

Dead or alive, it looks like a little girl.

A little girl they know… a little girl they knew.

“Don't watch.” Daryl tells the mother that stretches her hand out to her lost daughter as she draws closer.

Sophia’s corpse passes the last fallen body, no longer stumbling with the open floor.

BANG!

Rick’s revolver snaps… and Sophia’s body falls to the ground. Her young limbs spilling outward with no cause- any life that may have existed… is gone. And the cries become louder.

“I don’t think It’s an angel, Carl.” Bella says out loud to the boy. His tearful eyes find the girl’s dry ones.

Chapter 20: Mourning the Day

Chapter Text

The Greene family stumbles their way up towards their home. Grasping tight to each other as dry cries hiccup from their mouths. Beth is the worst of the family, the young girl had gone after her fallen mother but she wasn’t dead- the walker had grappled to get a piece of flesh from its, once, daughter.

But the family can’t mourn… not as Shane trails after them with others trying to pull him away, “We've been out. We've been combing these woods looking for her and she was in there all along?” He shouts at Hershel as he holds onto Beth. “You knew.” He accuses with a sharp finger pointing their way.

Maggie turns her head, “Leave us alone.”

“Hey, Shane, just stop, man.” Glenn tries grabbing at the man’s shoulder but he’s brushed off as quickly as he comes.

“Get your hands off me.” Shane growls and continues alongside the family. “You knew and you kept it from us.” He calls again angrily.

“I didn't know.” Hershel tells honestly. The family hadn’t known, they had opened their home to the Atlanta group because they wanted to help- they didn’t know.

But Shane… Shane doesn’t believe a word that comes out of their mouths. “That's bullsh*t. I think y'all knew.” He spits.

“We didn't know!”

“Why was she there?!”

Hershel turns to the group, leading Beth up the stairs alongside Jimmy who grabs the girl quickly. “Otis put those people in the barn.” He tells the small group of men that were gathered. “Maybe he found her and put her in there before he was killed.” He offers painfully.

Shane steps forward, “You expect me to believe that? Do I look like an idiot?”

And Hershel takes a step in turn, unfrightened by the crazed and angry man in front of him, “I don't care what you believe!”

Rick moves quickly between the two, “Everybody just calm down.”

“Get him off my land!”

Shane moves forward, “Let me tell you something-”

“Hey!” Maggie shouts and delivers a swift smack to Shane’s face. “Don't touch him!” The man steps back- the hit hadn’t hurt one bit but it had taken him by surprise. The farmer’s daughter had a swift tongue when she wanted to but she had never been so forward. “Haven't you done enough?” She spits before turning around and ascending the stairs.

“I mean it…” Hershel tells them. “Off my land.” And they watch as the whole Greene family disappear into their house.

The door snaps closed and the air heats everyone’s skin, the adrenaline of the massacre diluting in their veins. Shane turns and stalks off back towards the barn. Rick moves quickly at Shane’s side. “What are you doing?” Shane doesn’t turn and Rick grabs his shoulder whipping the man around to face him. “Hey, what are you doing?” He hisses.

Shane gets close to the sheriff’s face, “Daryl almost died looking for her, Rick. Any one of us could have. I'm gonna tell you right now…” He points at the house in disgust. “That son of a bitch, he knew.”

“He didn't know. He's not like that.” Rick responds in disbelief. “He opened his home to us.”

“He put us all in danger. Man, he kept a barn full of walkers.”

Rick raises his eyebrows and his hands around to the situation that now surrounds them, “So you just start an insurrection, hand out guns and massacre his family?”

Shane’s mouth pulls tight, “His family's dead, Rick.”

“Well, he doesn't believe that.” He shoots back quickly, “He thinks you just murdered them in cold blood.”

“No, man, I don't care what he thinks.” Shane dismisses the man that is begging him to understand the gravity of the thing he’s done.

“I was handling it, brother. I was handling it and you just…”

Shane pushes finger into Rick's chest, “You had us out in those woods looking for a little girl that every single one of us knew was dead!” He spits without care, a flare of heat coursing through his chest at the flinch Rick lets slip on his face. “That's what you did. Rick, you're just as delusional as that guy.” He huffs a laugh and walks away, “You're handling it, huh?” He continues laughing in disbelief.

And the group starts to clean up the mess.

There are two dozen rotting corpses that filtered out of the barn and now layed dead, finally dead, on the dirt ground, seeping diseased blood into the earth. Few words are shared about the Atlanta group as they begin separating bodies best they could… people they, and the Greenes, cared for and the strangers.

Andrea pulls a blue pick-up truck around to the barn entrance to pile the bodies in. Lori had led Carol away from the scene, releasing her into the RV- the mother insisted she be left alone.

Back at the barn, living bodies grapple at the dead ones, picking up the pieces and throwing them into pills. Bella and Carl had found their way inside the open barn, the area double checked by Daryl and T-Dog before they entered.

The duo drifts around the area, looking around at everything inside in relative silence. “I really thought I’d be the one to find her…” Carl says into the air. From across the barn, Bella turns her head and drifts over to the boy as his hand picks a tool hanging on the barn wall, “hiding in a tree or a cave, maybe.” Lori listens from the barn opening… she watches as the two stand side by side. “Shane did the right thing… I just-” He tells his friend. “I would’ve done the same thing as dad.” Lori can’t stop the shock that draws across her face at her son’s revelation.

Bella doesn’t seem shocked like the woman, more… conflicted. “She doesn’t have to be afraid anymore, Carl.” She tells him.

They share a look, one they have shared more than once, a look of peace and security. The kids had been together since their beginning, they’ve experienced many difficult situations together- none as difficult as this- but it doesn’t matter because they're together. That’s all that matters.

The day continues on as the smell of decay turns sour under the beating sun, even with the season turning to fall the open field was not kind when the sun was above. The group holds a ceremony, the Greenes and the Atlanta group gather together to mourn the losses, a sour tension in the air… Carol isn’t there, neither is Daryl.

The mismatched duo had a tension between them; Daryl had tried so hard to find Sophia, like she was his own, and Carol… Carol wished so badly to find her daughter. But they found her corpse. A corpse that had turned… a corpse with its shoulder ripped open by a bite. It wasn’t Sophia… it wasn’t Carol’s little girl. Not anymore. Carol accepted that but Daryl couldn’t.

Leaving the small ceremony, the group tries going back to chores. Beth stands inside the kitchen rubbing a damp dish cloth over a plate as Glenn and Maggie converse silently in the living room. The crash and shatter of the ceramic dish causes the duo to jump and look over to watch Beth fall to her knees and collapse.

The air goes frantic as they bring Beth to her room, the girl stuck in a catatonic state, her skin pale and dewey, eyes glassy. The house is torn apart looking for Hershel, the doctor the only one that can help the girl. But he’s gone.

Left into town without telling anyone, all to go find a drink.

“Rick? You want to have a conversation about this before you leave?” Shane questions Rick as the man and Glenn prepare to go after the doctor. “So you're seriously gonna go after this guy with everything that's going on, huh?” He asks.

Lori stands to his other side, hand touching Rick’s chest as a sign to stop for just a moment. “He's right. This is not the time to head off, not today.”

“I'm not arguing. It's the least I can do for Hershel after we…”

“What?” Shane cuts off, “After we, what?”

Lori’s face turns sour in pain, “Carl said he would've shot Sophia himself.” She tells him seriously, “That's your son. He's getting cold. He's growing up in a world with…” Lori’s breath shakes for a moment. “He's growing up in a world where he needs a father like you… Around, alive, not running off, solving everybody else's problems.”

Rick pulls close to Lori, others of the group slowly approaching the trio. “It's not just his problem I'm trying to solve. We need Hershel for the baby.” He tells his wife, “I'm going after him.” He finalizes to everyone and Shane’s scoff is the only thing that is heard in response.

Shane storms away before Rick and Glenn can even leave, pacing the border of the farm deep in thought. His eyes connect with the well pump in the hidden corner he’s in. Approaching, he pumps the lever hard to pull the hidden water to the surface- thankfully this pump is hidden in the ground so the risk of another walker tainting the water is close to zero… hopefully.

The water bursts from the paint chipping pump in strong bursts. Shane cups his shaking hands underneath to poorly catch the cool water and with his hands filling quickly he splashes the water at his face, rubbing the cold into his burning head.

Bent down at the pump, Shane rests in thought, so deep in thought he doesn’t know how long he’s rested there- not long based on moist water marks on the ground- nor does he realize the small cracks and russles coming from the woods.

His eyes catch the sight of a body pulling themselves tiredly out of the woods. Shane’s head jumps up quickly tracking the body as his hand touches his gun in reflex.

But the body isn’t a rotting corpse or a enemy of any kind; it’s Carol.

The mother drags herself painfully out of the trees, her clothes are covered in dirt and her fingers are tainted as well. Dirt stuck so deep underneath her nails it must be painful. And Shane feels a twist in his chest at the sight.

He could be grieving like Carol is now. His little girl could’ve been in that barn too. “Carol?” He calls gently as he raises to his feet. The woman barely raises her head in response, she just continues her unsteady walk. “Carol. Hey hey hey… are you alright?” Shane grips softly at the mother’s shoulder, soft but firm. “Come here.” Shane’s face twists in concern as he leads her over to the well pump he just sat at. Moving the wooden bucket upside down, Shane motions for Carol to sit, she thumps down in exhaustion. Carol’s eyes drift in a different world as Shane pumps the lever once more and gathers water in a second bucket. Kneeling infornt of Carol, Shane holds the woman’s hands and slowly rubs water on the dirt that clings to the woman. “I want you to know that I'm really sorry for your girl.” He says.

“Thank you.” Carol slowly comes back with the pressure of Shane’s hands and the coldness of the water.

Shane can barely look into her eyes as he speaks, his hands merely continue their job of washing the dirt from Carol’s. “When I opened that barn I had no idea. If I did… Everybody thinks that I'm a…” The man takes a deep breath as Carol’s eyes burn a hole into his forehead. “I was just trying to keep everybody safe. I had no idea she was in there.”

Carol nods and grasps tightly at Shane’s hand for a moment, “It’s okay… I needed to know.”

Shane can’t stop his head from shaking back and forth. “Not like that- never like that… if it was Bella…” The man’s voice cracks painfully at the thought of his daughter’s corpse stumbling out of the barn instead of Sophia. “You’re strong- stronger than me. I don’t think anyone’s ever told you that.”

The woman smiles painfully at him, “I’m grateful that one of our daughters survived.”

“It should’ve been both.”

Carol nods painfully in agreement as a tear slips down her cheek. Her daughter was gone, dead- probably dead the day she was lost… and she was rotting in that barn. But Carol… she can’t help but be happy… happy to know her daughter wasn’t afraid anymore; afraid, cold, hungry… she didn’t have to be scared anymore.

“Daddy…” A small voice calls out breaking the parents from their small silence. Bella drifts forward as they raise her head to the girl. Grasped tight in her hands is a bundle of random flowers. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Carol…” She speaks towards the woman. Her hand, dirty like Carol’s, hands the flower bundle to the grieving mother. Carol’s hand quivers as she accepts the offering. “I wish I could’ve- could’ve done something… more.” Bella says quietly.

Carol smiles down at the flowers- she had just destroyed an entire meadow of flowers but these… she won’t destroy these. “You did everything you could, sweetie.” Her voice is gentle and Bella offers her a grateful smile.

With Carol’s hands clean, the father and daughter lead the woman back towards the camp. They walk in comfortable silence as they move. Carol gives both of them a tight hug and kiss to the cheek in thankfulness as she walks into the RV, the flowers in her hands dropped into a plastic cup of water quickly.

Shane closes the door behind the mother and grabs underneath his daughter's arms picking her up swiftly. Bella fights gently in suprise but relaxes as her dad leads her towards a more secluded tree.

Underneath a large weeping willow, Shane sets Bella down gently and he drops to butt to lean against the tree’s roots. Bella copies her dad easily and they stare into the farm’s fields. “I don’t know what to say…” Shane starts carefully, “I’m- I’m sorry, Princess… for everything.” He peaks a glance towards his little girl only to find her already starring at him.

“It’s fine, daddy.”

Shane shakes his head harshly, “No, it isn’t. And we both know it.” Bella’s eyes drop with barely visible agreement. Shane laughs as his hand finds her hair, tied messily into a bun. “You’re such a smart girl… and I forget it all the time.” The air around the pair quiets as he speaks, “I love you… so much. You are everything to me, my sweet girl. And I don’t tell you enough.” He tells her. “The rest of them… they- they don’t matter to me. Just you.” Both hands find Bella’s face and he turns to fully face her, “And I won’t leave you… ever.” He promises strongly.

And he waits.

Because Bella is just staring at him, her eyes and face telling him nothing of what she was thinking.

His heart drops as she stands up, his hands falling to her forearms in barely concealed terror.

Bella gives him a bright smile and she dives into his chest in a tight hug, tighter than she’s ever clinged to him. “I love you too, daddy.” She speaks into his neck.

Shane grasps at the back of her head and buries his own face into her shoulder. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Princess.” He tells her before pulling them apart enough for him to look down. “I’m going to make this right, I promise.”

“I believe you, daddy.” She goes back to his chest. “As long as you're here with me.”

Shane rests his cheek against the top of her head, “I won’t ever leave you. I’ll make sure of that.”

Bella can’t help but listen to the steadiness of his heart as he speaks.