SARAH
They had been walking for a few minutes from the church; Daryl was leading the group, always searching around to try and spot Sophia. Everyone was tired and felt like losing hope. She could feel it. But Sarah didn't want to give up; she knew that that girl was still alive, and it was just a matter of time before they found her.
"Do you see anything?" Sarah asked, moving next to Daryl, who flinched a little in surprise before chewing the side of his cheek and shaking his head. Sarah decided not to push it; it was already difficult. They didn't need to talk about not finding traces.
"So this is it?" asked Carol, suddenly making them turn. "This the whole plan?"
They all stopped as she sat down on a log.
"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups," said Daryl, leaning his shoulder against a tree. But that made Sarah frown.
"We can't divide again," Sarah said, shaking her head. "I'm sure Rick doesn't want that" As she finished talking, she saw Carol looking slightly pissed. She could feel the tension in the air between them. They were all tired, and some of them didn't seem to trust Rick right now. They had never been that divided; it was a terrible feeling to see all of them like that.
"We should find something to eat," Sarah proposed, trying to ease the tension. "Like berries or something. It wouldn't hurt us, and we'll need them when we find Sophia." She noticed Daryl turn to her as he walked before she looked at the others, who just gave her smiles of circumstance. And that made Sarah frown a little.
It was true; it was difficult to stay positive, but just trying couldn't hurt anyone.
"I don't understand how you're taking it so lightly," Andrea said, making Sarah turn to her with wide eyes.
"I beg your pardon?" Sarah said, stopping, and with her, everyone stopped, too.
"I'm saying that your superhero sister is out there, and you're acting like a fool," Andrea said in a mocking tone, making Sarah's eyes flinch. She could feel everyone's stares towards the two of them, but she really didn't care.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't actually insult me," said Sarah. "Only because you seem always to have to say something about my sister."
"Sarah," Glenn tried to catch her attention, but when he reached for her arm, she moved it away.
"I'm tired of how you always scoff and glare at her," Sarah says. "What is your problem?" Andrea only scoffes, shaking her head.
"My problem is that this group always arms the wrong people," Andrea said, eyeing even Lori, who didn't wait a second before stepping up.
"Why? You want it?" asked Lori, taking the gun from her jeans and handing it to Andrea. "I'm sick too of the looks you're giving me."
Sarah had seen it, too, and Andrea had eyed Lori up and down since Daryl had given her a gun. And she couldn't help but scoff at the surprised look Andrea was now giving to Lori. And when Andrea took the gun, Lori sat down.
"All of you," Sarah said, taking one last look at Andrea before continuing to listen to Lori, who had now turned to Carol.
"Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through. And I would do anything to stop it. But you have got to stop blaming Rick," Lori kept saying. "It is in your face every time you look at him. When Sophia ran, he didn't hesitate, did he? Not for a second." She was right; Rick got on his feet and did his best. "I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way he did or made the hard decisions that he had to make or that anybody could have done it any differently," said Lori, looking at them. "Anybody?"
Sarah found herself nodding her head. She could understand just a little bit. Nicki had tried to help, too. She had run behind him and tried to do something. Since then, Andrea has started to glare at Nicolette, scoffing every time someone in the group gives her a bit of trust.
"Y'all look to him, and then you blame him when he's not perfect," Lori said again. "If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you."
Sarah looked at the others; someone looked guilty, others just looked away, but they all knew that Lori was right. They always relied on Rick, and it may be difficult to remember sometimes, but he was human, and he couldn't make all the right choices. But he was out there now, trying to do his best to find that girl. Sarah didn't feel like blaming him, and she hoped that the others would stop, too.
Andrea took a breath before giving the gun back to Lori.
"We should keep moving," Andrea said before they all looked at each other and decided to move again.
"You still didn't answer me, though," Sarah said to Andrea before she could follow the others, trying not to sound too harsh. Andrea observed her, taking a heavy breath.
"I think your sister should try not to judge everyone around her," Andrea said, "And not get too over excited because she can shoot an arrow. She is just a child, and she should be treated as such." Then she looked up at Sarah. "And then let's talk about you. You're not able to protect your sister." Sarah let out a nervous scoff as Andrea kept talking to her. "You've no idea of what you're doing. And you're the worst of them, not even trying to stop her."
"Are you talking about me or yourself?" Sarah said before starting to walk where the others had gone.
She hated getting angry, but Andrea had no right to judge what she was doing as Nicki's sister. She was trying her best, doing her best. She knew. There was no need for anyone to make her remember that she had no idea how to defend herself or protect anyone.
"Are you alright?" Glenn asked as Sarah approached him. "What was all that?"
"Diverging opinions," Sarah said. "Nothing to worry about."
"Are you shutting me out?" asked Glenn, making her look up at him.
"Never," she said side, hugging him as they walked. "You're my best friend, Glenn."
"And you are mine," he said with a smile. "You can trust me with anything," Sarah returned the smile gripping his shirt.
"How did I get so lucky?" she said.
Meeting Glenn was probably the best thing that had happened to her. They had talked about everything since the beginning, and she knew that he would have been there for her as much as she was there for him.
"You're in the woods, during an apocalypse, searching for a missing girl," Glenn said. "So maybe not that much." That made her chuckle, and when she did, he followed her, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"What is bothering me really is..." said Sarah after a bit, "That I can't help you guys. I can't defend you." Glenn nodded his head as they walked. "And I hate it when someone brings it up."
"I understand," Glenn said, making her smile a little.
"See?" she said. "Not shutting you out."
They all stopped walking when they heard a shot echoing in the woods. Sarah and Glenn broke apart as they all looked around.
"What was that?" asked Lori with wide eyes.
"A gunshot," Daryl answered simply, but he was too looking around in confusion.
Lori and Sarah shared a look. Why a gunshot? What was happening? It came from behind them, so maybe...
"We have to get back," said Sarah, feeling slightly panicked.
"No, we ain't," Daryl said, making a step towards her.
"What if it was them?" asked Lori.
"We ain't getting back," Daryl insisted, making Sarah shake her head.
"I'm going," but as she moved, Daryl stopped her, grabbing her by the arm.
"Let go of me," she said, trying to get away from the man who looked at her sternly.
"Told ya once, ain't telling you again," he said almost in a growl. "Don' wander around." Sarah kept his gaze. She stared into his blue eyes, not even remembering why she had been scared of the man in front of her once. He was rude at times, harsh even, but she was starting to understand that he was always watching over them.
"What if it was her?" she asked, but she spoke softly, almost trembling. What if Andrea was right? What if she was the worst of all of them? Pushing her sister into danger, maybe she shouldn't have to let her go with the others; maybe she should have kept Nicki with her.
"I can't lose her, Daryl." The man observed her, and his hard expression became softer as he chewed the side of his cheek.
"Ya ain't," he assured. "It was one shot, doncha worry." She tried to understand if he was lying in some way, but as strange as it was, she felt relieved by his words. The girl bit her lips before nodding her head.
"Okay," she muttered.
"'Kay," he said before letting her go and turning to the others "Alright, let's keep movin'"
Sarah looked at the path they were taking, and she felt uneasy knowing that her sister was somewhere.
"I know how you feel," Lori said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm worrying too." Her son and husband were there, too, so she could understand how much she was worried.
"I trust Daryl," Sarah said, turning towards the man who had started to lead the group once again. "They're fine. They have to be".
They had been walking for quite some time in silence, always trying to find something related to Sophia, but until now, it had been of no use. Sarah had looked behind her a few times, remembering the shot, but she was forcing herself not to do it. She had to stay calm. She had to try not to let what Andrea had told her get to her. She had to trust Nicki and Rick. She knew he could keep her safe.
But apparently, even Lori couldn't stop thinking about that gunshot as she stopped to look behind.
"You still worrying about it?" asked Andrea.
"It was a gunshot," Lori said, not turning, making Daryl take a breath.
"We all heard it," he said, looking at Sarah for a moment before turning to Lori, who didn't seem pleased with his response.
"Why one?" she asked. "Why just one gunshot?"
Daryl just shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe they took down a walker," he answered simply.
"Please don't patronize me," Lori argued back. "You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker or Shane. They'd do it quietly".
"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" said Carol, making Sarah take a breath. She didn't want to hear; she really didn't want to hear.
"There's nothing we can do about it, anyway," said Daryl calmly. "Can't run around these woods chasing echoes"
"So, what do we do?" asked Lori, getting worried by the minutes.
"Same as we've been," Daryl said. "Beat the bush for Sophia, work our way back to the highway." he was right, and that made her feel agitated. Sometimes, she missed cell phones. It would have been easy, just a call and they could know how the others were. Fucking apocalypse.
"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV," said Andrea, almost surprising Sarah since it was the first time after Amy that she had spoken about hope, trying not to let them get too worried.
Sarah turned when she felt Glenn put a hand on her arm, giving her a comforting little smile. She tried her best to return as they started to walk once again. They were all getting crazy with worry: Sarah, Lori, and, of course, Carol, who stood silently watching the woods.
"I'm sorry for what you're going through," said Andrea, getting closer to Carol, making all of them stop and turn to look at what was happening. "I know how you feel".
"I suppose you do," said Carol, forcing a small smile. "Thank you." Then she turned, and all the worry washed over her as she started to cry once again. "The thought of her, out here by herself. It's the not knowing that's killing me." That was not a pleasant feeling at all; it was understandable. "I just keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy."
Sarah's eyes went wide at the sentence as she looked at the incredulous expression on Andrea's face. She knew Andrea could be bitchy sometimes, but Sarah couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She still remembered very well what had happened at the camp not so long ago. Apparently, Carol realized what she had said when she started to apologize to the woman who had just shaken her head.
"We're all hoping and praying with you," Andrea said. "For what it's worth."
"I'll tell you what it's worth. Not a damn thing" Daryl's voice made Sarah turn as she saw him step closer to the two women "It's a waste of time, all this hoping and praying. We're gonna locate that little girl. She's gonna be just fine" once again Sarah couldn't help but feel a bit better, listening to him talking like that. "Am I the only one Zen around here? Good Lord," he exclaimed, starting to walk again, and Sarah couldn't help but let out a chuckle, a feeling that apparently was shared with Lori, who smiled at the man before starting to walk again.
It was starting to get late, so they decided to walk back towards the RV. Daryl didn't want them to look for Sophia after sunset, and they were all agreeing on that. So tiredly they turned and walked again. Sarah looked around herself, not able to understand where they were at that point, she really couldn't point where direction they had walked towards, or where they were headed now. She felt slightly confused, seeing only trees and leaves around them.
"How did you learn?" she asked Daryl, speeding up her pace to walk next to him, who seemed surprised by it.
"Learn what?" he asked in a low voice.
"Hunting and following traces and this stuff?" she asked looking up at him, that frowned a little.
"Why ya wanna know?" he asked making her shrug her shoulders.
"Just curious, I think," she said, "And a bit jealous." That made him turn his head towards her.
"How so?" he asked confused.
"I'm the worst at going around alone," she said, rolling her own eyes. "I always get lost," Daryl scoffed, making her look up with wide eyes.
"What?" she asked.
"Ya can't be tha' bad," he said, making her look at him with a challenging look.
"Wanna bet?" she said. "Once, I got lost inside a mall."
"Nah," he said with a chuckle, making her chuckle too.
"Yeah, believe me," she said, avoiding a big log on the ground.
"How old were ya?" he asked, half confused and what seemed half amused.
"Not so young like I wish I was to get lost in a freaking mall," she said as a smile appeared on her face as she heard Daryl chuckle as he looked at the ground.
"You are laughing at me, aren't you?" she asked, amused, making him shake his head.
"Jus' picturing ya," Sarah observed him with a smile. As he noticed her staring and chuckling a bit, he turned to look away.
Sarah was about to say something else when they heard a piercing scream coming from behind.
"Is that Andrea?" Sarah asked as they turned and started running towards the woman, who was on the ground with a walker getting dangerously closer to her. She was far from them; she was going to be bit. But as they ran, suddenly, a horse ran before them with two girls on it. The one in the front swung a bat, smashing the walker's head, saving Andrea's life. But the second girl took Sarah's attention.
"Nicolette?" asked Sarah with wide eyes.
"Lori!" her sister exclaimed, looking urgently at the woman.
"Nicki, what happened?" asked Lori walking closer to the horse.
"Rick sent me. You got to come now." the girl on the horse with short hair said as urgently as Nicki. Sarah frowned. Who was this girl? How did her sister meet her?
"There's been an accident," the girl said. "Carl's been shot," added Nicolette, getting down from the horse. Lori's eyes went wide, and she had become paler.
"Is he alright?" she asked panicking.
"He's still alive, but you gotta come now," said the girl on the horse as Lori took off her backpack and started to climb onto the animal.
"We don't know this girl," said Daryl that tried to stop the woman "You can't get on that horse"
"Carl needs her," Nicki argued back. "There's no time!"
As the girl instructed them on how to find her family farm, Sarah ran towards Nicki, hugging her close. She could feel her sister tremble a little and grip the back of her shirt.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she felt Nicki nodding her head against her shoulder and starting to sob.
"What happened?" Sarah asked, hugging her sister even closer.
"Carl's been shot," Nicki said. "It's bad." Sarah looked up as she put a hand on her sister's hair, trying to calm her. She started to whisper calming words in her sister's ear as she looked at every one of them, who observed her in confusion.