Dallas yawned as he sat up. he reached beside him, grabbing the small water bottle he had and sipping the rest. he stood, throwing it down when he finished. he slipped his shoes on, and unzipped the tent.
he saw Dale and Lori. Lori was glancing around as she put her boots on, and Dale was walking around the camp. Lori stood, and walked over to Carol. Dallas decided to follow, to help out with the laundry until Rick or somebody needed him.
he definitely felt better then the past two days. he hadn't felt light headed, and no more headaches took place. he told Hershel what had happened, and Hershel explained that when he started to move around more, he'd probably gotten a headache as well. both the lack of nutrients and such in his body, the the strong headache he had, caused him to collapse momentarily.
"hey," he greeted, reaching for some clothes from the basket Carol had placed on the picnic table.
"i have an idea i'd like to run by you guys," Carol smiled.
"what's that?" Lori asked, clipping Carl's shirt to the clothes line. Dallas reached up and clipped up a pair of shorts.
"well, that big kitchen of theirs got me thinking. i wouldn't mind cooking in a real kitchen again. maybe, we all pitch in, and cook dinner for Hershel and his family tonight."
Lori looked at her as she turned to get her opinion. Carols smile faulted for a moment.
"kinda looking for things to keep my mind occupied," she added. Lori looked down for a moment before reaching to hand another item up.
"after everything they've done for us, seems like the least we could do," she agreed.
"i think that's a great idea," Dallas nodded, giving her a smile.
"would you mind extending the invitation?" Carol turned to Lori. "it'd just feel more right coming from you."
"how so?" she asked. Dallas grabbed more clothing, clipping it up.
"you're Rick's wife. sort of makes you our unofficial first lady," Carol remarked, a smile growing back on her face. Dallas smirked, turning to look at Lori's reaction.
she paused, turning to Carol with a playful smile.
"morning guys. let's get going," he heard Rick's voice. he turned, watching as Shane walked close behind. "got a lot of ground to cover."
"hey, i'm sorry-" Dallas turned to Carol, setting down the clothes in his hand as he motioned to Rick. she only gave him a smile and waved him off.
he stood at the car with the rest of the small group. it consisted of himself, Shane, Rick, Andrea, T-Dog, Tyler, and Daryl.
"alright, everyone is getting new search grids today," Rick started. he pointed at a part on the map. "she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she may have gone further east than we've been so far-"
"i'd like to help," a voice from behind them spoke. everyone turned. "i know the area pretty well."
"Hershel's okay with this?" Rick asked.
"yeah, yeah. he said i should ask you," he responded. Rick nodded.
"alright then. thanks," he patted the boys arm and turned back to look at the map.
"about what Daryl found, ain't screaming Sophia to me. anyone coulda been held up in that farm house," Shane spoke up. Dallas had had the same thought when he heard about what Daryl had seen, but didn't have the guts to say anything. Shane though, he seemed like he couldn't keep his mouth shut about much.
"anybody includes her, right?" Andrea asked, looking at Shane with a look that told him not to press on. Daryl looked up from buttoning his shirt.
"whoever slept in that cupboard is no bigger than yea high," he spoke, moving his hand to show how tall the person must have been.
"good lead," Andrea told him.
"we will pick up her trail again," Rick stated.
"i'm gonna borrow a horse, head up this ridge right here," Daryl told him as Dale walked over with the bag of guns. he set it down on the car. "birds eye view of the whole grid. she's up there, i'll spot her."
"good idea," T-Dog nodded. "maybe you'll see your Chupacabra up there too."
"Chupacabra?" Rick echoed, a smirk forming as he turned to Daryl.
"you never of it? first night in camp, Daryl tells us the whole thing reminds him of the time he went squirrel hunting. and he saw a Chupacabra," Dale told him. Rick was smiling at this point, the first one he had genuinely cracked in awhile.
"what you laughing at, jackass?" Daryl asked the boy who walked up. he smiled and looked down.
"so you believe in a blood sucking dog?"
"you believe dead people walking around?" he shot back. he chuckled and reached for the rifle on the hood of the car. Rick quickly took it for him.
"hey, hey. you ever fire one before?" he asked.
"well, if i'm going out, i want one," he responded. Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and turned to him.
"people in Hell want slurpees," he told him, walking off towards the direction of the horse stable. Shane stood out of the car and turned to the boy.
"let's train him tomorrow. i'm serious, i'm a certified instructor," he told him.
"for now he can come with us," Andrea said.
"you can babysit then," Shane responded. Andrea ignored his comment, and grabbed her handgun from the bag.
"alright. Andrea, T-Dog, i want you guys to cover this part. Shane and i will go this way. Dallas and Tyler, you'll head over this area. you'll be done before any of us, so i want you to go to the highway after," Rick instructed.
—
"you think she really came out this far?" Tyler asked, glancing around the trees.
"it's a possibility. if she got lost, she'd be out in this area. if she hid out, she should still be okay," he responded. Tyler went quiet for a moment.
"what are you going to do when we go back home?"
"home?" Dallas echoed. Tyler chuckled.
"you're out here having us chasing after a little girl that's probably dead. you gave a lot of your blood to somebody you've known less than a week. imagine how boring life is going to be when we go back to the cabin and Rick's group moves on."
"and what are you going to do if we don't go back?" Dallas shot back.
"we are going back," he responded nonchalantly. "Rick and his group don't need us, and we don't need them-"
"don't you get fucking tired of seeing the same two faces everyday?" Dallas stopped, turning to his brother with an irritated expression. "the same two voices. day in day out, the same routines over and over again. Tyler, i'm sick of it."
Tyler went quiet for a few minutes. he didn't say anything until they reached the highway.
"look at all of this food they're just leaving out," he scoffed. "she's probably dead-"
"jesus christ, would you stop acting like a prick?" he snapped. "every time i do something, every choice i make, you have to fight me on. and when you know you're wrong, you get petty like it."
"i'm not being petty."
"yes you are. would you just stop?" Dallas glanced around. "she isn't here. we'll head back."
Tyler stayed quiet as they left, hopping into the blue truck they drove there with. the tension was high, the only sound being made was the sound of the tires against the road as they sped back to the farm.
