PHOSPHENES¹ [the walking dead]

B - IV

"You think we should abandon the search?" Rick asked Shane.

"It's not my call, is it?"

"I'm asking. I'm asking." Rick was sounding like he was getting annoyed. Winston grabbed Beatrix's arm, to stop her from catching up to them. Like this, they remained in the back, where they couldn't see them but they could still hear the argument.

"Survival, Rick. It means making hard decisions. But you've got this knack. Your spread has become thinner and thinner. I'm trying to save lives here and you're out saving cats from trees."

"Is that what you think Sophia is, a cat in a tree?"

"Don't do that man?" Shane told him. "Don't twist my words. How many times do we get called up to look for a missing child, man? You got 72 hours, and after that, you're looking for a body. And that was before. I mean, honestly think we're just gonna find Sophia alive?"

"Are you that sure we won't?"

"We being completely honest?"

"I'm counting on you to be." Rick turned around and stopped.

"It's maths, man. Love or not, Sophia, she only matters, to the degree in which she don't drag the rest of us down. I thought you wanted honest." He defended himself when he saw the look on Rick's face.

"If we'd just moved on, man, we'd be halfway to Fort Benning right now and Carl wouldn't have gotten shot, we wouldn't have had extra mouths to feed. You said so yourself. But we're out here, we're out here, we're risking lives. Your own son almost died. Otis, he paid that bill. What the hell are we still doing this for?"

"I had her in my hands, Shane. She looked me straight in my eyes and trusted me. I failed her. If I hadn't, she wouldn't be out here. I think she's still alive and I'm not gonna write her off."

The conversation stopped for a little. Winston and Beatrix had heard a lot that made them trust Shane even less than before.

"It's blue. It's Andrea and T-Dog. Looks like we've wandered into their grid." Shane pointed to a blue piece of fabric nailed to a tree. "Beatrix, Winston. Come on." He yelled at them to keep up.

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"Walker, Walker!" Andrea yells from up above the RV. Everybody came to take a closer look. At the edge of the woods, a walker walked, just one.

Shane, Rick, and Glenn went over to take care of it.

Andrea shot even though she wasn't supposed to. She hit it, then Rick started yelling about something. Even more, people made their way over, including Winston, Rowan and Beatrix.

"Winston, what's going on?" Rowan asked him.

"I don't know."

Rick and Shane came closer to the group.

"Daryl?" Beatrix said. "Oh my God. Daryl." Tears sprung in her eyes and she tried to launch herself for him but Wiston held her back.

"Is he dead?" Beatrix was fully crying now.

"Unconscious, the bullet just grazed him," Glenn explained to her.