Call me England Dixon

Chapter 27: I can handle it...

"Baby?" Mum says.

"Carl?"

He opens his eyes slowly and looks around the room.

"S-Sophia?" he asks. Mum, Dad, and I look at each other confused before looking back at him. "Is she okay?"

"Fine." Dad lies. "She's fine."

"Get some rest," Mum says. "We'll be right here, okay?" He nods his head and closes his eyes once more. I let out a sigh and looked out the window once more as I heard revving.

"Daryl" I breathe out as I see his motorcycle come into view. I put my cup of tea down and raced outside. He parks in front of the house and I just go down from the porch and hug him. He stiffens at first from the sudden impact and as I go to move, he pulls me tightly to his chest.

"Carl?" he whispers in my ear. I let go looking at him.

"He's okay." I smile and he nods. Dad walks out of the house with mum behind. He stands alone and starts to give a speech as if he's the main character on a show.

"How is he?" Dale asks, worry plastered all over his face.

"He'll pull through." Mum smiles proudly, making me do the same. "Thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane," Dad says, making my smile drop. Daryl looks at me curiously before looking back at my father. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Everyone starts hugging each other while I just stand on the sidelines. Andrea walks up to me with a kind smile and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"It's good to know." I nod my head.

"How'd it happen?" -Dale.

"Hunting accident. That's all- just a stupid accident." Dad chuckles.

Beth outs rock down on the pile we created for the man who risked his life. Otis.

"Blessed be God. Father our Lord Jesus Crist." Hershel reads out the bible. Beth's boyfriend, Tommy? Tim? I don't really remember. Goes up and does the same. "Praise be to him. For the gift of our brother Otis. For his span of years. For his abundance of character; Otis, Who gave his life to save a child's. Now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he knows in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace." He finishes and backs up.

"Shane, will you speak for Otis?" Hershel asks. Shane's head snaps in his direction.

"Not good at it." He stated, looking away. "I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments, please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning.'' Patricia sobs. He nods and walks forward.

"We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then." Shane starts. He fidgets with his fingers. I narrow my eyes on him. "I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen. 'We gotta save the boy' See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack and he shoved me ahead. Run, he said. He said ''I'll take the rear, I'll cover you." He stops for a second. His eyes seem distant like he's not here. "And when I looked back" He looked at Patricia, walking up to the pile of rocks, and picked one up himself. "If not for Otis, I'd never made it out of there alive. And that goes for Carl too." My eyes snap over to him. He stares eyes hard at me.

"It was Otis. he saved us both." He looks over at Patricia once more. "If any death ever had meaning, it was his." He puts down the rock. Leaving everyone quiet. We all stand in silence for a while until we decide to leave. All of us leave at our own pace.

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asks as a few of us stand by a truck waiting for Maggie to come back with a map.

"This would be day three," I responded. Maggie stands beside me and lays out the map on top of the hood.