Secrets Untold. (Maggie x fem!reader)

Chapter 8: The Camp

I was rudely awakened by Shane early in the morning. He said we'd leave in an hour so we'd have the whole day to search for the camp. I wasn't happy about being rudely awoken, but I got up and got ready all the same.

After breakfast I waited out front, by the stables, for the rest of the group who would be coming with me. Only Shane, Rick, Daryl and Glenn were coming with me. They were gathering their things and Rick was saying his goodbyes to his family, though it looked more like an argument.

After a few moments, the men had walked over to the stables, Hershel in toe.
"Be careful out there. Don't go killing nobody." He instructed as he pat Rick on the arm.
"Bring the horses back safe. Be careful of, Nelly." He instructed, seemingly directing the last part to Daryl, who let out a grunt.
"Will do. We won't be long." Rick assured, picking a horse and saddling up. The others did the same.

I walked over to a horse, picking a dark brown one, it seemed to be the same horse I startled yesterday. What did Maggie call it again? Then i felt a tap on my shoulder, it was Hershel.

"That one's, Nelly. She gets nervous, so be careful of her throwing you off." He instructed giving me a pat on the back and walking away.
"Ah, she called it nervous Nelly." I remembered just as Hershel had left.
"Hurry up. We're losin' daylight ere'." Daryl yelled, saddling up. I clicked my tongue and did the same.

We had been trotting through the woods for a while and both Shane and Daryl seemed to be losing their patience. Shane rode up beside me, giving me a glare.
"Do you actually remember where it is? Or you just trying to get us killed?" He spat, inching a bit closer.

I gave him a side eye and just ignored him, which ticked him off even more, since he started yelling and snapping his fingers.

"Hey, I'm fucking talking to you."
"Hey, come on man, calm down" Glenn called from the back. Rick sped up and rode besides Shane.
"Calm down, Shane." He said lowly. Shane just scoffed at him.
"You're telling me, you're fine following some random bitch into the woods? God knows how far from the farm we are!" Shane argued.
"She found, Sofia." Rick argued back. I heard daryl scoff as he rode closer.
"Anyone can bring a kid back 'n' say they were tryin' ta' help" He took Shane's side.

Their arguing went on for a few more minutes till I'd had enough and stopped my horse, which got their attention. I turned around to face all of them.

"You can believe whatever you want. Doesn't make a difference to me. Keep a gun at my head if it makes you feel better, but do me a favor, and shut the fuck up." I yelled, huffing out my nostrils. Before anyone could answer, I spoke again.
"I already told you it's a while away. I told you that yesterday, when I said it'd be best to have a whole day to scout. So unless you have a magic wand that teleports us right there, then yeah, it's gonna take a while!"

All of them stared at me. Glenn looked dumbfounded, like he was surprised I spoke at all. Rick just seemed shocked and Shane seemed taken aback that I had yelled at him at all. Daryl just seemed to nod.

I turned back around and began trotting again.
"It's about, half hours journey now. Should be ahead." I called. I didn't wait for them to catch up and just kept riding.

After about a half hour we arrived at our destination. We left our horses behind a nearby bush, tied to a tree.

I led the men through some thick foliage and we appeared on a small clearing the other side. It was filled with tents and junk. A few cars were parked around and a few buckets were layed by the river bank.

I stopped behind a tree and scanned for any people, when it was clear I signaled the men to come out and join me.

I stepped out from the tree, the men following closely. The camp seemed deserted to me, like they left in a hurry. Though there were things left behind, I noticed the weapons I had seen before were gone.

"Looks like they left." Glen voiced, peeking through some tents.
"Or they went looking fo' their friend." Daryl said, opening a few car trunks and checking the contents.
"In any case, they're not here now." Rick stated, looking around. Glenn nodded and walked over to Rick.
"I don't see any guns either." He said.
"Bastards probably took em' with em'." Daryl said.
"Yeah, to look for us. I'm telling you, we need to kill that kid." Shane spat, kicking a nearby car.

I leaned against a tree and watched the four of them as they began to argue, for the second time that day. Shane was throwing objects around, presumably looking for any kind of weapon they may have left. Daryl was yelling about killing the kid. Rick was pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to think. And Glenn was trying to calm Daryl and Shane.

I let out a sigh. I knew I should've left when I had the chance. This group is falling apart....And I stayed just cause some girl asked for help? I knew getting involved was a bad idea but I did it anyway! I kicked the ground nearby me, then stood from my tree. Well, I was in the thick of it now, I might as well finish what I started.

I walked over to the men, and clapped my hands. Rick and Glenn's attention turned to me, and Daryl and Shane looked rather annoyed.

"We can look around the nearby area." I suggested, turning to Daryl.
"You hunt, right?" He nodded, confused.
"So you can track?" He nodded again.
"If they did leave, I'm sure they left some kind of trail, you can at least find what way they went." I suggested.
Rick nodded and Daryl began scanning the ground for any tracks.
"Nice idea" Glenn complimented, patting my shoulder. I just nodded, hoping they'd find something.

By the time we got back to the farm it was around late evening. Most of the group was around the campfire, cooking a meal.

Unfortunately, we didn't find too much at the camp. Daryl found a small trail leading south, but it stopped after a while. At the very least, the mysterious group hadn't gone in the direction of the farm.

We put the horses back in their stables, then walked over to the group. Though, I did more of a hobble. Maggie and Hershel were right, the horse was called nervous Nelly for a reason.

"Any luck?" Asked Dale, as he climbed down from his camper.
"No, they had left." Rick answered.
"Were there a while though. Left to the south." Daryl explained, walking over to the fire to grab some food.
"What happened to you?" Dale asked me, as he noticed Glenn helping me walk.
"Horse threw her off, twisted her ankle." Glenn explained, Rick turned to Dale.
"Don't suppose Hershel's around?"
Dale shrugged and walked over to me and Glenn and helped me walk.

Just as Glenn and Dale were helping me to the campfire, Maggie and Hershel walked down the porch. As soon as they noticed me they walked over.

"What happened to you?" Maggie asked, taking over from Dale so he could sit down.
"Did Nelly buck you off?" Hershel asked, I just nodded. I saw a grin creep onto Maggie's face.
"Come inside, I'd best look at that ankle" He ordered, turning around and heading inside.
"I got this Glenn, go have some rest" Maggie said, Glenn nodded and left me in her care.

I silently prayed for him to come back, I just knew Maggie was going to tease me about the horse.