༘ ⊹ ࣪ ˖𐙚❙ 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓. the walking dead₁

𝐱𝐢. 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

❛ SURVIVOR'S HEART ! ❜
chapter eleven ―― stay together

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ CHARLIE SAT IN HER CHAIR, her head back as she stretched her legs out in front of her when Mason hit her thigh, she grumbled as she sat upon and he pointed towards the rv and she turned to see that Amy had turned and Andrea was holding her. They were both sitting up, well Amy was still mostly on the ground but she was trying to get Andrea. The brunette pulled her feet closer to her as she pulled her knife from her pocket and she started to push herself up, the others in the group had noticed as well and were watching the scene. Rick and Shane both pulled their guns as they neared the two, but before either could get close, Andrea had pulled her gun and shot Amy – or what used to be Amy – in the head.

Charlie flinched at the sound as she sunk back into her chair, her eyes filled with tears as she watched the duo. She hadn't known Andrea or Amy all that well, but she had considered them friends – especially Amy. Mason held his hand out and she wedged her fingers between his as she rested their hands on her thigh. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she let her eyes fall closed – she had been trying to keep from crying but it was a losing battle, had been since the night before but she was in too much pain and they had lost so much.

Charlie held onto Mason's shoulders as he carried up the hill towards the holes that had been dug to bury their lost ones, and she was glad to be off of her ankle. She had her chin on his shoulder as he adjusted his hold on her thighs before he moved his hands, clasping them together under her butt so he had a better hold on her.

"Still think it's a mistake not burnin' these bodies." Daryl stated as he walked over to Shane and Rick who were finishing one the graves. "That's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all? Wasn't that the idea?" He asked as the others came to a stop near the truck.

"At first."

"The Chinaman gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along?"

"He's Korean." Charlie grumbled from her place on her best friend's back.

"Thank you." Glenn mumbled, nodding his head at the girl and she nodded back.

"These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are." He continued as though the girl hadn't corrected him.

"There are no rules."

"Well, that's a problem." Lori stated. "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do." She told them and they got to work burying the bodies.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ AFTER BURYING THEIR DEAD and shedding more then a few tears, they headed back to the camp. Charlie sat on a bench seat that had been taken out of one of the cars with Mason and she was leaning against him. He had his arm around her and her eyes had drifted closed, she was tired. He shifted a little to get more comfortable and the girl groaned, lightly hitting his chest.

"Hey, Charlie." Carl ran over and the girl sat up and smiled at the kid.

"Hey, kiddo." She slid over to give him enough room to sit between her and Mason. "What's up?"

"Are you okay?" He looked up at her.

"Uh, yeah." She nodded. "Mostly. Just got a few bumps and bruises is all. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded, a small smile pulling at his lips. "I'm glad that you're okay."

"You aren't the only one, kid." Mason patted him on the back before he leaned and whispered to the boy. "Tell her to stop doing stupid stuff, she might listen to you."

"Okay." Carl nodded and Charlie chuckled a little as the boy turned to her. "Stop doing stupid stuff."

"I'll try my best." She ruffled his hair and he swatted at her hands. She laughed at the kid, wrapping her arm around him and she looked up to see her brother talking to Lori, they stood close together and it was clear that what they were saying was meant to be only between them but even from the distance she could tell it was a bit heated – she knew because she knew Shane better then she knew herself. It was all in the way that he stood, his hands on his hips and his head ducked a little closer to the woman's height. Then Rick stepped out of the rv and they both turned to him, Charlie could practically feel the awkwardness so she looked down at the kid next to her who was laughing at something Mason had told him and she smiled.

"I have a question." Josh spoke up from his place on the ground next to the seat Charlie, Carl and Mason sat on and the brunette looked over at him. "Why does Daryl call you princess?"

"Because he refuses to listen to me." She muttered. "But, uh, he was calling me Robin Hood – he's been teachin' me how to shoot a bow – but I told him that was inaccurate because I'm not very good at it. So he just started callin' me princess no matter how many times I tell him to stop."

"Daryl doesn't seem like the nickname type." He mused and she shrugged, groaning a little with the action before she moved her hand up to her right shoulder and lightly held it over the scrapped up bruise that was on her pale skin.

After a while, everyone joined the others around the fire, all sitting with their families or just trying to get past the awful day they'd had. Andrea was asleep in one of the chairs, Lori was sharpening a stick to a point and Charlie was laying on the ground, her head in Mason's lap as he brushed his fingers through her hair, trying to get the twigs out of her dark waves.

"I've, uh, I've been thinking about Rick's plan." Shane stated, getting everyone's attention after he, Rick and Dale joined the group after doing a sweep of the woods. "Now look, there are no- there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts."

"I like it better when you two get along." Charlie mumbled, mostly to herself, a smile pulling at her lips and Rick smiled a little as he glanced over at the girl.

"I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together." Shane continued. "So, those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay?"

"You got it, Bubba." Charlie gave him a thumbs up. "Now, it's bedtime." She mumbled, closing her eyes as she shifted a little, not that the ground would get much more comfortable, then she sighed as she let her body relax a little.

"Alright, come on." Mason patted her head and she pouted as she sat up. The boy pushed himself to his feet then bent down and picked the girl up before carrying her off towards the tent he and Josh had been sharing since he showed up – Mason wanted her close after all they had been through.