All I Wanted

Chapter Fourteen

Rick returned to the highway without Sophia. He didn't stay for long, taking Daryl, Glenn and Shane to track her. Carol was inconsolable, nothing would comfort her. Not even after Shane and Glenn returned to say they found her trail. She stayed by the guardrail while everyone moved cars, waiting for any sign of Sophia.

Yasmin helped collect supplies instead, forcing Carl to help too. Poor kid wasn't handling Sophia missing. Sensitive thing. She was hoping that moving supplies would get his mind off of his friend, at least for a little. Regretfully, Yasmin's mind was so focused on not thinking about that little girl that she wasn't concentrating on Carl. Until he returned to her, all kinds of weapons held in a Tool Wrap.

"Carl Grimes, what on earth is in your hands?" she growled, storming towards the little boy.

"Shane, check it out!" he exclaimed as he unwrapped it on the ground. "It's an arsenal."

Shane didn't bother to glance at the weapons, focusing instead on the car he was either fixing or dismantling.

"That's cool, Bud. Go give 'em to Dale."

Carl didn't listen.

"Check this one out." He pulled one of the weapons from the Tool Wrap. "Woah, it's a hatchet."

Carl started to swing it around but was quickly shut down by his mother.

"No, absolutely not. No playing with weapons. Don't make me say it again," she demanded, hands on her hips.

"Can I keep one?"

Yasmin debated it for a second but ultimately decided Carl wasn't ready.

"Not yet, Bud. Give it."

Yasmin took the hatchet from his hands, noting how surprisingly light it was.

"Shane. Shane, tell her to let me keep one."

Yasmin turned to Carl, appalled. How dare he try to undermine her decision? Shane swiveled, frustrated.

"Hey, man, go give them all to Dale now. Go."

Yasmin had rewrapped the weapons as Shane spoke. Carl yanked them from her arms, sulking off to the RV.

"You speak to Carl like that again, and I will serve your balls to the Walkers on a platter."

Yasmin walked away, ignoring the recurring message from the Hyundai's radio, the car that Shane had been too busy fixing to respond to Carl. Her anger was palpable. The group left her alone, except Carl who followed her like a shadow. She ignored everyone, including Andrea's fit about her gun, until Rick and Daryl returned. No Sophia in sight. Her heart broke even more, Carol's cries burnt into her memory.

"You didn't find her?"

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light," Rick decided.

Yasmin came and stood behind Carol, rubbing a hand on her shoulder. Carol had almost folded in on herself, she hadn't looked so small since that day at The Quarry doing laundry.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods."

The tears on Carol's face brought some to Yasmin's eyes, but she steeled herself. She reminded herself she needed to be strong, be powerful. She wouldn't let herself feel the pain and sorrow of Sophia's disappearance till the privacy of a tent or car.

"Out in the dark's no good," Daryl rasped. "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost."

"But she's 12. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?"

Carol pulled herself from Yasmin's arms.

"I know this is hard. But in asking you not to panic. We know she was out there."

"And we tracked her for a while," Daryl added.

"We have to make this an organised effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

Yasmin's heart swelled with pride as she watched her husband slowly become the leader the group needed.

"I— is that blood?" Carols asked, noticing the stains on both means shirts that weren't there before.

She started hyperventilating. Yasmin placed Carol's hand on her chest and took deep breaths. Carol followed her breaths.

"We took down a Walker."

"Walker? Oh, my God."

Yasmin tried her hardest to comfort Carol, but nothing would console her. Yasmin wasn't surprised, she would be a mess if Carl was missing.

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia," Rick insisted.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

Rick paused, like he didn't want to answer, and turned to Daryl.

"Cut the sombitch open, made sure."

Carol lowered herself to sit on the guard rail, breathless. Yasmin sat with her, rubbing her hand up and down her back. It worked on Carl, she was hoping it would work on Carol too.

"How could you just leave her out there to begin with?" Carol spat with as much anger and venom she could muster.

Yasmin took her hand away from Carol's back, standing from the guard rail and looking at the woman in disgust.

"How could you just leave her?"

Yasmin pressed her tongue into her cheek, shaking her head and placing her hands on her hips. She was furious. She understood being angry at the situation, but misplacing her blame onto Rick pissed her off more than Shane. She had to hold herself back from cussing out Carol, reminding herself that her daughter was missing.

"Those two Walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance."

Rick looked heartbroken. Yasmin could taste his emotions, clouding her own.

"Sounds like he didn't have much of a choice, Carol," Shane chimed in.

Yasmin was surprised he had Rick's back. The way those two were going, she wouldn't be surprised if Shane split.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child," Carol sobbed, her voice almost inaudible.

Yasmin moved back to comfort Carol, her anger finally dissipating. She was ashamed of herself, for letting her emotions so quickly take over her choices.

Rick dropped to his knees in front of Carol.

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make."

Rick was tearing up, the lump in his throat hard to talk through. Sophia's disappearance, and the guilt he felt, were taking a toll on him. A toll on everyone.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that," Shane reassured.

Yasmin reached her free hand out to Rick, still hugging Carol with one arm.

"My little girl got left in the woods."