HEART FOR BRAINS • the walking dead

032: isolation

"I can't just let you go out into the woods by yourself."

"Let me?"

"We can't stop you." Carl admitted. "But I'll have to tell my dad."

"Go ahead, then. I'll be out there by the time you find him." Hershel began to leave, turning the corner.

The boys looked at each other for a moment before calling out to the man.

"If you have to go. Then we have to come with you."

"Carl."

"At least let me come." Rio tried to bargain.

"I'm coming too."

"No, the one of you is fine." Hershel replied.

"Okay." Carl sighed.

"I'll go get my crossbow."

"Here, just take this for now." He placed his gun in Rio's hands, warning him not to break it.

"I won't." The boy smiled back before walking off, leaving Carl in the hallway.

Hershel was a few paces ahead, leading Rio out to the woods. The boy caught up with ease, falling into step besides him.

"What do we need?" Rio asked as they wandered into the tree line, the thick and bushy branches creating a thick shadow across the ground.

The man pulled a thin white sack out of his pocket, unfolding it and showing Rio. "We're going berry picking."

"To make medicines?" He asked hopefully. The boy liked to help Hershel in helping people. He'd found out pretty quickly. Now Rio would spend time with him and Beth down in the infirmary, watching as they wrapped bandages or cleaned wounds and took note of what sickness needed what medicine.

"Of a sort." Hershel responded. "They're elderberries, natural flu remedy. Might help everyone out a bit."

"That's cool."

Hershel knelt down besides Rio, telling him which ones to pick. He held the bag out for the other boy to put them in.

"How does it work?"

"The berries?"

"Yeah." He specified, grabbing a branch and pulling each berry off, careful not to squash it.

"I put the berries into a tea."

"But how do the berries work?"

"They just do." Hershel replied simply.

"Well, it's lucky for us that they do work."

"Yes it is."

Rio smiled at the man before shuffling over to another bush, grabbing more handfuls of elderberries. Hershel joked that he was thankful for the help, that his old knees "couldn't take it"

The man's laughter died down before he cleared his throat. "When did Carl get his gun back?"

"This morning I think. Or yesterday night, I'm not really sure."

"I think he's ready for it back."

"He's gonna keep it whether you think he's ready or not."

Hershel shot him a pointed look and Rio began stumbling over his words, trying to reason.

"I just mean, with everything going on now, Rick isn't going to take it back off of him." He settled for.

"I know what you meant."

"I think he's ready, too."

"He seems a lot more mature than all those months ago."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?"