ᴅᴇᴀᴅɢɪʀʟᴡᴀʟᴋɪɴɢᴡᴘ (On Hold)

The Farm

Hannah woke with a start the next morning and sat up, a nightmare leaving her gasping for air. "Hey hey you're OK" she turned to see Andrea giving her a comforting smile. She felt a pang of guilt as she realised she must've stayed with her on that uncomfortable car the entire night.

She gave the woman a small smile and for the first time in around twelve hours, pushed herself off the car and allowed her shoes to stomp down onto the cement below. The two headed over to join the others, who were already awake and gathered in a circle near the RV. "Alright, Dale, T-Dog, Glenn and the kids will stay here, the rest of us split into two groups to search" Rick instructed and Carl scoffed in response. Lori raised an eyebrow and smacked his shoulder light, "Got a problem with that?" she questioned. "I wanna go too" he demanded, "No, absolutely not" she replied almost instantly. "I can fight, I want to help. I want to find Sophia" he persisted. Lori bit her tongue for a moment and looked to her husband for guidance. Rick sighed and ran his hand over his face, debating on what to do with his son, who had apparently developed a new arrogant attitude overnight. "Fine, you stick with me and Shane and you let one of us handle the walkers unless it's absolutely necessary, deal?" "Deal" Carl replied, shaking Rick's hand and then wandering off to go and sit on the barrier.

Hannah scuffed her shoes against the ground as the groups prepared to leave, she wanted to go with them but she didn't know how to ask. An idea popped into her mind and she quickly skipped over to the car she had slept on, where the pencil and paper still lay. 'I want to go with you' she jotted down and then hurried over to Andrea's group, handing her the paper with a newly found determination. She read it and frowned, turning to see the girl giving her the sweetest puppy dog eyes she could muster. She was glad that Hannah seemed to be doing a little better, but was apprehensive at taking her into the woods after what happened last time, she could defend herself but she shouldn't have to be put in that situation again. "Dale" she called over to the man, "Can I take her?". Dale thought it over for a few seconds and then beckoned his granddaughter over, taking both her hands in his. "You stick by Andrea, you do everything she says and you don't go running off and putting yourself in danger for anyone else, promise?" Hannah nodded and jogged back over to Andrea, who wrapped an arm around her. "She doesn't leave my sight Dale" she promised and Dale gave a short nod. He couldn't help but worry about the only remaining member of his family as he watched her hop the barrier and head off into the woods.

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They scoured the woods for most of the day, searching various abandoned cabins and tents, still with no sign of Sophia or trace that she'd even been there as Daryl had lost her trail hours prior. The small group stumbled across a church lying in a clearing, Daryl handled the walkers inside and the group followed in his wake once he declared it safe. Andrea noticed Hannah's apprehension at stepping over the threshold and pulled her arm back slightly, "We can stay out here if you want" she offered. Hannah nodded and sighed in relief, spinning round to sit on the church steps instead. She never liked church, it gave her a weird knot in her stomach whenever they had to go to mass every Sunday, the four walls just oozed judgement and disapproval. The entire idea of going inside freaked her out.

After a while, Carol, Lori and Daryl stepped out of the church and they continued walking. They had only been traipsing through the woods for about five minutes before a distant gunshot echoed through the trees. Hannah flinched and Andrea instinctively pulled her closer, putting a comforting hand on her back. "What was that?" Lori questioned. "Gunshot, d'ya think it was them?" Daryl asked, in reference to the other half of their group. "They probably took down a walker or something." Andrea offered. "Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly." Lori replied, her voice strained from worry. "I'm sure they're fine." Andrea said, giving Lori a small smile. The woman didn't look at all reassured, but reluctantly nodded and the group continued walking.