BLACK

Episode 7: Guns Are Fun

The hardest part of writing this chapter was figuring out if the word 'are' is supposed to be capitalized in a title (it is). Just kidding, this chapter was actually really hard to write about it's b/c it jumps around ALOT. So sorry about that ahead of time.

Anyways, I know it's the day after I posted 6 but I thought I'd give yall this. Especially considering 6 & 7 are really close. Like it should've just been one chapter, but if it was it'd be like 20 something pages on Wattpad. Next update WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY. Just b/c I need to build some suspense (: Thanks for the lovely comments last chapter!

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Rick rolled out a black mat with knives and small axes tucked into it across the hood of an old car. Your eyes glanced over the sharp weapons curiously; they made your knife look like a play toy.
"Everyone takes a weapon." He called out and readjusted his hat. He had pulled his uniform on over a dark gray T-shirt.
"These aren't the kind of weapons we need." Andrea replied bluntly. She wore the same clothes as yesterday with her hair half up and half down. You rolled your eyes as she continued, "What about the guns?"
"We've been over that." Shane pushed himself off the RV. He wore a black, tight shirt and the same cargo type pants. Lori walked up to the car and pulled out a knife as he continued, "Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."
Glenn passed you in a plain T-shirt with a baseball styled button up shirt on top of it. The same baseball cap sat on his head; you were starting to realize that you rarely saw him without it.
"It's not the trees I'm worried about." Andrea crossed her arms and looked away.
Shane shook his head, "Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it."
This upset Andrea more as she snatched a small axe off the front of the car and walked away. Rick glanced at you, but you shook your head motioning toward the knife in your boot.
"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around, and then come back down the other side." Daryl spoke up. He wore a sleeveless light blue button up that admittedly looked really good on him as it complimented his eyes and hair color. Daryl held his crossbow over his right shoulder. Your head tilted slightly as you silently thanked God that the redneck didn't seem too fond of wearing sleeves. "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."
T-Dog snapped his fingers in front of your face grabbing your attention. He let out a quiet snicker as a blush covered your cheeks. You used your shoulder to push him playfully. Castiel, who had been glued to you since he woke up, stood on your other side in the same clothes he found yesterday.
"Stay quiet, stay sharp." Rick commanded, "Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other."
Shane clapped his hands and motioned toward the pile of food and water, "Everybody assemble your pack."
"Dale, keep on those repairs", Rick began to speak with the older man. Lori and Carl stood beside him while you tightened the straps on your bag.
"Hey Cas", You turned to face him. He focused his attention on you, "I want you to stay here with T-Dog and Dale."
"Who says I'm staying?" T-Dog spoke up from behind you.
"Me. Both of you are injured. You need the rest T, and Cas, you could rip your stitches." You explained. T-Dog accepted his fate and walked off while Castiel stared at you.
"I'd like to help find the missing girl. I also want to help protect you. I owe you that much."
"I'll be fine. I'd feel better if you were here." You shrugged, "Just keep an eye on things up here, alright?"
He sighed and nodded, "Ok."
You gave him a pat on the arm before walking away from the RV. The last thing you heard was Dale convincing Rick to let Carl to with the group to find Sophia. You came to a stop beside Daryl.
"Morning Daryl." You greeted.
He gave you a nod, but didn't look at you. You let your eyes trace over the muscles in his arm. It made you curious as to what he did before all this. Obviously, it had to deal with manual labor to give him arms like that.
"What you starin' at, sunshine?"
You jumped and prayed a blush hadn't spread across your cheeks, "Nothing."
Daryl had his eyes slightly narrowed at you, "That Cas guy coming?"
"Nah, I told him to stay here with Dale and T. I don't want him to strain his injury."
"You trust him that much already?"
This question hit you hard. You did trust him enough to leave him here and not worry about him going on a murderous rampage. That didn't mean you weren't wary of him. When it all boiled down to the main facts, you'd kill him if he so much as touched anyone in this makeshift family of yours. Even if it were someone like Andrea who has done nothing but annoy you. What bothered you the most about all of it was how easy it was for you to accept killing him. It'd be nothing. You'd be upset that he was stupid enough to betray your trust, but you could do it.
"He's a good guy." You said slowly. It was all you could say. Daryl stared at you a moment longer pondering what could be going through your mind. It had been a pretty big gap between his question and your answer. You glanced up at him with the same cheerful smile you normally wore.
"Whatever." He shrugged.
Andrea walked back towards the RV. Specifically to Dale who was standing by Castiel and T-Dog. You let a small sigh escape your lips as everyone got quiet to see what new drama would unfold. T-Dog grabbed Castiel's arm and slipped away from the war zone.
"Andrea, I'm begging you. Don't put me in this position." Dale spoke first.
Andrea shrugged, "I'm not going out there without my gun. I'll even say please."
"I'm doing this for you."
"No, Dale, you're doing this for you." Andrea snapped, "You need to stop. What do you thinks gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?"
Dale sighed, "I know you're angry at me. That much is clear, but if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."
"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay."
"You chose suicide!"
"So what's that to you? You barely know me." Andrea scoffed and you could clearly see the pain in Dale's features. He had risked his life getting Andrea out of that building by telling her he'd stay with her no matter what. If she was going to die in that building he was going to choose to die beside her.
"I know Amy's death devastated you." He said softly.
"Keep her out of this! This is not about Amy, this is about us. And if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise?!" Andrea's voice broke. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't shed a single one. "To force my hand like that!"
"I saved your life." Dale shook his head in disbelief.
"No. Dale, I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect? What I'd have some kind of epiphany? Some life-affirming catharsis?"
"Maybe just a little gratitude."
Andrea scoffed. The sadness in her voice quickly changed back to anger and disbelief, "Gratitude? I wanted to die my own way. Not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice. You took that away from me Dale."
"But--"
"But you know better?" Andrea threw her hands up, "All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless, horrific nightmare we live in. I wasn't hurting anybody, Dale. And you expect gratitude?"
Dale paused. He looked hurt and shocked. He shook his head, "I don't know what to say."
"I'm not your little girl, I'm not your wife, and I'm sure as he'll not your problem. That's all there is to say." Andrea stormed towards where you stood with the others ready to leave. It was quiet as the group separated from the road.
Daryl led the group with Rick behind him, then Andrea, Carol, you, Glenn, Lori, Carl, and Shane. The group quietly walked through the forest on the lookout for a lost little girl. Your mind hovered around what Andrea said. You understood how she saw it, and, though you didn't agree with her, you could see where she was coming from. You'd never give up. You couldn't. There was a stubborn portion of your mind and soul that refused to go down without a fight. If you were going to die, you'd go down swinging. It bothered you also that Andrea took it all out on poor Dale. He was only trying to look after her.
The snapping of a twig caught your attention. Your head spun to the side looking for its source. Nobody else had noticed it apparently because they kept moving forward.
"You ok?" Glenn asked from behind you. A squirrel ran up a tree far in the distance making a similar noise.
"Yeah I'm fine." You replied and focused on the path in front of you. A small smile lit your features. It was impressive to notice a sound like that from this far. As you walked you could feel all your senses reaching out and surveying the area around you.
Whatever was up with your past, there was one thing you were sure of. You had been one hell of a hunter.
The group walked for about two hours when a change in scenery occurred. Daryl slowed the group as he spotted a single person tent hidden between the small clearing of a few trees. After a small exchange of trying to figure out whether Sophia was in there or not Daryl finally entered the tent. It turned out there was only a dead body in the tent. He had killed himself with a pistol. The group was trying to discuss what to do next when loud church bells tore through the air.
Everybody began to sprint in the direction of the bells. It was hard to tell which direction it was coming from because of echoing effect and it had stopped after a few minutes, but the group finally exited out of the forest on top of a small hill and clearing. It was a medium sized homey looking church with white panels and a white roof. There was no steeple for a bell though.
"This can't be it. There's no steeple." Shane said. Rick ignored him and sprinted down the hill, through a small cemetery, and toward the building. Everyone followed behind him until the entire group stood behind Rick, Shane, and Daryl on a staircase in front of a pair of double red doors.
Rick pushed the doors open to reveal the sanctuary. The carpet was a dark red that matched the seats with white walls. There were three people sitting in the pews as still as stone. When the doors opened however, they slowly turned their rotting heads toward the sound. You swallowed the lump in your throat at the sight of the walkers dressed in their Sunday best.
Rick took the machete that Lori handed him and walked towards the one in the middle. Shane went after the one on the far left with his own blade. Daryl turned and shoved his crossbow into your open arms before pulling out a small axe and heading toward the last one.
As the three walkers were taken care of you struggled to get a good grip on the surprisingly heavy crossbow. No wonder Daryl had arms like that. Just holding the weapon was a workout. It grew silent again as the three walkers laid on the floor oozing out rotted bodily fluids.
"Sophia!" Rick screamed in frustration. He opened up a side door and peeked through it only to be greeted by silence.
Daryl used his forearm to wipe away slathered blood on his face, he was near the front of the sanctuary. His gaze settled on the cross with a carved figure of Jesus hanging from it.
"Yo, J.C., you taking requests?" He asked before turning on his heel and walking back towards the doors where you still stood.
Shane shook his head, "I am telling you. It's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick. There's no steep--"
Loud bells began to echo again startling everyone. It came from directly outside the building. Everyone ran around the corner to see a loud speaker connected to the edge of the roof. Glenn pushed past you and opened the box it was connected to. He ripped out a few cords and the ringing stopped.
"Timer", Daryl pointed with the machete in his hands, "It's on a timer."
"I'm going to go back in for a bit." Carol said quietly before slipping away. A few people followed her inside as you took a seat on the steps outside of the sanctuary. The crossbow sat in your lap.
"Hand it over." Daryl said as he walked over towards you. You lifted it up off your lap and he grabbed it then slung it over his shoulder with ease. "Thanks."
"No problemo." You shrugged, "Isn't it annoying carrying that thing around?"
Daryl glanced back at it, "Nah."
"Well it's pretty freaking heavy."
"Don't be a wimp, sunshine." He retaliated. You cracked a smile and nodded.
"You're so right."
Daryl glanced over your slumped figure. He tore his gaze away before speaking again, "What's wrong with you?"
"I don't know." You shook your head, "I guess I'm just worried about Sophia you know?"
"Well that's stupid. We're gonna find her." He scoffed. You glanced up at him. He had one foot on the bottom step and his other on the ground. He was looking toward the forest line with glare, but you recognized it as one he held when he was in thought rather than when he was angry. You chuckled and his gaze snapped to you.
"You're right, Daryl. We are going to find her."
"Course I am." He replied before walking off to the side and around the corner. Your mind traveled to where the little girl could possibly be. She had to be close, didn't she?
You quickly rose to your feet and glanced around the area for Rick. As you turned the corner opposite of where Daryl walked off toward you caught sight of Shane and Lori. It seemed they had been arguing, but you only caught the last part.
"I'm the one who loses you!" Shane said harshly toward Lori. The two stared at each other as your eyes widened. Shane was in love with Lori? Your mind ran through all the confusing moments and awkward stares. It quickly came to the horrible conclusion that Lori had cheated on Rick with Shane. His best friend and partner.
Lori turned and stormed away. You slunk back against the wall quietly in hopes of not being seen by either of them. Moments of silence passed before you saw Shane walk off with Andrea chasing after him.
You were completely and utterly torn. To tell Rick would crush him, but not telling him was awful as well. This was too much to handle on top of the Sophia deal. You took a deep breath and pushed this recent discovery to the back of your mind to deal with later.
Rick had been inside the sanctuary, but you got him to come out to talk with him rather than speak together inside. He stopped on the last step as you leaned against the railing.
"I don't want to go back to the highway." You blurted.
One eyebrow raised in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"We heard the bells and came running. What if Sophia is trying to do the same?"
Realization settled on his features. Rick sighed, "It was hard for us to pinpoint where the sound was coming from."
"It'll be harder for her." You agreed, "I just want to go a little further past this church. She could be wandering around the outskirts here."
"Alone?"
"The group isn't exactly prepared to hike out further. It's past noon and they're tired." You crossed your arms. "I'd be fine."
As the words tumbled out of your mouth the group began to gather outside of the church by a small tree. Rick nodded, "Just wait here."
He walked past you toward Shane who was in the distance talking to Andrea still. You headed towards the group and stood beside Glenn. Andrea came towards the group when she spotted Rick. Your eyes caught hers as the two of you stared at each other.
"Y'all are gonna head back." Shane's words grabbed your attention. Him and Rick had come to stand in front of the group, "Me, Rick, and Aj are gonna keep looking."
"You're splitting us up?" Daryl asked as he glanced from you to Shane.
"Why her?" Andrea began before Daryl even finished talking.
Rick shrugged, "It was her idea in the first place."
"Yeah we are, but we'll catch up." Shane replied to Daryl. Glenn set his hand on your shoulder with a smile.
"Careful."
"You too, Glenn." You replied before walking over to stand by Shane. Carl stepped forward as well.
"I wanna stay too. She's my friend."
It was silent as the decision was thought over. Lori pulled her son into a hug and pressed her lips to the top of his head, "Just be careful ok?"
"I will."
Rick stepped over to Lori and pulled her into a kiss. Your eyes darted to Shane awkwardly. You hadn't even noticed that Daryl was walking up to you until he was only a few inches away. You glanced at him as he pulled out a black pistol.
"Need it?" He asked holding it out for you to take.
Your eyes widened, "Where did you-?"
"The guy in the tent."
You shook your head, "I-I can't shoot. I'm not comfortable with holding a gun."
It hurt to lie to him, but you were terrified to hold a gun in your hands. Not in fear of mishandling it, but rather you were scared of it being familiar. You were scared that you'd be good.
Daryl scoffed at you and pocketed the gun, "Thought you were a hunter?"
"Sure, but I don't remember everything about it." You shrugged sheepishly, "It's a miracle I can tie my shoes."
"Don't do anything stupid." Daryl shook his head and walked back to the other group, "Need to learn how to handle a damn gun."
"Thanks Daryl!" You chirped causing him to throw you a glare over his shoulder. Glenn witnessed it and chuckled to himself.
"What are you laughing at short round?" Daryl snapped at him.
Glenn shrugged sheepishly, "Nothing."
"No Rick", Lori's voice caught your attention, "I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed."
Her eyes darted to you accusingly. You rolled your eyes in response. It was as if she never planned to let that go.
"Here, got a spare. Take it." Daryl handed her the gun he originally offered you. Lori took the gun with her right hand as Andrea scoffed and threw her hands up. The petty side of you thought it was hilarious that a gun would get handed out to you and Lori before her. Rick nodded his head at Daryl in thanks before the two groups separated. Daryl led one group back towards the highway, while Rick led your makeshift group deeper into the woods.