A Fallen Angel (Sequel to "A Kiss From Lucifer")

25

While trudging through the woods, Mac was growing anxious. He wanted nothing more than to just get back home to Beth. He was worried about her and if she was ok. Was she scared right now? Or maybe mad? He couldn't blame her if she was a little upset that he was gone. But it was for a good cause, right? A child was missing and he was helping find her.

Mac glanced up at the sun and watched as it started sinking below the trees. It was going to get dark soon, and it'd be pointless to hunt in the dark.

"We gotta get back." Mac muttered. "Gettin' dark."

"I'm not giving up the search yet." Rick replied stubbornly. Mac glanced back at him, arching an eyebrow.

"Ya ain't gonna find anythin' when it's dark." He pointed out.

"It doesn't hurt to try." Shane said, pausing beside Rick. "We have to find her."

Mac grumbled under his breath. Stupid city folk. "I'm tellin' ya, ya ain't gonna find shit out here without light."

"I'm not looking while it's dark out. I just want to go a different route. That way we can cover more ground and have a better chance at finding Sophia." Rick stated.

Mac rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth the speak when Carl ran forward and up to his dad. "I wanna come, too." He declared.

"Carl, no-" Lori began.

"She's my friend, Mom. I have to find her." Carl insisted, his eyes wide and pleading. "Please Mom? I'll be with Dad and Shane."

Lori sighed heavily, staring at Rick with obvious anxiety glazing her eyes. Rick walked up to her and gave her forehead a kiss. "We'll be back soon." He said. Then he took his revolver out of his belt and offered it to her.

"No," she murmured softly, pushing the revolver back to Rick. "You need it to protect our son."

Mac couldn't help but wonder what he and Beth would do in that situation. Beth would probably be pissed at him, possibly cry a little, and maybe Mac would be a pushover and stay with her and the group instead. Yep, that sounded about right.

Rick gave Lori a swift kiss before turning to look at the others. "We'll meet y'all at the RV." He declared. Then he, Shane, and Carl turn around, heading into the woods.

Mac grumbled slightly. He wanted to get back home soon. He had been gone for about two days now. What if Beth was crying right now? What if she was being sick in the toilet? Could she already show signs of pregnancy this early on? It was only three days since they had unprotected sex. Was she even pregnant? Was she scared? Maybe she found some abortion pills at her house? He felt a little bit of heartache in his chest at the idea that Beth had gotten rid of his baby. But it was her body, her decision. That fact didn't stop him from feeling a little hurt and betrayed, though. He should've talked to Beth about it before running off for the pills. Luckily he "hadn't found any". Now they'd have a kid, and he just knew that Beth would be an amazing mother. Hell he was probably going to be a good father, too.

"We should be searching together," Carol said behind him.

"Yeah. I don't like splittin' up." Mac remarked.

Suddenly Lori whipped around to glare at them, her eyes burning intensely. "Stop blaming Rick for what happened to Sophia, because no one else ran after her like he did!" She snapped. Mac glanced at the others in confusion. The fuck is this bitch goin' on about? They weren't criticizing Rick, just expressing that they didn't like being separated. Was this lady insane? Now he wanted to grab Glenn and Merle and to get the hell out of there. "I'm tired of you mistrusting my family! Any of you are free to leave any time you want."

Mac glanced at Merle, who was also confused. "The fuck are you goin' on about? No one was sayin' shit about yer husband." Mac demanded.

Before Lori could answer, there was a loud gunshot. Mac paused, glancing around. He waited for more, but it was only the one. The group froze up, glancing around frantically.

"Why was it just one gunshot? They wouldn't use one bullet on one walker, would they?" Lori asked, the insanity she displayed earlier was gone and replaced by worry.

"Yeah, they should've caught up by now..." Carol mumbled, her eyes wide and her hands rubbing her arms nervously. Merle rested a hand on her upper back, which made her jump a little.

"Hey, they know what they're doin'. If they've made it this far, they'll be fine." Merle stated, even though both he and Mac knew that probably wasn't the case.

"C'mon, let's just get back before it gets too dark." Mac muttered, starting forward again.

Merle fell in beside him and leaned forward a bit. "How much longer we gonna stay out here?" He whispered. "The one lady is crazy as all fuck."

"I say we grab Glenn and get the hell outta here tomorrow mornin'. We ain't too far from the farm." Mac muttered.

Merle agreed with the idea and they walked in silence. No one said anything else, and for the next fifteen minutes, they walked.

Then a woman screamed behind them. Mac whipped around and had his crossbow ready, and then he noticed that it was Andrea who had screamed. A walker was lunging at her, and she fell back. Mac hesitated, glaring hard at her. He couldn't help but want Andrea dead. He hated her for making him almost cheat on Beth.

He wanted her dead.

He couldn't help but feel satisfaction of watching the walker almost bite Andrea, but his kind went to an uneasy place. Jimmy had been in this situation before, and that had resulted in Shawn's death. He glanced around and found that no one else was making moves to save Andrea. They were ok, as long as the walker focused its attention on the screaming whore.

Suddenly Mac heard the pounding of horse hooves, and Mac whipped his head up to see none other than Maggie racing forward in Princess, the brown horse. Wielding a baseball bat, she swung and hit the walker on the side of the head, knocking it to the ground.

Merle started applauding, and Maggie glanced up, thoroughly surprised. "Amazin', Mag!" He called. "Guess who we found?"

"Maggie?" Glenn asked, shoving his way forward.

"Glenn!" Maggie exclaimed, and Mac noticed the tears in her eyes as she stared down at him from on top of the horse. Glenn smiled softly, but Maggie's smile fell as she scanned the group. "I'm lookin' for a 'Lori'?" She stated. "It's about your son, Carl."

Lori's eyes widened and she raced forward, hopping onto the back of the horse. Maggie focused her attention on Mac, Merle, and Glenn. "Get the rest of the group back to the farm." Then her gazed flickered to Mac. "Hurry up, too. Beth misses ya." And just like that, they were off.

Mac turned to Merle. "C'mon, you heard the woman. Let's go!" He ordered,  just as the walker Maggie knocked down earlier growled. "Shut up." Mac snapped, shooting it in the head with his crossbow.