Hero

t w e l v e

 "I'll see you later then," Lee said, turning around on her heel and beginning to exit the stable. "Be careful Daryl." 

"I will Lee." He replied, hoisting himself up onto the horse. 

Lenora walked the short distance back towards the main camp. Mostly everyone in their group was gone, all searching for Sophia. She had a feeling it would be a day full of chores. At least Lori and Carol were done doing laundry, leaving it out to air dry on a clothes line. Dale sat on top of the RV keeping watch like he always did. After a moment of debating whether or not to help with chores, she decided to climb the RV's ladder. 

"I was wondering where you went off too." Dale said as the young girl pulled herself on top of the RV. The metal was hot and she winced as the roof singed the back of her legs. "You up here to hide from chores?" 

Lenora smiled widely at the man, letting a giggle escape from her lips. She nodded and Dale chuckled back. 

"Don't worry Lee, your secret is safe with me." Dale said, holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes. "In fact, I can't even see you right now."

The girl sat with her feet hanging off the edge of the RV, laughing as Dale looked right past her. She could see the women laughing as they spoke about something across camp. She watched life go by on the farm for about an hour or so until Rick and Shane came back from their search. 

Things seemed tense between the two, but nowadays they always did. Lenora wondered if their relationship before the fall was like that. As Rick spoke to Lori, Lenora found herself wondering about Daryl. The man was alone, but he was more capable of survival than anyone in this camp. He was probably taking his sweet time to find dinner on the way back.

The majority of people were in the house when Dale climbed down the RV. He was gone maybe ten minutes before Andrea clambered up, holding the rifle at eye level, looking through the scope. The two sat in an awkward silence. It's not that Lenora didn't like Andrea, it's just that they'd never spoken and Andrea was stubborn in her ways. If things didn't go her way, she made sure everyone else knew. 

When the sun began to set, Lee grew more and more worried. Where was Daryl at? He had said before sunset, hadn't he? She began to wonder that the chances of her mishearing him were. What if he had actually said after sunset? But what good was tracking Sophia and finding his way back after the sun had set. 

It seemed dangerous, and not a risk he should take. Lenora felt awful for even thinking about that, but hadn't Rick and Daryl said the same thing anyways? 

Lenora looked out into the horizon. Over the vast fields of land that Hershel's farm had to offer. The tree line stared back at her, like at any moment the dead might appear through it and ruin everything they'd built.

"What's with the Annie Oakley Routine?" Dale asked Andrea, walking back to the RV with a gallon of water in his hand. 

"I don't want to wash clothes anymore, Dale." Andrea hollered back down. "I want to help keep the camp safe. Is that alright with you?"

Dale said nothing, and only looked at Andrea with exasperation before retreating back inside the RV. Andrea let out a sigh muttering something like 'crazy old man' before looking back out on the horizon. 

"He mean's well." Lenora spoke, shrugging her shoulders. Andrea looked at her in confusion. Wondering what kind of knowledge about the world the eleven year old had to offer. She wondered if she even knew about any hardships other than getting her homework done for the next day of school. Before she could say anything back though, a stumbling figure caught her eye. 

"Walker." She mumbled to herself before yelling louder for everyone else to hear. "Walker!"

"Just the one?" Rick asked, speed walking over to the RV. His shoulders were squared back, and sweat dripped down his brow.

"I bet I can nail it from here." Andrea said, scrambling to pick up the rifle she had set down. 

"No, no, Andrea. Put the gun down." Rick said as the rest of the men went to grab melee weapons. 

"You'd best let us handle this." Shane said. The man's shirt was unbuttoned, showcasing his bare chest as he sauntered over, ax in hand.

"Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers." Rick reminded him. 

"What for, man?" Shane said, sauntering past Rick towards the direction of the walker that was slowly but surely wandering forward. "We got it covered." 

Rick swore under his breath. The group needed some stability, and but despite everything nobody chose to listen to him. Even if he was the best person to put in charge. If they weren't careful, they'd lose their new safe haven on the farm. Lenora watched with anticipation as four men ran out into the field to take on the walker. 

Andrea looked through the scope of the rifle. When she couldn't see out of it properly she laid down on top of the RV, the sun beating down on her skin. 

"Andrea, don't" Dale warned her. The older man stood halfway up the ladder, elevating himself to get a better look in the field. 

"Back off, Dale." She warned him and Lenora stood on the edge of the RV. The sun was in her eyes, causing her to squint and lift her hand to cover them as she looked at the men nearing the walker. They seemed to stop and pause for a second. 

Lenora stood there, wondering why they hadn't kill the walker yet when Andrea fired the rifle. She jumped, not expecting the noise as the walker fell to the ground. 

"No!" Lenora listened to the pained cries of the men in the field. They four of them ran to the walker as the rest of the group ran out of the house, alerted by the gunshot from Andrea. 

"Lenora, go ahead and get back by the group okay?" Dale told her, and she scrambled down the ladder running back to Lori who had just yelled for Rick. Lori grabbed the girl gently, moving Lenora behind herself as Dale and Andrea sprinted down the field. Lenora watched as the figures of Shane and Rick carried a limp body towards the house. 

"Is he okay?" She heard Andrea scream. That's when the realization hit her. 

"Daryl?" Lenora whispered, reaching her hand to her mouth in shock. The body was Daryl. Andrea had shot Daryl. The redneck was covered entirely in blood. He looked dead and her heart began to beat out of her chest. Tears began to well in her eye and Lee went to took one step forward before Lori grabbed onto her shoulder, keeping the younger girl in place. 

"Stay right here, they're coming to us." Lori told her. The older woman was in shock as well as the entire group. That's another member shot in how many days? The older woman began to wonder if they were more of a danger to themselves than the dead. She looked back down at the small girl doing her damndest to stay quiet and unnoticed clinging onto  her leg as tears coated her young face."He's gonna be okay." 

Lori wondered what the girl saw in the older man. Daryl was rowdy, dirty and unhinged. Lenora was timid, soft spoken, and innocent. The two were polar opposites. But they were both outsiders, and had seemed to be good for one another. As much as she disagreed with Daryl and his ways sometimes, she put that aside and knelt next to the girl in front of her, wiping away the tears that coated her dirt caked face. "He's gonna be okay. He's tough as nails and you know it. Hershel will fix him up nice and well you hear me? Just like he fixed up Carl." 

Quietly, choking back another sob Lenora nodded. She wiped the rest of her tears off of her cheeks and used her arm to get the snot that bubbled from her nose off of her face. Lee watched as Daryl was dragged the rest of the way into the house, Hershel barking out orders to his family in order to get medical supplies. 

"Come on, let's get you inside." Lori whispered, standing up and grabbing the young blond's hand. Lenora quietly followed, looking over her shoulder at the sun setting behind the tree line, wondering what chain events she could blame for today's occurrences.