WHITE FLAG
chapter twenty-four : the disappearance
{ season two – episode eight & nine }
BOTH OF KLOE'S hands were placed in her lap as she stared at them. She was sitting on a chair beside Maggie in the room Beth was occupying, still unresponsive. Everything had been running through Kloe's mind, including her small confession to Glenn. Never would her past self before the apocalypse would've guessed that she loved her brother's best friend.
She would've found that weird, but now, it didn't seem weird whatsoever. She didn't see him as her brother's best friend anymore, she saw him as the person her small little mind had fallen for. She had always been an over-thinker, so this was making her anxious.
Getting a little bit too anxious, she shot up from her chair, earning a confused glance from Maggie. She looked down at her with an apologetic look, "Sorry. I'm just gonna get some fresh air," she informed, hastily making her way to the exit of the room.
As she made her way over to the front door, Kloe let her teeth sink into her bottom lip to the point where she could taste blood. She didn't really care, but she knew Zayn would because it's very noticeable when someone has been chewing their bottom lips since it leaves marks.
Once she opened the door, she noticed Lori and Dale stepping down the porch steps. Dale, who heard the presence of the young woman, gazed over his shoulder and briefly smiled at her. He then tilted his head to the side, gesturing to follow him.
Hesitantly, she followed the two and sped down the steps as if they weren't there. "This place is going to hell," he muttered in a low tone close to Lori's ears.
"Yeah, I'm trying hard to prevent that," she replied, keeping her eyes locked on the dead grass beneath their feet.
"You won't be able to, neither will you, Klo," the mention of her name brought her attention to the conversation and she furrowed her brows at the man. "No, there are people in this group who think that what Shane did was justified."
Kloe nodded rapidly, parting her lips to agree, but she immediately got cut off by Lori, "I know you and Shane can't stand each other, and judging by your looks, Klo, you clearly can't stand him either, but he did something that needed to be done."
"He's dangerous," Dale commented, syncing his walking pattern with Lori and Kloe's.
"Yeah, he's a hothead."
"Mhm, he's definitely a hothead, Lori, but he is very dangerous. I stated my opinion earlier and he clenched his fists, Lori, he clenched his fists. If Glenn and Rick weren't there, I'm positive he would've beaten me up," Kloe explained, narrowing her eyes at the woman.
Lori and Dale stayed silent, except they both had mild shocked expressions. Dale nodded, his eyebrows lowering more than they already were. "I think he killed Otis."
Kloe stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the man, as did Lori. "Otis was killed by walkers," Lori raised her hand to stop Dale, who only turned to face the two women and saw the look on their faces. His expression soon turned into disbelief.
"He knew how to handle walkers. Otis was the one who was putting them in the barn," he chuckled, pointing over to the barn.
Kloe blinked a few times as she started to imagine what the scenario could've been like. What if the things Dale was saying were true?
"You need to be really clear with us right now," Lori said firmly in a serious tone. "What are you saying?"
"I believe that- that Shane sacrificed Otis," he answered. The more Kloe thought about it, the more it seemed like Dale was right. But she was still shocked at what the man was saying. "I can't prove it, but I- I- I think that he- I think that he shot him and left him for bait, so that he could get away."
"Shane may be a hothead, but he's not a murderer," Lori reasoned, a frightful look written across her features.
"I mean, yeah. He is- was a police officer too. Isn't being a murderer against his job?" Kloe added, briefly wiping off a bead of sweat that ran down the side of her cheek. She wasn't sure if it was from being anxious or because of the humidity in the air.
"And- and why would he kill somebody who's trying to help?" Lori then asked, agreeing with Kloe.
"I don't know. Maybe he was pinned down," he defended. "He said- he said it. He all but threw it in my face. I'm telling you... I knew guys like him, and sooner or later-" he paused, shaking his head, "he's gonna kill somebody else."
Kloe blinked a few times as she watched the man walk away. Kloe turned to Lori, who was already looking at her with worry. "Do you- do you think he's right?" she stuttered, brushing her hair back with her hand.
Kloe hesitated, shifting on the spot as she parted her lips to speak, "I- I don't know. But, uh, after what happened earlier with the way he looked at me and stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up killing me or something. I'm not even kidding, Lori, he's getting scarier as every hour goes by."
She stood there in shock, unknowing on what to say. "Kloe-"
"Forget it," she interrupted, glancing back at the house. "I only came out here for a breather, so I'm gonna head back inside. You should too."
With that, they both went back inside. As Kloe entered the house, she heard small mutters coming from the room Beth was still laid up in, and as she gradually got closer, the louder the mutters were.
As soon as she reached the room, she stepped inside and immediately noticed that there were more people in there than before. Instead of just Maggie, who was now leaning over her unresponsive sister, there were five others: Patricia, Jimmy, Andrea, Isabelle and Zayn.
Kloe turned to her older brother, who was staring at the ground as if he was deep in thoughts. She stepped over to him, brushing shoulders with Andrea, who was walking over to Lori. Kloe stood in front of Zayn, but he didn't take his eyes off the ground.
It was like he didn't even know she was there. He surely must've heard her come in the room, but it turned out he didn't. She simply waved her hand in front of his eyes, making him jolt back a little. "Jesus, Klo," he dramatically set his hand over his chest and breathed heavily. "Everything okay?"
"I should be asking that about you, are you alright? You seem completely out of it," she crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at her brother, who only pouted and shrugged. "Is that really the only answer I'm gonna get? Explanation time on why you keep getting lost in your thoughts?"
Zayn's eyes flickered up to the people who were surrounding the bed that Beth was on before staring back down at his younger sister. "Can we talk? Outside?"
Slightly taken aback by his unexpected answer, Kloe nodded as she spun on her heel, eyeing the exit of the room. Now, Lori was gone. Andrea was still there, though, so Kloe didn't think much of it. Hearing Zayn's loud footsteps behind her, she didn't bother looking back to make sure he was following.
She pulled open the front door to the house and stepped onto the porch, sliding to the side to allow Zayn to step out too. Once he did, she shut the door and walked over to the railing. She looked off into the distance, spotting Lori jogging over to a certain area, which is where she guessed Daryl was.
Zayn stood by his sister's side, leaning against the railing. She drifted her eyes away from the scenery and to his forest green ones. "What did you wanna talk about?" Kloe inquired, resting her elbow.
He seemed hesitant for a moment, before taking a deep breath and turning over to her. "Uh, do you remember when I used to have one of my guy friends round our old house back in Florida?" he began, pausing to allow her to nod, which she did. "Well, do you also remember when mom caught us leaning into each other and started yelling at him to get out of the house?" Kloe nodded again, remembering the now no longer vague memory. "I told mom that it was a dare, and she believed it."
"Wait, so you and your guy friend leaning in wasn't a dare and you actually had a thing for each other?" Kloe asked, eyes wide.
He hesitantly and slowly nodded. "Yeah. You learn something new everyday. Although, I didn't know until a couple days ago what it actually meant. This whole time, I thought it was just something that teenagers go through. But now I'm twenty-four and I still feel that way. And what confirmed it is what I saw in the CDC."
"What did you see in the CDC?" Kloe questioned instantly, now avoiding eye contact as she grew more conscious at the thought of him knowing her and Glenn slept together. Even though he already knew, according to Maggie.
"When I woke up, I saw a picture frame of this really hot dude with blonde hair that was pushed to the side. I'm guessing he was the person that was in that room before me. But damn did that picture give me the heebie-jeebies," he admitted, finally letting out a small smile.
Without hesitation, Kloe smirked at the way her older brother explained what he saw and nudged his side with her elbow, "Looks like someone's got a crush."
"And you don't?" he laughed, nudging her back. She nervously looked up at him, and the smirk she had on her face was now on his. He noticed the look she was giving him and let out a little chuckle. "What? You think I didn't know what's been going on between you and Glenn?"
Kloe embarrassingly placed her head in her hands and dramatically groaned. "How did you know?" she asked, dragging out the last word in the sentence.
"He told me."
"What?"
"Glenn. He told me what happened." Kloe went to ask him when he told him, but he beat her to it and answered the question before she could even say it. "He told me yesterday morning. Then Maggie told me this morning that she told you that I knew, am I right?" Pouting her lips, she nodded. "And I saw you kiss-"
"You were watching too?! Oh God, who else watched? The ants?" Kloe cut him off, generally shocked at how both Maggie and her brother had seen what had happened. "Plus, he didn't say anything. So it's most likely nothing."
"Wait, what do you mean he said nothing?" he puzzled, his stupid smirk falling into a frown.
"Well, uh, I told him I loved him, and he said nothing," she shrugged, lowering her tone. "He more or less just froze with shock."
The smirk reappeared on his face, except it was more of a grin this time and he shook his head. "He chickened out," he muttered.
"What?"
"You'll see."
...
"Do you think she'll be okay?" a small voice asked from beside Kloe. She tilted her head to the side, catching the eyes of Isabelle's. The teen drifted her eyes back over to the girl who still didn't respond or move on the bed.
"I hope so," Kloe responded, swallowing thickly. "We just need Hershel. They should be back soon," Kloe slowly looked over her shoulder, eyeing the outside, seeing that there was no daylight left. The atmosphere was slightly nerve-racking since Rick and Glenn left a few hours prior, and they still hadn't returned.
The smell of food that Patricia, Carol and Jimmy had been preparing entered hers and Isabelle's airways and made their mouths water. It was only the day before when she had gotten stabbed, but all the pain killers she had been taking made it feel like there was nothing wrong with her. Never mind, maybe not that good, because it still hurt to move, but she felt better.
"It's been two hours. Didn't you say the bar was only up the road? They should be back by now," Isabelle reminded, rubbing her cheek with her thumb. Kloe turned to face her, and she had a look of fear. "What if something happened to them?" she muttered, loud enough for only Kloe to hear. A loose strand of brunette hair fell over her face, resulting in her brushing it out of her face with her finger.
"I doubt something happened to them. Glenn and I always went to Atlanta where there were hundreds of walkers, and we always came back alive," Kloe commented, attempting to calm the teenage girl. She placed her hand on her tensed shoulder in a way to comfort her. "If they don't return by later tonight, then that's when we should start worrying."
Isabelle rapidly blinked, staring down at her lap. She inhaled heavily and released it with a shaky breath. "Okay. I don't even know them, but it still worries me," she stated quietly. "I think I trust everyone in your group now. I know it's only been a day, but you helped me and let me stay here."
"You don't have to explain why you were alone, you know? Only do so if you want to," Kloe added before she could continue, staring deeply into her crystal blue eyes.
Isabelle shook her head, "I want to." Kloe gulped, before nodding. She took a deep breath and parted her lips, "Both of my parents ditched me when I was seven-years-old, and I was put into a foster family. This family I was given in to, they were wealthy and rich. They wanted me to be successful so that it would improve their image to the outside world. They weren't exactly famous or anything, but my foster dad owned a few small companies that were doing well I guess, and my foster mom was a nurse. I actually lived around this area and my foster uncle built me that treehouse as a welcome gift. Ever since then, I've spent most of my time there. My foster parents weren't exactly happy about it and 'banned my uncle from seeing me'. Then, this happened. We had an argument a few days before-hand and I left with a few backpacks and I stayed in my treehouse."
Kloe stared in utter shock and confusion. This reminded her exactly of her mother. How she wanted her daughter to become a successful actress with a loving husband and kids. Kloe rubbed her own arm gently, speechless. She didn't know what to say. That explanation wasn't something she was expecting. "D- Do you know where your foster parents are now?" she inquired, finally forming something to say.
"No. I- I hope they aren't dead. Yeah, they treated me like some toy and all, but they still took me in. They still gave me a roof to live under," she swallowed, her bottom lip barely quivering. "I shouldn't have yelled at them. If anything, I should've been more grateful for what they were giving me-"
"Dinner's ready," a head peaked around the door. Isabelle's and Kloe's heads shot over to the person, who was Maggie, and quickly arose to their feet. "Has she said anything?" Maggie then pondered, studying her younger sister who was still on the bed.
"No, not yet," Kloe replied, pursing her lips as she grew closer to the girl. "I'm sure she'll be okay once your dad gets back," she reassured, sending the Greene girl a brief smile which she returned. Kloe glanced over her shoulder to make sure Isabelle was behind her, and she was.
The two made their way to the dining room, the smell of the food growing more noticeable as they got closer. As they entered the room, T-Dog, Zayn and Carl were already sitting at the table and Dale was setting down napkins on the table.
Kloe pulled open a chair beside Zayn and opened the other chair beside her for Isabelle, who appreciatively took it and offered a small smile. Once they sat down in their seats, Andrea and Shane entered the room.
"They should've been back by now," Andrea said, taking a seat opposite Kloe.
"Yeah," Shane sat in the seat furthest away from everyone. "They just got holed up somewhere. We'll head out first thing in the morning." The thought of Glenn out there overnight didn't sit with Kloe as it should have, but she pushed it to the side. "Thank you," he muttered out to Patricia, who placed down a bowl of salad next to him.
The food passed around the table, and once it got around to Kloe, she let out a small thank you and poured only a small amount on her plate.
She handed Zayn the bowl of salad and saw a confused Carl, but before he could say anything, Shane spoke up, "Carl, I want you to keep your head up, okay. Your old man, he's the toughest son of a-"
"No cussing in the house," Patricia narrowed her eyes at the man.
"Sorry."
Everyone was sitting at the table, except obviously Daryl and Lori. Why wasn't Lori there? Carol noticed and quickly walked out of the room, "Lori, dinner-"
"She's not in there," Maggie informed, stopping the woman from searching for her. A confused look plastered Kloe's face and she shared glances with Zayn and Isabelle with furrowed brows, and the two had the same expression as she did.
"Where is she?" Dale asked, but no one replied. They only gazed around at each other with perplexed looks. Kloe set down her knife and fork beside her plate, growing worried at where the woman had gone.
Shane's eyes darted between everybody on the table until they set on the woman's son, "Carl, when's the last time you saw your mom?" he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"This afternoon," he answered in his young voice.
"She was worried about Rick, asked me to look in on Carl," Andrea then informed.
"She went after them?" Dale inquired.
"She didn't say that."
As the small comments traveled through the air, the more tense everyone became. Kloe stared at Carl, the look of fret taking over his innocent ocean blue eyes.
Shane wiped his hand on a napkin, pushing his chair back, making a loud screech. "Nobody panic," he stood up from his chair and immediately began walking towards the exit of the house. "Gonna be around here somewhere."
Kloe stood up without hesitation and followed the man with everyone by her side. She glanced over at Zayn and Isabelle who were both either side of her.
...
Carol and Kloe agreed that they'd find Daryl to ask him if he knew the cause for the sudden disappearance of Lori Grimes. Shane had basically sent them all on a search party to look for the woman, but so far she was nowhere to be seen.
Daryl was practically around a million meters away from the farmhouse. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it sure as hell felt like a million meters for Kloe.
It took her and Carol approximately ten minutes to run across the field to reach the man. Kloe noticed a faint color of yellow that was continuously swaying around with the wind and knew it was a small campfire Daryl had created.
Carol and Kloe came to a slow stop as they got close enough to the man to talk to him. "We can't find Lori," she informed, catching her breath from all the running.
"The others aren't back either," Kloe added, placing both of her hands on her knees as she panted heavily. "Do you know where she went?"
"That dumb bitch must've gone off lookin' for 'em."
Taken aback by the man's sudden reaction, The women narrowed their eyes at him, furrowing their eyebrows deeply. "What?" they said in unison.
"Yeah, she asked me to go," he said, twisting a long wooden branch in the fire. "I told her I was done being an errand boy."
"You've gotta be shitting me," Kloe muttered out, holding her head in her hands, silently groaning.
"And you didn't say anything?" Carol asked in disbelief. The man only sat there, he didn't speak, not even a grunt. The woman turned to the younger woman and shook her head before gesturing to go back over to the farmhouse. She acknowledged by walking away, but she quickly spun back around, "Don't do this."
Kloe swiveled her neck to look at the two, she was at least three meters away from where she was previously standing. "Please, Daryl?" Kloe whispered, loud enough for him to hear her.
"I've already lost my girl," Carol added on, making Kloe look down at the ground and shift around from the overwhelming sadness that was then present in her body.
The man exasperatedly threw the branch onto the ground and stood up from the log he was sitting on and intimidatingly stepped over to Carol, "That wasn't my problem neither."
"Daryl, what the hell-" Kloe began, only to be cut off by an irritated groan. Kloe scoffed as she watched the man walk away. "C'mon, Carol. Let's go."
...
Kloe spotted everyone gathered around a certain spot around the tents where the group and her had been sleeping and spending most of their free time. Carol and Kloe weren't there yet, but they were running as fast as they could to get near them. Though, Kloe was close enough to hear what they were saying even from a far proximity. "She's not at the barn," Shane announced.
"We can't find her," T-Dog then shared.
"Wh- Where is she?" Carl quizzed, staring up at Shane and T-Dog.
"She asked Daryl to go into town," Carol informed as they both came to a stop, gasping for air. "Must've gone herself."
"Yeah, and the other car is gone, along with the keys," Kloe added, pausing in between the words for air.
A whimper came from Carl's mouth as his hand flew up to his mouth and tears sprung up to his eyes. "Hey," Andrea placed her hands on his shoulders, but he brushed her away and trod away from the group. "Carl," she called out to him, but let him be alone.
"Did you know about this?" Shane questioned Dale sternly, a serious expression on his face. Kloe turned to my side, noticing Zayn and Isabelle stood side-by-side with worry written over their faces.
"No," Dale answered simply, shaking his head as Shane stepped closer to him.
"Look, just- did she take a gun?" he clenched his jaw as he narrowed his eyes at the old man.
"I don't know," Dale replied, looking Shane up and down. Shane exasperatedly exhaled and harshly made his way over to the last car that was available. "I wouldn't let her go out there alone."
Shane pulled the car door open with force and stepped inside, twisting the ignition. The car revved loudly, startling Carl, who was making his way over to the house. Shane immediately drove away, leaving the farm at full speed.
Kloe's eyes flicked over to the rest of the group. So much went on and it never stopped.
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Words: 3796
- 29th March 2022