❛ SURVIVOR'S HEART ! ❜
chapter forty-two ―― randall
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ "HEY." Daryl looked up as Charlie walked over to him, her hands in the pockets of the jacket she wore - it was in the suitcase of clothes she had found in an abandoned car. "Just wanted to check in." She sat next to him on the porch steps, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"I'm alright." He told her, looking over at her but she just looked at her boots as she flexed her toes ony her boots, making the worn out leather crinkle. "You okay?"
"Yeah." She nodded as she looked over at him, forcing a smile. "I just- nevermind." She stopped herself with the shake of her head. "I don't need to unload all of my crap on you. You don't need that. I'm gonna-" She pushed herself up, but a hand on her bicep stopped her and she turned to look at him.
"I don't mind. You can talk to me. Like I said before, I got ears for a reason."
She gave him a smile before sitting next to him again. "You sure? Don't you have stuff you gotta do to get ready to take Randall off?"
"I do." He nodded. "You could help, tell me what's botherin' you."
"Yeah, okay." She nodded and the two pushed themselves up, heading over to the blue truck and they started loading up the bed with water bottles and other supplies for Randall.
"So, what's goin' on?" He asked, looking over at her and she leaned against the side of the truck as he leaned over the side, moving stuff around.
"The last thing I said to Dale, the last conversation we had, I was mad at him. He just wanted to save someone's life and I just wanted to save us. He said I was like Shane." She scoffed, kicking at the ground. "I hated him for that, I really did." Tears filled her eyes. "But I get it, I was okay with killing a person. Maybe. . . Maybe I am like Shane. And that's a scary thought."
"You aren't anything like Shane." He told her, he looked over at her, but she kept her eyes on the ground and her hands in her pockets.
"Maybe not yet." She mumbled. "But Dale was onto something. This world, the way it is now. We're desensitized, or getting there at least. And I'm scared of what that means for us, as a group and as individuals."
"You really think that?"
She turned to look up at him, his blue eyes already on her. "I really wish I didn't." She gave him a half smile. "You know, I used to love meeting new people. Mason and I would go to parties or clubs and by the time we'd leave, drunk off our asses, I'd have a new friend. Granted, most of those nights ended with me and my new friends in the back of Shane and Rick's cruiser. But now, coming across new people, it scares me because people now, they're scared. And scared people are dangerous."
"Charlie-"
"Only got so many arrows." T-Dog interrupted, walking over to them, holding out a pistol to Daryl.
"I got a few if you need more." Charlie told him.
"No, that's alright." Daryl shook his head. "You keep those." She nodded. "That Dale's gun?"
"Yeah." T nodded as she rounded the truck and pushed the tailgate up.
"Wish I knew where the hell mine is." He muttered, as he put the gun in the waistband of his jeans as Rick walked over to the three.
"Ready?"
"Yeah." Daryl nodded as he grabbed his crossbow.
"I'll get the package." T told him before he walked away, heading to the shed to get Randell.
"That's my que." Charlie mumbled as she pushed herself off the side of the truck. "Be careful, big brother." She poked Rick's chest lightly.
"Always." He nodded, pulling her into a hug. "Keep an eye on Carl and Lori for me, please?"
"Of course." She nodded as she pulled back and he gave her a small smile before she turned to Daryl. "I know you hate it when I tell you to be careful, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Be careful."
"Thanks, princess." He nodded, his lips pulled into a faint smirk and she rolled her eyes as she turned away from him, a smile pulling up the corner of her lips as she started up the porch steps. She smiled when she saw Josh through the screen door, he pushed the door open and stepped out, his own smile on his face as he neared the brunette.
"You busy? Need help with anything?" She asked, tilting her head slightly, her hands clasped together behind her back.
"Actually-"
"Rick!" T-Dog shouted as he ran over to them and Charlie turned, her smile gone as the man panted, his eyes on the leader of the group. "He's gone."
"What?"
"Randall." T hunched over, his hands on his knees as he took quick breaths."He's gone."
"How the hell did he get out?" Charlie asked, making her way back down the steps, Josh right behind her, and T-Dog shrugged before turning.
"Charlie." She looked over at Rick. "Go get the others, without panicking them."
"Easier said than done." She mumbled but she nodded and turned to make her way into the house as the others outside went to check the shed for any indication on how the boy got free.
"Hey, guys." Charlie stood in the living room and everyone turned to her. "We kind of have a sight problem."
"Problem?" Lori asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman.
"Yeah." He nodded. "Come on. I think this is a thing that is easier to show than explain." She turned and the others followed her out towards the shed where Glenn, T-Dog, Andrea, Daryl, Josh and Rick where.
"What's wrong?" Lori asked as they neared them and Charlie made her way over to Josh who was standing with his back to the shed, his eyes on the trees.
"Randall's missing." Glenn told them.
"You alright?" Charlie asked, keeping her voice low as she came to a stop next to her boyfriend, her eyes on the side of his face and she could see that his jaw was clenched and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Josh?"
"We should be out there looking for him." He gritted out, not taking his eyes off the treeline. "If he comes anywhere near you-"
"I can handle myself." She told him and he turned to look at her. "But I appreciate this whole protective boyfriend thing." She gave him a smile and he returned it, leaned down and pressed his lips against her hairline.
"The cuffs are still hooked." Rick stated as she walked out of the shed and Charlie and Josh turned back to the group. "He must've slipped 'em."
"Is that possible?" Carol asked.
"It is if you have nothing to lose." Andrea answered as she stepped out of the shed and Hershel closed the door.
"Door was secure from the outside." The vet told them.
"It doesn't make sense." Charlie huffed, pushing her hair back out of her face as some of the others asked questions that no one had the answers to.
"Rick!" They all turned to see Shane coming out of the woods. "Rick!"
"Bubba?" Charlie's eyes went wide when she saw the blood on his face, she was the first to make her way to him.
"What happened?" Lori shouted just as Charlie reached her brother, her hands on his cheeks to hold him still so she could see the damage to his face.
"I'm fine." He grabbed Charlie's wrist and pulled her hands from his face before looking over at the others, his eyes landing on Rick. "He's armed! He got my gun!" He continued up the hill, Charlie following him.
"Shane! What happened?" Charlie asked, yanking on his arm.
"I said I'm fine." He looked over at her, his eyes wild. "Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."
Rick turned to look at the group. "All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Charlie, Daryl, come with us." He ordered and Daryl loaded his crossbow as Charlie nodded, her eyes meeting Josh's for a moment. She could tell that he didn't want her to go, but she knew he wouldn't say a word to her about staying behind.
"T, I'm gonna need that gun." Shane told him and he handed it over.
"Just let him go." Carol stated. "That was the plan wasn't it, to just let him go?"
"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun." Shane told her and Charlie gave Josh another look before looking over at Mason, he simply nodded - he knew she wanted him to keep an eye on Lori and Carl.
"Don't go out there!" Carol tried to stop them as they started for the woods. "Y'all know what can happen."
"Get everybody back in the house." Rick looked over his shoulder, but didn't stop. "Lock all the doors and stay put!" The others turned and went back to the house as the four continued towards the woods, Charlie pulled her knife from its sheath and swallowed the lump in her throat.
Daryl moved closer to her, his voice low as they entered the treeline, Shane and Rick a few paces ahead of them. "You alright?"
"Not exactly." She shrugged. "Don't like the idea of a guy who's associated with rapists running around." Her hand tightened around her knife, her knuckles had turned white and his eyebrows pinched as he looked at her.
"You lied to me." He stated and she looked over at him, her eyebrows creased.
"What?"
"After everything with the barn, you were tellin' me that Shane taught you how to fight. You said you had Mason so nothing happened to you, but it did, didn't it?"
"Nver said nothing happened." She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Charlie-"
"I don't wanna talk about it." She shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Especially not now, we have to find Randall before he hurts someone."
He nodded, hating himself because he could tell that he had hit a nerve. "If we find him, I ain't lettin' him near you."
"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out." Shane pointed forwards as they trekked deeper into the woods. "I'm not sure how long."
"He couldn't have gotten far." Rick stated. "He's hobbled, exhausted."
"You can track him, right?" Charlie asked as she looked over at Daryl.
"No, I don't see nothing." He shook his head a little, his eyes still on the ground.
"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay?" Shane huffed and Charlie looked over at him, her eyebrows creased. "He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, chase him down, that's it."
"Kid weighs a buck-twenty-five soaking wet." Daryl looked over at Shane. "You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?"
"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?"
"All right, knock it off." Rick intervened. "You and Charlie start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane'll take the left." He told Daryl before looking over at Charlie. "Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there, keep an eye out for each other." Charlie saluted before she and Daryl split from Rick and Shane.
>>>>> • <<<<<
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ "THIS IS POINTLESS." Daryl sighed, coming to a stop and Charlie stopped next to him. It had already gotten dark and it was hard to see, much less track anything. "You got a light?" He turned to her as she pulled her tiny flashlight from her back pocket. "That's it?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"It's cute." She shrugged and he shook his head as he pressed the button to turn it on, using the surprisingly bright beam of light to look around the surrounding area.
He sighed when he saw nothing, letting his hand drop to his side. "Come on." He started in the direction they came from and she stepped over a branch to follow after him, staying as close to him as possible.
"Not that I don't completely trust you and all, but where are we going?" She asked as she looked around, but it was too dark to see just about anything. "Wait, this is where we started." She mumbled, when she saw a fallen tree she was sure they had passed on their way into the woods.
"If you're gonna do a thing, you might as well do it right."
"Should've done it right that first time." She muttered as she tightened her jacket around her. "It's cold."
"Take it up with your brother." He muttered and she sighed, she knew he was right. Shane didn't exactly give Daryl a chance to track the missing boy, it was almost like he was avoiding it all together. "There's two sets or tracks right here. Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said."
"Yeah, well, Shane's a liar." The girl huffed, following behind him as he moved closer to a tree, the beam of light aimed at the bark. "Is that blood?"
"It's fresh." He nodded before looking around, moving the light back to the ground. "There's more tracks." She followed the light to the leaf covered ground, but she was sure she didn't see what Daryl saw. "Looks like they're walking in tandem." He followed the tracks and Charlie followed him, her hand reaching out and wrapping around the back of his jacket. "You okay?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
"Got a bad feelin'." She told him, shuffling closer as he looked back at the ground.
"Yeah, there was a little dust up right here." He stated and she leaned closer to him, to see the leaves on the ground.
"Something happened?" She asked and he nodded as they continued walking until Daryl stopped and Charlie leaned down, her hand falling from his jacket, she picked up a black piece of cloth. "His blindfold." But before either could say much else they heard something and they hid behind two trees.
"You see it?" Daryl asked, his voice low, and she peaked around the tree, her hand gripping her knife.
"It's a walker." She nodded, looking at him and he tossed her the tiny flashlight. She caught it and shoved it into her pocket as he readied his crossbow, she gripped her knife as the rustle of leaves got closer and when she turned the walker was right there. She gripped her knife and swung, missing its head, but the knife went through its neck. She yanked the knife back and stumbled back, keeping the walker away from her as Daryl turned and raised his crossbow, shooting it in the head. "Thanks." She panted as he stood next to her and she leaned against him, closing her eyes for a moment. He wrappy his arm around her, rubbing her bicep a little.
"Still got that light?" He asked and she moved away from him as she pulled it from her pocket. He took and hit the button, looking at the dead walker. "It's Randall." He stated as he pulled the arrow from its head.
"What?" She huffed as he knelt down, looking at its neck.
"Got his neck broke." Then he flipped him over and lifted up the back of his shirt. "He's got no bites."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He nodded as she squatted down next to him. "He died from this." He motioned to his neck.
"But that-that doesn't make any sense."
"Come on. Let's get back to the house." He stood up, holding his hand out to her, she took it and he pulled her up before they started through the trees, neither letting go of the other's hand.
NOVA SPEAKS !
the closer we get to the end the less self control I have lol
only two more chapters left!!!