Daryl didn't buy Shane's story for a second, and based on the look Lauren shot him, neither did she. He had stumbled out of the trees with blood running down his face. He told some story about Randall sneaking up on him and attacking him. That's how he managed to escape... allegedly.
"Hershel T-dog, get everyone back in the house." Rick commanded. "Glenn, Daryl come with us."
"I'm coming too." Lauren insisted, but Rick shut her down before she could say anything else. She shot Daryl a desperate glance, knowing they shared the same concerns regarding Shane.
He just nodded curtly. "I'll keep an eye on him." He said lowly, before following the others into the treeline.
---
"I'm going after them." Lauren said, pacing across the living room. "They've been gone too long."
The four men had been gone long enough that the sun was starting to set and the sinking feeling in Lauren's stomach was only getting worse. Shane's words kept replaying in her mind.
..."I'm gonna do whatever I gotta do to keep you Carl and Lori safe, you understand? And if Rick's got a problem with that... then he's just gonna have to deal with it."...
What the hell did that mean? Whatever he has to do? She didn't know what Shane was planning but after his stunt at the barn, she had little faith in any of his plans.
Carol and Lori called after her as she hurried out the front door but she brushed them off. "I won't go far."
And she kept her word, Lauren only made it a few yards from the porch before she spotted Glenn and Daryl. Her relief in seeing them was short-lived however when she noticed the absence of Shane and her brother.
"Where are Rick and Shane?" She questioned
"They ain't back yet?" The archer's brow furrowed
"No..." Lauren felt the pit in her stomach grow. "You guys split up?" There was an edge to her voice as she shot Daryl a look. So much for keeping an eye on them.
"We heard a shot, you think they found Randall?" Lori asked as the rest of the group emerged from the house onto the porch.
Still heading towards the house, Daryl went on to explain how that couldn't have been the case, as he and Glenn had already found Randall. Only it wasn't exactly Randall, rather, his walker form.
"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel queried.
Daryl shook his head. "No, the weird this is he wasn't bit. His neck was broke."
"So, he fought back." Lori concluded, trying to rationalize how he had ended up that way.
"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other." Daryl explained, shaking his head like he was trying to make sense of it himself. "And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together."
That was the final straw. Lauren had been weary of Shane since that night at the CDC, but now he was out there alone with Rick.
"Where the hell are you going?" Lori asked as Lauren brushed past her.
"I'm gonna go find Rick," Lauren threw her hands up. "And figure out what the hell is going on."
Daryl followed Lauren onto the porch. "I'll find 'em. Stay here."
"No, I'm not just gonna stay here! He's my brother-" Lauren trailed off when she noticed the archer's gaze drift behind her. His eyes narrowed as he tried to make out whatever it was he was looking at.
"What?" She whipped her head, trying to figure out what had him so concerned. "Oh my god."
"Patricia, kill the lights." Hershel said, his face one of pure horror. Hundreds if not thousands of walkers were stumbling through the field, heading straight towards the house.
"Maybe they're just passing?" Carol suggested, "Like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?"
Daryl shook his head. "Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. A herd that size will tear the house down."
"You can go if you want." Hershel said, cocking his rifle.
Lauren took another look at the hundreds of corpses making their way towards them. "You're gonna take them all on?"
"We have guns. We have cars." The old man shrugged.
Andrea nodded. "Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm."
Daryl shot Lauren a look before turning back to the old man. "Yer serious?"
Hershel nodded firmly. "This is my farm, I'll die here."
Daryl looked at the herd once more and shrugged. "It's as good a night as any." And hopped over the porch railing, making a beeline for his bike.
Lauren blinked in surprise. Was he serious? This was a horrible plan. Like top 10 stupidest plans she had ever heard. Taking on all of these walkers at once? It was a suicide mission.
"Dixon!" She called out, jogging over to him. She stopped in front of him and Daryl looked at her expectantly. She opened her mouth and then paused, suddenly realizing that she actually had no idea what she wanted to say.
She wanted to tell him to be safe, let him know that the past few days she had realised that he meant more to her than she had ever imagined he would. She tried but the words simply wouldn't come out.
"C'mon, I ain't got all day." Daryl said, looking at her expectantly.
She suddenly pulled him into a hug, causing Daryl to tense up in surprise. He didn't return the embrace and she hadn't really expected him to, she knew he wasn't exactly the most physically affectionate person, but it was the only thing she could think to do with all the adrenaline running through her.
"Just- don't die, okay?" She told him quietly, pulling back and barely looking at him long enough to take in his shocked expression before turning and running back to the house.
Daryl peeled off on his bike, leading a small section of the horde off in a different direction. Lauren hurried back to the porch where Maggie was frantically handing out every gun at their disposal. Lauren grabbed a few rounds of ammo, shoving them into her pockets when Lori suddenly burst out onto the porch from where she had retreated moments ago.
"Carl's gone!" She was in a panic. Tank's leash was held loosely in her hand with the pup in tow.
"What?" Lauren almost screamed. "He's supposed to be upstairs with Tank."
"Maybe he's hiding?" Carol suggested, but the uncertainty in her voice didn't give much comfort.
"He's supposed to be upstairs." Lori reiterated, tears brimming her eyes. "Tank was up there but Carl wasn't. I'm not leaving without my boy!"
"We're not. We're gonna look again, we're gonna find him." Carol assured her, taking the leash and passing Tank off to Lauren before ushering Lori back inside the house.
Lauren took the leash, looking down at Tank who was panting anxiously, disoriented from all the chaos. She stroked the top of his head in an attempt to calm him a little but she could barely focus with everything happening around them.
"C'mon, we'll take the SUV!" Glenn said, beckoning Lauren and Maggie towards the green car.
Maggie hopped into the driver's seat and Glenn in the passenger's with a shotgun in hand. Lauren opened the back door and Tank jumped in. She closed the door behind him, not getting in herself.
Glenn looked at her, confused. "What are you doing? Get in."
She shook her head, moving to the passenger window to speak to him. "I have to find Carl, I can't leave without him."
"What? Lauren, no-"
"There's no point in arguing, we both know I'll just ignore you." She said with a half smile, trying to cover how scared she was. She leaned a little closer, raising her voice over the noise around them so they could hear. "Keep Tank with you. Take out as many as you can but if something goes wrong out there you get out of here!"
"Lauren, we can't just-" Maggie started to argue but Lauren cut her off.
"Yes, you can!" Lauren yelled, starting to back away from the car. "I'm serious, you hear me? You get the hell out of here! Drive away as fast as you can and don't look back!"
She didn't give them any more time to argue before fully turning around and sprinting back to the porch. Beth and Patricia were in tears, Lori was frantically calling out for Carl, and Carol, despite being terrified herself, was doing her best to console all three women. Lauren hurried over to Carol, she was the least panicky of them so she seemed like the safest bet to give instructions to.
"Carol, listen to me, you and the girls have to get out of here."
"I'm not leaving without my boy!" Lori said through tears, overhearing Lauren.
"Lori, I will find him, alright? I promise I will." As she was trying to reassure her sister-in-law, the barn suddenly burst into flames. She stared at the burning building for a second before turning back to Lori. "You see that? Rick must have started it to draw them away from the house. Jimmy and I will take the RV over to the barn and get them alright?"
She seemed slightly calmed by that promise but still looked unsure. Lauren turned her focus back to Carol. "I'll have T-dog swing back around to get you guys but you have to be ready. Grab whatever you can and take Beth and Patricia."
"Come on, honey." Carol nodded, guiding Lori back into the house. "If we find him he's gonna need his mother."
Patricia followed them inside, leaving Jimmy, who was holding a sobbing Beth in his arms. Beth looked up at Lauren and the look of pure terror in her eyes made Lauren's heart break.
"What do we do?" She whimpered, glancing at her father who was on the grass firing a seemingly endless number of shots at the walkers.
" You are gonna stick close to the other girls and get the hell out of here while Jimmy and I take the R.V." Lauren told her, looking at Jimmy who nodded.
"I'll grab the keys." He said, running inside.
Lauren walked over to Beth, taking the girl's face in her hands and forcing her to meet her gaze. "Listen to me, as soon as that truck pulls up you run as fast as you can, don't stop for anything."
She nodded, sniffling and wiping her tears. Jimmy returned and he and Lauren made a run for the RV parked on the side of the house.
"Head for T-dog and we'll circle back to the barn." Lauren told him, opening the small window on the side of the RV and loading her shotgun. The boy followed her directions, driving to where T-dog and Andrea were shooting from the pickup truck.
"There's too many!" Andrea shouted as they rolled to a stop. "We'll barely make a dent with this much ammo!"
Lauren nodded, yelling out the window. "We've gotta get out of here! Circle back to the house and get the girls, we'll check the barn, see if Rick and Shane started the fire!"
They sped off towards the burning barn and Lauren let out a sigh of relief when she saw Rick and Carl on the roof. She yelled to Jimmy to park as close as he could, allowing Rick and Carl to jump from the roof onto the vehicle and escape the flames. She shut the window as they rolled to a stop beside the barn. The barn was crawling with walkers, banging on the door and window as Lauren listened to Rick and Carl's footsteps on the roof.
"Uh... Lauren?" Jimmy asked nervously, staring at the door. Lauren followed his gaze to where a few small cracks were beginning to show in the glass. The door hinges rattled and shook, they wouldn't hold much longer.
She peeked out one of the windows and watched Rick and Carl come down from the roof and make a run for the house. With them off the RV, Lauren turned to Jimmy.
"Alright let's get out of here!" The small window shattered and the dead reached inside, their hands grasping at the air. Jimmy jiggled the keys in the ignition, a look of panic in his eyes. "Jimmy, let's go!"
It was becoming increasingly difficult to hear over the moans of the dead, but she heard the unmistakable noise she had heard Dale groan about time and time again and her heart sank. The RV's radiator hose had burst. They were trapped.