I shoot my eyes to the noise, taking off. I hear the group running behind me, Carol sprinting at my side. Though we both said some ugly things to each other, I can't stay mad at her. She's only worried about her daughter, same as me. I shake the thoughts from my head as the bells stop, leaving us at a church.
"They've got to be ringing them, right?" Shane asks, determination clear in his voice. I look at him and it seems to spark something in the both of us as we burst through the doors, finding three walkers. I sigh as I go to my right a little, throwing my knife at the decaying man. Shane and Rick take out the other two as I retrieve my knife. Everyone files out except for Rick. I sit beside him in the pew.
"Do you think it'll work?" He asks suddenly. I furrow my brows at him as he points to Jesus on the cross. I shrug. "Mom was a strong believer. Remember when just praying for Grandma May made her knee surgery better for her? She didn't even need to do two weeks of therapy!" I shake my head.
"I don't know, look at the world now. There's nothing but sorrow." He shakes his head, having a battle within himself. I stand from the pew and place a hand on his shoulder. "Do what you will, but I'm going to head out." He nods and bells are heard again. I race out of the church as it stops. I round the church to see the group standing around a speaker. My heart drops. They never rung those bells.
"It was set of some sort of automatic timer or something." Glenn says as he pulls the wires out. The group takes ten minutes to rest while several pray. Once the ten minutes are up, we form a circle again.
"Maddie, Shane, and I are going to go past the creek so you guys can head back. Nightfall is in about a hour, that's enough time to head back to camp and enough time for us to search a bit longer." Just as were about to leave, Carl rushes to his dads side.
"I want to go to."
"No." Lori immediately shuts the idea down.
"Sophia's my friend and Belle's my cousin, I want to bring them back home." Rick looks at Lori with pleading eyes where she just nods, giving in. Carl gets on my back as Rick and Lori have a small discussion. Once they finish, we split up. "Do you think we'll find her?" Carl whispers from above me, so the men don't hear.
"I hope so."
"I know we'll find Belle, she has a lot of training with dad and Shane, like me. I'm talking about Sophia." I give a firm nod.
"I'm sure they're surviving together. Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious." I nod and he pulls on my jacket. "Let me down, please." I do as told and he starts to walk in front of us; slowly. I furrow my brows and look ahead, finding a beautiful deer.
"No." Rick says, lowering Shane's gun as he points at the deer. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck raise, telling me something bad is about to happen. I look a little ways past the deer and that's when I see him. A man in camo, aiming at Carls deer.
"Carl!" I yell as I run after her, pushing him to the ground. Then the shot goes off, sending a burning pain through my body. I fall to the ground beside Carl, who doesn't open his eyes. I hear the guys yell our names as they come after us. I use my arm to lift myself up and look at him, seeing the blood seeping through his shirt. Rick quickly picks him up as I feel Shane pick me up.
"Oh my god, a-are they okay?" The man asks. My vision starts to cloud as I look at Shane, seeing him looking at the man. His face is angry. "Go to the farm, that way. Go straight and ask for Hershel, he'll fix them!" He says fast. I hear Rick take off and Shane follows behind him. I reach my hand out and touch his face, watching as blood smudges his face a bit.
"You're a good dad. I just want you to know that for when you find her." I watch as tears threaten to spill from his eyes. My eyes start to close as fighting them stops working.
"Don't talk like that. You're going to be okay. You're going to be up to see Carl, to find Isabelle." He cuts himself short as he looks at me. "Stay awake." I feel my eyes close as I can't pry them open any longer.
I jolt up as I hear a scream. My hand instantly flys to my wound from the pain. I look down and see my hand covered in fresh blood. I look over and see Carl screaming as a man is pulling something from his stomach.
"Stop! You're killing him!" Rick yells, only to get pulled back by a woman.
"Hey! Didn't you hear him?" My voice is weak, but everyone looks at me.
"Maggie, you're suppose to be applying pressure!" The man scolds. A woman with short, dark brown hair pushes me down lightly and presses a cloth to my wound. I hiss in pain as I see her face sour.
"Make Beth watch Isabelle, I can't do both."
"Isabelle? My Isabelle?" I try to look around, but Maggie restrains me. I feel my hand get grabbed and I look, finding it to be Shane. He smiles at me with tears in his eyes.
"Our Isabelle." Before my eyes shut, I see Belle standing by her daddy with tears in her eyes. At the thought of my daughter being okay, I let myself fall into the darkness.
I open my eyes to see darkness, nothing at all. I walk around a bit, trying to find anything to use as a weapon. There's nothing. Not even a walker.
"Hello?" I yell, earning a firm hand on my shoulder. I turn with my fist up. I let it fall as I see Sophia. "Sophia?"
"Shhh! They're coming!" She turns and runs off, running into an open corn field. I furrow my eyebrows. That wasn't there a second ago. I shake my head and chase after her.
"Sophia! Come here!" I follow close behind her, grabbing her as she stops. I pick her up and look ahead, seeing no less than two hundred walkers coming in our cornfield. I turn around and run back, seeing a small farm house. I close the door behind us and set Sophia down. "Where is everyone?"
"It's just us here. No people, no walkers, just us." I furrow my eye brows as I open the door, finding no walkers again. I turn back around and see she's gone. I walk into a small room and find myself laying on a bed with Shane, Belle, Rick, and Glenn around me discussing who knows what. I turn around and see Sophia again.
"Where are you?"
"I don't know." She shakes her head. "Will you stay with me?" I go to open my mouth but I see Jim and Jacque. What is this place? I smile at them before I hear my daughters scream.
"Mommy!" I turn to them, finding them all gone once more. I walk to the bed I was lying on and find nothing, not even the bed.
"What's going on?" I whisper.
"You can't! That's my mommy!" My eyes open as I shoot up, looking around the room. I try to calm my breathing but fail as I look for Belle. I see her struggling against the man that was operating on Carl from the door way.
"What's going on?" I demand, going to stand. I grab my wound as I balance myself, feeling two hands grab my waist to steady me. I look back up and see the man let go of Belle, letting her hug me.
"How's this possible?" He mutters. I look down at Belle, seeing tears falling down her cheeks.
"What?" I look behind me as I feel the persons hands let go, finding Shane. He looks like he had been crying too.
"You were dead." Rick whispers, pulling me into a hug. I shake my head and hug him back.
"Your heart stopped for three minutes, you shouldn't be alive right now." The man insists as he walks out. I pull away from the hug and look at Rick.
"How's Carl?" He nods his head, a faint smile on his lips.
"He's good. Shane went with Hershel's man Otis to get the supplies to save his life." He looks down. "Otis didn't make it." I nod.
"Who's Hershel?" He motions for me to follow. Belle reaches up to me and I go to grab her, but Shane beats me to it.
"No lifting for you, you'll tear your stitches." I nod, forgetting for a second. I follow them out the door and find two men and three woman sitting silently on the couches, looking as through they have been crying.
"This is Hershel, Beth, Jimmy, Patrica, and Maggie." I smile with a wave. They smile in return as I take a seat on a big couch opposing them.
"You gave us quite a scare, Madison." Maggie says.
"I'm sorry." I say as Belle hops in my lap. After five minutes of awkward silence, I excuse myself and sit on the porch swing, cradling Belle in my arms.
"Sorry, thought no one else was out here." Maggie says as she gets ready to go back in.
"You're fine." She nods before sitting in a rocking chair. "Thank you, for watching Belle." She looks at Belle with a small smile.
"It was nothing. She listened to everything we said." I nod. "She kept talking about this little girl though, Sophia, I think." My eyes widen. Since I've got my daughter back, I forgot all about her friend. How could I forget? I sit Belle up and look in her eyes.
"Where was the last place you saw her?" She points in the woods.
"The creek. We were staying in a little cabin but I came out here to find something else to stay in. We stayed in a house, just like you and daddy told me." She smiles brightly. I turn to Maggie with big eyes.
"Do you have a car?" She shakes her head.
"We have horses."
"Can I borrow one?"
"In the morning, it's too dark now. Plus daddy would kill me if he knew I let you go with that wound." I shake my head.
"Just tell him I left you with Belle and told you I had to pee." She nods slowly before bringing me to a barn.
"Ride her, she's calm and likes people. Her names California, got her from a little girl who dreamed of going to Cali." I nod as we sattle her up.
"I'll be back by sunrise."
"If you tear your stitches, come right back." I nod before taking off. I follow a small path, going to the creek we were suppose to search yesterday. I grab Glenn's flashlight I forgot to return and keep it in my hand to see, keeping my other hand on the rope.
I pull back a little once we find the creek. I hop off and walk her with me as I point the flashlight on the ground, looking for prints. I see a few small, shoe-like prints. I get back on and follow the trail past the creek, following the broken grass patterns and the broken sticks. Once a small cabin comes in view, I hop off again and tie her to a tree. I look around and kill two walkers to make sure they won't get California. I go inside with my hunting knife up.
"Sophia!" I hear rustling from upstairs. I'm fast to run upstairs and in a room. "Sophia!"
"Madison?" I rush into a closet and find a walker. It falls on me before I can react, causing me to let out a small scream. I reach for my knife, but can't find it in its sheath. I look to my right and see it pushed against the far wall. There's no way I can grab it. I put my hand back to the walker, pushing it up. I feel my stitches pulling, making me yell.
"Sophia, baby, come here." I hear small footsteps, then they come to a stop. I look over and see her with a horrified look.
"W-w-what do I do?" She stutters, fear in her voice. I point to my knife.
"Give me my knife." The walkers face gets too close for my liking once my hand leaves, making me push harder with my left hand. I let a loud scream erupt from my stomach as I feel a sharp pain in my stomach once more. Sophia stops beside me with the knife in her hands. I go to grab it, but I stop once the pain in my stomach becomes unbearable. Her eyes widen as she looks at me.
"Madison." Her voice cracks as she speaks.
"I need you stab it." Her eyes glaze over with tears.
"I can't, no one taught me how." I readjust my arms as I start to see black and white dots.
"Just put the knife to its head." I see her arm coming closer to my face, just a little above mine to get to the walkers. "You've got this Sophia." I try to fight the dark void my mind is trying to fall into, but I feel like I'm failing miserably. "Just stab..." I hear her squeal. "It." I try to look at her, but my eyes droop and I feel my arms give way to the walker. If I die, I hope Daryl finds the horses prints and tracks my spot here so he can take Sophia back to Carol.