.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃, blow up into a million pieces. But it had been replaced with a new dream, a new hope. They had a goal- to get to Fort Benning.

Stella really hoped and believed that there would be a cure. She believed that things were going to go back to normal, or at least better. She believed in a future where people lived in communities and started living instead of just surviving. Now, she didn't know what she believed anymore.

The blond grime girl sat in the back of her father's car along with Carl, Sophia, and Carol. Stella noticed a bright and big smile, plastered on her mother's face. Something that was rather unusual.
Her mother turned around and smiled at her children.

"What?" Stella couldn't help but smile at the sight of her mother being happy, she hadn't been smiling much since the thing with Shane. Neither had Stella.

"Just thinking about our trip to the Grand Canyon." She replied.

Their father laughed at the memory.

"I don't remember that," Carl spoke.
Stella didn't either.

"No, you wouldn't. You were just a baby. And Stella, you had just turned three." Their mother explained. "Besides, we never made it past Fort Worth."

"No, Carl you got sick. I never knew a baby could throw up so much. And Stella, you got some on your favorite stuffed animal so we had to throw it away. You cried for hours." Rick met Lori's eyes and smiled.

"Ick," Carl said.

"Yeah, ick." Their mother laughed. "The doctor in Texas said you'd live. So we bought Stella a new stuffed animal and then we turned around and drove home."

"That sucks," Carl said.

"No, it was a good trip."

"The best." Rick smiled.

Even though Stella didn't remember the trip, she missed it. With all her heart, she missed it. Not just that trip, but life and what it used to look like. She missed smiling and laughing. She missed not having to constantly worry and fear what could be hiding behind every corner.

"Can we go see it? The Grand Canyon?" Carl asked. "I'd like to."

"I would too," Sophia said. "Can we go?"

"We'd never go without you and your mom." Rick smiled at the girl, who smiled back.

"That's a promise." Stella took Sophia's hand and let her thumb stroke her skin.

"Could Levi come too?" The young Pelletier girl asked.

"Of course!" Stella replied. "We'd never leave without him."

Carol, Rick, and Lori all smiled at their children, sharing a spark of joy.
Suddenly the RV stopped, bringing all of the other cars to a halt.
"What now?" Rick sighed.

Everyone emerged from their cars. Hundreds of abandoned vehicles were scattered around the highway, blocking their path. Clothes and toys and other abandoned items were spread over the road

"I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water." Dale shook his head, staring at the clouds of exhaust fumes that spewed from the hood of the RV.

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked.

"Well, just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no hope of—" The older man stopped himself.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here.." Shane spoke.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl said, looking through one of the empty cars.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-dog said.

"Maybe some water," Carol said.

"Or food," Levi added.
None of them had eaten since that morning in the CDC. Stella had barely thought about it. She had gotten used to being constantly hungry and thirsty.

"This is a graveyard," Lori stated. "I don't know how I feel about this."

"All right, just look around, gather what you can," Shane said, ignoring Lori completely.
Stella didn't like the idea of stealing other people's belongings, but they weren't going to miss it. Plus they had to do what they had to do to survive. So Stella, along with the rest of the group set off into the swarm of cars.

Stella walked with her knife in a firm grip in her hand, ready for a surprise attack from a walker. She leaned forward and peeked into one of the cars. A harsh stench of death forced its way into her nostrils. The corpse of a woman, with dozens of flies buzzing around her, sat in the passenger's seat.

The blonde Grimes girl continued walking and looting the vehicles, only finding some clothes and an almost empty first aid kit. As she walked between two cars, with her knife ready she felt something grab her shoulder.

She spun around so quickly that almost poked Levi's eye out.

"Oh my god! Levi! You can't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry." He laughed. "You know, that's the second time you've almost killed me."

"Yeah, well you're the one scaring me."

"What 'you got there?" He nodded towards the items in her hands.

"Just an almost empty first aid kit and some clothes." Stella shrugged.

"Well, I found this..." The brunette boy held a doll in his hands. "I was thinking... you know, maybe Sophia would like it."

Stella smiled at the boy's kind gesture. Sophia was usually a very shy girl. But it was different with Levi, the way he talked and acted around her always made her laugh and she was never shy around him.

"She'll love it."

Levi smiled before he walked away to Sophia. Stella continued walking through the cars. She came across one that held a few comic books, which she figured she'd give to Carl and some clothes.
As she opened the glove compartment she found something else. A gun.
She quickly shoved the weapon into her bag. She knew that her mother wouldn't let her have a gun, but what she didn't know didn't hurt her.

Suddenly, her father sprinted towards her.
"Stella, Lori, under the cars." He whispered yelled.

Stella quickly got on her stomach and slid herself underneath a truck. Stella's heart was thundering as she saw the walker's feet as they walked aimlessly past the car she was under. Her chest tightened and she laid as still as she could, trying not to move a muscle.
Stella looked around, trying to locate Carl. He was lying flat on his stomach under one of the cars, his face was a mask of fear. Under the car next to him were Sophia and Levi.

Stella met Levi's gaze. He forced a comforting smile on his face, trying to calm her. Sophia held her new doll in one hand and used her other hand to squeeze Levi's tightly.

Hundreds of walkers passed their cars. Stella didn't know where Glenn, T-dog or Dale, or anyone else from their group were. She prayed that they were safe.

The walkers that passed, began to thin out until they were all gone. Stella shut her eyes and tried to catch her breath. But soon her eyes flew open at the sound of Sophia screaming. A walker crawled under the car where Levi and Sophia were hiding. The dead reached for the two, who crawled on the ground.

The young girl jumped over the railing and sprinted into the forest nearby.
"Sophia no—!" Levi tried to stop her but the walker grabbed him causing them both to fall to the ground.

In the corner of her eye, Stella saw her father quickly get on his feet and rush after the young girl. Levi fought off the walker on top of him and followed Rick and Sophia.

Stella, along with the rest of the group came out from their hiding and ran to the railing where Sophia had previously jumped over.

"Lori, there's two walkers after my baby." Carol cried out, but Lori was quick to grab her as to prevent her from getting noticed by the herd of walkers that had passed them. Stella glanced at Carl who cried out after his best friend. The grimes girl bent down and pulled her brother into a hug, her eyes peeled at the forest.

𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐓, 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝. But without Sophia. Their clothes were stained with blood and dirt, which made Stella worry.

"You didn't find her?" Carol cried.

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light." Rick said.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods."

"Out in the dark's no good," Daryl said. "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost."

Levi stared down, his face an expression of sad resignation. He looked like he had run miles. He looked like he did the first time Stella saw him, when he came out of the woods that night at the camp.

"But she's twelve. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" Carol's face was clouded with a mixture of panic and sadness. She reacted the way every parent would do.

"I know this is hard but I'm asking you not to panic." Rick tried. "We know she was out there. And we tracked her for a while."

"We have to make this an organized effort," Rick told the group. "Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

"Go get some rest, we'll start first thing in the morning," Daryl said.

After everyone had left Stella walked up to Levi. Sweat was dripping from his hair and the sides of his dirt and blood-stained face, leaving traces.

"Levi, are you okay?"
But he didn't answer.
"Levi, what happened? Who's blood is that?"

"Walker's." He said shortly.

"You think that walker.." Stella hesitated before she said it. "Got Sophia?"

"No, I know it didn't."

"How can you be sure?" Stella asked.

"Because we cut that son of a bitch him open."

Early the next morning, the group was gathered around one of the cars. Rick had laid out a series of knives and weapons.

"Everybody takes a weapon." He said.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need," Andrea spoke. "What about the guns?"

Stella sighed. Shane had told her like a million times that only Rick, him, and Daryl carry guns.

"We've been over that. Daryl Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." She said, making Stella roll her eyes.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it." Shane said.

Stella had tucked her gun into her pants and pulled her shirt over. She was still debating over telling her mother. But she felt safe knowing that she had it, even though she barely knew how to use it.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around, and come back down on the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark." Daryl informed.

"Stay quiet and stay sharp," Rick said. "Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other.

"Dale," Rick turned to the older man. "Keep those repairs. We've got to get this RV ready to move."

"We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to," Dale replied. "Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back."

"Keep an eye on Carl and Stella while we're gone."

"What? No way!" Stella said. "I'm going with you guys."

"Me too," Carl said. "You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible."

"What he said." Stella folded her arms over her chest.

Their parents glanced at each other.
"Your call. I can't always be the bad guy." Their mother said.

"Well, they'll have all of you to look after them. I'd say they're in good hands." Dale said, leaning against the RV. Stella smiled at him before her eyes were laid on her father again.

"Okay, okay." Rick sighed in defeat. "But always within our sight. No exceptions."

Both Grimes siblings smiled proudly at each other.
Stella then walked over to the series of weapons, which were laid out on the hood of one of the cars. She grabbed a sharp knife and placed it in her holster, then she threw her bow and quiver over her shoulder.

The group walked through the woods. Stella walked alongside Levi. Carl and Shane walked in front of the duo. The young boy held a small pocket knife, looking at it proudly.

"Shane, look." He showed the object to Shane, who barley looked at it. "Dad said I could carry it and mom said as long as I was—"

"Keep it down." He cut the excited boy off. "We're looking for Sophia. You need to focus on the task."

Carl'a head fell low. What the fuck is wrong with that man.
Stella didn't recognize him anymore. Shane, the man she used to look to as a father. Who Carl used to look to as a father. Stella remembered all the times Shane and Carl had played in the quarry. She remembered the times he would play with her when she was a child.

Stella couldn't stand listening to how Shane treated Carl so she grabbed his hand softly.
"Got to keep up."
"I am." He said low and shortly.

"You okay there?" Stella asked.

"I think Shane's mad at me. Did I do something wrong?"

Carl's words broke the older sister's heart. She hated Shane for hurting Carl like this.

"No, no. I promise you, Carl. You've done nothing wrong." She squeezed his hand and focused a smile. "He's just worried about Sophia that's all."

Both Stella and Levi gave Shane a hard look and Stella mouthed, what the fuck is your problem?!

The group walked further into the woods until they came across a tent. They all crept slowly towards it.

"She could be in there," Shane said.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there," Daryl said before walking quietly to the tent, with his crossbow steadily aimed in front of him.

"Carol, call out softly. If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear." Rick said.
Carol nodded and began calling out to her daughter. "Sophia, sweetie, are you in there? Sophia, it's mommy. Sophia, we're all here baby."

Stella felt Carl squeeze her hand tighter as Daryl opened the tent, however, he closed it quickly again. "It ain't here."

The group snapped their heads at the sound of church bells ringing in the distance.

"Wha.."
They all hurried in the direction of the sound, however, it was hard to tell where it was coming from.

"What direction?" Shane asked.

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure." Rick said.

"Damn, it's hard to tell out here." Shane cursed.

"If we hear them, maybe Sophia does too," Carol said.

"Somebody's ringing those bells, maybe calling others," Glenn stated.

"Or signaling that they found her," Andrea suggested.

"She could be timing them herself. Come on." Rick began running further into the woods, following the sound.

After running for a while they made it to the church. But it had no steeple or bells, there were no signs of anyone having been there.

They walked to the red front door, Rick and Daryl opened it slowly.
Inside, they found three walkers, sitting on the benches with their eyes laid on the cross. Shane, Rick, and Daryl took out the walkers with ease.

"Sophia!" Rick shouted earning no response.

Stella's heart sank like stone. She had prayed that the young girl would be there.

Daryl walked up to the cross and said. "You, JC, you taking requests?"

"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick. There's no.." Shane was cut off by the church bells ringing once again.

The group hurried outside only to find out that the bells were on a timer.
"I'm gonna go back in for a bit," Carol said with a shaky voice.

Stella along with her brother and father, stood in the back of the church, watching as Carol spoke miserably and prayed. Stella was aching with sympathy. No mother should have to go through what she did. She imagined how scared and alone Sophia must feel. She was only a child. The grimes girl felt a sob rise in her throat as the woman spoke about her daughter. She felt Carl grip her arm tightly and press his teary face into the sleeve of her flannel.

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back," Shane told the group once they were all outside the church. "Okay, Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, and search this area another hour or so. Just to be thorough."

"Count me in, Dad," said Stella.

Rick and Lori glanced at each other before looking at their daughter.

"I want to stay, too," Carl said. "I'm her friend."

Rick shifted his stance while pondering.
"Just be careful, okay," Lori said.

"We will." The Grimes siblings smiled.

"When did you two start growing up" Lori sighed while pulling both her kids into a hug.

"I'll be along soon enough," Rick said before kissing his wife.

Carl glanced at Stella and made a 'yuck' face making the older sister giggle.

"Here, take this." Rick handed Lori his gun. "Remember how to use it?"

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed."

"Here, got a spare. Take it." Daryl said, handing Lori a gun.

Stella smiled at Levi before they walked off, to the woods.

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚, 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚ne 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. Stella had observed Daryl's tracking skills, and even though she was no professional she had picked up a few things.

Once the four got to an opening, Rick gestured for them to stop, hearing rustling nearby. Stella immediately pulled Carl behind her as they slowly approached the sound.
A smile grew on Stella's face as she saw the source of the sound. It was a deer. She had never been this close to one. It was beautiful.

All four of them stared at it, admiring its beauty. Carl began slowly approaching the animal. Stella followed her brother.

"Hey there," Stella said softly. Then as she took one more step closer to the deer the sound of a gunshot echoed in the air. Then everything went quiet.

In a another part of the forest, a group of people stopped instantly at the sound of a gunshot in the distance. Two of them prayed the rest of the walk towards the main road that whoever had been hit wasn't Stella or Carl.
Those two were Levi and Lori.

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟑𝟏𝟒𝟏 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
𝟗 𝐀𝐌
𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍

This has taken me so long bc I have no motivation❗️💀 But I'm finally posting it soo yay
Also thank you sm for almost 1K reads!!
And I need to write shorter chapters😫

Have a great day I love you all🫶🏼

Vote if you hate Shane