October 30th, 2010

They had been gone a while that Winter was starting to worry. She hoped that they were all okay

"You know, they'll be back soon, Winter" Dale said

"Shouldn't they be back already?" T-Dog asked

"It's still light. Hey, how are you feeling?" Dale asked T-Dog as he messed with the RV. T-Dog didn't respond. Dale put down his tools and approached T-Dog

"T-Dog? I asked you how you were feeling just now. Please don't blow that question off" Dale said. Winter looked at T-Dog concerned

"It really, really hurts. It's throbbing something awful" T-Dog said

"Oh, let me see.." Dale said. He lifted the bandage to get a little look at the wound. He then went to put it back but T-Dog grabbed him as he groaned in pain

"Ah! Don't- don't touch it!" T-Dog said as he panted

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Listen, your veins are very discolored. You got a hell of an infection there. You could die from blood poisoning" Dale said. T-Dog looked at Winter and laughed

"Wouldn't that be the way? World gone to hell, the dead risen up to eat the living and Theodore Douglas gets done in by a cut on his arm" T-Dog said as he laughed. Winter felt guilty for not doing a better job

"I did my best to clean it. Maybe I should've done it twice" Winter said

"No, he needs antibiotics. We've been going through these cars the whole time, I can't believe we haven't found some ampicillin or something in the while place. Can you?" Dale asked the two

"No" Winter said

"Seems like there would be" T-Dog said

"That's what I think. Well, we, uh- we haven't been thorough enough. So let's look some more" Dale said. The three went off to look for medicine in the cars. Time passed and Winter had no luck with finding medicine. T-Dog was sitting down smoking a cigarette. Winter was next to him. Dale came over with a bunch of stuff in his hands. He set it down and looked around

"Where the hell are they?" Dale asked. As the sun began to set the others returned. Winter was relieved to see that Sam was okay, but noticed that some were missing

"Listen, Carl was shot" Glenn said. Winter looked at him

"Shot? What do you mean shot?" Dale asked

"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori

"You let her?" Dale asked

"Climb down out of my asshole, man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's" Daryl said. Michael looked like he had seen a ghost

"What's wrong with him?" Winter asked Sam

"Not really sure" Sam responded

"Well, they want us to meet them at the farm" Glenn said

"I won't do it. We can't just leave" Carol said

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak" Dale said

"What if she comes back and we're not here? It could happen" Carol said

"If Sophia found her way back and were gone, that would be awful" Andrea said

"We got a plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV" Daryl said

"If the RV is staying, I am too" Dale said

"Thank you. Thank you both" Carol said

"I'm in" Andrea said

"I'll stay, too" Michael spoke up. Winter and Sam looked at eachother

"I guess we are too" Winter said

"Well, if you're all staying then I'm-" Glenn was cut off

"Not you, Glenn. You're going. Take Carol's Cherokee" Dale said

"Me? Why is it always me?" Glenn asked

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on. But most important, you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke" Dale said. Daryl pulled a bag of medications from his shit

"Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle. Why'd you wait till now to say anything? Got my brother's stash. Crystal, x. Don't need that. Got some kick ass painkillers" Daryl said as he tossed the bottle to Glenn. Glenn caught it and Daryl continued looking

"Oxycyline. Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion" Daryl said as he tossed the bottle to Dale. Sam and Winter had disgusted looks on their faces at the new information. Dale looked at T-Dog. Night had fallen, and everyone was getting ready to sleep. Sam and Winter had moved the table so the two couches would make a small sleeping area. Carol was in the backroom. Dale decided he'd sleep in the driver's seat. Daryl chose the ground, and Michael picked the passenger seat. Andrea didn't feel like sleeping. Winter laid down and closed her eyes. She was ready for this day to end. She felt an arm wrap around her and she smiled before falling asleep

October 31st, 2010

The group had arrived at the farm. They got out of their cars and met with the others. There were a bunch of people that Winter didn't recognize but that was to be expected. She wondered how Carl was

"How is he?" Dale asked

"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people" Lori said as she motioned to Hershel. One of the girls Winter didn't recognize was staring at Michael with wide eyes. Her eyes turned into ones that held hatred

"And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him" Rick said. Rick and Dale hugged each other. Then, Carol and Lori hugged. Winter was glad to hear that Carl was okay. The woman approached Michael and they made eye contact. Winter and Sam just stared at the two

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked

"Hunting accident. That's all- just a stupid accident" Rick said. That's when a little boy came from inside and climbed down the steps. Michael stared at the little boy

"Beth, I thought you were watching Nicky" Hershel said as the little boy known as Nicky grabbed onto his leg. Hershel picked him up. Soon after they held a funeral for a man named Otis. He was the one who had shot Carl. After the funeral, the girl and Michael disappeared

Sam, Shane, Daryl, Andrea, Hershel, Michael, Rick, Winter and Maggie had all gathered together to talk about looking for Sophia

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked

"This'll be day three" Rick said. Maggie opened the map. She and Michael just stared at each other

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations" Maggie said

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams" Rick said

"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out. And your ankle- push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody" Hershel said

"Okay, we can split up into two groups. I'll take Winter, and Michael will be with Sam. We'll head back to the creek, work our way from there" Daryl said. Sam didn't really want Winter to be alone with Daryl. It wasn't that he was afraid, he'd do something to her. He wasn't really sure what it was. Maybe he was jealous, but then Sam remembered what they were doing and felt guilty for thinking like that. The way they were teamed up was logical. Michael was the next best tracker that this group had. It made sense for them to be split like that

"Yeah, we can check over here just in case she got that far" Michael said pointing to the map. Daryl nodded

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back" Shane said. His face was still bruised but it was looking better than before

"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right" Rick said

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them" Shane said

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp" Hershel said

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here.." Shane trailed off

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property. And we will respect that" Rick said before taking out his gun and setting it down. Michael looked at Hershel before doing the same. Winter and Sam placed their guns on the hood of the car, and so did Shane

"First things first: set camp, find Sophia" Rick said

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that" Shane said. Sam had to agree that Shane had a point

"You do what has to be done" Rick said

"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie asked

"The truth" Andrea said

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience" Shane said. Hershel thought about it. Rick then turned to Hershel

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun" Rick explained. Hershel nodded

"Thank you" Rick said. Shane and Daryl wandered off. Sam looked at Michael and pulled him away from the others

"Hey, what's the problem?" Michael asked as they were far enough that no one would overhear them

"I'm sorry, I have to ask. You know that woman don't you? You know Maggie, right?" Sam asked. Michael became visibly uncomfortable

"I.." Michael trailed off as he tried to find the words. He seemed guilty. Sam understood that this wasn't some small thing. This was pretty big if Michael was struggling like this. He then took a deep breath

"I've done some things I'm not proud of.. Maggie is an ex of mine.. While we were together, she ended up getting pregnant.. so, I- uh.. I ran and left her to deal with it by herself.." Michael admitted. Sam was shocked by what he was hearing. He couldn't believe that Michael would do that

"Why would you do something like that?" Sam asked him. Michael covered his mouth as he tried to respond

"There isn't a day that goes by where I don't regret leaving her. It's not even that I loved her.. I.. She was just supposed to be one of those couple month girlfriends.. but, I fucked up, and I couldn't handle what I had done.. So, I ran like a fucking coward. I left her to deal with it all on her own. I was never really sure if she ended up keeping the baby. I mean, I cut her off completely.. but then I saw the little boy.. and I knew.. That's my son, Sam. I know I will never be able to make up for what I did, and I'm not going to beg for her forgiveness. I don't deserve it.." Michael said. Sam just really couldn't believe it. He was just in shock

"Me and Maggie, we've talked, and she doesn't want me here. So, I'm leaving tonight. It is the least I could do for her after turning her life completely upside down and then leaving" Michael said. Sam just stared at him

"What? You're gonna leave?" Sam asked. Michael gave him a sad smile

"Yeah, I am. This is my punishment, and I'm going to take it because that is what I deserve" Michael said

"But you've changed. Maybe, you can convince her it's different now" Sam said. The thought of his brother leaving him, left Sam anxiety ridden. How we he be able to cope without his brother? Michael was everything to Sam. Sam had been looking up to Michael since they were children, and for him to just vanish. Sam wasn't sure if he could deal with it

"Yes, I've changed. I'm not the same man I was before, but that does not change what I've done. I'm going to do as she asked because I owe her that. Listen, Sammy.. We probably won't meet again after this, so I need you to know that I love you. You will do just fine without me. You're strong, I know you are. But, I ask that you do one thing for me. Don't tell anyone about this. Not even Winter, I'm begging you" Michael said as tears streamed down his face. Sam was in tears

"You can't leave me, that's not fair. Please, Michael" Sam begged

"I've made up my mind. I'm sorry" Michael said

"I'll come with you" Sam said. Michael shook his head

"No, I won't let you. You're safe with the group. You need to stay here" Michael said

Winter had gone with Shane, Carol and Andrea to see if Sophia returned to the interstate. However, they had no luck. Sophia wasn't there. They had left a note the day prior letting Sophia know to stay there and that they would be back. There was food and water. It hadn't been touched. Carol stood by the car. Winter felt for her

"We're gonna find her" Winter said as she put a hand on Carol's shoulder

"Winter's right. We'll come again tomorrow. You know, there's always the chance-" Andrea was cut off

"Don't. I really don't need to hear it anymore, Andrea. Save the thoughts and prayers" Carol said

"You never know, Carol" Shane said. Carol motioned for him to stop and he did. Andrea then led them to an area where they could practice shooting

"We can hang targets along that fence line there. That rise, it gives a natural backstop. It's a good idea" Shane said

"Thanks. So how long before I can carry?" Andrea asked. Shane chuckled

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves" Shane said

"I'm not in a vert patient frame of mind these days, Shane. You might have noticed that" Andrea said

"No shit. Look, I ain't worried about you offing yourself, even though you got old Dale pissing his pants lately" Shane responded before he chuckled

"Yeah, I noticed that too" Shane said

"If Winter can carry, I should be able to carry" Andrea said

"That's different. I've been shooting guns since I was little. I know my way around these things" Winter said

"She's got a point. I've seen her shoot that thing. Pretty damn good. And, look.. I see you have the desire for gun work and desire will take you a long way. But something you need to know, so file this carefully" Shane spoke up

"I'm listening" Andrea said

"Paper targets is one thing. Easy to hit what ain't moving. But taking down an assailant, one that's trying to kill you, it's different. They say in that kind of situation things slow down. That's crap. They speed up. Adrenaline, ha. It'll cripple you if you let it. You need to use your instinct. You got to rule it out. Because somebody is going to die. And you'd better hope that you're the one who's making that decision" Shane said before he and Andrea went off to talk. Winter stayed by Carol, giving her any support she could

(2635 words)
11/28/22