Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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Under my hand, I could feel how tense Lori was. Occasionally, I joined her in glancing backward, hoping to see the guys. But each time, it was empty, nothing but wilderness around us. I let my hand fall from her shoulder to her hand, rubbing her knuckles to try to soothe her nerves as I pulled her forward. Like her, the gunshot worried me. It was strange because it was just the one – Rick and Shane wouldn't put everyone at risk for one walker. They would've taken it down silently. But unlike Lori, I couldn't show how anxious the whole thing made me. I need to be strong. I felt a tug at my hand and stopped, turning alongside Lori and watching as she combed the woods yet again. The pressure on my hand increased, showing me just how worried she was. I don't blame her... It was fishy, and knowing Carl was with them also made me nervous.

"You're still worrying about it?" Andrea asked, turning back to us and forcing the group to come to a brief stop.

"It was a gunshot," Lori said as she searched for any signs of life around us. I can't imagine how she feels since her husband and kid are out there.

"We all heard it," Daryl muttered.

"Why one? Why just one gunshot?" Lori asked, her hazel eyes scrutinizing Daryl.

"Maybe they took down a walker?" He suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. Or Shane. They'd do it quietly." Lori's eyes were panicked as she looked back, her hand squeezing mine again. I returned the squeeze, knowing nothing would calm her mind no matter what we said or did. Nothing will until they come back.

"Shouldn't they have caught up to us by now?" Carol asked, adding fuel to the fire. I flashed Carol a scowl, pulling at Lori's hand so we could continue our search. We decided to take a long way to the RV to search for Sophia some more, but so far, it proved uneventful.

"There's nothing we can do about it anyway," Daryl shrugged, "Can't run around these woods chasing echoes."

"So, what do we do?" Lori asked, her nerves hitting an all-time high.

"We keep pushing forward." I told her and the group, "Keep an eye out for Sophia and meet back up with Dale and T at the RV."

"I'm sure they'll hook back up with us at the RV," Andrea told Lori.

"She's right," I forced a smile, meeting Lori's gaze. They'll meet us at the RV soon." Lori hesitantly nodded, allowing me to pull her further forward. While unsure if they would, I couldn't let her know. I need to keep a level head for everyone's sake. And if they don't come back, I'll lead a small group to search for them too.

As I led the group, Carol and Andrea began speaking, their conversation leaning more toward the spiritual side. Suddenly, Daryl butted into their conversation quite harshly, telling them their prayers weren't worth anything, and the only way to locate the missing girl was to keep pushing forward with our search. I'm not particularly religious, the furthest thing from it, but I would never say something like that to people who fully believed. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him; Does he not realize how much of an ass he can be? Especially to a woman who is worried sick about her daughter! He should take a course or two in sensitivity training or something! Silence encased us. The overall feel in the air was rigid and heavy. It was obvious that everyone was on edge. The occasional crunching of a branch or leaves under someone's boot or the rustle of the trees startled us as everyone's mood was off. We walked like this for a long time until Daryl spoke up, forcing us to stop, all our eyes darting to the wilderness around us.

"We're losing light," Daryl announced. I looked up, realizing that he was right. Funny how fast the day went, and here I thought it would drag.

"We'll pick up again tomorrow?" Carol asked. I nodded at her and smiled, reassuring her.