wastelands → the walking dead ¹

[ 011 ] the beginning of new ends.

— CHAPTER ELEVEN.
the beginning of new ends.

WHEN RICK RETURNS WITHOUT Sophia, Carol breaks down. Odessa watches with a frown from atop the RV. She's done a lot of that lately. Frowning. She begins to think it would become etched onto her face permanently.

Rick, Shane, Glenn, and Daryl leave to track Sophia. But soon Glenn and Shane return and Shane takes charge just like he used to. While Odessa stays on watch, the others below scavenge and move vehicles so once the RV is running they can move it.

She's watching Carl as he opens a truck door and eyes the corpse inside. She quickly realizes that it is not coming back to life when Carl reaches inside and it doesn't bite him.

So when Carl yanks whatever it is inside he wants out and falls backwards with a girlish shriek, Odessa bursts into laughter.

She watches as Shane turn down her brother with a hatred so hot she wants to kill him. So Carl brings his arsenal to his big sister.

She climbs down from the RV and watches him roll it out. As soon as she sees the weapons, she exclaims, "woah!"

"It's cool, isn't it?" He laughs. "Mom won't let me keep one."

"Why not? You need to protect yourself, especially after Sophia." Odessa shakes her head then pulls out her pocket knife. "Here."

"Are you for real?" Carl gapes at her. "What if Mom or Dad find out? Or Shane?"

"Shane isn't our dad. He can't tell us what to do. And Mom and Dad aren't gonna find out, 'kay?" She hands him the knife and he takes it willingly. He flicks it open and examines it. There's some stained blood on it and Carl doesn't seem to mind. He closes it and hooks it onto his pocket.

"Do you think Shane hates me?" Carl then looks up at her. "He told me to give this to Dale. He was really mean about it."

Odessa stares at her brother with a perplexed expression. She knows the type of person Shane Walsh is. Her brother doesn't need to know though. So she lies to him.

"He doesn't hate you," she shakes her head. "I promise he doesn't."

"Then why was he so mean to me?" Carl asks her.

"Because he— he has stuff going on in his mind right now. With Sophia missing and all, you know? He's worried about all of us." She lies. She lies to her baby brother. And she hates it.

Carl frowns. "I don't want him to hate me, Des."

"He doesn't, Carl. I promise you."

Not long later, as the sun began to set, Rick and Daryl returns. Again, without Sophia Peletier.

"You didn't find her?" Carol asks tearfully.

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

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own, to spend the night alone in the woods," Carol chokes up. She is so worried about her only child. And truthfully, Odessa can'y blame her.