wastelands → the walking dead ¹

[ 014 ] blooming relationships and swimmers.

— CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
blooming relationships and swimmers.

EVERYONE HAS TURNED IN their weapons except Dale. . . and Odessa. Dale is the assigned lookout and Odessa still hasn't told anyone about her stolen gun.

Everyone is getting together the organized search party for Sophia but Odessa isn't allowed to help. So she lays beside Carl who is awake. "Does it hurt?" He asks her.

"My head?" She asks back, "yeah, it comes and goes. Like I'll get a quick headache that'll go way in ten minutes or I'll get a migraine that'll last eight hours."

Carl grimaces. "That must suck."

"Yeah," she laughs, "at least I didn't have to have surgery done on me."

Carl mocks her before rolling his eyes. "They haven't found Sophia yet, have they? Dad told me y'all did."

Odessa sucks in a shaky breath, "no, bud, they haven't. Not yet."

"I wanna help," he tells her. "We both should be looking for her, she's our friend."

"You aren't allowed to do anything with that wound and I'm not allowed to do anything either. Hershel's too scared I'm gonna take another blow to the head and like die." Odessa sighs to herself. "Hey, if I told you I had a gun, would you snitch?"

"No," Carl shakes his head quickly. "Do you have a gun?"

Odessa's lips quirk. "I've had it since the camp got attacked."

"Awesome," Carl exclaims giddily. "Can you shoot it though?"

"Yeah, Shane trained me from the time I was seven to the time I was fourteen," she explains. "You don't remember?"

"Des?" A voice calls. Both siblings immediately go quiet and their eyes snap to the doorway where T-Dog appears. "Hey, little man. You doin' better?"

"Yeah," Carl nods. "Thanks."

"What is it?" Odessa sits up. "Is somethin' wrong?"

"Just come with me." T-Dog states.

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Odessa stares down at the bloated walker in the well. Dale shines his flashlight down on it, "looks like we got us a swimmer."

"Gross," Odessa manages to say. "How long you guys think it's been down there?"

"Long enough to grow gills," Andrea responds.

"We can't leave it in there. God knows what it's doing to the water," Lori speaks up.

"We gotta get it out," Shane states the very clear obvious.

"Easy. Put a bullet in its head," T-Doh suggests.

"It'd be the easiest, cleanest way," Odessa looks up from the walker. "I'll get a rope."

"Woah, woah, guys. No." Maggie steps up.