Violent Silence • Rick Grimes ✓

-21-

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SCARLETT SNIFFLED, FINALLY GETTING A HOLD ON HER TEARS. She felt Carl put his hand on her shoulder, and she responded by placing her hand over his. Carl turned his hand over and intertwined their fingers, and soon she felt Rick's hand placed gently on the hand closest to him. He held her hand tightly.

"Even after everything, you made sure you got my boy out alive," Rick murmured to her. "You could'a left with your family."

"Wouldn't do that to you... or Lori," she whispered. "She was goin' mad with worry."

"Did Mom make it out?" Carl asked softly, letting her hand go. Rick's hand stayed in hers.

"Yeah, saw her leave with T-Dog for sure," she told him. She watched both Rick and Carl sigh in relief. "Don' worry. I'm sure we all made it okay. Where are we goin'?" she asked Rick.

Rick glanced at her. "The highway where we got stuck. Only place we all know a good ways from your farm."

She nodded as they fell into a silence. Her truck was full of gas, which she was glad of. They would have to start moving away from town, especially if there was a gang and herds of walkers.

She turned suddenly, seeing a bag of guns sitting next to Carl. The bag was almost empty, but she was somehow glad she left the bag in her truck. Carl nodded with a small smile. "I saw 'em. Good thinking," he told her.

She nodded again before she glared. "Seatbelt."

Carl gave her a look. "Really?"

"Carl," she warned.

Sighing, Carl fell back into the seat and pulled on his seatbelt.

Rick smiled at the pair just as they turned onto the highway. They were still a way from where they got stuck, Rick had mumbled, but they were at least away from the herd. Yawning, Scarlett laid her head back and shut her eyes.

It was almost as if she just closed them when she heard Rick saying, "Thank God," and he let her hand go after shaking her slightly. Putting the car in park and turning it off, he and Carl rushed out. The sun was setting in the distance, but they had a little light left.

Hershel, T-Dog, and Lori were sitting there. Lori's eyes widened when she saw the two men.

"Mom!"

She rushed forward and hugged them both. Hershel immediately hugged Scarlett. She let him hold her tightly. T-Dog was hugged afterward by Rick, thanking him for getting his ex-wife out of there.

"Is this it?" T-Dog asked with worried eyes.

Scarlett bit her lip as she murmured, "Glenn, Maggie, and Sophia were together. Daryl and Carol, too. Don' know who else."

"They'll come here," Rick said with a sure nod. "We can't wait too long, though."

"We can't leave them," T-Dog said with a shake of his head.

Carl nodded. "He's right, Dad. We can't leave!"

Scarlett took out a rifle, getting into the bed of her truck. They watched her as she looked through the scope all over the highway. "No walkers yet," she murmured. "Make sure both cars are full. Lots of cars to siphon from."

"Yes ma'am," Rick said, getting the siphon tool out of the back of T-Dog's car. "Lori, sit down–"

Lori shook her head. "No, Shane said he would—"

"Mom..." Carl called softly. "Shane didn't make it."

Lori's eyes widened, her legs giving out. Hershel caught her as a sob left her throat. Rick sighed, pulling Carl to his chest as Carl rethought how he had to put Shane down as a walker. Carl soon rushed to his Mom, hugging her tightly.

Scarlett clenched her jaw. Shane did not deserve that. They were finally getting along. Everything was good.

Scarlett whistled as she heard a rumble of an engine. She did not see anyone yet, so they still had to be cautious. She kept her scope aimed as Rick and T flanked the truck.

Noticing an ugly green carl coming, doing some weird twists around the other cars, she sighed in relief. "Glenn," she said, letting her scope fall as Hershel helped lift Lori up. Carl rushed to his dad as they watched the car come to a stop, the motorcycle behind them stopping as well. Scarlett moved quickly, running to her cousin. Maggie jumped out of the car with Beth. The three girls hugged each other tightly. Hershel made it to them as Glenn and Sophia got out of the car. Daryl and Carol got off the bike, Sophia running to her mom. Rick and T-Dog hugged Glenn.

Carol rushed to Lori, happy the woman made it out with the baby.

Scarlett hugged Daryl next, the man stiffening under her touch. He hugged her back slowly, feeling his shoulder release tension and relax now that he saw them.

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked Daryl, eyeing how Scarlett clung to him longer than the rest before letting go.

"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road... figured he had to be Asian, driving like that," Daryl muttered.

Glenn gave a mocking laugh. "Good one."

"Where's the rest of us?"

"We're the only ones who made it so far," Scarlett said, getting back on the truck bed. She kept her scope on the horizon. She saw one walker. She was not going to shoot him, leading more to them.

"Shane?" Glenn asked, and Carl shook his head.

"Andrea?"

"She saved me, then I lost her," Carol said. "Did you see her?" she asked Scarlett. Scarlett shook her head.

"We saw her go down," T-Dog said finally.

"Patricia?" Hershel asked, already feeling like he knew the answer.

Beth whimpered. "They got her, too. Took her right in front of me. I was... I was holdin' onto her, daddy. She just... what about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"

"He was in the RV. It got overrun," Rick answered with a sigh. "You definitely saw Andrea?" He asked T.

"There were walkers everywhere."

"Did you see her?" Daryl asked. He did not answer. "I'm gonna go back."

"No," Rick said quickly.

"We can't just leave her," Daryl argued.

"We don't even know if she's there!" Scarlett called to them.

"She isn't there. She isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead. There's no way to find her," Rick told them.

"So we're not even gonna look for her?" Glenn asked sadly.

"We gotta keep moving. There have been walkers crawling all over here," Rick finally muttered out after looking at everyone.

"Dar," she called as the walker she saw got too close.

Daryl finally nodded. "I say head east. Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers, mo' assholes like this one. I got him," he finished, killing the walker easily.