NOT DEAD YET // the Walking Dead ( Carl x Reader)

10 Still Missing

The sun began to set, Rick and Daryl had still not returned.
Until the sun was setting.

    "You can't leave my Daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods." We heard Carol said to Rick as we ran over.

   "Out in dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost." Daryl told her.

    "But she's 12. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" Carol cried.

    "I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." Rick told her.

     "And we tracked her for a while." Daryl added.

    "We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick explained.

    "Is- is that blood?" Carol asked looking at Daryl and Rick.

    "We took down a Walker." Rick started.

    "Walker? Oh my god." Carol breathed.

    "There was no sign it was even anywhere near Sophia." Rick said.

    "How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

    "We cut the Son of a bitch open, made sure." Daryl confirmed.

    "Oh god." Carol breathed sitting down, Lori sat beside to confront,"How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?"

    "Those two Walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance." Rick explained.

    "Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane said.

    "How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child." Carol wept.

    "It was my only option. The only choice I could make." Rick told her.

    "I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane said.

    "My little girl got left in the woods." Carol cried.

————————Morning—————————————

"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick said unraveling the arsenal Carl found.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea questioned.

"We've been over that." Shane said. "Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." Andrea said.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it." Shane told her.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark." Daryl explained.

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other. Everybody assemble your packs." Rick instructed. "Dale, keep on those repairs. We've got to get this R.V ready to move."

"We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to. Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back." Dale said.

"Keep an eye on Carl and (Y/n) while we're gone." Rick said.

"We're going with you. You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible." Carl commented.

"Your call." Lori told Rick. "I can't always be the bad guy."

"We want to help." I pleaded.

"Well, they have all of you to look after them." Dale spoke. "I'd say their in good hands."

"Okay. Okay." Rick gave in. "But always within our sight you two, no exceptions."

I smiled walking away with Carl.

"No, Dale, you're doing it for you. You need to stop. What do you think's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?" I heard Andrea say angrily.

"I know You're angry at me. That much is clear. But if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now." Dale spoke calmly.

"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay." Andrea claimed.

"You chose suicide."

"So what's that to you? You barely know me." Andrea told him.

"I know Amy's death devastated you." Dale said.

"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy. This is about us. And if I decided that I had nothing left to live for, who the hell are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that?" Andrea scoffed.

"I saved your life."

"No, Dale. I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect? What, I'd have some kind of epiphany? Some life-affirming catharsis?" Andrea raved.

"Maybe just a little gratitude." Dale admitted.

"Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice. You took that away from me, Dale. But you know better? All I wanted after my Sister died was to get out of this endless horrific nightmare we live every day. I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale. And you expect gratitude?" Andrea finished.

"I don't know what to say." Dale said.

"I'm not your little girl. I'm not your Wife. And I'm sure as hell not your problem. That's all there is to say." Andrea walked away as we started the search.

——————Later————————————

"Shane, look." Carl said slowing down to walk with Shane in the back. "Dad said I could carry it and Mom said as long as I was—"

"Keep it down." I listened as Shane interrupted, "We're looking for Sophia. You need to focus on the task."

"You got to keep up." Lori told Carl.

"I am." Carl sighed.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I think Shane's mad at me. Did I do something wrong?" He asked Lori.

"No. No, honey, I promise you. He's just— he's worried about Sophia, that's all. Come on." Lori told him.

We soon came across a tent seemingly abandoned. Daryl and Rick halted us.

"She could be in there." Shane spoke.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl said as him, Rick and Shane cautiously approached.

"Carol." Rick beckoned.

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there? Sophia, it's Mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby. It's Mommy." Carol called softly but got no response. Daryl entered alone and all we heard was coughing. "Daryl? Daryl?"
He stepped out alone.
    "It ain't her." Daryl said.

    "What's in there?" Andrea asked.

    "Some guy. Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?" Daryl said.

The sound of church bells rang through the woods. Rick pointed and we all followed.