Deadland

Chapter 20- Creek

 We all sit down for dinner in the Greene house, Rick, Glenn, and Hershel still not back yet.

"Carl, I want you to keep your head up." Shane says, spooning green beans onto his plate. "Your old man, he's the toughest son of a-" "No cussin' in the house." Patricia interrupts my dad. 

Because oh no, cussing will banish us to hell forever. 

"Sorry." My dad smirks. Alyssa looks at me, "Hear that? No cussin'." I smirk, "I dunno what you mean. I've never said a cussword in my life." She giggles. 

"Lori, dinner." Carol calls. "She's not in there." Maggie turns and looks at the hallway behind her. "Where is she?" Dale quickly asks. 

Nobody responds, Maggie looks around at everybody. 

"Carl, when's the last time you saw your mom?" My dad questions. "This afternoon." 

"She was worried about Rick, asked me to look in on Carl." "And she trusted you?" I mumble so quietly nobody, but Alyssa can hear me. She laughs and covers her mouth; everybody quickly looks at her. "Sorry, remembered a funny joke." She says, her face turning red. I smile and nudge her shoulder; she hits my bicep lightly. 

"She went after them?" Dale asks. "She didn't say that." Andrea quickly replies. My dad stands up and says, "Nobody panic. Gonna be around here somewhere." Alyssa leans in and whispers, "Sometimes, I never understand what he's saying." I smirk, "Me neither." 

Everybody stands up to go help look for her. 

Carol runs off to go talk to Daryl, Shane goes to the barn and T-Dog checks the yards. We're all standing at camp waiting for them. 

"She's not at the barn." Shane announces. "I checked the yards." "Well where is she?" Carl is beginning to become nervous. "Hey, we'll find her." Alyssa puts her arm around his shoulders. I raise my eyebrows and smirk. She mouths stop through gritted teeth and shakes her head. 

"She asked Daryl to go into town." Carol runs back to us. "Must've gone herself." 

Carl whimpers and shoves Alyssa's arm off of him, running off. "Carl!" Alyssa calls, chasing after him. 

"Did you know about this?" Shane interrogates Dale. "No." "Did she take a gun?" "I don't know. I wouldn't let her go out there alone." My dad turns and begins walking to the van behind him without another word. He tosses his shotgun in the passenger side of the car and gets in, closing the driver's side door. 

He quickly starts the car and drives off, wasting no time.  

About an hour later, Shane's car pulls up and him and Lori step out. "Oh my god you're alright, what happened?" Andrea says, running up to them, We all follow. 

"She was attacked." Shane says, inspecting her wounds. "I was in an accident. I'm fine, I'm fine. I really am." She waves him off. "Where's Rick?" She asks Andrea. If it wasn't silent before, it definitely is now. 

When nobody responds, the puzzle pieces connect in her mind. "They're not back?" Her shoulders drop and her face immediately becomes worried. "Where are they?" She asks my dad, her tone more firm. 

"Look, I had to get you back here." He tries to explain. "You asshole." She whispers, quickly approaching him.

Oh shit.

"He's my husband!" She yells shoving him. "Lori, I will go after him! I will find him!" Shane says, his voice shaking as Lori is shoving him. He finally shoves her off lightly and says, "Hey! Now, first things first- I gotta- I gotta look after you. I gotta make sure the baby's all right, okay?"