Heart and Soul [the walking dead]

A Prayer To The Above

What Lies Ahead (season 2 episode 1)
*MENTIONS OF CATHOLIC BELIEFS*

The sound of grass crunching, followed the group as they walked in a line deep in the forest.

It hadn't been long since the group had passed the creek, the very creek where Rick had left the girls. The creek that they were last seen in.

They had come back this way to see if there were new tracks that either of the girls could have possibly left in the night. After the cries of Carol had subsided, the group moved on.

It was still early in the morning, as Daryl had insisted they leave as soon as everyone was awake. Most of the group had laid awake in fear of another herd or a fellow group but that wasn't the case for Carol.

She had sat by the rails of the highway, the same place that the girls had gone missing, in hopes of catching even a glimpse of them.

She had prayed all night long. She prayed that her daughter were together and hiding somewhere safe. She felt as though it was her fault. Maybe she couldn't have stopped Sophia from running off but she could have stopped Nadia.

She could have been brave enough to break from Lori's hold and go after Sophia herself. She would have been able to wait until Rick got back. She would have protected Sophia with her life and Nadia would be safe back with the group.

But she knew, wherever they were Nadia was protecting Sophia with her life. That's what she was scared of.

She knew there were dangers around them, she had always known that even before the outbreak but now it was worse than before.

She didn't know how savage people had become. She didn't know how crazy the people left had become in their fight for survival and she only hoped that her daughters would never find out. Now that she thought about it she realized that walkers were not the only thing she had to worry about harming her children.

The rest of the group looked on in sorrow as the scared mother sulked on the hard pavement. Some approached, hoping to persuade the mother to rest or to eat some food they had found in the abandoned vehicles but to no avail.

The group had felt saddened by the mother's state and felt guilt swarm them as they thought about how they could have helped prevent the series of unfortunate events that followed the herd swarming.
But they shoved that down because they knew, this wasn't about them. This was about finding Nadia and Sophia.

The group quieted down their footsteps at Daryl's call as he crouched down behind some green leaves. His eyes were trained on a lime-green tent hidden slightly behind some trees. His pointer finger was aimed at the tent as he leaned lower, the group right behind him. Rick followed Daryl's motion as he raised a hand to the group to signal them to stay quiet and to copy the duo's movements.