Heart and Soul [the walking dead]

N Marks the Spot

Bloodletting (season 2 episode 2)

The group continued their quest, hoping to ignore the loud, singular gunshot they had heard echo through the woods about twenty minutes earlier.

Lori stopped her walking as she turned her attention to behind her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband and son.

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked once she noticed her absence, she slowed to a stop before turning around. At the sound of her voice the rest of the group did the same.

"That was a gunshot." Lori reminded.

"We all heard it." Daryl reminded as well, looking around to keep an eye out for danger.

"Why one? Why just one gunshot?" Lori pressed.

"Maybe they took down a walker." Daryl suggested as he sucked in lips before shrugging.

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. Or Shane. They'd do it quietly." Lori ranted as she looked around, desperately searching for any sound or sight of her lifelines.

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked softly as her grip tightened on her bag.

"There's nothing we can do about it anyway. Can't run around these woods chasing echoes." Daryl explained as he looked at everyone in their small group before his eyes were trained on Lori.

"So what do we do?" Lori asked.

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Nadia and Sophia, work our way back to the highway."

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the R.V." Andrea sided with Daryl as she looked at Lori.

It was silent for a few seconds before Lori walked past the group causing them to follow as they began to continue their journey back to camp, but they stopped only a second later when Andrea began to approach Carol.

"I'm sorry about what you're going through, I know how you feel." Andrea sympathized.

"I suppose you do. Thank you." Carol pulled a forced smile, as she looked at the group before looking back to Andrea then finally looking back at the group. "The thought of them out here by themselves... it's the not knowing that's killing me. I just keep hoping and praying that they don't wind up like Amy." She said tearfully and full of emotion.

Andrea's head moved from its slightly turned position to sit normal as her expression changed drastically at the grieving mothers words.

Carol looked at Andrea, seeing how her face changed caused her to gasp as she realized she spoke before she thought.

"Oh god," She said in shock at her own words, she moved closer to Andrea to grip her shoulders in regret. "That's the worst thing I ever said."

Andrea shook her head as if to deny her apology but her forced words made it quite clear that her words stung. "We're all hoping and praying with you. For what it's worth."