The beginning

Chapter 11

I woke before Daryl, just as the sky was becoming light and nudged him gently. He slowly opened his eyes and began sitting up, rubbing away the sleep.

"How'd you end up sleeping?" he asked, grabbing for his shoes before he began lacing them up tight.

I pulled my jean shorts up and tucked my shirt into them, "I feel good," I replied. "Ready to find Sophia. You?"

Daryl nodded and jumped over the bonnet of one of the cars we had used to keep us protected throughout the night. I couldn't help but smile as he held out a hand to help guide me over. We headed towards the RV where it appeared that only Carol was up. Her eyes were red and swollen. It was clear she hadn't had any sleep.

"What's the plan for this morning?" she asked, before we'd even reached her.

"I've been thinkin' about it, and I reckon we follow the same trail as we did yesterday-" Daryl began explaining.

"But you said that trail went cold!" Carol wailed.

"But today, we're going to have more people with us," I advised confidently. "We'll be able to spread out and walk in a line. If we missed something yesterday, we'll no doubt find it today."

Carol nodded thoughtfully and began pacing, "I wish the others would wake up already."

A few minutes passed and soon everyone began emerging from where they had slept, looking tired, full of grief, but ready to find Sophia.

The sun began rising fast and it was already beginning to get warm. Rick and Shane encouraged everyone to eat some of the food we had scavenged from the cars to make sure we were ready for a long day of walking. Shane had found a truck filled with water the day before, so we all filled our bottles with fresh water.

Once everyone was ready, Rick called us together. "Everyone takes a weapon," he announced, rolling out a canvas filled with knives and other melee weapons.

Andrea looked upset, "these aren't the kinds of weapons we need!" she argued. "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that," Shane explained. "Daryl, Talia, Rick and I are carrying."

"Why does Talia get one?" Andrea complained, looking at me bitterly.

I widened my eyes with confusion at the offhand attack I somehow was on the end of. Something had obviously gone down yesterday while I was out. Andrea would normally never treat me with disdain.

"Cos she's a good fucking shot," Daryl bit back.

"She is," Shane agreed. "Rick and I taught her ourselves years ago."

Andrea scoffed, "so how come it took so long for you to let her use one? I remember when it was a big deal back at camp."

"Things were different there," Shane explained. "She didn't need a gun. But when it came time to use one, she at least knew how to use it and she saved lives."

"I'm happy using a knife," I suggested, trying to keep the peace.

"You're taking both," Rick stepped in. "You've proven that you're capable of using both safely. Got it?" He looked at Andrea pointedly.

I sunk to the back and avoided eye contact with my friend, feeling uncomfortable about the exchange.

"I just think-" Andrea started.

"We can't have everyone popping off rounds every time a tree rustles in the wind," Shane snapped.

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

Shane walked closer to Andrea, "say someone fires unnecessarily when a herd is passing nearby. It's game over for all of us...so you need to get over it."