Wake the Dead

We had been walking for a while, everyone just following Daryl and I. You could tell everyone was getting a little impatient and the heat was starting to get to them. I always loved going out in the woods in the morning, so I was doin just fine, almost enjoying the quiet walk, and I looked back to see a peaceful look on Syd's face, too.

We were walking along, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted something, a tent. I put my hand on Daryl's arm and pointed over to the tent, then crouched down, ready to sneak up on it. Daryl showed Rick what we saw and they signaled for everyone to get down and stay there. Daryl and I slowly and quietly made our way over, Shane and Rick following behind with louder footsteps.

As we got closer I saw there was nothing around the tent or in the trees next to it so I pressed on, with my new machete ready. I signaled for Rick and Shane to stay, they were too loud, and then Daryl to come with. I pointed at him to check the other side of the tent to see if we could see in, while I checked the front. There were was no way to see inside the tent with everything closed.

I looked over to Daryl and shook my head, he then looked over to Rick and shrugged his shoulders, signaling that we didn't know what was inside.

Rick called Carol over and told her that if Sophia was in there, hers was the first voice she should here. Carol cried out for Sophia and I stood ready by the doorway, but nothing even moved inside.

Daryl slowly unzipped the tent, trying to make as little noise as possible. He pulled back the flap just enough so I could step inside, but before I could the disgusting smell hit me. I looked away and covered my mouth, coughing a little, man I will never get used to that smell.

Nothing moved inside, so I held my breath quietly stepped in with my weapon raised. I saw someone, a man sitting in a lawn chair. I walked in front of him to see he had a small pistol in his hand, he must have stuck the gun in his mouth and blew his brains out. I stepped closer to see maggots crawling all over his face, and that was too much for me.
I practically ran out of there and let go of the breath I was holding. I saw every ones eyes on me as I put my hands on my knees and tried my best not to throw up. I coughed a little, but then looked up, meeting Carol's desperate, sad eyes.

I couldn't stand looking at them anymore, the sadness was contagious, so I just looked back down at the ground. I heard someone else come out of the tent, and looked up seeing Daryl let out a breath, "ain't her. Some guy, did what Jenner said; opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"

Carol just turned around and started to walk away, crying. I stood up, regaining my composure to see Glenn standing next to me, handing me some water. I took it graciously and drank some, my throat was very dry. I gave it back to him and mumbled thanks, earning a weak smile from him, but then it faded when in the distance we heard church bells ringing.

We all looked at each other, but then took off running to the sound of the noise. We stopped and tried to decide what way to go. "If we can hear them, than maybe Sophia can to." "Maybe someone found her and is calling out." "Hell, she could be ringing them herself." Everyone was nervous, but hopeful.

We ran out into a little opening with a church in it but no steeple. We all stopped and looked at it. "That can't be it, it's got no steeple, no bell." Shane said reading every ones minds, but Rick just took off running to it, and we all followed.

We ran up to the doors, and pushed them open, revealing four walkers, sitting down like they were just ready for another morning at church. It must be a Sunday.

They heard us and slowly turned their heads around. They must of been in here the whole time, because they still resembled the people that they used to be, and looked damn hungry. Glenn handed Daryl some type of ax like thing and Lori handed Rick her large knife.

I walked around some of the benches, distracting two of the walkers that were now walking towards us. Rick ran behind one of them and started to take it out, while Shane and Daryl worked on the other two.

I walked forward to the one I had to kill, that looked like an old man, he looked so real, a newer walker. I took my machete and put it right into his forehead. He fell down and I hovered over him, hitting it a few times more, to make sure he was dead.

I stood up and just looked at him, he was the priest. I put my hand over my mouth and backed up, I just killed a priest in his church. Sure he was already dead, but I felt like a murderer.

I never really went to church, but I had respect for it. Maybe god isn't real, because if he is, what the hell did some of us do to deserve this?

Daryl walked over to me to see what I was starin at, he looked down and saw the priest, then looked back up at me. I didn't even wait for him to say anything, I didn't want to hear it. I just pushed right past him and walked outside looking around for something, anything, but then the church bells started ringing again.

The noise was right on top of us, we were at the right place, but there was no bell. I ran around to the side of the church to where it sounded like the noise was coming from. I saw a little white box, that led up to some time of megaphone, fuck, it was on a timer. I kicked the wall and Glenn came up from behind me and ripped apart the little box, shutting it off.

"Timer. It's on a timer." I said to the group surrounding us, out of breath as I walked off. Everyone else either went back inside, or was sitting down, doing their own thing. I walked over to the front of the church and looked at the sign that read: Southern Baptist Church of Holy Light.

I knew this church.
I walked over to were all the graves were and looked around. It took me a while, but I finally found the one I was looking for. John Daft, my granddad. My father was named after him, so technically my dad would be John Daft II.

It been so long since my grandpa died, middle school actually. He came here every weekend, to do what I'm not sure. It was a long drive out here, but when I asked he just would tell me he was trying to do better because he made mistakes here that had permanent damage on people.

I never knew what his mistakes were because I had only known him for a few years, but I always had the most respect for him. He was a good man, unlike my father.

I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn't even notice Shane walking up to me. I looked up at him and he had anger written on his face, but then saw what I was looking at and it softened in confusion. "John Daft?"

I knew he was thinking it was my father, "Grandfather." I told him while I stood up. He nodded his head and then got that hard angry look back on his face. "Rick and I are staying back here, gona search around more, you're gona go head back to the RV with the others." He told me.

I didn't like him telling me what to do, but I didn't feel like arguing with him, so I walked past him and caught up with the others, minus Carl, who was staying back with Rick and Shane.

*

We had been walking for a while, no longer worrying about being too quiet or staying in any type of formation. Everyone was starting to get exhausted, and stopped to rest. I just knelt down by a tree, grabbing a few granola bars. I handed one to Syd who was standing near me and then threw one to Daryl who was leaning on a tree across from mine.

Everyone else seemed to have their own little snacks, so I didn't worry about giving them one. Andrea whined some more about running around with knifes, and not guns. I was honestly so sick of her whining.

"Would you shut it?!" I snapped at her in the middle of her whining. She looked at me with a shocked and angry expression. "Excuse me?" She said in an annoying voice as she turned and faced me.

"What, did I stutter?" I said sarcastically as I took a bite of my granola bar.

She didn't let it go like I wanted her to, she just walked over and stood next to me. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, but you have no right to just come at me-"

"You don't shut up do you?" I asked, interrupting her. I stood up and put my bag over my shoulder and looked at her. "Nobody else here is complaining about it and we don't got guns either." I pointed around to the rest of the people. "I don't know how many times somebody has got to tell ya, but this isn't about you, and Rick and Shane are right about this, so you need to get over it."

Andrea just walked away and I leaned against the tree, ready to go, but before anybody got up Lori started having a mini- meltdown. She told Carol to stop blamin Rick, and that none of us could do it without him, but it sounded like she was trying to convince her self just as much as anyone else.

"We should keep moving." I said when Lori was finished, and started to slowly walk off, waiting for everyone else to catch up, and they eventually did.

We walked in silence for a while until a gun shot rang out around the forest. One gunshot. We all heard it, but tried to put it in the back of our minds and keep walking. But, Lori stopped and looked back, still worrying about it.

"That was a gunshot." She said pointing out the obvious.

"We all heard it." Daryl told her.

"Why one? Why just one gunshot? You know Rick wouldn't use a gun to take down one walker, or Shane. They would do it quietly."

She had a point, but there was nothing we could do about it. "There isn't anything we can do about it, we can't be runnin around chasin echoes." I told her.

"So what do we do?"

"Same as we've been, beat the bush for Sophia, and head back to the highway." Daryl said to her.

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." I said, trying to keep their hopes up.

*

"For what it's worth, we're all hoping and prayin with you." I heard Andrea say to Carol

Daryl walked up to them, "All this hopin an prayin, it ain't worth a damn thing." Carol's face fell in sadness, but Daryl continued, "cause were gona locate that little girl, and she's gona be just fine."

He backed up and looked at the both of them, "Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord." He walked away.

I smirked at that last part, Daryl could be so sassy sometimes.

*

"We're gona be losin light soon." Daryl stopped and said.

"We should head back, pick it up again tomorrow." I said lookin right at Carol.
I was exhausted, we had been walkin around the woods all day, and even though it was peaceful, I haven't had enough to eat, to continue much longer.
I could tell everyone else was pretty exhausted, too, especially Andrea who was fallin back a little bit. I just continued forward, we only had less than half a mile left.
All of the sudden I heard screams and I looked behind me to see Andrea was gone. We all started to run over to her, and saw she was pushing away a walker. I got over to her first, and was about to take the walkers head off when some girl on a horse came rushing in and hit the walker with a baseball bat, and knocking me on my ass.

What the hell just happened?

Glenn came over and helped me up, then Andrea.

"Lori? Lori Grimes?" Some short haired girl on the horse called out. "Lori, you've gotta come, there's been an accident, Carl's been shot. Rick needs you, just come!"

Lori hesitated, but ran up and got on the horse. The short haired girl told us where her farm was and that her last name was Greene, then rode away. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't go with her, we don't know this girl!" Daryl yelled at Lori with anger, but was too late.
I brushed off and everybody looked at each other, shocked. The walker that the girl hit sat back up and Daryl just shot it with his crossbow and walked away in anger. I grabbed his bolt out of the walkers head for him, what the hell is going on?