Firecracker

”Do you have any two’s?” Carl asked, looking up from his cards to eye his aunt. Raine smirked and shook her head, her curly hair bouncing around her face.

”Go fish.” She giggled as Carl shot her a playful glare and reached for a new card. After Daryl and them got back from perimeter check, Raine found out that Carl was blaming himself for Dale’s death. Said that he saw the walker and didn’t shoot it. In that moment, Raine put aside her own feelings to help her nephew. She would do anything for that little boy.

Their little game of Go Fish carried on for a little bit longer before they were interrupted by Maggie. She rushed in, her chest heaving and her eyes as wide as saucers.

”Randall’s loose!” She exclaimed between breaths. Raine dropped her cards and jumped up from the floor, making her way out the door and grabbing her crossbow as she went. She saw Rick, Shane, Glenn, and Daryl huddled around each other, discussing what they should do.

Daryl caught Raine coming up from the corner of his eye and he looked over at her, shooting her a warning look. She ignored it and marched right up to them.

”What the hell is going on?” She demanded, glancing around at everyone.

”Randall’s loose, he’s got Shane’s gun.” Rick explained and Raine looked over at Daryl, clearly not believing the story.

”Well, I’m going with you to look for him. You can’t say anything to make me stay, so don’t even bother.” She mumbled, pulling out her gun to make sure that it was fully loaded. Rick nodded, knowing better than to argue with his sister at this time.

”I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out. I’m not sure how long.” Shane explained pointing off in the direction.

”He couldn’t have gotten far. He’s hobbled, exhausted-”

”And armed.” Glenn pointed out, worry etching across his features.

”So are we.” Rick reassured. “Can you track him?” He asked, turning to Daryl who just shook his head.

”No, I don’t see nothin’.”

”Hey look, there ain’t no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That’s it.” Shane stressed, a wild look in his eyes. Raine didn’t believe his story before, but now there was no doubt that it was a lie. She only hoped that Rick could see that.

”Kid weighs a buck-25 soaking wet. You tryin’ to tell us he got the jump on you?” Daryl questioned, his eyes squinting as if he was trying to read Shane.

”I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn’t you?” Shane snapped back.

”Alright, knock it off. You, Glenn, and Raine start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane’ll take the left. Remember, Randall’s not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other.” Rick looked between Daryl and Raine as he spoke. He didn’t want anything to happen to anyone, but his little sister was the most important.

Daryl gave a curt nod and gently grabbed Raine’s elbow, pulling her along with him and Glenn. She gave one last look in Rick’s direction. She watched him walk off with Shane, her heart pounding in her ears. Something wasn’t right. Something bad was going to happen.



Dark had fallen quicker than usual, leaving Raine, Glenn, and Daryl without any light in the middle of the woods. Daryl had attempted at trying to track Randall, but he was hard to see with no light. He finally let out a frustrated grunt and turned to Raine and Glenn.

”You got a light?” He asked. Glenn immediately pulled a flashlight from his back pocket and handed it over. Daryl clicked it on and started tracking again.

”We’re just back to square one.” Glenn pointed out.

”If you’re gonna do a thing, you might as well do it right.” Daryl murmured in response. “There’s two sets of tracks right here. Shane must’ve followed him a lot longer than he said.” He shined the flashlight over the tracks and Raine furrowed her eyebrows. She knew there was something wrong with what Shane had told them.

Her brown eyes darted around, looking for any other signs. They landed on a tree with a wet, red stain on the trunk.

”There’s blood on this tree.” She whispered, that unpleasant feeling settling deeper into her stomach. This must have been how Shane busted his nose.

”There’s more tracks. Looks like they’re walking in tandem.” Daryl explained, his voice full of confusion and curiosity. As they followed the tracks, there was a loud snap and Raine instantly raised her crossbow, ready for whatever or whoever was about to show their face. After a few moments of waiting, they continued on.

”Yeah, there’s a little dust up right here.”

”What do you mean?” Glenn asked, eyebrows pushing together.

”I mean something went down.” Daryl crouched down closer to the ground, looking for anymore clues. His eyes landed on the trip of cloth that they were using to blindfold Randall. He picked up one end and held it up for the others to see.

”Had a little trouble.”

”I don’t like this. Rick is out there alone with Shane. I gotta go look for him.” Raine chewed on her bottom lip, she was completely on edge over this whole thing. Daryl stood up from the ground and placed his hand on her cheek.

”Ain’t no point. It’s too dark, you’ll just get lost. Besides, Rick can take care of himself.”

There was no point in arguing with him. He wouldn’t let her leave and he was right, she would just get lost. She was too panicked to handle this properly. She sighed and gave him an understanding nod. He gave her a small smile and then they continued walking.

Suddenly, there was another twig snapping and the three of them darted behind the trees. Daryl kept Raine close to him, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist keeping her flush against his body. His other arm holding up his crossbow. Raine felt her heart thump harder with each passing moment, goosebumps raising on her skin, her adrenaline was kicking in full blast.

Daryl gave Glenn a low whistle and tossed him the flashlight. A few long seconds passed and Raine was beginning to relax, maybe the walker had passed, maybe it turned around. Unfortunately, their luck was not that great. The walker came around the tree, growling right in Daryl and Raine’s faces.

Raine’s eyes widened as she got a good look at the creature. There was no way this was happening.