Highway To Hell

Chapter 11

I sigh as I make my way back to the farm. My search had proved pointless in the end. Nothing. No sign that she'd ever been out there. 

   Not even a walker to take my frustrations out on. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed by finding no walkers. I'm itching for a fight. I miss the feeling of my knuckles splitting against something or someone's skull, of my knife slipping between their ribs and into their heart. I long to hear the loud bang of my gun going off, sending  a bullet neatly into their brain. 

   I know it's not healthy to want that, but it's the only way I truly know to let out all of my pent up anger and energy. I've been useless since coming here! Laying around while Sophia is out there all by herself. 

   I need to know I've done something. Need to know that I didn't just let her die out there without doing anything to help. I'm getting restless. I'm not used to doing nothing. Not used to staying put and not being the one out there to kill the monsters and save the victims. 

   I shake my head and lead Jill back into her stall. I pull all the tack off and put it all back into its place before leaving the stable. I see Andrea and T-Dog walking up the porch where some of the others sit. I'm just within hearing distance as they start talking. Glenn stands up from where he'd been sitting with Maggie on the steps. 

   "Where is everyone?" Andrea asks?

   "You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asks as I reach them. 

   "He went off with Hershel," Andrea answers. "We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago."

   "Yeah, you were. What the hell?" Daryl says. I glance back over my shoulder to see him and Carol walking up behind me. Carol gives me a concerned glance and her eyes give my body a quick scan for injuries. I give her a reassuring nod. 

   "Rick told us he was going out," she says. 

   "Damn it! Isn't anyone taking this seriously?" Daryl growls. "We got us a damn trail." He turns to the woods. "Here we go." I look in the direction he's looking and see Shane stalking up to us with the bag of guns. "What's all this?" 

   "You with me, man?" Shane asks, ignoring Daryl's question and offers up a gun as he walks by.

   Daryl takes the gun and says a quiet, "Yeah." 

   "Time to grow up," Shane announces. "You already got yours?"

   "Yeah," Andrea says. "Where's Dale?" I glance around, realizing he isn't here. 

   "He's on his way," Shane says dismissively. I narrow my eyes. 

   "Thought we couldn't carry," T-Dog remarks as Shane passes him a gun. 

   "We can and we have to," Shane says. "Look, it was one thing sitting here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain't." He pulls another gun out of the bag and walks up to Glenn. "How about you man? You gonna protect yours?" Glenn glances at Maggie and takes the gun. "That's it." Now Shane turns his sights on Maggie. "Can you shoot?" Really? This is her father's farm. Does he think she's just going to do what he says?

   "Can you stop?" she fires back. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

   "We have to stay Shane," Carl says, taking a few steps down the stairs. Lori comes around the porch.

   "What is this?" she demands. 

   "We ain't goin anywhere, okay?" Shane says. "Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay, he - well he's gonna have to." He walks over to Carl. "Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" He kneels in front of Carl, holding a gun out to him. My anger immediately spikes. How dare he?! "Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes." Anger surges through my veins and it's all I can do not to lunge for his throat. "You know how. Go on, take gun and do it."