𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥《 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯 》

e i g t h// H A R D T I M E S

"Hershel's gone."
"What?"
"He's gone?"
Rick nodded, barely even believing himself.
"Something's wrong with Beth!" Maggie exclaimed through the front door.
Rick, Glenn and Smith followed Maggie inside. Beth was lying on the bed. Her eyes dead staring at the ceiling. Her body completely frozen.
God, this was constant terror, nonstop. Bad news flashing right and left. Chaos.
"When did this happen?" Smith questioned, kneeling down next to the girl.
"Just now. She was doing the dishes and out of nowhere she just fell and froze."
Smith sighed. "This could be a lot of things. Could be shock, could be injury of the-- Rick, you go and find Hershel. I'll stay here with her."
"Where would I look for him?"
"I think I know where he might've gone." Maggie said.

"She'll be okay." Patricia assured, rubbing her hand on Beth's temple.
Patricia had much more knowledge and experience than Smith. So, she tried her best to learn as much as she could from her.
"Do you think it was shock?"
"Yes, I believe so. After having to see her mother and brother being murdered like that... She didn't deserve to see 'em like that."
Patricia thought the same way Hershel did. They saw those things as sick people.
"I'm sorry."
"As soon as they bring Hershel back, y'all are gonna have to leave."

Glenn and Rick had gone off to town. Maggie indicated a bar where Hershel used to hang out at before he stopped drinking.
The group gathered around the dining table, with too many people missing.
Daryl was at his own camp, each time farther away. Rick, Glenn and Hershell were away and Beth was in bed.
Smith thought about how she hadn't seen Lori around for a while.
"They should've been back by now." Andrea admitted, taking a seat in front of Smith and Shane followed.
"They probably just got holed up somewhere. If they don't come back until sun up, we'll make a run to town first thing in the morning." He assured.
"Lori, dinner!" Carol called out.
"Oh, she's not in there." Maggie said.
The group looked in between each other.
"Where is she?"
"Carl, when was the last time you saw your mom?" Shane questioned the little boy.
"This afternoon."
"She was worried about Rick. Told me to look after Carl."
"Alright, nobody panic. She's around here, somewhere." Shane said before getting up from his seat.
While the group dispersed through the house, Smith thought about an outside help.
It was dark outside, but not so dark that you had to use a lantern, and a surprisingly chilly night.
Smith walked down the field and saw her previous five minute walk turn into a 10 minute walk, rubbing her arms in hope to get some friction.
When she got there, she didn't hear a sound nor did she see a single movement.
Where was he?
"The hell you doing out here?" He spoke with a reinforced southern accent.
"Jesus! Will you stop freaking me out!?"
"What do you want?"
"Jeez, what happened to the nice guy show you put on?" She joked. But her humour didn't reach Daryl Dixon.
"What?"
"Nothing-- Have you seen Lori, by any chance?"
"Why?"
"She's gone. No one has seen her since this afternoon. Andrea said she was worried about Rick, maybe she went after him..."
Daryl looked down and shifted on his feet. "She probably did."
Smith narrowed her eyes. "Do you know something?"
"She-- she asked me to go look for 'em but I didn't. So, she must have gone by herself." He said, refusing to look at her.
She sighed and brushed her face with her palms.
"Okay. Thanks."
"Where're you going?"
"I'm going to look for them!" She yelled as she was walking away.
"What? You can't go!" He ran after her. "Are we just gonna keep letting people go after each other until there's no one left and everybody's on their own?"
Smith stopped walking and looked at him. He was right. This whole situation would become a snow ball.
"What do you suggest, then?"
"We just wait. They must be on their way."
The woman shook her head, rejecting his suggestion.
"No, we can't stay here with our arms crossed. What if something happened to them?"
"It's Rick. I'm sure he's just trynna convince the drunk old man to come back home. It's tougher than it sounds like."
"It doesn't matter if it's Rick or not. They could be in danger. Lori could be in danger."
Daryl sighed and looked around, thinking about it.
"Alright, but I'm coming with you."
Smith nodded, grateful she got Daryl to help her.
"Thank you."