What Lies Ahead • the walking dead ¹

17 • Fangirls

"So Alexa gets to keep her gun and her brother gets to keep a knife on his hip?!" Andrea shouted so loud that the trio of Alexa, Rick, and Daryl could hear her as they stepped out of the woods. Daryl and Rick side-eyed the girl at the mention of her name. The girl only shrugged as she climbed up the hill and onto the highway.

"That's not up to me, it's her brother-"
"What about my brother?" Alexa asked, cutting off Shane.
"He gets to carry a weapon when I can't carry mine?" Andrea asked.
"I guess," Alexa responded, partly confused. She watched as the girl stomped away, and toward Rick who was talking with the rest of the group.

"What's that about?" She asked Shane.
"She's just upset that Dale took away her gun," Shane said assertively.
"So how did my name get dragged into it?" Alexa asked, still confused.
"She's upset because both you and your brother are carrying." The man answered.

Alexa scoffed as she reached down and unhooked her gun from its belt, handing it to Shane.
"Never did like guns and it's empty." She said thoughtfully. "Take it, it'll keep her happy. But my brother keeps his knife, he knows why to use it." The girl added as she walked over to the group.

Alexa walked up next to Carl and Lori, who were standing with Chase as she listened to what Rick was saying.
"Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him and Alexa to oversee this."
"Is that blood?" Carol asked suddenly as she looked at Alexa, spotting blood on her wrist.

"She took down a walker," Rick assured the woman. "But there was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia." He added.
"How can you know that?" Andrea questioned, glaring at Alexa. The group fell silent as they all looked at Daryl, Alexa, and Rick for answers.

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure," Daryl spoke softly. It was a tone Alexa had never heard him use before, a soft and soothing tone.
"My little girl got left in the woods." Carol cried, practically falling over as Lori steadied her.

Again the group was silent as they listened to Carol cry.
"Come on Chase, let's give them some space," Alexa whispered to her little brother, only for him to do the opposite and move closer griefing woman.

"I'm sorry about Sophia." The little boy said quietly as he took Carol's hand into his. "She'll be okay," Chase assured the woman as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Reluctantly Carol hugged back, her crying slowing down a little as Chase stepped away.
"She will be okay." He said confidently to his older sister as he took her hand and lead her away.

Following the sibling's lead, the rest of the group slowly disbursed, going off in their own directions. Chase led the girl between cars until he found one he liked and jumped up on its good. Alexa followed jumping on the roof of the car.

"Listen, kiddo-" Alexa sighed.
"We might not ever find what we're looking for." He said, cutting off his big sister who only nodded. "You tell me the same thing every time you lose a kill." The boy continued, looking off into the direction of the woods. "But I know we'll find her. After all, she's got you looking for her." Chase chuckled a little.

Alexa tried her best to smile, though it only lasted a second. She didn't know how her brother could be so sure about finding Sophia when even she wasn't convinced they would find the girl. Alexa couldn't help but sigh as she attempted to change the subject.

"How are you feeling kiddo?"
"Alright." He answered truthfully. Alexa nodded as she shrugged off her pack. Opening it she spotted the leftover beef jerky she hadn't finished sitting on the top.
"Eat." She said simply, handing the boy the snack, which he took gratefully.

Alexa sighed again as she started taking her supplies out of her pack to organize. She uncrumpled her blood-spattered black shirt and threw it to the ground as she saw no hope of ever getting it cleaned. Continuing through her bag she spotted her old jeans, the other black shirt she packed, and the green button-up shirt. She neatly folded her jeans back up and set them aside, seeing that they were salvageable.

Chase munched on his beef jerky as he watched his sister pushed her arms through the new shirt's sleeves, pulling it over her tank top, which was now stained with blood speckles.
"What?" She asked, eyeing her brother suspiciously as she returned to organizing her backpack.
"Nothing." He giggles, his gaze going in the direction of the group.

Alexa veered around to see what had entranced her brother only to find both Shane and Daryl shamelessly staring directly at her. The girl turned back around, rolling her eyes as she spoke.
"Thanks for pointing out my adoring fangirls, Chase." She smirked playfully. Her brother only giggled as she returned to her work.

The sun was dipping below the tree line, highlighting the sky with purple, blue, and orange hues. Alexa sighed as she finished organizing her pack. She had scavenged a little bit, coming up with some water, and medications. She had also found time to organize her med bag and rewrap her ankle before clearing out the car she and her brother had hunkered down at.

Before Alexa knew it, the sun had disappeared from the sky, leaving a dark cloud-filled sky in its wake. Chase had already settled down for the night, wrapping himself in the stray blankets his sister had found. While Chase was asleep Alexa nicked his knife, thinking it was due time for both their weapons to be sharpened.

She sat on the hood of the car, legs criss-cross, as she sharpened the knives with her nail file. She sat in silence, only the sound of the cold metal scraping against her file echoing through the night. That is until a pair of footsteps caught her attention. Alexa looked up, kind of expecting it to be Daryl who came to speak with her, considering he was the only member of the group that usually did. But she was surprised to see the figure of Shane Walsh approaching her.

He strode right up to the girl, his left hand in his pocket and his right clutching onto the metal object Alexa recognized as her pistol.
"I talked to Rick and Daryl and we talked about it." He started, Alexa having no idea what he was talking about. "Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying, now we want you to carry as well."

Alexa looked the man up and down, understanding what he was talking about but not knowing if he was lying or not.
"Why?" She questioned curiously, tilting her head as she now completely abandoned the knives she was working with.
"We've all seen you in action, and best guess says you've had experience with guns."

Alexa nodded as she still looked at the man skeptically.
"What about Andrea?"
"Don't worry about her," Shane answered simply, looking intently at the girl in front of him. "So what experience do you have?" He questioned like he knew the girl had some form of experience and wasn't just naturally good with guns.

"My old man." Alexa shrugged. "Used to take me huntin' every weekend."
"That's all?" Shane quizzed like he knew the girl was holding back.
"Well, living on a blueberry farm doesn't exactly put food on the table, now does it?"

Shane nodded, still skeptical but he handed the girl back her pistol nevertheless.
"It's a nice piece." He commented, watching as the girl started examining her firearm. "Where'd you get it?"
Alexa knew Shane wouldn't leave her alone till she answered his question fully, so she put on a fake grin as she explained the origins of the pistol.

"Stole it from my old man's gun cabinet before I moved out." Shane chuckled before nodding goodbye to the girl and leaving. As soon as the man was out of view Alexa's fake smile faded back into her resting scowl.