Struggling (Sequel to Little Mouse)

Hershel

Everyone froze at the sound of the lone gunshot. I glanced around in search of the source, my mind fearing the reasons as to why Rick or Shane fired only one gunshot.

"Why was it just one gunshot?" Lori asked, her eyes wide with fear. "They wouldn't use just one shot for one walker."

"Yeah. They should've caught up by now." Carol agreed quietly.

"Hey, they know what they're doin'." Daryl stated, giving that infamous glare to everyone apart from me. Honestly, it calmed me down a little. "Now c'mon. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna find that little girl, an' she's gonna be just fine."

After that everyone silenced and continued back to the RV. Suddenly, About 100 yards from the highway, a high pitched scream made me whip around in fear.  A walker was trudging towards Andrea, who had fallen over. Her eyes were wide with terror as she desperately fumbled with her belt. The collective group raced to help her, but the walker had her pinned to the ground. Daryl loaded his crossbow and took aim, his steely eyes focused intensely.

"Daryl, don't! If you miss it, the bolt will hit her!" I exclaimed. "Use your knife!"

Just as he lowered the crossbow, I heard a strange sound thundering through the woods towards us. Then a chestnut horse galloped out of the brush, followed shortly by a larger white one. A woman with short brown hair was riding the chestnut, while a teenage guy was riding the white one. The woman was armed with a baseball bat, and she used it to knock the walker off of Andrea before any damage could be done.

The woman glanced around the group, her green eyes scanning each of us. "Anyone here named Lori or Courtney?" She asked.

"Who's askin'?" Daryl demanded, glaring at her as he took a step in front of me. I blushed softly and smiled at his protective nature, once again reminded of what Dale had said before.

The young teen glanced at the woman nervously, but she remained cool and calm. "Maggie Greene. Carl's been shot." The girl explained.

"What?" Lori shrieked. My eyes bulged out of my head

"Get on! I'll take ya to my farm!" Maggie orders. Lori wasted no time in getting on behind her. She glanced around again. "Anyone named Courtney?"

"I am." I stated, stepping out from behind Daryl. He glared at me. "I have to. Carl needs me." I whispered, biting my lip a little before leaning up and pecking his cheek. I didn't stick around long enough to see his reaction, but I was hoping he wouldn't be too mad at my bold move. But that was the least of my worries; Carl had been shot. I jogged towards the teenage guy and after a second of struggling onto the saddle I was on behind him with my arms around his waist.

He glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled kindly. "I'm Jimmy."

I returned the smile politely. "Courtney."

"Y'all are parked on the high way, right?" Maggie asked. "Just keep going east, and in about two miles you'll see a little dirt road to the left. It'll take y'all to the farm." She instructed, kicking the horse in the side and getting it to charge forward. The man I was with did the same, and the four of us raced away from the group.

After maybe a half hour, we came across a wide stretch of land with a white farmhouse in the distance, with a grey, wooden barn to its left. Maggie and Jimmy didn't let up on the horses' reins and we continued galloping to the large white house.

When we were at the house, Maggie and Jimmy stopped the horses. "Get off." Maggie ordered. "Carl's in the house with my dad."

Lori and I jumped off of the horses and dashed into the house. The entryway was beautifully classic, but it wasn't the time to admire the decor. An older woman with blonde hair with several gray streaks entered the room, looking exhausted, fearful, and slightly relieved at the sight of us.