RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

praise be to him

"WHY ONE?" Lori turned to the group, visibly shaken up. "Why just one gunshot?"

"Maybe they took down a walker." Willow tried to ease her up.

"You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. Or Shane, they'd do it quietly."

Carol had started to get worried too. "Shouldn't they have caught up to us by now?"

"There's nothin' we can do about it anyway." Daryl looked at their surroundings. "Can't run around these woods chasin' echoes."

"So, what do we do?" Lori pressed on.

"Same as we've been." He turned to her. "Beat the bush for Sophia, work our way back to the highway." He started to walk again towards the road.

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Willow held her hand against Lori's arm as they started moving again.

Andrea trailed along next to Carol. "I'm sorry for what you're going through."

Carol stifled back a sniffle. "It's the not knowing that's killing me. I keep hoping and praying she doesn't end up like Amy." Carol drew a sharp breath at what she had said, looking over at Andrea to see a pained expression.

"Well," Andrea started, "we're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."

"I'll tell you what it's worth-" Daryl yelled back over his shoulder at the two women. "-not a damn thing. It's a waste of time all this hopin' and prayin'. 'Cause we're gonna locate that little girl, she's gonna be just fine."

Carol wiped away a tear, remaining silent.

"Am I the only one that's zen around here?" Daryl continued. "Good Lord."

The group treaded on for another 30 minutes before they were stopped again by Andrea's screaming. None of them had notice that she wandered off too far. The group sprinted over to where Andrea was on the ground, kicking at a walker that grabbed ahold of her ankles. Daryl had his finger on the trigger of his crossbow, but stepped back quickly as a woman on a horse crossed his path, taking the walker out with a bat.

"Lori?" The woman called out. "Lori Grimes?"

"I'm Lori." Lori ran up to the woman.

"Rick sent me. You gotta come now." The short haired woman holstered the bat on the site of the horse.

"What?" Lori couldn't understand what was happening, and quite frankly no one else could too.

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot."

Lori froze and Willow's hands shot up to cover her mouth.

"He's still alive but you've got to come now. Rick needs you."

Lori removed her backpack to make it easier to swing herself up onto the horse. Willow headed towards them too, just enough space for her to sit on the back of the mare.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-" Daryl shouted at them. "We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse!" He looked at Lori before looking at Willow. "And what are you goin' for? We don't know her!"

Willow slung her legs on either side of the horse. "I'm O-negative."

The woman looked back at Willow from the front of the horse, looking at her briefly before turning back to the group. "Rick said you had others on the highway? That big traffic snarl?"

"Uh-huh." Glenn breathed out, staring at the woman.

"Backtrack to Fairborn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox- the name is Greene."