Lottie Grimes in the Apocalypse

Chapter 07

3rd POV

{~The morning after the Walker attacks~}

Andrea keeps vigil over the body of her dead sister Amy. Lottie sits next to her holding her as she leans onto the younger girl for support.

Lori goes over to them and speaks to Andrea "Andrea. I'm so sorry. She's gone. You got to let us take her. We all cared about her and I promise we'll be as gentle as we can" Andrea looks at her and in a raspy voice she says "Go to hell" Lottie squeezes her and Lori leaves.

The survivors of the attack start to clean up, burning the walker bodies and putting our dead friends in the back of Daryl's truck to take up the hill to bury them. Daryl swings at dead walkers' heads with a pickaxe as Glenn and T-Dog throw bodies in a fire. Daryl occasionally glances at Lottie, concern bleeding through his forest gaze.

"She still won't move?" Rick asks making Lori shake her head "She just wants to be left alone" "What about Lottie?" Rick asksShe won't even talk to us. She's been there all night with Andrea. What do we do?" Lori asks "Can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it same as the others" Shane says "I'll tell her how it is" Rick says and tries to approach Andrea but she pulls a gun on him.

"Andrea" Rick says holding up his hands "I know how the safety works" Andrea says before Lottie grasps her arm and makes her lower the gun. Andrea looks at her but Lottie just looks at her father and said "Please....just leave us alone" "All right. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry" Rick says as he backs off.

Lottie turns back to look at Amy. Her face void of emotion and her eyes puffy and red with bags underneath them. Evidence from crying and lack of sleep, Amy's death took a bigger toll on her than anyone could've expected.

Andrea decides to speak, doing her sister a favor "She loved you.....you know" Lottie nods and says "I know.... I loved her too" Andrea shakes her head and says "No, I mean.... She was in love with you. She wanted to coparent and raise that baby with you" Lottie looks up at Andrea stunned and asked "Really?" Andrea nodded and asked "Did you feel the same way?" Lottie shrugged and looked at her lap. She felt guilty for not noticing her friend's affections for her.

"Lottie....tell me" Andrea said softly. Lottie sighed and looked up at the sky before saying "I don't know. After everything.... I would've loved to raise this baby with Amy, but I don't know if I could have loved her like she needed, like she deserved" Andrea nodded, accepting her answer.

{~Meanwhile~}

"Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb!" Daryl argues "What do you suggest?" Rick asks exasperated  "Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance" Daryl says "No. For God's sakes, let her be" Lottie says startling the group by her sudden appearance.

Rick, Shane, and Lori exchanged looks while Daryl kept his gaze intently on Lottie, waiting for her to speak. Rick then approaches his daughter as if she's a wounded animal "Lottie, none of us want to-" "Then don't. You don't have to do anything" Lottie says cutting him off before looking up at him. Her expression breaks Rick's heart as he tries not to cry at her empty face.

"Andrea want Amy to....to turn then kill her. She wants to be sure that, that she really isn't Amy anymore" Lottie explains making Daryl huff and ask "So what are we supposed to do then? Sit around and wait for her to turn?" Lottie looks up at him, making Daryl freeze in place at her sad, blue eyes "That's exactly what you do" Lottie then walks away.

She looked more like a Walker than a human with her ghostly appearance and demeanor. The group watched her before Daryl grunted and walked away.

Daryl went over to Jim and said "Wake up, Jimbo. We've got some work to do" after telling him that Morales and Jim drag the body of a dead camper toward the fire "Thanks" Morales tells Jim as Daryl walks off in the direction that Lottie went.