Waiting For the End || Blake Dixon Book One

Chapter 6 ||"I'm just kidding man. She was kind of hot."

They had been hiking for a while, following the creek back the same way they had come in. Her dad was leading, Blake bringing up the rear to make sure there were no stragglers in the group. Every once and a while Lori would look back behind them, ever since they had heard one singular gunshot echoing through the forest. She was on edge, Blake figured they were okay considering it was just one shot and not multiple. She honestly would have been more worried hearing more. The woman came to a stop this time fully turning to look behind them.

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked, noticing that Blake and Lori had stopped.

"It was a gunshot." Lori answered, scanning the trees around them.

"We all heard it." Her dad assured her.

"Why one? Why just one gunshot?" She questioned turning to face the group once again.

"Maybe they took down a walker." Her dad replied with a shrug.

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly." Lori retorted.

"Honestly I would be more worried if we heard multiple gunshots. That would mean they ran into a big group, a herd like on the highway." Blake offered trying to calm the worried woman.

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked not helping what Blake or her dad were trying to do at the moment.

"There's nothing we can do about it, anyway. Can't run around these woods chasing echoes." Her dad told both women.

"We'd just get more people in trouble, best we can do is head back to base and wait for them at the RV. We split up once, can't keep doin' it or we'll just keep having the same problem." Blake stated gaining a nod of agreement from her dad. Nobody argued with the Dixon's, they started picking through the woods once again but Carol and Andrea lagged behind.

"I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel." Andrea consoled the woman. Blake wasn't quite sure how a child being missing and her sister getting torn apart by walkers is remotely the same, Sophia has hope. There was no hope for Amy the moment she got bit.

"I suppose you do. Thank you." Carol said with a sad smile. "The thought of her, out here by herself. It's the not knowing that's killing me...I just keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy." Blake grimaced slightly at the words as Andrea's face fell.

"Oh, God! That's the worst thing I ever said." Carol cried as she realized what she had said.

"We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth." Andrea told her obviously holding back her real thoughts on Carol's slip up. Blake shook her head because she hadn't prayed one bit for the girl. Praying was useless when they could be out doing the work themselves.

"I'll tell you what it's worth. Not a damn thing." Her dad chimed in, voicing her thoughts exactly. "It's a waste of time, all this hoping and praying. We're gonna locate that little girl. She's gonna be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here? Good Lord." Blake couldn't help the chuckle that left her at his words, because zen, really. Lori had a smile playing at her lips too as they started the hike once again.

They kept picking along the creek, looking for any hint of Sophia. The sun was starting to drop in the sky and they would be out after dark if they kept going much longer.

"We'll be losing light before too long." She voiced looking to her dad who squinted up through the trees.

"Yeah, I think we should call it. Let's head back." He said looking at the others.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asked, looking over at Lori.

"Yeah, we'll find her tomorrow." She assures the woman. Her dad whistled, signaling them to follow him as they moved towards the highway. Blake walked just behind him figuring Lori wouldn't let the group get broken up as she brought up the rear.