Waiting For the End || Blake Dixon Book One

Chapter 10 || "Sophia"

Blake sat next to Carl for breakfast, chowing down on some fresh eggs and sausage while teasing the younger boy. Carl shot insults right back at her laughing as she nudged his side. It was nice the whole group sitting together for a meal. Glenn had been avoiding her, not taking her up on her offer to listen to whatever the hell he had going on. But she didn't push him, not wanting to overstep. They were friends, sure but that didn't mean she was entitled to everything going on in his life.

"Um, guys." Glenn spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. Blake shoved her last bite of sausage in her mouth before looking up at him. He was rubbing his hands together nervously as he looked at all of them. "So... The barn is full of walkers." Blake's eyebrows furrowed at his announcement as everyone else's faces devolved into surprise. The whole group made the hike down to the barn, Shane and Rick leading the way. As soon as they got there Shane was peering through cracks and confirming what Glenn had said.

"You cannot tell me you're all right with this." Shane demanded as he walked back to the group gathered a few feet away talking to Rick.

"No, I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land." Rick retorted and he was right. Blake wanted to kill all the walkers but it was Hershel's farm not theirs.

"God, this is our lives, man!" Shane shouted, causing the walkers in the barn to rattle the door.

"Lower your voice," Glenn reprimanded him in a whisper.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug." Andrea chimed in, taking Shane's side.

"It ain't right. Not remotely. We've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or we've just got to go," Shane declared. "Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time."

"We can't go," Rick interrupted.

"Why, Rick? Why?" Shane asked and Blake thought it was obvious, Sophia was still missing. They couldn't just leave the little girl out there on her own.

"Because my daughter is still out there," Carol mentioned.

"Okay. Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility." Shane said, rubbing his shaved head. That got her dad going, he stalked forward from where he had been standing next to her.

"Shane, we're not leaving Sophia behind," Rick stated shutting Shane down.

"I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago," Her dad added.

"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." Shane repeated not having any sympathy for Carol standing right there.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about." Her dad fired back, flinging his arm at the man in anger.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said. You get a good lead, it's in the first 48 hours." Rick tried to stop the arguing but he was ignored. "Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming, all methed out with your buck knife, and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction." It was Blake's turn to step up, her dad was the one putting in all the work while Shane stayed back kicking up his feet.

"The hell you been doing for that little girl. At least he's out there trying, if you want to get out of here so bad why don't you put in some effort to find her." Blake fired at the man getting up in Shane's face. Rick tried to shove everyone apart but they kept coming back together. Shane was yelling, Blake was yelling, her dad was yelling, everyone was yelling. Glenn pulled her back and shoved her behind him as they got closer and closer to the barn.

Finally everyone was separated, Blake paced back and forth behind her dad staring at Shane as he threw Lori's hands off of him.

"Keep your hands off me," Shane told the woman.