Without A Voice

Chapter 12: Roses

~word count: 870~

Most of the group had joined in on the well shenanigans. Jane could barely watch Shane tie the rope around both of Glenn's legs. This was going to end in disaster. He trailed the rest of it around the pump and back to the group.

"Don't worry bud, we'll get you out of there in one piece." Shane checked the strength of the rope around Glenn one more time before grabbing the end of it.

Everyone had their hands around the rope. Their hearts beating out of their chests.

"Living piece." Glenn sighed. "That living part is important.

Maggie scoffed, "You people are crazy."

"You wanna get it out of your well or not?" Shane called back.

"Give us an eye there, Maggie." Dale asked politely.

Maggie watched as the group began to lower him down, "Little lower, a little more."

Everyone was going slow in order to maintain control. Suddenly the metal well pump hit the ground, jerking the rope and dropping Glenn faster into the well.

"Grab it!" T-Dog screamed at Shane.

Shane dove to the pump as it completely broke off from the ground, catching it just in time before it dropped Glenn any further.

Jane ran to the rope, pulling with all her body weight.

Glenn's screaming echoed off the well walls. "Pull me up! Get me out of here!"

The group strained their muscles, pulling behind T-Dog as hard as they could, the rope slowly lifting and pulling Glenn up.

"Oh my God!" Glenn cried out. "Get me out!"

The rope burned against everyones skin with the amount of resistance and friction it had. They finally took one last pull, yanking Glenn out of the well and onto the ground. He was still panicking and trying to get away from the well. Jane ran to him, grabbing his arms and help him up. She scanned his body looking for bite marks as she untied the rope. To her surprise the plan worked. The walker was now tied up and ready to be lifted. Maggie came back with a horse while everyone else got prepared to pull. Turns out Jane was right. It did end in disaster. The rope sliced through the bloated walkers body, dropping its intestines into the well water. Everyone was frustrated.

Glenn and Maddie went to the pharmacy while
Andrea and Shane were going back to the highway and scout for a place to have target practice. Jane sat by herself in a chair on the porch of the white farmhouse. She took the pen and paper out of her pocket, staring at them. The pen had a blue and green zigzag pattern while the notepad's cover was white with tiny red roses scattered across. Carol sat next to her, gazing at the objects in her hand.

"We'll find her." Jane looked at her with hope.

Her aunt smiled, "I know we will."

"Daryl's been out all day looking for her, I'm sure he'll find something."

Carol nodded, "He surprised me."

"Really?" Jane was a little confused, "How?"

"He's barely taken a break from looking. Him and Merle aren't exactly the friendliest people. It's just not what I expected."

"He's got a soft side." Jane smirked.

Carol raised a brow, "What makes you say that?"

"When those guys took me and Glenn from the alley I thought I'd lost my hearing aid forever. Turns out he grabbed it before doing anything else. Brought it back to me. It was busted and he thought someone at the CDC could fix it."

Jane blushed as she recalled the story. It was a kindness she didn't expect out of him. She stood up and was about to head to her tent before turning back to Carol.

"I used to think there was no place for kindness anymore but I guess I was wrong."

Carol headed back to the RV. She sat there thinking of Sophia. Thinking of what Jane said. She didn't want to lose her family. She had spent the past hour cleaning it up. Organizing. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It opened and a familiar face stood in the doorway. Daryl. He looked around, surprised with how neat it was.

"I cleaned up. Wanted it to be nice for her." She explained.

He smirked, "For a second I thought I was in the wrong place."

He handed her a beautiful white flower in a glass bottle vase.

"A flower?" She pondered.

It's a Cherokee rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer, asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell."

He paused, "I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for your little girl."

Carol smiled softly, "Jane was right about you. You do have a soft side."