When The World Caves In |C.G.

thirteen

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daddy asks bursting through the door of the house. His voice makes me perk my head up, as his gaze finds me. He gives me a nod, seeing that I'm safe and I nod back. I'm sitting on the couch next to Beth, she's braiding part of my hair back into a ponytail like hers. 

I think she was trying to distract me from worrying about my Daddy, and I guess it worked a little bit. She managed to pull me away from the window long enough that I didn't see him coming up the steps. 

"No" Lori says, standing up to meet Daddy where he stands in the living room. 

"We heard a shot." Daddy says, he's looking back at me. I think he's remembering the last time he heard a shot in the woods and what happened. 

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori reasons. 

"We found him." Daddy reveals to the group and everyone looks at him expectantly. The only other reason for the gunshot would be that is came from Rick and Shane's end. I hope Rick ain't hurt, especially when I think about how weird Shane was acting earlier in the woods. 

"Is he back in the shed?" Patricia asks and Dad shakes his head. 

"He's a walker." Daddy reveals. 

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asks, voicing the question that everyone's asking. 

"No, the weird thing is he wasn't bit." Glenn speaks up for the first time since entering the house. 

"His neck was broke." Daddy says, and I find myself making my way over to him. He puts a calloused hand on my shoulder and I hold Mr. Tubbins real close to my heart. 

"So he fought back." Patricia says. 

"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other." Daddy says and I look up. His face is dead serious as he informs the group. "And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together." 

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on Earth is going on?" Lori asks approaching Daddy and I. She's real close and looks frantic as she speaks. 

"You got it," Daddy says squeezing my shoulder. "Keep an eye on Rory?" 

"Of course, thank you." Lori says, putting her own hand on Daddy's bicep in thanks. She puts an arm around my own shoulders as Daddy starts walking towards the door. 

Daddy only makes it so far onto the porch, when he halts and whispers quickly for Hershel. I sneak a glance out between the boards covering the windows to see a herd of walkers getting really close to the house. I scramble outside to see for myself what is happening, and make my way towards Daddy. 

"Patricia, kill the lights." Hershel whispers towards her. 

"I'll get the guns." Andrea says, turning around quickly on her heel and retreating back into the house. 

"Maybe they're just passing. Like the herd on the highway, should we just go inside?" Glenn asks. I think he already knows the answer to that question, he's holding onto a little bit of hope for the farm. 

"Not unless theres a tunnel downstairs I don't know about." Daddy says, he sounds real sassy but I don't think he's trying to. "A herd that size will rip the house down." 

"Carl's gone." Lori says, coming out quickly. I feel my stomach drop, and my heart is pounding really hard in my chest. 

The window. He was upstairs looking out the window the last time I saw him. He said he was keeping an eye out for the others but he must've slipped out somehow. My palms get all clammy at the thought of Carl being trapped out in the wilderness, or bit by a walker.