Unearthed ↦ Daryl Dixon

2.2

The next morning you were all up bright and early, ready to go back to searching for Sophia. Rick laid out a knife sheath across the hood of a car, which Carl had apparently found yesterday.

"Everyone takes a weapon." He spoke.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need." Andrea huffed. "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick, Y/N and I are carrying." Shane explained. "We can't have people popping off rounds any time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about."

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us, so you need to get over it."

Daryl stepped forward. "The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek, it's her only landmark."

"Stay quiet and stay sharp." Rick warned. "Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other."

"Everybody assemble your packs." You spoke.

Rick turned to Dale, who was sitting on the steps of the RV. "Keep on repairs, we need this RV ready to move."

Dale nodded, standing up. "We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to. Good luck out there."

"Keep an eye on Carl while we're gone?" Rick asked and Dale nodded.

"No, I'm coming with you." Carl protested. "You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible."

Rick looked at Lori, who shook her head. "Your call. I can't always be the bad guy."

"Well, he has all of us to look after him." You spoke up.

In all honesty, after Sophia went missing, you weren't quite happy to have Carl far away from the rest of the family right now. As much as the woods could be dangerous, you would feel much better having him nearby.

Rick sighed. "Okay, but always within our sight. No exceptions."

Rick and Lori walked away and Carl looked up at you, smiling.

You gave him a wink before getting serious. "Please don't make me regret this. I mean it, you stay close to one of us always."

Carl nodded. "I promise. Thank you."

You nodded back, hugging your nephew before turning to Dale. "Please keep an eye on T-Dog. I'm worried about his arm."

Dale nodded, placing a hand on your shoulder. "I will, don't worry."

You smiled, heading off to get your backpack together for the journey.

...

You all had been searching the woods for a little while when suddenly, Daryl crouched behind a bush. Everyone followed his lead, crouching down behind him. Shane was the only one still standing.

"She could be in there." Shane gestured towards a tent in a small section surrounded by trees and bushes.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl responded.

Daryl stood up, slowly making his way towards the tent with his crossbow raised. You followed close behind, clutching your knife tight in your hand. Eventually, Daryl signaled for you to go ahead of him.

Approaching the tent, you tried your best to focus and listen for any noises coming from inside. As much as you hoped to find Sophia in there, you had to be ready for other possibilities.