Daryl Dixon

Dead Man in the Well

~Dakota's POV.~

I walk with Maggie to the group huddle held around one of the SUV's. "How long has this girl been lost?" I hear my daddy ask as we approach closer. "This'll be day three." Rick answers quickly after. It was now later on that day, everyone gone about to do their own chores. "County survey map. Shows terrain and elevation." Maggie says unrolling the map out on top of the hood. I place the rocks in my hand on the corners of the map to keep it from blowing away. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick's cheerful voice says beside me.

"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." My daddy says to the man who was all decked out in a sheriff's uniform. I turn to Shane, who was standing across from me. "And you, not with your ankle. Push it now, but you could be laid up for a month." They all share a quick look sighing at our words. "Guess it's just me." My eyes snap up at the deep southern voice.

It was the man with the intense blue eyes, although this time they were set on the map in front of us. "I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." He drags his dirt covered finger across the map, showing us exactly where he plans to head. "You're going out there alone?" I question out loud. That doesn't seem like the smartest idea. His piercing blue eyes meet my own. "Better on my own." The man says matter of factly. "I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane says, adjusting his cap. "Alright, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane leans forward on the hood. "I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed this far without turning this into an armed camp." My daddy says, breaking the moment of silence. Every single one of them stares, dumbfound.
"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..." Shane snakily scoffs out a laugh, pissing me off a bit. "Look, we're guest here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick says, pulling out his gun and placing it on the hood, showing my father his respect to his wishes.

The others soon following Rick, only sighing in annoyance as they do so. "First things first: Set camp, find Sophia." Shane quickly stops Rick from continuing. "I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

I glance over to my daddy before looking back at Rick, curious to what his response must be. "You do what has to be done." He lowers his head, clearly saddened at the thought of that being any chance of a reality. "And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie's voice pips up, without missing a beat. "The truth." The blonde woman says, bitterly. My sister, father and I all shared quick and subtle glances. Not liking the sound of it.

"I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Shane says, now standing up straight and staring directly at my father. Rick turns to my father now, hoping to get his permission. "Our people would feel more safer, less inclined to carry a gun." My father simply nods, understanding that it was simply for a safety measure.

I turn my body to face Rick now that everyone is starting to leave. "Saw y'all had some strong painkillers for Mr. T-dog. Y'all got anything else, bandages or antibiotics?" I ask gingerly. "Just what you've seen." The blonde mutters, grabbing her bag before following after the men. "We're running short already? I can make a run into town." Maggie says, grabbing mine and Rick's attention.

"Not the place Shane went?" Rick asks, concerned about my sister. "No there's a pharmacy just a mile down the road. I've done it before." Maggie says, hoping to convince them on letting her go alone. Usually I'd join her, but with Carl still laid up in bed, I'd like to stay close by. "See our man over there in the baseball cap? That's Glenn. Our go-to-town expert. I'd ask him along just to be cautious." Rick says, to my father. Daddy simply agrees nodding his head towards Glenn. I can tell by the small eye roll, Maggie wasn't very excited for the company.