The Ones We Lose ⏐ The Walking Dead

14. Zoe

 The herd left everyone pretty shaken. They had never seen anything like it. All those walkers moving together like one big entity. The idea of them being able to communicate somehow and work together was both terrifying and weirdly fascinating. Zoe watched as it slowly disappeared in the distance before turning her attention back to the group. They were all still gathered close to the RV as they tried to assess the situation the best they could.

Zoe could see Mich and Andrea standing to the side as both of them wiped the blood off their faces and necks. Their close encounter with one of the walkers had clearly left Andrea pretty shaken. Alex was sitting down next to T-Dog as she did her best to patch up his arm. Zoe cringed as she caught a glimpse of the cut, it was ragged and deep, covering his entire forearm. Finally, she spotted Carol standing alone on the side of the road looking out into the surrounding forest. The worry was clear on her face. Daryl and Rick were out there looking for Sophia after she had been chased off the road by one of the walkers. They could only hope that they found her soon in one piece.

"Hey, Zoe!" she turned her head at the sudden sound, "Come here," Shane waved her over. She spared a last glance at Carol before quickly making her way over to the man. He reached down and opened the front door of the abandoned car, "We need to start moving those cars out of the way so we can backtrack and head to Fort Benning as soon as we can."

"You still have hope it won't turn out like the CDC? Or worse?" she asked looking up at him. She had a hard time keeping her hopes up ever since the CDC, she wanted there to be a place for them somewhere but she also realised how unlikely it was.

Shane looked at her as he ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know but it's still our best bet," Zoe sighed she did appreciate his honesty, it was refreshing in a way to hear someone admit their uncertainty, "And at the very least it will have resources. Fuel, food, weapons if we're lucky," Zoe nodded slowly. She trusted Shane's intuition, he hadn't let them astray this far, "Just keep your mom and sister close, all right?"

"Easier said than done but I can try," she said with a smile. Shane quickly returned it before patting her on the back. She stepped past him and got inside the car closing the door behind her.

Shane leaned against it sticking his head through the open window, "Just release the brake when I say and steer the car out of the way," Zoe looked around her she placed one hand on the wheel and grabbed the handbrake with the other, "And try not to crash," he said as he patted the door before walking away.

"Very funny," Zoe called out after him as she watched him walk over to the back of the car in the side mirror. She waited for his signal as he positioned himself behind the car ready to push. Soon enough she heard Shane call out to her. She released the brake and placed both of her hands on the wheel as the car began to slowly move. She turned the wheel slowly and carefully leading the car through the tight space and onto the median strip. The car shook slightly as it rolled off the road before she pulled the brake. Zoe stepped out of the car admiring her work for a second. She felt she did decently for someone who had never driven a car before.

Shane walked up to her patting her on the back, "Good job. But you might need a few more driving lessons," he said. Suddenly they hear Carl's voice calling out Shane's name. Zoe looked around and quickly spotted the boy running their way carrying something in his hands.

"Carl, what happened?" Lori emerged from behind one of the cars, the worry clear on her face.

"Mom, I found something cool," Lori visibly relaxed as the boy stopped in front of Shane, "Shane, check it out," Carl placed the roll of material on the ground and opened it revealing a set of tools inside. Zoe scanned it seeing a hatchet and a machete amongst other tools. She smiled at Carl's excitement, "It's an arsenal."

"That's cool, bud. Go give them to Dale," Shane said shortly as he moved to close the door of the car they had just moved.

"Check this one out. It's a hatchet," the boy said as he picked the weapon up and swung it in the air.

"Be careful. Don't play with those," Lori said as she approached.

"They're really sharp," Carl swung it through the air again as he made a whoosh sound with his mouth.

"What did I just say?" Lori said her tone more stern now as she reached her hand down motioning for Carl to give her the weapon.

"Can I keep one?" the boy asked.

"Are you crazy?" Lori took the hatchet from his hand before placing it back in its place.

"No way. Shane, tell her to let me keep one," Carl asked his confidence not faltering.

Shane looked up at Carl finally, "Hey, man, go give them all to Dale now. Go," Zoe looked back at Shane surprised at his unusually cold and dismissive tone. She had never seen him act like this towards Carl. The boy's face fell quickly at that. He grabbed the set of tools before walking off.

"What the hell man?" Zoe said shaking her head at Shane. She turned back and quickly followed after Carl. She caught up to him placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "Hey, listen you give those to Dale for now and I'll sneak one out for you later, huh?" she said with a grin.

Carl's face lit up at her words, "Really?"

"Yeah, just don't sell me out if you get caught," she smiled as Carl nodded quickly. She placed a hand on his back, "Which one do you want?" she asked as they continued making their way towards the RV.

"Definitely the hatchet," he said his smile growing.

"Will you get me one too?" Zoe turned as she heard the voice suddenly. She quickly spotted Ruby sitting on the hood of one of the cars. She smiled as she walked up to her.

"I don't know. You think you can handle it?" she asked. Ruby nodded as she jumped down onto the ground, "I'll see what I can do," Zoe ushered both kids forward, they made their way towards the RV. Carl went inside as Zoe and Ruby stayed outside. Zoe looked towards Carol who was still looking out into the surrounding forest. She sighed as she thought of little Sophia all alone in the woods. She couldn't help but imagine Ruby in her place, the terror she felt at the mere idea of her sister being put in that situation. Yet, at the same time, she felt a small sense of relief that it wasn't her sister out there, that she was safe.

"Don't worry, they will find her," Ruby said suddenly. Zoe looked down at her, she smiled before wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"I know they will. Dixon's too good to fail," she said trying her best not to show her actual worry. It was true Daryl was good, she thought that if anyone could track the girl down it would be him. But he was one man looking for a small girl in a giant forest.

"We should get her something too for when she comes back. Me and Carl will have our weapons it's only fair she has one too," Ruby said, Zoe smiled again at her words.

"You think she'd like that?" she asked still looking at the forest ahead.

"Yeah but maybe something smaller. Like Mich's knife," she said pointing to the woman standing in the distance. Zoe looked down at her sister, she pulled her closer as she laughed at her enthusiasm. She started to wonder if this world was harder or easier for those kids. They seemed to be so much more optimistic than everyone else. Maybe it was just their innocence protecting them, making them see the world for better than it actually was. She could just hope that whatever it was it wouldn't get squashed by this world along with everything else.