Adapting (A Daryl Dixon/ The Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

Gemma's P.O.V
I sit on the roof of the RV, keeping an eye out for any signs of walkers or threat. The rifle lies on the roof beside me as I sit in the deck chair. If I found something, I was to call Shane or Dale, who were down below with the others doing various different jobs. I turn and see Carol standing vigilantly beside the road, her eyes focused on the tree line.

It had been a couple of hours since they set off to look for Sophia and an hour or so since Glenn and Shane came back. Carol has not moved an inch the entire time they have been away, waiting to see her beautiful daughter. I hear the sounds of yelling below and I peer over the edge of the RV.

"No, I want my gun back!" Andrea demands, crossing her arms while glaring at Dale.

"I don't think it's a good idea right now." Dale dismisses, directing it to Shane.

"Why not?" Shane asks.

"I'm not comfortable with it." Dale says truthfully.

Andrea scoffs at his comment and turns to Shane to back her up. Shane looks at her before turning back to Dale.

"Truth is less guns we have floating around camp, the better." He says, turning to Andrea.

"You turning over your weapon?" Andrea sneers.

Shane chuckles, "No. But I'm trained in its use. That's what the rest of y'all need is proper training but until that time I thinks it's best that Dale keeps them all accounted for."

Andrea shakes her head, rolling her eyes in the process. She turns and storms away from the men, muttering to herself. I shake my head at her, trying to hold back a snarky comment. Andrea pisses me off to the extreme, thinking that the whole world revolves around her and her sister's death. She seems to forget that she's not the only one whose lost someone.

I turn away from the infuriating girl and see Rick and Daryl emerge from the woods. Carol walks towards the pair, a devastated look on her face.

"You didn't find her?" She breathes, her voice breaking.

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again first light." Rick says, with a guilty expression.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own. To spend the night alone in the woods." She says, clearly distraught.

"Out in the darks no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost." Daryl explains.

"But she's twelve! She can't be out here on her own, you didn't find anything?" She cries at Rick.

"I know this is hard and I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." He says.

"And we tracked her for awhile." Daryl states.

"We have to make this an organised effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick tells the group.

"Is that blood?" Carol panics, pointing to Daryl's pants.

I look towards his leg and see a large blood stain on his knee.

"We took down a walker." Rick says.

"Walker. Oh my God." She says, hyperventilating.

"There's no sign that it was anywhere near Sophia." Rick soothes.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asks.

"We cut the son of a bitch open. Made sure." Daryl says.

Carol takes a seat on the barrier by the road and tries to calm her breathing, Lori by her side. The whole group looks distressed at the news, Carl crying at the back of the group. Carol turns to Rick with a disgusted expression.