𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 (𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛)

𝑇𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑖𝑛𝑒

I didn't immediately go back to my tent. Instead, I paced around for a bit as I let my thoughts run wild. Everyone was in pain after what happened at the barn with Hershel's walkers, coping in their own way. Knowing Sophia was gone for good left a gap in the world. She had been the reason people would wake up at the crack of dawn, ready to dive into the woods in search of her. Sophia was also part of the reason Hershel had extended his hospitality this long, though even that seemed to hang on by a thread. Whether or not he allowed my group to stay, I knew that after today's events, everything would be different.

I found myself behind the farmhouse, an area I hadn't visited until then. There were a couple of cars parked under a large tree and some stairs leading down from the back porch. Just as I was relishing my newfound quiet and solitude, it quickly came to an end. The back door suddenly opened and out stepped Lori wearing a thick jacket with a folded map in her hand. She didn't seem to notice me and continued down the stairs and towards one of the cars, only stopping to pull out a small pistol from her pocket to examine the chamber.

"Lori," I called out and made my way over to her. She jerked her head up with wide eyes and quickly shoved the pistol back into her jacket. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going after Rick," Lori sighed and quickly glanced around before returning her sights to me.

"What?!" I stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the small, grey car she was aiming for. "You can't go."

"Why the hell not? He's my husband," she said to me firmly and stared at me with determined eyes. I scoffed and lightly shook my head at her. I couldn't believe she was about to risk her life so carelessly, especially now that she was responsible for a much smaller and inconspicuous one.

"Look," I took a step closer to her, "I know that you're pregnant." She chuckled dryly and let her gaze fall to the ground for a moment.

"It was Glenn wasn't it? He told you?"

"God, it doesn't matter! The point is, I'm not letting a pregnant woman go off on a wild goose chase by herself. You could get hurt!" My concerns were of no avail, as she shook her head and seemed even more driven to start her journey.

"Then come with me if you're so worried, but I'm going with or without your help," she said and pushed past me to head for the car door.

I frantically looked around to try and find someone to come help me stop her, but as far as I could see, we were the only two around. "Dammit," I said to myself and sighed, quickly running over to the passenger side of the car and climbing in as Lori fired up the engine.

✯✯✯

I quietly slouched in my seat with my arms crossed and a clear view of the road ahead. The drive thus far had been silent and uncomfortable, neither of us particularly too keen on speaking to each other. I felt frustrated that I seemed to have more of a grasp on reality than she had. The first trimester was the most critical one, and putting herself in the line of unnecessary danger and stress seemed idiotic to me. I'd assumed that, with her already being a mother of one, she would know better, yet it seemed like I was gravely mistaken.

"Why didn't you ask for help? I'm sure someone would've volunteered to come with you," I said without turning to face her.

"Shane never would've let me go. Wouldn't have mattered how many people offered to come," she answered in a quiet voice. I scoffed and kept my eyes looking straight ahead.

"I'm sure he would've been more than happy to tag along," I mumbled in my snarky tone. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lori turn her head to look at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her voice suddenly grew defensive and I glanced over to the steering wheel to see her hands close tightly around it.

"I'm not blind, Lori. And neither is Rick."

She said nothing and adjusted her grip on the wheel.

"I just can't understand why you'd want someone like Shane hanging around your kid." My words came out more condescending than I had intended, but I didn't care if I hurt Lori's feelings. I had always suspected something went on between those two. I had heard the story about how Shane got her and Carl to safety when everything first went to shit. Sure, there was a chance their relationship had always been platonic, yet, the way Shane would look at her while she was cuddled up next to Rick made me think differently.

"Until you know what it's like to be a mother, you have no place in telling me what I should do with my son," she snapped at me. I sighed through my nose and straightened up.

"I do."

✯✯✯

The campfire shone brightly before Daryl as he used a long, slender stick he had scavenged to move around the burning wood. That night felt cooler than any of the previous ones, which provided relief from sleeping under warm, humid air. It also meant that the seasons were starting to change and that winter wasn't too far behind.

After Charlotte had gone back to camp, she left Daryl's mind restless. He couldn't stop playing their conversation over and over in his head, each time focusing on something different, like the way her hair looked while standing against the sunlight, or how her words brought him an eerie feeling of calm. Daryl could almost still feel her warm touch on his skin. As much as he tried, he couldn't push her image out of his head, and he could feel it slowly start to drive him mad.

Daryl's thoughts were interrupted by a pair of running footsteps coming up behind him. He didn't turn around to look, and instead waited for the person to come to him.

"We can't find Lori and the others aren't back yet," Carol said to him in between heavy breaths.

"Dumb bitch must've gone off lookin' for 'em," Daryl scoffed and took his stick out of the fire to start digging into the dirt beneath him.

"What?"

"Yeah, she asked me to go. Told her I was done bein' an errand boy," Daryl recounted and pushed the stick further into the ground.

"And you didn't say anything?" Carol asked incredulously but got no answer from the man sitting before her. She sighed and started to walk off, feeling frustrated at his crude behavior, when she paused and turned around.

"Charlotte's missing too, by the way," she informed him with her arms crossed. Daryl immediately snapped his head up and looked at the woman with attentive eyes.

"What?!" He said sharply and rose from his seat, letting his stick fall to the side.

"Dale thinks she went with Lori but we're still not sure," Carol answered.

Daryl felt a twinge of worry in his gut as he thought back to earlier in the day when Charlotte mentioned to him that she considered leaving the group. Was that her way of saying goodbye? He shook the thoughts from his mind and settled on the most logical possibility, that she had gone with Lori.

"I'm gonna go tell everyone what you told me. I'll let you know what happens," Carol said before walking back to the farm.

Once he was alone again, Daryl wrestled with himself on whether or not he should go and look for the two women, but the thought of something happening to Charlotte easily trumped his pride. He quickly put out the fire and grabbed his crossbow, heading for the farm as fast as he could, but by the time he had gotten there, Shane had already taken off.

✯✯✯

(𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 8/30/20)