The scream that comes from Carols mouth is chilling.
Y/N feels tears fill her eyes. Sophia is dead. Sophia is a walker. This whole time, she was in that barn.
Nobody moves. Rick quietly walks forward and puts her down. Y/N looks at Hershel and his family. They look shocked.
Beth runs forward, across the walker bodies to a female.
She cries out "Mom." Suddenly the walker opens its eyes and tries to take a bite. People shout. Y/N rushes forward and grabs a metal farming tool from the side of the barn and slams it into the walkers head.
Others pull Beth away. She's okay.
Hershel stands and starts walking back to his house. Maggie and Patricia follow, helping Beth.
Shane follows after them. "We've been out. We've been combing these woods looking for her and she was in there all along? You knew."
Maggie shakes her head. "Leave us alone."
"Shane. Just stop." Y/N warns. The Greenes have already dealt with enough for one day.
Shane grinds his teeth. "You knew, and you kept it from us."
"I didn't know." Hershel says slowly.
"That's bullsh*t. I think y'all knew."
"We didn't know!!" Hershel screams, making eye contact with Shane.
"Otis put those people in the barn. Maybe he found her and put her in there before he was killed." Hershel explains.
Shane walks forward. "You expect me to believe that? Do I look like an idiot?"
Y/N looks at Rick, pleadingly. He takes the hint and grabs Shane by the shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey."
Suddenly Y/N feels arms around her torso. She turns around to find Carl. His face is red and puffy. His friend is dead. She hugs him and tries pulling him away from the arguing men.
Hershel throws his arms up. "I don't care what you believe!"
Y/N sighs. "Can everyone just calm down?"
Hershel looks at Rick and Y/N, pointing at Shane. "Get him off my land!"
He tries walking up the porch but Shane grabs his arm. "Let me tell you something-"
Maggie suddenly slaps him across the face. "Don't touch him! Haven't you done enough?"
Hershel turns. "I mean it. Off my land."
The Greenes go inside and Rick walks in front of Shane. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Daryl almost died looking for her, Rick. Any one of us could have. I'm gonna tell you right now... That son of a b*tch, he knew."
Rick shakes his head. "He didn't know. He's not like that. He opened his home to us."
"He put us all in danger. Man, he kept a barn full of walkers."
"So you just start an insurrection, hand out guns and massacre his family?" Rick spits.
"His family's dead."
Y/N steps up. "He doesn't believe that. He thinks you just murdered them in cold blood."
'Wouldn't be the first time.' She wants to add, but doesn't.
Rick nods. "I was handling it."
Shane pulls away. "You had us out in those woods looking for a little girl that every single one of us knew was dead! That's what you did. Rick, you're just as delusional as that guy."
————————————————————————
Y/N sits on her cot in her tent.
Her head is in her hands. That could've been Carl. Sophia is his age. Was... his age.
It doesn't feel real. It's like a nightmare. She should've stayed with her by the creek. Why did she leave? Why did Sophia leave? Why did anything happen the way it did?
The flap opens and someone sits next to her. She lifts her head to find Rick. She sits up. "What did Hershel say?"
"He wants us off the farm, or Shane at least."
She nods. "That's not a surprise. We're lucky no one was hurt. And all the gunfire."
He nods quietly. "She was there all the time."
She sighs. "Yeah..."
He looks at her. "I went after her, protected her, killed those walkers, but she still got bit. And Carl still got shot. People counting on me and I had 'em chasing a ghost in a forest."
Y/N shakes her head, gently grabbing Ricks hand. "We went after her. We did everything we could. There's too many 'what-if's'. It isn't your fault Rick."
He glances down at their interlocked hands. "It feels like it."
She nods. "I know."
Suddenly the tent flap opens again. Y/N jumps and lets go of Ricks hand. Her heart drops to her stomach when she sees who is at the opening.
Lori. Her face unreadable. She eyes Y/N before looking at her husband. "Rick. Can I talk to you?"
He nods and follows her out of the tent, sparing one last look at Y/N.
————————————————————————
The funeral was short. Everyone except Carol attended. It was held for Sophia as well as Hershel's wife and stepson. Nobody spoke. They just surrounded the freshly dug graves in silence. Carl shoved his face into Y/N's tank top. She wrapped her arms around him with a sigh. He'll never be the same.
————————————————————————
Beth collapsed in the kitchen. Y/N and Maggie
help her to a bedroom. She seems to be in a state of shock.
Nobody can find Hershel. Daryl, Rick, Shane and Glenn now all stand in the room as well.
Rick looks around the room. He picks up a flask from a dresser.
Maggie sighs. "That belonged to my grandfather, gave it to dad when he died."
"I didn't take Hershel for a drinker." Rick says.
"No, he gave it up on the day I was born. He didn't even allow liquor in the house." Maggie replies.
"Is there a local bar or something?" Y/N asks.
She nods. "Hatlins. He practically lived there during his drinking days."
Rick nods. "Betting that's where I'll find him."
"Yeah, i've see the place. I'll take you." Glenn says.
Y/N nods. "I'll go get the truck."
"You aren't coming." Rick says.
She starts to walk out of the room. "I am."
————————————————————————
YOU ARE READING
Sheriff's lover ||| Rick Grimes x Reader (TWD x Reader)
Fanfiction32 year-old Y/N was all alone on the streets of Atlanta when a man in a sheriffs uniform trots down the road on top of a horse. She decides to join him on his journey to find his family because she doesn't want to be left behind. The two run into a...
