WHITE FLAG

chapter thirty-one : turned but not bit
{ season two - episode twelve }

"ZAYN," KLOE CALLED out to her older brother, who was sharpening his knife while leaning up against a tree.

His head shot up toward his younger sister, who was approaching him, and pushed himself off of the tree and shoved his knife into his sheath. "Hey. What's up?" he asked.

She exhaled heavily before reaching down into her back pocket, grabbing hold of the photograph and pulling it out. He watched his sister with confusion until she put it in front of the man's hand.

"I found this in my backpack. I didn't know it was there and I thought you'd want it," she explained, revealing the picture to her older brother, who's eyes widened as he made out the two small figures that were imprinted on the glossy paper.

He gently took hold of it and brought it closer to his face to get a better look at it. "No way. We're like babies here," he cooed, amused by the photograph that he had only seen once in his life, which is when their father had taken the photo.

"Yeah. It says '99 on the back, so we weren't even teenagers yet," Kloe expressed, gesturing to the other side of the photograph. Absentmindedly, Zayn flipped the paper over, reading the back.

"That's dad's handwriting," he muttered, hastily getting sadness washing over him. He shook away the sadness, though, and looked away from the picture and toward his sister. "Are- are you sure you don't want it-"

"No, you can have it," she instantly intercepted, shaking her head. Knowing that she wouldn't give in, Zayn nodded his head, staring down at the A5 photograph and shoved it inside his pocket.

He looked up at his younger sister, only to see a familiar figure who was sneaking up on her with his finger pressed against his lips, gesturing to Zayn to keep quiet. Zayn instantly looked away from his best friend and back toward Kloe.

"Fine," Zayn gave in, trying to hide the fact that Kloe was about to jump out of her skin. She raised her eyebrows, unconvinced. "I'm taking it because I know you won't stop begging for me to take it."

Just as Kloe was about to respond, she was immediately cut off by Glenn, who had wrapped his arms around her waist hastily and shouting the word boo. She yelped with fear and instantaneously spun around to face the Korean.

Zayn laughed in amusement as Kloe half-heartedly whacked Glenn's arm with the back of her hand. "I swear to God, if you make me jump one more time, I'll-" she paused, thinking of something.

"You'll do what?" Glenn questioned, raising one eyebrow while grinning widely. Kloe stood completely still for a moment, attempting to figure out what she was going to get him back with. Zayn's eyes traveled back and forth between the two.

"Uh..." Kloe trailed off, still thinking deeply. An idea rang in her mind, "I won't kiss you anymore." She smiled triumphantly as she watched Glenn's smile drop, a playful hurt expression covering his face.

"That's crossing the line," he whined, dramatically placing his palm on his chest.

"Guys... I'm still here," Zayn reminded, mimicking a disgusted look that Andrea had made one time when there was a swarm of flies in a certain area back in Atlanta camp.

Kloe's jaw dropped dramatically, "Oh, yeah, right, sorry, completely forgot your existence. You totally never complain when nothing happens in front of you."

Zayn stood completely frozen for around two seconds before pouting his bottom lip and shrugging, "Eh, you're right. I never complain. But..." he trailed off, lifting up his index finger and pointing toward the house, "I'm gonna help out others with their shit. Thanks for the, uh... photo, Klo."

She nodded her head as she watched her older brother walk away. She slowly turned back to Glenn, who slid his hands into his pockets. "So-" He abruptly got cut off by Kloe gently punching him in the arm, making him yell with pain as he gripped his upper arm. "What was that?"

"That was for scaring me," she folded her arms over her chest and gave him an are-you-serious look. "That is actually the seventh time you've scared me within these last two months."

"Pretty sure it was eight times," he corrected, nervously scratching his chin as his dark brown eyes flickered down to the ground and sucked in a deep breath.

Kloe scoffed in slight annoyance, "Even worse! You know, one day I'll have a heart attack from your jumpscares. Then you'll be sorry... speaking of apologies, I think I deserve one."

Glenn raised his eyebrows at her, blinking exactly three times. "You want me to apologize to you?" he queried, earning an instant nod from Kloe. "Saying sorry is boring, especially to you. I say sorry enough times to everybody else," he sighed.

"Who said you had to say sorry?" Kloe smirked, biting her bottom lip.

Glenn's eyebrows raised higher than they were and the same smirk that was on Kloe's face was now on his. "Oh? Well, as long as it's not the word sorry, then I'm all up for it."

"Go ahead, then," she replied. "Show me what you got and I'll tell you if it's good enough for an apology."

"Okay, bet," he murmured, immediately getting an idea. He grabbed her hands and held them loosely before leaning in and pressing his lips against hers. As much as she enjoyed the kiss, it wasn't enough for her. He pulled away so he could catch a breath.

He opened his eyes and stared at Kloe's dark brown eyes, getting admired. "Was that good enough?" he questioned, glancing down at their connected hands.

"Hmm," she hummed, "let me think..." Glenn bit his bottom lip as he attempted to hide his smile but failed. "No," she answered, catching the Korean's attention. "We do this pretty much everyday, so, how about more?"

"How about this?" Before Kloe could question anything, Glenn wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He let go of her waist and placed both of his hands on the side of her face. He connected their lips and began to move them slowly.

Kloe couldn't help but smile as the butterflies that she still felt every time rise in her stomach. After a few moments, he grudgingly pulled away, keeping his forehead leaning against hers.

She pouted out her bottom lip, not wanting it to end so quickly. "Alright, that was an awesome apology," she whispered, smiling widely as she patted his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder as he did the same.

Her attention was quickly switched over to the RV, where it sounded like someone was attempting to start it up. "Hey, uh, I don't mean to change the mood," Kloe started, pulling away from the hug, making Glenn frown with confusion, "but I think someone is trying to start up the RV, but is failing. And I know that Dale taught you a few things, so maybe you should go check it out."

Glenn's expression fell, hesitantly turning around to face the RV. "Oh, yeah, um," he faced Kloe, becoming sad from the thought of Dale, "I'll go check it out."

She nodded her head, smiling supportively as Glenn took a few steps back. "See you," she stated, getting a small wave in return as he walked off into the distance.

...

"I miss Sophia, you know?" A new voice appeared behind Kloe. She decided to sit on a chair, away from everybody since she needed some alone time. She turned in her seat, catching the eyes of the youngest of the Grimes family, apart from the unborn child that was currently growing inside of Lori.

"So do I, Carl," she replied, turning back around as the boy took a seat beside her on another camping chair. She began to grow sad once again. They had lost so many people in such a short amount of time.

First Amy and everyone else in camp that didn't make it through that night. Then Jim and Jacqui. Sophia. And lastly Dale. It didn't seem that many, but it was.

"Do you think that if I went with my dad to look for her, that maybe I would've found her and saved her?" he questioned with slight emotion in his voice. Kloe had noticed that Carl was acting a lot more colder toward everyone in the group, even his own parents. But yet, when it came to Kloe, he was honest with himself and showed his actual true, emotional self.

She shrugged sadly, "Fate is fate, Carl. I would've done anything to save her too, you know that. We have to accept that she's gone now, and that she's at rest. She doesn't have to worry anymore. She doesn't have to be scared. Instead, she's at peace."

Carl bit the flesh in his cheeks and nodded. "She was like my best friend. I didn't really have any friends before, now I do-" he instantly cut himself off, looking down with shame, "did. I was thinking of naming the baby after her, you know? I feel like she'd like that."

"Well, that depends if it's a girl or not. You're gonna be the best big brother there is, maybe apart from Zayn," they both laughed, sharing smiles as Kloe continued, "just remember, no matter what happens, you always have to be there for the baby."

"Yeah, I know. I want to grow up with it. I want to be the big brother that it looks up to," he grinned, flicking his hat with his index finger just like he did a week before when his mother came back from the car accident.

"Oh, it definitely will look up to you, Carl. You're a good person," Kloe grabbed his shoulder gently and rubbed it while smiling proudly and sympathetically.

His wide smile instantly dropped, his eyes falling to the ground. "I don't think my mom thinks that." Kloe's brows furrowed with concern, confused as to why he would think something like that. "I see it in her eyes when she looks at me. Ever since I started using a gun. I feel like I've disappointed her."

"Carl, you haven't disappointed her. I know that for a fact," she reassured. "If anything, she thinks the world of you and would do anything in order to protect you. You're her son and loves you more than anything."

He lifted his chin up to look at Kloe, a real, not forced, small smile formed on his face. Just as he was about to speak, T-Dog cut him off as he ran over to a few members of the group who were pouring into the small camping area that was still getting packed away.

"Randall, he's gone!" he announced to the group. Kloe's brows furrowed deeply as she stood up from her seat. How was he gone? The cuffs around his wrists were so tight that you'd have to rip your hands off to break free and the door to the shed was locked shut. There wasn't a chance for him to escape.

"What the hell? How?" Kloe questioned with a look of confusion and shock as she watched Daryl's expression change and run toward the shed. "How the fuck did he manage to escape?" she repeated, beginning to rush over to the shed.

"I don't know! He's just gone," T-Dog answered, spotting the rest of the group piling into the current area. Rick, Daryl, Andrea and T-Dog all sprinted back over to the shed, making sure that he wasn't just hiding in some stupid spot.

Kloe was more than perplexed at the situation. How did he escape? There was no possible way for him to break free - unless someone set him free. But who would?

She then speed-walked over to the shed, wanting to check for herself. T-Dog was right, the young male was nowhere to be seen. He had completely disappeared. Rick knelt down on one knee as he examined the bloodied up cuffs, meaning Randall had tried to escape previously.

Her, Daryl, and T-Dog stepped out of the shed, and Kloe spotted Glenn and Zayn standing side by side. Kloe rested her hands on the back of her head with frustration, sighing exasperatedly.

"What's wrong?" Maggie asked hastily, her eyes darting between T-Dog and Kloe.

"Randall's missing. Can't fu- freaking believe it..." Kloe trailed off, breathing heavily as she spun around, searching the area.

"Missing? How?"

"How long has he been gone?" Hershel questioned, who peered inside the shed and spotted Rick. He stood up, letting his eyes move around the room one last time before stepping out of the shed.

"It's hard to say," he answered truthfully. "The cuffs are still hooked. He must've slipped them." Kloe felt a new presence beside her panicked self. She swiftly looked over her shoulder, seeing Glenn who had a look in her eyes to tell her it was okay.

"Is that possible?" Carol asked, in a very low tone that maybe only people that were standing close could hear her.

Andrea heard the older woman, spinning on her heel since she was finished searching in the shed and stepped out of it. "It is if you've got nothing to lose."

She shuffled out of the way so Hershel could close the shed's door. "The door was secured from the outside," he explained as he presented the door to show that it was well and truly secure.

"I'm sorry but you guys are talking like he actually managed to escape. And yeah, I get that he did because he's definitely not here. But he escaped. He escaped. Why was no one on watch?" Kloe rambled out of panic, still setting her eyes everywhere to search for the man.

"Klo, chill," Glenn stated softly as he set his hand on her tensed shoulder. She nodded, his touch managing to calm her down.

"Okay, okay," she breathed, "I'm calm-"

"Rick!" a voice that definitely belonged to Shane called out, "Rick!" Everyone spun around to the man. He had blood trickling from the bridge of his nose that was dripping off his chin.

"Okay, I'm not calm," she sealed her eyes shut, attempting to calm herself more than ever. "Why am I even freaking out?"

"What happened?" Lori yelled, concerned from seeing the blood on the man's nose.

"He's armed!" he informed, his voice still loud enough to possibly deaf anyone. "He's got my gun!"

"Jesus, dude. Are you okay?!" Zayn inquired frankly, also concerned about the damage on his nose. "Your nose..."

"I'm fine. Little bastard snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."

"All right," Rick turned around at the speed of light, "Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house," he ordered, pointing to the two mentioned men. "Glenn, Klo, Daryl, come with us."

Kloe raised her eyebrows, but didn't proceed to argue and did as she was told. Luckily for her, she kept her bow outside. Her bow. She hadn't used her bow since she met Isabelle. She nodded in acceptance, ignoring the current look Zayn was sending her and jogged over to her bow that was pressed up against the railing of the house porch's railing.

She gripped onto the grip of the bow, picking it up along with the quiver that was filled with unused arrows.

"T, I'm gonna need that gun," Shane pointed harshly at the gun the mentioned man was holding on to.

"Just let him go. That was the plan, wasn't it, just to let him go?" Carol questioned, watching the people that were about to go look for Randall, including Kloe.

As Shane took the gun from T-Dog, Rick answered the woman, "The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun."

The four men waited for Kloe to join them, and when she did, they began to make their way into the forest. "Don't go out there. You don't know what can happen!" Carol shouted.

"Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick ordered again, not even looking back at.

The four of them heard commotion behind them, signaling that they were listening to Rick's orders and were going inside. Kloe pulled off the hair-tie and grabbed a bunch of her loose hair. She wrapped the tie around it swiftly, a few strands falling out from where she missed them, but it didn't bother her.

Daryl had his crossbow, with the arrow already set in place. Rick had his signature gun that he had always held, and he cocked it so it was also ready. Glenn had his Gator pro in one hand and a flashlight in the other. Kloe had her bow, and she threw her hand back to grip onto an arrow that was in her quiver and quickly set it on the arrow rest. And lastly Shane had the gun T-Dog had just given him.

...

"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out," Shane pointed off into a direction. They were deep into the forest, and so far, they hadn't seen anything. "I'm not sure how long."

"He couldn't have gotten far," Rick stated. "He's hobbled, exhausted."

"And armed," Glenn added, who was staying close by Kloe's side. He checked up on her occasionally, considering she was panicking about it. But she seemed okay, but that's only what he could see. He couldn't see or read what she was actually feeling.

"So are we," Rick said, him and Shane coming to a stop and turning around to face the other three. "Can you track him?"

Daryl stared down at the ground, unable to spot anything that he was supposedly meant to see. "No, I don't see nothing."

"Hey, look, there ain't no use tracking him, okay? He went that way, we need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it," Shane practically yelled out of anger, eyeing the three.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at him, growing skeptical. "Kid weighs a buck twenty-five soaking wet. You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?"

"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" Shane retorted, getting irritated.

Kloe rolled her eyes at the men's bickering, just wanting to find the man that had escaped to get it over with. "Christ, knock it off idiots," she muttered out loud enough for them to hear.

"You, Glenn and Klo start heading up the right flank," Rick pointed into the distance where Shane had pointed previously. "Me and Shane will take the left. Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for one another."

"Roger that, Officer Friendly," Kloe nodded, following Daryl who had already started walking away from the group, Glenn behind her.

...

Daryl wiggled the flashlight around the area where the footprints were, expecting Glenn and Kloe to see it - they saw nothing but dead leaves. "Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said."

Daryl slowed his pace, making Glenn and Kloe do the same. He slowly lifted the flashlight so it was aimed on a wide tree, where there was a small mark of fresh blood. "Is that blood?" Kloe asked, narrowing her eyes at the tree, growing suspicious at the story Shane had told them.

"Yep, that's fresh blood," Daryl confirmed, getting a closer look. Glenn whipped his head around the area, making sure there wasn't anybody following them. Daryl moved the flashlight onto the ground. "There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem."

"Tandem?" Kloe dumbfoundedly asked, cocking a brow. Daryl and Glenn slowly turned to face her, sending her an are-you-serious look. Noticing their expressions, she threw her hands up in defense, "Sorry, I never listened in English class but passed anyway somehow. What does it mean?"

"Basically when two people are walking right next to each other. One behind the other," Glenn shortly explained, gulping as Daryl shushed him to be more quiet.

Kloe formed an 'o' shape with her lips, beginning to walk behind Daryl so they could continue their little trip of 'finding Randall'. Although, an animal called out in the distance, making her head snap over to that direction, halting to a stop.

Because she randomly stopped out of the blue, Glenn accidentally knocked into her, making her fall forward and push Daryl's shoulder. Glenn set his hand on her shoulder and looked at her to see if she was okay, and she nodded. She turned to Daryl, whispering a 'sorry' as she noticed the look he was sending her.

Daryl slightly chuckled to himself, although it soon vanished as he looked back ahead. The trail had somehow somewhat messed up. "Yeah, there was a little dust up right here."

"What do you mean?" Glenn questioned, staring at the ground where the flashlight was pointed at but saw nothing.

"I mean something went down," Daryl answered, quickening his pace as he followed the trail. Kloe grew more and more suspicious as they put together the pieces.

"This is getting weird, and a part of me is thinking that maybe Shane is lying... again," Kloe said above a whisper, watching the ground in front of her.

Glenn was about to question the girl, but got cut off by Daryl's new discovery, "Had a little trouble." The two narrowed their eyes at the item on the ground, and Kloe soon made it out to be the blindfold that was wrapped around Randall's head.

Glenn knelt down and pulled the black blindfold up, examining it up and down. The three practically jumped out of their skins when they heard rustling behind them, causing them to rush over to a tree to hide behind.

Without realizing, Glenn had connected his hand with Kloe's. Usually, they would awkwardly separate, but now they only squeezed tighter for extra security of one another.

Daryl quietly whistled, making Glenn and Kloe's heads whip over to the man who was standing behind another tree and tossed over the flashlight. Kloe peered over the edge of the tree, spotting the singular walker that was dragging its feet across the dead leaves on the ground.

The trio stood completely still, hearing the walker grow closer to them with every breath they released. They simultaneously raised their weapons, preparing to kill the walker as it got closer and closer.

The walker was around three steps away from the tree before Glenn spun around and aimed his Gator pro machete at it. The walker that looked awfully familiar growled at the sight of the Korean, and he froze as he stared at the familiar walker with wide eyes.

Kloe clenched her jaw and stared at Glenn with confused yet wide eyes as to why he wasn't attacking the walker. She looked over at the walker, and once she made out who it was, she took a few steps back like Glenn did.

The walker lunged toward Glenn and pushed him to the ground. Daryl released the trigger on his crossbow and the arrow flew forward, only to miss the walker and fall straight to the ground directly in front of Kloe.

It then pushed Daryl on the ground, and instead of getting up to lunge at Kloe, it stayed on top of Daryl and snapped its teeth at the man. Daryl struggled to get the walker off of him as he let out loud but quiet yells.

Kloe sprinted forward, gripping onto the walker's shoulder and pulled it back. The walker wrapped its arms around her forearms so she was unable to move. She attempted to reach the knife that was in her belt, but since her arms were linked with the walkers to keep it away from her, she was unable to.

She got pushed up against the tree she was previously against, the walker now snapping its teeth while it stared at her neck. She cursed under her breath as she let go with one hand to grab her knife, but the walker beat her to it and leaned into her neck.

Just as she was about to scream with pain, the walker was cut short by a long Gator pro machete drive into the top of its skull. The walker froze, the undead part of it now and truly gone. As the machete disappeared from the skull of the walker, it fell lifelessly to the ground.

Glenn stepped forward instantly, examining her neck to make sure she was okay before she nodded consistently to assure him she was fine. They both turned to the now lifeless body that was on the ground and the three of them stared down at it.

"Holy shit..." Kloe breathed, "that's Randall, right?"

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words: 4050
25th june 2022
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LONG CHAPTER bc it's been forever since i've updated y'all. ALSO... next chapter will possibly be the final episode of season 2 so HELL YEA IM SO HYPED TO WRITE SEASON 3-