We were all gathered outside the church, by a tree. Rick and Shane were talking together. I was sitting on the grass next to Lori and Carl.

Lori kept her eyes away from me. I tried to talk to her about Carl practising using his weapon with me. She gave me one look and turned back to her son.

As the two men walked over to all of us, Shane rubbed the back of his head. Lori and I stood up from the grass. We waited expectantly for their orders.

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay?" Shane announced. "Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough."

"You're splitting us up," Daryl stated. "You sure?"

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

Three people who momentarily seemed to detest me would be walking beside me. I saw the group splitting up as an opportunity.

"I'll keep looking too," I spoke up. Shane and Rick looked at me surprised. "I'll come with you."

I heard a scoff behind me. I already knew who it was before I turned to look at them. I gave him a deadly glare. I didn't seem to do much since Daryl still kept the smirk on his face that said, "are you kidding?"

"You sure?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, gotta make myself useful someday."

He nodded in reply, which meant I could go. I felt like a teenager that had to ask they're parents for information to go to a party. But I was just trying to grow up.

"I want to stay too," a little voice said. "I'm her friend," Carl insisted.

There was an awkward silence before Lori spoke up. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," Carl replied without missing a beat.

Whilst Rick walked over to Lori, I took a step towards Shane so I could join him. A hand gripped my shoulder, pulling me backwards, almost making me fall. The hand encompassed the whole top of my shoulder. I yelped as the person kept dragging me backwards till we were behind the tree near the group.

"You ain' goin'," the voice ordered. I turned and was met with Daryl's angry face.

"Again with the 'you can't tell me what to do' argument," I sighed, leaning on one foot.

He took a moment to look at my face, for some reason or other.

"You ain' no use to them," he sneered. "Ya' can hardly take down one walker, ya' can't track, hell you'll probably fall asleep ten minutes in."

"Way to put me down, Daryl."

I honestly didn't know why he was talking to me. We just had a conversation about how I attempted to kiss him in the CDC. That surely makes things awkward between us. He obviously didn't get the hint that I wanted to be away from three people that hated me at the moment.

"Good! Ya' don't need to go out and prove yourself to anyone Marley."

"Actually it's more of a, 'I really need to get my shit together' situation," I corrected, crossing my arms over my chest. "So let me. For God's sake Daryl, Carl is going too."

"I'm not completely incompetent, at least, not anymore."

Something in his eyes. I saw something. I had never seen it before. It looked be something of realisation, or shock. Like he was just dumped in a new situation. A cat in a new home. I had beaten him in this argument.

I took that as my cue to walk away. I stepped out from behind the tree. A few people were staring. Daryl and I must not have kept it that quiet.

Rick tried to offer his python to his wife. She refused. Daryl quickly stepped out from the shade of the tree as well, offering her a gun. She took it carefully.

Daryl gave me one last look of warning before leading the other half of the group. I stayed where I was standing, watching them walk in the direction towards the woods.

I looked over my shoulder. Rick said something to Shane before strolling towards the church.

I stepped up to Carl and Shane. Shane turned to look down at me, concern in his eyes. I saw him look towards Daryl behind me.

"You alrigh'?" he asked, squinting in the sunlight.

We should really try and find some sunglasses. It seems like something we never considered.

He was still looking at Daryl's strutting figure in the distance, so I presumed he heard Daryl and I' conversation.

"He just has little faith in me," I said quietly, looking up at Shane's towering figure.

Shane never failed to intimidate me. If I was caught speeding and he came to my window... I would follow all of his instructions with an awkward smile on my face.

"That's just stupid," he looked down to me smirking. I smiled back at him gratefully.

He ruffled Carl's hair, muttering a small, "Come on." He led us both to the steps outside the church. Carl and Shane sat down on the church steps to wait for Rick, but I decided against that and walked into the church.

The stench of the previous walkers hit me first, then I saw Rick in front of the crucifix. I walked in quietly as to not disturb him.

"I don't know if you're looking at me with what?" He tilted his head, sighing. "Sadness? Scorn? Pity? Love?... Maybe it's just indifference." He took his hat off, letting out scoff through his nose. "I guess you already know I'm not much of a believer. I guess I just chose to put my faith elsewhere. My family, mostly. My friends. My job. The thing is, we--" he finally looked up to the statue but turned away just as quickly. He took a long pause, looking off into the distance, contemplating what he was going to say. "I could use a little something to help keep us going. Some kind of... acknowledgement. Some indication I'm doing the right thing. You don't know how hard that is to know."

Just from those words, I could tell that he was tearing up. He was begging a higher power that he hardly believed in to give him a sign on whether he was doing the right thing or not. He couldn't go on his own judgement. He was deeply unsure. I don't think I've seen anyone ask how he was about losing Sophia. We were all so focused on comforting Carol, we didn't take a glance at the man who actually lost her. He must have felt a guilt he had never felt before. I didn't know a lot about Rick Grimes, just what his son had told me, and from what I'd had heard, he seemed to be a man who did nothing wrong. But what happens to a man who does everything right, suddenly does something wrong?

This then made me concerned for the man, which I had never done for him before. I don't think I had spoken to him much. But now he needed comforting.

Rick sniffed away his tears. Then his next words seemed to be laced with humour, a complete turn on what he was previously saying. " Well, maybe you do." He put his sheriffs hat back on, seeming to be done with what he was saying.

When he abruptly turned, he saw me standing there. He suddenly realised I had been listening in on his little conversation with whoever.

He looked at me with urgency then turned back around, taking baited steps, and continuing his speech. "Hey look, I don't need all the answers. Just a little nudge. A sign." He seemed more desperate with his words now.

He was begging a statue. "Any sign will do"

It took him a few seconds before he turned around again. He was headed for the entrance, sending me a small glance.

Before he could get past me, however, I held my arm out and placed it on his chest. He looked down at me.

"Has anyone asked you if you're okay?" I asked quietly.

He smirked for a split second, then he looked me in the eyes and it fell. It seemed to me that his answer was "no".

"Are you okay?" I questioned, smiling up at him sadly.

He nodded. "I'm fine," he muttered. The Sheriff's deputy took my hand which was still placed on his chest and held it in his, squeezing it tightly. It seemed to be a quiet thank you.

He looked back to the statue behind him, then back to me. "Are you gonna' say anythin'?"

I didn't believe in God at all. At least not now. But for some reason, I felt I needed to get my two cents in. "Yeah, won't be long."

He nodded in understanding, then let go of my hand to walk outside.

I slowly looked up to the crucifix. It depicted Jesus with blood curdling down his forehead from the crown of thorns atop of it. I was questioning myself on what he must have been thinking, like Rick had just done. Honestly, he looked bored, and uncaring.

I took a few careful steps towards it, hardly making it past one pew. I looked it in the eyes, but it did not to me.

"Last time I asked you for something," I sighed deeply. I blinked back tears. I was not going to give in. I hadn't cried in days, I wasn't going to start now. "You gave me the exact opposite..." I lowered my voice to a low whisper.

Although I listened in on Rick, I wouldn't appreciate if he was listening to me right now, "...You gave me life. All those years ago. I asked you specifically not too. You don't really stick to your job description do you. Despite how much I have given you, and how much you have taken away from me. I ask for one thing, and you don't even bother to tell me why I cannot have it. Why I had to live and they didn't."

My words were now coming out as strangled sobs. I stood there, weak knees, and hands balled into tight fists. "So don't tangle with our affairs anymore... you're terrible at doing it... if you ever did."

I wiped my cheeks, getting them slightly dirty. When I pulled them away, they weren't wet.

I hadn't cried.

I turned on my heel, strolling up to the three people waiting for me. All of their backs were turned to me, so I figured that they at least tried not to listen in on what I was saying.

Rick stood up first, looking down to his son and then to me. "Carl, I want you to stick right close to Marley, okay?"

Carl looked to me, then to his Dad. "That's cool."

I stepped down the rest of the stairs, holding out my hand to Carl who took it eagerly.

We followed behind the Sheriff's Deputy into the Forest. Rick, Me, Carl, and Shane close behind.

+

We had been walking silently for a while now. We had all tuned our ears into our surroundings. Going into full tracker mode. But there was no sign of Sophia.

There was no rock turned squirely, no footprints, no strings of fabric. But luckily, there was no blood. At least she was alive.

I once again, readjusted my hidden gun holster.

Suddenly, a twig snapped. We all instantly stopped, and Rick raised his hand.

I looked around, seeing nothing of any danger. But I still kept a firm grip on Carl's hand.

Rick gesture in the left-forward direction. Shane followed his silent order, and stepped around me and Carl.

All four of us took the quietest steps we could possibly take. In the distance, through the tree, I saw a figure that resembled not a human, but a large four-legged animal.

Rick took a step into a small clearing of trees. Shane raised his gun at the ready, but faltered it as he saw what it really was.

It was a deer.

It sniffed the ground, as it trotted through the brambles of trees. It stepped out so it was in full view. It's fuzzy antlers standing tall, ruffling it's coat as a slight chill passed through the air.

I saw in the corner of my eye as Rick's face contorted from utter concentration to pure hope. I think that he was thinking this was the sign he was looking for. The sign he asked for back in that church.

Shane raised his gun ready to shoot, but Rick whispered his name and turned to see Carl tugging my arm quietly.

As he held my hand, we both walked closer to the deer.

I had never seen anything so beautiful in ages. I didn't believe this was a sign of anything, but it was a moment to hold. It was definitely another thing to see these for real. In all their glory.

I looked down to the young boy beside me, and his face mirrored mine. A smile spread across his lips.

We accidentally stepped on a twig. It snapped and caught attention of the buck. It peered its head towards us, eyeing us carefully.

It looked directly at Carl, and directly at me.

I thought we could call that happy moment in our lives.

But as a gunshot ran through the air, the buck fell, and the clutch holding onto my hand was swiftly taken from me. Slipping through my fingers like liquid.

The breath caught in my throat. My hand felt empty. My eyes were wide.

I turned to look at Carl, but only found him in amongst the dirt and leaves. A patch of blood started to spread on his abdomen.

+

I'm hella happy about this.

I'm also so excited to write the next chapters, I'm so proud of what I thought up.

So that means the next few chapters will be up real soon.

The next one possibly within a day.

Thank you for voting, commenting, and 3,000 READS!!

So happy.

-Sylar