❛ SURVIVOR'S HEART ! ❜
chapter twenty-five ―― i ain't dying

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ "YOU SHOULD BE RESTING." Shane told his sister as she picked up a large rock, helping the others load up a wheelbarrow for the memorial they were gonna have for Otis – he hadn't made it back with Shane after their run for medical supplies.

"I'm fine." Her arm was in a makeshift sling that Hershel had made using a pillow case – he simply knotted it over her shoulder. "Stop worrying so much."

"You're gonna hurt yourself." He put his hands on his hips as he watched her bend down and roll a rock onto the toe of her boot so she could get her hand under it, then she stood up and made her way over to the wheelbarrow and dropped it in. Shane shook his head, he knew it was pointless to argue, but he thought he'd try anyway.

"He's just worried about you." Mason told the brunette as she bent down for another rock and he squatted down next to her. "You were just shot, Charlie. You don't need to be out here."

"These people saved Carl, the least I can do is pick up a few rocks." She huffed as she stood up, a rock balanced in her hand as she made her way towards the wheelbarrow – getting a smile from the small blonde as she passed her. Just as the rock hit the metal the rumble of a familiar motorcycle echoed and everyone stopped to see Daryl on his motorcycle leading a silver car, Carol's Cherokee, and the rv up the driveway. A smile pulled at Charlie's lips, Mason had told her that everyone was okay but seeing the cars making their way up to the house made her feel that much better.

Charlie wiped her hand on her jeans as she followed the other's up the house to meet the rest of their group, she stopped next to Mason by the porch as T-Dog made his way down the steps with Rick, Lori, Hershel and Patricia. Daryl cut off the motorcycle before climbing off, his eyes briefly meeting Charlie's before he looked over at Rick. The others climbed out of the cars, Josh slid out of the yellow Cherokee and smiled a little when he saw Charlie on her feet.

"How are they?" Dale asked.

"Carl's gonna pull through." Lori told him. "And Charlie's just fine." She pointed at the girl who smiled a little as she wrapped her arm around Josh's shoulders. "All thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane." Rick added. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Dale nodded before stepping forward to hug Rick as Carol hugged Lori and Andrea hugged T.

"Okay, let go." Charlie mumbled, patting Josh's shoulder and he pulled back, letting her fall back on her heels and she groaned a little as he placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry."

"No, it's alright." She smiled up at him before making her way over to greet the others – she hugged Carol and Dale, got a simple nod from Andrea, then she made her way over to Daryl. She stopped in front of him, her eyes squinted against the sun as she looked up.

"You alright, princess?" He asked, his eyes moving to her arm that was in the sling.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'm okay."

"Good." Is all he said and she chuckled as she moved to stand next to him before she leaned against his bike – sitting sideways on the seat.

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked, looking over at the girl before looking at Rick again.

"Hunting accident." Rick answered. "That's all – just a stupid accident."

"That doesn't matter." Charlie spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "What does matter is that Carl's gonna be okay."

"And that you're okay." Mason added. "Even though you won't rest. You annoy me." He muttered and she grinned over at him.

"I know."

>>>>> • <<<<<

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ CHARLIE STOOD NEXT TO MASON, her right shoulder against his chest as she leaned against him. Not far from them, Daryl stood with his arms crossed over his chest, next to him was Glenn, then Josh, Dale, Shane, then Rick and Lori. Carol and Andrea stood a little to the right of Lori and Hershel and his family to the right of Andrea.

Charlie watched as Beth moved towards the mound of rocks and picked up a rock from the wheelbarrow before placing it on top of the pile then she walked over to her family and Jimmy, the boy that had been staying with Hershel, stepped forward.

"Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Hershel stated as he closed his Bible. "Praise be to him for the gift of brother Otis. For his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace. Shane, will you speak for Otis?"

"I'm not good at it." He shook his head – which he had shaved. "I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him." Patricia's voice creaked with her tears. "You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

"Okay." He mumbled, his voice low and Charlie watched him – he hadn't really been himself since he got back the night before and she was worried about him. "We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limpin'. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. We've got to save the boy see, that's what he said." Charlie's brows pinched and she stood up straighter, never looking away from her brother. "He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. Run he said. He said, I'll take the rear. I'll cover you. And when I looked back. . ." He looked over at Patricia before he limped forward. "If not for Otis, I'd never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both." He turned to Patricia. "If any death ever had meaning, it was his." He finished before placing a rock on top of the pile.

Charlie knew something was off, but she thought it best not to say out loud in front of Otis' family that she knew her brother had lied. That he had woven together a story to appease them. She didn't know why he had lied, and she didn't want to think too much about it because the alternative wouldn't have painted Shane in the best light.

>>>>> • <<<<<

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ "HOW LONG HAS THIS GIRL BEEN LOST?" Hershel asked as he, Rick, Andrea, Shane, Josh, Mason, Charlie and Daryl leaned against the hood of the Cherokee.

"This will be day three." Rick told him as Maggie walked over and rolled out a piece of paper.

"County survey map." She told them as she put rocks in the corners to keep it from rolling up. "Shows terrain and elevation."

"This is perfect." Rick nodded. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

"Not you. Not today." Hershel told him. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in the heat before passing out. And your ankle –" He looked over at Shane. "-push it now, you'll be laid up a month, not good to anybody."

"Guess it's just me."

"I can help." Charlie added.

"You should be in bed." Hershel told her. "Rest will help the healing process."

"See? I told you you should be resting." Mason bumped his hip against hers and she stumbled into Daryl before righting herself – barely noticing that Daryl had placed his hand on her hip to steady her as she glared at the blue eyed boy.

"Fine." She huffed as she shifted on her feet, then Daryl let his hand fall from her hip and she looked over at him but he had his eyes on the map.

"I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." He told them and Rick nodded.

"I can still be useful." Shane added. "I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."

"All right, tomorrow then." Rick nodded. "We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives." Shane spoke up. "They need the gun training we've been promising them."

"I prefer you not carrying guns on my property." Hershel said, gaining their attention. "We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here. . . " Shane shook his head a little.

"Look, we're guests here." Rick jumped in. "This is your property and we will respect that." Rick placed his gun on the hood of the car and Charlie pulled her gun from its holster and laid it next to Rick's, Mason and Josh doing the same, then Shane eventually laid his down.

"Can I keep my knife?" Charlie asked, toying with the sheath that hung on her hip. "I feel more comfortable with it."

"That's alright." He nodded and she gave him a smile.

"Thanks." She hummed, clipping the button back together before she moved her arm up and rested her elbow on the car, her chin in her hand.

"First things first: set up camp, find Sophia."

"You know, I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to." Shane started. "What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

"You do what has to be done." Rick answered.

"And her mother, what do you tell her?" Maggie asked.

"The truth." Charlie mumbled before she narrowed her eyes at Shane. "Family doesn't lie." Shane shifted uneasily under his sister's glare, but he chose to look at the ground, trying to ignore her.

"I'll, uh, gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying 'til we're at a practice range off site." Shane told the older man. "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick added onto Shane's point and the vet nodded. "Thank you." With that Charlie walked away, a few of the other's following her over to help the others as they set up camp.

Charlie sat on the ground a little while later, her back against a tree as she held her shoulder. She moved it too much and it was sore, Mason told her to take a break, so there she sat in the shade, her eyes closed as she tried to focus on anything but the pain. She looked up when she heard Rick and Daryl talking before the latter turned and walked away.

"Hey, asshole." She called out, a smile on her face as he turned to face her. "Come here a second?" She waved him over and he looked out at the field before looking at her again. "Don't make me pull the I was shot card, I will." He sighed before making his way over to her and she sat up a little as he squatted down next to her.

"What?"

"Be careful, please." She told him. "I don't want you dying, lost too much already."

"Don't worry, princess. I ain't dying." He told her, placing his hand on her knee. "But you gotta take it easy. You're fallin' apart."

"I know." She mumbled. "Don't tell the others."

"It'll be our secret." He nodded as she stood up. "Don't worry too much, I'll be back before sun down."

"You better." She told him and he chuckled a little before walking away and Charlie let her eyes fall closed again as she leaned her head back against the tree.

NOVA SPEAKS !

i am wholeheartedly in love with
this book!! i love my characters
and all the plans i have for them!!

i want to thank you for reading my
book, i really appreciate it! it really
means a lot to me! i hope you all are
enjoying this book as much as i am!!