Chapter 23:

When Words Turn Into Tears

The Walking Dead: Blood Moon Warden

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"Evan?" Rick asked.

Evan shrugged.

"I found Sophia."

Those four words made Rick's breathing change.

Maybe Evan imagined it, but Rick's eyes seemed to redden at the edges.

"Sophia," Evan called toward camp.

A few seconds later, Andrea came out holding Sophia's hand.

"Rick!"

Sophia lit up when she saw him.

Part of it was because she trusted Rick, the leader she knew. Part of it was because if Rick was here, Carol could not be far behind.

Rick steadied his breathing, walked to Sophia, crouched, and took her small hands in his.

They were warm.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," Sophia said, shaking her head. "Evan saved me in the woods."

After a full day resting in camp, Sophia had gone from frightened and withdrawn to speaking with people again.

Evan remembered how deeply Sophia's death had haunted Rick in the story he knew. Even now, before that fate could unfold, the possibility of losing her had clearly cut deep.

Rick rose and set one hand on his revolver while the other clapped Evan on the shoulder. As they passed each other, his voice came low and rough.

"Thank you, Evan. I'm going to get Carol and the others. Thank you."

Rick walked away with his back to them.

For a moment, he looked very alone.

Sophia came to Evan's side and took his hand.

"Was Uncle Rick crying?"

Evan crouched and spoke softly near her ear.

"He wasn't crying. Sometimes people have things they want to say, but the words won't come out. So they come out as tears instead."

"Really?" Sophia froze. "Then Mom must have a lot of things she can't say."

Evan looked at her and sighed.

Ed had given Carol one good thing: Sophia. Everything else about the marriage had been cruel to both mother and daughter.

"Bastard," Evan muttered.

For a moment, he almost regretted letting walkers kill Ed.

If Ed had lived long enough to reach the Prison, Evan would have had plenty of ways to make him die properly.

"Forget it."

He shook his head.

If Ed had lived that long, Carol and Sophia would have suffered even more.

Ed was trash. He was dead. The group did not need a man like that.

Holding Sophia's hand, Evan lowered his gaze. His expression hardened.

People began gathering across the farm. Evan's camp stood beside him, and even Hershel's family appeared not far away.

"What's going on?" Hershel asked.

By the time he returned, he had recovered his usual calm.

"People from the camp I stayed with before," Evan said. "We split up for a few reasons. Didn't expect them to reach the farm too."

Hershel owned the land, so Evan gave him the simple version.

After a moment, he added, "Sophia's mother is with them."

Hershel glanced at Evan, then looked down and gave Sophia a gentle smile.

Whatever he thought, he kept it to himself.

They spoke in low, scattered phrases until figures began to move at the edge of the farm. More people emerged, forming a small group.

Then one of them quickened her pace.

At first, she walked fast.

Then she seemed to recognize something and started to jog.

By the end, Carol was running so hard she could barely breathe.

She reached Sophia and swept her into her arms.

"Mom."

Sophia's voice was sweet and small.

The sound made Carol hold her tighter. For a long time, she refused to let go.

She felt the warmth of Sophia's body, kissed her forehead, stroked her hair, and thanked whatever mercy had spared her from the picture she had been imagining.

Carol's cheeks and eyes went red.

Her tears broke loose harder than they had at Ed's burial.

"Next time," Carol whispered after a long while, finally loosening her arms enough to look at her daughter, "don't run off alone. Please."

"Okay."

Sophia nodded.

Only then did Carol look at Evan.

Gratitude filled her eyes, plain and unhidden.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the others arrived behind her. Carol wiped her eyes and stepped aside with Sophia's hand in hers.

At this point in her life, she still could not bare her heart in front of so many people.

Evan looked over the group.

Rick. Lori. Carl. Dale. Shane. Glenn. T-Dog. Jim.

Carol and Sophia made ten.

"Looks like you're missing someone," Evan said, pretending not to know. "Did she get bit?"

"She..." Rick hesitated and looked away.

Jacqui had chosen to stay at the CDC and die with Dr. Jenner.

When Rick could not bring himself to say it, Hershel stepped forward.

"Why don't we get everyone something to eat and drink first? You all look exhausted."

A warm smile touched his face as he invited them in.

Since these people had once been Evan's companions, Hershel chose to trust them.

Just as Evan had said when he first arrived at Greene Farm: if they meant harm, they would not appear this openly. They would have already taken the farm.

Rick's group had been chased and worn down all the way from the CDC. They had barely stopped.

The people who followed Rick looked nothing like the ones who had followed Evan.

They were drained, smeared with dried mud, their clothes stained with blood. A sour, unwashed smell clung to them.

Daryl, Merle, Andrea, and Amy, on the other hand, looked clean and rested. There was healthy color in their faces. The last few days at the farm had been the best sleep they had had since the outbreak began.

Rick noticed all of it.

He said nothing, only walked into camp beside Evan.

Later, once the story had been told, Merle learned Jacqui had died at the CDC and let out a mean little laugh.

"She chose to off herself?" he said. "Funny. When she flipped me off back in Atlanta, she looked braver than that."

The others frowned at him.

Even Evan shook his head in warning.

'Does Merle enjoy dancing on the edge of getting himself killed?'

'If he pisses off the whole group, things won't end well for him.'

Seeing everyone look over, and more importantly seeing Evan's warning, Merle raised both hands without shame.

"Okay. I'll shut up."

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