The walking dead: The Guardian Angel

Chapter 1: The rescue.

Summary: My take on what would have happened if Sophia would have lived, I got this idea after watching my season 2 DVD's. as always, please R&R ^_^.

Sophia waited for what seemed like forever, well… forever in a child's prospective that is. The sun was getting low, & soon it would be impossible to follow it back to the road, the young girl had a decision to make, she decided to make a break for it.

She crept back the way she had come, terrified & trembling, jumping at every little noise she heard, careful to keep the sun on her left shoulder & keep the creek in sight like she was told. Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her waist, another cupped around her mouth, preventing a scream. She tried to fight, but whoever… or whatever was too strong.

"Stop struggling & keep quiet!" A gruff female voice hissed into her ear as together, they backed into a hollowed out tree trunk just as a couple more walkers made their slow, grunting appearance. They had been traveling the same path she has been using to get back to the highway, but in the opposite direction. If Sophia had continued on her present course, she would have run straight into their hungry arms.

Once it was safe, the woman released her & they emerged. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you, what's your name? I'm Charlotte." The woman drawled in a North Georgian accent. Sophia turned to look at her savior & had to bite back a scream.

This woman was like no one she had ever seen before; her straight, black hair was cropped into a self-done spiky style that gave her a punkish look & it had the remnants of blonde hair color at the tips. But the most disconcerting thing about her was the patch over her right eye, & the thick, obvious scar that snaked its way from under the patch's fabric halfway down her cheek below & ascended into her hairline above.

"Sophia." The young girl said in a barely audible voice, trying not to stare at the patch or scar but she found that she couldn't help it, although the woman seemed to notice, she said nothing. "C-can you take me back to my group?" Sophia asked in a small voice, Charlotte smiled warmly. "I'd be happy to, but we can't til morning, for now we'll have to find a safe place to stay, ok? The girl looked disappointed but wordlessly followed the strange woman.

They came upon an old house, it had clearly seen better days & the smell inside left more to be desired… but it was shelter. "Here, babe." Charlotte said as she handed the girl a small tin of sardines. "I know it's probably not your momma's cooking, but it has a lot of protein." The girl nodded & managed to force the small, salty fish down the hatch, Charlotte smiled as she handed the girl a bottle of water to wash it down with. "In the morning we'll go to the road & see if we can wait for your group, ok?"

"Stay close now, little girl. We don't want you getting separated again & things can happen quickly out here, walkers can come out quick at you." Charlotte said, Sophia took her words to heart & was practically glued to her back the whole way, flinching at every woodland sound they heard until finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the road came into view… the problem is that it was crawling with walkers. Sophia made a small frightened sound in her throat.

"Baby, we can't stay here, it's too dangerous, your people coming here every day, leaving food with their scent on it has brought em' for miles." Sophia nodded & they turned to come face to face with a walker, growling it reached for them, Sophia screamed & hid behind Charlotte, who dispatched the walker with one her twin machetes. "Come on… MOVE!" Charlotte said as she grabbed the girls arm painfully & yanked her into a run.

They sped through the woods, dodging walkers as they went, Charlotte was surprised at how fast the little girl was in a pinch, luckily the ones on the road hadn't noticed them yet so if they could give these the slip, they should be ok. After the coast was clear behind them, Charlotte doubled back onto the road, toward the end of the traffic snarl.

"What are you doing!" Sophia said, her voice trembling with fear. "We're gonna find a working car so we can get the f…uh… heck outta here." She said as she scoured each car until she found a small Ford Ranger that looked like she could hot wire it. "Do me a favor & keep a look out, while I hot wire this mother…" she trailed off, remembering again, last minute that she had to watch her language in front of the kid. She wasn't used to having any company, let alone a kid's; she spent most of her time talking to herself.

She ripped the cover off under the steering column, cut the wires with her machete & went to work, after a few tries, the truck turned over, its' engine roaring in the silence of the dead world. In the distance, she could see a herd of walkers heading toward them. "Come on, kid, lets make tracks." She said, Sophia jumped in & Charlotte jammed the gas down, in a squeal of rubber, they were gone.

"Where are we going?" Sophia asked. "Somewhere they're not, girl." She said. "But… my mom…" she trailed off. "I know, darling, I'm gonna try not to go very far, but I have to get far enough away from those things where we can stay safe for a while, ok?" She said as she turned onto a county road & made another sharp turn at the first mailbox she caught sight of. "Stay in the car while I check if everything is ok & do not leave no matter what! Lock the doors." She instructed the girl, her machete in one hand for walkers, her .22 Smith & Wesson in the other in case she ran into something worse… living people.

She entered the house as quietly as she could albeit the creaking floor, which sounded deafening in the silence, she continued on, grimacing against the sound the floor made under her boots as she crept along against the wall. She checked every room & found it devoid of walkers or humans, thank god. So she walked out to get Sophia.

"This is… nice." Sophia said as she looked around the small house. "There's a tub in the back bathroom, how about I boil you some water on the wood stove & you can take a bath?" Charlotte said as she filled a large tub she had found under the sink in the bathroom with water & fired up the stove. "All right, girl. All ready." "Can you stay with me?" Sophia said. "I don't think that's right, girl, I'll be right in the next room if you need me, ok?" Sophia reluctantly nodded but asked for the door to be left open.

"Better?" Charlotte asked as Sophia emerged, dressed in a change of clothes Charlotte had found in the bedroom's drawers, it seemed as though the owners of the cabin just upped & left, taking only what they could grab quickly when everything started. "I'm going to take one too, you hang out on the couch, I won't be long."

Charlotte stood, looking at her wet, towel-clad reflection in the tarnished bathroom mirror, she hated looking at her reflection now but at the same time she couldn't take her eyes off herself. She traced the line of the thick scar that traveled like a road through the crater of blank skin where her eye used to be & brought her hand down on the side of the sink angrily.

Suddenly, she was aware of a presence at the door threshold, her left eye darted sideward & her peripheral vision registered Sophia's shocked, frightened expression. Charlotte hurriedly turn her back & reached for her patch, once it was secured she turned to the small girl. "Your mom never taught ya how to knock?" She said irritably, the girl fiddled with the tail of her shirt & averted her eyes to the floor. "Those… things are out there." She whispered.

Charlotte immediately pulled her into the bathroom behind her & peaked around the door frame, sure enough, a few walkers were milling around the deck, sniffing & looking around, Charlotte put her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, the forest had gone deathly quiet, she could hear more walkers outside on the other side of the bathroom, luckily it had no windows. A herd must've happened upon them… & they were surrounded.

Author's note: As always, I want to know what you think ^_^.