Bear Jew
A/N: First Walking Dead fic, I feel proud. I'm still getting the hang of it so bare with me. Sophia's dad is still alive in this fic, just though I'd give you guys a head's up so you don't get confused. With that said, enjoy!
Sophia watched as Rick backed away from her and scanned the area around the creek before running away in the opposite direction. She could hear as he purposefully broke branches and stepped on dry leaves to grab the walkers attention.
The doll in her hand remained clutched to her chest as she tried to steady her breathing. Her panicked eyes darted from side to side as she pressed her body closer to the small space carved into the dirt wall behind her.
She could hear shuffling all around her, her panicked mind tried to reassure her and tell her that it was Rick coming back to get her. Her body remained frozen, however, as she pulled her legs up to her chest and tried to make herself smaller. Taking a look to see if it was the cop was too much of a risk. For all she knew it could be another walker, she wasn't going to blow her cover just yet.
The trees above her seemed to grow taller as time went by. She remained completely still and quiet, watching as the sun began to set. By then, her tears had dried and left behind dirt trails down her cheeks. Hope was starting to slip away from her grasp; once darkness fell she would have no chances of making it out of the woods alive.
'Stay here, I'll come back for you,' Rick's voice kept echoing in her head. Fear was the only thing that kept her in place. The noises were starting to draw closer and she heard them more often than before. Her breath hitched when she heard rapid footsteps behind her. She prayed that it was Rick who had run back to grab her and reunite her with the group.
"Hijo de tu puta madre!" a woman's voice yelled moments before two figures tumbled off of the small mud bank where Sophia hid under. She pressed her back up against the moist dirt as the two battled in the shallow bank in front of her.
There was a walker that she could clearly make out above the woman, arms scratching and reaching for flesh. Half of its face was peeling off and the grimy bone that was exposed caught the light of the moonlight as it dipped its head to bite the woman beneath it.
Sophia stared at the two in utter horror and found the strength to push herself off of the mud bank. She wasn't going to stay there and wait to see who made it out of the fight alive. If the walker won she would no doubt be the next target. On the other hand, if the woman killed the undead there was no guarantee that she would take kindly to Sophia. By her mere accent the child could tell that she wasn't a part of her group. Her mother had warned her countless times before; she was to never trust a stranger.
Without thinking, Sophia took off and ran across the creek before passing by the struggling pair in the water. She ran as fast as her legs would let her, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Stopping wasn't an option, the farther she got away from the commotion the better. Walkers were attracted to noise; there would soon be more than the single one that was attempting to kill the woman.
Her shot blond hair whipped her face every time she turned to look back to see if there were any undead behind her. Heart pounding, she breathed heavily and turned to see where she was going before she rammed into a dirty figure.
A groan reached her ears as she fell back with the force of the impact and stared at the walker that stood in front of her. Her body froze in utter horror as the dead man turned to look at her slowly, teeth gritting in anticipation.
Sophia cried in desperation and crawled away from the walker in an attempt to get away. She let loose a scream when she felt a cold hand wrap around her ankle. This was what she dreamt and dreaded at night. Being eaten alive had always been a part of her nightmares.
"No!" she screamed, hoping and praying that someone, anyone would come to her aid. She kicked and tried to pry her ankle loose out of the decaying grip of the walker that slowly dragged her closer. The putrid scent of its flesh reached her nose as she realized how close it was to taking a bite out of her leg.
She closed her eyes and held her rag doll close as the walker groaned and placed her ankle in its mouth. Sophia felt chills run up and down her body the moment she felt the bottom row of teeth on her flesh.
Moments before the walker could close its mouth and rip a part of her skin off a loud crack reached her ears and her ankle was torn out of its grasp. She didn't open her eyes for fear of seeing another walker.
It wouldn't have surprised her; she had seen two fight over a scrap of meat on the road once when they had been driving through open fields.
"Hey, are you alright, corazon?" the same voice from before asked. Sophia opened hear tear filled eyes and stared at the woman in front of her with a frightened look on her face.
She was definitely sure that she didn't belong to her group. The woman's black hair was caked onto her face as a trail of blood ran down her forehead and mixed with the mud from the bank of the creek.
"It didn't bite you, did it?" she asked once more, concern filling her eyes when Sophia didn't respond. The woman crouched immediately to look at her exposed ankle where a bruise was already forming.
Sophia flinched away from her touch and held her doll closer, debating on whether she should run again or take her chances with the stranger that had saved her life.
"I'm not gonna' hurt you," the woman whispered, realizing that Sophia was still unstable and in shock. She took a slower approach and shifted before attempting to check the child once more.
Sophia watched as the woman removed one of her black gloves with her teeth and carefully placed her hand on her ankle. She kept her attention on the woman the whole time as her chocolate eyes scanned her exposed skin.
The woman's face filled with relief when she realized that the child only had the walker's handprint on her ankle. There wasn't any trace of bite marks or blood.
"You're fine, mija," the woman told her, a smile stretching her split lip as she stood once more and offered the child a hand.
Sophia stared at the woman and then at her hand, pondering her decisions. An entire day had passed and Rick hadn't come back for her. She could try her luck and shun the stranger's help, or she could trust her and hope that the woman returned her to her group.
Sophia's doubt filled hazel eyes scanned the woman's face briefly before she placed her small hand into her cut up one.
"Name's Monica," the woman commented, helping the child to her feet and supporting her when she swayed to the side after seeing the walker a few feet away from them.
It's face had been bashed in and it lay on its back, a pool of dark blood surrounding it. Sophia's eyes scanned the woman and then fell upon the bat that was strapped to her back. Her mind put two and two together; the woman had killed the zombie with it.
"I'm Sophia," she replied, eyeing the bat still as Monica turned to look at her and hid the weapon out of her view. She wasn't used to dealing with children but she could tell that the black bat was disturbing the one that she had just saved.
She wrapped her leather jacket around herself awkwardly and frowned before she leaned forward and stopped at Sophia's eye level.
"Tell me, how did you end up in this forest?" Monica asked, tossing her blood matted hair back as she turned to walk deeper into the woods.
Sophia followed after her and told her everything, from every member of her group to how she had ended up alone in the forest. Monica merely kept quiet and listened as Sophia kept telling her about her mother and a boy named Carl whom she often studied with.
She listened as the child told her about the cop that had told her to stay hidden, and of a redneck that hunted and ate squirrels.
"And where are they now?" Monica asked, knowing that her own group would ask the same questions once she got back to her camp. She wanted to save the child from the stress of having to answer them after she had already told her.
"I don't know, we got separated by a herd," Sophia murmured, holding her doll closer. Monica nodded back and realized that she wasn't going to get anything else out of the child. She continued to walk in the dark, knowing that her camp was close.
"You don't have to answer anything, leave it to me," Monica whispered, seeing the gleaming light from the fire that her group had already started.
The nearer they got the more nervous Sophia grew. It had been hard enough to grow used to the group that she had been with before. She barely talked and her father often scolded her whenever she tried to talk to the people in her small group.
"Look at what the Bear Jew dragged in!" a booming voice chuckled, making Sophia jump. Monica placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as the people from her group drew around them to examine the child.
"Bear Jew?" Sophia asked, turning her head to look at Monica who in turn shifted uncomfortably and threw eye daggers at the man whom had referred to her as that.
"You see that bat?" another pointed out, motioning towards the black bat on Monica's back. Sophia nodded slowly before the other continued, "she uses it just like the Bear Jew in Inglorious Bastards."
Sophia had no idea which movie the man was referring to but by the looks that the others threw at Monica she could tell that the reference wasn't a good one.
"Lay off, Judas," Monica hissed, her Spanish accent hissing his name with hate as the other chuckled.
Sophia took advantage of them arguing amongst themselves to look around. Their camp was in the middle of the woods, much like theirs had been time and time again. There weren't a lot of people in her group, a dozen at the most.
"Where'd you get the brat?" another man asked, annoyance in his tone as Monica turned her attention onto him.
"She got separated from her group, I found her when I was scouting the area," Monica explained, "I plan on taking her back tomorrow to see if I can reunite her with them."
This made Sophia feel better but not by much. Spending the night amongst people that she wasn't familiar with made her nervous. She could hardly wait until she was reunited with her mother, she was so desperate to be back with her group she was even starting to miss her father.
She kept her feelings and comments to herself as Monica barked something in Spanish at the man from before. The group around them dispersed in a matter of seconds, leaving them a clear view of the large fire that was at the center of the camp.
"Don't worry, you won't have to deal with us for long, I'll search the road you told me about tomorrow and once I make sure it's safe I'll take you back," Monica told her as she led her towards the warmth of the fire and handed her a blanket. Sophia welcomed the soft material and tried to suppress her shivers as Monica disappeared for a few minutes.
Sophia merely remained seated where the woman had left her, too afraid to move. She barely knew the woman and yet she was the only one she felt somewhat safe around.
"I bet you're hungry," Monica commented, returning with a plate of food in her hands and a bottle of water. Sophia took them from her without thinking twice and scarfed down the food, grateful for every piece.
"Why are you helping me?" Sophia asked, placing the empty plate aside when she was done and wrapping the blanket around herself tightly. Monica's jaw clenched when she heard the question and her body tensed up.
"Because I know what it feels like to lose someone in this world, I wouldn't wish it on anyone," she replied, a small smile gracing her bloody lips as Sophia nodded and dropped the subject. Her eyelids grew heavy as time passed and her body slowly gave in.
Monica looked at her out of the corner of her eye and stood from her side when she noticed that she had fallen asleep.
"Why are you doing this?" Judas asked, walking over to her as she shed her leather jacket and rolled her sore shoulders. The other man could tell that she had gotten into a fight with a walker, the cuts and bruises that she had all over were proof alone.
"If she was mine I would want her returned to me," Monica replied, "this is no world for a child to be wandering alone."
Judas turned to look at her for a few moments and closed his grey eyes for a few moments. He sighed and placed his own jacket over her shoulders when a cold breeze swept through the trees and hit their backs.
"Don't go alone tomorrow, Bear Jew," another biker commented, making Monica roll her eyes and turn to look at him.
"Do I sense concern, Gabriel?" she asked, her chocolate eyes gleaming with amusement as the biker turned away from her with a scowl.
"You know what he meant," Judas replied, leaning back on a nearby tree. Monica turned to look at him and then back at the dark forest where she had come from.
"I know, I don't think her group will prove hostile," Monica murmured, looking at the blond girl who slept near the fire. All she wanted was to give her back and return to her own group so they could go their own way.
"Don't go alone," Judas warned her, giving her a piercing look before he was called over by another member of their group. Monica watched as he left and sighed. She merely thanked whatever God was up in the skies for putting the little girl in her path.
She couldn't stand the death of another child; she had had enough when she lost her little sister a few months back.
Pushing the memories back, she made her way to the fire and took a spot opposite from Sophia before leaning back against a tree and closing her eyes. She needed to give her body some time to rest before she set out tomorrow.
Sleep, however, proved useless when she woke before dawn. The fire was still roaring and the members of her group were all asleep except for the one who kept watch.
She stood and stretched her stiff muscles, her bones popping as she walked over towards the end of her camp and paused. If she remembered correctly it would take her three hours to reach the road that Sophia had described.
Without giving her camp a second glance she took off in the general direction without anyone noticing her absence. Her hand reached over her shoulders to check her bat, she didn't go anywhere without it.
The walk to the road proved more dangerous than she had given it credit. Five walkers had already fallen victims to her bat; she was drenched in blood from head to toe by the time she reached the road.
It was littered with cars and vans making it difficult to walk and maneuver through. She walked slowly, checking every angle and keeping an escape route in mind.
Sophia had told her a herd had passed through the day before, she didn't doubt the child when she saw corpses scattered about in between the cars. The stench was unbearable, making her sway and shuffle amongst the bodies.
She was starting to grow restless, she couldn't find the patch of cars that Sophia had described. Her group would surely look for her there first. Monica growled and banged her arm up against a nearby RV in desperation.
The sound of a nearby can being tipped over caught her attention moments before she felt the air around her dance. In the blink of an eye a searing pain shot through her body when an arrow imbedded itself into her chest. She blinked several times before coughing out blood and going down on her knees.
Footsteps rushed over to her as she fell sideways and tried desperately to pull out the arrow. Her blood covered hands only irritated the wound as it oozed out more blood. All she could think of was her group warning her of going out alone. She regretted dropping her guard to the point of failing to realize that she wasn't alone.
"That's not a walker!" she could hear someone shout as a group of strangers surrounded her. She could make out a sheriff and a kid standing next to him.
"Hell, she looked like one to me," another joined in as she choked on her own blood. The crossbow that rested on his shoulders caught her attention as she realized that he was the one that had shot the arrow.
"Idiota," Monica growled, barring her bloody teeth at the man in fury.
"Whatcha say?" he asked, his face contorting into an angered expression as Monica dropped her head and fell unconscious.
"What do we do now, Rick?" Lori asked, turning to look at her husband after watching the stranger black out. The sheriff furrowed his brow and looked at the unconscious woman before taking one last look at the people in his group.
"We leave her," Rick replied, backing away from her. He refused to take responsibility over someone that he didn't know, it didn't matter if Daryl had shot her accidentally. Supplies were running low now a days and he couldn't afford to waste them on a stranger.
"We can't just leave her, she's bleedin' pretty bad, the walkers will get to her in a few minutes," Dale protested, his expression showing how much he disagreed in leaving the woman behind.
"I say we leave 'er too," Daryl commented, stepping forward to retrieve his arrow. He pulled it out in one swift move causing Monica's eyes to shoot open in pain. Her hand trailed up to cover the wound on her chest in an attempt to stop the crimson blood from leaving her body.
"S-Sophia…" Monica muttered, looking around for the girl's mother. The child had briefly described her on their walk to her camp. Before she died she wanted to tell her mother that her child was alive, it was the least she could do.
Carol rushed forward when she heard the woman mutter her child's name but stopped when she saw Ed grab a hold of the woman's jacket and shake her.
"Where is she? What'd you do with my kid?" he growled animalistically, releasing Monica when she fell unconscious once more.
"If she wasn't dead before that certainly did the trick," Glen commented grimly, shaking his head in disbelief at Ed's treatment of women. He had heard how hard the woman's head hit the pavement when the other man released her.
"Useless bitch," Ed snarled, bringing his leg back to kick her. Rick moved forward and pulled him away before he could do more damage. Daryl merely examined his arrow and sneered at the woman on the ground before turning his back to her and cleaning her blood off.
"Now we have no choice," Dale pointed out, making everyone in the group turn to look at him, "she knows something about Sophia, we have to help her."
Silence surrounded the group as the stared down at the dying woman.
As much as they wanted to leave her and rid themselves of the nuisance of having to take care of her they couldn't.
Not when she was the only one who knew where Sophia was.
They had to keep her alive, at least until she told them what they wanted to hear.
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