"Mommy!" I stood from my crouching position. "Damn it." I muttered, as the doe ran away. I was so close to having a decent meal, and someone went and ruined it. I listened into the silence. Hoping to hear something.
After moments of silence, there was another ear piercing scream. Without hesitation I ran through the brush, trying to follow the noise. The cries got louder, meaning I was getting closer.
I skidded to a stop and hid behind a tree. There was a small horde of Stiffs. Surrounding a tree of all things to gather around. I gazed up into the tree, and couldn't believe my eyes. There, on a high branch, sat a little girl.
Blonde, had to only be around 10-12 years old. I silently cocked the barrel of the shotgun, feeling the warm trigger under my finger. I took a deep breath, and looked again. There were only about 6 Stiffs. Enough to do damage, if given the chance.
I slowly snuck to the group, and made eye contact with the girl. I put my finger to my lips, telling her to be silent. And she cupped her hands over her mouth. Muffling any and all cries.
I yanked the small machete out of my belt loop. I sliced the back of the neck, of the closest Stiff. It went down with out a single noise or anything. But within seconds, I had been seen.
"Close your eyes!" I demanded at the girl, and she put one hand over her eyes. I used as little ammo, as I could. I completely took of the head of one of them. I grimaced, when it was still chomping at the air. Trying to get at me.
I shot it in the forehead, as I worked my way through them. And in no time, and wasting only three bullets, the group was gone. "Hey." I whispered loudly. She opened her eyes, and stared down at me.
"Come on. I'm not going to hurt you." I opened my arms towards her, and she reluctantly came down from the tree. "Are you hurt?" I asked, kneeling down to her height. I looked her over, she had traces of dried blood, on her face.
"N-no." She was crying, her face scrunching up. "Okay. Well, where did you come from?" She looked around, and she looked even more confused. "I don't know." She hooked her arms around my neck, burying her face in my neck.
"It's okay." I stood, taking her with me. Her legs hooked around my waist, and I slung my gun-sling over my shoulder. "Will you make sure this doesn't fall off?" She just nodded. I was trying to distract her from all the dead bodies at our feet.
"Hide your face okay?" I pushed her head farther onto my shoulder. She just nodded. I guess she's either in shock or terrified. Either way, I had to take her with me. No way I could live with myself, if I just left her.
I stepped over the recently deceased, and towards the trail. And I started heading back to the cabin. I had been hiding out in a ranger station. Because whoever built it was smart, it was solar powered. Meaning I had electricity and none the less warm water.
She started to fall from my arms, but I just held onto her tighter. "So, what's your name?" I asked, patting her back. "So-Sophia." She sounded exhausted. "I'm Chrissy. But you can call me C-J." I perferred my nickname.
"That's a pretty name." She said, and I swear I could hear her smiling. "Thanks." I chuckled. And the cabin came into view. "God damn it!" I cursed out loud, and ducked behind a tree. "What?" She leaned back to look, but I pushed her head back down.
"No. Don't look. Just hold onto me, okay?" She simply nodded. What's with all the Stiffs traveling into the forest, lately? This is the second group in one day. I peeked and counted about 8, this time.
Two on the porch, sniffing around the house. Three at the end of the trail. And the other three randomly dispersed around the yard. "Sophia, I need you to do exactly what I tell you too." She just nodded.
I knew she'd probably be angry but it had to be done. I kneeled to the ground, and pulled her to stand in front of me. "I need you to be really quiet. Can you do that?" I curled some hair away from her eyes. "Yes." She nodded.
"Stay here. Crouch, and don't move. I'll be right back. If you absolutely need me, call me. I'll come right back." She held tightly onto my arms, but I peeled her off. And pushed her into a sitting position in the bushes.
From here, I shot down the three on the trail. Of course, alerting the others. I needed to limit my use of the gun. It seemed to attract unwanted attention, from passer-by Stiffs. "C-J!" Her scream, made me avert my attention, away from the jaws coming at me.
She seemed to attract, zombies to her, for some reason. She was crawling on the ground backwards, bloody arms reaching out after her. "C-J!" She yelped, when it grabbed her by the foot. "No. Sophia!" I ran back to her.
And took off his head, blood splattering onto her. Making her whimper, and cry more. I grabbed her hand, and pulled her behind my back. And hacked my way through the rest of them, their decaying bodies, crumpling to the ground.
I pulled the small key from my pocket and fumbled to open the door. I pushed her in, and locked the door again. I pulled apart the blinds, and saw no walking Stiffs. I turned back to the blubbering, little girl.
"Oh my," The sight of this poor person shaking in front of me, broke my heart. "Hey. Look at me." But she didn't. So I just gave-up trying to talk, and ushered her to the bathroom. "Take a warm shower. There are towels under the sink. I'll be outside, but don't come out." She just nodded and I turned on the water for her.
"If you go down the hall, there's a small bedroom. In the dresser there's some clothes. Find what you can. And no matter what," I hugged her head. "Do not come outside." And I left, shutting the door behind myself.
Outside, I pullled the bodies into a pile. Making sure they were really dead. I began to pour some vinegar over them. When I burned them, the vinegar, would cover any scent. Making it easier to not attract anymore of those things.
I sat a low fire, and watched them all go up in flames. I stared into the fire, watching the flames dance around, in the chilling air. The sun was going down. I had found Sophia just at the right time.
When the fire subsided, I threw shovel fulls of dirt on them. Masking any scent, even farther. And putting out the dull burning, flame. I leaned the shovel back against the house, and looked at the forest line.
"C-J?" Sophia had opened a window. Her head was sticking out, smiling at me. "What?" I asked, grabbing her hand. "Are there any more?" She looked past me, where I had been looking before. "No." And I let her go. And walked back into the house.
She sat down by the fireplace. "How do you have lights?" She flicked on a near-by lamp. "Do you know what solar panels are?" I sat across from her. "Yes. I learned about them, in school." She snickered at the mention of school.
"Sophia, are you alone? Are there others?" I pushed for more information. "No. I have my mom. And others," She started to tear up. "Where are they?" If there were others, I needed to find them. "The road. But I don't know where." Tears started falling.
I pulled her into my lap. "It's okay." The road? Did she mean the highway? If so, it might not be safe to go search for them. "I bet your hungry." And on cue, her stomach growled. "Come on." I carried her to the small kitchen.
I sat her on the counter, and searched around the kitchen. I boiled some eggs, and fried some bacon. "Breakfast for dinner?" She asked, practically drooling all over the place. "Yep. My mom always told me, it's never too late for eggs." I sniffled in some tears. She didn't seem to notice.
"Where's your mom now?" She asked, chugging a glass of water. "She died." I sighed and handed her a plate. "Oh, I'm sorry." She sat at the small table against the wall. "My mom is very pretty." She seemed proud, but her smile said she was sad.
"How did you get seperated from her?" I asked, shoving food in my mouth. "Some walkers. I don't really know," She seemed highly uncomfortable, so I changed the topic. "Well, who is that?" I pointed to the doll sitting on the table.
"No name. A friend gave it to me, before she left." She put her plate in the sink, she was a very polite little girl. "I'm tired." She yawned on cue. "Well, how about we camp in the living room. Much warmer." She just nodded.
I pulled the mattress into the center of the living room. And stoked a small fire. Not enough to produce large amounts of smoke, and draw attention. But enough to keep two people warm. She pulled the blankets over her.
"Chrissy?" She looked up at me with half-lidded eyes. "Do you think we'll find my mom?" My heart sank at her sudden question. I didn't know whether to tell her the truth or what she wanted to hear. To save some pain, I told her we'd find them eventually.
"Goodnight." And with that, she passed out. Doll curled into her chest, and hair falling over her face. She reminded me of myself when I was younger. Poor kid, God knows how long she's been out there.
Tomorrow I would have her help me track down another deer. And teach her some things. Maybe in the process, try to track down the survivors, she's been talking about.
Glenn's POV
I can't believe, I actually got lost again. I knew I should have never went off to find water.
Now I'm thirsty and lost. At least it's not nighttime right now. I don't know what I'm going to do when the sun goes down. I have no supplies and two bullets in my gun. Well it's not my gun, it's Rick's. But he loaned it to me. So I guess it's mine.
"Daryl!" Was the first name I decided to call out. But of course there was no response. I swear I hadn't gone that far from the road, and now I am alone. "Rick! Shane!" I tried, but silence. "Damn it." I kicked at the damp ground.
A branch crackled behind me, and I froze. No, it couldn't be a Walker. This far from the road? It makes no sense, that they are coming into the trees. Very slowly, I turned around. And the sound of running feet, and more branches was all I could hear.
Without thinking of who it might be, I took off running. "Glenn?" A small voice called out. I skidded to a stop, and turned around. There was a Walker, and no way he'd call me by name. Then I looked to the left, and saw Sophia. Wait, I found Sophia? She was waving me over to her. So I ran to her and crouched down behind the log.
It was only then that I realized she had company, a girl, about my age. Very pretty from my angle, but that's the least of my concern. I heard a low clicking sound, and Sophia was smiling. The girl held up a bow and arrow. Not a crossbow either, an old fashioned bow.
With a silent, clean shot, the Walker went down. But no one moved for a moment, until she stood up. I stood up and noticed how Sophia seemed to cling to her, practically standing on top of the woman.
"Glenn." Sophia grabbed my hand. I was still in shock, staring at the girl putting the bow back on her back. "So, this is Glenn. My name is Chrissy," Sophia cut her off, "But call her C-J." Sophia hooked hands with this Chrissy person.
"C-J? My name is Glenn." She had an all knowing smile plastered on her face. "I know. Sophia talks about you guys." She started to walk away, Sophia following her. "Wait up," I ran to catch up with them. Right now, it's only us out here. I doubt anyone has even noticed I am gone from the camp. "Glenn, you better keep up." Chrissy said calmly, not threateningly, like anyone else would.
"Where are we going?" I finally decided to ask. "Don't ask questions." Chrissy kind of snapped at me, but it's understandable. The forest was silent as I followed them to where ever. Sophia seemed to trust and like her, why didn't I. If a strange girl, helped save my life, I should trust her. Right now, she's the only one with a weapon.
I glanced down and saw something, that Carol would not like Sophia to have. On her hip was a small holster with a pistol in it. "Sophia, you have a gun?" I asked, and a cabin came into view. "C-J is teaching me to use it." Sophia sounded proud, and Chrissy was just smiling away.
"This your house?" I asked when we got to the porch. "No, a ranger station. I found it by luck after an attack." When her face twisted into pain, I decided not to ask about the attack, she referred to. It was warm inside, and a small fire was smoldering in the fireplace.
Sophia looked comfortable, sinking into the couch. "Have a seat. I'll get you some food." And she disappeared around the corner. "Did she say food?" I mumbled, my mouth salivating over the thought. She came back with a plate, and a cup. The cup was filled with what I took to be tea, and what looked like venison.
"Caught that deer the other day." She smiled, and sat on the floor. Sophia disappeared into another room, and I began savoring the taste of solid food. I was use to beans and water. The tea was minty, and tasted funny, but I drank it anyways.
"So Glenn," She took off her jacket, revealing only a tank top. "Where are the rest of your people? Sophia doesn't know," at the mention of her name, Sophia came back into the room. With two more plates, and handed one to Chrissy.
Over venison and nasty tea, I told her where I had seen them last. "By the river? That's only about two miles." She seemed to be familiar with the surrounding woods. She kind of reminded me of Daryl and Merle. I laughed at the thought.
Sophia had her head in C-J's lap, as Chrissy stroked her hair. "How did you find her?" I asked, rubbing my stomach. "She was hiding in a tree. She's a smart girl," She looked exhausted. Sophia was already passed out, a smile spreading on her lips.
"You can sleep on the couch." She gave me some blankets and pillows. "In the morning, we're going back into the woods. Maybe, pick up your trail. But we come back here, because there is no way to be sure we can find shelter anywhere else." She made a good point, as she laid with Sophia.
Tonight I would get some good sleep. Like the night we spent in the CDC, the couch was really soft. But smelled like dust and pine needles.