Sophia Peletier's whole world came crashing down around her when the dead came back to life. She was barely twelve years old, still watching cartoons and sleeping with her teddy. And then one day, out of nowhere, her mommy and daddy were packing up as much as they could fit into the car and hurriedly driving off in the middle of the night toward Atlanta.
And they became part of a group, a makeshift camp set up off the highway. Everyone there was nice, and she even had a couple friends to play with that were near her age. She got settled into somewhat of a routine there, spending her days practicing schoolwork with Carl and his mom, and playing with dolls with Eliza Morales. Her dad kept grumbling that they shouldn't get too comfortable, shouldn't really trust these people. But it was hard not to, when they offered safety and companionship. Life became a little more normal.
Then one night, walkers stormed into camp and half of their group was attacked and killed, including her daddy. Sophia may have been young, but she wasn't oblivious. She knew her daddy wasn't a good man, and she resented all those nights she cried herself to sleep because he was drunkenly screaming at her mother, beating her black and blue. Being around him made her fearful. But she didn't want him to die. And catching a glimpse of her mother tearfully swinging an ax at her father's bloody corpse would forever remain etched in her brain.
Still, life went on. They found the CDC, and for just one night, life was good again. She had all the food her belly could hold, and games, and books, and her and her mommy slept peacefully for the first time in a very long time. Then the grim reality came that the CDC was set up for self-destruction, and they all barely made it out by the skin of their teeth. But Sophia felt that if she could make it through that, she could make it through anything.
It never got any easier, though. No one ever really got used to the stench of death, or the sounds of distant groaning, or the torn-apart bodies and overturned cars they passed on the road. No one could have predicted the herd though, the innumerable amount of walkers that kept coming and coming.
Sophia laid flat on the asphalt under a car, next to Carl. She lay paralyzed with fear, clutching her doll and shaking uncontrollably, as dozens of sets of rotting feet shuffled past. Although her family had never been very religious and she'd only been to church a few times in her life, she silently prayed with all her might. Her mother looked by in terror from a nearby car as they locked eyes.
Finally, it seemed like the last walker had made its way past the car. Sophia exhaled a sigh of relief. After waiting a few moments, she began to scoot her body out from under the car, toward her mother. Suddenly, a low growl came from out of nowhere as two straggling walkers spotted her.
Caught off guard, Sophia let out a yelp and tried desperately to scramble back under the car. The walkers dived to the ground with her, their hungry dead eyes fixed on their target, gaping black jaws clamping at the air. Sophia screamed and quickly pushed herself away, jumping down into the nearby canyon and running into the forest as quickly as she could, eyes fixed behind her for the walkers in tow.
She was abruptly stopped by Rick, who picked her up and instructed her to wait for him in a hidden hole by the river as he took care of the walkers. She nodded, although she didn't want him to leave her alone – what if more came back?
"Remember," urged Rick. "If I don't make it back here, I need you to go back to the highway, back to the others. Keep the sun on your left shoulder, you understand?"
Sophia nodded again tearfully, squeezing into the hole and watching as Rick drew the walkers away. She sat in silence, shaking uncontrollably, for what felt like hours. Finally, daring to breathe again, she poked her head out, looked around, and started to creep out of the hole. What had Rick said again? Her head felt fuzzy and she was tired and confused. Keep the sun on her right shoulder…. That must have been it. She tried to make her way back to the highway.