He scanned his eyes around the familiar place he had been – it was the same place where he had found Sophia's doll a day earlier. He decided he would come back, despite havin' the injuries that he did. He couldn't just stop lookin' for Sophia 'cause of that minor setback. Hell, it was probably completely stupid of him to push himself like he was doin', but nobody else was out here lookin' for her. He was her only hope.
He stood at the top of the hill, lookin' down at the water. The corpses of the walkers that he had killed previously were still there, and they were really startin' to stink up the place. If Sophia came back this way to find her doll, she would see them. Hopefully she would figure out that people were still lookin' for her. She needed to keep her head high, and be strong. He needed her to not give up on him.
He gave the body of water one last look, sweepin' his eyes over towards the land across from him, decidin' that it was clear. He then turned around, startin' to walk further into the woods. If she had come this way, he was bound to find her. He gripped slung his crossbow over his shoulder, startin' to feel rather dizzy from all the walkin' he had done just to get here. He was exhausted, but he needed to keep goin'. Sophia needed him.
He trudged deeper into the forest, his body finally startin' to give up on him. He slowed down, not even realizin' he was nearly out of breath until he stopped walkin'. He let himself lean up against one of the tall trees, tryin' to regain control of the situation.
Just as he felt like he'd be able to move again, his heart nearly stopped. He heard somethin'. A tree branch snapped, he was sure of it. He quickly – as fast as he could – grabbed his crossbow, pointin' it down at the ground as he fumbled for an arrow. Once he had a grasp on it, he placed the arrow's shaft in his mouth, holdin' onto it with his clenched teeth as he began to struggle to pull the string back.
His breathin' increased rapidly, havin' a bit of a panic attack as he tried to mount the arrow. He had lost a lot of his strength from the last time he was out here, makin' it hard to do a task that he had done so easily, and so many times before.
"Come on, come on..." He mumbled, usin' all the strength in him. He felt a wave of relief wash over him when he heard the click. He grabbed the arrow out of his mouth, placin' it into the crossbow, pushin' it all the way back. After it was secure, he brought the crossbow up, and tried to keep it steady in the direction the noise had come from.
His eyes were joltin' back n forth across the vast area, tryin' to determine what the hell made that sound. A walker? An animal? Perhaps someone from camp had followed him?
Just as he was about to move forward, that's when his eyes landed on it...
Or rather, her.Was this even possible? Was what he was seein' real?
He tried to say somethin', anythin', but nothin' audible came out. He was in shock – so much shock, all he could do was just stand there and stare. It wasn't until a few moments passed by when he was finally able to speak.
"S-Sophia...?"He wanted to run towards her – to grab her and pick her up, spin her around and just smile. He wanted to let her know that everythin' was okay – that she was okay – hell, that her momma was okay but still, he couldn't move. His body wouldn't allow him to.
He watched as she stumbled toward him, her soulless eyes never leavin' his. He tried to calm his breathin' down, all though there wasn't much of a chance that would happen. She was here. She was alive. Everythin' was goin' to be okay.
And then that's when his eyes fell onto somethin'. Somethin' red, on her shoulder.
A bite mark.
In a matter of seconds, all the hope that was inside of him disappeared. It was replaced with nothin' but darkness. Hopelessness. Sadness.
She had been bit.
He took a step back as she advanced forward, quiet growlin' sounds comin' from her. The way her tiny feet made their way across the bed of leaves nearly broke him to pieces.
He had failed.
Not only did he fail Carol, he failed Sophia, too.
He raised his crossbow up, aimin' it now at her head. He placed his finger on the trigger, tryin' his best to not break down. To not cry, as much as he wanted to.
Hell, for a moment there, he even contemplated endin' it for himself right then and there. This little girl in front of him was his hope. She was his everythin'. She was the reason why all that they had been through was worth it. She was goin' to be his better tomorrow. She was goin' to be the reason why he'd be able to forgive himself for not findin' Merle.
She was just everythin' to him.
"...I'm sorry, Sophia."
He held his breath, lettin' his eyes fall shut. Without a second longer, he pulled the trigger, hearin' a noise of the arrow hittin' her skull – and then everythin' was silent.
As if nothin' had even happened.