You are my sunshine.
She quietly sang to herself as the damp ground sank under her heavy steps, the squishing of the mud echoing in her ears. Branches snagged and scraped her skin and her shirt as she helplessly searched for the road she knew was close by. Her arms hugged her thin, shaking frame. Heavy rain poured from the sky in sheets, soaking her bloody clothes.
My only sunshine.
She whispered, the last word barely audible. A walker came out from the dense foliage, throwing its frigid hands onto her, knocking her off balance and causing her boot to slip in the mud. She fell to her knees, quickly becoming drenched and grimy as the mud began to sink in. The walker fell against her, scraping and biting endlessly, trying to sink his teeth into his next meal. She blocked the attack with her arms, only able to put up enough resistance to keep it from biting her. She needed to fight back but she just didn't have the strength. She bit the inside of her cheek and closed her eyes tightly as the walker thrashed about above her.
"Mom!" The single word echoed through the vast forest.
Her eyes snapped open as she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She shoved upwards with all her might, sending the walker tumbling off her. She quickly rose to her feet, slipping about in the mud. She brought her boot down in the walker's face, stomping repeatedly until one couldn't tell where it's head ended and the ground began.
She straightened, her lungs desperate for air. She looked around frantically trying to find the source of the yell but found nothing. She started to laugh to herself out of disbelief and exasperation "I must be losing it."
"Mom!" The word came again, this time sounding not too far off in the distance. "Where are you?!"
She spun around in the direction of the familiar voice. "Henry!" she yelled, making her way towards the call. She grasped the nearby trees to help keep her footing, pushing away the wet and mud covered hair that clung to the side of her face. "Henry, answer me!"
"Mom!" The voice came again closer than before.
She pushed herself, now running, slipping and sliding as she did, but she was determined. She came to a halt in a clearing. This was the place, it had to be, but there was no one there. She fell to her knees as tears starting pouring from her eyes and mixed with the rain.
She rested her hands on her knees, bowing her head. Her sobs rippled through her tiny cold, aching frame, echoing off the trees. They were quickly lost in the sounds of nature as thunder rumbled and lightning tore through the sky. "Henry!" she screamed clenching her chest.
She knew he wouldn't be there, deep down, she knew. He was gone. He had been gone for a long time now. They all had been.
A feeling of warmth flooded her senses as a pair of hands grabbed her arms and gathered her from the ground. Pulling her close to their body sending shivers down her. They didn't say anything, just held her close.
She pulled away from them, taking a few steps away. She kept her head low as her breathing came in ragged gulps, she tried to catch her breath. Once again she fell to her knees, her whole body growing numb as she looked to the sky. Her eyes grew heavy. She thought to herself that maybe it wouldn't hurt to close them, if only for a minute.
Her breathing evened out, as she slipped away.
Please don't take my sunshine away.