"She's comin' 'round...looks like she's wakin' up," I heard a male voice.
'Daryl?,' I tried to say out loud, my throat burning and my head fuzzy. 'Daryl, what's going on? Where am I?'
"Good. She's been asleep for a whole day. I was worried about her," a woman said.
'Grace, I'm okay! My head hurts. I'm trying to open my eyes but they're so heavy. My throat is on fire,' I tried again to speak out loud.
"Me too," Daryl replied to her.
"Really? Growin' soft on us? Some people are startin' to think you might have a little thing for her," a second man said.
'Rick. Please tell me what's going on. And what do you mean he has a thing for me?' I tried desperately to ask.
"Hell nah. She's infuriatin'. It's jus' nice ta have some damn help in tha woods s'all," Daryl quickly replied. I wanted to laugh but the sound got stuck behind the frog in my throat.
"Uh-huh. I think there may be more to that," Rick replied. "You have been checkin' up on her a lot."
'Why?' I tried to ask. 'What's wrong with me? Where am I? Why can't I open my eyes? Why can't I speak?'
"Man, whatever. I jus' wanna make sure she's okay."
I was over this. I needed answers. I needed to see, to speak. 'Come on, Madison!' I screamed to myself, my eyes and throat burning.
"Look!" Grace exclaimed. "Her eyes are fluttering."
I swallowed hard and forced my eyes open, squinting against the bright light and tried to focus on who was in the room.
"Madison?" a third male voice said. Suddenly, Marc's face came into focus, standing over me.
"Where - where am I?" I asked, trying to sit up, a little panicked.
"Whoa, now," Marc said, "be careful. You have a concussion." He grabbed my arm and helped me sit up in bed and lean back against the headboard as Grace fixed and fluffed the pillows behind me. "You were attacked by walkers in the woods. You didn't get bit, but did get a pretty nasty head injury. Daryl saved you and brought you back here. Do you remember anything?"
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, my head throbbing. "No - not really. Can I have some water, please?" I asked. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. Grace was sitting in the chair next to the bed, and Hershel, Daryl, and Rick were around the foot of the bed. It was dark outside, the only light was coming from the lamp on the bedside table.
"Sure absolutely. Here," Marc said as he handed me a glass of water from the bedside table. I gulped the water, thankful for the coolness as it eased the burning in my throat, clearing it so I was free to talk again.
"Thank you," I said as I rested the glass on my lap. I glanced up at Daryl, the look on his face one of concern and something else I couldn't make out. "What happened?"
Rick came over and sat on the bed, grabbing my hand. "Madison, you have done a great job," he said. "You found Sophia's doll in the woods, not far from here. You have given us hope in finding her," he said, squeezing my hand as he smiled brightly at me.
I nodded, feeling a tear slide down my cheek. I wiped it away, mad at myself for crying yet again. I swallowed hard. "I remember going into the woods and then I tracked back north and crossed Daryl's path, then I picked up on a trail...but I don't remember anything after that."
Marc nodded and he placed his hand on my shoulder. "You have some memory loss, but that should come back soon enough. Let me take a look at you then you can rest some more."
"Thanks again, Madison," Rick said, giving my hand another squeeze.
"Sure," I replied, "any time."
"Get some good rest. We need you healthy," he replied. I nodded and he smiled and left the room.
Marc got to work evaluating me. He shined a light in my eyes and gave me three words to remember. "Watermelon, yellow, and Daryl" he said. I rolled my eyes. "Well you can still roll those eyes, so that's good." Grace laughed as she picked up my hand and held it tightly. Marc checked my gag reflex, my vision, had me turn my head from side to side, and then asked me what words he gave me to remember.
I thought for a few seconds.
"Watermelon...um...yellow...and...redneck asshole." Hershel shook his head as Grace and Marc laughed.
"Well, ya din' lose tha' sense'a humor," Daryl mumbled. I gave him a weak smile.
"Well I think you'll be okay," Marc said. "You need to rest overnight, then take it easy for a few days. Grace and Claire will sleep in here with you tonight. She'll have to wake you up every few hours just to be sure you're okay. Don't need you sleeping too much and getting any worse." I nodded as she squeezed my hand tighter. I smiled at her.
"I'll have Patricia bring you some food, water, and pain meds. You let us know if you need anything," Hershel said, coming over to put his hand on my shoulder.
"Thank you, Hershel," I said, reaching up to squeeze his arm. "You have been a Godsend." He smiled and patted my hand, then walked out with Marc.
Grace moved to sit on my bed. "Maddie, you gave me a scare," she said, smoothing my hair. "When Daryl was walking you out of the woods, I thought for sure you were bit. There was a lot of blood and you were in and out of consciousness. It scared me..." she said, looking down as tears fell down her face.
"Gracie," I said, putting my hand on her arm, holding back my own tears as a lump formed in my throat, "I'm fine." She leaned over and hugged me tight. I looked over her shoulder at Daryl.
Thank you, I mouthed to him. He nodded and went to leave the room, still limping slightly.
"Daryl, wait," I said, as Grace broke the hug and touched my cheek. He stopped at the door. " I love you, Gracie," I said, as she kissed my cheek. She stood up and gave me a smile as she walked out the door.
Daryl stood by the door and looked at me. I suddenly felt nervous.
"Daryl...I just wanted to say thank you. I don't remember what happened, but I guess I owe you."
"Yeah well, ya helped me tha other day. Plus, we couldn' afford ta lose another one'a tha' group. And tha way I see it, ya found Sophia's doll; figure ya migh' be one hell'a tracker after all." He smirked as I laughed, my head giving a small throb.
"Daryl Dixon giving me a compliment? Too bad there aren't witnesses..."
"Hell no...and if ya tell anyone, I'll deny it." I laughed. He smirked.
"Thanks again," I said, leaning into the pillow, feeling tired.
"'Course," he said. He gave me a small smile and wave a left.
The next day, I felt good enough to have a quick shower, with help from Grace to wash the blood out of my hair, and ventured back outside to our camp. I arrived just in time for breakfast and took a seat between Grace and Claire, the latter putting her arms around me in greeting.
"The tent was lonely without you," Claire said, giving me a sad look. Surprised by her emotion, I gave her a tight hug.
"Love you, Claire-bear." She smiled at me, returning to her eggs. Carol brought me a plate and smiled. "Thanks Carol."
"Course," she said, lightly patting my hair. I smiled up at her. Carl, Lori, and T-Dog all smiled at me from the other side of Claire, all of us facing the fire in a semi-circle. I looked around and saw Dale and Glen on watch on top of the RV and Rick standing off to the side with Daryl.
"Good to see you up and about," Shane said as he walked over and sat across the fire from me, clearly checking me out again, glancing down at the cutoff jean shorts and tight-fitting black tank top I was wearing. I wish I had worn something else, but it was hot and I knew I wasn't going into the woods, so I opted for comfort.
I ignored the look, not wanting to play into his clear attraction.
"It's good to be up and about," I replied, shrugging my shoulders and trying to look anywhere else.
Daryl came and sat next to Shane, shooting me a brief smile which I returned.
"Yeah, I can tell you're the type of girl that likes to be active. You're definitely fit," Shane replied. Daryl glanced over at him, shooting him a dirty look when he saw Shane's eyes roving over my legs. Daryl looked over at me and I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. Shane's advances were most definitely not welcome and I was overcome with the urge to make sure Daryl knew that. Daryl nodded at me, seeming to pick up on my discomfort with Shane's attention.
"Yeah, she's fit. We get it," Daryl said under his breath. "Who cares?" T-Dog coughed and I glanced over at him as he smiled at me behind his coffee cup. Lori grinned at me and Carl just looked confused.
"I'm just sayin'," Shane replied, "I really appreciate it...I think all the men here do," he said to Daryl, nudging his arm. Daryl glared at him, but Shane missed it, his eyes returning to me.
I could feel anger rising in my chest and my face starting to flush, truly hating chauvinistic men. I put my plate down and turned my full attention to Shane.
"I do it for myself, no one else," I replied rudely, throwing him a nasty look. "And I'd appreciate it if you would just shut up."
"So, it looks like it's going to be a pretty day," Grace said out loud, changing the subject. Lori nodded emphatically, looking thankful for her interjection. Shane looked confused and a little embarrassed.
Rick approached the group and sat on the other side of Shane. "Yeah, it's pretty clear. Looking to be a nice one." Claire snorted into her plate and I glanced over at her, smirking as I shook my head.
We were joined by the others soon after as we all ate around the fire together. I looked around at everyone...all of us in one place and pretty content...safe. I relaxed for a brief moment before I noticed Glen was pacing at the edge of the group and shooting looks at Dale. I glanced at Dale, who nodded to him.
"Glen?" I spoke up, shooting a look in his direction. "What's wrong?"
His head snapped up and looked at me. "Um...well..." he looked at Dale, who nodded, "Guys...so..." We all looked at him, most of us still eating. "Ummm..." he looked toward the house and I followed his glance to see Maggie who was standing on the porch with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. "Thebarnisfullofwalkers."
I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach, my empty plate falling to the ground.
"WHAT?!" I heard Shane yell, and looked over to see him jumping to his feet. "What did you say?"
"There are walkers...in the barn..." Glen said, looking down at the ground. My heart sank. He couldn't be serious.
For a moment, no one moved or spoke. Then with lightning speed, we all jumped up, breakfast forgotten, and made our way quickly to the barn. I stood next to Daryl and Carol with Grace, Marc, and Claire behind us. Shane walked up and peered inside, making the biters snarl and push against the door. He jumped back, storming toward us.
"You cannot be okay with this!" he snarled at Rick. Part of me agreed with him. This was insane.
"I'm not, but this is not our farm. Hershel obviously has them there for a reason, it's not our place to tell him otherwise," Rick replied, calmly. I agreed with that statement too.
"We can't ignore this!" Andrea spoke up, coming to Shane's defense.
"What we gotta do is leave. We've been talking about Fort Benning for a while, we just have to go." Shane said emphatically to Rick. I stepped closer, Daryl placing his hand on my arm. No, we couldn't leave yet!, I thought to myself.
Lori put her hand on Carl's shoulder, as Carl said, "But, Sophia..."
"We can't GO," Rick replied angrily. I nodded, agreeing with Rick wholeheartedly.
"Why?!" Shane yelled, throwing his hands in the air. They were suddenly so angry at each other and I wanted so desperately to run and stand between them, pushing Shane away from Rick. Daryl's grip on my wrist tightened.
"Because my daughter is still out there somewhere, we have to find her!" Carol spoke up. I put my other hand on her arm, trying to comfort her.
"We are not leaving Sophia behind," Rick said, holding his hands up at Carol before turning back to Shane.
Shane scoffed, rubbing his hands roughly over his face in frustration. "Okay, Carol," he said, sarcastically, putting his hands together as he gestured to her, his face dripping with sweat and sarcasm, "I think we should all just start to accept the fact that she's probably dead."
I felt my blood begin to boil and my head was pounding. "HEY!" I said, taking a step toward him, wrenching my arm loose from Daryl's grasp, my chest and face bright red from the anger now coursing through my veins. "You don't have to be such an asshole about this! Daryl and I have been busting our asses to find her and we are damn close!" Shane glared at me, taking a step in my direction.
"Yeah," Daryl said, stepping up next to me, looking just as pissed as I felt. "Madison jus' found her doll jus' yesterday. We been on her trail for days!" I nodded, thankful that Daryl was defending me.
"YEAH - A DOLL, Daryl...she found a fucking DOLL!" Shane retorted, his eyes huge and crazy looking.
"Man - you don' know what tha FUCK yer talking about," Daryl yelled, swinging his arms wildly in the air. I put my hand on his bicep and pulled him back. He pulled out of my grasp and stalked away. Shane started going on about the first 48 hours, while Daryl yelled about combing the woods and finding her trail. Rick stepped between Shane and Daryl with his arms out, trying to separate them. They were yelling over each other, both arguing their point, and my head throbbed even more. Marc came over and put his arm around my shoulders, trying to get me to calm down too.
Rick got Daryl mostly calmed down while Shane carried on. "If she saw Madison, who she don't even know, covered in walker blood, stumbling around with a god damn head wound, with a freaking' concussion, or Daryl, limping through the woods covered in blood and shit, she'd turn and run the hell away! Y'all are wasting your fucking time looking for a girl who you ain't gonna ever find!"
"SCREW YOU!" I yelled. Daryl and I both lunged for Shane at the same time, my fist ready to connect with his face or anything I could get my hands on. Marc grabbed me around the waist, Rick pushed Daryl away, while T-Dog ran over in front of him. Lori grabbed Shane's arm and Glen stood in the middle of it all. I could hear Carol sobbing somewhere behind us and I got angrier.
"You gonna punch me, sweetheart?" Shane asked, trying to get in my face. I started to kick and reach for him, trying desperately to get away from Marc, while Daryl tried to get past Rick and T-Dog again. Glen pushed Shane back while Lori and Dale pulled his arms. Shane flung them off, storming away a few feet, continuing to pace.
I glanced over at Carol who continued to cry and Grace put her arms around her. Marc kept his arms around my waist while Daryl continued to pace, T-Dog standing between him and Shane, on alert.
"We have to calm down, here," Rick said, breathing hard. "Let me talk to Hershel and we'll figure it out."
"What is there to figure out?!" Shane asked, lunging toward Rick, only to be shoved back by Lori and Glen.
"If we're going to stay...if we're going to kill these walkers, I have to talk to him first. This is HIS FARM," Rick said emphatically.
Dale spoke up. "I talked to Hershel yesterday. He thinks the walkers are still people - sick people. This barn is full of his friends, his neighbors...and his wife and stepson." Shane started yelling at Dale about him knowing and not telling anyone, which further pissed me off, and I struggled against Marc again.
"Why don't you just shut the HELL UP AND LISTEN TO RICK?!" I screamed, my head feeling as though it would explode. The barn doors started rattling more, causing all of us to turn our attention to the barn.
"I'm going to talk to Hershel," Rick said calmly. "If it makes everyone feel better, we can post two people here as lookouts just in case." Shane stormed off, Andrea following him. Marc let go of me and I had to fight the urge to follow Shane and beat the shit out of him, wanting nothing more than to punch his lights out.
"You good?" Marc asked. I nodded, wiping the sweat off my forehead. "I'll take first watch," Marc said, as Daryl stormed off to the stable, Carol following him.
"I'll stay with you," T-Dog said.
"I'm going to see what Daryl's doing," I said to Grace.
"Madison - you can't go off the farm. You have a concussion. Daryl shouldn't either - Marc and Hershel have side-lined you both," Grace said. "They were pissed that Daryl went out the day you got hurt...but if he hadn't...regardless, neither of you should be in the woods."
I rolled my eyes. "We ain't going anywhere..." I headed after Daryl and Carol.
When I got to the stable, I saw Daryl struggling to get a saddle ready, breathing heavily.
"We don't even know if we're going to find her, Daryl," I heard her say and my heart sank. Shane's words had gotten to her and the last thing she needed was to lose hope. Daryl looked at her. "I don't know..." she faded off.
"What tha hell do ya mean?" he asked. He stepped toward her and I walked closer, unsure what he was going to say or do.
"We can't lose you too," she whispered. He walked toward her, looking pissed and I stood ready to react. He stared at her hatefully for a second, then turned quickly and threw the saddle. He gasped and doubled over in pain. Carol rushed over and put her hand on his back. He shrugged her off, yelling at her to leave him alone.
I walked into the stable. "Daryl, are you okay?" I asked, pretending as though I didn't hear their conversation.
"Leave me the hell alone...both of you. Stupid bitches..." he said as he stood up and stormed past us, leaving the stable.
'I'm sorry,' I mouthed to Carol, and I turned to run after Daryl.
"DARYL!" I said, chasing him. He kept walking toward the woods, picking up his crossbow where he had put it outside the stable. "Stop for a second," I hollered after him, my head still pounding out a rhythm. He made it to the edge of the woods, then stopped, bending over and obviously winded. I reached him and waited for him to catch his breath.
"What you want, Madison?" he asked, not bothering to look up.
"I wanted to thank you for standing up to Shane."
He stood up and looked at me. "Shane's a douchebag. He was wrong o'bout Sophia and I'm fixin' to show him." He slung his crossbow onto his back and turned to the woods. "You with me?" he asked without turning around.
I smiled, patting my belt which held my knife and handgun. "Yep."
We headed into the woods on the hunt for Sophia.