We're trying something different here, folks. I'm testing out different P.O.V.'s! Tell me if you like it or nah, thought I would do something to switch it up. Oh, and here's an overdue disclaimer while we're at it: Anything that's unfamiliar to The Walking Dead plot line is entirely my own. Everything you've seen before, belongs to the writers and directors.

Sophia's POV

"You need to stretch it more," Carl advised from beside her. Her lip curled in annoyance, and she just barely kept herself from snapping at him. "Sophia!" He insisted, and she continued to ignore him.

What was it that Brittany had said? … Aim small, miss small, or something like that… She squinted at the weathered cup, crumpled on the side of the road and serving as their makeshift target. More specifically, she aimed at the powder blue, flowing logo. The ribbon stretched between her fingers as she breathed slowly. She adjusted the height a bit, stretched it a little more… and let it go. The pebble soared through the air, a beautiful arc that had both children silent and watching with bated breath as it crossed the grass ditch and sailed straight toward the cup… and then straight past it, into the woods.

"Sophia," Carl whined. "If you had just listened to me –"

"I did!" She finally bit. Sophia's anger bubbled, and she thrust the slingshot out to point in Carl's face. "You said to stretch it more, so I did! And do you know what happened?" Understanding dawned on Carl's face, and Sophia began to close in on him.

"Sophia!" A nearby voice hissed. Her head snapped in the direction of where it came from. From her peripheral vision, she saw Carl open his mouth to say something. "Carl!" His eyes darted in the same direction. "Get over here!" Immediately, the two children sensed the urgency in Brittany's voice. She was crouched behind the Volkswagen that Sophia's mom had been inspecting, beckoning her and Carl with her hand.

The children glanced around to try and find the cause of Brittany's urgency. All was quiet. The cars were still abandoned and filthy, like they all needed to be led through a car wash a few times. Sophia focused on the one closest to her and Carl, an old rusted truck, and saw the brown crusted goop splattered up its windshield. The front end of it was smashed to heck, and she knew that the brown goop was actually… Sophia suddenly realized what the problem was. It was quiet. Too quiet. Without further hesitation, she crouched and dashed over to Brittany's waiting arms.

Brittany's arms were slightly damp with perspiration, but she tucked both Sophia and Carl under her arm and kept ahold of Sophia's shoulder. "Hey, you guys good?" She whispered, and the children nodded. Sophia's heart started to pound. She looked around, waiting to see one of those awful demons. They could be anywhere – they could be just around the corner. Where is her mother?

She looked back to Brittany's grey eyes. Brittany was peeking over the hood, watching for something, waiting for something… A noise came from beside Sophia, and she looked to see Carl's lip trembling and his face scrunched with worry. She took his hand and nodded at him.

They could hear footsteps now. Sophia's heart pounded in her throat, and she squeezed tightly onto Carl's hand. She scooted closer to the shelter that the nose of the car provided them. Brittany pointed at Carl and beckoned him forward. Sophia felt Carl lock up, and she looked back to see him panicking. The footsteps had grown closer, maybe a car away at the most, and Sophia didn't know why Brittany was telling Carl to get up.

Suddenly, the footsteps weren't heard anymore. Sophia let go of Carl's hand to brace herself against the hot pavement better, the small grit on the highway cutting into her palms. It hurt, but it kept her alert. A figure popped out behind Carl, and Sophia had to clamp her hands over her mouth to keep from shouting out loud.

"Carl!" Rick Grimes sagged with relief, the expression of a worried father finding their child, and then reached out to catch Carl in his arms. He looked up to see Brittany, and Sophia watched as they had a silent conversation. Rick pointed underneath the car next to them, and Brittany nodded in understanding.

Brittany reached out and took Sophia's trembling, sweaty hand in her steady grip. She guided her out from their spot and motioned for Sophia to crawl under the car. Sophia looked up at Brittany with distaste, about to question it, when suddenly more footsteps could be heard from nearby.

But there was more than one set. And they were accompanied by gurgles and groans. Sophia nearly flew under the car, moving so fast that the skin of her elbow stung with irritation from skidding across the pavement. She bit back her whine and scooted as far as she could, then turned to wait for Brittany to join her.

Brittany's POV

Brittany lingered one moment, waiting to be totally sure that Sophia was tucked away under the car. She turned to where the footsteps were coming from and spotted the grey-rotted flesh of the first walker in the hoard.

She hit the ground, only just managing to keep her chin from clashing against the road. Her stomach ached from the sudden impact as if someone had sucker punched her, but she ignored it as she rolled to join Sophia. Sophia's wide, bright blue eyes shined with tears. She opened her mouth and Brittany quickly covered it.

Brittany pressed her finger against her mouth, staring intently into Sophia's eyes. Sophia nodded, the noise of a muffled whimper coming from her. Brittany shook her head as if to say, no Soph. Not even a whimper.

Brittany thumbed through her back pocket and extracted the pocket knife that Dale had given her. She felt the smooth metal in her palm, flicking it open and watching as a decrepit sneaker scooted past, the leg that was attached to it wearing tattered blue pants. Brittany drew Sophia closer and tightened her grip slightly over her mouth so that no sound escaped. Between the legs of the moving walkers, she peered over to catch Carol's eye.

Carol was underneath a car nearby, lying next to Lori and desperately trying not to cry. Her panic was palpable, and it reminded Brit of the fragility of the situation. As if she needed to be reminded. But still, it called to mind the fact that she was protecting someone's child. It was a heavy responsibility to shoulder in the midst of an apocalypse, but that's why she's here. That's why Brittany is here, now, cowering under this car with Sophia, instead of attached to Daryl's hip.

That's where she felt the safest, after all. It's where she knew that she could learn something, where she could be herself and survive just on the fringe of things and know in her heart that she was accepted for who she is. Daryl never judges a member of the group on their decisions. He knows the reality of the situation they're in; he knows that there are sometimes no right or wrong moves. He didn't begrudge Rick for what he did when he tried to distract the walkers in the woods from Sophia. He just tried to do the right thing and find a scared, lost little girl. Even after everyone else had deemed it a lost hope. Even after Carol had given up. It was a heavy responsibility to shoulder.

When the hoard had passed and everyone felt like it was safe to move, after what seemed like the last walker passed, Brittany held tightly onto Sophia. The quiet crept over their group and she felt Sophia's panicked gasps settle into a relieved sigh. She shook her head and pressed her finger to her lips, sending the child a meaningful look. Sophia scrunched her face in confusion and opened her mouth to ask something, but Brittany shot her hand out to clamp it over her lips. She wildly shook her head and placed her finger over her own lips with a frown, silently screaming for Sophia to shut up and stay put.

Sophia's eyes widened and she leaned slightly away from the intense woman holding her, but nodded anyway. A few moments passed of deceptive calmness. And then they came. The last two walkers shuffled by their car, and Brittany felt Sophia's tiny gasp against her hand. Sophia cowered into Brittany's side and tightened her grip, clamping down for dear life.

They all watched, unable to breathe or move, as the last few stragglers passed them. Sounds of them panting crept into their hiding places, and Brittany met Rick's steady gaze. The leg of one of them broke their silent exchange. She watched it limp past. She had never felt such tension, such desperation to disappear or melt into the ground. Then, they were gone. Silence stretched over the group. Brittany could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her neck about to burst from where the blood was surging through. Her head spun. She wondered if it was over… if it was really over.

Slowly, she released Sophia's mouth. Sophia's bright eyes watched her with a single tear rolling down her cheek, splattering against the pavement. Brittany felt her heart tug at the gratification expressed in her face. She smiled and let out an incredulous laugh. She had done it. She had really done it!

Carol frantically pushed herself out from under the car, letting out a cry as she pushed herself off the ground and staggered toward Sophia and Brittany. Lori watched her go with what looked like a tight expression, probably still weary of the hoard and not entirely sure they should make too much noise yet. "Oh, Sophia!" She sobbed, and the small child extracted herself from Brittany's protective embrace. "My baby," Sophia flew into Carol's arms and Brittany sagged with relief, her forehead pressing into the cool pavement.

She breathed out slowly and listened to their reunion from under the car. Lori and Rick were whispering to each other, and Carl was stuck between them. Slowly, Brittany lifted her head from the ground and crawled out from under the car. Her palms burned with heat from the sun where the car didn't shade the road. Adrenaline had closed her mind to that trivial fact before, but now the scorching surface was impossible to ignore. Georgia.

As soon as she stood, a pair of arms threw themselves around her shoulders. Unprepared, she nearly toppled over onto the ground. "Brittany," Carol sobbed, shaking her head and clinging onto her with unmasked gratefulness. "I can't thank you enough, you protected my Sophia when I couldn't… I saw those last two walkers and I thought – I thought –"

"Oh," Brittany choked out slightly awkwardly, petting Carol's shoulder. "That's alright. I just did what anyone would do, Carol, it's not –"

"No!" She shook her head and held Brittany at arm's length. "Don't try to make it seem anything less than it was. You protected my child. I owe you … everything. If I didn't have her, I…" She looked down at Sophia with such tenderness, Brittany couldn't stand it.

She rested her hand on her shoulder. "Carol, I know." She thought of how Carol had broken when Sophia was lost to her. Of how she furiously insisted that Sophia was out there, until she reluctantly came to terms with the reality that she probably wasn't, and finally – her face when she saw little Soph stagger out of that barn. Brittany remembered everything that happened as a result after, of who Carol became in season three… and she knew. "I know." Her voice and eyes were all she could use to express the truth, and Carol closed her mouth as she looked up at her face, apparently understanding whatever expression Brittany had made.

She nodded, her lip trembling with unshed tears, and let go of Brittany. Sophia latched onto her hip like glue. Carol rested her hand on the small child's head and looked back at Brittany. "As soon as I get the chance, I'm fixing you a hot meal."

Brittany snorted, and the group that stood around to witness this chuckled. Don't count on it. Who knows if the farm is in the picture, now that Sophia isn't lost? Why would Otis be there to even shoot Carl if he's not in the woods looking for her to do it? "Even before all of this, I could never say no to a hot meal."

Carol smiled while Rick and Lori laughed, and they all turned at the sound of someone staggering behind them. For the briefest of moments, everyone in the small huddle tensed. Then they saw a bloodied T-Dog trailing behind Daryl Dixon, and suddenly everyone was tensed for a different reason.

"I'm not bit," He huffed, sweat pouring down his bald head. His eyes seemed to struggle to focus, and Brittany knew this heat wasn't helping anything. She watched with worried eyes as T-Dog lifted his arm and shook his head. "Snagged it on a broken door or something."

Rick's gaze lingered on him, while Andrea strode up from behind them, panting. She threw her arms out. "What the hell was that!" She exclaimed, punching her finger in the direction of where the hoard had gone. "They're forming together now? Crips and bloods, taking to the streets!?"

"We seen it before," Shane intervened as he came up behind her. His gun was clutched safely in his hands, pointed toward the ground, and Brittany mildly wondered if they were… okay. "When they came through the camp."

Andrea stiffened with that reminder and turned away, looking at Dale as he approached with a befuddled expression on his face. "It's an unsettling development, that's for sure." Dale said. His worried hands tightened on the rag that he gripped. "But it's all the more reason for us to get off this interstate. Is everyone present and accounted for?" The group collectively turned to take a head count. Glenn stood near Dale, never too far from the elder man, and he was the only one that Brittany had yet to locate. "Good. Let's take a moment to gather our wits, and then we can regroup."

Brittany didn't have to be told twice. She strut through the middle of the group and in the direction of the Winny, aiming for the bottles of water that she knew were there. She could feel eyes on her as she went, but it seemed as if her sudden, silent departure sent everyone into motion. They scattered behind her, trading tales of adrenaline and close calls.

The door of the Winny squealed slightly when she flung it open. She was desperate to escape, and she took the stairs two at a time. Without looking around, she focused her narrow vision on the mini fridge and quickly extracted a plastic bottle. She cracked it open and went to sit in the booth behind her, sagging and letting her tension leave her body as she drank.

Anything that happens tonight, anyone who dies? That's on you. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled forward, pressing her fingers into her burning eyes. Her throat tightened and she gasped out a watery breath. The past week was catching up with her. She hadn't given herself a minute to think, not since… but she's done what needed to be done. She's saved Sophia, and without telling the group. She won! She would be proud – Amy would…

Stop it! She commanded herself, the sobs escaping her lips without permission. She clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her head, the hot tears tumbling over her cheeks in spite of herself. She was so mad… The anger boiled, hot and fast within her. Why? Why is it that even after saving Sophia, she still feels so guilty? How can she be sitting here in the dark by herself crying after a win like that?

She punched the table with a frustrated grunt. Sighing, she set the water bottle down and tried to calm her pounding heart, to slow the frantic blood as it rushed through her veins – cold and relentless, she growled and shakily sighed. "Stopitstopitstopit," She whispered, her eyes squeezed shut as she rocked herself slightly and whined. "God damnit… fucking quit!"

The door opened and she gasped in surprise. Fresh heat rolled into the Winny, followed by Andrea, who came up short upon spotting her. Brittany swiped furiously at her eyes and whirled around in the booth. She snatched the bottle of water into her hands and gripped it tightly. Great.

"I…" Andrea said behind her hesitantly, closing the door and shutting out the heat. "I heard what you did for Carol."

Brittany's head jerked slightly in surprise and she raised her eyebrows without turning around. "I didn't do it for Carol…" She shook her head. "I did what anyone would've done, it was no big deal."

"It's okay, you know." Andrea suddenly said from right behind her. Brittany turned her head without actually looking at her. "To feel good about something like that. I mean, I know it's difficult. Believe me, I know," she added with a bitter laugh. "But you saved Carol from knowing that pain you're feeling right now." Brittany's eyes flickered to Andrea. "It's true! Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't been there for Sophia. She would've crawled out from that car, and then those – things would've seen her, and then what? Who knows if someone would've gotten there in time?"

Brittany raised her eyebrows and sighed heavily. Who knew that Andrea could be so perceptive? She wasn't exactly right, but she wasn't far off the mark, either. "Anyways," Andrea continued. "I just wanted to be sure you know that… it's okay to feel something other than grief. It's been an emotional day. Don't stack guilt on top of that." Brittany swallowed roughly and brought her bottle down to her lap so she didn't have to look up. "No one blames you, and she wouldn't either. That's what you have to tell yourself. That's how we get through this."

Brittany let her breath slowly flow out of her, the tension leaving her body with it. It seemed that she was more transparent that she hoped for. Andrea had merely stepped into the camper, and right off the bat she could tell who was plaguing her thoughts. Though, perhaps it was mostly because she knew what to look for. She nodded and pressed her lips together. "Thanks." She managed, her voice still thick with emotion.

Andrea nodded at her and sat across from her. "Say, do you know how to load a gun?"

Carl walked along the road alone. His parents were back, helping move the vehicles from the highway to clear a path for the camper. He had been talking with Sophia a bit, trading war stories, as Shane had called them. But that got boring after a while, and Carol was fawning over Sophia too much for it to be any fun anyway. Frankly, he had lost interest rather quickly, and he was feeling slightly neglected as his parents debated the best way to move the vehicles with the other, older members of the group.

He had asked his father what he could do, but Shane had spoken up and told him this job was too big for his shorts. Then his dad suggested that he and Sophia go practice with the slingshot some more.

Carl trudged away, shoulders sagged and tail between his legs, and looked to Sophia. She was laughing with Carol and they were holding up clothes to themselves from a nearby car. He wrinkled his nose. He had no interest in girly things like playing dress up, so he continued past them and decided to go exploring on his own.

Which is what brought him to the truck now. He peered in through the windshield, careful to keep his footsteps silent. There was one of them inside the cab. It lay motionless, a skinny man with rotting skin, huge patches of it missing. Carl felt the tell-tale tumble of his stomach, which always happened when he had to be near one of them. His eyes trailed down, then froze when he spotted it. An axe, there on the dead thing's hip. It looked sharp, and glinted in the sun when he crept closer to the window.

He cupped his hands against the glass and breathed in wonder. A weapon like that could take down a whole herd of those things! A weapon like that could really protect the group. It was just as deadly as a gun or a cross bow, but it was completely silent! And perfect for when those nasty things got too close, which he knew from experience tends to happen. He smiled, excitement bubbling in his stomach. One thing is for sure, though. It's way better than a slingshot. He knew that he wanted it, he just wasn't sure if he should try to get it.

He turned back to look behind him, and when no one was coming, he set his shoulders back and decided to take matters into his own hands. How else could he prove his worth to the group? He envisioned himself strolling back to the camper, axe strapped to his side and head held high. He pictured everyone being impressed, especially when he told them that he found it all on his own. Yes. That would make some head turns. That would make his dad proud. That would make Shane smile. He wasn't sure what his mom would say, but she never needed to know how he got it, right?

He turned back to the truck and slowly approached it, inspecting the dirt covered blue metal of the door. It seemed like the walker was really dead, but should he risk that? Would his dad want him to risk that?

… No. Carl knew he wouldn't. He knew what his dad would do, because his dad would have a gun. He would have something to protect them, so even if the walker isn't actually dead, it wouldn't matter! So he knew what he had to do.

With a fleeting look down the road where he knew the camper was at, he hurried across the pavement and ducked under the metal railing. He looked down the steep ravine and scanned, but didn't see what he was looking for. It was all bushes and weeds, not exactly good for weapons.

So he carefully set out down the vegetation. He stumbled over unseen fissures and rocks, buried beneath the thick grass and weeds. Occasionally, he would be stuck by a thorn bush, but that's what adventure comes with, right? Would his dad let a little thorn stop him? Would Shane let a stubbed toe keep him from getting a weapon when he didn't have one? Absolutely not!

So he continued down, chest puffed and ears on high alert. At the end of the day, if something was to happen – which it won't – but if it was, then Shane and his dad are only a shout away. With that knowledge there to quell his fear, he climbed to the bottom of the ravine and paused.

He listened carefully. His eyes moved through the trees, still as he could stand, waiting for any sign of walkers. When he found none, he ducked into the trees. He scanned the forest floor, searching for a proper stick. Well, stick isn't the right word… more like a branch. Yeah, that's what he needs. A sizeable branch that he could break at the end, so it was sharp.

He delved a little farther into the woods until he spotted one. It was totally quiet, except for the occasional buzzing bug, but bugs never bothered Carl. He used to be fascinated by them, actually, but that phase passed when Transformers were introduced. Robots are so much cooler than lame bugs.

Anyways, he leaned down to pick up a fallen branch. He heaved as hard as he could, but couldn't lift the stupid thing. He sat back and put his hands on his hips, thinking. His eyes landed on a smaller branch that protruded from it, and strode through the thick foliage until he stood over it.

His hands gripped tightly on the smaller stick, and he lifted his foot. Bringing it down as hard as he could, the sound of the branch snapping as he broke it resounded through the woods. He made a face as he realized that maybe snapping it as hard as he could wasn't the most… stealthy of options he had.

Hesitantly, he stood erect. The trees rustled behind him. He turned, slowly, but didn't see anything. He tightened his grip on the stick in his hands and held it like his dad taught him to hold a baseball bat, facing the direction of the sound.

His heart pounded wildly, and the rustling only intensified. Suddenly, to his dismay, a small squirrel darted up one of the tree trunks. He sighed in relief and let his arms drop, the stick whacking against a weed. A laugh managed to escape him and he shook his head at his own paranoia. With his new weapon in hand, he turned to start back to the highway.

He came up short when a walker's face hissed in his own. He let out a frantic yelp and staggered back, swinging out blindly. The stick whacked against the walker and threw it off course. It stumbled to the side, nearly tripping over the thick foliage under their feet. He turned to flee, deeper into the woods and away from the monster behind him.

Lori laughed at something Glenn said and made her way over to Carol and Sophia. She was so glad that no one got hurt today. After their run of luck lately, it was nothing short of a miracle – given the size of that herd. She could only be grateful that Rick had managed to warn the rest of them before the hoard was on top of them.

"Hey guys," She greeted, smiling at where Carol and Sophia were. Sophia had a new shirt on, deep green and eerily similar to a certain someone's. She recalled Brittany's olive green vest she had donned over her black t-shirt, wondering if she was a park ranger or something when she first saw her.

She now knew that Brittany was just one of those … overly prepared people. In fact, it was almost unsettling, how adjusted she was to this world, how suddenly she had sprung up and into their lives. How she seemed to know what to do, when to do it. What to say and how to say it. It was like nothing Lori had seen before, and she often wondered if she was in fact the only one to see it.

"Wow Soph, that's a cute shirt." She grinned, and Sophia beamed at her.

"Thanks! It's my favorite color." She gushed, and Carol laughed as she touched her child's shoulder. She had the red shirt on from before.

"We used to play dress up all the time, whenever we could while Ed wasn't around. It was Sophia's favorite game, wasn't it?" Carol grinned and bumped Sophia's shoulder. Sophia giggled and commented that it still is. "And I can't even remember the last time we went shopping before all… So anyway, we needed new clothes."

"Ah, well they look nice. Maybe we should even get some more clothes for the group. You guys aren't the only ones who miss shopping," Lori smiled, and the three females grinned brightly at the prospect of gathering more clothes for the others. "Anyways, where's Carl? I was going to give him a granola bar for lunch…" She trailed off as Carol and Sophia exchanged an alarmed glance. She gave them a questioning look, not finding the strength to ask what she already knew just by looking at them.

"We thought he was helping you." Carol finally said, and Sophia scooted closer to her mother in apprehension.

"Carl is missing?" Lori asked like it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. "No. No! That doesn't even make sense, because I sent him back to you, Carol." Carol winced, brushing hair that she didn't have behind her ear nervously. "I know he should be here because I explicitly told him –"

"Lori?" Shane said from behind her, apparently overhearing the woman's frantic voice. "What's going on?"

"Carol lost my son," She spat venomously, and Carol flinched as if she had been struck. "That's what's going on."

Shane snapped to attention, looking between the women in front of him. "Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a minute. Carl is missing?"

Lori nodded vehemently and began to panic, frantically turning around and searching through the vehicles. "Carl!" She hollered, which grabbed Rick's attention. He peeked his head out from the car he was using to push the dead vehicles out of the way. "Carl!" She screeched, and the entire group erupted into chaos.

Silly, silly boy. Had to know it wouldn't be so easy, right? Sophia is safe, but now... What's going to happen!? Let me know what you thought! There will probably be more Baryl next time ;) I'm trying out Ship names for them XD Baryl? Yes? No? Drittany? ... Darany?