Welcome back, once again, to a new chapter of That Damn Deer Girl! Just as a little reminder, I don't own The Walking Dead or any of it's characters. All rights go to Robert Kirkman's amazing team, and AMC.
Enjoy~
Carl sat on a scratchy hay bayl, swinging his legs back and forth. Each swing brought a small thud as his foot connected with the soft block. The boy looked around the barn, taking in the peeling white paint, cracked wooden floor boards that groaned in pain when someone walked across them, and the large rusted door that squealed a pitched tone when pushed.
He shifted is gaze from the door to flecks in the air. Every feed bag Jesse set down in the loft above set showers of dust down onto the people below. Carl's eyes flickered as he followed the winding path of the falling dust. The beams of light that filtered through the cracked roof allowed the boy to clearly see every speck in the air.
Carl traced the dust for minutes. His gaze finally landed on Sophia, as the dust floated away. The girl was staring off into the distance with blank eyes, lost in thought. He smiled at her focused expression, she had always been such a worrier. Before thought it was annoying how often she would tell him not to do fun things, but now he didn't mind so much. He had missed her a great deal when she was missing, and found her return to the group a great relief.
Sophia sat looking off in the distance. She was keenly aware that Carl's eyes were boring in the side of her skull, but brushed it off. He had been staring at her a lot lately, so she just figured he had missed her.
She tilted her head up at the sound of footsteps above, he was coming down. Every few bags Daryl and Jesse would trade places. One stacked feed in the loft, while the other hoisted it up from the ground.
"Hey kids, how's it goin?" Jesse asked as he appeared in the large door way.
"Good". Carl answered.
Sophia nodded in silent agreement. Her eyes darted to the ground as the man looked at her. She could feel his eyes drilling her the way Carl's had, but his gaze was much more intense. It made the girl uncomfortable.
"Sorry to stare, but you just look so much like my little girl, Emily". He informed her.
Sophia just continued to stare at the soft Earth like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Where is she?" Carl asked with genuine interest.
Sophia picked her head up to glance at Jesse. That was a good question, how come nobody had seen "Emily"?
"Well she's not a very strong kid, very sensitive to sunlight, got somethin called lupus". He explained. "Get's blistered real bad".
"I'm sure she's very nice". Sophia whispered timidly.
"SHIT!"
Everyone's head whipped towards the sound of Daryl's panicked voice. The hunter practically jumped from the top of the barn, and skidded to a halt in front of the others. He fumbled with the walkie talkie looped to his belt.
"We gotta a problem". He huffed, finally pulling the walkie talkie loose.
"W-what is it?" Sophia asked as fear gripped her heart.
"Walkers, a whole hell pit of em". He answered.
Daryl struggled to press the small buttons on the even smaller walkie talkie. He cursed under his breath as he mushed the device. With a huff of success the hunter managed to find the right button.
"Anybody can hear me get off your ass, and pick up". He spat into the small machine.
Everyone waited in anticipation as the walkie talkie let out a, heart stopping, static groan.
"What the hell is your problem?"
A collective sigh of relief spread through the group as Andrea's annoyed voice came through the walkie talkie.
"You and walkers. We're trapped on Jesses fuckin' farm". Daryl answered. "No offense". He added to the man.
The next voice that came over the radio was Rick's.
"Wait what!? We're coming down there to get you, and the kids". He said firmly.
"That's suicide, none of us will make it out of here". Jesse chimed in. "It's a safer bet to board up the house, and wait this out".
"He's right". Daryl agreed, as much Ashe didn't want to. "First thing, we head out".
"Alright, I'll tell the others". Rick sighed. "Just stay safe, please, protect the kids".
Daryl turned to look at Carl and Sophia. Now he had to protect them from a possible creep, and a hoard of the living dead.
Shit. He thought.
Everybody froze at the sound of a rasping walker. The reanimated corpse of a man shuffled around the corner, and lingered just outside the barn.
Double shit.
Daryl stuck his ring and middle fingers behind his back, and signaled for Sophia to wait. He was fully ready to grab her if she decided to bolt. The hunter picked a stray hammer up off an old crate that lay forgotten. He began to move towards the walker to take care of the dirty deed.
Sophia watched Daryl pad silently across the barn without causing a single creak. The stray roamer had its ripped up back turned towards the group, a fatal move around the hunter. She cringed as Daryl brought the hammer down on the walker's head with a sickening thud. The rotted corpse fell to the floor like a sack of moldy potatoes.
Daryl beckoned the others forward with his free hand, then disappeared around the corner. Sophia was the first to move as she followed after the redneck, she didn't want to lose him near the walkers.
The girl moved slowly and clung to the sides of whatever cover she could find. She had lagged behind Daryl, due to abandoning her crutches in the barn, but was still in front of Carl and Jesse. Sophia constantly found herself looking over her shoulder to make sure Carl was still with them, and okay with the man.
She breathed a sigh relief out of her small lungs as she reached the porch of the humble farm house. Never before in her life was Sophia so happy to see an open window. Daryl gave a silent nod towards a fluffy brown couch that say only a few feet away. The girl cocked her head in confusion at the command. What did he want with the couch?
Daryl tried again, this time he nodded to the window. Sophia stared at the two blankly for a moment.
What's wrong with the-? She began a thought, before she stopped in sudden realization.
It had clicked . The window wasn't open, it was broken. Sophia nodded back, finally understanding, and moves towards the couch with Daryl. The two moved towards the couch, and each grabbed an end. They pushed in as quietly as they could over to the broken window.
The duo flipped the couch upwards, on its side, and shoved it in front of the exposed entrance point.
That oughta keep the bad things out. Sophia thought, admiring their patch job. She had to admit, they made a pretty good team.
The soft jiggle of keys alerted the girl to the fact that Carl and Jesse had finally joined them on the porch. She stalked over as Jesse pushed his keys into the lock, and turned it with a soft click.
"Come on". He whispered as he lead them inside his house.
Sophia heard the door click shut behind them as her eyes struggled to adjust in the dark. She knew that turning on lights would draw unwanted attention, so she took to awkwardly feeling around the area in front of her. Her delicate hand brushed something long and greasy. She panicked and yanked her hand away, tugging the thing she had grabbed.'
"Ow mother fuuu". Daryl hissed under his breath.
The man spun around to see what had reached out of the dark to pull his hair. We he turned he came face to face with a wide eyed Sophia.
"S-sorry!" She squeaked in a small voice.
"Don't worry about it". He huffed, running his hand through her hair. "Just be glad I'm a peaceful man".
He looked towards the sound of a scoff and saw Carl with his eyebrow raised. Alright maybe "peaceful man" wasn't the best way to describe Daryl, but he's made some real efforts lately. He pulled a small lighter from his pocket, and turned it on with a small click. Using the small light the hunter took a look around the living room. Empty picture frames lined the mold stained walls, and a long broken down tv hung above a fireplace. Directly across from that sat a white sofa that looked to be about the only clean thing in the room. A musty smell hung in the stale air.
Jesse scurried about the room, humming softly, as he locked doors and drew curtains. Each time someone took a step on the white carpet, it sent a poof of dust up into the air. Sophia just happened to have been standing near a corner, where the dust had extra space to build.
Daryl could hear the girl as she coughed and wheezed in the dark. His mind jumped to the worst possible conclusion of an asthma attack. He didn't have an inhaler, or Carol to tell him what to do for that matter. He spun around until his light found her, leaning on a table, as she coughed. At the sight of her using the table for support he went into action mode, but before he could do anything Carl jumped in.
"You okay?" The boy asked, appearing beside the girl.
"Yeah". She wheezed with a nod. "Allergies or something. I'll be fine in a second".
Daryl didn't know if she was genuinely okay, or if she was tryin to act tough in front of Carl and Jesse. He didn't have to wait long for his answer though because in less than a minute Sophia was back up, and resumed her exploration in the dark.
"Alright everybody gather round". Jesse whispered from the fireplace.
Daryl could hear the scuffle of Carl and Sophia's feet as they made their way over to the man. He really needed to teach them how to use their stealth better. When the two kids finally joined the two men by the fireplace, Jesse motioned for everybody to move in closer.
"Whenever a hoard runs through here they usually go after the pigs". He explained. "We should be fine as long as we don't draw attention to the house".
The kids looked frightened, but nodded in agreement. Daryl could see Sophia wringing her hands together nervously. He watched Carl reached over and patted her leg with a reassuring smile. The man couldn't help but think the pair would make a good couple, just two kids taking on the apocalypse. Ugh, since when was he concerned with the relation ship status of children?
The sound of a walker's low rasping moan caused the air in the room to turn to ice. Daryl could hear every uneven step the biter took as it shambled around. The footfalls sounded like they were just outside the locked kitchen door.
Daryl went to shrug his faithful crossbow off his back, but was stopped by Jesse's hand. He shook his head and pointed to a large window across the room. The redneck followed his gaze, and spotted yet another walker, stumbling around the outside blindly.
"Shit". Daryl cursed under his breath.
He realized that killing even one walker could draw the unwanted attention of God knows how many. With no other choice the hunter sat in complete silence, along with the others, as the worst possible situations ran through his head.
...
After what felt like hours of mentally watching walkers tear Carl and Sophia to shreds all outside noise ceded. Jesse got up and crept into the kitchen to check the door and windows. After making sure the house was still secure he slithered back to his visitors.
"Are they gone?" Carl asked.
"Not quiet". Jesse responded. "They moved further down the yard, but not gone".
"What do we do?" Sophia asked in a trembling voice.
Daryl had the keen feeling the question was aimed at him, not Jesse.
"Hunker down and wait it out". He answered calmly.
"That could take days!" Carl protested.
"We ain't got much of a choice". Daryl replied.
"I have no problem with you folks staying here". Jesse said. "I got some blankets in the basement. I'll go grab em".
"I'll help you". Daryl grunted.
If Daryl followed Jesse he could learn the lay out of the house, and plan escape routes. Plus the man wouldn't be able to do anything to the kids if he stayed within the hunters sight.
"I'll come too". Carl piped up.
Daryl sighed. The boy always tried to help in dangerous, and potentially, situations. At least he was driven. That'd come in handy one day when he's older.
"Alright". The hunter grunted. "Come on".
Sophia's eyes darted around the dark until they fell on her target. She reached out and snagged Daryl's belt loop with her small fingers. He turned to give her a confused look.
She wanted to ask him not to leave, not to sink into the dark with the strange man, but she couldn't. Every time she tried to speak fear snuffed out the words in her throat. All the girl could do was give Daryl a pleading look with her widened blue eye, begging him to stay.
"Let go kid, everything's fine". He told her.
Sophia shook her blonde head in response as she tightened her grip on the rednecks belt. She wasn't going to let him, or Carl, walk into a basement with a potential crazy man. What if they didn't come back? She'd be all alone like she was in the woods.
"I said everythings fine". He said, slightly annoyed.
Why don't kids ever listen? He wondered as he tried to pry Sophia's finger off.
She struggled to hold onto his belt in a losing battle. The girl's fingers came loose with a small crack as the nail on her pointer finger broke. She hissed and stuck the now bleeding finger in her mouth to ease the pain.
"Ooh, sorry girl". Daryl said.
After he made sure she was fine he slinked off towards the basement with Carl and Jesse. Sophia sat on the floor, watching the three figures sink into the darkness that surrounded them. Daryl had taken the light source she had with him. She sighed and took her finger out of her mouth to study the newly made cracks in the nail. Tears welled in her eyes as she watched the red liquid run down her hand. Something about blood always made her cry.
Sophia felt her blood run cold as two yelling voices echoed in the dark. The screams of Daryl and Carl. Her tears turned from those of discomfort to those of fear as she heard rapid footsteps come towards her.
"Hey there Sophie, is it okay if I call you Sophie?" A laughing voice asked from somewhere in the dark.
Sophia started to tremble as Jesse stepped close to her, holding Daryl's lighter, grinning like a psychopath. She could see every, crooked, yellow, tooth in his dirty mouth.
Daryl would never give him his lighter! She thought in fear and confusion.
"I asked you a question". Jesse said, taking another step forward. "Is it okay if I call you Sophie?" He repeated.
The young girl nodded at the man's request. The last thing Sophia wanted to do was make this angry, she didn't know what would set him off.
"Good". He smiled.
Sophia shuddered as Jesse put a hairy arm around her shoulder, forcing her to stand up. She could feel his warm breath on her neck as he ran his fingers through her soft hair.
"Come on". He whispered. "Let's go meet Emily".
AN: Uh oh, things aren't looking to good or anybody right now, but no need to fear! The next chapter will reveal the fate of your beloved heroes!
Corny right? Just wanted to see how early superhero narration-ish could I could make this AN. But in all seriousness I promise the next chapter will be the most intense in the story so far. Anyway feel free to favorite, follow, or review!
Thanks for readin. New chapter soon~