21.

Our walk back into the forest is long, exhausting, and nerve wrecking. Even though I don't hear any Infecteds, I am paranoid. The sky begins to darken and I begin to regret my choice of leaving so late.

But there's nothing I can do about it now. I glance down at Teddy, her hand clings to mine as she wearily hobbles on. Then I look at Daphne, she has energy compared to Teddy. I think her hope in finding Enid and her friends is keeping her active.

I think of Red and C-101. I hope they're still around. I wouldn't be surprised if they left me already.

I scan my surroundings to make sure I'm going down the right path back to where me and my group was located.

We continue to walk and walk until it's completely dark. Then I regret everything.

"What are we going to do?" Daphne asks me.

I say nothing, because I didn't know what to do. Then Teddy releases my hand. "Maybe we should make a fire? I know how to." Teddy says.

"Okay, what do we need?" I inquire.

Teddy presses her lips, thinking to herself. "Oh, yeah! Rocks and sticks!" She makes gestures with her hands. "If you get two rocks and smash them into each other, they'll make a big spark! Then we get the sticks, pile them up and make a fire." Teddy's weariness seem to have disappeared into thin air. It's almost like there was switch inside of Teddy. First she was somber, now she's lively.

"Smart." I comment. Teddy beams.

I nod and search for rocks and sticks. It's hard to see, so I kneel down and feel the Earth with my hands.

"I found some!" Daphne shouts out. She makes her way to us with two jagged rocks and a few sticks.

I decide where we will set up camp and I pick an area close to a river and surrounded by rustling bushes.

"Put them here." Teddy orders Daphne. She points to the center of our camp site.

Submissively, Daphne does.

I take watch for any Infecteds roaming the area. I hear nor see anything, but my guard is still up.

I glance at Teddy, she is smashing the two rocks together as hard as she can. But I see no spark of any kind. Teddy groans in frustration, but keeps smashing the rocks.

I exhale and go back to my watch. It's becoming darker and darker now. If anything or anyone wanted to lash out at us, it could easy do so.

Then I hear Teddy gasps. I whirl around to see Teddy gawking at the two rocks. A wide grin forms on her face and she smashes the rocks again, this time there is a spark. It is orange and vibrant and short lived.

"WOW! That was so cool!" Daphne exclaims astonished. Teddy continues to beam.

Teddy does it again, this time closer to the pile of sticks, the spark comes and in an instant, the sticks are ablaze.

Teddy looks like she's going to burst with happiness. "I did it!" She cheers.

"Good job, Teddy." I praise.

Daphne looks thoughtful. "What else did your Daddy teach you?" Daphne asks.

"A lot of stuff. My Daddy would take me out in the woods to hunt and camp out all the time." Teddy says with a smile.

I feel numb.

Daphne raises up an eyebrow. "What about your Mom?"

Teddy makes a silly face. "Mommy hated camping. She would yell at Daddy a lot for taking me camping."

I see Daphne opening her mouth to ask a question and I interrupt her.

"Guys, I think it's time for bed. I'll take watch. It's very late." I say.

Teddy nods. "Okay." With that Teddy takes out her sleeping bag and crawls into it. Daphne suddenly becomes pale.

"Wait….wait….are we really sleeping out here?" Daphne croaks. "What if a Infected gets us?"

"They won't. I promise." I reassure.

Daphne isn't convinced. Then Teddy sits up and chimes in.

"Don't worry, Daph. Faye will be the lookout. Plus we're around a lot of bushes, so no monster can sneak up on us."

I nod. "That's right. So go to sleep." Teddy goes to sleep and Daphne gets out her sleeping bag with quivering lips. Her eyes dart back and forth. Daphne slips into her sleeping bag and takes a while to close her eyes.

I struggle to keep my eyes open as exhaustion hits me hard. I'm low on energy and yawning almost every minute.

I do not fall asleep and I watch weary as the sun lightens the Earth.

…

We walk the second we get up, hungry and thirsty. The blazing sun basks the Earth. We take a few breaks for the girls to go relief themselves, then we are back to trotting through the forest.

Teddy holds my hand the whole time we are walking. I'm positive at this point I have Teddy's wholehearted trust. It feels good to have someone different around. Teddy has my wholehearted affection and protection.

I feel so much sympathy for her. I have no plans to tell her about her parents' deaths. I fear that will break her spirit.

I feel different about Daphne. I care for her similar to the way I care for Teddy. But unlike Teddy, she has family to go to. A family that is searching for her. Teddy's parents' love is questionable at best.

"Are we almost there?" Daphne whines.

I shrug my shoulders. "I have no idea."

We keep shuffling through the forest for hours, my feet begin to ache and my legs begins to cramp. The girls shows discomfort as well.

It's when I'm ready to pass out, when I hear C-101's voice cry out. "FAYE!"

I look up ahead to C-101 and Red heading in our direction.

"Xander! Red!" I cry out surprised. We make it up to them and C-101 eyes Teddy and Daphne closely. He takes his eyes off of them and glares at me. "Why the hell do you have two kids with you?" C-101 demands.

I'm not in the mood. "Xander, I found these two kids in the forest alone." I say.

C-101 rolls his eyes. "What's your point? They're not your problem. They're not our problem! Send them out, Faye!" C-101 balls up his fists. "You go missing for days and when we find you, you have extra mouths to find, you dumb bitch!"

Teddy comes to my defense. "That's a mean word!" She crosses her arms, upset. "Faye is helping me look for my parents!" Teddy raises her voice. "So leave Faye alone! She's helping me and Daphne!" Teddy nudges Daphne with her elbow. "Right, Daphne?"

Daphne is staring directly at C-101's scaly side face with horror and shock. Teddy doesn't seem to mind C-101's face, or at the very least doesn't show it.

Teddy nudges Daphne again. "Right, Daphne?" She urges. Daphne simply nods.

C-101 rolls his eyes again. "Faye, you need to ditch them now! We do not need more mouth to feed! These two are none of our concerns. We must focus on ourselves!" C-101 gestures towards himself, Red, and me.

Teddy pushes a dark bang out of her eyes. She presses her lips, I glance at her. Immediately I feel defensive. I raise my voice and take a step closer to C-101.

"NO! They are coming with us! I'm not going to leave them to die!" I declare.

Then C-101 scowls. "Faye, you leave them or we leave you!"

I become silent, unsure of what to say. I glare back at C-101 with a stiff expression. C-101 stares at me, waiting for my answer.

Teddy breaks the tensed silence. "I can be helpful! I know how to pick berries and fish! My Daddy taught me!"

C-101's eyes lights up for a moment. "Really?" He say, slightly intrigued.

C-101 looks at Daphne. "What can you do?" He inquires.

Daphne appears uneasy. She is quiet. Finally her lips quivers. "Nothing." She mutters. Daphne lowers her eyes to the ground.

I feel bad for her. Then I clear my throat and put authority in my tone of voice.

"I will take care of them! They are both of my responsibilities," I gesture towards Daphne. "I'm helping her find her family. One of them saved me in the forest," Then I gesture towards Teddy. "She helped me when I was in danger. She made a fire for us! She knows how to survive out here better than us! Please, Xander. We can work this out, I will feed them on my own terms. You don't have to worry about them. I will."

C-101's glare softens in a cold look. C-101 is quiet as he thinks to himself. A minute passes and C-101 takes a deep breath. "Fine." He grumbles. Then C-101 turns around and walks. "Come on, don't slow us down, Faye."

I can't help but smile. Teddy's hand swiftly clings to mine. I grab Daphne's hand and we all walk.

…..

It feels surreal to be back with my group. I stay close to Red. This may sound weird, but I feel safer with her around. If an Infected appears, she'll just kill it, so me and the girls are protected. I feel uncomfortable around C-101, even though I missed him. I think I have an odd relationship with the both of them. I prefer Red over C-101 any day, but somehow I tolerate C-101. Both of them has hurt me, Red stabbed me before and C-101 made me kill Nick. And for that, I have deep seated grudges against them. But I have known them for so long, I'm attached to them. It's funny, Winters spent years, breaking my bonds and attachments, but yet indirectly caused me to be attached to Red and C-101.

I do wonder how they feel about me. I will probably never admit it, but the day C-101 killed Winters' son was the best day of my life. I cared very little for Peter, but I'm free. I can start anew. I look at Daphne and Teddy.

I will get Daphne to her family. I promise silently.

Then I glance at Teddy, my mind goes blank. My affection and compassion for Teddy is genuine, I like her personality and spirit. I almost envy her. She has innocence. I'm willing to care for her like a parental figure.

I glance back at Daphne to see her sullen expression.

"You okay?" I ask.

Daphne say nothing. I assume C-101 is the problem.

"Don't worry about Xander." I reassure.

"No...it's not that...it's my fault." Daphne falters.

I raise an eyebrow. Teddy is eavesdropping on the conversation.

"No, it's not. That guy is just a meanie." Teddy exclaims.

Daphne isn't comforted at all. "It is. I ran away! I dared Frankie and Penelope to go out into the woods. Now we're lost and I don't know where my sisters are!" Daphne looks like she is on the verge of tears.

I make my voice gentle. "Calm down, Daphne."

Daphne shakes a little and sniffles. "I just want to be with them." She laments.

I give her a smile. "You will. I promise."

Teddy flashes a cheerful grin to Daphne. "Hey, maybe when you find your family, you can camp out with me and my Daddy! My Mommy can make you a really good meal. It'll be fun." The utter sound of hope and obliviousness in her lively voice pains me. I say nothing.

After an hour of walking, we all make it to C-101 and Red's new camp site. There's no fire or anything special, but there is a pile of blueberries.

Teddy shows off her usefulness and creates a fire from scratch. C-101 is very impressed, but is still not happy about having two extra mouths.

"Great job, Ted." I praise.

With that, we dine on blueberries as we warm ourselves. The day seems to be faster as it eventually comes dark. Teddy gets into her sleeping bag along with Daphne. I have nothing, so I sleep on the ground along with C-101. Red takes watch on C-101's order. In an hour, she'll wake me up and after my shift is done, I wake him up.

I sleep for a period. My slumber is dreamless and blank. Then suddenly I hear jarring screaming. It's high pitch and long winded.

I jolt out of my slumber to continue hearing the screaming. I scramble to my feet to see a hysterical Teddy swimming in her sleeping bag. Everyone is awaken by Teddy's screaming, Daphne is trembling, Red is wide eyed, and C-101 is pissed. Teddy wakes up from her slumber and quivers in her sleeping bag.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" C-101 cry. "You're going to attract Infecteds!" With that, C-101 scrambles to his feet and dart his head left and right.

I scurry towards Teddy hastily. "Are you okay?"

Without a word, Teddy throws her arms around me. She presses her face into my shirt. She is hysterical, a vast contrast to her usual lively, cheery self.

She sobs heavily. "I had a nightmare! I saw Daddy and Mommy get eaten by Clickers!"

C-101 chimes in bitterly. "Well, good job, you probably attracted some with your screaming."

"Shut up!" I say harshly. C-101 simply rolls his eyes.

I comfort the child the best I could. I think of Nora and Nina. "It's okay, it was just a dream." I whisper.

Suddenly Teddy yanks away, her face flushes. She briefly glances at everyone, biting her lower lip.

She becomes rigid with apprehension. "Did I attract some Infecteds?"

I shake my head without thought. "No." I hope I'm right.

Teddy becomes slightly relaxed after I say that.

"Are you okay, Teddy?" Daphne asks softly. She scoots over to her and puts a kind hand on her shoulder. "I had a nightmare too."

Unemphatic, C-101 whispers out. "Go back to sleep now!"

I roll my eyes, but I don't protest. Instead I make sure I'm close to Teddy and Daphne.

Teddy is still shaking.

"Your dream was not real." I tell her.

Teddy sniffles. "I know, but it was so real looking. It was really scary."

I lay down.

"I want to go home. I really want my Mom and Dad." Teddy laments.

"I know." I mutter.

Teddy's green eyes burn into mine. "Why did they leave? Why did Daddy leave me alone in the treehouse?" Her voice is confused and desperate. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know. But I promise, we will find them." I lie through my teeth.

22 will come eventually. Reviews and thoughts. Please tell me how you feel about Teddy or Daphne. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.