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They find a trail. Footprints in the mud. Charlie tries not to get her hopes up but she knows they're from a human, to clean to belong to a walker. And they're leading away from the prison, all the undead are still milling around down there, why would a few of them suddenly just leave?

Charlie would love it if they came across a working car even if she knows it'll never happen. Her feet and back hurt. She's gotten used to rest, a bed to sleep in every night. Not having to worry every second of the day. That was her mistake. She never should've let it happen. Getting comfortable now days is dangerous.

Weapons would be a better find. She feels so exposed out here with nothing more than a knife. Food sounds good as well. They're rationing what they have which is smart but it doesn't mean she's not still hungry. Charlie keeps these complaints to herself.

Charlie almost runs into Merle's back when he stops. The teenager shakes her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts. "What?"

"Hm, lost it," He mumbles before pushing leaves around, trying to find the prints they'd been following.

"I think there's a main road a few miles that way," Charlie points and Merle follows her finger. "Maybe...maybe...I don't know."

"Best thing we got," Merle shrugs and they set off in that directions while keeping a close eye out for...anything.

They reach the road but don't walk out onto it. They stay on the edge of the forest for cover and walk beside it, never letting it out of their sight. After a while, they take a break next to a run-down car. It holds nothing useful, unsurprisingly.

Charlie sits on the ground, her back leaning against one of the car's tires. Maybe she should've gotten more sleep last night, she's already tired. That's what she blames the fact that she didn't hear them on.

One second, it's just her and Merle catching their breath. The next, there are four guns pointed at them.

"Looky what we got here," One of the men says. Merle moves around the car as Charlie jumps to her feet. He puts himself in front of her, gun tucked into the waistband of his pants.

Merle raises his arms slightly and lets out a chuckle. "Don't want no trouble."

"No?" Another man speaks up and steps forward. "Well, that's just to bad, because we do."

"Well, hold on now," Third guy motions the other one to back down, leaning to the side to see around Merle and to Charlie. "Watch your manners, there's a lady present."

Charlie loses track but one of the men whistles while rocking back and forth on his heels. "Pretty lady."

Chills spill down the teenager's spine, her eyes glued to the person who'd spoken but it's dragged away when Merle turns his attention to her. He keeps the four men in his sight light.

"Listen to me, sis," He whispers quickly. "Run, don't stop, don't look back. You run and you do not stop." Charlie shakes her head, eyebrows furrowed. "I'll keep 'em here," He ignores her while pushing her back slightly. "Go, kid," He turns to face her fully now, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "Go. Find my baby brother."

"No-"

"Run!" Merle shouts and pushes her away from him, spinning just in time to punch one of the men in the face. Everything inside of her is screaming for her to run away from the danger but at the same time, it's telling her to stay, help what could be the last person she has left in this world.

In a split-second decision, Charlie runs. She hates herself for it but when gunshots fill the air, all thoughts stop, her mind only focused on her legs carrying her away. She barely even registers the sharp pain shooting through her arm when a voice shouts from behind her. "You can run little lady but we'll find you!"

When she thinks the gunshots have stopped, Charlie keeps running but jumps when she hears another one. Then a pause before two more. She slides to a stop and looks back, waiting. Another shot rings out and her heart drops into her stomach. She waits, listens.

Raised voices reach her ears and she runs.

Charlie doesn't know how much time has passed. She's sure it's been a day because it got really dark for a while but she hasn't stopped moving. Her legs had given out on her after running for so long and she'd fallen to the forest floor, panting heavily. The graze on her arm has stopped bleeding. She's in a way, grateful for it, the pain keeps the panic she feels creeping up on her down.

A few walkers have wandered their way onto her path. Unlucky for them, they're dead now.

Hunger gnaws at her, her mouth runs dry. She has little water left and no food, only her knife to protect herself. But she keeps going.

The woods feel much larger when you walk through them for hours on end without coming across anything but more trees. Despite this, Charlie keeps going.

A tune from an old kids movie she saw once pops into her mind. Charlie mumbles it to herself. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming," A snort escapes her and she drags her feet to a stop, eyes glued to the leaves below her. Just when she's starting to think she's losing her mind, a noise reaches her ears.

Head perking up, Charlie looks around for the source of the sound. Heart speeding up, she turns towards her best guess and trudges through the trees, listening to the sound of running water increase until her boots stop right beside a small stream.

Dropping to her knees, Charlie removes the bag from her shoulders and fishes out the two bottles. She fills the empty one, careful not to disturb the dirt below the water. It's clear enough, she wonders if she needs to boil it but she shakes her head. Not like she has anything to do that with anyway.

Taking the last few sips of her water, she places it under the stream to fill the bottle like before. Sighing, Charlie looks around herself before falling back. The sun shines through the trees, highlighting parts of the ground. It's much cooler in the woods, especially by the water. Sweat still coats her clothes, causing them to stick to her skin.

Tears are escaping her eyes and before she realizes, she's crying. She places a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds. She tries not to think about it but by doing that, she ends up thinking about it. About everything. The prison is gone but that's not what's crushing her. She's lost homes before, moved from place to place since she can remember. But she never had a family before so she's never lost one. But now...now she's lost everything.

Catching her breath, Charlie forces herself up and splashes water in her face. She refuses to believe that they're gone. They can't all be gone, they're out there somewhere and she's going to find them or she'll die trying. That may be a little dramatic but, what else is she going to do?

Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Charlie pushes herself to her feet once more and keeps going.

Yeah...sorry. I brought Merle back just to do that to him. I'm a horrible person. Cause I do like Merle, I think he just got dealt a bad hand. Or he lost one. To soon? Sorry.

But yup, Charlie is on her own now. So many possibilities of what could happen. I've already gotten it all written out. If you guys would like quicker updates, just let me know!

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

Until next time, friends.

'-'