Nineteen
Carol had gotten away. That much he knew. He'd seen a glimpse of her in the headlights of a fleeing car when Andrea and T-Dog rushed her out of the house. He'd been running from six walkers, making a wide arc toward the farm house after he'd knocked his own oil lantern over in his rush to get dressed. He'd heard the moans first, and then the gunshots, and the only things he'd managed to grab were his crossbow and bolts as well as the keys to his bike. The rest of the place had gone up in flames like dry kindling.
He had a handgun on him, but there was nowhere near enough ammo to take down every walker. All it would do was draw more of them, and that was the last thing he needed.
The bike was parked up by the old barn, and Daryl was struggling to get there. He used his crossbow almost like a shield, using it to push walkers out of his way. Some he knocked down, and for those, he brought his boot down hard until their skulls gave and they went still.
Even after the truck had left with Carol inside, he could hear her wailing for her daughter, and his heart about broke in two. He hadn't seen the girl, but in all of the chaos, she could have been anywhere. For all he knew, she got out with someone else.
What he did know was that they'd made a pact a long time ago to meet back up at the traffic snarl where Sophia had run into the woods should they ever get separated again. He knew if he could just get out, he'd see her again. But if he showed up and Sophia wasn't there, he couldn't live with it. He wasn't leaving that farm until he knew Sophia wasn't there. If she wasn't there, that meant she might have made it out, and if she made it out, there was still a chance she was alive.
When he made it clear from the cluster of walkers he'd been pushing through, he could see smoke roiling up through the open kitchen windows, an orange glow tearing from room to room until the whole downstairs was alight. Daryl's stomach churned, and he pushed past another couple of walkers and made it to the side of his barn where his bike was parked.
He had to step over a corpse to get to it, and when he finally hopped on and turned the engine on, another walker came around the back of the barn, arms outstretched, teeth gnashing in mindless hunger.
Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder, and he peeled out of the dirt, turning sharply and heading toward the old farm house. He knocked over more than a couple walkers in his path, and when he pulled up along the house, he let the engine idle and listened for any sign of life. All he could hear was the pop and crackle of the flames engulfing the house and the rasping snarls of the dead.
He listened, keeping a close eye on the advancing walkers. He drove a little past the house, giving himself a little more room. Something crashed in the old farm house, and he knew it was time to go. If anybody was inside, they were gone. What was left of the group would be halfway back to the traffic snarl, and if he didn't want to get left behind, he was going to have to go, too.
But as he was about to peel off toward the gates, a scream from the fields shook him to his core. Another one came. Another. He shot off toward the fields, speeding past walkers and their clawing hands. He could barely hear the screams over the rumble of the engine, but he knew he was getting closer.
He hit dirt in the field, and it sprayed up behind the bike, and when he finally caught sight of the wooden perimeter fence, he had to make a sharp left to avoid driving into another small herd of walkers. He saw, then, where the wood had rotted through, and the commotion lately from Rick and Shane's fighting had probably led walkers from miles away in their direction. The breech in the fence had left them all like sitting ducks.
"Help!" The screams were louder, and as Daryl's headlight flooded the darkness, he searched for the screams. "Help!" When turned again, this time toward the east fence, and that was when he saw a cluster of seven or eight walkers following the screams. That was when he saw her, frightened and gripping the fence as she tried to run. Her unsteady gait made her stumble and fall, and one of them grabbed at her ankle. "No!" She screamed and kick her foot loose from the monster's grasp. Daryl stopped the bike and grabbed his gun, lifting it high over his head and firing. The walkers chasing Sophia and walkers flooding through the broken fence all turned and made him their next mission.
"Sophia, run! Keep goin', I'll come to you!" Daryl yelled. She panted, her dirty face smudged from tears. She was panting and pushing at the ground to pull herself up. "Sophia, go!" He shot at a walker that got too close, and it seemed to make the walkers swarm tighter. They were getting too close, and when Daryl saw Sophia get up and start to run again, he hit the gas and knocked his way through the wall of walkers coming at him. Sophia was running a little faster now, her once-injured leg slowing her down.
"Help!" she screamed again, stumbling as another walker grabbed at her through the fence. Daryl managed to get up close to her, putting a bullet through that walker's head. Sophia jumped, and he brought the bike close enough that he could reach down for her hand.
"C'mon. C'mon, we gotta get you back to your mom."
"I'm scared," she choked out, wiping at her nose.
"I know. Me too."
"I saw Glenn," she whimpered. "He came into the house, but two of those things got in. They fell on him. He dropped his lantern. I heard him yell, and I got scared. I just ran."
"You did the right thing, you hear me? You ran. You survived. Nothin' you could do."
"He's dead, isn't he?"
"I don't know," Daryl admitted, keeping an eye on the walkers that were drawing near. "We gotta go, Sophia. We gotta go!" He reached out for her again, and she took his hand. He helped her up, and she got onto the back of the bike. "You hold on, alright? We're gonna be ok." Sophia whimpered and clutched her arms around Daryl. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, and Daryl hit the gas, tearing off away from the farm and toward the old highway that would carry them back to the traffic snarl on the Interstate. All Daryl could hope for was that he'd find her there.
…
Day was just beginning to break when Andrea, T-Dog and Carol made it back to the old traffic snarl. A smoky haze traveled on the breeze carrying smoke from the old farmhouse in their direction.
"Stop," Carol choked out, tears in her eyes as T-Dog slowed the truck to a near crawl. "Just stop. Nobody's here."
"We could be the first ones," Andrea encouraged. "We had to take three detours just to get back here. Maybe the others are having trouble. They'll be here."
"She's not here," Carol choked out. "He's not here." A hot, sick feeling washed over her, and she started to panic.
"Whoa. Whoa, T-Dog. Stop!" Andrea hollered. T-Dog hit the brakes, and Andrea scrambled out of the truck so Carol could get out. Carol rushed to the side of the road, leaning over the railing and heaving. But nothing came but tears. She coughed and sputtered and thought for a moment she might vomit, but she just choked out a strangled cry, and Andrea hurried over to her.
"Hey," she soothed. "She's gonna be ok."
"She wasn't there. She wasn't in her bed. Something must have scared her, made her run." She shook her head. "I have to find her. I have to…" She let out a shaky breath. "And Daryl was out in that tent. He was…"
"Hey, if there's anything I know for sure, that's this: Daryl Dixon can take care of himself," T-Dog assured her. "He would've heard the shots. He had time to get out. Right?" Carol wasn't so sure. She hugged her arms around herself, and she thought about the fact that if she hadn't gone back to the house, she'd have been there with him. At least she'd have known if he was alright if she'd stayed. Now she didn't know where he was, and she didn't know where Sophia was, and she felt like the world had dropped out from under her just like that day in this very spot when Sophia had run into the woods.
"He's right," Andrea assured her. "Let's just wait. Let's get in the truck and wait. They'll be along soon. You'll see." Carol took a deep breath and shook her head.
"I can't just sit around and wait. I need a gun. I need to go back."
"You're not going back alone. Are you crazy?" T-Dog asked.
"I can handle a gun."
"A few lessons in the woods with Daryl isn't going to keep you alive when a whole herd of those things comes at you," Andrea explained. "Just wait. If they're not here soon, we'll go back together." T-Dog flashed her a look that told her he thought she'd lost her damn mind, but he said nothing. Instead, he went back to the truck and got back behind the wheel. Andrea took Carol by the hand. "Come on. Let's go wait." Carol hesitated a moment longer, before she started back to the truck with Andrea.
Though, before they could slide inside, lights from another vehicle approached from up ahead. Carol put her hand on Andrea's arm, and the blonde woman stopped.
"T!" Andrea gasped. She pointed ahead, and he rubbed his hand on the dirty windshield, peering out about a half mile down the road.
"Carol, isn't that your Cherokee?"
"Yeah," she gasped. "It is."
"See? I told you they were coming," Andrea nudged her. "Come on." She started waving her arms, and Carol joined her, a wave of relief washing over her as the vehicle neared. They started out through the maze of cars in the traffic snarl to meet the other vehicle. All Carol could see was Lori driving, Carl in the middle and Glenn in the passenger's seat. When the vehicle came to a stop, Carol rushed over, peering in the back windows, hoping to see her daughter and Daryl, but instead, there were just supplies and guns. Her heart sank.
"Maggie? Is Maggie with you?" Glenn asked, holding his arm close against his chest.
"No," Andrea panted. "What happened?"
"I went in the house. I knew Sophia was there."
"Sophia? You saw her?" Carol asked. Glenn nodded his head, and he swallowed hard. "There were walkers. They fell on me. Probably scared her. Last thing I saw was her running out the door." He pulled back a towel to reveal a burn on his arm. It wasn't severe, but it was going to take some time to heal. It reminded Carol of a burn Ed had given her when he'd held an iron to the outside of her thigh. It had hardly scarred, but the memory remained.
"She ran out?" Carol gasped. "Oh God. Oh God, you didn't see her after that?"
"I'm sorry, Carol."
"She's ok, Carol," Carl chimed in, getting out of the car alongside his mother. "Sophia's strong. She got shot, and she lived. I bet she's with the next group. I bet she's with my dad." Lori came around and wrapped Carol in a supportive hug.
"Daryl?" Lori whispered. Carol shook her head.
"I don't know," she choked out. "I don't know where they are."
"It's ok. They'll be here. They will." Lori gave her a tight squeeze. When she pulled away, Carol wiped at her eyes and took a steadying breath. Crying wasn't going to help her daughter or Daryl. She had to compose herself, and then she had to convince the others that they needed to go back. Sophia wasn't getting left behind. Daryl wasn't getting left behind. Not while she had breath in her body.
The group decided to start scavenging through some of the cars they might have missed the last time they were there, and Carol tried hard to focus on anything but worrying. Still, she couldn't shake the knot in her stomach every time she thought of Daryl and Sophia and where they might be.
About a half hour later, when the morning sun began to turn the sky a beautiful orange hue, another vehicle arrived, and as it neared, Carol's hope renewed. But when the doors all opened and only Maggie, Hershel, Rick and Shane stepped out, Carol's heart sank gain. Carol watched Maggie and Glenn race to each other, embracing the way Rick and Lori had that day at the quarry. This time, when Lori and Rick reunited, Rick buried his face against her neck and breathed deep, holding her close, renewed hope charging through him as Carl came in between them to hug his dad. Shane leaned back against the car with a shotgun in his hands, his shirt torn and bloody, his eyes staring anywhere but at the family reunion.
"Dale?" Andrea asked, looking to Maggie and then to Hershel.
"They caught him just before we escaped," Hershel admitted. "There was nothing we could do. They swarmed on him."
"Dale's gone?" Glenn asked, still holding Maggie tight. She nodded and let out a little sob against his chest.
"Jimmy, too," Andrea said quietly. In one night, they'd lost Jimmy, Patricia and Dale. And now Sophia and Daryl were missing.
"Where's Daryl?" Rick asked, pulling back from Lori and Carl and looking to Andrea and then to Carol. "Sophia?"
"I don't know," she choked out. Her voice was barely audible, and the tears stung her eyes again. "Daryl was in his tent, and Sophia was in the house."
"Sophia saw me get swarmed," Glenn explained to Rick. "She ran. It's the last time I saw her."
"Alright, I'm going back," Rick offered. "Daryl and Sophia may still be out there. We're not leaving anybody behind. We've lost enough in one night. We're not losing anyone else. If they're alive, we're gonna find them."
"I'm going with you," Carol insisted, stepping toward Rick. Shane scoffed in the background.
"Carol, you ain't anywhere near experienced enough to go on a search and rescue."
"At least she's willing," Lori shot back. "What about you, Shane?" Shane sobered, and she straightened up.
"Look, we barely got out of there alive. I say we give it one more hour, because soon, those things are gonna be here. They're gonna be hungry. And we don't wanna be here when all hell comes down on us."
"Carl," Rick started, "go wait in the car. "Everybody that's not coming, get in the cars, wait, and give us an hour. One hour. It's all I'll ask for. Who else is coming?" T-Dog stepped forward, as did Glenn."
"You're in no condition," Hershel insisted. "I need to take a look at that wound."
"I wanna go," Carl offered.
"No," Lori snapped.
"It's Sophia," Carl countered. "She's my friend." He looked up at his mother and at his father. "Please." Moments later, the familiar rumble of a motorcycle motor ripped through the air, and Carol's eyes went wide. The group turned toward the direction of the sound, and Carol took a couple of steps forward. When Daryl's motorcycle first came into view, Carol's hand flew to her chest. At first, all she could see was Daryl riding with his crossbow hooked on the bike. But then she saw two frail arms around his middle, and she let out a sob.
"Oh my God," she gasped. As Daryl approached the snarl, he slowed to a stop, and Carol took off toward the bike with the rest of the group walking behind her to give her a little space. Sophia slid off the back of Daryl's motorcycle, and she looked around for a moment before finding her mother running toward her. A wide smile spread across her face, and she took off toward her, her healing leg dragging just a little slower than the other. But she made it to her mother and nearly knocked her over with the strength of her hug.
"Mom," she choked out.
"Sophia. You're ok! You're ok," she gasped, crying and kissing the top of her daughter's head.
"I got scared. I'm sorry I ran."
"No, you did good," Carol promised. "You're ok. That's all that matters." Carol took a few shaky breaths and hugged her daughter a little harder.
"Sophia!" Carl called. Sophia pulled out of her mother's embrace and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Go on. Somebody was worried about you," Carol whispered. Sophia hurried to greet Carl, and Carol turned to see Daryl throwing his leg over the bike. She covered her mouth with her hand and sniffled, blinking back tears. She watched his face flood with relief. He started toward her, and she took off toward him, running at him as he opened his arms to welcome her in.
"Oh my God, you're ok," she whispered. "You're alive." She threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. He held her back, taking a deep breath as he buried his face against her shoulder and breathed her in. She buried her face against his neck and let out another sob. "You saved her. You…"
"Knew you got away. Didn't wanna leave 'til I knew she was safe, too." Carol hugged him tighter then, and Daryl looked up to see everybody walking their way. Carol pulled back then, and she framed his face with her hands, smiling through her tears.
"I thought I lost you."
"I'm right here," he promised. She leaned in then, pressing her lips against his. He returned the kiss was the same intensity, and when she pulled back, she let out a little laugh, and he rested his forehead against hers.
"I love you." Her voice was so soft, he nearly didn't hear her. But when he pulled back to see her blue eyes sparkling up at him, a little chuckle fell from his lips.
"I love you," he echoed, leaning in for one more kiss.
Author's Note: I'm not sure how many more chapters I have in me. I do thank those of you who decided to keep reading, and I hope you enjoy what's left to come. Thanks so much.