"Do you hear that, Ms. Parker?" Sophia said quietly as they walked along, eating some of the berries they had picked a short time ago.

Tea paused and pricked her ears up. Sure enough, the sound of bells was faintly echoing through the woods. "Church bells, sounds li'e. Can' tell where, t'ough. Bes' keep movin'."

"My legs hurt," Sophia complained.

"And I'm tired. Ya're stronga ye'. Ya can keep movin'," came her reply.

"Do you think we'll find them today?"

"Maybe. Don' know. Eit'a way, ya'll be fine. Le's go," she said.

This had been the way of conversation all day. Sophia was asking questions right and left while Tea was answering in only a few short sentences. She kept her head on a swivel, still in survival mode driven by instinct alone. Always keeping a throwing knife in her left hand, she had traded Bucky out for Slice in her right. The machete had greater reaching distance, and so would work better if they got into another fight with a group. While she had no doubt of her capabilities with her knives, there was no way she could risk leaving the girl open. It didn't matter if the girl had a firm grip on her knife or that she'd tucked the doll away. It didn't matter that the once scared girl now looked like she was ready to fight thanks to her praise and tutoring. Sophia was still just a child, and Tea was going to do her damnedest to keep her from having to fight.

They kept walking for another hour before Tea decided to cut the girl some slack. She bent down and offered the girl a piggy-back ride, realizing that she was lighter than she should be for her age. Using one hand under the girl's thighs to keep her up, she relied on the girl herself to keep a firm hold of her shoulders so that she could at least keep Slice in her other hand. They had been lucky so far as walkers were concerned, but relatively safe drinking water was another story. Thanks to a hill, the water in the stream had begun to pick up speed, causing a little period of rapids in the creek. Tea thought maybe they could risk a drink. While moving water was still risky, they were risking dehydration without it.

"I'm gonna drink. Ya don' gotta if ya don' wanna. Could make ya sick," Tea told the girl.

She knelt down and cupped her hands, sending out a silent prayer to whatever gods deigned to listen that they wouldn't get sick drinking the water. Sophia knelt down next to her and did the same motion, bringing the water to her lips. Tea did the same thing twice before standing. She repeated the action a few times before Tea stopped her hands.

"Don' drink too much. Migh' ge' sick. Defini'ely ge' ya a bellyache," she told the girl. "Le's go."

~x~

The group was nervous. They'd been making their way back to the highway when a shot rang out. Pausing in their tracks for a few moments, they didn't hear a second shot. That was what was worrying most of them. Daryl urged them all to keep going, and they did for a little while before Lori stopped again.

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked her as the group stopped again.

"It was a gunshot," she said plainly.

"We all heard it," Daryl said, thinking this was a stupid and pointless conversation to be having.

"Why one?" she questioned back at him. "Why just one gunshot?"

"Maybe they took down a walker," Daryl suggested, trying to end the discussion.

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker," she said quickly. "Or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked looking to Daryl.

"Maybe it was Tea," Glenn offered.

"There's nothin' we can do about it anyway. Can't run around these woods chasin' echoes," Daryl spat, trying not to think about what Glenn had said. Ania had her throwing knives; he'd only ever seen her shoot a gun that night at the quarry. There's no way she would have used her Glock unless she had lost all seven of her blades. "And Ania won't shoot if she don't gotta."

"So what do we do?" Lori asked him.

"Same as we've been," he answered before heading off. "Beat the bush for the girls, work our way back to the highway."

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV," Andrea said, surprisingly being helpful for once. They started moving again now that Daryl was walking off, though Carol stood still. "I'm sorry for what you're going through," she told her, making the others look back once more. "I know how you feel."

"I suppose you do," Carol stated. "Thank you. The thought of her, out here, by herself. It's the not knowing that's killing me," she said as she broke down. "I just keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy." The words were out of her mouth before she registered what she had said. A look of horror crossed her face as she took Andrea's hand said, "Oh god. That's the worst thing I've ever said."

Andrea scoffed just a bit before giving the woman a sincere, albeit pain-filled, smile, "We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."

"I'll tell you what it's worth – not a damn thing," Daryl said as he walked up and looked between the two women. "Ania's with your little girl. She ain't alone out here. It's a waste of time all this hopin' and prayin'. 'Cause we're gonna locate those two girls. They're gonna be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord," he said as he walked away while trying to keep his own frustration at bay.

They continued on in silence, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Daryl was pissed at how everyone seemed to be completely dismissing the possibility of finding the girls. Ania wasn't stupid. She knew how to track for fuck's sake. He was positive she was already traveling back to the highway with the little girl in tow. They were still following the stream bed themselves; the possibility of meeting up with the girls out here was just as likely as it was back at the RV. The silence followed them for about a mile before Daryl noticed the shadows growing longer.

"We'll lose the light before too long," he told the others as they came to a halt. "I think we should call it."

"Let's head back," Lori agreed.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asked her.

"Yeah, we'll find them tomorrow," Lori answered, shocking Daryl as she included Ania in the statement too.

Daryl whistled and motioned for the others to follow him. They turned and followed him as he led them back towards the RV. He could tell that the group was getting really tired and needed to eat something as well. They fanned out a little and kept their eyes lowered, just in case something popped out that told them of the girls' whereabouts.

"How much farther?" Lori asked Daryl.

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies."

"Too bad we're not crows," Andrea quipped.

They'd taken a few more paces in which Andrea had fallen behind the rest while muttering to herself. That might have been why when she started screaming, the rest of the group had to run back towards her. Daryl was the first to move and did his best to run at full speed. Only problem was he wasn't the fastest runner ever from years of smoking. They were just able to break through the trees to spot the woman lying on the ground as another woman on a horse of all things road up.

"Lori?" she asked as everyone ran up. "Lori Grimes?"

"I'm Lori," the woman said as she stepped forward.

"Rick sent me. You've got to come now," came the response.

"What?" Lori asked, hearing the urgency in the young woman's voice.

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot. He's still alive, but you've got to come now. Rick needs you, just come!" she insisted.

Lori started taking her backpack off, spurring Daryl into action. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. We don't know this girl! You can't get on that horse!"

She ignored him as she climbed up behind the girl. "Rick said you had others on the highway," she said. "At that big traffic snarl? Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. The name's Greene. Hi-ya!"

They all stood dumbly as they watched the horse disappear through the trees. The walker that had attacked Andrea wheezed and sat up, prompting Glenn and Carol to gasp. Daryl just raised his crossbow and took aim.

"Shut up," he said as he fired an arrow through his head.

Angry as ever, he stormed his way through the woods leaving the others to trail along or get left behind. It was just one bad thing after another with this group. He almost wished that he had listened to Merle and robbed the place when they had the chance and forced the old bastard to take Ania with them. But he had taken to making excuses to stick around instead of breaching the subject. Every excuse was just a cover for the real reason he'd wanted to stay, and now she was out here with nothing but a little girl as back up. Carl had been shot, which meant that they were going to have another distraction away from finding the two. Damn it all to hell, all he wanted was to curl up in that girl's arms and pretend this was all just one bad dream. He felt stupid for thinking it and like a pussy for wanting her to hold him, but the reassurance he felt when her arms were around him was something he desperately needed right now. He needed to know she was alive. That she was okay. That he still had something to hold onto in this world gone to hell.

As the highway came into view, the rest of the group pushed forward, Glenn exiting the woods first. The sun was just starting to set, showering the group in shades of orange, as he reached Dale. He informed the old man of the situation with Carl, only for the old man to start pestering them.

"Shot?" he repeated. "What do you mean shot?"

"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there," the Asian informed him. "All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori."

The old man looked at Daryl, "And you let her?"

"Climb down out of my asshole, man," Daryl said as he climbed over the rail and walked off. "Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's."

"I heard screams. Was that you?" he asked Andrea who just looked at him before entering the RV.

"She got attacked by a walker," Glenn answered. "It was a close call."

Daryl listened to the conversation, but didn't bother adding anything to it. He grabbed a fresh water bottle and took a long drink while Glenn finished filling the old man in about what happened in the woods. Irritation was set firmly on his face as he watched the group interact with each other. One damn day of looking and they had all but lost hope. It was just the damn woods, and Ania knew what she was doing in them. Writing her off would prove to be the group's biggest mistake. As Andrea exited the RV, they stood in a circle and discussed the topic of whether they should go to the Greene's or stay on the highway.

"I won't do it," Carol said. "We can't just leave."

"Carol," Dale tried to reason. "The group is split. We're scattered and weak."

What if they come back and we're not here?" she argued. "It could happen. Daryl said so himself that they could be coming back here."

"If they found their way back and we were gone," Andrea agreed, "that would be awful."

"Okay," Daryl agreed, not wanting to leave Ania out here any more than Carol did Sophia. "We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow morning's soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign. Leave 'em some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV."

"If the RV's staying, I am too," Dale said.

"Thank you," came Carol's heartfelt remark. "Thank you both."

Daryl just nodded his head at her as Andrea said, "I'm in."

"Well, if you're all staying, then I'm –" Glenn started.

"Not you, Glenn. You're going," Dale cut him off. "Take Carol's Cherokee."

"Me?!" Glenn asked flabbergasted. "Why is it always me?"

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people, and see what's going on," the old man stated as Glenn rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. "But most important," he reasoned, "you have to get T-Dog there. That is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke."

None of them noticed as Daryl walk off until he had stopped by the chopper. He looked at the old man incredulously as he picked the dirty cloth off the seat. Momentarily letting it go, he dug through the saddle-bag and pulled out a bag of contraband and pill bottles. Ania's remedies can only go so far, he told himself as he threw the rag at the old man before heading to the hood of a car and placing the bag down.

"Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle. Why'd you wait 'til now to say anythin'? Got my brother's stash. Crystal, X. Don't need that. Some kick ass pain killers," he threw the bottle to Glenn. "Deoxycycline. Ain't the generic stuff either. It's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion," he explained as he took the stash back to the bike. "Ania's remedies should still be used first, though, to make the good stuff last. Should take the stuff for the paste with you, too."

"Her remedy might be the only reason that man is still alive right now," Dale gave appreciatively.

~x~

Daryl couldn't sleep. He'd been trying, but between Carol's constant crying and Andrea's clicking away trying to figure out her gun, it was impossible. He stayed laying down and as quiet as he could until it all got to be too much for him. Wondering if this was how Ania felt when she talked about noise being too much, he decided to get up. His mind wouldn't let him just ignore it all and his body was too wired for sleep anyways. Maybe if he went walking with a light in the woods they'd see it and come running now that it was dark. He strapped his bow to his back and told Andrea to give him his clip.

"I'm gonna walk the road, look for the girls," he told her before looking back at Carol and nodding.

When he left the RV, Andrea followed behind with her bag and a flashlight of her own, "I'm coming too."

He just looked at her before calling up to Dale, "I'm going for a walk. Shine some light in the forest. If they're out there, maybe they'll see it and come runnin'."

"Do you think that's a good idea right now?" he asked.

"Dale," Andrea said as she walked away.

Daryl just looked up at the man, nodded, and walked after the blonde. He understood Dale's worry, but at least Andrea was with the group and had him looking out for her. The woman didn't seem like she was going to blow her brains out any time soon, so he wasn't overly concerned for her. Besides, like him, she probably just needed to get away from the crying mother. They walked in silence for a long while when Daryl led them into the woods themselves. Not too far in and staying parallel to the highway, they walked with lights facing out.

"You really think we're going to find Sophia and Tea?" Andrea asked him all of a sudden.

He held his flashlight up to her face, gauging it before scoffing, "You got that look on your face, same as everybody else. What the hell's wrong with you people? We just started lookin'."

"Well, do you?" Andrea persisted.

"It ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. They could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost and they survive. It happens all the time."

"She's only twelve," came the argument.

"Hell, I was younger than her and I got lost, Ania younger than that even. I spent nine days in the woods eatin' berries, wipin' my ass with poison oak."

"They found you?"

"My old man was on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doin' another stint in juvie. Didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back, though. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for where. Except my ass itched something awful."

Andrea chuckled and apologized, "I'm sorry. That is a terrible story."

They both shared a laugh at that. "Only difference is," he said, "Sophia's got Ania with her, and people lookin' for her. I call that an advantage."

"How old was Tea?"

"Six, accordin' to her, and that's all I'm sayin' 'bout it."

"So, Ania, huh?" Andrea goaded.

"Only I call her that," Daryl's mood immediately chilled.

"I noticed. Care to explain?"

"Got nothin' to explain. She's my girl, that's all there is to it," he said waiting for the snide remarks.

"That's a hell of an age gap."

"That's what I said, then she told me 'bout her parents," offered Daryl, not bothering to go into further detail.

Andrea got the hint to drop that subject, instead asking, "How can you handle her? I mean, I know she's not exactly dangerous, but she's not exactly normal either."

"Of course she ain't normal. Live a life like hers and have a mind like hers and you'd be a bit weird too," Daryl defended.

"Care to explain?"

"Not my story to tell. You want answers, wait 'til she gets back and ask her yourself. Girl's an open book so long as you got the guts to ask."

"Really? Didn't see her as the kind to swap horror stories," Andrea mused.

"You hit the nail on the head with that one. Only thing she's got is horror stories."

They fell silent again as they strode further into the woods. Daryl hadn't meant to share anything about Ania, but he couldn't take it back now. Andrea had always made quips about Ania's mental stability, so maybe this would be a good thing and the blonde would take his advice and simply talk to the girl. That's all anyone in the group really needed to do to get to know her. She might be quiet when she wasn't spoken to, but she always answered any question put to her honestly. In fact, Daryl wondered if she had the capability to outright lie or even lie without reason. The only time he'd ever heard her tell one was that first trip, was it six weeks ago now, or seven? And even then it wasn't so much of a lie as an omission of truth; she had hit her head slightly when she fell, but that wasn't what caused the bruise.

Suddenly, a rustling from the side brought Daryl from his thoughts and had them both on high alert. Daryl naturally came to a stance in front of Andrea as they both held their flashlights up and he readied his crossbow. They carefully moved forward until they came across an abandoned campsite. The rustling was coming from the trees and Daryl was mildly curious. If it was coming from a tree, that might mean some meat for the morning. The last thing he was expecting was to see a walker hanging from a noose.

"What the hell?" he exasperated as the thing tried to fight to get to them. He leaned close to the tree where a note had been stapled, "'Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit.' Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. Turned himself into a big swingin' piece of bait. And a mess. You alright?"

Andrea had leaned over and groaned, "Trying not to puke."

"Go ahead if you gotta."

"No, I'm fine. Let's just talk about something else for a minute," she suggested. "How'd you learn to shoot?"

"Gotta eat," Daryl answered. "That's one thing these walkers and us have in common. I guess it's the closest he's been to food since he turned. Look at him. Hangin' up there like a big pinata. The other geeks came and ate all the flesh off his legs."

He stopped as he heard Andrea vomit. "I thought we were changing the subject," she complained.

"Call that payback for laughin' about my itchy ass," he quipped.

"There wasn't a lot that came up."

"Huh. Let's head back," he replied, heading back towards the highway.

"Aren't you gonna," Andrea said, shining her light at the corpse silently finishing the question.

"No. He ain't hurtin' nobody," Daryl said. "Ain't gonna waste an arrow either. He made his choice. Opted out. Let him hang."

He turned to walk off only to stop and watch Andrea as she got closer to the hanging walker, studying it. He watched her for a moment before walking back up to her and asking, "You want to live now? Or not? It's just a question."

"An answer for an arrow. Fair?" she bargained and he nodded. "I don't know if I want to live or if I have to or if it's just a habit."

"That's not much of an answer," he said as he took aim. "Waste of an arrow," he said walking away. "You know, Ania wasn't tryin' to do nothin' but protect you back at the CDC."

"Why are you bringing that up now?" Andrea asked him confused.

"If she was here, she'd be havin' words with you about how you're actin'. How's it's stages of grief or some shit like that," he told the woman as they walked back to the highway. "I ain't no good with this shit, but Ania'd be there if you'd let her."

"I'll think about it. Seems like I've got a conversation to have when she comes back," Andrea said thoughtfully.

"Won't regret it if you do."

It didn't take them long to break back through the trees and head towards the RV. Dale looked at them as they walked up. Daryl gave him a look that said everything he couldn't. How they hadn't found the girls. How he felt guilty for losing their trail. How uncomfortable he was around the woman who's tears never seemed to end. He climbed into the RV and sure enough, Carol was in the back sobbing. He couldn't blame her for her tears, but that didn't mean he liked hearing the constant crying. Ania was so predictable in her emotional outbursts, sobbing for a few minutes before becoming quiet even as the tears kept falling; she didn't make noise indefinitely. Eventually, the woman cried herself to sleep and Daryl was able to get some rest of his own. He'd need it if he was going back out tomorrow.

~x~

They were both exhausted, but Tea couldn't bring herself to let them stop. Not until she could find them some semblance of shelter. Night was going to be falling soon and shelter was an absolute necessity tonight. They had heard a shot fire off seemingly nearby and Tea had veered off in the opposite direction, deeper into the woods but close to the stream. She wasn't sure where she was leading them anymore, seeing as they should have been able to make their way to the highway by now. The elusive roadway just refused to make itself known to the pair.

By the time the sun had set, she managed to find a run-down farmhouse. She told Sophia to pull out her knife and keep it at the ready, stay right behind her, and to never let her guard down. Walking up to the door, she knocked on it thrice before counting to ten. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped over the threshold. There was no noise and it looked as if the place had been abandoned long before the epidemic swept through. Keeping the little girl behind her, Tea did a clean sweep of the house, checking the two bedrooms upstairs, the bathroom, kitchen, living, and dining rooms. There was no basement, but there were several canned goods in the pantry.

"Look a' t'at, Sophia," Tea told her. "We go' some real food."

Tea ushered Sophia to sit down as she pulled a can of tuna and some crackers from the pantry. She grabbed down a couple tins of peas as well, saving the cans of peaches for the morning. Finding a can opener, she opened all the tins, handing Sophia a spoon as well as the peas. She opened the crackers and used a fork to put some of the tuna on one, handing it over to Sophia. The girl scrunched her nose up at the proffered food.

"Can' be picky a' t'e end a t'e world, hun," she told the girl, who then reluctantly took it and ate it looking disgusted. "Need t'e iron and protein in t'e fish, love. I know i' don' taste t'e best, bu' we gotta keep ya strength up ta make it back ta ya momma. Take a bite a t'e peas when ya done ta wash ou' t'e taste."

The girl did as she suggested and then smiled brightly. Tea let her take another bite of the peas before handing her another cracker. In the end, she made the girl eat half the tuna on nearly a half a sleeve of crackers and all the peas. Then she double checked to make sure the peas had been preserved in water and told the girl to drink it too.

When they were done, Sophia looked up at her and asked, "Are we safe here?"

"As safe as we're gonna ge'," she answered honestly. "Wanna sleep?"

The little girl nodded, so she led her to the bedrooms upstairs. Unfortunately, the girl balked at the idea, so she grabbed a couple pillows, the duvet, and a couple spare blankets and made her way back downstairs. The first night they had stayed in a cramped, rocky alcove; the pantry would make a good substitute. Although it would be a tight squeeze with both of them, it would feel safer than the wide open bedroom. When they got back down to the kitchen, she folded the duvet and spread it in the bottom of the pantry before putting another thick blanket on top of it. She placed one of the pillows in the area farthest back beckoning to Sophia to climb in.

"Sleep," she told the girl as she threw the remaining blanket over top of her. She put the other pillow by the door and climbed in, shutting the door just in case before settling down. "Don' worry. I ain' gonna fall ta sleep. I'll protect ya like I said I would."

"Don't you need sleep?"

"I'm fine."

"You didn't sleep last night either," Sophia pointed out.

"I'm fine," Tea insisted.

"You need sleep. Mommy says if you don't sleep you get sick," the girl persisted.

"Tell ya wha'. Ya sleep firs' an' t'en I'll leave i' ta ya ta watch ou' for a bit, alrigh'?" she compromised, not wanting to lose her temper. She knew she wasn't going to be any good to the little girl if she didn't get sleep.

"Ms. Parker?" the girl asked, continuing after she nodded her head. "Do you think we'll find them?"

"Sure as shite we will," Tea replied, much more focused than she had been this morning. "Migh' no' be righ' away. Bu' mark my words, we'll find 'em. Or, betta ye', t'ey'll find us."

Sophia nodded and laid down, getting herself comfortable. "Ms. Parker?"

"Yes, Sophia?"

"You're talking even funnier now."

"T'at's me momma's full Irish brogue comin' ou', t'ough I don' have t'e natural accent, jus' t'e vernacular. I told ya, don' have time ta be worryin' 'bou' t'e lidle t'ings righ' now, like me way a talkin'. Can only worry 'bou' ge'in' ya home."

"I like how you're talking now. It's different than everyone else. Unique like you."

"Maybe I'll stop bot'erin' wit' hidin' i' t'en, aye?" she said as a joke; she hated talking like this. It made it difficult for her to understand herself sometimes.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Isn' t'at wha' ya been doin'?"

Sophia looked down awkwardly before continuing with her question anyways, "When will you be okay again?"

The question took Tea back. That was the first time she had been asked when she would be alright rather than if. She could feel the tear that escaped her eye sliding down her cheek, but only allowed herself the one. Tea thought she had hidden things a lot better than that. She'd managed to keep the shaking at bay and also managed to start talking more normally. As far as she knew, she had been acting exactly how she had been at camp. Either the girl was extremely perceptive, or her last answer told Sophia that she was still fighting against a fully automated survival mode. It was taxing her mentally to stay in the present to keep Sophia company while also retaining her hyper-senses. There was no good answer for the little girl's question.

"I can' righ'ly answer t'at," she said honestly.

"What does it feel like?"

"Wha'?"

"How you are right now?" the girl asked curiously.

"Hard ta 'xplain," she said. "E'er been ovawhelmed by somet'in'? Fear, sorrow, anga, happiness? Anyt'in' t'at makes i' ta where t'at's all ya can t'ink 'bou'?" The girl nodded, so Tea continued. "S'kinda li'e t'at. 'Xcept I'm no' feelin' not'in'. I'm no' lettin' meself feel i'. I'm no' t'inkin' not'in', jus' actin' on instinct. Answa'in' ya questions 'cause ya askin' 'em, no' really t'inkin' 'bou' me answas, eit'er, jus' bein' honest. When we ge' back ta t'e ot'ers, I'll have me breakdown li'e ya did when I found ya, t'ough."

"Does that mean you're scared?" the girl looked at her.

"No' righ' now, I'm no'. Bu' when we ge' back ta t'e ot'ers, I can' really say wha' I'll actually be feelin'. Fear, relief, t'e stress a i' all will definitely hit me. I'll prolly be ugly sobbin' for a while and shakin' for e'en longa. No tellin' how long t'e tears will fall. Bu' for now, I only go' one t'ing ta focus on. Bein' strong 'nough for t'e bot' a us ta get ya back ta ya momma," she answered the girl honestly.

"I wish I was like you," the girl said sleepily.

Tea was completely taken aback. The little girl wished she were like her? Why? What was so great about her that the girl was looking up to her? Last night she'd been unable to comfort the child and just this morning she had scared her. She'd pushed the girl to the brink of exhaustion before offering her help. While she had spent some time in the quarry teaching the girl, she'd never really done more than give them information and show them what was what. She had been doing what she could to help the girl survive, but it wasn't out of anything other than that, survival. Why in the world would this girl say she wanted to be like her? Why in the world did the girl even care about her? She tried to stay awake, she really did. But the confusion was the tipping point of her mental exhaustion and ability to maintain consciousness. It wasn't until the girl squirmed in the morning that she regained her sense of awareness.

Updated 9/6/21