Camila woke up to a sudden sound she heard outside. She wasn't sure what it was, but it caused her to jump up, ready for whatever it could be. She didn't hear anything else after a pause so she went near the window to peek outside. Her eyes scanned the surrounding grounds and houses until she spotted the source of the sound. It was Carl.
She saw him looking in through the window of a nearby house and she let out a shaky breath of relief. She quickly made her way out of the house and as she got close to him she tried to call his name to give him warning but not too loudly for it to attract anything else. He spun around at her voice and looked at her in shock.
"Camila?" he said and she smiled before taking the last few steps closer to him. She wrapped him in her arms and held him close. He hugged her back and she couldn't resist the tears of joy from being able to find him so quickly. Carl was still in so many ways the little boy she helped take care of when his father was shot, but in so many other ways he had grown up too fast. His face was young but his eyes were old. She wished she could have shielded him from all that he had to go through, but it was impossible. So Camila just held the back of his head softly, grateful to have her godson with her.
"Are you alone?" she asked him. "Did anyone else get out with you?"
"My dad," he stated as he pulled back. "He's pretty messed up though, he's back at the house down the street." he looked down and tried to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes. She lifted his chin back up to look at her and gave him a sad smile.
"You know you don't have to hide those feelings around me," she reassured him. He sighed and looked away.
"Judith's gone," he whispered before letting out a soft cry. Camila felt like her whole body was crushed by his words. "We saw her carrier, she was in it, but when we saw it there was nothing but blood."
"M-maybe she," Camila tried to figure out an explanation for what Carl saw. "Maybe it wasn't her blood. Maybe she wasn't in it."
"What do you think she just unclipped herself and walked away?" Carl snapped.
"Maybe someone else has her and she's safe?" Camila offered but Carl just shook his head.
"Camila, she's gone." But Camila didn't accept that in her heart. She didn't want to argue and make Carl more upset, but she just felt like there was no way Judith was gone. The denial inside her head was strong because she just couldn't imagine going on without Judith. That sweet baby girl couldn't be gone.
Her and Carl made their way through some of the houses in silence as they tried to find anything useful. Eventually they made it back to the house and Rick saw Camila and she rushed to give him a hug. She was so glad to see him too. Rick had been a part of her family for a long time. She always cared about him since he and Lori became serious. He was a good man and she was happy for them. With Camila never having any siblings, Lori was basically her sister, so Rick became like a brother.
"We found each other at the other end of the street, I was lucky I heard him," she said as she referred to Carl. Rick was beaten up badly, and luckily they had found untouched first aid in a nearby house. She began to clean and dress any wounds that she could, trying her best to help. None of them wanted to talk about what happened, so they didn't talk much at all.
It wasn't until the next morning when there was a knock on the door. It was Michonne. Camila quickly put her gun away at the realization and ran to hug her friend. It felt like a miracle to her that the four of them had found each other, and it gave her hope for finding the rest of them.
They brought Michonne inside and gave her something to eat.
"The Governor's dead," Michonne told them and They all froze in thought. Soon Camila gave her a single nod.
"Good," she said and she meant it. It took a long time for Camila to come to terms with the idea of killing. It was something that Daryl took issue with when they first began to get to know each other. She didn't even feel like she had the courage to kill the walkers at first. She knew she had to, but it felt so terrifying to her.
"You even know how to use a gun?" Daryl asked her when she forced herself into one of his hunting trips back at the quarry.
"No, that's exactly why I'm here," she said. "Shane is too wrapped up in his own mind to teach me right now, and Mark is more clueless than I am. I know you're capable and you must be good with all the food you've brought in for us."
"I ain't no teacher," he told her as she walked behind him.
"Please Daryl," she asked. "I have to start learning. I can't let myself rely on everyone else for protection." Their thoughts were cut off by the sound of a singular walker stuck in a bush at the bottom of the hill they were on. They both looked at it and then scanned around to see if there were any others. Once they were sure it was the only one, Daryl sighed and turned to her.
"Here," he handed her his knife. "Go take that one out and maybe I'll show you some other tricks." She took the knife in her shaking hand and slowly made her way to the walker. Daryl followed, just in case she couldn't do it. She took a deep breath before getting close enough to stab it. She used all her strength to lodge the knife deep into the walker's skull and it went limp. She pulled the knife back out and quickly wiped her tears, hoping Daryl didn't see.
"You did fine," he said. "No reason to cry about it."
"I'm sorry," she responded fast before wiping more tears. She was getting angry with herself for not being able to stop them. "I don't know why, I'm just… I don't… I don't know." He didn't say anything but just watched her. She felt like an idiot. She made it this big deal to want to learn how to shoot a gun and she couldn't even stab a walker without breaking down. Soon she composed herself and tried to provide an explanation. "I'm a doctor. It's just that this whole thing, everything about this, it goes against what I've always believed in. I know he was already dead, but it just felt so real."
"Cause it was real," he told her and she finally had the courage to look up at him. "This world ain't how it was. Only way to get used to that is facing it. I ain't giving you a gun til you can do the knife without cryin." She nodded her head at his words and agreed that was the best option. "Now c'mon, you might as well learn how to track." He started leading them back through the woods and Camila smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Daryl," she told him. Over the time they had met in the quarry, Daryl mostly kept to himself and his brother. None of the others made much of an effort to talk to him and he liked it that way. Except Camila, who spent her entire career perfecting the art of small talk and getting to know new people, would be the only one to reach out to Daryl. At first he found her inquiries and conversations annoying, but then he began to look forward to her occasionally sitting by him during meals. He didn't let anyone else know, but he thought her voice was soothing and her kindness was a breath of fresh air.
"You got no problems with killing animals, right? Not a vegetarian or some shit?" She let out a soft laugh and shook her head.
"Obviously I've never killed my own meat, but I've never had a problem eating it," she said.
"Good," was all he said back.
Killing walkers now had become second nature to her, and she feared that there would ever become a day where killing people would be just as easy. Camila asked Michonne if she saw any signs of Daryl while she was back at the prison, but she just shook her head.
"No but he had to have gotten out. I watched all the walkers inside that I could see and none of ours were there." Camila nodded and took in a deep breath, hoping she was right.
The next day, Camila, Carl, and Michonne were out scavenging. Camila gave Carl and Michonne time together as she split herself in the houses. She had spoken to her that morning and she really just needed to clear her mind. As they got back to the house, they heard gunshots and yelling from inside and soon Rick was running towards them telling them to go in the other direction. They began to run with him, away from the group that had gotten into the home they all found.
They walked along the railroad for a while before they saw a sign on a train car that read. 'Sanctuary for all, community for all, those who arrive survive, Terminus.' They paused and noticed the maps that the tracks led to this sanctuary. "What are you thinking?" Michonne asked Rick.
"Let's go," he said and Camila agreed. This was their best chance at finding anyone else from the prison. She hoped that others saw a sign and were going to the same place.
First little flashback with Daryl! Next chapter will focus on Daryl's perspective too!