Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.
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~201 ~ 4152
It had been about a week since the group was at the CDC. While Isabell wasn't quite sure how she felt about losing one of their own, she was happy that Jacqui had been able to make the call and that she was at peace. It wouldn't be something she would share, but Isabell thought about what staying would do. She at least had made a Pro/Con list in her head. Her cons had outweighed the pros.
The look on Carol and Sophia's faces were awful. The two almost didn't get a choice about their fate, and she noticed that dying wasn't worth it.
Given the chance, Isabell chose to live. To fight through with the family that she had left: Daryl, Carol, and Sophia. They were Isabell's family now.
Sophia was no longer the shy little girl that Isabell had first met. When the group stopped in a town to gather supplies, Sophia would cling to Isabell. The two would make jokes and play games like 'I Spy'. Carol would smile when she saw Sophia having fun. Carol's smile would make Isabell happy.
Of course, Isabell would sometimes feel a little weird about bonding with another woman's child. In their kind of situation, she figured that the little girl needed all the friends that she could get. That's what Sophia was to Isabell; a friend and something to keep her going and her mind occupied.
Traveling with such a large group certainly wasn't easy. They would go town to town, siphoning gas from abandoned cars they found scattered on the roads.
Daryl had decided a couple of days ago to drop the truck and use the bike as it took less gas. His and Isabell's camping supplies were stuffed into the RV.
Isabell had insisted on keeping a backpack full of necessities as she rode behind on Daryl's bike. She wanted it as more of a precaution in case anything happened and the two got separated from the others.
Daryl had argued. He knew that Isabell needn't stress herself with a backpack, knowing that he could help them to live off the land. Daryl spent enough time hunting with his brother to know how to survive with nothing.
She felt weird about ever admitting it him, but Isabell liked the time she had alone with Daryl. With the wind flowing through her hair. She was able to hold tightly to Daryl without him throwing a fit about her being to close. It was like how the two were before The Turn. However, the charade would be over when Isabell noticed a lone walker limping through the trees alongside the road.
Isabell liked to watch the things happen around her. It was something she had picked up from Daryl.
When they were younger, Isabell remembered Daryl having moments where he wouldn't say a word, and he'd be looking around at the people passing him by. After he spotted something worth sharing, Daryl would lean over to Isabell and tell her something that he picked up about the people he saw. A couple that he'd noticed must have been recently engaged. Or even one going through a bit of a rough patch. Daryl could always tell stories about people after reading their body language.
When Isabell looked around at the group, she would always notice that Shane was staring longingly at Lori. He would look desirably at Lori most of the time, but sometimes Shane would be looking at the Grimes family as a whole. Isabell could tell that Shane was jealous of what they had. Isabell asked Daryl about it once and it turned out that Shane and Lori had an affair before she joined up, back when everyone thought Rick was dead.
Rick was back now though, and the little love affair between Shane and Lori needed to end before it tore the group apart.
The motorcycle was in front of the caravan, Daryl leading the way. Taking the highway was definitely different from it was now that there were no moving cars on it. When there were cars, they seemed to be jamming up the entire road, blocking the way. The motorcycle was the only vehicle that could make it through at some points. Many times, Daryl never noticed as he swerved through the parked cars and around an eighteen-wheeler that was on it's side.
Isabell tapped Daryl's shoulder, taking him from the trance he often landed in while he was riding. She tilted her head up, putting her mouth next to his ear. "They can't get through!" Isabell shouted at him.
Daryl turned his head, noticing the group caravan had stopped, and he nodded. He turned the bike around and headed back the way they came. Daryl slowed the bike and approached the driver's side of the RV.
Dale looked out of his window. "See a way through?" He asked of Daryl.
Daryl looked back at the roadblocks and nodded. He gestured for Dale to follow him through the wreckage. Daryl went slower this time through the cars, letting the rest of the caravan keep close behind.
After a minute of weaving through, there was a loud banging noise behind them that made Isabell jump. She turned her head to look behind her and saw that it was only the RV. Isabell sighed in relief and tapped Daryl again, warning him that the vehicles behind him had to stop.
Daryl stopped the bike and turned it off. Both him and Isabell climbed off of the bike and headed towards the group that was beginning to crowd around the RV's crappy engine.
"I said it." Dale affirmed, raising his arms in frustration. "Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water."
Shane came up to Dale with a shotgun in his hand. "Problem, Dale?" He asked, being all businesslike.
"Just a small matter of bein' stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of — "
"Dale." Isabell interrupted, speaking over him with a laugh. "Take a look around at where we are."
Daryl turned in his spot, finally remembering how many vehicles surrounded them. He started to laugh to himself.
Isabell shook her head at the old man, smiling. She glanced around, finding Daryl had already begun to dig through a car.
"Okay, that was dumb." Dale said to himself.
Shane laughed once. "If ya can't find a radiator hose here…." He trailed off knowing that everyone should know how the sentence would end.
"There's a whole bunch o' stuff we can find." Daryl said, finishing Shane's sentence as he searched through the trunk of an abandoned car.
Isabell joined him, announcing her presence next to him with a slight touch on his upper arm. She earned Daryl's stare for a quick second before he got back to work.
T-Dog stepped forward in the group's circle. "I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." He offered.
"Maybe some water?" Carol asked.
Isabell turned and nodded to her. "Or food."
"This is a graveyard." Lori stated, bringing the mood of the group down quickly for a moment. Everyone stopped to give her a look.
Isabell was indifferent about the situation. It was a graveyard, but what were these dead rotters going to do with this stuff? They didn't need it anymore. The group did.
However, not everyone else in the group seemed to look at it the same way.
"I don't know how I feel about this." Lori finished.
Daryl looked to Lori, staring at her through narrowed eyes. His eyes then flashed to Isabell, almost as if he was silently asking her how she felt about what needed to be done.
"Go ahead." Isabell said to him, making up her mind. "Be respectful if you find a body. Take what we need."
Daryl nodded and began rummaging once more.
"Alright, alright." T-Dog cheered, going further into the pileup of cars. "Here we go. C'mon, y'all. Just look around. Gather what you can."
Everyone walked alongside the cars for a moment, almost as if they were just window shopping. They seemed to have trouble accepting the fact that they needed to steal things from the dead.
"D?" Isabell uttered, earning Daryl's eyes once more. "I'm gonna follow Carol and the kids." She shared.
Daryl nodded and returned to his work. "Yer knife in yer boot?" He asked, without looking up at her.
"Yeah."
Daryl glanced at her again quickly, nodding in acceptance.
Isabell touched his arm as she had done when she approached him and followed after Carol.
"Be safe." Daryl called after her quietly.
Isabell smiled at the acknowledgment, but kept walking. She knew the one comment to be Daryl's way of caring for her.
"Kids, don't look." Carol informed the children as Isabell approached their small group. She, Lori, Carl, and Sophia had walked further into the line of cars.
Isabell walked up to a family style car that had its trunk open. She pulled out a suitcases and unlatched it, glancing inside. Isabell pulled out a shirt and her eyes quickly shot up to Carol. "Carol." She said, getting the attention of the woman. "Catch." Isabell said, throwing the shirt in her direction.
Carol caught the fabric between her fingers with ease and unfolded it.
"I think that'll look good on you." Isabell said with a smile.
Carol held it up to her body and showed a small grin.
Lori turned to look at Isabell and Carol. The brunette glared at the two of them when she saw that Carol was enjoying picking through other people's belongings.
Carol's smile faded when she saw Lori's look, and she took the shirt away from her body.
Isabell scoffed, she walked over to stand next to Carol, speaking quietly. "Don't worry about it." Isabell insisted. "Take the shirt. The dead don't need it anymore."
"Ed never let me wear nice things like this." Carol admitted shyly looking back and forth between the shirt and Isabell.
Isabell put a comforting hand on Carol's. "All the more reason to hold onto it." She encouraged.
Carol smiled and reached further into the car for another suitcase. "We're gonna need clothes." She glanced over at Lori, gauging her reaction.
Lori nodded solemnly. She wasn't happy about it, but Carol was right.
Carol took the suitcase that she had and walked over to another car to stand next to Lori. The two had obviously made up after their differences in opinion had been pushed aside.
Lori grabbed a flashlight and walked away, putting her hand on Carol's shoulder. "Hey, Carl." Lori said before she bent herself into another car. "Always within my sight, okay?" She ordered, pointing at her eyes.
"You, too, Sophia." Carol directed. "Isabell's, too." She said, smiling over at Isabell.
Isabell nodded, signaling that she would also keep an eye on the kids. She and the other two women scavenged in silence for a while. Isabell knew Lori was still sour about digging through people's things, but Isabell was to the point where she couldn't give two shits about what Lori wanted.
Rick came running through the cars after about five minutes of searching. He was crouching as he took his steps and speaking quietly. "Lori!" Rick whispered. "Under the cars!" He said, signaling his order with his hands. "Carol, Sophia, get down now!"
Isabell turned her head to look in the direction that Rick had come from. She saw that a large group of walkers were heading their way. Isabell grabbed onto Carl, the closest child to her, and pushed him under a nearby car. She followed him under, putting an arm over Carl's back. Isabell was halfway on top of Carl to keep him under the car with her. She looked around finding Sophia under the car next to her. Isabell was a bundle of nerves. "Sophia!" She whispered when she noticed that the little girl was also freaking out. "You're gonna be fine! Just stay under the car until I say, alright?"
Sophia looked back at Isabell with tear-filled eyes, but nodded anyway. She was afraid.
Isabell could see plain as day that Sophia was struggling. She also knew that as long as Sophia listened to what she had said to the girl that Sophia would be okay. Isabell heard Lori start to shush Carol. Isabell turned her head to see that the two were huddled under a van behind her.
Carol was even more scared than Sophia was.
Lori had to put her hand over Carol's mouth to keep her from crying out for her daughter.
Isabell gestured to Carol with her hand, hoping to calm the mother down. She knew Sophia would be fine. They would all be fine as long as they didn't draw attention to themselves.
Carl started to scoot further under Isabell as the walkers began to slowly move past the car that they were under.
Isabell held him back tightly. She turned her head in the other directions seeing Rick's eyes watching them carefully. The two locked and Isabell nodded. They were okay. Hopefully all of them were. Isabell's thoughts flashed to Daryl. Where is he?
Once the herd calmed down, Isabell looked to Sophia to make sure she was still okay. The few of them were looking all around their cars just to be sure that the coast was clear of any stragglers. Isabell held a finger up to Sophia telling her to wait another minute. She turned to look at Rick who was telling them to wait as well.
As Isabell's back was turned, Sophia started to slowly push herself out from underneath the car. She got halfway out when she noticed a walker treading by. Sophia started cowering and screaming, moving quicker to get away from the dead one.
Isabell's head snapped back towards the girl. She looked to Rick, who was starting to get out from under his car. Isabell looked back at Carl. "Carl, stay under the car until your mom says." She ordered. "Do you hear me?"
Carl nodded.
Isabell ruffled his hair quickly and rolled over until she was no longer shielded by the car.
Rick had already worked his way through the treeline after Sophia.
Isabell didn't spot which way they went, but she ran into the trees anyway. She had been taught a bit about tracking by Daryl. Maybe Isabell could find where the two were by using what she knew. Things were already off to a bad start when she didn't see any footprints. Isabell broke into a run, moving quickly in the direction she thought a child would if they were running through the woods.
Isabell was looking in every direction wondering if she could spot even a little of the blue shirt that Sophia had been wearing. Still, she saw nothing. Isabell slowed to a jog catch her breath. She turned in a circle, wishing she could find something.
Sophia lost in the woods was one of the worst things that could happen.
Instantly, Isabell felt bad for grabbing Carl under the car instead of Sophia. If she had taken that extra step, Isabell could have grabbed even both of the kids and shoved them under a car with her.
Isabell felt eyes water and a lump form in her throat. Her only hope now was that Rick had found Sophia and was bringing her back to the highway. Isabell sighed and turned around to head back to the highway, only she ran right into a walker. She screamed and stumbled backwards, landing on the ground.
The walker tripped over her feet and landed directly on top of her.
Isabell used all her strength with an arm across the monster's collarbone. She kept the walker at a distance as it chomped at her, trying to get a bite of her flesh. Isabell was scared. She had no weapon within reach, and she couldn't slide her leg up to get her knife from her boot. Isabell wasn't strong enough to push the walker off of her, and she knew that she was going to die.
Until there was a thunking sound and the walker went limp over her.
Isabell's breath didn't slow. "Hello?" She called, trying to look around to see who had killed the walker. With the walker finally off of her, Isabell was greeted by Rick and a hand held out to her. She sighed in relief at the sight of the man and used his hand to pull herself up. "Thanks for that." Isabell said, gesturing down at the dead walker on the dirt.
Rick nodded in response.
"Is Sophia okay?"
Rick nodded again. "Told her to head back to the highway once I led some walkers away. I checked back where I hid her, and she wasn't there. She should be back when we get there."
Isabell smiled. "Good."
The two walked quietly for a moment back towards the highway before Rick spoke to her. "Thank you." He said, leaning towards her slightly. "For grabbin' Carl."
"No problem." Isabell nodded. "I hope you woulda done the same." She said, keeping her glare straight ahead. Isabell remained quiet even after Rick's strange stares. When the two returned to the highway, they were suddenly swarmed by the people of their camp.
Carol approached Isabell, grabbing the younger woman's hands. "Where is she? Where is Sophia?"
"She's not here?" Isabell questioned, her eyes filling with worry. She searched the group, finding Daryl barreling towards her.
Daryl stepped up right in front of her, grabbing her arm and pulling her from the center of the group. "I heard ya scream. You okay?" He asked, looking her over quickly.
"D, I'm fine. Had a run in." Isabell insisted, crossing her arms over her chest, looking away from him, embarrassed. "Couldn't get to my knife."
Daryl scoffed, shaking his head at her. He knew that he should have gone after her the second Carol told him she went into the woods.
Isabell shook her head. "Don't worry about me. Rick got there in time." She paused. "Are you sure Sophia isn't here?" Isabell squared her step and looked up at Daryl with hopeful eyes.
"Ain't nothin' come through them trees but the two o' you." Daryl said gloomily. "Couple walkers."
Isabell let out a large breath and bit on her bottom lip to stop a new lump forming in her throat. "Then we have to go back out there and find her." She said, thinking she had a new strength to her. "And yer comin'."
"What?"
"Daryl, please. She is a little girl." Isabell stressed with small tears forming in her eyes. "I'm not gonna let her die out there."
Daryl studied his friend's pleading look and then finally nodded, agreeing to help. He managed to gather the small group of Shane, Glenn, Rick, Isabell and himself to go back out and look for Sophia.
Rick was in the lead first to take them to the place where he managed to hide Sophia from the walkers.
Daryl was shin-deep in the water with Rick, leaning over to view the small cave the sheriff pointed out. "Sure this is the spot?" He asked.
Rick came over to the cave. "I left her right here." He insisted, pointing at the area with his Colt. "I drew the walkers way off in that direction up the creek." Rick pointed away from the highway, the opposite direction that Sophia would have to go.
"Without a paddle." Daryl said, frustrated and looking for tracks. "Seems where we've landed."
"She was gone by the time I got back here to get her. I figured she just took off and ran back to the group." Rick pointed to the highway. "I told her to go that way and keep the sun on her left shoulder."
Isabell happened to be standing where Rick pointed, next to Glenn. They stood just out of the creek. Isabell turned completely to look behind her at the path Sophia should have taken to get back.
Daryl followed Rick's gesture and started that way.
Isabell shrugged. "She's here somewhere." She insisted. "We just gotta find her."
"Hey, Short Round, why don't you step off to one side." Daryl suggested to Glenn. "Yer muckin' up the trail."
Glenn's face instantly looked like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He took a couple steps closer to Isabell.
"Don't mind him." Isabell whispered to Glenn. "He's just worried."
"Daryl?" Glenn questioned. "Worried about a little girl? Since when did Daryl care what happened to other people?"
Isabell sighed, watching Daryl as he worked. "If you people were patient enough to find out, there's a lot about Daryl that would surprise you." Isabell turned her body and caught up with the men in the midst of their conversation.
"That's assuming she knows her left from her right." Shane offered.
Rick shook her head. "Shane, she understood me just fine." He claimed.
"She knows her left from her right." Isabell told the group. When she saw all eyes were on her, Isabell sighed. "When we play our games at stops, I give her small hints to the things I'm looking for." Isabell explained. The others were confused by her statement. "I'd say things like 'look to your left' or 'it's on your right'. Sophia always looks in the correct direction." Isabell nodded. "She knows the difference. She's probably just tired and scared, a little lost."
"She had a close call with two walkers." Shane reminded, stressing and practically ignoring Isabell's words. "Gotta wonder how much of what you said stuck."
"Got clear prints right here." Daryl pointed out, moving some bushes out of the way. "She did like you said. Headed back to the highway. Let's spread out." Daryl ordered. He reached up asking for Glenn's hand to help him out of the water. "We'll make our way back."
Isabell jogged to catch up with Daryl, not wanting to leave his side. "She couldn't have gone far." She said, following Daryl back towards the highway.
Daryl stopped her, holding out his arm. He crouched down to examine a couple more footsteps.
"I tried that." Isabell told him, pointing to the imprints in the dirt. "I'm shit at tracking though. I couldn't pinpoint her steps from mine." Isabell rubbed her eyes with her fingers. "I wish I'd paid more attention on huntin' trips with Merle."
"She was doin' just fine 'til right here." Daryl said, pointing to a spot on the ground. He looked up at Isabell and saw the intensely worried look on her face. Daryl nodded his head and bit his lip. He decided to let her help. "Iz, look here." Daryl said, pointing.
Isabell crouched down next to Daryl to get a better look.
"These ones are hers." Daryl said. "Tell me somethin'."
Isabell took a deep breath and followed the smaller footsteps that Daryl pointed out. She pushed the hair out of her face. "She was goin' the right way. But she turned off that way." Isabell said, pointing behind her. She looked up at Daryl for confirmation.
Daryl nodded, earning a smile out of Isabell.
"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked.
"Maybe she saw somethin' that spooked her. Made her turn off." Shane suggested.
"A walker?"
Daryl shook her head, getting to his feet. "Hers are the only footsteps."
"So, what do we do?" Shane asked. "All of us press on?"
"No," Rick shook his head at Shane. "Better if you and Glenn get back up to the highway. People are gonna start panicking."
"Little late for that." Isabell said in regard to Carol. Isabell stood and looked to Daryl. "I'm gonna go, too. I'm sure Carol could use some comforting." She nodded her head and looked to Rick. "I'll tell everyone the progress we've got."
"Make sure you keep everybody calm." Rick ordered.
Isabell nodded again with a smile on her face. She jerked her thumb towards Daryl. "I've dealt with him all my life. I'm the master at keepin' people calm."
"I'll keep 'em occupied." Shane insisted. "Scavengin' cars. Think up a few other chores." Shane finally gestured for Isabell and Glenn to follow him, and he left towards the highway. Isabell nodded.
"One sec." Daryl said, stopping the three of them. "I needa talk with Iz." Daryl grabbed Isabell's arm gently and pulled her to the side out of earshot of the others.
"What's up?" Isabell asked.
"You okay?"
Isabell nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Daryl gave Isabell a look, knowing that she knew what he had really been asking about. "You've gotten awful close to that girl."
"I'm fine, D." Isabell said, looking down at her hands, picking at her nails. "Just find her, okay?"
"Yeah." Daryl said. He put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her closer to him to kiss her forehead. "I'll do my hardest."