Sophia's instincts didn't give her push of a choice in the matter, on whether or not to be cautious. Anyone could be up there, dead or alive, good or bad. Either way, there was only a moment between her holding her breath, and calling for help.
"Is someone up there? Please! Help me!" Heart racing, pulse ringing in her ears, shoulder throbbing with every second, palms sweaty, why did she run away from the group? A messy head of black hair peaked over the cliff, wide eyes looked down at her.
"Bella! You have to help her!" The boy whisper shouted, now nearly as freaked out as Sophia was. An older girl, who looked similar to the young boy, came into view.
"Hold on! We'll help you, but you have to be quiet, there's a bunch of the walkers around." Bella hissed, and Sophia obediently clamped her mouth shut, trying to force her sobs down. "Ren, try to calm her down. I'll find something to get her." The girl order the boy, who quickly turned to Sophia, fear almost hidden by his fake grin.
"Hey, I'm Ren, and this is my sister Bella. She's really smart." Ren smiled proudly, before looking down at Sophia. "Is something wrong with your arm?" Her left arm hung uselessly beside her. Unable to trust her voice at the moment, she tearfully nodded.
"Here, this should be strong enough." Bella threw a long vine over the cliff side. "Okay, you're going to need to hang on tight, even if your arm hurts. We'll pull you up." It must have been about as big around as her forearm, and she couldn't muster up the courage to let go of one branch for another.
"I c-can't." Sophia's voice broke tearfully, but she was slipping slowly.
"That branch won't hold you forever, just trust us," Ren asked, fear in his own voice, so, just as she slid a little further down, she lifted her bad shoulder, cringing at the pain, and wrapped her hand around the vine. "There you go," With the quiet urging, she mover her other hand.
In a scary moment, she could feel gravity pulling her down, and for a moment, she thought the pair were going to drop her. She swayed back and forth, and slowly began to rise. Branches scrapped her body, tearing the clothes she wore, but she didn't care as soon as warm hands engulfed her.
"You're safe." Bella whispered, patting Sophia in a reassuring manner. The young girl sobbed into the leather jacket, hugging the stranger. She was sure she was going to die, and after seeing so many awful people kill each other, she didn't want to trust them, but they just pulled her back from the brink of disaster.
- - Sophia- -
After an unknown amount of time, Sophia stood up, clutching her arm. It still throbbed, but Bella had surprised her by suddenly jerking it, and with an awful pop, it went back into place.
"What's your name?" Ren asked, grinning at the girl. He seemed awfully chipper to be in the end of the world, but Sophia didn't complain. It was nice to see smiles now.
"Sophia." As she quieted, far off groans and moans could be heard, immediately frightening the small group.
"Let's move." Bella took the kid's hands, one of each so they ran right beside her. "Stay quiet, watch where you step." Sophia nodded, listening to the orders. They ran in the opposite direction, and Sophia watched the ground carefully.
As they rounded a tree, she was suddenly pulled into Bella's figure, one hand wrapped around her mouth. Knowing what the action could mean, the small girl, quieted, stopping her breathing and her heart raced. Beside her, she saw Bella's other hand covering Ren's mouth, his eyes just as wide as hers.
A sudden noise surprised Sophia, who resisted the urge to look around the tree that hid them. After a few moments, a man, one she didn't recognize passed them. He carried a gun, and was pretty heavy looking. A giant, she realized she would not want to come across on her own. The gun was big and heavy, something one of the men in the camp may carry. He passed them without looking towards them, seemingly distant from his surroundings.
Bella waited a full five minutes after he disappeared from sight, before carefully pulling her younger charges along with her. Distantly, Sophia wanted to turn back and warn her mom about the mystery man, but she couldn't help but ignore that wish.
She was nothing but a weight to their group. She screamed and alerted the zombies to their location. She endangered everyone. She wasn't strong, she was weak. Sophia vowed as she held Bella's hand, that she would learn to be fearless like Bella, she would learn how to survive without her mother. This is how both her and her mother would survive.