Chapter 10- Sophia
Avery's POV
We had pulled off to the side of the highway. There were cars everywhere and our vehicles couldn't get through. Rick had told everyone to get out and search the vehicles for supplies.
I was currently rummaging through the back of a small Cadillac when I overheard Carl talking with Eren. They were standing a few cars in front of me, looking around together. The two had become extremely close over the last few days. I would doubt if they became more than just friends in the future. I could see it happening.
"Dude! Look what I found!" Carl's voice spoke up. I saw him jump into a truck and carefully reach over a dead body. I held my breath, hoping the body didn't rise up and attack the boy. Carl jumped down and held his arms out to Eren. They sat down on the ground and I watched as Carl rolled out the bundle he had.
My eyes widened. I shut the trunk of the Cadillac and moved towards the two boys. "Wow, Carl! Good find." I knelt and eyed the row of knives with the boys. I heard the faint sound of water hitting the ground and looked up.
Quite a few cars down, was a large truck. Glenn and Shane were admiring their find of water. I was amazed. That was a shit ton of water. Gallons of it. Shane had opened one up and let it cover him as he sighed happily and whooped in joy. Dumb ass was wasting it.
I turned my attention back to the two boys in front of me and beamed at Carl as he rolled the knives back up and smiled up at me when we stood.
"Why don't you go to your mom and have her put those in the RV? You can come right back afterwards." I smiled at him.
Eren grabbed onto my shirt and tugged softly. "C-can I go with Carl?" My gaze softened and I kissed my boy on the cheek.
"Go ahead, but be careful."
I watched as the two boys took off in the direction that Lori was in. I smiled and went back to searching the cars. Rick and Daryl were in the process of searching for a new hose for the RV and to see if they could do something to move our vehicles through the highway. T-Dog was off somewhere looking through cars. Dale was on look out on the RV roof. Andrea and Amy were in the RV learning how to take a gun apart, clean it, and put it back together again. Lori, Sophia and Carol were searching through cars just like I was. We needed pretty much everything. Clothes, medical supplies, water, food, and weapons.
I opened the back door to a small red Sedan and a shit eating grin spread across my face. I picked up the small box and chuckled. I pulled the condoms out of the box and shoved them all into my backpack. Who knows, if I don't need them, one of the other group members might. Don't want any babies coming into this horrid world.
I rummage around the back seat and pull a duffel bag towards me. I sit down and pull it on my lap, my legs dangling outside of the car. I unzip the bag to see some clothes. They were men's clothes. Perfect for Rick or Daryl. I re-zipped the bag and slung it over my shoulder. I stood up and moved on to another car.
As I was searching the trunk of a car, someone covered my mouth. I let out a small yelp and gripped the arm around me, ready to throw them over my shoulder.
"Shh! It's just me!" I sighed in relief and spun around. I smacked T-Dog in the chest.
"You scared the shit out of me!" I hissed.
"There's a hoard of walkers heading towards us. Rick said to hide and wait them out." T-Dog told me quietly. He tugged me behind a rusted old car, and I tugged the open door to hide behind it. T-Dog hissed as he smacked arm against a sharp piece of metal. Blood rushed from the wound as he tried to stop the bleeding.
"Shit!" I put my hands over his and tried to help him. A stray walker saw us and staggered our way. I quickly started to panic. A figure jumped out from behind a car and stabbed it in the head.
"D-" I started only to be shushed. Daryl dragged the body over and pushed T-Dog to the ground. He put the body over him and put his finger to his lips. T-Dog frantically nodded, and Daryl gripped me around the waist and shoved me under a vehicle. He pressed up against me and covered my mouth to muffle my breathing. I was freaking out. I haven't really encountered any infected before, other than the one that bit me. I always avoided them when it was just Eren and I.
I clung onto Daryl's arms as he held me close. I watched as the dead shuffled by the cars slowly, my silencer digging into my hip. They were way too close for my comfort. I locked eyes with T-Dog and prayed the walkers would keep ignoring him. Daryl really saved our asses here, but T-Dog needs to get that arm looked at, and fast. The nurse in me was kicking in. I just pray that Lori had Eren and Carl.
A few minutes later, the coast seemed clear. Daryl released me and let out a sigh. I kissed his lips as a thank you.
A scream broke me away from him. Our heads dashed up to see Sophia down the road running from a few straggler walkers. She bolted for the forest and Rick was not too far behind her. Carol's sobbing could be heard by everyone.
Daryl moved fast. He dashed out from under the car and followed Rick. I scrambled up and over to T-Dog. I lifted the body up and off of him with a little struggle and helped him up. We walked towards the RV. I needed to clean and stitch his wound. I was a doctor before shit hit the fan. I worked in the ER. I could handle this. I guess that's a great skill set to know in this type of world.
As we approached the RV, I told T-Dog to go on in and I'd be right behind him.
I saw Lori comforting Carol with the boy's right behind her. I rushed over and lifted Eren into my arms.
He clung onto me and I kissed his face repeatedly. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
He frantically shook his head as he silently cried into my neck. "Was scared..." He whispered. I smiled softly at him as I walked over to the RV. I set him down and held his hand as we walked inside. I started rummaging around and managed to find some string and a needle. I didn't have a suture kit with me.
Amy and Andrea were dragging a dead walker out of the RV as I set the string and needle down on the table where T-Dog was sitting.
"What the hell happened in here?" I asked Amy.
She looked up at me and managed a small smile. "Andrea and I had to hide in the bathroom. It wandered through the door. Andrea had to stab it so it couldn't get us."
Andrea chuckled humorlessly. "Dale handed me the screwdriver through the sunroof."
I nodded and turned my attention back to the problem at hand. I set Eren down by T-Dog and went to the kitchen sink. I grabbed a washcloth but couldn't find any disinfectant. "Fuck."
I rushed over to the door of the RV and searched for Glenn. He was by the water truck watching the tree lines for Rick, Daryl and Sophia. He definitely had something I could use.
"Glenn!" I called out to him. He looked over at me and a small smile came to his face. Probably glad I was okay.
"Can you search through Merle's pack on the bike for any alcohol and pain killers?" I asked.
"Yeah, one sec." He jogged over to my husband's motorcycle and dug through a bag attached to its side. He tossed me a bottle of whiskey and a zip block bag with pill cases. I raised an eyebrow in shock.
"Well I'll be damned. I gotta thank Merle for his drug stash. He actually thought with his brain for once."
Glenn chuckled and walked back to the water truck. Right, I forget. Merle use to be addicted to strong pain killers and antibiotics.
I went back to T-Dog and handed him two pills. "Your gonna need it." I opened the whiskey and flinched inwardly. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch." I warned him.
He closed his eyes. "Do it." I nodded and poured the alcohol over the huge, deep gash. He hissed and bit his other fist to hold back a scream. I winced and used the washcloth to get rid of as much blood as possible.
A role of gauze was thrown on the table and I looked over to see Dale smiling at me. "Thought you might need this." I nodded in than and strung the needle.
I began to stitch up the gash, wincing every time T-Dog hissed in pain. Once I was done, I wrapped up his arm and handed him an antibiotic pill from Merle's stash. He took it without question.
"I'll look at it again tomorrow and re-wrap it for ya." He nodded as he sat back and closed his eyes.
There was some commotion outside, and I grabbed Eren's hand and stepped out of the RV. Rick and Daryl were back. They were talking with Shane and Glenn. There was no sign of Sophia. Carol was bawling and I felt sorry for her.
I walked up to them and grabbed Daryl's arm. After a few words and an agreement, everyone but Dale and T-Dog were going out in groups to find Sophia. I shook my head. "I'll stay here with T-Dog. I'm a doctor, and he needs me if his wound gets worse."
Rick looked over at me and nodded. "That might be best." As everyone got ready, I knelt in front of Eren and cupped his face in my hands. "You stay by Lori or your father, you hear me? Don't wander off and stay in their sights. Okay?" I asked him and he nodded. "Promise?" I held out my pinky.
Eren smiled and gripped my pinky with his. "Stay with dad or Aunt Lori. No wander off." He promised. I kissed his forehead and stood up. I walked him over to Lori and went to find Daryl. He was over by Glenn near the truck of water. I grabbed his arm and pulled him over to our pickup truck. I kissed him softly. "Stay safe, alright?"
He smirked and wrapped an arm around my waist, dragging me closer. "Always am." He kissed me harder this time and pulled away when Rick called out, saying it was time to head out. They wanted to make sure they would have enough daylight to look for Sophia.
Daryl sighed and kissed me on the forehead before walking over to Eren and the rest of the group. I watched as they all walked into the forest, and out of my sight.