Chapter 3: Saved By The Bat

"We'll find her, Carol, even if we have'ta scour the whole damn woods, we'll find her." Shane told the older woman, resting his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting.

"Thank you, thank you." Carol told him shakily, her voice fighting not to wobble. Her eyes were already filled with tears, several streaking down her face and her arms were wrapped around herself like she was trying to stop herself from flying apart.

Shane barely found the strength to nod at the woman and step away, heading down the embankment to follow Rick. He knew, if he had even a tiny chance of finding Lonnie, he'd have wanted every person possible searching for her. He hated to think it, but before he'd known Lonnie, he never would have given thought to how painful this was for Carol. But now he knew. Now he knew every night when he dreamed of that little body on the floor and the blood matting that bright hair. Now he knew. And he didn't want that for Sophia, didn't want that for Carol.

Just as he swiped at his stinging eyes, thinking no one was watching, he spotted Daryl, waiting for him at the edge of the woods with Rick. Although Rick was facing the woods, scanning for any signs, Daryl was watching him. Those eyes, the ones he'd drunkenly told Daryl were pretty, were focused on him intently. The blue looked extra bright in the sunshine and nearly made Shane shiver as he met them. He expected Daryl to maybe huff or sneer or something, he didn't know what, but he only nodded nonchalantly and looked away, checking his crossbow strap, like he hadn't just seen Shane almost lose it. A wave of relief shuddered down his spine and he took a deep breath, smoothing out his expression and continuing like nothing happened.

He'd tried to act as unaffected as he possibly could around the group. He didn't need pity or condolences. He was dealing with Lonnie's death as best he could, the only way he knew how, and he didn't need these people dredging it up every other second. That and they looked to Rick and Shane and even to an extent Daryl for answers. If Shane acted broken than that was just going to cause problems for everyone. And this group didn't need that kind of problem, not when they had a little girl to find.

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In the end she had to tape two books to the gas and the brakes, then sit on a cushion before she could comfortably drive the little Toyota pick up she'd chosen. The truck was small and compact, lifted with bigger tires. She'd found it parked half on the curb back behind a sports store. It was perfect for getting around traffic jams and small enough that she wasn't too nervous driving it. Still, she drove carefully, probably slower than she had too, but better safe than sorry.

It wasn't until about mid day that she pulled over, seeing a break in the trees to the side of the road. Biting her lip nervously, Lonnie eased the truck down the embankment and into the trees, trying to make sure she went far enough in to hide the truck from view. According to the map there was some kind of creek or river between this road and the highway. She thought maybe a creek but she couldn't read maps well enough to know the difference. Still, as long as it was running it was water, which she desperately needed.

With a little huff of relief Lonnie switched the truck off. The truck was easier than walking, no doubt about that, but it wasn't easy either. She had to sit all the way forward, back straight, and she thought it just might be the best lesson in posture ever. But it also made her back hurt like nothing else. So she'd made it a practice to stop every hour or so and stretch her legs.

Jumping from the truck, Lonnie stretched her arms over her head and did a few little hops in place. Next she rolled her neck and shook out her arms, sighing to herself when the muscles relaxed. Then she got down to business. Scouting around she pulled any loose brush she could over to the truck, using her machete to cut some leafy branches free too. With that she piled it around the back of her truck, hiding it further from view and trying to make it look as natural as possible. She'd seen people get robbed along the road more than once and she couldn't afford to let it happen to herself too.

After she was done with that she cautiously went back up to the road, making sure to listen for any engines first, and then squinted down at the spot her truck was hidden. The truck had been a pretty sky blue when she'd found it, but before she'd left the city she'd painted it with spray paint she'd scrounged from a hardware store. Now it was the color of dull Georgia mud and she was satisfied that it blended in with the surroundings enough that no one would spot it as they drove by.

Next she took a leafy branch she'd brought with her and backed down the embankment. As she went she swept the leafy branch over the dirt, mostly erasing the tire tracks leading down to the truck. Her real daddy had taught her that and although it wouldn't fool an experienced tracker, it fooled most people. She'd always suspected he'd taught her that in case he had to run from the cops or something, but she'd learned never to question what he taught her, else she'd be real sorry.

Satisfied with her precautions Lonnie turned back to the truck. The bed was filled with a mountain of things, all of it covered with a brown tarp and she went around to the corner that held her water jugs. She'd taken anything she could get her hands on in the city that she thought was useful, spending three whole days piling anything she could think of into the truck. Since most people didn't come into the city anymore, there was plenty for her to take. And she was actually pretty proud of herself. She thought Shane would be proud too.

Lined along the tailgate were five 20 gallon jugs of gas, which had taken her nearly an entire day to scavenge in and of itself. That and she'd had to use counter weights and rope to get the heavy cans into the truck, but she'd done it and she had plenty of gas to get wherever she needed to go. Of course, she'd also thrown up the first time she'd tried to siphon the gas, getting a harsh gulp of the fuel that made her nearly projectile vomit once it hit her stomach. And she'd spent the rest of the day tasting gas in her mouth and smelling it coating her cloths. It hadn't been a pleasant day but she'd dedicated that first day to only fuel collection. She'd spent hours checking cars.

The second day she'd dedicated to gear and information. Anything she thought she might need if she was going to be in the wilderness or on her own for a while. Fishing gear, line, bait, lures, whatever she'd found that looked useful. A small pup tent, just big enough for her and perfect for squeezing in between trees and brush for protection. Hunting gear, she'd taken the one live trap she'd found in the fish and game store and stowed it away, knowing it was going to feed her sooner or later. Any ammo or guns she found were thrown in a bag for later, since she didn't know how to use a gun herself. Two sleeping bags, one for her and one for Shane. Fire starters, flash lights, lanterns, kerosene oil, several lighters, matches, a kettle, a small pan, tin foil, first aid kits, a can opener. The camping section had pretty much been shoved in its entirety into the back of the truck.

As for information, well, she'd watched enough movies to know that this wasn't ever going to get better, so she'd tried to think of what information she'd need later. So she'd gone to the library, where there weren't actually any dead at all, and scoured the shelves. Using a shopping cart she'd taken anything that seemed even remotely useful, only adding a few of her favorites to read for herself. Anything about homesteading, building, medical procedure, mechanics, farming, hunting, trapping, raising livestock, solar power, canning, preserving food, anything that caught her eye. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get the chance or have the need for any of them, but she thought the safer the better.

The third day she'd been so sore and tired and aching she'd almost not even wanted to get up out of her sleeping bag. But she had, because she couldn't waste any time. Not if she was going to find Shane. Statistically, the longer they were apart, the less chance she had of finding him. And numbers were one of the few things that didn't lie. So she'd gotten up anyway.

That third day had been dedicated to finding any and every scrap of food she could get her hands on. And for once, being small and slender and quiet was in her favor. She'd gone to out of the way stores, Asian market places and little corner stores, local places that were small enough that they didn't come to mind as a place to raid for food. Lonnie wasn't stupid, she knew all the big places were going to be empty or filled with the dead. She was the smartest girl in her school for a reason. So she put her brain to work. People thought of houses when they thought of food, of cooking, at least she did, so she went somewhere she hadn't thought of first. She went to apartment buildings, the tall ones with dozens of apartments, and she went into every one she had the time for.

She'd come away from the city with everything she needed, everything but one thing that was the most important. Water. Oh, she had a little, a few flats of water bottles, but she knew how important water was to people, to her. So she'd brought along a few big jugs, that she was going to refill every time she came across running water. Like the creek on the map that should be only a few miles away.

Tossing the jugs out, Lonnie carefully tied the tarp back over her hard won supplies, making sure she tucked the protective cover down completely. Every time she looked at the mountain of supplies filling the truck she found herself smiling, even as exhausted and half dead as she felt. The supplies were worth all the hard work. They were worth all the risks she'd taken. Because now she didn't have to take as many risks. She didn't have to scavenge as she went to Fort Benning.

Hopping down she snatched up her backpack, tucking one jug inside and carrying the other two in one hand. "Don't forget to lock up!" She chimed to herself sadly, remembering Shane telling her the same thing every time he left for work. That in mind she grabbed her map and locked the truck , clipping the key to her belt loop.

According to her map it would only take maybe an hour to get to the stream. Squinting up at the sun, checking its position carefully Lonnie nodded to herself. Consulting the map one last time she set off, hoping to be done with this before night fall. If she had to she could sleep up a tree but she'd much rather sleep across the bench seat of the truck. As she walked her baseball bat swung along with her steps, carefully hung from her back pack.

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Sophia drew in a sob, backing shakily away from the grasping hands that were trying to get her. She was backed into the cubby between and underneath a trees roots and she knew those hands were going to get her. Fear was making her shake near violently and she wished desperately that she had her mother there with her, or at least her Miss Eliza doll. Pressing back as far as she could, she didn't even notice the dirt raining down on her head, trying frantically to scrunch herself up as small as possible

Keening in terror, Sophia slapped her hands over her ears, trying to ignore the things hungry noises. It was trying to get it's face and shoulders into the cubby now and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She couldn't look at it's rotting face anymore. It's putrid smell was filling up the space and Sophia could barely breath, choking on the scent and her fear.

She didn't want to die like this! Not hiding in a hole in the middle of the woods, without her mother and all alone. This wasn't fair! They'd only just finally gotten away from daddy, she couldn't die now! Not when her mother was finally starting to laugh again. Sophia let out a high pitched squeal as the thing tried to grab her shoe, yanking back her foot and scrunching tighter against the dirt wall behind her.

"Hey!" Someone shouted distantly. Sophia didn't even hear the voice until the walker paused, finally turning away from her. "Yeah, you!" The voice called again, taunting the thing.

Sophia opened her eyes, moving her hands over her mouth, fighting to stay quiet even though she wanted to sob in relief. Someone had come to save her! With wide eyes she watched the walker stumble away from the mouth of her hiding place. It was a woman, so maybe Andrea? Or Lori? And maybe her mom?! Fighting the urge to lunge from her hiding place, frantic to see her mom's face, Sophia dug her fingers in over her mouth, keeping absolutely silent. Her heart was pounding in her throat and she shook almost violently, but relief was making tears stream down her cheeks.

She'd been out here for three days and she was finally safe! She'd gotten lost, not done what Mr. Grimes told her to do. She should have listened, then she would have been safe, but she hadn't! She'd been wandering around the woods for three days and she was so hungry and so tired. But she was finally safe. It was going to be over soon.

A heavy thunk followed by another right after made her cringe, pressing back farther. Those things used to be people, people that did things like go to school and have kids and pick flowers. Just like her. They used to be just like her, with thoughts and dreams and moms. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to kill those things like the others did. She couldn't think of what they used to be and then kill them. Not her.

"Hello? Anybody in there?" The voice called out and Sophia tried to unfreeze herself. She felt stiff and aching, her body so tense she felt like she was going to break.

"I'm in here!" She tried to shout, but it came out more of a croak, her voice breaking on the words. Sniffling she started to edge forward, out of the hole.

She froze again when someone was suddenly crouching in front of her hiding place. Someone she didn't know. A little girl just like her. Blinking, shocked, Sophia looked at her savior and didn't know what to think. She was kind of grungy, dirt smearing her cheeks and clothes and her red hair sloppily braided back into a long tail. Her eyes were bright and gray, watching Sophia carefully. Then she smiled and held out a hand, and Sophia thought the girl was beautiful.

"Come on out, there ain't anymore out here. It's all safe." The girl told her and her voice was so gentle that Sophia wanted to cry.

"I w-was s-s-so scared." Sophia stuttered as she crawled forward, having to hunch onto her hands and knees to squeeze out.

"Yeah, those things are pretty scary, but it's safe now." The girl assured her, gripping Sophia's outstretched hand and helping her out of her hiding place.

"T-thank you." Sophia sniffled, trying to keep her eyes focused on the girl instead of the body laying only feet away. And not looking at the bloody bat in the girls hand.

"No problem. Are you out here all alone?" The girl was frowning now, looking around them, scanning the woods carefully. Sophia realized the girl might have been her age but she was shorter, smaller than Sophia was.

"W-we were on the h-highway and a big g-group of those things c-came through." Sophia felt her eyes water again at the thought and sniffled, trying not to cry. Her daddy had hated it when she cried. "I shoulda stayed down b-but I was sc-scared and I g-got up too soon. He told m-me to stay but m-more we-were c-comng and I g-got all t-turned around. I've b-been out here f-for three days!"

"Hey, hey, calm down, gotta keep calm and quiet out here, okay?" The other girl soothed awkwardly, patting Sophia on the arm. "I've got a map, so I know how to get you back to the highway, okay?"

Sophia nodded, feeling relief surge in her chest. She caught the other girls hand and gripped it hard. "Thank you s-so much!" She tried to keep her voice quiet this time, barely a whisper.

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Lonnie looked the taller girl over, searching for any bites or scratches but not finding anything. Nodding she smiled up at the girl, feeling awkward but trying to be comforting. "I'm just glad you're okay. My name is Lonnie Brant."

"I'm Sophia Peletier." The other girl whispered, eyes focused on the ground and it took Lonnie a minute to realize she was trying not to look at the dead body or Lonnie's dirty bat.

"Well, Sophia, I just gotta go to the creek, which should only be a few more minutes up that way." She pointed West, were she could see the start of another deer trail. "I have to fill up my water jugs and get cleaned up, but once I do that we can go to the highway to try and find your group."

"Okay." Sophia nodded vigorously, glancing at the path before looking down again. She was shaking slightly and Lonnie wondered if she should look in one of her medical books when they got back to the truck. She'd heard about people being funny after accidents, going into shock, but she'd never seen it and she didn't know what would happen if Sophia did go into shock, or what she should do about it. She thought she might have been in shock back when she realized Shane was gone but she'd gotten over it by herself, so maybe Sophia would too.

They spent the next few minutes in silence and Sophia refused to let go of her hand. So Lonnie handed Sophia one of the jugs to carry and carefully tied her bat to her backpack again. She used a special slip knot, so that if she tugged it would come loose again easily. Then, gripping Sophia in one hand and another jug and her map in the other Lonnie pulled the other little girl after her.

She tried to search for something to say but found her mind an unhelpful blank. She hadn't liked to talk to other kids before all this started, and now, after spending more than two months alone, she really didn't know what to say. Sophia didn't seem to need it though. She was quiet and she sniffled wetly every few minutes but she wasn't crying anymore and she'd begun to shoot fleeting glances around at the woods.

"There it is!" Lonnie told the other girl, grinning as she pointed through the trees, where she could just make out the glint of the running water.

"I'm glad, I-I'm kinda t-thirsty." The stutter was starting to disappear from Sophia's voice and Lonnie was glad that her fear was finally starting to fade.

"Why didn't you say so?!" Lonnie scolded as they broke from the trees, coming out onto a sandy beach type embankment that led down into the creek. She dropped the jug and slung her back pack over her shoulder. It was difficult with only one hand but she managed to unzip the bag and pulled out a full water bottle and a packet of cheese crackers. "Here, I have plenty of water and food, just tell me when you're hungry."

Sophia finally dropped her hand and the water jug, eagerly taking the bottle and crackers, her face lighting up. "I haven't eaten since yesterday! I'm starving!"

Lonnie laughed, glad the girl was starting to loosen up a little. "Well, you eat that and I'll get this stuff done so we can go." She said, grabbing up the jugs and her bag and heading for the water.

Plopping down by the water she unlaced her hiking boots, eager to get into the water. She hadn't had a bath in what felt like forever and she felt grungy and gross. Boots removed, her cloths quickly followed, leaving her only in her black bikini swimsuit that she kept on underneath her cloths just for this purpose. She never wanted to get completely undressed, just in case, so she kept a few pairs of swim suits in her clothing bag. They'd already come in handy more than once.

Stepping into the water, Lonnie gasped at the coldness. Despite it still being the end of summer, the water was like ice. Shuddering at the cold she filled the jugs first, not wanted to contaminate her drinking water with soap. Then she pulled her bottle of shampoo and conditioner from her bag, already dreading dunking her head in the water. It was going to be freezing but she was determined to get clean.

"Do you wanna wash up?" She called to Sophia, who was sat farther up the bank, finished with the crackers and half the water bottle. "I have a change of cloths if you want."

Sophia looked down at herself and Lonnie laughed at the grimace that came to the girls face. Lonnie guessed she must have fallen in the mud or something, because her left side was sort of caked with mud. Her hair was sort of a rats nest too, sticking up on one side more than the other with her head band barely staying in.

"I-yeah, I'd like that." She whispered with a smile.

"I have strawberry shampoo and conditioner too, it smells really good." She told the taller girl as Sophia picked her way down the bank, holding up the bottles for Sophia to see. They were the cheap kind but they came in compact bottles that fit okay in her back pack, and they smelled good too.

"It'll be nice to be clean again." Sophia murmured back, giving Lonnie a shy smile, the first she'd seen from the other girl.

"Here's the cloths when your done." Lonnie set the pile on top of a rock, a pair of jean shorts and a gray tank top with the hulk on the front. As she did she eyed the cloths Sophia was wearing skeptically. "They don't look like they're your style but they'll do for now."

Sophia frowned, looking down at her purple shirt, which had a colorful but very girly image of a rainbow and hearts printed across the front. She picked at the shirt for a moment before looking up at Lonnie uncertainly. "My mom picked this out. My dad didn't like when I wore stuff like that." She pointed hesitantly at the tank top.

Frowning a little, Lonnie peered at the other girl for a long moment before she nodded. Her real daddy had once beat a man almost to death because he'd looked at Lonnie funny and tried to touch her leg. It made her wander if maybe Sophia's daddy wasn't like that, if maybe he was...different than her real daddy.

Shaking her head she directed a confident smile at Sophia. "Well, I guess he ain't here right now so you can wear whatever you want." She said, nodding at the other girl.

"Yeah...I guess so." Sophia smiled timidly in return. "I don't have a swim suit to wash in." She added after a moment.

Lonnie shrugged, not overly concerned. "Well, a swim suit ain't much different than underwear and a training bra. And besides, you look that way and I'll look this way. That way we keep an eye out for the dead ones and we got privacy."

"Okay." Sophia agreed softly and the two girls went to work getting themselves all cleaned up.

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Daryl grimaced, pushing the dead walker off of him, blinking up at the sky through the trees. His whole body ached and a fire was beginning to light up in his side, burning hotly in agony. Pressing a hand to his side he groaned, feeling his vision begin to blacken at the pain and pressure. Pulling out that arrow hadn't been the smartest idea in the world but it'd been his only option. Now he had to deal with the consequences.

He didn't know how much time passed, as he lay there. Laying there, he listened as Merle jeered in his ear. The ghost of the man's voice was heavy in his mind, keeping him from passing out completely. Sometimes he heard his pa's voice too, and the crack of the belt. His mind wavered, vision going spotty and Daryl couldn't find it in himself to move, not just yet. He heard Shane's voice too sometimes, telling him he thought his eyes were pretty, but most of the time it was Merle. It was always Merle. Merle'd been there his whole life. Telling him how it was. It didn't surprise him none that he heard Merle's voice the most.

"Mr. Dixon!? That's Mr. Dixon!" A voice echoed and Daryl blinked, trying to fight off the spots dotting his eyes. The voice sounded familiar but he couldn't tell through the fog filling his head.

"Did he get bit?" Another voice asked, the sound of sucking mud following.

Then her face was above him, little Sophia, right there, leaning over him. She looked concerned, brown eyes peering down at him uncertainly and Daryl felt more than saw the world tilt sideways. His belly was doing all sorts of damn things, twisting and knotting, making him feel like he was going to throw up. The black was coming in over his eyes, and he knew he was going to pass out any second now.

"Sophia." He muttered, forcing the word out. He could feel sweat begin to drip down the side of his face and cold mud was caked everywhere, making him shake. The fire was spreading up his side and he could feel the blood under his hand.

"I don't- I don't think so. He's bleeding!" Sophia called, looking away, up at someone else.

Another face swam into focus above him and Daryl blinked, sure he was hallucinating now. He done had them before but never one like this, normally it was Merle or his pa, never two little girls. This one looked familiar too, but damn if he could place her face in his foggy brain. She had the brightest damn red hair he'd ever seen in his life, curls everywhere, barely contained in a ponytail on top of her head. Freckles were all over her cheeks and she had clear gray eyes that he'd swear he'd seen before. She was frowning at him and he groaned as she pried his hand up to look at the puncture wound.

"He ain't been bit, looks like he got hit with an arrow." She held up an arrow to Sophia, which made Sophia cringe and Daryl laughed. Both girls frowned down at him and he only laughed harder until the black swallowed him up and didn't let go.

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It was hard but the girls managed, pulling the larger body of the man up out of the mud and up the far bank, into the trees. Where they had some cover for the night as they waited on Daryl to wake up again.

Lonnie recognized him, course she did. Her real daddy used to be best buddies with Merle Dixon, Daryl's older brother. She'd only seen the younger Dixon four or five times, but that was enough to recognize him right off. He'd kept her company once, in the back room, while her daddy and Merle got high on something or another. She'd thought he was funny, a little awkward but he'd been nice. He'd told her about hunting when she'd asked and how to do one thing or another. The memory had always stuck with her, even though that was the last time she'd ever seen him. It seemed like an odd twist of fate that she saw him next after the world ended.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Sophia asked, sitting close beside her as the both of them stood guard over the mans prone body. Night was falling quickly and she couldn't help but peer around timidly.

"I knew him and his brother before all this stuff happened, he's tough, he'll be fine." Lonnie assured her, handing the brunette another pack of cheese and peanut butter crackers. She had four more packages in her bag but that was all the food she kept in her to go bag. She hadn't meant to stay the night out here so she hadn't packed anything but bare essentials.

"You knew him before?" Sophia asked curiously, trying to imagine knowing Mr. Dixon before. He seemed kinda mean but he'd never hit anybody, so that was something.

"Yeah, he's an okay sorta guy." Which in her book meant she liked him pretty well even though she hadn't seen him but once or twice.

"What're you doing?" Sophia watched curiously as the redhead gathered various bits and pieces around them. Bark and leaves and things.

"Gonna build a bit of a fire. Should get a little cold tonight." Lonnie began to dig out a hole with her hand, making it deep so that the fire wouldn't be very visible. "You wanna stack some brush around these trees there? To block a little more of the light." She pointed to the two trees on either side of them.

"Um, sure, I just...stack branches and stuff?" Sophia stood, looking uncertainly at the woods around them.

Lonnie gave the city girl a smile, trying to remind herself that not every girl grew up with a dad like hers. "Yeah, try to find stuff with leaves still on it but they don't have to. You see how these three sides are already kinda blocked from view by the bank? We don't want nothing from this side here to see the fire in the middle of the night."

"Okay." Sophia nodded to herself, like she was giving herself courage, before she stepped off to find all the loose brush she could.

Grinning at the other girl, proud of her, Lonnie went back to digging out the hole deep enough. She made sure the fire could get air and it wasn't too deep. Too deep and the fire wouldn't survive well and the warmth wouldn't be as effective. Next she stacked her little pile of starter, using her pocket knife to get some shavings from a few branches. She could hear Sophia trampling some dead leaves to her left but nothing else in the surrounding woods.

"You Murphy Brant's kid?" A gruff voice grunted from behind her, making Lonnie start and whirl around. Daryl was braced stiffly up on an elbow, scowl set firmly on his face. She figured mostly from the pain.

"Yep, that's me. Surprised you remembered me at all." She said, grabbing up a water bottle and a package of crackers from her pack. "Lemme help you up."

"Nah, I got it." He gritted stiffly but she ignored him anyway, helping him sit up against one of the bigger trees shielding them from view. "Ya moved away, never saw you at yer pa's no more."

She shrugged, holding out the crackers and the water. "I just turned 8 and the ol' lady next door called CPS on him. Ma got custody of me." She twisted her lips to the side in a little grimace. "She wasn't any better than he was, just different, lived over in King County. Still went and seen pa once a month though."

"Nice seein' ya, kid, thought fer sure you was dead." Daryl eyed her taking a sip of the water. His eyes shifted when the racket Sophia was making got closer. "That Sophia?" He asked with odd intensity, looking from her to the noise again.

"Yeah, I have her collecting some brush to block the light from the fire." Lonnie told him, moving back to the stack of kindling. Out of her back pocket she pulled a lighter and got to work getting the thing started.

"Where you find her at?" Daryl muttered, his whole body slumping back against the tree, looking relieved. "Been lookin' fer her ass fer three damn days."

"She was up the creek a ways, near getting chomped on by one of those things." Lonnie shrugged, even though she didn't like the idea of one of those things getting Sophia.

"Mr. Dixon!" Sophia cried happily as she puffed into view, dragging a long branch with big bushy leaves still attached. "I'm so glad you're awake!"

"Ain't nothin' can kill a Dixon but a Dixon." Daryl muttered but Lonnie could see the tips of his ears turn red as he fumbled with the crackers.

Lonnie sat back, satisfied with the flames licking at the branches she'd set up, and turned to look at the man. He was hunched as he ate the crackers and she knew he must be in a lot of pain. "I think we need ta get your wound clean and wrapped up." She announced, meeting the man's eyes with her lips pursed.

"'m fine 'til we get back ta camp." Daryl denied, scowling at her. She'd seen a lot scarier looks on her daddy's face, so Daryl's didn't scare her any.

Frowning back at him, Lonnie shook her head, already standing to get one of the jugs of water. "Can't afford infection setting in. I ain't got any antibiotics." She told him, and she knew that Daryl would know she was right, even if he grumbled about it.

"Dammit, girl, I ain't need no nurse." He muttered but all the same he let her settle down beside him.

"I'll just, huh, just finish this then." Sophia called timidly, dragging the branch around to set along the one side.

"Thank you, Sophia, I really appreciate it." Lonnie told the other girl, smiling at her brightly. Sometimes she thought Sophia just needed somebody to smile at her a little, that seemed to always make the other girl happy. "Only one or two more like that one."

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute." Sophia smiled back, more confident, and her step was almost a skip as she turned away.

"What you doin' in these parts anyways, girlie?" Daryl grunted at her when she turned back to him. He was already pulling up his shirt before she had to ask, peering down at the hole in his side.

"I was headin' to the creek to fill up my water jugs when I came across Sophia." Lonnie told him, leaning down to look closer at the wound and pursing her lips. She didn't have anything to clean it with, no bandages or medical supplies, not with her. So she pulled her shirt off over her head, leaving only her swim suit top and pulled her knife out to cut it into strips.

"The hell you doin', girl?" Daryl scowled at her, blue eyes snapping away, looking vaguely scandalized and Lonnie giggled, she couldn't help herself.

"You have to have something bandaging this and I need something to clean the wound. I don't have anything here to help you and I'm wearing a swim suit top anyhow, so what's the difference?" She snorted when he continued to look uncomfortable. "I'm not gonna molest ya, Daryl, I think you might be a little too old for me."

Daryl snorted, finally relaxing just a little as he watched her rip the shirt to strips. " Not my problem if you freeze yer ass off, girlie."

"I have a fire goin' and I have an emergency blanket in my bag somewhere." She scoffed, wetting two of the strips and bending down to wash the wound.

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