John
Trees fly past my vision in blurs of green and brown. I'm hauling myself as fast as my feet can carry me, and I think I smack into a tree or two as I run, but the well being of the forest is the last thing on my mind.
Sophia can outrun the walkers, I know that, but I don't want her to stray too far. Hell, if I don't pay enough attention to where I'm going, I'll probably end up just as lost as she is.
The sounds of the two snarling walkers quickly grow louder in my ears, telling me exactly where they are, but Sophia's gone quieter, probably trying to focus her breath on running. If it weren't for the sounds of the walkers, I'd probably have assumed the worst, but considering the sounds of their hunger are still prominent, that tells me they're still chasing after her.
It takes way too long for my liking, when in reality it was probably only half a minute, but I manage to get the walkers in my sites.
I don't hesitate, I don't even slow down.
I pounce on the leading walker, taking it to the ground with enough force to definitely snap its back and create grooves in the ground below us, and I ignore the damn thing snarling and clawing at me as I raise up and slam my fist into its skull.
The skull caves like a tissue paper, reducing the entire head to mush, nothing but bone fragments and bits of blood and brain matter are left, with flakes of the skin at the neck now resembling confetti as the corpse goes limp under me.
My attention is drawn away from the now dead walker as I feel its partner clamp its teeth down onto my right shoulder, and though the thing doesn't have a hope in hell of breaking my skin, it manages to tear my shirt and piss me off.
"Get off me!" I growl as I reach my opposite hand up to my shoulder and grab the walker by the skull, ripping it off of me and up off the ground with ease as I slam the corpse into the ground below me, snapping it's neck in the process. With a snarl, I squeeze, crushing its head between my fingers like a grape.
The sounds of snarling walkers are now gone, replaced with nothing but silence as I sit there for a second, huffing out of habit as I eye the mangled corpses of the dead under me, before I snap back into focus.
"Sophia!" I can't help but to say to remind myself as I jerk my head to the left. That was the direction the walkers were running, so I'm assuming that's the direction Sophia went. I jump off the ground into a run, fast enough that I can easily outrun a normal human, but nowhere near as fast as I was going when I took down the walkers, jumping over a small creek in the process.
Sophia's fast for a kid, I'll give her that, but she's nowhere near as fast as I am, and sure enough, I come up on her running as fast her little legs can carry her, that doll that Eliza gave her clenched tightly in her arm.
I catch up to her with ease, and my first instinct is to slow down and catch her by the waste, yanking her up off the ground.
My actions have the unfortunate side effect of sending the poor girl into a panic.
"No, no, no!" Sophia begins crying out as her legs begin kicking and she starts swinging her arms at me as best as she can, managing to nail me a good few times in the face with an elbow. "Let go!"
I lower myself so that her feet are back on the ground, crouching down to her level as I catch her arm with the hand not currently wrapped around her, before gently but quickly spinning her around to face me.
"Hey, hey, hey!" I say gently, holding her in place by her shoulders. She's still in panic mode, and she's struggling as hard as she possibly can to get away from me. She's not thinking straight, she's not processing that it's me. She was just being chased by walkers and now she has a pair of hands holding her. "Sophia, calm down, it's me!"
That finally manages to break the haze as she stops struggling, though her entire body is still tense as she looks at me through tear-filled eyes, her lip quivering as she finally takes in the fact that it's not a walker that's got her right now.
"J-John?" Her voice is a high-pitched whimper, full of nothing but utter terror as she speaks.
I give her a small smile as I finally take my hands away from her, holding them in front of her in a reassuring manner. "It's okay. They're dead, you're okay."
Sophia goes silent for a moment as she looks at more, before jumping towards me and wrapping her arms around my neck, her entire body shaking as she begins to sob into my shoulder.
"The w-walkers found m-me and th-they w-were chasing m-me!" Sophia whimpers as she seeks some form of comfort from me.
"Calm down, kiddo." I tell her as I gladly hug her back, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort and calm her. "The walkers are dealt with, they won't hurt you." I assure her as I gently pull her off of me so that I can look at her.
"I didn't know if a-anyone was going to come after me." Sophia admits as she begins to rub away at her eyes, trying to dry her tears with the leather sleeves of the jacket I gave her.
"You kidding?" I can't help but to give her a small grin as I bring a thumb up to wipe away her tears. "I bet you a hundred bucks that I'm not the only one who came out here after you. I'm just the first one to find you."
And I believe that. Most of the ones who probably would come running were back with me, but I'm almost certain that Rick is gunning his way through these woods after us.
May as well meet him halfway.
"Let's get back to the highway." I say as I pick her up in my arms. Her legs tuck themselves around my waist and her arms wrap around my neck once more as she lays her head on my shoulder.
"I'm scared." She admits in a whisper. "I want my mom."
"We'll get you back to your mom, kiddo." I assure her as I turn and begin walking back towards the highway.
At least, that's what I thought.
Thirty Minutes Later
Daryl
After about ten minutes of waiting, Rick came back from the woods without John or Sophia in sight. He followed after them in the direction he assumed they went, and he found the walkers chasing her smashed to bits.
Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who did that one.
But he said he couldn't find hide nor tail of either of them. Came back, asked if me or Merle could help track them… but even though we grew up in the woods, Merle was never the tracker between us. He's the fighter more than anything, though that's not saying much.
Of course I'm gonna help find them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not too worried. I mean, John's the Juggernaut and all, so there's no real need for concern where he's involved, but that doesn't mean that Sophia won't get hurt just because neither of them might be paying attention.
The sooner we find the two of them, the better.
Especially since it's got Carol worried to death. After all the shit her old man put her through, the last thing she needs right now is for her daughter to get killed.
Right now, me, Rick, Shane, and Merle are out looking for the two of them. The others are back on the highway, trying to get shit in gear for when the rest of us get back, no doubt Jimbo is trying to keep Carol from panicking anymore than she already is.
At the moment, Shane and Merle are keeping watch, and I got Rick hovering over my shoulder, which is a little irritating, but I'm not gonna badger the guy. He's probably just worried. I'm studying the tracks that are by the dead walkers.
Rick wasn't kidding. John fucking mangled them.
"What do you see?" Rick asks me as I study the tracks.
"There's a small set of tracks coming from the highway past here." I tell him as I stand to my feet, eyeing the tracks as I hold my crossbow, ready to aim in case we get any unwanted visitors. "Them's Sophia's. There's a larger set of tracks coming from that way," I explain as I point in the direction John's tracks come from. "Then they start to run along Sophia's."
"John's?" Rick asks me, though I think he already knows the answer, so I don't really feel the need to answer it.
"They kind of bob and weave a little, but his tracks follow the same direction." I tell them as I study the tracks.
"I don't get it, all they'd have had to do was turn around and go back the way they came, right?" Rick asks as he stands up with a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair.
"Kid did say his sense of direction was shit." Merle piped up, as if it were the time to be a smartass. But he does have a point.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Merle's got a point." Shane says as he turns to look at us. "Maybe he took a wrong turn further up, or took off in the wrong direction when he found Sophia."
I don't think anyone here doubts that John and Sophia are already together, considering he was running right after her, especially from here. But Shane's got a point, kid could've gotten himself turned around, gotten lost.
"Come on." I tell them as I begin to follow the tracks. Both Sophia and John's are spaced out, probably from where they were running, but even with his size, John's are more spaced out than a normal person's, though not nearly as much here as they are on the way to the walkers.
I can hear the shuffle of footsteps through grass behind me as we walk, me leading the pack as I track the trail.
"They went through this creek here." I announce as I take everyone past the thin stream of water on the forest floor. "And they keep on going."
I continue to lead them through the woods, eyeing and studying the trail as it grows more prominent, to me at least. Everyone's got themselves ready to either draw or shoot in case we get come up on a walker, but I doubt anyone but me is actually gonna fire.
Crossbow's silent. Guns aren't.
I notice the tracks suddenly stop just ahead of us.
"Looks like he found her here." I say as I crouch down to study the tracks, and I can't help the confusion that crosses my face as I eye the prints in the grass and dirt. "Must've picked her up, because this is where Sophia's tracks end."
I notice that while Sophia doesn't have anymore tracks to follow, John's become more normal, bunched together. Must've been walking. Only…
"Find anything?" Rick asks me. He must've noticed the look of confusion on my face.
"I think his sense of direction is worse than he thinks." I can't help but to say. "He picked her up, probably carrying her, but he took off that way." I point off towards the right, where John's tracks start running almost perfectly along the highway, going over so slowly in the direction.
"Hopefully we can find them before nightfall." Shane mutters as he takes a quick glance to the sky. "Won't be long before the sun starts to set, and I don't think it's a good idea to be out here in the dark."
"If you want to go back, feel free." I tell him bluntly. I'm not trying to be rude, and honestly, the less people with me, the less chance of mucking up the trail, but I do get where he's coming from. Damn walkers get more active at night for some reason, not to mention it'll be harder to see, let alone track.
"Take Merle with you and head back to the highway." Rick says as he turns to his best friend. "Try to keep everyone calm and occupied. "We'll let you know what we find."
Shane gives a wordless nod and turns towards my asshole of a brother. Merle lets out a snort and rolls his eyes, but thankfully, he keeps his mouth shut. Last thing anybody needs right now is Merle Dixon being his Merle self.
Shane and Merle begin their trek back to the highway, but Rick tails behind me as I start tracking John's trail.
Silence befalls us as Rick lets me focus, and I'm thankful that even though he's clearly worried, he's composed enough to keep quiet and focused too.
Comes with the territory as a cop, I guess.
I'm not really paying attention to how much time passes we follow the trail. The tracks get more and more prominent as we pass by. Kid's got some heavy feet, or maybe he's just heavy in general, but I'm thankful for it.
Unfortunately, when the trail ends, we still ain't found them.
"Damn." I say as me and Rick come up on another creek bed, a little larger than the one back by those walkers. "Must've followed the creek bed, but I can't figure out why. Trail stops here."
"Maybe he tried to follow it back to the highway?" Rick proposes, his hands on his hips as he tries to think of an explanation. "Any tracks on the other side?"
"None that I can see." I answer as I examine the creek to the best of my ability. "Can't see under the water to follow the tracks either."
"Damn." Rick says as he lets out a sigh. And I'm right there with him. "If he'd have followed the creek towards the highway, he would've found it by now. He must've went the wrong way again."
"Probably." I nod in agreement. It's the only reason I can think of as to why John ain't back already if he followed the creek. "Follow it, see if we can pick up the trail again."
God dammit kid…
Where'd you get off too?
Rachel
The drive is relatively peaceful. So far, I've only seen one, maybe two walkers, tops, on the whole trip. And without law anymore, without cops, I have the entire road to myself, and I can drive as fast as I would like.
Though, as low as the chance is, there is still the very slim possibility of a car crash, so I make it a habit to stay on the side of the road. As unlikely as it is, I would prefer not to have a head on collision.
Shiela doesn't look as down in the dumps as she was before, but it's been a quiet ride mostly. She's just been staring out the window.
To be fair, up until the dead started walking, she'd never even left the state. Not even to go right across the river to Kentucky. She's probably just taking in the sites of the place.
So far, it's mostly been trees around us, but I can finally begin to see the trees widening a little as the road expands into a two-lane highway on each side.
Unfortunately, our luck isn't as kind as I'd like it to be.
"Shit…" I can't help but to mutter as I come up on a massive pile-up of abandoned cars. First and foremost is a large semi-trailer flipped onto its side. Cars litter the road, abandoned and turned in all kinds of different directions.
This just sucks.
"Can we get through?" Shiela asks, concern in her voice as she spots the mass of cars in front of us. Even at her age, she knows that we're sitting ducks at the moment if we can't get through.
"I can't tell from here." I admit as I put the car in park and kill the engine. From where we're sitting right now, it looks like all the vehicles are crammed tightly together, and it's rather hard for me to really see a clear way through abandoned vehicles.
"Can you pull closer?" Shiela asks me, but I shake my head.
"I don't want to keep the car running if we're not using it." Though the car is rather quiet, it's more a matter of comfort than it really is safety in this case. Any noise that's just a little too loud is rather unsettling to me, personally, considering the habit of quietness we've had to make since the biters happened. "I don't think there's any biters here, though, or the sound of the car showing up would've stirred them."
While the car might not attract any in the same vein that, say, a gunshot would, any biter close enough to hear it would still come running.
"Let's wait a second just to be sure." Shiela advises, and I'm just fine following that advice. Worst comes to worst, I can probably get out, fry any biter that shows itself, and probably clear a path for us. Sure, it'd be loud, but we'd be long gone by then. But still, I'd rather wait just to be safe.
We sit in the car for about a minute with now signs of movement from the cluster of cars, so that's when I deem it safe.
"Let's check it out on foot." I say as I turn to look at Shiela. "Got your gun?"
Shiela quickly nods and pulls out her small little .22 revolver that Peter found for her. I know John may not be the happiest to learn that me and Peter taught her how to shoot and gave her a gun, but considering the way the world is now, I don't think he'll complain much.
Satisfied, I open up my car door and climb out of the vehicle, Shiela following my example as she puts her gun back into the belt of her pants and climbs out as well.
I approach the trainwreck of cars slowly, cautious. Whether any walkers are here or not, I'd much rather be safe than sorry.
"Stay close to me." I instruct the little girl in my care as I glance towards her. I get a nod in return and she moves up closer, until she's walking right behind me, just in the corner of my eye as I turn my attention back towards the roadblock ahead.
We move slowly, staying up next to the overturned trailer, using it as a cover of sorts as we move in between the vehicles with caution. I feel one of Shiela's hands grip the edge of my jacket, and I wrap an arm around her shoulder, for her comfort and my own.
When we finally make it to the end of the trailer, I gesture for Shiela to stop as I press myself up against it. High-school student or not, I was a part of Alex's militia, and he made sure everyone who joined up had some military training.
Whether members actually applied that training much (John) was another story altogether.
Slowly, I peek around the trailer to see what it had previously obscured, scanning for any biters.
Though I do find something on two legs, however, it's definitely not a biter.
Up ahead is an old Winnebago RV, but standing atop it is an older man, a hunting rifle hanging over his shoulder with a pair of binoculars in his hand. He looks like he's standing guard, playing sentry, John would call it.
Almost at the exact moment I spot him, he spots me too, and I can't help it when I instinctively tense up, my grip on Shiela tightening slightly as I prepare for him to aim the gun.
I can't help my surprise when a smile makes its way onto his face.
"Howdy stranger!" He greets me in a friendly voice, giving me a small wave as he does so. "It's nice to someone who's alive for a change."
I don't let my guard down, but I am able to relax a little at the fact that the man seems to at least be friendly.
Still, after the amount of bandits that we encountered on the way to Atlanta, I want to at least be careful.
"Hi!" I call out to the man, allowing a smile to grace my own face as well as I walk into view. With the rifle hanging from his shoulder, and my own reflexes from being with Alex's militia for so long, I do at least feel safe enough that me and Shiela can step into view.
The moment he goes for the gun, I'd have him fried before he can even raise it.
His eyes land on Shiela, and his eyes widen for a second surprise, before his smile seems to grow even bigger.
"I see you've got your kid with you." The older man remarks as he turns his eyes back towards me. "You two aren't alone, are you?"
"It's just us two, unfortunately." I admit to the man, slowly relaxing with each passing second. The old man just gives off an aura of… calm, that's the best way to describe it, and his friendly demeanor really feels genuine. He almost reminds me of…
Bryan.
I ignore the thought of John's grandfather as I speak to the man once more. "We had a third person, but he… we lost him about a week and a half ago."
The man's eyes soften in sympathy. "That seems to be a story everybody's had these days."
I can't help it when I nod. "Yeah…" He's not exactly wrong.
"Dale, who are you talking to?" Suddenly, another man comes into view, younger, well built, with curly hair and a squared jaw, holding a shotgun in his hand. I can't help it when I jump. That was honestly unexpected.
"Well, this young woman and her daughter just got here." The old man, who I now know is Dale, explains as he gestures towards us. "It's nice to see some living folk after everything that's happened."
Suddenly, Shiela steps forward out of my grasp, giving Dale a look of confusion. "Rachel's not my mom." She says freely, as if the world hasn't ended and she's talking to a stranger she met in public.
Dale looks surprised by her words, as does the younger man. "Oh, my bad."
"It's fine." I assure him, waving off the assumption. "I've been taking care of her since everything went down." I explain. "We're looking for her brother."
I'm almost positive that Dale and his friends are the ones who left the CDC, and I have to admit that I have a very big hope that the lead paid off. John wouldn't have joined up with scumbags. If he's joined up for anyone at all.
"Ah, no one's been through here but you two." The younger man explains with a shake of his head, a look of sympathy on his face at our plight. "It's just our group here. A couple of our own got lost in the woods, and we got a few people out trying to find them."
My face visibly falls at the man's words, but I still have at least a little bit of hope that John might be with these people, especially if it's an entire group. "Oh…" I can't help but to say.
"What's her brother's name?" Dale asks.
"John."
Both Dale and the younger man's eyes go wide at my answer, and they suddenly look at each other for a moment, as if making sure they had that right, before turning back to look at us.
"It's not John Gallagher, is it?" The younger man asks.
I can't help the swell of hope that suddenly fills me at the name. They know John! After so long, after losing Peter, me and Shiela are finally making progress.
I can hear the gasp coming from Shiela as we turn to look at each other, and her entire body is tense with excitement at the possibility that we might have finally found her brother.
"You know him?" I can't help it when I step forward, an excited smile on my face as my eyes train on the younger man. "Do you know where he is?"
"He's one of the ones missing." The man admits with a sigh and a shrug. "He went after one of the kids of our group when she got chased by a couple of walkers. We found the walkers and he mangled them up pretty good, and from what I gather, he did find her. But the kid took off in the wrong direction."
I can't help it when my face falls, but still, I can't help the pure joy radiating through me, and I almost want to cry.
We found him! After eight months of searching, we finally found John! So much struggle, so much pain and terror, and it finally paid off.
"He's here!" Shiela doesn't seem to really care about what she's been told, just that John's nearby somewhere, and she's absolutely bouncing up and down in joy as she turns to me and throws herself into me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug. "We found John!"
Both Dale and the man have smiles on their faces as they watch, and I can't help the joyful giggle that escapes me as I gladly hug Shiela back. "Yes we did."
"What'd you say your name was, again?" Dale suddenly asks as he turns to look at me.
"Rachel." I say with a smile as I turn my gaze towards him as Shiela and I separate. "I'm Rachel, and this is Shiela."
"I'm Shane." The younger man introduces himself with a smile on his face before he gestures towards Dale. "And you've already met Dale up there."
"Hi there." Dale greets once more with a wave.
"If you'd like, you can come meet the rest of the group." He offers as he resituates the shotgun to lay on his shoulder in a relaxed position. "I don't know how long it's gonna take our boys to find John and Sophia, but I figure he's gonna real happy to see you two."
"John never was good with direction." I can't help but joke a little, now more relaxed than ever as I take Shiela's hand in my own as we nod. "If he didn't know the area, he's a lost puppy."
"Yeah, we're learning that the hard way." Shane responds with a chuckle and a shake of his head. "If little one would like, we do got a kid here. He's a little younger than she is, but I figure it'd probably be nice to have someone to play with."
At Shane's words, Shiela turns to look at me, mustering the best puppy dog look she can manage on her excited face. "Can I?!"
I can't help but to laugh as I nod. "After we meet some people, sure." It's been so long since Shiela's been able to just be a kid. I'd be cruel not to let her have this chance. And maybe I'm feeling a little lenient since we practically have John right in our backyard.
"Come on." Shane says with a smile as he waves us over. "Dale here can keep watch while you meet everybody."
I can't help it when my smile widens. "I'd like that."
John
Trees, trees, trees…
Oh look. More fucking trees.
All I had to do was turn around, and go back the way I came. I mean, I know my sense of direction is shit, by I know my front from my back!
How the fuck did get lost when I couldn't have been more than a few yards from the highway?!
And yet, here we are.
I have no clue how long I've been walking. I just know the sounds of my own footsteps are starting to get on my nerves.
I still got Sophia in my arms, cause honestly I'm too uncomfortable setting her down considering how scared she probably still is. Her whole body is tense against me, and I can see the look of unease on her face as we go longer and longer without finding the damn highway.
The sun's lower in the sky. There's still daylight out, but we ain't got much left, and it's getting to the point where we may just have to find somewhere to settle down for the night before we even find the highway. At this point, it's harder to see in the forest because with the sun so low, what with the shadows beginning to overlap each other more and more.
Between immense strength and accelerated healing, neither ability grants me better eyesight or night vision, and the last thing I'm gonna do is risk running smack dab into a walker with Sophia here with me, or even worse, a herd like what happened back at the highway.
Could I keep her safe? Yes.
But that's no excuse to terrify the poor kid even more than she already is, and if we come across a horde, that's an even bigger risk.
"John?" Sophia's voice breaks the silence that's hovered over us for a while now, and I turn to look at her, never breaking my stride.
"Yeah?"
"Are we lost?"
Almost immediately, I open my mouth to reassure her, but I can't lie to the kid. That'd just be cruel.
"I hate to say it, but yeah." I admit as I stop and begin looking around with a sigh.
In every single direction, there's nothing but trees. I found the creek, tried to follow it to the highway, but surprise, surprise, I went in the wrong direction. Instead of turning around and going back, my dumbass didn't even think of that option, and instead abandoned the creek completely. Now we're even more lost than we were before.
Sophia's face falls at my answer, and she begins looking around, fear clear on her face as she does so. "I don't want to be out here in the dark." She admits quietly.
"Neither do I, Soph." I tell her with a sigh. "But we can't be walking around at night. I'm strong, but my eyesight ain't any better than yours is. I don't plan on bringing you anywhere near a walker."
"Couldn't you protect me?" Sophia can't help but to ask.
I can't help it when I raise an eyebrow. "After the close call you just had, would you rather me kill any walker we find? Or would you rather not see another walker at all?" I ask in a sarcastic manner.
Sophia visibly flinches at my tone, and I can't help the pang of guilt that hits me. She's scared and probably traumatized. The last thing she needs is me being an asshole because I'm frustrated.
"Sorry." I apologize as I take off walking once more. "You didn't deserve that. I'm just aggravated."
"Cause we're lost?"
"Yeah."
Silence befalls us once more, the sound accompanying us being the sound of the leaves and branches beneath my feet. Sophia lays her head down on my shoulder, and I have no reason not to let her as we… Well, I make our way through the woods.
With each passing minute, the sky continues to lose its light, and I'm beginning to believe that we may end up spending the night in the forest.
Suddenly, the uneasy silence is disturbed by the sound of branches snapping.
I stop in my tracks, and my whole body goes tense. Sophia's head shoots up as she goes stiff in my arms, her head jerking around to find the source of the noise.
"What was that?" She asks fearfully.
"I don't know." I respond as I begin turning around.
It's not just branches snapping, it's the sound of footsteps. At first, I assume it's a walker, but it doesn't take long for me to realize that's not the case. The footsteps are too steady, too solid. If it were a walker, they'd have a slower, more spaced out pattern.
Suddenly, I jerk towards the direction of a section of nearby bushes that are rustling.
Slowly, I lower Sophia to the ground and nudge her behind me, ready to attack any threay that might show, be it a walker or some sort of predator.
So imagine my surprise when I get neither.
A large, heavy set man comes walking through the bushes, armed with a hunting rifle. He's got signs of age, a graying beard and a wrinkled face, and bald head with what looks like stubbled hair towards the back.
Once his eyes land on me and Sophia, they go wide in surprise. Admittedly, he's not the only one dumbfounded.
"I didn't realize anyone else was out here." The man says, keeping his rifle in both hands, though something tells me that he wouldn't fire it on us for any reason.
I can't help it when my typical smartass snark rears its head. "If we had a choice, we wouldn't be, believe me."
His brow scrunches in confusion at my words. "Everything alright?" He asks in genuine concern.
I look down at Sophia for a moment, before I let myself relax and let out a sigh. "I hate to admit it, but we're lost." I tell him honestly as I look at him. "We got a group, back on the highway. I took off in the wrong direction when I found this one here," I gesture towards Sophia as I speak to the man. "And I've been wandering around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to find our way back."
The man looks at me in disbelief as I finish explaining to him the reason why we're out in the woods. By now, the sun is setting, and I'm beginning to believe we are not making it back to the highway before dark.
I think the man in front of me agrees. "Well, you're definitely lost." He says in a joking tone. "The highway's a good few miles from here. By the time you'd make it back, it'd already be dark."
"Of course." I can't help but sigh. "Any chance you can point me in the right direction?"
The man looks at me in disbelief, letting his rifle fall to his side as he lets himself relax as well. "You can't be serious." He says in astonishment. "You don't look like you're any older than eighteen."
"Seventeen." I can't help but to admit with a shrug. "But we'll be fine."
"I can't, in good conscience, let a couple of kids go wandering through the forest, hoping they don't get themselves lost again in the dark." The man responds with a shake of his head, and in spite of being a stranger, it sounds like he genuinely cares. "Look, about a ten minute walk from here is a farm I'm staying at. The owner, Hershel, he'll let you stay the night. I can take you two back to the highway in the morning if you'd like."
"No, it's okay." I say with a shake of my head. Whether it's a hidden weariness of a stranger's offer or the fact that I genuinely don't want to burden the man, I can't help but to refuse. "I can assure you, I can get us back to the highway with no problems."
"I insist." He said once more, his voice holding a sense of urging as he says it. "It's just for one night, but I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left two kids alone in the woods, regardless of how old either of them are."
I look at the man for a moment, biting the inside of my lip. The guy seems really determined to give me and Sophia a place to stay for the night, and if it weren't for the fact that the man seems genuinely concerned for our situation, I might be a little more wary.
But still…
I turn towards Sophia, deciding to get her input. "What do you say, kiddo?"
Sophia's gaze wandered between me and the man for a moment. She looks a little uncomfortable at the attention, and more than surprised at the fact that she even has a say at all, before she turns to look at me.
"I don't want to be out in the dark."
I could have us back to the highway in minutes if it really is only a few miles, but the way Sophia says it, her voice practically begging me.
I let out a sigh as I turn back to man. "Fine, we'll take your offer."
The man lets his own sigh escape him, though his is one of relief more than it is acceptance, and he offers me a smile. "I promise, you kids won't regret it." He says with a nod.
I hope not.
"Follow me." He says as he turns back the way he came from and waves us after him. "Like I said, it's about a ten minute walk."
Even though I'd rather have just run back to the highway, I still can't help but to thank the man for his generosity. "I do appreciate the offer. Sophia here does too."
The man glances towards me and smiles as I move to walk next to him, Sophia's hand curled in mine as he leads us through the woods, with far more confidence than I could ever have out here.
It's sad, I know.
"My name's Otis." The man introduces himself, shouldering his rifle as he offers his hand to me to shake.
I can't help but to smile. "John." I say as I shake his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"You too." Otis says in return. "So, you her brother?"
I can't help the chuckle that escapes me at the question, and Sophia looks at Otis in confusion.
"Nah." I say with a shake of my head. "Like I said, we're with a group back on the highway. We had a herd of walkers pass through, and two of them spotted her. I took off after her, and… well, you know the rest."
"Got yourself lost?" Otis teases with a smirk on his face, and I can't help but chuckle.
"Yeah." I say with a nod. "Never had a good sense of direction. Took off in the wrong direction, found a creek, followed it the wrong way too." I explain to the man.
"You alright?" Otis asks, turning to look at Sophia, his amusement fading slightly towards one of concern. "Experience like that must've been scary."
Sophia nods in response. "John saved me. I didn't know if anyone was gonna come after me."
"I can almost guarantee you that Rick was probably the first one on his way after you." I assure her with a smile, resting my hand on her shoulder and giving it a comforting rub. "I just happened to get to you first."
"Maybe we should've waited for him."
"Probably."
"You two had anything to eat?" Otis asks as he turns his gaze back towards me. I shake my head.
"I haven't. Can't speak for the little one here." I admit. Yes, it's only been a day, but I didn't even think to let the group know that with my biology, I don't really need to eat as often as anyone else does. Still, doesn't mean I can't let them know at a later time.
"Well, Hershel will probably fix the two of you up some dinner when we get back." Otis reassures us with a smile. "Fella will probably have a fit if you two didn't eat anything."
"Well, we appreciate that too." I tell him with a smile.
The walk to this farm Otis told us about takes about ten minutes, like he said, and by now, there's only the tiniest bit of light left in the sky, and almost none shining around us. The walk is filled with conversation between me and Otis, with Sophia occasionally speaking up to answer or ask a question, but she mostly stays to herself. It makes sense that she's not the most talkative around strangers, even if she's somewhat comfortable around them.
When we finally break through the woods, I can see the entire land of the farm almost freely. It's a pretty decent sized place. A white two story house sits in what looks to be the middle, with a red barn situated a fair distance away from it. There's a fence surrounding most of the land from the looks of it, but anything else is out of my view.
I think what really sticks out to me, though, is that it almost looks like the place has electricity. A generator of some sort, maybe? Or- oh wait, nevermind.
I can see a windmill a small bit away from the house. Must be what's powering the place.
"This is the farm." Otis says with a nod towards the house as we make our way across the field towards the house.
"You're buddy has a nice place." I can't help but to comment as I look around, before turning to look at him. "You guys actually have power?"
"Windmill." He says, confirming my suspicions as he points towards the slowly turning wind mill. "Doesn't provide much power, but it gives us enough."
"Nice." I say with a nod of appreciation. "Again, thanks. I probably could've made it back to the highway, but it's nice to know there's good people out there."
Even after all the sickos I encountered back in the city, maybe I'm still more trusting than I should be, but Rick, Glenn, Shane… the whole group restored a little bit of my faith in strangers, I guess is the best way to say it.
Otis simply smiles at my words. "Just cause things are going crazy don't mean people have too."
I can appreciate that sense of wisdom.
Sophia grasps my hand as we follow Otis up onto the porch of the house, and Otis holds the door for us as he gestures for us to move inside. With a little bit of hesitance, something that I've always had in regards to someone's home, I step through the threshold and into the house with Sophia right behind me as Otis follows us in.
"Hershel?" Otis calls out from the hall that the door leads into as he shuts it behind him, while I can't help it when my eyes wander a bit, soaking in the interior of the house.
I can't say much for Papaw for once, but Mamaw would love this place.
However, my attention is pulled from my examination of sorts when not just one, but multiple pairs of footsteps sound out through the house as Otis walks into what looks to be the living room. I can see what looks to be a kitchen that's connected to the living room, and a rather intimidating man steps into view.
Okay, intimidating isn't the right word, but I don't know how to describe it. Even for an older man, older than Otis from the looks of it, you can tell he's definitely a farmer. Broad shoulders, stocky frame, maybe a bit of a gut, but not one that would really slow him down.
Following the man not even a second later is a few more people, actually. An older woman with blonde hair, a young woman with dark hair and a steely gaze, and a teenage girl, maybe a few years younger than me. Probably about James' age, maybe a little older.
The man, who I'm assuming is Hershel, finds his gaze set on me and Sophia, and I can feel Sophia pushing herself against me, almost trying to hide behind me out of what I'm assuming is shyness or that she's intimidated.
Which is fair. I mean, I flip tanks over my head, but something tells me that angering this man is not something I want to do, especially under his scrutinizing gaze.
"I see you brought some guests." Hershel remarks as he turns his eyes towards Otis, silently asking him for an explanation.
"Found them while I was out hunting." Otis begins explaining as he leans his rifle against a chair and takes of his jacket, throwing it onto a coat rack that I'm only just now noticing. "They got a group of people settled up on the highway. I know it's not my place, but I wouldn't feel right leaving them in the forest, especially since they're both just kids."
At his explanation, Hershel's gaze softens as the older woman moves past him towards Otis to embrace him. Wife maybe? Although, that's not what most of my focus is on, as Hershel resituates his gaze towards us.
"You have some people up on the highway?" Hershel asks me for confirmation, and I nod. There's no reason to lie to the man.
"Sophia here got chased into the forest when a herd of walkers passed by us." I explain to the man. "I chased after her, found her, and… well, let's just my sense of direction isn't exactly good."
Hershel nods at my explanation, before he approaches us, offering his hand. "I'm Hershel Greene." He introduces himself properly, and I shake his hand in return.
"John Gallagher." I introduce myself as our hands separate. "This is Sophia."
Hershel actually gives Sophia a smile for a moment, before he frowns as he turns to look up at me. "You need a place to stay for the night?"
"Your friend offered." I admit, rubbing the back of my head under this man's gaze. Seriously, I don't know how else to describe it, I just want to be as polite and respectful as I can. "Said he didn't feel comfortable leaving us in the woods, especially since it would've already been dark by the time we got back."
"You did the right thing, Otis." The woman in Otis' arms reassures him upon hearing my own explanation, and Hershel nods in agreement.
"If you'd like, you two can spend the night here." Hershel says to us, cracking another gentle smile, and I can't help the relief that floods through me. I honestly had no reason to doubt otherwise, but hearing the owner of this place say it really does make me feel better.
"We appreciate it." I say with a smile of my own, and I can hear Sophia mumble a soft 'thank you' to the man as well.
Hershel nods his head, smile falling from his face once more as he turns to the women still standing over by the frame of the kitchen entrance. "Beth, go make sure the guest room is ready for our guests. Maggie, it looks like we have a couple more people joining for dinner.
"Yes, Daddy." The girl says as she moves through the living room and past us, while the woman simply nods and turns back into the kitchen.
Hershel then turns his attention to Otis. "Otis, you go ahead and get settled in for dinner. Patricia, I think we have some of Beth's old clothes in the wash room. Why don't you take her and get her some clean clothes for the night."
The older woman nods. "Of course, Hershel." She says as she turns and kisses Otis on the cheek, before she makes her way towards us, coming to a stop next to me and Sophia as she offers her hand to the little girl. "Let's go get you into some fresh clothes, sweetie."
Sophia looks at the woman for a few moments, visibly hesitating, before she turns her gaze to me, either asking for my permission or asking if it's safe. Either way, I give her a reassuring smile.
"You can go with her." I tell her as I gesture towards Patricia. "You'd probably be more comfortable in something a little more clean, anyway."
"What about your jacket?" She suddenly asks, and I can't help but to chuckle.
"It's you're jacket, kiddo." I can't help but to say, before turning to Hershel. "You care if we hang the jacket up here? I know it's a bit dirty, but she's got an attachment to it."
Hershel simply smiles. "That's fine." He assures us as he turns to look at Sophia. "If you'd like, I have a leather cleaning kit. I can get it looking nice and clean for you."
I can't help but to appreciate the fact that he doesn't question why Sophia is even wearing a jacket that's probably three or four sizes too large for her.
Sophia looks at Hershel for a moment, before she finally lets a smile slip onto her face as she nods. "I'd like that." She admits as she takes the jacket off, with a little bit of struggle, considering her hands don't protrude from the sleeves unless she folds them a bit, before she offers the jacket to Hershel.
Hershel takes the jacket and nods, and that seems to be enough for Sophia, who moves off and lets Patricia take her hand as the older woman leads her up the steps. Why there's a washroom up the steps, I have no idea, unless they wash their clothes the old fashioned way.
Then again, that's the only way to wash clothes these days, isn't it?
Once Sophia and Patricia disappear from view, Hershel hangs the jacket up on the coat rack before he gestures for me to follow him. By now, Otis is gone from view, having disappeared up the steps to probably get himself into some fresh clothes himself.
"Otis is my farmhand." Hershel says as I follow him into the kitchen. "My other one, Jimmy, is upstairs sleeping. Probably worn out since Otis wasn't here to help him most of the day."
I nod. Makes sense. "No offense meant, but Otis is a big man. Looks like he's built for hard work."
Hershel actually lets an amused snort escape his lips at my words. "Otis admits he's overweight, but as long as I've known him, he's always been pretty strong."
"You know him for long?" I can't help but to ask him curiously.
"Otis has been helping on my farm for almost twenty years." Hershel reveals as he moves towards the sink, and I honestly can't help my look of bafflement when I see the running water. In hindsight, yes, it makes sense, this is a farm, probably runs off a well or a cistern, but it's been so long since I've seen running water that it still honestly surprises me.
"Well, I've only known him for a few hours, but I know he's a good man."
"That he is." Hershel agrees as washes his hands. "Now, you said your group is settled up on the highway?"
I nod. "Yeah. Radiator hose went out in an RV we got, and we got stuck in a pile up." I explain to him as I look at him. I know I'm just looking at the back of his head, but he's got my full attention, and I guess I just feel like it's more respectful to keep my eyes on him.
"Assuming he doesn't go hunting early, Otis can probably take you two back up to your friends in the truck." Hershel says as he finishes washing his hands and turns towards me as he grabs a rag to dry them off. "If he does, he can take you once he gets back. He probably won't be out as long, and he said he'd help Jimmy out today anyway.
I nod my head. I see no problem with that plan. "Well I appreciate it. Sophia's mom, Carol, is probably worried sick about her." I can't help but to remark.
God, I can only imagine how worried the rest of the group is. Just because they know I'll be fine doesn't mean the same for Sophia. They're all probably worried to death for her, but Carol most of all. She's finally free of Ed's grasp, and now as far as she knows, her daughter is missing and the last thing she saw of Sophia was the poor girl getting chased by a couple of walkers.
The sooner we get back, the better.
"I'm glad we can help you out, get you back to your folks." Hershel tells me with a nod as he sets the rag back down. "How old are you, anyway? The girl I understand, but Otis said you were both kids."
"I'm seventeen." I answer him as I follow him into the dining room, where the woman, who I'm assuming is Maggie, is currently setting out some plates and silverware for who I'm assuming is me and Sophia. "I turn eighteen in a few months, but by technicality, I am still a minor."
"You're folks back with your group?" He asks me, to which I shake my head in response.
"Unfortunately not." I respond, sadness seeping into my tone as I speak as my worry for my family and friends slams back into my mind full force. "Last I heard, they were in the Cincinnati shelter in Ohio when things really got bad. But from what I got…" I trail off as I remember the phone call I got from Shiela, and how it ended. I can't speak for Maddie or Levi, and I'm almost positive that Rachel and Peter are alive… but I can't help but assume the worst after hearing Shiela scream over the phone before the call dropped.
I'd like to hope they're okay… but I doubt it.
"Say no more." Hershel says, giving me a look of sympathy. Maggie, at least, I hope she's Maggie and I'm not confusing myself, also gives me a soft look as I say it. "This is my daughter, Maggie." Hershel says, proving me correct in my assumption when he introduces her.
Out of habit, I offer my hand to introduce myself, even though she probably heard it already. "Nice to meet you. I'm-"
"John." Maggie interrupts me with a smile as she shakes my hand, her voice holding a heavy southern accent, even compared to Rick. "I heard your name when you introduced yourself to Daddy."
I can't help but to smile. "Saves me the trouble the introduction then." I can't help but to joke, eliciting a laugh from Maggie and a small smile from Hershel. "I take the other girl is Beth."
"She's my youngest." Hershel says with a nod he pulls out a chair at the end of the table and sits himself down. "I do believe she and Jimmy are together, and she should be joining us any moment-"
"I'm done, Daddy!" Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Beth accidentally interrupts Hershel as she comes walking into the dining room, looking at her father. "I had to make the bed a little bit, but that's about it."
"Good." Hershel says as he gestures his hand towards me. "He already knows your name, but why don't you introduce yourself to John, here." Something tells me Hershel has a thing about manners, but I can't complain.
Beth turns to me and gives me a friendly smile as she offers me her hand. "Oh, right. I'm Beth."
I can't help but to chuckle in amusement at the introduction, but nonetheless as I shake her hand as I reintroduce myself. "Nice to meet you. I'm John."
"Why don't you go ahead and take a seat?" Hershel says, gesturing towards one of the chairs closest to him at the corner of the table. "Patricia should be back down here with your friend in a moment, and Otis will be joining us shortly." He tells me as he turns to Maggie. "Maggie, would you go ahead and lay out the food?"
"Of course." Maggie says with a nod as she moves past the table and into the kitchen while I gladly sit myself down next to Hershel.
"Not gonna lie, it feels weird being in a place with electricity for once." I admit as I turn to look at Hershel with a smile. "But I can't exactly complain about it."
Hershel actually lets the smallest ghost of a grin, not a full on smile, make its way onto his lips. "Perks of living on a farm." He says. "We got horses and cattle to keep us fed, and the windmill generates power. Our well keeps us with a decent water supply." He explains to me.
"Never have to leave unless we really need something." He says, causing me to smile.
"That's paradise, these days." I can't help but to joke, even though it's the truth. A place like this is probably one of the best places to find yourself ever since the dead began to rise. "To tell you the truth, I always wanted to be a farmer."
"Why?" Beth asks me in confusion as she takes her own seat right across from me. "I love my daddy and all, but the farm isn't the funnest place to be."
"To tell you the truth, it has less to do with an interest in farming and more because I'd rather have work muscles, not show muscles." I admit with a chuckle as I turn to look at Hershel. "There's a reason I believe a farmer would beat a body builder's a- butt, any day." I have to correct myself, because while I usually could care less about my potty mouth, not only is this man offering me and Sophia hospitality for the night, but I ain't heard a single swear from anyone who lives here, including Otis. Feel like it'd just be disrespectful.
Hershel seems to ignore my near swear as he nods his head in agreement. "Working on a farm, your builds muscle geared towards working. Farmers tend to be able to work longer without tiring."
"Ain't nothing I can appreciate more than hard work." Especially since I can't really tucker myself out or push myself anymore. So seeing people work hard to do what I could have done easily without any sort of exhaustion makes me appreciate hard working people these days.
"I respect that." Hershel nods his head once more in agreement, before loosly pointing a finger towards Beth. "Just wish this one could too."
"But it's just so boring." Beth retorts with a roll of her eyes. "I don't even get to do that much around here anyway. Ever since this virus hit, you barely even let me leave the house, let alone the farm."
I can't help the way my face falls at her words, and though Hershel goes to respond, I can't help it when I speak up before he does.
"Appreciate what you have here." I advise, though it admittedly comes out more stern than I intended as both Hershel and Beth turn to look it me. "Take from me. I was in Atlanta alone for most of this till I ended up with the group I'm with now. What you have here is peace, safety, and comfort. A combination of all three is near impossible to find these days, and if I were you, I wouldn't ever want to leave this farm unless I had too."
Both Beth and Hershel look at me. Hershel has an unreadable expression on his face, while Beth looks surprised at my sudden outburst… if you can call it that.
"Is it that bad out there?" Hershel suddenly asks me, and I nod my head almost immediately.
"Up until I ended up with this group, most of the people I'd encountered over the city during the last eight months were in the middle of some kind of… altercation, if you can call it that. City's filled with the walkers, and I can only recall four times off the top of my head in the last eight months where I met one or two people who weren't being attacked, just trying to stay alive." I explain to the Greene patriarch as I give him a serious gaze. "Believe me when I say, what you have here is paradise, and that's no exaggeration."
Both Hershel and Beth once more stare at me, though Hershel's face has visibly fallen and Beth looks almost guilty, like she feels bad for her earlier remark.
Any further conversation is interrupted, however, when Maggie walks in with some pans of food and lays them on the table.
"Since we only have you two, there's no reason to set out the other table." Maggie says, and it's only now that I'm noticing that there is indeed another dinner table of similar size to this one. "We're just waiting for Otis, Patricia, and that little girl with you, Sophia, and then we can eat."
"Alright." I say with a nod, allowing myself to forget the conversation that had just transpired.
It doesn't take long for the other three to return, and Sophia's now wearing a pair of pink butterfly patterned pajamas in place of the clothes she had on as she sits down right next to me.
Dinner goes rather well, with a few questions being directed back and forth between the residents of the Greene farm and myself. It doesn't escape my notice that Sophia grows more lively and a lot more talkative as dinner goes on, answering and asking questions before freely participating in the conversations that follow with one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen on her face.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't smiling myself, and with no real reason to tell or hide the fact that I'm the Juggernaut, the topic never even comes up from either me or Sophia, though in Sophia's case it's probably because she didn't believe she was allowed.
Being honest, this is probably the most relaxed and happy I've felt in a long time.
After dinner's over, I offer to help wash the dishes as thanks for the meal, and after some convincing, Hershel agrees to let me help Maggie with the dishes while he shows Sophia to the guest room. Meanwhile, Beth, Otis, and Patricia retire to their own bedrooms to get ready for bed themselves.
When the time comes for bed, me and Sophia end up discovering that there is only one bed instead of two. Sophia asks me who takes the bed, but sharing a bed doesn't have any special meaning to it, at least to me. Hell, growing up, I'd end up sharing my bed with any friend I had spending a night, though it was usually just Levi or Maddie. On rare occasions that they were both spending the night, I'd find it polite to let them have the bed and just sleep on the couch in the living room.
It don't take much to assure Sophia that there's nothing wrong with sharing a bed, especially since the damn thing is a queen size anyway, and after I take off my boots and, out of habit, my shirt, we settle into bed on opposite sides.
Sophia conks out first, more than likely exhausted as the events of the day catch up with her, and it admittedly catches me off-guard when she rolls over and snuggles up into my side, snoring quetly.
It takes bit, but I'm finally able to drift off peacefully.
Even before the world went to shit…
It's the first peaceful sleep I've had in a long time.
A/N: Yes, I know some you have questions. So let me answer some of the more obvious ones.
When Carl is shot by Otis, it happens the very next day after Sophia goes missing. Now, though there is a pretty steady belief of how Sophia died based on what we know, I did take a few liberties and assume that she was bitten and turned before she even got a chance to get some sleep at the cabin Daryl finds. Also, since we know Otis had to have found Sophia and took her to the barn, and then returned to hunting, I feel he could've found her at any time while the group was looking for her, so long as there's at least a good few hours taken into account between him finding her and accidentally shooting Carl.
Also, I didn't want to write the Greenes out of the story completely, and if I'd just had John find Sophia and return to the highway, well, no Greenes, no farm, just straight to Fort Benning, which would also delay the reunion between John, Rachel, and Shiela.
So… yeah. I made use of John's already established poor sense of direction. Now, are there ways John could've found the highway? For sure. But I don't want to write someone who can think of every possible idea with their abilities, I want to write someone who thinks and acts like a normal person, who just so happens to not be so normal.
Plot induced stupidity? Maybe, I'll let you decide. Unfortunately, such a thing is a very real part of story-telling in any medium, and some times it's the only way to move the story in the direction you're looking without completely rewriting the whole damn thing. Not something I'm proud of, but I do hope the chapter is at least enjoyable enough to make up for that.
Also, to the reviewer known as syneb(stylized in italics so that people know that's actually the way the name is written): I can't really blame you for nitpicking, because everyone does it, even in stories they do like. Some of your nitpicks, I do have reason for them being the way they are in the story, like the population of superhumans for example, but others, you are absolutely right. I'm not gonna deny it, or try to write them off (Because unlike some authors on this site, not all though, I have learned to appreciate some of the more criticizing reviews I get). I could go on and explain why I did some of things the way I did, but that wouldn't really change the fact that the nitpicks you are right about are still… well, correct. Regardless, I am glad to know you are enjoying the story anyway, and I just want to make it clear that I'm not just trying to make John an idiot so that way the plot continues similarly to the show. In fact, I do have things planned that deviate massively from the show, but I don't want to spoil anything, but much of the future plans will really kick off on the farm, so believe me when I say I'm not intentionally trying to be one of the authors who inserts and OC/crossover character into a world and then have the story play out the exact same way with no changes.
Anyway, with that said, I truly hope you all have enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see all of you in the next fly past my vision as I run through the forest.