Chapter 5

Sophia was pretty silent for the rest of the afternoon. After they'd lured the walkers deeper into the woods, Daryl had helped Sophia up into a tree to hide while he and Carol worked at picking off the walkers one by one. Carol got a few good shots in, but she felt more comfortable using a knife. She took down three pretty easily, and Daryl used his crossbow to help finish off the rest.

They'd had a long walk back to the cabin, and Sophia stayed close by her mother. She wouldn't look at Daryl, and she stared at the ground as she walked back. Carol glanced in Daryl's direction from time to time, and his hand was taut around his crossbow, and his eyes were focused on their surroundings.

When Sophia sniffled, Carol gently rubbed her back, and the girl looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. Carol simply kissed the top of her head and hugged her, letting her know it was all going to be ok, even though she wasn't entirely certain that was true.

Halfway home, Daryl spotted a rabbit and killed it for dinner. Sophia hadn't been too keen on that idea, and had looked away when he shot it with an arrow, but Carol had simply reminded her that they had to eat, and fresh meat wasn't always going to be easy to come by anymore.

By the time they arrived back at the cabin, Sophia disappeared into the small room in the back that she'd made her own. Her mother's room was right next door, while Daryl slept in a room down the hall.

"She alright?" Daryl asked as he and Carol worked out in the back yard, cleaning and skinning his kill.

"She will be," she said quietly. "She's…scared, Daryl."

"Hell, I know that," he muttered. "Look, I'll apologize to her for snappin' at her, but if she's gonna learn to shoot a gun, she's gonna have to not freak out every time she sees one'a them things."

"She knows that. I think she was embarrassed," Carol said softly. "Just give her some time. I don't think she's ready yet. Ed and I always taught her not to touch guns. I always raised her to solve things with words, not violence." Carol sighed and shook her head. "If only I'd known what the world was going to come to, I might have prepared her better for the bad things."

"You didn't know. Hell, this whole world's like a damn horror movie," he murmured.

"It wasn't before?" she kidded, a little smile pulling at her lips. His looked up, seeing a bit of a sparkle—a bit of life—in her eyes, and her eyes seemed so bright blue in that moment it was almost impossible. She swallowed hard, his gaze moving to her smile, watching how her whole face lit up in that brief moment. "You ok?"

"Huh?" he asked.

"You got quiet," she said softly. "Well, more quiet than usual."

"Nah, I'm good."

"I think I can finish up here," she offered. "I need to learn how to do this by myself, anyway." Daryl nodded.

"Keep your eyes and ears open. You see a walker…"

"I'll handle it," she assured him. "Go inside, get cleaned up. I pumped some fresh water this morning." Daryl nodded and headed inside.

The water was in a small basin by the sink, which made it easy to dispose of after washing.

He lathered his hands with soap, getting the dirt and grime off, scrubbing his fingernails and just staring at the suds as they slid over his fingers. He'd never particularly paid attention to cleaning his nails before, but these days he tried to clean up as best he could. He chalked it up to sharing close quarters with two females—their neat and clean appearances rubbing off on him—and not to the feelings that had recently begun to stir inside of him every time he looked into Carol's eyes.

He rinsed his hands in the basin and toweled them off before moving to sit at the table and count the ammo he had left. He had half a box, which meant that he was going to have to go on a run to get more. If a herd came across them, they might not have enough ammo to take them all out, and with Carol being a decent shot but still a beginner, he couldn't risk not having enough bullets.

He heard a creak on the floorboard behind him, and he turned to see Sophia standing in the doorway.

"You hungry?" he asked, motioning toward the cupboards.

"No," she said softly, her voice barely a whisper. Still, she made her way into the kitchen, her fingers dancing along the countertops as she made herself as unnoticeable and silent as possible as she made her way to the stash of potato chips in the corner.

"Soph," he said quietly, hearing her breath hitch as she froze in place. "C'mere." She glanced his way, a worried expression taut on her brow. "You were scared. Sorry I yelled at ya." Sophia looked down, and Daryl waited for her to gather her words.

"All I could think of is messin' up and my mom getting hurt," she confessed.

"Your mama's gonna be alright. Hey, look at me." She dragged her gaze from the floorboards to Daryl's face. "You're scared. It's scary out there. It's ok to be scared. You just gotta be ready. When ya feel like you wanna scream, you gotta remember that they're gonna hear it. They're gonna come after you. You can't scream. You just gotta breathe and run. Breathe and shoot." Sophia nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said gently.

"Don't apologize," he said with a shake of his head. "Didn't do nothin' wrong. S'gonna be ok, Soph." She nodded and sighed heavily.

"I miss my friends. I miss my room." Her eyes were filled with tears. "I know they're probably all dead now. My dad, too. Just wish I could see 'em again. Even my dad." She shrugged a little and turned to leave the room. Daryl stared down at the bullets on the table and looked toward the back door, where Carol was just coming through with the skinned and cleaned rabbit in her hands.

"Might have this done by sundown if we can get a fire started." She motioned toward the fireplace in the large living room, and Daryl got up, putting the bullets away and heading in to start a fire.

Carol worked at making a nice stew with the rabbit and some potatoes she'd found down in the root cellar that weren't completely rotted. It might be the last decent meal they had for a while, but with a storm blowing and the temperature dropping quickly, it would be the perfect meal for the chilly evening they had in store.

Carol stirred the pot over the fire as Daryl tossed a few extra pieces of kindling into the flames.

"Gonna have to go on another run."

"What for?" she asked, a little worry rising in her tone.

"Bullets. Ain't got near enough. 'Sides, we're gonna need to pick up more guns, maybe some more knives. One for Soph." Carol eyed him.

"Thank you," she said quietly. He looked at her, a little bewildered by the sentiment. "You really looked out for her today." Daryl shrugged. "No, I mean it. You didn't have to do what you did. You didn't have to pick her up and carry her." She smiled a little. "You didn't have to take us with you either."

"Sure I did. Where else were ya gonna go?"

"We were strangers, Daryl. If you hadn't been there, well, I'm pretty sure Sophia and I wouldn't still be here now. You're a good man, Daryl. " She saw a blush rise in his cheeks, and she smiled to herself, stirring the pot a little more.

"We gotta think about movin' on," Daryl murmured after a few moments of silence.

"What?" she asked, giving a brief once-over of the place they'd called home for a while now.

"Ain't so sure we should be up here once the winter comes. It'll be harder to make runs."

"That's true," Carol said softly. "Unless we stock up?" Daryl fidgeted for a moment and stood, his boots scraping against the hardwood floor.

"That herd was too close today. Next time they could be here," he pointed out.

"Well we'll be prepared," Carol offered.

"Ain't enough preparin' if the next herd is twice that size. Just the two of us with guns? And Sophia?"

"We'll be ok," Carol said softly. "We'll make it."

"I gotta train her," Daryl insisted, looking to Carol. Carol sighed and nodded her head.

"You do," she said gently. "I hate the idea of it, but you're right. She has to learn. She has to. I want her to live, Daryl. I want her to survive, and if something happened to me…God..." She put her hand over her mouth. "She's my little girl, Daryl. If anything happened to her, I don't…I don't think I'd make it."

"Then nothin's gonna happen to her. I'll teach her how to use a gun. I'll teach her how to survive, 'cause she's just a kid. She's gotta have a chance."

"Thank you," Carol said quietly. He just gave her a little nod, and he turned.

"You're leaving?" she asked, standing and wiping her palms against her pant legs.

"Just checkin' the perimeter outside. Wanna make sure it's quiet 'fore we settle in for the night."

"Okay," Carol said softly. "May I join you?" Daryl eyed her for a moment, seeing the hope in her eyes. He couldn't blame her for wanting to get out of the house as much as possible, given that there wasn't a whole hell of a lot to do.

"Alright," he said quietly.

"Let me grab my jacket and check on Sophia."

"Lock up when ya come out."

"I will," she assured him. Daryl headed outside, and Carol rushed to Sophia's bedroom to find her tucked away in the corner reading a book.

"Mama?" Sophia asked softly, looking up from her reading.

"Daryl and I are going out to check the perimeter. Would you like to come?"

"Can I stay in?" Sophia asked softly.

"Alright," Carol said with a nod. "I'm locking up, ok? Don't go outside. Just try and stay quiet. We'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," Sophia said softly.

"There's a gun in the bread box in the kitchen. You know what to do?"

"I watched Daryl teach you. I'll be fine, Mama. I won't need the gun." Carol stood apprehensively in the doorway for a few moments before crossing the room and wrapping her daughter in a hug.

"Love you, Soph."

"Love you too," Sophia said softly. "Go on, Mom. He won't wait forever." Carol sensed a hint of teasing in Sophia's voice for the first time since this whole nightmare began.

"Oh, you don't start," Carol chuckled, smoothing her daughter's hair back.

"He's nice, mama. I like him."

"Me too," Carol said with a nod. She got up and with a wave, headed out the door to grab her jacket and join Daryl. She felt butterflies in her stomach, though she repeated over and over in her head that this walk would be important. She needed to know what he knew should anything happen to him. She wanted to be prepared. That was all. That's what she needed herself to believe.