Sonora stretched and picked up the bridle from the hook on the wall of the barn. The boy that had caused all sort of hell for the camp had gotten loose and had attacked Shane, which she thought was a load of bullshit but the boy was still gone. Daryl, Glenn, Rick, and Shane had all gone out looking for him. Sonora decided that she would leave instead of setting up house with the rest of the people. She liked knowing her dad, but the group was too much. She would head west; find something out there that could sustain her until this plague of zombies was over with.
She had finished with tacking the horse up and was now putting its bridle on so she could mount up and ride out. She had her katana strapped to her back, her weapons roll in a saddlebag, and her shoes tightly laced. When she was finished she lifted the green duffel bag across the back of the saddle. She had gotten rid of a lot of things, the shampoo and conditioner, and the deodorant, would stay. She felt that she didn't need too much though, one towel, the toiletries, two changes of clothes, socks, a hairbrush, and lots of dried meat.
She had more than that sure, but she was too busy trying to get the hell out of Dodge to think about it. Maybe later.
The sun was all the way behind the trees when she mounted up and walked the horse out of the barn. She could see the women and the two males walking around the house, trying to get everything in, as she headed for the dirt road. Sonora figured she would use the interstate to travel, it being a mite more dangerous, but still efficient.
A shout behind her made her stop the horse; she turned her head to see Carl running towards her. When he made it to where she was waiting he stopped, panting and looking a little red in the face. "Something you want kid?" she asked, glancing behind her to the bitch Lori who was standing on the porch and seemed to be glaring in their direction.
She rolled her eyes and looked back down at Carl; kid was finally catching his breath. "Where are you going?" he panted, looking up at her through narrowed eyes. Obviously the big green bag on the back of the saddle was a tell tale sign of someone fixing to leave.
"West, do me a favor and tell the old man I'm sorry about stealing the horse, but I don't think I could make it far on foot with my shit all on my back." Sonora shrugged, keeping an emotionless expression on her face, she was upset about leaving Carl with his bitch mother, but she felt that she had to go. So she would go.
Carl pouted. "You're not staying; I thought you liked it here."
Sonora almost laughed, the friction between her and the rest of the camp had been thick enough to cut with a rusty butter knife. Yet somehow this kid missed it entirely. "Carl, I'll tell you something about myself. I'm not a people person. Sure I can hang around with a big group for a month or so, but people tend to bug me." She stated, looking around and seeing no one coming towards them.
Carl sighed, looking down and scuffing the ground with his foot. "Fine, I hope I see you again though." He muttered, lifting the brim of the hat his father had given to him.
Sonora shrugged. "Whichever way fate throws us." She said, clicking to the horse and heading out. Carl watched her go, the darkness making her and the horse fade away quickly.
He frowned and turned towards the house; his mom had disappeared off the porch, and then looked towards the woods where his dad and Shane were. He ran off that way.
…
Sonora kept the horse walking away from the farm, keeping her eyes peeled for any walkers that might make their presence known. She noticed more than a fare few in the fields, but thought nothing of it, she kept heading to the interstate. The map in her right hand fluttering with the slight wind that had kicked up, but otherwise still in her grasp.
It was after a few hours of riding that she reached the turn where, if she turned right, she would go into town. She stayed straight and sighed as the horse kept ambling along. There were little to none in the walker category. What few she saw had been coming her way; she'd dispatched them readily enough. But that was it. There weren't any walkers around, she found that very very odd.
Sonora sighed and scratched the horse under its mane, thankful for the company this time. She looked around again and then glanced down at her wrist; it was nearing three in the morning. She glanced up and over her shoulder in the direction of the farm briefly before turning to look back to the front. Then she snapped her head back around and stared, wide eyed, at the orange glow.
She had not been expecting that, at all. The glow signaled a large fire, she somehow knew, in the pit of her stomach, that something had happened to the farm. She frowned and wondered what she should do, should she turn around? No, if there was a fire that big then most likely the others were gone. Either dead or having had abandoned the place.
Sonora hoped Daryl was okay, then she shook her head, of course he was okay.
She sighed and then lowered her head, not one for praying but sending up a small one for whoever was listening. She hoped everyone was safe.
The horse snorted and Sonora snatched her head up, eyes flicking around. She had to keep her mind on now, and keep heading towards the interstate. She clucked to the horse and it moved into a rolling trot. Annaed bounced around a little but tightened her thighs and knees and leaning back in the saddle a little to keep her butt in the seat.
She still bounced though.
When the sky began to lighten and the horse had slowed to a walk Sonora took a moment to look at her surroundings. She was close to the interstate, that much she could see, and she now had the dilemma of choosing which way to go. Right or left, north or south… Well, she could go farther south, finish up on that thought of living on an island. She growled to herself, closing her eyes tightly and then opening them. She turned left; south she would go, until she could get to a good place to go west.
She wondered it Mexico was as bad as the US.
Once she was on the interstate she noticed that there were more walkers here. She sighed and took her katana from the sheathe. She rode forward and began to swing, taking out the walkers close to her, the horse skittered from side to side but she kept it up until there weren't any walkers near her.
Sonora stopped then and took a rag from the bag on the front of the saddle. She wiped her blade down and put it back in the casing. A moment later she stopped the horse in front of a car and looked at it. She sat there for a few minutes, thinking about her options. She knew the cars around her held a lot of valuable items that could keep her alive, but she didn't know if the occupants of some of the cars were zombies or not.
She sighed and dismounted, leaving the reins on the horn of the saddle in case she needed a fast getaway and didn't have time to gather the reins and flick them over the horses head and then climb on the saddle. It would save precious minutes she could use to get away.
Sonora then set out looking for anything she could use, just going through the cars nearest her. She didn't find much, a jacket, more like a trench coat; she could use in case of rain, black gloves that looked waterproof, and some socks in an unopened bag. She felt a smile edge onto her features at her luck and then she placed the gloves inside the pocket of the coat and the socks in the bag on the horn of the saddle. The coat she placed on the green duffel bag and stuffed the edge of it under the saddle but over the saddle pad.
She knew that the horse would get tired easily from all the weight it was carrying; she also knew that she had to deal with it. Whether it takes her weeks to get farther west or months she would get there. Time didn't really matter to her all that much anymore.
She clambered back onto the horse and gave it a nudge with her heels, the animal started off in a walk and she rode until she came upon a car with writing on the windshield and foodstuffs on the hood. She stopped the horse once again and then sat there, looking at it until comprehension rose. It was a message to the little girl, the little girl who had died.
Sonora frowned and shook her head, looking at the sun as it rose into the sky. From the position it was in she knew it had to be around six thirty or seven without looking at her watch. She did look at her watch though, just to confirm the time.
Six fifty three, she was almost correct.
Sonora adjusted her seat and then turned the horse to the south, she was about to give the black animal a kick when she heard the sound of a motor. She stopped her movements and looked around, seeing a car come up near her and then stop. Sonora furrowed her brow and held still as the car was brought to a stop and then turned off before the driver's side door was popped open and then someone climbed out.
"I was wondering if we would see you again."
She groaned as Rick shut the door and walked towards her, looking at the hood of the car beside her after a minute. "What happened to the farm?" she asked, keeping her hands on the horn of the saddle and leaning forward a little.
Rick glanced up at her as more people climbed out of the car behind him. "Walkers, we burnt the barn and left." He told her, frowning.
Sonora sat on the horse, her eyes closing for a moment before reopening. "Who was lost?" she asked, curiously, tilting her head to one side.
Rick sighed. "Shane, and Jimmy and Patricia." He stated, those were the ones he'd seen with his own eyes. "I don't know who else, we were all split up." He sighed and looked down before returning to the others to talk things over with them.
Sonora noticed Hershel eyeing the horse; she drew the reins back towards her belly and the animal backed up a few steps. The old man frowned before Rick re-captured his attention.
Then the others began arriving, Sonora noted that Daryl had Carol on the back of his motorcycle. The man looked a little relieved to see Sonora sitting there, watching them discuss where to go next. She sighed and shifted her weight, moving the reins from both hands to her left hand, and then kicked the horse lightly to get it moving.
She was standing by her decision to leave them, if they met up later then that's what happened. But she wasn't staying any longer.
"Where you headed?" her father's voice cut through the air.
Sonora halted the animal and turned to look at him. "Away, I'm going west towards Texas or Mexico. Maybe I'll find someplace I can sit for a while." She shrugged and turned back around.
Before anyone could say anything else she gave the horse a sharp kick, the animal jumped and then raced forward. She jerked and then held on for dear life as she rode away from her father and the group he was with.
….
End of Arc 1