Chapter Three
We found the highway that Sophia spoke of on the map Laurent had provided me the next morning. It took longer to work out our current location, but once we did I realised how much of a long trek ahead of us there was. It would be a dangerous journey to the highway, though it was manageable in a day as long as we were quick and as quiet as possible.
I don't know if it was the prospect of seeing her family again, or just getting out of the house, but Sophia's mood picked up a considerable amount as we packed everything up to leave. The little girl offered to carry some of supplies herself, so I handed her the small bag Laurent had given me, which contained half the food and the blankets in - the lighter of my two rucksacks. After scanning outside for any stragglers from the group last night and, thankfully, finding it clear the three of us left the confinements of the run down shack and headed out into the clearing. I quickly gave the map a once over, concluding the direction we would be taking then turned to Sophia. Only to find her stood a few feet away, with her back to me.
"Sophia?" I called, carefully. I took hesitant steps towards her and found the object of her attention to be a white petalled rose.
"What is it?" She murmured. I knelt down beside the flower to study it closer, smiling as I did. My mother had quite an obsession when it came to flowers. She had endless books on every possible kind of flower imaginable and had scrapbooks with pressed flowers in them that she had found in her travels. I racked my brain quickly to try and unhinge some of knowledge my mother had forced upon me to answer Sophia's question.
"It's a Rosa laevigata." I told her, glancing over my shoulder at the little girl. She frowned at this and I chuckled. "Better known as the Cherokee Rose. There was a story about it, a legend, but I'm afraid I can't remember what it was exactly." I smiled sadly at Sophia, who in turn gave me a radiant grin.
"How do you know about flowers?" Sophia asked me as we headed into the thick of the forest. Toby trailed ahead with meaningful steps and I continuingly scanned the area around us for anything the dog may have missed. Sophia stayed close to my side, her hand clutched in mine.
"My mama loved flowers." I told her, giving her a run through of how deep my mother's obsession was for them and added that she had admitted once that if there were a fire in the house, she would save all her scrapbooks of flowers before even my sister and I. We hoped she was joking.
Toby stopped us a number of times, some just a false alarm and merely a bird or a small animal - even Toby wasn't perfect. Though we were cautious every time his ears pricked up and sometimes the dead did pass us by. Three of them together was the most we saw at once. They were feeding on what looked to be a deer, though it looked far too devoured to be sure. I debated in my head whether or not we should just pass by unnoticed and leave them to their feed, though I wondered then if that decision would come back to haunt us later on our journey.
"Don't look." I murmured to Sophia, handing her the bigger bag. If she didn't like what I was about to do, she didn't voice it. She merely nodded once and held her head in her hands. As their attention was diverted, killing them was easy. I had knocked two of them down before the third had even gotten a chance to get to its feet. I dispatched him though before it could get too close, though its rank breath lingered as it fell and I swallowed down the rising sick, before turning to scope the area. "Let's go." I urged, taking the bag back from Sophia and her hand in mine. We bypassed the bodies quickly and I pretended I hadn't seen Sophia wiping away the fresh tears that had just sprung from her eyes.
"I've found others." Laurent stated one evening as he got back from his one of his scopes of the area. We had made 'camp' in an abandoned gas station, which we were lucky enough to come across when the truck actually did run out of fuel.
"More of those things?" Jessica cried.
We had been holding up in the gas station for the best part of two weeks now and had our fair share of run ins with the dead. Laurent was the one who disposed of them usually, which he did with the blunt end of one of the shot guns or a knife - gun shots would attract more, he told us, so we had to kill them 'quietly'. I was therefore forced to make good use of my bat and knife and had a hand of dispatching ones that tried to attack the gas station when Laurent ordered me to.
The first few times I killed, I was met with the similar reaction I had when I killed the woman on that abandoned road. I threw up a lot, cried when Laurent and Jessica weren't around and attempted to hold myself together. After a while though, the pain began to subside and soon all I could feel was numb as I clobbered heads in with the brute force of my bat. Laurent's bellowing echoed in my ears, though his words were aggressive, they had meaning and I realised what he was saying made sense. No matter how abrupt he was. I didn't enjoy to kill, but soon I grew to realise that Laurent was right; kill or be killed. There had been plenty of close calls in the gas station and I knew I had to come to terms with the new world if I wanted to survive. I dulled out my emotions and killing was just a numb instinct now.
I stopped throwing up and cried almost never.
Jessica, however, was a different story. It took a while before she actually had the courage to kill and when she did, she screamed and she cried and I had to take her away from Laurent before the man actually throttled her. He was getting angry with her, I could tell. I, however, understood it would be harder for Jessica to adapt than it was for me. She still held onto the old world and didn't let herself think of the badness and evil of reality. She was far too naïve, she always had been. Laurent said she was far too optimistic. Apparently there wasn't any time for optimists anymore. I disagreed - I didn't think Jessica was optimistic, I just wondered if she didn't know what to do with herself anymore.
Laurent regarded my sister for a few moments, before shaking his head at her question.
"Other survivors." He replied. I frowned at his comment, a little surprised at what I was hearing. The whole concept of there being other survivors hadn't even dawned on me. I seemed to think that it was only Laurent, Jessica and myself alone in this dreary world now, and my heart literally skipped as he told us of a camp he had found in a nearby town. "They told me we could join them and hold up with them for safety." Laurent explained, already packing him gear. "We have to pull our weight, but I'm sure they'll find jobs that don't involve killing." His eyes lingered on Jessica.
"And you trust them?" I demanded, uncertainly. Jessica was following Laurent's lead in packing, though I remained still, hesitant to believe Laurent's words.
"They've given me no reason not to." Laurent shrugged, not meeting my gaze.
"How big is the group?" I continued probing, still hesitant to believe in this concept of others.
"Over a couple dozen at least. From what I saw." Laurent replied. "There's women there too." I saw Jessica's eyes brighten at that - more girl company that was probably a lot more stimulating than my own. "The lad I spoke to told me to gather up our gear, get you two and report back to where I spoke to him. He'll lead us to their camp and we'll have to speak to their leader." I snorted. A leader? The fuck kinda people were they, I couldn't help but think to myself "Look, Ruby. These are the first living people we've come across since all this shit started. They're just other survivors, other people, who are offering us safety and protection." He hoisted his bag up onto his shoulder and met my gaze. "I'm taking my truck and I'm driving over to that camp. You're free to join me if you wish."
He held my gaze in a defiant manner, daring me to object. I swallowed hard and nodded once, still not overall happy with the idea, but knowing that I didn't have the strength to go it alone without Laurent.
"Should we take some food?" Jessica asked, glancing around the few shelves of food there was in the gas station. Laurent nodded and threw an empty bag to Jessica.
"You two pack up as much as you can and I'll go get the truck ready." He took all three of our already full bags and headed off, leaving us to gather as much as we could possible and shove into the forth bag provided.
"Why don't you trust them? We haven't even met them." Jessica asked when the door of the gas station swung shut after Laurent and we were alone. She was piling toiletries into the bag, while I had headed over to the canned foods. "This is the best luck we've had in weeks."
"I just think we should be cautious." I admitted, honestly. "The worlds gone to shit, as Laurent would put it, and who knows what else is out there. I mean, I hardly think societal rules apply anymore. I mean, who the fuck has 'a leader'?"
"You didn't object to trusting Laurent." Jessica pointed out then. I froze with my armful of supplies before I sighed, dropping it all in the bag before going back for more.
"That was different. He saved our lives, things were just getting crazy when he came along. We might as well be cautious, now that everything has died down."
"Interesting choice of words." Jessica mumbled, letting the subject drop completely. We filled the bag until it could just about shut, before Laurent appeared and took the bag off our hands and took it out into the truck. We followed him obediently and all clambered into the vehicle.
"Here." Laurent muttered, handing over a plastic bag to me, before starting up the engine. I frowned and glanced in it, seeing it full of cans of dog food. After glancing briefly at Toby, who had taken to sticking his head out the window, I turned back to Laurent. "Thought the damn mutt would need it. He ain't eating my food." I smiled briefly and nodded my thanks. I didn't have the heart to tell him that none of the brands of food he had picked were any that Toby particulary liked. I knew there was no time to be picky and Tody would just have to deal with it - as Laurent put it.
My feet ached, more than ever now. The terrain wasn't particularly hiker friendly, though the forest was thick and did, however, provide a substantial amount of cover. We tried to keep to the thicker bushes, though soon the trees began to lesson again and the sound of rushing water was heard. The sound made Sophia speed up and she jogged ahead. I had to run after her quickly with Toby at my heels.
"This is it." Sophia's voice cried with glee. I caught up with her and found her stood at the bank of a shallow river. "This is where Mr Grimes left me." She pointed over to some over-hung branches and shrubs and I eyed them cautiously. "That's where he told me to hide."
"We must be getting close." I noted, nodding with approval. Crouching down, I pulled out the map again and set it on the forest floor. I located the river quickly and saw the highway was quite nearby. Sophia must have been looking over my shoulder at the map too as she grabbed the my shoulder and tugged hard.
"Come on, come on!" She cried. I shushed her quickly and she grinned bashfully, though still tugged. "They'll be waiting on the highway." I folded the map up quickly and straightened up.
"Give me your hand." I instructed, quickly, not liking the idea of her running off.
"Does Toby like water?" Sophia pondered, placing her hand in mine and staring down at the German Shepherd with a quizzical look. I shrugged.
"He's going to have to."
Toby was indeed reluctant at first, though soon followed in after Sophia and I began to wade across. I tried to be vigilant and let Toby onto the bank first before hoisting Sophia up after him. My shoes and pants were soaked now, which would make the rest of the journey even more uncomfortable, but the look on Sophia's face made me forget about it for a while. I had never seen someone so happy and excited, it was like she was waiting for Christmas. I smiled to myself and urged the other two to push on.
I had always thought of myself as not overly social but enough to get on with people. The prospect of meeting Sophia's group was growing as we neared the highway where Sophia had last seen them. I had no idea what to expect, but I only could hope that they were different from the last group I had come across and left behind. Sophia's jubilant gushing about them were somewhat useful in easing my worries. If a little girl like Sophia was with these people, surely they must be good? My musings continued for a moment before I let my eyes wander around us. What was surprising was that we had not come across anymore of the dead after we crossed the river. I remained scanning the area and attempting to contain Sophia from fully sprinting to the highway. I kept the hold I had on the little girl's hand tight and made it clear to her that I wouldn't be letting her run off.
"We're nearly there!" Sophia stated, suddenly. She pointed out ahead. "I can see the banking!" I quickened our pace only slightly until we reached the bottom of the banking before pulling Sophia to a halt. She looked up at me, confused.
"We go up slowly." I instructed her, taking out my gun and hitching the bat onto the straps on my backpack incase I needed it. After checking the ammunition in my gun, I looked back up at Sophia. "You promise me that you will stay behind me. Your family may be up there Sophia, but we don't know what else could be there too. You understand?"
"I'll stay behind you." Sophia nodded, hanging her head slightly and grasping the bottom of my t-shirt with her tiny hand, the other holding the rag doll. After checking Toby was by me, we crept slowly up the banking and onto the highway, ready to greet Sophia's family with her excitement and my hesitation. I breathed deeply as we crept forward, inwardly telling myself that this was going to be fine, that they must be good people. When we reached the top, Sophia edged her way around me to get a look, probably to see her mother once more-
-only to find it deserted. I heard a tiny gasp from Sophia as we scanned the highway in front of us and while my anxiety of meeting new people died, my confusion raised. There was numerous of abandoned and wrecked cars, some of whom still had bodies in, none moving thankfully. Though other than that, no one was there. I swallowed hard and quickly found Sophia's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.
"They're not here." Sophia whispered, her tone so lost and broken that my heart instantly clenched. Without a word, I climbed over the barrier and lifted Sophia over after me, not failing to notice the unshed tears in her eyes. Once over, Sophia wandered ahead, in and out of the cars in an attempt to find her group. Though it was useless. I wandered behind her, glancing in some of the cars as we passed. Some looked ransacked, some looted and I suspected that perhaps Sophia's group may have had some doings in that before they left. "Mr Dale's camper has gone." Sophia told me, pointing out in front of her. "It was parked there, Mr Grimes car behind it and Mr Dixon's bike here." She made a vague show and tell of where each vehicle was placed and I figured it was more for her own benefit of trying to convince herself they were here, than myself.
"I'm sure they haven't gone far." I assured her. I glanced down at Toby, who stared back up at me with what I interpreted to be a sarcastic head tilt that just screamed; seriously? Is that the best you can do?I placed it on the heat and scratched the dog's head with my knuckles before walking over to Sophia. "We'll find them, don't worry." She stared up at me with wide eyes.
"We don't know where they've gone though." She sniffed. I opened my mouth to speak, though something caught my eye over Sophia's shoulder. I frowned and made my way over to one of the cars, whose bonnet had a small supply of food on and whose windscreen had white writing on. It was only when I was closer that I could read it; Sophia, stay here. We will come back everyday.
My heart actually leapt and I frowned at that thought. How had I gotten so tied up in this little girl's welfare?
"Sophia." I called, looking over my shoulder and beckoning the girl over. She did so and I saw the giddy smile from before return as she read the message intended for her.
"Momma." She murmured, grasping her hand in mine and grinning up at me. "They're going to come back for me!" I nodded and smiled.
"Now all we have to do is wait." I shrugged, handing Sophia one of the bottles of water her group had left for her and glanced around to find Toby, who was surprisingly not by my side. Instead I found him staring down the highway behind us, his ears cocked and his posture stiff. My stomach sank at that. No, no, not now! I slowly tugged my hand free from Sophia's and went to Toby's side to see if I could see the impending danger that he was apparently hearing. What was it?
"Ruby?" Sophia's scared voice asked. I saw no staggering bodies coming towards us from between the cars and wondered if perhaps Toby had seen yet another animal move.
However, the sudden roaring sound of a distant car engine told me otherwise.
"It's them!" Sophia heard it too and ran to my side.
I didn't know whether to be relived or slightly hesitant as the sound of the car engine came closer. I watched the horizon though and waited to see this camper Sophia had spoken about or perhaps the motorbike. The girl beside me was practically jumping with excitement and I glanced around quickly to make sure there were no dead creeping up behind us while our attention was occupied. Satisfied, I turned back, only to have my heart drop again at the sight of the familiar truck appear on the horizon. Two more tucks followed and I felt my fists clench and my stomach twist.
"No!" I hissed. Sophia's excitement had died down, probably confused at the unfamiliar vehicles, but I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the nearest car. I opened the back door and ordered Sophia in. She did so and Toby followed without a pause. I shut the door behind them and climbed into the front. "Lie down on the floor if you can and stay quiet." I ordered, attempting to curl up into the floor of the passenger seat.
"Who are they?" Sophia asked, her voice sounding close to tears.
"Not our friends." I replied. "Promise me, you'll be quiet. They can't know we're here. They'll go eventually, but we must be quiet."
"I promise." The sounds of the cars was closer now and I heard them stopping somewhere nearby.
"They'll go eventually." I repeated, in a whisper. Hopefully, was what I didn't add. The car engines died. There was a long moment of silence before the sound of door slams followed. Obnoxiously loud voices of men I had tried to forget, were heard and then a sickening sound of laughter. It was the next familiar voice that piped up that confirmed what I already knew.
"Alright, keep your voices down, lads. There's no need to be that loud!" That voice belonged to Laurent.
Edited November 2014
(Author's Note): If anyone wanted to know the timeline of this story, if anyone is curious or confused - the first night Sophia was with Ruby, that was the night Rick and Daryl went out looking for her and cut open that walker (yum). The next day, when the herd passed by the house Ruby and Sophia were in, was when the group went out looking for her and found the church and Carl got shot. That night was when Andrea, Dale, Carol and Daryl stayed behind to wait for her (Ruby and Sophia were in the house still). And they left to go to Herschel's sometime before Sophia and Ruby arrived on the highway, looking for them. I don't intend to keep to the storyline of the show, but while Sophia is still missing (and potentially dead) to the group, they're actions and such will be the same as in the show. If and when Ruby and Sophia catch up with them, then yes I will change the show's events. I hope all of that ^^ isn't all confusing!
Ruby and Sophia will catch up to them soon, though until then I hope you enjoy their journey and the interludes of flashbacks. Thank you again for the support and the reviews, I really do appreciate them. :)