Hello my Chickadees! I deeply apologize for my prolonged absence. I never intended to be gone so long, but between Fire Academy (YES! I passed my Firefighter 1 test and now qualify for my senior department! Well, only another year or so to wait until I can actually apply...) and summer reading homework (Ew.) my summer has been quite hectic. This chapter is mostly filler, putting events into perspective and all. NEXT chapter should have some interesting event occur... Thank you all for reading! Love you all! Read/review please! ~Toni
He really needed to stop thinking. He needed to focus. If he didn't, he would get killed out here. Then what would the group do? Carol and Dale and Glenn and that girl...
Daryl shook his head. He could not let her sad eyes mess with his head. His first priority was to find Sophia. Nothing more. He would deal with the girl later.
Yet, Daryl couldn't help but remember the look she had on her face every time she saw a glimpse of the sky. She obviously did not want to be in that shed. Daryl was surprise that she hadn't figured out a way to escape, especially after how she had acted yesterday...
Daryl stopped. Why hasn't she escaped yet? She's obviously smart enough, so why?
CRACK. Daryl spun around, shooting a walker between the eyes. The hunter sauntered over to the corpse, yanking the arrow free and wiping the goo on his pants. He reloaded his crossbow and kept pushing forward, letting his mind wander on how to convince Rick to let that bitch have her damn sky.
Daryl continued trudging through the woods for a few more hours. He was close to giving up his search when he came across an old farmhouse. It was clearly abandoned by the living, but the dead were another matter.
The hunter kicked in the front door, crossbow at the ready. Nothing. He slowly went through the house, inspecting the rooms of the lower floor, one by one. Peering into closets and whispering the little girl's name. Daryl made his way into the kitchen. He spotted an open can of sardines in the trashcan, and picked it up. The little bit of liquid in it still smelled somewhat fresh. Daryl scanned the room. The pantry door was slightly open. The hunter cautiously made his way over. He silently cursed. Shit. Nothing. Nothin' interestin' worth taki-
Daryl froze. At the bottom of the pantry, there was a little nest of blankets. A little Sophia-sized nest. It couldn't have been more than a day or so since she had last stayed there. Daryl rushed to the open back door. He ran outside, and yelled the little girl's name. Once, twice, three times. Desperately hoping that she might hear him. His eyes spotted something white in the bushes. He slowly walked forward. There were dozens of them.
Daryl may not be the smartest man out there, but he knew what this beautiful thing was: Cherokee Rose.
The hunter slowly bent down, gingerly touching the petals. This is the rose that legend says grew where the Cherokee mothers' tears fell after losing their children. A sad smile spread across his face as he gently plucked one from its bush for the mourning mother.
Glenn had rushed away from the shed. He couldn't think right. It just didn't make sense. The girl seemed so evil, her face twisted into those cruel expressions, but she never really seemed to attack Shane. All of the rumors about how dangerous she was seemed all the more true, but Dale's insistence that she may just be scared seemed true as well. Glenn shook his head. All these round about thoughts were making his head hurt.
Just as he got back to Dale's RV, Glenn's train of thought was intercepted by Hershel's daughter. Glenn couldn't remember her name, nor did he get a chance to ask.
"I'm makin' a run into town, wanna come?"
God was she hot. Glenn was speechless, and managed a nod.
"Great. I'll go get the horses." And with that, she was gone.
Glenn blinked. "Did she say horses?" He shook his head. Maybe getting away from the farm would be a good idea. Glenn gulped when he thought of how Daryl might react when he returned.
After gathering his things for the run, Glenn grabbed his binoculars, pretending to be scanning the perimeter. Instead he was ogling the farmer's daughter on her horse. Glenn almost jumped out of his skin when Lori suddenly stepped in front of the lenses.
"Here's the list of things that we need," she declared in a no-nonsense tone.
Glenn sighed, as he began reading the list.
Lori began to turn away, then thought better of it. She turned back to face the wide-eyed Glenn. "There is something else I need you to pick up." She handed him another list. Lori stepped closer to Glenn, dropping her voice to a whisper. "And if we could keep it a secret..." she trailed off.
Glenn frantically nodded, wishing that the frightening woman would leave. Lori began to leave, but Glenn had one more thought: "Um, where would I find this?"
Lori spun back around, an indignant look on her face. Glenn smiled sheepishly, unknowingly digging himself into a bigger problem than he would've imagined.
The girl was perched again on her beam, nursing her wounds, tears flowing slowly down her face. Her expert fingers slowly probed her body, searching for broken bones. She tried to ignore the rainbow of bruises that littered her skin. She had never seen bruises turn so many colors before.
She crouched like an animal, ready to fight or fly should her attacker return for vengeance. The girl only wished that she had inflicted more pain on that bastard.
A hiss escaped her lips as she found a small fracture on one of her ribs, the skin above it oozing. The girl's hatred only festered in her mind as she continued to rip up her small black t-shirt, wishing she still had her pack since her undershirt was soaked through. She smirked. Apocalyptic tye-dye.
She smiled slightly, thinking of what Batsy would say to this. It had been only months since the girl had last seen her best friend, and the girl missed her dearly. With that thought her frown returned, being reminded of that last day in Atlanta. Poor Batsy... She never knew what got her...
The girl inhaled deeply, repressing the other memories that began to float to the surface. The screams echoing in her mind. The blood smeared on her face. The smell of death permeating the air... The girl breathed deeply, willing her mind to cease its replaying of painful memories. The girl finally accepted that she could no longer be the kind, loving girl she used to be. The girl still needed to remain civil towards the others, but as much as she had tried to remain some sort of humanity, this nightmare was no place for man.
It was a place for soldiers.
Warriors.
Survivors.
A place for her.
The girl's eyes snapped open, with a new level of clarity as she heard the group outside causing quite a stir. The memories were now securely locked away in a chest deep in the girl's subconscious. There was a great deal of shouting going on outside. The girl finished tying up her wounds best she could, pushing the deep-set pain away, and stalked over to the slats of the wall. She heard the group yelling of a walker in the well. The girl rolled her eyes as the people loudly debated how to get the walker out, settling on live bait.
God, were these people stupid.
The girl walked away from the wall back to her perch, settling down to meditate. She had to remember what she needed to do to survive. What her family had taught her that last day. What Adam had promised her. What Batsy had shown her.
A few tears escaped the girl's closed eyes, but she couldn't let the past keep overwhelming her. This needed to stop here and now.
The girl replayed Atlanta in her head, over and over. She needed to accept the horror of it all. So much death, so much sorrow. But there is no going back now. The past is the past, nothing more. She had to accept it and move on. That was a past life as compared to now.
No matter how hard she willed it, the girl would never truly accept her younger brother's fate.
Oh Alexi, she lamented, how I wish I could do that day over, just for you. You had so much potential...
The girl let the pain run freely through her heart, she would never forget the pain those piercing blue orbs screamed. She silently promised that from here on out, she would survive.
For Alexi, and Alexi alone.