"A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong."
-Tecumseh

We were running out of gas so we had no choice but to leave some cars behind and be a bit more crowded. We kept Dale's RV, Oliver's BMW, my mum's Cherokee and Daryl's, well actually Merle's motorcycle.

T-Dog and Andrea got to ride with Oliver, and somehow there was no room for me anymore. I almost ended up with Daryl but my mum just wouldn't let me get on that, she said she wanted me safely inside her car. I had Carl on my left, who from time to time, would rest his head against my shoulder while I rested mine against the window.

Today was our third day on the road, it was tough being in a car for so many hours, especially when there is no space to lie down but there was no other way.

I was almost falling asleep when we noticed Dale stopping in front of us. The RV was so high we couldn't see what the problem was, if there was a problem with the road. But then we noticed the road was cramped with lots of abandoned cars.

Slowly Dale passed through them, led by Daryl. We followed them. Some cars had opened doors, there were even bodies inside some of the cars. It was awful.

Then we heard a noise and Dale stopped the RV once again. This time we got out of the vehicles, turned out there was a problem with the RV.

"I said it," Dale exclaimed. "Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water."
"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked.

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of..." he started ranting but stopped as he saw all the cars around us. "Okay, that was dumb."
"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane told him.

"Here's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl commented, already looking for stuff inside of the closest car.
"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog said hopefully.
"Maybe some water," my mum said.
"Or food," I added.

"This is a graveyard," Lori said. "I don't know how I feel about this."

"You gotta do what you gotta do," I said simply with a shrug.
"All right, just look around, gather what you can," Shane said.
I walked next to Sophia, Carl, Lori and my mother. I found a bag in one of the cars and started to fill it with useful things as I looked inside some cars. I noticed my mum holding a nice blouse close to her body and slightly smiling at it.
"Ed never let me wear nice things like this," she told Lori, which was true. "We're gonna need clothes."

My father never let us wear nice clothes, not even for important events. If we were going to wear something fancy for a party or something he had to approve it first and if he said we couldn't wear them then we couldn't. We were also forbidden to have long hair, my hair never even touched my shoulders during my whole childhood, just like Sophia's hair.

As soon as I moved out of that house I let my hair grow, it was a symbolic way to represent my new freedom. I didn't got too nice clothes though, one because I didn't have the money and two because I didn't feel confident enough to wear them.

At the moment my blonde hair reached almost my mid-back, which I usually used to let it down but since the end of the world started, I often braided it or put it in a high ponytail or bun.
"Hey, Carl, always within my sight, okay?" Lori told her son.

"Sophia, Cecilia, you too," my mother told us. I just rolled my eyes, annoyed I was being treated like a kid.

We had been looking for stuff for a while when I heard footsteps and saw Rick running towards us, his face said it all.

"Lori, under the cars," he told her. "Carl, Cecilia, Sophia, get down now."
The three of us hurried and hid under the closest cars. Sophia and I got under one, Carl in the car next to us, Rick got under another and Lori dragged my mother under another car.

I started to hear the characteristic moans from the walkers and soon we just saw the feet of several of them, walking right next to the cars. I put an arm around Sophia, pulling her against my chest while I put my other over my mouth to keep from shouting or whimpering or any thing that could make a sound.

It had felt like hours and more walkers walked next to the cars, I thought it was just a matter of time before one of them found us but then I heard no more moans or saw them walking next us.

After some seconds of absolute silence I let my hand fall from my mouth and the other loosened around Sophia, who started to get out of under the car, making some noise in the process and then I heard moaning right behind me, I turned my head and sure enough one walker had spotted us. I screamed and pushed Sophia in the other direction because I was trapped, if she didn't hurry I would be killed.

Sophia hurried and stood up, I rolled to my left away from that thing and also stood up and ran after Sophia. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. We went over the guard rail and crawled down this little hill, towards the woods.

We ran as fast as we could but it seemed like these things were faster than I could ever imagine. They were right behind us, I could hear their heavy footsteps and their annoying moaning but I didn't dare look back.

"Come on, come on!" I yelled as Sophia tripped and fell to the ground. I grabbed her hand and pulled her up as fast as I could and we started to run again but soon I bumped into someone. I tried to scream and hit whoever it was in the chest.

"Shh, shh, it's me, Cecilia!" I heard Rick saying. "Are you both okay?"

Sophia didn't answer she just kept trying to take Rick's gun and getting him to shoot them but Rick stopped her, telling her the noise would attract others. Rick picked Sophia up and carried her bridal style, while I just ran close to him. We got to a creek and that's when Rick put my sister down.

"All right, you stay there," Rick told us.
"Wait," Sophia exclaimed.
"Sophia, Cecilia, you have to do exactly as I say." I nodded at him. "Hide in there," he said pointing to a little cave, next to the water. "Squeeze in tight. I'll draw them away from you."
"No no, don't leave us!" Sophia cried.
"Listen, they don't get winded, I do. I can only deal with them one at a time." There were four after us. "I wouldn't be able to protect you. This is how we all survive. You understand?"

"I can help you," I told him.

"No," he said, turning to look at him. "Stay with your sister, keep her safe.

"Okay."

Rick then lowered his gaze, looking specifically at my silver-coloured gun that now was in my hand, I didn't even remember when I got it from my jeans. I probably did when we bumped into Rick because when Sophia fell, I wasn't holding it yet.

"Don't use that unless it's absolutely necessary, do you understand? Keep safe, okay? Here," he said and gave me a knife. "Now go in there."

I got in first, then Sophia, I knelt inside, making the water reached my middle thigh. The roots and branches hid us really well and hopefully if something walked in front us, they wouldn't be able to see or smell us.
"If I don't make it back, run back to the highway, back to the others, straight the way we came," Rick told us. "Keep the sun on your left shoulder."

Right then we heard the moaning, Rick called them and made noise to attract them. Rick ran away and the walkers followed him. We couldn't see him anymore but we could still hear him calling them.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at Sophia as she crawled out of our hiding place with her doll in hand. "Rick said to stay here!"

"He said to go back to the highway," she said simply and started to walk away.

"Sophia! Sophia!" I whispered-shouted at her but she didn't listen to me.

I took a deep breath and crawled out of the little cave as well, going after her. I caught up with her and spun her around. I saw nothing besides fear in those beautiful brown eyes of her that I loved, I was ready to scold her for not listening to me but those eyes softened me and I just sighed.

I pat her shoulder and then I started to walk. Sophia was following close behind. As we walked back to the others I kept telling her she should listen to what adults say to her, told her we should have waited for Rick a bit longer and that it wasn't safe for us to be alone in the forest.

She replied the first few times but then she said nothing. I was just nervous about the whole situation, I didn't want to scold her, I just wanted to make things clear for her. I turned around to apologize but she wasn't there.

"Sophia!" I said a bit loud but not that loud, in case there were walkers close. "Oh, shit!"

I ran around the place, hoping I wasn't going in the opposite direction Sophia did. I didn't even know where I was going, all I cared about was finding her. I tightly held the knife Rick had given me earlier. I had never killed a walker by stabbing them in the head but I had no choice if I saw one now.

I had no idea how much time had passed, sweat was covering my whole body but still I didn't feel out of breath, the adrenaline kept me going until I saw her small figure.

"Sophia!" I shouted, making her turn around.

I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her as tight as I could, I almost lost her. I pulled away and gripped her shoulders, shaking her a bit.

"What were you thinking?" I exclaimed, I was so upset at her, at me for losing her, at those things, at the whole world. I didn't notice but I was crying by then. "I thought I lost you!"

"I'm sorry," she muttered as one tear rolled down her freckled face. "I heard something and got scared."

"Why didn't you tell me? You just ran off! You can't do that kind of stuff! Imagine how I would feel if something happened to you! I can't lose you!"

I saw my surroundings and I started to freak out, I had no idea where I was or where I should go. Rick said something but I couldn't remember, keep the sun on your right or left shoulder? What was it?

I asked Sophia if she remembered but she just shook her head. I grabbed her hand to make sure she wouldn't run away again. I turned around and walked in the direction I thought had come from, while I looked for Sophia I ran in circles, I ran in every direction and I couldn't remember the right way back, but if we were lucky enough we would find our way back or bump into Rick.

Exhaustion was kicking in, we had been walking for a really long time and still nothing. I was sure I hadn't run that much so it could only mean that we were lost.

The sun was starting to go down and I was so scared, I put a strong face for Sophia's sake but I probably was more scared than her.

"Look!" Sophia said, pointing at something a bit to our left. I looked in that direction and saw a wooden house. I smiled a bit but cautiously walked there.

I knocked on the door but nothing, I knocked a second time and nothing again. I opened the door and cautiously looked in every room, in every corner of the house for people and for walkers, the house was empty.

"We'll stay the night here," I told her. "First thing tomorrow we will go out there and find our way back, they won't leave us. Rick, Dale, Teresa, Oliver... mum, they won't leave us, do you understand?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

Before it went completely dark, I looked for things around the house that could help us. I found canned food in the kitchen and some blankets and sweaters upstairs. I gave Sophia a sweater, which was way too big for her, and a blanket and ordered her to hide in a closet that was in the kitchen. If something came in here she would be safe.

"Take this," I said, giving her a second can of tuna.

"What about you?"

"You know I'm allergic to that, it will only be for tonight. I'll be fine, okay? I have gone to bed with an empty stomach before, no big deal. You eat it, alright?"

"Cici?" She said simply. "Why did you leave us?"

I stared at her in shock. I left home only two months before I turned seventeen. My grades were perfect and I graduated a year earlier, maybe that's why no one suspected something was wrong in my life. I had escaped so many times from my house but my parents always reported it to the police and they dragged me back to my house, where my father would beat me for leaving.

That time I got the courage to talk to him and tell him that if he let me leave he would have more money for himself and more space in the house, after three hours he agreed to let me go.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. What else could I say to her? That I left her because I couldn't take it anymore, that I was just thinking about myself and just ran? "But I'm not leaving you now, I promise."

"Do you think they will find us?" she asked me.

"I do," I said, even when I had my doubts. "They will find us. Daryl, he, uh – he's good at tracking, I'm sure he will track us and find us. You'll see!"

"Do you like him?"

"What?" I asked in shock. "No, of course not! Don't be silly. Why do you ask, anyway?"

"You used his tent, you preferred to share a room with him than us in that place," Sophia told me, slightly shuddering as she mentioned the CDC. "And it seemed like you enjoy to be around him and Daryl is not nice to anyone but you."

"He's not nice to me either," I told her, remembering our countless arguments.

"He's less mean to you," she said with a knowing look. "He let you stay with him and..."

"Let me get this clear," I interrupted her. "Back at camp there was no space for me with you and mum and... and dad. Glenn was with Teresa and Oliver, I could only share with Daryl and he was kind enough to offer me to use his tent. And back at the CDC, I was upset at mum, it's stupid I know but I was, and I got a room and Daryl couldn't find another one so we had to share but that doesn't mean anything, do you understand?"

"Alright," she nodded, looking down at the floor. "Carl and I just thought that the two of you... I don't know, that you were with him."

"I'm not," I said with a small smile. "Why do you look so sad about it? Do you want me to be with him?"

"Yeah," she simply said making me a little bit shocked at her answer. Daryl was an adult, I was a lot younger than him, why would she want me to be with him?

"Why?"

"Because he can keep you safe," she said as she stared right into my light blue eyes, the same eyes my mother has.

"I can keep myself safe," I told her after I recovered from her statement.

"Yeah, for how long?" she asked.

She probably said that because she had no idea what I had learnt when I moved to New York but still, her words made an effect on me.

It had been hours since I ordered Sophia to get inside the closet and hide in there, she had fallen asleep not long after our talk. I woke her up a couple of times because she was having nightmares but I ordered her to go back to sleep.

"Because he can keep you safe."

Her words echoed in my head for hours. They had a lot of meaning behind them. All of this had become just about surviving, nothing else mattered.

I let out a small chuckle at the thought of her and Carl gossiping about Daryl and me, making up stuff that weren't even happening.

Then sorrow and a feeling of being hopeless invaded me. We were all alone now and I wasn't sure if we were going to be found, and either way. if we were found or not, how long would I survive out there? Some months, a year? Would they find a cure for this? Based on Jenner, they didn't even know what had happened and they were even farther from finding a way to solve it.

I started to cry. I was scared, of dying, of losing my sister, of being alone and right now I was scared of the darkness.

A part of me wished Sophia to be with our mother, with Rick. They would keep her safe, at least safer than I could ever do. I was just a few years older than her and me against thousands of walkers… well, that was a hopeless and unfair fight. I just ran away from four today, I just ran. But what if we were trapped and couldn't run? I wasn't sure if I would be fast enough to kill them all before they got to me... to her.

What if I run out of ammo? What if I lose the knife? What if I fall and twist my ankle? What if I don't find food and keep getting weaker and weaker? All the odds were against us.

If we didn't find the others I had no idea how much longer I would be able to protect us and keep alive and that made my heart break. Silent tears fell down my blue eyes as I looked at the closet where Sophia was sleeping.

Guilt overwhelmed me then. This was all my fault. Why didn't I just grabbed Sophia and pulled her back into our hiding place? Why did I let her walk behind me, out of my sight? Why couldn't I just remember the simple instructions Rick gave us? I was the older one, I was the one in charge. Sophia's just a kid, I should have taken better choices. I shouldn't have let fear taken over me. This was all my fault, this was all on me.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm sorry."

I rested my head against the counter behind me and kept crying until I had no strength left to even cry and I felt drowsy and for just a second I let myself close my eyes... and eventually fell asleep.

QOTD: Do you ship Richonne or Ressie?