Curative
By Kaimaler
So we're done with Season 1 and moving on over to Season 2
I had contemplated using the deleted scenes of Season 2, when they go back to take shelter with the Vatos, but there was a reason it wasn't cannon. It's kinda' difficult to fit in there, so instead, I'm just going to go off Season 2 episodes.
There, obviously, will be some changes, but nothing that changes the story from WD universe to AU. I want to keep it as close to the WD cannon as much as possible. :3
Kikyohater220:
Good! I'm glad to get such a strong reaction! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D
UBER LONG CHAP. 10k words, you have been warned y'all! xD
They drove for as long as they could, to get away from the CDC explosion, the sound would've carried and attracted so many walkers that they couldn't risk being anywhere near the building, but they weren't able to get far, so low on gas.
The RV honked and the caravan pulled into a small parking lot devoid of all life, there weren't even any dead bodies in the area. It was a promising place to stop and discuss their next plan of action.
Laura sighed and stepped out of the truck, Daryl walked ahead of her as they approached the others.
Out of their cars, confused and frightened, the group stretched and enjoyed the stop. They would have to keep moving soon, the longer they waited the higher risk they were at.
They were talking, something about cars and progression. She couldn't really make anything out and wasn't about to join them to find out. Laura realized she outed herself at the CDC, but she thought they were going to die anyways and wanted to try and take a stab in the dark, to try and convince Jenner to let them continue on living.
It didn't work, but she still tried.
Laura stayed back from the group, she figured she would have to leave soon if she wanted to live, but she wanted to stay with them as long as she could. She liked this group, they meant a lot to her.
Carl was also away from the group instead of with his parents or Carol, who would often watch over him when Lori was busy. He was kicking gravel around to kill time.
Rick and Lori were having another adult talk with the group and he apparently wasn't allowed to hear it for one reason or another.
Laura rested on one knee behind Carl, "Hey little man." He turned to see her, worry evident on the boy's face. "I'm sure they're just talkin' 'bout where to go."
The boy wasn't comforted and Laura pulled him to face her, "Hey now, listen here." She gave him a careful smile and stood up, ruffing Carl's hair. "Your mom and dad have a lot to deal with right now, a lot to talk about, but they're fine. You're fine. We're all goin' to find somewhere else that's safe. Okay?"
Carl grinned, "Okay."
Laura heard steps from beside them, they were urgent footfalls and she looked to see the source. It was Shane and he was storming up to her. Before Laura knew what hit her, she was knocked across the face by something particularly heavy. She fell onto her back and felt the world spin.
She opened her eyes and saw Shane turning the shotgun around in his hands, she scrambled back but the barrel of his shotgun came within inches of her face and her cocked it right there.
She stopped moving and put her hands up in defense, she heard the others call out. "Shane!"
"Shane, put the gun down!" Rick growled, but Shane looked intent on shooting her. "Put it down, now!"
"Why? Look at her, she ain't one of us man." He gestured to her face, "She even said it, she's a walker, can't keep her knowin' what she is! Remember," Shane glanced to a very pissed off looking redneck, "You said it man, zero tolerance for walkers or them to be."
"You best get that gun outta' her face before I break yours." Daryl was barely two feet from Shane, his fists clenched in rage. He wasn't going to risk Shane firing off that gun, but he wasn't going to sit around and do nothing.
"So the rules change when it's your squeeze?" Shane spat, "I don't think so. She was right here, with Carl, alone. Who knows what she coulda' done! I'm not puttin' him or anyone else at risk here just 'cause the redneck found himself a girlfriend."
Rick took hold of Shane's shoulder, "Brother, I knew about this already. Do you really think I would've let her stay with us if she was a danger?"
Shane seemed contemplative for a moment. "You really knew man?"
"Yes, I have known." That seemed to be it for Shane, his nose twitched and the shotgun was lowered.
T-Dog grabbed her and pulled her away, helping her get to her feet. "Thanks," She smiled to him, which he returned happily. "Just returnin' the favor girl." He brushed off the excess dirt from her, patting her back and letting her know she had his support.
That was before said pissed off redneck jumped Shane and punched him as best he could with everyone getting in between them. "Enough!" Rick exclaimed, pushing against both the men. "Laura will explain it to you herself. So everyone will know. Won't you, Laura?" He nodded to her, giving her a soft look. "Of course."
Rick released the two men and so did the others. Shane stalked behind Rick and Daryl came straight up to her, grabbed her chin and lifted her head, his other hand rubbing over the spot where the butt of Shane's shotgun had connected with her forehead. "I'm fine, really. Just a little bump, that's all."
"I'll kill that son of a bitch." He ground out, still inspecting the bump. "Daryl, really, it's alright. That's not as bad a reaction as I was expecting actually."
Daryl looked at her oddly, "What, him tryin' to kill ya' ain't enough?"
"I was expecting to be killed the moment I was discovered. That, what Shane did, was quite tame comparatively..." Daryl had stopped looking at where she was knocked, but he still had his hand cupped around her chin. "And what you're doin'... toleratin' me like this," She glanced down to his hand, which he withdrew quickly. "This was not what I thought was goin' to happen."
"That's a good thing, ain't it?" He chewed on his thumb again. It felt like he was asking her if she wanted to be killed.
"I certainly hope so." Rick came up to them, "Laura, I think it's best to get this done as soon as we can. Are you ready?" She nodded, "Good, come on."
Laura followed Rick to the back of the Cherokee, where the trunk was pulled up and inside sat Carol, Sophia, and Carl. To the side was Lori, Shane, T-Dog, Glenn, Dale, and Andrea. Rick took a place in front of the group, beside Laura in case anyone tried anything. Daryl was just behind her, also functioning as a makeshift bodyguard.
"Go ahead, Laura, just tell them what you told me." Rick urged gently, he wanted to calm his group while keeping Laura's friendship. He felt like he was balancing on a high wire.
"Well, just before the outbreak happened, there were walkers around, stragglers. They were such a minority still that people thought they were just sick folk." Laura shrugged, "Guess they kinda' are considerin', but I got caught by one and bitten." She pulled down the shoulder of her jacket and shirt. "Soon after that, I... I died and returned as a walker."
"You died like Jim did?" Carol asked and Laura just nodded to her. "Exactly. However, my father was a scientist. He also worked for the CDC, but that was a while ago. He committed to very unorthodox procedures to find solutions and cures. He would use live test subjects, experiment on living human flesh and blood when given the chance. When I turned, he took it upon himself to use me as his test subject and conducted these experiments on me."
"A test subject like Jenner's wife?" Andrea asked, the woman leaned against the car and crossed her arms.
"Yes. After some time of being a walker, he found a way to restore me. I was returned to my human state, my mind was at least. I can think again, I have the ability to choose my actions and paths, unlike a walker who functions on nothing but instinct." She ran a hand across her face, "As a result, my heart beat is so low and all vitals are so low that, if any of you were to drop your heart rate to mine, you would die."
"So you're telling us that you're... dead, right?" Lori walked up to Rick, who put an arm around his shoulders. "What would happen if your heart... stopped?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'd go back to being a walker, maybe I'd just die for good, or maybe nothing would happen at all." Laura patted over her heart. "I can't know for certain and am not keen on finding out. Because of my walker-like appearance and being seemingly dead, walkers don't try to attack me, they treat me like their own."
"Do you, y'know." Glenn made a biting motion.
Laura smirked, "Eat people? No, oh God no. Humans are as appealing food wise as they are to you." She stuck her tongue out. "I don't do anything a walker does really. I mean, I will bite and scratch someone for survival if I don't have a real weapon to use, but that's normal human survival behavior."
"The way I see it." Rick stepped up, taking the explanation from Laura. "That she isn't one of them, she isn't a walker-" Shane came forward, "Rick, you can't-" The sheriff put his hand up. "I trust Laura, she's done nothing but be good to us from the moment we met. She's helped out when she can, risked her life for us even, I'm not about to throw her aside just because I may not understand how this cure works."
"Is that what it is?" Lori asked, "A cure? Did your father really make a cure?"
Laura winced, "Well, cure is a strong word." She noticed the confused looks. "It doesn't get rid of the virus in the body, it's still there. I can't turn people if I bite them or anything, in fact, my blood can actually help someone who has turned. The anti-bodies in my blood stream, the ones my father created, attack and destroy all signs of the virus in the human blood."
"So if we get bit... you can cure us?" T-Dog spoke up, a little hopeful over this discovery.
"Maybe. I've never tried it so I can't say for certain what would happen. All I know it that only after a person has been bitten that there could be a chance for me to help them reclaim themselves." Laura shook her head, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead courtesy of Shane. "That's all I know really, that I am a walker with her mind back, with my sanity and conscience intact. That I cannot infect people and cannot be infected. There is a possibility for me to help anyone who turns, but I don't know that for certain."
"I trust her, but I need to know what everyone thinks." Rick insisted, he did really trust her, Laura showed no signs of any kind of hostility. He wouldn't lie to himself about not being a little worried when she was alone with Carl, but he quickly silenced the thought the moment in crept up.
"I think it's cool." Glenn grinned, "I mean, think about it. How useful she's been so far when we were stuck in Atlanta, when we went back for the guns. She could be a scout, check out the area and we'd never have to worry about her being caught by geeks, because geeks don't go after her."
Valid reasoning. I am useful in that respect. Laura was happy someone pointed out her usefulness, to show that she could do things for the group, not just stick around and be dead weight.
T-Dog ran a hand over his bald head, "Way I figure it, as long as she ain't tryin' to eat us and she can do what Glenn said, then it'd be stupid to get rid of her."
"I think this is ridiculous." Shane's turn. Laura kept focus on the angry man. "She's a walker and we're supposed to just trust her because she hasn't bitten one of us. What happens when she gets hungry, huh? What do y'all think happens then? If she wasn't thinkin' about doin' nothin', then why hadn't she said anything yet?"
Laura huffed, "Oh please, when I first met Glenn and Andrea in the city, I hadn't eaten in over a month, I was beyond starving, but I didn't hurt them." Laura pointed to Rick, "When I ran into Glenn again, this time with Rick, I was still hungry, but I didn't do anything. Hell, I never even considered harming them unless they tried to hurt me. Because no one did, so I joined them, went with them and it's people like you are the exact reason I was too afraid to say anythin'. You just don't understand, too wrapped up in thinkin' one way that you never take time to consider that you could be wrong."
That silenced Shane, he looked ready to say more but whatever it was, he relented and accepted defeat. He stepped back and Laura smirked, "I may have been a walker once, but that doesn't mean those some inhibitions exist within my head. I hold no desire to, ugh, eat someone. That's just... revolting. I can't imagine doing that."
"Do you remember it?" Andrea asked, "When you were a walker, do you remember?"
Laura looked down and bit her lip. "Yes, I remember it, bits anyways. It was constant pain, hunger, noise. I can't describe it better then that, but I still remember tryin' to eat someone, my father, who was the only person who had contact with me while I was a walker."
Andrea sighed, "If... if you'd known this before Jenner told you, could you have... saved Amy and Jim?"
Laura's eyes snapped to Andrea's, her mouth hung open. "I..." She closed her eyes, "Yes."
The woman nodded and walked into the RV, I could have saved Amy. Dale went to comfort Andrea in the Winnebago. Laura felt bad about that, over them, she didn't know at the time, how could she have? If she did, she would've help them.
"That's enough for now." Rick spared her, "We need to get more gas and get back on the road, try to go as far as we can until nightfall. We also have to lose some cars..."
Laura turned away and left the group, she didn't want to be around them right now.
Daryl and T-Dog went off to siphon gas from their cars for the others. They were leaving T-Dog's church van and Daryl's truck. He wasn't riding with anyone else though, he got help from Rick and T-Dog to get the bike off the bed of the truck.
She wondered who she would ride with, if any of them would let her ride with them willingly.
When the last bit of gas they could find was siphoned and given to the other cars, they all starting piling in again and started up the cars.
They had three cars now, the Winnebago, the Cherokee, and Daryl's bike.
T-Dog, Andrea, and Shane all joined Dale and Glenn in the RV, while the Grimes family, Carol, and Sophia all rode in the Cherokee.
Laura watched them get in and set up, she hadn't a clue where she would go, if she could go. Until the bike pulled up in front of her and Daryl nodded to the seat behind him.
She grinned and got on, she'd never been on a motorcycle before and didn't really know much about riding one. She found where her feet went and knew she had to hold onto him for support, so she wrapped her arms halfway around him, her touch made him tense up a bit, but he quickly relaxed.
They hit the road again, Daryl and Laura were in lead, the Winnebago behind them, and the Cherokee in the back. On their way to Fort Benning. It was going to be a long drive, but she wasn't complaining.
Laura gave a snarky grin to the man in front of her, he couldn't see it though. She liked having an excuse to have her arms around Daryl.
They finally had left the city and Laura was all too happy to watch it go, she felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders, one she didn't even know she was carrying. All those people, Red's group of survivors, the men who took her, her father, all in that city, all behind her.
She pulled her arms around Daryl completely, holding onto his shirt and jacket, while resting her head on his back. It was relaxing, like that hot shower at the CDC, it felt so good and refreshing to be away from all that pain and suffering. She still felt it, of course, in her head and the bruises had definitely not healed yet, she still could feel them being pressed on by the bike, but it wasn't unpleasant, just a reminder.
Once in the country side, Laura was smiling without realizing it. The trees, the open road, the tall grass; it felt so surreal. She waited for so long to experience life and it took a zombie apocalypse to get her out of the city.
She loved Atlanta, once, but it wasn't what she remembered it to be and the old wounds were too fresh for her liking. She wanted to make new memories elsewhere, hopefully better ones.
It wasn't until they began to slow down that Laura was brought out of her own thoughts long enough to see what was going on.
There were cars everywhere and an eighteen wheeler had tipped up ahead. Daryl drove slowly, carefully through the cars before turning around and heading back to the others.
The Winnebago and Cherokee had stopped, Daryl pulled up to the driver side of the RV where Dale was. "See a way through?"
Daryl looked back to the cars and nodded for Dale to follow him. He drove around the RV and came back up to lead them through as best he could. Laura wasn't even sure they could get the RV through all those cars.
They took it slow and Daryl found the best path through, it was barely enough to fit the Winnebago but it was working so far.
Until a very shrill sound came from behind them. Laura turned around and saw white smoke from the front of the RV. It stopped and turned off, the Cherokee not far behind.
Daryl parked the bike and they both got off, she was very soon missing the feel of holding onto him, but put it aside.
"I said it, didn't I say it? A thousand times, dead in the water?" Everyone got out of the cars and was watching as Dale opened the front of the RV. "Problem Dale?" No, he just likes to make the RV spew smoke because he can. Laura rolled her eyes.
"Oh, just this small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of..." Dale looked around for a moment, Daryl was already scouring through cars. "Okay, that was dumb."
"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane was looking at the multitudes of cars.
"A whole buncha' stuff we could find." Daryl was pulling items and clothes out of a car already. "Siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog couldn't count how many cars there were, they'd get enough gas for the entire trip to Fort Benning if they were careful.
"Maybe we could find some water." Carol suggested, "Food." Glenn grinned.
"This is a graveyard." Lori commented, but all Laura saw was supplies just waiting to be picked clean. "I don't know how I feel about this."
T-Dog went straight to get what he needed to siphon. "Come on y'all, take a look around, gather what ya' can." Shane suggested, he went off to find his own cars to loot.
Laura got to it, digging around in a few cars warranted clothes and a few bottles of water.
She could see everyone scavenging, even Lori who was hesitant at first was finally getting into it. There wasn't much more then a few suitcases of clothes, some people kept toiletries that Laura went ahead and took, vanity mostly, but she wanted them. Luckily, one of her first pulls from a car near the RV was a large bag capable of carrying a good deal of supplies.
Stuffing desirables into the pack, she continued on taking what she could find. The moment she found a bottle of water, she made a little disappointed note that it was warm water, but it was still water and started to chug it down, feeling her thirst quenched was extremely satisfying.
Aside from her adventures in looting, Laura made sure to keep an eye on Shane. She wasn't suicidal and kept her distance from the man.
She managed to stray a good distance from the group without realizing it, she couldn't hear them digging in cars anymore, she couldn't hear very much while she was excitedly making her way through a car.
It wasn't until she had leaned into the car window and was bumped repeatedly by something obviously human behind her.
Laura squirmed to get out of the car window, bringing an eight pack of double A batteries with her. "Hey, what's the big-?" Laura froze, it wasn't someone behind her, it was a very large number of undead.
She looked around, she could barely see the top of the RV from where she was at. It was a horde, she'd never been out of the city and didn't know how common they were out here, but it was a decent sized one. She couldn't see anybody, not even hear them.
"Hey guys?" Laura started shifting through the horde, pushing them away as she made her way back to the Winnebago. "Anybody?"
There were no screams, no cries for help and there hadn't been, so she assumed that they were alive. Perhaps they were in the RV? When Laura got to the RV all she saw was a walker inside just messing around and staring at the counters.
Laura stepped out and headed to where Shane found the water with Glenn. The water was dripping still and there was no blood in the area, they couldn't have gotten grabbed and eaten. She would've heard that and there would be a frenzy... Right?"
"Oh come on..." She was scared now, terrified even. They just escaped the CDC for this horde to show up and now they're no where in sight. She was panicking quite a bit.
She put a hand on her forehead, if they weren't dead or bitten, then what would they do to avoid the undead horde?
Hide in cars?
Laura started checking cars, searching for anything that might suggest life and yet, after a dozen cars she hadn't found a single person. It wasn't until she neared the Winnebago again that she found something.
A hand shot out and grabbed her ankle, she looked down and saw a distinctly human hand.
The walkers around her didn't notice and kept walking on, she slid against the car until she was sitting down next to it, her back resting against the side. She leaned down and saw Rick hiding underneath the car, he put a finger to his lips, telling her to shush. She looked around, there was Carl, Sophia, and a car down was Lori and Carol.
Over back on the hill she could see Shane and Glenn underneath the truck she was just at.
They were alive. Laura let out a deep breath and sat up again. "Thought you were dead." She stood up, calmer and far happier knowing that they were alive. She couldn't see T-Dog or Daryl, but if the others were safe, she knew those two could definitely survive.
It didn't stop her from worrying.
Laura stayed in between the cars, trying to usher the undead passed as quick as they could. So far they seemed to just go along with it and moved a little fast as her urges worked. The horde was thinning out after a few minutes.
She went to check on Lori and Carol, she got down and gave them a thumbs up, trying to console them. She went to Carl and smiled at the kid, but when she did the same to Sophia, she was too scared to notice.
Continuing, she went to check on Shane and Glenn, make sure they were alright. Two walkers were passing their truck now and she shoved one out of the way while she got down on the ground and came face to face with a rather hard to read Shane.
"You guys alright down here?" Glenn looked at her and nodded furiously, Shane just glared at her and Laura took the hint. Time to go find Daryl and T-Dog.
What did you do now? Laura sighed, whatever Daryl was up to she assumed it wasn't good. He had a habit of getting in bad places or the wrong people's nerves. All she could do was worry about him and if he was okay. Did he survive the walkers? Was he hurt? Dying? Where was he?
As Laura crossed the street again, a scream reached her ears.
She turned around to see two walkers chasing something small enough to not be seen above the cars. It had to have been Sophia, the high pitched cry told her that much.
Laura jumped into action and ran after the walkers who were heading into the trees, chasing Sophia who she had barely gotten a look at. She could see Rick ahead of her, he'd done the same thing only he saw it first and reacted faster.
He cut his way through the woods and Laura tried to follow him, but they were all too far from her and she was horrible at directions. If she went out there and found Sophia, the best she could do is maybe, possibly get lost in the general direction of the highway the group was on.
She wasn't very useful here.
Still, she tried to find them and, when faced with a dead end, Laura kept trying. She wasn't going to condemn a child to being turned like that, Laura could restore her mind, but she'd prefer Sophia to just be alive and human for a while longer.
In her haste, Laura stopped paying attention to her footing and toppled over a few foot drop into a creek. She slammed into the water, submerging her entire body in the shallow water.
Shooting upright, Laura looked around for signs of Rick or Sophia and was met with a dead end. She couldn't track, she had no skill in that area.
She got up, her entire body soaking wet now. It was a good thing she just got new clothes. The weight of the water on her was shocking to her system, she wasn't used to it and ended up tripping over herself.
Grasping onto the roots of a tree, she pulled herself to them and laid back on them, more then half her body still submerged as she looked around. She couldn't hear anything anymore, no Sophia. No Rick. Just dead quiet.
"Shiiiiiit. I am so fuckin' lost." Laura groaned, she needed to take more lessons from Daryl, otherwise, this could happen a lot more. If, of course, that is she ever managed to find her way back to the highway.
She rested in the water, the cool though murky water was soothing on her aching joints. Her leg was still hurting, but she'd gotten so used to it that she didn't care much anymore, but the water, feeling it gently wash over her and her injuries... It was the best feeling she'd ever had since she was infected.
Laura didn't know how much time passed before she heard the sound of footsteps. It must have been nearly an hour. If it was walkers, then they wouldn't bother her and she didn't care about them. She didn't think the others could find her out here.
Another one of these moments where she was wrong and happy about it.
"Laura!" That was Rick's voice, but she heard more then just his feet. There were others with him and when she opened her eyes, she saw Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn all trying to find a safe way down the bank to reach her.
Daryl didn't care about safest path and vaulted from the edge, splashing loudly into the water. He came up beside her and she sat upright. "Hey, you alright?" He held her chin again, moving her head around to look for head injuries.
"I'm fine, just met a very unwelcoming fall when I ran over that edge there." She pointed to the one Daryl jumped off of, "Tryin' to find Rick and Sophia, ended up gettin' lost." She smiled, Daryl stood and offered her a hand up.
Laura still felt the weight of the water on her clothes dragging her down. She was soaked. "Where's Sophia?" Rick asked, looking behind Laura.
"I don't know, went after her when she bolted, but y'all were way ahead of me. I can run fast, but I hadn't joined the chase 'til pretty late on." She shrugged and started ringing out her clothes and hair. "I was hopin' you got to her."
"I did, I left her right there." He pointed into the little nook under the eroded tree roots.
Laura looked at the roots and back. "I... I'm sorry Rick, when I got here, there wasn't anythin' here. Certainly no Sophia."
Shane stormed up from behind Rick, "Bullshit. I bet you took her off somewhere, didn't you?" Laura's eyes went wide, Is he suggesting...? "Had yourself a good meal, didn't you? I bet you were real hungry." Shane's killed glare made her extremely uncomfortable and the accusation made her reel back.
Daryl pointed at Shane, "Hey, shut the fuck up!"
"That's disgustin'!" Laura sneered, Rick just shouldered Shane off. "Shane, that's enough!" Even Rick got a little angry with the man, but Shane backed off and left well enough alone. "I would never do that! That's- That's just... Ugh!"
Laura threw her arms in the air and turned away from them. The idea of her dragging Sophia away and... eating her? Laura couldn't imagine it, it was horrific. She'd never commit to something so despicable.
"Laura, I'm sorry about Shane, but we don't have time for this. It's already gettin' late and we need to find Sophia." Rick stressed and Laura spun back around to them. "Yeah, absolutely. Do we have any idea where she could be?"
"That's why I brought Daryl out here, I was hoping he could track her, see which way she went." Rick turned to face Daryl who returned to his work, looking through the eroded tree roots.
"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl seemed like he couldn't see anything over there, but then again, it was all mud and the water was disturbed quite often, whatever trail of Sophia was under there, it could've easily been washed away.
"I left her right here." Rick pointed along the creek. "I drew the walkers off in that direction, up the creek."
Laura went up to the bank, she wasn't listening into them anymore, just trying to hear something, anything that could suggest she was nearby. Another walker even.
She couldn't make anything out aside from birds and crickets. Laura looked up to see Glenn standing a little ahead of her with a shotgun. He tried to give her a smile, but it came out half hearted. They were all worried sick about Sophia.
They just stood there before Daryl appeared to her left. "Hey short round, why don't ya' step off to one side, you're muckin' up the trail."
"Assumin' she knows her left from her right." Shane looked to Daryl and Glenn. "Shane, she understood me fine." Laura had to agree, children well younger then that could do more then just remember Rick's instructions. "Kid's tired and scared, man. She had her close call with two walkers, gotta' wonder how much of what ya' said stuck."
Also a valid point. Laura hated it when Shane had a point. Granted, she actually liked Shane before all this, talking about hope and how fleeting it was, but how much was restored when she and Rick walked into camp that day. He was a good guy, but he was like Red and the others, they just didn't understand.
"Clear prints right here, she did like you said, headed back to the highway." Daryl took Shane's hand and he lifted the hunter up the bank. "Let's spread out." Shane held his hand out for Rick who was looking around the creek.
"She couldn't have gotten far." Rick grabbed Shane's hand and ran up the bank. "Hey, we're gonna' find her. She's gonna' be tuckered out, hidin' in a bush somewhere."
Laura turned to get up the bank, but Shane completely ignored her. With an annoyed groan, she tried to find her footing, before a hand appeared in front of her. Who else could it be? She smiled and looked up, sure enough, there was Daryl. She took his hand and he pulled her up carefully. "Thanks." He lead her to the others who were waiting for them. "No problem."
Daryl took point and she followed close behind Glenn. They were all relying on the hunter's skills to find Sophia, even if it was a lot to put on the man.
They cut through some bushes before Daryl slowed down and came to a halt, kneeling on the ground looking intently at the trail. "She was doin' fine 'til right here. All she had to do was keep goin'. Veered off that way." He pointed to their right.
"Why would she do that?" Glenn stared off in the direction Daryl told them she left in, they all were, as if she'd pop out of the bushes.
"Maybe she saw somethin' that spooked her?" Shane looked back to Daryl, but Glenn took the word out of everyone's head. "Walker?"
"I don't see any other footprints, just hers."
"So what do we do? All of us press on?" Shane fiddled with his shotgun, clearly disturbed by this news.
"No, better if you and Glenn head back to the highway. People are gonna' start panicking." Yeah, like I am now. Laura was still ringing out her clothing. "Let 'em know that we're on her trail doin' everything we can, but most of all, keep everybody calm."
"I'll keep 'em busy scavengin' cars. Think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied." Shane waved Glenn along. "Come on."
When they were gone, the three of them pressed on. Rick and Laura followed Daryl through the woods, but she could see that Rick had a little knowledge of tracking because he had taken the lead a few times even though Daryl did most of the tracking.
After a little while, Laura felt the need to speak up. "Thanks, for not sendin' me back with Shane and Glenn."
"I didn't think it wise to leave you alone with Shane." Rick answered, they both had the same idea when he was telling Shane to head back to the highway. "Yeah, the only two people who can actually overpower Shane away tracking while the person he hates the most is alone with him. I could have ten guns on me and he have his hands tied behind his back, but that man could easily beat me."
"Which is why you're with us instead of with him." Rick offered a tired smile, "I'm not going to let Shane do somethin' he will regret later. Killing you? He'd hate himself for it even if he thinks it's right."
"Probably, people aren't normally equipped to deal with doing things like that and moving passed it like nothing happened. Drives people crazy." Laura sighed, "For what it's worth, I'm glad to be here, with y'all. Not just here, I mean with the group. I like being with people who aren't tryin' to kill me. New experience for me." She chuckled darkly. "Thanks for lettin' me tag along."
"You're a survivor, just like us." Rick looked at her face, her strange eyes and almost morbid tint. "No matter what happened before, no matter who you came across before us; we're not like them."
Laura smiled this time. "No, y'all are a thousand times better."
All Rick knew what the bruises on her and what they meant, he didn't know about Red, Micheal, and the others. She wasn't to sure she wanted to tell him, but she felt she had to thank him and better late then never.
Following Daryl through the woods was strange, the tracks went on for sometime until she slowed to a stop.
"Tracks are gone." Rick stood beside him, they were both looking in between these two large trees.
"No, they're faint, but they ain't gone." Daryl kept low to the ground, looking harder for these faint tracks. He pointed to what looked like just forest floor to Laura, "She came through here."
"How can you tell?" Rick looked around blankly, he couldn't see anything indicating the direction Sophia went in. "I don't see anything, dirt, grass."
"You want a lesson in trackin' or do you wanna' find that girl and get our asses off that interstate." Daryl lead them from here on out, Rick wasn't as experienced with tracking as Daryl.
They moved slow now, it was harder for Daryl to even find Sophia's tracks.
Eventually, they were moving along fine and a loud crack rang out, Daryl and Rick got down, but Laura felt like a sore thumb by remaining standing. They stayed still, crouching, as they listened for more.
Rick pointed ahead and lead Daryl and Laura into the trees in the direction of the sounds. There was a small hill ahead of them and down below was a single walker stumbling loudly through the woods.
Daryl gave the order this time, gesturing for Rick to go ahead of the walker and Daryl would come up behind it. They both got to it and Laura stayed behind, not wanting to get in the way.
Rick ran in front of the walker's path, when it noticed him it stopped and growled at Rick who let out a loud whistle. An arrow pierced the walkers skull and it fell limply to the ground.
Laura came up and join them then right as Daryl removed the arrow from its skull. Daryl looked around, "Sophia!" He was met with the same sound of crickets, birds, and frogs that had been there the whole time.
Rick kneeled down next to the walker corpse and pulled out a cloth and took hold of the walkers' hand. Both Daryl and Laura were watching in interest.
"What're ya' lookin' for?" Daryl asked as Rick worked, "Skin, under the fingernails." Rick flipped the body over.
Laura shook her head and looked at her own nails. Since getting washed up at the CDC, they probably looked better then they had been before, but she never checked. They were long and very strong, capable of tearing into someone quite easily she imagined.
That's not something I'm going to find out anytime soon. She frowned, she could remember clawing at her father, but she never took the time to find out how well her claw-like nails had worked. Laura honestly didn't want to have to use them as weapons, it would only bring her one step closer to being a walker. It wouldn't take much more and Shane would be right.
"It fed recently." Rick opened the walkers mouth, "There's flesh caught in its teeth." He was sickened at the idea of what that flesh might be as he pulled it out.
"Yeah, what kinda' flesh?" They were both looking at it, trying to make it out.
Rick flicked it away, "Only one way to know for sure." He pulled out his knife, and tore the walker's clothes open, flipping out the blade from the knife handle.
Daryl stepped over the corpse. "Here, I'll do it. How many kills you've skinned and gutted in your life and anyway," He pulled out his large hunting knife, it dwarfed Rick's blade. "Mine's sharper."
Leaning over the corpse, Daryl forced the knife into the stomach of the walker and cut down. This was another part that Laura found no consideration towards, she cared not for it, but it didn't matter either way to her.
He cut it open and both he and Rick shared the same tight lipped sneer as the smell wafted around them.
"Here comes the bad part." Daryl set the knife down and went straight into the next step, finding the stomach.
He dug around and found other organs, which ever ones got in his way he would remove and continue on. He knew where the stomach was, all he had to do was get to it. He tore apart tendons and everything that was between him and the stomach, Laura heard Rick groaning in disgust, trying his hardest not to vomit.
Daryl reached in deep and nodded to Rick, "Yeah, hoss had a big meal not long ago. I feel it in there." Laura's eye quirked, that was a strange thing to know how to feel for. "There's the gut bag." Daryl dropped it on the ground in front of Rick.
"I got this." Rick backed up a little to get a better angle, he cut open the stomach and dug out some of the contents in question on his knife. It was too chewed up to tell what it was before though.
Daryl pulled out a bone on his knife, "This bastard went and had himself a woodchuck for lunch." He tossed the piece of skull away.
Rick was finally able to relax, but the smell was horrendous. "At least we know." Daryl got up and pulled his crossbow back up on his shoulder, "At least we know."
"Should be gettin' back, 'bout to get dark soon." Daryl looked up to the sky, "Try again tomorrow."
Rick nodded, "Can't track in the dark. Let's head back."
Laura followed them along quietly, the sun was starting to set. She stayed close, she hadn't a clue how to navigate the woods, something she really felt like she should know especially in this situation. Perhaps Daryl would take her out for another hunt.
She shook herself off, Sophia was out there, somewhere, but Laura wasn't even thinking about how scared the little girl must be. She hadn't considered how terrified she was, the danger she faced. Laura couldn't relate, all these people could, the fear of being in this merciless world, but Laura never knew what it meant to truly be afraid of this world.
Nothing was scarier to her then people. They would hurt her, they would kill her, but not the walkers. It was alien to think of the mindless animalistic undead hordes as her allies rather then the humans that she stood with.
Poor Sophia. Laura ran a hand through her hair. She must be so alone and scared out there with no one to look out for her. That was something she was familiar with though, something she could say she understood. Being alone, feeling helpless against the world around her. Before walkers were even a thought in someones' head, Laura had been born into a family that didn't want her by a mother that abandoned her with a father that would rather she have disappeared.
Being alone is something to fear. She hoped they could find Sophia, Laura didn't know much about the girl, if her life before this was filled with swings and coloring books, or if it was just as frightening as the apocalyptic world around them now, but Laura didn't want anyone to face the crippling fear of being alone. Not someone so young too.
They made it out of the treeline and the highway was in view.
Laura tried to dig her feet into the dirt to climb the hill, but often ended up slipping because of her brace. Daryl offered his hand to steady her and she readily accepted, instantly getting her ground while her other hand came out to grab hold on his arm.
When they approached the highway railing, there was Carol wracked with worry. "You didn't find her."
"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again first light." Rick climbed over the rail. Daryl and Laura stopped just on the other side of it.
"You can't just leave her out there on her own, to spend the night alone in the woods." Carol's voice was cracking, she was about to break down into tears.
"Huntin' in the dark's no good. We'd just be trippin' over ourselves." Daryl tried to reason, but Carol was on the verge of panicking. "More people would end up gettin' lost."
"But she's twelve, she can't be out there on her own!" Carol cried out quietly, "You didn't find anything?"
"I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." Lori put an arm around Carol's shoulders, trying to calm the woman. "And we tracked her for a while." Daryl was even showing more emotion then he had done before, at least, that Laura had ever seen.
"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better then anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick looked at Carol with such guilt and sympathy, but Carol was looking at Daryl's pant legs.
"Is that... Is that blood?" Daryl looked down, he'd forgotten about it and it only served to worry Carol more.
"We took down a walker." Rick explained, but it only made things worse. Carol sat on the railing, trying to catch her breath. "There was no sign it was anywhere near Sophia."
"How can you know that?" Andrea was doubtful.
Rick and Daryl shared a look, "Cut the sum'bitch open. Made sure."
Carol was trying to take deep breaths now, trying desperately to calm her nerves. Lori sat next to her, but was at a loss for words. "How could you just... leave her out there to begin with. How could you just leave her?"
She was in such pain that made Laura step back and hide behind Daryl, "Those two walkers were on us, I-I had to draw them off. It was her best chance." Shane was at Rick's side, "Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol."
"How's she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child." Carol cried as Rick kneeled down in front of her, "She's just a child."
"It was my only option," Rick reasoned, "The only choice I could make." Shane leaned on the rail, he rested a hand on Rick's shoulder. "I'm sure nobody doubts that."
Carol was a mother experiencing pain Laura couldn't imagine and didn't want to. "My little girl got left in the woods..." Lori wrapped her arms around Carol and held her close.
Laura clung to Daryl for dear life, she wasn't about to let go. She was more terrified of the pain radiating off Carol then she ever was of being bitten or shot by survivors. She never had a mother, she didn't know what to do or how she should act and instead of trying to comfort the woman, she resorted to a child-like state and used Daryl as her shield.
He lead her away, both of them stepping over the rail and making their way back to Daryl's bike. He grabbed a few things and checked around, there was a very, very large pickup that had its' bed a few feet off the ground. It would work against the undead for the night.
Daryl tossed the blankets in, it was thankfully rather close to the other cars and had a clear view of the area around them.
"Ya need sleep." He popped open the truck bed. She just shook her head, "Part of being one of the undead, Daryl. I never sleep." She ran her hand absently along the edge of the truck.
He nodded, "I need sleep." He stepped into the truck and Laura didn't want to be anywhere without her shield. So she got in and he shut the back of the truck. He laid down on the quilts, one of them covering him from the cold night.
Laura glanced around nervously and scooted down, he watched her carefully, like the wrong move would set her off. She just slinked into the makeshift sleeping area with him.
"Thought ya' didn't sleep." They were facing each other. He had his eyes closed though.
"Don't want to be alone." She moved closer to him, her usually cold body feeding off his warmth. He cracked an eye open when she finally reached his side. It wasn't awkward, but it was new and strange to them both, neither really knew how to deal with it.
So Daryl put his arm under her head to use as a pillow as he laid on his back while she put her arm around him, his other arm came up over hers and held her arm in place. "Never had a mother. Don't know what to do with one."
He was looking at her now, "Abandoned me and my father when I was four. After a few years spent alone with my father, I sometimes wished she'd come home and take me away to a better place. I mean, my father wasn't that bad, but he... he wasn't a good dad. I would get in the way of his work sometimes and he'd lock me up, somewhere, in the house to keep me away and wouldn't allow me food. Sometimes for days. When I got particularly annoyin', he would smack me around."
Daryl's grip on her forearm tightened, but not uncomfortably so and he grew tense. "He would whip me with a belt sometimes, like a parent would spank an unruly child, but the way he did it, the force he'd do it with... I don't know, some days I think he'd just call it a spankin' so that when I went to school no one would ask questions. Of course, I never said anythin', so I guess it was a little bit of my fault."
"Ain't your fault." Daryl growled, she could tell it wasn't directed at her though. "Bastard shouldn't have laid hands on ya' like that."
"It got worse over time though, he got older and things kept getting worse." She huffed, "When I finally moved out, I didn't know how to handle myself around people. So I just shunned them and they shunned me back. When I got bit..." Laura noted Daryl set his jaw at that. "I thought, 'This is it, this is how I die.' I was ready for it though, you only saw Jim for a few minutes when we left him on the tree. You don't know what it feels like. It hurts so bad I can't describe it."
"Don't need to." His hand was gentler with her arm now.
"Yeah, when I finally felt my life just startin' to... slip away. It felt like such a relief, I felt so happy that I could finally die and not have to deal with the pain anymore." Her eyes rolled shut, "Then I woke up, two months later, strapped to a table a metal bar kept my head down. There was my father, he had brought me back from the dead. I didn't remember much then, I couldn't even remember how to read. Over time, I got everything back, my brain startin' workin' again. All I could feel was pain. I was suffering, I was starvin'."
"Like a walker?" He questioned, this was after all what he had been asking about earlier when he tried to bring up her appearance in the woods or her glowing eyes at the CDC.
"It lasted a long while, but then it was just plain hunger. Like a normal person hunger... The tests, the experiments... I couldn't take it. It was just more pain. I felt like someone was playin' a cruel joke on me. Every time I turned a new leaf, it always got worse." She patted her stomach with her free hand, "All I could think about was gettin' outta' there. After days, I don't know how long, I did. The house was overrun and we both ran for it. We rode together for a little while, then he told me what he was goin' to do with me. I couldn't... I wouldn't go back an' face that again. So I fought him off and discovered that walkers don't much care for me. He escaped them and I escaped with them."
Daryl looked at her straight, "Ain't nothin' goin' to happen to you again. Ya hear me?" She nodded. "No one should lay hands on their daughter like that, ever an' I ain't about to let it happen again. If he's out there, he ain't gettin' his hands on you."
She smiled, "That actually makes me feel better." He huffed, "It should, was meant to."
Laura chuckled, "When did you get so... nice?"
He looked at her strangely, "I ain't nice." She shook her head, "Well, you're bein' nice. You seemed to have tolerated me better then anyone else from early on. When we went huntin' you were nice then too, tellin' me you wouldn't say nothin'. At the CDC you were..." She grinned, drunk Daryl made the most humorous slip ups, "You were different nice. You've always been nice to me an' I don't know why."
"What the hell is different nice?" He pursued, his brow furrowed. There was a possibility that he didn't remember, he was drunk after all.
Laura chose to drag this one out, "Well, after dinner and my shower, you came into my room..." He was expertly focused now. "And I sat you on the couch because you were so drunk." He was urging her to continue just by that burning look in his eyes. "And you told me..." His fingers were twitching on her arm. "You said you thought I was pretty."
Daryl didn't think too much about that, drunk stupor, that's all.
"Then," He inwardly groaned, there was more. "When I asked you why you told me that. You said you liked me."
He swore he could hear a pin drop from miles away at this point. Laura just stared back at him, the two of them didn't say a word and Laura wanted him to speak first anyways. On this, she wanted more answers.
She liked Daryl, a good deal. He was very considerate and would kill anyone who told him that, but when it came to Laura... She knew he acted different, like he was more accepting of her presence. Like right now, would Daryl let anyone else scoot up to him like this? He'd probably stab them and yet here she was, her arm around him, using his for a pillow.
He drew in a deep breath and blinked, she could see him clearly. It was getting dark out but she could see him like it was midday. "Girl, I do like ya'."
"I figured that part out." She smiled, Laura wanted to hear him say it, or something anyways.
Daryl looked at her weirdly. "I do like ya'. Did... anythin'..." He cleared his throat, "Happen?"
She shook her head and that deep breath came right back out. "Why? Worried I might bite you?" She was actually worried, she still looked like a walker... Perhaps that put him off? Of course it would. Laura almost smacked herself, he was probably worried she'd eat him or something equally walker-esque.
He was looking at her dead on, he could just barely make out her worried face in what was left of the light. Frozen solid, he glanced between her and her arm around him.
In a swift motion, he had leaned forward and their lips met. She was surprised at first, but he wasn't the kind to beat around the bush, he just needed a hint in the right direction and he took it.
Laura was still at first and he was beginning to think she didn't like it, but she reacted right after her head screwed itself back on straight and she kissed him back, the arm that was wrapped around him now held his neck. His hand rested on the back of her head, pulling her in closer.
The kiss was calm, but not because they were. It was a moment for them both to hold themselves back and respecting the other, while still making their feelings known. Laura admittedly was new and hadn't the faintest how to progress at this part.
Eventually, they broke off. He smirked, "No bites."
She was smiling wildly, "Told you so." He leaned back again, he was tired and she felt a little bad for keeping him up, but she couldn't feel sorry over the fact that they had just kissed.
He likes me... Like that? Laura couldn't stop grinning like a monkey, Micheal was nice and she had liked him a little, but he was still scared about her walker past. Daryl knew and he still kissed her.
She couldn't believe it.
All it took was the zombie apocalypse for her to get a man.