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Like A Rag Doll

I sat in the camp with the rest of the group as Carol made us breakfast, her frying pan sizzling over the fire. Daryl had finally moved back into his tent after persuading Hershel and Carl was healing up nicely, the gunshot wound now just a scar on his stomach. But it was difficult to have high spirits when Sophia was still missing.

Carol handed me a plate of eggs and I poked the orange yolk with my fork, preparing to take a mouthful when-

"Um, guys...So, the barns full of walkers." Everyone in the group swivelled their heads to Glenn, taking in the seriousness of his words. The barn wasn't far from where we slept, where we ate. In fact, I could see it from here, the dusty red doors moving in the wind.

"You cannot tell me you're alright with this." Shane questioned Rick as he marched up the barn, his eyes squinting through the crack of the door.

"No, I'm not." Rick cut him off, his voice low to avoid alerting the walkers. "But we're guests here, this isn't our land."

That was not what Shane wanted to hear. He ran his hand over his head in a stressful motion, "this is our lives, man!"

Shane wanted to leave. He didn't think it was safe on the farm with these walkers here, that was a good point. But I wouldn't leave without Sophia, none of us would.

"I'm close to finding this girl, I just found her damn doll a few days ago." Daryl insisted, trying to calm Shane down from his angered rant.

Shane laughed bitterly, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "You found a doll, Daryl. That's what you did, you found a doll."

Daryl and Shane started swinging at each other, deciding it was best to sort out their differences physically. I couldn't tell who was winning but my lips perked up slightly when Daryl landed a blow against Shane's jaw.

"Let's me talk to Hershel about this, let me figure it out." Rick commanded as he broke the two apart, his arms stretched between them.

"What are you gonna figure out?!" Shane yelled in his face, Lori stopping him from getting any closer by planting herself firmly in front of him.

Dale explained that Hershel still saw those things as people who could be cured, they just needed to wait it out. Did the rotting flesh and cannibalism not give it away? I supposed he had never been forced to put on down before, so maybe his judgment was skewed.

All the yelling had alerted the walkers in the barn, making them bang against the door and growl even louder.

Glenn grabbed my arm, nudging me towards the camp. "Come on, it's not safe." He encouraged, watching carefully as I trudged down the bank.

Me and Carl waited by the fire for Lori to return, the frown on my lips displaying my boring for everyone to see. She wanted me to stay in the camp today, meaning I had to skip my lesson with Hershel. It was a shame, too, because he was going to take Daryl's stitches out.

My eyes trailed over to Carl, who had a collection of pebbles in his palm that he chucked into the nearest field. Along the tip of his finger was a line, tony and red with a bubble of blood on it. "What did you do to your finger?" I asked, tossing a dried leaf onto the fire for any form of entertainment. For a split second it fizzled and crackled before disappearing completely.

He brought it up to his face, inspecting the small wound. "It's nothing. Maybe a splinter, I don't know." He shrugged, returning to the pebbles.

I leapt up from my seat and dusted the dirt from my trousers. "Wait here." I went into my tent and got the small first aid kit Hershel had given me, clicking it open with a subtle smile. I rummaged around until my hands stopped on the antiseptic wipe and tweezers, placing them on the table and taking his hand.