Secrets Untold. (Maggie x fem!reader)

Chapter 2: Sophia

Luck was on our side. We had managed to find a little cabin in the woods just before the sky turned too dark.

The cabin was small. It had a small kitchen, small bathroom, one single bed and a living room. It was decorated with animal heads and fur pelt carpets, so I presume it used to belong to a hunter or redneck, or someone like that.

The heads creeped Sophia out, but there wasn't much I could do about that, shelter was shelter and we were lucky to have found this.

"Will we be safe here?" She asked as she sat on the small couch. I hummed. She watched as I walked around.

I grabbed a nearby chair and jammed it against the entrance, then checked all other windows and doors, closing any curtains on the way around. Everything was locked and closed.

"We'll be safe. Everything is locked. I'll stay up and watch if you want" I smiled at her. Being alone had clearly gotten to her, she is a kid after all. She shook her head.
"Don't you need sleep too?"
I shook my head, then patted hers.
"I'm super strong, I can stay up allll night" I joked as I posed. She gave me a little giggle in response.
"No one can stay up all night!" She laughed.
"I can" I winked.
"Come, you can have the bed."

I walked to the bedroom but didn't hear her steps behind me. I turned to look at her. Her smile had gone and she looked scared.
"Will you be in there?"
"No, I'll keep watch out here don't worry!" I reassured, but it seemed to scare her more.
"I don't want to be alone.."
My gaze softened and I went to sit next to her.
"How about you sleep on the couch then? I'll bring you the blankets and watch over you. I won't leave your side all night." I comforted, squeezing her shoulder. She nodded.

After I had grabbed the blankets and tucked her up on the couch, she soon fell asleep. She must have been exhausted. I combed her hair out of her face then gently stood from the couch, careful not to wake her.

I looked around the cabin for anything useful. Food, clothes, hell I'd even take a comb if I found one. I checked all cupboards and cabinets, draws and wardrobes, not finding many things, but a few useful items.

I found a few cans of food. I had some in my backpack already, but I wouldn't say no to more. A pack of matches and a flashlight. I even found a small medkit which, obviously, I was going to take. The only drinks around were bottled beers, which I'm not against but, I wasn't about to give a kid beer or dehydrate myself any further, so I left them. But the most useful item I had found, was a machete that was hidden under the bed. It was tucked into a sheaf, which would also be useful to carry it.

Once I was done packing my haul into my backpack, and placing my new weapon by my side, I sat beside Sophia again. Careful not to wake her.

I wonder how long she had been alone? She looked rather pale, her lips dry and every now and then I think her stomach rumbled slightly. I'd give her some food and water tomorrow, but for now she needed rest. Who knows how long she'd been running in the woods after all.

I heard a small groan and turned from the window to look at Sophia. She had finally woken up, and it was finally morning. She looked around a bit panicked, till she saw me by the window.
"Morning" She whispered. I nodded.
"I left food and water on the counter for you. When you're done we can look for your group." I answered, getting up and walking with her into the kitchen.

She sat on a stool and started to dig into the canned fruits and gulped down the water. I smiled.
"It's not going anywhere, Sophia. You can slow down" I chuckled. She nodded and slowed down slightly.
"Thank you"
I hummed and sat beside her.
"Any idea where you lost the group?"
She paused eating briefly and and seemed to be in thought.
"A highway. We were on a highway." She scrunched her eyebrows then continued eating.

A highway? That was good. I didn't know these woods, but I did know they were next to a highway leading from Atlanta, that's where I came from after all. I nodded to myself. The highway wasn't too far. Across the creek a ways. At the very least it's to the south east.

Sophia's voice brought me out of my thoughts.
"Do you know where it is?" She asked, finishing her final spoon of fruits. I stood and nodded.
"Yes, it's not too far from here."
She jumped off her stool and grinned.
"So we can find them!?"
I smiled and nodded as I gathered my things.
"Let's go find your mum"

We had been walking in the woods for a while. The highway wasn't too far now. Sophia hadn't let go of my hand the whole trip, scared she'd get lost again. She was very talkative. She told me all about her group on the journey. How there were two cops and a biker man. Her mum and a boy called Carl. There were many in her group, but the more she spoke, the more she seemed to miss them.

I swung our hands as we walked in an attempt to comfort her and it somewhat worked. Then I got an idea.
"How about a game?" I asked.
She smiled and nodded.
"What game?"
I hummed. "I spy?"
"That's for kids!" She groaned. I laughed.
"You are a kid"
"Yeah, but I'm a big kid. Mama said so." She huffed. I nodded in agreement.
"You're right. Only big kids are strong enough to survive on their own"
She smiled and nodded, taking in the compliment.
"What about you?" She asked.
"Me?" I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you a big kid?" I laughed.
"I'm much older than you. I'm a super big kid" I joked.
"How old?" She asked. She appeared curious.
"Twenty" I replied, showing a two on my fingers along with a grin.
"That's not that old! My mama's older than you." She giggled.

We continued to talk as we walked through the woods. I slowly got used to the young girls company and she got used to mine. We became friends in the small amount of time it took to get to the highway. And Sophia became more relaxed.

When we got to the highway it was a graveyard of cars. Naturally the road was long and crowded, but not like it used to be. Finding her group was going to take a while...