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❝ chapter five — joy comethin the morning ❞
– ꥟ –
BIRDIE HAD NEVER BEEN MORE DELIGHTED to see Dale's beat-up old RV than in that moment. Their flashlights illuminated the old vehicle as they emerged from the forest. She waved to the two figures on the roof, clinging to Gen, who had soon become her only means of staying upright. Despite the blonde's protests, the Texan woman's grip remained strong. Daryl had stayed a few steps ahead of them, more silent than the night. He appeared agitated, or disappointed. But he had always been difficult for Birdie to understand. Never enjoying her company, he only ever interacted with her if he needed something from her. But unlike his (likely late) brother Merle, Daryl was never antagonistic towards her. Neither of them had liked her, but at least the younger Dixon didn't enjoy taking jabs at her "little miss sunshine" attitude.
As they had walked up the dirt road back to the highway, Gen had detailed all that Birdie had missed the previous day. While out searching, Carl had been shot, though the why remained unknown. Shane and Rick had taken the boy to a nearby farm, where he was getting the best medical treatment they could manage. A woman from the farm had raced through the forest on horseback to take Lori to her son, leaving the others behind. Earlier that night, Glenn and T-Dog had met up with them to treat a deep cut T-Dog had gotten when hiding from the Walker hoard.
Carol greeted them halfway across the graveyard of vehicles. "Oh, Birdie, you're okay," the woman breathed, wrapping her arms around the blonde. In her relief she had pushed the girl back, forcing her to correct herself with her injured foot. Birdie yelped and Carol withdrew as though her skin had burned her. "What happened? Where — where's Sophia?"
"She's still out there," Birdie explained, forcing herself to watch the tears that gathered in Carol's eyes. "But she's okay, I promise. We got separated a few hours ago. There was a Walker and I hurt my ankle — but she prob'ly went back to the house we found last night. She's got food an' water there. She's gonna be fine."
Daryl came up beside Gen and pulled the little, beat-up doll from his belt. Without a word he turned it over to Carol, offering the mother a minuscule nod of reassurance. Carol managed a smile, clutching the doll to her chest. Birdie watched him for a few moments, then snapped her gaze back to Carol before he could catch her staring
"I — I'm sorry I couldn't bring her back tonight," she murmured. "But I will. First thing tomorrow I'm gonna — "
"No, you're not," Gen cut her off; Birdie whipped her head around in surprise. "You can't even walk, Bird. What makes you think you're in any shape to go out lookin' for Sophia?"
Birdie protested as they made their way back to the RV. "Gen, I — "
"No," the woman shut her down. "In the morning, we're goin' to the farm to meet up with the others, and we'll make a plan to go out there and bring Sophia back. But you can't."
