A Broken World

Twenty-Two

The Farm

When we got back to the highway, Dale had all kinds of questions. He asked Andrea if she was okay, and she just walked right past him. After the CDC incident, he took her gun, and she still didn't forgive him for that or for forcing her to leave the CDC before it blew. Glenn tried to explain to him what had happened but couldn't tell him much, seeing as we didn't know anything. After discussing everything, it was decided that Glenn would take Carol's car and get T-Dog to the farm the women had mentioned before riding off with Lori.

Carol didn't want to leave in case Sophia found her way back, Dale didn't want to leave the RV, Andrea decided to stay with Carol, and Daryl decided he would stay too. That left me. “I'm gonna stay,” I said. We said goodbye to Glenn and T-Dog, telling them that we would see them tomorrow morning, and watched them turn around, and drive the opposite direction.

Once they were out of sight, Carol went back to standing near the guardrail and looked into the woods. Andrea stormed back into the RV and slammed the door shut when Dale asked her if she was alright after Glenn told him what happened. The sun was starting to go down, and night would be coming in a couple of hours. “I'm just gonna look around to make sure there aren't any walkers stumbling around close by.” I turned from the group avoiding Carol's cold and heartbroken gaze.

I wish there was more I could do. And that is exactly why when I was far enough away from the others, I slipped back into the woods. Should I be in the woods alone while it's nearing night? Probably not. But I was trying to put myself in the shoes of a mother whose child has gone missing. I would never know what exactly it feels like, but I imagined that Carol was going through several emotions. She was scared, stressed, maybe even angry at herself for not being with her daughter when it happened.

I know if I were in her situation, I would be full of anxiety, and I would blame myself more than I would blame anyone else. I understand why she's putting the blame on Rick. He was the one that went after her and he didn't come back with her. He left on her own. And I know Carol understands why he made the decisions he did. I understand why she turned to me. I'm a detective…was a detective. I used to hunt down people; it was my job to find the clues others missed.

I find myself back where Rick said he left Sophia while he led a couple walkers away. The tracks were faint, but they were still there. I followed them, where they split off in the opposite direction of the highway. “Why did you go the wrong way?” I knelt down to look closer at the tracks, but I couldn't see any other sign of what might have happened. I didn't see any other footprints besides Sophia's and the ones from us. there wasn't any indication that there were any walkers that scared her in this direction.

I continued following the path Daryl, Rick, and I took until I came to the walker they had killed and gutted. “Sophia!” I walked past the walker and back onto a path, keeping an eye out for anything out of place. The forest was getting darker as the sky lost its light. I should have turned back and went back to the RV, but I didn't…I kept going deeper into the woods.

Eventually, night had completely settled over us, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, the moon shining through the treetops in spots gave some light but not much. I stood in the middle of the forest, spinning in a slow circle. At some point, I had gone off the path without realizing it. I had no sense of direction in the dark and in a place I wasn't familiar with. I was an okay track, but I wasn't as good as Daryl, nowhere near as good as him. I was far away from the highway…nobody would hear me if I called out for them. I was lost and alone.

Daryl

I watch yn go off on her own down the highway. Having her around again was awkward and brought feelings back to the surface that I would rather keep hidden. I turned away for a second to pull out a cigarette and light it when I looked back she was gone. I stay looking in that direction the whole time I smoke the cigarette and a good ten minutes after before going into the RV.

Dale was on top of the RV keeping watch, Andrea was sitting at the table reloading all the magazines for the guns, and Carol was in the back, laying down and crying softly. I let out a deep sigh and lay down on the floor between the kitchen and table. I used my pack wasẃèas a pillow and threw my arm over my eyes, closing them and trying to get some shut eye. I laid there for twenty minutes trying and failing to go to sleep. I couldn't block out Carol's soft cries, and I couldn't stop thinking about yn.

What was she doing? Did she come back yet? Was she up on the roof with Dale? What if something happened? I had this gut feeling she was in trouble. I sat up, looked at Carol for a brief second, and stood up, took a full magazine from Andrea, and went outside. “You see yn at all?” I asked Dale, looking up at him. He looked down at me and shook his head. “No, I've been keeping an eye out for her, but I have seen her. As a matter-of-fact, I don't even see her on the highway.”

I didn't want to give a shit. Why should I? She made Merle a suspect in some fucking murder he had no part in. Then had him arrested and put away for three years. She fucking left without saying goodbye. I hated the feelings she made me feel. Shouldn't be feeling shit for her. She's younger than me and deserved better than a piece of shit redneck. But my gut tightened at the thought of her out there alone in the dark. Dumb bitch probably went looking for that little girl and got herself lost. “Fuckin’ christ. I'll go find her. Last thing we need is for someone else gettin’ lost.”