A Broken World

Twenty-Four

It's been a couple days since we showed up at the farm. Carl was doing a little better than he had been. Rick was now free to organize a search party for Sophia. He had given Carl three transfusions of blood since he was a match. Some of us had gone out into the woods after the memorial we had for Otis. Maggie, Hershel's eldest daughter brought us a map of the property and the surrounding area. Daryl had found an old farmhouse, but didn't find anyone in it. He did, however, find a small closet with blankets and pillows. He said it was only big enough for a child to skip into and it looked like someone had been there fairly recently.

Daryl posted towards the map, “I'm going to barrow a horse and ride along here. Chances are she'll be by the water. It's her only landmark.” Rick nodded, “Alright. Take yn with you.” Daryl and I looked at him in confusion. “I don't need her slowin’ me down. I'm better off on my own.” Ouch. “You two are the best trackers we got. I want you to stick together and look together.” Rick gave no room for argument. Daryl trudged off towards the stables with a huff and I gave Rick a look. “Don't look at me like that. I don't know what's going on between you two but you need to put it aside.”

I rolled my eyes and followed after Daryl. I found him in the stable saddling one of the horses. “Do you even know how to ride a horse?” I asked. I got no answer though which isn't anything new. “Right.” When he was done he got up onto the horse and reached a hand out. “Ya comin’ or what?” He grumbled. Without taking his hand I hopped up onto the horse behind him. I placed my hands lightly on his waist to keep myself steady when the horse galloped out of the barn, across the field, and into the woods. I could feel how tense Daryl was under my fingertips.

We went back to the house that he had found the other day and got off. Daryl tied the horse to a tree branch, making sure she could get herself free if walkers came stumbling towards her. “This the farmhouse you were talking about?” I asked. He answered me with a grunt and I held back the urge to roll my eyes. It was like trying to talk to a damn caveman. Each grunt meant different things and it was your job to understand what each grunt meant. Luckily for me I spoke caveman Daryl.

“Right…can you show me that cupboard found?” Another grunt was my answer and he walked towards the door. We did a quick sweep before he took me to the kitchen. The was a small cupboard that was meant to be a pantry from I'm assuming. It had four shelves and under the last one was a small space just big enough for a small child like Sophia to squeeze into. “Found a can of sardines in the trash too. It smelled fresh so I had to have been open that day at some point.”

I stood up and looked around the kitchen. Behind where Daryl was, there was an archway that led to a mudroom and a back door. I stepped around him, walked into the small space, and out the backdoor. “She could have heard you coming and got spooked. Might have not realized it was one of us. If she fled, she would have gone out this door and back into the woods,” I said. Daryl was standing beside me in the yard out back of the house. “The creek ain't far from here. She might have gone that way or came from that way. It's the only landmark she got.”

We headed back around front, mounted the horse, and headed for the creek. We followed a well traveled foot trail that looked down over an embankment. At the bottom of it was the creek. Daryl slowly walked the horse along the trail, looking out for any signs of Sophia. I was looking down at The creek bed when I spotted something in the shallow water. “Hold up, what Is that?” I asked, pointing down to the object.

Daryl stopped and we dismounted. “Stay here, I'm goin’ down to see what it is.” I took the reins from him and watched as he slowly descended the embankment. At the bottom he walked through the water and picked something up. “Hey! that little girl had a doll, right?” He hollered up to me. He held a little doll up that wore a pink dress. “That's hers! That's Sophia's doll!” I called down to him.

We found something! That had to mean she wasn't too far from here, right? Even though after forty-eight hours you're usually looking for a body. But that isn't always the case either. There is still a chance, and finding Sophia's doll, and that small cupboard in the farmhouse gives me hope that we'll find her. Daryl walked back up to the trail and handed me the doll. “Yeah, it's hers,” I confirmed. He looked around us, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Sophia!”

“Come on, we'll go back and tell Rick. The more people we have out here the better,” I told him. He hummed, “Look around this area for a little first then we’ll head back.” He mounted the horse and before I could get up behind him she got spooked, bucking Daryl off. “Daryl!” I yelled, watching him get thrown and roll down the embankment into the creek below. “Oh, my god!” I quickly made my way to the edge and started to ease myself down, holding onto the roots of trees, to help keep myself from falling.

Halfway down I lost my footing and skidded the rest of the way down, falling and rolling towards the bottom. My head smacked into a rock sending sparks of pain through my skull. “Fuck!” I blinked several times trying to clear the black spots obscuring my vision. Rolling over onto my hands and knees I made my way to Daryl. “Daryl!” I rolled him over and pulled him out of the water. His eyes blinked open and a groan of pain left his lips. “Oh, my god, are you okay?” I helped him stand up and when he did I gasped. “Shit, Daryl.” He hummed and looked around us searching for a crossbow. The only bolt he had left was now pierced through his side.