Dead Man Walking || RICK GRIMES POV -SLOW UPDATES-

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Refer to Ch. 13, 14, & 15

Following closely behind Daryl and June, Rick tried to see what they were seeing. Sure, he could see slight indentations back at the river mouth, but now, he could hardly see anything. Yet, the pair before him moved easily, their eyes never leaving the ground as it told them all its secrets. Slowly, Daryl and June stopped, crouching to look closely at the ground.

"She was doing just fine till right here." As June brushed away the dirt, Daryl muttered, "All she had to do was keep going."

"She went the opposite direction." She sighed, a distressed look on her face. Rick knew exactly how she felt. He knew that one of them should've stayed back and ensured Sophia would've made it back alright, but in the heat of the moment, they acted without properly thinking the situation through.

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked, taking a step forward and patting June on the shoulder.

"Maybe she saw something that spooked her, made her run off," Shane suggested, looking in the direction Daryl and June said she ran off in.

"A walker?" Glenn said, his voice shaking.

"I don't see any other prints." Looking at the ground, June muttered, "Do you, Daryl?"

"Nah." He muttered, scanning the dirt again.

"So, what do we do?" Shane asked, his eyes darting between Rick and June. "All of us press on?" Rick was about to nod when June spoke up, forcing him to redirect his gaze to her.

"No," She said, "Glenn, Shane, and I will head back to the highway. People are going to start panicking if we all stay and look." Rick raised his brows and placed his hands on his hips. Why is she not coming with us?

"You're not going to press on with Daryl and me?" He asked, voicing his thoughts. For the first time since they returned with the group, she looked at him and shook her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No." She told him, "Daryl is an expert in tracking, and there's no point in having the two of us here. Shane and I will have people scavenge, maybe think up a few chores."

"Anything to keep them occupied." Shane agreed, nodding toward her. Rick pressed his lips together, unsure if he liked the plan, and motioned for her to follow him as he walked away from the men.

He made sure to put some distance between them and the rest of the group before he turned, looking her over. It was easy to see that she was beating herself up. Her usual teasing eyes were downcast, and she had a permanent frown. She refused to meet his eyes, her shoulders slumping as her frown deepened.

"Hey," Rick whispered, placing his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. A frown spread across his lips as their eyes met, "Don't blame yourself."

"I can't help it." She choked out, tears building in her eyes, "I could've stayed behind and taken on two by myself. I didn't need to go running off."

A tear slipped from her eye, prompting Rick to abandon her shoulders and place warm hands on her cheeks. Using his right thumb, he wiped away the fallen tear, his chest quivering slightly as guilt swallowed him wholly.

"Heat of the moment." He said, trying to console both June and himself, "We both did what we thought was best. We'll find her, okay?"

He watched as she merely nodded at him, rapidly blinking and thus, more tears escaping her chocolatey eyes. He hated seeing her cry, so he did what he thought was best and brought her in for a hug, rubbing her tense back in an attempt to soothe her. However, as quickly as he pulled her in, she pulled away, wiping her eyes.