Down by the water • TWD

Alone.

Avery didn't know how long she lay there. Sprawled out across the tent door. She felt the dirt seeping through her thin t-shirt. Her "I love dogs" t-shirt, is her favorite t-shirt. She didn't know what happened. She did know she was now alone though. She was stranded by herself, with no food, no water, no dad.

As she traveled deeper into the woods she couldn't help but question if she was better off this way. She sort of felt free, like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

No, she can't think like that. That's her dad.

Right?

She walked for hours and hours. She didn't want to stop until she at least found somewhere she felt safe. She didn't end up taking the test because she couldn't figure out how to disassemble it. Or maybe she just got too frustrated, like she always did. 

She found a creek through a small opening in the trees. She immediately ran as fast as she could toward the water source. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a sip of water or anything to drink at all. She didn't care if she got sick, she was so thirsty. 

She sat down by the water using her arms to tuck her knees to her chest. She was humming a song she remembered her mom used to sing to her. She tried to harmonize with the sound of the water rushing down the land. She reached for her bag in search of something that would keep her busy. After it felt like she had been searching for 5 minutes she finally found it. Her ultimate encyclopedia of dog breeds. Avery adored dogs more than anything in this shitty world. She loved how loyal they were, how soft their fur was against her small fingers, and how their tails wagged when they got happy or excited. Everything about them fascinated her to no end. She's read the encyclopedia maybe 10 times already. That didn't stop her from rereading it learning a new thing about her favorite breeds almost every day. She flipped open to her favorite page.

German Shepherds.

Avery's favorite dog breed.

Avery loved German Shepherds the most. She loved all the colors they could be born as, how smart they were, how their ears stayed up straight, and most of all how big they were. She has always wanted a dog of her own but her dad-

Not Dad anymore.

Luke.

Luke thinks they're useless and don't provide anything. Avery always thought he was stupid for thinking such a thing. Dogs are perfect. She moved her eyes to her stuffed animal planted by her feet. She remember when her uncle gave her that for her 5th birthday. She's been obsessed with dogs ever since. She often wondered where he was now, she'd always wanted to thank him again for encouraging her to learn about something so awesome. She began to flip fastly through the rest of the pages to find a certain dog.

Rottweiler.

Her mom's favorite.

Oh, how she missed her mom.

That's when she heard a twig snap.

*Crack* Her head jolted to the end of the creek where the sound came from. The man was standing, well Avery wouldn't describe it as standing, more wobbling. He had blood seeping through his shirt and wait were those ears around his neck? Avery couldn't tell from this far. 

"Sophia?"

Whos Sophia?

Avery was scared. She was scared he was going to hurt her. So she did the one thing she knew how to do well.

Run.

Daryl thought he was hallucinating again. He thought this little girl was just another hallucination like Merle was. He thought he was crazy. So he cleaned himself up by the edge of the creek not noticing the dog stuffed animal to the right of him. Little did he know Avery stood in the woods watching him, praying he wouldn't take her stuffed animal. He stood up ready to head back to the farm. She ducked her head behind the tree hoping he didn't see her. Her heart was beating uncontrollably fast.

Daryl continued on his way only to be interrupted by him stepping on something. He looked down to see Avery's dog stuffed animal. His eyebrows furrowed but then it clicked.

Sophia.

This could be Sophia's.

"Fuck" Avery whisper shouted. He's walking off with the only thing she has from before.