Unexpected (A Daryl Dixon Fanfiction)

23 - Sophia

I didn't stick around camp much longer. The tension in the group was growing and the pipe was soon to burst and I didn't want to be around it. I left the camp as soon as Daryl walked away from me. The night would soon come and I only had a short window to find Sophia. I don't know why I couldn't give up, but the thought of not knowing was eating me alive.

I ran North, looking for any sign of a little girl. Something sparkled from the ground and caught my eye. A necklace? I picked it up it had a small 'S' on it. Sophia where are you? I continued to run in the direction I found the necklace. From the look of it, it had to have been ripped off her neck. After 30 miles I came across a farm. I pulled out a silenced pistol and held my knife under it.

The farm was surrounded by dead cattle, meaning walkers must have came through here. I kneeled down to one of the carcasses and noticed the blood was dry. These corpses have been here for a while. I looked on the ground and notice walker bodies as well. Some of them looked fresh and some of them weren't walkers. I walked closer to the house and there weren't any walker bodies near it. Someone killed these walkers before they got here. I walked towards the door and tried to open it. Locked.

I turned to the window and easily slid it open. Someone must be inside, but they aren't very smart if they didn't lock or board up the windows. I slid through the window, looking around the house. Maybe the door was locked, before anything outside even happened. The wood creaked under my weight, scanning for anything, living or not.

I flinched in the direction of the kitchen as a loud thud came from it. I turned the corner slowly. Standing on the counter searching through the cabinets was a small child with dirty grey hair and even dirtier and bloodier clothes.

"Sophia?" I called quietly.

She gasped as she turned around and held her back to the cabinet.

"A-Aaron?"

I placed my gun and knife in the holster and ran up to her with my arms out reached and she jumped in them. I fell to my knees as I held on to her tightly. She started crying in my arms. I pulled away to search her body for any bite marks or scratches. Surprisingly nothing.

"How? How did you survive this long?" I asked her.

She held out a small 7 inch machete that was perfect for a child to protect herself.

"I found this in the woods by someone's camp, after the day Mr. Rick told me to hide."

"Why didn't you head back to the highway?"

"I couldn't find my way back. Mr. Rick told me to keep the sun on my left shoulder, but I heard more growling and footsteps and went another way."

"We've been looking for you for so long... Are you ready to go back to your mom?"

She nodded, "Yes please."

~

Sophia and I walked back to the farm with only a few walkers in our way. We were coming in behind the farm and could hear gunshots ringing through the air.

"What's going on?" She asked, holding on to my pants leg. With the skinny jeans, wasn't really much.

"Stay close to me okay?"

We came around the side of the barn slowly to see the doors wide open and a pile of walkers lying on the ground. Almost every member of the group was holding a gun while Hershel and his family were holding each other and crying. Daryl also was holding on to Carol as she was in tears as well. My heart stung for a bit as I watch Daryl hold on to another woman, but in this case I knew it was for a good reason.