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SHE WAS NOT GETTING ANYWHERE. It did not matter how far she dragged her heels, nor how hard she tried to find a foot print to follow - she was at a lose end. Her tracks were dead and buried.
The stubborn woman had been hunting far and wide for Sophia. She'd even trudged through the mud during much of the night, with only a small and bloody blade hanging loosely in her holster. Her small ears would always prick up, when the familiar sound of growling would echo - but it would only be her empty stomach.
Her breath would mist in the air - now that it was morning. It would remind her that, despite her hunger and her tiredness - she was alive. She had to be, to find Sophia. Yet, the girl was no where to be seen. Not even a foot print was left in her stead.
Eventually she had taken a break. She'd caught a squirrel and after she had skinned it, she ate it. She had only made a small fire, to avoid attention. The woods was bound to be full of strangers - dangerous strangers. But, as she had watched the grey smoke leaves the flames, a lightbulb had lit above her head.
She was proud and she was stubborn, but Ophelia knew that she would be unable to locate the highway from where she was. She needed to somehow, send a sign to the group. They needed to know she was alive and somehow, she needed to lead them right to her.
Reluctantly, she tore a piece of her sleeve of off her shirt and wrapped it around a tree. The branch hung low, so it would be noticeable. She repeated this the further she trailed into the woods - at one point she left her book perched near a church.
And as she kept looking for Sophia - for hours on little sleep - she eventually heard a gunshot. And she sincerely hoped that the group, where ever they were, were unharmed and very much alive. Because she did care. Quite a bit.
❦ ❦ ❦
"Why just one gunshot?" Lori had asked. After the group had split in order to look for the two girls, with Shane, Rick and Carl being together - the woman grew concerned one of them may have been hurt.
"Maybe they took down a walker."
"Please don't patronize me." Lori replied. "You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly."
Daryl shrugged. "There's nothin' we can do about it, anyway. Can't run around these woods chasin' echoes."
He saw no point in thinking too much about the gunshot. With two people missing - he wanted to focus on locating them.
"So, what do we do?
"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for the girls, work our way back to the highway." He said, his boots shuffling through the rustling leaves.
Andrea then sighed, approaching a weeping Carol. "I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel."
They grey haired woman offered her a sincere smile in response. "I suppose you do. Thank you. The thought of her, out here by herself... It's the not knowing that's killin' me. I just keep hopin' and prayin' she doesn't wind up like Amy." She then gasped. "Oh, God! That's the worst thing I ever said."
Andrea took no offence. At least, she did not appear to when she had spoken softly, "we're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."
The red neck then scoffed. "I'll tell you what it's worth. Not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna locate them girls and they're gonna be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord."
"I hope you're right." Griffin had sighed, running a hand through his raven curls. After the disappearance of his sister, he'd been consumed with worry. They'd shared a womb together - to be parted in a world of unknown was utterly terrifying.
"He is." Andrea had nodded, then intertwining her fingers within his own. He did not reciprocate it at first, but eventually he did.
Daryl then pushed ahead - the pain and the worry of which was so evident within both Carols and Griffins eyes, only made him feel uneasy. He didn't want to let them down. He wanted to find both Sophia and Ophelia alive, their hearts still beating.
Not because he cared, or so he would tell himself, but because Sophia was little girl. She was a young and innocent child lost in the woods; as once he had been many years ago. He wished, deep down, that his dad or Merle would have bothered looking for him, but they didn't.
Ophelia was looking for Sophia. The child lost in the woods. He appreciated that. He wanted to find them both and be done with it.
After a while, high pitched scream filled the air. Immediately everyone rushed towards Andrea, who had been cornered by a walker. The Dixon had raised his crossbow, but out of nowhere came a woman on a horse - she smashed it with a base ball bat.
"Lori grimes?" The short haired girl had asked.
Lori stepped forwards. "I'm Lori."
"Rick sent me. You've got to come now. There's been an accident. Carl's been shot. He's still alive but you've gotta come now. Rick needs you - Just come!" The girl beckoned, but Daryl began to wave his hands within the air. "Whoa-whoa-whoa! We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse."
The girl was in no mood to hang around. "Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl? Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox, Name's Greene."
Lori then climbed onto the horse, the girl gripping the reigns tightly before yelling, "hi-yah!" Quickly, they then rode of towards the farm on the horse.
And as Daryl shook his head, he sighed, "Come on. Gotta keep lookin'."
