A New Beginning (Carl Grimes Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Danielle's POV

We sit in the RV and talk for hours, Carl and I. It's sunset. As much fun as this is, and it is fun, I can't stop thinking about Sophia. She's been alone in the woods all day, by herself, without a weapon. I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Looking through the window, I can see that Carol still hasn't moved from her spot. She hasn't stopped staring into the woods, as if Sophia will pop out at any moment. People from the group keep going up to her, trying to console her, but it isn't working. She won't take her eyes off of the spot where Sophia ran into the woods, hours ago. She must be really worried. I really hope Daryl and Rick bring Sophia back soon. I don't feel safe out here on the highway, especially after seeing that herd pass by.

Rick and Daryl return just as it is getting dark. Sophia isn't with them. "You didn't find her?" Asks Carol, close to tears. She already knows the answer.

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light" Rick tells her. He looks exhausted.

"You can't leave my daughter out there, to spend a night alone in the woods!" Carol exclaims.

"Out in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost." Daryl says. He seems to really care about finding this girl, even if he doesn't know her. Daryl is such a good guy.

"But she's 12! She can't be out there on her own! You didn't find anything?" Carol is very close to crying at this point. Sophia is a whole year younger than I am. And if I was alone on the woods for a night, even before everything happened, I would be really freaked out.

"I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." Rick said, trying to calm her down.

"And we tracked her for a while." Daryl adds.

"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick says.

"Is that blood?!" Carol says, noticing the blood that Daryl is covered in.

"We took down a walker." Rick says nonchalantly.

"Walker? Oh my god." Carol looks freaked out. I know she's worried, but what did she expect? The world is full of walkers these days.

"There was no sign that it was ever anywhere near Sophia" Rick assured her.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asks. I can only think of one way. And it's not really something I wanna think about.

"We cut that son of a bitch open, made sure." Daryl says. He and Rick both look super uncomfortable. I can imagine why.

"Oh God." Carol sits down, Lori walks over to her and tries to comfort her. "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?" She sobs. Carol's sadness and anxiety quickly turn to anger directed at Rick. I know she's worried, but I don't think it's Rick's fault. He's the only one who actually followed Sophia into the woods.

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw them off. It was her best chance." I can tell Rick feels guilty, even if it isn't his fault that Sophia got lost.

"Sounds like he didn't really have a choice, Carol." Shane says, defending Rick.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child!" Carol is crying again.

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make." Rick looks torn. I wonder if he ever had to deal with this, back when he was a cop.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane says. I can never tell if Shane is being sincere or not.

"My little girl got left in the woods." Carol says, tears threatening to spill out. I'm hugging Carl, tears in my own eyes. He hugs me back and I bury my face in his shirt. I decide that I like hugging him. He's warm, and very strong for a thirteen year old. Carl and I head back to the car we had been in driving in earlier so we can sleep. We sprawl out on opposite sides of the backseat. It's not so crowded now that Sophia and Carol aren't in here with us. Rick and Lori don't come back to the car, I assume they are either on watch or comforting Carol. It takes me a long time to fall asleep. I can only imagine where Sophia is.

***SOPHIA'S POV

I can't find the highway. Rick told me exactly how to get back. Keep the sun on your left shoulder, don't get lost. I'm pretty sure I had been heading in the right direction. That is, until I heard a moan. It was a walker moan, and I turned quickly, trying to locate the sound, but I couldn't see any walkers. I ran away from where I thought the noise was coming from. I kept running until it was nearly dark outside. Then I remembered I wasn't supposed to get lost. I try to make my way to the highway, but I don't remember which way to go. There isn't enough sun left to know which way it is. I keep walking aimlessly, until I come across a little cabin.

I looked through a window, but I couldn't see anything. It was either dark inside, or there were curtains blocking light from escaping. I went around to the front of the cabin. I tried the door, and to my Suprise, it opened without a sound. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I couldn't see anything at first, but eyes quickly adjusted. I walked through the house, planning to check for walkers, but when I got to the kitchen I changed my mind. I opened all the cabinets and drawers, looking for food. I was starving, I hadn't eaten anything all day. All I found was a can of sardines. I had always hated seafood, but I was hungry enough that even sardines tasted good at the moment. I grabbed a kitchen knife from the sink. There was no other food in the house, so I made my walked through a hallway. I stopped at a door that was most likely a bedroom and pulled it open. Inside were two walkers. They both looked at me and started coming towards me before I even started to run. I was tired from running all day, but I kept going. I was trying to open the door when I felt a burning pain on my neck. I turned to see the walkers right behind me, one of them with fresh blood covering their face. That's when I realized what had happened. That thing had actually bit me. And it was still coming. I took the kitchen knife from my pocket and jammed it into the walker's head. It dropped to the ground. The other one was still coming, but instead of killing it, I ran out of the cabin. I knew I was as good as dead. My neck was on fire, actually my whole body was burning up. The fever, I thought. This is just the beginning.

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So that's chapter eight! I was gonna make it longer, but I have to go to practice. Plus, If I added all the other stuff it would almost be too long.

1. Did you like Sophia's POV? You never find out what really happens to her in the show so I thought I would add her POV here.

2. Do you think I should add more about her family (Cameron and grandma Jill) I want them to be there for her, but at the same time I want it to be mainly about Danielle and Carl.

Let me know what you think! Comment! Vote! Let me know how I'm doing!