Never Ending (TWD / Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 6

*Madison's POV*
Many weeks had passed. Daily, a group of survivors would head into the dense woods on the search for Sophia. No new leads had been found. Nothing. We all were beginning to lose hope, all except Carol, who kept herself occupied at all times to ignore the heartbreak.
I wandered over to Daryl's pickup truck where Rick, Shane, T-dog, Andrea, Daryl and Jimmy - The boyfriend of Beth Greene, the other daughter of Hershel along with Maggie. They were all hunched round the bonnet of car, where the map lay, Rick and Shane preparing the search grid with the assistance of Daryl. Daryl greeted me a small smile  when he saw me approaching.
"I could help... With the search, I know this area well, we'd cover more ground that way." Jimmy suggested.
"If we found her... I think it's best she saw a familiar face." Shane stated, backfiring Jimmy's plans. Jimmy sighed. "Besides, you'll be useless unless you start training with a gun." Shane continued.
"You can always come to fire practice with me and uh...T-dog later." Andrea offered, T-dog nodded. "Thanks." Jimmy simply replied, giving her a smile.
"I'll set out on horseback later, I'll get a better view of things from the ridge." Daryl stated, the others nodded and the group dispersed.
We gathered round the small wooded area where we had temporally set up camp, the others were telling stories of when the dead weren't walking around.
"Maybe today's the day, you'll see your chupacabra, Daryl." T-dog chuckled, the others scoffed, while Daryl's face lit up.
"What?" Rick shrugged, confused.
"Daryl reckoned he saw a chupacabra while out hunting once." Dale sighed, wiping tears from his eyes.
"You believe in a bloodsucking dog?" Rick scoffed. "Do you believe in dead people walking around?" Daryl swiftly shot back.
Daryl stormed off heading to the stables, clearly embarrassed.
The group carried on chuckling to themselves, I exhaled deeply, clambering on top of the RV to keep watch.
Daryl galloped past, heading off into the woods.
"No... No!" Maggie exclaimed, jumping up.
"What's wrong?" Glenn questioned, standing alongside her.
"Your friend... He took nervous Nellie, he won't last one minute on her before she bucks him off, hints in the name." Maggie revealed, running a hand through her tight bob. I sucked in some air.
Typical Daryl Dixon.
I sighed.

*Daryl's POV*
Who needs them? Any of 'em. They're all the same. Laughing at me... I'll show 'em, show 'em all. Even Madison. I mean... Except Madison... I mean... 
I cantered deeper into the dense vegetation of the woods, edging nearer to the ridge. I took a hand off the reigns to wipe the beads of sweat that lined the lines on my forehead. I pulled the young mare to a halt as I know overlooked the ridge, the creek now below. I clambered down off the saddle, a few rocks piling over the edge as my feet touched the ground. I scanned the creek, a small object catching my eye in the shallow water. A torn up doll. Sophia's doll.
"Sophia!" I called. Silence, apart from the lone call of a bird. "Sophia!" I shouted. Silence erupted around me. I gradually climbed down the ridge, being careful with my footing to reach the water sodden doll the lay at the of the creek.
I jumped to the bed of the creek, swiftly snatching the doll from the waters' edge, examining it closely, looking for any clues, anything at all that could lead myself to Sophia. No blood, no marks, nothing. Just a mud caked, tattered and sodden doll. I sighed in annoyance, kicking a few rocks that covered the earth of the creek, scuffing the toes of my shoes furthermore. I grabbed onto any tree roots sticking out of the ridge I could find, helping me on my ascent up. I slipped, having to start the climb again. This time I stuffed Sophia's doll into my pocket, freeing both my hands for the climb. Slowly, yet surely I reached the top of the ridge. I untied the mare, clambering up on top of the saddle. I grappled onto the reigns, opening the saddle bags while I had the horse under control. A hissing pierced my ears alerting my attention to the long grass beneath me. A small cobra emerged through the grass, before I could even retaliate the made bucked, throwing me over the ridge, as she darted away into the distance.