Don't look back

Twenty four

Mary spent that night sleeping in the ditch, her knife in one hand. In the morning, she got up, and began to walk in what she hoped was the right direction, but she was four, hungry, tired, and scared.
"Come here," she said happily, seeing a rabbit, "come on!" She ordered, but it ran away. "If Rick was here, you'd come." Mary cried softly. "It's dinner time. I'm hungry." She sobbed, sitting on the grass. "I'm cold." She whispered. Then she thought about what Rick would say. "Okay. Zip up my coat. Try to find some food." Mary nodded slowly.
She got up, and zipped up her coat, then carried on walking. "Find water. Find food." She mumbled, then she kept repeating the two short sentences, until the mud beneath her boots began to squelch. Her eyes lit up, and she ran further, until the got to a small river. She bent down, and cupped her hands, drinking the water greedily, not caring that it hadn't been boiled.
Then Mary got up, and looked around, trying to find food. It was hard, she knew that it was winter. She remembered her birthday, a few weeks before the outbreak, and her birthday was in September, so she figured it was maybe October. She looked around, searching the bushes, and found some grapes, which she ate quickly. They weren't as nice as they would have been earlier on in the year, but they were edible.
Afterwards, she carried on walking, seeing the sun set, and didn't stop until she tripped over some cans on a string.
"Hey! That's a Z!" A voice shouted.
"I'm right here, don't shout. I'll get it." Another person sighed, walking over. "Oh, it's a kid one. Shit." The person - a man - said with a sigh. Suddenly, Mary pulled her head up.
"Not dead." She sobbed heavily.
"Oh shit. Come on. Get up kid. It's alright. I won't hurt ya." The man said, holding out his hand to Mary. She got up, but didn't take his hand.
"Mick! It's a little girl." The man sighed, pulling a hand through his hair as Mary stood there sobbing. Another man, a younger one, came over, and stared at Mary too. Slowly, she pulled out her knife.
"Hey. It's... Give us your knife, kid." The younger man, Mick, said suddenly. Mary dropped it, then punched Mick in the stomach, then kicked him behind the knees, and as he fell, she kicked him in the ribs, then ran.
"Hey," the other man chuckled softly, picking her up as she ran, "come on now. Don't you run, and don't you hit. We're helping ya. Okay?"
Mary nodded slowly, and the man put him down. "Okay. Mick, get the hell up. You're fine. Come on." He said gently. Mick got up, and the three of them walked into the middle of the men's tiny camp. Mary sat down on some logs, as instructed, and the men sat in front of her.
"Right. I'm Rob. That's my son, Mick. Now, what's your name?" The man said firmly. Mary looked at the older man, and saw that his face was lined with age, his hair grey, and noticed that Mick was probably a few years younger than Glenn.
"Mary." The girl mumbled shakily.
"Mary. Right. Mary, where's your momma? Your daddy?" He asked.
"In the house."
"They tell ya to do that?" Mick asked, almost embarrassed that the four year old had managed to knock him over.
"Tummy, knee, ribs, run." Mary recited.
"How old are you?" Rob asked in disbelief.
"Four."
"You're one cool four year old." He laughed back.
"I'm gonna go." Mary decided, getting up.
"Hey. No way. We'll help find your parents, but let's get some food." Rob nodded slowly. He walked over to a little fire, and gave Mary a stick with some meat on it. She ate it quickly, then drank some water that Mick gave her.
"Okay. You're in a house?"
"Yeah."
"What's it look like?" Mick sighed.
"It's big. With a swing. And a fence. And the woods." Mary described slowly.
"I think I know what's street she's on about." Mick nodded slowly. "You was walking in the opposite direction."
"I want my daddy." Mary mumbled. Then she looked Rob in the eye. "I want my daddy!"
"We'll find him. Okay? Now, it's late, so we'll look for him tomorrow. Let's get some sleep now." Rob said firmly.
Mary walked over and sat by some trees. Then she waited until the men were asleep, grabbed some protein bars, and she ran again. This time, she stepped over the trip wire. And she walked aimlessly until the sun rose.

Mary slept through half of the day in the bushes by the river she found, and woke up just a little after midday, she decided, as the sun was half way up the sky.
"Daddy!" Mary shouted, hoping that maybe he was nearby. He wasn't. So she drank some water, ate a protein bar, then carried on walking, taking several breaks, until she saw the sky begin to turn pink. Her feet were blistered, and her legs and arms were covered in scratches from thorns and from stumbling over, as she often did.
Then the rain began, and she sat down, and sobbed. She heard a snarling, but she didn't want to look up. She was just so tired. So tired.
"Walker." Mary whispered suddenly, and she lifted her head up, and saw the Walker. A child. Then she remembered what Carl had said, back on the farm. It seemed like years ago.
He said it was kind to kill them.
So Mary got up, and strode over to the Walker, and quickly stabbed it in it's head. It was a girl. Maybe her own age.
"I'm sorry you died. You can play with Sophia now though." Mary whispered. Then she carried on walking. And as the night fell, she climbed up a tree, and slept there, exhausted from the days events.
Mary woke up the next morning, and plucked an apple from the tree she was sat in, and ate it, throwing the core to the ground. Then she went back to sleep, her body weak and tired.
When she woke again, she got down from the tree, and walked ahead, wanting to find better shelter. She walked until she found a tiny cave, and she slid inside it.
Then she slept for a long time.