Exhausted {Daryl Dixon Fanfic}

VI. Memories

We stopped more than I would have if I were alone but I won't lie, I enjoyed the company. Even if that company was ten years younger than me and couldn't walk any longer than a couple miles without a break.
Sophia was a quiet girl which was needed when I couldn't be sure what was hiding in the trees around us. The closer we got to the city, the more weary I became. I almost asked her to hold my hand just in case, but as she reminded me every time I called her 'kid', she was twelve not a kid.
However, I did decide to pull out my revolver. I kept it tucked in the waistband of my pants - which, yes I know you're absolutely not supposed to do. But it kept it hidden. My throwing knives were tucked into my boot still, and those were my go-to if an emergency happened.

Which would be sooner than I thought.

We were nearing one of our breaks as I noticed Sophia's feet start to drag and my bat - that I had let her carry since she was "not a kid" - began to follow suit. That's when I heard it. At first I couldn't be sure if the rumble I heard came from down the road or from the trees beside us. My new companion immediately perked up and the bat now rested on her shoulder. Her eyes were looking up at me, wide. I waited a few seconds and was about to assure her that it was probably just an animal when I heard the noise again, followed by a figure abruptly coming through the trees.

It's jaw hung against its decaying chest and what was left of its clothing was ripped to shreds and covered in blood. I didn't know if it was from an animal or a human. Sophia let out a frightened whine and the walker snapped it's only eye towards us. I wanted to gag, but I knew that it wasn't just my life in danger anymore. I let my instincts take over and I pulled Sophia behind me so that my body was shielding hers. I held my hand out behind me and thankfully she responded accordingly and placed the bat into it.

"Stay," I commanded as I crept forward.

Once the walker caught my scent it let out a growl and began to shuffle towards me. The smell was more prominent now than ever. I held my breath as I waited for it to get close enough. It's outstretched hands grabbed blindly at the air between us.

"Come on," I mumbled, "A little closer you dead freak."

Finally, I took my chance. I shoved my boot against the walkers chest as hard as I could. I felt it's ribs crack beneath the force and this time I did gag. The creature staggered back, stunned, but did not fall. I kicked it once again. This time it did the trick. Not only did it's chest collapse underneath the pressure but it fell back onto the ground. Before it had enough time to react I brought my bat down on its face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

What was left of its head was unidentifiable. I pulled a rag from my pocket and made sure to wipe my bat clean of any muck that had stuck to it. I turned around to hand the bat back to Sophia and was met with a tear stricken face. She was sitting on the road a few feet back with her knees pulled to her chest. Tears fell down her cheeks silently. Her eyes were squeezed shut.

Fuck.

I didn't stop to consider that what had just happened wasn't meant to be seen by anyone, much less a kid. Yes, a kid. Whether she admitted it or not.

I took a few steps toward her and she snapped her eyes open. I made sure to stand between her and the rotting corpse. I smiled in hopes to reassure her, but her frightened expression didn't change. I thought for a moment. I never had much experience with kids, so I wasn't sure how to make her feel better. An idea came to mind. I sat on the road in front of her, painfully aware that we were losing daylight. We would lose even more if I couldn't convince her to keep going.

"You know, when I was little I sprained my ankle really bad," I confided in her. "I wasn't allowed to play in any of my games for two weeks," I gestured to the bat, "I was really bummed out about it. One time after sitting on the bleachers watching my team celebrate their win without me I got really upset and I started crying." I watched as she wiped some of the tears away. "And you know what my dad did?"

She shook her head no.

"He told me, 'ain't any use in crying over a game that's already been played', and you know what he did after that?"

This time she let her a soft no.

"He carried me all the way back home," I felt my throat tighten up at the memory of my dad, "And he made sure I laughed the whole way there."

I stood up at that and held a hand out for Sophia. She let me help her up off the ground and looked at my outstretched arms. I knew it would kill me back but she wasn't that small and we would have to stop soon anyways. She thought it over for a minute before she placed her small hands on my shoulders and allowed me to carry her. Thankfully the weight from my backpack and the weight from her balanced out.

I sighed as I felt her rest her head on my shoulder. Maybe she'll fall asleep, I thought to myself. There were still a few hours until the sun would set and we weren't that far from where she said she ran from. I didn't know what I expected. But I knew one thing was sure; I was going to make sure she got back to her group and then I was going to leave.

As I walked I couldn't help but think of my dad's voice.

"Always keep moving forward Cara, this is just one stop on the way."