Alone & Lost

19.) Hunt

"You're okay, that's all that matters," Navy said softly. A loud cry broke the silence.

"And she's okay," Henry muttered. Navy rolled her eyes before reaching over the bassinet and scooping up the baby, cradling her close.

"Can you go let Cooper in? His bladder should be empty by now," Navy mumbled. Henry smiled, placing a soft kiss on Navy's cheek before leaving the room. She took this time to feed Elle, which didn't last long.

"Navy...?" Henry said softly. She looked up from Elle, looking at Henry in the doorway.

"What?" She asked worriedly, cradling Elle close to her chest.

"I don't... I don't know where Cooper is. Don't panic," Henry said as Navy stood up, gently taking Elle off of her and lifting her shirt back up. She handed the baby to Henry. "He might just be in one of his moods-"

"There's milk in the freezer," is all Navy said before she picked up her knives and walked out the door.

Navy didn't hesitate to run out the door, her knife gripped in her hand as she jogged to the gate.

It was open.

It was always supposed to be closed. Whenever Cooper runs off, the gate is always the first thing she checks. If it's closed, Cooper's probably inside the walls.

She could see the fresh paw prints in the mud, cursing under her breath as she turned towards the street.

"Saddiq!" She called. He turned towards her. "Who's supposed to be on watch?"

"Um... not sure," he responded. "What's wrong?"

"Go get Dad and Daryl. Tell them nobody's on watch and put the town on lock down to check for walkers." Saddiq nodded, and took off towards the house. Navy stepped outside of the gate, slamming it shut so hard that it clicked from the inside. She looked in the mud, and began following the tracks as she whistled for Cooper. It didn't take long for Daryl and Carl to catch up with her.

"Alexandria's on lock down. Rick's takin' care of it. We'll help you track," Daryl told her.

Navy nodded, motioning towards the tracks in the leaves that only an experienced tracker would see. Daryl immediately took the lead. Usually he would let Navy do it, to help build her skills, but he knew she was on the verge of an anxiety attack. Not only that, but this is also Cooper they're missing. He's important. Really important.

"These tracks are fresh. As in seconds ago fresh. We're close, we gotta be," Daryl told her.

"He would only run if something was wrong..." she said quietly, watching Daryl's legs as they walked. Carl stayed in the back, hesitantly looking around.

They tracked the prints. Well, Daryl did. Eventually Carl pulled Navy into a hug. He walked next to her, a little ways from Daryl.

As they walked, Daryl knew Cooper had to be close. He also knew Navy wasn't paying attention. He had an idea. Daryl didn't like his idea, but he knew it would work. He turned to Navy, a depressed look on his face.

"What?" Navy asked. Daryl shook his head lowly.

"I'm sorry..." he trailed off. "I don't think he made it. His tracks ended, and... there's blood-"

Daryl was cut off by Navy's breaths. She had grown close to Cooper, he is the reason she survived. He helped her anxiety, helped her live with it.

Carl went to hug Navy but Daryl waved him off. Carl furrowed his eyebrows, Daryl gave him a look. Navy fell to two knees, her palms rubbing at her jeans. This was the beginning of an anxiety attack. It starts off calm, too calm. She just stared into nothing, tears welling in her eyes.

In her head she could feel the tugging and struggling, as if angels were fighting with devils.

Everything was going every which way, overwhelming her head. She allowed her head to drop, her breathing picked up a bit. Once it reached to the freak out stage of the panic attack, a familiar bark was heard. Cooper ran out from the bushes.

Daryl smiled lightly.

Cooper jumped on Navy, licking her cheeks and nuzzling his head into her neck and shoulders. He pawed at her hands, doing everything he could to calm her down, before she held him in a tight hug, her head buried in his fluff. Cooper stood happily, panting.

When Navy lifted her head up, she could tell by Daryl's expression that he wasn't surprised. He explained.

"I knew he was close. His prints fade, hard to see in the dark. I knew he was close. The only way he would come is if you got anxious," Daryl told her.

"So you lied?" Navy asked.

"It worked, didn't it?" He asked. Navy glared, kissing Cooper's head before standing up. Cooper let out a whine, bouncing from paw to paw as he looked at the trees.

"Show me, boy," she said quietly. Cooper pranced into the woods, where Navy, Daryl and Carl followed.

Cooper led them to an old shed. He went up to an old, rusty garbage can. It was about 3-4 feet tall and chipping away. Cooper nudged it. He whined. Navy furrowed her eyebrows, Daryl had his bow ready as navy lifted up the cover. The scene inside almost struck a tear to her eye.

She reached inside, her fingers gripping around the cloth as she pulled it up.

In her arms she held a near conscious baby, a newborn, which had clearly been starved.