What If?

Chapter Three

Chapter Three What If?

A Walking Deas Fanfiction

"Is he always that mean?" Carl asked Sophia. They were waking along the shore of the quarry, their bare feet in the wet, warm sand.

"Yes. Expecially to my mom. He always yells at her for no reason, and sometimes he hits us," she admitted what she had admitted to no one else before. Something about being with Carl made her feel safe; like she didn't have to be shy and quiet.

"Why would he do that?" He wondered outloud.

"Mommy says it's because he's scared, but that's not what I think."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's because he doesn't like us."

"Why wouldn't he like you? You're so kind, and smart, and-" he blushed when 'pretty' popped into his head.

"And I'm what?"

"Brave," he made up. "You're really brave going throught all that."

"Thanks," she smiled, looking down at her shoes. "But I'm still scared a lot. Sometimes, I hear my dad yelling at my mom at night, and I cry." Another secret that someone else knew.

"Carl, Sophia!" Lori called. "Come here please!"

"Race you to her!" He called.

"You're on!" The two children ran towards the RV together, one close behind the other.

"Shane! Did you see who got here first?" The boy asked.

"Nope. Sorry kiddo," he smiled, glad the boy had someone to play with.

"Aw! I bet I won!" He laughed.

"No way!" The girl giggled.

"How about you kids go help out with some of the chores?" Carol suggested. Ed was napping, and she didn't want him to get mad at her or Sophia when he woke up.

"Like what?" Her daughter asked.

"How about you go collect sticks for the fire with Eliza and Louis?" She suggested.

"Ok! Common Carl!" She grabbed his wrist, and dragged him along to where the other two children were already waiting.

"Hi!" A little girl who seemed to be about their age said. "I'm Eliza!"

"And I'm Louis," a boy who looked a few years younger.

"I'm Carl, and this my friend, Sophia."

"Cool. So you guys are going to help us collect twigs and stuff?" She asked.

"Apparently," he muttered. He'd much rather by playing with Sophia, but maybe this would make her father not as mad.

"Good! Common, I know an amazing place where they all fall," Louis said, running off, forcing the others to rush after him.

"Here!" His sister said. "They all fall around these trees. The faster that we pick up, the faster that we can go pack to coloring!"

"You guys have stuff to color?" Carl asked.

"Not a lot," the youngest child said, already bending over. "We have a few crayons and colored pencils, but we still like to draw."

The children all worked on the task, with Eliza and Louis chatting the whole time. Sophia and Carl stayed quiet. She was usually shy, and he didn't feel like talking about the other members of the group, or what they were having for dinner.

"Shh!" The eldest Morales child shushed her brother. "I hear footsteps."

Sure enough, a moment later, a tall man with graying hair, blue eyes, and a gun walked by with a man with dark brown hair, similar colored eyes, and a crossbow. They didn't acknowledge the kids, but they noticed Carl and Sophia, and knew that there must be newcomers in the group.

"Who were they?" The Grimes boy asked, suddenly intrested in what they had to know.

"That's Merle and Dayrl Dixon," she said matter-of-factly.

"They're brothers, and they spend the whole day hunting. Usually when they come back, it means it's dinner time. We should be heading back."

On the way back, Sophia reached out and grabbed Carl's hand. She couldn't help it. Something about Merle made her scared. Something about Daryl gave her a weird feeling too, but she knew he was better than his brother.

Carl was shocked when Sophia took his hand in her own, but he liked it. He knew that she wasn't feeling safe, and he wanted to do all that he could to make her feel comfortable. He looked over at him, and she gave him a nervous grin.

"There you kids are," Carol said, giving them a weak smile. "Are you ready for dinner?"

"Yeah, I'm really hungry," her daughter said, not realizing that she was still holding Carl's hand. Embarrassed, she quickly dropped it back to her side.

"Good. It seems like some of the men of the group did some hunting," Lori said, eyeing the animals that the Dixon brothers had brought.

"Maybe I could learn to hunt!" He said.

"Maybe some day," Shane laughed.

"Awesome!" He smiled. He was willing to help out any way he could. Preferably with a wepon.

"Sophia!" A booming voice said, causing the little girl to wince.

"Yes Daddy?" She asked, hoping that she wasn't in too much trouble.

"Where were you all afternoon?" Ed questioned.

"I was helping Carl, Eliza and Louis collect branches for the fire," she explained.

"You should have been helping with dinner. Now go help hand out the plates."

"Ok," she said. She gave Carl a small wave, then went to help out.

All the group members ate, then got back to what they were doing before. Carl was allowed to go play with Eliza and Louis, but Sophia was made do work. She helped her mother clean up after dinner, wash some of the group members clothes, and pile all the fire wood.

When she was finally aloud to go play again, Glenn stopped her before she could reach the other children.

"I got you something," he smiled, holding out a paper bag to her.

"Can I open it now?" She asked.

"Sure, go ahead." She opened it, and was surprised at what she saw. Glenn had gotten her a pink notebook, a back of 24 crayons, three pens, four pencils, a pack of cards, and a small puzzle.

"Thank you so much!" She smiled. "Where did you find all this?"

"There was a store... it was no big deal. I got all the kids stuff. I figured that you were probably getting bored."

"A little bit," she admitted.

"Oh, and hey Sophia?"

"Yeah?"

"You probably shouldn't tell your dad."

"Ok. I promise that I won't."