ᴀɴɢᴜɪsʜ » ᴅᴀʀʏʟ ᴅɪxᴏɴ

{10} Missing.

Stumbling.
Crumbling.
Breaking.

As my legs slip from under me, emotions of dread fill the void. While my body falls downward, my mind crumbles. Much like the world did two months ago. The sudden jolt of pain from my side is very comparable to how the normalcy of civilization slowly broke apart. Small then like a fireball explosion, massive.

Bright images of green, mixed with the blue sky flicker back and forth. My stomach churn, causing me to grow sick as I struggle to stop myself from falling.

And as quickly as my falling started, it ends.  Landing on my back, my mind crashes into a million pieces. Pain bright like the sun. Bright like the end of the world. Blinding even.

I heave for air, nails dug into the earthy soil, mouth open, and eyes wide.

How can I breathe? How can I make it forward?

Sophia. Sophia. Sophia.

The little girl who still held the innocence of what used to be. She is the cause of my breathing, living, moving forward. Out of anyone as of this moment, she needs me.

With some effort, my upper body pushes upward and I force myself from off of the ground. My legs ache but I somehow manage to step onward.

I can't stop my mind from racing. My fear of losing Carol's only child choke me from the inside. This responsibility overbearing, however, I do not look back nor regret my decision to be the hero.

Swatting thin branches from out of my way, my lungs are still tight as I struggle to catch my breath. Free from out of its usual ponytail, my wavy hair flows behind me in a mess, becoming tangled in the wooded fingertips.

There is no way Sophia could have gone far so I continue down a straight path. One hand rest against my holster holding the tiny gun Rick gifted me back at the CDC. I am careful to listen to the twigs and dead leaves crunch underneath my heavy boots.

The last time I've ventured in any kind of woods was after the outbreak. Jodie and I always kept hidden in the trees; far away from any main roads. For this very reason was/is a high risk.

A glimpse of blonde hair catches my eye.

Coming to a momentarily pause, I catch my breath and start back up. This time at full speed, dodging branches as the sight of the tiny figure holding a rag doll comes to a clear view. Within seconds I am right at her heels and I wrap one arm around her stomach to keep her from running off.

Sophia yelps in fear. Her thin legs kick and she screams for help. Trying to keep a hold, we both fall back yet I keep her in my grasp, moving onto my knees.

"Sophia!" I whisper loudly, turning the young girl around to face me. "It's me; Willow. You are okay."

Sophia looks at me with bewildered blue eyes. Dirt smudge across her freckled nose and one single small cut sink into her left cheek. "Shoot them!" Sophia exclaims. She reaches for my gun but before she could snatch the pistol from out of its holster, I place my hand onto her shoulders and pull her tiny hands away.

"No," My head shakes, "We can't. Remember those roamers on the highway? We don't want to go shooting up two freaks just to bring them back to the others back on the road."

Sophia nods behind a sniffle as I cup my hands onto her cheeks. I kick myself mentally, angry that I did not snatch up my bow and arrows instead of this useless gun. But there wasn't much time to react in such a way.

Still, this would be a lot easier if I had run to the RV to grab my weapon.

"Your bleeding," Sophia says.