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chapter sixteen | the unsteady
LAUREL WOKE UP later than she usually would. Last night when she made it back to the farm with Daryl, Ethan helped her assemble a tent for them to camp out in and as soon as she placed a blanket and pillow down, she collapsed and passed out for the rest of the night until late morning.
Cassie and Ethan agreed not to wake up their older sister, even when they needed to gather her clothes for laundry day, Cassie had to tiptoe to grab Laurel's small pile of clothes she had next to her feet.
Laurel woke up to an empty tent and sighed. She laid still a few moments, staring at the empty places. Voices and people rumbled around her, and she knew the camp was for once up before her. She pulled off the clothes she was wearing and tugged on the pair of shorts she found the other day at the highway and a white tank top that soon would be ruined within the hour of the day, she knew. She grabbed her knife, wiping it down with a piece of cloth from an old shirt before she tucked it in her belt safely. As she slid on her boots, no socks this time, she wondered where the rest of her clothes were.
When Laurel stepped out of the tent, she was confused on what time it was. She was struggling to pull her tangled hair into a semi-neat ponytail when she saw Daryl and some of the group looking at the map again on Carol's cherokee.
When she approached, Rick noticed her appearance. "Rough night?" He laughed.
"Shut up," She mumbled. She wasn't always a morning person.
Laurel quickly fixed her hair as Rick began to go over the plan. "If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl and Laurel found, she might have gone further east than we hoped for."
Jimmy walked up from behind Andrea, "I'd like to help. I know the area pretty well and stuff."
Beside Laurel, Daryl was putting on a flannel over his tank top, she took a glance at his appearance. He looked as rough as her, seems like he just woke up as well.
"Hershel's okay with this?" Rick asked the teen.
"Yeah, yeah. He said I should ask you," He convinced Rick. Though to Laurel he seemed to be lying but she didn't care enough to point it out. The more help to find Sophia, the more of a chance of actually finding her.
"Nothing about what Daryl and Laurel found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse," Shane butted in from inside the car.
"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea asked.
"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high," Daryl hovered his hand up to his torso before he continued to button his shirt.
"It's a good lead, maybe we'll pick up her trail again," Rick hoped. Laurel nodded, "no maybe about it."
"Imma borrow a horse, head up this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her," Daryl planned.
