Hero

t w e l v e

The next morning, Lenora was gently shaken awake by Daryl. Groaning a little bit she rubbed her eyes sitting up. 

"What time is it?" She mumbled, tossing her now messy braid over her shoulder.

"Morning." Daryl spoke gruffly. "I'm taking a horse out today to look for Sophia. There's some breakfast out here. I'll be back later today. "

Lenora watched as Daryl fished a flannel out of his backpack and exited the tent. Grabbing her 'brand new' sneakers and slipping into them she followed the redneck out of the tent. She saw Carol and Lori doing laundry in the distance and Rick talking to a couple members of the group about today's agenda for finding Sophia. 

Timidly, she stood next to Daryl and examined the group crowded around the hood of a truck. Some new, but most were those from the quarry.

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me." Shane yelled from the passenger seat, pulling on his shoes. "Anyone could have been holed up in that farm house." 

Lenora felt Daryl glaring daggers into the back of Shane's head. She decided she'd remain next to him until he left. Partially out of the lack of things to do, and she really didn't want to get roped into hanging someone's underwear with Lori and Carol. 

"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea asked Shane. 

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than Lee. Her and Sophia are practically the same height." Daryl spoke, gesturing just above Lenora's head. 

"It's a good lead." Andrea told him

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick told him. 

"No maybe about it." Daryl pointed to the map on the car, showing where he was going to go. "I'm going to borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her." 

"Good idea." T-dog told him before cracking a smile. "Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too." 

"Chupacabra?" Lenora asked, looking up at the man next to her. She raised a blonde eyebrow and tilted her head in confusion.

"You never heard this?" Dale asked, he was standing behind her with a bag of guns. "Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra." 

Lenora giggled quietly, covering her mouth so Daryl wouldn't see her laugh. That wasn't the case for Rick though who got his attention.

"What are you braying at jackass?" Daryl asked, his defense rising. 

"So you believe in a blood sucking dog?" Rick asked. 

"Do you believe in dead people walking around?" Daryl asked, wiping sweat from underneath his eye. 

The older man had a point. Maybe his chupacabra did exist. Nowadays, the possibilities for myths seemed more likely than ever.  The conversation about Daryl's chupacabra seized as the blond boy she recalled as Jimmy reached for the shot gun sitting on the map. 

"Hey, hey," Rick said, stopping the boy from picking it up. "Ever fire one before?"

"Well if I'm going out I want one." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. A gun wouldn't do him any good if he didn't know how to shoot it. 

"Yeah, and people in Hell want slurpees." Daryl said slinging his cross bow on his back and walking off at a brisk pace. Lenora followed him quickly to the stables. 

"What time will you be back?" Lenora asked him as he led a horse out of its stall. 

"By sundown at the latest, I'll search for some supper while I'm out." Daryl spoke gruffly, putting his hand on the girls head and ruffling her hair. "You stay out of trouble, not that you're ever in it."